The immobilisation of Chlorella vulgaris 211/11B entrapped in combinations of natural matrices to simplify the harvesting process was demonstrated in this study. Three combinations of matrices composed of calcium alginate (CA) and sodium alginate (SA), sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and SA, and mixed matrices (SA, CA, and CMC) were investigated. The number of cells grown for each immobilised matrix to microalgae volume ratios (0.2:1-1:1) were explored and compared with using SA solely as a control. The optimum volume ratios obtained were 1:1 for SA, 0.3:1 for CA and SA, 1:1 for CMC and SA, and 0.3:1 for mixed matrices. The immobilised microalgae of mixed matrices exhibited the highest number of cells with 1.72 × 109 cells/mL at day 10 and 30.43% of oil extraction yield followed by CA and SA (24.29%), CMC and SA (13.00%), and SA (6.71%). Combining SA, CA, and CMC had formed a suitable structure which improved the growth of C. vulgaris and increased the lipid production compared to the immobilisation using single matrix. Besides, the fatty acids profile of the oil extracted indicates a high potential for biodiesel production.
Emerging contaminants (ECs) originated from different agricultural, biological, chemical, and pharmaceutical sectors have been detected in our water sources for many years. Several technologies are employed to minimise EC content in the aqueous phase, including solvent extraction processes, but there is not a solution commonly accepted yet. One of the studied alternatives is based on separation processes of emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) that benefit low solvent inventory and energy needs. However, a better understanding of the process and factors influencing the operating conditions and the emulsion stability of the extraction/stripping process is crucial to enhancing ELM's performance. This article aims to describe the applications of this technique for the EC removal and to comprehensively review the ELM properties and characteristics, phase compositions, and process parameters.
Zinc (Zn) was identified as one of the most toxic heavy metals and often found contaminating the water sources as a result of inefficient treatment of industrial effluent. A green emulsion liquid membrane (GELM) was proposed in this study as a method to minimize the concentration of Zn ions in an aqueous solution. Instead of the common petroleum-based diluent, the emulsion is reformulated with untreated waste cooking oil (WCO) collected from the food industry as a sustainable and cheaper diluent. It also includes Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (D2EHPA) as a carrier, Span 80 as a surfactant, sulfuric acid (H2SO4) as an internal phase, and ZnSO4 solution as an external phase. Such formulation requires a thorough understanding of the oil characteristics as well as the interaction of the components in the membrane phase. The compatibility of WCO and D2EHPA, as well as the external phase pH, was confirmed via a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method. To obtain the best operating conditions for Zn extraction using GELM, the extraction time and speed, carrier, surfactant and internal phase concentrations, and W/O ratio were varied. 95.17% of Zn ions were removed under the following conditions; 0.001 M of H2SO4 in external phase, 700 rpm extraction speed for 10 min, 8 wt% of carrier and 4 wt% of surfactant concentrations, 1:4 of W/O ratio, and 1 M of internal phase concentration.
Neurological rehabilitation is a physician-supervised programme for individuals with nervous system diseases, injuries or disorders. Neurological rehabilitation, also known as neurorehabilitation, is part of the rehabilitation process that improves function, reduces severity and enhances a patient's well-being. Because neurological injuries occur in the brain, spine and nerves, affecting multiple body parts including organs, blood vessels, muscles and bones, rehabilitation requires a multidisciplinary approach. This study conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) on the use of mobile game in neurorehabilitation. The steps undertaken in the literature review included the collection, identification, categorisation, summarisation and synthesis of relevant studies in the research domain. A total of 50 related articles were reviewed. The study identified that the effects on cognitive skills, handgrip strength, memory, attention, visuospatial abilities, executive function tasks, motor functionality, and improvements in balance, visual perception, and functional mobility are impacts of the use of mobile games in neurological rehabilitation. Furthermore, several research challenges and recommendations for future research were identified.
Discharging improperly treated oily-produced water (OPW) into the environment can have significant negative impacts on environmental sustainability. It can lead to pollution of water sources, damage to aquatic ecosystems and potential health hazards for individuals living in the affected areas. Ceramic hollow fiber membrane (CHFM) technology is one of the most effective OPW treatment methods for achieving high oil removal efficiency while maintaining membrane water permeability. In this study, low-cost calcium bentonite hollow fiber membranes (CaB-HFMs) were prepared from high-alumina calcium bentonite clay with various preparation parameters, including calcium bentonite content, sintering temperature, air gap distance and bore fluid rate. The prepared CaB-HFMs were then subjected to characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a three-point bending test, porosity, average pore size, hydraulic resistance and flux recovery ratio (FRR) analysis. Statistical analysis employing central composite design (CCD) assessed the interaction between the parameters and their effect on CaB-HFM water permeability and oil removal efficiency. Higher ceramic content and sintering temperature led to reduced porosity, smaller pore size and higher mechanical strength. In contrast, increasing the air gap distance and bore fluid rate exhibit different trends, resulting in higher porosity and pore size, along with weaker mechanical strength. Other than that, all of the CaB-HFMs displayed low hydraulic resistance (<0.01 m2 h.bar/L) and high FRR value (up to 95.2%). Based on CCD, optimal conditions for CaB-HFM were determined as follows: a calcium bentonite content of 50 wt.%, a sintering temperature of 1096 °C, an air gap distance of 5 cm and a bore fluid rate of 10 mL/min, with the desirability value of 0.937. Notably, the optimized CaB-HFMs demonstrated high oil removal efficiency of up to 99.7% with exceptional water permeability up to 535.2 L/m2.h.bar. The long-term permeation study also revealed it was capable of achieving a high average water permeation and a stable oil rejection performance of 522.15 L/m2.h.bar and 99.8%, respectively, due to their inherent hydrophilic and antifouling characteristics, making it practical for OPW treatment application.
This study is to estimate in-hospital mortality in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) patients stratified by hemoglobin (Hb) level. Patients were stratified according to hemoglobin level into two groups, that is, Hb <100 g/L and Hb >100 g/L. A total of 6931 patients were included. Of these, 6377 (92%) patients had hemoglobin levels >100 g/L. The mean age was 44 ± 17 years, and 66% of the patients were males. The median length of overall hospital stay was 13 days [2; 31]. The remaining 554 (8%) patients had a hemoglobin level <100 g/L. Overall mortality was 176 patients (2.54%) but was significantly higher in the group with hemoglobin levels <100 g/L (124, 22.4%) than in the group with hemoglobin levels >100 g/L (52, 0.82%). Risk factors associated with increased mortality were determined by multivariate analysis. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed hemoglobin as a predictor of mortality. Cox proportional hazards regression coefficients for hemoglobin for the HB ≤ 100 category of hemoglobin were significant, B = 2.79, SE = 0.17, and HR = 16.34, p
Magnetic collection of the microalgae Chlorella sp. from culture media facilitated by low-gradient magnetophoretic separation is achieved in real time. A removal efficiency as high as 99% is accomplished by binding of iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) to microalgal cells in the presence of the cationic polyelectrolyte poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) as a binder and subsequently subjecting the mixture to a NdFeB permanent magnet with surface magnetic field ≈6000 G and magnetic field gradient <80 T m(-1) . Surface functionalization of magnetic NPs with PDDA before exposure to Chlorella sp. is proven to be more effective in promoting higher magnetophoretic removal efficiency than the conventional procedure, in which premixing of microalgal cells with binder is carried out before the addition of NPs. Rodlike NPs are a superior candidate for enhancing the magnetophoretic separation compared to spherical NPs due to their stable magnetic moment that originates from shape anisotropy and the tendency to form large NP aggregates. Cell chaining is observed for nanorod-tagged Chlorella sp. which eventually fosters the formation of elongated cell clusters.
BACKGROUND: The European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) is becoming a widely used tool to measure health literacy (HL), including in Malaysia. There are efforts to reduce the 47-item scale to parsimonious short item scales that still reflect the assumptions and requirements of the conceptual model. This study used confirmatory factor analysis to reduce the 47-item scale to a short scale that can offer a feasible HL screening tool with sufficient psychometric properties.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on the Malaysian population based on ethnic distribution to ensure that the short version instrument reflects the country's varied ethnicities. The survey was administered by well-trained interviewers working for the Ministry of Health Malaysia. A total of 866 responses were obtained. Data was analysed using multi-factorial confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with categorical variables.
RESULTS: The analysis resulted in a satisfactory 18-item model. There were high correlations among the 18 items. The internal consistency reliability was robust, with no floor/ceiling effects. These results represented equivalence and consistency among the responses to items, suggesting that these items were homogenous in measuring Malaysian health literacy. The strong convergent and discriminant validity of the model makes the proposed 18 items a suitable short version of the health literacy instrument for Malaysia.
CONCLUSIONS: The researchers propose the 18-item instrument to be named HLS-M-Q18. This short version instrument may be used in measuring health literacy in Malaysia as it achieved robust reliability, structural validity and construct validity that fulfilled goodness-of-fit criteria.
Driven by the urgent need for a solution to tackle the surge of rice husk (RH) and waste frying oil (WFO) waste accumulation at a global scale, this report highlights the use of calcium silicates (CS) extracted from acid-pre-treated rice husk ash (RHA) for free fatty acid (FFA) removal from WFO as conventional RHA shows limited FFA adsorption performance. A novel alkaline earth silicate extraction method from acid-pre-treated RHA was outlined. The structural and behavioural attributes of the synthesised CS were identified through BET, SEM-EDS, and XRD analyses and compared to those of RHA. Notable morphology and structural modification were determined, including reducing specific surface areas, mitigating from amorphous to crystalline structure with regular geometric forms, and detecting Si-O-Ca functional groups exclusive to CS adsorbents. A comparison study showed superior lauric acid (LA) adsorption performance by CS absorbents over acid-pre-treated RHA, with a significant increase from 0.0831 ± 0.0004 mmol LA/g to 2.5808 ± 0.0011 mmol LA/g after 60 min. Recognised as the best-performing CS adsorbent, CS-1.0 was used for further investigations on the effect of dosage, LA concentration, and temperature for efficient LA adsorption, with up to 100% LA removal and 5.6712 ± 0.0016 mmol LA/g adsorption capacity. The adsorption isotherm and kinetic studies showed LA adsorption onto CS-1.0 followed Freundlich isotherm with KF = 0.0598 mmol(1-1/n) L(1/n) g-1 & Qe,cal = 3.1696 mmol g-1 and intraparticle diffusion model with kid = 0.1250 mmol g-1 min0.5 & Ci = 0.9625 mmol g-1, indicating rapid initial adsorption and involvement of carboxylate end of LA and the calcium ions on the CS-1.0 in the rate-limiting step. The high equilibrium adsorption capacity and LA adsorption rate indicated that the proposed CS-1.0 adsorbent has excellent potential to recover FFA from WFO effectively.