Numerical modeling and validation of hydrothermal liquefaction of a lignin particle for biocrude production

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Turmeric and Ginger as Health Protective Food Sources - An Integrative Review

Most of the medicinal plants utilized in traditional medicine are spices. Majority of those spices are widely used for aroma, flavour and colour in cuisine though they behave as appetizers, digestives, preventives and aphrodisiacs. Their antimicrobial properties are in a broad spectrum that provides a considerable immunity development within the human body. This review summarizes the beneficial characteristics of major active constituents in turmeric and ginger and their presumed pharmacological potential to safeguard human health.Keywords: Turmeric, Ginger, Curcumin, Human health, Active Ingredients, Nanotechnolog

Improving knowledge of street food vendors through an educational intervention in Kandy district, Sri Lanka

Background: Street food sector plays an important role in urban areas of many developing countries in catering to the needs of the urban population. Contamination of ready to eat food and beverages sold by street food vendors rendering them unacceptable for human consumption has become a global problem. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of providing a health educational programme in improving knowledge related to food safety on street food vendors.Methods: Study used a quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test design. Evaluation instruments consisted of a questionnaire and a checklist. A total number of 427 street food vendors were included. A visual educational intervention was developed to provide training to all vendors in the intervention area. The study areas covered were method of food contamination, personal hygiene, safe food handling of potentially hazardous street vended food and time temperature control.Results: The results of the pre intervention survey showed that the baseline knowledge was poor. Vendors had unfavorable views particularly towards available facilities and support services. It was revealed that over 50% of the study population had received information on safe food handling though public health inspectors. Post intervention showed knowledge had improved significantly in the intervention group in all subject areas, when compared to control group (p<0.001).Conclusions: Health education intervention was effective in improving knowledge of the street food vendors in safe food handling practices and food borne disease prevention

Regulating, Measuring, and Modeling the Viscoelasticity of Bacterial Biofilms

Biofilms occur in a broad range of environments under heterogeneous physicochemical conditions, such as in bioremediation plants, on surfaces of biomedical implants, and in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. In these scenarios, biofilms are subjected to shear forces, but the mechanical integrity of these aggregates often prevents their disruption or dispersal. Biofilms' physical robustness is the result of the multiple biopolymers secreted by constituent microbial cells which are also responsible for numerous biological functions. A better understanding of the role of these biopolymers and their response to dynamic forces is therefore crucial for understanding the interplay between biofilm structure and function. In this paper, we review experimental techniques in rheology, which help quantify the viscoelasticity of biofilms, and modeling approaches from soft matter physics that can assist our understanding of the rheological properties. We describe how these methods could be combined with synthetic biology approaches to control and investigate the effects of secreted polymers on the physical properties of biofilms. We argue that without an integrated approach of the three disciplines, the links between genetics, composition, and interaction of matrix biopolymers and the viscoelastic properties of biofilms will be much harder to uncover

Strength parameters of compressed stabilized earth blocks using furnace bottom ash as a cement replacement

Furnace Bottom Ash (FBA) is the waste by product that falls to the bottom of the pulverized coal furnaces when the ash particles become too large to be carried in the flue gases. Physical appearance of FBA is porous in nature, grey in colour and fine sand to coarse gravel range of particle size. FBA has similar chemical properties to Pulverized Fuel Ash (PFA) with the three predominant elements being silica, aluminum and iron, the oxides including considerable pozzolanic properties. Current applications of this by product include aggregate in lightweight concrete products, filler material for structural applications and embankments, Aggregate in road bases, sub-bases, and pavement and feed stock in the production of cement. In this research, FBA obtained from Norochchole power plant in Sri Lanka is used as a cement replacement in investigating dry and wet compressive strengths of Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks with 30% and 50% replacement of cement. The CSE blocks used in the experimental programme were manufactured using a mix of laterite soil and cement (6% of cement). A Comparison and a relationship of unit strength Vs wall panel strength is obtained in order to recommend practical applications of the final product

Automobile Spare Parts System – Web Solution

“With the right spare parts on hand, your business can continue without ceasing operations even after a major malfuction, allowing you to avoid loss of crucial time and profits as you wait for the right parts to be delivered”. This system which is specialized in trading automobile spare parts claims to provide sufficient spare parts throughout the life cycle of products, to the clients in need, so as to achieve sustainability. This research discusses how such a system can be designed and implemented to assist clients in search of the best automobile parts that fits their purpose. The research paper has been divided in such a manner to explore and comprehend each and every aspect of the system in detail. Initially, the introduction will provide a simple overview of the system with details regarding what the system will achieve; this will be followed by the methodology of the implementation process. The functionalities of the proposed system will then be discussed with the entails of the testing methodologies and the outcomes

AVIFAUNAL DIVERSITY IN A TEA PLANTATION ECOSYSTEM IN THE UP-COUNTRY OF SRI LANKA

A survey on birds was conducted at Mattakelle Tea Estate with the objective of assessing the significance of a given tea plantation ecosystem in maintaining avifaunal diversity. Seven different habitats were identified in the ecosystem namely home garden, seasonal stream, small scale reservoir, Eucalyptus forest, wetland, tea field and secondary forest. The monitoring was conducted from January to June 2010 using line transect method. 28 counts were made for each habitat. Besides, activities of birds, feeding habits and food recourses were observed.61 species of birds including  9 species of endemics and 10 species of migrants were recorded. One globally threatened species Kashmir Flycatcher (Ficedula subrubra) and 12 nationally threatened species were observed. Among the habitats, the highest species count of 62% was recorded in  home garden habitat where Shannon index (H’) = 3.03 and Evenness (J) =0.46. Species diversity and the evenness of the secondary forest were comparable to tea field indicating H’= 2.86 and J=0.43; H’ =2.77 and J= 0.46 respectively.  The avifaunal diversity was relatively low in the rest.The study revealed that each of the habitats provided unique niches and supported maintenance of natural diversity. Vegetation structure and the complexity of the ecosystem in tea plantations play a vital role in sustaining  avifaunal diversity. Several conservation measures such as increasing plant diversity, introduction of shade trees, conduct of good agricultural practices and prevention from setting fire are recommended to protect and conserve avifaunal diversity

Vulnerability to Climate Change: Adaptation Strategies and Layers of Resilience Farmers’ Perceptions of Climate Change in Sri Lanka: Qualitative Analysis, Research Report No. 17

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is working together with the Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy (SLCARP), recognizing the complimentarity of their objectives and the need to facilitate the implementation of the research project on natural resources management, titled "Vulnerability to Climate Change: Adaptation Strategies and Layers of Resilience" in 7 Asian countries India, China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand. Farmers in the Asian countries will need to adjust to climate that is changing and accordingly adapt with layers of resilience in their farming practices and investment decisions. Climate change is the most important global environmental challenge facing humanity today..

HL-Histamine receptor affinity predicts short-term weight gain for typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs

As a result of superior efficacy and overall tolerability, atypical antipsychotic drugs have become the treatment of choice for schizophrenia and related disorders, despite their side effects. Weight gain is a common and potentially serious complication of some antipsychotic drug therapy, and may be accompanied by hyperlipidemia, hypertension and hyperglycemia and, in some extreme cases, diabetic ketoacidosis. The molecular mechanism(s) responsible for antipsychotic drug-induced weight gain are unknown, but have been hypothesized to be because of interactions of antipsychotic drugs with several neurotransmitter receptors, including 5-HT2A and 5-HT2Cserotonin receptors, H1-histamine receptors, α1- and α2-adrenergic receptors, and m3-muscarinic receptors. To determine the receptor(s) likely to be responsible for antipsychotic-drug-induced weight gain, we screened 17 typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs for binding to 12 neurotransmitter receptors. H1-histamine receptor affinities for this group of typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs were significantly correlated with weight gain (Spearman ρ=−0.72; p less than 0.01), as were affinities for α1A adrenergic (ρ=−0.54; p less than 0.05), 5-HT2C (ρ=−0.49; p less than 0.05) and 5-HT6 receptors (ρ=−0.54; p less than 0.05), whereas eight other receptors' affinities were not. A principal components analysis showed that affinities at the H1, α2A, α2B, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2C, and 5-HT6 receptors were most highly correlated with the first principal component, and affinities for the D2, 5-HT1A, and 5-HT7 receptors were most highly correlated with the second principal component. A discriminant functions analysis showed that affinities for the H1 and α1A receptors were most highly correlated with the discriminant function axis. The discriminant function analysis, as well as the affinity for the H1-histamine receptor alone, correctly classified 15 of the 17 drugs into two groups; those that induce weight gain and those that do not. Because centrally acting H1-histamine receptor antagonists are known to induce weight gain with chronic use, and because H1-histamine receptor affinities are positively correlated with weight gain among typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs, it is recommended that the next generation of atypical antipsychotic drugs be screened to avoid H1-histamine receptors

A Genome-Wide Investigation of SNPs and CNVs in Schizophrenia

We report a genome-wide assessment of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and copy number variants (CNVs) in schizophrenia. We investigated SNPs using 871 patients and 863 controls, following up the top hits in four independent cohorts comprising 1,460 patients and 12,995 controls, all of European origin. We found no genome-wide significant associations, nor could we provide support for any previously reported candidate gene or genome-wide associations. We went on to examine CNVs using a subset of 1,013 cases and 1,084 controls of European ancestry, and a further set of 60 cases and 64 controls of African ancestry. We found that eight cases and zero controls carried deletions greater than 2 Mb, of which two, at 8p22 and 16p13.11-p12.4, are newly reported here. A further evaluation of 1,378 controls identified no deletions greater than 2 Mb, suggesting a high prior probability of disease involvement when such deletions are observed in cases. We also provide further evidence for some smaller, previously reported, schizophrenia-associated CNVs, such as those in NRXN1 and APBA2. We could not provide strong support for the hypothesis that schizophrenia patients have a significantly greater “load” of large (>100 kb), rare CNVs, nor could we find common CNVs that associate with schizophrenia. Finally, we did not provide support for the suggestion that schizophrenia-associated CNVs may preferentially disrupt genes in neurodevelopmental pathways. Collectively, these analyses provide the first integrated study of SNPs and CNVs in schizophrenia and support the emerging view that rare deleterious variants may be more important in schizophrenia predisposition than common polymorphisms. While our analyses do not suggest that implicated CNVs impinge on particular key pathways, we do support the contribution of specific genomic regions in schizophrenia, presumably due to recurrent mutation. On balance, these data suggest that very few schizophrenia patients share identical genomic causation, potentially complicating efforts to personalize treatment regimens