Textile dye removal by natural clay--case study of Fouchana Tunisian clay.

A significant amount of unused dyes remain in textile industry wastewater, the treatment of which presents a great challenge, particularly in semi-arid countries where water resources are of great concern. Liquid-phase adsorption is highly efficient for the removal of dyes and adsorbents, for example, activated carbons are used to treat wastewater, but are expensive. Clays are cheaper and several works have showed their high pollutant adsorption capacity in cases of environmental problems. The aim of this work is to present the use of clay as a means of textile wastewater treatment and colour adsorption. The adsorbent used in this study is natural clay from the Fouchana region (Tunisia), which contains 60% smectites, 30% kaolinite and 10% illite, in which the cation-exchange capacity is about 50 meq/ 100 g of clay. Two types of waters were treated: one from a leaching textile industry and another from a dyeing industry. Moreover the treatment by clay was compared to the treatment by a coagulation flocculation standard method. The experimental results show that the treatment by natural clay is more efficient than the conventional treatment by coagulation flocculation. It allowed decolorization of the dye effluent and a decrease down to 97% for biochemical demand for oxygen, 93% for suspended matter, 95% for chemical demand for oxygen and 76% for the spectral absorption coefficient. Thus, the quality of dye wastewater has reached the Tunisian standards of releases (NT 106.02 and 106.03, 1989), and as such it makes it possible to test wastewater at the industrial scale.

[The narrow lumbar canal. Study of a surgical series of 139 cases]. / Canaux lombaires étroits. Etude d'une série opératoire de 139 cas.

Over a period of 9 years, 139 patients with a mean age of 61 years were operated upon for disorders due to narrow lumbar vertebral canal. Clinical expression varied: lumbago, movement sciatica, intermittent claudication... Importance must be attached to discordance of examination findings in apparently benign root pain (67% of cases). The two key examinations of radiologic investigation are radiculography and a CT scan. Treatment is surgical, generally by a two-stage wide laminectomy combined with abrasion of an articular facet (64%), excision of osteophytic pads (35%) and/or treatment for a soft herniated disc (26%). Recovery was obtained in 35% of cases and pronounced improvement in 49% (84% of very good and good results) as evaluated by patients and surgeons.

[Epidermoid cysts of the cranial vault in children. Apropos of 6 cases]. / Les kystes épidermoïdes de la voûte crânienne chez l'enfant. A propos de 6 cas.

Six observations of epidermoid cysts of the cranial vault in children are reported. The main clinical sign is a cranial tumefaction; the radiological data consist in an edged osseous gap; the surgical extraction of this evolutional tumor is indicated.

[Proposal for a numerical prognostic evaluation in intracerebral hematoma]. / Proposition pour une évaluation pronostique chiffrée dans l'hématome intra-cérébral.

From 300 cases of spontaneous intracerebral hematomas, 5 parameters are extracted they are: Age, sex, level of consciousness, localisation of hematomas and risk factors. A value, varying from 1 to 5 is attributed to each parameter, the sum of values give a score for each patient. This score allows the clinician to predict, within the early 48 hours, the vital prognosis. Survival chances are: 80% if score between 5 and 8; 60% if score between 9 and 13; 40% if score between 14 and 17; 20% if score equal or superior to 18.

[Semiology of spinal meningiomas and neurinomas (author's transl)]. / Approche sémiologique des méningiomes et neurinomes rachidiens.

The last 60 patient who underwent surgery for neurinoma or meningioma of the spine provide the basis for this report. One-fourth of all cases of spinal cord compression are due to meningioma or neurinoma. Attention is drawn to the characteristic clinical features of these tumors, particularly their time-course, since diagnosis if often delayed. The sooner diagnosis is established, the better postoperative recovery will be, especially in elderly patients (60% of cases). Results of operative treatment are presented.

[Cystic dilatations of the subarachnoid space at the lumbo-sacral level. Clinical and therapeutic aspects]. / Dilatations kystiques de l'espace sous-arachnoïdien à l'étage lombo-sarcré Aspects cliniques et thérapeutiques.

The cystic dilation of the sub-arachnoidal space individualised by Tarlov in 1938, may be integrated in the diagnosis of non discal surgical sciatica. The classification proposed by Lazorthes sumes up the eventualities encountered at the lombo-sacral level. The clinical study of five personal observations and the analysis of literature enable the establishment of a clinical picture evoking the anomaly. It would appear that the affection is characterised by lumbago or lumbo-sciatica, the attacks separated by free intervals. In an acute period the algia lessens in the Trendelenbourg position. A significant sign would be the pain on moving the sacrum. Among the complementary examination the radiographic study of the sacrum with tomographies is indisplusable, the diagnosis is based on the radiography of spinal nerve roots with late time in a vertical position. Medico-surgical treatment is in order, it gives a favorable result when surgical criteria have respected: invalidating evolutive algia with or without a clear sign of deficiency. The surgical result is essentially conditioned by a strict indication.

[Non discal surgical sciatic neuralgia (author's transl)]. / Les sciatiques chirurgicales non discales.

Non discal sciatic neuralgia accounts for 5 per cent of all cases of surgical sciatica. They are divided into four groups: central sciatica very seldom, cordal and root sciatica more common and truncal sciatica. These sciatica are dominated by atypical clinical features: atypical provoking factor, atypical character, atypical topography and therapy. A good x-rays study is necessary involving myelography, angiography of the spine etc., but discography and lumbar phlebography are not useful. A rapid review of aetiologies shows that they cover a wide area and that therapy must be debated for each case.

[Radio-anatomical study of the main trunk of the middle cerebral artery (author's transl)]. / Etude radio-anatomique du segment basal de l'artère sylvienne.

This work corroborates anatomical data well known since G. Lazorthes about the main trunk of the middle cerebral artery. The data are interesting in various fields: Sylvian aneurysms, big sphenoïd ridge meningiomas, extra-intra cranial micro neurosurgical anastomoses. This work is based upon 280 angiographic pictures, 20 dissections of brain arteries and 12 plastic injections of the brain arterial vascular tree. The most important data to point out are variations of length and of division (no division, simple bifurcation, trifurcation or multiple divisions), variability in the central arteries and some rare anomalies like accessory middle cerebral arteries and duplication.