Bimetal-oxide (Fe/Co) modified bagasse-waste carbon coated on lead oxide-battery electrode for metronidazole removal

Current study covers the preparation and application of a commercial modified lead oxide battery electrode (LBE) in electrochemical oxidation (ECO) of metronidazole (MNZ) in an aqueous phase. Modified electrode is prepared by doping of bimetal-oxide (Fe and Zn) nanoparticles (NPs) & single metal-oxide (Fe/Zn) on bagasse-waste carbon (bwc) which is further coated on LBE. The modified LBE electrode surface was examined for metal-oxide NPs through X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Different electrodes are prepared by varying combinations of two metal-oxide based on molar ratio and tested for electrochemical characterization and MNZ removal test. Based on large oxygen evolution potential in a linear sweep volumetry (LSV) analysis and high MNZ removal rate, the best electrode has been represented as Fe1:Co2-bwc/LBE which contains Fe & Co molar ratio of 1:2. Moreover, equilibrium attained at faster rate in degradation process of MNZ, where pseudo first order kinetics of 2.29 × 10-2 min-1 was obtained under optimized condition of (MNZ:100 mg/L, pH:7, CD: 30 mA/cm2 and electrolyte: 0.05 M Na2SO4). Maximum MNZ removal, total organic carbon removal (TOC), mineralization current efficiency (MCE) & energy consumption (EC) of 98.7%, 85.3%, 62.2% & 96.143 kW h/kg-TOC removed are found in 180 min of treatment time for Fe1:Co2-bwc/LBE electrode. Accelerated service life test confirms that the stability of modified electrode is enhanced by 1.5 times compared to pristine LBE. Repeatability test confirms that modified LBE (Fe1:Co2-bwc/LBE) can be utilized up to 3 times.

High-content phenotypic screening identifies novel chemistries that disrupt mosquito activity and development

New classes of chemistries are needed to control insecticide resistant populations of mosquitoes and prevent transmission of vector-borne diseases (VBDs). Organismal screens of chemical collections have played an important role in the search for new vector insecticides and the identification of active ingredients (AIs) that cause rapid mortality of mosquitoes. Advances in image-based screening offer an opportunity to identify chemistries that operate via novel biochemical modes and investigate the range of phenotypes exhibited by mosquitoes following exposure to lethal and sub-lethal chemical dose. An automated, high throughput phenotypic screen (HTS) employing high-content imaging of first instar (L1) Aedes aegypti larvae was developed to identify chemistries associated with mortality and atypical morphological phenotypes. A pilot screen of the Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC₁₂₈₀) identified 92 chemistries that disrupted larval activity and development, including conventional insecticides and chemistries known to modulate G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and other molecular targets in mammalian systems. Secondary assay series were used to evaluate a selection of chemistries for impacts on mosquito activity, survival and development. Ritodrine hydrochloride reduced mobility of larvae but had no observable effect on survival and development of mosquitoes. High doses of metergoline suppressed larval activity and sub-lethal dose resulted in pupal mortality. Assay data support the utility of phenotypic screening and diverse entomological end-points for discovery of novel insecticidal chemical scaffolds. The insecticide discovery process must consider how multi-modal efficacy spectra contribute to vector and VBD control.

Quantitative insight in utilizing circulating angiogenic factors as biomarkers for antiangiogenic therapy: systems pharmacology approach

Circulating angiogenic factors (CAF) like vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), placental growth factor (PlGF), and sVEGFR2 have potential as biomarkers for antiangiogenic therapy. The interpretation of changes in CAF is complicated by the dynamic nature of the tumor and host cells emanating CAF in response to VEGF pathway inhibition. We developed a systems pharmacology model of anti-VEGF agents to investigate CAF modulation by tumor and host cells, and the relationship between overall CAF changes in response to sunitinib and antitumor efficacy. This model distinguishes between the tumor cells' contributions from tumor-independent response to therapy and total plasma CAF correlating with antitumor activity. Altered VEGF is more likely to serve as a useful biomarker reflecting tumor responses in cancer patients whose pretreatment VEGF is higher than baseline VEGF in healthy subjects. Our findings provide a mechanistic insight into tumor modulation of angiogenic molecules, and may explain the inconsistent results found in previous biomarker studies.

Low Temperature Laser Physical Vapor Deposition of Multilayered Thin Films

We have investigated the formation of various multilayer thin films by the laser physical vapor deposition technique. A multi stage target holder was constructed to perform all process steps in-situ; target/substrate cleaning, deposition, and annealing. The laser physical vapor deposition technique offers many advantages over conventional physical vapor techniques, such as, lower substrate temperature, microstructural control, and very low contamination levels. Film thickness can be controlled from near atomic to micron dimensions. A layer-by-layer (two dimensional) growth can be achieved, resulting in nonequilibrium structures. The films were analyzed using cross-section and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The significant reduction in substrate temperature for the formation of high quality multilayer and epitaxial films opens up many new areas of applications requiring reduced thermal-budget processing.

Role of thyroid in tissue respiration of birds

Thyroidectomy after 1 week, 1 month, and 13 months significantly depressed and low level of L-T4 significantly elevated the oxygen uptake of the liver and skeletal muscle of spotted munia and common myna. A higher dose of L-T4 had no effect on the rate of respiration. A reexamination of the published results on submammalian vertebrates together with those presented here suggests that an uniform pattern of response of skeletal muscle emerges if the values from thyroidectomized animals are compared not only with the final controls but also with the initial controls. It is, therefore, suggested that all the earlier works be reexamined and reinterpreted.

In pursuit of the "spatial gene": a family study

Members of 192 families in the Tel Aviv area were given a battery of eight cognitive tests focusing on spatial measures but sampling verbal, numerical, and perceptual speed domains as well. The patterns of parent-child and sibling correlations gave very weak evidence, if any, for the operation of the X-linked recessive gene postulated by Stafford and others to affect performance on tasks involving spatial visualization. An analysis of male and female score distributions provided results more favorable to the X-linkage hypothesis, at least for the child generation, although suggesting that X linkage does not explain the whole male-female difference in performance on spatial tasks.

The relation of auditory, visual, and auditory-visual matching to reading performance of Israeli children

Six same-different matching tests, both verbal and nonverbal, in three modalities, along with a set of reading tests, were administered to 120 Israeli children in second, third, and fourth grade. The main effect of all S variables, except sex (grade, socioeconomic level, and ability) were significant, as were the test factors of modality (visual, auditory, cross-modal) and form (verbal-nonverbal), but interactions between S and test factors were small. Multiple regression analysis revealed that overall matching test scores accounted for 35% of the variance in reading scores, although the additional contribution of specific subtests was negligible. Performance on the visual-visual tests was virtually perfect. Auditory-auditory matches were more difficult than auditory-visual matches with nonverbal stimuli, while the reverse was true with verbal stimuli.