Synthesis, Characterization and Biomedical Application of Silver Nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been employed in various fields of biotechnology due to their proven properties as an antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal agent. AgNPs are generally synthesized through chemical, physical and biological approaches involving a myriad of methods. As each approach confers unique advantages and challenges, a trends analysis of literature for the AgNPs synthesis using different types of synthesis were also reviewed through a bibliometric approach. A sum of 10,278 publications were analyzed on the annual numbers of publication relating to AgNPs and biological, chemical or physical synthesis from 2010 to 2020 using Microsoft Excel applied to the Scopus publication database. Furthermore, another bibliometric clustering and mapping software were used to study the occurrences of author keywords on the biomedical applications of biosynthesized AgNPs and a total collection of 224 documents were found, sourced from articles, reviews, book chapters, conference papers and reviews. AgNPs provides an excellent, dependable, and effective solution for seven major concerns: as antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, bone healing, bone cement, dental applications and wound healing. In recent years, AgNPs have been employed in biomedical sector due to their antibacterial, antiviral and anticancer properties. This review discussed on the types of synthesis, how AgNPs are characterized and their applications in biomedical field.

Public Libraries as Enablers of Sustainable Development

Stakeholders of development are engaging in the United Nations' call for global sustainable development. Consequently, this chapter examines how public libraries as development agents are enabling or powering sustainable development through the three dimensions of economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Based on these three factors of sustainable development, objectives were raised to guide the study. The study, which is a conceptual review of literature, employed three major databases in library and information science (Emerald Insights, Taylor & Francis Online, and Library & Information Science Source) to search for literature complimented by Google Scholar. Results of the search were filtered by year (2011 to 2021), language (English), and source types (peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, short communications, and reports). The study therefore showed strong nexus between public libraries and the dimensions of sustainable development, which are economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

Groundwater Pollution in Bangladesh: A Review

Bangladesh relies mainly on groundwater for irrigation and drinking purposes. Groundwater, however, continuously polluted, is a major obstacle. Nowadays, Bangladesh is moving towards industrial revolution in a considerable speed. As part of this paper's attempt to analyze the groundwater pollution scenario in Bangladesh, specifically in the past two decades, about 100 articles, conference papers, and reports published in national and international journals and books were reviewed, as well as issues concerning pollution sources, health impact assessment, and future perspectives were discussed. The groundwater is contaminated by different contaminants, such as physico-chemicals, trace metals, and microbes. Human health is at great risk from arsenic (As) contamination; it is one of the biggest threats. The cancer risk and non-cancer risk of ingesting water are increased. On the other hand, a large number of peoples were affected due to waterborne diseases governed by microbial contamination. Geophysical and anthropogenic sources, the depth of wells, and geographical factors may influence groundwater pollution. It is recommended that policy makers should address the issue immediately and precautions should be taken wherever necessary.

Environmental Literacy Research: Global Scientometric Mapping of Five Decades

To date, there is no scientometric study conducted on Environmental Literacy (EL) literature. Hence, this paper aims to bridge this gap.We aimed fora holistic scientometric analysis of scientific literature available on EL, whichresulted in finding global research trends in EL research. We operatedthe following scientometric tools: VOSviewer and Bibliometrix R Package-Biblioshiny for complete science mapping analysis of the collected bibliographic data retrieved from Scopus database. We analysed the Scopus scientific research outcomes during the last 50 years. The outcome included438 total documents published and among them 354 were articles and 84 were conference papers published by1112 authors from 50 countries. The findings of this study arevital for policy makers, researchers and other working in environmental education and literacy development to understand the potential gaps and strength in the current EL research in Scopus literature.

Impact of COVID-19 on Housing Market: A Review of Emerging Literature

The housing market over the years has been impacted by various factors in different ways. This review paper examines the growing literature on the impact of COVID-19 on the housing market to ascertain its positive and negative effects. Thus, a total of 40 published conference papers, thesis, academic journal articles, and others obtained from secondary sources were reviewed and revealed that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in some scenarios had positive and negative impacts on the housing market. The paper found that the positive impacts include a rise in housing prices, increase in housing supply and reduction in mass evictions in some locations, while the negative impacts are on housing prices, demand and supply, constraints in mortgage return maintenance and delay in the construction of new housing apartments. The paper, therefore, concludes that both positive and negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are felt on the housing market globally. These thereby form a basis for further studies on the growing impacts of the pandemic concerning the housing market.

Processing and Compatibility of Corydalis yanhusuo: Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics, and Safety

Processed and polyherbal formulations (compatibility) are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, processing and compatibility may alter the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines, and therefore, evaluating the herbal medicines changes after processing and compatibility is important for their safety. Since Corydalis yanhusuo (Y.H.Chou & Chun C.Hsu) W.T.Wang ex Z.Y.Su & C.Y.Wu (Family: Papaveraceae and Genera: Corydalis), a traditional medicinal plant in China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries, has been used for treating a wide range of medical conditions, it is an ideal representative of studying the effects of processing and compatibility on efficacy and toxicity. In this paper, information was obtained by searching electronic databases, classic books, PhD and MSc dissertations, local conference papers, and unpublished materials prior to July 2021. We provide a summary of the phytochemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, quality control, and safety of C. yanhusuo under various processing or compatibility conditions. Based on our findings, vinegar processing is probably the best C. yanhusuo processing method, which could increase the absorption rate of tetrahydropalmatine (THP) in the heart, liver, spleen, lung, and brain tissues and alleviate mice muscle tremors and liver damage caused by C. yanhusuo. These results indicate that processing and compatibility can reduce toxicity and increase the efficacy of C. yanhusuo. The information provides an expanded understanding of the efficacy and toxicity mechanisms of TCM compounds, which is valuable for industrial production quality control and future drug research.

The Role of Genital Tract Microbiome in Fertility: A Systematic Review

The human microbiome plays a crucial role in determining the health status of every human being, and the microbiome of the genital tract can affect the fertility potential before and during assisted reproductive treatments (ARTs). This review aims to identify and appraise studies investigating the correlation of genital microbiome to infertility. Publications up to February 2021 were identified by searching the electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and Embase and bibliographies. Only full-text original research articles written in English were considered eligible for analysis, whereas reviews, editorials, opinions or letters, case studies, conference papers, and abstracts were excluded. Twenty-six articles were identified. The oldest studies adopted the exclusive culture-based technique, while in recent years PCR and RNA sequencing based on 16S rRNA were the most used technique. Regardless of the anatomical site under investigation, the Lactobacillus-dominated flora seems to play a pivotal role in determining fertility, and in particular Lactobacillus crispatus showed a central role. Nonetheless, the presence of pathogens in the genital tract, such as Chlamydia trachomatis, Gardnerella vaginalis, Ureaplasma species, and Gram-negative stains microorganism, affected fertility also in case of asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis (BV). We failed to identify descriptive or comparative studies regarding tubal microbiome. The microbiome of the genital tract plays a pivotal role in fertility, also in case of ARTs. The standardization of the sampling methods and investigations approaches is warranted to stratify the fertility potential and its subsequent treatment. Prospective tubal microbiome studies are warranted.