Excessive Doses Research Articles

Analisis risiko produksi ribbed smoked sheet (RSS) di PTPN IX Kebun Balong, Jepara

Indonesian rubber plantations have the largest area in the world at 3,776.49 thousand hectares, yet they cannot be the largest producer of natural rubber. PTPN IX Balong is a state-owned company that processes latex into RSS. The production often experiences fluctuations which indicate the production risks faced by the company. The study aimed to examine the agents of production risk that are considered priorities, as well as effective mitigation strategies to reduce the impact of production risk. The research was conducted from November to December 2022 at PTPN IX Balong, Bumiharjo Village, Keling District, Jepara Regency. The research was a case study method with primary data collected by observation and distributing questionnaires to specific key persons. The secondary data were obtained from RSS production records. Data were analyzed using a quantitative method, namely House of Risk (HOR), to answer research purposes. The results showed that there are 8 priority risk agents that will be mitigated, namely high rainfall, long-tapping and picking-up times, errors made by the officers of the smoke room, broken grinding machine, dirty post-harvest tools, improper latex dilution, an excess dosage of antacid, and late application of ammonia. The mitigation strategy used to minimize the priority risk agent (source) consists of 7 risk mitigation strategies. Tightening inspections at the factory is the top priority to be implemented.

Current German Recommendations and International Research on the Use of COVID-19 Boosters among Health Care Providers in 2024: A Narrative Review.

While the World Health Organization (WHO) has de-escalated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from a global health emergency, ongoing discussions persist as new viral variants. This article aimed to consolidate German recommendations and international research to offer health care providers (HCPs) a comprehensive guide on COVID-19 boosters in 2024. The review outlines key recommendations from the German Robert Koch Institute. HCPs should receive COVID-19 boosters at least 12 months after their last vaccination or COVID-19 infection, contingent on the prevalent viral variant(s) in the region. However, excessive doses and/or frequent boosters, especially with mRNA vaccines, may lead to immune imprinting, T-cell exhaustion, and immunoglobulin (Ig) switching. Notably, this review highlights the significance of Ig, particularly IgA and IgG subclasses, in influencing infection risk and disease progression. Furthermore, it explores the implications of mRNA vaccine technology and potential adverse effects related to excessive dosing. In conclusion, this article provides a comprehensive analysis of COVID-19 vaccine boosters for HCPs, synthesising current recommendations, scientific debates, and considerations for optimising protection against SARS-CoV-2 in the evolving landscape of the post-pandemic era.

First‐principles study on the surface properties and floatability of magnesite tailings and its main gangue

AbstractThe accumulation of magnesite tailings (MT) poses challenges such as resource wastage, land occupation, dust generation, and environmental pollution, thereby jeopardizing both physical and mental health. Urgent attention is required for the proper treatment of this solid waste material. An in‐depth investigation into enhancing the flotation processes of MT is essential. A comprehensive comprehension of the surface properties of MT and its principal gangue minerals assumes paramount importance in facilitating the desilication and decalcification of MT via flotation. In this investigation, a first‐principles study grounded in density functional theory was employed to scrutinize the surface properties, as well as the similarities and differences in flotability, of four minerals‐quartz, magnesite, dolomite, and calcite. The findings reveal that quartz's primary cleavage plane is (1 0 1), whereas that of magnesite, dolomite, and calcite is (1 0 4). The surfaces of magnesite, dolomite, and calcite exhibit chemical similarities, with Ca atoms demonstrating higher reactivity than Mg atoms. The hydrogen bonding between dodecylamine and quartz emerges as the most robust, while adsorption energies with the three carbonate minerals exhibit minimal disparity. The ongoing focus lies on the selection and optimization tests of decalcification reagents. A moderate quantity of dodecylamine manifests a certain desilication effect. However, excessive dosage compromises selectivity. The first‐principles approach offers guiding significance for elucidating the surface properties of MT and its primary vein minerals, along with investigating the adsorption mechanisms of flotation regents.

