Development of Resin Membranes as a Sensitive Indicator of Heavy Metal Toxicity in the Soil Environment

Abstract

Ion exchange resins in contact with soil can act as a sink for metal cations, thereby simulate the action of plant roots. Ion exchange resins in membrane form offer additional advantages in ease of use and handling. A procedure was developed to assess the bioavailability of four heavy metals Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb via direct in soil burial. A growth chamber experiment with three representative crops (oats, radish and lettuce) was set up to determine the phytotoxic levels of the four heavy metals. The critical levels varied widely from crop to crop, and soil to soil. Lettuce was most sensitive to high concentration of metals. The toxic effects are more pronounced on sandier textured soils.     

Ensuring robustness in the quality of antibiotic susceptibility test discs for four novel antibiotics

Antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) discs are used as an in-vitro diagnostic tool to select the appropriate antibiotic to treat an infection. Generally, the concentration of the drug loaded on to the AST discs is measured by studying its activity against quality control organisms. This methodology has several limitations—it is time consuming, requires trained manpower, has a wider acceptance criteria of zone of inhibitions—causing ambiguity in judging smaller variations in drug concentration. To overcome these issues, we have developed and validated high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods for the determination of strength of AST discs for in-house researched antibiotics, namely Levonadifloxacin/WCK 771, Nafithromycin/WCK 4873, Cefepime-Tazobactam/WCK 4282, and Cefepime-Zidebactam/WCK 5222. The drugs were extracted from the AST discs using an appropriate solvent. The developed methods are simple, accurate, precise, reproducible, rugged, and robust. They are efficient in terms of time, and can be easily conducted in a quality control laboratory during release as well as stability evaluation of AST disc. Application of HPLC methods for the determination of strength of AST discs ensures flawless quality and, consequently, a better selection of drugs to treat bacterial infections in clinics.     

甘蓝夜蛾信息素类似物的设计合成及初步活性研究

甘蓝夜蛾隶属鳞翅目夜蛾科,主要危害甘蓝、西兰花、萝卜等十字花科蔬菜。与传统的化学农药防治相比,昆虫信息素防治具有专一性强、灵敏度高、绿色环保、同时不会误伤天敌等优点。但天然信息素易降解、持效期短,长期单一使用会诱导昆虫产生抗性等问题。针对这些问题,本文设计并合成了4种结构新颖的信息素类似物:反-11-十六碳烯-3-氯丙酸酯(G1)、反-11-十六碳烯-2-溴丙酸酯(G2)、11,12-二氟十六烷基-1-醇(G3)、11,12-二氟十六烷基乙酸酯(G4),并表征了其结构。通过触角电生理试验(EAG)初步测试了G1~G4的室内生物活性。     

Facile Synthesis of Manganese Tellurite Nanoparticles for Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Photothermal Therapy

In this study, manganese tellurite (MnTeO₃) nanoparticles are developed as theranostic agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided photothermal therapy of tumor. MnTeO₃ nanoparticles are synthesized via a simple one-step method. The as-synthesized MnTeO₃ nanoparticles with uniform size show good biocompatibility. In particular, MnTeO₃ nanoparticles exhibit a high photothermal conversion efficiency (η = 26.3%), which is higher than that of gold nanorods. Moreover, MnTeO₃ nanoparticles also have high MRI performance. The longitudinal relaxivity (r₁) value of MnTeO₃ nanoparticles is determined to be 8.08 ± 0.2 mm ⁻¹ s⁻¹, which is higher than that of clinically approved T₁-contrast agents Gd-DTPA (4.49 ± 0.1 mm ⁻¹ s⁻¹). The subsequent MnTeO₃ nanoparticles-mediated photothermal therapy displays a highly efficient ablation of tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo with negligible toxicity. It is demonstrated that MnTeO₃ nanoparticles can serve as promising theranostic agents with great potentials for MRI-guided photothermal therapy.     

Periodic,breather and rogue wave solutions for a generalized (3+1)-dimensional variable-coefficient B-type Kadomtsev–Petviashvili equation in fluid dynamics

Under investigation in this paper is a generalized (3+1)-dimensional variable-coefficient B-type Kadomtsev–Petviashvili equation, which describes the propagation of nonlinear waves in fluid dynamics. Periodic wave solutions are constructed by virtue of the Hirota–Riemann method. Based on the extended homoclinic test approach, breather and rogue wave solutions are obtained. Moreover, through the symbolic computation, the relationship between the one-periodic wave solutions and one-soliton solutions has been analytically discussed, and it is shown that the one-periodic wave solutions approach the one-soliton solutions when the amplitude $\eta \to 0$.     

The Acceleration Severity Index in the impact of a vehicle against permanent road equipment support structures

The acceleration Severity Index (ASI), described in European Standard EN12767 (The passive safety of support structures for road equipment. Requirements, classification and the test method) is regarded as the most important indicator of impact on the occupants. The requirements for experiments are described, having in mind that the results depend on many factors. One of them is the selection of a vehicle to be used in the crash test. To perform numerical vehicle crash simulation, the finite-element models of permanent road equipment support structures were developed using the LS Dyna software available. To examine the response of the vehicle upon the impact, the acceleration severity index curves were calculated and visualised in Matlab.     

Structural response of high solidity net cage models in uniform flow

Hydrodynamic loads acting on a fish farm may be affected by the growth of different biofouling organisms, mainly due to increased solidity of the nets. In this paper, the hydrodynamic loads acting on high solidity net cage models subjected to high uniform flow velocities and the corresponding deformation of the net cages are studied. Model tests of net cylinders with various solidities were performed in a flume tank with a simulated current. Standard Morison-type numerical analyses were performed based on the model tests, and their capability of simulating the occurring loads and the observed net cage deformations for different flow velocities was evaluated.Large deformations of the net cage models were observed, and at high velocities the deformations were close to what is physically possible. Net cage deformation appeared to be less dependent on solidity than on flow velocity and weights. Drag forces increased with increasing flow velocity and were dependent on both bottom weights and netting solidity. For the lowest solidity net, drag forces were close to proportional to flow velocity. For the three high solidity nets, the measured drag forces were of similar magnitude, and drag increased less with increasing flow velocity above approximately 0.5 m/s than at lower velocities.This study shows that a basic reduced velocity model is not sufficient to model the interaction between the fluid flow and net (hydroelasticity) for high solidity net cages subjected to high flow velocities.The standard numerical analysis was in general able to make good predictions of the net shape, and was capable of making an acceptable estimate of hydrodynamic loads acting on the lowest solidity net model (Sn=0.19). For high solidities and large deformations, numerical tools should account for changes in water flow and the global drag coefficient of the net.     

基于油藏实际的稠油层内水热催化裂解机理研究

开展了稠油层内水热催化裂解技术在胜利油田的先导实验,五口井平均周期单井增油653 t,稠油初期降黏率达79.8%,措施14周后降黏率仍大于62%。利用Brookfield DV-Ⅲ黏度计、ElementarVario EL III元素分析仪、Knauer K-700蒸气压渗透仪、Agilent 6890N气相色谱仪和EQUINOX 55傅里叶变换红外光谱仪等,对措施前后稠油的物化性质进行分析。结果表明,层内水热催化裂解后稠油黏度及平均分子量减小、轻烃含量增加、重质组分含量减少、氢碳原子比增加、杂原子含量减小。稠油层内裂解反应受催化剂体系、高温水及储层矿物因素控制,催化剂是促进稠油裂解的主要因素,供氢剂及分散剂等助剂有助于提高裂解效果,高温水的酸碱性质及储层矿物对稠油具有催化裂解作用。多因素协同作用下使稠油发生脱侧链、分子链异构、断链、加氢、开环、成环、脱硫等系列反应,使得稠油大分子分解成小分子物质,降低了稠油黏度,改善了稠油品质,证实该技术在现场应用中具有可行性。