Enzymatic pre-treatment of grape seeds for an oil with higher antioxidant activity

The paper investigates the effect of the enzymatic pre-treatment of grape seeds from six Romanian cultivars on the oil extracted. The grape seeds of some white and red Romanian grape varieties were separated from winery waste, washed, dried and ground, with the oil then obtained by extraction with petroleum ether. The extraction was performed directly or after a preliminary treatment with a commercial pectin lyase. The enzymatic procedure applied was more cost effective compared to other treatments previously described in which a cocktail of enzymes was used. The quantity of the extracted oil was measured in both types of processing, with an increase being observed for pre-treated samples. The fatty acid profiles (FAPs) of the oils resulted for the treated and untreated seeds were determined. No change in the composition was noticed. The reductive power of these oils was also investigated. Compared to the untreated samples for the same variety, the enzyme pre-treatment resulted in a superior antioxidant capacity.

Designing and Modeling of a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant With GPS-X

Wastewater treatment is the process used to remove contaminants from wastewater to produce an effluent suitable for discharge to the environment. Several kinds of wastewater are treated based on the concentration of various parameters. Domestic Wastewater/Municipal Wastewater is treated in Sewage Treatment Plants (STP), which involve various types of processes like physical, chemical and biological to treat the wastewater better. The treatment plant involves five steps of the process – preliminary treatment, primary treatment, secondary treatment, tertiary treatment and sludge treatment to meet the safe disposal guidelines of the department of the environment. In this paper, a municipal wastewater treatment plant for Uttara City is designed and modeled with GPS-X. GPS-X is a wastewater treatment plant modeling software package that is used for verify the treatment process. The design calculation of all unit operations is shown with a specification table. The Process Flow Diagram (PFD), Process Block Diagram (PBD) and mass balance of the process are expressed in the article. The design calculation of the STP is performed with a steady-state process. After each unit operation, the concentration of various parameters – TSS, BOD, VSS, TN is analyzed and the removal efficiency for different equipment is calculated. The STP is designed to maintain the guidelines of the Department of Environment, Bangladesh. At the end of the paper, the designing and modeling steps of a sewage treatment plant will be pursued. Finally, some recommendations are done in the conclusion section.

Efficacy of Nyagrodh Twak Lepa in Honey bee sting: In-vivo study

Introduction- As Acharya Charaka has explained the local application of Kshirivruksha Twak to cure all types of keeta visha, hence Nyagrodh (Ficus benghalensis L.) Twak Lepa with water as base is selected as Trial drug on Apis Cerana Indica bee sting poisoning. Material and Methods- An in-vivo study on albino mice to know the efficacy of trial drug has been planned after animal ethical clearance. 18 albino mice were prorated into three groups with 6 animals in each group viz. Control group, Trial drug (Nyagrodh Twak Lepa Churna) group and Standard drug (Beclomethasone Dipropionate 0.025% w/w) group. 6 stings were given to each mice and 3 stings were removed after sting operation. All mice were observed for allergic reactions viz. erythema, scaling, fissures, oedema and mortality for a period of 7 days. Histo-pathological changes were also noted after completion of study. Statistical analysis was done using Paired t test. Results- Results revealed that Trial drug had worked more efficiently on Erythema and Oedema while Standard drug worked more efficiently on Scaling and Fissure. Histo-pathology showed that wound healed with Nyagrodh twak lepa and Standard drug have shown almost similar changes while wound in control group showed extensive areas of necrosis. Conclusion- Present study suggests that both Nyagrodh and Beclomethasone can be used in Honey bee sting poisoning but as Nyagrodh being a religious tree can be easily identified by a common man, it can be employed as preliminary treatment for the same before reaching hospital.

Evaluation of the Response of Odontogenic Keratocysts to Tube Decompression: A Clinical and Radiographic Study

Background and Objectives: Keratocyst is the most aggressive entity of odontogenic cysts with a high tendency to recure after enucleation. This study was conducted to assess the effect of decompression in inducing cyst shrinkage before enucleation. Materials and Methods: A prospective non-randomized study was conducted on 11 patients with odontogenic keratocyst the department of maxillofacial surgery, university-affiliated teaching hospital, between February 2016 to March 2021. There were 8 males and 3 females, with a mean age of 57 years. Tube decompression was conducted as a preliminary treatment, before enucleation. The size of the cyst was measured on orthopantomograph, before, during, and after decompression. The percentage of reduction was calculated, as well as, the correlation of cyst regression with the initial size of the lesion and age of the patient. Results: The mean duration time of decompression was 208 days (152-316). The pre- and post-decompression size of the cysts was 14.51 cm2 (5.63 cm2 -32.37 cm2) and 6.69 cm2 (1.76 cm2-14.81 cm2), respectively. The total and monthly percentage of reduction in the size of the cysts was 54.39% (37.29%-76.37%) and 7.84% (4.45%-11.27%), respectively. The initial size of the lesion has no significant correlation with the percentage of reduction, whereas the age of the patients showed a significant negative correlation with the percentage of reduction. Conclusion: Decompression is a well-tolerated conservative treatment, which leads to marked reduction in cyst dimensions. It induces shrinkage of the cyst away from anatomical structures, to reduce the morbidity associated with subsequent surgical treatment.

