Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of phytonutrients as antibiotic substitutes in poultry feed

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Globally, there is increasing demand for safe poultry food products free from antibiotic residues. There is thus a need to develop alternatives to...     

Removal of Methylene Blue from aqueous solution by marine green alga Ulva lactuca

Biosorption of colours is an important technology for treatment of different types of industrial wastewaters containing dyes. The objective of this study was to convert green alga Ulva lactuca to dye adsorbents for wastewater treatment. The importance of commonly available green alga Ulva lactuca was investigated as viable biomaterials for the biological treatment of synthetic basic blue 9 (5-ch1oro-N,N,N^',N^'-tetramethyl-5λ⁴-phenothiazine-3,7-diamine) effluents. The results obtained from the batch experiments revealed the ability of the green algae to remove the basic blue 9, and this was dependent on the dye concentration, pH, and algal biomass. We investigated the equilibrium and kinetics of adsorption, and the Langmuir and Freundlich equations were used to fit the equilibrium isotherm. The adsorption isotherm of basic blue 9 followed both the Langmuir and Freundlich models with a correlation coefficient of ∼0.96-0.99, and the adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order model (R²=1.0). The maximum adsorption capacity was about 40.2 mg of dye per gram of dry green algae at pH 10, 25 g l^-1 dye and 2.5 g l^-1 alga concentrations. This study demonstrated that the green algae could be used as an effective biosorbent for the treatment of dye-containing wastewater streams.     

Histopathological alterations induced by marine environmental pollutants on the bivalve Cerastoderma glaucum (Bruguière 1789) from Temsah Lake,Suez Canal,Egypt

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Bivalves are considered a main consumed matrix for coastal communities worldwide and classified as hyperaccumulators of pollutants. The present study...     

The diagnostic accuracy of intraoperative frozen section biopsy for diagnosis of sentinel lymph node metastasis in breast cancer patients: a meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Sentinel lymph node (SLN) sampling is important for evaluating the nodal stage of breast cancer when the axillary nodes are clinically free of...     

Influence of enumeration time periods on analyzing colonization features and taxonomic relatedness of periphytic ciliate communities using an artificial substratum for marine bioassessment

Colonization features and taxonomic relatedness measures of ciliate communities have been used as useful indicators for marine bioassessment. The influence of enumeration time periods on analyzing colonization features measures of periphytic ciliate communities was studied in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China, during the period of May-June 2010. Ciliated protozoan samples were collected at depths of 1 m using an artificial substratum and were analyzed with different enumeration schemes. The ciliate species were identified using living observation and silver impregnation. Data analyses were conducted using a range of multivariate statistical routines. Enumeration time periods represented a strong influence on analyzing both colonization and taxonomic relatedness features of periphytic ciliate communities, although no significant changes occurred in colonization patterns between two enumeration schemes (within 24 and 24-48 h after sampling). The delayed enumeration (within 24-48 h) may result in the species richness, individual abundance, colonization rate decreasing to standard errors of >10 % in samples with almost all colonization ages, and in the similarities of the communities being reduced to 11-38 %. However, the species biodiversity (e.g., species diversity and evenness, except species richness) and taxonomic relatedness (taxonomic diversity, taxonomic distinctness and average taxonomic distinctness, except variation in taxonomic distinctness) measures of periphytic ciliate communities were weakly sensitive to disturbance from the delayed enumeration, achieving standard errors of <10 and <5 % during the colonization periods, respectively. These results suggest that the enumeration should be completed as soon as possible within 24 h after sampling to analyze colonization and taxonomic relatedness features of periphytic ciliate communities, and that the species diversity and taxonomic distinctness measures can be used on a robust bioindicator with weak dependence on enumeration time limits for monitoring programs and ecological investigations in marine ecosystems.     

Environmental management of the stone cutting industry

Environmental Management of the stone cutting industry in Hebron is required to reduce the industry's adverse impact on the downstream agricultural land and the adverse impact on the drinking water aquifers. This situation requires the implementation of an industrial wastewater management strategic approach and technology, within the available technical and financial resources. Ten pilot projects at different locations were built at Hebron to reduce or eliminate the incompatible discharge of the liquid and solid waste to the environment and improve the stone cutting industry's effluent quality. A review of existing practices and jar test experiments were used to optimize the water recycling and treatment facilities. The factors reviewed included influent pumping rates and cycles, selection of the optimal coagulant type and addition methods, control of the sludge recycling process, control over flow rates, control locations of influent and effluent, and sludge depth. Based on the optimized doses and Turbidity results, it was determined that the use of Fokland polymer with an optimal dose of 1.5mg/L could achieve the target turbidity levels. The completion of the pilot projects resulted in the elimination of stone cutting waste discharges and an improvement in the recycled effluent quality of 44-99%. This in turn reduced the long term operating costs for each participating firm. A full-scale project that includes all the stone cutting firms in Hebron industrial area is required.