Search results for: native microorganisms

Authors: Douglas MacCutcheon, Florian Pausch, Robert Ljung, Lorna Halliday, Stuart Rosen

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Contemporary classrooms are increasingly inclusive of children with mild to moderate disabilities and children from different language backgrounds (bilinguals, multilinguals), but classroom environments and standards have not yet been adapted adequately to meet these challenges brought about by this inclusivity. Additionally, classrooms are becoming noisier as a learner-centered as opposed to teacher-centered teaching paradigm is adopted, which prioritizes group work and peer-to-peer learning. Challenging listening conditions with distracting sound sources and background noise are known to have potentially negative effects on children, particularly those that are prone to struggle with speech perception in noise. Therefore, this research investigates two groups vulnerable to these environmental effects, namely children with a mild to moderate hearing loss (MMHLs) and sequential bilinguals learning in their second language. In the MMHL study, this group was assessed on speech-in-noise perception, and a number of receptive language and cognitive measures (auditory working memory, auditory attention) and correlations were evaluated. Speech reception thresholds were found to be predictive of language and cognitive ability, and the nature of correlations is discussed. In the bilinguals study, sequential bilingual children’s listening comprehension, speech-in-noise perception, listening effort and release from masking was evaluated under a number of different ecologically valid acoustic scenarios in order to pinpoint the extent of the ‘native language benefit’ for Swedish children learning in English, their second language. Scene manipulations included target-to-distractor ratios and introducing spatially separated noise. This research will contribute to the body of findings from which educational institutions can draw when designing or adapting educational environments in inclusive schools.

Keywords: sequential bilinguals, classroom acoustics, mild to moderate hearing loss, speech-in-noise, release from masking

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Authors: Tamas Molnar

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Electronic government systems are currently in the same development stage as e-commerce applications were about in the late 1990s. Wide adoption by the majority of population is near, as such services are not only more and more desired by the users, but also strongly advocated and pushed by the state, as a means to increase effectiveness and cut expenses at the same time. Diffusion is however hampered by the low motivation caused by usability issues which will cause more and more frustration as the general population ages. Usability centred design is essential when creating such services. Elderly users, who have statistically the least experience, have the most problems, and therefore reject unusable systems first. The goal of our research was to find a way to map the needs of the elderly and create guidelines for the design of electronic government systems which are usable for the whole population. The first phase of our research, started mid-2009, was centred on the idea to gather information about the needs of the target group, in both Germany and Hungary with over 70 participants. This was done with the help of scenarios, interviews and questionnaires. The supplied data enabled to choose an eGovernment system for tests on the target group. Tests conducted in Germany and Hungary were based on the design and functions of the German electronic ID card, in the native languages. Scenarios mirroring common, every day transactions requiring an identification procedure were used. The obtained results allowed us to develop a generalised solution, the IGUAN guideline. This guideline makes a standardised approach to the usability improvement process possible. It contains the special requirements of elderly users, and a catalogue of criteria, which helps to develop an application in line with the set requirements. The third phase of our research was used a proof of concept for the IGUAN. The guideline was evaluated and tested with an iterative prototyping. The successful completion of this phase indicates that the IGUAN can be used to measurably increase the acceptance of e-government systems by elderly users. We could therefore demonstrate that improvements in the interface make e-government application possible which are perceived useful and easy to use by elderly users. These improvements will measurably increase the user motivation and experience. This can however only be achieved with a structured design process, and requires a framework which takes the requirements of the elderly users into account.

Keywords: e-Government, usability, acceptance, guidelines

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Authors: Mark Bezner, Shani Deri, Tom Trigano, Kfir Ben-Harush

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Intermediate filament (IF) proteins-based fibers are among the toughest fibers in nature, as was shown by native hagfish slime threads and by synthetic fibers that are based on type V IF-proteins, the nuclear lamins. It is assumed that their mechanical performance stems from two major factors: (1) the transition from elastic -helices to stiff-sheets during tensile load; and (2) the specific organization of the coiled-coil proteins into a hierarchical network of nano-filaments. Here, we investigated the interrelationship between these two factors by using wet-spun fibers based on C. elegans (Ce) lamin. We found that Ce-lamin fibers, whether assembled in aqueous or alcoholic solutions, had the same nonlinear mechanical behavior, with the elastic region ending at ~5%. The pattern of the transition was, however, different: the ratio between -helices and -sheets/random coils was relatively constant until a 20% strain for fibers assembled in an aqueous solution, whereas for fibers assembled in 70% ethanol, the transition ended at a 6% strain. This structural phenomenon in alcoholic solution probably occurred through the transition between compacted and extended conformation of the random coil, and not between -helix and -sheets, as cycle analyses had suggested. The different transition pattern can also be explained by the different higher order organization of Ce-lamins in aqueous or alcoholic solutions, as demonstrated by introducing a point mutation in conserved residue in Ce-lamin gene that alter the structure of the Ce-lamins’ nano-fibrils. In addition, biomimicking the layered structure of silk and hair fibers by coating the Ce-lamin fiber with a hydrophobic layer enhanced fiber toughness and lead to a reversible transition between -helix and the extended conformation. This work suggests that different hierarchical structures, which are formed by specific assembly conditions, lead to diverse secondary structure transitions patterns, which in turn affect the fibers’ mechanical properties.

Keywords: protein-based fibers, intermediate filaments (IF) assembly, toughness, structure-property relationships

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Authors: Ahmed Al-Awthan

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This study addresses the prevalence of English terminology in published Arabic documentation on social media. Although the problem of using English terms in translation instead of existing native ones has been addressed in general by researchers around the world, to the best of the author’s knowledge the attitude of the translators as professionals to this phenomenon in Qatar and Yemen has not received a detailed study. This study examines the impact of the use of English, social media terms in the Arab world on aspiring and professional translators; it explores the benefits and drawbacks of linguistic borrowing as identified by the translators and investigates whether translators consider any means of resisting linguistic borrowing and prioritizing Arabic. It also aims to answer the following questions: i. Is there any prevalence of English, social media terms in Arabic translation? Why or why not? ii. Do Arabic translators prefer using English, social media terms to their equivalents in Arabic? If so, why? iii. Which measures could be adopted to help reduce the frequently observed borrowing of English terms? In particular, how do translators see the role of the Arabic Language Academies in preserving Arabic? iv. This research is descriptive, comparative and analytical in nature. It is both qualitative and quantitative. To validate the problem, the researcher will analyze articles published by Al-Jazeera in 2016-2018 that refer to the use of social media in diplomacy. It will be examined whether the increased international discussion of political events in social media increased the amount of transliterated English terminology referring to this mode of communication.To investigate whether the translators recognize the phenomenon of borrowing, the researcher proposes to use a survey. This survey will use multiple choice questions. It will target 20 aspiring translators from Yemen and 20 participants from Qatar. It will offer 15 English, social media terms used in discourse in 15 sentences. For each sentence, the researcher will provide three different translations and will ask the translators to rate them and offer their rendition. After collecting all the answers online, the researcher will analyze the data. The results are expected to confirm whether there is a prevalence of English terms in translating into Arabic. It is also expected to show what measures the translators used to render the English, social media terms, and it raises awareness of borrowing English terms. It will guide the translator toward using Arabicization methods in order to contribute to preserving Arabic.

