Ever since the Syrian crisis broke out, the media representation of the Syrian refugees fleeing political persecution, war and malnourishment has become a central focus of political debates and ...academic inquiry. Since 2011, the British press reporting of refugees has been mostly problematic,
although occasionally it does reflect a diminutive evidence of sympathy. This article aims to analyse the representations of Syrian refugees in the British tabloid press particularity in the wake of Aylan Kurdi's tragic death. The Framing Analysis approach has been applied on a corpus
of 40 articles including features, news reports, editorials and comments pieces from The Sun and Daily Mirror that are of dissimilar political orientation. Initial findings show that the concept of 'humanity' is the most distinguished British value supported and endorsed by The
Sun and Daily Mirror. At the same time, both tabloids ignored the notorious role of the British government in escalating the Syrian conflict, which resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the destruction of a country. Given the circumstances of the little boy's
death, this article supports the contention that news is a 'constructed reality' that is a product of various social, political and cultural factors including deviant circumstances. This study argues that certain events often receive more media attention than others, whilst many
events of a similar nature are mostly ignored.
Obesity-related joint pain is a common and debilitating condition that significantly impacts the quality of life, primarily due to the excess weight straining the joints. This results in inflammation ...and degeneration, which can cause pain, stiffness, and difficulty moving. We aimed to comprehensively review the literature discussing surgical interventions for obesity-related joint pain. We searched across databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library) to identify studies published between 2000 and 2023 that assessed surgical interventions for obesity-related joint pain. This review highlights the complex interplay of mechanical, inflammatory, and metabolic factors contributing to joint pain in obese individuals, highlighting both surgical and non-surgical interventions. Non-surgical interventions include weight loss, exercise, physical therapy, and medications. Surgical interventions include bariatric surgery and joint replacement surgery. Bariatric surgery significantly reduces body weight and improves the quality of life outcomes; however, multiple studies have found no improvement or worsening of joint pain post-surgery. Total joint arthroplasty has demonstrated good improvement in pain and function outcomes based on recent meta-analyses, although risks of complications are higher in obese patients. The treatment choice for obesity-related joint pain depends on the individual patient's circumstances. Non-surgical interventions are usually the first line of treatment. However, if these interventions are not effective, surgical interventions may be an option.
Intradural epidermoid cysts of the spine are rare congenital lesions. Their etiology is thought to stem from ectodermal remnants during embryonic development. They result in a diverse clinical ...presentation, often marked by an insidious onset and variable neurological deficits. Timely diagnosis is crucial for optimizing patient outcomes. We present the case of a 10-year-old male child presenting a six-month history of worsening back pain, intermittent leg weakness, and urinary incontinence. The physical examination revealed tenderness over the lower thoracic and lumbar spine, lower limb weakness, hyperreflexia, and sensory deficits. The diagnostic work-up, including cerebrospinal fluid analysis and magnetic resonance imaging, confirmed the presence of an intradural epidermoid cyst in the lumbosacral region. Surgical excision resulted in complete resection, with subsequent improvement in neurological deficits. This pediatric case underscores the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion for unexplained neurological deficits. Characteristic imaging findings played a pivotal role in the diagnosis, guiding successful surgical intervention and achieving favorable outcomes.
The circular economy, which attempts to decrease agricultural waste while also improving sustainable development through the production of sustainable products from waste and by-products, is ...currently one of the main objectives of environmental research. Taking this view, this study used a green approach to synthesize two forms of silver nanoparticles: coated silver nanoparticles with olive leaf extract (Ag-olive) and uncoated pure silver nanoparticles (Ag-pure), which were produced by the calcination of Ag-olive at 550 °C. The extract and the fabricated nanoparticles were characterized by a variety of physicochemical techniques, including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Adult ticks (
) (Acari: Ixodidae) were used in this study to evaluate the antiparasitic activity of synthesized nanoparticles and extract. Furthermore, the antifungal activity was evaluated against
strain N (MW958085),
(MT550034), and
(MT550036). In both antiparasitic and antifungal tests, the as-synthesized Ag-olive showed higher inhibition activity than Ag-pure and olive leaf extract. The findings of this research suggest that Ag-olive may be a powerful and eco-friendly antiparasitic and antifungal agent. Ag-pure was also evaluated as a photocatalyst under sunlight for the detoxification of Eri-chrome-black T (EBT), methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO), and rhodamine B (RhB).
This is the first report to describe the green fabrication of zinc oxide nanoparticles starting with cera alba (beeswax) extract as an eco-friendly reducing and capping agent. The reaction of zinc ...nitrate with an aqueous extract of Cera Alba resulted in the formation of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-W). Treatment of ZnO-W at 550 °C gave pure zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-G). Various techniques, including FT-IR, XRD, TGA, SEM, and HR-TEM, were used to analyze the structures of synthesized nanoparticles. A methylene blue dye solution was used to evaluate the photocatalytic activity. The impact of catalyst dose, reaction time, and pH on photocatalytic degradation under sunlight was studied. At optimal conditions, complete photodegradation of 10 ppm methylene blue occurs in 40 minutes. The antimicrobial activity of ZnO-G was evaluated against three microbial strains: Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. The impact of exposing the ZnO-G to various light wavelengths (265 nm, 346 nm, visible light, and sunlight) to inhibit microbial growth was investigated. The best result was obtained when ZnO-G was exposed to 265 nm light. This study's findings support using ZnO-G prepared via cera alba as a powerful photocatalytic and antimicrobial agent.
In this study, we used the aqueous extract of garlic tunicate leaf to reduce a mixture of equal amounts of ruthenium chloride, silver nitrate, and palladium acetate for the biosynthesis of ...ruthenium/silver/palladium trimetallic nanocomposite (Ru/Ag/Pd)-Np. Some physicochemical tools were used for nanocomposite characterization, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), UV-Vis spectroscopy (UV-Vis), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmittance electron microscope (TEM). XRD revealed that the crystal size of the nanocomposite is 15.67 nm. The TEM images showed that the particle size ranged 50–90 nm. The antimicrobial efficacy of the nanocomposite was examined against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus cereus. The results showed a potent antimicrobial activity toward all tested microorganisms. (Ru/Ag/Pd)-Np showed antiproliferative activity against Caco-2, HepG2, and K562 cell lines. The antiproliferative potential of (Ru/Ag/Pd)-Np was significantly improved following UV irradiation.
The aqueous onion peel extract (OPE) was used to synthesize silver nanoparticles (Ag-onion), samarium oxide nanoparticles (Sm2O3-onion), and silver/samarium oxide core/shell nanoparticles ...(Ag@Sm2O3-onion). The produced nanoparticles were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), infrared spectra (FT-IR), absorption spectra (UV–Vis), energy band gap, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), zeta potential, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). OPE and NPs were tested for the disinfection of some water microbes. XRD analysis exhibited an amorphous structure of samarium oxide in both Sm2O3-onion and Ag@ Sm2O3-onion. The isolated bacteria from the water sample were Bacillus subtilis (OQ073500) and Escherichia coli (MW534699), while the isolated fungi were Alternaria brassicae (MZ266540), Aspergillus flavus (MT550030), Aspergillus penicillioides (MW957971), Pythium ultimum (MW830915), Verticillium dahlia (MW830379), Fusarium acuminatum (MZ266538), Candida albicans (MW534712), and Candida parapsilosis (MW960416). High levels of antimicrobial activity were seen in both the nanoparticles and the aqueous onion peel extract. Based on experimental results, Ag@Sm2O3 demonstrated the highest activity as an effective disinfectant, indicating the effectiveness of the modification process.
The purification and densification of wastewater play an important role in water recycling, especially if the materials used in water recycling are other types of recycled waste. Therefore, ...considering this view in this study, the biosynthesis of silver-decorated chromium oxide nanoparticles utilizing a wasted Allium sativum (garlic) peel extract is investigated. The aqueous extract of garlic peel (GPE) was treated with silver nitrate, chromium nitrate, and a mixture of silver nitrate and chromium nitrate to synthesize silver nanoparticles (Ag-garlic), chromium oxide nanoparticles (Cr2O3-garlic), and silver-decorated chromium oxide nanoparticles (Ag@Cr2O3-garlic), respectively. The synthesized nanoparticles were elucidated via thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), infrared spectra (FT-IR), absorption spectra (UV-Vis), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Antimicrobial activity studies were conducted against waterborne germs, bacterial strains (Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecium, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and fungal strains (Alternaria porri, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Fuserium oxysporum, and Trichoderma longibrachiatum) and showed significant levels of antimicrobial activity. The results revealed that Ag@Cr2O3 significantly improved antimicrobial activity due to their synergistic effect. The photocatalytic activity of nanoparticles was assessed using Rhodamine B dye (5 ppm) under solar irradiation. Cr2O3-garlic exhibited the best activity as a photocatalyst among the studied nanoparticles, with 97.5% degradation efficiency under optimal conditions.
The present study was designed to study the gentamycin (GTM)-loaded stimulus-responsive chitosan nanoparticles to treat bacterial conjunctivitis.
GTM-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (GTM-CHNPs) were ...prepared by ionotropic gelation method and further optimized by 3-factor and 3-level Box-Behnken design. Chitosan (A), sodium tripolyphosphate (B), and stirring speed (C) were selected as independent variables. Their effects were observed on particle size (PS as Y1), entrapment efficiency (EE as Y2), and loading capacity (LC as Y3).
The optimized formulation showed the particle size, entrapment efficiency, and loading capacity of 135.2±3.24 nm, 60.18±1.65%, and 34.19±1.17%, respectively. The optimized gentamycin-loaded chitosan nanoparticle (GTM-CHNPopt) was further converted to the stimulus-responsive sol-gel system (using pH-sensitive carbopol 974P). GTM-CHNPopt sol-gel (NSG5) exhibited good gelling strength and sustained release (58.99±1.28% in 12h). The corneal hydration and histopathology of excised goat cornea revealed safe to the cornea. It also exhibited significant (p<0.05) higher ZOI than the marketed eye drop.
The finding suggests that GTM-CHNP-based sol-gel is suitable for ocular delivery to enhance the corneal contact time and improved patient compliance.
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