22 research outputs found
Discussion on the Comments of Slobodan K. Milonjic on the article entitled "Adsorption of strontium on different sodium-enriched bentonites" by Sanja R. Marinovic, Marija J. Ajdukovic, Natasa P. Jovic-Jovicic, Tihana M. Mudrinic, Bojana N. Nedic-Vasiljevi
No full textA thorough discussion on the Comments on the article "Adsorption of strontium on different sodium-enriched bentonites", by Sanja R. Marinovic, Marija J. Ajdukovic, Natasa P. Jovic-Jovicic, Tihana M. Mudrinic, Bojana N. Nedic-Vasiljevic, Predrag T. Bankovic and Aleksandra D. Milutinovic-Nikolic published in the Journal of the Serbian Chemical Society, Volume 82, Issue 4, Pages: 449-463 (2017), given as Letter to the Editor by S. K. Milonjic, is provided in this letter. The authors of the commented paper have considered all the comments, and responded to each of them, point by point
Beyond Bankovic: Extraterritorial Application of the European Convention on Human Rights
No full textThe obligations set forth in the international and regional instruments on human rights are considered as having a strictly territorial scope. States parties have the duty to guarantee the rights recognized in the treaties to all individuals within their territories. The territorial reach of these obligations is expanding by way of interpretation. In its decision on Bankovic, the European Court reduced the impact of this international trend toward a progressive enlargement of the protection granted by human rights treaties, affirming those attacks conducted by NATO against Yugoslavia in 1999 fell out of the extraterritorial reach of the European Convention. After Bankovic, the Court provided a more articulated interpretation of the issue of extraterritorial acts, previously limited to the European legal space. In examining the case law, this paper deals with the issue of whether and to what extent a State party of the European Convention is accountable for human rights violations perpetrated by its armed forces during military operations conducted abroad.
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Chronic Hepatitis C: Conspectus of immunological events in the course of fibrosis evolution.
No full textIn chronically infected HCV patients emergence and evolution of fibrosis, as a consequence of virus persistence, can be considered as an indicator of disease advancement. Therefore the aim of this study was to correlate alterations of immune response in chronic HCV patients with liver histopathology. Sera cytokine levels and frequency of circulating and liver infiltrating cells were evaluated using 13plex Kit Flow Cytomix, flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. We found that the number of circulating T lymphocytes (including CD4+, CD8+ and Treg) and B lymphocytes, as well as DCs, was higher in patients with no fibrosis than in healthy subjects. In patients with fibrosis frequency of these cells decreased, and contrarily, in the liver, number of T and B lymphocytes gradually increased with fibrosis. Importantly, in patients with advanced fibrosis, liver infiltrating regulatory T cells and DC-SIGN+ mononuclear cells with immunosuppressive and wound-healing effector functions were abundantly present. Cytokine profiling showed predominance of proinflammatory cytokines in patients with no fibrosis and a tendency of decline in level of all cytokines with severity of liver injury. Lower but sustained IL-4 production refers to Th2 predominance in higher stages of fibrosis. Altogether, our results reveal graduall alterations of immunological parameters during fibrosis evolution and illustrate the course of immunological events through disease progression
Correction: Chronic Hepatitis C: Conspectus of immunological events in the course of fibrosis evolution.
No full text[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219508.]
Uticaj modifikacije na strukturna, teksturalna i adsorpciona svojstva bentonita
No full textNatural bentonite clay from the Bogovina locality in Serbia was Na-exchanged and modified using hexadecyll-trimethylammonium bromide as surfactant and organobentonite was obtained. The influence of modifications on the structural, textural and sorption properties of bentonite was investigated. It was estimated that modifications solely replace exchangeable cations in smectite layers, whereas other admixture minerals (quartz, calcite, feldspar) in bentonite remain unaffected. According to X-ray results the modification lead to changes in the smectite structure by either decreasing, for Na-bentonite, or increasing, for organobentonite, the interplanar spacing, d(001). The appearance of three new bands in IR spectra of HDTMA-bentonite comparing to those of raw and Na-bentonite assigned to the methylene vibrations confirmed the embedding of aliphatic cations into smectite structure. In organobentonite a significant change in textural properties was observed. In particular, specific surface area dramatically decreased while originally meso and microporous material became almost completely non-porous. Despite almost insignificant specific surface area the synthesized organobentonite due to gained organophyllity of its surface exhibits exquisite adsorption properties toward investigated textile dyes having adsorption capacity approx. 2 times higher than activated carbon.Prirodna bentonitna glina sa lokaliteta Bogovina u Srbiji je natrijumski izmenjena i modifikovana heksadeciltrimetil amonijum-bromidom kao surfaktantom, pri čemu je dobijen organobentonit. Ispitivan je uticaj modifikacije na strukturu, teksturalna i adsorpciona svojstva bentonita. Utvrđeno je da primenjeni postupci modifikacije dovode isključivo do izmene katjona u medulamelamom sloju smektita, dok modifikacija ne deluje na druge prateće minerale u bentonitu (kvare, kalcit, feldspat). Uprkos neznatnoj specifičnoj površini sintetizovani organobentonit zahvaljujući novodobijenoj organofilnosti površine pokazuje izuzetna adsorpciona svojstva prema tekstilnim bojama, imajući adsorpcioni kapacitet oko 2 puta veći od aktivnog uglja
Ecologically friendly chitosan-montmorillonite bio-nanocomposite as adsorbent for textile dyes from aqueous solutions
No full textThe bio-nanocomposite of montmorillonite and natural biopolymer chitosan
(C-MM) was synthesized. Intercalation of chitosan in form of monolayer into
the interlamellar space of montmorillonite was confirmed by XRD and IR
analysis. The adsorption of textile dyes: Acid Yellow 99 (AY99), Acid Orange
10 (AO10) and Reactive Black 5 (RB5) onto C-MM was investigated. The
adsorption was performed with the respect to adsorption time, pH and initial
dye concentration. The kinetics of adsorption obeyed pseudo-second-order of
kinetics and was the most efficient in acidic pH. Langmuir model best
described the adsorption of AY99 and AO10 , while RB5 adsorption isotherm was
best fitted with Freundlich model.</jats:p
Risk factors for the appearance of minimal pathologic lesions on vocal folds in vocal professionals
No full textBackground/Aim. An excessive use or misuse of voice by vocal professionals may result in symptoms such are husky voice, hoarse voice, total loss of voice, or even organic changes taking place on vocal folds - minimal pathological lesions - MAPLs. The purpose of this study was to identify the type of MAPLs which affects vocal professionals, as well as to identify the risk factors that bring about these changes. Methods. There were 94 vocal professionals who were examined altogether, out of whom 46 were affected by MAPLs, whereas 48 of them were diagnosed with no MAPLs, so that they served as the control group. All these patients were clinically examined (anamnesis, clinical examination, bacteoriological examination of nose and pharynx, radiography of paranasal cavities, allergological processing, phoniatric examination, endo-video-stroboscopic examination, as well as gastroenterologic examination, and finally endocrinological and pulmological analyses). Results. The changes that occurred most often were identified as nodules (50%; n = 23/46) and polyps (24%; n = 11/46). Risk factors causing MAPLs in vocal professionals were as follows: age, which reduced the risk by 23.9% [OR 0.861 (0.786-0.942)] whereas the years of career increase the risk [OR 1.114 (1.000-1.241)], as well as the presence of a chronic respiratory disease [OR 7.310 (1.712- 31.218)], and the presence of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease [OR 4.542 (1.263-16.334)]. The following factors did not contribute to development of MAPLs in vocal professionals: sex, a place of residence, irritation, smoking, endocrinologic disease and the presence of poly-sinusitis. Conclusion. It is necessary to introduce comprehensive procedures for prevention of MAPLs, particularly in high-risk groups. Identification of the risk factors for MAPLs and prevention of their influence on vocal professionals (given that their income depends on their vocal ability) is of the highest importance
A new type of bentonite-based non-woven composite
No full textSandwich-like composites based on clays and textiles are extensively applied
in various fields, including civil engineering and environmental protection.
In this paper, the synthesis of a new type of composite with embedded
bentonite particles within a non-woven polyester matrix is presented. The
synthesized composite has improved mechanical properties compared to the
corresponding non-woven matrix. Although more than two-times thinner, the
synthesized composite showed mechanical properties similar to those of a
commercial composite chosen for comparison. Sorption test results confirmed
that the contribution of the textile component to the sorption of aqueous
Cu(II) ions by the composite was negligible. The sorption of aqueous Cu(II)
ions on the synthesized composite was best-fitted using the Langmuir model.
The presented study confirmed that the loss of bentonite particles from the
composite can be eliminated using the suggested synthesis method.</jats:p
Basic characteristics of patients and control subjects.
No full textBasic characteristics of patients and control subjects.</p
Organobentonites as multifunctional adsorbents of organic and inorganic water pollutants
No full textThe aim of this study was to find a low cost, easy to synthesize and
efficient adsorbent for the simultaneous adsorption of both organic and
inorganic pollutants (including textile dyes, toxic metals etc.). The
starting material, domestic bentonite clay from Bogovina was modified with
amounts of hexadecyltrimethylammonium cations corresponding to 0.5 and 1.0
times of the value of the cation exchange capacity value. The
organobentonites were tested as adsorbents in a three-dye-containing
solution, a three-component solution of Pb2+, Cd2+ and Ni2+ and a hexa-
component solution containing all investigated dyes and toxic metal cations.
The used adsorbents showed the highest affinity toward Acid Yellow 99 and
Ni2+ ions. Dye adsorption was enhanced in the presence of toxic metal
cations, while the adsorption of all toxic cations from the hexa-component
solution was lower than from the three-component solution containing only
toxic cations. The synthesized hexadecyltrimethylammonium bentonite could be
regarded as an efficient multifunctional adsorbent for the investigated type
of water pollutants
