Removal of mercury (II) from aqueous solution by using rice residues

Sorption potential of rice residues for Hg(II) removal from aqueous solution was investigated. Rice husk (RH) and rice straw (RS) were selected and treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The raw and modified adsorbents were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and BET surface area measurements. The effects of pH, initial ion concentration, and agitation time on the removal process were studied in batch adsorption experiments. Two simple kinetic models, which are pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order, were tested to investigate the adsorption mechanisms. The kinetic data fits to pseudo second order model with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99 for all adsorbents. The equilibrium data fitted well with the Langmuir compared to Freundlich isotherm models. Alkali-treated adsorbent obtained larger surface area and RH-NaOH showed highest adsorption capacity followed by RS-Pure > RH-Pure > RS-NaOH. The maximum removal efficiency obtained by RH-NaOH and RS-Pure was 42 mg/l (80%) at pH 6.5 and with 2 days contact time (for 50 mg/l initial concentration and 25 mg adsorbents)

Minimal model for beta relaxation in viscous liquids

Contrasts between beta relaxation in equilibrium viscous liquids and glasses are rationalized in terms of a double-well potential model with structure-dependent asymmetry, assuming structure is described by a single order parameter. The model is tested for tripropylene glycol where it accounts for the hysteresis of the dielectric beta loss peak frequency and magnitude during cooling and reheating through the glass transition.Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett. (in press

Persepsi Hakim Agama Tentang Penggunaan Kalender Hijriyah dalam Perhitungan Masa Iddah

Ketentuan Al-Quran, hadis-hadis Nabi, serta amalan para sahabat dan generasi-generasi Islam setelah itu menjadikan kalender Hijriyah sebagai satu-satunya kalender Islam sebagai pedoman perhitungan waktu, baik untuk pelaksanaan ibadah mahdhah maupun ghairu mahdhah. Akan tetapi masyarakat Islam Indonesia menggunakan kalender tersebut hanya untuk kepentingan penentuan awal Ramadhan, Syawal, dan Dzulhijjah, serta peringatan hari-hari besar Islam lainnya. Untuk pedoman aktifitas umat Islam yang lainnya, masyarakat muslim Indonesia mempedomani kalender Masehi (Gregorian), termasuk dalam bidang hukum perkawinan. Pemahaman tersebut juga dianut oleh hakim agama dalam memahami ketentuan undang-undang perkawinan di Indonesia (UU No. 1 tahun 1974) dan tentang esensi Kompilasi Hukum Islam di Indonesia sebagai hukum materilnya. Akibat pemahaman tersebut, dalam perhitungan masa iddah perempuan yang bercerai dari suaminya terdapat perbedaan hitungan hari antara kalender Masehi dan Hijriyah, yang selanjutnya sangat beresiko terhadap akibat hukum yang menyangkut kehalalan dan keharaman berkumpul sebagai suami istri, serta hak-hak suami istri selama masa idda

A decentralized proportional-integral sliding mode tracking controller for a 2 D.O.F robot arm

Trajectory tracking with high accuracy is a very challenging topic in direct drive robot control. This is due to the nonlinearities and input couplings present in the dynamics of the arm. This paper deals with the tracking control of a class of direct-drive robot manipulators. A robust Proportional-Integral (PI) sliding mode control law is derived so that the robot trajectory tracks a desired trajectory as closely as possible despite the highly non-linear and coupled dynamics. The controller is designed using the decentralized approaches. Application to a two degree of freedom direct drive robot arm is considered

Genetic Variation in Three Breeds of Indonesian Local Ducks Based on Blood and Egg White Protein Polymorphism

A study of genetic variation of four blood protein loci and three egg white loci in three breeds ofIndonesian local ducks (Magelang duck = MAD, Tegal duck = TED and Mojosari duck= MOD) wasinvestigated by using polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). The result showed that four bloodprotein loci (Pre-albumin, Albumin, Transferrin and Post-transferrin) and three egg white loci(Ovalbumin, Ovoglobulin and Conalbumin) were found to be polymorphic in three breeds of localducks. There was no difference on blood and egg white protein polyimorphism. The average value ofheterozygosity on three breeds of local ducks had a genetic potential to determine the controlled matingsystem and selection to obtain pure line. The closest phylogenetic relationship among the three breeds oflocal ducks occurred between MAD and TED

Toxicity of various silver nanoparticles compared to silver ions in the Ponto-Caspian amphipod Pontogammarus maeoticus (Sowinsky, 1894)

According to the increased probability of the presence of nanomaterials in the aquatic ecosystems, the present study examined the toxicity of three engineered silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as well as silver ions in the Pontogammarus maeoticus, a brackish water benthic organism living in the littoral zone of the Caspian Sea. The animals were acutely exposed to different concentrations of two commercially prepared colloidal forms and a freshly prepared suspension of silver nanoparticles, plus AgNO3 during 48 hr. The number of mortalities was assessed and lethal concentration values were calculated using the EPA Probit Analysis Program. According to median lethal concentrations (LC50), the order of sensitivity of this amphipod to tested silver compounds was as: previously prepared AgNPs colloids > freshly prepared AgNPs suspension > AgNO3. Also the signs of nanoparticle accumulation were evident between the pereopods and pleopods of this gammarid; this accumulation could be one of the reasons for the higher toxicity of silver nanoparticles in comparison with silver ions in P. maeoticus. More acute and chronic studies are needed to understand the various aspects of nano-silver toxicity on amphipods in different salinities

Examining the Product Quality Attributes that influences customer satisfaction most when the price was discounted: A case study in Kuching Sarawak

The study is about customer satisfaction towards the product quality. The effect of low pricing product with the product quality plays the same result of low price products produces low quality product and vice-versa. Data instrument that is used in obtaining data is by distributing survey questionnaire. The main purpose of this research is to classify whether the eight dimension of product quality after price discounting is satisfying towards customer. The respondent of the research was chosen through sampling method by using the non-probability sampling. The results infer that that the customer’s satisfaction towards the discounted product quality is based on the three attributes most namely perceived quality, performance and reliability. The Perceived quality- on image, brand name, and advertising is positively related to the level of satisfaction towards the quality of discounted product; were all supported as the relationships between the variables were statistically significant. This study does also provide useful guidelines for future researcher to be more rigorous and also in-depth to empirical and theoretical processes. In future study, customer satisfaction towards discounted product quality of the product to be specified to a product only determine by one gender (female) and also a perception towards a certain discounted price level of a product and its quality with extension of product design and customer requirements

Genetic Variation Through Polymorphism of Blood and Egg White Protein in Three Kinds of Kedu Chickens at Laying Period

. Genetic variation of five blood protein loci and three egg white protein loci in three kinds of Kedu chicken, namely the black skin and black feather (BB), black skin and white feather (BW) and white skin and white feather (WW) were investigated using polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis. The result showed that five blood loci (pre-albumin, albumin, post-transferin, transferin and hemoglobin) and three egg white loci (lysozim, ovalbumin and conalbumin) were found to be polymorphic in three kinds of Kedu chicken. BW has average higher heterozygosity than BB and WW. The result was shown in blood and egg white protein polymorphism. There was no difference on blood and egg white protein in the genetic variation. The average of heterozygosity of Kedu chicken of high production and low production was not different. Genetic distance among three populations of Kedu chicken showed that Kedu chicken BW was closer to WW than to BB

Genetic Gains of Milk Yield and Milk Composition as Realized Response to Dairy Cow Selection in Bbptu-hpt Baturraden, Indonesia

The aims of this study were to estimate the heritabilities, examine the effects of dairy femaleselection and calculate the genetic gains on milk yield and milk composition in Baturraden Dairy CattleBreeding and Forage Centre (Balai Besar Perbibitan Ternak Unggul dan Hijauan Pakan Ternak /BBPTU–HPT Baturraden), Indonesia. The first lactation records of 221 dairy cows from 2006 to 2014were used. Heritabilities were estimated by paternal half-sib correlation. Comparison of averageperformances between daughter population (Ā) and initial dam population before selection ( ) wereconducted by Z-test. Annual genetic gain was calculated as genetic gain per generation (the differencesbetween Ā dan ) divided by generation interval. Heritabilities for milk fat percentage (FP), milk fatyield (FY), milk protein percentage (PP) and milk protein yield (PY) were 0.46, 0.30, 0.28 and 0.17,respectively. A significant increase (P=0.025) in the total milk yield (TMY) from the first generation(G1) to the second generation (G2) resulted in a high significant decrease in the FP (P=0.004). Geneticgains of TMY, FP and PP were 9.76 kg, -0.04% and -0.01% per year, respectively. It is concluded thatselection for higher TMY only negatively affect FP and PP. Selection can be applied based on FY to avoid the decrease of FP. Negative effects of genetic-environmental interaction resulted in slowergenetic gain because the imported cows needed time to adapt to the local environment