Groundwater Contamination Monitoring for Pollution Measurement and Transmission Applying WQI Approaches from a Region of the Erode District, Tamilnadu, India

The present research deals with the Risk assessment of groundwater quality. 79 groundwater samples were collected from domestic and agricultural usage open and bore wells during January 2021(COVID-19 Pandemic Period). Groundwater samples were tested to determine the physicochemical parameters using standard testing procedure for the preparation of spatial distribution maps of each parameter based on the World Health Organization (WHO) standard. Multivariate statistical analysis has shown the source of groundwater pollution from secondary leaching of chemical weathering of rocks. From the Water Quality Index and bivariate plot reveals that less than 20% of the area comes under high and very high-risk zone. The types of hardness diagram showed 32.91% of the samples fall in hard brackish water as illustrated by the Piper trilinear diagram. The research outcome result shows that the least percentage of industrials effluents due to the COVID-19 pandemic, not working for all industries during lock down period.

The effect of coronavirus disease 2019 severity on male sexual functions among patients on follow-up after hospital discharge

Objectives Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has infected millions of people worldwide with extensive affection and damage to body systems and organs;hence, the study of post-coronavirus disease (COVID) sequences is mandatory. Till now, reports are upcoming on the considerable effects of COVID-19 on male sexual health with no final data. Patients and Methods: Our cohort study included 76 male COVID-19-infected patients, confirmed positive via nasopharyngeal PCR swab. The rationale of this study was to estimate the influence of clinical, laboratory, and radiological severity parameters of COVID-19 on male erectile dysfunction based on erectile scores and male sex hormones (follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, testosterone, and estradiol). Result(s): Our results have demonstrated a highly statistically significant correlation between COVID-19 severity (mild, moderate, and severe cases) and both erectile scores (erection hardness score and International Index of Erectile Dysfunction-5) and testosterone hormones at first and third month after COVID (P0.001), except for testosterone level at third month and COVID-19 severity, which showed a statistically significant difference, with P value of 0.031. Conclusion(s): The current study correlated the effect of COVID-19 severity in the terms of clinical, laboratory, and radiological presentations on male sexual dysfunction (erectile scores and testosterone hormone) at first and third month after hospital discharge, with statistical significance being highly affected in severe rather than moderate and mild cases. This strengthens the obvious effect of COVID-19 infection on male sexual dysfunction. Copyright © 2023 The Egyptian Journal of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis.

Eosinophilic fasciitis triggered by intensive exercise

A 59-year-old white female who was previously fit and well, developed gradual tightening and thickening of the skin on her forearms progressing to the abdomen, chest and lower legs associated with restricted movement. She also noticed bruise-like patches on her trunk. There were no systemic symptoms and no history of Raynaud syndrome. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, the patient had engaged in increasing amounts of exercise compared with normal;this included yoga once weekly for 75 min, high-intensity interval training for 20 min on alternate days, running three times weekly for 45 min, lifting 2.5 kg weights for the arms every day and regular long walks. Examination showed a 'groove' sign on her forearms and a peau d'orange appearance of the skin with a woody induration and hardness on palpation. Symmetrical and circumferential involvement on the forearms and lower legs and bruise-like indurated patches on the abdomen were noted. Differential diagnoses included eosinophilic fasciitis (EF), morphoea, EF/morphoea overlap, scleroderma, scleromyxoedema and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. Blood investigations showed an eosinophilia of 1.2 x 109 cells L-1, erythrocyte sedimentation rate of 31 mm h-1, a C-reactive protein of 20 mg L-1 and negative autoimmune and viral serology. She underwent two incisional biopsies down to fascia. The first was taken from the back, which showed an interstitial inflammatory cell infiltrate composed of lymphocytes, plasma cells and very occasional eosinophils. The subcutaneous septa were minimally thickened. The second biopsy taken from the left forearm showed striking thickening of the subcutaneous septa, with an associated inflammatory cell infiltrate, composed predominantly of lymphocytes and plasma cells. This process was deeper and more established than that seen in the biopsy from the trunk. The appearances were clearly those of a sclerosing process of the dermis and subcutis and consistent with eosinophilic fasciitis. Our diagnosis was EF with morphoea overlap and she was treated with oral methotrexate 15 mg weekly and oral prednisolone 50 mg once daily (weight 60 kg), reducing the dose by 5 mg every 2 weeks. An 80% improvement was seen in functionality within 3 months, but the skin remained tight and thickened and therefore the patient was referred for phototherapy [ultraviolet A 1 (UVA1)] as combination therapy. We present a rare case of EF, which appears to have been triggered by intensive exercise. Other causes include insect bites, radiation, infections (Mycoplasma and Borrelia) and paraneoplastic. Haematological associations have been seen, including aplastic anaemia and lymphoma. Treatment options for EF include prednisolone, UVA1/psoralen + UVA, immunosuppressive systemic agents (including ciclosporin and methotrexate), biological agents (including infliximab and rituximab) and physiotherapy.

