Cellulase production from waste paper using Trichoderma species isolated from rhizospheric soil

The recent interest in bioconversion of cellulosic wastes to value added chemicals has led to extensive studies on microorganisms capable of producing the enzyme. The possibility of using waste paper for the production of cellulase by Trichoderma species isolated from the soil was investigated using submerged fermentation technique. The fermentation temperature and pH were varied. Results indicated that maximum cellulase production of 0.18 IU/ml/min was obtained at 96 h. Maximal enzyme activity was at pH 5 when compared to the activity obtained at pH of 6.0 (0.11 IU/ml/min) and 7.0 (0.06 IU/ml/min). Incubation temperature influenced the cellulase production greatly with about 50% of the cellulase activity lost when the temperature was switched from 28 to 37°C. The cultivation and application of the organism in cellulose hydrolysis will lead to efficient conversion of cellulose materials to other important products.Key words: Cellulose, Trichoderma, cellulase, submerged, fermentation, wastepaper

Personalized Health Assessment and Recommendations Through Iot and Mlp Classifier Algorithms

Procuring a healthy lifestyle involves a holistic approach of personalized dietary and exercise recommendations dependent on individual health statuses. In this study, we present a new paradigm for examining individual health statuses for easy self-assessment without specialist help. The heart is a full kit of assessing instruments that can align critical climacterics of body temperature, pulse rate, blood oxygen level, and body max index that could be run with minor medic assistance. The research abides a dataset obtained through a broad scope of volunteers aged 17 to 24 including both males and females. Vital signs such as SpO2, BPM, temperature, and BMI are mediated utilizing incorporated Internet of Things units. The dataset is then cautiously preprocessed and balanced using machine learning algorithms before examination. The basis of this model is a two-tier state classifier system that designs autonomous dietary and exercise responsibilities varying from examined health clots. It is exploited for adulthood healthcare systems across multiple machines learning techniques, including Decision Tree, KNN, and some classifiers with the MLP classifier being the exemplary worthy model. The MLP classifier demonstrates unbelievable outcomes through approximately 86% accuracy when the trainings and testing datasets are 70:30 ratios apart

SOUND EFFECTS OF OCCUPATIONAL NOISE EXPOSURE ON PERSONNEL IN BURR MILL PROCESSING CENTRES

Noise pollution is almost everywhere in human day to day living; occupational noise exposure is a rampant problem facing different occupation with many not knowing the extent of damage that is been done to personnel working in a noisy environment. In Nigeria little is the research that has been carried out in area of noise pollution, recognizing this; this project was aimed at assessing and comparing the level of noise generated and its exposure effect on the personnel working in agro-processing center with emphasis on a burr mill processing center. Noise generated in the milling centers were read at different spatial location within Bodija Market that makes use of burr milling machine for particle size reduction of agro-based produce with Testo 815 sound level meter. The sound level read was compared to that specified by United State Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), these standards were used because it has been adopted by Nigeria’s National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA). Result shows that noise generated from dry milling operation varies from 89.9dBA-99.3dBA; on the average these levels exceeded the standards specified by the various regulating authorities. Burr mill operators are exposed to excessive occupational noise as showed by the sound level readings, which results into noise induced hearing loss NIHL as corroborated by the response of 26% of the respondents that reported high severity in loss of hearing and other non-auditory health implication which affects them.&nbsp

DETOXIFICATION ENZYMES ACTIVITIES IN DDT AND BENDIOCARB RESISTANT AND SUCEPTIBLE MALARIAL VECTOR (Anopheles gambae) BREED IN AUYO RESIDENTIAL AND IRRIGATION SITES NORTHWEST NIGERIA