Keywords: Arabicization, trans lingual borrowing, social media terms, terminology

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Authors: Ahmed Ali Samejo, Riffat Sultana

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Pakistan has the sandy Thar Desert in the eastern area, which share border line with India and has exotic fauna and flora, the livelihood of native people rely on livestock and rain fed cultivated fields. The climate of Thar Desert is very harsh and stressful due to frequent drought and very little rainfall, which may occur during monsoon season in the months of July to October and temperature is high, and wind speed also increases in April to June. Schistocerca gregaria is a destructive pest of vegetation from Mauritania to the border line of Pakistan and India. Sometimes they produce swarms which consume all plant where ever they land down and cause the loss in agro-economy of the world. During the recent study, we observed that vegetation was not unique throughout the Thar Desert in the year 2015, because the first spell of rainfall showered over all areas of the Thar Desert in July. However, the second and third spell of rain was confined to village Mahandre jo par and surroundings from August to October. Consequently, vegetation and cultivated crops grew up specially bajra crop (Pennistum glaucum). The climate of Mahandre jo par and surroundings became favorable for S.gregaria, and remaining areas of Thar Desert went hostile. Therefore desert locust attracted to the pleasant area (Mahandre jo par and surroundings) and gradually concentrated, increased reproductive activities, but did not gregarize due to the harvest of bajra crop and the onset of the winter season with an immediate decrease in temperature. An outbreak was near to come into existence, and thereupon conditions become stressful for hoppers to continue further development. Afore mentioned was one reason behind hurdle to the outbreak, another reason might be that migration and concentration of desert locust took place at the end of the season, so climate becomes unfavorable for hoppers, due to dryness of vegetation. Soils also become dry, because rainfall was not showered in end of the season, that’s why eggs that were deposited in late summer were desiccated. This data might be proved fruitful to forecast any outbreak update in future.

Keywords: agro-economy, destructive pest, climate, outbreak, vegetation

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Authors: Ayodele A. Otaiku

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Purpose: Nigeria has become the largest importer of rice in Africa and second in the world, 2015. Investigate interactions of organic rice farming on soil quality and health from bio-waste converted to biofertilizer and its environmental impact on rice crop. Methodology: Bio-wastes, poultry waste, organic agriculture wastes, wood ash mixed with microbial inoculant organisms called OBD-Plus microbes (broad spectrum) composted in anaerobic digester to OBD-biofertilizer (2010 - 2012) uses microbes to build humus and other stable carbons. Two field experiments were carried out at Badeggi, Niger state in 2011 and 2012 to evaluate the response of lowland rice production using biofertilizer. The experimental field was laid out in a strip-plot design with five treatments and three replications and at twenty-one day old seedlings of FARO 44 and FARO 52 rice varieties were transplanted. Plots without fertiliser application served as control. Findings: The highest rice grain yield increase of 4.4 t/ha over the control in 2012 against the Nigeria average of lowland rice grain yields of 1.5 t/ha. The utilization of OBD-Biofertilizer can decrease the use of chemical nitrogen fertilizer, prevent the depletion of soil organic matter and reduce environmental pollution. Increasing the floodwater productivity and optimizing the recycling of nutrients cum grazer populations and disease by biocontrols microbes present in the OBD-Biofertilizer. Organic matter in the soil improves by 58% and C/N 15 (2011) and 13.35 (2012). Implications: OBD- Biofertilizer produce plant growth hormones such as indole acetic acid (IAA), glomalin related soil protein and extracellular enzymes as phosphatases that promote soil health and quality. Conclusion: Microorganisms can enhance nutrients use efficiency by increasing root surface area e.g., mycorrhizal, fungi, promoting other beneficial symbioses of the host plant and microbial interactions resulting to increase in soil organic matter. By 2030, climate change is projected to depress cereal production in Africa by 2 to 3 percent. Improved seeds and increased fertilizer use should more than compensate, but this factor will still weigh heavily on efforts to make progress.

Keywords: OBD-plus microbial consortia, OBD-biofertilizer, rice production, soil quality, sustainable agriculture

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Authors: Sabir Hussain, Muhammad Naeem, Yousif Aldryhim, Susan E. Halbert, Qingjun Wu

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Plant viruses annually cause severe economic losses in crop production and globally, different aphid species are responsible for the transmission of such viruses. Additionally, aphids are also serious pests of trees, and agricultural crops. Al Bahah Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has a high native and introduced plant species with a temperate climate that provides ample habitats for aphids. In this study, we surveyed virus-transmitting aphids from the Province to highlight their spatial distributions and hot spot areas for their target control strategies. During our fifteen month's survey in Al Bahah Province, three hundred and seventy samples of aphids were collected using both beating sheets and yellow water pan traps. Consequently, fifty-four aphid species representing 30 genera belonging to four families were recorded from Al Bahah Province. Alarmingly, 35 aphid species from our records are virus transmitting species. The most common virus transmitting aphid species based on number of collecting samples, were Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas, 1878), Brachycaudus rumexicolens (Patch, 1917), Uroleucon sonchi (Linnaeus, 1767), Brachycaudus helichrysi (Kaltenbach, 1843), and Myzus persicae (Sulzer, 1776). The numbers of samples for the forementioned species were 66, 24, 23, 22, and 20, respectively. The widest range of plant hosts were found for M. euphorbiae (39 plant species), B. helichrysi (12 plant species), M. persicae (12 plant species), B. rumexicolens (10 plant species), and U. sonchi (9 plant species). The hottest spot areas were found in Al-Baha, Al Mekhwah and Biljarashi cities of the province on the basis of their abundance. This study indicated that Al Bahah Province has relatively rich aphid diversity due to the relatively high plant diversity in a favorable climatic condition. ArcGIS tools can be helpful for biologists to implement the target control strategies against these pests in the integrated pest management, and ultimately to save money and time.

Keywords: Al Bahah province, aphid-virus interaction, biodiversity, global information system

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Authors: Tamara Matevosyan

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In this globalized world, intercultural communication is becoming essential for understanding communication among people, for developing understanding of cultures, to appreciate the opportunities and challenges that each culture presents to people. Moreover, it plays an important role in developing an ideal personification to understand different behaviors in different cultures. Native speakers assimilate sociolinguistic knowledge in natural conditions, while it is a great problem for language learners, and in this context feature films reveal cultural peculiarities and involve students in real communication. As we know nowadays the key role of language learning is the development of intercultural competence as communicating with someone from a different cultural background can be exciting and scary, frustrating and enlightening. Intercultural competence is important in FL learning classroom and here feature films can perform as essential tools to develop this competence and overcome the intercultural gap that foreign students face. Current proposal attempts to reveal the correlation of the given culture and language through feature films. To ensure qualified, well-organized and practical classes on Intercultural Communication for language learners a number of methods connected with movie watching have been implemented. All the pre-watching, while watching and post-watching methods and techniques are aimed at developing students’ communicative competence. The application of such activities as Climax, Role-play, Interactive Language, Daily Life helps to reveal and overcome mistakes of cultural and pragmatic character. All the above-mentioned activities are directed at the assimilation of the language vocabulary with special reference to the given culture. The study dwells into the essence of culture as one of the core concepts of intercultural communication. Sometimes culture is not a priority in the process of language learning which leads to further misunderstandings in real life communication. The application of various methods and techniques with feature films aims at developing students’ cultural competence, their understanding of norms and values of individual cultures. Thus, feature film activities will enable learners to enlarge their knowledge of the particular culture and develop a fundamental insight into intercultural communication.

Keywords: climax, intercultural competence, interactive language, role-play

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Authors: Shazia Shamim, Pallavi Gautam

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The present study describes the presence of rare or endangered plants from Poonch Dist., which spread over 1674 Km sq. located between latitude 330 25' N to 340 01' N and longitude 730 58' E to 740 35' E forming a part of the Northwest Himalaya in Jammu and Kashmir state of India, with the aim of suggesting the strategy for the conservation and promotion of cultivation of rare and endangered medicinal plants, as well as developing traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. The main threats to biodiversity and ecosystem are overexploitation, global climate change, habitat loss, fragmentation, pollution, and invasion of alien species and disturbance of community structure. Surveys were carried out during 2015-2016 throughout the Poonch valley. During the field survey, various criteria of International Union for the conservation of nature for categorizing threatened plants, extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, probability of extinction, etc. were measured. The rarity of species was determined by field study, visual estimations, and literature. During the collection, it was observed that few rare and endangered species which were present in the study area, are also mentioned in the prescribed red data book of Indian plants, International Union for conservation of nature, list of threatened species and list of Botanical Survey of India presented by its Northern Regional Centre. The study was based on extensive surveys of the study area and then concluded by preparing a list of plant species occurring in different seasons, the photographs of all these plant species were collected. Actual threats to the population of a selected plant species in a given area were recorded by direct observation. The present paper provides information about 22 rare and endangered medicinal plant species belonging to 18 families that are used by the native of these areas. Information provided includes botanical name, family name, local name, habitat, part used, ethno medicinal uses and brief preparation of the reported plant species is presented in the present work.

Keywords: biodiversity, traditional knowledge, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Botanical Survery of India

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Authors: Fadhl Qutaish

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This paper examines the pharyngealization spread in one of the Yemeni Arabic dialects, namely, Ibbi Arabic (IA). It investigates how pharyngealized sounds spread their acoustic features onto the neighboring vowels and change their default features. This feature has been investigated quietly well in MSA but still has to be deeply studied in the different dialect of Arabic which will bring about a clearer picture of the similarities and the differences among these dialects and help in mapping them based on the way this feature is utilized. Though the studies are numerous, no one of them has illustrated how far in the multi-syllabic word the spread can be and whether it takes a steady or gradient manner. This study tries to fill this gap and give a satisfactory explanation of the pharyngealization spread in Ibbi Dialect. This study is the first step towards a larger investigation of the different dialects of Yemeni Arabic in the future. The data recorded are represented in minimal pairs in which the trigger (pharyngealized or the non-pharyngealized sound) is in the initial or final position of monosyllabic and multisyllabic words. A group of 24 words were divided into four groups and repeated three times by three subjects which will yield 216 tokens that are tested and analyzed. The subjects are three male speakers aged between 28 and 31 with no history of neurological, speaking or hearing problems. All of them are bilingual speakers of Arabic and English and native speakers of Ibbi-Dialect. Recordings were done in a sound-proof room and praat software was used for the analysis and coding of the trajectories of F1 and F2 for the low vowel /a/ to see the effect of pharyngealization on the formant trajectory within the same syllable and in other syllables of the same word by comparing the F1 and F2 formants to the non-pharyngealized environment. The results show that pharyngealization spread is gradient (progressively and regressively). The spread is reflected in the gradual raising of F1 as we move closer towards the trigger and the gradual lowering of F2 as well. The results of the F1 mean values in tri-syllabic words when the trigger is word initially show that there is a raise of 37.9 HZ in the first syllable, 26.8HZ in the second syllable and 14.2HZ in the third syllable. F2 mean values undergo a lowering of 239 HZ in the first syllable, 211.7 HZ in the second syllable and 176.5 in the third syllable. This gradual decrease in the difference of F2 values in the non-pharyngealized and pharyngealized context illustrates that the spread is gradient. A similar result was found when the trigger is word-final which proves that the spread is gradient (progressively and regressively.

Keywords: pharyngealization, Yemeni Arabic, Ibbi dialect, pharyngealization spread

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Authors: Lubna M. A. Hassan, Nasir Brema, Abdallah Mamy, Insaf Yahya, Tanzil A. G., Ahmed M. M. Hasoba, Omer A. Suliman

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The Nubian ibex species has been categorized as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to a lack of population data in specific regions within their habitat. This species faces numerous challenges, including habitat loss caused by agricultural practices, livestock rearing, mining activity, and infrastructure development. Additionally, competition with non-native species and hunting pose significant threats to their survival. Unfortunately, studies on the distribution, conservation status, ecology, and health of the ibex are limited and primarily descriptive in nature. In order to bridge this knowledge gap, recent surveys were conducted in the Red Sea State of Sudan during specific periods in 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2021. These surveys have provided valuable insights into the distribution, habitats, and conservation status of the Nubian ibex in the Red Sea State. The findings indicate that the Capra nubiana ibex can be found across more than 17 mountains in the Red Sea State. However, the total population estimate from recent years suggests that there are fewer than 250 individuals remaining. The study has also identified the highest altitude at which the Nubian ibex habitats existed in Sudan's Red Sea State, measuring 1675 m. This area harbors a diverse array of Nubian ibex habitats, encompassing a total of 21 wild plant species from 10 distinct families. The region experiences an average annual temperature ranging from 20.64°C in January to 33.30°C in August. Precipitation occurs in November and December, although it is characterized by unreliability and erratic patterns. It is important to note that these population estimates were obtained through surveys conducted in collaboration with rangers and local communities, and adjustments to survey methods are necessary to accommodate the challenging mountainous terrain, such as utilizing aerial surveys. To effectively address these threats, it is imperative to establish comprehensive long-term monitoring programs.

Keywords: Nubian ibex, distribution, population, habitats

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Authors: Andrea M. Rivas-Castillo, Marlenne Gómez-Ramirez, Isela Rodríguez-Pozos, Norma G. Rojas-Avelizapa

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Spent catalysts are considered as hazardous residues of major concern, mainly due to the simultaneous presence of several metals in elevated concentrations. Although hydrometallurgical, pyrometallurgical and chelating agent methods are available to remove and recover some metals contained in spent catalysts; these procedures generate potentially hazardous wastes and the emission of harmful gases. Thus, biotechnological treatments are currently gaining importance to avoid the negative impacts of chemical technologies. To this end, diverse microorganisms have been used to assess the removal of metals from spent catalysts, comprising bacteria, archaea and fungi, whose resistance and metal uptake capabilities differ depending on the microorganism tested. Acidophilic sulfur oxidizing bacteria have been used to investigate the biotreatment and extraction of valuable metals from spent catalysts, namely Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans and Acidithiobacillus ferroxidans, as they present the ability to produce leaching agents such as sulfuric acid and sulfur oxidation intermediates. In the present work, the ability of A. thiooxidans DSM 26636 for the bioleaching of metals contained in five different spent catalysts was assessed by growing the culture in modified Starkey mineral medium (with elemental sulfur at 1%, w/v), and 1% (w/v) pulp density of each residue for up to 21 days at 30 °C and 150 rpm. Sulfur-oxidizing activity was periodically evaluated by determining sulfate concentration in the supernatants according to the NMX-k-436-1977 method. The production of sulfuric acid was assessed in the supernatants as well, by a titration procedure using NaOH 0.5 M with bromothymol blue as acid-base indicator, and by measuring pH using a digital potentiometer. On the other hand, Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectrometry was used to analyze metal removal from the five different spent catalysts by A. thiooxidans DSM 26636. Results obtained show that, as could be expected, sulfuric acid production is directly related to the diminish of pH, and also to highest metal removal efficiencies. It was observed that Al and Fe are recurrently removed from refinery spent catalysts regardless of their origin and previous usage, although these removals may vary from 9.5 ± 2.2 to 439 ± 3.9 mg/kg for Al, and from 7.13 ± 0.31 to 368.4 ± 47.8 mg/kg for Fe, depending on the spent catalyst proven. Besides, bioleaching of metals like Mg, Ni, and Si was also obtained from automotive spent catalysts, which removals were of up to 66 ± 2.2, 6.2±0.07, and 100±2.4, respectively. Hence, the data presented here exhibit the potential of A. thiooxidans DSM 26636 for the simultaneous bioleaching of metals contained in spent catalysts from diverse provenance.

