Evaluation of Dyestuff Removal by Shea Nut (Vitellaria paradoxa) shells

The removal of textile dyestuff from waste water was investigated in a batch sorption process using shea nut (Vitellaria paradoxa) shell activated carbon. The data were tested using the Rudishkevich – Dubinin and Temkin isotherm models.  The result showed that removal efficiency increases with increase in contact  time. This critical study which utilizes these more recent adsorption isotherms  was found to present the mean free energy values (ED =1.036 – 1.406 kJmol-1) as a direct proportionality to the theoretical saturation capacities (qD = 2.032 – 4.169mgg-1). Sorption energy values proves to be higher for biosorbent, SS/A/15 (1.364 KJmol-1) ,which also gave the corresponding higher adsorption capacity (4.169 mgg-1) than the other three biosorbent in the series. A thermodynamic parameter (ΔG) was investigated to be more negative with sorbent – dye contact time, within the equilibration limit. The Close similarities of analytical results to those reported in reviewed literature, and the good degree of adsorption is an indication that using shea nut shells as a low cost biomass for generating activated carbon could be a feasible outlet in bioremediation. @JASEMJ. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage. December, 2010, Vol. 14 (4) 163 - 16

Estimation of Specific Surface Area using Langmuir Isotherm Method

A comparison of four widely used linear equations of the Langmuir types of isotherm (The Langmuir Type 1, 2, 3 and 4 ) were examined in an experiment using dye sorption onto derived acid and salt treated Fish Activated Carbon (H3PO4-FAC and ZnCl2-FAC respectively). Isotherm parameters obtained from the four Langmuir linear equations differed. Though Langmuir type 1 is the most popular form, but the type 2 had the highest coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.931-0.984) compared with the other Langmuir linear equations (with R2 values ranges of 0.696-0.982, 0.613-0.926 and 0.613-0.926 for Langmuir type 1,3 and 4 isotherm models respectively). 3,7 bis(dimethylamino) phenothiazin-5-ium ion was used to measure the Extent of monolayer coverage (qm) and specific surface areas (SMB) following the application of type 1 isotherm. From this study, Value obtained for the Acid treated carbon (H3PO4-FAC with SMB; 18.170) is higher than that of the Salt treated carbon,  (ZnCl2-FAC, SMB ; 13.579) which compared more to that of commercial carbon, CAC (SMB; 13.884) units in multiple of 10-3km2kg-1. The reliability of the Langmuir type 1 and 2 methods seems very good in specific surface area estimation. @JASEMJ. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage. December, 2010, Vol. 14 (4) 141 - 14

The enjoyment of physical activity determines body mass index in young people with physical disabilities

published_or_final_versio

Antioxidant effect of Citrullus vulgaris (watermelon) extract against lipid oxidation in fish during cooking

The Antioxidant effect of Citrullus Vulgaris (Watermelon) extract was evaluated against lipid oxidation in freshly caught fishes during cooking. GC-MS analysis of Hexane and total phenolic extract of Citrullus Vulgaris flesh reveals that the extracts contain 55 compounds which includes 5- hydroxymethyl furfural, 4H-Pyran-4-one, 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-, Hexadecanoic acid, ethyl ester and Palmitic acid ester that are reported as antioxidants. Muscle flesh of fifteen (15) samples of freshly caught fish comprising Group I (Tilapia zilli; n=5), Group II (Clarias hollandis; n=5) and Group III (Clarias gariepinus; n=5) were prepared and Sub Grouped each as Control, Treatment 1, Treatment 2, Treatment 3 and Treatment 4 which receives 0, 50, 150, 250 and 450mg of Citrullus Vulgaris extract per 100g fresh fish muscle weight respectively. Treatment 4 gave the highest protection against lipid oxidation in all groups, however the concentration of MDA in Treatment 3 of Group I and III were not significantly (p>0.05) higher as compared to Treatment 4 of same Groups. The results clearly suggested that the extract effectively prevented lipid  oxidation in fish and that the rate of prevention is a factor of fish species and extract concentration.Keywords: Fish, citrullus vulgaris, lipid oxidation, Antioxidants, Malondialdehyde (MDA

Behavioral activation for dementia caregivers: scheduling pleasant events and enhancing communications

published_or_final_versio

A propos d’un cas de grossesse abdominale très prolongée

Un cas de grossesse abdominale prolongée d'environ 18 mois avec mort foetale, vécu à l'hôpital général de référence de Mulongo dans la provincedu Katanga, en République Démocratique du Congo, est rapporté dans ce papier. Ce cas clinique d'évolution étonnante permet de faire la revue dela littérature, de rappeler l'importance d'un bon suivi clinique et  échographique de la grossesse et de s'interroger sur le niveau d'éducation de la femme ainsi que la qualité des soins prénataux en milieu rural congolais

Hypoxia induces telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene expression in non-tumor fish tissues in vivo: the marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) model

BACKGROUND: Current understanding on the relationships between hypoxia, hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) and telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene expression are largely based on in vitro studies in human cancer cells. Although several reports demonstrated HIF-1- mediated upregulation of the human TERT gene under hypoxia, conflicting findings have also been reported. Thus far, it remains uncertain whether these findings can be directly extrapolated to non-tumor tissues in other whole animal systems in vivo. While fish often encounter environmental hypoxia, the in vivo regulation of TERT by hypoxia in non-neoplastic tissues of fish remains virtually unknown. RESULTS: The adult marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) was employed as a model fish in this study. We have cloned and characterized a 3261-bp full-length TERT cDNA, omTERT, which encodes a protein of 1086 amino acids. It contains all of the functional motifs that are conserved in other vertebrate TERTs. Motif E is the most highly conserved showing 90.9–100% overall identity among the fish TERTs and 63.6% overall identity among vertebrates. Analysis of the 5'-flanking sequence of the omTERT gene identified two HRE (hypoxia-responsive element; nt. – 283 and – 892) cores. Overexpression of the HIF-1α induced omTERT promoter activity as demonstrated using transient transfection assays. The omTERT gene is ubiquitously expressed in fish under normoxia, albeit at varying levels, where highest expression was observed in gonads and the lowest in liver. In vivo expression of omTERT was significantly upregulated in testis and liver in response to hypoxia (at 96 h and 48 h, respectively), where concomitant induction of the omHIF-1α and erythropoietin (omEpo) genes was also observed. In situ hybridization analysis showed that hypoxic induction of omTERT mRNA was clearly evident in hepatocytes in the caudal region of liver and in spermatogonia-containing cysts in testis. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates for the first time, hypoxic regulation of TERT expression in vivo in a whole fish system. Our findings support the notion that hypoxia upregulates omTERT expression via omHIF-1 in non-neoplastic fish liver and testis in vivo. Overall, the structure and regulation of the TERT gene is highly conserved in vertebrates from fish to human

A Novel Structural Assessment Technique to Prevent Damaged FRP-Wrapped Concrete Bridge Piers from Collapse

Repairing deteriorated concrete bridge piers using externally wrapped fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been proven as an effective approach. This technique has also been applied to low-rise building structures. Failures in FRP-wrapped concrete structures may occur by flexural failures of critical sections or by debonding of FRP plate from the concrete substrate. Debonding in the FRP/adhesive/concrete interface region may cause a significant decrease in member capacity leading to a premature failure of the system. In this chapter, a novel structural assessment technique aiming at inspecting the near-surface FRP debonding and concrete cracking of damaged FRP-wrapped concrete bridge piers to prevent the structures from collapse is presented. In the first part of this chapter, failure mechanisms of FRP-wrapped concrete systems are briefly discussed. The second part of this chapter introduces a novel structural assessment technique in which far-field airborne radar is applied. In this development, emphasis is placed on inspection of debonding in glass FRP (GFRP)-wrapped concrete cylinders, while the technique is also applicable to beams and slabs with bonded GFRP composites. Physical radar measurements on laboratory specimens with structural damages were conducted and used for validating the technique. Processed experimental measurements have shown promising results for the future application of the technique. Finally, research findings and issues are summarized.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CMS-0324607)Lincoln Laborator

Finding Direction in the Search for Selection.

Tests for positive selection have mostly been developed to look for diversifying selection where change away from the current amino acid is often favorable. However, in many cases we are interested in directional selection where there is a shift toward specific amino acids, resulting in increased fitness in the species. Recently, a few methods have been developed to detect and characterize directional selection on a molecular level. Using the results of evolutionary simulations as well as HIV drug resistance data as models of directional selection, we compare two such methods with each other, as well as against a standard method for detecting diversifying selection. We find that the method to detect diversifying selection also detects directional selection under certain conditions. One method developed for detecting directional selection is powerful and accurate for a wide range of conditions, while the other can generate an excessive number of false positives

A longitudinal examination of plasma neurofilament light and total tau for the clinical detection and monitoring of Alzheimer's disease

We examined baseline and longitudinal associations between plasma neurofilament light (NfL) and total tau (t-tau), and the clinical presentation of Alzheimer's disease (AD). A total of 579 participants (238, normal cognition [NC]; 185, mild cognitive impairment [MCI]; 156, AD dementia) had baseline blood draws; 82% had follow-up evaluations. Plasma samples were analyzed for NfL and t-tau using Simoa technology. Baseline plasma NfL was higher in AD dementia than MCI (standardized mean difference = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.37–0.73) and NC (standardized mean difference = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.49–0.88), corresponded to Clinical Dementia Rating scores (OR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.35–2.79]), and correlated with all neuropsychological tests (r's = 0.13–0.42). Longitudinally, NfL did not predict diagnostic conversion but predicted decline on 3/10 neuropsychological tests. Baseline plasma t-tau was higher in AD dementia than NC with a small effect (standardized mean difference = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.10–0.57) but not MCI. t-tau did not statistically significant predict any longitudinal outcomes. Plasma NfL may be useful for the detection of AD dementia and monitoring of disease progression. In contrast, there was minimal evidence in support of plasma t-tau