Epigallocatechin-3-gallate treatment to promote neuroprotection and functional recovery after nervous system injury

Traumatic spinal cord injury （SCI） causes motor paralysis, sensory anesthesia and autonomic dysfunction below the le- sion site and additionally some SCI patients refer neuropathic pain together with these signs and symptoms. Clinical and experimental studies have revealed the main pathological changes of injured spinal cord implicated in all these signs and symptoms, including neuropathic pain. After few hours of traumatic SCI, it is usual to observe broken blood brain barrier with plasma and blood cells extravasation, cell necrosis, disruption of ascending and descending spinal cord pathways and increased potassium and glutamate. Glutamate contributes to excitotoxicity of neurons whereas potassium facilitates ectopic depolarization of survival neurons and activation of resident microglia.

Environmental and economic vision of plasma treatment of waste in Makkah

An environmental and economic assessment of the development of a plasma-chemical reactor equipped with plasma torches for the environmentally friendly treatment of waste streams by plasma is outlined with a view to the chemical and energetic valorization of the sustainability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia（KSA）. This is especially applicable in the pilgrimage season in the city of Makkah, which is a major challenge since the amount of waste was estimated at about 750 thousand tons through Arabic Year 1435 H（2015）, and is growing at a rate of 3%–5% annually. According to statistics, the value of waste in Saudi Arabia ranges between 8 and 9 billion EUR. The Plasma-Treatment Project（PTP） encompasses the direct plasma treatment of all types of waste（from source and landfill）, as well as an environmental vision and economic evaluation of the use of the gas produced for fuel and electricity production in KSA, especially in the pilgrimage season in the holy city Makkah. The electrical power required for the plasmatreatment process is estimated at 5000 kW（2000 kW used for the operation of the system and 3000 kW sold）, taking into account the fact that：（1） the processing capacity of solid waste is 100 tons per day（2） and the sale of electricity amounts to 23.8 MW at 0.18 EUR per kWh.（3） The profit from the sale of electricity per year is estimated at 3.27 million EUR and the estimated profit of solid-waste treatment amounts to 6 million EUR per year and（4） the gross profit per ton of solid waste totals 8 million EUR per year. The present article introduces the first stage of the PTP, in Makkah in the pilgrimage season, which consists of five stages：（1） study and treatment of waste streams,（2） slaughterhouse waste treatment,（3） treatment of refuse-derived fuel,（4）treatment of car tires and（5） treatment of slag（the fifth stage associated with each stage from the four previous stages）.

Enrichment of copper and recycling of cyanide from copper–cyanide waste by solvent extraction

The enrichment of copper from copper–cyanide wastewater by solvent extraction was investigated using a quaternary ammonium salt as an extractant. The influences of important parameters, e.g., organic-phase components, aqueous pH values, temperature, inorganic anion impurities, CN/Cu molar ratio, and stripping reagents, were examined systematically, and the optimal conditions were determined. The results indicated that copper was effectively concentrated from low-concentration solutions using Aliquat 336 and that the extraction efficiency increased linearly with increasing temperature. The aqueous pH value and concentrations of inorganic anion impurities only weakly affected the extraction process when varied in appropriate ranges. The CN/Cu molar ratio affected the extraction efficiency by changing the distribution of copper–cyanide complexes. The difference in gold leaching efficiency between using raffinate and fresh water was negligible.