Search results for: plant cell wall

Authors: M. Ali Mandegari, S. Farzad, J. F. Görgens

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Sugar is one of the main agricultural industries in South Africa and approximately livelihoods of one million South Africans are indirectly dependent on sugar industry which is economically struggling with some problems and should re-invent in order to ensure a long-term sustainability. Second generation bio-refinery is defined as a process to use waste fibrous for the production of bio-fuel, chemicals animal food, and electricity. Bio-ethanol is by far the most widely used bio-fuel for transportation worldwide and many challenges in front of bio-ethanol production were solved. Bio-refinery annexed to the existing sugar mill for production of bio-ethanol and electricity is proposed to sugar industry and is addressed in this study. Since flow-sheet development is the key element of the bio-ethanol process, in this work, a bio-refinery (bio-ethanol and electricity production) annexed to a typical South African sugar mill considering 65ton/h dry sugarcane bagasse and tops/trash as feedstock was simulated. Aspen PlusTM V8.6 was applied as simulator and realistic simulation development approach was followed to reflect the practical behavior of the plant. Latest results of other researches considering pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation, enzyme production, bio-ethanol production and other supplementary units such as evaporation, water treatment, boiler, and steam/electricity generation units were adopted to establish a comprehensive bio-refinery simulation. Steam explosion with SO2 was selected for pretreatment due to minimum inhibitor production and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) configuration was adopted for enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of cellulose and hydrolyze. Bio-ethanol purification was simulated by two distillation columns with side stream and fuel grade bio-ethanol (99.5%) was achieved using molecular sieve in order to minimize the capital and operating costs. Also boiler and steam/power generation were completed using industrial design data. Results indicates 256.6 kg bio ethanol per ton of feedstock and 31 MW surplus power were attained from bio-refinery while the process consumes 3.5, 3.38, and 0.164 (GJ/ton per ton of feedstock) hot utility, cold utility and electricity respectively. Developed simulation is a threshold of variety analyses and developments for further studies.

Keywords: bio-refinery, bagasse, tops, trash, bio-ethanol, electricity

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Authors: Selam M. Tefera

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Soil constitutes a crucial component of rural and urban environments. This fact is making role of heavy and trace elements in the soil system an issue of global concern. Heavy metals constitute an ill-defined group of inorganic chemical hazards, whose main source is anthropogenic activities mainly related to fabrications. This accumulation of heavy metals soils can prove toxic to the environment. The application of biochar to soil is one way of immobilizing these contaminants through sorption by exploiting the high surface area of this material among its other essential properties. This research examined the ability of sugar cane straw, an organic waste material from sugar farm, derived biochar and ash to remediate soil contaminated with heavy metals mainly Chromium and Zinc from the effluent of electroplating industry. Biochar was produced by varying the temperature from 300 °C to 500 °C and ash at 700 °C. The highest yield (50%) was obtained at the lowest temperature (300 °C). The proximate analysis showed ash content of 42.8%, ultimate analysis with carbon content of 67.18%, the Hydrogen to Carbon ratio of 0.54 and the results from FTIR analysis disclosed the organic nature of biochar. Methylene blue absorption indicated its fine surface area and pore structure, which increases with severity of temperature. Biochar was mixed with soil with at a ration varying from 4% w/w to 10% w/w of soil, and the response variables were determined at a time interval of 150 days, 180 days, and 210 days. As for ash (10% w/w), the characterization was performed at incubation time of 210 days. The results of pH indicated that biochar (9.24) had a notable liming capacity of acidic soil (4.8) by increasing it to 6.89 whereas ash increased it to 7.5. The immobilization capacity of biochar was found to effected mostly by the highest production temperature (500 °C), which was 75.5% for chromium and 80.5% for nickel. In addition, ash was shown to possess an outstanding immobilization capacity of 95.5% and 90.5% for Chromium and Nickel, respectively. All in all, the results from these methods showed that biochar produced from this specific biomass possesses the typical functional groups that enable it to store carbon, the appropriate pH that could remediate acidic soil, a fine amount of macro and micro nutrients that would aid plant growth.

Keywords: biochar, biomass, heavy metal immobalization, soil remediation

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Authors: Vinko Lešić, Mario Vašak, Anita Martinčević, Marko Gulin, Antonio Starčić, Hrvoje Novak

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With 40% of total world energy consumption, building systems are developing into technically complex large energy consumers suitable for application of sophisticated power management approaches to largely increase the energy efficiency and even make them active energy market participants. Centralized control system of building heating and cooling managed by economically-optimal model predictive control shows promising results with estimated 30% of energy efficiency increase. The research is focused on implementation of such a method on a case study performed on two floors of our faculty building with corresponding sensors wireless data acquisition, remote heating/cooling units and central climate controller. Building walls are mathematically modeled with corresponding material types, surface shapes and sizes. Models are then exploited to predict thermal characteristics and changes in different building zones. Exterior influences such as environmental conditions and weather forecast, people behavior and comfort demands are all taken into account for deriving price-optimal climate control. Finally, a DC microgrid with photovoltaics, wind turbine, supercapacitor, batteries and fuel cell stacks is added to make the building a unit capable of active participation in a price-varying energy market. Computational burden of applying model predictive control on such a complex system is relaxed through a hierarchical decomposition of the microgrid and climate control, where the former is designed as higher hierarchical level with pre-calculated price-optimal power flows control, and latter is designed as lower level control responsible to ensure thermal comfort and exploit the optimal supply conditions enabled by microgrid energy flows management. Such an approach is expected to enable the inclusion of more complex building subsystems into consideration in order to further increase the energy efficiency.

Keywords: price-optimal building climate control, Microgrid power flow optimisation, hierarchical model predictive control, energy efficient buildings, energy market participation

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Authors: M. Gowri, E. K. Girija, V. Ganesh

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Background and Significance: Among the dental infections, inflammation and infection of the root canal are common among all age groups. Currently, the management of root canal infections involves cleaning the canal with powerful irrigants followed by intracanal medicament application. Though these treatments have been in vogue for a long time, root canal failures do occur. Treatment for root canal infections is limited due to the anatomical complexity in terms of small micrometer volumes and poor penetration of drugs. Thus, infections of the root canal seem to be a challenge that demands development of new agents that can eradicate E. faecalis. Methodology: In the present study, we synthesized and screened silver-curcumin nanoparticle against E. faecalis. Morphological cell damage and antibiofilm activity of silver-curcumin nanoparticle on E. faecalis was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Biochemical evidence for membrane damage was studied using flow cytometry. Further, the antifungal activity of silver-curcumin nanoparticle was evaluated in an ex vivo dentinal tubule infection model. Results: Screening data showed that silver-curcumin nanoparticle was active against E. faecalis. silver-curcumin nanoparticle exerted time kill effect. Further, SEM images of E. faecalis showed that silver-curcumin nanoparticle caused membrane damage and inhibited biofilm formation. Biochemical evidence for membrane damage was confirmed by increased propidium iodide (PI) uptake in flow cytometry. Further, the antifungal activity of silver-curcumin nanoparticle was evaluated in an ex vivo dentinal tubule infection model, which mimics human tooth root canal infection. Confocal laser scanning microscopy studies showed eradication of E. faecalis and reduction in colony forming unit (CFU) after 24 h treatment in the infected tooth samples in this model. Further, silver-curcumin nanoparticle was found to be hemocompatible, not cytotoxic to normal mammalian NIH 3T3 cells and non-mutagenic. Conclusion: The results of this study can pave the way for developing new antibacterial agents with well deciphered mechanisms of action and can be a promising antibacterial agent or medicament against root canal infection.

Keywords: ex vivo dentine model, inhibition of biofilm formation, root canal infection, silver-curcumin nanoparticle

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Authors: Alvaro L. Ronco

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Background and purpose: Although our country is a developing one, it has a typical Western meat-rich dietary style. Based on estimates of heme and nonheme iron contents in representative foods, we carried out the present epidemiologic study, with the aim of accurately analyzing dietary iron and its role on CRC risk. Subjects/methods: Patients (611 CRC incident cases and 2394 controls, all belonging to public hospitals of our capital city) were interviewed through a questionnaire including socio-demographic, reproductive and lifestyle variables, and a food frequency questionnaire of 64 items, which asked about food intake 5 years before the interview. The sample included 1937 men and 1068 women. Controls were matched by sex and age (± 5 years) to cases. Food-derived nutrients were calculated from available databases. Total dietary iron was calculated and classified by heme or nonheme source, following data of specific Dutch and Canadian studies, and additionally adjusted by energy. Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated through unconditional logistic regression, adjusting for relevant potential confounders (education, body mass index, family history of cancer, energy, infusions, and others). A heme/nonheme (H/NH) ratio was created and the interest variables were categorized into tertiles, for analysis purposes. Results: The following risk estimations correspond to the highest tertiles. Total iron intake showed no association with CRC risk neither among men (OR=0.83, ptrend =.18) nor among women (OR=1.48, ptrend =.09). Heme iron was positively associated among men (OR=1.88, ptrend < .001) and for the overall sample (OR=1.44, ptrend =.002), however, it was not associated among women (OR=0.91, ptrend =.83). Nonheme iron showed an inverse association among men (OR=0.53, ptrend < .001) and the overall sample (OR=0.78, ptrend =.04), but was not associated among women (OR=1.46, ptrend =.14). Regarding H/NH ratio, risks increased only among men (OR=2.12, ptrend < .001) but lacked of association among women (OR=0.81, ptrend =.29). Conclusions. We have observed different types of associations between CRC risk and high dietary heme, nonheme and H/NH iron ratio. Therefore, the source of the available iron might be of importance as a link to colorectal carcinogenesis, perhaps pointing to reconsider the animal/plant proportions of this vital mineral within diet. Nevertheless, the different associations observed for each sex, demand further studies in order to clarify these points.

Keywords: chelation, colorectal cancer, heme, iron, nonheme

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Authors: Amanda J. Burridge, Keith J. Edwards, Paul A. Wilkinson, Tom Batstone, Erik H. Murchie, Lorna McAusland, Ana Elizabete Carmo-Silva, Ivan Jauregui, Tracy Lawson, Silvere R. M. Vialet-Chabrand

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The rate of genetic progress in wheat production must be improved to meet global food security targets. However, past selection for domestication traits has reduced the genetic variation in modern wheat cultivars, a fact that could severely limit the future rate of genetic gain. The genetic variation in agronomically important traits for the wild relatives and progenitors of wheat is far greater than that of the current domesticated cultivars, but transferring these traits into modern cultivars is not straightforward. Between the elite cultivars of wheat, photosynthetic capacity is a key trait for which there is limited variation. Early screening of wheat wild relative and progenitors has shown differences in photosynthetic capacity and efficiency not only between wild relative species but marked differences between the accessions of each species. By identifying wild relative accessions with improved photosynthetic traits and characterising the genetic variation responsible, it is possible to incorporate these traits into advanced breeding programmes by wide crossing and introgression programmes. To identify the potential variety of photosynthetic capacity and efficiency available in the secondary and tertiary genepool, a wide scale survey was carried out for over 600 accessions from 80 species including those from the genus Aegilops, Triticum, Thinopyrum, Elymus, and Secale. Genotype data were generated for each accession using a ‘Wheat Wild Relative’ Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping array composed of 35,000 SNP markers polymorphic between wild relatives and elite hexaploid wheat. This genotype data was combined with phenotypic measurements such as gas exchange (CO₂, H₂O), chlorophyll fluorescence, growth, morphology, and RuBisCO activity to identify potential breeding material with enhanced photosynthetic capacity and efficiency. The data and associated analysis tools presented here will prove useful to anyone interested in increasing the genetic diversity in hexaploid wheat or the application of complex genotyping data to plant breeding.

Keywords: wheat, wild relatives, pre-breeding, genomics, photosynthesis

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Authors: Bitan Kumar Sarkar, Akashdeep Agarwal, Rajib Dey, Gopes Chandra Das

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The rapid depletion of high-grade iron ore (Fe₂O₃) has gained attention on the use of other sources of iron ore. Titaniferous magnetite ore (TMO) is a special type of magnetite ore having high titania content (23.23% TiO₂ present in this case). Due to high TiO₂ content and high density, TMO cannot be treated by the conventional smelting reduction. In this present work, the TMO has been collected from high-grade metamorphic terrain of the Precambrian Chotanagpur gneissic complex situated in the eastern part of India (Shaltora area, Bankura district, West Bengal) and the hematite ore has been collected from Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), Visakhapatnam. At VSP, iron ore is received from Bailadila mines, Chattisgarh of M/s. National Mineral Development Corporation. The preliminary characterization of TMO and hematite ore (HMO) has been investigated by WDXRF, XRD and FESEM analyses. Similarly, good quality of coal (mainly coking coal) is also getting depleted fast. The basic purpose of this work is to find how lean grade coal can be utilised along with TMO for smelting to produce pig iron. Lean grade coal has been characterised by using TG/DTA, proximate and ultimate analyses. The boiler grade coal has been found to contain 28.08% of fixed carbon and 28.31% of volatile matter. TMO fines (below 75 μm) and HMO fines (below 75 μm) have been separately agglomerated with lean grade coal fines (below 75 μm) in the form of briquettes using binders like bentonite and molasses. These green briquettes are dried first in oven at 423 K for 30 min and then reduced isothermally in tube furnace over the temperature range of 1323 K, 1373 K and 1423 K for 30 min & 60 min. After reduction, the reduced briquettes are characterized by XRD and FESEM analyses. The best reduced TMO and HMO samples are taken and blended in three different weight percentage ratios of 1:4, 1:8 and 1:12 of TMO:HMO. The chemical analysis of three blended samples is carried out and degree of metallisation of iron is found to contain 89.38%, 92.12% and 93.12%, respectively. These three blended samples are briquetted using binder like bentonite and lime. Thereafter these blended briquettes are separately smelted in raising hearth furnace at 1773 K for 30 min. The pig iron formed is characterized using XRD, microscopic analysis. It can be concluded that 90% yield of pig iron can be achieved when the blend ratio of TMO:HMO is 1:4.5. This means for 90% yield, the maximum TMO that could be used in the blend is about 18%.

Keywords: briquetting reduction, lean grade coal, smelting reduction, TMO

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Authors: Mateus L. O. Freitas, Flávia H. de M. Libório, Letycia L. Ricardo, Patrícia da C. Zonetti, Graciene de S. Bido

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Weeds compete with agricultural crops for resources such as light, water, and nutrients. This competition can cause significant damage to agricultural producers, and, currently, the use of agrochemicals is the most effective method for controlling these undesirable plants. Morning glory (Ipomoea grandifolia [Dammer] O'Donell) is an aggressive weed and significantly reduces agricultural productivity making harvesting difficult, especially mechanical harvesting. The biggest challenge in modern agriculture is to preserve high productivity reducing environmental damage and maintaining soil characteristics. No-till is a sustainable practice that can reduce the use of agrochemicals and environmental impacts due to the presence of plant residues in the soil, which release allelopathic compounds and reduce the incidence or alter the growth and development of crops and weeds. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) is a forage with proven allelopathic activity, mainly for producing sorgholeone. In this context, this research aimed to evaluate the allelopathic action of sorghum fractions using hexane, dichloromethane, butanol, and ethyl acetate on the germination and initial growth of morning glory. The parameters analyzed were the percentage of germination, speed of germination, seedling length, and biomass weight (fresh and dry). The bioassays were performed in Petri dishes, kept in an incubation chamber for 7 days, at 25 °C, with a 12h photoperiod. The experimental design was completely randomized, with five replicates of each treatment. The data were evaluated by analysis of variance, and the averages between each treatment were compared using the Scott Knott test at a 5% significance level. The results indicated that the dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions showed bioherbicidal effects, promoting effective reductions on germination and initial growth of the morning glory. It was concluded that allelochemicals were probably extracted in these fractions. These secondary metabolites can reduce the use of agrochemicals and environmental impact, making agricultural production systems more sustainable.

