ITS-PCR-RFLP analysis of Ganoderma sp. infecting industrial crops

Ganoderma is a disastrous pathogen that has been causing tremendous losses to economically important crops in many countries. Vast genetic variations have been observed among several Ganoderma species, even from the same host. In this study, genetic variation was assessed among 44 isolates of Ganoderma sp. isolated from the basidiocarps of four different hosts (oil palm, rubber, tea, and forest trees) collected from selected areas of Peninsular Malaysia. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) technique, using ITS1 and ITS4 primers, was used to amplify Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) regions. Amplified products were further digested using Bsu 151, Hind III and Taq I restriction enzymes. Cluster analysis with UPGMA using genetic distances clustered all the isolates studied into four main groups. Generally, Ganoderma isolates from the same host were clustered together. The isolates from tea and rubber were more closely related compared to oil palm and forest trees. Similarly, the Ganoderma isolates from the same host were also clustered together, and three species were identified, namely, G. boninense (from oil palm and coconut stumps), G. philippii (rubber) and G. australe (forest trees). The results obtained from the analysis showed that host preference was a possible factor in the differentiation of Ganoderma species

Acid red 17, acid yellow 11, direct yellow 12, direct blue 86 ve mordant violet 40 boyalarının karışımını içeren suyun arıtılması için gelişmiş oksidasyon işlemi

Boyaların atık sudan uzaklaştırılması hem çevre hem de üreticiler için tekstil endüstrisindekien büyük sorunlardan biridir. Bu makale, beş farklı boya (Asit Kırmızısı 17, Asit Sarısı 11,Doğrudan Sarı 12, Doğrudan Mavi 86 ve Mordan Menekşe 40) içeren sentetik atık su karışımınıarıtmak için ultraviyole (UV) ile birlikte ozon (O3) ve O3 uygulama olasılığı farklı kromofor veankraj gruplarına sahip boyaların renk giderme etkinliği için incelemiştir. Temas süresi,optimum çalışma koşullarını elde etmek için UV ile kombine O3 veya O3 akışı altında bir kesiklireaktörde incelenmiştir. Sonuçlar, O3 uygulamasının UV destekli ozonlamadan daha etkiliolduğunu göstermiştir. Bu karışımdaki her bir boyanın ileri oksidasyonu, aynı boyanın çözeltiiçinde ayrı ayrı çıkarılmasıyla karşılaştırıldı. Sonuçlar, boyayı karışımdan ve su çözeltisindeki tekboyayı çıkarmak için gereken sürede yalnızca küçük bir fark olduğunu kanıtlamıştır.The removal of dyes from wastewater is one of the biggest problems in the textile industry for both environment and manufacturers. This study examined the possibility of applying ozone (O3) and O3 in combination with ultraviolet (UV) to treat a mixture of synthetic wastewater containing five different dyes (Acid Red 17, Acid Yellow 11, Direct Yellow 12, Direct Blue 86 and Mordant Violet 40) for the decolorization efficiency of dyes with different chromophore and anchor groups. The contact time was studied in a batch reactor under the flow of O3 or O3 combined with UV to achieve optimal operating conditions. The results showed that the application of O3 was more effective than UV-assisted ozonation. The advanced oxidation of each dye in this mixture was compared with the removal of the same dye in the solution separately. The results proved that there is only a slight difference in the time required to remove the dye from the mixture and the single dye in the water solution

Experimental Simulation for Load Reduction Techniques on Underground Utilities using Geofoam

This paper investigates an experimental study on reducing stress acting on buried flexible pipes by using expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam techniques. An experimental model was carried out with dimensions depending on pipe diameter (D) and location, the used fill cover material was from sand and EPS blocks either embankment form, or within sand backfill as embedded layer. The pipe flexible is un-plasticized polyvinyl chloride (UPVC). A series of experiments have been carried out by using static surface loading on rectangular steel plate,where the load is distributed over the backfill. The behavior of sand backfill around the pipe was observed, and the displacement and strains of the pipe were measured. The experimental results showed that the embedded layer of EPS geofoam block embedded in sand for different techniques reduced the deformation of flexible buried pipe, with high efficiency and low coast compared with EPS geofoam only. The results reveal that, the most effective methods thatcanreduce the stress on buried flexible pipe with low cost were EPS encasement block with head void method, and EPS block embraces the upper part of pipe method

