Removal of Erythrosine B dye from water effluents using crop waste pumpkin seed hulls as adsorbent

Erythrosine B is widely used for coloring in various applications, especially in the food industry, despite its already proved toxicity and carcinogenicity. The agrowaste pumpkin seed hulls were applied as potential adsorbent for the removal of Erythrosine from aqueous solutions. Adsorption mechanism and kinetics were analyzed for design purposes. The seed hulls were characterized by specific techniques before and after dye retention. It was found that the attachment of Erythrosine B molecules on adsorbent surface may be attributed to the interactions between carboxyl and/or carbonyl groups of both dye and agrowaste wall components. A univariate approach followed by a factorial design was applied to study and analyze the experimental results as well as to estimate the combined effects of the process factors on the removal efficiency and dye uptake. Adsorption mechanism may be predominantly due to intraparticle diffusion, dependent on pore size. The four equilibrium models applied fitted the data well; the maximum adsorption capacity for Erythrosine was 16.4 mg/g. The results showed that adsorbent is effective for Erythrosine B removal for a large concentration range in aqueous solutions (5400 mg/L) in batch systems.

Grasses and legumes as cover crop in no-tillage system in northeastern Pará Brazil

Studies to select one or more species of coverage plants adapted to Amazonian soil and climate conditions of the Amazon are a promising strategy for the improvement of environmental quality, establishing no-till agricultural systems, and thereby reducing the impacts of monoculture farming. The aim of this study was to assess the persistence time, half-life time, macronutrient content and accumulation, and C:N ratio of straw coverage in a Ultisol in northeastern Pará. Experimental design was randomized blocks with five treatments and five replicates. Plants were harvested after 105 days, growth and biomass production was quantified. After 84 days, soil coverage was 97, 85, 52, 50, and 15% for signalgrass (Brachiaria brizantha) (syn. Urochloa), dense crowngrass (Panicum purpurascens), jack bean (Canavalia ensiformes), pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum) and sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea,), respectively. Signalgrass yielded the greatest dry matter production (9,696 kg ha-1). It also had high C:N ratio (38.4), long half-life (86.5 days) and a high persistence in the field. Jack bean also showed high dry matter production (8,950 kg ha-1), but it had low C:N ratio (17.4) and lower half-life time (39 days) than the grasses. These attributes indicate that signalgrass and jack bean have a high potential for use as cover plants in no-till agricultural systems in the State of Pará.

Recent brazilian experience on farmer reaction and crop response to fertilizer use

(1) In the period 1965/77 fertilizer consumption in Brazil increased nearly fifteen foild from circa 200,000 tons of N + P2O5 + K2O to 3 million tons. During the fifteen years extending from 1950 to 1964 usage of the primary macronutrients was raised by a factor of 2 only. (2) Several explanations are given for the remarkable increase, namely: an experimental background which supplied data for recommendations of rates, time and type of application; a convenient governmental policy for minimum prices and rural credit; capacity of the industry to meet the demand of the fertilizer market; an adequate mechanism for the diffusion of the practice of fertilizer use to the farmer. (3) The extension work, which has caused a permanent change in the aptitude towards fertilization, was carried out in the traditional way by salesmen supported by a technical staff, as well as by agronomists of the official services. (4) Two new programs were started and conducted in a rather short time, both putting emphasis on the relatively new technology of fertilizer use. (5) The first program, conducted in the Southern part of the country, extended lab and green house work supplemented by a few field trials to small land owners - the so called "operação tatú" (operation armadillo). (6) The seconde program, covering a larger problem area in the Northeast and in Central Brazil, began directly in field as thousands of demonstrations and simple experiments with the participation of local people whose involvement was essential for the success of the initiative; in this case the official extension services, both foreign and national sources of funds, and universities did participate under the leadership of the Brazilian Association for the Diffusion of Fertilizers (ANDA). (7) It is felt that the Brazilian experience gained thereof could be useful to other countries under similar conditions.

Effects of population density on cauliflower crop (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis)

An experiment was carried out to study the effects of the following population densities cauliflowers (plants per ha): 20,833 (0.60 m x 0.80 m), 25,641 (0.60 m x 0.65 m), ....37.037 (0.60 m x 0.45 m) , 55.555 (.0.60 m x 0.30 m), and 111,111 (0,60 m x 0,15 m) ; variety Snow ball. It was concluded that the effects of plant population density are greater on curd quality (weight and size) than on production per ha. The best plant population density to produce cauliflowers curd for Brazil market is from 20,000 to 25,000 plants/ha while for mini-curd is above 55,000 plants/ha.

Doses and methods of distribution of potassium chloride on soybean crop (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) in a red latosol, affecting soil salinity, grain production and chemical composition of leaves

The present work deal t wi th an experiment under field conditions and a laboratory test of soil incubation the objectives were as follows: a. to study effects on soybean grain product ion and leaf composition of increasing doses of potassium chloride applied into the soil through two methods of distribution; b. to observe chemical modifications in the soils incubated with increasing doses of potassium chloride; and, c. to correlate field effects with chemical alterations observed in the incubation test, The field experiment was carried out in a Red Latosol (Haplustox) with soybean cultivar UFV - 1. Potassium chloride was distributed through two methods: banded (5 cm below and 5 cm aside of the seed line) and broadcasted and plowed-down. Doses used were: 0; 50; 100 and 200 kg/ha of K2O. Foliar samples were taken at flowering stage. Incubation test were made in plastic bags with 2 kg of air dried fine soil, taken from the arable layer of the field experiment, with the following doses of KC1 p,a. : 0; 50; 100; 200; 400; 800; 1,600; 3.200; 6,400 and 12,800 kg/ha of K(2)0. In the conditions observed during the present work, results allowed the following conclusions: A response by soybean grain production for doses of potassium chloride, applied in both ways, banded or broadcasted, was not observed. Leaf analysis did not show treatment influence over the leaf contents for N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and CI, Potassium chloride salinity effects in both methods of distribution for all the tested closes were not observed.

Effects of planting density on flower production in carnation crop

The influence of density of planting on flower production of carnation plants grown in vinil houses, was studied. Planting densities of 233,333; 175,000 and 116,667 plants per hectare were obtained by using planting spacings of 0.20 m between rows and 0.15 m, 0,20 m and 0.30 m between plants. Data were taken on total number of flowers per plant and per hectare. As far as planting densities are concerned, there was an increase of total flower production per hectare and a decrease of slower production per plant.

Sequencing games without initial order

In this note we study uncertainty sequencing situations, i.e., 1-machine sequencing situations in which no initial order is specified. We associate cooperative games with these sequencing situations, study their core, and provide links with the classic sequencing games introduced by Curiel et al. (1989). Moreover, we propose and characterize two simple cost allocation rules for uncertainty sequencing situations with equal processing times.

Sequencing lifeline repairs after an earthquake: an economic approach

Recoveries after recent earthquakes in the U.S. and Japan have shown that large welfare gains can be achieved by reshaping current emergency plans as incentive-compatible contracts. We apply tools from the mechanisms design literature to show ways to integrate economic incentives into the management of natural disasters and discuss issues related to the application to seismic event recovery. The focus is on restoring lifeline services such as the water, gas, transportation, and electric power networks. We put forward decisional procedures that an uninformed planner could employ to set repair priorities and help to coordinate lifeline firms in the post-earthquake reconstruction.

On games corresponding to sequencing situations with precedence relations

In this paper we study a class of cooperative sequencing games that arise from one-machine sequencing situations in which chain precedence relations are imposed on the jobs. It is shown that these sequencing games are convex.

Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing, genotyping error estimation and de novo assembly optimization for population genetic inference.

Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) provides researchers with the ability to record genetic polymorphism across thousands of loci for nonmodel organisms, potentially revolutionizing the field of molecular ecology. However, as with other genotyping methods, RADseq is prone to a number of sources of error that may have consequential effects for population genetic inferences, and these have received only limited attention in terms of the estimation and reporting of genotyping error rates. Here we use individual sample replicates, under the expectation of identical genotypes, to quantify genotyping error in the absence of a reference genome. We then use sample replicates to (i) optimize de novo assembly parameters within the program Stacks, by minimizing error and maximizing the retrieval of informative loci; and (ii) quantify error rates for loci, alleles and single-nucleotide polymorphisms. As an empirical example, we use a double-digest RAD data set of a nonmodel plant species, Berberis alpina, collected from high-altitude mountains in Mexico.