Evaluating levels of detoxifying enzymes is informative to governmental, nongovernmental organization and insecticides producing industries. In this work DDT and bendiocarb resistance status of Anopheles gambae breeds in Auyo (May – September, 2014) was studied. Larvae collected from residential sites (AR) and rice Irrigation sites (AI) of Auyo town in Auyo LGA Jigawa State Nigeria reared to adult was studied by WHO adult bioassay. Standard methods were adapted to determine the specific activities of insecticides detoxifying enzymes; glutathione s transferase (GST), esterase and monooxygenase in the insecticides resistant (r) and susceptible (s) vectors. In addition those tested with bendiocarb were analyzed for acetylcholinesterase activities. The finding of the study established high resistance status of the malarial vectors to DDT in both sites, low resistance status to bendiocarb in residential site and possible resistance to bendiocarb in irrigation site according to WHO interpretation. Significant (P<0.05) elevation in the activity of esterase and GST were seen in DDT resistant strain of residential site compared to susceptible (s). Significantly higher (P<0.05) specific activity of monooxygenase and acetyl cholinesterase was observed in bendiocarb resistant strain of both residential and irrigation sites, except for acetyl cholinesterase of irrigation site. Elevated activity of was observed in bendiocarb resistant strain of residential site. The finding of the study could be associated with indiscriminate use of insecticides in residential site against malarial vector and other flying insect and agrochemicals in the irrigation site. Base on this finding it may be concluded that conferring resistance to malarial vector is not restricted to agricultural area alone. Therefore challenge to researchers and chemical industries in fight against malarial should be redirected to producing specific irreversible and/or reversible inhibitors to these insecticides detoxifying enzymes

Effect of Administration of Aqueous Suspension of Ricinus communis Seeds on Serum Estrogen and Progesterone in Female Albino Rats

In this study, twenty seven (27) female albino rats were used in the determination of contraceptive effect of oral administration of aqueous suspension of Ricinus communis seed. Estrogen and progesterone levels of these rats were analysed using electrochemiluminescent method. The result revealed estrogenic property of the aqueous suspension of R. communis seed, which is partly attributed to the anticonceptive effect of the seeds. The estrogenic activity was high with 107×10-2mg/kg dose administered after 48hours and 7 days respectively, indicating some degree of dose-dependency. In addition, alteration of estrogen/progesterone balance as indicated by this study may be responsible for the contraceptive effect of aqueous suspension of R. communis seed. Keywords: Contraceptive effect, Estrogen, Estrogenic activity, Progesterone, Ricinus communi

Thickness control in a new flexible hybrid incremental sheet forming process

Incremental sheet forming is a cost-effective process for rapid manufacturing of sheet metal products. However, incremental sheet forming also has some limitations such as severe sheet thinning and long processing time. These limitations hamper the forming part quality and production efficiency, thus restricting the incremental sheet forming application in industrial practice. To overcome the problem of sheet thinning, a variety of processes, such as multi-step incremental sheet forming, have been proposed to improve the material flow and thickness distribution. In this work, a new process has been developed by introducing multi-point forming as preforming step before conducting incremental sheet forming processing. Employing an established hybrid sheet forming system and the corresponding thickness prediction model, the preform shape can be optimized by employing a two-step optimization approach to improve the sheet thickness distribution. In total, two case study examples, including a hemisphere part and an aerospace cowling part, are fabricated using the developed hybrid flexible process in this study. The experimental results show that the hybrid flexible forming process with the optimal preform design could achieve sheet parts with more uniform thickness distribution and reduced forming time

Design, Synthesis and Discovery of N,N'-Carbazoyl-aryl-urea Inhibitors of Zika NS5 Methyltransferase and Virus Replication

The recent outbreaks of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection worldwide make the discovery of novel antivirals against flaviviruses a research priority. This work describes the identification of novel inhibitors of ZIKV through a structure‐based virtual screening approach using the ZIKV NS5‐MTase. A novel series of molecules with a carbazoyl‐aryl‐urea structure has been discovered and a library of analogues has been synthesized. The new compounds inhibit ZIKV MTase with IC50 between 23–48 μM. In addition, carbazoyl‐aryl‐ureas also proved to inhibit ZIKV replication activity at micromolar concentration

