Methylene blue adsorption from aqueous solution by activated carbon: effect of acidic and alkaline solution treatments.

The removal of Methylene Blue (MB) from aqueous solution using activated carbon (AC) has been investigated. Adsorption experiments were conducted and the maximum adsorption capacity was determined. The effect of experimental parameters such as pH, dye concentration and temperature were studied on the adsorption process. Equilibrium data were mathematically modeled using the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models to describe the equilibrium isotherms at different dye concentrations and temperature. Parameters of best-fit model were calculated and discussed. To understand the mechanism of adsorption, kinetic models were employed to follow the adsorption processes; the pseudo-first-order best described the adsorption of MB onto AC. It was found that pH plays a major role in the adsorption process; adsorption capacity was influenced by the physical and surface chemical properties of carbon and the pH of the solution. 99.0% MB removal was achieved at equilibrium.

Dietary conjugated linoleic acid increases the mRNA ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 in the colonic mucosa of rats.

Previously we have shown that dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) significantly decreased colon tumor incidence in rats injected with 1,2-dimenthylhydrazine (DMH). The present study was performed to explore the mechanisms responsible for the anticarcinogenic effect of CLA. Four groups of rats received either vehicle or intramuscular injections of DMH at the dose of 15 mg/kg body weight twice per week for 6 weeks and were fed a diet containing either 0% or 1.0% CLA ad libitum for 14 weeks. Dietary CLA decreased cellular proliferation and induced apoptosis in the colonic mucosa of both vehicle and DMH-treated rats. Mucosal levels of prostaglandin (PG) E(2), thromboxane B(2), and 1,2-diacylglycerol decreased in rats fed the 1% CLA diet, whereas cyclooxygenase-2 levels were not affected. Arachidonate content of mucosal phospholipids decreased significantly in rats fed the 1% CLA diet. Reverse transcriptase-polymer chain reaction analysis revealed that the Bax/Bcl-2 transcript ratio was significantly increased in rats fed 1% CLA. To examine whether the 1% CLA diet reduces tumor incidence, the DMH-treated rats were continuously fed the assigned diets for 30 weeks. Tumor incidence was significantly decreased in the CLA-fed group. In conclusion, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that CLA decreases the incidence of colon cancer by decreasing cellular proliferation and inducing apoptosis of the colonic mucosa. These effects may be due in part to decreased PGE(2) levels and increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratios.