A full-scale biological aerated filtration system application in the treatment of paints industry wastewater

This study was carried out to evaluate an existing treatment technology for wastewater treatment unit from a paint production factory. Biological aerated filter is a good technique for reducing land used in the purpose of wastewater treatment. Influent discharged from this factory ranged between 50–120 m3/day with an average of 70 m3/day. This unit composed of primary and secondary sedimentation tanks, gravel filter and finally sand anthracite (3:1 by volume) filter. Aeration units and two submersible pumps were equipped for aerobic treatment and sediments removal. The unit influent was characterized by average values of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and total suspended solids (TSS) were 1711±795, 748±180 and 3821±1621 mg/l, respectively. Primary sedimentation of the wastewater for six hours reduced the COD, BOD, and TSS by 43, 26, and 76%, respectively. The treated wastewater characteristics are in compliance with the Egyptian law which regulates the discharge of industrial wastewater to the sewerage system. The results from each treatment process proved to be efficient for the treatment of such wastewater.Keywords: Paints wastewater treatment, Biological aerated filter and water qualit

Opportunities for Producing Table Grapes in Egypt for the Export Market: A Decision Case Study

The Barakat Fruit Farm desires to increase their share of the exportable grape market in Egypt. Unfortunately, the grape cultivars currently cultivated by the farm bear fruit after the early market window to the European Union when prices are high. An analysis of the company, competition, consumer, market channel, and conditions, provides insight into possible solutions to the challenges faced by the farm management. Designed for undergraduate classroom use, this case encourages students to think outside of traditional production techniques to arrive at solutions that are viable from both crop culture and financial standpoints.Decision case, horticulture, agriculture economics, grape production, Production Economics, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, Q10, Q11,

Development of Decision Trees for the Selection of Pavement Maintenance and Rehabilitation Activities in South-Central United States

Over time, new pavements deteriorate under the combined effects of traffic loading and the environment, no matter how well-designed or constructed. In general, maintenance and rehabilitation activities are employed to slow down or reset the rate of pavement deterioration. Cement-Stabilized Full Depth Reclamation (CSFDR) is a common rehabilitation treatment used by transportation agencies, specifically in Louisiana. Likewise, Ultra-Thin overlay (UTO) is a pavement maintenance treatment that has increased in popularity in recent years in Region 6. Yet, several gaps exist in the literature regarding the long-term field performance and cost-effectiveness of these two treatments especially in hot and humid climates. Therefore, the key objectives of this study were to assess the immediate benefits and long-term field performance as well as the cost-effectiveness of these two treatments in Louisiana. To achieve these objectives, numerous CSFDR and UTO projects were identified from the Louisiana Department of Transportation (LaDOTD) Pavement Management System (PMS) database and analyzed in terms of alligator cracks, rutting, random cracks, and roughness over a monitoring period of up to 15 years. Results indicated that the performance of CSFDR is significantly affected by the pre-treatment pavement conditions, applied overlay thickness, and traffic. Results also indicated that CSFDR projects would usually fail due to the development of random cracks. This could be attributed to the development of shrinkage cracks, which is a common problem with cement stabilization in Louisiana. A regression model was developed to predict the service life of CSFDR based on project conditions. Results also showed that UTO considerably extended the Pavement Service Life (PSL) for all the distress indices. This extension varied based on the pre-treatment pavement conditions and traffic level. As such, a predictive model was developed, with reasonable accuracy, to predict the extension in PSL of UTO based on project conditions. The developed models in this project for CSFDR and UTO will help state agencies make effective decisions for the maintenance and rehabilitation of their pavements

Significance of serum levels of angiopoietin-2 and its relationship to Doppler ultrasonographic findings in rheumatoid arthritis patients

AbstractBackgroundAngiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) is connected to angiogenesis in synovial regions, but the significance of its levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is still unclear.Aim of the workTo evaluate the significance of serum levels of Ang-2 in patients with RA. Also, to determine Ang-2 relationship to the findings of joints Doppler ultrasonographic findings.Patients and methodsThis study included 40 patients with RA, and 25 matched healthy controls. All patients were subjected to assessment of pain using visual analogue scale (VAS), assessment of personal activity using the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score, and calculation of disease activity score (DAS 28). Laboratory assays of complete blood count (CBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), rheumatoid factor (RF) titre, and measurement of serum levels of Ang-2 by ELISA. Doppler ultrasonography (US) assessment for eight joints, with calculation of synovial thickness and total signal score (TSS), was done.ResultsSerum Ang-2 levels were significantly higher among patients (3191.3±594.9pg/ml) than controls (1771.7±103.1pg/ml) (p<0.001). Serum Ang-2 levels were significantly correlated with ESR, CRP, DAS28, and duration of morning stiffness (p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, and p=0.025, respectively). There was a significant correlation between serum Ang-2 levels and findings of US, regarding joint synovial thickness, and TSS (p<0.001, for both).ConclusionPatients with RA had significantly higher levels of serum Ang-2 versus controls. In those patients, serum Ang-2 levels were significantly correlated with disease activity markers (ESR, CRP), DAS28, and duration of morning stiffness. Moreover, these levels were significantly correlated with synovial thickness, and TSS. The role of Ang-2 in RA pathogenesis might open the door to the development of new therapeutic strategies, particularly which target angiogenesis

Theoretical study of thermoelectric cooling system performance

This work provides a theoretical investigation to study the effect of different operational parameters on theperformance of TE cooling system including the system COP and the rate of heat transfer. The parametersinvestigated are, the applied input power, inlet working fluid velocity, the arrangement of utilized TECs modules andfluid type. The geometry is created with ANSYS multi-physics software as a two-dimensional base case, it isconsisted from two attached horizontal ducts of length (520 mm) and (560 mm), the interface surface between the twoducts contains three thermoelectric modules (4 mm height by 40 mm wide and 40 mm length). The distance betweentwo consecutive thermoelectric modules (150 mm), the inlet and outlet duct diameter (15 mm) and the height of eachduct (10 cm), the inlet voltage to thermoelectric modules ranges from 8.0 V to 12 V and the water inlet velocity to thetwo ducts from 0.001 to 0.01 m/s. Theoretical results showed that the overall COP of TE cooling system is increasedwith the applied input power up to 8.0 W then it decreases with input power up to 18 W after that it takes nearly aconstant value, a noticeable enhancement in the COP is found when the three TECs are in use (Case 10) and the COPof TE cooling system using pure water and nanofluid with 0.05% of nanoparticles as coolants takes the maximumvalue

Genetic Parameters of Reproductive Traits in Sheep

Reproductive traits from 7642 ewes were recorded from 1975 to 1983. The ewes were of five breeds (Dorset (D), Finnsheep (F), Rambouillet (R), Suffolk (S) and Targhee (T)) and two composite lines [C1 (1/2F + 1/4R + 1/4D) and C2 (1/2F + 1/4S + 1/4T)]. Genetic parameters were estimated for six basic and seven composite traits. The basic traits were conception rate (CR), total number of lamb born (NLB), number of lambs born alive (NLBA), number of lambs alive at weaning (NLAW), litter mean weight per lamb born (LMWLB) and litter mean weight per lamb weaned (LMWLW). The composite traits were ratio of lambs surviving to weaning relative to NLB (LSW = NLAW/NLB), number of lambs born per ewe exposed (NLBEE = CR × NLB), number of lambs weaned per ewe exposed (NLWEE = CR × NLAW), total litter weight at birth (TLWB = NLB × LMWLB), total litter weight at weaning (TLWW = NLAW × LMWLW), total litter weight at birth per ewe exposed (TLWBEE = CR × NLB × LMWLB) and total litter weight at weaning per ewe exposed (TLWWEE = CR × NLAW × LMWLW). Year, age of ewe, breed of ewe, hormone treatment and season of breeding were used as fixed effects. Direct and maternal genetic effects, permanent environmental effects of ewe and mate of ewe were considered to be random effects. A derivative-free algorithm was used to obtain REML estimates of genetic and environmental parameters. Estimates of heritabilities for animal genetic and permanent environmental and maternal genetic effects were mainly small due to the typical high influence of environmental factors on reproductive traits and to non-normal distributions of traits. Mate of ewe effects were not important for any trait. Important genetic correlations were found between some traits. Some estimates of genetic correlations do not seem to have a biological explanation. Nevertheless, these estimates of genetic correlations among traits may provide a basis for deriving selection indexes for reproductive traits

Genetic Parameters of Reproductive Traits in Sheep

Reproductive traits from 7642 ewes were recorded from 1975 to 1983. The ewes were of five breeds (Dorset (D), Finnsheep (F), Rambouillet (R), Suffolk (S) and Targhee (T)) and two composite lines [C1 (1/2F + 1/4R + 1/4D) and C2 (1/2F + 1/4S + 1/4T)]. Genetic parameters were estimated for six basic and seven composite traits. The basic traits were conception rate (CR), total number of lamb born (NLB), number of lambs born alive (NLBA), number of lambs alive at weaning (NLAW), litter mean weight per lamb born (LMWLB) and litter mean weight per lamb weaned (LMWLW). The composite traits were ratio of lambs surviving to weaning relative to NLB (LSW = NLAW/NLB), number of lambs born per ewe exposed (NLBEE = CR × NLB), number of lambs weaned per ewe exposed (NLWEE = CR × NLAW), total litter weight at birth (TLWB = NLB × LMWLB), total litter weight at weaning (TLWW = NLAW × LMWLW), total litter weight at birth per ewe exposed (TLWBEE = CR × NLB × LMWLB) and total litter weight at weaning per ewe exposed (TLWWEE = CR × NLAW × LMWLW). Year, age of ewe, breed of ewe, hormone treatment and season of breeding were used as fixed effects. Direct and maternal genetic effects, permanent environmental effects of ewe and mate of ewe were considered to be random effects. A derivative-free algorithm was used to obtain REML estimates of genetic and environmental parameters. Estimates of heritabilities for animal genetic and permanent environmental and maternal genetic effects were mainly small due to the typical high influence of environmental factors on reproductive traits and to non-normal distributions of traits. Mate of ewe effects were not important for any trait. Important genetic correlations were found between some traits. Some estimates of genetic correlations do not seem to have a biological explanation. Nevertheless, these estimates of genetic correlations among traits may provide a basis for deriving selection indexes for reproductive traits

Current update of cerebral embolic protection devices

Carotid artery stenting (CAS) has evolved into a viable alternative to carotid endarterectomy. Although CAS outcomes have improved during the last decade, the associated stroke rate remains higher when compared with carotid endarterectomy. Therefore, the pivotal role of embolic protection devices (EPDs) in minimizing stroke risk cannot be underestimated as a vital component of CAS. As technology advances, EPDs continue to be refined, and each device currently on the market has its own advantages and disadvantages. This review provides an overview of the current status of EPDs and highlights the unique features of each device, followed by suggestions for application in specific clinical scenarios