The present review covers the regeneration capacity and adsorption efficiency of different adsorbents for the treatment of industrial dyes to control water pollution. Various techniques and materials have been employed to remove organic pollutants from water; however, adsorption techniques using cost-effective, ecofriendly, clay-supported adsorbents are widely used owing to their simplicity and good efficiency. Among all the natural adsorbents, activated carbon has been found to be the most effective for dye adsorption; however, its use is restricted due to its high regeneration cost. Clays and modified clay-based adsorbents are the most efficient clarifying agents for organic pollutants as compared to activated carbon, organic/inorganic, and composite materials. Regeneration is an important aspect to stimulate the adsorption efficiency of the exhausted/spent adsorbent for water treatment. A number of techniques, including chemical treatment, supercritical extraction, thermal, and photocatalytic and biological degradation, have been developed to regenerate spent or dye-adsorbed clays. This review discusses how these techniques enhance the adsorption and retention potential of spent low-cost adsorbents and reflects on the future perspectives for their use in wastewater treatment.
Congenital anomalies are not only one of the main killers for infants but also one of the major causes of deaths under 5. Among congenital anomalies, Down syndrome or trisomy 21 (T-21) and neural tube defects (NTDs) are considered the most common. Expectant mothers in developing countries may not have access to or may not afford the advanced prenatal screening tests. To solve this issue, this paper explores the practicality of using only the basic risk factors for developing prediction models as a tool for initial risk assessment. The prediction models are based on logistic regression. The results show that the prediction models do not have a high balanced classification rate. However, these models can still be used as an effective tool for initial risk assessment for T-21 and NTDs by eliminating at least 50% of the cases with no or low risk. Graphical Abstract Prenatal Risk Assessment of Trisomy-21 and Neural Tube Defects.
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, several SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged that may exhibit different etiological effects such as enhanced transmissibility and infectivity. However, genetic variations that reduce virulence and deteriorate viral fitness have not yet been thoroughly investigated. The present study sought to evaluate the effects of viral genetic makeup on COVID-19 epidemiology in Pakistan, where the infectivity and mortality rate was comparatively lower than other countries during the first pandemic wave. For this purpose, we focused on the comparative analyses of 7096 amino-acid long polyprotein pp1ab. Comparative sequence analysis of 203 SARS-CoV-2 genomes, sampled from Pakistan during the first wave of the pandemic revealed 179 amino acid substitutions in pp1ab. Within this set, 38 substitutions were identified within the Nsp3 region of the pp1ab polyprotein. Structural and biophysical analysis of proteins revealed that amino acid variations within Nsp3's macrodomains induced conformational changes and modified protein-ligand interactions, consequently diminishing the virulence and fitness of SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, the epistatic effects resulting from evolutionary substitutions in SARS-CoV-2 proteins may have unnoticed implications for reducing disease burden. In light of these findings, further characterization of such deleterious SARS-CoV-2 mutations will not only aid in identifying potential therapeutic targets but will also provide a roadmap for maintaining vigilance against the genetic variability of diverse SARS-CoV-2 strains circulating globally. Furthermore, these insights empower us to more effectively manage and respond to potential viral-based pandemic outbreaks of a similar nature in the future.