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Prenatal diagnosis allows identification of developmental malformations and possibilities of genetic diseases in foetus during the pregnancy. Prenatal diagnosis has traditionally relied on two main modalities to identify abnormalities of fetal development: invasive and noninvasive. These tests help in taking decision about the pregnancy like chances of treatment, parent's acceptance of a handicapped child and to assess necessity of termination of the pregnancy. In prenatal testing, both screening and diagnostic procedures are included. Screening procedures like biochemical and/or ultrasound screening in first and second trimester are routinely practiced for pregnant women. A variety of approaches for genetic prenatal analysis are now available, including preimplantation diagnosis, chorion villi sampling, amniocentesis, fetal blood sampling as well as newer approaches like fetal cell and DNA isolation from maternal blood. Non-invasive methods are highly accurate and risk-free tests that will identify fetal material in the maternal blood, and give more promising diagnosis. An incredible progress in new genetic techniques e.g. RAPID-FISH, MLPA, quantitative PCR, chromosome microarrays (CMAs) allow rapid results in prenatal diagnosis of aneuploidy. Advances in genomics allow whole genome sequencing and exome sequencing to deliver affordable and accessible, massive information to parents. Post-genomics technologies that explore the proteins (proteomics) and transcripts (transcriptomics) released by the placenta into the maternal circulation offer new opportunities to identify genes. Proteomic technologies enable newer approaches for discovering biomarkers from biological fluids through high-throughput technologies which improve the prediction of various fetal abnormalities. Multiple diagnostics methods are available for the parents to choose, for the prenatal screening to detect physical anomalies and genetic disorders in the fetus during the progress of pregnancies. Over the past decade, remarkable advancements in the field of prenatal diagnos-tics has been made but the need of the hour is to make such technologies accessible and economic to be used routinely in clinical settings. In the present review we are analysing the major invasive and noninvasive methodologies and their use in different prenatal diagnostics of various abnormalities and also how latest technologies including high throughput methods like whole genome sequencing exome sequencing, proteomics are proving to be highly accurate and precise methodologies for the diagnosis of fetal anomalies is becoming more precise. Informations from current literature are obtained through searching various databases to review and summarize invasive and noninvasive techniques practiced for prenatal diagnosis.

Increasing soil pollution all over the world has instigated global concerns as enormous quantities of toxic chemicals and heavy metals like cadmium, lead, mercury, petrochemicals, insecticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and chlorophenols are finding their way into the environment, affecting the land and soil, causing soil pollution and thus posing a threat and menace to health and well- being of people and ecosystem. The ubiquitous dissemination, low bioavailability, high perseverance of contaminants like poly-hydrocarbon and metals in soil have the potentially destructive effects to human health, envisages to study the biodegradation of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and PACs (polycyclic aromatic compounds). The diversity of micro-organisms that diminish the PAHs/PACs can be utilized in the advancement of bioremediation techniques. The role of metal-tolerant, (PAH)-degrading bacteria helps in the biodegradation of organic compounds at miscellaneous polluted sites. The isolation of (PAHs)-degrading bacteria from contaminated soil samples collected from garages and petrol pumps of Delhi and NCR region was carried out in the present study. Also, the bacterial samples were tested for the tolerance towards 4 heavy metals- arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg). Morphological studies and biochemical tests were conducted to find the genera of the bacterial samples. The study indicates that hydrocarbons were degraded by the isolates P1, P2, P4, P5, P5*, G1, G3. These isolates were also found to be tolerant at a high concentration of metals (Arsenic, Cadmium, Mercury, and Lead) as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was also calculated. Antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates was tested against various antibiotics. Thus the study suggests that the isolates identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumanii, and Klebsiella pneumoniae are not only PAH-degrading but metal-tolerant and antibiotic-resistant too and are of immense potential for bioremediation of contaminated soils.