Keywords: allelochemicals, secondary metabolism, sorgoleone, weeds

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Authors: Muhammad Aown Sammar Raza

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Environmental stresses are one of the major reasons for poor crop yield across the globe. Among the various environmental stresses, drought stress is the most damaging one, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Wheat is the major staple food of many countries of the world, which is badly affected by drought stress. In order to fulfill the dietary needs of increasing population with depleting water resources there is a need to adopt technologies which result in sufficient crop yield with less water consumption. One of them is partial root zone drying. Keeping in view these conditions, a wire house experiment was conducted at agronomic research area of University College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, The Islamia University Bahawalpur during 2015, to screen out the different wheat varieties for partial root zone drying (PRD). Five approved local wheat varieties (V1= Galaxy-2013, V2= Punjab-2011, V3 = Faisalabad-2008, V4 = Lasani-2008 and V5 = V.8200) and two irrigation levels (I1= control irrigation and I2 = PRD irrigation) with completely randomized design having four replications were used in the experiment. Among the varieties, Galaxy-2013 performed the best and attained maximum plant height, leaf area, stomatal conductance, photosynthesis, total sugars, proline contents and antioxidant enzymes activities and minimum values of growth and physiological parameters were recorded in variety V.8200. For irrigation levels, higher values of growth, physiological and water related parameters were recorded in control treatment (I1) except leaf water potential, osmotic potential, total sugars and proline contents. However, enzyme activities were higher under PRD treatment for all varieties. It was concluded that Galaxy-2013 is the most compatible and V.8200 is the most susceptible variety for PRD, respectively and more quality traits and enzymatic activities were recorded under PRD irrigation as compared to control treatment.

Keywords: antioxidant enzymes activities, osmolytes concentration, partial root zone drying, photosynthetic rate, water relations, wheat

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Authors: A. A. Agbor, Jean Joel R. Bigna, Serges Clotaire Billong, Mathurin Cyrille Tejiokem, Gabriel L. Ekali, Claudia S. Plottel, Jean Jacques N. Noubiap, Hortence Abessolo, Roselyne Toby, Sinata Koulla-Shiro

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Background: Contributors to fatal outcomes in patients undergoing tuberculosis (TB) treatment in the setting of HIV co-infection are poorly characterized, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Our study’s aim was to assess factors associated with death in TB/HIV co-infected patients during the first 6 months their TB treatment. Methods: We conducted a tertiary-care hospital-based retrospective cohort study from January 2006 to December 2013 at the Yaoundé Central Hospital, Cameroon. We reviewed medical records to identify hospitalized co-infected TB/HIV patients aged 15 years and older. Death was defined as any death occurring during TB treatment, as per the World Health Organization’s recommendations. Logistic regression analysis identified factors associated with death. Magnitudes of associations were expressed by adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95% confidence interval. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The 337 patients enrolled had a mean age of 39.3 (+/- 10.3) years and more (54.3%) were women. TB treatment outcomes included: treatment success in 60.8% (n=205), death in 29.4% (n=99), not evaluated in 5.3% (n=18), loss to follow-up in 5.3% (n=14), and failure in 0.3% (n=1) . After exclusion of patients lost to follow-up and not evaluated, death in TB/HIV co-infected patients during TB treatment was associated with: a TB diagnosis made before national implementation of guidelines regarding initiation of antiretroviral therapy (aOR = 2.50 [1.31-4.78]; p = 0.006), the presence of other AIDS-defining infections (aOR = 2.73 [1.27-5.86]; p = 0.010), non-AIDS comorbidities (aOR = 3.35 [1.37-8.21]; p = 0.008), not receiving co-trimoxazole prophylaxis (aOR = 3.61 [1.71-7.63]; p = 0.001), not receiving antiretroviral therapy (aOR = 2.45 [1.18-5.08]; p = 0.016), and CD4 cell counts < 50 cells/mm3 (aOR = 16.43 [1.05-258.04]; p = 0.047). Conclusions: The success rate of anti-tuberculosis treatment among hospitalized TB/HIV co-infected patients in our setting is low. Mortality in the first 6 months of treatment was high and strongly associated with specific clinical factors including states of greater immunosuppression, highlighting the urgent need for targeted interventions, including provision of anti-retroviral therapy and co-trimoxazole prophylaxis in order to enhance patient outcomes.

Keywords: TB/HIV co-infection, death, treatment outcomes, factors

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Authors: Tamar Khardziani, Violeta Berikashvili, Mariam Rusitashvili, Eva Kachlishvili, Vladimir Elisashvili, Mikheil Asatiani

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Last years, the search for natural sources of novel and effective antifungal substances became a scientific and technological challenge. In the present research, thirty basidiomycetes isolated from various ecological niches of Georgia and belonging to different taxonomic groups were screened for their antifungal activities against pathogenic fungi such as Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Guignardia bidwellii. Among mushroom tested, several potential producers of antifungal substances have been revealed, such as Schizophyllum commune, Lentinula edodes, Ganoderma abietinum, Fomes fomentarius, Hericium erinaceus, and Trametes versicolor. For mushroom cultivation and expression of antifungal potential, submerged and solid-state fermentations of different plant raw materials were performed and various approaches and strategies have been exploited. Sch. commune appeared as a most promising producer of antifungal compounds. It was established that among different agro-industrial wastes, the presence of mandarin juice production waste in a nutrient medium, causing the significant increase of antifungal activity Sch. commune (growth inhibition: Aspergillus – 59 %, Fusarium – 55 %, G. bidwellii – 78 %, after 3, 2 and 4 days of cultivation, respectively). Besides this, Sch. commune demonstrate similar antifungal activities in the presence of glucose, glycerol, maltose, mannitol, and xylose, and growth inhibition of Fusarium ranged in 41 % - 49 % during 6 days of cultivation. Inhibition of Aspergillus growth inhibition varied in 27 % - 36 %, and inhibition of G. bidwellii was in the range 49 % - 61 %, respectively. Sch. commune under solid-state fermentation of mandarin peels at 13 days of cultivation demonstrates powerful growth inhibition of pathogenic fungi (growth inhibition: Aspergillus – 50 %, Fusarium – 61 %, G. bidwellii – 68 %, after 3, 4, and 4 days of cultivation, respectively) as well as at 20 days old mushroom (growth inhibition: Aspergillus – 41 %, Fusarium – 54 %, G. bidwellii – 66 %, after 3 days of cultivation). It was established that Sch. commune was effective as a producer of antifungal compounds in submerged as well as in solid-state fermentation. Finally, performed study confirms that the higher basidiomycetes possess antifungal potential, which strongly depends on the physiological factors of growth. Acknowledgments: The work was implemented with the financial support of fundamental science project FR-19-3719 by the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia.

Keywords: antifungal potential, higher basidiomycetes, pathogenic fungi, submerged and solid-state fermentation

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Authors: Shameel Pervez, Saad Aziz Durrani, Ibatsam Khokhar

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Pectinase is an enzyme that breaks down pectin, a compound responsible for structural integrity of the plant. Pectin is difficult to break down mechanically and the cost is very high, that is why many industries including food industries use pectinase enzyme produced by microbes for pectin breakdown. Apple (Malus domestica) is an important fruit in terms of market value. Every year, millions of apples are wasted due to post-harvest rot caused by fungi. Fungi are natural decomposers of our ecosystem and are infamous for post-harvest rot of apple fruit but at the same time they are prized for their high production of valuable extracellular enzymes such as pectinase. In this study, fungi belonging to different genus were isolated from rotten apples. Rotten samples of apple were picked from different markets of Lahore. After surface sterilization, the rotten parts were cut into small pieces and placed onto MEA media plates for three days. Afterwards, distinct colonies were picked and purified by sub-culturing. The isolates were identified to genus level through the study of basic colony morphology and microscopic features. The isolates were then subjected to screening for pectinase activity on MS media to compare pectinase production and were then subsequently tested for pathogenic activity through wound suspension method to evaluate the pathogenic activity of isolates in comparison with their pectinolytic activity. A total of twelve fungal strains were isolates from rotten apples. They were belonging to genus Penicillium, Alternaria, Paecilomyces and Rhizopus. Upon screening for pectinolytic activity, isolates Pen 1, Pen 4, and Rz showed high pectinolytic activity and were further subjected to DNA isolation and partial sequencing for species identification. The results of partial sequencing were combined with in-depth study of morphological features revealing Pen 1 as Penicillium janthinellum, Pen 4 as Penicillium griseofulvum, and Rz as Rhizopus microsporus. Pathogenic activity of all twelve isolates was evaluated. Penicillium spp. were highly pathogenic and destructive and same was the case with Paecilomyces sp. and Rhizopus sp. However, Alternaria spp. were found to be more consistent in their pathogenic activity, on all types of apples.

Keywords: apple, pectinase, fungal pathogens, penicillium, rhizopus

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Authors: Ana C. R. P. Ferreira, Adriano H. P. Pereira

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Given the frequent variation of mineral properties throughout the Araxá pyrochlore deposit, even if a good homogenization work has been carried out before feeding the processing plants, an operation with quality and performance’s high variety standard is expected. These results could be improved and standardized if the blend composition parameters that most influence the processing route are determined, and then the types of raw materials are grouped by them, finally presenting a great reference with operational settings for each group. Associating the physical and chemical parameters of a unit operation through benchmarking or even an optimal reference of metallurgical recovery and product quality reflects in the reduction of the production costs, optimization of the mineral resource, and guarantee of greater stability in the subsequent processes of the production chain that uses the mineral of interest. Conducting a comprehensive exploratory data analysis to identify which characteristics of the ore are most relevant to the process route, associated with the use of Machine Learning algorithms for grouping the raw material (ore) and associating these with reference variables in the process’ benchmark is a reasonable alternative for the standardization and improvement of mineral processing units. Clustering methods through Decision Tree and K-Means were employed, associated with algorithms based on the theory of benchmarking, with criteria defined by the process team in order to reference the best adjustments for processing the ore piles of each cluster. A clean user interface was created to obtain the outputs of the created algorithm. The results were measured through the average time of adjustment and stabilization of the process after a new pile of homogenized ore enters the plant, as well as the average time needed to achieve the best processing result. Direct gains from the metallurgical recovery of the process were also measured. The results were promising, with a reduction in the adjustment time and stabilization when starting the processing of a new ore pile, as well as reaching the benchmark. Also noteworthy are the gains in metallurgical recovery, which reflect a significant saving in ore consumption and a consequent reduction in production costs, hence a more rational use of the tailings dams and life optimization of the mineral deposit.

Keywords: mineral clustering, machine learning, process optimization, pyrochlore processing

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Authors: Ramin Mehdiabadi

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Background: Breast cancer remains the most prevalent cancer diagnosis and the leading cause of cancer death among women globally, representing 11.7% of new cases and 6.9% of deaths. While the incidence and mortality of major cancers are declining in developed regions like the United States and Western Europe, underdeveloped and developing countries exhibit an increasing trend, attributed to lifestyle factors such as smoking, physical inactivity, and high-calorie diets. Objective: This study explores the intricate relationship between the mammalian transcription factor forkhead box (FoxM1) and the microRNA miR-216b-5p in various subtypes of breast cancer, aiming to deepen the understanding of their roles in tumorigenesis, metastasis, and drug resistance. Methods: Breast cancer subtypes were categorized based on key biomarkers: estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. These include luminal A, luminal B, HER2 enriched, triple-negative, and normal-like subtypes. We focused on analyzing the expression levels of FoxM1 and miR-216b-5p, given the known role of FoxM1 in cell proliferation and its implications in cancer pathologies such as lung, gastric, and breast cancers. Concurrently, miR-216b-5p's function as a tumor suppressor was evaluated to ascertain its regulatory effects on FoxM1. Results: Preliminary data indicate a nuanced interplay between FoxM1 and miR-216b-5p, suggesting a potential inverse relationship that varies across breast cancer subtypes. This relationship underscores the dual role of these biomarkers in modulating cancer progression and response to treatments. Conclusion: The findings advocate for the potential of miR-216b-5p to serve as a prognostic biomarker and a therapeutic target, particularly in subtypes where FoxM1 is prominently expressed. Understanding these molecular interactions provides crucial insights into the personalized treatment strategies and could lead to more effective therapeutic interventions in breast cancer management. Implications: The study highlights the importance of molecular profiling in breast cancer treatment and emphasizes the need for targeted therapeutic approaches in managing diverse cancer subtypes, particularly in varying global contexts where lifestyle factors significantly impact cancer dynamics.

Keywords: breast cancer, gene expression, FoxM1, microRNA

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Authors: Tiisetso Mpai, Sanjay K. Jaiswal, Felix D. Dakora

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The South African Cape fynbos biome is a global biodiversity hotspot. This biome contains a diversity of endemic shrub legumes, including Polhillia, Wiborgia, and Wiborgiella species, which are important for ecotourism as well as for improving soil fertility status. This is due to their proven N₂-fixing abilities when in association with compatible soil bacteria. In fact, Polhillia, Wiborgia, and Wiborgiella species have been reported to derive over 61% of their needed nitrogen through biological nitrogen fixation and to exhibit acid and alkaline phosphatase activity in their rhizospheres. Thus, their interactions with soil microbes may explain their survival mechanisms under the continued summer droughts and acidic, nutrient-poor soils in this region. However, information regarding their rhizosphere microbiome is still unavailable, yet it is important for Fynbos biodiversity management. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the microbial community structures associated with rhizosphere soils of Polhillia pallens, Polhillia brevicalyx, Wiborgia obcordata, Wiborgia sericea, and Wiborgiella sessilifolia growing at different locations of the South African Cape fynbos, during the wet and dry seasons. The hypothesis is that the microbial communities in these legume rhizospheres are the same type and are not affected by the growing season due to the restricted habitat of these wild fynbos legumes. To obtain the results, DNA was extracted from 0.5 g of each rhizosphere soil using PowerSoil™ DNA Isolation Kit, and sequences were obtained using the 16S rDNA Miseq Illumina technology. The results showed that in both seasons, bacteria were the most abundant microbial taxa in the rhizosphere soils of all five legume species, with Actinobacteria showing the highest number of sequences (about 30%). However, over 19.91% of the inhabitants in all five legume rhizospheres were unclassified. In terms of genera, Mycobacterium and Conexibacter were common in rhizosphere soils of all legumes in both seasons except for W. obcordata soils sampled during the dry season, which had Dehalogenimonas as the major inhabitant (6.08%). In conclusion, plant species and season were found to be the main drivers of microbial community structure in Cape fynbos, with the wet season being more dominant in shaping microbial diversity relative to the dry season. Wiborgia obcordata had a greater influence on microbial community structure than the other four legume species.

Keywords: 16S rDNA, Cape fynbos, endemic legumes, microbiome, rhizosphere

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Authors: Niki Mougiou, Spyros Didos, Ioanna Bouzouka, Athina Theodorakopoulou, Michael Kornaros, Anagnostis Argiriou

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Grains from traditional old Greek cereal varieties were evaluated and compared to commercial cultivars, like Simeto and Mexicali 81, in an effort to valorize local products and assess the nutritional benefits of ancient grains. The samples studied in this research included common wheat, durum wheat, emmer (Triticum dicoccum) and einkorn (Triticum monococcum), as well as barley, oats and rye grains. The Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) nuclear region was amplified and sequenced as a barcode for species identification, allowing the verification of the label of each product. After that, the total content of bound and free polyphenols and flavonoids, as well as the antioxidant activity of bound and free compounds, was measured by classic colorimetric assays using Folin- Ciocalteu, AlCl₃ and DPPH‧ (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) reagents, respectively. Moreover, the level of variation of fatty acids was determined in all samples by gas chromatography. The results showed that local old landraces of emmer and einkorn had the highest polyphenol content, 2.4 and 3.3 times higher than the average value of 5 durum wheat samples, respectively. Regarding the total flavonoid content, einkorn had 2.6-fold and emmer 2-fold higher values than common wheat. The antioxidant activity of free or bound compounds was at the same level, at about 20-30% higher in both einkorn and emmer compared to common wheat. Five main fatty acids were detected in all samples, in order of decreasing amounts: linoleic (C18:2) > palmitic (C16:0) ≈ , oleic (C18:1) > eicosenoic (C20:1, cis-11) > stearic (C18:0). Emmer and einkorn showed a higher diversity of fatty acids and a higher content of mono-unsaturated fatty acids compared to common wheat. The results of this study demonstrate the high nutritional value of old local landraces that have been put aside by more productive, yet with lower qualitative characteristics, commercial cultivars, underlining the importance of maintaining sustainable agricultural practices to ensure their continued cultivation.

