Search results for: oxygen concentration

Authors: Deepika Sharma, Bal Krishan

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In this paper, the structure of N-channel VDMOS was designed and analyzed using Silvaco TCAD tools by varying N+ source doping concentration, P-Body doping concentration, gate oxide thickness and the diffuse time. VDMOS is considered to be ideal power switches due to its high input impedance and fast switching speed. The performance of the device was analyzed from the Ids vs Vgs curve. The electrical characteristics such as threshold voltage, gate oxide thickness and breakdown voltage for the proposed device structures were extarcted. Effect of epitaxial layer on various parameters is also observed.

Keywords: on-resistance, threshold voltage, epitaxial layer, breakdown voltage

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Authors: A. Chávez, A. Rodríguez, F. Pinzón

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Society is concerned about measures of environmental, economic and social impacts generated in the solid waste disposal. These places of confinement, also known as landfills, are locations where problems of pollution and damage to human health are reduced. They are technically designed and operated, using engineering principles, storing the residue in a small area, compact it to reduce volume and covering them with soil layers. Problems preventing liquid (leachate) and gases produced by the decomposition of organic matter. Despite planning and site selection for disposal, monitoring and control of selected processes, remains the dilemma of the leachate as extreme concentration of pollutants, devastating soil, flora and fauna; aggressive processes requiring priority attention. A biological technology is the activated sludge system, used for tributaries with high pollutant loads. Since transforms biodegradable dissolved and particulate matter into CO2, H2O and sludge; transform suspended and no Settleable solids; change nutrients as nitrogen and phosphorous; and degrades heavy metals. The microorganisms that remove organic matter in the processes are in generally facultative heterotrophic bacteria, forming heterogeneous populations. Is possible to find unicellular fungi, algae, protozoa and rotifers, that process the organic carbon source and oxygen, as well as the nitrogen and phosphorus because are vital for cell synthesis. The mixture of the substrate, in this case sludge leachate, molasses and wastewater is maintained ventilated by mechanical aeration diffusers. Considering as the biological processes work to remove dissolved material (< 45 microns), generating biomass, easily obtained by decantation processes. The design consists of an artificial support and aeration pumps, favoring develop microorganisms (denitrifying) using oxygen (O) with nitrate, resulting in nitrogen (N) in the gas phase. Thus, avoiding negative effects of the presence of ammonia or phosphorus. Overall the activated sludge system includes about 8 hours of hydraulic retention time, which does not prevent the demand for nitrification, which occurs on average in a value of MLSS 3,000 mg/L. The extended aeration works with times greater than 24 hours detention; with ratio of organic load/biomass inventory under 0.1; and average stay time (sludge age) more than 8 days. This project developed a pilot system with sludge leachate from Doña Juana landfill - RSDJ –, located in Bogota, Colombia, where they will be subjected to a process of activated sludge and extended aeration through a sequential Bach reactor - SBR, to be dump in hydric sources, avoiding ecological collapse. The system worked with a dwell time of 8 days, 30 L capacity, mainly by removing values of BOD and COD above 90%, with initial data of 1720 mg/L and 6500 mg/L respectively. Motivating the deliberate nitrification is expected to be possible commercial use diffused aeration systems for sludge leachate from landfills.

Keywords: sludge, landfill, leachate, SBR

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Authors: Hyunjung Lim, Jeonghun Nam, Hyuk Choi

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High-throughput separation is an essential technique for cancer research and diagnosis. Here, we propose a viscoelastic microfluidic device for sheathless, high-throughput isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from white blood cells. Here, we demonstrate a viscoelastic method for separation and concentration of CTCs using closed-loop microfluidics. Our device is a rectangular straight channel with a low aspect ratio. Also, to achieve high-efficiency, high-throughput processing, we used a polymer solution with low viscosity. At the inlet, CTCs and white blood cells (WBCs) were randomly injected into the microchannel. Due to the viscoelasticity-induced lateral migration to the equilibrium positions, large CTCs could be collected from the side outlet while small WBCs were removed at the center outlet. By recirculating the collected CTCs from the side outlet back to the sample reservoir, continuous separation and concentration of CTCs could be achieved with high separation efficiency (~ 99%). We believe that our device has the potential to be applied in resource-limited clinical settings.

Keywords: circulating tumor cell, closed-loop microfluidics, concentration, separation, viscoelastic fluid

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Authors: A. H. Jagaba, Musa Babayo, Ab Aziz Abdul Latiff, Sule Abubakar, I. M. Lawal, Isa Zubairu, M. A. Nasara

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Wastewater containing heavy metals is of extreme importance globally because of its potential threat to both the aquatic ecosystem and the soil environment. Heavy metal is hazardous even at low concentration and thereby causing various forms of diseases. One method which has been tested and found to be effective for heavy metals removal is coagulation-flocculation. For the coagulation process of POME obtained from Pertubuhan Peladang Negeri Johor (PPNJ), Oil Palm Mill Company located in Kahang area of Kluang, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia, diffèrent coagulants would be used to absorb and then separate the metals from wastewater. The determination of heavy metals concentration in POME was carried out using an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and an Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS). Results of the study showed that alum coagulant was successful in effectively reducing Cu, Cd, and Mn from 0.840 mg/l, 0.00509 mg/l and 8.191 mg/l to as low as 0.107 mg/l, 0.000270 mg/l and 0.612 mg/l respectively. All were obtained at a dose of 1000 mg/l. 1000 mg/l dose of ferric chloride reduced Pb concentration from 0.0248 mg/l to 0.00151 mg/l. Chitosan was best at reducing Fe and Zn from 62.91 mg/l and 3.616 mg/l to 6.003 mg/l and 0.595 mg/l all at a dose of 400 mg/l.

