78 FR 38877 - Kraft Pulp Mills NSPS Review

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-28

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 60 [EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0640] FRL-9829-3 RIN 2060-AR64 Kraft Pulp Mills NSPS Review AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Proposed rule... comments on the May 23, 2013, proposed rule titled, ``Kraft Pulp Mills NSPS Review'' is being extended by...

Studies of lignin transformation in polyoxometalate (POM) bleaching of kraft pulp

Science.gov (United States)

Biljana Bujanovic; Richard S. Reiner; Kolby C. Hirth; Sally A. Ralph; Rajai H. Atalla

2005-01-01

In order to elucidate changes occurring in lignin during polyoxometalate delignification of kraft pulp, residual lignins of a series of POM- delignified kraft pulps of decreasing kappa number were isolated and characterized. Oxidative treatment of commercial unbleached kraft pulp was performed using complex POM solutions containing the active [SiVW11O40]anion. For...

Chemical characteristics and Kraft pulping of tension wood from Eucalyptus globulus labill Características químicas e polpação Kraft de madeira de tração de Eucalyptus globulus labill

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Graciela Aguayo

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Tension (TW and opposite wood (OW of Eucalyptus globulus trees were analyzed for its chemical characteristics and Kraft pulp production. Lignin content was 16% lower and contained 32% more syringyl units in TW than in OW. The increase in syringyl units favoured the formation of β-O-4 bonds that was also higher in TW than in OW (84% vs. 64%, respectively. The effect of these wood features was evaluated in the production of Kraft pulps from both types of wood. At kappa number 16, Kraft pulps obtained from TW demanded less active alkali in delignification and presented slightly higher or similar pulp yield than pulps made with OW. Fiber length, coarseness and intrinsic viscosity were also higher in tension than in opposite pulps. When pulps where refined to 30°SR, TW pulps needed 18% more revolutions in the PFI mill to achieve the same beating degree than OW pulps. Strength properties (tensile, tear and burst indexes were slightly higher or similar in tension as compared with opposite wood pulps. After an OD0(EOD1 bleaching sequence, both pulps achieved up to 89% ISO brightness. Bleached pulps from TW presented higher viscosity and low amount of hexenuronic acids than pulps from OW. Results showed that TW presented high xylans and low lignin content that caused a decrease in alkali consumption, increase pulp strength properties and similar bleaching performance as compared with pulps from OW.Madeira de tração e oposta de árvores de Eucalyptus globulus foram analisadas quanto a suas características químicas e produção de polpa Kraft. A caracterização química da madeira de tração (TW de Eucalyptus globulus Labill. mostrou um conteúdo similar de celulose, alto conteúdo de xilanas e baixo conteúdo de lignina quando comparada com a madeira oposta (OW de uma mesma árvore. O conteúdo de lignina foi 16% menor e contém 32% mais unidades siringila em TW que em OW. O aumento das unidades siringila favoreceu a formação de ligações �

Caracterização de compostos reduzidos de enxofre gerados na produção de celulose kraft e pré-hidrólise kraft.

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Afonso Moraes de Moura

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Um problema ambiental da indústria de celulose kraft é o odor causado pela emissão dos compostos reduzidos de enxofre gerados pela deslignificação de madeiras de um modo em geral. Para monitorar essas emissões, existem equipamentos simples, desenvolvidos para a medição contínua do "total reduced sulphur" (TRS, tal como o analisador coulométrico. Neste trabalho, foram analisados sulfeto de hidrogênio (H2S, metil mercaptana (CH3SH, dimetil sulfeto [(CH32S] e dimetil dissulfeto [(CH32S2], gerados em deslignificações laboratoriais kraft e pré-hidrólise kraft de dois grupos de madeiras de folhosas. Um dos grupos de madeiras continha 25% e o outro 20% de lignina, base peso seco. Foi observado que as madeiras com menores teores de lignina geraram significativamente menores quantidades de compostos reduzidos de enxofre de TRS. Não foram notadas diferenças significativas nas quantidades totais geradas entre os processos de deslignificação estudados. O processo pré-hidrólise kraft foi mais sensível aos teores de lignina da madeira que o processo kraft. Recomenda-se, por isso, trabalhar com madeiras com menores teores de lignina quando do uso do processo pré-hidrólise kraft para produção de celulose. As principais formas geradas de TRS foram dimetil sulfeto e metil mercaptana.

Ole Bjørn Kraft 1893-1980

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skov, Christian Houlberg

2010-01-01

Ole Bjørn Kraft (1893-1980) var en central konservativ politiker i årene før og efter anden verdenskrig. Han markerede sig som udpræget idépolitiker og opnåede ad flere omgange at blive minister.......Ole Bjørn Kraft (1893-1980) var en central konservativ politiker i årene før og efter anden verdenskrig. Han markerede sig som udpræget idépolitiker og opnåede ad flere omgange at blive minister....

Life cycle greenhouse gases and non-renewable energy benefits of kraft black liquor recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaudreault, Caroline; Malmberg, Barry; Upton, Brad; Miner, Reid

2012-01-01

The life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) and fossil fuel benefits of black liquor recovery are analyzed. These benefits are due to the production of energy that can be used in the pulping process or sold, and the recovery of the pulping chemicals that would otherwise need to be produced from other resources. The fossil GHG emissions and non-renewable energy consumption of using black liquor in the kraft recovery system are approximately 90% lower than those for a comparable fossil fuel-based system. Across all scenarios, the systems relying on black liquor solids achieve a median reduction of approximately 140 kg CO 2 eq./GJ of energy produced, compared to the systems relying on fossil fuels to provide the same energy and pulping chemical production functions. The benefits attributable to the recovery of pulping chemicals vary from 44% to 75% of the total benefit. Applied to the total production of kraft pulp in the U.S., the avoided emissions are equivalent to the total Scopes 1 and 2 emissions from the entire U.S. forest products industry. These results do not depend on the accounting method for biogenic carbon (because biogenic CO 2 emissions are the same for the systems compared) and the results are valid across a range of assumptions about the displaced fossil fuel, the GHG-intensity of the electricity grid, the fossil fuels used in the lime kiln, and the level of cogeneration at pulp and paper mills. The benefits occur without affecting the amount of wood harvested or the amount of chemical pulp produced. -- Highlights: ► Black liquor, a by-product of kraft pulping, represents about half of the energy used in the paper industry. ► The greenhouse gases (GHG) benefits of black liquor recovery compared to an equivalent fossil fuel system were analyzed. ► The GHG emissions of the black liquor system are approximately 90% lower than those for the fossil fuel system. ► The benefits from the recovery of the chemicals vary from 44% to 75% of the total benefit. �

Negotiation time table and realization timetable in the grid connection process according to KraftNAV; Verhandlungs- und Realisierungsfahrplan im Netzanschlussverfahren nach der KraftNAV

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buchmann, Felix [Sozietaet Alber Buchmann Stefan Rechtsanwaelte, Reutlingen (Germany)

2010-04-15

With the ordinance for the regulation of the grid connection from plants of power production (KraftNAV), the conditions of the grid connection were concretized by power station projects with a nominal output of at least 100 MW with an electrical potential of at least 110 kV. Under this aspect, the author of the contribution under consideration reports on the negotiation timetable and realization timetable in the grid connection procedure according to the KraftNAV. The following aspects are treated: Procedure for the grid connection according to KraftNAV in the overview; Promise of the connection and reservation fee; Negotiation timetable; Realization timetable; Requirement timetable; Duties to supply information.

Computational Systems Chemical Biology

OpenAIRE

Oprea, Tudor I.; May, Elebeoba E.; Leitão, Andrei; Tropsha, Alexander

2011-01-01

There is a critical need for improving the level of chemistry awareness in systems biology. The data and information related to modulation of genes and proteins by small molecules continue to accumulate at the same time as simulation tools in systems biology and whole body physiologically-based pharmacokinetics (PBPK) continue to evolve. We called this emerging area at the interface between chemical biology and systems biology systems chemical biology, SCB (Oprea et al., 2007).

Influence of bleaching technologies on the aerobic biodegradability of effluents from Eucalyptus kraft pulps factories

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Gladys Vidal

1999-01-01

Full Text Available Aerobic biodegradability of effluents from different Eucalyptus kraft pulp bleaching processes was studied. Bleaching effluents were obtained from: i Chlorine Bleaching (CB processes, with partial substitution of chlorine by chlorine dioxide and ii Total Chlorine Free (TCF processes. The overall biodegradability, in terms of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD was higher for TCF effluents (96-98% than for CB ones (82-93%. Taking into account the higher organic load of CB effluents, this fact implied a much higher residual COD for them (100-180 mg/L than for TCF effluents (10-30 mg/L. Furthermore, a refractory fraction of molecular weight higher than 43,000 Da was found in CB effluent, which implied the necessity of a further specific treatment. The toxicity was completely removed after the biological treatmentA biodegradabilidade aerobica das águas residuais provenientes de diferentes procesos de branqueos de pulpa kraft foi estudada. Os efluentes são gerados no branqueo com cloro ou parcialmente sustituido com dioxido de cloro (CB ou bem em processos livres do cloro (TCF. A biodegradabilidade, quantificada como DQO foi maior para as águas do processo CB. Tendo em conta o elevado conteúdo orgânico do efluente CB obteinse uma maior concentraç&ão do DQO final neste efluente comparado com o efluente TCF. Uma fracçao recalcitrante maior a 43,000 Da no effluente BC foi encontrada, isto significa um tratamento adicional específico para sua eliminaçã o. A toxicidade foi totalmente eliminada despois do tratamento aeração.

Combined chemical and biological treatment of recalcitrant ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

, indicating that ozone treatment improved the biodegradability of the kraft pulp wastewater. The dynamic behaviours of microbial growth and substrate consumption were investigated in the biodegradation of organic acids using activated ...

Integrative Chemical-Biological Read-Across Approach for Chemical Hazard Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Low, Yen; Sedykh, Alexander; Fourches, Denis; Golbraikh, Alexander; Whelan, Maurice; Rusyn, Ivan; Tropsha, Alexander

2013-01-01

Traditional read-across approaches typically rely on the chemical similarity principle to predict chemical toxicity; however, the accuracy of such predictions is often inadequate due to the underlying complex mechanisms of toxicity. Here we report on the development of a hazard classification and visualization method that draws upon both chemical structural similarity and comparisons of biological responses to chemicals measured in multiple short-term assays (”biological” similarity). The Chemical-Biological Read-Across (CBRA) approach infers each compound's toxicity from those of both chemical and biological analogs whose similarities are determined by the Tanimoto coefficient. Classification accuracy of CBRA was compared to that of classical RA and other methods using chemical descriptors alone, or in combination with biological data. Different types of adverse effects (hepatotoxicity, hepatocarcinogenicity, mutagenicity, and acute lethality) were classified using several biological data types (gene expression profiling and cytotoxicity screening). CBRA-based hazard classification exhibited consistently high external classification accuracy and applicability to diverse chemicals. Transparency of the CBRA approach is aided by the use of radial plots that show the relative contribution of analogous chemical and biological neighbors. Identification of both chemical and biological features that give rise to the high accuracy of CBRA-based toxicity prediction facilitates mechanistic interpretation of the models. PMID:23848138

Approaches to chemical synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiarabelli, Cristiano; Stano, Pasquale; Anella, Fabrizio; Carrara, Paolo; Luisi, Pier Luigi

2012-07-16

Synthetic biology is first represented in terms of two complementary aspects, the bio-engineering one, based on the genetic manipulation of extant microbial forms in order to obtain forms of life which do not exist in nature; and the chemical synthetic biology, an approach mostly based on chemical manipulation for the laboratory synthesis of biological structures that do not exist in nature. The paper is mostly devoted to shortly review chemical synthetic biology projects currently carried out in our laboratory. In particular, we describe: the minimal cell project, then the "Never Born Proteins" and lastly the Never Born RNAs. We describe and critically analyze the main results, emphasizing the possible relevance of chemical synthetic biology for the progress in basic science and biotechnology. Copyright © 2012 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Avaliação da madeira e da polpação kraft em clones de eucaliptos Wood evaluation and Kraft pulping in eucalypts clones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana de Fátima Gomes Gouvêa

2009-12-01

Full Text Available A produção de celulose de baixo custo e alta qualidade requer madeira adequada e bem selecionada. A seleção de clones superiores tem sido realizada com base em critérios como densidade básica, rendimento gravimétrico da polpação e composição química da madeira, especialmente de celulose, hemiceluloses, extrativos e ligninas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as características da madeira de Eucalyptus, por método destrutivo, e a produção de polpa celulósica kraft em seis clones. Utilizaram-se cinco árvores de cada clone, aos 3 anos de idade, plantadas em espaçamento 3,0 m x 3,3 m, nas regiões de Cocais, Guanhães, Rio Doce e Santa Bárbara, Estado de Minas Gerais. A densidade básica foi medida em discos extraídos a 1,3 m de altura do solo (DAP e em cavacos da árvore inteira (amostra composta. A composição química foi medida em amostras de serragem, retiradas no DAP. Os cozimentos foram efetuados a partir de cavacos da árvore inteira. Verificou-se que a densidade medida no DAP foi ligeiramente superior à medida nos cavacos da árvore toda. A composição química geral da madeira foi muito influenciada pelo tipo de clone, local de plantio e interação. Locais mais montanhosos produziram madeira com maior teor de celulose e menor de hemicelulose. A madeira do clone F da região de Santa Bárbara e Cocais apresentaram madeiras de qualidade inferior para produção de polpa celulósica. Os melhores rendimentos de polpação kraft foram alcançados com o clone B nas regiões de Guanhães e Santa Bárbara.Low cost and high quality cellulose production demands appropriate wood. The selection of superior clones has been done based on some criteria as basic density, gravimetric yield of pulping and wood chemical composition, especially of cellulose, hemicelluloses, extractive and lignin contents. This study aimed at evaluating the characteristics of the Eucalyptus wood, by destructive methods, and the Kraft pulping

Synthetic Biology for Specialty Chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Markham, Kelly A; Alper, Hal S

2015-01-01

In this review, we address recent advances in the field of synthetic biology and describe how those tools have been applied to produce a wide variety of chemicals in microorganisms. Here we classify the expansion of the synthetic biology toolbox into three different categories based on their primary function in strain engineering-for design, for construction, and for optimization. Next, focusing on recent years, we look at how chemicals have been produced using these new synthetic biology tools. Advances in producing fuels are briefly described, followed by a more thorough treatment of commodity chemicals, specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals. Throughout this review, an emphasis is placed on how synthetic biology tools are applied to strain engineering. Finally, we discuss organism and host strain diversity and provide a future outlook in the field.

Kraft cooking of gamma irradiated wood, (2)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inaba, Masamitsu; Meshitsuka, Gyosuke; Ishizu, Atsushi; Nakano, Junzo

1981-01-01

Pre-irradiation of wood in alkaline aqueous ethanol increases kraft pulp yield by up to 1.2%, as already reported. In order to clarify the mechanism of the pulp yield gain, the behaviors of lignin and carbohydrates during pre-irradiation and cooking were investigated. The results are summarized as follows: 1) γ-Irradiation of guaiacylethane in alkaline aqueous ethanol produced 5-(1-hydroxyethyl)-guaicylethane, which is formed by radical coupling between α-hydroxyethyl radical from ethanol and guaiacylethane radical having an unpaired electron at C-5. 5,5'-Dehydrodiguaiacylethane, which may be a predominant product produced by γ-irradiation in the absence of ethanol, was also detected. 2) The yield of vanillin obtained by nitrobenzene oxidation of MWL decreased with an increase of γ-ray dosage. The presence of ethanol during γ-irradiation lessened the extent of this decrease and also the degradation of cellobiose. 3) Gel filtration of the products obtained by γ-irradiation of MWL and cellobiose in the presence of 14 C-ethanol showed the possible combination between ethanol and MWL or cellobiose. 4) Molecular weight distributions of kraft lignin obtained from pre-irradiated beech chips were compared with those obtained from unirradiated chips. This result shows that γ-irradiation in the presence of ethanol decreases the ability of lignin to condense during kraft cooking. (author)

Study of lignin biotransformation by Aspergillus fumigatus and white-rot fungi using 14C-labeled and unlabeled kraft lignins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadam, K.K.; Drew, S.W.

1986-01-01

The biodegradation of lignin by fungi was studied in shake flasks using 14 C-labeled kraft lignin and in a deep-tank fermentor using unlabeled kraft lignin. Among the fungi screened, A. fumigatus - isolated in our laboratories - was most potent in lignin biotransformation. Dialysis-type fermentation, designed to study possible accumulation of low MW lignin-derived products, showed no such accumulation. Recalcitrant carbohydrates like microcrystalline cellulose supported higher lignolytic activity than easily metabolized carbohydrates like cellobiose. An assay developed to distinguish between CO 2 evolved from lignin and carbohydrate substrates demonstrated no stoichiometric correlation between the metabolism of the two cosubstrates. The submerged fermentations with unlabeled liqnin are difficult to monitor since chemical assays do not give accurate and true results. Lignolytic efficiencies that allowed monitoring of such fermentations were defined. Degraded lignins were clearly superior to C. versicolor in all aspects of lignin degradation; A fumigatus brought about substantial demethoxylation and dehydroxylation, whereas C. versicolor degraded lignins closely resembled undegraded kraft lignin. There was a good agreement among the different indices of lignin degradation, namely, 14 CO evolution, OCH 3 loss, OH loss, and monomer and dimer yield after permanganate oxidation

ChemProt: a disease chemical biology database

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taboureau, Olivier; Nielsen, Sonny Kim; Audouze, Karine Marie Laure

2011-01-01

Systems pharmacology is an emergent area that studies drug action across multiple scales of complexity, from molecular and cellular to tissue and organism levels. There is a critical need to develop network-based approaches to integrate the growing body of chemical biology knowledge with network...... biology. Here, we report ChemProt, a disease chemical biology database, which is based on a compilation of multiple chemical-protein annotation resources, as well as disease-associated protein-protein interactions (PPIs). We assembled more than 700 000 unique chemicals with biological annotation for 30...... evaluation of environmental chemicals, natural products and approved drugs, as well as the selection of new compounds based on their activity profile against most known biological targets, including those related to adverse drug events. Results from the disease chemical biology database associate citalopram...

Innovations in Undergraduate Chemical Biology Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dyke, Aaron R; Gatazka, Daniel H; Hanania, Mariah M

2018-01-19

Chemical biology derives intellectual vitality from its scientific interface: applying chemical strategies and perspectives to biological questions. There is a growing need for chemical biologists to synergistically integrate their research programs with their educational activities to become holistic teacher-scholars. This review examines how course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are an innovative method to achieve this integration. Because CUREs are course-based, the review first offers strategies for creating a student-centered learning environment, which can improve students' outcomes. Exemplars of CUREs in chemical biology are then presented and organized to illustrate the five defining characteristics of CUREs: significance, scientific practices, discovery, collaboration, and iteration. Finally, strategies to overcome common barriers in CUREs are considered as well as future innovations in chemical biology education.

Producing a True Lignin Depolymerase for Biobleaching Softwood Kraft Pulp

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simo Sarkanen

2002-02-04

This project constituted an intensive effort devoted to producing, from the white-rot fungus Tramets Cingulata, a lignin degrading enzyme (lignin depolymerase) that is directly able to biobleach or delignify softwood kraft pulp brownstock. To this end, the solutions in which T. cingulata was grown contained dissolved kraft lignin which fulfilled two functions; it behaved as a lignin deploymerase substrate and it also appeared to act as an inducer of enzyme expression. However, the lignin depolymerase isoenzymes (and other extracellular T. cingulata enzymes) interacted very strongly with both the kraft lignin components and the fungal hypae, so the isolating these proteins from the culture solutions proved to be unexpectedly difficult. Even after extensive experimentation with a variety of protein purification techniques, only one approach appeared to be capable of purifying lignin depolymerases to homogeneity. Unfortunately the procedure was extremely laborious; it involved the iso electric focusing of concentrated buffer-exchanged culture solutions followed by electro-elution of the desired protein bands from the appropriate polyacrylamide gel segments

Soda-anthraquinone, kraft and organosolv pulping of holm oak trimmings.

Science.gov (United States)

Alaejos, J; López, F; Eugenio, M E; Tapias, R

2006-11-01

The operating conditions for an organosolv (ethyleneglycol) and two alkaline (soda-anthraquinone and kraft) processes for obtaining cellulose pulp and paper from holm oak (Quercus ilex) wood trimmings were optimized. A range of variation for each process variable (viz. temperature, cooking time and soda or ethyleneglycol concentration) was established and a central composite experimental design involving three independent variables at three different variation levels was applied. The results obtained with the three cooking processes used were compared and those provided by the kraft process were found to be the best. Thus, the tensile index values it provided (5.9-16.3 N m/g) were 23.7% and 41.5% better than those obtained with the soda-AQ and ethyleneglycol processes, respectively. Also, the kraft process provided the best burst index, brightness and kappa number values. Based on the optimum working ranges, the temperature and cooking time were the variables resulting in the most and least marked changes, respectively, in pulp properties.

Inter-laboratory comparisons of hexenuronic acid measurements in kraft eucalyptus pulps using a UV-Vis spectroscopic method

Science.gov (United States)

J.Y. Zhu; H.F Zhou; Chai X.S.; Donna Johannes; Richard Pope; Cristina Valls; M. Blanca Roncero

2014-01-01

An inter-laboratory comparison of a UV-Vis spectroscopic method (TAPPI T 282 om-13 “Hexeneuronic acid content of chemical pulp”) for hexeneuronic acid measurements was conducted using three eucalyptus kraft pulps. The pulp samples were produced in a laboratory at kappa numbers of approximately 14, 20, and 35. The hexeneuronic acid contents of the three pulps were...

The effect of amphipilic lignin derivatives addition on enzymatic hydrolysis performance of kraft pulp from sorghum bagasse

Science.gov (United States)

Fatriasari, Widya; Nugroho Adi, D. T.; Laksana, R. P. B.; Fajriutami, T.; Raniya, R.; Ghozali, M.; Hermiati, E.

2018-03-01

Previously, the chemical characteristics of isolated lignin from Acacia mangium black liquor of kraft pulping was characterized. This lignin was blended with natural rubber latex (NR-L) as adhesive in laminated wood. In addition, lignin has potency for biosurfactant materials by modification of the hydrophobic into hydrophilic properties. Therefore, this study was intended to develop lignin as material for amphipilic lignin derivatives (A-LD) biosurfactant by reacting lignin with epoxilated polyethylene glicol (PEG). A-LD addition in slurries was used to improve the enzymatic hydrolysis (EH) of kraft pulp sweet bagasse sorghum (SSB). The main observation in EH performance was to investigate the effect of lignin isolation method (one and two step) in A-LD and A-LD loading addition on reducing sugar yield (RSY) of SSB kraft pulp. The pulp was hydrolyzed at 50°C and 150 rpm for 72 h with 10 FPU cellulase loading in the shaking incubator. A-LD from one (L1S) and two step (L2S) lignin was added with A-LD loading of 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10% (b/v). The RSY of hydrolyzate has been observed after EH. A-LDs addition in EH of SSB kraft pulp enhanced RSY. L1S worked better in reaction performance with PEDGE compared to L2S and LS. A better performance was showed by PEDGE 500 than that of PEDGE 6000. Generally, the higher A-LDs loading resulted higher RSY. The highest RSY (81.33%) was resulted in addition of 10% A-LD L1S using PEDGE 500. A 5% A-LD loading was more considered to be added in EH because the RSY was comparable with 10% A-LD loading.

Influence of the chemical composition on the combustion properties of kraft black liquor; Mustalipeaen koostumuksen vaikutus lipeaen poltto-ominaisuuksiin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alen, R; Siistonen, H; Malkavaara, P [Jyvaeskylae Univ. (Finland). Inst. of Chemistry

1997-10-01

The aim of this work is to study the combustion properties of kraft black liquors from modified cooking. Both the industrial and laboratory-made black liquors are included. In addition, changes in the combustion properties of the spent liquors obtained by mixing prior to combustion different chlorine-free bleach liquors with black liquor are studied. (orig.)

The impact of kappa number composition on eucalyptus kraft pulp bleachability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. M. Costa

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Consumption of chemicals during ECF bleaching of kraft pulp correlates reasonably well with kappa number, which measures with KMnO4 the total amount of oxidizable material in the pulp. However, the method does not distinguish between the oxidizable material in residual lignin and other structures susceptible to oxidation, such as hexenuronic acids (HexAs, extractives and carbonyl groups in the pulp. In this study an attempt is made to separate the main contributors to the kappa number in oxygen - delignified eucalyptus Kraft pulps and evaluate how these fractions behave during ECF bleaching using chlorine dioxide as the sole oxidant (DEDD sequence. Residual lignin and HexAs proved to be the main fractions contributing to the kappa number and chlorine dioxide consumption in ECF bleaching. Pulp bleachability with chlorine dioxide increases with increasing HexAs content of the pulp but chlorine dioxide per se does not react with HexAs. Reduction of pulp with sodium borohydride under conditions for removing carbonyl groups has no impact on bleachability. No correlation was found between the pulp of the extractive content and pulp bleachability. The removal of HexAs prior to ECF bleaching significantly decreases the formation of chlorinated organics in the pulp (OX and filtrates (AOX as well as of oxalic acids in the filtrates.

Yield-increasing additives in kraft pulping: Effect on carbohydrate retention, composition and handsheet properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vaaler, David Andre Grimsoeen

2008-07-01

In this thesis, increased hemicellulose retention during kraft pulping has been studied. The work has been divided into three parts: i) Development of an accessible and reliable method for determination of carbohydrate composition of kraft pulps ii) Investigation of the composition and molecular mass distributions of the carbohydrates in kraft pulps with increased hemicellulose content iii) Investigation of the effect of increased hemicellulose content on the sheet properties of kraft pulps with increased hemicellulose content. A method for carbohydrate determination was developed. In this method, enzymes are used to hydrolyse the pulp into monosaccharides. A relatively mild acid hydrolysis is performed prior to detection on an HPLC with an RI-detector. The pulp is not derivatized and no pre-treatment (mechanical or chemical) is needed to determine the carbohydrate composition using the method developed here. Peak deconvolution software is used to improve the accuracy. Polysulphide and H2S primarily increase the glucomannan yield, which can be boosted by up to 7 % on o.d. wood. However, the cellulose yield is more affected by the cooking time and the maximum yield increase of cellulose is approximately 2 % on o.d. wood compared to an ordinary kraft pulp. The cooking time is influenced by sulphide ion concentration, AQ addition and the final Kappa number. The xylan yield is remarkably stable, however the alkali profile during the cook may influence the xylan yield. Surface xylan content of the fibres depends on residual alkali concentration in the black liquor. The molecular mass distributions of cellulose and hemicellulose were determined for pulps with increased hemicellulose content using size exclusion chromatography. Deconvolution by peak separation software is used to gain information about the degree of polymerization for cellulose and hemicellulose. The average DP of glucomannan in the kraft fibre was found to be 350 +- 30 and the average DP of xylan in the

Membrane treatment of alkaline bleaching effluents from elementary chlorine free kraft softwood cellulose production.

Science.gov (United States)

Oñate, Elizabeth; Rodríguez, Edgard; Bórquez, Rodrigo; Zaror, Claudio

2015-01-01

This paper reports experimental results on the sequential use of ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) to fractionate alkaline extraction bleaching effluents from kraft cellulose production. The aim was to unveil the way key pollutants are distributed when subjected to sequential UF/NF/RO membrane separation processes. Alkaline bleaching effluents were obtained from a local pinewood-based mill, featuring elementary chlorine free bleaching to produce high-brightness cellulose. The experimental system was based on a laboratory-scale membrane system, DSS LabStak® M20 Alfa Laval, using Alfa Laval UF and NF/RO membranes, operated at a constant transmembrane pressure (6 bar for UF membranes and 32 bar for NF/RO membranes), at 25°C. Results show that 78% chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total phenols, 82% adsorbable organic halogens (AOX) and 98% colour were retained by UF membranes which have molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) above 10 kDa. In all, 16% of original COD, total phenols and AOX, and the remaining 2% colour were retained by UF membranes within the 1 to 10 kDa MWCO range. Chloride ions were significantly present in all UF permeates, and RO was required to obtain a high-quality permeate with a view to water reuse. It is concluded that UF/NF/RO membranes offer a feasible option for water and chemicals recovery from alkaline bleaching effluents in kraft pulp production.

The Kraft Pulp And Paper Properties of Sweet Sorghum Bagasse (Sorghum bicolor L Moench

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Widya Fatriasari

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the potency of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor bagasse as raw material for pulp and paper using kraft pulping. The effects of alkali and sulfidity loading on kraft pulp and paper properties were also investigated. The pulping condition of the kraft pulp consisted of three levels of alkali loading (17, 19 and 22% and sulfidity loading (20, 22 and 24%. The maximum cooking temperature was 170°C for 4 h with a liquid to wood ratio of 10:1. Kraft pulping of this Numbu bagasse produced good pulp indicated by high screen yield and delignification selectivity with a low Kappa number (< 10. The unbleached pulp sheet produced a superior brightness level and a high burst index. The increase of active alkali loading tended to produce a negative effect on the pulp yield, Kappa number and paper sheet properties. Therefore, it is suggested to use a lower active alkaline concentration.

Study on the Modification of Bleached Eucalyptus Kraft Pulp Using Birch Xylan

Science.gov (United States)

Wenjia Han; Chuanshan Zhao; Thomas Elder; Rendang Yang; Dongho Kim; Yunqiao Pu; Jeffery Hsieh; Arthur J. Ragauskas

2012-01-01

In this study, birch xylan was deposited onto elementally chlorine free (ECF) bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp, and the corresponding changes in physical properties were determined. An aqueous 5% birch xylan solution at pH 9 was added to 5 wt% slurry of bleached kraft eucalyptus fibers, with stirring at 70 C for 15 min after which the pH was adjusted to 5–6. The xylan...

Papermaking Properties of Carpinus betulus with kraft, Soda and Soda-Urea Pulping Processes

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Rasoul Darstan

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This research was carried out in order to comparatively investigate the hornbeam kraft, soda and soda-urea papermaking properties. The selected treatment in kraft process had an average yield of 44.43% and kappa number of 23.75. In soda process the selected treatment had an average yield of 38.75% and kappa number of 19.28. In soda-urea process, the selected treatments had an average yield of 39.85, 40.1, 40.5, 39.8 and 40.61 and kappa number of 21.21, 22.33, 22.66, 25.28 and 26.85. After refining the selected pulp to reach the freeness of 400±25 ml CSF, 60 g/m2 handsheets were made and physical, mechanical and optical properties were measured. Results showed that kraft pulps had higher yield and better refinability than soda and soda-urea pulps. Papers made from kraft process had higher strength properties than those made of soda and soda-urea process. With addition of urea, yield and kappa number of pulps increased. The highest improvement in tensile index, breaking length and tear index was achieved with addition of 3% urea and the highest improvement in burst index was achieved with adding 4% urea. Results of brightness measurements showed that papers from kraft and soda processes had the lowest and highest brightness degree respectively. With the addition of urea, brightness of papers decreased.

Reducing Future International Chemical and Biological Dangers.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haddal, Chad [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Bull, Diana L. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Hernandez, Patricia Marie [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Foley, John T. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-12-01

The International Biological and Chemical Threat Reduction Program at Sandia National Laboratories is developing a 15 - year technology road map in support the United States Government efforts to reduce international chemical and biological dangers . In 2017, the program leadership chartered an analysis team to explore dangers in the future international chemical and biological landscape through engagements with national security experts within and beyond Sandia to gain a multidisciplinary perspective on the future . This report offers a hi gh level landscape of future chemical and biological dangers based upon analysis of those engagements and provides support for further technology road map development.

Kraft pulping of industrial wood waste

Science.gov (United States)

Aziz. Ahmed; Masood. Akhtar; Gary C. Myers; Gary M. Scott

1998-01-01

Most of the approximately 25 to 30 million tons of industrial wood waste generated in the United States per year is burned for energy and/or landfilled. In this study, kraft pulp from industrial wood waste was evaluated and compared with softwood (loblolly pine, Douglas-fir) and hardwood (aspen) pulp. Pulp bleachability was also evaluated. Compared to loblolly pine...

EFFECT OF LIGNIN CONTENT OF Eucalyptus globulus WOOD IN KRAFT PULPING PERFORMANCE

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Gabriel Valim Cardoso

2011-03-01

Full Text Available In this research, it was analyzed the lignin content effect of Eucalyptus globulus wood in kraft pulping optimization. Seventy-two laboratory cooking were made with wood chips obtained from six Eucalyptus globulus trees selected from a group of 50 trees. The wood chips from three trees with the lowest lignin content, with average 20,53%, were mixed proportionally based on the tree weights, obtaining the sample of low lignin content wood. The same was made to obtain the sample for wood chips with the highest lignin content, with average 23,02%. The two lignin levels were statistically different. The two wood samples had basic densities statistically not different. Using three maximum temperatures levels (160, 165 and 170ºC, and three active alkali charged (17, 18,5 and 20%, the wood chips were converted to kraft pulps. The pulps were then characterized to analyze the influence of the distinct treatments employed in the cooking on their properties. The effect of the cooking conditions was expressed by mathematical models in order to determine the optimum points for each of the evaluated properties. The optimization process indicated maximum temperature of 168ºC, and active alkali of 19%, for maximum kraft pulping yield to achieve kappa number 18; this result was for woods with low lignin content. For woods containing the high lignin content, the optimization showed maximum cooking temperature of 169ºC and active alkali of 19% for kappa number of 18. The average reduction of 2,49% in wood lignin content resulted a correspondent gain of 2,2% in the kraft yield (o.d. basis and a reduction on the active alkali charge of 1,2% (o.d. basis to achieve kappa numbers from 16 to 19, preserving pulp properties. If the option is to work with kappa number 19 instead of 16, the gain in kraft yield is approximately 2%. Therefore, when working with low lignin content wood and kappa number 19 instead of 16, a substantial gain of approximately 4,2% is obtained

Kraft cooking of gamma irradiated wood, (1). Effect of alcohol additives on pre-irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inaba, M; Meshitsuka, G; Nakano, J [Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Agriculture

1979-12-01

Studies have been made of kraft cooking of gamma irradiated wood. Beech (Fagus crenata Blume) wood meal suspended in aqueous alkaline alcohol was irradiated up to 1.5 KGy (0.15 Mrad) with gamma rays from a Co-60 source in the presence or absence of oxygen. The irradiated wood meals were washed thoroughly with fresh water, air dried and cooked under the ordinary cooking conditions. The results are summarized as follows: (1) Pre-irradiation in aqueous alkali have negligible effect on kraft cooking. (2) In the case of ethanol addition (50 g/l), pre-irradiation in vacuo shows acceleration of delignification and stabilization of carbohydrates during kraft cooking. Cooked yield gain by pre-irradiation was about 1.2 in all, over the range of delignification from 80 to 90%. Aqueous ethanol without alkali also shows positive but smaller effect than that with alkali. (3) Propanol, iso-propanol and butanol show positive but smaller effects than ethanol. However, methanol does not show any positive effect. (4) Irradiation in the presence of oxygen does not show any attractive effect on kraft cooking.

History of chemical and biological warfare agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szinicz, L.

2005-01-01

Chemical and biological warfare agents constitute a low-probability, but high-impact risk both to the military and to the civilian population. The use of hazardous materials of chemical or biological origin as weapons and for homicide has been documented since ancient times. The first use of chemicals in terms of weapons of mass destruction goes back to World War I, when on April 22, 1915 large amounts of chlorine were released by German military forces at Ypres, Belgium. Until around the 1970s of the 20th century, the awareness of the threat by chemical and biological agents had been mainly confined to the military sector. In the following time, the development of increasing range delivery systems by chemical and biological agents possessors sensitised public attention to the threat emanating from these agents. Their proliferation to the terrorists field during the 1990s with the expanding scale and globalisation of terrorist attacks suggested that these agents are becoming an increasing threat to the whole world community. The following article gives a condensed overview on the history of use and development of the more prominent chemical and biological warfare agents

History of chemical and biological warfare agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Szinicz, L

2005-10-30

Chemical and biological warfare agents constitute a low-probability, but high-impact risk both to the military and to the civilian population. The use of hazardous materials of chemical or biological origin as weapons and for homicide has been documented since ancient times. The first use of chemicals in terms of weapons of mass destruction goes back to World War I, when on April 22, 1915 large amounts of chlorine were released by German military forces at Ypres, Belgium. Until around the 1970s of the 20th century, the awareness of the threat by chemical and biological agents had been mainly confined to the military sector. In the following time, the development of increasing range delivery systems by chemical and biological agents possessors sensitised public attention to the threat emanating from these agents. Their proliferation to the terrorists field during the 1990s with the expanding scale and globalisation of terrorist attacks suggested that these agents are becoming an increasing threat to the whole world community. The following article gives a condensed overview on the history of use and development of the more prominent chemical and biological warfare agents.

The energy efficiency partnership - Kraft General Foods and Boston Edison Company

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crowley, J.C.; Donoghue, J.P.

1993-01-01

During the past twenty years, inordinate shifts in the supply and demand of energy have forced both electric utility companies and their customers to investigate new and innovative ways to satisfy the ever increasing demand for electricity. The Energy Efficiency Partnership, developed between Kraft General Foods and Boston Edison Company, presents an exemplary study of how two corporate giants creatively solved the problem of uncontrolled energy costs and its positive effect on the overall operations of Kraft General Foods, Framingham. But the Energy Efficiency Partnership did more than reduce energy costs, it provided benefits to all parties on the playing field. To understand its significance, a review of the partnership's history is paramount. The first official announcement of the Energy Efficiency Partnership was made on April 9, 1990. Framingham, MA, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Kraft General Foods Framingham, and Boston Edison Company have joined forces in a $3.6 million dollar energy partnership that will help keep 250 industrial jobs in Massachusetts and could lead to the future expansion of the international food company's Framingham facility

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences ...

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Kraft pulp bleaching with molybdenum activated acid peroxide (PMo stage)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabelo, Marcos Sousa

2009-01-01

Optimum conditions to run the P Mo stage for bleaching eucalyptus kraft pulp were 90 deg C, pH 3.5, 2 h, 0.1 kg/t Mo and 5 kg/t H 2 O 2 . The P Mo stage efficiency increased with decreasing pH (1.5-5.5) and increasing temperature (75-90 deg C), time (2-4 h), and hydrogen peroxide (3-10 kg/t) and molybdenum concentration (0.1-0.4 kg/t). The implementation of the P Mo stage, as replacement for the A stage, decreased total active chlorine demand of the OAZDP sequence by 6 kg/t to reach 90% ISO, both in laboratory and mill scale. Such practice resulted in decreased bleaching chemical costs to produce fully bleached pulp of 90% ISO. (author)

Recyclable zein-coated kraft paper and linerboard

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholas Parris; Marguerite Sykes; Leland C. Dickey; Jack L. Wiles; Thomas J. Urbanik; Peter H. Cooke

2002-01-01

Recyclability of kraft paper and linerboard coated with commercial zein and paraffin wax or a zein-lipid mixture was evaluated using conventional recycling processes. Zein, an alcohol-soluble protein from corn, exhibits both grease and water vapor barrier properties. Strength properties, grease resistance, and water vapor barrier proper-ties were measured on handsheets...

Composite tube cracking in kraft recovery boilers: A state-of-the-art review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singbeil, D.L.; Prescott, R. [Pulp and Paper Research Inst. of Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada); Keiser, J.R.; Swindeman, R.W. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1997-07-01

Beginning in the mid-1960s, increasing energy costs in Finland and Sweden made energy recovery more critical to the cost-effective operation of a kraft pulp mill. Boiler designers responded to this need by raising the steam operating pressure, but almost immediately the wall tubes in these new boilers began to corrode rapidly. Test panels installed in the walls of the most severely corroding boiler identified austenitic stainless steel as sufficiently resistant to the new corrosive conditions, and discussions with Sandvik AB, a Swedish tube manufacturer, led to the suggestion that coextruded tubes be used for water wall service in kraft recovery boilers. Replacement of carbon steel by coextruded tubes has solved most of the corrosion problems experienced by carbon steel wall tubes, however, these tubes have not been problem-free. Beginning in early 1995, a multidisciplinary research program funded by the US Department of Energy was established to investigate the cause of cracking in coextruded tubes and to develop improved materials for use in water walls and floors of kraft recovery boilers. One portion of that program, a state-of-the-art review of public- and private-domain documents related to coextruded tube cracking in kraft recovery boilers is reported here. Sources of information that were consulted for this review include the following: tube manufacturers, boiler manufacturers, public-domain literature, companies operating kraft recovery boilers, consultants and failure analysis laboratories, and failure analyses conducted specifically for this project. Much of the information contained in this report involves cracking problems experienced in recovery boiler floors and those aspects of spout and air-port-opening cracking not readily attributable to thermal fatigue. 61 refs.

Kraft pulp bleaching with molybdenum activated acid peroxide (P{sub Mo} stage); Branqueamento de polpa celulosica kraft de eucalipto com peroxido acido ativado por molibdenio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rabelo, Marcos Sousa [Servico Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial (SENAI), Lauro de Freitas, BA (Brazil). Dept. Regional da Bahia; Silva, Vanessa Lopes; Barros, Denise Pires de; Colodette, Jorge Luiz [Universidade Federal de Vicosa (UFV), MG (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Florestal; Sacon, Vera Maria; Silva, Marcelo Rodrigues da [Votorantim Celulose e Papel, Jacarei, SP (Brazil)

2009-07-01

Optimum conditions to run the P{sub Mo} stage for bleaching eucalyptus kraft pulp were 90 deg C, pH 3.5, 2 h, 0.1 kg/t Mo and 5 kg/t H{sub 2}O{sub 2}. The P{sub Mo} stage efficiency increased with decreasing pH (1.5-5.5) and increasing temperature (75-90 deg C), time (2-4 h), and hydrogen peroxide (3-10 kg/t) and molybdenum concentration (0.1-0.4 kg/t). The implementation of the P{sub Mo} stage, as replacement for the A stage, decreased total active chlorine demand of the OAZDP sequence by 6 kg/t to reach 90% ISO, both in laboratory and mill scale. Such practice resulted in decreased bleaching chemical costs to produce fully bleached pulp of 90% ISO. (author)

Chemically-functionalized microcantilevers for detection of chemical, biological and explosive material

Science.gov (United States)

Pinnaduwage, Lal A [Knoxville, TN; Thundat, Thomas G [Knoxville, TN; Brown, Gilbert M [Knoxville, TN; Hawk, John Eric [Olive Branch, MS; Boiadjiev, Vassil I [Knoxville, TN

2007-04-24

A chemically functionalized cantilever system has a cantilever coated on one side thereof with a reagent or biological species which binds to an analyte. The system is of particular value when the analyte is a toxic chemical biological warfare agent or an explosive.

A multi-criteria decision analysis of management alternatives for anaerobically digested kraft pulp mill sludge.

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Martijn Eikelboom

Full Text Available The Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA procedure was used to compare waste management options for kraft pulp mill sludge following its anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion of sludge is advantageous because it produces biogas that may be used to generate electricity, heat and biofuels. However, adequate management of the digested sludge is essential. Landfill disposal is a non-sustainable waste management alternative. Kraft pulp mill digested sludge applied to land may pose risks to the environment and public health if the sludge has not been properly treated. This study is aimed to compare several recycling alternatives for anaerobically digested sludge from kraft pulp mills: land application, landfill disposal, composting, incineration, pyrolysis/gasification, and biofuel production by algae. The MCDA procedure considered nine criteria into three domains to compare digested sludge recycling alternatives in a kraft pulp mill: environmental (CO2 emission, exposure to pathogens, risk of pollution, material and energy recovery, economic (overall costs, value of products and technical (maintenance and operation, feasibility of implementation. The most suitable management options for digested sludge from kraft pulp mills were found to be composting and incineration (when the latter was coupled with recycling ash to the cement industry. Landfill disposal was the worst option, presenting low performance in feasibility of implementation, risk of pollution, material and energy recovery.

A multi-criteria decision analysis of management alternatives for anaerobically digested kraft pulp mill sludge

Science.gov (United States)

Eikelboom, Martijn; Lopes, Alice do Carmo Precci; Silva, Claudio Mudadu; Rodrigues, Fábio de Ávila; Zanuncio, José Cola

2018-01-01

The Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) procedure was used to compare waste management options for kraft pulp mill sludge following its anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion of sludge is advantageous because it produces biogas that may be used to generate electricity, heat and biofuels. However, adequate management of the digested sludge is essential. Landfill disposal is a non-sustainable waste management alternative. Kraft pulp mill digested sludge applied to land may pose risks to the environment and public health if the sludge has not been properly treated. This study is aimed to compare several recycling alternatives for anaerobically digested sludge from kraft pulp mills: land application, landfill disposal, composting, incineration, pyrolysis/gasification, and biofuel production by algae. The MCDA procedure considered nine criteria into three domains to compare digested sludge recycling alternatives in a kraft pulp mill: environmental (CO2 emission, exposure to pathogens, risk of pollution, material and energy recovery), economic (overall costs, value of products) and technical (maintenance and operation, feasibility of implementation). The most suitable management options for digested sludge from kraft pulp mills were found to be composting and incineration (when the latter was coupled with recycling ash to the cement industry). Landfill disposal was the worst option, presenting low performance in feasibility of implementation, risk of pollution, material and energy recovery. PMID:29298296

Perspective: Reaches of chemical physics in biology

Science.gov (United States)

Gruebele, Martin; Thirumalai, D.

2013-01-01

Chemical physics as a discipline contributes many experimental tools, algorithms, and fundamental theoretical models that can be applied to biological problems. This is especially true now as the molecular level and the systems level descriptions begin to connect, and multi-scale approaches are being developed to solve cutting edge problems in biology. In some cases, the concepts and tools got their start in non-biological fields, and migrated over, such as the idea of glassy landscapes, fluorescence spectroscopy, or master equation approaches. In other cases, the tools were specifically developed with biological physics applications in mind, such as modeling of single molecule trajectories or super-resolution laser techniques. In this introduction to the special topic section on chemical physics of biological systems, we consider a wide range of contributions, all the way from the molecular level, to molecular assemblies, chemical physics of the cell, and finally systems-level approaches, based on the contributions to this special issue. Chemical physicists can look forward to an exciting future where computational tools, analytical models, and new instrumentation will push the boundaries of biological inquiry. PMID:24089712

Perspective: Reaches of chemical physics in biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Gruebele, Martin; Thirumalai, D

2013-09-28

Chemical physics as a discipline contributes many experimental tools, algorithms, and fundamental theoretical models that can be applied to biological problems. This is especially true now as the molecular level and the systems level descriptions begin to connect, and multi-scale approaches are being developed to solve cutting edge problems in biology. In some cases, the concepts and tools got their start in non-biological fields, and migrated over, such as the idea of glassy landscapes, fluorescence spectroscopy, or master equation approaches. In other cases, the tools were specifically developed with biological physics applications in mind, such as modeling of single molecule trajectories or super-resolution laser techniques. In this introduction to the special topic section on chemical physics of biological systems, we consider a wide range of contributions, all the way from the molecular level, to molecular assemblies, chemical physics of the cell, and finally systems-level approaches, based on the contributions to this special issue. Chemical physicists can look forward to an exciting future where computational tools, analytical models, and new instrumentation will push the boundaries of biological inquiry.

Opportunities for Merging Chemical and Biological Synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Stephen; Balskus, Emily P.

2014-01-01

Organic chemists and metabolic engineers use largely orthogonal technologies to access small molecules like pharmaceuticals and commodity chemicals. As the use of biological catalysts and engineered organisms for chemical production grows, it is becoming increasingly evident that future efforts for chemical manufacture will benefit from the integration and unified expansion of these two fields. This review will discuss approaches that combine chemical and biological synthesis for small molecule production. We highlight recent advances in combining enzymatic and non-enzymatic catalysis in vitro, discuss the application of design principles from organic chemistry for engineering non-biological reactivity into enzymes, and describe the development of biocompatible chemistry that can be interfaced with microbial metabolism. PMID:24747284

AVALIAÇÃO DOS RESÍDUOS DE UMA SERRARIA PARA A PRODUÇÃO DE CELULOSE KRAFT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucas Cândido Barbosa

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The forest-based industries have low yield and generate large amounts of waste, especially the primary processing industries, such as sawmills. In Brazil, initiatives are being created to combine the use of sawmill residues to pulp production. With this in mind, this study aimed to evaluate the performance of amedium-sized sawmill in the city of Rio Grande, in Rio Grande do Sul state, and to promote physical and chemical analysis of waste wood generated in the sawing process. It was used 20 logs of Pinus elliottii , divided into two diameter classes. The residues, except the sawdust, collected for analysis were disposed in the courtyard of the company in the form of chips. The following physical and chemical properties of the chips were examined: density, extractives content soluble in acetone, acetyl groups, soluble and insoluble lignin on acid (Klason lignin, uronic groups and carbohydrates. Comparing the results of the wood properties to the ones found in literature, it was evaluated the quantity and quality of waste that can be used as feedstock for the production of kraft pulp. As the main results there was a slight increase of sawing yields in the larger diameters logs compared to the smaller diameters. From the physical and chemical analyses, it was obtained the following results: density of 0.402 g / cm ³, cellulose content of 43.67% and 24.37% for hemicellulose, klason lignin of 26.75% and 3,80% for extractives content. As conclusion, the low sawing yield can be associated to the lack of a classification diametric and appropriate diagrams sections, resulting in a greater loss in the form of waste. Regarding the chemical and physical composition of the sawmill residues, the results were within the standards of quality wood used for kraft pulp of softwood material, presenting some advantages over younger woods commonly used in industry.

Ground beetle populations near a kraft mill

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freitag, R.; Hastings, L.; Mercer, W.R.; Smith, A.

1973-02-01

Twenty species of ground beetles (Family Carabidae) and one species of carrion beetle (Family Silphidae) were collected in six stations east of a kraft paper mill in Thunder Bay, Ontario, from May to August, 1971. The beetle population decreased markedly towards the mill. There was no apparent statistical difference in size variation of specimens near the mill and those further away.

Coupling chemical and biological catalysis: a flexible paradigm for producing biobased chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Thomas J; Shanks, Brent H; Dumesic, James A

2016-04-01

Advances in metabolic engineering have allowed for the development of new biological catalysts capable of selectively de-functionalizing biomass to yield platform molecules that can be upgraded to biobased chemicals using high efficiency continuous processing allowed by heterogeneous chemical catalysis. Coupling these disciplines overcomes the difficulties of selectively activating COH bonds by heterogeneous chemical catalysis and producing petroleum analogues by biological catalysis. We show that carboxylic acids, pyrones, and alcohols are highly flexible platforms that can be used to produce biobased chemicals by this approach. More generally, we suggest that molecules with three distinct functionalities may represent a practical upper limit on the extent of functionality present in the platform molecules that serve as the bridge between biological and chemical catalysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dietary antioxidant synergy in chemical and biological systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Sunan; Zhu, Fan

2017-07-24

Antioxidant (AOX) synergies have been much reported in chemical ("test-tube" based assays focusing on pure chemicals), biological (tissue culture, animal and clinical models), and food systems during the past decade. Tentative synergies differ from each other due to the composition of AOX and the quantification methods. Regeneration mechanism responsible for synergy in chemical systems has been discussed. Solvent effects could contribute to the artifacts of synergy observed in the chemical models. Synergy in chemical models may hardly be relevant to biological systems that have been much less studied. Apparent discrepancies exist in understanding the molecular mechanisms in both chemical and biological systems. This review discusses diverse variables associated with AOX synergy and molecular scenarios for explanation. Future research to better utilize the synergy is suggested.

Antioxidant capacity of Kraft black liquor from the pulp and paper industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Perez-Perez, Elizabeth; Rodríguez-Malaver, Antonio J

2005-07-01

The effect of Kraft black liquor on the lipid peroxidation of rat homogenates was examined. The lipid peroxidation of homogenates from different organs (kidney, brain, lung, and liver) was induced by Fenton's reagent. The products of lipid peroxidation, lipid hydroperoxides and TBARS were measured by FOX method and TBA assay, respectively. It was found that black liquor significantly reduced the concentration of TBARS, but not the concentration of lipid hydroperoxides. This inhibition was directly proportional to the concentration of Kraft black liquor and the incubation temperature. Conclusively, the black liquor from pulp and paper industry exhibited an antioxidant activity.

Cutaneous reactions in nuclear, biological and chemical warfare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arora Sandeep

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Nuclear, biological and chemical warfare have in recent times been responsible for an increasing number of otherwise rare dermatoses. Many nations are now maintaining overt and clandestine stockpiles of such arsenal. With increasing terrorist threats, these agents of mass destruction pose a risk to the civilian population. Nuclear and chemical attacks manifest immediately while biological attacks manifest later. Chemical and biological attacks pose a significant risk to the attending medical personnel. The large scale of anticipated casualties in the event of such an occurrence would need the expertise of all physicians, including dermatologists, both military and civilian. Dermatologists are uniquely qualified in this respect. This article aims at presenting a review of the cutaneous manifestations in nuclear, chemical and biological warfare and their management.

ESTUDO DA ADIÇÃO DA LIGNINA KRAFT NAS PROPRIEDADES MECÂNICAS DOS BRIQUETES DE RESÍDUOS DA INDÚSTRIA MOVELEIRA

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Adriana de Fátima Gomes Gouvêa

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In order to improve global effectiveness of energy production, a strategy is the model of bio-refineries in which all the components of biomass are totally used to produce a range of products with aggregated value. The kraft lignin is one of the products originated in the process of cellulose production that can be used in making densified products. The objective of this work was to evaluate the behavior of the addition of extracted kraft lignin of black kraft liquor in briquette manufactures with furniture industry waste, in the form of shavings and panel particles in different proportions. The briquettes were produced in laboratory briquetting, using the temperatures of 60, 75 and 90 o C. The pressing and cooling time was 5 minutes and pressure 68,9 x 10 5 N.m -2 (1000 PSI. The briquette quality was evaluated through determining the mechanical properties. The kraft lignin in adequate proportions and temperature showed advantages in the increase of resistance and the durability of the briquettes. The kraft lignin presented advantages such as agglutinative in briquette productions from wood waste at a pressing temperature of 90 o C with addition of 20% of kraft lignin, and at pressing temperatures of 60 and 75 o C at a proportion of addition of 40 and 60% of kraft lignin to wood waste, respectively.

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences: Contact

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Challenges and opportunities in synthetic biology for chemical engineers.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yunzi; Lee, Jung-Kul; Zhao, Huimin

2013-11-15

Synthetic biology provides numerous great opportunities for chemical engineers in the development of new processes for large-scale production of biofuels, value-added chemicals, and protein therapeutics. However, challenges across all scales abound. In particular, the modularization and standardization of the components in a biological system, so-called biological parts, remain the biggest obstacle in synthetic biology. In this perspective, we will discuss the main challenges and opportunities in the rapidly growing synthetic biology field and the important roles that chemical engineers can play in its advancement.

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences: About ...

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Archives: International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences

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Items 1 - 50 of 61 ... Archives: International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences. Journal Home > Archives: International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

Antraquinona e surfactante para otimizaçao do processo Kraft com Pinus Spp.

OpenAIRE

Mocelin, Ezequiel Zatoni

2013-01-01

A madeira de Pinus é atualmente a matéria-prima mais utilizada na obtenção de fibras longas para papel, juntamente com o processo Kraft pela sua versatilidade e por produzir fibras com boa resistência. As atuais perspectivas florestais apontam para uma escassez da madeira de Pinus para os diversos fins, seja para madeira processada, seja para celulose e papel. O processo Kraft tem como desvantagem o baixo rendimento em celulose, devido à solubilização não somente da lignina como também parte ...

Assessment of reproductive effects in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) exposed to bleached/unbleached kraft mill effluents.

Science.gov (United States)

Sepúlveda, M S; Ruessler, D S; Denslow, N D; Holm, S E; Schoeb, T R; Gross, T S

2001-11-01

This study evaluated the potential effects of different concentrations of bleached/unbleached kraft mill effluent (B/UKME) on several reproductive endpoints in adult largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). The kraft mill studied produces a 50/50 mix of bleached/unbleached market pulp with an estimated release of 36 million gal of effluent/day. Bleaching sequences were C90d10EopHDp and CEHD for softwood (pines) and hardwoods (mainly tupelo, gums, magnolia, and water oaks), respectively. Bass were exposed to different effluent concentrations (0 [controls, exposed to well water], 10, 20, 40, or 80%) for either 28 or 56 days. At the end of each exposure period, fish were euthanized, gonads collected for histological evaluation and determination of gonadosomatic index (GSI), and plasma was analyzed for 17beta-estradiol, 11-ketotestosterone, and vitellogenin (VTG). Largemouth bass exposed to B/UKME responded with changes at the biochemical level (decline in sex steroids in both sexes and VTG in females) that were usually translated into tissue/organ-level responses (declines in GSI in both sexes and in ovarian development in females). Although most of these responses occurred after exposing fish to 40% B/UKME concentrations or greater, some were observed after exposures to 20% B/UKME. These threshold concentrations fall within the 60% average yearly concentration of effluent that exists in the stream near the point of discharge (Rice Creek), but are above the <10% effluent concentration present in the St. Johns River. The chemical(s) responsible for such changes as well as their mode(s) of action remain unknown at this time.

Challenges and opportunities in synthetic biology for chemical engineers

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yunzi; Lee, Jung-Kul; Zhao, Huimin

2012-01-01

Synthetic biology provides numerous great opportunities for chemical engineers in the development of new processes for large-scale production of biofuels, value-added chemicals, and protein therapeutics. However, challenges across all scales abound. In particular, the modularization and standardization of the components in a biological system, so-called biological parts, remain the biggest obstacle in synthetic biology. In this perspective, we will discuss the main challenges and opportunities in the rapidly growing synthetic biology field and the important roles that chemical engineers can play in its advancement. PMID:24222925

Synthetic biology expands chemical control of microorganisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, Tyler J; Silver, Pamela A

2015-10-01

The tools of synthetic biology allow researchers to change the ways engineered organisms respond to chemical stimuli. Decades of basic biology research and new efforts in computational protein and RNA design have led to the development of small molecule sensors that can be used to alter organism function. These new functions leap beyond the natural propensities of the engineered organisms. They can range from simple fluorescence or growth reporting to pathogen killing, and can involve metabolic coordination among multiple cells or organisms. Herein, we discuss how synthetic biology alters microorganisms' responses to chemical stimuli resulting in the development of microbes as toxicity sensors, disease treatments, and chemical factories. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pulp and paper production from Spruce wood with kraft and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2010-03-15

Mar 15, 2010 ... optical properties of resultant paper were included to determine the properties of these pulp samples. ... pulping compounds in the kraft method are Na2S and .... Scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurement of pulp.

Kraft lignin chain extension chemistry via propargylation, oxidative coupling, and Claisen rearrangement.

Science.gov (United States)

Sen, Sanghamitra; Sadeghifar, Hasan; Argyropoulos, Dimitris S

2013-10-14

Despite its aromatic and polymeric nature, the heterogeneous, stochastic, and reactive characteristics of softwood kraft lignin seriously limit its potential for thermoplastic applications. Our continuing efforts toward creating thermoplastic lignin polymers are now focused at exploring propargylation derivatization chemistry and its potential as a versatile novel route for the eventual utilization of technical lignins with a significant amount of molecular control. To do this, we initially report the systematic propargylation of softwood kraft lignin. The synthesized derivatives were extensively characterized with thermal methods (DSC, TGA), (1)H, (13)C, and quantitative (31)P NMR and IR spectroscopies. Further on, we explore the versatile nature of the lignin pendant propargyl groups by demonstrating two distinct chain extension chemistries; the solution-based, copper-mediated, oxidative coupling and the thermally induced, solid-state, Claissen rearrangement polymerization chemistries. Overall, we show that it is possible to modulate the reactivity of softwood kraft lignin via a combination of methylation and chain extension providing a rational means for the creation of higher molecular weight polymers with the potential for thermoplastic materials and carbon fibers with the desired control of structure-property relations.

Effects of a Chitosan Coating Layer on the Surface Properties and Barrier Properties of Kraft Paper

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shanhui Wang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Biodegradable chitosan can be applied as a coating on the surface of kraft paper in order to improve its barrier properties against water vapor and air. The food packaging industry can benefit from the addition of chitosan to its current packaging, and in turn reduce pollution from plastic packaging plants. This paper discusses the film formation of chitosan, the permeability of paper coated with a chitosan layer, and the influence on the paper’s surface and barrier properties under different process conditions. SEM (scanning electron microscope, AFM (atomic force microscope, ATR-FTIR (Fourier transmission infrared spectroscope with attenuated total reflection, and PDA (penetration dynamics analysis were used to analyze the properties of chitosan’s film formation and permeability. A controlled experiment showed that the chitosan layer was smoother than the surface of the uncoated kraft paper, had better film formation, and that there was no chitosan penetration through the kraft paper. The barrier properties against water vapor were strongest when there was a higher concentration of chitosan solution at the optimum pH, stirring speed, and those with a thicker coating on the kraft paper.

Detoxification of kraft pulp ECF bleaching effluents by catalytic hydrotreatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Calvo, L; Gilarranz, M A; Casas, J A; Mohedano, A F; Rodríguez, J J

2007-02-01

Two different effluents from the D(1) and E(1) stages of the ECF bleaching of Eucalyptus globulus kraft pulp were treated by catalytic hydrogenation in a trickle bed reactor using commercial and homemade Pd/AC catalysts. The reactor was fed with the bleaching effluent and a H(2)/N(2) gas stream. The variables studied were space-time (1.4-5g(cat)min/mL), gas to liquid flow ratio (286-1000vol.), gas feed concentration (H(2):N(2), 1:1-1:7.3vol.), temperature (25-100 degrees C) and pressure (1-11bar). Hydrotreatment performance was evaluated in terms of ecotoxicity, adsorbable organic halogen (AOX), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD(5)) and colour removal. In all the runs, the ecotoxicity of the effluents decreased as a result of the treatment, achieving reductions that ranged from 70% to 98%. Simultaneously to the reduction of toxicity, the hydrotreatment led to a decrease of the colour of the effluents, being the decrease significantly higher in the case of E(1) effluent. The AOX content was reduced by 85% and 23% for E(1) and D(1) effluents, respectively. In the case of D(1) effluent the removal of ecotoxicity was significantly higher than that of AOX, which indicates that much of the toxicity of the effluent must be associated to non-chlorinated organics. In spite of the important reduction of ecotoxicity, the biodegradability of the effluents only increased slightly. The homemade catalysts, prepared from activated carbons with a high external or non-microporous surface area and mesopore volume and a convenient surface chemistry showed a higher efficiency than the commercial one.

Influência dos atributos do solo sobre a qualidade da madeira de Pinus taeda para produção de celulose Kraft Influence of soil attributes on quality of Pinus taeda wood for cellulose Kraft production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrícia Aparecida Rigatto

2004-04-01

Full Text Available Neste trabalho foram analisados os efeitos dos atributos do solo sobre a qualidade da madeira de Pinus taeda para produção de celulose Kraft, em áreas da Klabin, em Telêmaco Borba-PR. Foram estudados oito sítios com árvores de 12 anos de idade, selecionados pelo tipo de solo, textura e vegetação primária. Para caracterização dos sítios foram realizadas coletas de amostras em três horizontes, tendo sido coletadas amostras indeformadas e compostas, analisando-se as seguintes variáveis no solo: densidade global, porosidade total, macroporosidade, disponibilidade de água, fertilidade e granulometria. Selecionaram-se cinco árvores médias por sítio, nas quais foram medidos as alturas total e comercial e o DAP e retirados discos, sendo este material ensaiado quanto a densidade básica, composição química, características morfológicas dos traqueídeos e produção de celulose Kraft. Com relação às propriedades da madeira, os atributos físicos do solo demonstraram ter maior influência. De modo geral, as madeiras provenientes de sítios com texturas mais argilosas apresentaram menores valores de densidade básica; maiores teores de extrativos e lignina; menores teores de holocelulose e celulose; traqueídeos mais curtos, mais largos, com paredes mais finas e com diâmetros do lúmen maiores; e menor rendimento em celulose. A partir destes resultados, concluiu-se ser possível a previsão de propriedades da polpa através da análise das características da madeira associada às condições edáficas reinantes.To meet the increasing demand for forest products, much of the future timber supply will come from trees grown in managed plantations. This work was carried out to analyze the effects of soil attributes on Pinus taeda wood quality to produce Kraft cellulose at Klabin Parana Cellulose Co., in Telêmaco Borba, PR, Brazil. The study focused on the influence of soil attributes on the anatomical, physical and chemical wood

Industrial chemical exposure: guidelines for biological monitoring

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lauwerys, Robert R; Hoet, Perrine

2001-01-01

.... With Third Edition of Industrial Chemical Exposure you will understand the objectives of biological monitoring, the types of biological monitoring methods, their advantages and limitations, as well...

Experimental Studies on the Hydrotreatment of Kraft Lignin to Aromatics and Alkylphenolics Using Economically Viable Fe-Based Catalysts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Agarwal, Shilpa; Chowdari, Ramesh Kumar; Hita, Idoia; Heeres, Hero Jan

Limonite, a low-cost iron ore, was investigated as a potential hydrotreatment catalyst for kraft lignin without the use of an external solvent (batch reactor, initial H-2 pressure of 100 bar, 4 h). The best results were obtained at 450 degrees C resulting in 34 wt % of liquefied kraft lignin (lignin

Organic chemistry and biology: chemical biology through the eyes of collaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Hruby, Victor J

2009-12-18

From a scientific perspective, efforts to understand biology including what constitutes health and disease has become a chemical problem. However, chemists and biologists "see" the problems of understanding biology from different perspectives, and this has retarded progress in solving the problems especially as they relate to health and disease. This suggests that close collaboration between chemists and biologists is not only necessary but essential for progress in both the biology and chemistry that will provide solutions to the global questions of biology. This perspective has directed my scientific efforts for the past 45 years, and in this overview I provide my perspective of how the applications of synthetic chemistry, structural design, and numerous other chemical principles have intersected in my collaborations with biologists to provide new tools, new science, and new insights that were only made possible and fruitful by these collaborations.

Bugs and gas: Agreements banning chemical and biological weapons

Science.gov (United States)

Mikulak, Robert P.

2017-11-01

The use of chemical or biological weapons, whether by a State or terrorists, continues to be a serious security concern. Both types of weapons are prohibited by multilateral treaties that have very broad membership, but both the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention are facing major challenges. In particular, the continued use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war by government forces risks eroding the norm against the use of such weapons. This paper briefly explore the recent history of efforts to constrain chemical and biological weapons and outlines challenges for the future.

Journal of Medical Chemical, Biological and Radiological Defense

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, B.

2007-01-01

The Journal of Medical Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Defense is a free, on-line journal dedicated to providing an international, peer-reviewed journal of original scientific research and clinical and doctrinal knowledge in the area of medical treatment and countermeasures for chemical, biological and radiological defense; and to developing and maintaining an archive of current research and development information on training, doctrine, and professional discussions of problems related to chemical, biological and radiological casualties. The Journal, www.JMedCBR.org, now in its fifth year, is sponsored by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to: Neuroprotectants; Bioscavengers for Nerve Agents; Medical Diagnostic Systems and Technologies; Medical Effects of Low Level Exposures; Toxicology and Biological Effects of TICs and TIMs; Broad Spectrum Medical Countermeasures; Treatments and Therapeutics for Bacterial, Viral and Toxin Agents; Radiological Medical Countermeasures; Clinical Treatment of Chemical, Biological or Radiological Casualties; Toxins Structures and Treatments. The Journal is supported by an editorial advisory board of distinguished scientists and researchers in the fields of CBR defense and medical treatment and countermeasures in eleven countries.(author)

Reductive de-polymerization of kraft lignin for chemicals and fuels using formic acid as an in-situ hydrogen source.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Shanhua; Mahmood, Nubla; Tymchyshyn, Matthew; Yuan, Zhongshun; Xu, Chunbao Charles

2014-11-01

In this study, formic acid (FA) was employed as an in-situ hydrogen donor for the reductive de-polymerization of kraft lignin (KL). Under the optimum operating conditions, i.e., 300 °C, 1 h, 18.6 wt.% substrate concentration, 50/50 (v/v) water-ethanol medium with FA at a FA-to-lignin mass ratio of 0.7, KL (Mw∼10,000 g/mol) was effectively de-polymerized, producing de-polymerized lignin (DL, Mw 1270 g/mol) at a yield of ∼90 wt.% and polymerization of KL. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mesta/Kenaf as raw material for Kraft pulping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saraf, V. P.; Shiveshwar, R. M.; Meshramkar, P. M.; Deb, U. K.; Jaspal, N. S.; Biyani, B. P.

1980-03-15

In recent years, the shortage of conventional raw materials for pulping has intensified a world-wide search for alternate raw materials. Among other cellulosic materials, attention has focused on agricultural residues and annual plants. In this category, Kenaf, also called Mesta, has been studied as a fiber source in many countries including the USA, Phillippines and India. A comprehensive study on kraft pulping of mesta was carried out where the fiber morphology, pulping, bleaching and papermaking characteristics were investigated. Black liquor properties were also determined. The results of this study are reported and compared to the conventional raw material bamboo. The investigation has shown that mesta is easily pulped and bleached and forms sheets of excellent strength properties, comparable to or better than bamboo pulps. The black liquor from mesta is similar to bamboo in calorific value but is very low in silica, which is highly desirable from the chemical recovery point of view. As with all agricultural residues and annual plants, mesta has a high bulk per unit weight. The problems arising from this, e.g., baling, transportation, proper utilization of digester capacity, have to be studied before mesta can be widely accepted in the paper industry.

Biomaterials for mediation of chemical and biological warfare agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Alan J; Berberich, Jason A; Drevon, Geraldine F; Koepsel, Richard R

2003-01-01

Recent events have emphasized the threat from chemical and biological warfare agents. Within the efforts to counter this threat, the biocatalytic destruction and sensing of chemical and biological weapons has become an important area of focus. The specificity and high catalytic rates of biological catalysts make them appropriate for decommissioning nerve agent stockpiles, counteracting nerve agent attacks, and remediation of organophosphate spills. A number of materials have been prepared containing enzymes for the destruction of and protection against organophosphate nerve agents and biological warfare agents. This review discusses the major chemical and biological warfare agents, decontamination methods, and biomaterials that have potential for the preparation of decontamination wipes, gas filters, column packings, protective wear, and self-decontaminating paints and coatings.

Organic Chemistry and Biology: Chemical Biology Through the Eyes of Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Hruby, Victor J.

2011-01-01

From a scientific perspective, efforts to understand biology including what constitutes health and disease has become a chemical problem. However, chemists and biologists “see” the problems of understanding biology from different perspectives, and this has retarded progress in solving the problems especially as they relate to health and disease. This suggests that close collaboration between chemists and biologists is not only necessary but essential for progress in both the biology and chemistry that will provide solutions to the global questions of biology. This perspective has directed my scientific efforts for the past 45 years, and in this overview I provide my perspective of how the applications of synthetic chemistry, structural design, and numerous other chemical principles have intersected in my collaborations with biologists to provide new tools, new science, and new insights that were only made possible and fruitful by these collaborations. PMID:20000552

Measurement of cellulose content, Kraft pulp yield and basic density ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Previous descriptions of multisite and multispecies near infra-red (NIR) spectroscopic calibrations for predicting cellulose content (CC) and Kraft pulp yield (KPY) in eucalypt woodmeal demonstrated that large, single calibrations provide precise predictions for a wide range of sites and species. These have since been used ...

Relationship between lignin structure and delignification degree in Pinus pinaster kraft pulps.

Science.gov (United States)

Baptista, C; Robert, D; Duarte, A P

2008-05-01

This study examines the structure of residual and dissolved lignins from Pinus pinaster pulps obtained at different degrees of delignification by laboratory conventional kraft pulping. The cooking H factor was varied from 85 to 8049. The residual and dissolved lignin samples were characterised by elemental analysis, residual carbohydrate content, permanganate oxidation and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The reflectance factor of the pulps was also determined in order to tentatively correlate the delignification degree and residual lignin structure with the pulp colour. The obtained results confirmed that the delignification degree increases the condensation of the lignin structure, which might have an influence upon the observed increased pulp colour. The lack of selectivity of kraft pulping process in the case of more delignified pulps was also shown.

Electrochemical acidification of Kraft black liquor by electrodialysis with bipolar membrane: Ion exchange membrane fouling identification and mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Haddad, Maryam; Mikhaylin, Sergey; Bazinet, Laurent; Savadogo, Oumarou; Paris, Jean

2017-02-15

Integrated forest biorefinery offers promising pathways to sustainably diversify the revenue of pulp and paper industry. In this context, lignin can be extracted from a residual stream of Kraft pulping process, called black liquor, and subsequently converted into a wide spectrum of bio-based products. Electrochemical acidification of Kraft black liquor by electrodialysis with bipolar membrane results in lignin extraction and caustic soda production. Even though the implementation of this method requires less chemicals than the chemical acidification process, fouling of the ion exchange membranes and especially bipolar membrane impairs its productivity. Membrane thickness and ash content measurements along with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), elemental analysis (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) analysis were performed to identify the nature and mechanisms of the membrane fouling. The results revealed that the fouling layer mostly consisted of organic components and particularly lignin. Based on our proposed fouling mechanisms, throughout the electrodialysis process the pH of the black liquor gradually decreased and as a result more proton ions were available to trigger protonation reaction of lignin phenolic groups and decrease the lignin solubility. Due to the abundance of the proton ions on the surface of the cation exchange layers of the bipolar membrane, destabilized lignin macro-molecules started to self-aggregate and formed lignin clusters on its surface. Over the time, these lignin clusters covered the entire surface of the bipolar membrane and the spaces between the membranes and, eventually, attached to the surface of the cation exchange membrane. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Techno-Economic Analysis of the Optimum Softwood Lignin Content for the Production of Bioethanol in a Repurposed Kraft Mill

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shufang Wu

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Kraft pulping is one possible pretreatment for softwood to economically produce bioethanol. This work evaluates the techno-economic potential of using the kraft process for producing bioethanol from softwoods in a repurposed or co-located kraft mill. Pretreated loblolly pine was enzymatically hydrolyzed at low enzyme dosages of 5 and 10 FPU/g of substrate. Pretreated residue with 13% lignin content had the highest sugar recovery, 32.7% and 47.7% at 5 and 10 FPU/g, respectively. The pretreated residues were oxygen delignified and refined. In all cases, oxygen delignification improved sugar recovery, while refining was mostly effective for pulps with high lignin content. At 5 FPU/g, the sugar recovery for all kraft pulps was 51 to 53% with oxygen delignification and refining. Increasing the enzyme dosage to 10 FPU/g increased the sugar recovery for these pulps to greater than 60%. Economic analysis for the pulps with different initial lignin content showed that kraft pulps with an initial lignin content of 6.7% with oxygen delignification had an ethanol yield of 285 L/ODt wood and the lowest total production cost of $0.55/L. Pulps with initial lignin content of 18.6% had a total production cost of $0.64/L with an ethanol yield of 264 L/ODt wood.

Characterization of solid wastes from kraft pulp industry for ceramic materials development purposes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodrigues, L.R.; Francisco, M.A.C.O.; Sagrillo, V.P.D.; Louzada, D.M.; Entringer, J.M.S.

2016-01-01

The Kraft pulp industry generates a large amount of solid wastes. Due this large quantity, the target of this study is characterize inorganic solid wastes, dregs, grits and lime mud, from the step of reagents recovery of Kraft process, aiming evaluate the potentiality of their use as alternative raw material on development of ceramic materials. Initially, the wastes were dried and ground, then they were subjected to the following characterization techniques: pH analysis, particle size analysis, X ray fluorescence, X ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. According to the results, it may be concluded that these wastes could be used as raw material in production of red ceramic and luting materials. (author)

Characterization of solid wastes from kraft pulp industry for ceramic materials development purposes; Caracterizacao de residuos solidos da industria de celulose tipo kraft visando sua aplicacao no desenvolvimento de materiais ceramicos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodrigues, L.R.; Francisco, M.A.C.O.; Sagrillo, V.P.D.; Louzada, D.M.; Entringer, J.M.S. [Instituto Federal do Espirito Santo (IFES), Vitoria, ES (Brazil)

2016-07-01

The Kraft pulp industry generates a large amount of solid wastes. Due this large quantity, the target of this study is characterize inorganic solid wastes, dregs, grits and lime mud, from the step of reagents recovery of Kraft process, aiming evaluate the potentiality of their use as alternative raw material on development of ceramic materials. Initially, the wastes were dried and ground, then they were subjected to the following characterization techniques: pH analysis, particle size analysis, X ray fluorescence, X ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. According to the results, it may be concluded that these wastes could be used as raw material in production of red ceramic and luting materials. (author)

Chemical and biological weapons in the 'new wars'.

Science.gov (United States)

Ilchmann, Kai; Revill, James

2014-09-01

The strategic use of disease and poison in warfare has been subject to a longstanding and cross-cultural taboo that condemns the hostile exploitation of poisons and disease as the act of a pariah. In short, biological and chemical weapons are simply not fair game. The normative opprobrium is, however, not fixed, but context dependent and, as a social phenomenon, remains subject to erosion by social (or more specifically, antisocial) actors. The cross cultural understanding that fighting with poisons and disease is reprehensible, that they are taboo, is codified through a web of interconnected measures, principal amongst these are the 1925 Geneva Protocol; the Biological Weapons Convention; and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Whilst these treaties have weathered the storm of international events reasonably well, their continued health is premised on their being 'tended to' in the face of contextual changes, particularly facing changes in science and technology, as well as the changed nature and character of conflict. This article looks at the potential for normative erosion of the norm against chemical and biological weapons in the face of these contextual changes and the creeping legitimization of chemical and biological weapons.

78 FR 55326 - Determinations Regarding Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria Under the Chemical and Biological...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-10

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 8460] Determinations Regarding Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria Under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 AGENCY: Bureau of... Government has determined on August 2, pursuant to Section 306(a) of the Chemical and Biological Weapons...

Joining Forces: The Chemical Biology-Medicinal Chemistry Continuum.

Science.gov (United States)

Plowright, Alleyn T; Ottmann, Christian; Arkin, Michelle; Auberson, Yves P; Timmerman, Henk; Waldmann, Herbert

2017-09-21

The scientific advances being made across all disciplines are creating ever-increasing opportunities to enhance our knowledge of biological systems and how they relate to human disease. One of the central driving forces in discovering new medicines is medicinal chemistry, where the design and synthesis of novel compounds has led to multiple drugs. Chemical biology, sitting at the interface of many disciplines, has now emerged as a major contributor to the understanding of biological systems and is becoming an integral part of drug discovery. Bringing chemistry and biology much closer and blurring the boundaries between disciplines is creating new opportunities to probe and understand biology; both disciplines play key roles and need to join forces and work together effectively to synergize their impact. The power of chemical biology will then reach its full potential and drive innovation, leading to the discovery of transformative medicines to treat patients. Advances in cancer biology and drug discovery highlight this potential. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oxidative pyrolysis of kraft lignin in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor with air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Dongbing; Briens, Cedric; Berruti, Franco

2015-01-01

Fast pyrolysis of kraft lignin with partial (air) oxidation was studied in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor at reaction temperatures of 773 and 823 K. The bio-oil vapors were fractionated using a series of three condensers maintained at desired temperatures, providing a dry bio-oil with less than 1% water and over 96% of the total bio-oil energy. Oxygen feed was varied to study its effect on yield, composition, and energy recovery in the gas, char and oil products. The addition of oxygen to the pyrolysis process increased the production of gases such as CO and CO 2 . It also changed the dry bio-oil properties, reducing its heating value, increasing its oxygen content, reducing its average molecular weight and tar concentration, while increasing its phenolics concentration. The lower reaction temperature of 773 K was preferred for both dry bio-oil yield and quality. Autothermal operation of the pyrolysis process was achieved with an oxygen feed of 72 or 54 g per kg of biomass at the reaction temperatures of 773 and 823 K, respectively. Autothermal operation reduced both yield and total energy content of the dry bio-oil, with relative reductions of 24 and 20% for the yield, 28 and 23% for the energy content, at 773 and 823 K. - Highlights: • Autothermal pyrolysis of Kraft lignin is possible with introduction of air. • Under autothermal conditions, 24% of the dry bio-oil chemicals are lost at 773 K. • Partial oxidation helps produce more simple phenols and less pyrolytic lignin. • Bio-oil from lignin pyrolysis has a very high phenolics concentration

PSL Chemical Biology Symposia First 2016 Edition: When Chemistry and Biology Share the Language of Discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Gautier, Arnaud; Rodriguez, Raphaël

2017-05-18

Chemical biology, the science of understanding biological processes at the molecular level, has grown exponentially with the development of chemical strategies to manipulate and quantify biology with unprecedented precision. Recent advances presented at the Université Paris Sciences et Lettres symposium are discussed. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A Cost-Benefit Assessment of Gasification-Based Biorefining in the Kraft Pulp and Paper Industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eric D. Larson; Stefano Consonni; Ryan E. Katofsky; Kristiina Iisa; W. James Frederick

2007-03-31

Production of liquid fuels and chemicals via gasification of kraft black liquor and woody residues (''biorefining'') has the potential to provide significant economic returns for kraft pulp and paper mills replacing Tomlinson boilers beginning in the 2010-2015 timeframe. Commercialization of gasification technologies is anticipated in this period, and synthesis gas from gasifiers can be converted into liquid fuels using catalytic synthesis technologies that are in most cases already commercially established today in the ''gas-to-liquids'' industry. These conclusions are supported by detailed analysis carried out in a two-year project co-funded by the American Forest and Paper Association and the Biomass Program of the U.S. Department of Energy. This work assessed the energy, environment, and economic costs and benefits of biorefineries at kraft pulp and paper mills in the United States. Seven detailed biorefinery process designs were developed for a reference freesheet pulp/paper mill in the Southeastern U.S., together with the associated mass/energy balances, air emissions estimates, and capital investment requirements. Commercial (''Nth'') plant levels of technology performance and cost were assumed. The biorefineries provide chemical recovery services and co-produce process steam for the mill, some electricity, and one of three liquid fuels: a Fischer-Tropsch synthetic crude oil (which would be refined to vehicle fuels at existing petroleum refineries), dimethyl ether (a diesel engine fuel or LPG substitute), or an ethanol-rich mixed-alcohol product. Compared to installing a new Tomlinson power/recovery system, a biorefinery would require larger capital investment. However, because the biorefinery would have higher energy efficiencies, lower air emissions, and a more diverse product slate (including transportation fuel), the internal rates of return (IRR) on the incremental capital investments would be

Biological and Chemical Information Technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Amos, Martyn; Dittrich, Peter; McCaskill, John

2011-01-01

Biological and chemical information technologies (bio/chem IT) have the potential to reshape the scientific and technological landscape. In this paper we briefly review the main challenges and opportunities in the field, before presenting several case studies based on ongoing FP7 research projects....

Application of Alkaline Ionic Liquids in the Pretreatment Process of Eucalyptus Kraft Pulping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Hou

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In order to explore the potential application of green solvent ionic liquids (ILs in the kraft pulping process, eucalyptus wood was pretreated by [Mmim]DMP before normal pulping. The results showed that materials pretreated shortly by the ionic liquid had a higher yield and viscosity coupled with a lower potassium permanganate value and residual lignin content in the pulp, as a result of the cooking process. It was also inferred that alkaline [Mmim]DMP pretreatment could dissolve lignin effectively from fiber to result in a stronger binding force and more entangled properties. Paper tensile and burst strength were improved by about 40% and 60%, respectively. These results provide a new way for eucalyptus to be utilized in the kraft pulping process.

Caracterização tecnológica, para produção de celulose, da nova geração de clones de Eucalyptus do Brasil Technological characterization of the new generation of Eucalyptus clones in Brazil for kraft pulp production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Lívio Gomide

2005-02-01

Full Text Available Foram analisados clones de Eucalyptus de última geração, pertencentes às principais empresas brasileiras de celulose. Os estudos consistiram numa caracterização tecnológica detalhada da qualidade das madeiras utilizadas no processamento fabril das empresas. Foram realizadas análise químicas detalhadas das madeiras e cozimentos kraft, simulando-se uma das modernas técnica de digestor contínuo. Os resultados indicaram a alta qualidade dos clones de Eucalyptus atualmente plantados no Brasil para produção de celulose.Last generation of Eucalyptus clones pulped by the main Brazilian kraft pulp mills were used for this study. Detailed chemical analysis of the woods were carried out to establish the wood quality. Laboratory simulation of a modern continuous digester technique was used for pulp production. Results demonstrated the high quality of Eucalyptus clones wood that are being planted in Brazil for kraft pulp production.

The nuclear terrorist, radiological, biological, chemical threat. Medical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gourmelon, P.; Vidal, D.; Renaudeau, C.

2005-01-01

This book illustrates the cooperation of the civil and the military experts in the domain of the NBRC (nuclear, biological, radiological and chemical threat). The different aspects bond to the use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, are discussed. Al topics of each domains (NRBC) are presented: historical and fundamental aspects, diagnostic, therapeutic and prevention. (A.L.B.)

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High-Yield Explosives Consequences Management

Science.gov (United States)

2006-10-02

protective measures associated with such offensive operations. Since riot control agents and herbicides are not considered to be chemical warfare agents...control. Procedures to avoid, reduce, remove, or render harmless (temporarily or permanently) nuclear, radiological, biological, and chemical...destroying, neutralizing, making harmless , or removing chemical or biological agents, or by removing radioactive material clinging to or around it. (JP 1

Carbon nanostructure-based field-effect transistors for label-free chemical/biological sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, PingAn; Zhang, Jia; Li, Le; Wang, Zhenlong; O'Neill, William; Estrela, Pedro

2010-01-01

Over the past decade, electrical detection of chemical and biological species using novel nanostructure-based devices has attracted significant attention for chemical, genomics, biomedical diagnostics, and drug discovery applications. The use of nanostructured devices in chemical/biological sensors in place of conventional sensing technologies has advantages of high sensitivity, low decreased energy consumption and potentially highly miniaturized integration. Owing to their particular structure, excellent electrical properties and high chemical stability, carbon nanotube and graphene based electrical devices have been widely developed for high performance label-free chemical/biological sensors. Here, we review the latest developments of carbon nanostructure-based transistor sensors in ultrasensitive detection of chemical/biological entities, such as poisonous gases, nucleic acids, proteins and cells.

Enhanced formulations for neutralization of chemical, biological and industrial toxants

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, Mark D [Albuqueque, NM

2008-06-24

An enhanced formulation and method of making that neutralizes the adverse health effects of both chemical and biological compounds, especially chemical warfare (CW) and biological warfare (BW) agents, and toxic industrial chemicals. The enhanced formulation according to the present invention is non-toxic and non-corrosive and can be delivered by a variety of means and in different phases. The formulation provides solubilizing compounds that serve to effectively render the chemical and biological compounds, particularly CW and BW compounds, susceptible to attack, and at least one reactive compound that serves to attack (and detoxify or kill) the compound. The formulation includes at least one solubilizing agent, a reactive compound, a bleaching activator and water.

2006 Chemical Biological Individual Protection (CBIP) Conference and Exhibition

Science.gov (United States)

2006-03-09

Requirements Office (JRO), MAJ W. Scott Smedley , Joint Requirements Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense JPEO...Decker Director of Engineering 410-436-5600 www.ecbc.army.mil Gabe Patricio, JPEO 703 681-0808 Robert Wattenbarger, JPMOIP 703 432-3198 Canadian CBRN...UNCLASSIFIED Joint Requirements Office for Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear Defense MAJ W. Scott Smedley 8 March 2006 Individual Protection Conference

Computer model for economic study of unbleached kraft paperboard production

Science.gov (United States)

Peter J. Ince

1984-01-01

Unbleached kraft paperboard is produced from wood fiber in an industrial papermaking process. A highly specific and detailed model of the process is presented. The model is also presented as a working computer program. A user of the computer program will provide data on physical parameters of the process and on prices of material inputs and outputs. The program is then...

ChemProt: A disease chemical biology database

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taboureau, Olivier; Oprea, Tudor I.

2013-01-01

The integration of chemistry, biology, and informatics to study drug actions across multiple biological targets, pathways, and biological systems is an emerging paradigm in drug discovery. Rather than reducing a complex system to simplistic models, fields such as chemogenomics and translational...... informatics are seeking to build a holistic model for a better understanding of the drug pharmacology and clinical effects. Here we will present a webserver called ChemProt that can assist, in silico, the drug actions in the context of cellular and disease networks and contribute in the field of disease...... chemical biology, drug repurposing, and off-target effects prediction....

Biological, chemical and medical physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

This is an overview of the actual situation in Brazil, concerning three important areas of physics: biological, chemical and medical. It gives a brief historical of research in these areas. It talks as well, about perspectives and financing. It contains many tables with the main research groups in activity in Brazilian institutions. (A.C.A.S.)

An environmental systems analysis of the Kraft pulp industry in Thailand

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Warit, J.

2006-01-01

The pulp industry inThailandis of economic and social importance because of its production value, the revenues from export and the employment in this sector. The eucalyptus-based Kraft pulp industry plays an

Bio-based polyurethane prepared from Kraft lignin and modified castor oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. B. Tavares

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Current challenges highlight the need for polymer research using renewable natural sources as a substitute for petroleum-based polymers. The use of polyols obtained from renewable sources combined with the reuse of industrial residues such as lignin is an important agent in this process. Different compositions of polyurethane-type materials were prepared by combining technical Kraft lignin (TKL with castor oil (CO or modified castor oil (MCO1 and MCO2 to increase their reactivity towards diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI. The results indicate that lignin increases the glass transition temperature, the crosslinking density and improves the ultimate stress especially for those prepared from MCO2 and 30% lignin content from 8.2 MPa (lignin free to 23.5 MPa. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM micrographs of rupture surface after uniaxial tensile tests show ductile-to-brittle transition. The results show the possibility to develop polyurethane-type materials, varying technical grade Kraft lignin content, which cover a wide range of mechanical properties (from large elastic/low Young modulus to brittle/high Young modulus polyurethanes.

Chemical biology of Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Admin

CSIR-IIIM. Chemical biology of. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors. Ram Vishwakarma. CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu. N ti l I tit t f I l. N. D lhi. National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi. Piramal Life Sciences Ltd, Mumbai ...

Structural, morphological, and thermal characterization of kraft lignin and its charcoals obtained at different heating rates

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues Brazil, Tayra; Nunes Costa, Rogeria; Massi, Marcos; Cerqueira Rezende, Mirabel

2018-04-01

Biomass is a renewable resource that is becoming more import due to environmental concerns and possible oil crisis. Thus, optimizing its use is a current challenge for many researchers. Lignin, which is a macromolecule with complex chemical structure, valuable physicochemical properties, and varied chemical composition, is available in large quantities in pulp and paper companies. The objective of this work is the physicochemical characterization of two Kraft lignin samples with different purities, and the study of its thermal conversion into charcoal. The lignin characterization was based on chemical, TGA, DSC, FT-IR, particle sizes, and FEG-SEM analyses. These analyses show that the lignins are mainly composed of guaiacyl and syringyl units, with residues of 30–36 wt.%, in inert atmosphere, depending on the lignin purity. From these results, the more purified lignin with higher carbon yield (%C) was selected for charcoal production. The heat treatment (HT) for carbonization of lignin, at different times (90, 180, and 420 min), resulted in different %C (41–44 wt.%). Longer HT resulted in higher %C and in charcoals with smaller pore sizes. Nanopores (∼50 nm) are observed for the charcoal obtained with the longest HT.

Alkali-treated kraft lignin as a component in flakeboard eesins

Science.gov (United States)

Mon-Lin Kuo; Chung-Yun Hse; Dee-Hua Huang

1991-01-01

Southern pine kraft lignin was reacted with NaOH (15 and 20% based on dry lignin) at 170, 200, and 250°C for 30 and 60 min. Sweetgum flake boards bonded with phenolic resins containing 50% hydroxymethylated lignin prepared from some of the alkali treated lignins were compared with boards bonded with a neat PF resin. Results indicate that boards bonded with lignin-...

Chemical and biological weapons: new questions, new answers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hood, E

1999-01-01

The words "chemical and biological weapons" (CBW) send a shiver down most spines these days. With the end of the Cold War, the possibility of a massive nuclear confrontation appears remote, so today many popular doomsday scenarios center on the aggressive use of chemical or biological warfare by rogue nations or terrorist groups. As exaggerated as some of the accounts are, with CBW cast as the latest unseen, unstoppable enemy, the threat posed by these weapons is all too real, and growing. Images p931-a PMID:10585899

Caffeic acid production by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of kraft pulp using recombinant Escherichia coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawaguchi, Hideo; Katsuyama, Yohei; Danyao, Du; Kahar, Prihardi; Nakamura-Tsuruta, Sachiko; Teramura, Hiroshi; Wakai, Keiko; Yoshihara, Kumiko; Minami, Hiromichi; Ogino, Chiaki; Ohnishi, Yasuo; Kondo, Ahikiko

2017-07-01

Caffeic acid (3,4-dihydroxycinnamic acid) serves as a building block for thermoplastics and a precursor for biologically active compounds and was recently produced from glucose by microbial fermentation. To produce caffeic acid from inedible cellulose, separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) reactions were compared using kraft pulp as lignocellulosic feedstock. Here, a tyrosine-overproducing Escherichia coli strain was metabolically engineered to produce caffeic acid from glucose by introducing the genes encoding a 4-hydroxyphenyllactate 3-hydroxylase (hpaBC) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and tyrosine ammonia lyase (fevV) from Streptomyces sp. WK-5344. Using the resulting recombinant strain, the maximum yield of caffeic acid in SSF (233 mg/L) far exceeded that by SHF (37.9 mg/L). In the SSF with low cellulase loads (≤2.5 filter paper unit/g glucan), caffeic acid production was markedly increased, while almost no glucose accumulation was detected, indicating that the E. coli cells experienced glucose limitation in this culture condition. Caffeic acid yield was also negatively correlated with the glucose concentration in the fermentation medium. In SHF, the formation of by-product acetate and the accumulation of potential fermentation inhibitors increased significantly with kraft pulp hydrolysate than filter paper hydrolysate. The combination of these inhibitors had synergistic effects on caffeic acid fermentation at low concentrations. With lower loads of cellulase in SSF, less potential fermentation inhibitors (furfural, 5-hydroxymethyfurfural, and 4-hydroxylbenzoic acid) accumulated in the medium. These observations suggest that glucose limitation in SSF is crucial for improving caffeic acid yield, owing to reduced by-product formation and fermentation inhibitor accumulation.

Application of surface plasmons to biological and chemical sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kajikawa, Kotaro

2015-01-01

Surface plasmons (SPs) are a collective normal mode of electrons localized at a metallic surface. It has been used for biological sensors since 1990s. This is because it has the following specific characters: (a) The resonance condition is sensitive to the surrounding dielectric constants (refractive indexes) and (b) Highly enhanced optical-electric-fields are produced adjacent to SPs. A brief introduction is given on the principle of the biological and chemical sensors based on SPs for the readers working in the fields other than SPs, followed by a review on the recent developments of the biological and chemical sensors. (author)

Efeito do teor de lignina da madeira de Eucalyptus globulus Labill. no desempenho da polpação kraft

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Valim Cardoso

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In this research, it was analyzed the lignin content effect of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. wood in kraft pulping optimization. Seventy-two laboratory cooking were made with wood chips obtained from six Eucalyptus globulus trees selected from a group of 50 trees. The wood chips from three trees with the lowest lignin content, with average 20.53%, were mixed proportionally based on the tree weights, obtaining the sample of low lignin content wood. The same was made to obtain the sample for wood chips with the highest lignin content, with average 23.02%. The two lignin levels were statistically different. The two wood samples had basic densities statistically not different. Using three maximum temperatures levels (160, 165 and 170ºC, and three active alkali charged (17, 18.5 and 20%, the wood chips were converted to kraft pulps. The pulps were then characterized to analyze the influence of the distinct treatments employed in the cooking on their properties. The effect of the cooking conditions was expressed by mathematical models in order to determine the optimum points for each of the evaluated properties. The optimization process indicated maximum temperature of 168ºC, and active alkali of 19%, for maximum kraft pulping yield to achieve kappa number 18; this result was for woods with low lignin content. For woods containing the high lignin content, the optimization showed maximum cooking temperature of 169ºC and active alkali of 19% for kappa number of 18. The average reduction of 2.49% in wood lignin content resulted a correspondent gain of 2.2% in the kraft yield (o.d. basis and a reduction on the active alkali charge of 1.2% (o.d. basis to achieve kappa numbers from 16 to 19, preserving pulp properties. If the option is to work with kappa number 19 instead of 16, the gain in kraft yield is approximately 2%. Therefore, when working with low lignin content wood and kappa number 19 instead of 16, a substantial gain of approximately 4.2% is

A proposed chemical mechanism for biological phosphate removal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper presents an alternative for the ";all biological"; phosphate removal model. It is postulated that a chemical substance in wastewater reacts with orthophosphate under anaerobic conditions to make the so-called luxury uptake of phosphorus possible in biological nutrient removal (BNR) activated sludge plants.

Radiation, chemical and biological protection. Mass destruction weapons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janasek, D.; Svetlik, J.

2005-01-01

In this text-book mass destruction weapons and radiation, chemical and biological protection are reviewed. The text-book contains the following chapter: (1) Mass destruction weapons; (2) Matter and material; (3) Radioactive materials; (4) Toxic materials; (5) Biological resources; (6) Nuclear energetic equipment; Appendices; References.

Characterization of Cypress Wood for Kraft Pulp Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

António J. A. Santos

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Wood samples of Cupressus arizonica, C. lusitanica, and C. sempervirens were evaluated for chemical, anatomical, and pulp characteristics as raw material for pulp production. Two 17-year-old trees per species were harvested, and wood samples were taken at a height of 2 m. Wood chips from Pinus pinaster (Portugal and P. sylvestris (Finland were used as references. C. arizonica differed from C. lusitanica and C. sempervirens with significantly lower (p < 0.05 tracheid diameter and wall thickness in the earlywood. The total extractives contents were 3.9%, 3.3%, and 2.5% for C. lusitanica, C. sempervirens, and C. arizonica, respectively, lower than the 5.1% for P. pinaster and 4.5% for P. sylvestris. Klason lignin content ranged from 33.0 to 35.6%, higher than the 28.0 to 28.7% for the pinewoods. The kraft pulp yields for C. arizonica, C. lusitanica, and C. sempervirens were 37.7%, 36.7%, and 38.7%, respectively, with kappa numbers of 32.0, 31.6, and 28.7, respectively; the yield values were 40.8% and 42.8%, with kappa numbers of 23.4 and 21.0, for P. pinaster and P. sylvestris, respectively. The cypress species are clearly different from pine in relation to wood pulping behavior. Among the cypress, C. sempervirens provided the best pulping results.

Biological Art of Producing Useful Chemicals

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 21; Issue 3. Metabolic Engineering: Biological Art of Producing Useful Chemicals. Ram Kulkarni. General Article Volume 21 Issue 3 March 2016 pp 233-237. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

Detection and treatment of chemical weapons and/or biological pathogens

Science.gov (United States)

Mariella Jr., Raymond P.

2004-09-07

A system for detection and treatment of chemical weapons and/or biological pathogens uses a detector system, an electrostatic precipitator or scrubber, a circulation system, and a control. The precipitator or scrubber is activated in response to a signal from the detector upon the detection of chemical weapons and/or biological pathogens.

75 FR 35792 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Information...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-23

... production process units include operations such as pulping, bleaching, chemical recovery and papermaking. Different pulping processes are used, including chemical processes (kraft, soda, sulfite and semi-chemical... chemical pulp mills (kraft, sulfite, semi-chemical and soda wood pulping processes). For existing kraft and...

Chemical and biological nonproliferation program. FY99 annual report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

This document is the first of what will become an annual report documenting the progress made by the Chemical and Biological Nonproliferation Program (CBNP). It is intended to be a summary of the program's activities that will be of interest to both policy and technical audiences. This report and the annual CBNP Summer Review Meeting are important vehicles for communication with the broader chemical and biological defense and nonproliferation communities. The Chemical and Biological Nonproliferation Program Strategic Plan is also available and provides additional detail on the program's context and goals. The body of the report consists of an overview of the program's philosophy, goals and recent progress in the major program areas. In addition, an appendix is provided with more detailed project summaries that will be of interest to the technical community.

Structural characterization of Kraft lignins from different spent cooking liquors by 1D and 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernández-Costas, C.; Gouveia, S.; Sanromán, M.A.; Moldes, D.

2014-01-01

Three Kraft lignins isolated from black liquors of several paper pulp mills of the North of Spain and Portugal were structurally characterized by using monodimensional ( 1 H and 13 C) and bidimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometry. From the latter, 13 C– 1 H heteronuclear single quantum correlation (HSQC) and heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC) were employed. Lignins from black liquors are usually burned for power generation. Nevertheless, they could become high value added products within a biorefinery context. In that case, a good understanding of their structure is a prior step to transform them. From all the NMR techniques studied, HSQC has risen as the most powerful tool in lignin characterization. Kraft cooking conditions and the type of wood seem to be the main factors that determine the differences observed in the lignins. All the samples have shown an important decrease in the number of β–O–4′ linkages, due to the Kraft process, and resinol has become the most resistant linkage to the process. Moreover, all samples seem to be mainly linked to a one polysaccharide: xylan. Several parameters like S/G ratio, portion of phenolic and aliphatic hydroxyls, amount of aromatic protons and other structural aspects were also estimated. - Highlights: • Lignins from three Kraft spent liquors were obtained by acid precipitation. • Structural characterization of the dissolved lignins was performed by NMR. • Wood source and pulping conditions determine the lignin characteristics. • Kraft process implies cleavage of β–O–4 linkages and survival of resinol linkages. • Comparison of the samples would aid decisions on its future revalorization

Selectivity on-target of bromodomain chemical probes by structure-guided medicinal chemistry and chemical biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Galdeano, Carles; Ciulli, Alessio

2016-09-01

Targeting epigenetic proteins is a rapidly growing area for medicinal chemistry and drug discovery. Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in developing small molecules binding to bromodomains, the readers of acetyl-lysine modifications. A plethora of co-crystal structures has motivated focused fragment-based design and optimization programs within both industry and academia. These efforts have yielded several compounds entering the clinic, and many more are increasingly being used as chemical probes to interrogate bromodomain biology. High selectivity of chemical probes is necessary to ensure biological activity is due to an on-target effect. Here, we review the state-of-the-art of bromodomain-targeting compounds, focusing on the structural basis for their on-target selectivity or lack thereof. We also highlight chemical biology approaches to enhance on-target selectivity.

Effects of black liquor shocks on activated sludge treatment of bleached kraft pulp mill wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Morales, Gabriela; Pesante, Silvana; Vidal, Gladys

2015-01-01

Kraft pulp mills use activated sludge systems to remove organic matter from effluents. Process streams may appear as toxic spills in treatment plant effluents, such as black liquor, which is toxic to microorganisms of the activated sludge. The present study evaluates the effects of black liquor shocks in activated sludge systems. Four black liquor shocks from 883 to 3,225 mg chemical oxygen demand-COD L(-1) were applied during 24 hours in a continuously operating lab-scale activated sludge system. Removal efficiencies of COD, color and specific compounds were determined. Moreover, specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR), sludge volumetric index (SVI) and indicator microorganisms were evaluated. Results show that the addition of black liquor caused an increase in COD removal (76-67%) immediately post shock; followed two days later by a decrease (-19-50%). On the other hand, SOUR ranged between 0.152 and 0.336 mgO2 g(-1) volatile suspended solids-VSS• min(-1) during shocks, but the initial value was reestablished at hour 24. When the COD concentration of the shock was higher than 1,014 mg/L, the abundance of stalked ciliates and rotifers dropped. Finally, no changes in SVI were observed, with values remaining in the range 65.8-40.2 mL g(-1) total suspended solids-TSS during the entire operating process. Based on the results, the principal conclusion is that the activated sludge system with the biomass adapted to the kraft pulp effluent could resist a black liquor shock with 3,225 mgCOD L(-1) of concentration during 24 h, under this study's conditions.

Reinforcing Natural Rubber with Cellulose Nanofibrils Extracted from Bleached Eucalyptus Kraft Pulp

Science.gov (United States)

Chunmei Zhang; Tianliang Zhai; Ronald Sabo; Craig Clemons; Yi Dan; Lih-Sheng Turng

2014-01-01

Reinforced natural rubber (NR) nanocomposites were prepared by solution mixing, casting, and evaporation of pre-vulcanized natural rubber latex and an aqueous suspension of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) extracted from bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that there were no micro-scaled aggregates observed in the nanocomposites...

PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF DISSOLVING PULP FROM TREMA ORIENTALIS (NALITA) BY PREHYDROLYSIS KRAFT AND SODA-ETHYLENEDIAMINE (EDA) PROCESS

OpenAIRE

M. A. Quaiyyum; A. Noori; Labooni Ahsan; M. Sarwar Jahan

2008-01-01

This paper presents a preliminary study for the production of dissolving pulp from Trema orientalis (Nalita). Water prehydrolysis kraft and soda-ethylenediamine (EDA) pulping for the production of dissolving pulp from T. orientalis was investigated. Prehydrolysis at 150 and 170 oC did not produce pulp with high α-cellulose content when using the kraft process. But addition of 0.25 % H2SO4 in prehydrolysis liquor increased the purity of the pulp with the sacrifice of pulp yield and viscosity. ...

