ASSESSMENT OF THE COMPOSITION AND THE VOLUME OF BIOGAS LIBERATION FROM AGRICULTURAL WASTES

Study was conducted in the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Mapalana toassess the composition and the volume of biogas liberation pattern from differentagricultural raw materials.In the Sri Lankan batch type biogas generator (volume 6m\ first batch of straw (lOOOkg)was filled in September 1999 and second and third batch in October 2000, April 2001respectively. It was revealed that average gas production from the digester was 1.0 m3/daywith a peak value of 1.8m3/day. Total gas production during four and half month period ofdigestion was 166.85 m3. The maximum average methane percentage and the average lagphase during the digestion were 50% and 20 days respectively.In order to assess the biogas liberation pattern and composiuon of each material, alaboratory test unit was designed using a 20 L plastic gallon as the digester andexperiment was conducted using straw, cow dung and market garbage (vegetable) as rawmaterials. Gas volumes, pH value of slurry and methane percentage were measured whilemaintaining the temperature between 35°C-37°C using electric bulbs.N,P,K compositions, CIN ratio and dry matter percentages of different raw materials wereanalyzed. Total biogas liberated per unit weight of dry matter was 8.15 L, 58.7 Land15.797L for dung, vegetable and straw respectively. The duration of digestion period was55-60 days. Average methane percentages of the liberated gases were 53%, 54% and 50%for dung, vegetable and straw respectively. It was revealed that market garbage had thehighest digestibility value, which had the highest gas production with high methanepercentage.

Rational Design of the beta-Bulge Gate in a Green Fluorescent Protein Accelerates the Kinetics of Sulfate Sensing

Detection of anions in complex aqueous media is a fundamental challenge with practical utility that can be addressed by supramolecular chemistry. Biomolecular hosts such as proteins can be used and adapted as an alternative to synthetic hosts. Here, we report how the mutagenesis of the beta-bulge residues (D137 and W138) in mNeonGreen, a bright, monomeric fluorescent protein, unlocks and tunes the anion preference at physiological pH for sulfate, resulting in the turn-off sensor SulfOFF-1. This unprecedented sensing arises from an enhancement in the kinetics of binding, largely driven by position 138. In line with these data, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations capture how the coordinated entry and gating of sulfate into the beta-barrel is eliminated upon mutagenesis to facilitate binding and fluorescence quenching

The circadian clock regulates rhythmic activation of the NRF2/glutathione-mediated antioxidant defense pathway to modulate pulmonary fibrosis

The disruption of the NRF2 ( nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-like 2)/glutathione-mediated antioxidant defense pathway is a critical step in the pathogenesis of several chronic pulmonary diseases and cancer. While the mechanism of NRF2 activation upon oxidative stress has been widely investigated, little is known about the endogenous signals that regulate the NRF2 pathway in lung physiology and pathology. Here we show that an E-boxmediated circadian rhythm of NRF2 protein is essential in regulating the rhythmic expression of antioxidant genes involved in glutathione redox homeostasis in the mouse lung. Using an in vivo bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis model, we reveal a clock "gated'' pulmonary response to oxidative injury, with a more severe fibrotic effect when bleomycin was applied at a circadian nadir in NRF2 levels. Timed administration of sulforaphane, an NRF2 activator, significantly blocked this phenotype. Moreover, in the lungs of the arrhythmic Clock(Delta 19) mice, the levels of NRF2 and the reduced glutathione are constitutively low, associated with increased protein oxidative damage and a spontaneous fibrotic-like pulmonary phenotype. Our findings reveal a pivotal role for the circadian control of the NRF2/glutathione pathway in combating oxidative/fibrotic lung damage, which might prompt new chronotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of human lung diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

The circadian clock regulates rhythmic activation of the NRF2/glutathione-mediated antioxidant defense pathway to modulate pulmonary fibrosis

The disruption of the NRF2 (nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-like 2)/glutathione-mediated antioxidant defense pathway is a critical step in the pathogenesis of several chronic pulmonary diseases and cancer. While the mechanism of NRF2 activation upon oxidative stress has been widely investigated, little is known about the endogenous signals that regulate the NRF2 pathway in lung physiology and pathology. Here we show that an E-box-mediated circadian rhythm of NRF2 protein is essential in regulating the rhythmic expression of antioxidant genes involved in glutathione redox homeostasis in the mouse lung. Using an in vivo bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis model, we reveal a clock “gated” pulmonary response to oxidative injury, with a more severe fibrotic effect when bleomycin was applied at a circadian nadir in NRF2 levels. Timed administration of sulforaphane, an NRF2 activator, significantly blocked this phenotype. Moreover, in the lungs of the arrhythmic Clock(Δ19) mice, the levels of NRF2 and the reduced glutathione are constitutively low, associated with increased protein oxidative damage and a spontaneous fibrotic-like pulmonary phenotype. Our findings reveal a pivotal role for the circadian control of the NRF2/glutathione pathway in combating oxidative/fibrotic lung damage, which might prompt new chronotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of human lung diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis