Council of Christian Hospitals

Developments in chemistry during the latter part of the 18th century led not only to the synthesis of new drugs but also to the purification of plant extracts used as medicines. These herbal remedies consisted mainly of impure vegetable derivatives containing a number of inert as well as pharmacologically active substances but in unknown quantities and varying proportions. Of the active substances used in medicine around 1800, opium had remained medically important since ancient times. The isolation of morphine in its pure form was the result of years of research and testing, occurring most prominently between the years 1803 and 1817. Towards the end of the 18th century, a brilliant pharmacist named Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Serturner (1783–1841) transformed pharmaceutical chemistry from a state of alchemy to an acknowledged branch of science. SERTURNER'S BIOGRAPHY Born on 19 June 1783, Serturner was the fourth of six children born to Joseph Simon Serdinner and Marie Therese Brockmann in Neuhaus, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Prussia (present-day Austria). His parents were in the service of the Paderborn prince, Friedrich Wilhelm. When the prince and his parents died in 1798, Serturner was left with no means of support. At the tender age of 16, he enrolled as an apprentice to Mr. Cramer, a court apothecary in Paderborn. THE ISOLATION OF MORPHINE Through diligent research, Serturner was the first to successfully isolate and extract morphine crystals from the tarry poppy seed juice. After a series of experiments on rats and stray dogs, he reported his discovery of a sleep-inducing molecule in letters to the editor of the Trommsdorffs Journal der Pharmacie in 1805 and again, the following year. Soon after qualifying as an apothecary assistant, Serturner moved to Einbeck in 1806 where he was employed as an assistant in the magistrate's pharmacy. Following Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion into Europe, French legislation prevailed, permitting Serturner, to open shop in Westphalia.[1] A SEARCH FOR A SAFE DOSE When his discovery remained unrecognised, Serturner continued with his experiments and described the ‘crystallisable’ properties of the new substance (Principium somniferum) that was a weak base, soluble in acidic solutions. Since his discovery occurred almost 50 years before the invention of the hypodermic syringe, the drug had to be administered orally. Once, in the midst of a terrible toothache, Serturner swallowed a small quantity of his salt and experienced tremendous relief. When he awoke hours later, he realised that this compound was safe for human consumption. By trial and error, through self-administration and dosing three young volunteers, he noticed that one-fourth grain (30 mg) of the drug induced a happy, light-headed sensation, the second dose caused drowsiness and excessive fatigue, while the third caused participants to become confused and somnolent. He suggested that 15 mg of the drug as the optimal dose and named the substance ‘Morphium’ after the Greek god of sleep and dreams. A LANDMARK DISCOVERY AND RECOGNITION Serturner's third publication titled, ‘Ueber das Morphium als Hauptbestandteil des Opiums’ was well received and recognised by the eminent French Chemist JL Gay-Lussac and also the German Mineralogical Society. The Jena University awarded Serturner an honorary doctor's degree in 1817. He received similar honours from universities at Marburg, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Batavia, Paris and Lisbon. In 1831, Serturner received the Montyon prize from the Institute of France and the title ‘Benefactor of Humanity’ for his work in isolating morphine from opium. Serturner had pioneered and promoted a new branch of science that came to be known as alkaloid chemistry. He also disproved the prevailing notion that all medicinal plant substances were acidic in nature. When the term alkaloid was coined in 1818 by W Meissner and the suffix-ine applied to the group, morphium came to be known as morphine. When Napoleon was finally defeated, Serturner had to close his pharmacy in Einbeck and establish the ‘Rathaus Apotheke’ at Hamelin (of Pied Piper fame). His initiative led to the isolation of numerous other alkaloids such as codeine, quinine, strychnine, veratrine and emetine.[2] A BRILLIANT MIND THAT KNEW FEW BOUNDARIES Serturner's interests and versatility extended beyond alkaloids is shown by his subsequent studies on the composition of corrosive alkalis and also by his views on the nature of cholera in 1831. He considered the disease to be caused by a living organism that could be eliminated with disinfectants and by boiling drinking water. He then turned his attention to improving the designs of firearms, bullets and other ammunition. He even managed to improve the designs of rear-loaded rifles and created a lead-antimony alloy for making bullets, meriting honours from the Hanoverian government. Addicted to morphine, Serturner suffered from chronic depression and became severely withdrawn. He died on 20 February, 1841, and was buried in Einbeck. PAIN CONQUERED Despite his limited education, Serturner's efforts proved far-reaching. An autodidact, he accomplished his research with only sparse knowledge of the relevant literature and with the simplest equipment. Morphine was not only the first alkaloid to be extracted from opium but also the first ever alkaloid to be isolated from any plant. Serturner's discovery enabled physicians to prescribe morphine in regulated dosages for easing pain and also eliminated the dangers of overdose associated with raw poppy juice, which varied unpredictably in its concentration of morphine from one batch to another. It was only in 1925 that Sir Robert Robinson deduced the empirical formula of morphine and Marshall D. Gates, Jr. synthesised the drug in a laboratory in 1952.[3] PHARMACOLOGY OF MORPHINE Morphine sulphate, an opioid agonist, is relatively selective for the mu receptors at sites in the periaqueductal and periventricular grey matter. Morphine can be administered orally, intravenously, rectally, subcutaneously, through spinal injection (e.g. epidural) as well as through inhalation. The principal therapeutic action of morphine is analgesia. Morphine is indicated for the relief of severe acute and severe chronic pain. Other therapeutic effects of morphine include anxiolysis, euphoria and feelings of relaxation. Morphine remains the drug of choice in acute myocardial infarction as it relieves pain and results in significant peripheral vasodilatation and reduction in systemic vascular resistance.[4] The drug is also dramatically effective in cardiogenic pulmonary oedema as it calms the patient and reduces dyspnoea and myocardial oxygen demand.

Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) is an autonomous collection of mobile nodes that form a temporary network without of any existing network infrastructure or central access point.The popularity of these networks created security challenges as an important issue.The traditional routing protocols perform well with dynamically changing topology but are not designed to defense against security challenges.In this paper we discuss about current challenges in an ad hoc environment which includes the different types of potential attacks that are possible in the Mobile Ad hoc Networks that can harm its working and operation.We have done literature study and gathered informat ion relat ing to various types of attacks.In our study, we have found that there is no general algorithm that suits well against the most commonly known attacks.But the complete security solution requires the prevention, detection and reaction mechanisms applied in MANET.To develop suitable security solutions for such environments, we must first understand how MANETs can be attacked.Th is paper provides a comprehensive study of attacks against mobile ad hoc networks.We present a detailed classification of the attacks against MANETs.

Abstract This study demonstrates a convenient methodology for the decoration of Pt−Ru nanoparticles (with various morphologies like Pt‐on‐Ru and Ru‐on‐Pt) on graphene sheets. The structure, composition and morphological features of the synthesized electrocatalysts were assessed by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR‐TEM), Energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). TEM analysis revealed that the Pt−Ru nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on graphene sheets with a narrow size particle distribution. The corresponding morphology‐dependent activity of electrocatalysts towards two important anodic reactions relevant to fuel cell applications like methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) were systematically studied by CV. The results showed that Pt‐on‐Ru/RGO electrocatalysts exhibited higher catalytic activity and better stability compared to Ru‐on‐Pt/RGO, Pt/RGO and commercial Pt−Ru/C catalysts towards both MOR and EOR. Furthermore, the simple synthetic strategy demonstrated here can be extended to other bimetallic systems with improved properties for fuel cell reactions.

ZnFe2O4 is one of the most important technological material having applications in radio engineering, radio technology, semiconductors, bio-medical applications etc. ZnFe2O4 when in bulk form shows paramagnetic behavior at room temperature. When ZnFe2O4 is synthesized by some techniques it was possible to see the ferromagnetic behavior. Also, ZnFe2O4 in nanocrystalline form exhibit different magnetic properties. Therefore in the present work we intend to present the properties of particle size behavior of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles. ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by oxalic acid based precursor method. The obtained ZnFe2O4 nano powders were thermally annealed from 300 to 600 °C. The structural and magnetic characterization were measured using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), IR measurements and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). XRD patterns clearly showed the formation of zinc ferrite. The particle size was observed to increase from 19 to 35 nm with increasing annealing temperature. The lattice constants were observed to decrease with increasing particle size. The nanoparticles size were confirmed using SEM measurements. IR measurements were carried to confirm the phase formation of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles. The Infrared spectra showed the characteristic features of vibrational bands corresponding to spinel ferrite. Room temperature ferromagnetic properties were observed for zinc ferrite having particle sizes 19 and 21 nm. For the particle size 29 and 35 nm it showed paramagnetic nature. The magnetic properties of zinc ferrite nanoparticles were observed to be dependent on the particle size.Keywords: Nanoferrites Zn ferrite Structural properties Magnetic properties

Phytochemical profile is an important aspect as it will give an over view of possible pharmacological properties of the plant. Justicia neesii is a plant belongs to Acanthaceae family, on which no significant phytochemical and pharmacological was done. The objective of the present study is to elucidate the phytochemical profile and analysis of antioxidant properties by TLC method. The phytochemical analysis was done for screening the maximum number of phytochemicals using standard methods. The TLC plates were developed with a solvent system containing methanol: chloroform: hexane at a ratio of 7:2:1. Ascorbic acid was used as positive control and a blank TLC plate was used as negative control in the experiment. The diluted DPPH in methanol was sprayed on the developed plates and observed under UV light. The preliminary phytochemical analysis shows the presence of flavonoids, glycosides, lactones, lignins, phenols, phytosterols, quinins, reducing sugars, saponins and terpinoids. The TLC analysis has shown the higher intensity of yellow color for the test spots which indicating the higher antioxidant potential of plant extract compared to standard ascorbic acid after treatment with DPPH solution. The plant is having good antioxidant potential. The plant was also composed of many significant phytochemicals.

011 tile basis of data on N. japortic~ts from trawl landings at Kakinada, the von Bertalanffy paramctrt's of growth in length are estimated as Llm = 339 mm, K = 0.52 per year slid b, - -4.16 year. The mortality rates are estimated as Z =- 2.64, M = 1.11 and F - 1.53. The length at first capture is estimated as 120 mm. The yield per recruit analysis shows that increase in effort from the present level results in reduced yield from the present fishing ground if the cod end mesh size is not increased.

Aim: To assess the impact of different carbon sources on growth performance of grey mullet, Mugil cephalus fry in biofloc based culture system during nursery rearing phase. Methodology: The experimental trial was carried out for 60 days using three carbon sources, cassava, jaggery and barley in triplicate following a Completely Randomized Design. The carbon nitrogen ratio (C:N) in the systems were maintained at 15:1. Grey mullet fry (0.91g) were stocked @ of 1 fry 10 l-1 and were fed with pelleted feed (35% crude protein) @ 4% of fish body weight thrice daily. Results: Significantly higher (P<0.05) growth performance, in terms of Specfic Growth Rate (3.78 % day-1) with lower Feed Conversion Ratio (1.35) were found in barley based biofloc group. Similarly, enhanced digestive enzyme activity in terms of amylase (8.78 Unit mg protein-1 min-1), lipase (2.77 Unit mg protein-1 min-1) and protease (4.22 Unit mg protein-1 min-1) were found in barley based biofloc group. Non- specific immune parameters such as lysozyme, respiratory burst activity and myeloperoxidase activity were significantly higher in barley based treatment group followed by jaggery and cassava based treatment groups. Likewise, stress indicators in serum and antioxidant status in liver were found to be lower in barley based treatment compared to cassava and jaggery based treatment groups. Interpretation: Rearing of Mugil cephalus in biofloc culture system is practicable; however, the carbon source required for biofloc production could be barley, compared to cassava and jaggery, in order to achieve maximum growth and to reduce the stress.

Human beings can easily categorize a person"s age group from an image of the person"s face and are often able to be quite precise in this estimation.This ability has not been pursued in the computer vision community.To address this, the present paper proposes a novel local texture features on facial images that classify adult and child images based on the Morphological primitive patterns with grain components (MPP-g) on a Local Directional Pattern (LDP).A LDP feature is obtained by computing the edge response values in all eight directions at each pixel position and generating a code from the relative strength magnitude.The local descriptor LDP is more consistent in the presence of noise, and illumination changes, since edge response magnitude is more stable than pixel intensity.The proposed MPP-g is rotationally and pose invariant when compared to pattern trends that represents a shape.The experimental result on FGnet database images shows the efficacy of the proposed method.

A facile synthesis of 1,4‐dihydroquinazolines from 2‐aminobenzyl amine and carbon disulfide via dithiocarbamate performed at room temperature is reported. Corresponding S‐alkyl quinazoline derivatives were obtained from 1,4‐dihydroquinazolines in one‐pot reactions under the palladium reagents after addition of alkyl halides. The versatility of this synthetic protocol has been demonstrated with various halo benzenes. The products thus obtained have been characterized by MP, IR, 1H‐NMR, and mass spectroscopy.

Microgreens are fresh, edible vegetables considered as good nutritional benefits because of presence of their high minerals. Microgreens provides an intense experience that will elevate the overall flavor of any dishes. Microgreen cultivation leads to the biodiversity protection by selecting wild species which gives high nutrient content. In this studies, by using 5 different growing medias as treatments the experiment is conducted. The experimental material comprised of five growing medias like Soil, Water, Vermicompost, Cocopeat and FYM. Observations were recorded in five randomly chosen plants for emergence of seeds (%), plant height (cm), plant weight (gm) and days taken to harvest, yield per tray (gm) and yield per hectare (kg). The character emergence of seeds day 3 were shown a early performance on treatment (T1 and T5). The treatment (T4) cocopeat were shown a highest plant height (cm) at harvest day 7. Plant weight (gm) were shown highest performance on (T3) vermicompost. Days to taken for harvest (T3) vermicompost was showed a early performance and the yield per tray (gm) treatment (T3) were showed a highest yield.

Background: Internet addiction generally refers to an individual’s incapability to control the use of the internet including any online-affiliated compulsive behaviour, which ultimately causes marked distress and functional impairment in daily life. The word “addiction” has usually been associated with substance but severe dependence and addictive patterns have led to the surfacing of the new word “Internet Addiction”. Internet addiction is a unique and attractive subject considered as a behaviour-based addiction in recent years. Objectives: To study and compare internet addiction among medical and engineering students. Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted among students from local medical and engineering colleges, using the Youngs Internet Addiction Test, a reliable and valid measure of addictive use of the Internet, consisting of twenty items that measure the magnitude of Internet Addiction. Results: Among 514 medical students, 25% were normal, 48% had mild addiction, 23% has moderate addiction and 4% were severely addicted to non-academic purpose usage of the internet. Among 623 engineering students, 20% were normal, 53% had mild addiction, 22% had moderate addiction, and 5% were severely addicted. In our present study, engineering students showed more internet addiction than medical students. Conclusion: Poor academic activity, poor integration in extracurricular activities, and other problems due to excessive Internet use, require strategies to be developed and implemented to treat pathological Internet usage.

Human beings require potable water for drinking to keep them healthy. Clean, safe and adequate fresh water is vital to the survival of all living organisms. Drinking water affects the health of human beings due to the presence of various dissolved chemical constituents. Problems arising out of chemical constituents in drinking water are different from the problems of microbial contamination. Therefore, consumers should have at least minimum knowledge on quality of drinking water. People across the world depend on ground water for drinking. Ground water is a major source, so based on the importance of the matter; a research topic is taken up on the assessment of quality of groundwater in the selected areas of villages in Veeraghattam and Palakonda Mandals of Srikakulam District, Andhra Pradesh. This preliminary study assessed the quality of physical and chemical characteristic properties of underground water in the selected locations of 40 villages in Veeraghattam and 39 villages in Palakonda Mandals of Srikakulam District. Some physico chemical characteristic parameters are estimated in the samples and the results obtained are compared with the available standard values such as WHO and BIS.

The objective of this paper is to develop a reliable method for predicting NSE (National Stock Exchange) stock prices in India using deep learning models. The purpose of this model is to enhance the precision of time series data management by developing an advanced hybrid multistep-ahead CNN-LSTM model, which is capable of real-time time series forecasting with high accuracy. Learnable sets are trained and tested using commonly recognized error measures, such as accuracy, and the model is fine-tuned using 5-minute interval NSE stock data. A thorough examination of deep learning models against traditional time series models is necessary to establish the advantages and disadvantages of deep learning models. Accordingly, even though deep learning models appear to exhibit a promising trend in time series prediction and analysis, a comprehensive evaluation is required. This combined approach of CNNs and LSTMs in the hybrid model has a higher chance of detecting true changes in stock price movements of the NSE market in real-time.

Background: software’s experience a bad low back pain usually as a result of their lack of good ergonomic and high work request leading to stressed muscles and inclining to bad posture and decrease in quality of life, so to get rid of this we have designed the elastic band resistance exercises which is easy to even perform at work place and need no particular set up. Materials and Methods: Hundred software engineers of 25 to 45 age group were selected and made into group of 50 and 50 one with traditional treatment and other with elastic band usage, a comparative study was done for 14 weeks with an 45 minute treatment plan. Numeric pain rating scale and VA spine disability Index scales were intervened and measured. Results: Pvalue ( Conclusion: post treatment use of elastic resistance bands shown incredible effect on reduction of neck pain in software engineers. Keywords: Low back pain, Software engineers, Elastic bands.

Physico Chemical Assessment and Comparison of Quality of Underground Water for Drinking Purpose At Periodic Interval in the Village of Srikurmam, Gara Mandal in Srikakulam District, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract The solar thermal system configured with phase change materials (PCM) won better thermal efficiency and reduced fossil fuel use. However, variations in solar radiation cause reduced thermal performance and lead to poor heat transfer efficiency behaviour. Current research intends to study the thermal performance of solar thermal collectors hybridized with hybrid nanofluid composed with 50: 50 ratios of copper oxide and alumina nanoparticles via ultrasonication process, and varied ratios of paraffin/salt hydrate mixture are used for thermal storage. The system is operated under 4 LPM of hybrid nanofluid with 70:30, 60:40, and 50:50 ratios of paraffin: salt hydrate mixture and its actions on thermal performance and heat storage capacity behaviour are studied. Investigated results are compared with solar thermal systems operated without hybrid nanofluid (baseline) and PCM. An impact of PCM with hybrid nanofluid recorded superior thermal performance and superior heat storage capacity than base line. Moreover, the system operated with the 60:40 PCM ratios of paraffin: salt hydrate mixture and hybrid nanofluid exhibited the best performance. Specifically, the outlet temperature reached 88.6°C, and the heat storage capacity increased to 1215.4 kJ. The pressure drop was recorded at 3.9 kPa, while the heat transfer rate reached 2677.2 W, and additionally, the thermal efficiency and average thermal efficiency were observed at 67.3%. This study offers a promising strategy for enhancing the efficiency of PTC solar thermal energy systems with the PCM and nanofluid conditions.

Finding increasingly efficient heat exchangers requires a critical task: the development of fin profiles for prolonged life of equipment. The present study uses numerical analysis for better plate-finned heat exchangers hydraulic and thermal performance. Fin patterns are used in the analysis to evaluate a four-tube in-line heat exchanger. The proposed approach involves use of simulation and numerical methods to solve the heat transfer problem on different materials and wind velocity data as boundary conditions for improved heat transfer. The Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model will be used to correct the average turbulent air flow over finned tubes in three dimensions using the ANSYS-Fluent software. The evaluation plan compares the current findings with published Nusselt number empirical correlations for the justification. Finally, the presentation of a parametric study on the impact of fin perforation size and shape on different materials and the behaviour of fluid dynamics and heat transfer. Larger fin perforation sizes (circular, rectangle, rhombus, and ellipse shapes) are found to enhance the heat exchangers' overall PEC and thermal efficiency for sustainability of the thermal equipment. The comparison was made between non-perforated and perforated fin types. Ultimately, it was determined that the best option for plate fin heat exchangers is the circular type perforated fin. When compared to without perforated fins, the circular type perforated fin has a higher heat transfer coefficient. A circular perforated fin has high performance, and the rhombus type perforated fin has lower performance.

