Recovery of water from cacti for use in small farming communities

In this study, an extensive investigation was conducted to determine if declared weeds could be used as a source of water for agricultural practices in dry areas. The objective of this study was to determineif declared weeds  could successfully be used as a source of water for agricultural practices in dry areas by extracting the water by means of mechanical and chemical methods. The Cereus jamacura cactus, also known as Queen of the Night, with a moisture content of 91 wt%, was selected for this study. Both mechanical and chemical extraction methods were used to determine the maximum water yield possible. Juicing, pressing with a hydraulic cold press and pressing with rollers were used as mechanical methods to extract water from the cacti and water yields of 7.0, 4.9 and 2.9 wt% were obtained respectively. The chemical extraction processes entailed the pulping of the cacti and the filtering off of the water. The effect of pectinase, cellulase and a surfactant at a fixed dosage on the amount of water extracted (mass of water per mass of cacti used) was investigated. The quality of the water was also determined. Temperature (30 to 50°C) and pH (2.5 to 6.5) were varied to find the optimum extraction conditions. The highest water yield (55 wt% of total cacti mass) was obtained using pectinase enzymes at a temperature of 40°C and a pH of 3.5 and cellulose enzymes at a temperature of 35°C and a pH of 5.5. This relates to a yield of 550 L of water per ton of cacti, making chemical water extraction a viable option if compared to the pollution created by the annual burning of the cacti. It was concluded from this study that the water that was extracted from the C. jamacaru cacti would not be suitable for either domestic or industrial application due to the high levels of potassium (up to 2,650 ppm), phosphates (up to 2,200 ppm), sulphates (up to 3,800 ppm) and nitrates (up to 670 ppm) in the water. The high concentration of phosphates and nitrates, however, makes the extracted water an excellent fertiliser for crops requiring high nitrate and phosphate dosages. Small community farmers could thus benefit by using cacti as a source of water for small scale biofuels production plants while also obtaining an excellent additional fertiliser for crop cultivation.Keywords: Cereus jamacaru, water yield, water quality.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(40), pp. 5926-593

‘Framing the project’ of international human rights law: Reflections on the dysfunctional ‘family’ of the Universal Declaration

Full text embargoed until November 2013.The task of ‘framing the project’ of international human rights law is daunting to say the least. First, there is the sheer enormity and complexity of the international human rights law ‘project’: adequately mapping the subject and its key related issues is impossible in a whole book, let alone a short chapter. Secondly, it is daunting because of the sense of epistemic responsibility involved. Every framing inevitably involves selection – if not pre-selection – through the conscious (and/or unconscious) placing of focus upon features or factors considered to be significant and/or valuable. As Gitlin puts it, framing is a way of choosing, underlining and presenting ‘what exists, what happens and what matters’. In this sense, the founding document (or as Entman might put it, the inaugural ‘communicating text’) of international human rights law (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UDHR) functions as a particularly potent form of framing, for it selects aspects of perceived reality, making them not just salient but symbolically central to the entire philosophical, moral, juridical order designated by the term ‘international human rights law’

Osteonecrosis of the jaw as a possible rare side effect of annual bisphosphonate administration for osteoporosis: A case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Osteonecrosis of the jaw is a serious side effect in patients receiving nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates intravenously due to malignant diseases. Albeit far less frequently, osteonecrosis of the jaw has also been reported to occur due to the oral administration of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates due to osteoporosis. Annual infusions of zoledronic acid have been recommended in order to improve patient compliance, to optimize therapeutic effects and to minimize side effects. To date, osteonecrosis of the jaw has not been linked to the annual administration of bisphosphonates.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 65-year-old Caucasian woman suffering from osteoporosis who developed early stage osteonecrosis of the jaw in two locations, with chronic infections, after two months of oral bisphosphonate treatment and three annual administrations of zoledronic acid. Our patient was treated by fluorescence-guided resection of the necrotic jaw bone areas; local inflammation was treated by removal of a wisdom tooth and repeat root resections. Histopathology revealed typical hallmarks of osteonecrosis of the jaw.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Osteonecrosis of the jaw may occur as a consequence of annual administrations of zoledronic acid. It is conceivable that, due to the pharmacological properties of bisphosphonates, a jaw bone that encounters frequent local inflammations is more likely to develop osteonecrosis.</p

213Bi-PSMA-617 targeted alpha-radionuclide therapy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer

Prostate-specific membrane antigen radioligand therapy (PSMA-RLT) with 177Lu-PSMA holds great promise as a safe treatment option in patients with metastasized castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) with appropriate selection. This approach, together with 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT, is an excellent example of theranostic nuclear medicine. However, more structured data have recently shown that despite a marked response to PSMARLT, some patients are refractory to 177Lu-radioligand therapy. Fortunately recent studies have demonstrated that targeted α-radiation therapy with 225Ac-PSMA can significantly benefit mCRPC patients. Similarly, 213Bi-DOTATOC may be able to break the radioresistance to β-emitters while simultaneously reducing haematological toxicity in patients with diffuse red marrow infiltration by neuroendocrine tumour.https://link.springer.com/journal/259am2018Nuclear Medicin

Corporate social responsibility as cultural meaning management: a critique of the marketing of ‘ethical’ bottled water

To date, the primary focus of research in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been on the strategic implications of CSR for corporations and less on an evaluation of CSR from a wider political, economic and social perspective. In this paper, we aim to address this gap by critically engaging with marketing campaigns of so-called ‘ethical’ bottled water. We especially focus on a major CSR strategy of a range of different companies that promise to provide drinking water for (what they name as) ‘poor African people’ by way of Western consumers purchasing bottled water. Following Fairclough's approach, we unfold a three-step critical discourse analysis of the marketing campaigns of 10 such ‘ethical’ brands. Our results show that bottled water companies try to influence consumers' tastes through the management of the cultural meaning of bottled water, producing a more ‘ethical’ and ‘socially responsible’ perception of their products/brands. Theoretically, we base our analysis on McCracken's model of the cultural meaning of consumer goods, which, we argue, offers a critical perspective of the recent emergence of CSR and business ethics initiatives. We discuss how these marketing campaigns can be framed as historical struggles associated with neo-liberal ideology and hegemony. Our analysis demonstrates how such CSR strategies are part of a general process of the reproduction of capitalist modes of accumulation and legitimation through the usage of cultural categories

Bioelectrochemical conversion of CO2 to value added product formate using engineered Methylobacterium extorquens

The conversion of carbon dioxide to formate is a fundamental step for building C1 chemical platforms. Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 was reported to show remarkable activity converting carbon dioxide into formate. Formate dehydrogenase 1 from M. extorquens AM1 (MeFDH1) was verified as the key responsible enzyme for the conversion of carbon dioxide to formate in this study. Using a 2% methanol concentration for induction, microbial harboring the recombinant MeFDH1 expressing plasmid produced the highest concentration of formate (26.6 mM within 21 hours) in electrochemical reactor. 60 ??M of sodium tungstate in the culture medium was optimal for the expression of recombinant MeFDH1 and production of formate (25.7 mM within 21 hours). The recombinant MeFDH1 expressing cells showed maximum formate productivity of 2.53 mM/g-wet cell/hr, which was 2.5 times greater than that of wild type. Thus, M. extorquens AM1 was successfully engineered by expressing MeFDH1 as recombinant enzyme to elevate the production of formate from CO2 after elucidating key responsible enzyme for the conversion of CO2 to formate

Characterization, definability and separation via saturated models

Three important results about the expressivity of a modal logic L are the Characterization Theorem (that identifies a modal logic L as a fragment of a better known logic), the Definability theorem (that provides conditions under which a class of L-models can be defined by a formula or a set of formulas of L), and the Separation Theorem (that provides conditions under which two disjoint classes of L-models can be separated by a class definable in L). We provide general conditions under which these results can be established for a given choice of model class and modal language whose expressivity is below first order logic. Besides some basic constraints that most modal logics easily satisfy, the fundamental condition that we require is that the class of ω-saturated models in question has the Hennessy-Milner property with respect to the notion of observational equivalence under consideration. Given that the Characterization, Definability and Separation theorems are among the cornerstones in the model theory of L, this property can be seen as a test that identifies the adequate notion of observational equivalence for a particular modal logic.submittedVersionFil: Areces, Carlos Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física; Argentina.Fil: Areces, Carlos Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Carreiro, Facundo. Universidad de Ámsterdam. Instituto de Lógica, Lenguaje y Computación; Países Bajos.Fil: Figueira, Santiago. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Computación; Argentina.Fil: Figueira, Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Ciencias de la Computació