Lead contamination present in wastewater is one of the major problems due to its toxicity and persistence. This issue increased dramatically and led to the environmental and health concerns worldwide. Therefore, this study aims to remove lead from synthetic wastewater effluent by adsorption process. In this study, nanomaterial called graphene oxide (GO) is used as an adsorbent due to its mechanical strength and high surface area. The parameters were optimized using Fractional factorial design under response surface method. GO demonstrates high adsorption capacity, qmax = 500 mg/g at 100 mg/L of initial lead concentration and at optimum pH 9. Adsorption isotherm of lead was also investigated to evaluate the adsorption capacity. The equilibrium data of graphene oxide adsorption was better represented by the Langmuir isotherm and was achieved within 60 minutes. The results showed that GO has potential to be an important adsorbent for lead removal. In the future, GO might be imbedded as adsorbent in the membrane fabrication for wastewater treatment.
Uninfected agarwood branch is readily available as raw material in agarwood plantation as new practices of agarwood plantation scheme were opted as substitute to the endangered wild type agarwood. The uninfected branch can be easily obtained during pruning process (one of plantation’s common maintenance procedure), throughout the years before inoculation stage. This current study aimed to investigate the optimal extraction process conditions of agarwood branch using ethanol as solvent system for maximal yield, and assess its cytotoxic effects towards MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Uninfected branch of Aquilaria subintegra was subjected to One Factor at a Time (OFAT) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM)-guided ethanolic extraction to achieve maximal yield. The extract was then subjected to cytotoxicity, cell attachment and cell viability assays, respectively. Optimization Run 2 (temperature 45 °C, solid-liquid ratio of 1:30, 16 hours maceration) gave the highest agarwood branch ethanolic extract (ABEE) yield of 44.70 ± 18.9 mg/g dried material (DM). Meanwhile Run 7 (temperature 45 °C, solid-liquid ratio of 1:10, 16 hours of maceration) gave the lowest yield (19.34 ± 14.1 mg/g DM). However, while maintaining the 16 hour-maceration, the model predicted a slightly lower yield of 30.232 ± 0.266 mg/g DM of ABEE with process conditions of 45 °C and solid-liquid ratio of 1:19 when the desirable parameters were factored in namely using (ⅰ) the most suitable temperature (that does not risk the bioactivities of the extract), and (ⅱ) an economical volume of solvent. Crude ABEE obtained from the optimal process conditions resulted in cytotoxicity effects on MCF-7 breast cancer cells with IC50 estimate of 3.645 ± 0.099 μg/mL. The extract also affected MCF-7 cell attachment and viability with altered morphology. More work to elucidate the mechanism of actions of the extract are warranted; which could further lead to development of breast cancer natural product-based therapeutics.
Biogas is an economical and environmentally friendly renewable energy which can be produced by anaerobic digestion (AD). This biochemical method converts organic compounds (mainly from wastes) into a sustainable source of energy. Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) is a method combining more than one substrate to resolve the difficulties faced in a single substrate AD system. Solid wastes increases as the population increase so do the urbanization and industrial industries. Food waste and sewage sludge are examples of one of the solid wastes. Co-digesting of both substrates may improve process stabilization to increase biogas production and overcome the nutrients imbalance. Thus, anaerobic co-digestion has been recognized as a technology that could provide a clean renewable energy source and helps reduce the landfill problem. The objective of this paper is to investigate the recent achievements and perspectives on the interaction of co-digestion between food waste and sewage sludge to improve biogas production. This may provide valuable information on the optimization of combinations of substrates: food waste and sewage sludge and prediction of bioreactor performance.
Patches has recently emerged and attracting more attention for its versatility in many areas such as cosmetic, pharmaceutical and medical. Patches can either be used to administer selected drug to skin or deliver some beneficial ingredients for cosmetic purposes. With that, as polymer is used as the matrix for patches, the polymer selected must be non-toxic, have adhesive property and non-irritative to the skin. Currently, synthetic polymer had been used as the matrix. However, as time passes, people are more concern with the environment, therefore biopolymer is chosen over synthetic polymer as they are degradable and also safe to use. Nowadays, as consumers are demanding for a more effective product that is not only good for appearance but also the health of the skin, studies had been done on many kinds of active ingredient that will give the best effect to the skin. Thus in this paper, patches made up of different combinations of polymer and active ingredients, as well as fabrication method currently used to produce patches will be discussed.
Green chemical method was applied to synthesize nanoparticles using recombinant
bromelain. Among the numerous applications of recombinant bromelain, there is still no research
on nanoparticles synthesis which encourages its utilization in this study. Four chemicals which are
copper (II) chloride dihydrate (CuCl2.2H2O), cerium nitrate hexahydrate (Ce(NO3)3.6H2O), sodium
selenite (Na2SeO3), and iron (III) chloride hexahydrate (FeCl3.6H2O) were selected to be screened
for the suitability in nanoparticles biosynthesis by recombinant bromelain. The nanoparticles
formed were characterized by using UV-visible absorption spectra. The biosynthesis process then
was optimized by varying the centrifugation speed, temperature, and time to get the maximum
absorption and weight of nanoparticles through central composite design (CCD) tool. Only
CuCl2.2H2O showed a positive result for the screening process which was represented by the
formation of colloidal solution and a maximum absorption at 580 nm. Thus, optimization was
carried out for this chemical. Based on the optimization model, maximum absorption and weight
were predicted at 67.5°C, 2 hrs, and 9,600 rpm. These optimal conditions were validated by
repeating the biosynthesis process. The absorption and weight of the nanoparticles depended on the
reaction of the chemical with recombinant bromelain. 3D plots showed that the optimal condition
for high responses mostly depends on temperature and time.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves capturing, transporting and storing CO2 geologically underground permanently. Carbon capture using solvent such as amine and aqueous ammonia has been extensively studied by many researchers. However, this capture technology for CCS scheme is costly. As an alternative, CO2 emission can be cost-effectively captured and stored by utilizing the well-understood natural photosynthetic process of marine cyanobacteria. In contrast, the capturing process using cyanobacteria is very slow compared to the chemical absorption mentioned prior. Hence, this study aimed to investigate carbon capturing and storing process using integrated aqueous ammonia and mutated marine cyanobacteria (Synechococcus PCC 7002 IIUM01). The conditions that can maximize CO2 reduction under various conditions; CO2 flow rate (Lpm), absorption temperature (C) and aqueous ammonia concentrations (% (w/v)) were to be identified. The effectiveness of the mutant cyanobacteria was quantified by measuring the cell concentration, percentage reduction in CO2 concentration and lipid content. Synechococcus PCC 7002 IIUM01 showed it robustness by growing in aqueous ammonia solution at the concentration of 0.5 to 1% (w/v) at which the parent strain was not able to tolerate. The best conditions in maximizing CO2 capture and storage while sustaining growth optimally and being a potential biofuel source was observed at 0.5 Lpm of 15% CO2 gas flow rate, 0.75% (w/v) of ammonia concentration and 33C of absorption temperature. At this specified condition, around 68% of CO2 removal was achieved with 9% (w/w) yield of lipid and more than 13% (w/v) of cell concentration obtained.