Microgreens are fresh, edible vegetables considered as good nutritional benefits because of presence of their high minerals. Microgreens provides an intense experience that will elevate the overall flavor of any dishes. Micro green cultivation leads to the biodiversity protection by selecting wild species which gives high nutrient content. In this studies, by using 5 different growing Medias as treatments the experiment is conducted. The experimental material comprised of five growing Medias like Soil, Water, Vermicompost, Coco peat and FYM. Observations were recorded in five randomly chosen plants for emergence of seeds (%), plant height (cm), plant weight (gm) and days taken to harvest, yield per tray (gm) and yield per hectare (kg). The character emergence of seeds day 3 were shown an early performance on treatment (T1 and T5). The treatment (T4) coco peat were shown a highest plant height (cm) at harvest day 7. Plant weight (gm) were shown highest performance on (T3) vermicompost. Days to taken for harvest (T3) vermicompost was showed a early performance and the yield per tray (gm) treatment (T3) were showed a highest yield.

BACKGROUNDGastric outlet obstruction (GOO) is a clinical and pathophysiological consequence of any disease process that produces a mechanical impediment to gastric emptying which may be extrinsic or intrinsic.GOO may be caused by a heterogeneous group of diseases that include both benign and malignant conditions.1,2 Until the late 1970s, benign disease was responsible for the majority of cases of GOO in adults.By contrast, in recent decades, 50 to 80 percent cases have been attributable to malignancy.Aim-1.To study the incidence of various aetiologies causing GOO. 2. To observe the benign versus malignant conditions as aetiological cause.3. To follow the surgeries done for cases of GOO and to study their surgical outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODSThis prospective study has been conducted on patients attending to Surgical Department, Government General Hospital, Kakinada during the period of July 2012 to august 2014.55 patients of GOO have been studied. RESULTSOut of 55 cases studied, 35 are due to malignant causes out of which 28 are due to Carcinoma stomach, 7 due to other malignancies and 20 cases due to cicatrising duodenal ulcer.Most of cases of GOO present in the 5 th decade of life followed by 6 th decade.Both malignant and benign aetiologies were high in this age group.Carcinoma stomach male to female ratio is 2:1 and chronic duodenal ulcers are seen in ratio of 6:1.Vomiting and epigastric pain are the most common symptoms in this series.Visible gastric peristalsis is seen in 30 cases accounting to 63% of total cases.Dehydration is other common presentation seen 54% of cases followed by anaemia in 53% of cases.Succussion splash is heard in 36% of cases, palpable mass in 25% of cases and ascites in 15% of cases.Truncal vagotomy and gastrojejunostomy is done in 19 cases (34%) of cases.Distal gastrectomy with Billroth II reconstruction is done in 13 cases of Ca stomach (23% of total cases).Palliative gastrojejunostomy is done in 14 cases (25%).Total gastrectomy in 1 case feeding jejunostomy in one case.Palliative gastrojejunostomy with hepaticojejunostomy is done in 6 cases and in one case palliative cholecystojejunostomy with gastrojejunostomy was done. CONCLUSION The present study gives an insight into presentation of GOO and its aetiology. Commonest cause of GOO in adults is carcinoma stomach followed by cicatrising duodenal ulcer. GOO is common in males in 5th decade. UGIE is the investigation of choice. Malignant GOO had poor prognosis and mostly palliation is done. It focuses on the fact that there is delayed presentation with patients of upper gastrointestinal malignancy.

Industrial wastewaters with high biodegradable organic loads require treatment systems capable of retaining active biomass and maintaining effective mass transfer. This study evaluated a laboratory-scale fluidised-bed bioreactor (FBBR) using three support materials: commercially available moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) plastic media, pumice stones and high-density foam pieces. Wastewaters representing fish-processing, biodiesel and domestic sources were examined. Influent and effluent samples were analysed for biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), and microbial growth kinetics were assessed through the microbial decay coefficient kd. Samples were collected at operating times of 30, 60 and 90 min, and the acclimatisation periods for the plastic media, pumice stones and foam pieces were 15, 14 and 12 days, respectively. At 90 min, high-density foam produced BOD removal efficiencies of 85.25%, 87.39% and 85.03% for fish-processing, biodiesel and domestic wastewater, respectively. The corresponding COD removal efficiencies were 81.42%, 80.39% and 78.51%. The decay coefficients varied with wastewater type and support material, indicating that microbial behaviour was influenced by the tested operating conditions. Under the laboratory conditions used, foam pieces generally provided higher BOD and COD removal than the other media and required the shortest acclimatisation period. These findings support further condition-specific evaluation of foam as an alternative FBBR support material.