Search results for: chemical warfare agents

Authors: Bhupinder Kaur, P. P. Srivastav

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The fruit and vegetable industries are responsible for producing huge amount of waste, which is a problem to environmental safety and should be utilized efficiently. Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is an important commercially grown fruit and referred as the “King of fruits”. In 2015, India was the largest producer (18.506 MT) of mangoes and out of which 9.16 % lost during post-harvest handling. The mango kernel and peel represent approximately 17-22% and 7-22% of the overall mass of fruit respectively and discarded as waste. Hence, an attempt has been made with three mango cultivars (Langra, Dashehari, Fazli) to investigate the effect of cryogenic grinding on various characteristics of mango peel powder (MPP). The cryogenic grinding is an emerging technology which is used for retention of beneficial volatile and bioactive components. The feed rate was highest for Langra followed by Chausa. The samples have 2-4% fat along with significant amount of protein (4-6%) and crude fiber (9-13%). Mango peel is also a good source of minerals such as calcium, potassium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium. Interestingly, the significant amount of essential minerals like phosphorus and chlorine in all the varieties was found with the highest value in Langra (phosphorus 10.83% and chlorine 2.41%) which are not reported earlier. SEM analysis revealed the surface morphology and shape of the particles. Waste utilization is a promising measure from both an environmental and economic point of view. Chemical characterization of the samples indicated its potential to be used for the fortification of food products which in turn reduces hazards due to waste and improve functional quality of the foods.

Keywords: cryogenic grinding, morphological, mineral composition, SEM

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Authors: Samuel Fekadu A., Esayas Alemayehu B., Bultum Oljira D., Seid Tiku D., Dessalegn Dadi D., Bart Van Der Bruggen A.

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The peroxi-photoelectrocoagulation process was evaluated for the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color from healthcare wastewater. A 2-level full factorial design with center points was created to investigate the effect of the process parameters, i.e., initial COD, H₂O₂, pH, reaction time and current density. Furthermore, the total energy consumption and average current efficiency in the system were evaluated. Predictive models for % COD, % color removal and energy consumption were obtained. The initial COD and pH were found to be the most significant variables in the reduction of COD and color in peroxi-photoelectrocoagulation process. Hydrogen peroxide only has a significant effect on the treated wastewater when combined with other input variables in the process like pH, reaction time and current density. In the peroxi-photoelectrocoagulation process, current density appears not as a single effect but rather as an interaction effect with H₂O₂ in reducing COD and color. Lower energy expenditure was observed at higher initial COD, shorter reaction time and lower current density. The average current efficiency was found as low as 13 % and as high as 777 %. Overall, the study showed that hybrid electrochemical oxidation can be applied effectively and efficiently for the removal of pollutants from healthcare wastewater.

Keywords: electrochemical oxidation, UV, healthcare pollutants removals, factorial design

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Authors: Samir Falhi, Neji Gharsallah, Adel Kadri

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Ruta chalpensis L. is a medicinal plant in the family of Rutaceae, has been used as an important traditional in the Mediterranean basin in the treatment of many diseases. The current study was devoted to investigate and evaluate the chemical composition, total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin contents, and in vitro antioxidant activities of ethyl acetate, ethanol and hydroalcoholic extracts and essential oil from the aerial parts of Ruta chalpensis from Tunisian Sahara. Total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin contents of extracts ranged from 40.39 ± 1.87 to 75.13 ± 1.22 mg of GAE/g, from 22.62 ± 1.55 to 27.51 ± 1.04 mg of QE/g, and from 5.56 ± 1.32 to 10.89 ± 1.10 mg of CE/g respectively. Results showed that the highest antioxidant activities was determined for ethanol extract with IC50 value of 26.23 ± 0.91 µg/mL for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay, and for hydroalcoholic extract with EC50 value of 412.95±6.57 µg/mL and 105.52±2.45 mg of α-tocopherol/g for ferric reducing antioxidant power and total antioxidant capacity assays, respectively. Furthermore, Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of essential oil led to identification of 20 compounds representing 98.96 % of the total composition. The major components of essential oil were 2-undecanone (39.13%), 2-nonanone (25.04), 1-nonene (13.81), and α-limonene (7.72). Spectral data of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis (FT-IR) of extracts revealed the presence of functional groups such as C= O, C─O, ─OH, and C─H, which confirmed its richness on polyphenols and biological active functional groups. These results showed that Ruta chalpensis could be a potential natural source of antioxidants that can be used in food and nutraceutical applications.

Keywords: antioxidant, FT-IR analysis, GC-MS analysis, phytochemicals contents, Ruta chalpensis

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Authors: Joko Nurkamto

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A lesson plan is a part of the planning phase in a learning and teaching system framing the scenario of pedagogical activities in the classroom. It informs a decision on what to teach and how to landscape classroom interaction. Regardless of these benefits, the writer has witnessed the fact that lesson plans are viewed merely as a teaching document. Therefore, this paper will explore teachers’ beliefs and practices in designing lesson plans. It focuses primarily on how both teachers and students negotiate lesson plans in which the students are deemed to be the agents of instructional innovations. Additionally, the paper will talk about how such lesson plans are enacted. To investigate these issues, document analysis, in-depth interviews, participant classroom observation, and focus group discussion will be deployed as data collection methods in this explorative case study. The benefits of the paper are to show different roles of lesson plans and to discover different ways to design and enact such plans from a socio-interactional perspective.

Keywords: instructional innovation, learning and teaching system, lesson plan, pedagogical activities, teachers' beliefs and practices

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Authors: Danielle Sandler dos Passos, Helder Coelho, Flávia Mori Sarti

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Analysing the world banking sector, we realize that traditional risk measurement methodologies no longer reflect the actual scenario with uncertainty and leave out events that can change the dynamics of markets. Considering this, regulators and financial institutions began to search more realistic models. The aim is to include external influences and interdependencies between agents, to describe and measure the operationalization of these complex systems and their risks in a more coherent and credible way. Within this context, X-Events are more frequent than assumed and, with uncertainties and constant changes, the concept of antifragility starts to gain great prominence in comparison to others methodologies of risk management. It is very useful to analyse whether a system succumbs (fragile), resists (robust) or gets benefits (antifragile) from disorder and stress. Thus, this work proposes the creation of the Banking Antifragility Index (BAI), which is based on the calculation of a triangular fuzzy number – to "quantify" qualitative criteria linked to antifragility.

Keywords: adaptive complex systems, X-Events, risk management, antifragility, banking antifragility index, triangular fuzzy number

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Authors: L. Bouqbis, H.W. Koyro, M. C. Harrouni, S. Daoud, L. F. Z. Ainlhout, C. I. Kammann

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The application of biochar to soils is becoming more and more common. Its application which is generally reported to improve the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils, has an indirect effect on soil health and increased crop yields. However, many of the previous results are highly variable and dependent mainly on the initial soil properties, biochar characteristics, and production conditions. In this study, two biochars which are biochar II (BC II) derived from a blend of paper sludge and wheat husks and biochar 005 (BC 005) derived from sewage sludge with a KCl additive, are used, and the physical and chemical properties of BC II are characterized. To determine the potential impact of salt stress and toxic and volatile substances, the second part of this study focused on the effect biochars have on germination of salad (Lactuca sativa L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare), and cress (Lepidium sativum) respectively. Our results indicate that Biochar II showed some unique properties compared to the soil, such as high EC, high content of K, Na, Mg, and low content of heavy metals. Concerning salad and barley germination test, no negative effect of BC II and BC 005 was observed. However, a negative effect of BC 005 at 8% level was revealed. The test of the effect of volatile substances on germination of cress revealed a positive effect of BC II, while a negative effect was observed for BC 005. Moreover, the water holding capacities of biochar-sand mixtures increased with increasing biochar application. Collectively, BC II could be safely used for agriculture and could provide the potential for a better plant growth.

Keywords: biochar, phytotoxic tests, seedlings growth, water holding capacity

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Authors: A. B. Benshak, M. G. Yilkangnha, V. Y. Nanle

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Social crises and violent conflict can inflict direct (short-term) impact on the environment like poisoning water bodies, climate change, deforestation, destroying the chemical component of the soil due to the chemical and biological weapons used. It can also impact the environment indirectly (long-term), e.g., the destruction of political and economic infrastructure to manage the environmental resources and breaking down traditional conservation practices, population displacement and refugee flows which puts pressure on the already inadequate resources, infrastructure, facilities, amenities, services etc. This study therefore examines the impact of social crises on the environment in Jos Plateau State with emphasis on the long-term impact, analyze the relationship between crises and the environment and assess the perception of people on social crises because much work have concentrated on other repercussions such as the economy, health etc that are more politically expedient. The data for this research were collected mostly through interviews, questionnaire, dailies and reports on the subject matter. The data and findings were presented in tables and results showed that the environment is directly and indirectly impacted by crises and that these impacts can in turn result to a continuous cycle of violent activities if not addressed because of the inadequacies in the supply of infrastructural facilities, resources and so on caused by the inflow of displaced population. Recommendations were made on providing security to minimize conflict occurrences in Jos and its environs, minimizing the impact of social crises on the environment, provision of adequate infrastructural facilities to carter for population rise, renewal and regeneration schemes, etc. which will go a long way in mitigating the impact of crises on the environment.

Keywords: environment, impact, long-term, social crises

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Authors: Abraham J. Domb

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Nearly every eye disorder and treatment of post operated eyes evolve around ocular drug delivery. Most ocular diseases are treated with repeated topical applications administered as eye drops. Various attempts have been made to improve drug bioavailability by increasing both the retention of the drug in the pre-corneal area and the penetration of the drug through the cornea. However, currently marketed products are associated with vision blurring, irritability, patient discomfort, toxicity, low drug bioavailability, manufacturing difficulties and inadequate aqueous stability. It has been suggested to use iontophoresis for the non-invasive delivery of drugs. The iontophoretic device is composed of a control panel, two electrodes, a cylindrical well for the insertion of a disposable hydrogel, and a disposable hydrogel pellet. The drug-loaded hydrogel is attached to a cylindrical well at the edge of the electrode of the device and placed onto the eye. The device applies a variable electrical current that can vary from 0.1 mA to 1.5 mA for pre-set periods from 10 seconds to 300 seconds. The iontophoretic device developed in the lab was found to be effective in the delivery of the drugs: gentamicin, water-soluble steroids, and various anticancer agents. When testing in rabbits for safety, the device was considered to be non-toxic and effective.

Keywords: iontophoresis, eye disorder, drug delivery, hydrogel

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Authors: Iram Zahra

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Friction and wear properties of multilayer graphene coatings (MLG) on nickel substrate were investigated at the macroscale, and different failure mechanisms working at the interface of nickel-graphene coatings were evaluated. Multilayer graphene coatings were produced on a nickel substrate using the atmospheric chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technique. Wear tests were performed on the pin-on-disk tribometer apparatus under dry air conditions, and using the saltwater solution, distilled water, and mineral oil lubricants and counterparts used in these wear tests were fabricated of stainless steel, chromium, and silicon nitride. The wear test parameters such as rotational speed, wear track diameter, temperature, relative humidity, and load were 60 rpm, 6 mm, 22˚C, 45%, and 2N, respectively. To analyse the friction and wear behaviour, coefficient of friction (COF) vs time curves were plotted, and the sliding surfaces of the samples and counterparts were examined using the optical microscope. Results indicated that graphene-coated nickel in mineral oil lubrication and dry conditions gave the minimum average value of COP (0.05) and wear track width ( ̴151 µm) against the three different types of counterparts. In contrast, uncoated nickel samples indicated a maximum wear track width ( ̴411 µm) and COF (0.5). Thorough investigation and analysis concluded that graphene-coated samples have two times lower COF and three times lower wear than the bare nickel samples. Furthermore, mechanical failures were significantly lower in the case of graphene-coated nickel. The overall findings suggested that multilayer graphene coatings have drastically decreased wear and friction on nickel substrate at the macroscale under various lubricating conditions and against different counterparts.

