Probing the degradation of pharmaceuticals in urine using MFC and studying their removal efficiency by UPLC-MS/MS

Nutrient recovery from source-separated human urine has attracted interest as it is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus that can be utilized as fertilizer.However,urine also contains pharmaceuticals,steroid hormones,etc.and their removal is crucial as they have detrimental effects on the environment and human health.The current study focuses on investigating the degradation of pharmaceuticals using a double-chamber microbial fuel cell(MFC).Urine was spiked with four pharmaceuticals(trimethoprim,lamivudine,levofloxacin,and estrone)at a concentration of 2 mg/mL.The MFC was operated for 7 months in batch mode with this spiked urine as feed.The degradation efficiency of the MFC was studied,for which a selective liquid chromatography-tandem mass-spectrometric method was developed for the quantitation of compounds used in the spiking experiments and was validated with a lower limit of quantification of 0.39 ng/mL.The maximum removal rate achieved was 96%±2%.The degradation mechanism involved processes like sorption and anoxic biodegradation.The voltage curve obtained showed that the presence of pharmaceuticals had an initial negative impact on power generation along with increased organic content;however,after the reactor acclimatization,increased power output was achieved with maximum organics removal at 30 h of retention time.This work opens a new perspective for the anoxic biodegradation of pharmaceuticals and can be useful in future bioremediation studies.

Assessment of single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with steroid-induced ocular hypertension

AIM:To access the association of forty-eight single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)identified from Caucasian population with steroid-induced ocular hypertension(OHT)in India population.METHODS:Fifty-four triamcinolone-acetonide(TA)and for ty-seven dexamethasone(Dex)administered subjects were enrolled in the study after a written consent.Intraocular pressure(IOP)values were recorded for a period of 6-month post steroid injections and patients were grouped as steroid-responders(SR:IOP≥21 mm Hg)and non-responders(NR:IOP≤20 mm Hg).Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral venous blood.Forty-eight SNPs identified in TA treated Caucasian patients by genome wide association study(GWAS)were genotyped using iPLEXTM MassA RRAY among TA as well as Dex administered Indian patients.Genotyping data of 48 general subjects from a previous study were considered as reference controls for statistical analysis.Genotypic frequencies were calculated and P-value,Chi-square and odds ratio at 95%confidenceinterval of group A(steroid treated vs controls),group B(SR vs NR),group C(phenotype correlation:influence of time,severity and gender on IOP rise),were calculated.P<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.RESULTS:OHT was observed in 50%of TA and 26%of Dex administered patients,respectively.IOP rise was mostly severe(>30 mm Hg)and immediate(<1 wk)among TA-SR patients while it was noticed to be mild(<30 mm Hg)and between 1-2 mo among Dex-SR patients.Logistic regression for risk factor correlation with OHT remained non-significant,hence these factors were not considered as confounding parameters for further analysis.rs133,rs34016742,rs274554,rs10936746,rs274547,rs804854,rs7751500,rs359498,and rs7547448 SNPs significantly varied even after Bonferroni corrections(P<0.0025;group A).rs1879370(TA)and rs6559662(Dex)were significantly(P<0.05)associated with OHT(group B).rs133(severe IOP rise),rs11047639 and rs1879370(male gender),and rs11171569(immediate IOP rise)significantly(P<0.05)influenced the phenotype correlation only among TAOHT patients.However,the significance of these SNPs in group B and phenotype analysis(group C)was lost upon Bonferroni corrections(P<0.0025).CONCLUSION:Prevalence of OHT in study population is observed to be similar to other studies both in TA and Dex treated patients.We can correlate rs34016742 involved in diabetes signaling pathway to the occurrence of ocular edematous and inflammatory conditions.Except rs133 that is involved in neuro-degeneration and myopia occurrence,none of the other SNPs identified in Caucasian population possess any correlation with OHT incidence in TA and Dex administered Indian subjects.

Newly developed Fe3O4–Cr2O3 magnetic nanocomposite for photocatalytic decomposition of 4-chlorophenol in water

Chlorophenols, typically 4-chlorophenols are highly toxic and non-biodegradable organic contaminants which pose serious threat to the environment, particularly when released into aqueous medium. The removal of these pollutants by efficient method has received worldwide concern in recent past. A new Fe3O4–Cr2O3 magnetic nanocomposite was synthesized by wet chemical method under ultrasonic irradiation. Microstructure and morphology of the nanocomposite were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction（XRD）,Fourier transform infrared（FT-IR）, and a transmission electron microscope（TEM）. Magnetic and optical properties were studied by a vibrating sample magnetometer（VSM） and an ultraviolet–visible（UV–Vis） spectrophotometer respectively. The magnetic nanocomposite（MNC） was used as photocatalyst for effective decomposition of 4-chlorophenol in water under ultraviolet（UV） irradiation.