Search results for: Toxic protein

Authors: T. T. Pham, N. P. Shah

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Three batches of yogurts were made with soy protein isolate (SPI) supplemented with 2% (S2), 4% (S4) or 6% (S6) of skim milk powder (SMP). The fourth batch (control; S0) was prepared from SPI without SMP supplementation. Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus ATCC 11842 (Lb 11842) and Streptococcus thermophilus ST 1342 (ST 1342) were used as the starter culture. Biotransformation of the inactive forms, isoflavone glycosides (IG) to biologically active forms, isoflavone aglycones (IA), was determined during 28 d storage. The viability of both microorganisms was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in S2, S4, and S6 than that in S0. The ratio of lactic acid/acetic acid in S0 was in the range of 15.53 – 22.31 compared to 7.24 – 12.81 in S2, S4 and S6. The biotransformation of IG to IA in S2, S4 and S6 was also enhanced by 9.9 -13.3% compared to S0.

Keywords: Isoflavone aglycones, isoflavone glycosides, skim milk powder and soy yogurt.

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Authors: Olga Długosz, Jolanta Pulit-Prociak, Marcin Banach

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The paper presents a process to obtain glutathione-modified titanium oxide nanoparticles. The processes were carried out in a microwave radiation field. The influence of the molar ratio of glutathione to titanium oxide and the effect of the fold of NaOH vs. stoichiometric amount on the size of the formed TiO2 nanoparticles was determined. The physicochemical properties of the obtained products were evaluated using dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscope- energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (TEM-EDS), low-temperature nitrogen adsorption method (BET), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) microscopy methods. The size of TiO2 nanoparticles was characterized from 30 nm to 336 nm. The release of titanium ions from the prepared products was evaluated. These studies were carried out using different media in which the powders were incubated for a specific time. These were: water, SBF and Ringer's solution. The release of titanium ions from modified products is weaker compared to unmodified titanium oxide nanoparticles. The reduced release of titanium ions may allow the use of such modified materials as substances in drug delivery systems.

Keywords: titanium dioxide, nanoparticles, drug carrier, glutathione

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Authors: Aliaksei Patsekha, Michael Hohenberger, Harald Raupenstrauch

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An effective emergency response to accidents with chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive materials (CBRNE) that represent highly dynamic situations needs immediate actions within limited time, information and resources. The aim of the study is to provide the foundation for division of unsafe area into risk zones according to the impact of hazardous parameters (heat radiation, thermal dose, overpressure, chemical concentrations). A decision on the boundary values for three risk zones is based on the vulnerability analysis that covered a variety of accident scenarios containing the release of a toxic or flammable substance which either evaporates, ignites and/or explodes. Critical values are selected for the boundary definition of the Red, Orange and Yellow risk zones upon the examination of harmful effects that are likely to cause injuries of varying severity to people and different levels of damage to structures. The obtained results provide the basis for creating a comprehensive real-time risk map for a decision support at CBRNE operations.

Keywords: Boundary values, CBRNE threats, decision making process, hazardous effects, vulnerability analysis, risk zones.

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Authors: K. Thu, Yin Y. Mon, Tin A. Khaing, Ohn M. Tun

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The aim of the study was to investigate phytochemical properties, antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of Aloe vera. The phytochemical screening of the extracts of leaves of A. vera revealed the presence of bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids phenolic compounds, and etc. with absence of cyanogenic glycosides. Three different solvents such as methanol, ethanol and Di-Methyl sulfoxide were used to screen the antimicrobial activity of A. vera leaves against four human clinical pathogens by agar well diffusion method. The maximum antibacterial activities were observed in methanol extract followed by ethanol and Di-Methyl sulfoxide. It was also found that remarkable antibacterial activities with methanolic and ethanolic extracts of A. vera compared with the standard antibiotic, tetracycline that was not active against E. coli and S. boydii and supported the view that A. vera is a potent antimicrobial agent compared with the conventional antibiotic. Moreover, the brine shrimps (Artemia salina) toxicity test exhibited LC50 value was 569.52 ppm. The resulting data indicated that the A. vera plant have less toxic effects on brine shrimp. Hence, it is signified that Aloe vera plant extract is safe to be used as an antimicrobial agent.

Keywords: Aloe vera L., antimicrobial activity, brine shrimp, cytotoxicity, phytochemical properties.

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Authors: Sandya Mummullage, Prasanna Egodawatta, Ashantha Goonetilleke, Godwin A. Ayoko

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Urban road dust comprises of a range of potentially  toxic metal elements and plays a critical role in degrading urban  receiving water quality. Hence, assessing the metal composition and  concentration in urban road dust is a high priority. This study  investigated the variability of metal composition and concentrations  in road dust in 4 different urban land uses in Gold Coast, Australia.  Samples from 16 road sites were collected and tested for selected 12  metal species. The data set was analyzed using both univariate and  multivariate techniques. Outcomes of the data analysis revealed that  the metal concentrations inroad dust differs considerably within and  between different land uses. Iron, aluminum, magnesium and zinc are  the most abundant in urban land uses. It was also noted that metal  species such as titanium, nickel, copper and zinc have the highest  concentrations in industrial land use. The study outcomes revealed  that soil and traffic related sources as key sources of metals deposited  on road surfaces.

 

Keywords: Metals build-up, Pollutant accumulation, Stormwater quality, Urban road dust.

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Authors: M. M. Lâzâroaie

Abstract:

The high world interest given to the researches concerning the study of moderately halophilic solvent-tolerant bacteria isolated from marine polluted environments is due to their high biotechnological potential, and also to the perspective of their application in different remediation technologies. Using enrichment procedures, I isolated two moderately halophilic Gram-negative bacterial strains from seawater sample, which are tolerant to organic solvents. Cell tolerance, adhesion and cells viability of Aeromonas salmonicida IBBCt2 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa IBBCt3 in the presence of organic solvents depends not only on its physicochemical properties and its concentration, but also on the specific response of the cells, and the cellular response is not the same for these bacterial strains. n-hexane, n-heptane, propylbenzene, with log POW between 3.69 and 4.39, were less toxic for Aeromonas salmonicida IBBCt2 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa IBBCt3, compared with toluene, styrene, xylene isomers and ethylbenzene, with log POW between 2.64 and 3.17. The results indicated that Aeromonas salmonicida IBBCt2 is more susceptible to organic solvents than Pseudomonas aeruginosa IBBCt3. The mechanisms underlying solvent tolerance (e.g., the existance of the efflux pumps) in Aeromonas salmonicida IBBCt2 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa IBBCt3 it was also studied.

Keywords: bacteria, mechanisms, organic solvent, resistance.

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Authors: Seyeon Park, Mi Jang

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Tumor cells have an invasive and metastatic phenotype that is the main cause of death for cancer patients. Tumor establishment and penetration consists of a series of complex processes involving multiple changes in gene expression. In this study, intraperitoneal administration of a high concentration of ascorbic acid inhibited tumor establishment and decreased tumor mass in BALB/C mice implanted with S-180 sarcoma cancer cells. To identify proteins involved in the ascorbic acid-mediated inhibition of tumor progression, changes in the tumor proteome associated with ascorbic acid treatment of BALB/C mice implanted with S-180 were investigated using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Twenty protein spots were identified whose expression was different between control and ascorbic acid treatment groups.

Keywords: Ascorbic acid, Proteomic analysis, S-180 implantedBALB/C mouse

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Authors: Magdy G. Asaad

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The objective of this paper is to use the Pfaffian technique to construct different classes of exact Pfaffian solutions and N-soliton solutions to some of the generalized integrable nonlinear partial differential equations in (3+1) dimensions. In this paper, I will show that the Pfaffian solutions to the nonlinear PDEs are nothing but Pfaffian identities. Solitons are among the most beneficial solutions for science and technology, from ocean waves to transmission of information through optical fibers or energy transport along protein molecules. The existence of multi-solitons, especially three-soliton solutions, is essential for information technology: it makes possible undisturbed simultaneous propagation of many pulses in both directions.

Keywords: Bilinear operator, G-BKP equation, Integrable nonlinear PDEs, Jimbo-Miwa equation, Ma-Fan equation, N-soliton solutions, Pfaffian solutions.

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Authors: Z. M. Shareefdeen, A. Aidan, W.Ahmed, M. B. Khatri, M. Islam, R. Lecheheb, F. Shams

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Air emissions from waste treatment plants often consist of a combination of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and odors. Hydrogen sulfide is one of the major odorous gases present in the waste emissions coming from municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is odorous, highly toxic and flammable. Exposure to lower concentrations can result in eye irritation, a sore throat and cough, shortness of breath, and fluid in the lungs. Biofiltration has become a widely accepted technology for treating air streams containing H2S. When compared with other nonbiological technologies, biofilter is more cost-effective for treating large volumes of air containing low concentrations of biodegradable compounds. Optimization of biofilter media is essential for many reasons such as: providing a higher surface area for biofilm growth, low pressure drop, physical stability, and good moisture retention. In this work, a novel biofilter media is developed and tested at a pumping station of a municipality located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The media is found to be very effective (>99%) in removing H2S concentrations that are expected in pumping stations under steady state and shock loading conditions.

Keywords: biofilter media, hydrogen sulphide, pumping station, biofiltration

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Authors: Kai-Ti Hsu, Hui-Ling Huang, Chun-Wei Tung, Yi-Hsiung Chen, Shinn-Ying Ho

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Bioinformatics methods for predicting the T cell coreceptor usage from the array of membrane protein of HIV-1 are investigated. In this study, we aim to propose an effective prediction method for dealing with the three-class classification problem of CXCR4 (X4), CCR5 (R5) and CCR5/CXCR4 (R5X4). We made efforts in investigating the coreceptor prediction problem as follows: 1) proposing a feature set of informative physicochemical properties which is cooperated with SVM to achieve high prediction test accuracy of 81.48%, compared with the existing method with accuracy of 70.00%; 2) establishing a large up-to-date data set by increasing the size from 159 to 1225 sequences to verify the proposed prediction method where the mean test accuracy is 88.59%, and 3) analyzing the set of 14 informative physicochemical properties to further understand the characteristics of HIV-1coreceptors.

Keywords: Coreceptor, genetic algorithm, HIV-1, SVM, physicochemical properties, prediction.

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Authors: F. S. Abtahi, M. Koohi Hbibi, M. Khodaei Motlagh

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Bean common mosaic necrosis virus (BCMNV) is a potyvirus with a worldwide distribution. This virus causes serious economic losses in Iran in many leguminoses. During 20008, samples were collected from soybeans fields in Tehran Province. Four isolates (S1, S2 and S3) were inoculated on 15 species of Cucurbitaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Solanacae and Leguminosae. Chenopodium quinoa and C. amaranticolor. Did not developed any symptoms.all isolates caused mosaic symptoms on Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Red Kidney and P. vulgaris cv. Bountiful. The molecular weights of coat protein using SDS-PAGE and western blotting were estimated at 33 kDa. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed using one primer pairs designed by L. XU et al. An approximately 920 bp fragment was amplified with a specific primer.

Keywords: ELISA, RT-PCR, SDS-PAGE, BCMNV.

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Authors: Sushovan Sarkar, Debabrata Mazumder

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Hybrid bioreactor having both suspended-growth and attached-growth bacteria is found a novel and excellent bioreactor system for treating the municipal wastewater containing inhibitory substrates too. In this reactor a fraction of substrate is used by suspended biomass and the remaining by attached biomass resulting in the competition between the two growths for the substrate. The combination of suspended and attached growth provides the system with enhanced biomass concentration and sludge age more than those in ASP. Similar to attached growth system, the hybrid bioreactor ensures considerable efficiency for treating toxic and refractory substances in wastewater. For the process design of hybrid bioreactor a suitable mathematical model is required. Although various mathematical models were developed on hybrid bioreactor in due course of time in earlier research works, none of them was found having a specific simplified solution of the corresponding models and without having any drawback. To overcome this drawback authors already developed a simplified mathematical model for process design of a hybrid bioreactor. The present paper briefly highlights on the various aspects of process design of an aerobic hybrid bioreactor for the treatment of municipal wastewater.

Keywords: Hybrid bioreactor, mathematical model, process design, application, municipal wastewater.

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Authors: Muhammad Naeem, Abdus Salam, Muhammad Asghar Bashir, Abir Ishtiaq, Qurat-ul-Ane Gillani and Asma Salam

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In the present study, 49 Hybrid (Catla catla ♂ x Labeo rohita ♀) were sampled from Al-Raheem Fish Hatchery, Village Ali Pure Shamali, Jhang Road, 18 Km from Muzaffar Garh using a cast net and Live fishes were transported to research laboratory. Mean percentage for water found 79.13 %, ash 6.58 %, fat 2.22 % and protein content 12.06 % in whole wet body weight. It was observed that body constituents were found increasing in the same proportion with an increase in body weight while significant proportional increase was observed with total length. However, condition factor remained insignificant (P>0.05) with body constituents.

Keywords: Hybrid fish, Body composition, Condition factor, Predictive equations

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Authors: L. Strauta, S. Muižniece-Brasava

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Even though legumes possess high nutritional value and have a rather high protein content for plant origin products, they are underutilized mostly due to their lengthy cooking time. To increase the presence of legume-based products in human diet, new extruded products were made of cow peas (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.). But as it is known, adding different moisture content to flour before extrusion can change the physical properties of the extruded product. Experiments were carried out to estimate the optimal moisture content for cow pea extrusion. After extrusion, the pH level had dropped from 6.7 to 6.5 and the lowest hardness rate was observed in the samples with additional 9 g 100g^-1 of moisture - 28±4N, but the volume mass of the samples with additional 9 g100g^-1 of water was 263±3 g L^-1; all samples were approximately 7±1mm long.

Keywords: Cow pea, extrusion-cooking, moisture, size.

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Authors: Asim Cengiz, Dede Basturk, Hakan Ozalp

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Practicing recurring resistance workout such as may cause changes in human muscle. These changes may be because combination if several factors determining physical fitness. Thus, it is important to identify these changes. Several studies were reviewed to investigate these changes. As a result, the changes included positive modifications in amplified citrate synthase (CS) maximal activity, increased capacity for pyruvate oxidation, improvement on molecular signaling on human performance, amplified resting muscle glycogen and whole GLUT4 protein content, better health outcomes such as enhancement in cardiorespiratory fitness. Sprint training also have numerous long long-term changes inhuman body such as better enzyme action, changes in muscle fiber and oxidative ability. This is important because SV is the critical factor influencing maximal cardiac output and therefore oxygen delivery and maximal aerobic power.

Keywords: Sprint, training, performance, exercise.

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Authors: P. Vosynek, T. Návrat, M. Peč, J. Pořízka, P. Diviš

Abstract:

Bone properties and response behavior after static or dynamic activation (loading) are still interesting topics in many fields of the science especially in the biomechanical problems such as bone loss of astronauts in space, osteoporosis, bone remodeling after fracture or remodeling after surgery (endoprosthesis and implants) and in osteointegration. This contribution deals with the relation between physiological, demineralized and deproteinized state of the turkey long bone – tibia. Three methods for comparison were used: 1) densitometry, 2) three point bending and 3) frequency analysis. The main goal of this work was to describe the decrease of the protein (collagen) or mineral of the bone with relation to the fracture in three point bending. The comparison is linked to the problem of different bone mechanical behavior in physiological and osteoporotic state.

Keywords: Bone properties, long bone, osteoporosis, response behavior.