Keywords: bioleaching, metal removal, spent catalysts, Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans

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Authors: Maneesha Pahlani, Najmin Sultana

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A hospital is one of the most suitable places for acquiring an infection because it harbors a high population of virulent strains of microorganisms that may be resistant to antibiotics, especially the prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infections. The hospital-acquired infection has become a global challenge. In developed countries, healthcare-associated infections occur in 5-15% of hospitalized clients, affecting 9-37% of those admitted to intensive care units (ICU). A non-experimental descriptive study was conducted among 50 nursing officers working in a selected hospital in Bangalore to assess the nursing officers’ level of knowledge regarding the prevention and management of MRSA infections and to associate the pre-test knowledge mean scores of nursing officers with selected socio-demographic variables. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic data and a structured questionnaire on knowledge regarding the prevention and management of MRSA infections. The data was analyzed in terms of frequencies and percentages for the analysis of demographic variables and computing chi-square to determine the association between knowledge means scores and selected demographic variables. The study findings revealed that the nursing officer had an overall good level of knowledge (63.05%) regarding the prevention and management of MRSA infections, and there is no significant association found between the level of knowledge mean scores for prevention and management of MRSA infection with the selected socio-demographic variables. However, the categorization of knowledge items showed that the nursing officer must thoroughly receive education on correct guidance and information regarding MRSA infection control policy, including measures and practices on hygiene precautions and information regarding antibiotic resistance for effective nursing care to patients with MRSA infections. The conclusions drawn from the study findings showed that it is necessary that the nursing officer thoroughly receive education on correct guidance and information regarding MRSA infection control policy, including measures and practices on hygiene precautions and information regarding antibiotic resistance to provide effective nursing care to patients with MRSA infection as they constantly care for the patient who can be at risk for multi-drug resistance organisms to reduce the risk of MRSA infection in hospital care settings as well community settings.

Keywords: MRSA, nursing officers, knowledge, preventive and management

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Authors: Najmin Sultana, Maneesha Pahlani

Abstract:

A hospital is one of the most suitable places for acquiring an infection because it harbors a high population of virulent strains of microorganisms that may be resistant to antibiotics, especially the prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infections. The hospital-acquired infection has become a global challenge. In developed countries, healthcare-associated infections occur in 5-15% of hospitalized clients, affecting 9-37% of those admitted to intensive care units (ICU). A non-experimental descriptive study was conducted among 50 nursing officers working in a selected hospital in bengaluru to assess the nursing officers’ level of knowledge regarding the prevention and management of MRSA infections and to associate the pre-test knowledge mean scores of nursing officers with selected socio-demographic variables. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic data and a structured questionnaire on knowledge regarding the prevention and management of MRSA infections. The data was analyzed in terms of frequencies and percentages for the analysis of demographic variables and computing chi-square to determine the association between knowledge means scores and selected demographic variables. The study findings revealed that the nursing officer had an overall good level of knowledge (63.05%) regarding the prevention and management of MRSA infections, and there is no significant association found between the level of knowledge mean scores for prevention and management of MRSA infection with the selected socio-demographic variables. However, the categorization of knowledge items showed that the nursing officer must thoroughly receive education on correct guidance and information regarding MRSA infection control policy, including measures and practices on hygiene precautions and information regarding antibiotic resistance for effective nursing care to patients with MRSA infections. The conclusions drawn from the study findings showed that it is necessary that the nursing officer thoroughly receive education on correct guidance and information regarding MRSA infection control policy, including measures and practices on hygiene precautions and information regarding antibiotic resistance to provide effective nursing care to patients with MRSA infection as they constantly care for the patient who can be at risk for multi-drug resistance organisms to reduce the risk of MRSA infection in hospital care settings as well community settings.

Keywords: MRSA, knowledge, nursing officers', prevention and management

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Authors: Ziani Borhane Eddine Cherif, Hazzi Mohamed, Mouhouche Fazia

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The vegetal extracts of aromatic and medicinal plants start to have much of interest like potential sources of natural bioactive molecules. Many features are conferred by the nature of the chemical function of their major constituents (phenol, alcohol, aldehyde, cetone). This biopotential lets us to focalize on the study of three main biological activities, the antioxidant, antibiotic and insecticidal activities of six Algerian aromatic plants in the aim of making in evidence by the chromatographic analysis (CPG and CG/SM) the phytochemical compounds implicating in this effects. The contents of Oxygenated monoterpenes represented the most prominent group of constituents in the majority of plants. However, the α-Terpineol (28,3%), Carvacrol (47,3%), pulégone (39,5%), Chrysanthenone (27,4%), Thymol 23,9%, γ-Terpinene 23,9% and 2-Undecanone(94%) were the main components. The antioxyding activity of the Essential oils and no-volatils extracts was evaluated in vitro using four tests: inhibition of free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and the 2,2-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) radical-scavenging activity (ABTS•+), the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assays and the reducing power. The measures of the IC50 of these natural compounds revealed potent activity (between 254.64-462.76mg.l-1), almost similar to that of BHT, BHA, Tocopherol and Ascorbic acid (126,4-369,1 mg.l-1) and so far than the Trolox one (IC50= 2,82mg.l-1). Furthermore, three ethanol extracts were found to be remarkably effective toward DPPH and ABTS inhibition, compared to chemical antioxidant BHA and BHT (IC = 9.8±0.1 and 28±0.7 mg.l-1, respectively); for reducing power test it has also exhibited high activity. The study on the insecticidal activity effect by contact, inhalation, fecundity and fertility of Callosobruchus maculatus and Tribolium confusum showed a strong potential biocide reaching 95-100% mortality only after 24 hours. The antibiotic activity of our essential oils were evaluated by a qualitative study (aromatogramme) and quantitative (MIC, MBC and CML) on four bacteria (Gram+ and Gram-) and one strain of pathogenic yeast, the results of these tests showed very interesting action than that induced by the same reference antibiotics (Gentamycin, and Nystatin Ceftatidine) such that the inhibition diameters and MIC values for tested microorganisms were in the range of 23–58 mm and 0.015–0.25%(v/v) respectively.

