Particulate matter dispersion and haze occurrence potential studies at a local palm oil mill.

The emissions from palm oil industry through incineration and open burning are the major sources of air pollutions contribution in Malaysia. The consequence of increasing the particulate concentration, the particulate matter dissolves with vapour and grows into droplets when the humidity exceeds approximately 70% and causing opaque situation known as haze. This work focuses on the dispersion particulate matter from palm oil mill. Gaussian Plume Model from a point source, subject to various atmospheric conditions is used to calculate particulate matter concentration then display the distribution of plume dispersion using geographic information system. Atmospheric Stability, mixing height, wind direction, wind speed, natural and artificial features play an important role in dispersion process. Study on the dispersion of particulate matters and the haze potential are presented as a case study in this paper. The data obtained will be served as the purpose of modeling the transport of particulate matter for obtaining permits and prevention of significant deterioration to the environment

Production of semi- refined carrageenan from Eucheuma cotonii.

This study presents alkaline extraction of red seaweed, Eucheuma cotonii, to yield semi-refined carrageenan (SRC) of kappa type. Temperatures 60-80°C were suitable for extraction of SRC. At 80°C using 1.0 M KOH, produced SRC contained the highest purity of 3, 6-anhydrogalactose, a lower heavy metal concentration and gave highest rupture force

Metabolic engineering of functional phytochemicals

Phytochemicals belonging to the group’s phenols, terpenes, betalains, organosulfides, indoles and protein inhibitors are important components in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts that have health promoting benefits and a variety of applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. Initially only a few of these important phytochemicals are produced commercially by chemical synthesis. However, recent developments in the field of biotechnology have provided metabolic engineering strategies that use microorganisms as cell factories for high production of these products. This review will discuss the general biosynthetic pathways, metabolic engineering and optimization strategies of functional phytochemicals that have received a lot of attention from investigators

Extraction and isolation of PCR amplifiable genomic DNA from Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze

Extraction and isolation of high quality DNA suitable for downstream molecular techniques in plants with high polyphenolic contents are almost impossible due to inhibitors of polymerase chain reactions. In this study DNA from Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze leaf tissue was successfully extracted and isolated by optimization of extraction parameters. This resulted in a high yield of DNA of up to 125 μg ml -1 from 0.3 g of leaf tissue. The yield of DNA extracted decreased from 125 to 92 μg ml -1 at 200/800/100 μl (EBA/EBB/SDS) extraction buffer combinations and similarly at all buffer combinations with increase in incubation temperature from 50 to 60°C. Carbohydrate and protein contamination derived from optical density ratios of 230/260 and 260/280 were 0-1.68 and 0-1.14, respectively. The optimal extraction parameters were as follows: precipitation time 40 min at 50°C incubation temperature and 200/800/100 μl (EBA/EBB/SDS) extraction buffer combinations. The DNA obtained is of high integrity, which has produced excellent results when used as template for PCR

Engineering the Production of Major Catechins by Escherichia coli Carrying Metabolite Genes of Camellia sinensis

A mimicked biosynthetic pathway of catechin metabolite genes from C. sinensis, consisting of flavanone 3 hydroxylase (F3H), dihydroflavonol reductase (DFR), and leucoanthocyanidin reductase (LCR), was designed and arranged in two sets of constructs: (a) single promoter in front of F3H and ribosome-binding sequences both in front of DFR and LCR; (b) three different promoters with each in the front of the three genes and ribosome-binding sequences at appropriate positions. Recombinant E. coli BL (DE3) harbouring the constructs were cultivated for 65 h at 26°C in M9 medium consisting of 40 g/L glucose, 1 mM IPTG, and 3 mM eriodictyol. Compounds produced were extracted in ethyl acetate in alkaline conditions after 1 h at room temperature and identified by HPLC. Two of the four major catechins, namely, (−)-epicatechin (0.01 ) and (−)-epicatechin gallate (0.36 mg/L), and two other types ((+)-catechin hydrate (0.13 mg/L) and (−)-catechin gallate (0.04 mg/L)) were successfully produced

Effect of addition of resistant starch on oxidative stability of fried fish crackers as influenced by storage temperatures and packaging materials

The aim of the present work was to investigate the effect of the addition of resistant starch (unmodified potato starch) on physicochemical properties and lipid stability of fried fish crackers packed in two types of packaging. Fish crackers added with one part of resistant starch were prepared, packed into two types of packaging with four different layers of packaging material; (i) polyethylene terephthalate-polyethylene-aluminium-linear low density polyethylene and (ii) oriented polypropylene-polyethylene-metallized polyethylene terephthalate-linear low density polyethylene and stored at 25, 40 and 60°C for 12 weeks. The linear expansion and oil absorption of the fried fish cracker were 58.00 ± 3.46% and 12.60 ± 1.34% respectively. Physical analyses showed an increase in moisture contents (from 2.75-3.47% to 4.08-4.54%), water activities (0.297 to 0.436aw) and a* and b* values (5.27 to 9.14% and 21.09 to 25.27%, respectively), while a decrease in L* value (from 63 to 58%), hardness (from 2.110 to 1.117 kg) and crispiness (from 12.46 to 8.18 kg/sec) throughout 12 weeks of storage at all temperatures tested. The lipid yield of the crackers increased during the storage time and the concentrations of conjugated dienes and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances showed a gradual increase and decrease, respectively. These results showed that the fried fish crackers in the storage study had undergone lipid oxidation where physical and chemical deterioration were observed and measured. In conclusion, the addition of one part of resistant starch in crackers has given positive effect on the stability of the resulting fried fish crackers

SCIA: GIS-based software for assessing the impacts from chemical industrial accidents

This study is performed to develop a comprehensive software package entitled “simulation of chemical industrial accident (SCIA).” The SCIA can be integrated with geographical information system (GIS) to predict and display the risk and consequence of chemical hazards from two categories of hazardous materials, namely toxic and flammable materials. This paper describes how the existing models are used for predicting accident scenarios and their impact to humans and the environment. The technique for assessing the consequences from chemical accidents is developed by integrating the models in the system with the help of the GIS tools. The software is coded in Visual Basic, and is compatible with Windows working environments. The validity of the software has been confirmed by comparing the results of several applications with other commercial software. The software is a user-friendly and effective tool for evaluating the consequences of major chemical accidents, process decision making for land-use planning namely locating suitable hazardous installations, hazardous waste disposal areas and emergency response plan

Rapid analysis of risk assessment using developed simulation of chemical industrial accidents software package.

The environmental consequences are defined as consequences of accidental release of hazardous substances to the natural environment. This release can lead to many hazards depending on the material stored. The consequences of these hazards to the environment are widespread and have significant importance to human communities living in the surroundings. The mathematical models are extremely useful tools to predict the impacts of chemical process accidents. The objective of this paper is to develop a software package for accident simulation and damage potential estimation. The software is coded in visual basic and is compatible with windows working environments. The software is called simulation of chemical industrial accident. This application is a comprehensive software package which can be integrated with geographical information system to predict and display the consequence of chemical hazards. The software is a user-friendly and effective tool for evaluating the consequences of major chemical accidents, process decision making for land-use planning, namely locating suitable hazardous installations, hazardous waste disposal areas and emergency response plan

Response surface optimization of process variables for catechin production in recombinant Escherichia coli BL (DE3) harbouring an artificial gene cluster

Response surface methodology was used to optimize critical process variables in the production of catechins by an engineered strain of E. coli BL (DE3) carrying an artificial gene cluster of catechin biosynthetic genes. Variables initially identified in literature for metabolic engineering of natural and non natural products including concentrations of inducer, precursor, temperature and substrate were used to produce optimum yields of catechins. Response optimization of parameters showed the optimum conditions for engineering catechin production from the recombinant E. coli strain to be IPTG (0.9148 mM), glucose (10.0637 g/l), eriodictyol (1.0071 mM) and temperature (27.9560°C) were predicted to produce a response of 0.97178 mg/l with 80.981% desirability. A verification experiment carried out at the optimum produced a yield very close to the predicted value in which the gallated catechins [(-)-epigallocatechin gallate) and (-)-epicatechin gallate] were metabolically engineered for the first time

Landuse change using Landsat TM for Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

A land use change study was performed at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia using satellite images of Lancisat TM and Landsat ETM I- acquired in 1990 and 2002. The images are classified into five land-use types: forest, urban areas, vegetable cultivation, scrubs, and tea plantations. Change detection technique was used to detect land cover changes in Brinchang, Cameron Highlands, Pahang from 1990 to 2002. The result showed that the areas of forest, tea plantation, and vegetable cultivation are increased, while urban area, and scrub are reduced. The results showed that Landsat TM may be used to monitor the land cover change