Search results for: wild birds

Authors: Chang-Hui Shen, Michelle Esposito, Andrew J. Shen, Michael Adejokun, Diana Laterman

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The packaging of DNA into nucleosomes is critical to genomic compaction, yet it can leave gene promoters inaccessible to activator proteins or transcription machinery and thus prevents transcriptional initiation. Both chromatin remodelers and histone acetylases (HATs) are the two main transcription co-activators that can reconfigure chromatin structure for transcriptional activation. Ino80p is the core component of the INO80 remodeling complex. Recently, it was shown that Ino80p dissociates from the yeast INO1 promoter after induction. However, when certain HATs were deleted or mutated, Ino80p accumulated at the promoters during gene activation. This suggests a link between HATs’ presence and Ino80p’s dissociation. However, it has yet to be demonstrated that Ino80p can be acetylated. To determine if Ino80p can be acetylated, wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells carrying Ino80p engineered with a double FLAG tag (MATa INO80-FLAG his3∆200 leu2∆0 met15∆0 trp1∆63 ura3∆0) were grown to mid log phase, as were non-tagged wild type (WT) (MATa his3∆200 leu2∆0 met15∆0 trp1∆63 ura3∆0) and ino80∆ (MATa ino80∆::TRP1 his3∆200 leu2∆0 met15∆0 trp1∆63 ura3∆0) cells as controls. Cells were harvested, and the cell lysates were subjected to immunoprecipitation (IP) with α-FLAG resin to isolate Ino80p. These eluted IP samples were subjected to SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Subsequently, the blots were probed with the α-FLAG and α-acetyl lysine antibodies, respectively. For the blot probed with α-FLAG, one prominent band was shown in the INO80-FLAG cells, but no band was detected in the IP samples from the WT and ino80∆ cells. For the blot probed with the α-acetyl lysine antibody, we detected acetylated Ino80p in the INO80-FLAG strain while no bands were observed in the control strains. As such, our results showed that Ino80p can be acetylated. This acetylation can explain the co-activator’s recruitment patterns observed in current gene activation models. In yeast INO1, it has been shown that Ino80p is recruited to the promoter during repression, and then dissociates from the promoter once de-repression begins. Histone acetylases, on the other hand, have the opposite pattern of recruitment, as they have an increased presence at the promoter as INO1 de-repression commences. This Ino80p recruitment pattern significantly changes when HAT mutant strains are studied. It was observed that instead of dissociating, Ino80p accumulates at the promoter in the absence of functional HATs, such as Gcn5p or Esa1p, under de-repressing processes. As such, Ino80p acetylation may be required for its proper dissociation from the promoters. The remodelers’ dissociation mechanism may also have a wide range of implications with respect to transcriptional initiation, elongation, or even repression as it allows for increased spatial access to the promoter for the various transcription factors and regulators that need to bind in that region. Our findings here suggest a previously uncharacterized interaction between Ino80p and other co-activators recruited to promoters. As such, further analysis of Ino80p acetylation not only will provide insight into the role of epigenetic modifications in transcriptional activation, but also gives insight into the interactions occurring between co-activators at gene promoters during gene regulation.

Keywords: acetylation, chromatin remodeler, epigenetic modification, Ino80p

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Pontsho E. Tseke, Phatu W. Mashela

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Cucurbitacin-containing phytonematicides had been consistent in suppressing root-knot (Meloidogyne species) when used in dried crude form, with limited evidence whether the efficacy could be affected when fresh fruits were used during fermentation. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of Nemafric-BL phytonematicide prepared using fermented crude extracts of fresh fruit from wild watermelon (Cucumis africanus) on the growth of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants and suppression of Meloidogyne species. Seedlings of tomato cultivar ‘Floradade’ were inoculated with 3 000 eggs and second-stage juveniles (J2) of M. incognita race 2 in pot trials, with treatments comprising 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 % Nemafric-BL phytonematicide. At 56 days after inoculation, the phytonematicide reduced eggs and J2 in roots by 84-97%, J2 in soil by 49-96% and total nematodes by 70-97%. Plant variables and concentrations of Nemafric-BL phytonematicide exhibited positive quadratic relations, with 74-98% associations. In conclusion, fresh fruit of C. africanus could be used for the preparation of Nemafric-BL phytonematicide, particularly in cases where the dry infrastructure is not available.

Keywords: Cucurbitacin B, density-dependent growth, effective microorganisms, quadratic relations

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Qasim Zafar, Matthew Anderson, Esteban Garcia, Steven Drager

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Software failures can present an enormous detriment to people's lives and cost millions of dollars to repair when they are unexpectedly encountered in the wild. Despite a significant portion of the software development lifecycle and resources are dedicated to testing, software failures are a relatively frequent occurrence. Nevertheless, the evaluation of testing effectiveness remains at the forefront of ensuring high-quality software and software metrics play a critical role in providing valuable insights into quantifiable objectives to assess the level of assurance and confidence in the system. As the selection of appropriate metrics can be an arduous process, the goal of this paper is to shed light on the significance of software metrics by examining a range of testing techniques and metrics as well as identifying key areas for improvement. Additionally, through this investigation, readers will gain a deeper understanding of how metrics can help to drive informed decision-making on delivering high-quality software and facilitate continuous improvement in testing practices.

