Herein, a quadruple biomagnetic nanocomposite of cross-linked chitosan-ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether/organo-nanoclay (MCH-EGDE/ORNC) was designed for the uptake of remazol brilliant blue R (RBBR) dye from aqueous environment. The adsorption process was systematically improved via the Box-Behnken design (BBD) to determine the influence of key uptake parameters, including MCH-EGDE/ORNC dosage, pH, and time, on the RBBR removal. The highest RBBR removal of 87.5 % was achieved at the following conditions: MCH-EGDE/ORNC dosage: 0.1 g/100 mL; pH: 4.0; contact time: 25 min. The findings of the kinetics and equilibrium studies revealed an excellent fit to the pseudo-second order and the Freundlich models, respectively. The adsorption capacity of the MCH-EGDE/ORNC for RBBR was found to be 168.4 mg/g, showcasing its remarkable adsorption capability. The present work highlights the potential of MCH-EGDE/ORNC biomaterial as an advanced adsorbent and lays the foundation for future applications in water purification and environmental remediation.
Herein, a highly efficient and sustainable adsorbent of cross-linked chitosan-glyoxal/algae biocomposite (CHT-GLX/ALG) adsorbent was developed through an innovative hydrothermal cross-linking method. The CHT-GLX/ALG biocomposite was characterized using several complementary analytical methods that include CHN-O, XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX, and pHpzc. This new adsorbent, named CHT-GLX/ALG, was utilized for the adsorption of a cationic dye (methyl violet 2B; MV 2B), from synthetic wastewater. The optimization of the dye adsorption process involved key parameters is listed: CHT-GLX/ALG dosage (from 0.02 to 0.1 g/100 mL), pH (from 4 to 10), and contact time (from 20 to 180 min) that was conducted using the Box-Behnken design (BBD). The optimal adsorption conditions for the highest decolorization efficiency of MV 2B (97.02 %) were estimated using the statistical model of the Box-Behnken design. These conditions include a fixed adsorbent dosage of 0.099 g/100 mL, pH 9.9, and a 179.9 min contact time. The empirical data of MV 2B adsorption by CHT-GLX/ALG exhibited favorable agreement with the Freundlich isotherm model. The kinetic adsorption profile of MV 2B by CHT-GLX/ALG revealed a good fit with the pseudo-second-order model. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) for MV 2B by CHT-GLX/ALG was estimated at 110.8 mg/g. The adsorption of MV 2B onto the adsorbent can be attributed to several factors, including electrostatic interactions between the negatively charged surface of CHT-GLX/ALG and the MV 2B cation, as well as n-π and H-bonding. These interactions play a crucial role in facilitating the effective adsorption of MV 2B onto the biocomposite adsorbent. Generally, this study highlights the potential of CHT-GLX/ALG as an efficient and sustainable adsorbent for the effective removal of organic dyes.
Herein, a natural material including chitosan (CTS) and algae (food-grade algae, FGA) was exploited to attain a bio-adsorbent (CTS/FGA) for enhanced methyl violet 2B dye removal. A study of the FGA loading into CTS matrix showed that the best mixing ratio between CTS and FGA to be used for the MV 2B removal was 50 %:50 % (CTS/FGA; 50:50 w/w). The present study employed the Box-Behnken design (RSM-BBD) to investigate the impact of three processing factors, namely CTS/FGA-(50:50) dose (0.02-0.1 g/100 mL), pH of solution (4-10), and contact time (5-15 min) on the decolorization rate of MV 2B dye. The results obtained from the equilibrium and kinetic experiments indicate that the adsorption of MV 2B dye on CTS/FGA-(50:50) follows the Langmuir and pseudo-second-order models, respectively. The CTS/FGA exhibits an adsorption capacity of 179.8 mg/g. The characterization of CTS/FGA-(50:50) involves the proposed mechanism of MV 2B adsorption, which primarily encompasses various interactions such as electrostatic forces, n-π stacking, and H-bonding. The present study demonstrates that CTS/FGA-(50:50) synthesized material exhibits a distinctive structure and excellent adsorption properties, thereby providing a viable option for the elimination of toxic cationic dyes from polluted water.
