Treatment of landfill leachate using Fenton process and coagulation/flocculation

Coagulation/flocculation process, Fenton oxidation and combinations between them were studied, aiming to provide an efficient method for the treatment of partially stabilized leachates. Leachates were collected from a municipal landfill site, samples containing around 3800 mg/L COD, BOD₅/COD ratio about 0.11 and pH around 8. The sequence of stages implemented was: (a) coagulation/flocculation; (b) Fenton oxidation; (c) coagulation/flocculation followed by Fenton oxidation which resulted in a best COD removal (63.62%) and (d) Fenton oxidation followed by coagulation/flocculation.     

Electroconvulsive shocks exacerbate the heightened acoustic startle response in stressed rats.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been successfully used in the treatment of depression, particularly when the illness is refractory to pharmacological therapy. A recent study has shown that ECT is also effective in reducing both depressive and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in patients with major depression (MDD) and co-occurring PTSD. This raises the possibility that ECT might be effective in the treatment of PTSD, a disease whose prevalence has increased substantially in recent years. A characteristic symptom of PTSD is an exaggerated reactivity to startling sounds (acoustic startle response; ASR). In the present study, we investigated the effects of electroconvulsive shocks (ECS) on the ASR, in a rat model of traumatic stress. The animals were subjected to a restraint/tailshock paradigm and then administered ECS. ASR measurements were obtained at several time points following ECS administration. Although ECS had no effect in control rats, it significantly exacerbated the already potentiated ASR in the stressed group. While ECT may prove to be an effective treatment for certain symptoms of co-occurring MDD/PTSD or PTSD alone, it may exacerbate heightened arousal associated with PTSD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

System identification of a class of Wiener systems with hysteretic nonlinearities

Existing works on Wiener system identification have essentially been focused on the case where the output nonlinearity is memoryless. When memory nonlinearities have been considered, the focus has been restricted to backlash like nonlinearities. In this paper, we are considering Wiener systems where the output nonlinearity is a general hysteresis operator captured by the well‐known Bouc–Wen model. The Wiener system identification problem is addressed by making use of a steady‐state property, obtained in periodic regime, referred to as ‘hysteretic loop assumption’. The complexity of this problem comes from the system nonlinearity as well as its unknown parameters that enter in a non‐affine way in the model. It is shown that the linear part of the system is accurately identified using a frequency method. Then, the nonlinear hysteretic subsystem is identified, on the basis of a parameterized representation, using a prediction‐error approach. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of operating parameters on hydrogen production by electrolysis of water

This paper presents an experimental study of hydrogen production by alkaline water electrolysis using Zinc alloys as materials for cathode. The aim of this study is to select the best alloy for producing hydrogen on testing the effect of some operating parameters. Experiments were conducted on a water electrolysis cell with two electrodes (anode/cathode). Throughout these experiments, we have chosen to use NaOH solution with different concentrations as an electrolyte. Binary alloys: Zn95%Fe5%, Zn90%Fe10%, Zn85%Fe15%, Zn95%Cu5%, Zn90%Cu10%, Zn85%Cu15%, Zn95%Co5%, Zn90%Co10%, Zn95%Cr5% and Zn90%Cr10% (mass %) were prepared as electrodes for the cathode. The effect of electrode composition, the electrolyte concentration, the voltage and amperage applied on volume of hydrogen produced are experimentally investigated. The results showed that the performance of alkaline water electrolysis is significantly affected by these various factors. Indeed, this preliminary study revealed that cathodes elaborated by (Zn95%Cr5%) and (Zn90%Cr10%) (mass %) produce more hydrogen gas than other alloys, in a minimum durations over the range of operating parameters tested.     

Transesterification of oil extracted from freshwater algae for biodiesel production

Currently, energy crisis is a burning issue throughout the world, particularly in underdeveloped countries like Pakistan where the demand of conventional fuels has been increasing day by day. The main objective of this project was the production of biodiesel from Algae. Samples of freshwater were collected. The Chlorella species produced 6.26 g oil from 38.23 g of dry weight and the Oedogonium species produced 8.07 g of oil from 38.23 g of dried weight. The biomass obtained after oil extraction was 31.97 g from chlorella species and 30.16 g from Oedogonium species. The fatty acids that were displayed by a gas chromatographic machine in chlorella species were capric acid, nanoic acid, arachidonic acid, behenic acid, and erucic acid and in oedogonium species they were capric acid, butyric acid, behenic acid, luric acid, tridecanoic acid, and arachidonic acid.     

Effect of thermal and non-thermal processing on antioxidant potential of cowpea seeds

Legumes are a good source of bioactive components, besides being nutrient dense. These components have antioxidant properties and have a protective role against free radicals. Legumes like cowpeas are usually consumed after certain processing, so the present study was intended to assess antioxidant property of selected four cultivars of cowpea after going through various thermal (autoclaving, microwave, boiling, and roasting) and non-thermal (soaking and fermentation) processings. Thermal processing reduced total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) in all cultivars with respect to antioxidant activity of raw cultivars, while DPPH scavenging activity increased after all thermal treatments excluding few thermal processings. Non-thermal processing revealed increase in TPC, DPPH scavenging activity, and FRAP values, while TFC content showed a decreasing trend. A moderately high correlation between TPC and DPPH scavenging activity was observed in both kinds of thermal treatments indicating the role of phenolic compounds for antioxidant activity. It was concluded from the study that fermentation processing has promising effects on retention and enhancement of antioxidant activity of cowpea cultivars.     

Cloning of oleosin, a putative new hazelnut allergen, using a hazelnut cDNA library

The clinical presentation of non-pollen related allergy to hazelnut can be severe and systemic. So far, only a limited number of non-pollen related hazelnut allergens have been identified and characterized. The aim of this study was to identify and clone new hazelnut allergens. A lambda ZAP cDNA library of hazelnut was constructed. The library was screened with serum of six hazelnut allergic patients displaying different IgE-binding patterns on hazelnut immunoblot. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) protocols were applied to obtain full-length clones. Expression experiments were carried out in Eschericchia coli. Expression was monitored by SDS-PAGE, protein staining and immunoblotting. A hazelnut cDNA library was constructed. IgE screening resulted in the cloning of two isoforms of a novel putative hazelnut allergen. The clones were identified as oleosins, with theoretical molecular masses of 16.7 and 14.7 kDa and pI of 10.5 and 10.0, respectively. The isoforms demonstrated only 37% amino acid sequence identity but contained the typical hydrophobic stretch in the middle of the protein (53% identity) with the characteristic oleosin proline knot region (11/12 amino acids identical). Expression in E. coli of the longer isoform resulted in a clear band on SDS-PAGE. The expressed protein was recognized on an immunodot blot by IgE from serum that was used for screening the cDNA library. Hazelnut contains multiple isoforms of oleosin. IgE binding of a hazelnut-allergic patient to a recombinant version suggest that hazelnut oleosin is an allergen, as has been described for peanut and sesame.     

Determination of inorganic arsenic species (As and As) in muscle tissues of fish species by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS)

Arsenic speciation was carried out in muscle tissues of freshwater fish species. Inorganic arsenic species (As³⁺and As⁵⁺) were extracted with chloroform, prior to microwave assisted digestion with concentrated HClO₄ and Fe₂(SO₄)₃. The extracted As³⁺ and As⁵⁺ were determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). The accuracy of the technique was evaluated by using certified reference material DORM-2. The limit of detection of the method was 0.004 and 0.005 μg/g for As³⁺ and As⁵⁺, respectively. The mean relative standard deviation values (RSD) in real sample analysis were 1.90 and 3.92 for As³⁺ and As⁵⁺, respectively. The results demonstrated the suitability of the procedure for screening and quantification of As species in biological samples. The mean concentration of As³⁺ and As⁵⁺ in muscle tissues of studied fish species ranged from 1.19 to 2.05 and 0.17 to 0.46 μg/g, respectively. The contribution of the daily intake of inorganic As, based on the consumption of 250 g fresh fish muscles/body weight/day was found in the range of 1.21–1.91 μg/kg/day.     

Unraveling the Potential of Innovative Eco-friendly Thermoplastic Starch/SEBS-g-MA/Graphene Oxide Bionanocomposites

The increasing focus on bionanocomposites as environmentally friendly solutions for sustainable applications forms the crux of this study. This study explores the influence of incorporating 2% graphene oxide (GO) on the mechanical and thermal characteristics of blends containing glycerol plasticized thermoplastic starch (TPS) and polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene-graft-maleic anhydride (SEBS-g-MA), based matrix films through a solution casting method. Starch is successfully obtained from three varied sources: corn, cassava, and potato, with confirmation via fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The authors formulate and examine varying proportions of TPS/SEBS-g-MA (ranging from 10 to 50 wt.%), focusing on their biodegradability, and find that a 10 wt.% SEBS-g-MA concentration yields optimal degradation rates, thus this is kept constant. The bionanocomposite films are probed using techniques such as FTIR, XRD, mechanical strength testing, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), water absorption, and biodegradability studies. These results indicate that GO incorporation results in a robust hydrogen bonding network within the cassava starch-based bionanocomposite films, enhancing their mechanical strength while decreasing their moisture absorption. Upgraded thermal properties of these films are also evident from the results. Consequently, these materials show promising utility, particularly in the realm of food packaging.