Keywords: software testing, software metrics, testing effectiveness, black box testing, random testing, adaptive random testing, combinatorial testing, fuzz testing, equivalence partition, boundary value analysis, white box testing

Procedia PDF Downloads 58

Authors: Ollie Hall, Salma ElSayed

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Affective adaptation is a novel way for game designers to add an extra layer of engagement to their productions. When player’s emotions factor in game design, endless possibilities for creative gameplay emerge. Whilst gaining popularity, existing affective game research mostly runs controlled experiments carried in restrictive settings and relies on one or more specialist devices for measuring a player’s emotional state. These conditions, albeit effective, are not necessarily realistic. Moreover, the simplified narrative and intrusive wearables may not be suitable for the average player. This exploratory study investigates delivering an immersive affective experience in the wild with minimal requirements in an attempt for the average developer to reach the average player. A puzzle game is created with a rich narrative and creative mechanics. It employs both explicit and implicit adaptation and only requires a web camera. Participants played the game on their own machines in various settings. Whilst it was rated feasible, very engaging, and enjoyable, it remains questionable whether a fully immersive experience was delivered due to the limited sample size.

Keywords: affective games, dynamic adaptation, emotion recognition, game design

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Khadijat T. Bamigbade, Olufade F. W. Onifade

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The field of automatic facial expression analysis has been an active research area in the last two decades. Its vast applicability in various domains has drawn so much attention into developing techniques and dataset that mirror real life scenarios. Many techniques such as Local Binary Patterns and its variants (CLBP, LBP-TOP) and lately, deep learning techniques, have been used for facial expression recognition. However, the problem of occlusion has not been sufficiently handled, making their results not applicable in real life situations. This paper develops a simple, yet highly efficient method tagged Local Binary Pattern-Histogram of Gradient (LBP-HOG) with occlusion detection in face image, using a multi-class SVM for Action Unit and in turn expression recognition. Our method was evaluated on three publicly available datasets which are JAFFE, CK, SFEW. Experimental results showed that our approach performed considerably well when compared with state-of-the-art algorithms and gave insight to occlusion detection as a key step to handling expression in wild.

Keywords: automatic facial expression analysis, local binary pattern, LBP-HOG, occlusion detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: P. J. Sweeney, T. Ahtoniemi, J. Puoliväli, T. Laitinen, K. Lehtimäki, A. Nurmi, D. Wells

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Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by an X linked mutation in the dystrophin gene; lack of dystrophin causes a progressive muscle necrosis which leads to a progressive decrease in mobility in those suffering from the disease. The MDX mouse, a mutant mouse model which displays a frank dystrophinopathy, is currently widely employed in pre clinical efficacy models for treatments and therapies aimed at DMD. In general the end-points examined within this model have been based on invasive histopathology of muscles and serum biochemical measures like measurement of serum creatine kinase (sCK). It is established that a “critical period” between 4 and 6 weeks exists in the MDX mouse when there is extensive muscle damage that is largely sub clinical but evident with sCK measurements and histopathological staining. However, a full characterization of the MDX model remains largely incomplete especially with respect to the ability to aggravate of the muscle damage beyond the critical period. The purpose of this study was to attempt to aggravate the muscle damage in the MDX mouse and to create a wider, more readily translatable and discernible, therapeutic window for the testing of potential therapies for DMD. The study consisted of subjecting 15 male mutant MDX mice and 15 male wild-type mice to an intense chronic exercise regime that consisted of bi-weekly (two times per week) treadmill sessions over a 12 month period. Each session was 30 minutes in duration and the treadmill speed was gradually built up to 14m/min for the entire session. Baseline plasma creatine kinase (pCK), treadmill training performance and locomotor activity were measured after the “critical period” at around 10 weeks of age and again at 14 weeks of age, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months of age. In addition, kinematic gait analysis was employed using a novel analysis algorithm in order to compare changes in gait and fine motor skills in diseased exercised MDX mice compared to exercised wild type mice and non exercised MDX mice. In addition, a morphological and metabolic profile (including lipid profile), from the muscles most severely affected, the gastrocnemius muscle and the tibialis anterior muscle, was also measured at the same time intervals. Results indicate that by aggravating or exacerbating the underlying muscle damage in the MDX mouse by exercise a more pronounced and severe phenotype in comes to light and this can be picked up earlier by kinematic gait analysis. A reduction in mobility as measured by open field is not apparent at younger ages nor during the critical period, but changes in gait are apparent in the mutant MDX mice. These gait changes coincide with pronounced morphological and metabolic changes by non-invasive anatomical MRI and proton spectroscopy (1H-MRS) we have reported elsewhere. Evidence of a progressive asymmetric pathology in imaging parameters as well as in the kinematic gait analysis was found. Taken together, the data show that chronic exercise regime exacerbates the muscle damage beyond the critical period and the ability to measure through non-invasive means are important factors to consider when performing preclinical efficacy studies in the MDX mouse.

Keywords: Gait, muscular dystrophy, Kinematic analysis, neuromuscular disease

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Authors: S. K. Hemalata, M. N. Shiva Kameshwari

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The present work focusses on anti-inflammatory action of Urginea wightii in-vitro. Urginea wightii is a member of Hyacinthaceae and considered to be wonder plant because of its varied important medicinal properties. The plant is endemic to India, Africa, and Mediterranian regions. Presence of alkaloids, flavonoid-glycosides especially flavonone derivatives are responsible for the strong anti-inflammatory activity of Urginea wightii. In present research work, anti-inflammatory activity of methanol extract of the bulb powder was tested on Male Wistar Rats. In these test animals, inflammation was induced by injecting carrageenan as the irritant to induce paw edema in Wistar rats. Inflammation of Paw edema was treated with both plant extract and Pyrox gel a known synthetic anti-inflammatory drug through external application. The result indicated that anti-inflammatory activity of Urginea wightii extract was almost similar to the synthetic Pyrox gel. This disproves the modern world's scepticism towards the herbal medicines and encourages to rely on natural plant extracts.