Keywords: biochemical analysis, nutritional value, plant barcoding, wheat

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Authors: Sofia Quaglia, Carmine Di Martino, Brendan Tierney

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Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) constitutes various aspects of modern life, from the Machine Learning algorithms predicting the stocks on Wall streets to the killing of belligerents and innocents alike on the battlefield. Moreover, the end goal is to create autonomous A.I.; this means that the presence of humans in the decision-making process will be absent. The question comes naturally: when an A.I. does something wrong when its behavior is harmful to the community and its actions go against the law, which is to be held responsible? This research’s subject matter in A.I. and Robot Ethics focuses mainly on Robot Rights and its ultimate objective is to answer the questions: (i) What is the function of rights? (ii) Who is a right holder, what is personhood and the requirements needed to be a moral agent (therefore, accountable for responsibility)? (iii) Can an A.I. be a moral agent? (ontological requirements) and finally (iv) if it ought to be one (ethical implications). With the direction to answer this question, this research project was done via a collaboration between the School of Computer Science in the Technical University of Dublin that oversaw the technical aspects of this work, as well as the Department of Philosophy in the University of Milan, who supervised the philosophical framework and argumentation of the project. Firstly, it was found that all rights are positive and based on consensus; they change with time based on circumstances. Their function is to protect the social fabric and avoid dangerous situations. The same goes for the requirements considered necessary to be a moral agent: those are not absolute; in fact, they are constantly redesigned. Hence, the next logical step was to identify what requirements are regarded as fundamental in real-world judicial systems, comparing them to that of ones used in philosophy. Autonomy, free will, intentionality, consciousness and responsibility were identified as the requirements to be considered a moral agent. The work went on to build a symmetrical system between personhood and A.I. to enable the emergence of the ontological differences between the two. Each requirement is introduced, explained in the most relevant theories of contemporary philosophy, and observed in its manifestation in A.I. Finally, after completing the philosophical and technical analysis, conclusions were drawn. As underlined in the research questions, there are two issues regarding the assignment of moral agency to artificial agent: the first being that all the ontological requirements must be present and secondly being present or not, whether an A.I. ought to be considered as an artificial moral agent. From an ontological point of view, it is very hard to prove that an A.I. could be autonomous, free, intentional, conscious, and responsible. The philosophical accounts are often very theoretical and inconclusive, making it difficult to fully detect these requirements on an experimental level of demonstration. However, from an ethical point of view it makes sense to consider some A.I. as artificial moral agents, hence responsible for their own actions. When considering artificial agents as responsible, there can be applied already existing norms in our judicial system such as removing them from society, and re-educating them, in order to re-introduced them to society. This is in line with how the highest profile correctional facilities ought to work. Noticeably, this is a provisional conclusion and research must continue further. Nevertheless, the strength of the presented argument lies in its immediate applicability to real world scenarios. To refer to the aforementioned incidents, involving the murderer of innocents, when this thesis is applied it is possible to hold an A.I. accountable and responsible for its actions. This infers removing it from society by virtue of its un-usability, re-programming it and, only when properly functioning, re-introducing it successfully

Keywords: artificial agency, correctional system, ethics, natural agency, responsibility

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Authors: Milda Nainyte, Viktoras Masevicius

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Biological methylation is a methyl group transfer from S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) onto N-, C-, O- or S-nucleophiles in DNA, RNA, proteins or small biomolecules. The reaction is catalyzed by enzymes called AdoMet-dependent methyltransferases (MTases), which represent more than 3 % of the proteins in the cell. As a general mechanism, the methyl group from AdoMet replaces a hydrogen atom of nucleophilic center producing methylated DNA and S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (AdoHcy). Recently, DNA methyltransferases have been used for the sequence-specific, covalent labeling of biopolymers. Two types of MTase catalyzed labeling of biopolymers are known, referred as two-step and one-step. During two-step labeling, an alkylating fragment is transferred onto DNA in a sequence-specific manner and then the reporter group, such as biotin, is attached for selective visualization using suitable chemistries of coupling. This approach of labeling is quite difficult and the chemical hitching does not always proceed at 100 %, but in the second step the variety of reporter groups can be selected and that gives the flexibility for this labeling method. In the one-step labeling, AdoMet analog is designed with the reporter group already attached to the functional group. Thus, the one-step labeling method would be more comfortable tool for labeling of biopolymers in order to prevent additional chemical reactions and selection of reaction conditions. Also, time costs would be reduced. However, effective AdoMet analog appropriate for one-step labeling of biopolymers and containing cleavable bond, required for reduction of PCR interferation, is still not known. To expand the practical utility of this important enzymatic reaction, cofactors with activated sulfonium-bound side-chains have been produced and can serve as surrogate cofactors for a variety of wild-type and mutant DNA and RNA MTases enabling covalent attachment of these chains to their target sites in DNA, RNA or proteins (the approach named methyltransferase-directed Transfer of Activated Groups, mTAG). Compounds containing hex-2-yn-1-yl moiety has proved to be efficient alkylating agents for labeling of DNA. Herein we describe synthetic procedures for the preparation of N-biotinoyl-N’-(pent-4-ynoyl)cystamine starting from the coupling of cystamine with pentynoic acid and finally attaching the biotin as a reporter group. The synthesis of the first AdoMet based cofactor containing a cleavable reporter group and appropriate for one-step labeling was developed.

Keywords: adoMet analogs, DNA alkylation, cofactor, methyltransferases

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Authors: S. D. Kadir

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Background: Antibiotics have always been at the centrum of the revolution of modern microbiology. Micro-organisms and its pathogenicity, resistant organisms, inappropriate or over usage of various types of antibiotic agents are fuelled multidrug-resistant pathogenic organisms. Our present time review report mainly focuses on the therapeutic condition of antibiotic resistance and the possible roots behind the development of antibiotic resistance in Bangladesh in 2019. Methodology: The systemic review has progressed through a series of research analyses on various manuscripts published on Google Scholar, PubMed, Research Gate, and collected relevant information from established popular healthcare and diagnostic center and its subdivisions all over Bangladesh. Our research analysis on the possible assurance of antibiotic resistance been ensured by the selective medical reports and on random assay on the extent of individual antibiotic in 2019. Results: 5 research articles, 50 medical report summary, and around 5 patients have been interviewed while going through the estimation process. We have prioritized research articles where the research analysis been performed by the appropriate use of the Kirby-Bauer method. Kirby-Bauer technique is preferred as it provides greater efficiency, ensures lower performance expenditure, and supplies greater convenience and simplification in the application. In most of the reviews, clinical and laboratory standards institute guidelines were strictly followed. Most of our reports indicate significant resistance shown by the Beta-lactam drugs. Specifically by the derivatives of Penicillin's, Cephalosporin's (rare use of the first generation Cephalosporin and overuse of the second and third generation of Cephalosporin and misuse of the fourth generation of Cephalosporin), which are responsible for almost 67 percent of the bacterial resistance. Moreover, approximately 20 percent of the resistance was due to the fact of drug pumping from the bacterial cell by tetracycline and sulphonamides and their derivatives. Conclusion: 90 percent of the approximate antibiotic resistance is due to the usage of relative and true broad-spectrum antibiotics. The environment has been created by the following circumstances where; the excessive usage of broad-spectrum antibiotics had led to a condition where the disruption of native bacteria and a series of anti-microbial resistance causing a disturbance of the surrounding environments in medium, leading to a state of super-infection.

