Removal of Cd (II) from aqueous solutions by batch and continuous process using chitosan sulfate dispersed in a calcium alginate hydrogel

A novel chitosan sulfate (ChS) which is insoluble at acidic pHs was synthesized and then dispersed in calcium alginate hydrogel beads to be used to remove Cd(II) from aqueous solutions at acidic pHs using a batch process and a continuous process. By batch wise experiments, it was found that the equilibrium adsorption capacity of the Alg-ChS beads increase with the increase in the initial concentration of Cd; however, the percentage of Cd removal decreased.The Freundlich model had the best fit to the experimental adsorption equilibrium data. The adsorption rate of Cd onto Alg-ChS beads followed the kinetic model of pseudo-second order and the time to reach equilibrium increased slightly with increasing initial concentration of Cd(II). The removal of Cd using a fixed bed column (continuous process) packed with the Alg-ChS beads had a much higher efficiencythan the Batch process. An adsorption mechanism of Cd(II) onto the Alg-ChS beads was proposed using the FTIR, and XPS spectra of samples of Cd(II) adsorbed onto ChS and the mechanisms of adsorption of metals by alginate and chitosan proposed by other authors

Performance of ALICE AD modules in the CERN PS test beam

Two modules of the AD detector have been studied with the test beam at the T10 facility at CERN. The AD detector is made of scintillator pads read out by wave-length shifters (WLS) coupled to clean fibres that carry the produced light to photo-multiplier tubes (PMTs). In ALICE the AD is used to trigger and study the physics of diffractive and ultra-peripheral collisions as well as for a variety of technical tasks like beam-gas background monitoring or as a luminometer. The position dependence of the modules' efficiency has been measured and the effect of hits on the WLS or PMTs has been evaluated. The charge deposited by pions and protons has been measured at different momenta of the test beam. The time resolution is determined as a function of the deposited charge. These results are important ingredients to better understand the AD detector, to benchmark the corresponding simulations, and very importantly they served as a baseline for a similar device, the Forward Diffractive Detector (FDD), being currently built and that will be in operation in ALICE during the LHC Runs 3 and 4.Peer reviewe

Cluster Difference Imaging Photometric Survey. II. TOI 837: A Young Validated Planet in IC 2602

We report the discovery of TOI 837b and its validation as a transiting planet. We characterize the system using data from the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission, the ESA Gaia mission, ground-based photometry from El Sauce and ASTEP400, and spectroscopy from CHIRON, FEROS, and Veloce. We find that TOI 837 is a T = 9.9 mag G0/F9 dwarf in the southern open cluster IC 2602. The star and planet are therefore million years old. Combining the transit photometry with a prior on the stellar parameters derived from the cluster color-magnitude diagram, we find that the planet has an orbital period of and is slightly smaller than Jupiter. From radial velocity monitoring, we limit to less than 1.20 M Jup (3σ). The transits either graze or nearly graze the stellar limb. Grazing transits are a cause for concern, as they are often indicative of astrophysical false-positive scenarios. Our follow-up data show that such scenarios are unlikely. Our combined multicolor photometry, high-resolution imaging, and radial velocities rule out hierarchical eclipsing binary scenarios. Background eclipsing binary scenarios, though limited by speckle imaging, remain a 0.2% possibility. TOI 837b is therefore a validated adolescent exoplanet. The planetary nature of the system can be confirmed or refuted through observations of the stellar obliquity and the planetary mass. Such observations may also improve our understanding of how the physical and orbital properties of exoplanets change in time

An Eccentric Massive Jupiter Orbiting a Subgiant on a 9.5-day Period Discovered in the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite Full Frame Images

We report the discovery of TOI-172 b from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission, a massive hot Jupiter transiting a slightly evolved G star with a 9.48-day orbital period. This is the first planet to be confirmed from analysis of only the TESS full frame images, because the host star was not chosen as a two-minute cadence target. From a global analysis of the TESS photometry and follow-up observations carried out by the TESS Follow-up Observing Program Working Group, TOI-172 (TIC 29857954) is a slightly evolved star with an effective temperature of T eff = 5645 ± 50 K, a mass of M ∗ = 1.128-0.061 +0.065 M o, radius of R ∗ = 1.777-0.044 +0.047 R o, a surface gravity of log g ∗ = 3.993-0.028 +0.027, and an age of 7.4-1.5 +1.6. Its planetary companion (TOI-172 b) has a radius of R P = 0.965-0.029 +0.032 R J, a mass of M P = 5.42-0.20 +0.22 M J, and is on an eccentric orbit (e = 0.3806-0.0090 +0.0093 ). TOI-172 b is one of the few known massive giant planets on a highly eccentric short-period orbit. Future study of the atmosphere of this planet and its system architecture offer opportunities to understand the formation and evolution of similar systems

