Search results for: cell concentration

Authors: Tahar Ghnaya, Majda Mnasri, Hanen Zaier, Rim Ghabriche, Chedly Abdelly

Abstract:

It is known that the symbiotic association between plant and microorganisms are beneficial for plant growth and resistance to metal stress. Hence, it was demonstrated that Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi have a positive effect on host plants growing in metal polluted soils. Legume plants are those which normally associate to rhizobacteria in order to fix atmospheric nitrogen. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect this type of symbiosis on the tolerance and the accumulation of Cd. We chose Medicago sativa, as a modal for host legume plants and Rhizobium mililoti 2011 as rhizobial strain. Inoculated and non-inoculated plants of M. sativa were submitted during three month to 0, 50, and 100 mgCd/kg dry soil. Results showed that the presence of Cd in the medium induced, in both inoculated and non-inoculated plants, a chlorosis and necrosis. However, these symptoms were more pronounced in non-inoculated plants. The beneficial effect of inoculation of M. sativa with R. meliloti, on plant growth was confirmed by the measurement of biomass production which showed that the symbiotic association between host plant and rhizobacteria alleviates significantly Cd effect on biomass production, so inoculated plants produced more dry weight as compared to non-inoculated ones in the presence of all Cd tretments. On the other hand, under symbiosis conditions, Cd was more accumulated in different plant organs. Hence, in these plants, shoot Cd concentration reached 425 and it was 280 µg/gDW in non-inoculated ones in the presence of 100 ppm Cd. This result suggests that symbiosis enhances the absorption and translocation of Cd in this plant. In nodules and roots, we detected the highest Cd concentrations, demonstrating that these organs are able to concentrate Cd in their tissues. These data confirm that M. sataiva, cultivated in symbiosis with Rhizobium mililoti could be used in phytoextraction of Cd from contaminated soils.

Keywords: Cd, phytoremediation, Medicago sativa, Arbuscular mycorrhizal

Procedia PDF Downloads 281

Authors: Ming Fang Hsieh

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reading responses of infants and toddlers across different contexts in nursery centers. The study adopted Sipe’s framework for children’s literacy education to explore the reading behavior of infants and toddlers. The study was conducted at two nurseries. The sample comprised 46 infants and toddlers and 6 caregivers. The methods of data collection included observation of various reading activities, including shared reading in a group, one-on-one reading, and unstructured reading activities, as well as interviews with caregivers. The data obtained through observations and interviews were transcribed and analyzed. The caregivers and the children’s parents signed an informed consent form before the start of the study. There was no risk anticipated during the course of the study. The analysis revealed five types of reading responses exhibited by the infants and toddlers: (1) linguistic- verbally responding to reading, repeating vocabulary, and answering questions; (2) affective- concentrating on reading or requesting for repeated reading, leaning on books, and gazing at caregivers; (3) explosive- children under 18 months were observed manipulating books through their bodies or different movements like flipping, rotating, or tapping on books; (4) social- during unstructured reading context, children were seen interacting with peers or following the rules of reading, sitting properly, and choosing one book at a time; and (5) distracted responses- paying attention to something else instead of reading, walking around, and playing, which was usually observed during shared reading in a group. The study concluded that children’s distraction and explosive reading behaviors may be a part of the process of their emergent reading behavior. As children develop, they demonstrate an increase in verbal responses, improved concentration, and better behavior. The study suggests that adults should continue to provide appropriate reading opportunities beginning from infancy to nurture children’s reading behaviors.

Keywords: reading response, infants and toddlers, early reading, picture books

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Elsa Makue Nguuffo, Esther Del Florence Moni Ndedi, Jacky Njiki Bikoï, Jean Paul Assam Assam, Maximilienne Ascension Nyegue

Abstract:

Aims: The present study aims to evaluate the kinetic parameters of essential oils (EOs) and combinations fromDrypetes gossweileri Stem Bark, Ocimum gratissimum leaves, Cymbopogon citratusleaves after evaluation of their antibacterial activityonmultidrug-resistant strains ofShigella. Material and Methods:fiveclinical strains of Shigellaisolated from patients with diarrhoeaincluding Shigella flexneri, and 4 otherstrains of Shigella sppwere selected. Their antibiotic profile was established using agar test diffusion with seven antibiotics belonging to seven classes.EOs were extracted from each plant using hydrodistillation process. The activity of Ciprofloxacin®, OEs, and their combination formulatedinthe followingratios(w/w/w): C1: 1/1/1; C2: 2/1/1; C3: 1/2/1, C4:1/1/2 was evaluated microdilution assay. The various interactions of OEs in the different combinations were determined then the OE and the most active combination were retained to determine their kinetic parameters on S. flexneri. Results: Antibiotic susceptibility tests revealed that most Shigella isolates (n = 4) were resistant to six antibiotics tested. Ciprofloxacin (40%), Nalidixic acid (60%), Tetracycline (80%), Amoxicillin (100%), Cefotaxime (80%), Erythromycin (100%), and Cotrimoxazole (80%) were the profiles found in the different strains of Shigella. About the antibacterial activity of OEs, Drypetes gossweileriOE and C2 combination had shown a higher Shigellicide property with a Minimal Inhibitory Concentration(MIC) respectivelyranging from 0.078 mg/mL to 0.312 mg/mL and 0.012 to 1.562 mg/mL. Combinations of OEs showed various interactions whose synergistic effects were mostly encountered. The best deactivation was obtained by the combination C2 at 16 MIC withb= 1.962. Conclusion: the susceptibility of Shigella to OEs and their combinations justifies their use in traditional medicine in the treatment of shigellosis.

Keywords: shigella, multidrug-resistant, EOs, kinetic

Procedia PDF Downloads 102

Authors: Jinghua Zhang

Abstract:

Shaft-tunnel junction is a typical case of the structural nonuniformity in underground structures. The shaft and the tunnel possess greatly different structural features. Even under uniform excitations, they tend to behave discrepantly. Studies on shaft-tunnel junctions are mainly performed numerically. Shaking table tests are also conducted. Although many numerical and experimental data are obtained, an analytical solution still has great merits of gaining more insights into the shaft-tunnel problem. This paper will try to remedy the situation. Since the seismic responses of shaft-tunnel junctions are very related to directions of the excitations, they are studied in two scenarios: the longitudinal-excitation scenario and the transverse-excitation scenario. The former scenario will be addressed in this paper. Given that responses of the tunnel are highly dependent on the shaft, the analytical solutions would be developed firstly for the vertical shaft. Then, the seismic responses of the tunnel would be discussed. Since vertical shafts bear a resemblance to rigid caissons, the solution proposed in this paper is derived by introducing terms of shaft-tunnel and soil-tunnel interactions into equations originally developed for rigid caissons. The validity of the solution is examined by a validation model computed by finite element method. The mutual influence between the shaft and the tunnel is introduced. The soil-structure interactions are discussed parametrically based on the proposed equations. The shaft-tunnel relative displacement and the soil-tunnel relative stiffness are found to be the most important parameters affecting the magnitudes and distributions of the internal forces of the tunnel. A hinge-joint at the shaft-tunnel junction could significantly reduce the degree of stress concentration compared with a rigid joint.

Keywords: analytical solution, longitudinal excitation, numerical validation , shaft-tunnel junction

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: Behrang Ekrami, Amin Tamadon

Abstract:

Persian fallow deer (Dama dama mesopotamica) is belonging to the family Cervidae and is only found in a few protected areas in the northwest, north, and southwest of Iran. The aims of this study were analysis of inbreeding and morphometric parameters of semen in male Persian fallow deer to investigate the cause of reduced fertility of this endangered species in Dasht-e-Naz National Refuge, Sari, Iran. The Persian fallow deer semen was collected from four adult bucks randomly during the breeding and non-breeding season from five dehorned and horned deer's BY an artificial vagina. Twelve blood samples was taken from Persian fallow deer and mitochondrial DNA was extracted, amplified, extracted, sequenced, and then were considered for genetic analysis. The Persian fallow deer semen, both with normal and abnormal spermatozoa, is similar to that of domestic ruminants but very smaller and difficult to observe at the primary observation. The post-mating season collected ejaculates contained abnormal spermatozoa, debris and secretion of accessory glands in horned bucks and accessory glands secretion free of any spermatozoa in dehorned or early velvet budding bucks. Microscopic evaluation in all four bucks during the mating season showed the mean concentration of 9×106 spermatozoa/ml. The mean ±SD of age, testes length and testes width was 4.60±1.52 years, 3.58±0.32 and 1.86±0.09 cm, respectively. The results identified 1120 loci (assuming each nucleotide as locus) in which 377 were polymorphic. In conclusion, reduced fertility of male Persian fallow deer may be caused by inbreeding of the protected herd in a limited area of Dasht-e-Naz National Refuge.

Keywords: Persian fallow deer, spermatozoa, reproductive characteristics, morphometric parameters

Procedia PDF Downloads 581

Authors: Maryam Farzaneh, Seyyedeh Nafiseh Hassani, Hossein Baharvand

Abstract:

Objective: Chicken gonadal tissue has a two population such primordial germ cells (PGCs) and stromal cells (somatic cells). PGCs and embryonic germ cells (EGCs) that is a pluripotent type of PGCs in long-term culture are suitable sources for the production of chicken pluripotent stem cell lines, transgenic birds, vaccine and recombinant protein production. In general, the effect of growth factors such bFGF and mouse LIF on derivation of PGCs in vitro are important and in this study we could see the unique effect of small molecules such PD032 and SB43 as a chemical, in comparison to growth factors. Materials and Methods: After incubation of fertilized chicken egg up to 6 days and isolation of primary gonadal tissues and culture of mixed cells like PGCs and stromal cells. PGCs proliferate in the present of fetal calf serum (FCS) and small molecules and in another group bFGF, that these factors are important for PGCs culture and derivation. Somatic cells produce a multilayer feeder under the PGCs in primary culture and PGCs make a small cluster under these cells. Results: In present of small molecules and high volume of FCS (15%), the present of EGCs as a pluripotent stem cells were clear four weeks, that they had a positive immune-staining and periodic acid-Schiff staining (PAS), but in present of growth factors like bFGF without any chemicals, the present of PGCs were clear but after 7 until 10 days, there were disappear. Conclusion: Until now we have seen many researches about derivation and maintenance of chicken PGCs, in the hope of understanding the mechanisms that occur during germline development and production of a therapeutic product by transgenic birds. There are still many unknowns in this area and this project will try to have efficient conditions for identification of suitable culture medium for long-term culture of PGCs in vitro without serum and feeder cells.

Keywords: chicken gonadal primordial germ cells, pluripotent stem cells, growth factors, small molecules, transgenic birds

Procedia PDF Downloads 439

Authors: Medhanie Gebremedhin Gebru, Alex Schechter

Abstract:

Dimethyl ether (DME) possesses several advantages over other small organic molecules such as methanol, ethanol, and ammonia in terms of providing higher energy density, being less toxic, and having lower Nafion membrane crossover. However, the absence of an active and stable catalyst has been the bottleneck that hindered the commercialization of direct DME fuel cells. A Vulcan XC72 carbon-supported ternary metal catalyst, Pt₃Pd₃Sn₂/C is reported to have yielded the highest specific power density (90 mW mg-¹PGM) as compared to other catalysts tested fordirect DME fuel cell (DDMEFC). However, the micropores and sulfur groups present in Vulcan XC72 hinder the fuel utilization by causing Pt agglomeration and sulfur poisoning. Vulcan XC72 having a high carbon sp³ hybridization content, is also prone to corrosion. Therefore, carbon supports such as multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), black pearl 2000 (BP2000), and their cold N2 plasma-treated counterpartswere tested to further enhance the activity of the catalyst, and the outputs with these carbons were compared with the originally used support. Detailed characterization of the pristine and carbon supports was conducted. Electrochemical measurements in three-electrode cells and laboratory prototype fuel cells were conducted.Pt₃Pd₃Sn₂/BP2000 exhibited excellent performance in terms of electrochemical active surface area (ECSA), peak current density (jp), and DME oxidation charge (Qoxi). The effect of the plasma activation on the activity improvement was observed only in the case of MWCNT while having little or no effect on the other carbons. A Pt₃Pd₃Sn₂ supported on the optimized mixture of carbons containing 75% plasma-activated MWCNT and 25% BP2000 (Pt₃Pd₃Sn₂/75M25B) provided the highest reported power density of 117 mW mg-1PGM using an anode loading of1.55 mgPGMcm⁻².

Keywords: DME, DDMEFC, ternary metal catalyst, carbon support, plasma activation

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Domenico Chizzoniti, Monica Moscatelli, Letizia Cattani, Piero Favino, Luca Preis

Abstract:

A settlement strategy is to anticipate and respond the needs of existing and future communities through the provision of primary health care facilities in marginalized areas. Access to a health care network is important to improving healthcare coverage, often lacking, in developing countries. The study explores that a good sanitary system strategy of rural contexts brings advantages to an existing settlement: improving transport, communication, water and social facilities. The objective of this paper is to define a possible methodology to implement primary health care facilities in disadvantaged areas of emerging countries. In this research, we analyze the case study of Lauro de Freitas, a municipality in the Brazilian state of Bahia, part of the Metropolitan Region of Salvador, with an area of 57,662 km² and 194.641 inhabitants. The health localization system in Lauro de Freitas is an integrated process that involves not only geographical aspects, but also a set of factors: population density, epidemiological data, allocation of services, road networks, and more. Data were collected also using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires to the local population. Synthesized data suggest that moving away from the coast where there is the greatest concentration of population and services, a network of primary health care facilities is able to improve the living conditions of small-dispersed communities. Based on the health service needs of populations, we have developed a methodological approach that is particularly useful in rural and remote contexts in emerging countries.

Keywords: healthcare, settlement strategy, urban health, rural

Procedia PDF Downloads 373

Authors: A. E. Mukhametov, M. T. Yerbulekova, D. R. Dautkanova, G. A. Tuyakova, G. Aitkhozhayeva

Abstract:

The accumulation of heavy metals in food is a constant problem in many parts of the world. Vegetable oils are widely used, both for cooking and for processing in the food industry, meeting the main dietary requirements. One of the main chemical pollutants, heavy metals, is usually found in vegetable oils. These chemical pollutants are carcinogenic, teratogenic and immunotoxic, harmful to consumption and have a negative effect on human health even in trace amounts. Residues of these substances can easily accumulate in vegetable oil during cultivation, processing and storage. In this article, the content of the concentration of heavy metal ions in vegetable oils of Kazakhstan production is studied: sunflower, rapeseed, safflower and linseed oil. Heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel, were determined in three repetitions by the method of flame atomic absorption. Analysis of vegetable oil samples revealed that the largest lead contamination (Pb) was determined to be 0.065 mg/kg in linseed oil. The content of cadmium (Cd) in the largest amount of 0.009 mg/kg was found in safflower oil. Arsenic (As) content was determined in rapeseed and safflower oils at 0.003 mg/kg, and arsenic (As) was not detected in linseed and sunflower oil. The nickel (Ni) content in the largest amount of 0.433 mg/kg was in linseed oil. The heavy metal contents in the test samples complied with the requirements of regulatory documents for vegetable oils. An assessment of the health risk of vegetable oils with a daily consumption of 36 g per day shows that all samples of vegetable oils produced in Kazakhstan are safe for consumption. But further monitoring is needed, since all these metals are toxic and their harmful effects become apparent only after several years of exposure.

Keywords: vegetable oil, sunflower oil, linseed oil, safflower oil, toxic metals, food safety, rape oil

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Souad Mouzaoui, Bahia Djerdjouri

Abstract:

Oxidative stress is one of the main factors involved in the onset and chronicity of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study, we investigated the beneficial effects of a potent natural antioxidant, curcumin (Cur) on colitis and mitochondrial dysfunction in trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis in mice. Rectal instillation of the chemical irritant TNBS (30 mg kg-1) induced the disruption of distal colonic architecture and a massive inflammatory cells influx to the mucosa and submucosa layers. Under these conditions, daily administration of Cur (25 mg kg-1) efficiently decreased colitis scores in the inflamed distal colon by reducing leukocyte infiltrate as attested by reduced myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. Moreover, the levels of nitrite, an end product of inducible NO synthase activity (iNOS) and malonyl dialdehyde (MDA), a marker of lipid peroxidation increased in a time depending manner in response to TNBS challenge. Conversely, the markers of the antioxidant pool, reduced glutathione (GSH) and catalase activity (CAT) were drastically reduced. Cur attenuated oxidative stress markers and partially restored CAT and GSH levels. Moreover, our results expanded the effect of Cur on TNBS-induced colonic mitochondrial dysfunction. In fact, TNBS induced mitochondrial swelling and lipids peroxidation. These events reflected in the opening of mitochondrial transition pore and could be an initial indication in the cascade process leading to cell death. TNBS inhibited also mitochondrial respiratory activity, caused overproduction of mitochondrial superoxide anion (O2-.) and reduced level of mitochondrial GSH. Nevertheless, Cur reduced the extent of mitochondrial oxidative stress induced by TNBS and restored colonic mitochondrial function. In conclusion, our results showed the critical role of oxidative stress in TNBS-induced colitis. They highlight the role of colonic mitochondrial dysfunction induced by TNBS, as a potential source of oxidative damages. Due to its potent antioxidant properties, Cur opens a promising therapeutic approach against oxidative inflammation in IBD.

Keywords: colitis, curcumin, mitochondria, oxidative stress, TNBS

Procedia PDF Downloads 256

Authors: Michael Dare Asemoloye, Segun Gbolagade Jonathan, Rafiq Ahmad, Odunayo Joseph Olawuyi, D. O. Adejoye

Abstract:

Fungi have potentials for degrading hydrocarbons through the secretion of different enzymes. Crude oil tolerance and degradation by Trichoderma harzianum was investigated in this study with its ability to produce peroxidase enzymes (LiP and MnP). Many fungal strains were isolated from rhizosphere of grasses growing on a crude oil spilled site, and the most frequent strain based on percentage incidence was further characterized using morphological and molecular characteristics. Molecular characterization was done through the amplification of Ribosomal-RNA regions of 18s (1609-1627) and 28s (287-266) using ITS1 and ITS4 combinations and it was identified using NCBI BLAST tool. The selected fungus was also subjected to an in-vitro tolerance test at crude oil concentrations of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% while 0% served as control. In addition, lignin peroxidase genes (lig1-6) and manganese peroxidase gene (mnp) were detected and expressed in this strain using RT-PCR technique, its peroxidase producing activities was also studied in aliquots (U/ml). This strain had highest incidence of 80%, it was registered in NCBI as Trichoderma harzianum asemoJ KY488466. The strain KY488466 responded to crude oil concentrations as it increase, the dose inhibition response percentage (DIRP) increased from 41.67 to 95.41 at 5 to 25 % crude oil concentrations. All the peroxidase genes are present in KY488466, and expressed with amplified 900-1000 bp through RT-PCR technique. In this strain, lig2, lig4 and mnp genes were over-expressed, lig 6 was moderately expressed, while none of the genes was under-expressed. The strain also produced 90±0.87 U/ml lignin peroxidase and 120±1.23 U/mil manganese peroxidase enzymes in aliquots. These results imply that KY488466 can tolerate and survive high crude oil concentration and could be exploited for bioremediation of oil-spilled soils, the produced peroxidase enzymes could also be exploited for other biotechnological experiments.