Online education approach provides innovative opportunities for engaging youths. Web-based, multimedia smoking prevention programs have been tested in high-income countries; however, efficacy of such programs is not well-investigated in low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience (ASPIRE), an interactive tobacco prevention curriculum, among university students in India.A single-subject cohort study where each subject serves as their own control was conducted among university student participants engaged in ASPIRE, 60 minutes per week for five consecutive weeks during July to August of 2019. Assessments were conducted at baseline and immediately after exposure to ASPIRE. To evaluate the program, a structured instrument was specifically designed to measure the outcomes.A total of 103 university students participated voluntarily. Average age of the participants was 18.3±0.9 ranging from 17 to 20 years. Eighteen percent of students were curious to know about the various smoking products. More males were more susceptible to cigarette smoking as compared to females. The majority of participants felt that ASPIRE was culturally appropriate for young adults in India, but a modified version targeted toward Indian youth would be more acceptable. Pre- to postintervention knowledge of tobacco-related hazards increased from 70 to 97% (p < 0.001).ASPIRE, a multimedia interactive program, demonstrated its considerable potential to discourage smoking initiation among Indian youth.

Objective: The present work aims to compare the essential oils (EOs) of Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), Clove (Syzygium aromaticum), and Tulsi (Ocimum sp.) having antimicrobial activity and to find the most effective EO against different types of foodborne microorganisms. Methods: The EOs were investigated for its antimicrobial activity against different types of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus and fungal strains such as Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, Chaetomium globosum, and Penicillium funiculosum by agar well diffusion method. The antimicrobial actions of these EOs were evaluated by calculating the zone of inhibition. Results: Of the three EOs used in the study, the effect of clove oil was found greater against all the microorganisms followed by lemongrass and tulsi EOs. All the microorganisms used in the study were found sensitive to clove EO, wherein the highest zone of inhibition was observed in A. niger (41.56±5.05 mm) and P. funiculosum (40.34±4.83 mm), and C. globosum (39.53±1.69 mm) and smallest in S. aureus (9.77±0.93) and E. coli 1(11.07±0.52). Moreover, it was also found that EOs exhibit more sensitivity toward Gram-positive bacteria than Gram-negative bacteria. Conclusion: The successful effectiveness of EO can play an important role in resolving the major problem of human health arising due to the use of chemical preservative. It was found that EO of clove oil was the most effective against fungal and bacterial strains than lemongrass and tulsi EOs. Furthermore, clove oil is less costly than lemongrass and tulsi oil; it can be more economic and promising to be used as a food preservative against foodborne pathogens.

Graphical abstract The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has created havoc all across the globe causing exponential casualties and tremendous health and economic loss. With increasing COVID-19 cases, the amount of biomedical waste has increased manifolds making more people vulnerable to the pandemic. The developing and underdeveloped countries are already facing the challenges of waste management, and the waste generated during the pandemic scenario has added to the already existing challenges. The improper waste management practices need to be corrected; otherwise, the world will be facing a new disaster that could be termed as ‘waste disaster’. The increase in COVID-19-associated waste (CAW) quantity and their availability in the environment will result in their easy approach to other organisms, which will possibly increase the potential risk of food chain contamination. Some of the countries have already started to make backup plans and are struggling to overcome the ‘waste disaster’. In light of the limited knowledge available on the mutational properties and possible hosts of this newly emerged COVID-19, there is a great demand to have an efficient strategy to prevent the environment from further contamination in India. The necessity of the prevailing time is to create a more efficient, automatic, mechanized, and well-modified waste management system for handling the present situation and delaying the projected waste disaster in the near future in the era of COVID-19. The article aims to address the issues that originated from waste discharges, their potential sources along with possible sustainable solutions. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-021-15028-5.

The visual and literary chronicles of British Residents and Surveyors comprise a reservoir of information on the historical, social and economic milieus of various territorial regions within the Indian subcontinent. Further, they contain copious documentation on the art and architectural heritage of these regions. Straddling the realms of antiquarianism and archaeology, the concomitant processes of survey and documentation evolved during the seventeenth century and acquired a panoptic character by the nineteenth century. They were essentially products of the interface between the diametrically opposed occidental and oriental cultures and were furthered by the expedients of colonialism. This article is divided into three parts. The first part delves into the relationship between antiquarianism and archaeology. The second part elucidates upon the practices of surveying and documentation in India. The third part elaborates upon the career of Lt. Frederick Charles Maisey and his explorations in central India with special reference to his mid-nineteenth century illustrations of Chanderi’s architectural edifices and structural members. Chanderi, a town of historical importance in Madhya Pradesh, is interspersed with tombs, step-wells, mosques and free-standing gateways of Indo-Islamic affiliation, ascribable largely to the fifteenth century. Some of these edifices are in a bad state of preservation and Maisey’s illustrations have been instrumental in reconstructing their effaced architectonic and decorative details. The illustrations under purview have also contributed towards a holistic understanding of the architectural style at Chanderi, an area which is fairly uncharted.

This chapter reviews the scenario of Indian biogas generation, policies, and problems faced. Anaerobic digestion assists in killing disease-causing pathogens. In anaerobic digestion, microorganisms digest organic materials in the absence of oxygen, airtight condition, and at a certain level of moisture, temperature, and pH. In acetogenesis, breakdown of short-chained, alcohols, aromatic fatty acids, and higher Volatile fatty acids to acetate and H2 occurs. As anaerobic digestion process uses facultative anaerobes for the decomposition of organic matter, environmental conditions and nutrient availability play important roles in the biogas production. In food processing industries such as fruits, dairy, vegetables, sugar, meat or oil processing, a large amount of waste is generated in both solid and liquid forms. Paper waste is considered as a good feedstock for biogas production; therefore, it can be utilized as a source of cheaper energy generation and waste management.

The levels of toxic effluents released into fresh water bodies are increasing day by day. Lead and mercury are the most toxic heavy metals that are creating stress conditions for the aquatic life. This increase in toxic level is affecting the aquatic biota. The present work outlines the stress in fresh water fish Channa punctatus due to contamination of water by lead and mercury, both individually and in combination. Different parameters like catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), DNA concentration, lipid peroxidation (LPO), and reduced glutathione (GSH) were employed to check the degree of stress and damage caused to the fish as a result of heavy metal contamination of water. The results showed heavy metals affected the antioxidant defense system of C. punctatus. Lead and mercury exposure resulted in significant rise in the levels of LPO in the fish liver. In addition, heavy metal contamination decreased (P < 0.05) the levels of SOD, CAT, and GSH activities in the liver tissue of C. punctatus. Similar changes were observed in C. punctatus in contaminated Yamuna river water of the Delhi segment.

Lipids are small hydrophobic or amphipathic molecules that may entirely or in part originate by carbanion-based condensations of thioesters and/or by carbocation-based condensations of isoprene units. Further lipids are classified along with prominent examples. The concept of lipids, their molecular shape, macromolecular assembly and packing or shape parameter—surface area, hydrophobic volume and tail length is explained. Kinetically frozen micelles, inverted micelles, and supermicelles along with bilayers—has been explained. This explanation is supported by key features of formation and application aspect as well. Liposomes, vesicles, and GUV have been explained in detail along with related application in the different sectors. The aspect of visualization of various structures using typical visualization tools has been considered. The main focus revolves around X-ray, NMR, and microscopy both confocal and electron microscopy. A section on molecular dynamic simulations, to discuss about computational approach in better understanding, is also considered. The membrane phases, their transitions, and relative curvatures have been dealt in detail. The final section involves study of the role of membrane lipids in cellular process and human health. The aspect of immunotherapy and prospects in the future are also incorporated in the end.

Biochemical analysis is a reliable, quick, yet effective way for profiling any organism. The same tools when employed in taxonomic queries, they aid substantially and support the process. Taxonomic queries have been since beginning presenting numerable challenges towards the studies of different plant parasitic nematodes. In the present study various biochemical tests have been employed to assess the differentiation among the two dominant sps. of Meloidogyne i.e., M. incognita and M. javanica. Some of the biochemical parameters considered were the specific concentrations of carbohydrates and cholesterol and were monitored in the juvenile and the female of the respective species. Results have been discussed in details along with its employability towards the taxonomical studies especially with reference to plant parasitic nematodes.

Sublethal effects of arsenic trioxide, cadmium chloride, lead nitrate and mercuric chloride, were investigated on chromatophore morphology and behaviour of Channa punctatus. The protective role of melatonin was investigated. Changes were observed in the chromatophore pattern of fish scales and in fish behaviour after administration of the heavy metals. Heavy metal exposure caused restlessness in fishes and increased the dispersal of pigments in the chromatophores. Melatonin administration counteracted both these effects. The melatonin treatment did not modify metal concentration in scales, but it caused the aggregation of pigments in chromatophores of the fish. It also reduced the aggression observed in the fishes caused by the heavy metal administration. Toxicopathological alterations include statistically significant variations in the number, size and shape of the melanophores. The heavy metal-induced morphological changes in the melanophores indicate protective role against toxic insult of heavy metals.