NanoMIP-Based Solid Phase Extraction of Fluoroquinolones from Human Urine: A Proof-of-Concept Study

NanoMIPs that are prepared by solid phase synthesis have proven to be very versatile, but to date only limited attention has been paid to their use in solid phase extraction. Thus, since nanoMIPs show close similarities, in terms of binding behavior, to antibodies, it seems relevant to verify if it is possible to use them as mimics of the natural antibodies that are used in immunoextraction methods. As a proof-of-concept, we considered prepared nanoMIPs against fluoroquinolone ciprofloxacin. Several nanoMIPs were prepared in water with polymerization mixtures of different compositions. The polymer with the highest affinity towards ciprofloxacin was then grafted onto a solid support and used to set up a solid phase extraction–HPLC method with fluorescence detection, for the determination of fluoroquinolones in human urine. The method resulted in successful selection for the fluoroquinolone antibiotics, such that the nanoMIPs were suitable for direct extraction of the antibiotics from the urine samples at the µg mL−1 level. They required no preliminary treatment, except for a 1 + 9 (v/v) dilution with a buffer of pH 4.5 and they had good analyte recovery rates; up to 85% with precision in the range of 3 to 4.5%, without interference from the matrix. These experimental results demonstrate, for the first time, the feasibility of the use of nanoMIPs to develop solid phase extraction methods.

New methods of cleaning soil from heavy metals

The purpose of the work was to study new methods of cleaning soil from heavy metals. In this work, it was proposed to extract heavy metals Cd, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Pb from soils using the method of biological purification. For this, we recommended to carry out preliminary treatment of soils with complexones and to carry out additional introduction of biophilic elements into complex compounds. The possibility of using electromechanical treatment for removing heavy metals from soils after a preliminary increase in the mobility of ions by acidification and the use of complexation reactions is shown. The experiments were carried out on the plants of sowing oat Avena sativa L. variety Yakov when grown in laboratory conditions on sod-podzolic soil with the introduction of soluble salts of heavy metals into the soil. It was noted that the largest amount of heavy metals is concentrated in the root system of plants. When growing oats in the field, the concentration of metals in the grain was assessed: Mn - 30-35 ppm, Fe - 55-65 ppm, Cu - 4-5 ppm, Zn - 30-35 ppm, Cd, Pb < 3 ppm.

Phytoremediation of emulsion paint wastewater using Azolla Pinnata, Eichhornia Crassipes and Lemna Minor

The use of three macrophytes namely Azolla pinnata, Eichhornia crassipes and Lemna minor for the phytoremediation of emulsion paint wastewater was investigated. Samples of the paint wastewater and test plants were collected and analyzed for physicochemical characteristics and heavy metal concentrations before and after phytoremediation for six weeks. The TDS of the treated wastewater was reduced by over 80.0% by each of the test plants while the TSS increased as a result of debris from withered test plants. Dissolved oxygen reduction ranged from 12.5% to 50.0%, COD from 49.5% to 57.1%, BOD from 46.7% to 54.7, heavy metals from 11.0 to 92.5%. A. pinnata appears to have performed significantly better (P < 0.05) than the other plants followed by E. crassipies and L. minor. It can be concluded that the test plants (especially A. pinnata) can be effectively used for the preliminary treatment of paint wastewater.

Nutrient removal efficiency using microalgae in different photoperiod cycles, combined with constructed wetland in a wastewater treatment plant

This research evaluates the removal of nutrients by microalgae in different photoperiod cycles, combined with constructed wetland in the wastewater treatment plant of the University of Santa Cruz do Sul, RS, Brazil. The treatment used took place between July and December 2018 and consisted of the following steps: preliminary treatment, secondary treatment with an anaerobic reactor, microalgae tank (MT), sand filter and constructed wetland, using the macrophyte Chrysopogon zizanioides. In the microalgae tank, three light cycles were considered: 12h/12h, 24h and 18h/06h, whose lighting was powered by a white LED lamp of 9 Watts and 6000 Kelvin, regulated by a light controller. The results indicated that there were no significant differences (p>0.05) between the values of soluble phosphorus, ammoniacal nitrogen, COD and BOD for MT comparing the three photoperiod cycles (12h/12h, 24h and 18h/06h). However, the system setup removed 100% of total coliforms, E. coli and TSS in the three light cycles. Regarding the removal of nutrients and organic matter, the light cycle with the best performance was the 24-hour cycle, considering a removal of 67.6% for soluble phosphorus, 94.0% for ammoniacal nitrogen, 63.7% for COD and 42, 7% for BOD, at the end of the treatment process. These results demonstrate that the use of microalgae in combination with constructed wetland has greater efficiency in the removal of nutrients, mainly phosphorus and nitrogen, in addition to reducing physical-chemical parameters and eliminating effluent toxicity. Keywords: light cycles, microalgae tank, wastewater treatment plant.