This work aims to apply the use of food-grade algae (FGA) composited with chitosan-benzaldehyde Schiff base biopolymer (CHA-BD) as a new adsorbent (CHA-BA/FGA) for methyl violet 2B (MV 2B) dye removal from aqueous solutions. The effect of three processing variables, including CHA-BA/FGA dosage (0.02-0.1 g/100 mL), pH solution (4-10), and contact duration (10-120 min) on the removal of MV 2B was investigated using the Box-Behnken design (BBD) model. Kinetic and equilibrium dye adsorption profiles reveal that the uptake of MV 2B dye by CHA-BA/FGA is described by the pseudo-second kinetics and the Langmuir models. The thermodynamics of the adsorption process (ΔG°, ΔH°, and ΔS°) reveal spontaneous and favorable adsorption parameters of MV 2B dye onto the CHA-BA/FGA biocomposite at ambient conditions. The CHA-BA/FGA exhibited the maximum ability to absorb MV 2B of 126.51 mg/g (operating conditions: CHA-BA/FGA dose = 0.09 g/100 mL, solution pH = 8.68, and temperature = 25 °C). Various interactions, including H-bonding, electrostatic forces, π-π stacking, and n-π stacking provide an account of the hypothesized mechanism of MV 2B adsorption onto the surface of CHA-BA/FGA. This research reveals that CHA-BA/FGA with its unique biocomposite structure and favorable adsorption properties can be used to remove harmful cationic dyes from wastewater.
In this study, a magnetic chitosan grafted-benzaldehyde (CS-BD/Fe3O4) was hydrothermally prepared using benzaldehyde as a grafting agent to produce a promising adsorbent for the removal of acid red 88 (AR88) dye. The CS-BD/Fe3O4 was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, surface area analysis, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray, vibrating sample magnetometry, powder X-ray diffraction, CHN elemental analysis, and point of zero charge (pHPZC). The Box-Behnken design (BBD) was adopted to study the role of variables that influence AR88 dye adsorption (A: CS-BD/Fe3O4 dose (0.02-0.1 g), B: pH (4-10), and time C: (10-90 min)). The ANOVA results of the BBD model indicated that the F-value for the AR88 removal was 22.19 %, with the corresponding p-value of 0.0002. The adsorption profiles at equilibrium and dynamic conditions reveal that the Temkin model and the pseudo-first-order kinetics model provide an adequate description of the isotherm results, where the maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) with the AR88 dye was 154.1 mg/g. Several mechanisms, including electrostatic attraction, n-π interaction, π-π interaction, and hydrogen bonding, regulate the adsorption of AR88 dyes onto the CS-BD/Fe3O4 surface. As a result, this research indicates that CS-BD/Fe3O4 can be utilized as an effective and promising bio-adsorbent for azo dye removal from contaminated wastewater.
Herein, a novel nanohybrid composite of magnetic chitosan-salicylaldehyde/nanoclay (MCH-SAL/NCLA) was hydrothermally synthesized for removal of azo dye (acid red 88, AR88) from simulated wastewater. Response surface methodology combined with the Box-Behnken design (RSM-BBD) was applied with 29 experiments to assess the impact of adsorption variables, that include A: % NCLA loading (0-50), B: MCH-SAL/NCLA dose (0.02-0.1 g/100 mL), C: pH (4-10), and time D: (10-90 min) on AR88 dye adsorption. The highest AR88 removal (75.16 %) as per desirability function was attained at the optimum conditions (NCLA loading = 41.8 %, dosage = 0.06 g/100 mL, solution pH = 4, and time = 86. 17 min). The kinetic and equilibrium adsorption results of AR88 by MCH-SAL/NCLA reveal that the process follows the pseudo-first-order and Temkin models. The MCH-SAL/NCLA composite has a maximum adsorption capacity (173.5 mg/g) with the AR88 dye. The adsorption of AR88 onto the MCH-SAL/NCLA surface is determined by a variety of processes, including electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, n-π, and n-π interactions. This research revealed that MCH-SAL/NCLA can be used as a versatile and efficient bio-adsorbent for azo dye removal from contaminated wastewater.
The incomplete identification of structural variants (SVs) from whole-genome sequencing data limits studies of human genetic diversity and disease association. Here, we apply a suite of long-read, short-read, strand-specific sequencing technologies, optical mapping, and variant discovery algorithms to comprehensively analyze three trios to define the full spectrum of human genetic variation in a haplotype-resolved manner. We identify 818,054 indel variants (<50 bp) and 27,622 SVs (≥50 bp) per genome. We also discover 156 inversions per genome and 58 of the inversions intersect with the critical regions of recurrent microdeletion and microduplication syndromes. Taken together, our SV callsets represent a three to sevenfold increase in SV detection compared to most standard high-throughput sequencing studies, including those from the 1000 Genomes Project. The methods and the dataset presented serve as a gold standard for the scientific community allowing us to make recommendations for maximizing structural variation sensitivity for future genome sequencing studies.
Cinnamomum cassia Presl (Cinnamon) has been widely cultivated in the tropical or subtropical areas, such as Yunnan, Fujian, Guandong, and Hainan in China, as well as India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. Four new glycosides bearing apiuronic acid (1, 4, 6, and 7) and their sodium or potassium salts (2, 3, and 5), together with 31 known compounds, were isolated from a hot water extract of the bark of C. cassia via repeated chromatography. The structures of the new compounds (1-7) were determined by NMR, IR, MS, and ICP-AES data and by acid hydrolysis and sugar analysis. This is the first report of the presence of apiuronic acid glycosides. Some of the isolates were evaluated for their analgesic effects on a neuropathic pain animal model induced by paclitaxel. Cinnzeylanol (8), cinnacaside (9), kelampayoside A (10), and syringaresinol (11) showed analgesic effects against paclitaxel-induced cold allodynia.
Experimental and field studies reported a significant discrepancy between the cleanup and contamination time scales, while its cause is not yet addressed. Using high-resolution fast synchrotron x-ray computed tomography, we characterized the solute transport in a fully saturated sand packing for both contamination and cleanup processes at similar hydrodynamic conditions. The discrepancy in the time scales has been demonstrated by the nonuniqueness of hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient versus injection rate (Péclet number). Observations show that in the mixed advection-diffusion regime, the hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient of cleanup is significantly larger than that of the contamination process. This nonuniqueness has been attributed to the concentration-dependent diffusion coefficient during the cocurrent and countercurrent advection and diffusion, present in contamination and cleanup processes. The new findings enhance our fundamental understanding of transport processes and improve our capability to estimate the transport time scales of chemicals or pollution in geological and engineering systems.
Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia: Apiognomonia lasiopetali on Lasiopetalum sp., Blastacervulus eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus adesmophloia, Bullanockia australis (incl. Bullanockia gen. nov.) on Kingia australis, Caliciopsis eucalypti on Eucalyptus marginata, Celerioriella petrophiles on Petrophile teretifolia, Coleophoma xanthosiae on Xanthosia rotundifolia, Coniothyrium hakeae on Hakea sp., Diatrypella banksiae on Banksia formosa, Disculoides corymbiae on Corymbia calophylla, Elsinoë eelemani on Melaleuca alternifolia, Elsinoë eucalyptigena on Eucalyptus kingsmillii, Elsinoë preissianae on Eucalyptus preissiana, Eucasphaeria rustici on Eucalyptus creta, Hyweljonesia queenslandica (incl. Hyweljonesia gen. nov.) on the cocoon of an unidentified microlepidoptera, Mycodiella eucalypti (incl. Mycodiella gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus diversicolor, Myrtapenidiella sporadicae on Eucalyptus sporadica, Neocrinula