Search results for: Treated wastewater

Authors: Kalakotla Shanker, G. Krishna Mohan

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Nowadays, nanoparticles are being used in pharmacological studies for their exclusive properties such as small size, more surface area, biocompatibility and enhanced solubility. In view of this, the present study aimed to evaluate the antihyperglycemic potential of biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles (BSSNPs) and Gymnema sylvestre (GS) extract. The SEM and SEM analysis divulges that the BSSNPs were spherical in shape. EDAX spectrum exhibits peaks for the presence of silver, carbon, and oxygen atoms in the range of 1.0-3.1 keV. FT-IR reveals the binding properties of active bio-constituents responsible for capping and stabilizing BSSNPs. The results showed increased blood glucose, huge loss in body weight and downturn in plasma insulin. The GS extract (200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg), BSSNPs (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg) and metformin 50 mg/kg were administered to the diabetic rats. BSSNPs at a dose level of 200 mg/kg (b.wt.p.o.) showed significant inhibition of (p<0.001) blood glucose levels as compared with GS extract treated group. The results obtained from study indicate that the BSSNP shows potent anti-diabetic activity.

Keywords: BSSNP, G.sylvetre, wistar rats, antihyperglycemic activity.

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Authors: Ayub V. O. Ofulla, Jackson H. O. Onyuka, Samuel Wagai, Douglas Anyona, Gabriel O. Dida, John Gichuki

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This study was set to determine the antimicrobial activities of brine salting, chlorinated solution, and oil frying treatments on enteric bacteria and fungi in Rastrineobola argentea fish from fish landing beaches within L. Victoria basin of western Kenya. Statistical differences in effectiveness of the different treatment methods was determined by single factor ANOVA, and paired two-tail t-Test was performed to compare the differences in moisture contents before and after storage. Oil fried fish recorded the lowest microbial loads, sodium chloride at 10% concentration was the second most effective and chlorinated solution even at 150ppm was the least effective against the bacteria and fungi in fish. Moisture contents of the control and treated fish were significantly lower after storage. These results show that oil frying of fish should be adopted for processing and preserving Rastrineobola argentea which is the most abundant and affordable fish species from Lake Victoria.

Keywords: Fish landing beaches, Lake Victoria, oil frying, preservatives.

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Authors: Junki Miyamoto, Mariko Kiyomi, Yuuki Nagashio, Takuya Suzuki, Soichi Tanabe

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Anti-allergic effects of royal jelly were evaluated in a human-like mouse model of atopic dermatitis. NC/Nga mice were cutaneously applied with royal jelly for 6 weeks. Royal jelly-treated mice exhibited lower levels of serum total immunoglobulin E in comparison with controls. We found that the treatment decreased (11% to the control) expression of mRNA for aquaporin-3, which is involved in the modulation of epidermal hydration. Microarray analysis revealed more than 10-fold changes in the expression of several genes, such as transglutaminase 2, repetin, and keratins. In normal human epidermal keratinocytes, royal jelly extract suppressed interleukin-8 elevation induced by TNF-α and interferon-γ, suggesting direct anti-inflammatory activity in keratinocytes. Collectively, topical application of royal jelly may be useful for amelioration of lesions and inflammation in atopic dermatitis.

Keywords: Aquaporin 3, immunoglobulin E, NC/Nga, royal jelly.

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Authors: Kaustubh Chakradeo, Michael Delves, Sofya Titarenko

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Malaria is a serious disease which affects hundreds of millions of people around the world, each year. If not treated in time, it can be fatal. Despite recent developments in malaria diagnostics, the microscopy method to detect malaria remains the most common. Unfortunately, the accuracy of microscopic diagnostics is dependent on the skill of the microscopist and limits the throughput of malaria diagnosis. With the development of Artificial Intelligence tools and Deep Learning techniques in particular, it is possible to lower the cost, while achieving an overall higher accuracy. In this paper, we present a VGG-based model and compare it with previously developed models for identifying infected cells. Our model surpasses most previously developed models in a range of the accuracy metrics. The model has an advantage of being constructed from a relatively small number of layers. This reduces the computer resources and computational time. Moreover, we test our model on two types of datasets and argue that the currently developed deep-learning-based methods cannot efficiently distinguish between infected and contaminated cells. A more precise study of suspicious regions is required.

Keywords: Malaria, deep learning, DL, convolution neural network, CNN, thin blood smears.

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Authors: Suheyla Kocaman, Gulnare Ahmetli, Alaaddin Cerit, Alize Yucel, Merve Gozukucuk

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Shell wastes represent a considerable quantity of byproducts in the shellfish aquaculture. From the viewpoint of ecofriendly and economical disposal, it is highly desirable to convert these residues into high value-added products for industrial applications. So far, the utilization of shell wastes was confined at relatively lower levels, e.g. wastewater decontaminant, soil conditioner, fertilizer constituent, feed additive and liming agent. Shell wastes consist of calcium carbonate and organic matrices, with the former accounting for 95-99% by weight. Being the richest source of biogenic CaCO₃, shell wastes are suitable to prepare high purity CaCO₃ powders, which have been extensively applied in various industrial products, such as paper, rubber, paints and pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, the shell waste could be further processed to be the filler of polymer composites. This paper presents a study on the potential use of mussel shell waste as biofiller to produce the composite materials with different epoxy matrices, such as bisphenol-A type, CTBN modified and polyurethane modified epoxy resins. Morphology and mechanical properties of shell particles reinforced epoxy composites were evaluated to assess the possibility of using it as a new material. The effects of shell particle content on the mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. It was shown that in all composites, the tensile strength and Young’s modulus values increase with the increase of mussel shell particles content from 10 wt% to 50 wt%, while the elongation at break decreased, compared to pure epoxy resin. The highest Young’s modulus values were determined for bisphenol-A type epoxy composites.

Keywords: Biocomposite, epoxy resin, mussel shell, mechanical properties.

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Authors: J. Zamastil, V. Patkos

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Recent progress in calculation of the one-loop selfenergy of the electron bound in the Coulomb field is summarized. The relativistic multipole expansion is introduced. This expansion is based on a single assumption: except for the part of the time component of the electron four-momentum corresponding to the electron rest mass, the exchange of four-momentum between the virtual electron and photon can be treated perturbatively. For non Sstates and normalized difference n3
En −
E1 of the S-states this itself yields very accurate results after taking the method to the third order. For the ground state the perturbation treatment of the electron virtual states with very high three-momentum is to be avoided. For these states one can always rearrange the pertinent expression in such a way that free-particle approximation is allowed. Combination of the relativistic multipole expansion and free-particle approximation yields very accurate result after taking the method to the ninth order. These results are in very good agreement with the previous results obtained by the partial wave expansion and definitely exclude the possibility that the uncertainity in determination of the proton radius comes from the uncertainity in the calculation of the one-loop selfenergy.

Keywords: Hydrogen-like atoms, self-energy.

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Authors: Thitiporn Machikowa, Thanawit Kulrattanarak, Sodchol Wonprasaid

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One problem of synthetic sunflower cultivation is an erratic germination of the seeds. To improve the germination, presowing seed treatment with an ultrasound was tested. All treatments were carried out at 40 kHz frequency with the intensities of 40, 60, 80 and 100% of the ultrasonic generator total power (250 W) for the durations of 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes. Data on seed germination percentage, seed vigor index (SVI), root and shoot lengths of seedlings were collected. The results showed that germination, SVI, root and shoot lengths of ultrasonic treated seedlings were different from the control, depending on intensity of the ultrasound. The effects of ultrasonic treatment were significant on germination, resulting in a maximum increase of 43% at 40 and 60% intensities compared to that of the control seeds. In addition, seedlings of these 2 treatments had higher SVI and longer root and shoot lengths than that of the control seedlings. All treatment durations resulted in higher germination and SVI, longer root and higher shoot lenghts of seedlings than the control. Among the duration treatments, only SVI and seedling root length were significantly different.

Keywords: Ultrasonic, germination, root length, shoot length, Helianthus annuus L.

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Authors: Zhiping Wu, Meiqin Chen, Haikuan Yang, Yunchu Hu

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Fire disaster is the major factor to endanger the public and environmental safety. People lost their life during fire disaster mainly be attributed to the dense smoke and toxic gas under combustion, which hinder the escape of people and the rescue of firefighters under fire disaster. The smoke suppression effect of several transitional metals oxide on the epoxy resin treated with intumescent flame retardant and titanate couple agent (EP/IFR/Titanate) system have been investigated. The results showed manganese dioxide has great effect on reducing the smoke density rate (SDR) of EP/IFR/Titanate system; however it has little effect to reduce the maximum smoke density (MSD) of EP/IFR/Titanate system. Copper oxide can decrease the maximum smoke density (MSD) and smoke density rate of EP/IFR/Titanate system substantially. The MSD and SDR of EP/IFR/Titanate system can reduce 20.3% and 39.1% respectively when 2% of copper oxide is introduced.

Keywords: copper oxide, epoxy resin, intumescent flameretardant, smoke suppression.

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Authors: Fardin Boustani , Mohammah Hosein Hojati

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The Beshar River is one aquatic ecosystem,which is affected by pollutants. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of human activities on the water quality of the Beshar river. This river is approximately 190 km in length and situated at the geographical positions of 51° 20' to 51° 48' E and 30° 18' to 30° 52' N it is one of the most important aquatic ecosystems of Kohkiloye and Boyerahmad province next to the city of Yasuj in southern Iran. The Beshar river has been contaminated by industrial, agricultural and other activities in this region such as factories, hospitals, agricultural farms, urban surface runoff and effluent of wastewater treatment plants. In order to evaluate the effects of these pollutants on the quality of the Beshar river, five monitoring stations were selected along its course. The first station is located upstream of Yasuj near the Dehnow village; stations 2 to 4 are located east, south and west of city; and the 5th station is located downstream of Yasuj. Several water quality parameters were sampled. These include pH, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand (BOD), temperature, conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved solids and discharge or flow measurements. Water samples from the five stations were collected and analysed to determine the following physicochemical parameters: EC, pH, T.D.S, T.H, No2, DO, BOD5, COD during 2008 to 2009. The study shows that the BOD5 value of station 1 is at a minimum (1.5 ppm) and increases downstream from stations 2 to 4 to a maximum (7.2 ppm), and then decreases at station 5. The DO values of station 1 is a maximum (9.55 ppm), decreases downstream to stations 2 - 4 which are at a minimum (3.4 ppm), before increasing at station 5. The amount of BOD and TDS are highest at the 4th station and the amount of DO is lowest at this station, marking the 4th station as more highly polluted than the other stations. The physicochemical parameters improve at the 5th station due to pollutant degradation and dilution. Finally the point and nonpoint pollutant sources of Beshar river were determined and compared to the monitoring results.

Keywords: Beshar river, physicochemical parameter, waterpollution, Yasuj

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Authors: Tebogo Phetla, Edison Muzenda, M Belaid

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This study investigated possible ways to improve the efficiency of the platinum precipitation process using ammonium chloride by reducing the platinum content reporting to the effluent. The ore treated consist of five platinum group metals namely, ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, platinum, palladium and a precious metal gold. Gold, ruthenium, rhodium and iridium were extracted prior the platinum precipitation process. Temperature, reducing agent, flow rate and potential difference were the variables controlled to determine the operation conditions for optimum platinum precipitation efficiency. Hydrogen peroxide was added as the oxidizing agent at the temperature of 85-90oC and potential difference of 700-850mV was the variable used to check the oxidizing state of platinum. The platinum was further purified at temperature between 60-65oC, potential difference above 700 mV, ammonium chloride of 200 l, and at these conditions the platinum content reporting to the effluent was reduced to less than 300ppm, resulting in optimum platinum precipitation efficiency and purity of 99.9%.

Keywords: Platinum Group Metals (PGM), Potential difference, Precipitation, Redox reactions.

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Authors: Abdelaziz Zaidi, Belkacem Ould Bouamama, Moncef Tagina

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Bond Graph as a unified multidisciplinary tool is widely used not only for dynamic modelling but also for Fault Detection and Isolation because of its structural and causal proprieties. A binary Fault Signature Matrix is systematically generated but to make the final binary decision is not always feasible because of the problems revealed by such method. The purpose of this paper is introducing a methodology for the improvement of the classical binary method of decision-making, so that the unknown and identical failure signatures can be treated to improve the robustness. This approach consists of associating the evaluated residuals and the components reliability data to build a Hybrid Bayesian Network. This network is used in two distinct inference procedures: one for the continuous part and the other for the discrete part. The continuous nodes of the network are the prior probabilities of the components failures, which are used by the inference procedure on the discrete part to compute the posterior probabilities of the failures. The developed methodology is applied to a real steam generator pilot process.

Keywords: Redundancy relations, decision-making, Bond Graph, reliability, Bayesian Networks.

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Authors: Andreea Cârâc, Elena Moroşan, Ana Corina Ioniță, Rica Boscencu, Geta Cârâc

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Although, lanthanum carbonate has not been approved by the FDA for treatment of hyperphosphatemia, we prospectively evaluated the efficacy of the combination of Calcium hydroxyapatite (CHAp) and Lanthanum Carbonate (LaC) for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia on mice. CHAp was prepared by co-precipitation method using Ca(OH)2, H3PO4, NH4OH with calcination at 1200ºC. Lanthanum carbonate was prepared by chemical method using NaHCO3 and LaCl3 at low pH environment, below 4.0. The structures were characterized by FTIR spectra and SEM -EDX analysis. The study group included 16 subjects-mice divided into four groups according to the administered substance: lanthanum carbonate (group A), CHAp (group B), lanthanum carbonate + CHAp (group C) and salt water (group D). The results indicate a phosphate decrease when subjects (mice) were treated with CHAp and lanthanum carbonate (0.5% CMC), in a single dose of 1500 mg/kg. Serum phosphate concentration decreased [(from 4.5 ± 0.8 mg/dL) to 4.05 ± 0.2 mg/dL), P < 0.01] in group A and in group C (to 3.6 ± 0.2 mg/dL) at 12 hours from the administration. The combination of CHAp and lanthanum carbonate is a suitable regimen for hyperphosphatemia treatment because it avoids both the hypercalcemia of CaCO3 and the adverse effects of CHAp.

Keywords: Calcium hydroxyapatite, hyperphosphatemia, lanthanum carbonate, phosphatebinder, structures.

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Authors: John R. Rose, James P. Cleveland, Alvin Fox

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Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is the engine driving high-throughput protein identification. Protein mixtures possibly representing thousands of proteins from multiple species are treated with proteolytic enzymes, cutting the proteins into smaller peptides that are then analyzed generating MS/MS spectra. The task of determining the identity of the peptide from its spectrum is currently the weak point in the process. Current approaches to de novo sequencing are able to compute candidate peptides efficiently. The problem lies in the limitations of current scoring functions. In this paper we introduce the concept of proteome signature. By examining proteins and compiling proteome signatures (amino acid usage) it is possible to characterize likely combinations of amino acids and better distinguish between candidate peptides. Our results strongly support the hypothesis that a scoring function that considers amino acid usage patterns is better able to distinguish between candidate peptides. This in turn leads to higher accuracy in peptide prediction.

Keywords: Tandem mass spectrometry, proteomics, scoring, peptide, de novo, mutual information

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Authors: Tatjana Rakcejeva, Lija Dukalska, Olga Petrova, Dace Klava, Emils Kozlinskis, Martins Sabovics

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this study was carried out to investigate the changes in quality parameters of rye bread packaged in different polymer films during convection air-flow thermal treatment process. Whole loafs of bread were placed in polymer pouches, which were sealed in reduced pressure air ambiance, bread was thermally treated in at temperature +(130; 140; and 150) ± 5 ºC within 40min, as long as the core temperature of the samples have reached accordingly +80±1 ºC. For bread packaging pouches were used: anti-fog Mylar®OL12AF and thermo resistant combined polymer material. Main quality parameters was analysed using standard methods: temperature in bread core, bread crumb and crust firmness value, starch granules volume and microflora. In the current research it was proved, that polymer films significantly influence rye bread quality parameters changes during thermal treatment. Thermo resistant combined polymer material film could be recommendable for packaged rye bread pasteurization, for maximal bread quality parameter keeping.

Keywords: bread, thermal treatment, bread crumb, bread crust, starch granule's volume.

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Authors: Yatnanta Padma Devia, Tsuyoshi Imai, Takaya Higuchi, Ariyo Kanno, Koichi Yamamoto, Masahiko Sekine

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Advanced treatments such as forward osmosis (FO) can be used to separate or reject nutrients from secondary treated effluents. Forward osmosis uses the chemical potential across the membrane, which is the osmotic pressure gradient, to induce water to flow through the membrane from a feed solution (FS) into a draw solution (DS). The performance of FO is affected by the membrane characteristics, composition of the FS and DS, and operating conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the optimum velocity and temperature for nutrient rejection and water flux performance in FO treatments. MgCl2 was used as the DS in the FO process. The results showed that higher cross flow velocities yielded higher water fluxes. High rejection of nutrients was achieved by using a moderate cross flow velocity at 0.25 m/s. Nutrient rejection was insensitive to temperature variation, whereas water flux was significantly impacted by it. A temperature of 25°C was found to be good for nutrient rejection.

Keywords: Cross flow velocity, forward osmosis, magnesium chloride, temperature.

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Authors: Karina Ruse, Martins Sabovics, Tatjana Rakcejeva, Lija Dukalska, Ruta Galoburda, Laima Berzina

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the research was accomplished on fresh in Latvia wild growing cranberries and cranberry cultivars. The aim of the study was to evaluate effect of pretreatment method and drying conditions on the volatile compounds composition in cranberries. Berries pre-treatment methods were: perforation, halving and steam-blanching. The berries before drying in a cabinet drier were pre-treated using all three methods, in microwave vacuum drier – using a steam-blanching and halving. Volatile compounds in cranberries were analysed using GC-MS of extracts obtained by SPME. During present research 21 various volatile compounds were detected in fresh cranberries: the cultivar 'Steven' - 15, 'Bergman' and 'Early black' – 13, 'Ben Lear' and 'Pilgrim' – 11 and wild cranberries – 14 volatile compounds. In dried cranberries 20 volatile compounds were detected. Mathematical data processing allows drawing a conclusion that there exists the significant influence of cranberry cultivar, pre-treatment method and drying condition on volatile compounds in berries and new volatile compound formation.

Keywords: volatile compounds, cranberries, convective drier, microwave-vacuum drier

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Authors: Chockpisit Thepsithar, Aree Thongpukdee

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For sterilization of Phalaenopsis culture medium without autoclaving, selected single sterilizing agents and in combinations were added to a 25ml Hyponex medium in a 120ml glass container. Treated liquid and solid media, supplemented with sterilizing agents, were compared to a control medium, autoclaved at 121°C for 15min. It was found that 90(L of 10% povidone-iodine, 150(L of 5.25% sodium hypochlorite, 150(L of 2% mercurochrome, 90(L of 2.5% iodine + 2.5% potassium iodine in combination with 10% providone-iodine (1:3) and 30(L of 2.5% iodine + 2.5% potassium iodide in combination with 2% mercurochrome showed 100% sterile conditions in liquid medium but provided 75, 100, 50, 75 and 80% sterile conditions, respectively, in solid medium. For growth of Phalaenopsis protocorms, 90(L of 10% povidone-iodine in liquid Hyponex medium gave the comparable growth of protocorms to control medium while 150(L of 5.25% sodium hypochlorite in solid medium provided the promising growth of protocorms. Growth of protocorms, whole fresh weight, numbers of leaf and root, root length and number of protocorm-like bodies, was discussed.

Keywords: Phalaenopsis, sterilizing agents, Hyponex medium, sterile medium without autoclaving.

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Authors: Alaa Hussein Wadi

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The principal objective of a water treatment plant is to produce water that satisfies a set of drinking water quality standards at a reasonable price to the consumers. The gravel-bed flocculator provide a simple and inexpensive design for flocculation in small water treatment plants (less than 5000 m3/day capacity). The packed bed of gravel provides ideal conditions for the formation of compact settleable flocs because of continuous recontact provided by the sinuous flow of water through the interstices formed by the gravel. The field data which were obtained from the operation of the water supply treatment unit cover the physical, chemical and biological water qualities of the raw and settled water as obtained by the operation of the treatment unit. The experiments were carried out with the aim of assessing the efficiency of the gravel filter in removing the turbidity, pathogenic bacteria, from the raw water. The water treatment plant, which was constructed for the treatment of river water, was in principle a rapid sand filter. The results show that the average value of the turbidity level of the settled water was 4.83 NTU with a standard deviation of turbidity 2.893 NTU. This indicated that the removal efficiency of the sedimentation tank (gravel filter) was about 67.8 %. for pH values fluctuated between 7.75 and 8.15, indicating the alkaline nature of the raw water of the river Shatt Al-Hilla, as expected. Raw water pH is depressed slightly following alum coagulation. The pH of the settled water ranged from 7.75 to a maximum of 8.05. The bacteriological tests which were carried out on the water samples were: total coliform test, E-coli test, and the plate count test. In each test the procedure used was as outlined in the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (APHA, AWWA, and WPCF, 1985). The gravel filter exhibit a low performance in removing bacterial load. The percentage bacterial removal, which is maximum for total plate count (19%) and minimum for total coliform (16.82%).

Keywords: Gravel bed flocculator, turbidity, total coliform.

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Authors: Bruno Bacci Fernandes, Stephan Mändl, Ataíde Ribeiro da Silva Junior, José Osvaldo Rossi, Mário Ueda

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Nitrogen implantation in aluminum and its alloys is acquainted for the difficulties in obtaining modified layers deeper than 200 nm. The present work addresses a new method to overcome such a problem; although, the coating with nitrogen and oxygen obtained by plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) into a 7075 aluminum alloy surface was too shallow. This alloy is commonly used for structural parts in aerospace applications. Such a layer was characterized by secondary ion mass spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and nanoindentation experiments reciprocating wear tests. From the results, one can assume that the wear of this aluminum alloy starts presenting severe abrasive wear followed by an additional adhesive mechanism. PIII produced a slight difference, as shown in all characterizations carried out in this work. The results shown here can be used as the scientific basis for further nitrogen PIII experiments in aluminum alloys which have the goal to produce thicker modified layers or to improve their surface properties.

Keywords: Aluminum alloys, plasma immersion ion implantation, tribological properties, hardness, nanofatigue.

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Authors: A. Buasri, N. Chaiyut, V. Loryuenyong, E. Phakdeepataraphan, S. Watpathomsub, V. Kunakemakorn

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In this research, the optimum conditions for the synthesis of activated carbon from biodiesel wastes such as palm shells (PS) and Jatropha curcas fruit shells (JS) by chemical activation method using potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an activating agent under nitrogen atmosphere were investigated. The effects of soaking in hydrofluoric acid (HF), impregnation ratio, activation temperature and activation time on adsorption capacity of methylene blue (MB) and iodine (I2) solution were examined. The results showed that HF-treated activated carbons exhibited higher adsorption capacities by eliminating ash residues, which might fill up the pores. In addition, the adsorption capacities of methylene blue and iodine solution were also significantly influenced by the types of raw materials, the activation temperature and the activation time. The highest adsorption capacity of methylene blue 257.07mg/g and iodine 847.58mg/g were obtained from Jatropha curcas wastes.

Keywords: Activated Carbon, Palm Shells (PS), Jatropha Curcas Fruit Shells (JS), Agricultural Wastes, Biodiesel Wastes, Optimum Conditions.

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Authors: Gyo Woo Lee

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In this study, the phase transition characteristics of flame-synthesized γ-Al₂O₃ nanoparticles to α-Al₂O₃ have been investigated. The nanoparticles were synthesized by using a coflow hydrogen diffusion flame. The phase transition and particle characteristics of the Al₂O₃ nanoparticles were determined by examining the crystalline structure and the shape of the collected nanoparticles before and after the heat treatment. The morphology and crystal structure of the Al₂O₃ nanoparticles were determined from SEM images and XRD analyses, respectively. The measured specific surface area and averaged particle size were 63.44m²/g and 23.94nm, respectively. Based on the scanning electron microscope images and x-ray diffraction patterns, it is believed that the onset temperature of the phase transition to α-Al₂O₃ was existed near 1200^oC. The averaged diameters of the sintered particles heat treated at 1,260^oC were approximately 80nm.

Keywords: BET Specific Surface Area, Gamma-Al2O3 Nanoparticles, Flame Synthesis, Phase Transition, X-ray Diffraction.

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Authors: Su-Ling Li, Qun-Yu Gao

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Mung bean starches were subjected to heat-moisture treatment (HMT) by different moisture contents (15%, 20%, 25%, 30% and 35%) at 120Ôäâ for 12h. The impact on the yields of resistant starch (RS), microstructure, physicochemical and functional properties was investigated. Compared to native starch, the RS content of heat-moisture treated starches increased significantly. The RS level of HMT-20 was the highest of all the starches. Birefringence was displayed clear at the center of native starch. For HMT starches, pronounced birefringence was exhibited on the periphery of starch granules; however, birefringence disappeared at the centre of some starch granules. The shape of HMT starches hadn-t been changed and the integrity of starch granules was preserved for all the conditions. Concavity could be observed on HMT starches under scanning electronic microscopy. After HMT, apparent amylose contents were increased and starch macromolecule was degraded in comparison with those of native starch. There was a reduction in swelling power on HMT starches, but the solubility of HMT starches was higher than that of native starch. Both of native and HMT starches showed A-type X-ray diffraction pattern. Furthermore, there is a higher intensity at the peak of 15.0 and 22.9 Å than those of native starch.

Keywords: Resistant starch, mung bean (Phaseolus radiatus) starch, heat-moisture treatment, physicochemical properties.

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Authors: Hanina M. N., Hairul Shahril M., Ismatul Nurul Asyikin I., Abdul Jalil A. K., Salina M. R., Maryam M. R., Rosfarizan M.

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The extracellular proteins secreted by bacteria may be increased in stressful surroundings, such as in the presence of antibiotics. It appears that many antibiotics, when used at low concentrations, have in common the ability to activate or repress gene transcription, which is distinct from their inhibitory effect. There have been comparatively few studies on the potential of antibiotics as a specific chemical signal that can trigger a variety of biological functions. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the effect of Streptomycin Sulfate in regulating extracellular proteins secreted by Bacillus subtilis ATCC21332. Results of Microdilution assay showed that the Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) of Streptomycin Sulfate on B. subtilis ATCC21332 was 2.5 mg/ml. The bacteria cells were then exposed to Streptomycin Sulfate at concentration of 0.01 MIC before being further incubated for 48h to 72 h. The extracellular proteins secreted were then isolated and analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Proteins profile revealed that three additional bands with approximate sizes of 30 kDa, 22 kDa and 23 kDa were appeared for the treated bacteria with Streptomycin Sulfate. Thus, B. subtilis ATCC21332 in stressful condition with the presence of Streptomycin Sulfate at low concentration could induce the extracellular proteins secretion.

Keywords: Bacillus subtilis ATCC21332, Streptomycin Sulfate, extracellular proteins.

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Authors: P. Sanzo

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Increased physical fitness participation has been paralleled by increasedoveruse injuries such as insertional Achilles tendinosis (AT). Treatment has provided inconsistentresults. The use of extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ECSWT) offers a new treatment consideration.The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of ECSWTon pain, function, range of motion (ROM), joint mobility and strength in patients with AT. Thirty subjects were treated with ECSWT and measures were takenbefore and three months after treatment. There was significant differences in visual analog scale (VAS) scores for pain at rest (p=0.002); after activity (p= 0.0001); overall improvement(p=0.0001); Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) scores (p=0.002); dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) (p=0.0001); plantarflexion strength (p=0.025); talocrural joint anterior glide (p=0.046); and subtalar joint medial and lateral glide (p=0.025).ECSWT offers a new intervention that may limit the progression of the disorder and the long term healthcare costs associated with AT.

Keywords: Extracorporeal shockwave therapy, shockwave therapy, Achilles tendinosis, range of motion, strength, joint mobility

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Authors: T. S. Iwayama, T. Hama

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Si ion implantation was widely used to synthesize specimens of SiO2 containing supersaturated Si and subsequent high temperature annealing induces the formation of embedded luminescent Si nanocrystals. In this work, the potentialities of excimer UV-light (172 nm, 7.2 eV) irradiation and rapid thermal annealing (RTA) to enhance the photoluminescence and to achieve low temperature formation of Si nanocrystals have been investigated. The Si ions were introduced at acceleration energy of 180 keV to fluence of 7.5 x 1016 ions/cm2. The implanted samples were subsequently irradiated with an excimer-UV lamp. After the process, the samples were rapidly thermal annealed before furnace annealing (FA). Photoluminescence spectra were measured at various stages at the process. We found that the luminescence intensity is strongly enhanced with excimer-UV irradiation and RTA. Moreover, effective visible photoluminescence is found to be observed even after FA at 900 oC, only for specimens treated with excimer-UV lamp and RTA. We also prepared specimens of Si nanocrystals embedded in a SiO2 by reactive pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in an oxygen atmosphere. We will make clear the similarities and differences with the way of preparation.

Keywords: Ion implantation, photoluminescence, pulsed laser deposition, rapid thermal anneal, Si nanocrystals.

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Authors: Emil G. Ioanid, Viorica Frunză, Dorina Rusu, Ana Maria Vlad, Catalin Tanase, Simona Dunca

Abstract:

The application of cold Radio-Frequency (RF) plasma in the conservation of cultural heritage became important in the last decades due to the positive results obtained in decontamination treatments. This paper presents an equipment especially designed for cold RF plasma application on paper documents, developed within a research project. The equipment consists in two modules: the first one is designed for decontamination and cleaning treatments of any type of paper supports, while the second one can be used for coating friable papers with adequate polymers, for protection purposes. All these operations are carried out in cold radio-frequency plasma, working in gaseous nitrogen, at low pressure. In order to optimize the equipment parameters ancient paper samples infested with microorganisms have been treated in nitrogen plasma and the decontamination effects, as well as changes in surface properties (color, pH) were assessed. The microbiological analysis revealed complete decontamination at 6 minutes treatment duration; only minor modifications of the surface pH were found and the colorimetric analysis showed a slight yellowing of the support.

Keywords: Cultural heritage, nitrogen plasma, paper support.

