Natural and Anthopogenic Carbonaceous Materials for the Remediation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls from Aqueous Solution

The presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the environment is a continuing challenge that presents a hazard to ecosystems and human health. The proliferation of carbon-based nanomaterials such as graphene (GE) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) has generated interest in their use as sorbent materials for the remediation of PCBs. In this study, isotherm experiments were conducted to compare the sorption of 11 PCB congeners to activated carbon (AC), black carbon (BC), GE and CNT. The Langmuir, Freundlich and Polanyi-Dubinin-Manes models were used to fit the experimental data, resulting in model parameters and distribution coefficients. AC exhibited the highest sorption of the materials tested, with average distribution coefficients 1.0, 1.5 and 2.5 orders of magnitude greater than GE, CNT and BC, respectively. Although improvements can be made to the nanomaterials, in the present study, AC proved to be the superior sorbent for PCBs in solution followed by GE and CNT.Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department o

The effects of custodial vs. non-custodial sentences on re-offending: A systematic review of the state of knowledge

As part of a broad initiative of systematic reviews of experimental or quasiexperimental evaluations of interventions in the field of crime prevention and the treatment of offenders, our work consisted in searching through all available databases for evidence concerning the effects of custodial and non-custodial sanctions on reoffending. For this purpose, we examined more than 3,000 abstracts, and finally 23 studies that met the minimal conditions of the Campbell Review, with only 5 studies based on a controlled or a natural experimental design. These studies allowed, all in all, 27 comparisons. Relatively few studies compare recidivism rates for offenders sentenced to jail or prison with those of offenders given some alternative to incarceration (typically probation). According to the findings, the rate of re-offending after a non-custodial sanction is lower than after a custodial sanction in 11 out of 13 significant comparisons. However, in 14 out of 27 comparisons, no significant difference on re-offending between both sanctions is noted. Two out of 27 comparisons are in favour of custodial sanctions. Finally, experimental evaluations and natural experiments yield results that are less favourable to non-custodial sanctions, than are quasi-experimental studies using softer designs. This is confirmed by the meta-analysis including four controlled and one natural experiment. According to the results, non-custodial sanctions are not beneficial in terms of lower rates of re-offending beyond random effects. Contradictory results reported in the literature are likely due to insufficient control of pre-intervention differences between prisoners and those serving “alternative” sanctions

Episcopal Church-1917 Utah Convolcation p.1

Image shows the Utah Episcopal Convocation in 1917 at St. John's in Salt Lake City. Bishop Tuttle is near the center, holding the white hat.(Daniel S. Tuttle was the first Episcopal Bishop of Utah and influential in starting the St. Mark's grammer school, St. Mark's Hospital. Bishop Jones is on his right. At far left is the Reverand Hoyt Henriques and fifth from the left is the Reverand William Bulkley

Neurologically intact survivor of prolonged ventricular fibrillation: a case for intermediate dose epinephrine and postresuscitation infusion.

The authors point out that our understanding of the optimal dose of epinephrine used in the resuscitation of patients in cardiac arrest continues to evolve. Doses greater than the standard 1 mg of epinephrine every 5 minutes have been studied and shown to increase the rate of return of spontaneous circulation. However, reports of neurologically intact survivors of prolonged cardiac arrest are rare. The authors report a neurologically intact survivor of prolonged ventricular fibrillation with severe mixed acidosis who responded to intermediate doses of epinephrine and epinephrine infusion, where standard amounts had failed. Further research should be directed into the relationship between postresuscitation epinephrine infusions and neurologic outcome

Efficacy of Carbonaceous Materials for Sorbing Polychlorinated Biphenyls from Aqueous Solution

Interest in incorporating nanomaterials into water treatment technologies is steadily growing, driving the necessity to understand the interaction of these new materials with specific water contaminants. In the present study, five different carbonaceous materials: activated carbon (AC), charcoal (BC), carbon nanotubes (CNT), graphene (GE), and graphene oxide (GO) were investigated as sorbent materials for 11 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in aqueous concentrations in the pg-μg/L range. Sorbent-water distribution coefficients (<i>K</i>_s) calculated in aqueous concentrations of ng/L show that AC is superior to GE, GO, CNT, and BC for the 11 PCB congeners investigated by an average of 1.1, 1.1, 1.3, and 2.5 orders of magnitude, respectively. Additionally, maximum capacity and sorption affinity parameters from the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Polanyi–Dubinin–Manes (PDM) models show a similar result. Interestingly, however, the effect of molecular planarity has greater impact on PCB sorption to the nanomaterials, such that the planar congeners form stronger bonds with CNT, GE, and GO compared to AC and BC. This work demonstrated superior PCB sorption by AC as compared with the nanomaterials examined such that substantial post production modifications would be necessary for the nanomaterials to out-perform AC