Investigation of waste banana peels and radish leaves for their biofuels potential

This article is mainly based on the production of biodiesel and bioethanol from waste banana peels and radish leaves. The oily content from both the samples were converted to biodiesel by acid catalyzed and base catalyzed transesterification using methanol and ethanol. The biodiesel so obtained was subjected to analysis in accordance with the American Standard for Testing Materials (ASTM). The carbohydrates were extracted by distilled water and characterized by physical, chemical and biochemical methods. The carbohydrates were subjected to anaerobic fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce bioethanol which was confirmed by the preparation of UV active derivatives namely ethyl benzoate and ethyl salicylate. The highest % yield of fatty acid methyl ester and fatty acid ethyl ester was found to be 75% and 38%, respectively. The yield of bioethanol from banana peels and radish leaves was found to be 1.37% and 1.23%, respectively. KEY WORDS: Oil, Transesterification, Biodiesel, Carbohydrates, Fermentation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Bioethanol Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2015, 29(2), 239-245DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v29i2.

Rare case of clear cell sarcoma in a young female

Clear Cell Sarcoma of Tendon and Aponeuroses (CCTA), also known as Melanoma of soft tissue is a rare and highly malignant soft tissue neoplasm which mostly occurs in young adults A 26-year-old female presented with pain and thickened soft tissue in the popliteal fossa at the posterior aspect of the left knee. Ultrasonography demonstrated a cystic mass with irregular wall and internal debris representing a complex popliteal cyst. Further work-up with MRI demonstrated a cystic mass lateral to the semimembranosus muscle tendon. Excisional biopsy of the mass was consistent with malignant neoplasm with plasmacytoid features. Immunoperoxidase and cytogenic studies supported the diagnosis for Clear Cell Sarcoma arising from the tendon sheath

Investigating the Post-Sintering Thermal and Mechanical Treatments on the Properties of Alumina Reinforced Aluminum Nanocomposites

Alumina nanoparticles in the loading fraction of 3 wt% were incorporated in pure aluminum matrix to prepare nanocomposites for improved mechanical performance. Powder metallurgy route was adopted wherein nanoparticles were mixed with aluminium powder using dry mixing technique involving milling process, which was followed by the densification of composite mixture by uniaxial cold pressing and pressureless sintering. In order to increase the densification of nanocomposites, a batch of sintered nanocomposites was twice sintered at the same sintering parameters while another batch of specimens was cold pressed after initial sintering. The consolidated nanocomposites together with reference pure aluminum specimens were characterized microstructurally and mechanically by optical and electron microscopy, hardness and compressive strength tests. It was found that the hardness and compressive strength of nanocomposites after sintering increased up to ~ 29% and ~ 144% in comparison to pure aluminium specimens, respectively. Although the densification of nanocomposites increased after twice sintering, the hardness and compressive strength values decreased. However, the rise in consolidification along with improved mechanical performance was noted after cold pressing the specimens as secondary treatment after sintering; hardness increased up to ~ 36% while compressive strength rose to ~ 64%. In comparison to twice sintering, cold pressing after initial sintering significantly increased the hardness and compressive strength of nanocomposites up to ~ 76% and ~ 301% with reference to pure aluminum, respectively. It was found that both the incorporation of alumina nanoparticles and cold pressing after initial sintering improved the mechanical properties of nanocomposites

Population genetic structure of Rufous-Vented Prinia (Prinia burnesii) in Pakistan

The objective of the study is to ascertain genetic variation within Rufous-vented Prinia, Prinia burnesii an endemic species, by DNA fingerprinting applying random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. Genetic material was obtained from three distant sites along western bank of River Indus. These sites include Chashma barrage (32°50’N, 71°20’E), in the north; Taunsa barrage (30°45’N, 70°45’E) and the southern population from Guddu barrage (28°26’N, 69°44’E). In total, 14 RAPD primers were selected to determine the genetic variability between three populations of the species. The Nei’s (1973) genetic diversity in three populations ranged from 0.190 to 0.320. The genetic distance between Populations ranged from 0.149 to 0.265. The polymorphism levels ranged from 48 to 83% in three populations and at species level, polymorphism were 93.07%. The results further indicate that they are genetically isolated populations.Keywords: Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA, Prinia, genetic variation, river Indu

