Presently, both 2D and 4D methods are required for the assessment of early fetal motor development and motor behavior. It is reasonable to expect that such technological improvement may provide some new information about the intrauterine motor activity and facilitate the prenatal detection of some neurological disorders.

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This study was aimed at removal of 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS) ions from aqueous solutions by ultrasound-assisted adsorption onto the carbonized corn cob (AC). The main attention was focused on modeling the equilibrium and kinetics of adsorption of DBS onto the AC. The AC was prepared from ground dried corn cob by carbonization and activation by carbon dioxide at 880°C for 2h in a rotary furnace. The adsorption isotherm data were fitted by the Langmuir model in both the absence and the presence of ultrasound (US). The maximum adsorption capacities of the adsorbent for DBS, calculated from the Langmuir isotherms, were 29.41mg/g and 27.78mg/g in the presence of US and its absence, respectively. The adsorption process in the absence and the presence of US obeyed the pseudo second-order kinetics. The intraparticular diffusion model indicated that the adsorption of DBS ions on the AC was diffusion controlled as well as that US promoted intraparticular diffusion. The ΔG° values, -24.03kJ/mol, -25.78kJ/mol and -27.78kJ/mol, were negative at all operating temperatures, verifying that the adsorption of DBS ions was spontaneous and thermodynamically favorable. The positive value of ΔS°=187J/molK indicated the increased randomness at the adsorbent-adsorbate interface during the adsorption of DBS ions by the AC.

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Practical aspects of Lagenaria vulgaris shell conversion to activated carbon were examined along with its use in ranitidine adsorption. Kinetics and isotherms of adsorption onto Lagenaria vulgaris carbon (LVC) were correlated to several theoretical adsorption models. The best fit was found in the case of Langmuir and pseudo-second-order model indicating monolayer adsorption. The influence of pH under kinetic study showed slightly hindered adsorption below pH 4. The optimal adsorbent dosage was set to 1 g/L. LVC was characterized by several complementary techniques, including wet chemical techniques such as Boehm's titrations and determination of pH PZC and pH of LVC, which revealed neutral nature of the adsorbent. N 2 sorptometry determined specific surface area of 665 m 2 /g and significant ratio of micropores in the sample with maximum wall's diameter of 2.2 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the role of lignin and cellulose in the formation of the final LVC structure. Porous structure of the material was proved by using scanning electron microscopy. Preparation of LVC material drew attention as an easy and low-cost process for production of a highly efficient adsorbent which