Energy efficiency improvement of a Kraft process through practical stack gases heat recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mostajeran Goortani, B.; Mateos-Espejel, E.; Moshkelani, M.; Paris, J.

2011-01-01

A process scheme for the optimal recovery of heat from stack gases considering energy and technical constraints has been developed and applied to an existing Kraft pulping mill. A system based on a closed loop recirculation of hot oil is used to recover the heat from stack gases and distribute it to the appropriate cold streams. The recovery of heat from stack gases is part of an overall optimization of the Kraft mill. Tools such as Pinch Analysis and exergy analysis are used to evaluate the process streams. The results indicate that 10.8 MW of heat from stack gases can be reused to heat process streams such as the deaerator water, hot water, drying filtrates, and black liquor. A simulation model of the recirculation loop has been developed to determine the specifications of the recovery system. The total heat exchanger surface area required by the system is 3460 m 2 , with a hot oil recirculation temperature of 137 o C. The anticipated total investment is $10.3 M, with a payback time of 1.8 years. - Highlights: → We developed a process design for recovering heat from stack gases in a Kraft mill. → The recovered heat is optimally distributed to the process cold streams. → Heat recovery system has a total surface area of 3500 m 2 without gases condensation. → A reduction of 7 percent in total process steam demand is anticipated. → A total investment of 10.3 M$ is needed with a payback time of less than two years

Kraft Foods, Inc. in India — The Cadbury Acquisition

OpenAIRE

V. S. Pai; Ram Subramanian

2014-01-01

When the United States-based Kraft Foods, Inc. (KFI) acquired the United Kingdom-based Cadbury plc, KFI got entry into the Indian market. KFI CEO, Irene Rosenfeld had targeted the developing markets as key for the company to achieve a 5% organic growth rate and the strong position of Cadbury India augured well for expanding KFI's presence in that market. However, after nearly a year since the acquisition, KFI was moving slowly in India and appeared content to consolidate Cadbury's market pres...

Biochemical methane potential of kraft bleaching effluent and codigestion with other in-mill streams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fitamo, Temesgen Mathewos; Dahl, Olli; Master, Emma

2016-01-01

and in combination: total bleaching effluent, alkaline bleaching effluent, kraft evaporator condensate, and chemithermomechanical pulping effluent. The total bleaching effluent, consisting of the chlorine dioxide bleaching and alkaline bleaching effluents, exhibited the highest potential for organic matter...

Future of Chemical Engineering: Integrating Biology into the Undergraduate ChE Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Mosto, Patricia; Savelski, Mariano; Farrell, Stephanie H.; Hecht, Gregory B.

2007-01-01

Integrating biology in the chemical engineering curriculum seems to be the future for chemical engineering programs nation and worldwide. Rowan University's efforts to address this need include a unique chemical engineering curriculum with an intensive biology component integrated throughout from freshman to senior years. Freshman and Sophomore…

Chemical and biological treatment technologies for leather tannery chemicals and wastewaters: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lofrano, Giusy; Meriç, Sureyya; Zengin, Gülsüm Emel; Orhon, Derin

2013-09-01

Although the leather tanning industry is known to be one of the leading economic sectors in many countries, there has been an increasing environmental concern regarding the release of various recalcitrant pollutants in tannery wastewater. It has been shown that biological processes are presently known as the most environmental friendly but inefficient for removal of recalcitrant organics and micro-pollutants in tannery wastewater. Hence emerging technologies such as advanced oxidation processes and membrane processes have been attempted as integrative to biological treatment for this sense. This paper, as the-state-of-the-art, attempts to revise the over world trends of treatment technologies and advances for pollution prevention from tannery chemicals and wastewater. It can be elucidated that according to less extent advances in wastewater minimization as well as in leather production technology and chemicals substitution, biological and chemical treatment processes have been progressively studied. However, there has not been a full scale application yet of those emerging technologies using advanced oxidation although some of them proved good achievements to remove xenobiotics present in tannery wastewater. It can be noted that advanced oxidation technologies integrated with biological processes will remain in the agenda of the decision makers and water sector to apply the best prevention solution for the future tanneries. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diazo Compounds: Versatile Tools for Chemical Biology

OpenAIRE

Mix, Kalie A.; Aronoff, Matthew R.; Raines, Ronald T.

2016-01-01

Diazo groups have broad and tunable reactivity. That and other attributes endow diazo compounds with the potential to be valuable reagents for chemical biologists. The presence of diazo groups in natural products underscores their metabolic stability and anticipates their utility in a biological context. The chemoselectivity of diazo groups, even in the presence of azido groups, presents many opportunities. Already, diazo compounds have served as chemical probes and elicited novel modificatio...

Construction of a Linux based chemical and biological information system.

Science.gov (United States)

Molnár, László; Vágó, István; Fehér, András

2003-01-01

A chemical and biological information system with a Web-based easy-to-use interface and corresponding databases has been developed. The constructed system incorporates all chemical, numerical and textual data related to the chemical compounds, including numerical biological screen results. Users can search the database by traditional textual/numerical and/or substructure or similarity queries through the web interface. To build our chemical database management system, we utilized existing IT components such as ORACLE or Tripos SYBYL for database management and Zope application server for the web interface. We chose Linux as the main platform, however, almost every component can be used under various operating systems.

Chemical and biological warfare. Should defenses be researched and deployed?

Science.gov (United States)

Orient, J M

1989-08-04

The threat of chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction has intensified because of improved delivery systems and advances in chemistry, genetics, and other sciences. Possible US responses to this threat include deterrence, defenses, and/or disarmament, including a reaffirmation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention of 1972, which is now in jeopardy. This article discusses the history of chemical and biological warfare, existing and potential weapons, the proliferation of weapons and delivery systems, ways to prevent the use of these weapons, and ways to protect populations from their effects.

Utilização de surfactantes, na polpação kraft de madeira de eucalipto, como auxiliar na remoção de extrativos lipofílicos Surfactant utilization in kraft pulping of eucalyptus wood to improve lipophilic extractives removal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deusanilde de Jesus Silva

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Problemas de deposição de "pitch" em fábricas de celulose e de papel são atribuídos aos extrativos lipofílicos existentes na madeira. Uma das maneiras mais eficientes de controlar essa deposição é através da remoção de seus precursores do sistema, logo que possível, nas etapas de cozimento, lavagem da polpa marrom e pré-deslignificação com oxigênio. O uso de surfactantes como aditivos da polpação tem sido investigado, mas há grande deficiência de informações técnicas, e a aplicação industrial é, ainda, incipiente. A proposta deste trabalho foi analisar a viabilidade de minimizar a deposição de "pitch", intensificando a remoção de suas substâncias precursoras na etapa de polpação pelo uso de tensoativos sintéticos com propriedades umectantes e solubilizantes. Foram testados 20 princípios ativos de surfactantes em cozimento kraft convencional de madeira de eucalipto. Os resultados, alguns estatisticamente significativos, apontaram redução do teor de substâncias lipofílicas na polpa marrom. Foi observado que a remoção dos extrativos lipofílicos da madeira é afetada, inversamente, pelo teor de óxido de eteno na molécula do surfactante. Outros parâmetros de cozimento, como deslignificação, rendimento, teor de rejeitos e viscosidade da polpa, foram também avaliados.Extractives are pitch precursors and may decrease pulping efficiency and affect pulp quality. Probably, the most efficient way to minimize pitch problems is to remove their precursors from the system during cooking, pulp washing and oxygen delignification. Use of surfactants as pulping additives has been investigated but technical information is deficient and industrial application is very incipient. The objective of this study was to analyze the performance of different surfactants as additives for kraft pulping of Eucalyptus wood. Twenty surfactants with different basic chemical structures were used. The results demonstrated that

Nitrogen oxide emissions from a kraft recovery furnace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prouty, A.L.; Stuart, R.C.; Caron, A.L.

1993-01-01

Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions from a rebuilt kraft recovery furnace slightly exceeded the specified limit of 1.1 lb/ton (0.55 kg/metric ton) of black-liquor solids. Mill trials were undertaken to determine whether NOx emissions could be minimized by modifying furnace operation. NOx emissions increased when secondary air was shifted to tertiary ports. NOx emissions fell when the amounts of primary and total air were decreased, but this increased emissions of other pollutants. After demonstrating that best operation of the furnace could not meet the permit with an emissions limit that matched the furnace's performance at best operation

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences (IJBCS) is a journal ... c) Short Communication (maximum: 10 pages, 20 references). d) Case ... Abstract: All articles should be provided with an abstract not exceeding 200 words.

Aum Shinrikyo's Chemical and Biological Weapons: More Than Sarin.

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, A T

2014-07-01

The radical religious group Aum Shinrikyo was founded in Japan in the 1980s and grew rapidly in the 1990s. Aum members perpetrated a mass murder in Matsumoto City in 1994, where they used sarin as a chemical weapon to poison approximately 500 civilians. On March 20, 1995, Aum deployed sarin in an even larger terrorist attack on the Tokyo Subway System, which poisoned some 6,000 people. After the Tokyo Subway attack, the Japanese Police arrested the sect's senior members. From 2005 through 2011, 13 of these senior members were sentenced to death. In this article, aspects of Aum's chemical and biological terrorism are reviewed. Sarin production efforts by the sect are described, including how the degradation product of sarin in soil, methylphosphonic acid, enabled the detection of sarin production sites. Also, Aum's chemical-warfare agents other than sarin are described, as are its biological weapons. The author was permitted by the Japanese government to interview Dr. Tomomasa Nakagawa, one of the senior members of Aum Shinrikyo. From Dr. Nakagawa the author obtained valuable inside information about Aum's chemical and biological weapons programs. Copyright © 2014 Central Police University.

Effect of Cellulases and Xylanases on Refining Process and Kraft Pulp Properties.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamila Przybysz Buzała

Full Text Available Samples of bleached kraft pine cellulosic pulp, either treated with an enzyme preparation (a Thermomyces lanuginosus xylanase, an Aspergillus sp. cellulase, and a multienzyme preparation NS-22086 containing both these activities or untreated, were refined in a laboratory PFI mill. The treatment with cellulases contained in the last two preparations significantly improved the pulp's susceptibility to refining (the target freeness value of 30°SR was achieved in a significantly shorter time, increased water retention value (WRV and fines contents while the weighted average fiber length was significantly reduced. These changes of pulp parameters caused deterioration of paper strength properties. The treatment with the xylanase, which partially hydrolyzed xylan, small amounts of which are associated with cellulose fibers, only slightly loosened the structure of fibers. These subtle changes positively affected the susceptibility of the pulp to refining (refining energy was significantly reduced and improved the static strength properties of paper. Thus, the treatment of kraft pulps with xylanases may lead to substantial savings of refining energy without negative effects on paper characteristics.

Application of thermoalkalophilic xylanase from Arthrobacter sp. MTCC 5214 in biobleaching of kraft pulp

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Khandeparker, R.; Bhosle, N.B.

released by enzyme treatment showed a characteristic peak at 280 nm indicating the presence of lignin in the released coloring matter. Enzymatic prebleaching of kraft pulp showed 20 % reduction in kappa number of the pulp without much change in viscosity...

Diazo Compounds: Versatile Tools for Chemical Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Mix, Kalie A; Aronoff, Matthew R; Raines, Ronald T

2016-12-16

Diazo groups have broad and tunable reactivity. That and other attributes endow diazo compounds with the potential to be valuable reagents for chemical biologists. The presence of diazo groups in natural products underscores their metabolic stability and anticipates their utility in a biological context. The chemoselectivity of diazo groups, even in the presence of azido groups, presents many opportunities. Already, diazo compounds have served as chemical probes and elicited novel modifications of proteins and nucleic acids. Here, we review advances that have facilitated the chemical synthesis of diazo compounds, and we highlight applications of diazo compounds in the detection and modification of biomolecules.

Chemical and biological nonproliferation program. FY99 annual report; ANNUAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

NONE

2000-01-01

This document is the first of what will become an annual report documenting the progress made by the Chemical and Biological Nonproliferation Program (CBNP). It is intended to be a summary of the program's activities that will be of interest to both policy and technical audiences. This report and the annual CBNP Summer Review Meeting are important vehicles for communication with the broader chemical and biological defense and nonproliferation communities. The Chemical and Biological Nonproliferation Program Strategic Plan is also available and provides additional detail on the program's context and goals. The body of the report consists of an overview of the program's philosophy, goals and recent progress in the major program areas. In addition, an appendix is provided with more detailed project summaries that will be of interest to the technical community

Combustion properties of kraft black liquors; Mustalipeaen koostumuksen vaikutus lipeaen poltto-ominaisuuksiin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alen, R.; Siistonen, H.; Heikkinen, T.; Malkavaara, P. [Jyvaeskylae Univ. (Finland)

1996-12-01

The aim of this work is to study the combustion properties of kraft black liquors from modified cooking. Both the industrial and laboratory-made black liquors are included. In addition, changes in the combustion properties of the spent liquors obtained by mixing prior to combustion different chlorine-free bleach liquors with black liquor are studied. (author)

Bioconversion of oxygen-pretreated Kraft lignin to microbial lipid with oleaginous Rhodococcus opacus DSM 1069

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wei, Zhen [Hunan Univ. Changsha (China); Zeng, Guangming [Hunan Univ. Changsha (China); Huang, Fang [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Kosa, Matyas [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Huang, Danlian [Hunan Univ. Changsha (China); Ragauskas, Arthur J. [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

2015-04-09

Kraft lignin (KL) from black liquor is an abundantly available, inexpensive aromatic resource that is regarded as a low value compound by the pulp and paper industry, necessitating the development of new applications.

Bazı çam türlerinden kraft kağıt hamuru elde etme sürecinde sodyum borhidrür ilavesinin etkileri

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akın SARAÇBAŞI

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Bu araştırmada, kızılçam (Pinus brutia Ten. ve Monteri çamı (Pinus radiata D. Don. türlerinden toplam verim ve delignifikasyonu geliştirmek amacı ile alternatif bir Sodyum borhidrür (NaBH4-Kraft kâğıt hamuru elde etme yöntemi üzerinde çalışılmıştır. Delignifikasyon derecesi ve hamur verimi üzerinde reaksiyon koşullarının etkileri değerlendirilmiştir.Sonuçlar, sodyum borhidrür ilavesinin bilinen Kraft yöntemine göre her iki çam türünün hem verim hem de delignifikasyonunu geliştirmek için daha etkili olduğunu göstermektedir. Sodyum borhidrür (NaBH4-Kraft yönteminin, geleneksel Kraft yönteminin tek başına verdiği kappa numarası ve yüksek verim açısından, daha hızlı ve daha seçici olduğu düşünülmektedir. Ancak, kızılçam için en iyi Sodyum borhidrür (NaBH4-Kraft kâğıt hamuru üretim koşulu Aktif Alkali: %16, Sülfidite: %28, NaBH4 oranı: %0.5 iken, Monteri çamı için en iyi Sodyum borhidrür (NaBH4-Kraft kâğıt hamuru üretim koşulunun ise Aktif Alkali: %20, Sülfidite: %26, NaBH4 Oranı: %0.7 olduğu bulunmuştur.

Application of xylanases from Amazon Forest fungal species in bleaching of eucalyptus kraft pulps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roseli Garcia Medeiros

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Crude xylanase preparations from Penicillium corylophilum, Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma longibrachiatum were used to treat Eucalyptus kraft pulp, prior to chlorine dioxide and alkaline bleaching sequences. The enzyme pretreatment improved brightness and delignification of non-delignified and oxygen-bleached samples of eucalyptus kraft pulp. Xylanase preparations from T. longibrachiatum and P. corylophilum were more effective to reduce pulp kappa number. A small reduction in viscosity was obtained when the oxygen-bleached pulp was treated with xylanase preparation from A. niger. For all enzyme samples, the best release of chromophoric material from the pulp was at 237 nm. The enzyme preparation from P. corylophilum was responsible for the highest release of reducing sugar at a dosage interval of 10-20 IU/g dry weight pulp. Scanning electron microscopy studies of oxygen-bleached pulp after xylanase treatment revealed morphological changes, including holes, cracks, filament forming and peeling.Amostras de xilanases de extratos brutos de Penicillium corylophilum, Aspergillus niger e Trichoderma longibrachiatum foram utilizadas no branqueamento de polpa kraft de eucalipto antes das seqüências alcalina e dióxido de cloro. O pré-tratamento enzimático melhorou a alvura e o processo de deslignificação de amostras de polpa kraft de eucalipto não-tratada e tratada com oxigênio. Amostras de xilanases de T. longibrachiatum e P. corylophilum foram mais efetivas na redução do número kappa da polpa. A polpa tratada com oxigênio sofreu uma pequena redução na sua viscosidade quando incubada com amostra de xilanase de A. niger. Para todas as amostras de xilanases, a maior liberação de cromóforos da polpa foi a 237 nm. A amostra de xilanase de P. corylophilum liberou maior quantidade de açúcar redutor da polpa, utilizando dosagem de 10-20 UI/g de peso seco da polpa. Estudos de microscopia eletrônica de varredura revelaram várias altera

Solution blow spun nanocomposites of poly(lactic acid)/cellulose nanocrystals from Eucalyptus kraft pulp

Science.gov (United States)

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were extracted from Eucalyptus kraft pulp by sulfuric acid hydrolysis, and esterified with maleic anhydride (CNCMA). The incorporation of sulfate ester groups on the cellulose surface resulted in higher stability of the nanoparticles in aqueous suspensions and lower the...

Mergers and acquisitions : the case of Kraft Foods and Cadbury

OpenAIRE

Ribeiro, Sara Isabel de Paula

2013-01-01

The aim of this dissertation is to focus on a determinant aspect of Corporate Finance that is Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). This dissertation not only provides a practical analysis of main issued regarding a process of M&A, but also provides a theoretical framework about M&A. Specifically, this dissertation explores the real case of Kraft Foods - world’s second largest manufacturer and packager food products – and Cadbury - the world’s second largest confectionery firm. ...

A survey of chemicals inducing lipid peroxidation in biological systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kappus, H

1987-01-01

A great number of drugs and chemicals are reviewed which have been shown to stimulate lipid peroxidation in any biological system. The underlying mechanisms, as far as known, are also dealt with. Lipid peroxidation induced by iron ions, organic hydroperoxides, halogenated hydrocarbons, redox cycling drugs, glutathione depleting chemicals, ethanol, heavy metals, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and a number of miscellaneous compounds, e.g. hydrazines, pesticides, antibiotics, are mentioned. It is shown that lipid peroxidation is stimulated by many of these compounds. However, quantitative estimates cannot be given yet and it is still impossible to judge the biological relevance of chemical-induced lipid peroxidation.

Utilización de Eucalyptus spp. Alternativas de plantaciones uruguayas para pulpa Kraft

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Doldán

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Las plantaciones de Eucalyptus globulus han mostrado desiguales tasas de crecimiento en diferentes regiones de Uruguay. Esto ha motivado la búsqueda de otros orígenes de semilla y especies para la producción de pulpa de celulosa. Propiedades papeleras de las pulpas blanqueadas (ECF de especies alternativas llevan a intuir que podrían ser atractivas para mercados de pulpa de fibra corta. En este trabajo se realiza un comparativo del E. grandis, E. dunnii, E. maidenii y E. globulus (procedencia de semilla “Jeeralang” con el E. globulus predominante en Uruguay. Se discute el potencial de estas maderas como base para una mezcla en cocción, basándose en el análisis de propiedades físicas (densidad aparente básica, propiedades pulpables (rendimiento, carga de álcali activo en cocción Kraft y consumo de madera y propiedades papeleras. En trabajos previos se han encontrado diferencias significativas entre el comportamiento pulpable del Eucalyptus globulus y Eucalyptus maidenii, sugiriendo que nosería recomendable mezclar estas especies. La misma conclusión se podría extender a las especies de Eucalyptus estudiadas. Sin embargo, teniendo en cuenta los similares requerimientos en las cargas de álcali activo, la mezcla entre especies alternativas podría ser aplicada.AbstractEucalyptus globulus plantations have shown different growth rates in different sites in Uruguay. This fact has triggered the search for other pulp wood species and seed provenance. Paper making properties of ECF bleached pulps of alternative speciessuggest that these species could be perfectly used as hardwood bleached pulp raw materials. This study intends to compare alternativeUruguayan pulpwood species E. grandis, E. dunnii, E. maidenii and “Jeeralang” a seed provenance of E. globulus to the E. globulus most widely cultivated in the country. Physical properties of wood (Basic Density, Kraft pulping performance (pulp yield, active alkali and wood consumption

The terrorist threat nuclear, radiological, biological, chemical - a medical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Revel, M.C. de; Gourmelon, M.C.S.; Vidal, P.C.; Renaudeau, P.C.S.

2005-01-01

Since September 11, 2001, the fear of a large scale nuclear, biological and/or chemical terrorism is taken again into consideration at the highest level of national policies of risk prevention. The advent of international terrorism implies a cooperation between the military defense and the civil defense. The nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical (NRBC) experts of the health service of army and of civil defense will have to work together in case of major terror attack. This book presents this cooperation between civil and military experts in the NRBC domain: risk analysis, national defense plans, crisis management, syndromes and treatments. The different aspects linked with the use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons are analyzed by the best experts from French medical and research institutes. All topics of each NRBC domain are approached: historical, basic, diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive. (J.S.)

Methane Fermentation of Slurry with Chemical and Biological Additive

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Smurzyńska

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The problem of proper slurry management is primarily present in intensive livestock production. Industrialized livestock farms generate enormous quantities of manure droppings in a livestock-litter-free system. The traditional management of slurry is made by using it as a fertilizer. Alternative techniques used for neutralizing the detrimental effect of slurry are based on the use of chemical and biological additives, as well as by introducing aerobic environment through aerobic or anaerobic digestion, leading to methane fermentation. In the experiment, cattle manure was used, which came from the Przybroda farm belonging to the University of Life Sciences in Poznan. The aim of the study was to determine the biogas yield of slurry using the chemical and biological additive available on the Polish market. Mesophilic and thermophilic fermentation was used for the indication of the effectiveness of the employed fermentation process. The slurry was supplemented by a biological and chemical additive, i.e. effective microorganisms and – PRP, respectively. The experiment allowed to achieve a higher biogas yield during the use of effective microorganisms.

Recommendations for sampling for prevention of hazards in civil defense. On analytics of chemical, biological and radioactive contaminations. Brief instruction for the CBRN (chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear) sampling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bachmann, Udo; Biederbick, Walter; Derakshani, Nahid

2010-01-01

The recommendation for sampling for prevention of hazards in civil defense is describing the analytics of chemical, biological and radioactive contaminations and includes detail information on the sampling, protocol preparation and documentation procedures. The volume includes a separate brief instruction for the CBRN (chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear) sampling.

Guidelines to improve airport preparedness against chemical and biological terrorism.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Edwards, Donna M.; Price, Phillip N. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA); Gordon, Susanna P.; Gadgil, Ashok (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA)

2005-05-01

Guidelines to Improve Airport Preparedness Against Chemical and Biological Terrorism is a 100-page document that makes concrete recommendations on improving security and assessing vulnerable areas and helps its readers understand the nature of chemical and biological attacks. The report has been turned over to Airports Council International (ACI) and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), two organizations that together represent the interests of thousands of airport personnel and facilities in the U.S. and around the world.

The journal of medical chemical, biological and radiological defense, an update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, B. B. S.; Peitersen, L.E.

2009-01-01

The Journal of Medical Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Defense (www.JMedCBR.org) is a peer-reviewed scientific online journal focusing on the biology, chemistry, physiology, toxicology and treatment of exposure to threat agents. JMedCBR provides a central international forum for the publication of current research and development information on medical chemical, biological and radiological defense, as well as training, doctrine, and problems related to chemical, biological and radiological casualties. JMedCBR is sponsored by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Chem-Bio Technologies Directorate as part of its scientific outreach program in chemical and biological defense solutions for the Department of Defense. In addition to scientific and medical research, JMedCBR hosts an archive of related papers from authors in the field. Although organized into annual issues, articles are published on the web continuously. The complete JMedCBR is published electronically and is made available to the scientific community free of charge. JMedCBR is committed to providing its readers with quality scientific information and critical analyses. All submissions are peer-reviewed by an editorial board of recognized and respected international scientists who represent expertise in different aspects of medical chemical, biological and radiological defense. Contributions to JMedCBR must be original works of the author(s) and must not have been previously published or simultaneously submitted to other publications. The author(s) transfer the copyright of articles published in JMedCBR to the journal. A copyright transfer form must accompany each manuscript submission. For more information on submitting to JMedCBR, see the Authors' Guide, available at http://www.jmedcbr.org/authorGuide.html.(author)

[Decontamination of chemical and biological warfare agents].

Science.gov (United States)

Seto, Yasuo

2009-01-01

Chemical and biological warfare agents (CBWA's) are diverse in nature; volatile acute low-molecular-weight toxic compounds, chemical warfare agents (CWA's, gaseous choking and blood agents, volatile nerve gases and blister agents, nonvolatile vomit agents and lacrymators), biological toxins (nonvolatile low-molecular-weight toxins, proteinous toxins) and microbes (bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae). In the consequence management against chemical and biological terrorism, speedy decontamination of victims, facilities and equipment is required for the minimization of the damage. In the present situation, washing victims and contaminated materials with large volumes of water is the basic way, and additionally hypochlorite salt solution is used for decomposition of CWA's. However, it still remains unsolved how to dispose large volumes of waste water, and the decontamination reagents have serious limitation of high toxicity, despoiling nature against the environments, long finishing time and non-durability in effective decontamination. Namely, the existing decontamination system is not effective, nonspecifically affecting the surrounding non-target materials. Therefore, it is the urgent matter to build up the usable decontamination system surpassing the present technologies. The symposiast presents the on-going joint project of research and development of the novel decontamination system against CBWA's, in the purpose of realizing nontoxic, fast, specific, effective and economical terrorism on-site decontamination. The projects consists of (1) establishment of the decontamination evaluation methods and verification of the existing technologies and adaptation of bacterial organophosphorus hydrolase, (2) development of adsorptive elimination technologies using molecular recognition tools, and (4) development of deactivation technologies using photocatalysis.

Probes & Drugs portal: an interactive, open data resource for chemical biology

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Škuta, Ctibor; Popr, M.; Muller, Tomáš; Jindřich, Jindřich; Kahle, Michal; Sedlák, David; Svozil, Daniel; Bartůněk, Petr

2017-01-01

Roč. 14, č. 8 (2017), s. 758-759 ISSN 1548-7091 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LO1220 Institutional support: RVO:68378050 Keywords : bioactive compound, ,, * chemical probe * chemical biology * portal Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology OBOR OECD: Computer sciences, information science, bioinformathics (hardware development to be 2.2, social aspect to be 5.8) Impact factor: 25.062, year: 2016

Nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. Part I: Medical aspects of nuclear warfare.

Science.gov (United States)

Kasthuri, A S; Pradhan, A B; Dham, S K; Bhalla, I P; Paul, J S

1990-04-01

Casualties in earlier wars were due much more to diseases than to weapons. Mention has been made in history of the use of biological agents in warfare, to deny the enemy food and water and to cause disease. In the first world war chemical agents were used to cause mass casualties. Nuclear weapons were introduced in the second world war. Several countries are now involved in developing nuclear, biological and chemical weapon systems, for the mass annihilation of human beings, animals and plants, and to destroy the economy of their enemies. Recently, natural calamities and accidents in nuclear, chemical and biological laboratories and industries have caused mass instantaneous deaths in civilian population. The effects of future wars will not be restricted to uniformed persons. It is time that physicians become aware of the destructive potential of these weapons. Awareness, immediate protective measures and first aid will save a large number of persons. This series of articles will outline the medical aspects of nuclear, biological and chemical weapon systems in three parts. Part I will deal with the biological effects of a nuclear explosion. The short and long term effects due to blast, heat and associated radiation are highlighted. In Part II, the role of biological agents which cause commoner or new disease patterns is mentioned. Some of the accidents from biological warfare laboratories are a testimony to its potential deleterious effects. Part III deals with medical aspects of chemical warfare agents, which in view of their mass effects can overwhelm the existing medical resources, both civilian and military.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Insect-gene-activity detection system for chemical and biological warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals

Science.gov (United States)

Mackie, Ryan S.; Schilling, Amanda S.; Lopez, Arturo M.; Rayms-Keller, Alfredo

2002-02-01

Detection of multiple chemical and biological weapons (CBW) agents and/or complex mixtures of toxic industrial chemicals (TIC) is imperative for both the commercial and military sectors. In a military scenario, a multi-CBW attack would create confusion, thereby delaying decontamination and therapeutic efforts. In the commercial sector, polluted sites invariably contain a mixture of TIC. Novel detection systems capable of detecting CBW and TIC are sorely needed. While it may be impossible to build a detector capable of discriminating all the possible combinations of CBW, a detection system capable of statistically predicting the most likely composition of a given mixture is within the reach of current emerging technologies. Aquatic insect-gene activity may prove to be a sensitive, discriminating, and elegant paradigm for the detection of CBW and TIC. We propose to systematically establish the expression patterns of selected protein markers in insects exposed to specific mixtures of chemical and biological warfare agents to generate a library of biosignatures of exposure. The predicting capabilities of an operational library of biosignatures of exposures will allow the detection of emerging novel or genetically engineered agents, as well as complex mixtures of chemical and biological weapons agents. CBW and TIC are discussed in the context of war, terrorism, and pollution.

News: Synthetic biology leading to specialty chemicals ...

Science.gov (United States)

Synthetic biology can combine the disciplines of biology, engineering, and chemistry productively to form molecules of great scientific and commercial value. Recent advances in the new field are explored for their connection to new tools that have been used to elucidate production pathways to a wide variety of chemicals generated by microorganisms. The selection and enhancement of microbiological strains through the practice of strain engineering enables targets of design, construction, and optimization. This news column aspires to cover recent literature relating to the development and understanding of clean technology.

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences: Editorial ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences (IJBCS) is a journal ... IJBCS publishes original research papers, critical up-to-date and concise ... Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio ...

Application of synthetic biology for production of chemicals in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borodina, Irina; Li, Mingji

2015-01-01

Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering enable generation of novel cell factories that efficiently convert renewable feedstocks into biofuels, bulk, and fine chemicals, thus creating the basis for biosustainable economy independent on fossil resources. While over a hundred proof...... biology has the potential to bring down this cost by improving our ability to predictably engineer biological systems. This review highlights synthetic biology applications for design, assembly, and optimization of non-native biochemical pathways in baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We describe......-of-concept chemicals have been made in yeast, only a very small fraction of those has reached commercial-scale production so far. The limiting factor is the high research cost associated with the development of a robust cell factory that can produce the desired chemical at high titer, rate, and yield. Synthetic...

Linking neuroethology to the chemical biology of natural products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olivera, Baldomero M.; Raghuraman, Shrinivasan; Schmidt, Eric W.

2017-01-01

From a biological perspective, a natural product can be defined as a compound evolved by an organism for chemical interactions with another organism including prey, predator, competitor, pathogen, symbiont or host. Natural products hold tremendous potential as drug leads and have been extensively...... a better understanding of the evolution, biology and biochemistry of natural products will facilitate both neuroscience and the potential for drug leads. The larger goal is to establish a new sub-discipline in the broader field of neuroethology that we refer to as “Chemical Neuroethology”, linking...... the substantial work carried out by chemists on natural products with accelerating advances in neuroethology....

Biological and chemical removal of Cr(VI) from waste water: cost and benefit analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Demir, Aynur; Arisoy, Münevver

2007-08-17

The objective of the present study is cost and benefit analysis of biological and chemical removal of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] ions. Cost and benefit analysis were done with refer to two separate studies on removal of Cr(VI), one of heavy metals with a crucial role concerning increase in environmental pollution and disturbance of ecological balance, through biological adsorption and chemical ion-exchange. Methods of biological and chemical removal were compared with regard to their cost and percentage in chrome removal. According to the result of the comparison, cost per unit in chemical removal was calculated 0.24 euros and the ratio of chrome removal was 99.68%, whereas those of biological removal were 0.14 and 59.3% euros. Therefore, it was seen that cost per unit in chemical removal and chrome removal ratio were higher than those of biological removal method. In the current study where chrome removal is seen as immeasurable benefit in terms of human health and the environment, percentages of chrome removal were taken as measurable benefit and cost per unit of the chemicals as measurable cost.

Mineral phases of green liquor dregs, slaker grits, lime mud and wood ash of a Kraft pulp and paper mill

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martins, Fernanda Machado [Laboratorio de Quimica Mineral Aplicada, Departamento de Quimica-UFPR, Universidade Federal do Parana (UFPR), CP 19081, CEP 81531990, Curitiba-PR (Brazil); Munhoz Martins, Joaniel [Laboratorio de Analise de Minerais e Rochas (LAMIR-UFPR) (Brazil); Ferracin, Luiz Carlos [Laboratorio Quimico da Votorantin Cimentos (Brazil); Cunha, Carlos Jorge da [Laboratorio de Quimica Mineral Aplicada, Departamento de Quimica-UFPR, Universidade Federal do Parana (UFPR), CP 19081, CEP 81531990, Curitiba-PR (Brazil)]. E-mail: cjdcunha@quimica.ufpr.br

2007-08-17

Four residues generated in a Kraft, pulp and paper plant, were characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XFA), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimmetric analysis (TG) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A quantitative phase composition model, that accounts for the observed data and for the physico-chemical conditions of formation, was postulated for each material. Emphasis was given on the identification of the mineral components of each material. The green liquor dregs and the lime mud contain Calcite and Gipsite. The slaker grits contains Calcite, Portlandite, Pirssonite, Larnite and Brucite. The Calcite phase, present in the dregs and in the lime mud, has small amounts of magnesium replacing calcium. The wood ash contains Quartz as the major crystalline mineral phase.

Mineral phases of green liquor dregs, slaker grits, lime mud and wood ash of a Kraft pulp and paper mill

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martins, Fernanda Machado; Munhoz Martins, Joaniel; Ferracin, Luiz Carlos; Cunha, Carlos Jorge da

2007-01-01

Four residues generated in a Kraft, pulp and paper plant, were characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XFA), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimmetric analysis (TG) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A quantitative phase composition model, that accounts for the observed data and for the physico-chemical conditions of formation, was postulated for each material. Emphasis was given on the identification of the mineral components of each material. The green liquor dregs and the lime mud contain Calcite and Gipsite. The slaker grits contains Calcite, Portlandite, Pirssonite, Larnite and Brucite. The Calcite phase, present in the dregs and in the lime mud, has small amounts of magnesium replacing calcium. The wood ash contains Quartz as the major crystalline mineral phase

PERMANENCE OF BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS IN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILL LEACHATES

Science.gov (United States)

The objective of this work is to permit EPA/ORD's National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) and Edgewood Chemical Biological Center to collaborate together to test the permanence of biological and chemical warfare agents in municipal solid waste landfills. Research into ...

Mass spectrometry in identification of ecotoxicants including chemical and biological warfare agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lebedev, Albert T.

2005-01-01

Mass spectrometry is a unique tool to detect and identify trace levels of organic and bioorganic compounds as well as microorganisms in the environment. The range of potential chemical warfare (CW) and biological warfare (BW) agents is very broad. An important advantage of mass spectrometry over other techniques involves potential for full spectrum detection of chemical and biological agents including mid-spectrum materials (i.e. bioactive peptides, toxins, etc.) for which biological approaches are inadequate. Being very fast (seconds and minutes), extremely sensitive (zeptomoles 10 -21 ), and informative (detailed qualitative and quantitative composition of mixtures containing hundreds of chemicals), mass spectrometry is a principal analytical tool at the sites of destruction of CW. Due to its unique features, mass spectrometry is applied not only for the detection of CW agents, but for the analysis of products of metabolism and degradation of these agents in organisms or environment as well. The present paper deals with some examples of successful application of mass spectrometry for the analyses of ecotoxicants, chemical warfare agents, explosives, and microorganisms including biology warfare agents

Effects of the bleaching sequence on the optical brighteners action in eucalyptus kraft pulp

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauro Manfredi

2014-06-01

Full Text Available During the bleaching process the pulp is treated with chemical reagents that can be retained in the pulp and interfere in the action of the optical brighteners. Different bleaching sequences can produce pulps at the same brightness but with different potential to whiteness increase when treated with optical brighteners. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the bleaching sequence on the efficiency of disulphonated and tetrasulphonated optical brighteners. Eucalyptus kraft pulp was bleached using four different bleaching sequences. For each pulp three brightness targets were aimeds. For each bleaching sequence mathematical model was generated for predicting the final pulp whiteness according to the initial brightness and the optical brightener charge applied. The presence of organochlorine residues in the pulp reduced the effectiveness of the optical brighteners. Therefore, bleaching sequences that use low chlorine dioxide charge favors for greater gains in whiteness with the application of optical brighteners. The replacement of the final chlorine dioxide bleaching stage with a hydrogen peroxide one in the sequence increased the efficiency of the optical brightening agents.

Lignin solubilization and aqueous phase reforming for the production of aromatic chemicals and hydrogen

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zakzeski, J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/326160256; Weckhuysen, B.M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/285484397

2011-01-01

The solubilization and aqueous phase reforming of lignin, including kraft, soda, and alcell lignin along with sugarcane bagasse, at low temperatures (T≤498 K) and pressures (P≤29 bar) is reported for the first time for the production of aromatic chemicals and hydrogen. Analysis of lignin model

Hospital Preparedness to Respond to Biological and Chemical Terrorist Attack

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Florin, P.

2007-01-01

There is a growing concern about the terrorist use of chemical or biological agents against civilian population. A large proportion of hospitals are probably poorly prepared to handle victims of chemical or biological terrorism. At national level, starting with 2008 hospitals will be under the administration and control of local authorities. That is good opportunities for local authorities and public health office to tailor the activity of the hospitals to the real needs in the area of responsibility, and to allocate the suitable budget for them. Commonly hospitals are not fully prepared to respond to massive casualty disaster of any kind, either i their capacity to care for large numbers of victims or in their ability to provide care in coordination with a regional or national incident command structure. Preparedness activities to respond properly to chemical or biological attack including the adequate logistic, the principle of training and drill for the hospital emergency units and medical personal, communication and integration of the hospital team in local and regional civil response team are developed by the author.(author)

Ecotoxicological studies with newly hatched larvae of Concholepas concholepas (Mollusca, Gastropoda): bioassay with secondary-treated kraft pulp mill effluents.

Science.gov (United States)

Manríquez, Patricio H; Llanos-Rivera, Alejandra; Galaz, Sylvana; Camaño, Andrés

2013-12-01

The Chilean abalone or "loco" (Concholepas concholepas, Bruguière 1789) represent the most economically important marine recourse exploited from inner inshore Management and Exploitation Areas for Benthic Resources along the Chilean coast. In this study, newly-hatched larvae of C. concholepas were investigated as a potential model species for marine ecotoxicological studies. The study developed a behavioral standard protocol for assessing the impact that kraft pulp mill effluents after secondary treatment have on C. concholepas larvae. Under controlled laboratory conditions, newly-hatched larvae were exposed to a series of different concentrations of kraft pulp mill effluents with secondary treatment (Pinus spp. and Eucalyptus spp.), potassium dichromate as standard reference toxicant and effluent-free control conditions. Regardless of the type of effluent the results indicated that diluted kraft pulp effluent with secondary treatment had reduced effect on larval survival. Low larval survivals were only recorded when they were exposed to high concentrations of the reference toxicant. This suggests that C. concholepas larval bioassay is a simple method for monitoring the effects of kraft pulp mill effluents with secondary treatment discharged into the sea. The results indicated that dilution of ca. 1% of the effluent with an elemental chlorine free (ECF) secondary treatment is appropriate for achieving low larval mortalities, such as those obtained under control conditions with filtered seawater, and to minimize their impact on early ontogenetic stages of marine invertebrates such as newly-hatched larvae of C. concholepas. The methodological aspects of toxicological testing and behavioral responses described here with newly-hatched larvae of C. concholepas can be used to evaluate in the future the potential effects of other stressful conditions as other pollutants or changes in seawater pH associated with ocean acidification. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights

Biological and Chemical Weapons: Criminal Sanctions and Federal Regulations

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Garcia, Michael J

2004-01-01

.... In accordance with these obligations, the United States has enacted various federal requirements and criminal sanctions applying to biological and chemical weapons, Re cent anti4errorisrn legislation...

Application of synthetic biology for production of chemicals in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Mingji; Borodina, Irina

2015-02-01

Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering enable generation of novel cell factories that efficiently convert renewable feedstocks into biofuels, bulk, and fine chemicals, thus creating the basis for biosustainable economy independent on fossil resources. While over a hundred proof-of-concept chemicals have been made in yeast, only a very small fraction of those has reached commercial-scale production so far. The limiting factor is the high research cost associated with the development of a robust cell factory that can produce the desired chemical at high titer, rate, and yield. Synthetic biology has the potential to bring down this cost by improving our ability to predictably engineer biological systems. This review highlights synthetic biology applications for design, assembly, and optimization of non-native biochemical pathways in baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae We describe computational tools for the prediction of biochemical pathways, molecular biology methods for assembly of DNA parts into pathways, and for introducing the pathways into the host, and finally approaches for optimizing performance of the introduced pathways. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.

Dovetailing biology and chemistry: integrating the Gene Ontology with the ChEBI chemical ontology

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background The Gene Ontology (GO) facilitates the description of the action of gene products in a biological context. Many GO terms refer to chemical entities that participate in biological processes. To facilitate accurate and consistent systems-wide biological representation, it is necessary to integrate the chemical view of these entities with the biological view of GO functions and processes. We describe a collaborative effort between the GO and the Chemical Entities of Biological Interest (ChEBI) ontology developers to ensure that the representation of chemicals in the GO is both internally consistent and in alignment with the chemical expertise captured in ChEBI. Results We have examined and integrated the ChEBI structural hierarchy into the GO resource through computationally-assisted manual curation of both GO and ChEBI. Our work has resulted in the creation of computable definitions of GO terms that contain fully defined semantic relationships to corresponding chemical terms in ChEBI. Conclusions The set of logical definitions using both the GO and ChEBI has already been used to automate aspects of GO development and has the potential to allow the integration of data across the domains of biology and chemistry. These logical definitions are available as an extended version of the ontology from http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/go/extensions/go-plus.owl. PMID:23895341

Chemical and Biological Defense: DOD Needs Consistent Policies and Clear Processes to Address the Survivability of Weapon Systems Against Chemical and Biological Threats

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

2006-01-01

DOD, joint, and military service weapon system acquisition policies inconsistently address and do not establish a clear process for considering and testing system chemical and biological survivability...

IN VITRO ANDROGENIC ACTIVITY OF KRAFT MILL EFFLUENT IS ASSOCIATED WITH MASCULINIZATION OF FEMALE FISH

Science.gov (United States)

In Vitro Androgenic Activity of Kraft Mill Effluent is Associated with Masculinization of Female Fish. Lambright, CS 1 , Parks, LG 1, Orlando, E 2, Guillette, LJ, Jr.2, Ankley, G 3, Gray, LE, Jr.1 , 1USEPA, NHEERL, RTP, NC, 2 University of Florida, Dept. of Zoology, Gainesville ...

Biological and Chemical Weapons: Criminal Sanctions and Federal Regulations

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Garcia, Michael J

2004-01-01

The Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention, both of which have been signed and ratified by the United States, obligate signatory parties to enact legislation or otherwise...

The Control of Chemical and Biological Weapons.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, Archibald S.; And Others

This book is composed of four papers prepared to illuminate the problem areas which might arise if the policies of the 1925 Geneva Protocol and other measures to limit chemical and biological weapons are ratified by the United States Senate. The papers included are: Legal Aspects of the Geneva Protocol of 1925; The Use of Herbicides in War: A…

Process parameters affecting the delignification of eucalyptus kraft pulp with peroxyacetic acid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chandranupap, P.

2004-11-01

Full Text Available Various process parameters affecting eucalyptus kraft pulp delignification with peroxyacetic acid were investigated. The results showed that pH was an important factor. The delignification rate increased with increasing pH to the value of 6. High delignification rate was obtained when the pulp was chelated with Na4-EDTA prior to the peroxyacetic acid stage. Therefore, delignification reaction rate depends on peroxyacid charge, temperature, pH and metal content of pulp.

Physio-chemical evaluation and biological activity of Ajuga ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Physio-chemical evaluation and biological activity of Ajuga bracteosa wall and Viola odoroto Linn. Anwar Ali Shad, M. Zeeshan, Hina Fazal, Hamid Ullah Shah, Shabir Ahmed, Hasem Abeer, E. F. Abd_Allah, Riaz Ullah, Hamid Afridi, Akash tariq, Muhammad Adnan Asma ...

Researchers study decontamination of chemical, biological warfare agents

OpenAIRE

Trulove, Susan

2007-01-01

The U.S. Army Research Office has awarded Virginia Tech a $680,000 grant over two years to build an instrument that can be used to study the chemistry of gases that will decompose both chemical and biological warfare agents on surfaces.

HExpoChem: a systems biology resource to explore human exposure to chemicals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taboureau, Olivier; Jacobsen, Ulrik Plesner; Kalhauge, Christian Gram

2013-01-01

of computational biology approaches are needed to assess the health risks of chemical exposure. Here we present HExpoChem, a tool based on environmental chemicals and their bioactivities on human proteins with the objective of aiding the qualitative exploration of human exposure to chemicals. The chemical...

Biological treatment of the liquid effluents of a paper industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mejia, Juan Felipe; Ramirez, Gladys Eugenia; Arias Zabala, Mario

2001-01-01

The objective of this paper is to determine the effect of the microorganisms Candida utilis and Candida tropicalis in the reduction of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the liquid effluents of a producing factory of paper kraft type, by means of fermentations made to pH of 5 and a 30 centigrade degrees during 6 days. The biological processing is preceded by a physicochemical process of directed acidulation to reduce pH of the effluent (liquor black) from its initial value, of approximately 13, to 5, in order to it is adapted for the growth of yeast. In this process, which forms precipitated, that is necessary to eliminate by centrifugation and filtration to facilitate the growth of the microorganisms, with is obtained one first removal of the COD of the order of 70 %. With the biological processing obtains for both yeasts a percentage of removal of 45 -50% of the COD surplus. The total removal of the COD, that is to say, obtained with the pre-cure and the fermentation it is of the order of 84% for the yeast. Additionally the possibility studied of implementing some complementary procedures to the biological processing, with a view to obtaining greater growth of yeast in the black liquor and thus obtaining additional reductions in the OCD of the same one

Technological advancements for the detection of and protection against biological and chemical warfare agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Eubanks, Lisa M; Dickerson, Tobin J; Janda, Kim D

2007-03-01

There is a growing need for technological advancements to combat agents of chemical and biological warfare, particularly in the context of the deliberate use of a chemical and/or biological warfare agent by a terrorist organization. In this tutorial review, we describe methods that have been developed both for the specific detection of biological and chemical warfare agents in a field setting, as well as potential therapeutic approaches for treating exposure to these toxic species. In particular, nerve agents are described as a typical chemical warfare agent, and the two potent biothreat agents, anthrax and botulinum neurotoxin, are used as illustrative examples of potent weapons for which countermeasures are urgently needed.

Oxidative decontamination of chemical and biological warfare agents using L-Gel.

Science.gov (United States)

Raber, Ellen; McGuire, Raymond

2002-08-05

A decontamination method has been developed using a single reagent that is effective both against chemical warfare (CW) and biological warfare (BW) agents. The new reagent, "L-Gel", consists of an aqueous solution of a mild commercial oxidizer, Oxone, together with a commercial fumed silica gelling agent, Cab-O-Sil EH-5. L-Gel is non-toxic, environmentally friendly, relatively non-corrosive, maximizes contact time because of its thixotropic nature, clings to walls and ceilings, and does not harm carpets or painted surfaces. The new reagent also addresses the most demanding requirements for decontamination in the civilian sector, including availability, low maintenance, ease of application and deployment by a variety of dispersal mechanisms, minimal training and acceptable expense. Experiments to test the effectiveness of L-Gel were conducted at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and independently at four other locations. L-Gel was tested against all classes of chemical warfare agents and against various biological warfare agent surrogates, including spore-forming bacteria and non-virulent strains of real biological agents. Testing showed that L-Gel is as effective against chemical agents and biological materials, including spores, as the best military decontaminants.

An assessment of the biological and physico-chemical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Physico-chemical parameters and biological (phytoplanktons and macrophytes) composition of Bindare and Hanwa streams in Zaria, Nigeria were studied for a period of three months (September to November 2008). The streams have catchments of varying land use patterns ranging from agricultural (farming and animal ...

Seeking the chemical roots of darwinism: bridging between chemistry and biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Pross, Addy

2009-08-24

Chemistry and biology are intimately connected sciences yet the chemistry-biology interface remains problematic and central issues regarding the very essence of living systems remain unresolved. In this essay we build on a kinetic theory of replicating systems that encompasses the idea that there are two distinct kinds of stability in nature-thermodynamic stability, associated with "regular" chemical systems, and dynamic kinetic stability, associated with replicating systems. That fundamental distinction is utilized to bridge between chemistry and biology by demonstrating that within the parallel world of replicating systems there is a second law analogue to the second law of thermodynamics, and that Darwinian theory may, through scientific reductionism, be related to that second law analogue. Possible implications of these ideas to the origin of life problem and the relationship between chemical emergence and biological evolution are discussed.

76 FR 68809 - Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation; Termination of Chemical and Biological...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-07

..., Office of Missile, Biological, and Chemical Nonproliferation, Bureau of International Security and... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice: 7678] Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation; Termination of Chemical and Biological Weapons (CBW) Proliferation Sanctions Against a Foreign Person AGENCY...

Process integration study of a kraft pulp mill converted to an ethanol production plant – part B: Techno-economic analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fornell, Rickard; Berntsson, Thore; Åsblad, Anders

2012-01-01

In a previous study by the authors, energy efficiency measures in a conceptual kraft pulp mill converted to a lignocellulosic ethanol plant were investigated. The results suggested a number of different process designs which would give a substantial improvement in steam economy in the ethanol plant, compared to the original design. In the present study the different process designs are evaluated from an economic point-of-view, in order to determine if energy efficiency measures and increasing by-product sales decrease the production cost of ethanol from this specific process, or if the increased costs related to the implementation of these measures overshadow the benefits from increased by-product sales. The different energy efficiency measures are compared with less capital demanding alternatives (i.e. including low or no energy efficiency improvements) in order to assess the economic benefits of different strategies when converting a kraft pulp mill to ethanol production. The study indicates the economic importance of considering energy efficiency measures when repurposing a kraft pulp mill to an ethanol plant. It is also shown that, within the context of this study, a larger investment in measures will give better economic results than less capital demanding alternatives (with less improvement in energy efficiency). From an economic and energy efficiency viewpoint many of the suggested process designs will give approximately similar results, therefore the process design should be made based on other criteria (e.g. low complexity, low maintenance). - Highlights: ► Conversion of a kraft pulp mill to ethanol production. ► Heat integration of distillation/evaporation in a lignocellulosic ethanol plant. ► Energy efficiency measures lead to lower ethanol production cost. ► If capital costs and raw material prices are low the production cost could be as low as 365 €/m 3 EtOH.

Compatible biological and chemical control systems for Rhizoctonia solani in potato

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boogert, van den P.H.J.F.; Luttikholt, A.J.G.

2004-01-01

A series of chemical and biological control agents were tested for compatibility with the Rhizoctonia-specific biocontrol fungus Verticillium biguttatum aimed at designing novel control strategies for black scurf (Rhizoctonia solani) and other tuber diseases in potato. The efficacy of chemicals,

Improving integrative searching of systems chemical biology data using semantic annotation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bin; Ding, Ying; Wild, David J

2012-03-08

Systems chemical biology and chemogenomics are considered critical, integrative disciplines in modern biomedical research, but require data mining of large, integrated, heterogeneous datasets from chemistry and biology. We previously developed an RDF-based resource called Chem2Bio2RDF that enabled querying of such data using the SPARQL query language. Whilst this work has proved useful in its own right as one of the first major resources in these disciplines, its utility could be greatly improved by the application of an ontology for annotation of the nodes and edges in the RDF graph, enabling a much richer range of semantic queries to be issued. We developed a generalized chemogenomics and systems chemical biology OWL ontology called Chem2Bio2OWL that describes the semantics of chemical compounds, drugs, protein targets, pathways, genes, diseases and side-effects, and the relationships between them. The ontology also includes data provenance. We used it to annotate our Chem2Bio2RDF dataset, making it a rich semantic resource. Through a series of scientific case studies we demonstrate how this (i) simplifies the process of building SPARQL queries, (ii) enables useful new kinds of queries on the data and (iii) makes possible intelligent reasoning and semantic graph mining in chemogenomics and systems chemical biology. Chem2Bio2OWL is available at http://chem2bio2rdf.org/owl. The document is available at http://chem2bio2owl.wikispaces.com.

Comparative biological hazards of chemical pollutants and radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukherjee, R.N.

1978-01-01

Chemical pollutants from conventional energy and industrial sources released to the environment presumably pose a hazard to man's health and environmental resources. Insufficient knowledge of their detailed mechanisms of interaction with the biological systems seems to provide the greatest drawback in current attempts for realistic assessment of the health risks of chemical pollutants in the short and long terms. Nevertheless, their detrimental health consequences are becoming more and more apparent as a result of recent epidemiological surveys of workers in conventional energy installations and of the chronically exposed general public. So far nuclear power has succeeded in achieving a remarkable health safety record. In view of its projected expansion, research on biological effects of low-level radiation and radionuclides should continue to re-evaluate the health safety consequences. However, a projection from past experiences together with continued efforts to improvements of health safety aspects seem to justify an expectation that the proposed expansions in the nuclear power programme should not have an unfavourable impact on the environment. The potential hazards and challenges from the associated radiation in man's environment have proved manageable. More attention now needs to be paid urgently to safeguard human health and environment against the chemical pollutants

Comparative biological hazards of chemical pollutants and radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mukherjee, R N [International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria). Div. of Life Sciences

1978-06-01

Chemical pollutants from conventional energy and industrial sources released to the environment presumably pose a hazard to man's health and environmental resources. Insufficient knowledge of their detailed mechanisms of interaction with the biological systems seems to provide the greatest drawback in current attempts for realistic assessment of the health risks of chemical pollutants in the short and long terms. Nevertheless, their detrimental health consequences are becoming more and more apparent as a result of recent epidemiological surveys of workers in conventional energy installations and of the chronically exposed general public. So far nuclear power has succeeded in achieving a remarkable health safety record. In view of its projected expansion, research on biological effects of low-level radiation and radionuclides should continue to re-evaluate the health safety consequences. However, a projection from past experiences together with continued efforts to improvements of health safety aspects seem to justify an expectation that the proposed expansions in the nuclear power programme should not have an unfavourable impact on the environment. The potential hazards and challenges from the associated radiation in man's environment have proved manageable. More attention now needs to be paid urgently to safeguard human health and environment against the chemical pollutants.

Conversion of kraft lignin over hierarchical MFI zeolite.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Seong-Soo; Lee, Hyung Won; Ryoo, Ryong; Kim, Wookdong; Park, Sung Hoon; Jeon, Jong-Ki; Park, Young-Kwon

2014-03-01

Catalytic pyrolysis of kraft lignin was carried out using pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Hierarchical mesoporous MFI was used as the catalyst and another mesoporous material Al-SBA-15 was also used for comparison. The characteristics of mesoporous MFI were analyzed by X-ray diffraction patterns, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, and temperature programmed desorption of NH3. Two catalyst/lignin mass ratios were tested: 5/1 and 10/1. Aromatics and alkyl phenolics were the main products of the catalytic pyrolysis of lignin over mesoporous MFI. In particular, the yields of mono-aromatics such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene were increased substantially by catalytic upgrading. Increase in the catalyst dose enhanced the production of aromatics further, which is attributed to decarboxylation, decarbonlyation, and aromatization reactions occurring over the acid sites of mesoporous MFI.

Environmental parameters of the Tennessee River in Alabama. 2: Physical, chemical, and biological parameters. [biological and chemical effects of thermal pollution from nuclear power plants on water quality

Science.gov (United States)

Rosing, L. M.

1976-01-01

Physical, chemical and biological water quality data from five sites in the Tennessee River, two in Guntersville Reservoir and three in Wheeler Reservoir were correlated with climatological data for three annual cycles. Two of the annual cycles are for the years prior to the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant operations and one is for the first 14 months of Plant operations. A comparison of the results of the annual cycles indicates that two distinct physical conditions in the reservoirs occur, one during the warm months when the reservoirs are at capacity and one during the colder winter months when the reservoirs have been drawn-down for water storage during the rainy months and for weed control. The wide variations of physical and chemical parameters to which the biological organisms are subjected on an annual basis control the biological organisms and their population levels. A comparison of the parameters of the site below the Power plant indicates that the heated effluent from the plant operating with two of the three reactors has not had any effect on the organisms at this site. Recommendations given include the development of prediction mathematical models (statistical analysis) for the physical and chemical parameters under specific climatological conditions which affect biological organisms. Tabulated data of chemical analysis of water and organism populations studied is given.

Impact of Theoretical Chemistry on Chemical and Biological Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

IAS Admin

theory as applied to biological systems. ... methods to follow the course of chemical reactions devised by. K Fukui and R .... optimize the structure of organic molecules using classical-em- pirical potential ..... science or engineering dis- ciplines.

Microbiology and atmospheric processes: biological, physical and chemical characterization of aerosol particles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. G. Georgakopoulos

2009-04-01

Full Text Available The interest in bioaerosols has traditionally been linked to health hazards for humans, animals and plants. However, several components of bioaerosols exhibit physical properties of great significance for cloud processes, such as ice nucleation and cloud condensation. To gain a better understanding of their influence on climate, it is therefore important to determine the composition, concentration, seasonal fluctuation, regional diversity and evolution of bioaerosols. In this paper, we will review briefly the existing techniques for detection, quantification, physical and chemical analysis of biological particles, attempting to bridge physical, chemical and biological methods for analysis of biological particles and integrate them with aerosol sampling techniques. We will also explore some emerging spectroscopy techniques for bulk and single-particle analysis that have potential for in-situ physical and chemical analysis. Lastly, we will outline open questions and further desired capabilities (e.g., in-situ, sensitive, both broad and selective, on-line, time-resolved, rapid, versatile, cost-effective techniques required prior to comprehensive understanding of chemical and physical characterization of bioaerosols.

Investigation of ESEM/EDX to measure liquor penetration and diffusion in Eucalyptus grandis wood chips during kraft pulping

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Grzeskowiak, V

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Environmental scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive x-ray (ESEM/EDX) was optimised to measure the penetration and diffusion of cooking liquor into Eucalyptus grandis wood chips during kraft pulping. The moisture content...

Experimental evaluation of the performances of cellulosic pads made out of Kraft and NSSC corrugated papers as evaporative media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barzegar, Mahsa; Layeghi, Mohammad; Ebrahimi, Ghanbar; Hamzeh, Yahya; Khorasani, Manouchehr

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We experimentally evaluated the performances of cellulosic pads. ► A number of experiments have been done in a wind tunnel. ► The results showed that cooling efficiency improves with decrease of air velocity and flute size. ► Water consumption increases with the increase of air velocity. ► Cooling efficiency of various pads was also compared. - Abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performances of cellulosic pads made out of Kraft and NSSC corrugated papers in three flute sizes, experimentally. A number of experiments have been done in a wind tunnel in order to evaluate the cooling efficiency and water consumption as a function of air velocity. The tests were carried out at three levels of air velocity (1.8, 2.25, and 2.67 ms −1 ) for three flute sizes of Kraft and NSSC corrugated papers (2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 mm). Analysis of the results indicated that cooling efficiency improves with decrease of air velocity and flute size of corrugated papers; however, water consumption increases with the increase of air velocity. The results were compared with each other and it was shown that the cellulosic pad made out of Kraft paper with 2.5 mm flute size has the highest performance (92%) at 1.8 ms −1 air velocity in comparison with the other cellulosic pads.

75 FR 76005 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-07

... production process units include operations such as pulping, bleaching, chemical recovery, and papermaking. Different pulping processes are used, including chemical processes (kraft, soda, sulfite, and semi-chemical... or paperboard products, including: mills that carry out chemical wood pulping (kraft, sulfite, soda...

Experimental Studies on the Hydrotreatment of Kraft Lignin to Aromatics and Alkylphenolics Using Economically Viable Fe-Based Catalysts

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Limonite, a low-cost iron ore, was investigated as a potential hydrotreatment catalyst for kraft lignin without the use of an external solvent (batch reactor, initial H2 pressure of 100 bar, 4 h). The best results were obtained at 450 °C resulting in 34 wt % of liquefied kraft lignin (lignin oil) on lignin intake. The composition of the lignin oil was determined in detail (elemental composition, GC-MS, GC×GC-FID, and GPC). The total GC-detectable monomeric species amounts up to 31 wt % on lignin intake, indicating that 92 wt % of the products in the lignin oil are volatile and thus of low molecular weight. The lignin oil was rich in low-molecular-weight alkylphenolics (17 wt % on lignin) and aromatics (8 wt % on lignin). Performance of the limonite catalyst was compared to other Fe-based catalysts (goethite and iron disulfide) and limonite was shown to give the highest yields of alkylphenolics and aromatics. The limonite catalyst before and after reaction was characterized using XRD, TEM, and nitrogen physisorption to determine changes in structure during reaction. Catalyst recycling tests were performed and show that the catalyst is active after reuse, despite the fact that the morphology changed and that the surface area of the catalyst particles was decreased. Our results clearly reveal that cheap limonite catalysts have the potential to be used for the depolymerization/hydrodeoxygenation of kraft lignin for the production of valuable biobased phenolics and aromatics. PMID:28413733

Weapons of mass destruction: Overview of the CBRNEs (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives).

Science.gov (United States)

Prockop, Leon D

2006-11-01

The events of September 11, 2001, made citizens of the world acutely aware of disasters consequent to present-day terrorism. This is a war being waged for reasons obscure to many of its potential victims. The term "NBCs" was coined in reference to terrorist weapons of mass destruction, i.e., nuclear, biological and chemical. The currently accepted acronym is "CBRNE" which includes Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive weapons. Non-nuclear explosives are the most common terrorist weapon now in use. Nuclear and radiological weapons are beyond the scope of this publication, which focuses on the "CBEs", i.e. chemical, biological and explosive weapons. Although neurologists will not be the first responders to CBEs, they must know about the neurological effects in order to provide diagnosis and treatment to survivors. Neurological complications of chemical, biological and explosive weapons which have or may be used by terrorists are reviewed by international experts in this publication. Management and treatment profiles are outlined.

Kinetics of Strong Acid Hydrolysis of a Bleached Kraft Pulp for Producing Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNCs)

Science.gov (United States)

Qianqian Wang; Xuebing Zhao; J.Y. Zhu

2014-01-01

Cellulose nanocrytals (CNCs) are predominantly produced using the traditional strong acid hydrolysis process. In most reported studies, the typical CNC yield is low (approximately 30%) despite process optimization. This study investigated the hydrolysis of a bleached kraft eucalyptus pulp using sulfuric acid between 50 and 64 wt % at temperatures of 35−80 °C...

Improving integrative searching of systems chemical biology data using semantic annotation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Bin

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Systems chemical biology and chemogenomics are considered critical, integrative disciplines in modern biomedical research, but require data mining of large, integrated, heterogeneous datasets from chemistry and biology. We previously developed an RDF-based resource called Chem2Bio2RDF that enabled querying of such data using the SPARQL query language. Whilst this work has proved useful in its own right as one of the first major resources in these disciplines, its utility could be greatly improved by the application of an ontology for annotation of the nodes and edges in the RDF graph, enabling a much richer range of semantic queries to be issued. Results We developed a generalized chemogenomics and systems chemical biology OWL ontology called Chem2Bio2OWL that describes the semantics of chemical compounds, drugs, protein targets, pathways, genes, diseases and side-effects, and the relationships between them. The ontology also includes data provenance. We used it to annotate our Chem2Bio2RDF dataset, making it a rich semantic resource. Through a series of scientific case studies we demonstrate how this (i simplifies the process of building SPARQL queries, (ii enables useful new kinds of queries on the data and (iii makes possible intelligent reasoning and semantic graph mining in chemogenomics and systems chemical biology. Availability Chem2Bio2OWL is available at http://chem2bio2rdf.org/owl. The document is available at http://chem2bio2owl.wikispaces.com.

Exploration of the central dogma at the interface of chemistry and biology: 2010 Yale Chemical Biology Symposium.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Alice Qinhua

2010-09-01

Ever since the term "central dogma" was coined in 1958, researchers have sought to control information flow from nucleic acids to proteins. Talks delivered by Drs. Anna Pyle and Hiroaki Suga at this year's Chemical Biology Symposium at Yale in May 2010 applauded recent advances in this area, at the interface between chemistry and biology.

Biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction: updated clinical therapeutic countermeasures since 2003.

Science.gov (United States)

Pettineo, Christopher; Aitchison, Robert; Leikin, Scott M; Vogel, Stephen N; Leikin, Jerrold B

2009-01-01

The objective of this article is to provide updated treatment options for bioterrorism agents. This updated synopsis includes recent clinical cases and treatment recommendations that have arisen in the last 5 years. The decontamination, treatment, and disposition of these biologic and chemical agents are presented alphabetically by agent type: biologic, chemical, and radiologic/nuclear. The information provided outlines only new treatment options since 2003.

Developing the Biomolecular Screening Facility at the EPFL into the Chemical Biology Screening Platform for Switzerland.

Science.gov (United States)

Turcatti, Gerardo

2014-05-01

The Biomolecular Screening Facility (BSF) is a multidisciplinary laboratory created in 2006 at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) to perform medium and high throughput screening in life sciences-related projects. The BSF was conceived and developed to meet the needs of a wide range of researchers, without privileging a particular biological discipline or therapeutic area. The facility has the necessary infrastructure, multidisciplinary expertise and flexibility to perform large screening programs using small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and chemical collections in the areas of chemical biology, systems biology and drug discovery. In the framework of the National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR) Chemical Biology, the BSF is hosting 'ACCESS', the Academic Chemical Screening Platform of Switzerland that provides the scientific community with chemical diversity, screening facilities and know-how in chemical genetics. In addition, the BSF started its own applied research axes that are driven by innovation in thematic areas related to preclinical drug discovery and discovery of bioactive probes.

Chemical and biological characterization of a crude venom extract ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Sea-anemones, in common with other members of the phylum cnidaria (coelenterate) possess numerous tentacles containing specialized stinging cells of cnidocysts. Our main objective is to elucidate the chemical character and biological properties of this Nigerian species of sea anemone Bunodosoma ...

Essential Oils from Thyme (Thymus vulgaris): Chemical Composition and Biological Effects in Mouse Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Vetvicka, Vaclav; Vetvickova, Jana

2016-12-01

Thymus species are popular spices and contain volatile oils as main chemical constituents. Recently, plant-derived essential oils are gaining significant attention due to their significant biological activities. Seven different thymus-derived essential oils were compared in our study. First, we focused on their chemical composition, which was followed up by testing their effects on phagocytosis, cytokine production, chemotaxis, edema inhibition, and liver protection. We found limited biological activities among tested oils, with no correlation between composition and biological effects. Similarly, no oils were effective in every reaction. Based on our data, the tested biological use of these essential oils is questionable.

A practical approach towards energy conversion through bio-refining of mixed kraft pulps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dharm, D.; Upadhyaya, J.S.; Tyagi, C.H.; Ahamad, S. (Dept. of Paper Technology, Indian Inst. of Technology Roorkee, Saharanpur (India))

2007-07-01

The pulp and paper industry is an energy intensive process industry where energy contributes about 16-20% of the manufacturing cost. Due to shortage in energy availability and increase in energy cost, energy conservation has become a necessity in the paper industry. A laboratory study on bleached and unbleached kraft pulps having 15% bamboo, eucalyptus 15%, poplar waste 20% and veneer waste 50% was conducted using two distinct commercial enzymes i.e. cellulases and xylanase and its effect on slowness, drainage time, beating time, mechanical strength properties and power consumption were studied. Enzymatic pretreatment of chemical pulp in laboratory improves degSR by 5 and 4 points in case of bleached and unbleached pulps respectively at the same beating time. Breaking length improves up to 4.0% at the constant beating level. The application of cellulase during refining saves energy 18.5% at constant refining level i.e. 28 degSR. The enzymatic treatment shows a power saving per 100 metric tone of paper by 1390 kWh which costs power saving in euro 160.70/ 100 metric tone of paper. In this way, net cost saving by deducting the cost of enzyme per 100 metric tone of paper is euro 157.90. (orig.)

EFEITO DA QUALIDADE DA MADEIRA NO DESEMPENHO DA POLPAÇÃO KRAFT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danila Morais de Carvalho

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the wood quality in the kraft pulping performance under two different pulping conditions at two delignification degrees based on results for the yield, brightness, viscosity, and k/ kappa corrected index. Eucalyptus wood (A, B, and C was analyzed about their physicochemical properties (basic and apparent density, insoluble and soluble lignin content, extractive content, ash and insoluble ash in hydrochloric acid and used for pulp production by modified kraft cooking, using two different pulping conditions: Condition I (PI - 16.5% effective alkali, 30% sulfidity, and 155º of cooking temperature; and Condition II (PII - 17.5% effective alkali, 32% sulfidity,and 147ºC cooking temperature. Both conditions were performed to kappa number 15.5 ± 0.5 and 18.0 ± 0.5. The following pulping parameters and pulp properties produced were evaluated: H factor, screened yield, viscosity, brightness, hexenuronic acid content, and the k/kappa corrected index. The A wood, which had lower extractives and lignin content in its constitution, as well as lower basic and apparent density when compared with B and C woods, showed good results for cooking parameters, especially the pulp produced at PII condition at kappa number 18.0 ± 0.5.Also, the A wood showed higher screened yield, brightness, and viscosity comparing to the other pulps produced. Those pulps produced with higher kappa number have lower k/kappa corrected index.

Part 6: Modelling of simultaneous chemical-biological P removal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

drinie

approaches taken in modelling the chemical P removal processes. In the literature .... to 2 mgP/l) for an iron dose of ~1 to 10 mg/l as Fe - refer to dashed line in Fig. 1). ...... systems exhibiting biological enhanced phosphate removal. Part 3:.

[Chemical, physical and biological risks in law enforcement].

Science.gov (United States)

Magrini, Andrea; Grana, Mario; Vicentini, Laura

2014-01-01

Chemical, physical and biological risks among public safety and security forces. Law enforcement personnel, involved in routine tasks and in emergency situations, are exposed to numerous and several occupational hazards (chemical, physical and biological) whith likely health and security consequences. These risks are particularly high when the organization and preparation are inadequate, there is a lacking or insufficient coordination, information, education and communication and safety and personal protective equipment are inadequate or insufficient. Despite the objective difficulties, caused by the actual special needs related to the service performed or the organizational peculiarities, the risk identification and assessment is essential for worker health and safety of personnel, as provided for by Legislative Decree no. 81/2008. Chemical risks include airborne pollutants due to vehicular traffic (carbon monoxide, ultrafine particles, benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, nitrogen and sulfur oxides, lead), toxic gases generated by combustion process following fires (aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, dioxins and furans, biphenyls, formaldehyde, metals and cyanides), substances emitted in case of chemical accidents (solvents, pesticides, toxic gases, caustics), drugs (methylamphetamine), riot control agents and self-defence spray, lead at firing ranges, and several materials and reagents used in forensic laboratory. The physical hazards are often caused by activities that induce biomechanical overload aid the onset of musculoskeletal disorders, the use of visual display terminals and work environments that may expose to heat stress and discomfort, high and low pressure, noise, vibrations, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. The main biological risks are blood-borne diseases (viral hepatitis, AIDS), airborne diseases (eg, tuberculosis, meningitis, SARS, anthrax), MRSA, and vector-borne diseases. Many of these risk factors are unavoidable or are not

A Conceptual Model to Identify Intent to Use Chemical-Biological Weapons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary Zalesny

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a conceptual model to identify and interrelate indicators of intent of non-state actors to use chemical or biological weapons. The model expands on earlier efforts to understand intent to use weapons of mass destruction by building upon well-researched theories of intent and behavior and focusing on a sub-set of weapons of mass destruction (WMD to account for the distinct challenges of employing different types of WMD in violent acts. The conceptual model is presented as a first, critical step in developing a computational model for assessing the potential for groups to use chemical or biological weapons.

Biological and chemical sensors based on graphene materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuxin; Dong, Xiaochen; Chen, Peng

2012-03-21

Owing to their extraordinary electrical, chemical, optical, mechanical and structural properties, graphene and its derivatives have stimulated exploding interests in their sensor applications ever since the first isolation of free-standing graphene sheets in year 2004. This article critically and comprehensively reviews the emerging graphene-based electrochemical sensors, electronic sensors, optical sensors, and nanopore sensors for biological or chemical detection. We emphasize on the underlying detection (or signal transduction) mechanisms, the unique roles and advantages of the used graphene materials. Properties and preparations of different graphene materials, their functionalizations are also comparatively discussed in view of sensor development. Finally, the perspective and current challenges of graphene sensors are outlined (312 references).

Design and Fabrication of Slotted Multimode Interference Devices for Chemical and Biological Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Mayeh

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We present optical sensors based on slotted multimode interference waveguides. The sensor can be tuned to highest sensitivity in the refractive index ranges necessary to detect protein-based molecules or other water-soluble chemical or biological materials. The material of choice is low-loss silicon oxynitride (SiON which is highly stable to the reactivity with biological agents and processing chemicals. Sensors made with this technology are suited to high volume manufacturing.

Direct heat transfer considerations for improving energy efficiency in pulp and paper Kraft mills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savulescu, Luciana Elena; Alva-Argaez, Alberto

2008-01-01

The success of any process improvement study depends on the quality of the available data and the way in which the plant-specific characteristics are incorporated in the applied conceptual models; in the context of process integration studies these issues are directly related to the rules followed during the data extraction stage. Improving energy efficiency in a pulp and paper Kraft mill requires the identification of the most promising heat recovery network retrofit projects. In a retrofit analysis using pinch technology/process integration methods, only the process streams associated to the existing heat exchangers and some outlet streams (such as wastewater/effluent streams and vents) with high potential for heat recovery are usually included, while the energy exchanged through non-isothermal stream mixing (NIM) or direct heat transfer (DHT) is often assumed fixed and is not considered in the analysis. Relaxing this assumption requires extracting more data to represent the DHT design configuration that exists in the plant. However, different data extraction options can be considered to represent the DHT configuration depending on the associated process/operation constraints. This work describes a systematic procedure to extract and analyse the impacts of DHT on the overall energy efficiency of a Kraft process with a specific focus on mixing along the pulp line and in water tanks

The effect of different P fertilizer application (chemical, biologic and integrated on forage quality of two barely varieties (Bahman and Fasieh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lezhia Zandiyeh

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract To evaluate the effect of different sources of P fertilizer on grain yield and yield components of two barely varieties, this experiment was conducted in Research Farm, College of Agriculture, University of Tehran in 2010. The experimental treatments were arranged as factorial based on randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments consisted of two barely varieties (Bahman and Fasieh and 7 levels of P fertilizer viz: 1. Control (no fertilizer application, 2. Chemical P fertilizer (based on the soil test, 3. Biological P fertilizer (P solubilizing bacteria, 4. Biological P fertilizer + 100% chemical P fertilizer, 5. Biological P fertilizer + 75% chemical P fertilizer, 6. Biological P fertilizer + 50% chemical P fertilizer, 7. Biological P fertilizer + 25% chemical P fertilizer. The results indicated that the ash percentage in Fasieh was significantly higher than Bahman at Chemical P fertilizer, integrated and Biological P fertilizer + 50% chemical P fertilizer. Except for Biological P fertilizer, DMD percentage was significantly higher in Fasieh compared to Bahman. The highest crude protein percentage was obtained for Fasieh in Biological P fertilizer + 50% chemical P fertilizer for Bahman in Biological P fertilizer + 75% chemical P fertilizer, respectively. The water soluble carbohydrate content was significantly higher in Fasieh at Chemical P fertilizer and integrated fertilizer treatments compared to Bahman variety. The highest NDF in Bahman was observed when received Biological P fertilizer + 50% chemical P fertilizer treatment, while the same results was obtained for Fasieh when received Biological P fertilizer + 100% chemical P fertilizer and Biological P fertilizer + 75% chemical P fertilizer.

Modeling Dispersion of Chemical-Biological Agents in Three Dimensional Living Space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

William S. Winters

2002-01-01

This report documents a series of calculations designed to demonstrate Sandia's capability in modeling the dispersal of chemical and biological agents in complex three-dimensional spaces. The transport of particles representing biological agents is modeled in a single room and in several connected rooms. The influence of particle size, particle weight and injection method are studied

Some physico-chemical and biological characteristics of soil and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Environmental conditions that influence biocorrosion in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria are investigated experimentally by analysing the physico-chemical and biological characteristics of four (4) soil samples and water samples taken from ten (10) selected river bodies in the region. Measured properties of the water ...

Centrifugal washing and recovery as an improved method for obtaining lignin precipitated from South African kraft mill black liquor

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Namane, M

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This study describes centrifugal recovery as an improved method for collection of lignin isolated from black liquor obtained from a South African kraft mill. Precipitation of lignin was achieved by utilising 6 M sulphuric acid. Recovery...

Solution-gated graphene transistors for chemical and biological sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Feng; Zhang, Meng; Li, Jinhua

2014-03-01

Graphene has attracted much attention in biomedical applications for its fascinating properties. Because of the well-known 2D structure, every atom of graphene is exposed to the environment, so the electronic properties of graphene are very sensitive to charged analytes (ions, DNA, cells, etc.) or an electric field around it, which renders graphene an ideal material for high-performance sensors. Solution-gated graphene transistors (SGGTs) can operate in electrolytes and are thus excellent candidates for chemical and biological sensors, which have been extensively studied in the recent 5 years. Here, the device physics, the sensing mechanisms, and the performance of the recently developed SGGT-based chemical and biological sensors, including pH, ion, cell, bacterial, DNA, protein, glucose sensors, etc., are introduced. Their advantages and shortcomings, in comparison with some conventional techniques, are discussed. Conclusions and challenges for the future development of the field are addressed in the end. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

QUALIDADE DA CELULOSE KRAFT-ANTRAQUINONA DE Eucalyptus dunnii PLANTADO EM CINCO ESPAÇAMENTOS EM RELAÇÃO AO Eucalyptus grandis E Eucalyptus saligna

OpenAIRE

Maria Cladis Mezzomo da Silva; Edvins Ratnieks; Teotônio Francisco de Assis; Celso Edmundo B. Foelkel; Jorge Vieira Gonzaga; Giovanni Willer Ferreira

1997-01-01

Este trabalho analisou o efeito de cinco espaçamentos de Eucalyptus dunnii (3 m x 1 m; 3 m x 1,5 m; 3 m x 2 m; 3 m x 3 m; 3 m x 4 m), para produção de celulose kraft-antraquinona, comparados com Eucalyptus grandis e Eucalyptus saligna (ambos no espaçamento 3 m x 2 m). Avaliaram-se a densidade básica e composição química da madeira original, analisando-se extrativos em diclorometano, pentosanas, lignina, solubilidade em NaOH8% e cinzas. Os cavacos foram submetidos a cozimento kraft-antraquinon...

Enzymatically and chemically oxidized lignin nanoparticles for biomaterial applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattinen, Maija-Liisa; Valle-Delgado, Juan José; Leskinen, Timo; Anttila, Tuomas; Riviere, Guillaume; Sipponen, Mika; Paananen, Arja; Lintinen, Kalle; Kostiainen, Mauri; Österberg, Monika

2018-04-01

Cross-linked and decolorized lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) were prepared enzymatically and chemically from softwood Kraft lignin. Colloidal lignin particles (CLPs, ca. 200 nm) in a non-malodorous aqueous dispersion could be dried and redispersed in tetrahydrofuran (THF) or in water retaining their stability i.e. spherical shape and size. Two fungal laccases, Trametes hirsuta (ThL) and Melanocarpus albomyces (MaL) were used in the cross-linking reactions. Reactivity of ThL and MaL on Lignoboost™ lignin and LNPs was confirmed by high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and oxygen consumption measurements with simultaneous detection of red-brown color due to the formation of quinones. Zeta potential measurements verified oxidation of LNPs via formation of surface-oriented carboxylic acid groups. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) revealed minor changes in the particle size distributions of LNPs after laccase catalyzed radicalization, indicating preferably covalent intraparticular cross-linking over polymerization. Changes in the surface morphology of laccase treated LNPs were imaged by atomic force (AFM) and transmission emission (TEM) microscopy. Furthermore, decolorization of LNPs without degradation was obtained using ultrasonication with H 2 O 2 in alkaline reaction conditions. The research results have high impact for the utilization of Kraft lignin as nanosized colloidal particles in advanced bionanomaterial applications in medicine, foods and cosmetics including different sectors from chemical industry. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of biological and chemical additives on the chemical composition and fermentation process of Dactylis glomerata silage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alba-Mejía, J.E.; Skladanka, J.; Hilger-Delgado, A.; Klíma, M.; Knot, P.; Doležal, P.; Horky, P.

2016-11-01

This study was carried out to determine the chemical composition, silage quality and ensilability of ten cocksfoot cultivars using biological and chemical silage additives. The plant material was harvested from the first and second cut, cultivated at the Research Station of Fodder Crops in Vatín, Czech Republic. Wilted forage was chopped and ensiled in mini-silos with 3 replicates per treatment. The treatments were: 1) without additives, used as a control; 2) with bacterial inoculants; and 3) with chemical preservatives. The results indicated that the year factor (2012-2013) influenced significantly the chemical composition of the silage in both cuts. The use of biological inoculants reduced the content of crude fibre and acid detergent fibre; but it did not influence the content of neutral detergent fibre, in comparison with the control silage in both cuts. Furthermore, the application of biological inoculants reduced the concentration of lactic acid (LA) and acetic acid (AA) in contrast to the control silage in the first cut. Moreover, in the second cut the same values tended to be the opposite. Interestingly, ‘Amera’ was the unique variety that presented a high concentration of butyric acid (0.2%) in comparison with other varieties in the first cut. In conclusion, the biological inoculants had a favourable effect on silage fermentation. Notably, only ‘Greenly’ and ‘Starly’ varieties from the first cut; and ‘Greenly’, ‘Sw-Luxor’, and ‘Otello’ varieties from the second cut were appropriate for ensiling because their pH-values; LA and AA concentrations were ideal according to the parameters of the fermentation process. (Author)

The effect of biological and chemical additives on the chemical composition and fermentation process of Dactylis glomerata silage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jhonny E. Alba-Mejía

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study was carried out to determine the chemical composition, silage quality and ensilability of ten cocksfoot cultivars using biological and chemical silage additives. The plant material was harvested from the first and second cut, cultivated at the Research Station of Fodder Crops in Vatín, Czech Republic. Wilted forage was chopped and ensiled in mini-silos with 3 replicates per treatment. The treatments were: 1 without additives, used as a control; 2 with bacterial inoculants; and 3 with chemical preservatives. The results indicated that the year factor (2012-2013 influenced significantly the chemical composition of the silage in both cuts. The use of biological inoculants reduced the content of crude fibre and acid detergent fibre; but it did not influence the content of neutral detergent fibre, in comparison with the control silage in both cuts. Furthermore, the application of biological inoculants reduced the concentration of lactic acid (LA and acetic acid (AA in contrast to the control silage in the first cut. Moreover, in the second cut the same values tended to be the opposite. Interestingly, ‘Amera’ was the unique variety that presented a high concentration of butyric acid (0.2% in comparison with other varieties in the first cut. In conclusion, the biological inoculants had a favourable effect on silage fermentation. Notably, only ‘Greenly’ and ‘Starly’ varieties from the first cut; and ‘Greenly’, ‘Sw-Luxor’, and ‘Otello’ varieties from the second cut were appropriate for ensiling because their pH-values; LA and AA concentrations were ideal according to the parameters of the fermentation process.

Green Jobs: Definition and Method of Appraisal of Chemical and Biological Risks.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheneval, Erwan; Busque, Marc-Antoine; Ostiguy, Claude; Lavoie, Jacques; Bourbonnais, Robert; Labrèche, France; Bakhiyi, Bouchra; Zayed, Joseph

2016-04-01

In the wake of sustainable development, green jobs are developing rapidly, changing the work environment. However a green job is not automatically a safe job. The aim of the study was to define green jobs, and to establish a preliminary risk assessment of chemical substances and biological agents for workers in Quebec. An operational definition was developed, along with criteria and sustainable development principles to discriminate green jobs from regular jobs. The potential toxicity or hazard associated with their chemical and biological exposures was assessed, and the workers' exposure appraised using an expert assessment method. A control banding approach was then used to assess risks for workers in selected green jobs. A double entry model allowed us to set priorities in terms of chemical or biological risk. Among jobs that present the highest risk potential, several are related to waste management. The developed method is flexible and could be adapted to better appraise the risks that workers are facing or to propose control measures. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.

A field survey of chemicals and biological products used in shrimp farming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graeslund, S.; Holmstroem, K.; Wahlstroem, A.

2003-01-01

This study documented the use of chemicals and biological products in marine and brackish water shrimp farming in Thailand, the world's top producer of farmed shrimp. Interviews were conducted with 76 shrimp farmers in three major shrimp producing regions, the eastern Gulf coast, the southern Gulf coast and the Andaman coast area. Farmers in the study used on average 13 different chemicals and biological products. The most commonly used products were soil and water treatment products, pesticides and disinfectants. Farmers in the southern Gulf coast area used a larger number of products than farmers in the other two areas. In the study, the use of more than 290 different chemicals and biological products was documented. Many of the pesticides, disinfectants and antibiotics used by the farmers could have negative effects on the cultured shrimps, cause a risk for food safety, occupational health, and/or have negative effects on adjacent ecosystems. Manufacturers and retailers of the products often neglected to provide farmers with necessary information regarding active ingredient and relevant instructions for safe and efficient use

Effect of Biological and Chemical Ripening Agents on the Nutritional ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Effect of Biological and Chemical Ripening Agents on the Nutritional and Metal Composition of Banana ( Musa spp ) ... Journal Home > Vol 18, No 2 (2014) > ... curcas leaf were used and compared with a control with no ripening agent.

Non-Chemical Distant Cellular Interactions as a potential confounder of Cell Biology Experiments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashkan eFarhadi

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Distant cells can communicate with each other through a variety of methods. Two such methods involve electrical and/or chemical mechanisms. Non-chemical, distant cellular interactions may be another method of communication that cells can use to modify the behavior of other cells that are mechanically separated. Moreover, non-chemical, distant cellular interactions may explain some cases of confounding effects in Cell Biology experiments. In this article, we review non-chemical, distant cellular interactions studies to try to shed light on the mechanisms in this highly unconventional field of cell biology. Despite the existence of several theories that try to explain the mechanism of non-chemical, distant cellular interactions, this phenomenon is still speculative. Among candidate mechanisms, electromagnetic waves appear to have the most experimental support. In this brief article, we try to answer a few key questions that may further clarify this mechanism.

Using the Viking biology experimental results to obtain chemical information about Martian regolith

Science.gov (United States)

Plumb, Robert C.

1992-01-01

Although initially formulated as biology experiments, most of the results produced by the Viking Labeled Release (LR), Gas Exchange (GEX), and Pyrolytic Release (PR) experiments have been reproduced by chemical means. The experiments do not need more study as 'biological' phenomena, but they do deserve much more careful consideration from a chemical viewpoint. They are the only 'wet-chemical' experiments that scientists have performed on another planet, but they have not found very general use as sources of scientific information. There is a large set of potentially useful chemical observations, e.g., the three resolvable and precisely measured kinetic components of the release of C-14-labeled gases, the thermal sensitivity and magnitudes of the oxidation reaction(s) of the LR experiments, the kinetics and magnitude of the O2 and CO2 release of the GEX experiments, the thermal sensitivity of the GEX results, the differences between the thermal sensitivity of the GEX and the thermal sensitivity of the LR responses, and the kinetics and magnitudes of the LR successive injection reabsorption effect. It should be possible to test many chemical aspects of hypothetical martian phenomena in experiments using the biology experimental configurations and derive much valuable information by comparisons with the Viking observations.

Quinones from plants of northeastern Brazil: structural diversity, chemical transformations, NMR data and biological activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemos, Telma L G; Monte, Francisco J Q; Santos, Allana Kellen L; Fonseca, Aluisio M; Santos, Hélcio S; Oliveira, Mailcar F; Costa, Sonia M O; Pessoa, Otilia D L; Braz-Filho, Raimundo

2007-05-20

The present review focus in quinones found in species of Brazilian northeastern Capraria biflora, Lippia sidoides, Lippia microphylla and Tabebuia serratifolia. The review cover ethnopharmacological aspects including photography of species, chemical structure feature, NMR datea and biological properties. Chemical transformations of lapachol to form enamine derivatives and biological activities are discussed.

The Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, M. D.; Chandler, C. L.; Groman, R. C.; Wiebe, P. H.; Glover, D. M.; Gegg, S. R.

2011-12-01

Oceanography and marine ecosystem research are inherently interdisciplinary fields of study that generate and require access to a wide variety of measurements. In late 2006 the Biological and Chemical Oceanography Sections of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Geosciences Directorate Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) funded the Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). In late 2010 additional funding was contributed to support management of research data from the NSF Office of Polar Programs Antarctic Organisms & Ecosystems Program. The BCO-DMO is recognized in the 2011 Division of Ocean Sciences Sample and Data Policy as one of several program specific data offices that support NSF OCE funded researchers. BCO-DMO staff members offer data management support throughout the project life cycle to investigators from large national programs and medium-sized collaborative research projects, as well as researchers from single investigator awards. The office manages and serves all types of oceanographic data and information generated during the research process and contributed by the originating investigators. BCO-DMO has built a data system that includes the legacy data from several large ocean research programs (e.g. United States Joint Global Ocean Flux Study and United States GLOBal Ocean ECosystems Dynamics), to which data have been contributed from recently granted NSF OCE and OPP awards. The BCO-DMO data system can accommodate many different types of data including: in situ and experimental biological, chemical, and physical measurements; modeling results and synthesis data products. The system enables reuse of oceanographic data for new research endeavors, supports synthesis and modeling activities, provides availability of "real data" for K-12 and college level use, and provides decision-support field data for policy-relevant investigations. We will present an overview of the data management system capabilities including: map

Process integration study of a kraft pulp mill converted to an ethanol production plant – Part A: Potential for heat integration of thermal separation units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fornell, Rickard; Berntsson, Thore

2012-01-01

Energy efficiency is an important parameter for the profitability of biochemical ethanol production from lignocellulosic raw material. The yield of ethanol is generally low due to the limited amount of fermentable compounds in the raw material. Increasing energy efficiency leads to possibilities of exporting more by-products, which in turn might reduce the net production cost of ethanol. Energy efficiency is also an important issue when discussing the repurposing of kraft pulp mills to biorefineries, since the mills in question most likely will be old and inefficient. Investing in energy efficiency measures might therefore have a large effect on the economic performance. This paper discusses energy efficiency issues related to the repurposing of a kraft pulp mill into a lignocellulosic ethanol production plant. The studied process is a typical Scandinavian kraft pulp mill that has been converted to a biorefinery with ethanol as main product. A process integration study, using pinch analysis and process simulations, has been performed in order to assess alternative measures for improving the energy efficiency. The improvements found have also been related to the possibilities for by-product sales from the plant (electricity and/or lignin). In a forthcoming paper, which is the second part of this process integration study, an economic analysis based on the results from this paper will be presented. - Highlights: ► Conversion of a kraft pulp mill to ethanol production. ► Heat integration of distillation/evaporation in a lignocellulosic ethanol plant. ► Advanced pinch curves used to find new integration possibilities. ► 35–40% reduction of steam demand.

Solar generation of hydrogen; Wasserstofferzeugung auf solarer Basis. Thermische Dissoziation des Wassers mit dem Licht-Kraft-Werk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ziemba, G.

2003-04-01

Solar generation of hydrogen. The ''Licht-Kraft-Werke'' (LKW) is described. Due to this it will be possible to supply solid-state-lasers directly by sunlight. Supplied by lasers water should be split in a highest-temperature-reactor. An efficiency of more than 21% is supposed to be reached. (orig.)

Biopulping of sugarcane bagasse and decolorization of kraft liquor by the laccase produced by Klebsiella aerogenes NCIM 2098

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jha H.

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Aims: Laccase, a copper-containing enzyme, oxidizes variety of aromatic compounds. Since laccase is essential for lignin degradation, it can be used for lignin removal in the pulp and paper industry (biopulping. Laccase is also employed as a dechlorinating agent (biobleaching, along with the removal of phenolic and other aromatic pollutants. In the present investigation it was aimed to employ the laccase produced by the bacterium Klebsiella aerogenes along with the bacterium itself in biopulping of sugarcane bagasse and biobleaching of kraft liquor effluent. Methodology and results: A laccase was isolated from the bacterium K. aerogenes, purified to homogeneity and characterized. The enzyme was purified by conventional techniques following salt precipitation, ion exchange chromatography, and affinity chromatography on Con A sepharose. The purified laccase was found to be monomeric glycoprotein with a Mr of 64 kDa when measured by Sephadex G-200 gel chromatography and SDS-PAGE. The Vmax and Km of laccase towards the substrate guaiacol was determined. The optimum pH of the laccase was found to be 5.0. biopulping and biobleaching activities were determined by TAPPI standard methods. Treatment of sugarcane baggase by K. aerogenes also significantly reduced lignin content of the bagasse. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: The bacterium K. aerogenes and a laccase produced by it were used separately for biopulping of sugarcane bagasse and biobleaching of kraft liquor effluent. Treatment with both brought significant reduction in lignin content and kappa number of the pulp. The handsheets prepared from the treated pulp showed improved brightness without affecting the strength properties of paper. The bacterium and the laccase efficiently decolorized the kraft liquor proving to have biobleaching potential.

The chemical information ontology: provenance and disambiguation for chemical data on the biological semantic web.

Science.gov (United States)

Hastings, Janna; Chepelev, Leonid; Willighagen, Egon; Adams, Nico; Steinbeck, Christoph; Dumontier, Michel

2011-01-01

Cheminformatics is the application of informatics techniques to solve chemical problems in silico. There are many areas in biology where cheminformatics plays an important role in computational research, including metabolism, proteomics, and systems biology. One critical aspect in the application of cheminformatics in these fields is the accurate exchange of data, which is increasingly accomplished through the use of ontologies. Ontologies are formal representations of objects and their properties using a logic-based ontology language. Many such ontologies are currently being developed to represent objects across all the domains of science. Ontologies enable the definition, classification, and support for querying objects in a particular domain, enabling intelligent computer applications to be built which support the work of scientists both within the domain of interest and across interrelated neighbouring domains. Modern chemical research relies on computational techniques to filter and organise data to maximise research productivity. The objects which are manipulated in these algorithms and procedures, as well as the algorithms and procedures themselves, enjoy a kind of virtual life within computers. We will call these information entities. Here, we describe our work in developing an ontology of chemical information entities, with a primary focus on data-driven research and the integration of calculated properties (descriptors) of chemical entities within a semantic web context. Our ontology distinguishes algorithmic, or procedural information from declarative, or factual information, and renders of particular importance the annotation of provenance to calculated data. The Chemical Information Ontology is being developed as an open collaborative project. More details, together with a downloadable OWL file, are available at http://code.google.com/p/semanticchemistry/ (license: CC-BY-SA).

The chemical information ontology: provenance and disambiguation for chemical data on the biological semantic web.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janna Hastings

Full Text Available Cheminformatics is the application of informatics techniques to solve chemical problems in silico. There are many areas in biology where cheminformatics plays an important role in computational research, including metabolism, proteomics, and systems biology. One critical aspect in the application of cheminformatics in these fields is the accurate exchange of data, which is increasingly accomplished through the use of ontologies. Ontologies are formal representations of objects and their properties using a logic-based ontology language. Many such ontologies are currently being developed to represent objects across all the domains of science. Ontologies enable the definition, classification, and support for querying objects in a particular domain, enabling intelligent computer applications to be built which support the work of scientists both within the domain of interest and across interrelated neighbouring domains. Modern chemical research relies on computational techniques to filter and organise data to maximise research productivity. The objects which are manipulated in these algorithms and procedures, as well as the algorithms and procedures themselves, enjoy a kind of virtual life within computers. We will call these information entities. Here, we describe our work in developing an ontology of chemical information entities, with a primary focus on data-driven research and the integration of calculated properties (descriptors of chemical entities within a semantic web context. Our ontology distinguishes algorithmic, or procedural information from declarative, or factual information, and renders of particular importance the annotation of provenance to calculated data. The Chemical Information Ontology is being developed as an open collaborative project. More details, together with a downloadable OWL file, are available at http://code.google.com/p/semanticchemistry/ (license: CC-BY-SA.

The Chemical Information Ontology: Provenance and Disambiguation for Chemical Data on the Biological Semantic Web

Science.gov (United States)

Hastings, Janna; Chepelev, Leonid; Willighagen, Egon; Adams, Nico; Steinbeck, Christoph; Dumontier, Michel

2011-01-01

Cheminformatics is the application of informatics techniques to solve chemical problems in silico. There are many areas in biology where cheminformatics plays an important role in computational research, including metabolism, proteomics, and systems biology. One critical aspect in the application of cheminformatics in these fields is the accurate exchange of data, which is increasingly accomplished through the use of ontologies. Ontologies are formal representations of objects and their properties using a logic-based ontology language. Many such ontologies are currently being developed to represent objects across all the domains of science. Ontologies enable the definition, classification, and support for querying objects in a particular domain, enabling intelligent computer applications to be built which support the work of scientists both within the domain of interest and across interrelated neighbouring domains. Modern chemical research relies on computational techniques to filter and organise data to maximise research productivity. The objects which are manipulated in these algorithms and procedures, as well as the algorithms and procedures themselves, enjoy a kind of virtual life within computers. We will call these information entities. Here, we describe our work in developing an ontology of chemical information entities, with a primary focus on data-driven research and the integration of calculated properties (descriptors) of chemical entities within a semantic web context. Our ontology distinguishes algorithmic, or procedural information from declarative, or factual information, and renders of particular importance the annotation of provenance to calculated data. The Chemical Information Ontology is being developed as an open collaborative project. More details, together with a downloadable OWL file, are available at http://code.google.com/p/semanticchemistry/ (license: CC-BY-SA). PMID:21991315

Methylene Diphosphonate Chemical and Biological control of MDP complex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aungurarat, Angkanan; Ngamprayad, Tippanan

2000-01-01

Technetium-9 9m MDP easy prepared from MDP kits which different sources such as OAP (In house), SIGMA. The resulting Tc 9 9m -MDP preparations were controlled in chemical and biological tests to compare the different results in these cases: radiochemical purity, the quantity of starting material and biodistribution result

On the transition period from chemical to biological evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chela-Flores, J.

1991-06-01

We discuss the consequences of the hypothesis that biological evolution was contemporary with an important event in chemical evolution, namely, the induction of a small chiral bias by the electroweak neutral interaction, amplified by the Salam enhancement factor, which we discuss in terms of familiar crystallographic terms. (author). 18 refs, 3 tabs

THE REACTIVITY OF PREHYDROLYZED SOFTWOOD KRAFT PULPS AFTER PROLONGED COOKING FOLLOWED BY CHLORITE DELIGNIFICATION

OpenAIRE

Ulf Germgard; Muhammad Asif Javed

2011-01-01

In a laboratory study high-quality spruce chips were prehydrolyzed to remove hemicelluloses and then kraft cooked to different kappa numbers by varying the cooking time. Each pulp sample was then chlorite delignified to selectively remove the remaining lignin. The reactivities of the pulp samples before and after chlorite delignification were determined by Fock’s test, which is supposed to measure the pulp’s reactivity in the conventional viscose process. A number of analyses were carried out...

Simulated experiment for elimination of chemical and biological warfare agents by making use of microwave plasma torch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Yong C.; Kim, Jeong H.; Uhm, Han S.

2004-01-01

The threat of chemical and biological warfare agents in a domestic terrorist attack and in military conflict is increasing worldwide. Elimination and decontamination of chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents are immediately required after such an attack. Simulated experiment for elimination of CBW agents by making use of atmospheric-pressure microwave plasma torches is carried out. Elimination of biological warfare agents indicated by the vitrification or burnout of sewage sludge powders and decomposition of toluene gas as a chemical agent stimulant are presented. A detailed characterization for the elimination of the simulant chemicals using Fourier transform infrared and gas chromatography is also presented

Simulated experiment for elimination of chemical and biological warfare agents by making use of microwave plasma torch

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Yong C.; Kim, Jeong H.; Uhm, Han S.

2004-02-01

The threat of chemical and biological warfare agents in a domestic terrorist attack and in military conflict is increasing worldwide. Elimination and decontamination of chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents are immediately required after such an attack. Simulated experiment for elimination of CBW agents by making use of atmospheric-pressure microwave plasma torches is carried out. Elimination of biological warfare agents indicated by the vitrification or burnout of sewage sludge powders and decomposition of toluene gas as a chemical agent stimulant are presented. A detailed characterization for the elimination of the simulant chemicals using Fourier transform infrared and gas chromatography is also presented.

Detection of Chemical/Biological Agents and Stimulants using Quadrupole Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harmon, S.H.; Hart, K.J.; Vass, A.A.; Wise, M.B.; Wolf, D.A.

1999-01-01

Detection of Chemical/Biological Agents and Simulants A new detector for chemical and biological agents is being developed for the U. S. Army under the Chemical and Biological Mass Spectrometer Block II program. The CBMS Block II is designed to optimize detection of both chemical and biological agents through the use of direct sampling inlets[I], a multi- ported sampling valve and a turbo- based vacuum system to support chemical ionization. Unit mass resolution using air as the buffer gas[2] has been obtained using this design. Software to control the instrument and to analyze the data generated from the instrument has also been newly developed. Detection of chemical agents can be accomplished. using the CBMS Block II design via one of two inlets - a l/ I 6'' stainless steel sample line -Chemical Warfare Air (CW Air) or a ground probe with enclosed capillary currently in use by the US Army - CW Ground. The Block II design is capable of both electron ionization and chemical ionization. Ethanol is being used as the Cl reagent based on a study indicating best performance for the Biological Warfare (BW) detection task (31). Data showing good signal to noise for 500 pg of methyl salicylate injected into the CW Air inlet, 50 ng of dimethylmethylphosphonate exposed to the CW Ground probe and 5 ng of methyl stearate analyzed using the pyrolyzer inlet were presented. Biological agents are sampled using a ''bio-concentrator'' unit that is designed to concentrate particles in the low micron range. Particles are collected in the bottom of a quartz pyrolyzer tube. An automated injector is being developed to deliver approximately 2 pL of a methylating reagent, tetramethylamonium- hydroxide to 'the collected particles. Pyrolysis occurs by rapid heating to ca. 55OOC. Biological agents are then characterized by their fatty acid methyl ester profiles and by other biomarkers. A library of ETOH- Cl/ pyrolysis MS data of microorganisms used for a recently published study[3] has been

Studies on marine toxins: chemical and biological aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stonik, Valentin A; Stonik, Inna V

2010-01-01

The structures and mechanisms of biological action of the best known representatives of the main groups of marine toxins are presented. It is shown that many compounds have complex chemical structures and possess extremely high toxicities. Characteristic features of isolation, structure determination and syntheses of these compounds using the achievement of modern organic chemistry are discussed. The methods of identification and quantitative analysis of marine toxins are briefly reviewed.

Jens Kraft og "De vilde Folk" (1760) - manden, forfatterskbet, værket

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langkjær, Michael Alexander

2000-01-01

had "set cultural development in motion." 7. Brief Account of the Savage Peoples from 1760, together with an address to the Academy of Young Noblemen at Sorø and Critical Letters for the Betterment of Taste, both from 1761, might be viewed as an interrelated group of sources bearing on one particular...... as religious concerns. 9. Kraft's reactions, as revealed by the contradictory tendencies in Brief Account of the Savage Peoples, testify to his unease with the paradoxes of modernity and its concomitant sense of value-loss. The dissertation is divided into three volumes.The first volume introduces the subject...

Chemical and genetic tools to explore S1P biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cahalan, Stuart M

2014-01-01

The zwitterionic lysophospholipid Sphingosine 1-Phosphate (S1P) is a pleiotropic mediator of physiology and pathology. The synthesis, transport, and degradation of S1P are tightly regulated to ensure that S1P is present in the proper concentrations in the proper location. The binding of S1P to five G protein-coupled S1P receptors regulates many physiological systems, particularly the immune and vascular systems. Our understanding of the functions of S1P has been aided by the tractability of the system to both chemical and genetic manipulation. Chemical modulators have been generated to affect most of the known components of S1P biology, including agonists of S1P receptors and inhibitors of enzymes regulating S1P production and degradation. Genetic knockouts and manipulations have been similarly engineered to disrupt the functions of individual S1P receptors or enzymes involved in S1P metabolism. This chapter will focus on the development and utilization of these chemical and genetic tools to explore the complex biology surrounding S1P and its receptors, with particular attention paid to the in vivo findings that these tools have allowed for.

