Efficacy of a bacteriophage isolated from chickens as a therapeutic agent for colibacillosis in broiler chickens

The efficacy of bacteriophage EC1, a lytic bacteriophage, against Escherichia coli O78:K80, which causes colibacillosis in poultry, was determined in the present study. A total of 480 one-day-old birds were randomly assigned to 4 treatments groups, each with 4 pens of 30 birds. Birds from the control groups (groups I and II) received PBS (pH 7.4) or 10(10) pfu of bacteriophage EC1, respectively. Group III consisted of birds challenged with 10(8) cfu of E. coli O78: K80 and treated with 10(10) pfu of bacteriophage EC1 at 2 h postinfection, whereas birds from group IV were challenged with 10(8) cfu of E. coli O78: K80 only. All the materials were introduced into the birds by intratracheal inoculation. Based on the results of the present study, the infection was found to be less severe in the treated E. coli-challenged group. Mean total viable cell counts of E. coli identified on eosin methylene blue agar (designated EMB + E. coli) in the lungs were significantly lower in treated, E. coli-challenged birds than in untreated, E. coli-challenged birds on d 1 and 2 postinfection. The EMB + E. coli isolation frequency was also lower in treated birds; no E. coli was detectable in blood samples on any sampling day, and E. coli were isolated only in the liver, heart, and spleen of treated chickens at a ratio of 2/6, 1/6, and 3/6, respectively, at d 1 postinfection. The BW of birds from the E. coli-challenged group treated with bacteriophage EC1 were not significantly different from those of birds from both control groups but were 15.4% higher than those of the untreated, E. coli-challenged group on d 21 postinfection. The total mortality rate of birds during the 3-wk experimental period decreased from 83.3% in the untreated, E. coli-challenged birds (group IV) to 13.3% in birds treated with bacteriophage EC1 (group III). These results suggest that bacteriophage EC1 is effective in vivo and could be used to treat colibacillosis in chickens

Acceleration effects of microbial inoculum on palm oil mill organic waste composting.

ABSTRACT The acceleration effects of inoculum in composting of empty fruit bunches were investigated. Composting of empty fruit bunches fibres in two sizes, 4 cm and 2 cm length, were treated with microbial inoculum consisting of Agromonas, Aspergillus, Azotobacter, Bacillus, Celhdomonas, Chaetomium, Clostridium, Coprinus, Microbispora, Penicillium, Pseudomonas, Thermoactinomyces, Trichoderma and Trichurus in separate laboratory scale in-vessel of 30 liters volume. A control without inoculum with 4 cm length empty fruit bunches was also conducted in parallel. The compost piles were shift-turned weekly. Parameters such as moisture content, temperature, pH, and electrical conductivity were used to monitor the composting processes. The carbon-nitrogen ratio, UV-vis spectrophotometer test, and germination test were used to assess the maturity of compost. The results showed that the inoculum was effective in reducing the C/N ratio by 54% compared to control 46% and rapidly increasing the UV-vis absorption ratio in first three weeks. By using functional microbes, the composting of empty fruit bunches was reduced to 5 weeks compared to 9 weeks for those without inoculation. The acceleration effect was more prominent for the 2 cm length samples

CO2 capture by dry alkanolamines and an efficient microwave regeneration process

Removal of acidic gases such as H2S and CO2 is performed during the purification of raw natural gas, most commonly using amine gas treatment. However, this industrially entrenched method is limited by significant shortcomings including low operational capture efficiency, amine pipeline corrosion and a large energy penalty due to the sorbent regeneration process. To address these shortcomings, we have studied the use of perfluorinated silica-stabilized dry alkanolamines (DAf) for CO2 capture. Due to their micronized liquid domains, DAf display high operational CO2 capture efficiency. Further, to minimize energy requirements for sorbent regeneration, microwave-assisted regeneration of the spent DAf sorbent was also studied and shown to decrease the energy requirements by about ten times. In contrast to very recent work, our results show that the use of DAf exhibits extraordinary recyclability, with a negligible decrease in absorption capacity over at least ten absorption–regeneration cycles, indicating the potential of this material for gas treatment applications

Preservation of mesophilic mixed culture for anaerobic palm oil mill effluent treatment by convective drying methods