Chemotaxis of Escherichia coli to Norepinephrine (NE) Requires Conversion of NE to 3,4-Dihydroxymandelic Acid

Norepinephrine (NE), the primary neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system, has been reported to be a chemoattractant for enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). Here we show that nonpathogenic E. coli K-12 grown in the presence of 2 μM NE is also attracted to NE. Growth with NE induces transcription of genes encoding the tyramine oxidase, TynA, and the aromatic aldehyde dehydrogenase, FeaB, whose respective activities can, in principle, convert NE to 3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid (DHMA). Our results indicate that the apparent attractant response to NE is in fact chemotaxis to DHMA, which was found to be a strong attractant for E. coli. Only strains of E. coli K-12 that produce TynA and FeaB exhibited an attractant response to NE. We demonstrate that DHMA is sensed by the serine chemoreceptor Tsr and that the chemotaxis response requires an intact serine-binding site. The threshold concentration for detection is ≤5 nM DHMA, and the response is inhibited at DHMA concentrations above 50 μM. Cells producing a heterodimeric Tsr receptor containing only one functional serine-binding site still respond like the wild type to low concentrations of DHMA, but their response persists at higher concentrations. We propose that chemotaxis to DHMA generated from NE by bacteria that have already colonized the intestinal epithelium may recruit E. coli and other enteric bacteria that possess a Tsr-like receptor to preferred sites of infection

Efficacy of cathelicidin-mimetic antimicrobial peptoids against staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common pathogens associated with infection in wounds. The current standard of care uses a combination of disinfection and drainage followed by conventional antibiotics such as methicillin. Methicillin and vancomycin resistance has rendered these treatments ineffective, often causing the reemergence of infection. This study examines the use of antimicrobial peptoids (sequence-specific poly-N-substituted glycines) designed to mimic naturally occurring cationic, amphipathic host defense peptides, as an alternative to conventional antibiotics. These peptoids also show efficient and fast (<30 min) killing of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) at low micromolar concentrations without having apparent cytotoxic side effects in vivo. Additionally, these novel peptoids show excellent efficacy against biofilm formation and detachment for both MSSA and MRSA. In comparison, conventional antibiotics were unable to detach or prevent formation of biofilms. One cationic 12mer, Peptoid 1, shows great promise, as it could prevent formation of and detach biofilms at concentrations as low as 1.6 μM. The use of a bioluminescent S. aureus murine incision wound model demonstrated clearance of infection in peptoid-treated mice within 8 days, conveying another advantage these peptoids have over conventional antibiotics. These results provide clear evidence of the potential for antimicrobial peptoids for the treatment of S. aureus wound infections. IMPORTANCE Staphylococcus aureus resistance is a consistent problem with a large impact on the health care system. Infections with resistant S. aureus can cause serious adverse effects and can result in death. These antimicrobial peptoids show efficient killing of bacteria both as a biofilm and as free bacteria, often doing so in less than 30 min. As such, these antimicrobials have the potential to alleviate the burden that Staphylococcus infections have on the health care system and cause better outcomes for infected patients

The Borexino detector at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso

Borexino, a large volume detector for low energy neutrino spectroscopy, is currently running underground at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy. The main goal of the experiment is the real-time measurement of sub MeV solar neutrinos, and particularly of the mono energetic (862 keV) Be7 electron capture neutrinos, via neutrino-electron scattering in an ultra-pure liquid scintillator. This paper is mostly devoted to the description of the detector structure, the photomultipliers, the electronics, and the trigger and calibration systems. The real performance of the detector, which always meets, and sometimes exceeds, design expectations, is also shown. Some important aspects of the Borexino project, i.e. the fluid handling plants, the purification techniques and the filling procedures, are not covered in this paper and are, or will be, published elsewhere (see Introduction and Bibliography).Comment: 37 pages, 43 figures, to be submitted to NI