Adsorption of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Aged Harbor Sediments

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of hydrophobic organic contaminants which have low aqueous solubilities and are common pollutants in harbor sediments. Adsorption and desorption isotherms for PAHs are conducted to study the abiotic sorption of PAHs in uncontaminated harbor sediments in contact with the natural overlaying water. Representative 2-, 3-, and 4-ring PAHs are used to obtain PAH adsorption/desorption data. Linear adsorption onto sediment is obtained for the following PAHs: Naphthalene and 2-methyl naphthalene (2 ring), acenaphthene, anthracene, and phenanthrene (3 ring), and fluoranthene and pyrene (4 ring). Linear adsorption is followed by a significant hysteresis in desorption from sediment, due to strong retention by the aged sediment organic carbon. Sediment organic carbon–water partition coefficients (log?Koc) for the seven PAHs range from 2.49 to 4.63. Based on the sorption data for these representative PAHs, sediment organic carbon–water partition coefficients may be predicted for other PAH compounds, particularly the less soluble and the more hydrophobic PAHs (5 or more rings).     

Effect of different extraction agents on metal and organic contaminant removal from a field soil

This paper presents an evaluation of different extracting solutions for the removal of phenanthrene, lead and zinc from a contaminated soil obtained from a former manufactured gas plant site. The field soil contained 50%-88% sand, 11%-35% fines, 2.7%-3.7% organic matter and high concentrations of phenanthrene (260 mg/kg), lead (50.6 mg/kg) and zinc (84.4 mg/kg). A series of batch extraction experiments were conducted using the field soil with different extracting solutions at various concentrations to investigate the removal efficiency and to optimize the concentration of each extractant. The results showed that removal efficiencies of different flushing systems were significantly influenced by their affinity and selectivity for the contaminants in the soil matrix. Non-ionic surfactants (Igepal CA720 and Tween 80) were found to be effective in removing phenanthrene, but they were ineffective in removing lead and zinc. Chelating agents (ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid, EDTA and diethylene triamine penta acetic acid, DTPA) and selected acids were effective in removing lead and zinc, but they were ineffective for the phenanthrene removal. Co-solvents and cyclodextrins were not effective for removal of any of the contaminants. A sequential use of the 0.2 M EDTA followed by 5% Tween 80 or 5% Tween 80 followed by 1 M citric acid was found to be effective for the removal of lead, zinc, and phenanthrene. Overall, it can be concluded that sequential use of different extracting solutions is required for the removal of both heavy metals and organics from field contaminated silty sand soils.     

Cyclodextrin-Enhanced Electrokinetic Remediation of Soils Contaminated with 2,4-Dinitrotoluene

The removal of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), a munitions waste constituent and an industrial intermediate, from contaminated soils was evaluated using enhanced electrokinetic (EK) remediation. Two model soils were spiked with 480?mg of 2,4-DNT/kg of dry soil for the EK experiments. The spiked soils were kaolin, a low-buffering clayey soil, and glacial till, a high-buffering silty soil. The glacial till was obtained from a field site and contained 2.8% organic matter. Deionized (DI) water and cyclodextrin solutions were used as the EK purging solutions. Cyclodextrin was selected as a nonhazardous solubility enhancer for enhancing the desorption and removal of 2,4-DNT from soils in EK remediation. Two aqueous solutions of hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin (HPCD) at concentrations of 1 and 2% were selected for kaolin and glacial till, respectively, based on results for batch extraction of 2,4-DNT from the same soils. During the EK experiments, greater current and electro-osmotic flow were observed for HPCD solutions than for DI water. After the completion of the EK experiments, the soils in the EK cell were extruded and the residual 2,4-DNT in the soils was determined. Less 2,4-DNT remained in the kaolin soil (up to 94% transformed) than in the glacial till soil (20% transformed) due to strong retention of 2,4-DNT by the soil organic matter in glacial till. For kaolin, less 2,4-DNT remained in the soil using HPCD solutions than using DI water. For glacial till, comparable levels of 2,4-DNT remained in the soil for both EK solutions. Since no 2,4-DNT was detected in the effluents from the EK cells, the decrease in 2,4-DNT concentration in the kaolin and glacial till soils was attributed to electrochemical transformation of 2,4-DNT to other species.     

