Online forum discussion: From the perspectives of college students

Online forum gains its weight in our daily life and it can serve as a tool for constructive learning. Survey on 39 students after been given an online forum discussion as assignment discovered that 95% of them never being exposed to this type of formal assignment before that. However, about 67% of them knew that they can acquire scientific knowledge through online forum discussion. Around 54% of the respondents agreed that online forum discussion had motivated them in their learning process, while 72% of them found that the discussion had inspired their creativity. About 59% of them found that the discussion had elevated the interaction between their course mates. The respondents named the most attractive point of online forum discussion was less interference from the instructor, while the least attractive, the relatedness to the syllabus. From 32 respondents, who were frequent internet users, 78% of them could accept the usage of online forum discussion as formal assignment in future, while among the non-frequent was 50%. About 41% of the frequent internet users could accept the usage of online forum discussion in replacement of formal face-to-face lecture, while there were only 14% for non-frequent users. As been found motivating, inspiring the creativity, and increase the interaction by majority students, online forum discussion is a good tool for constructive learning, especially for the frequent internet users

Effect of Titanium, Silver and Zinc Nanoparticles on Microalgae in the Aquatic Environment

Metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) are commonly incorporated in products found in households, industries, and agriculture. The presence of MNPs in the aquatic environment causes damage to living organisms and pollutes the water body rendering it harmful for human consumption. Several studies have been made on the toxicity of MNPs toward microalgae. Most of these studies reported changes in the cellular structure, growth rate, pigments, proteins, and enzymatic activity of microalgae. This review paper focuses on the toxic effects of titanium, zinc, and silver nanoparticles on microalgae in the aquatic environment. A better understanding of the behavior of MNPs in the ecosystem will allow scientists to produce environmentally safe MNPs

Cytotoxic Study of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Cervical Cancer Cell Line

The advancement of nanomedicine drugs as an outcome of nanotechnology offers tremendous potential to enhance cancer-fighting tactics. Scientists have begun studying the role of NPs in immunotherapy, an area that is particularly beneficial in treating malignancies. Conventional treatment of cancer uses medications known as chemotherapy that frequently cause adverse effects on healthy tissues. Zinc is a vital micronutrient for the well-being of humans; therefore, nanomaterials such as zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are progressively appealing as cutting-edge medical agents with implementations like anticancer properties. A bottom-up approach was utilized to chemically produce the ZnO NPs, which were characterized using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). MTT assays have been carried out to study the cell viability percentage against multiple ZnO NPs concentrations and durations. The white ZnO NPs displayed a diverse morphology within the nanoscale range, featuring rod and spherical shapes. This synthesis was confirmed through EDX, which revealed distinct peaks corresponding to zinc and oxygen, affirming the formation of pure ZnO NPs. MTT assay data showed that ZnO NPs had a dose and time-dependent cytotoxicity against HeLa cells. This observation suggests that the ZnO NPs possess the potential to combat cancer and may hold promise for applications in biomedical research, particularly in the development of anticancer drugs

Structure and Reactivity of Halogenated GC PNA Base Pairs – A DFT Approach

The present study explored the structural and reactivity relationship of halogenated G-C PNA base pairs using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The halogens such as F, Cl, and Br are substituted by replacing H atoms involved in H-bonds of the base pairs. All structures were optimized using the B3LYP/6-311++G** theory level, and positive frequencies confirmed their equilibrium states. To understand the structural variations of the considered halogenated systems, the bond distances of R─X, R─H, and X/H•••Y and the bond angles of R─X•••Y were analyzed. The obtained structural parameters and interaction energies are comparable with the previous theoretical reports. In addition, the interaction energies (Eint) and quantum molecular descriptors (QMD) are also calculated to understand the difference between halogenated PNA systems and their non-halogenated counterparts. In this study, the enhancement in the reactivity properties  of halogenated PNA systems has been demonstrated, which indicates their improved responsive characteristics in various chemical reactions. Based on the available results, the halogenated PNA systems, carefully considering their substitutional position, facilitate better accommodation for the triplex formation of dsDNA/dsRNA. Therefore, it is concluded that the improved reactivity properties of halogenated PNA base pairs would make them potential candidates for various biological applications

The Effect of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on Haematococcus pluvialis Biomass Concentration

The increased release of Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) into the aquatic ecosystem is caused by the augmented utilization of nanoparticles in personal care and household products. This has resulted in the contamination of marine, aquatic, and ground water resources, causing adverse impacts on the biota and flora, both in vivo and in vitro. The main purpose of this research was to examine the negative impacts of TiO2 NPs on the bioaccumulation of Haematococcus pluvialis. The interaction and buildup of  TiO2 NPs on H. pluvialis were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The exposure of H. pluvialis to TiO2 NPs with increasing concentrations (5–100 μg/mL) and time intervals (24 h to 96 h) impacted the biomass concentration of the microalgae. The SEM images provided evidence of changes in characteristics and impairment of the exterior of exposed cells. The findings revealed that the exposure of H. pluvialis to TiO2 NPs resulted in a decline in biomass, which was dependent on the concentration and duration of exposure. The most severe adverse effects were observed after 96 hours of exposure, with a reduction of 43.29 ± 2.02% of biomass concentration. This study has demonstrated that TiO2 NPs harm H. pluvialis, as evidenced by the negative impact on algal biomass resulting from the binding and buildup of these particles on microalga H. pluvialis. To sum up, the decline in algal growth is caused by the accumulation and interaction of TiO2 NPs on microalgae scoring the adverse effects on the growth of H. pluvialis by TiO2 NPs. The findings of this study call for novel screening methods to detect and eliminate TiO2 NPs contamination in aquatic sources used for the cultivation of microalgae which may otherwise pose delirious effects to the consumers

Antibacterial Efficacy of Zinc oxide nanoparticles against Serratia marcescens (ATCC 43862) and Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29121)

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are a novel and alternative biomaterial for active biomedical applications among all metal and metallic oxide nanoparticles due to less toxicity and biocompatibility with human cells. In this study, we studied the growth curve of Serratia marcescens and Enterococcus faecalis to identify the mid-log phase of the bacterial growth to perform the exposure with ZnO NPs for investigating the antibacterial efficacy. The INT assay was used to determine the anti-bactericidal efficiency of ZnO NPs against S. marcescens and E. faecalis. The results showed that both the test bacteria attained the mid-log phase at the 5th hour. The determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) demonstrated a higher efficacy of ZnO NPs on the Gram-positive bacterium E. faecalis compared to the Gram-negative bacterium S. marcescens. The present study reports a higher susceptibility of Gram-positive bacterium over Gram-negative bacterium to the treatment of ZnO NPs

Synthesis and Characterization of Magnesium Doped Ferric Sulphate Nanoparticles (Mg-Fe2SO3 NPs) for Agriculture Applications

The present study aimed to synthesize the magnesium doped ferric sulphate nanoparticles (Mg-Fe2SO3 NPs) and investigate their seed germination efficacy. Mg-Fe2SO3 NPs were prepared by a simple and cost-effective method and subjected to characterization. The X-ray Diffraction (XRD) spectrum revealed the crystalline nature of Mg-Fe2SO3 NPs with an average crystallite size of 36.41 nm. The field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) image displayed the agglomeration of Mg-Fe2SO3 NPs with the shape of the grains appeared like starfish which has limbs grown from a common cluster. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) demonstrated the existence of C (10.5%), O (49.14%), Fe (26.67%), Mg (0.78%) and S (13.35%) elements in Mg-Fe2SO3 NPs. It also revealed the absence of impurities in the synthesized NPs. Through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Mg-Fe2SO3 NPs showed the characteristic peaks at 615.29cm-1, 1130.29cm-1, 1400.32 cm-1and 1633.71cm-1 which corresponded to Fe-O, C-N, O-H and N-H vibration respectively. Further, the seed germination study revealed that the Mg-Fe2SO3 NPs treatment caused a significant increase in seedling growth of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) seeds compared to the untreated samples

Impact of Metallic Nanoparticles on the Nutritional Values of Spirulina

Spirulina has high nutritional values and anti-oxidative properties. It is a staple diet due to its easy cultivation and greater nutritional values in biological macromolecules (proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates), pigments (chlorophyll, carotenoids, phycobiliproteins) vitamins, minerals, phenolic compounds, and amino acids. Spirulina also has been used as a nutraceutical to treat numerous diseases and disorders due to its promising therapeutic values. However, extensive anthropogenic activities cause the discharge of metals and metallic nanoparticles into the environment that might cause toxicity to marine and freshwater microalgae due to bioaccumulation. The presence of metals in the environment beyond the normal range does not only affect the growth but also the nutritional values of microalgae. The nutritional properties and usage of Spirulina along with the harmful effects of metals and metallic nanoparticles on Spirulina are highlighted and summarized in this paper

ANTIVIRAL PROPERTIES OF MICROALGAE AND CYANOBACTERIA

The recent outbreak of Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) and the surge in accelerating the development of a vaccine to fight against the SARS-CoV-2 virus has imposed greater challenges to humanity worldwide. There is lack of research into the production of effective vaccines and methods of treatment against viral infections. As of now, strategies encompassing antiviral drugs and corticosteroids alongside mechanical respiratory treatment are in practice as frontline treatments. Though studies have reported that microalgae possess antiviral properties, only a few cases have presented the existence of antiviral compounds such as algal polysaccharides, lectins, aggluttinins, scytovirin, algal lipids such as sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG), monogalactosyldiacylglycerides (MGDG) and digalactosyldiacylglycerides (DGDG), and algal biopigments especially chlorophyll analogues, marennine, phycobiliproteins, phycocyanin, phycoerythrin and allophycocyanin that are derived from marine and freshwater microalgae. Given the chemodiversity of bioactive compounds from microalgae and the present scenario, algal biotechnology is seen as a prospective source of antiviral and anti-inflammatory compounds that can be used to develop antiviral agents. Microalgae with potential as antivirals and microalgae derived functional compounds to treat viral diseases are summarized and can be used as a reference in developing algae-derived antivirals to treat SARS-CoV-2 and other similar viruses