Search results for: abundance

Authors: Saveena Bogtapa, Jagbir Singh Kirti

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Himalaya is one of the most fascinating ranges in the world. In India, it comprises 18 percent of the land area. Lahoul valley which is a part of Trans-Himalaya region is well known for its unique, diverse flora and fauna. It lies in the North-Eastern corner of the state Himachal Pradesh where its altitude ranges between 2500m to 5000m. Vegetation of this region is dry-temperate to alpine type. The diversity of the area is very less, rare, unique and highly endemic. But today, as a lot of environmental degradation has taken place in this hot spot of biodiversity because of frequent developmental and commercial activities which lead to the diversity of this area comes under a real threat. Therefore, as part of the research, butterflies which are known for their attractiveness as well as usefulness to the ecosystem, are used for the study. The diversity of butterflies of a particular area not only provides a healthy environment but also serves as the first step of conservation to the biodiversity. Their distribution in different habitats and altitude type helps us to understand the species richness and abundance in an area. Moreover, different environmental parameters which affect the butterfly community has also recorded. Hence, the present study documents the butterfly diversity in an unexplored habitat and altitude types at Lahoul valley. The valley has been surveyed along with altitudinal gradients (from 2500m to 4500m) and in various habitats like agriculture land, grassland, scrubland, riverine and in different types of forests. Very rare species of butterflies have been explored, and these will be discussed along with different parameters during the presentation.

Keywords: butterflies, diversity, Lahoul valley, altitude, vegetation

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Authors: Saji Varghese

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Naturally dried and fallen coconut leaves and found in abundance in India and other coconut growing regions of the world. These fallen coconut leaves are usually burnt by farmers in landfills and open kitchens, leading to CO2 and particulate emissions. The innovation of biodegradable drinking straws from naturally dried and fallen coconut leaves by this researcher and his team has opened up opportunities to create value out of this agri-waste leading to i. prevention of burning of these discarded leaves ii. income generating opportunities to women in rural areas of coconut growing regions iii. an alternative to single use plastic straws. The team has developed five special purpose machines, which are deployed in the three villages on a pilot basis where 36 women are employed. The women are trained in the use of these machines, and the straws which are in good demand are sold globally. The present paper analyses the prospective impact of this innovation on the incomes of women working at the straw production centres and the consequent impact on their standards of living, The paper also analyses the impact of this innovation in the reduction of CO2 and particulate emissions and makes a case for support from Govt and Non Govt organizations in coconut growing regions to set up straw production centres to boost rural circular economy and to reduce carbon footprint and eliminate plastic pollution

Keywords: drinking straws, coconut leaves, circular economy, sustainability

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Authors: Sahabeh Safarpour, Khiruddin Abdullah, Hwee San Lim, Mohsen Dadras

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Air pollution is a growing problem arising from domestic heating, high density of vehicle traffic, electricity production, and expanding commercial and industrial activities, all increasing in parallel with urban population. Monitoring and forecasting of air quality parameters are important due to health impact. One widely available metric of aerosol abundance is the aerosol optical depth (AOD). The AOD is the integrated light extinction coefficient over a vertical atmospheric column of unit cross section, which represents the extent to which the aerosols in that vertical profile prevent the transmission of light by absorption or scattering. Seasonal aerosol optical depth (AOD) values at 550 nm derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard NASA’s Terra satellites, for the 10 years period of 2000-2010 were used to test 7 different spatial interpolation methods in the present study. The accuracy of estimations was assessed through visual analysis as well as independent validation based on basic statistics, such as root mean square error (RMSE) and correlation coefficient. Based on the RMSE and R values of predictions made using measured values from 2000 to 2010, Radial Basis Functions (RBFs) yielded the best results for spring, summer, and winter and ordinary kriging yielded the best results for fall.

Keywords: aerosol optical depth, MODIS, spatial interpolation techniques, Radial Basis Functions

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Authors: Adriana Martínez-Arias, John Josephraj Selvaraj, Luis Octavio González-Salcedo

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In the Colombian Pacific, Dorado fish (Coryphaena hippurus L.) fisheries is of great commercial interest. However, its habitat and fisheries may be affected by climatic change especially by the actual increase in sea surface temperature. Hence, it is of interest to study the dynamics of these species fishing zones. In this study, we developed Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) models to predict Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) as an indicator of species abundance. The model was based on four oceanographic variables (Chlorophyll a, Sea Surface Temperature, Sea Level Anomaly and Bathymetry) derived from satellite data. CPUE datasets for model training and cross-validation were obtained from logbooks of commercial fishing vessel. Sea surface Temperature for Colombian Pacific were projected under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios 4.5 and 8.5 using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) and CPUE maps were created. Our results indicated that an increase in sea surface temperature reduces the potential fishing zones of this species in the Colombian Pacific. We conclude that ANN is a reliable tool for simulation of climate change effects on the potential fishing zones. This research opens a future agenda for other species that have been affected by climate change.

Keywords: climatic change, artificial neural networks, dorado fish, CPUE

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Authors: Nicolas Plamondon, Stuart Atkinson, Shuzi Zhou

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The insurance industry is usually not the first topic one has in mind when thinking about applications of data science. However, the use of data science in the finance and insurance industry is growing quickly for several reasons, including an abundance of reliable customer data, ferocious competition requiring more accurate pricing, etc. Among the top use cases of data science, we find pricing optimization, customer segmentation, customer risk assessment, fraud detection, marketing, and triage analytics. The objective of this paper is to present an application of the generalized additive model (GAM) on a commercial automobile insurance product: an individually rated commercial automobile. These are vehicles used for commercial purposes, but for which there is not enough volume to apply pricing to several vehicles at the same time. The GAM model was selected as an improvement over GLM for its ease of use and its wide range of applications. The model was trained using the largest split of the data to determine model parameters. The remaining part of the data was used as testing data to verify the quality of the modeling activity. We used the Gini coefficient to evaluate the performance of the model. For long-term monitoring, commonly used metrics such as RMSE and MAE will be used. Another topic of interest in the insurance industry is to process of producing the model. We will discuss at a high level the interactions between the different teams with an insurance company that needs to work together to produce a model and then monitor the performance of the model over time. Moreover, we will discuss the regulations in place in the insurance industry. Finally, we will discuss the maintenance of the model and the fact that new data does not come constantly and that some metrics can take a long time to become meaningful.

Keywords: insurance, data science, modeling, monitoring, regulation, processes

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Authors: Zayedali Shaikh

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Increasingly now more than ever, UV damage brings with it a litany of minor deformities that can range from mild lesions and discoloring to cataracts and blindness. Pluripotent stem cells in planaria and human skin can be used to treat wounds and skin damage, with the primary limitations being inadequate growth factors. Photobiomodulation therapy in the form of low-intensity red light therapy has been proven to provide helpful benefits in the healing of skin that displays some of the symptoms of UV damage, such as burns and lesions, along with stimulating the proliferation of stem cells in recellularizing tissue. This paper puts forth an alternate means by which to treat the effects of UV damage using the freshwater planarian model system, Dugesia dorotocephala, known for its regenerative abilities and abundance of pluripotent stem cells, which allow for the rapid growth and repair of missing or damaged structures. Our work consisted of exposing planaria to different types of light: red light, blue light, white light, darkness, red and blue light together, UV light, and finally, red and UV light together. The primary focus of this research was on the red and UV lights, with six controls acting as metrics to compare our findings. Through computer-assisted morphological analysis, the results show that there is no significant difference in the rates of regeneration of planaria treated with simultaneous exposure to red and UV light versus planaria in darkness (p > .05), a representation of their preferred natural habitat. Our research suggests the viability of red-light therapy in actively combating UV damage and expediting the growth of epidermal stem cells by acting as another growth factor.

Keywords: regenerative medicine, stem cells, planaria, photobiomodulation

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Authors: Haiqiang Song, Huiqing Liu

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The Doseo basin in Chad, Central Africa is one of the most important oil and gas blocks in the world. However, the low degree of oil and gas exploration and the lack of relevant geological data restrict the understanding and resource evaluation of the basin. To further develop the Doseo basin efficiently, it is urgent to deeply analyze the source rock characteristics and hydrocarbon generation potential of the Doseo basin. Based on seismic and drilling data in recent years, this paper systematically evaluates the geochemical characteristics of source rocks and their generated oils in Doseo Basin, explores the development, distribution, and evolution characteristics of source rocks, and evaluates the exploration potential of Doseo Basin according to the hydrocarbon enrichment law. The results show that the Lower Cretaceous Baliemian and Apudian source rocks in Doseo Basin are well developed, with high organic matter abundance (average TOC≥3%) and good organic matter types (type I~II), which are the main development layers of source rocks, but the organic matter maturity is generally low (Ro of the drilled source rocks is mainly between 0.4%~0.8%). The planar structure also shows that the main hydrocarbon accumulation mode in Doseo sag is the forward tectonic reservoirs such as near source anticlines and faulted noses. Finally, it is estimated that the accumulative resources of the main source rocks in the Doseo Basin are about 4.33× 108T in Apudite and Balim terrace layers. The results of this study will help guide the next step of oil and gas exploration, which is expected to drive the next step of oil and gas development.

Keywords: Doseo basin, lower cretaceous, source rock characteristics, developmental characteristics, hydrocarbon generation potential

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Authors: Samir Chekchaki, ArifaBeddiar

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Nowadays, more and more species are introduced outside their natural range. If most of them remain difficult, some may adopt a much more dynamic behavior. Indeed, we have witnessed in recent decades, the development of high forests of Acacia mearnsii in El Kala National Park. Introduced indefinitely, this leguminous intended to make money (nitrogen supply for industrial plantations of Eucalyptus), became one of the most invasive and more costly in terms of forest management. It has crossed all barriers: it has acclimatized, naturalized and then expanded through diverse landscapes; entry into competition with native species such as cork oak and altered ecosystem functioning. Therefore, it is interesting to analyze this new threat by relying on plants as bio-indicator for assessing biodiversity at different scales. We have identified the species present in several plots distributed in a range of vegetation types subjected to different degrees of disturbance by using the braun-blanquet method. Fifty-six species have been recorded. They are distributed in 48 genera and 29 families. The analysis of the relative frequency of species correlated with relative abundance clearly shows that the Acacia mearnsii feels marginalized. The ecological analysis of this biological invasion shows that disruption of either natural or anthropogenic origin (fire, prolonged drought, cut) represent the factors that exacerbate invasion by opening invasion windows. The lifting of seeds of Acacia mearnsii lasting physical dormancy (and variable) is ensured by the thermal shock in relation to its heliophilous character.

Keywords: Acacia mearnsii De Wild, El Kala National park, fire, invasive, vegetation

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Authors: Hafiza Javaria Ashraf, Xinghong Wang, Zhanghong Shi, Youming Hou

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Insect’s innate immunity depends on a variety of defense responses for the recognition of invading pathogens. Pathogen recognition involves particular proteins known as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). These PRRs interact with pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) present on the surface of pathogens to distinguish between self and non-self. C-type lectins (CTLs) belong to a superfamily of PPRs which involved in insect immunity and defense mechanism. Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier is a devastating pest of Palm cultivations in China. Although studies on R. ferrugineus immune mechanism and host defense have conducted, however, the role of CTL in immune responses of R. ferrugineus remains elusive. Here, we report RfCTL, which is a secreted protein containing a single-CRD domain. The open reading frame (ORF) of CTL is 226 bp, which encodes a putative protein of 168 amino acids. Transcript expression analysis revealed that RfCTL highly expressed in immune-related tissues, i.e., hemolymph and fat body. The abundance of RfCTL in the gut and fat body dramatically increased upon Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacterial challenges, suggesting a role in defense against gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial infection. Taken together, we inferred that RfCTL might be involved in the immune defense of R. ferrugineus and established a solid foundation for future studies on R. ferrugineus CTL domain proteins for better understanding of insect immunity.

Keywords: biological invasion, c-type lectin, insect immunity, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Oliver

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Authors: Tamar Trop, Ido Izhaki

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Small natural freshwater bodies (SNFWBs), which are vital for many waterbird species, are considered endangered habitats due to their progressive loss and extensive degradation. While SNFWBs are becoming extinct, studies have indicated that many waterbird species may greatly benefit from various types of small artificial waterbodies (SAWBs), such as floodwater and treated water reservoirs. If designed and managed with care, SAWBs hold significant potential to serve as alternative or complementary habitats for birds, and thus mitigate the adverse effects of SNFWBs loss. Currently, most reservoirs are built as infrastructural facilities and designed according to engineering best practices and site-specific considerations, which do not include catering for waterbirds' needs. Furthermore, as things stand, there is still a lack of clear and comprehensive knowledge regarding the additional factors that should be considered in tackling the challenge of attracting waterbirds' to reservoirs, without compromising on the reservoirs' original functions. This study attempts to narrow this knowledge gap by performing a systematic review of the various factors (e.g., bird attributes; physical, structural, spatial, climatic, chemical, and biological characteristics of the waterbody; and anthropogenic activities) affecting the occurrence, abundance, richness, and diversity of waterbirds in SNFWBs. The methodical review provides a concise and relatively unbiased synthesis of the knowledge in the field, which can inform decision-making and practice regarding the planning, design, and management of reservoirs with birds in mind. Such knowledge is especially beneficial for arid and semiarid areas, where natural water sources are deteriorating and becoming extinct even faster due to climate change.

Keywords: artificial waterbodies, reservoirs, small waterbodies, waterbirds

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Authors: Dhruv J. Limaye, Hanga Galfalvy, Cheick A. Sissoko, Yung-yu Huang, Chunanning Tang, Ying Liu, Shu-Chi Hsiung, Andrew J. Dwork, Gorazd B. Rosoklija, Victoria Arango, Lewis Brown, J. John Mann, Maura Boldrini

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Memory and emotion require hippocampal cell viability and connectivity and are disrupted in major depressive disorder (MDD). Applying shotgun proteomics and stereological quantification of neural progenitor cells (NPCs), intermediate neural progenitors (INPs), and mature granule neurons (GNs), to postmortem human hippocampus, identified differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), and fewer NPCs, INPs and GNs, in untreated MDD (uMDD) compared with non-psychiatric controls (CTRL) and antidepressant-treated MDD (MDDT). DEPs lower in uMDD vs. CTRL promote mitosis, differentiation, and prevent apoptosis. DEPs higher in uMDD vs. CTRL inhibit the cell cycle, and regulate cell adhesion, neurite outgrowth, and DNA repair. DEPs lower in MDDT vs. uMDD block cell proliferation. We observe group-specific correlations between numbers of NPCs, INPs, and GNs and an abundance of proteins regulating mitosis, differentiation, and apoptosis. Altered protein expression underlies hippocampus cellular and volume loss in uMDD, supports a trophic effect of antidepressants, and offers new treatment targets.

Keywords: proteomics, hippocampus, depression, mitosis, migration, differentiation, mitochondria, apoptosis, antidepressants, human brain

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Authors: P. Daniels, T. Adonis, P. September-Brown, R. Comalie

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The community engagement unit at the University of the Western Cape was tasked with establishing a community engagement database. The database would store information of all community engagement projects related to the university. The wealth of knowledge obtained from the various disciplines would be used to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration within the university, as well as facilitating community university partnership opportunities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore electronic data collection through the development of a database. Two types of electronic data collection platforms were used, namely online questionnaire and email. The semi structured questionnaire was used to collect data related to community engagement projects from different faculties and departments at the university. There are many benefits for using an electronic data collection platform, such as reduction of costs and time, ease in reaching large numbers of potential respondents, and the possibility of providing anonymity to participants. Despite all the advantages of using the electronic platform, there were as many challenges, as depicted in our findings. The findings suggest that certain barriers existed by using an electronic platform for data collection, even though it was in an academic environment, where knowledge and resources were in abundance. One of the challenges experienced in this process was the lack of dissemination of information via email to staff within faculties. The actual online software used for the questionnaire had its own limitations, such as only being able to access the questionnaire from the same electronic device. In a few cases, academics only completed the questionnaire after a telephonic prompt or face to face meeting about "Is higher education in South Africa ready to embrace electronic platform in data collection?"

