Efficacy of two chemical coagulants and three different filtration media on removal of Aspergillus flavus from surface water

Aquatic fungi are common in various aqueous environments and play potentially crucial roles in nutrient and carbon cycling as well as interacting with other organisms. Species of Aspergillus are the most common fungi that occur in water. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the efficacy of two coagulants, aluminum sulfate and ferric chloride, used at different concentrations to treat drinking water, in removing Aspergillusflavus, as well as testing three different filtration media： sand, activated carbon, and ceramic granules, for their removal of fungi from water. The results revealed that both coagulants were effective in removing fungi and decreasing the turbidity of drinking water, and turbidity decreased with increasing coagulant concentration. Also, at the highest concentration of the coagulants, A. flavus was decreased by 99.6% in the treated water. Among ceramic granules, activated carbon, and sand used as media for water filtration, the sand and activated carbon filters were more effective in removing A.flavus than ceramic granules while simultaneously decreasing the turbidity levels in the test water samples. Post-treatment total organic carbon （TOC） and total nitrogen （TN） concentrations in the experimental water did not decrease; on the contrary, TN concentrations increased with the increasing dosage of coagulants. The filtration process had no effect in reducing TOC and TN in tested water.     

Multi-response optimization of Fenton process for applicability assessment in landfill leachate treatment

Fenton process, as a pretreatment method, was found to be effective in the primary treatment of mature/medium landfill leachate. However, the main problem of the process is the large amount of produced sludge that requires an accurate feasibility evaluation for operational applications. In this study, the response surface methodology was applied for the modeling and optimization of Fenton process in three target responses, (1) overall COD removal, (2) sludge to iron ratio (SIR) and (3) organics removal to sludge ratio (ORSR), where the latter two were new self-defined responses for prediction of sludge generation and applicability assessment of the process, respectively. The effective variables included the initial pH, [H₂O₂]/[Fe²⁺] ratio and Fe²⁺ dosage. According to the statistical analysis, all the proposed models were adequate (with adjusted R² of 0.9116–0.9512) and had considerable predictive capability (with prediction R² up to 0.9092 and appropriate adequate precision). It was found that all the variables had significant effects on the responses, specifically by their observed role in dominant oxidation mechanism. The optimum operational conditions obtained by overlay plot, were found to be initial pH of 5.7, [H₂O₂]/[Fe²⁺] ratio of 17.72 and [Fe²⁺] of 195 mM, which led to 69% COD removal, 2.4 (l sludge/consumed mole Fe²⁺) of SIR and 16.5 (gCOD removed/l produced sludge) for ORSR in verification test, in accordance with models-predicted values. Finally, it was observed that [H₂O₂]/[Fe²⁺] ratio and Fe²⁺ dosage had significant influence on COD removal, while Fe²⁺ dosage and [H₂O₂]/[Fe²⁺] ratio had remarkable effects on SIR and ORSR responses, respectively.     

Amygdalin in bitter and sweet seeds of apricots

Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) poisoning due to amygdalin (AMY) in apricot seeds is one of the public health issues in Turkey. The aim of this study was to investigate the AMY content of 13 different apricot seeds including bitter and sweet ones, and which are either sulfurized or roasted. The AMY content was determined by a high-performance liquid chromatography. Release of HCN was predicted and total amount of seeds which can cause poisoning was calculated. The mean AMY content of bitter seeds was 26 ± 14 mg g^?1 and that of sweet seeds was 0.16 ± 0.09 mg g^?1. The consumption of small amounts of bitter seeds may cause cyanide poisoning.     

Association of serum lead and mercury level with cardiometabolic risk factors and liver enzymes in a nationally representative sample of adolescents: the CASPIAN-III study

This study aims to determine the difference of serum Pb and Hg levels in adolescents with or without metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the association of serum levels of these heavy metals with cardiometabolic risk factors and liver enzymes in Iranian adolescents. The study population consisted of 320 adolescents (160 with MetS and 160 healthy controls). The relationship between serum heavy metals and cardiometabolic risk factors was assessed by linear regression. The odds ratios (OR) of having metabolic syndrome across Pb and Hg quartiles were determined by multiple logistic regression analysis. The mean (SD) of Pb and Hg concentrations were higher in adolescents with MetS than in those without it (0.83 (0.27) and 0.17 (0.01) vs. 0.65 (0.15) and 0.10 (0.08)?μg/L, P?=?0.01 and 0.0001, respectively). Increase in serum Pb and Hg was associated with increase in some cardiometabolic risk factors. Among boys and girls, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and alanine aminotransaminase increased significantly across quartiles of serum Pb. Among girls, SBP, DBP, TC, and TG had a significant increase across Hg quartiles. The corresponding figure among boys was significant for SBP, DBP, and TG. Higher quartiles of Pb increased the risk of having MetS (OR 95 % CI 3.10, 2.25–4.27), the corresponding figure was 2.03, 1.75–3.16, across Hg quartiles. Our study showed significant associations between serum Pb and Hg levels with cardiometabolic risk factors in adolescents. In future surveys, the role of potential confounders should be considered more extensively. The clinical significance of these findings needs to be confirmed in longitudinal studies. By considering the origins of chronic diseases from early life, controlling environmental pollutants should be considered as a health priority for primordial or primary prevention of noncommunicable diseases.     

CIELAB color variables as indicators of compost stability

The composting process of different organic wastes both in laboratory and on a large-scale was characterized using CIELAB color variables to evaluate compost stability for the better application in agriculture. The time courses of the CIELAB variables of composting materials were determined directly from the bottom of a glass petri dish filled with dried and ground samples using a Minolta Color Reader (CR-13) calibrated with clean empty petri dishes placed on a white tile. To compare the proposed method with conventional methods, the same materials were also evaluated using commonly used compost stability evaluation indices. Most of the CIELAB variables of a compost made from a mixture of green tea waste and rice bran reached a plateau after 84 days of composting and showed strong relationships with the commonly used compost stability evaluation indices. The time needed for CIELAB variables, especially the L*and b* values, to stabilize at large-scale composting plants of cattle litter, farmyard manure, kitchen garbage and bark compost, were more or less similar to the times of maturation evaluated by the respective compost producers. The CIELAB color variable offers a new, simple, rapid and inexpensive means of evaluating compost stability and its quality prior to agricultural use.     

Conclusion to the Featured Series on Satellites and Transboundary Water: Emerging Ideas1

Hossain, Faisal, 2010. Conclusion to the Featured Series on Satellites and Transboundary Water: Emerging Ideas. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(4): 663-664. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00449.x     

Evaluation of PCA and Gamma test techniques on ANN operation for weekly solid waste prediction

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are suitable for modeling solid waste generation. In the present study, four training functions, including resilient backpropagation (RP), scale conjugate gradient (SCG), one step secant (OSS), and Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) algorithms have been used. The main goal of this research is to develop an ANN model with a simple structure and ample accuracy. In the first step, an appropriate ANN model with 13 input variables is developed using the afore-mentioned algorithms to optimize the network parameters for weekly solid waste prediction in Mashhad, Iran. Subsequently, principal component analysis (PCA) and Gamma test (GT) techniques are used to reduce the number of input variables. Finally, comparison amongst the operation of ANN, PCA-ANN, and GT-ANN models is made. Findings indicated that the PCA-ANN and GT-ANN models have more effective results than the ANN model. These two models decrease the number of input variables from 13 to 7 and 5, respectively.     

Extended Analytical Turbulent Diffusion Model for Particle Dispersion and Deposition in a Horizontal Pipe: Comparison with CFD Simulation

A 2D analytical turbulent diffusion model for particle dispersion and deposition at different heights along the pipe flow and circumferential deposition has been developed. This liquid–solid turbulent diffusion model presented in this paper has emanated from an existing gas–liquid turbulent diffusion model. This model can be used as a handy tool for quick estimation one and two-dimensional deposition fluxes of particles in water distribution networks. A comprehensive 3D numerical investigation has been carried out using multiphase mixture model available in “Fluent 6.2” to verify the above analytical model. Different particles sizes and densities were used for 3D numerical investigations. The deposition was studied as a function of particle diameter, density, and fluid velocity. The deposition of particles, along the periphery of the pipe wall and at different depths, was investigated. Both the models findings matched with qualitative phenomena such as deposition of heavier particles at the bottom of the pipe wall were higher at lower velocities and lower at higher velocities. The lighter particles were found mostly suspended with homogeneous distribution. Smaller particles were also suspended with marginal higher concentration near the bottom of the pipe wall. This marginal higher concentration of the smaller particles was found to be slightly pronounced for lower velocity. These analogies of particles are well discussed with the ratio between free-flight velocity and the gravitational settling velocity. Extended analytical model results were compared with the 3D computational fluid dynamics simulation results. Discrepancies in the model results were discussed.     

A LARGE ELECTRONIC WEIGHING LYSIMETER SYSTEM: DESIGN AND INSTALLATION1

ABSTRACT: To measure crop evapotranspiration, a large double tank, electronic weighting lysimeter system was designed and installed at the Shahid Bahonar University farm, Kerman, Iran. The system was installed in a 50 m² underground building. It includes two tanks of 3.00 m in diameter and 1.75 m deep. The weighing mechanism for each tank is a set of three compression strain gage load cells, which are fixed on 1.20 m height column above the floor. According to the specification of the load cells, the maximum possible weighing error may be about 0.01 percent of total mass, which is equivalent to 0.28 mm of water, but the measured error was equal to 1 kg mass, which is equivalent to 0.14 mm of water. The load cell data from each tank and the on‐site environmental data (temperature, humidity, and wind velocity and direction) are automatically recorded and saved in a personal computer hard disk for further use and analysis.     

Application of magnetic field and iron in order to change medicinal products of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ocimum basilicum</Emphasis>

In the present research, the effects of static magnetic field, with or without iron on the growth, the activity of certain enzymes (like polyphenol oxidase and phenyle alanine ammonialyase), the content of phenolic compounds and the essential oil composition of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) were studied. Treatment of plants with static magnetic field with or without iron led to decrease of the growth of plants as well as decrease in the activity of phenyle alanine ammonialyase and of phenolic compounds content. In addition in those plants exposed to magnetic field the amount of essential oils, notably of methyl chavicol, was increased. Exposure of plants to the magnetic field decreased the activity of polyphenol oxidase, whereas treatment of plants with iron when exposed to magnetic field increased polyphenol oxidase activity. In this group the content of essential oil was reduced.