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Authors: A. A. M. Azoddein, R. M. Yunus, N. M. Sulaiman, A. B. Bustary, K. Sabar

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Microbes have been used to solve environmental problems for many years. The role of microorganism to sequester, precipitate or alter the oxidation state of various heavy metals has been extensively studied. Treatment using microorganism interacts with toxic metal are very diverse. The purpose of this research is to remove the mercury using Pseudomonas putida (P. putida), pure culture ATTC 49128 at optimum growth parameters such as techniques of culture, acclimatization time and speed of incubator shaker. Thus, in this study, the optimum growth parameters of P. putida were obtained to achieve the maximum of mercury removal. Based on the optimum parameters of P. putida for specific growth rate, the removal of two different mercury concentration, 1 ppm and 4 ppm were studied. From mercury nitrate solution, a mercuryresistant bacterial strain which is able to reduce from ionic mercury to metallic mercury was used to reduce ionic mercury. The overall levels of mercury removal in this study were between 80% and 89%. The information obtained in this study is of fundamental for understanding of the survival of P. putida ATTC 49128 in mercury solution. Thus, microbial mercury removal is a potential bioremediation for wastewater especially in petrochemical industries in Malaysia.

Keywords: Pseudomonas putida, growth kinetic, biosorption, mercury, petrochemical wastewater.

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Authors: Tiancheng Lan

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E10A is a kind of replication-defective adenovirus which carries the human endostatin gene to inhibit the growth of tumors. Kringle 5(K5) has almost the same function as angiostatin to also inhibit the growth of tumors since they are all the byproduct of the proteolytic cleavage of plasminogen. Tumor size increasing can be suppressed because both of the endostatin and K5 can restrain the angiogenesis process. Therefore, in order to improve the treatment effect on tumor, 2A peptide is used to construct a fusion gene carrying both E10A and K5. Using 2A peptide is an ideal strategy when a fusion gene is expressed because it can avoid many problems during the expression of more than one kind of protein. The overlap extension PCR is also used to connect 2A peptide with E10A and K5. The final construction of fusion gene E10A-2A-K5 can provide a possible new method of the anti-angiogenesis treatment with a better expression performance.

Keywords: E10A, Kringle 5, 2A peptide, overlap extension PCR.

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Authors: Martin Klaumünzer, Jakob Hübner, Denis Spitzer

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Within this paper, latest results on processing of energetic nanomaterials by means of the Spray Flash Evaporation technique are presented. This technology constitutes a highly effective and continuous way to prepare fascinating materials on the nano- and micro-scale. Within the process, a solution is set under high pressure and sprayed into an evacuated atomization chamber. Subsequent ultrafast evaporation of the solvent leads to an aerosol stream, which is separated by cyclones or filters. No drying gas is required, so the present technique should not be confused with spray dying. Resulting nanothermites, insensitive explosives or propellants and compositions are foreseen to replace toxic (according to REACH) and very sensitive matter in military and civil applications. Diverse examples are given in detail: nano-RDX (n-Cyclotrimethylentrinitramin) and nano-aluminum based systems, mixtures (n-RDX/n-TNT - trinitrotoluene) or even cocrystalline matter like n-CL-20/HMX (Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane/ Cyclotetra-methylentetranitramin). These nanomaterials show reduced sensitivity by trend without losing effectiveness and performance. An analytical study for material characterization was performed by using Atomic Force Microscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, and combined techniques as well as spectroscopic methods. As a matter of course, sensitivity tests regarding electrostatic discharge, impact, and friction are provided.

Keywords: Continuous synthesis, energetic material, nanoscale, nanothermite, nanoexplosive.

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Authors: Mofleh S. Awawdeh

Abstract:

Ten lactating multiparous Holstein cows were used in a cross-over design with two dietary treatments and 28-d periods (with 14 d as an adaptation) to study the effect of restaurant fat on milk production and composition. Each cow was offered 14.7 kg DM /d of the basal concentrate diet based on barley and corn (crude protein = 17.7%, neutral detergent fiber = 23.5%, and acid detergent fiber = 5.8% of dry matter) with free access to alfalfa. Dietary treatments were arranged as supplying each cow with 0 (CONTROL) or 150 g/day (RF) of restaurant fat. Supplemental RF did not significantly (P > 0.25) affect milk yield, composition, and composition yields, except for milk fat contents. Milk fat contents were depressed (P < 0.05) with supplemental RF. Our results indicate that RF could depress milk fat without affecting milk yield and that the depression in milk fat in response to RF precedes the depression in milk yield.

