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Slaughterhouse and wet market wastes are pollutants that have been always neglected by society. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, more than three billion and nineteen million livestock were consumed worldwide in 2018, which reflects the vast amount and the broad spectrum of the biowastes generated. Slaughterhouse biowastes are a significant volume of biohazards that poses a high risk of contamination to the environment, an outbreak of diseases, and insecure food safety. This work comprehensively reviewed existing biowaste disposal practices and revealed the limitations of technological advancements to eradicate the threat of possible harmful infectious agents from these wastes. Policies, including strict supervision and uniform minimum hygienic regulations at all raw food processing factories, should therefore be tightened to ensure the protection of the food supply. The vast quantity of biowastes also offers a zero-waste potential for a circular economy, but the incorporation of biowaste recycling, including composting, anaerobic digestion, and thermal treatment, nevertheless remains challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A refractive index (RI) sensor has been demonstrated and numerically analyzed by the finite element method (FEM) to gain supreme sensitivity on the basis of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Plasmonic material, such as silver, has been used as a coating layer outside of the dielectric core. Various structural parameters have been analyzed for the proposed sensors, which have a significant influence on the sensing field. To make the sensing strength much stronger, a thin MgF2 layer has been added to the silver layer. The wavelength and amplitude interrogation method achieves extremely high wavelength sensitivity (WS) responses of 948.67 μm/RIU and amplitude sensitivity (AS) responses of − 1602.82 RIU−1 in the analyte RI range of 1.35 to 1.38. The operating wavelength range of 5.5–7.5 μm shows efficient results in this structure. The proposed sensor is used for identifying analytes in the biological and biochemical fields and is also applicable in bio-photonics. Owing to its low confinement losses and simply designed structure, the proposed RI sensor will be extensively appropriate for bio-sensing because of its outstanding sensitivity response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology has become extremely demanding for delivering RNA-products and other drugs. However, there is no platform to manufacture pharmaceutical-grade LNPs with desired particle size from a wide range in continuous mode. We have developed a unique platform to obtain any specific size-range of LNPs from 60 to 180 nm satisfying pharmaceutical regulatory requirements for polydispersity index, sterility, dose uniformity and bio-functionality. We applied design of experiment (DoE) methodology and identified the critical process parameters to establish the process for global application. Cross-point validation within the response map of DoE confirmed that the platform is robust to produce specific size (± 10 nm) of LNPs within the design-range. The technology is successfully transformed to production scale and validated. Products from R&D, pilot and production batches for a candidate SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-vaccine generated equivalent biological responses. The data collectively established the robustness and bio-uniformity of doses for global RNA-vaccine/drug formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Poor farmers are cultivating tobacco because they can obtain great profit and support from tobacco companies. However, they overlook tobacco-related health problems and consequences. In this study, we explored the impact of tobacco farming on farmers' health, drawing on an empirical study in seven villages of Ruposhipara union, Bandarban district in Bangladesh. Subjects and methods: Following a mixed research method, data were collected by administering 200 pre-tested structured questionnaires, five group discussions and five in-depth interviews. We also reviewed existing and proposed policies related to tobacco control in Bangladesh. We followed grounded theory for analysing qualitative data and conducted a Chi-square test to observe any significant associations for selected quantitative data. Results: Farmers' self-reported tobacco-related sicknesses were nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headache, weakness, cough, dyspnoea and hypersalivation. Children, women and older people were equally affected. They experienced diverse tobacco-related health problems at different stages of tobacco farming. Continuous contact with tobacco leaves and not using any safety measures had put the farmers at greater risk of tobacco sickness. Conclusion: The proposed "Tobacco Cultivation Control Policy, 2017" emphasised to provide necessary supports to farmers for growing alternative crops. Implementation of this policy would encourage farmers to give up harmful tobacco farming and lessen their health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing three dimensional (3D) cells is an emerging research in tissue engineering. Biophysical properties of the 3D cells regulate the cells growth, drug diffusion dynamics and gene expressions. Scaffold based or scaffoldless techniques for 3D cell cultures are rarely being compared in terms of the physical features of the microtissues produced. The biophysical properties of the microtissues cultured using scaffold based microencapsulation by flicking and scaffoldless liquid crystal (LC) based techniques were characterized. Flicking technique produced high yield and highly reproducible microtissues of keratinocyte cell lines in alginate microcapsules at approximately 350 ± 12 pieces per culture. However, microtissues grown on the LC substrates yielded at lower quantity of 58 ± 21 pieces per culture. The sizes of the microtissues produced using alginate microcapsules and LC substrates were 250 ± 25 µm and 141 ± 70 µm, respectively. In both techniques, cells remodeled into microtissues via different growth phases and showed good integrity of cells in field-emission scanning microscopy (FE-SEM). Microencapsulation packed the cells in alginate scaffolds of polysaccharides with limited spaces for motility. Whereas, LC substrates allowed the cells to migrate and self-stacking into multilayered structures as revealed by the nuclei stainings. The cells cultured using both techniques were found viable based on the live and dead cell stainings. Stained histological sections showed that both techniques produced cell models that closely replicate the intrinsic physiological conditions. Alginate microcapsulation and LC based techniques produced microtissues containing similar bio-macromolecules but they did not alter the main absorption bands of microtissues as revealed by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Cell growth, structural organization, morphology and surface structures for 3D microtissues cultured using both techniques appeared to be different and might be suitable for different applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the important factor of bioactive nanohydoxyapatite (nHA) to enhance osteoconductivity or bone-bonding capacity, nHA was incorporated into an electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) membrane using electrospinning techniques. The viscosity of the PCL and nHA/PCL with different concentrations of nHA was measured and the morphology of the electrospun membranes was compared using a field emission scanning electron microscopy. The water contact angle of the nanofiber determined the wettability of the membranes of different concentrations. The surface roughness of the electrospun nanofibers fabricated from pure PCL and nHA/PCL was determined and compared using atomic force microscopy. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to study the chemical bonding of the composite electrospun nanofibers. Beadless nanofibers were achieved after the incorporation of nHA with a diameter of 200-700 nm. Results showed that the fiber diameter and the surface roughness of electrospun nanofibers were significantly increased after the incorporation of nHA. In contrast, the water contact angle (132° ± 3.5°) was reduced for PCL membrane after addition of 10% (w/w) nHA (112° ± 3.0°). Ultimate tensile strengths of PCL membrane and 10% (w/w) nHA/PCL membrane were 25.02 ± 2.3 and 18.5 ± 4.4 MPa. A model drug tetracycline hydrochloride was successfully loaded in the membrane and the membrane demonstrated good antibacterial effects against the growth of bacteria by showing inhibition zone for E. coli (2.53 ± 0.06 cm) and B. cereus (2.87 ± 0.06 cm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of nano-sized scaffolds with antibacterial properties that mimic the architecture of tissue is one of the challenges in tissue engineering. In this study, polycaprolactone (PCL) and PCL/gelatine (Ge) (70:30) nanofibrous scaffolds were fabricated using a less toxic and common solvent, formic acid and an electrospinning technique. Nanofibrous scaffolds were coated with silver (Ag) in different concentrations of silver nitrate (AgNO) aqueous solution (1.25, 2.5, 5, and 10 %) by using dipping method, drying and followed by ultraviolet (UV) photoreduction. The PCL/Ge (70:30) nanofibrous scaffold had an average fibre diameter of 155.60 ± 41.13 nm. Characterization showed that Ag was physically entrapped in both the PCL and PCL/Ge (70:30) nanofibrous scaffolds. Ag ions release study was performed and showed much lesser release amount than the maximum toxic concentration of Ag ions in human cells. Both scaffolds were non-toxic to cells and demonstrated antibacterial effects towards Gram-positive Bacillus cereus ( B. cereus) and Gram-negative Escherichia coli ( E. coli). The Ag/PCL/Ge (70:30) nanofibrous scaffold has potential for tissue engineering as it can protect wounds from bacterial infection and promote tissue regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulose-based materials are one of the most commonly used materials for biomedical applications, which normally applied as carriers for pharmaceuticals and drug-releasing scaffolds. In this study, cellulose acetate (CA) was used to fabricate the nanofibrous membrane using the electrospinning technique. CA solutions at different concentrations were prepared by dissolving the polymer in a mixture of acetic acid/acetone solvents with the ratio of 3 : 1. The field emission scanning electron microscope results showed that electrospinning of 10% (w/v) CA produced nanofibres with many beads. When the CA concentration was increased to 14% (w/v), bead-free nanofibres were produced. The contact angle measurement results confirmed the hydrophilic properties of nanofibres. In order to prevent common bacterial infections, a model drug, Tetracycline ⋅ HCL was incorporated into the CA nanofibres. The drug-loaded CA nanofibres showed antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. CA nanofibres had high water uptake properties. The CA nanofibrous membrane was non-toxic to human skin fibroblast cells. Thus the CA nanofibres with 14% (w/v) concentration exerted suitable properties for wound healing application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodegradable polymer-based scaffolds containing osteoconductive hydroxyapatite (HA) particles can be very useful for bone tissue engineering. In this investigation, HA nanoparticles were incorporated in poly(hydroxybutyrate- co-valerate) (PHBV) polymer to fabricate osteoconductive composite scaffolds. PHBV and HA/PHBV scaffolds were made using an emulsion freezing/freeze-drying technique. The scaffolds produced were subsequently characterized using several techniques. It was found that the scaffolds were highly porous and had interconnected porous structures. The pore size ranged from several microns to around 300 μm. The spherical HA nanoparticles which were produced in-house through a nanoemulsion process could be incorporated into composite scaffolds although some of these nanoparticles existed on the surface of pore walls when a relatively large amount of HA was used for composite scaffolds. The incorporation of HA nanoparticles also enhanced compressive mechanical properties of the scaffolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]