Modeling sequencing errors by combining Hidden Markov models.

Among the largest resources for biological sequence data is the large amount of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) available in public and proprietary databases. ESTs provide information on transcripts but for technical reasons they often contain sequencing errors. Therefore, when analyzing EST sequences computationally, such errors must be taken into account. Earlier attempts to model error prone coding regions have shown good performance in detecting and predicting these while correcting sequencing errors using codon usage frequencies. In the research presented here, we improve the detection of translation start and stop sites by integrating a more complex mRNA model with codon usage bias based error correction into one hidden Markov model (HMM), thus generalizing this error correction approach to more complex HMMs. We show that our method maintains the performance in detecting coding sequences.

An atlas of human gene expression from massively parallel signature sequencing (MPSS).

We have used massively parallel signature sequencing (MPSS) to sample the transcriptomes of 32 normal human tissues to an unprecedented depth, thus documenting the patterns of expression of almost 20,000 genes with high sensitivity and specificity. The data confirm the widely held belief that differences in gene expression between cell and tissue types are largely determined by transcripts derived from a limited number of tissue-specific genes, rather than by combinations of more promiscuously expressed genes. Expression of a little more than half of all known human genes seems to account for both the common requirements and the specific functions of the tissues sampled. A classification of tissues based on patterns of gene expression largely reproduces classifications based on anatomical and biochemical properties. The unbiased sampling of the human transcriptome achieved by MPSS supports the idea that most human genes have been mapped, if not functionally characterized. This data set should prove useful for the identification of tissue-specific genes, for the study of global changes induced by pathological conditions, and for the definition of a minimal set of genes necessary for basic cell maintenance. The data are available on the Web at http://mpss.licr.org and http://sgb.lynxgen.com.

Exome sequencing extends the phenotypic spectrum for ABHD12 mutations: from syndromic to nonsyndromic retinal degeneration.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the genetic causes underlying autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP) and to describe the associated phenotype. DESIGN: Case series. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred forty-seven unrelated families affected by arRP and 33 unrelated families affected by retinitis pigmentosa (RP) plus noncongenital and progressive hearing loss, ataxia, or both, respectively. METHODS: A whole exome sequencing (WES) analysis was performed in 2 families segregating arRP. A mutational screening was performed in 378 additional unrelated families for the exon-intron boundaries of the ABHD12 gene. To establish a genotype-phenotype correlation, individuals who were homozygous or compound heterozygotes of mutations in ABHD12 underwent exhaustive clinical examinations by ophthalmologists, neurologists, and otologists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: DNA sequence variants, best-corrected visual acuity, visual field assessments, electroretinogram responses, magnetic resonance imaging, and audiography. RESULTS: After a WES analysis, we identified 4 new mutations (p.Arg107Glufs*8, p.Trp159*, p.Arg186Pro, and p.Thr202Ile) in ABHD12 in 2 families (RP-1292 and W08-1833) previously diagnosed with nonsyndromic arRP, which cosegregated with the disease among the family members. Another homozygous mutation (p.His372Gln) was detected in 1 affected individual (RP-1487) from a cohort of 378 unrelated arRP and syndromic RP patients. After exhaustive clinical examinations by neurologists and otologists, the 4 affected members of the RP-1292 had no polyneuropathy or ataxia, and the sensorineural hearing loss and cataract were attributed to age or the normal course of the RP, whereas the affected members of the families W08-1833 and RP-1487 showed clearly symptoms associated with polyneuropathy, hearing loss, cerebellar ataxia, RP, and early-onset cataract (PHARC) syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: Null mutations in the ABHD12 gene lead to PHARC syndrome, a neurodegenerative disease including polyneuropathy, hearing loss, cerebellar ataxia, RP, and early-onset cataract. Our study allowed us to report 5 new mutations in ABHD12. This is the first time missense mutations have been described for this gene. Furthermore, these findings are expanding the spectrum of phenotypes associated with ABHD12 mutations ranging from PHARC syndrome to a nonsyndromic form of retinal degeneration.