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TiO2‐based composite photocatalysts are currently being explored to address concerns intrinsic to TiO2, specifically high charge carrier recombination and UV light activation. Among various materials utilized for composite formation, carbon nanomaterials stand out due to their high electron conductivity, charge storage, photosensitization, and surface properties. However, high carbon content in composites has been shown to reduce performance with potential toxicity concerns. To harness the diverse properties of carbon nanomaterials in a single composite while optimizing the carbon content below 1% by weight, multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)/TiO2 sensitized by carbon nanodots (CND) are synthesized. The heterojunction formed between MWCNTs and TiO2 in the binary composite reduced the charge carrier recombination rate compared to TiO2. The addition of CNDs to MWCNT/TiO2 induced visible light absorbance of the resulting ternary composite, due to the forbidden electron transitions undergone in CND aggregates. CND/MWCNT/TiO2 exhibited a fivefold and 1.6‐fold increase in photocatalytic degradation of acid orange 7 and tetracycline under visible light compared to TiO2. This enhancement is attributed to the photosensitizing property of CNDs working in synergy with the charge storage ability of MWCNTs. A plausible charge transfer pathway for the activity of CND/MWCNT/TiO2 is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional Magnéli phase titanium suboxide syntheses often involve highly flammable H2 gas, extensive precursor pretreatment and yield unwanted TiC or TiOxCy byproducts. To overcome these limitations, this work introduces a low-cost, safe and scalable carbothermal reduction synthesis method that eliminates the need for H2 or pretreatment and does not produce carbon-based titanium byproducts. Magnéli phases were generated without physical contact between the bulk organic that acted as the reductant and TiO2. Activated charcoal served as the reductant, reducing TiO2 under an Ar flow, thus limiting O2. The phase transition from anatase TiO2 to Magnéli phases was studied as a function of reduction time. Critical assessment of surface and bulk defects in the series of Magnéli titanium suboxides synthesised revealed a possible redistribution of defects within the lattice with time while maintaining a constant total defect content. Optical property analysis indicated that increasing oxygen deficiency led to increased inter-bandgap absorbance and prolonged lifetime of the photogenerated charge carriers. Oxygen deficiencies exhibited a direct correlation with the water evaporation rate when these Magnéli phase titanium suboxides were applied in solar steam generation. This was attributed to reduced thermal conductivities with increasing oxygen vacancies due to increased phonon scattering by planar defects. The defect-rich Magnéli suboxide sample consisting mainly of Ti6O11 with a remarkably low thermal conductivity of <0.032 W m−1 K−1 at 25 °C showed a solar energy conversion efficiency of 56% when applied in an aerogel for solar steam generation. This method provides flexibility for fabricating materials tailored for diverse applications requiring specific defect concentrations or thermoelectric performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the emergency situation that arises with COVID-19, the intense containment strategies adopted by many countries had little or no consideration towards socio-economic ramifications or the impact on women, children, socioeconomically underprivileged groups. The existence of many adverse impacts raises questions on the approaches taken and demands proper analysis, scrutiny and review of the policies. Therefore, a framework was developed using the artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to detect, model, and predict the behaviour of the COVID-19 pandemic containment strategies, understanding the socio-economic impact of these strategies on identified diverse vulnerable groups, and the development of AI-based solutions, to predict and manage a future spread of COVID or similar infectious disease outbreaks while mitigating the social and economic toil. Based on generated behaviour and movements, AI tools were developed to conduct contact tracing and socio-economic impact mitigation actions in a more informed, socially conscious and responsible manner in the case of the next wave of COVID-19 infections or a different future infectious disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metformin (MET) is the commonly prescribed hypoglycemic agent used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Pleiotropic effects of MET are emerging as a medication for other diseases including breast cancer (BC). Therefore, a literature review was conducted to investigate whether the anticancer effects of MET are mediated through adenosine monophosphate kinase (AMPK). This review assessed published data focusing on studies where BC cell lines were treated with MET to explore its potential anticancer effects via AMPK on BC cells. The published data reveals that activated AMPK induces anticancer effects primarily by suppressing cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest, inhibition of metastasis and invasion, alteration of tumor microenvironment, and downregulation of tumorigenesis. In addition, MET was observed to induce AMPK-mediated effects when combined with other drugs. Further studies on assessing the potential use of MET alone or in combination with other drugs would pave the way to design new treatment strategies for BC., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 A. G. R. Greshamali Jinadasa et al.)

A large-scale Fecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT) was integrated with ITS-2 rDNA nemabiome metabarcoding to investigate anthelmintic resistance in gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) parasites in western Canadian beef cattle. The study was designed to detect anthelmintic resistance with the low fecal egg counts that typically occur in cattle in northern temperate regions. Two hundred and thirty-four auction market-derived, fall-weaned steer calves coming off pasture were randomized into three groups in feedlot pens: an untreated control group, an injectable ivermectin treatment group, and an injectable ivermectin/oral fenbendazole combination treatment group. Each group was divided into six replicate pens with 13 calves per pen. Individual fecal samples were taken pre-treatment, day 14 post-treatment, and at monthly intervals for six months for strongyle egg counting and metabarcoding. Ivermectin treatment resulted in an 82.4% mean strongyle-type fecal egg count reduction (95% CI 67.8-90.4) at 14 days post-treatment, while the combination treatment was 100% effective, confirming the existence of ivermectin-resistant GIN. Nemabiome metabarcoding of third-stage larvae from coprocultures revealed an increase in the relative abundance of Cooperia oncophora, Cooperia punctata, and Haemonchus placei at 14 days post-ivermectin treatment indicating ivermectin resistance in adult worms. In contrast, Ostertagia ostertagi third-stage larvae were almost completely absent from day 14 coprocultures, indicating that adult worms of this species were not ivermectin resistant. However, there was a recrudescence of O. ostertagi third stage larvae in coprocultures at three to six months post-ivermectin treatment, which indicated ivermectin resistance in hypobiotic larvae. The calves were recruited from the auction market and, therefore, derived from multiple sources in western Canada, suggesting that ivermectin-resistant parasites, including hypobiotic O. ostertagi larvae, are likely widespread in western Canadian beef herds. This work demonstrates the value of integrating ITS-2 rDNA metabarcoding with the FECRT to enhance anthelmintic resistance detection and provide GIN species- and stage-specific information., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC., a subsidiary Merck & Co., Inc., The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To determine how gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infection, reflected by fecal egg counts and Ostertagia ostertagi serum antibody titers, is associated with the antibody response to bovine viral diarrhea virus type 1 (BVDV-1) vaccine antigen in fall-weaned feedlot cattle from western Canada., Animals: Cross-sectional study with 240 steer calves derived from an auction market., Procedure: At feedlot arrival, calves were given a commercial vaccine containing modified live BVDV-1. Serum neutralization antibody titers against BVDV-1 antigens were determined in individual blood samples collected pre-vaccination and 21 d after vaccination. A modified Wisconsin sugar floatation method was used to obtain individual calf GIN egg counts in fecal samples on arrival. Antibody titers against O. ostertagi were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in on-arrival blood samples., Results: Fecal egg counts and O. ostertagi titers were not associated with vaccine antibody-fold changes. Similarly, fecal egg counts and O. ostertagi titers were not associated with vaccine-induced seroconversion., Conclusions: The relatively low GIN burdens, reflected by the overall low fecal egg counts in these fall-weaned feedlot calves, did not have measurable adverse effects on the humoral immune response to BVDV-1 vaccine antigens., Clinical Relevance: An adequate response to vaccination is important for cattle welfare and productivity. Conditions that negatively affect this response may vary regionally, such as GIN infection. Understanding this is essential. Although subclinical intestinal parasitism did not noticeably affect the antibody response in these steers, higher GIN burdens and actual immune protection from clinical disease remain to be investigated., (Copyright and/or publishing rights held by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.)

Introduction: Resistant starch (RS) has beneficial effects on postprandial glucose metabolism in both animals and adults. Hitherto, there have been no studies in children of the acute metabolic and hormonal effects of RS-containing meals., Objectives: We aimed to compare serial plasma glucose, insulin, gut hormone, leptin profiles and satiety scores in obese children after meals containing variable amounts of RS., Methods: This was a single blind, non-randomised, crossover study of 20 obese children aged 10-14 years old without comorbidities. Three test meals containing rice (M1), rice cooked with coconut oil (M2), rice cooked in coconut oil with lentils (M3) were given in sequence after a 12-hour fast . Blood samples were analysed for glucose (PG), insulin, leptin, glucagon-like polypeptide (GLP) 1, ghrelin and peptide YY (PYY) at appropriate times between 0 and 180 min., Results: Meal M2 resulted in significantly lower postprandial glucose values compared with meal M1 (maximal incremental glucose, ∆C max , p<0.05; area under the curve, ∆AUC 0-3 , p<0.01) and meal M3 (maximal concentration, C max , p<0.01; ∆C max , p<0.001, and ∆AUC 0-3 p<0.01). M2 also produced lower insulin values compared with M1 (p<0.05). Postprandial ghrelin was significantly higher after M1 compared with M3 (p<0.05). PYY, GLP1 and median satiety scores were not significantly different between the three meals., Conclusion: This study shows that M2, the meal containing RS alone, induced beneficial effects on acute postprandial glucose, insulin and ghrelin concentrations in obese children without diabetes. Acute postprandial satiety scores were not significantly affected by the three meals., Trial Registration Number: SLCTR/2020/007., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Introduction: Incidence of non communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), several forms of cancer, hypertension, obesity etc is increasing in our country. It is suggested that these diseases can be moderated, in part, by consuming foods that produce a low blood sugar response. It is presumed that kithul treacle is comparable to simple sugars for sweetness, although currently the beneficial effects are not widely known., Objectives: To assess the chemical composition and glycaemic indices (GI) of kithul treacle and confectionary (aluwa) made using table sugar and kithul treacle., Methods: Chemical composition was analysed with standard AOAC methods. FAO/WHO guidelines were used to determine the glycaemic responses with glucose as the standard., Results: The moisture, crude protein, crude fat, total carbohydrate, starch & glucose and total dietary fibre contents of treacle were 28%, 0.3%, 7.9%, 81%, 28% and 2.20% (DM) with negligible ash content. Similarly both aluwa had negligible ash contents. Total carbohydrate (88-89%), fat (2.9%), protein (3.7-4.2%) and total dietary fibre (7.78-8.32%) contents of both aluwa were not significantly different. However, the digestible carbohydrate contents of treacle (67%) and sugar aluwa (59%) were significantly different (p<0.05). The GI of kithul treacle, aluwa made with treacle and sugar were 35, 55 and 63 respectively., Conclusion: Kithul treacle was categorized as a low GI food whereas both aluwa were categorized as medium GI foods. In comparison to aluwa made with table sugar, the glycaemic response of aluwa made with treacle was lower proving that replacing sugar with treacle leads to lower glycaemic response.

Background: The association of sex hormones with receptor status and breast cancer (BC) incidence is studied with inconclusive results. The present work assessed the serum estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone concentrations and estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status of newly diagnosed Sri Lankan BC patients and studied the possibility of risk assessment for BC using these parameters., Methods: Serum estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone concentrations of newly diagnosed BC patients (n = 155) were assessed and compared with apparently healthy age-matched women (n = 75). Hormone concentrations were assessed with an enzyme immunoassay competition method with fluorescent detection (Biomerieux, France). Hormone receptor statuses were recorded from histopathology reports., Results: Estrogen and progesterone concentrations were not significantly different according to the menstrual phase of premenopausal BC or healthy women or according to the menopausal status. Testosterone concentration of BC patients was significantly (P = 0.001) lower than in apparently healthy women. Estrogen and progesterone concentrations were not significantly different according to ER and PR status. However, progesterone concentrations of postmenopausal were significantly different (P = 0.021) among HER2 overexpressed women when compared to HER2-negative women. Postmenopausal women with progesterone level below 0.25 ng/mL were more likely to have HER2 overexpressed (P = 0.002)., Conclusions: Serum estrogen and progesterone concentrations of BC patients were not significantly different when compared with apparently healthy women. Women with testosterone level below 0.26 ng/mL demonstrated a higher risk of having BC. Serum progesterone concentrations of BC patients were significantly higher among HER2 overexpressed women compared to HER2-negative women., Competing Interests: None