Chemical Structure-Biological Activity Models for Pharmacophores’ 3D-Interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihai V. Putz

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Within medicinal chemistry nowadays, the so-called pharmaco-dynamics seeks for qualitative (for understanding and quantitative (for predicting mechanisms/models by which given chemical structure or series of congeners actively act on biological sites either by focused interaction/therapy or by diffuse/hazardous influence. To this aim, the present review exposes three of the fertile directions in approaching the biological activity by chemical structural causes: the special computing trace of the algebraic structure-activity relationship (SPECTRAL-SAR offering the full analytical counterpart for multi-variate computational regression, the minimal topological difference (MTD as the revived precursor for comparative molecular field analyses (CoMFA and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA; all of these methods and algorithms were presented, discussed and exemplified on relevant chemical medicinal systems as proton pump inhibitors belonging to the 4-indolyl,2-guanidinothiazole class of derivatives blocking the acid secretion from parietal cells in the stomach, the 1-[(2-hydroxyethoxy-methyl]-6-(phenylthiothymine congeners’ (HEPT ligands antiviral activity against Human Immunodeficiency Virus of first type (HIV-1 and new pharmacophores in treating severe genetic disorders (like depression and psychosis, respectively, all involving 3D pharmacophore interactions.

Direct heat transfer considerations for improving energy efficiency in pulp and paper Kraft mills

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Savulescu, Luciana Elena; Alva-Argaez, Alberto [Natural Resources (Canada)

2008-10-15

The success of any process improvement study depends on the quality of the available data and the way in which the plant-specific characteristics are incorporated in the applied conceptual models; in the context of process integration studies these issues are directly related to the rules followed during the data extraction stage. Improving energy efficiency in a pulp and paper Kraft mill requires the identification of the most promising heat recovery network retrofit projects. In a retrofit analysis using pinch technology/process integration methods, only the process streams associated to the existing heat exchangers and some outlet streams (such as wastewater/effluent streams and vents) with high potential for heat recovery are usually included, while the energy exchanged through non-isothermal stream mixing (NIM) or direct heat transfer (DHT) is often assumed fixed and is not considered in the analysis. Relaxing this assumption requires extracting more data to represent the DHT design configuration that exists in the plant. However, different data extraction options can be considered to represent the DHT configuration depending on the associated process/operation constraints. This work describes a systematic procedure to extract and analyse the impacts of DHT on the overall energy efficiency of a Kraft process with a specific focus on mixing along the pulp line and in water tanks. (author)

Sample Preparation and Identification of Biological, Chemical and Mid-Spectrum Agents

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hancock, J. R; Dragon, D. C

2005-01-01

A general survey of sample preparation and identification techniques for biological, chemical and mid-spectrum agents was conducted as part of Canada's contribution to a joint NATO Allied Engineering Publication (AEP) handbook...

Metabolic Engineering for Production of Biorenewable Fuels and Chemicals: Contributions of Synthetic Biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura R. Jarboe

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Production of fuels and chemicals through microbial fermentation of plant material is a desirable alternative to petrochemical-based production. Fermentative production of biorenewable fuels and chemicals requires the engineering of biocatalysts that can quickly and efficiently convert sugars to target products at a cost that is competitive with existing petrochemical-based processes. It is also important that biocatalysts be robust to extreme fermentation conditions, biomass-derived inhibitors, and their target products. Traditional metabolic engineering has made great advances in this area, but synthetic biology has contributed and will continue to contribute to this field, particularly with next-generation biofuels. This work reviews the use of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology in biocatalyst engineering for biorenewable fuels and chemicals production, such as ethanol, butanol, acetate, lactate, succinate, alanine, and xylitol. We also examine the existing challenges in this area and discuss strategies for improving biocatalyst tolerance to chemical inhibitors.

Structure and behavior as determinants: United States nuclear test ban and chemical and biological arms control policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reich, J.C.

1991-01-01

US efforts to control chemical and biological warfare and nuclear testing are examined with the aim of explaining the paucity of US backed agreements in these areas. Two theoretical perspectives, the behavioral and structural approaches, are used to explore US arms control outcomes. In the behavioral approach, the effects of governmental organization and the bargaining dynamics of policy-making elites with different cognitive styles are posited as important influences on US nuclear test ban and chemical and biological arms control policy outcomes. The behavioral perspective accounts for the timing of all US failed and successful entries (with one exception) into nuclear test bans and chemical and biological warfare restraints. A shortcoming of the behavior approach, however, is that it tends to overemphasize the chances for successful US entry into nuclear test and chemical and biological warfare limitations. Analysis of the same events from the structural perspective helps to correct for expectations generated by behavioral variables for a higher success rate than ultimately resulted. In the structural approach, the focus is on the effect of the organization of international politics on US nuclear test ban and chemical and biological arms control policy outcomes

Leader Development in Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense: Trained and Ready

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Van

2001-01-01

.... Careful and deliberate preparation and emphasis on leader development now will obviate the devastating role of WMD in the future and ensure that the Army is nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) trained and ready...

Steam slaking of lime - kinetics and technology. New energy effective lime slaking technology in kraft pulping; Aangslaeckning av kalk - kinetik och teknik. Ny energieffektiv teknik foer slaeckning av mesakalk i sulfatmassaindustrin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lundqvist, Roland

2008-06-15

Lime stone is widely used in chemical recovery for regeneration of white liquor in kraft pulping. Slaked (hydrated) lime is used to convert (causticize) sodium carbonate into sodium hydroxide, whereby lime mud (calcium carbonate) precipitates from the solution. Lime mud is dried and reburned in a lime kiln, where burned lime (calcium oxide) is formed. The circle is closed when lime is slaked (hydrated) in green liquor in an exotherm reaction. Problems with traditional lime burning and slaking methods are that heat recovery is bad and heat is recovered at low temperatures. With the method described in this report there is potential to increase heat recovery in the causticizing plant, and to recover heat at higher temperatures. The forecasted method means that lime is slaked with water vapour, for example combined with an indirect heated lime mud drier and a lime kiln. This project is a follow-up to pilot tests performed in a specific machine equipment at year 2006. The target group is pulp and paper industry using the kraft process. The owner of this new project is Carnot AB and the project is performed inside the Vaermeforsk Program for Pulp and Paper Industry 2006-2008. Partners and advisers in project group have been KTH Energy Processes, CTH Energy and Environment, LTH Chemical Technology, SMA Mineral AB, and reference group from STORA Enso Skoghall, Sodra Cell, M-Real Husum and SCA Packaging Piteaa. The task in this stage has included market investigations and laboratory tests. Contacts have been made with suppliers, preliminary dimensioning of process equipment and budget offers are received. Economic calculations have been made out of the offers. The laboratory tests are done as an examination paper at KTH Energiprocesser on the reactivity of burned lime from kraft lime kiln when it is slaked with water vapour instead of green liquor. The vapour intended to be used is at atmospheric pressure or even down to 0,2 atm. Complementary addition to these laboratory

Biological resistance of polyethylene composites made with chemically modified fiber or flour

Science.gov (United States)

Rebecca E. Ibach; Craig M. Clemons

2002-01-01

The role of moisture in the biological decay of wood-plastic composites was investigated. Southern pine wood fiber and ponderosa pine wood flour were chemically modified using either acetic anhydride (AA), butylene oxide (BO), or propylene oxide (PO). A 50:50 mixture of high density polyethylene and either chemically modified fiber or flour, or untreated fiber or flour...

Chemical analysis and biological potential of Valerian root as used ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The herb prepared from this plant was studied to determine the chemical composition of its essential oil, carried out phytochemical screening and biological activities on ... rat paw oedema model comparable to aspirin, indicating anti-inflammatory activity; but lacked analgesic activity on the acetic acid-induced writhing test.

Dealing with the Data Deluge: Handling the Multitude Of Chemical Biology Data Sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Guha, Rajarshi; Nguyen, Dac-Trung; Southall, Noel; Jadhav, Ajit

2012-09-01

Over the last 20 years, there has been an explosion in the amount and type of biological and chemical data that has been made publicly available in a variety of online databases. While this means that vast amounts of information can be found online, there is no guarantee that it can be found easily (or at all). A scientist searching for a specific piece of information is faced with a daunting task - many databases have overlapping content, use their own identifiers and, in some cases, have arcane and unintuitive user interfaces. In this overview, a variety of well known data sources for chemical and biological information are highlighted, focusing on those most useful for chemical biology research. The issue of using multiple data sources together and the associated problems such as identifier disambiguation are highlighted. A brief discussion is then provided on Tripod, a recently developed platform that supports the integration of arbitrary data sources, providing users a simple interface to search across a federated collection of resources.

Health Outcomes of Exposure to Biological and Chemical Components of Inhalable and Respirable Particulate Matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Morakinyo, Oyewale Mayowa; Mokgobu, Matlou Ingrid; Mukhola, Murembiwa Stanley; Hunter, Raymond Paul

2016-06-14

Particulate matter (PM) is a key indicator of air pollution and a significant risk factor for adverse health outcomes in humans. PM is not a self-contained pollutant but a mixture of different compounds including chemical and biological fractions. While several reviews have focused on the chemical components of PM and associated health effects, there is a dearth of review studies that holistically examine the role of biological and chemical components of inhalable and respirable PM in disease causation. A literature search using various search engines and (or) keywords was done. Articles selected for review were chosen following predefined criteria, to extract and analyze data. The results show that the biological and chemical components of inhalable and respirable PM play a significant role in the burden of health effects attributed to PM. These health outcomes include low birth weight, emergency room visit, hospital admission, respiratory and pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular disease, cancer, non-communicable diseases, and premature death, among others. This review justifies the importance of each or synergistic effects of the biological and chemical constituents of PM on health. It also provides information that informs policy on the establishment of exposure limits for PM composition metrics rather than the existing exposure limits of the total mass of PM. This will allow for more effective management strategies for improving outdoor air quality.

Health Outcomes of Exposure to Biological and Chemical Components of Inhalable and Respirable Particulate Matter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oyewale Mayowa Morakinyo

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Particulate matter (PM is a key indicator of air pollution and a significant risk factor for adverse health outcomes in humans. PM is not a self-contained pollutant but a mixture of different compounds including chemical and biological fractions. While several reviews have focused on the chemical components of PM and associated health effects, there is a dearth of review studies that holistically examine the role of biological and chemical components of inhalable and respirable PM in disease causation. A literature search using various search engines and (or keywords was done. Articles selected for review were chosen following predefined criteria, to extract and analyze data. The results show that the biological and chemical components of inhalable and respirable PM play a significant role in the burden of health effects attributed to PM. These health outcomes include low birth weight, emergency room visit, hospital admission, respiratory and pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular disease, cancer, non-communicable diseases, and premature death, among others. This review justifies the importance of each or synergistic effects of the biological and chemical constituents of PM on health. It also provides information that informs policy on the establishment of exposure limits for PM composition metrics rather than the existing exposure limits of the total mass of PM. This will allow for more effective management strategies for improving outdoor air quality.

Performance of Side-Streams from Eucalyptus Processing as Sources of Polysaccharides and Lignins by Kraft Delignification

OpenAIRE

Paula C. R. Pinto; Cátia Oliveira; Carina Costa; Alírio Rodrigues

2016-01-01

The performance of bark, branches, sawdust, forest biomass, and short-rotation eucalyptus in kraft delignification to produce polysaccharides and lignin is reported and discussed. A positive correlation was found between pulping severity required for delignification and lignin reactivity. Among all, branches feedstock is the best source of polysaccharides due to the high pulp yield (48-54%) with a satisfactory delignification degree. Branches lignin was characterized for the first time, evalu...

Chemical and biological characteristics of Albion reef in the South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The role of heterotrophic bacteria, pico-cyanobacteria and benthic cyanobacterial mats was assessed in the cycling of organic carbon and nitrogen in the Albion lagoon, Mauritius. Surveys and sampling for biological and chemical parameters were undertaken at three locations along one northern (T1) and one southern ...

Chemical and biological attributes of a lowland soil affected by land leveling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Maria Barbat Parfitt

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The objective of this work was to evaluate the relationship between soil chemical and biological attributes and the magnitude of cuts and fills after the land leveling process of a lowland soil. Soil samples were collected from the 0 - 0.20 m layer, before and after leveling, on a 100 point grid established in the experimental area, to evaluate chemical attributes and soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC. Leveling operations altered the magnitude of soil chemical and biological attributes. Values of Ca, Mg, S, cation exchange capacity, Mn, P, Zn, and soil organic matter (SOM decreased in the soil profile, whereas Al, K, and MBC increased after leveling. Land leveling decreased in 20% SOM average content in the 0 - 0.20 m layer. The great majority of the chemical attributes did not show relations between their values and the magnitude of cuts and fills. The relation was quadratic for SOM, P, and total N, and was linear for K, showing a positive slope and indicating increase in the magnitude of these attributes in cut areas and stability in fill areas. The relationships between these chemical attributes and the magnitude of cuts and fills indicate that the land leveling map may be a useful tool for degraded soil recuperation through amendments and organic fertilizers.

Efeito dos sólidos dissolvidos da madeira na branqueabilidade e nas propriedades físico-mecânicas e ópticas de polpa kraft branqueada de eucalipto

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dalton Longue Júnior

2012-03-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/198050985089Muitos estudos demonstram que o rendimento da polpação kraft pode ser melhorado pela readsorção de xilanas à polpa durante o cozimento, e o licor negro kraft contém fração significativa das xilanas da madeira, sendo uma importante fonte dessas macromoléculas. Porém, o efeito dessa técnica nas propriedades físico-mecânicas e ópticas de polpa branqueada de eucalipto, ainda não está bem esclarecido. Neste estudo foram produzidas polpas de eucalipto provenientes de cozimento kraft convencional, com diferentes adições de licor negro (0, 25, 50, 75 e 100 % v/v. Os cozimentos foram conduzidos até número kappa 17-18 e as polpas resultantes foram deslignificadas com oxigênio em condições fixas. O branqueamento foi realizado utilizando uma sequência DHT(EPDP até alvura final 92 % ISO. Em seguida as polpas foram refinadas num moinho PFI a diferentes níveis de revoluções (0, 500, 1.500, 3.000 e 6.000 e realizados testes de resistência ao rasgo, ao arrebentamento e à passagem de ar, alongamento, opacidade, densidade, volume específico aparente, capilaridade Klemm e índice de retenção de água (WRV. A eficiência e o ganho de alvura da pré-deslignificação com oxigênio foram ligeiramente prejudicados pela adição de licor negro ao cozimento kraft. A adição de 50 % de licor negro aos cozimentos resultou em polpas de pior branqueabilidade, sendo a demanda de cloro ativo aumentada em 5,3 kg/t celulose seca para obtenção de alvura 92 % ISO. As propriedades físico-mecânicas e ópticas das polpas kraft branqueadas não foram influenciadas, significativamente, pelo uso de licor negro no cozimento.

Chemical or Biological Terrorist Attacks: An Analysis of the Preparedness of Hospitals for Managing Victims Affected by Chemical or Biological Weapons of Mass Destruction

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Russell L.

2006-01-01

The possibility of a terrorist attack employing the use of chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction (WMD) on American soil is no longer an empty threat, it has become a reality. A WMD is defined as any weapon with the capacity to inflict death and destruction on such a massive scale that its very presence in the hands of hostile forces is a grievous threat. Events of the past few years including the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 and the use of planes as guided missiles directed into the Pentagon and New York’s Twin Towers in 2001 (9/11) and the tragic incidents involving twenty-three people who were infected and five who died as a result of contact with anthrax-laced mail in the Fall of 2001, have well established that the United States can be attacked by both domestic and international terrorists without warning or provocation. In light of these actions, hospitals have been working vigorously to ensure that they would be “ready” in the event of another terrorist attack to provide appropriate medical care to victims. However, according to a recent United States General Accounting Office (GAO) nationwide survey, our nation’s hospitals still are not prepared to manage mass causalities resulting from chemical or biological WMD. Therefore, there is a clear need for information about current hospital preparedness in order to provide a foundation for systematic planning and broader discussions about relative cost, probable effectiveness, environmental impact and overall societal priorities. Hence, the aim of this research was to examine the current preparedness of hospitals in the State of Mississippi to manage victims of terrorist attacks involving chemical or biological WMD. All acute care hospitals in the State were selected for inclusion in this study. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized for data collection and analysis. Six hypotheses were tested. Using a

Arbutus unedo L.: chemical and biological properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Miguel, Maria G; Faleiro, Maria L; Guerreiro, Adriana C; Antunes, Maria D

2014-09-30

Arbutus unedo L. (strawberry tree) has a circum-Mediterranean distribution, being found in western, central and southern Europe, north-eastern Africa (excluding Egypt and Libya) and the Canary Islands and western Asia. Fruits of the strawberry tree are generally used for preparing alcoholic drinks (wines, liqueurs and brandies), jams, jellies and marmalades, and less frequently eaten as fresh fruit, despite their pleasing appearance. An overview of the chemical composition of different parts of the plant, strawberry tree honey and strawberry tree brandy will be presented. The biological properties of the different parts of A. unedo and strawberry tree honey will be also overviewed.

Nuclear, biological and chemical contamination survivability of Army material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feeney, J.J.

1987-01-01

Army Regulation (AR) 70-71, Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) Contamination Survivability of Army Material, published during 1984, establishes Army policy and procedures for the development and acquisition of material to ensure its survivablility and sustainability on the NBC-contaminated battlefield. This regulation defines NBC contamination as a term that includes both the individual and collective effects of residual radiological, biological, and chemical contamination. AR 70-71 applies to all mission-essential equipment within the Army. NBC contamination survivability is the capability of a system and its crew to withstand an NBC-contaminated environment, including decontamination, without losing the ability to accomplish the assigned mission. Characteristics of NBC contamination survivability are decontaminability, hardness, and compatability. These characteristics are engineering design criteria which are intended for use only in a developmental setting. To comply with AR 70-71, each mission-essential item must address all three criteria. The Department of Defense (DOD) has published a draft instruction addressing acquisition of NBC contamination survivable systems. This instruction will apply throughout DOD to those programs, systems and subsystems designated by the Secretary of Defense as major systems acquisition programs and to those non-major systems that have potential impact on critical functions

Molecular codes in biological and chemical reaction networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dennis Görlich

Full Text Available Shannon's theory of communication has been very successfully applied for the analysis of biological information. However, the theory neglects semantic and pragmatic aspects and thus cannot directly be applied to distinguish between (bio- chemical systems able to process "meaningful" information from those that do not. Here, we present a formal method to assess a system's semantic capacity by analyzing a reaction network's capability to implement molecular codes. We analyzed models of chemical systems (martian atmosphere chemistry and various combustion chemistries, biochemical systems (gene expression, gene translation, and phosphorylation signaling cascades, an artificial chemistry, and random reaction networks. Our study suggests that different chemical systems possess different semantic capacities. No semantic capacity was found in the model of the martian atmosphere chemistry, the studied combustion chemistries, and highly connected random networks, i.e. with these chemistries molecular codes cannot be implemented. High semantic capacity was found in the studied biochemical systems and in random reaction networks where the number of second order reactions is twice the number of species. We conclude that our approach can be applied to evaluate the information processing capabilities of a chemical system and may thus be a useful tool to understand the origin and evolution of meaningful information, e.g. in the context of the origin of life.

Modeling drug- and chemical- induced hepatotoxicity with systems biology approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudin eBhattacharya

2012-12-01

Full Text Available We provide an overview of computational systems biology approaches as applied to the study of chemical- and drug-induced toxicity. The concept of ‘toxicity pathways’ is described in the context of the 2007 US National Academies of Science report, Toxicity testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and A Strategy. Pathway mapping and modeling based on network biology concepts are a key component of the vision laid out in this report for a more biologically-based analysis of dose-response behavior and the safety of chemicals and drugs. We focus on toxicity of the liver (hepatotoxicity – a complex phenotypic response with contributions from a number of different cell types and biological processes. We describe three case studies of complementary multi-scale computational modeling approaches to understand perturbation of toxicity pathways in the human liver as a result of exposure to environmental contaminants and specific drugs. One approach involves development of a spatial, multicellular virtual tissue model of the liver lobule that combines molecular circuits in individual hepatocytes with cell-cell interactions and blood-mediated transport of toxicants through hepatic sinusoids, to enable quantitative, mechanistic prediction of hepatic dose-response for activation of the AhR toxicity pathway. Simultaneously, methods are being developing to extract quantitative maps of intracellular signaling and transcriptional regulatory networks perturbed by environmental contaminants, using a combination of gene expression and genome-wide protein-DNA interaction data. A predictive physiological model (DILIsymTM to understand drug-induced liver injury (DILI, the most common adverse event leading to termination of clinical development programs and regulatory actions on drugs, is also described. The model initially focuses on reactive metabolite-induced DILI in response to administration of acetaminophen, and spans multiple biological scales.

Prospects for improved detection of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wuest, Craig R. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Hart, Brad [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Slezak, Thomas R. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2012-07-31

Acquisition and use of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) weapons continue to be a major focus of concern form the security apparatus of nation states because of their potential for mass casualties when used by a determined adversary.

Assessing the application of advanced oxidation processes, and their combination with biological treatment, to effluents from pulp and paper industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Merayo, Noemí; Hermosilla, Daphne; Blanco, Laura; Cortijo, Luis; Blanco, Angeles

2013-11-15

The closure of water circuits within pulp and paper mills has resulted in a higher contamination load of the final mill effluent, which must consequently be further treated in many cases to meet the standards imposed by the legislation in force. Different treatment strategies based on advanced oxidation processes (ozonation and TiO2-photocatalysis), and their combination with biological treatment (MBR), are herein assessed for effluents of a recycled paper mill and a kraft pulp mill. Ozone treatment achieved the highest efficiency of all. The consumption of 2.4 g O3 L(-1) resulted in about a 60% COD reduction treating the effluent from the kraft pulp mill at an initial pH=7; although it only reached about a 35% COD removal for the effluent of the recycled paper mill. Otherwise, photocatalysis achieved about a 20-30% reduction of the COD for both type of effluents. In addition, the effluent from the recycled paper mill showed a higher biodegradability, so combinations of these AOPs with biological treatment were tested. As a result, photocatalysis did not report any significant COD reduction improvement whether being performed as pre- or post-treatment of the biological process; whereas the use of ozonation as post-biological treatment enhanced COD removal a further 10%, summing up a total 90% reduction of the COD for the combined treatment, as well as it also supposed an increase of the presence of volatile fatty acids, which might ultimately enable the resultant wastewater to be recirculated back to further biological treatment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Organization A Comprehensive System Of Insurance Coverage In The Potential Chemical And Biological Contamination Zone In Regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nina Vladimirovna Zaytseva

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The article provides a scientific rationale for an integrated approach to the provision of insurance coverage in the potential chemical and biological contamination zone. The following modern forms of chemical safety in the Russian Federation were considered: state reserve’s system, target program financing, state social insurance. The separate issue tackles the obligatory civil liability insurance for owners of dangerous objects. For improvement of the existing insurance protection system against emergency situations, risks were analyzed (shared on exogenous and endogenous. Among the exogenous risks including natural and climatic conditions of a region, its geographical arrangement, economic specialization, the seismic and terrorist risks were chosen and approaches to its solution were suggested. In endogenous risks’ group, the special focus is on wear and tear and obsolescence of hazardous chemical and biological object’s fixed assets. In case of high risk of an incident, it is suggested to increase in extent of insurance protection through self-insurance, a mutual insurance in the form of the organization of societies of a mutual insurance or the self-regulating organizations, and also development of voluntary insurance of a civil liability, both the owner of hazardous object, and regions of the Russian Federation and municipalities. The model of insurance coverage in the potential chemical and biological contamination zone is based on a differentiated approach to the danger level of the area. A matrix of adequate forms and types of insurance (required for insurance coverage of the population in the potential chemical and biological contamination zone was constructed. Proposed health risk management toolkit in the potential chemical and biological contamination zone will allow to use financial resources for chemical and biological safety in the regions more efficiently.

40 CFR 98.270 - Definition of source category.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... this section: (1) Chemical recovery furnaces at kraft and soda mills (including recovery furnaces that burn spent pulping liquor produced by both the kraft and semichemical process). (2) Chemical recovery... into paperboard products (e.g., containers), or operate coating and laminating processes. (b) The...

Zebrafish whole-adult-organism chemogenomics for large-scale predictive and discovery chemical biology.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siew Hong Lam

2008-07-01

Full Text Available The ability to perform large-scale, expression-based chemogenomics on whole adult organisms, as in invertebrate models (worm and fly, is highly desirable for a vertebrate model but its feasibility and potential has not been demonstrated. We performed expression-based chemogenomics on the whole adult organism of a vertebrate model, the zebrafish, and demonstrated its potential for large-scale predictive and discovery chemical biology. Focusing on two classes of compounds with wide implications to human health, polycyclic (halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons [P(HAHs] and estrogenic compounds (ECs, we generated robust prediction models that can discriminate compounds of the same class from those of different classes in two large independent experiments. The robust expression signatures led to the identification of biomarkers for potent aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR and estrogen receptor (ER agonists, respectively, and were validated in multiple targeted tissues. Knowledge-based data mining of human homologs of zebrafish genes revealed highly conserved chemical-induced biological responses/effects, health risks, and novel biological insights associated with AHR and ER that could be inferred to humans. Thus, our study presents an effective, high-throughput strategy of capturing molecular snapshots of chemical-induced biological states of a whole adult vertebrate that provides information on biomarkers of effects, deregulated signaling pathways, and possible affected biological functions, perturbed physiological systems, and increased health risks. These findings place zebrafish in a strategic position to bridge the wide gap between cell-based and rodent models in chemogenomics research and applications, especially in preclinical drug discovery and toxicology.

Kraft pulping and ECF bleaching of Eucalyptus globulus pretreated by the white-rot fungus Ceriporiopsis subvermispora - doi: 10.4025/actascitechnol.v34i3.12410

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudio Salazar

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Eucalyptus globulus wood chips were decayed by the lignin-degrading fungus Ceriporiopsis subvermispora as a pretreatment step before kraft pulping. Weight and component losses of wood after the biotreatment were the following: weight (5%, glucans (1.5%, xylans (4.3%, lignin (5.7% and extractives (57.5%. The residual amount of lignin (expressed by the kappa number in pulps from biotreated wood chips was lower than that of pulps from the undecayed control. Depending on the delignification degree, kraft biopulps presented similar or up to 4% increase in pulp yield and 20% less hexenuronic acids (HexA than control pulps. The extended delignification with O2 decreases approximately 50% of the kappa number of the pulps and increases brightness, but had no effect in HexA reduction. The bleaching steps with chlorine dioxide (D0ED1 sequence decreased the kappa number up to 97%, increased pulp brightness up to 84% ISO and decreased HexA amount up to 91%. The use of C. subvermispora in biopulping of E. globulus generated important benefits during the production of kraft pulps that are reflected in a high pulp yield, low residual lignin content, low HexA amount, high brightness and viscosity of the biopulps as compared with pulps produced from untreated wood chips.

Efeito da adição da antraquinona na pré-deslignificação com oxigênio no branqueamento e na qualidade da polpa kraft de eucalipto

OpenAIRE

Silva, Mariléa Pinto da

2010-01-01

A produção de polpa kraft vem se destacando mundialmente devido às grandes vantagens do processo. Alguns estudos têm mostrado que a adição da antraquinona em licores de cozimento kraft traz efeitos positivos ao processo como aumento do rendimento, redução do número kappa e ganhos nas propriedades físicas da polpa. O objetivo principal deste trabalho é avaliar o efeito das diferentes dosagens de antraquinona da pré-deslignificação com oxigênio no branqueamento pela seqüência ODualD(EP)D, na qu...

Using novel descriptor accounting for ligand-receptor interactions to define and visually explore biologically relevant chemical space.

Science.gov (United States)

Rabal, Obdulia; Oyarzabal, Julen

2012-05-25

The definition and pragmatic implementation of biologically relevant chemical space is critical in addressing navigation strategies in the overlapping regions where chemistry and therapeutically relevant targets reside and, therefore, also key to performing an efficient drug discovery project. Here, we describe the development and implementation of a simple and robust method for representing biologically relevant chemical space as a general reference according to current knowledge, independently of any reference space, and analyzing chemical structures accordingly. Underlying our method is the generation of a novel descriptor (LiRIf) that converts structural information into a one-dimensional string accounting for the plausible ligand-receptor interactions as well as for topological information. Capitalizing on ligand-receptor interactions as a descriptor enables the clustering, profiling, and comparison of libraries of compounds from a chemical biology and medicinal chemistry perspective. In addition, as a case study, R-groups analysis is performed to identify the most populated ligand-receptor interactions according to different target families (GPCR, kinases, etc.), as well as to evaluate the coverage of biologically relevant chemical space by structures annotated in different databases (ChEMBL, Glida, etc.).

Microbiology and atmospheric processes: chemical interactions of primary biological aerosols

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Deguillaume

2008-07-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the influence of primary biological aerosols (PBA on atmospheric chemistry and vice versa through microbiological and chemical properties and processes. Several studies have shown that PBA represent a significant fraction of air particulate matter and hence affect the microstructure and water uptake of aerosol particles. Moreover, airborne micro-organisms, namely fungal spores and bacteria, can transform chemical constituents of the atmosphere by metabolic activity. Recent studies have emphasized the viability of bacteria and metabolic degradation of organic substances in cloud water. On the other hand, the viability and metabolic activity of airborne micro-organisms depend strongly on physical and chemical atmospheric parameters such as temperature, pressure, radiation, pH value and nutrient concentrations. In spite of recent advances, however, our knowledge of the microbiological and chemical interactions of PBA in the atmosphere is rather limited. Further targeted investigations combining laboratory experiments, field measurements, and modelling studies will be required to characterize the chemical feedbacks, microbiological activities at the air/snow/water interface supplied to the atmosphere.

Terrorist threat, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear medical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Revel, Th. de; Gourmelon, P.; Vidal, D.; Renaudeau, C.

2005-01-01

The different aspects linked to the use of nuclear, radiological, biological and or chemical weapons are gathered in this work. They concern history, fundamental aspect, diagnosis, therapy and prevention. The part devoted to the nuclear aspect concern the accidents in relation with ionizing radiations, the radiation syndrome, the contribution and limits of dosimetry, the treatment of medullary aplasia, the evaluation and treatment of an internal contamination, new perspectives on the use of cytokine for the treatment of accidental irradiated persons, alternative to the blood transfusion. (N.C.)

Oil and gas activities in northern Norway. Summary; KonKraft rapport 6

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2009-07-01

KonKraft report 6 deals with oil and gas operations on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) from Nordland county and northwards. It aims to contribute to a broad factual base for decision processes related to opening new exploration areas in these waters. The Norwegian petroleum sector employs about 250 000 people directly and indirectly. It accounts for a third of government revenues, and 90 per cent of its profits accrue to the state. NOK 119 billion of the central government budget in 2009 comes directly from oil and gas revenues. These funds finance roads, nursery schools, hospitals and the Norwegian welfare state. In addition, they safeguard future pensions. This industry is at a crossroads today. Oil production has dropped by 30 per cent since 2000. Recent forecasts from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate show that it may be reduced by 50 per cent from its peak by 2013. Overall oil and gas output is expected to begin falling from the middle of the next decade. To slow this decline in output and revenues, the oil companies need access to new and attractive exploration acreage. Half the production expected by the government in 2030 relates to resources which have yet to be proven. Opening further areas of the NCS to petroleum activities would contribute to maintaining substantial investment and revenues for the community, and to continuing the development of industry in the northernmost parts of the country. The report reviews unopened areas along the Norwegian coast from the Helgeland region and north-eastwards to the Russian border. Nordland VI and VII plus Troms II are regarded by the petroleum industry as the most promising regions for big discoveries which could slow the production decline. The KonKraft 2 report concerning production development on the NCS estimates remaining resources in these three areas at 3.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe). (Author)

Chemical and biological characterization of residential oil burner emission. A literature survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Westerholm, R.; Peterson, A.

1994-02-01

This literature study covers the time period 1980 to 1993 and is concerned with oil burners used for residential heating with a nominal heating power of less than 20 kW, which are normally used in one-family houses. Emission samples from domestic heaters using organic fuels consists of a very complex matrix of pollutants ranging from aggregate states solid to gaseous. Biological effects elicited by exhaust emissions have been detected and determined. It has been shown for diesel vehicles that selection of fuel properties has an impact on combustion reaction paths which results in different exhaust chemical compositions. It was also determined that diesel fuel properties have an impact on the biological activity of diesel exhaust emissions, which is to be expected from their chemical characterization. As a result of this, Sweden has an environmental classification of diesel fuels which has been in force since 1991. Analogously, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has asked whether detrimental environmental and health effects from residential heating can be reduced by selection of fuel properties, and if so by how much? In addition, which properties are most important to control in a future environmental classification of heating oils? As a first step in this process, a literature survey was performed. Major topics were: Sampling technology, chemical composition, biological activity, and risk assessment of emissions. 33 refs, 11 tabs

Arbutus unedo L.: Chemical and Biological Properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria G. Miguel

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Arbutus unedo L. (strawberry tree has a circum-Mediterranean distribution, being found in western, central and southern Europe, north-eastern Africa (excluding Egypt and Libya and the Canary Islands and western Asia. Fruits of the strawberry tree are generally used for preparing alcoholic drinks (wines, liqueurs and brandies, jams, jellies and marmalades, and less frequently eaten as fresh fruit, despite their pleasing appearance. An overview of the chemical composition of different parts of the plant, strawberry tree honey and strawberry tree brandy will be presented. The biological properties of the different parts of A. unedo and strawberry tree honey will be also overviewed.

Simaroubaceae family: botany, chemical composition and biological activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iasmine A.B.S. Alves

Full Text Available The Simaroubaceae family includes 32 genera and more than 170 species of trees and brushes of pantropical distribution. The main distribution hot spots are located at tropical areas of America, extending to Africa, Madagascar and regions of Australia bathed by the Pacific. This family is characterized by the presence of quassinoids, secondary metabolites responsible of a wide spectrum of biological activities such as antitumor, antimalarial, antiviral, insecticide, feeding deterrent, amebicide, antiparasitic and herbicidal. Although the chemical and pharmacological potential of Simaroubaceae family as well as its participation in official compendia; such as British, German, French and Brazilian pharmacopoeias, and patent registration, many of its species have not been studied yet. In order to direct further investigation to approach detailed botanical, chemical and pharmacological aspects of the Simaroubaceae, the present work reviews the information regarding the main genera of the family up to 2013.

Modeling dynamics of biological and chemical components of aquatic ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lassiter, R.R.

1975-05-01

To provide capability to model aquatic ecosystems or their subsystems as needed for particular research goals, a modeling strategy was developed. Submodels of several processes common to aquatic ecosystems were developed or adapted from previously existing ones. Included are submodels for photosynthesis as a function of light and depth, biological growth rates as a function of temperature, dynamic chemical equilibrium, feeding and growth, and various types of losses to biological populations. These submodels may be used as modules in the construction of models of subsystems or ecosystems. A preliminary model for the nitrogen cycle subsystem was developed using the modeling strategy and applicable submodels. (U.S.)

Development of hemicelluloses biorefineries for integration into kraft pulp mills

Science.gov (United States)

Ajao, Olumoye Abiodun

The development and wide spread acceptance of production facilities for biofuels, biochemicals and biomaterials is an important condition for reducing reliance on limited fossil resources and transitioning towards a global biobased economy. Pulp and paper mills in North America are confronted with high energy prices, high production costs and intense competition from emerging economies and low demand for traditional products. Integrated forest biorefineries (IFBR) have been proposed as a mean to diversify their product streams, increase their revenue and become more sustainable. This is feasible because they have access to forest biomass, an established feedstock supply chain and wood processing experience. In addition, the integration of a biorefinery process that can share existing infrastructure and utilities on the site of pulp mill would significantly lower investment cost and associated risks. Kraft pulping mills are promising receptor processes for a biorefinery because they either possess a prehydrolysis step for extracting hemicelluloses sugars prior to wood pulping or it can be added by retrofit. The extracted hemicelluloses could be subsequently transformed into a wide range of value added products for the receptor mill. To successfully implement hemicelluloses biorefinery, novel processes that are technically and economically feasible are required. It is necessary to identify products that would be profitable, develop processes that are energy efficient and the receptor mill should be able to supply the energy, chemicals and material demands of the biorefinery unit. The objective of this thesis is to develop energy efficient and economically viable hemicelluloses biorefineries for integration into a Kraft pulping process. A dissolving pulp mill was the reference case study. The transformation of hemicellulosic sugars via a chemical and biochemical conversion pathway, with furfural and ethanol as representative products for each pathway was studied. In

The chemical and biological characteristics of coke-oven wastewater by ozonation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, E.-E.; Hsing, H.-J.; Chiang, P.-C.; Chen, M.-Y.; Shyng, J.-Y.

2008-01-01

A bench-scale bubble column reactor was used to investigate the biological and chemical characteristics of coke-oven wastewater after ozonation treatment through the examination of selected parameters. Color and thiocyanate could be removed almost entirely; however, organic matter and cyanide could not, due to the inadequate oxidation ability of ozone to remove ozonated byproducts under given experimental conditions. The removal of cyanide and total organic carbon were pH-dependent and were found to be efficient under neutral to alkaline conditions. The removal rate for thiocyanate was about five times that of cyanide. The ozone consumption ratio approached to about 1 at the early stage of ozonation (time TOC ) increased to 30%, indicating that easily degraded pollutants were degraded almost entirely. The effect of ozonation on the subsequent biological treatment unit (i.e., activated sludge process) was determined by observing the ratio of 5-day biological oxygen demand to chemical oxygen demand (BOD 5 /COD) and the specific oxygen utilization rate (SOUR). The results indicated that the contribution of ozonation to inhibition reduction was very significant but limited to the enhancement of biodegradation. The operation for ozonation of coke-oven wastewater was feasible under neutral condition and short ozone contact time in order to achieve better performance and cost savings

Liquefaction of kraft lignin by hydrocracking with simultaneous use of a novel dual acid-base catalyst and a hydrogenation catalyst.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jindong; Li, Wenzhi; Wang, Huizhen; Ma, Qiaozhi; Li, Song; Chang, Hou-Min; Jameel, Hasan

2017-11-01

In this study, a novel catalyst, S 2 O 8 2- -KNO 3 /TiO 2 , which has active acidic and basic sites, was prepared and used in lignin hydrocracking with a co-catalyst, Ru/C. Ru/C is an efficient hydrogenation catalyst and S 2 O 8 2- -KNO 3 /TiO 2 is a dual catalyst, which could efficiently degrade lignin. This catalytic hydrogenation system can reduce solid products to less than 1%, while giving a high liquid product yield of 93%. Catalytic hydrocracking of kraft lignin at 320°C for 6h gave 93% liquid product with 0.5% solid product. Most of this liquid product was soluble in petroleum ether (60% of 93%), which is a clear liquid and comprises mainly of monomeric and dimeric degradation products. These results demonstrated that the combination of the two catalysts is an efficient catalyst for liquefaction of lignin, with little char formation (∼1%). This concept has the potential to produce valuable chemicals and fuels from lignin under moderate conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

15 CFR Supplement No. 1 to Part 742 - Nonproliferation of Chemical and Biological Weapons

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Nonproliferation of Chemical and...—Nonproliferation of Chemical and Biological Weapons Note: Exports and reexports of items in performance of.... Contract sanctity dates are established in the course of the imposition of foreign policy controls on...

Chemical and Biological Analysis of Malaysian Sting less Bee Propolis Extracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nurhamizah Ibrahim; Nurul Farah Shakila Mohd Niza; Muhammad Muslim Mohd Rodi; Abdul Jamil Zakaria; Zhari Ismail; Khamsah Suryati Mohd; Khamsah Suryati Mohd

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate chemical and biological profile of methanol extracts from Malaysian propolis produced by two commonly found sting less bee species, Heterotrigona itama (MHI) and Geniotrigona thoracica (MGT). Test samples were analyzed for physicochemical parameters such as moisture, fat, crude fibre, crude protein, carbohydrate and ash content. Tests for phyto chemical screening by thin layer chromatography of both extracts revealed that presence of terpenoids, flavonoids, phenols and essential oils but steroids, saponin and coumarins only occur in MHI. Both extracts displayed a characteristic profile and vary from each other. Accordingly, MHI possess higher antioxidant activity with an IC_5_0 of 15.0 ± 0.21 μg/ mL compared to MGT with IC_5_0 of 270.0 ± 0.19 μg/ mL. MHI showed moderate nitric oxide scavenging activity, while MGT only showed mild inhibition. Antidiabetic activity was determined by α-glucosidase inhibition and found significantly better than that of acarbose (positive control). In conclusion, data gathered in this study revealed that bee species play role in determining the chemical and biological profile of particular propolis and should put into account in decision of further development for propolis. (author)

Biological and chemical terrorism: strategic plan for preparedness and response. Recommendations of the CDC Strategic Planning Workgroup.

Science.gov (United States)

2000-04-21

The U.S. national civilian vulnerability to the deliberate use of biological and chemical agents has been highlighted by recognition of substantial biological weapons development programs and arsenals in foreign countries, attempts to acquire or possess biological agents by militants, and high-profile terrorist attacks. Evaluation of this vulnerability has focused on the role public health will have detecting and managing the probable covert biological terrorist incident with the realization that the U.S. local, state, and federal infrastructure is already strained as a result of other important public health problems. In partnership with representatives for local and state health departments, other federal agencies, and medical and public health professional associations, CDC has developed a strategic plan to address the deliberate dissemination of biological or chemical agents. The plan contains recommendations to reduce U.S. vulnerability to biological and chemical terrorism--preparedness planning, detection and surveillance, laboratory analysis, emergency response, and communication systems. Training and research are integral components for achieving these recommendations. Success of the plan hinges on strengthening the relationships between medical and public health professionals and on building new partnerships with emergency management, the military, and law enforcement professionals.

Development of Bicarbonate-Activated Peroxide as a Chemical and Biological Warfare Agent Decontaminant

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Richardson, David E

2006-01-01

...) and other chemistry for the decontamination of chemical and biological warfare agents. The mechanism of formation of the active oxidant, peroxymonocarbonate, has been investigated in detail. New surfoxidants...

The role of bound chlorine in the brightness reversion of bleached hardwood kraft pulp

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kátia Maria Morais Eiras

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Our previous paper showed fragmentary evidence that pulp brightness reversion may be negatively affected by its organically bound chlorine (OX content. A thorough investigation on eucalyptus kraft pulp led to the conclusion that OX increases reversion of certain pulps but this trend is not universal. Alkaline bleaching stages decrease reversion regardless of pulp OX content. Pulps bleached with high temperature chlorine dioxide revert less than those bleached with conventional chlorine dioxide in sequences ending with a chlorine dioxide stage but similarly in sequences ending with a final peroxide stage. The use of secondary condensate for pulp washing decreases reversion.

A survey of present levels of radiocesium in Swedish pulp mill liquors and the implications for wood radiocesium transfer factors. Using Kraft mill liquors as an indicator of wood radiocesium contamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravila, A.; Holm, E.

2000-01-01

A survey was initiated to depict and compare the present activity levels in pulp mill liquors from various mill locations. The 137 Cs levels in pulp mill liquors were compared with the mill location and the deposition pattern of the Chernobyl fallout and nuclear weapons fallout. The large input of wood (about 2500 m 3 per day) to an average Nordic Kraft mill and the relatively long-term retention time for radiocesium in the Kraft mill recovery cycle enables representative sampling of substances directly related to the activity concentration in wood. (author)

Escalation of terrorism? On the risk of attacks with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons or materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nass, Jens

2010-01-01

The report on the risk of attacks with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons or materials covers the following topics: the variety of terrorism: ethnic-nationalistic, politically motivated, social revolutionary, political extremism, religious fanaticism, governmental terrorism; CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) weapons and materials: their availability and effectiveness in case of use; potential actor groups; prevention and counter measures, emergency and mitigating measures.

Developing Navy Capability to Recover Forces in Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Hazard Environments

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

damage control; LHD flight deck and well deck operations; fleet surgical team; Afloat Training Group; Assault Craft Unit; Naval Surface Warfare Center ...Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School, and U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center , Guidelines for Mass Casualty Decontamination During a HAZMAT...Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by OSD, the Joint Staff

Economics evaluation for on-site pyrolysis of kraft lignin to value-added chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Farag, Sherif; Chaouki, Jamal

2015-01-01

This work is part of a series of investigations on pyrolysis of lignin. After obtaining the necessary information regarding the quantity and quality of the obtained products, a first step economics evaluation for converting lignin into chemicals was essential. To accomplish this aim, a pyrolysis plant with a 50t/d capacity was designed, and the total capital investment and operating costs were estimated. Next, the minimal selling price of the obtained dry oil was calculated and the effect of crucial variables on the estimated price was examined. The key result indicates the estimated selling price would not compete with the price of the chemicals that are fossil fuel based, which is primarily due to the high cost of the feedstock. To overcome this challenge, different scenarios for reducing the selling price of the obtained oil, which consequently is helping by taking a place among the fossil fuel based chemicals, were discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical and biological studies of Lobelia flaccida (C. Presl) A.DC ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Chemical and biological studies of Lobelia flaccida (C. Presl) A.DC leaf: a medicinal plant used by traditional healers in Eastern Cape, South Africa. ... (85 mg/kg, intraperitoneally)-induced convulsion model in mice, normal saline and diazepam (1 mg/kg, i.p.) served as negative and positive control groups respectively.

Pollution control in pulp and paper industrial effluents using integrated chemical-biological treatment sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Bestawy, Ebtesam; El-Sokkary, Ibrahim; Hussein, Hany; Keela, Alaa Farouk Abu

2008-11-01

The main objective of the present study was to improve the quality of pulp and paper industrial wastewater of two local mills RAKTA and El-Ahlia, Alexandria, Egypt, and to bring their pollutant contents to safe discharge levels. Quality improvement was carried out using integrated chemical and biological treatment approaches after their optimization. Chemical treatment (alum, lime, and ferric chloride) was followed by oxidation using hydrogen peroxide and finally biological treatment using activated sludge (90 min for RAKTA and 60 min for El-Ahlia effluents). Chemical coagulation produced low-quality effluents, while pH adjustment during coagulation treatment did not enhance the quality of the effluents. Maximum removal of the tested pollutants was achieved using the integrated treatment and the pollutants recorded residual concentrations (RCs) of 34.67, 17.33, 0.13, and 0.43 mg/l and 15.0, 11.0, 0.0, and 0.13 mg/l for chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), tannin and lignin, and silica in RAKTA and El-Ahlia effluents, respectively, all of which were below their maximum permissible limits (MPLs) for the safe discharge into water courses. Specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) and sludge volume index (SVI) values reflect good conditions and healthy activated sludge. Based on the previous results, optimized conditions were applied as bench scale on the raw effluents of RAKTA and El-Ahlia via the batch chemical and the biological treatment sequences proposed. For RAKTA effluents, the sequence was as follows: (1) coagulation with 375 mg/l FeCl3, (2) oxidation with 50 mg/l hydrogen peroxide, and (3) biological treatment using activated sludge with 2,000 mg/l initial concentration and 90 min hydraulic retention time (HRT), while for El-Ahlia raw effluents, the sequence was (1) coagulation with 250 mg/l FeCl3, (2) oxidation with 45 mg/l hydrogen peroxide, and (3) biological treatment using activated sludge with 2,000 mg/l initial concentration and 60

Sacrificial adsorbate for surfactants utilized in chemical floods of enhanced oil recovery operations

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Jr., James S.; Westmoreland, Clyde G.

1982-01-01

The present invention is directed to a sacrificial or competitive adsorbate for surfactants contained in chemical flooding emulsions for enhanced oil recovery operations. The adsorbate to be utilized in the method of the present invention is a caustic effluent from the bleach stage or the weak black liquor from the digesters and pulp washers of the kraft pulping process. This effluent or weak black liquor is injected into an oil-bearing subterranean earth formation prior to or concurrent with the chemical flood emulsion and is adsorbed on the active mineral surfaces of the formation matrix so as to effectively reduce adsorption of surfactant in the chemical flood. Alternatively, the effluent or liquor can be injected into the subterranean earth formation subsequent to a chemical flood to displace the surfactant from the mineral surfaces for the recovery thereof.

Fixation and utilization of CO2 by biological and/or chemical processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiromichi, N.

1994-01-01

This paper presents the carbon dioxide fixation and utilisation by biological and/or chemical processes. It presents research objectives and program contents for the effective fixation of carbon dioxide by micro-organism and its hydrogenation. (TEC). 5 figs., 2 tabs

Report from the Third Annual Symposium of the RIKEN-Max Planck Joint Research Center for Systems Chemical Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Brunschweiger, Andreas

2014-08-15

The third Annual Symposium of the RIKEN-Max Planck Joint Research Center for Systems Chemical Biology was held at Ringberg castle, May 21-24, 2014. At this meeting 45 scientists from Japan and Germany presented the latest results from their research spanning a broad range of topics in chemical biology and glycobiology.

Chemical, Biological, and Radiological (CBR) Contamination Survivability: Large Item Interiors

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-22

CWAs. May cause hardening or swelling of the sealant, which may weaken the seal. Rivet Stainless steel Not expected to have any effect. Not... Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP). TOP 08-2-509 22 June 2012 A-2 APPENDIX A. EXPLANATION OF TERMS. Combat Developer. A category of sponsor...Edgewood Chemical Biological Center EMP electromagnetic pulse FD/SC Failure Definition/Scoring Criteria FM Field Manual FP fluorescent particle

Subcellular Redox Targeting: Bridging in Vitro and in Vivo Chemical Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Marcus J C; Poganik, Jesse R; Ghosh, Souradyuti; Aye, Yimon

2017-03-17

Networks of redox sensor proteins within discrete microdomains regulate the flow of redox signaling. Yet, the inherent reactivity of redox signals complicates the study of specific redox events and pathways by traditional methods. Herein, we review designer chemistries capable of measuring flux and/or mimicking subcellular redox signaling at the cellular and organismal level. Such efforts have begun to decipher the logic underlying organelle-, site-, and target-specific redox signaling in vitro and in vivo. These data highlight chemical biology as a perfect gateway to interrogate how nature choreographs subcellular redox chemistry to drive precision redox biology.

Biological activity and chemical profile of Lavatera thuringiaca L. extracts obtained by different extraction approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Mašković, Pavle Z; Veličković, Vesna; Đurović, Saša; Zeković, Zoran; Radojković, Marija; Cvetanović, Aleksandra; Švarc-Gajić, Jaroslava; Mitić, Milan; Vujić, Jelena

2018-01-01

Lavatera thuringiaca L. is herbaceous perennial plant from Malvaceae family, which is known for its biological activity and richness in polyphenolic compounds. Despite this, the information regarding the biological activity and chemical profile is still insufficient. Aim of this study was to investigate biological potential and chemical profile of Lavatera thuringiaca L., as well as influence of applied extraction technique on them. Two conventional and four non-conventional extraction techniques were applied in order to obtain extracts rich in bioactive compound. Extracts were further tested for total phenolics, flavonoids, condensed tannins, gallotannins and anthocyanins contents using spectrophotometric assays. Polyphenolic profile was established using HPLC-DAD analysis. Biological activity was investigated regarding antioxidant, cytotoxic and antibacterial activities. Four antioxidant assays were applied as well as three different cell lines for cytotoxic and fifteen bacterial strain for antibacterial activity. Results showed that subcritical water extraction (SCW) dominated over the other extraction techniques, where SCW extract exhibited the highest biological activity. Study indicates that plant Lavatera thuringiaca L. may be used as a potential source of biologically compounds. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Chemical track effects in condensed systems and implications for biological damage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magee, J.L.; Chatterjee, A.

1979-01-01

The spatial distributions of reactive intermediates, chemical reactions, and products are involved in the chemical interests in particle tracks. Biological systems are considred to be concentrated aqueous solutions, and the reactions of biological molecules can occur at any time including prethermal period. Heavy particles lose approximately equal amounts of energy by two mechanisms which lead to the different patterns of energy deposit; that is, the resonant process with individual losses in the range of 0 - 100 eV, and the knock-on process which creates recoil electrons in spectra from 100 eV to the maximum. The survival of cultured cells after irradiation depends on certain parameters of the radiation. Such theories seem to imply that the deposit of energy in the proper location of a cell can guarantee its death, that is, there is all-or-none effect, dependent solely on the absorption of energy. The initial dissociation of water is assumed to require 17 eV. A weakness regarding heavy particle tracks is the lack of knowledge on the phenomena that occur at extremely high energy deposit, approximately 1000 eV per A. Significantly high temperature must be generated, accompanied by shock waves and bubble formation. In a radical diffusion model for cell survival, it is assumed that a particular type of the lesion of DNA may be formed by a purely chemical process which can provide a certain lethality. The chemical processes following the energy deposit by high energy particles are known at least in approximate way, including most of the phenomena in space and time. (Yamashita, S.)

Improved Materials for Use as Components in Kraft Black Liquor Recovery Boilers; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keiser, J.R.

2001-01-01

This Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) was undertaken to evaluate current and improved materials and materials processing conditions for use as components in kraft black liquor recovery boilers and other unit processes. The main areas addressed were: (1) Improved Black Liquor Nozzles, (2) Weld Overlay of Composite Floor Tubes, and (3) Materials for Lime Kilns. Iron aluminide was evaluated as an alternate material for the nozzles used to inject an aqueous solution known as black liquor into recovery boilers as well for the uncooled lining in the ports used for the nozzles. Although iron aluminide is known to have much better sulfidation resistance in gases than low alloy and stainless steels, it did not perform adequately in the environment where it came into contact with molten carbonate, sulfide and sulfate salts. Weld overlaying carbon steel tubes with a layer of stainless weld metal was a proposed method of extending the life of recovery boiler floor tubes that have experienced considerable fireside corrosion. After exposure under service conditions, sections of weld overlaid floor tubes were removed from a boiler floor and examined metallographically. Examination results indicated satisfactory performance of the tubes. Refractory-lined lime kilns are a critical component of the recovery process in kraft pulp mills, and the integrity of the lining is essential to the successful operation of the kiln. A modeling study was performed to determine the cause of, and possible solutions for, the repeated loss of the refractory lining from the cooled end of a particular kiln. The evaluation showed that the temperature, the brick shape and the coefficient of friction between the bricks were the most important parameters influencing the behavior of the refractory lining

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics transport and rate processes in physical, chemical and biological systems

CERN Document Server

Demirel, Yasar

2014-01-01

Natural phenomena consist of simultaneously occurring transport processes and chemical reactions. These processes may interact with each other and may lead to self-organized structures, fluctuations, instabilities, and evolutionary systems. Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics, 3rd edition emphasizes the unifying role of thermodynamics in analyzing the natural phenomena. This third edition updates and expands on the first and second editions by focusing on the general balance equations for coupled processes of physical, chemical, and biological systems. The new edition contains a new chapte

Biological – chemical regeneration of desulphurization sorbents based on zinc ferrite

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Šepelák Vladimír

2002-03-01

Full Text Available One of the main sources of air pollution is the combustion of fuels by various thermal and power plants, transport facilities, and metallurgical plants. Main components of industrial gases that pollute air are carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and hydrogen sulphide. Sulphur has received a more attention than any other contaminant, because the sulphur released into the atmosphere in the form of sulphur dioxide or hydrogen sulphide is a precursor of the “acid rain” formation. To meet environmental emission regulations, sulphur and other contaminant species released during the gasification of coal must be removed from the fuel gas stream. The removal of contaminat at high temperatures is referred to as hot-gas cleanup in general and hot-gas desulphurization in particular when sulphur species are the primary contaminants to be remove. In recent years, zinc ferrite is the leading candidate for hot-gas desulphurization, capable of removing sulphur-containing species from coal gas at gasifier exit temperatures. It can also be of being regenerated for a continuous use. The conventional methods of the regeneration of sulphurized sorbents are based on oxidizing pyrolysis of sulphides or on the pressure leaching of sulphides in the water environment at high temperatures. The first results of the experiments using the biological-chemical leaching, as a new way of regeneration of sulphurized sorbent based on zinc ferrite, are presented in this paper. The results show that the biological-chemical leaching leads to the removal of sulphides layers (á-ZnS, â-ZnS from the surface of the sorbent at room temperature. The biological-chemical leaching process results in the increase of the active surface area of the regenerated sorbent.

Effect of ionizing radiation on chemical and biological properties of Salmonella minnesota R595 lipopolysaccharide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

El Sabbagh, M; Galanos, C; Luederitz, O [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Immunbiologie, Freiburg (Germany, F.R.); Bertok, L [Orszagos Frederic Joliot-Curie Sugarbiologiai es Sugaregeszseguegyi Kutato Intezet, Budapest (Hungary); Fuest, Gy [Orszagos Haema--tologiai es Vertranszfuzios Intezet, Budapest (Hungary)

1982-01-01

The effects of /sup 60/Co irradiation performed with various doses on the biological and chemical properties of the endotoxin of the Salmonella minnesota R595 were compared with those of unirradiated ones. The biological activity was measured using the lethal toxicity test, the local Schwartzman reaction and by activating the complementary system. Increasing the irradiation dose from 50 to 200 kGy the preparation became less active in the biological tests but the protective activity against the lethal action of the endotoxin remained uneffected. The irradiation resulted in a dose-dependent decrease of the amounts of 2-keto-3-deoxy-octonate, glucosamine, fatty acids, but did not affect all the degradation products identified. Therefore, no correlation between the chemical composition and the absence of endotoxin activity was found.

Reliable discrimination of high explosive and chemical/biological artillery using acoustic UGS

Science.gov (United States)

Hohil, Myron E.; Desai, Sachi

2005-10-01

The Army is currently developing acoustic overwatch sensor systems that will provide extended range surveillance, detection, and identification for force protection and tactical security on the battlefield. A network of such sensors remotely deployed in conjunction with a central processing node (or gateway) will provide early warning and assessment of enemy threats, near real-time situational awareness to commanders, and may reduce potential hazards to the soldier. In contrast, the current detection of chemical/biological (CB) agents expelled into a battlefield environment is limited to the response of chemical sensors that must be located within close proximity to the CB agent. Since chemical sensors detect hazardous agents through contact, the sensor range to an airburst is the key-limiting factor in identifying a potential CB weapon attack. The associated sensor reporting latencies must be minimized to give sufficient preparation time to field commanders, who must assess if an attack is about to occur, has occurred, or if occurred, the type of agent that soldiers might be exposed to. The long-range propagation of acoustic blast waves from heavy artillery blasts, which are typical in a battlefield environment, introduces a feature for using acoustics and other disparate sensor technologies for the early detection and identification of CB threats. Employing disparate sensor technologies implies that warning of a potential CB attack can be provided to the solider more rapidly and from a safer distance when compared to that which conventional methods allow. This capability facilitates the necessity of classifying the types of rounds that have burst in a specified region in order to give both warning and provide identification of CB agents found in the area. In this paper, feature extraction methods based on the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and multiresolution analysis facilitate the development of a robust classification algorithm that affords reliable

Review on Physicochemical, Chemical, and Biological Processes for Pharmaceutical Wastewater

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhenchen; Yang, Ping

2018-02-01

Due to the needs of human life and health, pharmaceutical industry has made great progress in recent years, but it has also brought about severe environmental problems. The presence of pharmaceuticals in natural waters which might pose potential harm to the ecosystems and humans raised increasing concern worldwide. Pharmaceuticals cannot be effectively removed by conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) owing to the complex composition, high concentration of organic contaminants, high salinity and biological toxicity of pharmaceutical wastewater. Therefore, the development of efficient methods is needed to improve the removal effect of pharmaceuticals. This review provides an overview on three types of treatment technologies including physicochemical, chemical and biological processes and their advantages and disadvantages respectively. In addition, the future perspectives of pharmaceutical wastewater treatment are given.

Synthetic biology to access and expand nature’s chemical diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Smanski, Michael J.; Zhou, Hui; Claesen, Jan; Shen, Ben; Fischbach, Michael; Voigt, Christopher A.

2016-01-01

Bacterial genomes encode the biosynthetic potential to produce hundreds of thousands of complex molecules with diverse applications, from medicine to agriculture and materials. Economically accessing the potential encoded within sequenced genomes promises to reinvigorate waning drug discovery pipelines and provide novel routes to intricate chemicals. This is a tremendous undertaking, as the pathways often comprise dozens of genes spanning as much as 100+ kiliobases of DNA, are controlled by complex regulatory networks, and the most interesting molecules are made by non-model organisms. Advances in synthetic biology address these issues, including DNA construction technologies, genetic parts for precision expression control, synthetic regulatory circuits, computer aided design, and multiplexed genome engineering. Collectively, these technologies are moving towards an era when chemicals can be accessed en mass based on sequence information alone. This will enable the harnessing of metagenomic data and massive strain banks for high-throughput molecular discovery and, ultimately, the ability to forward design pathways to complex chemicals not found in nature. PMID:26876034

Changes in amino acid profile of alfalfa silage preserved by chemical and biological additives during fermentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaroslava Michálková

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Changes in amino acid profile of alfalfa silage preserved with chemical or biological additives were studied in fresh and wilted silage. The chemical additive was formic acid and the biological additive consisted of Lactobacillus rhamnosus, L. plantarum, L. brevis, L. buchneri and Pediococcus pentosaceus. Second cut alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. was harvested at the bloom stage, ensiled in mini silos (15 dm3 and fermented at 20–23 °C for 12 weeks. The dry matter of the fresh silage was 228 g . kg−1 and 281.6 g . kg−1 for the wilted before ensiling. The amino acid content was estimated by using an automatic amino acid analyzer AAA (INGOS Prague. The results of the experiments indicated that amino acid breakdown was inhibited by increased dry matter and the use of chemical and biological additive. Additionally, the content of amino acids was found to change in relation to the degree of wilting and formic acid treatment yielded the lowest amino acid breakdown. The amino acid breakdown was also reduced by biological preservative especially in the silage with a higher level of dry matter content.

Chemical composition and biological activity of ripe pumpkin fruits (Cucurbita pepo L.) cultivated in Egyptian habitats.

Science.gov (United States)

Badr, Sherif E A; Shaaban, Mohamed; Elkholy, Yehya M; Helal, Maher H; Hamza, Akila S; Masoud, Mohamed S; El Safty, Mounir M

2011-09-01

The chemical composition and biological activity of three parts (rind, flesh and seeds) of pumpkin fruits (Cucurbita pepo L.) cultivated in Egypt were studied. Chemical analysis of fibre, protein, β-carotene, carbohydrates, minerals and fatty acids present in the rind, flesh, seeds and defatted seeds meal was conducted. Chemical, GC-MS and biological assays of organic extracts of the main fruit parts, rind and flesh established their unique constituents. Chromatographic purification of the extracts afforded triglyceride fatty acid mixture (1), tetrahydro-thiophene (2), linoleic acid (3), calotropoleanly ester (4), cholesterol (5) and 13(18)-oleanen-3-ol (6). GC-MS analysis of the extract's unpolar fraction revealed the existence of dodecane and tetradecane. Structures of the isolated compounds (1-6) were confirmed by NMR and EI-MS spectrometry. Antimicrobial, antiviral and antitumour activities of the fruit parts were discussed. The promising combined extract of rind and flesh was biologically studied for microbial and cytotoxic activities in comparison with the whole isolated components.

Structural Alterations of Lignins in Transgenic Poplars with Depressed Cinnamyl Alcohol Dehydrogenase or Caffeic Acid O-Methyltransferase Activity Have an Opposite Impact on the Efficiency of Industrial Kraft Pulping1

Science.gov (United States)

Lapierre, Catherine; Pollet, Brigitte; Petit-Conil, Michel; Toval, Gabriel; Romero, Javier; Pilate, Gilles; Leplé, Jean-Charles; Boerjan, Wout; Ferret, Valérie; De Nadai, Véronique; Jouanin, Lise

1999-01-01

We evaluated lignin profiles and pulping performances of 2-year-old transgenic poplar (Populus tremula × Populus alba) lines severely altered in the expression of caffeic acid/5-hydroxyferulic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT) or cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD). Transgenic poplars with CAD or COMT antisense constructs showed growth similar to control trees. CAD down-regulated poplars displayed a red coloration mainly in the outer xylem. A 90% lower COMT activity did not change lignin content but dramatically increased the frequency of guaiacyl units and resistant biphenyl linkages in lignin. This alteration severely lowered the efficiency of kraft pulping. The Klason lignin level of CAD-transformed poplars was slightly lower than that of the control. Whereas CAD down-regulation did not change the frequency of labile ether bonds or guaiacyl units in lignin, it increased the proportion of syringaldehyde and diarylpropane structures and, more importantly with regard to kraft pulping, of free phenolic groups in lignin. In the most depressed line, ASCAD21, a substantially higher content in free phenolic units facilitated lignin solubilization and fragmentation during kraft pulping. These results point the way to genetic modification of lignin structure to improve wood quality for the pulp industry. PMID:9880356

Comment on 'evaluation of dechlorination mechanisms during anaerobic fermentation of blached kraft mill effluent by W.J. Parker, E.R. Hall and G.J. Farquhar'

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarkar, A.

Comment on "Evaluation of dechlorination mechanisms during anaerobic fermentation of bleached kraft mill effluent", is put forth. The data reproduced in Table 1 does not seem to be authentic as the method of preprationo of the chlorinated organic...

A combined acidification/PEO flocculation process to improve the lignin removal from the pre-hydrolysis liquor of kraft-based dissolving pulp production process.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Haiqiang; Fatehi, Pedram; Xiao, Huining; Ni, Yonghao

2011-04-01

The presence of lignin impairs the utilization of the hemicelluloses dissolved in the pre-hydrolysis liquor (PHL) of the kraft-based dissolving pulp production process. In this paper, a novel process was developed by combining the acidification and poly ethylene oxide (PEO) flocculation concepts to improve the lignin removal. The results showed that the lignin removal was improved by the addition of PEO to the acidified PHL, particularly at a low pH of 1.5. The main mechanisms involved are the lignin/PEO complex formation and the bridging of the formed complexes. This hypothesis was supported by the turbidity, FTIR and particle size measurements. Interestingly, the hemicelluloses removal from the acidification/PEO flocculation was marginal, which would be beneficial for the down-stream ethanol production from the PHL. Additionally, a process flow diagram was proposed that incorporates this new concept into the existing configuration of kraft-based dissolving pulp production process. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physical, chemical, and biological properties of radiocerium relevant to radiation protection guidelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1978-01-01

Present knowledge of the relevant physical, chemical, and biological properties of radiocerium as a basis for establishing radiation protection guidelines is summarized. The first section of the report reviews the chemical and physical properties of radiocerium relative to the biological behavior of internally-deposited cerium and other lanthanides. The second section of the report gives the sources of radiocerium in the environment and the pathways to man. The third section of the report describes the metabolic fate of cerium in several mammalian species as a basis for predicting its metabolic fate in man. The fourth section of the report considers the biomedical effects of radiocerium in light of extensive animal experimentation. The last two sections of the report describe the history of radiation protection guidelines for radiocerium and summarize data required for evaluating the adequacy of current radiation protection guidelines. Each section begins with a summary of the most important findings that follow

Terrorism: Background on Chemical, Biological, and Toxin Weapons and Options for Lessening Their Impact

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Shea, Dana A

2004-01-01

The domestic approach to potential terrorist attacks using chemical, biological, or toxin weapons attempts to balance a "post-event" consequence management approach with a "pre-event," preventative approach...

Delivering The Benefits of Chemical-Biological Integration in Computational Toxicology at the EPA (ACS Fall meeting)

Science.gov (United States)

Abstract: Researchers at the EPA’s National Center for Computational Toxicology integrate advances in biology, chemistry, and computer science to examine the toxicity of chemicals and help prioritize chemicals for further research based on potential human health risks. The intent...

Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear decontamination: Recent trends and future perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vinod Kumar

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN decontamination is the removal of CBRN material from equipment or humans. The objective of the decontamination is to reduce radiation burden, salvage equipment, and materials, remove loose CBRN contaminants, and fix the remaining in place in preparation for protective storage or permanent disposal work activities. Decontamination may be carried out using chemical, electrochemical, and mechanical means. Like materials, humans may also be contaminated with CBRN contamination. Changes in cellular function can occur at lower radiation doses and exposure to chemicals. At high dose, cell death may take place. Therefore, decontamination of humans at the time of emergency while generating bare minimum waste is an enormous task requiring dedication of large number of personnel and large amount of time. General principles of CBRN decontamination are discussed in this review with emphasis on radiodecontamination.

Chemical and biological weapons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harris, E.D.

1991-01-01

This paper discusses the prospects of the multilateral negotiations aimed at achieving a complete and total ban on chemical weapons the Chemical Weapons convention (CWC). The control of the proliferation of chemical weapons is no longer just on East-West issue; it is also an issue of concern in Third World Countries, and in some of the wealthier middle eastern nations, such as Kuwait

A MODELING AND SIMULATION LANGUAGE FOR BIOLOGICAL CELLS WITH COUPLED MECHANICAL AND CHEMICAL PROCESSES.

Science.gov (United States)

Somogyi, Endre; Glazier, James A

2017-04-01

Biological cells are the prototypical example of active matter. Cells sense and respond to mechanical, chemical and electrical environmental stimuli with a range of behaviors, including dynamic changes in morphology and mechanical properties, chemical uptake and secretion, cell differentiation, proliferation, death, and migration. Modeling and simulation of such dynamic phenomena poses a number of computational challenges. A modeling language describing cellular dynamics must naturally represent complex intra and extra-cellular spatial structures and coupled mechanical, chemical and electrical processes. Domain experts will find a modeling language most useful when it is based on concepts, terms and principles native to the problem domain. A compiler must then be able to generate an executable model from this physically motivated description. Finally, an executable model must efficiently calculate the time evolution of such dynamic and inhomogeneous phenomena. We present a spatial hybrid systems modeling language, compiler and mesh-free Lagrangian based simulation engine which will enable domain experts to define models using natural, biologically motivated constructs and to simulate time evolution of coupled cellular, mechanical and chemical processes acting on a time varying number of cells and their environment.

Chemical, Biological, and Radiological (CBR) Contamination Survivability, Small Items of Equipment

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-22

contaminated with CWAs. May cause hardening or swelling of the sealant, which may weaken the seal. Rivet Stainless steel Not expected to have any effect...fallout, and nuclear survivability, which covers initial nu- clear weapon effects including Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP). Combat Developer . A...EA environmental assessment ECBC Edgewood Chemical Biological Center EMP electromagnetic pulse FD/SC Failure Definition/Scoring Criteria FM

National health and medical services response to incidents of chemical and biological terrorism.

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, J B

1997-08-06

In response to the growing threat of terrorism with chemical and biological weapons, the US government has developed a national concept of operations for emergency health and medical services response. This capability was developed and tested for the first time during the Atlanta Olympic Games in the summer of 1996. In the event of a chemical or biological terrorist incident that exceeded local and state-level response capabilities, federal agencies would provide specialized teams and equipment to help manage the consequences of the attack and treat, decontaminate, and evacuate casualties. The US Congress has also established a Domestic Preparedness Program that provides for enhanced training of local first-responders and the formation of metropolitan medical strike teams in major cities around the country. While these national response capabilities are promising, their implementation to date has been problematic and their ultimate effectiveness is uncertain.

Chemistry and the worm: Caenorhabditis elegans as a platform for integrating chemical and biological research.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulme, S Elizabeth; Whitesides, George M

2011-05-16

This Review discusses the potential usefulness of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for chemists interested in studying living systems. C. elegans, a 1 mm long roundworm, is a popular model organism in almost all areas of modern biology. The worm has several features that make it attractive for biology: it is small (1000 cells), transparent, and genetically tractable. Despite its simplicity, the worm exhibits complex phenotypes associated with multicellularity: the worm has differentiated cells and organs, it ages and has a well-defined lifespan, and it is capable of learning and remembering. This Review argues that the balance between simplicity and complexity in the worm will make it a useful tool in determining the relationship between molecular-scale phenomena and organism-level phenomena, such as aging, behavior, cognition, and disease. Following an introduction to worm biology, the Review provides examples of current research with C. elegans that is chemically relevant. It also describes tools-biological, chemical, and physical-that are available to researchers studying the worm. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Chapter 7. Management strategies for dwarf mistletoes: Biological, chemical, and genetic approaches

Science.gov (United States)

S. F. Shamoun; L. E. DeWald

2002-01-01

The opportunity and need for management of mistletoe populations with biological, chemical, and genetic approaches are greatest for application to the dwarf mistletoes. Although much information is available on these management strategies (see reviews by Hawksworth 1972, Knutson 1978), significant research and development are still required for these to become...

Fractionation and cellulase treatment for enhancing the properties of kraft-based dissolving pulp.

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Chao; Wang, Xinqi; Zhang, YanLing; Xu, Yongjian; Ni, Yonghao

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate a combined process involving pulp fractionation and cellulase treatment of each fraction for improving the molecular weight distribution (MWD) and reactivity of a kraft-based dissolving pulp. Three pulp fractions, namely long-fiber, mid-fiber and short-fiber fractions (LF, MF and SF, respectively), were used as the substrates. The results showed that the SF had the highest accessibility, lowest viscosity, and highest cellulase adsorption capacity, while the opposite was true for the LF. At a given viscosity, the combined process led to a lower polydispersity index (3.71 vs 4.98) and a higher Fock reactivity (85.6% vs 76.3%), in comparison to the conventional single-stage cellulase treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

QUALIDADE DA CELULOSE KRAFT-ANTRAQUINONA DE Eucalyptus dunnii PLANTADO EM CINCO ESPAÇAMENTOS EM RELAÇÃO AO Eucalyptus grandis E Eucalyptus saligna

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Cladis Mezzomo da Silva

1997-12-01

Full Text Available Este trabalho analisou o efeito de cinco espaçamentos de Eucalyptus dunnii (3 m x 1 m; 3 m x 1,5 m; 3 m x 2 m; 3 m x 3 m; 3 m x 4 m, para produção de celulose kraft-antraquinona, comparados com Eucalyptus grandis e Eucalyptus saligna (ambos no espaçamento 3 m x 2 m. Avaliaram-se a densidade básica e composição química da madeira original, analisando-se extrativos em diclorometano, pentosanas, lignina, solubilidade em NaOH8% e cinzas. Os cavacos foram submetidos a cozimento kraft-antraquinona com álcali ativo variando de 18,5 a 21% para obter um número kappa 17± 1,5; sulfidez a 8%, antraquinona base madeira 0,05%, relação licor/madeira 4:1, tempo até temperatura máxima 60 minutos, tempo à temperatura máxima 45 minutos. A celulose marrom resultante do cozimento kraft-antraquinona foi caracterizada e analisada em seus aspectos físico-químicos (rendimentos, rejeitos, número kappa, viscosidade intrínseca, alvura e solubilidade em NaOH5%. Uma parte desta sofreu refinação em moinho Jökro ao nível de 35°SR e, juntamente com a polpa não-refinada, foram submetidas a testes físico-mecânicos e óticos (resistência à tração, alongamento, estouro, rasgo, volume específico, alvura, resistência ao ar Gurley e ascensão capilar Klemm. O maior consumo de álcali ativo (20,5% ocorreu em espaçamento 3 m x 4 m, proporcionando maior degradação da polpa. Todos os espaçamentos caracterizados apresentaram viabilidade para a produção de celulose kraft-antraquinona, podendo proporcionar redução nos custos de produção de celulose, devido aos menores consumos apresentados de álcali ativo e madeira quando comparados com Eucalyptus grandis e Eucalyptus saligna. Os valores de extrativos e cinzas mostraram-se elevados para Eucalyptus dunnii, potencializando possíveis impactos em termos de incrustações e fechamento de circuito no processo fabril. Diante dos resultados obtidos, a celulose de Eucalyptus dunnii atende às exig

Qualidade da celulose kraft-antraquinona de Eucalyptus dunnii plantado em cinco espaçamentos em relação ao Eucalyptus grandis e Eucalyptus saligna.

OpenAIRE

Giovanni Willer Ferreira; Jorge Vieira Gonzaga; Celso Edmundo B. Foelkel; Teotônio Francisco de Assis; Edvins Ratnieks; Maria Cladis Mezzomo da Silva

2009-01-01

Este trabalho analisou o efeito de cinco espaçamentos de Eucalyptus dunnii (3 m x 1 m; 3 m x 1,5 m; 3 m x 2 m; 3 m x 3 m; 3 m x 4 m), para produção de celulose kraft-antraquinona, comparados com Eucalyptus grandis e Eucalyptus saligna (ambos no espaçamento 3 m x 2 m). Avaliaram-se a densidade básica e composição química da madeira original, analisando-se extrativos em diclorometano, pentosanas, lignina, solubilidade em NaOH8% e cinzas. Os cavacos foram submetidos a cozimento kraft-antraqu...

"Toward High School Biology": Helping Middle School Students Understand Chemical Reactions and Conservation of Mass in Nonliving and Living Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Herrmann-Abell, Cari F.; Koppal, Mary; Roseman, Jo Ellen

2016-01-01

Modern biology has become increasingly molecular in nature, requiring students to understand basic chemical concepts. Studies show, however, that many students fail to grasp ideas about atom rearrangement and conservation during chemical reactions or the application of these ideas to biological systems. To help provide students with a better…

EFFECT OF THE REACTION CONDITIONS OVER THE YIELD AND PROPERTIES OF METHYLCELLULOSE OBTAINED FROM PINUS RADIATA KRAFT BLEACHED CELLULOSE

OpenAIRE

TAPIA, C.; SAPAG-HAGAR, J.; ANDRADE, C.T.; HASSÓN, J.; VALENZUELA, F.; BASUALTO, C.

2002-01-01

Kraft bleached cellulose from Pinus radiata was submitted to methylation reactions in heterogeneous media. After activation with 29% (w/w) NaOH solution, methylation reactions were carried out both with dimethyl sulfate (DMS) and methyl iodide (MI). The effects of the pressing ratio, reaction time and type of methylation agent were studied. The better yields were obtained with dimethylsulphate and the pressing ratio and reaction time were not signficant over the yield. Methylcellulose (MC) of...

Chemical, Biological, and Explosive Sensors for Field Measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kyle, Kevin; Manard, Manuel; Weeks, Stephan

2009-01-01

Special Technologies Laboratory (STL) is developing handheld chemical, biological, and explosive (CBE) detection systems and sensor motes for wireless networked field operations. The CBE sensors are capable of detecting and identifying multiple targeted toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) and high-explosive vapor components. The CBE devices are based on differential mobility spectrometry (DMS) coupled with fast gas chromatography (GC) or mass spectrometry. The systems all include the concepts of: (1) Direct air/particulate 'smart' sampling; (2) Selective, continuous real-time (∼1 sec) alert monitoring using DMS; and (3) Highly selective, rapid dual technology separation/verification analysis The biosensor technology is based on Raman aerosol particle flow cytometry for target detection and identification. Monitoring and identifying trace level chemical vapors directly from ambient air will allow First Responders to quickly adapt situational response strategies and personal protective equipment needs to the specific response scenario being encountered. First Responders require great confidence in the measurements and ability of a given system to detect CBE below threshold levels without interferences. The concept of determining the background matrix in near real-time to allow subsequent automated field-programmable method selection and cueing of high-value assets in a wide range of environs will be presented. This provides CBE information for decisions prior to First Responders entering the response site or sending a portable mobile unit for a remote site survey of the hazards. The focus is on real-time information needed by those responsible for emergency response and national security

Predicting in vivo effect levels for repeat-dose systemic toxicity using chemical, biological, kinetic and study covariates.

Science.gov (United States)

Truong, Lisa; Ouedraogo, Gladys; Pham, LyLy; Clouzeau, Jacques; Loisel-Joubert, Sophie; Blanchet, Delphine; Noçairi, Hicham; Setzer, Woodrow; Judson, Richard; Grulke, Chris; Mansouri, Kamel; Martin, Matthew

2018-02-01

In an effort to address a major challenge in chemical safety assessment, alternative approaches for characterizing systemic effect levels, a predictive model was developed. Systemic effect levels were curated from ToxRefDB, HESS-DB and COSMOS-DB from numerous study types totaling 4379 in vivo studies for 1247 chemicals. Observed systemic effects in mammalian models are a complex function of chemical dynamics, kinetics, and inter- and intra-individual variability. To address this complex problem, systemic effect levels were modeled at the study-level by leveraging study covariates (e.g., study type, strain, administration route) in addition to multiple descriptor sets, including chemical (ToxPrint, PaDEL, and Physchem), biological (ToxCast), and kinetic descriptors. Using random forest modeling with cross-validation and external validation procedures, study-level covariates alone accounted for approximately 15% of the variance reducing the root mean squared error (RMSE) from 0.96 log 10 to 0.85 log 10  mg/kg/day, providing a baseline performance metric (lower expectation of model performance). A consensus model developed using a combination of study-level covariates, chemical, biological, and kinetic descriptors explained a total of 43% of the variance with an RMSE of 0.69 log 10  mg/kg/day. A benchmark model (upper expectation of model performance) was also developed with an RMSE of 0.5 log 10  mg/kg/day by incorporating study-level covariates and the mean effect level per chemical. To achieve a representative chemical-level prediction, the minimum study-level predicted and observed effect level per chemical were compared reducing the RMSE from 1.0 to 0.73 log 10  mg/kg/day, equivalent to 87% of predictions falling within an order-of-magnitude of the observed value. Although biological descriptors did not improve model performance, the final model was enriched for biological descriptors that indicated xenobiotic metabolism gene expression, oxidative stress, and

Chemical and biological effects of radiation sterilization of medical products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, B.L.

1975-01-01

Radiation is extensively used for the sterilization of plastic materials, pharmaceuticals and biological tissue grafts. The pharmaceuticals may be solid, liquid, or suspension in a liquid or a solution. Cobalt-60 gamma radiation, generally used for sterilization, primarily interacts with these materials through the Compton process. The resulting damage may be direct or indirect. In aqueous systems the primary species produced compete for interaction among themselves and the dissolved solutes. The nature, the G-values and the reactions of the primary species very much depend on the pH of the solution. The important chemical changes in plastic materials are gas liberation, change in concentration of double bonds, cross-linking, degradation and oxidation. These chemical changes lead to some physical changes like crystallinity, specific conductivity and permeability. The reactions in biological systems are very complex and are influenced by the presence or absence of water and oxygen. Water produces indirect damage and the radiation effect is generally more in the presence of oxygen. Most microorganisms are relatively radioresistant. Various tissues of an animal differ in their response to radiation. Catgut is not stable to irradiation. Lyophilized human serum is stable to irradiation whereas, when irradiated in aqueous solutions, several changes are observed. Generally, pharmaceuticals are considerably more stable in the dry solid state to ionizing radiations than in aqueous solutions or in any other form of molecular aggregation. (author)

Evaluation of bleachability on pine and eucalyptus kraft pulps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcela Freitas Andrade

2013-09-01

Full Text Available In recent decades, the pulp industry has been changing and improving its manufacturing processes in order to enhance production capacity, product quality and environmental performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bleachability effect on the efficient washing and alkaline leaching in eucalyptus and pine Kraft pulps using three different bleaching sequences: AD(EPD, A/D(EPDP and DHT(EPDP. This study was carried out in two stages. In the first part, the optimum conditions for pulp bleaching in order to achieve a brightness of 90% ISO were established. The second step was a comparative study between the pulps that received alkaline leaching and efficient washing with reference pulp (without treatment. The brightness, viscosity, kappa number and HexA in pulp were analyzed. The three sequences studied reached the desired brightness, but the sequence AD(EPD produced a lower reagent consumption for the same brightness. In the three sequences studied, the efficient washing of the pulp after oxygen delignification has contributed significantly to the removal of dissolved organic and inorganic materials in the pulp and the alkaline leaching decreased significantly the pulp kappa number due to a higher pulp delignification and bleachability.

The chemical composition and biological properties of coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) water.

Science.gov (United States)

Yong, Jean W H; Ge, Liya; Ng, Yan Fei; Tan, Swee Ngin

2009-12-09

Coconut water (coconut liquid endosperm), with its many applications, is one of the world's most versatile natural product. This refreshing beverage is consumed worldwide as it is nutritious and beneficial for health. There is increasing scientific evidence that supports the role of coconut water in health and medicinal applications. Coconut water is traditionally used as a growth supplement in plant tissue culture/micropropagation. The wide applications of coconut water can be justified by its unique chemical composition of sugars, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and phytohormones. This review attempts to summarise and evaluate the chemical composition and biological properties of coconut water.

Biobleaching chemistry of laccase-mediator systems on high-lignin-content kraft pulps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chakar, F.S.; Ragauskas, A.J.

2004-01-01

A high-lignin-content softwood kraft pulp was reacted with laccase in the presence of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT), N-acetyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine (NHA), and violuric acid (VA). The biodelignification response with violuric acid was superior to both 1-hydroxybenzotriazole and N-acetyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine. NMR analysis of residual lignins isolated before and after the biobleaching treatments revealed that the latter material was highly oxidized and that the magnitude of structural changes was most pronounced with the laccase - violuric acid biobleaching system. An increase in the content of carboxylic acid groups and a decrease in methoxyl groups were noted with all three laccase-mediator systems. The oxidation biobleaching pathway is directed primarily towards noncondensed C5 phenolic lignin functional structures for all three laccase-mediated systems. The laccase - violuric acid system was also reactive towards C5-condensed phenolic lignin structures. (author)

The terrorist threat nuclear, radiological, biological, chemical - a medical approach; Menace terroriste nucleaire, radiologique, biologique, chimique - approche medicale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Revel, M.C. de; Gourmelon, M.C.S.; Vidal, P.C.; Renaudeau, P.C.S

2005-07-01

Since September 11, 2001, the fear of a large scale nuclear, biological and/or chemical terrorism is taken again into consideration at the highest level of national policies of risk prevention. The advent of international terrorism implies a cooperation between the military defense and the civil defense. The nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical (NRBC) experts of the health service of army and of civil defense will have to work together in case of major terror attack. This book presents this cooperation between civil and military experts in the NRBC domain: risk analysis, national defense plans, crisis management, syndromes and treatments. The different aspects linked with the use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons are analyzed by the best experts from French medical and research institutes. All topics of each NRBC domain are approached: historical, basic, diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive. (J.S.)

Sea Cucumber Glycosides: Chemical Structures, Producing Species and Important Biological Properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Mondol, Muhammad Abdul Mojid; Shin, Hee Jae; Rahman, M Aminur; Islam, Mohamad Tofazzal

2017-10-17

Sea cucumbers belonging to echinoderm are traditionally used as tonic food in China and other Asian countries. They produce abundant biologically active triterpene glycosides. More than 300 triterpene glycosides have been isolated and characterized from various species of sea cucumbers, which are classified as holostane and nonholostane depending on the presence or absence of a specific structural unit γ(18,20)-lactone in the aglycone. Triterpene glycosides contain a carbohydrate chain up to six monosaccharide units mainly consisting of d-xylose, 3-O-methy-d-xylose, d-glucose, 3-O-methyl-d-glucose, and d-quinovose. Cytotoxicity is the common biological property of triterpene glycosides isolated from sea cucumbers. Besides cytotoxicity, triterpene glycosides also exhibit antifungal, antiviral and hemolytic activities. This review updates and summarizes our understanding on diverse chemical structures of triterpene glycosides from various species of sea cucumbers and their important biological activities. Mechanisms of action and structural-activity relationships (SARs) of sea cucumber glycosides are also discussed briefly.

Fermentation and chemical treatment of pulp and paper mill sludge

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yoon Y; Wang, Wei; Kang, Li

2014-12-02

A method of chemically treating partially de-ashed pulp and/or paper mill sludge to obtain products of value comprising taking a sample of primary sludge from a Kraft paper mill process, partially de-ashing the primary sludge by physical means, and further treating the primary sludge to obtain the products of value, including further treating the resulting sludge and using the resulting sludge as a substrate to produce cellulase in an efficient manner using the resulting sludge as the only carbon source and mixtures of inorganic salts as the primary nitrogen source, and including further treating the resulting sludge and using the resulting sludge to produce ethanol.

A comprehensive program to develop correlations for physical properties of kraft black liquor. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fricke, A.L.; Zaman, A.A.

1998-05-01

The overall objective of the program was to develop correlations to predict physical properties within requirements of engineering precision from a knowledge of pulping conditions and of kraft black liquor composition, if possible. These correlations were to include those relating thermodynamic properties to pulping conditions and liquor composition. The basic premise upon which the research was based is the premise that black liquor behaves as a polymer solution. This premise has proven to be true, and has been used successfully in developing data reduction methods and in interpreting results. A three phase effort involving pulping, analysis of liquor composition, and measurement of liquor properties was conducted.

Analysis and evaluation of forecasting methods and tools to predict future demand for secondary chemical-biological configuration items

OpenAIRE

Ritchey, Chris D.

2013-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited As the Engineering Support Activity (ESA) for numerous consumable Chemical Biological items managed by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) must be able to complete reviews of all procurement packages within 15 calendar days. With such little lead time, it would be very beneficial if ECBC had the ability to forecast when DLA procurement actions will occur. This thesis presents an evaluation of ...

Chemical and biological characterization of urban particulate matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agurell, E.; Alsberg, T.; Assefaz-Redda, Y.

1990-11-01

Airborne particulate matter has been collected on glass fiber filter by high volume sampling in the Goeteborg urban area. The samples were, after extraction with respect to organic components, tested for biological effect in the Salmonella mutagenicity assay, affinity to the cytosol TCDD receptor and toxicity towards a mammalian cell system and analysed chemically for selected polycyclic aromatic compounds. A series of samples collected simultaneously at a street level location and a rooftop site showed that most parameters associated with the organic compounds adsorbed to airborne particulate matter has similar concentrations at the two levels. The differences observed for the mutagenic effect in different strains and conditions showed that the rooftop samples had a different composition compared to the street samples indicating that atmospheric transformations have occurred. Chemical fractionation of representative samples showed that the distribution of mutagenic activity among different fractions is dissimilar to the distribution obtained in the fractionation of both gasoline and diesel engine exhaust particles. Partial least squares regression analysis showed qualitatively that diesel exhaust is a major source of airborne particulate mutagenic activity and source apportionment with chemical mass balance and multilinear regression corroborated this quantitatively. The multilinear regression analysis gave the result that the airborne activity in Salmonella TA90-S9 originated to 54±4% from diesel exhaust and to 26±3% from gasoline exhaust. The contribution is more equal for the activity measured with TA98+S9. The usefulness of short-term bioassays as an addition to chemical analysis of airborne particulate matter depends on whether only polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are major carcinogens, as has been suggested in the literature, or whether also other polycyclic aromatic compound (PAC) are of importance. (au)

Molecular building blocks and their architecture in biologically/environmentally compatible soft matter chemical machinery.

Science.gov (United States)

Toyota, Taro; Banno, Taisuke; Nitta, Sachiko; Takinoue, Masahiro; Nomoto, Tomonori; Natsume, Yuno; Matsumura, Shuichi; Fujinami, Masanori

2014-01-01

This review briefly summarizes recent developments in the construction of biologically/environmentally compatible chemical machinery composed of soft matter. Since environmental and living systems are open systems, chemical machinery must continuously fulfill its functions not only through the influx and generation of molecules but also via the degradation and dissipation of molecules. If the degradation or dissipation of soft matter molecular building blocks and biomaterial molecules/polymers can be achieved, soft matter particles composed of them can be used to realize chemical machinery such as selfpropelled droplets, drug delivery carriers, tissue regeneration scaffolds, protocell models, cell-/tissuemarkers, and molecular computing systems.

Personal protection during resuscitation of casualties contaminated with chemical or biological warfare agents--a survey of medical first responders.

Science.gov (United States)

Brinker, Andrea; Prior, Kate; Schumacher, Jan

2009-01-01

The threat of mass casualties caused by an unconventional terrorist attack is a challenge for the public health system, with special implications for emergency medicine, anesthesia, and intensive care. Advanced life support of patients injured by chemical or biological warfare agents requires an adequate level of personal protection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the personal protection knowledge of emergency physicians and anesthetists who would be at the frontline of the initial health response to a chemical/biological warfare agent incident. After institutional review board approval, knowledge of personal protection measures among emergency medicine (n = 28) and anesthetics (n = 47) specialty registrars in the South Thames Region of the United Kingdom was surveyed using a standardized questionnaire. Participants were asked for the recommended level of personal protection if a chemical/biological warfare agent(s) casualty required advanced life support in the designated hospital resuscitation area. The best awareness within both groups was regarding severe acute respiratory syndrome, and fair knowledge was found regarding anthrax, plague, Ebola, and smallpox. In both groups, knowledge about personal protection requirements against chemical warfare agents was limited. Knowledge about personal protection measures for biological agents was acceptable, but was limited for chemical warfare agents. The results highlight the need to improve training and education regarding personal protection measures for medical first receivers.

The reactivity of phenolic and non-phenolic residual kraft lignin model compounds with Mn(II)-peroxidase from Lentinula edodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Crestini, C; D'Annibale, A; Sermanni, G G; Saladino, R

2000-02-01

Three phenolic model compounds representing bonding patterns of residual kraft lignin were incubated with manganese peroxidase from Lentinula edodes. Extensive degradation of all the phenolic models, mainly occurring via side-chain benzylic oxidation, was observed. Among the tested model compounds the diphenylmethane alpha-5 phenolic model was found to be the most reactive, yielding several products showing oxidation and fragmentation at the bridging position. The non-phenolic 5-5' biphenyl and 5-5' diphenylmethane models were found unreactive.

Synthetic and systems biology for microbial production of commodity chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Chubukov, Victor; Mukhopadhyay, Aindrila; Petzold, Christopher J; Keasling, Jay D; Martín, Héctor García

2016-01-01

The combination of synthetic and systems biology is a powerful framework to study fundamental questions in biology and produce chemicals of immediate practical application such as biofuels, polymers, or therapeutics. However, we cannot yet engineer biological systems as easily and precisely as we engineer physical systems. In this review, we describe the path from the choice of target molecule to scaling production up to commercial volumes. We present and explain some of the current challenges and gaps in our knowledge that must be overcome in order to bring our bioengineering capabilities to the level of other engineering disciplines. Challenges start at molecule selection, where a difficult balance between economic potential and biological feasibility must be struck. Pathway design and construction have recently been revolutionized by next-generation sequencing and exponentially improving DNA synthesis capabilities. Although pathway optimization can be significantly aided by enzyme expression characterization through proteomics, choosing optimal relative protein expression levels for maximum production is still the subject of heuristic, non-systematic approaches. Toxic metabolic intermediates and proteins can significantly affect production, and dynamic pathway regulation emerges as a powerful but yet immature tool to prevent it. Host engineering arises as a much needed complement to pathway engineering for high bioproduct yields; and systems biology approaches such as stoichiometric modeling or growth coupling strategies are required. A final, and often underestimated, challenge is the successful scale up of processes to commercial volumes. Sustained efforts in improving reproducibility and predictability are needed for further development of bioengineering.

The biological activities and chemical composition of Pereskia species (Cactaceae)--a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto, Nícolas de Castro Campos; Scio, Elita

2014-09-01

The exploration of nature as a source of sustainable, novel bioactive substances continues to grow as natural products play a significant role in the search for new therapeutic and agricultural agents. In this context, plants of the genus Pereskia (Cactaceae) have been studied for their biological activities, and are evolving as an interesting subject in the search for new, bioactive compounds. These species are commonly used as human foodstuffs and in traditional medicine to treat a variety of diseases. This review focuses on the bioactivity and chemical composition of the genus Pereskia, and aims to stimulate further studies on the chemistry and biological potential of the genus.

The Role of Molecular Biology in the Biomonitoring of Human Exposure to Chemicals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Balam Muñoz

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Exposure to different substances in an occupational environment is of utmost concern to global agencies such as the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization. Interest in improving work health conditions, particularly of those employees exposed to noxious chemicals, has increased considerably and has stimulated the search for new, more specific and selective tests. Recently, the field of molecular biology has been indicated as an alternative technique for monitoring personnel while evaluating work-related pathologies. Originally, occupational exposure to environmental toxicants was assessed using biochemical techniques to determine the presence of higher concentrations of toxic compounds in blood, urine, or other fluids or tissues; results were used to evaluate potential health risk. However, this approach only estimates the presence of a noxious chemical and its effects, but does not prevent or diminish the risk. Molecular biology methods have become very useful in occupational medicine to provide more accurate and opportune diagnostics. In this review, we discuss the role of the following common techniques: (1 Use of cell cultures; (2 evaluation of gene expression; (3 the “omic” sciences (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics and (4 bioinformatics. We suggest that molecular biology has many applications in occupational health where the data can be applied to general environmental conditions.

Surface treatments for biological, chemical and physical applications

CERN Document Server

Karaman, Mustafa

2017-01-01

A step-by-step guide to the topic with a mix of theory and practice in the fields of biology, chemistry and physics. Straightforward and well-structured, the first chapter introduces fundamental aspects of surface treatments, after which examples from nature are given. Subsequent chapters discuss various methods to surface modification, including chemical and physical approaches, followed by the characterization of the functionalized surfaces. Applications discussed include the lotus effect, diffusion barriers, enzyme immobilization and catalysis. Finally, the book concludes with a look at future technology advances. Throughout the text, tutorials and case studies are used for training purposes to grant a deeper understanding of the topic, resulting in an essential reference for students as well as for experienced engineers in R&D.

Chemical and biological factors affecting bioavailability of contaminants in seawater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knezovich, J.P.

1992-09-01

This paper discusses the influence that salinity has on the bioavailability of the two largest classes of contaminants, trace metals and organic compounds will be discussed. Although data on contaminant toxicity will be used to draw inferences about chemical availability, this discussion will focus on the properties that contaminants are likely to exhibit in waters of varying salinities. In addition, information on physiological changes that are affected by salinity will be used to illustrate how biological effects can alter the apparent availability of contaminants

Chemical constituents and biological activities of the genus Linaria (Scrophulariaceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Cheriet, Thamere; Mancini, Ines; Seghiri, Ramdane; Benayache, Fadila; Benayache, Samir

2015-01-01

This is a review on 95 references dealing with the genus Linaria (Scrophularioideae-Antirrhineae tribe), a known genus of the Scrophulariaceae family, which comprises about 200 species mainly distributed in Europe, Asia and North Africa. The use of some Linaria species in folk medicine has attracted the attention for chemical and biological studies. This report is aimed to be a comprehensive overview on the isolated or identified known and often new metabolites from the 41 Linaria species so far cited. It is organised presenting first the phytochemical classes of alkaloids, polyphenols including flavonoids, the latter being quite diffused and mostly present as flavones, flavonols and their glycosides, and terpenoids including iridoids and steroids. Second, the results from biological investigation on plant extracts, pure natural products isolated from Linaria species and some synthetic derivatives are reported, with antitumour, anti-acetylcholinesterase, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, antioxidant and antibacterial activities.

Biology Today. Thinking Chemically about Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Flannery, Maura C.

1990-01-01

Discussed are applications of biochemistry. Included are designed drugs, clever drugs, carcinogenic structures, sugary wine, caged chemicals, biomaterials, marine chemistry, biopolymers, prospecting bacteria, and plant chemistry. (CW)

Chemical biology based on target-selective degradation of proteins and carbohydrates using light-activatable organic molecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Toshima, Kazunobu

2013-05-01

Proteins and carbohydrates play crucial roles in a wide range of biological processes, including serious diseases. The development of novel and innovative methods for selective control of specific proteins and carbohydrates functions has attracted much attention in the field of chemical biology. In this account article, the development of novel chemical tools, which can degrade target proteins and carbohydrates by irradiation with a specific wavelength of light under mild conditions without any additives, is introduced. This novel class of photochemical agents promise bright prospects for finding not only molecular-targeted bioprobes for understanding of the structure-activity relationships of proteins and carbohydrates but also novel therapeutic drugs targeting proteins and carbohydrates.

Alkaline peroxide treatment of ECF bleached softwood kraft pulps: part 2. effect of increased fiber charge on refining, wet-end application, and hornification

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng Dang; Thomas Elder; Jeffery S. Hsieh; Arthur J. Ragauskas

2007-01-01

The effect of increased fiber charge on refining, cationic starch adsorption, and hornification was examined. Two pulps were investigated: (1) a softwood (SW) kraft pulp (KP) which was bleached elementally chlorine-free (ECF) and sewed as control; and (2) a control pulp treated with alkaline peroxide, which had a higher fiber charge. It was shown that increased fiber...

Effects of biologically-active chemical mixtures on fish in a wastewater-impacted urban stream

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, Larry B.; Brown, Gregory K.; Nettesheim, Todd G.; Murphy, Elizabeth W.; Bartell, Stephen E.; Schoenfuss, Heiko L.

2011-01-01

Stream flow in urban aquatic ecosystems often is maintained by water-reclamation plant (WRP) effluents that contain mixtures of natural and anthropogenic chemicals that persist through the treatment processes. In effluent-impactedstreams, aquatic organisms such as fish are continuously exposed to biologically-activechemicals throughout their life cycles. The North Shore Channel of the Chicago River (Chicago, Illinois) is part of an urban ecosystem in which > 80% of the annual flow consists of effluent from the North Side WRP. In this study, multiple samplings of the effluent and stream water were conducted and fish (largemouth bass and carp) were collected on 2 occasions from the North Shore Channel. Fish also were collected once from the Outer Chicago Harbor in Lake Michigan, a reference site not impacted by WRP discharges. Over 100 organic chemicals with differing behaviors and biological effects were measured, and 23 compounds were detected in all of the water samples analyzed. The most frequently detected and highest concentration (> 100 μg/L) compounds were ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and 4-nonylphenolmono-to-tetraethoxycarboxylic acids. Other biologically-activechemicals including bisphenol A, 4-nonylphenol, 4-nonylphenolmono-to-tetraethoxylates, 4-tert-octylphenol, and 4-tert-octylphenolmono-to-tetraethoxylates were detected at lower concentrations (cis-androsterone were detected at even lower concentrations (the North Side WRP effluent and the North Shore Channel, indicating minimal in-stream attenuation. Fish populations are continuously exposed to mixtures of biologically-activechemicals because of the relative persistency of the chemicals with respect to stream hydraulic residence time, and the lack of a fresh water source for dilution. The majority of male fish exhibited vitellogenin induction, a physiological response consistent with exposure to estrogenic compounds. Tissue-level signs of reproductive disruption, such as ovatestis, were not

Effects of organic versus conventional management on chemical and biological parameters in agricultural soils

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diepeningen, van A.D.; Vos, de O.J.; Korthals, G.W.; Bruggen, van A.H.C.

2006-01-01

A comparative study of organic and conventional arable farming systems was conducted in The Netherlands to determine the effect of management practices on chemical and biological soil properties and soil health. Soils from thirteen accredited organic farms and conventionally managed neighboring

Treatment of textile effluent by chemical (Fenton's Reagent) and biological (sequencing batch reactor) oxidation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodrigues, Carmen S.D.; Madeira, Luis M.; Boaventura, Rui A.R.

2009-01-01

The removal of organic compounds and colour from a synthetic effluent simulating a cotton dyeing wastewater was evaluated by using a combined process of Fenton's Reagent oxidation and biological degradation in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The experimental design methodology was first applied to the chemical oxidation process in order to determine the values of temperature, ferrous ion concentration and hydrogen peroxide concentration that maximize dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and colour removals and increase the effluent's biodegradability. Additional studies on the biological oxidation (SBR) of the raw and previously submitted to Fenton's oxidation effluent had been performed during 15 cycles (i.e., up to steady-state conditions), each one with the duration of 11.5 h; Fenton's oxidation was performed either in conditions that maximize the colour removal or the increase in the biodegradability. The obtained results allowed concluding that the combination of the two treatment processes provides much better removals of DOC, BOD 5 and colour than the biological or chemical treatment alone. Moreover, the removal of organic matter in the integrated process is particularly effective when Fenton's pre-oxidation is carried out under conditions that promote the maximum increase in wastewater biodegradability.

Use of chemicals and biological products in Asian aquacultire and their potential environmental risks: a critical review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rico, A.; Satapornvanit, K.; Haque, M.M.; Min, J.; Nguyen, P.T.; Telfer, T.; Brink, van den P.J.

2012-01-01

Over the past few decades, Asian aquaculture production has intensified rapidly through the adoption of technological advances, and the use of a wide array of chemical and biological products to control sediment and water quality and to treat and prevent disease outbreaks. The use of chemicals in

Operationalising UN security council resolution 1540: an overview of select practical activities in the chemical and biological weapon-related areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hart, J.