A novel aqueous micellar two-phase system composed of surfactant and mannitol for purification of polygalacturonase enzyme from Durio zibethinus Murray and recycling phase components

A novel aqueous micellar two-phase system composed of surfactant and mannitol was employed for the first time to purify polygalacturonase from Durio zibethinus Murray. The influences of different parameters such as type of surfactants, composition of surfactant/mannitol, pH and crude load on polygalacturonase partitioning were investigated. The results indicated that the polygalacturonase was recovered in 25% Tween 80 and 22% mannitol, at 68.2% of Tie line length, crude load of 30% at pH 5.0. The enzyme was successfully recovered with a high purification factor of 16.1 and yield of 97.3% while phase components were also recovered and recycled above 95%.     

GVSEE: A Global Village Service Effort Estimator to Estimate Software Services Development Effort

As software services have become a main and basic part of companies in recent years, accurate and efficient estimates of required effort for their development has turned into a major concern. Furthermore, the great variety, complexity, nonnormality, and inconsistency of software services have made estimation of the needed development effort a very difficult task. In spite of the numerous studies conducted, and improvements made, in the past, no single model has yet been introduced that can reliably estimate the required effort. All the proposed methods enjoy suitable performance under specific conditions but lack satisfactory accuracy in a general and global space. Therefore, apparently, it is impossible to introduce a global and efficient model for all types of services. This article proposes a new model called GVSEE that emphasizes the idea “Think locally, act globally.” Unlike previous studies, this model does not rely on a specific method and, in addition to combining methods, takes a local look at each software service with the help of fuzzy clustering. The model was evaluated on the real dataset ISBSG and on two artificial datasets, and results obtained indicate its tangible efficiency and the lack of accuracy of other models. As well as its greater accuracy, other advantages of the proposed model over other models are its adaptability and flexibility in confronting complexities and uncertainties present in the area of software services.     

Optimization of Serine Protease Purification from Mango (Mangifera indica cv. Chokanan) Peel in Polyethylene Glycol/Dextran Aqueous Two Phase System

Mango peel is a good source of protease but remains an industrial waste. This study focuses on the optimization of polyethylene glycol (PEG)/dextran-based aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) to purify serine protease from mango peel. The activity of serine protease in different phase systems was studied and then the possible relationship between the purification variables, namely polyethylene glycol molecular weight (PEG, 4000-12,000 g·mol(-1)), tie line length (-3.42-35.27%), NaCl (-2.5-11.5%) and pH (4.5-10.5) on the enzymatic properties of purified enzyme was investigated. The most significant effect of PEG was on the efficiency of serine protease purification. Also, there was a significant increase in the partition coefficient with the addition of 4.5% of NaCl to the system. This could be due to the high hydrophobicity of serine protease compared to protein contaminates. The optimum conditions to achieve high partition coefficient (84.2) purification factor (14.37) and yield (97.3%) of serine protease were obtained in the presence of 8000 g·mol(-1) of PEG, 17.2% of tie line length and 4.5% of NaCl at pH 7.5. The enzymatic properties of purified serine protease using PEG/dextran ATPS showed that the enzyme could be purified at a high purification factor and yield with easy scale-up and fast processing.     

Determination of Proper Austenitization Temperatures for Hot Stamping of AISI 4140 Steel

High strength steels are desirable materials for use in automobile bodies in order to reduce vehicle weight and increase the safety of car passengers, but steel grades with high strength commonly show poor formability. Recently, steels with controlled microstructures and compositions are used to gain adequate strength after hot stamping while maintaining good formability during processing. In this study, microstructure evolutions and changes in mechanical properties of AISI 4140 steel sheets resulting from the hot stamping process at different austenitization temperatures were investigated. To determine the proper austenitization temperatures, the results were compared with those of the cold-worked and cold-worked plus quench-tempered specimens. Comparisons showed that the austenitization temperatures of 1000 and 1100 °C are proper for hot stamping of 3-mm-thick AISI 4140 steel sheets due to the resultant martensitic microstructure which led to the yield and ultimate tensile strength of 1.3 and 2.1 GPa, respectively. Such conditions resulted in more favorable simultaneous strength and elongation than those of hot-stamped conventional boron steels.     

