Studies on hydrocarbon degradation by the bacterial isolate Stenotrophomonas rhizophila (PM-1) from oil spilled regions of Western Ghats of Karnataka

The hydrocarbon utilizing capability of Stenotrophomonas rhizophila (PM-1), isolated from oil contaminated soil composts from Western Ghats region of Karnataka was analyzed. In the bioremediation experiment, ONGC heavy crude oil and poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) utilization by the bacterial isolate was studied. Preliminary studies by DCPIP method suggests, the isolate PM-1 having the potential PAHs and crude oil utilization ability. The degradation of 2 % heavy crude oil and other PAHs from the isolate PM-1 was assessed by Total Plate Count (TPC), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) level at regular time intervals. Increased in population densities with simultaneous increase in BOD and COD ratio correlates with the UV spectrophotometry result by change in the λmax (from 249 nm to 278 nm), gas chromatographic analysis (25.00 %) and total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) (65.78 %). A substrate specificity test of the isolates on different hydrocarbons (PAHs) showed that the isolate PM-1 had good growth on decanol, hexadecane, toluene, dodecane, engine oil, benzene, phenol, ethyl benzene, pentadecane, tetradecane, octane, oleic acid and naphthalene. The breakdown of the molecular structure in heavy crude oil and in PAHs indicates, the loss of conjugation in parental hydrocarbons shows the degradation potency of the bacterial isolate (PM-1).Keywords: Stenotrophomonas rhizophila, Bioremediation, PAHs, Crude oil, Western Ghat

Development of multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified pencil graphite electrode for the electrochemical investigation of aceclofenac present in pharmaceutical and biological samples

A sensitive and novel chemically modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified pencil graphite electrode (MCPGE) has been developed for the electrochemical investigation of aceclofenac (ACF). MCPGE was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Phosphate buffer solution (PBS) of pH7.0 was used as a suitable electrolytic medium, in which aceclofenac (ACF) exhibited a sensitive adsorption controlled oxidation peaks at +0.12, +0.32 and +0.51V and a reduction peak at −0.26V (vs Ag/AgCl). The experimental conditions were optimised by means of investigating the dependence of peak current on solution pH, concentration and scan rate etc. The electrochemical parameters such as surface concentration (Γ), electron transfer coefficient (α) and the standard rate constant (ks) were investigated at MCPGE. The oxidative peak currents were varied linearly with concentration in the range between 1×10−6 to 60×10−6M with a detection limit of 2.6×10−9M. The UV–Vis absorption spectrum of ACF gave the λmax at 272–273nm and is attributed to the presence of ACF. The applicability of the MCPGE was illustrated by the determination of ACF present in pharmaceutical and human urine samples. Keywords: Aceclofenac, Multi-walled carbon nanotubes, Pencil graphite electrode, Cyclic voltammetry, Differential pulse voltammetr

Estimating global injuries morbidity and mortality: Methods and data used in the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study

Background: While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study used methods to provide highly detailed estimates of global injury burden that meet these criteria. Methods: In this study, we report and discuss the methods used in GBD 2017 for injury morbidity and mortality burden estimation. In summary, these methods included estimating cause-specific mortality for every cause of injury, and then estimating incidence for every cause of injury. Non-fatal disability for each cause is then calculated based on the probabilities of suffering from different types of bodily injury experienced. Results: GBD 2017 produced morbidity and mortality estimates for 38 causes of injury. Estimates were produced in terms of incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability, cause-specific mortality, years of life lost and disability-adjusted life-years for a 28-year period for 22 age groups, 195 countries and both sexes. Conclusions: GBD 2017 demonstrated a complex and sophisticated series of analytical steps using the largest known database of morbidity and mortality data on injuries. GBD 2017 results should be used to help inform injury prevention policy making and resource allocation. We also identify important avenues for improving injury burden estimation in the future. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC B Y. Published by BMJ

Global injury morbidity and mortality from 1990 to 2017: Results from the global burden of disease study 2017

Background Past research in population health trends has shown that injuries form a substantial burden of population health loss. Regular updates to injury burden assessments are critical. We report Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 Study estimates on morbidity and mortality for all injuries. methods We reviewed results for injuries from the GBD 2017 study. GBD 2017 measured injury-specific mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) using the Cause of Death Ensemble model. To measure non-fatal injuries, GBD 2017 modelled injury-specific incidence and converted this to prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs). YLLs and YLDs were summed to calculate disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Findings In 1990, there were 4 260 493 (4 085 700 to 4 396 138) injury deaths, which increased to 4 484 722 (4 332 010 to 4 585 554) deaths in 2017, while age-standardised mortality decreased from 1079 (1073 to 1086) to 738 (730 to 745) per 100 000. In 1990, there were 354 064 302 (95% uncertainty interval: 338 174 876 to 371 610 802) new cases of injury globally, which increased to 520 710 288 (493 430 247 to 547 988 635) new cases in 2017. During this time, age-standardised incidence decreased non-significantly from 6824 (6534 to 7147) to 6763 (6412 to 7118) per 100 000. Between 1990 and 2017, age-standardised DALYs decreased from 4947 (4655 to 5233) per 100 000 to 3267 (3058 to 3505). Interpretation Injuries are an important cause of health loss globally, though mortality has declined between 1990 and 2017. Future research in injury burden should focus on prevention in high-burden populations, improving data collection and ensuring access to medical care. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