[Cost-effectiveness analysis of fracture liaison services in Catalonia]

OBJECTIVE

To assess the cost-effectiveness of Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) compared to the standard of care for secondary prevention of fragility fractures form the perspective of the Catalan Health Service.

METHODS

Cost-utility assessment through a Markov model that simulated disease progression of a patients' cohort candidates to initiate antiosteoporotic treatment after a fragility fracture. A time horizon of 10 years and a 6-month duration per cycle was established. Clinical, economics and quality of life parameters were obtained from the literature and derived from four Catalan FLS. The Catalan Health Service perspective was adopted, considering direct health costs expressed in 2022 euros. A 3% discount rate was applied on costs and outcomes. Uncertainty was assessed through multiple sensitivity analyses.

RESULTS

Compared to the standard of care, FLS would promote antiosteoporotic initiation and persistence, reducing the incidence and mortality associated with subsequent fragility fractures. This incremental clinical benefit was estimated at 0.055 years and 0.112 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) per patient. A higher cost (€1,073.79 per patient) was estimated, resulting into an incremental cost-utility ratio of €9,602.72 per QALYs gained. The sensitivity analyses performed were consistent, corroborating the robustness and conservative approach of the base-case.

CONCLUSIONS

The introduction of FLS for the secondary prevention of FF would represent a cost-effective strategy from the Catalan Health Service perspective.

A diverse panel of 755 bread wheat accessions harbors untapped genetic diversity in landraces and reveals novel genetic regions conferring powdery mildew resistance

KEY MESSAGE

A bread wheat panel reveals rich genetic diversity in Turkish, Pakistani and Iranian landraces and novel resistance loci to diverse powdery mildew isolates via subsetting approaches in association studies. Wheat breeding for disease resistance relies on the availability and use of diverse genetic resources. More than 800,000 wheat accessions are globally conserved in gene banks, but they are mostly uncharacterized for the presence of resistance genes and their potential for agriculture. Based on the selective reduction of previously assembled collections for allele mining for disease resistance, we assembled a trait-customized panel of 755 geographically diverse bread wheat accessions with a focus on landraces, called the LandracePLUS panel. Population structure analysis of this panel based on the TaBW35K SNP array revealed an increased genetic diversity compared to 632 landraces genotyped in an earlier study and 17 high-quality sequenced wheat accessions. The additional genetic diversity found here mostly originated from Turkish, Iranian and Pakistani landraces. We characterized the LandracePLUS panel for resistance to ten diverse isolates of the fungal pathogen powdery mildew. Performing genome-wide association studies and dividing the panel further by a targeted subsetting approach for accessions of distinct geographical origin, we detected several known and already cloned genes, including the Pm2a gene. In addition, we identified 22 putatively novel powdery mildew resistance loci that represent useful sources for resistance breeding and for research on the mildew-wheat pathosystem. Our study shows the value of assembling trait-customized collections and utilizing a diverse range of pathogen races to detect novel loci. It further highlights the importance of integrating landraces of different geographical origins into future diversity studies.

Mutagenesis of Wheat Powdery Mildew Reveals a Single Gene Controlling Both NLR and Tandem Kinase-Mediated Immunity

Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt) is a globally important fungal wheat pathogen. Some wheat genotypes contain powdery mildew resistance (Pm) genes encoding immune receptors that recognize specific fungal-secreted effector proteins, defined as avirulence (Avr) factors. Identifying Avr factors is vital for understanding the mechanisms, functioning, and durability of wheat resistance. Here, we present AvrXpose, an approach to identify Avr genes in Bgt by generating gain-of-virulence mutants on Pm genes. We first identified six Bgt mutants with gain of virulence on Pm3b and Pm3c. They all had point mutations, deletions or insertions of transposable elements within the corresponding AvrPm3b2/c2 gene or its promoter region. We further selected six mutants on Pm3a, aiming to identify the yet unknown AvrPm3a3 recognized by Pm3a, in addition to the previously described AvrPm3a2/f2. Surprisingly, Pm3a virulence in the obtained mutants was always accompanied by an additional gain of virulence on the unrelated tandem kinase resistance gene WTK4. No virulence toward 11 additional R genes tested was observed, indicating that the gain of virulence was specific for Pm3a and WTK4. Several independently obtained Pm3a-WTK4 mutants have mutations in Bgt-646, a gene encoding a putative, nonsecreted ankyrin repeat-containing protein. Gene expression analysis suggests that Bgt-646 regulates a subset of effector genes. We conclude that Bgt-646 is a common factor required for avirulence on both a specific nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat and a WTK immune receptor. Our findings suggest that, beyond effectors, another type of pathogen protein can control the race-specific interaction between powdery mildew and wheat. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Tracking Microbial Diversity and Hygienic-Sanitary Status during Processing of Farmed Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Aquaculture is becoming a strategic sector for many national economies to supply the increasing demand for fish from consumers. Fish culture conditions and processing operations can lead to an increase in microbial contamination of farmed fish that may shorten the shelf-life of fish products and byproducts, and ready-to-eat fishery products. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary status of water, environment, and processing of fresh-farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fillets produced in a local fish farm in Andalusia, Spain. To achieve this, a longitudinal study was carried out by collecting environmental (air and food-contact surfaces), water from fish ponds, and rainbow trout samples. Thereby, seven sampling visits were performed between February 2021 and July 2022, where foodborne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms, together with physicochemical parameters, were analysed in the collected samples. Further, microbial identification of microbiota was achieved through a culture-dependent technique using blast analysis of 16S RNA gene sequencing. The results showed that Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella were not detected in the analysed samples. Regarding the hygienic-sanitary status of the fish farm, the slaughtering bath, the eviscerating machine and the outlet water from fish ponds presented the highest counts of coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, and Aerobic Mesophilic Bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus and sulphite-reducing Clostridium were identified in the conveyor belts, fish flesh, and viscera. The 16S RNA identification confirmed the presence of viable spoilage bacteria such as Citrobacter gillenii, Macrococcus caseolyticus, Hafnia paralvei, Lactococcus lactis, Lactococcus cremoris, Klebsiella, Escherichia coli, Morganella morganii, and Shewanella. Three of these genera (Citrobacter, Hafnia, and Pseudomonas) were present in all types of samples analysed. The results evidenced potential transmission of microbial contamination from contaminated packaging belts and boxes, evisceration and filleting machines to flesh and viscera samples, thus the establishment of control measures should be implemented in fish farm facilities to extend the shelf-life of farmed fishery products.

Global genomic analyses of wheat powdery mildew reveal association of pathogen spread with historical human migration and trade

The fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici causes wheat powdery mildew disease. Here, we study its spread and evolution by analyzing a global sample of 172 mildew genomes. Our analyses show that B.g. tritici emerged in the Fertile Crescent during wheat domestication. After it spread throughout Eurasia, colonization brought it to America, where it hybridized with unknown grass mildew species. Recent trade brought USA strains to Japan, and European strains to China. In both places, they hybridized with local ancestral strains. Thus, although mildew spreads by wind regionally, our results indicate that humans drove its global spread throughout history and that mildew rapidly evolved through hybridization.

The fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici causes wheat powdery mildew disease. Here, Sotiropoulos et al. analyze a global sample of 172 mildew genomes, providing evidence that humans drove global spread of the pathogen throughout history and that mildew rapidly evolved through hybridization with local fungal strains.

NLR immune receptors and diverse types of non-NLR proteins control race-specific resistance in Triticeae

Recent progress in large-scale sequencing, genomics, and rapid gene isolation techniques has accelerated the identification of race-specific resistance (R) genes and their corresponding avirulence (Avr) genes in wheat, barley, rye, and their wild relatives. Here, we describe the growing repertoire of identified R and Avr genes with special emphasis on novel R gene architectures, revealing that there is a large diversity of proteins encoded by race-specific resistance genes that extends beyond the canonical nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat proteins. Immune receptors with unique domain architectures controlling race-specific resistance possibly reveal novel aspects on the biology of host-pathogen interactions. We conclude that the polyploid cereal genomes have a large evolutionary potential to generate diverse types of resistance genes.

Identification of specificity-defining amino acids of the wheat immune receptor Pm2 and powdery mildew effector AvrPm2

Plant nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) act as intracellular sensors for pathogen-derived effector proteins and trigger an immune response, frequently resulting in the hypersensitive cell death response (HR) of the infected host cell. The wheat (Triticum aestivum) NLR Pm2 confers resistance against the fungal pathogen Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt) if the isolate contains the specific RNase-like effector AvrPm2. We identified and isolated seven new Pm2 alleles (Pm2e-i) in the wheat D-genome ancestor Aegilops tauschii and two new natural AvrPm2 haplotypes from Bgt. Upon transient co-expression in Nicotiana benthamiana, we observed a variant-specific HR of the Pm2 variants Pm2a and Pm2i towards AvrPm2 or its homolog from the AvrPm2 effector family, BgtE-5843, respectively. Through the introduction of naturally occurring non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms and structure-guided mutations, we identified single amino acids in both the wheat NLR Pm2 and the fungal effector proteins AvrPm2 and BgtE-5843 responsible for the variant-specific HR of the Pm2 variants. Exchanging these amino acids led to a modified HR of the Pm2-AvrPm2 interaction and allowed the identification of the effector head epitope, a 20-amino-acid long unit of AvrPm2 involved in the HR. Swapping of the AvrPm2 head epitope to the non-HR-triggering AvrPm2 family member BgtE-5846 led to gain of a HR by Pm2a. Our study presents a molecular approach to identify crucial effector surface structures involved in the HR and demonstrates that natural and induced diversity in an immune receptor and its corresponding effectors can provide the basis for understanding and modifying NLR-effector specificity.

Wheat Pm4 resistance to powdery mildew is controlled by alternative splice variants encoding chimeric proteins

Crop breeding for resistance to pathogens largely relies on genes encoding receptors that confer race-specific immunity. Here, we report the identification of the wheat Pm4 race-specific resistance gene to powdery mildew. Pm4 encodes a putative chimeric protein of a serine/threonine kinase and multiple C2 domains and transmembrane regions, a unique domain architecture among known resistance proteins. Pm4 undergoes constitutive alternative splicing, generating two isoforms with different protein domain topologies that are both essential for resistance function. Both isoforms interact and localize to the endoplasmatic reticulum when co-expressed. Pm4 reveals additional diversity of immune receptor architecture to be explored for breeding and suggests an endoplasmatic reticulum-based molecular mechanism of Pm4-mediated race-specific resistance.

A membrane-bound ankyrin repeat protein confers race-specific leaf rust disease resistance in wheat

Plasma membrane-associated and intracellular proteins and protein complexes play a pivotal role in pathogen recognition and disease resistance signaling in plants and animals. The two predominant protein families perceiving plant pathogens are receptor-like kinases and nucleotide binding-leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLR), which often confer race-specific resistance. Leaf rust is one of the most prevalent and most devastating wheat diseases. Here, we clone the race-specific leaf rust resistance gene Lr14a from hexaploid wheat. The cloning of Lr14a is aided by the recently published genome assembly of ArinaLrFor, an Lr14a-containing wheat line. Lr14a encodes a membrane-localized protein containing twelve ankyrin (ANK) repeats and structural similarities to Ca2+-permeable non-selective cation channels. Transcriptome analyses reveal an induction of genes associated with calcium ion binding in the presence of Lr14a. Haplotype analyses indicate that Lr14a-containing chromosome segments were introgressed multiple times into the bread wheat gene pool, but we find no variation in the Lr14a coding sequence itself. Our work demonstrates the involvement of an ANK-transmembrane (TM)-like type of gene family in race-specific disease resistance in wheat. This forms the basis to explore ANK-TM-like genes in disease resistance breeding.

