The therapeutic effect of Värska mud and Värska mineral water baths on the overuse pain and muscle tension syndromes in the working age population

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - The effects of bath therapy are complex and result from a unique interaction between the aquatic environment and the human body functions. The effect of bath...     

Fungal inoculum properties: extracellular enzyme expression and pentachlorophenol removal by New Zealand trametes species in contaminated field soils

This study was conducted to improve the ability of indigenous New Zealand white-rot fungi to remove pentachlorophenol (PCP) from contaminated field soil. The effects of different bioaugmentation conditions on PCP removal and extracellular enzyme expression were measured in the laboratory. The conditions were fungal growth substrate and co-substrate composition, culture age, and Tween 80 addition to the contaminated soil. The fungi used were Trametes versicolor isolate HR131 and Trametes sp. isolate HR577. Maximum PCP removal was 70% after 7 wk from a 1043 mg kg(-1) PCP-contaminated soil inoculated with an 11-d-old fungal culture of T. versicolor isolate HR131. There was minimal production of undesirable pentachloroanisole by the fungi. Tween 80 addition had no affect on PCP removal. Poplar sawdust was more suitable as a fungal growth substrate and a co-substrate amendment for PCP removal and extracellular enzyme expression than the locally available pine and fir sawdust. Pentachlorophenol removal was not necessarily correlated with extracellular enzyme expression. The research results demonstrate that PCP biodegradation was affected by inoculum culture age, by the presence of a co-substrate amendment, and by growth substrate composition after white-rot fungal bioaugmentation into PCP-contaminated field soils.     

Extraction properties of new polymeric sorbents in SPE/GC analysis of phenol and hydroquinone from water samples

The influence of the polymers' properties on the solid-phase extraction recovery was studied. Different porous copolymers were used: di(methacryloyloxymethyl)naphtalene-divinylbenzene with ester functional groups (DMN-DVB), 4,4'-bis(maleimido)diphenylmethane-divinylbenzene with imide functional groups (BM-DVB), p,p'-dihydroxydiphenylmethane diglycidyl methacrylic ester-divinylbenzene (MEMDE-DVB) and p,p'-dihydroxydiphenylpropane diglycidyl methacrylic ester-divinylbenzene (MEDDE-DVB) with ester end hydroxyl functional groups. The extraction properties of new synthesized polymeric sorbents were compared with these of two commercial polymeric sorbents: styrene-divinylbenzene (SDB-1) and styrene-divinylbenzene with modified surface (StrataX). These sorbents were used in the SPE of phenol and hydroquinone from water samples.     

Column optimization of adsorption and evaluation of bed parameters-based on removal of arsenite ion using rice husk

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The objective of this study deals with column optimization of adsorption-based on removal of arsenite ion using rice husk. The parameters affecting...