Keywords: antibiotics, antibiotic resistance, Kirby Bauer method, microbiology

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Authors: Mansi Patel, Priti Mehta

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Background: Ionizing radiations have detrimental effects on humans, and the growing technological encroachment has increased human exposure to it enormously. So, the safety issues have emphasized researchers to develop radioprotector from natural resources having minimal toxicity. A substance having anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory activity can be a potential candidate for radioprotection. One such plant with immense potential i.e. Bamboo was selected for the present study. Purpose: The study aims to evaluate the potential of Indian bamboo leaves for protection against the clastogenic effect of gamma radiation. Methods: The protective effect of bamboo leaf extract against gamma radiation-induced genetic damage in human peripheral blood lymphocytes (HPBLs) was evaluated in vitro using Cytokinesis blocked micronuclei assay (CBMN). The blood samples were pretreated with varying concentration of extract 30 min before the radiation exposure (4Gy & 6Gy). The reduction in the frequency of micronuclei was observed for the irradiated and control groups. The effect of various concentration of bamboo leaf extract (400,600,800 mg/kg) on the development of radiation induced sickness and altered mortality in mice exposed to 8 Gy of whole-body gamma radiation was studied. The developed symptoms were clinically scored by multiple endpoints for 30 days. Results: Treatment of HPBLs with varying concentration of extract before exposure to a different dose of γ- radiation resulted in significant (P < 0.0001) decline of radiation induced micronuclei. It showed dose dependent and concentration driven activity. The maximum protection ~ 70% was achieved at nine µg/ml concentration. Extract treated whole body irradiated mice showed 50%, 83.3% and 100% survival for 400, 600, and 800mg/kg with 1.05, 0.43 and 0 clinical score respectively when compared to Irradiated mice having 6.03 clinical score and 0% survival. Conclusion: Our findings indicate bamboo leaf extract reduced the radiation induced cytogenetic damage. It has also increased the survival ratio and reduced the radiation induced sickness and mortality when exposed to a lethal dose of gamma radiation.

Keywords: bamboo leaf extract, Cytokinesis blocked micronuclei (CBMN) assay, ionizing radiation, radio protector

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Authors: V. Sai Geethika, Sai Snehitha Yadavalli, Swati Ghosh Acharyya

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This study involves a single element and simultaneous electrochemical detection of heavy metal ions through square wave anodic stripping voltammetry. A glassy carbon electrode was used to detect and quantify heavy metals such as As(III), Hg(II), Cr(VI) ions in water. Under optimized conditions, peak separation was obtained by varying concentrations, scan rates, and temperatures. As (III), Hg (II), Cr (III) were simultaneously detected with GCE. Several analytical methods, such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), were used previously to detect heavy metal ions, which are authentic but are not good enough for online monitoring due to the bulkiness of the equipment. The study provides a good alternative that is simple, more efficient, and low-cost, involving a portable potentiostat. Heavy metals having different oxidation states can be detected by anodic stripping voltammetry. This method can be easily integrated with electronics. Square wave Anodic stripping voltammetry is used with a potential range of -2.5 V – 2.5 V for single ion detection by a three-electrode cell consisting of silver/silver chloride(Ag/AgCl) as reference and platinum (Pt) counter and glassy carbon (GCE) working electrodes. All three ions are optimized by varying the parameters like concentration, scan rate, pH, temperature, and all these optimized parameters were used for studying the effects of simultaneous detection. The procedure involves preparing an electrolyte using deionized water, cleaning the surface of GCE, depositing the ions by applying the redox potentials obtained from cyclic voltammetry (CV), and then detecting by applying oxidizing potential, i.e., stripping voltage. So this includes ASV techniques such as open-circuit voltage (OCV), chronoamperometry (CA), and square wave voltammetry (SWV). Firstly, the concentration of the ions varied from 50 ppb to 5000 ppb, and an optimum concentration was determined where the three ions were detected. A concentration of 400 ppb was used while varying the temperatures in the range of 25°C – 45°C. Optimum peak intensity was obtained at a temperature of 30°C with a low scan rate of 0.005 V-s⁻¹. All the parameters were optimized, and several effects have been noticed while three ions As(II), Cr(III), Hg(II) were detected alone and simultaneously.

Keywords: Arsenic(III), Chromium(III), glassy carbon electrode, Mercury (II), square wave anodic stripping voltammetry

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Authors: Daria Reczynska, Justyna Jarczak, Michal Czopowicz, Danuta Sloniewska, Karina Horbanczuk, Wieslaw Jarmuz, Jaroslaw Kaba, Emilia Bagnicka

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Since people, animals and plants are constantly exposed to pathogens they have developed very complex systems of defense. Among ca. 1000 antimicrobial peptides from different families so far identified, approximately 30 belonging to cathelicidin family can be found in mammals. Cathelicidins probably constitute the first line of defense because they can act at a physiological salt concentration which is present in healthy tissues. Moreover, the low salt concentration which is present in infected tissues inhibits their activity. In goat bactenecin 7.5 (BAC7.5), bactenecin 5 (BAC5), myeloid antimicrobial peptide 28 (MAP28), myeloid antimicrobial peptide 34 (MAP34 A and B), goat bactenecin3.4 (ChBac3.4) were identified. Caprine arthritis-encephalitis (CAE) caused by small ruminant lentivirus (SRLV) is economic problem. The main CAE symptoms are weight loss, arthritis, pneumonia and mastitis (significant elevation of the somatic cell count and deterioration of some technological parameters). The study was conducted on 24 dairy goats. The animals were divided into two groups: experimental (SRLV-infected) and control (non-infected). The blood samples were collected five times: on the 1st, 7th, 30th, 90th and 150thday of lactation. The levels of transcripts of BAC7.5, BAC5, MAP28 and MAP34 genes in blood leucocytes were measured using qPCR method. There were no differences in mRNA levels of studied genes between stages of lactation. The differences were observed in expressions of BAC5, MAP28 and MAP34 genes with lower levels in the experimental group. There was no difference in BAC7.5 expression between groups. The decreased levels of transcripts of cathelicidin genes in blood leucocytes of SRLV-infected goats may indicate the disturbances of homeostasis in organisms. It can be concluded that SRLV infection seems to inhibit expression of cathelicidin genes. The study was financed by a grant from the National Scientific Center No. UMO-2013/09/B/NZ/03514.

Keywords: goat, CAEV, cathelicidins, blood leukocytes, gene expression

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Authors: Arulselvi Subramanian, Albert Venencia, Sanjeev Bhoi

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Coagulopathy of trauma is an early endogenous coagulation abnormality that occurs shortly resulting in high mortality. In emergency trauma situations, viscoelastic tests may be better in identifying the various phenotypes of coagulopathy and demonstrate the contribution of platelet function to coagulation. We aimed to determine thrombin generation and clot strength, by estimating a ratio of Maximum amplitude and R-time (MA-R ratio) for identifying trauma coagulopathy and predicting subsequent mortality. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort analysis of acutely injured trauma patients of the adult age groups (18- 50 years), admitted within 24hrs of injury, for one year at a Level I trauma center and followed up on 3rd day and 5th day of injury. Patients with h/o coagulation abnormalities, liver disease, renal impairment, with h/o intake of drugs were excluded. Thromboelastography was done and a ratio was calculated by dividing the MA by the R-time (MA-R). Patients were further stratified into sub groups based on the calculated MA-R quartiles. First sampling was done within 24 hours of injury; follow up on 3rd and 5thday of injury. Mortality was the primary outcome. Results: 100 acutely injured patients [average, 36.6±14.3 years; 94% male; injury severity score 12.2(9-32)] were included in the study. Median (min-max) on admission MA-R ratio was 15.01(0.4-88.4) which declined 11.7(2.2-61.8) on day three and slightly rose on day 5 13.1(0.06-68). There were no significant differences between sub groups in regard to age, or gender. In the lowest MA-R ratios subgroup; MA-R1 (<8.90; n = 27), injury severity score was significantly elevated. MA-R2 (8.91-15.0; n = 23), MA-R3 (15.01-19.30; n = 24) and MA-R4 (>19.3; n = 26) had no difference between their admission laboratory investigations, however slight decline was observed in hemoglobin, red blood cell count and platelet counts compared to the other subgroups. Also significantly prolonged R time, shortened alpha angle and MA were seen in MA-R1. Elevated incidence of mortality also significantly correlated with on admission low MA-R ratios (p 0.003). Temporal changes in the MA-R ratio did not correlated with mortality. Conclusion: The MA-R ratio provides a snapshot of early clot function, focusing specifically on thrombin burst and clot strength. In our observation, patients with the lowest MA-R time ratio (MA-R1) had significantly increased mortality compared with all other groups (45.5% MA-R1 compared with <25% in MA-R2 to MA-R3, and 9.1% in MA-R4; p < 0.003). Maximum amplitude and R-time may prove highly useful to predict at-risk patients early, when other physiologic indicators are absent.

