Parents' Caring Approach for Their Children Suffering from Pneumonia-A Study among Bhil Tribes of Maharashtra.

Context: In India, pneumonia deaths in the past decade show a decreasing trend in the child mortality rate from 74.6 to 45.4. However, NFHS-5 records an increase in prevalence to 2.8% from 2.7% in NFHS-4. The childhood pneumonia control strategies focus on strengthening the health system, skill-building health workers, counseling, and creating awareness about promoting healthy behaviors regarding the management of sick children. Aims: The study attempts to understand "caregivers" care-seeking behavior and the management of childhood pneumonia. Setting and Design: The study was conducted in the Akkalkuwa block of Nandurbar district, Maharashtra, India. We used episodic interviews, asking caregivers to recollect specific events linked to the need for treatment. Methods and Material: A total of 11 in-depth interviews of mothers were conducted whose under-five children had pneumonia in the past year. These interviews used vignettes from real pneumonia cases to discuss community priorities for health care and actions taken to improve child's health. In addition, the qualitative data from the in-depth interviews were thematically analyzed. Result: Cough, breathlessness, and disturbance in the routine schedule of the child were the major symptoms to identify pneumonia (vavlya) among children. Branding on the stomach, oil massage, and jadi-buti were commonly observed phenomena to seek help. Low priority, the influence of traditional healers and herbal medicines, and the inaccessibility of quality healthcare services were the main factors that led to the child's treatment. Conclusion: Culturally appropriate activities are to be imparted on recognition of symptoms and appropriate care seeking, and community health workers need capacity building.

Improved photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2 by doping with tungsten and synthesizing in ionic liquid: precise kinetics-mechanism and effect of oxidizing agents.

The degradation of nitroaromatics/toxic energetic compounds contaminated water is a major cause of concern. W-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized in ionic liquid, ethyl methyl imidazolium dicyanamide (EMIM-DCA) by a solvothermal method. The developed NPs were sintered at 500 °C and characterized by UV-Vis-DRS, FT-IR, FE-SEM, XRD, XPS, and BET techniques. The 30-40-nm-sized NPs were subjected to photocatalytic degradation of the toxic energetic compound, tetryl (2,4,6-trinitrophenylmethylnitramine) under UV-Vis light. Various operating parameters such as the effect of concentration of catalyst, pH of feed phase, oxidizing agents, and recycling of catalyst were studied in detail. For the first time, the degradation-mechanism pathway and kinetics of tetryl were evaluated. The degradation products were precisely analyzed by using HPLC, GC-MS, and TOC techniques. The USEPA has prescribed a drinking water limit of 0.02 mg L-1, and it was found that 0.5 g of 4% W-TiO2 could totally degrade tetryl (50 mg L-1) within 8 h. The kinetic rate constant of 4% W-TiO2 was 0.356 h-1, whereas pure TiO2 showed 0.207 h-1.

Role of Telemedicine for Facio-Odontogenic Pain Management During COVID-19 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: As the COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly griping the world, the entire landscape of existing patient management needs to be changed to avoid spread of Corona virus. In cases of emergencies, there is no option other than getting in-person consultations with doctors. But, in non-emergency patients, telemedicine can serve as a boon. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this article, we have tried to summarize the rules, regulations and protocols in accordance with government guidelines along with practical management for urgencies in dento-/oro-facial pains. CONCLUSION: If used wisely and as per recommendations, telemedicine is a very useful tool in the present COVID-19 pandemic, to avoid spread of infection to patients as well as health care workers.

Endosalpingiosis of urinary bladder: report on a rare entity.

A case of endosalpingiosis of the urinary bladder is presented with imaging features on sonography and CT. Patient presented with right flank pain, dysuria and haematuria. She had h/o right renal calculus and abdominal hysterectomy 15 years ago. On sonography a polypoidal filling defect was noted and possibility of a bladder neoplasia was suggested. On cystoscopy and removal of the lesion and subsequent histo-pathological analysis revealed the diagnosis of endosalphingiosis. This report emphasizes the need for evaluation of all clinical inputs while considering the differential diagnosis of an intraluminal bladder lesion. Imaging appearance and aetio-pathology of the rare intra vesical lesion is highlighted.

NTO Sensing by Fluorescence Quenching of a Pyoverdine Siderophore-A Mechanistic Approach.

In this study, a siderophore, pyoverdine (PVD), has been isolated from Pseudomonas sp. and used to develop a fluorescence quenching-based sensor for efficient detection of nitrotriazolone (NTO) in aqueous media, in contrast to other explosives such as research department explosive (RDX), picric acid, and trinitrotoulene (TNT). The siderophore PVD exhibited enhanced fluorescence quenching above 50% at 470 nm for a minimal concentration (38 nM) of NTO. The limit of detection estimated from interpolating the graph of fluorescence intensity (at 470 nm) versus NTO concentration is found to be 12 nM corresponding to 18% quenching. The time delay fluorescence spectroscopy of the PVD-NTO solution showed a negligible change of 0.09 ns between the minimum and maximum NTO concentrations. The in silico absorption at the emission peak of static fluorescence remains invariant upon the addition of NTO. The computational studies revealed the formation of inter- and intramolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions between the energetically stable complexes of PVD and NTO. Although the analysis of Stern-Volmer plots and computational studies imply that the quenching mechanism is a combination of both dynamic and static quenching, the latter is dominant over the earlier. The static quenching is attributed to ground-state complex formation, as supported by the computational analysis.

Screening of zero valent mono/bimetallic catalysts and recommendation of Raney Ni (without reducing agent) for dechlorination of 4-chlorophenol.

Chlorophenol (CP) is considered as environmentally hazardous material due to its acute toxicity, persistent nature and strong bioaccumulation. The dechlorination of 4-CP was investigated by using various catalysts such as bimetallic (Fe0/Cu0, Al0/Fe0), Pd/C, Raney Ni and Fe0 at room temperature. Among the catalysts studied, Raney Ni proved to be very economical and efficient catalyst that worked without the use of an external reducing agent. The dechlorination of 4-CP by Raney Ni was therefore further explored. Complete dechlorination of 4-CP (30 mg L-1) was achieved in 6 h at an optimum Raney Ni catalyst loading of 3 g L-1. The effect of triethylamine (TEA) and tripropylamine (TPA) was also investigated and it was observed that 100% dechlorination is possible in presence of 45 mg L-1 of TEA. The kinetics of dechlorination of 4-CP was investigated and found to be first order with a rate constant of 0.017 min-1 at 50 οC, and it enhances to 0.109 min-1 with addition of TEA. In the absence of a reducing agent, acidic to neutral pH favors dechlorination of 4-CP. The final product of dechlorination was estimated to be phenol by performing HPLC, LCMS and NMR analysis. Based on the results, a probable dechlorination mechanism of 4-CP is also proposed. It can be concluded that the catalytic hydrodechlorination is an effective and economical technique for dechlorination of 4-CP and it has a potential for the dechlorination of other toxic derivatives of chlorinated aromatics.

Studies on conversion of waste nitramine and fuel-rich-based propellants into liquid fertilizer.

The current demilitarization processes employ open burning/open detonation which is not permitted by the environmental protection agency. Therefore, a systematic study has been carried out to convert waste/rejected nitramine propellant (NP) and fuel-rich-based propellant (FRP) into liquid fertilizer by digesting in dilute nitric acid followed by neutralization with potassium hydroxide and phosphoric acid. The obtained liquid fertilizers were fully characterized for nitrate, phosphate and ammonium ions along with potassium. Further, the effect of liquid fertilizers of NP and FRP on cluster bean plants was studied by taking different concentrations from 25 to 150 mL, and their effects on germination pattern, shoot growth, thickness of stem, size and number of leaves, number of pods and length over a full-grown period of plants were investigated. The results reveal that the germination index increases as the content of liquid fertilizer increases and the same trend was observed with respect to root and shoot growth. Also, broadness and the number of leaves showed an encouraging effect as concentration increases. Further, the final product, i.e. the number of pods of cluster bean and length in each pod was found to be more for liquid fertilizer of NP compared to FRP-based liquid fertilizer.

Knowledge and attitude toward organ donation among health-care professionals in a rural town in India.

Organ shortage is the greatest challenge facing the field of organ transplantation today. We aimed to study the attitude and knowledge toward organ donation among health-care professionals (HCPs) in rural India. The study was conducted in a rural town in Konkan region of Maharashtra in India. A questionnaire testing knowledge and attitude about various aspects of organ donation was distributed to HCPs. One hundred percent of the respondents were aware about organ donation. Nearly 40.6% and 21.9% believed that a healthy person and a cardiac dead person can be donors, respectively. Fifty percent believed that a brain dead person can be a donor and 3.1% clearly stated as to be having no idea regarding the health status of a donor. Almost 37.5% were ready to believe a heart beating person declared as "brain dead" as dead. Nearly 15.6% were ready to accept a brain dead person as "legally" dead. Highest awareness was observed regarding eye donation, i.e., 87.5%. High awareness was also observed regarding liver, kidney, heart, skin, and body donations, i.e., 78.1%, 65.6%, 37.5%, 31.3%, and 25.0%, respectively. Awareness regarding organ donation of other tissues and organs was poor. Nearly 46.9% HCPs stated that they felt need for an educational session on organ donation. Awareness regarding concept of organ donation among HCPs in rural India is high. Awareness regarding details of organ donation needs further awareness drives. There is a lack of understanding regarding various aspects of brain death and its importance in organ donation.

Knowledge and attitude toward organ donation among people in Lanja: A rural town in India.

Organ shortage is the greatest challenge facing the field of organ transplantation today. We aimed to study the attitude and knowledge toward body and organ donation among people in rural India. The present study was conducted in a rural town called Lanja, in the Konkan region of Maharashtra in India. A questionnaire covering demographic data, knowledge, and attitude of the participants was distributed to 400 students, middle-aged and senior citizens; 91.5% of the respondents were aware about organ donation. Television (55.2%) and newspaper (45.8%) were the most popular sources of information. About 56.2% and 32.8% believed that a healthy person and a cardiac dead person can be donors, respectively. Nearly 29.4% believed that a brain-dead person can be a donor and 22.4% clearly stated as to be having no idea regarding the health status of a donor. Highest awareness was observed regarding eye donation (92%). High awareness was also observed regarding heart, kidney, and liver donations, that is, 71.1%, 61.2%, and 54.2%, respectively. Awareness regarding donation of other tissues and organs was poor. Only 46.8% believed that the family of the deceased person can give consent for organ donation if the donor had not signed the donor card. Awareness regarding both body and organ donation in rural India is high. However, there is lack of understanding regarding the concept of brain-death. Awareness regarding body and other organ and tissue donations besides eye, kidney, etc., needs further awareness drives.

Efficacy of zero-valent copper (Cu(0)) nanoparticles and reducing agents for dechlorination of mono chloroaromatics.

The zero-valent copper (Cu(0)) nanoparticles were prepared by chemical reduction method. The morphology of nanoparticles was investigated by using X ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X ray, UV-visible spectrophotometer and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analyser. The Cu(0) nanoparticles along with reducing agents, NaBH4/5% acidified alcohol were used for the dechlorination of chloroaromatics at room temperature. Chlorobenzene (Cl-B), chlorotoluene (Cl-T), chloropyridine (Cl-Py) and chlorobiphenyl (Cl-BPh) were selected as the contaminants. The effect of various operating parameters such as pH, concentration of the catalyst and reducing agent (NaBH4), and recycling of the catalyst on dechlorination were studied. Nearly complete dechlorination of all the chloroaromatics were achieved in the presence of Cu(0) nanoparticles (2.5 g L(-1)) and NaBH4 (1.0 g L(-1)) within 12 h. On the contrary, approximately 70% of dechlorination was observed in the presence of 5% acidified alcohol at similar experimental conditions. The dechlorination mechanism highlighted the importance of Cu(0) nanoparticles as a surface mediator. The kinetics of the dechlorination of chloroaromatics was investigated and compared with chloroaliphatics. The dechlorination rate differed from 0.23 h(-1) (Cl-B) to 0.15 h(-1) (Cl-BPh) in the presence of Cu(0) nanoparticles and NaBH4. The effectiveness of Cu(0) nanoparticles with NaBH4 (1 g L(-1)) and 5% acidified alcohol as electron donors were studied by oxidation-reduction potential and observed to be -1016 mV and -670 mV, respectively. Final products of the dechlorination were benzene, toluene, pyridine and biphenyl, as identified by gas chromatograph mass spectrometer and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Highly selective monitoring of metals by using ion-imprinted polymers.

Ion imprinting technology is one of the most promising tools in separation and purification sciences because of its high selectivity, good stability, simplicity and low cost. It has been mainly used for selective removal, preconcentration, sensing and few miscellaneous fields. In this review article, recent methodologies in the synthesis of IIPs have been discussed. For several applications, different parameters of IIP including complexing and leaching agent, pH, relative selectivity coefficient, detection limit and adsorption capacity have been evaluated and an attempt has been made to generalize. Biomedical applications mostly include selective removal of toxic metals from human blood plasma and urine samples. Wastewater treatment involves selective removal of highly toxic metal ions like Hg(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), As(V), etc. Preconcentration covers recovery of economically important metal ions such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium. It also includes selective preconcentration of lanthanides and actinides. In sensing, various IIP-based sensors have been fabricated for detection of toxic metal ions. This review article includes almost all metal ions based on the ion-imprinted polymer. At the end, the future outlook section presents the discussion on the advancement, corresponding merits and the need of continued research in few specific areas. Graphical Abstract IIPs for the selective monitoring of metals.

Supported ionic liquid membranes for removal of dioxins from high-temperature vapor streams.

Dioxins and dioxin-like chemicals are predominantly produced by thermal processes such as incineration and combustion at concentrations in the range of 10-100 ng of I-TEQ/kg (I-TEQ = international toxic equivalents). In this work, a new approach for the removal of dioxins from high-temperature vapor streams using facilitated supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs) is proposed. The use of ceramic membranes containing specific ionic liquids, with extremely low volatility, for dioxin removal from incineration sources is proposed owing to their stability at very high temperatures. Supported liquid membranes were prepared by successfully immobilizing the ionic liquids tri-C(8)-C(10)-alkylmethylammonium dicyanamide ([Aliquat][DCA]) and 1-n-octyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([Omim][DCA]) inside the porous structure of ceramic membranes. The porous inorganic membranes tested were made of titanium oxide (TiO(2)), with a nominal pore size of 30 nm, and aluminum oxide (Al(2)O(3)), with a nominal pore size of 100 nm. The ionic liquids were characterized, and the membrane performance was assessed for the removal of dioxins. Different materials (membrane pore size, type of ionic liquid, and dioxin) and different operating conditions (temperature and flow rate) were tested to evaluate the efficiency of SILMs for dioxin removal. All membranes prepared were stable at temperatures up to 200 °C. Experiments with model incineration gas were also carried out, and the results obtained validate the potential of using ceramic membranes with immobilized ionic liquids for the removal of dioxins from high-temperature vapor sources.

Capture of dioxins by ionic liquids.

Dioxins are highly toxic compounds that mainly originate from incineration and combustion sources. In this work, a new, simple, and efficient approach for the absorption of dioxins from gaseous streams using thermally stable ionic liquids is proposed. The absorption process of nonchlorinated and chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin compounds was studied in the temperature range 100-200 degrees C. Imidazolium-, ammonium-, and guanidinium-based ionic liquids were designed for this specific purpose. It was observed that imidazolium cations having long alkyl side chains exhibit the highest absorption capacities, whereas the anion dicyanoamide [DCA] possesses higher absorption capacity than other anions studied. In a typical experiment, it was found that the ionic liquid 1-n-octyl-3-methyl imidazolium dicyanoamide [C8mim][DCA] can absorb more than 14% by weight of dibenzo-p-dioxin, 2-chlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, and 1,2,3,4-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin from a gaseous stream. A process for desorption of dioxins from the ionic liquid was tested, revealing that complete desorption can be achieved under a high vacuum. Additionally, the feasibility ofthe process was examined by carrying out experiments under real operating conditions of incineration and combustion processes. The success of the method heavily relies upon the design and selection of specific ionic liquids having enhanced affinity for the aromatic compound functionality present in dioxins and, simultaneously, possessing extremely low volatility and high chemical and thermal stability.

