Isothermal study of Congo Red dye biosorptive removal from water by Solanum tuberosum and Pisum sativum peels in economical way

Solanum tuberosum (STP) and Pisum sativum peels (PSP) were used for removal of toxic Congo Red dye using indigenous sources. Potato (Solanum tuberosum) and pea (Pisum sativum) are commonly and abundantly cultivated plants in Asian countries and their peels are easily available. The optimized conditions for Solanum tuberosum peels (STP) and Pisum sativum peels (PSP) were: adsorbent dose; 0.8 and 0.6 g, contact time; 50 and 35 min, pH; 3 and 2, agitation speed; 200 and 125 rpm and temperature; 30 oC for both STP and PSP respectively. Isothermal studies indicated that Langmuir model followed by equilibrium data more than Freundlich model. Negative value of thermodynamic parameter ∆Go shown that Cong Red removal by both adsorbents was spontaneous and exothermic in nature. The adsorption capacity (qmax) for Solanum tuberosum and Pisum sativum peels were found to be 6.9 and 16.4 mg.g-1, respectively. Higher value of qmax for pea peels shown that it is more suitable adsorbent for removal of Congo Red dye than potato peels.               KEY WORDS: Congo red, Solanum tuberosum, Pisum sativum, Biosorption Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2018, 32(2), 213-223.DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v32i2.

Improving Performance of QUIC in WiFi

QUIC is a new transport protocol under standardization since 2016. Initially developed by Google as an experiment, the protocol is already deployed in large-scale, thanks to its support in Chromium and Google's servers. In this paper we experimentally analyze the performance of QUIC in WiFi networks. We perform experiments using both a controlled WiFi testbed and a production WiFi mesh network. In particular, we study how QUIC interplays with MAC layer features such as IEEE 802.11 frame aggregation. We show that the current implementation of QUIC in Chromium achieves sub-optimal throughput in wireless networks. Indeed, burstiness in modern WiFi standards may improve network performance, and we show that a Bursty QUIC (BQUIC), i.e., a customized version of QUIC that is targeted to increase its burstiness, can achieve better performance in WiFi. BQUIC outperforms the current version of QUIC in WiFi, with throughput gains ranging between 20% to 30%

The Experience of International Students and Institutional Recommendations: A Comparison Between the Students From the Developing and Developed Regions

Prior studies on the experiences of international students in China have mostly focused on their academic, sociocultural, and accommodation experiences. Hence, student health and safety, discrimination, and the services by the International Student Office (ISO) have remained unexplored. Moreover, due to the motivational differences between the students from developing and developed regions, a study that samples students from both regions may depict an exact picture of the experience of international students. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the influence of the dimensions (including those dimensions that have been ignored) of the experience of international students on their satisfaction. In addition, we make recommendations regarding Chinese institutes for future students based on a comparison between the students from developing and developed regions. Using hierarchical regression analysis, this study reveals that educational and non-educational experiences vary among students from different regions. Therefore, based on developing (e.g., Asia and Africa) and developed (e.g., America, Europe, and Australia) regions, important recommendations are discussed regarding how educational institutions and the Chinese government could best allocate resources and introduce policies to improve the experience of international students

A novel wastewater treatment ecotechnology to improve environmental sanitation in urban slums

Rapid urbanisation has exerted severe pressure on urban housing and public services in the metropolitan city of Khulna, Bangladesh with which basic urban services could not cope. Situation coupled with the destitute economic condition of migrants has instigated the formation of large number of slums where service inadequacies on sanitation have been compounded and multiplied on a massive scale, resulting in hazardous environmental condition. Decentralized Wastewater Treatment System (DWTS) has recently gained much attention due to its build-as-you-go principle. This paper aims to examine and discuss the potential of a novel DWTS for urban development. The pilot DWTS was established in Panchtola colony located at Khalishpur, Khulna, Bangladesh. The paper first depicted how environmental sanitation of slum was improved with inclusion of ecotechnology. It was found that, overall removal efficiency of pollutants is more than 80% (COD, BOD5, PO4 and faecal bio-indicators) from influent

Infection of hepatitis C virus genotypes in hepatocellular carcinoma patients from rural areas of Faisalabad region, Pakistan

The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the infection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients from rural areas of Faisalabad region. Among 179 HCC subjects, men and women were 51 and 49%, respectively. All samples positive for HCV RNA by qualitative PCR were genotyped, applying genotype-specific PCR. They were confirmed using HCV 5’ non-coding region sequence analytical data. Major risk factor for HCC development and progression was identified to be chronic HCV. It was found among 56.5 ± 2.1 years of age. All these HCC cases were HCV-related and no case was linked with other types of viruses. Using genotype specific primers, HCV genotype 3a (55.3%) was significantly (P<0.0001) higher, followed by 3b (15.8%), 1 (9.24%), 4 (8.05%) and 2 (7.15%). Other genotypes, namely 5a and 6a were only 1.19 and 1.05% among the HCC patients. About 1.05% remained un-typed because of minute viral load. HCV genotype 3a was strongly linked with HCC, followed by 3b. Moreover, HCC was linked with liver cirrhosis (81%). It is suggested that genotyping may be recommended before starting interferon therapy.Key words: Etiology, genotyping, hepatitis C virus, hepatocellular carcinoma, prevalence, α-fetoprotein

Search for Intermediate Mass Magnetic Monopoles and Nuclearites with the SLIM experiment

SLIM is a large area experiment (440 m2) installed at the Chacaltaya cosmic ray laboratory since 2001, and about 100 m2 at Koksil, Himalaya, since 2003. It is devoted to the search for intermediate mass magnetic monopoles (107-1013 GeV/c2) and nuclearites in the cosmic radiation using stacks of CR39 and Makrofol nuclear track detectors. In four years of operation it will reach a sensitivity to a flux of about 10-15 cm-2 s-1 sr-1. We present the results of the calibration of CR39 and Makrofol and the analysis of a first sample of the exposed detector.Comment: Presented at the 22nd ICNTS, Barcelona 200

Mixotrophic cultivation of Scenedesmus dimorphus in sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate

Overuse of the fossil fuels to fulfill existing energy requirements has generated various environmental problems like global warming. Emergence of environmental issues due to burning of the fossil fuel resources has provoked researchers to explore alternative sources of fuel. In this scenario, microalgal biofuels could present a promising alternative fuel if produced cost-effectively without competing for freshwater resources and arable land. Aim of the present study was to grow microalgae by employing lignocellulosic waste for production of lipids. Scenedesmus dimorphus NT8c was chosen based on its ability to tolerate heat, rapid growth, and ease of harvesting by overnight settling. Biochemical composition and growth parameters of microalgae were analyzed when cultivated mixotrophically on sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate, a low-value agricultural by-product, that is, currently underutilized. Despite a slight increase in turbidity in the medium, S. dimorphus NT8c cultures raised mixotrophically in 5 g/L sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate displayed significantly higher growth rates compared to photoautotrophic cultivation with an overall biomass productivity of 119.5 mg L d, protein contents of 34.82% and fatty acid contents of 15.41%. Thus, microalgae cultivated mixotrophically are capable of photosynthesizing while metabolizing and assimilating organic carbon, significant increases of biomass and lipid productivity can be achieved. However, high supplementation with organic carbon can result in unfavorable levels of turbidity and bacterial growth, reducing microalgal biomass productivity

Search for massive rare particles with the SLIM experiment

The search for magnetic monopoles in the cosmic radiation remains one of the main aims of non-accelerator particle astrophysics. Experiments at high altitude allow lower mass thresholds with respect to detectors at sea level or underground. The SLIM experiment is a large array of nuclear track detectors at the Chacaltaya High Altitude Laboratory (5290 m a.s.l.). The results from the analysis of 171 m$^2$ exposed for more than 3.5 y are here reported. The completion of the analysis of the whole detector will allow to set the lowest flux upper limit for Magnetic Monopoles in the mass range 10$^5$ - 10$^{12}$ GeV. The experiment is also sensitive to SQM nuggets and Q-balls, which are possible Dark Matter candidates.Comment: Presented at the 29-th ICRC, Pune, India (2005