Potentials of Sludge from Drinking Water Treatment Plant for Use as Source of Soil Nutrients for Reclamation of Degraded Land

The residuals from Gubi drinking water treatment plant are usually discharged directly into the nearby streams without any form of treatment. The decomposition of the organic materials contained in the untreated sludge has caused the production of malodorous gases and unsightly condition in the area. The disposal of this sludge in an environmentally friendly manner is therefore not only desirable but necessary. The aim of this investigation was to assess the feasibility of utilizing the residuals from Gubi water treatment plant as a source of nutrients for reclamation of degraded lands especially those arising from mining activities. The study was carried out at Gubi water treatment plant located in the vicinity of Gubi Dam water reservoir.Ten sludge samples were collected from each of the three clerifiers. Important sludge properties that are known to aid nutrients status of soil were analyzed using standard laboratory procedures. The means of various soil quality parameters recorded in the WTRs were 6.8, 20.06g/kg, 34.90g/kg, 1.65g/kg, 2.30g/kg, 13.45mg/kg, 2.50Cmol/kg, 2.10Cmol/kg and 28Cmol/kg for pH, Organic C, Organic Matter, K, Total N, Olsen P, Ca, Mg and CEC respectively. The means of all the parameters analysed falls within the ranges considered good for vegetation growth. The heavy metals concentrations recorded in the residual were 1.8mg/kg, 0.1mg/kg, 2mg/kg, 29mg/kg, 66mg/kg, 15mg/kg, 8.7mg/kg, 6.2mg/kg and 0.03mg/kg for As, Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, Cr and Hg respectively. The concentrations of all the metals did not exceed the acceptable threshold limits recommended by regulatory authorities. Considering the enormous amount of plant nutrients and absence of excessive toxic metals in Gubi WTRs, it is safe to conclude that the residual can be use as a source of soil nutrients for reclamation of degraded land. Key words: Sludge, Soil Nutrients, Degraded Land, Reclamatio

Antifouling activity of alkaline protease from halotolerant Bacillus sp. isolated from marine source

1274-1279In this study, an attempt has been made to explore the antifouling activity of the marine halotolerant bacterium, namely, Bacillus sp. About 10 different bacteria were isolated using the Zobell marine agar medium from the marine sediment samples that were collected from the Marina beach, Bay of Bengal, India. The growth pattern tests of the 10 bacteria were documented. Among the 10 different isolates, two exhibited the protease activity in skim milk agar. The antifouling activity was further tested against five different fouling bacteria. The antifouling activity of alkaline protease isolated from Bacillus sp. inferred that it exhibited pronounced inhibitory zones against fouling bacterial strains with least minimal inhibitory concentration range between 25 and 100 units/mg protein. Anticrustacean assay was performed using Artemia salina of alkaline protease, which showed good activity. The results suggest that Bacillus sp. produced an extracellular alkaline protease, which was responsible for the antifouling and algicidal activity of marine fouling organisms. This study tends to indicate that Bacillus sp. could be further explored for the development of new antifouling agents

An alternative synthetic approach for 1,3- benzoxazine derivatives

1,3-benzoxazine derivatives were synthesized in high yield using three-step synthetic technique by the condensation of 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde with aromatic amines, reducing the condensation products and replacing the usual formaldehyde with methylene bromide to achieve ring closure. The structures of the benzoxazines were confirmed by FTIR, 1H and 13C NMR spectra and Mass spectroscopy

A NEW DESIGN of SIX- PHASE ROTARY CONVERTER ELECTRIC MACHINE

The aim of this research is to design a new ac rotary converter machine to convert the ac single phase voltage to six-phase voltages by using multi stages energy conversion machine. The rotary converter is composed from two main stages and is combined into one frame. These two stages are formed from three main electromagnetic components. The first component represents the input stage that enables the energy from single phase to enter and transformed by the second and third components electro-magnetically to produce six-phase voltages which at the output stage. The programs are created using MATLAB in order to calculate the required dimensions of the converter machine and its parameters for magnetic and electrical circuits

Blood Pressure and Cognitive Decline Over 8 Years in Middle-Aged and Older Black and White Americans

Although the association between high blood pressure (BP), particularly in midlife, and late-life dementia is known, less is known about variations by race and sex. In a prospective national study of 22 164 blacks and whites ≥45 years without baseline cognitive impairment or stroke from the REGARDS cohort study (Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke), enrolled 2003 to 2007 and followed through September 2015, we measured changes in cognition associated with baseline systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP), as well as pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure, and we tested whether age, race, and sex modified the effects. Outcomes were global cognition (Six-Item Screener; primary outcome), new learning (Word List Learning), verbal memory (Word List Delayed Recall), and executive function (Animal Fluency Test). Median follow-up was 8.1 years. Significantly faster declines in global cognition were associated with higher SBP, lower DBP, and higher PP with increasing age ( P<0.001 for age×SBP×follow-up-time, age×DBP×follow-up-time, and age×PP×follow-up-time interaction). Declines in global cognition were not associated with mean arterial pressure after adjusting for PP. Blacks, compared with whites, had faster declines in global cognition associated with SBP ( P=0.02) and mean arterial pressure ( P=0.04). Men, compared with women, had faster declines in new learning associated with SBP ( P=0.04). BP was not associated with decline of verbal memory and executive function, after controlling for the effect of age on cognitive trajectories. Significantly faster declines in global cognition over 8 years were associated with higher SBP, lower DBP, and higher PP with increasing age. SBP-related cognitive declines were greater in blacks and men

