Fungal Isolation and the Production of its Biomass in a Palm Oil Medium

A fungus which was identified to be Rhizopus arrhizus was selected as a potential microorganism for the production of biomass using a palm oil medium. Using the optimized medium composition and culture conditions (%, w/v) : palm oil, 4.0; peptone, 2.0; Mg S04' 7H20, 0.07; NaC!, 0.5; CaCI2.2H20, 0.01; Tween 20, 1.2, pH 7.0 at 37"C, agitation speed, 200 rpm and inoculum size, 1 X 104 spores/ml, a maximum biomass production and fat consumption of about 16.2 gil and 82%, respectively, were obtained. Compared to the unoptimized conditions, this is an increase of 62% and 105% in biomass production and fat consumption, respectively. Proximate analysis of the biomass revealed.that the protein and nucleic acid content were 42.8 and 2.2%, respectively. Amino acid profiles were found to be comparable to those of the FAO reference

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome phlebovirus non-structural protein activates TPL2 signalling pathway for viral immunopathogenesis

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome phlebovirus (SFTSV), listed in the World Health Organization Prioritized Pathogens, is an emerging phlebovirus with a high fatality . Owing to the lack of therapies and vaccines , there is a pressing need to understand SFTSV pathogenesis. SFSTV non-structural protein (NSs) has been shown to block type I interferon induction and facilitate disease progression . Here, we report that SFTSV-NSs targets the tumour progression locus 2 (TPL2)-A20-binding inhibitor of NF-κB activation 2 (ABIN2)-p105 complex to induce the expression of interleukin-10 (IL-10) for viral pathogenesis. Using a combination of reverse genetics, a TPL2 kinase inhibitor and Tpl2 mice showed that NSs interacted with ABIN2 and promoted TPL2 complex formation and signalling activity, resulting in the marked upregulation of Il10 expression. Whereas SFTSV infection of wild-type mice led to rapid weight loss and death, Tpl2 mice or Il10 mice survived an infection. Furthermore, SFTSV-NSs P A and SFTSV-NSs K R that lost the ability to induce TPL2 signalling and IL-10 production showed drastically reduced pathogenesis. Remarkably, the exogenous administration of recombinant IL-10 effectively rescued the attenuated pathogenic activity of SFTSV-NSs P A, resulting in a lethal infection. Our study demonstrates that SFTSV-NSs targets the TPL2 signalling pathway to induce immune-suppressive IL-10 cytokine production as a means to dampen the host defence and promote viral pathogenesis

Flux-lattice melting in two-dimensional disordered superconductors

The flux line lattice melting transition in two-dimensional pure and disordered superconductors is studied by a Monte Carlo simulation using the lowest Landau level approximation and quasi-periodic boundary condition on a plane. The position of the melting line was determined from the diffraction pattern of the superconducting order parameter. In the clean case we confirmed the results from earlier studies which show the existence of a quasi-long range ordered vortex lattice at low temperatures. Adding frozen disorder to the system the melting transition line is shifted to slightly lower fields. The correlations of the order parameter for translational long range order of the vortex positions seem to decay slightly faster than a power law (in agreement with the theory of Carpentier and Le Doussal) although a simple power law decay cannot be excluded. The corresponding positional glass correlation function decays as a power law establishing the existence of a quasi-long range ordered positional glass formed by the vortices. The correlation function characterizing a phase coherent vortex glass decays however exponentially ruling out the possible existence of a phase coherent vortex glass phase.Comment: 12 pages, 21 figures, final version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Spoiling for a Fight: B Lymphocytes As Initiator and Effector Populations within Tertiary Lymphoid Organs in Autoimmunity and Transplantation.

Tertiary lymphoid organs (TLOs) develop at ectopic sites within chronically inflamed tissues, such as in autoimmunity and rejecting organ allografts. TLOs differ structurally from canonical secondary lymphoid organs (SLOs), in that they lack a mantle zone and are not encapsulated, suggesting that they may provide unique immune function. A notable feature of TLOs is the frequent presence of structures typical of germinal centers (GCs). However, little is known about the role of such GCs, and in particular, it is not clear if the B cell response within is autonomous, or whether it synergizes with concurrent responses in SLOs. This review will discuss ectopic lymphoneogenesis and the role of the B cell in TLO formation and subsequent effector output in the context of autoimmunity and transplantation, with particular focus on the contribution of ectopic GCs to affinity maturation in humoral immune responses and to the potential breakdown of self-tolerance and development of humoral autoimmunity

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

Effects of microbial additive on the physiochemical and biological properties of oil palm empty fruit bunches compost

This study was focused on the effects of microbial additive on oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) compost. The physical, chemical and biological properties of the compost during composting were investigated. Significantly, microbial inoculated compost decreased the total organic carbon and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, as well as increased the pH and microbial population during composting. Interestingly, the pH of compost increased to 5 for the first week of composting, and then it gradually increased to pH around 8 at the end of the process. The results indicated the degradation of organic acids during composting. The neutral to alkaline pH value of compost was reported as an indicator for good aeration of compost pile. The temperature of compost could reach up to 50- 55oC during thermophilic phase. At the end of composting, the inoculated compost increased in the total microbial population, especially actinomycetes and total bacteria. The microbial inoculated compost was likely to speed up the composting process of oil palm EFB from 64 days to 50 days

Effects of microbial additive on the physiochemical and biological properties of oil palm empty fruit bunches compost

This study was focused on the effects of microbialadditive on oil palm emptyfruit bunches (EFB) compost. The physical, chemicaland biological propertiesof the compost during composting were investigated.Significantly, microbialinoculated compost decreased the total organic carbon and carbon2to2nitrogenratio, as well as increased the pH and microbial population during composting.Interestingly, the pH of compost increased to 5 forthe first week of composting,and then it gradually increased to pH around 8 at the end of the process. Theresults indicated the degradation of organic acidsduring composting. Theneutral to alkaline pH value of compost was reported as an indicator for goodaeration of compost pile. The temperature of compost could reach up to 50255oC during thermophilic phase. At the end of composting, the inoculatedcompost increased in the total microbial population, especially actinomycetesand total bacteria. The microbial inoculated compost was likely to speed up thecomposting process of oil palm EFB from 64 days to50 days

Exploratory study on the competency level of Singapore companies in reconciling new product development and innovation dilemmas.

A qualitative research on the competency level of Singapore companies surveyed in reconciling New Product and Innovation Dilemmas

Feasibility study of composting and anaerobic digestion plant at community scale in Malaysia

Abstract: Malaysia is in a transition state towards a more developed country which stresses on sustainable development. The Malaysia government has introduced several policies related to the installation of renewable energy to secure its energy demand, which has an annual growth rate of 8.1%. In the Iskandar region in Johor, low-carbon development projects have been continuously implemented under the low-carbon society blueprint for Iskandar Malaysia. The selected village, Layang-Layang, is located within a palm oil plantation and is part of Malaysia rural transformation centre (RTC) project where a community-composting pilot plant was successfully set up in 2016. This study analysed the environmental and economic performance of the community-composting project. A total of four scenarios is analysed regarding their environmental performance (greenhouse gas emission) and the economic returns of investment. Scenario A served as the baseline study where all the municipal waste is sent to a landfill site. Scenario B involved the current pilot-scale composting plant practised by 100 residents in Layang-Layang. Scenario C considered the scaled-up composting scenario (3000 residents) based on the data from scenario A and B in Layang-Layang. Scenario D considered the treatment of the municipal wastes (3000 residents) to generate biogas via anaerobic digestion (AD) where the digestate was used for composting. In this study, co-composting of food waste from a residential area with the green waste from the plantation showed a reduction potential of 96.79% (Scenario C) on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission as compared to the landfill (Scenario A) and a reduction of 99.67% on GHG emission for the integrated AD and composting system (Scenario D). The scaled-up composting in scenario C was more attractive for investment as compared to scenario D. Scenario C showed a shorter minimal year for the return of investment (3.09 years) as compared to Scenario D (6.17 years) with electricity generation from biogas