An analysis of Sappi Saiccor's effluent streams.

Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.SAPPI SAICCOR is a pulp and paper mill situated in Umkomaas, 50 kms south of the port of Durban in South Africa. It was the first company to produce high grade dissolving pulp from the Eucalyptus tree and is currently the world's largest manufacturer of chemical cellulose. SAICCOR is one of the few pulp and paper mills that produces its dissolving pulp by the acid sulphite process using both calcium and magnesium as bases in the form of calcium bisulphite and magnesium bisulphite. Four streams of effluent are produced during their process, namely, the calcium spent liquor, the magnesium pulp condensate and two streams from the bleaching stages. An acid hydrolysis of the effluent streams yielded a range of organic compounds such as lignans and lignin - type precursors as well as a triterpenoid. Column chromatography and thin layer chromatography, using various ratios of hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and methanol, were carried out in isolating and purifying the compounds. The structures of these compounds were determined using NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric techniques

Comparison of antibody immune responses between BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in naïve and previously infected individuals.

Two mRNA vaccines, Pfizer-BNT162b2 and Moderna-mRNA-1273, obtained the Emergency Use Listing by WHO for preventing COVID-19. However, little is known about the difference in antibody responses induced by these two mRNA vaccines in naïve and previously infected (PI) individuals. We investigated the levels of anti-S-RBD (total, IgG and IgA) levels in naïve and PI individuals, 1-13 (median = 6) weeks following the second dose of either vaccine. Results in the naïve-vaccinated group, the mRNA-1273 vaccine induced significantly higher levels of anti-S-RBD total antibodies (3.5-fold; P < 0.001), IgG (2-fold, P < 0.01) and IgA (2.1-fold, P < 0.001) as compared with the BNT162b2 vaccine. In addition, both vaccines produced significantly higher anti-S-RBD total antibody levels in the PI-group compared with naïve-vaccinated group. The PI group elicited a higher level of anti-S-RBD IgG than the naïve-BNT162b2 (P = 0.05), but not more than the naïve-mRNA-1273 (P = 0.9) group. Interestingly, the PI vaccinated group elicited a comparable level of IgA ratio to the naïve-mRNA-1273 group but significantly higher than the naïve-BNT162b2 group (1.6-fold, P < 0.001). Our results showed that the PI-vaccinated group produces a higher level of antibodies than the naïve vaccinated group, particularly for those vaccinated with BNT162b2

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Electrochemical performance of H+ implantation intercalate with LiCo3O4 thin film and its applications

The purpose of this research is to explore into the impacts of H+ ion implantation on Al/ LiCo3O4/ITO (MIS) thin films employing the sprayed pyrolysis method. The discharged and recharged specimens were characterized using XRD, EDAX, and SEM techniques. Using LiCo3O4 CV curves in KOH solution at various scan speeds, the electrochemical behavior was investigated. Li+ and H+ ions from a KOH solution underwent a reversible insertion into the diffusion coefficient values of LiCo3O4 particles. Increased protonic conductivity and a higher diffusion coefficient value of 3.55x10−8 cm2/S with a scan rate of 100 mV/S are the results of the intercalation of lithium with the cobalt oxide LiCo3O4 and this implantation affects the possible causes of the observed changes in the properties of lithium cobalt oxides. The spray pyrolysis method's process parameters have a major impact on the H+ implantation film's characteristics. As a result, they have been enhanced to produce high-quality LiCo3O4 films with excellent electrical conductivity and transparency

Advanced degradation of organic substance in water using no-ferric Fenton reaction on Titania nanotube

Highly reactive OH radicals facilitate advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) [1]. AOPs are irreplaceable in environmental remediation including but not limited to pollutant degradation [2]. H2O2 leading to OH radicals in iron based fenton systems are well known and few other oxides of alumina and ceria in non-ferrous fenton systems [1]. Majority of studied catalysts materials are in powder form, which limits the catalysts long term applicability in real systems due to separation and regeneration of the catalyst with required catalytic activity is costly. In this present work, we have studied anatase phased titania nanotube arrays (TNA) grown on Ti films prepared by an anodization approach for methyl orange (MO) dye degradation under photocatalytic conditions. Key findings reveal long stability of TNAs over fifty reaction cycles in batch process with higher degree of reproducible performance. Complete removal of MO was achieved after six hours of exposure in AM 1.5 G light (equivalent to 1 sun intensity), where hydrogen peroxide accounted for only 1/200th of the amount of initial dye concentration. This superior performance is ascribed to surface oxygen vacancies and Ti3+ sites promoting regeneration of peroxide in the ongoing reaction medium that is consequently transformed to OH radicals. This is further confirmed by the experiments conducted with formic acid, a known hydroxyl radical scavenger, where the dye degradation was observed to be minimal at a near zero rate even after six hours of reaction time, upon measurements with UV-visible spectroscopy. About 38% of the initial dye was oxidized after 1 h into the reaction under light irradiation in a typical system whereas activity was hugely promoted to over 55% when it was coupled with a Pt wire in an electroless process, without supply of additional power. In conclusion, TNA based this new material is highly regarded as environmentally sustainable, easily reusable, non-toxic and commercially viable candidate for real wastewater treatment plants where the treatments plants are usually large tanks constructed in the open space with access to freely available, energetically rich solar power