Contribution of recent technological advances to future resistance breeding

The development of durable host resistance strategies to control crop diseases is a primary need for sustainable agricultural production in the future. This article highlights the potential of recent progress in the understanding of host resistance for future cereal breeding. Much of the novel work is based on advancements in large-scale sequencing and genomics, rapid gene isolation techniques and high-throughput molecular marker technologies. Moreover, emerging applications on the pathogen side like effector identification or field pathogenomics are discussed. The combination of knowledge from both sides of cereal pathosystems will result in new approaches for resistance breeding. We describe future applications and innovative strategies to implement effective and durable strategies to combat diseases of major cereal crops while reducing pesticide dependency.

Fatty Acid Profile Changes During Gradual Soil Water Depletion in Oats Suggests a Role for Jasmonates in Coping With Drought

Although often investigated within the context of plant growth and development and/or seed composition, plant lipids have roles in responses to environment. To dissect changes in lipid and fatty acid composition linked to drought tolerance responses in oats, we performed a detailed profiling of (>90) different lipids classes during a time course of water stress. We used two oat cultivars, Flega and Patones previously characterized as susceptible and tolerant to drought, respectively. Significant differences in lipid classes (mono, di and triacylglycerols; [respectively MAG, DAG, and TAG] and free fatty acids [FFA]) and in their fatty acid (FA) composition was observed between cultivars upon drought stress. In Flega there was an increase of saturated FAs, in particular 16:0 in the DAG and TAG fractions. This led to significant lower values of the double bond index and polyunsaturated/saturated ratio in Flega compared with Patones. By contrast, Patones was characterized by the early induction of signaling-related lipids and fatty acids, such as DAGs and linolenic acid. Since the latter is a precursor of jasmonates, we investigated further changes of this signaling molecule. Targeted measurements of jasmonic acid (JA) and Ile-JA indicated early increases in the concentrations of these molecules in Patones upon drought stress whereas no changes were observed in Flega. Altogether, these data suggest a role for jasmonates and specific fatty acids in different lipid classes in coping with drought stress in oat.

Multi-Environmental Trials Reveal Genetic Plasticity of Oat Agronomic Traits Associated With Climate Variable Changes

Although oat cultivation around the Mediterranean basin is steadily increasing, its yield in these regions lags far behind those of Northern Europe. This results mainly from the poor adaptation of current oat cultivars to Mediterranean environments. Local landraces may act as reservoirs of favorable traits that could contribute to increase oat resilience in this region. To aid selection of suitable agro-climate adapted genotypes we integrated genome-wide association approaches with analysis of field assessed phenotypes of genetic variants and of the weight of associated markers across different environmental variables. Association models accounting for oat population structure were applied on either arithmetic means or best linear unbiased prediction (BLUPs) to ensure robust identification of associations with the agronomic traits evaluated. The meta-analysis of the six joint environments (mega-environment) identified several markers associated with several agronomic traits and crown rust severity. Five of these associated markers were located within expressed genes. These associations were only mildly influenced by climatic variables indicating that these markers are good candidates to improve the genetic potential of oat under Mediterranean conditions. The models also highlighted several marker-trait associations, strongly affected by particular climatic variables including high rain pre- or post-heading dates and high temperatures, revealing strong potential for oat adaptation to specific agro-climatic conditions. These results will contribute to increase oat resilience for particular climatic conditions and facilitate breeding for plant adaptation to a wider range of climatic conditions in the current scenario of climate change.

