Enhancement of crude oil polluted soil by applying single and combined cow-dung and hydrogen peroxide as remediating agents

The study aimed at enhancing the remediationof crude oil polluted soil of the Niger Delta using cow dung and hydrogen peroxide in either single or combined forms. 5 kg of soil each was polluted with 200 ml of crude oil representing 4% w/v. Five  amendment treatments labelledA- E were done in order of A (polluted soil + 1.2 kg cow dung), B (polluted soil + 1000 ml Hydrogen peroxide), C (polluted soil + 0.6 kg cow dung +500 ml hydrogen peroxide), D (polluted soil without amendment) and E (unpolluted soil without amendment).pH, conductivity, organic carbon, organic matter, phosphate, nitrate, total hydrocarbon content, potassium and microbial population were analyzed before and after remediation. The results showed that addition of cowdung and H2O2 enhanced remediation of the polluted soilespecially in treatment A and C with significant increase (p=0.05) in soil conductivity, pH and nutrients when compared to the un-amended soil. Reduction in the total hydrocarbon content (THC) was in the order of A (79.48%)>C (77.95%) >B (75.75%)  >D(46%)with significant increase in hydrocarbon degrading microbes in the amended soil.The amendments have the capacities to enhance remediation of crude oil polluted soil.Also, the combined treatments did not have any advantage over the single treatment options as the use of cowdung single treatment perform best in terms of its remediation potential. Therefore, nutrient enhancement should be  considered a critical factor in the remediation of crude oil polluted soil.Keywords: remediation, physiochemical, parameters, soil, crude oil

Phylogenetic Codivergence Supports Coevolution of Mimetic Heliconius Butterflies

The unpalatable and warning-patterned butterflies _Heliconius erato_ and _Heliconius melpomene_ provide the best studied example of mutualistic Müllerian mimicry, thought – but rarely demonstrated – to promote coevolution. Some of the strongest available evidence for coevolution comes from phylogenetic codivergence, the parallel divergence of ecologically associated lineages. Early evolutionary reconstructions suggested codivergence between mimetic populations of _H. erato_ and _H. melpomene_, and this was initially hailed as the most striking known case of coevolution. However, subsequent molecular phylogenetic analyses found discrepancies in phylogenetic branching patterns and timing (topological and temporal incongruence) that argued against codivergence. We present the first explicit cophylogenetic test of codivergence between mimetic populations of _H. erato_ and _H. melpomene_, and re-examine the timing of these radiations. We find statistically significant topological congruence between multilocus coalescent population phylogenies of _H. erato_ and _H. melpomene_, supporting repeated codivergence of mimetic populations. Divergence time estimates, based on a Bayesian coalescent model, suggest that the evolutionary radiations of _H. erato_ and _H. melpomene_ occurred over the same time period, and are compatible with a series of temporally congruent codivergence events. This evidence supports a history of reciprocal coevolution between Müllerian co-mimics characterised by phylogenetic codivergence and parallel phenotypic change

Engineering of quantum dot photon sources via electro-elastic fields

The possibility to generate and manipulate non-classical light using the tools of mature semiconductor technology carries great promise for the implementation of quantum communication science. This is indeed one of the main driving forces behind ongoing research on the study of semiconductor quantum dots. Often referred to as artificial atoms, quantum dots can generate single and entangled photons on demand and, unlike their natural counterpart, can be easily integrated into well-established optoelectronic devices. However, the inherent random nature of the quantum dot growth processes results in a lack of control of their emission properties. This represents a major roadblock towards the exploitation of these quantum emitters in the foreseen applications. This chapter describes a novel class of quantum dot devices that uses the combined action of strain and electric fields to reshape the emission properties of single quantum dots. The resulting electro-elastic fields allow for control of emission and binding energies, charge states, and energy level splittings and are suitable to correct for the quantum dot structural asymmetries that usually prevent these semiconductor nanostructures from emitting polarization-entangled photons. Key experiments in this field are presented and future directions are discussed.Comment: to appear as a book chapter in a compilation "Engineering the Atom-Photon Interaction" published by Springer in 2015, edited by A. Predojevic and M. W. Mitchel