Dosage Adjustment as an Efficiency in Treatment Costs for Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

Introduction: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) treatment, in all stages, has been shown to impose a big economic burden. To reduce drug costs, dose adjustment can be used in CKD treatment. Apart from saving costs, dose adjustments can also reduce the risk of side effects due to excessive doses. This research aimed to identify the dose suitability of CKD patient treatment and calculate the difference in treatment costs before and after the dose adjustments. Method: This research was a cross-sectional study using descriptive analysis. Data was collected from medical records in UGM Academic Hospital using purposive nonrandom sampling in inpatient CKD patients with decreased creatinine clearance and serum creatinine who underwent hospitalization for at least one year. Result: There were 58.14% male patients and 41.86% female patients. Most of the patients have stage 5 CKD (46.51%) and hypertension comorbidities (59.30%). Around 69.14% of drugs used in treatment required dose adjustment and only 52.33% of them had appropriate doses based on the Lexicomp Drug Information Handbook. The class of drugs that required the most dose adjustments was antibiotics with 14 occurrences. After the dose adjustment, the saved cost from patients with inappropriate doses was IDR 1,766,330. The biggest cost difference after the dose adjustment was IDR 1,090,865, which comes from the antibiotic group. Conclusion: Dosage adjustments can reduce the incidence of medication errors, improve clinical outcomes, and increase the effectiveness of clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness.

Dabigatran-related serious medication errors: an analysis using data from VigiBase

ObjectiveTo analyze the serious medication errors (MEs) on dabigatran, and their related factors, in order to avoid or reduce the occurrence of adverse events.MethodsSerious MEs related to dabigatran were extracted from the WHO global database of reported potential side effects of medicinal products (VigiBase) by using “Medication errors and other product use errors and issues” High Level Group Term (HLGT) of the international Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA). Well-documented reports, vigiGrade completeness score ≥ 0.80, or with an informative narrative were analyzed with a focus on the clinical features of the cases. The PCNE Classification for drug-related problems (DRP) was used to classify medication errors in our analysis of cases.ResultsUntil January 26, 2020, there were 453 cases with serious MEs related to dabigatran in VigiBase, and 113 were well-documented. Among these, 69 patients (61%) were hospitalized or had prolonged hospitalization, 16 (14%) had life-threatening events, and 12 (11%) died. The MEs occurred in the prescription phase in 77 cases, in administration in 35, and at the dispensing stage in one case. The MEs in prescription were related to a drug selection error in 44 cases (24 concerning contraindications and 20 drug interactions) and to dose error in 33 cases (17 with excessive dose; eight with insufficient frequency; four had an incorrect time; in three, the dose was too low; and in one, too frequent). The MEs in administration were medical-staff-related errors in five cases (three with wrong administration route, one administration omission, and one overdose), patient-related errors in 28 (14 insufficient dose or no administration, seven improper drug storage, four wrong administration method, and three over prescribed dose), and other errors in two (without efficacy monitoring). The dispensing error of a wrong drug strength occurred in a pharmacy. The main adverse events in the 113 patients were haemorrhage in 57 cases (50%) and ischemia in 29 cases (26%).ConclusionBased on the analysis of reports in VigiBase, serious MEs related to dabigatran mainly occurred during prescription and administration. Although the incidence of MEs with clinical consequences in the use of dabigatran cannot be determined, attention should be paid to selection of the appropriate dose to a right patient in the prescription, and to patient compliance and storage in drug administration. The patient harm mainly manifested itself as bleeding or ischemia including fatal outcome in rare patients.