Advanced in-vitro test setup for valved holding chambers with pediatric facemasks

Due to the non-pharmacological interventions to control the COVID-19 pandemic increased and more severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections occurred worldwide due to the inadequate training of the immune system in small children. As viral infections are associated with the exacerbation of childhood wheezing and asthma, safe and efficient inhalation therapy in asthmatic children is essential. PARI has developed an advanced high-repeatability test set-up for pMDI with valved holding chamber (VHC) and masks to investigate therapy efficiency. The study presents the aerosol performance of budesonide (BUD) and salbutamol (SAL) pMDIs with PARI's VORTEX and masks according to USP <1602>. A standardized setup and methodology mimicking clinically relevant conditions with minimized operator variability as used in this study is key for realistic VHC testing. Tests were performed using VORTEXwith Babymask Ladybug (0-2 yrs.) or Childmask Frog (2-4 yrs.) and ageappropriate baby and child face models. Both models mimic facial geometry and tissue softness and were connected to a next generation impactor. VORTEXand pMDIs (Sutanol, GSK;Budiair, Chiesi) were mounted in an automated shake-and-fire setup and applied with a contact force of 16 N. Tests were carried out with validated HPLC analysis (n=12). Fine particle dose (FPD, <5mum) was more than doubled for VORTEXwith Babymask Ladybug (FPD=22.4%) and Childmask Frog (FPD=23.8%) compared to pMDI alone (FPD=10.9%) for BUD and increased by =30% for SAL. Throat deposition of both active substances nebulized using VORTEX+ mask was reduced to <0.3% compared to >60% for pMDIs alone. Mask size does not influence the performance of the aerosol significantly.

Evaluation of Some Quality Parameters of Five brands of Cetirizine Hydrochloride Tablets Marketed in Abuja, Nigeria

Cetirizine Hydrochloride is a non-drowsy second-generation antihistamine and a derivative of piperazine with a half-life of eleven hours. It is used to relieve allergy symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, rhinitis, urticaria and watery eyes. It is a key adjuvant therapy in management of some covid-19 related symptoms. To assess the quality of five brands of Cetirizine hydrochloride 10mg tablets marketed in Abuja. The weight variation, friability, hardness, disintegration, dissolution tests and HPLC assay were evaluated using USP methods. The hardness and friability of the samples ranged from 2.03kgF to 7.54KgF and 0.00 to 0.90% respectively. The disintegration time were within 5mins, for dissolution, 80.0 to 103.3% of the API in the samples were released within 30mins, the assay ranged from 93.1 to 101.6%. The cetirizine tablets conformed with quality standards. Copyright © 2007 The authors.

Effect of Mouthwashes for COVID-19 Prevention on Surface Changes of Resin Composites.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of various mouthwashes for COVID-19 prevention on surface hardness, roughness, and colour changes of bulk-fill and conventional resin composites and determine the pH and titratable acidity of mouthwashes. METHODS: Four hundred eighty specimens were fabricated in cylindrical moulds (10 mm in diameter and 2 mm in thickness). Before immersion, baseline data of surface hardness, roughness, and colour values were recorded. Each product of specimens (Filtek Z350XT, Premise, Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative, SonicFil 2) were divided into 4 groups for 0.2% povidone iodine, 1% hydrogen peroxide, 0.12% chlorhexidine, and deionised water (serving as a control). The specimens were immersed in mouthwashes for 1 minute and then stored in artificial saliva until 24 hours. This process was repeated for 14 days. After immersion, surface hardness, roughness, and colour values of specimens were measured at 7 and 14 days. The data were statistically analysed by 2-way repeated analysis of variance, Tukey honestly significant difference, and t test (P < .05). RESULTS: After immersion, all mouthwashes caused significantly lower surface hardness and greater roughness and colour values (P < .05) on all resin composites tested. CONCLUSIONS: Mouthwashes had an effect on all resin composites evaluated leading to a significant decreased surface hardness and an increased roughness and colour values (P < .05).

