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Department of Chemistry, Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur-440 010, Maharashtra, India E-mail : ab_zade18@yahoo.com, mangeshdhore2@gmail.com Department of Chemistry, Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering & Management, Nagpur-440 013, Maharashtra, India Manuscript received online 17 October 2013, accepted 08 August 2014 Copolymer resin 4-ASAUF was synthesized by the condensation of 4-aminosalicylic acid (4-ASA) and urea (U) with formaldehyde (F) in the presence of 2 M HCl as catalyst with 2 : 1 : 4 molar ratios of reacting monomers. The structure of the resin was characterized by various spectral techniques like infra-red (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H and 13C NMR) spectroscopy. The empirical formula and empirical weight of the resin were determined by elemental analysis. The morphological feature of the 4-ASAUF copolymer resin was established by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Thermal study of the resin was carried out to determine its mode of decomposition and relative thermal stability. The Freeman-Carroll, Sharp-Wentworth, Friedman and Change methods have been used in the present investigation to calculate thermal activation energy (Ea ), order of reaction (n) and frequency factor (z). The chelating ion-exchange property of this copolymer was studied for eight metal ions viz. FeIII, CuII, NiII, CoII, HgII, ZnII, CdII and PbII ions by using batch equilibrium method. The chelating ion-exchange study was carried out over a wide pH range at different time intervals using different electrolyte of various ionic strengths.

AbstractIncorporating seasonality into livestock spatial distribution is of great significance for studying the complex system interaction between climate, vegetation, water, and herder activities, associated with livestock. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has the world’s most elevated pastoral area and is a hot spot for global environmental change. This study provides the spatial distribution of cattle, sheep, and livestock grazing on the warm-season and cold-season pastures at a 15 arc-second spatial resolution on the QTP. Warm/cold-season pastures were delineated by identifying the key elements that affect the seasonal distribution of grazing and combining the random forest classification model, and the average area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the model is 0.98. Spatial disaggregation weights were derived using the prediction from a random forest model that linked county-level census livestock numbers to topography, climate, vegetation, and socioeconomic predictors. The coefficients of determination of external cross-scale validations between dasymetric mapping results and township census data range from 0.52 to 0.70. The data could provide important information for further modeling of human-environment interaction under climate change for this region.

{"references": ["S. R. Pereira, D. J. Portugal-Nunes, D. V. Evtuguin, L. S. Serafim, and A. M. R. B. Xavier, \"Advances in ethanol production from hardwood spent sulphite liquors,\" Process Biochemistry, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 272\u2013282, Feb. 2013.", "V. Novy, S. Krahulec, K. Longus, M. Klimacek, and B. Nidetzky, \"Co-fermentation of hexose and pentose sugars in a spent sulfite liquor matrix with genetically modified Saccharomyces cerevisiae,\" Bioresource Technology, vol. 130, pp. 439\u2013448, Feb. 2013.", "A. M. R. B. Xavier, M. F. Correia, S. R. Pereira, and D. V. Evtuguin, \"Second-generation bioethanol from eucalypt sulphite spent liquor,\" Bioresource Technology, vol. 101, no. 8, pp. 2755\u20132761, Apr. 2010.", "D. L. A. Fernandes, C. M. Silva, A. M. R. B. Xavier, and D. V. Evtuguin, \"Fractionation of sulphite spent liquor for biochemical processing using ion exchange resins,\" Journal of Biotechnology, vol. 162, no. 4, pp. 415\u2013 421, Dec. 2012.", "M. Weissgram, Ch. Herwig, and H. K. Weber, \"Biotechnological Generation of Value Added Products from Spent Pulping Liquors: Assessing the Potential of Extremophiles,\" J. Bioprocessing and Biotechniques, vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 1-14, July 2015.", "T. Llano, C. Rueda, N. Quijorna, A. Blanco, and A. Coz, \"Study of the delignification of hardwood chips in a pulping process for sugar production,\" Journal of Biotechnology, vol. 162, no. 4, pp. 422\u2013 429, Dec. 2012.", "S. R. Pereira, \u0160. Ivanu\u0161a, D. V. Evtuguin, L. S. Serafim, and A. M. R. B. Xavier, \"Biological treatment of eucalypt spent sulphite liquors: A way to boost the production of second generation bioethanol,\" Bioresource Technology, vol. 103, no. 1, pp. 131\u2013135, Jan. 2012.", "Zh. Guo, and L. Olsson, \"Characterization and fermentation of side streams from sulfite pulping,\" Process Biochemistry, vol. 49, no. 8, pp. 1231\u20131237, Aug. 2014.", "S. S. Helle, T. Lin, and Sh. J. B. Duff, \"Optimization of spent sulfite liquor fermentation,\" Enzyme and Microbial Technology, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 259\u2013264, Feb. 2008.