Novel smart composite materials for industrial wastewater treatment and reuse

Abstract: With the current levels of industrial development it is very difficult to prevent organic pollutants and toxic heavy metals from contaminating water. Thus purification of contaminated industrial water and its reuse is a global concern. The present study highlights application of a novel standalone technology in the form of polymers that efficiently extract a range of organic and inorganic impurities simultaneously for reuse of industrial effluent. Previous studies have focused on water soluble synthetic polymers for removal of organic contaminants, while biodegradable polymers are being used for extraction of toxic metals from water. Our earlier reports already describe a combination of synthetic and natural polymers with the ability to eliminate organic and inorganic spiked impurities from water on a lab scale. In the present work a series of novel smart composite materials have been synthesized and fully characterized. The avant-garde novelty of these materials for simultaneous removal of organic impurities such as phenols, anhydrides, textile dyes, pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics and inorganic heavy metals has been demonstrated and the novel polymers have shown a removal efficiency of more than 90% for each of the contaminants. Furthermore, the established 4-cycle reusability and an extensive reduction in levels of chemical oxygen demand suggests these materials would act as an improvement to the current methods for treating effluent water. The high reproducibility in synthesis, properties and elimination spectrum brands them as promising materials for industrial water remediation and reuse

Gifted children with ADHD: how are they different from non-gifted children with ADHD?

The present study focused on inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity differences of gifted children with and without attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Based on clinical assessment utilizing the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children (ADISC-IV) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Fourth Edition, attendees of a public outpatient child service (boys = 359, girls = 148), with mean age 10.60 years (SD = 3.08 years), were allocated into four groups: ADHD (N = 350), gifted (N = 15), gifted/ADHD (N = 18), and clinical controls (N = 124). The Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD-Symptoms and Normal Behavior Scale dimensionally assessed inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity variations. Compared to the gifted/ADHD group, the ADHD group had higher scores for inattention and comparable scores for hyperactivity/impulsivity. For most symptoms, the ADHD groups (gifted or not) rated higher than the non-ADHD groups (control and gifted without ADHD). Findings appeared to indicate that (i) ADHD is a valid diagnosis among children who are gifted, (ii) gifted children might tend to be less inattentive than non-gifted ADHD children, and (iii) ADHD-gifted children appear to differ from the non-ADHD-gifted children with regard to specific hyperactive and impulsive behaviors. The practical implication of these findings is that clinicians may wish to focus on these symptoms when diagnosing ADHD among children with high intelligence

Assessment of Maximal Isometric Hand Grip Strength in School-aged Children.

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from De Gruyter Open via the DOI in this record.Background: Hand grip strength (HGS) test is commonly used as an indicator of overall muscle strength in medical and sport practices. Recently, several studies have proposed that the measurement of the maximal HGS depends on dynamometer's handle position. The aim of the present study was to identify the optimal handle position to obtain maximal HGS using the hand grip dynamometer (HGD) for school-aged children. Methods: HGS was assessed with the Jamar digital HGD. Each participant performed three maximum contractions of each hand on three handle positions progressing from first to third position. Results: A total of 135 healthy children aged 5-9 years participated in the study. Participants obtained significantly higher results using position 2 than using positions 1 or 3. The maximal mean (± SD) HGS achieved was 9.9 (± 3.1) kg with position 1, 10.4 (± 3.1) kg with position 2, and 9.0 (± 3.2) kg with position 3. Handle position 2 was the most comfortable position for 73% of participants. Conclusions: Our results provide useful methodological information indicating that the second handle position of the Jamar digital HGD is optimal to measure maximal HGS in non-athletic healthy pediatric participants aged 5-9 years