Preparation of activated carbon from waste tires, and its use for dye removal

In this study, activated carbon derivation from end-of-life tires (ELT), and color removal from waste-water with produced activated carbon were investigated. In activated carbon production stage, granulated waste tires were first washed in KOH solution at 1:1 (1-K) and 1:2 (2-K) impregnation ratios prior to thermal activation. Chemically activated waste tires were then subjected to pyrolysis. Following pyrolysis, solids (char) were used as adsorbent material. Surface area of 2-K adsorbent was measured to be 2.945 m(2)/g by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. In the second stage of the study, adsorptive removal of methylene blue dye from synthetically prepared wastewater was investigated using 1-K and 2-K activated carbons. Results have shown that activated carbon produced in the study was an appropriate adsorbent for removal of dye. The optimum conditions for 2-K adsorbent, which yielded 83% dye removal, were pH 6.5, 30 degrees C temperature, 7.5 g/L adsorbed dose, and 30 min contact time. Isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic studies were carried out in order to elucidate the adsorption mechanism. Since ELT derived activated carbon provided good efficiency in adsorption of dye, whole operation may be scaled-up considering the necessity of aligning rates of ELT production and its upcycling

Modeling and optimization of syngas production from biomass gasification

The detrimental environmental impacts of fossil fuels are increasing due to the growing global energy consumption. Thus, energy recovery from waste will inevitably become the dominant option in the future with population growth and the reduction in fossil resources. In this study; the synthesis gas composition obtained by gasification of biomass attained from a mixture of carbon black obtained from waste tires and sewage sludge originating from the yarn industry was modeled by the response surface method and optimized using Box-Behnken design. The R-2 values obtained for H-2, CO, CH4, and the heating value that make up the synthesis gas composition are 92.86%, 95.40%, 96.15%, and 96.80%, respectively. These are the indicators that the models were statistically significant. Optimum conditions obtained from the model were as follows; reaction time 31.14 min, gas flow rate 0.05 L/minute, and biomass amount 19.66 g. As a result of the validation experiments conducted under optimum conditions, the percentages of H-2, CH4, CO were found as 12.75%, 8.07%, and 7.87%, respectively, and the heating value was 1420.3 kcal/m(3). In conclusion, the gasification process is an appropriate treatment for obtaining high-quality syngas from waste materials with high carbon and low moisture content and the Box-Behnken design is applicable for the optimization of the gasification process

instead of total thyroidectomy?

BACKGROUND: The choice between subtotal thyroidectomy (STT) and total thyroidectomy (TT) for multinodular goiter (MNG) remains controversial

Serial analysis of gene expression in the hippocampus of patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.

Hippocampal sclerosis constitutes the most frequent neuropathological finding in patients with medically intractable mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Serial analysis of gene expression was used to get a global view of the gene profile in human hippocampus in control condition and in epileptic condition associated with hippocampal sclerosis. Libraries were generated from control hippocampus, obtained by rapid autopsy, and from hippocampal surgical specimens of patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and the classical pattern of hippocampal sclerosis. More than 50,000 tags were analyzed (28,282, control hippocampus; 25,953, hippocampal sclerosis) resulting in 9206 (control hippocampus) and 9599 (hippocampal sclerosis) unique tags (genes), each representing a specific mRNA transcript. Comparison of the two libraries resulted in the identification of 143 transcripts that were differentially expressed. These genes belong to a variety of functional classes, including basic metabolism, transcription regulation, protein synthesis and degradation, signal transduction, structural proteins, regeneration and synaptic plasticity and genes of unknown identity of function. The database generated by this study provides an extensive inventory of genes expressed in human control hippocampus, identifies new high-abundant genes associated with altered hippocampal morphology in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and serves as a reference for future studies aimed at detecting hippocampal transcriptional responses under various pathological conditions

Mesoaxial complete syndactyly and synostosis with hypoplastic thumbs: an unusual combination or homozygous expression of syndactyly type I?

Syndactyly type I is an autosomal dominant condition with complete or partial webbing between the third and fourth fingers or the second and third toes or both. We report here a previously undescribed phenotype of severe mesoaxial syndactyly and synostosis in patients born to affected parents. The characteristic features of these severe cases are (1) complete syndactyly and synostosis of the third and fourth fingers; (2) severe bone reduction in the proximal phalanges of the same fingers; (3) hypoplasia of the thumbs and halluces; (4) aplasia/hypoplasia of the middle phalanges of the second and fifth fingers; and (5) complete or partial soft tissue syndactyly of the toes. We report on three offspring with this phenotype from two different branches of a syndactyly type I family, suggesting that they may be homozygous for this condition. SSCP and linkage analysis indicated that neither HOXD13 nor other relevant genes in the chromosome 2q31 region was responsible for this phenotype