Search results for: biological products

Authors: Sisaynew Tesfaw Admassu

Abstract:

The strengthening of timber beams can be necessary for several reasons including the increase of live loads (possible in a historical building for a change of destination of use or upgrading to meet new requirements), the reduction of the resistant cross-sections following deterioration (attacks of biological agents such as fungi, and insects) or traumatic events (fires) and the excess of deflection in the members. The main purpose of strengthening an element is not merely to repair it, but also to prevent and minimize the appearance of future problems. This study did an experimental investigation on the behavior of reference and strengthened solid timber beams. The strengthening materials used in this study were CSM-450 glass fiber and steel materials for both flexural and shear strengthening techniques. Twenty-two solid timber beams of Juniperus procera (TID) species with the dimensions of 60 x 90 x 780 mm were used in the present study. The binding material to bond the strengthening materials with timber was general-purpose resin with Luperox® K10 MEKP catalyst. Three beams were used as control beams (unstrengthen beams) while the remaining nineteen beams were strengthened using the strengthening materials for flexure and shear. All the beams were tested for three points loading to failure by using a Universal Testing Machine, UTM-600kN machine. The experimental results showed that the strengthened beams performed better than the unstrengthen beams. The experimental result of flexural strengthened beams showed that the load-bearing capacity of strengthened beams increased between 16.34 – 42.55%. Four layers of Glass Fiber Reinforced polymer on the tension side of the beams was shown to be the most effective way to enhance load-bearing capacity. The strengthened beams also have an enhancement in their flexural stiffness. The stiffness of flexural strengthened beams was increased between 1.18 – 65.53% as compared to the control beams. The highest increment in stiffness has occurred on beams strengthened using 2x60 mm steel plates. The shear-strengthened beams showed a relatively small amount of performance as compared to flexural-strengthened beams; the reason is that the beams are sufficient for shear. The polyester resin used in the experimental work showed good performance in bonding agents between materials. The resin showed more effectiveness in GFRP materials than steel materials.

Keywords: heritage structures, strengthening, stiffness, adhesive, polyester resin, steel plates

Procedia PDF Downloads 54

Authors: M. Masroor Akhtar Khan, Moin Uddin, Lalit Varshney

Abstract:

Recently, there has been a rapidly expanding interest in finding applications of natural polymers in view of value addition to agriculture. It is now being realized that radiation processing of natural polysaccharides can be beneficially utilized either to improve the existing methodologies used for processing the natural polymers or to impart value addition to agriculture by converting them into more useful form. Gamma-ray irradiation is employed to degrade and lower the molecular weight of some of the natural polysaccharides like alginates, chitosan and carrageenan into small sized oligomers. When these oligomers are applied to plants as foliar sprays, they elicit various kinds of biological and physiological activities, including promotion of plant growth, seed germination, shoot elongation, root growth, flower production, suppression of heavy metal stress, etc. Furthermore, application of these oligomers can shorten the harvesting period of various crops and help in reducing the use of insecticides and chemical fertilizers. In recent years, the oligomers of sodium alginate obtained by irradiating the latter with gamma-rays at 520 kGy dose are being employed. It was noticed that the oligomers derived from the natural polysaccharides could induce growth, photosynthetic efficiency, enzyme activities and most importantly the production of secondary metabolite in the plants like Artemisia annua, Beta vulgaris, Catharanthus roseus, Chrysopogon zizanioides, Cymbopogon flexuosus, Eucalyptus citriodora, Foeniculum vulgare, Geranium sp., Mentha arvensis, Mentha citrata, Mentha piperita, Mentha virdis, Papaver somniferum and Trigonella foenum-graecum. As a result of the application of these oligomers, the yield and/or contents of the active constituents of the aforesaid plants were significantly enhanced. The productivity, as well as quality of medicinal and aromatic plants, may be ameliorated by this novel technique in an economical way as a very little quantity of these irradiated (depolymerised) polysaccharides is needed. Further, this is a very safe technique, as we did not expose the plants directly to radiation. The radiation was used to depolymerize the polysaccharides into oligomers.

Keywords: essential oil, medicinal and aromatic plants, plant production, radiation processed polysaccharides, active constituents

Procedia PDF Downloads 432

Authors: Ismail S. Bostanci, Ebru Akkaya

Abstract:

Microalgae-derived biodiesel, fertilizer or industrial chemicals' production with wastewater has great potential. Especially water from a municipal wastewater treatment plant is a very important nutrient source for biofuel production. Microalgae biomass production in open ponds system is lower cost culture systems. There are many hurdles for commercial algal biomass production in large scale. One of the important technical bottlenecks for microalgae production in open system is culture contamination. The algae culture contaminants can generally be described as invading organisms which could cause pond crash. These invading organisms can be competitors, parasites, and predators. Contamination is unavoidable in open systems. Potential contaminant organisms are already inoculated if wastewater is utilized for algal biomass cultivation. Especially, it is important to control contaminants to retain in acceptable level in order to reach true potential of algal biofuel production. There are several contamination management methods in algae industry, ranging from mechanical, chemical, biological and growth condition change applications. However, none of them are accepted as a suitable contamination control method. This experiment describes an innovative contamination control method, 'Recirculated Sedimentation Method', to manage contamination to avoid pond cash. The method can be used for the production of algal biofuel, fertilizer etc. and algal wastewater treatment. To evaluate the performance of the method on algal culture, an experiment was conducted for 90 days at a lab-scale raceway (60 L) reactor with the use of non-sterilized and non-filtered wastewater (secondary effluent and centrate of anaerobic digestion). The application of the method provided the following; removing contaminants (predators and diatoms) and other debris from reactor without discharging the culture (with microscopic evidence), increasing raceway tank’s suspended solids holding capacity (770 mg L-1), increasing ammonium removal rate (29.83 mg L-1 d-1), decreasing algal and microbial biofilm formation on inner walls of reactor, washing out generated nitrifier from reactor to prevent ammonium consumption.

Keywords: contamination control, microalgae culture contamination, pond crash, predator control

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Hanna Mamo Ergando

Abstract:

Climate change is already having a severe influence on agriculture, affecting crop yields, the nutritional content of main grains, and livestock productivity. Significant adaptation investments will be necessary to sustain existing yields and enhance production and food quality to fulfill demand. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) provides numerous potentials in this regard, combining a focus on enhancing agricultural output and incomes while also strengthening resilience and responding to climate change. To improve agriculture production and productivity, the Ethiopian government has adopted and implemented a series of strategies, including the recent agricultural cluster farming that is practiced as an effort to change, improve, and transform subsistence farming to modern, productive, market-oriented, and climate-smart approach through farmers production cluster. Besides, greater attention and focus have been given to wheat production and productivity by the government, and wheat is the major crop grown in cluster farming. Therefore, the objective of this assessment was to examine various opportunities and challenges farmers face in a cluster farming system. A qualitative research approach was used to generate primary and secondary data. Respondents were chosen using the purposeful sampling technique. Accordingly, experts from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute, the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute, and the Ethiopian Environment Protection Authority were interviewed. The assessment result revealed that farming in clusters is an economically viable technique for sustaining small, resource-limited, and socially disadvantaged farmers' agricultural businesses. The method assists farmers in consolidating their products and delivering them in bulk to save on transportation costs while increasing income. Smallholders' negotiating power has improved as a result of cluster membership, as has knowledge and information spillover. The key challenges, on the other hand, were identified as a lack of timely provision of modern inputs, insufficient access to credit services, conflict of interest in crop selection, and a lack of output market for agro-processing firms. Furthermore, farmers in the cluster farming approach grow wheat year after year without crop rotation or diversification techniques. Mono-cropping has disadvantages because it raises the likelihood of disease and insect outbreaks. This practice may result in long-term consequences, including soil degradation, reduced biodiversity, and economic risk for farmers. Therefore, the government must devote more resources to addressing the issue of environmental sustainability. Farmers' access to complementary services that promote production and marketing efficiencies through infrastructure and institutional services has to be improved. In general, the assessment begins with some hint that leads to a deeper study into the efficiency of the strategy implementation, upholding existing policy, and scaling up good practices in a sustainable and environmentally viable manner.

Keywords: cluster farming, smallholder farmers, wheat, challenges, opportunities

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: Yu Yoshihara, Chika Tada, Moe Takada, Nyam-Osor Purevdorj, Khorolmaa Chimedtseren, Yutaka Nakai

Abstract:

Water pollution from animal waste and its influence on grazing animals is a current concern regarding Mongolian grazing lands. We allocated 32 free-grazing lambs to four groups and provided each with water from a different source (upper stream, lower stream, well, and pond) for 49 days. We recorded the amount of water consumed by the lambs, as well as their body weight, behavior, white blood cell count, acute phase (haptoglobin) protein level, and fecal condition. We measured the chemical and biological qualities of the four types of water, and we detected enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli in fecal samples by using a genetic approach. Pond water contained high levels of nitrogen and minerals, and well water contained high levels of bacteria. The odor concentration index decreased in order from pond water to upper stream, lower stream, and well. On day 15 of the experiment, the following parameters were the highest in lambs drinking water from the following sources: water intake (pond or lower stream), body weight gain (pond), WBC count (lower stream), haptoglobin concentration (well), and enteropathogenic E. coli infection rate (lower stream). Lambs that drank well water spent more time lying down and less time grazing than the others, and lambs that drank pond water spent more time standing and less time lying down. Lambs given upper or lower stream water exhibited more severe diarrhea on day 15 of the experiment than before the experiment. Mongolian sheep seemed to adapt to chemically contaminated water: their productivity benefited the most from pond water, likely owing to its rich mineral content. Lambs that drank lower stream water showed increases in enteropathogenic E. coli infection, clinical diarrhea, and WBC count. Lambs that drank well water, which was bacteriologically contaminated, had increased serum acute phase protein levels and poor physical condition; they were thus at increased risk of negative health and production effects.

Keywords: DNA, Escherichia coli, fecal sample, lower stream, well water

Procedia PDF Downloads 452

Authors: Usman Bawa

Abstract:

Macro-invertebrates have been used to monitor organic pollution in rivers and streams. Several biotic indices based on macro-invertebrates have been developed over the years including the Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP). A new biotic index, the Gammarus:Asellus ratio has been recently proposed as an index of organic pollution. This study tested the validity of the Gammarus:Asellus ratio as an index of organic pollution, by examining the relationship between the Gammarus:Asellus ratio and physical-chemical parameters, and other biotic indices such as BMWP and, Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT) from lakes and streams at Markeaton Park, Allestree Park, and Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire. Macro invertebrates were sampled using the standard five-minute kick sampling techniques physical and chemical environmental variables were obtained based on standard sampling techniques. Eighteen sites were sampled, six sites from Markeaton Park (three sites across the stream and three sites across the lake). Six sites each were also sampled from Allestree Park and Kedleston Hall lakes. The Gammarus:Asellus ratio showed an opposite significant positive correlations with parameters indicative of organic pollution such as the level of nitrates, phosphates, and calcium and also revealed a negatively significant correlations with other biotic indices (BMWP/ASPT). The BMWP score correlated positively significantly with some water quality parameters such as dissolved oxygen and flow rate, but revealed no correlations with other chemical environmental variables. The BMWP score was significantly higher in the stream than the lake in Markeaton Park, also The ASPT scores appear to be significantly higher in the upper Lakes than the middle and lower lakes. This study has further strengthened the use of BMWP/ASPT score as an index of organic pollution. But, additional application is required to validate the use of Gammarus:Asellus as a rapid bio monitoring tool.

Keywords: Asellus, biotic index, Gammarus, macro invertebrates, organic pollution

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Natia Jalagonia, Tinatin Kuchukhidze

Abstract:

Polymer electrolytes (PE) play an important part in electrochemical devices such as batteries and fuel cells. To achieve optimal performance, the PE must maintain a high ionic conductivity and mechanical stability at both high and low relative humidity. The polymer electrolyte also needs to have excellent chemical stability for long and robustness. According to the prevailing theory, ionic conduction in polymer electrolytes is facilitated by the large-scale segmental motion of the polymer backbone, and primarily occurs in the amorphous regions of the polymer electrolyte. Crystallinity restricts polymer backbone segmental motion and significantly reduces conductivity. Consequently, polymer electrolytes with high conductivity at room temperature have been sought through polymers which have highly flexible backbones and have largely amorphous morphology. The interest in polymer electrolytes was increased also by potential applications of solid polymer electrolytes in high energy density solid state batteries, gas sensors and electrochromic windows. Conductivity of 10-3 S/cm is commonly regarded as a necessary minimum value for practical applications in batteries. At present, polyethylene oxide (PEO)-based systems are most thoroughly investigated, reaching room temperature conductivities of 10-7 S/cm in some cross-linked salt in polymer systems based on amorphous PEO-polypropylene oxide copolymers.. It is widely accepted that amorphous polymers with low glass transition temperatures Tg and a high segmental mobility are important prerequisites for high ionic conductivities. Another necessary condition for high ionic conductivity is a high salt solubility in the polymer, which is most often achieved by donors such as ether oxygen or imide groups on the main chain or on the side groups of the PE. It is well established also that lithium ion coordination takes place predominantly in the amorphous domain, and that the segmental mobility of the polymer is an important factor in determining the ionic mobility. Great attention was pointed to PEO-based amorphous electrolyte obtained by synthesis of comb-like polymers, by attaching short ethylene oxide unit sequences to an existing amorphous polymer backbone. The aim of presented work is to obtain of solid polymer electrolyte membranes using PMHS as a matrix. For this purpose the hydrosilylation reactions of α,ω-bis(trimethylsiloxy)methyl¬hydrosiloxane with allyl triethylene-glycol mo¬nomethyl ether and vinyltriethoxysilane at 1:28:7 ratio of initial com¬pounds in the presence of Karstedt’s catalyst, platinum hydrochloric acid (0.1 M solution in THF) and platinum on the carbon catalyst in 50% solution of anhydrous toluene have been studied. The synthesized olygomers are vitreous liquid products, which are well soluble in organic solvents with specific viscosity ηsp ≈ 0.05 - 0.06. The synthesized olygomers were analysed with FTIR, 1H, 13C, 29Si NMR spectroscopy. Synthesized polysiloxanes were investigated with wide-angle X-ray, gel-permeation chromatography, and DSC analyses. Via sol-gel processes of doped with lithium trifluoromethylsulfonate (triflate) or lithium bis¬(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)¬imide polymer systems solid polymer electrolyte membranes have been obtained. The dependence of ionic conductivity as a function of temperature and salt concentration was investigated and the activation energies of conductivity for all obtained compounds are calculated

Keywords: synthesis, PMHS, membrane, electrolyte

Procedia PDF Downloads 238

Authors: Chouahda Salima, Soltani Noureddine

Abstract:

The present study is a part of biological control against mosquitoes. It aims to assess the impact of two xenobiotics (a selective insect growth regulator: halofenozide and heavy metals: cadmium, more toxic and widespread in the region) in mosquitofish: Gambusia affinis. Several approaches were examined: Acute toxicity of cadmium and halofenozide: The acute toxicity of cadmium and halofenozide was examined in juvenile and adult males and females of G. affinis at different concentrations, cadmium causes mortality of the species studied with a relation dose-response. In laboratory conditions, the impact of cadmium was determined on two biomarkers of environmental stress: glutathione and acetylcholinesterase. The results show that the juvenile followed by adult males are more susceptible than adult females, while the halofenozide does not have any effect on the mortality of juvenile and adult males and females of G.affinis. Chronic toxicity of cadmium and halofenozide: both xenobiotics were added to the water fish raising at different doses tested in juveniles and adults males and females during two months of experience. Growth and metric indices; results show that halofenozide added to the water juveniles of G. affinis has no effect on their growth (length and weight). On the other side, the cadmium at the dose 5 µg/L shows a higher toxicity against juvenile, where he appears to reduce significantly their linear growth and weight. In females, the both xenobiotics have significant effects on metric indices, but these effects are more important on the hepatosomatic index that the gonadosomatic index and the coefficient of condition. Biomarkers; acetylcholinesterase (AChE), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glutathione (GSH) used in assessing of environmental stress were measured in juveniles and adults males and females. The response of these biomarkers reveals an inhibition of AChE specific activity, an induction of GST activity, and decrease of GSH rates in juveniles in the end of experiment and during chronic treatment adult males and females. The effect of these biomarkers is more pronounced in females compared to males and juveniles. These different biomarkers have a similar profile for the duration of exposure.

