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OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether diabetes mellitus (DM) influences TB treatment outcomes.METHODS: This was a retrospective observational cohort study of all notified TB cases from a large London TB centre over a 5-year period. WHO criteria were used to define TB treatment outcomes.RESULTS: The prevalence of DM at TB treatment initiation was 15% (126/838). Most patients (83.3%, 105/126) were on hypoglycaemic treatment and well-controlled (median glycated haemoglobin 53.5 mmol/mol). DM patients were older, more likely to be of Asian ethnicity and had a higher pre-treatment weight. Time from presentation to treatment initiation was longer (median 87.5 vs. 63 days; P < 0.001), while they were significantly more comorbid (median Charlson Comorbidity Index 3 vs. 0; P < 0.001). Overall, favourable treatment outcomes were recorded for 89.5% of patients (87.7% vs. 89.8% for DM and non-DM patients respectively, P = 0.52). In multivariable analysis, DM was not associated with unfavourable TB treatment outcomes (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.23–1.04, P = 0.06). Independent predictors of unfavourable outcome included age, cavitation, chronic neurological disease and malignant neoplasm.CONCLUSIONS: In a well-resourced setting, with predominantly well-controlled DM patients on treatment, DM was not an independent predictor of unfavourable TB treatment outcomes.

Multifunctional core@shell nanoparticles have been synthesized in this paper through 3 stages: NiFe2O4 nanoparticles by microwave irradiation using Pedalium murex leaf extract as a fuel, core@shell NiFe2O4@TiO2 nanoparticles by sol-gel, and NiFe2O4@TiO2@rGO by sol-gel using preprepared reduced graphene oxide obtained by modified Hummer’s method. XRD analysis confirmed the presence of both cubic NiFe2O4 spinel and tetragonal TiO2 rutile phases, while Raman spectroscopy analysis displays both D and G bands (ID/IG = 1.04) associated with rGO. Morphological observations by HRTEM reveal a core-shell nanostructure formed by NiFe2O4 core as confirmed by SAED with subsequent thin layers of TiO2 and rGO. Magnetic measurements show a ferromagnetic behavior, where the saturation magnetization drops drastically from 45 emu/g for NiFe2O4 to 15 emu/g after TiO2 and rGO nonmagnetic bilayers coating. The as-fabricated multifunctional core@shell nanostructures demonstrate tunable self-heating characteristics: rise of temperature and specific absorption rate in the range of ΔT = 3–10°C and SAR = 3–58 W/g, respectively. This effectiveness is much close to the threshold temperature of hyperthermia (45°C), and the zones of inhibition show the better effective antibacterial activity of NTG against various Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains besides simultaneous good efficient, stable, and removable sonophotocatalyst toward the TC degradation.

Transition metal oxide-based magnetic nanocomposites attract great attention due to their unique properties and applications in the field of energy storage. Herein, we present a facile microwave procedure for the synthesis of CuFe2O4 (CF) and CuFe2O4 incorporated with reduced graphene oxide CuFe2O4/rGO (CG) as potential electrode materials for hybrid supercapacitor. The structure and morphology of CF and CG nanoparticles are examined. The electrochemical performance is studied in 6 M aqueous KOH electrolyte using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The attractive CG nanocomposite exhibits high specific capacity of 800 C/g at a current density of 2 A/g and better cycling stability when compared to pure CF, due to the formation of nanostructure composed of ferrite nanoparticles homogeneously incorporated onto rGO sheets. Furthermore, the practicability of CG electrode is investigated by the fabrication of CG and activated carbon. The hybrid supercapacitor device shows excellent electrochemical performance with specific energy of 18.3 Wh/kg and a specific power of 455 W/kg. It is noteworthy that the cyclic stability is excellent with a capacity retention of ~98% after 3000 cycles manifesting the superiority of CG electrode. The proposed device demonstrates the potential to fabricate other metal oxides with activated carbon via a facile synthesis method for promoting application in energy storage materials and promoting new opportunities of binary nanocomposite.