Natural products against cancer: Review on phytochemicals from marine sources in preventing cancer

Marine natural products have as of now been acknowledged as the most important source of bioactive substances and drug leads. Marine flora and fauna, such as algae, bacteria, sponges, fungi, seaweeds, corals, diatoms, ascidian etc. are important resources from oceans, accounting for more than 90% of the total oceanic biomass. They are taxonomically different with huge productive and are pharmacologically active novel chemical signatures and bid a tremendous opportunity for discovery of new anti-cancer molecules. The water bodies a rich source of potent molecules which improve existence suitability and serve as chemical shield against microbes and little or huge creatures. These molecules have exhibited a range of biological properties antioxidant, antibacterial, antitumour etc. In spite of huge resources enriched with exciting chemicals, the marine floras and faunas are largely unexplored for their anticancer properties. In recent past, numerous marine anticancer compounds have been isolated, characterized, identified and are under trials for human use. In this write up we have tried to compile about marine-derived compounds anticancer biological activities of diverse flora and fauna and their underlying mechanisms and the generous raise in these compounds examined for malignant growth treatment in the course of the most recent quite a long while.     

Iodine-mediated synthesis of benzo[a]fluorenones from yne-enones

The chalcones derived from o-alkynylacetophenones and aromatic aldehydes (yne-enones) when heated under reflux with iodine in acetic acid gave a range of benzo[a]fluorenone derivatives in moderate to good yields. The transformation involves the formation of a vinyl indenone intermediate through regioselective alkyne hydration and intramolecular aldol condensation followed by electrocyclic ring closure and aromatization.

An iodine mediated synthesis of benzo[a]fluorenone derivatives from the chalcones derived from o-alkynylacetophenones and aromatic aldehydes is described.     

Expression analysis of microRNA-155 in type 2 diabetes in Kashmiri population

International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries - The present study aimed to evaluate the expression of microRNA-155 (miR-155) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and assess its...     

Investigation on Rheological Properties of Water-Based Novel Ternary Hybrid Nanofluids Using Experimental and Taguchi Method

This study presents the rheological behavior of water-based GO-TiO₂-Ag and rGO-TiO₂-Ag ternary-hybrid nanofluids. The impact of nanoparticles’ volumetric concentration and temperature on the rheological properties were studied. All experiments were performed under temperatures ranging from 25 to 50 °C in the solid volume concentration range of 0.5–0.00005%. The data optimization technique was adopted using the Taguchi method. The types of nanomaterials, concentration, temperature, and shear rate were chosen to optimize the viscosity and shear stress. The effect of shear stress, angular sweep, frequency sweep, and damping factor ratio is plotted. The experimental results demonstrated that the rheological properties of the ternary hybrid nanofluid depend on the ternary hybrid nanofluid’s temperature. The viscosity of ternary hybrid nanofluids (THNf) change by 40% for GO-TiO₂-Ag and 33% for rGO-TiO₂-Ag when temperature and shear rates are increased. All the ternary hybrid nanofluids demonstrated non-Newtonian behavior at lower concentrations and higher shear stress, suggesting a potential influence of nanoparticle aggregation on the viscosity. The dynamic viscosity of ternary hybrid nanofluid increased with enhancing solid particles’ volume concentration and temperature.     

Hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma: surveillance strategy directed by immune- epidemiology

Hepatitis B infection (HBV) is one of the most common causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide. The age of occurrence, prognosis and incidence vary dr...     

Effects of between and within Herd Moves on Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) Recrudescence and Shedding in Captive Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus)

Haemorrhagic disease associated with elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (Elephantid herpesvirus, EEHV) infections is the leading cause of death for Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) calves. This study assessed the effect of captive herd management on EEHV shedding, as evidence of latent infection reactivation, focusing on: (1) the influence of social change on the odds of recrudescence; (2) the respective effects of between and within herd moves; and (3) characteristics of recrudescent viral shedding. Trunk and conjunctival swabs (n = 165) were obtained from six elephants at an EAZA-accredited zoo, collected during a period of social stability, and at times of social change. Longitudinal sampling took place at times of moving two bulls out of the collection and one new bull into an adjacent enclosure to the cow herd (between herd moves), and during a period of mixing this new bull with the cow herd to facilitate mating (within herd moves). Quantitative PCR was employed to detect EEHV 1a/b, 4a/b, and EF–1–α (housekeeping gene). Generalised estimating equations determined EEHV recrudescence odds ratios (OR) and relative viral DNA load. Sixteen EEHV 1a/b shedding events occurred, but no EEHV 4a/b was detected. All management-derived social changes promoted recrudescence (social change OR = 3.27, 95% CI = 0.412–26, p = 0.262; and between herd moves OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 0.178−14.4, p = 0.675), though within herd movements posed the most significant increase of EEHV reactivation odds (OR = 6.86, 95% CI = 0.823−57.1, p = 0.075) and demonstrated the strongest relative influence (post hoc Tukey test p = 0.0425). Shedding onset and magnitude ranged from six to 54 days and from 3.59 to 11.09 ΔCts. Differing challenges are associated with between and within herd movements, which can promote recrudescence and should be considered an exposure risk to naïve elephants.     

Recycling of Waste Facial Masks as a Construction Material,a Step towards Sustainability

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a sudden surge in the production and utilization of disposable, single-use facial masks has been observed. Delinquency in proper disposal of used facial masks endangers the environment with a new form of non-biodegradable plastic waste that will take hundreds of years to break down. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the resourceful recycling of such waste in an environmentally friendly way. This study presents an efficient solution by using waste masks in fibered or crushed form to produce environmentally friendly and affordable green concrete. This investigation assessed the mechanical and durability properties of waste masks-incorporated concrete. A total of six mixes were prepared for standardized tests to determine compressive strength, split cylinder tensile strength and rapid chloride penetration test (RCPT), and freeze-thaw resistance. The percentage of mask fibers used were 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2% of concrete by volume, while crushed masks were used at 0.5% only. The mask waste in both forms was found suitable to be used in concrete. One percent of waste mask fibers was found as an optimum value to increase compressive and tensile strength, reduce chloride permeability, and increase freeze-thaw resistance. Besides this, 0.5% crushed mask fiber also performed well, especially for producing less permeable and highly durable concrete. It is thus corroborated that waste masks that increase pollution worldwide can be utilized sustainably to help build green buildings. By reutilizing waste masks to produce improved concrete with better strengths and higher durability, circular economy and sustainability are achieved, along with efficient waste management.     

Response Surface Methodology and Artificial Neural Network Modelling of Membrane Rotating Biological Contactors for Wastewater Treatment

Membrane fouling is a major hindrance to widespread wastewater treatment applications. This study optimizes operating parameters in membrane rotating biological contactors (MRBC) for maximized membrane fouling through Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). MRBC is an integrated system, embracing membrane filtration and conventional rotating biological contactor in one individual bioreactor. The filtration performance was optimized by exploiting the three parameters of disk rotational speed, membrane-to-disk gap, and organic loading rate. The results showed that both the RSM and ANN models were in good agreement with the experimental data and the modelled equation. The overall R² value was 0.9982 for the proposed network using ANN, higher than the RSM value (0.9762). The RSM model demonstrated the optimum operating parameter values of a 44 rpm disk rotational speed, a 1.07 membrane-to-disk gap, and a 10.2 g COD/m² d organic loading rate. The optimization of process parameters can eliminate unnecessary steps and automate steps in the process to save time, reduce errors and avoid duplicate work. This work demonstrates the effective use of statistical modeling to enhance MRBC system performance to obtain a sustainable and energy-efficient treatment process to prevent human health and the environment.     

Effect of Silicon Carbide and Tungsten Carbide on Concrete Composite

Flexural strength of concrete is an important property, especially for pavements. Concrete with higher flexural strength has fewer cracking and durability issues. Researchers use different materials, including fibers, polymers, and admixtures, to increase the flexural strength of concrete. Silicon carbide and tungsten carbide are some of the hardest materials on earth. In this research, the mechanical properties of carbide concrete composites were investigated. The silicon carbide and tungsten carbide at different percentages (1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%) by weight of cement along with hybrid silicon carbide and tungsten carbide (2% and 4%) were used to produce eleven mixes of concrete composites. The mechanical tests, including a compressive strength test and flexural strength test, along with the rapid chloride permeability test (RCPT), were conducted. It was concluded that mechanical properties were enhanced by increasing the percentages of both individual and hybrid carbides. The compressive strength was increased by 17% using 4% tungsten carbide, while flexural strength was increased by 39% at 4% tungsten carbide. The significant effect of carbides on flexural strength was also corroborated by ANOVA analysis. The improvement in flexural strength makes both carbides desirable for use in concrete pavement. Additionally, the permeability, the leading cause of durability issues, was reduced considerably by using tungsten carbide. It was concluded that both carbides provide promising results by enhancing the mechanical properties of concrete and are compatible with concrete to produce composites.