Effective moisture diffusivity and mathematical modeling of drying compost pellet

Compost compression processes, such as pelleting, increase bulk density, improve storability, reduce transportation costs and make easier materials handling using existing equipment for handling and storage of grains. It is important to prevent quality deterioration of pellets in long time storage. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the moisture content of the pellets to less than  or less. In this research the drying kinetics of compost pellets were studied at air temperatures of 50, 60 and 70 , air velocities of 0.5, 1 and 1.5 , particle sizes of 1.18 and 2 mm and pellet diameters of 6 and 8 mm. The maximum effective moisture diffusivity (1.78× ) was obtained at air velocity of , air temperature of 70 , particle size of 1.18 mm and pellet diameter of 8 mm. The activation energy of compost pellets varied from to  under different conditions. The Page model was selected as the most suitable model, based on the statistical analysis

Optimization compressive strength biomass pellet from compost using Taguchi method

Compression is important to prevent a deterioration in quality pellets for long term storage and the moisture content of the pellets must be reduced to or less. In this research the quality of pellet of compost was studied at air temperatures of 50, 60 and 70, air velocities of 0.5, 1, and 1.5 m/s, particle sizes of 16(1.18mm) and 10(2mm) and pellet diameters of 6 and 8 mm. The Taguchi quality engineering method was used to investigate the effects of parameters on compressive strength of pellet. An orthogonal array, signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed to analyze the effect of these compressive strength parameters. Thus, the optimal performance for the compressive strength of pellet was obtained at first level of factor A, i.e. the particle size (16 (1.18 mm)), third level of air temperature (70 ).and second level of air velocity (1 m/s). Finalliy, confirmation tests verified that the Taguchi method was successful in compressive strength of pellet

Acute phase response in experimentally infected broilers with avian infectious bronchitis virus serotype 4/91

Measurement of acute phase proteins is important for diagnosis of animal diseases. In the present study, effects of avian infectious bronchitis virus infection on acute phase response and acute phase proteins were determined. Thirty one-day-old commercial broiler chicks were reared in experimental facilities and, at the age of 21 days, were challenged intranasally with 0.2 mL of allantoic fluid virus suspension (titre 106.5 EID50 per 0.1 mL). Serum samples were obtained prior to challenge and on days 1, 2, and 5 post-inoculation. Haptoglobin, serum amyloid A and C- reactive protein concentrations were measured. Our results showed that all investigated acute phase proteins increased significantly after infection, with mean maximum concentrations between 24 h and 48 h. No correlation was observed between plasma acute phase proteins in the chickens prior and post inoculation of the virus. Haptoglobin was most sensitive factor to change in the exposed birds

Use of the Advantages of Titanium in the Metal: Organic Framework

Titanium is one of the most attractive elements, due to its unique advantages such as stability, recyclability, activity under light absorption, cheapness, and safety. The special characteristics of titanium include different oxidation states, high coordination number of Ti4+, and the ability to form strong bonds with oxygen and different ligands, making it a good candidate for the construction of the new composite named metal–organic framework or briefly MOF. MOFs are composites that have opened a new window toward the scientific world due to their special structure that makes them have some properties, including the highest surface activity, high porosity, tunable pore, and high flexibility in design that make them useful in different applications, such as gas storage and separation, liquid separation and purification, electrochemical energy storage, catalysis, and sensing. Titanium, due to the mentioned properties, has been used as a node in the structure of different MOFs and applied in different fields

Comparison of drrA and drrB Efflux pump genes expression in drug-susceptible and -resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from tuberculosis patients in Iran

Background: Among different resistance mechanisms in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), efflux pumps may have a role in drug-resistance property of MTB. So, the aim of this study was to compare the relative overexpression of two important efflux pump genes, drrA and drrB, among MTB isolates from TB patients. Methods: A total of 37 clinical isolates of confirmed MTB isolates were analyzed. Drug susceptibility testing (DST) was performed using the conventional proportional method. Real-time semiquantitative PCR profiling of the efflux pump genes of drrA and drrB was performed for clinical isolates. The receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis for differentiation of resistant from susceptible isolates on the basis of efflux pump expression fold changes was also performed. Results: According to DST, 16 rifampin (RIF) monoresistant, 3 isoniazid (INH) monoresistant, 5 multidrug-resistant (MDR) and 13 pan-susceptible isolates of MTB were evaluated for gene expression. The highest values of drrA and drrB gene expression fold changes were seen in MDR isolates, which were significant in comparison with susceptible isolates and H37Rv reference strain. By using comparative ROC analysis, the obtained cutoff point for drrA and drrB gene overexpression was the folds of >1.6 and >2.3, respectively. Conclusion: The results of the present study confirm the role of DrrA-DrrB efflux pump in antibiotic resistance in clinical MTB isolates. As the large number of efflux pumps are located in the cell envelope of MTB, we cannot correlate a single efflux pump overexpression to the drug-resistance phenotype, unless all the pumps simultaneously investigated

Prevalence of hepatitis G virus among hemodialysis and kidney transplant patients in Khuzestan Province, Iran

Background: Hepatitis G virus (HGV) is a member of Flaviviridae. Prevalence of HGV in healthy people is very low, but this virus is more prevalent in patients with hepatitis. Besides, relative frequency of HGV in patients undergoing hemodialysis, and kidney recipients is very high. The role of HGV in pathogenesis is not clear. Since this virus cannot be cultivated, molecular techniques such as Revers Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) is applied to detect HGV. Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of HGV using determination of E2, viral envelope antigen, antibodies and the RNA by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and RT-PCR techniques. The rational of the study was to determine the prevalence of HGV in patients undergoing hemodialysis and kidney transplantation in Khuzestan province, Iran. Patients and Methods: Five hundred and sixteen serum samples of the patients undergoing hemodialysis and kidney transplantation from various cities of Khuzestan province were collected. Anti-hepatitis G E2 antibodies were investigated by ELISA method. RNAs were extracted from serums and Hepatitis G RNA was detected by RT-PCR. Results: Of the 516 samples, 38 (7.36) specimens were positive for anti-HGV by ELISA. All of these ELISA positive samples were negative for HGV genome by RT-PCR. Of the remaining 478 ELISA negative samples, 16 (3.14) samples were positive by RT-PCR. Conclusions: Hepatitis G Virus was not prevalent in the patients undergoing hemodialysis and kidney transplantation in Khuzestan province. Although reports indicated high frequency of co-infection of HGV with hepatitis B and C viruses, in the current research, co-infection of HGV with B and C was not considerable. Since diferent groups and subtypes of HGV are reported, periodic epidemiologic evaluation of HGV and its co-infection with other hepatitis viruses is suggested in other populations such as the patients with thalassemia; however, periodic epidemiologic monitoring of HGV may be helpful to control future potential variations of the virus. © 2015, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences