Micro and nano plastics in food: A review on the strategies for identification, isolation, and mitigation through photocatalysis, and health risk assessment.

Over the past few years, it has become increasingly evident that microplastic pollutant heavily contaminates water sources, posing a potential threat to both human and wildlife. These plastic pollutants do not get degraded efficiently by natural processes and the existing traditional treatment methods are incapable of fully eradicating them. In this regard, degradation of microplastic contaminants through photocatalytic methods has emerged as a powerful technique. Unfortunately, only a limited number of investigations have been reported in the field of photocatalytic degradation of microplastics. This comprehensive assessment focuses on the detailed analysis of the latest cutting edge engineered technologies aimed at efficiently separating, identifying microplastic contaminants present in food samples and degrading them through photocatalysis. Moreover, detailed information on various instrumental techniques that can be adopted to analyze the isolated micro sized plastic particles has been discussed. The assessment and degradation of these micro contaminants through photocatalytic methods is still in juvenile stage and there are lot of rooms to be explored. The need for profound contemplation on methods to degrade them through photocatalytic approaches as well as their possible health risks to humans motivated us to bring out this review.

Ionic Liquid-Reduced Graphene Oxide Membrane with Enhanced Stability for Water Purification.

There has been a growing interest in water purification by graphene oxide (GO) laminate membranes due to their exceptional hydrophilicity, high throughput, and extraordinary separation performance originating from their two-dimensional and well-defined nanostructure. However, the swelling and stability in an aqueous environment are areas of concern for the GO laminate membranes. Here, a novel methylimidazolium ionic liquid-reduced GO (mimG)-assembled GO laminate membrane (mimG-GO) with remarkable stability was fabricated by a vacuum-assisted strategy for water purification. Methylimidazolium-based ionic liquid-reduced graphene oxide (mimG) was prepared by a facile nucleophilic ring-opening mechanism. Fabricated membranes were thoroughly characterized for stability, structural, permeance, and rejection properties in an aqueous environment. A combination of cationic mimG and GO nanosheets improves membrane stability in the aqueous environment via cation-π interactions and creates nanofluidic channels for facile water transport while yielding significant enhancement in the salt and dye separation performance. The pore size and the number of nanofluidic channels were precisely controlled via material deposition and laminate thickness to remove salts from water. The mimG-GO laminate membrane containing 72.2 mg m-2 deposition showed a permeance of 14.9 LMH bar-1, 50% higher than 9.7 LMH bar-1 of the neat GO laminate membrane, in addition to an increase in Na2SO4 salt rejection from 46.6 to 77.4%, overcoming the flux-rejection trade-off. The mimG-GO laminate membrane also rejected various anionic dyes (i.e., 99.9% for direct red 80 (DR 80), 96.8% for reactive black 5 (RB 5), and 91.4% for methyl orange (MO)). The mimG-GO laminate membrane containing 361.0 mg m-2 deposition showed the highest rejection for Na2SO4 (92.1%) and 99.9% rejection for DR 80, 99.0% rejection for RB 5, and 98.1% rejection for MO dyes keeping a flux of 2.6 LMH bar-1. Partial reduction and covalent grafting of ionic liquid moieties on GO helped to enhance the cation-π interaction between GO laminates, which showed enhanced stability, frictionless water transport, with high salt and dye rejection. Moreover, a simultaneous improvement in water permeance and solute rejection reveals the great potential of ionic liquid-functionalized GO laminate membranes for water-based applications.

Visual morbidity and spectrum of ophthalmic changes in pregnancy induced hypertension.

Aim: To determine the prevalence of ocular changes in pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and co-relate the ophthalmic changes and severity of the disease with visual outcome. Methods and Material: This is a retrospective study conducted from a hospital-based cohort of pregnant women, who delivered from June 2018 to December 2020. A total of 153 patients who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of PIH admitted in the obstetric ward were included in this study. History with regard to age, parity, gravida, gestational age, medical history, and ocular findings were noted from the patient's case records. Anterior segment examination, dilated fundus evaluation, blood pressure (BP) recordings, urine proteinuria were done. All data were analyzed using the satistical package for social science (SPSS) program. Results: Out of 153 patients, 78 (50.98%) were primigravida, 55 (35.95%) were gravida 2, and 20 (13.07%) were multigravida. Gestational age ranged from 23-40 weeks. Ocular changes were seen in 57% of the PIH patients. Hypertensive retinopathy was seen in 23.53% of PIH patients with a mean age of 29.06 ± 4.36 years. Grade 1 hypertensive retinopathy was the most common manifestation in PIH patients (51.16%). The visual loss occurred in 72% of eclampsia and12% of pre-eclampsia which was statistically significant (P = 0.03). Papilledema was seen in 6% and refractive error in 41% of the patients. Conclusions: Ocular examination of PIH patients reveals important objective information concerning the disorder. The presence of retinal change is a marker of the severity of PIH and is the most common ocular feature. Detection of progression of these changes reflects ischemic changes of the placenta. Fundus examination in PIH patients is important to predict adverse fetal outcomes, and risks to mother's life.