xanthorrhoeae (incl. Neocrinula gen. nov.) on Xanthorrhoea sp., Ophiocordyceps nooreniae on dead ant, Phaeosphaeriopsis agavacearum on Agave sp., Phlogicylindrium mokarei on Eucalyptus sp., Phyllosticta acaciigena on Acacia suaveolens, Pleurophoma acaciae on Acacia glaucoptera, Pyrenochaeta hakeae on Hakea sp., Readeriella lehmannii on Eucalyptus lehmannii, Saccharata banksiae on Banksia grandis, Saccharata daviesiae on Daviesia pachyphylla, Saccharata eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus bigalerita, Saccharata hakeae on Hakea baxteri, Saccharata hakeicola on Hakea victoria, Saccharata lambertiae on Lambertia ericifolia, Saccharata petrophiles on Petrophile sp., Saccharata petrophilicola on Petrophile fastigiata, Sphaerellopsis hakeae on Hakea sp., and Teichospora kingiae on Kingia australis.Brazil: Adautomilanezia caesalpiniae (incl. Adautomilanezia gen. nov.) on Caesalpina echinata, Arthrophiala arthrospora (incl. Arthrophiala gen. nov.) on Sagittaria montevidensis, Diaporthe caatingaensis (endophyte from Tacinga inamoena), Geastrum ishikawae on sandy soil, Geastrum pusillipilosum on soil, Gymnopus pygmaeus on dead leaves and sticks, Inonotus hymenonitens on decayed angiosperm trunk, Pyricularia urashimae on Urochloa brizantha, and Synnemellisia aurantia on Passiflora edulis. Chile: Tubulicrinis australis on Lophosoria quadripinnata.France: Cercophora squamulosa from submerged wood, and Scedosporium cereisporum from fluids of a wastewater treatment plant. Hawaii: Beltraniella acaciae, Dactylaria acaciae, Rhexodenticula acaciae, Rubikia evansii and Torula acaciae (all on Acacia koa).India: Lepidoderma echinosporum on dead semi-woody stems, and Rhodocybe rubrobrunnea from soil. Iran: Talaromyces kabodanensis from hypersaline soil. La Réunion: Neocordana musarum from leaves of Musa sp. Malaysia: Anungitea eucalyptigena on Eucalyptus grandis × pellita, Camptomeriphila leucaenae (incl. Camptomeriphila gen. nov.) on Leucaena leucocephala, Castanediella communis on Eucalyptus pellita, Eucalyptostroma eucalypti (incl. Eucalyptostroma gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus pellita, Melanconiella syzygii on Syzygium sp., Mycophilomyces periconiae (incl. Mycophilomyces gen. nov.) as hyperparasite on Periconia on leaves of Albizia falcataria, Synnemadiella eucalypti (incl. Synnemadiella gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus pellita, and Teichospora nephelii on Nephelium lappaceum.Mexico: Aspergillus bicephalus from soil. New Zealand: Aplosporella sophorae on Sophora microphylla, Libertasomyces platani on Platanus sp., Neothyronectria sophorae (incl. Neothyronectria gen. nov.) on Sophora microphylla, Parastagonospora phoenicicola on Phoenix canariensis, Phaeoacremonium pseudopanacis on Pseudopanax crassifolius, Phlyctema phoenicis on Phoenix canariensis, and Pseudoascochyta novae-zelandiae on Cordyline australis.Panama: Chalara panamensis from needle litter of Pinus cf. caribaea. South Africa: Exophiala eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus sp., Fantasmomyces hyalinus (incl. Fantasmomyces gen. nov.) on Acacia exuvialis, Paracladophialophora carceris (incl. Paracladophialophora gen. nov.) on Aloe sp., and Umthunziomyces hagahagensis (incl. Umthunziomyces gen. nov.) on Mimusops caffra.Spain: Clavaria griseobrunnea on bare ground in Pteridium aquilinum field, Cyathus ibericus on small fallen branches of Pinus halepensis, Gyroporus pseudolacteus in humus of Pinus pinaster, and Pseudoascochyta pratensis (incl. Pseudoascochyta gen. nov.) from soil. Thailand: Neoascochyta adenii on Adenium obesum, and Ochroconis capsici on Capsicum annuum. UK: Fusicolla melogrammae from dead stromata of Melogramma campylosporum on bark of Carpinus betulus. Uruguay: Myrmecridium pulvericola from house dust. USA: Neoscolecobasidium agapanthi (incl. Neoscolecobasidium gen. nov.) on Agapanthus sp., Polyscytalum purgamentum on leaf litter, Pseudopithomyces diversisporus from human toenail, Saksenaea trapezispora from knee wound of a soldier, and Sirococcus quercus from Quercus sp. Morphological and culture characteristics along with DNA barcodes are provided.
