| 1. |
- Schael, S, et al.
(författare)
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Precision electroweak measurements on the Z resonance
- 2006
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Ingår i: Physics Reports. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 427:5-6, s. 257-454
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the final electroweak measurements performed with data taken at the Z resonance by the experiments operating at the electron-positron colliders SLC and LEP. The data consist of 17 million Z decays accumulated by the ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL experiments at LEP, and 600 thousand Z decays by the SLID experiment using a polarised beam at SLC. The measurements include cross-sections, forward-backward asymmetries and polarised asymmetries. The mass and width of the Z boson, m(Z) and Gamma(Z), and its couplings to fermions, for example the p parameter and the effective electroweak mixing angle for leptons, are precisely measured: m(Z) = 91.1875 +/- 0.0021 GeV, Gamma(Z) = 2.4952 +/- 0.0023 GeV, rho(l) = 1.0050 +/- 0.0010, sin(2)theta(eff)(lept) = 0.23153 +/- 0.00016. The number of light neutrino species is determined to be 2.9840 +/- 0.0082, in agreement with the three observed generations of fundamental fermions. The results are compared to the predictions of the Standard Model (SM). At the Z-pole, electroweak radiative corrections beyond the running of the QED and QCD coupling constants are observed with a significance of five standard deviations, and in agreement with the Standard Model. Of the many Z-pole measurements, the forward-backward asymmetry in b-quark production shows the largest difference with respect to its SM expectation, at the level of 2.8 standard deviations. Through radiative corrections evaluated in the framework of the Standard Model, the Z-pole data are also used to predict the mass of the top quark, m(t) = 173(+10)(+13) GeV, and the mass of the W boson, m(W) = 80.363 +/- 0.032 GeV. These indirect constraints are compared to the direct measurements, providing a stringent test of the SM. Using in addition the direct measurements of m(t) and m(W), the mass of the as yet unobserved SM Higgs boson is predicted with a relative uncertainty of about 50% and found to be less than 285 GeV at 95% confidence level. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Khatri, C, et al.
(författare)
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Outcomes after perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with proximal femoral fractures: an international cohort study
- 2021
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Ingår i: BMJ open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 11:11, s. e050830-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Studies have demonstrated high rates of mortality in people with proximal femoral fracture and SARS-CoV-2, but there is limited published data on the factors that influence mortality for clinicians to make informed treatment decisions. This study aims to report the 30-day mortality associated with perioperative infection of patients undergoing surgery for proximal femoral fractures and to examine the factors that influence mortality in a multivariate analysis.SettingProspective, international, multicentre, observational cohort study.ParticipantsPatients undergoing any operation for a proximal femoral fracture from 1 February to 30 April 2020 and with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection (either 7 days prior or 30-day postoperative).Primary outcome30-day mortality. Multivariate modelling was performed to identify factors associated with 30-day mortality.ResultsThis study reports included 1063 patients from 174 hospitals in 19 countries. Overall 30-day mortality was 29.4% (313/1063). In an adjusted model, 30-day mortality was associated with male gender (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.68 to 3.13, p<0.001), age >80 years (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.31, p=0.013), preoperative diagnosis of dementia (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.15 to 2.16, p=0.005), kidney disease (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.18 to 2.55, p=0.005) and congestive heart failure (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.48, p=0.025). Mortality at 30 days was lower in patients with a preoperative diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.6 (0.42 to 0.85), p=0.004). There was no difference in mortality in patients with an increase to delay in surgery (p=0.220) or type of anaesthetic given (p=0.787).ConclusionsPatients undergoing surgery for a proximal femoral fracture with a perioperative infection of SARS-CoV-2 have a high rate of mortality. This study would support the need for providing these patients with individualised medical and anaesthetic care, including medical optimisation before theatre. Careful preoperative counselling is needed for those with a proximal femoral fracture and SARS-CoV-2, especially those in the highest risk groups.Trial registration numberNCT04323644
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Ryu, Y. -H., et al.
(författare)
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OGLE-2016-BLG-1190Lb : The First Spitzer Bulge Planet Lies Near the Planet/Brown-dwarf Boundary
- 2018
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Ingår i: Astronomical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-6256 .- 1538-3881. ; 155:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the discovery of OGLE-2016-BLG-1190Lb, which is likely to be the first Spitzer microlensing planet in the Galactic bulge/ bar, an assignation that can be confirmed by two epochs of high-resolution imaging of the combined source-lens baseline object. The planet's mass, M-p = 13.4 +/- 0.9 M-J, places it right at the deuteriumburning limit, i. e., the conventional boundary between planets and brown dwarfs. Its existence raises the question of whether such objects are really planets (formed within the disks of their hosts) or failed stars (lowmass objects formed by gas fragmentation). This question may ultimately be addressed by comparing disk and bulge/bar planets, which is a goal of the Spitzer microlens program. The host is a G dwarf, M-host = 0.89. +/- 0.07 M-circle dot, and the planet has a semimajor axis a similar to 2.0 au. We use Kepler K2 Campaign 9 microlensing data to break the lens-mass degeneracy that generically impacts parallax solutions from Earth-Spitzer observations alone, which is the first successful application of this approach. The microlensing data, derived primarily from near-continuous, ultradense survey observations from OGLE, MOA, and three KMTNet telescopes, contain more orbital information than for any previous microlensing planet, but not quite enough to accurately specify the full orbit. However, these data do permit the first rigorous test of microlensing orbital-motion measurements, which are typically derived from data taken over < 1% of an orbital period.
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| 7. |
- Kasliwal, M. M., et al.
(författare)
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Illuminating gravitational waves : A concordant picture of photons from a neutron star merger
- 2017
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 358:6370, s. 1559-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Merging neutron stars offer an excellent laboratory for simultaneously studying strong-field gravity and matter in extreme environments. We establish the physical association of an electromagnetic counterpart (EM170817) with gravitational waves (GW170817) detected from merging neutron stars. By synthesizing a panchromatic data set, we demonstrate that merging neutron stars are a long-sought production site forging heavy elements by r-process nucleosynthesis. The weak gamma rays seen in EM170817 are dissimilar to classical short gamma-ray bursts with ultrarelativistic jets. Instead, we suggest that breakout of a wide-angle, mildly relativistic cocoon engulfing the jet explains the low-luminosity gamma rays, the high-luminosity ultraviolet-optical-infrared, and the delayed radio and x-ray emission. We posit that all neutron star mergers may lead to a wide-angle cocoon breakout, sometimes accompanied by a successful jet and sometimes by a choked jet.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Martinez, VF, et al.
(författare)
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Neuromotor repertoires in infants exposed to maternal COVID-19 during pregnancy: a cohort study
- 2023
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Ingår i: BMJ open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 13:1, s. e069194-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To evaluate neuromotor repertoires and developmental milestones in infants exposed to antenatal COVID-19.DesignLongitudinal cohort study.SettingHospital-based study in Los Angeles, USA and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil between March 2020 and December 2021.ParticipantsInfants born to mothers with COVID-19 during pregnancy and prepandemic control infants from the Graz University Database.InterventionsGeneral movement assessment (GMA) videos between 3 and 5 months post-term age were collected and clinical assessments/developmental milestones evaluated at 6–8 months of age. Cases were matched by gestational age, gender and post-term age to prepandemic neurotypical unexposed controls from the database.Main outcome measuresMotor Optimality Scores Revised (MOS-R) at 3–5 months. Presence of developmental delay (DD) at 6–8 months.Results239 infants were enrolled; 124 cases (83 in the USA/41 in Brazil) and 115 controls. GMA was assessed in 115 cases and 115 controls; 25% were preterm. Median MOS-R in cases was 23 (IQR 21–24, range 9–28) vs 25 (IQR 24–26, range 20–28) in controls, p<0.001. Sixteen infants (14%) had MOS-R scores <20 vs zero controls, p<0.001. At 6–8 months, 13 of 109 case infants (12%) failed to attain developmental milestones; all 115 control infants had normal development. The timing of maternal infection in pregnancy (first, second or third trimester) or COVID-19 disease severity (NIH categories asymptomatic, mild/moderate or severe/critical) was not associated with suboptimal MOS-R or DD. Maternal fever in pregnancy was associated with DD (OR 3.7; 95% CI 1.12 to 12.60) but not suboptimal MOS-R (OR 0.25; 95% CI 0.04 to 0.96).ConclusionsCompared with prepandemic controls, infants exposed to antenatal COVID-19 more frequently had suboptimal neuromotor development.
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| 10. |
- Sayeed, A., et al.
(författare)
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Handwashing with soap : A concern for overuse of water amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
- 2021
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Ingår i: Groundwater for Sustainable Development. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-801X. ; 13, s. 100561-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Handwashing is one of the vital public health measures. It helps to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, water overuse during hand scrubbing with soap keeping the tap on may put enormous pressure on the already overstretched groundwater resources and households’ economic well-being. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the overuse of water while scrubbing hands with soap for handwashing when the tap is on amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Sociodemographic data were collected using a web-based survey tool among 1980 participants and an experiment was conducted among 126 participants to estimate the overuse of water during hand scrubbing while the tap is on. A total of 80% of the participants washed their hands regularly after returning home from outside. About 57.3% of participants did not turn off their tap throughout the handwashing process. A single participant, who kept his tap on throughout the handwashing process, overused approximately 1.7 L of water per handwash and 14.9 L of water per day. Hand scrubbing with soap keeping the tap on, raised the overuse of water 13-fold during this pandemic compared to the non-pandemic situation which cost an extra 225.0 BDT (2.7$) per day for 1980 participants. Minimize the speed of tap, using automatic taps, and using taps operated by legs might be an effective solution to reduce the water overuse. Furthermore, behavioral change interventions are needed to aware people turn off the tap during hand scrubbing with soap.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Bensby, T., et al.
(författare)
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Chemical evolution of the Galactic bulge as traced by microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars : VI. Age and abundance structure of the stellar populations in the central sub-kpc of the Milky Way
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 605
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a detailed elemental abundance study of 90 F and G dwarf, turn-off, and subgiant stars in the Galactic bulge. Based on high-resolution spectra acquired during gravitational microlensing events, stellar ages and abundances for 11 elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Zn, Y and Ba) have been determined. Four main findings are presented: (1) a wide metallicity distribution with distinct peaks at [Fe/H] = -1.09, -0.63, -0.20, + 0.12, + 0.41; (2) a highfraction of intermediate-age to young stars where at [Fe/H] > 0 more than 35% are younger than 8 Gyr, and for [Fe/H] ≲-0.5 most stars are 10 Gyr or older; (3) several episodes of significant star formation in the bulge has been identified: 3, 6, 8, and 11 Gyr ago; (4) tentatively the "knee" in the α-element abundance trends of the sub-solar metallicity bulge is located at a slightly higher [Fe/H] than in the local thick disk. These findings show that the Galactic bulge has complex age and abundance properties that appear to be tightly connected to the main Galactic stellar populations. In particular, the peaks in the metallicity distribution, the star formation episodes, and the abundance trends, show similarities with the properties of the Galactic thin and thick disks. At the same time, the star formation rate appears to have been slightly faster in the bulge than in the local thick disk, which most likely is an indication of the denser stellar environment closer to the Galactic centre. There are also additional components not seen outside the bulge region, and that most likely can be associated with the Galactic bar. Our results strengthen the observational evidence that support the idea of a secular origin for the Galactic bulge, formed out of the other main Galactic stellar populations present in the central regions of our Galaxy. Additionally, our analysis of this enlarged sample suggests that the (V-I)0 colour of the bulge red clump should be revised to 1.09.
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| 13. |
- Bhowal, S., et al.
(författare)
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Development of collective structures over noncollective excitations in Nd-139
- 2011
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Ingår i: Physical Review C (Nuclear Physics). - 0556-2813. ; 84:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-spin states in Nd-139 were investigated using the reaction Zr-96(Ca-48,5n) at a beam energy of 195 MeV and gamma-ray coincidences were acquired with the Euroball spectrometer. Apart from several dipole bands at medium excitation energy, three quadrupole bands have been observed at high spin. Linking transitions connecting two of the high-spin bands to low-energy states have been observed. Calculations based on the cranked-Nilsson-Strutinsky formalism have been used to assign configurations for the high-spin quadrupole bands.
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| 14. |
- Das, P., et al.
(författare)
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Study of exotic decay of Cs isotope close to the proton drip line
- 2020
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Ingår i: 27th International Nuclear Physics Conference (INPC2019) 29 July - 2 August 2019, Glasgow, UK. - : IOP Publishing. - 1742-6588. ; 1643
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The neutron-deficient 115Cs was produced at ISOLDE, CERN by spallation reaction using 1.4 GeV proton on LaC2 target. The exotic decay modes were studied by using a charged particle array (DSSD and pad detectors) and a γ-detector array (four Clovers) at the ISOLDE decay station (IDS). In this report, results on observed β-delayed particle emission from 115Cs, a nucleus close to proton drip line, is presented. By measuring the time distribution in the delayed proton spectrum, the half-life of the ground state of 115Cs was extracted. The obtained half-life is in agreement with previous reported value. For the first time, the p-unbound states of 115Xe, obtained by measuring beta-delayed protons from 115Cs is reported.
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- Kanungo, S., et al.
(författare)
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Vibriocidal Antibody Responses to a Bivalent Killed Whole-Cell Oral Cholera Vaccine in a Phase III Trial in Kolkata, India
- 2014
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Ingår i: Plos One. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 9:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: During the development of a vaccine, identification of the correlates of protection is of paramount importance for establishing an objective criterion for the protective performance of the vaccine. However, the ascertainment of correlates of immunity conferred by any vaccine is a difficult task. Methods: While conducting a phase three double-blind, cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled trial of a bivalent killed whole-cell oral cholera vaccine in Kolkata, we evaluated the immunogenicity of the vaccine in a subset of participants. Randomly chosen participants (recipients of vaccine or placebo) were invited to provide blood samples at baseline, 14 days after the second dose and one year after the first dose. At these time points, serum geometric mean titers (GMT) of vibriocidal antibodies and seroconversion rates for vaccine and placebo arms were calculated and compared across the age strata (1 to 5 years, 5 to 15 years and more than 15 years) as well as for all age groups. Results: Out of 137 subjects included in analysis, 69 were vaccinees and 68 received placebo. There were 5.7 and 5.8 geometric mean fold (GMF) rises in titers to Vibrio cholerae Inaba and Ogawa, respectively at 14 days after the second dose, with 57% and 61% of vaccinees showing a four-fold or greater titer rise, respectively. After one year, the titers to Inaba and Ogawa remained 1.7 and 2.8 fold higher, respectively, compared to baseline. Serum vibriocidal antibody response to V. cholerae O139 was much lower than that to Inaba or Ogawa. No significant differences in the GMF-rises were observed among the age groups. Conclusions: The reformulated oral cholera vaccine induced a statistically significant anti-O1 Inaba and O1 Ogawa vibriocidal antibody response 14 days after vaccination, which although declined after one year remained significantly higher than baseline. Despite this decline, the vaccine remained protective five years after vaccination.
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| 17. |
- Stockwell, Jason D., et al.
(författare)
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Storm impacts on phytoplankton community dynamics in lakes
- 2020
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : WILEY. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 26:5, s. 2756-2784
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- In many regions across the globe, extreme weather events such as storms have increased in frequency, intensity, and duration due to climate change. Ecological theory predicts that such extreme events should have large impacts on ecosystem structure and function. High winds and precipitation associated with storms can affect lakes via short-term runoff events from watersheds and physical mixing of the water column. In addition, lakes connected to rivers and streams will also experience flushing due to high flow rates. Although we have a well-developed understanding of how wind and precipitation events can alter lake physical processes and some aspects of biogeochemical cycling, our mechanistic understanding of the emergent responses of phytoplankton communities is poor. Here we provide a comprehensive synthesis that identifies how storms interact with lake and watershed attributes and their antecedent conditions to generate changes in lake physical and chemical environments. Such changes can restructure phytoplankton communities and their dynamics, as well as result in altered ecological function (e.g., carbon, nutrient and energy cycling) in the short- and long-term. We summarize the current understanding of storm-induced phytoplankton dynamics, identify knowledge gaps with a systematic review of the literature, and suggest future research directions across a gradient of lake types and environmental conditions.
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| 18. |
- Sumi, T., et al.
(författare)
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The first Neptune analog or super-earth with a Neptune-like orbit : MOA-2013-BLG-605LB
- 2016
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X. ; 825:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the discovery of the first Neptune analog exoplanet or super-Earth with a Neptune-like orbit, MOA-2013-BLG-605Lb. This planet has a mass similar to that of Neptune or a super-Earth and it orbits at 9 ∼ 14 times the expected position of the snow line, a snow, which is similar to Neptune's separation of 11 a snow from the Sun. The planet/host-star mass ratio is q = (3.6 ± 0.7) × 10-4 and the projected separation normalized by the Einstein radius is s = 2.39 ± 0.05. There are three degenerate physical solutions and two of these are due to a new type of degeneracy in the microlensing parallax parameters, which we designate "the wide degeneracy." The three models have (i) a Neptune-mass planet with a mass of Mp = 21-7 +6M⊕ orbiting a low-mass M-dwarf with a mass of Mh = 0.19-0.06 +0.05M⊙, (ii) a mini-Neptune with Mp = 7.9-1.2 +1.8M⊕ orbiting a brown dwarf host with Mh = 0.068-0.011 +0.019M⊙, and (iii) a super-Earth with Mp = 3.2-0.3 +0.5MM⊕ orbiting a low-mass brown dwarf host with Mh = 0.025-0.0004 +0.005M⊙, which is slightly favored. The 3D planet-host separations are 4.6-1.2 +4.7au, 2.1-0.2 +1.0au, and 0.94-0.02 +0.67au, which are 8.9-1.4 +10.5, 12-1 +7, or 14-1 +11 times larger than a snow for these models, respectively. Keck adaptive optics observations confirm that the lens is faint. This discovery suggests that low-mass planets with Neptune-like orbits are common. Therefore processes similar to the one that formed Neptune in our own solar system or cold super-Earths may be common in other solar systems.
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| 19. |
- Abarca, R. R. M., et al.
(författare)
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Metals toxic pollutants in the environment : Anthropogenic and geological causes and remediation
- 2019
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Ingår i: Current Trends and Future Developments on (Bio-) Membranes: Membranes in Environmental Applications. - : Elsevier Inc.. ; , s. 109-124
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Heavy metals are naturally present in nature, but if their concentration is higher than the normal accepted threshold levels, they constitute one of the pollutants that is more difficult to remove and also to rehabilitate the contaminated site by them. There are many heavy-metal pollutants-the most common among them are arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn), along with the less common ones, which produced, for example, by the nuclear process, such as uranium (U)-in different configuration; hence, many possibilities of contamination in the world exist, and they are more difficult to remove.Thus heavy-metal pollution is more and more becoming one of the principal issues of the global interest, because it is common to both industrialized countries and developing countries. These issues are getting hard to be recognized and cannot be followed the simple rules concerning safety and environmental protection, thus fall into the same errors of the already industrialized countries. At the same time, new environment-remediation techniques are developed in the last decade, especially, in these last years. Some of these technologies concern physical or chemical process or effects, such as ion exchanges, flotations, and photocatalysis, while other technologies concern the use of membrane process, especially ultrafiltration or membrane integrated process or hybrid systems, where membranes are generally submerged and used together with another process.In this chapter a review of this problem and some example of technologies for removing and remediation of the environment are reported.
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| 20. |
- Abiye, T. A., et al.
(författare)
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Arsenic concentration in groundwater : Archetypal study from South Africa
- 2019
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Ingår i: Groundwater for Sustainable Development. - : Elsevier. - 2352-801X. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- South Africa does not have significant surface water resources, which is often easily affected by unpredictable and rapidly changing climatic variables, due to its location in the arid and semi-arid climatic setting. In large part of the country, groundwater from weathered and fractured crystalline rocks plays pivotal role in sustaining the livelihood, often it contains toxic metals released from the host rocks. The host rocks that are responsible for arsenic release in groundwater are primarily enriched due to metamorphism and igneous processes that resulted in the enrichment of economic minerals. Preliminary assessment indicates that the main arsenic containing minerals are arsenopyrite (FeAsS), arsenical oxide, sulpharsenide, arsenopyritical reefs, leucopyrite, löllingite (FeAs2) and scorodite (FeAsO4·2H2O). Owing to the release of arsenic from highly mineralized rocks that constitute the aquifers, arsenic concentration in the groundwater reaches up to 253 μg/L (Namaqualand), 6150 μg/L (west of Johannesburg), about 500 μg/L in the Karoo aquifers, considerably higher than the WHO guideline value of 10 μg/L. Acid mine drainage from coal and gold mining is also found to be an important source of arsenic and other toxic metals in groundwater.
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| 21. |
- Abu-Khader, M. M., et al.
(författare)
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Radon in the groundwater in the Amman-Zarqa Basin and related environments in Jordan
- 2018
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Ingår i: Groundwater for Sustainable Development. - : Elsevier. - 2352-801X. ; 7, s. 73-81
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The occurrence of radon (222Rn) in environment (groundwater and indoor air) from geogenic sources is receiving an growing attention due to its adverse impact on human health worldwide including Jordan. Highlighting the current status of radon in Jordan, the present study of radon concentrations in ground waters in the Amman-Zarqa basin (AZB) was investigated. Groundwater samples were collected from fifteen wells located in three main areas of Ras Al-Ain, Al-Rsaifeh and Al-Hashemite. Radon concentration was measure using Liquid scintillation counting (LSC) Tri- Carb 3110 with discriminator and the highest values for radon concentration in water were observed in Al-Rsaifeh area and ranged from 4.52 up to 30.70 Bq/l with an average of 11.22 Bq/l, which were attributed to the decay of naturally distributed uranium in phosphate rock from Al-Rsaifeh mines. In Ras Al-Ain area, the radon concentration were noted ranged from 0.6 to 5.55 Bq/l with an average of 2.82 Bq/l, and also in Al-Hashemite area were ranged from 0.77 to 5.37 Bq/l with an average of 4.04 Bq/l. The overall average concentration of tested samples was 5.77 Bq/l and found within the acceptable international levels. Ground water samples of Ras Al-Ain area showed good quality as was tested of low salinity. It recorded the lowest average radon concentration of 2.82 Bq/l. Also, Radon indoor and building materials was reviewed. In conclusion, this study presented an urged need for developing national regulations and standards as well as awareness program concerning the radon status in Jordan.Elsevier B.V.
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| 22. |
- Ali, S., et al.
(författare)
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Elevated fluoride in groundwater of Siwani Block, Western Haryana, India : A potential concern for sustainable water supplies for drinking and irrigation
- 2018
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Ingår i: Groundwater for Sustainable Development. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-801X. ; 7, s. 410-420
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Groundwater pollution is a serious health concern in north-western India. In this study, we have reported very high concentration of fluoride i.e. 18.5 and 16.6 mg/l from Sainiwas locality in Siwani block of Bhiwani district, Haryana, India. The values are much higher than the permissible limit set by WHO and BIS. The evapotranspiration in the area leads to Ca2+ precipitation, which allows an increase in F- content in the groundwater. In addition, the replacement of hydroxyl of secondary clay mineral under alkaline condition is responsible for release of F-. In absence of alternative source, the fluoride polluted groundwater in some of these localities is also used for drinking. Further, the suitability of groundwater for irrigation is also evaluated by various parameters such as Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Sodium Percentage (Na%), Kelly's Ratio (KR), Magnesium Hazard (MH) and Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC). It emerges out that in a few localities, groundwater is not suitable for irrigation and with respect to Magnesium Hazard (MH) almost all samples are unsuitable for irrigation. This article highlights groundwater quality of Siwani block in Haryana and proposes for immediate remedial measures.
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| 23. |
- Ali, S., et al.
(författare)
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Influence of the water–sediment interaction on the major ions chemistry and fluoride pollution in groundwater of the Older Alluvial Plains of Delhi, India
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Earth System Science. - : Springer Nature. - 2347-4327 .- 0973-774X. ; 130:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fluoride (F–) pollution in groundwater of the Older Alluvial Plain (OAP) of Delhi has been reported as a major problem. About 34% of the groundwater samples collected for this study had F– level beyond the permissible limit; with F– concentration in the range of 0.14–3.15 mg/L (average 1.20 mg/L). In this context, this article for the first time attempts on the genesis of major ions chemistry and F– pollution in groundwater of OAP Delhi by going beyond the statistical analysis to sediment geochemistry, chemical weathering processes and understanding of the processes using stable environmental isotopes (2H and 18O). The XRD of the OAP sediments revealed the dominance of fluor-biotite, albite, calcite, quartz, and chlorite. Whereas, the separated clay revealed the dominance of chlorite, kaolinite, and illite minerals. The saturation index (SI) values indicated that the groundwater chemistry is in the process of further F– enrichment by way of sediment groundwater interaction. With the given mineralogy of the sediments, the dominance of major ions like Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl– and F– has been attributed to chemical weathering of biotites, phlogopites, albite, and calcite during sediment–water interaction. While the dominance of SO42– has been attributed to anthropogenic sources and confirmed by its association with heavier stable isotopes of hydrogen (δ2H: −50.44 to −40.02‰) and oxygen (δ18O: −7.19 to −5.62‰) indicating evaporative enrichment during isotopic fractionation.
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| 24. |
- Basak, Rupal, et al.
(författare)
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Surprise in simplicity : an unusual spectral evolution of a single pulse GRB 151006A
- 2017
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 472:1, s. 891-903
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a detailed analysis of GRB 151006A, the first gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected by AstroSat Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride Imager (CZTI). We study the long-term spectral evolution by exploiting the capabilities of Fermi and Swift satellites at different phases, which is complemented by the polarization measurement with the CZTI. While the light curve of the GRB in different energy bands shows a simple pulse profile, the spectrum shows an unusual evolution. The first phase exhibits a hard-to-soft evolution until similar to 16-20 s, followed by a sudden increase in the spectral peak reaching a few MeV. Such a dramatic change in the spectral evolution in the case of a single pulse burst is reported for the first time. This is captured by all models we used namely, Band function, blackbody+Band and two blackbodies+power law. Interestingly, the Fermi Large Area Telescope also detects its first photon (> 100 MeV) during this time. This new injection of energy may be associated with either the beginning of afterglow phase, or a second hard pulse of the prompt emission itself that, however, is not seen in the otherwise smooth pulse profile. By constructing Bayesian blocks and studying the hardness evolution we find a good evidence for a second hard pulse. The Swift data at late epochs (> T-90 of the GRB) also show a significant spectral evolution consistent with the early second phase. The CZTI data (100-350 keV), though having low significance (1 sigma), show high values of polarization in the two epochs (77-94 per cent), in agreement with our interpretation.
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| 25. |
- Battaglia-Brunet, F., et al.
(författare)
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Characterization of an agricultural site historically polluted by the destruction of arsenic-containing chemical weapons
- 2018
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Ingår i: Environmental Arsenic in a ChangingWorld - 7th International Congress and Exhibition Arsenic in the Environment, 2018. - London : CRC Press/Balkema. - 9781138486096 ; , s. 241-242
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Arsenic in agricultural soils may represent a risk for crop quality and surrounding water resources. In the frame of AgriAs project, “Evaluation and management of Arsenic contamination in agricultural soil and water”, a former chemical weapons destruction site converted into agricultural land was characterized. The objective of this study was to identify possible links between arsenic concentration and speciation and bioindicators informing about the bioavailability of the toxic element. Plants lipidic bio-indicator Omega-3 Index showed that toxicity of the soil was not directly correlated with arsenic concentration. Conversely, arsenic level in the soil samples seemed to influence the density of microbes transforming As species.
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| 26. |
- Bhattacharya, K., et al.
(författare)
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Lactoperoxidase-mediated degradation of single-walled carbon nanotubes in the presence of pulmonary surfactant
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Carbon. - : Elsevier BV. - 0008-6223 .- 1873-3891. ; 91, s. 506-517
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) may elicit inflammatory responses following pulmonary exposure. Conversely, enzymatic biodegradation of CNTs by inflammatory cells has also been reported. The aim of this study was to study the degradation of oxidized single-walled CNTs (ox-SWCNTs) by lactoperoxidase (LPO), a secreted peroxidase present in the airways, and whether pulmonary surfactant affects this biodegradation. To this end, ox-SWCNTs were incubated in vitro with recombinant bovine LPO + H2O2 + NaSCN in the presence and absence of porcine lung surfactant (Curosurf®) and biodegradation was monitored using UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The interaction of recombinant LPO with bundles of ox-SWCNTs was confirmed by atomic force microscopy. Cell-free biodegradation of ox-SWCNTs was also observed ex vivo in murine bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in the presence of H2O2 + NaSCN. Our study provides evidence for biodegradation of ox-SWCNTs with a lung surfactant 'bio-corona' and expands the repertoire of mammalian peroxidases capable of biodegradation of ox-SWCNTs. These findings are relevant to inhalation exposure to these materials, as LPO serves as an important component of the airway defense system.
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| 27. |
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| 28. |
- Bhattacharya, Romit, et al.
(författare)
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Clonal Hematopoiesis Is Associated with Higher Risk of Stroke
- 2022
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Ingår i: Stroke. - 0039-2499. ; 29:2, s. 788-797
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Purpose: Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is a novel age-related risk factor for cardiovascular disease-related morbidity and mortality. The association of CHIP with risk of incident ischemic stroke was reported previously in an exploratory analysis including a small number of incident stroke cases without replication and lack of stroke subphenotyping. The purpose of this study was to discover whether CHIP is a risk factor for ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. Methods: We utilized plasma genome sequence data of blood DNA to identify CHIP in 78 752 individuals from 8 prospective cohorts and biobanks. We then assessed the association of CHIP and commonly mutated individual CHIP driver genes (DNMT3A, TET2, and ASXL1) with any stroke, ischemic stroke, and hemorrhagic stroke. Results: CHIP was associated with an increased risk of total stroke (hazard ratio, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.03-1.27]; P=0.01) after adjustment for age, sex, and race. We observed associations with CHIP with risk of hemorrhagic stroke (hazard ratio, 1.24 [95% CI, 1.01-1.51]; P=0.04) and with small vessel ischemic stroke subtypes. In gene-specific association results, TET2 showed the strongest association with total stroke and ischemic stroke, whereas DMNT3A and TET2 were each associated with increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke. Conclusions: CHIP is associated with an increased risk of stroke, particularly with hemorrhagic and small vessel ischemic stroke. Future studies clarifying the relationship between CHIP and subtypes of stroke are needed.
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| 29. |
- Bhattacharya, Romit, et al.
(författare)
-
Risk factors for clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential in people with HIV : a report from the REPRIEVE trial
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Blood Advances. - 2473-9529. ; 8:4, s. 959-967
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), the clonal expansion of myeloid cells with leukemogenic mutations, results in increased coronary artery disease (CAD) risk. CHIP is more prevalent among people with HIV (PWH), but the risk factors are unknown. CHIP was identified among PWH in REPRIEVE (Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV) using whole-exome sequencing. Logistic regression was used to associate sociodemographic factors and HIV-specific factors with CHIP adjusting for age, sex, and smoking status. In the studied global cohort of 4486 PWH, mean age was 49.9 (standard deviation [SD], 6.4) years; 1650 (36.8%) were female; and 3418 (76.2%) were non-White. CHIP was identified in 223 of 4486 (4.97%) and in 38 of 373 (10.2%) among those aged ≥60 years. Age (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-1.09; P < .0001) and smoking (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.14-1.66; P < .001) associated with increased odds of CHIP. Globally, participants outside of North America had lower odds of CHIP including sub- Saharan Africa (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.4-0.81; P = .0019), South Asia (OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.23-0.80; P = .01), and Latin America/Caribbean (OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.34-0.87; P = .014). Hispanic/Latino ethnicity (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.23-0.54; P = .002) associated with significantly lower odds of CHIP. Among HIV-specific factors, CD4 nadir <50 cells/mm3 associated with a 1.9-fold (95% CI, 1.21-3.05; P = .006) increased odds of CHIP, with the effect being significantly stronger among individuals with short duration of antiretroviral therapy (ART; OR, 4.15; 95% CI, 1.51-11.1; P = .005) (Pinteraction= .0492). Among PWH at low-to-moderate CAD risk on stable ART, smoking, CD4 nadir, North American origin, and non-Hispanic ethnicity associated with increased odds of CHIP.
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| 30. |
- Bhattacharya, S., et al.
(författare)
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Evolution of collectivity and evidence of octupole correlations in Br 73
- 2019
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Ingår i: Physical Review C. - 2469-9985. ; 100:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-spin states in the Br73 nucleus have been populated via the Cr50(Si28,αp)Br73 fusion evaporation reaction with a beam energy of 90 MeV. The deexciting gamma rays were detected using the Indian National Gamma Array (INGA). Using the γ-γ coincidence technique, two new bands and eight new interconnecting transitions have been added. The strong interconnecting E1 transitions, between positive and negative parity bands, ensure the existence of octupole correlations at low spin. Line shapes have been observed for 17 transitions, which were analyzed by the Doppler-shift attenuation method to determine the lifetime of excited states of the yrast negative parity band and its signature partner band along with the positive parity band. The deduced transitional quadrupole moments Qt for the ground state band decrease with increasing spin, with their values ranging from 2.88 to 1.00 eb. A similar trend in the quadrupole moment has also been observed for the signature partner as well as for the positive parity band. This decrease in Qt with increasing spin for these bands is interpreted in terms of the cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky model and total Routhian surface calculations, which indicate possible band termination at higher spin.
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| 31. |
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| 32. |
- Bhattacharya, S. K., et al.
(författare)
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5 year efficacy of a bivalent killed whole-cell oral cholera vaccine in Kolkata, India: A cluster-randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
- 2013
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Ingår i: Lancet. Infectious Diseases. - 1473-3099 .- 1474-4457. ; 13:12, s. 1050-1056
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Efficacy and safety of a two-dose regimen of bivalent killed whole-cell oral cholera vaccine (Shantha Biotechnics, Hyderabad, India) to 3 years is established, but long-term efficacy is not. We aimed to assess protective efficacy up to 5 years in a slum area of Kolkata, India. Methods: In our double-blind, cluster-randomised, placebo-controlled trial, we assessed incidence of cholera in non-pregnant individuals older than 1 year residing in 3933 dwellings (clusters) in Kolkata, India. We randomly allocated participants, by dwelling, to receive two oral doses of modified killed bivalent whole-cell cholera vaccine or heat-killed Escherichia coli K12 placebo, 14 days apart. Randomisation was done by use of a computer-generated sequence in blocks of four. The primary endpoint was prevention of episodes of culture-confirmed Vibrio cholerae O1 diarrhoea severe enough for patients to seek treatment in a health-care facility. We identified culture-confirmed cholera cases among participants seeking treatment for diarrhoea at a study clinic or government hospital between 14 days and 1825 days after receipt of the second dose. We assessed vaccine protection in a per-protocol population of participants who had completely ingested two doses of assigned study treatment. Findings: 69 of 31932 recipients of vaccine and 219 of 34968 recipients of placebo developed cholera during 5 year follow-up (incidence 2·2 per 1000 in the vaccine group and 6·3 per 1000 in the placebo group). Cumulative protective efficacy of the vaccine at 5 years was 65% (95% CI 52-74; p<0·0001), and point estimates by year of follow-up suggested no evidence of decline in protective efficacy. Interpretation: Sustained protection for 5 years at the level we reported has not been noted previously with other oral cholera vaccines. Established long-term efficacy of this vaccine could assist policy makers formulate rational vaccination strategies to reduce overall cholera burden in endemic settings. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the governments of South Korea and Sweden. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
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| 33. |
- Bhattacharya, S., et al.
(författare)
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Maintaining Near-Popular Matchings
- 2015
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Ingår i: Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics). - Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg. - 1611-3349 .- 0302-9743. - 9783662476666 ; 9135, s. 504-515
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We study dynamic matching problems in graphs among agents with preferences. Agents and/or edges of the graph arrive and depart iteratively over time. The goal is to maintain matchings that are favorable to the agent population and stable over time. More formally, we strive to keep a small unpopularity factor by making only a small amortized number of changes to the matching per round. Our main result is an algorithm to maintain matchings with unpopularity factor (Delta + k) by making an amortized number of O(Delta + Delta(2) /k) changes per round, for any k > 0. Here Delta denotes the maximum degree of any agent in any round. We complement this result by a variety of lower bounds indicating that matchings with smaller factor do not exist or cannot be maintained using our algorithm. As a byproduct, we obtain several additional results that might be of independent interest. First, our algorithm implies existence of matchings with small unpopularity factors in graphs with bounded degree. Second, given any matching M and any value alpha >= 1, we provide an efficient algorithm to compute a matching M' with unpopularity factor a over M if it exists. Finally, our results show the absence of voting paths in two-sided instances, even if we restrict to sequences of matchings with larger unpopularity factors (below Delta).
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| 34. |
- Bitner-Gregersen, E. M., et al.
(författare)
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Recent developments of ocean environmental description with focus on uncertainties
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ocean Engineering. - : Elsevier BV. - 0029-8018. ; 86, s. 26-46
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A review of the recent progress made regarding ocean environmental data and models with uncertainties in focus is given in the perspective of marine structures' design and operations. Uncertainties of wind, waves, current, sea water level and ice data and models are discussed and recent achievements leading to improvement of their accuracy are addressed. The study includes mathematical, probabilistic, empirical and statistical models. Particular attention is given to rogue waves. Challenges related to wind data and models due to the increase of offshore wind energy installations are presented focusing on wind forecast, information about the wind profile and extreme wind events. Attention is also given to ice which is of particular importance due to the projected climate changes opening new opportunities in the Arctic regions for the marine industry. Impacts of improved accuracy of environmental description on design and operations of ships and offshore structures are highlighted.
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| 35. |
- Bundschuh, Jochen, et al.
(författare)
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Emerging mitigation needs and sustainable options for solving the arsenic problems of rural and isolated urban areas in Latin America : A critical analysis
- 2010
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Ingår i: Water Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0043-1354 .- 1879-2448. ; 44:19, s. 5828-5845
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this work, current information about the contamination of ground- and surface-water resources by arsenic from geogenic sources in Latin America is presented together with possible emerging mitigation solutions. The problem is of the same order of magnitude as other world regions, such as SE Asia, but it is often not described in English. Despite the studies undertaken by numerous local researchers, and the identification of proven treatment methods for the specific water conditions encountered, no technologies have been commercialized due to a current lack of funding and technical assistance. Emerging, low-cost technologies to mitigate the problem of arsenic in drinking water resources that are suitable for rural and urban areas lacking centralized water supplies have been evaluated. The technologies generally use simple and low-cost equipment that can easily be handled and maintained by the local population. Experiences comprise (i) coagulation/filtration with iron and aluminum salts, scaled-down for small community-and household-scale-applications, (ii) adsorption techniques using low-cost arsenic sorbents, such as geological materials (clays, laterites, soils, limestones), natural organic-based sorbents (natural biomass), and synthetic materials. TiO2-heterogeneous photocatalysis and zerovalent iron, especially using nanoscale particles, appear to be promising emergent technologies. Another promising innovative method for rural communities is the use of constructed wetlands using native perennial plants for arsenic rhizofiltration. Smallscale simple reverse osmosis equipment (which can be powered by wind or solar energy) that is suitable for small communities can also be utilized. The individual benefits of the different methods have been evaluated in terms of (i) size of the treatment device, (ii) arsenic concentration and distribution of species, chemical composition and grade of mineralization in the raw water, (iii) guidelines for the remaining As concentration, (iv) economical constrains, (v) complexity of installation and maintenance, and infrastructure constraints (e.g. electricity needs). (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 36. |
- Bundschuh, Jochen, et al.
(författare)
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Naturally occurring arsenic in terrestrial geothermal systems of western Anatolia, Turkey : Potential role in contamination of freshwater resources
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Hazardous Materials. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-3894 .- 1873-3336. ; 262, s. 951-959
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Arsenic (As) contamination in terrestrial geothermal systems has been identified in many countries worldwide. Concentrations higher than 0.01mg/L are detrimental to human health. We examined potential consequences for As contamination of freshwater resources based on hydrogeochemical investigations of geothermal waters in deep wells and hot springs collected from western Anatolia, Turkey. We analyzed samples for major ions and trace element concentrations. Temperature of geothermal waters in deep wells showed extreme ranges (40 and 230°C), while, temperature of hot spring fluids was up to 90°C. The Piper plot illustrated two dominant water types: Na-HCO3 - type for geothermal waters in deep wells and Ca-HCO3 - type for hot spring fluids. Arsenic concentration ranged from 0.03 to 1.5mg/L. Dominance of reduced As species, i.e., As(III), was observed in our samples. The Eh value ranged between -250 and 119mV, which suggests diverse geochemical conditions. Some of the measured trace elements were found above the World Health Organization guidelines and Turkish national safe drinking water limits. The variation in pH (range: 6.4-9.3) and As in geothermal waters suggest mixing with groundwater. Mixing of geothermal waters is primarily responsible for contamination of freshwater resources and making them unsuitable for drinking or irrigation.
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| 37. |
- Bågenholm, Viktoria, et al.
(författare)
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A surface-exposed GH26 -mannanase from Bacteroides ovatus : Structure, role, and phylogenetic analysis of BoMan26B
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 0021-9258. ; 294:23, s. 9100-9117
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The galactomannan utilization locus (BoManPUL) of the human gut bacterium Bacteroides ovatus encodes BoMan26B, a cell-surface– exposed endomannanase whose functional and structural features have been unclear. Our study now places BoMan26B in context with related enzymes and reveals the structural basis for its specificity. BoMan26B prefers longer substrates and is less restricted by galactose side-groups than the mannanase BoMan26A of the same locus. Using galactomannan, BoMan26B generated a mixture of (galactosyl) manno-oligosaccharides shorter than mannohexaose. Three defined manno-oligosaccharides had affinity for the SusD-like surface–exposed glycan-binding protein, predicted to be implicated in saccharide transport. Co-incubation of BoMan26B and the periplasmic -galactosidase BoGal36A increased the rate of galactose release by about 10-fold compared with the rate without BoMan26B. The results suggested that BoMan26B performs the initial attack on galactomannan, generating oligosaccharides that after transport to the periplasm are processed by BoGal36A. A crystal structure of BoMan26B with galactosyl-mannotetraose bound in subsites 5 to 2 revealed an open and long active-site cleft with Trp-112 in subsite 5 concluded to be involved in mannosyl interaction. Moreover, Lys-149 in the 4 subsite interacted with the galactosyl side-group of the ligand. A phylogenetic tree consisting of GH26 enzymes revealed four strictly conserved GH26 residues and disclosed that BoMan26A and BoMan26B reside on two distinct phylogenetic branches (A and B). The three other branches contain lichenases, xylanases, or enzymes with unknown activities. Lys-149 is conserved in a narrow part of branch B, and Trp-112 is conserved in a wider group within branch B.
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| 38. |
- Duffy, J. M. N., et al.