Keywords: palm oil mill effluent, coagulation, heavy metals, Pertubuhan Peladang Negeri Johor, Malaysia

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Authors: Kalpana Rajouriya, Ajay Taneja

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Particulates are ubiquitous in the air environment and cause serious threats to human beings, such as lung cancer, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and Asthma. Particulates mainly arise from industrial effluent, vehicular emission, and other anthropogenic activities. In the glass industrial city Firozabad, real-time monitoring (mass as well as a number) of size segregated Particulate Matter (PM) and black carbon was done by Aerosol Black Carbon Detector (ABCD) and GRIMM portable aerosol Spectrometer at two different sites in which one site is urban, and another is rural. The average mass concentration of size segregated PM during the study period (March & April 2022) was recorded as PM₁₀ (223.73 g/m-³), PM₅.₀ (44.955 g/m-³), PM₂.₅ (59.275 g/m-³), PM₁.₀ (33.02 g/m-³), PM₀.₅ (2.05 g/m-³), and PM₀.₂₅ (2.99 g/m- ³). In number mode, PM concentration was found as PM₁₀ (27.46g/m-³), PM₅.₀ (233.48g/m-³), PM₂.₅ (646.61g/m-³), PM₁.₀ (1134.94 g/m-³), PM₀.₅ (14056.04g/m-³), and PM₀.₂₅ (182906.4 g/m-³). The highest concentration of BC was found in Urban due to the emissions from diesel engines and wood burning while NO2 was highest at the rural sites. The concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ exceeded the NAAQS and WHO guidelines. The sensitive, exposed population may be at risk of developing health-related problems from exposure to size-segregated PM and BC.

Keywords: particulate matter, black carbon, NO2, health risk

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Authors: Mohamed Elkashouty, Mohamed Elkammar, Mohamed Gomma, Menal Elminiami

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Lake Bardawil is considered as one of the major morphological features of northern Sinai. It represents the largest fish production lake for export in Egypt. Nineteen and thirty one samples were collected from lake water during winter and summer (2005). TDS, cations, anions, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni, Co and Pb concentrations were measured within winter and summer seasons. During summer, in the eastern sector of the lake, TDS concentration is decreased due northeastern part (38000 ppm), it is attributed to dilution from seawater through Boughaz II. The TDS concentration increased generally in the central and southern parts of the lake (44000 and 42000 ppm, respectively). It is caused by they are far from dilution from seawater, disconnected water body, shallow depth (mean 2 m), and high evaporation rate. In the western sector, the TDS content ranged from low (38000 ppm) in the northeastern part to high (50000 ppm) in the western part. Generally, the TDS concentration in the western sector is higher than those in the eastern. It is attributed to low volume of water body for the former, high evaporation rate, and therefore increase in TDS content in the lake water.During winter season, in the eastern sector, the wind velocity is high which enhance the water current to inflow into the lake through Boughaz I and II. The resultant water lake is diluted by seawater and rainfall in the winter season. The TDS concentration increased due southern part of the lake (42000 ppm) and declined in the northern part (36000 ppm). The concentration of Co, Ni, Pb, Fe, Cd, Zn, Cu, Mn and Pb within winter and summery seasons, in lake water are low, which considered as background concentrations with respect to seawater. Therefore, there are no industrial, agricultural and sanitary wastewaters dump into the lake. This confirms the statement that has been written at the entrance of Lake Bardawil at El-Telool area "Lake Bardawil, one of the purest lakes in the world". It indicate that the Lake Bardawil is excellent area for fish production for export (current state) and is the second main fish source in Egypt after the Mediterranean Sea after the illness of Lake Manzala.

Keywords: lake Bardawil, water quality, major ions, toxic metals

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Authors: Maedeh Pourmajidian, Joseph R. McDermid

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Advanced High Strength Steels are revolutionizing both the steel and automotive industries due to their high specific strength and ability to absorb energy during crash events. This allows manufacturers to design vehicles with significantly increased fuel efficiency without compromising passenger safety. To maintain the structural integrity of the fabricated parts, they must be protected from corrosion damage through continuous hot-dip galvanizing process, which is challenging due to selective oxidation of Mn and Si on the surface of this AHSSs. The effects of process atmosphere oxygen partial pressure and small additions of Sn on the selective oxidation of a medium-Mn C-6Mn-2Si advanced high strength steel was investigated. Intercritical annealing heat treatments were carried out at 690˚C in an N2-5%H2 process atmosphere under dew points ranging from –50˚C to +5˚C. Surface oxide chemistries, morphologies, and thicknesses were determined at a variety of length scales by several techniques, including SEM, TEM+EELS, and XPS. TEM observations of the sample cross-sections revealed the transition to internal oxidation at the +5˚C dew point. EELS results suggested that the internal oxides network was composed of a multi-layer oxide structure with varying chemistry from oxide core towards the outer part. The combined effect of employing a known surface active element as a function of process atmosphere on the surface structure development and the possible impact on reactive wetting of the steel substrates by the continuous galvanizing zinc bath will be discussed.

Keywords: 3G AHSS, hot-dip galvanizing, oxygen partial pressure, selective oxidation

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Authors: Abeer Ahmed Abdelhamed

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Introduction: Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are the most common complications observed and managed after abdominal or cardiothoracic surgery. Hypoxemia, atelectasis, pleural effusion, or diaphragmatic dysfunction, are often a source of morbidity in cardiac surgery patients, and are more common in patients receiving unilateral or bilateral internal mammary artery (IMT) grafts than patients receiving saphenous vein (SV) grafts alone. Purpose: The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of Threshold load inspiratory muscle training on pulmonary gas exchange and maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) in patient undergoing coronary revascularization. Subject: Thirty three male patients eligible for coronary revascularization were selected to participate in the study. Method: They were divided into two groups(17 patients in the intervention group and 16 patients in the control group), the interventional group received inspiratory muscle training at 30% of their maximum inspiratory pressure throughout the hospitalization period in addition to routine post operative care. Result: The results of this study showed a significant improvement on maximum inspiratory pressure(MIP), Arterial-alveolar pressure gradient (A-a gradient) and oxygen saturation in the intervention group. Conclusion: Inspiratory muscle training using threshold mode significantly improves maximum inspiratory pressure, pulmonary gas exchange tested by alveolar-arterial gradient and oxygen saturation in Patients undergoing coronary revascularization.

Keywords: coronary revascularization, inspiratory muscle training, maximum inspiratory pressure, pulmonary gas exchange

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Authors: Erwin San Juan Martinez, Miguel Angel Aguilar Mendez, Manuel Sandoval Villa, Libia Iris Trejo Tellez

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Some nanomaterials may improve the vegetal growth in certain concentration intervals, and could be used as nanofertilizers in order to increase crops yield, and decreasing the environmental pollution due to non-controlled use of conventional fertilizers, therefore the present investigation’s objective was to synthetize and characterize gelatin nanoparticles loaded with calcium generated through pulverization technique and be used as nanofertilizers. To obtain these materials, a fractional factorial design 27-4 was used in order to evaluate the largest number of factors (concentration of Ca2+, temperature and agitation time of the solution and calcium concentration, drying temperature, and % spray) with a possible effect on the size, distribution and morphology of nanoparticles. For the formation of nanoparticles, a Nano Spray-Dryer B - 90® (Buchi, Flawil, Switzerland), equipped with a spray cap of 4 µm was used. Size and morphology of the obtained nanoparticles were evaluated using a scanning electron microscope (JOEL JSM-6390LV model; Tokyo, Japan) equipped with an energy dispersive x-ray X (EDS) detector. The total quantification of Ca2+ as well as its release by the nanoparticles was carried out in an equipment of induction atomic emission spectroscopy coupled plasma (ICP-ES 725, Agilent, Mulgrave, Australia). Of the seven factors evaluated, only the concentration of fertilizer, % spray and concentration of polymer presented a statistically significant effect on particle size. Micrographs of SEM from six of the eight conditions evaluated in this research showed particles separated and with a good degree of sphericity, while in the other two particles had amorphous morphology and aggregation. In all treatments, most of the particles showed smooth surfaces. The average size of smallest particle obtained was 492 nm, while EDS results showed an even distribution of Ca2+ in the polymer matrix. The largest concentration of Ca2+ in ICP was 10.5%, which agrees with the theoretical value calculated, while the release kinetics showed an upward trend within 24 h. Using the technique employed in this research, it was possible to obtain nanoparticles loaded with calcium, of good size, sphericity and with release controlled properties. The characteristics of nanoparticles resulted from manipulation of the conditions of synthesis which allow control of the size and shape of the particles, and provides the means to adapt the properties of the materials to an specific application.

Keywords: calcium, controlled release, gelatin, nano spraydryer, nanofertilizer

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Authors: A. K. Visnuprasad, P. J. Jojo, Reshma Bhaskaran

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Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to simulate the distribution of indoor radon concentration in a living room with elevated levels of radon concentration which varies from 22 Bqm-3 to 1533 Bqm-3 in 24 hours. Finite volume method (FVM) was used for the simulation. The simulation results were experimentally validated at 16 points in two horizontal planes (y=1.4m & y=2.0m) using pin-hole dosimeters and at 3 points using scintillation radon monitor (SRM). Passive measurement using pin-hole dosimeters were performed in all seasons. Another simulation was done to find a suitable position for a passive ventilation system for the effective mitigation of radon.

Keywords: indoor radon, computational fluid dynamics, radon flux, ventilation rate, pin-hole dosimeter

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Authors: Tooba Aslam, Efthalia Chatzisymeon

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Untreated Municipal Wastewater (MWW) is renowned as the utmost harmful pollution caused to environmental water due to the high presence of nutrients and organic contaminants. Removal of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) from synthetic as well as municipal wastewater is investigated by using acid mine drainage as a source of iron to initiate the solar photo-Fenton treatment of municipal wastewater. In this study, Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) and different minerals enriched in iron, such as goethite, hematite, magnetite, and magnesite, have been used as the source of iron to initiate the photo-Fenton process. Co-treatment of real municipal wastewater and acid mine drainage /minerals is widely examined. The effects of different parameters such as minerals recovery from AMD, AMD as a source of iron, H₂O₂ concentration, and COD concentrations on the COD percentage removal of the process are studied. The results show that, out of all the four minerals, only hematite (1g/L) could remove 30% of the pollutants at about 100 minutes and 1000 ppm of H₂O₂. The addition of AMD as a source of iron is performed and compared with both synthetic as well as real wastewater from South Africa under the same conditions, i.e., 1000 ppm of H₂O₂, ambient temperature, 2.8 pH, and solar simulator. In the case of synthetic wastewater, the maximum removal (56%) is achieved with 50 ppm of iron (AMD source) at 160 minutes. On the other hand, in real wastewater, the removal efficiency is 99% with 30 ppm of iron at 90 minutes and 96% with 50 ppm of iron at 120 minutes. In conclusion, overall, the co-treatment of AMD and MWW by solar photo-Fenton treatment appears to be an effective and promising method to remove organic materials from Municipal wastewater.