Keywords: coagulopathy, trauma, thromboelastography, mortality

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Authors: Galit Shiff, Yael Gilad

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The need to retrofit old buildings lies in the fact that buildings are responsible for the main energy use and CO₂ emission. Existing old structures are more dominant in their effect than new energy-efficient buildings. Nevertheless not every case of urban renewal that aims to replace old buildings with new neighbourhoods necessarily has a financial or sustainable justification. Façade design plays a vital role in the building's energy performance and the unit's comfort conditions. A retrofit façade residential methodology and feasibility applicative study has been carried out for the past four years, with two projects already fully renovated. The intention of this study is to serve as a case study for limited budget façade retrofit in Mediterranean climate urban areas. The two case study buildings are set in Israel. However, they are set in different local climatic conditions. One is in 'Sderot' in the south of the country, and one is in' Migdal Hahemek' in the north of the country. The building typology is similar. The budget of the projects is around $14,000 per unit and includes interventions at the buildings' envelope while tenants are living in. Extensive research and analysis of the existing conditions have been done. The building's components, materials and envelope sections were mapped, examined and compared to relevant updated standards. Solar radiation simulations for the buildings in their surroundings during winter and summer days were done. The energy rate of each unit, as well as the building as a whole, was calculated according to the Israeli Energy Code. The buildings’ facades were documented with the use of a thermal camera during different hours of the day. This information was superimposed with data about the electricity use and the thermal comfort that was collected from the residential units. Later in the process, similar tools were further used in order to compare the effectiveness of different design options and to evaluate the chosen solutions. Both projects showed that the most problematic units were the ones below the roof and the ones on top of the elevated entrance floor (pilotis). Old buildings tend to have poor insulation on those two horizontal surfaces which require treatment. Different radiation levels and wall sections in the two projects influenced the design strategies: In the southern project, there was an extreme difference in solar radiations levels between the main façade and the back elevation. Eventually, it was decided to invest in insulating the main south-west façade and the side façades, leaving the back north-east façade almost untouched. Lower levels of radiation in the northern project led to a different tactic: a combination of basic insulation on all façades, together with intense treatment on areas with problematic thermal behavior. While poor execution of construction details and bad installation of windows in the northern project required replacing them all, in the southern project it was found that it is more essential to shade the windows than replace them. Although the buildings and the construction typology was chosen for this study are similar, the research shows that there are large differences due to the location in different climatic zones and variation in local conditions. Therefore, in order to reach a systematic and cost-effective method of work, a more extensive catalogue database is needed. Such a catalogue will enable public housing companies in the Mediterranean climate to promote massive projects of renovating existing old buildings, drawing on minimal analysis and planning processes.

Keywords: facade, low budget, residential, retrofit

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Authors: Alka Jakhar, Harmanpreet Kaur Sandhu, Samaresh Das

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The Terahertz (THz) technology-based devices are heightening at an alarming rate on account of the wide range of applications in imaging, security, communication, and spectroscopic field. The various available room operational THz detectors, including Golay cell, pyroelectric detector, field-effect transistors, and photoconductive antennas, have some limitations such as narrow-band response, slow response speed, transit time limits, and complex fabrication process. There is an urgent demand to explore new materials and device structures to accomplish efficient THz detection systems. Recently, TMDs including topological semimetals and topological insulators such as PtSe₂, MoTe₂, WSe₂, and PtTe₂ provide novel feasibility for photonic and optical devices. The peculiar properties of these materials, such as Dirac cone, fermions presence, nonlinear optical response, high conductivity, and ambient stability, make them worthy for the development of the THz devices. Here, the platinum telluride (PtTe₂) based devices have been demonstrated for THz detection in the frequency range of 0.1-1 THz. The PtTe₂ is synthesized by direct selenization of the sputtered platinum film on the high-resistivity silicon substrate by using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The Raman spectra, XRD, and XPS spectra confirm the formation of the thin PtTe₂ film. The PtTe₂ channel length is 5µm and it is connected with a bow-tie antenna for strong THz electric field confinement in the channel. The characterization of the devices has been carried out in a wide frequency range from 0.1-1 THz. The induced THz photocurrent is measured by using lock-in-amplifier after preamplifier. The maximum responsivity is achieved up to 1 A/W under self-biased mode. Further, this responsivity has been increased by applying biasing voltage. This photo response corresponds to low energy THz photons is mainly due to the photo galvanic effect in PtTe₂. The DC current is induced along the PtTe₂ channel, which is directly proportional to the amplitude of the incident THz electric field. Thus, these new topological semimetal materials provide new pathways for sensitive detection and sensing applications in the THz domain.

Keywords: terahertz, detector, responsivity, topological-semimetals

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Authors: Chakkrit Poonpakdee, Jing-Hua Tzen, Ya-Zhen Huang, Yao-Tung Lin

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Potassium (K) is a known macro nutrient and essential element for plant growth. Single leaching and modified sequential extraction schemes have been developed to estimate the relative phase associations of soil samples. The sequential extraction process is a step in analyzing the partitioning of metals affected by environmental conditions, but it is not a tool for estimation of K bioavailability. While, traditional single leaching method has been used to classify K speciation for a long time, it depend on its availability to the plants and use for potash fertilizer recommendation rate. Clay mineral in soil is a factor for controlling soil fertility. The change of the micro-structure of clay minerals during various environment (i.e. swelling or shrinking) is characterized using Transmission X-Ray Microscopy (TXM). The objective of this study are to 1) compare the distribution of K speciation between single leaching and sequential extraction process 2) determined clay particle flocculation structure before/after suspension with K+ using TXM. Four tropical soil samples: farming without K fertilizer (10 years), long term applied K fertilizer (10 years; 168-240 kg K2O ha-1 year-1), red soil (450-500 kg K2O ha-1 year-1) and forest soil were selected. The results showed that the amount of K speciation by single leaching method were high in mineral K, HNO3 K, Non-exchangeable K, NH4OAc K, exchangeable K and water soluble K respectively. Sequential extraction process indicated that most K speciations in soil were associated with residual, organic matter, Fe or Mn oxide and exchangeable fractions and K associate fraction with carbonate was not detected in tropical soil samples. In farming long term applied K fertilizer and red soil were higher exchangeable K than farming long term without K fertilizer and forest soil. The results indicated that one way to increase the available K (water soluble K and exchangeable K) should apply K fertilizer and organic fertilizer for providing available K. The two-dimension of TXM image of clay particles suspension with K+ shows that the aggregation structure of clay mineral closed-void cellular networks. The porous cellular structure of soil aggregates in 1 M KCl solution had large and very larger empty voids than in 0.025 M KCl and deionized water respectively. TXM nanotomography is a new technique can be useful in the field as a tool for better understanding of clay mineral micro-structure.