Compromised Photosynthetic Electron Flow and H2O2 Generation Correlate with Genotype-Specific Stomatal Dysfunctions during Resistance against Powdery Mildew in Oats

Stomatal dysfunction known as "locking" has been linked to the elicitation of a hypersensitive response (HR) following attack of fungal pathogens in cereals. We here assess how spatial and temporal patterns of different resistance mechanisms, such as HR and penetration resistance influence stomatal and photosynthetic parameters in oat (Avena sativa) and the possible involvement of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in the dysfunctions observed. Four oat cultivars with differential resistance responses (i.e., penetration resistance, early and late HR) to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. avenae, Bga) were used. Results demonstrated that stomatal dysfunctions were genotype but not response-type dependent since genotypes with similar resistance responses when assessed histologically showed very different locking patterns. Maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) of photosystem II were compromised in most Bga-oat interactions and photoinhibition increased. However, the extent of the photosynthetic alterations was not directly related to the extent of HR. H₂O₂ generation is triggered during the execution of resistance responses and can influence stomatal function. Artificially increasing H₂O₂ by exposing plants to increased light intensity further reduced Fv/Fm ratios and augmented the patterns of stomatal dysfunctions previously observed. The latter results suggest that the observed dysfunctions and hence a cost of resistance may be linked with oxidative stress occurring during defense induced photosynthetic disruption.

Rapid gene isolation in barley and wheat by mutant chromosome sequencing

Identification of causal mutations in barley and wheat is hampered by their large genomes and suppressed recombination. To overcome these obstacles, we have developed MutChromSeq, a complexity reduction approach based on flow sorting and sequencing of mutant chromosomes, to identify induced mutations by comparison to parental chromosomes. We apply MutChromSeq to six mutants each of the barley Eceriferum-q gene and the wheat Pm2 genes. This approach unambiguously identified single candidate genes that were verified by Sanger sequencing of additional mutants. MutChromSeq enables reference-free forward genetics in barley and wheat, thus opening up their pan-genomes to functional genomics.

A metabolomic study in oats (Avena sativa) highlights a drought tolerance mechanism based upon salicylate signalling pathways and the modulation of carbon, antioxidant and photo-oxidative metabolism

Although a wealth of information is available on the induction of one or several drought-related responses in different species, little is known of how their timing, modulation and crucially integration influence drought tolerance. Based upon metabolomic changes in oat (Avena sativa L.), we have defined key processes involved in drought tolerance. During a time course of increasing water deficit, metabolites from leaf samples were profiled using direct infusion-electrospray mass spectroscopy (DI-ESI-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) ESI-MS/MS and analysed using principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant function analysis (DFA). The involvement of metabolite pathways was confirmed through targeted assays of key metabolites and physiological experiments. We demonstrate an early accumulation of salicylic acid (SA) influencing stomatal opening, photorespiration and antioxidant defences before any change in the relative water content. These changes are likely to maintain plant water status, with any photoinhibitory effect being counteracted by an efficient antioxidant capacity, thereby representing an integrated mechanism of drought tolerance in oats. We also discuss these changes in relation to those engaged at later points, consequence of the different water status in susceptible and resistant genotypes.

Genome-wide association study for crown rust (Puccinia coronata f. sp. avenae) and powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. avenae) resistance in an oat (Avena sativa) collection of commercial varieties and landraces

Diseases caused by crown rust (Puccinia coronata f. sp. avenae) and powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. avenae) are among the most important constraints for the oat crop. Breeding for resistance is one of the most effective, economical, and environmentally friendly means to control these diseases. The purpose of this work was to identify elite alleles for rust and powdery mildew resistance in oat by association mapping to aid selection of resistant plants. To this aim, 177 oat accessions including white and red oat cultivars and landraces were evaluated for disease resistance and further genotyped with 31 simple sequence repeat and 15,000 Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) markers to reveal association with disease resistance traits. After data curation, 1712 polymorphic markers were considered for association analysis. Principal component analysis and a Bayesian clustering approach were applied to infer population structure. Five different general and mixed linear models accounting for population structure and/or kinship corrections and two different statistical tests were carried out to reduce false positive. Five markers, two of them highly significant in all models tested were associated with rust resistance. No strong association between any marker and powdery mildew resistance at the seedling stage was identified. However, one DArT sequence, oPt-5014, was strongly associated with powdery mildew resistance in adult plants. Overall, the markers showing the strongest association in this study provide ideal candidates for further studies and future inclusion in strategies of marker-assisted selection.