Keywords: anti-inflammatory activity, flavonoid-glycosides, Pyrox gel, Urginia wightii

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Mohamed Sadek Bachene, Soraya Temim, Hassina Ainbaziz, Asma Bachene

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The present study was conducted to assess the safety and the efficacy of a vaccine containing the Algerian precocious strains of Eimeria magna and Eimeria media used separately or together against rabbit coccidiosis. The samples consisted of 56 young rabbits reared in specific pathogen-free conditions. Following the challenge inoculation, statistically significant decreases in oocyst excretion were noticed in the vaccinated rabbits with the precocious strain of Eimeria magna, Eimeria media, and both species leading toa good immune response acquired by the vaccination associated with a good growth rate. Moreover, there was a statistically significant increase in oocyst output following the challenge in all challenged groups. Unlike the vaccinated groups, the challenged groups showed poor weight gains. More than 50% of the young rabbits from all the challenged groups presented diarrhea. Consequently, these precocious strains constitute good candidates for mono or polyvalent anticoccidial vaccines in the future.

Keywords: precocious strain, rabbits, vaccination, wild strain

Procedia PDF Downloads 72

Authors: Eun Gyeong Lee, Ji Young Park, Hyun Ae Woo

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Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production is involved in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in kidney of mice. Oxidative stress develops from an imbalance between ROS production and reduced antioxidant defenses. Many enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant systems including peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are present in kidney to maintain an appropriate level of ROS and prevent oxidative damage. Prxs are a family of peroxidases that reduce peroxides, with a conserved cysteine residue serving as the site of oxidation by peroxides. In this study, we examined the protective role of Prx V against I/R-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) using Prx V wild type (WT) and knockout (KO) mice. We compared the response of Prx V WT and KO mice in mice model of I/R injury. Renal structure, functions, oxidative stress markers, protein levels of oxidative damage marker were worse in Prx V KO mice. Ablation of Prx V enhanced susceptibility to I/R-induced oxidative stress. Prx V KO mice were seen to have more severe renal damage than Prx V WT mice in mice model of I/R injury. Our results demonstrate that Prx V is protective against I/R-induced AKI.

Keywords: peroxiredoxin, ischemia/reperfusion, kidney, oxidative stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 364

Authors: Abdollah Jamshidi, Tayebeh Zeinali, Mehrnaz Rad, Jamshid Razmyar

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Listeria infections occur worldwide in variety of animals and man. Listeriae are widely distributed in nature. The organism has been isolated from the feces of humans and several animals, different soils, plants, aquatic environments and food of animal and vegetable origin. Listeria monocytogenes is recognized as important food-borne pathogens due to its high mortality rate. This organism is able to growth at refrigeration temperature, and high osmotic pressure. Poultry can become contaminated environmentally or through healthy carrier birds. In recent decades, prophylactic use of antimicrobial agents may be lead to emergence of antibiotic resistant organisms, which can be transmitted to human through consumption of contaminated foods. In this study, from 200 fresh chicken carcasses samples which were collected randomly from different supermarkets and butcheries, 80 samples were detected as contaminate with Listeria spp. and 19% of the isolates identified as Listeria monocytogene using multiplex PCR assay. Conventional methods were used to differentiate other species of the listeria genus. The results showed the most prevalent isolates as L. monocytogenes (48.75%). Other isolates were detected as Listeria innocua (28.75%), Listeria murrayi (20%), Listeria grayi (3.75%) and Listeria welshimeri (2.5%).The Majority of the isolates had multidrug resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Most of them were resistant to erythromycin (50%), followed by Tetracycline (44.44%), Clindamycin (41.66%), and Trimethoprim (25%). Some of them showed resistance to chloramphenicol (17.65%). The results indicate the resistance of the isolates to antimicrobials commonly used to treat human listeriosis, which could be a potential health hazard for consumers.

Keywords: listeria species, L. monocytogenes, antibiotic resistance, chicken carcass

Procedia PDF Downloads 359

Authors: Ngoc Minh Quynh Pham, Quan V. Vuong, Michael C. Bowyer, Christopher J. Scarlett

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Tuckeroo (Cupaniopsis anacardioides) is an Australian native plant and is grown in the coastal regions in New South Wales, Queensland and Northern Australia. Its fruits have been eaten by birds; however there is no information on phytochemical and antioxidant capacity of these fruits. This study aimed to determine the phenolic compounds (TPC), flavonoids (TFC), proanthocyanidins (TPro) and antioxidant capacity in the whole or different parts of tuckeroo fruit including skin, flesh and seed. Whole and partly tuckeroo fruits were collected and immediately freeze dried to constant weight and then ground to small particle sizes (<1mm mesh). Samples were extracted in 50% methanol using an ultrasonic bath set at temperature 40 °C for 30 minutes. TPC, TFC, TPro and antioxidant capacity were measured by spectrophotometric analysis. The results showed that the whole fruits contained 106.23 mg GAE/g of TPC, 67.67 mg CAE/g of TFC and 56.74 mg CAE/g of TPro. These fruits also possessed high antioxidant capacity (DPPH: 263.78 mg TroE/g, ABTS: 346.98 mg TroE/g, CUPRAC: 370.12 mg TroE/g and FRAP: 176.30 mg TroE/g), revealing that these fruits are rich source of antioxidants. The results also showed that distribution of the antioxidants was varied in different parts of the fruits. Skin had the highest levels of TPC, TFC, and TPro as well as antioxidant properties, followed by the seed and flesh had the lowest levels of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity. Of note, levels of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of the skin were significantly higher than those of the whole fruits. Therefore, the skin of tuckeroo fruits is recommended as a starting material for extraction and purification of phenolic compounds as potential antioxidants for further utilisation in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Keywords: antioxidant capacity, Cupaniopsis anacardioides, phenolic compounds, tuckeroo fruit