Methane is a greenhouse gas which poses a great threat to life on earth as its emissions directly contribute to global warming and methane has a 28-fold higher warming potential over that of carbon dioxide. Ruminants have been identified as a major source of methane emission as a result of methanogenesis by their respective gut microbiomes. Various plants produce highly bioactive compounds which can be investigated to find a potential inhibitor of methyl-coenzyme M reductase (the target protein for methanogenesis). To speed up the process and to limit the use of laboratory resources, the present study uses an in-silico molecular docking approach to explore the anti-methanogenic properties of phytochemicals from Cymbopogon citratus, Origanum vulgare, Lavandula officinalis, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Piper betle, Cuminum cyminum, Ocimum gratissimum, Salvia sclarea, Allium sativum, Rosmarinus officinalis and Thymus vulgaris. A total of 168 compounds from 11 plants were virtually screened. Finally, 25 scrutinized compounds were evaluated against methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) protein using the AutoDock 4.0 program. In conclusion, the study identified 21 out of 25 compounds against inhibition of the MCR protein. Particularly, five compounds: rosmarinic acid (-10.71 kcal/mol), biotin (-9.38 kcal/mol), α-cadinol (-8.16 kcal/mol), (3R,3aS,6R,6aR)-3-(2H-1,3-benzodioxol-4-yl)-6-(2H-1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-hexahydrofuro[3,4-c]furan-1-one (-12.21 kcal/mol), and 2,4,7,9-tetramethyl-5decyn4,7diol (-9.02 kcal/mol) showed higher binding energy towards the MCR protein. In turn, these compounds have potential utility as rumen methanogenic inhibitors in the proposed methane inhibitor program. Ultimately, molecular dynamics simulations of rosmarinic acid and (3R,3aS,6R,6aR)-3-(2H-1,3-benzodioxol-4-yl)-6-(2H-1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-hexahydrofuro[3,4-c]furan-1-one yielded the best possible interaction and stability with the active site of 5A8K protein for 20 ns.
In this investigation, microwave irradiation assisted by ZnCl2 was used to transform pineapple crown (PN) waste into mesoporous activated carbon (PNAC). Complementary techniques were employed to examine the physicochemical characteristics of PNAC, including BET, FTIR, SEM-EDX, XRD, and pH at the point-of-zero-charge (pHpzc). PNAC is mesoporous adsorbent with a surface area of 1070 m2/g. The statistical optimization for the adsorption process of two model cationic dyes (methylene blue: MB and, crystal violet: CV) was conducted using the response surface methodology-Box-Behnken design (RSM-BBD). The parameters include solution pH (4-10), contact time (2-12) min, and PNAC dosage (0.02-0.1 g/100 mL). The Freundlich and Langmuir models adequately described the dye adsorption isotherm results for the MB and CV systems, whereas the pseudo-second order kinetic model accounted for the time dependent adsorption results. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) for PNAC with the two tested dyes are listed: 263.9 mg/g for CV and 274.8 mg/g for MB. The unique adsorption mechanism of MB and CV dyes by PNAC implicates multiple contributions to the adsorption process such as pore filling, electrostatic forces, H-bonding, and π-π interactions. This study illustrates the possibility of transforming PN into activated carbon (PNAC) with the potential to remove two cationic dyes from aqueous media.
In this study, bamboo waste (BW) was subjected to pyrolysis-assisted ZnCl2 activation to produce mesoporous activated carbon (BW-AC), which was then evaluated for its ability to remove cationic dyes, specifically methylene blue (MB) and crystal violet (CV), from aqueous environments. The properties of BW-AC were characterized using various techniques, including potentiometric-based point of zero charge (pHpzc), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-rays (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), gas adsorption with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, infrared (IR) spectroscopy. To optimize the adsorption characteristics (BW-AC dosage, pH, and contact time) of PBW, a Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed. The BW-AC dose of 0.05 g, solution pH of 10, and time of 8 min are identified as optimal operational conditions for achieving maximum CV (89.8%) and MB (96.3%) adsorption according to the BBD model. The dye removal kinetics for CV and MB are described by the pseudo-second-order model. The dye adsorption isotherms revealed that adsorption of CV and MB onto BW-AC follow the Freundlich model. The maximum dye adsorption capacities (qmax) of BW-AC for CV (530 mg/g) and MB (520 mg/g) are favorable, along with the thermodynamics of the adsorption process, which is characterized as endothermic and spontaneous. The adsorption mechanism of CV and MB dyes by BW-AC was attributed to multiple contributions: hydrogen bonding, electrostatic forces, π-π attraction, and pore filling. The findings of this study highlight the potential of BW-AC as an effective adsorbent in wastewater treatment applications, contributing to the overall goal of mitigating the environmental impact of cationic dyes and ensuring the quality of water resources.
