Biosorption of Heavy Metals

Industrialization has led to introduction of heavy metals in the environment. Heavy metals are known to persist in the environment and become a risk for organisms. Micro-organisms are present in industrial effluents. They have adopted different strategies to cope up with the harmful effects of these metals. These strategies can be metabolism dependent or independent. One such strategy is biosorption which is binding of metal ions with metal binding proteins present on the cell wall. Biosorption is exhibited by bacteria, algae, fungi and yeasts. Not only living organisms, but also residuals of dead bodies of microorganisms shows biosorbent properties like agricultural wastes including husk, seeds, peels and stalks of different crops. Different factors affect the rate of biosorption which includes temperature, pH, nature of biosorbents, surface area to volume ratio, concentration of biomass, initial metal ion concentration and metal affinity to biosorbent. Various models including Freundlich model and Langmuir model can be used to describe biosorption. Recovery of biosorbed metals can be done using agents like thiosulfate, mineral acids and organic acids. Choice of desorption agent should be carefully selected to prevent alteration of physical properties of a biosorbent

Prevalence of osteoporosis in hysterectomised as compared to non-hysterectomized women in 7th decade of life

Background: Osteoporosis is considered as a major public health issue with fragility fractures of the hip, vertebrae and distal radius being the most important consequences. It has been said to be an age-related degenerative process. However, postmenopausal women develop this disease due to age-related bone mineral loss as well as due to declining levels of estrogen in the body following menopause leading to increased risk of fractures. Objectives of this study were to find out the prevalence of osteoporosis in hysterectomised and non-hysterectomised postmenopausal women in 7th decade of life.Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study done on a total of 66 postmenopausal women who were in their 7th decade of life. They were divided into two groups, one consisting of 36 women who underwent natural menopause and the other group of 30 women who had surgical menopause. The bone mineral density of both the groups was measured using DEXA scan and comparison was done between these study groups.Results: Out of 30 hysterectomised subjects, 24 (80%) were found to be having osteoporosis, 6 (20%) had osteopenia and none had normal BMD. While out of 36 subjects in the non-hysterectomised group, 14 (38.88%) had osteoporosis, 16 (44.44%) had osteopenia and 6 (16.66%) subjects had normal BMD. Significant relation (p-value 0.001) was found on comparison of the study groups. In addition, significant positive correlation was between BMD and BMI whereas negative correlation was seen between BMD and parity.Conclusions: Hysterectomy was found to increase the incidence of osteoporosis. Obesity was found to have protective effect against bone mineral loss while increasing parity had a negative relation with BMD

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for Pharmacists in Low and Middle-Income Countries

The role of pharmacists in healthcare is undergoing change throughout the world. In recent years there had been a tremendous development in the field of pharmacy practice and to improve patient care. The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has motivated the pharmacists in the developed countries to adopt lifelong learning. This is vital to improve competence and provide optimized patient care. The objectives of this study were to explore the understanding of pharmacy stakeholders in Pakistan, Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago regarding the concept of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).The practice and perceptions of pharmacy stakeholders in Ghana, Pakistan and Trinidad and Tobago were explored. This included barriers, and policy recommendations. The study was conducted through qualitative in-depth interviews of 12 stakeholders, including academics, pharmacy practitioners and regulatory professionals in 3 countries. The interviews were then audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and coded. A thematic analysis of the transcribed data led to the extraction of the main themes. The findings showed a process of establishment of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for pharmacists in Ghana whereas in Pakistan and Trinidad and Tobago there was no Continuing Professional Development (CPD) model for pharmacists. Our study informed the understanding of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) among pharmacy stakeholders in these countries and it’s positive impact on the pharmacy practice. The informants revealed the barriers and identified the possible facilitators to develop a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) model. The informants also highlighted the attributes and the key components to establish a CPD model in these countries. The study also indicated a joint effort to be made by the policy makers, pharmacy regulators and pharmacy practitioners in alliance with the international organizations such as International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) and Commonwealth Pharmacists Association (CPA). This is to design a realistic, relevant and mandatory programme of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) model in these countries

Cervical ectopic pregnancy: ultrasound diagnosis and conservative management

An ectopic pregnancy is one in which the fertilized ovum is implanted and develops outside the normal endometrial cavity. Cervical ectopic pregnancy is a rare form of ectopic pregnancy and can be defined as implantation of blastocyst in the endocervix, below the internal os; representing less than 1 % of all ectopic pregnancies. Ultrasound diagnosis of this abnormal pregnancy was first described by Raskin (1978); thus early diagnosis in either weakly or non-symptomatic women in the first trimester is done; allowing conservative management. A 35 year old female, gravida 4 with living 1 issue and 2 abortions presented with a history of continuous bleeding per vaginum for last 1.5 months. Outside ultrasound depicted single live fetus of 7 weeks in cervical canal. She had a history of undergoing medical termination of pregnancy by surgical procedure of dilatation and evacuation at private hospital for completion of abortion. There was a history of excessive bleeding post procedure and 2 units of blood transfusion; referred in anaemic state to our institute with pack in situ. Pack was removed after 24 hours and managed conservatively. On general examination tachycardia present, BP was normal and patient was haemodynamically stable. On palpation abdomen was soft, non-tender and no organomegaly noticed. Urine pregnancy test was positive, serum βHCG levels were raised, USG depicted heterogeneous collection in cervix. Injection methotrenate (1mg/Kg body wt.) given. βhCG repeated after 7 days; levels decreased significantly. Patient was improved symptomatically and bleeding stopped. Cervical pregnancy is a rare condition, if not diagnosed and treated early during the course of pregnancy can have hazardous complications. Thus early diagnosis and management is necessary for preserving patient’s fertility without significant complications

Non-traumatic coma in paediatric patients: Etiology and predictors of outcome

Objective: To determine the common etiological features of non-traumatic coma in children and evaluate possible predictors of morbidity and mortality in these patients.Method: A cross sectional study was carried out at the Paediatric Department of Civil Hospital Karachi from February 2008 to February 2009. In total 100 children, up to 14 years of age having history of non-traumatic coma were included. At the time of enrolment demographic data, clinical features, laboratory parameters and radiological workup were recorded. Data was entered and analyzed with SPSS version 16. Descriptive statistics were generated for all variables. Relationships between categorical variables were evaluated by examining cross-tabulations, chi2 test and Fisher\u27s exact tests. P-values \u3c 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: Mean age of the patients in months were 45 months. Male female ratio was 1.45:1. Among 65 survivors 38 (58%) showed no disability and 27 (41%) showed disability. Infections emerged as major cause of mortality (n=23, 79%). Clinical features that showed association with mortality included hypothermia (P = 0.032), hypotension (P = 0.002), altered breathing pattern (P = 0.0001), non reactive pupils (P = 0.001), low Glasgow coma scale (GCS) (P = 0.038), hypotonia (P = 0.002), hyporeflexia (P = 0.0001) and muscle power score of two (P = 0.043).Conclusion: Infections were the leading cause of non-traumatic coma as well as the leading cause of mortality in our study. Hypothermia, hypotension, altered breathing pattern, non reactive pupils, low GCS, hypotonia, hyporeflexia and low muscle power score were significantly associated with mortality in children presenting with non-traumatic coma

Zinc Essentiality, Toxicity, and Its Bacterial Bioremediation: A Comprehensive Insight

