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Macroparasite communities in stray cat populations from urban cities in Peninsular Malaysia

Mohd Zain SN, Sahimin N, Pal P, Lewis JW

Vet Parasitol, 2013 Sep 23;196(3-4):469-77.
PMID: 23664711 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2013.03.030

The occurrence of macroparasites was studied from 543 stray cats in four urban cities from the west (Kuala Lumpur), east (Kuantan), north (Georgetown) and south (Malacca) of Peninsular Malaysia from May 2007 to August 2010. Five ectoparasites species were recovered namely, Ctenocephalides felis, Felicola subrostratus, Haemaphysalis bispinosa, Heterodoxus spiniger and Lynxacarus radovskyi. Two cats from Georgetown were infested with the dog louse, H. spiniger and this represented the first host record for this species in Malaysia. Up to nine species of helminths were recovered with overall high prevalences of infection of 83% in Kuantan, followed by 75.1% in Kuala Lumpur, 71.6% in Georgetown and 68% in Malacca. The helminth species comprised five nematodes, Toxocara malaysiensis, Toxocara cati, Ancylostoma braziliensis, Ancylostoma ceylanicum, Physaloptera praeputialis, two cestodes Taenia taeniaeformis, Dipylidium caninum and one trematode, Playtnosomum fastosum. The majority of helminths were present in the four study sites except for the absence of P. praeputialis in Kuala Lumpur. The prevalence and abundance of infections were analysed taking intrinsic (host age and sex) and extrinsic (season) factors into consideration. Levels of infection and infestation were mainly influenced by host age and to a lesser extent sex and season, whereas four nematode species exhibited significant interactions within the intestine of the cat host. The potential for transmission of some macroparasite species from stray cats to the human population in urban areas is discussed.
Colloidal gas aphrons for biotechnology applications: a mini review

Pal P, Hasan SW, Abu Haija M, Sillanpää M, Banat F

Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2023 Dec;43(7):971-981.
PMID: 35968911 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2022.2092716

Colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs) are highly stable, spherical, micrometer-sized bubbles encapsulated by surfactant multilayers. They have several intriguing properties, including: high stability, large interfacial area, and the ability to maintain the same charge as their parent molecules. The physical properties of CGAs make them ideal for biotechnological applications such as the recovery of a variety of: biomolecules, particularly proteins, yeast, enzymes, and microalgae. In this review, the bio-application of CGAs for the recovery of natural components is presented, as well as: experimental results, technical challenges, and critical research directions for the future. Experimental results from the literature showed that the recovery of biomolecules was mainly determined by electrostatic or hydrophobic interactions between polyphenols and proteins (lysozyme, β-casein, β-lactoglobulin, etc.), yeast, biological molecules (gallic acid and norbixin), and microalgae with CGAs. Knowledge transfer is essential for commercializing CGA-based bio-product recovery, which will be recognized as a viable technology in the future.
A review on the advanced leachate treatment technologies and their performance comparison: an opportunity to keep the environment safe

Show PL, Pal P, Leong HY, Juan JC, Ling TC

Environ Monit Assess, 2019 Mar 18;191(4):227.
PMID: 30887225 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-019-7380-9

Landfill application is the most common approach for biowaste treatment via leachate treatment system. When municipal solid waste deposited in the landfills, microbial decomposition breaks down the wastes generating the end products, such as carbon dioxide, methane, volatile organic compounds, and liquid leachate. However, due to the landfill age, the fluctuation in the characteristics of landfill leachate is foreseen in the leachate treatment plant. The focuses of the researchers are keeping leachate from contaminating groundwater besides keeping potent methane emissions from reaching the atmosphere. To address the above issues, scientists are required to adopt green biological methods to keep the environment safe. This review focuses on the assorting of research papers on organic content and nitrogen removal from the leachate via recent effective biological technologies instead of conventional nitrification and denitrification process. The published researches on the characteristics of various Malaysian landfill sites were also discussed. The understanding of the mechanism behind the nitrification and denitrification process will help to select an optimized and effective biological treatment option in treating the leachate waste. Recently, widely studied technologies for the biological treatment process are aerobic methane oxidation coupled to denitrification (AME-D) and partial nitritation-anammox (PN/A) process, and both were discussed in this review article. This paper gives the idea of the modification of the conventional treatment technologies, such as combining the present processes to make the treatment process more effective. With the integration of biological process in the leachate treatment, the effluent discharge could be treated in shortcut and novel pathways, and it can lead to achieving "3Rs" of reduce, reuse, and recycle approach.
Chitosan Nanoparticles as Potential Nano-Sorbent for Removal of Toxic Environmental Pollutants

