Development of a Method for the Determination of Chromium and Cadmium in Tannery Wastewater Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

This paper illustrates systematic development of a convenient analytical method for the determination of chromium and cadmium in tannery wastewater using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). A new approach was developed by which liquid was converted into solid phase sample surface using absorption paper for subsequent LIBS analysis. The optimized values of LIBS parameters were 146.7 mJ for chromium and 89.5 mJ for cadmium (laser pulse energy), 4.5 μs (delay time), 70 mm (lens to sample surface distance), and 7 mm (light collection system to sample surface distance). Optimized values of LIBS parameters demonstrated strong spectrum lines for each metal keeping the background noise at minimum level. The new method of preparing metal standards on absorption papers exhibited calibration curves with good linearity with correlation coefficients, R2 in the range of 0.992 to 0.998. The developed method was tested on real tannery wastewater samples for determination of chromium and cadmium

Comparative Performance Analysis of Compression Ignition Engine using Biodiesel and LPG as Additive

Increase urbanization of the world leads to increase in fuel demand. Crude oil based fuel such as diesel fuel; petrol and natural gas are the main fuels. Moreover natural resource reservoirs are in specific regions of the world. Many countries of the world along with Pakistan are facing shortage of the petroleum products. Therefore alternative energy resource must be explored in order to cope with the fuel demand.  In this research work, a 60 hours endurance test has been carried out on horizontal type single cylinder diesel engine. During endurance test, three fuel   samples such as D100 (%diesel as a baseline), B25 (waste cooking oil biodiesel 25% and 75% diesel fuel) and B25+LPG (liquefied petroleum gas and waste cooking oil biodiesel) respectively have been taken to determine the engine performance and noise emission level. Engine performance and noise emission level were taken at constant rpm of 1300 with variable loads from 0.0(no load) to 1.6kg-m at an interval of 0.2kg-m. however analysis of results show that the brake specific fuel Consumption (BSFC) of B25+LPG decrease with increasing the brake power and the brake thermal efficiency increase as increasing the brake power. However, engine noise emission level from three directions such as front back and left show lower noise emission in case of biodiesel and LPG blended as compared to diesel fuel

Quantitative Analysis of Petroleum Consumption and CO2 Emission of Mining and Quarrying Industry of Pakistan

Energy is playing dynamic role in the development of national economy of Pakistan. The country’s economy is supported by different industries, such as mining and quarrying is one of the leading industry of the country. The industry is producing different artefacts, for each artefact the industry consumes energy. Fossil fuels are instant sources of energy, burning of fossil fuels are the main factor of the climate change. Hence energy is directly and indirectly used in every sector of the country and petroleum sector is considered the main driving force of the energy. This work derives measures of petroleum consumption and CO2 emissions related to fuel consumption activities in Mining and quarrying industry of Pakistan from the year 1970 to 2016. Results of the study have been calculated by using Wassily Leontief input-output analysis. Results demonstrated that total petroleum consumption of mining and quarrying industry reached at the peak level from year 1994 to 1998, in 2014 1.58E+7 matric barrels were consumed by the sector. Similarly, in 2015 and 2016, 1.62E+6 matric barrels and 1.72E+6 matric barrels of petroleum respectively consumed in the sector. Petroleum consumption caused of emissions of greenhouse gases around 1.01E+7 metric tons of CO2 was released in 1998. Respectively in 2015, 6.98E+6 and in 2016, 7.42E+6 metric tons CO2 was released.  By analysis outcomes of the study, petroleum demand and its consumption will raise and the relevant emission will also increase in the future

Dynamic Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis of Propeller Aircraft Wing

During flight, aircraft wing is subjected to time dependent loads resulting in wing deformation and oscillation which is a challenge to its structural design as well as safety.  At present, structural integrity and wing performance are mostly evaluated on the basis of static loading only. While dynamic loading has got minor attention due to this research work analyses structural and aerodynamic behavior of rectangular aircraft wing under time varying conditions. The effects of structural non-linearity were also taken into account. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Computational Structural Dynamics (CSD) codes were coupled to predict aerodynamic performance of deformable wing structure. To analyze and compare the performance of rigid and flexible Aluminum alloy 7075 T6 wing were simulated. Research results reveal that there is 5.64% decrease in Lift-to-Drag ratio by considering wing as flexible structure. The analysis of wing structural behavior by varying fluid forces showed that wing behavior is highly non-linear in nature; therefore dynamic loading conditions are highly important to consider

Cell specific apoptosis by RLX is mediated by NFκB in human colon carcinoma HCT-116 cells

BACKGROUND: Resistance to chemotherapy represents a major obstacle in correcting colorectal carcinomas (CRC). Inspite of recent advances in the treatment of metastatic disease, the prognosis of the patients remains poor. RLX, a vasicinone analogue has been reported to possess potent bronchodilator, anti-asthmatic and anti-inflammatory properties. However, its anti-cancer activity is unknown. RESULTS: Here, we report for the first time that RLX has anti-cancer property against panel of human cancer cell lines and most potent activity was found against HCT-116 cells with IC(50) value of 12 μM and have further investigated the involvement of NFκB and caspase-3 in RLX action in CRC apoptosis. Following RLX and BEZ-235 treatment in HCT-116, we observed significant down-regulation of NFκB (1 to 0.1 fold) and up-regulation of caspase-3 (1 to 2 fold) protein expressions. Additionally, morphological studies revealed membrane blebbing, cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation and finally apoptosis in HCT-116 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these findings indicate that RLX is a potent small molecule which triggers apoptosis, and promising potential candidate to be a chemotherapeutic agent

Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformations (cAVMs): What Is New?

Cerebral arteriovenous malformations (cAVMs) are rare congenital anomalies of cerebral blood vessels that result from maldevelopment of the capillary bed, permitting direct communication between cerebral arteries and veins. It usually occurs in the supratentorial area of the brain; however, it can occur anywhere in the brain and spinal cord. Most of the patients with cAVMs present with a variety of complaints such as seizures, intracerebral hemorrhage, headache, and progressive focal neurological deficit. Imaging such as CT, MRI, and angiography plays a vital role in diagnosis, grading, risk assessment, and posttherapeutic follow-up. The multidisciplinary team use three therapeutic modalities in the treatment of cAVMs. This chapter reviews the clinical presentations, diagnosis, classification, and treatment of cAVMs

Newer Horizon of Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Based Therapy in the Management of SARS-CoV-2-Associated Mucormycosis: A Safe Hope for Future Medicine

SARS-CoV-2-infected patients are reported to show immunocompromised behavior that gives rise to a wide variety of complications due to impaired innate immune response, cytokine storm, and thrombo-inflammation. Prolonged use of steroids, diabetes mellitus, and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) are some of the factors responsible for the growth of Mucorales in such immunocompromised patients and, thus, can lead to a life-threatening condition referred to as mucormycosis. Therefore, an early diagnosis and cell-based management cosis is the need of the hour to help affected patients overcome this severe condition. In addition, extended exposure to antifungal drugs/therapeutics is found to initiate hormonal and neurological complications. More recently, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been used to exhibit immunomodulatory function and proven to be beneficial in a clinical cell-based regenerative approach. The immunomodulation ability of MSCs in mucormycosis patient boosts the immunity by the release of chemotactic proteins. MSC-based therapy in mucormycosis along with the combination of short-term antifungal drugs can be utilized as a prospective approach for mucormycosis treatment with promising outcomes. However, preclinical and in mucormyIn mucormycosis, the hyphae of clinical trials are needed to establish the precise mechanism of MSCs in mucormycosis treatment

Anaesthetic Considerations in Gastrointestinal Endoscopies

Gastrointestinal endoscopy has become fundamental procedure for diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal tract diseases. Generally, the gastrointestinal endoscopy is minimally invasive procedure. However, it can cause considerable amount of discomfort and pain which make the procedure unsafe, complicated and refusal of follow up procedures if done without safe sedation. The sedation is required to alleviate anxiety, provide analgesia, amnesia and to improve endoscopic performance specifically in therapeutic procedures. The safe administration of sedative and analgesic medications, irrespective of the regimen used, requires knowledge of the individual needs of patients. The combination of benzodiazepines and opioids is now the most widely used sedation regimen for sedation in gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures. Generally, sedation for gastrointestinal endoscopy is considered safe, however, it has the potential for serious complications. Therefore, endoscopist should assess the patients properly before the endoscopy as well as should be aware of all possible complications and the risk factors. Furthermore, skilled staff and emergency equipment should be available in endoscopy suit. This chapter discuss in details all the aspects of safe procedural sedation during GI endoscopies

The Merging of Two Dynasties—Identification of an African Cotton Leaf Curl Disease-Associated Begomovirus with Cotton in Pakistan

Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) is a severe disease of cotton that occurs in Africa and Pakistan/northwestern India. The disease is caused by begomoviruses in association with specific betasatellites that differ between Africa and Asia. During survey of symptomatic cotton in Sindh (southern Pakistan) Cotton leaf curl Gezira virus (CLCuGV), the begomovirus associated with CLCuD in Africa, was identified. However, the cognate African betasatellite (Cotton leaf curl Gezira betasatellite) was not found. Instead, two Asian betasatellites, the CLCuD-associated Cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite (CLCuMB) and Chilli leaf curl betasatellite (ChLCB) were identified. Inoculation of the experimental plant species Nicotiana benthamiana showed that CLCuGV was competent to maintain both CLCuMB and ChLCB. Interestingly, the enations typical of CLCuD were only induced by CLCuGV in the presence of CLCuMB. Also in infections involving both CLCuMB and ChLCB the enations typical of CLCuMB were less evident. This is the first time an African begomovirus has been identified on the Indian sub-continent, highlight the growing threat of begomoviruses and particularly the threat of CLCuD causing viruses to cotton cultivation in the rest of the world

A Potential New Pathway for Staphylococcus aureus Dissemination: The Silent Survival of S. aureus Phagocytosed by Human Monocyte-Derived Macrophages

Although considered to be an extracellular pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus is able to invade a variety of mammalian, non-professional phagocytes and can also survive engulfment by professional phagocytes such as neutrophils and monocytes. In both of these cell types S. aureus promptly escapes from the endosomes/phagosomes and proliferates within the cytoplasm, which quickly leads to host cell death. In this report we show that S. aureus interacted with human monocyte-derived macrophages in a very different way to those of other mammalian cells. Upon phagocytosis by macrophages, S. aureus persisted intracellularly in vacuoles for 3–4 days before escaping into the cytoplasm and causing host cell lysis. Until the point of host cell lysis the infected macrophages showed no signs of apoptosis or necrosis and were functional. They were able to eliminate intracellular staphylococci if prestimulated with interferon-γ at concentrations equivalent to human therapeutic doses. S. aureus survival was dependent on the alternative sigma factor B as well as the global regulator agr, but not SarA. Furthermore, isogenic mutants deficient in α-toxin, the metalloprotease aureolysin, protein A, and sortase A were efficiently killed by macrophages upon phagocytosis, although with different kinetics. In particular α-toxin was a key effector molecule that was essential for S. aureus intracellular survival in macrophages. Together, our data indicate that the ability of S. aureus to survive phagocytosis by macrophages is determined by multiple virulence factors in a way that differs considerably from its interactions with other cell types. S. aureus persists inside macrophages for several days without affecting the viability of these mobile cells which may serve as vehicles for the dissemination of infection