Macaca fascicularis and Macaca nemestrina infected with zoonotic malaria parasites are widely distributed in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Human infections with Plasmodium knowlesi, a malaria parasite of Macaca fascicularis and Macaca nemestrina (long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques respectively), occur throughout Southeast Asia, especially Malaysian Borneo. Other naturally-acquired human infections with malaria parasites from macaques in Southeast Asia are P. cynomolgi, P. inui-like, P. coatneyi and P. simiovale. In Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, M. fascicularis and M. nemestrina from only the Kapit Division have been examined previously for malaria parasites. In order to determine the distribution of P. knowlesi and other zoonotic malaria parasites, 73 macaque blood samples derived from 7 other administrative divisions in Sarawak were studied. Of 45 blood samples from M. fascicularis and 28 from M. nemestrina tested by nested PCR assays, 23 (51.1%) M. fascicularis and 15 (53.6%) M. nemestrina samples were positive for Plasmodium DNA. Thirty-two of these macaques from 7 divisions sampled, harboured either single (n = 12), double (n = 9), triple (n = 7) or quadruple (n = 4) infections of P. knowlesi, P. inui, P. cynomolgi and P. coatneyi, while the infecting species of Plasmodium could not be identified for 6 samples. P. knowlesi was detected in 15.5% (7/45) M. fascicularis and in 7.1% (2/28) M. nemestrina sampled. Despite the small number of samples analysed from each administrative division, the current study indicates that macaques infected with the zoonotic malaria parasites P. knowlesi, P. cynomolgi, P. inui and P. coatneyi are widely distributed throughout Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Travelers to forested areas in Sarawak should be made aware of the potential risk of acquiring zoonotic malaria

Macaca fascicularis and Macaca nemestrina infected with zoonotic malaria parasites are widely distributed in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Human infections with Plasmodium knowlesi, a malaria parasite of Macaca fascicularis and Macaca nemestrina (long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques respectively), occur throughout Southeast Asia, especially Malaysian Borneo. Other naturally-acquired human infections with malaria parasites from macaques in Southeast Asia are P. cynomolgi, P. inui-like, P. coatneyi and P. simiovale. In Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, M. fascicularis and M. nemestrina from only the Kapit Division have been examined previously for malaria parasites. In order to determine the distribution of P. knowlesi and other zoonotic malaria parasites, 73 macaque blood samples derived from 7 other administrative divisions in Sarawak were studied. Of 45 blood samples from M. fascicularis and 28 from M. nemestrina tested by nested PCR assays, 23 (51.1%) M. fascicularis and 15 (53.6%) M. nemestrina samples were positive for Plasmodium DNA. Thirty-two of these macaques from 7 divisions sampled, harboured either single (n = 12), double (n = 9), triple (n = 7) or quadruple (n = 4) infections of P. knowlesi, P. inui, P. cynomolgi and P. coatneyi, while the infecting species of Plasmodium could not be identified for 6 samples. P. knowlesi was detected in 15.5% (7/45) M. fascicularis and in 7.1% (2/28) M. nemestrina sampled. Despite the small number of samples analysed from each administrative division, the current study indicates that macaques infected with the zoonotic malaria parasites P. knowlesi, P. cynomolgi, P. inui and P. coatneyi are widely distributed throughout Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Travelers to forested areas in Sarawak should be made aware of the potential risk of acquiring zoonotic malaria

CFD investigations of data centers’ thermal performance for different configurations of CRACs units and aisles separation

The thermal performance of data centers is numerically studied for different configurations of computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units and physical separations of cold and hot aisles. Temperature distribution, air flow characteristics and thermal management of data centers racks array are predicted and evaluated for the different arrangements. Measureable performance indices: supply/return heat index (SHI/RHI), return temperature index (RTI) and return cooling index (RCI) are used to measure the thermal management effectiveness of data center racks. The results showed that: (i) hot air recirculation, cold air bypass and the measurable performance indices of the racks strongly depend on the racks location in the racks array, (ii) the CRACs units layout affects the thermal managements of the racks array especially the sides and middle racks in the array, and (iii) using cold aisle containments enhances the thermal performance of the data center

Experimental Study of Alumina Nanofluids Effects on Thermal Performance Efficiency of Flat Plate Solar Collectors

Flat-plate solar collectors (FPSC) heaters are widelyutilized for heating water in residential buildings and othercommercial and industrial applications. The maindisadvantage of solar water heater is their low efficiency.Improving the thermal characteristics of the working fluid insolar water heater can dramatically increase its thermalefficiency. The aim of the present experimental investigation isto study the effect of using Alumina nanofluids as a workingfluid for the solar water heater on its efficiency. Triton X-100(Iso-Octyl Phenoxy Polyethxy Ethanol) was used as asurfactant and its stability and aggregation of the suspensionwas investigated. Outdoor experiments have been carried outin New Borg El-Arab city, Alexandria, Egypt according toASHRAE Standard 86-93. Two similar water heaters systemsusing pure water and the nanofluids were tested at the sametime, locations and similar conditions. The results showed thatusing nanofluid of 0.15% Alumina particles improves theFPSC thermal efficiency by 18%. More than concentration ofsurfactant were tested and the results showed that more stablenanofluid could be prepared to employ suitable surfactantconcentration and by sophisticating preparation protoc

Production and Characterization of Taxol as Anticancer Agent from Aspergillus terreus

Taxol, a diterpenoid was initially isolated from the bark of Taxus brevifolia, approved by FDA in 1994 as a powerful drug for metastatic ovarian carcinoma, breast and lung cancer. However, due to limitations in the production of this drug based on this plant source, the productive potentiality of fungi of this compound opened a new avenue for its commercial production. In this study, among the twenty fungal isolates screened for Taxol production, Aspergillus terreus had the highest potentiality to produce Taxol (131.2 µg/ml). The productivity of Taxol by A. terreus has been maximized by nutritional optimization using inhibitors and growth regulators. The yield of Taxol by A. terreus was maximally obtained (0.663µg/ml) by growing the fungal isolate on potato dextrose broth medium, amended with addition of biotin at 150 µg/ml for 20 days. The chemical structure Taxol extracted of A. terreus has been verified by proton and carbon NMR, IR and UV analyses. The activity of A. terreus Taxol has been assessed towards multiple cell lines, displaying a strong anticancer activity. In conclusion, the productivity of Taxol by A. terreus has been greatly improved upon using biotin as chemical modulator, that open a new avenue for commercializing the Taxol yield by fungi