Keywords: municipal wastewater treatment, acid mine drainage, co-treatment, COD removal, solar photo-Fenton, circular economy

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Authors: K. Thiel, P. Patrikainen, C. Nagy, D. Fitzpatrick, E.-M. Aro, P. Kallio

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Photosynthetic cyanobacteria have been recognized as potential future biotechnological hosts for the direct conversion of CO₂ into chemicals of interest using sunlight as the solar energy source. However, in order to develop commercially viable systems, the flux of electrons from the photosynthetic light reactions towards specified target chemicals must be significantly improved. The objective of the study was to investigate whether the autotrophic production efficiency of specified end-metabolites can be improved in engineered cyanobacterial cells by rescuing excited electrons that are normally lost to molecular oxygen due to the cyanobacterial flavodiiron protein Flv1/3. Natively Flv1/3 dissipates excess electrons in the photosynthetic electron transfer chain by directing them to molecular oxygen in Mehler-like reaction to protect photosystem I. To evaluate the effect of flavodiiron inactivation on autotrophic production efficiency in the cyanobacterial host Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (Synechocystis), sucrose was selected as the quantitative reporter and a representative of a potential end-product of interest. The concept is based on the native property of Synechocystis to produce sucrose as an intracellular osmoprotectant when exposed to high external ion concentrations, in combination with the introduction of a heterologous sucrose permease (CscB from Escherichia coli), which transports the sucrose out from the cell. In addition, cell growth, photosynthetic gas fluxes using membrane inlet mass spectrometry and endogenous storage compounds were analysed to illustrate the consequent effects of flv deletion on pathway flux distributions. The results indicate that a significant proportion of the electrons can be lost to molecular oxygen via Flv1/3 even when the cells are grown under high CO₂ and that the inactivation of flavodiiron activity can enhance the photosynthetic electron flux towards optionally available sinks. The flux distribution is dependent on the light conditions and the genetic context of the Δflv mutants, and favors the production of either sucrose or one of the two storage compounds, glycogen or polyhydroxybutyrate. As a conclusion, elimination of the native Flv1/3 reaction and concomitant introduction of an engineered product pathway as an alternative sink for excited electrons could enhance the photosynthetic electron flux towards the target endproduct without compromising the fitness of the host.

Keywords: cyanobacterial engineering, flavodiiron proteins, redirecting electron flux, sucrose

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Authors: Farideh K. Khosroushahi, Serkan Erdal, Mucip Geni̇şel

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Soil salinity is one of the major abiotic stress factors that restricts arable land and reduces crop productivity worldwide. High salt concentration adversely affects plant growth and development inducing water deficit, ionic toxicity, nutrient imbalance, and lead to oxidative stress. Although the stimulating role of mammalian sex hormones on various biological and biochemical processes under normal and stress condition have been proven, there is no study regarding with these hormone's effect on modulation of the alternative respiration pathway and AOX gene expression. In this study, changes in alternative respiration pathway in leaves of maize seedlings under salinity and the possible modulating effect of estrogen on these changes were investigated. Maize seedlings were grown in a hydroponic media for 11 days and then were exposed to salt stress for 3 days after being sprayed estrogen. The data obtained from oxygen consumption revealed that salt stress elevated cellular respiration value in the leaves. In addition, a marked increase was observed at alternative respiration level in salt-stressed seedlings. Compared to salt application alone, supplementation with estrogen resulted in a significant rise in alternative oxidase (AOX) activities. Similarly, while salt stress caused to rise in expressions of AOX gene compared to control seedlings, estrogen application resulted in further activation of these genes’ expression compared to stressed-seedlings alone. These data revealed that mitigating role of estrogen against the detrimental effects of salt stress is linked to modulation of alternative respiration pathway.

Keywords: alternative oxidase, estrogen, Ssalt stress, AOX, maize

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Authors: Srinivasacharya Darbhasayanam, Jagadeeshwar Pashikanti

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This paper analyzes the Soret and Dufour effects on mixed convection flow, heat and mass transfer from an exponentially stretching surface in a viscous fluid with Hall Effect. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into ordinary differential equations using similarity transformations. The nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations are reduced to a system of linear differential equations using the successive linearization method and then solved the resulting linear system using the Chebyshev pseudo spectral method. The numerical results for the velocity components, temperature and concentration are presented graphically. The obtained results are compared with the previously published results, and are found to be in excellent agreement. It is observed from the present analysis that the primary and secondary velocities and concentration are found to be increasing, and temperature is decreasing with the increase in the values of the Soret parameter. An increase in the Dufour parameter increases both the primary and secondary velocities and temperature and decreases the concentration.

Keywords: Exponentially stretching sheet, Hall current, Heat and Mass transfer, Soret and Dufour Effects

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Authors: Szilvia Várallyay, Béla Kovács, Éva Bódi, Farzeneh Garousi, Szilvia Veres

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Arsenic (As) is a naturally occurring substance that can be present in soil, water and air. Vegetables, fruits, and other plants that grow in contaminated soils which are able to accumulate arsenic. Arsenic when presents in plant cells, has various negative physiological effects and when presents in soil will be inorgaic form, namely arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)). These two forms of arsenic disrupt plant metabolism by inhibiting its growth and these arsenic species has negative effect on nutrient uptake. A rhizobox experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of arsenite and arsenate on root growth of sunflower seedlings. Sunflower plants were grown in climatic room under irradiance of 300 µmol m-2 s-1, 16-h day and 8-h night photoperiod, day/night temperature of 25/20°C and relative humidity of 65-75%. We applied arsenic in form of arsenite (NaAsO2) and arsenate (KH2AsO4), respectively. The applied arsenic treatments was 0, 10, 30, 90 mg.kg-1. After disinfection, seeds were germinated between moist filter papers. Seedlings with 2-3 cm coleoptils were placed into rhizoboxes. In the rhizoboxes the growing and daily growing rhythm of roots of sunflower can be followed up, moreover possible phytotoxic symptoms of roots resulting from increasing arsenic can be seen. Weights of rhizoboxes were measured daily and also evaporated water added each day. The lengths of roots were measured daily until seedlings roots get at the end of the rhizoboxes. Negative correlation was observed between the higher concentration of arsenic in the soil and the growth of sunflower seedlings roots. The effect of arsenic toxicity was more considerable in 90 mg.kg-1 arsenic treatment than lower concentration. The same arsenite concentration causes slower growth in case of sunflower plant than the same arsenate concentration produced.

Keywords: arsenic, rhizobox experiment, sunflower, root growth

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Authors: Samy Madbouly

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The relaxation behavior of biorenewable castor oil-based polyurethane-lignin thin films synthesized in homogenous waterborne dispersions was investigated as a function of concentration at different temperatures and frequencies using broadband dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (BDRS). The molecular dynamics of the glass relaxation process and the local relaxation process of the PU-LS thin films were studied over a wide range of temperatures (-70 to 30 ℃) and frequencies (5 × 10−2 to 0.5 × 107 Hz) for different lignin concentration. Four relaxation processes have been observed namely; ?-, β-, γ-relaxations and ionic conductivity for pure castor oil-based PU and castor oil-lignin-based PU thin films at different temperatures and frequencies ranges. The Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann equation was found to be well described the temperature dependence of the characteristic relaxation times of the ?-relaxation process. However, on the other hand, the molecular dynamics of both β- and γ-relaxation processes were given by the Arrhenius equation. The incorporation of lignin into the castor oil-based PU significantly increased the glass transition temperature and primitivity of the thin films. In addition, the broadness, intensity, and molecular dynamics of the only observed ?-relaxation process were found to be strongly dependent on lignin concentration.

Keywords: castor oil, lignin, polyurethane, dielectric, dispersions

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Authors: Jun Hyung Lee, Robin B. Guevarra, Jin Ho Cho, Bo-Ra Kim, Jiwon Shin, Doo Wan Kim, Young Hwa Kim, Minho Song, Hyeun Bum Kim

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Salmonella is one of the most important swine pathogens, causing acute or chronic digestive diseases, such as enteritis. The acute form of enteritis is common in young pigs of 2-4 months of age. Salmonellosis in swine causes a huge economic burden to swine industry by reducing production. Therefore, it is necessary that swine industries should strive to decrease Salmonellosis in pigs in order to reduce economic losses. Thus, we tested three types of natural plant extracts(PEs) to evaluate antibacterial effects against Salmonella enterica Typhimurium isolated from the piglet with Salmonellosis. Three PEs including turmeric oleoresin (containing curcumin 79 to 85%), capsicum oleoresin (containing capsaicin 40%-40.1%), and garlic essential oil (100% natural garlic) were tested using the direct contact agar diffusion test, minimum inhibitory concentration test, growth curve assay, and heat stability test. The tests were conducted with PEs at each concentration of 2.5%, 5%, and 10%. For the heat stability test, PEs with 10% concentration were incubated at each 4, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 °C for 1 hour; then the direct contact agar diffusion test was used. For the positive and negative controls, 0.5N HCl and 1XPBS were used. All the experiments were duplicated. In the direct contact agar diffusion test, garlic essential oil with 2.5%, 5%, and 10% concentration showed inhibit zones of 1.5cm, 2.7cm, and 2.8cm diameters compared to that of 3.5cm diameter for 0.5N HCl. The minimum inhibited concentration of garlic essential oil was 2.5%. Growth curve assay showed that the garlic essential oil was able to inhibit Salmonella growth significantly after 4hours. The garlic essential oil retained the ability to inhibit Salmonella growth after heat treatment at each temperature. However, turmeric and capsicum oleoresins were not able to significantly inhibit Salmonella growth by all the tests. Even though further in-vivo tests will be needed to verify effects of garlic essential oil for the Salmonellosis prevention for piglets, our results showed that the garlic essential oil could be used as a potential natural agent to prevent Salmonellosis in swine.

Keywords: garlic essential oil, pig, salmonellosis, Salmonella enterica

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Authors: Jun Hyung Lee, Robin B. Guevarra, Jin Ho Cho, Bo-Ra Kim, Jiwon Shin, Doo Wan Kim, Young Hwa Kim, Minho Song, Hyeun Bum Kim

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Colibacillosis is one of the major health problems in young piglets ultimately resulting in their death, and it is common especially in young piglets. For the swine industry, colibacillosis is one of the important economic burdens. Therefore, it is necessary for the swine industries to prevent Colibacillosis in piglets in order to reduce economic losses. Thus, we tested three types of natural plant extracts (PEs) to evaluate antibacterial effects against Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolated from the piglet. Three PEs including turmeric oleoresin (containing curcumin 79 to 85%), capsicum oleoresin (containing capsaicin 40%-40.1%), and garlic essential oil (100% natural garlic) were tested using the direct contact agar diffusion test, minimum inhibitory concentration test, growth curve assay, and heat stability test. The tests were conducted with PEs at each concentration of 2.5%, 5%, and 10%. For the heat stability test, PEs with 10% concentration were incubated at each 4, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 °C for 1 hour, then the direct contact agar diffusion test was used. For the positive and negative controls, 0.5N HCl and 1XPBS were used. All the experiments were duplicated. In the direct contact agar diffusion test, garlic essential oil with 2.5%, 5%, and 10% concentration showed inhibit zones of 1.1cm, 3.0cm, and 3.6 cm in diameters compared to that of 3.5cm diameter for 0.5N HCl. The minimum inhibited concentration of garlic essential oil was 2.5%. Growth curve assay showed that the garlic essential oil was able to inhibit STEC growth significantly after 4 hours. The garlic essential oil retained the ability to inhibit STEC growth after heat treatment at each temperature. However, turmeric and capsicum oleoresins were not able to significantly inhibit STEC growth by all the tests. Even though further tests using the piglets will be required to evaluate effects of garlic essential oil for the Colibacillosis prevention for piglets, our results showed that the garlic essential oil could be used as a potential natural agent to prevent Colibacillosis in swine.