Benettayeb A, Seihoub FZ, Pal P, Ghosh S, Usman M, Chia CH, et al.

Nanomaterials (Basel), 2023 Jan 21;13(3).
PMID: 36770407 DOI: 10.3390/nano13030447

Adsorption is the most widely used technique for advanced wastewater treatment. The preparation and application of natural renewable and environmentally friendly materials makes this process easier and more profitable. Chitosan is often used as an effective biomaterial in the adsorption world because of its numerous functional applications. Chitosan is one of the most suitable and functionally flexible adsorbents because it contains hydroxyl (-OH) and amine (-NH2) groups. The adsorption capacity and selectivity of chitosan can be further improved by introducing additional functions into its basic structure. Owing to its unique surface properties and adsorption ability of chitosan, the development and application of chitosan nanomaterials has gained significant attention. Here, recent research on chitosan nanoparticles is critically reviewed by comparing various methods for their synthesis with particular emphasis on the role of experimental conditions, limitations, and applications in water and wastewater treatment. The recovery of pollutants using magnetic nanoparticles is an important treatment process that has contributed to additional development and sustainable growth. The application of such nanoparticles in the recovery metals, which demonstrates a "close loop technology" in the current scenarios, is also presented in this review.
Management of tannery waste effluents towards the reclamation of clean water using an integrated membrane system: A state-of-the-art review

Kumar R, Basu A, Bishayee B, Chatterjee RP, Behera M, Ang WL, et al.

Environ Res, 2023 Jul 15;229:115881.
PMID: 37084947 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115881

Tanning and other leather processing methods utilize a large amount of freshwater, dyes, chemicals, and salts and produce toxic waste, raising questions regarding their environmental sensitivity and eco-friendly nature. Total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, chemical oxygen demand, and ions such as chromium, sulfate, and chloride turn tannery wastewater exceedingly toxic for any living species. Therefore, it is imperative to treat tannery effluent, and existing plants must be examined and upgraded to keep up with recent technological developments. Different conventional techniques to treat tannery wastewater have been reported based on their pollutant removal efficiencies, advantages, and disadvantages. Research on photo-assisted catalyst-enhanced deterioration has inferred that both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis can be established as green initiatives, the latter being more efficient at degrading organic pollutants. However, the scientific community experiences significant problems developing a feasible treatment technique owing to the long degradation times and low removal efficiency. Hence, there is a chance for an improved solution to the problem of treating tannery wastewater through the development of a hybrid technology that uses flocculation as the primary treatment, a unique integrated photo-catalyst in a precision-designed reactor as the secondary method, and finally, membrane-based tertiary treatment to recover the spent catalyst and reclaimable water. This review gives an understanding of the progressive advancement of a cutting-edge membrane-based system for the management of tanning industrial waste effluents towards the reclamation of clean water. Adaptable routes toward sludge disposal and the reviews on techno-economic assessments have been shown in detail, strengthening the scale-up confidence for implementing such innovative hybrid systems.
Primary caregiver burden and undiagnosed mental health illness in out-patients with inflammatory bowel disease-A multicentric prospective survey from the IBD Emerging Nations' Consortium

Banerjee R, Pal P, Hilmi I, Raghunathan N, Rahman M, Limsrivillai J, et al.

Indian J Gastroenterol, 2024 Jul 18.
PMID: 39023742 DOI: 10.1007/s12664-024-01617-y

BACKGROUND: Mental health is an overlooked aspect of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patient care with limited data from the developing world. The primary caregiver burden is expected to be high, but has not been evaluated.
METHODS: We conducted a questionnaire-based survey of consecutive out-patients with no diagnosed mental health illness (n = 289) and their primary caregivers (n = 247) from 10 centers across eight countries (Bangladesh, India, Iran, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand) of IBD-Emerging Nations' Consortium (ENC). Patients were assessed for anxiety (PHQ-9), depression (GAD-7), quality of life (SIBDQ, IBDCOPE) and medication adherence (MMAS-8). Caregiver burden was assessed by Zarit-Burden Interview (ZBI), Ferrans and Power Quality of Life (QOL) scores and coping strategies (BRIEF-COPE). Multivariate logistic regression and correlation analyses were performed to identify risk factors and the impact on QOL in patients and caregivers.
RESULTS: Moderate to severe depression and anxiety were noted in 33% (severe 3.5%) and 24% (severe 3.8%) patients, respectively. The risk factor for depression was active disease (p p = 0.01, OR0.45) and medication adherence (p = 0.003, OR0.75) were protective. Risk factors for anxiety were unmarried status (p = 0.015, OR2.3), female gender (p = 0.004, OR0.41), steroid use (p = 0.016, OR2.1) and active disease (p p p p p p = 0.001,UC). Sixty-five per cent (159/249) primary caregivers reported high burden (ZBI ≥ 21), which positively correlated with low educational status and low-income and negatively with QOL(r = - 0.33, p
Fulltext Neurological research & training after the easing of lockdown in countries impacted by COVID-19

Tan EK, Albanese A, Chaudhuri KR, Opal P, Wu YC, Chan CH, et al.

J Neurol Sci, 2020 11 15;418:117105.
PMID: 32980781 DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2020.117105
Emerging IBD demographics, phenotype and treatment in South Asia, South-East Asia and Middle East: Preliminary findings from the IBD-Emerging Nations' Consortium

Banerjee R, Pal P, Hilmi I, Ghoshal UC, Desai DC, Rahman MM, et al.

J Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2022 Feb 17.
PMID: 35178742 DOI: 10.1111/jgh.15801

Background and aims Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is emerging in the newly industrialized countries of South Asia, South East Asia and the Middle East, yet epidemiological data are scarce.
METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of IBD demographics, disease phenotype and treatment across 38 centers in 15 countries of South Asia, South-East Asia and Middle East. Intergroup comparisons included gross national income (GNI) per capita.
RESULTS: Among 10,400 patients, ulcerative colitis (UC) was twice as common as Crohn's disease (CD), with a male predominance (UC 6678, CD 3495, IBD-Unclassified 227, 58% male). Peak age of onset was in the third decade, with a low proportion of elderly onset IBD (5% age >60). Familial IBD was rare (5%). The extent of UC was predominantly distal (proctitis/left sided 67%), with most being treated with mesalamine (94%), steroids (54%), or immunomodulators (31%). Ileocolic CD (43%) was commonest, with low rates of perianal disease (8%) and only 6% smokers. Diagnostic delay for CD was common (median 12 months; IQR 5-30). Treatment of CD included mesalamine, steroids and immunomodulator (61%, 51% and 56% respectively), but a fifth received empirical anti-tubercular therapy. Treatment with biologics was uncommon (4% UC,13% CD) which increased in countries with higher GNI per capita. Surgery rates were 0.1 (UC) and 2 (CD)/100 patient/years.
CONCLUSIONS: The IBD-ENC cohort provides insight into IBD in South-East Asia and the Middle East, but is not yet population-based. UC is twice as common as CD, familial disease uncommon and rates of surgery are low. Biologic use correlates with per capita GNI.