PHYTOREMEDIATION OF COPPER CONTAMINATED WASTE WATER USING LEMNA MINOR

The use of natural remediation methods to remove contaminants from waste water is becoming more popular. Plants have been used for several decades, yet their use for municipal waste water contaminated by heavy metals is limited to a few studies which focus on the Mercury and Chromium (Bennicelli, et.al, 2004). This study specifically attempted to determine the viability for using Lemna minor to remediate municipally generated wastewater contaminated with copper. The study used 100 ml samples of wastewater, artificially spiked with 8 mg/L of copper sulfate and seeded with approximately 100 Lemna minor fronds. Each treatment was repeated 15 times and distilled water was added daily to maintain 100 ml samples. The addition of Lemna minor statistically lowered the copper concentration of the treatment groups (55% reduction in total Cu concentration). No significant decrease was seen in the control groups. While Lemna minor has metals accumulation potential, its wide spread use is limited by the toxic effect of copper on Lemna minor at relatively low levels

Hydraulics of Minimum Energy Culverts and Bridge Waterways

The design of culverts and bridge waterways according to the approach described variously as "minimum energy" and as "constant energy" is summarised. The hydraulics of the flow in such waterways is discussed. Even though the flow occurring can be quite complex, the waterways can be designed with simple calculations within certain limitations. Some of these limitations are discussed. Some results concerning energy losses in the expanding part of the flow are presented

Reliability and Validity of an Assessment of Engagement in Nursing Home Residents during Bingocize®

Research suggests nursing home residents are often socially isolated and physically inactive despite overwhelming evidence that both social engagement and physical activity are crucial for healthy aging (Jones, Sung, & Moyle, 2018; Yen & Lin, 2018; Ice, 2002; Jansson et al., 2017). Bingocize® is a program that combines exercise and the game of Bingo to improve the quality of life, physical health, and social engagement of certified nursing facility (CNF) residents. The purpose of this study is to determine the level of social engagement displayed by CNF residents during Bingocize® using the Fun and Social Engagement Evaluation (FUSE). Reliability and validity of the FUSE were also investigated. The FUSE was administered to 57 nursing home residents across four Bingocize® sessions in each of four CNF locations. Two of the Bingocize sessions involved nursing home staff and university students interacting with residents (i.e. with students) and two other sessions were conducted by nursing home staff only (i.e. without students). Two additional sessions were completed at one CNF to gauge interobserver reliability of the FUSE. Comparisons of FUSE scores from sessions with and without students via paired samples t-tests did not yield significant results (p\u3e.05). Residents were not significantly more engaged when students were present. The Mann-Whitney U Test comparison of “happy” and “not happy” scores from all sessions was statistically significant indicating a direct positive relationship between observation engagement scores and self-reported happiness (p\u3c.05). The vast majority of participants self-reported happiness (81.02%). Interobserver reliability of the FUSE was between 68%-100% agreement for each participant. The total average percent agreement for all participants was 80.9%. To account for chance agreement between the observers, the Cohen’s Kappa statistic was calculated (k=0.66). Interobserver reliability measures and the Cohen’s Kappa statistic indicate substantial agreement on the FUSE between two observers (McHugh, 2012). A comparison of the FUSE and an independently developed tool for engagement, The Engagement of a Person with Dementia Scale (EPWDS; Jones, Sung & Moyle, 2018) revealed that the majority of items on both measures were similar in content thus supporting validity of the FUSE

Safety and effectiveness of Buprenorphine-Naloxone sublingual tablet in the treatment of opioid use disorder

