Performance of the Burwarton Estate Waste Stabilization Ponds

The Burwarton Estate waste stabilization ponds, near Bridgnorth, Shropshire, serve a population of 150. There are three ponds in series: a facultative pond, and two equal maturation ponds, followed by two parallel and alternately used constructed wetland ditches. This paper describes the design of the ponds and reports upon their performance during the first two years of operation.     

Removal of As(V) and Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions using solid waste from leather industry

This study evaluated the feasibility of using a solid waste from the leather industry as an adsorbent for removal of Cr(VI) and As(V) from aqueous media. The adsorbent material was characterized by chemical analyses, infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) prior to reaction in order to assess its surface properties. Langmuir and Freundlich equations were used for analyzing the experimental data, which showed a better fit to the Langmuir model, thus suggesting a monolayer adsorption process in the surface of the adsorbent. The high amounts of Cr(VI)-133 mg g(-1) and As(V)-26 mg g(-1) adsorbed demonstrates the great potential for using this solid waste from the leather industry as a low-cost alternative to the traditionally used adsorbent materials.     

Effect of a weight loss intervention on anthropometric measures and metabolic risk factors in pre- versus postmenopausal women

Background

The present study examines changes in body weight, fat mass, metabolic and hormonal parameters in overweight and obese pre- and postmenopausal women who participated in a weight loss intervention.

Methods

Seventy-two subjects were included in the analysis of this single arm study (premenopausal: 22 women, age 43.7 ± 6.4 years, BMI 31.0 ± 2.4 kg/m²; postmenopausal: 50 women, age 58.2 ± 5.1 years, BMI 32.9 ± 3.7 kg/m²). Weight reduction was achieved by the use of a meal replacement and fat-reduced diet. In addition, from week 6 to 24 participants attended a guided exercise program. Body composition was analyzed with the Bod Pod^®. Blood pressures were taken at every visit and blood was collected at baseline and closeout of the study to evaluate lipids, insulin, cortisol and leptin levels.

Results

BMI, fat mass, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, glucose, leptin and cortisol were higher in the postmenopausal women at baseline. Both groups achieved a substantial and comparable weight loss (pre- vs. postmenopausal: 6.7 ± 4.9 vs 6.7 ± 4.4 kg; n.s.). However, in contrast to premenopausal women, weight loss in postmenopausal women was exclusively due to a reduction of fat mass (-5.3 ± 5.1 vs -6.6 ± 4.1 kg; p < 0.01). In premenopausal women 21% of weight loss was attributed to a reduction in lean body mass. Blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, and glucose improved significantly only in postmenopausal women whereas total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were lowered significantly in both groups.

Conclusion

Both groups showed comparable weight loss and in postmenopausal women weight loss was associated with a pronounced improvement in metabolic risk factors thereby reducing the prevalence of metabolic syndrome.     

Including sorption to black carbon in modeling bioaccumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: uncertainty analysis and comparison to field data

Model estimations of bioaccumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been higher than field or laboratory data. This has been explained by strong sorption to black carbon (BC). In this paper, eight previously published bioaccumulation datasets were reinterpreted in terms of additional BC sorption. Biota--Solids Accumulation Factors (BSAFs) of PAHs typically decreased by 1-2 orders of magnitude and were better in line with field data in marine, fresh water, and terrestrial ecosystems. Probabilistic BC-inclusive modeling showed that if BC content is not accurately known, uncertainty in BSAFs is 2-3 orders of magnitude (90 percentile confidence interval) due to uncertainty in the BC sorption term. When BC contents are measured, the deviation between model estimations and field measurements reduces to about a factor of 3. This implies that including routine measurements of BC contents is crucial in improving risk estimations of PAHs.     

Biocatalysis of tyrosinase in chloroform medium,using selected phenolic substrates

The biocatalysis of mushroom tyrosinase was optimized in chloroform medium using as substrates selected phenolic compounds, including chlorogenic acid (CA), p‐aminophenol (pAP) and hydroquinone (HQ). The specific activity of tyrosinase was found to be much higher in the chloroform medium than that obtained in the aqueous one. The optimal pH and temperature as well as other kinetic parameters for tyrosinase biocatalysis was also determined. The presence of catechol in the chloroform medium resulted in an increase in tyrosinase activity when CA was used as substrate; however, no activatory effect was found with pAP or HQ. The presence of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid in the chloroform medium showed different effects on tyrosinase activity depending on the nature of the substrate. FT‐IR analyses confirmed the bioconversion of selected phenolic substrates into o‐quinones by tyrosinase activity in the chloroform medium. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Multiclass Method for 46 Antibiotics Residues in Milk and Meat: Development and Validation

A screening method for analysis of 46 antibiotics residues, belonging to different classes, such as tetracyclines, sulfonamides, fluoroquinolones, β-lactams, cephalosporins, macrolides and other minority groups was developed and validated for application in bovine milk and bovine, swine, poultry, equine, fish and shrimp meat samples. Sample preparation consists in solvent extraction followed by clean up with C18 bulk and low temperature purification. Instrumental analysis was performed using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry system. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a C18 column. Mobile phase was composed by methanol and water. The method was validated according to Commission Decision 2002/657/EC criteria. Validation parameters such as specificity and detection capability (CCβ) were determined and considered suitable to the established criteria. Values of CCβ ranged from 1.0 to 50.0 μg L^?1 or μg Kg^?1, depending on the compound and the matrix. The proposed method has been applied into Brazilian National Residue Control Plan since 2013 for the determination of antibiotic residues. A total of 3833 samples were analyzed until the current date and 13 samples showed positive results with concentrations above the permitted. The method is fast, easy and adequate for high throughput analysis in routine laboratories.     

Structure–Property–Functionality of Bimetal Interfaces

Interfaces, such as grain boundaries, phase boundaries, and surfaces, are important in materials of any microstructural size scale, whether the microstructure is coarse-grained, ultrafine-grained, or nano-grained. In nanostructured materials, however, they dominate material response and as we have seen many times over, can lead to extraordinary and unusual properties that far exceed those of their coarse-grained counterparts. In this article, we focus on bimetal interfaces. To best elucidate interface structure?Cproperty?Cfunctionality relationships, we focus our studies on simple layered composites composed of an alternating stack of two metals with bimetal interfaces spaced less than 100?nm. We fabricate these nanocomposites by either a bottom?Cup method (physical vapor deposition) or a top?Cdown method (accumulative roll bonding) to produce two distinct interface types. Atomic-scale differences in interface structure are shown to result in profound effects on bulk-scale properties.     

New method based on capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection (CE-LIF) to monitor interaction between nanoparticles and the amyloid-β peptide

A novel application of capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection (CE-LIF) was proposed to efficiently detect and monitor the interaction between polymeric nanoparticles and the β-Amyloid peptide (Aβ(1-42)), a biomarker for Alzheimer's Disease (AD), at concentrations close to physiological conditions. The CE-LIF method allowed the interaction between PEGylated poly(alkyl cyanoacrylate) nanoparticles (NPs) and the soluble Aβ(1-42) peptide monomers to be highlighted. These results were confirmed by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Whereas SPR showed an interaction between the NPs and the Aβ(1-42) peptide, CLSM allowed the formation of large aggregates/assemblies at high NP and peptide concentrations to be visualized. All these results suggested that these nanoparticles could bind the Aβ(1-42) peptide and influence its aggregation kinetics. Interestingly, the non-PEGylated poly(alkyl cyanoacrylate) NPs did not alter the aggregation kinetics of the Aβ(1-42) peptide, thus emphasizing the high level of discrimination of the CE-LIF method with respect to NPs.