Journal articles on the topic 'Plant sciences|Chemical engineering'

This paper aims to evaluate the knowledge landscape of the phytoremediation of heavy metals (HMs) by constructing a series of scientific maps and exploring the research hotspots and trends of this field. This study presents a review of 6873 documents published about phytoremediation of HMs in the international context from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) (1989–2018). Two different processing software applications were used, CiteSpace and Bibliometrix. This research field is characterized by high interdisciplinarity and a rapid increase in the subject categories of engineering applications. The basic supporting categories mainly included “Environmental Sciences & Ecology”, “Plant Sciences”, and “Agriculture”. In addition, there has been a trend in recent years to focus on categories such as “Engineering, Multidisciplinary”, “Engineering, Chemical”, and “Green & Sustainable Science & Technology”. “Soil”, “hyperaccumulator”, “enrichment mechanism/process”, and “enhance technology” were found to be the main research hotspots. “Wastewater”, “field crops”, “genetically engineered microbes/plants”, and “agromining” may be the main research trends. Bibliometric and scientometric analysis are useful methods to qualitatively and quantitatively measure research hotspots and trends in phytoremediation of HM, and can be widely used to help new researchers to review the available research in a certain research field.

This document was prepared as a report from IUPAC to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to provide an evaluation of scientific and technological advances in the chemical sciences relevant to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The report is intended to assist OPCW and its Member States in preparation for the First Review Conference to be held on 28 April 2003. The CWC, now ratified by 145 nations and in effect since 1997, totally prohibits the production, storage, or use of toxic chemicals as weapons of war. This report is based on an IUPAC Workshop held in Bergen**, Norway, 30 June to 3 July 2002. The report highlights developments in organic synthesis and changes in chemical plant design that will pose new challenges to the Convention, but it also describes recent and probable future developments in analytical chemistry that should assist in implementation of the Convention. The key issues identified at the Workshop are listed, and the findings and observations are summarized in 18 points.

This article discusses various aspects of a course on cyber-physical systems (CPS) in the educational programs of defense organizations. CPS are engineered systems that are built from, and depend upon, the seamless integration of computational algorithms and physical components. The article also highlights various objectives of the CPS course. A central challenge to deploying resilient CPSs involves the appreciation for the multi-disciplinary challenges and the lack of a unified framework for CPS analysis, design and implementation. A significant part of the course focuses on a case study in industrial control of a Vinyl Acetate (VAc) chemical plant. The course described herein presents fundamental concepts within the rapidly expanding field of CPS and has been tailored to and is well received by U.S. Naval Academy Systems Engineering senior level engineering students. The U.S. Naval Academy thrust in cyber security studies includes a new major, Cyber Sciences, and construction of a new facility, Hopper Hall, to house the assembled multi-disciplinary teaching and research team.

According to the broadest definition, biotechnology is the use of living matter (plants, animals and microorganisms) in industry, environment protection, medicine and agriculture. Biotechnology takes a key position in the field of food processing during thousands of years. Last about fifty years brought dynamical development of knowledges in the natural sciences especially in domain of genetics and manipulation of genes. Biotechnology for which active role in the on-coming times could be foreseen, not only with respect of R&D, but also in general technological development represents scope of priority in the USA and in European Union (EU) as well. It is accepted that the results achieved in biotechnology oversize scientific domain and find their entrance into economics, legislation, quality of life and even of politics. Corresponding with the definition of biotechnology as "the integration of natural sciences and engineering in the application of microorganisms, cells, their components and molecular analogues in production (General assembly of the European federation for Biotechnology, 1989) European Commission (1999) adopted the biotechnological taxonomy, i.e. fields and sub-fields of biotechnology. R&D activities in this domain are oriented to eight fields and branched through them. Fields of biotechnology (EC, 1999) are: 1) Plant biotechnology (agricultural cultivars, trees, bushes etc); 2) Animal biotechnology; 3) Biotechnology in environment protection; 4) Industrial biotechnology (food, feed, paper, textile, pharmaceutical and chemical productions); 5) Industrial biotechnology (production of cells and research of cells - producers of food and of other commodities); 6) Development of humane and veterinarian diagnostics (therapeutical systems) 7) Development of the basic biotechnology, and 8) Nontechnical domains of biotechnology. In concordance with some judgments, in the World exist about 4000 biotechnological companies. World market of biotechnological products is increasing at the rate of some 30 percents per year, and in the year of 2000 amounted to about 140 billions of US$. Owing to this, biotechnology became one of the most intensive industries in the world. American biotechnological industry spent even in the year of 1998 about US$ 10 millions for R&D activities. European Union included the development of biotechnology into its R&D programs and projects somewhere during eighties of the last century.

This study was aimed to determine the impact of Conocarpus erectus L. compost fertilizer, and some micronutrients on growth and production of potato. This research was conducted at one of the fields of the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences - University of Baghdad. The experiment was implemented using factorial arrangement (4X3X3) within randomized complete block design with three replicates. Conocarpus fertilizer was represented the first factor with three levels (7.5, 15, 30 ton.ha-1), which symbolized (C2, C3, C4). Chemical fertilizer as recommended dose as a control, which symbolized (C1). The second factor was foliar spraying with three levels of iron (0, 100, 200 mg.L-1), which symbolized (F0, F1, F2). The third factor is foliar spraying with three levels of boron (0, 50, 100 mg.L-1), which symbolized (B0, B1, B2). The statistical analysis showed superiority of C3 in producing significant values of the studied traits such as, leaf area (154.77, 187.93 dcm2) for fall and spring seasons respectively, plant yield (649.7 gm.) for fall season only. Also the results revealed the significant impact of F2 treatment in producing high leaf area (153.63, 177.22 dcm2) for fall and spring seasons respectively. B2 treatment demonstrated significant values in producing high starch percentage (10.09%, 10.85%) for fall and spring seasons respectively, The results that obtained from triple interaction exhibited significant superiority of treatments C1F1B2 and C3F2B0 in producing the highest plant yield (811 g, 1239.2 g.) for both seasons respectively.

In Serbia basil has been grown traditionally as a decorative, medicinal, seasoning and ritual herb, and there is a variety of different populations of basil. Basil is considered to have been brought to Serbia in the 12th century by monks returning from their pilgrimages. Essential oils isolated from herb of ten basil populations traditionally grown on the territory of the Republic of Serbia have been analyzed. The selected populations have been designated under codes from T-1 to T-10 and deposited in the Plant Genes Bank at Serbia and at the Institute for Crop Sciences of the Faculty of Agriculture in Belgrade. Essential oils of all tested basil populations were light yellow and had a specific aromatic scent. The composition of essential oil in the dry herb of the tested populations ranged from 0.87 to 1.84%. The results of gas chromatographic analysis of essential oils in tested basil populations pointed to their complex chemical composition and to the fact that they belong to the most appreciated European chemotype. In total thirty three components have been identified in the essential oils. The most common fraction of components in all tested oils was terpenoides. The predominant component in all essential oils is monoterpen linalol, ranging from 51.52 to 74.73%. Phenylpropranoid methylchavicol ranged from 2.49 to 18.97%. Essential oils of populations T-6, T-7, T-8 and T-10 were characterized by elevated 1.8-cineol (4.44, 3.70, 4.01 and 3.43%, respectively). Populations T-3 and T-4 in essential oil contained higher percent of geraniol (4.27 and 3.31%, respectively). In all ten essential oils sesquiterpen fraction consisted of greater number of components, with germacrene having special significance as it was found in high percentage in all populations. The highest content of germacrene was registered in population T-9 (4.30%), T-10 (4.18%), while in others it ranged from 2.17 to 3.69%. Basil populations traditionally grown in Serbia have exceptional quality. They represent an excellent raw material for the production of basil essential oils, for the needs of pharmaceutical, food and chemical industry.

The essential oil of the nutmeg plant (Myristica fragrans Houtt) has been obtained from roots, bark, fruit, mace and seeds using Stahl steam distillation. Each essential oil have tested for antioxidant activity with DPPH. Antioxidant activity of essential oil from each nutmeg plant to DPPH with concentration 25, 50 and 100 ppm. Each essential oil did not show strong antioxidant activity but the result of nutmeg isolation had strong antioxidant activity with IC50 that was 80,555 ppm. Based on GC-MS analysis of essential oil of nutmeg isolate obtained myristicin compound with 96.52% area and time Retention 22.127. Myristicin is one of the main components of essential oils of nutmeg plants that play an important role as antioxidants. Keywords: Nutmeg plant (Myristica fragrans Houtt), Essential Oil, DPPH, Antioxidant radicalsREFERENCES Suryanti, Siti. 2014. Metabolit Sekunder Pada Tanaman dan Fungsinya. http://seputarduniasains.blogspot.com Diakses tanggal 2 juni 2015. Gupta, A. D., Bansal, V. K., Babu, V., Maithil, N. 2013. Chemistry, antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of nutmeg (Myristica fregrans Houtt) Journal of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnologyh 11:25-31. Rodianawati, I., Hastuti, P., Cahyanto, M. N. 2015. Nutmeg’s (Myristica fragrans Houtt) Oleoresin: Effect of Heating to Chemical Compositions and Antifungal Properties Procedia Food Science 3:244-254. Masyithah, Z. 2006. Pengaruh Volume dan Konsentrasi Pelarut pada Isolasi Trimiristin dari Limbah Buah Pala Jurnal Teknologi Proses 5(1) Januari; 64-67. Wibowo, S dan Komarayati, S. 2015. Sifat Fisiko Kimia Minyak Cupresus (Cupressus benthamii) Asal Aek Nauli, Parapat Sumatera Utara Jurnal Penelitian Hasil Hutan 33 (2) Juni 2015: 93-103. Nurdjannah, N. 2007. Teknologi Pengolahan Pala. Badan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Pertanian. Bogor. Hellen, M, Vargheese, T.N, Kumari, J, Abiramy, Sajina, Sree, J, 2012, Phytochemical Analysis and Anticancer Activity of Essential Oil From Myristica fragrans, International Journal of Current Pharmaceutical Review and Research. Chatterjee, S, Zareena Niaz, S. Gautam, Soumyakanti Adhikari, Prasad S. Variyar, Arun Sharma, 2007, Antioxidant Activity of Some Phenolic Constituents from Green Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) and Fresh Nutmeg Mace (Myristica fragrans) J. Food Chemistry 101, 515–523. Sulaiman, S. F and Kheng, L. O. 2012. Antioxidant and anti food-borne bacterial activities of extracts from leaf and different fruit parts of Myristica fragrans Houtt. Food Control 25:533-536.Akinboro, A, Kamaruzzaman, M. B, Asmawi, M. Z, Sulaiman, S. F, Sofiman, O. H. 2011. Antioxidans in Aqueous extract of Mirystica fragrans (Houtt) Suppress Mitosis and Cyclophosphamide-induce chromosomal aberrations in Allium cepa L. Cells, Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE B (Biomedicine & Biotechnology). ISSN 1673-1581 (Print); ISSN 1862-1783 (Online).www.zju.edu.cn/jzus; www.springerlink.comGinting, B., 2013, Aktifitas Antifungi Ektrak Daun Pala (Mirystica fragrans Houtt), Prosiding Seminar Nasional Kimia tahun 2013. Ginting, B, T. Barus, P, Simanjuntak, L. marpaung., 2013, Isolasi dan Sifat Antioksidan Total Flavonoid Daun Pala (Mirystica fragrans Houtt), Prosiding Seminar Nasional Kimia, Samarinda Ginting, B, T. Barus, P, Simanjuntak, L. marpaung.,2013, Isolasi dan Dan Penentuan Aktivitas Antioksidan Total Alkaloid Daun Pala (Mirystica fragrans Houtt), Prosiding Seminar Nasional Yusuf Banseh Ginting, B, T. Barus, P, Simanjuntak, L. marpaung., 2016, Isolation and Identification of Flavonoid Compound from Nutmeg Leaves (Mirystica fragrans Houtt), Asian Journal Of Chemistry. Ginting, B., Mustanir., Helwati, H., Desiyana, L. S., Eralisa, Mujahid, R. 2017. Antioxidant Activity Of N-Hexane Extract Of Nutmeg Plants From South Aceh Province. Jurnal Natural 17(1) Ramaswany, V. N., Varghese, A., Simon. 2011. An Investigation on Cytotoxic Ternatea L International Journal of Drug Discovery 3: 74-77. ISSN : 0975-4423. Guenther, E. 1987. Minyak Atsiri Jilid 1, terjemahan dari: Essensial oil. Penerjemah: Ketaren S, Universitas Indonesia Press, Jakarta.Harborne, J.B. 1987. Metode Fitokimia: Penentuan Cara Moderen Menganalisa Tumbuhan. Terjemahan dari Phytochemical Methods oleh Kosasih Padmawinata. ITB. Bandung.Sipahelut, S. G. 2012. Karakteristik Minyak Daging Buah Pala (Myristica fragrans Houtt) Melalui Beberapa Cara Pengeringan Dan Distilasi Journal Agroforestri 7(1) Maret 2012.Andini, V., Gupta, S., Chatterejee, S., Variyar, P.S and Sharma, A. 2015. Activity Guided Characterization of Antioxidant Components from Essential Oil of Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans). Vol 52; 221-230.Nagja, T., Vimal, K, Sanjeev, A. 2015. Myristica fragrans: A Comprehensive Review International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 8 (2).Isnindar., Wahyuono, S., Setyowati, E.P. 2011. Isolasi dan Identifikasi Senyawa Antioksidan Daun Kesemek (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) dengan Metode DPPH (2,2-difenil-1-pikrilhidrazil). Majalah Obat Tradisional. 16(3), 157-164.Ramy, M., Fayed, S.A and Mahmoud, G.I. 2010. Chemical Compositions, Antiviral and Activities of Seven Essential Oils. Journal of Applied Sciences Research. 6(1); 50-62.Indriaty, F., Assah, Y., Mamahani, S.N. 2015. Serbuk minuman berbasis daging buah pala. Baristand. Manado.Morita, T., Jinni, K., Kawagishi, H., Arimoto, Y., Suganuma, H., Inakuma, T, and Sigiyama, K. 2003. Hepatoprotective Effect or Myristicin from Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) on Lipopolisaccaride/d-galactosamine-induced Liver Injury. J. Agric. Food Chem. 15(6):1.560-1.565.Syarifuddin, I., Kaimudin, M., Torry, R.F., dan Biantoro, R. 2014. Isolasi Trimiristin Minyak Pala Banda Serta Pemanfaatannya Sebagai Bahan Aktif Sabun Jurnal Riset Industri 8(1); 23-31.

Study on ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus removal using sequencing batch reactor Samaneh Alijantabar Aghouzi * Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang Malaysia Thomas S. Y. Choong Sustainable Process Engineering Research Center (SPERC) Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang Malaysia Aida Isma M. I. Centre for Water Research, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment SEGi University, Kota Damansara Malaysia *Corrosponding author’s Email: sam.alijani@gmail.com Peer-review under responsibility of 3rd Asia International Multidisciplanry Conference 2019 editorial board (http://www.utm.my/asia/our-team/) © 2019 Published by Readers Insight Publisher, lat 306 Savoy Residencia, Block 3 F11/1,44000 Islamabad. Pakistan, info@readersinsight.net This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). _________________________________________________________ Research Highlights The highest phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen removal efficiencies were 99.5% and 51%, respectively, in 6 hours. Particle size of sludge reduced from 26 μm to 39.81 μm in 60 days. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that N-O, N–H, S=O and C=N compunds detected. ___________________________________________________________________________ Research Objectives Ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus removal have becoming more rigorous in permits making it one of the most important and most difficult processes to maintain in wastewater treatment plants. Sequencing batch reactor is a controlled activated sludge process that is able to tackle ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus issues and has some benefits such as having a small-scale system and low construction cost (1). The main goal of this research is to investigate the ability of SBR in treating sewage containing phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen in 6 hours to achieve the allowable effluent discharge standard set by the Department of Environment Malaysia. Materials and Methods In this experiment, a sequencing batch reactor with a total volume of 7 L. The mechanical stirrer was used to avoid sludge settling with a speed of 100 rpm. A fine bubble diffuser was used to supply air. The operation time was controlled based on 1 h and 30 mins anaerobic, 2 h and 10 mins anoxic, 1 h and 50 mins aerobic, making the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6 hours. 10 L seed sludge and 30 L raw sewage samples were collected weekly from the sewage treatment plant that was located in Selangor and were kept under 4oC in cold room in order to obtain fresh samples. The sludge volume was 30% of raw sewage volume in the reactor and the reactor refilled with 3.5 liters of raw sewage at the start point of the experiment. The experiment was carried out in room temperature of 27±3 oC with the pH value ranging from 6 to 8 and dissolve oxygen value ranging from 0 to 6 mg/L. Phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen were measured according to the APHA method (2). DO and PH were measured by using DO meter (JPB-70A) and PH meter (CT-6821, Shenzhen Kedida Electronic CO). Results The highest ammonia nitrogen removal efficiencies observed to be 31.9 %, 10.3 % and 38.8 % at the respective phases of anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic, respectively. Results showed that the phosphorus removal efficiencies for anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic phases were 70.43 %, 19.16%, and 98.58%, respectively in 6 hours. The highest phosphorus removal efficiency recorded was 98.58% that took place in the aerobic phase because of the absence of sufficient nitrate which can inhibit phosphorus uptake during the aerobic phase. The most sensitive process is nitrification that helps to biological oxidation of ammonia to nitrate, which is performed by two types of microorganisms, i.e. ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) (3). Karl et al. claimed that toxic substances inhibit the metabolism of bacteria (4). Mino et al. (5) also stated that nitrification process will not be accomplished in anaerobic phase without the presence of nitrate. This will affect the phosphorus uptake in the aeration phase. Findings FTIR spectrum shows that N-O, N–H, S=O and C=N compounds were identified in the sludge. The presence of these compounds might affect the nitrification and denitrification processes and indirectly affecting the degradation the ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus. Sewage sample might also contain heavy metals as the sewage treatment plant was located in the industrial area. Acknowledgment The authors gratefully thank the financial and research support of Universiti Putra Malaysia. References Sathian, S, M Rajasimman, C S Rathnasabapathy, and C Karthikeyan. 2014. “Journal of Water Process Engineering Performance Evaluation of SBR for the Treatment of Dyeing Wastewater by Simultaneous Biological and Adsorption Processes.” Journal of Water Process Engineering 4: 82–90. APHA. Standard Methods For the examination of water and Wastewater 23rd ed. ed. Washington, D.C.2017. Chang HN, Moon RK, Park BG, Lim S, Choi DW. Simulation of sequential batch reactor ( SBR ) operation for simultaneous removal of nitrogen and phosphorus. 2000;23. Karl DM, States U. Nitrogen Cycle ☆. 3rd ed. Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, 3rd Edition. Elsevier Inc.; 2018. 1-10 p. Mino T, Loosdrecht MCM van, Heijnen JJ. Microbiology and biochemistry of the EBPR process. Water Res. 1998;32(11):3193–207.

Agricultural Sciences is an Applied Science but has its touch with social science due to its nature. It uses various kinds of tools, techniques, procedure, methods, principles of science; that is responsible for the cultivation of plants, crops, vegetables, livestock as well as animals. Agriculture is dedicated to the sedentary human civilization and by this people can meet their food demand. As far as the history of agriculture it is noted that agriculture as a concept emerged thousands of years before about 105,000 years ago and regarding the nascent farmers, it was about 11,500 years ago. Initially, animals were not considered within this but gradually various animals such as pigs, sheep and cattle became part of agricultural sciences since 10, 000 years ago. Farming normally considered as the cultivation in a small area whereas Agriculture is treated for a large area with huge place and expenditure. In today’s context, about 11 regions of the world are cultivating commercially. Agriculture as an interdisciplinary field is concerned with various disciplines and subjects; and this trend is growing rapidly. There are diverse areas and emerging nomenclatures emerged in Agriculture viz. Chemical Agriculture, Green revolution & Agriculture, Genetic engineering-based Agriculture, Organic Agriculture /Farming, Corporate Agriculture /Farming, Vertical Farming /Agriculture, etc. This paper is theoretical and empirical in nature. It analyzed various aspects of agriculture with special reference to the aspects, features, role, and emergence of three emerging types of agriculture viz. Organic Agriculture.

AbstractBuilding capacity for carrying out and understanding responsible science that is relevant to local challenges is a key ingredient in the OPCW’s strategy for achieving and maintaining a world free of chemical weapons. Two important contexts for building that capacity for responsible science are (1) the global attention being drawn to the rapidly increasing human chemical footprint on our planet and (2) the pervasive use of digital technologies. We describe an effort coordinated by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to build capacity among young people around the world to harness the power of small mobile chemical sensors to develop data literacy in complex chemical analysis based on measuring analytes that are relevant to their lives and local contexts. This new type of data literacy is an emergent element in educational programs and is key to developing the capacity for decision-making on chemical measurement data. The project brings together student and faculty collaborators from the fields of chemistry, social sciences and informatics, to provide proof of concept in four areas that support the overall goal of building a collective effort for scientific analysis; the development of low cost environmental sensors for air and water samples; the collection of representative test data sets on priority contaminants; the assessment and visualization of data; and education about the effect of priority pollutants on human and environmental health. We report on the project goals and preliminary steps taken to achieve them.

Biogas production considered the most encouraging sources of renewable energy in Sudan. Anaerobic process of digestion is considered as efficient techniques of producing biogas. The process also a trustworthy method for treatment of municipal wastes, and the digested discharge could be utilized as soil conditioner to improve the productivity. This research work states at the option of using domestic sludge of the wastewater treatment plant in Soba municipal station (south of Khartoum-Sudan) to produce biological gas (biogas). A laboratory investigation was carried out using five-liter bioreactor to generate biogas for 30 days. The total volume of gas made was 270.25 Nml with a yield of 20 Nml of biogas/mg of COD removed. Chemical oxygen demand, Biological oxygen demand, & total solids drop produced were 89, 91 & 88.23% respectively. Microbial activity was declined from 1.8x107 (before starting the process of digestion) to 1.1x105 germs/mL (after completion of 30 days of digestion). This study offered a significant energetic opportunity by estimated the power production to 35 KWh.Key word: Sludge, municipal plant, organic material, anaerobic process, breakdown, biological gas potentialNTRODUCTIONIncreasing of urban industries style in the world has given rise to the production of effluents in huge amounts with abundant organic materials, which if handled properly, be able to end in a substantial source of energy. Although of a fact that there is an undesirable environmental effect related with industrialization, the influence can be diminished and energy can be tapped by means of anaerobic digestion of the wastewater (Deshpande et al., 2012). Biological wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is a station for removal of mainly organic pollution from wastewaters. Organic materials are partly transformed into sludge that, with the use of up-to-date technologies, represents an important energy source. Chemical biological, and physical technology applied throughout handling of wastewater produce sludge as a by-product. Recent day-to-day totals, dry solids range from 60–90 g per population equivalent, i.e. EU produces per year 10 million tons of dry sludge (Bodík et al., 2011). Sludge disposal (fertilizers use, incineration, and landfills) is often explored since of increasingly limiting environmental legislation (Fytili and Zabaniotou, 2008). The energy present in sludge is obviously consumed in anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic Process is considering the most appropriate choice for the handling of organic effluents of strong content. This process upgraded in the last few years significantly with the applications of differently configured high rate treatment processes, particularly for the dealing of industrial releases (Bolzonella et al., 2005). Anaerobic process leads to the creation of biological gas with high content of methane, which can be recovered, and used as an energy source, making it a great energy saver. The produced gas volume during the breakdown process can oscillate over a wide range varying from 0.5 – 0.9 m3 kg–1 VS degraded (for waste activated sludge) (Bolzonella et al., 2005). This range rest on the concentration of volatile solids in the sludge nourish and the biological action in the anaerobic breakdown process. The residue after digestion process is stable, odorless, and free from the main portion of the pathogenic microorganism and finally be able to use as an organic nourishment for different application in agriculture. Sludge significant coming out from breakdown which allows to yield a renewable energy, that was cheap, obtainable, & no polluting. Sustainable development considered the production of biogas as environmentally friendly and an economic key (Poh and Chong, 2009).OBJECTIVES Sudan have huge tones of sewage sludge from domestic sewage water is accumulated daily in lagoon of soba sewage treatment plant, so this work, we were carried for energy production and treatment of sludge, which constitutes a plentiful waste which ever know any sort of handling after few years from establishing the station.MATERIALS AND METHODSExperimental apparatus: Anaerobic breakdown was done in five liters fermenter. The fermenter was maintained at 35oC in a thermostatic bath and stirred regularly. U shaped glass tube was connected to the fermenter, allowing the measurement of produced biogas volume and pressure. Water displacement technique was used for determination of the volume of produced biological gas (biogas) at the beginning of each sampling. Testing of the biogas combustibility was determined by connecting one of ends of the tube to a gas collection and storage device (balloon), the other end to a Bunsen burner. In the process of reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to maximum dissolution in the tube the liquid must be a salty saturated acid solution (5% citric acid, 20% NaCl, pH ¼ 2) (Connaughton et al., 2006).Substrate: About 5L sludge containing culture medium were taken from the lowest part of the first settling tank in Soba station. The moisture content of initial substrate was 35%. The collected sample was preserved at 4oC prior to loading the biological reactor (Tomei et al., 2008). Table 1 showed the sludge features in the reactor with a loading rate of 16 g TS/L, (Connaughton et al., 2006; Tomei et al., 2008).Analytical Methods: The pH was controlled by using HANNA HI 8314 model as pH meter device. Assay was used for determination of Alkanility & Volatile fatty acids (Kalloum et al., 2011). The standard method of analysis was used for recognized the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) (Raposo et al., 2009). Titrimetric method was used for analyzing Volatile fatty acids (VFA). Alkalinity assay was used for determination of Total Alkalinity (TA). Oxitop assay was used for measuring the biological oxygen demand. Ignition method was used for measuring Volatile Solids (VS) by losing weight in dry sample at 550oC in the furnace, & Total solids were done to constant weight at 104oC (Monou et al., 2009). A method of water displacement was used for determination of the total volume of Biological gas produced (Moletta, 2005). Microbial species & analyses were determined by microbial standard assay. Sample analysis was done by explore of three replicates and the outcomes were the middling of these replicates. Startup of experiments continues until a bubble of gas was detected.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONMeasurement of pH: Figure 2 exhibited pH trends during 30 days with a drop pattern from 7.0 to 6.0 during the first five days; this was mainly because of the breakdown of organic materials and the development of (VFA). Then later, an increasing pattern in pH was noticed to 6.98, for the next week, then Steadying around this pH level was continued till the completion of the breakdown period which taken 30 days. Those out comes were also reported by other researchers (Raposo et al., 2008)Measurement of VFA: Development of VFA throughout 30 days was depicted in figure 3, an increase in volatile fatty acids up to 1400 mill equivalents per liter (meq/L) in the first ten days. This criterion of making of volatile fatty acid is typical to the researcher’s report of identification of hydrolysis in acidogenesis stage (Parawira et al., 2006). The decline in volatile fatty acids after the tenth day was owing to intake by bacteria which would relate to the stage of acetogenesis.Total alkalinity (TA): During the ten days, we observed rise in volatile fatty acids content followed by a drop in a pH in the same time (figures 4 and 5). Encountered to these alterations, an increase in the total alkalinity in the medium for reestablishing situations of alkalinity to the outbreak of methanogens stage (figure 4). Through all the digestion period the ratio of VFA/TA which was equal and lower than 0.6±0.1 were described in figure 6. These ratios designated the achievability of the procedure despite the essential production of volatile fatty acid (Chen and Huang, 2006; Nordberg et al., 2007). The anaerobic digestion process may be hinder by the production of volatile fatty acid.Biogas production: Pressure measurement and biogas volume were used for controlling biogas production. Figure 7 explained the changing in biogas pressure throughout the digestion period. quality of Biogas was obtained with minimum methane of 40% (Bougrier et al., 2005; Lefebvre et al., 2006). Total volume of biological gas production was 270.25 Nml. The yield of biological gas was 20.25 Nml/mg COD removed, which is in range of the others researcher report (Tomei et al., 2008). Biogas production can be calculated from the following formula (Álvarez et al., 2006): Biogas production= (Total quantity of biogas produced)/(Total solid).The COD and BOD removal: Chemical oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) showed a significant reduction of 89% and 91% respectively (figures 8 and 9). Consequently these reduction in contaminants proved that anaerobic process of digestion was an operational technique for removal of organic pollution. Some researchers reported the same results (Bolzonella et al., 2005; Álvarez et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2006). Another criterion for proving the removal of organic pollutants was reduction of total solids (TS), where the drop approached 88.23% (figure 10). Some researcher’s reports approached the same drop (Hutnan et al., 2006; Linke, 2006; Raposo et al., 2009). Therefore it was possible to conclude that anaerobic digestion necessary showed decrease or reduction of organic pollutants rates because of the transformation of organic substances into biogas and accordingly led to the drop of chemical oxygen demand (COD). This could be explained in figure 11 by the comparison of the two techniques during the anaerobic digestion process. That means the chemical oxygen demand (COD) drop should be tailed essentially by Total solids drop (TS).Microbial activity: Figure 11 showed the microbial variation during anaerobic digestion. The total micro flora (total germs) declined from 1.8x107 (before starting the process of digestion) to1.1x105 germs/mL (after completion of 30 days of digestion). Moreover figure 12 obviously explained what was running during the process of digestion in the reactor, microbial species vanishing after the 30 days such as streptococci and Escherichia coli. Some researchers reports explained that there was some sort of relationship between physicochemical and the biological parameters of micro flora with total solid (TS). figure 13 described obviously this relationship of the drop of micro flora which go along with total solids reduction. This intended that consumption and a declining in the mass residue of organic materials created at the termination of digestion was the outcome of the transformation of organic materials into biological gas and also the sum of microorganism reduction. This attained result proved that the process of anaerobic digestion was a good process for decontamination (Deng et al., 2006; Perez et al., 2006; Davidsson et al., 2007).CONCLUSIONSoba sludge’s municipal station carried in this research paper demonstrated operative for biological gas production (biogas). During the first five days, breakdown of organic materials and the formation of volatile acids were started. Volatile fatty acids increased up to 1400 mill equivalents per liter (meq/L) in the first ten days, then started to decline in after the tenth day this owing to intake by bacteria which would resemble to acetogenesis stage. The biogas production lasted until the 21th day then starting decreasing till the last day (30 day) this due to instability of the culture medium of fermentation which became completely poor. COD and BOD showed a significant reduction of 89% and 91% respectively. Another criteria for proving of removal rate of organic pollutants was reduction of total solids (TS), where the reduction rate approached 88.23%. Total volume of biological gas production was 270.25 Nml. The yield of biological gas was 20.25 Nml/mg COD removed, which is in range of the others researcher report. The total micro flora (total germs) declined from 1.8x107 (before starting the process of digestion) to 1.1x105 germs/mL (after completion of 30 days of digestion). Study proved that process of anaerobic digestion was a good process for decontamination. Industries and will be usefulness for bioremediation in marine environment and petroleum industry.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe authors wish to express their appreciation to Soba treatment plant, for their financial support of this research.CONFLICT OF INTERESTThe authors wish to express their appreciation to Soba treatment plant, for their financial support of this research.REFERENCES Álvarez, J., I. Ruiz, M. Gómez, J. Presas and M. Soto, 2006. Start-up alternatives and performance of an uasb pilot plant treating diluted municipal wastewater at low temperature. Bioresource technology, 97(14): 1640-1649.Bodík, I., S. Sedláček, M. Kubaská and M. Hutňan, 2011. Biogas production in municipal wastewater treatment plants–current status in eu with a focus on the Slovak Republic. Chemical biochemical engineering quarterly, 25(3): 335-340.Bolzonella, D., P. Pavan, P. Battistoni and F. Cecchi, 2005. Mesophilic anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge: Influence of the solid retention time in the wastewater treatment process. Process biochemistry, 40(3-4): 1453-1460.Bougrier, C., H. Carrere and J. Delgenes, 2005. Solubilisation of waste-activated sludge by ultrasonic treatment. Chemical engineering journal, 106(2): 163-169.Chen, T.-H. and J.-L. Huang, 2006. Anaerobic treatment of poultry mortality in a temperature-phased leachbed–uasb system. Bioresource technology, 97(12): 1398-1410.Connaughton, S., G. Collins and V. O’Flaherty, 2006. Psychrophilic and mesophilic anaerobic digestion of brewery effluent: A comparative study. Water research, 40(13): 2503-2510.Davidsson, Å., C. Gruvberger, T. H. Christensen, T. L. Hansen and J. la Cour Jansen, 2007. Methane yield in source-sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste. Waste management, 27(3): 406-414.Deng, L.-W., P. Zheng and Z.-A. Chen, 2006. Anaerobic digestion and post-treatment of swine wastewater using ic–sbr process with bypass of raw wastewater. Process biochemistry, 41(4): 965-969.Deshpande, D., P. Patil and S. Anekar, 2012. Biomethanation of dairy waste. Research journal of chemical sciences, 2(4): 35-39.Fytili, D. and A. Zabaniotou, 2008. Utilization of sewage sludge in eu application of old and new methods—a review. Renewable sustainable energy reviews, 12(1): 116-140.Hutnan, M., M. Drtil and A. Kalina, 2006. Anaerobic stabilisation of sludge produced during municipal wastewater treatment by electrocoagulation. Journal of hazardous materials, 131(1-3): 163-169.Kalloum, S., H. Bouabdessalem, A. Touzi, A. Iddou and M. Ouali, 2011. Biogas production from the sludge of the municipal wastewater treatment plant of Adrar city (Southwest of Algeria). Biomass bioenergy, 35(7): 2554-2560.Lefebvre, O., N. Vasudevan, M. Torrijos, K. Thanasekaran and R. Moletta, 2006. Anaerobic digestion of tannery soak liquor with an aerobic post-treatment. Water research, 40(7): 1492-1500.Linke, B., 2006. Kinetic study of thermophilic anaerobic digestion of solid wastes from potato processing. Biomass bioenergy, 30(10): 892-896.Moletta, M., 2005. Characterization of the airborne microbial diversity of biogas. In: PhD diss. Montpellier 2.Monou, M., N. Kythreotou, D. Fatta and S. Smith, 2009. Rapid screening procedure to optimise the anaerobic codigestion of industrial biowastes and agricultural livestock wastes in cyprus. Waste management, 29(2): 712-720.Nordberg, Å., Å. Jarvis, B. Stenberg, B. Mathisen and B. H. Svensson, 2007. Anaerobic digestion of alfalfa silage with recirculation of process liquid. Bioresource technology, 98(1): 104-111.Parawira, W., M. Murto, R. Zvauya and B. Mattiasson, 2006. Comparative performance of a uasb reactor and an anaerobic packed-bed reactor when treating potato waste leachate. Renewable energy, 31(6): 893-903.Perez, M., R. Rodriguez-Cano, L. Romero and D. Sales, 2006. Anaerobic thermophilic digestion of cutting oil wastewater: Effect of co-substrate. Biochemical engineering journal, 29(3): 250-257.Poh, P. and M. Chong, 2009. Development of anaerobic digestion methods for palm oil mill effluent (pome) treatment. Bioresource technology, 100(1): 1-9.Raposo, F., R. Borja, M. Martín, A. Martín, M. De la Rubia and B. Rincón, 2009. Influence of inoculum–substrate ratio on the anaerobic digestion of sunflower oil cake in batch mode: Process stability and kinetic evaluation. Chemical engineering journal, 149(1-3): 70-77.Raposo, F., R. Borja, B. Rincon and A. Jimenez, 2008. Assessment of process control parameters in the biochemical methane potential of sunflower oil cake. Biomass bioenergy, 32(12): 1235-1244.Tomei, M., C. Braguglia and G. Mininni, 2008. Anaerobic degradation kinetics of particulate organic matter in untreated and sonicated sewage sludge: Role of the inoculum. Bioresource technology, 99(14): 6119-6126.Wang, J., D. Shen and Y. Xu, 2006. Effect of acidification percentage and volatile organic acids on the anaerobic biological process in simulated landfill bioreactors. Process biochemistry, 41(7): 1677-1681.

AbstractDiffusion mechanisms in natural sciences and innovation management involve partial differential equations (PDEs). This is due to their spatio-temporal dimensions. Functional semi-discretized PDEs (with lattice spatial structures or time delays) may be even more adapted to real world problems. In the modeling process, PDEs can also formalize behaviors, such as the logistic growth of populations with migration, and the adopters’ dynamics of new products in innovation models. In biology, these events are related to variations in the environment, population densities and overcrowding, migration and spreading of humans, animals, plants and other cells and organisms. In chemical reactions, molecules of different species interact locally and diffuse. In the management of new technologies, the diffusion processes of innovations in the marketplace (e.g., the mobile phone) are a major subject. These innovation diffusion models refer mainly to epidemic models. This contribution introduces that modeling process by using PDEs and reviews the essential features of the dynamics and control in biological, chemical and new technology transfer. This paper is essentially user-oriented with basic nonlinear evolution equations, delay PDEs, several analytical and numerical methods for solving, different solutions, and with the use of mathematical packages, notebooks and codes. The computations are carried out by using the software Wolfram Mathematica®7, and C++ codes.

Natural products chemistry primarily involves research on organic compounds produced by plants, animals, and microorganisms, and focuses not only on the determination of chemical structures and biosynthesis, but also on chemical synthesis and the development of stereoselective chemical reactions. In recent years, developments have spread to the field of molecular biology in particular, as indicated by the investigation of the relationship between the structure and activity of biologically active substances, in addition to the elucidation of the mechanisms of biological effects at the molecular level. These achievements have facilitated corresponding progress in other related sciences, and have contributed significantly to developments in pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and other industries.Meanwhile, the science of biodiversity focuses on objectives such as the search for active ingredients in organisms and the preservation of species and diversity, from a scientific perspective. These two fields are closely related in their respective focuses on the diversity of organisms and the diversity of metabolic products, and it is for this reason that the respective conferences on biodiversity and natural products chemistry have come to be merged, starting with the preceding event in the series, held in India. I believe that this joint approach is highly beneficial, and sincerely hope that this conference has provided opportunities for exchange of a diverse range of information between the respective researchers and has contributed to further global development of these fields.This conference was held at the Kyoto International Conference Hall on 23-28 July 2006, and was officially sponsored by IUPAC and hosted by the Science Council of Japan jointly with the Chemical Society of Japan, the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, and the Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry. In addition to 17 plenary speakers, lectures were also delivered by 77 invitees of various generations, and 580 posters were presented, primarily by younger delegates, of which 72 were supplemented by oral presentations. In order to broadly examine various topics relating to each aspect of the field of natural products chemistry, discussions were conducted by classifying this diverse field into the following eight themes, thereby promoting interactions between researchers and cooperation between related fields.- Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Natural Products- Synthesis of Natural Products and their Models- Biosynthesis and Genetic Engineering on Natural Products- Spectroscopy in Natural Products Chemistry- Molecular Mode of Action on Natural Products and Drugs- Chemical Biology and Related Areas- Chemistry and Biochemistry Related to Biodiversity- Drug Diversity and DevelopmentsApproximately 1200 participants from 31 countries and regions attended this conference, and exhibits from a total of 26 companies were presented in the concurrently held exhibition. In addition, pre- and post-symposia were held in Nagoya, Tokushima, Sapporo, Sendai, Fukuoka, and Tokyo, and the 48th Symposium of a regular series on the Chemistry of Natural Products (in Sendai) also took advantage of the opportunity to promote more diverse and closer interactions. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the aforementioned hosts, co-hosts, and many other organizations and individuals for their support, without which this conference would not have been possible. Finally, it is my sincere hope that this conference has provided opportunities for the future advancement of natural products chemistry and biodiversity science.Daisuke UemuraChairman, Organizing Committee

The 18th IUPAC International Conference on Chemical Thermodynamics (ICCT-2004), concurrent with the 12th National Conference on Chemical Thermodynamics and Thermal Analysis, was held 17-21 August 2004 at the Fragrant Hill Hotel, Beijing, China. Professor Haike Yan was Conference Chair, Prof. Zhiwu Yu was Conference Co-chair, and Prof. Xibai Qiu was Secretary. The 395 participants came from 40 countries.During the official opening ceremony, there was a presentation of the first Doctorate Awards to be given by the International Association of Chemical Thermodynamics, with sponsorship from Elsevier. The three recipients were Dr. Lin Chen, Tsinghua University, Beijing; Mr. Dirk Wandschneider, University of Rostock, Germany; and Mr. Weiguo Xu, Liaoning University, China. They each received a certificate plus a cash prize of USD 500.The conference began with the Rossini lecture, presented by Prof. Jean-Pierre E. Grolier on "Advanced experimental techniques in polymer thermodynamics". The conference program consisted of eight symposia and three workshops. In Symposium 1, Electrolyte and Nonelectrolyte Solution Thermodynamics, Prof. Emmerich Wilhelm gave the plenary lecture "The fascinating world of pure and mixed nonelectrolytes". There were invited lectures by Profs. Eckhard Vogel, Fumio Hirata, and Takayoshi Kimura. In Symposium 2, New Materials, Prof. C. Richard Catlow presented the plenary lecture "Computational approaches to the catalytic activation of carbon-hydrogen bonds", and invited lectures were given by Profs. Mary Anne White and Vladimir Durov. The plenary lecture in Symposium 3, Phase Equilibrium, Supercritical Fluids, and Separation Technologies, was given by Prof. Pablo Debenedetti on "Thermodynamics of supercooled and glassy water", with invited lectures from Profs. Cornelis Peters and Ding-Yu Peng. Symposium 4, Biological, Medical, Pharmaceutical, Agricultural, and Food Thermodynamics, had as its plenary lecturer Prof. Stephan Grzesiek, who spoke on "Biomolecular interactions in solutions". Professors Lee Hansen and Ichiro Hatta were the invited lecturers.Symposium 5 was on Colloid and Interface Science. Professor Bernard Cabane presented the plenary lecture "Solid-liquid separation", and there were invited lectures from Dr. Gerd Olofsson and Profs. Watson Loh and Xueqin An. The title of Symposium 6 was Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics, Statistical Thermodynamics, and Molecular Simulation. The plenary lecture "Non-equilibrium pattern formation" was presented by Prof. Qi Ouyang, with an invited lecture by Prof. Zhen-Gang Wang. Symposium 7 considered Thermochemistry and Molecular Energetics, with Prof. Michio Sorai, the plenary lecturer, speaking on "Entropy diagnosis for phase transitions occurring in functional materials". Professor Juliana Boerio-Goates gave the invited lecture. Symposium 8 was on Industrial Thermodynamics and Data Bases. Dr. Michael Fenkel gave the plenary lecture on "Global communications and expert systems in thermodynamics: Connecting property measurement and chemical process design". Invited lectures were given by Profs. Pertti Koukkari and Zhoulan Yin.There were three workshops. Prof. Kazuya Saito was invited lecturer for the Workshop on Thermodynamic Frontiers and Education. Professors Joan Brennecke and Andreas Heintz were invited lecturers for the Ionic Liquids Workshop. Professors Joon Won Park and Junko Morikawa gave invited lectures at the Workshop on New Experimental Techniques, including Nanotechnology.In addition, there were over 180 oral presentations, spread over the symposia and workshops, and about 280 poster presentations.The Rossini lecture and plenary lectures, with the exception of the paper by Prof. P. Debenetti where the field was recently reviewed [1,2], are published in this issue, together with the invited paper by Prof. Lee Hansen entitled "A thermodynamic law of adaptation of plants to environmental temperatures". Selected papers from individual symposia will be published in the Journal of Molecular Liquids (Symposium 1), Fluid Phase Equilibria (Symposia 3 and 6), the Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics (Symposia 1, 2, and 7), Thermochimica Acta (Symposium 4), or in the Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data (Workshop on Ionic Liquids).After the previous weeks when it had been very hot and humid, the temperature dropped and the weather was most pleasant for the conference. This change in weather, together with the attractive setting of the hotel, the excellent hospitality, which included a welcome reception, an evening of acrobatics entertainment, a conference banquet in the Summer Palace, and the high standard of the presentations, made this conference memorable. In addition, there was a full program of tours for accompanying persons. Our thanks are extended to the Conference Chair and Co-chair, and to all members of the local Organizing Committee, the International Advisory Committee, and the International Scientific Committee. We are most grateful to IUPAC, the International Association of Chemical Thermodynamics, the China Association for Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences for sponsoring the conference.Thermodynamics will continue to be an important area of research for many years to come, with a wide range of applications from chemical engineering to the biosciences. We look forward to the presentation and discussion of the results of further advances in chemical thermodynamics at the next ICCT, which will take place in Boulder, Colorado in 2006.1. P. G. Debenedetti. J. Phys.: Condens. Mater. 45, R1669-1726 (2003).2. P. G. Debenedetti and H. E. Stanley. Phys. Today 56, 40-46 (2003).J. H. DymondConference Editor

The neem plant (Azadirachta indica) is a herb with the potential as a source of antioxidants. This study aimed to identify compounds that exist in the neem leaf and determine their antioxidant activity. Neem leaf extract was collected by using 80% methanol. Furthermore, methanol extracts from neem leaves with the highest antioxidant activity were partitioned with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and water. This research were analyzed by partition for antioxidant activity, and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-pycrilhydrazil) and the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were determined. The results showed that the ethyl acetate partition had the highest antioxidant activity, with IC50 values of 1.004 µg/ml. Neem leaf extract has the potential for a use as an herbal medicine in the treatment of various diseases..

The evaporation and combustion of a single-component fuel droplet which is moving slowly in a hot oxidant atmosphere have been analysed using perturbation methods. Results for the flow field, temperature and species distributions in each phase, inter-facial heat and mass transfer, and the enhancement of the mass burning rate due to the presence of convection have all been developed correct to second order in the translational Reynolds number. This represents an advance over a previous study which analysed the problem to first order in the perturbation parameter. The primary motivation for the development of detailed analytical/numerical solutions correct to second order arises from the need for such a higher-order theory in order to investigate fuel droplet ignition and extinction characteristics in the presence of convective flow. Explanations for such a need, based on order of magnitude arguments, are included in this article. With a moving droplet, the shear at the interface causes circulatory motion inside the droplet. Owing to the large evaporation velocities at the droplet surface that usually accompany drop vaporization and burning, the entire flow field is not in the Stokes regime even for low translational Reynolds numbers. In view of this, the formulation for the continuous phase is developed by imposing slow translatory motion of the droplet as a perturbation to uniform radial flow associated with vigorous evaporation at the surface. Combustion is modelled by the inclusion of a fast chemical reaction in a thin reaction zone represented by the Burke–Schumann flame front. The complete solution for the problem correct to second order is obtained by simultaneously solving a coupled formulation for the dispersed and continuous phases. A noteworthy feature of the higher-order formulation is that both the flow field and transport equations require analysis by coupled singular perturbation procedures. The higher-order theory shows that, for identical conditions, compared with the first-order theory both the flame and the front stagnation point are closer to the surface of the drop, the evaporation is more vigorous, the droplet lifetime is shorter, and the internal vortical motion is asymmetric about the drop equatorial plane. These features are significant for ignition/extinction analyses since the prediction of the location of the point of ignition/extinction will depend upon such details. This article is the first of a two-part study; in the second part, analytical expressions and results obtained here will be incorporated into a detailed investigation of fuel droplet ignition and extinction. In view of the general nature of the formulation considered here, results presented have wider applicability in the general areas of interfacial fluid mechanics and heat/material transport. They are particularly useful in microgravity studies, in atmospheric sciences, in aerosol sciences, and in the prediction of material depletion from spherical particles.

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has become established as a very efficient and sensitive trace, ultratrace, and surface analytical technique in the life sciences. We have developed a new analytical imaging technique using LA-ICP-MS to study element distribution in biological tissues. Nowadays, LA imaging ICP-MS using double-focusing sector field (LA-ICP-SFMS) or quadrupole-based mass spectrometers (LA-ICP-QMS) can be applied as an exciting tool providing new information on the pathophysiology, pharmacology, and toxicology of elements of interest in biological systems. The quantitative determination of elements (e.g., Cu, Fe, Zn, Se, and others) in biological tissues is of growing interest especially in brain research (e.g., for studying neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease). LA-ICP-SFMS was employed to produce images of detailed regionally specific element distributions in thin tissue sections of different sizes (such as control human or rat brain tissues or tumor regions). In addition, imaging MS using LA-ICP-QMS was applied to study the uptake and transport of nutrient and toxic elements in plant tissues.Besides the quantitative imaging of essential and toxic elements in tissues, powerful analytical techniques are also required for the determination and characterization of phosphoproteins and metal-containing proteins within a large pool of proteins, after electrophoretic separation (e.g., blue native, BN and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE) into 1D and 2D gels. LA-ICP-MS was used to detect metalloproteins in protein bands of 1D gels or protein spots separated after 2D gel electrophoresis (2D-GE). In addition to elemental determination by LA-ICP-MS, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-MS was employed to identify metal-containing proteins. Recent progress will be discussed in applying LA-ICP-MS in the life sciences, including the imaging of thin slices of tissue and applications in proteome analysis in combination with MALDI-MS to investigate phosphoproteins and metal-containing proteins.

AbstractThe paper presents variability of physicochemical parameter concentrations and determined the potential and chemical status of water in the Graniczna Woda stream, the right bank tributary to the Stoła River. The stream catchment area of 41.5 km2 is covered mainly by forests. A lowland stream flows through part of the Upper Silesia Industrial Region through three districts. A biological-mechanical municipal sewage treatment plant operates in the area of Miasteczko Śląskie, as well as a factory sewage treatment plant of Zinc Plant. The data base used in the papers consisted of the results obtained from the Provincial Inspectorate of the Environmental Protection in Katowice, monthly analyses of water samples collected in the years 2009–2013 in the control-measurement points located by the mouth of the Stoła River. 34 physicochemical indices were analyzed in the paper. Statistically significant upward trends were determined over the period of investigations for values of electrical conductivity (EC), total suspended solids, Cl, SO4, NO2-N and Zn in the stream water. Statistically significant downward trend was noted for total hardness. It was stated that both the potential and chemical status o the stream water were below good. Exceeded limit values for quality class II determined for oxygen and organic indices (chemical oxygen demand COD-Mn, total organic carbon TOC), salinity (EC, SO4, Cl, Ca, hardness) and biogenic indices and substances particularly harmful for aquatic environment (Zn, Tl) as well as exceeded allowable heavy metal concentrations may evidence a constant inflow of heavy metals to the aquatic environment of the Graniczna Woda stream from municipal and industrial sewage.

Abstract Isolation of endogenous constituents of foods is generally performed in order to elucidate the biological activity of individual compounds and their role with respect to factors such as organoleptic qualities, health and nutritional benefits, plant protection against herbivores, pathogens and competition, and presence of toxic constituents. However, unless such compounds are unequivocally defined with respect to structure and purity, any biological activity data will be compromised. Procedures are therefore proposed for comprehensive elucidation of food-based organic structures using modern spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques. Also included are guidelines for the experimental details and types of data that should be reported in order for subsequent investigators to repeat and validate the work. Because food chemistry usually involves interdisciplinary collaboration, the purpose is to inform chemists and scientists from different fields, such as biological sciences, of common standards for the type and quality of data to be presented in elucidating and reporting structures of biologically active food constituents. The guidelines are designed to be understandable to chemists and non-chemists alike. This will enable unambiguous identification of compounds and ensure that the biological activity is based on a secure structural chemistry foundation.

The use of energy contained in biogas is an interesting alternative to reconcile renewable electric power generation to environmental sanitation. Among the technologies used for recovering energy from biomass, the anaerobic digestion demonstrates ability to treat solid waste and effluents. This research work aims to analyze the influence of physical and chemical factors on the performance of anaerobic digestion reactors and to perform the characterization of biogas in order to assess their quality. The substrate evaluated is the mixture of liquid waste coming from different industrial processes and poultry manure. The characterization of CH4, CO2, H2S and O2 was performed daily in two reactors, R1 and R2, for a period of three months, and the physical and chemical parameters were analyzed biweekly. The parameters analyzed are carbon (C), nitrogen (N), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), pH, total (TS), volatiles (VS) and fixed solids (FS). Among the results, stands out an average removal of 76% in relation to BOD and H2S concentration of 156.01 for R1, and of 91.64 ppm for R2, and the CH4:CO2 inverse relationship of 3.15 for R1 and 2.98 for R2, during the monitoring period.

Discovery for the advancement of medicine and understanding of life sciences constitutes one of the most powerful ways in which biodiversity can contribute to human society. Bioresources have tremendous potential in providing bioactive compounds for the development of new lead candidates for pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and agrochemicals. Therefore, natural products continue to be an important source of modern drugs in clinical use as an active ingredient, starting material to produce semi-synthetic drugs as well as templates for totally synthetic drugs.The key to success for discovering therapeutic agents from bioresources is based on bioassay-directed isolation techniques. High-throughput screening tests and mechanism-based screening protocols as well as information of folkloric utilization of plants have led to the discovery of lead compounds as drug candidates. Given the current research and development performance associated with the understanding of disease process, there is still a great need for novel compounds with unique mechanisms of action to treat diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, diabetes, etc. The lecture will highlight bioactive compounds arising from the screening of some Turkish plant extracts.Due to human population growth and economic pressure, the loss of the earth’s biodiversity is one of the most pressing environmental and development issues today. IUPAC-approved recommendations for global cooperation on sustainable utilization and conservation of biodiversity will also be presented as the dissemination effort of the recommendation.

Natural fibres are one of the good alternative sources for replacing synthetic fibres and reinforcing polymer matrices because of their eco-friendly nature. The present study was undertaken to investigate the fibres extract from Elettaria Cardamomum plant. The extracted Elettaria Cardamomum fibre was treated with NaOH for softening. Natural cellulose fibres extracted from Elettaria Cardamomum stems (ECS) have been characterized for their chemical composition and physical properties.The chemical composition of Elettaria Cardamomumstems (ECS) fi bres is, cellulose 60.44%, lignin 25.25%, wax 0.53%, ash 5.45%. Regarding physical properties of the fibres, single fibre strength was evaluated and the result was compared with cotton fibre and linen fibre.

Within a local assemblage, ecosystem engineers can have major impacts on population dynamics, community composition and ecosystem functions by transforming or creating new habitats. They act as an ecological filter altering community composition through a set of environmental variables. The impact of ants on their environment has been widely studied, but their multi-component effects (both trophic and non-trophic) have been rarely addressed. We investigated the roles of Messor barbarus , one of the commonest harvester ant species in south-western European Mediterranean grasslands. We analysed soil physico-chemical parameters, above-ground vegetation (e.g. species richness, plant community, micro-local heterogeneity, plant biomass) and above- and below-ground fauna (macrofauna, Collembola, Acari and nematodes). A clear and strong local impact of M. barbarus on soil, vegetation and fauna compartments emerges. The environmental filter is altered by modifications to soil physico-chemical properties, and the biotic filter by changes to plant communities and altered above- and below-ground fauna abundance, occurrence and community structure. The engineering activity of M. barbarus affects not only these separate ecosystem components but also the trophic and non-trophic relationships between them. By altering ecological filters at a local scale, M. barbarus creates habitat heterogeneity that may in turn increase ecological niches in these highly diverse ecosystems.

For a number of years “classical” programs for environmental monitoring are being supplemented by bioindication measures. Investigations on living organisms or their remains (e.g. peat) are used to indicate the environmental situation in either qualitative (bioindication) or quantitative (biomonitoring) terms. This provides pieces of information on environmental burdens of a region at a given point of time or on its changes with time (trend analysis). Classical bioindication often deals with observation and measurements of chemical noxae (both inorganic and organic ones) in well-defined bio-indicator plants or animals (including man). In terms of analytical procedures and results there are parallel developments between progresses in bioindication and innovation in analytical methods. After some 30 years of development in bioindication there are now the following newer lines for further development: 1) more frequent inclusion of multi-element total analyses for a thorough investigation of mutual correlations in the sense of the Biological System of Elements; 2) more work on (analytical) speciation issues to proceed into real effect-oriented environmental sciences; and 3) there should and must be a focus on integrative bioindication methods because for a large number of environmental monitoring problems a single bioindicator will not provide any meaningful information: a single bioindicator is about as good as none at all. Integrative concepts such as the Multi-Markered Bioindication Concept (MMBC) provide basic means to get into precautionary environmental protection effects drawing upon such a second-generation bioindication methodology. The selected case studies in Lithuania illiustrate some new aspects for the development of integrative bioindication consept. Santrauka Jau keletą metų „klasikinės“ aplinkos stebėjimo programos yra papildomos bioindikacinėmis priemonėmis. Atliekami gyvųjų organizmų arba jų liekanų (pvz., durpių) tyrimai, siekiant nustatyti aplinkos būklę kokybiniu (bioindikacija) arba kiekybiniu (biostebėsena) požiūriu. Taip gáunama informacijos apie regiono aplinkos problemas tam tikru metu arba aplinkos pokyčius laikui bėgant (tendencijų analizė). Taikant klasikinę bioindikaciją dažnai stebimos ir organinės, ir neorganinės cheminės medžiagos, matuojamos jų koncentracijos tiksliai nustatytuose bioindikatoriniuose augaluose arba gyvūnuose (taip pat ir žmogaus organizme). Kalbant apie analizines procedūras ir rezultatus, pastebimos panašios bioindikatorių tobulinimo ir naujų analizinių metodų plėtojimo tendencijos. Bioindikacijos plėtrai vykstant jau beveik 30 metų, išskirtinos tam tìkros tolesnės plėtotės tendencijos: 1) atliekant išsamius elementų biologinės sistemos tarpusavio sąsajų tyrimus dažniau pasirenkama kelių elementų bendroji analizė; 2) daugiau dirbama (analizinis darbas) sprendžiant naujų rūšių atsiradimo klausimus siekiant pereiti prie aplinkos mokslų, nukreiptų į tikrąjį poveikį; 3) daugiau dėmesio skiriama kompleksiniams bioindikaciniams metodams, nes esant daugybei aplinkos stebėsenos problemų, pavienis bioindikatorius daug vertingos informacijos neteikia. Kompleksinės koncepcijos, pavyzdžiui, daugiaženklės bioindikacijos koncepcija, remdamosi antrosios kartos bioindikacijos metodika, numato paprastų aplinkos apsaugos prevencijos priemonių. Šiame straipsnyje pateikiami tyrimų, atliktų Lietuvoje, pavyzdžiai iliustruoja kelis naujus aspektus formuojant kompleksinę bioindikacijos koncepciją.

This study aims to analyze the recovery of the agricultural area’s function affected by the Poboya traditional gold mining in supporting the stability of sustainable food supply. We began the research by examining the existing mining land conditions through spatial analysis (land cover and land use changes from 2010 to 2019). Apart from that, it also analyzed the land’s health was through the soil’s physical and chemical properties, especially mercury. The observation proved that changes in the land’s cover and uses lead to decreased land quality and degradation. The existing condition showed heavy metals, particularly mercury, mostly polluted agricultural land in the mining area. The model design produced by this study may 1) emphasize land arrangement; 2) revegetation design with forestry, plantation, and food crops; 3) domesticated plant; and 4) environmental monitoring, concerning monitoring of soil quality, monitoring of erosion and sedimentation, water quality, acid mine drainage, successful revegetation, and others. These four aspects expect to help suppress the rate of land degradation in agriculture located in ex-mining areas and reduce forest destruction in the Grand Forest Park area.

Optimising an existing production plant is a challenging task for companies. Necessary physical test runs disturb running production processes. Simulation models are one opportunity to limit these physical test runs. This is particularly important since today’s fast and intelligent networking opportunities in production systems are in line with the call of Industry 4.0 for substantial and frequent changes. Creating simulation models for those systems requires high effort and in-depth knowledge of production processes. In the current literature, digital twins promise several advantages for production optimisation and can be used to simulate production systems, which reduce necessary physical test runs and related costs. While most companies are not able to create digital twins yet, companies using enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have the general capability to create digital shadows. This paper presents a concept and a case study for a generic simulation of production systems in AnyLogic™ to create digital shadows as the first step towards a full digital twin. The generic simulation visualises production systems automatically and displays key performance indicators (KPIs) for the planned production program, using representational state transfer (REST) interfaces to extract product and production data from an ERP system. The case study has been applied in a learning factory of the University of Applied Life Sciences Emden/Leer. The results prove the presented concept of the generic simulation and show the limits and challenges of working with generic simulation models.

Abstract Post-peat water bodies formed as a result of peat digging for fuel in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century are common in the middle part of Dobrzyńskie Lakeland. In many cases peat was dug almost completely to form small water bodies. In the studied part of the lakeland 56.24 ha or 10.20% of peatland area have been exploited. The share of peatlands in the surface area of particular regions varied from 3.79% to 9.81%. The degree of peat exploitation also varied. Peat coverage of 7.06% was larger than the mean for Poland (3.80%) but close to that in young glacial areas. A group of water bodies formed after peat digging differed in terms of water quality. Physical and chemical properties of waters in studied water bodies are typical of surface and shallow ground waters in young glacial areas. They are fresh waters of a slightly higher content of mineral ions and of neutral to alkaline pH. Their electrolytic conductivity ranged between 300 and 500 μS∙cm-1. Bicarbonates and calcium dominated their ionic composition. Post-peat water bodies were colonised by pleustonic and rush plant communities. Their species composition indicates eutrophic habitat conditions. Despite the fact that post-peat water bodies were formed as a result of intense environmental disturbance, now they increase landscape diversity of the middle part of Dobrzyńskie Lakeland and are habitats of many rare and endangered plant species.

Plasma process is a promising physical method for sterilization. Due to the lack of suitable plasma diagnostics, installed in the reactors, a general lack of knowledge happens about the gas-phase chemical composition and the influence of operating parameters. The same lack of knowledge happens in case of gas plasma generated from different gases, candidates for sterilization purposes. The aim of this work is to understand the role of different agents acting in the sterilization process, evaluate the effectiveness of different precursor gases and validate the plasma reactor dedicated. A plasma reactor, equipped with an extended set of plasma diagnostics is dedicated to the understanding the role of different agents of gas plasma sterilization process. A microbiological investigation is carried out to evaluate the efficiency of the steps of the process on cultures of Escherichia coli, using both hydrogen peroxide and argon. The effects on the colonies of Escherichia Coli are assessed in terms of species present in the chamber, acquiring the spectra resulting from the exposure of the Petri dish to sterilization. With regard to the sterilization action of Peroxide and Argon plasma, CFUs are counted for each significant point of the cycle and survival curves are provided. Differences emerge between Peroxide and Argon plasma, for action mechanisms and sterilization time. The survival curves show a more effective sterilizing action of Argon plasma. A validation is necessary by an appropriate statistic and by considering more resistant microorganisms. Reactor will be used to evaluate different precursor gases and microorganisms. The use of non-corrosive and non-irritating gas, such as argon, for sterilization purpose implies a simplification of the plant equipment. It would be possible to remove the components for the vaporization and concentration of peroxide, and to eliminate the management of the boxes containing discarded peroxide, managed to date as hazardous wastes and to reduce significantly the risk for health professionals.

Abstract The aim of the study was to evaluate an effect of liming on chemical properties of the soil, magnesium content in the meadow vegetation and leachate water moving through the soil profile. The study was conducted in the growing seasons in the years 2012-2014. The study included three plots in two series: with lime and without lime. The plant material was subjected to dry digestion and ash was dissolved in HNO3 (1:3). The soil was mineralized in a muffle furnace and the ashes were dissolved in a mixture of HNO3 and HClO4 (3:1 v/v). In the obtained samples and in leaching water, estimated the content of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and sodium by induction plasma emission spectrophotometer. In the soil content of assimilable phosphorus and potassium was determined by the Egner-Riehm method. The content of assimilable magnesium was determined by the Schachtschabel method and the pH of the soil by potentiometric method in water and in mol KC1·dm-3. Liming positively affected on soil pH and magnesium content in plants increasing its amount of about 15- 21% of dry matter with respect to not limed plots. In turn, lime fertilization negatively affected the content of magnesium in leachate water and the load eluted per unit area. Magnesium content in leachate water and the amount of loads eluted from limed plots were lower on average by 16-23% with respect to not limed plots.

AbstractThe Henaya Irrigated Perimeter (HIP) is an agricultural area irrigated by treated wastewater (TWW) of Ain El Hout treatment plant. Various analyses have shown that i) this water has low concentration of heavy metals and toxic elements, ii) the average values of the physicochemical parameters for 136 samples are satisfactory (29.2 mg O2∙dm−3 for chemical oxygen demands – COD, 13.14 mg O2∙dm−3 for biological oxygen demands – BOD, 14.2 mg∙dm−3 of suspended matter – SM, 1.82 mg∙dm−3 of N-NO3, 7.7 for pH and 927.74 μS∙cm−1 for electric conductivity – EC). Thirdly, it contains a high number of bacteria and nematodes (7200 CFU∙(100 dm3)−1 for faecal coliforms and 30 eggs∙dm−3 for intestinal Nematodes) which makes it dangerous for groundwater contamination.The objective in this work is to characterize the TWW and evaluate the impact of it use for irrigation on the quality of Hennaya groundwater. Before this, one has to prove that there is an amount of TWW that feeds the water table to show that there is a risk of pollution. We then estimated the aquifer minimum recharge value by TWW using the Thormthwaite method. The estimation has given 92 mm which is an important quantity. The results of the groundwater microbiological analyses reveal no sign of contamination. The cause is the efficiency of the degradation of pollutants of the Vadose zone. The soil purifying power Md of the HIP was evaluated by the Rehse method and gave values ranging from 2.1 to 12.7 which indicated a complete purification.