The study was aimed to evaluate the performance of a newly developed non-invasive and non-contact bilirubin measurement device (AJO-Neo) as an alternative to the conventional invasive biochemical ...method of total serum bilirubin (TSB) estimation in preterm and term neonates suffering from hyperbilirubinemia associated with risk factors, and/or undergoing phototherapy. The safety and efficacy of the device were assessed in 1968 neonates with gestational ages ranging from 28 to 41 weeks and suffering from incidences of hyperbilirubinemia. Linear regression analysis showed a good correlation between AJO-Neo and the conventional method of TSB (Pearson's coefficient, r = 0.79). The small bias (0.27 mg/dL) and limits of agreements (- 3.44 to 3.99 mg/dL) were within the range of clinical acceptance. The device was also precise in the measurement of bilirubin levels in all subgroups of the study. The receiver operator curve (ROC), that takes account of both sensitivity and specificity of a device showed high efficacy of the device (area under the curve, AUC = 0.83) in the detection of bilirubin. While monitoring the bilirubin level during phototherapy, the device indicated promising results showing good agreement with TSB. Specificities and sensitivities of the device indicated a much higher accuracy in neonates with associated risk factors for hyperbilirubinemia. Hence, the newly developed device (AJO-Neo) is reliable in measuring bilirubin level in preterm, and term neonates irrespective of gestational or postnatal age, sex, risk factors, feeding behavior or skin color.
The study was aimed to evaluate the performance of a newly developed spectroscopy-based non-invasive and noncontact device (SAMIRA) for the simultaneous measurement of hemoglobin, bilirubin and ...oxygen saturation as an alternative to the invasive biochemical method of blood sampling. The accuracy of the device was assessed in 4318 neonates having incidences of either anemia, jaundice, or hypoxia. Transcutaneous bilirubin, hemoglobin and blood saturation values were obtained by the newly developed instrument which was corroborated with the biochemical blood tests by expert clinicians. The instrument is trained using Artificial Neural Network Analysis to increase the acceptability of the data. The artificial intelligence incorporated within the instrument determines the disease condition of the neonate. The Pearson's correlation coefficient, r was found to be 0.987 for hemoglobin estimation and 0.988 for bilirubin and blood gas saturation respectively. The bias and the limits of agreement for the measurement of all the three parameters were within the clinically acceptance limit.
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•CaO2-metallic NP was applied for pretreatment and H2 production from RS.•MnO2-CaO2 NP addition was beneficial for biomass pretreatment and H2 production.•MnO2-CaO2 NP addition ...attained 16% lignin removal than hydrothermal treated RS.•MnO2-CaO2 NP supplementation modulating the acetate and butyrate mediated pathway.
In this study, calcium peroxide was modified and doped with metal-based nanoparticles (NP) to enhance the efficiency of pretreatment and biohydrogen generation from RS. The findings revealed that the addition of MnO2-CaO2 NPs (at a dosage of 0.02 g/g TS of RS) had a synergistic effect on the breakdown of biomass and the production of biohydrogen. This enhancement resulted in a maximum hydrogen yield (HY) of 58 mL/g TS, accompanied by increased concentrations of acetic acid (2117 mg/L) and butyric acid (1325 mg/L). In contrast, RS that underwent pretreatment without the use of chemicals or NP exhibited a lower HY of 28 mL/g TS, along with the lowest concentrations of acetic acid (1062 mg/L) and butyric acid (697 mg/L). The outcome showed that supplementation of NP stimulated the pretreatment of RS and improved the formation of acetic and butyric acid through the regulation of metabolic pathways during acidogenic fermentation.
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•Lactobacillus lactis has been employed for biohydrogen production.•NiO/Fe2O3 addition stimulates hydrogen production over 18% than control.•NiO/Fe2O3 supplementation redirects ...butyrate mediated hydrogen metabolism.•Dehydrogenase activity enhances after nano-materials supplementation.•NAD+/NADH and FAD+/FADH2 pool increases by 19% and 17%.
The positive interaction between Clostridium sp. and lactic acid-producing bacteria (Lactobacillus sp) is commonly seen in various high-rate hydrogen production systems. However, the exact role of the hydrogen production ability of Lactobacillus sp in a dark fermentation production system is rarely studied. Lactobacillus delbrueckii was herein used for the first time, to the best of the author’s knowledge, to demonstrate biohydrogen production under anaerobic conditions. At first, the pH condition was optimized, followed by the addition of nanoparticles for enhanced biohydrogen production. Under optimized conditions of pH 6.5, substrate concentration 10 g/L, and 100 mg/L of NiO/Fe2O3, the maximum hydrogen yield (HY) of 1.94 mol/mol hexose was obtained, which is 18 % more than the control. The enhanced H2 production upon the addition of nanoparticles is supported via the external electron transfer (EET) mechanism, which regulates the metabolic pathway regulation with increased production of acetate and butyrate and reduced formation of lactate.
Objective: Careful screening of bilirubin level in newborns is mandatory as per American Academy of Pediatrics (2004), to reduce incidents of kernicterus and acute bilirubin encephalopathy. Although, ...invasive capillary collection of blood and subsequent biochemical test is considered a gold standard for jaundice detection in neonates, transcutaneous bilirubin measurement using various non-invasive instruments is also used sporadically across the globe. The major aim of this study was to develop a non-invasive spectrometry-based technique for measurement of neonatal bilirubin level as an alternative of total serum bilirubin (TSB) test without limitations of other available bilirubinometers. Methods: The instrument comprises of a light source and a spectroscopic detector. A light beam from source incident on the neonatal nail plate through optical fibers. The retro reflected light is acquired using the detector. An indigenously developed software is used to acquire and analyze the optical signal and to calculate the bilirubin value. The instrument was calibrated and validated in reference to TSB on 1033 subjects. Major results: The result ( r = 0.95 and P < 0.001) indicates a strong correlation between the bilirubin value obtained from our method and TSB. Time variant analysis of the subjects undergoing phototherapy provided a good correlation ( r = 0.98). The repeatability test result shows the mean coefficient of variation is less than 5.0%. Conclusions: The indigenously developed non-invasive technique successfully detects the bilirubin level in newborns under various physiological conditions with high accuracy and precision.
Delusional parasitosis also known as Ekbom’s syndrome, is a fixed, firm, false belief about a parasitic infestation of skin despite absence of evidence. Non-suicidal self injury (NSSI) is the ...deliberate and direct change leading to destruction of healthy body tissues e.g. skin cutting, scratching, burning, hitting of oneself and even enucleation of eye and amputation of body parts. We present a case of a 35-year-old male patient with delusional parasitosis for the past 3 months, referred from dermatology, who resorted to cutting himself on his arm and abdomen. He was treated successfully with anti-psychotics and had no further intention of self-harm.
Drug delivery to a target without adverse effects is one of the major criteria for clinical use. Herein, we have made an attempt to explore the delivery efficacy of SDS surfactant in a monomer and ...micellar stage during the delivery of the model drug, Toluidine Blue (TB) from the micellar cavity to DNA. Molecular recognition of pre‐micellar SDS encapsulated TB with DNA occurs at a rate constant of k1 ∼652 s−1. However, no significant release of encapsulated TB at micellar concentration was observed within the experimental time frame. This originated from the higher binding affinity of TB towards the nano‐cavity of SDS at micellar concentration which does not allow the delivery of TB from the nano‐cavity of SDS micelles to DNA. Thus, molecular recognition controls the extent of DNA recognition by TB which in turn modulates the rate of delivery of TB from SDS in a concentration‐dependent manner.
Delivery of Toluidine Blue (TB) to DNA in the form of TB‐surfactant ionic pair occurs in the pre‐micellar stage of the surfactant, in contrast to the no transfer of TB molecules to DNA in the micellar stage.
Objective of this paper: Early detection of anemia (low hemoglobin count) at point-of-care (PoC) in a low resource setting is challenging given the associated capital and recurring costs of the ...device. In this paper, we have developed a faster and reliable method to screen the hemoglobin level in the whole blood in a resource limited point of care setting. We have also investigated a simple scattering-based technique to predict the overall morphology of the red blood cells. Methods: In this paper, we have developed and validated a digital camera-based spectrometer for the early detection of anemia with the whole blood of 10-μL volume in a low resource PoC setting. The developed device consists of two LEDs Green (570 nm) and Red (631 nm), a web camera, a fluid sensing chamber (cuvette holder), and associate electronics. Validation of Beer-Lambert law using the blood of various degree of dilution has been achieved in this in vitro experiment. Major results: A significant number of human subjects (300) having a wide range of hemoglobin counts in a hospital is tested and found to reproduce results from a gold standard automated hematology analyzer. Our developed microcuvette requires only 10-μL unprocessed whole blood sample for the device. Conclusions: The device is expected to serve as a minimally invasive e-health care device for the anemia screening in any resource-limited point of care setting.
Herein, we report the fabrication of chromogenic nanocomposites through the functionalization of silica nanoflowers for the detection as well as the quantification of CO2 using an optical ...spectroscopic technique. Silica nanoflowers have a large specific surface area and good thermal stability along with tunable surface chemistry that facilitate to produce chromogenic nanocomposites using phenolphthalein as a chromogen, for CO2 adsorption with high uptake capacity. Concentration-dependent CO2 adsorption by the chromogenic nanocomposites can be visualized through the naked eye via gradual fading of the intense pink color. We then develop a spectroscopy-based optical device (CapNanoScope) for the quantification of CO2 using the synthesized chromogenic nanocomposite, demonstrating the efficacy of the developed device for the estimation of CO2. The nanocomposites are very selective to CO2 with insignificant interference from a number of environmentally relevant gases during CO2 uptake. The present findings may open up the possibility of exploring this indigenously developed optical device for the detection and estimation of CO2.
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