Removing of heavymetals from water by chitosan nanoparticles

Chitosan was prepared by deacetylation of chitin. The prepared chitosan has characterized bymolecular weight, degree of deacetylation, and ash %. Chitosan nanoparticles were prepared byionotropic gelation of chitosan with tripolyphosphate anions. The structure and particle size of chitosan nanoparticles have confirmed via FTIR analysis and TEM imaging.The chitosan nanoparticles were used in water treatment to remove metal ions from sample contains 20 ppm from each Fe+2, Mn+2, Zn+2 and Cu+2.The optimum conditions for this study were at 2 g/l of chitosan nanoparticles, pH 7 and 30 min of mixing time. Chitosan showed the highest performance under these conditions with removing percent 99.94% 80.85% 90.49% and 95.93% from Fe+2, Mn+2, Zn+2 and Cu+2 respectively

Removing of heavymetals from water by chitosan nanoparticles

Chitosan was prepared by deacetylation of chitin. The prepared chitosan has characterized bymolecular weight, degree of deacetylation, and ash %. Chitosan nanoparticles were prepared byionotropic gelation of chitosan with tripolyphosphate anions. The structure and particle size of chitosan nanoparticles have confirmed via FTIR analysis and TEM imaging.The chitosan nanoparticles were used in water treatment to remove metal ions from sample contains 20 ppm from each Fe+2, Mn+2, Zn+2 and Cu+2.The optimum conditions for this study were at 2 g/l of chitosan nanoparticles, pH 7 and 30 min of mixing time. Chitosan showed the highest performance under these conditions with removing percent 99.94% 80.85% 90.49% and 95.93% from Fe+2, Mn+2, Zn+2 and Cu+2 respectively

Activity and stability of immobilized Candida rugosa lipase on chitosan coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles in aqueous and organic media

Fe3O4 (magnetite) nanoparticles were prepared by coprecipitation method, coated by chitosan and functionalized by glutaraldehyde. Lipase enzyme from Candida rugosa was immobilized on the prepared particles via cross linking reaction. Synthesis steps and characterization were examined by XRD, TEM, and FTIR.  The immobilization conditions were 10 mL of phosphate buffer (0.1 M, pH 6.5) containing 30 mg of  functionalized magnetic chitosan nanoparticles and 2.0 mg·mL-1 of lipase, immobilization temperature of 4 ℃ and immobilization time of 1 h. Under these conditions, lipase was successfully immobilized with loading capacity of 87 mg/g. The immobilized enzyme showed good operational and storage stability, where it remained stable after 30 days of storage at 4â—¦C.and retained about 61% of its initial activity after twenty repeated uses. Finally enzymatic catalyze synthesis of butyl and hexyl oleate at 40 â—¦C with shaking (200 rpm) was realized in n-hexane and confirmed by GC analysis

Are Garden Cities in the Desert Sustainable?: The Oasis City of Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has embarked on an ambitious plan of nation-building transforming the landscape of the country. Whereas Abu Dhabi and Dubai with their modern architecture promote an international urban lifestyle, the third largest city in UAE, Al-Ain offers a relaxed, Oasis/villa experience a form of revival to Andrea Palladio\u27s mansions during the Renaissance era. Recent housing developments segregate around the city\u27s mountain, and consist of about 11,000 large Mediterranean-styled villas with extensive green landscaping and an artificial canal in the desert. Although these developments are not culturally foreign, since they emulate decisions of Islamic/Arab palatial complexes such as Alhambra in Spain the scarcity of water resources and the growing interest in Western/Renaissance-styled landscaping question the notion of sustainability of a city in a desert environment. We examine urban expansion of Al Ain city in light of the constraints imposed by scarce water resources. As a case study, we investigate the water requirements for the central oasis area in Al Ain and simulate the flow condition in the falaj complex channel system using the 2D hydrodynamic Finite Element Surface Water Modelling System (FESWMS). Today reviving ideas such as integration of nature into cities, green infrastructure constitutes the fundamentals of sustainable urbanism. Developing awareness of the importance of traditional landscape and reviving the falaj irrigation system offers a hybridization between societal needs for upscale Mediterranean styled villas and retention of Emirati cultural values and traditions. Our study offers alternative landscapes to open lawns irrigated by sprinkler systems and recommendations in line with the Estidama guidelines—the UAE\u27s Sustainability Design and Construction regulations guidelines

SOM Loss and Soil Quality in the Clear Creek, IA

The Clear Creek, IA Experimental Watershed (CCEW), which drains to the Iowa River, experiences severe surface erosion due to a combination of high slopes, erodible soils, and extensive agriculture. Concurrent with soil loss is the removal of Soil Organic Matter (SOM). High values of SOM have been related to soil quality; therefore, excessive SOM loss corresponds to degrading soil health. Soil quality assessments are important tools for evaluating management practices in agricultural systems; however, it is difficult to measure soil quality directly at the watershed scale because it varies with a number of site-specific soil characteristics. The coupling of soil surveys with GIS and Non-Point Source computer simulation models will effectively forecast the impacts of ever-changing management practices on soil quality at the watershed scale in less time. NPS models can be extended to evaluate the movement of additional particle-bound constituents like SOM, by incorporating erosion rates and enrichment ratios. The ANNualized AGricultural Non-Point Source pollution modeling system (AnnAGNPS) was used to evaluate upland erosion, enrichment ratios, and SOM loss at the watershed scale in the headwaters of the CCEW using current crop rotations. Gross erosion rates averaged 7.73 MT/ha/yr for individual cells within the watershed. In addition, enrichment ratios, which were determined using gross and net erosion values from AnnAGNPS, were coupled with an organic matter coverage map of the watershed to determine an SOM loss of0.41 MT/ha/yr, which was similar to the loss rates determined by AnnAGNPS (0.29 MT/ ha/yr). To understand the state of soil health in this watershed, the NRCS Soil Conditioning Index (SCI) was determined for the watershed. The average SCI for the watershed was 0.38, which suggests improving soil health conditions. This improvement is most probably due to conservation practices like reduced tillage

Chest Pain Characteristics in Cardiac Syndrome X Compared to Coronary Artery Disease

AIM: This study aimed to assess if clinical remarks gained by analysis of the present and past medical history of patients undergoing elective coronary angiography (ECA) due to typical chest pain can help to predict the outcome of ECA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred and fifty-four ECA candidates with a history of typical chest were seen on the same day intended for ECA in the cardiac centre of AlShaab Teaching Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan. The details of the present complaints, characteristics of chest pain, past medical and socioeconomic history were recorded from each subject guided by a questionnaire. ECA confirmed CAD in 112 of the studied patients and were considered as the test group. The remaining patients (N = 42) were diagnosed as CSX after exclusion of significant narrowing of the coronary vessels and were considered as the control group. RESULTS: Univariate analysis of pain characteristics among patients undergoing coronary angiography revealed that pain is less likely to radiate to the neck (OR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.21 – 0.91, P = 0.027) and the back (OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.23 – 1.00, P = 0.049) in patients with CAD. Presence of shortness of breathing and/or dizziness significantly decrease the odds of having abnormal coronary angiography (OR = 0.30 and 0.48, 95% CI = 0.12 – 0.77 and 0.22 – 0.92, P = 0.013 and 0.030 respectively). Past history of diabetes mellitus significantly increases the odds of having abnormal coronary angiography (OR = 3.96, 95% CI = 1.68 – 9.30, P = 0.002). In contrast, past medical history of migraine decreases the odds of having positive finding in ECA (OR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.13 – 0.72, P = 0.006). CONCLUSION: Characteristics of chest pain are comparable in CAD and CSX. However, pain is less likely to radiate to the neck and/or the back in the first group. Presence of dyspnea and dizziness during angina attacks as well as the history of migraine significantly decreases the odds of having abnormal coronary angiography

Understanding saturated hydraulic conductivity under seasonal changes in climate and land use

The goal of this study was to understand better the co-play of intrinsic soil properties and extrinsic factors of climate and management in the estimation of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) in intensively managed landscapes. For this purpose, a physically-based, modeling framework was developed using hydro-pedotransfer functions (PTFs) and watershed models integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS) modules. The integrated models were then used to develop Ksat maps for the Clear Creek, Iowa watershed and the state of Iowa. Four types of saturated hydraulic conductivity were considered, namely the baseline (Kb), the bare (Kbr), the effective with no-rain (Ke-nr) and the effective (Ke) in order to evaluate how management and seasonality affect Ksat spatiotemporal variability. Kb is dictated by soil texture and bulk density, whereas Kbr, Ke-nr, and Ke are driven by extrinsic factors, which vary on an event to seasonal time scale, such as vegetation cover, land use, management practices, and precipitation. Two seasons were selected to demonstrate Ksat dynamics in the Clear Creek watershed, IA and the state of Iowa; specifically, the months of October and April that corresponded to the before harvesting and before planting conditions, respectively. Statistical analysis of the Clear Creek data showed that intrinsic soil properties incorporated in Kb do not reflect the degree of soil surface disturbance due to tillage and raindrop impact. Additionally, vegetation cover affected the infiltration rate. It was found that the use of Kbinstead of Ke in water balance studies can lead to an overestimation of the amount of water infiltrated in agricultural watersheds by a factor of two. Therefore, we suggest herein that Keis both the most dynamic and representative saturated hydraulic conductivity for intensively managed landscapes because it accounts for the contributions of land cover and management, local hydropedology and climate condition, which all affect the soil porosity and structure and hence, Ksat

