Tendu leaves refuse as a Biosorbent for COD removal from Molasses Fermentation based Bulk Drug Industry Effluent.

Physico-chemical properties of effluent from a molasses fermentation based bulk drug unit were analyzed and found to be typical of the effluent from molasses fermentation except for high amount of phenols. The Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal capacity of tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon) leaves refuse of bidi industry and its comparison with Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC) has been presented. Batch kinetics and isotherm studies were studied under varying experimental conditions of contact time, COD concentration, adsorbent dose and pH. Maximum COD removal was observed at a narrow pH range between 7 and 8. The kinetic data were best fitted to the pseudo-second-order chemisorption model. The adsorption followed both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. As per Langmuir model, maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 48.54 mg and 154.8 mg COD per g for tendu leaves refuse and GAC, respectively. The results illustrate how tendu leaves refuse, a solid waste disposal menace from bidi industry, is effective biosorbent for the removal of COD; offering a cheap option for primary treatment of the effluent

Associations between respiratory illnesses and secondhand smoke exposure in flight attendants: A cross-sectional analysis of the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute Survey

Abstract Background Secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) is associated with increased risk of respiratory illness, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Prior to smoking bans on airlines in the late 1980s, flight attendants were exposed to a significant amount of SHS. In the present study, we examine associations between flight attendant SHS exposure and development of respiratory illnesses and cardiovascular disease. Methods Between December 2006 and October 2010, three hundred sixty-two flight attendants completed an online questionnaire with information regarding experience as a flight attendant, medical history, smoking history, and SHS exposure. Rates of illnesses in flight attendants were compared with an age and smoking history matched population sample from NHANES 2005-2006. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of reported medical conditions and pre-ban years of exposure. Results Compared with the sample from NHANES 2005-2006, flight attendants had increased prevalence of chronic bronchitis (11.7% vs. 7.2%, p < 0.05), emphysema/COPD (3.2% vs. 0.9%, p < 0.03), and sinus problems (31.5% vs. 20.9%, p < 0.002), despite a lower prevalence of medical illnesses including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart failure, cancer, and thyroid disease. Amongst flight attendants who reported never smoking over their lifetimes, there was not a significant association between years of service as a flight attendant in the pre-smoking ban era and illnesses. However, in this same group, there was a significantly increased risk of daily symptoms (vs. no symptoms) of nasal congestion, throat, or eye irritation per 10-year increase of years of service as a flight attendant prior to the smoking ban (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.41 - 3.24). Conclusions Flight attendants experience increased rates of respiratory illnesses compared to a population sample. The frequency of symptoms of nasal congestion, throat or eye irritation is associated with occupational SHS exposure in the pre-smoking ban era

Incorporating Genomics and Bioinformatics across the Life Sciences Curriculum

Undergraduate life sciences education needs an overhaul, as clearly described in the National Research Council of the National Academies’ publication BIO 2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists. Among BIO 2010’s top recommendations is the need to involve students in working with real data and tools that reflect the nature of life sciences research in the 21st century [1]. Education research studies support the importance of utilizing primary literature, designing and implementing experiments, and analyzing results in the context of a bona fide scientific question [1–12] in cultivating the analytical skills necessary to become a scientist. Incorporating these basic scientific methodologies in undergraduate education leads to increased undergraduate and post-graduate retention in the sciences [13–16]. Toward this end, many undergraduate teaching organizations offer training and suggestions for faculty to update and improve their teaching approaches to help students learn as scientists, through design and discovery (e.g., Council of Undergraduate Research [www.cur.org] and Project Kaleidoscope [ www.pkal.org])

Thinking about Race: The Salience of Racial Identity at Two- and Four-Year Colleges and the Climate for Diversity

Racial identity salience is an important component of identity development that is associated with a number of educational outcomes. Using the Diverse Learning Environments Survey, this study identifies precollege and college experiences that contribute to a heightened salience of racial identity, and its relationship to perceptions of campus climate

Utilization of Lignocellulosic Waste from Bidi Industry for Removal of Dye from Aqueous Solution

A new, local agro-industrial waste was valorized by chemical treatment and tested for its ability to remove cationic dye from aqueous solution. Tendu ( Diospyros melanoxylon ) leaves refuse, a solid waste from bidi industry which caused disposal problem, was studied as a biosorbent. Raw tendu waste (TLR), along with sulfuric acid carbonized tendu waste (TLR-CM) and tendu waste treated with dilute sulfuric acid (TLR-2N) were utilized as sorbent for uptake of crystal violet from aqueous solutions. Adsorption studies were carried out at various dye concentrations and contact times. It followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics and followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Interestingly, milder acid treatment of the tendu waste enhanced biosorption, whereas drastic acid carbonization of tendu waste resulted in reduced adsorption of dye. The maximum adsorption capacities for crystal violet for TLR-2N, TLR and TLR-CM are 67.57, 42.92 and 22.47 mg/g respectively. Commercial activated carbon had maximum adsorption capacity for crystal violet of 151.52 mg/g. Thus a renewable solid waste with mild acid treatment can offer a cost effective alternative to activated carbon

Genetic and non-genetic factors affecting morphometry of Sirohi goats

Aim: The aim was to estimate genetic and non-genetic factors affecting morphometric traits of Sirohi goats under field condition. Materials and Methods: The detailed information of all animals on body measurements at birth, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of age was collected from farmer’s flock under field condition born during 2007-2013 to analyze the effect of genetic and non-genetic factors. The least squares maximum likelihood program was used to estimate genetic and non-genetic parameters affecting morphometric traits. Results and Discussion: Effect of sire, cluster, year of birth, and sex was found to be highly significant (p<0.01) on all three morphometric traits, parity was highly significant (p<0.01) for body height (BH) and body girth (BG) at birth. The h2 estimates for morphometric traits ranged among 0.528±0.163 to 0.709±0.144 for BH, 0.408±0.159 to 0.605±0.192 for body length (BL), and 0.503±0.197 to 0.695±0.161 for BG. Conclusion: The effect of sire was highly significant (p<0.01) and also h² estimate of all morphometric traits were medium to high; therefore, it could be concluded on the basis of present findings that animals with higher body measurements at initial phases of growth will perform better with respect to even body weight traits at later stages of growth