2009-01-01

The UN member states are continuing to take measures to inter alia establish and effectively implement controls to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and their means of delivery in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004). The resolution also encourages enhanced international cooperation on such efforts, including by working through the 1540 Committee. Most analyses on the implementation of the resolution have focused on nuclear issues. This presentation provides an overview of select practical activities in the chemical and biological weapon-related areas, including chemical product classification and identification, biosafety and biosecurity practices and criminal prosecutions for unauthorised chemical transfers.(author)

Microcantilever technology for law enforcement and anti-terrorism applications: chemical, biological, and explosive material detection

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, J. D.; Rogers, B.; Whitten, R.

2005-05-01

The remarkable sensitivity, compactness, low cost, low power-consumption, scalability, and versatility of microcantilever sensors make this technology among the most promising solutions for detection of chemical and biological agents, as well as explosives. The University of Nevada, Reno, and Nevada Nanotech Systems, Inc (NNTS) are currently developing a microcantilever-based detection system that will measure trace concentrations of explosives, toxic chemicals, and biological agents in air. A baseline sensor unit design that includes the sensor array, electronics, power supply and air handling has been created and preliminary demonstrations of the microcantilever platform have been conducted. The envisioned device would measure about two cubic inches, run on a small watch battery and cost a few hundred dollars. The device could be operated by untrained law enforcement personnel. Microcantilever-based devices could be used to "sniff out" illegal and/or hazardous chemical and biological agents in high traffic public areas, or be packaged as a compact, low-power system used to monitor cargo in shipping containers. Among the best detectors for such applications at present is the dog, an animal which is expensive, requires significant training and can only be made to work for limited time periods. The public is already accustomed to explosives and metal detection systems in airports and other public venues, making the integration of the proposed device into such security protocols straightforward.

Chemical properties of soils treated with biological sludge from gelatin industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rita de Cássia Melo Guimarães

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The impact of agro-industrial organic wastes in the environment can be reduced when used in agriculture. From the standpoint of soil fertility, residue applications can increase the organic matter content and provide nutrients for plants. This study evaluated the effect of biological sludge from gelatin industry on the chemical properties of two Ultisols (loamy sand and sandy clay and an Oxisol (clay. The experiment lasted 120 days and was carried out in laboratory in a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement, combining the three soils and six biological sludge rates (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 m³ ha-1, with three replications. Biological sludge rates of up to 500 m³ ha-1 decreased soil acidity and increased the effective cation exchange capacity (CEC and N, Ca, Mg, and P availability, without exceeding the tolerance limit for Na. The increase in exchangeable base content, greater than the effective CEC, indicates that the major part of cations added by the sludge remains in solution and can be lost by leaching.

The effect of temperature on the catalytic conversion of Kraft lignin using near-critical water

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nguyen, Thi Dieu Huyen; Maschietti, Marco; Åmand, Lars-Erik

2014-01-01

The catalytic conversion of suspended LignoBoost Kraft lignin was performed in near-critical water using ZrO2/K2CO3 as the catalytic system and phenol as the co-solvent and char suppressing agent. The reaction temperature was varied from 290 to 370 C and its effect on the process was investigated...... in a continuous flow (1 kg/h). The yields of water-soluble organics (WSO), bio-oil and char (dry lignin basis) were in the ranges of 5–11%, 69–87% and 16–22%, respectively. The bio-oil, being partially deoxygenated, exhibited higher carbon content and heat value, but lower sulphur content than lignin. The main 1...

Process for purification of waste water produced by a Kraft process pulp and paper mill

Science.gov (United States)

Humphrey, M. F. (Inventor)

1979-01-01

The water from paper and pulp wastes obtained from a mill using the Kraft process is purified by precipitating lignins and lignin derivatives from the waste stream with quaternary ammonium compounds, removing other impurities by activated carbon produced from the cellulosic components of the water, and then separating the water from the precipitate and solids. The activated carbon also acts as an aid to the separation of the water and solids. If recovery of lignins is also desired, then the precipitate containing the lignins and quaternary ammonium compounds is dissolved in methanol. Upon acidification, the lignin is precipitated from the solution. The methanol and quaternary ammonium compound are recovered for reuse from the remainder.

Qualidade da celulose kraft-antraquinona de Eucalyptus dunnii plantado em cinco espaçamentos em relação ao Eucalyptus grandis e Eucalyptus saligna.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni Willer Ferreira

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 21 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Este trabalho analisou o efeito de cinco espaçamentos de Eucalyptus dunnii (3 m x 1 m; 3 m x 1,5 m; 3 m x 2 m; 3 m x 3 m; 3 m x 4 m, para produção de celulose kraft-antraquinona, comparados com Eucalyptus grandis e Eucalyptus saligna (ambos no espaçamento 3 m x 2 m. Avaliaram-se a densidade básica e composição química da madeira original, analisando-se extrativos em diclorometano, pentosanas, lignina, solubilidade em NaOH8% e cinzas. Os cavacos foram submetidos a cozimento kraft-antraquinona com álcali ativo variando de 18,5 a 21% para obter um número kappa 17± 1,5; sulfidez a 8%, antraquinona base madeira 0,05%, relação licor/madeira 4:1, tempo até temperatura máxima 60 minutos, tempo à temperatura máxima 45 minutos. A celulose marrom resultante do cozimento kraft-antraquinona foi caracterizada e analisada em seus aspectos físico-químicos (rendimentos, rejeitos, número kappa, viscosidade intrínseca, alvura e solubilidade em NaOH5%. Uma parte desta sofreu refinação em moinho Jökro ao nível de 35°SR e, juntamente com a polpa não-refinada, foram submetidas a testes físico-mecânicos e óticos (resistência à tração, alongamento, estouro, rasgo, volume específico, alvura, resistência ao ar Gurley e ascensão capilar Klemm. O maior consumo de álcali ativo (20,5% ocorreu em espaçamento 3 m x 4 m, proporcionando maior degradação da polpa. Todos os espaçamentos caracterizados apresentaram viabilidade para a produção de celulose kraft-antraquinona, podendo proporcionar redução nos custos de produção de celulose, devido aos menores consumos apresentados de álcali ativo e madeira quando comparados com Eucalyptus grandis e Eucalyptus saligna. Os valores de extrativos e cinzas mostraram-se elevados para Eucalyptus dunnii, potencializando possíveis impactos em termos de incrustações e fechamento de circuito no processo fabril. Diante dos resultados

Survey and discussion of models applicable to the transport and fate thrust area of the Department of Energy Chemical and Biological Nonproliferation Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-09-01

The availability and easy production of toxic chemical and biological agents by domestic and international terrorists pose a serious threat to US national security, especially to civilian populations in and around urban areas. To address this threat, the Department of Energy (DOE) has established the Chemical and Biological Nonproliferation Program (CBNP) with the goal of focusing the DOE`s technical resources and expertise on capabilities to deny, deter, mitigate and respond to clandestine releases of chemical and biological agents. With the intent to build on DOE core competencies, the DOE has established six technology thrust areas within the CBNP Program: Biological Information Resources; Point Sensor Systems; Stand-off Detection; Transport and Fate; Decontamination; and Systems Analysis and Integration. The purpose of the Transport and Fate Thrust is to accurately predict the dispersion, concentration and ultimate fate of chemical and biological agents released into the urban and suburban environments and has two major goals: (1) to develop an integrated and validated state-of-the-art atmospheric transport and fate modeling capability for chemical and biological agent releases within the complex urban environment from the regional scale down to building and subway interiors, and (2) to apply this modeling capability in a broad range of simulation case studies of chemical and biological agent release scenarios in suburban, urban and confined (buildings and subways) environments and provide analysis for the incident response user community. Sections of this report discuss subway transport and fate models; buildings interior transport and fate modeling; models for flow and transport around buildings; and local-regional meteorology and dispersion models.

Chemical and biological properties of phosphorus-fertilized soil under legume and grass cover (Cerrado region, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcelo Fernando Pereira Souza

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The use of cover crops has been suggested as an effective method to maintain and/or increase the organic matter content, while maintaining and/or enhancing the soil physical, chemical and biological properties. The fertility of Cerrado soils is low and, consequently, phosphorus levels as well. Phosphorus is required at every metabolic stage of the plant, as it plays a role in the processes of protein and energy synthesis and influences the photosynthetic process. This study evaluated the influence of cover crops and phosphorus rates on soil chemical and biological properties after two consecutive years of common bean. The study analyzed an Oxisol in Selvíria (Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, in a randomized block, split plot design, in a total of 24 treatments with three replications. The plot treatments consisted of cover crops (millet, pigeon pea, crotalaria, velvet bean, millet + pigeon pea, millet + crotalaria, and millet + velvet bean and one plot was left fallow. The subplots were represented by phosphorus rates applied as monoammonium phosphate (0, 60 and 90 kg ha-1 P2O5. In August 2011, the soil chemical properties were evaluated (pH, organic matter, phosphorus, potential acidity, cation exchange capacity, and base saturation as well as biological variables (carbon of released CO2, microbial carbon, metabolic quotient and microbial quotient. After two years of cover crops in rotation with common bean, the cover crop biomass had not altered the soil chemical properties and barely influenced the microbial activity. The biomass production of millet and crotalaria (monoculture or intercropped was highest. The biological variables were sensitive and responded to increasing phosphorus rates with increases in microbial carbon and reduction of the metabolic quotient.

Vertical stratification of physical, chemical and biological components in two saline lakes Shira and Shunet (South Siberia, Russia)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Degermendzhy, A.G.; Zadereev, E.S.; Rogozin, D.Y.; Prokopkin, I.; Barkhatov, Y.V.; Tolomeev, A.; Khromechek, E.B.; Janse, J.H.; Mooij, W.M.; Gulati, R.D.

2010-01-01

A feature of meromictic lakes is that several physicochemical and biological gradients affect the vertical distribution of different organisms. The vertical stratification of physical, chemical and biological components in saline, fishless meromictic lakes Shira and Shunet (Siberia, Russia) is quite

Correlation of Process Data and Electrochemical Noise to Assess Kraft Digester Corrosion: Kamloops Experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pawel, SJ

2002-05-09

Electrochemical noise (ECN) probes were deployed in a carbon steel continuous kraft digester at five locations roughly equi-spaced from top to bottom of the vessel. Current and potential noise, the temperature at each probe location, and the value of about 60 process parameters (flow rates, liquor chemistry, etc.) were monitored continuously for a period of one year. Historical vessel inspection data, including inspections accomplished immediately prior to and immediately following probe deployment, and post-test evaluation of the probe components were used to assess/compare corrosion indications from the probes with physical changes in wall thickness and corrosion patterns on the digester shell. The results indicate that furnish composition is a significant variable influencing digester corrosion, with increasing amounts of Douglas fir in the nominal furnish correlating directly with increased corrosion activity on the ECN probes. All five probes detected changes in furnish composition approximately simultaneously, indicating rapid chemical communication through the liquor, but the effect was strongest and persisted longest relatively high in the digester. The ECN probes also indicate significant corrosion activity occurred at each probe position during shutdown/restart transients. Little or no correlation between ECN probe corrosion activity and other operational variables was observed. Post-test evaluation of the probes confirmed general corrosion of a magnitude that closely agreed with corrosion current sums calculated for each probe over the exposure period and with historical average corrosion rates for the respective locations. Further, no pitting was observed on any of the electrodes, which is consistent with the ECN data, relevant polarization curves developed for steel in liquor removed from the digester, and the post-test inspection of the digester.

Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Fragrant Mexican Copal (Bursera spp.).

Science.gov (United States)

Gigliarelli, Giulia; Becerra, Judith X; Curini, Massimo; Marcotullio, Maria Carla

2015-12-12

Copal is the Spanish word used to describe aromatic resins from several genera of plants. Mexican copal derives from several Bursera spp., Protium copal, some Pinus spp. (e.g., P. pseudostrobus) and a few Fabaceae spp. It has been used for centuries as incense for religious ceremonies, as a food preservative, and as a treatment for several illnesses. The aim of this review is to analyze the chemical composition and biological activity of commercial Mexican Bursera copal.

Recommendations for sampling for prevention of hazards in civil defense. On analytics of chemical, biological and radioactive contaminations. Brief instruction for the CBRN (chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear) sampling; Empfehlungen fuer die Probenahme zur Gefahrenabwehr im Bevoelkerungsschutz. Zur Analytik von chemischen, biologischen und radioaktiven Kontaminationen. Kurzanleitung fuer die CBRN-Probenahme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bachmann, Udo; Biederbick, Walter; Derakshani, Nahid (and others)

2010-07-01

The recommendation for sampling for prevention of hazards in civil defense is describing the analytics of chemical, biological and radioactive contaminations and includes detail information on the sampling, protocol preparation and documentation procedures. The volume includes a separate brief instruction for the CBRN (chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear) sampling.

Sisal organosolv pulp as reinforcement for cement based composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Paula Joaquim

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The present work describes non-conventional sisal (Agave sisalana chemical (organosolv pulp from residues of cordage as reinforcement to cement based materials. Sisal organosolv pulp was produced in a 1:1 ethanol/water mixture and post chemically and physically characterized in order to compare its properties with sisal kraft pulp. Cement based composites reinforced with organosolv or kraft pulps and combined with polypropylene (PP fibres were produced by the slurry de-watering and pressing method as a crude simulation of the Hatschek process. Composites were evaluated at 28 days of age, after exposition to accelerated carbonation and after 100 soak/dry cycles. Composites containing organosolv pulp presented lower mechanical strength, water absorption and apparent porosity than composites reinforced with kraft pulp. The best mechanical performance after ageing was also achieved by samples reinforced with kraft pulp. The addition of PP fibres favoured the maintenance of toughness after ageing. Accelerated carbonation promoted the densification of the composites reinforced with sisal organosolv + PP fibres.

Effect of Sugarcane Filter Muds, Chemical and Biological Fertilizers on Absorption of Some Macro- and Micro-Elementsand Heavy Metals by Canola (Brassica napus L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Monjezi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In order to evaluate the effect of sugarcane (Sacharum officinarum L. filter muds and chemical and biological fertilizers application on macro- and micronutrient elements and some heavy metals (Pb and Cd absorption by canola (Brassica napus L. grains, a factorial experiment was conducted in 2012 in the Experimental Farm of Ramin (Mollasani Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Khouzestan, Iran. A complete blocks design was used for the experiment with three replications. Different integrated treatments of filter muds and chemical fertilizers (A1: 100% filter muds, A2: 75% filter muds + 25% chemical fertilizers, A3: 50% filter muds + 50% chemical fertilizers, A4: 25% filter muds + 75% chemical fertilizers and A5: 100% chemical fertilizers along with two levels of biological fertilizers application (with and without biological fertilizers were investigated. The biological fertilizers investigated in this study were Nitroxin and Barvar2. Application of filter muds led to decreases in nitrogen, phosphorus and Cd of canola seeds. On the other hand, increase of filter muds application led to increase of Zn, Cu, Fe and Pb content in canola seeds. Biological and chemical fertilizers application resulted in increases of nitrogen, phosphorus and cadmium contents in canola seeds. Biofertilizers also increased phosphorus and cadmium contents in canola seeds.

CyBy(2): a structure-based data management tool for chemical and biological data.

Science.gov (United States)

Höck, Stefan; Riedl, Rainer

2012-01-01

We report the development of a powerful data management tool for chemical and biological data: CyBy(2). CyBy(2) is a structure-based information management tool used to store and visualize structural data alongside additional information such as project assignment, physical information, spectroscopic data, biological activity, functional data and synthetic procedures. The application consists of a database, an application server, used to query and update the database, and a client application with a rich graphical user interface (GUI) used to interact with the server.

Biological and chemical tests of contaminated soils to determine bioavailability and environmentally acceptable endpoints (EAE)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montgomery, C.R.; Menzie, C.A.; Pauwells, S.J.

1995-01-01

The understanding of the concept of bioavailability of soil contaminants to receptors and its use in supporting the development of EAE is growing but still incomplete. Nonetheless, there is increased awareness of the importance of such data to determine acceptable cleanup levels and achieve timely site closures. This presentation discusses a framework for biological and chemical testing of contaminated soils developed as part of a Gas Research Institute (GRI) project entitled ''Environmentally Acceptable Endpoints in Soil Using a Risk Based Approach to Contaminated Site Management Based on Bioavailability of Chemicals in Soil.'' The presentation reviews the GRI program, and summarizes the findings of the biological and chemical testing section published in the GRI report. The three primary components of the presentation are: (1) defining the concept of bioavailability within the existing risk assessment paradigm, (2) assessing the usefulness of the existing tests to measure bioavailability and test frameworks used to interpret these measurements, and (3) suggesting how a small selection of relevant tests could be incorporated into a flexible testing scheme for soils to address this issue

Sisal organosolv pulp as reinforcement for cement based composites

OpenAIRE

Joaquim, Ana Paula; Tonoli, Gustavo Henrique Denzin; Santos, Sérgio Francisco Dos; Savastano Junior, Holmer

2009-01-01

The present work describes non-conventional sisal (Agave sisalana) chemical (organosolv) pulp from residues of cordage as reinforcement to cement based materials. Sisal organosolv pulp was produced in a 1:1 ethanol/water mixture and post chemically and physically characterized in order to compare its properties with sisal kraft pulp. Cement based composites reinforced with organosolv or kraft pulps and combined with polypropylene (PP) fibres were produced by the slurry de-watering and pressin...

Excess heat from kraft pulp mills: Trade-offs between internal and external use in the case of Sweden-Part 1: Methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svensson, Inger-Lise; Joensson, Johanna; Berntsson, Thore; Moshfegh, Bahram

2008-01-01

Excess heat from a kraft pulp mill can be used either internally to increase the level of efficiency in the mill, or externally for example as district heating. This paper presents an approach to investigate the competition between external and internal use through modelling the pulp mill and an energy company (ECO) within the same system boundary. Three different sizes of ECOs with different district heating demands are studied. To investigate the competitiveness of using industrial excess heat as district heating compared with other heat production techniques, the option of investing in excess heat use is introduced, along with the possibility for the ECO to invest in biomass combined heat and power (CHP), waste CHP and natural gas combined cycle (NGCC). To evaluate the robustness of the model, alternative solutions are identified and will be used as a comparison to the optimal solutions. The model has been verified by comparing the results with previous studies concerning kraft pulp mills and with related studies regarding district heating and real ECOs. Finally, the approach presented in this part of the study will be used in the second part in order to investigate the trade-off between internal and external use of excess heat under different future energy market scenarios

NSF-Sponsored Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, M. D.; Chandler, C. L.; Copley, N.; Galvarino, C.; Gegg, S. R.; Glover, D. M.; Groman, R. C.; Wiebe, P. H.; Work, T. T.; Biological; Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office

2010-12-01

Ocean biogeochemistry and marine ecosystem research projects are inherently interdisciplinary and benefit from improved access to well-documented data. Improved data sharing practices are important to the continued exploration of research themes that are a central focus of the ocean science community and are essential to interdisciplinary and international collaborations that address complex, global research themes. In 2006, the National Science Foundation Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) funded the Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) to serve the data management requirements of scientific investigators funded by the National Science Foundation’s Biological and Chemical Oceanography Sections. BCO-DMO staff members work with investigators to manage marine biogeochemical, ecological, and oceanographic data and information developed in the course of scientific research. These valuable data sets are documented, stored, disseminated, and protected over short and intermediate time frames. One of the goals of the BCO-DMO is to facilitate regional, national, and international data and information exchange through improved data discovery, access, display, downloading, and interoperability. In May 2010, NSF released a statement to the effect that in October 2010, it is planning to require that all proposals include a data management plan in the form of a two-page supplementary document. The data management plan would be an element of the merit review process. NSF has long been committed to making data from NSF-funded research publicly available and the new policy will strengthen this commitment. BCO-DMO is poised to assist in creating the data management plans and in ultimately serving the data and information resulting from NSF OCE funded research. We will present an overview of the data management system capabilities including: geospatial and text-based data discovery and access systems; recent enhancements to data search tools; data

Biological assessment of contaminated land using earthworm biomarkers in support of chemical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hankard, Peter K.; Svendsen, Claus; Wright, Julian; Wienberg, Claire; Fishwick, Samantha K.; Spurgeon, David J.; Weeks, Jason M.

2004-01-01

Biological indicators can be used to assess polluted sites but their success depends on the availability of suitable assays. The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of two earthworm biomarkers, lysosomal membrane stability measured using the neutral red retention assay (NRR-T) and the total immune activity (TIA) assay, that have previously been established as responsive to chemical exposure. Responses of the two assays were measured following in situ exposure to complexly contaminated field soils at three industrial sites as well as urban and rural controls. The industrial sites were contaminated with a range of metal (cadmium, copper, lead, zinc, nickel and cobalt) and organic (including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) contaminants, but at concentrations below the 'New Dutch List' Intervention concentrations. Exposed earthworms accumulated both metals and organic compounds at the contaminated sites, indicating that there was significant exposure. No effect on earthworm survival was found at any of the sites. Biomarker measurements, however, indicated significant effects, with lower NRR-T and TIA found in the contaminated soils when compared to the two controls. The results demonstrate that a comparison of soil pollutant concentrations with guideline values would not have unequivocally identified chemical exposure and toxic effect for soil organisms living in these soils. However, the earthworm biomarkers successfully identified significant exposure and biological effects caused by the mixture of chemicals present

Retinyl β-glucoronide: its occurrence in human serum, chemical synthesis and biological activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barua, A.B.; Batres, R.O.; Olson, J.A.

1986-01-01

When retinol is administered to rats, retinyl and retinoyl β-glucuronides appear in the bile. Retinyl or retinoyl β-glucuronide is also synthesized in vitro when rat liver microsomes are incubated with uridinediphosphoglucuronic acid and either retinol or retinoic acid. Retinoyl β-glucuronide, a major metabolite of retinoic acid in a number of tissues, is highly active biologically, has been chemically synthesized, and is found in human blood. The physiological significance of the glucuronides of vitamin A are not known yet. To investigate further its metabolism and possible physiological role, retinyl β-glucuronide was chemically synthesized from retinol and characterized by study of its ultra-violet spectrum (γ/sub max/ 325 nm in methanol, 329 nm in water), 1 H-NMR and mass spectra. Retinyl β-glucuronide was extensively hydrolyzed by bacterial β-glucuronidase to retinol. Retinyl β-glucuronide is soluble in water and was detected in significant amounts in the serum of healthy human adults. The biological activity of synthetic retinyl β-glucuronide was determined in rats by the rat growth bioassay method

Performance of Schizolobium amazonicum Wood in Bleached Kraft Pulp Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camila Sarto

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of Schizolobium amazonicum wood, specifically its performance in bleached kraft pulp production and the characteristics of its pulp. Chips of Schizolobium amazonicum and Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla (reference were used. The following parameters were evaluated in the wood: basic density, total extractives, total lignin, holocellulose, and fiber morphology. The pulping simulations were carried out in a laboratory digester, with parameters set to obtain pulp with kappa number 19 ± 0.5. Both pulps were bleached in a PFI mill and submitted to physical-mechanical tests. The results showed that S. amazonicum wood has low basic density and higher content of extractives when compared to E. grandis x E. urophylla wood. For pulping, S. amazonicum required higher alkali charge and H factor to achieve the same delignification level of E. grandis x E. urophylla, resulting in a lower yield, pulp with lower viscosity, and higher wood specific consumption. During bleaching, the brightness gain and final viscosity of S. amazonicum pulp were lower than E. grandis x E. urophylla pulp. Moreover, S. amazonicum pulp had worse physical-mechanical characteristics than E. grandis x E. urophylla.

Physico-chemical properties and biological effects of diesel and biomass particles

KAUST Repository

Longhin, Eleonora

2016-05-15

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Diesel combustion and solid biomass burning are the major sources of ultrafine particles (UFP) in urbanized areas. Cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, including lung cancer, are possible outcomes of combustion particles exposure, but differences in particles properties seem to influence their biological effects.Here the physico-chemical properties and biological effects of diesel and biomass particles, produced under controlled laboratory conditions, have been characterized. Diesel UFP were sampled from a Euro 4 light duty vehicle without DPF fuelled by commercial diesel and run over a chassis dyno. Biomass UFP were collected from a modern automatic 25 kW boiler propelled by prime quality spruce pellet. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of both diesel and biomass samples showed aggregates of soot particles, but in biomass samples ash particles were also present. Chemical characterization showed that metals and PAHs total content was higher in diesel samples compared to biomass ones.Human bronchial epithelial (HBEC3) cells were exposed to particles for up to 2 weeks. Changes in the expression of genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism were observed after exposure to both UFP already after 24 h. However, only diesel particles modulated the expression of genes involved in inflammation, oxidative stress and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), increased the release of inflammatory mediators and caused phenotypical alterations, mostly after two weeks of exposure.These results show that diesel UFP affected cellular processes involved in lung and cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Biomass particles exerted low biological activity compared to diesel UFP. This evidence emphasizes that the study of different emission sources contribution to ambient PM toxicity may have a fundamental role in the development of more effective strategies for air quality improvement.

Mössbauer spectroscopy: epoch-making biological and chemical applications

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Lančok, Adriana; Volfová, Lenka

2017-01-01

Roč. 89, č. 4 (2017), s. 461-470 ISSN 0033-4545. [International Conference Solid State Chemistry 2016 /12./. Prague, 18.09.2016-23.09.2016] R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1409; GA MŠk(CZ) LM2015088 Grant - others:FUNBIO(XE) CZ.2.16/3.1.00/21568 Institutional support: RVO:61388980 ; RVO:68378271 Keywords : biological tissue * boron chemistry * Fe2+ and Fe3+ * Mössbauer spectrometry * vivianite Subject RIV: CA - Inorganic Chemistry ; BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism (FZU-D) OBOR OECD: Inorganic and nuclear chemistry ; Atomic, molecular and chemical physics (physics of atoms and molecules including collision, interaction with radiation, magnetic resonances, Mössbauer effect) (FZU-D) Impact factor: 2.626, year: 2016

Acid-catalysed xylose dehydration into furfural in the presence of kraft lignin.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamminpää, Kaisa; Ahola, Juha; Tanskanen, Juha

2015-02-01

In this study, the effects of kraft lignin (Indulin AT) on acid-catalysed xylose dehydration into furfural were studied in formic and sulphuric acids. The study was done using D-optimal design. Three variables in both acids were included in the design: time (20-80 min), temperature (160-180°C) and initial lignin concentration (0-20 g/l). The dependent variables were xylose conversion, furfural yield, furfural selectivity and pH change. The results showed that the xylose conversion and furfural yield decreased in sulphuric acid, while in formic acid the changes were minor. Additionally, it was showed that lignin has an acid-neutralising capacity, and the added lignin increased the pH of reactant solutions in both acids. The pH rise was considerably lower in formic acid than in sulphuric acid. However, the higher pH did not explain all the changes in conversion and yield, and thus lignin evidently inhibits the formation of furfural. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Fragrant Mexican Copal (Bursera spp.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giulia Gigliarelli

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Copal is the Spanish word used to describe aromatic resins from several genera of plants. Mexican copal derives from several Bursera spp., Protium copal, some Pinus spp. (e.g., P. pseudostrobus and a few Fabaceae spp. It has been used for centuries as incense for religious ceremonies, as a food preservative, and as a treatment for several illnesses. The aim of this review is to analyze the chemical composition and biological activity of commercial Mexican Bursera copal.

Atom-scale depth localization of biologically important chemical elements in molecular layers.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneck, Emanuel; Scoppola, Ernesto; Drnec, Jakub; Mocuta, Cristian; Felici, Roberto; Novikov, Dmitri; Fragneto, Giovanna; Daillant, Jean

2016-08-23

In nature, biomolecules are often organized as functional thin layers in interfacial architectures, the most prominent examples being biological membranes. Biomolecular layers play also important roles in context with biotechnological surfaces, for instance, when they are the result of adsorption processes. For the understanding of many biological or biotechnologically relevant phenomena, detailed structural insight into the involved biomolecular layers is required. Here, we use standing-wave X-ray fluorescence (SWXF) to localize chemical elements in solid-supported lipid and protein layers with near-Ångstrom precision. The technique complements traditional specular reflectometry experiments that merely yield the layers' global density profiles. While earlier work mostly focused on relatively heavy elements, typically metal ions, we show that it is also possible to determine the position of the comparatively light elements S and P, which are found in the most abundant classes of biomolecules and are therefore particularly important. With that, we overcome the need of artificial heavy atom labels, the main obstacle to a broader application of high-resolution SWXF in the fields of biology and soft matter. This work may thus constitute the basis for the label-free, element-specific structural investigation of complex biomolecular layers and biological surfaces.

Plasma flame for mass purification of contaminated air with chemical and biological warfare agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uhm, Han S.; Shin, Dong H.; Hong, Yong C.

2006-01-01

An elimination of airborne simulated chemical and biological warfare agents was carried out by making use of a plasma flame made of atmospheric plasma and a fuel-burning flame, which can purify the interior air of a large volume in isolated spaces such as buildings, public transportation systems, and military vehicles. The plasma flame generator consists of a microwave plasma torch connected in series to a fuel injector and a reaction chamber. For example, a reaction chamber, with the dimensions of a 22 cm diameter and 30 cm length, purifies an airflow rate of 5000 lpm contaminated with toluene (the simulated chemical agent) and soot from a diesel engine (the simulated aerosol for biological agents). Large volumes of purification by the plasma flame will free mankind from the threat of airborne warfare agents. The plasma flame may also effectively purify air that is contaminated with volatile organic compounds, in addition to eliminating soot from diesel engines as an environmental application

Assessment of the biological and chemical availability of the freshly spiked and aged DDE in soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Škulcová, L.; Neuwirthová, N.; Hofman, J.; Bielská, L.

2016-01-01

The study compared the ability of various chemical methods (XAD, β-hydroxypropylcyclodextrin - HPCD) and solid phase micro-extraction (SPME)) to mimic earthworm uptake from two similar soils containing either spiked or aged p,p´-DDE, thus representing two extreme scenarios with regard to the length of pollutant-soil contact time and the way of contamination. The extent of bioaccumulation was assessed at fixed exposure periods (10 and 21 days) and at equilibrium derived from uptake curves by multiple-point comparison or kinetic modeling. The decision on the best chemical predictor of biological uptake differed. The degree of bioaccumulation at equilibrium was best predicted by XAD while HPCD rather reflected the extent of accumulation derived after 21 days when, however, steady-state was not reached for spiked p,p´-DDE. SPME seemed to underestimate the uptake of aged p,p´-DDE, probably of the fraction taken up via soil particles. Thus, the degree of predictability seems to be associated with the capability of the chemical method to mimic the complex earthworm uptake via skin and intestinal tract as well as with the quality of biological data where the insufficient length of exposure period appears to be the major concern. - Highlights: • The uptake kinetics of spiked and aged p,p´-DDE to earthworms/samplers was measured. • Three chemical methods were used to predict earthworm uptake. • Equilibrium was not reached within the OECD recommended 21 days for spiked p,p´-DDE. • SPME seems to underestimate the uptake of aged p,p´-DDE. • The best predictor of earthworm uptake seems to be the XAD method. - Capsule: The poor prediction of biological uptake by chemical methods may result from the absence of kinetic measurements and application of short exposure periods.

Application of Carbon Nanotubes in Chiral and Achiral Separations of Pharmaceuticals, Biologics and Chemicals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayman L. Hemasa

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Carbon nanotubes (CNTs possess unique mechanical, physical, electrical and absorbability properties coupled with their nanometer dimensional scale that renders them extremely valuable for applications in many fields including nanotechnology and chromatographic separation. The aim of this review is to provide an updated overview about the applications of CNTs in chiral and achiral separations of pharmaceuticals, biologics and chemicals. Chiral single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs have been directly applied for the enantioseparation of pharmaceuticals and biologicals by using them as stationary or pseudostationary phases in chromatographic separation techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC, capillary electrophoresis (CE and gas chromatography (GC. Achiral MWCNTs have been used for achiral separations as efficient sorbent objects in solid-phase extraction techniques of biochemicals and drugs. Achiral SWCNTs have been applied in achiral separation of biological samples. Achiral SWCNTs and MWCNTs have been also successfully used to separate achiral mixtures of pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Collectively, functionalized CNTs have been indirectly applied in separation science by enhancing the enantioseparation of different chiral selectors whereas non-functionalized CNTs have shown efficient capabilities for chiral separations by using techniques such as encapsulation or immobilization in polymer monolithic columns.

How Clean is Safe? Improving the Effectiveness of Decontamination of Structures and People Following Chemical and Biological Incidents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vogt (Sorensen), B.M.

2003-04-03

This report describes a U.S. Department of Energy, (DOE) Chemical and Biological National Security Program project that sought to establish what is known about decontamination of structures, objects, and people following an exposure to chemical or biological materials. Specifically we sought to identify the procedures and protocols used to determine when and how people or buildings are considered ''clean'' following decontamination. To fulfill this objective, the study systematically examined reported decontamination experiences to determine what procedures and protocols are currently employed for decontamination, the timeframe involved to initiate and complete the decontamination process, how the contaminants were identified, the factors determining when people were (or were not) decontaminated, the problems encountered during the decontamination process, how response efforts of agencies were coordinated, and the perceived social psychological effects on people who were decontaminated or who participated in the decontamination process. Findings and recommendations from the study are intended to aid decision-making and to improve the basis for determining appropriate decontamination protocols for recovery planners and policy makers for responding to chemical and biological events.

Oil and gas activities in northern Norway; KonKraft rapport 6; Olje- og gassvirksomhet i nord

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2009-07-01

KonKraft report 6 deals with oil and gas operations on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) from Nordland county and northwards. It aims to contribute to a broad factual base for decision processes related to opening new exploration areas in these waters. The Norwegian petroleum sector employs about 250 000 people directly and indirectly. It accounts for a third of government revenues, and 90 per cent of its profits accrue to the state. NOK 119 billion of the central government budget in 2009 comes directly from oil and gas revenues. These funds finance roads, nursery schools, hospitals and the Norwegian welfare state. In addition, they safeguard future pensions. This industry is at a crossroads today. Oil production has dropped by 30 per cent since 2000. Recent forecasts from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate show that it may be reduced by 50 per cent from its peak by 2013. Overall oil and gas output is expected to begin falling from the middle of the next decade. To slow this decline in output and revenues, the oil companies need access to new and attractive exploration acreage. Half the production expected by the government in 2030 relates to resources which have yet to be proven. Opening further areas of the NCS to petroleum activities would contribute to maintaining substantial investment and revenues for the community, and to continuing the development of industry in the northernmost parts of the country. The report reviews unopened areas along the Norwegian coast from the Helgeland region and north-eastwards to the Russian border. Nordland VI and VII plus Troms II are regarded by the petroleum industry as the most promising regions for big discoveries which could slow the production decline. The KonKraft 2 report concerning production development on the NCS estimates remaining resources in these three areas at 3.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe). (Author)

Biological and chemical standardization of a hop (Humulus lupulus) botanical dietary supplement.

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, Elizabeth; Yuan, Yang; Hajirahimkhan, Atieh; Dong, Huali; Dietz, Birgit M; Nikolic, Dejan; Pauli, Guido F; Bolton, Judy L; van Breemen, Richard B

2014-06-01

Concerned about the safety of conventional estrogen replacement therapy, women are using botanical dietary supplements as alternatives for the management of menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. Before botanical dietary supplements can be evaluated clinically for safety and efficacy, botanically authenticated and standardized forms are required. To address the demand for a standardized, estrogenic botanical dietary supplement, an extract of hops (Humulus lupulus L.) was developed. Although valued in the brewing of beer, hop extracts are used as anxiolytics and hypnotics and have well-established estrogenic constituents. Starting with a hop cultivar used in the brewing industry, spent hops (the residue remaining after extraction of bitter acids) were formulated into a botanical dietary supplement that was then chemically and biologically standardized. Biological standardization utilized the estrogen-dependent induction of alkaline phosphatase in the Ishikawa cell line. Chemical standardization was based on the prenylated phenols in hops that included estrogenic 8-prenylnaringenin, its isomer 6-prenylnaringenin, and pro-estrogenic isoxanthohumol and its isomeric chalcone xanthohumol, all of which were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The product of this process was a reproducible botanical extract suitable for subsequent investigations of safety and efficacy. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Biological and Chemical Aspects of Natural Biflavonoids from Plants: A Brief Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Gontijo, Vanessa Silva; Dos Santos, Marcelo Henrique; Viegas, Claudio

2017-01-01

Biflavonoids belong to a subclass of the plant flavonoids family and are limited to several species in the plant kingdom. In the literature, biflavonoids are extensively reported for their pharmacological properties including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, inhibitory activity against phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and antiprotozoal activity. These activities have been discovered from the small number of biflavonoid structures that have been investigated, although the natural biflavonoids library is likely to be large. In addition, many medicinal properties and traditional use of plants are attributed to the presence of bioflavonoids among their secondary metabolites. Structurally, biflavonoids are polyphenol compounds comprising of two identical or non-identical flavonflavonoid units joined in a symmetrical or unsymmetrical manner through an alkyl or an alkoxy-based linker of varying length. Due to their chemical and biological importance, several bioprospective phytochemical studies and chemical approaches using coupling and molecular rearrangement strategies have been developed to identify and synthesize new bioactive biflavonoids. In this brief review, we present some basic structural aspects for classification and nomenclature of bioflavonoids and a compilation of the literature data published in the last 7 years, concerning the discovery of new natural biflavonoids of plant origin and their pharmacological and biological properties. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Phyto chemical and biological studies of certain plants with potential radioprotective activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sherif, N.H.M.I

2008-01-01

One of the promising directions of radiation protection development is the search for natural radioprotective agents.The present work includes: I- Screening of certain edible and medicinal plants growing in Egypt for their radioprotective activities. II- Detailed phyto chemical and biolo-activity studies of the dried leaves of brassaia actinophylla endl. comprising: A-Phyto chemical screening and proximate analysis. B-Investigation of lipoidal matter. C- Isolation, characterization and structure elucidation of phenolic constituents. D- Isolation, characterization and structure elucidation of saponin constituents. E- Evaluation of radioprotective and antitumor activities. I- Evaluation of potential radioprotective activities of certain herbs: In vivo biological screening designed to investigate the radioprotective role of 70% ethanol extract of 11 different herbals was carried out by measuring the lipid peroxide content, as well as the activities of two antioxidant enzymes; viz glutathione, and superoxide dismutase in blood and liver tissues 1 and 7 days after radiation exposure. II : Phyto chemical and biolo-activity studies of the dried leaves of brassaia actinophylla Endl A : preliminary phyto chemical screening, determination and TLC examination of successive extractives. B : Investigation of lipoidal matter. GLC of unsaponifiable matter (USM)

Integrated aerobic biological-chemical treatment of winery wastewater diluted with urban wastewater. LED-based photocatalysis in the presence of monoperoxysulfate.

Science.gov (United States)

Solís, Rafael R; Rivas, Francisco Javier; Ferreira, Leonor C; Pirra, Antonio; Peres, José A

2018-01-28

The oxidation of Winery Wastewater (WW) by conventional aerobic biological treatment usually leads to inefficient results due to the presence of organic substances, which are recalcitrant or toxic in conventional procedures. This study explores the combination of biological and chemical processes in order to complete the oxidation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable compounds in two sequential steps. Thus, a biological oxidation of a diluted WW is carried out by using the activated sludge process. Activated sludge was gradually acclimated to the Diluted Winery Wastewater (DWW). Some aspects concerning the biological process were evaluated (kinetics of the oxidation and sedimentation of the sludge produced). The biological treatment of the DWW led to a 40-50% of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal in 8 h, being necessary the application of an additional process. Different chemical processes combining UVA-LEDs radiation, monoperoxysulfate (MPS) and photocatalysts were applied in order to complete the COD depletion and efficient removal of polyphenols content, poorly oxidized in the previous biological step. From the options tested, the combination of UVA, MPS and a novel LaCoO 3 -TiO 2 composite, with double route of MPS decomposition through heterogeneous catalysis and photocatalysis, led to the best results (95% of polyphenol degradation, and additional 60% of COD removal). Initial MPS concentration and pH effect in this process were assessed.

NCCR Chemical Biology: Interdisciplinary Research Excellence, Outreach, Education, and New Tools for Switzerland.

Science.gov (United States)

Sturzenegger, Susi; Johnsson, Kai; Riezman, Howard

2011-01-01

Funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation to promote cutting edge research as well as the advancement of young researchers and women, technology transfer, outreach and education, the NCCR (Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research) Chemical Biology is co-led by Howard Riezman, University of Geneva and Kai Johnsson, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

Physico-chemical and biological characterization of urban municipal landfill leachate.

Science.gov (United States)

Naveen, B P; Mahapatra, Durga Madhab; Sitharam, T G; Sivapullaiah, P V; Ramachandra, T V

2017-01-01

Unscientific management and ad-hoc approaches in municipal solid waste management have led to a generation of voluminous leachate in urban conglomerates. Quantification, quality assessment, following treatment and management of leachate has become a serious problem worldwide. In this context, the present study investigates the physico-chemical and biological characterization of landfill leachate and nearby water sources and attempts to identify relationships between the key parameters together with understanding the various processes for chemical transformations. The analysis shows an intermediate leachate age (5-10 years) with higher nutrient levels of 10,000-12,000 mg/l and ∼2000-3000 mg/l of carbon (COD) and nitrogen (TKN) respectively. Elemental analysis and underlying mechanisms reveal chemical precipitation and co-precipitation as the vital processes in leachate pond systems resulting in accumulation of trace metals. Based on the above criteria the samples were clustered into major groups that showed a clear distinction between leachate and water bodies. The microbial analysis showed bacterial communities correlating with specific factors relevant to redox environments indicating a gradient in nature and abundance of biotic diversity with a change in leachate environment. Finally, the quality and the contamination potential of the samples were evaluated with the help of leachate pollution index (LPI) and water quality index (WQI) analysis. The study helps in understanding the contamination potential of landfill leachate and establishes linkages between microbial communities and physico-chemical parameters for effective management of landfill leachate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quality in the chemical analysis of biological matrices by fluorescence X-ray by energy dispersive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sousa, Evely E. de; Paiva, Jose Daniel S. de; Franca, Elvis J. de; Almeida, Macio E.S.; Cantinha, Rebeca S.; Hazin, Clovis A.

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to obtain multielement analytical curves of high analytical rigor to the analysis of biological matrices by the technique of fluorescence x-ray energy dispersive - EDXRF. Calibration curves were constructed from the reference materials IAEA 140, IAEA 155, IAEA V8, V10 to the International Atomic Energy Agency - IAEA, and SRM1515, SRM 1547, SRM 1570a, SRM 1573a, SEM 1567a, to the National Institute of Standards and Technology - NIST. After energy calibration, all samples were subjected to vacuum to the analyzes by 100 seconds for each group of chemical elements. The voltages used were respectively 15 keV for chemical elements with less than atomic number 22 and 50 keV for the others. After the construction of the curves, the analytical quality was assessed by the analysis of a portion-test of the reference material SRM 2976, also produced by NIST. Based on the number of certified reference materials used for construction of calibration curves in this work, quality analytical protocol was originated with considerable reliability for quantification of chemical elements in biological samples by EDXR

Polpação soda com aditivos e cinética de deslignificação Kraft

OpenAIRE

Almeida, Diego Pierre de

2014-01-01

O método de polpação química Kraft é o mais utilizado mundialmente para produção de celulose, por suas características favoráveis como alta qualidade do papel produzido. Porém possui a desvantagem da poluição odorífera e um complexo sistema de recuperação do licor negro gerado. O processo soda pode ser uma alternativa para produção de polpa celulósica sem compostos a base de enxofre e com melhores qualidades se acrescida de aditivos de cozimento. Este trabalho trata de algumas alternativas pa...

SYNBIOCHEM Synthetic Biology Research Centre, Manchester – A UK foundry for fine and speciality chemicals production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Le Feuvre RA

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The UK Synthetic Biology Research Centre, SYNBIOCHEM, hosted by the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Manchester is delivering innovative technology platforms to facilitate the predictable engineering of microbial bio-factories for fine and speciality chemicals production. We provide an overview of our foundry activities that are being applied to grand challenge projects to deliver innovation in bio-based chemicals production for industrial biotechnology.

Polyunsaturated fatty acid amides from the Zanthoxylum genus - from culinary curiosities to probes for chemical biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Chruma, Jason J; Cullen, Douglas J; Bowman, Lydia; Toy, Patrick H

2018-01-25

Covering up to February 2017The pericarps of several species from the Zanthoxylum genus, a.k.a. the "prickly ash", have long been used for culinary purposes throughout Asia, most notably in the Sichuan (previously Szechuan) cuisine of Southwestern China, due to the unique tingling and numbing orosensations arising from a collection of polyunsaturated fatty acid amide (alkamide) constituents. The past decade has experienced dramatically increased academic and industrial interest in these pungent Zanthoxylum-derived alkamides, with a concomitant explosion in studies aimed at elucidating the specific biochemical mechanisms behind several medically-relevant biological activities exhibited by the natural products. This rapid increase in interest is partially fueled by advances in organic synthesis reported within the past few years that finally have allowed for the production of diastereomerically-pure Zanthoxylum alkamides and related analogs in multigram quantities. Herein is a comprehensive review of the discovery, total synthesis, and biological evaluation of Zanthoxylum-derived polyunsaturated fatty acid amides and synthetic analogues. Critical insights into how chemical synthesis can further benefit future chemical biology efforts in the field are also provided.

Lignin valorization through integrated biological funneling and chemical catalysis

Science.gov (United States)

Linger, Jeffrey G.; Vardon, Derek R.; Guarnieri, Michael T.; Karp, Eric M.; Hunsinger, Glendon B.; Franden, Mary Ann; Johnson, Christopher W.; Chupka, Gina; Strathmann, Timothy J.; Pienkos, Philip T.; Beckham, Gregg T.

2014-01-01

Lignin is an energy-dense, heterogeneous polymer comprised of phenylpropanoid monomers used by plants for structure, water transport, and defense, and it is the second most abundant biopolymer on Earth after cellulose. In production of fuels and chemicals from biomass, lignin is typically underused as a feedstock and burned for process heat because its inherent heterogeneity and recalcitrance make it difficult to selectively valorize. In nature, however, some organisms have evolved metabolic pathways that enable the utilization of lignin-derived aromatic molecules as carbon sources. Aromatic catabolism typically occurs via upper pathways that act as a “biological funnel” to convert heterogeneous substrates to central intermediates, such as protocatechuate or catechol. These intermediates undergo ring cleavage and are further converted via the β-ketoadipate pathway to central carbon metabolism. Here, we use a natural aromatic-catabolizing organism, Pseudomonas putida KT2440, to demonstrate that these aromatic metabolic pathways can be used to convert both aromatic model compounds and heterogeneous, lignin-enriched streams derived from pilot-scale biomass pretreatment into medium chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHAs). mcl-PHAs were then isolated from the cells and demonstrated to be similar in physicochemical properties to conventional carbohydrate-derived mcl-PHAs, which have applications as bioplastics. In a further demonstration of their utility, mcl-PHAs were catalytically converted to both chemical precursors and fuel-range hydrocarbons. Overall, this work demonstrates that the use of aromatic catabolic pathways enables an approach to valorize lignin by overcoming its inherent heterogeneity to produce fuels, chemicals, and materials. PMID:25092344

Influence of gamma-irradiation upon the chemical and biological properties of insulin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salemink, P J.M.; Kolkman-Roodbeen, J C; Gribnau, T C.J.; Janssen, P S.L.; Veen, A.J. van der

1987-06-19

Partially purified insulin preparations of bovine and porcine origin, were subjected to gamma-irradiation with doses ranging from 1.0 up to 25 kGy at 0/sup 0/C or ambient temperature. The susceptibility of insulin to the irradiation was determined by chromatography, electrophoresis and assay of the biological activity. The sterilizing effect of the gamma-irradiation was investigated for Bacillus pumilus as well as for artificial mixtures of lactose and several bacilli. It is concluded that the sterilizing dose for the investigated insulins was greater than or equal to 2.2 kGy. At doses up to 25 kGy at 0/sup 0/C no specific radiolytic products were detectable, whereas the biological activity was fully retained. The content of dimers and the content of related peptides appeared to increase gradually with the irradiation dose absorbed. No effects of long-term storage could be demonstrated on biological and chemical properties of insulin after 2.2, 4.5 and 7.5 kGy. 21 refs.; 4 figs.; 5 tabs.

Chemical preparation of biological materials for accurate chromium determination by isotope dilution mass spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunstan, L.P.; Garner, E.L.

1977-01-01

The current interest in trace elements in biological materials has created a need for accurate methods of analysis. The source of discrepancies and variations in chromium concentration determinations is often traceable to inadequate methods of sample preparation. Any method of Cr analysis that requires acid digestion of a biological matrix must take into consideration the existence or formation of a volatile Cr component. In addition, because Cr is often present at concentrations less than 1 μg/g, the analytical blank becomes a potential source of error. Chemical procedures have been developed for the digestion of the biological matrix and the separation of Cr without either large analytical blanks or significant losses by volatilization. These procedures have been used for the analysis of NBS Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1569 Brewers Yeast; SRM 1577 Bovine Liver; SRM 1570 Spinach and other biological materials including human hair and nails. At this time, samples containing 1 μg of Cr can be determined with an estimated accuracy of 2 percent

Biological and chemical technologies research. FY 1995 annual summary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1996-03-01

The annual summary report presents the fiscal year (FY) 1995 research activities and accomplishments for the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Biological and Chemical Technologies Research (BCTR) Program. This BCTR program resides within the Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE). The annual summary report for 1995 (ASR 95) contains the following: program description (including BCTR program mission statement, historical background, relevance, goals and objectives); program structure and organization, selected technical and programmatic highlights for 1995; detailed descriptions of individual projects; a listing of program output, including a bibliography of published work; patents; and awards arising from work supported by the BCTR.

Impact of synthetic biology and metabolic engineering on industrial production of fine chemicals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jullesson, David; David, Florian; Pfleger, Brian

2015-01-01

Industrial bio-processes for fine chemical production are increasingly relying on cell factories developed through metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. The use of high throughput techniques and automation for the design of cell factories, and especially platform strains, has played...... chemicals that have reached the market, key metabolic engineering tools that have allowed this to happen and some of the companies that are currently utilizing these technologies for developing industrial production processes....... an important role in the transition from laboratory research to industrial production. Model organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli remain widely used host strains for industrial production due to their robust and desirable traits. This review describes some of the bio-based fine...

Chemical constituents and biological research on plants in the genus Curcuma.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Wen; Wang, Sheng; Zhao, Wenwen; Wu, Chuanhong; Guo, Shuhui; Gao, Hongwei; Tao, Hongxun; Lu, Jinjian; Wang, Yitao; Chen, Xiuping

2017-05-03

Curcuma, a valuable genus in the family Zingiberaceae, includes approximately 110 species. These plants are native to Southeast Asia and are extensively cultivated in India, China, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Peru, Australia, and the West Indies. The plants have long been used in folk medicine to treat stomach ailments, stimulate digestion, and protect the digestive organs, including the intestines, stomach, and liver. In recent years, substantial progress has been achieved in investigations regarding the chemical and pharmacological properties, as well as in clinical trials of certain Curcuma species. This review comprehensively summarizes the current knowledge on the chemistry and briefly discusses the biological activities of Curcuma species. A total of 720 compounds, including 102 diphenylalkanoids, 19 phenylpropene derivatives, 529 terpenoids, 15 flavonoids, 7 steroids, 3 alkaloids, and 44 compounds of other types isolated or identified from 32 species, have been phytochemically investigated. The biological activities of plant extracts and pure compounds are classified into 15 groups in detail, with emphasis on anti-inflammatory and antitumor activities.

Biological and environmental hazards associated with exposure to chemical warfare agents: arsenicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Changzhao; Srivastava, Ritesh K; Athar, Mohammad

2016-08-01

Arsenicals are highly reactive inorganic and organic derivatives of arsenic. These chemicals are very toxic and produce both acute and chronic tissue damage. On the basis of these observations, and considering the low cost and simple methods of their bulk syntheses, these agents were thought to be appropriate for chemical warfare. Among these, the best-known agent that was synthesized and weaponized during World War I (WWI) is Lewisite. Exposure to Lewisite causes painful inflammatory and blistering responses in the skin, lung, and eye. These chemicals also manifest systemic tissue injury following their cutaneous exposure. Although largely discontinued after WWI, stockpiles are still known to exist in the former Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, the United States, and Asia. Thus, access by terrorists or accidental exposure could be highly dangerous for humans and the environment. This review summarizes studies that describe the biological, pathophysiological, toxicological, and environmental effects of exposure to arsenicals, with a major focus on cutaneous injury. Studies related to the development of novel molecular pathobiology-based antidotes against these agents are also described. © 2016 New York Academy of Sciences.

Biological and environmental hazards associated with exposure to chemical warfare agents: arsenicals

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Changzhao; Srivastava, Ritesh K.; Athar, Mohammad

2016-01-01

Arsenicals are highly reactive inorganic and organic derivatives of arsenic. These chemicals are very toxic and produce both acute and chronic tissue damage. Based on these observations, and considering the low cost and simple methods of their bulk syntheses, these agents were thought to be appropriate for chemical warfare. Among these, the most known agent synthesized and weaponized during World War I (WWI) is Lewisite. Exposure to Lewisite causes painful inflammatory and blistering responses in the skin, lung, and eye. These chemicals also manifest systemic tissue injury following their cutaneous exposure. Although largely discontinued after WWI, their stockpiles are still known to exist in the former Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, the United States, and Asia. Thus, their access by terrorists or accidental exposure could be highly dangerous for humans and the environment. This review summarizes studies which describe the biological, pathophysiological, toxicological, and environmental effects of exposure to arsenicals, with a major focus on cutaneous injury. Studies related to the development of novel molecular pathobiology–based antidotes against these agents are also described. PMID:27636894

Microwave-ultrasound combined reactor suitable for atmospheric sample preparation procedure of biological and chemical products

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lagha, A.; Chemat, S.; Bartels, P.V.; Chemat, F.

1999-01-01

A compact apparatus in which a specific position can be irradiated by microwaves (MW) and ultrasound (US) simultaneously has been developed. The MW-US reactor has been designed for atmospheric pressure digestion and dissolution of biological and chemical products. The reactor can treat a range of

Chemical and biological effects of β-decay and inner shell ionization in biomolecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoecklin, G.

1979-01-01

Tritium and iodine-125, and the Auger effect either caused by the EC-decay of 125 I or by the inner shell vacancy created selectively by mono-energetic X-ray are reviewed in this paper. The specifically labelled precursors to bound 3 H large biomolecules were prepared by conventional syntheses, and then incorporated into the DNA of proliferating cells. The effects like DNA strand breaks or mutational changes are likely to be affected by the localization of the carbonium ions in biological molecules. In contrast to lethality, it was demonstrated that 3 H transmutation effect contributed to DNA strand breaks and played a key role in producing genetic effects. The decay of 3 H in uracil-5- 3 H in the DNA of E. coli was about 7 times as mutagenic as that in uracil-6- 3 H, and 500-fold greater in bacteriophage S13. Drastic chemical consequences are associated with the Auger effect occurring as a possible relaxation process whenever inner shell ionization is initiated. When the vacancy is filled by an electron from an outer shell, the bond energy difference between inner shell electron and outer shell electron is released either in the form of an X-ray fluorescence photon or it can be transmitted to another outer electron which is then ejected. The radioactive decay in specifically labelled biomolecules or the inner shell ionization in heavy constituent atoms caused by resonant X-ray are relevant to a) selective microsurgery in biological macromolecules for the correlation of biological and chemical functions, b) radiotoxicity estimation, and c) radiation therapy. (Yamashita, S.)

Super-resolution and super-localization microscopy: A novel tool for imaging chemical and biological processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dong, Bin [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2015-01-01

Optical microscopy imaging of single molecules and single particles is an essential method for studying fundamental biological and chemical processes at the molecular and nanometer scale. The best spatial resolution (~ λ/2) achievable in traditional optical microscopy is governed by the diffraction of light. However, single molecule-based super-localization and super-resolution microscopy imaging techniques have emerged in the past decade. Individual molecules can be localized with nanometer scale accuracy and precision for studying of biological and chemical processes.This work uncovered the heterogeneous properties of the pore structures. In this dissertation, the coupling of molecular transport and catalytic reaction at the single molecule and single particle level in multilayer mesoporous nanocatalysts was elucidated. Most previous studies dealt with these two important phenomena separately. A fluorogenic oxidation reaction of non-fluorescent amplex red to highly fluorescent resorufin was tested. The diffusion behavior of single resorufin molecules in aligned nanopores was studied using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM).

The importance of handling high-value biologicals: Physico-chemical instability and immunogenicity of monoclonal antibodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Laptoš, Tomislav; Omersel, Jasna

2018-04-01

The present review specifies the various chemical and physical factors that can influence drug stability and immunogenicity, and the treatment outcomes of antibody biologicals. Although monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are known to be more resistant to environmental changes compared with other proteins, the molecules themselves can be subjected to chemical and physical processes that promote their degradation and transformation into their specific amino-acid moieties. With increasing use of medicinal products that contain mAbs, and their self-administration by the patients, the issue of the correct manipulation of these drugs is of increasing importance. This review summarises the correct handling of mAb biologicals from the point of view of the pharmacist, clinical biochemist and patient, as is supported by relevant cases from the literature and our own data and experience. In particular, if there is a break in the cold chain, both healthcare professionals and patients need to be aware of the potential pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics alterations to these biologicals. Furthermore, any alterations in the protein structure can induce harmful immune reactions, including anaphylaxis and cytokine storms, or result in the production of neutralising or blocking Abs. Overall, considering also that treatment costs usually remain high, drug stability can have a tremendous effect on the clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes of such treatments.

Prevention of Preharvest Sprouting through Hormone Engineering and Germination Recovery by Chemical Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Nonogaki, Mariko; Nonogaki, Hiroyuki

2017-01-01

Vivipary, germination of seeds on the maternal plant, is observed in nature and provides ecological advantages in certain wild species, such as mangroves. However, precocious seed germination in agricultural species, such as preharvest sprouting (PHS) in cereals, is a serious issue for food security. PHS reduces grain quality and causes economical losses to farmers. PHS can be prevented by translating the basic knowledge of hormone biology in seeds into technologies. Biosynthesis of abscisic acid (ABA), which is an essential hormone for seed dormancy, can be engineered to enhance dormancy and prevent PHS. Enhancing nine- cis -epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED), a rate-limiting enzyme of ABA biosynthesis, through a chemically induced gene expression system, has successfully been used to suppress germination of Arabidopsis seeds. The more advanced system NCED positive-feedback system, which amplifies ABA biosynthesis in a seed-specific manner without chemical induction, has also been developed. The proofs of concept established in the model species are now ready to be applied to crops. A potential problem is recovery of germination from hyperdormant crop grains. Hyperdormancy induced by the NCED systems can be reversed by inducing counteracting genes, such as NCED RNA interference or gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis genes. Alternatively, seed sensitivity to ABA can be modified to rescue germination using the knowledge of chemical biology. ABA antagonists, which were developed recently, have great potential to recover germination from the hyperdormant seeds. Combination of the dormancy-imposing and -releasing approaches will establish a comprehensive technology for PHS prevention and germination recovery.

Chemical species of iodine in some seaweeds. Pt. 2. Iodine-bound biological macromolecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiaolin Hou; Chifang Chai; Xiaojun Yan

2000-01-01

The distribution of iodine in various biological macromolecules in Sargassum kjellmanianum was studied using neutron activation analysis combined with chemical and biochemical separation techniques. The results indicate that iodine is mainly bound with protein, part of iodine with pigment and polyphenol, and little with polysaccharides, such as algin, fucoidan and cellulose. This result is significant for the mechanism of enriching iodine of algae and utilization of alga iodine. (author)

Predicting Salmonella Populations from Biological, Chemical, and Physical Indicators in Florida Surface Waters

OpenAIRE

McEgan, Rachel; Mootian, Gabriel; Goodridge, Lawrence D.; Schaffner, Donald W.; Danyluk, Michelle D.

2013-01-01

Coliforms, Escherichia coli, and various physicochemical water characteristics have been suggested as indicators of microbial water quality or index organisms for pathogen populations. The relationship between the presence and/or concentration of Salmonella and biological, physical, or chemical indicators in Central Florida surface water samples over 12 consecutive months was explored. Samples were taken monthly for 12 months from 18 locations throughout Central Florida (n = 202). Air and wat...

Predicting Salmonella populations from biological, chemical, and physical indicators in Florida surface waters.

Science.gov (United States)

McEgan, Rachel; Mootian, Gabriel; Goodridge, Lawrence D; Schaffner, Donald W; Danyluk, Michelle D

2013-07-01

Coliforms, Escherichia coli, and various physicochemical water characteristics have been suggested as indicators of microbial water quality or index organisms for pathogen populations. The relationship between the presence and/or concentration of Salmonella and biological, physical, or chemical indicators in Central Florida surface water samples over 12 consecutive months was explored. Samples were taken monthly for 12 months from 18 locations throughout Central Florida (n = 202). Air and water temperature, pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), turbidity, and conductivity were measured. Weather data were obtained from nearby weather stations. Aerobic plate counts and most probable numbers (MPN) for Salmonella, E. coli, and coliforms were performed. Weak linear relationships existed between biological indicators (E. coli/coliforms) and Salmonella levels (R(2) Florida surface water through logistic regression.

Single-Molecule Sensing with Nanopore Confinement: from Chemical Reactions to Biological Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yao; Ying, Yi-Lun; Gao, Rui; Long, Yi-Tao

2018-03-25

The nanopore can generate an electrochemical confinement for single-molecule sensing which help understand the fundamental chemical principle in nanoscale dimensions. By observing the generated ionic current, individual bond-making and bond-breaking steps, single biomolecule dynamic conformational changes and electron transfer processes that occur within pore can be monitored with high temporal and current resolution. These single-molecule studies in nanopore confinement are revealing information about the fundamental chemical and biological processes that cannot be extracted from ensemble measurements. In this concept, we introduce and discuss the electrochemical confinement effects on single-molecule covalent reactions, conformational dynamics of individual molecules and host-guest interactions in protein nanopores. Then, we extend the concept of nanopore confinement effects to confine electrochemical redox reactions in solid-state nanopores for developing new sensing mechanisms. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Physical, chemical, and biological data collected in Weeks Bay, Alabama (June 1990 - May 2000) (NODC Accession 0116469)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Abstract: This dataset contains ten years of physical, chemical, and biological data collected during shipboard surveys in Weeks Bay, Alabama, between June 1990 and...

Impact of synthetic biology and metabolic engineering on industrial production of fine chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Jullesson, David; David, Florian; Pfleger, Brian; Nielsen, Jens

2015-11-15

Industrial bio-processes for fine chemical production are increasingly relying on cell factories developed through metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. The use of high throughput techniques and automation for the design of cell factories, and especially platform strains, has played an important role in the transition from laboratory research to industrial production. Model organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli remain widely used host strains for industrial production due to their robust and desirable traits. This review describes some of the bio-based fine chemicals that have reached the market, key metabolic engineering tools that have allowed this to happen and some of the companies that are currently utilizing these technologies for developing industrial production processes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of Kraft Mill effluent on the sexuality of fishes: An environmental early warning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, W.P.; Bortone, S.A.

1992-01-01

Arrhenoid or masculinized female fish species of the live-bearing family, Poeciliidae, have been observed for over thirteen years in specific southern streams which receive waste effluents from pulping mills. The complex mixture of organic compounds in kraft mill effluent (KME) has inhibited specific identification of causal agent(s). However, microbially degraded phytosterols (e.g. sitosterol or stigmastanol) in experimental exposures induce the same intersexual states that characterize affected female poeciliids sampled from KME streams. KME-polluted streams often exhibit a drastic reduction of fish species diversity and degrees of physiological stress, all of which suggests reduced reproduction in surviving forms. A potential ontogenetic or developmental response is demonstrated in American eels captured in one of these streams as well. The authors examine available information, including laboratory and experimental field exposures, and suggest directions for additional research as well as the need for environmental concern.

Expanding the chemical palate of cells by combining systems biology and metabolic engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Curran, Kathleen A; Alper, Hal S

2012-07-01

The field of Metabolic Engineering has recently undergone a transformation that has led to a rapid expansion of the chemical palate of cells. Now, it is conceivable to produce nearly any organic molecule of interest using a cellular host. Significant advances have been made in the production of biofuels, biopolymers and precursors, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, and commodity and specialty chemicals. Much of this rapid expansion in the field has been, in part, due to synergies and advances in the area of systems biology. Specifically, the availability of functional genomics, metabolomics and transcriptomics data has resulted in the potential to produce a wealth of new products, both natural and non-natural, in cellular factories. The sheer amount and diversity of this data however, means that uncovering and unlocking novel chemistries and insights is a non-obvious exercise. To address this issue, a number of computational tools and experimental approaches have been developed to help expedite the design process to create new cellular factories. This review will highlight many of the systems biology enabling technologies that have reduced the design cycle for engineered hosts, highlight major advances in the expanded diversity of products that can be synthesized, and conclude with future prospects in the field of metabolic engineering. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Method of and apparatus for cleaning garments and soft goods contaminated with nuclear, chemical and/or biological contaminants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fowler, D.E.

1989-01-01

A method is described for decontaminating garments, soft good or mixtures thereof contaminated with radioactive particulates, toxin, chemical, and biological contaminants comprising the steps of: (a) depositing contaminated garments, soft goods or mixtures thereof in a cleaning drum; (b) charging the drum with a cleaning solvent in which the chemical contaminants are soluble; (c) agitating the drum during a wash cycle to separate radioactive, toxin, biological particulate matter of mixtures thereof from the garments; (d) draining the drum of the dry cleaning solvent which contains suspended particulate contaminants and dissolved chemical contaminants; (e) contacting the drained solvent with both a neutralizing agent and an oxidizing agent, the neutralizing agent being selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide and mixtures thereof and having a concentration greater than one (1.0) normal; (f) rinsing the garments, soft goods or mixtures thereof by circulating clean solvent from a solvent tank through the drum thereby effecting additional removal and flushing of particulate and chemical contaminants; (g) filtering the circulated solvent to remove the particulate material suspended in the solvent prior to addition to the drum; and (h) preferentially adsorbing the chemical contaminants dissolved in the circulated solvent prior to addition to the drum

Geological and Chemical Factors that Impacted the Biological Utilization of Cobalt in the Archean Eon

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Eli K.; Hao, Jihua; Prabhu, Anirudh; Zhong, Hao; Jelen, Ben I.; Meyer, Mike; Hazen, Robert M.; Falkowski, Paul G.

2018-03-01

The geosphere and biosphere coevolved and influenced Earth's biological and mineralogical diversity. Changing redox conditions influenced the availability of different transition metals, which are essential components in the active sites of oxidoreductases, proteins that catalyze electron transfer reactions across the tree of life. Despite its relatively low abundance in the environment, cobalt (Co) is a unique metal in biology due to its importance to a wide range of organisms as the metal center of vitamin B12 (aka cobalamin, Cbl). Cbl is vital to multiple methyltransferase enzymes involved in energetically favorable metabolic pathways. It is unclear how Co availability is linked to mineral evolution and weathering processes. Here we examine important biological functions of Co, as well as chemical and geological factors that may have influenced the utilization of Co early in the evolution of life. Only 66 natural minerals are known to contain Co as an essential element. However, Co is incorporated as a minor element in abundant rock-forming minerals, potentially representing a reliable source of Co as a trace element in marine systems due to weathering processes. We developed a mineral weathering model that indicates that dissolved Co was potentially more bioavailable in the Archean ocean under low S conditions than it is today. Mineral weathering, redox chemistry, Co complexation with nitrogen-containing organics, and hydrothermal environments were crucial in the incorporation of Co in primitive metabolic pathways. These chemical and geological characteristics of Co can inform the biological utilization of other trace metals in early forms of life.

ZnO nanostructure fabrication in different solvents transforms physio-chemical, biological and photodegradable properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ali, Attarad; Ambreen, Sidra; Javed, Rabia; Tabassum, Saira [Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320 (Pakistan); Ul Haq, Ihsan [Department of Pharmacy, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320 (Pakistan); Zia, Muhammad, E-mail: ziachaudhary@gmail.com [Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320 (Pakistan)

2017-05-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures are synthesized in various organic solvents (acetone, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol and methanol) and water via coprecipitation process using zinc acetate as precursor. The resultant ZnO nanoparticles, nano rods and nano sheets are characterized by UV–vis spectrophotometric analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The variable size and geometry of nanoparticles depend upon medium used for synthesis. The synthesized ZnO nanostructures exhibit minor to moderate antioxidative (DPPH based free radical scavenging activity, total antioxidative potential and total reducing power) response. Mild to moderate antibacterial and antifungal activities, excellent antileishmanial potential (IC50 up to 3.76), and good cytotoxic perspective (LD50 up to 49.4) is also observed by the synthesized ZnO NPs. The nanoparticles also exhibit moderate α-amylase inhibition response. Furthermore the nanostructures are evaluated for methylene blue photodegradation response within 60 min time period. It is found that organic solvent alters shape, size and other physio-chemical properties of ZnO that ultimately modulate the biological, chemical, and environmental properties. - Highlights: • Zinc oxide nanoparticles are fabricated in different solvents using co-precipitation method • SEM, XRD and FTIR analysis confirms variation in physical and chemical characteristics of synthesized ZnO NPs • The synthesized ZnO demonstrates variation in biological, phytochemical and photodegradable properties.

ZnO nanostructure fabrication in different solvents transforms physio-chemical, biological and photodegradable properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, Attarad; Ambreen, Sidra; Javed, Rabia; Tabassum, Saira; Ul Haq, Ihsan; Zia, Muhammad

2017-01-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures are synthesized in various organic solvents (acetone, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol and methanol) and water via coprecipitation process using zinc acetate as precursor. The resultant ZnO nanoparticles, nano rods and nano sheets are characterized by UV–vis spectrophotometric analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The variable size and geometry of nanoparticles depend upon medium used for synthesis. The synthesized ZnO nanostructures exhibit minor to moderate antioxidative (DPPH based free radical scavenging activity, total antioxidative potential and total reducing power) response. Mild to moderate antibacterial and antifungal activities, excellent antileishmanial potential (IC50 up to 3.76), and good cytotoxic perspective (LD50 up to 49.4) is also observed by the synthesized ZnO NPs. The nanoparticles also exhibit moderate α-amylase inhibition response. Furthermore the nanostructures are evaluated for methylene blue photodegradation response within 60 min time period. It is found that organic solvent alters shape, size and other physio-chemical properties of ZnO that ultimately modulate the biological, chemical, and environmental properties. - Highlights: • Zinc oxide nanoparticles are fabricated in different solvents using co-precipitation method • SEM, XRD and FTIR analysis confirms variation in physical and chemical characteristics of synthesized ZnO NPs • The synthesized ZnO demonstrates variation in biological, phytochemical and photodegradable properties.

4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase Inhibitors: From Chemical Biology to Agrochemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Ndikuryayo, Ferdinand; Moosavi, Behrooz; Yang, Wen-Chao; Yang, Guang-Fu

2017-10-04

The development of new herbicides is receiving considerable attention to control weed biotypes resistant to current herbicides. Consequently, new enzymes are always desired as targets for herbicide discovery. 4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD, EC 1.13.11.27) is an enzyme engaged in photosynthetic activity and catalyzes the transformation of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid (HPPA) into homogentisic acid (HGA). HPPD inhibitors constitute a promising area of discovery and development of innovative herbicides with some advantages, including excellent crop selectivity, low application rates, and broad-spectrum weed control. HPPD inhibitors have been investigated for agrochemical interests, and some of them have already been commercialized as herbicides. In this review, we mainly focus on the chemical biology of HPPD, discovery of new potential inhibitors, and strategies for engineering transgenic crops resistant to current HPPD-inhibiting herbicides. The conclusion raises some relevant gaps for future research directions.

Effect of Planting Date and Biological and Chemical Fertilizers on Phenology and Physiological Indices of Peanuts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Sepehri

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. is an annual herbaceous plant in Fabaceae which grown in tropical to temperate regions worldwide for extracting its seed oil and nut consumption. Select the optimum planting date is one of the most important agricultural techniques that comply with the seed yield is maximized . For instance, delay planting date can reduce the number of fertile nodes and the number of pods per plant. The delay in planting date reduces total dry matter (TDM, leaf area index (LAI, crop growth rate (CGR and yield in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.. Daneshian et al., (2008 reported that the delay in planting date reduced sunflower (Helianthus annuus yield due to high temperatures in early growth which shortened flowering time and reduced solar radiation. On the other hand, due to increase importance of environmental issues has been attending biofertilizers to replace chemical fertilizers. Biofertilizers has formed by beneficial bacteria and fungi that each of them are produced for a specific purpose, such as nitrogen fixation, release of phosphate, potassium and iron ions of insoluble compound. The use of nitrogen fertilizer with slow-releasing ability stimulated shoot growth in soybean (Glycine max and be created more LAI in the reproductive process, particularly during grain filling stage and finally increased seed yield . Therefore, this study was conducted in order to evaluate the interaction of biological and chemical fertilizers in the purpose of achieving sustainable agriculture with emphasis of the effects of various planting dates on physiological parameters and growth of peanut in Hamadan. Materials and Methods In order to investigate the effects of planting date on important physiological indices of peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L. under the influence of biological and chemical fertilizers. A field experiment was conducted in the research farm of Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan during 2013 growing season. This study was

Chemical warfare agent and biological toxin-induced pulmonary toxicity: could stem cells provide potential therapies?

Science.gov (United States)

Angelini, Daniel J; Dorsey, Russell M; Willis, Kristen L; Hong, Charles; Moyer, Robert A; Oyler, Jonathan; Jensen, Neil S; Salem, Harry

2013-01-01

Chemical warfare agents (CWAs) as well as biological toxins present a significant inhalation injury risk to both deployed warfighters and civilian targets of terrorist attacks. Inhalation of many CWAs and biological toxins can induce severe pulmonary toxicity leading to the development of acute lung injury (ALI) as well as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The therapeutic options currently used to treat these conditions are very limited and mortality rates remain high. Recent evidence suggests that human stem cells may provide significant therapeutic options for ALI and ARDS in the near future. The threat posed by CWAs and biological toxins for both civilian populations and military personnel is growing, thus understanding the mechanisms of toxicity and potential therapies is critical. This review will outline the pulmonary toxic effects of some of the most common CWAs and biological toxins as well as the potential role of stem cells in treating these types of toxic lung injuries.

Effects of Single and Combined Application of Organic, Biological and Chemical Fertilizers on Quantitative and Qualitative Yield of Coriander (Coriandrum sativum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Aghhavani Shajari

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Medicinal plants were one of the main natural resources of Iran from ancient times. Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L. is from Apiaceae family that it has cultivated extensively in the world. Management and environmental factors such as nutritional management has a significant impact on the quantity and quality of plants. Application of organic fertilizers in conventional farming systems is not common and most of the nutritional need of plants supply through chemical fertilizers for short period. Excessive and unbalanced use of fertilizers in the long period, reduce crop yield and soil biological activity, accumulation of nitrates and heavy metals, and finally cause negative environmental effects and increase the cost of production. The use of bio-fertilizers and organic matter are taken into consideration to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and increase the quality of most crops. Stability and soil fertility through the use of organic fertilizers are important due to having most of the elements required by plants and beneficial effects on physical, chemical, biological and soil fertility. Therefore, the aim of this research was to evaluate the effects of organic, biological and chemical fertilizers on quality and quantity characteristics of coriander. Materials and Methods: In order to study the effects of single and combined applications of organic, biological and chemical fertilizers on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Coriander (Coriandrum sativum, an experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete block design with three replications and 12 treatments at Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, in - 2011. Treatments included: (1 mycorrhizae (Glomus mosseae (2 biosulfur (Thiobacillus sp., (3 chemical fertilizer (NPK, (4 cow manure, 5( vermin compost, 6( mycorrhizae + chemical fertilizer, 7( mycorrhizae + cow manure, 8( mycorrhizae + vermicompost, 9( biosulfur

Recent advances in medical device triage technologies for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear events.

Science.gov (United States)

Lansdowne, Krystal; Scully, Christopher G; Galeotti, Loriano; Schwartz, Suzanne; Marcozzi, David; Strauss, David G

2015-06-01

In 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration (Silver Spring, Maryland USA) created the Medical Countermeasures Initiative with the mission of development and promoting medical countermeasures that would be needed to protect the nation from identified, high-priority chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) threats and emerging infectious diseases. The aim of this review was to promote regulatory science research of medical devices and to analyze how the devices can be employed in different CBRN scenarios. Triage in CBRN scenarios presents unique challenges for first responders because the effects of CBRN agents and the clinical presentations of casualties at each triage stage can vary. The uniqueness of a CBRN event can render standard patient monitoring medical device and conventional triage algorithms ineffective. Despite the challenges, there have been recent advances in CBRN triage technology that include: novel technologies; mobile medical applications ("medical apps") for CBRN disasters; electronic triage tags, such as eTriage; diagnostic field devices, such as the Joint Biological Agent Identification System; and decision support systems, such as the Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management Intelligent Syndromes Tool (CHEMM-IST). Further research and medical device validation can help to advance prehospital triage technology for CBRN events.

Surface chemical and biological characterization of flax fabrics modified with silver nanoparticles for biomedical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paladini, F.; Picca, R.A.; Sportelli, M.C.; Cioffi, N.; Sannino, A.; Pollini, M.

2015-01-01

Silver nanophases are increasingly used as effective antibacterial agent for biomedical applications and wound healing. This work aims to investigate the surface chemical composition and biological properties of silver nanoparticle-modified flax substrates. Silver coatings were deposited on textiles through the in situ photo-reduction of a silver solution, by means of a large-scale apparatus. The silver-coated materials were characterized through X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), to assess the surface elemental composition of the coatings, and the chemical speciation of both the substrate and the antibacterial nanophases. A detailed investigation of XPS high resolution regions outlined that silver is mainly present on nanophases' surface as Ag 2 O. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were also carried out, in order to visualize the distribution of silver particles on the fibers. The materials were also characterized from a biological point of view in terms of antibacterial capability and cytotoxicity. Agar diffusion tests and bacterial enumeration tests were performed on Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, namely Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. In vitro cytotoxicity tests were performed through the extract method on murine fibroblasts in order to verify if the presence of the silver coating affected the cellular viability and proliferation. Durability of the coating was also assessed, thus confirming the successful scaling up of the process, which will be therefore available for large-scale production. - Highlights: • Silver nanophases are increasingly used as effective antibacterial agent for biomedical applications. • Silver coatings were deposited on textiles through the in situ photo-reduction of a silver solution. • Flax fabrics were characterized from a biological and surface chemical point of view. • Scaling up of the process was confirmed

Restoration projects for decontamination of facilities from chemical, biological and radiological contamination after terrorist actions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fingas, M.; Volchek, K.; Lumley, T.; Thouin, G.; Harrison, S.; Kuang, W. [Environment Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada). Emergencies Science and Technology Division, Environmental Technology Centre, Science and Technology Branch; Payette, P.; Laframboise, D.; Best, M. [Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada); Krishnan, J.; Wagener, S.; Bernard, K.; Majcher, M. [Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Cousins, T.; Jones, T. [Defence Research and Development Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada); Velicogna, D.; Hornof, M.; Punt, M. [SAIC Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada)

2006-07-01

This paper reviewed studies that identified better decontamination methods for chemical, biological and radiological/nuclear (CBRN) attacks. In particular, it reviewed aspects of 3 projects in which procedures were tested and validated for site restoration. Cleanup targets or standards for decontaminating buildings and materials after a CBRN attack were also developed. The projects were based on physicochemical and toxicological knowledge of potential terrorist agents and selected surface matrices. The projects also involved modeling and assessing environmental and health risks. The first multi-agent project involved gathering information on known procedures for restoration of areas including interiors and exteriors of buildings, contents, parking lots, lawn, and vehicles. Air inside the building was included. The efficacy of some of the proposed concepts was tested. Results included the determination of appropriate surrogates for anthrax and tests of liquid and gaseous biocides on the surrogates. The development of new contamination procedures using peroxyacetic acid were also discussed. The second project involved decontamination tests on CBRN using specially-constructed buildings at the Counter-terrorism Technology Centre at Defence Research and Development Canada in Suffield. The buildings will be contaminated with chemical and biological agents and with short-lived radionuclides. They will be decontaminated using the best-performing technologies known. Information collected will include fate of the contaminant and decontamination products, effectiveness of the restoration methods, cost and duration of cleanup and logistical problems. The third project is aimed at developing cleanup standards for decontaminating buildings and construction materials after a chemical or biological attack. It will create as many as 12 algorithms for the development of 50 standards which will help cleanup personnel and first-responders to gauge whether proposed methods can achieve

Medical experimentation concerning chemical and biological weapons for mass destruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Deutsch, Erwin

2003-04-01

This article is the text of a speech originally presented at the Second World Conference on Medical Ethics at Gijon, Spain, on 2 October 2002 under the title "Medical Experimentation Concerning Chemical and Biological Weapons for Mass Destruction: Clinical Design for New Smallpox Vaccines: Ethical and Legal Aspects." Experimentation on vaccines such as smallpox is subject to the usual ethical rules such as the need for informed consent. However, the participants will not often be at risk of catching the disease but expose themselves by taking part in the experimentation. Professor Deutsch explores the implications of this, including the position of vulnerable groups such as children, those with mental handicaps, and those acting under orders such as the miliary, the policy and fire officers.

Computing chemical organizations in biological networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Centler, Florian; Kaleta, Christoph; di Fenizio, Pietro Speroni; Dittrich, Peter

2008-07-15

Novel techniques are required to analyze computational models of intracellular processes as they increase steadily in size and complexity. The theory of chemical organizations has recently been introduced as such a technique that links the topology of biochemical reaction network models to their dynamical repertoire. The network is decomposed into algebraically closed and self-maintaining subnetworks called organizations. They form a hierarchy representing all feasible system states including all steady states. We present three algorithms to compute the hierarchy of organizations for network models provided in SBML format. Two of them compute the complete organization hierarchy, while the third one uses heuristics to obtain a subset of all organizations for large models. While the constructive approach computes the hierarchy starting from the smallest organization in a bottom-up fashion, the flux-based approach employs self-maintaining flux distributions to determine organizations. A runtime comparison on 16 different network models of natural systems showed that none of the two exhaustive algorithms is superior in all cases. Studying a 'genome-scale' network model with 762 species and 1193 reactions, we demonstrate how the organization hierarchy helps to uncover the model structure and allows to evaluate the model's quality, for example by detecting components and subsystems of the model whose maintenance is not explained by the model. All data and a Java implementation that plugs into the Systems Biology Workbench is available from http://www.minet.uni-jena.de/csb/prj/ot/tools.

Recent developments and applications of clickable photoprobes in medicinal chemistry and chemical biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Lapinsky, David J; Johnson, Douglas S

2015-01-01

Photoaffinity labeling is a well-known biochemical technique that has grown significantly since the turn of the century, principally due to its combination with bioorthogonal/click chemistry reactions. This review highlights new developments and applications of clickable photoprobes in medicinal chemistry and chemical biology. In particular, recent examples of clickable photoprobes for target identification, activity- or affinity-based protein profiling (ABPP or AfBPP), characterization of sterol- or lipid-protein interactions and characterization of ligand-binding sites are presented.

Physicochemical and biological quality of soil in hexavalent chromium-contaminated soils as affected by chemical and microbial remediation.

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Yingping; Min, Xiaobo; Yang, Zhihui; Chai, Liyuan; Zhang, Shujuan; Wang, Yangyang

2014-01-01

Chemical and microbial methods are the main remediation technologies for chromium-contaminated soil. These technologies have progressed rapidly in recent years; however, there is still a lack of methods for evaluating the chemical and biological quality of soil after different remediation technologies have been applied. In this paper, microbial remediation with indigenous bacteria and chemical remediation with ferrous sulphate were used for the remediation of soils contaminated with Cr(VI) at two levels (80 and 1,276 mg kg(-1)) through a column leaching experiment. After microbial remediation with indigenous bacteria, the average concentration of water-soluble Cr(VI) in the soils was reduced to less than 5.0 mg kg(-1). Soil quality was evaluated based on 11 soil properties and the fuzzy comprehensive assessment method, including fuzzy mathematics and correlative analysis. The chemical fertility quality index was improved by one grade using microbial remediation with indigenous bacteria, and the biological fertility quality index increased by at least a factor of 6. Chemical remediation with ferrous sulphate, however, resulted in lower levels of available phosphorus, dehydrogenase, catalase and polyphenol oxidase. The result showed that microbial remediation with indigenous bacteria was more effective for remedying Cr(VI)-contaminated soils with high pH value than chemical remediation with ferrous sulphate. In addition, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was proven to be a useful tool for monitoring the quality change in chromium-contaminated soils.

The use of selective adsorbents in capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry for analyte preconcentration and microreactions: a powerful three-dimensional tool for multiple chemical and biological applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Guzman, N A; Stubbs, R J

2001-10-01

Much attention has recently been directed to the development and application of online sample preconcentration and microreactions in capillary electrophoresis using selective adsorbents based on chemical or biological specificity. The basic principle involves two interacting chemical or biological systems with high selectivity and affinity for each other. These molecular interactions in nature usually involve noncovalent and reversible chemical processes. Properly bound to a solid support, an "affinity ligand" can selectively adsorb a "target analyte" found in a simple or complex mixture at a wide range of concentrations. As a result, the isolated analyte is enriched and highly purified. When this affinity technique, allowing noncovalent chemical interactions and biochemical reactions to occur, is coupled on-line to high-resolution capillary electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, a powerful tool of chemical and biological information is created. This paper describes the concept of biological recognition and affinity interaction on-line with high-resolution separation, the fabrication of an "analyte concentrator-microreactor", optimization conditions of adsorption and desorption, the coupling to mass spectrometry, and various applications of clinical and pharmaceutical interest.

Test Results of Level A Suits to Challenge by Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents and Simulants: Summary Report

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Belmonte, Richard B

1998-01-01

...) terrorism incidents. As part of an effective response, people who are responding to an incident will use personal protective equipment to protect them from exposure to chemical agents or biological agents...

Interactions between mammalian cells and nano- or micro-sized wear particles: physico-chemical views against biological approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Prokopovich, Polina

2014-11-01

Total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is a more and more frequent approach for the treatment of end-stage osteoarthritis in young and active adults; it successfully relieves joint pain and improves function significantly enhancing the health-related quality of life. Aseptic loosening and other wear-related complications are some of the most recurrent reasons for revision of TJA. This review focuses on current understanding of the biological reactions to prosthetic wear debris comparing in vivo and in vitro results. Mechanisms of interactions of various types of cells with metal, polymeric and ceramic wear particles are summarised. Alternative views based on multidisciplinary approaches are proposed to consider physico-chemical, surface parameters of wear particles (such as: particle size, geometry and charge) and material (particle chemical composition and its nature) with biological effects (cellular responses). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

MECs: "Building Blocks" for Creating Biological and Chemical Instruments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas A Hill

Full Text Available The development of new biological and chemical instruments for research and diagnostic applications is often slowed by the cost, specialization, and custom nature of these instruments. New instruments are built from components that are drawn from a host of different disciplines and not designed to integrate together, and once built, an instrument typically performs a limited number of tasks and cannot be easily adapted for new applications. Consequently, the process of inventing new instruments is very inefficient, especially for researchers or clinicians in resource-limited settings. To improve this situation, we propose that a family of standardized multidisciplinary components is needed, a set of "building blocks" that perform a wide array of different tasks and are designed to integrate together. Using these components, scientists, engineers, and clinicians would be able to build custom instruments for their own unique needs quickly and easily. In this work we present the foundation of this set of components, a system we call Multifluidic Evolutionary Components (MECs. "Multifluidic" conveys the wide range of fluid volumes MECs operate upon (from nanoliters to milliliters and beyond; "multi" also reflects the multiple disciplines supported by the system (not only fluidics but also electronics, optics, and mechanics. "Evolutionary" refers to the design principles that enable the library of MEC parts to easily grow and adapt to new applications. Each MEC "building block" performs a fundamental function that is commonly found in biological or chemical instruments, functions like valving, pumping, mixing, controlling, and sensing. Each MEC also has a unique symbol linked to a physical definition, which enables instruments to be designed rapidly and efficiently using schematics. As a proof-of-concept, we use MECs to build a variety of instruments, including a fluidic routing and mixing system capable of manipulating fluid volumes over five orders

Spring Blooms Observed with Biochemical Profiling Floats from a Chemical and Biological Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Plant, J. N.; Johnson, K. S.; Sakamoto, C.; Jannasch, H. W.; Coletti, L. J.; Elrod, V.

2015-12-01

Recently there has been renewed interest in the mechanisms which control the seasonal increases in plankton biomass (spring blooms). Changes in physical and chemical forcing (light, wind, heat and nutrients) may increase the specific growth rate of phytoplankton. These changes may also shift the predator - prey relationships within the food web structure, which can alter the balance between plankton growth and loss rates. Biogeochemical profiling floats provide a means to observe the seasonal evolution of spring blooms from a physical, chemical and biological perspective in near real time. Floats equipped with optical sensors to measure nitrate, oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence, and optical backscatter now have a presence in many ocean regions including the North Pacific, Subarctic Pacific, North Atlantic, South Atlantic and the Southern Ocean. Data from these regions are used to compare and contrast the evolution of spring blooms. The evolution of the bloom is examined using both chemical (oxygen, nitrate) and biooptical (phytoplankton from chlorophyll fluorescence and particulate organic carbon from optical backscatter) sensors under vastly different environmental conditions.

Removal of inhibitors from pre-hydrolysis liquor of kraft-based dissolving pulp production process using adsorption and flocculation processes.

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Liu, Xin; Fatehi, Pedram; Ni, Yonghao

2012-07-01

A process for removing inhibitors from pre-hydrolysis liquor (PHL) of a kraft-based dissolving pulp production process by adsorption and flocculation, and the characteristics of this process were studied. In this process, industrially produced PHL was treated with unmodified and oxidized activated carbon as an absorbent and polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDADMAC) as a flocculant. The overall removal of lignin and furfural in the developed process was 83.3% and 100%, respectively, while that of hemicelluloses was 32.7%. These results confirmed that the developed process can remove inhibitors from PHL prior to producing value-added products, e.g. ethanol and xylitol via fermentation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biological efficiency of interaction between various radiation and chemicals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jin Kyu; Yu, Dong Han; Lee, Byoung Hun; Petin, Vladislav G.; Geras'kin, Stanislav A.; Cebulska-Wasilewska, Antonina; Panek, Agnieszka; Wiechec, Anna

2004-06-01

This research project has been carried out jointly with INP (Poland) to develop technologies to assess the biological efficiency of interaction between radiation and chemicals. Through the cooperative project, KAERI and INP have established wide variety of bioassay techniques applicable to radiation bioscience, human monitoring, molecular epidemiology and environmental science. The joint experiment, in special, made it possible to utilize the merits of both institutes and to upgrade and verify KAERI's current technology level. All results of the cooperative research will be jointly published in high standard scientific journals listed in the Science Citation Index (SCI), which can make the role of fundamental basis for improving relationship between Korea and Poland. Research skills such as Trad-MCN assay, SCGE assay, immunohistochemical assay and molecular assay developed through joint research will be further elaborated and will be continuously used for the collaboration between two institutes

Functionalized gold nanoparticle supported sensory mechanisms applied in detection of chemical and biological threat agents: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Upadhyayula, Venkata K.K.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Smart sensors are needed for detection of chemical and biological threat agents. ► Smart sensors detect analytes with rapid speed, high sensitivity and selectivity. ► Functionalized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) can potentially smart sense threat agents. ► Functionalized GNPs support multiple analytical methods for sensing threat agents. ► Threat agents of all types can be detected using functionalized GNPs. - Abstract: There is a great necessity for development of novel sensory concepts supportive of smart sensing capabilities in defense and homeland security applications for detection of chemical and biological threat agents. A smart sensor is a detection device that can exhibit important features such as speed, sensitivity, selectivity, portability, and more importantly, simplicity in identifying a target analyte. Emerging nanomaterial based sensors, particularly those developed by utilizing functionalized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) as a sensing component potentially offer many desirable features needed for threat agent detection. The sensitiveness of physical properties expressed by GNPs, e.g. color, surface plasmon resonance, electrical conductivity and binding affinity are significantly enhanced when they are subjected to functionalization with an appropriate metal, organic or biomolecular functional groups. This sensitive nature of functionalized GNPs can be potentially exploited in the design of threat agent detection devices with smart sensing capabilities. In the presence of a target analyte (i.e., a chemical or biological threat agent) a change proportional to concentration of the analyte is observed, which can be measured either by colorimetric, fluorimetric, electrochemical or spectroscopic means. This article provides a review of how functionally modified gold colloids are applied in the detection of a broad range of threat agents, including radioactive substances, explosive compounds, chemical warfare agents, biotoxins, and

Functionalized gold nanoparticle supported sensory mechanisms applied in detection of chemical and biological threat agents: A review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Upadhyayula, Venkata K.K., E-mail: Upadhyayula.Venkata@epa.gov [Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (ORISE), MC-100-44, PO Box 117, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States)

2012-02-17

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Smart sensors are needed for detection of chemical and biological threat agents. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Smart sensors detect analytes with rapid speed, high sensitivity and selectivity. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Functionalized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) can potentially smart sense threat agents. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Functionalized GNPs support multiple analytical methods for sensing threat agents. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Threat agents of all types can be detected using functionalized GNPs. - Abstract: There is a great necessity for development of novel sensory concepts supportive of smart sensing capabilities in defense and homeland security applications for detection of chemical and biological threat agents. A smart sensor is a detection device that can exhibit important features such as speed, sensitivity, selectivity, portability, and more importantly, simplicity in identifying a target analyte. Emerging nanomaterial based sensors, particularly those developed by utilizing functionalized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) as a sensing component potentially offer many desirable features needed for threat agent detection. The sensitiveness of physical properties expressed by GNPs, e.g. color, surface plasmon resonance, electrical conductivity and binding affinity are significantly enhanced when they are subjected to functionalization with an appropriate metal, organic or biomolecular functional groups. This sensitive nature of functionalized GNPs can be potentially exploited in the design of threat agent detection devices with smart sensing capabilities. In the presence of a target analyte (i.e., a chemical or biological threat agent) a change proportional to concentration of the analyte is observed, which can be measured either by colorimetric, fluorimetric, electrochemical or spectroscopic means. This article provides a review of how functionally modified gold colloids are applied in the detection of a broad

Nanomechanical resonators and their applications in biological/chemical detection: Nanomechanics principles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, Kilho; Park, Harold S.; Yoon, Dae Sung; Kwon, Taeyun

2011-01-01

Recent advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS) such as nanomechanical resonators, which have recently received significant attention from the scientific community. This is not only due to their capability of label-free detection of bio/chemical molecules at single-molecule (or atomic) resolution for future applications such as the early diagnosis of diseases like cancer, but also due to their unprecedented ability to detect physical quantities such as molecular weight, elastic stiffness, surface stress, and surface elastic stiffness for adsorbed molecules on the surface. Most experimental works on resonator-based molecular detection have been based on the principle that molecular adsorption onto a resonator surface increases the effective mass, and consequently decreases the resonant frequencies of the nanomechanical resonator. However, this principle is insufficient to provide fundamental insights into resonator-based molecular detection at the nanoscale; this is due to recently proposed novel nanoscale detection principles including various effects such as surface effects, nonlinear oscillations, coupled resonance, and stiffness effects. Furthermore, these effects have only recently been incorporated into existing physical models for resonators, and therefore the universal physical principles governing nanoresonator-based detection have not been completely described. Therefore, our objective in this review is to overview the current attempts to understand the underlying mechanisms in nanoresonator-based detection using physical models coupled to computational simulations and/or experiments. Specifically, we will focus on issues of special relevance to the dynamic behavior of nanoresonators and their applications in biological/chemical detection: the resonance behavior of micro/nanoresonators; resonator-based chemical/biological detection; physical models of various nanoresonators such as nanowires, carbon

Decontamination issues for chemical and biological warfare agents: how clean is clean enough?

Science.gov (United States)

Raber, E; Jin, A; Noonan, K; McGuire, R; Kirvel, R D

2001-06-01

The objective of this assessment is to determine what level of cleanup will be required to meet regulatory and stakeholder needs in the case of a chemical and/or biological incident at a civilian facility. A literature review for selected, potential chemical and biological warfare agents shows that dose information is often lacking or controversial. Environmental regulatory limits or other industrial health guidelines that could be used to help establish cleanup concentration levels for such agents are generally unavailable or not applicable for a public setting. Although dose information, cleanup criteria, and decontamination protocols all present challenges to effective planning, several decontamination approaches are available. Such approaches should be combined with risk-informed decision making to establish reasonable cleanup goals for protecting health, property, and resources. Key issues during a risk assessment are to determine exactly what constitutes a safety hazard and whether decontamination is necessary or not for a particular scenario. An important conclusion is that cleanup criteria are site dependent and stakeholder specific. The results of a modeling exercise for two outdoor scenarios are presented to reinforce this conclusion. Public perception of risk to health, public acceptance of recommendations based on scientific criteria, political support, time constraints, and economic concerns must all be addressed in the context of a specific scenario to yield effective and acceptable decontamination.

Advances in the chemical utilization of alkali lignin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van der Klashorst, G.H.

1985-06-01

Large quantities of alkali lignin are produced as by-products by the South African pulping industry. The potential utilization of industrial soda/anthraquinone (soda/AQ) eucalyptus, kraft pine and soda bagasse lignin was subsequently investigated. The molecular mass distributions of the three lignins were similar when determined by high pressure gel permeation chromatography (HP-GPC). The quantitative and quanlitative occurrence of various low molecular mass lignin fragments in the different spent liquors, on the other hand, indicated that the three lignins have substantial chemical differences. Analysis of the purified degraded lignins by NMR, methoxyl content determinations, elemental analysis, carbohydrate content determinations etc., quantified various of the chemical properties of the lignin. The properties of the three lignins were ultimately used to make recommendations regarding the potential use of each lignin. One such application was investigated and it was shown that soda bagasse lignin can be used successfully in phenol formaldehyde resin applications. The reaction of formaldehyde with lignin model compounds in acidic medium was also investigated. This reaction was shown to give fast crosslinking of alkyl substituted phenolic and etherified phenolic lignin model compounds at positions meta to the aromatic hydroxy groups

The implications of non-linear biological oscillations on human electrophysiology for electrohypersensitivity (EHS) and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).

Science.gov (United States)

Sage, Cindy

2015-01-01

The 'informational content' of Earth's electromagnetic signaling is like a set of operating instructions for human life. These environmental cues are dynamic and involve exquisitely low inputs (intensities) of critical frequencies with which all life on Earth evolved. Circadian and other temporal biological rhythms depend on these fluctuating electromagnetic inputs to direct gene expression, cell communication and metabolism, neural development, brainwave activity, neural synchrony, a diversity of immune functions, sleep and wake cycles, behavior and cognition. Oscillation is also a universal phenomenon, and biological systems of the heart, brain and gut are dependent on the cooperative actions of cells that function according to principles of non-linear, coupled biological oscillations for their synchrony. They are dependent on exquisitely timed cues from the environment at vanishingly small levels. Altered 'informational content' of environmental cues can swamp natural electromagnetic cues and result in dysregulation of normal biological rhythms that direct growth, development, metabolism and repair mechanisms. Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) and radiofrequency radiation (RFR) can have the devastating biological effects of disrupting homeostasis and desynchronizing normal biological rhythms that maintain health. Non-linear, weak field biological oscillations govern body electrophysiology, organize cell and tissue functions and maintain organ systems. Artificial bioelectrical interference can give false information (disruptive signaling) sufficient to affect critical pacemaker cells (of the heart, gut and brain) and desynchronize functions of these important cells that orchestrate function and maintain health. Chronic physiological stress undermines homeostasis whether it is chemically induced or electromagnetically induced (or both exposures are simultaneous contributors). This can eventually break down adaptive biological responses critical to health

ADAPTIVE MONITORING TO ENHANCE WATER SENSOR CAPABILITIES FOR CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANT DETECTION IN DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS

Science.gov (United States)

Optoelectronic and other conventional water quality sensors offer a potential for real-time online detection of chemical and biological contaminants in a drinking water supply and distribution system. The nature of the application requires sensors of detection capabilities at lo...

Yellow-Cedar, Callitropsis (Chamaecyparis) nootkatensis, Secondary Metabolites, Biological Activities, and Chemical Ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Karchesy, Joseph J; Kelsey, Rick G; González-Hernández, M P

2018-05-01

Yellow-cedar, Callitropsis nootkatensis, is prevalent in coastal forests of southeast Alaska, western Canada, and inland forests along the Cascades to northern California, USA. These trees have few microbial or animal pests, attributable in part to the distinct groups of biologically active secondary metabolites their tissues store for chemical defense. Here we summarize the new yellow-cedar compounds identified and their biological activities, plus new or expanded activities for tissues, extracts, essential oils and previously known compounds since the last review more than 40 years ago. Monoterpene hydrocarbons are the most abundant compounds in foliage, while heartwood contains substantial quantities of oxygenated monoterpenes and oxygenated sesquiterpenes, with one or more tropolones. Diterpenes occur in foliage and bark, whereas condensed tannins have been isolated from inner bark. Biological activities expressed by one or more compounds in these groups include fungicide, bactericide, sporicide, acaricide, insecticide, general cytotoxicity, antioxidant and human anticancer. The diversity of organisms impacted by whole tissues, essential oils, extracts, or individual compounds now encompasses ticks, fleas, termites, ants, mosquitoes, bacteria, a water mold, fungi and browsing animals. Nootkatone, is a heartwood component with sufficient activity against arthropods to warrant research focused toward potential development as a commercial repellent and biopesticide for ticks, mosquitoes and possibly other arthropods that vector human and animal pathogens.

White mineral trioxide aggregate mixed with calcium chloride dihydrate: chemical analysis and biological properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hany Mohamed Aly Ahmed

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the chemical and biological properties of fast-set white mineral trioxide aggregate (FS WMTA, which was WMTA combined with calcium chloride dihydrate (CaCl2·2H2O, compared to that of WMTA. Materials and Methods Surface morphology, elemental, and phase analysis were examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX, and X-ray diffraction (XRD, respectively. The cytotoxicity and cell attachment properties were evaluated on human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPLFs using methyl-thiazol-diphenyltetrazolium (MTT assay and under SEM after 24 and 72 hours, respectively. Results Results showed that the addition of CaCl2·2H2O to WMTA affected the surface morphology and chemical composition. Although FS WMTA exhibited a non-cytotoxic profile, the cell viability values of this combination were lesser than WMTA, and the difference was significant in 7 out of 10 concentrations at the 2 time intervals (p < 0.05. HPLFs adhered over the surface of WMTA and at the interface, after 24 hours of incubation. After 72 hours, there were increased numbers of HPLFs with prominent cytoplasmic processes. Similar findings were observed with FS WMTA, but the cells were not as confluent as with WMTA. Conclusions The addition of CaCl2·2H2O to WMTA affected its chemical properties. The favorable biological profile of FS WMTA towards HPLFs may have a potential impact on its clinical application for repair of perforation defects.

Biological conversion of carbon dioxide and hydrogen into liquid fuels and industrial chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, Aaron S; McTernan, Patrick M; Lian, Hong; Kelly, Robert M; Adams, Michael W W

2013-06-01

Non-photosynthetic routes for biological fixation of carbon dioxide into valuable industrial chemical precursors and fuels are moving from concept to reality. The development of 'electrofuel'-producing microorganisms leverages techniques in synthetic biology, genetic and metabolic engineering, as well as systems-level multi-omic analysis, directed evolution, and in silico modeling. Electrofuel processes are being developed for a range of microorganisms and energy sources (e.g. hydrogen, formate, electricity) to produce a variety of target molecules (e.g. alcohols, terpenes, alkenes). This review examines the current landscape of electrofuel projects with a focus on hydrogen-utilizing organisms covering the biochemistry of hydrogenases and carbonic anhydrases, kinetic and energetic analyses of the known carbon fixation pathways, and the state of genetic systems for current and prospective electrofuel-producing microorganisms. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carbon Nanostructure of Kraft Lignin Thermally Treated at 500 to 1000 °C.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xuefeng; Yan, Qiangu; Leng, Weiqi; Li, Jinghao; Zhang, Jilei; Cai, Zhiyong; Hassan, El Barbary

2017-08-21

Kraft lignin (KL) was thermally treated at 500 to 1000 °C in an inert atmosphere. Carbon nanostructure parameters of thermally treated KL in terms of amorphous carbon fraction, aromaticity, and carbon nanocrystallites lateral size ( L a ), thickness ( L c ), and interlayer space ( d 002 ) were analyzed quantitatively using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Experimental results indicated that increasing temperature reduced amorphous carbon but increased aromaticity in thermally treated KL materials. The L c value of thermally treated KL materials averaged 0.85 nm and did not change with temperature. The d 002 value decreased from 3.56 Å at 500 °C to 3.49 Å at 1000 °C. The L a value increased from 0.7 to 1.4 nm as temperature increased from 500 to 1000 °C. A nanostructure model was proposed to describe thermally treated KL under 1000 °C. The thermal stability of heat treated KL increased with temperature rising from 500 to 800 °C.

A suggested approach to the selection of chemical and biological protective clothing--meeting industry and emergency response needs for protection against a variety of hazards.

Science.gov (United States)