[EN] While anaerobic digestion is a reliable method that treats the waste and produces renewable biomethane fuel, the necessary sludge in liquid form is difficult to handle due to the constant biogas generation. Therefore, this study investigates the possibility of convective air drying, namely heat pump and hot air circulation oven as preservation methods for anaerobic microbial sludge. Drying was conducted at various temperatures, ranging from 22℃ to 70℃. The study found that heat pump drying at 22℃ resulted in highest COD removal of 55.3% as well as the least log reduction in methanogens and anaerobes at 1.4 and 2.4, respectively.Chin, SK.; Tan, DT.; Tan, HM.; Poh, PE. (2018). Preservation of mesophilic mixed culture for anaerobic palm oil mill effluent treatment by convective drying methods. En IDS 2018. 21st International Drying Symposium Proceedings. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1971-1978. https://doi.org/10.4995/IDS2018.2018.7295OCS1971197

Nonparametric nonlinear model predictive control

Model Predictive Control (MPC) has recently found wide acceptance in industrial applications, but its potential has been much impeded by linear models due to the lack of a similarly accepted nonlinear modeling or databased technique. Aimed at solving this problem, the paper addresses three issues: (i) extending second-order Volterra nonlinear MPC (NMPC) to higher-order for improved prediction and control; (ii) formulating NMPC directly with plant data without needing for parametric modeling, which has hindered the progress of NMPC; and (iii) incorporating an error estimator directly in the formulation and hence eliminating the need for a nonlinear state observer. Following analysis of NMPC objectives and existing solutions, nonparametric NMPC is derived in discrete-time using multidimensional convolution between plant data and Volterra kernel measurements. This approach is validated against the benchmark van de Vusse nonlinear process control problem and is applied to an industrial polymerization process by using Volterra kernels of up to the third order. Results show that the nonparametric approach is very efficient and effective and considerably outperforms existing methods, while retaining the original data-based spirit and characteristics of linear MPC

Comparing aging and fitness effects on brain anatomy

Recent studies suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) mitigates the brain’s atrophy typically associated with aging, via a variety of beneficial mechanisms. One could argue that if CRF is generally counteracting the negative effects of aging, the same regions that display the greatest age-related volumetric loss should also show the largest beneficial effects of fitness. To test this hypothesis we examined structural MRI data from 54 healthy older adults (ages 55–87), to determine the overlap, across brain regions, of the profiles of age and fitness effects. Results showed that lower fitness and older age are associated with atrophy in several brain regions, replicating past studies. However, when the profiles of age and fitness effects were compared using a number of statistical approaches, the effects were not entirely overlapping. Interestingly, some of the regions that were most influenced by age were among those not influenced by fitness. Presumably, the age-related atrophy occurring in these regions is due to factors that are more impervious to the beneficial effects of fitness. Possible mechanisms supporting regional heterogeneity may include differential involvement in motor function, the presence of adult neurogenesis, and differential sensitivity to cerebrovascular, neurotrophic and metabolic factors

Metabolomic analysis and biochemical changes in the urine and serum of streptozotocin-induced normal- and obese-diabetic rats

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease that can affect metabolism of glucose and other metabolites. In this study, the normal-and obese-diabetic rats were compared to understand the diabetes disorders of type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus. This was done byevaluating their urine metabolites using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR)-based metabolomics and comparing withcontrols at different time points, considering the induction periods of obesity and diabetes. The biochemical parameters of theserum were also investigated. The obese-diabetic model was developed by feeding the rats a high-fat diet and inducing diabeticconditions with a low dose of streptozotocin (STZ) (25 mg/kg bw). However, the normal rats were induced by a high dose of STZ(55 mg/kg bw). A partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model showed the biomarkers of both DM typescompared to control. The synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies, tricarboxylic (TCA) cycles, and amino acid pathwayswere the ones most involved in the variation with the highest impact. The diabetic groups also exhibited a noticeable increase inthe plasma glucose level and lipid profile disorders compared to the control. There was also an increase in the plasma cholesteroland low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels and a decline in the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) of diabetic rats. The normal-diabetic rats exhibited the highest effect of all parameters compared to the obese-diabetic rats in the advancement of the DMperiod. This finding can build a platform to understand the metabolic and biochemical complications of both types of DM and cangenerate ideas for finding targeted drugs