Evaluación de la Cassia fistula como coagulante natural en el tratamiento primario de aguas residuales / Assessment of natural coagulant Cassia fistula in the primary treatment of wastewater / Avaliação da fístula Cassia como coagulante natural no tratamento primário das águas residuais

Resumen Diferentes compuestos naturales extraídos de plantas se han usado para el tratamiento de aguas residuales por muchos siglos. Estos en su gran mayoría derivan de semillas, hojas, cortezas o savia, raíces y frutos de árboles y plantas. En este trabajo se evaluó la utilización del polvo de la semilla de la Cassia fístula como coagulante natural en el tratamiento primario de aguas residuales domésticas, estableciendo su dosis óptima mediante la prueba de jarras y determinando los parámetros fisicoquímicos de DBO5, DQO, conductividad, color, turbidez, alcalinidad total, y dureza total. Se utilizó como muestra de estudio agua residual doméstica tomada de una estación de bombeo de la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias (Colombia). Se encontró una dosis óptima del coagulante natural comprendida entre 15-25 mg/L, obteniendo valores finales de 30.25 NTU en la turbidez y 84 UC de color respectivamente. Los valores de pH y alcalinidad total no presentaron mayores variaciones. Los valores de los parámetros turbidez y color, al igual que el pH, alcalinidad total y dureza total se corresponden con los reportados por diferentes autores para este tipo de agua, lo cual demuestra que la C. fistula es un coagulante natural, prometedor y eficaz para la sustitución de coagulantes inorgánicos en el proceso de coagulación de aguas residuales.

Abstract Different natural compounds extracted from plants have been used for the treatment of wastewater for many centuries. These mostly derived from seeds, leaves, bark or sap, roots and fruits of trees and plants. In this paper the use of seed powder Cassia fistula as a natural coagulant was studied. Establishing optimum dose by jar testing and determining the parameters of DBO5, DQO, conductivity, color, turbidity, total alkalinity and total hardness; using wastewater pumping station of the city of Cartagena de Indias (Colombia). Natural optimal coagulant dose between 15-25 mg/L is found. Obtaining final values of 30.25 NTU turbidity and 84 color UC´s respectively. The values of pH and total alkalinity no major variations. The values of the turbidity and color parameters like pH, total alkalinity and total hardness corresponding with those reported by different authors, which shows that C. fistula is a natural, promising and effective coagulant for the substitution of inorganic coagulants in the process of coagulation of wastewater.

Resumo Diferentes compostos naturais extraídos de plantas foram utilizados para o tratamento de águas residuais durante muitos séculos. Estes em sua grande maioria derivam de sementes, folhas, cascas ou seiva, raízes e frutos de árvores e plantas. Neste documento, a utilização de pó de sementes de Cassia fístula como um coagulante natural no tratamento primário de águas residuais domésticas foi avaliada estabelecendo a dose óptima mediante o teste de frasco determinando os parâmetros físico-químicos de CBO5, DQO, condutividade, cor, turbidez, alcalinidade total e dureza total. Foi utilizada como amostra de estudo água residual doméstica retirada de uma estação de bombeamento na cidade de Cartagena de Índias (Colômbia. Foi encontrada uma dose ótima do coagulante natural compreendido entre 15-25 mg / L, obtendo valores finais de 30,25 NTU na turbidez e 84 UC de cor, respectivamente. O pH e a alcalinidade total não mostraram maiores variações. Os valores da turbidez e a cor, como o pH, alcalinidade total e dureza total de parâmetros correspondem aos relatados por outros autores para a água, o que mostra que a C. fístula é um coagulante natural, promissora e eficiente para a substituição de coagulantes inorgânicos no processo de floculação de águas residuais.

Metabolic power and cardiovascular response of a low cadence-high height bench stepping exercise in healthy young people.

