Efficiency of Cd(II) removal from aqueous media using chemically modified polystyrene foam

Arvine Wales, Charity School treasurer pays $7.00 to the heirs of Mr. Breed. context unclear. 8" x 1.8

absorption spectrometry

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam waste (white pollutant) was utilised for the synthesis of novel chelating resin i.e. EPS-N=N-alpha-Benzoin oxime (EPS-N=N-Box). The synthesised resin was characterised by FT-IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. A selective method for the preconcentration of Pb(II) ions on EPS-N=N-Box resin packed in mini-column was developed. The sorbed Pb(II) ions were eluted with 5.0mL of 2.0molL(-1) HCl and determined by microsample injection system coupled flame atomic absorption spectrometry (MIS-FAAS). The average recovery of Pb(II) ions was achieved 95.5% at optimum parameters such as pH 7, resin amount 400mg, flow rates 1.0mLmin(-1) (of eluent) and3.0mLmin(-1) (of sample solution). The total saturation capacity of the resin, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of Pb(II) ions were found to be 30mgg(-1), 0.033 mu gL(-1) and 0.107 mu gL(-1), respectively with preconcentration factor of 300. The accuracy, selectivity and validation of the method was checked by analysis of sea water (BCR-403), wastewater (BCR-715) and Tibet soil (NCS DC-78302) as certified reference materials (CRMs). The proposed method was applied successfully for the trace determination of Pb(II) ions in aqueous samples

Increasing ciprofloxacin resistance of isolates from infected urines of a cross-section of patients in Karachi

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of the research was to evaluate the current effectiveness of Ciprofloxacin on the uropathogens prevalent in infected urines of a cross-section of patients in Karachi, Pakistan.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>An observational study conducted in a private diagnostic laboratory and its branches in key areas of Karachi City from February 2010 to July 2011. A total of 2963 consecutive urine samples were cultured on chocolate agar, CLED medium and selective EMB agar. Growth of possible uropathogens was noted, and compared retrospectively with earlier lab data of suggestive urine cultures (<it>n</it> = 1997) recorded during January 2009 and December 2009. The isolates were identified using routine procedures and the API 20 system and evaluated for their sensitivity to ciprofloxacin by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Data was subjected to statistical analysis on SPSS version 16. Out of the present-day culture-positive urines, 2409 (80.4%) yielded gram-negative rods, and 554 (18.5%) gram-positive cocci. <it>E.coli</it> (43.1%) was most frequent, followed by <it>Klebsiella pneumoniae</it> (22.4%) and <it>Staphylococcus aureus</it> (15.5%). 57.2% of the Gram-negative bacteria and 48.7% of the Gram-positive isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin. In the earlier (2009) screening, 39% of Gram-negative rods and 48% of Gram-positive cocci were indifferent to the drug.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A decrease in bacterial susceptibility of uropathogens to ciprofloxacin, a commonly prescribed drug in our population, is underlined, occurring possibly due to overuse pressure. Empirical initial treatment with ciprofloxacin would be inadequate in more than half of UTI cases, thereby counseling increased C/S testing of urines to provide existing sensitivity data for apt drug prescription.</p