Preparation of antibodies and development of an enzyme immunoassay for determination of atrazine in environmental samples

An indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been developed and optimized for atrazine determination in soil at different depths (0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm) before and after 48 h of application, corn shoot and cow milk samples collected from Dina farm, Egypt. This assay was based on a specific polyclonal antibodies (PAb) raised by immunizing New Zealand rabbits with an immunogen prepared by coupling 3-{4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-1,3,5-triazine-2-yl} thiopropanoic acid to bovine serum albumin (BSA) via N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) active ester method. The sensitivity (estimated as IC?? value) was 17.5 μg mL?1 with a detection limit of 0.1 ng mL?1. The maximum atrazine concentration was found in soil especially in the deepest layer (325 and 890 μg kg?1 before and after application, respectively). Atrazine concentration in corn shoot was 333.28, μg kg?1 dry plant, while there was no detectable amount in milk. All samples screened by ELISA were validated by gas chromatography mass spectrometer procedure (GC/MS). Good correlation was achieved between the two methods (r = 0.997 for soil and 0.9814 for plant). This study demonstrates the utility and convenience of the simple, practical and cost-effective ELISA method in the laboratory for analysis of environmental samples. The method is ideal for the rapid screening of large numbers of samples in laboratories where access to GC/MS facilities, is limited or lacking.     

Determination of some heavy metal levels in soft drinks on the Ghanaian market using atomic absorption spectrometry method

Twenty-three soft drink samples (i.e., four pineapple-based fruit drinks, eight citrus-based fruit juices, one soya-based drink, three cola carbonated drinks, one apple-based fruit drink, and six cocktail fruit drinks) were randomly purchased from retail outlets in an urban market in Accra and analyzed for the concentrations of iron, cobalt, cadmium, zinc, lead, and copper using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean concentration of iron and cadmium were 0.723?±?0.448 mg/L and 0.032?±?0.012 mg/L, respectively. The mean cobalt concentration was 0.071?±?0.049 mg/L, while the mean Zn concentration in the samples was 0.060?±?0.097 mg/L. The mean concentrations of Pb and Cu in the fruit juice samples were 0.178?±?0.091 mg/L and 0.053?±?0.063 mg/L respectively. About 78 % of the samples exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) maximum contaminant level of 0.3 mg/L prescribed for iron, whereas all the samples exceeded the USEPA maximum contaminant level of 0.005 mg/L prescribed for cadmium. About 91 % of the samples exceeded the EU maximum contaminant level prescribed for lead insoft drinks.     

Survey on awareness and attitudes of secondary school students regarding plastic pollution: implications for environmental education and public health in Sharjah city,UAE

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Since the industrial revolution in the 1800s, plastic pollution is becoming a global reality. This study aims to assess knowledge and attitude about...     

Mathematical modelling of MSW incineration on a travelling bed

The rising popularity of incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) calls for detailed mathematical modelling and understanding of the incineration process. In this paper, governing equations for mass, momentum and heat transfer for both solid and gaseous phases in a moving bed in a solid-waste incineration furnace are described and relevant sub-models are presented. The burning rates of volatile hydrocarbons in the moving bed of solids are limited not only by the reaction kinetics but also the mixing of the volatile fuels with the under-fire air. The mixing rate is averaged across a computation cell and correlated to a number of parameters including local void fraction of the bed, gas velocity and a length scale comparable to the particle size in the bed. A correlation equation is also included to calculate the mixing in the freeboard area immediately next to the bed surface. A small-scale fixed bed waste incinerator was built and test runs were made in which total mass loss from the bed, temperature and gas composition at different locations along the bed height were measured. A 2-D bed-modelling program (FLIC) was developed which incorporates the various sub-process models and solves the governing equations for both gases and solids. Thermal and chemical processes are mainly confined within a layer about 5-9 times in thickness of the averaged particle size in the burning bed. For a large part of the burning process, the total mass loss rate was constant until the solid waste was totally dried out and a period of highly rising CO emission followed. The maximum bed temperature was around 1200 K. The whole burning process ended within 60 min. Big fluctuations in species concentration were observed due to channelling and subsequent 'catastrophic' changes in the local bed conditions. Reasonably good agreement between modelling and measurements has been achieved. Yet the modelling work is complicated by the channelling phenomenon in the bed. Numerical simulations without consideration of the channelling effect produced very good agreement with experiments concerning the total mass loss, but significant discrepancy exists for temperature and gas composition profiles. Transient phenomena such as the breaking of waste particles and the "catastrophic" creation of new burning channels occurring during waste incineration is a vital area requiring further investigation at the fundamental level. The underlying theory of bed behaviour must be extended to include these transient events.     

Sequestration of toxic Pb(Ⅱ) ions by chemically treated rubber(Hevea brasiliensis) leaf powder

Rubber leaf powder(an agricultural waste) was treated with potassium permanganate followed by sodium carbonate and its performance in the removal of Pb(Ⅱ) ions from aqueous solution was evaluated.The interactions between Pb(Ⅱ) ions and functional groups on the adsorbent surface were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR) spectroscopy,scanning electron microscopy(SEM) coupled with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDX).The effects of several important parameters which can affect adsorption capacity such as pH,adsorbent dosage,initial lead concentration and contact time were studied.The optimum pH range for lead adsorption was 4-5.Even at very low adsorbent dosage of 0.02 g,almost 100% of Pb(Ⅱ) ions(23 mg/L) could be removed.The adsorption capacity was also dependent on lead concentration and contact time,and relatively a short period of time(60-90 min) was required to reach equilibrium.The equilibrium data were analyzed with Langmuir,Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms.Based on Langmuir model,the maximum adsorption capacity of lead was 95.3 mg/g.Three kinetic models including pseudo first-order,pseudo second-order and Boyd were used to analyze the lead adsorption process,and the results showed that the pseudo second-order fitted well with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99.     

Blending of Epoxidised Palm Oil with Epoxy Resin: The Effect on Morphology, Thermal and Mechanical Properties

Epoxy resin prepared by the reaction of a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and m-xylylenediamine (m-XDA) was modified with 10% wt of epoxidized palm oil (EPO). The EPO was first pre-polymerized with m-XDA at various temperatures and reaction times. The resulting product was then mixed with the epoxy resin at 40?°C and allowed to react at 120?°C for another 3?h. The fully reacted DGEBA/m-XDA/EPO blend was characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal gravimetric analysis, tensile test, hardness indentation and dynamic mechanical analysis. The SEM study shows that different types of morphology, ranging from phase separated to miscible blends were obtained. A miscible blend was obtained when the m-XDA and EPO were reacted for more than 2?h. The results from DSC analysis show that the incorporation of EPO at 10% wt in the epoxy blend reduced the glass transition temperature (T _g). The lowered T _g and mechanical properties of the modified epoxy resins are caused by a reduction in crosslinking density and plasticizer effect.     

Potential control of toxic cyanobacteria blooms with Moroccan seaweed extracts

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Marine macroalgae are a promising source of diverse bioactive compounds with applications in the biocontrol of harmful cyanobacteria blooms...     

Physicochemical properties associated with the presence of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Burkholderia pseudomallei</Emphasis> in small ruminant farm water supplies in Peninsular Malaysia

Burkholderia pseudomallei causes melioidosis, a life-threatening infection in both humans and animals. Water is an important reservoir of the bacteria and may serve as a source of environmental contamination leading to infection. B. pseudomallei has an unusual ability to survive in water for a long period. This paper investigates physicochemical properties of water associated with the presence of B. pseudomallei in water supply in small ruminant farms in Peninsular Malaysia. Physicochemical properties of water samples taken from small ruminant farms that included temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO₂), optical density (OD), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were measured after which the samples were cultured for B. pseudomallei. Multivariable logistic regression model revealed that slightly acidic water pH and higher COD level were significantly associated with the likelihood of the B. pseudomallei presence in the water.