Changing trends in the clinical profile of childhood in tuberculosis patients -at a tertiary centre

The aim: To study the clinical profile of childhood tuberculosis in the age group of 6 months to 12 years. Materials and methods: This сross-sectional study was conducted on patients of tuberculosis who were admitted for treatment. A total of 75 patients were enrolled in the study who are of age group: 6 months to 12 years and Stengen score>3. Results: Approximately 50 % of the study population was under 5 years. 39 % belonged to the age group of 8–12 years. The male-to-female ratio was 1:1.02. 36 % of the study population belonged to the lower class. 33.33 % of the study population belonged to the middle class. One-quarter of the patients were not malnourished. Among the ones who were malnourished, 36 % belonged to Grade I, and 53.33 % had a Stengen score of 5–6. 46.66 % had a Stengen score of 46.66 %. Acid Fast Bacilli in 1.33 %, 18.66 % had tubercle present, 82.66 % had Mantoux positive, which was >10mm, and 62.66 % of them had suggestive radiology of tuberculosis, where the fever was present in 90 % of the study population. Fever with <2 weeks duration was present in 52 %, and the rest had a fever for more than two weeks. Cough was present in 77 % of the study population. Weight loss was present in 37.33 %. 22.66 % had pulmonary tuberculosis, and 77.33 % had extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Among extrapulmonary tuberculosis, lymphadenopathy was the common manifestation. It was present among 40 % of the study population. It includes cervical lymphadenopathy among 24 %, axillary lymph node involvement among 12 %, Sub mandibular lymph node among 2.66 % and supra clavicular in 1.33 %. The other manifestations of extrapulmonary tuberculosis include pleural effusion, the second most common one present among 29.33 % of the study population. Conclusion: There is an urgent need for a systematic approach to determining the prevalence and incidence of M. tuberculosis infection among children. This has to become the cornerstone of TB control and of assessing the change in the trend of infection over time in the community until it reaches the required goa

Control of Surface Functional Groups on Pertechntate Sorption on Activated Carbon

{sup 99}Tc is highly soluble and poorly adsorbed by natural materials under oxidizing conditions, thus being of particular concern for radioactive waste disposal. Activated carbon can potentially be used as an adsorbent for removing Tc from aqueous solutions. We have tested six commercial activated carbon materials for their capabilities for sorption of pertechnetate (TcO{sub 4}{sup -}). The tested materials can be grouped into two distinct types: Type I materials have high sorption capabilities with the distribution coefficients (K{sub d}) varying from 9.5 x 10{sup 5} to 3.2 x 10{sup 3} mL/g as the pH changes from 4.5 to 9.5, whereas type II materials have relatively low sorption capabilities with K{sub d} remaining more or less constant (1.1 x 10{sup 3} - 1.8 x 10{sup 3} mL/g) over a similar pH range. The difference in sorption behavior between the two types of materials is attributed to the distribution of surface functional groups. The predominant surface groups are identified to be carboxylic and phenolic groups. The carboxylic group can be further divided into three subgroups A, B, and C in the order of increasing acidity. The high sorption capabilities of type I materials are found to be caused by the presence of a large fraction of carboxylic subgroups A and B, while the low sorption capabilities of type II materials are due to the exclusive presence of phenolic and carboxylic subgroup C. Therefore, the performance of activated carbon for removing TcO{sub 4}{sup -} can be improved by enhancing the formation of carboxylic subgroups A and B during material processing

Separation and purification of curcumin using novel aqueous two-phase micellar systems composed of amphiphilic copolymer and cholinium ionic liquids

Novel aqueous two-phase micellar systems (ATPMS) composed of Pluronic F68, a triblock amphiphilic copolymer, and cholinium-based ionic liquids (ILs) were formulated and applied for separation/purification of curcumin (CCM). CCM stability in the presence of ATPMS components was also evaluated. CCM is stable up to 24 h in copolymer (1.0 10.0 wt%) and ILs (0.1 3.0 M) aqueous solutions. Very mild phase separation conditions (close to room temperature) were achieved by adding cholinium ILs to the Pluronic F68 + McIlvaine buffer at pH 6.0 solution. The decrease of cloud-point temperature is dependent on the relative hydrophobicity of IL anion, [Hex] > [But] > [Prop] > [Ac] > Cl. ATPMS composed of more hydrophobic ILs ([Ch][Hex] > [Ch][But] > [Ch][Prop]) are most efficient in the partition of commercial CCM into polymeric micelles-rich phase. The best ATPMS (0.70 M [Ch][But] and 0.60 M [Ch][Hex]-based ATPMS) were then used to purify CCM from a crude extract of Curcuma longa L. Both systems were very selective to separate CCM from protein-based contaminants (selectivity values 25; purification yields 12-fold). Pluronic F68-based ATPMS are promising for selective separation of hydrophobic biomolecules by using cholinium-based ILs as adjuvants to adjust phase separation temperatures and biomolecules partition.This study was funded by the Coordination for Higher Level Graduate Improvements (CAPES/Brazil, finance code 001), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq/Brazil) and the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP/Brazil, processes #2014/16424-7, #2017/10789-1, #2018/10799-0, #2018/05111-9; #2019/05624-9, and #2019/08549-8). A.M. Lopes and J.F.B. Pereira are grateful for the language revision of native speaker H.S. Pacheco Neto.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio