Haemato biochemical alterations in goats infected with coccidiosis

Coccidiosis is an important disease which account for anaemia and associated problems like poor growth rate, suppressed resistance and high mortality in kids. While considering the various etiological factors resulting in anaemia among goats of Kerala, coccidiosis account for about 8 per cent, indicating the significance of adopting proper prevention and control measures against this disease. The present study reveals the severity and depth of anaemic changes induced by coccidia in goats. All the haematological parameters, serum biochemical parameters and serum levels of iron, copper and zinc of coccidiosis infected animals are evaluated statistically by comparing with healthy control animals

Stabilization of Black Cotton Soil using Lime, Coir Fiber & Rice Husk

Because of their low bearing capacity, the expansive black cotton soils' high swelling and shrinking characteristics have posed numerous challenges to construction projects. When subjected to varying levels of moisture, black cotton soil expands and contracts rapidly. As a result, stabilising the soil is necessary to address these issues. Rice Husk Ash (RHA), Cori Fiber, and Lime are being tested in this study to see if they can act as a stabilising material in the expansive black cotton soil. The impact of RHA, CF, and LIME on the expansive soil's index and engineering properties was studied in the lab. Coir fibre concentration is 1.5 percent, lime is 5 percent by weight of dry soil, and RHA is mixed in at a ratio of 20 percent. The virgin soil sample is first tested for specific gravity and grain size distribution. With and without these admixtures soil's index properties like its plastic limit, liquid limit and shrinkage limit and its strength properties like its California Bearing Ratio, Unconfined Compressive Strength tests are discovered. According to the test results, a combination of 5 percent lime and 1.5 percent coir fibre yielded the strongest soil and best index properties

Modeling approaches to predict removal of trace organic compounds by ozone oxidation in potable reuse applications

10.1039/c5ew00120jEnvironmental Science: Water Research and Technology15699-70

Investigating landfill leachate as a source of trace organic pollutants

Landfill leachate samples (n = 11) were collected from five USA municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills and analyzed for ten trace organic pollutants that are commonly detected in surface and municipal wastewater effluents (viz., carbamazepine, DEET, fluoxetine, gemfibrozil, PFOA, PFOS, primidone, sucralose, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim). Carbamazepine, DEET, PFOA and primidone were detected in all leachate samples analyzed and gemfibrozil was detected in samples from four of the five-landfill sites. The contaminants found in the highest concentrations were DEET (6900-143 000 ng L−1) and sucralose (<10-621 000 ng L−1). Several compounds were not detected (fluoxetine) or detected infrequently (sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim and PFOS). Using the average mass of DEET in leachate amongst the five landfills and scaling the mass release from the five test landfills to the USA population of landfills, an order of magnitude estimate is that over 10 000 kg DEET yr−1 may be released in leachate. Some pharmaceuticals have similar annual mean discharges to one another, with the estimated annual discharge of carbamazepine, gemfibrozil, primidone equating to 53, 151 and 128 kg year−1. To the authors knowledge, this is the first time that primidone has been included in a landfill leachate study. While the estimates developed in this study are order of magnitude, the values do suggest the need for further research to better quantify the amount of chemicals sent to wastewater treatment facilities with landfill leachate, potential impacts on treatment processes and the significance of landfill leachate as a source of surface water contamination

Exchange spring like magnetic behavior in cobalt ferrite nanoparticles

Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were prepared by sol-gel technique and were annealed at 900 degrees C in air for 2 h. Structural properties were studied by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies show presence of mostly two different sizes of grains in these samples. Magnetization value of 58.36 emu/g was observed at 300 K for the as prepared sample and an enhanced magnetization close to the bulk value of 80.59 emu/g was observed for the annealed sample. At 10 K a two stepped hysteresis loop showing exchange spring magnetic behavior was observed accompanied by very high values of coercivity and remanence. Two clear peaks were observed in the derivative of demagnetization curve in the as prepared sample where as two partially overlapped peaks were observed in the annealed sample. The observed magnetic properties can be understood on the basis of the grain size and their distribution leading to the different types of intergranular interactions in these nanoparticles. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Predicting trace organic compound breakthrough in granular activated carbon using fluorescence and UV absorbance as surrogates

10.1016/j.watres.2015.02.019Water Research7676-8

Structural and magnetic properties of ZnXCo1-XFe2O4 nanoparticles: Nonsaturation of magnetization

ZnXCo1-XFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel method and were annealed at two different temperatures; 500 degrees C and 900 degrees C in air for 2 h. Structural studies were carried out by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. The crystallite size didn't show any variation with the increase in Zn2+ concentration and was increased after annealing. The magnetization value at 300 K for the as-prepared samples increased from 53 emu/g to 60 emu/g when Zn2+ concentration increased from x= 0 to 0.2 and then it decreased to 11 emu/g for x=1. Similar magnetic behavior was also observed for the annealed samples with a peak at x=0.2. A very high magnetization value of 116 emu/g at 60 K was observed for the 900 degrees C annealed sample with x=0.4. The coercivity decreased monotonically with the increase in the Zn2+ concentration for both the as-prepared and the annealed samples. The magnetization and coercivity values were observed to be enhanced with the decrease in measurement temperature. The nonsaturation behavior of the magnetic hysteresis loops of these nanoparticle samples observed for all compositions and temperatures was studied by the method of approach to saturation by fitting M(H)=M(infinity) [ 1-(H*/H) (1/2)] to the high field data of the initial curve from 20 kOe to 30 kOe. It was observed that H* value which is the measure of the nonsaturation increased with the increase in the Zn2+ concentration. The observed magnetic properties in these nanoparticle samples can be ascribed to the changed cation distribution in the spinel structure and to the decrease of Co2+ concentration

Analyzing a broader spectrum of endocrine active organic contaminants in sewage sludge with high resolution LC-QTOF-MS suspect screening and QSAR toxicity prediction

Endocrine active contaminants (EACs) in environmental samples can pose a range of toxicological threats to ecosystems, especially through their impacts on reproductive pathways mediated by the estrogen receptor. The physicochemical properties of known organic EACs vary greatly and typically require different sample preparation techniques to identify different classes of compounds. EAC sources are similarly diverse, including both endogenous compounds and anthropogenic chemicals found in personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and their transformation products, which are often disposed of to sewers at their end of use. Looking for EACs in sewage sludge proposes a bottom-up, or end-of-use and treatment approach to discover environmentally relevant EACs, since many EACs accumulate in sludges even after application of robust wastewater treatment processes. This study demonstrates an extraction and analytical method capable of detecting a broad spectrum of known and suspected EACs via High Resolution Liquid Chromatography Quadropole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) suspect screening of fourteen California sewage sludge samples. Spike-recovery experiments were performed using twelve carefully selected surrogates to assess different extraction solvents, sample weights, extraction pH values, procedures for combining extracts with different extraction pH's, and solid phase extraction cartridges. Using LC-QTOF-MS, identifications of several other organic compounds in the samples were made, a goal unachievable with unit resolution mass spectrometry. Suspect screening of California sludge samples discovered 118 compounds including hormones, pharmaceuticals, phosphate flame retardants, recreational drugs, antimicrobials, and pesticides. Additionally, 22 of these identified compounds are predicted to interfere with estrogen receptors or other reproductive/developmental pathways based on the VEGA QSAR toxicity prediction model