Keywords: potassium, sequential extraction process, clay mineral, TXM

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Authors: Sarai Guerrero, Lijia Liu

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Zinc gallogermanate (ZGGO) is a persistent phosphor that can emit in the near infrared (NIR) range once dopped with Cr³⁺ enabling its use for in-vivo deep-tissue bio-imaging. Such a property also allows for its application in cancer diagnosis and therapy. Given this, work into developing a synthetic procedure that can be done using common laboratory instruments and equipment as well as understanding ZGGO overall, is in demand. However, the ZGGO nanoparticles must have a size compatible for cell intake to occur while still maintaining sufficient photoluminescence. The nanoparticle must also be made biocompatible by functionalizing the surface for hydrophilic solubility and for high particle uniformity in the final product. Additionally, most research is completed on doped ZGGO, leaving a gap in understanding the base form of ZGGO. It also leaves a gap in understanding how doping affects the synthesis of ZGGO. In this work, the first step of optimizing the particle size via the crystalline size of ZGGO was done with undoped ZGGO using the organic acid, oleic acid (OA) for organic ligand-assisted biphasic hydrothermal synthesis. The effects of this synthesis procedure on ZGGO’s crystallinity were evaluated using Powder X-Ray Diffraction (PXRD). OA was selected as the capping ligand as experiments have shown it beneficial in synthesizing sub-10 nm zinc gallate (ZGO) nanoparticles as well as palladium nanocrystals and magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles. Later it is possible to substitute OA with a different ligand allowing for hydrophilic solubility. Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier-Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) was used to investigate the surface of the nanoparticle to investigate and verify that OA had capped the nanoparticle. PXRD results showed that using this procedure led to improved crystallinity, comparable to the high-purity reagents used on the ZGGO nanoparticles. There was also a change in the crystalline size of the ZGGO nanoparticles. ATR-FTIR showed that once capped ZGGO cannot be annealed as doing so will affect the OA. These results point to this new procedure positively affecting the crystallinity of ZGGO nanoparticles. There are also repeatable implying the procedure is a reliable source of highly crystalline ZGGO nanoparticles. With this completed, the next step will be working on substituting the OA with a hydrophilic ligand. As these ligands effect the solubility of the nanoparticle as well as the pH that the nanoparticles can dissolve in, further research is needed to verify which ligand is best suited for preparing ZGGO for bio-imaging.

Keywords: biphasic hydrothermal synthesis, crystallinity, oleic acid, zinc gallogermanate

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Authors: Stefan Andersson, Balram Panjwani, Bernd Wittgens, Jan Erik Olsen

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Polycyclic Aromatic hydrocarbons are organic compounds consisting of only hydrogen and carbon aromatic rings. PAH are neutral, non-polar molecules that are produced due to incomplete combustion of organic matter. These compounds are carcinogenic and interact with biological nucleophiles to inhibit the normal metabolic functions of the cells. Norways, the most important sources of PAH pollution is considered to be aluminum plants, the metallurgical industry, offshore oil activity, transport, and wood burning. Stricter governmental regulations regarding emissions to the outer and internal environment combined with increased awareness of the potential health effects have motivated Norwegian metal industries to increase their efforts to reduce emissions considerably. One of the objective of the ongoing industry and Norwegian research council supported "SCORE" project is to reduce potential PAH emissions from an off gas stream of a ferroalloy furnace through controlled combustion. In a dedicated combustion chamber. The sizing and configuration of the combustion chamber depends on the combined properties of the bulk gas stream and the properties of the PAH itself. In order to achieve efficient and complete combustion the residence time and minimum temperature need to be optimized. For this design approach reliable kinetic data of the individual PAH-species and/or groups thereof are necessary. However, kinetic data on the combustion of PAH are difficult to obtain and there is only a limited number of studies. The paper presents an evaluation of the kinetic data for some of the PAH obtained from literature. In the present study, the oxidation is modelled for pure PAH and also for PAH mixed with process gas. Using a perfectly stirred reactor modelling approach the oxidation is modelled including advanced reaction kinetics to study influence of residence time and temperature on the conversion of PAH to CO2 and water. A Chemical Reactor Network (CRN) approach is developed to understand the oxidation of PAH inside the combustion chamber. Chemical reactor network modeling has been found to be a valuable tool in the evaluation of oxidation behavior of PAH under various conditions.

Keywords: PAH, PSR, energy recovery, ferro alloy furnace

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Authors: Omoruyi G. Idemudia, Alexander P. Sadimenko

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The need for the development of new sustainable bioactive compounds with unique properties that can become potential replacement for commonly used medicinal drugs has continued to gain tremendous research concerns because of the problems of disease resistant to these medicinal drugs and their toxicity effects. NOS-donor heterocycles are particularly of interest as they have showed good pharmacological activities in the midst of their interesting chelating properties towards metal ions, an important characteristic for transition metal based drugs design. These new compounds have also gained application as dye sensitizers in solar cell panels for the generation of renewable solar energy, as greener water purification polymer for supply and management of clean water and as catalysts which are used to reduce the amount of pollutants from industrial reaction processes amongst others, because of their versatile properties. Di-ketone acylpyrazolones and their azomethine schiff bases have been employed as pharmaceuticals as well as analytical reagents, and their application as transition metal complexes have being well established. In this research work, a new 4-propyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one-thiosemicarbazone was synthesized from the reaction of 4-propyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one and thiosemicarbazide in methanol. The pure isolate of the thiosemicarbazone was further reacted with aqueous solutions of palladium and platinum salts to obtain their metal complexes, in an effort towards the discovery of transition metal based synthetic drugs. These compounds were characterized by means of analytical, spectroscopic, thermogravimetric analysis TGA, as well as x-ray crystallography. 4-propyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one thiosemicarbazone crystallizes in a triclinic crystal system with a P-1 (No. 2) space group according to x-ray crystallography. The tridentate NOS ligand formed a tetrahedral geometry on coordinating with metal ions. Reported compounds showed varying antioxidant free radical scavenging activities against 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl DPPH radical at 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 µg/ml concentrations. The platinum complex have shown a very good antioxidant property against DPPH with an IC50 of 76.03 µg/ml compared with standard ascorbic acid (IC50 of 74.66 µg/ml) and as such have been identified as a potential anticancer candidate.

Keywords: acylpyrazolone, free radical scavenging activities, tridentate ligand, x-ray crystallography

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Authors: Bertalan Jillek, Péter Szabó, Judit Kopniczky, István Szabó, Balázs Patczai, Kinga Turzó

Abstract:

Hip and knee prostheses are one of the most frequently used medical implants, that can significantly improve patients’ quality of life. Long term success and biointegration of these prostheses depend on several factors, like bulk and surface characteristics, construction and biocompatibility of the material. The applied surgical technique, the general health condition and life-quality of the patient are also determinant factors. Medical devices used in orthopedic surgeries have different surfaces depending on their function inside the human body. Surface roughness of these implants determines the interaction with the surrounding tissues. Numerous modifications have been applied in the recent decades to improve a specific property of an implant. Our goal was to compare the surface characteristics of typical implant materials used in orthopedic surgery and traumatology. Morphological and chemical structure of Vortex plate anodized titanium, cemented THR (total hip replacement) stem high nitrogen REX steel (SS), uncemented THR stem and cup titanium (Ti) alloy with titanium plasma spray coating (TPS), cemented cup and uncemented acetabular liner HXL and UHMWPE and TKR (total knee replacement) femoral component CoCrMo alloy (Sanatmetal Ltd, Hungary) discs were examined. Visualization and elemental analysis were made by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Surface roughness was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and profilometry. SEM and AFM revealed the morphological and roughness features of the examined materials. TPS Ti presented the highest Ra value (25 ± 2 μm, followed by CoCrMo alloy (535 ± 19 nm), Ti (227 ± 15 nm) and stainless steel (170 ± 11 nm). The roughness of the HXL and UHMWPE surfaces was in the same range, 147 ± 13 nm and 144 ± 15 nm, respectively. EDS confirmed typical elements on the investigated prosthesis materials: Vortex plate Ti (Ti, O, P); TPS Ti (Ti, O, Al); SS (Fe, Cr, Ni, C) CoCrMo (Co, Cr, Mo), HXL (C, Al, Ni) and UHMWPE (C, Al). The results indicate that the surface of prosthesis materials have significantly different features and the applied investigation methods are suitable for their characterization. Contact angle measurements and in vitro cell culture testing are further planned to test their surface energy characteristics and biocompatibility.

Keywords: morphology, PE, roughness, titanium

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