Thioacetamide (TAA) is a well-known reported carcinogen for the induction of liver cancer. Different animal models have been developed to investigate different stages of HCC in rats, mice and guinea pigs. Use of these animals for new chemical entity leads to large number of deaths, sufferings and pain. Hence to reduce the number of animals while screening new moieties, use of fishes for establishing a diseased model is a novel and better concept. In the present study we report a Novel protocol for the induction of hepatocellular carcinoma in Channa Punctatus. After induction of TAA in the span of 21 days, different stages of HCC were observed. Moreover it was also found that AST, ALT and ALP levels were in elevated state. Further pharmaconetworking studies were established using STRING and it was found that important biological processes are disturbed in the presence of Thioacetamide.

Arsenic is an ubiquitous and well-documented carcinogenic metalloid. The most common source of arsenic is drinking water. The mechanism of arsenic toxicity in a cell has historically been centered around its inhibitory effects on cellular respiration and mitochondrial injury. Ascorbic acid, a low molecular weight, water-soluble antioxidant, improves the reduced glutathione (GSH) status by recycling oxidized glutathione. Ascorbic acid can improve mitochondrial function by improving the thiol status; thereby preventing reactive oxygen species— mediated damage to liver as well as kidney. Ascorbic acid has been shown to protect membrane and other cellular compartments by regenerating vitamin E. Therefore, ascorbic acid seems to be a suitable protective factor against arsenic toxicity. Present reports describe the effect of ascorbic acid on oxidative phosphorylation, adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), succinic dehydrogenase, caspase-3 and apoptosis in the liver of rats treated with arsenic trioxide (AsIII). Ultrastructural changes in the mitochondria have also been reported. We show that cotreatments with ascorbic acid and AsIIIimprove mitochondrial structure and function. We attribute these improvements mainly to antioxidative role of ascorbic acid. Apoptosis was restricted due to caspase-3 inhibition. Ascorbic acid could protect DNA from the attack of reactive oxygen species generated by AsIII. Consequently its events led to improved ADP:O ratio, normalized ATPase activity and restored the activity of succinic dehydrogenase. Overall, results support the protective role of ascorbic acid against AsIII-induced liver injury.

Dark fermentation is an efficient way for the degradation of organic matter with the help of microorganism. It basicallydeals with the organic matter present in the solid or liquid waste. The anaerobic microbes such as Clostridium,Enterobacter, Escherichia etc. are found to be potential to degrade the organic matter in the useful product such ashydrogen and methane. The enormous type of waste such as industrial waste water , industrial sludge, and other organicwaste can be degrade in the useful product such as hydrogen, alcohol and methane by dark fermentation but it is mostlyperform for the production of hydrogen as well as methane. Conversion of substrate to hydrogen perform by a series ofbiochemical reactions and microorganisms and it is still inefficient. In the fermentative process most of the organicfraction remains as soluble fermentation products such as acetic, propionic, butyric acid and ethanol. In spite of theoreticalconversion efficiency of 33% only 15% of the energy from the organic source is typically obtained in the form of hydrogenand remaining 67-85% of the substrate remains unused. One way to utilize the remaining organic matter in a usable formfor energy production is to produce methane.

Experiments were performed to study the effects of inorganic arsenic (iAs) on liver and kidney functions of diabetic rats. Data showed that arsenic concentration decreases in the liver and kidneys of rats in hyperglycemic conditions. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity was markedly less in arsenic-diabetic rats compared to arsenic alone; however, hyperbilirubinemia was observed in arsenic-diabetic animals. Creatinine values showed improved kidney function in arsenic-diabetic rats compared to arsenic alone. Histopathological observations were less severe in inorganic arsenic liver and kidneys of alloxan-diabetic rats. These observations were considered to be important since they partially argue against earlier reports that demonstrated a diabetogenic effect attributed to arsenic.

A study so as to confirm the protective effects of L-ascorbic acid against inorganic arsenic (As23) toxicity was made in male Wistar rats. Multiphase observations made on iAs concentration in target organs viz. liver and kidney, liver function, histopathological changes, ultrastructural alterations, lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress and iAs-DNA interaction strongly favoured its ameliorative effects. These effects could mainly be attributed to its antioxidative property. It offers help in regeneration of GSH and alpha-tocopherol. The chelaticn of iAs by ascorbic acid has also been hypothesized. Inhibition of DNA damage by ascorbic acid in liver and kidney appears to be the most significant part of this study On the basis of these results, we conclude that administration of L-ascorbic acid to arsenic affected population may prevent the occurrence of fatal human diseases.