Keywords: crude oil, enzymes, expression, peroxidase genes, tolerance, Trichoderma harzianum

Procedia PDF Downloads 234

Authors: Vijay Sodhi, Charanjit Singh, Neelam Sodhi, Puneet P. S. Cheema, Reena Sharma, Mithilesh K. Jha

Abstract:

The management and secure disposal of the biosludge generated from widely commercialized conventional activated sludge (CAS) treatments become a potential environmental issue. Thus, a sustainable technological upgradation to the CAS for sludge yield minimization has recently been gained serious attention of the scientific community. A number of recently reported studies effectively addressed the remedial technological advancements that in monopoly limited to the municipal wastewater. Moreover, the critical review of the literature signifies side-stream sludge minimization as a complex task to maintain. In this work, therefore, a hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) configuration (named as AMOMOX process) for in-situ minimization of the excess biosludge generated from high organic strength tannery wastewater has been demonstrated. The AMOMOX collectively stands for anoxic MBBR (as AM), aerobic MBBR (OM) and an oxic CAS (OX). The AMOMOX configuration involved a combined arrangement of an anoxic MBBR and oxic MBBR coupled with the aerobic CAS. The AMOMOX system was run in parallel with an identical CAS reactor. Both system configurations were fed with same influent to judge the real-time operational changes. For the AMOMOX process, the strict maintenance of operational strategies resulted about 95% removal of NH4-N and SCOD from tannery wastewater. Here, the nourishment of filamentous microbiota and purposeful promotion of cell-lysis effectively sustained sludge yield (Yobs) lowering upto 0.51 kgVSS/kgCOD. As a result, the volatile sludge scarcity apparent in the AMOMOX system succeeded upto 47% reduction of the excess biosludge. The corroborated was further supported by FE-SEM imaging and thermogravimetric analysis. However, the detection of microbial strains habitat underlying extended SRT (23-26 days) of the AMOMOX system would be the matter of further research.

Keywords: tannery wastewater, moving bed biofilm reactor, sludhe yield, sludge minimization, solids retention time

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Majid Mardaniyan Ghahfarokhi, Abdolhamid Habibi, Majid Mohammad Shahi

Abstract:

The combination of exercise and diet as the most important strategy to reduce weight and control obesity-related factors, including Irisin, Insulin, and Glucose was raised. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise combined with four different diets on serum levels of Irisin, Insulin, and Glucose in overweight men. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 8 overweight men (BMI 29.23±0.47) with average age of (23±1.6) voluntarily participated in 4 sessions by one-week interval. The study was done in exercise physiology lab. In each session, subjects performed a 30 minutes treadmill test with 60-70% of maximum heart rate, after consuming a high carbohydrate, high-fat, high-protein and normal diet. For biochemical measurement, three blood samples were taken in fasting state, two hours after meals and after exercise Results: Statistical analysis of data showed that the serum levels of Irisin after consumption all four diets had been reduced which this reduce as a result of high-fat diet that were significantly (p ≤ 0/038). Serum concentration of Insulin and Glucose increased after consuming four diets. However, increase in serum Insulin and Glucose was significant only after consuming high-carbohydrate diet (Respectively p ≤ 0/001, p ≤ 0/042). In addition, during exercise after consuming all four regular diet, high carbohydrate, high-protein and high-fat, Irisin significant increased significantly (Respectively p ≤ 0/021, p ≤ 0/049, p ≤ 0/001, P ≤ 0/003), Insulin decreased significantly (Respectively p ≤ 0/002, p ≤ 0/001, p ≤ 0/001, p ≤ 0/002) and Glucose were significantly reduced (Respectively p ≤ 0/001, p ≤ 0/001, P ≤ 0/001, p ≤ 0/002). After aerobic activity following the consumption of a high protein diet the highest increase in irisin levels, and after aerobic exercise following consumption of high carbohydrate diet the greatest decrease in insulin and glucose levels were observed. Conclusion: It seems that diet alone and exercises following different consumption diets can have a significant effect on Irisin, Insulin, and Glucose serum levels in overweight young men.

Keywords: acute aerobic exercise, diet, irisin, overweight

Procedia PDF Downloads 262

Authors: Muhammad Solikhudin Nafi, Wahyu Afif Mufida, Mita Erna Wati, Fitri Setyani Rokim, M. Al-Rizqi Dharma Fauzi

Abstract:

High dose activity without any pre-exercise will impact Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). DOMS known as delayed pain post-exercise and induce skeletal injury which will decrease athletes’ performances. From now on, post-exercise muscle damage can be detected by measuring skeletal troponin I (sTnI) concentration in serum using ELISA but this method needs more time and cost. To prevent decreased athletes performances, screening need to be done rapidly. We want to introduce our new prototype to detect DOMS acutely. Rapid detection tests are based on immunological reaction between skeletal troponin I antibodies and sTnI in human serum or whole blood. Chemical methods that are used in the manufacture of diagnostic test is lateral flow immunoassay. The material used is rat monoclonal antibody sTnI, colloidal gold, anti-mouse IgG, nitrocellulose membrane, conjugate pad, sample pad, wick and backing card. The procedure are made conjugate (colloidal gold and mAb sTnI) and insert into the conjugate pad, gives spray sTnI mAb and anti-mouse IgG into nitrocellulose membrane, and assemble RDT. RDT had been evaluated by measuring the sensitivity of positive human serum (n = 30) and negative human serum (n = 30). Overall sensitivity value was 93% and specificity value was 90%. ADCOR as the first rapid detection test qualitatively showed antigen-antibody reaction and showed good overall performances for screening of muscle damage. Furthermore, these finding still need more improvements to get best results.

Keywords: DOMS, sTnI, rapid detection test, ELISA

Procedia PDF Downloads 517

Authors: Dasat G. S., Christopher F. Tim, J. Dun C.

Abstract:

Salt marshes are known to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the soil, but natural and anthropogenic activities could trigger the release of large quantities of centuries of buried carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide (CO2, CH4 and N2O) which are the major greenhouse gases (GHGs) implicated with climate change. Therefore, this study investigated the biogeochemical activities by collecting soil samples from low, mid and high zones of the Cefni salt marsh, within the Maltreat estuary, on the island of Anglesey, north Wales, United Kingdom for a consortium of laboratory based experiments using standard operating protocols (POS) to quantify the soil organic matter contents and the rate of microbial decomposition and carbon storage at the Carbon Capture Laboratory of Bangor University Wales. Results of investigations reveals that the mid zone had 56.23% and 9.98% of soil water and soil organic matter (SOM) contents respectively higher than the low and high zones. Phenol oxidase activity (1193.53µmol dicq g-1 h-1) was highest at the low zone in comparison to the high and mid zones (867.60 and 608.74 µmol dicq g-1 h-1) respectively. Soil phenolic concentration was found to be highest in the mid zone (53.25 µg-1 g-1) when compared with those from the high (15.66 µg-1 g-1) and low (4.18 µg-1 g-1) zones respectively. Activities of hydrolase enzymes showed similar trend for the high and low zones and much lower activities in the mid zone. CO2 flux from the mid zone (6.79 ug g-1 h-1) was significantly greater than those from high (-2.29 ug g-1 h-1) and low (1.30 µg g-1 h-1) zones. Since salt marshes provide essential ecosystem services, their degradation or alteration in whatever form could compromise such ecosystem services and could convert them from net sinks into net sources with consequential effects to the global environment.

Keywords: saltmarsh, decomposition, carbon cycling, enzymes

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: Kalyani Mer

Abstract:

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is one of the most efficient and commonly used oxidants in in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) of organic contaminants. In the present study, we investigated the activation of H₂O₂ by heavy metal (nickel and lead metal ions) loaded biochar for phenol degradation in an aqueous solution (concentration = 100 mg/L). It was found that H₂O₂ can be effectively activated by biochar, which produces hydroxyl (•OH) radicals owing to an increase in the formation of persistent free radicals (PFRs) on biochar surface. Ultrasound treated (30s duration) biochar, chemically activated by 30% phosphoric acid and functionalized by diethanolamine (DEA) was used for the adsorption of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. It was found that modified biochar could remove almost 60% of nickel in eight hours; however, for lead, the removal efficiency reached up to 95% for the same time duration. The heavy metal loaded biochar was further used for the degradation of phenol in the absence and presence of H₂O₂ (20 mM), within 4 hours of reaction time. The removal efficiency values for phenol in the presence of H₂O₂ were 80.3% and 61.9%, respectively, by modified biochar loaded with nickel and lead metal ions. These results suggested that the biochar loaded with nickel exhibits a better removal capacity towards phenol than the lead loaded biochar when used in H₂O₂ based oxidation systems. Meanwhile, control experiments were set in the absence of any activating biochar, and the removal efficiency was found to be 19.1% when only H₂O₂ was added in the reaction solution. Overall, the proposed approach serves a dual purpose of using biochar for heavy metal ion removal and treatment of organic contaminants by further using the metal loaded biochar for H₂O₂ activation in ISCO processes.

Keywords: biochar, ultrasound, heavy metals, in-situ chemical oxidation, chemical activation

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: Shadia Al-Bahlani, Ruqaya Al-Rashdi, Shadia Al-Sinawi, Maya Al-Bahri

Abstract:

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive type of breast cancer, which is defined by the absence of Estrogen (ER), Progesterone (PR) and Human epidermal growth factor (Her-2) receptors. The calpain system plays an important role in many cellular processes including apoptosis, necrosis, cell signaling and proliferation. The role of clapins in pathogenesis and tumor progression has been studied in certain cancer types; however, its definite role is not yet established in breast cancer especially in the TNBC subtype. Objectives: This study aims to measure calpain-1 expression and correlate this measurement with the proliferating/apoptotic index as well with the prognostic factors in TNBC patients’ tissue. Materials and Methods: Thirty nine paraffin blocks from patients diagnosed with TNBC were used to measure the expression of calpain-1 and Ki-67 (proliferating marker) proteins using immunohistochemistry. Apoptosis was assessed morphological and biochemically using conventional Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining method and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediate dUTP nick and labeling (TUNEL) assay respectively. Data was statistically analyzed using Pearson X2 test of association. Results: Calpain-1 content was visualized in the nucleus of the TNBC cells and its expression varied from low to high among the patients tissue. Calpain expression showed no significant correlation with the proliferating/apoptotic index as well with the clinicopathological variables. Apoptotic counts quantified by H&E staining showed significant association with the apoptotic TUNEL assay, validating both approaches. Conclusion: Although calpain-1 expression showed no significant association with the clinical outcome, its variable level of expression might indicate a hidden role in breast cancer tissue. Larger number of samples and different mode of assessments are needed to fully investigate such role. Exploring the involvement of calpain-1 in cancer progression might help in considering it as a biomarker of breast cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer, calpain, apoptosis, prognosis

Procedia PDF Downloads 443

Authors: Priya Patel, Paresh Patel, Mihir Raval

Abstract:

Silibinin, a flavanone as an antimicrotubular agent used in the treatment of cancer, was encapsulated in nanoparticles (NPs) of poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) polymer using the spray-drying technique. The effects of various experimental parameters were optimized by box-behnken experimental design. Production yield, encapsulation efficiency and dissolution study along with characterization by scanning electron microscopy, DSC, FTIR followed by bioavailability study. Particle size and zeta potential were evaluated by using zetatrac particle size analyzer. Experimental design it was evaluated that inlet temperature and polymer concentration influence on the drug release. Feed flow rate impact on particle size. Results showed that spray drying technique yield 149 nm indicate nanosize range. The small size of the nanoparticle resulted in an enhanced cellular entry and greater bioavailability. Entrapment efficiency was found between 89.35% and 98.36%. Zeta potential shows good stability index of nanoparticle formulation. The in vitro release studies indicated the silibinin loaded PLGA nanoparticles provide controlled drug release over a period of 32 h. Pharmacokinetic studies demonstrated that after oral administration of silibinin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles to rats at a dose of 10 mg/kg, relative bioavailability was enhanced about 8.85-fold, compared to silibinin suspension as control hence, this investigation demonstrated the potential of the experimental design in understanding the effect of the formulation variables on the quality of silibinin loaded PLGA nanoparticles. These results describe an effective strategy of silibinin loaded PLGA nanoparticles and might provide a promising approach against the cancer.

Keywords: silibinin, cancer, nanoparticles, PLGA, bioavailability

Procedia PDF Downloads 432

Authors: Machimontorn Promtong, Sherman C. P. Cheung, Guan H. Yeoh, Sara Vahaji, Jiyuan Tu

Abstract:

The wide range of industrial applications involved with boiling flows promotes the necessity of establishing fundamental knowledge in boiling flow phenomena. For this purpose, a number of experimental and numerical researches have been performed to elucidate the underlying physics of this flow. In this paper, the improved wall boiling models, implemented on ANSYS CFX 14.5, were introduced to study subcooled boiling flow at elevated pressure. At the heated wall boundary, the Fractal model, Force balance approach and Mechanistic frequency model are given for predicting the nucleation site density, bubble departure diameter, and bubble departure frequency. The presented wall heat flux partitioning closures were modified to consider the influence of bubble sliding along the wall before the lift-off, which usually happens in the flow boiling. The simulation was performed based on the Two-fluid model, where the standard k-ω SST model was selected for turbulence modelling. Existing experimental data at around 5 bars were chosen to evaluate the accuracy of the presented mechanistic approach. The void fraction and Interfacial Area Concentration (IAC) are in good agreement with the experimental data. However, the predicted bubble velocity and Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) are over-predicted. This over-prediction may be caused by consideration of only dispersed and spherical bubbles in the simulations. In the future work, the important physical mechanisms of bubbles, such as merging and shrinking during sliding on the heated wall will be incorporated into this mechanistic model to enhance its capability for a wider range of flow prediction.

Keywords: subcooled boiling flow, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), mechanistic approach, two-fluid model

Procedia PDF Downloads 321

Authors: Billy Moore, Izaiah Smith, Dominic Mckinney, Andrew Cisco, Mehdi Kabir

Abstract:

Phase-change materials (PCMs) are considered one of the most promising substances to be engaged passively in thermal management and storage systems for spacecraft, where it is critical to diminish the overall mass of the onboard thermal storage system while minimizing temperature fluctuations upon drastic changes in the environmental temperature within the orbit stage. This makes the development of effective thermal management systems more challenging since there is no atmosphere in outer space to take advantage of natural and forced convective heat transfer. PCM can store or release a tremendous amount of thermal energy within a small volume in the form of latent heat of fusion in the phase-change processes of melting and solidification from solid to liquid or, conversely, during which temperature remains almost constant. However, the existing PCMs pose very low thermal conductivity, leading to an undesirable increase in total thermal resistance and, consequently, a slow thermal response time. This often turns into a system bottleneck from the thermal performance perspective. To address the above-mentioned drawback, the present study aims to design and develop various heat sinks featured by nano-structured graphitic foams (i.e., carbon foam), expanded graphite (EG), and open-cell copper foam (OCCF) infiltrated with a conventional paraffin wax PCM with a melting temperature of around 35 °C. This study focuses on the use of passive thermal management techniques to develop efficient heat sinks to maintain the electronics circuits’ and battery module’s temperature within the thermal safety limit for small spacecraft and satellites such as the Pumpkin and OPTIMUS battery modules designed for CubeSats with a cross-sectional area of approximately 4˝×4˝. Thermal response times for various heat sinks are assessed in a vacuum chamber to simulate space conditions.

Keywords: heat sink, porous foams, phase-change material (PCM), spacecraft thermal management

Procedia PDF Downloads 22

Authors: Aouina Nabila Yasmina, Zine El Abidine Chaoui

Abstract:

Recently, understanding the interactions of electrons with the DNA molecule and its components has attracted considerable interest because DNA is the main site damaged by ionizing radiation. The interactions of radiation with DNA induce a variety of molecular damage such as single-strand breaks, double-strand breaks, basic damage, cross-links between proteins and DNA, and others, or the formation of free radicals, which, by chemical reactions with DNA, can also lead to breakage of the strand. One factor that can contribute significantly to these processes is the effect of water hydration on the formation and reaction of radiation induced by these radicals in and / or around DNA. B-DNA requires about 30% by weight of water to maintain its native conformation in the crystalline state. The transformation depends on various factors such as sequence, ion composition, concentration and water activity. Partial dehydration converts it to DNA-A. The present study shows the results of theoretical calculations for positrons and electrons elastic scattering with DNA medium and water over a broad energy range from 10 eV to 100 keV. Indeed, electron elastic cross sections and elastic mean free paths are calculated using a corrected form of the independent atom method, taking into account the geometry of the biomolecule (SCAR macro). Moreover, the elastic scattering of electrons and positrons by atoms of the biomolecule was evaluated by means of relativistic (Dirac) partial wave analysis. Our calculated results are compared with theoretical data available in the literature in the absence of experimental data, in particular for positron. As a central result, our electron elastic cross sections are in good agreement with existing theoretical data in the range of 10 eV to 1 keV.

Keywords: elastic cross scrion, elastic mean free path, scar macro method, electron collision

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Davoud Jafari, Paolo Di Marco, Alessandro Franco, Sauro Filippeschi

Abstract:

This paper summarizes the results of an investigation into the heat pipe heat transfer for solar collector applications. The study aims to show the feasibility of a concentrating solar collector, which is coupled with a heat pipe. Particular emphasis is placed on the capillary and boiling limits in capillary porous structures, with different mesh numbers and wick thicknesses. A mathematical model of a cylindrical heat pipe is applied to study its behaviour when it is exposed to higher heat input at the evaporator. The steady state analytical model includes two-dimensional heat conduction in the HP’s wall, the liquid flow in the wick and vapor hydrodynamics. A sensitivity analysis was conducted by considering different design criteria and working conditions. Different wicks (mesh 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and, 300), different porosities (0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, and 0.9) with different wick thicknesses (0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 mm) are analyzed with water as a working fluid. Results show that it is possible to improve heat transfer capability (HTC) of a HP by selecting the appropriate wick thickness, the effective pore radius, and lengths for a given HP configuration, and there exist optimal design criteria (optimal thick, evaporator adiabatic and condenser sections). It is shown that the boiling and wicking limits are connected and occurs in dependence on each other. As different parts of the HP external surface collect different fractions of the total incoming insolation, the analysis of non-uniform heat flux distribution indicates that peak heat flux is not affecting parameter. The parametric investigations are aimed to determine working limits and thermal performance of HP for medium temperature SC application.

