Optimization of alkali, acid and organic solvent pretreatment on rice husk and its techno economic analysis for efficient sugar production.

Excessive use of fossil fuels has accelerated climate change and global warming necessitates the need for renewable energy sources that have a lower environmental impact. In the recent decade, lignocellulosic biomass has become a prominent alternative to renewable energy resources for the production of bioenergy. The pretreatment procedure is considered a pivotal step for transforming biomass into value-added products such as sugars, biofuels, etc. Therefore, the present work aims to study the effect of different pretreatment approaches on rice husk with acids (H2SO4 and HCl), alkalis (NaOH and KOH), and organic solvents (ethanol and methanol) utilizing different concentrations like (2, 4 and 6% in case of acids), (2,4 and 6% for alkalis) and (50% and 70% for organic solvents) with different residence time (1, 3, 6, and 24 h). The most effective results obtained from the aforementioned steps were further adopted for enzymatic hydrolysis. Further, the changes in structural properties of biomass were assessed in relation to the pretreatment process employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analyses. This paper also highlights the techno-economic analysis of alkali pretreatment. Additionally, the operational targets for the process were identified by using a modeling software-SuperPro Designer. Results obtained from the study showed a maximum yield of reducing sugar i.e., 1.906 ± 0.2 mg/ml (4% NaOH with 6 h of incubation). This study demonstrates that 4% NaOH pretreatment effectively disintegrates the biomass and yields high sugar recovery which can be used further for the production of biofuels and value-added products.

Marine-derived Natural Products as Anticancer Agents.

Cancer is a deadly human disease on the rise due to changes in lifestyle, nutrition, and global warming. Cancer is characterized by uncontrolled, disordered, and undesired cell division. About 60% of cancer medicines approved by the FDA are made from natural ingredients. Intensive efforts over the last decade to better understand the vast chemical diversity provided by marine life have resulted in an intriguing "marine pipeline" of potential anticancer clinical and preclinical treatments. The molecular targets of marine products as anticancer drugs, as well as different reported compounds acting on distinct targets, are the topic of this review.

Correlation among lip print pattern, finger print pattern and abo blood group.

AIM: To study correlation between lip print pattern, finger print pattern and ABO blood group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 27 males and 27 females who were aged between 20-40 years. Lip prints, finger prints and ABO and Rh blood groups of each individual were recorded. Lip prints were classified, based on Suzuki's and Tsuchihashi's classification and finger prints were classified, based on Michael's and Kucken's classification. The results were statistically analyzed by using Chi-square test. RESULTS: Complete vertical lip print, loop finger print pattern, O+ blood group were predominant among individual groups. O+ blood group-type I lip print combination, loop finger print pattern-type IV lip print pattern combination, O+ blood group-loop finger print pattern combination and both B+ blood group-loop finger print pattern- type IV lip print pattern combination and O+ blood group-loop finger print pattern-type I lip print pattern were predominant. CONCLUSION: Though lip prints, finger prints and blood groups had their own specificities, correlation of the three parameters did not show any significance.

Botryoid odontogenic cyst: a diagnostic chaos.

Botryoid Odontogenic cyst (BOC) originally described by Weathers and Waldron (1973) is a variant of a lateral periodontal cyst characterized by macroscopic and microscopic multilocular growth pattern. We report a case of BOC in a 21-year-old male patient. Orthopantamogram revealed a multilocular radiolucency extending from 43 to 47. The histological examination of incisional biopsy revealed a thin 2-4 layered non keratinised epithelium without rete ridges resembling a reduced enamel epithelium with few localised plaque like thickenings and occasional mural bulges. These features were suggestive of BOC. The excisional biopsy revealed histological features similar to those of incisional biopsy except for the presence of 5-6 epithelial follicles with outer columnar cells and inner stellate reticulum like cells. CD56 and calretinin immunohistochemical staining (IHC) was done. This paper highlights the unusual appearance of follicles in BOC with differential diagnosis and IHC staining characteristics.