In this study, pineapple crown (PC) feedstock residues were utilized as a potential precursor toward producing activated carbon (PCAC) via pyrolysis induced with ZnCl2 activation. The PCAC has a surface area (457.8 m2/g) and a mesoporous structure with an average pore diameter of 3.35 nm, according to the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller estimate. The removal of cationic dye (Fuchsin basic; FB) was used for investigating the adsorption parameters of PCAC. The optimization of significant adsorption variables (A: PCAC dose (0.02-0.1 g/100 mL); B: pH (4-10); C: time (10-90); and D: initial FB concentration (10-50 mg/L) was conducted using the Box-Behnken design (BBD). The pseudo-second-order (PSO) model characterized the dye adsorption kinetic profile, whereas the Freundlich model reflected the equilibrium adsorption profile. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) of PCAC for FB dye was determined to be 171.5 mg/g. Numerous factors contribute to the FB dye adsorption mechanism onto the surface of PCAC, which include electrostatic attraction, H-bonding, pore diffusion, and π-π stacking. This study illustrates the utilization of PC biomass feedstock for the fabrication of PCAC and its successful application in wastewater remediation.
In this work, mesoporous TiO2-modified ZnO quantum dots (QDs) were immobilised on a linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) polymer using a solution casting method for the photodegradation of tetracycline (TC) antibiotics under fluorescent light irradiation. Various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques were used to investigate the physicochemical properties of the floating hybrid polymer film catalyst (8%-ZT@LLDPE). The highest removal (89.5%) of TC (40 mg/L) was achieved within 90 min at pH 9 due to enhanced water uptake by the LDDPE film and the surface roughness of the hybrid film. The formation of heterojunctions increased the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The QDs size-dependent quantum confinement effect leads to the displacement of the conduction band potential of ZnO QDs to more negative energy values than TiO2. The displacement generates more reactive species with higher oxidation ability. The highly stable film photocatalyst can be separated easily and can be repeatedly used up to 8 cycles without significant loss in the photocatalytic ability. The scavenging test indicates that the main species responsible for the photodegradation was O2●-. The proposed photodegradation mechanism of TC was demonstrated in further detail based on the intermediates detected by LC-time-of-flight/mass spectrometry (LC/TOF-MS).
In this study, the focus was on utilizing tropical plant biomass waste, specifically bamboo (BB), as a sustainable precursor for the production of activated carbon (BBAC) via pyrolysis-induced K2CO3 activation. The potential application of BBAC as an effective adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solutions was investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to evaluate key adsorption characteristics, which included BBAC dosage (A: 0.02-0.08 g/L), pH (B: 4-10), and time (C: 2-8 min). The adsorption isotherm analysis revealed that the adsorption of MB followed the Freundlich model. Moreover, the kinetic data were well-described by the pseudo-second-order model, suggesting the role of a chemisorption process. The BBAC demonstrated a notable MB adsorption capacity of 195.8 mg/g, highlighting its effectiveness as an adsorbent. Multiple mechanisms were identified as controlling factors in MB adsorption by BBAC, including electrostatic forces, π-π stacking, and H-bonding interactions. The findings of this study indicate that BBAC derived from bamboo has the potential to be a promising adsorbent for the treatment of wastewater containing organic dyes. The employment of sustainable precursors like bamboo for activated carbon production contributes to environmentally friendly waste management practices and offers a solution for the remediation of dye-contaminated wastewater.
