Removal Of Zinc (Ii) Ions From Industrial Wastewater By Activated Carbon Synthesized From Mangrove (Rhizophora Mangle)

Water pollution has become one of the major issues in Malaysia, due to the release of industrial wastewater containing heavy metals. A suitable adsorbent is required to overcome this problem. Activated carbon is one the common adsorbent used for adsorption processes. Commercially available activated carbon (CAC) is expensive because it is made from non-renewable resources and require advanced processing methods to be produced. In recent years, production for activated carbon from agricultural products has gained attention for its ability in enhancing adsorption processes. Therefore, this study focuses on the potential use of agricultural wastes that are abundantly available in Malaysia, which is mangrove wood, as the precursor for the preparation of inexpensive adsorbent that can be applied to eliminate Zn (II) ions from industrial wastewater. The preparation conditions of the char through microwave heating were made at various radiation power and time. The optimization of microwave radiation power and time was performed using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The optimal activated carbon was obtained at 616 W and 4 mins under physical activation with CO2. Apart from that, the adsorption process using the mangrove-based activated carbon was investigated under several conditions. The adsorption of Zn (II) ions was performed in batch system. From the experimental data, the ideal KOH impregnation ratio was at 0.5 with 98.97% of activated carbon yield and zinc (II) ions removal of 84.44%. The surface properties and morphology and functional groups of the prepared adsorbents were examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and CHNS Elemental Analyzer. The equilibrium phase during adsorption for all batch experiment was reached within 5 hours. The initial concentration of Zn (II) solutions was studied at different concentrations such as 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 ppm. Whereas the varying temperatures selected for the experiment were 20, 40 and 60°C. The highest Zn (II) ions removal and adsorption capacity was reached at 10 ppm and 60°C with percentages of 82.70% and 20.4043 mg/g respectively. The Langmuir isotherm model exhibit the best fit for the adsorption carried out. The maximum adsorption capacity using Langmuir isotherm was 27.6243 mg/g. The experimental data was also well fitted with pseudo-second order kinetics with R2 value of 0.9999. Finally, the thermodynamics study proved that the adsorption process is naturally endothermic. The process is spontaneous and faster at higher temperature of 60°C

A case of the eisenmenger syndrome

More recently it has been appreciated that the position of the aorta is irrelevant to the diagnosis of the Eisenmenger complex.ln 1897 Eisenmenger described a case of a 32 year old man with cyanosis and exercise intolerance.Congestive heart failure was a preterminal event and death followed an episode of haemoptysis. Post-mortem examination showed a large defect in the membranous septum, right ventricular enlargement and overriding oarta. More recently it has been appreciated that the position of the aorta is irrelevant to the diagnosis of the Eisenmenger complex.Office of Global AIDS/US Department of Stat

Intraocular Lens Case Designs

IOLAB Corporation makes two types of intraocular lenses for the replacement of cataracts: one from polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and a newer one from silicone. IOLAB ships the lens to the doctor in a two-piece case made from polycarbonate. At a price of $0.53 per case, IOLAB spends about$270,000 per year on lens cases (based on 1994 purchases of 500,000 cases). IOLAB asked us to reduce the cost of the existing lens case and to design a new case to protect and fold the silicone lens. We designed three items

Contrasting Pediatric and Adult Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates

Children may share a reservoir of MRSA strains that have an antimicrobial drug resistance profile distinct from that of adults

Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) in Ruminants in Selangor

Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is caused by pestivirus, which has an economic impact on the ruminant industry. Most study focuses on cattle as the most affected species having detrimental effects on the reproductive soundness. However, the role of small ruminants in BVD transmission requires further understanding as they can also be affected by BVD. Thus, a cross-sectional study was carried out in Selangor with an objective (1) to determine the seroprevalence of BVD in cattle, deer, sheep, and goats and (2) to identify the associated risk factors of BVD. A total of 596 healthy animals i.e., 176 cattle, 212 goats, 100 sheep and 108 deers were randomly selected and sampled between 2021 to 2024 in 19 selected farms in Selangor. Blood samples were collected from all of the animals and the serum samples were tested against the detection of antibodies against p80-125 protein (NSP2-3), a non-structural protein (NS3), highly conserved, and common to all strains of pestiviruses such as BVD, Border Disease (BD), and BVD-Antigen using a specific monoclonal antibody (Erns). The risk factors were analysed by running a univariate and multivariate logistic regression model compiled using a backward-selection procedure analysis to obtain the odds ratio (OR). This study found that the herds seroprevalence of BVD among the farms was 57.89% (n = 19). Cattle seroprevalence is 29.54% (n = 176), goats 11.3% (n = 212), sheep at 50% (n = 100), and deer at 0% (n = 108). Only one breeding ram was tested positive for the BVD-Antigen test. The key risk factors for BVD in cattle included being dairy cattle (OR = 12.60, p < 0.001), lactating (OR = 31.2, p < 0.001), raised in semi-intensive systems (OR = 106.08, p < 0.001), kept in cattle-only herds (OR = 26.32, p < 0.002), and being located in urban areas (OR = 191.95, p < 0.001). For small ruminants, significant risk factors included goats raised in intensive systems (OR = 6.73, p < 0.001) and female sheep (OR = 2.25, p = 0.047). The findings highlights that BVD seroprevalence in sheep and goats in Selangor, identifying a positive BVD antigen result in a breeding ram, emphasizing the sheep's role in BVD transmission. In short, the multi-species ruminant farming in Malaysia should be cautioned for the risk of BVD transmission

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcal Bacteremia in a Hematology Unit: Molecular Epidemiology and Analysis of Clinical Course

An increase in vancomycin-resistant enterococcal (VRE) bacteremia in hemato-oncological patients (n=19) in our institution from 2000 through 2001 led us to analyze the molecular epidemiologic patterns and clinical features unique to our cases. The pulsed field gel electrophoresis of the isolates revealed that the bacteremia was not originated from a single clone but rather showed endemic pattern of diverse clones with small clusters. A different DNA pattern of blood and stool isolates from one patient suggested exogenous rather than endogenous route of infection. Enterococcus faecium carrying vanA gene was the causative pathogen in all cases. Patients with VRE bacteremia showed similar clinical courses compared with those with vancomycin-susceptible enterococcal (VSE) bacteremia. Vancomycin resistance did not seem to be a poor prognostic factor because of similar mortality (5/8, 62.5%) noted in VSE bacteremia. Initial disease severity and neutropenic status may be major determinants of prognosis in patients with VRE bacteraemia

Course management system for Sun British College of Vavuniya

This is the Abstrac

Research Data in DSpace CRIS - BORIS Portal @ UniBE

The Current Research Information System of the University of Bern called BORIS Portal integrated the publication of research data among project and funding information. As a public platform, BORIS Portal is intended to create transparency about university's research activities for a broad public. The challenge lies within the shareability of research data. While the CRIS systems aim to be as open as possible, some types of research data cannot be shared openly for legal, ethical or similar reasons