Keywords: garlic essential oil, pig, Colibacillosis, Escherichia coli

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Authors: Ali Alattabi, Clare Harris, Rafid Alkhaddar, Ali Alzeyadi

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Petroleum refinery wastewater (PRW) can be considered as one of the most significant source of aquatic environmental pollution. It consists of oil and grease along with many other toxic organic pollutants. In recent years, a new technique was implemented using different types of membranes and sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) to treat PRW. SBR is a fill and draw type sludge system which operates in time instead of space. Many researchers have optimised SBRs’ operating conditions to obtain maximum removal of undesired wastewater pollutants. It has gained more importance mainly because of its essential flexibility in cycle time. It can handle shock loads, requires less area for operation and easy to operate. However, bulking sludge or discharging floating or settled sludge during the draw or decant phase with some SBR configurations are still one of the problems of SBR system. The main aim of this study is to develop and innovative design for the SBR optimising the process variables to result is a more robust and efficient process. Several experimental tests will be developed to determine the removal percentages of chemical oxygen demand (COD), Phenol and nitrogen compounds from synthetic PRW. Furthermore, the dissolved oxygen (DO), pH and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) of the SBR system will be monitored online to ensure a good environment for the microorganisms to biodegrade the organic matter effectively.

Keywords: petroleum refinery wastewater, sequencing batch reactor, hydraulic retention time, Phenol, COD, mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS)

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Authors: Inayat Shah, Muhammad Omar Malik, Ghareeb Alshuwaier, Ronald H. Baxendale

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Background: The balance between angiogenesis and angiostasis is important in growth and developmental processes in the body. Angiogenic and angiostatic mediators control this balance. Endostatin is one of the prominent angiostatic mediators. The marked angiostatic effect of endostatin includes inhibiting endothelial cell migration, proliferation and apoptosis. Physical activity decreases the risk and development of many angiogenesis related health problems including atherosclerosis and numerous cancers. Physiological influences of different physical activities on plasma endostatin concentration are controversial and not completely clear. Moreover, correlation of physical characteristics and metabolic predictors during physical activity on circulating endostatin is indistinct and poorly speculated. The study aimed to determine the effects of mild, moderate and vigorous exercise on the concentration of endostatin in plasma. Methodology: 22 participants, 16 males (age = 30.6 ± 7.8 years) and 6 females (age = 26.5 ± 5 years) were recruited. Weekly session of different intensities exercise based on the predicted maximum heart of the participants [60%(low), 70% (moderate) and 80% (vigorous)] were carried out. The duration and work rate for each participant was determined through sub-maximal exercise. Standardization of the session was done on total energy expenditure of the participants per session. One pre exercise and two post exercise samples were taken at intervals of 10 and 60 minutes. Results: Pre-exercise mean endostatin was 101 ± 20 ng/dl. Low intensity exercise insignificantly decreased the endostatin concentration in plasma at 10 and 60 minutes 97 ± 20 ng/dl (p= 0.5), 98 ± 23 ng/dl (p= 0.8)). However, moderate (p= 0.022, 0.004) and vigorous intensities (p ≤ 0.001, 0.02) increased the endostatin concentrations significantly at both 10 and 60 minutes intervals respectively. The effects were not significantly influenced by gender, exercise mode (walking vs. running), components of exercise (HR, Speed, Gradients, distance, duration) or metabolism during exercise (VO₂ max, VCO₂, RER, energy expenditure, rate of carbohydrate or fats oxidation). Conclusion: Low intensity exercises did not influence endostatin concentration. However, moderate to high intensity exercises significantly increase endostatin concentration and may have potential benefits.

Keywords: angiogenesis, exercise, endostatin, physical activity

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Authors: Samuel Mejorado

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C. Reinahrdtii serves as one of the most promising organisms from which to obtain biological hydrogen. However, its production catalyst, [FeFe]-hydrogenase, is largely inhibited by the presence of oxygen. In recent years, researchers have identified a Proton Gradient Regulation 5 (PGR5) deficient mutant, which shows enhanced respiration and lower accumulations of oxygen within the system. In this research, we investigated the effects of varying nutrient conditions on PGR5 mutants' ability to produce hydrogen. After growing PGR5 mutants in varying nutrient conditions under 55W fluorescent lamps at 30℃ with constant stirring at 200 rpm, a common water displacement method was utilized to obtain a definitive volumetric reading of hydrogen produced by these mutants over a period of 12 days. After the trials, statistical t-tests and ANOVAs were performed to better determine the effect which nutrient conditions have on PGR5 mutants' ability to produce hydrogen. In this, we report that conditions of sulfur deprivation most optimally enhanced hydrogen production within these mutants, with groups grown under these conditions demonstrating the highest production capacity over the entire 12-day period. Similarly, it was found that when grown under conditions of nitrogen deprivation, a favorable shift towards carbon fixation and overall lipid/starch metabolism was observed. Overall, these results demonstrate that PGR5-deficient mutants stand as a promising source of biohydrogen when grown under conditions of sulfur deprivation. To date, photochemical characteristics of [FeFe]-hydrogenase in these mutants have yet to be investigated under conditions of sulfur deprivation.

Keywords: biofuel, biohydrogen, [FeFe]-hydrogenase, algal biofuel

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: T. A. Rosy, M. R. I. Talukdar, N. S. Juyena, F. Y. Bari, M. N. Islam

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The ovarian follicular dynamics, vaginal electrical resistance (VER) and progesterone (P4) and estrogen (E2) profiles were investigated during estrus cycle in four indigenous ewes. Daily VER values were recorded with heat detector. The follicles were observed and measured by trans-rectal ultrasonography. Blood was collected daily for hormonal profiles. Results showed a significant variation in VER values (P<0.05) at estrus in regards to ewes and cycles. The day difference between two successive lower values in VER waves ranged from 13-17 days which might indicate the estrus cycle in indigenous ewes. Trans-rectal ultrasonography of ovaries revealed the presence of two to four waves of follicular growth during the study period. Results also showed that follicular diameter was negatively correlated with VER values. Study of hormonal profiles by ELISA revealed a positive correlation between E2 concentration and development of follicle and negative correlation between P4 concentration and development of follicle. The concentrations of estradiol increased at the time of estrus and then fall down in a basal level. Development of follicular size was accompanied by an increase in the concentration of serum estradiol. Inversely, when follicles heed to ovulation concentration of progesterone starts to fall down and after ovulation it turns its way to the zenith and remains at this state until next ovulatory follicle comes to its maximum diameter. This study could help scientists to set up a manipulative reproductive technique for improving genetic values of sheep in Bangladesh.

Keywords: ovarian follicle, hormonal profile, sheep, ultrasonography, vaginal electrical resistance

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Authors: Patel Kailash P, Patel Parimal M

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The effect of coal fly ash treatment on the chromosomes of Raphanus sativus L. was investigated. The seeds of Raphanus sativusL. were placed in petri dishes in three replicates and allowed to germinate for five days in different concentration of coal fly ash solution. The root was treated with the diluted, semidiluted, and concentrated solution of fly ash while the control group had distilled water.The total aberration were examined. The mitotic index was calculated and the results were statically evaluated by the analysis of variance 5% significant level. The mitotic index decreased as the concentration increased. The highest mitotic index value was diluted fly ash solution while the least was concentrated fly ash treatment. The results show the most frequent chromosomal abnormalities observed included: chromatid bridge, c-mitosis, and stickiness. Concentrated fly ash solution is much more genotoxic than semidiluted fly ash solution, as it induced more aberrations having percentage abnormalities for the highest concentration tested. Increased fly ash pollution can lead to some irreversible cytogenetic effect in plants. The study is an attempt to corroborate the toxic effect of coal fly ash of thermal power plant on the chromosome of plants. These results will be useful in environmental monitoring of the cytotoxicity of coal fly ash.

Keywords: coal fly-ash, genotoxic, cytogenetic, mitotic index, Raphanus sativus L.

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Authors: Abdul Hafeez, Shahid Adeel, Ayesha Hussain

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There are number of plants species in the universe which give the protections from different diseases and give colour for the foods and textiles. The environmental condition of the universe suggested toward the ecofriendly textiles. The aim of the paper is to analyze the influence of pre & post mordanting of alum on radiated cotton fabric with Gamma Radiation of different doses by using Ipomoea indica leaves extract. Alum used as mordant with the concentration of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10% as pre and post mordanting to observe the effect of light and colour fastness of radiated cotton. 6% of alum concentration in pre mordanting gave good colour strength 117.82 with darker in shade toward the greenish tone and in post mordanting 6% concentration gave good colour strength 102.19. The lab values show that the colour is darker in tone and gave bluish effect. Further results showed that alum gave good light and rubbing fastness on gamma radiated cotton fabric.

Keywords: Ipomoea indica, gamma radiation, alum, light fastness

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: Mustafa Sertçelik, Turan Çalban, Hacali Necefoğlu, Sabri Çolak

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In this study, Chevreul’s salt solubility and its dissolution kinetics in ammonium chloride solutions were investigated. Chevreul’s salt that we used in the studies was obtained by using the optimum conditions (ammonium sulphide concentration; 0,4 M, copper sulphate concentration; 0,25 M, temperature; 60°C, stirring speed; 600 rev/min, pH; 4 and reaction time; 15 mins) determined by T. Çalban et al. Chevreul’s salt solubility in ammonium chloride solutions and the kinetics of dissolution were investigated. The selected parameters that affect solubility were reaction temperature, concentration of ammonium chloride, stirring speed, and solid/liquid ratio. Correlation of experimental results had been achieved using linear regression implemented in the statistical package program statistica. The effect of parameters on Chevreul’s salt solubility was examined and integrated rate expression of dissolution rate was found using kinetic models in solid-liquid heterogeneous reactions. The results revealed that the dissolution rate of Chevreul’s salt was decreasing while temperature, concentration of ammonium chloride and stirring speed were increasing. On the other hand, dissolution rate was found to be decreasing with the increase of solid/liquid ratio. Based on result of the applications of the obtained experimental results to the kinetic models, we can deduce that Chevreul’s salt dissolution rate is controlled by diffusion through the ash (or product layer). Activation energy of the reaction of dissolution was found as 74.83 kJ/mol. The integrated rate expression along with the effects of parameters on Chevreul's salt solubility was found to be as follows: 1-3(1-X)2/3+2(1-X)= [2,96.1013.(CA)3,08 .(S/L)-038.(W)1,23 e-9001,2/T].t

Keywords: Chevreul's salt, copper, ammonium chloride, ammonium sulphide, dissolution kinetics

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Authors: Brian F. Estidola, Alfredo A. Alcantara, Catherine del Cruz, Genelita S. Garcia

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This study aimed to investigate the effects of testosterone in the development and growth of Aedes aegypti as a main vector of dengue virus. There were three concentrations of testosterone: (0µM), (10µM), and (15µM) arranged randomly in two blocks. Each concentration houses 10 mosquitoes and monitored their development. The results showed that there were no significant differences on the effects of testosterone in emergence of larvae, mortality of eggs and larvae. However, it was shown that adults emerged from 15µM had a lower sex ratio than 10µM leading to the conclusion that there could be an optimal concentration of testosterone close to 10µM that could led to a high possibility of sex reversal of adult mosquitoes from female to male.

