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Metal molybdate-doped aluminium phosphate heterostructures have been prepared by a solid solution method and found to be photoluminescence, semiconducting properties and effective catalysts for the photoreduction of o-nitroaniline and p-nitroaniline.

In this work, we report the redox properties in organic catalytic transformation and antibacterial activity of novel Cu x Ag x Zn1-2x O nanocomposites. Cu- and Ag-doped ZnO [Cu x Ag x Zn1-2x O (x = 0.1)] (CAZ), Cu-doped ZnO [Cu x Zn1-x O (x = 0.1)] (CZ), and Ag-doped ZnO [Ag x Zn1-x O (x = 0.1)] (AZ) were prepared via a chemical co-precipitation method. The synthesized nanocomposites were characterized using different spectroscopic techniques. The catalytic activity of CAZ, CZ, and AZ was examined for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and 4-nitroaniline (4-NA) in the presence of NaBH4 in an aqueous medium. The photocatalytic oxidation efficiency of these catalysts was also observed against naphthol orange (NO) under ultraviolet light. It was found that the catalytic reduction and oxidation efficiency of CAZ is higher than that of CZ and AZ in 4-NP/4-NA and NO in a water solvent, respectively. The antibacterial property of CAZ was also studied against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria by agar well diffusion and the minimum inhibitory concentration methods. It was found that CAZ shows better antimicrobial activity compared to its parental Cu(NO3)2·3H2O, AgNO3, and ZnO. Therefore, the incorporation of Cu and Ag into ZnO increases its catalytic and antimicrobial activity remarkably. Fourier-transform infrared and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies of CAZ indicate the incorporation of Cu and Ag into the lattice of ZnO. The phase structure of CAZ was wurtzite hexagonal, and the average crystallite size was 93 ± 1 nm measured from XRD. The average grain size and particle size of CAZ were found to be 200 and 100 ± 5 nm originating from SEM and transmission electron microscopy studies, respectively. The optical energy band gap of CAZ is 3.15 eV, which supports the excellent photocatalyst under UV light. CAZ also exhibits good agreement for photoluminescence properties with a high intensity peak at 571 nm, indicating surface oxygen vacancies and defects which might be responsible for higher photocatalytic activity compared to others. The nanocomposite shows excellent reusability without any significant loss of activity.

Management of plastic, rubber and cellulosic waste from various industries is a challenging task. An engineering scale plasma pyrolysis based incinerator has been commissioned for incineration of combustible waste, including plastic, rubber and cellulose. Operational trials of wastes with simulated composition show a weight reduction factor of more than 18 and volume reduction factor of more than 30. The volume reduction factor is tenfold higher than the compaction process currently practised for rubber and plastic wastes. Representative residual ash samples derived from these runs are subjected to their elemental analysis using EDXRF technique and results are comparable with the published literature. Relative variation of individual elements is attributed to the type of waste and feed composition. Analysis is aided with the calculation of index of geoaccumulation, enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (CF) and pollution load index (PLI). From this study, it is evident that S, Cr, Zn, As, Se, Hg and Pb are of concern for environment in residual ash from plasma incineration of combustible waste. The efficacy of the incineration process is evaluated; C, H and O reduction achieved is more than 98% and overall enrichment ratio (ER) for the inorganic elements is more than 4.5. This study highlights the importance of elemental composition for the performance analysis of the plasma based incineration as well as hazards evaluation of constituents in residual ash for its further management.

Acalculous cholecystitis and pancreatitis are rare complications of scrub typhus in children. In febrile patients from an endemic area with multisystem involvement, scrub typhus should be a differential diagnosis. Scrub typhus patients who develop abdominal pain, acute cholecystitis or pancreatitis should be suspected.

The effect of frequency chirping on the link availability of an underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) system is studied theoretically using a simple and realistic model. It is observed, both theoretically and numerically, that a light pulse can be compressed in temporal axis when propagating in the water medium and can attain the minimum value at a prespecified location by appropriately choosing the initial pulse chirp parameter. The pulse compression takes place due to the interplay between the initial frequency chirp and the group velocity dispersion (GVD) effect. An increase in peak intensity, due to pulse compression, at the prespecified receiver location results in an improvement in the link availability compromised due to both attenuation and turbulence. The link availability is quantified by estimating the fading probability for various cases of initially chirped (+ve, 0, and −ve) Gaussian pulses under the influence of attenuation and turbulence and the results are compared for different scenarios. To have a complete channel description, the effect of particulate scattering on the GVD-induced pulse compression and hence on the fading probability is studied and quantified using the Monte Carlo numerical simulation technique. It is shown that, for the same system and channel parameters, the fading probability of a UWOC system is a few orders of magnitude lower (at a prespecified location) for the case with the negatively chirped pulse than for the cases when the initial pulse chirp is either zero or positive. In addition, the analytical expressions for estimating the focus distance and minimum pulse length, as functions of the channel properties, incident pulse length, and initial chirp parameters, are presented and discussed.

The present work focussed on demarcation of areas with cancer development risk through excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) by assessing spatial variability of gamma dose in outdoor and indoor environment in western Himalaya. Average outdoor gamma dose and outdoor annual effective dose exceed the corresponding world averages. An indoor gamma dose (barring Budgam, Ganderbal and Kashmir University of Kashmir division and Reasi city of Jammu division) also exceed the world average. The probability of cancer development is higher in main-Shopian (3.65 × 10−3), Mala Bagh (2.80 × 10−3), Bundoda (2.88 × 10−3) and Dhadpeta (2.89 × 10−3), as total ELCR exceeds the world average.

Effluents released from various industries and domestic sewage can contaminate the seawater leading to serious impacts on marine biota. The present study aims for the estimation of trace and toxic metals concentrations in different marine biota species collected from the Thane creek area, Mumbai, India. Among different metals analyzed, the highest and the least concentration was observed for Fe (9.0–118.3 mg/kg ww) and As (4.7 × 10−4–7.8 × 10−3 mg/kg ww), respectively in most of the marine biota. The toxic metal concentrations observed in the current study are less than the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 1983/1987), World Health Organization (WHO, 1983/1987) limits given for Hg (2 mg/kg ww), Pb (0.5 mg/kg ww) and As (1 mg/kg ww). In the current study, Fe was found to have the highest bio-concentration factor followed by Cu and Zn. Crab has relatively higher bio-concentration factor for most of the metals (except for Se, Hg) as compared to fish samples analyzed. Se-health benefit values were found to be positive indicating less health effects due to Hg exposure from marine biota. The estimated hazard quotient (HQ) value was observed to be highest for Cu in crabs (5.6E-02). However, the Hazard Index (HI) values of all studied marine biota species are

Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare and fatal entity in children with fever, organomegaly, cytopenias, liver dysfunction and coagulopathy and does not respond to conventional therapies. It is categorized into two types: Primary (inherited) and Secondary (associated with infection, malignancy, autoimmune diseases, etc.). Prognosis of primary HLH is poor, whereas in secondary HLH outcome depends upon the underlying disease. This study is a retrospective analysis of case records of children admitted with a diagnosis of HLH from January 2016 to December 2019 in the Pediatrics department of a teaching hospital in Odisha, India. It describes the clinical features, laboratory findings, diagnosis, treatment and outcome of children with HLH.Thirteen children were diagnosed as HLH for 36 months in the age range from 1 month 11 days to 14 years. Fever and splenomegaly were present in 100% of cases while hepatomegaly in 69.2% and rash in 15.3% of cases. Anaemia, hyperferritinemia were detected in 100% whereas neutropenia in 76.9% and thrombocytopenia in 38.4%. Bone marrow aspiration was done in 7 patients out of whom 6 revealed haemophagocytosis. Serum fibrinogen was low in 8 cases. Out of 13 cases, 7 patients received corticosteroid, and 3 of them also received Cyclosporine along with Steroids. Two cases left against medical advice, 7 had infectious aetiology, and 3 cases were diagnosed as Systemic onset Juvenile Idiopathic arthritis (SoJIA). Seven patients required ICU care. Ten cases recovered, and one died as HLH is a rare entity and has a high chance of fatality early diagnosis and prompt therapy results in a better outcome.

The groundwater samples were found to be contaminated with high concentrations of uranium (U) in Punjab state as well as in few other locations of India. U being chemically toxic can deteriorate health when ingested. Hence, there is a need to remove U from contaminated water using an efficient, cheap and user friendly method. A study was initiated to investigate the efficiency of low-cost adsorbents in removing U from water. Seven adsorbents were screened for U removal efficiency, among which fly ash (FA) and tea waste (TW) were found to have better removal efficiency. Solid–liquid contact time and solution pH were optimized to establish conditions for better U removal efficiency. The U adsorption on FA and TW followed pseudo-second-order kinetics with rate constant values 4.63 g/mg/min and 15.63 g/mg/min, respectively. FA and TW had the highest U removal capability at pH 6 and pH 4, respectively. The U sorption data were fitted with Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm models. The U adsorption on FA and TW is found to be a physical process with mean free energy (E) values less than 8 kJ/mol. Theoretically calculated maximum adsorption capacity values indicate that FA is a better adsorbent as compared to TW, which has been further confirmed experimentally. The U adsorption on both the adsorbents has interference from Ca2+ and no interference from Fe3+ at tested U concentrations. It is also found that FA and TW are effective in decontaminating U from spiked real groundwater samples to below the WHO (Guidelines for drinking water quality, 4th ed, vol 1, World Health Organization, Geneva, 2011) limit.

Size-fractionated particulate matter (PM), associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and their dry deposition fluxes were measured in a coastal urban environment of Mumbai, India. PM samples were collected using a variable configuration cascade impactor (VCCI) with 11 size fractionation stages. Dry deposition samples were collected using a round-bottomed PVC tray. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the identification and quantification of PAHs in samples. PM were observed to range between 58 and 130 μg m−3, with a mean dry deposition flux of 1298 mg m−2 day−1. Observed PM concentrations during the sampling period were found to be well above the WHO Air Quality Guidelines. A strong linear correlation was observed between the gravitational settling velocities and estimated dry deposition velocities for PM. Concentrations of PAHs associated with PM were observed to be in the range 101–145 ng m−3 while their dry deposition fluxes varied from 1008 to 1160 ng m−2 month−1. The molecular diagnostic ratios (MDRs) indicated that sources of PAHs in the study area were petrogenic as well as non-traffic. The dry deposition velocities calculated for PAHs were in the order of 10−4 cm s−1 to 10−3 cm s−1 in the entire size range.

