Usha Martin University

Microalgae are increasingly recognized not only as producers of bio-based compounds but also as promising agents for wastewater remediation. Their ability to assimilate organic and inorganic nutrients, coupled with the potential for metal removal, makes them suitable candidates for sustainable water treatment. In particular, mixotrophic microalgae can utilize both organic and inorganic carbon sources, along with nitrogen and phosphorus, thereby reducing the concentration of pollutants in wastewater. Conventional primary and secondary treatments are often insufficient to eliminate residual nutrients, metals, and toxic compounds, leading to secondary pollution. In this study, the phycoremediation potential of Desmodesmus subspicatus and Tetradesmus obliquus, two freshwater microalgae, was investigated. Both species demonstrated high efficiency in reducing pH, chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. The findings highlight the dual benefit of these microalgae in nutrient recovery and metal removal, emphasizing their role as sustainable alternatives to conventional tertiary and quaternary wastewater treatment methods.

Tuberculosis (TB) persists as a global threat, worsened by MDR/XDR strains. Conventional therapies suffer from poor compliance, toxicity, and targeting. Nanotechnology-driven systems enhance bioavailability, targeting, and treatment efficacy. This review explores recent advances in novel drug delivery carriers for TB, emphasising clinical trial progress and global patent trends. It highlights key innovations, emerging patterns, and existing translational gaps in the field. A thorough literature search (March 1, 2020-March 1, 2025) across major databases (PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, ClinicalTrials.gov, Google Patents) is conducted to compile recent data on nano-formulations for TB treatment. The review highlights key Novel drug delivery carriers (NDCs) and others-as promising TB treatments. Patent trends show growing global interest, particularly from countries such as India, the United States, and China. NDCs offer transformative potential for TB treatment, addressing traditional therapy limits. Advancing research and patents show growing adoption, clinical success studies and scalable production.

Introduction: This review evaluates micro novel carriers (MNCs) like microspheres, microcapsules, microparticles, microemulsions, and lipid-based microparticles for enhancing Tuberculosis (TB) treatment by improving drug targeting, reducing toxicity, and combating drug resistance. TB, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), remains a global health challenge due to lengthy treatment, drug resistance, and limited drug access. Conventional treatments may not reach effective levels at the infection site, necessitating the development of microcarriers for precise and potent drug delivery. Methodology: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using databases like Pub- Med/PMC, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science covering research from the past 5 years (2020 to 2025). The criteria for selection included studies focused on the formulation, characterization, in vitro and in vivo assessments, as well as the clinical significance of innovative MNCs in TB treatment. Additionally, reviews of clinical trials and patent information were incorporated for translational understanding. Results: The research indicated that innovative carriers enhance drug delivery by improving pharmacokinetics, targeting alveolar macrophages, and facilitating controlled release. Recent developments feature microspheres for isoniazid (INH), microcapsules for rifampicin (RIF), and lipid-core microparticles for various medications, resulting in improved bioavailability, less frequent dosing, and minimized side effects in preclinical evaluations. Discussion: An analysis of the existing evidence has shown that MNCs possess considerable potential to overcome the pharmacological and therapeutic challenges associated with current TB treatment regimens. Their distinct structural and compositional diversity allows for the encapsulation of both hydrophilic and lipophilic anti-TB medications, which improves stability, solubility, and prolonged release. Furthermore, ligand-functionalized and inhalable microcarriers exhibit enhanced uptake by macrophages, targeted delivery to the lungs, and minimized systemic toxicity. Additionally, patents and new clinical trial findings underscore their practical applicability, although obstacles persist in terms of large-scale manufacturing, regulatory approval, and cost-effectiveness. Conclusion: MNCs can overcome TB treatment challenges by improving drug stability, solubility, and sustained release. Ligand-functionalized and inhalable carriers enhance macrophage uptake, targeted lung delivery, and reduce systemic toxicity. Patents and clinical data support their applicability, though large-scale production and regulatory approval remain challenges. MNCs offer a promising platform for targeted TB therapy, overcoming conventional treatment drawbacks. Further research is needed to confirm their safety, scalability, and effectiveness in human populations.

A BSTRACT Background: Neuropathic pain (NP) is a long-lasting condition caused by damage or disease affecting the somatosensory system. Although the Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) is a frequently employed diagnostic tool, a validated Kannada version has yet to be developed. Objective: This study intended to validate the Kannada version of the DN4 (KN-DN4) to accurately identify NP in Kannada speakers. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional validation study involved 290 participants (155 with NPP and 135 with non-neuropathic pain). The KN-DN4 underwent linguistic adaptation, cognitive debriefing, and expert face validation. Two trained raters independently administered the questionnaire, and reliability, validity, and factorial structure were evaluated. Results: The KN-DN4 exhibited strong internal consistency with a Cronbach’s α of 0.85, along with outstanding inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.91) and test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.89). Patients with NP had considerably higher scores than those without (5.9 ± 1.3 vs. 1.7 ± 1.1, P < 0.001), indicating construct validity. Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy (Area under the curve [AUC] =0.92), with 85.8% sensitivity and 81.5% specificity. Convergent validity was supported by correlations with Visual Analog Scale ( r = 0.62) and SF-MPQ sensory scores ( r = 0.68). Factor analysis identified a two-factor solution reflecting symptoms and clinical signs. Conclusion: The KN-DN4 has demonstrated strong reliability and validity for diagnosing NP among Kannada-speaking patients, making it appropriate for application in both clinical practice and research contexts.

Sociotechnical systems shape not only immediate outcomes but also the range of futures that individuals and communities can realistically pursue. Existing ethical frameworks articulate important principles such as autonomy, fairness, non-maleficence, accountability, and capability, yet they generally do not provide a transparent computational method for comparing alternative system designs according to how they preserve or expand ethically acceptable future opportunities. This paper introduces Possibility Ethics, a conceptual-computational framework for evaluating sociotechnical systems through their effect on distinct, viable, and ethically admissible future option classes. Its central quantity, Option Entropy, is a logarithmic opportunity index rather than Shannon entropy, Ωᵢᵈ = log(κ + Kᵢᵈ) − log κ, where Kᵢᵈ denotes the number of outcome-distinct admissible option classes available to cohort i under design d after viability and harm screening. The framework integrates deterministic outcome clustering, vulnerability-sensitive aggregation, subgroup protection, cohort-level non-regression safeguards, and a procedural requirement of Option Repair when identifiable opportunity losses occur. We provide explicit formal definitions and establish guarded monotonicity, duplication invariance, diminishing marginal opportunity growth, finite perturbation stability, and a logarithmic characterization theorem under an explicit independent-composition axiom. The computational framework is implemented in the reproducible Omega-PE software toolkit and archived as a versioned software artifact. Evaluation combines a reproducible synthetic benchmark with a real observational audit using the Open University Learning Analytics Dataset (OULAD), demonstrating that the framework identifies distributional opportunity losses that remain hidden under aggregate measures. In the synthetic sensitivity analysis, the preferred design remains first throughout the declared parameter grid, although secondary rankings change under some settings. Rather than replacing moral or political reasoning, Possibility Ethics is proposed as a transparent, reproducible, and auditable decision-support framework for evaluating opportunity structures in AI-supported and other sociotechnical systems.