Keywords: screened heat pipes, analytical model, boiling and capillary limits, concentrating collector

Procedia PDF Downloads 565

Authors: Lauren Dawson, Sean Comber, Richard Sandford, Alan Tappin, Bruce Stockley

Abstract:

The West Dart River is underperforming for Salmon (Salmo salar) survival rates due to acidified pH troughs under the European Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). These troughs have been identified as being caused by historic acid rain pollution which is being held in situ by peat bog presence at site and released during flushing events. Natural recovery has been deemed unlikely by the year 2020 using steady state water chemistry models and therefore a program of monitored calcium carbonate (CaCO3) introductions are being conducted to eliminate these troughs, which can drop to pH 2.93 (salmon survival – pH 5.5). The river should be naturally acidic (pH 5.5-6) due to the granite geology of Dartmoor and therefore the CaCO3 introductions are under new methodology (the encasing of the CaCO3 in permeable sacks) to ensure removal should the water pH rise above neutral levels. The water chemistry and ecology are undergoing comprehensive monitoring, including pH and turbidity levels, dissolved organic carbon and aluminum concentration and speciation, while the aquatic biota is being used to assess the potential water chemistry changes. While this project is ongoing, results from the preliminary field trial show only a temporary, localized increase in pH following CaCO3 introductions into the water column. However, changes to the water chemistry have only been identified in the West Dart after methodology adjustments to account for flow rates and spate-dissolution, though no long-term changes have so far been found in the ecology of the river. However, this is not necessarily a negative factor, as the aim of the study is to protect the current ecological communities and the natural pH of the river while remediating only the detrimental pH troughs.

Keywords: anthropogenic acidification recovery, calcium carbonate introductions, ecology monitoring, water chemistry monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Malay K. Pramanik

Abstract:

Climate change is continuously affecting the ecosystem, species distribution as well as global biodiversity. The assessment of the species potential distribution and the spatial changes under various climate change scenarios is a significant step towards the conservation and mitigation of habitat shifts, and species' loss and vulnerability. In this context, the present study aimed to predict the influence of current and future climate on an ecologically vulnerable medicinal species, Garcinia gummi-gutta, of the southern Western Ghats using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling. The future projections were made for the period of 2050 and 2070 with RCP (Representative Concentration Pathways) scenario of 4.5 and 8.5 using 84 species occurrence data, and climatic variables from three different models of Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) fifth assessment. Climatic variables contributions were assessed using jackknife test and AOC value 0.888 indicates the model perform with high accuracy. The major influencing variables will be annual precipitation, precipitation of coldest quarter, precipitation seasonality, and precipitation of driest quarter. The model result shows that the current high potential distribution of the species is around 1.90% of the study area, 7.78% is good potential; about 90.32% is moderate to very low potential for species suitability. Finally, the results of all model represented that there will be a drastic decline in the suitable habitat distribution by 2050 and 2070 for all the RCP scenarios. The study signifies that MaxEnt model might be an efficient tool for ecosystem management, biodiversity protection, and species re-habitation planning under climate change.

Keywords: Garcinia gummi gutta, maximum entropy modeling, medicinal plants, climate change, western ghats, MaxEnt

Procedia PDF Downloads 396

Authors: Sanjay Singh, Swati Jaiswal, Prashant Mishra

Abstract:

Nanoparticle based formulations of drug delivery systems have shown their potential in improving the performance of existing drugs and have opened avenues for new therapies. Calendula extract is a low cost, wide spectrum bioactive material that has been used for a long term therapy of various infections. Aim: The aim of this study was to develop Calendula officinalis extract based nanoformulations and to study the antibacterial activity of either Calendula extract loaded chitosan nanoparticles or Calendula extract coated silver nanoparticles for increased bioavailability and their long term effect. Methods: Chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by the process of ionotropic gelation, based on interaction between the negative groups of tri polyphosphate (TPP) and positively charged amino groups of chitosan. The size of the Calendula extract-loaded chitosan particles was determined using dynamic light scattering and scanning electron microscopy. Antibacterial activities of these formulations were determined based on minimum inhibitory concentration and time kill studies. In addition, silver nanoparticles were also synthesized in the presence of Calendula extract and characterized by UV visible spectrum, DLS and XRD. Experiments were conducted on 96-plates against two Gram-positive bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis two Gram-negative bacteria; Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results: Results demonstrated time dependent antibacterial activity against different microbes studied. Both Calendula extract and Calendula extract loaded chitosan nanoparticles have shown good antimicrobial activity against both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Conclusion: Calendula extract loaded chitosan nanoparticles and calendula extract coated silver nanoparticles are potential antibacterial for their long term antibacterial effects.

Keywords: antibacterial, Calendula extract, chitosan nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Shahzad Karim Bhatti

Abstract:

Background: Ozone is a combination of oxygen and can be used in treatment of low back pain due to herniated disc. It is a minimally invasive procedure using biochemical properties of ozone resulting in reduced volume of disc and inflammation resulting in significant pain relief. Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of ozone therapy in combination with peri-ganglionic injection of local anesthetic and corticosteroid. Material and Methods: This retrospective study was done at the Interventional Radiology Department of Mayo Hospital, Lahore. A total of 49000 patients were included from January 2008 to March 2022. All the patients presented with clinical signs and symptoms of lumber disc herniation, which was confirmed by a MRI scan of the lumbar sacral spine. The pain reduction was calculated using modified MacNab method. All the patients underwent percutaneous injection of ozone at a concentration of 27 micrograms/ml to lumber disc under fluoroscopic guidance with combination of local anesthetic and corticosteroid in peri-ganglionic space. Results were evaluated by two expert observers who were blinded to patient treatment. Results A satisfactory therapeutic outcome was obtained. 55% of the patients showed complete recovery with resolution of symptoms. 20% of the patients complained of occasional episodic pain with no limitation of occupational activity. 15% of cases showed insufficient improvement. 5% of cases had insufficient improvement and went for surgery. 10% of cases never turned up after the first visit. Conclusion Intradiscal ozone for the treatment of herniated discs has revolutionized percutaneous approach to nerve root compression making it safer, economical and easier to repeat without any side effects than treatments currently used in Pakistan.

