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The Al2O3–SiO2-BFS (AS-BFS) solid adsorbent was developed from blast furnace slag (BFS). The potentiality of the AS-BFS for uranium ion removal from an aqueous medium, via the batch method, was explored and disused in terms of dynamic and isothermal properties. The sorbent exhibited good reusability, a high capacity for uranium ions, and a good specific surface area. The results showed that the sorbent evacuated uranium at about 88.5 mg/g. The sorbent represents a promising waste-derived substitute for other sorbents for water treatment.

The most severe cases of COVID-19, and the highest rates of death, are among the elderly. There is an urgent need to search for an agent to treat the disease and control its progression. Boswellia serrata is traditionally used to treat chronic inflammatory diseases of the lung. This review aims to highlight currently published research that has shown evidence of potential therapeutic effects of boswellic acids (BA) and B. serrata extract against COVID-19 and associated conditions. We reviewed the published information up to March 2021. Studies were collected through a search of online electronic databases (academic libraries such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Egyptian Knowledge Bank). Several recent studies reported that BAs and B. serrata extract are safe agents and have multiple beneficial activities in treating similar symptoms experienced by patients with COVID-19. Because of the low oral bioavailability and improvement of buccal/oral cavity hygiene, traditional use by chewing B. serrata gum may be more beneficial than oral use. It is the cheapest option for a lot of poorer people. The promising effect of B. serrata and BA can be attributed to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, cardioprotective, anti-platelet aggregation, antibacterial, antifungal, and broad antiviral activity. B. serrata and BA act by multiple mechanisms. The most common mechanism may be through direct interaction with IκB kinases and inhibiting nuclear factor-κB-regulated gene expression. However, the most recent mechanism proposed that BA not only inhibited the formation of classical 5-lipoxygenase products but also produced anti-inflammatory LOX-isoform-selective modulators. In conclusion a small to moderate dose B. serrata extract may be useful in the enhancing adaptive immune response in mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. However, large doses of BA may be beneficial in suppressing uncontrolled activation of the innate immune response. More clinical results are required to determine with certainty whether there is sufficient evidence of the benefits against COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Dysphagia is common in Parkinson's disease (PD). The effects of antiparkinsonian drugs on dysphagia are controversial. Several treatments for dysphagia are available but there is no consensus on their efficacy in PD. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review of the literature and to define consensus statements on the treatment of dysphagia in PD and related nutritional management. METHODS: A multinational group of experts in the field of neurogenic dysphagia and/or Parkinson's disease conducted a systematic evaluation of the literature and reported the results according to PRISMA guidelines. The evidence from the retrieved studies was analyzed and discussed in a consensus conference organized in Pavia, Italy, and the consensus statements were drafted. The final version of statements was subsequently achieved by e-mail consensus. RESULTS: The literature review retrieved 64 papers on treatment and nutrition of patients with PD and dysphagia, mainly of Class IV quality. Based on the literature and expert opinion in cases where the evidence was limited or lacking, 26 statements were developed. CONCLUSIONS: The statements developed by the Consensus panel provide a guidance for a multi-disciplinary treatment of dysphagia in patients with PD, involving neurologists, otorhinolaryngologists, gastroenterologists, phoniatricians, speech-language pathologists, dieticians, and clinical nutritionists. ispartof: JOURNAL OF THE NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES vol:430 ispartof: location:Netherlands status: published

This work provides an environmental approach to utilise Blast furnace slag (BFS) waste for the processing of aluminium oxide (Al2O3-BFS) as an efficient adsorbent for uranium removal from wastewate...

International audience; Efficient electrochemical splitting of water with exceptional durability can be a solution for growing global demand for energy. Herein, we systematically investigated the influence of the supporting two-dimensional (2D) substrate (rGO, g-C3N4, BCN, MoS2, and WS2) on the electrocatalytic performance of CoS2 nanoparticles (NPs) for overall water splitting. CoS2NPs decorated onto rGO, g-C3N4, BCN, MoS2, and WS2 sheets were synthesized by adopting a facile hydrothermal technique using cobalt salt and sulfur source as precursors. Compared to unsupported CoS2, the synthesized nanohybrids supported on 2D materials, namely, CoS2/rGO, CoS2/g-C3N4, CoS2/BCN, CoS2/MoS2, and CoS2/WS2 exhibited significantly higher water oxidation and reduction and overall water splitting efficiencies in 1.0 M KOH aqueous solution, with CoS2/MoS2 and CoS2/WS2 catalysts being the most effective ones. In the case of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), CoS2/WS2 performed as the best catalyst and was able to provide a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at an overpotential of 130 mV, whereas it only required 298 mV to generate the same current density for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The bifunctional nanohybrid CoS2/WS2 catalyst achieved a current density of 10 mA cm-2 over 96 h for the alkaline overall water splitting at a cell voltage of 1.6 V. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were also performed to further describe and determine the HER catalytic performance of the studied catalysts. Comparing the absolute values of the studied catalysts' Gibbs free energy of adsorbed hydrogen intermediate, H∗, (GH∗), revealed that both CoS2/MoS2 and CoS2/WS2 hybrid catalysts exhibited the best surface stability and the highest HER catalytic performance.

The metformin perchlorate (MetH+·ClO4 −) with a new crystal structure was synthesized, characterized and comparatively studied with other metformin salts of Cl− and NO3 − by different spectroscopic techniques such as TGA-DSC and FT-IR as well as UV-visible spectroscopic studies. DFT calculations were performed by rwb97xd and 6-31G+(d,p) basis set for structure optimization and frequency calculations. Similar to MetH+·Cl−, the crystal packing of MetH+·ClO4 −andMetH+·NO3 − were stabilized by hexagonal hydrogen bond elongated network. The relative stability and reactivity of these salts were determined by exploring the DFT chemical descriptors such as chemical hardness, electronegativity, electronic chemical potential, electrophilicity and hardness. These calculations were employed to get the subset of variables that could categorize the metformin salts according to their reactivity.

Introduction: Despite advances in both endoscopic and surgical therapeutics, the management of cholecysto-choledocholithiasis continues to present a dilemma to both surgeons and gastroenterologists as a consensus on optimal management does not yet exist. Patients and Methods: Patients with gallbladder stones and confirmed concomitant Common Bile Duct Stones (CBDS) were submitted to one-stage Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (LC), Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiography (ERC), endo-scopic sphincterotomy and clearance of CBDS during the period from January 2009 to January 2017. Results: The study included 200 patients with a median age of 45.3 years. Pre-operative work up confirmed the presence of CBDS in all patients. Five patients (2.5%) were converted to open surgery. Intra-Operative Cholangiography (IOC) was performed in 185 patients (94.9%) and it showed CBDS in 175 of them (94.6%). Ten patients (5%) with no stones on IOC had LC only. In 185 patients (92.5%), LC plus ERC and endoscopic clearance of CBDS were completed successfully. The median total procedural time was 104 minutes and the median post-operative (PO) hospital stay was 1.5 days. Two patients (1.1%) developed post-ERC bleeding. Liver function tests were normalized in all patients within 3 weeks PO. It was possible to re-assess all patients at 1 month and 160 patients (86.5%) at 6 moths PO and all were symptom-free with no evidence of recurrent CBDS. There was no mortality. Conclusion: One-stage laparo-endoscopic treatment of cholecysto-choledocholithiasis is safe and effective with a short total procedural time and a short hospital stay.

International audience; A new bipyridine-containing manganese (II) complex, namely [(BPy)2MnCl2]·0.5H2O (MnC), was synthesized and characterized. Spectral and X-ray structural features revealed that MnC has an octahedral environment around Mn(II). Graphene oxide (GO) was noncovalently functionalized with the MnC. MnC- and (MnC/GO)-modified glassy carbon (GC) interfaces with different loading densities (0.2, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.0 mg cm−2) were tested as electrocatalysts for efficient generation of H2 in 0.1 M KOH solution. The GC-MnC catalysts exhibited high electrocatalytic activity for the HER, which enhances upon increasing the catalyst's loading density. The GC-MnC catalyst's HER activity, at any tested loading density, was found to further increase upon supporting MnC on GO. The best performing electrocatalyst, namely GC-(MnC/GO) with a loading density of 1.0 mg cm−2, exhibited high HER catalytic activity with a low onset potential value of −22 mV vs. reference hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a high exchange current density of 0.75 mA cm−2. It delivered a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at an overpotential value of 119 mV. In addition, it recorded a Tafel slope value of −114 mV dec−1. These HER electrochemical kinetic parameters approached those measured here for the commercial Pt/C under the same operating conditions (−10 mV vs. RHE, 0.88 mA cm−2, 113 mV dec−1, and 110 mV to yield a current density of 10 mA cm−2) and also comparable to the most active molecular electrocatalysts for H2 generation from aqueous alkaline electrolytes published in the literature. The long-term stability of the best performing electrocatalyst, namely GC-MnC (1.0 mg cm−2)/GO, was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry (repetitive cycling up to 5000 cycles) and chronoamperometry (48 hours) techniques, and the obtained results revealed its promising stability. A plausible mechanism for the interaction of MnC with GO was proposed based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations. DFT calculations confirmed the catalytic role of the supporting material (GO) on the fabricated metal complex in catalyzing the HER.

