Fluoride Concentration in Drinking Water Resources; North of Iran

Abstract Aims: Fluoride is one of the anions present in soil and water, and determining its level in drinking water is vital for preventing dental and bone diseases in societies. This research aimed to determine fluoride concentrations in drinking water sources of rural and urban areas of Babol City, Iran. Instrument & Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Babol City, Iran, in 2014. 384 water samples were taken from 43 wells and 3 springs in the rural areas, and from 20 wells, 3 water reservoirs, and the water distribution system in the urban areas. Fluoride concentrations of water samples were measured with a model DR2000 spectrophotometer using the standard SPADNS method. Data were entered to SPSS 16 software and were analyzed by ANOVA test. Findings: The mean fluoride concentrations in the water samples of the deep wells were higher compared to those of the springs (p=0.01). The mean fluoride concentrations in the plains areas were higher compared to the mountainous regions (p=0.02). The mean fluoride concentrations in the wells of the urban areas, in the urban reservoirs, and in the urban water distribution system were 0.40±0.14, 0.39±0.15, and 0.40±0.15mg/l, respectively (p=0.07). Fluoride concentrations in water in urban areas during various seasons varied from 0.31 to 0.45mg/l (p=0.06). Conclusion: Fluoride concentrations in all drinking water sources in urban and rural areas of Babol are less than the ranges recommended by WHO and Iranian national standards

Generic techno-economic optimization methodology for concurrent design and operation of solvent-based PCC processes

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd A techno-economic equation-based methodology is developed for optimal design and operation of integrated solvent-based post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) processes using a rate-based model for the interaction of gas and liquid. The algorithm considers a wide range of techno-economic design and operation parameters such as number of absorber/desorber columns, height of columns, diameter of columns, operating conditions (P, T) of columns, pressure drop, packing type, percentage of CO2 mitigated, captured CO2 purity, amount of solvent regeneration, flooding velocities of columns, and number of compression stages. A case study is conducted to showcase two common objective-functions i) minimizing total capital investment, and ii) minimizing levelized capture costs, both for a 300 MW coal-power plant in Australia. The former objective leads to the lowest possible total capital cost of $312.4 M corresponding to levelized carbon capture cost of 58.1$/tonne−CO2. For objective (ii), however, the lowest levelized carbon capture cost is found to be around ten percent lower (52.8 $/tonne−CO2), though it leads to a higher total capital cost ($325.2 M). The results indicate that the design and operation variables are markedly interactive, and no unique optimal design exists which can deliver all desired outcomes at once. Therefore, decisions on the selection of right variables become dependent on the decision-makers techno-economic objectives

A Review of the Potential Benefits of Plants Producing Berries in Skin Disorders

During the last 30 years, berries have gained great attention as functional food against several risk factors in chronic diseases. The number of related publications on Pubmed rose from 1000 items in 1990 to more than 11,000 in 2019. Despite the fact that a common and clear definition of "berries" is not shared among different scientific areas, the phytochemical pattern of these fruits is mainly characterized by anthocyanins, flavanols, flavonols, and tannins, which showed antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in humans. Skin insults, like wounds, UV rays, and excessive inflammatory responses, may lead to chronic dermatological disorders, conditions often characterized by long-term treatments. The application of berries for skin protection is sustained by long traditional use, but many observations still require a clear pharmacological validation. This review summarizes the scientific evidence, published on EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Scholar, to identify extraction methods, way of administration, dose, and mechanism of action of berries for potential dermatological treatments. Promising in vitro and in vivo evidence of Punica granatum L. and Vitis vinifera L. supports wound healing and photoprotection, while Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. and Vaccinium spp. showed clear immunomodulatory effects. Oral or topical administrations of these berries justify the evaluation of new translational studies to validate their efficacy in humans

Neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of Rhus coriaria extract in a mouse model of ischemic optic neuropathy

