•s-MFCs showed the capacity of Himalayan rock soil to be used as a bioremediation medium.•Soil microbes generated voltages in open circuit condition in the range of 500 ± 15 mV.•Specific degradation ...of organic matter, with certain soil carbonates, and nitrates, were achieved.•Sustainable bioelectricity production peaking at 285 mW/m2 with soil microbes.•Biochemical analysis shows presence of electron transport chain in microbial isolates.
In sediment microbial fuel cells soil microbes are responsible for bioremediation by degradation of pollutants present in it. The microbial metabolism produces bioelectricity in the process. This work reports the use of Himalayan rock soil for such evaluations. Three substrates including organic matter, glucose and sucrose were utilized to evaluate its feasibility. Open circuit voltage was achieved was highest with glucose as substrate at 500 ± 15 mV. The electrode distances were changed to evaluate its effect on the bioelectricity production at 2, 3, 4, and 6 cm respectively. The study also showed the survival of electrogenic microbes in acidic environment of the soil. Carbon oxidation rates were reported for each of the s-MFC reactors with the three substrates. 0.105 mmol C/m−2 d−1 for the organic matter, 0.689 mmol C/m−2 d−1 for glucose, and 0.507 mmol C/m−2 d−1 for sucrose. This shows the ability of the soil microbes to oxidize the soil complexes by degrading it and release energy. Additionally, FTIR analysis confirmed the potential for degrading soil carbonates, nitrates, and other organic substances for each of the substrate-based s-MFC. This suggests the use of s-MFCs for remediation of pollutants that can be difficult to break by the conventional method and the production of useful energy from the waste.
Pancreatic carcinoma is associated with one of the worst clinical outcomes throughout the globe because of its aggressive, metastatic, and drug-resistant nature. During the past decade, several ...studies have shown that oral, gut, and tumor microbiota play a critical role in the modulation of metabolism and immune responses. Growing pieces of evidence have proved beyond a doubt that the microbiota has a unique ability to influence the tumor microenvironment as well as the metabolism of chemotherapeutic agents or drugs. Given this, microbiota, known as the ecological community of microorganisms, stands to be an avenue of quality research. In this review, we provide detailed and critical information on the role of oral, gut, and pancreatic microbiota disruptions in the development of pancreatic carcinoma. Moreover, we comprehensively discuss the different types of microbiota, their potential role, and mechanism associated with pancreatic carcinoma. The microbiome provides the unique opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic agents and immunotherapies for pancreatic cancer by maintaining the right type of microbiota and holds a promising future to enhance the clinical outcomes of patients with pancreatic carcinoma.
The present study aims to carry out synthesis and characterization of Te-doped ZnO nanoparticles using an easy, low cost and solution-free thermo-mechanical method. The structural, morphological, ...optoelectronic characteristics of the as-prepared Te-doped ZnO NPs were analyzed by several techniques. From the FE-SEM studies, both pristine and Te-doped ZnO showed tube-shaped morphology when ground for 60 min. Remarkably, different grinding times caused the change in the shape of spherical ZnO NPs to tube-like ZnO. SEM images illustrate that spherical-like and hexagonal tube-like ZnO were prepared with grinding times 30 min and 60 min, respectively. XRD of Te-doped ZnO NPs (0.5wt%, 3wt%, 5wt%) revealed crystallite size of 10–20 nm. XPS results showed evidence for the binding energies of ZnO and Te. Disk diffusion assay showed that Te-doped ZnO NPs demonstrated good antibacterial activity against
E. coli DH5α
cells compared with pristine ZnO NPs. The mechanism of antibacterial activity of ZnO NPs was due to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing lipid peroxidation of the bacterial cell wall and resulting in the leakage of cellular contents and cell death. The photoexcited electrons were trapped by the oxygen vacancies and prevented the interaction between oxygen available on the exterior of the ZnO NPs and photoexcited electrons. This results in reducing the amount of ROS generation and subsequently lower antibacterial activity.
The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a protein kinase that controls cellular metabolism, catabolism, immune responses, autophagy, survival, proliferation, and migration, to maintain cellular ...homeostasis. The mTOR signaling cascade consists of two distinct multi-subunit complexes named mTOR complex 1/2 (mTORC1/2). mTOR catalyzes the phosphorylation of several critical proteins like AKT, protein kinase C, insulin growth factor receptor (IGF-1R), 4E binding protein 1 (4E-BP1), ribosomal protein S6 kinase (S6K), transcription factor EB (TFEB), sterol-responsive element-binding proteins (SREBPs), Lipin-1, and Unc-51-like autophagy-activating kinases. mTOR signaling plays a central role in regulating translation, lipid synthesis, nucleotide synthesis, biogenesis of lysosomes, nutrient sensing, and growth factor signaling. The emerging pieces of evidence have revealed that the constitutive activation of the mTOR pathway due to mutations/amplification/deletion in either mTOR and its complexes (mTORC1 and mTORC2) or upstream targets is responsible for aging, neurological diseases, and human malignancies. Here, we provide the detailed structure of mTOR, its complexes, and the comprehensive role of upstream regulators, as well as downstream effectors of mTOR signaling cascades in the metabolism, biogenesis of biomolecules, immune responses, and autophagy. Additionally, we summarize the potential of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as an important modulator of mTOR signaling. Importantly, we have highlighted the potential of mTOR signaling in aging, neurological disorders, human cancers, cancer stem cells, and drug resistance. Here, we discuss the developments for the therapeutic targeting of mTOR signaling with improved anticancer efficacy for the benefit of cancer patients in clinics.
Urothelial carcinoma of bladder (UBC), a highly prevalent urological malignancy associated with high mortality and recurrence rate. Standard diagnostic method currently being used is cystoscopy but ...its invasive nature and low sensitivity stresses for identifying predictive diagnostic marker. Autophagy, a cellular homeostasis maintaining process, is usually dysregulated in cancer and its role is still enigmatic in UBC. In this study, 30 UBC patients and healthy controls were enrolled. Histopathologically confirmed tumor and adjacent normal tissue were acquired from patients. Molecular expression and tissue localization of autophagy-associated molecules (HMGB-1, RAGE, beclin, LC-3, and p62) were investigated. Serum HMGB-1 concentration was measured in UBC patients and healthy controls. ROC curves were plotted to evaluate diagnostic potential. Transcript, protein, and IHC expression of HMGB-1, RAGE, beclin, and LC-3 displayed upregulated expression, while p62 was downregulated in bladder tumor tissue. Serum HMGB-1 levels were elevated in UBC patients. Transcript and circulatory levels of HMGB-1 showed positive correlation and displayed a positive trend with disease severity. Upon comparison with clinicopathological parameters, HMGB-1 emerged as molecule of statistical significance to exhibit association. HMGB-1 exhibited optimum sensitivity and specificity in serum. The positive correlation between tissue and serum levels of HMGB-1 showcases serum as a representation of in situ scenario, suggesting its clinical applicability for non-invasive testing. Moreover, optimum sensitivity and specificity displayed by HMGB-1 along with significant association with clinicopathological parameters makes it a potential candidate to be used as diagnostic marker for early detection of UBC but requires further validation in larger cohort.
BackgroundAround 30% of the world's population suffers from iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). The standard evaluation for IDA involves upper and lower endoscopy, which allows for the confirmation of ...pathology of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) induced due to IDA through iron malabsorption mechanism or loss of blood. Assessing the prevalence of lesions of GIT of significant nature among males having IDA, was the goal of our study.MethodsOur cross-sectional study was conducted for two years and involved 152 males (adults) with confirmed cases of IDA from the Outpatient (OPD) and In-patient (IPD) in the present hospital. Following collecting consent (both informed and written in nature), patient-specific data was collected in a standardized form, and a blood sample was taken for laboratory testing. The analyses were done at a 5% level of significance; an association was considered significant if the p-value < 0.05.ResultsThe average age of the study participants was 59.6 years. The commonest lesions reported were antral gastritis (9.9%) and H. pylori gastritis (7.2%) in upper GI; and haemorrhoid (9.2%) and anal fissure (3.9%) in lower GI. The overall prevalence of any GI lesions was 65.1%. The GI lesions were significantly associated higher among men with age > 50 years (73.7%). The presence of occult blood in stools (p < 0.0001) and parasites in stools (p=0.0001) were significantly related to the presence of GI lesions.ConclusionGI lesions are frequently detected in males with IDA. Whether it is symptomatic male or asymptomatic male with anaemia refractory to iron treatment, GIT should be evaluated in them.
Developing an efficient photocathode system from earth abundant materials is essential for effectual Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Charge transfer between heterojunctions is important ...in fabricating a novel photocathode, keeping cost-effectiveness, abundance, and PEC performance in mind. The p-type narrow band gap photocathode, CuO (Eg = 1.5 eV) synthesized by hydrothermal method, was decorated with Sb2S3 Nanospheres (NSs) by adopting a facile chemical bath deposition (CBD) procedure to fabricate CuO/Sb2S3 NSs heterojunction. Fabricated heterojunction showed better PEC performance contrary to bare CuO, improvement in photocurrent density CuO/Sb2S3 NSs (J = −1 mA cm−2) than CuO (J = −0.3 mA cm−2) photoelectrode at 0 VRHE in 0.5 M Na2SO4 (pH 6.85) is due to enhanced charge carrier generation/separation. The photostability of CuO/Sb2S3 remains intact for 2.5 h with no degradation in photocurrent density. Sb2S3 works as a sensitizer, diminishing the recombination rate of the e−/h+ in CuO/Sb2S3 NSs. UV–Visible and photoluminescence(PL) emission spectra results suggested CuO/Sb2S3 enhanced absorption spectrum and reduced rate of recombination. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies show less charge transfer resistance for CuO/Sb2S3 NSs than CuO. This finding will pave new path in developing novel photocathodic material configurations and heterojunction with Cu-based binary oxides/chalcogenides for solar harvesting.
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•CuO/Sb2S3 photocathode prepared by hydrothermal-chemical bath deposition.•The CuO/Sb2S3 photocathode delivered 4-fold higher photocurrent density than bare CuO.•Decoration of spherical Sb2S3 on CuO increases the photostability of the electrode.•Improved charge carrier concentration CuO/Sb2S3 photocathode compared to CuO results in higher PEC performance.•Internal electric field generated between CuO and Sb2S3 NSs facilitates enhanced charge separation/transfer.
•Construct a safe laboratory design for pharmaceutical microbiology laboratory and assess biohazard risk management.•Evaluation of laboratory safety features to protect personnel, test articles and ...laboratory infrastructure from the potential source of cross-contamination.•The assessment of all associated risk measures according to the strict safety regulatory guidelines of international authorities.•Future use of this article by various microbial testing laboratories and industries for the construction and design of a well-equipped and biohazard-free pharmaceutical microbiology laboratory.
In times of pandemic outbreak, the accidental leakage of pathogenic microorganisms from the laboratory has fatal consequences for human health and the environment. Due to extensive work on microbial cultures in microbiology laboratories, poor laboratory infrastructure and safety practices can result in the laboratory inadvertently spilling microbial contaminants inside and outside the laboratory premises leads to the laboratory acquired infections. Therefore, special attention must be paid to designing a microbiology laboratory equipped with advanced biosecurity features and supporting infrastructure for handling microbial cultures in the laboratory areas. Good laboratory design proactively supports workplace excellence through the quality of test results and compliance with biosafety and sterility procedures. Limited research articles were available online detailing the safety design features of the microbiology laboratory and its risk assessment protocols. The main objective of this article is to provide concise literature on how to design a modern pharmaceutical microbiology laboratory with all recommended safety features by various pharmaceutical regulatory guidelines. This laboratory design includes a three-zone corridor separation system, a buffer zone, a positive and negative pressure control area with ventilation units, the presence of a dynamic passage box (for material and media transfer) and a separate entrance for handling reference cultures room. This article helps develop a common understanding among pharmaceutical testing centres about the goals of designing a well-resourced and safe pharmaceutical microbiology laboratory.
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