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In this work, mixing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), chitosan (CS) and polyaniline (PANI) to prepare composite nanofibers with improved adsorption capacity using electrospinning technique has been studied, Thereby overcoming the difficulty of producing PANI nanofibers. The morphologies of the prepared nanocomposites were fully examined by SEM, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements. Results indicated that the blended PVA/CS/PANI-based nanofibers exhibited better size morphology with smaller diameter than (PVA/PANI) and pure polyaniline. Batch experiments were conducted using the prepared (PVA/PANI/CS) composite to study its affinity for dye decolorization. Different factors affecting the adsorption process such as contact time, initial dye concentration, temperature and pH were optimized. The maximum percentage removal was found to be 96% at 300 rpm using adsorbent dose of 60 mg and temperature of 25°C and initial dye concentration 50 ppm. Also, the adsorption isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamics for the removal process were studied. The adsorption process followed Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-first order kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to the enhancement of Cu2+ ions removal from wastewaters and recovery of the metal value by cementation on a longitudinal finned rotating zinc cylinder. The effect of different parameters such as cylinder rotational speed (rpm), initial Cu2+ ions concentration and the effect of the fin height to cylinder diameter (e/d) on the rate of Cu2+ ions cementation was investigated. In addition, the effect of drag reducing polymer on the rate of Cu2+ cementation was examined. The rate of cementation was expressed in terms of the mass transfer coefficient. The results revealed that the mass transfer coefficient increases with increasing rpm, initial Cu2+ concentration and e/d ratio. The present results show that finned rotating cylinder enhances rate of cementation compared to smooth rotating cylinder by percentage ranges from 28.79 to 134.85 depending on the operating conditions. On the other hand, the presence of drag reducing polymer retards the rate of cementation. The present data fit the following dimensionless equations: For smooth cylinder: Sh = 0.74 Re0.69 Sc0.33. For finned rotating cylinder: Sh = 0.38 Re0.9 Sc0.33 (e/d) 0.25. The importance of the above correlations in the design and operation of industrial-scale rotating cylinders cementation reactors was pointed out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The immune system protects the host against pathogenic organisms and acts to ensure tolerance to self, to food and environmental components. Bovine milk, micronutrients and many nutrients beneficially affect the host immunity. Bovine milk has many components that improve the body immune functions. In addition, a significant mass of research now exists investigating the role of probiotic and prebiotic in ameliorating immunity during various intestinal diseases. Vitamins and minerals boost immunity. Micronutrient deficiency suppresses immune function by affecting the innate T-cell mediated immune response and adoptive antibody response. Moreover essential fatty acids, and some amino acids have numerous important influences on immune responses. Besides, glutathione and nucleotides are important components of immunonutrient mixes. Also, in this article, an overview of how nutrient-nutrient interaction may affect host immunity, was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main concern of this study is to test the ability of some fungi isolated from Sinai Peninsula carbonaceous shales to perform microbial leaching of rare earth elements (REEs) from these rocks. Two methods of REEs bioleaching were tested using both direct (active) and indirect (passive) processes. Direct bioleaching process of carbonaceous shale samples was found to be more effective than indirect process for all tested microorganisms. Bioleaching efficiency of REEs using different fungal strains increases with decreasing REEs concentrations when their growth rate decreases. Strains of Aspergillus (A. niger and A. flavus) were found to be the most efficient organisms. The maximum extraction yield of total REEs was 86% at 7days incubation time, 1% pulp density, and 30 °C incubation temperature. A. niger and A. flavus exhibit good potential in generating a variety of organic acids (citric and oxalic) effective for REEs solubilization. Citric and oxalic acids contents produced by A. niger was higher than by A. flavus interpreting higher REEs bioleaching efficiency of A. niger than A. flavus. From properly prepared pregnant bio-leach liquor, the leached REEs were recovered in the form of REEs oxalate product using classical chemical technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tissue factor (TF) is a membranous glycoprotein that activates the coagulation system when blood vessels or tissues are damaged. TF was up-regulated in monocrotaline (MCT)/lipopolysaccharide (LPS) hepatotoxicity model. The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that TF-dependent fibrin deposition occurs in liver toxicity induced by CCl4 in mice. Pericentral deposition of TF and fibrin is induced after CCl4-induced liver toxicity. The toxicity was evaluated by determination of serum activities of ALT, AST and ALP as well as GSH content and histopathological changes. The results showed that injection of mice with TF-antisense deoxyoligonucleotide (TF-AS) prevented the accumulation of TF and fibrin in the hepatic tissues. Furthermore, it significantly restored blood biochemical parameters, GSH content and distorted histopathological features caused by CCl4. The current study demonstrates that TF activation is associated with CCl4-induced liver injury. Furthermore, administration of TF-AS successfully prevented this type of liver injury., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)