Improving the Safety of Computed Tomography Through Automated Quality Measurement: A Radiologist Reader Study of Radiation Dose, Image Noise, and Image Quality.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services funded the development of a computed tomography (CT) quality measure for use in pay-for-performance programs, which balances automated assessments of radiation dose with image quality to incentivize dose reduction without compromising the diagnostic utility of the tests. However, no existing quantitative method for assessing CT image quality has been validated against radiologists' image quality assessments on a large number of CT examinations. Thus to develop an automated measure of image quality, we tested the relationship between radiologists' subjective ratings of image quality with measurements of radiation dose and image noise. Board-certified, posttraining, clinically active radiologists rated the image quality of 200 diagnostic CT examinations from a set of 734, representing 14 CT categories. Examinations with significant distractions, motion, or artifact were excluded. Radiologists rated diagnostic image quality as excellent, adequate, marginally acceptable, or poor; the latter 2 were considered unacceptable for rendering diagnoses. We quantified the relationship between ratings and image noise and radiation dose, by category, by analyzing the odds of an acceptable rating per standard deviation (SD) increase in noise or geometric SD (gSD) in dose. One hundred twenty-five radiologists contributed 24,800 ratings. Most (89%) were acceptable. The odds of an examination being rated acceptable statistically significantly increased per gSD increase in dose and decreased per SD increase in noise for most categories, including routine dose head, chest, and abdomen-pelvis, which together comprise 60% of examinations performed in routine practice. For routine dose abdomen-pelvis, the most common category, each gSD increase in dose raised the odds of an acceptable rating (2.33; 95% confidence interval, 1.98-3.24), whereas each SD increase in noise decreased the odds (0.90; 0.79-0.99). For only 2 CT categories, high-dose head and neck/cervical spine, neither dose nor noise was associated with ratings. Radiation dose and image noise correlate with radiologists' image quality assessments for most CT categories, making them suitable as automated metrics in quality programs incentivizing reduction of excessive radiation doses.

Pyridinium trifluoroacetate ionic liquids as proficient catalysts for synthesis of 3,5,5‐trimethyl‐2‐pyrazoline

AbstractIn this work, pyridinium trifluoroacetate ionic liquids, as a protonic acid catalyst, were used to catalyze intramolecular cyclization of ketazine to synthesize 2‐pyrazoline. The investigation encompassed the impact of temperature, solvent, dosage of ionic liquid catalyst, and the structure‐activity relationship in the cyclization reaction of 2‐propyl ketazine. The optimal catalytic performance was achieved at 100 °C with 8 mol % of 3,5‐dimethylpyridinium trifluoroacetate in a solvent‐free environment. Moreover, thermodynamic and kinetic data were determined through density functional theory calculations and calorimetric experiments. These protonic acid ionic liquids address the issue of excessive traditional protonic acid dosage in the intramolecular cyclization of ketazine, while also presenting a viable pathway for the catalytic synthesis of 2‐pyrazolines.

A numerical model to investigate the irradiation effect on the dynamics of nuclear fuel bundles

The severe operation conditions in nuclear reactors, such as highly turbulent coolant flow, high temperatures and excessive irradiation doses, can compromise the structural integrity of nuclear fuel bundles. Specifically, the irradiation doses influence the microstructure of the material in terms of segregation and precipitation in addition to swelling. This leads to changes in the mechanical properties of the material and consequently, the dynamic characteristics will be altered. The current study presents a fully-coupled, three-dimensional, numerical, structural model that takes into account the irradiation effects on fuel bundle material. A constitutive model that describes the thermal and irradiation effects on the mechanical properties is utilized. This constitutive model is integrated in an in-house finite element code that is capable of predicting the dynamics of fuel bundles including the nonlinear material, contact dynamics, and various fluid and acoustic excitation forces. This model is utilized to predict the response of a CANDU fuel bundle under turbulence excitation, motion-dependent forces, and acoustic pressure pulsations generated by the heat transport pumps. The fuel-to-fuel and fuel-to-pressure tube contact dynamics are also included using the single point contact method (SPC). The dynamic response of the fuel bundle along with the associated impact forces and work rates are predicted over a range of flow velocities that are typical to those in an actual CANDU power plant. The results indicate that the location of the fuel channel inside the calandria tube may exacerbate the mechanical stresses on the fuel bundle endplates, which could compromise their structural integrity.