Procedia PDF Downloads 378

Authors: Anguo Chen, Huajie Chen, Caimei Yang, Qihua Hong, Jun Feng

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The experiment was conducted with 360 one-day-old Avian commercial broilers to study the effects of dietary cinnamon extract (CE), garlic extract (GE) and yucca extract (YE) on growth performance and serum biochemical parameters in broilers. The chickens were randomly divided equally into 4 treatment groups, each group with 3 replications, and received the same basal corn-bean diets included a starter from 1 d to 21 d and then a grower until 42 d, added with recommended dose 250 mg/kg CE, 25 mg/kg GE and 10 mg/kg YE to relevant group, respectively. The birds were kept in a stainless steel net coop each replication with 24 h light and were fed and drunk ad libitum. At 21 d and 42 d of age, 6 chicks were respectively picked out from every group and were bled to collect serum samples and intestinal samples for laboratory analysis. The results showed that the average daily gain (ADG) of CE, GE and YE group were increased by 7.20% (P<0.05), 3.43% (P>0.05) and 4.89% (P>0.05), feed gain ratio (F/G) was improved by 9.71% (P<0.05), 3.40% (P>0.05) and 3.40% (P>0.05) compared with the control, respectively. At 21 d of age, the content of serum urea nitrogen (SUN) and serum uric acid (SUA) and the activity of serum xanthine oxidase (SXO) in CE group were reduced by 35.17% (P<0.01), 13.73% (P<0.01) and 16.33% (P<0.05) compared with the control, respectively. At 42 d of age, SUN and SUA level and SXO activity were lowered by 24.35% (P<0.01), 15.49% (P<0.05) and 23.09% (P<0.01), respectively. The SXO activity in CE group was decreased by 14.86% (P<0.01) and 15.34%(P<0.01) compare with GE and YE group, respectively. Also, adding CE, GE and YE into broiler diets resulted in lower UN and UA level of intestinal contents. It is clear that CE was more significantly decreased the SXO activity and SUA levels than GE and YE, especially at the latter period, thereby it may play a more important role in improving the growth performance of broilers.

Keywords: cinnamon extract, broiler, growth performance, serum uric acid, serum xanthine oxidase

Procedia PDF Downloads 414

Authors: Apichai Sawisit, Sirima Suvarnakuta Jantama, Sunthorn Kanchanatawee, Lonnie O. Ingram, Kaemwich Jantama

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Escherichia coli KJ122 was engineered to produce succinate from glucose using the wild type GalP for glucose uptake instead of the native phosphotransferase system (ptsI mutation). This strain ferments 10% (w/v) xylose poorly. Mutants were selected by serial transfers in AM1 mineral salts medium with 10% (w/v) xylose. Evolved mutants exhibited a similar improvement, co-fermentation of an equal mixture of xylose and glucose. One of these, AS1600a, produced 84.26±1.37 g/L succinate, equivalent to that produced by the parent (KJ122) strain from 10% glucose (85.46±1.78 g/L). AS1600a was sequenced and found to contain a mutation in galactose permease (GalP, G236D). Expressing the galP* mutation gene in KJ122ΔgalP resembled the xylose utilization phenotype of the mutant AS1600a. The strain AS1600a and KJ122ΔgalP (pLOI5746; galP*) also co-fermented a mixture of glucose, xylose, arabinose, and galactose in sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate for succinate production.

Keywords: xylose, furfural, succinat, sugarcane bagasse, E. coli

Procedia PDF Downloads 420

Authors: Umair Rashid

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Normally softmax loss is used as the supervision signal in face recognition (FR) system, and it boosts the separability of features. In the last two years, a number of techniques have been proposed by reformulating the original softmax loss to enhance the discriminating power of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (DCNNs) for FR system. To learn angularly discriminative features Cosine-Margin based softmax has been adjusted as monotonically decreasing angular function, that is the main challenge for angular based softmax. On that issue, we propose monotonically decreasing element for Cosine-Margin based softmax and also, we discussed the effect of different monotonically decreasing parameters on angular Margin softmax for FR system. We train the model on publicly available dataset CASIA- WebFace via our proposed monotonically decreasing parameters for cosine function and the tests on YouTube Faces (YTF, Labeled Face in the Wild (LFW), VGGFace1 and VGGFace2 attain the state-of-the-art performance.

Keywords: deep convolutional neural networks, cosine margin face recognition, softmax loss, monotonically decreasing parameter

Procedia PDF Downloads 74

Authors: W. Loongyai, N. Saengsawang, W. Danvilai, C. Kridtayopas, P. Sopannarath, C. Bunchasak

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Betong chicken is a slow growing and a lean strain of chicken, while the rapid growth of broiler is accompanied by increased fat. We investigated the growth performance, fat accumulations, lipid serum biochemical levels and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene expression of female Betong (KU line) at the age of 4 and 6 weeks. A total of 80 female Betong chickens (KU line) and 80 female broiler chickens were reared under open system (each group had 4 replicates of 20 chicks per pen). The results showed that feed intake and average daily gain (ADG) of broiler chicken were significantly higher than Betong (KU line) (P < 0.01), while feed conversion ratio (FCR) of Betong (KU line) at week 6 were significantly lower than broiler chicken (P < 0.01) at 6 weeks. At 4 and 6 weeks, two birds per replicate were randomly selected and slaughtered. Carcass weight did not significantly differ between treatments; the percentage of abdominal fat and subcutaneous fat yield was higher in the broiler (P < 0.01) at 4 and 6 week. Total cholesterol and LDL level of broiler were higher than Betong (KU line) at 4 and 6 weeks (P < 0.05). Abdominal fat samples were collected for total RNA extraction. The cDNA was amplified using primers specific for LPL gene expression and analysed using real-time PCR. The results showed that the expression of LPL gene was not different when compared between Betong (KU line) and broiler chickens at the age of 4 and 6 weeks (P > 0.05). Our results indicated that broiler chickens had high growth rate and fat accumulation when compared with Betong (KU line) chickens, whereas LPL gene expression did not differ between breeds.