Keywords: mosquito, sex reversal, testosterone, ecdysterone

Procedia PDF Downloads 565

Authors: N. Nowzari-Dalini, S. Sabbaghi

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Phenol is a hazardous material found in many industrial wastewaters. Photocatalytic degradation and furthermore catalyst doping are promising techniques in purpose of effective phenol removal, which have been studied comprehensively in this decade. In this study, Fe, Cr codoped TiO₂ were prepared by sol-gel method, and its photocatalytic activity was investigated through degradation of phenol under visible light. The catalyst was characterized by XRD, SEM, FT-IR, BET, and EDX. The results showed that nanoparticles possess anatase phase, and the average size of nanoparticles was about 21 nm. Also, photocatalyst has significant surface area. Effect of experimental parameters such as pH, irradiation time, pollutant concentration, and catalyst concentration were investigated by using Design-Expert^® software. 98% of phenol degradation was achieved after 6h of irradiation.

Keywords: doping, metals, sol-gel, titanium dioxide, wastewater

Procedia PDF Downloads 326

Authors: Oum Elkhir Mahmoudi, Nebiha Ben Haj Ali

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Micropaleontological, sedimentological and statistical studies were carried out on the late Paleoceneearly Eocene succession of Sra Ouertaine and Dyr El Kef in Northern open phosphatic Basin of Tunisia. Based on the abundance and stratigraphic distribution of planktic foraminiferal species, five planktic zones have been recognized from the base to the top of the phosphatic layers. The El Acarinina sibaiyaensis Zone, the E2 Pseudohastigerina wilcoxensis Zone, the E3 Morozovella marginodentata Zone, the E4 Morozovella formosa Zones and the E5 Morozovella subbotinae Zone. The placement of Paleocene-Eocene boundary (PETM) is just below the base of the phosphatic interval. The ETM-2 event may be detectable in the analyzed biotic record of Sra Ouertaine. Based on benthic assemblages, abundances, cluster and multivariate statistical analyses, two biofacies were recognized for each section. The recognized ecozones are typical of warm and shallow water inner neritic setting (dominance of epifaunal fauna Anomalinoides, Dentalina and Cibicidoides associated with Frondicularia phosphatica, Trochamminoides globigeriniformis and Eponides elevatus). The paleoenvironment is eutrophic (presence of several bolivinitids and verneuilinids). For the Dyr El Kef section and P5 and E2 of Sra Ouertaine section, our records indicate that paleoenvironment is influenced by coastal upwelling without oxygen-deficiency, the paleodepth is estimated to be around 50 m. The paleoecosystem is diversified and balanced with a general tendency to stressed condition. While the upper part of Sra Ouertaine section is more eutrophic, influenced by coastal upwelling with oxygen-deficiency, the paleodepth is estimated to be less than 50 m and the ecosystem is unsettled.

Keywords: Tunisia, early Eocene, foraminifera, chronostratigraphy

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Authors: Jerzy Ejsmont, Beata Świeczko-Żurek, Grzegorz Ronowski

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Gas cylinders in general and particularly cylinders containing acetylene constitute a great potential danger for fire and rescue services involved in salvage operations. Experiments show that gas cylinders with acetylene, oxygen, hydrogen, CNG, LPG or CO2 may blow after short exposition to heat with very destructive effect as fragments of blown cylinder may fly even several hundred meters. In the case of acetylene, the explosion may occur also several hours after the cylinder is cooled down. One of the possible neutralization procedures that in many cases may be used to prevent explosions is shooting dangerous cylinders by rifle bullets. This technique is used to neutralize acetylene cylinders in a few European countries with great success. In Poland research project 'BLOW' was launched in 2014 with the aim to investigate phenomena related to fire influence on industrial and home used cylinders and to evaluate usefulness of the shooting technique. All together over 100 gas cylinders with different gases were experimentally tested at the military blasting grounds and in shelters. During the experiments cylinder temperature and pressure were recorded. In the case of acetylene that is subjected to thermal decomposition also concentration of hydrogen was monitored. Some of the cylinders were allowed to blow and others were shot by snipers. It was observed that shooting hot cylinders has never created more dangerous situations than letting the cylinders to explode spontaneously. In a great majority of cases cylinders that were punctured by bullets released gas in a more or less violent but relatively safe way. The paper presents detailed information about experiments and presents particularities of behavior of cylinders containing different gases. Extensive research was also done in order to select bullets that may be safely and efficiently used to puncture different cylinders. The paper shows also results of those experiments as well as gives practical information related to techniques that should be used during shooting.

Keywords: fire, gas cylinders, neutralization, shooting

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: S. Noreen, S. Ahmad

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Salinity is one of the most important environmental factors that limit the production of crop plants to the greatest proportion than any other ones. Salt-induced changes in growth, pigment concentration, water status, malondialdehydes (MDA) and H₂O₂ content, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, Na⁺, K⁺ content and yield attributes were examined in the glasshouse on ten pea (Pisum Sativum L.) accessions, namely ‘13240’, ‘18302’, ‘19666’, ‘19700’, ‘19776’, ‘19785’, ‘19788’, ‘20153’, ‘20155’, ‘26719’ were subjected to non-stress (0 mM NaCl) and salt stress (100 mM and150 mM NaCl) in pots containing sand medium. The results showed that salt stress at level150 mM substantially reduced biomass production, leaf water status, pigment concentration (chlorophyll ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘carotenoid content’ total chlorophyll), K⁺ content, quantum yield and yield attributes as compared to plants treated with 100 mM NaCl. Antioxidant enzymes, Catalase (CAT), Peroxidase (POD), Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Ascorbate peroxidase (APX), proline content, total soluble protein, total amino acids, Malondialdehyde content (MDA), Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) content and Na⁺ uptake markedly enhanced due to the influence of salt stress. On the basis of analyses (expressed as percent of control), of 10 accessions of pea plant, two were ranked as salt tolerant namely (‘19666’, ‘20153’), four were moderately tolerant namely (‘19700’, ‘19776’, ‘19785’, ‘20155’), and three were salt sensitive namely (‘13240’, ‘18302’, ‘26719’) at 150 mM NaCl level.

Keywords: antioxidant enzymes, ion uptake, pigment concentration, salt stress, yield attributes

Procedia PDF Downloads 104