Management of isolated dissection of the superior mesenteric artery.

Isolated dissection of the superior mesenteric artery (IDSMA) is an increasingly frequently diagnosed pathology without a predisposing factor. Different therapeutic options including conservative, endovascular, and open surgical treatment are presented in our single-center study. The follow-up is a special task of different specialties. A retrospective analysis of six patients with IDSMA was conducted. Patient demographics, clinical presentation, diagnostic management, and therapeutic treatment were assessed. Furthermore, clinical outcome as well as further changes during follow-up were evaluated. The majority of the patients were symptomatic with abdominal pain. Of the symptomatic patients, one was managed conservatively, one was treated surgically by patch plasty, and two patients were treated using an endovascular approach. The two asymptomatic patients were each managed conservatively. Conservative therapy was the treatment of choice, especially in asymptomatic and uncomplicated cases with non-persistent symptoms. This was confirmed in our literature review. Computed tomography angiography is the gold standard for follow-up after the acute event or diagnosis. None of our patients needed further treatment after the acute event/detection of IDSMA during the follow-up period with a mean of 68 months. One patient showed significant changes in the diameter of the superior mesenteric artery. The appropriate diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of IDSMA must be tailored to the needs of the individual patient and require multidisciplinary decision making. · IDSMA can cause several symptoms, and is mostly seen in smoking, middle-aged men.. · Therapeutic options include conservative management and surgical and interventional methods.. · Conservative management is the most applicable treatment in asymptomatic patients.. · For diagnosis and follow-up, CTA is the gold standard.. · To avoid an excessive cumulative radiation dose, ultrasound monitoring may be adequate..

The pharmacists' interventions after a Drug and Therapeutics Committee (DTC) establishment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Healthcare systems in developing countries faced significant challenges during COVID-19, grappling with limited resources and staffing shortages. Assessment of the impact of pharmaceutical care expertise, particularly in critical care units during the pandemics, in developing countries remains poorly explored. The principal aim of our study was to assess the impact of the Drug and Therapeutics Committee (DTC), comprising clinical pharmacists, on the incidence, types, and severity of medication errors and associated costs in using COVID-19 medications, especially antibiotics. An interventional pre-post study was carried out at a public isolation hospital in Egypt over 6 months. Out of 499 medication orders, 238 (47.7%) had medication errors, averaging 2.38 errors per patient. The most frequent were prescribing errors (44.9%), specifically incorrect drug choice (57.9%), excessive dosage (29.9%), treatment duplication (4.5%), inadequate dosage (4.5%), and overlooked indications (3.6%). Linezolid and Remdesivir were the most common medications associated with prescribing errors. Pharmacists intervened 315 times, primarily discontinuing medications, reducing doses, introducing new medications, and increasing doses. These actions led to statistically significant cost reductions (p < 0.05) and better clinical outcomes; improved oxygen saturation, decreased fever, stabilised respiratory rates, and normalised white blood cell counts. So, clinical pharmacist interventions made a notable clinical and economic difference (66.34% reduction of the expenses) in antibiotics usage specifically and other medications used in COVID-19 management during the pandemic. Crucially, educational initiatives targeting clinical pharmacists can foster judicious prescribing habits.

Design of PD Controllers with Input Saturation for Postprandial Blood Glucose Regulation

An Artificial pancreas system regulates blood glucose in people with type 1 diabetes by automating the appropriate insulin infusion rate calculation. Insulin cannot be removed once injected, and thus, the control input is constrained to be positive. Controllers designed without taking this constraint into consideration often deliver an excessive insulin dose after a meal intake (postprandial period), which may cause hypoglycemia, a condition related to harmful complications. The non-negativeness is usually handled indirectly through additional control structures that compensate for the saturation by cutting of the insulin flow in advance. The few approaches that consider the non-negativeness of insulin in the controller design process end up with high-order controllers, which are difficult to analyze. In this work, the design of a input-constrained PD controller for regulating postprandial glucose is explored. The set of feasible controller parameters is computed and related to the meal and insulin dynamics.

Sparse-View Spectral CT Reconstruction and Material Decomposition Based on Multi-Channel SGM.

In medical applications, the diffusion of contrast agents in tissue can reflect the physiological function of organisms, so it is valuable to quantify the distribution and content of contrast agents in the body over a period. Spectral CT has the advantages of multi-energy projection acquisition and material decomposition, which can quantify K-edge contrast agents. However, multiple repetitive spectral CT scans can cause excessive radiation doses. Sparse-view scanning is commonly used to reduce dose and scan time, but its reconstructed images are usually accompanied by streaking artifacts, which leads to inaccurate quantification of the contrast agents. To solve this problem, an unsupervised sparse-view spectral CT reconstruction and material decomposition algorithm based on the multi-channel score-based generative model (SGM) is proposed in this paper. First, multi-energy images and tissue images are used as multi-channel input data for SGM training. Secondly, the organism is multiply scanned in sparse views, and the trained SGM is utilized to generate multi-energy images and tissue images driven by sparse-view projections. After that, a material decomposition algorithm using tissue images generated by SGM as prior images for solving contrast agent images is established. Finally, the distribution and content of the contrast agents are obtained. The comparison and evaluation of this method are given in this paper, and a series of mouse scanning experiments are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the method.

DTR-Net: Dual-Space 3D Tooth Model Reconstruction From Panoramic X-Ray Images.

In digital dentistry, cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) can provide complete 3D tooth models, yet suffers from a long concern of requiring excessive radiation dose and higher expense. Therefore, 3D tooth model reconstruction from 2D panoramic X-ray image is more cost-effective, and has attracted great interest in clinical applications. In this paper, we propose a novel dual-space framework, namely DTR-Net, to reconstruct 3D tooth model from 2D panoramic X-ray images in both image and geometric spaces. Specifically, in the image space, we apply a 2D-to-3D generative model to recover intensities of CBCT image, guided by a task-oriented tooth segmentation network in a collaborative training manner. Meanwhile, in the geometric space, we benefit from an implicit function network in the continuous space, learning using points to capture complicated tooth shapes with geometric properties. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed DTR-Net achieves state-of-the-art performance both quantitatively and qualitatively in 3D tooth model reconstruction, indicating its potential application in dental practice.

Application and substitution of antibiotics in animal feeding

The addition of subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics to feed as antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) can effectively inhibit or eliminate pathogenic microorganisms, reduce the incidence of livestock diseases, optimize feed conversion efficiency, and improve livestock growth performance. Antibiotics play a vital role in ensuring the supply of animal products and enhancing the economic benefits of animal husbandry. Nevertheless, global attention has been drawn to issues such as bacterial resistance, drug residue, and environmental pollution caused by antibiotic misuse – including excessive dosage, prolonged administration, and broad application scope. With the growing emphasis on food safety, an increasing number of countries have prohibited the addition of antibiotics to feed as growth promoters for livestock. To ensure a sustainable and healthy development of the feed industry, research on efficient and low-side-effect antibiotic substitutes has become a focal point. This paper provides a review and summary of both the advantages and disadvantages of adding antibiotics to feed, as well as the alternative research.

ЭКСПЕРИМЕНТАЛЬНЫЕ ВОЗМОЖНОСТИ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ ТОНУСА ПРИ НАРУШЕНИИ СОКРАТИТЕЛЬНОЙ ФУНКЦИИ ГЛАДКИХ МИОЦИТОВ

A method has been proposed for assessing the functional state of the uterus of experimental pregnant animals, including simultaneous recording of signals from the electrical and mechanical activity of the uterus using a kymograph and an electromyocytograph. The method allows you to record the frequency and duration of uterine contractions and record a mechanogram, and timely visualize uterine hypotension during the administration of various doses of uterotonics. This will allow us to establish the degree of development of myometrial hypotension under the influence of excessive doses of exogenous uterotonics. The combined research method will allow assessing the functional state of the uterus of a pregnant rat against the background of induced uterine contractions in an acute experiment.

