Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) Prepupa Phase Fermentation by Organic Acids to Decrease Chitin Content

Black Soldier Fly has high protein but there are anti-nutrients, namely the presence of chitin content that cannot be digested by livestock such as poultry and monogastrics. Chitin is a natural polysaccharide that is abundantly found from crustacean organisms and insects. Chitin is usually bound to the shell or exoskeleton, proteins, minerals and pigments. Black Soldier Fly in the prepupa phase has high protein, dark brown body and a rather hard exoskeleton which causes a high chitin content. The aim of this research was to determine the concentration of propionic and formic acids which could reduce the chitin content of the prepupa phase of the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) fermentation. This study used a completely randomized design (CRD) with five treatments, namely P1 = (BSF added 50% propionic acid + 50% formic acid), P2 = (BSF added 80% propionic acid and formic acid + 20% aquadest), P3 = (BSF added 60% propionic and formic acids + 40% aquadest), P4 = (BSF added 40% propionic and formic acids + 60% aquadest), P5 = (BSF added 20% propionic acid and formic acid + 80% aquadest) with three repetitions. The results of this study indicate that the P1 treatment (addition of 50% propionic acid + 50% formic acid) resulted in the lowest reduction in chitin content, namely (11.00%), pH value (4.7), total titrated acid (0.014%) and organoleptic (light brown color, very sour aroma and harsh texture)

The inability of vaccinia virus A33R protein to form intermolecular disulfide-bonded homodimers does not affect the production of infectious extracellular virus

AbstractThe orthopoxvirus protein A33 forms a disulfide-bonded high molecular weight species that could be either a homodimer or a heteromultimer. The protein is a major target for neutralizing antibodies and the majority of antibodies raised against A33 only recognize the disulfide-bonded form. Here, we report that A33 is present as a disulfide-bonded homodimer during infection. Additionally, we examined the function of intermolecular disulfide bonding in A33 homodimerization during infection. We show that the cysteine at amino acid 62 is required for intermolecular disulfide bonding, but not dimerization as this mutant was still able to form homodimers. To investigate the role of disulfide-bonded homodimers during viral morphogenesis, recombinant viruses that express an A33R with cysteine 62 mutated to serine were generated. The recombinant viruses had growth characteristics similar to their parental viruses, indicating that intermolecular disulfide-bonded homodimerization of A33 is not required for its function

LFI 30 and 44 GHz receivers Back-End Modules

The 30 and 44 GHz Back End Modules (BEM) for the Planck Low Frequency Instrument are broadband receivers (20% relative bandwidth) working at room temperature. The signals coming from the Front End Module are amplified, band pass filtered and finally converted to DC by a detector diode. Each receiver has two identical branches following the differential scheme of the Planck radiometers. The BEM design is based on MMIC Low Noise Amplifiers using GaAs P-HEMT devices, microstrip filters and Schottky diode detectors. Their manufacturing development has included elegant breadboard prototypes and finally qualification and flight model units. Electrical, mechanical and environmental tests were carried out for the characterization and verification of the manufactured BEMs. A description of the 30 and 44 GHz Back End Modules of Planck-LFI radiometers is given, with details of the tests done to determine their electrical and environmental performances. The electrical performances of the 30 and 44 GHz Back End Modules: frequency response, effective bandwidth, equivalent noise temperature, 1/f noise and linearity are presented

Effects of Classroom Interaction Patterns on Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Ecology

This study investigated the effects of classroom interaction patterns on senior secondary school students' achievement in ecology. A quasi-experiment of the pre-test, post-test non-equivalent control group design was adopted. Three groups were involved in the study. The first group was subjected to competitive interaction; the second group was subjected to cooperative interaction while the third group was subjected to individualistic interaction method. A total of ninety-three students (50 males and 43 females) from three intact classes were used for the study. The Ecology Achievement Test (EAT) was utilized as the data collection tool, with a reliability coefficient of 0.96. Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested using analysis of Co-variance (ANCOVA) at a 95% confidence level. Findings revealed that students taught ecology in a cooperative classroom had higher mean achievement scores than those taught in individualistic and competitive classrooms interaction patterns. Furthermore, it was discovered that cooperative classroom interaction patterns had a significant effect on students' mean achievement scores in ecology. It was recommends that biology teachers prioritize the use of cooperative classroom interaction to facilitate biology instruction because of its proven efficacy in advancing students' achievement in ecology. Keywords: Classroom Interaction Patterns, Biology, Ecology, Achievement in Ecology DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-27-02 Publication date:September 30th 202