This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of 26 weeks of twice-daily (BID) alogliptin + metformin fixed-dose combination (FDC) therapy in Asian patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients aged 18 to 75 years with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of 7.5% to 10.0% after ≥2 months of diet and exercise and a 4-week placebo run-in were enrolled. Eligible patients were randomized (1:1:1:1) to placebo, alogliptin 12.5 mg BID, metformin 500 mg BID or alogliptin 12.5 mg plus metformin 500 mg FDC BID. The primary endpoint was change in HbA1c from baseline to end of treatment (Week 26). In total, 647 patients were randomized. The least-squares mean change in HbA1c from baseline to Week 26 was -0.19% with placebo, -0.86% with alogliptin, -1.04% with metformin and -1.53% with alogliptin + metformin FDC. Alogliptin + metformin FDC was significantly more effective ( P
INTRODUCTION: Seizures as acute stroke mimics are a diagnostic challenge.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to characterize the perfusion patterns on perfusion computed tomography (PCT) in patients with seizures masquerading as acute stroke.
METHODS: We conducted a study on patients with acute seizures as stroke mimics. The inclusion criteria for this study were patients (1) initially presenting with stroke-like symptoms but finally diagnosed to have seizures and (2) with PCT performed within 72 h of seizures. The PCT of seizure patients (n = 27) was compared with that of revascularized stroke patients (n = 20) as the control group.
RESULTS: Among the 27 patients with seizures as stroke mimics, 70.4% (n = 19) showed characteristic PCT findings compared with the revascularized stroke patients, which were as follows: (1) multi-territorial cortical hyperperfusion {(73.7% [14/19] vs. 0% [0/20], p = 0.002), sensitivity of 73.7%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 80%}, (2) involvement of the ipsilateral thalamus {(57.9% [11/19] vs. 0% [0/20], p = 0.007), sensitivity of 57.9%, NPV of 71.4%}, and (3) reduced perfusion time {(84.2% [16/19] vs. 0% [0/20], p = 0.001), sensitivity of 84.2%, NPV of 87%}. These 3 findings had 100% specificity and positive predictive value in predicting patients with acute seizures in comparison with reperfused stroke patients. Older age was strongly associated with abnormal perfusion changes (p = 0.038), with a mean age of 66.8 ± 14.5 years versus 49.2 ± 27.4 years (in seizure patients with normal perfusion scan).
CONCLUSIONS: PCT is a reliable tool to differentiate acute seizures from acute stroke in the emergency setting.
BACKGROUND: Chest pain as the primary manifestation of epilepsy is extremely rare and has only been reported once to date.
CASE PRESENTATION: We herein describe a 47-year-old woman with recurrent chest pain for 3 years. The cause of her chest pain remained elusive despite extensive investigations including comprehensive cardiac work-up. She was referred to the neurology clinic for one episode of confusion. Video-electroencephalographic monitoring detected unequivocal ictal changes during her habitual chest pain events. She has remained chest pain (seizure) free with a single antiseizure drug.
CONCLUSIONS: This case underlines the importance of epilepsy as a rare yet treatable cause of recurrent chest pain. Further studies are required to determine the pathophysiology of ictal chest pain.
This paper presents the adsorption capacity of a biosorbent derived from the inner part of durian (Durio zibethinus) rinds, which are a low-cost and abundant agro-waste material. The durian rind sorbent has been successfully utilized to remove lanthanum (La) and yttrium (Y) ions from their binary aqueous solution. The effects of several adsorption parameters including contact time, pH, concentrations of La and Y, and temperature on the removal of La and Y ions were investigated. The adsorption isotherm and kinetics of the metal ions were also evaluated in detail. Both La and Y ions were efficiently adsorbed by the biosorbent with optimum adsorption capacity as high as 71 mg La and 35 mg Y per gram biosorbent, respectively. The simultaneous adsorption of La and Y ions follows Langmuir isotherm model, due to the favorable chelation and strong chemical interactions between the functional groups on the surface of the biosorbent and the metal ions. The addition of oxygen content after adsorption offers an interpretation that the rare-earth metal ions are chelated and incorporated most probably in the form of metal oxides. With such high adsorption capacity of La and Y ions, the durian rind sorbent could potentially be used to treat contaminated wastewater containing La and Y metal ions, as well as for separating and extracting rare-earth metal ions from crude minerals.