Meta-Analysis of Mass Balances Examining Chemical Fate during Wastewater Treatment

Mass balances are an instructive means for investigating the fate of chemicals during wastewater treatment. In addition to the aqueous-phase removal efficiency (Φ), they can inform on chemical partitioning, transformation, and persistence, as well as on the chemical loading to streams and soils receiving, respectively, treated effluent and digested sewage sludge (biosolids). Release rates computed on a per-capita basis can serve to extrapolate findings to a larger scale. This review examines over a dozen mass balances conducted for various organic wastewater contaminants, including prescription drugs, estrogens, fragrances, antimicrobials, and surfactants of differing sorption potential (hydrophobicity), here expressed as the 1-octanol−water partition coefficient (KOW) and the organic carbon normalized sorption coefficient (KOC). Major challenges to mass balances are the collection of representative samples and accurate quantification of chemicals in sludge. A meta-analysis of peer-reviewed data identified sorption potential as the principal determinant governing chemical persistence in biosolids. Occurrence data for organic wastewater compounds detected in digested sludge followed a simple nonlinear model that required only KOW or KOC as the input and yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.9 in both instances. The model predicted persistence in biosolids for the majority (>50%) of the input load of organic wastewater compounds featuring a log10KOW value of greater than 5.2 (log10KOC > 4.4). In contrast, hydrophobicity had no or only limited value for estimating, respectively, Φ and the overall persistence of a chemical during conventional wastewater treatment

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

The Influence of Ethanol on the Convective Drying of Unripe, Ripe, and Overripe Bananas

In this work, the influence of ethanol on convective drying of unripe, ripe, and overripe bananas was investigated. The experiments were performed at 60 degrees C with air velocity at 0.84 ms(-1) under the following conditions: normal atmosphere, atmosphere modified with ethanol (0.5% v/v), and ethanol brushed on the surface of the samples. Among the ripeness degree, the unripe was correlated with higher diffusivity, followed by the ripe and the overripe conditions, in this order. With respect to the treatments, the higher diffusivity was obtained with the surface use of ethanol, followed by the modified atmosphere and the normal atmosphere, in this order. Shrinkage and color were also investigated. The longitudinal shrinkage was always greater than the radial shrinkage and there was no influence of ethanol treatment on shrinkage. It was observed that there was higher total color difference (Delta E) for unripe and overripe bananas at normal atmosphere and higher ratio of luminosity (L*/L-0*) when ethanol was used.30881782

Volatiles Identification in Pineapple Submitted to Drying in an Ethanolic Atmosphere

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Pineapple slices were dried under normal and modified atmosphere in a lab-scale tunnel dryer. The atmosphere was modified by addition of 0.5% ethanol v/v to the air stream using two different temperatures and two different air velocities. A manual solid-phase micro-extractor coupled to a gas chromatographer/mass spectrometer (SPME-GC-MS) was used to determine the volatiles composition in fresh and dried pineapple samples. Important volatile compounds of pineapple aroma were detected in fresh as well as dried samples. The modified atmosphere promoted more rapid water evaporation and better retention of the volatile compounds upon drying.272248257Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

PREFLIGHT TESTS OF THE MASCO TELESCOPE

ABSTRACT We present some of the preflight tests carried out with the MASCO balloon-borne imaging gamma ray experiment in order to test the detector system and associated electronics employed by the telescope. The detector system is composed by a 4 I cm-diameter, 5 cm-thick NaI(TI) crystal surrounded by plastic scintillators on the top and on the sides, for shielding. A similar Nal(TI) is used at the bottom with the same purpose. The imaging device capability is provided by an extended 19x19 MURA-based coded mask placed 305 cm away from the detector plane which is mounted in such a way that it becomes an antimask with a 90 degree rotation. The tests determined the position sensitive detector diameter to be approximately 24 cm and showed that it is possible to do imaging in a fully coded circular (14.2 degree-diameter) field of view with a positioning power of 4.5 arcminutes for a 5 cr source. The measured energy resolution was about 10% at 662 keV and the spatial resolution was approximately 10 mm at 100 keV. We have made a series of laboratory images using a 320 mCi "' Cs radioactive source to test the effectiveness of the mask-antimask subtraction technique and obtained a 60% improvement in signal-to-noise ratio of the images. Temperature tests of the on board electronics were carried out and the results of the peak detector circuits tests are presented

Redalyc.Apparent digestibility of energetic ingredients by pirarucu juveniles, Arapaima gigas (Schinz, 1822)

ABSTRACT. An understanding of feed ingredient digestibility for the pirarucu is a fundamental step in the development of feeds that promote proper growth of the specie while in captivity. A digestibility trial was conducted with four treatments in triplicate (corn starch, corn, rice bran and wheat bran) to evaluate the digestibility of dry matter, gross energy, crude protein and amino acids by the pirarucu. We used indirect methodology with the inclusion of chromium oxide at 0.1% in the feeds. In total, 18 juveniles were used, with an average live weight of 235 ± 36 g. The sampled juveniles were trained to consume the feeds prior to testing. The corn and cornstarch presented the best apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs) of dry matter, with 76.37% and 70.66%, respectively, followed by rice bran (46.23%) and wheat bran (45.13%). The best ADCs of crude protein were observed in corn (93.44%) and cornstarch (90.94%) compared to rice bran (68.23%) and wheat bran (68.58%). There was no significant difference in the ADC of gross energy; the values ranged from 47.10% for corn starch to 40.10% for corn. The corn and corn starch presented the best ADCs for all the amino acids evaluated, followed by rice bran and wheat bran