Fluoridated Water, Effects and Green Removal Techniques

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral released by rocks into water, soil and air. It elicits dual effects to organisms. Its beneficial effects are effected through water fluoridation to adjust fluoride content in drinking water to acceptable levels that are deemed to prevent tooth decay. Moreover, fluoride itself may be dangerous at high levels. Excessive fluoride causes dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis or even severe form of fluorosis known as “crippling skeletal fluorosis,” characterized by muscle wasting, immobility and neurological problems. Studies on fluoride levels are important so as to protect organisms from the adverse effect of high fluoride exposure. Various conventional and sensor-based technologies have been applied, leading to the detection of fluoride in water systems across the globe, with some regions reporting levels above the World Health Organization (WHO) limits. This necessitates interventions to reduce the levels of fluoride in drinking water. Green technologies are emerging as viable options for fluoride remediation since they are associated with minimal environmental contamination. Knowledge on fluoride in the environment is a key and therefore, this chapter provides an overview of fluorides, their monitoring in the environment, benefits as well as health effects and removal technologies that range from conventional to green technologies

Clinical Outcomes in 3343 Children and Adults with Rheumatic Heart Disease from 14 Low and Middle Income Countries: 2-Year Follow-up of the Global Rheumatic Heart Disease Registry (the REMEDY study)

Background: There are few contemporary data on the mortality and morbidity associated with rheumatic heart disease or information on their predictors. We report the 2-year follow-up of individuals with rheumatic heart disease from 14 low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia. Methods: Between January 2010 and November 2012, we enrolled 3343 patients from 25 centers in 14 countries and followed them for 2 years to assess mortality, congestive heart failure, stroke or transient ischemic attack, recurrent acute rheumatic fever, and infective endocarditis. Results: Vital status at 24 months was known for 2960 (88.5%) patients. Two-thirds were female. Although patients were young (median age, 28 years; interquartile range, 18–40), the 2-year case fatality rate was high (500 deaths, 16.9%). Mortality rate was 116.3/1000 patient-years in the first year and 65.4/1000 patient-years in the second year. Median age at death was 28.7 years. Independent predictors of death were severe valve disease (hazard ratio [HR], 2.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.80–3.11), congestive heart failure (HR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.70–2.72), New York Heart Association functional class III/IV (HR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.32–2.10), atrial fibrillation (HR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.10–1.78), and older age (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01–1.02 per year increase) at enrollment. Postprimary education (HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.54–0.85) and female sex (HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.52–0.80) were associated with lower risk of death. Two hundred and four (6.9%) patients had new congestive heart failure (incidence, 38.42/1000 patient-years), 46 (1.6%) had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (8.45/1000 patient-years), 19 (0.6%) had recurrent acute rheumatic fever (3.49/1000 patient-years), and 20 (0.7%) had infective endocarditis (3.65/1000 patient-years). Previous stroke and older age were independent predictors of stroke/transient ischemic attack or systemic embolism. Patients from low- and lower-middle–income countries had significantly higher age- and sex-adjusted mortality than patients from upper-middle–income countries. Valve surgery was significantly more common in upper-middle–income than in lower-middle– or low-income countries. Conclusions: Patients with clinical rheumatic heart disease have high mortality and morbidity despite being young; those from low- and lower-middle–income countries had a poorer prognosis associated with advanced disease and low education. Programs focused on early detection and the treatment of clinical rheumatic heart disease are required to improve outcomes. </jats:sec

Catalytic Reduction of Hexavalent Chromium Using Palladium Nanoparticles: An Undergraduate Nanotechnology Laboratory

A journal article by Dr. Naumih M. Noah a lecturer at United States International University - Africa.Quercetin is a naturally occurring flavonoid that is known to form complexes with metals; a process that reduces the environmental availability of toxic metals such as chromium. We hereby report the first evidence of the removal of Cr(VI) from environmental samples using quercetin (QCR) and two synthetic derivatives: namely quercetin pentaphosphate (QPP) and quercetin sulfonic acid (QSA). We successfully synthesized both QPP and QSA using simple procedures while characterizing them with UV-vis spectroscopy, H1-NMR, 13C NMR, 31P-NMR, and LC-MS techniques. The solubility of QPP was found to be 840 mg/mL and aqueous solutions of both QPP and QSA were stable for over a period of 1 year. Quercetin and these derivatives were subsequently utilized for the reduction of Cr(VI) and QCR was found to have a higher reduction efficiency of 99.8% (30 min), followed by QPP/palladium nanoparticles mixture (PdNPs) at 96.5% (60 min), and finally QSA/PdNPs mixtures at 91.7% (60 min). PdNPs catalyst increased the efficiency by ∼36.5% while a change in operating temperature from 25 to 45 °C improved the efficiency by ∼46.8%. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to confirm the presence of Cr (III) in the reaction products. This reduction approach was validated in environmental (Binghamton University) BU and standard reference material (BRS) soil samples. Results showed that the analysis could be completed within one hour and the efficiency was higher in BU soil than in BRS soil by 16.1%. QPP registered the highest % atom economy of 94.6%. This indicates enhanced performance compared to bioremediation approach that requires several months to achieve about 90% reduction efficiency

