Extensive sorption of Amoxicillin by highly efficient carbon-based adsorbent from palm kernel: Artificial neural network modeling.

In the present study, a new sorbent was fabricated from Palm kernel (PK) by dry thermochemical activation with NaOH and characterized by FTIR, X-ray diffraction, FE-SEM and BET, which was used for the Amoxicillin (AMX) sorption from aqueous solution. The influence of effective parameters such as pH, reaction time, adsorbent dosage, AMX concentration and ionic strength on the sorption efficacy of AMX removal were evaluated. The main functional groups on the surface of the magnetic activated carbon of Palm Kernel (MA-PK) were C-C, C-O, C[bond, double bond]O and hydroxyl groups. The specific surface of char, activated carbon Palm Kernel (AC-PK) and MA-PK were 4.3, 1648.8 and 1852.4 m2/g, respectively. The highest sorption of AMX (400 mg/L) was obtained by using 1 g/L of sorbent at solution pH of 5 after 60 min contact time, which corresponding to 98.77%. Non-linear and linear models of isotherms and kinetics models were studied. The data fitted well with Hill isotherm (R2 = 0.987) and calculated maximum sorption capacity were 719.07 and 512.27 mg/g from Hill and Langmuir, respectively. A study of kinetics shows that the adsorption of AMX follows the Elovich model with R2 = 0.9998. Based on the artificial neural network (ANN) modeling, the MA-PK dosage and contact time showed the most important parameters in the removal of AMX with relative importance of 36.5 and 25.7%, respectively. Lastly, the fabricated MA-PK was successfully used to remove the AMX from hospital wastewater.

The concentration of the potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the muscle of fishes collected from Caspian Sea: A health risk assessment study.

In the present study, the concentration of (potentially toxic element) PTEs in the five fish species from the Caspian Sea (from five coastal areas) was measured and compared. The target hazard quotient (THQ) and total THQ (TTHQ) were calculated using Monte Carlo simulations to determine the non-carcinogenic risk in both children and adults consumers. The highest concentration of PTEs was associated with chromium (Cr) measured in Cyprinus carpio, sampled from Bandar Anzali (1.56 ± 0.14 µg/g dw), and the minimum PTEs level was nickel (Ni) in Vimba from Astara (0.02 ± 0.01 µg/g d w). The rank order for PTEs based on THQ was mercury (Hg) > cadmium (Cd) > lead (Pb)> Ni > tin (Sn) > Total Cr. For adults, the fishes rank order based on TTHQ was: Cyprinus carpio (3.268) > Chelon saliens (2.89) > Rutilus frisii kutum kanesky (2.28) > Oncorhynchus mykis (1.39) > Vimba (0.25); and for children was Cyprinus carpio (15.25) > Chelon saliens (13.47) > Rutilus frisii kutum kanesky (10.63) > Oncorhynchus mykis (6.48) > Vimba (1.16). Overall this study showed that the levels of PTEs in investigated fish species had a potential non-carcinogenic risk for both children and adults (TTHQ>1).

Evaluation of dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in fish of the Caspian Sea.

Dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) have toxic properties for humans. The innovation of this study was that for the first time in Iran, 12 DL-PCBs concentration in 5 fish species: Rutilus frisii kutum kanesky, Chelon saliens, Vimba vimba, Cyprinus carpio and Oncorhynchus mykiss, from 5 coastal areas of the Caspian Sea (125 samples), were investigated. DL-PCBs extraction was in accordance to USEPA method 1668 revision A and carry out by chromatography columns modified with silica gel. DL-PCBs concentration were measured by HRGC (Agilent 6890 Series, Agilent Technologies, USA) coupled with HRMS AutoSpec Ultima NT-HRGC/HRMS (Micromass, USA), equipped with the HP-5MS 30 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 µm column (Agilent Technologies) and helium as carrier gas. The mean concentration of DL-PCBs in samples ranged 232 ± 16-1156 ± 14 pg/g fat, that was in accordance with the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and European Standards. The highest concentration was in Cyprinus carpio of Bandar Anzali, and lowest obtained in samples from Chalous. However, based on fish consuming and fish originating from the fishing area the health risk evaluation to estimate the potential consequences of chronic exposure to DL-PCBs for consumers is recommended and effective measure for health risk reduction.

Comparing dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in most consumed fish species of the Caspian Sea.

Among polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs) are of the most concern for human health. In this study, the levels of 12 DL-PCBs congeners were measured in 125 fish samples of the Caspian Sea, Iran. Five fish species (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Vimba vimba, Cyprinus carpio, Rutilus frisii kutum and Chelon saliens) were collected from 5 coastal cities of the Caspian Sea (25 samples per each city). Duncan's multi-scope test was used to compare the mean of DL-PCBs in different fish species and different cities. Probabilistic risk of exposure to DL-PCBs and sensitivity analysis were assessed using Monte Carlo simulation approach. The average (standard deviation) of DL-PCBs in fish samples ranged from 232 (16) to 1156 (14) pg/g lipids. The total maximum concentration was detected in Cyprinus carpio from Bandar Anzali, the minimum in Vimba vimba from Chalos. In all samples, non-carcinogenic risk of exposure to DL-PCBs was in safe level (Hazard Quotient < 1). In contrast, the lifetime cancer risk estimated for Bandar Anzali, Bandar Torkaman, and Rasht exceeded the threshold value of 1 × 10-6 suggested by United States Environmental Protection Agency. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the concentration of DL-PCBs and exposure frequency were the most effective parameters in increasing carcinogenic risk.

Data on microbiological quality assessment of rural drinking water supplies in Tiran County, Isfahan province, Iran.

A lack of access to safe drinking water can lead to adverse health effects such as infection, disease, and undesirable aesthetic problems. The current study focused on the investigation of groundwater quality in Tiran's villages (Isfahan province, Iran). To determine essential microbiological quality, water samples were collected from 46 randomly-selected water wells during a one-year period. The parameters of pH and chlorine were measured on-site. Turbidity was measured at 420 nm using a DR5000 spectrophotometer. Microbiological tests including general thermoforms, Escherichia coli, and thermophiles were carried out according to the National Iranian Standard Method 3759. Data showed that 1.8% of the villages under study had contaminated water resources. The turbidity values for 94.5% of the resources were within recommended limits (<5NTU). In 20.6% of the samples, the residual free chlorine was in the range of 0 to 0.2 mg/L, 8.79% of samples had values greater than the recommended limits, and18.5% had no free residual chlorine.

Groundwater quality assessment for drinking and agriculture purposes in Abhar city, Iran.

The main objective of this study is to assess the quality of groundwater for drinking consume and agriculture purposes in abhar city. The analytical results shows higher concentration of electrical conductivity (100%), total hardness (66.7%), total dissolved solids (40%), magnesium (23%), Sulfate (13.3%) which indicates signs of deterioration as per WHO and Iranian standards for drinking consume. Agricultural index, in terms of the hardness index, 73.3% of the samples in hard water category and 73.3% in sodium content were classified as good. Therefore, the main problem in the agricultural sector was the total hardness Water was estimated. For the RSC index, all 100% of the samples were desirable. In the physicochemical parameters of drinking water, 100% of the samples were undesirable in terms of electrical conductivity and 100% of the samples were desirable for sodium and chlorine parameters. Therefore, the main water problem in Abhar is related to electrical conductivity and water total hardness.

Wastewater treatment for Amoxicillin removal using magnetic adsorbent synthesized by ultrasound process.

In this study, the effect of magnetic adsorbent prepared from Olive kernel (MA-OK) was studied in the Amoxicillin (AMX) removal. The synthesized adsorbent, under a sonochemical method, were characterized using Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The absorption functions in the batch experiments were studied using the expected parameters for the maximum absorption capacities (qm) such as pH, contact time, the dosage adsorbent, and the initial concentration of AMX. The residual amount of AMX were recorded after injection into the HPLC. The proportion of the mobile phase was methanol to water (40:60) at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. Adsorption experimental results indicated that the removal efficiency reaches its maximum using 0.5 g/L of the adsorbent, concentration of AMX (200 mg/L) at contact time of 90 min and pH of 6. The kinetics of the reaction and the adsorption isotherm could be well described by the pseudo-second order equation and the Langmuir adsorption isotherm with a regression coefficient of 0.9981 and 0.9979, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained from the Langmuir model was to be 238.1 mg/g. The ionic strength of the solution has no significant effect on increasing the AMX removal efficiency. Eventually, application of this adsorbent was successfully performed for removing AMX from aqueous and hospital wastewater solutions.

[4-Bromo-N-(pyridin-2-yl-methyl-idene)aniline-κ(2)N,N']iodido(triphenyl-phosphane-κP)copper(I).

In the title compound, [CuI(C(12)H(9)BrN(2))(C(18)H(15)P)], the Cu(I) ion is bonded to one I atom, one triphenyl-phosphane P atom and two N atoms of the diimine ligand in a distorted tetra-hedral geometry. The Schiff base acts as a chelating ligand and coordinates to the Cu(I) atom via two N atoms. In the diimine ligand, the dihedral angle between the pyridine and bromo-phenyl rings is 19.2 (2)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are connected by π-π stacking inter-actions between inversion-related pyridine rings [centroid-centroid distance = 3.404 (3) Å].