Keywords: lipoprotein lipase gene, Betong (KU line), broiler, abdominal fat, gene expression

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: H. Akbari Khorami, P. Wild, N. Djilali

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This paper reports on the response of a fiber-optic sensing probe to small concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) vapor at room temperature. H2O2 has extensive applications in industrial and medical environments. Conversely, H2O2 can be a health hazard by itself. For example, H2O2 induces cellular damage in human cells and its presence can be used to diagnose illnesses such as asthma and human breast cancer. Hence, development of reliable H2O2 sensor is of vital importance to detect and measure this species. Ferric ferrocyanide, referred to as Prussian blue (PB), was deposited on the tip of a multimode optical fiber through the single source precursor technique and served as an indicator of H2O2 in a spectroscopic manner. Sensing tests were performed in H2O2-H2O vapor mixtures with different concentrations of H2O2. The results of sensing tests show the sensor is able to detect H2O2 concentrations in the range of 50.6 ppm to 229.5 ppm. Furthermore, the sensor response to H2O2 concentrations is linear in a log-log scale with the adjacent R-square of 0.93. This sensing behavior allows us to detect and quantify the concentration of H2O2 in the vapor phase.

Keywords: chemical deposition, fiber-optic sensor, hydrogen peroxide vapor, prussian blue

Procedia PDF Downloads 338

Authors: M. Mousavi-Daramoroudi, H. Yousefnia, F. Abbasi-Davani, S. Zolghadri

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Dosimetry is an indispensable and precious factor in patient treatment planning to minimize the absorbed dose in vital tissues. In this study, compartmental model was used in order to estimate the human absorbed dose of ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATOC from the biodistribution data in wild type rats. For this purpose, ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATOC was prepared under optimized conditions and its biodistribution was studied in male Syrian rats up to 168 h. Compartmental model was applied to mathematical description of the drug behaviour in tissue at different times. Dosimetric estimation of the complex was performed using radiation absorbed dose assessment resource (RADAR). The biodistribution data showed high accumulation in the adrenal and pancreas as the major expression sites for somatostatin receptor (SSTR). While kidneys as the major route of excretion receive 0.037 mSv/MBq, pancreas and adrenal also obtain 0.039 and 0.028 mSv/MBq. Due to the usage of this method, the points of accumulated activity data were enhanced, and further information of tissues uptake was collected that it will be followed by high (or improved) precision in dosimetric calculations.

Keywords: compartmental modeling, human absorbed dose, ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATOC, Syrian rats

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Apichai Sawisit, Sirima Suvarnakuta Jantama, Sunthorn Kanchanatawee, Lonnie O. Ingram, Kaemwich Jantama

Abstract:

Escherichia coli KJ122 was engineered to produce succinate from glucose using the wild type GalP for glucose uptake instead of the native phosphotransferase system (ptsI mutation). This strain ferments 10% (w/v) xylose poorly. Mutants were selected by serial transfers in AM1 mineral salts medium with 10% (w/v) xylose. Evolved mutants exhibited a similar improvement, co-fermentation of an equal mixture of xylose and glucose. One of these, AS1600a, produced 84.26±1.37 g/L succinate, equivalent to that produced by the parent (KJ122) strain from 10% glucose (85.46±1.78 g/L). AS1600a was sequenced and found to contain a mutation in galactose permease (GalP, G236D). Expressing the galP* mutation gene in KJ122ΔgalP resembled the xylose utilization phenotype of the mutant AS1600a. The strain AS1600a and KJ122ΔgalP (pLOI5746; galP*) also co-fermented a mixture of glucose, xylose, arabinose, and galactose in sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate for succinate production.

Keywords: xylose, furfural, succinate, sugarcane bagasse, E. coli

Procedia PDF Downloads 366

Authors: A. H. Maimusa, A. Abu Hassan, Nur Faeza A. Kassim

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In this study, we report on the main life table developmental attributes of laboratory colonies of wild strains Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti. The raw life history data of the two species were analyzed and compared based on the age-stage and two-sex life table. The total pre-adult development times were 9.47 days (Ae. albopictus) and 8.76 days (Ae. aegypti). The adult pre-oviposition periods (APOP) was 1.61 day for Ae. albopictus and 2.02 for Ae. aegypti. The total pre-oviposition period (TPOP) of Ae. albopictus is significantly longer (11.66 days) than (10.75 days) for Ae. aegypti. The mean intrinsic rate of increase (r) was 0.124 days (Ae. albopictus) and 1.151 days (Ae. aegypti) while the mean finite rate of increase (λ) was 1.13 day (Ae. albopictus) and (1.16 d) (Ae. aegypti). The net reproductive rates (Ro) were 8.10 and 10.75 for Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti, respectively. The mean generation time (T) for Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti, were 16.81 days and 15.77 days respectively. The mean development time for each stage insignificantly correlated with temperature (r = -0.208, p > 0.05) and (r = -0.312, p > 0.05) for Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti respectively. The life expectancy was 19.01 and 19.94 days for Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti respectively. Mortality occurred mostly during the adult stage and ranged between 0.01 and 0.07%. The population parameters suggest that Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti populations are r-strategist characterized by a high r, a large Ro, and short T. This kind of information is crucial in understanding mosquito population dynamics in disease transmission and control.