Keywords: friction, lubricity, multilayer graphene, sliding, wear

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Authors: Aleksandr Kavetskiy, Galina Yakubova, Nikolay Sargsyan, Stephen A. Prior, H. Allen Torbert

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Determining soil elemental content and distribution (mapping) within a field are key features of modern agricultural practice. While traditional chemical analysis is a time consuming and labor-intensive multi-step process (e.g., sample collections, transport to laboratory, physical preparations, and chemical analysis), neutron-gamma soil analysis can be performed in-situ. This analysis is based on the registration of gamma rays issued from nuclei upon interaction with neutrons. Soil elements such as Si, C, Fe, O, Al, K, and H (moisture) can be assessed with this method. Data received from analysis can be directly used for creating soil elemental distribution maps (based on ArcGIS software) suitable for agricultural purposes. The neutron-gamma analysis system developed for field application consisted of an MP320 Neutron Generator (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.), 3 sodium iodide gamma detectors (SCIONIX, Inc.) with a total volume of 7 liters, 'split electronics' (XIA, LLC), a power system, and an operational computer. Paired with GPS, this system can be used in the scanning mode to acquire gamma spectra while traversing a field. Using acquired spectra, soil elemental content can be calculated. These data can be combined with geographical coordinates in a geographical information system (i.e., ArcGIS) to produce elemental distribution maps suitable for agricultural purposes. Special software has been developed that will acquire gamma spectra, process and sort data, calculate soil elemental content, and combine these data with measured geographic coordinates to create soil elemental distribution maps. For example, 5.5 hours was needed to acquire necessary data for creating a carbon distribution map of an 8.5 ha field. This paper will briefly describe the physics behind the neutron gamma analysis method, physical construction the measurement system, and main characteristics and modes of work when conducting field surveys. Soil elemental distribution maps resulting from field surveys will be presented. and discussed. Comparison of these maps with maps created on the bases of chemical analysis and soil moisture measurements determined by soil electrical conductivity was similar. The maps created by neutron-gamma analysis were reproducible, as well. Based on these facts, it can be asserted that neutron stimulated soil gamma spectroscopy paired with GPS system is fully applicable for soil elemental agricultural field mapping.

Keywords: ArcGIS mapping, neutron gamma analysis, soil elemental content, soil gamma spectroscopy

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Authors: Rafia S. Al-lamki, Jun Wang, Simon Pacey, Jordan Pober, John R. Bradley

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Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF), signaling through TNFR2, may act an autocrine growth factor for renal tubular epithelial cells. Clear cell renal carcinomas (ccRCC) contain cancer stem cells (CSCs) that give rise to progeny which form the bulk of the tumor. CSCs are rarely in cell cycle and, as non-proliferating cells, resist most chemotherapeutic agents. Thus, recurrence after chemotherapy may result from the survival of CSCs. Therapeutic targeting of both CSCs and the more differentiated bulk tumor populations may provide a more effective strategy for treatment of RCC. In this study, we hypothesized that TNFR2 signaling will induce CSCs in ccRCC to enter cell cycle so that treatment with ligands that engage TNFR2 will render CSCs susceptible to chemotherapy. To test this hypothesis, we have utilized wild-type TNF (wtTNF) or specific muteins selective for TNFR1 (R1TNF) or TNFR2 (R2TNF) to treat either short-term organ cultures of ccRCC and adjacent normal kidney (NK) tissue or cultures of CD133+ cells isolated from ccRCC and adjacent NK, hereafter referred to as stem cell-like cells (SCLCs). The effect of cyclophosphamide (CP), currently an effective anticancer agent, was tested on CD133+SCLCs from ccRCC and NK before and after R2TNF treatment. Responses to TNF were assessed by flow cytometry (FACS), immunofluorescence, and quantitative real-time PCR, TUNEL, and cell viability assays. Cytotoxic effect of CP was analyzed by Annexin V and propidium iodide staining with FACS. In addition, we assessed the effect of TNF on isolated SCLCs differentiation using a three-dimensional (3D) culture system. Clinical samples of ccRCC contain a greater number SCLCs compared to NK and the number of SCSC increases with higher tumor grade. Isolated SCLCs show expression of stemness markers (oct4, Nanog, Sox2, Lin28) but not differentiation markers (cytokeratin, CD31, CD45, and EpCAM). In ccRCC organ cultures, wtTNF and R2TNF increase CD133 and TNFR2 expression and promote cell cycle entry whereas wtTNF and R1TNF increase TNFR1 expression and promote cell death of SCLCs. Similar findings are observed in SCLCs isolated from NK but the effect was greater in SCLCs isolated from ccRCC. Application of CP distinctly triggered apoptotic and necrotic cell death in SLCSs pre-treatment with R2TNF as compared to CP treatment alone, with SCLCs from ccRCC more sensitive to CP compared to SLCS from NK. Furthermore, TNF promotes differentiation of SCLCs to an epithelial phenotype in 3D cultures, confirmed by cytokeratin expression and loss of stemness markers Nanog and Sox2. The differentiated cells show positive expression of TNF and TNFR2. These findings provide evidence that selective engagement of TNFR2 drive CSCs to cell proliferation/differentiation, and targeting of cycling cells with TNFR2 agonist in combination with anti-cancer agents may be a potential therapy for RCC.

Keywords: cancer stem cells, ccRCC, cell cycle, cell death, TNF, TNFR1, TNFR2, CD133

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Authors: Furqan M. Kadhum, Asmaa A. Hussein, Maysaa Ch. Hatem

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Hyaluronidase enzyme was purified from the clinical isolate Staphyloccus aureus in three purification steps, first by precipitation with 90% saturated ammonium sulfate, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-Cellulose, and gel filtration chromatography throughout Sephacryl S-300. Specific activity of the purified enzyme was reached 930 U/mg protein with 7.4 folds of purification and 46.5% recovery. The enzyme has an average molecular weight of about 69 kDa, with an optimum pH of enzyme activity and stability at pH 7, also the optimum temperature for activity was 37oC. The enzyme was stable with full activity at a temperature ranged between 30-40 oC. Metal ions showed variable inhibitory degree with the strongest effect for Fe+3, however, the chelating and reducing agents had no or little effects. Cytotoxic studies for purified and crude hyaluronidase against cancer cell Hep G2 type at different enzyme concentrations and exposure times showed that the inhibition effect of both crude and purified enzyme increased by increasing the enzyme concentration with no change was observed at 24hr, while at 48 and 72 hrs the same inhibition rate were observed for purified enzyme and differ for the crude filtrate.

Keywords: hyaluronidase, S. aureus, metal ions, cytotoxicity

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Authors: Muhammad Muzamal, Anders Rasmuson

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Wood material is extensively considered as a raw material for the production of bio-polymers, bio-fuels and value-added chemicals. However, the shortcoming in using wood as raw material is that the enzymatic hydrolysis of wood material is difficult because the accessibility of enzymes to hemicelluloses and cellulose is hindered by complex chemical and physical structure of the wood. The steam explosion (SE) pre-treatment improves the digestion of wood material by creating both chemical and physical modifications in wood. In this process, first, wood chips are treated with steam at high pressure and temperature for a certain time in a steam treatment vessel. During this time, the chemical linkages between lignin and polysaccharides are cleaved and stiffness of material decreases. Then the steam discharge valve is rapidly opened and the steam and wood chips exit the vessel at very high speed. These fast moving wood chips collide with each other and with walls of the equipment and disintegrate to small pieces. More damaged and disintegrated wood have larger surface area and increased accessibility to hemicelluloses and cellulose. The energy required for an increase in specific surface area by same value is 70 % more in conventional mechanical technique, i.e. attrition mill as compared to steam explosion process. The mechanism of wood disintegration during the SE pre-treatment is very little studied. In this study, we have simulated collision and impact of wood chips (dimension 20 mm x 20 mm x 4 mm) with each other and with walls of the vessel. The wood chips are simulated as a 3D orthotropic material. Damage and fracture in the wood material have been modelled using 3D Hashin’s damage model. This has been accomplished by developing a user-defined subroutine and implementing it in the FE software ABAQUS. The elastic and strength properties used for simulation are of spruce wood at 12% and 30 % moisture content and at 20 and 160 OC because the impacted wood chips are pre-treated with steam at high temperature and pressure. We have simulated several cases to study the effects of elastic and strength properties of wood, velocity of moving chip and orientation of wood chip at the time of impact on the damage in the wood chips. The disintegration patterns captured by simulations are very similar to those observed in experimentally obtained steam exploded wood. Simulation results show that the wood chips moving with higher velocity disintegrate more. Moisture contents and temperature decreases elastic properties and increases damage. Impact and collision in specific directions cause easy disintegration. This model can be used to efficiently design the steam explosion equipment.

Keywords: dynamic simulation, disintegration of wood, impact, steam explosion pretreatment

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Authors: M. Cherki, I. Taouam, A. Amiri, F. Hmimid, T. Ould Bellahcen

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The Moroccan coasts represent an important wealth of red algae which have an economic interest. Among these algae, the Gelidium sesquipedale, which is exploited industrially for its richness in agar. The aim of this study is to establish a general overview of the macronutrient composition of Gelidium sesquipedale and to compare this composition according to three factors: the harvest site (El Jadida, Casablanca and Mohammadia), the harvest depth (coast and depth) and the drying process (open air and oven). Proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates are measured by different methods. The analysis of results show that the protein concentrations of the El Jadida and Mohammadia samples are significantly higher than that of Casablanca (0.026 ± 0.0007 µg/µg DW 0.024 ± 0.001 µg/µg DW and 0.006 ± 0.0007 µg/µg DW, p < 0.05 respectively). However, Casablanca samples are significantly richer in total sugars (0.023 ± 0.002 µg/µg DW, p < 0.05) and less rich in reducing sugars (0.0001 ± 0.00001 µg/µg DW, p < 0.05) compared to other samples. The lipid concentrations of the samples from the three harvest sites do not show any significant difference. With respect to depth, only total protein and total sugar concentrations were significantly higher in the coast versus depth samples (0.035 ± 0.004 µg/µg DW vs. 0.026 ± 0.0007 µg/µg DW and 0.035 ± 0.006 µg/µg DW vs. 0.012 ± 0.005 µg/µg DW p < 0.05 respectively). For the drying process, protein, total sugars and lipid concentrations were significantly higher in open air samples compared to oven samples (0.006 ± 0.0007 µg/µg DW). vs 0.004 ± 0.0003 µg/µg DW, 0.023 ± 0.002 µg/µg DW vs 0.007 ± 0.002 µg/µg DW and 8% vs 4% p < 0.05 respectively). Our results demonstrate that the chemical composition of Gelidium sesquipedale varies according to the harvest region. In addition, samples harvested on the coast and dried in the open air are the richest in macronutrients.

Keywords: biochemical composition, drying, depth, Gelidium sesquipedale, red algae, region

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Authors: Karthika Durairaj, Buvaneswari G., Gowdham M., Gilles M., Velmurugan G.

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Background: Hyperglycaemia is the primary cause of metabolic illness. Recently, researchers focused on the possibility that chemical exposure could promote metabolic disease. Hyperglycaemia causes a variety of metabolic diseases dependent on its etiologic conditions. According to animal and population-based research, individual chemical exposure causes health problems through alteration of endocrine function with the influence of microbial influence. We were intrigued by the function of gut microbiota variation in high fat and chemically induced hyperglycaemia. Methodology: C57/Bl6 mice were subjected to two different treatments to generate the etiologic-based diabetes model: I – a high-fat diet with a 45 kcal diet, and II - endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) cocktail. The mice were monitored periodically for changes in body weight and fasting glucose. After 120 days of the experiment, blood anthropometry, faecal metagenomics and metabolomics were performed and analyzed through statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA and student’s t-test. Results: After 120 days of exposure, we found hyperglycaemic changes in both experimental models. The treatment groups also differed in terms of plasma lipid levels, creatinine, and hepatic markers. To determine the influence on glucose metabolism, microbial profiling and metabolite levels were significantly different between groups. The gene expression studies associated with glucose metabolism vary between hosts and their treatments. Conclusion: This research will result in the identification of biomarkers and molecular targets for better diabetes control and treatment.

Keywords: hyperglycaemia, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, gut microbiota, host metabolism

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Authors: Ivan Ashif Ardhana, Intan Mahanani

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Chemistry education tends to change from triplet representation among macroscopic, microscopic, and symbolic to tetrahedron shape. This change set the aspect of human element on the top of learning. Meaning that students are expected to solve the problems involving the ethic, morality, and humanity through the class. Ability to solve the problems connecting either theories or applications is called scientific literacy which have been implemented in curriculum 2013 implicitly. Scientific literacy has an aspect of nature science and critical thinking. Both can be integrated to learning using scientific approach and scientific inquiry. Unfortunately, students’ ability of scientific literacy in Indonesia is far from expectation. A survey from PISA had proven it. Scientific literacy of Indonesian students is always at bottom five position from 2002 till 2012. Improving a scientific literacy needs many efforts against them. Developing an instructional material based on scientific approach is one kind of that efforts. Instructional material contains both aspect of nature of science and critical thinking which is instructed explicitly to improve the students’ understanding about science. Developing goal is to produce a prototype and an instructional material using scientific approach whose chapter is chemical bonding and intermolecular forces for high school students grade ten. As usual, the material is subjected to get either quantitative mark or suggestion through validation process using validation sheet instrument. Development model is adapted from 4D model containing four steps. They are define, design, develop, and disseminate. Nevertheless, development of instructional material had only done until third step. The final step wasn’t done because of time, cost, and energy limitations. Developed instructional material had been validated by four validators. They are coming from chemistry lecture and high school’s teacher which two at each. The result of this development research shown the average of quantitative mark of students’ book is 92.75% with very proper in criteria. Given at same validation process, teacher’s guiding book got the average mark by 96.98%, similar criteria with students’ book. Qualitative mark including both comments and suggestions resulted from validation process were used as consideration for the revision. The result concluded us how the instructional materials using scientific approach to explicit nature of science and critical thinking on the topic of chemical bonding and intermolecular forces are very proper if they are used at learning activity.

Keywords: critical thinking, instructional material, nature of science, scientific literacy

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Authors: Khaled Bahgat

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In the present work, the characterization of 4-Amino-3-phenyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5(4H)-thione (APTT) molecule was carried out by quantum chemical method and vibrational spectral techniques. The FT-IR (4000–400 cm_1) and FT-Raman (4000–100 cm_1) spectra of APTT were recorded in solid phase. The UV–Vis absorption spectrum of the APTT was recorded in the range of 200–400 nm. The molecular geometry, harmonic vibrational frequencies and bonding features of APTT in the ground state have been calculated by HF and DFT methods using 6-311++G(d,p) basis set. The complete vibrational frequency assignments were made by normal coordinate analysis (NCA) following the scaled quantum mechanical force field methodology (SQMF). The molecular stability and bond strength were investigated by applying the natural bond orbital analysis (NBO) and natural localized molecular orbital (NLMO) analysis. The electronic properties, such as excitation energies, absorption wavelength, HOMO and LUMO energies were performed by time depended DFT (TD-DFT) approach. The 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shift of the molecule were calculated using the gauge-including atomic orbital (GIAO) method and compared with experimental results. Finally, the calculation results were analyzed to simulate infrared, FT-Raman and UV spectra of the title compound which shows better agreement with observed spectra.

Keywords: 4-amino-3-phenyl-1H-1, 2, 4-triazole-5(4H)-thione, vibrational assignments, normal coordinate analysis, quantum mechanical calculations

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Authors: Charmaine Lamiel, Van Hoa Nguyen, Deivasigamani Ranjith Kumar, Jae-Jin Shim

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The quest for alternative sources of energy storage had led to the exploration on supercapacitors. Hybrid supercapacitors, a combination of carbon-based material and transition metals, had yielded long and improved cycle life as well as high energy and power densities. In this study, microwave irradiation was used for the facile and rapid synthesis of mesoporous RGO@(Co,Mn)3O4 nanosheets as an active electrode material. The advantages of this method include the non-use of reducing agents and acidic medium, and no further post-heat treatment. Additionally, it offers shorter reaction time at low temperature and low power requirement, which allows low fabrication and energy cost. The as-prepared electrode material demonstrated a high capacitance of 953 F•g−1 at 1 A•g−1 in a 6 M KOH electrolyte. Furthermore, the electrode exhibited a high energy density of 76.2 Wh•kg−1 (power density of 720 W•kg−1) and a high power density of 7200 W•kg−1 (energy density of 38 Wh•kg−1). The successful synthesis was considered to be efficient and cost-effective, with very promising electrochemical performance that can be used as an active material in supercapacitors.