Long-term labour market and economic consequences of school exclusions in England:Evidence from two counterfactual approaches

Background: Previous research suggests that school exclusion during childhood is a precursor to social exclusion in adulthood. Past literature on the consequences of school exclusion is, however, scarce and mainly focused on short-term outcomes such as educational attainment, delinquency, and mental health in early adolescence. Moreover, this evidence is based primarily on descriptive and correlational analysis, whereas robust causal evidence is required to best inform policy. Aims: We aimed to estimate the mid-to-long-term impact of school exclusion on labour market and economic outcomes. Sample: The sample included 6,632 young people who at the age of 25/26 in the year 2015 participated in the Next Steps survey of whom 86 were expelled from school and 711 were suspended between the ages of 13/14 and 16/17. Method: Using high quality existing longitudinal data, we utilized four approaches to evaluate the impact of school exclusion: logistic regression-adjustment models, propensity score matching, school fixed-effects analysis, and inverse propensity weighting. The latter two counterfactual approaches were used to estimate causal effects. Results: We found that school exclusion increased the risk of becoming NEET at the age of 19/20, and then remaining economically inactive at the age of 25/26, as well as experiencing higher unemployment risk and earning lower wages also at the age of 25/26. Conclusion: School exclusion has pervasive negative effects into adulthood. Policy interventions should focus on both prevention and mitigating its negative effects. Interventions aimed at re-integrating excluded individuals into education or vocational training could be key in reducing the risk of poor socio-economic outcomes and social exclusion

The impact of school exclusion in childhood on health and well-being outcomes in adulthood:Estimating causal effects using inverse probability of treatment weighting

BackgroundPrevious evidence has suggested a strong association between school exclusion and health outcomes. However, as health risks are themselves related to the risk of experiencing a school exclusion, it has been challenging to determine the extent to which school exclusion impacts later health outcomes, as opposed to reflecting a marker for pre-existing risks.AimThe aim of the current study was to address this challenge in estimating the medium-to-long-term impact of school exclusion of health and well-being outcomes.MethodsTo this end, we used an inverse propensity weighting approach in the Next Steps data set (N = 6534, from wave 1, 2014, to wave 8, 2015).ResultsWe found that after weighting for propensity of treatment scores estimated based on a wide range of factors, including previous health indicators, there was a significant effect of school exclusion on a wide range of health and well-being outcomes.DiscussionThese results provide some of the most robust evidence to date that school exclusion harms long-term health outcomes.ConclusionThe findings suggest that policies should aim to reduce exclusion and ensure access to preventative health support for those who experience a school exclusion

Octave bandwidth hybrid-coupled microstrip diplexer for a broadband radio astronomy receiver

A new octave bandwidth high selectivity compact microstrip diplexer working in the band from 10 to 20 GHz is presented, intended to be a part of an electro-optical interferometer covering the whole frequency band. The circuit is based on the combination of hybrid couplers and bandpass filters both on the microstrip technology. The diplexer provides two output frequency bands which cover the 10–14 GHz (relative bandwidth of 33%) and the 16–20 GHz (relative bandwidth of 22%) ranges, respectively, with a stop band in between from 14 to 16 GHz. Measured results show a insertion loss level of 3.3 dB for both output bands and high selectivity performance, exhibiting a rejection level between output bands higher than 20 dB and return loss better than 10 dB in all ports.This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness under Grant No. ESP2015-70646-C2-2-R

Q-band 4-state phase shifter in planar technology: Circuit design and performance analysis

A 30% bandwidth phase shifter with four phase states is designed to be integrated in a radio astronomy receiver. The circuit has two 90° out-of-phase microwave phase-shifting branches which are combined by Wilkinson power dividers. Each branch is composed of a 180° phase shifter and a band-pass filter. The 180° phase shifter is made of cascaded hybrid rings with microwave PIN diodes as switching devices. The 90° phase shift is achieved with the two band-pass filters. Experimental characterization has shown significant results, with average phase shift values of -90.7°, -181.7°, and 88.5° within the operation band, 35–47 GHz, and mean insertion loss of 7.4 dB. The performance of its integration in a polarimetric receiver for radio astronomy is analyzed, which validates the use of the presented phase shifter in such type of receiver.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain, under the CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010 programme under the Reference No. CSD2010-00064