PPLICATION OF TRICKLING FILTER WITH HYBRID BIOFILM SUPPORT MEDIA IN THE TREATMENT OF PETROLEUM EFFLUENT

The use of biological trickling filter (TF) system in the treatment of petroleum effluent using Luffa cylindrica-polystyrene hybrid as biofilm support medium for microbiological growth was evaluated. The efficiency of the treatment process was measured in terms of turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD5). The TF was set up with Luffa cylindrica-polystyrene hybrid biofilm support. The pilot scale trickling system was performed at an ambient temperature and the effluent from the system was measured for turbidity, COD and BOD5. The result showed that the turbidity of the effluent was reduced to 94 % at a hydraulic retention time of 6 hrs. The COD was also reduced from 327-26 mg/l at 6 hrs. representing 92 % reduction in the COD value. The results obtained also showed that the TF achieved 78 % reduction in BOD5.Therefore, the biological trickling filter treatment process appears to be a promising wastewater treatment method for petroleum effluent with respect to the turbidity, COD and BOD5 remova

Towards unimolecular luminescent solar concentrators: bodipy-based dendritic energy-transfer cascade with panchromatic absorption and monochromatized emission

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Ein in ein Polymer eingebetteter, panchromatischer Bodipy-Absorber mit eingebautem Energiegradienten konzentriert einfallende Sonnenstrahlung an einem endständigen Chromophor und erzeugt so eine monochromatische Emission an den Seiten des Polymer-Wellenleiters (siehe Bild). Dieses besondere Design minimiert Selbstabsorptionsverluste der peripheren Antennen-Einheiten mit einem beeindruckenden S-Faktor von 10 000

Electrochemically tunable ultrafast optical response of graphene oxide

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We demonstrate reversible and irreversible changes in the ultrafast optical response of multilayer graphene oxide thin films upon electrical and optical stimulus. The reversible effects are due to electrochemical modification of graphene oxide, which allows tuning of the optical response by externally applied bias. Increasing the degree of reduction in graphene oxide causes excited state absorption to gradually switch to saturable absorption for shorter probe wavelengths. Spectral and temporal properties as well as the sign of the ultrafast response can be tuned either by changing the applied bias or exposing to high intensity femtosecond pulses. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Enrollee Characteristics in an Intensive Tobacco Dependence Treatment Program: The Relationship of Race and Sex to Demographic Factors and Tobacco Use Patterns

Intensive tobacco treatment programs offer many advantages relative to other treatment options, particularly for more complex patients, e.g., highly nicotine dependent, or those with medical and psychiatric symptoms and disorders. Efforts to better understand those who choose to enroll in these programs, particularly regarding the characteristics they possess known to mediate outcomes, are important considerations in tailoring available services. In this study, we examined how participants differed on key descriptive and tobacco use variables within race (i.e., African-American, Caucasian) and sex subgroups. Baseline characteristics from a large group of consecutive program enrollees were examined across targeted subgroups. Strong racial effects and some sex effects were noted for marital status, education, employment and health insurance status, alcohol consumption, presence of medical and psychiatric disorders, as well as participant tobacco use patterns and tobacco use rates of family, friends and coworkers. The differences in participant tobacco use measures across race and sex factors remained significant after adjusting for the confounding effects of all other covariates. These findings have implications for characterizing key patient subgroups who present at tobacco treatment clinics. Such information may contribute to options for tailoring treatment regimens

SMART trial: A randomized clinical trial of self-monitoring in behavioral weight management-design and baseline findings.

BACKGROUND: The primary form of treatment for obesity today is behavioral therapy. Self-monitoring diet and physical activity plays an important role in interventions targeting behavior and weight change. The SMART weight loss trial examined the impact of replacing the standard paper record used for self-monitoring with a personal digital assistant (PDA). This paper describes the design, methods, intervention, and baseline sample characteristics of the SMART trial. METHODS: The SMART trial used a 3-group design to determine the effects of different modes of self-monitoring on short- and long-term weight loss and on adherence to self-monitoring in a 24-month intervention. Participants were randomized to one of three conditions (1) use of a standard paper record (PR); (2) use of a PDA with dietary and physical activity software (PDA); or (3), use of a PDA with the same software plus a customized feedback program (PDA + FB). RESULTS: We screened 704 individuals and randomized 210. There were statistically but not clinically significant differences among the three cohorts in age, education, HDL cholesterol, blood glucose and systolic blood pressure. At 24 months, retention rate for the first of three cohorts was 90%. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, the SMART trial is the first large study to compare different methods of self-monitoring in a behavioral weight loss intervention and to compare the use of PDAs to conventional paper records. This study has the potential to reveal significant details about self-monitoring patterns and whether technology can improve adherence to this vital intervention component

Generic health literacy measurement instruments for children and adolescents:a systematic review of the literature

Background Health literacy is an important health promotion concern and recently children and adolescents have been the focus of increased academic attention. To assess the health literacy of this population, researchers have been focussing on developing instruments to measure their health literacy. Compared to the wider availability of instruments for adults, only a few tools are known for younger age groups. The objective of this study is to systematically review the field of generic child and adolescent health literacy measurement instruments that are currently available. Method A systematic literature search was undertaken in five databases (PubMed, CINAHL, PsycNET, ERIC, and FIS) on articles published between January 1990 and July 2015, addressing children and adolescents ?18 years old. Eligible articles were analysed, data was extracted, and synthesised according to review objectives. Results Fifteen generic health literacy measurement instruments for children and adolescents were identified. All, except two, are self-administered instruments. Seven are objective measures (performance-based tests), seven are subjective measures (self-reporting), and one uses a mixed-method measurement. Most instruments applied a broad and multidimensional understanding of health literacy. The instruments were developed in eight different countries, with most tools originating in the United States (n =?6). Among the instruments, 31 different components related to health literacy were identified. Accordingly, the studies exhibit a variety of implicit or explicit conceptual and operational definitions, and most instruments have been used in schools and other educational contexts. While the youngest age group studied was 7-year-old children within a parent-child study, there is only one instrument specifically designed for primary school children and none for early years. Conclusions Despite the reported paucity of health literacy research involving children and adolescents, an unexpected number of health literacy measurement studies in children?s populations was found. Most instruments tend to measure their own specific understanding of health literacy and not all provide sufficient conceptual information. To advance health literacy instruments, a much more standardised approach is necessary including improved reporting on the development and validation processes. Further research is required to improve health literacy instruments for children and adolescents and to provide knowledge to inform effective interventionspublishersversionPeer reviewe

Evidence That Two ATP-Dependent (Lon) Proteases in Borrelia burgdorferi Serve Different Functions

The canonical ATP-dependent protease Lon participates in an assortment of biological processes in bacteria, including the catalysis of damaged or senescent proteins and short-lived regulatory proteins. Borrelia spirochetes are unusual in that they code for two putative ATP-dependent Lon homologs, Lon-1 and Lon-2. Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, is transmitted through the blood feeding of Ixodes ticks. Previous work in our laboratory reported that B. burgdorferi lon-1 is upregulated transcriptionally by exposure to blood in vitro, while lon-2 is not. Because blood induction of Lon-1 may be of importance in the regulation of virulence factors critical for spirochete transmission, the clarification of functional roles for these two proteases in B. burgdorferi was the object of this study. On the chromosome, lon-2 is immediately downstream of ATP-dependent proteases clpP and clpX, an arrangement identical to that of lon of Escherichia coli. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Lon-1 and Lon-2 cluster separately due to differences in the NH2-terminal substrate binding domains that may reflect differences in substrate specificity. Recombinant Lon-1 manifested properties of an ATP-dependent chaperone-protease in vitro but did not complement an E. coli Lon mutant, while Lon-2 corrected two characteristic Lon-mutant phenotypes. We conclude that B. burgdorferi Lons -1 and -2 have distinct functional roles. Lon-2 functions in a manner consistent with canonical Lon, engaged in cellular homeostasis. Lon-1, by virtue of its blood induction, and as a unique feature of the Borreliae, may be important in host adaptation from the arthropod to a warm-blooded host

Effect of alirocumab on mortality after acute coronary syndromes. An analysis of the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES randomized clinical trial

Background: Previous trials of PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9) inhibitors demonstrated reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events, but not death. We assessed the effects of alirocumab on death after index acute coronary syndrome. Methods: ODYSSEY OUTCOMES (Evaluation of Cardiovascular Outcomes After an Acute Coronary Syndrome During Treatment With Alirocumab) was a double-blind, randomized comparison of alirocumab or placebo in 18 924 patients who had an ACS 1 to 12 months previously and elevated atherogenic lipoproteins despite intensive statin therapy. Alirocumab dose was blindly titrated to target achieved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) between 25 and 50 mg/dL. We examined the effects of treatment on all-cause death and its components, cardiovascular and noncardiovascular death, with log-rank testing. Joint semiparametric models tested associations between nonfatal cardiovascular events and cardiovascular or noncardiovascular death. Results: Median follow-up was 2.8 years. Death occurred in 334 (3.5%) and 392 (4.1%) patients, respectively, in the alirocumab and placebo groups (hazard ratio [HR], 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.98; P=0.03, nominal P value). This resulted from nonsignificantly fewer cardiovascular (240 [2.5%] vs 271 [2.9%]; HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.05; P=0.15) and noncardiovascular (94 [1.0%] vs 121 [1.3%]; HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.59 to 1.01; P=0.06) deaths with alirocumab. In a prespecified analysis of 8242 patients eligible for ≥3 years follow-up, alirocumab reduced death (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.94; P=0.01). Patients with nonfatal cardiovascular events were at increased risk for cardiovascular and noncardiovascular deaths (P<0.0001 for the associations). Alirocumab reduced total nonfatal cardiovascular events (P<0.001) and thereby may have attenuated the number of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular deaths. A post hoc analysis found that, compared to patients with lower LDL-C, patients with baseline LDL-C ≥100 mg/dL (2.59 mmol/L) had a greater absolute risk of death and a larger mortality benefit from alirocumab (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.56 to 0.90; Pinteraction=0.007). In the alirocumab group, all-cause death declined wit h achieved LDL-C at 4 months of treatment, to a level of approximately 30 mg/dL (adjusted P=0.017 for linear trend). Conclusions: Alirocumab added to intensive statin therapy has the potential to reduce death after acute coronary syndrome, particularly if treatment is maintained for ≥3 years, if baseline LDL-C is ≥100 mg/dL, or if achieved LDL-C is low. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01663402

Calculating carbon emissions in Turkish organic and conventional dried fig production

In Turkey, fig fruit are commercially sun-dried in the Meander basins as destined to the export markets. Fig orchards are mostly located on mountains in the region and production on slopes is mainly rain-fed except few irrigated locations with low levels of input use. Parallel to the increased demand for dried fruit and nuts among consumers of organic food, organic dried fig demand escalated during the last decades. Reasons to buy organic vary among consumers, however, health concern is still the motivation followed by environmental awareness especially for plant products. The objective of the study was to compare carbon emissions in organic and conventional fig production and to identify the main practices leading to significant emissions. All activities carried out at the orchard and in processing plant during the production season were recorded and each step was evaluated in respect to carbon emissions. In order to make the assessment representative for the region, farmers, processors and experts were surveyed. In case of carbon emission rates, relevant literature and data sources were used to obtain reference data. The carbon emissions were calculated taking into consideration cultural practices as fertilization, tillage, pest and disease management, pruning, pollination by male figs, and irrigation and harvest, and postharvest handling which included storage, drying, aflatoxin control, fumigation (storage pest control), and packaging operations. The emissions in conventional management was 570 kg Carbon dioxide (CO2) Equivalent (CO2-eq) ha compared to 242 kg CO2-eq ha-1 in organic systems. The emissions per kg of dried fig are calculated as 0.315 kg and 0.192 kg CO2-eq, in conventional and organic management, respectively. The major practices or operations contributing to the carbon footprint of dried fig sector are the fertilizer use, irrigation and phosphine treatments in conventional management systems; whereas soil tillage, cold storage and deep-freezing to kill storage pests are the major sources in organic dried fig production. Regarding control of storage pests, chemical and non-chemical methods showed significant differences in respect to carbon emissions. Carbon dioxide treatment under atmospheric pressure is recommended to organic dried fig processors due to lower carbon emission compared to deep-freezing. © 2020 International Society for Horticultural Science. All rights reserved