AIM: The aim of this paper was to study the feasibility of bench stepping at a low cadence as a safe exercise that can provide enough cardiovascular fitness that be performed by any person. METHODS: Thirty-three men and twenty-one young women (age =23±3 yrs; weight =70±13 kg; height 170±9 cm) participated in this study. Each one held a continuous 20 minute (4 stages /5 min each) bench stepping workout session with two different step heights (31 and 41 cm) and two different intensities (60 and 90 steps∙min-1). Body weight (bw), total & trochanteric height, heart rate (HR, beats∙min-1), rated perceived exertion (RPE) and O2 consumption (VO2) were recorded. RESULTS: From the 1st through the 4th stage, the vertical distance (VD, m), RPE, HR and VO2 values were 4.6-9.23 m, 2.5-6.7, 118-168 beats∙min-1 and 20.8-34.0 ml∙kg-1∙min-1, respectively. The best regression model to calculate the O2 consumption (VO2) was: VO2 (L∙min-1) =-1.264+0.026∙bw (kg)+0.195∙VD (m). VD, bw, and gender determined, independently, the changes of caloric expenditure (R2=0.92). CONCLUSION: The energy expenditure of a low cadence stepping exercise (15-22 cycles∙min-1) at 31-41 cm bench height, is enough to improve aerobic fitness which in turn may benefit cardiovascular health.

Active telephone surveillance to evaluate adverse events among civilian smallpox vaccine recipients.

OBJECTIVE: Better characterize and monitor adverse events following Dryvax vaccinia vaccination in civilian health care workers and other first responders. DESIGN: Telephone interviews to ascertain adverse events experienced. RESULTS: Eight hundred twenty-five vaccinees, including 44 in the comparison group, were interviewed. At 10 days, 71.4% reported blisters, 35.1% reported bumps at the vaccination site, 48.5% swelling, 47.3% scab, tiredness/lethargy/fatigue (43.6%), headache (34.2%), lymph node swelling/tenderness (28.5%), muscle pain (23.1%), chills (14.4%), joint pain 11.8%, and fever >100 degrees F (12.5%). The 12.5% reported missing work because of vaccine adverse events. Most adverse events were anticipated and of short duration.

Determinants of female and male condom use among immigrant women of Central American descent.

This study was designed to determine factors that influence female and male condom use among Central American women, applying the theory of planned behavior. A cross-sectional design was employed and a sample of 175 Central American women, 18-50 years old, was recruited from a community-based clinic in Los Angeles County. Participants in this study were interviewed face-to-face. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control explained 41% and 45% of the variation in the intention to use male and female condoms, respectively. Respondents' friends and mothers influenced their subjective norms. Beliefs regarding sexual sensation and sexually transmitted infection/pregnancy prevention affected respondents' attitudes toward condoms. Trust issues were also a major factor affecting attitudes toward female condoms. Condom use and sex negotiation skills predicted control over condoms. Results of this study can be used to design HIV/AIDS prevention programs that help women feel control over condom use and their sexual behavior.

Insulin modulates PC-1 processing and recruitment in cultured human cells.

We evaluated whether insulin signaling modulates plasma cell glycoprotein (PC-1) plasma membrane recruitment, posttranslational processing, and gene expression in human cultured cell lines. Insulin induced a fourfold increase (P < 0.01) of membrane PC-1 expression by rapid and sensitive mechanism(s). This effect was reduced (P < 0.05-0.01) by inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (200 nmol/l wortmannin) and S6 kinase (50 nmol/l rapamycin) activities and intracellular trafficking (50 micromol/l monensin) and was not accompanied by PC-1 gene expression changes. Moreover, at Western blot, insulin elicited the appearance, in both plasma membrane and cytosol, of a PC-1-related 146-kDa band (in addition to bands of 163, 117, 106, and 97 kDa observed also in absence of insulin) that was sensitive to endoglycosidase H. Finally, inhibition of PC-1 translocation to plasma membrane, by wortmannin pretreatment, increases insulin-stimulated receptor autophosphorylation. Our data indicate that insulin stimulates PC-1 posttranslational processing and translocation to the plasma membrane, which in turn impairs insulin receptor signaling. Bidirectional cross talk between insulin and PC-1, therefore, takes place, which may be part of the hormone self-desensitization mechanism.