Keywords: cobalt manganese oxide, electrochemical, graphene, microwave synthesis, supercapacitor

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Authors: Reena Aggarwal

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The use of textile chemicals in the various pre and post-textile manufacturing processes has made the textile industry conscious of its negative contribution to environmental pollution. Popular environmentally friendly fibers such as recycled polyester and organic cotton have been now increasingly used by fabrics and apparel manufacturers. However, after these textiles or the finished apparel are manufactured, they have to be dyed in the same chemical dyes that are harmful and toxic to the environment. Dyeing is a major area of concern for the environment as well as for people who have chemical sensitivities as it may cause nausea, breathing difficulties, seizures, etc. Ayurvastra or herbal medical textiles are one step ahead of the organic lifestyle, which supports the core concept of holistic well-being and also eliminates the impact of harmful chemicals and pesticides. There is a wide range of herbs that can be used not only for dyeing but also for providing medicinal properties to the textiles like antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, antidepressant and for treating insomnia, skin diseases, etc. The concept of herbal dyeing of fabric is to manifest herbal essence in every aspect of clothing, i.e., from production to end-use, additionally to eliminate the impact of harmful chemical dyes and chemicals which are known to result in problems like skin rashes, headache, trouble concentrating, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, dizziness, difficulty breathing, irregular heartbeat and seizures. Herbal dyeing or finishing on textiles will give an extra edge to the textiles as it adds an extra function to the fabric. The herbal extracts can be applied to the textiles by a simple process like the pad dry cure method and mainly acts on the human body through the skin for aiding in the treatment of disease or managing the medical condition through its herbal properties. This paper, therefore, delves into producing Ayurvastra, which is a perfect amalgamation of cloth and wellness. The aim of the paper is to design and create herbal disposable and non-disposable medical textile products acting mainly topically (through the skin) for providing medicinal properties/managing medical conditions. Keeping that in mind, a range of antifungal socks and antibacterial napkins treated with turmeric and aloe vera were developed, which are recommended for the treatment of fungal and bacterial infections, respectively. Both Herbal Antifungal socks and Antibacterial napkins have proved to be efficient enough in managing and treating fungal and bacterial infections of the skin, respectively.

Keywords: ayurvastra, ayurveda, herbal, pandemic, sustainable

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Authors: Alalddin Al-Tarawneh

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In its literal translation, the Qur’an is frequently subject to misinterpretation as a result of failures to deliver its meaning into any language. This paper relies on the genuine aspect that the Qur’an is an oral performance in its nature; and the objective of any Qur’an translation is to deliver its meaning in English. Therefore, it approaches the translation of the Qur’an beyond the usual formal linguistic approach in order to include an extra-textual factor. This factor is the recitation or oral performance of the Qur’an, that is, tajweed as it is termed in Arabic. The translations used in this paper to apply the suggested approach were carefully chosen to be representative of the problems that exist in many Qur’an translations. These translations are The Meaning of the Holy Quran: Translation and Commentary by Ali (1989), The Meaning of the Glorious Koran by Pickthall (1997/1930), and The Quran: Arabic Text with Corresponding English Meanings by Sahih (2010). Through the examples cited in this paper, it is suggested that the agents involved in producing a ‘translation’ of the Holy Qur’an have to take into account its oral aspect which yields additional senses and meanings that are not being captured by adhering to the words of the ‘written’ discourse. This paper attempts in its translation into English.

Keywords: oral performance, tajweed, Qur'an translation, recitation

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Authors: A. Elsayed, M. H. Dewaidar, M. Ghali

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We report on deposition of smooth, pinhole-free, low-surface roughness ( < 4nm) and high optical quality cadmium sulfide (CdS) thin films on glass substrates using our new method based on chemical surface deposition principle. In this method, cadmium acetate and thiourea are used as reactants under special growth conditions for deposition of CdS films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements were used to examine the crystal structure properties of the deposited CdS films. In addition, UV-vis transmittance and low-temperature (4K) photoluminescence (PL) measurements were performed for quantifying optical properties of the deposited films. Interestingly, we found that XRD pattern of the deposited films has dramatically changed when the growth temperature was raised during the reaction. Namely, the XRD measurements reveal a structural change of CdS film from Cubic to Hexagonal phase upon increase in the growth temperature from 75 °C to 200 °C. Furthermore, the deposited films show high optical quality as confirmed from observation of both sharp edge in the transmittance spectra and strong PL intensity at room temperature. Also, we found a strong effect of the growth conditions on the optical band gap of the deposited films; where remarkable red-shift in the absorption edge with temperature is clearly seen in both transmission and PL spectra. Such tuning of both optical band gap and crystal structure of the deposited CdS films; can be utilized for tuning the electronic bands alignments between CdS and other light harvesting materials, like CuInGaSe or CdTe, for potential improvement in the efficiency of all-solution processed solar cells devices based on these heterostructures.