Fertilizer management practices in potato cultivation: a baseline study for the introduction of GE potato in Bangladesh.

Genetically engineered (GE) crops have the potential to contribute to agricultural sustainability, food security, and nutritional enrichment. However, these crops cannot be released for commercial cultivation without undergoing environmental risk assessments (ERA), thus biosafety evaluation. ERA assessments are performed comparatively with their natural non-GE counterparts. As Bangladesh is progressing with GE potato research, the present study aims to collect baseline information on non-GE potato cultivation with an emphasis on current agronomic practices focusing on fertilizer management and farmers' knowledge base. The survey had three parts, including information on the farmers, information on potato cultivation practices, especially fertilizer use, and lastly, the farmer's view on GE potato. From 2020 to 2021, data were collected through interviews with experienced growers in four potato-growing regions, the Central and Mid-East, North-West, Mid-West, and South-East regions (n = 1757) of the country. The study revealed that farmers of all regions used more than the recommended amounts of fertilizer; for instance, 67.1% more nitrogen fertilizer was applied as an extra dose during potato cultivation in Munshiganj (Central and Mid-East) than in the Dinajpur region (North-West). This overuse of nitrogen fertilizer can enhance plant vigor but makes the plants more susceptible to insect attraction and allows pests easier access to the plants. As a result, the excess dose of nitrogen fertilizer in Munshiganj may act as a catalyst to increase the probability of late blight. The findings also showed that 73.6% of farmers observed unexpected flowering in certain potato cultivars, which corresponded to the higher application of phosphate and potassium fertilizers aimed at late blight control. Furthermore, this study reported infestations of Solanaceous weeds, specifically Solanum torvum and Physalis heterophylla, in potato fields. Finally, our findings demonstrated that more than 68.7% of the potato growers intend to adopt disease-resistant GE potato as that may reduce the need for excess fertilizer use and thus reduce cultivation costs.

Impact of Self-medications and Medications Misuse on Health Outcomes

Introduction: The availability of prescription drugs as OTC medications is also becoming more common. However, self-medication carries risks such as misdiagnosis, use of excessive drug doses, prolonged use, and drug interactions. This review aimed to collect evidence about the impact of self-medications on health outcomes. Methods: The systematic review in this study involved several steps to identify and assess relevant research. The search phase involved finding potentially relevant studies in various databases such as PubMed, PsychInfo, EBSCO Medline, BioMed central, and Science Direct. The screening phase involved applying predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria to determine which studies were appropriate for the review. To conclude the selection process, the full text of the articles was reviewed to determine whether they met the inclusion criteria. Additionally, the full text of review articles was reviewed to identify any additional articles that might be relevant and included in the review. Results: A total of 17 studies were found that met the inclusion criteria. The majority (11/17) of these studies were cross-sectional and relied on self-report. The combined sample size of the 17 studies was 28,628 (ranging from 5 to 5,426), and the average response rate was 66%. In 76% of the studies, reported self-treatment was 50% (ranging from 12% to 99%). Overall, only one or two respondents were registered with a general practitioner (GP) or primary care physician (mean of 56%, ranging from 21% to 96%). In the 13 studies that provided information on self-prescription, the mean percentage of physicians reporting self-prescription was 61% with a standard deviation of 25% and a range of 9% to 99%. Conclusions: Although many patients view over-the-counter (OTC) medications as completely safe, their use always carries some degree of risk for the consumer. This is especially true for patients who do not follow the instructions on the label or package insert.

Activated carbon adsorption of heteroatom components from pyrolysis oil for improved chemical recycling

Pyrolysis is a promising technique for managing mixed plastic waste. However, its industrial implementation faces significant challenges due to the presence of heteroatom components in the pyrolysis oil. These impurities are the major hurdle to use these feeds in steam crackers. To address this issue, we evaluated the potential of adsorption on activated carbon as a purification method by measuring the adsorption capacity of nine of the most important heteroatom components in pyrolysis oils. Through single-isotherm experiments and modeling, our aim was to understand the interactions between the adsorbate and the adsorbent as well as the influence of the component-pyrolysis oil interaction. Furthermore, multicomponent isotherm experiments further explored cooperative and competitive interactions among different heteroatom components, providing valuable insights into their behavior in complex systems. Our findings highlight benzoic acid as the most effective adsorbate (qm = 193.4 ± 12.8 mg g−1), while less polar components such as cyclopentanone (qm = 15.9 ± 1.79 mg g−1), hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane (qm = 7.11 ± 1.27 mg g−1), and 1-chloropentane (no detectable removal) pose challenges for pyrolysis oil purification without excessive dosing of the adsorbent, in our case activated carbon. Moreover, multicomponent experiments revealed that pyridine exhibits cooperative adsorption behavior, whereas other components engage in competitive adsorption dynamics. The analysis of six multicomponent models emphasized the importance of considering adsorbate–adsorbate interactions in describing the adsorption behavior in complex mixtures. Models equipped with interaction parameters (correlative model) outperformed those without such parameters (predictive model), as evidenced by higher R2 values (R2 = 0.95–0.99) for the former compared to the latter (R2 = 0.84–0.86).

Evaluating Antioxidant Performance, Biosafety, and Antimicrobial Efficacy of Houttuynia cordata Extract and Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Biogenic Silver Nano-Antibiotics.

From the traditional Chinese medicine point of view, although Houttuynia cordata extract (HCE) possesses an incredible amount of phytonutrients and exhibits antioxidant activities, excessive doses of HCE can cause danger to organisms and lead to death. In this study, we first examine HCE's overall phenolic and flavonoid content, antioxidant efficacy, and antibacterial activity. Results show that HCE is suitable as a bio-reducing agent for the microwave-assisted synthesis of silver nanoparticles (HCE-AgNPs) with enhanced antioxidant and antimicrobial performance. Under an optimized microwave condition (i.e., 100 °C for 10 min), the HCE-stabilized AgNPs were confirmed with a UV-visible peak at 430 nm and 19.7 ± 4.2 nm in size. Physicochemical properties of HCE-AgNPs were extensively characterized by zeta-potential, FT-IR, XRD, and XPS measurements. Compared to the HC extract counterpart, HCE-AgNPs display superior antioxidant activity, higher DPPH scavenging efficiency, and enhanced broad-spectrum bactericidal activity to inhibit the growth of all tested bacterial strains at doses of 2 μg/mL. Biosafety evaluation indicated that HCE-AgNPs are noncytotoxic on human red blood cells. These data show that the microwave synthesis of AgNPs exhibits a great antioxidant ability, superior antibacterial activity, and a trivial hemolytic effect, providing another bactericidal therapy strategy to address the increasing healthcare-associated infections.

Fertilisation with potato starch wastewater effect on the growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forest in Poland

Fertilisation is often used to increase plant productivity in agriculture but has also been used in forestry. In our study, Scots pine forest growing in a nitrogen-poor environment was fertilised with NPK post-production wastewater from a potato starch factory. Our research aimed to investigate the dependence of tree growth on different NPK concentrations. Cell characteristics such as cell wall thickness (CWT), lumen diameter (LD) and tree-ring features such as ring width (RW), total number of cells in annual growth (nTotal), earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) were investigated. Twenty-six years of regular fertilisation of the forest with different doses of wastewater rich in NPK elements have affected the anatomical structure of Scots pine trees. It is presumed that the reduction in CWT and LD on the fertilised site was due to deficiencies in plant water conductivity, which may have occurred due to physiological drought. The influence of nitrogen on unfertilised site from the wastewater area could contribute to the CWT thickening. The results confirm that the use of NPK in excessive doses is detrimental to trees' conductive system.