UVC-Based Air Disinfection Systems for Rapid Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 Present in the Air.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared in May 2021 that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted not only by close contact with infectious respiratory fluids from infected people or contaminated materials but also indirectly through air. Airborne transmission has serious implications for the control measures we can deploy, given the emergence of more transmissible variants. This emphasizes the need to deploy a mechanism to reduce the viral load in the air, especially in closed and crowded places such as hospitals, public transport buses, etc. In this study, we explored ultraviolet C (UVC) radiation for its ability to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 particles present in aerosols and designed an air disinfection system to eliminate infectious viruses. We studied the virus inactivation kinetics to identify the UVC dosage required to achieve maximum virus inactivation. Based on the experimental data, UVC-based devices were designed for the sanitization of air through HVAC systems in closed spaces. Further, a risk assessment model to estimate the risk reduction was applied which showed that the use of UVC radiation could result in the reduction of the risk of infection in occupied spaces by up to 90%.

Investigation of agro-forestry and construction demolition wastes in alkali-activated fly ash bricks as sustainable building materials.

Production of burnt clay bricks, cement and burning of agricultural/forestry wastes are responsible for major greenhouse gases emission. The present work investigate the effect of treated rice straw and forestry leaves in alkali-activated fly ash bricks with construction & demolition wastes for non-load bearing partitions walls at elevated temperature of 800 °C. 1-4 wt% incorporated agro-forestry wastes fly ash bricks with 10 and 20 wt% ground granulated blast slag (GGBFS) addition shows compressive strength ranging from 8 to 15 MPa. The thermal conductivity of the panels with 1-4 wt% agro-forestry addition varies from 0.4 to 0.5 W/m.K. The sound transmission class (STC) of 20 mm thick agro-forestry waste fly ash samples depict moderate sound insulation properties over the range of 24 to 37 dB. The wallette units of burnt clay bricks and agro-forestry based fly ash bricks show load carrying capacity of 360 kN, 273 kN and 195 kN, 110 kN at temperatures of 35 °C and 800 °C respectively. The present study shows a potential green solution toward sustainable building materials in construction sector leading to reduced depletion of fertile soil used in production of burnt clay bricks.

UVC-based air disinfection system for rapid inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 present in the air

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections have rapidly spread throughout the world, and the virus has acquired an ability to spread via aerosols even at long distances. Hand washing, face-masking, and social distancing are the primary preventive measures against infections. With mounting scientific evidence, World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 an air-borne disease. This ensued the need to disinfect air to reduce the transmission. Ultraviolet C (UVC) comprising the light radiation of 200-280 nm range is a commonly used method for inactivation of pathogens. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are not beneficial in closed spaces due to poor or no ability to damage circulating viruses. Therefore, standard infection-prevention practices coupled with a strategy to reduce infectious viral load in air substantially might be helpful in reducing virus transmissibility. In this study, we implemented UV light-based strategies to combat COVID-19 and future pandemics. We tested various disinfection protocols by using UVC-based air purification systems and currently installed such a system in workspaces, rushed out places, hospitals and healthcare facilities for surface, air, and water disinfection. In this study, we designed a prototype device to test the dose of UVC required to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols and demonstrate that the radiation rapidly destroys the virus in aerosols. The UVC treatment renders the virus non-infectious due to chemical modification of nucleic acid. We also demonstrate that UVC treatment alters the Spike protein conformation that may further affect the infectivity of the virus. We show by using a mathematical model based on the experimental data that UVC-based air disinfection strategy can substantially reduce the risk of virus transmission. The systematic treatment by UVC of air in the closed spaces via ventilation systems could be helpful in reducing the active viral load in the air.

Performance behaviour of agro-waste based gypsum hollow blocks for partition walls.

Crop residue management is a massive problem in the agriculture sector. Agricultural waste in the form of stubble which is usually burnt in the farm fields, causes severe air pollution and poses a threat to the environment. The present study investigates the addition of agro-waste (rice straw) in gypsum hollow-core blocks for partition walls. Various compositions of agro-waste-based gypsum samples have been studied for compressive strength, thermal, sound absorption, sound transmission loss, and fire-resistant properties. The addition of rice straw in gypsum reduces the density and compressive strength of the test sample, thus making it lightweight for non-load bearing wall application. The thermal conductivity of the rice straw added gypsum samples show a decrease in thermal conductivity from 0.2 to 0.11 W/m K. Acoustic properties viz., noise reduction coefficient (NRC) increases from 25 to 45% with increase in rice straw addition and a decreasing trend in sound transmission class (STC) from 37 to 28 dB. The fire-resistant properties viz., surface spread of flame, and fire propagation index test have shown good fire-resistant properties. The agro-waste-based hollow gypsum blocks may be used as a promising material for drywall partitions owing to its thermal insulation, low density, good acoustic and fire-resistant properties.