Keywords: Dairy Cows, Restaurant Fat, Lipids.

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Authors: Jingming Wu, Ruikang Hu, Junqi Yue, Zhaoguang Yang, Lifeng Zhang

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Fecal sterol has been proposed as a chemical indicator of human fecal pollution even when fecal coliform populations have diminished due to water chlorination or toxic effects of industrial effluents. This paper describes an improved derivatization procedure for simultaneous determination of four fecal sterols including coprostanol, epicholestanol, cholesterol and cholestanol using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), via optimization study on silylation procedures using N-O-bis (trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA), and N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-N-methyltrifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA), which lead to the formation of trimethylsilyl (TMS) and tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBS) derivatives, respectively. Two derivatization processes of injection-port derivatization and water bath derivatization (60 oC, 1h) were inspected and compared. Furthermore, the methylation procedure at 25 oC for 2h with trimethylsilydiazomethane (TMSD) for fecal sterols analysis was also studied. It was found that most of TMS derivatives demonstrated the highest sensitivities, followed by methylated derivatives. For BSTFA or MTBSTFA derivatization processes, the simple injection-port derivatization process could achieve the same efficiency as that in the tedious water bath derivatization procedure.

Keywords: Fecal Sterols, Methylation, Silylation, BSTFA, MTBSTFA, TMSD, GC-MS.

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Authors: Gautham Das, Edward Morrone, Erik Treble, Clinton Binder

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a low-cost filter regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS is a commonly used man-made chemical that can be found in a variety of household and industrial products with deleterious effects on humans. The filter consists of a combination of low-cost materials which could be locally procured. Water testing results for 4 different PFAS contaminants indicated that for Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) regulation is 7 ppt, the initial concentration was 15 ppt, and the final concentration was 3.9 ppt. For Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), the ATSDR regulation is 10.5 ppt, the initial concentration was 15 ppt, and the final concentration was 3.9 ppt. For Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), the ATSDR regulation is 11 ppt, the initial concentration was 15 ppt, and the final concentration was 3.9 ppt. For Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), the ATSDR regulation is 70 ppt, the initial concentration was 15 ppt, and the final concentration was 3.9 ppt. The results indicated a 74% reduction in PFAS concentration in filtered samples. Statistical data through regression analysis showed 0.9 validity of the sample data. Initial tests show the efficiency of the proposed filter described could be far greater if tested at a greater scale. It is highly recommended further testing to be conducted to validate the data for an innovative solution to a ubiquitous problem.

Keywords: PFAS, PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, low-cost filter.

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Authors: Jingming Wu, Ruikang Hu, Junqi Yue, Zhaoguang Yang, Lifeng Zhang

Abstract:

Fecal sterol has been proposed as a chemical indicator of human fecal pollution even when fecal coliform populations have diminished due to water chlorination or toxic effects of industrial effluents. This paper describes an improved derivatization procedure for simultaneous determination of four fecal sterols including coprostanol, epicholestanol, cholesterol and cholestanol using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), via optimization study on silylation procedures using N-O-bis (trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA), and N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-N-methyltrifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA), which lead to the formation of trimethylsilyl (TMS) and tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBS) derivatives, respectively. Two derivatization processes of injection-port derivatization and water bath derivatization (60 oC, 1h) were inspected and compared. Furthermore, the methylation procedure at 25 oC for 2h with trimethylsilydiazomethane (TMSD) for fecal sterols analysis was also studied. It was found that most of TMS derivatives demonstrated the highest sensitivities, followed by methylated derivatives. For BSTFA or MTBSTFA derivatization processes, the simple injection-port derivatization process could achieve the same efficiency as that in the tedious water bath derivatization procedure.