Zinc (Zn) is one of the most abundantly found heavy metals in the Earth’s crust and is reported to be an essential trace metal required for the growth of living beings, with it being a cofactor of major proteins, and mediating the regulation of several immunomodulatory functions. However, its essentiality also runs parallel to its toxicity, which is induced through various anthropogenic sources, constant exposure to polluted sites, and other natural phenomena. The bioavailability of Zn is attributable to various vegetables, beef, and dairy products, which are a good source of Zn for safe consumption by humans. However, conditions of Zn toxicity can also occur through the overdosage of Zn supplements, which is increasing at an alarming rate attributing to lack of awareness. Though Zn toxicity in humans is a treatable and non-life-threatening condition, several symptoms cause distress to human activities and lifestyle, including fever, breathing difficulty, nausea, chest pain, and cough. In the environment, Zn is generally found in soil and water bodies, where it is introduced through the action of weathering, and release of industrial effluents, respectively. Excessive levels of Zn in these sources can alter soil and aquatic microbial diversity, and can thus affect the bioavailability and absorption of other metals as well. Several Gram-positive and -negative species, such as Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Streptococcus sp., and Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas sp., Klebsiella sp., and Enterobacter sp., respectively, have been reported to be promising agents of Zn bioremediation. This review intends to present an overview of Zn and its properties, uses, bioavailability, toxicity, as well as the major mechanisms involved in its bioremediation from polluted soil and wastewaters

Flexural behaviour of RC one-way slabs reinforced using PAN based carbon textile grid

Textile reinforced mortar (TRM) is mainly used for strengthening of existing structural members whereas, on the other hand Textile reinforced concrete (TRC) is a technology implied in construction of new members for enhancing the structural behaviour. Application of TRM on the tension zone of the reinforced concrete (RC) slabs to improve the flexural capacity has been investigated by many researchers in the past. However, the effectiveness of textile fabrics, used as internal reinforcement in the RC slab (TRC technology) needs to be studied. The paper, therefore, presents the experimental research conducted on three one-way RC slabs specimens reinforced using textile grid. An innovative Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based carbon textile grid was used as internal reinforcement in combination with the steel bars. Two textile-reinforced RC slabs having one and two layers of textile grid (SRC + 1T and SRC + 2T respectively) and one reference slab (SRC) was fabricated to investigate the flexural behaviour under a four-point loading system. The internal textile reinforcement layer(s) was confirmed to be effective, particularly in terms of improving the cracking load, ductility, deformability and toughness. The material ductility of SRC + 1T and SRC + 2T slabs were increased by 41% and 44% compared to SRC slab. Also, the deformability ratio was found to be greater than 4, indicating a ductile failure of textile-reinforced slabs. Further, based on the load-deflection relation, moment-curvature curves were derived. Moreover, these curves were also developed using Eurocode two prediction model. The experimental and the predicted moment-curvature curves showed good agreement

Prevalence of osteoporosis in hysterectomised as compared to non-hysterectomized women in 7th decade of life

Background: Osteoporosis is considered as a major public health issue with fragility fractures of the hip, vertebrae and distal radius being the most important consequences. It has been said to be an age-related degenerative process. However, postmenopausal women develop this disease due to age-related bone mineral loss as well as due to declining levels of estrogen in the body following menopause leading to increased risk of fractures. Objectives of this study were to find out the prevalence of osteoporosis in hysterectomised and non-hysterectomised postmenopausal women in 7th decade of life.Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study done on a total of 66 postmenopausal women who were in their 7th decade of life. They were divided into two groups, one consisting of 36 women who underwent natural menopause and the other group of 30 women who had surgical menopause. The bone mineral density of both the groups was measured using DEXA scan and comparison was done between these study groups.Results: Out of 30 hysterectomised subjects, 24 (80%) were found to be having osteoporosis, 6 (20%) had osteopenia and none had normal BMD. While out of 36 subjects in the non-hysterectomised group, 14 (38.88%) had osteoporosis, 16 (44.44%) had osteopenia and 6 (16.66%) subjects had normal BMD. Significant relation (p-value 0.001) was found on comparison of the study groups. In addition, significant positive correlation was between BMD and BMI whereas negative correlation was seen between BMD and parity.Conclusions: Hysterectomy was found to increase the incidence of osteoporosis. Obesity was found to have protective effect against bone mineral loss while increasing parity had a negative relation with BMD