The association between right ventricular function and exercise capacity for hypertensive patients

Background: Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) would be used to evaluate right ventricular (RV) function in patients with arterial hypertension, and the link between RV dysfunction and exercise capacity was studied in the study population.Objective: To establish a correlation with exercise capability in the study group by using transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) to evaluate RV function in patients with arterial hypertension.Patients and Methods: Patients with hypertension were surveyed in a cross-sectional research; those known and treated; whether controlled or not and patients who were recently discovered to be hypertensive. Ninety patients were included; gender and age were taken into account. A thorough examination was performed on each patient (TTE) as well as six minute walking distance (6MWD). For all we had a written informed consent prior to enrollment. Results: Patients with untreated and uncontrolled hypertension showed significantly reduced right ventricular systolic and diastolic functions compared to those with well-controlled hypertension. Patients with untreated or uncontrolled hypertension had significant (P <0.001) deterioration on S', wave and diastolic dysfunction parameters (E/A, DTt, E/e t and IVRT). Untreated and uncontrolled hypertension patients showed a significant decrease in 6MWD compared to the well-controlled individuals (P <0.001). Conclusion: Untreated or ineffectively treated hypertension individuals had considerably reduced right ventricular function and exercise capacity, according to our findings. In the entire research population, right ventricular functions are strongly linked to exercise ability

Optical Properties of Bismuth Borate Glasses Doped with Zinc and Calcium Oxides

Some bismuth-borate oxide glass' samples were prepared by the fast quenching method, where B2O3 was replaced with equal concentrations of ZnO and CaO. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to examine the internal structure and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) to identify building units and bonds throughout the studied structural matrices. XRD showed that all samples have short range order structural nature, while FTIR demonstrated some of Zn2+ acted as glass network formers and all Bi3+ acted as glass. UV-visible measurements and calculations showed a decreasing in the energy band gap from 3.83 eV to 1.73 eV with decreasing B2O3 content. Also with decreasing B2O3 content, both real refractive index and metallization factor decreased from 3.1 to 1.9 and from 0.56 to 0.71, respectively. For the studied glass' samples, density and molar volume showed inverted behaviors, where the density decreased while the molar volume increases with decreasing B2O3

Development of novel adsorbent for industrial wastewater treatment

The main objective of this research project is to perform some experimental procedures to inform the ability of the novel adsorbent used in this project. The chemical modification of the adsorbent is the chemical oxidation of pure powder chitosan using some specific redox pairs which are potassium dichromate and sodium bisulphite. After preparing the modified chitosan, there are some parameters that must be discussed during the adsorption process. The first parameter is the time parameter, showing experimentally the optimum time for adsorption under certain conditions by collecting values of absorbance and concentration of thymol blue adsorbed after the process from the spectrophotometer showing that the optimum time is 120 minutes. While for the optimum pH experiment, it is shown that optimum pH is 4, 0.5% v/v is optimum concentration, and 0.05 grams is the optimum dose for the adsorbent. Then after computing these conditions and values of absorbance, some calculations and classifications are done to show the reaction kinetics and isotherm classification of the process. By performing some equations using mathematical rules it is provided that the reaction is not a first order reaction, showing by calculations and graphs that the reaction is a second order reaction. Also, to know the classification of the process other mathematical relations are done calculating slope and R2 to show whether the process reaction is a Langumir or Frendulish, showing that the reaction process is a Frendulish process having a greater value of R2

New water-based copolymer nanoparticles and their use as eco-friendly binders for industry of flexographic ink, part I

