Role of the humic acid for sorption of radionuclides by synthesized titania

Present work reports on synthesis, characterization and application of titania powder (anatase) for sorption of 137Cs (monovalent), 133Ba (divalent) and 154Eu (trivalent) radionuclides in the presence and absence of humic acid (Aldrich). In order to obtain a detailed sorption behavior of all the three aforementioned radionuclides, a series of experiments were conducted with respect to effect of pH, humic acid (HA), and concentration of radionuclides. Sorption studies of 137Cs, 133Ba and 154Eu onto synthesized titania have been carried out over a wide range of pH scale varying from 3 to 11 in the presence and absence of Aldrich Humic acid (2 mg/L). Sorption of all the three radionuclides rises sharply with the pH of the suspension with saturation value of ∼ 70%, 80% and 85% respectively for monovalent, bivalent and trivalent radionuclides. Humic acid could not make any influence for sorption of 137Cs, but significantly altered with respect to 133Ba and 154Eu sorption. The sorption data at various concentrations were fitted with Freundlich isotherm model.

An indian study of health related quality of life in bipolar disorder patients and their caregivers

Introduction

There are major health care implications of quality of life (QOL) in longstanding disorders such as Bipolar affective disorder (BD) for the patients and their caregivers.

Objectives

The aim of the present study is to compare quality of life among bipolar disorder patients, their caregivers and to assess whether the level of depression correlates with the scores of quality of life in Bipolar Disorder patients.

Method

We compared bipolar disorder (N = 40), their caregivers (N = 40) and no psychiatric illnesses (N = 150) on health related quality of life (HRQOL) which was assessed using the 26-item World Health Organization QOL instrument (WHOQOL-BREF Hindi version). All patients were diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IV. Within the group with bipolar disorder, we examined the relationship between HRQOL using WHOQOL BREF Hindi version and depression assessed using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS).

Results

Patients in bipolar disorder group had lower QOL on all the four domains compared to healthy controls, caregivers. The four domains of the WHOQOL scale correlated negatively with the HDRS.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that bipolar depression and residual symptoms of depression are negatively correlated with QOL in BD patients.