Study of Cu(II) Adsorption by Siderite and Kaolin

AbstractThis work deals with the study of adsorption properties of natural raw materials – siderite (S) and kaolin (K) as potential adsorbents of heavy metals cations. To enhance their adsorption capacity, the coating of their surfaces by MnO2 was used (samples denoted as SM and KM). The changes of the surface parameters after the modification were studied by the low temperature nitrogen adsorption measurement. More expressive increase of the value of SBET was observed for the sample SM, from 6 to 36 m2 g-1. The nonhomogenous distribution of MnO2 particles of needle shape on the siderite surface was observed by SEM.The results from the batch adsorption experiments of Cu(II) removal were processed by the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The calculated value of maximum adsorption capacity increased after the modification from 12.9 to 19.8mg g-1 and from 10.8 to 39.8mg g-1 for siderite and kaolin, respectively. In the introductory experiments in dynamic regime, the columns filled with mixtures of S-K and S-KM were percolated with Cu(II) model solution. Due to the presence of a higher dose of S, the solution pH increased during the percolation and precipitated copper was retained in the columns. During the first hours, the effectivity of both mixtures reached 100% and then slightly decreased to 85% in average

Aberrant Methylation Status of Tumour Suppressor Genes in Ovarian Cancer Tissue and Paired Plasma Samples

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STUDY OF Cu(II) ADSORPTION BY BENTONITE AND FOLLOWING REGENERATION BY BIOLEACHING

The natural bentonite and bentonite/iron oxide composite were used as sorbents of Cu(II). Theirsorption properties were examined under the different conditions such as pH of the solution, initialmetal ion concentration. The bentonite removed 71 % Cu(II) while composite 90 %. Their maximumadsorption capacities were 34.1 and 44.4 mg Cu(II) g-1, respectively. The chemical regeneration ofcomposite sorbent by organic acids (oxalic, citric) led to partial Cu(II) dissolution. The hydrochloricacid caused its structural destruction. For the bacterial regeneration, the sorbents were inoculated withheterotrophic indigenous bacteria. After 10 days the bacteria released approximately 80 % of loadedCu(II), leaving the sorbents stable. Longer treatment and higher concentration of metal cations causedthe reverse sorption of Cu(II) by bacteria. The regenerated sorbent was successfully repeatedly used forthe Cu(II) adsorption

BENTONITE/IRON OXIDE MAGNETIC COMPOSITES: CHARACTERIZATION AND APPLICATION AS Pb(II) ADSORBENTS

The natural clay bentonite (B) as adsorbent of lead cations was studied. To enhance its adsorptioncapacity, the coating by iron oxide particles, in two selected weight ratios: 2:1 (BM1) and 4:1(BM2),was used. The changes of the textural and surface parameters after the modification were studied by thelow temperature nitrogen adsorption, XRD and SEM method, Mössbauer spectroscopy. The Pb(II)adsorption experiments were studied under the different conditions, such as pH of the model solutions,contact time and initial metal ion concentration. Higher adsorption rates of BM1 and BM2 sampleswere observed for lower initial metal ion concentrations

Body composition of Slovak midlife women with cardiovascular complications

The aim of this study was to analyse differences in body composition of women with and without cardiovascular complications. Bioelectrical parameters were measured with bioimpedance monofrequency analyser (BIA 101) and tissue electric properties were analysed by bioelectric impedance vector analysis (BIVA). The clinical sample (with CVD) consisted of 254 women ranging in age between 39 and 65 years. The sample of women without CVD consisted of 318 women in the same age range and was created from database of our previous studies. Statistical analysis adjusted for age showed significant differences in body composition characteristics of the studied samples. The results of vector analysis showed significantly different tissue electric properties of women in studied groups, what was confirmed by the Hotelling T2- test (p=0.0000). More women with CVD attained risky mean values of obesity indices of BMI and WHR than their “healthy” counterparts. Among women with CVD 80.2% had higher value of the BMI index than optimal one (>24.9 kg/m2) and 74.4% of women had higher value of the WHR index than optimal (>0.80). From the BIA parameters strong correlation coefficient was found between BMI and FM in both groups (r=0.962 for women with CVD; r=0.968 for relatively healthy women). Our data confirmed that cardiovascular disease complications are strongly linked in body composition changes. The cross-sectional nature of our study makes it difficult to draw conclusions regarding causal pathways, though variables of obesity are in line with unhealthy conditions

Breast Cancer and the Other Non-Coding RNAs

Breast cancer is very heterogenous and the most common gynaecological cancer, with various factors affecting its development. While its impact on human lives and national health budgets is still rising in almost all global areas, many molecular mechanisms affecting its onset and development remain unclear. Conventional treatments still prove inadequate in some aspects, and appropriate molecular therapeutic targets are required for improved outcomes. Recent scientific interest has therefore focused on the non-coding RNAs roles in tumour development and their potential as therapeutic targets. These RNAs comprise the majority of the human transcript and their broad action mechanisms range from gene silencing to chromatin remodelling. Many non-coding RNAs also have altered expression in breast cancer cell lines and tissues, and this is often connected with increased proliferation, a degraded extracellular environment, and higher endothelial to mesenchymal transition. Herein, we summarise the known abnormalities in the function and expression of long non-coding RNAs, Piwi interacting RNAs, small nucleolar RNAs and small nuclear RNAs in breast cancer, and how these abnormalities affect the development of this deadly disease. Finally, the use of RNA interference to suppress breast cancer growth is summarised

Preparation of synthetic zeolites from coal fly ash by hydrothermal synthesis

Large amounts of coal combustion products (as solid products of thermal power plants) with different chemical and physical properties cause serious environmental problems. Even though coal fly ash is a coal combustion product, it has a wide range of applications (e.g., in construction, metallurgy, chemical production, reclamation etc.). One of its potential uses is in zeolitization to obtain a higher added value of the product. The aim of this paper is to produce a material with sufficient textural properties used, for example, for environmental purposes (an adsorbent) and/or storage material. In practice, the coal fly ash (No. 1 and No. 2) from Czech power plants was firstly characterized in detail (X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX), particle size measurement, and textural analysis), and then it was hydrothermally treated to synthetize zeolites. Different concentrations of NaOH, LiCl, Al2O3, and aqueous glass; different temperature effects (90-120 degrees C); and different process lengths (6-48 h) were studied. Furthermore, most of the experiments were supplemented with a crystallization phase that was run for 16 h at 50 degrees C. After qualitative product analysis (SEM-EDX, XRD, and textural analytics), quantitative XRD evaluation with an internal standard was used for zeolitization process evaluation. Sodalite (SOD), phillipsite (PHI), chabazite (CHA), faujasite-Na (FAU-Na), and faujasite-Ca (FAU-Ca) were obtained as the zeolite phases. The content of these zeolite phases ranged from 2.09 to 43.79%. The best conditions for the zeolite phase formation were as follows: 4 M NaOH, 4 mL 10% LiCl, liquid/solid ratio of 30:1, silica/alumina ratio change from 2:1 to 1:1, temperature of 120 degrees C, process time of 24 h, and a crystallization phase for 16 h at 50 degrees C.Web of Science145art. no. 126

Effectiveness of pneumococcal vaccine against community-acquired pneumonia in elderly: feasibility study

Primary objective: To evaluate the feasibility of conducting a study of vaccine effectiveness (VE) against community acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by PCV13 serotypes attended in primary health care setting using an indirect cohort design. Secondary objective: To estimate the proportion of all community acquired pneumonia attended in Portuguese primary health care caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and by PCV13 serotypes.IMOVE+N/