In 2007 buprenorphine-naloxone, a medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder, was launched in Germany. The medication consists of the combination of buprenorphine and naloxone in a 4:1 ratio and was developed because the mono-compound buprenorphine, a well-established medication in opioid dependence therapy, had been subject to diversion and misuse. A non-interventional post-authorization safety study was conducted from 2008 to 2010 to collect comprehensive reallife data on the treatment of opioid dependent patients with buprenorphine-naloxone in Germany. Three major articles, published in international peer-review journals, evaluated data from this study on safety, effectiveness and tolerance, predictive value of the first four weeks as well as risk of liver-enzyme elevation in the treatment of opioid dependent patients with buprenorphine-naloxone. The findings from these extensive evaluations indicate a high safety profile, a high effectiveness, tolerance and acceptability with substantial improvements in quality of life, mental and physical health. There was no evidence for an increased risk for liver-enzyme elevation even in patients with hepatitis C infections. In the first four weeks specific and general parameters with high predictive value were found that can be used as early signals to adjust the therapy plan in order to positively influence course and outcome of opioid dependence treatment with buprenorphine-naloxone in routine care.2007 wurde Buprenorphin-Naloxon, ein Medikament für die Behandlung der Opioidabhängigkeit, in Deutschland zugelassen. Das Medikament enthält die Kombination von Buprenorphin und Naloxon in einem Verhältnis von 4:1 und wurde aufgrund zunehmenden Missbrauchs von Buprenorphin, einem gut etablierten Medikament zur Behandlung der Opioidabhängigkeit, entwickelt. Eine nicht-interventionelle Sicherheitsstudie wurde von 2008 bis 2010 durchgeführt, um umfassende Daten zur Routinebehandlung von opioidabhängigen Patienten mit Buprenorphin-Naloxon in Deutschland zu erheben. Drei Hauptartikel, die in internationalen Peer-Review Fachzeitschriften publiziert wurden, analysierten die Daten der Studie hinsichtlich Sicherheit, Effektivität und Toleranz, vorhersagefähiger Variablen der ersten vier Wochen sowie das Risiko für erhöhte Leberenzymwerte in der Behandlung von opioidabhängigen Patienten mit Buprenorphin-Naloxon. Die Ergebnisse dieser umfangreichen Analysen weisen auf ein hohes Sicherheitsprofil, eine hohe Effektivität, Toleranz und Akzeptanz mit deutlichen Verbesserungen in der Lebensqualität sowie der psychischen und physischen Gesundheit hin. Es zeigten sich keine Anzeichen eines erhöhten Risikos für einen Anstieg der Leberenzymwerte sogar bei Patienten mit einer Hepatitis C Infektion. Die ersten vier Wochen haben einen hohen Vorhersagewert mit spezifischen und generellen Parametern, die als frühzeitige Signale genutzt werden können, um den Behandlungsplan anzupassen und damit Verlauf und Ausgang der Behandlung mit Buprenorphin-Naloxon in der Routinebehandlung positiv zu beeinflussen

Potential intermediates for antiviral and antitumor agents

In this work, potential intermediates for antiviral and antitumor agents were successfully synthesized. This thesis is focused on the development of the 2-deoxy-D-ribofuranose analogues, due to the similarity with DNA building blocks, with diamine moieties that should be able to form metal complexes similar to cisplatin. This thesis deals with the synthesis and characterization of C-nucleoside analogues of D-ribose. In addition, we have succeeded in obtaining several 2-deoxy-D-ribofuranose derivatives with ethylenediamine group on a spacer with one or three carbon atoms to the sugar moiety.In dieser Arbeit antivirale und antitumore Verbindungen wurden erfolgreich synthetisiert. Diese Arbeit konzentriert sich auf die Entwicklung der 2-Desoxy-D-ribofuranoseanaloga aufgrund der Ähnlichkeit mit DNA-Bausteinen. Die substituierten Diaminogruppen sollten in der Lage sein, Cisplatin-ähnliche Metallkomplexe zu bilden. Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Synthese und Charakterisierung von C-Nukleosidanaloga von D-Ribose. Mehrere 2-Deoxy-D-ribofuranosederivate mit einer Ethylendiamingruppe an einem Spacer mit einem oder drei Kohlenstoffatomen zur Zuckereinheit wurden erhalten

Introducing Originality and Innovation in Engineering Teaching: The Hydraulic Design of Culverts

Recently the teaching of engineering design has become a presentation of standards and codes rather than the learning of sound design practices. Too many students request formulae and equations to solve a design exercise and they fail to develop any design originality. The present student attitude leads to young graduate engineers without critical ability and innovative flair. The writer has developed an innovative hydraulic design exercise based upon culvert design. Each design exercise could lead to more than one correct design per student in the class. Students have to learn basic design calculations based upon lecture material, notes, field visits and laboratory experiment. The practical component (laboratory, field visit) contributes significantly to their understanding of the complete system, including some basic safety and professional issues