Plant mediated magnetic nano composite as promising scavenger's radionuclides for the efficient remediation in aqueous medium.

The present investigation demonstrates the environment friendly plant mediated green synthesis of magnetic bio composite nanoparticles by the chemical co-precipitation of magnetite phase from aqueous medium. Water contaminated with uranium is one of the most serious environmental issues. This study aims to overcome this issue by effectively adsorbing uranium from water at a pH range of 7. Several studies have recently been published throughout the world that demonstrates uranium adsorption from water, although they have all been conducted in acidic media with pH less than 6. This work addressed that issue, and maximal adsorption was achieved at pH 7 using a synthetic magnetic bio composites sorbent derived from tree bark (Amla). The magnetic bio composites were characterized by FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM, and EDX. The computations of the XRD data indicated that magnetic bio composites have nano composite with an average diameter of around 12.1 nm. This has an adsorption capacity of 121.95 mg g-1. The correlation regression (r2) coefficients obtained for the various isotherm models indicate that the sorption process conformed to the Langmuir and Temkin models. Thermodynamic studies revealed that the sorption process onto plant mediated magnetic bio material is endothermic and spontaneous, which is significant for reuse and recovery of adsorbed material. A desorption test was also performed to regenerate the material by removing the adsorbed uranium (VI) by HCL with an 84.3% success rate.

A Comparison of Xenograft Graft Material and Synthetic Bioactive Glass Allograft in Immediate Dental Implant Patients.

Objectives: The objective of the study is to compare xenograft graft material and synthetic bioactive glass allograft in immediate dental implant patients. Materials and Methods: Forty patients were grouped as Group A patients (xenograft graft material, BioOss) and Group B (synthetic allograft material, Perio Glas) and immediate implant placement was done. Plaque index, gingival index, probing depth, and bone resorption were compared at different intervals. Results: A nonsignificant difference was observed in all parameters at different interval of time (P > 0.05) recorded at mesial, distal, buccal, and lingual side. Conclusion: Xenograft (Bio Oss) and synthetic allograft (PerioGlas) found to be effective graft materials treatment choice.

Mycobacterium arupense in Cancer Patients: An Emerging Infection or a Commensal Organism.

Mycobacterium arupense is a slow-growing, nonchromogenic, acid-fast bacillus. Its clinical spectrum, epidemiology, and frequency of colonization versus true infection remain unknown. We evaluated the clinical significance of M arupense and positive cultures from cancer patients.We retrospectively reviewed records of all cancer patients treated at our institution between 2007 and 2014 to identify those who had positive cultures for M arupense. Mycobacterium arupense was identified by sequencing the 16S rRNA and hsp65 genes. A total of 53 patients had positive cultures, 100% of which were isolated from respiratory specimens. Of these, 7 patients met the American Thoracic Society/Infectious Diseases Society of America criteria for a definitive diagnosis of M arupense infection, 14 cases were considered to be probable infections, and 29 cases were considered to be possible infections. Of the included patients, 13 received therapy for M arupense infection and 40 did not.The outcomes of treated and untreated patients did not differ significantly. No relapses of M arupense infection. In addition, there were no M arupense-related deaths in either group.In cancer patients, M arupense appears to be mostly a commensal organism rather than a pathogen. Patients who did or did not receive treatment had similar outcomes. Validation of these findings in a larger prospective trial is warranted.

A clinical practical approach to the surveillance definition of central line-associated bloodstream infection in cancer patients with mucosal barrier injury.

BACKGROUND: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently introduced the concept of mucosal barrier injury (MBI) in an attempt to recognize the possibility of a gastrointestinal source for certain bloodstream infections. This could underestimate the central venous catheter (CVC) as the source of central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) in cancer. The definition of catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) by the Infectious Diseases Society of America is a more specific and stringent definition that identifies the CVC as the source of infection. In our study, we compared the 2 definitions in cancer patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 149 CLABSI cases that occurred at our center between January 2013 and March 2014 who had 2 simultaneously positive blood cultures drawn from the CVC and peripheral site or concurrent paired tip and blood cultures. RESULTS: Of the 149 patients with CLABSI, only 70 (47%) had definite CRBSI. CRBSI was identified more commonly in non-MBI CLABSI cases than MBI CLABSI (69% vs 18%, P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: The CRBSI definition may be more accurate in identifying the catheter as the source of bloodstream infection in patients with MBI. Because CRBSI continues to occur in patients with MBI, we caution against excluding all MBI patients from CLABSI surveillance.

Role of Procalcitonin and Interleukin-6 in Predicting Cancer, and Its Progression Independent of Infection.

Procalcitonin (PCT) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) have emerged as biomarkers for different inflammatory conditions. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the role of PCT and IL-6 as biomarkers of cancer and its progression in a large cohort of patients. This cross-sectional study included residual plasma samples collected from cancer patients, and control subjects without cancer. Levels of PCT and IL-6 were determined by Kryptor compact bioanalyzer. We identified 575 febrile cancer patients, 410 non-febrile cancer patients, and 79 non-cancer individuals. The median PCT level was lower in control subjects (0.029 ng/ml) compared to cancer patients with stage I-III disease (0.127 ng/ml) (p<0.0001) and stage IV disease (0.190 ng/ml) (p<0.0001). It was also higher in febrile cancer patients (0.310 ng/ml) compared to non-febrile cancer patients (0.1 ng/ml) (p<0.0001). Median IL-6 level was significantly lower in the control group (0 pg/ml) than in non-febrile cancer patients with stages I-III (7.376 pg/ml) or stage IV (9.635 pg/ml) (p<0.0001). Our results suggest a potential role for PCT and IL-6 in predicting cancer in non-febrile patients. In addition, PCT is useful in detecting progression of cancer and predicting bacteremia or sepsis in febrile cancer patients.

Cognitive function and suicide risk in Han Chinese inpatients with schizophrenia.

The lifetime risk of suicide in patients with schizophrenia is estimated to be 4.9-13%. While there are many known risk factors for suicide in schizophrenia, the relationship between cognitive function and suicide risk is unclear, particularly in non-Caucasian populations. In our cross-sectional study, we administered the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) to 316 Han Chinese chronic inpatients with schizophrenia and compared the performance of those who had attempted suicide (n=25) to non-attempters (n=291). The lifetime suicide attempt data were collected from medical records and interviews with patients and their family members. We found a lifetime suicide attempt rate of 7.9%. Suicide attempters were more likely to be single, but showed no significant differences in other demographic factors such as age, gender, or living arrangements. Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no significant relationship between performance on the RBANS test and lifetime risk of suicide attempts in Han Chinese inpatients with schizophrenia. The literature remains mixed on this topic. Culturally influenced differences in suicidal behavior may have affected the outcome of this study and further investigation of this topic is necessary.