\n[10]\tE. Johansson, T. Brandberg, and C. Larsson, \"Influence of cultivation procedure for Saccharomyces cerevisiae used as pitching agent in industrial spent sulphite liquor fermentations,\" Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, vol. 38, no. 11, pp. 1787\u20131792, Nov. 2011.\n[11]\t\tR. Millati, L. Edebo, and M. J. Taherzadeh, \"Performance of Rhizopus, Rhizomucor, and Mucor in ethanol production from glucose, xylose, and wood hydrolyzates,\" Enzyme and Microbial Technology, vol. 36, no. 2-3, pp. 294\u2013300, Feb. 2005.\n[12]\tM. Holmgren, and A. Sellstedt, \"Identification of white-rot and soft-rot fungi increasing ethanol production from spent sulfite liquor in co-culture with Saccharomyces cerevisiae,\" Journal of Applied Microbiology, vol. 105, no. 1, pp. 134\u2013140, Jul. 2008.\n[13]\tJ. A. Ferreira, P. R. Lennartsson, C. Niklasson, M. Lundin, L. Edebo, and M. J. Taherzadeh, \"Spent Sulphite Liquor for Cultivation of an Edible Rhizopus SP,\" BioResources, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 173- 188, Nov. 2012.\n[14]\tH. A. El-Enshasy, \"Bioprocessing for Value-Added Products from Renewable Resources: New Technologies and Applications, Chapter 9. Filamentous Fungal Cultures \u2013 Process Characteristics, Products, and Applications,\" ISBN: 978-0-444-52114-9, 2007, p. 225.\n[15]\tK. Karimi, G. Emtiazi, and M. J. Taherzadeh, \"Ethanol production from dilute-acid pretreated rice straw by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation with Mucor indicus, Rhizopus oryzae, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae,\" Enzyme and Microbial Technology, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 138\u2013144, Dec. 2006.\n[16]\tJ. A. Ferreira, P. R. Lennartsson, and M. J. Taherzadeh, \"Production of Ethanol and Biomass from Thin Stillage Using Food-Grade Zygomycetes and Ascomycetes Filamentous Fungi,\" Energies, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 3872-3885, June 2014.\n[17]\tV. B\u00e1tori, J. A. Ferreira, M. J. Taherzadeh, and P. R. Lennartsson, \"Ethanol and Protein from Ethanol Plant By-Products Using Edible Fungi Neurospora intermedia and Aspergillus oryzae,\" BioMed Research International, 2015, to be published.\n[18]\tM. J. Taherzadeh, M. Fox, H. Hjorth, and L. Edebo, \"Production of mycelium biomass and ethanol from paper pulp sulfite liquor by Rhizopus oryzae,\" Bioresource Technology, vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 167\u2013177, Jul. 2003.\n[19]\tE. Casey, M. Sedlak, N. W. Y. Ho and N. S. Mosier, \"Effect of acetic acid and pH on the co-fermentation of glucose and xylose to ethanol by a genetically engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae,\" FEMS Yeast Research, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 385\u2013393, June 2010.\n[20]\tW. Zheng-yun, D. Yu, T. Li, L. Yue-hong, Z. Yi-jie, and Zh. Wen-xue, \"Investigating the effects of two lignocellulose degradation by-products (furfural and acetic acid) on ethanol fermentations by six ethanologenic yeast strains,\" African Journal of Biotechnology, vol. 9, no. 50, pp. 8661-8666, Dec. 2010.\n[21]\tD. Greetham, \"Presence of Low Concentrations of Acetic Acid Improves Fermentations using Saccharomyces cerevisiae,\" Journal of Bioprocessing and Biotechniques, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1-5, Dec. 2014."]