Optimisation of freeze drying conditions for purified serine protease from mango (Mangifera indicaCv. Chokanan) peel

This study investigated the possible relationship between the encapsulation variables, namely serine protease content (9–50 mg/ml, X₁), Arabic gum (0.2–10% (w/w), X₂), maltodextrin (2–5% (w/w), X₃) and calcium chloride (1.3–5.5% (w/w), X₄) on the enzymatic properties of encapsulated serine protease. The study demonstrated that Arabic gum, maltodextrin and calcium chloride, as coating agents, protected serine protease from activity loss during freeze-drying. The overall optimum region resulted in a suitable freeze drying condition with a yield of 92% for the encapsulated serine protease, were obtained using 29.5 mg/ml serine protease content, 5.1% (w/w) Arabic gum, 3.5% (w/w) maltodextrin and 3.4% (w/w) calcium chloride. It was found that the interaction effect of Arabic gum and calcium chloride improved the serine protease activity, and Arabic gum was the most effective amongst the examined coating agents. Thus, Arabic gum should be considered as potential protection in freeze drying of serine protease.     

Effects of Axonal Demyelination,Inflammatory Cytokines and Divalent Cation Chelators on Thalamic HCN Channels and Oscillatory Bursting

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that is characterized by the progressive loss of oligodendrocytes and myelin and is associated with thalamic dysfunction. Cuprizone (CPZ)-induced general demyelination in rodents is a valuable model for studying different aspects of MS pathology. CPZ feeding is associated with the altered distribution and expression of different ion channels along neuronal somata and axons. However, it is largely unknown whether the copper chelator CPZ directly influences ion channels. Therefore, we assessed the effects of different divalent cations (copper; zinc) and trace metal chelators (EDTA; Tricine; the water-soluble derivative of CPZ, BiMPi) on hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels that are major mediators of thalamic function and pathology. In addition, alterations of HCN channels induced by CPZ treatment and MS-related proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β; IL-6; INF-α; INF-β) were characterized in C57Bl/6J mice. Thus, the hyperpolarization-activated inward current (I_h) was recorded in thalamocortical (TC) neurons and heterologous expression systems (mHCN2 expressing HEK cells; hHCN4 expressing oocytes). A number of electrophysiological characteristics of I_h (potential of half-maximal activation (V_0.5); current density; activation kinetics) were unchanged following the extracellular application of trace metals and divalent cation chelators to native neurons, cell cultures or oocytes. Mice were fed a diet containing 0.2% CPZ for 35 days, resulting in general demyelination in the brain. Withdrawal of CPZ from the diet resulted in rapid remyelination, the effects of which were assessed at three time points after stopping CPZ feeding (Day1, Day7, Day25). In TC neurons, I_h was decreased on Day1 and Day25 and revealed a transient increased availability on Day7. In addition, we challenged naive TC neurons with INF-α and IL-1β. It was found that I_h parameters were differentially altered by the application of the two cytokines to thalamic cells, while IL-1β increased the availability of HCN channels (depolarized V_0.5; increased current density) and the excitability of TC neurons (depolarized resting membrane potential (RMP); increased the number of action potentials (APs); produced a larger voltage sag; promoted higher input resistance; increased the number of burst spikes; hyperpolarized the AP threshold), INF-α mediated contrary effects. The effect of cytokine modulation on thalamic bursting was further assessed in horizontal slices and a computational model of slow thalamic oscillations. Here, IL-1β and INF-α increased and reduced oscillatory bursting, respectively. We conclude that HCN channels are not directly modulated by trace metals and divalent cation chelators but are subject to modulation by different MS-related cytokines.