Heavy metal contamination in food crops remains a critical environmental and public health issue, particularly for cadmium (Cd2+) and copper (Cu2+), which can accumulate through soil, water, and agricultural inputs. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was prepared via boric acid-assisted thermal reduction of graphene oxide followed by acid washing. A boron-doped reduced graphene oxide modified graphite electrode (rGO/GE) was then fabricated and applied for the sensitive voltammetric determination of Cd2+ and Cu2+ in jasmine rice using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) coupled with a standard addition technique. DPASV analysis included immersion of the rGO/GE and the deposition of target metal ions (Cd2+ and Cu2+) and bismuth onto the electrode surface. The synthesized GO and rGO were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-vis spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS). Results confirmed the complete reduction of GO to rGO using boric acid as the reducing agent. The method showed excellent reproducibility and sensitivity, with limits of detection (LODs) of 30 µg/L for Cd2⁺ and 0.05 µg/L for Cu2⁺. Electrochemical analysis results show that the actual concentrations of Cd2+ and Cu2+ in Royal Umbrella brand jasmine rice were 0.46 ± 0.01 mg/kg and 1.16 ± 0.06 mg/kg, respectively. The results were validated using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), which provided relative differences of 0.00
Cellular senescence is a multifaceted stress response marked by stable proliferative arrest and the secretion of diverse biologically active factors, collectively known as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). The senescent phenotype is remarkably variable and subject to various regulatory influences. We previously demonstrated that mitochondrial dysfunction induced by diverse stimuli, including the loss of sirtuin 3 (SIRT3), leads to the hyperactivation of AMPK and p53, culminating in senescence while concurrently suppressing much of the proinflammatory SASP. Here, we extend our findings by revealing that the absence of SIRT3 can suppress segments of the SASP even in the absence of p53. Intriguingly, SIRT3 deficiency renders cells resistant to stimulation by exogenous cytokines, such as interleukin-1. Fibroblasts derived from Sirt3 knockout mice exhibit a diminished SASP, including reduced levels of Pdgfa, and these mice display impaired wound healing and a more expansive granulation area. Furthermore, aged Sirt3 knockout mice show disrupted patterns of senescence relative to wild type controls, including increases in senescence markers in adipose tissue, but surprisingly also decreases in liver and heart. Collectively, these data underscore a role for SIRT3 in orchestrating cellular senescence phenotypes, shedding light on its regulatory influence beyond the p53-dependent pathway.
Pure and silver-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized via phytomediation using Stachytarpheta jamaicensis leaf extract to develop an eco-friendly method for synthesizing nanoparticles with enhanced properties. Zinc nitrate and silver nitrate were employed as precursors for ZnO and Ag-doped ZnO nanoparticles, respectively. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) to investigate their optical and morphological properties. Results revealed that the absorption peaks of the synthesized nanoparticles confirmed the formation of nanoparticles, with Ag doping causing a red shift in the absorption spectrum. SEM images indicated a spherical morphology, with slight agglomeration in the doped samples. Doping with silver enhanced the optical properties, which could have potential applications in catalysis, sensing, and biomedical fields. Furthermore, the nanoparticle extracts were subjected to antimicrobial test against two bacterial strains (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) using a modified disk diffusion method and compared with the antibacterial effect with the standard antibacterial drug, Ampicillin. Ampicillin only showed antibacterial activity against S. aureus and had no antibacterial effect on E. coli. Result of this study showed that the 5% and 10% Ag-doped ZnO NPs showed strong antibacterial activity against both gram-positive (S. aureus) and gram-negative (E. coli) bacterial strains.
BACKGROUND:Traditional disability studies often overlook children with disabilities, their families, and communities from analytical processes, particularly in low-resource settings. This methodological paper describes co-analysis conducted across virtual spaces with marginalized stakeholders as partners in data interpretation, examining whether participatory approaches can address epistemic injustices while navigating resource constraints in urban Philippine communities. METHODS:Children were engaged in data-gathering through a mosaic approach (storytelling, drawing, photo elicitation, interview) across 24 individual virtual sessions, while adults participated in eight (8) online focus groups. We employed a four-pronged co-analysis approach with 49 participants from a community-based rehabilitation (CBR) program for urban low-resource communities: eight (8) children with disabilities aged 9-16 years, 18 parents, nine (9) CBR workers, and 14 local organization members. The co-analysis approach comprised: (1) participant-directed methodology, (2) grassroots epistemology, (3) iterative partnership building, and (4) collective reflexivity addressing researcher positionality. RESULTS:Co-analysis revealed four insights. First, layered accessibility is essential for inclusion, combining universal design with disability-specific scaffolding. Second, co-analysis itself creates hierarchies as analytical frameworks privilege certain cognitive and communication abilities despite accessibility adaptations. We argue for epistemic pluralism, recognizing different ways of analytical contribution. Third, virtual spaces generated different hierarchies rather than eliminating them. Fourth, structural inequities persisted despite methodological innovation, as digital access, economic precarity, and cognitive demands reproduced exclusions our methodology aimed to dismantle. CONCLUSIONS:Achieving epistemic justice through co-analysis requires institutional resources, researcher humility that values diverse analytical contributions, and acknowledgment that participatory methods may expand access but cannot overcome structural inequalities without concurrent shifts in power and resources.
Our paper explores the informative power of artificial brightness, derived from meteorological satellites, in determining land values at the city-level from 1997 to 2012 in the Philippines. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to do so, thereby, contributing to the literature and to the real estate development in the country. We construct innovative longitudinal data, which captures both the temporal and spatial effects of night-time lights (NTL) intensity on zonal values. Our fixed effects panel estimates support the findings in the existing literature with caveats. The relationship between NTL and land values is nuanced and heterogenous conditional on the level of brightness and the type of land. NTL has a quadratic concave-downward effect on residential land values while a linear positive effect on commercial zonal values. The results could be attributed to the diminishing returns to urbanization, which NTL intensity is proxying for, light pollution, and signal saturation. Our results highlight the relevance of incorporating remotely sensed earth observations into the country's cadastral and land tax systems. This process has the potential to contribute to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as building resilient communities and infrastructures, and reducing inequality (SDGs 9, 10 and 11).