Curcuma longa L. uses widely as a traditional medicine especially in India and China for the treatment of diabetic wounds, inflammatory, hepatic, and digestive disorders. These effects lead to the research of this plant for the treatment of chronic diseases. To assess the tumour inhibition effect of curcumin in animal models by integrating various studies into a systematic literature review (SLR) and meta-analysis. Studies of curcumin treatment in tumor-induced animal models were searched in electronic databases. The assessment of the quality of the studies included and the tumor inhibition effect used SYRCLE’s Risk of Bias tool and Review Manager (The Cochrane Collaboration) software. From the 732 articles identified, only 11 studies met the selection criteria and included in the analysis. Curcumin significantly inhibited the tumor volume in the animal models in overall, and the subgroup analyses revealed that high dose, long-duration curcumin treatment, and intervention by injection have a more significant effect compared to the opposite group. Curcumin was effective in inhibiting tumor volume in animal models. The study quality and heterogeneity of the meta-analysis can probably be improved if a larger-scale bases of animal models and a well-designed study were available
This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary cottonseed oil (CSO) at
different levels on broiler chickens. Dietary CSO was tested for energy supplementation values in
poultry at levels 0, 3, 6 and 9% utilizing isonitrogenous (22.5% CP), semi-isocaloric (3100 Kcal/kg)
rations and run in the experiment. Ninety-six seven-day old unsexed Ross-308 broiler chicks with
an initial weight of 72.9 g were used for each experiment in a completely randomized design
(4x4x6). Chicks were fed for 42 days. Supplementation with the oils improved performance
(p>0.05) but CSO gave significant (p
Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is a very important food additive as well as for its therapeutic and cosmetic potential. The composition of essential oils in plants is affected by genetics and environmental conditions, which is determined by growth region and harvesting time in terms of ontogenetical variability. This study was carried out to assess the effect of plant ontogeny (pre-flowering, at flowering, fruiting) on essential oil content and chemical constituents for four sweet basil cultivated under irrigation conditions in the experimental farm of the National Oilseed Processing Research Institute (NOPRI), University of Gezira, Sudan. The essential oils were hydro-distilled from the leaves using Clevenger apparatus and the chemical constituents were determined by GC-MS. The results reveal that the essential oil yield content ranged from 0.1% to 0.2% at pre-flowering stage, whereas the oil content obtained at post-flowering stage was 0.1% for the investigated accessions. The highest essential oil content was recorded at flowering stage (0.2-0.5%), where the two Sudanese accessions had the maximum content (0.5%). The major chemical constituents, linalool, citral, methyleugenol, and eucalyptol reported at different developmental stages, punctuated between 5.73% and 32.93% in the four investigated accessions.
Carbon nanoparticles have been widely used in various applications. However, they are commonly known to have low dispersibility and chemical inertness which limit their practical ability in medical or biological area. Some studies have been performed to modify carbon nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes using ultraviolet (UV)-Ozone system. However, little is known on the effects of such system towards other types of carbon nanoparticles such as mesoporous hollow carbon nanoparticles (MHCNs). Thus, in this study, improvement of MHCNs physiochemical properties have been studied using UV-Ozone treatment for the first time. The treatment was conducted in water as dispersant agent at ozone flowrate of 1.0 L/min and exposure time of 45 min. SEM images observed that MHCNs morphology and surface structure remain intact after the treatment. Observations on the dispersibility of MHCNs in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution shows that the dispersibility was improved compared to the untreated ones. This was supported by the low Z-average and PDI values of treated MHCNs obtained at ~400 nm and 0.2, respectively when compared to the untreated MHCNs which was obtained at 970 nm and 0.417, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed an increased in weight loss of treated MHCNs at the lower temperature compared to untreated MHCNs. Results from Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) showed an increase number of new functional groups that includes carboxylic acid group presence at the surface of treated MHCNs which contributes to the improvement of their dispersibility, thermal properties and chemical functionality. These findings opened a new possibility of using UV-Ozone treatment to improve physicochemical properties of MHCNs for medical area such as in drug delivery application in addition to their excellent storage and carrier system.
Dengue disease, which is caused by dengue virus (DENV) has been a major worldwide concern, with increased number of cases each year. Currently, there are no specific medications to treat the disease. Hence, there is a dire need to develop novel drugs for disease treatment. Glycolysis is a metabolic pathway that serves as the main source of energy for DENV replication and targeting the pathway is one of the ideal approach to discover new anti-DENV drugs. This paper focuses on the inhibition of human hexokinase isoform 2 (HK2) enzyme, which is one of the important enzymes in glycolysis, in the quest to disrupt DENV replication. In order to search for potential inhibitors, two methods were conducted, which are ligand-based screening and structure-based screening approaches. Docking of Daidzin , which was derived from Kudzu, a Japanese plant, into the active site of HK2 has shown the nearest binding affinity score (-7.94 kcal/mol) to glucose‘s (GLC), which is -8.15 kcal/mol. Meanwhile, Ethyl (2R)-2-[[3-[2-[(4-methylbenzoyl) amino]ethyl]-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-b]pyridazin-6-yl]sulfanyl]butanoate (Ethyl 2(R)), a compound which is the analogue of ((22E, 24R)-6β-methoxyergosta-7, 9(11), 22-triene-3β,5α-diol) or compound 2 from Ganoderma sinense obtained from ligand-based screening was also docked into the binding site of HK2, showing a binding affinity score of -8.43 kcal/mol. Both docking was conducted by using AutoDock4 software at virtual screening phase. These compounds were further analysed in an inhibition assay to determine the effects of these potential naturally-derived inhibitors on the activity of HK2. The outcome from the inhibition studies showed that both compounds exhibited substantial inhibition on the activity of HK2 enzyme, where Daidzin, at 0.5 mM, resulted in HK2 remaining activity of 87.28%, while Ethyl (2R) resulted in 70.09% of HK2 remaining activity at 0.5 mM concentration. The results also indicate that as the concentration of these compounds increased, the percentage of remaining enzyme activity decreased. In conclusion, this study has served as a platform for the development of anti-dengue drugs based on naturally-derived compounds, which is anticipated to be a safer option for dengue treatment.
The concern about our dependency on non-renewable resources and overwhelming environmental issues such as pollution caused by non-degradable packaging materials has prompted researchers to come up with alternatives to solve this problem. Thermoplastic polylactic acid (PLA) has been gaining interest due to its versatility and easy processability, thus this study was carried out to find out the properties of PLA reinforced with pineapple fibers. However, surface of the natural fibers need to be treated for better properties enhancement in the polymer matrices. Considering this, fibers were treated with 10% (w/v) concentration of potassium hydroxide (KOH) and then continued for mixing with PLA at a fixed ratio of plasticizer by using internal mixer, and then the composites were prepared into sheet via hot press. Characterization for the mechanical and morphological was conducted by using tensile testing and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. After the analysis, it is found that the surface treated pineapple fiber composite showed better elongation at break compared to untreated fiber composite. The enhance properties of PLA nanocomposites has potential to be used in various packaging materials.
: Studies on bacterial growth pattern from the conventional approach are defective due
to their failure to explain the interactions or simply the complementary effects of the factors
influencing the bacterial growth. In this study, the individual and collaborative effects of
Pseudomonas putida growth variables were evaluated using a 2-level fractional factorial design of
experiment (FFDOE). The growth of the organism was found to respond remarkably to different
concentrations of nutrient media (carbon source) and the other independent variables. Factorial
models were developed from the experimental design to study the individual and interactive effects
of the studied parameters on the response. The studied parameters and their levels were as follows:
nutrient concentration (4-16 g/L), acclimatization time (24-72 hrs), agitation (140-200 rpm), and
temperature (30-40oC). These parameters were statistically validated using analysis of variance
(ANOVA) and the results revealed that the model terms were statistically significant with an Fvalue of 415.17 at P temperature > nutrient concentration versus temperature >
agitation > nutrient concentration versus agitation. Based on the R
2
and the adjusted R
2
values of
>95%, the estimated variables showed a high degree of relationship between the observed and the
predicted values; thus, the predictive ability of the models was suggested. It could, therefore, be
concluded that nutrient concentration, temperature, and agitation can greatly influence the growth
of P. putida within a specific range.
Biocatalyst should have sufficient and efficient activity for the intended
biotechnological application. In the quest for novel biocatalyst, there is a need to have a
genetic diversity either by finding it within the astronomically large number of possible
candidates or to obtain it by bioengineering an existing gene supported by various
bioinformatic and molecular engineering tools. Nowadays, it is well-known that a huge
number of microorganisms is unculturable and poses great challenges to access biocatalysts
from these microbes. Metagenomics is one of the methods widely applied to reach out
maximum possible variants to “bioprospect” biocatalysts. On the other hand, other approaches
are available to bioengineer enzymes by modifying the DNA sequence precisely based on the
structure and the function information of the protein in the case of rational design, or by a
brave creation of anarchic mutations of the DNA sequence with directed evolution method. In
this regard, both approaches, whether to bioprospect or to bioengineer biocatalysts have
advantages and disadvantages which will be discussed in this paper.KEY WORDS: Sugar
industry wastewater; aluminium sulphate; primary treatment, ferric chloride; polyaluminium
chloride
Citrus is one of the major commodities in many countries including Malaysia.
However, production of citrus including Citrus suhuiensis (C. suhuiensis) is declining due to
diseases and inability to withstand low temperatures. Plant cultures such as cell suspension have the
potential in propagating disease-free and healthy Citrus fruits with value-added characteristics.
However, studies related to C. suhuiensis is still scarce. Therefore, the growth kinetics of C.
suhuiensis cell suspension culture was studied. Friable callus of C. suhuiensis which was induced
from seeds was inoculated into MS medium with 30 g/L sucrose, 0.5 g/L malt extract and 2.0 mg/L
2, 4-D for the cell suspension initiation. Several batch experiments using a few types of sugars
(sucrose, glucose and fructose) were carried out. The cell dry weight (CDW) of C. suhuiensis was
recorded for 30 days of culture period and residual sugars in the medium were analyzed using
HPLC. Cells grown in 30 g/L sucrose achieved the highest CDW (9.559 g/L) with µmax equals to
0.00512/h, compared to glucose and fructose. In addition, sucrose is the preferred carbon source
with the highest uptake rate (0.213 g/L·h). Cells completely hydrolyzed sucrose into glucose and
fructose after 5 days of inoculation. All sugars were completely utilized by C. suhuiensis cells after
25 days. The kinetic growth parameters determined from batch experiments were then used for
model simulation and verification in MATHCAD 15. After adjustments and refinement to the
selected kinetic parameters, the model has fairly described and predicted the growth and sugars
profile of C. suhuiensis cells. The proposed model can be used to predict sucrose hydrolysis, glucose
and fructose formation from sucrose and their consumption by plant cells and also for larger scale
of growth.
Increasing population, urbanization and industrial activities have increased the amount of solid waste worldwide. Food waste (FW) and sewage sludge (SS) are some of the solid wastes. Co-digesting of both substrates may improve process stabilization to increase biogas production and overcome the nutrients imbalance. Thus, anaerobic co-digestion has been recognized as a technology that could provide a clean renewable energy source and help reducing the landfill problem. In this study, the interaction between FW and SS as co-substrates in anaerobic digestion was studied under mesophilic temperature 36C (± 0.5). The experiments were conducted using five batch reactors with different ratios of substrates. There are four different analyses used to identify the characteristics of FW and SS, which are pH, reducing sugar (RS), total solid (TS), and total carbohydrate (TC). Water displacement method was used to record biogas yield. The experimental results showed that the highest biogas yield was from the composition of 50:50 (FW: SS) with a biogas volume of 1150.14 mL, while the least was the composition of 0:100 (FW: SS) with 170.47 mL biogas produced. The results for substrate degradation showed that the composition of 100:0 (FW: SS) has the highest percentage degradation for reducing sugar with the percentage of 56%, while the minimum was 0:100 (FW: SS) with a percentage of 35%. Besides, for TC, the highest percentage of degradation was the composition 50:50 (FW: SS) with 84%, and the least was 0:100 (FW: SS) with 44%. This study proves that using FW and SS enhanced biogas production as well as reducing the current issues of waste disposal.
Boron has been classified as a drinking water pollutant in many countries. It is harmful to many plants, exceptionally sensible plants, and human health. Therefore, boron level needs to be decreased to 0.3 mg/L for drinking water and within 0.5 mg/L to 1 mg/L for irrigation water. In this study, various operational parameters namely pH, contact time and liquid/solid ratio were investigated to determine the potential of using date seed (or date pit or date stone) to remove boron from seawater. This study's main objective was to determine boron adsorption capacities of date seeds prepared by various methods (i.e., powdered, activated, acid-treated and defatted seed) by batch adsorption process using boron contaminated synthetic seawater. The process parameters of the selected biosorbent among the four date seed preparations methods were optimized. The surface characteristics were analyzed by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The results showed that acid-treated date seed was the best biosorbent in terms of removing 89.18% boron from aqueous solution at neutral pH, liquid to solid ratio of 5 within 2 hours of reaction time at room temperature (25°C±2°C).