Dual-drug loaded micelle for combinatorial therapy targeting HIF and mTOR signaling pathways for ovarian cancer treatment.

Mutations in the tumor protein (TP53) and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway have been elucidated as driver mutations in ovarian carcinomas that transform into an invasive phenotype under hypoxic conditions. Chetomin (CHE) targets the hypoxic pathway while Everolimus (EVR) acts on the mTOR pathway. Poor aqueous solubilities of both compounds limit their clinical applications. Diblock copolymer nanoplatforms of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)2000-block-poly (lactic acid)1800 (mPEG2000-b-PLA1800) and (mPEG4000-b-PLA2200) were used to formulate individual and dual drug loaded micelles (DDM) using the solvent evaporation method. The CHE micelles (CHE-M) had a size of 21 nm with CHE loading of 0.5 mg/mL while the EVR micelles (EVR-M) and the DDM had a size around 35 and 39 nm, respectively, with EVR loading up to 2.3 mg/mL. The anti-proliferative effects of these micelles have been tested in vitro in three ovarian cell lines (ES2, OVCAR3 and TOV21G) with the DDM exhibiting a strong synergistic anti-proliferative effect in the ES2 and the TOV21G cells. The DDM were able to significantly induce tumor regression in ES2 ovarian xenograft mouse models by inhibiting angiogenesis and inducing apoptosis when compared to the individual micelles. The inhibition of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) and the mTOR pathways has been elucidated using immunohistochemistry studies. In conclusion, we have developed a mPEG-b-PLA based micellar nanoplatform that could prevent drug resistance by delivering multiple drugs at therapeutically relevant concentrations for effectively treating ovarian carcinomas.

Ultra-wetting graphene-based PES ultrafiltration membrane - A novel approach for successful oil-water separation.

Oil pollution in water and separation of oil from water are receiving much attention in recent years due to the growing environmental concerns. Membrane technology is one of the emerging solutions for oil-water separation. However, there is a limitation in using polymeric membrane for oil water separation due to its surface properties (wetting behaviour), thermal and mechanical properties. Here, we have shown a simple method to increase the hydrophilicity of the polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fibre ultrafiltration (UF) membrane by using carboxyl, hydroxyl and amine modified graphene attached poly acrylonitrile-co-maleimide (G-PANCMI). The prepared membranes were characterized for its morphology, water and oil contact angle, liquid entry pressure of oil (LEPoil), water permeability and finally subjected to a continuous 8 h filtration test of oil emulsion in water. The experimental data indicates that the G-PANCMI play an important role in enhancing the hydrophilicity, permeability and selectivity of the PES membrane. The water contact angle (CAw) of the PES membrane is reduced from 63.7 ± 3.8° to 22.6 ± 2.5° which is 64.5% reduction while, the oil contact angle was increased from 43.6 ± 3.5° to 112.5 ± 3.2° which is 158% higher compared to that of the PES membrane. Similarly, the LEPoil increased 350% from 50 ± 10 kPa of the control PES membrane to 175 ± 25 kPa of PES-G-PANCMI membrane. More importantly, the water permeability increased by 43% with >99% selectivity. Based on our findings we believe that the development of PES-G-PANCMI membrane will open up a solution for successful oil-water separation.

A three-drug nanoscale drug delivery system designed for preferential lymphatic uptake for the treatment of metastatic melanoma.

Metastatic melanoma has a high mortality rate due to lymphatic progression of the disease. Current treatment is surgery followed by radiation and intravenous chemotherapy. However, drawbacks for current chemotherapeutics lie in the fact that they develop resistance and do not achieve therapeutic concentrations in the lymphatic system. We hypothesize that a three-drug nanoscale drug delivery system, tailored for lymphatic uptake, administered subcutaneously, will have decreased drug resistance and therefore offer better therapeutic outcomes. We prepared and characterized nanoparticles (NPs) with docetaxel, everolimus, and LY294002 in polyethyleneglycol-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEG-PCL) polymer with different charge distributions by modifying the ratio of anionic and neutral end groups on the PEG block. These NPs are similarly sized (~48 nm), with neutral, partially charged, or fully charged surface. The NPs are able to load ~2mg/mL of each drug and are stable for 24h. The NPs are assessed for safety and efficacy in two transgenic metastatic melanoma mouse models. All the NPs were safe in both models based on general appearance, weight changes, death, and blood biochemical analyses. The partially charged NPs are most effective in decreasing the number of melanocytes at both the proximal (sentinel) lymph node (LN) and the distal LN from the injection site. The neutral NPs are efficacious at the proximal LN, while the fully charged NPs have no effect on either LNs. Thus, our data indicates that the NP surface charge and lymphatic efficacy are closely tied to each other and the partially charged NPs have the highest potential in treating metastatic melanoma.

Self-cleaning Metal Organic Framework (MOF) based ultra filtration membranes--a solution to bio-fouling in membrane separation processes.

Bio-fouling is a serious problem in many membrane-based separation processes for water and wastewater treatment. Current state of the art methods to overcome this are to modify the membranes with either hydrophilic additives or with an antibacterial compound. In this study, we propose and practise a novel concept to prevent bio-fouling by developing a killing and self-cleaning membrane surface incorporating antibacterial silver nanoparticles and highly hydrophilic negatively charged carboxylic and amine functional groups. The innovative surface chemistry helps to reduce the contact angle of the novel membrane by at least a 48% and increase the pure water flux by 39.4% compared to the control membrane. The flux drop for the novel membrane is also lower (16.3% of the initial flux) than the control membrane (55.3% of the initial flux) during the long term experiments with protein solution. Moreover, the novel membrane continues to exhibit inhibition to microbes even after 1320 min of protein filtration. Synthesis of self-cleaning ultrafiltration membrane with long lasting properties opens up a viable solution for bio-fouling in ultrafiltration application for wastewater purification.

Microwave assisted synthesis and biological activity of novel coumarinyltriazolothiadiazoles.

A series of new 3-(4-methylcoumarinyl-7-oxymethyl)-6-substitutedphenyl-5,6-dihydro-s-triazolo (3,4-b)(1,3,4)-thiadiazoles 2(a-j) have been synthesized by reacting 5-(4-methyl coumarinyl-7-oxymethyl)-4-amino-3-mercapto(4H)-1,2,4-triazole with various aromatic aldehydes by microwave assisted organic synthesis. The structure of the compounds 2 (a-j) has been confirmed by IR, (1)H NMR and mass spectral data. All the compounds were screened for antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. Among the compounds tested, compounds 2d (4-dimethyl amino phenyl derivative) and 2h (3,4-dimethoxy phenyl derivative) showed better antimicrobial and antioxidant activity than rest of the compounds in the series.

Sesbania grandiflora diminishes oxidative stress and ameliorates antioxidant capacity in liver and kidney of rats exposed to cigarette smoke.

Cigarette smoke is a major risk factor for many chronic diseases. However, it may be possible to relieve the smoke-induced damage by increasing the defensive system. In this study, we planned to evaluate the protective mechanism of Sesbania grandiflora (S. grandiflora) leaves against cigarette smoke-induced oxidative damage in liver and kidney of rats. Adult male Wistar-Kyoto rats were exposed to cigarette smoke for a period of 90 days and consecutively treated with S. grandiflora aqueous suspension (SGAS, 1000 mg/kg body weight per day by oral gavage) for a period of 3 weeks. Hepatic marker enzymes like aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), as well as renal markers such as urea and creatinine were analysed in serum. Lipid peroxidation marker mainly thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and antioxidant enzymes namely superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) activities and non-enzymatic antioxidants such as reduced glutathione, ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol levels were studied. In addition, micronutrients mainly copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn) and selenium (Se) levels were analyzed in liver and kidney of rats exposed to cigarette smoke. The results indicated that SGAS significantly decreased the elevated hepatic, renal and lipid peroxidation markers and ameliorated the diminished antioxidant levels while restored the hepatic and renal architecture in cigarette smoke-exposed rats. This study concludes that S. grandiflora leaves restrain cigarette smoke-induced oxidative damage in liver and kidney of rats.

Clinicopathological profile of cutaneous lymphomas--a 10 year retrospective study from south India.

This is a retrospective study of cutaneous lymphomas (CL) seen over a ten year period. (January '88-December '97) in Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore, S. India. The aims of the study were to describe the clinicopathological profile of CL and correlate it with results of immunophenotyping. Thirty three patients were included of whom 31 had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and two Hodgkin's disease. REAL scheme was used for classification. In the NHL group there were 20 patients with cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL), 7 with cutaneous B cell lymphoma (CBCL), 1 with anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) and 3 patients were unclassifiable. Mycosis fungoides was the most common CTCL (55.5%). Three (15%) of patients had subcutaneous panniculitic T cell lymphoma (SPTL). The duration of the disease was significantly longer (P < .05) in patients with MF as compared to non MF CTCL and CBCL. One patient with Sezary's syndrome was HTLV 1 positive. There was no difference in survival (p = 0.86) after diagnosis in the three main groups.