} Since filamentous fungi are capable of assimilating several types of sugars (hexoses and pentoses), they are potential candidates for bioconversion of spent sulfite liquor (SSL). Three filamentous fungi such as Aspergillus oryzae, Mucor indicus, and Rhizopus oryzae were investigated in this work. The SSL was diluted in order to obtain concentrations of 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90% and supplemented with two types of nutrients. The results from cultivations in shake flask showed that A. oryzae and M. indicus were not able to grow in pure SSL and SSL90% while R. oryzae could grow only in SSL50% and SSL60%. Cultivation with A. oryzae resulted in the highest yield of produced fungal biomass, while R. oryzae cultivation resulted in the lowest fungal biomass yield. Although, the mediums containing yeast extract, (NH4)2SO4, KH2PO4, CaCl2∙2H2O, and MgSO4∙7H2O as nutrients supplementations produced higher fungal biomass compared to the mediums containing NH4H2PO4 and ammonia, but there was no significant difference between two types of nutrients in terms of sugars and acetic acid consumption rate. The sugars consumption in M. indicus cultivation was faster than A. oryzae and R. oryzae cultivation. Acetic acid present in SSL was completely consumed during cultivation of all fungi. M. indicus was the best and fastest ethanol producer from SSL among the fungi examined, when yeast extract and salts were used as nutrients supplementations. Furthermore, no further improvement in ethanol concentration and rate of sugars consumption was obtained in medium supplemented with NH4H2PO4 and ammonia compared to medium containing yeast extract, (NH4)2SO4, KH2PO4, CaCl2∙2H2O, and MgSO4∙7H2O. On the other hand, the higher dilution of SSL resulted in a better fermentability, and better consumption of sugars and acetic acid.

Alcohol consumption affects motor behavior and motor control. Both acute and chronic alcohol abuse have been extensively investigated; however, the therapeutic efficacy of alcohol on some movement disorders, such as myoclonus‐dystonia or essential tremor, still does not have a plausible mechanistic explanation. Yet, there are surprisingly few systematic trials with known GABAergic drugs mimicking the effect of alcohol on neurotransmission. In this brief survey, we aim to summarize the effects of EtOH on striatal function, providing an overview of its cellular and synaptic actions in a ‘circuit‐centered’ view. In addition, we will review both experimental and clinical evidence, in the attempt to provide a plausible mechanistic explanation for alcohol‐responsive movement disorders, with particular emphasis on dystonia. Different hypotheses emerge, which may provide a rationale for the utilization of drugs that mimic alcohol effects, predicting potential drug repositioning.

The ease in which billions of people travel makes public health a security issue as major health events require coordination beyond national borders. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that major health events require coordination beyond national borders. The pandemic, and others that will follow, has changed our understanding of health. Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), emerging infectious diseases and bioterrorism, are now clearly understood as direct threats to security.The ease with which billions of people travel, along with the emerging global threat of climate change makes global public health security a priority issue — stronger partnerships between nations and coordination between domestic ministries more important than ever. The pandemic exposed various weaknesses of global partnerships. Geopolitics, nationalism and national wealth status discrimination took the lead over multilateral cooperation. But setting the global health agenda has often been politicised. Health has also commonly taken a backseat to economic relations and security discussions which are seen as more pressing in diplomatic meetings. Global health diplomacy is what links health and international relations to address health security. It was this diplomacy that delivered political commitments from many corners of the world to push for COVID-19 medicines and essentials, the development of new partnerships and initiatives, and the creation of COVAX — the global scheme to vaccinate people in lower-income countries — and ACT-Accelerator, dubbed “the fastest, most coordinated and successful global effort in history to develop tools to fight a disease”. Applying interdisciplinary knowledge and skills surrounding health threats can provide robust strategies to create better policies. This article was published in 360info.org's Special report: COVID Diplomacy Edited by Tasha Wibawa, 360info and Karthik Nachiappan, National University of Singapore in Melbourne. Available at https://newshub.360info.org/wire?item=6b7417d2-5ddc-4c0c-bea3-9c478e9b669e