Keywords: Fecal Sterols, Methylation, Silylation, BSTFA, MTBSTFA, TMSD, GC-MS.

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Authors: P. Thongmuang, Y. Sudjaroen

Abstract:

The methanolic extracts from seeds of tamarind (Tamarindus indica) was prepared by Soxhlet apparatus extraction and evaluated for total phenolic content by Folin-Ciocalteu method. Then, methanolic extract was screened biological activities (In vitro) for anti-melanogenic activity by tyrosinase inhibition test, antiinflammation activity by cyclooxygenase 1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibition test, and cytotoxic screening test with Vero cells. The results showed that total phenolic content, which contained in extract, was contained 27.72 mg of gallic acid equivalent per g of dry weight. The ability to inhibit tyrosinase enzyme, which exerted by Tamarind seed extracts (1 mg/ml) was 52.13 ± 0.42 %. The extract was not possessed inhibitory effect to COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes and cytotoxic effect to Vero cells. The finding is concludes that tested seed extract was possessed antimelanogenic activity with non-toxic effects. However, there was not exhibited anti-inflammatory activity. Further studies include the use of advance biological models to confirm this biological activity, as well as, the isolation and characterization of the purified compounds that it was contained.

Keywords: Tamarindus indica, anti-melanogenic, antiinflammatotion, cytotoxicity, seed, phenolic compounds.

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Authors: Gul Afreen, Sreedevi Upadhyayula, Mahendra K. Sunkara

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One-dimensional (1D) nanostructures like nanowires, nanotubes, and nanorods find variety of practical application owing to their unique physico-chemical properties. In this work, TiO₂ nanowires were synthesized by direct oxidation of titanium particles in a unique microwave plasma jet reactor. The prepared TiO₂ nanowires manifested the flexible features, and were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analyzer, UV-Visible and FTIR spectrophotometers, Scanning electron microscope, and Transmission electron microscope. Further, the photodegradation efficiency of these nanowires were tested against toxic organic dye like methylene blue (MB) and the results were compared with the commercial TiO₂. It was found that TiO₂ nanowires exhibited superior photocatalytic performance (89%) as compared to commercial TiO₂ (75%) after 60 min of reaction. This is attributed to the lower recombination rate and increased interfacial charge transfer in TiO₂ nanowire. Pseudo-first order kinetic modelling performed with the experimental results revealed that the rate constant of photodegradation in case of TiO₂ nanowire was 1.3 times higher than that of commercial TiO₂. Superoxide radical (O₂˙⁻) was found to be the major contributor in the photodegradation mechanism. Based on the trapping experiments, a plausible mechanism of the photocatalytic reaction is discussed.

Keywords: Heterogeneous catalysis, photodegradation, reactive oxygen species, TiO2 nanowires.

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Authors: Yu Bin, Zhang Yan

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The prediction of transmembrane helical segments (TMHs) in membrane proteins is an important field in the bioinformatics research. In this paper, a new method based on discrete wavelet transform (DWT) has been developed to predict the number and location of TMHs in membrane proteins. PDB coded as 1KQG was chosen as an example to describe the prediction of the number and location of TMHs in membrane proteins by using this method. To access the effect of the method, 80 proteins with known 3D-structure from Mptopo database are chosen at random as the test objects (including 325 TMHs), 308 of which can be predicted accurately, the average predicted accuracy is 96.3%. In addition, the above 80 membrane proteins are divided into 13 groups according to their function and type. In particular, the results of the prediction of TMHs of the 13 groups are satisfying.

Keywords: discrete wavelet transform, hydrophobicity, membrane protein, transmembrane helical segments

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Authors: Mohammadi K., Ghalavand A., Aghaalikhani M., Eskandari M.

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In order to increase in chickpea quality and agroecosystem sustainability, field experiments were carried out in 2007 and 2008 growing seasons. In this research the effects of different organic, chemical and biological fertilizers were investigated on grain yield and quality of chickpea. Experimental units were arranged in split-split plots based on randomized complete blocks with three replications. The highest amounts of yield and yield components were obtained in G1×N5 interaction. Significant increasing of N, P, K, Fe and Mg content in leaves and grains emphasized on superiority of mentioned treatment because each one of these nutrients has an approved role in chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthesis ability of the crop. The combined application of compost, farmyard manure and chemical phosphorus (N5) had the best grain quality due to high protein, starch and total sugar contents, low crude fiber and reduced cooking time.

Keywords: Agroecosystem, sustainability, chickpea, naturalresources.

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Authors: M. Gomaa, A. J. Alimin, K. A. Kamarudin

Abstract:

Nowadays, the focus on renewable energy and alternative fuels has increased due to increasing oil prices, environment pollution, and also concern on preserving the nature. Biodiesel has been known as an attractive alternative fuel although biodiesel produced from edible oil is very expensive than conventional diesel. Therefore, the uses of biodiesel produced from non-edible oils are much better option. Currently Jatropha biodiesel (JBD) is receiving attention as an alternative fuel for diesel engine. Biodiesel is non-toxic, biodegradable, high lubricant ability, highly renewable, and its use therefore produces real reduction in petroleum consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Although biodiesel has many advantages, but it still has several properties need to improve, such as lower calorific value, lower effective engine power, higher emission of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and greater sensitivity to low temperature. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is effective technique to reduce NOX emission from diesel engines because it enables lower flame temperature and oxygen concentration in the combustion chamber. Some studies succeeded to reduce the NOX emission from biodiesel by EGR but they observed increasing soot emission. The aim of this study was to investigate the engine performance and soot emission by using blended Jatropha biodiesel with different EGR rates. A CI engine that is water-cooled, turbocharged, using indirect injection system was used for the investigation. Soot emission, NOX, CO2, carbon monoxide (CO) were recorded and various engine performance parameters were also evaluated.

Keywords: EGR, Jatropha biodiesel, NOX, Soot emission.

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Authors: Nneka N. Uchegbu, Ndidi F. Amulu

Abstract:

The work studied the effect of germination on proximate, phenol and flavonoid content and antioxidant activities (AOA) of African Yam been (AYB). Germination was done in controlled dark chamber (100% RH, 28oC). The proximate, phenol and flavonoid content and antioxidant activities before and after germination were investigated. The crude protein, moisture, and crude fiber content of germinated AYB were significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of ungermianated seed, while the fat, Ash and carbohydrate content of ungerminated were higher than the germinated seed. Germination increased the phenol and flavoniod content by 19.14% and 14.53% respectively. The results of AOA assay showed that the DPPH, reducing power and FRAP of germinated AYB seed gave high values: 48.92 ±1.22 μg/ml, 0.75± 0.15μg/ml and 98.60±0.04 μmol/g while that of ungerminated seed were: 31.33μ/ml, 0.56±1.52μg/ml and 96.11±1.13μmol/g respectively. Germinated AYB has phytochemicals with potential AOA for disease prevention.

Keywords: Antioxidant, flovonoid, germination, phenol.

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Authors: Rostami F, Haj Hosseini R, Sharifi K, Daneshpour M, Azizi F, Hedayati M

Abstract:

Expression and secretion of inflammation markers are disturbed in obesity. Interleukin-6 reduces body fat mass. The common G-174C polymorphism in the promoter of IL-6 gene has been reported that effects on transcriptional regulation. The objective was to investigate association of the common polymorphism G-174C with obesity in Iranian population. The present study is cross sectional association study that included 242 individuals (110 men and 132 women). Serum IL-6 levels, C-reactive protein, fasting blood glucose and blood lipids profile were measured .BMI and WHR were calculated. Genotyping is carried out by PCR and RFLP. The frequencies of G and C allele were 64.5% and 35.5%, respectively. The G-174C polymorphism was not associated with BMI and WHR. However in obese individual, fasting blood glucose was significantly higher in carrier of C allele compared with the noncarrier. The IL-6 G-174C polymorphism is not a risk factor for obesity in Iranian population.

Keywords: Interleukin 6, Polymorphism genetic, Obesity.

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