Computational Study of the Correlation of in-vitro Antiviral Activities Against SARS-CoV-2 with Different Theoretical Descriptors

The electrostatic potential (V(r)), the average local ionization energy (I(r)), the relative hardness (ηrel), the electron affinity (EA), the ionization potential (IP), the electronegativity (χ), the hardness (η) and the electrophilicity (ω) were tested as theoretical descriptors of the reported in-vitro antiviral activities against SARS-CoV-2 for seven different compounds with the same set of controlled variables: chloroquine, favipiravir, nafamostat, nitazoxanide, penciclovir, remdesivir, rivabirin, in order to obtain information about the electronic nature of the hosting sites in the virus. Results indicate that the hardness of the studied drugs correlates moderately well with the biological activity, which gives some insights to infer in terms of the HSAB principle of Pearson, that the electrostatic interactions must predominate in the virus hosting sites and that these areas have low polarizability. When a multiple correlation analysis is performed, the correlation improves when the conceptual hardness (η), Vmin, and the molecular volume are considered, which suggests that the interaction of the molecules with the preferred hard hosting sites should be negatively affected by the volume of the selected drug and that Vmin contributes to the correlation. © This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Effects of adding different silver carp fish pastes on the quality of lion's head meatballs

To clarify the most suitable fish paste for preparing lion's head meatballs, this study investigated the effect of adding 6 different silver carp fish pastes: fresh unwashed (group 1-1), fresh washed (group 1-2), frozen unwashed without antifreeze agent (group 2-1), frozen washed without antifreeze agent (group 2-2), frozen unwashed with antifreeze agent (group 3-1), and frozen washed with antifreeze agent (group 3-2) on the basic nutrients, color, texture properties, waterholding capacity, sensory and flavor properties, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARs) value, and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content of pork/fish composite meatballs. The results showed that the contents of protein and fat in meatballs from groups 2-1 and 2-2 were lower than those in groups 3-1 and 3-2, and the contents of water, protein and fat were 61.68%, 11.32% and 19.41% for group 2-1, and 62.45%, 11.09% and 19.33% for group 2-2, respectively. The gel properties, hardness, elasticity, cohesion, and sensory quality of groups 3-1 and 3-2 were significantly higher than those of groups 2-1 and 2-2 (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference compared with groups 1-1 and 1-2. The odor response value of groups 3 was lower than that of groups 1, and groups 3 had the highest sweetness value (3 039.66) and lowest bitterness value (534.59). The TBARs value and TVB-N content in groups 1-2, 2-2, and 3-2 (with washed fish paste) were significantly lower than those in groups 1-1, 2-1 and 3-1 (with unwashed fish paste) (P < 0.05). Since fresh fish paste is not easy to store and subject to spoilage, frozen washed fish paste with antifreeze agent can be used to produce composite meatballs.

Optimization of common hand cleansers for protection from viral spread and occupational hand dermatoses

Irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) affects over 20% of health care workers, who manage their condition by substituting soap with an emollient cleanser. It is not clear whether emollient cleansers have the same level of virus eliminating activity as soap. Therefore, we evaluated a range of emollient cleansers for virus eliminating activity against enveloped (coronavirus and herpes simplex virus) and nonenveloped viruses (adenovirus (Ad)). In accordance with European standards a range of cleansers were combined with viruses under different (‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ hand hygiene) conditions. Virus viability and architecture were determined by plaque /TCDI50 assays and transmission electron microscopy. Traditional soaps (natural fatty acid), synthetic soaps and emollient cleansers (e.g., ceramide-containing cleansers) exhibited significant antiviral activity in enveloped viruses. However, the antiviral activity of traditional soaps reduced drastically when combined with hard water. Moreover, nonenveloped viruses were less susceptible to both synthetic soaps and emollients cleansers. Interestingly, traditional soaps inhibited the viability of Ad at high concentrations, but only in soft water. Most emollient cleansers were effective at eliminating enveloped viruses, suggesting that they are an acceptable substitute for soap to control the spread of viruses, like SARS-CoV-2, and protect against ICD. Nonenveloped viruses showed resistance to most of the hand hygiene products tested, except for traditional soap. This suggests that hand washing alone may not be sufficient to control the spread of nonenveloped viruses. Taken together this suggests that different virus strains respond differently to soaps and cleansers, and that this should be considered in the guidance for hand hygiene.

Evaluation of Chemical Aging on Carousel Properties Due to the COVID-19 Anti-Pandemic Measures at Airports

The study's research question in the broader context of the fight against the pandemic is the impact of disinfectants on selected surfaces of materials used in air transport. The main scientific goal of this work was to verify the assumption that disinfectant solutions cause degradation of mechanical and physical properties, i.e., chemical aging, in samples from airport conveyors, and to determine the degree of change in the properties of the samples depending on the time spent in solution and on aging. The research methodology was developed based on the ISO 1817: 2011 standard, STN EN ISO 868, and the ISO 283 standard, and applied infrared spectroscopy, specifically the Attenuated Total Reflectance method. Research suggests that constant disinfection of baggage handling systems will require the replacement of carrying parts. Otherwise, there will be significant costly breakdowns (damage to luggage, interruption of its flow, delays/inability to check in the aircraft, and the resulting legal consequences). The longer the samples were left in the disinfectant solution, the higher and more uneven the degradation. The hardness of the samples changed after immersion but was not directly proportional to the change in tensile properties. During disinfection, chemical changes occurred, which varied in length and effect depending on the disinfection used. © 2022 by the authors.

Comparison of storage method and packaging material on physicochemical properties of fresh-cut melons (Cucumis melo L.) during distribution

During the COVID-19 pandemic, customer awareness for food quality and safety is distinctly higher. Fresh-cut fruits in Indonesia are traditionally distributed using wheelbarrows. The increasing consumption of fruit in Indonesia must be accompanied by awareness of healthy lifestyles and the shift of consumer behavior to online stores. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of storage methods and packaging materials for fresh-cut melon on changes in physicochemical properties during the distribution process. Variation of packaging materials used were polypropylene, plastic wrap, and without packaging as control. The ice gel in cooled box delivery was used for storage method during distribution and compared to conventional methods (manual fruit carts). The physical parameters of melons fruit observed during distribution were weight loss, hardness level, pH value, and total soluble solids (TSS). The fresh-cut melons were stored in a distribution box which kept the temperature at +or- 18 degrees C for 6 h. The results showed that the storage method had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on all parameters of physical quality. While packaging material had a real effect (p < 0.05) on weight loss and TSS, but has no effect (p < 0.05) on hardness level and pH value. Packaging using plastic wrap can reduce the weight loss of fresh-cut melons, while polypropylene plastic can maintain the hardness level, pH value, and TSS of cut melons fruit.

Investigations on water quality parameters and icthyofaunal diversity of the river Tangon at Radhikapur, Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal, India

The physicochemical parameters and ichthyofauna diversity of the water of the internationally important river Tangon at the Radhikapur village in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal were studied for one year from December 2019 to November 2020. The study was done monthly from the four selected sampling sites of the Tangon river. Water temperature varied from 16.80..C to 32.60..C at all the sites during the study. pH ranged from 7.0 to 8.5, indicating the slightly alkaline nature of the water. Higher values of electrical conductivity were observed in the summer months. Free CO2 showed a positive correlation with water temperature and total hardness during the entire study. The lowest value of dissolved oxygen was observed to be 1.80 mgL-1 at Site 1 and Site 2, which might be due to the use of fertilizer at the nearby agricultural field and lifting of excessive sand from the Tangon river. The sudden increase in dissolved oxygen concentrations at all the sites from March to June might be due to the lesser anthropogenic activities during the lockdown in India because of the Covid-19 Pandemic situation. Total hardness (57.40 mgL-1 to 125.00 mgL-1) had a significant negative correlation with transparency at Site 2. Chloride (3.00 mgL-1 to 24.14 mgL-1) had a significant correlation with pH and total hardness at Site 1. BOD was varied between 1.00 mgL-1 and 11.04 mg L-1. The highest BOD was found in December at Site 4, which was much greater than the drinking and bathing water standard set by CPCB. It may be due to the higher level of pollution due to the increasing level of anthropogenic activities. The study on ichthyofauna diversity revealed a total of 40 species of fish belonged to seventeen families from the different sites of the Tangon river during the entire study period. Cyprinidae was found to be the most dominant family throughout the study period. Eight species of fishes were under the vulnerable category (20%) and three species were under a near threatened category (7%). The present study will help formulating the future policy for conservation and proper management of the fish diversity in the Radhikapur village of the Tangon river. Public awareness is very much important for the conservation of the river.

Status and progress on the CMS Phase-II detector upgrades

The CMS experiment has an ambitious Phase-II upgrade plan, which includes nearly all parts of the detector. Key aspects include increased channel count and associated bandwidth, improved radiation hardness, and the addition of precision timing. An overview of the upgrade along with a discussion on the current status and recent progress is presented. Overall, excellent progress has been made in the past year, although some delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic were inevitable. © Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Molybdenum Carbonyl Complexes with Benzimidazole Derivatives Against SARS-CoV-2 by Molecular Docking and DFT/TDDFT Methods

Benzimidazole derivative molecules attract attention of scientists due to their bioactivities. The dramatic changes in recorded activities according to the type and position of the substituents motivate synthesis and analysis of new molecules. Commercial benzimidazole-based molecules have been used in therapeutic procedures. It is known that the activities of metal complexes with benzimidazole derivative ligands have different activities when compared to the benzimidazole main structure. Nowadays, one of the most important health problems is COVID-19, which caused the pandemic that we are still experiencing. Although vaccine studies are important to overcome acute problems, regarding the possible post-vaccination adverse effects, the need for new drugs against the virus is obvious. Considering the urgency and the limited facilities during the pandemic, preliminary in silico studies of candidate molecules are essential. In this study, {[bis-(N-benzylbenzimidazole)] tetracarbonylmolybdenum}, {[bis-(N-4-chlorobenzylbenzimidazole)] tetracarbonylmolybdenum} and {[bis-(N-4-methoxybenzylbenzimidazole)] tetracarbonylmolybdenum} were synthesized and characterized. The optimization and the structural analysis of these molecules were performed by DFT/TDDFT methods. The molecules were docked into SARS coronavirus main peptidase (PDB ID: 2gtb), COVID-19 main protease in complex with Z219104216 (PDB ID: 5r82), COVID-19 main protease in complex with an inhibitor N3 (PDB ID: 6lu7) and Papain-like protease of SARS-CoV-2 (PDB ID: 6w9c) crystal structures for evaluation of their anti-viral activity. Molybdenum carbonyl complexes containing benzimidazole derivative ligands have been synthesized, characterized, and analyzed structurally by DFT/TDDFT methods. Antiviral activities of the complexes were analyzed by molecular docking methods against some important Coronavirus targets in parallel with the pandemic period we are living in. Inhibitory potency of the complexes toward COVID-19 targeted is compared to some well-known commercial antivirals.

Effect of UV Radiation on Optical Properties and Hardness of Transparent Wood.

Optically transparent wood is a type of composite material, combining wood as a renewable resource with the optical and mechanical properties of synthetic polymers. During this study, the effect of monochromatic UV-C (λ-250 nm) radiation on transparent wood was evaluated. Samples of basswood were treated using a lignin modification method, to preserve most of the lignin, and subsequently impregnated with refractive-index-matched types of acrylic polymers (methyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate). Optical (transmittance, colour) and mechanical (shore D hardness) properties were measured to describe the degradation process over 35 days. The transmittance of the samples was significantly decreased during the first seven days (12% EMA, 15% MMA). The average lightness of both materials decreased by 10% (EMA) and 17% (MMA), and the colour shifted towards a red and yellow area of CIE L*a*b* space coordinates. The influence of UV-C radiation on the hardness of the samples was statistically insignificant (W+MMA 84.98 ± 2.05; W+EMA 84.89 ± 2.46), therefore the hardness mainly depends on the hardness of used acrylic polymer. The obtained results can be used to assess the effect of disinfection of transparent wood surfaces with UV-C radiation (e.g., due to inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 virus) on the change of its aesthetic and mechanical properties.