Targeting sources of drought tolerance within an Avena spp. collection through multivariate approaches

In this study, we find and characterize the sources of tolerance to drought amongst an oat (Avena sativa L.) germplasm collection of 174 landraces and cultivars. We used multivariate analysis, non-supervised principal component analyses (PCA) and supervised discriminant function analyses (DFA) to suggest the key mechanism/s responsible for coping with drought stress. Following initial assessment of drought symptoms and area under the drought progress curve, a subset of 14 accessions were selected for further analysis. The collection was assessed for relative water content (RWC), cell membrane stability, stomatal conductance (g (1)), leaf temperature, water use efficiency (WUE), lipid peroxidation, lipoxygenase activity, chlorophyll levels and antioxidant capacity during a drought time course experiment. Without the use of multivariate approaches, it proved difficult to unequivocally link drought tolerance to specific physiological processes in the different resistant oat accessions. These approaches allowed the ranking of many supposed drought tolerance traits in the order of degree of importance within this crop, thereby highlighting those with a causal relationship to drought stress tolerance. Analyses of the loading vectors used to derive the PCA and DFA models indicated that two traits involved in water relations, temperature and RWC together with the area of drought curves, were important indicators of drought tolerance. However, other parameters involved in water use such as g (1) and WUE were less able to discriminate between the accessions. These observations validate our approach which should be seen as representing a cost-effective initial screen that could be subsequently employed to target drought tolerance in segregating populations.

Optimization of the synthesis of a new coagulant from a tannin extract

The current article studies the optimization of a new coagulant agent for water purification and wastewater remediation. Design of experiments is used for optimizing the production of this new tannin-based coagulant by using Acacia mearnsii de Wild tannin extract, NH(4)Cl and formaldehyde. The effectiveness of this product was confirmed on dye-polluted wastewater and surfactant wastewater. This cationic coagulant seems to be sensitive to temperature and tannin-NH(4)Cl ratio (g of ammonium chloride per g of tannin extract). NH(4)Cl ratio was found to be more influent than temperature and no interaction is presented between these two parameters. For each system, an optimum combination NH(4)Cl ratio and temperature was found: 24.9°C and 2 g g(-1) for dye removal and 36.4°C and 1.87 g g(-1) for surfactant elimination. The optimal conditions were merged to produce a combined coagulant that was tested on dye, surfactant, surface river water and municipal wastewater. Predicted levels of remediation were experimentally confirmed.

Surface water and wastewater treatment using a new tannin-based coagulant. Pilot plant trials

A new tannin-based coagulant-flocculant (Tanfloc) was tested for water treatment at a pilot plant level. Four types of water sample were treated: surface water (collected from a river), and municipal, textile industry (simulated by a 100 mg L(-1) aqueous solution of an acid dye), and laundry (simulated by a 50 mg L(-1) aqueous solution of an anionic surfactant) wastewaters. The pilot plant process consisted of coagulation, sedimentation, and filtration. The experiments were carried out with an average coagulant dosage of 92.2 mg L(-1) (except in the case of the surface water for which the dosage was 2 mg L(-1)). The efficacy of the water purification was notable in every case: total turbidity removal in the surface water and municipal wastewater, about 95% dye removal in the case of the textile industry wastewater, and about 80% surfactant removal in the laundry wastewater. Filtration improved the removal of suspended solids, both flocs and turbidity, and slightly improved the process as a whole. The efficiency of Tanfloc in these pilot studies was similar to or even better than that obtained in batch trials.

