Removal of heavy metals from wastewater using agricultural and industrial wastes as adsorbents

AbstractAdsorption processes are being widely used by various researchers for the removal of heavy metals from waste streams and activated carbon has been frequently used as an adsorbent. Despite its extensive use in water and wastewater treatment industries, activated carbon remains an expensive material. In recent years, the need for safe and economical methods for the elimination of heavy metals from contaminated waters has necessitated research interest toward the production of low cost alternatives to commercially available activated carbon. Therefore, there is an urgent need that all possible sources of agro-based inexpensive adsorbents should be explored and their feasibility for the removal of heavy metals should be studied in detail. The objective of this research is to study the utilization possibilities of less expensive adsorbents for the elimination of heavy metals from wastewater. Agricultural and industrial waste by-products such as rice husk and fly ash have be used for the elimination of heavy metals from wastewater for the treatment of the EL-AHLIA Company wastewater for electroplating industries as an actual case study.Results showed that low cost adsorbents can be fruitfully used for the removal of heavy metals with a concentration range of 20–60mg/l also, using real wastewater showed that rice husk was effective in the simultaneous removal of Fe, Pb and Ni, where fly ash was effective in the removal of Cd and Cu

Recharging of Flying Base Stations using Airborne RF Energy Sources

This paper presents a new method for recharging flying base stations, carried by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), using wireless power transfer from dedicated, airborne, Radio Frequency (RF) energy sources. In particular, we study a system in which UAVs receive wireless power without being disrupted from their regular trajectory. The optimal placement of the energy sources are studied so as to maximize received power from the energy sources by the receiver UAVs flying with a linear trajectory over a square area. We find that for our studied scenario of two UAVs, if an even number of energy sources are used, placing them in the optimal locations maximizes the total received power, while achieving fairness among the UAVs. However, in the case of using an odd number of energy sources, we can either maximize the total received power, or achieve fairness, but not both at the same time. Numerical results show that placing the energy sources at the suggested optimal locations results in significant power gain compared to nonoptimal placements.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, conference pape

Healing during physician-patient consultation

OBJECTIVE: To determine the patient perceptions regarding healing during a physician-patient consultation. DESIGN: A questionnaire-based survey. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Family Practice Center of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, in June 2004. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A questionnaire was designed that included the demographic profile of patients comprising age, gender, education and occupation as well as questions in line with the study objective. It was administered to 111 patients, visiting outpatient department of the hospital. Participants were explained the study objective, a written consent was taken and full confidentiality was assured. RESULTS: The mean age of the study population was 27.86 years. Majority of the subjects were males with 68% having graduate or more education. A physician-patient consultation has healing properties for patients and physicians, according to 99 (89%) and 67 (65%) respondents respectively, with 65 (58%) having had experienced healing during the consultation process. The competence of a physician, individual attention given by a physician and a cool and calm attitude of a physician, were reported to increase healing in a physician-patient consultation according to 34 (30%), 32 (29%) and 13 (11%) respondents respectively. The unhelpful physician behavior, incorrect diagnosis and physician\u27s rude and arrogant attitude were reported to decrease healing according to 42 (37%), 15 (14%) and 14 (13%) respondents respectively. CONCLUSION: The study shows that a majority of the patients believe a physician-patient consultation has healing properties on its own, based on healing potential in the consultation process itself. Physicians must try to find ways to improve their ability to act as healers during consultation with patients

An Analysis of the Cohesion and Coherence of Students` English Writings at the Second Grade of Sman 1 Labuapi West Lombok

This study aimed at analyzing students` writings in terms of: (1) the types of cohesive devices used; (2) the types of topical progressions; and (3) the problems of coherence. The subjects investigated were 30 second grade students of SMAN 1 Labuapi. There were two kinds of data collected: written and verbal data. In collecting the data, the students were given a writing task and the students and the English teacher were interviewed. The data were analyzed qualitatively based on Halliday and Hasans` theory of cohesion (1976) and Topical Progression Analysis of Lautamatti (1978) in Hoenisch (2009) and Almaden (2006). The results of study were (1) the students used the five types of cohesive devices to serve the coherence of their writings of which reference 40.84% with personal reference as the dominant use. Lexical cohesion was used 37.99% dominated with repetition. Then, it was followed by conjunction 19.60 %, ellipsis 1.35%, and substitution 0.29%; (2) the topical progression used was parallel progression with the percentage 56.84%, sequential progression 24.19%, and extended parallel progression 18.25%; (3) some problems in coherence of students` writings were reference, conjunction, lexical cohesion, tenses, auxiliary `to be`, passive voice, infinitive, gerund, subject-verb agreement, noun, preposition, and text structure. The result of the study indicates that cohesion and coherence have to be the emphasis in teaching writing and the English teachers have to be competent in evaluating the coherence of students` writings by applying TSA

Measuring cycle riding comfort in Southampton using an instrumented bicycle

The increased environmental awareness and the rising fuel costs make bicycles a more and more attractive mode of travel for short journeys. Considering the future prospect of this mode of transportation and the great advantages that it offers in terms of space consumption, health and environmental sustainability, several city authorities worldwide are presently undertaking schemes aiming at improving cycling infrastructure. The aim of the present study is to monitor the impact of such schemes on the riding comfort of cyclists, as expressed by the, usually lower, quantity and magnitude of vibrations occurring as a result of cycling over pavement defects. Millbrook Road East in the western edge of the city center of Southampton is used as a case study, where vibration measurements are taken by means of an instrumented bicycle during periods before and after a redevelopment scheme involving the resurfacing of the road pavement. The results show a clear overall improvement in cycling comfort post-redevelopment, with statistically significant reductions in both the number of high severity vibrations and of their magnitude in "typical" cycling trips taken on the road. However, instances of finishing "snags" in some parts of the surface appear to introduce new minor defects (e.g. around manholes) that are not visible to the naked eye, and these still have some negative effect on the riding experience. Moreover, the study highlights the detrimental impact that widespread pavement defects can have on riding comfort, which affect cyclists of all ages, abilities and styles

Accuracy of VA databases for diagnoses of knee replacement and hip replacement

SummaryPurposeTo examine the validity of International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision (ICD-9) and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for knee replacement and hip replacement in Veterans Affairs (VA) databases.MethodsFrom a cohort of veterans who received health care at Minneapolis VA Medical Center and/or affiliated medical facilities, we obtained four random samples of 50 patients each with: neither hip nor knee replacement code, knee replacement code only, hip replacement code only and both knee and hip replacement codes. The gold standard was documentation of knee or hip replacement surgery in patient medical records. Accuracy of ICD-9 or CPT code for knee and hip replacement was assessed by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV).ResultsOf the 200 patients, medical records were available for 166:140 (70%) had complete medical records and 26 (13%) had incomplete medical records. Knee replacement codes were accurate with excellent PPV of 95%, sensitivity of 95%, specificity of 96% and NPV of 96%. Hip replacement codes were accurate with excellent PPV of 98%, sensitivity of 96%, specificity of 99% and NPV of 96%. Sensitivity analyses that included incomplete charts had little impact on these estimates. The procedure dates found in VA databases matched exactly with medical records in 96%.ConclusionsThe ICD-9 and CPT codes for knee replacement and hip replacement in VA databases are valid. These codes may be used to identify cohorts of veterans with knee replacement and hip replacement for research studies

Synthesis and characterization of silver nanoarticles from extract of Eucalyptus citriodora

The primary motivation for the study to develop simple eco-friendly green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using leaf extract of Eucalyptus citriodora as reducing and capping agent. The green synthesis process was quite fast and silver nanoparticles were formed within 0.5 h. The synthesis of the particles was observed by UV-visible spectroscopy by noting increase in absorbance. Characterization of the particles was carried out by X-ray diffraction, FTIR and electron microscopy. The developed nanoparticles demonstrated that E. citriodora is good source of reducing agents. UV-visible absorption spectra of the reaction medium containing silver nanoparticles showed maximum absorbance at 460 nm. FTIR analysis confirmed reduction of Ag+ to Ag0 atom in silver nanoparticles. The XRD pattern revealed the crystalline structure of silver nanoparticles. The SEM analysis showed the size and shape of the nanoparticles. The method being green, fast, easy and cost effective can be recommended for large scale production of AgNPs for their use in food, medicine and materials