Keywords: Ae. aegypti, Ae. albopictus, age-stage, life table, two-sex

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Authors: Jocelyn Floresca

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This paper aimed to present the by-product of the introduction of environmental ecology awareness on a formal education level utilizing the program course of Physical Education, particularly in the tertiary level. It is based on the premise that the radical need for environmental protection may not only necessarily be the work of people in the pure sciences but also deemed necessary to look into more avenues of the school setting particularly in the field of Physical Education. In the Philippines, most schools’ Physical Education focuses on the advancement of sports, fitness and wellness which are mostly done in the confines of a closed building. The paper dwells into the introduction of Physical Education as an outdoor recreation activity where in the participants of the study had the opportunity to indulge in activities undertaken outside the confines of buildings and going into large areas of the environment. It looked into the individual participant’s environmental social behaviour and effects on the participant’s perceptions in terms of the set objectives of Physical Education before and after the study’s intervention. The study utilized the formal course in Physical Education on nature walks, mountaineering and bird watching as interventions to gain perceptions and understanding. The introduction of the environmental ecology activities as a formal Physical Education course has resulted in deeper awareness that led to understanding the need to protect the environment, appreciation of the value of natural areas and acquiring behaviour for a sustainable use of the environment during the practice of Physical Education. Also, prior to the introduction of environmental ecology in Physical Education as a formal study; participants have no knowledge of what dwells in the identified sites of intervention. Whereas after the study, participants were able to identify various species of birds and plants found in the sites of the study that may lead to further conservation of the particular species.

Keywords: appreciation, conservation, environmental ecology, outdoor

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Authors: Soomal Hamza, Uzma Imran

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Organochlorine pesticides bio-accumulate into the fat of fish, birds, and animals through which it enters the human food cycle. Due to their persistence and stability in the environment, many health impacts are associated with them, most of which are carcinogenic in nature. In this study, the level of organochlorine pesticides has been detected in Keenjhar Lake and remediated using Rhizoremediation technique. 14 OC pesticides namely, Aldrin, Deldrin, Heptachlor, Heptachlor epoxide, Endrin, Endosulfun I and II, DDT, DDE, DDD, Alpha, Beta, Gamma BHC and two plants namely, Water Hyacinth and Slvinia Molesta were used in the system using pot experiment which processed for 11 days. A consortium was inoculated in both plants to increase its efficiency. Water samples were processed using liquide-liquid extraction. Sediments and roots samples were processed using Soxhlet method followed by clean-up and Gas Chromatography. Delta-BHC was the predominantly found in all samples with mean concentration (ppb) and standard deviation of 0.02 ± 0.14, 0.52 ± 0.68, 0.61 ± 0.06, in Water, Sediments and Roots samples respectively. The highest levels were of Endosulfan II in the samples of water, sediments and roots. Water Hyacinth proved to be better bioaccumulaor as compared to Silvinia Molesta. The pattern of compounds reduction rate by the end of experiment was Delta-BHC>DDD > Alpha-BHC > DDT> Heptachlor> H.Epoxide> Deldrin> Aldrin> Endrin> DDE> Endosulfun I > Endosulfun II. Not much significant difference was observed between the pots with the consortium and pots without the consortium addition. Phytoremediation is a promising technique, but more studies are required to assess the bioremediation potential of different aquatic plants and plant-endophyte relationship.

Keywords: aquatic plant, bio remediation, gas chromatography, liquid liquid extraction

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Chul Lee, Seoae Cho, Erich D. Jarvis, Heebal Kim

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Vocal learning, the ability to imitate vocalizations based on auditory experience, is a homoplastic character state observed in different independent lineages of animals such as songbirds, parrots, hummingbirds and human. It has now become possible to perform genome-wide molecular analyses across vocal learners and vocal non-learners with the recent expansion of avian genome data. It was analyzed the whole genomes of human and 48 avian species including those belonging to the three avian vocal learning lineages, to determine if behavior and neural convergence are associated with molecular convergence in divergent species of vocal learners. Analyses of 8295 orthologous genes across bird species revealed 141 genes with amino acid substitutions specific to vocal learners. Out of these, 25 genes have vocal learner specific genetic homoplasies, and their functions were enriched for learning. Several sites in these genes are estimated under convergent evolution and positive selection. A potential role for a subset of these genes in vocal learning was supported by associations with gene expression profiles in vocal learning brain regions of songbirds and human disease that cause language dysfunctions. The key candidate gene with multiple independent lines of the evidences specific to vocal learners was DRD5. Our findings suggest cAMP-based learning pathway in avian vocal learners, indicating molecular homoplastic changes associated with a complex behavioral trait, vocal learning.

Keywords: amino acid substitutions, convergent evolution, positive selection, vocal learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Georgios A. Fragkiadakis, Antonia Psaroudaki, Theodora Mouratidou, Eirini Sfakianaki