Dioxins sources and current remediation technologies--a review.

Dioxins are highly toxic and ubiquitous compounds that are unintentional by-products of several chemical processes on earth. According to the earth pollutant terminology, they are next to the nuclear catastrophes. It is because of their concerns over adverse health effects, a number of countries have introduced stringent emission standards. The present review focuses on entire sources of dioxins present in the environment. They are broadly classified into four major categories such as, incineration, combustion, industrial and reservoir sources. State-of-the-art remediation technologies available for reducing dioxins formation and emission from the important sources such as, flue gas, fly ash and soil were described in detail. Further, in order to get a comprehensive perception about the dioxins subject, topics such as, dioxins transfer in the environment, their mode of action, toxicity equivalence factor, exposure and health risk assessment were highlighted in brief in the introduction. A future prospects based on the findings of the review was discussed at the end.

Comparison of physicochemical properties of new ionic liquids based on imidazolium, quaternary ammonium, and guanidinium cations.

More than 50 ionic liquids were prepared by using imidazolium, quaternary ammonium, and guanidinium cations and various anions. In these series, different cationic structures such as 1-benzyl-3-methylimidazolium [Bzmim]+, 1,3-dibenzylimidazolium [BzmiBz]+, 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium [C8mim]+, 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium [C10mim]+, tricapryl-methylammonium [Aliquat]+, benzyltriethylammonium [BzTEA]+, phenyltrimethylammonium [PhTMA]+, and dimethyldihexylguanidinium [DMG]+ were combined with anions, p-toluenesulfonate [TSA](-), dicyanoamide [DCA]-, saccharine (2-sulfobenzoic acid imide sodium salt) [SAC]-, trifluoroacetate [TFA]-, bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide [Tf2N]-, trifluoromethanesulfonate [TfO]-, and thiocyanate [SCN]-. Important physical data for these ionic liquids are collated, namely solubility in common solvents, viscosity, density, melting point and water content. Apart from the viscosity, the Newtonian and non-Newtonian behavior of these ionic liquids is also disclosed. Stability of these ionic liquids under thermal, basic, acidic, nucleophilic, and oxidative conditions was also studied. The features of the solid-liquid phase transition were analyzed, namely the glass transition temperature and the heat capacity jump associated with the transition from the non-equilibrium glass to the metastable supercooled liquid. A degradation temperature of each ionic liquid was also determined. Comparisons of the properties of various ionic liquids were made.

A comparative study on absorption and selectivity of organic vapors by using ionic liquids based on imidazolium, quaternary ammonium, and guanidinium cations.

A novel study on organic solute absorption from the vapor phase is reported. The organic solutes chosen for the absorption studies include 1,4-benzodioxane, biphenyl, xanthene, and menthol. A series of imidazolium, ammonium, and guanidinium-based ionic liquids (ILs) containing several types of anions were used as absorbents. Absorption of water vapor was also studied along with the organic solutes. Absorption studies of each organic solute were performed by using a specially devised glass apparatus at 50 degrees C. It was observed that the rate of absorption increases with time and is faster in the case of 1,4-benzodioxane (24 h). The absorption process for each organic solute with different classes of ionic liquids was studied and the results were compared with each other. Absorption values of more than 25,000 ppm were observed in some ionic liquids. Distribution ratios of organic solutes in an ionic liquid and in the vapor phase were measured and the selectivity was evaluated by using the distribution ratio values. A remarkable selectivity was observed for some ionic liquids towards a specific organic solute. Importantly, it was observed that the selectivity remained constant, even though a mixture of solute was used for the absorption study. Desorption of organic vapors from ionic liquids was successfully carried out by applying a vacuum. Further, it was observed that the same ionic liquid can be repeatedly reused several times for absorption. These studies reveal that, in future, a task-specific ionic liquid can be prepared and used for specific solute capture from the vapor phase.