Iran�s rural solid waste: Generation and composition

Background and purpose: Physical analysis of solid waste is the first step in waste management. In Iran, no data is available about rural solid wastes in the country. The aim of this study was to determine qualitative and quantitative analysis of rural solid wastes in Iran. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, the data for national rural solid waste in 2012 was obtained from Iranian State Municipalities and Village Assistance Offices organization. Then the generation, per capita and physical composition of solid waste in rural areas in Iran were compared. Excel and SPSS V.17 were applied to analyze the data. Results: The average solid waste generation per capita was 444 g per day and total wastes in Iran�s rural areas was estimated at around 3.5 million tons per year. The majority of country�s rural solid wastes consisted of organic materials (52.53) and plastics (16) were the most valuable dry solid wastes. Conclusion: By applying composting method, not only the fertilizing capacity of the waste is used but also leachate, offensive odor and toxic gas generation would decrease. Recycling of dry solid waste in rural areas would reduce their cost of collection and disposal and also increases the profit from selling recycled materials. © 2016, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All Rights reserved

Determination of hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions of natural organic matter in raw water of Jalalieh and Tehranspars water treatment plants (Tehran)

The aim of this research was to determine hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions of Natural Organic Matter (NOMs) in drinking water Sources of Tehran. Water sampling was conducted monthly from Aug 2006 to Jan 2007 in two drinking water treatment plants (Jalalieh and Tehranpars) in Tehran. Quantitative parameters of pH, EC, UV254 and DOC were studied based on standard methods. The XAD-7 resin method was used for fractionation of NOM. Results showed that NOM concentrations in Jalalieh and Tehranpars water treatment plants were 2.47 and 1.63 mg L-1, respectively. The mean of total percent of HPO (hydrophobic) and HPI (hydrophilic) fractions were about 41 and 59, respectively. Since the hydrophobic NOM fraction exhibits higher trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) than hydrophilic NOM, Tehran water chlorination exhibits higher THMFP than halo acetic acid formation potential (HAAFP). The information obtained from this study may be further employed in the design of the control technique and management strategies for the water treatment plant, especially for DBP, reduction. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information

Chemical Profile of Lipophilic Fractions of Different Parts of Zizyphus lotus L. by GC-MS and Evaluation of Their Antiproliferative and Antibacterial Activities

Zizyphus lotus L. is a perennial shrub particularly used in Algerian folk medicine, but little is known concerning the lipophilic compounds in the most frequently used parts, namely, root bark, pulp, leaves and seeds, which are associated with health benefits. In this vein, the lipophilic fractions of these morphological parts of Z. lotus from Morocco were studied by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and their antiproliferative and antimicrobial activities were evaluated. GC– MS analysis allowed the identification and quantification of 99 lipophilic compounds, including fatty acids, long-chain aliphatic alcohols, pentacyclic triterpenic compounds, sterols, monoglycerides, aromatic compounds and other minor components. Lipophilic extracts of pulp, leaves and seeds were revealed to be mainly composed of fatty acids, representing 54.3–88.6% of the total compounds detected. The leaves and seeds were particularly rich in unsaturated fatty acids, namely, (9Z,12Z)-octadeca-9,12-dienoic acid (2431 mg kg−1 of dry weight) and (9Z)-octadec-9-enoic acid (6255 mg kg−1 of dry weight). In contrast, root bark contained a high content of pentacyclic triterpenic compounds, particularly betulinic acid, accounting for 9838 mg kg−1 of dry weight. Root bark extract showed promising antiproliferative activity against a triple-negative breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) = 4.23 ± 0.18 µg mL−1 of extract. Leaf extract displayed interesting antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermis, presenting minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values from 1024 to 2048 µg mL−1 of extract. Our results demonstrate that Zizyphus lotus L. is a source of promising bioactive components, which can be exploited as natural ingredients in pharmaceutical formulationspublishe

Physical characterisation of an alginate/lysozyme nano-laminate coating and its evaluation on ‘coalho’ cheese shelf life

This work aimed at the characterisation of a nanolaminate coating produced by the layer-by-layer methodology and its evaluation on the preservation of ‘Coalho’ cheese. Initially, five alternate layers of alginate and lysozyme were assembled in an aminolysed/charged polyethylene terephthalate (A/C PET) and physically characterised by UV/VIS spectroscopy, contact angle, water vapour (WVTR) and oxygen (OTR) transmission rates and scanning electron microscopy. Afterwards, the same methodology was used to apply the nano-laminate coating in ‘Coalho’ cheese and its shelf life was evaluated during 20 days in terms of mass loss, pH, lipid peroxidation, titratable acidity and microbial count. UV/VIS spectroscopy and contact angle analyses confirmed the layers’ deposition and the successful assembly of nano-laminate coating on A/C PET surface. The coating presented WVTR and OTR values of 1.03×10−3 and 1.28× 10−4 g m−2 s−1, respectively. After 20 days, coated cheese showed lower values of mass loss, pH, lipidic peroxidation, microorganisms’ proliferation and higher titratable acidity in comparison with uncoated cheese. These results suggest that gas barrier and antibacterial properties of alginate/lysozyme nanocoating can be used to extend the shelf life of ‘Coalho’ cheese.The author Bartolomeu G. de S. Medeiros is recipient of a scholarship from Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES-Brazil). The author Marthyna P. Souza is recipient of a scholarship from Fundacao de Amparo a Ciencia e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE, Brazil) and was recipient of a scholarship from Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES/PDEE-Brazil). The authors Ana C. Pinheiro, Ana I. Bourbon and Miguel A. Cerqueira are recipients of a fellowship (SFRH/BD/48120/2008, SFRH/BD/73178/2010 and SFRH/BPD/72753/2010, respectively), supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, POPH-QREN and FSE (FCT, Portugal). Maria G. Carneiro-da-Cunha express is gratitude to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq) for research grant. The present work was supported by CAPES/PROCAD/NF/1415/2007. The support of EU Cost Action FA0904 is gratefully acknowledged

Transcriptomic and metabolomic shifts in rice roots in response to Cr (VI) stress

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Widespread use of chromium (Cr) contaminated fields due to careless and inappropriate management practices of effluent discharge, mostly from industries related to metallurgy, electroplating, production of paints and pigments, tanning, and wood preservation elevates its concentration in surface soil and eventually into rice plants and grains. In spite of many previous studies having been conducted on the effects of chromium stress, the precise molecular mechanisms related to both the effects of chromium phytotoxicity, the defense reactions of plants against chromium exposure as well as translocation and accumulation in rice remain poorly understood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Detailed analysis of genome-wide transcriptome profiling in rice root is reported here, following Cr-plant interaction. Such studies are important for the identification of genes responsible for tolerance, accumulation and defense response in plants with respect to Cr stress. Rice root metabolome analysis was also carried out to relate differential transcriptome data to biological processes affected by Cr (VI) stress in rice. To check whether the Cr-specific motifs were indeed significantly over represented in the promoter regions of Cr-responsive genes, occurrence of these motifs in whole genome sequence was carried out. In the background of whole genome, the lift value for these 14 and 13 motifs was significantly high in the test dataset. Though no functional role has been assigned to any of the motifs, but all of these are present as promoter motifs in the Database of orthologus promoters.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings clearly suggest that a complex network of regulatory pathways modulates Cr-response of rice. The integrated matrix of both transcriptome and metabolome data after suitable normalization and initial calculations provided us a visual picture of the correlations between components. Predominance of different motifs in the subsets of genes suggests the involvement of motif-specific transcription modulating proteins in Cr stress response of rice.</p

Effect Of Hydrophilic And Hydrophobic Organic Matter On Amoxicillin And Cephalexin Residuals Rejection From Water By Nanofiltration

Antibiotics such as amoxicillin and cephalexin are a group of pharmaceutical compounds in human medicine practice that have been entered in water bodies. Presence of these compounds in the environment has raised concerns regarding the toxicity to aquatic organisms and the emergence of strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Removal of these substances before entering the aquatic environment as well as water reuse plant is very important. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the impact of hydrophilic and hydrophobic fractions of Natural Organic Matter (NOM) on the removal efficiency of cephalexin and amoxicillin, by using two different commercially available composite NF membranes (TFC-SR2 and TFC-SR3). In addition, the effect of NOM fractions on retention mechanism and permeates flux behavior was studied. Amoxicillin and cephalexin were used as models of antibiotics; alginate and humic acid were used as models of hydrophilic and hydrophobic fractions of NOM, respectively. It was observed that the rejection and permeate flux of amoxicillin and cephalexin were influenced by the membrane characteristics and properties of NOM. The results showed that as the alginate proportion was increased, the rejection improved. The permeate flux decreased with increasing alginate ratio. It was observed that the rejections of amoxicillin and cephalexin in TFC-SR2 were >97.3% and >95.8% in all experiments, respectively. In TFC-SR3, the rejection percentage were (95.9%-100%) and (86.1%-96.3%), respectively. Alginate and humic acid had synergistic effect on flux decline. In other words, increasing alginate concentration increased the rate and extent of flux reduction

Adsorption of methylene blue from aqueous solution onto activated carbons developed from eucalyptus bark and Crataegus oxyacantha core

In this study, eucalyptus bark and Crataegus oxyacantha core-based activated carbon were synthesized and their morphological features characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. The efficiency of synthesized adsorbents in removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution was investigated in a series of batch experiments. Furthermore, the influences of various experimental factors involving the contact time, the initial dye concentration, the adsorbent dosage, and the pH of the dye solution were investigated. The point of zero charge (pHpzc) of the applied adsorbents was also determined. In addition, the experimental data were expressed by Langmuir, Freundlich and Tempkin isotherms and pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order kinetic models. Adsorption equilibrium of the two adsorbents was reached within 1 h for MB concentrations of 20 to 100 mg/L. The equilibrium data obtained at optimum conditions of MB sorption by eucalyptus bark activated carbon and Crataegus oxyacantha core activated carbon were best fitted to Tempkin and Langmuir isotherm models, respectively. Besides, it was revealed that the adsorption rate follows a pseudo-second order kinetic model. From the findings of this study, it can be postulated that these adsorbents could be of great potential as a new class of adsorbents for organic dye removal from polluted water. © IWA Publishing 2016

Cadmium content in rice and its daily intake in Ghaemshahr region of Iran

This investigation surveyed Cadmium (Cd) content of Iranian rice (oryza saliva) which is predominant rice culture in north of Iran. A total of 60 samples were collected from Ghaemshahr region in Mazandaran province (North of Iran). The samples were collected in during harvesting of rice in field. The first step, grains of raw rice were digested by acid digestion method and then were analyzed for Cadmium by atomic absorption spectrometer. To assess the daily intake of Cd by rice, from daily consumption of rice was calculated. The results showed that average concentration of Cd in rice was 0.40± 0.16µg/g dry wt and ranged from 0.12 to 0.83 ìg/g dry wt. The Cd content in the rice samples was found to be upper the FAO/WHO Guidelines. Also average weekly intake of Cd from rice was 7.7µg/kg body weight/week that it was approximately 10% more than to the maximum weekly intake recommended by WHO/FAO