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Research: Within the project "Actions for the optimal utilization of the potential of carob in the Region of Crete" which is financed-supervised by the Region, with collaboration of Crete University and Hellenic Mediterranean University, a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) survey was carried out, to evaluate the prospects of carob in human nutrition, in Crete. Results and conclusions: 1). Strengths: There exists a local production of carob for human consumption, based on international reports, and local-product reports. The data on products in the market (over 100 brands of carob food), indicates a sufficiency of carob materials offered in Crete. The variety of carob food products retailed in Crete indicates a strong demand-production-consumption trend. There is a stable number (core) of businesses that invest significantly (Creta carob, Cretan mills, etc.). The great majority of the relevant food stores (bakery, confectionary etc.) do offer carob products. The presence of carob products produced in Crete is strong on the internet (over 20 main professionally designed websites). The promotion of the carob food-products is based on their variety and on a few historical elements connected with the Cretan diet. 2). Weaknesses: The international prices for carob seed affect the sector; the seed had an international price of €20 per kg in 2021-22 and fell to €8 in 2022, causing losses to carob traders. The local producers do not sort the carobs they deliver for processing, causing 30-40% losses of the product in the industry. The occasional high price triggers the collection of degraded raw material; large losses may emerge due to the action of insects. There are many carob trees whose fruits are not collected, e.g. in Apokoronas, Chania. The nutritional and commercial value of the wild carob fruits is very low. Carob trees-production is recorded by Greek statistical services as "other cultures" in combination with prickly pear i.e., creating difficulties in retrieving data. The percentage of carob used for human nutrition, in contrast to animal feeding, is not known. The exact imports of carob are not closely monitored. We have no data on the recycling of carob by-products in Crete. 3). Opportunities: The development of a culture of respect for carob trade may improve professional relations in the sector. Monitoring carob market and connecting production with retailing-industry needs may allow better market-stability. Raw material evaluation procedures may be implemented to maintain carob value-chain. The state agricultural services may be further involved in carob-health protection. The education of farmers on carob cultivation/management, can improve the quality of the product. The selection of local productive varieties, may improve the sustainability of the culture. Connecting the consumption of carob with health-food products, may create added value in the sector. The presence and extent of wild carob threes in Crete, represents, potentially, a target for grafting. 4). Threats: The annual fluctuation of carob yield challenges the programming of local food industry activities. Carob is a forest species also - there is danger of wrong classification of crops as forest areas, where land ownership is not clear.

Keywords: human nutrition, carob food, SWOT analysis, crete, greece

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Nafisatul Ulfa, Elok Budi Retnani, R. P. Agus Lelana

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Emerging zoonotic parasite infection could originate in wildlife so its time very important to identify zoonotic agents in wild populations or maintained. According to the International Union Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Sumateran slow loris (Nycticebus coucang) was protected primate which have vulnerable status. Their population in wildlife decreased cause hunting for trade and destroy habitat. Helminthiasis can caused dead regularly and its so The study was conducted to know prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth infection of slow loris (Nycticebus coucang) in The Centre of Primate Rehabilitation of International Animal Rescue Indonesia (YIARI). Total of 13 fecal sampel from captive group of Nycticebus coucang were collected for 6 days and analysed from Februari-Mei 2014 by using McMaster, flotasion and Baermann technique. All fecal sampel was examined based on its fecal pool. Out of 13 fecal sampel examined, all of sampel (100%) was infected with five types of helminth Ascaris (84,61%), Hymenolepis (76,92%), Strongylid (61,54%), Oxyurid (15,38%) dan Trichuris (7,69%). The average number of egg per gram (EPG) was 11-1810.

Keywords: fecal, helminth, Nycticebus coucang, parasite, prevalence, slow loris

Procedia PDF Downloads 540

Authors: Bankole Do, Omodara T. R., Awyinka O. A.

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Probiotic supplementation has been known to be associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension. Against these backdrop, activities of the gut microbiota from hypertensive induced pregnant and non-pregnant rats as mediated by the soluble and indigestible fraction of carbohydrates derived from Otiliand fermentedIru were studied in this present work. Microbiota from hypertensive induced non- pregnant rats fed with Otili and Iruhad Proteus vulgaris + Staphylococcus aureus. However, hypertensive induced pregnant rats fed with Otilipredominantly contained Proteus vulgaris + Bacillus lichniformiswhile the group fed with Iruhad Staphylococcus aureus + Bacillus lichniformis. Thus, showingdysbiosis in hypertensive induced rats is influenced by pregnancy. Further In-vitro study showed Proteus vulgaris playing a key role in the fermentative process of the indigestible fraction of carbohydrates while Esherichia coli played the key role in the fermentative process of the soluble fraction of carbohydrates in all the bean samples. This dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, as seen in hypertension in rats in this present study, might be part of the strategies for the prevention and treatment of this Non-Communicable Disease.

Keywords: probiotic, microbiota, dysbiosis, hypertension

Procedia PDF Downloads 160

Authors: Tamar Beridze, Elisa Boscari, Fleur Scheele, Tamari Edisherashvili, Cort Anderson, Leonardo Congiu

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The eastern part of the Black Sea and its tributaries are suitable habitats for several sturgeon species, among which Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, A. stellatus, A. nudiventris, A. persicus, A. sturio, and H. huso are well documented. However, different threats have led these species to a dramatic decline; all of them are currently listed as Critically Endangered and some Locally Extinct in that area. We tested 94 wild sturgeon samples from the Black Sea and Rioni River by analyzing the mitochondrial Control Region and nuclear markers for hybrid identification. The data analyses (1) assessed mitochondrial diversity among samples, (2) identified their species, as well as (3) indicated instances of hybridization. The data collected, besides confirming a sharp decrease of catches of Beluga and Stellate sturgeon in recent years, also revealed four juvenile hybrids between Russian and Stellate sturgeon, providing the first evidence of natural interspecific hybridization in the Rioni. The present communication raises concerns about the status of sturgeon species in this area and underlines the urgent need for conservation programs to restore self-sustaining populations.

