Green Power: The Role of Plant-Based Biochar in Advanced Energy Storage.

This comprehensive review aims to provide an overview of recent progress in utilizing plant-based biochar for supercapacitors. It specifically focuses on biochar derived from plant biomass such as agricultural residues, weeds and aquatic plants, examining their potential in energy storage applications. It explores various synthesis methods like pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization and evaluates their impact on biochar's structure and electrochemical properties.

Assessment of water quality and ecosystem health of a canal system during the lockdown period.

The impacts of the lockdown period on water quality and ecosystem health in an artificial canal water system were investigated from the rapidly growing Kozhikode City in India. The ecosystem health is measured in terms of water quality indicators such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and () during the pre-lockdown and lockdown period. The study reveals the massive improvement of the ecosystem health of the canal in terms of DO, BOD, and during the lockdown period.

A comprehensive review on sources, analysis and toxicity of environmental pollutants and its removal methods from water environment.

Natural and human anthropogenic activities increase the concentration of the toxic pollutant in the water environment; they could cause harmful effects even in their lower concentration. In humans, toxic pollutants damage the structural and functional properties of essential organs including the heart, liver, kidneys, reproductive systems and pancreas. To avoid the toxicity of the pollutant, they should be removed from the water environment.

The First WHO International Standard for Harmonizing the Biological Activity of Bevacizumab.

Several Bevacizumab products are approved for clinical use, with many others in late-stage clinical development worldwide. To aid the harmonization of potency assessment across different Bevacizumab products, the first World Health Organization (WHO) International Standard (IS) for Bevacizumab has been developed. Two preparations of a Bevacizumab candidate and comparator were assessed for their ability to neutralize and bind vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) using different bioassays and binding assays in an international collaborative study.

Quantification of Pancreatic Islets: Using Image Analysis Tools.

Histological image analysis is becoming an increasingly important tool for research in biological science. They are important in analyzing biological systems on various scales, from structural details to determination of number of cells, its area, localization, and concentration. This chapter focuses on analysis of pancreatic sections stained for insulin and glucagon using a commercially available software.

OCT angiography fractal analysis-based quantification of macular vascular density in branch retinal vein occlusion eyes.

Objective: To compare the macular vascular density in branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) versus normals on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) using fractal analysis and to describe the factors bearing on final visual outcomes.

Participants: This study is a retrospective observational comparative case series. Diagnosed cases of unilateral BRVO that underwent treatment and resolved were included.

IL-33 stimulates expression of the GPR84 (EX33) fatty acid receptor gene and of cytokine and chemokine genes in human adipocytes.

Expression of GPCR fatty acid sensor/receptor genes in adipocytes is modulated by inflammatory mediators, particularly IL-1β. In this study we examined whether the IL-1 gene superfamily member, IL-33, also regulates expression of the fatty acid receptor genes in adipocytes. Human fat cells, differentiated from preadipocytes, were incubated with IL-33 at three different dose levels for 3 or 24 h and mRNA measured by qPCR.

Water quality assessment of Kavvayi Lake of northern Kerala, India using CCME water quality index and biological water quality criteria.

Assessment of water quality status of 7 sites of Kavvayi Wetland in northern Kerala (India) was carried out. The physico-chemical, bacteriological and biological parameters were monitored during pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) water quality index of the Kavvayi Lake samples ranged from 43.

Genetic homogeneity of adult Langerhans cell histiocytosis lesions: Insights from BRAF mutations in adult populations.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a heterologous disease with a recognized disparity in incidence, affected sites and prognosis between adults and children. The recent identification of BRAF mutations in LCH prompted the investigation of the frequency of these mutations in adult and childhood disease with the involvement of single or multiple sites in the present study. The study analysed the BRAF status in a cohort of adult LCH patients by DNA sequencing, and performed a broader meta-analysis of BRAF mutations in LCH in order to investigate any association with disease site and severity.

Assessment and rationalization of water quality monitoring network: a multivariate statistical approach to the Kabbini River (India).

Unlabelled: The establishment of an efficient surface water quality monitoring (WQM) network is a critical component in the assessment, restoration and protection of river water quality. A periodic evaluation of monitoring network is mandatory to ensure effective data collection and possible redesigning of existing network in a river catchment. In this study, the efficacy and appropriateness of existing water quality monitoring network in the Kabbini River basin of Kerala, India is presented.

Collagen remodeling and peripheral immune cell recruitment characterizes the cutaneous Langerhans cell histiocytosis microenvironment.

Background: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare and potentially fatal disorder of unknown etiology arising from the accumulation of epidermal Langerhans-like cells in bone, skin, or other tissues. Tissue damage and morbidity results from lesional cytokine release, and we sought to investigate the LCH microenvironment using a combination of histological stains and immunohistochemistry.

Methods: CD1a immunoreactivity was used to identify lesional cells in archival paraffin-embedded samples of cutaneous LCH.

