Clay-starch combination for micropollutants removal from wastewater treatment plant effluent.

In this study, a new, more effective and cost-effective treatment alternative is investigated for the removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater treatment plant effluent (WWTP-eff). The potential of combining clay with biodegradable polymeric flocculants is further highlighted. Flocculation is viewed as the best method to get the optimum outcome from clay. In addition, flocculation with cationic starch increases the biodegradability and cost of the treatment. Clay is naturally abundantly available and relatively inexpensive compared to conventional adsorbents. Experimental studies were carried out with existing naturally occurring pharmaceutical concentrations found and measured in WWTP-eff with atrazine spiking for comparison between the demineralised water and WWTP-eff matrix. Around 70% of the total measured pharmaceutical compounds were removable by the clay-starch combination. The effect of clay with and without starch addition was also highlighted.

Characteristics of developed granules containing selected decolourising bacteria for the degradation of textile wastewater.

Textile wastewater, one of the most polluted industrial effluents, generally contains substantial amount of dyes and chemicals that will cause increase in the COD, colour and toxicity of receiving water bodies if not properly treated. Current treatment methods include chemical and biological processes; the efficiency of the biological treatment method however, remains uncertain since the discharged effluent is still highly coloured. In this study, granules consisting mixed culture of decolourising bacteria were developed and the physical and morphological characteristics were determined. After the sixth week of development, the granules were 3-10 mm in diameter, having good settling property with settling velocity of 70 m/h, sludge volume index (SVI) of 90 to 130 mL/g, integrity coefficient of 3.7, and density of 66 g/l. Their abilities to treat sterilised raw textile wastewater were evaluated based on the removal efficiencies of COD (initial ranging from 200 to 3,000 mg/L), colour (initial ranging from 450 to 2000 ADMI) of sterilised raw textile wastewater with pH from 6.8 to 9.4. Using a sequential anaerobic-aerobic treatment cycle with hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 24 h, maximum removal of colour and COD achieved was 90% and 80%, respectively.

Bordetella holmesii sp. nov., a new gram-negative species associated with septicemia.

CDC nonoxidizer group 2 (NO-2) currently consists of 15 gram-negative, rod-shaped, oxidase-negative, asaccharolytic, brown soluble pigment-producing strains isolated from blood cultures, usually from young adults. On the basis of their cellular fatty acid profiles, NO-2 strains formed a single group that was identical with the profile of Bordetella avium. 16S rRNA sequencing of one NO-2 strain and the type strains of B. pertussis, B. parapertussis, B. bronchiseptica, and B. avium showed a high degree of homology (> or = 98% over 1,525 bases). The NO-2 guanine-plus-cytosine content (61.5 to 62.3 mol%) and major ubiquinone analysis (ubiquinone-8) results were both consistent with those for the genus Bordetella. DNA relatedness studies (hydroxyapatite method) confirmed a close relatedness between NO-2 and Bordetella species and demonstrated that NO-2 strains were a single new species. The name B. holmesii sp. nov. is proposed for CDC group NO-2.

A community study of gynecological and related morbidities in rural Egypt.

This study assesses the prevalence of gynecological and related morbidity conditions in a rural Egyptian community. A medical examination was conducted on a sample of 509 ever-married, nonpregnant women. For gynecological morbidities, genital prolapse was diagnosed in 56 percent, reproductive tract infections in 52 percent, and abnormal cervical cell changes in 11 percent of the women. For related morbidities, anemia was present in 63 percent of the women, followed by obesity (43 percent), hypertension (18 percent), and urinary tract infection (14 percent). Regression analysis of risk factors demonstrated the contribution of social conditions and medical factors to these diseases. Reproductive tract infections were shown to occur more frequently with uterovaginal prolapse, IUD use, presence of husband (regular sexual activity), and unhygienic behavior. Genital prolapse increased with age and number of deliveries. Age, recent pregnancy, education, socioeconomic class, and workload showed significant associations with related morbidity conditions. This evidence challenges national health programs to go beyond safe motherhood, child survival, and family planning in its services to women, and to consider the social context of health as well.

PIP: The prevalence of gynecological and related morbidity in a rural Egyptian community was assessed as part of the Program of Research and Technical Consultation in Family Resources. Child Survival, and Reproductive Health. A medical examination was conducted on a sample of 509 ever-married, nonpregnant women from November 1989 to July 1990. A logistic regression using Generalized Linear Interactive Modeling was performed for each type of morbidity. For gynecological morbidities, genital prolapse was diagnosed in 56%, reproductive tract infections in 52%, and abnormal cervical cell changes in 11% of the women. For related morbidities, anemia was present in 63% of the women, followed by obesity (43%), hypertension (19%), and urinary tract infection (14%). Most of the women were suffering from at least 1 morbidity, with only 3% free of all the morbidity conditions considered. Gynecological morbidity, together with urinary tract infection and syphilis, showed that 35% of the women had 1 morbidity, 34% had 2, and 17% had 3 or more morbidities. Regression analysis of risk factors demonstrated that social conditions and medical factors contributed to these diseases. Reproductive tract infections occurred more frequently with uterovaginal prolapse, IUD use, presence of husband (regular sexual activity), and unhygienic behavior. Genital prolapse increased with age and number of deliveries. Age, recent pregnancy, education, socioeconomic class, and workload revealed significant associations with related morbidity conditions. The risk of anemia was significantly related to age and to a pregnancy within the previous 2 years. With every increase of 1 year of age, the risk of hypertension increased by 9%. For every increase of 1 year of age, the risk of obesity increased by 7%. Women with the highest level of education had a 3 times greater risk of urinary tract infection than did uneducated women, while women of low-middle socioeconomic status had almost 4 times the risk of women in the lowest class.