Keywords: black sea, sturgeon, Rioni river, interspecific hybridization

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: A. Smaï, H. Idouhar-Saadi, S. Zenia, F. Haddadj, A. Aboun, S.Doumandji

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The quail is the smallest member of the order fowl. His captive breeding has been practiced for centuries by the Japanese. Knowing that in the literature, it is mentioned that the end of lay is noted for the age of 6 months, our work has revealed a good egg production by females aged up to 35 weeks of age. In the same vein, our study focused on various parameters such as weight, diet and the number of eggs laid and this in order to better know the potential production and reproduction of domestic quail. Egg production has started from the 8th week of age of breeding, crop them and their counts are conducted daily basis until the age of 35 weeks. Indeed, biometric parameters are studied such as weight, length, and the largest diameter, the shape index, the index of shell, in order to analyze the physical condition of eggs by females of age. Until the age of 22 weeks, the eggs have maintained good biometric features. Japanese quail are best producing eggs. Hatchability is also considered. They are excellent poultry yields, since they begin laying eggs in two months and can provide abundant nesting with females over 8 months in our study. Other farms results reveal conclusions. Indeed, one aspect remains to be developed; it is the analysis of nutritional and therapeutic values of eggs over the age of females. The latter, given their wealth is a dietary supplement of animal origin with dietary value (it contains 0 cholesterol) that characterizes the quail eggs. Raising quail among other reproduction requires minimal when compared to other domestic birds space, this is the second breeding, in terms of importance after the chicken. Therefore, in the case of a farm that works exclusively in the production of eggs, requires minimal work and free space, as well as reduced costs.

Keywords: Japanese quail, reproduction, eggs, biometrics, reproductive age

Procedia PDF Downloads 258

Authors: K. B. M. Islam, Syeeda Shiraj-Um-Mahmuda, Afroj Jahan, A. A. Bhuiyan

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In Bangladesh, the use of imported probiotics in poultry is gradually being increased. But surprisingly, no probiotic bacteria have been isolated yet in Bangladesh despite the existence of scavenging native poultry as potential source that is seemingly more resistant to GIT infection as well as other diseases. Therefore, the study was undertaken to isolate, identify and characterize the potential probiotic Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria strains from Bangladeshi indigenous poultry, and to evaluate their suitability to use in poultry industry. Crop and cecal samples from 61 healthy indigenous birds were used to isolate potential probiotics strains following conventional cultural methods. A total of 216 isolates were identified following physical, biochemical and molecular methods that belonged to the genus Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria. An auto-aggregation test was performed for 180 and 136 isolated lactobacilli and bifidobacteria strains, respectively. Twelve lactobacilli isolates and 7 bifidobacteria isolates were selected because of their convenient aggregation. In vitro tests including antibacterial activity, resistance to low pH, hemolytic activities etc. were performed for evaluation of probiotic potential of each strain. Under the in vitro conditions and with respects to the probiotic traits, three lactobacilli; LS16, LS45, LS133 and two bifidobacteria, BS21 and BS90 were found to be potential probiotic strains. Thus, they are proposed to be evaluated for their in vivo probiotic properties. If the proposed strains are found suitable as the probiotics to be used in commercial poultry industry, it is expected that the local probiotics would be more beneficial and would save the huge amount of money that Bangladesh spends every year for the importation of such materials from abroad.

Keywords: Bangladeshi poultry, gut microbiota, lactic acid bacteria, scavenging chicken, GIT health

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: Mohamed Abumandour

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This research presents a comparison of the morphological structure of the gustatory papillae in New Zealand white rabbits as domestic mammals and Egyptian fruit bats as wild mammals. In this study, the tongues of adult healthy New Zealand white rabbits and Egyptian fruit bats of both sexes were used. In the New Zealand white rabbits, there are three types of the gustatory papillae; fungiform, foliate and circumvallate papillae while the Egyptian fruit bats tongue contain only two types; fungiform and circumvallate papillae. In New Zealand white rabbits, there only one subtype is the round shape fungiform papillae while in Egyptian fruit bats, there are two subtypes; small rectangular fungiform papillae and large round fungiform papillae. In New Zealand white rabbits, there only two circumvallate papillae while in Egyptian fruit bats, there are three papillae. The shape, size, number, and distribution of the lingual papillae were varied according to their location within the tongue (region-specific) in relation to the feeding habits, strategies for obtaining food, climate conditions, and types of food particles.

Keywords: morphology, circumvallate papillae, fungiform papillae, foliate papillae

Procedia PDF Downloads 216

Authors: Hanan Al-Khalaifah, Afaf Al-Nasser

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The egg shell quality and oviposition in laying hens are influenced by a range of factors including strain of birds, age, nutrition, water quality, general stress, heat stress, disease, and lighting program inside houses. A layer experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of split-phase lighting program on egg production efficiency. Four different feeds and average phosphorus (av. P) levels were tested. Diet A was a ration with an av. P level of 0.471%; Diet B was a ration with an av. P level of 0.510%; Diet C contained an av. P level of 0.293%; and Diet D contained an av. P level of 0.327%. The split-phase lighting program tested was one that inserted a 7-hour dark period from 9 am to 4 pm to reduce the heat produced by the feeding increment and physical activity of the hens. Diet B produced significantly more eggs than Diet C, or Diet D. Diet A was not significantly different from any of the other diets. Diet B also had the best feed efficiency with the other three diets in the same order and significance as for egg production. Diet D produced eggshells significantly thicker than either Diet A, or Diet B. Diet C produced thicker eggshells than Diet B, whose shells were significantly thinner than the other three diets. There were no differences in egg size. From these data, it is apparent that the minimal av. P level for the Lohmann strain of layer in Kuwait is above 0.327%. There was no difference in egg production or eggshell thickness between the split-phase light treatment and the standard light program. There was no difference in oviposition frequency. The split-phase light used 3.66% less feed, however, which was significant. The standard light produced eggs that were significantly heavier (66.30g vs. 65.73g). These results indicate that considerable savings in feed costs could be attained by using split-phase lighting, especially when cooling is not very efficient.

Keywords: egg, laying, nutrition, oviposition

Procedia PDF Downloads 200