Karakter Kewirausahaan Guru SMA Negeri Kecamatan Tambang, Kabupaten Kampar

The character development of entrepreneurship in formal education in line with thenational policy in the field of education, which has prepared the concept ofentrepreneurship-based curriculum for all levels of education. The researchobjective was to assess the entrepreneurial character of teachers SMA NegeriKecamatan Tambang, Kampar district. This is a descriptive quantitative researchconducted by survey. The sample was 114 teachers. Data were collected using aquestionnaire which is based on Likert scale of five options, and the data wereanalyzed using descriptive statistics and statistical inference. This study found thatthe entrepreneurial character of teachers SMA Negeri Kecamatan Tambang,Kampar district viewed by 16 indicators obtained very high value Mean 4, 27 andStandard Deviasi 0.86. Meaning, the entrepreneurial character of teachers has beenvery good, all the indicators are already owned by the teacher with an excellent andvery high, but still needs to be improved by strengthening the entrepreneurialcharacter in the learning activities, with the coaching aspects relating to indicators.The results of this study will be as well as teaching materials and self-improvementof the entrepreneurial character, especially in the educational institution, teachersand students, in order to realize the will of Law Number 20 Year 2003 on NationalEducation System Article 3, which states that the national education serves todevelop skills and character development and civilization of the nation's dignity inthe context of the intellectual life of the nation, aims to develop the potential oflearners to be a man of faith and fear of God Almighty, noble, healthy,knowledgeable, skilled, creative, independent, and become citizens democratic andresponsible

Pembangunan dan pengesahsahihan instrumen manhaj rabbãniyyah sebagai indikator komunikator Islam / Muhammad Taufik Md Sharipp, S Salahudin Suyurno and Mohamad Shafiei Ayub

Rabbãniyyah bermaksud jalan hidup yang bersumberkan Tuhan, bukan ciptaan manusia. Al-Quran telah melakarkan asas-asas utama seorang Muslim ketika berkomunikasi termasuk kaedah menyeru ke arah kebaikan serta melarang kemungkaran. Kajian ini dijalankan dalam dua fasa iaitu fasa pembangunan instrumen dan fasa kesahan faktor secara statistik hubungan manhaj rabbãniyyah dengan menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif. Sebanyak 21 item dalam pemboleh ubah manhaj rabbānīyyah telah dikelaskan kepada 3 elemen metodologi dakwah iaitu ‘al-hikmāh‘, ‘al-mauʿizah al-hasanah‘ dan al-mujãdalah al-husna‘. Hikmāh merujuk kepada keadilan, ilmu dan kelembutan, Lafaz mauʿizah yang diulang sekurang-kurangnya sembilan belas kali dalam al-Quran ini turut bermaksud menggunakan penyampaian atau percakapan yang lemah-lembut dan berbudi bahasa, mesej yang disampaikan bersifat targhĩb atau tarhĩb golongan sasar. Manakala mujãdalah membawa erti perbincangan atau dialog yang baik dengan disertakan bukti fakta dalam menyokong hujah. Ketiga-tiga elemen ini merupakan faktor yang penting dalam membentuk metode penyampaian seorang komunikator Islam

ROLE OF AGILITY AND DYNAMIC BALANCE IN PERFORMANCE OF UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF PAKISTAN

The aim of the present study is to measure and highlight the role of agility and dynamic balance in performance of university football players. The sample size (n-250) of football players was randomly selected from universities of district Faisalabad. The age group of subjects was ranged between 17 to 27 years. Data was collected from two diverse scales such as Illinois Agility Test for agility and Bass Test for dynamic balance. Descriptive statistics (Mean and standard deviation) and inferential analysis (chi-squire and t-test) were employed as statistical approaches. The agility test scores revealed that overall universities football players were below the required standards such as approximately 70% of athletes failed to reach satisfactory scores. Findings indicated that the balance and agility among gender revealed significant differences. Results revealed that females attained more agility than males. The balance results exposed that overall university football players were found above average and satisfactory to reach their required level of balance. The findings overall concluded that with agility and dynamic balance, university football players may be competed at their best in national as well as international level competitions