Source and Control of Hydrocarbon Pollution

Hydrocarbon contamination is of great worry because of their widespread effect on all forms of life. Pollution caused by increasing the use of crude oil is ordinary because of its extensive application and its related transport and dumping problems. Crude oil contains a complex mixture of aliphatic, aromatic, and heterocyclic compounds. Soil naturally consists of heavy metals, and due to human action like refining of oil and use of pesticides, their concentration in soil is rising. Several areas have such high heavy metal and metalloid concentration that surrounding natural ecosystem has been badly affected. The reason is that heavy metals and metalloids limit microbe’s activity rendering it unsuitable for hydrocarbon degradation, thus reducing its effectiveness. Environmental remediation is thus extremely necessary and involves with the elimination of pollutants from soil, air, and water. In the last several decades, different methods have been employed and applied for the cleanup of our environment which includes mechanical, chemical, and biochemical remediation methods. The hydrocarbon pollution consists of many aspects like oil spills, fossil fuels, organic pollutants like aromatics, etc. that are discussed below

Sine Cosine Algorithm for Optimization

This open access book serves as a compact source of information on sine cosine algorithm (SCA) and a foundation for developing and advancing SCA and its applications. SCA is an easy, user-friendly, and strong candidate in the field of metaheuristics algorithms. Despite being a relatively new metaheuristic algorithm, it has achieved widespread acceptance among researchers due to its easy implementation and robust optimization capabilities. Its effectiveness and advantages have been demonstrated in various applications ranging from machine learning, engineering design, and wireless sensor network to environmental modeling. The book provides a comprehensive account of the SCA, including details of the underlying ideas, the modified versions, various applications, and a working MATLAB code for the basic SCA

Malnutrition among under Five Children in Uttarakhand

BACKGROUND: Globally more than one third of child deaths are attributable to under nutrition. Eighty percent of the world’s undernourished children live in 20 countries, with India being home to nearly 60 million children who are underweight. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess malnutrition among under five children in a selected hospital of Dehradun, Uttarakhand. METHODOLOGY: A quantitative research approach was used with descriptive cross-sectional research design. Non probability convenient sampling technique was used to select 70 under five children who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The data collection tools included Socio -demographic profile and Anthropometric assessment of the children. The data was analyzed based on objectives by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Data was analyzed using WHO anthroplus software and SPSS 21.0. RESULT: The result showed that out of 70 children 17.14% showed mild wasting, 18.57% showed moderate wasting and (21.43%) showed severe wasting. 11.43% children showed mild stunting, moderate stunting was present in 15.71% children and severe stunting was present in 27.14% children. 31.43% children were moderately underweight and 30% were severely underweight. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that majority of the children were malnourished

Open Access Extracts from Acacia catechu suppress HIV-1 replication by inhibiting the activities of the viral

Background: Acacia catechu (Mimosa family) stem bark extracts have been used traditionally as a dietary supplement as well as a folk medicine given its reported anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anti-microbial and anti-tumor activities. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the anti-HIV-1 activity of the extracts from stem bark of A. catechu. Methods: The aqueous and 50 % ethanolic extracts of A. catechu stem bark were prepared and 50 % ethanolic extract was further fractioned by successively partitioning with petroleum ether, chloroform and n-butanol. All the extracts and fractions were evaluated for cytotoxicity and anti-HIV-1 activity using different in vitro assays. The active n-butanol fraction was evaluated for its inhibition against HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, integrase, protease, pro-viral genome integration and viral Tat protein mediated transactivation. The effect of n-butanol fraction on the induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines secretion in Vk2/E6E7 cells and transepithelial resistance in Caco-2 and HEC-1A cells was investigated. Results: The aqueous and 50 % ethanolic extracts of A. catechu showed IC50 values of 1.8 ± 0.18 μg/ml and 3.6 ± 0.31 μg/ml, respectively in cell-free virus based assay using TZM-bl cells and HIV-1NL4.3 (X-4 tropic). In the above assay, n-butanol fraction exhibited anti-HIV-1 activity with an IC50 of 1.7 ± 0.12 μg/ml. The n-butanol fractio

Extent of Nitrate and Nitrite Pollution in Ground Water of Rural Areas of Lucknow, U.P., India

The present world is facing problems with a wide variety of pollutants. Water pollution is a major global problem. It has been suggested that it is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily in Lucknow Capital of Uttar Pradesh in India.Nitrate and Nitrite pollution is one of groundwater’s most commonly identified contaminants, an indicator of serious pollution as they are associated with septic waste and agricultural endeavours, leads to numerous health problems to human beings and animals.4 rural areas of Lucknow were selected and 15 samples from each station to check the level of nitrite and nitrate parameters in groundwater. Further our studies reveal that the extent of nitrate and nitrite varied with reference to sampled site and maximum nitrate was found to be 250.224 and maximum nitrite was 1.8998 both are high

Traditional and ethnobotanical uses of plants in Bhagirathi Valley (Western Himalaya)

7-19The local inhabitants in the upper catchment of river Bhagirathi, Garhwal Himalaya have inherited a rich traditional knowledge on the use of wild plants. This knowledge appears to be eroding gradually owing to rapid changes in socio-economics and lifestyle. The traditional knowledge of local people on the use of wild plants in their social, cultural and economic milieu has been studied and documented. Local people had information on uses of 211 wild plant species, which is discussed here

Reirradiation with IMRT for recurrent head and neck cancer: A single-institutional report on disease control, survival, and toxicity

