comparison between aluminum and iron electrodes on removal of phosphate from aqueous solutions by electrocoagulation process

This study presents a comparison between aluminum and iron plate electrodes on phosphate removal from aqueous solutions by electrocoagulation process. The effectiveness of main operational parameters such as initial pH, initial phosphate concentration and current density were examined. In addition, treated solution and sludge characteristics, energy consumption and electrode mass depletion were compared for both electrodes. All experiments were done in an electrocoagulation cell with effective volume of 2 liters. It was found that the aluminum electrode has higher removal efficiency compared to the iron electrode in the same operational conditions. Phosphate removal efficiencies of 100% and 84.7% were observed for aluminum and iron electrode in a special case with optimum initial pH, maximum current density and maximum initial phosphate concentration equal to 3, 250 A/m[2], 400mg/l PO[4][-3], respectively. Furthermore, less treated solution turbidity, higher secondary pollution [remained Al] and less electrode mass depletion was observed for the aluminum electrode

Decolorization of an acidic dye from synthetic wastewater by sludge of water treatment plant

In this research, sludge of Jalaliyeh water treatment plant in Tehran was used as an alternative coagulant for the removal of a specific type of acid dye [acid red 119 [AR119]]. For this purpose, the effect of initial pH, coagulant dose and initial dye concentration on dye removal efficiency were investigated. Results showed that the dye removal rates were largely dependent on pH. When the solution pH was increased from 3 to 8, the dye removal rates decreased from 96.3% to 2.3%. The removal efficiencies of the dye using 130-350 mg dried sludge/L were more than 90% at initial pH =3. With the increase of initial dye concentration in the range of 10-200 mg/L, the removal efficiency increased at first [from 10-40 mg/L] and then declined. So, sludge of Jalaliyeh water treatment plant may be considered as an appropriate coagulant for the removal of AR119 dye

Prevalence and characteristics of irritable bowel syndrome [IBS] amongst medical students of Gilan northern province of Iran

Irritable bowel syndrome [IBS] is one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal disorders characterized by non-specific symptoms such as abdominal pain and altered bowel habits with no known organic pathology. Its prevalence varies in different communities. We performed this study to determine the prevalence of IBS in medical students who attended Gilan University of Medical Sciences [GUMS]. Medical students of GUMS were studying during 2002 academic year were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Within a specifically designed schedule, trained general practitioners performed student interviews. The interviewers used a structured questionnaire based on the Rome II criteria. Data were analyzed using SPSS-10 software. Results were presented as percentages and the mean +/- SD and level of significance was denoted as a p-value <0.05. This study included 422 students, 148 [35.1%] males and 274 [64.9%] females, trained in various educational levels at GUMS whose mean age was 23.7 +/- 2.9 years. The prevalence of IBS was 12.6% [53 of 422]. IBS was more prevalent in females than males [15% [41 of 274] vs. 8.1% [12 of 148]; p<0.05]. Reported a Physician 37.7% of cases visit in comparsion to 17.6% of non IBS case [p<0.05]. This study shows a higher prevalence of IBS in medical students than in other sections of the Iranian population. A prevalence of 12.6% in medical students, who are in an active phase of life, requires careful planning to provide alleviation

Adsorption of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions by wheat bran

In this research, adsorption of chromium [VI] ions on wheat bran has been studied through using batch adsorption techniques. The main objectives of this study are to 1] investigate the chromium adsorption from aqueous solution by wheat bran, 2] study the influence of contact time, pH, adsorbent dose and initial chromium concentration on adsorption process performance and 3] determine appropriate adsorption isotherm and kinetics parameters of chromium [VI] adsorption on wheat bran. The results of this study showed that adsorption of chromium by wheat bran reached to equilibrium after 60 min and after that a little change of chromium removal efficiency was observed. Higher chromium adsorption was observed at lower pHs, and maximum chromium removal [87.8%] obtained at pH of 2. The adsorption of chromium by wheat bran decreased at the higher initial chromium concentration and lower adsorbent doses. The obtained results showed that the adsorption of chromium [VI] by wheat bran follows Langmuir isotherm equation with a correlation coefficient equal to 0.997. In addition, the kinetics of the adsorption process follows the pseudo second-order kinetics model with a rate constant value of 0.131 g/mg.min The results indicate that wheat bran can be employed as a low cost alternative to commercial adsorbents in the removal of chromium [VI] from water and wastewater

Irritable bowel syndrome [IBS] prevalence in medical students of Gilan university of medical sciences

Irritable bowel syndrome [IBS] is one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal disorders, characterized by non-specific symptoms such as abdominal pain and altered bowel habit without any organic pathology. Its prevalence varies in human communities. We performed this study to determine the prevalence of IBS in medical students of Gilan University of Medical Sciences [GUMS]. Medical students of GUMS in 2002 enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Under a schedule they were interviewed by trained general practitioners with structured questionnaire, which based on Rome II criteria. Data was analyzed by SPSS-10 software. Results were presented into percentage and mean +/- SD. Level of significance was denoted as p value less than 0.05. This study included 422 students training in various educational levels of GUMS, 148 [35.1%] males and 274 [64.9%] females whose mean age was 23.7 +/- 2.9 years. Prevalence of IBS was 12.6% [53 of 422 with 95%, CI 9.5%-16.1%]. IBS was more prevalent in females than males [15% [41 of 274] vs. 8.1% [12 of 148]] [p<0.05]. This study shows higher IBS prevalence in medical students than other published Iranian reports. Prevalence of 12.6% in students, who are in active phase of life, necessitates planning to help this population

immunologic response to anti-hepatitis B vaccination among medical students of Guilan university of medical sciences, Guilan, Iran

An important way to prevent hepatitis B infection is vaccination especially among high-risk populations including healthcare workers. Unfortunately, immunologic response to the vaccine is not perfect. Multiple different factors such as gender, age, body mass index [BMI], smoking and underlying diseases can influence the immunologic response. So, this study was conducted to evaluate the post-vaccination immunologic response of medical students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences [GUMS]. In this cross-sectional study, GUMS medical students who had received complete vaccine series at zero, one, and six months were enrolled. Their demographic data and the factors which could probably alternate the immunologic response were collected by interview. The anti-HBs Ab titer was evaluated by Enzyme-Linked-Immunoassay [ELISA]. Appropriate immunologic response was supposed to be HBsAb >=10 mIU/ml. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 10.00.P value <0.05 was considered significant. We evaluated 233 students with mean age of 24.9 +/- 4.5 years. 74.7% were female. 4.9% did not respond properly to vaccination. Females' immunologic responses were significantly higher than males' [P=0.001]. Responsiveness was significantly lower in smokers than non-smokers [P=0.02]. Mean age in inappropriate and appropriate responder groups were 28.67 +/- 5.4 and 24.77 +/- 4.4 years, respectively [P=0.004]. 95.1% of students had a protective level of anti-HBsAb [>10 mIU/ml]. Since health-care staffs including medical students are a high risk group to be contaminated with HBV, it is preferable to be evaluated for anti-HBs titer 1-3 months after full three-dose vaccination especially when these factors are present; in this way the false sense of being immunized among them may be decreased