Multicomponent systems are representative of the most common real situations as many industrial discharges contain a mixture of several pollutants. This study examines the concurrent adsorption of phenol (PHE) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) onto three types of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics (PET MPs): pristine, acid-modified, and thermal-oxidatively aged. Using extended Langmuir (EL), extended Freundlich (EF) isotherms, and a new artificial neural network (ANN) model, equilibrium adsorption capacities were predicted. The EL isotherm fit for pristine and aged PET MPs, while EF fit for modified PET MPs. Monolayer adsorption capacities ranged from 342.10–3715.73 mg/g for PHE and 2518.23–14498.79 mg/g for CIP, exceeding single-component adsorption. The ANN model used one hidden layer with 3 neurons for pristine and aged PET MPs, and 2 hidden layers with five neurons for modified PET MPs, with a hyperbolic tangent activation function. Models showed excellent performance metrics, including R2 values of 0.989–0.999, RMSE of 0.001–0.413, and AAE of 0.009–0.327. Synergistic interactions were observed in the binary system, with PET MPs showing higher selectivity toward CIP. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of PET MPs for binary adsorption of PHE and CIP in aqueous solutions, highlighting their potential for multicomponent pollutant removal.

Field observations in 1986 indicated that increased injury to soybean could occur from clomazone plus metribuzin and clomazone plus linuron compared with metribuzin or linuron alone. Field experiments to measure this response were conducted in 1988, 1989, and 1990 at two locations in Michigan. Atrazine at 0, 1120, 2240, and 3360 g ha-1 was applied the year previous to soybean planting to determine if atrazine residues in the soil influenced soybean response. Herbicide treatments in soybean included clomazone, metribuzin, linuron, alachlor, clomazone plus metribuzin or linuron, alachlor plus metribuzin or linuron, and an untreated control. Additive and synergistic responses in soybean to clomazone plus linuron and clomazone plus metribuzin, regardless of atrazine application rate, occurred in some field environments. Experiments in the greenhouse demonstrated that soybean shoot weight was reduced synergistically from clomazone plus metribuzin compared with either herbicide alone, and the response was greater on a soil with 2.5% organic matter compared with a soil with 4.4% organic matter. Clomazone plus metribuzin reduced leaf area and shoot dry weight, regardless of placement, while leaf area and shoot dry weight were reduced more when clomazone plus linuron- and atrazine plus metribuzin-treated soil was placed in the same zone as the soybean seed. The synergistic interaction in soybean to clomazone plus metribuzin occurred under both cool and warm temperature regimes in growth chamber studies.

A number of authors have demonstrated that the schistosomicidal compound, Praziquantel (Pzq), depends for its action upon the immune status of the host (Sabah et al. 1985; Brindley & Sher, 1987; Doenhoff et al. 1987). We have attempted to define the synergistic interaction between immuno- and chemotherapy further, using the murine irradiated vaccine model of schistosomiasis mansoni. In vaccinated mice, resistance operates in the skin but not the lungs; drug targeted towards lung-stage worms exacerbates lung-phase immunity, however, as depicted by the increased number and size of inflammatory reactions in the pulmonary tissues. Parasites are often found trapped within such foci. In the present investigation, light and ultrastructural studies have been utilized to examine the nature and extent of damage inflicted upon lung-stage larvae recovered from day 6 Pzq-treated vaccinated mice. Such studies have revealed that damage involves muscle disorganization, internal disruption and occasionally, loss of the tegument; in the latter case, cells are often seen attached to the denuded lung worms. To identify the crucial cellular effector cell(s) involved in the synergy between immuno- and chemotherapy, cell depletion studies have been performed in vivo. It would appear from these experiments that eosinophils or lymphocytes rather than neutrophils or macrophages are important effector cells in this synergy. Histological studies argue in favour of eosinophils being the key effector cells.