Metal ion complexation of hydrophilic polymeric amino ligands derived from tetraethyleneglycol diacrylate (TTEGDA)-crosslinked polyacrylamides

Complexation behaviour of amino ligands supported on polyacrylamides with 2–20 mol% of tetraethyleneglycol diacrylate crosslinks was investigated towards Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Hg(II) ions. The metal ion intake was dependent on the extent of crosslinking and followed the order: Hg(II) > Cu(II) > Zn(II) > Ni(II) > Co(II). The aminopolyacrylamides and their metal complexes were characterised by IR and EPR techniques. The absorptions of the ligands were shifted by complexation with metal ions and the EPR spectrum suggested distorted tetragonal geometry for the Cu(II) complex. The thermogravimetric analysis of the metal complexes revealed a pattern of variation of thermal stability on incorporation of metal ions. The kinetics and adsorption parameters of complexation, swelling characteristics, recyclability and specificity of metal-desorbed systems are also described

Metal complexation of crosslinked polyacrylamide-supported dithiocarbamates: effect of the molecular character and extent of crosslinking on complexation

Dithiocarbamate functions were incorporated into different polyacrylamide matrices crosslinked with a flexible and hydrophilic crosslinking agent, tetraethyleneglycol diacrylate (TEGDA), and their complexation behaviours were investigated. Crosslinked polyacrylamides with varying extents of the tetrafunctional TEGDA crosslinks were prepared by free radical solution polymerization at 60°C using potassium persulphate as initiator in ethanol. The dithiocarbamate functionality was incorporated into these polyacrylamides by a two-step polymer-analogous reaction involving (i)trans-amidation with ethylenediamine and (ii) dithiocarbamylation of the aminopolyacrylamide with carbon disulphide and alkali. The complexations of dithiocarbamate with Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), Co(II) and Hg(II) ions were followed under different conditions. The metal ion intake varied with the extent of the crosslinking agent and the observed trend in complexation is Hg(II) >Cu(II)>Zn(II)>Co(II)> Ni (II). The time-course of complexation, the possibility of recycling, swelling characteristics, and spectral and thermal analyses were carried out. The thermal stability increases upon complexation with metal ions

Marine fisheries of the south-east coast of India during 2009 - 2010

The south-east region consisting of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry is spread over a coastal length of 2,050 km and as per the Marine Fisheries Census 2010, this region has 785 landing centres, 1,168 marine fishing villages, 3.7 lakh fishermen families and 14.63 lakh fisher folk. The estimate of total marine fish landings in 2009 for the south-east region was 8,05,295 t accounting for 25.1% of the total marine fish landings in the country

Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) among Tuberculosis Patients: A Study from Chennai, South India

BACKGROUND: Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) among tuberculosis (TB) patients are associated with nonadherence and poor treatment outcomes. Studies from Tuberculosis Research Centre (TRC), Chennai have reported that alcoholism has been one of the major reasons for default and mortality in under the DOTS programme in South India. Hence, it is planned to conduct a study to estimate prevalence of alcohol use and AUDs among TB patients attending the corporation health centres in Chennai, India. METHODOLOGY: This is a cross-sectional cohort study covering 10 corporation zones at Chennai and it included situational assessment followed by screening of TB patients by a WHO developed Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test AUDIT scale. Four zones were randomly selected and all TB patients treated during July to September 2009 were screened with AUDIT scale for alcohol consumption. RESULTS: Out of 490 patients, 66% were males, 66% were 35 years and above, 57% were married, 58% were from the low monthly income group of <Rs 5000 per month. No females reported alcohol use. Overall, out of 490 TB pts, 29% (141) were found to consume alcohol. Among 141 current drinkers 52% (73) had an AUDIT score of >8. Age (>35 years), education (less educated), income (<Rs 5000 per month), marital status (separated/divorced) and treatment category (Category 2) were statistically significant for TB patients with alcohol use than those TB patients without alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS: AUD among TB patients needs to be addressed urgently and the findings suggest the importance of integrating alcohol treatment into TB care

Challenges and opportunities in mixed method data collection on mental health issues of health care workers during COVID-19 pandemic in India

Background: The present paper describes the key challenges and opportunities of mixed method telephonic data collection for mental health research using field notes and the experiences of the investigators in a multicenter study in ten sites of India. The study was conducted in public and private hospitals to understand the mental health status, social stigma and coping strategies of different healthcare personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.Methods: Qualitative and quantitative interviews were conducted telephonically. The experiences of data collection were noted as a field notes/diary by the data collectors and principal investigators.Results: The interviewers reported challenges such as network issues, lack of transfer of visual cues and sensitive content of data. Although the telephonic interviews present various challenges in mixed method data collection, it can be used as an alternative to face-to-face data collection using available technology.Conclusions: It is important that the investigators are well trained keeping these challenges in mind so that their capacity is built to deal with these challenges and good quality data is obtained

Factors associated with stigma and manifestations experienced by Indian health care workers involved in COVID-19 management in India: A qualitative study

Healthcare personnel who deal with COVID-19 experience stigma. There is a lack of national-level representative qualitative data to study COVID-19-related stigma among healthcare workers in India. The present study explores factors associated with stigma and manifestations experienced by Indian healthcare workers involved in COVID-19 management. We conducted in-depth interviews across 10 centres in India, which were analysed using NVivo software version 12. Thematic and sentiment analysis was performed to gain deep insights into the complex phenomenon by categorising the qualitative data into meaningful and related categories. Healthcare workers (HCW) usually addressed the stigma they encountered when doing their COVID duties under the superordinate theme of stigma. Among them, 77.42% said they had been stigmatised in some way. Analyses revealed seven interrelated themes surrounding stigma among healthcare workers. It can be seen that the majority of the stigma and coping sentiments fall into the mixed category, followed by the negative sentiment category. This study contributes to our understanding of stigma and discrimination in low- and middle-income settings. Our data show that the emergence of fear of the virus has quickly turned into a stigma against healthcare workers

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Efiect of natural antioxidant sources on the quality upgradation of processed products from Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta)

School of Industrial Fisheries, Cochin University of Science and Technolog

Tailoring of nanostructured material as an electrochemical sensor and sorbent for toxic Cd(II) ions from various real samples

Abstract The aim of the present study is the fabrication of electrochemical sensor and sorbent for toxic Cd(II) ion using ion-imprinting technique on vinyl-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotube. Multiwalled carbon nanotube-based ion-imprinted polymer (MWCNT-IIP) were synthesized using meth acrylic acid as the functional monomer, N,N′methylene-bis-acrylamide as the cross linking agent, and potassium peroxo disulphate as an initiator. The template and porogen used were cadmium chloride and water. To know the importance of MWCNT, ion-imprinted polymer without MWCNT was also prepared. For the purpose of comparison, non-imprinted polymers were also synthesized. The synthesized products were analyzed by FT-IR, XRD, TEM, EDAX, and TGA. An electrochemical sensor was made up by modifying platinum electrode with MWCNT-IIP. Experimental factors that control the routine of the sensor were investigated and optimized. Under optimal conditions, a calibration curve was obtained with a detection limit of 0.03 μM by using differential pulse voltammetric technique. Selectivity studies show irrelevant significance with Zn (II), Cu (II), and Ni (II) ions. The feasibility of modified platinum electrode shows a prospective application in real water sample collected from a lake, pigments, cosmetics, and fertilizers. The synthesized nanostructured material is also used for the extraction of Cd(II) ion from real water samples. The maximum adsorption of Cd(II) by various imprinted and non-imprinted sorbents was calculated, and it was found that maximum adsorption takes place at pH 6. The kinetic studies show that the adsorption of Cd(II) increases with time and reaches equilibrium at 70 min and the kinetic data follow pseudo-second-order kinetics. The adsorption data fitted to the Langmuir adsorption model which confirms the monolayer formation of an IIP layer on MWCNT surface. The selectivity co-efficient of the imprinted sorbent shows high selectivity and specificity towards Cd(II) ion than other metal ions