Electrochemical regeneration of a graphite adsorbent loaded with Acid Violet 17 in a spouted bed reactor

A novel spouted bed reactor is evaluated for water treatment by an adsorption and electrochemical regeneration process. The adsorbent is a bisulphate graphite intercalation compound with low specific surface area but high electrical conductivity, suitable for adsorption of contaminants and simultaneous electrochemical regeneration within a single unit. The effects of current density and liquid flow rate on Acid Violet 17 removal were investigated. The hydrodynamic behavior of the liquid spouted bed reactor was characterized by a flow regime map. A four-parameter model has been developed to describe the adsorption and electrochemical regeneration process in the liquid spouted bed reactor. It was found that the experimental data of dye removal agrees well with the modelled simulations

Phylogeny of Prokaryotes and Chloroplasts Revealed by a Simple Composition Approach on All Protein Sequences from Complete Genomes Without Sequence Alignment

The complete genomes of living organisms have provided much information on their phylogenetic relationships. Similarly, the complete genomes of chloroplasts have helped to resolve the evolution of this organelle in photosynthetic eukaryotes. In this paper we propose an alternative method of phylogenetic analysis using compositional statistics for all protein sequences from complete genomes. This new method is conceptually simpler than and computationally as fast as the one proposed by Qi et al. (2004b) and Chu et al. (2004). The same data sets used in Qi et al. (2004b) and Chu et al. (2004) are analyzed using the new method. Our distance-based phylogenic tree of the 109 prokaryotes and eukaryotes agrees with the biologists tree of life based on 16S rRNA comparison in a predominant majority of basic branching and most lower taxa. Our phylogenetic analysis also shows that the chloroplast genomes are separated to two major clades corresponding to chlorophytes s.l. and rhodophytes s.l. The interrelationships among the chloroplasts are largely in agreement with the current understanding on chloroplast evolution

The Fungal Cell Wall : Structure, Biosynthesis, and Function

N.G. is funded by the Wellcome Trust via a senior investigator award and a strategic award and by the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology. C.M. acknowledges the support of the Wellcome Trust and the MRC. N.G. and C.M. are part of the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology. J.P.L. acknowledges support from ANR, Aviesan, and FRM.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Multi-ancestry study of blood lipid levels identifies four loci interacting with physical activity.

Many genetic loci affect circulating lipid levels, but it remains unknown whether lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, modify these genetic effects. To identify lipid loci interacting with physical activity, we performed genome-wide analyses of circulating HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in up to 120,979 individuals of European, African, Asian, Hispanic, and Brazilian ancestry, with follow-up of suggestive associations in an additional 131,012 individuals. We find four loci, in/near CLASP1, LHX1, SNTA1, and CNTNAP2, that are associated with circulating lipid levels through interaction with physical activity; higher levels of physical activity enhance the HDL cholesterol-increasing effects of the CLASP1, LHX1, and SNTA1 loci and attenuate the LDL cholesterol-increasing effect of the CNTNAP2 locus. The CLASP1, LHX1, and SNTA1 regions harbor genes linked to muscle function and lipid metabolism. Our results elucidate the role of physical activity interactions in the genetic contribution to blood lipid levels

Audit opinions and information asymmetry in the stock market

This study analyses the relationship between the content of the audit reports and information asymmetry levels in the stock market for a sample of Spanish firms. By implementing an association study, we document (1) that firms with audit qualifications show higher information asymmetry levels than those with unqualified opinions; (2) firms with non-quantified qualifications show higher informational asymmetry than firms with quantified qualifications; and (3) we find a stronger effect on the level of informational asymmetry in the case of going concern qualifications. Our findings suggest that audit qualifications reporting more uncertainty on firm accounting statements result in higher adverse selection risk.David Abad acknowledges financial support from the Ministerio de Ciencia y Competitividad through grants ECO2013-44409-P and ECO2014-58434-P. Juan Pedro Sánchez-Ballesta acknowledges financial support from Fundación Séneca (15358/PHCS/10). José Yagüe acknowledges financial support from Fundación Caja Murcia

Learning form Nature to improve the heat generation of iron-oxide nanoparticles for magnetic hyperthermia applications.

The performance of magnetic nanoparticles is intimately entwined with their structure, mean size and magnetic anisotropy. Besides, ensembles offer a unique way of engineering the magnetic response by modifying the strength of the dipolar interactions between particles. Here we report on an experimental and theoretical analysis of magnetic hyperthermia, a rapidly developing technique in medical research and oncology. Experimentally, we demonstrate that single-domain cubic iron oxide particles resembling bacterial magnetosomes have superior magnetic heating efficiency compared to spherical particles of similar sizes. Monte Carlo simulations at the atomic level corroborate the larger anisotropy of the cubic particles in comparison with the spherical ones, thus evidencing the beneficial role of surface anisotropy in the improved heating power. Moreover we establish a quantitative link between the particle assembling, the interactions and the heating properties. This knowledge opens new perspectives for improved hyperthermia, an alternative to conventional cancer therapies

High rates of undiagnosed and uncontrolled hypertension upon a screening campaign in rural Rwanda: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Hypertension remains the major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) worldwide with a prevalence and mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) among the highest. The early detection of hypertension risk factors is a crucial pillar for CVD prevention. DESIGN AND METHOD: This cross-sectional study included 4284 subjects, mean age 46 ± 16SD, 56.4% females and mean BMI 26.6 ± 3.7 SD. Data were collected through a screening campaign in rural area of Kirehe District, Eastern of Rwanda, with the objective to characterize and examine the prevalence of elevated blood pressure (BP) and other CVD risk factors. An adapted tool from the World Health Organization STEPwise Approach was used for data collection. Elevated BP was defined as ≥ 140/90 mm/Hg and elevated blood glucose as blood glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL after a 6-h fast. RESULTS: Of the sampled population, 21.2% (n = 910) had an elevated BP at screening; BP was elevated among individuals not previously known to have HTN in 18.7% (n = 752). Among individuals with a prior diagnosis of HTN, 62.2% (n = 158 of 254) BP was uncontrolled. Age, weight, smoking, alcohol history and waist circumference were associated with BP in both univariate analyses and multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: High rates of elevated BP identified through a health screening campaign in this Rwandan district were surprising given the rural characteristics of the district and relatively low population age. These data highlight the need to implement an adequate strategy for the prevention, diagnosis, and control of HTN that includes rural areas of Rwanda as part of a multicomponent strategy for CVD prevention

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta