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AbstractFor the first time, methanolic leaf extract of the hydrophyte Persicaria senegalensis L. was evaluated for its ability to silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) biosynthesis. The effect of stirring time and plant extract concentrations was studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used for characterization of AgNPs. XRD confirmed the AgNPs formation with crystallite size in the range 23–71 nm. The crystallite size increased with increasing both stirring time and plant extract concentration. Antioxidants, including secondary metabolites such as flavonoids and phenols are substances that inhibit oxidative damage to the cell organisms by scavenging the free radicals and thus reducing the hazard of diseases. The scavenging and antioxidant activities of the plant leaf extract and AgNPs were evaluated and exhibited potent antioxidant activity. The total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of plant leaf extract and AgNPs was 52.41 and 10.13 µg AA equivalent/mg DW, respectively. Total phenolics (TPs) and total flavonoids (TFs), revealed high contents equal to 154.83 µg gallic acid equivalent and 100.05 µg quercetin equivalent/mg DW plant extract, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pure calcium carbonate (CaCO3) nanoparticles were synthesized by the sol-gel citrate method using either Ca (NO3)2 or CaCl2 as a precursor. CaCO3 powder analysis was conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), BET analysis, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The XRD patterns show that the pure phase of CaCO3 nanoparticles was produced at calcination temperatures of 500 °C and 600 °C with surface areas of 97.8 and 195.3 m2/g for CaCl2 and Ca (NO3) precursor, respectively. The second phase was obtained when using CaCl2 precursor compared with Ca (NO3)2. Batch experiments were conducted to study the effect of pH, initial dye concentration, adsorbent dose, and contact time on the adsorption of methyl orange (MO) dye. Three isothermal models were investigated by Freundlich, Langmuir, and Temkin, and the resulting data were well fitted into Langmuir isotherm with R2= 0.98 and adsorption capacity 110.9 mg\g. The finding reveals that 98 ± 4.9% of 50 ppm MO dye may be adsorbed at pH 2 and shaking time 2 h. Furthermore, with an increase in the initial dye concentration and dose amount, the efficiency of the removal process increases. The adsorption kinetic behavior is well acceptable with pseudo-second-order. Desorption experiments were conducted to regenerate the adsorbent with an efficiency of 92.9 ± 4.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence for the contribution of the brain-gut-microbiota axis to the depression pathophysiology is increasing nowadays. Disturbed gut microbiota equilibrium along with bad dietary habits both lead to kynurenine pathway abnormalities contributing to the depression pathophysiology. In this respect, many studies are found but the interventional clinical trials are limited. The present interventional study aims to evaluate the impact of Bifidobacterium spp. supplementation together with improving dietary intake on depressive mood and well-being and their correlation with kynurenine blood level in adult Egyptian healthy volunteers. A number of 98 healthy female volunteers with a mean age of 46.96 ± 1.82 years were selected and enrolled in this study. They were given yogurt enriched with Bifidobacterium spp. daily for eight weeks. Clinical examination as well as questionnaires for the evaluation of psychological well-being and depression were done at base line and after eight weeks of intervention. Fasting blood samples and stool samples were collected from all subjects at baseline and eight weeks after the intervention for the investigation of serum kynurenine concentration, blood hemoglobin, serum transaminases (ALT & AST) serum urea and creatinine as well as fecal Bifidobacterium count. Data revealed that both depression and well-being showed highly significant improvement combined with significant drop in kynurenine blood level after intervention. Also, a significant rise in fecal Bifidobacterium count and a significant improvement in hemoglobin level and activity of liver enzymes were recorded. After intervention, a significant negative correlation was recorded between depression and fecal Bifidobacterium count as well as between serum kynurenine level, and well-being. Bifidobacterium spp. supplementation combined with improvement in dietary intake resulted in improvement of depressive mood and well-being and reduced kynurenine blood level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental pollution is a critical issue due to its impact on humans and other organisms. An important demand nowadays is the need for a green method to synthesize nanoparticles to remove pollutants. Therefore, this study focuses for the first time on synthesizing the MoO3 and WO3 nanorods using the green and self-assembled Leidenfrost method. The XRD, SEM, BET and FTIR analyses were used to characterize the yield powder. The XRD results emphasize the formation of WO3 and MoO3 in nanoscale with crystallite sizes 46.28 and 53.05 nm and surface area 2.67 and 24.72 m2 g−1, respectively. A comparative study uses synthetic nanorods as adsorbents to adsorb methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solutions. A batch adsorption experiment was performed to investigate the effects of adsorbent doses, shaking time, solution pH and dye concentration to remove MB dye. The results demonstrate that the optimal removal was achieved at pH 2 and 10 with 99% for WO3 and MoO3, respectively. The experimental isothermal data follow Langmuir for both adsorbents with a maximum adsorption capacity of 102.37 and 151.41 mg g−1 for WO3 and MoO3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]