International nosocomial infection control consortium (INICC) report, data summary of 36 countries, for 2004-2009

The results of a surveillance study conducted by the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) from January 2004 through December 2009 in 422 intensive care units (ICUs) of 36 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe are reported. During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN; formerly the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance system [NNIS]) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infections, we gathered prospective data from 313,008 patients hospitalized in the consortium's ICUs for an aggregate of 2,194,897 ICU bed-days. Despite the fact that the use of devices in the developing countries' ICUs was remarkably similar to that reported in US ICUs in the CDC's NHSN, rates of device-associated nosocomial infection were significantly higher in the ICUs of the INICC hospitals; the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection in the INICC ICUs of 6.8 per 1,000 central line-days was more than 3-fold higher than the 2.0 per 1,000 central line-days reported in comparable US ICUs. The overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia also was far higher (15.8 vs 3.3 per 1,000 ventilator-days), as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (6.3 vs. 3.3 per 1,000 catheter-days). Notably, the frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates to imipenem (47.2% vs 23.0%), Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (76.3% vs 27.1%), Escherichia coli isolates to ceftazidime (66.7% vs 8.1%), Staphylococcus aureus isolates to methicillin (84.4% vs 56.8%), were also higher in the consortium's ICUs, and the crude unadjusted excess mortalities of device-related infections ranged from 7.3% (for catheter-associated urinary tract infection) to 15.2% (for ventilator-associated pneumonia). Copyright © 2012 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

POT1 loss-of-function variants predispose to familial melanoma

Dermatology-oncolog

Perda de nutrientes por lixiviação em um Argissolo Acinzentado cultivado com meloeiro Nutrient losses by leaching in an Ultisol with melon

Pretendeu-se, com o presente estudo, avaliar as perdas de nutrientes por lixiviação, em função do tipo de matéria orgânica incorporada ao solo e a sua acumulação na cultura do meloeiro. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação da UFC/CCA. O solo utilizado foi um Argissolo Acinzentado, coletado na camada de 0-10 cm. O delineamento experimental adotado foi o inteiramente casualisado, com 4 repetições. Os tratamentos testados, foram: 0% de matéria orgânica (TEST); 100% de esterco bovino (EB); 100% de palha de arroz (PA) e 50% de esterco bovino + 50% de palha de arroz (EB + PA). Avaliaram-se: densidade do solo, nitrogênio (total NT, mineral NM e orgânico NO), C orgânico total (CO), P, K, Ca, Mg e Na no solo, na água percolada e na planta. Os menores valores de densidade do solo foram encontrados no tratamento PA e os maiores, no TEST. Ocorreu perda de nutrientes por lixiviação com destaque para o P. A lixiviação dos nutrientes foi maior nos tratamentos que contiam matéria orgânica, na forma de esterco bovino. As perdas de NT e CO não tiveram, como principal causa, a lixiviação.<br>This study aimed to evaluate the nutrient losses by leaching as a function of the type of incorporated organic residues into the soil, as well as the accumulation in the melon crop. The experiment was developed in a greenhouse of the UFC/CCA. The soil was a Ultisol, collected in the layer of 0-10 cm. A completely randomized design considering four replications was adopted. The treatments tested were: 0% of organic residues (TEST); 100% of cattle manure (EB); 100% of rice straw (PA) and 50% of cattle manure + 50% of rice straw (EB + PA). The soil bulk density, the nitrogen (total NT, mineral NM and organic NO), total organic carbon (CO), P, K, Ca, Mg and Na in the soil, in the leached water and in the plants were evaluated. The lowest and highest soil bulk density values were found in the PA and TEST treatments, respectively. Nutrients losses by leaching, mainly in relation to P, were observed. The leaching of nutrients seems to be greater in the treatments using cattle manure. The NT and CO losses were not caused exclusively by leaching

Nonsense Mutations in the Shelterin Complex Genes ACD and TERF2IP in Familial Melanoma

Dermatology-oncolog