Mortality and causes of death among violent offenders and victims-a Swedish population based longitudinal study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Most previous studies on mortality in violent offenders or victims are based on prison or hospital samples, while this study analyzed overall and cause specific mortality among violent offenders, victims, and individuals who were both offenders and victims in a general sample of 48,834 18-20 year-old men conscripted for military service in 1969/70 in Sweden.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Each person completed two non-anonymous questionnaires concerning family, psychological, and behavioral factors. The cohort was followed for 35 years through official registers regarding violent offenses, victimization, and mortality. The impact of violence, victimization, early risk factors and hospitalization for psychiatric diagnosis or alcohol and drug misuse during follow up on mortality was investigated using Cox proportional hazard regression analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Repeat violent offenses were associated with an eleven fold higher hazard of dying from a substance-related cause and nearly fourfold higher hazard of dying from suicide. These figures remained significantly elevated also in multivariate analyses, with a 3.03 and 2.39 hazard ratio (HR), respectively. Participants with experience of violence and inpatient care for substance abuse or psychiatric disorder had about a two to threefold higher risk of dying compared to participants with no substance use or psychiatric disorder.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Violent offending and being victimized are associated with excess mortality and a risk of dying from an alcohol or drug-related cause or suicide. Consequently, prevention of violent behavior might have an effect on overall mortality and suicide rates. Prevention of alcohol and drug use is also warranted.</p

Measurement of cortisol in saliva: a comparison of measurement error within and between international academic-research laboratories

Objective: Hundreds of scientific publications are produced annually that involve the measurement of cortisol in saliva. Intra- and inter-laboratory variation in salivary cortisol results has the potential to contribute to cross- study inconsistencies in findings, and the perception that salivary cortisol results are unreliable. This study rigor- ously estimates sources of measurement variability in the assay of salivary cortisol within and between established international academic-based laboratories that specialize in saliva analyses. One hundred young adults (Mean age: 23.10 years; 62 females) donated 2 mL of whole saliva by passive drool. Each sample was split into multiple- 100 µL aliquots and immediately frozen. One aliquot of each of the 100 participants’ saliva was transported to academic laboratories (N = 9) in the United States, Canada, UK, and Germany and assayed for cortisol by the same commercially available immunoassay. Results: 1.76% of the variance in salivary cortisol levels was attributable to differences between duplicate assays of the same sample within laboratories, 7.93% of the variance was associated with differences between laboratories, and 90.31% to differences between samples. In established-qualified laboratories, measurement error of salivary cortisol is minimal, and inter-laboratory differences in measurement are unlikely to have a major influence on the determined values

Identification of CD8+ T Cell Epitopes in the West Nile Virus Polyprotein by Reverse-Immunology Using NetCTL

West Nile virus (WNV) is a growing threat to public health and a greater understanding of the immune response raised against WNV is important for the development of prophylactic and therapeutic strategies.In a reverse-immunology approach, we used bioinformatics methods to predict WNV-specific CD8(+) T cell epitopes and selected a set of peptides that constitutes maximum coverage of 20 fully-sequenced WNV strains. We then tested these putative epitopes for cellular reactivity in a cohort of WNV-infected patients. We identified 26 new CD8(+) T cell epitopes, which we propose are restricted by 11 different HLA class I alleles. Aiming for optimal coverage of human populations, we suggest that 11 of these new WNV epitopes would be sufficient to cover from 48% to 93% of ethnic populations in various areas of the World.The 26 identified CD8(+) T cell epitopes contribute to our knowledge of the immune response against WNV infection and greatly extend the list of known WNV CD8(+) T cell epitopes. A polytope incorporating these and other epitopes could possibly serve as the basis for a WNV vaccine