Evidence of an immunologic mechanism behind the therapeutical effects of arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) on myeloma cells.

Exposure of RPMI 8226, Karpas 707 and U266 human myeloma-like lines to low doses of As(2)O(3) was followed by a marked increase in lymphokine activated killers (LAK)-mediated killing and up- modulation of CD38 and CD54, two molecules involved in cell-cell interactions. Moreover, simultaneous exposure of effectors and targets to As(2)O(3) yielded the most effective condition for lysis. The expression of CD31 (CD38 ligand) and CD11a (CD54 ligand) was also up-regulated by LAK, suggesting that increased adhesion was responsible for the improved killing. Similar results were obtained using freshly isolated myeloma cells. These findings indicate that As(2)O(3) may be useful to boost the immune system against myelomas.

Retinoids in breast cancer prevention and treatment. A review of the literature.

During the last three decades, research focused on cancer treatment has led to the development of many cytotoxic agents. Despite the fact that these efforts have significantly improved the prognosis of certain malignancies such as some lymphomas, leukemias and testicular carcinomas, other tumors such as ovarian, lung and metastatic breast cancer are still associated with a poor prognosis. An innovative approach has recently emerged, thanks to a better understanding of tumor cell biology and many efforts are aimed at finding compounds capable of restoring a more differentiated phenotype to tumor cells, thereby reducing the tumor's aggressiveness and ultimately reverting it to its normal counterpart [1, 2]. Retinoids are the prototype of this new therapeutical approach called "differentiation therapy".

Uterine malformations and pregnancy losses: is cervical cerclage effective?

For many years, we and others have reported the efficacy of cervical cerclage in the prevention of miscarriage in patients with uterine malformations. In this paper the experience of 275 cases collected between 1978 and 1998 is reported. Our data indicate that cervical cerclage is effective in preventing miscarriages, prevalently in those pregnancies bearing uterine malformations with simultaneous cervical incompetence.

Hormonal modulation of GM-CSF receptor alpha-chain in in vitro models of endometrial cancer.

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a cytokine that stimulates the proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow progenitors. Moreover, the presence and activity of GM-CSF and its receptor (GM-CSF-r) has been documented on tissues and cell lines of a non-hemopoietic origin. In this paper we studied the expression and putative role of GM-CSF and GM-CSF-r in endometrial cancer. The modulation of GM-CSF-r alpha-chain upon progesterone treatment suggests a role for GM-CSF and its receptor in the pathogenesis and development of endometrial cancer.

All-trans retinoic acid inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells by up-regulating ICAM-1 expression.

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is currently used in clinical trials for breast cancer, in virtue of its ability to inhibit cell growth and to promote cell differentiation. Elucidation of the molecular mechanism(s) underlying the pleiotropic pharmacological activity of ATRA is of fundamental relevance for an effective use of the compound in clinics. This paper reports on the effects of ATRA treatment on the cell surface expression of a panel of adhesion molecules known to regulate the interactions between the effectors of the immune system and tumor targets. Results indicate that breast cancer (BC) cell lines exposed to ATRA selectively up-modulate the surface expression of ICAM-1/CD54, a molecule regulating cell/cell contacts. Such effect could be reproduced in all the BC cell lines analyzed, independently of their hormone receptor status, indicating that estrogens and progesterone are irrelevant in this process. The regulatory effects on ICAM-1 expression are time- and dose-dependent and reversible. Moreover, other differentiating and proliferating agents comparatively tested, e.g. dimethyl sulfoxide, estradiol or dexamethas one, are ineffective, indicating that ICAM-1 up-modulation is uniquely featured by ATRA. A second observation is that ATRA treated cells are, only apparently, less sensitive to lysis by lymphocytes activated by IL-2, as determined by means of a standard 51Cr release assay. In fact, notwithstanding this effect, a marked reduction in the ability to form colonies was highlighted in ATRA treated versus control lines after incubation with LAK. Finally, the clonogenic killing effect could be reversed using anti-CD54 mAbs as blocking tools, indicating that ICAM-1 plays a key role in the phenomena.