Pharmaceuticals Removal by Adsorption with Montmorillonite Nanoclay

The problem of purifying domestic and hospital wastewater from pharmaceutical compounds is becoming more and more urgent every year, because of the continuous accumulation of chemical pollutants in the environment and the limited availability of freshwater resources. Clay adsorbents have been repeatedly proposed as adsorbents for treatment purposes, but natural clays are hydrophilic and can be inefficient for catching hydrophobic pharmaceuticals. In this paper, a comparison of adsorption properties of pristine montmorillonite (MMT) and montmorillonite modified with stearyl trimethyl ammonium (hydrophobic MMT-STA) towards carbamazepine, ibuprofen, and paracetamol pharmaceuticals was performed. The efficiency of adsorption was investigated under varying solution pH, temperature, contact time, initial concentration of pharmaceuticals, and adsorbate/adsorbent mass ratio. MMT-STA was better than pristine MMT at removing all the pharmaceuticals studied. The adsorption capacity of hydrophobic montmorillonite to pharmaceuticals decreased in the following order: carbamazepine (97%) > ibuprofen (95%) > paracetamol (63–67%). Adsorption isotherms were best described by Freundlich model. Within the pharmaceutical concentration range of 10–50 µg/mL, the most optimal mass ratio of adsorbates to adsorbents was 1:300, pH 6, and a temperature of 25 °C. Thus, MMT-STA could be used as an efficient adsorbent for deconta×ating water of carbamazepine, ibuprofen, and paracetamol.     

Modelling of Drop Size Distribution of Rain from Rain Rate and Attenuation Measurements at Millimeter and Optical Wavelengths

This paper describes a technique for modelling of rain drop size distributions at Calcutta in terms of negative exponential function, from the measurements of rain rate and attenuation over a dual wavelength LOS link at millimeter and optical frequencies. The DSD model obtained is then used to determine the attenuation at 94 GHz, for comparison with experimentally obtained attenuation at 94 GHz. This is also compared with the attenuation calculated by considering other experimentally obtained DSD models. The best fit negative exponential distribution function (modified M-P model) is presented along with some other experimentally obtained and reference models.     

Oily water treatment using a new steady-state fiber-bed coalescer

This study was concerned with the possibility of oil separation from two heavily polluted wastewater types: formation water and wastewater from hardening shop, using bed a newly developed coalescer. Experiments were carried out using original wastewaters and an artificial model wastewater. Results obtained for seven samples of formation water of very different quality showed that the water properties had no significant effect on bed coalescence efficiency. In contrast to this, crude oil properties strongly influenced steady-state bed coalescence. In the treatment of hardening oily wastewater in situ during a 4-month period oil concentration in the effluent was less than 20mg/l in all experiments. It appeared that oil concentration and water quality had no effect on bed separation efficiency. Special design of the coalescer and use of two filter materials ensured its good performance. Namely, the pipe-in-pipe construction provided the water orientation change several times while passing through the unit, making inertia one of dominant separation mechanisms.     

Influence of pyrometallurgical copper production on the environment

In this paper the influence of pyrometallurgical treatment of copper sulphide minerals and pyrite on the environment from the aspect of ambient air pollutions is considered. Results of emission of SO(2) and particulate matter from the location with the most pollution are presented. According to the results it could be seen that the Bor's citizen were exposed to the high concentration of SO(2) and arsenic which were found to be multiple over the Serbian legislative limits during 2007. Also, the reasons and consequences of this pollution were analysed.     

Antifungal efficiency of corona pretreated polyester and polyamide fabrics loaded with Ag nanoparticles

This study discusses the possibility of using the corona (electric discharge at atmospheric pressure) treatment for fiber surface activation that can facilitate the loading of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) from colloids onto the polyester and polyamide fabrics and thus enhance their antifungal activity against Candida albicans. The laundering durability of achieved effects and the influence of dyeing of fabrics with disperse dyes on their antifungal efficiency were studied. The morphology of fibers loaded with Ag nanoparticles was characterized by SEM whereas X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used for the evaluation of surface chemical changes. Corona pretreated polyester and polyamide fabrics loaded with Ag nanoparticles showed better antifungal properties compared to untreated fabrics. The advantage of corona treated fabrics became even more prominent after washing test, particularly for polyester fabrics. Antifungal efficiency of polyester and polyamide fabrics loaded with Ag nanoparticles were almost unaffected by dyeing process.     

