Heavy metals biosorption by urease producing Lysinibacillus fusiformis 5B

Biosorption is the ability of biological materials to accumulate heavy metals from wastewater through mediated or physico-chemical pathways of uptake. Urease producing bacteria have been hypothesized to have inherent bioremediation abilities. The aim of this research was to determine the potential of Lysinibacillus fusiformis 5B to biosorp Pb, Cr, Cd and Ni. The stock solution of Pb, Cr, Cd and Ni was prepared by dissolving 0.0157 g of Pb(C2H3O2)2, 0.057 g of K2Cr2O7, 0.018 g of CdSO4 and 0.026 g of NiSO4 in 100 mL of dH2O respectively. Lysinibacillus fusiformis 5B was screened for the potential to utilise 5 ppm of the heavy metals using agar dilution method. Broth of L. fusiformis 5B was inoculated to 10, 15, 20 and 50 ppm of the heavy metals. The rate of biosorption was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) after 0, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days. The biosorption % was determined by Beer Lambart’s equation. Lysinibacillus fusiformis 5B was able to tolerate 5 ppm concentration of all the heavy metals by showing visible growth on surfaces of nutrient agar Petri plates. Generally, there was an increase in biosorption rate as the days progress. After 35 days of incubation, the highest biosorption rate of 99.96%, 99.97%, and 99.94% were recorded for Pb, Cr, and Cd respectively at 10 ppm and 99.33% of Ni at 15 ppm. The results of this study showed that L. fusiformis 5B possess the capacity to biosorp Pb, Cr, Cd and Ni and can be developed as biosorption agent for these heavy metals. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.402316

Connected Learning Initiative: A Novel Tool for Teacher Capacity Development in Nigeria

All three tiers of education in Nigeria (primary, secondary, tertiary) lay emphasis on STEM subjects. The methods and strategies employed by STEM teachers in most Nigerian schools have remained teacher-centred and textbook-oriented. This paper has brought together some elements of the innovation achieved in the Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx) to address the identified challenges in STEM education in Nigerian junior secondary schools through the CL4STEM project to build processes for long-term systemic dialogues and networking. CLIx was seeded by the Tata Trusts and led by TISS and MIT, USA, to strengthen secondary STEM learning, pedagogic content knowledge of teachers and their practice at scale in four states in India.  The programme’s interactive STEM OERs, subject teacher CoPs on mobile devices, tech design for under-resourced context, participatory and localised ecosystem approach to adoption and scaling, are identified as innovative and scalable models. Data were collected in three phases, baseline, midline, and endline. The findings from interviews indicate that teachers' understanding of CL4STEM innovation seem to improve from baseline to endline.At the baseline 2 teachers were still learning how to effectively navigate CL4STEM modules and Telegram group (CoPs) while none was at the endline. There is an increase in the number of teachers exploring ways of improving CL4STEM teaching strategies through further refinement of the modules and CoP participation and/or alternative ways of achieving better results from 1 at midline to 5 at endline. There is a decrease in the number of teachers that are exploring ways of collaboration with other teachers and educators to help impact student learning using CL4STEM teaching strategies from 11 at the midline to 3 at the endline. Other changes from baseline through midline to endline, generally positively, with respect to perception, voluntariness, relative advantage, compatibility, image, ease of use, research demonstrability, and visibility have been recorded here-in

Blockchain security for 5G network using Internet of Things devices

Network of vehicles using Internet of Things (IoT) frameworks have efficient characteristics of modern intelligent transportation system with a few challenges in vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs). However, its security framework is required to manage trust management by preserving user privacy. Wireless mobile communication (5G) system is regarded as an outstanding technology that provide ultra-reliable with limited latency wireless communication services. By extension, integrating Software Defined Network (SDN) with 5G-VANET enhances global information gathering and network control. Therefore, real-time IoT application for monitoring transport services is efficiently supported. These ensures vehicular security on this framework. This paper provides a technical solution to a self-confidential framework for a smart transport system. This process exploiting IoT for vehicle communication by incorporating SDN and 5G technology. Due to some features of blockchain, this framework has been implemented to provide various alternative support for vehicular smart services. This involves real-time access to cloud to stream video information and protection management to vehicular network. The implemented framework presents a promising technique and reliable vehicular IoT environment while ensuring user privacy. Results of simulation presents that vehicular nodes/messages (malicious) and overhead is detected and the impact on network performance are satisfactory when deployed in large-scale network scenarios

Heavy metals biosorption by urease producing Lysinibacillus fusiformis 5B

Biosorption is the ability of biological materials to accumulate heavy metals from wastewater through mediated or physico-chemical pathways of uptake. Urease producing bacteria have been hypothesized to have inherent bioremediation abilities. The aim of this research was to determine the potential of Lysinibacillus fusiformis 5B to biosorp Pb, Cr, Cd and Ni. The stock solution of Pb, Cr, Cd and Ni was prepared by dissolving 0.0157 g of Pb(C2H3O2)2, 0.057 g of K2Cr2O7, 0.018 g of CdSO4 and 0.026 g of NiSO4 in 100 mL of dH2O respectively. Lysinibacillus fusiformis 5B was screened for the potential to utilise 5 ppm of the heavy metals using agar dilution method. Broth of L. fusiformis 5B was inoculated to 10, 15, 20 and 50 ppm of the heavy metals. The rate of biosorption was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) after 0, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days. The biosorption % was determined by Beer Lambart’s equation. Lysinibacillus fusiformis 5B was able to tolerate 5 ppm concentration of all the heavy metals by showing visible growth on surfaces of nutrient agar Petri plates. Generally, there was an increase in biosorption rate as the days progress. After 35 days of incubation, the highest biosorption rate of 99.96%, 99.97%, and 99.94% were recorded for Pb, Cr, and Cd respectively at 10 ppm and 99.33% of Ni at 15 ppm. The results of this study showed that L. fusiformis 5B possess the capacity to biosorp Pb, Cr, Cd and Ni and can be developed as biosorption agent for these heavy metals. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.402316

Enhanced clustering routing protocol for power-efficient gathering in wireless sensor network

Wireless sensor network (WSN) is a new and fast advancing technology, which is opening up many opportunities in the field of remote sensing and data monitoring. In spite of the numerous applications of WSN, issues related to determining a suitable and accurate radio model that will foster energy conservation in the network limit the performance of WSN routing protocols. A number of radio models have been proposed to address this issue. However, the underlying assumptions and inaccurate configuration of these radio models make them impractical and often lead to mismanagement of scarce energy and computational resources. This paper addresses this problem by proposing an enhanced radio model that adapts to the frequent changes in the location of the sensor nodes and is robust enough to report reliable data to the base station despite fluctuations due to interference. The impact of incorporating stepwise energy level and specialized data transmission schemes in the proposed radio model is also investigated in this paper. The performance of the proposed radio model is evaluated using OMNET++ and MATLAB and the results obtained is benchmarked against PEGASIS. It is shown by simulation that the novel LEACH-IMP performs better with respect to energy consumption, number of links faults, number of packets received, signal attenuation, and network lifetime

Predictors of biliary atresia outcome: Saudi National Study (2000 – 2018)

Background: Outcomes in biliary atresia (BA) have been well-documented in large national cohorts from Europe, North America, and East Asia. Understanding the challenges that preclude success of the Kasai portoenterostomy (KPE) is the key to improve the overall outcomes of BA and implementing intervention strategies. Here, we analyzed the data from the Saudi national BA study (204 BA cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2018) to identify the prognostic factors of BA outcomes. Methods: One hundred and forty-three cases underwent KPE. Several prognostic factors (center case load, congenital anomalies, serum gamma-glutamyl transferase, use of steroids, ascending cholangitis post-operatively, and degree of portal fibrosis at time of KPE) were investigated and correlated with the primary outcomes of interest: 1) success of KPE (clearance of jaundice and total serum bilirubin <20 mmol/l after KPE), 2) survival with native liver (SNL), and 3) overall survival. Results: Use of steroids after KPE was associated with clearance of jaundice, 68% vs. 36.8% in the BA cases that did not receive steroids (P = 0.013; odds ratio 2.5) and a significantly better SNL rate at 2 - and 10-year of 62.22% and 57.77% vs. 39.47% and 31.57%, respectively (P = 0.01). A better 10-year SNL was observed in centers with caseload <1/year (group 1) as compared to centers that performed ≥1/year (group 2) [45.34% vs. 26.66%, respectively; P = 0.047]. On comparison of the 2 groups, cases in group 1 had KPE at significantly earlier age (median 59.5 vs. 75 days, P = 0.006) and received steroids after KPE more frequently than group 2 (69% vs. 31%, P < 0.001). None of the remaining prognostic variables were identified as being significantly related to BA outcome. Conclusion: Steroids use post-KPE predicted clearance of jaundice and better short- and long-term SNL. There is a need to establish a national BA registry in Saudi Arabia aiming to standardize the pre- and post-operative clinical practices and facilitate clinical and basic research to evaluate factors that influence BA outcome