Anticarcinogenecity of microbiota and probiotics in breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most important causes of cancer related morbidity and mortality in the world. Along with genetic, environmental factors also play a multifaceted role in the development of disease. Breast contains several bacterial species performing specialized functions. Probiotics, as functional food, play pivotal role against breast cancer development in vivo and in vitro. Current review summarized all the available data related to diet, probiotics, and their association with breast cancer risk along with underlying mechanisms. Presently, it was believed that many of the commercially available probiotic products were safe to use and had some beneficial health effects for the host. Probiotics had a potential to act against breast cancer progression evidenced by many animal model and cell-based experiments. Some probiotics strains may be useful as an adjuvant therapy for breast cancer prevention or treatment, by modulating immune response or breast microbial community. However, large-scale clinical trials and intense research are mandatory to explore probiotics-related metabolic and molecular mechanisms in breast cancer.     

A comparison of TiO2 nanoparticles and nanotubes for catalytic gas phase destruction of H2S gas at high temperatures

Reduction of H2S gas over Sulphur doped TiO2 nanoparticles and TiO2 nanotubes was studied in this work. Fixed bed catalytic system was used for the catalytic reduction of H2S gas at a high temperature of 450 degrees C under laboratory conditions. 99.97% reduction was achieved using S-doped TiO2. 2.89% Sulphur was adsorbed on S-doped TiO2 nanoparticles in the form of Ti(SO4)2, while 95.6% reduction was achieved in case of TiO2 nanotubes and the sulphur adsorption was 2.67%. The XRD, SEM, and EDX techniques were carried out to characterize the nanoparticles and nanotubes, while gas reduction analysis was carried out using GC-MS for gas samples.     

Microstructure Characterization and Corrosion Resistance Behavior of New Cobalt-Free Maraging Steel Produced Through ESR Techniques

In this study, two different grades (M23 and M29) of cobalt-free low nickel maraging steel have been produced through electroslag remelting (ESR) process. The corrosion resistance of these ESR steels was investigated in 1 M H₂SO₄ solution using linear potentiodynamic polarization (LPP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The experiments were performed for different immersion time and solution temperature. To evaluate the corrosion resistance of the ESR steels, some significant characterization parameters from LPP and EIS curves were analyzed and compared with that of conventional C250 maraging steel. Irrespective of measurement techniques used, the results show that the corrosion resistance of the ESR steels was higher than the C250 steel. The microstructure of ESR steels was composed of uniform and well-distributed martensite accompanied with little amount of retained austenite in comparison with C250 steel.     

Tensile behavior of staple fiber yarns,part IV: experimental verification of predicted stress–strain curves

In this paper, specific stress–strain curves were predicted for viscose, cotton, and polyester yarns spun by ring and rotor technologies. The average fiber-specific stress–strain curves were used to predict yarn-specific stress–strain curves. The predicted yarn-specific stress–strain curves captured the experimental yarn-specific stress–strain curves well both in shape and position for the three studied yarn types. However, higher prediction error was observed relatively in polyester yarns due to more slippage of fibers in these yarns. All rotor yarns exhibited higher difference between experimental and predicted results which might be the result of the nature of the twist in rotor yarn.     

Preparation,characterization, and properties of polyacrylonitrile–silica gel anion exchange composite fibers

This article reports the preparation of new anion exchange composite fibers (AECFs). These AECFs were prepared by simple stirring of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and silica gel in different stoichiometric ratios. The physicochemical characterization of the prepared AECFs was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA, differential thermal analysis, and differential thermal gravimetry), and elemental analysis (CHNS/O). Ion‐exchange behavior was also observed. The results indicate that addition of silica gel affects the structure and properties of the composite fibers. The addition of silica gel also changes the thermal stability of PAN–silica gel AECFs. The ion‐exchange capacity of the resulting AECFs was found to be 1.98 mequiv/g. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Indigo dyeing of polyester (PET) – pH effects

Polyester (polyethylene terephthalate [PET]) fabric was dyed with indigo dye through an exhaust technique at different pH values. At different pH values, different forms of the indigo existed in the solution, each one having different substantivity for the fibre. The non‐ionic form had the highest substantivity for polyester. The fibres could best be dyed in the acidic pH range. Chemistry of the dyebath as well as fibre was considered to explain the effect of pH on colour strength. The results suggest that hydrogen bonding is the main reason for the exhaustion of dye onto the polyester fibre. Hydrogen bonding is formed between the hydroxyl group of the leuco vat acid and the ester and aromatic ring of the PET fibre.     

Heavy metal accumulation in different varieties of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in soil amended with domestic sewage sludge

The concentrations of heavy metals (HMs) in plants served to indicate the metal contamination status of the site, and also revealed the abilities of various plant species to take up and accumulate them from the soil dressed with sewage sludge. A study to comprehend the mobility and transport of HMs from soil and soil amended with untreated sewage sludge to different newly breaded varieties of wheat (Anmol, TJ-83, Abadgar and Mehran-89) in Pakistan. A pot-culture experiment was conducted to study the transfer of HMs to wheat grains, grown in soil (control) and soil amended with sewage sludge (test samples). The total and ethylenediaminetetraaceticacid (EDTA)-extractable HMs in agricultural soil and soil amended with domestic sewage sludge (SDWS) and wheat grains were analysed by flame atomic absorption spectrometer/electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometer, prior to microwave-assisted wet acid digestion method. The edible part of wheat plants (grains) from test samples presented high concentration of all HMs understudy (mgkg(-1)). Significant correlations were found between metals in exchangeable fractions of soil and SDWS, with total metals in control and test samples of wheat grains. The bio-concentration factors of all HMs were high in grains of two wheat varieties, TJ-83 and Mehran-89, as compared to other varieties, Anmol and Abadgar grown in the same agricultural plots.     

On-line monitoring of remediation process of chromium polluted soil using LIBS

Due to large growth in leather and textile industries to cater for the needs of a growing world population, contamination of soil and water resources by chromium has become a great threat for humans and animals. In this work, Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) was applied to monitor the remediation process of soil contaminated with Chromium metal. This study was conducted at a laboratory scale by setting up an experiment in a container holding soil contaminated with chromium. This setup represents actual field conditions where remediation process could be applied and monitored for the removal of toxic metals like Cr. For generation of LIBS spectrum, the plasma was produced by focusing a pulsed Nd: YAG laser at 1064 nm on the soil contaminated with chromium under remediation process. The evaluation of the potential and capabilities of LIBS as a rapid tool for remediation process of contaminated sites is discussed in detail. Optimal experimental conditions were evaluated for improving the sensitivity of our LIBS system for monitoring of remediation process through parametric dependence study. The minimum detection limit of our spectrometer for chromium in soil matrix was 2 mg Kg(-1).     

Comparison of electrothermal and hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of total arsenic in broiler chicken

The purpose of this study was to estimate total arsenic concentration in different tissues (leg, breast, liver and heart) of broiler chicken by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS) and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS), prior to microwave assisted acid digestion. The accuracy of the techniques was evaluated by using certified reference material DORM-2. The percentage recoveries of total As were observed as 100.6% and 99.4% for HGAAS and GFAAS, respectively. The precision of the techniques, expressed as relative standard deviation, was observed as 1.71% and 4.18% for HGAAS and GFAAS measurements, respectively. The limits of detection for HGAAS and GFAAS were 0.025 μg/g and 0.052 μg/g, respectively. The concentrations of total arsenic in different tissues of broiler chicken were found in the range of 2.19–5.28, 2.15–5.22, 2.97–7.17 and 2.68–6.36 μg/g for leg, breast, liver and heart tissues, respectively. At a mean level of chicken consumption (60 g/person/day), people may ingest in the range of 72.0–85.1 μg arsenic/person/day from chicken alone.