Managing Hazardous Municipal Wastewater: A Membrane-Integrated Hybrid Approach for Fast and Effective Treatment in Low Temperature Environment

Protection of natural water resources like lakes from the onslaught of hazardous municipal wastewater is often a challenge particularly in the cold regions. For treatment of enormous quantity of municipal wastewater, biological treatment is normally adopted but high COD (Chemical Oxygen demand) of such wastewater turns biological treatment slow and difficult. At low temperature environment, effective treatment of such municipal wastewater becomes extremely difficult due to weakened microbial activities. The present study was carried out with a hybrid approach comprising chemical treatment and membrane separation under psychrophilic conditions. Well–known Fenton’s treatment was adopted under response surface optimized conditions that helped recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients as value–added struvite fertilizer or magnesium ammonium phosphate (NH4MgPO4∙6H2O). The optimal COD removal was found to be 96% at a low temperature of 15oC and pH of 6.3 using Fe2+/H2O2 ratio of 0.10 and of H2O2 1.9 g/l with reaction time of 2 h. Down–stream purification of the struvite-free water by microfiltration and nanofiltration largely fouling–free flat sheet cross flow membrane modules ultimately turned the treated water reusable through reduction of dissolved solids, conductivity and salinity

Dealing with the challenges of legitimacy, values, and politics in policy advice

Policy advice has been the subject of ongoing research in the policy sciences as it raises fundamental issues about what constitutes policy knowledge, expertise, and their effects on policymaking. This introduction reviews the existing literature on the subject and introduces the themes motivating the articles in the issue. It highlights the need to consider several key subjects in the topic in the contemporary era: namely the challenge of legitimacy, that of values, and the challenge of politics. The papers in the issue shed light on the ongoing delegitimization of conventional knowledge providers, the problem of the normative basis of experts’ advice, the increasing politicization of expertise in policymaking, and the relevance of political context in influencing not only the role of experts but also whether or not their advice is accepted and implemented. It is argued that these modern challenges, when not addressed, reinforce trends toward the inclusion of antidemocratic values and uninformed ideas in contemporary policymaking

Technique for crossing and advancing multiple generations for mungbean (Vigna radiata L.)

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) Wilczek (2n=2×=22) is an important grain legume cultivated in South-east Asia, Africa, South America and Australia (Shanmugasundram 2007). About 90% of mungbean production occurs in South Asia, where India is the largest producer. It is consumed in various forms like, seed as a good source of easily digested dietary proteins and amino acids. Young pods and sprouts are consumed as vegetable for vitamin and mineral supplement (Engel 1977). Its plant parts are used as fodder for animal and green manure to improve soil health in rice-wheat cropping system (Sharma et al. 1995; Bhuiyan et al. 2009; Yaqub et al. 2010). It is grown as a sole crop as well as a major component in various cropping systems owing to its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, rapid growth, and early maturity. Mungbean being a photo insensitive crop is grown in a wide range of climatic variations (Tiwari and Ramanujam 1976) and ideal for catch, inter and relay cropping in many countries (Ali et al. 2000). Because of wide adoptability at various temperature ranges, this crop is likely to be most suitable under currently rising global temperatur

Two distinct fluorescent quantum clusters of gold starting from metallic nanoparticles by pH-dependent ligand etching

Two fluorescent quantum clusters of gold, namely Au25 and Au8, have been synthesized from mercaptosuccinic acid-protected gold nanoparticles of 4-5 nm core diameter by etching with excess glutathione. While etching at pH ~3 yielded Au25, that at pH 7-8 yielded Au8. This is the first report of the synthesis of two quantum clusters starting from a single precursor. This simple method makes it possible to synthesize well-defined clusters in gram quantities. Since these clusters are highly fluorescent and are highly biocompatible due to their low metallic content, they can be used for diagnostic applications

Performance of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) hybrids for yield and quality traits

