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Background: Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma is a rare astrocytic tumor often diagnosed at a young age. Typically, they appear as supratentorial cortical tumors, frequently involving the temporal lobe with few reported rare locations. The prognosis is favorable following surgical excision; however, recurrence, dissemination, and anaplastic transformation occurred in some cases. Case presentation: A 50-year-old female presented with convulsions and an altered consciousness. Imaging showed a periventricular mixed solid and cystic lesion. Histopathological examination revealed features of pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma WHO grade 2 without necrosis or mitotic activity. Conclusions: This report highlights the classic imaging findings of pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma but in an atypical periventricular location. Although rare, pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of mixed solid and cystic periventricular lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 is a protein encoded by FGFR2 gene and plays an important role in cellular growth. This study was conducted to investigate a potential association of FGFR2 rs2981582 with breast cancer. DNA was obtained from 137 Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumors and 98 normal breast tissue samples. Genotypes were carried out with PCR-RFLP. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to evaluate the power of the associations. A significant association between FGFR2 rs2981582 C allele and susceptibility to breast cancer was found (p-value < 0.0001, Odds Ratio = 2.3, %95 CI (1.5–3.0). No significant differences in FGFR2 rs2981582 genotypes and alleles distribution among breast patients with different hormonal receptor status (p > 0.05) were detected. However, a significant difference was found in genotypes and alleles distribution in ER+, PR- and HER2 between breast cancer cases and controls. This study showed an association of FGFR2 rs2981582T/C with breast cancer in Saudi women, further large study is required to validate the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is predominant causes of mortality in women worldwide. Genetic polymorphisms have a significant role in breast cancer aetiology. TP53 and its inhibitor the murine double minute 2 (MDM2) genes encode proteins that have crucial functions in the DNA damage response. The allelic variations within these genes could influence the susceptibility to breast cancer. MDM2 promotor polymorphism rs937283A/G has a role in susceptibility to cancer and modifies the promoter activity. In the present case-control study, the association of MDM2 rs937283A/G polymorphism and breast cancer susceptibility in Saudi women with samples of 137 breast cancer patients, and 98 healthy controls were explored. MDM2 gene polymorphism rs937283A/G was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism and confirmed by sequencing. The results revealed that rs937283A/G variant is significantly increases the risk of breast cancer in Saudi women (p-value = 0.0078). Moreover, rs937283A/G polymorphism was associated with high risk of breast cancer in estrogen positive breast cancer patients (p-value = 0.0088), progesterone positive breast cancer patients (p-value = 0.0043), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative breast cancer patients (p-value = 0.0026), and triple negative breast cancer patients where (p-value = 0.0003). Positive association between increased breast cancer risk and rs937283 variant in premenopausal Saudi women, below 50 years of age, was demonstrated (p-value = 0.0023). Collectively, MDM2 rs937283A/G polymorphism could act as a possible biomarker for breast cancer susceptibility in Saudi women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Spent mushroom waste showed great potential to treat wastewater. • The Mg-Fe@BSMW was characterized by different techniques FT-IR, XRD, XPS and SEM-EDX. • The interaction between the phosphate and Mg-Fe@BSMW were evaluated. • Mg-Fe@BSMW shows a superior adsorption capacity for phosphate and can be easily recycled. Excessive phosphate in water bodies causes eutrophication, which can be harmful to human and animal health. This study aimed to fabricate biochar adsorbent based on Mg-Fe modified spent mushroom waste for removing phosphate from aqueous solutions. Various characterization tools such as scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were applied to determine the surface structure and properties of biochar from spent mushroom waste (BSMW) and biochar from Mg-Fe modified spent mushroom waste (Mg-Fe@BSMW). The result confirmed that Mg and Fe were successfully embedded into the biochar matrix. Mg-Fe@BSMW showed an excellent adsorption capacity for phosphate (247 mg g−1). Kinetic and isotherm analyses revealed that the current study's data fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir model. A thermodynamic study indicated that phosphate removal was exothermic and spontaneous. Our study indicated that Mg-Fe@BSMW was a potential adsorbent with high efficiency, and excellent reusability for phosphate removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Petroleum hydrocarbons (PHs) are a big group of chemicals that have caused a major concern because of their widespread distribution into the environment, bioaccumulation potential, harmful effects and biodegradation resistance. Soil and water pollution is mainly attributed to hydrocarbons from oil refineries, petrochemical industries, human activities and other sources. The mechanisms and factors that affect biodegradation should be further understood because the choice of bioremediation technique depends on them. This review described fungal PHs degradation, emphasized the relevant physicochemical and biological factors, and discussed the enzymatic systems influencing PHs biodegradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-organic frameworks have been used as antibacterial agents because of their effective antibacterial properties. In this research, nanocomposites of copper (II)- benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid metal–organic framework with iron oxide [Cu-MOF@Fe 3 O 4 ] were prepared via a simple hydrothermal route. X-ray analysis reveals the crystallinity of the structure while FTIR analysis confirms the existence of Cu-based MOFs functional group. Cu-MOF@Fe 3 O 4 scans using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) reveal irregular clusters of cubic particles fused with Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles. Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrum of Cu-MOF@Fe 3 O 4 provides the evidence of elemental composition by showing the peaks of iron, oxygen, copper and carbon. Using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and zone of inhibition assays, the antimicrobial activity of the Cu-MOF and Cu-MOF@Fe 3 O 4 against E. coli and B. subtilis were evaluated. The antibacterial results have shown that the Cu-MOF@Fe 3 O 4 has higher antibacterial performance against E. coli as compared with B. subtilis as compared to Cu-MOF, Fe 3 O 4 and ligands only. On the other hand, the Cu-MOF@Fe 3 O 4 composites exhibit excellent antifungal potential when compared to the ligand, commercial nanoparticles, Cu(NO 3) 2 ·3H 2 O, iron oxide, Cu-MOF. The exploration of antibacterial mechanism revealed that the Cu-MOF@Fe 3 O 4 composite favors slow release of metal ions and prolonged biocidal effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aimed to synthesize an effective material having greater potential to reduce water pollution caused by industrial waste and exhibit efficient antibacterial potential. The transition metals (Manganese-Mn, Zinc-Zn) and post transition metal (Tin-Sn) reacted with TeO 2 in a stoichiometric ratio by adopting a solid-state reaction. The crystallite size of the synthesized compounds MnTeO 3 (D1), ZnTeO 3 (D2), and SnTe 3 O 8 (D3) was measured by the Debye-Scherrer formula by extracting data from the FWHM. D1 and D2 exhibit the orthorhombic structure whereas D3 has a simple cubic structure and crystalline size was measured by FWHM i.e., 221 nm, 458 nm, and 153 nm. Catalytic degradation efficiency for the removal of MB dye was found to be in the range of 66%-73%. Additionally, these substances have strong antimicrobial action alongside both bacteria and fungi, such as Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus with maximal zone inhibitions of 35.0 mm and 12.5 mm for each kind of bacterium. The highest antifungal activity of Mn integrated was estimated to be 37.2 mm versus Aspergillus niger and 15.1 mm alongside Coccidioides. According to the findings, the manufactured material has effective photocatalytic and antimicrobial activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research work includes the fabrication of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe 2 O 3 NPs) by green construction approach using Wisteria sinensis leaves extract. Due to its eco-friendly approach, the synthesis of iron oxide NPs (Fe 2 O 3 NPs) using various plant sources, such as plant parts, and microbial cells have gained a lot of attention in recent years. Cost-effectiveness and ease of availability make Wisteria sinensis leaves extract a potential candidate for the construction of iron oxide NPs. The various key features like biocompatibility, non-toxicity capping, and stabilizing agents present in biological sources are advantageous for usage in a variety of applications. The phytoconstituents present in the leaf extract of Wisteria sinensis serve as reducing and stabilizing agents. The biologically fabricated (Fe 2 O 3 NPs) were analyzed using FT-IR, XRD, UV–vis spectroscopy, and SEM. In the present work, the antioxidant and photocatalytic dye degradation efficiency of Fe 2 O 3 NPs has been studied. The dye degradation efficiency of methylene blue dye was found to be 87% at 180 min upon exposure to sunlight. The capacity of Fe 2 O 3 NPs to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate free radicals (DPPH) was examined using a UV–Vis spectrophotometer. The study compared the radical scavenging activity (RSA) of Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles (NPs) with that of the standard antioxidant ascorbic acid. The results demonstrated that Fe 2 O 3 NPs have a greater ability to scavenge radicals than ascorbic acid. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of Fe 2 O 3 NPs was observed to range from 0.12 to 0.17. Furthermore, Fe 2 O 3 NPs displayed the highest antifungal activity, with an inhibition zone of 26.8 mm against F. oxysporum. These findings suggest that the biologically synthesized Fe 2 O 3 NPs possess potent antimicrobial and dye degradation properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]