Permeable biosorbent barrier for wastewater remediation

Chromium is one of the heavy metals that significantly affect water quality in Mongolia. The present study is focused on the remediation of surface water contaminated with chromium (III) by a permeable barrier in order to prevent sediment pollution. The adsorption capacity of the selected materials (13X zeolite and vermiculite) was investigated at different sorbent dosages, pH and initial Cr(III) concentration. The equilibrium adsorption studies showed that vermiculite has a higher Cr(III) removal efficiency in comparison with 13X zeolite. A fungal isolate obtained from the sediment samples collected near Tuul River (Mongolia) was selected from enriched Luria-Bertani medium, showing a good performance for Cr(III) removal (78.2\% for an initial concentration of 50 mg/L). The fungal isolate was genetically typed by DNA sequencing and was identified as belonging to the Alternaria alternata species. 13X zeolite showed the best performance for Cr removal in the permeable barrier assays compared to vermiculite, achieving a total removal of 96\\% and a global uptake of 2.49 mg/g. After 13 days of operation none of the barriers reached saturation with chromium.A previous version of the paper has been presented in the 2nd EWaS International Conference: BEfficient & Sustainable Water Systems Management toward Worth Living Development^, Chania, Crete, Greece, 1-4 June 2016. This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Bruna Silva is thankful to the FCT for the concession of a Post-Doc grant (SFRH/BPD/112354/2015). Sampling process was supported by the collaborative research grant of National Academy of Sciences of Taiwan and Science and Technology Foundation of Mongolia, project code NCS-NECS2013003 and co-funded by the Young Scientist Grant (SEAS-2015075) of National University of Mongolia. E. Tuuguu would like to acknowledge the Erasmus-Mundus AREAS+ program for the opportunity to conduct research at CEB-University of Minho.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Vermiculite bio-barriers for Cu and Zn remediation: an eco-friendly approach for freshwater and sediments protection

The increase in heavy metal contamination in freshwater systems causes serious environmental problems in most industrialized countries, and the effort to find ecofriendly techniques for reducing water and sediment contamination is fundamental for environmental protection. Permeable barriers made of natural clays can be used as low-cost and eco-friendly materials for adsorbing heavy metals from water solution and thus reducing the sediment contamination. This study discusses the application of permeable barriers made of vermiculite clay for heavy metals remediation at the interface between water and sediments and investigates the possibility to increase their efficiency by loading the vermiculite surface with a microbial biofilm of Pseudomonas putida, which is well known to be a heavy metal accumulator. Some batch assays were performed to verify the uptake capacity of two systems and their adsorption kinetics, and the results indicated that the vermiculite bio-barrier system had a higher removal capacity than the vermiculite barrier (?34.4 and 22.8 % for Cu and Zn, respectively). Moreover, the presence of P. putida biofilm strongly contributed to fasten the kinetics of metals adsorption onto vermiculite sheets. In open-system conditions, the presence of a vermiculite barrier at the interface between water and sediment could reduce the sediment contamination up to 20 and 23 % for Cu and Zn, respectively, highlighting the efficiency of these eco-friendly materials for environmental applications. Nevertheless, the contribution of microbial biofilm in open-system setup should be optimized, and some important considerations about biofilm attachment in a continuous-flow system have been discussed.This work has been produced thanks to the collaboration of Dip.SA (University of Bologna) and IBB (University of Minho). A particular acknowledgment is due to Dr. E. Rosales. The work was partially financed by the FCT Strategic Project Pest-OE/EQB/LA0023 and the Project ‘‘BioEnv—Biotechnology and Bioengineering for a sustainable world,’’ co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2–O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER

Removal of lead from aqueous solution using superparamagnetic palygorskite nanocomposite: Material characterization and regeneration studies

A palygorskite-iron oxide nanocomposite (Pal-IO) was synthesized in situ by embedding magnetite into the palygorskite structure through co-precipitation method. The physico-chemical characteristics of Pal-IO and their pristine components were examined through various spectroscopic and micro-analytical techniques. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of Pal-IO in removing Pb(II) from aqueous solution. The surface morphology, magnetic recyclability and adsorption efficiency of regenerated Pal-IO using desorbing agents HCl (Pal-IO-HCl) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA-Na2) (Pal-IO-EDTA) were compared. The nanocomposite showed a superparamagnetic property (magnetic susceptibility: 20.2 emu g−1) with higher specific surface area (99.8 m2 g−1) than the pristine palygorskite (49.4 m2 g−1) and iron oxide (72.6 m2 g−1). Pal-IO showed a maximum Pb(II) adsorption capacity of 26.6 mg g−1 (experimental condition: 5 g L−1 adsorbent loading, 150 agitations min−1, initial Pb(II) concentration from 20 to 500 mg L−1, at 25 °C) with easy separation of the spent adsorbent. The adsorption data best fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.9995) and pseudo-second order kinetic model (R2 = 0.9945). Pb(II) desorption using EDTA as the complexing agent produced no disaggregation of Pal-IO crystal bundles, and was able to preserve the composite's magnetic recyclability. Pal-IO-EDTA exhibited almost 64% removal capacity after three cycles of regeneration and preserved the nanocomposite's structural integrity and magnetic properties (15.6 emu g−1). The nanocomposite holds advantages as a sustainable material (easily separable and recyclable) for potential application in purifying heavy metal contaminated wastewaters

Antifungal activity of Bacillus subtilis filtrate to control Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lentis, the causal organism of lentil vascular wilt

In dual cultures, the supernatant filtrate of the biological control agent Bacillus subtilis was evaluated against (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lentis) the causal organism of lentil vascular wilt. The antagonistic activity was evaluated as percent reduction of fungal growth (certainly due, in part, to the antifungal metabolites produced by the antagonistic bacterium). The in-vitro experiments showed that B. subtilis filtrate, whether solid or liquid media, had a strong inhibiting activity on the spore germination and mycelial growth of F. oxysporum f. sp. lentis. In a glasshouse experiment, soil was drenched with B. subtilis filtrate at 30 ml/kg (vol/wt) around seedlings of a susceptible lentil line (ILL 4605). In this treatment there was only 31% mortality compared with 100% kill of plants in the control treatment (P≤0.05)

Measuring and Validating the Factors Influenced the SME Business Growth in Germany—Descriptive Analysis and Construct Validation

In Germany, the medical device industry constitutes a cornerstone of the health sector. In this study, we investigated the challenges and factors affecting the present-day performance of German SMEs concerned with medical devices. The research methodology adopted a cross-sectional and correlational research design, with simple random-sampling techniques, to data obtained from 110 mid-level and senior managers in German SMEs by means of an online structured survey in August 2022. We statistically validated our study data using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) testing, and Bartlett’s test, to assess the relationship between study variables and measure data adequacy using the R4.1.1(21) software, then carried out principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax factor loading and extracted six factors for use as research variables. The researchers also applied descriptive data analysis techniques using SPSS.21. The main study variables were: (1) the business performance of small and medium businesses (SMP); (2) their financial situation (SMEF); and (3) their implementation of new medical device industry regulations (MDR). By such statistical means, results confirmed poorer business performance and lower anticipated growth amongst SMEs affected by MDR, over and above the impacts of the present-day economic situation. The data can be used by management information systems (MIS) and decision system support professionals for planning and developing practical models about how to cope with current industry challenges. We recommend further research involving inferential analysis and triangulation of these data in the form of a semi-structured qualitative study in the larger scope of the population and different sectors

Measuring and Validating the Factors Influenced the SME Business Growth in Germany—Descriptive Analysis and Construct Validation

In Germany, the medical device industry constitutes a cornerstone of the health sector. In this study, we investigated the challenges and factors affecting the present-day performance of German SMEs concerned with medical devices. The research methodology adopted a cross-sectional and correlational research design, with simple random-sampling techniques, to data obtained from 110 mid-level and senior managers in German SMEs by means of an online structured survey in August 2022. We statistically validated our study data using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) testing, and Bartlett’s test, to assess the relationship between study variables and measure data adequacy using the R4.1.1(21) software, then carried out principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax factor loading and extracted six factors for use as research variables. The researchers also applied descriptive data analysis techniques using SPSS.21. The main study variables were: (1) the business performance of small and medium businesses (SMP); (2) their financial situation (SMEF); and (3) their implementation of new medical device industry regulations (MDR). By such statistical means, results confirmed poorer business performance and lower anticipated growth amongst SMEs affected by MDR, over and above the impacts of the present-day economic situation. The data can be used by management information systems (MIS) and decision system support professionals for planning and developing practical models about how to cope with current industry challenges. We recommend further research involving inferential analysis and triangulation of these data in the form of a semi-structured qualitative study in the larger scope of the population and different sectors

Formulation and delivery of the bacterial antagonist Bacillus subtilis for management of lentil vascular wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp lentis

Different formulations of Bacillus subtilis were prepared using standard laboratory protocols. Bacillus subtilis survived in glucose and talc powders at 8.6 and 7.8 log(10) CFU/g, respectively, for 1 year of storage at room temperature compared with 3.5 log(10) CFU/g on a peat formulation. Glasshouse experiments using soil and seed treatments were conducted to test the efficacy of B. subtilis for protecting lentil against the wilt disease caused by Fusariumoxysporum f. sp. lentis. Seed treatments with formulations of B. subtilis on glucose, talc and peat significantly enhanced its biocontrol activity against Fusarium compared with a treatment in which spores were applied directly to seed. The formulations decreased disease severity by reducing colonization of plants by the pathogen, promoting their growth and increased the dry weight of lentil plants. Of these treatments the glucose and talc-based powder formulations were more effective than the peat formulation and the spore application without a carrier. It was shown that the B. subtilis spores applied with glucose were viable for longer than those applied with other carriers. Seed treatment with these formulated spores is an effective delivery system that can provide a conducive environment for B. subtilis to suppress vascular wilt disease on lentil and has the potential for utilization in commercial field application

Dyeability of cationised cotton and nylon 6 fabrics using acid dyes

88-95Cationisation of cotton and nylon 6 fabrics has been done using Solfix E, Tino fix Eco, Acramine berfix K and cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide to impart cationic sites on fabric surface for improving their substantivity to acid dyes. Pre-cationisation of cotton and nylon 6 fabrics improves the depth of the colour as well as fastness properties. In all the cases, the overall colour fastness of cationic cotton dyed with acid dyes is found to be comparable to the colour fastness of the nylon 6 dyed with same acid dyes

Design, Synthesis, Anticancer Activity and Molecular Docking of New 1,2,3-Triazole-Based Glycosides Bearing 1,3,4-Thiadiazolyl, Indolyl and Arylacetamide Scaffolds

New 1,3,4-thiadiazole thioglycosides linked to a substituted arylidine system were synthesized via heterocyclization via click 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. The click strategy was used for the synthesis of new 1,3,4-thiadiazole and 1,2,3-triazole hybrid glycoside-based indolyl systems as novel hybrid molecules by reacting azide derivatives with the corresponding acetylated glycosyl terminal acetylenes. The cytotoxic activities of the compounds were studied against HCT-116 (human colorectal carcinoma) and MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) cell lines using the MTT assay. The results showed that the key thiadiazolethione compounds, the triazole glycosides linked to p-methoxyarylidine derivatives and the free hydroxyl glycoside had potent activity comparable to the reference drug, doxorubicin, against MCF-7 human cancer cells. Docking simulation studies were performed to check the binding patterns of the synthesized compounds. Enzyme inhibition assay studies were also conducted for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and the results explained the activity of a number of derivatives