Sg. Papar is one of the rivers in Kota Kinabalu which is mainly used for water supply especially in Papar district. For the past years, many pollution cases concerning Sg. Papar have been reported which originated from various sources including pig farm, agricultural run-off and deforestation. These resulted in a frequent shutdown of the water treatment plants in Papar district leading to water supply disturbance and water supply deficiency in the affected area. The data utilized in this study were obtained from water quality tests performed on river water samples taken from Limbahau water treatment plant recorded from September 2013 to September 2016. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used in this study to analyze and correlate the physicochemical parameters with the water treatment plant shutdown. The results revealed that eight parameters (pH, alum, nitrate, TDS, DO, conductivity, colour and chloride) analysed in this study correlate with each other and the parameter that mostly caused the drastic change in the river water and as pollution index is turbidity. This study is critical for understanding the relationship between the water quality paramters and environmental issues.
A therapeutic approach for treating diabetes is to decrease thepost-prandial hyperglycaemia. This is done by retarding the absorption of glucose through the inhibition of carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes, α-amylaseand α-glucosidase, in the digestive tract. Inhibition of both enzymes helpsto reduce the glucose level in the blood of a diabetic patient. This study was aimed to investigate the production of α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitors from local fruit wastes (honeydew skin, banana peel, and pineapple skin) using solid state fermentation. Each of the fruit wastes was fermented with three different types of white rot fungus Phenarochaete chrysosporium(PC), Panus tigrinusM609RQY(M6) andRO209RQY(RO2)for 7 days. Sampling was carried out starting from day 4 to day 7 to determine the enzyme inhibition activity. The samples were extracted using water prior to enzyme analysis. Most of the fruit samples showed varying degree of percentage inhibition activity depending on the sampling time. Extract of fermented banana peels with RO2 on day 4 showed the higherα-glucosidase inhibition (56.57±0.32%), followed byhoneydew extract fermented with the same fungus on the same day (39.68±0.05%). Extracts of each fruit wastesample fermented with PCshowed the least α-glucosidase inhibition (below 15%). Meanwhile for α-amylase inhibition activity, the extract from fermented honeydew skins with PCon day7 showed the highest inhibition activity i.e.98.29±0.63%. The least inhibition activity (43.37±0.54%) was observed in the extract from honeydew skins fermented withM6 on day 5. All positive resultsshowed that fruit wastes could be the alternative sourcesfor antidiabetic agent especially for α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors.
Cellulose facial masks have gained a huge interest in the cosmetic industry. Cellulose can be extracted from plant biomass, bacteria and algae. In this study, several formulated PVA-based facial masks (F1, F2, F3, F4) incorporated with microfibrillated cellulose extracted from sugarcane bagasse (MFC-SCB) were prepared. The concentration of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was varied (5%–20% (w/w)) while the concentration of microfibrillated cellulose of sugarcane bagasse (MFC-SCB) was fixed at 5% (w/w) to get the appropriate composition of the facial masks. The MFC-SCB was
extracted through chemical treatment assisted with ultrasonication. Sensory tests in terms of adhesion to the skin, spreadability, color, odor, and drying time were performed. These tests were carried out by requesting the volunteers to rate the performance of the masks. The results showed that the formulated facial mask F3 (15% [w/w] of PVA and 5% [w/w] of MFC-SCB) has the highest average score (13.9) which is 82% from the total score compared to other formulated masks. However, the standard formulation mask F5 (15% [w/w] of PVA and 5% [w/w] of sodium carboxylmethyl cellulose, CMC) achieved the highest score (13.5) compared to F3 (12.5). The findings of this study proved that the presence of MFC-SCB with PVA has a competitive performance with the standard facial mask formulation.