Synthesis and optimization of Novel Chitosan/Cellulose Acetate Natural Polymer Membrane for water treatment

Chitosan (Ch) and Cellulose Acetate (CA) natural polymer in addition to other samples with different mass fractions of Chitosan/Cellulose Acetate (Ch/CA) were synthesized via simple casting route. Prepared samples were studied using FT-IR and UV/vis spectroscopic techniques. Structural variations due to the process of blending were retraced using X-ray diffraction data (XRD) and morphological investigation using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Obtained spectral data reveals compatibility and complexation between polymer constituents identified through presence of polymer characteristic peaks with small variation in both intensity and position along with change in the value of optical energy gap from UV optical absorption spectral data. XRD pattern indicate the semicrystalline nature of the studied sample with an observable change in the crystallinity. Moreover, scanning electron microscopic (SEM) micrographs reveals homogenous structure without any evidence for agglomerations nearly in all compositions

Methods of da’wah and social networks in dealing with liberalism and extremism

Da’wah is the responsibility of all Muslims at all levels. Besides spreading the teachings of Islam, da’wah is essential to raise awareness to all societies that the teaching of Islam has been disseminated are true, pure and from a genuine source. This article deals with the method of da’wah and social networks in dealing with liberalism and extremism. It discusses how far da’wah movements and social networks can be used effectively to meet the challenges of liberal and extreme ideology in Malaysia. By using the qualitative, historical, and content analysis, this article is part of the research findings on collective and multi-disciplinary approaches in combatting extremism ideology and activities in Malaysia. The research findings show that these two ideologies (liberalism and extremism) are transmitted through social networking technologies including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. This media technology not only facilitates communication, but, despite all these facilities they are very dangerous and has social implications. A free understanding, an extreme, a radicalism and in similar with it are widely disseminated through the sophistication of this technology. In this case, the method of da’wah should be updated from time to time, up to date and utilize of all available technologies. In addition, in order to spread the genuine Islamic teachings and eradicate the wrong doctrine, the greatest challenge is to ensure that all information’s to be disseminated are true and genuine derived from the principles of Sunnah

Enhancement of clavulanic acid production by Streptomyces sp MU-NRC77 via mutation and medium optimization

Purpose: To enhance clavulanic acid production using UV-mutagenesis on Streptomyces sp. NRC77.Methods: UV-mutagenesis was used to study the effect of Streptomyces sp. NRC77 on CA production. Phenotypic and genotypic identification methods of the promising mutant strain were characterized. Optimization of the fermentation medium and culture conditions were investigatedResults: Out of the screened mutants, 120A3 mutant isolate was selected as promising. The phenotypic properties of 120A3 mutant showed culture characteristics similar to those of Streptomyces species. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence indicate that this strain has similarity (99 %) to Streptomyces sp.T2-7; therefore it was suggested as Streptomyces sp. MU-NRC77 and has Gen Bank accession no. KT953342.Conclusion: Improvement of CA yield by 48 % was obtained from fermentation medium and culture condition optimization. Further optimization by addition of H2O2 and activated charcoal to the production medium increased CA yield to 646.12 and 682.94 mg/L respectively, i.e., 83 % more than that obtained prior to addition.Keywords: Clavulanic acid, Medium optimization, Phenotypic and Genotypic identification, Streptomyces sp. MU-NRC77, UV-Mutagenesi

Identification of Putative SNP Markers Associated with Resistance to Egyptian Loose Smut Race(s) in Spring Barley

Loose smut (LS) disease is a serious problem that affects barley yield. Breeding of resistant cultivars and identifying new genes controlling LS has received very little attention. Therefore, it is important to understand the genetic basis of LS control in order to genetically improve LS resistance. To address this challenge, a set of 57 highly diverse barley genotypes were inoculated with Egyptian loose smut race(s) and the infected seeds/plants were evaluated in two growing seasons. Loose smut resistance (%) was scored on each genotype. High genetic variation was found among all tested genotypes indicating considerable differences in LS resistance that can be used for breeding. The broad-sense heritability (H2) of LS (0.95) was found. Moreover, genotyping-bysequencing (GBS) was performed on all genotypes and generated in 16,966 SNP markers which were used for genetic association analysis using single-marker analysis. The analysis identified 27 significant SNPs distributed across all seven chromosomes that were associated with LS resistance. One SNP (S6_17854595) was located within the HORVU6Hr1G010050 gene model that encodes a protein kinase domain-containing protein (similar to the Un8 LS resistance gene, which contains two kinase domains). A TaqMan marker (0751D06 F6/R6) for the Un8 gene was tested in the diverse collection. The results indicated that none of the Egyptian genotypes had the Un8 gene. The result of this study provided new information on the genetic control of LS resistance. Moreover, good resistance genotypes were identified and can be used for breeding cultivars with improved resistance to Egyptian LS

The role of point-like topological excitations at criticality: from vortices to global monopoles

We determine the detailed thermodynamic behavior of vortices in the O(2) scalar model in 2D and of global monopoles in the O(3) model in 3D. We construct new numerical techniques, based on cluster decomposition algorithms, to analyze the point defect configurations. We find that these criteria produce results for the Kosterlitz-Thouless temperature in agreement with a topological transition between a polarizable insulator and a conductor, at which free topological charges appear in the system. For global monopoles we find no pair unbinding transition. Instead a transition to a dense state where pairs are no longer distinguishable occurs at T<Tc, without leading to long range disorder. We produce both extensive numerical evidence of this behavior as well as a semi-analytic treatment of the partition function for defects. General expectations for N=D>3 are drawn, based on the observed behavior.Comment: 14 pages, REVTEX, 13 eps figure

An Outer Membrane Vesicle-Based Permeation Assay (OMPA) for Assessing Bacterial Bioavailability

When searching for new antibiotics against Gram-negative bacterial infections, a better understanding of the permeability across the cell envelope and tools to discriminate high from low bacterial bioavailability compounds are urgently needed. Inspired by the phospholipid vesicle-based permeation assay (PVPA), which is designed to predict non-facilitated permeation across phospholipid membranes, outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) of Escherichia coli either enriched or deficient of porins are employed to coat filter supports for predicting drug uptake across the complex cell envelope. OMVs and the obtained in vitro model are structurally and functionally characterized using cryo-TEM, SEM, CLSM, SAXS, and light scattering techniques. In vitro permeability, obtained from the membrane model for a set of nine antibiotics, correlates with reported in bacterio accumulation data and allows to discriminate high from low accumulating antibiotics. In contrast, the correlation of the same data set generated by liposome-based comparator membranes is poor. This better correlation of the OMV-derived membranes points to the importance of hydrophilic membrane components, such as lipopolysaccharides and porins, since those features are lacking in liposomal comparator membranes. This approach can offer in the future a high throughput screening tool with high predictive capacity or can help to identify compound- and bacteria-specific passive uptake pathways

Laser processing of La61.4Al15.9Ni11.35Cu11.35 based functionally graded material bulk metallic glass

Bulk metallic glass (BMG) based on lanthanum is one of the BMG with exceptional glass-forming ability (GFA). The La61.4Al15.9Ni11.35Cu11.35 bulk metallic glasses were treated to a laser processing test in this experiment. The results showed that the best power, frequency, and speed ranges for laser processing of the La61.4Al15.9Ni11.35Cu11.35 BMG samples are 40 – 50 W, 160 – 240 kHz, and 200 – 400 mm/s, respectively. As a result, the current work was effective in producing the Lanthanum-based functionally graded material (FGM) BMG. The positive findings on the laser's microstructural or morphology, give a solid foundation for future advancement research on the La61.4Al15.9Ni11.35Cu11.35 BMG

Study of the Cabibbo-suppressed decay modes D0-->Pi-pi+ and D0-->K-K+

Using data from the FOCUS (E831) experiment at Fermilab, we present a new measurement for the branching ratios of the Cabibbo-suppressed decay modes D0-->Pi-Pi+ and D0-->K-K+. We measured: Gamma(D0-->K-K+)/Gamma(D0-->Pi-Pi+) = 2.81 +/- 0.10(stat) +/- 0.06(syst), Gamma(D0-->K-K+)/Gamma(D0-->K-Pi+) = 0.0993 +/- 0.0014(stat) +/- 0.0014(syst), and Gamma(D0-->Pi-Pi+)/Gamma(D0-->K-Pi+) = 0.0353 +/- 0.0012 (stat) +/- 0.0006(syst). These values have been combined with other experimental data to extract the ratios of isospin amplitudes and the phase shifts for the D-->KK and D-->PiPi decay channels.Comment: 12 pages, 1 Figure, accepted for publication in Phys.Lett.