Modulating oxidative stresses and inflammation can potentially prevent or alleviate the pathological conditions of diseases associated with the nervous system, including ischemic optic neuropathy. In this study we evaluated the anti-neuroinflammatory and neuroprotective activities of Rhus coriaria (R. coriaria) extract in vivo. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) for DPPH, ABTS and \u3b2-carotene were 6.79 \ub1 0.009 \u3bcg/mL, 10.94 \ub1 0.09 \u3bcg/mL, and 6.25 \ub1 0.06 \u3bcg/mL, respectively. Retinal ischemia was induced by optic nerve crush injury in albino Balb/c mice. The anti-inflammatory activity of ethanolic extract of R. coriaria (ERC) and linoleic acid (LA) on ocular ischemia was monitored using Fluorescence Molecular Tomography (FMT). Following optic nerve crush injury, the mice treated with 400 mg/kg of ERC and LA exhibited an 84.87% and 86.71% reduction of fluorescent signal (cathepsin activity) respectively. The results of this study provide strong scientific evidence for the neuroprotective activity of the ERC, identifying LA as one of the main components responsible for the effect. ERC may be useful and worthy of further development for its adjunctive utilization in the treatment of optic neuropathy

A generic framework for distributed multi-generation and multi-storage energy systems

We have introduced a generic decision support tool for concurrent optimal selection, sizing, and operation scheduling of grid-connected or off-grid multi-generation/multi-storage distributed generation and storage (DGS) systems with respect to the dynamics of historical/projected periodical weather data, electricity price, DGS system cost, DGS aging, and the major critical design and operational parameters. This decision support program enables the consumer (ranging from a small house to large-scale industrial plants) to implement the most efficient electricity management strategy while achieving the goal of minimizing the electricity bill

Technoeconomic parametric analysis of PV-battery systems

Application of integrated PV-battery systems for off-grid locations has a history exceeding four decades. With the observed fast reduction of PV and battery system prices in recent years, however, interest in the use of PV-battery systems has notably increased even at on-grid locations. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of various technoeconomic parameters, such as geographic location, weather condition, electricity price, feed-in tariff, PV/battery system cost, and PV/battery specifications on the economic feasibility of grid-connected PV-battery systems. For this, we have used our inhouse decision support tool for investment decision making, optimal sizing, and operation scheduling of grid-connected PV/battery system with respect to these parameters. The results show that decision on the selection of the right PV-battery system is significantly sensitive to each and every one of these parameters. Within various price scenarios that we carried out, battery shows positive impact on NPV only at low installation costs (e.g. ≤750 $/kWh). Neither the sales electricity tariff nor the feed-in tariff has alone a direct impact on the feasibility of installing a battery system. Rather, the magnitude of the difference between electricity price and feed-in tariff is the detrimental element in battery attractiveness. A case-study for Sydney, Australia, showed that at current sales/feed-in electricity tariffs, PV systems with prices of 2700$/kW, or less, not only reach parity with the grid electricity price but also reach parity with feed-in tariff. This implies the viability of installing large PV systems merely for selling the generated electricity to the grid

Planning and operation scheduling of PV-battery systems: A novel methodology

The aim of this paper is to develop a decision support tool for investment decision making, optimal sizing, and operation scheduling of grid-connected PV/battery system with respect to dynamics of periodical weather data, electricity price, PV/battery system cost, PV/battery specifications, desired reliability, and other critical design and operational parameters. We have reviewed the literature on historical development of models for PV-battery systems sizing. A multi-period mixed-integer linear program (MILP) is then introduced with the objective of maximizing the net present value of cash flow (for investment analysis) or the savings in electricity bill (for operation scheduling). For investment decision analysis, the model is capable to identify whether it is economical to invest in PV and/or battery systems, and if positive it can find the best PV and/or battery systems from the mix of available options. Furthermore, the model defines the optimal size of selected PV and/or battery systems. The model will select one or a combination of a few systems if feasible. All these decision variables are identified concurrently with finding the optimal operation schedule of the PV and/or battery systems at each period over the planning horizon. These variables include power flows of grid-to-load, PV-to-load, battery-to-load, battery-to-grid, grid-to-battery, PV-to-battery, PV-to-grid as well as battery state-of charge. This decision support program enables the consumer (ranging from a small house to large-scale industrial plants) to implement the most efficient electricity management strategy while achieving the goal of minimizing the electricity bill