Review on biofilm processes for wastewater treatment

This review paper discusses the application of biofilm as an alternative technology for the treatment of wastewater under various loading and operation conditions. In the past few years the biofilm technology has become more common and widely used in the world to meet the requirement for clean water sources of the world’s growing population. Besides, the conventional wastewater treatment plants like activated sludge process present some shortcomings such as not very flexible method (if there is sudden change in the character of sewage and the effluent of bad quality is obtained), so better system is urgently needed to provide additional capacity with the least possible cost and to meet the standard effluent by the local authorities. The increased incoming flow of wastewater to the treatment plants and organic loading always demand for additional treatment capacity. Fundamental research into biofilm is presented in this paper in sections that discuss the use of biofilm whereby a comparison between suspended and fixed film, old and new biofilm are made. Besides, bed types namely moving bed, fixed bed and floating bed, un-submerged fixed film systems of trickling filters and rotating biological contactors are explained. Nutrients removal of nitrogen and phosphorus and nano technology application in biofilm are also explained. Results from investigations of different applications carried out at the laboratory and pilot scales are also discussed

Chapter 7. Hybrid green aerogels: processing and morphology

Hybrid bio-based aerogels exhibit enhanced synergistic properties as compared to their corresponding constituents. The technology has attracted increasing research interests, particularly as these syntheses lead to formation of various microstructures with different properties of the composite. In this chapter, the recent developments in hybrid bio-based aerogels are introduced, including the use of new precursors, doping techniques, and microstructure, as well as morphology of composites. Applications of the new precursors such as collagen, xyloglucan, pectin, lignin, aniline, polypyrrole, graphene oxide and halloysite nanotubes are discussed separately. Detailed syntheses of hybrid bio-based aerogels are elaborated in the stages of sol formation, gelation, doping and drying. Micrographic images are categorized based on the microstructures of the hybrid aerogels, where the formation of each type of microstructure is illustrated and discussed. At the end of the chapter, a new technique, called synchrotron X-ray tomography is introduced, which is able to probe the degree of anisotropy of the hybrid aerogels. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018

Differentially expressed proteins in ER+ MCF7 and ER- MDA- MB-231 human breast cancer cells by RhoGDI-α silencing and overexpression

Background: The consequence of Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor alpha (RhoGDIα) activity on migration and invasion of estrogen receptor positive (ER+) and negative (ER-) breast cancer cells has not been studied using the proteomic approach. Changes in expression of RhoGDIα and other proteins interacting directly or indirectly with RhoGDIα in MCF7 and MDA-MB-231, with different metastatic potentials is of particular interest. Materials and Methods: ER+ MCF7 and ER- MDA-MB-231 cell lines were subjected to two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and spots of interest were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of- flight/timeof- flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) analysis after downregulation of RhoGDIα using short interfering RNA (siRNA) and upregulated using GFP-tagged ORF clone of RhoGDIα. Results: The results showed a total of 35 proteins that were either up- or down-regulated in these cells. Here we identifed 9 and 15 proteins differentially expressed with silencing of RhoGDIα in MCF-7 and the MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively. In addition, 10 proteins were differentially expressed in the upregulation of RhoGDIα in MCF7, while only one protein was identified in the upregulation of RhoGDIα in MDA-MB-231. Based on the biological functions of these proteins, the results revealed that proteins involved in cell migration are more strongly altered with RhoGDI-α activity. Although several of these proteins have been previously indicated in tumorigenesis and invasiveness of breast cancer cells, some ohave not been previously reported to be involved in breast cancer migration. Hence, these proteins may serve as useful candidate biomarkers for tumorigenesis and invasiveness of breast cancer cells. Conclusions: Future studies are needed to determine the mechanisms by which these proteins regulate cell migration. The combination of RhoGDIα with other potential biomarkers may be a more promising approach in the inhibition of breast cancer cell migration

Downregulation of RhoGDIα increased migration and invasion of ER+ MCF7 and ER− MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells.

Rho GDp dissociation inhibitors (RhoGDIs) can inhibit cell motility, invasion, and metastasis in cancer by inactivating the RhoGTpases. A member of RhoGDI family has been consistently shown to interact with estrogen receptor (eR), and change its transcriptional activity. eR is a receptor known to be inversely correlated with cell motility and invasion in breast cancer. The consequence of RhoGDIα activity on migration and invasion of eR+ and eR− breast cancers is not clear. The aim of our study was to investigate the possible opposing effect of RhoGDIα on the migration and invasion of eR+ MCF7 and eR− MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. RhoGDIα was downregulated using short interfering RNA (siRNA) and upregulated using GFp-tagged ORF clone of RhoGDIα, and their ability for migration and invasion was assayed using transwell chambers. It was found that the silencing of RhoGDIα in MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells significantly increased migration and invasion of these cells into the lower surface of porous membrane of the chambers. Overexpression of RhoGDIα in MCF7 cells suppressed their migration and invasion, but no significant effect was found on MDA-MB-231 cells. Our results indicate that the downregulation of RhoGDIα similarly affects the in vitro migration and invasion of eR+ MCF7 and eR− MDA-MB-231 cells. however, our assays are differently affected by the upregulation of RhoGDIα in these two cell lines and this may be due to the differences in eR expression, primary invasive ability and/or other molecules between these two cell line models which warrant further investigation

The matrix (M) protein of newcastle disease virus binds to human bax through its BH3 domain

The underlying mechanisms by which Newcastle disease virus (NDV) kills cancer cells are still unclear. Recent discoveries have shown that many viruses contain Bcl-2 homology-like domains which enabled their interaction with Bcl-2 family members, and thereby accounting for their virulence and pathogenicity. Alignment of the protein sequences of Malaysian strain of NDV, known as AF2240, with those from members of the human Bcl-2 family showed many similar regions; most notably we found that its matrix (AF2240-M) protein, large (AF2240-L) protein and fusion (AF2240-F) protein all contain BH3-like regions. In addition, there are BH1-like domains in these proteins, where AF2240-F and Mcl-1 share 55% identity within this region. To further investigate our hypothesis that the presence of the BH3-like domains in these proteins may convey cytotoxicity, AF2240-M and AF2240-F genes were cloned into pFLAG and pEGFP.N2 vectors and transfected into HeLa cells. The expression of these constructs promoted cell death. As shown by flow cytometry, AF2240-M protein with deleted BH3-like region showed five-fold decrease in apoptosis. Moreover, the construct containing the N-terminal of AF2240-M showed nearly the same cell death rate as to that of the full-length protein, strongly suggesting that the BH3-like domain within this protein participates in promoting cell death. Moreover, AF2240-M transfection promoted Bax redistribution to mitochondria. Therefore, to determine whether there is any direct interaction between NDV viral proteins with some members of the Bcl-2 family, various constructs were co-transfected into HeLa cells. Co-immunoprecipitation trials showed that the AF2240-M indeed directly interacted with Bax protein via its BH3-domain, as the mutant proteins failed to interact with Bax. AF2240-F failed to interact with any of the tested proteins, although Bcl-XL slowed down the rate of cell death caused by this construct by nearly five-fold. In a parallel experiment, the level of expression of endogenous Bax and Bcl-2 after infection of HeLa cells with NDV was assessed by qRT-PCR, but no statistically significant change was observed. Consequently, the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio at the mRNA level did not alter. Overall, our study has shed additional light into the mechanisms by which NDV induces apoptosis

Production of medium-chain acylglycerols by lipase esterification in packed bed reactor: process optimization by response surface methodology

Medium-chain acylglycerols (or glycerides) are formed of mono-, di- and triacylglycerol classes. In this study, an alternative method to produce MCA from esterifying palm oil fatty acid distillate (PFAD) with the presence of oil palm mesocarp lipase (OPML) which is a plant-sourced lipase and PFAD is also cheap by-product is developed in a packed bed reactor. The production of medium-chain acylglycerols (MCA) by lipase-catalysed esterification of palm oil fatty acid distillate with glycerol are optimize in order to determine the factors that have significant effects on the reaction condition and high yield of MCA. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the reaction conditions. The reaction conditions, namely, the reaction time (30-240 min), enzyme load (0.5-1.5 kg), silica gel load (0.2-1.0 kg), and solvent amount (200-600 vol/wt). Reaction time, enzyme loading and solvent amount strongly effect MCA synthesis (p0.05) influence on MCA yield. Best-fitting models were successfully established for MCA yield (R2 =0.9133). The optimum MCA yield were 75% from the predicted value and 75.4% from the experimental data for 6 kg enzyme loading, a reaction time of 135min and a solvent amount of 350 vol/wt at 65°C reaction temperature. Verification of experimental results under optimized reaction conditions were conducted, and the results agreed well with the predicted range. Esterification products (mono-, di- and triacylglycerol) from the PBR were identified using Thin Layer Chromatography method. The chromatograms showed the successful fractionation of esterified products in this alternative method of process esterification

Market Orientation Critical Success Factors of Malaysian Manufacturers and Its Impact on Financial Performance

Abstract The study examines critical success factors of market orientation in the context of Malaysian firms. Besides, the study also investigates the relationship between market orientation and financial performance. Malaysian manufacturing firms represent the sample of the study. Data was collected using mail questionnaire survey approach. One hundred and fifty eight Malaysian manufacturing organizations participated in this study. Results of this study indicated that there were five critical success factors of market orientation practices in the context of Malaysian manufacturing firms: market focus, market action, market planning, market feedback and market coordination. The results also revealed that market action and market planning were positively related to financial performance. The outcome of this study provides vital information from a developing country perspective on the impact of market orientation practices on manufacturing organisations' performance

Pertuturan kiu sebagai kaedah komunikasi dan kaedah pengajaran bacaan Al-Quran dan bacaan solat

Cara komunikasi yang popular bagi warga pekak di Malaysia ialah melalui Bahasa Malaysia kod tangan (BMKT0 yang digunakan di sekolah.Serta Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM) yang lebih meluas digunakan dalam kalangan warga pekak.Bahasa isyarat berasas kepada makna dan tidak kepada bunyi.Ini menyebabkan batasan dan halangan dalam pendidikan al-Quran dan ugama yang melibatkan sistem bunyi dalam bahasa Arab.Menurut kefahaman Islam,zat al-Quran berasakan kepada sistem bunyi dan tafsir al-Quran dalam mana-mana bahasa tidak dianggap sebagai al-Quran yang sebenar bahasa isyarat hanya mampu menyampaikan makna al-Quran, dan bukan zat al-Quran kerana tidak berasaskan kepada sistem bunyi.Atas dasar sedemikian,terdapat kefahaman yang menyatakan bahawa warga pekak tidak perlu diajar mengenai bacaan al-Quran dan bacaan dalam solat.Artikel ini memperkenalkan Cued Speech atau pertuturan kiu sebagai kaedah komunikasi alternatif bagi warga pekak dan kaedah pengajaran al-Quran dan sebutan dalam solat.Bagi orang Islam yang pekak,pertuturan kiu membolehkan mereka menguasai sebutan walaupun mereka tidak mendengar.Kebolehan ini amat penting bagi individu Islam dalam konteks kesempurnaan ibadat, terutamanya ibadat solat dan bacaan al-Quran