Natural Immunomodulators Treat the Cytokine Storm in SARS-CoV-2

Recently, the world has been dealing with a destructive global pandemic Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, since 2020; there were millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide. With sequencing generations of the virus, around 60% are expected to become infected during the pandemic. Unfortunately, no drug or vaccine has been approved because no real evidence from clinical trials in treatment was reached. According to current thinking, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mortality is caused by a cytokine storm syndrome in patients with hyper-inflammatory conditions, resulting in acute respiratory distress and finally death. In this review, we discuss the various types of natural immune-modulatory agents and their role in the management of SARS-CoV-2, and cytokine storm syndrome. For example, Polyphenols as natural products can block the binding of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to host cell receptor ACE2, stop viral entry into the host cell and block viral RNA replication. Also, saikosaponins (A, B2, C, and D), triterpene glycosides, which are isolated from medicinal plants exert antiviral action against HCoV-22E9, and Houttuynia cordata water extract has antiviral effects on SARS-CoV. Moreover, eucalyptus oil has promising potential for COVID-19 prevention and treatment. There is an urgent need for research to improve the function of the human immune system all over the world. As a result, actions for better understanding and improving the human immune system are critical steps toward mitigating risks and negative outcomes. These approaches will be strongly recommended for future emerging viruses and pathogens

Flood Prediction at The Northern Region of UAE

Frequent flooding has been recently observed in the northern part of United Arab Emirates, particularly Ras Al Khaimah region (e.g., 2010, 2011 and 2016 floods). These frequent flood events raised the need for accurate estimates of surface runoff and possibly flooded areas in this region. Flooding is prevalent in this valley-coastal region due to the surrounding mountain stream network, which is characterized by flash floods from high precipitation amounts with high intensities between December and March. Most of the streams in this region have no hydraulic control structures at the outlets to regulate their flows. A hydrologic study was conducted at this urbanized valley-coastal area to identify the flood magnitudes and possible flooded areas using a number of geospatial, hydrologic and hydrodynamic models, namely GIS, HEC-SSP, Win-TR-20 and FESWMS. The study identified the flood magnitudes and possible flooded areas from large floods of return periods vary from 50 to 500-year. FESWMS simulations showed that the flooded area increases for the 500-yr return period compared to the lower ones. The water depth ranges on average from 0.5 to 8.0 m. Due to the natural slope of the simulated coastal area, higher depth was predicted, in general, close to the shoreline, while lower depth was predicted near the mountains

Green infrastructure in oil rich states; Abu Dhabi Emirate-Alain as a ca se study

The Abu Dhabi 2030 Vision highlights the importance of Sustainable Design and Green Infrastructure inside the UAE and internationally. Future development plans in Abu Dhabi and Alain developed by the Urban Planning Council-UPC manifest emerging interest in Green Infrastructure and Environmental planning. The development of several landscape projects that integrate water elements such as Jahili Park, Al-Ain Al-Fayada and Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre cement the 2030 vision. In order to understand the future of projects with water canals in Desert Cities it is essential to examine the Alain Oasis and its irrigation system known as falaj, that is similar to historic aqueducts and antecedents in the Islamic world such as Qasr Alhambra in Granada/Spain that also had a complex canalization system. This paper studies emerging projects with water features in Alain, and the water flow system in the falaj canalization system in the Oasis by conducting a hydrologic study to quantify the amounts of water needed to irrigate these green areas and simulate the flow condition in the falaj complex channel system using the 2D-hydrodynamic Finite Element Surface Water Modeling System (FESWMS). This paper aims at giving projection of the amounts of water needed sustainable green infrastructure and will be helpful for the decision makers if they want to repeat this model in the future