In this study, three specialty adsorbents (i.e., green sorption media), clay-perlite and sand (CPS), zero-valent iron and perlite-based green environmental media (ZIPGEM), and biochar, zero valent ...iron, and perlite-based green environmental media (BIPGEM), were studied for their maximum phosphate adsorption capacity (qm) and their performance under different water matrices (i.e., pH of 4, 7, or 10 and canal water spiked with nitrate). The ZIPGEM media mix outperforms BIPGEM and CPS media in terms of phosphate adsorption capacity. According to the Langmuir isotherm model, the qm of ZIPGEM is 1.83, 1.80, 0.947 and 1.78 mg·g−1 at a water matrix of pH at 4, 7, or 10 and when using canal water spiked with nitrate, respectively. Moreover, we observed PO43− removal rates up to 99 % by ZIPGEM and BIPGEM regardless of the nature of the initial water matrix (pH variance and concurrent elements). Given the equivalent performance of BIPGEM and ZIPGEM, we conducted two fixed-bed column studies with ZIPGEM and CPS for further comparison of dynamic adsorption capacity in which CPS was the control. The predicted maximum adsorption capacity of ZIPGEM by the fixed-column study was estimated as 7.56 mg·g−1 in accordance with the Thomas dynamic model, which is higher than that of CPS (3.73 mg·g−1). Our results suggested that the sustainable and scalable nature of the proposed specialty adsorbent ZIPGEM with high phosphate adsorption capacity can be integrated into various water treatment processes. The high adsorption capacity of ZIPGEM can be mainly attributed to higher porosity and BET surface area of ZIPGEM.
•ZIFGEM removes phosphorus better than BIPGEM and CPS.•The competing effect in ZIFGEM for phosphorus and nitrate removal is not salient.•Adsorption ingredients exhibit complementary effect on phosphorus removal.
Adsorption media may be used to sorb copper in an aquatic environment for pollution control. Effective design of adsorption media reactors is highly dependent on selection of the hydraulic residence ...time when scaling up a pilot-scale reactor to a field-scale reactor. This paper seeks to improve scaling-up technique of the reactor design process through the use of the Damköhler and Péclet numbers via a dimensional analysis. A new scaling-up theory is developed in this study through a joint consideration of the Damköhler and Péclet numbers for a constant media particle size such that a balance between transport control and reaction control can be harmonized. A series of column breakthrough tests at varying hydraulic residence times revealed a clear peak adsorption capacity at a Damköhler number of 2.74. The Péclet numbers for the column breakthrough tests indicated that mechanical dispersion is an important effect that requires further consideration in the scaling-up process. However, perfect similitude of the Damköhler number cannot be maintained for a constant media particle size, and relaxation of hydrodynamic similitude through variation of the Péclet number must occur.
•The design philosophy of sorption media reactors is highly complex in the scaling up process.•Copper removal efficiency via adsorption/absorption is dependent on both modes of transport control and reaction control.•Damköhler number and Péclet number are both critical for the scale-up of a sorption media reactor.
Angiogenesis is crucial for tumor metastasis, with many compounds that inhibit tumor metastasis acting through suppression of angiogenesis. We investigated anti-angiogenic properties of Ligustrazine ...in a series of
in vitro and
in vivo models. Ligustrazine inhibited VEGF-induced HUVECs migration and tube formation in a dose-dependent manner
in vitro, and had limited cytotoxicity to HUVECs and normal fibroblasts even at a dose up to 100
μg/ml. Ligustrazine also suppressed VEGF-induced rat aortic ring sprouting dose-dependently.
In
vivo, Ligustrazine reduced the Hb content in a Matrigel plug implanted in mice and inhibited new vessel formation in CAM. In addition, in a B16F10 spontaneous metastasis model, Ligustrazine decreased the expression of CD34 and VEGF in primary tumor tissue and reduced the number of metastasis nodi on the lung surface. Our data suggests that Ligustrazine may inhibit tumor metastasis, at least in part, through its anti-angiogenic activity.
Based on the results of a recently accomplished multicenter clinical trial for the incremental value of a dual-tracer (18F-FDG and 18F-FLT), dual-modality (PET and CT) imaging in the differential ...diagnosis of pulmonary lesions, we investigate some issues that might affect the image interpretation and result reporting.
The images were read in two separate sessions. Firstly the images were read and reported by physician(s) of the imaging center on completion of each PET/CT scanning. By the end of MCCT, all images collected during the trial were re-read by a collective of readers in an isolated, blinded, and independent way.
One hundred sixty two patients successfully passed the data verification and entered into the final analysis. The primary reporting result showed adding 18F-FDG image information did not change the clinical performance much in sensitivity, specifity and accuracy, but the ratio between SUVFLT and SUVFDG did help the differentiation efficacy among the three subgroups of patients. The collective reviewing result showed the diagnostic achievement varied with reading strategies. ANOVA indicated significant differences among (18)F-FDG, (18)F-FLT in SUV (F = 14.239, p = 0.004). CT had almost the same diagnostic performance as 18F-FLT. When the 18F-FDG, 18F-FLT and CT images read in pair, both diagnostic sensitivity and specificity improved. The best diagnostic figures were obtained in full-modality strategy, when dual-tracer PET worked in combination with CT.
With certain experience and training both radiologists and nuclear physicians are qualified to read and to achieve the similar diagnostic accuracy in PET/CT study. Making full use of modality combination and selecting right criteria seems more practical than professional back ground and personal experience in the new hybrid imaging technology, at least when novel tracer or application is concerned.
Lake eutrophication is a critical issue in the interplay of water supply, environmental management, and ecosystem conservation. Integrated sensing, monitoring, and modeling for a holistic lake water ...quality assessment with respect to multiple constituents is in acute need. The aim of this paper is to develop an integrated algorithm for data fusion and mining of satellite remote sensing images to generate daily estimates of some water quality parameters of interest, such as chlorophyll a concentrations and water transparency, to be applied for the assessment of the hypertrophic Albufera de Valencia. The Albufera de Valencia is the largest freshwater lake in Spain, which can often present values of chlorophyll a concentration over 200 mg m−3 and values of transparency (Secchi Disk, SD) as low as 20 cm. Remote sensing data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhance Thematic Mapper (ETM+) images were fused to carry out an integrative near-real time water quality assessment on a daily basis. Landsat images are useful to study the spatial variability of the water quality parameters, due to its spatial resolution of 30 m, in comparison to the low spatial resolution (250/500 m) of MODIS. While Landsat offers a high spatial resolution, the low temporal resolution of 16 days is a significant drawback to achieve a near real-time monitoring system. This gap may be bridged by using MODIS images that have a high temporal resolution of 1 day, in spite of its low spatial resolution. Synthetic Landsat images were fused for dates with no Landsat overpass over the study area. Finally, with a suite of ground truth data, a few genetic programming (GP) models were derived to estimate the water quality using the fused surface reflectance data as inputs. The GP model for chlorophyll a estimation yielded a R2 of 0.94, with a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) = 8 mg m−3, and the GP model for water transparency estimation using Secchi disk showed a R2 of 0.89, with an RMSE = 4 cm. With this effort, the spatiotemporal variations of water transparency and chlorophyll a concentrations may be assessed simultaneously on a daily basis throughout the lake for environmental management.
•Remote sensing provides intensive monitoring capacity.•Image fusion and data mining are key to success of environmental monitoring.•Near real-time monitoring can help improve lake management policy.
Most water conservation and energy saving strategies for residential homes and commercial buildings have higher initial capital investment than traditional ones. Yet, the added benefits of these ...“green” building strategies should outweigh the increase of initial capital cost at the end of the house lifetime. Using green roof systems to cool houses gives rise to uncertainties from local precipitation patterns and the unstable market related costs and benefits. The optimal area of green roof to balance cost, benefit, and risk remains unknown. To achieve such a complex systems analysis, a grey stochastic programming model was prepared to address the optimal design strategies under mixed uncertainties. Such a cost-benefit-risk trade-off model was formulated for this study through an optimization framework to retrieve the optimal design strategies with respect to a typical Florida residential home (shingle and metal roofs). It is particularly designed to synergistically integrate a green roof with beneficial reuse of gray water and stormwater while achieving some degree of energy savings. The study identifies the optimal green roof area that keeps within the cost of a conventional home over a specific life time, such as 50 years. Research findings show that as the reliability level associated with the chance constraint was decreased, the upper bound of the green roof area did not vary much for either shingle or metal roofs. The lower bound was found to decrease in the same situation, however, due to the higher minimum cost of the cistern in relation to the greater volume of expected rainfall, forcing the required green roof area to decrease.
