The efficiency of phenol degradation via Fenton reaction using mixture of heterogeneous goethite catalyst with homogeneous ferrous ion was analyzed as a function of three independent variables, initial concentration of phenol (60 to 100 mg /L), weight ratio of initial concentration of phenol to that of H2O2 (1: 6 to 1: 14) and, weight ratio of initial concentration of goethite catalyst to that of H2O2 (1: 0.3 to 1: 0.7). More than 90 % of phenol removal and more than 40% of TOC removal were achieved within 60 minutes of reaction. Two separate models were developed using artificial neural networks to predict degradation percentage by a combination of Fe3+ and Fe2+ catalyst. Five operational parameters were employed as inputs while phenol degradation and TOC removal were considered as outputs of the developed models. Satisfactory agreement was observed between testing data and the predicted values (R2Phenol = 0.9214 and R2TOC= 0.9082).
Superparamagnetic magnetite nanocomposites (Fe3O4-NCs) were successfully synthesized, which comprised of montmorillonite (MMT) as matrix support, Kappaphycus alvarezii (SW) as bio-stabilizer and Fe3O4 as filler in the composites to form MMT/SW/Fe3O4-NCs. Nanocomposite with 0.5 g Fe3O4 (MMT/SW/0.5Fe3O4) was selected for anticancer activity study because it revealed high crystallinity, particle size of 7.2 ± 1.7 nm with majority of spherical shape, and Ms = 5.85 emu/g with negligible coercivity. Drug loading and release studies were carried out using protocatechuic acid (PCA) as the model for anticancer drug, which showed 19% and 87% of PCA release in pH 7.4 and 4.8, respectively. Monolayer anticancer assay showed that PCA-loaded MMT/SW/Fe3O4 (MMT/SW/Fe3O4-PCA) had selectivity towards HCT116 (colorectal cancer cell line). Although MMT/SW/Fe3O4-PCA (0.64 mg/mL) showed higher IC50 than PCA (0.148 mg/mL) and MMT/SW/Fe3O4 (0.306 mg/mL, MMT/SW/Fe3O4-PCA showed more effective killing towards tumour spheroid model generated from HCT116. The IC50 for MMT/SW/Fe3O4-PCA, MMT/SW/Fe3O4 and PCA were 0.132, 0.23 and 0.55 mg/mL, respectively. This suggests the improved penetration efficiency and drug release of MMT/SW/Fe3O4-PCA towards HCT116 spheroids. Moreover, concentration that lower than 2 mg/mL MMT/SW/Fe3O4-PCA did not result any hemolysis in human blood, which suggests them to be ideal for intravenous injection. This study highlights the potential of MMT/SW/Fe3O4-NCs as drug delivery agent.
An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is abnormal swelling in the abdominal aorta and a prevalent life-threatening disease. This research introduces a new interdigitated microelectrode (IDME)-sensing surface modified by iron oxide nanoworms (IONWs) for detecting the AAA biomarker insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1). A sandwich pattern was formulated with the IGF1 aptamer and IGFBP1 (IGF binding protein-1) on the IONW-constructed IDME hybrid to identify IGF1. The surface morphology of the IONWs revealed a uniform distribution of worm-like structures (80-100 nm) as confirmed by FESEM and FETEM analyses. Further, the presence of the major elements, Fe and O, was confirmed by EDX and XPS studies. The crystal planes that appeared in the IONW reflect cubic magnetite. IONW-modified IDME attained a limit of detection for IGF1 of 1 fM (3σ) with an aptamer-IGF1-IGFBP1 sandwich. This sandwich with IGFBP1 enhanced the current level at all concentrations of IGF1 and displayed linearity in the range 1 fM to 100 pM with a determination coefficient of R2 = 0.9373 [y = 3.38221x - 4.79]. Control experiments with complementary aptamer sequences, IGF2 and IGFBP3 did not show notable signal changes, indicating the specific detection of IGF1. This IONW constructed electrode helps to achieve the detection of low amounts of IGF1 and diagnose AAA at the stage prior to rupture.
Auricularia auricula-judae is currently grown in Malaysia. In the present study, the methanolic extracts from fruit bodies (fresh, oven-dried, and freeze-dried) and mycelium of A. auricula-judae were evaluated for their antioxidant capacities based on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The total phenolic content in the extracts were also measured. The extract of freeze-dried fruit bodies of A. auricula-judae had potent DPPH free radical scavenging activity with a 50% effective concentration of 2.87 mg/mL, whereas the FRAP value of A. auricula-judae mycelium was 5.22 micromol of FeSO(4).7H(2)O equivalents/g of mycelium sample. Further, a positive correlation (R(2) = 0.7668) between FRAP level of A. auricula-judae extracts and the total phenolic contents was observed. Thus the method of processing of fresh fruit bodies had an effect on the antioxidant potential of A. auricula-judae.
Introduction: Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is endemic especially in the under-developed and developing countries and is a major public health concern. Improving nutrition is one of the ways to alleviate this condition. Consumption of locally available and affordable food such as date palm and goat milk which are rich in iron is one of the ways to overcome IDA. This study is aimed at evaluating the effect of date palm and goat milk supplementation on hae- matological parameters and iron bioavailability in IDA rats. Methods: 24 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control and IDA group. The normal control was fed with normal diet and water ad libitum while the IDA group were fed on iron-deficient diet for two weeks to induce iron deficiency. The IDA rats were further divided into subgroups; each being supplemented with date palm, goat milk, a combination of date palm and goat milk, and ferrous fumarate as positive control. Blood were collected after 28 days for haematological parameters and iron profile determination. Iron bioavailability was assessed using the haemoglobin regeneration efficiency (HRE) index. Data was analysed by Student T Test and ANOVA using SPSS 23.0 software with p value < 0.05 considered as sta- tistically significant. Results: Supplementation of date palm and goat milk for 28 days significantly improved Hb, RBC, PCV, MCV, MCH, serum iron and transferrin saturation (p
To determine the medication prescribing patterns in hospitalized patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a Malaysian hospital, we prospectively studied a cohort of 600 patients in two phases with 300 patients in each phase. The first phase was carried out from the beginning of February to the end of May 2007, and the second phase was from the beginning of March to the end of June 2008. Patients with CKD who had an estimated creatinine clearance ≤ 50 mL/min and were older than 18 years were included. A data collection form was used to collect data from the patients' medical records and chart review. All systemic medications prescribed during hospitalization were included. The patients were prescribed 5795 medications. During the first phase, the patients were prescribed 2814 medication orders of 176 different medications. The prescriptions were 2981 of 158 medications during the second phase. The mean number of medications in the first and second phases was 9.38 ± 3.63 and 9.94 ± 3.78 respectively (P-value = 0.066). The top five used medications were calcium carbonate, folic acid/vitamin B complex, metoprolol, lovastatin, and ferrous sulfate. The most commonly used medication classes were mineral supplements, vitamins, antianemic preparations, antibacterials, and beta-blocking agents. This study provides an overview of prescription practice in a cohort of hospitalized CKD patients and indicates possible areas of improvement in prescription practice.
Matched MeSH terms: Ferrous Compounds/therapeutic use
A bioflocculant-producing bacterial strain with highly mucoid and ropy colony morphological characteristics identified as Bacillus spp. UPMB13 was found to be a potential bioflocculant-producing bacterium. The effect of cation dependency, pH tolerance and dosage requirement on flocculating ability of the strain was determined by flocculation assay with kaolin as the suspended particle. The flocculating activity was measured as optical density and by flocs formation. A synergistic effect was observed with the addition of monovalent and divalent cations, namely, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺, while Fe²⁺ and Al³⁺ produced inhibiting effects on flocculating activity. Divalent cations were conclusively demonstrated as the best cation source to enhance flocculation. The bioflocculant works in a wide pH range, from 4.0 to 8.0 with significantly different performances (P < 0.05), respectively. It best performs at pH 5.0 and pH 6.0 with flocculating performance of above 90%. A much lower or higher pH would inhibit flocculation. Low dosage requirements were needed for both the cation and bioflocculant, with only an input of 50 mL/L for 0.1% (w/v) CaCl₂ and 5 mL/L for culture broth, respectively. These results are comparable to other bioflocculants produced by various microorganisms with higher dosage requirements.
The primary emphasis of this study was on the innovative and scientifically valuable hydrothermal synthesis of MIL-101(Co) as a metal-organic framework (MOF) material. Subsequently, the CuFe2O4 was incorporated into the MOF by a reduction-precipitation technique. The SrTiO3/CuFe2O4/MIL-101(Co) composite was synthesized by using hydrothermal in situ growth process. The XRD and FESEM investigations of the SrTiO3/CuFe2O4/MIL-101(Co) composite definitively verified its crystalline structure and proved its production with exact shape and dimensions. The data indicated that Candida albicans displayed the greatest vulnerability to all three produced materials, with reported Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values of 500 µg mL-1 for MIL-101(Co). The CuFe2O4/MIL-101(Co) compound, when produced, exhibits MIC values of 200 µg mL-1. Additionally, the combination of CuFe2O4/MIL-101(Co) with SrTiO3, shows MIC values of 50 µg mL-1. The results also indicated that the MIC values for MIL-101(Co), and CuFe2O4/MIL-101(Co) against S. aureus were 100 µg mL-1. Ultimately, SrTiO3/CuFe2O4/MIL-101(Co) exhibited identical MIC values of 50 µg mL-1 against S. aureus. The concentration of the bacterial protein was increased by adding MIL-101(Co), CuFe2O4/MIL-101(Co), and SrTiO3/CuFe2O4/MIL-101(Co). The antibacterial capabilities of the SrTiO3/CuFe2O4/MIL-101(Co) were increased after being subjected to gamma doses of 100.0 kGy. This process paves a ways for manufacturing innovation in near future.