Plant Growth-Promoting Microbes from Herbal Vermicompost

Overreliance on chemical pesticides and fertilizers has resulted in problems including safety risks, outbreaks of secondary pests normally held in check by natural enemies, insecticide resistance, environmental contamination, and decrease in biodiversity. The increasing costs and negative effects of pesticides and fertilizers necessitate the idea of biological options of crop protection and production. This includes the use of animal manure, crop residues, microbial inoculum, and composts. They provide natural nutrition, reduce the use of inorganic fertilizers, develop biodiversity, increase soil biological activity, maintain soil physical properties, and improve environmental health

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Early clinical manifestations and laboratory findings before and after treatment of cytomegalovirus infection in kidney transplant patients

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the most frequently encountered opportunistic viral pathogens in kidney transplant recipients. In this study, we retrospectively reviewed all living related and unrelated kidney transplant recipients on regular follow-up from January 2006 to June 2015, who were suspected to have CMV clinically and confirmed by DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR). CMV PCR was detected in 102 kidney transplant recipients. The median time of detection after kidney transplant was 21 months, ranging from 15 days to 84 months. There were 58 male and 44 female patients. The induction immunosuppression in living related kidney transplants was with antithymocyte globulin or basiliximab, whereas the most common maintenance immunosuppressive regimen was with cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil, and prednisolone. Most of the transplant recipients were asymptomatic at the time of detection of CMV PCR (67%). Fever, mainly low grade, was the main presentation in 16% of patients, followed by diarrhea (15%) and pneumonitis (2%). The most common hematological abnormality was lymphopenia seen in 46% of patients, followed by anemia (40%) and thrombocytopenia (14%). The common biochemical abnormalities found were elevated alanine aminotransaminase (18%) and hyperbilirubinemia (9%). The serum creatinine was found to be above baseline in 72% of patients. All patients with CMV infection were treated with intravenous ganciclovir, 2.5–5 mg/kg q 12 hourly, according to creatinine clearance, for 21 days. The treatment was successful in all but two patients, who died during the treatment period. There was a significant improvement in the kidney and liver functions after successful treatment of CMV infection. Our study shows that CMV infection should be considered in a patient presenting with unexplained rise in serum creatinine, low-grade fever, diarrhea, or anemia. A significant improvement in kidney and liver functions was observed after successful treatment of the infection

Effects of Braid Angle and Material Modulus on the Negative Poisson’s Ratio of Braided Auxetic Yarns

Fibers and textiles are ubiquitous in our daily lives, with mechanical properties that match the design specifications for the task for which they are intended; the development of yarns with a negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) is a hot topic of current research, owing to their potential for use in high-performance textiles (e.g., military, sports, etc.). This study described a simple approach to constructing braided, helically interlaced yarns. When a torque is applied, the yarns prevent the wrapped component from dislodging from the core. The geometry and auxetic behavior of the braided helical structure was analyzed for two different combinations of core materials with similar wrap materials and different braiding angles. Two elastomeric materials (polyurethane (PU) and polyester) served as monofilament cores, while two stiffer multifilament wrap yarns (ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET)) served as wrap yarns. In addition, the behavior of yarns braided at seven different angles was investigated to determine the materials’ response to the applied braided configuration’s NPR. The NPR was influenced by the core and wrap materials used and the braiding angle. The NPR value was greater for a core comprising more excellent elasticity (e.g., PU versus polyester); a smaller wrap angle and a slower braiding speed also led to a higher NPR value. The maximum NPR value of −1.70 was obtained using a PU core wrapped at a 9° angle and a strain value of 0.5