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Authors: M. Veeresham

Abstract:

The microstructure, texture, phase stability, and tensile properties of annealed Ta_0.5Nb_0.5Hf_0.5ZrTi_1.5 alloy have been investigated in the present research. The alloy was severely hybrid-rolled up to 93.5% thickness reduction, subsequently rolled samples subjected to an annealing treatment at 800 °C and 1000 °C temperatures for 1 h. Consequently, the rolled condition and both annealed temperatures have a body-centered cubic (BCC) structure. Furthermore, quantitative texture measurements (orientation distribution function (ODF) analysis) and microstructural examinations (analytical electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) maps) permitted to establish a good relationship between annealing texture and microstructure and universal testing machine (UTM) utilized for obtaining the mechanical properties. Impressive room temperature tensile properties combination with the tensile strength (1380 MPa) and (24.7%) elongation is achieved for the 800 °C heat-treated condition. The evolution of the coarse microstructure featured in the case of 1000 °C annealed temperature ascribed to the influence of high thermal energy.

Keywords: Refractory high entropy alloys, hybrid-rolling, recrystallization, microstructure, tensile properties.

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Authors: Urszula Wachowska, Anna Daria Stasiulewicz-Paluch, Iwona Konopka, Katarzyna Kucharska, Justyna Borowska

Abstract:

The biological activity of A. pullulans isolates against species of the genus Fusarium, bacteria of the genus Azotobacter and pseudomonads colonizing wheat kernels was evaluated. A field experiment was carried out in 2009-2011, in north-eastern Poland. Winter wheat (cv. Bogatka) plants were sprayed with a cell suspension of A. pullulans at a density of 106 - 108 per cm3 water at the stem elongation stage and the heading stage. Untreated plants served as control. The abundance of epiphytic yeasts, bacteria of the genus Azotobacter, pseudomonads and Fusarium pathogens on wheat grain was estimated at harvest and after six months’ storage. The average size of yeast communities was significantly greater on wheat kernels treated with a cell suspension of A. pullulans, compared with control samples. In 2010-2011, biological control reduced the abundance of some species of the genus Fusarium.

Keywords: Aureobasidium pullulans, winter wheat grain, Fusarium, bacteria.

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Authors: Hadeer R. M. Tawfik, Rania A. K. Birry, Amani A. Saad

Abstract:

Eyes are considered to be the most sensitive and important organ for human being. Thus, any eye disorder will affect the patient in all aspects of life. Cataract is one of those eye disorders that lead to blindness if not treated correctly and quickly. This paper demonstrates a model for automatic detection, classification, and grading of cataracts based on image processing techniques and artificial intelligence. The proposed system is developed to ease the cataract diagnosis process for both ophthalmologists and patients. The wavelet transform combined with 2D Log Gabor Wavelet transform was used as feature extraction techniques for a dataset of 120 eye images followed by a classification process that classified the image set into three classes; normal, early, and advanced stage. A comparison between the two used classifiers, the support vector machine SVM and the artificial neural network ANN were done for the same dataset of 120 eye images. It was concluded that SVM gave better results than ANN. SVM success rate result was 96.8% accuracy where ANN success rate result was 92.3% accuracy.

Keywords: Cataract, classification, detection, feature extraction, grading, log-gabor, neural networks, support vector machines, wavelet.

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Authors: H. Sadi-Guettaf, F. Hadj Bekkouche

Abstract:

Dexamethasone (Dex) is a synthetic glucocorticoid that is used in therapy. However prolonged treatments with high doses are often required. This causes side effects that interfere with the activity of several endocrine systems, including the gonadotropic axis. The aim of our study is to determine the effect of Dex on testicular function in prepubertal Wistar rats. Newborn Wistar rats are submitted to intraperitoneal injection of Dex (1μg of Dex dissolved in NaCl 0.9% / 5g bw) for 20 days and then sacrificed at the age of 40days. A control group received NaCl 0.9%. The rat is weighed daily. The plasmatic levels of testosterone, LH and FSH were measured by radioimmunoassay. A histomorphometric study was performed on sections of testis. Treated groups showed a significant decrease in body weight (p < 0.05), testis weight (p < 0.05) and plasma levels of testosterone (p < 0.05), of LH (P < .05) and FSH (p> 0.05). There is a reduction of seminiferous tubules average diameter and also of the seminiferous epithelium thickness with an increasing of lumen tubular. The diameter of the Leydig cells and Sertoli cell nucleus is also significantly reduced. Spermatogenesis is blocked at the stage round spermatid unlike witnesses or elongated spermatid stage is found. These results suggest that Dex administered during neonatal life influences testicular activity in the long term.

Keywords: Dexamethasone, FSH, LH, rat, testis, testosterone.

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