The processes of material transport in oceans and their exchange with the land mass are complex and are a concern of interest to many researchers. Seawater and surface sediment samples from Tarapur, Mumbai and Goa from west coast of India were collected and analysed for 226Ra and 228Ra. The activity levels of 226Ra ranged from 19 to 36 Bq/kg while the levels of 228Ra ranged from 25 to 55 Bq/kg in sediments. While the 226Ra and 228Ra activity levels ranged between 1.2–3.7 mBq/L and 3.1–7.1 mBq/L respectively. The activity ratios for the two isotopes were also calculated and were found to range between 0.4 and 2.3. The analyses were carried out using gamma spectrometry.

Seawater and salt samples (from saltpan) were collected across Goa, India. EDXRF method has been developed for the analysis of V, Cr, Fe, Cd, and Pb in seawater. Zn, Co and As were analyzed by other techniques in seawater. Salt samples were analyzed using EDXRF for all eight target elements. The concentration of Pb, Cr, and V in seawater indicates the significant influence of anthropogenic activity around the study area. This method can be used for the quantification of toxic elements, quality control and regulatory purpose of salt production

The green synthesis of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) using a leaf extract from Jatropha curcas (JC) has been documented in our present research work. The existence of flavonoids, tannins, glycosides, and alkaloids was confirmed by the phytochemical analysis of the plant extract and these chemicals can be used as reducing, stabilizing and capping agents. After six months, the JC-CuNPs were found to be stable without any evidence of agglomeration. The JC-CuNPs were characterised by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM and UV-vis spectrophotometry. The average particle and crystal sizes of the JC-CuNPs were found to be 10 ± 1 and 12 ± 1 nm, respectively. The SPR peaks were found at 266 and 337 nm, measured using electronic spectroscopy, and the calculated optical band gap was found to be 3.6 eV at 337 nm, indicating the semiconductor behaviour of the JC-CuNPs. JC-CuNPs have potential photocatalytic activity against methylene blue (MB) compared with other dyes in the presence of sunlight and the rate constant (k) value is 2.30 × 10−4 s−1. The JC-CuNPs also have a binding property with CT-DNA through an intercalation mode and the binding constant (Kb) is 1.024 × 102 M−1.

In the present study, the influence of coal fly ash's particle size on uranium (U) decontamination from water samples is investigated. Accordingly, fly ash is segregated into five different size fractions (i.e., 63–90 μm, 125 μm) using an electromagnetic sieve shaker. Adsorption experiments are carried out in triplicate samples (for equilibration time at pH 6) using a laboratory batch method on all the size fractions with known U concentration. The highest U adsorption is observed for the lowest size fraction (i.e.

Background and aim Nephrotic syndrome is one of the commonest glomerular diseases in children, and the majority of them have minimal change lesions in histology with a favorable outcome. Most children with minimal change disease (MCD) are steroid-sensitive, but half of them have a frequent relapse and a prolonged course. This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical manifestations and biochemical profile and to determine independent risk factors of frequent relapse in children with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS). Methods This was a tertiary care hospital-based observational study conducted at the pediatric department of Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Bhubaneswar, India, from October 2017 to September 2019. Fifty-three children from age one to 15 years admitted with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome diagnosed as per the International Study of Kidney Disease in Children (ISKDC) criteria were enrolled in the study. On admission, history-taking, physical examination, and routine hematological and biochemical tests were carried out. Children who had no infection were started oral prednisolone at the dose of 2 mg/kg/day for six weeks, followed by 1.5 mg/kg/day on alternate days for six weeks with daily follow-up for evidence of proteinuria till remission. The parameters evaluated were age at presentation, sex, type of presentation, precipitating factors, laboratory findings, and rapidity of steroid response. All children were followed up for one year, and those with no relapse over a period of one year after remission served as the control group to determine the risk factors for relapse. Data were analyzed using standard statistical software (Stata version 13.1, StataCorp LLC, College Station, Texas, USA). Results Of the 53 cases, 47% of the children had a relapse. In the relapse category, 88% were male, and 67% were between one and 5.5 years. The clinical manifestations during the first episode in the relapse group were similar to the no relapse group. Investigations revealed that 64% of the children with relapse had serum total protein ≤ 4.2 g/dL (p = 0) and that 59% had serum albumin ≤ 1.8 g/dL (p = 0.004). In the relapse group, 41% of the children went into remission within two weeks of initiation of therapy as compared with 80% in the no relapse group. Conclusion The risk factors determined for relapse in SSNS are male sex, younger age, low serum albumin, low serum total protein, and delayed response to steroid therapy.