Keywords: gambusia affinis, insecticide, heavy metal, morphology, biomarkers, chronic toxicity, acute toxicity, pollution

Procedia PDF Downloads 301

Authors: Päärn Paiste, Margit Kõiv, Riho Mõtlep, Kalle Kirsimäe

Abstract:

For small-scale wastewater management, the treatment wetlands (TWs) as a low cost alternative to conventional treatment facilities, can be used. However, P removal capacity of TW systems is usually problematic. P removal in TWs is mainly dependent on the physico–chemical and hydrological properties of the filter material. Highest P removal efficiency has been shown trough Ca-phosphate precipitation (i.e. active filtration) in Ca-rich alkaline filter materials, e.g. industrial by-products like hydrated oil shale ash (HOSA), metallurgical slags. In this contribution we report preliminary results of a full-scale TW system using HOSA material for P removal for a municipal wastewater at Nõo site, Estonia. The main goals of this ongoing project are to evaluate: a) the long-term P removal efficiency of HOSA using real waste water; b) the effect of high organic loading rate; c) variable P-loading effects on the P removal mechanism (adsorption/direct precipitation); and d) the form and composition of phosphate precipitates. Onsite full-scale experiment with two concurrent filter systems for treatment of municipal wastewater was established in September 2013. System’s pretreatment steps include septic tank (2 m2) and vertical down-flow LECA filters (3 m2 each), followed by horizontal subsurface HOSA filters (effective volume 8 m3 each). Overall organic and hydraulic loading rates of both systems are the same. However, the first system is operated in a stable hydraulic loading regime and the second in variable loading regime that imitates the wastewater production in an average household. Piezometers for water and perforated sample containers for filter material sampling were incorporated inside the filter beds to allow for continuous in-situ monitoring. During the 18 months of operation the median removal efficiency (inflow to outflow) of both systems were over 99% for TP, 93% for COD and 57% for TN. However, we observed significant differences in the samples collected in different points inside the filter systems. In both systems, we observed development of preferred flow paths and zones with high and low loadings. The filters show formation and a gradual advance of a “dead” zone along the flow path (zone with saturated filter material characterized by ineffective removal rates), which develops more rapidly in the system working under variable loading regime. The formation of the “dead” zone is accompanied by the growth of organic substances on the filter material particles that evidently inhibit the P removal. Phase analysis of used filter materials using X-ray diffraction method reveals formation of minor amounts of amorphous Ca-phosphate precipitates. This finding is supported by ATR-FTIR and SEM-EDS measurements, which also reveal Ca-phosphate and authigenic carbonate precipitation. Our first experimental results demonstrate that organic pollution and loading regime significantly affect the performance of hydrated ash filters. The material analyses also show that P is incorporated into a carbonate substituted hydroxyapatite phase.

Keywords: active filtration, apatite, hydrated oil shale ash, organic pollution, phosphorus

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

Authors: Sayed M. Ahmed, Sawsan S. Darwish, Nagib A. Elmarzugi, Mohammad A. Al-Dosari, Mahmoud A. Adam, Nadia A. Al-Mouallimi

Abstract:

The preservation of cultural heritage is a worldwide problem. Stone monuments represent an important part of this heritage, but due to their prevalently outdoor location, they are generally subject to a complex series of weathering and decay processes, in addition to physical and chemical factors, also biological agents usually play an important role in deterioration phenomena. The aim of this paper is to experimentally verify applicability and feasibility of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles for the preservation of historical (architectural, monumental, archaeological) stone surfaces which enables to reduce the deterioration behaviors mentioned above. TiO2 nanoparticles dispersed in an aqueous colloidal suspension were applied directly on travertine (Marble and limestone often used in historical and monumental buildings) by spray-coating in order to obtain a nanometric film on stone samples. SEM, coupled with EDX microanalysis. (SEM-EDX), in order to obtain information oncoating homogeneity, surface morphology before and after aging and penetration depth of the TiO2 within the samples. Activity of the coated surface was evaluated with UV accelerated aging test. Capillary water absorption, thermal aging and colorimetric measurements have been performed on on coated and uncoated samples to evaluate their properties and estimate change of appearance with colour variation. Results show Tio2 nanoparticles good candidate for coating applications on calcareous stone, good water-repellence was observed on the samples after treatment; analyses were carried out on both untreated and freshly treated samples as well as after artificial aging. Colour change showed negligible variations on the coated or uncoated stone as well as after aging. Results showed that treated stone surfaces seem to be not affected after 1000 hours of exposure to UV radiation, no alteration of the original features.

Keywords: architectural and archaeological heritage, calcareous stone, photocatalysis TiO2, self-cleaning, thermal aging

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: LouAnne Boyd

Abstract:

From the perspective of self-advocates, the biggest unaddressed problem is not the symptoms of an autism spectrum diagnosis but the social stigma that accompanies autism. This societal perspective is in contrast to the focus on the majority of interventions. Autism interventions, and consequently, most innovative technologies for autism, aim to improve deficits that occur within the person. For example, the most common Human-Computer Interaction research projects in assistive technology for autism target social skills from a normative perspective. The premise of the autism technologies is that difficulties occur inside the body, hence, the medical model focuses on ways to improve the ailment within the person. However, other technological approaches to support people with autism do exist. In the realm of Human Computer Interaction, there are other modes of research that provide critique of the medical model. For example, critical design, whose intended audience is industry or other HCI researchers, provides products that are the opposite of interventionist work to bring attention to the misalignment between the lived experience and the societal perception of autism. For example, parodies of interventionist work exist to provoke change, such as a recent project called Facesavr, a face covering that helps allistic adults be more independent in their emotional processing. Additionally, from a critical disability studies’ perspective, assistive technologies perpetuate harmful normalizing behaviors. However, these critical approaches can feel far from the frontline in terms of taking direct action to positively impact end users. From a critical yet more pragmatic perspective, projects such as Counterventions lists ways to reduce the likelihood of perpetuating ableism in interventionist’s work by reflectively analyzing a series of evolving assistive technology projects through a societal lens, thus leveraging the momentum of the evolving ecology of technologies for autism. Therefore, all current paradigms fall short of addressing the largest need—the negative impact of social stigma. The current work introduces a new paradigm for technologies for autism, borrowing from a paradigm introduced two decades ago around changing the narrative related to eating disorders. It is the shift from reprimanding poor habits to celebrating positive aspects of eating. This work repurposes Celebratory Technology for Neurodiversity and intended to reduce social stigma by targeting for the public at large. This presentation will review how requirements were derived from current research on autism social stigma as well as design sessions with autistic adults. Congruence between these two sources revealed three key design implications for technology: provide awareness of the autistic experience; generate acceptance of the neurodivergence; cultivate an appreciation for talents and accomplishments of neurodivergent people. The current pilot work in Celebratory Technology offers a new paradigm for supporting autism by shifting the burden of change from the person with autism to address changing society’s biases at large. Shifting the focus of research outside of the autistic body creates a new space for a design that extends beyond the bodies of a few and calls on all to embrace humanity as a whole.

Keywords: neurodiversity, social stigma, accessibility, inclusion, celebratory technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 54

Authors: Dibakar Chandra Deka, Anamika Kalita Deka

Abstract:

Fermented alcoholic beverage production has its own stand among the tribal communities of North-East India. This biological oxidation method is followed by Ahom, Dimasa, Nishi, Miri, Bodo, Rabha tribes of this region. Bodo tribes among them not only prepare fermented alcoholic beverage but also store it for various time periods like 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months and 15 months etc. They prepare alcoholic beverage Jou (rice beer) following the fermentation of Oryza sativa with traditional yeast culture Amao. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the main domain strain present in Amao. Dongphangrakep (Scoparia dulcis), Mwkhna (Clerodendrum viscosum), Thalir (Musa balbisina) and Khantal Bilai (Ananas cosmos) are the main plants used for Amao preparation. The stored Jou is known as Joufinai. They store the fermented mixture (rice and Amao) in anaerobic conditions for the preparation of Joufinai. We observed a successive increase in alcohol content from 3 months of storage period with 11.79 ± 0.010 (%, v/v) to 15.48 ± 0.070 (%, v/v) at 15 months of storage by a simple, reproducible and solution based colorimetric method. A positive linear correlation was also observed between pH and ethanol content with storage having correlation coefficient 0.981. Here, we optimised the detection of change in constituents of Joufinai during storage using reverse phase HPLC method. We found acetone, ethanol, acetic acid, glycerol as main constituents present in Joufinai. A very good correlation was observed from 3 months to 15 months of storage periods with its constituents. Increase in glycerol content was also detected with storage periods and hence Joufinai can be use as a precursor of above stated compounds. We also observed antioxidant activities increase from 0.056 ±2.80 mg/mL for 3 months old to 0.078± 5.33 mg/mL (in ascorbic acid equivalents) for 15 month old beverage by DPPH radical scavenging method. Therefore, we aimed for scientific validation of storage procedure used by Bodos in Joufinai production and to convert the Bodos’ traditional alcoholic beverage to a commercial commodity through our study.

Keywords: Amao, correlation, beverage, joufinai

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Grzegorz Swiderski, Agata Jablonska-Trypuc, Natalia Popow, Renata Swislocka, Wlodzimierz Lewandowski

Abstract:

Doxorubicin belongs to the group of anthracycline antitumor antibiotics. Because of the wide spectrum of actions, it is one of the most widely used anthracycline antibiotics, including the treatment of breast, ovary, bladder, lung cancers as well as neuroblastoma, lymphoma, leukemia and myeloid leukemia. Antitumor activity of doxorubicin is based on the same mechanisms as for most anthracyclines. Like the metal ions affect the nucleic acids on many biological processes, so the environment of the metal chelates of antibiotics can have a significant effect on the pharmacological properties of drugs. Complexation of anthracyclines with metal ions may contribute to the production of less toxic compounds. In the framework of this study, the composition of complexes obtained in aqueous solutions of doxorubicin with metal ions (Cu2+ and Zn2+). Complexation was analyzed by spectrophotometric titration in aqueous solution at pH 7.0. The pH was adjusted with 0.02M Tris-HCl buffer. The composition of the complexes found was Cu: doxorubicin (1: 2) and a Zn: doxorubicin (1: 1). The effect of Dox, Dox-Cu and Dox-Zn was examined in MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, which were obtained from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). The compounds were added to the cultured cells for a final concentration in the range of 0,01µM to 0,5µM. The number of MCF-7 cells with division into living and dead, was determined by direct counts of cells with the use of trypan blue dye using LUNA Logos Biosystems cell counter. ApoTox-Glo Triplex Assay (Promega, Madison, Wisconsin, USA) was used according to the manufacturer’s instructions to measure the MCF-7 cells’ viability, cytotoxicity and apoptosis. We observed a decrease in cells proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. An increase in cytotoxicity and decrease in viability in the ApoTox Triplex assay was also showed for all tested compounds. Apoptosis, showed as caspase 3/7 activation, was observed only in Dox treatment. In Dox-Zn and Dox-Cu caspase 3/7 activation was not observed. This work was financially supported by National Science Centre, Poland, under the research project number 2014/13/B/NZ7/02 352.

Keywords: anticancer properties, anthracycline antibiotic, doxorubicine, metal complexes

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Siddharudha B. Patil

Abstract:

Cotton is a premier commercial fibre crop of India subjected to ravages of insect pests. Sucking pests viz thrips, Thrips tabaci,(lind) leaf hopper Amrsca devastance,(dist) miridbug, Poppiocapsidea beseratense (Dist) and bollworms continue to inflict damage Bt Cotton right from seeding stage. Their infestation impact cotton yield to an extent of 30-40 percent. Chemical control is still adoptable as one of the techniques for combating these pests. Presently, growers have many challenges in selecting effective chemicals which fit in with an integrated pest management. Spinetoram has broad spectrum with excellent insecticidal activity against both sucking pests and bollworms. Hence, it is expected to make a great contribution to stable production and quality improvement of agricultural products. Spinetoram is a derivative of biologically active substances (Spinosyns) produced by soil actinomycetes, Saccharopolypara spinosa which is semi synthetic active ingredient representing Spinosyn chemical class of insecticide and has demonstrated higher level of efficacy with reduced risk on beneficial arthropods. The efforts were made in the present study to test the efficacy of Spinetoram against sucking pests and bollworms in comparison with other insecticides in Bt Cotton under field condition. Field experiment was laid out during 2013-14 and 2014-15 at Agricultural Research station Dharwad (Karnataka-India) in a randomized block design comprising eight treatments and three replications. Bt cotton genotype, Bunny BG-II was sown in a plot size of 5.4 m x5.4 m. Recommend agronomical practices were followed. The Spinetoram 12% SC alone and incombination with sulfaxaflore with varied dosages against pest complex was tested. Performance was compared with Spinosad 45% SC and thiamethoxam 25% WG. The results of consecutive seasons revealed that nonsignificant difference in thrips and leafhopper population and varied significantly after 3 days of imposition. Among the treatments, combiproduct, Spinetoram 10%WG + Sulfoxaflor 30% WG@ 140 gai/ha registered lowest population of thrips (3.91/3 leaves) and leaf hoppers (1.08/3 leaves) followed by its lower dosages viz 120 gai/ha (4.86/3 leaves and 1.14/3 leaves of thrips and leaf hoppers, respectively) and 100 gai/ha (6.02 and 1.23./3 leaves of thrips and leaf hoppers respectively) being at par, significantly superior to rest of the treatments. On the contrary, the population of thrips, leaf hopper and miridbugs in untreated control was on higher side. Similarly the higher dosage of Spinetoram 10% WG+ Sulfoxaflor 30% WG (140 gai/ha) proved its bioefficacy by registering lowest miridbug incidence of 1.70/25 squares, followed by its lower dosage (1.78 and 1.83/25 squares respectively) Further observation made on bollworms incidence revealed that the higher dosage of Spinetoram 10% WG+Sulfoxaflor 30% WG (140 gai/ha) registered lowest percentage of boll damage (7.22%), more number of good opened bolls (36.89/plant) and higher seed cotton yield (19.45q/ha) followed by rest of its lower dosages, Spinetoram 12% SC alone and Spinosad 45% SC being at par significantly superior to rest of the treatments. However, significantly higher boll damage (15.13%) and lower seed cotton yield (14.45 q/ha) was registered in untreated control. Thus Spinetoram10% WG+Sulfoxaflor 30% WG can be a promising option for pest management in Bt Cotton.

Keywords: Spinetoram10% WG+Sulfoxaflor 30% WG, sucking pests, bollworms, Bt cotton, management

Procedia PDF Downloads 228

Authors: Owonikoko Abayomi Dele

Abstract:

Epilepsy is an unresolved disease that needs urgent attention. It is a brain disorder that affects over sixty-five (65) million people around the globe. Despite the availability of commercial anti-epileptic drugs, the war against this unmet condition is yet to be resolved. Most epilepsy patients are resistant to available anti-epileptic medications thus the need for affordable novel therapy against epilepsy is a necessity. Numerous phytochemicals have been reported for their potency, efficacy and safety as therapeutic agents against many diseases. This study investigated 99 isolated phytochemicals from Chasmanthera dependens and Carissa edulis against carbonic anhydrase (ii) drug target. The absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity (ADMET) of the isolated compounds were examined using admet SAR-2 web server while Swiss ADME was used to analyze the oral bioavailability, drug-likeness and lead-likeness properties of the selected leads. PASS web server was used to predict the biological activities of selected leads while other important physicochemical properties and interactions of the selected leads with the active site of the target after successful molecular docking simulation with the pyrx virtual screening tool were also examined. The results of these study identified seven lead compounds; C49- alpha-carissanol (-7.6 kcal/mol), C13- Catechin (-7.4 kcal/mol), C45- Salicin (-7.4 kcal/mol), C6- Bisnorargemonine (-7.3 kcal/mol), C36- Pallidine (-7.1 kcal/mol), S4- Lacosamide (-7.1 kcal/mol), and S7- Acetazolamide (-6.4 kcal/mol) for CA II (3HS4 receptor). These leads compounds are probable inhibitors of this drug target due to the observed good binding affinities and favourable interactions with the active site of the drug target, excellent ADMET profiles, PASS Properties, drug-likeness, lead-likeness and oral bioavailability properties. The identified leads have better binding energies as compared to the binding energies of the two standards. Thus, seven identified lead compounds can be developed further towards the development of new anti-epileptic medications.