Twenty-eight F1 combinations of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) obtained from half-diallel cross along with eight diverse parents were evaluated in a field study to elucidate the information on the extent of mean performance of various horticultural traits. The analysis revealed that all the genotypes possessed wide spectrum of variability and showed significant differences for parents and hybrids for the traits studied. For parents UHF CHI 13 (216.20), UHF CHI 15 (193.80), UHF CHI 5 (139.00) and for hybrids H1 (182.60), H9 (181.40) and H7 (172.80) hold highest fruit count per plant. The parents UHF CHI 5 (1047.13 g), UHF CHI 15 (949.62 g) and UHF CHI 7 (912.61 g) and cross combinations H17 (1535.10 g), H8 (1320.00), H6 (1229.76) and H18 (967.60) recorded the high ripe fruit yield per plant. As for earliness, parents UHF CHI 5 (43.33), UHF CHI 11 (45.00), UHF CHI 7 (45.33) and hybrids H27 (42.67), H26 (43.00) and UH28 (43.00) took minimum days for flowering. For pungency UHF CHI 12 (0.28 %), UHF CHI 13 (0.26 %), DKC-8 (0.24 %) and H23 (0.33 %), H5 (0.31 %), H26 (0.26 %) recorded high capsaicin content

Template synthesis of macrocyclic complexes of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II): spectroscopic, antibacterial and antifungal studies

A new series of macrocyclic complexes of the type [M(C17H14N4O2)X2], where M = Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) or Cd(II) and X = Cl-, NO3- or CH3COO-, was synthesized by the condensation reaction of malonyldihydrazide with benzil in the presence of divalent metal ions. The complexes were characterized with the aid of elemental analyses, conductance measurements, magnetic susceptibilities, electronic, NMR and infrared spectral studies. On the basis of these studies, a six-coordinate distorted octahedral geometry, in which two nitrogen and two carbonyl oxygen atoms are suitably placed for coordination towards metal ion, is proposed for all the complexes. The complexes were tested for their in vitro antibacterial activity and antifungal activities. The minimum inhibitory concentration shown by these complexes were compared with the minimum inhibitory concentration shown by standard drugs

Wild Progenitor and Landraces Led Genetic Gain in the Modern-Day Maize (<em>Zea mays</em> L.)

Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) originated from Mexico and Central America and grew worldwide for food, feed and industrial products components. It possesses ten chromosomes with a genome size of 2.3 gigabases. Teosinte (Z. mays ssp. parviglumis) is the probable progenitor of the modern-day maize. The maize domestication favored standing gain of function and regulatory variations acquired the convergent phenotypes. The genomic loci teosinte branched 1 (tb1) and teosinte glume architecture 1 (tga1) played a central role in transforming teosinte to modern-day maize. Under domestication and crop improvement, only 2% (~1200) genes were undergone selection, out of ~60000 genes. Around ~98% of the genes have not experienced selection; there is enormous variation present in the diverse inbred lines that can be potentially utilized to identify QTLs and crop improvement through plant breeding. The genomic resources of wild relatives and landraces harbor the unexplored genes/alleles for biotic/abiotic tolerance, productivity and nutritional quality. The human-made evolution led to the transformation of wild relatives/landraces to the modern-day maize. This chapter summarized the maize’s wild relatives/landraces and the genetic gain over time in biotic/abiotic, productivity, and nutritional quality traits

Identification of sources of resistance to scald (Rhynchosporium commune) and of related genomic regions using genome-wide association in a mapping panel of spring barley

Barley is an important crop worldwide known for its adaptation to harsh environments and used in multiple forms as feed, food and beverages. Its productivity is affected by major abiotic and biotic stresses. Scald caused by hemibiotrophic fungus Rhynchosporium commune is a major foliar disease in many parts of the world. Host plant resistance is targeted by breeders to efficiently control this disease. An association mapping panel of 316 spring barley genotypes (AM2017) was screened for seedling resistance in greenhouse against three R. commune isolates and for adult plant resistance in three field locations in Morocco. The phenotyping results showed different numbers of entries with resistant and moderately resistant reactions at both seedling and adult plant stages. The reactions differed between the isolates with the highest percentage of resistant genotypes observed for isolate SC-S611 (49.4%) and highest percentage of susceptible genotypes (73.8%) for isolate SC-1122. At adult plant stage, the highest percentage of scald resistant genotypes (64.5%) was observed at Rommani site compared to 56% at Guich site and only 28.8% at Marchouch site. Seven genotypes were resistant at the seedling and adult plant stages. Genome wide association study (GWAS) revealed 102 MTA (15 QTL) at the seedling stage, and 25 MTA (12 QTL) associated with scald resistance at the adult plant stage. In addition, the sequences of 92 out of 102 at SRT, and 24 out of 25 significant SNP markers at APR were located in genomic regions enriched with functional proteins involved in diverse cellular processes including disease resistance. These markers span over all chromosomes with the majority of SNPs located on 3H and 7H. This study has verified 18 QTL reported in previous studies. In addition, it was successful in identifying new sources of resistance and novel genomic regions which could help in enhancing scald resistance in barley breeding programs

Ritonavir blocks AKT signaling, activates apoptosis and inhibits migration and invasion in ovarian cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of mortality from gynecological malignancies, often undetectable in early stages. The difficulty of detecting the disease in its early stages and the propensity of ovarian cancer cells to develop resistance to known chemotherapeutic treatments dramatically decreases the 5-year survival rate. Chemotherapy with paclitaxel after surgery increases median survival only by 2 to 3 years in stage IV disease highlights the need for more effective drugs. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is characterized by increased risk of several solid tumors due to its inherent nature of weakening of immune system. Recent observations point to a lower incidence of some cancers in patients treated with protease inhibitor (PI) cocktail treatment known as HAART (Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we show that ritonavir, a HIV protease inhibitor effectively induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in ovarian cell lines MDH-2774 and SKOV-3 in a dose dependent manner. Over a 3 day period with 20 μM ritonavir resulted in the cell death of over 60% for MDAH-2774 compared with 55% in case of SKOV-3 cell line. Ritonavir caused G1 cell cycle arrest of the ovarian cancer cells, mediated by down modulating levels of RB phosphorylation and depleting the G1 cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinase and increasing their inhibitors as determined by gene profile analysis. Interestingly, the treatment of ritonavir decreased the amount of phosphorylated AKT in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, inhibition of AKT by specific siRNA synergistically increased the efficacy of the ritonavir-induced apoptosis. These results indicate that the addition of the AKT inhibitor may increase the therapeutic efficacy of ritonavir.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results demonstrate a potential use of ritonavir for ovarian cancer with additive effects in conjunction with conventional chemotherapeutic regimens. Since ritonavir is clinically approved for human use for HIV, drug repositioning for ovarian cancer could accelerate the process of traditional drug development. This would reduce risks, limit the costs and decrease the time needed to bring the drug from bench to bedside.</p

CGIAR Barley Breeding Toolbox: A diversity panel to facilitate breeding and genomic research in the developing world

Breeding programs in developing countries still cannot afford the new genotyping technologies, hindering their research. We aimed to assemble an Association Mapping panel to serve as CGIAR Barley Breeding Toolbox (CBBT), especially for the Developing World. The germplasm had to be representative of the one grown in the Developing World; with high genetic variability and be of public domain. For it, we genotyped with the Infinium iSelect 50K chip, a Global Barley Panel (GBP) of 530 genotypes representing a wide range of row-types, end-uses, growth habits, geographical origins and environments. 40,342 markers were polymorphic with an average polymorphism information content of 0.35 and 66% of them exceeding 0.25. The analysis of the population structure identified 8 subpopulations mostly linked to geographical origin, four of them with significant ICARDA origin. The 16 allele combinations at 4 major flowering genes (HvVRN-H3, HvPPD-H1, HvVRN-H1 and HvCEN) explained 11.07% genetic variation and were linked to the geographic origins of the lines. ICARDA material showed the widest diversity as revealed by the highest number of polymorphic loci (99.76% of all polymorphic SNPs in GBP), number of private alleles and the fact that ICARDA lines were present in all 8 subpopulations and carried all 16 allelic combinations. Due to their genetic diversity and their representativity of the germplasm adapted to the Developing World, ICARDA-derived lines and cultivated landraces were pre-selected to form the CBBT. Using the Mean of Transformed Kinships method, we assembled a panel capturing most of the allelic diversity in the GBP. The CBBT (N=250) preserves good balance between row-types and good representation of both phenology allelic combinations and subpopulations of the GBP. The CBBT and its genotypic data is available to researchers worldwide as a collaborative tool to underpin the genetic mechanisms of traits of interest for barley cultivation