A novel process for the removal of aniline from wastewaters.

The aim of this research was to develop a solid regenerable catalytic adsorbent capable of removing aniline from aqueous solutions. A H-Beta zeolite was first loaded with copper in an ion-exchange process to enhance its catalytic activity. Experimental results indicated an aniline adsorption level of approximately 106-114 mg g(-1) for each of the unmodified H-Beta, the 0.5% (w/w) Cu-Beta or the 1.4 % (w/w) Cu-Beta zeolites. The adsorption processes followed the Langmuir model and the level of aniline adsorbed was largely unaffected by a change in temperature. Assessment of the aqueous stability of the exchanged copper on the Beta zeolites indicated minimum copper leaching in the range pH 5-11 thus providing a stable working pH range for both the 0.5% (w/w) and 1.4% (w/w) Cu-Beta adsorbent materials. Catalytic oxidation studies on the adsorbed aniline indicated that the presence of copper in the zeolites significantly enhanced the degradation of aniline to predominantly carbon dioxide, water and nitrogen. Five successive adsorption/catalytic oxidation cycles did not diminish the aniline adsorption capacity of the copper loaded zeolites but there was a small loss in the efficacy of the catalytic oxidation of the adsorbed aniline by the end of the 5th cycle.

The potential for constructed wetlands to treat alkaline bauxite-residue leachate: Phragmites australis growth.

High alkalinity (pH > 12) of bauxite-residue leachates presents challenges for the long-term storage and managements of the residue. Recent evidence has highlighted the potential for constructed wetlands to effectively buffer the alkalinity, but there is limited evidence on the potential for wetland plants to establish and grow in soils inundated with residue leachate. A pot-based trial was conducted to investigate the potential for Phragmites australis to establish and grow in substrate treated with residue leachate over a pH range of 8.6-11.1. The trial ran for 3 months, after which plant growth and biomass were determined. Concentrations of soluble and exchangeable trace elements in the soil substrate and also in the aboveground and belowground biomass were determined. Residue leachate pH did not affect plant biomass or microbial biomass. With the exception of Na, there was no effect on exchangeable trace elements in the substrate; however, increases in soluble metals (As, Cd and Na) were observed with increasing leachate concentration. Furthermore, increases in Al, As and V were observed in belowground biomass and for Cd and Cr in aboveground biomass. Concentrations within the vegetation biomass were less than critical phytotoxic levels. Results demonstrate the ability for P. australis to grow in bauxite-residue leachate-inundated growth media without adverse effects.

Economic and health efficiency of education funding policy.

Public spending programmes to reduce poverty, expand primary education and improve the economic status of women are recommended priorities of aid agencies and are now gradually being reflected in third world governments' policies, in response to aid conditions imposed by the World Bank and OECD countries. However outcomes fall short of aspiration. This paper shows that donors' lending policies, especially those restricting public spending on education to the primary level, (1) perpetuate poverty, (2) minimise socio-economic impact of public health programmes and (3) prevent significant improvement in the economic status of women. These effects are the result of fundamental flaws in donors' education policy model. Evidence is presented to show that health status in developing countries will be significantly enhanced by increasing the proportion of the population which has at least post-primary education. Heads of households with just primary education have much the same probability of experiencing poverty and high mortality of their children as those with no education at all. Aid donors' policies, which require governments of developing countries to limit public funding of education to the primary level, have their roots in what is contended here to be an erroneous interpretation of human capital theory. This interpretation focuses only on the declining marginal internal rates of return on public investments in successive levels of schooling and ignores the opposite message of the increasing marginal net present values of those investments. Cars do not travel fastest in their lowest gear despite its fastest acceleration, life's long journey is not most comfortable for those with only primary schooling.

Enhancing surgical nurses' patient education: development and evaluation of an intervention.

This research tested whether staff nurses could provide enhanced patient education and whether increases in education improved surgical patient outcomes. A protocol for patient education was developed from earlier research. Then a multifocal intervention was implemented to motivate and teach staff nurses and to increase structural support for patient education. Following the intervention, patients reported receiving more preoperative information and psychosocial support, but not skills training. These increases occurred without measurable opportunity costs in other areas of nurses' work and generalized to nontargeted patient groups. Concomitantly, patients experienced shortened postoperative hospital stays and decreased use of anti-emetics/sedatives and hypnotics, demonstrating the clinical effectiveness of the increased education.

Building a research agenda: responding to the needs of Community and Migrant Health Centers.

This article summarizes the results of an invitational conference designed to establish a research agenda for collaborative projects involving university-based health services researchers and staff (administrative and clinical) from Community and Migrant Health Centers (C/MHCs). More research related to C/MHCs needs to be developed, preferably by collaborative teams of researchers and C/MHC personnel. Specific research ideas are summarized, and five more detailed research proposals are presented. This is an especially important area that needs work, given the changes taking place in health care finance and the impacts of those changes on C/MHCs.

Asymptomatic penile lesions.

Lichen planus is a papulosquamous eruption of unknown cause that at times can involve only the glans penis and therefore be clinically confusing. We recently evaluated two middle-aged men with annular lichen planus on the glans penis who presented for evaluation of possible infectious/venereal disease.

Opening doors to the needy. An archdiocese coordinates a physician referral network.

The availability and accessibility of healthcare to those unable to pay is deteriorating rapidly. One place this is clearly apparent is in our nation's capital, where extremes of poverty and wealth abound. In an effort to improve access to healthcare for the poor, homeless, and medically indigent in the Washington, DC, area, the Washington Archdiocese Health Care Network (AHCN) was formed in 1984 under the leadership of Card. James A. Hickey. The AHCN is a coordinating agency that refers people in need to physicians, physical therapy and rehabilitation services, and dentists who have agreed to volunteer their services to this vulnerable population. The formation, operation, and continuation of the AHCN are performed by five members of one steering committee on behalf of the hundreds of volunteers who make it work daily.

Tuberculosis in goats on a farm in Ireland: epidemiological investigation and control.

This paper describes an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium bovis in a dairy goat herd on a farm in Ireland, where 66.3 per cent of the herd tested positive to the single intradermal comparative tuberculin test (SICTT) at initial detection. An epidemiological investigation was conducted to determine the origin of the outbreak, considering issues such as animal movements and herd management practices. Infection was introduced with a consignment of goats, as determined by the variable number tandem repeat profile. Infection was eradicated using a test and cull programme involving the SICTT, the interferon-γ assay and a multiplex immunoassay (Enferplex TB).