{"references": ["Sin H.L. 2005. Tea for Health F.R.C.P.", "Oguni, I. 2002. Green Tea and Human Health. University of Shizuoka, Japan Tea Exporters' Association.", "Chang Kaison (2015). World Tea Production and Trade. Current and Future Development Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nation.", "Vanecek V., Markvart M. &Drbohlav R. 1966. Fluidised Bed Drying. Leonard Hill Books: London", "Gibert, H., Baxerres, J. L., and Kim, H., 1980 \"Blanching time in fluidized beds. In food processing Engineering\", Applied science publishers, London.", "Sadeghi, M., and M. H. Khoshtaghaza. 2012. Vibration effect on particle bed aerodynamic behavior and thermal performance of black tea in fluidized bed dryers. J. Agric.Sci. Technol. 14:781\u2013788.", "Watano S., Imada Y., Hamada K., Wakamatsu Y., Tanabe Y., Dave R. and Pfeffer R., 2003. Microgranulation of fine powders by a novel rotating fluidized bed granulator. Department of Chemical Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531, Japan.", "Langat, N. 2014. Development of an improved fluid bed dryer system for green tea drying in the industry, PhD Thesis, Kenyatta University.", "Vishal Singh, Deepak Kumar Verma and Gurupreet Singh, 2014. Processing Technology and Health Benefits of Green. Food Process Engineering, Agricultural and Food Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (West-Bengal)-721302, India. \n[10]\tCheng Shu-Jun & Chen Miao-Ian, 2002 Tea Bioactivity and Therapeutic Potential. Taylor and Francis, 11 new Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE\n[11]\tTomlins K. I., Mashingaidze A., 1996. Review of the Tea Withering in The Manufacture of Black Tea. TRF TNL 122, 12-20\n[12]\tHampton, M. G. (1992). Production of black tea. In Tea- Cultivation to Consumption, ed. K. C. Willson & M. N. Clifford. Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 459-511. \n[13]\tOwuor, P. O., Tsushida, T., Ho&a, H. & Murai, T. (1987). Effects of artificial withering on the chemical composition and quality of black tea. Trop. Sci., 27, 159-166."]} Green tea is made from the top two leaves and buds of a shrub, Camellia sinensis, of the family Theaceae and the order Theales. The green tea leaves are picked and immediately sent to be dried or steamed to prevent fermentation. Fluid bed drying technique is a common drying method used in drying green tea because of its ease in design and construction and fluidization of fine tea particles. Major problems in this method are significant loss of chemical content of the leaf and green appearance of tea, retention of high moisture content in the leaves and bed channeling and defluidization. The energy associated with the drying technology has been shown to be a vital factor in determining the quality of green tea. As part of the implementation, prototype dryer was built that facilitated sequence of operations involving steaming, cooling, pre-drying and final drying. The major findings of the project were in terms of quality characteristics of tea leaves and energy consumption during processing. The optimal design achieved a moisture content of 4.2 ± 0.84%. With the optimum drying temperature of 100 ºC, the specific energy consumption was 1697.8 kj.Kg-1 and evaporation rate of 4.272 x 10-4 Kg.m-2.s-1. The energy consumption in a fluidized system can be further reduced by focusing on energy saving designs.

Summary Biocrusts are key drivers of ecosystem functioning in drylands, yet our understanding of how climate change will affect the chemistry of biocrust‐forming species and their impacts on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling is still very limited. Using a manipulative experiment conducted with common biocrust‐forming lichens with distinct morphology and chemistry (Buellia zoharyi, Diploschistes diacapsis, Psora decipiens and Squamarina lentigera), we evaluated changes in lichen total and isotopic C and N and several soil C and N variables after 50 months of simulated warming and rainfall reduction. Climate change treatments reduced δ13C and the C : N ratio in B. zoharyi, and increased δ15N in S. lentigera. Lichens had species‐specific effects on soil dissolved organic N (DON), , β‐glucosidase and acid phosphatase activity regardless of climate change treatments, while these treatments changed how lichens affected several soil properties regardless of biocrust species. Changes in thallus δ13C, N and C : N drove species‐specific effects on dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), , β‐glucosidase and acid phosphatase activity. Our findings indicate that warmer and drier conditions will alter the chemistry of biocrust‐forming lichens, affecting soil nutrient cycling, and emphasize their key role as modulators of climate change impacts in dryland soils.