Removal of reactive azo dyes from water by zero-valent iron reduction followed by peroxidase-catalyzed polymerization.

Removing reactive azo dyes from textile wastewater is a significant challenge due to their color, non-biodegradability and toxicity. Although various treatment methods are available, it was hypothesized that reduction by zero-valent Fe followed by enzymatic treatment could be an environmentally friendly and cost effective approach. Zero-valent Fe cleaves the azo bond, reducing the dyes to aromatic amines, which are then oxidized and polymerized by enzymatic treatment. Finally, these polymers are removed by coagulant (PEI) aided sedimentation and filtration. The effectiveness of zero-valent Fe and Arthromyces ramosus peroxidase (ARP) treatment in the proposed process were studied on two representative reactive azo dyes, Reactive Red 2 (RR2) and Reactive Black 5 (RB5). To gain insight into ARP action on these two dyes, two model compounds, diphenylamine (DPA) and 2-amino-8-naphthol-3,6-disulfonic acid (ANDSA) were studied. A comparison with other treatment methods asserted the superior advantage of the proposed process in terms of actual pollutant and colour removal. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 43-03, page: 0919. Advisers: J. K. Bewtra; K. E. Taylor. Thesis (M.A.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2004

A study of vv-number for some monomial ideals

In this paper, we give formulas for $v$-number of edge ideals of some graphs like path, cycle, 1-clique sum of a path and a cycle, 1-clique sum of two cycles and join of two graphs. For an $\mathfrak{m}$-primary monomial ideal $I\subset S=K[x_1,\ldots,x_t]$, we provide an explicit expression of $v$-number of $I$, denoted by $v(I)$, and give an upper bound of $v(I)$ in terms of the degree of its generators. We show that for a monomial ideal $I$, $v(I^{n+1})$ is bounded above by a linear polynomial for large $n$ and for certain classes of monomial ideals, the upper bound is achieved for all $n\geq 1$. For $\mathfrak m$-primary monomial ideal $I$ we prove that $v(I)\leq$ reg$(S/I)$ and their difference can be arbitrarily large.Comment: 15 page

Postnatal depression and its consequences in public health

In conclusion, postnatally depressed fathers and/or mothers go through silent suffering. Hence, postnatal depression not only increases the global burden of depression but also affects physical, social and emotional health of the family. As a result of that, it becomes a major public health issue. There are risks of developmental delay of the children whose one parent is depressed and the risk increases when both parents are depressed. The negative effect of parental depression on the family as well as treatment and prevention. The consideration of postnatal depression of mothers as well as fathers is an important next step in research, practice and policy involving childbearing families

Theoretical Investigations on Nanoporpus Materials and Ionic Liquids for Energy Storage

In the current context of rapidly depleting petroleum resources and growing environmental concerns, it is important to develop materials to harvest and store energy from renewable and sustainable sources. Hydrogen has the potential to be an alternative energy source, since it has higher energy content than petroleum. However, since hydrogen has very low volumetric energy density, hence it is important to design nano porous materials which can efficiently store large volumes of hydrogen gas by adsorption. In this regard carbon nanotube and Metal Organic Framework (MOFs) based materials are worth studying. Ionic liquids (IL) are potential electrolytes that can improve energy storage capacity and safety in Li ion batteries. Therefore it is important to understand IL's thermodynamic and transport properties, especially when it is in contact with electrode surface and mixed with Li salt, as happens in the battery application. This dissertation presents computation and simulation based studies on: 1. Hydrogen storage in carbon nanotube scaffold. 2. Mechanical property and stability of various nanoporous Metal Organic Frameworks. 3. Thermodynamic and transport properties of [BMIM][BF4] ionic liquid in bulk, in Li Salt mixture, on graphite surface and under nanoconfinement. In the first study, we report the effects of carbon nanotube diameter, tube chirality, tube spacer distance, tube functionalization and presence of Li on hydrogen sorption capacity and thermodynamics at different temperature and pressure. In the second one, we observe high pressure induced structural transformation of 6 isoreticular MOFs: IRMOF-1. IRMOF-3, IRMOF-6, IRMOF-8, IRMOF-10 and IRMOF-14, explore the deformation mechanism and effect of Hydrogen inside crystal lattice. In the third study, we observe the equilibrium thermodynamic and transport properties of [BMIM][BF4] ionic liquid. The temperature dependence of ion diffusion, conductivity, dielectric constant, dipole relaxation time and viscosity have been observed and found similar behavior to those of supercooled liquid. The ion diffusion on graphite surfaces and under nanoconfinement was found to be higher compared to those in bulk

NHS Health Check and healthy lifestyle in Leicester, England: analysis of a survey dataset

Aims: A major component of the NHS Health Check in England is to provide lifestyle advice to eligible participants. The aims of the study were to explore the variations (in terms of uptake) in the NHS Health Check in Leicester and to determine its association with a healthy lifestyle. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the Leicester Health and Wellbeing Survey (2015).Results: The odds of having an NHS Health Check were found to be higher in black and minority ethnic groups and in people having other religions. The odds were lower in people having no religion, residing in the fourth index of multiple deprivation quintile and in ex-smokers. No associations were found between having an NHS Health Check and describing a healthy lifestyle, following a healthy lifestyle, thinking of making lifestyle changes in the next six months, cut down/stop smoking among current smokers, or amount of alcohol current drinkers would like to drink.Conclusions: In Leicester, a few variations in having an NHS Health Check were found among different socio-economic, demographic and behavioural groups. No association was found between the NHS Health Check and a healthy lifestyle. Thus, the improvement work should focus on reducing these variations in having the NHS Health Check and bringing its benefits on promoting a healthy lifestyle

Role of lifestyle behaviours in the ethnic pattern of poor health outcomes in Leicester, England: analysis of a survey dataset

Objectives: Mediation analyses were conducted to explore the contribution of lifestyle behaviours in the ethnic pattern of poor health outcomes in Leicester, England.Study design: Cross-sectional studyMethods: Health and Wellbeing Survey (2015). Lifestyle behaviours were physical activity, diet, smoking and alcohol drinking. Poor health outcomes were the presence of long-term illness and poor self-reported health.Results: Poor health outcomes were less common in Black and Minority Ethnic groups (BMEs) than Whites. Smoking was less common in BMEs than Whites. Poor health outcomes were more common in ex-smokers and current smokers than never smokers. Health outcomes were associated with smoking even after adjusting for ethnicity. The association of ethnicity and health outcomes reduced after adjusting for smoking, suggesting that the effect was mediated by smoking.Conclusions: In Leicester, Whites had poorer health outcomes than BMEs, which were not mediated by physical activity, diet and alcohol drinking but were mediated by smoking