A novel method to assess collagen architecture in skin.

Background: Texture within biological specimens may reveal critical insights, while being very difficult to quantify. This is a particular problem in histological analysis. For example, cross-polar images of picrosirius stained skin reveal exquisite structure, allowing changes in the basketweave conformation of healthy collagen to be assessed.

Characteristics of Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus Skuse (Diptera:Culicidae) breeding sites.

We investigated the physicochemical characteristics of Aedes albopictus Skuse viz. breeding sites, by examining coconut shells, tires and plastic containers in a chikungunya affected area of Calicut, India. The study design was a cross-sectional ecological type.

Ecotoxicological impact assessment of heavy metals in core sediments of a tropical estuary.

Down core variation of heavy metals in three sediment cores from Cochin estuary was studied. The average concentration of iron, manganese, nickel, copper, zinc, cadmium, lead and mercury in each slices of sediment was determined. Quality of the sediments were evaluated based on sediment quality guidelines, pollution load index, and sum of toxic units and with effect range low/effect range median and threshold effect level/probable effect level values of environmental protection agency guidelines.

A rapid autolytic method for the preparation of protein hydrolysate from poultry viscera.

Protein hydrolysate was prepared from poultry viscera by a procedure involving autolysis for 6h at pH 2.8 and 55 degrees C followed by heat inactivation, filtration and drying. Recovery of nitrogen in the product was 87%.

Autolytic degradation of chicken intestinal proteins.

Data on the exhaustive degradation of chicken intestinal proteins by endogenous proteases, which could be utilized as a means to prepare protein hydrolysate, is reported in the present paper. Chicken intestine possesses proteolytic activities (cathepsin B, D, H, L, aminopeptidases and alkaline proteases) comparable to that in organ tissues like liver and spleen, which could degrade the tissue proteins extensively. The autolytic degradation was found to be optimum at pH 2.

Identification and purification of an aspartic proteinase from human semen.

To purify and evaluate the molecular changes associated with an aspartic protease (Cathepsin D) in human semen from infertile subjects. Cathepsin D was purified from normo-, oligo- and azoospermic semen, by a procedure involving detergent solubilisation, affinity chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. The enzyme from normo-, oligo- and azoospermic samples was purified 86, 60 and 44 fold respectively.

Seminal profiles of lysosomal enzymes in normal and infertile men.

Human seminal plasma is known to possess considerable proteolytic activity, much of which is associated with lysosomes. The activities of lysosomal hydrolases like alkaline proteinase, cathepsin-D, aryl-sulfatase and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase in seminal plasma from randomly chosen infertile and vasectomised men have been compared. These enzymes have been implicated in the coagulation and liquefaction processes.

Vitamin A-deficiency and its effects on the lysosomal enzymes of fish.

The effect of vitamin A-deficiency on the structural integrity of lysosomes in the skeletal muscle and skin of Heteropneustes fossilis, a dehydroretinol-rich freshwater siluroid used in pisciculture, has been evaluated. Dietary stress was found to cause enhanced release of acid hydrolases from both skeletal muscle and skin tissues. The results indicate that the regulation of lysosomal membrane stability in these tissues is a function of vitamin A.

Preparation of membrane vesicles from kidney cortex lysosomes using amino acid methyl ester.

A procedure for the preparation of intact membrane vesicles from kidney cortex lysosomes is reported. Highly purified preparations of lysosomes were isolated from rat and buffalo kidney cortex by Percoll density gradient centrifugation. The lysosomal membrane vesicles were prepared by osmotic rupture of the organelle with glutamate dimethyl ester.

Purification and characterization of an alkaline proteinase from kidney cortex lysosomes.

An alkaline proteinase was purified to apparent homogeneity from buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) kidney cortex lysosomes by affinity chromatography on STI sepharose 4B and gel filtration over Sephadex G-100. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 17,000 and 21,000 by gel filtration and SDS/PAGE respectively. The purified enzyme was optimally active at pH 8.

Assessment of the genotoxic potential of riboflavin and lumiflavin. A. Effect of metabolic enzymes.

The mutagenic potential of riboflavin and its photodegradation product lumiflavin was evaluated using the umu test, SOS chromotest and Ames Salmonella assay. Both riboflavin and lumiflavin by themselves were found to be non-mutagenic. On treatment with rat liver microsomal enzymes (S9) or caecal cell-free extract (CCE), lumiflavin acquired mutagenicity, while the status of riboflavin remained unaffected.

Assessment of the genotoxic potential of riboflavin and lumiflavin. B. Effect of light.

On exposure to visible light, riboflavin and lumiflavin produced reactive oxygen species such as singlet oxygen and superoxide radicals. The reaction was found to be time- and concentration-dependent. Both riboflavin and lumiflavin, upon illumination, showed mutagenic response in the umu test as well as in the Ames/Salmonella assay with Salmonella typhimurium TA102.