Study of residual elastic- and plastic-deformation in uniaxial tensile strained nickel-based Alloy 600 samples by polychromatic X-ray microdiffraction (PXM) and neutron diffraction methods

In order to assess the reliability of the relatively new polychromatic X-ray microdiffraction (PXM) method for measuring the magnitude and distribution of mechanical strains, PXM and the traditional technique—neutron diffraction measurements were made on the gauge section of an uniaxially 1% strained Alloy 600 tensile specimen and an unstressed sample of the same alloy. The average strain magnitudes for the grains analyzed by PXM were found to be similar with those measured from neutron diffraction within the large experimental uncertainty. Of particular interest was the behavior of dislocations in opposing grains across grain boundaries of differing orientations, which was studied by comparing the elongation and splitting of PXM spots. Similar dislocation densities, operating on the similar slip systems, were found on both sides of 60° boundaries, while considerable differences in the degree of elongation and splitting of diffraction spots occurred between grains with other misorientation angles.     

How much do I tell thee? Strategies for managing information to parents among American adolescents from Chinese, Mexican, and European backgrounds.

Strategies for managing information about activities to parents, including partial disclosure, avoidance, lying, and full disclosure, were examined in 479 American adolescents (M = 16.38 years, SD = 0.77) varying in generational status and from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds. Information management strategies for personal, prudential, and overlapping (multifaceted) activities as defined within social domain theory were examined. With age, parental education, and generational status controlled, Chinese American adolescents partially disclosed more to mothers about personal and multifaceted activities than did Mexican American adolescents and more to fathers about personal activities than did European American teens. In contrast, European and Mexican American adolescents fully disclosed more to mothers about personal activities than did Chinese-origin adolescents. Strategies varied by generation among Chinese American youth; second-generation adolescents avoided discussing activities with parents more than did immigrants. Adolescents who fully disclosed about all activities and lied less about multifaceted and personal activities reported stronger endorsement of obligations to assist their families, more trust in parents, and less problem behavior. More depressed mood was associated with more lying about personal activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The working alliance and employment outcomes for people with severe mental illness enrolled in vocational programs.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the working alliance and employment outcomes in persons with severe mental illness receiving vocational services. Another purpose of this study was to determine whether working alliance differences exist between clients receiving evidence-based supported employment services and those receiving traditional stepwise vocational services. Design: This study was a secondary analysis of a 2-year randomized controlled trial comparing two employment programs providing services to people with severe mental illness. Results: Contrary to expectations, no overall relationship was found between the working alliance and employment outcomes. As predicted, supported employment participants each assigned to a single vocational worker had more positive working alliances than participants served by a team of vocational workers in the traditional vocational program. Conclusions/Implications: The lack of an association between the working alliance and employment outcomes is inconsistent with previous literature. Further research is needed using standardized working alliance measures and larger samples that include both working and nonworking clients. Evidence-based supported employment, which employs individual caseloads, seems to foster better relationships than a team-based vocational approach, although future research is needed to replicate this finding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contribution of marine and continental aerosols to the content of major ions in the precipitation of the central Mediterranean

The region of the investigated receptor is situated in the southern part of the Adriatic Sea in the Mediterranean. The measuring station is located on the seashore, which, being considered as a border area, is representative for the qualitative and quantitative estimation of the influence of marine and continental aerosols on the content of major ions in precipitation. In the sampling period, precipitation in the region of the investigated receptor was more abundant during the summer and autumn than during the winter and spring. The most frequent precipitation heights were up to 20 mm, while high precipitation came exclusively from the continental region. The results of the measurements of ions readily soluble in water were used for the differentiation of marine from continental contributions of primary and secondary aerosols to their content in the precipitation. Using PCA, it was shown that main contribution of Cl(-), Na(+) and Mg(2+) came from primary marine aerosols, while the contribution from continental sources was dominant for the content of SO(4)(2-), NO(3)(-), NH(4)(+) and Ca(2+) in the precipitation. The continental origin of Ca(2+) was from a primary source, while SO(4)(2-), NO(3)(-) and NH(4)(+) were representatives of secondary aerosols produced by reactions between acid oxides and alkaline species in the atmosphere, but SO(4)(2-) and NO(3)(-) also exist in the precipitation as free acids. The origin of the trace elements Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in the precipitation came from anthropogenic emission sources. The results obtained in this work are based on experimental data from 609 samples collected during the period 1995-2000.     

Numerical Modelling of Damage Response of Layered Composite Plates

The paper addresses the problem of impact on layered fibre composites. The behaviour of composite laminates under impact loading is dependent not only on the velocity but also on the mass and geometry of the impactor. Using micromechanical Mori-Tanaka approach, mechanical properties of the laminate have been calculated utilizing the material constants of the fibre and matrix. General purpose FEM software ABAQUS has been modified by means of user written subroutines for modelling of composite laminate and rigid impactor. The kinematics of the impact has been simulated using transient dynamic analysis. Employing user defined multi point constraints, delamination zones have been modeled and visualised