Indoor air quality improvement in COVID-19 pandemic: Review.

INTRODUCTION: The advent of COVID-19 has impinged millions of people. The increased concern of the virus spread in confined spaces due to meteorological factors has sequentially fostered the need to improve indoor air quality. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to review control measures and preventive sustainable solutions for the future that can deliberately help in bringing down the impact of declined air quality and prevent future biological attacks from affecting the occupant's health. METHODOLOGY: Anontology chart is constructed based on the set objectives and review of all the possible measures to improve the indoor air quality taking into account the affecting parameters has been done. OBSERVATIONS: An integrated approach considering non-pharmaceutical and engineering control measures together for a healthy indoor environment should be contemplated rather than discretizing the available solutions. Maintaining social distance by reducing occupant density and implementing a modified ventilation system with advance filters for decontamination of viral load can help in sustaining healthy indoor air quality. CONCLUSION: The review paper in the main, provides a brief overview of all the improvement techniques bearing in mind thermal comfort and safety of occupants and looks for a common ground for all the technologies based on literature survey and offers recommendation for a sustainable future.

Serum metabolomics study in a group of Parkinson's disease patients from northern India.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the result of progressive degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway and depletion of neurotransmitter dopamine in the striatum. METHODS: We included 17 patients with PD along with 7 patients of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), 6 patients of multiple system atrophy (MSA) and 22 age and sex-matched healthy controls. We analyzed metabolite profiles in the serum of these patients and controls using 1H NMR spectroscopy. RESULTS: Isoleucine, valine, alanine, glutamine and histidine in PD, PSP and MSA were significantly (P < 0.001) higher than controls, whereas, glutamate and glucose were significantly increased in PD (P < 0.001), PSP and MSA (P < 0.05) vs. CONTROL: Citrate was increased in PD, PSP and MSA (P < 0.05) vs. CONTROL: While, acetone, lactate and formate were higher at P < 0.001, threonine is increased at P < 0.05. The 3D scattered score plot of OPLS-DA model revealed clear differentiation among the groups, R2 = 0.92 and Q2 = 0.78. CONCLUSION: Significant differences in various metabolite levels were found between control and disease groups. Common amino acids that are significantly higher in all groups include branched chain amino acids, which could increase neuronal excitability.

Computational Identification of MicroRNAs and Their Targets from Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana).

MicroRNAs are endogenous small RNAs regulating intrinsic normal growth and development of plant. Discovering miRNAs, their targets and further inferring their functions had become routine process to comprehend the normal biological processes of miRNAs and their roles in plant development. In this study, we used homology-based analysis with available expressed sequence tag of finger millet (Eleusine coracana) to predict conserved miRNAs. Three potent miRNAs targeting 88 genes were identified. The newly identified miRNAs were found to be homologous with miR166 and miR1310. The targets recognized were transcription factors and enzymes, and GO analysis showed these miRNAs played varied roles in gene regulation. The identification of miRNAs and their targets is anticipated to hasten the pace of key epigenetic regulators in plant development.

Identification of microRNAs and their targets in Finger millet by high throughput sequencing.

MicroRNAs are short non-coding RNAs which play an important role in regulating gene expression by mRNA cleavage or by translational repression. The majority of identified miRNAs were evolutionarily conserved; however, others expressed in a species-specific manner. Finger millet is an important cereal crop; nonetheless, no practical information is available on microRNAs to date. In this study, we have identified 95 conserved microRNAs belonging to 39 families and 3 novel microRNAs by high throughput sequencing. For the identified conserved and novel miRNAs a total of 507 targets were predicted. 11 miRNAs were validated and tissue specificity was determined by stem loop RT-qPCR, Northern blot. GO analyses revealed targets of miRNA were involved in wide range of regulatory functions. This study implies large number of known and novel miRNAs found in Finger millet which may play important role in growth and development.

Identification and Characterization of High Temperature Stress Responsive Novel miRNAs in French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris).

MicroRNAs are important gene regulators controlling almost all biological and metabolic functions. They elicit their regulatory response through modulation of their target gene expression. In this study, we identified eight novel microRNAs (miRNAs) belonging to four miRNA families and one miR* sequence from the French bean genome which responded to high temperature. The precursor miRNAs varied in length and showed conserved signatures of RNA polymerase II transcripts in their upstream regions. Promoter region analysis indicated the prevalence of MYB and WRKY binding sites emphasizing auto-inhibition of miRNA biogenesis. The genomic organization study revealed the presence of 150 putative regulatory motifs of which 41 are unique. Common motifs shared by miRNAs involved in more than one abiotic stresses were also identified. Further, the miRNA validation was carried out by stem-loop real-time PCR, and the results emphasize that the differential expression of miRNAs confers stress tolerance. Functional analysis revealed that most of the targets represent transcription factors. The results obtained would provide new insights to the complex regulatory mechanism employing small non-coding regulatory RNAs toward stress adaptation.

Mucinous cystadenoma coexisting with adult granulosa cell tumor in the ovary: is it a composite tumor or heterologous mucinous elements in a granulosa cell tumor?

We herein report a rare tumor combination of mucinous cystadenoma and an adult granulosa cell tumor in the same ovary of a 50-year-old woman. Ultrasound examination showed a multicystic mass in the left ovary. Histologically it showed 2 components that were intimately admixed. One was composed of cysts lined by mucinous epithelium of the intestinal type that was strongly positive for cytokeratin-20 and cytokeratin-7. The other was a granulosa cell tumor of the adult type in which the tumor cells showed microfollicular, sheets, and trabecular patterns. They were positive for calretinin, α-inhibin, and CD99. There are many theories for the histogenesis of such a combination. After discussing all the possibilities we conclude that the mucinous component is probably a heterologous mucinous differentiation within an adult granulosa cell tumor because of the intimate admixture of the 2 components and the mucinous epithelium being of the intestinal type.

Chronic pretreatment with acetyl-L-carnitine and ±DL-α-lipoic acid protects against acute glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in rat brain by altering mitochondrial function.

Cellular oxidative stress and energy failure were shown to be involved in Glutamate (L-Glu) neurotoxicity, whereas, acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) and ±DL-α-lipoic acid (LA) are known to be key players in the mitochondrial energy production. To evaluate the effects of the above antioxidants, adult rats were pretreated with ALCAR (100 mg/kg i.p for 21 days) and both ALCAR and LA (100 mg/kg i.p + 50 mg/kg i.p for 21 days), before stereotactically administering L-Glu bolus (1 µmole/1 µl) in the cerebral cortex. Results showed that acute L-Glu increased ROS (P < 0.001), LPO (P < 0.001), Ca(2+) (P < 0.001), TNF-α (P < 0.001), IFN-γ (P < 0.001), NO (P < 0.001) levels and mRNA expression of Caspase-3, Casapase-9, iNOS, and nNOS genes with respect to saline-injected control group. Key antioxidant parameters such as SOD, CAT, GSH, GR along with mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Ψ∆m) were decreased (P < 0.05), while ALCAR pretreatment prevented these effects by significantly inhibiting ROS (P < 0.001), LPO (P < 0.001), Ca(2+) (P < 0.05), TNF-α (P < 0.05), IFN-γ (P < 0.001), NO (P < 0.01) levels and expression of the above genes. This chronic pretreatment of ALCAR also increased SOD, CAT, GSH, GR, and Ψ∆m (P < 0.0.01, P < 0.0.01, P < 0.05, P < 0.05, and P < 0.001, respectively) with respect to L: -Glu group. The addition of LA to ALCAR resulted in further increases in CAT (P < 0.05), GSH (P < 0.01), GR (P < 0.05), Ψ∆m (P < 0.05) and additional decreases in ROS (P < 0.001), LPO (P < 0.05), Ca(2+) (P < 0.05), TNF-α (P < 0.05) and mRNA expression of iNOS and nNOS genes with respect to ALCAR group. Hence, this "one-two punch" of ALCAR + LA may help in ameliorating the deleterious cellular events that occur after L-Glu.