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to prepare, characterise and evaluate nano-emulsions of copolymers of various compositions as eco-friendly binders for flexographic ink industry. Design/methodology/approach: Various nano-emulsions of copolymers were prepared using styrene (St), butyl acrylate (BuAc), acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AAm) monomers by means of a conventional seeded emulsion polymerisation technique, using K2S2O8 as the initiator. The characterisation of the prepared emulsions was performed using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A selection of copolymers was formulated with pigments and additional ingredients, as water-based flexographic inks. The inks were characterised for their viscosity, pH, degree of dispersion, water resistance and colour density. Findings: It was found that the low viscosity of the prepared copolymers may reduce the film thickness of the flexographic inks and may also increase the spreading of the ink on the surface. As a result, stable modified polyacrylate-based latex with improved physico-mechanical properties were obtained. The prepared latexes were showed improving and enhancing in water resistance; gloss values, and the print density that ranged from 2.06 to 2.51 and the maximum gloss values (39 and 48) were also obtained. Also, these binders provide excellent adhesion properties for both the pigment particles and the base paper. Practical implications: This study focuses on the preparation of new water-based copolymer nanoparticles and their use as eco-friendly binders for flexographic ink industry. Social implications: The ink formulations developed could find use in industrial-scale printing. Originality/value: Eco-friendly environment ink formulations for printing on paper substrates are novel

Estimation of potassium levels in hemodialysis patients by T wave nonlinear dynamics and morphology markers

Noninvasive screening of hypo- and hyperkalemia can prevent fatal arrhythmia in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, but current methods for monitoring of serum potassium (K+) have important limitations. We investigated changes in nonlinear dynamics and morphology of the T wave in the electrocardiogram (ECG) of ESRD patients during hemodialysis (HD), assessing their relationship with K+ and designing a K+ estimator. Methods: ECG recordings from twenty-nine ESRD patients undergoing HD were processed. T waves in 2-min windows were extracted at each hour during an HD session as well as at 48 h after HD start. T wave nonlinear dynamics were characterized by two indices related to the maximum Lyapunov exponent (¿t, ¿wt) and a divergence-related index (¿). Morphological variability in the T wave was evaluated by three time warping-based indices (dw, reflecting morphological variability in the time domain, and da and daNL, in the amplitude domain). K+was measured from blood samples extracted during and after HD. Stage-specific and patient-specific K+ estimators were built based on the quantified indices and leave-one-out cross-validation was performed separately for each of the estimators. Results: The analyzed indices showed high inter-individual variability in their relationship with K+. Nevertheless, all of them had higher values at the HD start and 48 h after it, corresponding to the highest K+. The indices ¿ and dw were the most strongly correlated with K+ (median Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.78 and 0.83, respectively) and were used in univariable and multivariable linear K+ estimators. Agreement between actual and estimated K+ was confirmed, with averaged errors over patients and time points being 0.000 ± 0.875 mM and 0.046 ± 0.690 mM for stage-specific and patient-specific multivariable K+ estimators, respectively.ariability allow noninvasive monitoring of [K+] in ESRD patients. Significance: ECG markers have the potential to be used for hypo- and hyperkalemia screening in ESRD patient

Analogue experiments on releasing and restraining bends and their application to the study of the Barents Shear Margin

The Barents Shear Margin separates the Svalbard and Barents Sea from the North Atlantic. During the break-up of the North Atlantic the plate tectonic configuration was characterized by sequential dextral shear, extension, and eventually contraction and inversion. This generated a complex zone of deformation that contains several structural families of overlapping and reactivated structures. A series of crustal-scale analogue experiments, utilizing a scaled and stratified sand-silicon polymer sequence, was used in the study of the structural evolution of the shear margin. The most significant observations for interpreting the structural configuration of the Barents Shear Margin are the following. Prominent early-stage positive structural elements (e.g. folds, push-ups) interacted with younger (e.g. inversion) structures and contributed to a hybrid final structural pattern. Several structural features that were initiated during the early (dextral shear) stage became overprinted and obliterated in the subsequent stages. All master faults, pull-apart basins, and extensional shear duplexes initiated during the shear stage quickly became linked in the extension stage, generating a connected basin system along the entire shear margin at the stage of maximum extension. The fold pattern was generated during the terminal stage (contraction-inversion became dominant in the basin areas) and was characterized by fold axes striking parallel to the basin margins. These folds, however, strongly affected the shallow intra-basin layers. The experiments reproduced the geometry and positions of the major basins and relations between structural elements (fault-and-fold systems) as observed along and adjacent to the Barents Shear Margin. This supports the present structural model for the shear margin