AimTo study and explores the feasibility and efficacy of re-irradiation (Re-RT) for locally recurrent head and neck cancer (HNC) and second primary (SP) malignancies.BackgroundThe most common form of treatment failure after radiotherapy (RT) for HNC is loco-regional recurrence (LRR), and around 20–50% of patients develop LRR. Re-irradiation (Re-RT) has been the primary standard of care in the last decade for unresectable locally recurrent/SP HNC.Materials and methodsIt was a retrospective analysis in which we reviewed the medical records of 51 consecutive patients who had received Re-RT to the head and neck region at our institute between 2006 and 2015.ResultsForty-eight patients were included for assessment of acute and late toxicities, response evaluation at 3 months post Re-RT, and analyses of locoregional control (LRC) and overall survival (OS). The median LRC was 11.2 months, and at 2 and 5 years the LRC rates were 41% and 21.2%, respectively. A multivariate analysis revealed two factors: initial surgical resection performed prior to Re-RT, and achievement of CR at 3 months after completion of Re-RT to be significantly associated with a better median LRC. The median OS was 28.2 months, and at 1, 2, and 5 years, OS were 71.1%, 55.9% and 18%, respectively. A multivariate analysis revealed initial surgical resection performed prior to Re-RT, and achievement of CR at 3 months post completion of Re-RT being only two factors significantly associated with a better median OS. Acute toxicity reports showed that no patients developed grade 5 toxicity, and 2 patients developed grade 4 acute toxicities.ConclusionRe-RT for the treatment of recurrent/SP head and neck tumors is feasible and effective, with acceptable toxicity. However, appropriate patient selection criteria are highly important in determining survival and treatment outcomes

Utilization and incorporation of tumor volume data in staging and prognostication of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with definitive radiotherapy: A systematic review

Head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCC) are a group of heterogeneous tumors, evident by their diverse behavior and natural history. The largest diameter of tumor measured for T classification may not necessarily reflect the true tumor dimension. There is a need to take into account certain other feature(s) of these tumors other than the maximum single dimension which can reflect the true tumor burden more accurately. Tumor volume has been shown to be a useful and accurate tool burden because it is a measurement of tumor burden in all three dimensions. This review article has compiled and reviewed the literature published in past on impact of tumor volumes (TVs) on the prognosis of head and neck cancers. A comprehensive literature search was performed in PubMed for terms “clonogens,” “TV” or “primary TV (PTV)” or “nodal volume” or “total TV (TTV)” or “volumetric analysis of TV in head and neck” or “predicting response in head and neck cancer” “prognostic factors head and neck cancers” and “outcome in head and neck cancer.” We identified 33 studies which have commented on the impact of TV in HNSCC on treatment outcome, 9 of these had analyzed PTV, 11 studies had analyzed total nodal volume, and 14 studies have analyzed TTV. Besides these, we have dealt with laryngeal cancers separately with 9 studies. This review article is also aimed to enhance our knowledge further regarding how best a physician can incorporate TV data in staging and predicting response to radiotherapy

Tumour volumes: Predictors of early treatment response in locally advanced head and neck cancers treated with definitive chemoradiation

AimTo analyse and predict early response 3 months post definitive chemoradiation (CCRT) utilising tumour volume (TV) measurement in locally advanced head and neck cancers (LAHNC).BackgroundLAHNC are 3-dimentional lesions. The largest diameter of these tumours measured for T-classification may not necessarily reflect the true tumour dimensions. TV accurately reflects the tumour burden because it is a measurement of tumour burden in all three dimensions.Materials and methodsIt is a single institutional prospective study including 101 patients with LAHNC treated with definitive CCRT. TV data noted were primary tumour volume (PTV), total nodal volume (TNV) and total tumour volume (TTV). Response evaluation was done at 3 months after the completion of definitive CCRT and patients were categorised either having achieved complete response (CR) or residual disease.ResultsPatients who had not achieved CR were found to have larger TV compared with those who had achieved CR. There were significant inverse correlations between PTV and response (median 16.37[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]cm3 vs. 45.2[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]cm3; p[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]=[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]0.001), and between TTV and response (median 36.14[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]cm3 vs. 66.06[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]cm3; p[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]

Dosimetric impact of setup errors in head and neck cancer patients treated by image-guided radiotherapy

To assess and analyze the impact of setup uncertainties on target volume coverage and doses to organs at risk (OAR) in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients treated by image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT). Translational setup errors in 25 HNC patients were observed by kilovoltage cone beam computed tomography (kV CBCT). Two plans were generated. Plan one – the original plan which was the initially optimized and approved plan of the patient. All patients were treated according to their respective approved plans at a defined isocenter. Plan two – the plan sum which was the sum of all plans recalculated at a different isocenter according to setup errors in x, y, and z-direction. Plan sum was created to evaluate doses that would have been received by planning target volume (PTV) and OARs if setup errors were not corrected. These 2 plans were analyzed and compared in terms of target volume coverage and doses to OARs. A total 503 kV CBCT images were acquired for evaluation of setup errors in 25 HNC patients. The systematic (mean) and random errors (standard deviation) combined for 25 patients in x, y, and z directions were 0.15 cm, 0.21 cm, and 0.19 cm and 0.09 cm, 0.12 cm, and 0.09 cm, respectively. The study showed that there was a significant difference in PTV coverage between 2 plans. The doses to various OARs showed a nonsignificant increase in the plan sum. The correction of translational setup errors is essential for IGRT treatment in terms of delivery of planned optimal doses to target volume