(författare)
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Top 10 priorities for future infertility research: an international consensus development study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Human Reproduction. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0268-1161 .- 1460-2350. ; 35:12, s. 2715-2724
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- STUDY QUESTION: Can the priorities for future research in infertility be identified? SUMMARY ANSWER: The top 10 research priorities for the four areas of male infertility, female and unexplained infertility, medically assisted reproduction and ethics, access and organization of care for people with fertility problems were identified. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Many fundamental questions regarding the prevention, management and consequences of infertility remain unanswered. This is a barrier to improving the care received by those people with fertility problems. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: Potential research questions were collated from an initial international survey, a systematic review of clinical practice guidelines and Cochrane systematic reviews. A rationalized list of confirmed research uncertainties was prioritized in an interim international survey. Prioritized research uncertainties were discussed during a consensus development meeting. Using a formal consensus development method, the modified nominal group technique, diverse stakeholders identified the top 10 research priorities for each of the categories male infertility, female and unexplained infertility, medically assisted reproduction and ethics, access and organization of care. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Healthcare professionals, people with fertility problems and others (healthcare funders, healthcare providers, healthcare regulators, research funding bodies and researchers) were brought together in an open and transparent process using formal consensus methods advocated by the James Lind Alliance. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: The initial survey was completed by 388 participants from 40 countries, and 423 potential research questions were submitted. Fourteen clinical practice guidelines and 162 Cochrane systematic reviews identified a further 236 potential research questions. A rationalized list of 231 confirmed research uncertainties was entered into an interim prioritization survey completed by 317 respondents from 43 countries. The top 10 research priorities for each of the four categories male infertility, female and unexplained infertility (including age-related infertility, ovarian cysts, uterine cavity abnormalities and tubal factor infertility), medically assisted reproduction (including ovarian stimulation, IUI and IVF) and ethics, access and organization of care were identified during a consensus development meeting involving 41 participants from I I countries. These research priorities were diverse and seek answers to questions regarding prevention, treatment and the longer-term impact of infertility. They highlight the importance of pursuing research which has often been overlooked, including addressing the emotional and psychological impact of infertility, improving access to fertility treatment, particularly in lower resource settings and securing appropriate regulation. Addressing these priorities will require diverse research methodologies, including laboratory-based science, qualitative and quantitative research and population science. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: We used consensus development methods, which have inherent limitations, including the representativeness of the participant sample, methodological decisions informed by professional judgment and arbitrary consensus definitions. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: We anticipate that identified research priorities, developed to specifically highlight the most pressing clinical needs as perceived by healthcare professionals, people with fertility problems and others, will help research funding organizations and researchers to develop their future research agenda.
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| 39. |
- Exley, J, et al.
(författare)
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Operationalising effective coverage measurement of facility based childbirth in Gombe State; a comparison of data sources
- 2022
-
Ingår i: PLOS global public health. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 2767-3375. ; 2:4, s. e0000359-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Estimating effective coverage of childbirth care requires linking population based data sources to health facility data. For effective coverage to gain widespread adoption there is a need to focus on the feasibility of constructing these measures using data typically available to decision makers in low resource settings. We estimated effective coverage of childbirth care in Gombe State, northeast Nigeria, using two different combinations of facility data sources and examined their strengths and limitations for decision makers. Effective coverage captures information on four steps: access, facility inputs, receipt of interventions and process quality. We linked data from the 2018 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) to two sources of health facility data: (1) comprehensive health facility survey data generated by a research project; and (2) District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2). For each combination of data sources, we examined which steps were feasible to calculate, the size of the drop in coverage between steps and the resulting estimate of effective coverage. Analysis included 822 women with a recent live birth, 30% of whom attended a facility for childbirth. Effective coverage was low: 2% based on the project data and less than 1% using the DHIS2. Linking project data with NDHS, it was feasible to measure all four steps; using DHIS2 it was possible to estimate three steps: no data was available to measure process quality. The provision of high quality care is suboptimal in this high mortality setting where access and facility readiness to provide care, crucial foundations to the provision of high quality of care, have not yet been met. This study demonstrates that partial effective coverage measures can be constructed from routine data combined with nationally representative surveys. Advocacy to include process of care indicators in facility summary reports could optimise this data source for decision making.
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| 40. |
- Hirao, Yuki, et al.
(författare)
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OGLE-2017-BLG-0406 : Spitzer Microlens Parallax Reveals Saturn-mass Planet Orbiting M-dwarf Host in the Inner Galactic Disk
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Astronomical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-6256 .- 1538-3881. ; 160:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the discovery and analysis of the planetary microlensing event OGLE-2017-BLG-0406, which was observed both from the ground and by the Spitzer satellite in a solar orbit. At high magnification, the anomaly in the light curve was densely observed by ground-based-survey and follow-up groups, and it was found to be explained by a planetary lens with a planet/host mass ratio of q = 7.0 x 10(-4) from the light-curve modeling. The ground-only and Spitzer-only data each provide very strong one-dimensional (1D) constraints on the 2D microlens parallax vector pi(E). When combined, these yield a precise measurement of pi(E) and of the masses of the host M-host = 0.56 +/- 0.07 M-circle dot and planet M-planet = 0.41 +/- 0.05 M-Jup. The system lies at a distance D-L = 5.2 +/- 0.5 kpc from the Sun toward the Galactic bulge, and the host is more likely to be a disk population star according to the kinematics of the lens. The projected separation of the planet from the host is a(perpendicular to) = 3.5 +/- 0.3 au (i.e., just over twice the snow line). The Galactic-disk kinematics are established in part from a precise measurement of the source proper motion based on OGLE-IV data. By contrast, the Gaia proper-motion measurement of the source suffers from a catastrophic 10 sigma error.
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| 41. |
- Kale, Manoj Ashokrao, et al.
(författare)
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Nestedness of bird assemblages along an urbanisation gradient in central India
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Urban Ecology. - : Oxford University Press. - 2058-5543. ; 4:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We censused terrestrial bird assemblages along a five-stage urbanisation gradient (rural forest, industrial zone, peri-urban, suburban and urban habitats) in and around Amravati City, Central India, between January and April 2010-2013. A total of 89 species of birds were recorded, with the highest detected species richness in the rural areas (67 species) and the lowest in the urban one (29 species). The rural habitats had the highest diversity, followed, in a decreasing order, by industrial, periurban, suburban and urban areas, supporting Gray's increasing disturbance rather than Connell's intermediate disturbance hypothesis. The densities were, however, highest in the urban habitats, supporting the resource concentration hypothesis. The assemblages were significantly nested, indicating a common origin from the rural forest.
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| 42. |
- Kumar, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Contaminant transport and fate in freshwater systems – Integrating the fields of geochemistry, geomorphology and nanotechnology
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Groundwater for Sustainable Development. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 2352-801X. ; 7, s. 336-342
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This special issue of the Groundwater for Sustainable Development “Contaminant Transport and Fate in Freshwater Systems – Integrating the fields of geochemistry, geomorphology and nanotechnology” provides an update of the current knowledge on the sources, pathways, and movement of anthropogenic and geogenic contaminants in the environment, the holistic interactions between biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem, and the avant-garde technologies as innovative strategies for environmental management. We aims to provide a future platform for interaction and collaborative efforts between different workers in the scientific field. As this issue highlights the three keywords: hydro-geochemistry, geomorphology and nanotechnology; therefore, it will facilitate a unique amalgamation of pure as well as applied scientific ideas. Therefore, this combined effort will be much more beneficial and will lead to great developments in the near future. This will result in a better understanding of the background processes and the factors controlling the contamination process and therefore contribute to the development of more efficient and sustainable technologies and management options. This issue also has the broader purposes to influence the policymakers which in turn may lead to greater investments and research grants in the fields covered by the said volume, which can ultimately lead to more quality research in these fields.
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| 43. |
- Kumar, M., et al.
(författare)
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Frontier review on the propensity and repercussion of SARS-CoV-2 migration to aquatic environment
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters. - : Elsevier BV. - 2666-9110. ; 1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increased concern has recently emerged pertaining to the occurrence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in aquatic environment during the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While infectious SARS-CoV-2 has yet to be identified in the aquatic environment, the virus potentially enters the wastewater stream from patient excretions and a precautionary approach dictates evaluating transmission pathways to ensure public health and safety. Although enveloped viruses have presumed low persistence in water and are generally susceptible to inactivation by environmental stressors, previously identified enveloped viruses persist in the aqueous environment from days to several weeks. Our analysis suggests that not only the surface water, but also groundwater, represent SARS-CoV-2 control points through possible leaching and infiltrations of effluents from health care facilities, sewage, and drainage water. Most fecally transmitted viruses are highly persistent in the aquatic environment, and therefore, the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in water is essential to inform its fate in water, wastewater and groundwater and subsequent human exposure.
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| 44. |
- Laxman, K., et al.
(författare)
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Capacitive deionization for removal of arsenic from water
- 2016
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Ingår i: Arsenic Research and Global Sustainability - Proceedings of the 6th International Congress on Arsenic in the Environment, AS 2016. - : CRC Press/Balkema. - 9781138029415 ; , s. 521-522
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Capacitive Deionization (CDI) is an electrochemical technique for the removal of charged species from aqueous media. It has been typically used for the desalination of low to medium salinity water, working on potential mediated electrosorption of ions. Herespecific discussion on the utilization of CDI constructed with nanoelectrodes for the removal of arsenic from water is introduced.
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| 45. |
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| 46. |
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| 47. |
- Mahanta, C., et al.
(författare)
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Hydrogeochemical controls on mobilization of arsenic in groundwater of a part of Brahmaputra river floodplain, India
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies. - : Elsevier BV. - 2214-5818.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Study region: Arsenic enriched groundwater regime within low-industrialized Brahmaputra floodplains in Assam, NE India. Study focus: We examined the origin, distribution and processes of As release by investigating the salient groundwater chemistry and subsurface sedimentological characteristics. Besides collection of groundwater samples from domestic and public water supply wells, sediment samples from boreholes were investigated for textural and colour linkages. New hydrological insights for the region: Arsenic concentrations above the WHO guideline value of 10. μg/L were present in 33 wells and above the previous Indian national drinking standard of 50. μg/L were present in 15 wells. The green-olive colour sediments were more likely to yield As-enriched groundwater. The supersaturation of groundwater with respect to Fe(II) minerals, such as siderite and vivianite, explained the poor correlation between dissolved As and Fe. The result reinforced the phenomenon of reductive dissolution of Fe(III) oxyhydroxides releasing As to groundwater. This study throws light on the processes and mechanisms involved with As release in groundwater. The homogenous floodplain terrain makes the hydrological As imprint unambiguous and the hydrogeological signatures untarnished. Considering the absence of anthropogenic sources in the study area, the conclusions on the nature and causes for As release to groundwater looked dependable although the final contamination at specific subsurface sites would be influenced by advection-dispersion of groundwater flow accompanied by retardation, ion exchange, surface complexation and possible biodegradation.
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| 48. |
- Maity, J. P., et al.
(författare)
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Removal of fluoride from water through bacterial-surfactin mediated novel hydroxyapatite nanoparticle and its efficiency assessment : Adsorption isotherm, adsorption kinetic and adsorption Thermodynamics
- 2018
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Ingår i: Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring and Management. - : Elsevier. - 2215-1532. ; 9, s. 18-28
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fluoride contamination in water due to natural and anthropogenic activities has been documented as serious problems worldwide commanding a major threat to the environment. Present study focuses to synthesis bacterial-surfactin (Bacillus subtilis) mediated nano-hydroxyapatite (HAp), novel adsorbents for defluoridation. HAp particle size and morphology were controlled by varying temperature of 90–150 °C and pH of 7–11, respectively. The TEM and SEM micrographs reveal that the short-rod particle is observed 20–30 nm at 90 °C and pH 11. The ratio between the length (nm) and width (nm) of nanoparticle are decreased from 4.17 to 1.65 with increasing pH (7–11). The selected area diffraction (SAD) of particles are indicated uniform rod-like monocrystals. The XRD and FTIR observations were indicated the synthesized HAp nanoparticles were well-crystallized with purity phase and high quality. The study reflected that the fluoride removal from contaminated water by HAp was increased significantly (R2 = 99) with the increasing adsorbent concentration, temperature and time, with two-step adsorption process as the first portion a rapid adsorption occurs during first 90 min after which equilibrium is slowly achieved. The adsorption process is closer to Freundlich isotherm (R2 > 98) than to Langmuir isotherm (R2 ≈ 92), indicating HAp as a good adsorbent (n > 3). Above 97% of fluoride removal were noticed at a HAp dose of 0.06 g/10 mL. The adsorption kinetics more fit with pseudo-second-order (R2= 99) in compare to pseudo-first-order (R2 ≈ 91). The slope and intercept of Arrhenius equation indicated the activation/adsorption energy (Ea) of 3.199 kJ/mol and frequency factor (A) of 1.78 1/s. Adsorption thermodynamic parameters (free energy (ΔG < 0), enthalpy (ΔH > 0) and entropy (ΔS > 0)) indicates the spontaneous and endothermic reactions of the adsorption process. Thus, newly synthesized HAp nanoparticles exhibit as a good adsorbent for fluoride removal, theoretically and experimentally being applicable for environmental pollution control.
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| 49. |
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Management and Sustainable Development of Coastal Zone Environments
- 2010
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coastal areas face increasing pressures from land use change, developmental activities, shoreline erosion, biodiversity losses and natural calamities. This volume addresses these issues facilitating the integrated analysis of the sustainability of coastal zones. The contributors have tried to focus their respective works on the problems that need urgent attention relevant to present day issues. Coastal Zone Management and its sustainability strategy should safeguard ecological security of the coastal areas, avoid pollution as well as exploitation of living and non living aquatic resources, protecting also the agrarian community and avian population and other floral and faunal breeding grounds. Articles have been selected on the basis of sound scientific findings hoping that it will help in developing meaningful regulations for future sustainable coastal management zone.
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| 50. |
- Mariño, E. E., et al.
(författare)
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The occurrence of arsenic and other trace elements in groundwaters of the southwestern Chaco-Pampean plain, Argentina
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of South American Earth Sciences. - : Elsevier. - 0895-9811 .- 1873-0647. ; 100, s. 102547-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Argentinian Chaco-Pampean plain is a large sedimentary basin, which southern part, covering about 1.9 millions of km2, encompasses the provinces of Cordoba, Santa Fe, San Luis, Buenos Aires and La Pampa where water demand is mainly satisfied by groundwater. Its quality for human consumption is significantly impaired by the elevated presence of arsenic (As) and other geogenic trace elements. In this paper we investigated the nature and extent of the occurrence of arsenic and other selected trace elements (Fe, Mo and V) in groundwater in the Northern region of La Pampa. To achieve this aim, analytic results from 164 samples were taken into consideration. These samples were collected from community wells located in the study area. For 42 of these samples, determinations of the arsenic species were available. The hydrochemical characterization indicates that these groundwaters are predominantly of Na-HCO3 and Na-SO4-C1 type with variable salinity and high pH and alkalinity. These properties would favor the As mobilization by desorption from the solid phase. Most of the groundwaters revealed As concentrations over 10 μg/L, while guideline values of iron and molybdenum are exceeded in some cases. Arsenic is predominantly found as As(V) which represents between 92 and 97% of the total arsenic. This is consistent with the oxidizing conditions of the hydrogeochemical system.
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