Keywords: aromatic plants, essential oils, no-volatils extracts, bioactive molecules, antioxidant activity, insecticidal activity, antibiotic activity

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Authors: Nadia Chougui, Nawal Makhloufi, Farouk Rezgui, Elias Benramdane, Carmen S. R. Freire, Carla Vilela, Armando J. D. Silvestre

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Native to Mexico, Opuntia ficus-indica was introduced in southern Spain, and thereafter, it was spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin by the Spanish conquerors in the 16th and 17th centuries. O. ficus-indica is a tropical and subtropical plant able to grow in arid and semi-arid regions, such as the Mediterranean and Central America regions. The culture of Opuntia covers about 200,000 ha in North Africa. This tree is used against soil erosion and desertification for fruit production and is encouraged to promote the livestock sector. It has recently received ever-increasing attention from researchers worldwide for the multivalent pharmaceutical and cosmetical potential of its different compartments (fruits, seeds, cladodes). The present study investigated the elaboration by casting method and characterization of new biodegradable films composed of cladodes powder (CP) of the plant raw material mentioned above, and a marine seaweed derivative, namely agar (A). The effect of glycerol concentration on the properties of the films was evaluated at four different contents (30, 40, 50 and 60 wt.%). The films present UV-blocking properties, thermal stability as well as moderate mechanical performance and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR). The results point to an increase in thickness, elongation at break, moisture content, water solubility, and WVTR with increasing glycerol content. On the contrary, Young’s modulus, tensile strength and contact angle decreased as glycerol concentration increased. The best combination is obtained for the film with 30% glycerol, based on an intermediate compromise between physical, mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. All these outcomes express the potentiality of the powder obtained from grinding the OFI cladodes as raw material to produce low-cost films for the development of sustainable packaging materials.

Keywords: Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes powder, agar, biobased films, effect of plasticizer, sustainable packaging

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Authors: Lydia Booney Jyrwa, Rabindra Nath Bhuyan

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Chocolate Mahseer (Neolissochilus hexagonolepis) is one of the Mahseer species inhabiting the North-eastern region of India and is a native species to the state of Meghalaya since it can adapt and grow well under the agro climatic conditions of the region. The natural population of this fish has been declining over the years from this part of the country. The natural population of this fish has been declining over the years from this part of the country. The fish is considered as one of the endangered species of the Mahseer group, which is having tremendous scope for culture, sports and tourism. But non-availability of quality seed is a hindrance for the culture of this fish. Thus induced breeding of the fish by hormonal administration with pituitary gland and synthetic hormones is the only reliable method to procure the pure seed of the fish. Chocolate Mahseer was successfully bred at the Hatchery Complex, St. Anthony’s College, Shillong, Meghalaya by using pituitary extract and synthetic hormone viz. ovaprim, ovatide and gonopro-FH. The dose standardized is @ 4mg/kg body weight to both male and female as 1st dose and @ 7.9 mg/kg body weight only to female as 2nd dose for pituitary extract and single dose @ 0.8 ml/kg body weight to female and @ 0.3 ml/kg body weight to male of both ovaprim and ovatide, while a single dose @ 0.9 ml/kg body weight to female and @ 0.3 ml/kg body weight to male of gonopro-FH. The doses are standardized after a series of trial and error experiment performed. The fecundity of the fish was 3500 eggs/ kg body weight. The final hatching percentage achieved was 60%. The survival rate of hatchling was 50% up to fry stage. The use of synthetic hormone and positive response of the fish to the hormone will go in long way for production of quality seed of the fish which in turn help in culture of the species as the fish can be a very good candidate species for the culture in the state. This study will also help in the ranching of the fish in the natural habitat leading to conservation of the species. However, the study should be continued further for the large scale production of seeds.

Keywords: chocolate mahseer, induced breeding, pituitary extract, synthetic hormone

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Authors: Kanika Gupta, Ashok Kumar

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Biofilms are dense, highly hydrated cell clusters that are irreversibly attached to a substratum, to an interface or to each other, and are embedded in a self-produced gelatinous matrix composed of extracellular polymeric substances. Research in biofilm field has become very significant, as biofilm has shown high mechanical resilience and resistance to antibiotic treatment and constituted as a significant problem in both healthcare and other industry related to microorganisms. The massive information both stated and hidden in the biofilm literature are growing exponentially therefore it is not possible for researchers and practitioners to automatically extract and relate information from different written resources. So, the current work proposes and discusses the use of text mining techniques for the extraction of information from biofilm literature corpora containing 34306 documents. It is very difficult and expensive to obtain annotated material for biomedical literature as the literature is unstructured i.e. free-text. Therefore, we considered unsupervised approach, where no annotated training is necessary and using this approach we developed a system that will classify the text on the basis of growth and development, drug effects, radiation effects, classification and physiology of biofilms. For this, a two-step structure was used where the first step is to extract keywords from the biofilm literature using a metathesaurus and standard natural language processing tools like Rapid Miner_v5.3 and the second step is to discover relations between the genes extracted from the whole set of biofilm literature using pubmed.mineR_v1.0.11. We used unsupervised approach, which is the machine learning task of inferring a function to describe hidden structure from 'unlabeled' data, in the above-extracted datasets to develop classifiers using WinPython-64 bit_v3.5.4.0Qt5 and R studio_v0.99.467 packages which will automatically classify the text by using the mentioned sets. The developed classifiers were tested on a large data set of biofilm literature which showed that the unsupervised approach proposed is promising as well as suited for a semi-automatic labeling of the extracted relations. The entire information was stored in the relational database which was hosted locally on the server. The generated biofilm vocabulary and genes relations will be significant for researchers dealing with biofilm research, making their search easy and efficient as the keywords and genes could be directly mapped with the documents used for database development.

Keywords: biofilms literature, classifiers development, text mining, unsupervised learning approach, unstructured data, relational database

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Authors: Keshav Raj Acharya, Prabina Sharma

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Sugandhakokila (Cinnamomum glaucescens Nees. Dury) is a large evergreen native tree species; mostly confined naturally in mid-hills of Rapti Zone of Nepal. The species is identified as prioritized for agro-technology development as well as for research and development by a department of plant resources. This species is band for export outside the country without processing by the government of Nepal to encourage the value addition within the country. The present study was carried out in Chillikot village of Dang district to find out the economic contribution of C. glaucescens in the local economy and to document the major conservation threats for this species. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools such as Household survey, key informants interviews and focus group discussions were carried out to collect the data. The present study reveals that about 1.7 million Nepalese rupees (NPR) have been contributed annually in the local economy of 29 households from the collection of C. glaucescens berries in the study area. The average annual income of each family was around NPR 67,165.38 (US$ 569.19) from the sale of the berries which contributes about 53% of the total household income. Six different value chain actors are involved in C. glaucescens business. Maximum profit margin was taken by collector followed by producer, exporter and processor. The profit margin was found minimum to regional and village traders. The total profit margin for producers was NPR 138.86/kg, and regional traders have gained NPR 17/kg. However, there is a possibility to increase the profit of producers by NPR 8.00 more for each kg of berries through the initiation of community forest user group and village cooperatives in the area. Open access resource, infestation by an insect to over matured trees and browsing by goats were identified as major conservation threats for this species. Handing over the national forest as a community forest, linking the producers with the processor through organized market channel and replacing the old tree through new plantation has been recommended for future.

Keywords: community forest, conservation threats, C. glaucescens, value chain analysis

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Authors: Z. C. Dlamini, R. L. S. Langa, A. I. Okoh, O. A. Aiyegoro

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The indiscriminate usage of antibiotics in swine production have consequential outcomes; such as development of bacterial resistance to prophylactic antibiotics and possibility of antibiotic residues in animal products. The use of probiotics appears to be the most effective procedure with positive metabolic nutritional implications. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus reuteri ZJ625, Lactobacillus reuteri VB4, Lactobacillus salivarius ZJ614 and Streptococcus salivarius NBRC13956) administered as direct-fed microorganisms in weaned piglets. 45 weaned piglets blocked by weight were dived into 5 treatments groups: diet with antibiotic, diet with no-antibiotic and no probiotic, and diet with probiotic and diet with combination of probiotics. Piglets performance was monitored during the trials. Faecal and Ileum samples were collected for microbial count analysis. Blood samples were collected from pigs at the end of the trial, for analysis of haematological, biochemical and IgG stimulation. The data was analysed by Split-Plot ANOVA using SAS statistically software (SAS 9.3) (2003). The difference was observed between treatments for daily weight and feed conversion ratio. No difference was observed in analysis of faecal samples in regards with bacterial counts, difference was observed in ileums samples with enteric bacteria colony forming unit being lower in P2 treatment group as compared with lactic acid and total bacteria. With exception of globulin and albumin, biochemistry blood parameters were not affected, likewise for haematology, only basophils and segmented neutrophils were differed by having higher concentration in NC treatment group as compared with other treatment groups. Moreover, in IgG stimulation analysis, difference was also observed, with P2 treatment group having high concentration of IgG in P2 treatment group as compared to other groups. The results of this study suggest that probiotics have a beneficial effect on growth performances, blood parameters and IgG stimulation of pigs, most effective when they are administered in synergy form. This means that it is most likely that these probiotics will offer a significant benefit in pig farming by reducing risk of morbidity and mortality and produce quality meat that is more affordable to poorer communities, and thereby enhance South African pig industry’s economy. In addition, these results indicate that there is still more research need to be done on probiotics in regards with, i.e. dosage, shelf life and mechanism of action.

Keywords: antibiotics, biochemistry, haematology, IgG-stimulation, microbial count, probiotics

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Authors: Tania Ali Soomro

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In 1839, the British, after the annexation of the port city of Karachi, established a new urban centre consisting of various quarters and introduced new settlements there. These quarters were out of the boundaries of fortified native old area and now contain much of the oldest parts of the city and signify the colonial history of Karachi, in particular the Saddar Bazaar and the neighboring areas of Kharadar and Mithadar. These quarters bestow a mix of functional typology built in a hybrid form of construction - an adaptation of the western architectural attributes to regional requirements and characteristics. This approach is referred to as the Anglo Vernacular, Colonial or the Domestic Gothic architectural form. This research paper investigates the historical and architectural value of one such property: the Empress Market designed by then Municipal Architect, Ar. James Strachan in 1889 as a commemorative monument for the jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen Victoria; Empress of British India, at that time. This paper presents information on the present conservation status of the market building and highlights its role as a catalyst to the community interconnection. This building has survived to present day and functioned well, despite undergoing numerous transformations. A detailed analysis of the bio-degradation (Natural-Chemical dissolution of material) and the bio-deterioration (Manmade-Negative state change of the material) of the building, based on the examination of the prevailing causes of these bio-alterations is carried out, and is presented in form of a damage atlas containing both the categories of bio-alteration/ changes occurred to the building over the time. The research methodology followed in this paper starts with the available archival analysis, physical observation, photographic documentation, the statistics review and the interviews with the direct and indirect stakeholders. The results and findings of this research portray that these bio-alterations and changes are the essential part of the life cycle of Empress Market building which illustrate the historic development of the premise and therefore ought to be given due importance (depending upon their condition) while developing the conservation plan for the building.

Keywords: British colonial architecture, bio-alteration, bio-degradation, bio-deterioration, domestic gothic architectural form

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Authors: Ahmed F. Ghanem, Marwa I. Wahba, Asmaa N. El-Dein, Mohamed A. EL-Raey, Ghada E. A. Awad

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Numerous attempts are being performed in order to formulate suitable packaging materials for the meat products. However, to the best of our knowledge, the incorporation of the free hibiscus extract or its microcapsules in the pure polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix as packaging materials for the meats is seldom reported. Therefore, this study aims at the protection of the aqueous crude extract of the hibiscus flowers utilizing the spry drying encapsulation technique. Results of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), the scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the particle size analyzer confirmed the successful formation of the assembled capsules via strong interactions, the spherical rough microparticles, and the particle size of ~ 235 nm, respectively. Also, the obtained microcapsules enjoy higher thermal stability than the free extract. Then, the obtained spray-dried particles were incorporated into the casting solution of the pure PVA film with a concentration of 10 wt. %. The segregated free-standing composite films were investigated, compared to the neat matrix, with several characterization techniques such as FTIR, SEM, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical tester, contact angle, water vapor permeability, and oxygen transmission. The results demonstrated variations in the physicochemical properties of the PVA film after the inclusion of the free and the extract microcapsules. Moreover, biological studies emphasized the biocidal potential of the hybrid films against the microorganisms contaminating the meat. Specifically, the microcapsules imparted not only antimicrobial but also antioxidant activities to the PVA matrix. Application of the prepared films on the real meat samples displayed a low bacterial growth with a slight increase in the pH over the storage time which continued up to 10 days at 4 oC, as further evidence to the meat safety. Moreover, the colors of the films did not significantly changed except after 21 days indicating the spoilage of the meat samples. No doubt, the dual-functional of the prepared composite films pave the way towards combined active and smart food packaging applications. This would play a vital role in the food hygiene, including also the quality control and the assurance.

Keywords: PVA, hibiscus, extraction, encapsulation, active packaging, smart and intelligent packaging, meat spoilage

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Authors: J. Naalamle Amissah, Dorcas Osei‐Safo, C. M. Asare, Benjamin Missah‐Assihene, Eric. Y. Danquah, Ivan Addae‐Mensah

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Medicinal plants serve as a reservoir of active ingredients for the treatment of common ailments such as cancer, malaria and diabetes. With the recent wave of health consciousness and reliance on plant based medicines, the demand for medicinal plants has increased considerably. This surge in medicinal plant use has raised great concern amongst key players (herbalist, collectors, conservationist and researchers) along the value chain about the sustainability of the raw material. The over reliance on wild crafting as a means to obtain the raw material spells doom for several of Africa’s native medicinal plant species. In this study domestication protocols for the cultivation of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta (CS), a medicinal plant used in the treatment of malaria were developed. Initial surveys were conducted, using questionnaires comprising of open and close ended questions, to gather information that would inform the domestication and cultivation of the species. A field study was then conducted to determine the plant’s cropping cycle and the effect of staking and plant age on the active ingredient (cryptolepine) concentration in its roots. Results of the survey confirmed the demand for the raw material and threw more light on the harvesting methods and intensity of CS collection from the wild. Cryptolepine concentration was found to be highest (~1.84 mg/100 mg of root material) at 289 days after planting (DAP) which coincided with the peak of root dry weight (52.8 g), signifying the best time for root harvest. Staking was found to be important for seed production. The first 105 DAP were characterized by low yields of root dry weight (13.5 g), followed by a period of rapid growth in which the root dry weight increased almost linearly until 289 DAP. Although dry matter partitioned to the vines increased towards the end of the experimental period (60%), dry matter partitioned to the roots remained fairly constant (30%) throughout the experimental period. Cryptolepine was found to increase as the plant aged and the practice of staking CS promoted pod formation. A suitable cropping cycle for the cultivation of CS was also developed.