Keywords: community engagement, database, data collection, electronic platform, electronic tools, knowledge sharing, university

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Authors: Arie Yanwar Kapriadi

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This research is aiming to develop deeper understanding of the scale of power that shaped the biofuel policy. This research is important for the following reasons. Firstly, this research will enrich the body of literature within the field of political ecology, scale and environmental governance. Secondly, by focussing on energy transition policies, this research offers a critical perspective on how government policy, aimed at delivering low carbon sustainable energy systems, being scaled and implemented through multi variate stakeholders. Finally, the research could help the government of Indonesia as a policy evaluation on delivering low carbon sustainable energy systems at the macro level that (possibility) being unable to be delivered at different scale and instead being perceived differently by different stakeholders. Qualitative method is applied particularly an in depth interview with government officials as well as policy stakeholders outside of government and people in positions of responsibility with regards to policy delivery. There are 4 field study location where interview took place as well as sites visit to some biofuel refining facilities. There are some major companies which involve on the production and distribution of biofuel and its relation with biofuel feedstock industry as the source of data. The research investigates how the government biofuel policies correlated with other policy issues such as land reclassification and carbon emission reduction which also influenced plantations expansion as well as its impact on the local people. The preliminary result shows tension of power between governing authorities caused the Indonesian biofuel policy being unfocused which led to failing to meet its mandatory blending target despite the abundance of its feedstock.

Keywords: biofuel, energy transition, renewable energy, political ecology

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Authors: Haaris Khan, Farhad Udwadia

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South Asians are the fastest-growing immigrant population in Canada and are 3-4 times more likely to develop diabetes. In a primary care setting, language barriers continue to persist as a prominent obstacle when delivering crucial health information. Given the abundance of languages in the South Asian community and the varying levels of English fluency, there is compelling evidence that these language barriers can adversely impact health outcomes. The microvascular and macrovascular complications of poor diabetic management are well established and universally recognized. However, these are often difficult concepts to grasp for even individuals fluent in English. In order to lessen the burden of language barriers, we developed a comprehensive guide in various languages that discuss the complications and screening guidelines for diabetic and prediabetic patients. The guide is presented in the form of a pamphlet, with an electronic version being constructed as well, that provides basic information on diabetic retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy as well as the screening recommendations. We also conducted a review of the literature around the topic and incorporated our findings into our project. Our goal is for primary care physicians to have this resource and to be able to provide the link or pamphlet to patients in need. Our presentation also provides a comprehensive overview of some of the other barriers that individuals in the South Asian community face when seeking care. Given the staggering number of individuals in the South Asian community with diabetes and the morbidity and mortality associated with diabetes and its complications, effective community-specific strategies are needed to mitigate the potential consequences of poor diabetes management.

Keywords: diabetes, patient education, ophthalmology, vascular surgery

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Authors: Thalía Moreno-García Malo, Santiago Torres-Ríos, María G. González-Cruz, María M. Hernández-Arroyo, Sergio R. Trejo-Estrada

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Agave atrovirens is the main source of agave sap, the raw material for the production of pulque, an artisanal fermented beverage, traditional since prehispanic times in the highlands of central Mexico. Agave sap is rich in glucose, sucrose and fructooligosaccharides, and strongly differs from agave syrup from A. tequilana, which is mostly a high molecular weight fructan. Agave sap is converted into pulque by a highly diverse microbial community which includes bacteria, yeast and even filamentous fungi. The bacterial diversity has been recently studied. But the composition of consortia derived from directed enrichments differs sharply from the whole fermentative consortium. Using classical microbiology methods, and selective liquid and solid media formulations, either bacterial or fungal consortia were developed and analyzed. Bacterial consortia able to catabolize specific prebiotic saccharides were selected and preserved for future developments. Different media formulations, selective for bacterial genera such as Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Lactococcus and Enterococcus were also used. For yeast, specific media, osmotic pressure and unique carbon sources were used as selective agents. Results show that most groups are represented in the enrichment cultures; although very few are recoverable from the whole consortium in artisanal pulque. Diversity and abundance vary among consortia. Potential bacterial probiotics obtained from agave sap and agave juices show tolerance to hydrochloric acid, as well as strong antimicrobial activity.

Keywords: Agave, pulque, microbial consortia, prebiotic activity

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Authors: Futo Asano, Yusuke Yatsushiro, Hirokuni Miyamoto, Hiroaki Kodama

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A thermophile-fermented compost is produced using small fishes, crabs, and shrimps under a high temperature (approximately 75℃) by fermentation-associated self-heating. This compost has been used as a feed additive for pigs and hens in Japan, and the fecundity of this livestock is enhanced. Firmicutes is a dominant phylum in the microbial composition of the compost. We first reported that improvement of female larval fitness of Hercules beetle can be achieved by amendment of this compost to the humus. When the 90-d-old larvae were reared for subsequent 72 days in the humus with this compost, the growth of female larvae was significantly enhanced when compared with the growth of female larvae in the humus without the compost. In contrast, the growth of male larvae in the compost-free humus was the same as the larvae grow in the compost-amended humus. The bacterial composition of the feces of larvae was determined at 0 days and 46 days after transfer to the humus with or without the compost. The most dominant bacterium in the feces was Xylanimonas. Interestingly, the growth improvement of female larvae was associated with an increased abundance of Mollicutes in the fecal samples. These results indicate that the compost act as a probiotic material for enhancing the female larvae growth by supporting Mollicutes. Here, we tried to isolate Mollicutes from the contents of the midgut and hindgut of the 3rd instar female larvae of the Hercules beetle. These gut contents were spread onto a selective agar medium for Mollicutes (PPLO agar broth, BD Difco, NJ, USA). Although we isolated none of the Mollicutes until now, several bacteria that are closely related to Xylanimonas and Luteimicrobium were isolated. These isolates have xylanase and glucanase (CMCase) activities. We show the gut bacterial profiles of larvae and discuss how the fitness of female larvae of the Hercules beetle is improved by the compost.

Keywords: compost, beetle, mollicutes, woody biomass

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Authors: Abdolghani Ebrahimi, Diego Klabjan, Chenxi Ge, Daniela Ladner, Parker Stride

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In this work, we use machine learning and novel data analysis techniques to predict the one-year mortality of cirrhotic patients. Data from 2,322 patients with liver cirrhosis are collected at a single medical center. Different machine learning models are applied to predict one-year mortality. A comprehensive feature space including demographic information, comorbidity, clinical procedure and laboratory tests is being analyzed. A temporal pattern mining technic called Frequent Subgraph Mining (FSM) is being used. Model for End-stage liver disease (MELD) prediction of mortality is used as a comparator. All of our models statistically significantly outperform the MELD-score model and show an average 10% improvement of the area under the curve (AUC). The FSM technic itself does not improve the model significantly, but FSM, together with a machine learning technique called an ensemble, further improves the model performance. With the abundance of data available in healthcare through electronic health records (EHR), existing predictive models can be refined to identify and treat patients at risk for higher mortality. However, due to the sparsity of the temporal information needed by FSM, the FSM model does not yield significant improvements. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to apply modern machine learning algorithms and data analysis methods on predicting one-year mortality of cirrhotic patients and builds a model that predicts one-year mortality significantly more accurate than the MELD score. We have also tested the potential of FSM and provided a new perspective of the importance of clinical features.

Keywords: machine learning, liver cirrhosis, subgraph mining, supervised learning

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Authors: Ambreen Aslam, Tahira Aziz Mughal, Skye R. Thomas-Hall, Peer M. Schenk

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Biodiesel is an alternative to petroleum-derived fuel mainly composed of fatty acid from oleaginous microalgae feedstock. Microalgae produced fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) as they can store high levels of lipids without competing for food productivity. After lipid extraction and esterification, fatty acid profile from algae feedstock possessed the abundance of fatty acids with carbon chain length specifically C16 and C18. The qualitative analysis of FAME was done by cultivating mix microalgae consortia under three different CO₂ concentrations (1%, 3%, and 5.5%) from a coal fired flue gas. FAME content (280.3 µg/mL) and productivity (18.69 µg/mL/D) was higher under 1% CO₂ (flue gas) as compare to other treatments. Whereas, Mixed C. (F) supplemented with 5.5% CO₂ (50% flue gas) had higher SFA (36.28%) and UFA (63.72%) which improve the oxidative stability of biodiesel. Subsequently, low Iodine value (136.3 gI₂/100g) and higher Cetane number (52) of Mixed C.+P (F) were found to be in accordance with European (EN 14214) standard under 5.5% CO₂ along with 50mM phosphate buffer. Experimental results revealed that sufficient phosphate reduced FAME productivity but significantly enhance biodiesel quality. This research aimed to develop an integrated approach of utilizing flue gas (as CO₂ source) for significant improvement in biodiesel quality under surplus phosphorus. CO₂ sequestration from industrial flue gas not only reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions but also ensure sustainability and eco-friendliness of the biodiesel production process through microalgae.

Keywords: biodiesel analysis, carbon dioxide, coal fired flue gas, FAME productivity, fatty acid profile, fuel properties, lipid content, mixed culture microalgae

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Authors: Charles Klein O. Gorit, Mark Tristan J. Quimque Jr., M. Cecilia V. Almeda, Concepcion M. Salvana

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Chitosan is a promising biopolymer commonly found in crustacean shells that has plausible effects in water purification and wastewater treatment. It is a primary derivative of chitin and considered second of the most abundant biopolymer prior to cellulose. Morphological analysis had been done using Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Microscopy (SEM/EDS), and due to its porous nature, it showcases a certain degree of porosity, hence, larger adsorption site of heavy metal. The Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy of the chitosan and ‘lead-bound’ chitosan, shows a relative increase of percent abundance of lead cation from 1.44% to 2.08% hence, adsorption occurs. Chitosan, as a nitrogenous polysaccharide, subjected to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis shows amide bands ranging from 1635.36 cm⁻¹ for amide 1 band and 1558.40 cm-1 for amide 2 band with NH stretching. For ‘lead-bound’ chitosan, the FT-IR analysis shows a change in peaks upon adsorption of Pb(II) cation. The spectrum shows broadening of OH and NH stretching band. Such observation can be attributed to the probability that the attachment of Pb(II) ions is in these functional groups. A column filter was devised with lead-bound chitosan to determine the zero point charge (pHzpc) of the biopolymer. The results show that at pH 8.34, below than the zpc level of literatures cited for lead which ranges from pH 4 to 7, favors the adsorption site of chitosan and its capability to adsorb traces amount of aqueous lead.

Keywords: chitosan, biopolymer, FT-IR, SEM, zero-point charge, heavy metal, lead ions

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Authors: Sinchan Ghosh, Fahad Al Basir, Santanu Ray, Sabyasachi Bhattacharya

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The cooperatively breeding birds have two major ranks for the sexually mature birds. The breeders mate and produce offspring while the non-breeding helpers increase the chick production rate through help in mate-finding and allo-parenting. However, the chicks also cooperate to raise their younger siblings through warming, defending and food sharing. Although, the existing literatures describes the evolution of allo-parenting in birds but do not differentiate the significance of allo-parenting in sexually immature and mature helpers separately. This study addresses the significance of both immature and mature helpers’ contribution to the total sustainable bird population in a breeding site using Blue-tailed bee-eater as a test-bed species. To serve this purpose, a mathematical model has been built considering each social status and chicks as separate but interactive compartments. Also, to observe the dynamics of each social status with changing prey abundance, a prey population has been introduced as an additional compartment. The model was analyzed for stability condition and was validated using field-data. A simulation experiment was then performed to observe the change in equilibria with a varying helping rate from both the helpers. The result from the simulation experiment suggest that the cooperative breeding population changes its population sizes significantly with a change in helping rate from the sexually immature helpers. On the other hand, the mature helpers do not contribute to the stability of the population equilibrium as much as the immature helpers.

Keywords: Blue-tailed bee eater, Altruism, Mathematical Ethology, Behavioural modelling

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Authors: Megan Burfoot, Shanta Budha-Magar, Ali Ghaffarianhoseini, Amirhoseini Ghaffarianhoseini

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Domestic backyards offer a valuable opportunity to contribute to biodiversity conservation efforts and promote ecological sustainability by cultivating native plant species. This study focuses on assessing the presence and maintenance of native plants in New Zealand's residential gardens through an online questionnaire. The survey was designed to collect data on the presence of native, exotic, and lawn plants in New Zealand backyards, alongside the allocation of maintenance resources for each category. Targeting a diverse range of residents and property sizes from different regions of New Zealand, this study sought to gain essential insights into practices related to native plant cultivation. Results reveal there is a collective inclination to reduce lawn coverage and introduce a higher abundance of native and exotic species. A thorough analysis of maintenance practices reveals a significant portion of respondents embracing environmentally friendly gardening, characterized by low-intensity fertilizer usage. Homeowners, especially those residing in their properties, demonstrate proactive engagement in backyard maintenance. Native plants were found to require more time, money and fertilizer for maintenance than those of exotic and lawn species. The insights gained from this study can guide targeted efforts to enhance urban biodiversity, making a significant contribution to the preservation and enrichment of New Zealand's unique biodiversity and ecological heritage in urban settings.

Keywords: biodiversity, backyards, planting behaviour, backyard maintenance, native planting

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Authors: Ghulam Mustafa Kamal, Xiaohua Wang, Bin Yuan, Abdullah Ijaz Hussain, Jie Wang, Shahzad Ali Shahid Chatha, Xu Zhang, Maili Liu

Abstract:

Organic food products are becoming increasingly popular in recent years, as consumers have turned more health conscious and environmentally aware. A lot of consumers have understood that the organic foods are healthier than conventionally produced food stuffs. Price difference between conventional and organic foods is very high. So, it is very common to cheat the consumers by mislabeling and adulteration. Our study describes the 1H NMR based approach to characterize and differentiate soy sauce prepared from organically and conventionally grown raw materials (wheat and soybean). Commercial soy sauce samples fermented from organic and conventional raw materials were purchased from local markets. Principal component analysis showed clear separation among organic and conventional soy sauce samples. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis showed a significant (p < 0.01) separation among two types of soy sauce yielding leucine, isoleucine, ethanol, glutamate, lactate, acetate, β-glucose, sucrose, choline, valine, phenylalanine and tyrosine as important metabolites contributing towards this separation. Abundance ratio of 13C to 12C was also evaluated by 1H NMR spectroscopy which showed an increased ratio of 13C isotope in organic soy sauce samples indicating the organically grown wheat and soybean used for the preparation of organic soy sauce. Results of the study can be helpful to the end users to select the soy sauce of their choice. This information could also pave the way to further trace and authenticate the raw materials used in production of soy sauce.

Keywords: 1H NMR, multivariate analysis, organic, conventional, 13C isotopic ratio, soy sauce

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Authors: Deepanjali Gurav, Kun Qian

Abstract:

In-vitro metabolic diagnosis relies on designed materials-based analytical platforms for detection of selected metabolites in biological samples, which has a key role in disease detection and therapeutic evaluation in clinics. However, the basic challenge deals with developing a simple approach for metabolic analysis in bio-samples with high sample complexity and low molecular abundance. In this work, we report a designer plasmonic nanoshells based platform for direct detection of small metabolites in clinical samples for in-vitro metabolic diagnostics. We first synthesized a series of plasmonic core-shell particles with tunable nanoshell structures. The optimized plasmonic nanoshells as new matrices allowed fast, multiplex, sensitive, and selective LDI MS (Laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry) detection of small metabolites in 0.5 μL of bio-fluids without enrichment or purification. Furthermore, coupling with isotopic quantification of selected metabolites, we demonstrated the use of these plasmonic nanoshells for disease detection and therapeutic evaluation in clinics. For disease detection, we identified patients with postoperative brain infection through glucose quantitation and daily monitoring by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis. For therapeutic evaluation, we investigated drug distribution in blood and CSF systems and validated the function and permeability of blood-brain/CSF-barriers, during therapeutic treatment of patients with cerebral edema for pharmacokinetic study. Our work sheds light on the design of materials for high-performance metabolic analysis and precision diagnostics in real cases.

Keywords: plasmonic nanoparticles, metabolites, fingerprinting, mass spectrometry, in-vitro diagnostics

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Authors: Adebisi Moruf Ademola

Abstract:

Hematite (Fe2O3),commonly known as ‘rust’ which usually surfaced on metal when exposed to some climatic materials. This emerges as a promising candidate for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting due to its favorable physiochemical properties of the narrow band gap (2.1–2.2 eV), chemical stability, nontoxicity, abundance, and low cost. However, inherent limitations such as short hole diffusion length (2–4 nm), high charge recombination rate, and slow oxygen evolution reaction kinetics inhibit the PEC performances of a-Fe2O3 photoanodes. As such, given the narrow bandgap enabling excellent optical absorption, increased charge carrier density and accelerated surface oxidation reaction kinetics become the key points for improved photoelectrochemical performances for a-Fe2O3 photoanodes and metal ion doping as an effective way to promote charge transfer by increasing donor density and improving the electronic conductivity of a-Fe2O3. Hematite attracts enormous efforts with a number of metal ions (Ti, Zr, Sn, Pt ,etc.) as dopants. A facile deposition-annealing process showed greatly enhanced PEC performance due to the increased donor density and reduced electron-hole recombination at the time scale beyond a few picoseconds. Zr doping was also found to enhance the PEC performance of a-Fe2O3 nanorod arrays by reducing the rate of electron-hole recombination. Slow water oxidation reaction kinetics, another main factor limiting the PEC water splitting efficiency of aFe2O3 as photoanodes, was previously found to be effectively improved by surface treatment.

Keywords: deposition-annealing, hematite, metal ion doping, nanorod

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Authors: Agnė Kairyte, Saulius Vaitkus

Abstract:

The gradual depletion of fossil feedstock and growing environmental concerns attracted extensive attention to natural resources due to their low cost, high abundance, renewability, sustainability, and biodegradability. Lignin is a significant by-product of the pulp and paper industry, having unique functional groups. Recently it became interesting for the manufacturing of high value-added products such as polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams. This study focuses on the development of high-performance polyurethane foams with various amounts of lignin as a filler. It is determined that the incorporation of lignin as a filler material results in brittle and hard products due to the low molecular mobility of isocyanates and the inherent stiffness of lignin. Therefore, the current study analyses new techniques and possibilities of liquid glass infusion onto the surface of lignin particles to reduce the negative aspects and improve the performance characteristics of the modified foams. The foams modified with sole lignin and liquid glass-infused lignin had an apparent density ranging from 35 kg/m3 to 45 kg/m3 and closed-cell content (80–90%). The incorporation of sole lignin reduced the compressive and tensile strengths and increased dimensional stability and water absorption, while the contrary results were observed for polyurethane foams with liquid glass-infused lignin particles. The effect on rheological parameters of lignin and liquid glass infused lignin modified polyurethane premixes and morphology of polyurethane foam products were monitored to optimize the conditions and reveal the significant influence of the interaction between particles and polymer matrix.

Keywords: filler, lignin waste, liquid glass, polymer matrix, polyurethane foam, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Tsegay Teklebrhan Gebremariam, Zhiliang, Arjan Jonker

Abstract:

The study investigated that using corn gluten (CG) instead of cornmeal (CM) increased dietary sulfur shifted H₂ metabolism from methanogenesis to alternative sink and modulated microbiome in the rumen as well as hindgut segments of goats. Ruminal fermentation, CH₄ emissions and microbial abundance in goats (n = 24). The experiment was performed using a randomized block design with two dietary treatments (CM and CG with 400 g/kg DM each). Goats in CG increased sulfur, NDF and CP intake and decreased starch intake as compared with those in CM. Goats that received CG diet had decreased dissolved hydrogen (dH₂) (P = 0.01) and dissolved methane yield and emission (dCH₄) (P = 0.001), while increased dH₂S both in the rumen and hindgut segments than those fed CM. Goats fed CG had higher (p < 0.01) gene copies of microbiota and cellulolytic bacteria, whereas starch utilizing bacterial species were less in the rumen and hindgut than those fed CM. Higher (P < 0.05) methanogenic diversity and abundances of Methanimicrococcus and Methanomicrobium were observed in goats that consumed CG, whilst containing lower Methanobrevibacter populations than those receiving CM. The study suggested that goats fed corn gluten improved the gene copies of microbiota and fibrolytic bacterial species while reducing starch utilizing species in the rumen and hindgut segments as compared with that fed cornmeal. Goats consuming corn gluten had a more enriched methanogenic diversity and reduced Methanobrevibacter, a contributor to CH₄ emissions, as compared with goats fed CM. Corn gluten could be used as an alternative feed to decrease the enteric CH₄ emission in ruminant production.

Keywords: dissolved gasses, methanogenesis, microbial community, metagenomics

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Authors: Wilman Septina, Rajiv R. Prabhakar, Thomas Moehl, David Tilley

Abstract:

Cupric oxide (CuO) is a promising absorber material for the fabrication of scalable, low cost solar energy conversion devices, due to the high abundance and low toxicity of copper. It is a p-type semiconductor with a band gap of around 1.5 eV, absorbing a significant portion of the solar spectrum. One of the main challenges in using CuO as solar absorber in an aqueous system is its tendency towards photocorrosion, generating Cu2O and metallic Cu. Although there have been several reports of CuO as a photocathode for hydrogen production, it is unclear how much of the observed current actually corresponds to H2 evolution, as the inevitability of photocorrosion is usually not addressed. In this research, we investigated the effect of the deposition of overlayers onto CuO thin films for the purpose of enhancing its photostability as well as performance for water splitting applications. CuO thin film was fabricated by galvanic electrodeposition of metallic copper onto gold-coated FTO substrates, followed by annealing in air at 600 °C. Photoelectrochemical measurement of the bare CuO film using 1 M phosphate buffer (pH 6.9) under simulated AM 1.5 sunlight showed a current density of ca. 1.5 mA cm-2 (at 0.4 VRHE), which photocorroded to Cu metal upon prolonged illumination. This photocorrosion could be suppressed by deposition of 50 nm-thick TiO2, deposited by atomic layer deposition. In addition, we found that insertion of an n-type CdS layer, deposited by chemical bath deposition, between the CuO and TiO2 layers was able to enhance significantly the photocurrent compared to without the CdS layer. A photocurrent of over 2 mA cm-2 (at 0 VRHE) was observed using the photocathode stack FTO/Au/CuO/CdS/TiO2/Pt. Structural, electrochemical, and photostability characterizations of the photocathode as well as results on various overlayers will be presented.