Comparison of single-step and two-step purified coagulants from Moringa oleifera seed for turbidity and DOC removal

The coagulant proteins from Moringa oleifera purified with single-step and two-step ion-exchange processes were used for the coagulation of surface water from Meuse river in The Netherlands. The performances of the two purified coagulants and the crude extract were assessed in terms of turbidity and DOC removal. The results indicated that the optimum dosage of the single-step purified coagulant was more than two times higher compared to the two-step purified coagulant in terms of turbidity removal. And the residual DOC in the two-step purified coagulant was lower than in single-step purified coagulant or crude extract.

Novel tannin-based adsorbent in removing cationic dye (Methylene Blue) from aqueous solution. Kinetics and equilibrium studies

Natural tannin-based adsorbent has been prepared on the basis of the gelification of Quebracho bark extract. The resulting product, Quebracho Tannin Gel (QTG) was tested as cationic dye adsorbent with Methylene Blue (MB). Kinetics of adsorption process were studied out and a period of 15 days was determined for reaching equilibrium. The influences of pH and temperature were evaluated. As pH or temperature raise q capacity of QTG increases. Theoretical modelization of dye-QTG adsorption was carried out by multiparametric adjustment according to Langmuir's hypothesis. Values of the k(l1), k(l2) and activation energies were calculated.

Removal of Alizarin Violet 3R (anthraquinonic dye) from aqueous solutions by natural coagulants

In this paper the ability of two natural products in removing dyes has been tested. After a preliminary screening for dye removal capacity, a tannin-based coagulant called ACQUAPOL C-1 and a vegetal protein extract derived from Moringa oleifera seed have been fully studied. The influence of several parameters such as pH, temperature or initial dye concentration (IDC) have been tested and the behavior of both coagulants has been compared. pH results to be an interesting variable and dye removal decreases as pH increases. This effect is higher in ACQUAPOL C-1 than in M. oleifera seed extract. Temperature seems not to be so affecting parameter, while IDC appears to be a very important variable in q(c) capacity, which is higher as IDC increases. Langmuir isotherm model fits very well in both cases of ACQUAPOL C-1 and M. oleifera seed extract dye removal.

Removal of sodium lauryl sulphate by coagulation/flocculation with Moringa oleifera seed extract

Among other natural flocculant/coagulant agents, Moringa oleifera seed extract ability to remove an anionic surfactant has been evaluated and it has been found to be very interesting. Sodium lauryl sulphate was removed from aqueous solutions up to 80% through coagulation/flocculation process. pH and temperature were found to be not very important factors in removal efficiency. Freundlich (F), Frumkin-Fowler-Guggenheim (FFG) and Gu-Zhu (GZ) models were used to adjust experimental data in a solid-liquid adsorption hypothesis. Last one resulted to be the most accurate one. Several data fit parameters were determined, as Freundlich order, which was found to be 1.66, Flory-Huggins interaction parameter from FFG model, which was found to be 4.87; and limiting Moringa surfactant adsorption capacity from GZ model, which was found to be 2.13 x 10(-3)mol/g.

Improvement of water treatment pilot plant with Moringa oleifera extract as flocculant agent

Moringa oleifera extract is a high-capacity flocculant agent for turbidity removal in surface water treatment. A complete study of a pilot-plant installation has been carried out. Because of flocculent sedimentability of treated water, a residual turbidity occured in the pilot plant (around 30 NTU), which could not be reduced just by a coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation process. Because of this limitation, the pilot plant (excluded filtration) achieved a turbidity removal up to 70%. A slow sand filter was put in as a complement to installation. A clogging process was characterized, according to Carman-Kozeny's hydraulic hypothesis. Kozeny's k parameter was found to be 4.18. Through fouling stages, this k parameter was found to be up to 6.36. The obtained data are relevant for the design of a real filter in a continuous-feeding pilot plant. Slow sand filtration is highly recommended owing to its low cost, easy-handling and low maintenance, so it is a very good complement to Moringa water treatment in developing countries.