Extracción con disolventes del aceite de jojoba a partir de harina prensada de jojoba

The solvent extraction process of jojoba oil from the meal cake obtained after the mechanical pressing of jojoba seeds was studied. Commercial hexane and petroleum ether were used as solvents and the extraction was carried out at temperatures ranging from 30 to 55 °C using solvent-to-solid ratios, R between 2 and 15 L/kg. The equilibrium compositions of the solvent and solid phases were determined. Based on the equilibrium data, the partition coefficient or distribution ratio, D of the oil between both phases was estimated. Also, the number of extraction stages necessary to achieve a certain degree of oil recovery has been determined using different hexane-to-meal ratios. Jojoba oil was also tested for its physical and chemical properties including chemical composition, percentage fatty acid, peroxide value, flash point, fire point, pour point, refractive index, saponification and iodine values. The stability of jojoba oil during storage at room temperature and during heat treatment was also studied.Se ha estudiado el proceso de extracción con disolventes del aceite contenido en la harina residual del prensado mecánico de las semillas de jojoba. Como disolventes se han utilizado hexano técnico y éter de petróleo, habiéndose efectuado extracciones a temperaturas comprendidas entre 30 ºC y 55 ºC , con relaciones de disolvente a sólido, R, de entre 12 y 15 L/kg. Se han determinado las composiciones del extracto y del residuo sólido en el equilibrio y a partir de los datos de equilibrio, se ha estimado el coeficiente de partición o cociente de distribución, D, del aceite entre ambas fases. Asimismo, se ha determinado el número de etapas de extracción necesarias para conseguir un cierto grado de recuperación del aceite, utilizando diferentes relaciones entre hexano y harina. También se han determinado las propiedades físicas y químicas del aceite de jojoba, incluyendo la composición química, el porcentaje de ácidos grasos, el índice de peróxidos, el punto de inflamación, el punto de ignición, el punto de deslizamiento, el índice de refracción y los índices de saponificación y de yodo. Se ha estudiado asimismo la estabilidad del aceite durante su almacenamiento a temperatura ambiente y durante el calentamiento

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR INCLUSIVE CULTURAL HERITAGE: THE CASE STUDY OF SERRALUNGA D'ALBA CASTLE

Abstract. Natural sites, monuments and historical artefacts are Cultural Heritage that must be properly managed to ensure their safeguard. Institutions and corporate body devoted to the Cultural Heritage management have the essential task of supervising them paying particular attention to their conservation, dissemination and fruition. In this regards, digital technologies through ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and New Media represent useful tools which have to be used in suitable way. In this context, this contribution shares the methodology adopted for the case study of Serralunga d'Alba castle. In particular, the research project shows the process used for getting the digital model of the castle through HBIM (Historic Building Information Modeling) methodology and the development of a VR (Virtual Reality) model tour. The final project obtained is the result of a methodological approach that aimed to optimize time, costs and efforts.</p

Morphological and molecular characterization of somaclonal variations in tissue culture-derived banana plants

AbstractIn this study, 40000 tissue culture-derived banana plants (vitroplants) at different growth stages, i.e. acclimatization, nursery and open field of banana (Musa spp.) cultivar ‘Grand Naine’ were screened for somaclonal variations using morphological investigations and molecular characterization. The total detected variants were grouped into 25 off-types (two of them died) in addition to the normal plant. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was carried out to study the differences among the normal cultivar ‘Grand Naine’ and its 23 variants using 17 arbitrary primers. Cluster analysis results revealed that ‘winged petiole’ and ‘deformed lamina’ were more related to the normal plant. However, ‘Giant plant’ and ‘weak plant’ related to each other and clustered with normal plant. According to principal coordinate analysis, most of the variants were aggregated nearly, whereas ‘variegated plant’ was separated apart from the other variants. This may reflect the genetic difference between ‘variegated plant’ and the other variants. The results obtained from both molecular and morphological analyses were in contiguous with better resolution when using the PCOORDA analysis than cluster analysis. Thus, it can be said that molecular markers can be used to eliminate the undesirable somaclonal variants from the lab without additional culture of the vitroplants in the field in order to save time and efforts

Comparison of estrus response and pregnancy rates of beef cows synchronized with progesterone and prostaglandin-based protocols.

The aim of this study was to compare the estrus response and pregnancy rate between the indigenous beef cows of Malaysia; Kedah-Kelantan (KK) and the exotic beef cows; Brangus (BR) following progesterone and prostaglandin-based estrus synchronization treatments. A total of 40 KK and 30 BR open cows were selected and each breed group was randomly divided equally into two. Cows in KK1 and BR1 were treated with estradiol benzoate (Cidirol, 1 mg, im) each at the time CIDR® was inserted (Day 0). Cloprostenol (Estrumate, 250 μg,im) was administered at the time of CIDR® removal on Day 9 while 1 mg of Estradiol Benzoate (EB) was injected on Day 10. On the other hand, KK2 and BR2 cows received intramuscular injections of 500 and 250 ug of cloprostenol, on Day 0 and 11, respectively. All cows were then observed for estrus signs and scanned per rectum for ovulation followed by AI upon detection of estrus. Pregnancy status was diagnosed 45 days after AI. Both treatments were effective in inducing observable estrus in all groups with synchrony of ovulation resulting in CL development and pregnancy. In the progesterone4)ased treatment groups, 84.2% of KK1 and 78.8% of BR1 responded. In the prostaglandingsed treatment groups, KK2 responded with the highest proportion (80.0%) compared with BR2 (50.0%). However, there was no significant difference in rate of ovulation (84.2 vs. 64.3%; 70.0 vs. 42.9%) and pregnancy (31.6 vs. 14.3%; 45.0 vs. 21.4%) among all the four experimental groups. The interval to ovulation from the last treatment time varied significantly among all the treatment groups with a higher variation observed in BR, ranging from 48 h when treated with CIDR to 84 h after treatment with PGF2α. These variations could be explained by the difference in ovarian status at the time of treatment. In conclusion, the result of this data showed KK cows had a better rate of ovulation and pregnancy than BR cows in both treatments though not statistically significant. It can therefore be gathered that KK and BR responded effectively to estrus synchronization and produce acceptable pregnancy rates by both progesterone and prostaglandn-based protocols for breeding and genetic improvement

The effect of ultrasound pretreatment on some selected physicochemical properties of black cumin (Nigella Sativa)

Background In the present study, the effects of ultrasound pretreatment parameters including irradiation time and power on the quantity of the extracted phenolic compounds quantity as well as on some selected physicochemical properties of the extracted oils including oil extraction efficiency, acidity and peroxide values, color, and refractive index of the extracted oil of black cumin seeds with the use of cold press have been studied. Methods For each parameter, three different levels (30, 60, and 90 W) for the ultrasound power and (30, 45, and 60 min) and for the ultrasound irradiation time were studied. Each experiment was performed in three replications. Results The achieved results revealed that, with enhancements in the applied ultrasound power, the oil extraction efficiency, acidity value, total phenolic content, peroxide value, and color parameters increased significantly (P 0.05). Conclusions In summary, it could be mentioned that the application of ultrasound pretreatment in the oil extraction might improve the oil extraction efficiency, the extracted oil’s quality, and the extracted phenolic compounds content.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cross-sectional evaluation of the Bronchitis Severity Score in Egyptian children: A move to reduce antibiotics

Background. Despite evidence of limited benefit of antibiotics in acute bronchitis, most paediatric patients are prescribed them.Objectives. To assess the validity of the Bronchitis Severity Score (BSS) in assessing the clinical response to treatment of acute bronchitis, and determine whether clinical data and basic laboratory measurements can be used to guide antibiotic prescription.Methods. We enrolled 200 patients (age range 6 months - 12 years) with clinically diagnosed acute bronchitis. They were divided into three groups according to age. All patients were evaluated three times during the bronchitis episode (days 0, 5 and 7). The primary outcome measurement was the change in the BSS from day 0 to day 7.Results. On the initial visit, the mean (standard deviation (SD)) BSS was 8.36 (2.6), indicating moderate severity of bronchitis. The mean BSS decreased to 4.03 (2.3) on day 5 and to 2.36 (1.45) on day 7. Initial blood tests showed anaemia (80%), leucocytosis (6%), bandaemia (3%) and lymphocytosis (52%). Only four patients were positive for C-reactive protein, while the erythrocyte sedimentation rate was elevated in 98% of cases. There were significant correlations between bandaemia, fever grade (p&lt;0.001) and white blood cell count with clinical variables such as the presence of secretions on chest auscultation (p&lt;0.05) and toxic facies on general examination (p&lt;0.05).Conclusions. Acute bronchitis in children is a self-limiting disease that does not require routine administration of antibiotics. The BSS is a simple and practical clinical scoring system that is useful in evaluating disease severity and monitoring disease resolution in acute bronchitis