Keywords: CuO, hydrogen, photoelectrochemical, photostability, water splitting

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Authors: Abdalraheem Huwaysh, Khalil Al Samarrai, Yasmin ElAhmar

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Water quality is an important factor that determines its usage for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses. This study was carried out through the Tajoura Area, Jifarah Plain, Northwest Libya. Chemical and physical parameters were measured and analyzed for groundwater samples collected in 2021 from twenty-six wells distributed throughout the investigation area. Overexploitation of groundwater caused considerable deterioration in the water quality, especially at Tajoura Town (20 Km east of Tripoli). The aquifer shows an increase in salinization, which has reached an alarming level in many places during the past 25 years as a result of the seawater intrusion. The chemical composition of the water samples was compared with the drinking water standards of WHO and Libyan Standards. Groundwater from this area was not suitable to be a source for direct drinking based on Total Dissolved Solids. The dominant cation is sodium, while the dominant anion is chloride. Based on the Piper trilinear diagram, most of the groundwater samples (90%) were identified as sodium chloride type. The best groundwater quality exists at the southern part of the study area. Serious degradation in the water quality, expressed in salinity increase, occurs as we go towards the coastline. The abundance of NaCl waters is strong evidence to attribute the successive deterioration of the water quality to the seawater intrusion. Considering the values of Cl- concentration and the ratio of Cl-/HCO3-, about 70% of the groundwater samples were strongly affected by the saline water. Car wash stations in the study area as well as the unlined disposal pond used for the collection of untreated wastewater, contribute significantly to the deterioration of water quality. The water quality in this area needs to be monitored regularly and it is crucial to treat the water before consumption.

Keywords: Tajoura, groundwater, seawater intrusion, water quality

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Authors: Gashaw Abebaw

Abstract:

Concrete usage in Ethiopia is expanding at a faster rate than before. Cement is the most important and costly ingredient in this respect. The construction industry is currently challenged by cement scarcity and stock market inflation. Scholars' trays, on the other hand, will use natural pozzolan material to substitute cement. Apart from that, Metakaolin has pozzolanic characteristics. According to the industrial mineral occurrence map, Ethiopia kaolin may be found in abundance. Some of them include Debretabor, so it is good to utilize Metakaolin as cement replacement material. In this study, the capability of Ethiopian Metakaolin as a partial substitute for cement in C-25 concrete production with 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% replacement of PPC by MA with 0.49 percent water to cement ratio is investigated. The study examines; the chemical properties of MA, Physical properties of cement paste, workability, compressive strength, water absorption, density and sulfate attack of concrete was investigated. The chemical composition of Metakaolin was examined and the summation of SiO₂, AlO₃, and FeO₃ is 86.25% and the ash was classified class N pozzolan. The normal consistency percent of water increases as the MA replacement amount increase and both initial and final setting time rang increase as the MA replacement amount increase. On the 28th day, the compressive strength of concrete with MA replacement of 5%, 10%, and 15% exceeds the goal mean strength (33.5Mpa) with compressive strength enhancements of 2.23 %, 4.05 %, and 2.23 %, respectively. Similarly, on the 56th day, 5 %, 10%, and 15% replacement enhance concrete strength by 2.06 %, 3.06 %, and 1.2 %, respectively. The MA mixed concrete has improved significantly in terms of water absorption and sulphate attack, with a 15% replacement level. MA content Metakaolin could possibly replace cement up to 15%, according to the studies. The study's findings will help to offset cement price increases while also boosting house affordability without significantly degrading.

Keywords: metakaolin, compressive strength, sulphate attack, water absorption, N pozzolan

Procedia PDF Downloads 92

Authors: M. Imran Hamid, Muzammil Hussain, Yunpeng Wu, Meichun Xiang, Xingzhong Liu

Abstract:

The rhizosphere microbiome elucidate multiple functioning in the soil suppressiveness against plant pathogens. Soybean rhizosphere microbial communities may involve in the natural suppression of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) populations in disease suppressive soils. To explore these ecological mechanisms of microbes, a long term monoculture suppressive soil were taken into account for further investigation to test the disease suppressive ability by using different treatments. The designed treatments are as, i) suppressive soil (S), ii) conducive soil (C), iii) conducive soil mixed with 10% (w/w) suppressive soil (CS), iv) suppressive soil treated at 80°C for 1 hr (S80), and v) suppressive soil treated with formalin (SF). By using an ultra-high-throughput sequencing approach, we identified the key bacterial and fungal taxa involved in SCN suppression. The Phylum-level investigation of bacteria revealed that Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria in the rhizosphere soil of soybean seedlings were more abundant in the suppressive soil than in the conducive soil. The phylum-level analysis of fungi in rhizosphere soil indicated that relative abundance of Ascomycota was higher in suppressive soil than in the conducive soil, where Basidiomycota was more abundant. Transferring suppressive soil to conducive soil increased the population of Ascomycota in the conducive soil by lowering the populations of Basidiomycota. The genera, such as, Pochonia, Purpureocillium, Fusarium, Stachybotrys that have been well documented as bio-control agents of plant nematodes were far more in the disease suppressive soils. Our results suggested that the plants engage a subset of functional microbial groups in the rhizosphere for initial defense upon nematode attack and protect the plant roots later on by nematodes to response for suppression of SCN in disease-suppressive soils.

Keywords: disease suppressive soil, high-throughput sequencing, rhizosphere microbiome, soybean cyst nematode

Procedia PDF Downloads 126