Search

Introduction: It is well known that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 could enter the human host through the oral cavity. In patients with periodontal disease, there is an increase of Furin, Cathepsin, and CD14+ CD16+ monocytes. The hypothesis stated here sheds light on the regular need of periodontal management to reduce inflammation and the levels of deleterious host enzymes and cytokines, which could pave the way for deadly viral diseases such as COVID-19. The Hypothesis: Patients with periodontal disease are at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection due to elevated levels of Furin and Cathepsin in oral cavity and COVID-19 complications like cytokine storm could occur with increased frequency in patients with periodontal disease due to the significant increase of CD14+ CD16+ monocytes in blood. Evaluation of the Hypothesis: Oral and periodontal examination of patients with mild, moderate, and severe SARS-CoV-2 infection could shed light on the significant role played by periodontal disease in making an individual more prone to get SARS-CoV-2 infection by elevation of Furin and Cathepsin and the elevation of CD14+CD16+ monocytes and proinflammatory cytokines in the blood that could consequently worsen COVID-19 complications like cytokine storm. The blood counts of CD14+CD16+ monocytes need to be assayed in SARS-CoV-2 patients with and without periodontal disease to observe if periodontal disease as a coexisting condition elevates the proportion of CD14 CD16+ monocytes in SARS-CoV-2 patients. In fact, assessment of monocyte subsets in peripheral blood could be used as an immunosurveillance marker in SARS-CoV-2 patients. Hence, SARS-CoV-2 positive patients with chronic periodontal disease should be closely monitored for potential signs of a cytokine storm and its related complications.

Abstract The two-detector design of the NOvA neutrino oscillation experiment, in which two functionally identical detectors are exposed to an intense neutrino beam, aids in canceling leading order effects of cross-section uncertainties. However, limited knowledge of neutrino interaction cross sections still gives rise to some of the largest systematic uncertainties in current oscillation measurements. We show contemporary models of neutrino interactions to be discrepant with data from NOvA, consistent with discrepancies seen in other experiments. Adjustments to neutrino interaction models in GENIE are presented, creating an effective model that improves agreement with our data. We also describe systematic uncertainties on these models, including uncertainties on multi-nucleon interactions from a newly developed procedure using NOvA near detector data.

In this work, strategies for the formation of duplex coatings with enhanced bioactivity, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance have been focused. TiO2 arrays were fabricated on Ti alloy were carried out in a single step using suitable electrolyte by anodization method. Here, we have synthesized a novel bioactive material, minerals incorporated Hydroxyapatite (La/Tb-HAP)-chitosan-casein duplex coatings on anodized Ti via electrodeposition method. The fabricated novel composite coatings were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, FESEM and EDAX analyses. Also, the mechanical properties of duplex coatings were scrutinized by Dermitron thickness and microhardness tester. The corrosion resistance of the as-developed duplex coatings was studied by electrochemical techniques using Ringers solution as the electrolyte. In addition, the antibacterial activity, cell viability, live and dead staining were executed to substantiate the biocompatibility of TNT/CS-CA@M-HAP duplex coatings. From the overall summary of this work, it is proved that the resultant CS-CA@M-HAP coatings on TNT exhibit excellent bioactivity and improved corrosion resistance over pure Ti and serve as a potential candidate for orthopedic applications.

Biocomposite materials are highly attractive for research and industrial application due to biodegradability, nontoxicity and sustainability. Solid electrolyte membrane derived from biodegradable materials broadens scope of using sustainable polymers and is easily disposable at the end of life cycle. In this study, Pectin (PC) is blended with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in order to fabricate new class of hybrid nanocomposite followed by addition of sulfonated titanium dioxide (s-TiO2) nanoparticles as inorganic proton conducting material. PVA and PC is in situ cross-linked using dual cross-linker comprising a mixture of sulfosuccinic acid and glutaraldehyde followed by solvent casting. Rheological studies with polymer solutions are conducted to study alignment and disentanglement of polymer chains at molecular level. It is shown that rational design of membrane microstructure with proper arrangement of hydrophobic/hydrophilic domains has been formulated by blending PVA with PC. PC-PVA blends with a flexible polymeric network which is appropriate to disperse rigid s-TiO2 nanoparticles resulting in improved proton conductivity and restricted methanol permeability. With further enriched proton conductivity by the presence of s-TiO2 nanoparticles, fabricated PC-PVA/s-TiO2 hybrid nanocomposite membrane exhibit a peakpower density of 27 mW/cm2 at 70 °C in DMFCs. Keywords: Pectin, Polyelectrolytes, Hydrophobic/hydrophilic domains, Methanol permeation

Targeted drug delivery systems using natural polysaccharide/protein biopolymer for tumor cells are an attractive platform for enriching the therapeutic effects and reducing the side effects of the drug. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and casein (CA) nanogels (NGs) loaded with curcumin (CUR) were prepared by self-assembly method and fabricated with folic acid (FA) and casein using layer-by-layer (LbL) technique for skin cancer drug delivery. The prepared samples were characterized by techniques like zeta potential, FTIR, XRD, TGA and Cryo-SEM. Both the swelling and in vitro drug release was performed in acidic pH (4.5 and 6.8) and physiological pH 7.4. Hemolysis assays demonstrated that the drug carriers are hemocompatible. Confocal microscope studies indicate facilitated uptake of 2-FA/CA/CUR@CMC-CA NGs in MEL-39 melanoma cancer cell line, which in turn result in a higher potential for apoptosis. Compared to pure CUR and CUR@CMC-CA NGs, the 2-FA/CA/CUR@CMC-CA NGs has lower IC50 value and superior cytotoxicity in MEL-39 cells because of folate-receptor mediated endocytosis evaluated by the cellular viability quantification using MTT assay and optical microscope images. Finally from in vitro skin permeation experiments, 2-FA/CA/CUR@CMC-CA NGs showed 3.47 ± 0.03 to 4.15 ± 0.25 μg/ml CUR concentrations at the stratum corneum, epidermal and dermal layers. Overall, our results put forth 2-FA/CA/CUR@CMC-CA NGs as an aspiring candidate to achieve enhanced anticancer effects against melanoma skin cancer. Keywords: Carboxymethyl cellulose, Casein, Folic acid, Curcumin, Nanogels, Skin cancer

Increasing interest in biological activity of natural products outlined the necessity of isolation of bergenin from Peltophorum pterocarpum (P. pterocarpum) flowers. The present investigation comprises isolation of bergenin accompanied by important in vitro antioxidant assays such as DPPH, hydroxyl radical and nitric oxide scavenging activities, and ferric reducing power. The aim includes DNA protection and cleavage. Bergenin showed 4.47, 13.03, and 8.67% of DPPH, hydroxyl and nitric oxide scavenging activities at 100 µg/ml. It showed less ferric reducing power. The result indicates that bergenin is a mild antioxidant. Bergenin did not protect the DNA but it cleaved the DNA at a low concentration of 10 µg/ml. P. pterocarpum flowers are a cheap source of bergenin and they could be used as a natural antioxidant.

A simple modified soxhlet extractor, double bypasses sidearm soxhlet apparatus (DBSA) was designed and employed for extraction of piperine from Piper nigrum. Total extraction time, time taken for a cycle and yield observed in the double bypass sidearm soxhlet apparatus was compared with the soxhlet apparatus. Extraction time, time taken for an extraction cycle and yield of crude piperine obtained in DBSA were 12 ± 1 h, 8 ± 1.00 min, and 3.90 ± 0.10 g whereas the results obtained in the soxhlet method were 22 ± 1 h, 16 ± 1.00 min, and 3.80 ± 0.18 g, respectively. The results obtained in DBSA have demonstrated that this approach is as efficient as the soxhlet apparatus with drastic reduction of extraction time. On the basis of this result, we propose DBSA as the most efficient method and an alternative to the soxhlet extractor.

The adsorptive removal of Acid Green 25 by Ananas Comosus (L) Activated carbon was investigated in this study. The effects of initial dye concentration, contact time, pH and temperature were studied for the adsorption of Acid Green 25 in batch mode. At 100 mg/L of initial dye concentration the adsorbent removes 182.6 mg/g of dye from solution; it further increases on increasing the temperature. The calculated values of ∆G° indicate that the adsorption process is spontaneous, negative ∆H° indicate that the adsorption process is exothermic and the positive value of ∆S° indicates the increase in randomness. The rate of dye adsorption follows pseudo second order model with an r2 value of 0. 999. Standard adsorption isotherms were used to fit the experimental equilibrium data. The Langmuir, Freundlich, and Tempkin models are appropriate to explain the adsorption phenomenon with good fit.