Keywords: thin film, CdS, new method, optical properties

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Authors: H. Lahlali F. El Haouzi, A.M.Al-Baradi, I. El Aboudi, M. El Azhari, A. Mdarhri

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Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a high performance thermoplastic polymer with exceptional physical and chemical properties, such as a high melting temperature, high thermal stability, and very good chemical resistance. Nevertheless, manufacturing PTFE is problematic due to its high melt viscosity (10 12 Pa.s). In practice, it is by now well established that this property presents a serious problem when the classical methods are used to synthesized the dense PTFE materials in particularly hot pressing, high temperature extrusion. In this framework, we use here a new process namely spark plasma sintering (SPS) to elaborate PTFE samples from the micro metric particles powder. It consists in applying simultaneous electric current and pressure directly on the sample powder. By controlling the processing parameters of this technique, a series of PTFE samples are easy obtained and associated to remarkably short time as is reported in an early work. Our central goal in the present study is to understand how the non conventional SPS affects the mechanical properties at room temperature. For this end, a second commercially series of PTFE synthesized by using the extrusion method is investigated. The first data according to the tensile mechanical properties are found to be superior for the first set samples (SPS). However, this trend is not observed for the results obtained from the compression testing. The observed macro-behaviors are correlated to some physical properties of the two series of samples such as their crystallinity or density. Upon a close examination of these properties, we believe the SPS technique can be seen as a promising way to elaborate the polymer having high molecular mass without compromising their mechanical properties.

Keywords: PTFE, extrusion, Spark Plasma Sintering, physical properties, mechanical behavior

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Authors: Kamrun N. Keya, Nasrin A. Kona, Ruhul A. Khan

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Sugarcane bagasse (SCB)-reinforced Polypropylene (PP) Based matrix composites (25-45 wt% fiber) were fabricated by a compression molding technique. The SCB surface was chemically modified using 5%-10% sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and after that, mechanical properties, water uptake, and soil degradation of the composites were investigated. Tensile strength (TS), tensile modulus (TM), bending strength (BS), bending modulus (BM) and elongation at break (Eb%) of the 30wt% composites were found to be 35.6 MPa, 10.2 GPa, 56 MPa, 5.6 GPa, and 11%, respectively. The SCB/PP based composites were treated with irradiated under gamma radiation (the source strength 50 kCi Cobalt-60) of various doses (2.5 kGy to 10 kGy). The effect of gamma radiation on the composites was also investigated, and it found that the effect of 5.0 kGy (i.e. units for radiation measurement is 'gray', kGy=kilogray ) gamma dose showed better mechanical properties than other doses. The results revealed that the combination of the chemical modification of the SCB fibers and irradiation of the composites were more effective in compatibility improvement than chemical modification alone. After flexural testing, fracture sides of the untreated and treated both composites were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). SEM results of the treated SCB/PP based composites showed better fiber-matrix adhesion than untreated SCB/PP based composites. However, it was found that the treated SCB/PP composite has better mechanical strength, durability, and more receptivity than untreated SCB/PP based composite.

Keywords: sugarcane bagasse (SCB), polypropylene (PP), mechanical properties, scanning electron microscope (SEM), gamma radiation, water uptake tests and soil degradation

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Authors: A. Dadda, D. Khelef, K. Ait-Oudia, R. Kaidi

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Neonatal calf diarrhea is the most important disease of neonatal calves and results in the greatest economic losses due to disease in this age group in both dairy and beef calves. The objectives of the present study were to estimate the morbidity and the mortality of neonatal diarrhea in dairy calves also to determine aetiology and risk factors were caused diarrhea in dairy veal under 60 days old. A total of 324 claves, housed in 30 dairy breeding were followed during two velage season from January to Juan 2013. The total mortality was 5,9% and was significantly higher in calves had less than 15 days of age. The incidence rate of diarrhea was 31,5% and peaked in the first two weeks after velage. The main causes were breeding controls, defect of passive immunity, old of calf, production season, and nutrient of pregnant cattle, veal’s housing and infectious agents. ELISA test on 22 fecal samples revealed that the 31, 82% of dairy breeding were infected, by cryptosporidium parvum in 13, 6% of study population, E.Coli F5 in 9% and Rotavirus with rate of 4, 5%.

Keywords: diarrhoea, neonatal, mortality, aetiology, risk factors, incidence

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Authors: Amira Khelil, Habib Affes

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Organization resource planning implementation success is important. Today`s competitors in business, in enterprise resource planning and in managing are becoming one of the main tools of achieving competitiveness in business. Resource technologies are considered as an infrastructure to create and maintain business to improve front and back-office efficiency and effectiveness. This study is significant to bring new ideas in determining the key antecedents which are technological resource planning implementation based on knowledge capacity perspectives and help to understand the key success factor in the Tunisian banks. Based on a survey of 150 front office Tunisian agents working in Tunisian banks with mixed capital, using Groupware system, only 51 respondents had given feedback to this survey. By using Warp PLS 3.0, through several tests the relationship between knowledge capability and Groupware implementation success having beta coefficient 0.37 and P-Value <0.01. This result highlights that knowledge capability of bank agent can influence the success of the Groupware implementation.

Keywords: groupware implementation, knowledge capacity, partial least squares method, Tunisian banks

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Authors: Mesbah Khaled, Bouraoui Ouissal, Benkiniouar Rachid, Belkhiri Lotfi

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Alstonia, which are tropical plants with a wide geographical distribution, have been divided into different sections by different authors based on previous studies of several species within the genus. Monachino divides Alstonia into 5 sections, while Pichon divides it into 3 sections. Several plants belonging to this genus, such as Alstonia brassii, have been used in traditional folk medicine to treat ailments such as fever, malaria and dysentery]. Previous studies focusing on the chemical composition of these plants have successfully identified indol alkaloids with cytotoxic, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory properties. The newly discovered monomers are structurally similar to the backbones of picralin, affinisin and macrolin. On the other hand, all recently isolated dimeric compounds have a macrolin moiety. In this study, a computational analysis was performed on a series of novel molecules, including both monomeric and dimeric compounds with different structural frameworks. This investigation represents the first computational study of these molecules using an in silico approach incorporating 2D-QSAR data. The analysis involved various computational techniques, including 2D-QSAR modelling, molecular docking studies and subsequent validation by molecular dynamics simulation and assessment of ADMET properties. The chemical composition was identified by 1D and 2D NMR. Eight new alkaloids were isolated, 5 monomers and 3 dimers. In this section, we focus on the biological activity of 4 new alkaloids belonging to two different skeletons, the affinisine skeleton.