Three mononuclear 2-picolylamine-containing zinc(III) complexes viz [(2-PA)2ZnCl]2(ZnCl4)] (Zn1), [(2-PA)2Zn(H2O)](NO3)2] (Zn2) and [Zn(2-PA)2(OH)]NO3] (Zn3) were synthesized and fully characterized. Spectral and X-ray structural characteristics showed that the Zn1 complex has a square-pyramidal coordination environment around a zinc(II) core. The hydroxide complex Zn3 was non-covalently functionalized with few layers of graphene oxide (GO) sheets, formed by exfoliation of GO in water. The resulting Zn3/GO hybrid material was characterized by FT-IR, TGA-DSC, SEM-EDX and X-ray powder diffraction. The way of interaction of Zn3 with GO has been established through density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Both experimental and theoretical findings indicate that, on the surface of GO, the complex Zn3 forms a complete double-sided adsorption layer. Zn3 and its hybrid form Zn3/GO have been individually investigated as electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction. The hybrid heterogenized form Zn3/GO was supported on glassy carbon (GC) with variable loading densities of Zn3 (0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 mg cm−2) to form electrodes. These electrodes have been tested as molecular electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in 0.1 M KOH. Results showed that both GC-Zn3 and GC-Zn3/GO catalysts for the HER are highly active, and with increase of the catalyst’s loading density, this catalytic activity enhances. The high catalytic activity of HER with a low onset potential of −140 mV vs. RHE and a high exchange current density of 0.22 mA cm−2 is achieved with the highest loading density of Zn3 (0.8 mg cm−2). To achieve a current density of 10 mA cm−2, an overpotential of 240 mV was needed.

This study aimed to investigate the chemical composition of essential oils isolated from Acca sellowiana (feijoa) leaves and stems and elaborate on their relevance as natural anti-aging, coupled with molecular-docking studies. The isolated oils were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis and investigated for inhibitory effects against acetylcholinesterase, β-secretase, collagenase, elastase and tyrosinase. Molecular-modelling study was performed using MOE-Dock program to evaluate binding interactions of major components with the above-mentioned targets. The leaf oil revealed the predominance of caryophyllene oxide (24.3 %), linalool (7.9 %), and spathulenol (6.6 %), while the stem oil was presented by caryophyllene oxide (38.1 %), α-zingiberene (10.1 %) and humulene oxide II (6.0 %). The stem oil expressed superior inhibitory activities against acetylcholinesterase (IC

International audience; The ligand potassium hydrotris(N- (2,6-xylyl)-2-thioimidazolyl)borate (KTtxylyl) was utilized to construct a carbon paste modified electrode (KTtxylyl/CPE), which was studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry (SWV). Its electrochemical response was investigated, and it demonstrated a significant improvement in the detection of both lead(II) and cadmium(II), allowing determination of lead(II) at trace concentrations. The spectroscopic evidence includes FT-IR, Raman, 1H NMR and also DFT calculations using B3LYP/LANL2DZ level of theory indicate the high affinities of these ions toward the ligand forming lead(II) and cadmium complexes of the type [TtxylylMCl]. Negative electrostatic potential of the tri(thione) donors deriving their binding abilities toward both ions. The detection limits based on 3(SD/m) were; 0.112 μM and 0.204 μM for lead(II) and cadmium(II), respectively. The simultaneous detection of these ions in several waste water samples was examined in order to verify the modified electrode. Data from the ICP-AES instrument was compared to the results obtained.