Reduction and Degradation of Paraoxon in Water Using Zero-Valent Iron Nanoparticles

Paraoxon is an emerging organophosphate pollutant that is commonly used as a pesticide and a drug, hence increasing the risk of contamination of water supplies. Its intensive use for vector control has led to pollutions in soil and water. Paraoxon is very toxic, with an LD50 of 2 to 30 mg/kg in rats. It can be metabolized in the body from parathion; thus, exposure can lead to serious health effects. In this study, zero valent iron (Fe°/ZVI NPs) nanoparticles were synthesized and investigated for the degradation of Paraoxon, a chemical warfare agent and insecticide, in an aqueous solution. The effects of solution pH, initial pollutant concentration, ZVI NPs dosage and contact time on mineralization efficiency were examined. Batch experiments demonstrated that 15 mg L−1 of Paraoxon was mineralized at degradation efficiencies of 75.9%, 63.9% and 48.9% after three-hour treatment with 6.0, 4.0 and 2.0% w/v Fe°, respectively. The calculated kinetic rate constant kobs was 0.4791 h−1, 0.4519 h−1 and 0.4175 h−1 after treating 10, 15 and 20 mg L−1 of Paraoxon solution with 6.0% w/v Fe, respectively. The degradation dynamics were described by the first-order kinetic law as evidenced by rate constants independent of the initial Paraoxon concentration. The degradation efficiency was strongly dependent on pH, increasing with a decrease in pH, with maximum removal at pH 4. p-nitrophenol was detected as a degradation product, suggesting cleavage of the O-P bond and hydrolysis as possible reaction processes. This study showed that Fe° particles have the potential for degrading Paraoxon

Reduction of Hexavalent Chromium Using Naturally-Derived Flavonoids

Quercetin is a naturally occurring flavonoid that is known to form complexes with metals; a process that reduces the environmental availability of toxic metals such as chromium. We hereby report the first evidence of the removal of Cr­(VI) from environmental samples using quercetin (QCR) and two synthetic derivatives: namely quercetin pentaphosphate (QPP) and quercetin sulfonic acid (QSA). We successfully synthesized both QPP and QSA using simple procedures while characterizing them with UV-vis spectroscopy, H¹-NMR, ¹³C NMR, ³¹P-NMR, and LC-MS techniques. The solubility of QPP was found to be 840 mg/mL and aqueous solutions of both QPP and QSA were stable for over a period of 1 year. Quercetin and these derivatives were subsequently utilized for the reduction of Cr­(VI) and QCR was found to have a higher reduction efficiency of 99.8% (30 min), followed by QPP/palladium nanoparticles mixture (PdNPs) at 96.5% (60 min), and finally QSA/PdNPs mixtures at 91.7% (60 min). PdNPs catalyst increased the efficiency by ∼36.5% while a change in operating temperature from 25 to 45 °C improved the efficiency by ∼46.8%. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to confirm the presence of Cr (III) in the reaction products. This reduction approach was validated in environmental (Binghamton University) BU and standard reference material (BRS) soil samples. Results showed that the analysis could be completed within one hour and the efficiency was higher in BU soil than in BRS soil by 16.1%. QPP registered the highest % atom economy of 94.6%. This indicates enhanced performance compared to bioremediation approach that requires several months to achieve about 90% reduction efficiency

GeneTerpret: a customizable multilayer approach to genomic variant prioritization and interpretation

Abstract Background Variant interpretation is the main bottleneck in medical genomic sequencing efforts. This usually involves genome analysts manually searching through a multitude of independent databases, often with the aid of several, mostly independent, computational tools. To streamline variant interpretation, we developed the GeneTerpret platform which collates data from current interpretation tools and databases, and applies a phenotype-driven query to categorize the variants identified in the genome(s). The platform assigns quantitative validity scores to genes by query and assembly of the genotype–phenotype data, sequence homology, molecular interactions, expression data, and animal models. It also uses the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) criteria to categorize variants into five tiers of pathogenicity. The final output is a prioritized list of potentially causal variants/genes. Results We tested GeneTerpret by comparing its performance to expert-curated genes (ClinGen’s gene-validity database) and variant pathogenicity reports (DECIPHER database). Output from GeneTerpret was 97.2% and 83.5% concordant with the expert-curated sources, respectively. Additionally, similar concordance was observed when GeneTerpret’s performance was compared with our internal expert-interpreted clinical datasets. Conclusions GeneTerpret is a flexible platform designed to streamline the genome interpretation process, through a unique interface, with improved ease, speed and accuracy. This modular and customizable system allows the user to tailor the component-programs in the analysis process to their preference. GeneTerpret is available online at https://geneterpret.com

Microbial Translocation Does Not Drive Immune Activation in Ugandan Children Infected With HIV

International audienc