Keywords: affinisine, talcarpine, macroline, cytotoxicity, alkaloids

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Authors: Abdelmaoula Mahamoud Tahir, Sedat Sert

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The possibility of improving the shear strength of unsaturated clayey soil with the addition of olivine was investigated in this paper. Unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests (UU), under different cell pressures (namely: 100 kPa and 200 kPa), with varying percentages of olivine (10% and 20% by weight) and with one day, 28 days, and 56 days curing times, were performed to determine the shear strength of the soil. The increase in strength was observed as a function of the increase in olivine content. An olivine content of 25% was determined as the optimum value to achieve the targeted improvement for both cure times. A comparative study was also conducted between clay samples treated with only olivine and others in the presence of potassium hydroxide (KOH). Clay samples treated with olivine and activated with potassium hydroxide (KOH) had higher shear strength than non-activated olivine-treated samples. It was determined that the strength of the clay samples treated with only olivine did not increase over time and added resistance only with the high specific gravity of olivine. On the other hand, the samples activated with potassium hydroxide (KOH) added to the resistance with high specific gravity and the chemical bonds of olivine. Morphological and mineralogical analyzes were carried out in this study to see and analyze the chemical bonds formed after the reaction. The main components of this improvement were the formation of magnesium-aluminate-hydrate and magnesium-silicate-hydrate. Compared to older methods such as cement addition, these results show that in stabilizing clayey soils, olivine additive offers an energy-efficient alternative for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Keywords: ground stabilization, clay, olivine additive, KOH, microstructure

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Authors: Sema Şenoğlu, Sevgi Karakuş

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Hydrazone scaffold is important to design new drug groups and is found to possess numerous uses in pharmaceutical chemistry. Besides, hydrazone derivatives are also known for biological activities such as anticancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, and antifungal. Hydrazone derivatives are promising anticancer agents because they inhibit cancer proliferation and induce apoptosis. Human carbonic anhydrase IX has a high potential to be an antiproliferative drug target, and targeting this protein is also important for obtaining potential anticancer inhibitors. The protein construct was retrieved as a PDB file from the RCSB protein database. This binding interaction of proteins and ligands was performed using Discovery Studio Visualizer. In vitro inhibitory activity of hydrazone derivatives was tested against enzyme carbonic anhydrase IX on the PyRx programme. Most of these molecules showed remarkable human carbonic anhydrase IX inhibitory activity compared to the acetazolamide. As a result, these compounds appear to be a potential target in drug design against human carbonic anhydrase IX.

Keywords: cancer, carbonic anhydrase IX enzyme, docking, hydrazone

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Authors: Rita Hairani, Warinthorn Chavasiri

Abstract:

Naphthoquinones are secondary metabolites widespread in nature and can be produced by plants, fungi and actinomycetes. The interest of naphthoquinones is not only limited as organic dyes, but also their wide variety of biological activities such as antitumor, antibacterial, and cytotoxic activities. Typical 1,2-naphthoquinones such as mansonones can be found in Mansonia gagei Drumm. (“chan-cha-mod”), Sterculaceae family. This plant has been used traditionally to treat some diseases such as antiemetic and antidepressant. In this study, some natural mansonones isolated from the CH2Cl2 extract of M. gagei heartwood have been assessed for their antibacterial activities using agar well diffusion method. According to the antibacterial activity results of four natural mansonones (mansonones C, E, G and H), mansonones E and G showed higher activities than the others against Staphylococcus aureus, Propionibacterium acnes and Salmonella typhi, respectively. Since mansonone G exhibited good antibacterial activity and was obtained in the highest yield, we decided to derivertize mansonone G into five ether analogues. Based on the antibacterial activities of these synthesized compounds, four ether analogues (compounds 1-4) revealed higher antibacterial activities than its natural mansonone G against S. aureus and S. typhi.

Keywords: Mansonia gagei Drumm., antibacterial activities, mansonone G, ether analogues

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Authors: Neeraj Sahu, Ahmad Saadiq

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Anaerobic sulphate reduction has the potential for being effective and economically viable over conventional treatment methods for the treatment of sulphate-rich wastewater. However, a major challenge in anaerobic sulphate reduction is the diversion of a fraction of organic carbon towards methane production and some minor problem such as odour problems, corrosion, and increase of effluent chemical oxygen demand. A high-rate anaerobic technology has encouraged researchers to extend its application to the treatment of complex wastewaters with relatively low cost and energy consumption compared to physicochemical methods. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of COD/SO₄²⁻ ratio on the performance of lab scale UASB reactor. A lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was operated for 170 days. In which first 60 days, for successful start-up with acclimation under methanogenesis and sulphidogenesis at COD/SO₄²⁻ of 18 and were operated at COD/SO₄²⁻ ratios of 12, 8, 4 and 1 to evaluate the effects of the presence of sulfate on the reactor performance. The reactor achieved maximum COD removal efficiency and biogas evolution at the end of acclimation (control). This phase lasted 53 days with 89.5% efficiency. The biogas was 0.6 L/d at (OLR) of 1.0 kg COD/m³d when it was treating synthetic wastewater with effective volume of reactor as 2.8 L. When COD/SO₄²⁻ ratio changed from 12 to 1, slight decrease in COD removal efficiencies (76.8–87.4%) was observed, biogas production decreased from 0.58 to 0.32 L/d, while the sulfate removal efficiency increased from 42.5% to 72.7%.

Keywords: anaerobic, chemical oxygen demand, organic loading rate, sulphate, up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor

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