Inhibition of Hepatitis C Virus 3a genotype entry through Glanthus Nivalis Agglutinin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) has two envelop proteins E1 and E2 which is highly glycosylated and play an important role in cell entry. Inhibition of virus at entry step is an important target to find antiviral drugs against HCV. Glanthus Nivalis Agglutinin (GNA) is a mannose binding lectin which has tendency for specific recognition and reversible binding to the sugar moieties of a wide variety of glycoproteins of enveloped viruses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the present study, HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpp) for genotype 3a were produced to investigate the ability of GNA to block the HCV entry. The results demonstrated that GNA inhibit the infectivity of HCVpp and HCV infected serum in a dose-dependent manner and resulted in 50% reduction of virus at 1 ± 2 μg concentration. Molecular docking of GNA and HCV glycoproteins (E1 and E2) showed that GNA inhibit HCV entry by binding N-linked glycans.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results demonstrated that targeting the HCV glycans is a new approach to develop antiviral drugs against HCV.</p

Novel Carbyne Filled Carbon Nanotube – Polymer Nanocomposites

The availability of carbyne in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) induces intrinsic stiffening and strengthening of CNTs, and is exploited for the very first time in this report to process epoxy nanocomposites with improved mechanical and electrical properties. The existence of encapsulated carbyne in double wall CNTs (DWNTs) was confirmed using High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM). The intrinsic stiffening of carbyne reinforced DWNTs (c-DWNTs) in epoxy matrix was visually confirmed by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM). In comparison to raw DWNTs reinforced epoxy nanocomposites, c-DWNTS imparted modest but improved tensile strength (5.6%), elastic modulus (9.7%), failure strain (9.9%) and fracture toughness (13%) to their respective epoxy nanocomposites. This inaugural study on carbyne-filled polymer composites also reports a minor but distinct increase (an order of magnitude) in the electrical conductivity for c-DWNTs filled epoxy nanocomposites compared to DWNT filled epoxy nanocomposites

Assessment of Determinants of Paediatric Diarrhoea Case Management Adherence in Pakistan

Worldwide, diarrhoea in children under five years of age is the second leading cause of death. Despite having high morbidity and mortality, diarrhoeal diseases can be averted by simple and cost-effective interventions. The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) has proposed the use of Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) and zinc together with adequate food and fluid intake for the management of acute non-dysenteric watery diarrhoea in children. In the past, few studies examined the determinants of adherence to diarrhoea case management. Therefore, this study measured the determinants of therapeutic and dietary adherence to diarrhoea case management using the third and fourth wave of Pakistan Demographics and Health Surveys (PDHS) datasets. Data from 4068 children between 0 to 59.9 months with positive history of diarrhoea were included, while data on children with dysentery, severe dehydration, and co-morbid condition was excluded. This study reported therapeutic adherence in less than 10% of children in Pakistan, while dietary adherence was reported in 39.2% of children (37.7% in 2012–2013 and 40.7% in 2017–2018). A significant improvement in therapeutic (0.8% in 2012–2013 and 8.1% in 2017–2018) and dietary adherence (37.7% in 2012–2013 and 40.7% in 2017–2018) was reported in the 2017–2018 survey compared to the 2012–2013 survey. In general, children over the age of one year (compared to children <1 year) and of the richer/richest socioeconomic class (compared to poorest/poorer socioeconomic class) showed higher therapeutic and dietary adherence. Therapeutic and dietary adherence among diarrhoeal children can be improved by increasing the awareness and accessibility of ORS, zinc, and essential foods