Keywords: drug-likeness, phytochemicals, carbonic anhydrases, metalloeazymes, active site, ADMET

Procedia PDF Downloads 25

Authors: Brandon Takahashi, Marielle Hanley, Gerry Hanley

Abstract:

The large-scale quick-service restaurant industry is a complex business to manage optimally. With over 40 suppliers providing different ingredients for food preparation and thousands of restaurants serving over 50 unique food offerings across a wide range of regions, the company must implement a quality assurance process. Businesses want to deliver quality food efficiently, reliably, and successfully at a low cost that the public wants to buy. They also want to make sure that their food offerings are never unsafe to eat or of poor quality. A good reputation (and profitable business) developed over the years can be gone in an instant if customers fall ill eating your food. Poor quality also results in food waste, and the cost of corrective actions is compounded by the reduction in revenue. Product compliance evaluation assesses if the supplier’s ingredients are within compliance with the specifications of several attributes (physical, chemical, organoleptic) that a company will test to ensure that a quality, safe to eat food is given to the consumer and will deliver the same eating experience in all parts of the country. The technical component of the evaluation includes the chemical and physical tests that produce numerical results that relate to shelf-life, food safety, and organoleptic qualities. The psychological component of the evaluation includes organoleptic, which is acting on or involving the use of the sense organs. The rubric for product compliance evaluation has four levels: (1) Ideal: Meeting or exceeding all technical (physical and chemical), organoleptic, & psychological specifications. (2) Deviation from ideal but no impact on quality: Not meeting or exceeding some technical and organoleptic/psychological specifications without impact on consumer quality and meeting all food safety requirements (3) Acceptable: Not meeting or exceeding some technical and organoleptic/psychological specifications resulting in reduction of consumer quality but not enough to lessen demand and meeting all food safety requirements (4) Unacceptable: Not meeting food safety requirements, independent of meeting technical and organoleptic specifications or meeting all food safety requirements but product quality results in consumer rejection of food offering. Sampling of products and consumer tastings within the distribution network is a second critical element of the quality assurance process and are the data sources for the statistical analyses. Each finding is not independently assessed with the rubric. For example, the chemical data will be used to back up/support any inferences on the sensory profiles of the ingredients. Certain flavor profiles may not be as apparent when mixed with other ingredients, which leads to weighing specifications differentially in the acceptability decision. Quality assurance processes are essential to achieve that balance of quality and profitability by making sure the food is safe and tastes good but identifying and remediating product quality issues before they hit the stores. Comprehensive quality assurance procedures implement human factors methodologies, and this report provides recommendations for systemic application of quality assurance processes for quick service restaurant services. This case study will review the complex decision rubric and evaluate processes to ensure the right balance of cost, quality, and safety is achieved.

Keywords: decision making, food safety, organoleptics, product compliance, quality assurance

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Valeria Arcucci, Musarat Ishaq, Steven A. Stacker, Greg J. Goodall, Marc G. Achen

Abstract:

Metastasis is the lethal aspect of cancer for most patients. Remodelling of lymphatic vessels associated with a tumour is a key initial step in metastasis because it facilitates the entry of cancer cells into the lymphatic vasculature and their spread to lymph nodes and distant organs. Although it is clear that vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs), such as VEGF-C and VEGF-D, are key drivers of lymphatic remodelling, the means by which many signaling pathways in endothelial cells are coordinately regulated to drive growth and remodelling of lymphatics in cancer is not understood. We seek to understand the broader molecular mechanisms that control cancer metastasis, and are focusing on microRNAs, which coordinately regulate signaling pathways involved in complex biological responses in health and disease. Here, using small RNA sequencing, we found that a specific microRNA, miR-132, is upregulated in expression in lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) in response to the lymphangiogenic growth factors. Interestingly, ectopic expression of miR-132 in LECs in vitro stimulated proliferation and tube formation of these cells. Moreover, miR-132 is expressed in lymphatic vessels of a subset of human breast tumours which were previously found to express high levels of VEGF-D by immunohistochemical analysis on tumour tissue microarrays. In order to dissect the complexity of regulation by miR-132 in lymphatic biology, we performed Argonaute HITS-CLIP, which led us to identify the miR-132-mRNA interactome in LECs. We found that this microRNA in LECs is involved in the control of many different pathways mainly involved in cell proliferation and regulation of the extracellular matrix and cell-cell junctions. We are now exploring the functional significance of miR-132 targets in the biology of LECs using biochemical techniques, functional in vitro cell assays and in vivo lymphangiogenesis assays. This project will ultimately define the molecular regulation of lymphatic remodelling by miR-132, and thereby identify potential therapeutic targets for drugs designed to restrict the growth and remodelling of tumour lymphatics resulting in metastatic spread.

Keywords: argonaute HITS-CLIP, cancer, lymphatic remodelling, miR-132, VEGF

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Chiara Della Rocca, Gavino Piras, Andrea Berti, Alessandro Mameli

Abstract:

DNA identification of human skeletal remains plays a valuable role in the forensic field, especially in missing persons and mass disaster investigations. Hard tissues, such as bones and teeth, represent a very common kind of samples analyzed in forensic laboratories because they are often the only biological materials remaining. However, the major limitation of using these compact samples relies on the extremely time–consuming and labor–intensive treatment of grinding them into powder before proceeding with the conventional DNA purification and extraction step. In this context, a DNA extraction assay called the TBone Ex kit (DNA Chip Research Inc.) was developed to digest bone chips without powdering. Here, we simultaneously analyzed bone and tooth samples that arrived at our police laboratory and belonged to 15 different forensic casework that occurred in Sardinia (Italy). A total of 27 samples were recovered from different scenarios and were exposed to extreme environmental factors, including sunlight, seawater, soil, fauna, vegetation, and high temperature and humidity. The TBone Ex kit was used prior to the EZ2 DNA extraction kit on the EZ2 Connect Fx instrument (Qiagen), and high-quality autosomal and Y-chromosome STRs profiles were obtained for the 80% of the caseworks in an extremely short time frame. This study provides additional support for the use of the TBone Ex kit for digesting bone fragments/whole teeth as an effective alternative to pulverization protocols. We empirically demonstrated the effectiveness of the kit in processing multiple bone samples simultaneously, largely simplifying the DNA extraction procedure and the good yield of recovered DNA for downstream genetic typing in highly compromised forensic real specimens. In conclusion, this study turns out to be extremely useful for forensic laboratories, to which the various actors of the criminal justice system – such as potential jury members, judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors – required immediate feedback.

Keywords: DNA, skeletal remains, bones, tbone ex kit, extreme conditions

Procedia PDF Downloads 18

Authors: Raviv Harris, Maggie Levy

Abstract:

Natural product-based pesticides may serve as an alternative to the traditional synthetic pesticides, which have a potentially damaging effect, both to human health and for the environment. Along with plants, microorganisms are a prospective source of such biological pesticides. A unique and active strain of P. aphidis (designated isolate L12, Israel 2004), an epiphytic and non-pathogenic basidiomycete yeast, was isolated in our lab from strawberry leaves. P. aphidis L12 secretions were found to inhibit broad range of plant pathogens. This work demonstrates that metabolites isolated from the biocontrol agent P. aphidis (isolate L12) can inhibit varied fungal and bacterial phytopathogens. Biologically active metabolites were extracted from P. aphidis biomass, using the organic solvent ethyl acetate. The antimicrobial activity of the extract was demonstrated, both in vitro and in planta. Using disk diffusion assays, the following inhibition zones were obtained: 43cm² for Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, 28.5cm² for Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria, 59cm² for Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis, 34cm² for Erwinia amylovora and 34cm² for Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Additionally, strong inhibitory activity of the extract against fungi mycelial growth was established, with IC₅₀ values of 606µg ml⁻¹ for Botrytis cinerea, 221µg ml⁻¹ for Pythium spp., 519µg ml⁻¹ for Rhizoctonia solani, 455µg ml⁻¹ for Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, 2270µg ml⁻¹ for Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, and 2038µg ml⁻¹ for Alternaria alternata. The results of the in planta experiments demonstrated a dose-dependent reduction in disease infection. Significant inhibition of B. cinerea lesions on tomato plants was obtained when a spore suspension of this pathogen was treated with extract concentrations higher than 4.2mg ml⁻¹. Concentration of 7mg ml⁻¹ caused a reduction of over 95% in the lesion size of B. cinerea on tomato plants. The strong antimicrobial activity demonstrated both in vitro and in planta against varied phytopathogens, may indicate that the extracted antimicrobial metabolites have potential to serve as natural pesticides in the field.

Keywords: antimicrobial, B. cinerea, metabolites, natural pesticides, P. aphidis

Procedia PDF Downloads 219

Authors: Juan S. Vera, Miguel A. Gomez, Omar Gelvez

Abstract:

Water is Earth's most valuable resource, and the lack of it is currently a critical problem in today’s society. Non-treated wastewaters contribute to this situation, especially those coming from industrial activities, as they reduce the quality of the water bodies, annihilating all kind of life and bringing disease to people in contact with them. An effective solution for this problem is distillation, which removes most contaminants. However, this approach must also be energetically efficient in order to appeal to the industry. In this endeavour, most water distillation treatments fail, with the exception of the Mechanical Vapor Compression (MVC) distillation system, which has a great efficiency due to energy input by a compressor and the latent heat exchange. This paper presents the process of design, construction, and evaluation of a Mechanical Vapor Compression (MVC) distillation system for the main Colombian poultry company Avidesa Macpollo SA. The system will be located in the principal slaughterhouse in the state of Santander, and it will work along with the Gas Energy Mixing system (GEM) to treat the wastewaters from the plant. The main goal of the MVC distiller, rarely used in this type of application, is to reduce the chlorides, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels according to the state regulations since the GEM cannot decrease them enough. The MVC distillation system works with three components, the evaporator/condenser heat exchanger where the distillation takes place, a low-pressure compressor which gives the energy to create the temperature differential between the evaporator and condenser cavities and a preheater to save the remaining energy in the distillate. The model equations used to describe how the compressor power consumption, heat exchange area and distilled water are related is based on a thermodynamic balance and heat transfer analysis, with correlations taken from the literature. Finally, the design calculations and the measurements of the installation are compared, showing accordance with the predictions in distillate production and power consumption, changing the temperature difference of the evaporator/condenser.

Keywords: mechanical vapor compression, distillation, wastewater, design, construction, evaluation

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Guna Raj Dhungana, Roshan Nepal, Apshara Parajuli, , Archana Maharjan, Shyam K. Mishra, Pramod Aryal, Rajani Malla

Abstract:

Introduction: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a well-known opportunistic human pathogen, primarily causing healthcare-associated infections. The global emergence of carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniaeis a major public health burden, which is often extensively multidrug resistant.Thus, because of the difficulty to treat these ‘superbug’ and menace and some term as ‘apocalypse’ of post antibiotics era, an alternative approach to controlling this pathogen is prudent and one of the approaches is phage mediated control and/or treatment. Objective: In this study, we aimed to isolate novel bacteriophage against carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniaeand characterize for potential use inphage therapy. Material and Methods: Twenty lytic phages were isolated from river water using double layer agar assay and purified. Biological features, physiochemical characters, burst size, host specificity and activity spectrum of phages were determined. One most potent phage: Phage TU_Kle10O was selected and characterized by electron microscopy. Whole genome sequences of the phage were analyzed for presence/absence of virulent factors, and other lysin genes. Results: Novel phage TU_Kle10O showed multiple host range within own genus and did not induce any BIM up to 5th generation of host’s life cycle. Electron microscopy confirmed that the phage was tailed and belonged to Caudovirales family. Next generation sequencing revealed its genome to be 166.2 Kb. bioinformatical analysis further confirmed that the phage genome ‘did not’ contain any ‘bacterial genes’ within phage genome, which ruled out the concern for transfer of virulent genes. Specific 'lysin’ enzyme was identified phages which could be used as 'antibiotics'. Conclusion: Extensively multidrug resistant bacteria like carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniaecould be treated efficiently by phages.Absence of ‘virulent’ genes of bacterial origin and presence of lysin proteins within phage genome makes phages an excellent candidate for therapeutics.

Keywords: bacteriophage, Klebsiella pneumoniae, MDR, phage therapy, carbapenemase,

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: S. N. T. I. Sampath, J. M. S. Jayasinghe, A. P. Attanayake, V. Karunaratne

Abstract:

Diabetes mellitus is one of the major public health posers throughout the world today that incidence and associated with increasing mortality. Insufficient regulation of the blood glucose level might be serious effects for health and its necessity to identify new therapeutics that have ability to reduce hyperglycaemic condition in the human body. Even though synthetic antidiabetic drugs are more effective to control diabetes mellitus, there are considerable side effects have been reported. Thus, there is an increasing demand for searching new natural products having high antidiabetic activity with lesser side effects. The purposes of the present study were to evaluate different physical parameters and in-vitro and in-vivo antidiabetic potential of the selected combined medicinal plant extracts mixture composed of leaves of Murraya koenigii, cloves of Allium sativum, fruits of Garcinia queasita and seeds of Piper nigrum. The selected plants parts were mixed and ground together and extracted sequentially into the hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol. Solvents were evaporated and they were further dried by freeze-drying to obtain a fine powder of each extract. Various physical parameters such as moisture, total ash, acid insoluble ash and water soluble ash were evaluated using standard test procedures. In-vitro antidiabetic activity of combined plant extracts mixture was screened using enzyme assays such as α-amylase inhibition assay and α-glucosidase inhibition assay. The acute anti-hyperglycaemic activity was performed using oral glucose tolerance test for the streptozotocin induced diabetic Wistar rats to find out in-vivo antidiabetic activity of combined plant extracts mixture and it was assessed through total oral glucose tolerance curve (TAUC) values. The percentage of moisture content, total ash content, acid insoluble ash content and water soluble ash content were ranged of 7.6-17.8, 8.1-11.78, 0.019-0.134 and 6.2-9.2 respectively for the plant extracts and those values were less than standard values except the methanol extract. The hexane and ethyl acetate extracts exhibited highest α-amylase (IC50 = 25.7 ±0.6; 27.1 ±1.2 ppm) and α-glucosidase (IC50 = 22.4 ±0.1; 33.7 ±0.2 ppm) inhibitory activities than methanol extract (IC50 = 360.2 ±0.6; 179.6 ±0.9 ppm) when compared with the acarbose positive control (IC50 = 5.7 ±0.4; 17.1 ±0.6 ppm). The TAUC values for hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts and glibenclamide (positive control) treated rats were 8.01 ±0.66; 8.05 ±1.07; 8.40±0.50; 5.87 ±0.93 mmol/L.h respectively, whereas in diabetic control rats the TAUC value was 13.22 ±1.07 mmol/L.h. Administration of plant extracts treated rats significantly suppressed (p<0.05) the rise in plasma blood glucose levels compared to control rats but less significant than glibenclamide. The obtained results from in-vivo and in-vitro antidiabetic study showed that the hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of selected combined plant mixture might be considered as a potential source to isolate natural antidiabetic agents and physical parameters of hexane and ethyl acetate extracts will helpful to develop antidiabetic drug with further standardize properties.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, in-vitro antidiabetic assays, medicinal plants, standardization

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Zi Y. Kang, Tracy D. Cassidy, Tom Cassidy

Abstract:

3D apparel CAD is one of the remarkable products in advanced technology which enables intuitive design, visualisation and evaluation of garments through stereoscopic drape simulation. The progressive improvements of 3D apparel CAD have led to the creation of more realistic clothing simulation which is used not only in design development but also in presentation, promotion and communication for fashion as well as other industries such as film, game and social network services. As a result, 3D clothing technology is becoming more ubiquitous in human culture and lives today. This study considers that such phenomenon implies that the technology has reached maturity and it is time to inspect the status of current technology and to explore its potential uses in ways to create cultural values to further move forward. For this reason, this study aims to generate virtual costumes as culturally significant objects using 3D apparel CAD and to assess its capability, applicability and attitudes of the audience towards clothing simulation through comparison with physical counterparts. Since the access to costume collection is often limited due to the conservative issues, the technology may make valuable contribution by democratization of culture and knowledge for museums and its audience. This study is expected to provide foundation knowledge for development of clothing technology and for expanding its boundary of practical uses. To prevent any potential damage, two replicas of the costumes in the 1860s and 1920s at the Museum of London were chosen as samples. Their structural, visual and physical characteristics were measured and collected using patterns, scanned images of fabrics and objective fabric measurements with scale, KES-F (Kawabata Evaluation System of Fabrics) and Titan. Commercial software, DC Suite 5.0 was utilised to create virtual costumes applying collected data and the following outcomes were produced for the evaluation: Images of virtual costumes and video clips showing static and dynamic simulation. Focus groups were arranged with fashion design students and the public for evaluation which exposed the outcomes together with physical samples, fabrics swatches and photographs. The similarities, application and acceptance of virtual costumes were estimated through discussion and a questionnaire. The findings show that the technology has the capability to produce realistic or plausible simulation but expression of some factors such as details and capability of light material requires improvements. While the use of virtual costumes was viewed as more interesting and futuristic replacements to physical objects by the public group, the fashion student group noted more differences in detail and preferred physical garments highlighting the absence of tangibility. However, the advantages and potential of virtual costumes as effective and useful visual references for educational and exhibitory purposes were underlined by both groups. Although 3D apparel CAD has sufficient capacity to assist garment design process, it has limits in identical replication and more study on accurate reproduction of details and drape is needed for its technical improvements. Nevertheless, the virtual costumes in this study demonstrated the possibility of the technology to contribute to cultural and knowledgeable value creation through its applicability and as an interesting way to offer 3D visual information.

Keywords: digital clothing technology, garment simulation, 3D Apparel CAD, virtual costume

Procedia PDF Downloads 203

Authors: Patarasuda Chaisupa, R. Clay Wright

Abstract:

The selection of appropriate biomolecular targets is a crucial aspect of biopharmaceutical development. The Auxin-Inducible Degron Degradation (AID) technology has demonstrated remarkable potential in efficiently and rapidly degrading target proteins, thereby enabling the identification and acquisition of drug targets. The AID system also offers a viable method to deplete specific proteins, particularly in cases where the degradation pathway has not been exploited or when the adaptation of proteins, including the cell environment, occurs to compensate for the mutation or gene knockout. In this study, we have engineered an improved AID system tailored to deplete proteins of interest. This AID construct combines the auxin-responsive E3 ubiquitin ligase binding domain, AFB2, and the substrate degron, IAA17, fused to the target genes. Essential genes of fungi with the lowest percent amino acid similarity to human and plant orthologs, according to the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST), were cloned into the AID construct in S. cerevisiae (AID-tagged strains) using a modular yeast cloning toolkit for multipart assembly and direct genetic modification. Each E3 ubiquitin ligase and IAA17 degron was fused to a fluorescence protein, allowing for real-time monitoring of protein levels in response to different auxin doses via cytometry. Our AID system exhibited high sensitivity, with an EC50 value of 0.040 µM (SE = 0.016) for AFB2, enabling the specific promotion of IAA17::target protein degradation. Furthermore, we demonstrate how this improved AID system enhances quantitative functional studies of various proteins in fungi. The advancements made in auxin-inducible protein degradation in this study offer a powerful approach to investigating critical target protein viability in fungi, screening protein targets for drugs, and regulating intracellular protein abundance, thus revolutionizing the study of protein function underlying a diverse range of biological processes.

Keywords: synthetic biology, bioengineering, molecular biology, biotechnology

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Akinwale Adeyinka

Abstract:

Critical natural resources such as clean ground water, fertile topsoil, and biodiversity are diminishing at an exponential rate, orders of magnitude above that at which they can be regenerated. Based on news on world population record, over 6 billion people on earth, and almost a quarter million added each day, the scale of human activity and environmental impact is unprecedented. Soaring human population growth over the past century has created a visible challenge to earth’s life support systems. In addition, the world faces an onslaught of other environmental threats including degenerated global climate change, global warming, intensified acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion and health threatening pollution. Overpopulation and the use of deleterious technologies combine to increase the scale of human activities to a level that underlies these entire problems. These intensifying trends cannot continue indefinitely, hopefully, through increased understanding and valuation of ecosystems and their services, earth’s basic life-support system will be protected for the future.To say the fact, human civilization is now the dominant cause of change in the global environment. Now that our relationship to the earth has change so utterly, we have to see that change and understand its implication. These are actually 2 aspects to the challenges which we should believe. The first is to realize that our power to harm the earth can indeed have global and even permanent effects. Second is to realize that the only way to understand our new role as a co-architect of nature is to see ourselves as part of a complex system that does operate according to the same simple rules of cause and effect we are used to. So understanding the physical/biological dimension of earth system is an important precondition for making sensible policy to protect our environment. Because we believe Sustainable Development Is a matter of reconciling respect for the environment, social equity and economic profitability. Also, we strongly believe that environmental protection is naturally about reducing air and water pollution, but it also includes the improvement of the environmental performance of existing process. That is why we should always have it at the heart of our business that the environmental problem is not our effect on the environment so much as our relationship with the environment. We should always think of being environmental friendly in our operation.

Keywords: Stratospheric ozone depletion ion , Climate Change, global warming, social equity and economic profitability

Procedia PDF Downloads 326

Authors: Sesethu G. Njokweni, Marelize Botes, Emile W. H. Van Zyl

Abstract:

An alternative strategy to the production of bioethanol is by examining the degradability of biomass in a natural system such as the rumen of mammals. This anaerobic microbial community has higher cellulolytic activities than microbial communities from other habitats and degrades cellulose to produce volatile fatty acids (VFA), methane and CO₂. VFAs have the potential to serve as intermediate products for electrochemical conversion to hydrocarbon fuels. In vitro mimicking of this process would be more cost-effective than bioethanol production as it does not require chemical pre-treatment of biomass, a sterile environment or added enzymes. The strategies of the carboxylate platform and the co-cultures of a bovine ruminal microbiota from cannulated cows were combined in order to investigate and optimize the bioconversion of agricultural biomass (apple and grape pomace, citrus pulp, sugarcane bagasse and triticale straw) to high value VFAs as intermediates for biofuel production in a consolidated bioprocess. Optimisation of reactor conditions was investigated using five different ruminal inoculum concentrations; 5,10,15,20 and 25% with fixed pH at 6.8 and temperature at 39 ˚C. The ANKOM 200/220 fiber analyser was used to analyse in vitro neutral detergent fiber (NDF) disappearance of the feedstuffs. Fresh and cryo-frozen (5% DMSO and 50% glycerol for 3 months) rumen cultures were tested for the retainment of fermentation capacity and durability in 72 h fermentations in 125 ml serum vials using a FURO medical solutions 6-valve gas manifold to induce anaerobic conditions. Fermentation of apple pomace, triticale straw, and grape pomace showed no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the effect of 15 and 20 % inoculum concentrations for the total VFA yield. However, high performance liquid chromatographic separation within the two inoculum concentrations showed a significant difference (P < 0.05) in acetic acid yield, with 20% inoculum concentration being the optimum at 4.67 g/l. NDF disappearance of 85% in 96 h and total VFA yield of 11.5 g/l in 72 h (A/P ratio = 2.04) for apple pomace entailed that it was the optimal feedstuff for this process. The NDF disappearance and VFA yield of DMSO (82% NDF disappearance and 10.6 g/l VFA) and glycerol (90% NDF disappearance and 11.6 g/l VFA) stored rumen also showed significantly similar degradability of apple pomace with lack of treatment effect differences compared to a fresh rumen control (P > 0.05). The lack of treatment effects was a positive sign in indicating that there was no difference between the stored samples and the fresh rumen control. Retaining of the fermentation capacity within the preserved cultures suggests that its metabolic characteristics were preserved due to resilience and redundancy of the rumen culture. The amount of degradability and VFA yield within a short span was similar to other carboxylate platforms that have longer run times. This study shows that by virtue of faster rates and high extent of degradability, small scale alternatives to bioethanol such as rumen microbiomes and other natural fermenting microbiomes can be employed to enhance the feasibility of biofuels large-scale implementation.

Keywords: agricultural wastes, carboxylate platform, rumen microbiome, volatile fatty acids

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Amna Shoaib, Sidrah Hanif, Rashid Mehmood

Abstract:

Current research work was carried out to check influence of farmyard manure (FYM) in Lycopersicon esculentum L. against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FO) in copper polluted soil. Silt-loam soil naturally enriched with 70 ppm of Cu was inoculated with 1 x 106 spore suspensions of FO and incorporated with 0%, 1%, 1.5% or 2% FYM. The multilateral interaction of host-pathogen-metal-organic amendment was assessed in terms of morphology, growth, yield, physiology, biochemistry and metal uptake in tomato plant after 30 and 60 days of sowing. When soil was inoculated with FO, plant growth and biomass were significantly increased during vegetative stage, while declining during flowering stage with substantial increase in productivity over control. Infected plants exhibited late wilting and disease severity was found on 26-50% of plant during reproductive stage. Incorporation of up to 1% FYM suppressed disease severity, improved plant growth and biomass, while it decreased yield. Rest of manure doses was found ineffective in suppressing disease. Content of total chlorophyll, sugar and protein were significantly declined in FO inoculated plants and incorporation of FYM caused significant reduction or no influence on sugar and chlorophyll content, and no pronounced difference among different FYM doses were observed. On the other hand, proline, peroxidase, catalase and nitrate reductase activity were found to be increased in infected plants and incorporation of 1-2% FYM further enhanced the activity of these enzymes. Tomato plant uptake of 30-40% of copper naturally present in the soil and incorporation of 1-2% FYM markedly decreased plant uptake of metal by 15-30%, while increased Cu retention in soil. Present study concludes that lower dose (1%) of FYM could be used to manage disease, increase growth and biomass, while being ineffective for yield and productivity in Cu-polluted soil. Altered physiology/biochemistry of plant in response to any treatment could be served as basis for resistant against pathogen and metal homeostasis in plants.

Keywords: Lycopersicon esculentum, copper, Fusarium wilt, farm yard manure

Procedia PDF Downloads 399

Authors: Arpit Kumar Shrivastava, Subrat Kumar, Rajani Kanta Mohapatra, Priyadarshi Soumyaranjan Sahu

Abstract:

Computational approaches to predict structure, function and other biological characteristics of proteins are becoming more common in comparison to the traditional methods in drug discovery. Cryptosporidiosis is a major zoonotic diarrheal disease particularly in children, which is caused primarily by Cryptosporidium hominis and Cryptosporidium parvum. Currently, there are no vaccines for cryptosporidiosis and recommended drugs are not effective. With the availability of complete genome sequence of C. hominis, new targets have been recognized for the development of effective and better drugs and/or vaccines. We identified a unique hypothetical epitopic protein in C. hominis genome through BLASTP analysis. A 3D model of the hypothetical protein was generated using I-Tasser server through threading methodology. The quality of the model was validated through Ramachandran plot by PROCHECK server. The functional annotation of the hypothetical protein through DALI server revealed structural similarity with human Transportin 3. Phylogenetic analysis for this hypothetical protein also showed C. hominis hypothetical protein (CUV04613) was the closely related to human transportin 3 protein. The 3D protein model is further subjected to virtual screening study with inhibitors from the Zinc Database by using Dock Blaster software. Docking study reported N-(3-chlorobenzyl) ethane-1,2-diamine as the best inhibitor in terms of docking score. Docking analysis elucidated that Leu 525, Ile 526, Glu 528, Glu 529 are critical residues for ligand–receptor interactions. The molecular dynamic simulation was done to access the reliability of the binding pose of inhibitor and protein complex using GROMACS software at 10ns time point. Trajectories were analyzed at each 2.5 ns time interval, among which, H-bond with LEU-525 and GLY- 530 are significantly present in MD trajectories. Furthermore, antigenic determinants of the protein were determined with the help of DNA Star software. Our study findings showed a great potential in order to provide insights in the development of new drug(s) or vaccine(s) for control as well as prevention of cryptosporidiosis among humans and animals.

Keywords: cryptosporidium hominis, hypothetical protein, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Kara J. Coffman-Rea, Karen E. Samonds

Abstract:

Microplastic pollution is an urgent global threat to our planet and human health. Microplastic particles have been detected within our food, water, and atmosphere, and found within the human stool, placenta, and lung tissue. However, most spectrometric microplastic detection methods require chemical digestion which can alter or destroy microplastic particles and makes it impossible to acquire information about their in-situ distribution. MALDI TOF MS (Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry) is an analytical method using a soft ionization technique that can be used for polymer analysis. This method provides a valuable opportunity to both acquire information regarding the in-situ distribution of microplastics and also minimizes the destructive element of chemical digestion. In addition, MALDI TOF MS allows for expanded analysis of the microplastics including detection of specific additives that may be present within them. MALDI TOF MS is particularly sensitive to sample preparation and has not yet been used to analyze environmental microplastics within their specific location (e.g., biological tissues, sediment, water). In this study, microplastics were created using polyethylene gloves, polystyrene micro-foam, and polyethylene terephthalate cable sleeving. Plastics were frozen using liquid nitrogen and ground to obtain small fragments. An artificial tissue was created using a cellulose sponge as scaffolding coated with a MaxGel Extracellular Matrix to simulate human lung tissue. Optimal preparation techniques (e.g., matrix, cationization reagent, solvent, mixing ratio, laser intensity) were first established for each specific polymer type. The artificial tissue sample was subsequently spiked with microplastics, and specific polymers were detected using MALDI-TOF-MS. This study presents a novel method for the detection of environmental polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polystyrene microplastics within a complex sample. Results of this study provide an effective method that can be used in future microplastics research and can aid in determining the potential threats to environmental and human health that they pose.

Keywords: environmental plastic pollution, MALDI-TOF MS, microplastics, polymer identification

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Mandeep Singh Azad.Dibyendu Chakraborty, Vikas Vohra

Abstract:

Introduction: Poonch is one of the remotest districts of the Jammu and Kashmir (UT) and situated on international borders. This native poultry population in these areas is quite hardy and thrives well in adverse climatic conditions. Till date, no local breed from this area (Jammu Province) has been characterized thus present study was undertaken with the main objectives of molecular characterization of ChB6 gene in local native chicken of Poonch region located at international borders between India and Pakistan. The chicken B-cell marker (ChB6) gene has been proposed as a candidate gene in regulating B-cell development. Material and Method: RNA was isolated by Blood RNA Purification Kit (HiPura) and Trizol method from whole blood samples. Positive PCR products with size 1110 bp were selected for further purification, sequencing and analysis. The amplified PCR product was sequenced by Sangers dideoxy chain termination method. The obtained sequence of ChB6 gene of Poonchi chicken were compared by MEGAX software. BioEdit software was used to construct phylogenic tree, and Neighbor Joining method was used to infer evolutionary history. In order to compute evolutionary distance Maximum Composite Likelihood method was used. Results: The positively amplified samples of ChB6 genes were then subjected to Sanger sequencing with “Primer Walking. The sequences were then analyzed using MEGA X and BioEdit software. The sequence results were compared with other reported sequence from different breed of chicken and with other species obtained from the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information). ClustalW method using MEGA X software was used for multiple sequence alignment. The sequence results of ChB6 gene of Poonchi chicken was compared with Centrocercus urophasianus, G. gallus mRNA for B6.1 protein, G. gallus mRNA for B6.2, G. gallus mRNA for B6.3, Gallus gallus B6.1, Halichoeres bivittatus, Miniopterus fuliginosus Ferringtonia patagonica, Tympanuchus phasianellus. The genetic distances were 0.2720, 0.0000, 0.0245, 0.0212, 0.0147, 1.6461, 2.2394, 2.0070 and 0.2363 for ChB6 gene of Poonchi chicken sequence with other sequences in the present study respectively. Sequencing results showed variations between different species. It was observed that AT content were higher then GC content for ChB6 gene. The lower AT content suggests less thermostable. It was observed that there was no sequence difference within the Poonchi population for ChB6 gene. The high homology within chicken population indicates the conservation of ChB6 gene. The maximum difference was observed with Miniopterus fuliginosus (Eastern bent-wing bat) followed by Ferringtonia patagonica and Halichoeres bivittatus. Conclusion: Genetic variation is the essential component for genetic improvement. The results of immune related gene Chb6 shows between population genetic variability. Therefore, further association studies of this gene with some prevalent diseases in large population would be helpful to identify disease resistant/ susceptible genotypes in the indigenous chicken population.

Keywords: ChB6, sequencing, ClustalW, genetic distance, poonchi chicken, SNP

Procedia PDF Downloads 53