Data on modeling of enzymatic elimination of Direct Red 81 using Response Surface Methodology

In this article, three variables including laccase dose, 2,2'-Azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) dose and pH were used to modeling of Direct Red 81 (DR81) elimination from aqueous solutions by laccase-mediated system. Obtained data indicated that the predicted and experimental values were close for DR81 elimination, and the regression was also able to give a good prediction of response for DR81 elimination (R-Squared = 0.9983). From the experimental, the highest elimination of the DR81 was 95. 5% after 30 min incubation at pH 5, temperature 40 °C, ABTS 0.2 mM, and initial concentration of DR81 50 mg L−1 in the presence of 0.2 U mL−1 of the laccase. The data showed that the laccase can be used as a ''green'' technology for treating of dyes from aqueous solutions. Data analysis was performed using Design-Expert version 7.0.0 (Stat-Ease, trial version). Keywords: Laccase, Dye, Direct Red 81, Elimination, Box–Behnke

Direct Blue 71 removal from aqueous solution by laccase-mediated system; A dataset

The removal of Direct Blue 71 (DB71), by laccase (EC 1.10.3.2, p-bezenediol:dioxygen oxidoreductases) enzyme in presence of 2,2′-Azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS), in aqueous solution was investigated. Data on this article focused on the optimizing and modeling of DB71 removal by Response surface method (RSM) based on Box–Behnken design (BBD), through studying the effective variables as follows: ABTS dose (0.05–0.2 mM), Laccase dose (0.05–0.2 U mL−1), and pH (3–7). The results of experimental showed that laccase was able to removal DB71 with removal percentage of 83% at concentration of 50 mg L−1 after 30 min incubation in presence of ABTS 0.2 mM, at temperature 40 °C and pH 5. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for the predicted quadratic model was done and quadratic equation showed significant R-Squared (0.9969), Adjusted R-Squared (0.9914) and Adequate Precision (49.7). The lack of fit is not significant due to p-value prob > F more than 0.05. Keywords: Laccase, Dye, Direct Blue 71, Removal, Response surface method, Box–Behnke

Application of Acidic Treated Pumice as an Adsorbent for the Removal of Azo Dye from Aqueous Solutions:kinetic, Equilibrium and Thermodynamic Studies

Colored effluents are one of the important environment pollution sources since they contain unused dye compounds which are toxic and less-biodegradable. In this work removal of Acid Red 14 and Acid Red 18 azo dyes was investigated by acidic treated pumice stone as anefficient adsorbent at various experimental conditions. Removal of dye increased with increase in contact time and initial dye concentration, while decreased for increment in solution temperature and pH. Results of the equilibrium study showed that the removal ofAR14 and AR18 followed Freundlich (r2>0.99) and Langmuir (r2>0.99) isotherm models.Maximum sorption capacities were 3.1 and 29.7 mg/g for AR 14 and AR18, namely significantly higher than those reported in the literature, even for activated carbon. Fitting of experimental data onto kinetic models showed the relevance of the pseudo-second order (r2>0.99) and intra-particle diffusion (r2>0.98) models for AR14 and AR18, respectively. For both dyes, the values of external mass transfer coefficient decreased for increasing initial dye concentrations, showing increasing external mass transfer resistance at solid/liquid layer.Desorption experiments confirmed the relevance of pumice stone for dye removal, since the pH regeneration method showed 86% and 89 % regeneration for AR14 and AR18,respectively

Sex difference in gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity: Influence of L-arginine in rat model

Background: L-arginine is an important precursor for the formation of nitric oxide (NO). According to previous studies, NO function is related to gender. Likewise, chronic renal diseases have lower prevalence in female. Gentamicin (GM) is an aminoglycoside antibiotic. According to some studies, males are more sensitive to GM renal nephrotoxicity. This study attempts to find protective effects of L-arginine on GM nephrotoxicity in male and female rats. Methods: Male and female rats were divided into eight groups: Rats were randomly assigned to 8 groups each including both male and female rats. The first and second groups received vehicle (saline), the third and fourth groups received gentamicin (80 mg/kg), the fifth and sixth groups received L-arginine (150 mg/kg), and finally, seventh and eighth groups received gentamicin+ L- arginine. Next, 9 days after administering drugs, blood samples were collected from the heart. After making sacrifices, the level of blood urea, creatinine (Cr), nitrite, and malondialdehyde (MDA) was measured in serums. Likewise, nitrite and MDA were measured in the homogenized kidney tissue. Results: GM significantly increased serum level of urea and Cr in male and female rats (P < 0.05). However, co-administration of GM + L-arginine significantly did not decrease urea and Cr level in male rats, whereas, in female rats, they significantly reduced (P < 0.05). In response to GM, renal MDA level increased in male and female rats (P < 0.05), and in the presence of GM + L-arginine, the level of MDA significantly decreased in both genders (P < 0.05). Conclusions: L-arginine demonstrated some protective effects in female rats but did not protect against GM nephrotoxicity in male rats for unknown reasons, probably related to the effects of sex hormones which needs further studies to be confirmed

Evaluation of the educational environments of undergraduate medicine and pharmacy programmes at the University of Zambia

Background:A Based on the World Health Organization’s reporting, over 1.25 million people die annually in traffic accidents worldwide. Traffic accidents are the ninth main cause of death worldwide, with an average age range of victims of 15 to 29. Broadly speaking, 90% of traffic accidents happen in the lowand middle-income countries that comprise 82% of the global population, and these countries account for half of the world’s vehicles. One of the goals of the National Road Traffic Knowledge Development Trustee is to plan and implement training courses (content design, design and implementation and evaluation) for target groups. To achieve this goal and due to the lack of academic programs on traffic safety in Iran, a single-credit course, “Safety and Traffic,” was developed to be run as a compulsory academic course in all universities across the country. Methods: This course was administered as a national pilot study in four phases and in 17 medical universities across the country. All experts and national authorities in the Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education were requested to provide feedback. Afterwards, the results and comments were forwarded to the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution for further investigation. Upon approval of the Council, the course will be implemented in all universities across the country. Results: Results from the pre-test showed that the level of students’ knowledge was low before attending the training courses. Surveys also revealed that the two items of “pedestrian safety” and “first aids in RTCs” were the most useful and applicable subjects. The percentage of wrong answers ranged from 61 to 98%. Conclusion: Considering the importance of traffic accidents and people’s role in traffic-related issues, it seems that it is necessary to provide university courses for traffic safety education