Assessment of the impact of aquatic resources research by ICLARM: scope and methodologies

The importance of quantifying the economic returns to investments in aquatic resources research together with the social, environmental and institutional impacts of such investments is widely recognized among ICLARM's donors, trustees and beneficiaries. As with other Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centers, ICLARM is being asked to provide specific accounts of the outputs of its research and their impact on farms and on fisheries, including their socioeconomic impact. Such impact information has become a necessary, though not sufficient, basis for setting priorities and allocating resources for research for the CGIAR centers. This paper discusses the types and methods of impact assessment relevant to ICLARM's work. A three-pronged assessment approach is envisaged to capture the full range of impacts: 1) ex ante assessment for research priority setting; 2) assessment prior to dissemination or adoption along with monitoring and evaluation; and 3) ex post impact assessment. It also discusses the objectives and scope for operational impact assessment of ICLARM's research

Gill pathology of juvenile carps in nursery ponds

Gill pathology of juveniles of two Indian major carps Labeo rohita and Cirrhinus mrigala were studied for a culture period of three months in a private and a government fish farm pond. Under histopathological observations, only protozoan parasite, Myxobolus sp., was recorded as cyst. These myxosporidian cysts were high in the gills of L. rohita of the government farm pond followed by C. mrigala of the private farm pond. Hypertrophic gill lamellae (primary and secondary) with loss of secondary lamellae were evidenced in C. mrigala of privately operated pond

Reduction of Coincident Photomultiplier Noise Relevant to Astroparticle Physics Experiment

In low background and low threshold particle astrophysics experiments using observation of Cherenkov or scintillation light it is common to use pairs or arrays of photomultipliers operated in coincidence. In such circumstances, for instance in dark matter and neutrino experiments, unexpected PMT noise events have been observed, probably arising from generation of light from one PMT being detected by one or more other PMTs. We describe here experimental investigation of such coincident noise events and development of new techniques to remove them using novel pulse shape discrimination procedures. When applied to data from a low background NaI detector with facing PMTs the new procedures are found to improve noise rejection by a factor of 20 over conventional techniques, with significantly reduced loss of signal events.Comment: Submitted to NIM

Production and Purification of Laccase enzyme by Trichoderma viride

تم فحص قدرة Trichoderma viride على تصنيع إنزيمات خارج الخلية (إنزيم Laccase) باستخدام وسط يحتوي على المادة الاساس للأنزيم. أنتجت هذه العزلة اللاكيز عند أعلى مستوى لها (0.166 وحدة / مل) في الوسط سائل. اوضحت هذه الدراسة إنتاج وتنقية وتوصيف إنزيم اللاكيز من T.viride. أظهرت النتائج أن 96 ساعة هي الفترة الزمنية المثلى لحضانة Laccase من هذا الفطر. أظهر Laccase الحد الأقصى لمستوى النشاط عند درجة الحموضة 4.5 ودرجة حرارة 30 درجة مئوية. اثبتت النتائج أن أفضل نسبة لترسيب laccase كانت 90٪ باستخدام  كبريتات الأمونيوم. بالإضافة الى ذلك, لأجل تنقية انزيم اللاكيز  ظهرت قمة واحدة من Laccase في ترشيح الهلام المنقى من T.viride ، بينما شوهدت قمتان من Laccase في كروماتوغرافيا التبادل الأيوني. وفقًا للنتائج، كان الوزن الجزيئي لـ T. viride Laccase باستخدام SDS-PAGE حوالي 66 كيلو دالتون تحت الظروف الماسخة.The ability of Trichoderma viride to synthesize extracellular enzymes (Lacase enzyme) using a substrate that contains media was examined. This isolate generated laccase at its greatest level (0.166U/ml) in liquid medium.  This study was  demonstrated the production, purification, and characterisation of the laccase enzyme from T.viride. The results showed that 96 hours was the optimum period of time for Laccase to incubate from this fungus. Laccase displayed the maximum level of activity at pH 4.5 and temperature 30 °C. The results revealed that the best ratio for laccase precipitation was 90%  by using ammonium sulphate.  In addition, for the purification of laccase enzyme, one peak of Laccase was appeared  in gel filtration purified from T.viride, while 2 peaks of Laccase were seen in ion exchange chromatography. According to the findings, the molecular weight of T. viride Laccase using SDS-PAGE was roughly 66KD under denaturation conditions

Adsorption of endocrine disrupting compounds and other emerging contaminants using lignocellulosic biomass-derived porous carbons: A review

Hydrochars from lignocellulose biomass have received an upsurge of interest in different fields, especially in the area of adsorption. Hydrothermally produced hydrochars are effective adsorbents for removing different pollutants, and they serve as a cheap and sustainable raw material for subsequent activation to achieve porous activated carbons (ACs) with large surface areas. In this review, recent studies on preparation and characteristics of adsorbents in terms of hydrochars from lignocellulose biomass and their derived ACs are presented and discussed. The application of these adsorbents for the removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals and other emerging pollutants is included. The sources and classification, adsorption isotherm, kinetics, and mechanism of these pollutants and the capability of regenerating and reusing cheap and efficient adsorbents such as hydrochar and ACs are also discussed. This review identifies knowledge gaps and proposes insights into new directions for improving the applications of hydrochar and ACs as adsorbents.The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library.Scopu

Review on recent progress in chitosan/chitin-carbonaceous material composites for the adsorption of water pollutants

Chitosan and chitin are categorized as low cost, renewable and eco-friendly biopolymers. However, they have low mechanical properties and unfavorable pore properties in terms of low surface area and total pore volume that limit their adsorption application. Many studies have shown that such weaknesses can be avoided by preparation of composites with carbonaceous materials from these biopolymers. This article provides a systematic review on the preparation of chitosan/chitin-carbonaceous material composites. Commonly used carbonaceous materials such as activated carbon, biochar, carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide and graphene to prepare composites are discussed. The application of chitosan/chitin-carbonaceous material composites for the adsorption of various water pollutants, and the regeneration and reusability of adsorbents are also included. Finally, the challenges and future prospects for the adsorbents applied for the adsorption of water pollutants are summarized.The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library .Scopu