Green aspects of photocatalysts during corona pandemic: a promising role for the deactivation of COVID-19 virus

The selection of a facile, eco-friendly, and effective methodology is the need of the hour for efficient curing of the COVID-19 virus in air, water, and many food products. Recently, semiconductor-based photocatalytic methodologies have provided promising, green, and sustainable approaches to battle against viral activation via the oxidative capabilities of various photocatalysts with excellent performance under moderate conditions and negligible by-products generation as well. Considering this, recent advances in photocatalysis for combating the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are inclusively highlighted. Starting from the origin to the introduction of the coronavirus, the significant potential of photocatalysis against viral prevention and -disinfection is discussed thoroughly. Various photocatalytic material-based systems including metal-oxides, metal-free and advanced 2D materials (MXenes, MOFs and COFs) are systematically examined to understand the mechanistic insights of virus-disinfection in the human body to fight against COVID-19 disease. Also, a roadmap toward sustainable solutions for ongoing COVID-19 contagion is also presented. Finally, the challenges in this field and future perspectives are comprehensively discussed involving the bottlenecks of current photocatalytic systems along with potential recommendations to deal with upcoming pandemic situations in the future.

Photocatalysts are green, eco-friendly, clean and sustainable and could be a solution to combat COVID-19 because of potential features of various types of metal oxides against viral inactivation via the generation of reactive oxidative species.     

Elucidating the Effects of Reaction Time on the Physicochemical Characterization of Valorized Synthesized Alumina

Aluminum waste-can management in Malaysia has recently become a serious environmental and public health issue, particularly in metropolitan areas. This has prompted the need to valorize these waste-cans into value-added products using the most economical and environmentally friendly techniques. In this study, the sol–gel technique was used to synthesize high-quality alumina from the aluminum waste-cans collected. From this method, the observed peaks of the synthesized alumina were identified as diaspore (α-AlO(OH)), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), aluminum oxide, or gamma-alumina (γ-Al₂O₃) crystalline structure and corundum. The morphological configuration, microstructure, and functional group properties of the synthesized alumina were evaluated. All the synthesized alumina exhibited a non-spherical shape and appeared to have hexagonal-like shape particles. Moreover, the XRD patterns of the synthesized alumina AL-6-30 and AL-12-30 exhibited a small angle (1–10°) with no XRD peak, which indicated a mesoporous pore structure with no long-range order. The overall results of γ-alumina synthesized from the aluminum waste-cans showed an optimal condition in producing a highly structured γ-alumina with excellent surface-area characteristics. The synthesized alumina exhibited stronger and highly crystalline functional characteristics almost comparable with the commercially available brands on the market.     

Screening for Sarcopenia among Elderly Arab Females: Influence of Body Composition,Lifestyle, Irisin,and Vitamin D

Sarcopenia is the loss of skeletal muscle mass, and is most common in older people. The present multi-center cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of sarcopenia and possible risk factors among Arab elderly females. A total of 131 ambulatory Saudi elderly females aged 60–85 years (mean age 65.9 ± 5.5 years) were recruited to participate. A general questionnaire with questions related to sociodemographic factors, medical history, diet, physical activity, and lifestyle was administered. Anthropometrics and muscle assessments were done. Fasting blood glucose and lipids were measured routinely. Circulating 25(OH)D and irisin levels were measured using commercially available assays. Sarcopenia was assessed using the criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS). Over-all prevalence of sarcopenia was 19.8% (26 out of 131 participants). Novel measures such as abdominal volume index (AVI), dietary fiber, and irisin were found to be significantly lower in the sarcopenia group than those without sarcopenia, independent of age. No associations were found with physical activity or dietary and lifestyle habits. In conclusion, sarcopenia is relatively common among Arab elderly females. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether lifestyle modifications can decrease the incidence of sarcopenia in this population. Irisin maybe a promising biomarker for sarcopenia but needs to be confirmed using larger sample sizes.     

Dexmedetomidine in combination with morphine PCA provides superior analgesia for shockwave lithotripsy

PURPOSE: To compare the analgesic effects of dexmedetomidine/morphine with those of tramadol/midazolam in patients undergoing extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) for urinary calculi. METHODS: Sixty patients were randomized to receive either dexmedetomidine 1 micro g*kg(-1) iv followed by 0.5 micro g*kg(-1)*hr(-1) infusion together with morphine patient-controlled analgesia [(PCA); 2 mg bolus, five minutes lockout, 2 mg*hr(-1) infusion; (Group DEX)], or tramadol 1.5 mg*kg(-1) pre-mixed with midazolam 30 micro g*kg(-1) iv followed by tramadol PCA [20 mg bolus, five minute lockout, 20 mg*hr(-1) infusion; (Group TRA)]. Pain was assessed at baseline and every 15 min thereafter. Patients' and urologist's satisfaction with analgesia and sedation were determined on a seven-point scale ranging from 1 (extremely dissatisfied) to 7 (extremely satisfied). Patient's discharge time was also documented. RESULTS: Visual analogue scale scores over time were consistently lower in Group DEX compared with Group TRA (P = 0.001). Patients' satisfaction with analgesia (5 +/- 1 vs 4 +/- 2, P = 0.012) and with sedation (6 +/- 1 vs 5 +/- 1, P = 0.020), and urologist's satisfaction (6 +/- 1 vs 4 +/- 2, P = 0.001) were all higher amongst Group DEX patients compared with Group TRA. There was no difference between discharge times of patients in Group DEX compared with those in Group TRA [85 (60,115) min vs 65 (40,95) min, P = 0.069]. CONCLUSION: Dexmedetomidine in combination with morphine PCA provided better analgesia for ESWL and was associated with higher patients' and urologist's satisfaction when compared with a tramadol/midazolam PCA combination.     

Does the complication rate increase in laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis?

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has replaced open cholecystectomy for the treatment of gallbladder disease. Despite the well-accepted success of LC in chronic cholecystitis, the efficacy of this technique has been subject to some debate in acute cholecystitis (AC). This study was designed to evaluate our institution's experience with LC for AC and chronic symptomatic calculous cholecystitis (CC), based on complication and conversion rates to open surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The records of 1158 patients with LC from September 1991 to December 2001 were analyzed. The parameters of age, gender, early and late complication rates, and conversion rates from LC to open cholecystectomy were compared in patients with AC and CC. RESULTS: During the study period, LC was performed in 1158 patients. Of these, 162 patients had AC (group 1) and 996 patients had CC (group 2). The conversion rates were 4.3% (7/162) in group 1 and 2.4% (24/996) in group 2. The complication rates were not significantly different (5.6% in group 1, 5.1% in group 2, P > 0.05). Difficulty in dissection around Calot's triangle and obscure anatomy were the main reasons for conversion to conventional open surgery. The mortality rate was 1.2% in group 1 and 0.01% in group 2. CONCLUSION: LC appears to be a reliable, safe, and effective treatment modality for AC and CC. The surgical approach should be performed carefully because of the spectrum of potential hazards of the laparoscopic procedure. Conversion and complication rates are similar in both AC and CC groups, and improve as surgeons gain experience.