Primary yolk sac (endodermal sinus) tumour of the vulva: a case report.

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of primary yolk sac (endodermal sinus) tumour (YST) of the vulva which is very rare and to highlight some unusual features of this tumour in the vulva. CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND INTERVENTION: A 23-year-old woman presented with a 1-month swelling in the right labium majus that was non-tender and rapidly increasing in size. The mass was excised; it grossly measured 6 × 5 × 3 cm and was firm with a grey white cut surface. Microscopically it showed features of YST. The patient returned to the clinic only after 2 months with a recurrent mass of almost the same size with ipsilateral lymphadenopathy. At that time serum α-fetoprotein showed only a mild increase (13.4 µg/l, normal: 0-10 µg/l). Further management was not possible as she decided to return to her native country for treatment. A literature review shows that local excision with lymphadenectomy followed by cisplatin-based chemotherapy is the best mode of treatment for primary YST of the vulva. CONCLUSION: This case is presented for its rarity and to highlight the fact that serum α-fetoprotein estimation may not aid in the primary diagnosis or detection of recurrence in patients on follow-up for YST arising in the vulva unlike those seen in the gonads.

Proinflammatory cytokine levels in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of tuberculous meningitis patients.

The pathophysiology underlying tuberculous meningitis (TBM), the most prominent extra pulmonary tuberculosis and a serious public health problem in developing countries is still unclear. Whereas, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) are cytokines involved in cell-mediated immune response. TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma production has earlier been shown to be associated with tissue necrosis. To see whether these cytokines have any role to play in the pathophysiology of TBM, we measured the levels of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma in 31 consecutive patients of TBM by ELISA. There was a remarkable rise (P<0.001) in the levels of serum and CSF TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma levels in TBM patients with respect to 20 age and sex-matched control subjects. Furthermore, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma levels showed a positive correlation with the severity of the disease at the end of 6 months of antibiotic therapy. Elevated TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma levels, especially in CSF, despite of these patients undergoing multidrug therapy suggests the persistence of central nervous system inflammation. We also found an associated rise (P<0.001) in the nitric oxide (NO) levels of serum and CSF but there was no correlation between NO levels and the severity of TBM. The continuous release of cytokines despite these patients undergoing anti-tubercular therapy suggests that TBM severity may result mainly from the immune response rather than the organism itself.

Spermidine/spermine N1-acetyl transferase activity in rat brain following transient focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion.

The polyamine system is very sensitive to different pathological states of brain and is perturbed after central nervous system (CNS) injury. Spermidine/Spermine N(1)-acetyl transferase (SSAT) is the key enzyme responsible for interconversion of spermine and spermidine to spermidine and putrescine respectively. In the present study, SSAT activity was evaluated in the rat CNS, following transient focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. The middle cerebral artery (MCA) was occluded for 2 h in male spontaneously hypertensive rats by an intraluminal suture technique. Animals were sacrificed at 3-24 h reperfusion following the MCA occlusion and SSAT activity was assayed in cortex and striatum. Results showed that SSAT activity was significantly increased at 12 h reperfusion in cortex and at 9, 12 and 18 h reperfusion in striatum following ischemia compared to sham or contralateral controls. These results demonstrate that polyamine catabolism in the rat CNS is altered following MCA occlusion. In the in vitro ischemia study, SSAT activity was evaluated in primary cortical neuronal cultures at 6-24 h re-oxygenation intervals following oxygen-glucose deprivation for 1 h, and the results from this group show that the enzyme activity increased by about 62% (P<0.05) at 24 h re-oxygenation. This study suggests that the increased SSAT activity may contribute to the increase in putrescine during the post-ischemic period.

Effect of neonatal monosodium glutamate on the activities of glutamate dehydrogenase and aminotransferases in the circumventricular organs of rat brain.

Glutamate (Glu) the major amino acid in mammalian brain and most dietary proteins possesses neurotransmitter as well as neurotoxic properties. We administered monosodium glutamate (MSG) 4 mg/g bwt, sc on postnatal day (PND) 1 through 10 to rats on alternate days or daily and sacrificed them on PND 45 or PND 90 respectively. The activities of glutamate dehydrogenase and aminotransferases were evaluated in the circumventricular organs of brain. Results show that neonatal MSG produces alterations in glutamate metabolism in blood-brain-barrier deficient regions.