Carbon footprint of construction using industrialised building system

Industrialised Building System (IBS) is more sustainable to the environment as compared to the conventional construction methods. However, the construction industry in Malaysia has low acceptance towards IBS due to the resistance to change and also lack of awareness towards sustainability development. Therefore, it is important to study the amount carbon footprint produced by IBS during its manufacturing and construction stage, and also the amount of carbon footprint produced by one meter square of gross floor area of IBS construction using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to ease future research through the comparison of the carbon footprint of IBS with the conventional building system. As a result, a case study on a residential type of construction in the vicinity of Johor Bahru, Malaysia was carried out to obtain the necessary data and result. From the data analysis, the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) for a residential type IBS construction based on the raw materials and resources involved to manufacture and construct IBS components is 0.127 tonnes fossil CO2Eq per meter square. Raw material that contributed to the most amount of carbon footprint is Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), followed by steel bars, autoclaved aerated blocks and diesel. The LCA data acquired will be very useful in implementing IBS in the residential type construction. As a result, the awareness towards sustainable construction using IBS can be improved

Thermal comfort study for classroom in urban and rural schools in Selangor

Optimum comfort factors help in enhancing effective learning process in a classroom. The aim of this research is to study thermal comfort in school classroom for a more desirable learning process. Four schools consist of urban and rural schools in Selangor were selected for this study. Field measurement and questionnaires was used to measure the level of comfort and satisfaction of school teacher and student in classroom. Data was collected using Temperature data-loggers (SD500 Humidity/Temperature Data logger). The questionnaire was analysed based on Likert's scale rating. Result from both on-field measurement and questionnaire survey suggests that thermal comfort have greater importance to focus. All the schools tested higher temperature than the recommended value. This study also outlines several improvement suggestions actions for better comfort level such as better air ventilation system and smaller class size

Clinical and histopathological study on reproductive lesions caused by Pasteurella multocida type B2 immunogens in buffalo heifers

Haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS) is a globally renowned disease that affects cattle and buffaloes. Its effects on the reproductive system have not been previously studied. The present study evaluated the pathological responses in pre-pubertal female buffaloes infected with immunogens; lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and outer membrane protein (OMP) derived from P. multocida type B:2. Fifteen healthy pre-pubertal female buffaloes were divided into 5 equal groups. Buffaloes in groups 1 and 2 were intravenously and orally inoculated with P. multocida LPS, while those in groups 3 and 4 were sub-cutaneously and orally inoculated with P. multocida OMP. Buffaloes in group 5 were inoculated with sterile phosphate buffered saline (negative control). During the post infection period, all buffaloes were examined for clinical signs throughout 21 days and surviving animals were euthanised for postmortem evaluation. Histopathological evaluation of buffaloes inoculated intravenously with LPS showed a significantly higher occurrence (P<0.05) of necrosis and degeneration in the uterine horn and supramammary glands . Following inoculation with OMP, haemorrhage and congestion was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the ovaries, cervix, vagina, mammary and supra-mammary glands of buffaloes inoculated subcutaneously, while necrosis and degeneration and inflammatory cell infiltration in different organs was also significantly increased in the same group. The findings showed that both P. multocida bacterial LPS and OMP affected the uterine horn, ovaries, cervix, mammary gland and supramammary lymph nodes of buffalo calves inoculated either intravenously or subcutaneously, as compared to those inoculated orally

Critical success and moderating factors effect in Indonesian Public Universities' business incubators

This study aims to examine the effect of critical success and moderating factors in Indonesian public universities' business incubators. The study of business incubators benefits university professors in their roles as managers and advisors, university faculty entrepreneurs and start-ups/tenants in the knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship learning processes, and government officials in effective policy making. For the universities, the incubators serve as a platform for the commercialization of their research efforts. The incubators assist the universities' stakeholders in fulfilling their newly identified responsibilities towards building the nation's economy and giving the faculty members and graduate students the chance to conduct research. Regarding the economic environment, the incubators help create job opportunities, increase the country's economic value, and reduce poverty. This research employed the quantitative method approach, and the data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS version 23 and Smart PLS version 3 statistical software packages. The samples of this research were comprised of 31 business incubator managers from Indonesian public universities. Although there have been previous models about critical success and moderating factors for business incubators in other countries, this study is the first that was conducted in Indonesia and found direct and indirect relationships between critical success factors and moderating success factors for Indonesian Public University Business Incubators. The results of the research demonstrated that good system and infrastructure showed a strong direct relationship with success factors and that information technology showed a strong relationship with the moderating factors, namely age and quality of facilities. Furthermore, mentoring and networking showed a strong relationship with the moderating factors good system and infrastructure and that university regulation had a strong relationship with moderating factor credit and rewards. Entry criteria, exit criteria, and funding support showed strong direct relationships to success factors. These findings could improve the management of business incubators in Indonesian Public Universities and allow them to more successful