Keywords: pain, prolapse, Ozone, backpain

Procedia PDF Downloads 33

Authors: Lucas Kurth de Azambuja, Loise Silveira da Silva, Gean Vitor Salmoria, Darlan Dallacosta, Carlos Rodrigo de Mello Roesler

Abstract:

This work provides a physicochemical and thermal characterization assessment of three different hyaluronic acid (HA)-based injections used for rejuvenation skin treatments. The three products analyzed are manufactured by the same manufacturer and commercialized for application on different skin levels. According to the manufacturer, all three HA-based injections are crosslinked and have a concentration of 23 mg/mL of HA, and 0.3% of lidocaine. Samples were characterized by Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques. FTIR analysis resulted in a similar spectrum when comparing the different products. DSC analysis demonstrated that the fusion points differ in each product, with a higher fusion temperature observed in specimen A, which is used for subcutaneous applications, when compared with B and C, which are used for the middle dermis and deep dermis, respectively. TGA data demonstrated a considerable mass loss at 100°C, which means that the product has more than 50% of water in its composition. TGA analysis also showed that Specimen A had a lower mass loss at 100°C when compared to Specimen C. A mass loss of around 220°C was observed on all samples, characterizing the presence of hyaluronic acid. SEM images displayed a similar structure on all samples analyzed, with a thicker layer for Specimen A when compared with B and C. This series of analyses demonstrated that, as expected, the physicochemical and thermal properties of the products differ according to their application. Furthermore, to better characterize the crosslinking degree of each product and their mechanical properties, a set of different techniques should be applied in parallel to correlate the results and, thereby, relate injection application with material properties.

Keywords: hyaluronic acid, characterization, soft-tissue fillers, injectable gels

Procedia PDF Downloads 92

Authors: Eszter Hamza

Abstract:

The competitiveness of economic operators is based on interoperability, which is relatively low in Hungary. The development of co-operation is high priority in Common Agricultural Policy 2014-2020. The aim of the paper to assess co-operations in Hungarian agriculture, estimate the economic outputs and benefits of co-operations, based on statistical data processing and literature. Further objective is to explore the potential of agricultural co-operation with the help of interviews and questionnaire survey. The research seeks to answer questions as to what fundamental factors play role in the development of co-operation, and what are the motivations of the actors and the key success factors and pitfalls. The results were analysed using econometric methods. In Hungarian agriculture we can find several forms of co-operation: cooperatives, producer groups (PG) and producer organizations (PO), machinery cooperatives, integrator companies, product boards and interbranch organisations. Despite the several appearance of the agricultural co-operation, their economic weight is significantly lower in Hungary than in western European countries. Considering the agricultural importance, the integrator companies represent the most weight among the co-operations forms. Hungarian farmers linked to co-operations or organizations mostly in relation to procurement and sales. Less than 30 percent of surveyed farmers are members of a producer organization or cooperative. The trust level is low among farmers. The main obstacle to the development of formalized co-operation, is producers' risk aversion and the black economy in agriculture. Producers often prefer informal co-operation instead of long-term contractual relationships. The Hungarian agricultural co-operations are characterized by non-dynamic development, but slow qualitative change. For the future, one breakout point could be the association of producer groups and organizations, which in addition to the benefits of market concentration, in the dissemination of knowledge, advisory network operation and innovation can act more effectively.

Keywords: agriculture, co-operation, producer organisation, trust level

Procedia PDF Downloads 398

Authors: Vyacheslav Furtak, Merja Roivainen, Olga Mirochnichenko, Majid Laassri, Bella Bidzhieva, Tatiana Zagorodnyaya, Vladimir Chizhikov, Konstantin Chumakov

Abstract:

Molecular epidemiology and environmental surveillance are parts of a rational strategy to control infectious diseases. They have been widely used in the worldwide campaign to eradicate poliomyelitis, which otherwise would be complicated by the inability to rapidly respond to outbreaks and determine sources of the infection. The conventional scheme involves isolation of viruses from patients and the environment, followed by their identification by nucleotide sequences analysis to determine phylogenetic relationships. This is a tedious and time-consuming process that yields definitive results when it may be too late to implement countermeasures. Because of the difficulty of high-throughput full-genome sequencing, most such studies are conducted by sequencing only capsid genes or their parts. Therefore the important information about the contribution of other parts of the genome and inter- and intra-species recombination to viral evolution is not captured. Here we propose a new approach based on the rapid concentration of sewage samples with tangential flow filtration followed by deep sequencing and reconstruction of nucleotide sequences of viruses present in the samples. The entire nucleic acids content of each sample is sequenced, thus preserving in digital format the complete spectrum of viruses. A set of rapid algorithms was developed to separate deep sequence reads into discrete populations corresponding to each virus and assemble them into full-length consensus contigs, as well as to generate a complete profile of sequence heterogeneities in each of them. This provides an effective approach to study molecular epidemiology and evolution of natural viral populations.

Keywords: poliovirus, eradication, environmental surveillance, laboratory diagnosis

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Saida Haider, Syeda Madiha

Abstract:

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurological disorder characterized by motor deficits and loss of dopaminergic neurons. Oxidative stress is said to play a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of the disease. In the present study, PD was induced by injection of rotenone (1.5 mg/kg/day, s.c.) for eight days. Pistachio (800 mg/kg/day, p.o.) was given for two weeks. At the end of treatment brains were dissected out and striatum was isolated for biochemical and neurochemical analysis. Morris water maze (MWM) test and novel object recognition (NOR) task was used to test the memory function while motor behavior was determined by open field test (OFT), Kondziela inverted screen test (KIST), pole test (PT), beam walking test (BWT), inclined plane test (IPT) and footprint (FP) test. Several dietary components have been evaluated as potential therapeutic compounds in many neurodegenerative diseases. Increasing evidence shows that nuts have protective effects against various diseases by improving the oxidative status and reducing lipid peroxidation. Pistachio is the only nut that contains anthocyanin, a potent antioxidant having neuroprotective properties. Results showed that pistachio supplementation significantly restored the rotenone-induced motor deficits and improved the memory performance. Moreover, rats treated with pistachio also exhibited enhanced oxidative status and increased dopamine (DA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) concentration in striatum. In conclusion, to our best knowledge, we have for the first time shown that pistachio nut possesses neuroprotective effects against rotenone-induced motor and cognitive deficits. These beneficial effects of pistachio may be attributed to its high content of natural antioxidant and phenolic compounds. Hence, consumption of pistachio regularly as part of a daily diet can be beneficial in the prevention and treatment of PD.

Keywords: rotenone, pistachio, oxidative stress, Parkinson’s disease

Procedia PDF Downloads 113