Periodontal disease is thought to arise from the interaction of various factors, including the susceptibility of the host, the presence of pathogenic organisms, and the absence of beneficial species. ...The genetic factors may play a significant role in the risk of periodontal diseases. Cytokines initiate, mediate and control immune and inflammatory responses. The aim of this study is to compare genotypes and soluble protein of pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-10, TNF-α and IL-4) in subjects with or free of chronic periodontitis.
A total of 1,290 Chinese subjects were recruited to this clinical trial: 850 periodontally healthy controls and 440 periodontal patients. All subjects were free of systemic diseases. Oral examinations were performed, and the following parameters were recorded for each subject: supragingival/subgingival calculus, gingival recession, bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), gingival recession and tooth mobility. The peripheral blood samples were collected for genetic and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis. Restriction enzymes were used for digestion of amplified fragments of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-10, TNF-α and IL-4.
The protein expressions of patient and control samples for IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-10, and IL-4 measured by ELISA confirmed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). The digestion of fragments of various genes showed that the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1α and TNF-α, and the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-10 demonstrated a correlation with chronic inflammation in patients (X2: p < 0.001). The remaining genes investigated in patients and healthy subjects (IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ and IL-10) did not show any significant difference.
The cytokine gene polymorphisms may be used as a marker for periodontitis susceptibility, clinical behaviour and severity. This detection offers early diagnosis and induction of prophylaxis to other family members against disease progression.
Nonpoint sources pollution from agricultural crop fields and urbanized regions oftentimes have elevated concentrations of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in stormwater runoff, which are difficult ...for microbial communities to decompose. The impact of elevated DON can be circumvented through the use of green sorption media, such as Biosorption Activated Media (BAM) and Iron-Filing Green Environmental Media (IFGEM), which, as integral parts of microbial ecology, can contribute to the decomposition of DON. To compare the fate, transport, and transformation of DON in green sorption media relative to natural soil (control), a series of fixed-bed columns, which contain natural soil, BAM, and two types of IFGEM, respectively, were constructed to compare nutrient removal efficiency under three distinct stormwater influent conditions containing nitrogen and phosphorus. The interactions among six microbial species, including ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) bacteria, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium bacteria, and iron-reducing bacteria, were further analyzed from microbial ecology perspectives to determine the DON impact on nutrient removal in BAM and IFGEM. Natural soil was only able to achieve adequate DON transformation at the influent condition of lower nutrient concentration. However, the two types of IFGEM showed satisfactory nutrient removals and achieved greater transformation of DON relative to BAM when treating stormwater in all three influent conditions.
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•Iron filings based green environmental media can help decompose the dissolved organic nitrogen.•The inclusion of clay minerals and iron particles may trigger better microbial ecology for nutrient removal.•Nutrient removal process can be well modeled by a few adsorption models.
Lu2Ti2O7 ceramic powder with pyrochlore structure was synthesized in molten salt with NaCl as salt flux, under different salt-to-oxide mole ratios of 1:1, 3:1and 5:1 in the temperatures range of ...800-1100 degree C. It was found that the synthesizing temperature and salt-to-oxide ratios had significant effects on the morphology of Lu2Ti2O7 powder. The microstructure observation revealed that the crystal morphology of Lu2Ti2O7 powder changed from spheroid to octahedron, and then became irregular after further increasing temperature. When the temperature was increased beyond 1000 degree C, a duplex microstructure could be formed. Further investigations revealed that the ratio of salt to oxide affected the crystalline of Lu2Ti2O7 from the molten salt flux although the grain size of the synthesized powder was not found to increase greatly by an increment of the molten salt content.
Using a quark combination model with the equal-velocity combination approximation, we study the production of hadrons with strangeness and charm flavor quantum numbers in Pb+Pb collisions at sNN= ...5.02 TeV. We present analytical expressions and numerical results for these hadrons’ transverse momentum spectra and yield ratios. Our numerical results agree well with the experimental data available. The features of strange and charm hadron production in the quark–gluon plasma at the early stage of heavy ion collisions are also discussed.
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