Keywords: domestication, staking, conservation, wild harvesting

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Authors: Sonia Amariei, Ionut Avramia, Florin Ursachi, Ancuta Chetrariu, Ancuta Petraru

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The food industry is one of the major generators of plastic waste derived from conventional synthetic petroleum-based polymers, which are non-biodegradable, used especially for packaging. These packaging materials, after the food is consumed, accumulate serious environmental concerns due to the materials but also to the organic residues that adhere to them. It is the concern of specialists, researchers to eliminate problems related to conventional materials that are not biodegradable or unnecessary plastic and replace them with biodegradable and edible materials, supporting the common effort to protect the environment. Even though environmental and health concerns will cause more consumers to switch to a plant-based diet, most people will continue to add more meat to their diet. The paper presents the possibility of replacing the polyethylene packaging from the surface of the trays for meat preparations with biodegradable packaging obtained from biopolymers. During the storage of meat products may occur deterioration by lipids oxidation and microbial spoilage, as well as the modification of the organoleptic characteristics. For this reason, different compositions of polymer mixtures and film conditions for obtaining must be studied to choose the best packaging material to achieve food safety. The compositions proposed for packaging are obtained from alginate, agar, starch, and glycerol as plasticizers. The tensile strength, elasticity, modulus of elasticity, thickness, density, microscopic images of the samples, roughness, opacity, humidity, water activity, the amount of water transferred as well as the speed of water transfer through these packaging materials were analyzed. A number of 28 samples with various compositions were analyzed, and the results showed that the sample with the highest values for hardness, density, and opacity, as well as the smallest water vapor permeability, of 1.2903E-4 ± 4.79E-6, has the ratio of components as alginate: agar: glycerol (3:1.25:0.75). The water activity of the analyzed films varied between 0.2886 and 0.3428 (aw< 0.6), demonstrating that all the compositions ensure the preservation of the products in the absence of microorganisms. All the determined parameters allow the appreciation of the quality of the packaging films in terms of mechanical resistance, its protection against the influence of light, the transfer of water through the packaging. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by a grant of the Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitization, CNCS/CCCDI – UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P2-2.1-PED-2019-3863, within PNCDI III.

Keywords: meat products, alginate, agar, starch, glycerol

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Authors: Ghaneshree Moonsamy, Nodumo N. Zulu, Rajesh Lalloo, Suren Singh, Santosh O. Ramchuran

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The abalone industry of South Africa is under severe pressure due to illegal harvesting and poaching of this seafood delicacy. These abalones are harvested excessively; as a result, these animals do not have a chance to replace themselves in their habitats, ensuing in a drastic decrease in natural stocks of abalone. Abalone has an extremely slow growth rate and takes approximately four years to reach a size that is market acceptable; therefore, it was imperative to investigate methods to boost the overall growth rate and immunity of the animal. The University of Cape Town (UCT) began to research, which resulted in the isolation of two microorganisms, a yeast isolate Debaryomyces hansenii and a bacterial isolate Vibrio midae, from the gut of the abalone and characterised them for their probiotic abilities. This work resulted in an internationally competitive concept technology that was patented. The next stage of research was to develop a suitable bioprocess to enable commercial production. Numerous steps were taken to develop an efficient production process for V. midae, one of the isolates found by UCT. The initial stages of research involved the development of a stable and robust inoculum and the optimization of physiological growth parameters such as temperature and pH. A range of temperature and pH conditions were evaluated, and data obtained revealed an optimum growth temperature of 30ᵒC and a pH of 6.5. Once these critical growth parameters were established further media optimization studies were performed. Corn steep liquor (CSL) and high test molasses (HTM) were selected as suitable alternatives to more expensive, conventionally used growth medium additives. The optimization of CSL (6.4 g.l⁻¹) and HTM (24 g.l⁻¹) concentrations in the growth medium resulted in a 180% increase in cell concentration, a 5716-fold increase in cell productivity and a 97.2% decrease in the material cost of production in comparison to conventional growth conditions and parameters used at the onset of the study. In addition, a stable market-ready liquid probiotic product, encompassing the viable but not culturable (VBNC) state of Vibrio midae cells, was developed during the downstream processing aspect of the study. The demonstration of this technology at a full manufacturing scale has further enhanced the attractiveness and commercial feasibility of this production process.

Keywords: probiotics, abalone aquaculture, bioprocess technology, manufacturing scale technology development

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Authors: Fatima Muhammad Shitu

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In language learning, Second language learners like their native speaker counter parts, commit errors in their attempt to achieve competence in the target language. The realm of Collocation has to do with meaning relation between lexical items. In all human language, there is a kind of ‘natural order’ in which words are arranged or relate to one another in sentences so much so that when a word occurs in a given context, the related or naturally co -occurring word will automatically come to the mind. It becomes an error, therefore, if students inappropriately pair or arrange such ‘naturally’ co – occurring lexical items in a text. It has been observed that most of the second language learners in this research group commit collocational errors. A study of this kind is very significant as it gives insight into the kinds of errors committed by learners. This will help the language teacher to be able to identify the sources and causes of such errors as well as correct them thereby guiding, helping and leading the learners towards achieving some level of competence in the language. The aim of the study is to understand the nature of these errors as stumbling blocks to effective essay writing. The objective of the study is to identify the errors, analyse their structural compositions so as to determine whether there are similarities between students in this regard and to find out whether there are patterns to these kinds of errors which will enable the researcher to understand their sources and causes. As a descriptive research, the researcher samples some nine hundred essays collected from three hundred undergraduate learners of English as a second language in the Federal College of Education, Kano, North- West Nigeria, i.e. three essays per each student. The essays which were given on three different lecture times were of similar thematic preoccupations (i.e. same topics) and length (i.e. same number of words). The essays were written during the lecture hour at three different lecture occasions. The errors were identified in a systematic manner whereby errors so identified were recorded only once even if they occur severally in students’ essays. The data was collated using percentages in which the identified number of occurrences were converted accordingly in percentages. The findings from the study indicates that there are similarities as well as regular and repeated errors which provided a pattern. Based on the pattern identified, the conclusion is that students’ collocational errors are attributable to poor teaching and learning which resulted in wrong generalisation of rules.

Keywords: collocations, errors, second language learning, ESL students

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Authors: Zorica Tomičić, Ružica Tomičić, Peter Raspor

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Growing resistance of pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata to many classes of antifungal drugs has stimulated efforts to discover new agents to combat a rising number of invasive C. glabrata infections, which deserves a great deal of concern due to the high mortality rate in immunocompromised populations. One promising strategy is the use of probiotic microorganisms, which, when administered in adequate amounts, confers a health benefit. A selected number of probiotic organisms, Saccharomyces boulardii among them, have been tested as potential biotherapeutic agents. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the probiotic yeast S. boulardii on the adhesion of clinical isolates of C. glabrata at different temperatures, pH values, and in the presence of three clinically important antifungal drugs, such as fluconazole, itraconazole and amphotericin B. The method used to assess adhesion was crystal violet staining. The selection of antimycotics concentrations used in the adhesion assay was based on minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) obtained by the preliminarily performed microdilution modification of the Reference method for broth dilution antifungal susceptibility testing of yeast (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), standard M27-A2). the results showed that despite the nonadhesiveness of S. boulardii cells, probiotic yeast significantly suppressed the adhesion of C. glabrata strains. Besides, at specific strain ratios, a slight stimulatory effect was observed in some C. glabrata strains, which highlights the importance of strain specificity and opens up further research interests. When environmental conditions are considered, temperature and pH significantly influenced co-culture adhesion of C. glabrata and S. boulardii. The adhesion of C. glabrata strains was relatively equally reduced over all tested temperature range (28°C, 37°C, 39°C and 42°C) in the presence of S. boulardii cells, while the adhesion of a few C. glabrata strains were significantly stimulated at 28°C and suppressed at 42°C. Further, the adhesion was highly dependent on pH, with the highest adherence at pH 4 and lowest at pH 8.5. It was observed that S. boulardii did not manage to suppress the adhesion of C. glabrata strains at high pH. Antimycotics on the other hand showed a greater impact, since S. boulardii failed to affect co-culture adhesion at higher antimycotics concentrations. As expected, exposure to various concentrations of amphotericin B significantly reduced the adherence ability of C.glabrata strains both in a single culture and co-culture with S. boulardii. Therefore, it can be speculated that S. boulardii could substitute the effect of antimycotics in a range concentrations and with specific type of strains. This would certainly change the view on the treatment of yeast infections in the future.

Keywords: adhesion, antimycotics, candida glabrata, saccharomyces boulardii

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Authors: Zh. Karaulova, D. Baizhigitov

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At the Aktogay deposit, the oxidized ore section has been developed since 2015; by now, the reserves of easily enriched ore are decreasing, and a large number of copper-poor, difficult-to-enrich ores has been accumulated in the dumps of the KAZ Minerals Aktogay deposit, which is unprofitable to mine using the traditional mining methods. Hence, another technology needs to be implemented, which will significantly expand the raw material base of copper production in Kazakhstan and ensure the efficient use of natural resources. Heap and dump bacterial recovery are the most acceptable technologies for processing low-grade secondary copper sulfide ores. Test objects were the copper ores of Aktogay deposit and chemolithotrophic bacteria Leptospirillum ferrooxidans (L.f.), Acidithiobacillus caldus (A.c.), Sulfobacillus Acidophilus (S.a.), which are mixed cultures were both used in bacterial oxidation systems. They can stay active in the 20-400C temperature range. These bacteria were the most extensively studied and widely used in sulfide mineral recovery technology. Biocatalytic acceleration was achieved as a result of bacteria oxidizing iron sulfides to form iron sulfate, which subsequently underwent chemical oxidation to become sulfate oxide. The following results have been achieved at the initial stage: the goal was to grow and maintain the life activity of bacterial cultures under laboratory conditions. These bacteria grew the best within the pH 1,2-1,8 range with light stirring and in an aerated environment. The optimal growth temperature was 30-33оC. The growth rate decreased by one-half for each 4-5°C fall in temperature from 30°C. At best, the number of bacteria doubled every 24 hours. Typically, the maximum concentration of cells that can be grown in ferrous solution is about 107/ml. A further step researched in this case was the adaptation of microorganisms to the environment of certain metals. This was followed by mass production of inoculum and maintenance for their further cultivation on a factory scale. This was done by adding sulfide concentrate, allowing the bacteria to convert the ferrous sulfate as indicated by the Eh (>600 mV), then diluting to double the volume and adding concentrate to achieve the same metal level. This process was repeated until the desired metal level and volumes were achieved. The final stage of bacterial recovery was the transportation and irrigation of secondary sulfide copper ores of the oxidized ore section. In conclusion, the project was implemented at the Aktogay mine since the bioleaching process was prolonged. Besides, the method of bacterial recovery might compete well with existing non-biological methods of extraction of metals from ores.

Keywords: bacterial recovery, copper ore, bioleaching, bacterial inoculum

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Authors: Marie Davin, Marie-Laure Fauconnier, Gilles Colinet

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In Wallonia, there are 6,000 estimated brownfields (rising to over 3.5 million in Europe) that require remediation. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of recalcitrant carcinogenic/mutagenic organic compounds of major concern as they accumulate in the environment and represent 17% of all encountered pollutants. As an alternative to environmentally aggressive, expensive and often disruptive soil remediation strategies, a lot of research has been directed to developing techniques targeting organic pollutants. The following experiment, based on the observation that PAHs soil content decreases in the presence of plants, aimed at improving our understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in phytoremediation. It focusses on plant root exudates and whether they improve PAHs solubilization, which would make them more available for bioremediation by soil microorganisms. The effect of saponin, a natural surfactant found in some plant roots such as members of the Fabaceae family, on PAHs solubilization was also investigated as part of the implementation of the experimental protocol. The experiments were conducted on soil collected from a brownfield in Saint-Ghislain (Belgium) and presenting weathered PAHs contamination. Samples of soil were extracted with different solutions containing either plant root exudates or commercial saponin. Extracted PAHs were determined in the different aqueous solutions using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Fluorimetric Detection (HPLC-FLD). Both root exudates of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) or red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and commercial saponin were tested in different concentrations. Distilled water was used as a control. First of all, results show that PAHs are more extracted using saponin solutions than distilled water and that the amounts generally rise with the saponin concentration. However, the amount of each extracted compound diminishes as its molecular weight rises. Also, it appears that passed a certain surfactant concentration, PAHs are less extracted. This suggests that saponin might be investigated as a washing agent in polluted soil remediation techniques, either for ex-situ or in-situ treatments, as an alternative to synthetic surfactants. On the other hand, preliminary results on experiments using plant root exudates also show differences in PAHs solubilization compared to the control solution. Further results will allow discussion as to whether or not there are differences according to the exudates provenance and concentrations.

Keywords: brownfield, Medicago sativa, phytoremediation, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, root exudates, saponin, solubilization, Trifolium pratense

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Authors: Mekonen Hailu, Liu Liping

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Cage aquaculture is highly preferred due to higher production per unit volume of water, lower costs of investment, and simpler routine farm management procedures compared to pond systems. In the 1980s, cage culture was first used on a trial basis in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past 20 years, a small number of prosperous freshwater cage culture operations have started to emerge in Egypt, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Brackish and marine cage culture also offers a lot of potential, although this subsector hasn't seen any significant commercial growth to date. In 2019, 263 cage aquaculture installations on the African inland waters on 18 water bodies within eight countries with an estimated 20,114 cages were reported. The lakes Victoria, Kariba, Volta, and River Volta, which together account for 82.9% of all cage aquaculture installations regarded as sub-Saharan Africa's principal cage aquaculture regions (Fig 1). Except few small-scale trials with North African catfish (Clarias gariepinus), almost all farms in Sub-Saharan Africa and Egypt grow Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). More than 247,398 tonnes of fish are produced yearly from ten African countries through cage aquaculture. The expansion of cage culture in Africa provides job opportunities for both skilled and unskilled workers, nutritious food and foreign currency. The escaping non-native strains of tilapia in Lake Volta and the occurrence of a risky Tilapia lake virus (syncytial hepatitis), which has the potential to wipe out entire populations in both wild and farmed Nile tilapia on Lake Victoria, are threats coming with the expansion of cage aquaculture in Africa. In addition, the installations of 138 cage aquacultures were found in contrary to best cage culture practices. To sustain cage aquaculture development and maintain harmony with other water uses, developers must strictly abide by best practices. Hence, the exclusion of protected areas and small lakes (average depth 5 m or less) should be done, as well an Environmental Impact Assessment should be conducted before establishing the cage farms.

Keywords: Africa, cage aquaculture, production, threats

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