Effect of Dietary Replacement of Maize with Yam and Irish potato peel meals on the Growth and Economic Performance of Growing Rabbits

An eight-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding yam and irish potato peel meals on the growth performance and economic analysis of cross-bred (Dutch x New Zealand white) growing rabbits aged between five to seven weeks. Thirty rabbits were randomly allocated to six dietary treatments with five rabbits per treatment. Diets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 contained 100% maize, 50% maize and 50% yam peel meal, 50% maize and 50% irish potato peel meal, 50% yam peel meal and 50% irish potato peel meal, 100% yam peel meal and 100% irish potato peel meal, respectively. The response showed that the growth parameters were not significantly (P&gt;0.05) different among the treatment groups except mean final body weight which was significantly (P&gt;0.05) different. The mean final body weight of rabbits fed T3 diet (50% maize and 50% irish potato peel meal) was significantly (P&lt; 0.05) higher than those fed T2 (50% maize and 50% yam peel meal) and T6 (100% irish potato peel meal) diets, but were similar (P&gt;0.05) to other diets. However, the lowest mean final body weight was obtained in rabbits fed T6 (100% irish potato peel meal) diet. The cost per kg feed decreased progressively as the levels of yam and irish potato peel meals increased in the diets. The cost per kg gain also declined from  ₦ 249.59 in T1 (100% maize) to ₦ 181.95 in T4 (50% yam peel meal and 50% irish potato peel meal), which showed the best cost per kg weight gain. The study demonstrated that the yam and irish potato peel meals can replace maize up to 100% as energy source for growing rabbits without adverse effect on performance.Keywords: Growth Performance, Yam and Irish Potato peel meals, Economic Analysi

Algal nutrient competition in continuous culture

Natural phytoplankton from Lake Constance was exposed to competition experiments in continuous culture at 6 different molar rations of PratioSi as potentially limiting nutrients. As predicted by theory there was competitive exclusion of all species but one at single nutrient limitation, and coexistence of two species in steady state when P was limiting for one and Si for the other species. In one case coexistence of three species occurred. Equilibrium species composition, which stabilized after 3 to 6 weeks of cultivation, was independent of the species composition of the inoculum and only controlled by the nutrient regime. Comparability of experimental results and field observations is discussed

Evolving market chains for Indian oil sardine

Indian oil sardine, Sardinella longiceps forms a major catch of traditional fisherman in Kerala throughout the year. After the peak landing of nearly four lakh tonnes in 2012, catches have showed a continuous decline to less than 50000 t in 2019. This trend has adversely affected the livelihoods of thousands of traditional fishermen. Oceanographic changes associated with El Niño has been identified as one of the reasons for this decline in sardine catches along the Kerala coas

A rare neglected case of large leptomeningeal cyst: A case report

Leptomeningeal cysts are enlarging skull fractures that occur near post-traumatic encephalomalacia. The term cyst is usually a misnomer as it is not only a cyst but also an extension of encephalomalacia. They commonly occur after severe head trauma during the first 3 years of life (especially infancy) and almost never after 8 years of life. Herewith, we present a case of a 7-year-old female patient who presented to our hospital with left-sided weakness since 2 years and painless swelling over the scalp since 3 years giving past history of head trauma. Plain radiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging were performed which showed classical findings of leptomeningeal cyst. We will be discussing about the causes and radiological findings which help in diagnosis as well as treatment planning

Chemical and biological investigations of Delonix regia (Bojer ex Hook.) Raf.

U radu je opisana izolacija pet sastojaka petroleterske i diklormetanske frakcije metanolnog ekstrakta kore biljke Delonix regia: lupeol (1), epilupeol (2), β-sitosterol (3), stigmasterol (4) i p-metoksibenzaldehid (5). Nadalje, testirano je antimikrobno djelovanje različitih ekstrakata difuzijskom metodom na disku (15 μg mm2). Zone inhibicije za sastojke topljive u petroleteru, tetraklormetanu i diklormetanu bile su 914 mm, 1113 mm, odnosno 920 mm, dok je zona inhibicije standarda kanamicina bila 2025 mm. U biološkom pokusu smrtnosti morskih kozica najveću toksičnost pokazali su spojevi topljivi u tetraklormetanu (LC50 = 0,83 μg mL1), dok je topljivost sastojaka topljivih u petroleteru i diklormetanu bila LC50 14,94, odnosno 3,29 μg mL1, a standarda vinkristin sulfata 0,812 μg mL1. Ovo je prvo izvješće o izolaciji sastojaka, antimikrobnom djelovanju i citotoksičnosti biljke D. regia.In this study five compounds, lupeol (1), epilupeol (2), β-sitosterol (3), stigmasterol (4) and p-methoxybenzaldehyde (5) were isolated from the petroleum ether and dichloromethane fractions of a methanolic extract of the stem bark of Delonix regia. Antimicrobial screening of the different extracts (15 μg mm2) was conducted by disc diffusion method. The zones of inhibition demonstrated by the petroleum ether, carbon tetrachloride and dichloromethane fractions ranged from 914 mm, 1113 mm and 920 mm, respectively, compared to kanamycin standard with the zone of inhibition of 2025 mm. In brine shrimp lethality bioassay, the carbon tetrachloride soluble materials demonstrated the highest toxicity with LC50 of 0.83 μg mL1, while petroleum ether and dichloromethane soluble partitionates of the methanolic extract revealed LC50 of 14.94 and 3.29 μg mL1, respectively, in comparison with standard vincristine sulphate with LC50 of 0.812 μg mL1. This is the first report on compounds separation from D. regia, their antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity