Journal articles on the topic 'Thermo gram'

Tedizolid, a novel oxazolidinone antibacterial with potent activity against a wide range of Gram-positive pathogens, was recently approved by regulatory authorities for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. A commercial broth microdilution device (Sensititre; Thermo Fisher Scientific) was validated using 285 selected Gram-positive isolates, and the device was documented to have 100.0% essential and categorical agreement with reference MIC results and excellent MIC endpoint reproducibility.

Abstract Background Drug resistance in Gram-negative bacteria is of particular concern in children. Relebactam, a novel diazabicyclooctane inhibitor, coupled with imipenem has broad-spectrum activity against β-lactamase producing organisms. Here, we compare the in vitro activity of imipenem-relebactam to 10 standard comparator drugs against resistant Gram-negative isolates from two US pediatric hospitals. Methods We tested 100 isolates (50 per site) from pediatric clinical specimens tested during 2015–2017. All isolates were extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant (ESC-R); more than half were multidrug resistant (67%). Selected ESC-R isolates included Escherichia coli (90), Klebsiella pneumoniae (8), Klebsiella oxytoca (1), and Enterobacter cloacae (1) that were resistant or intermediate to ≥1 cephalosporins and/or aztreonam. A 0.5 McFarland suspension was prepared from colonies grown on blood agar plates (Thermo Scientific) at 35 ± 1°C for 18–24 hours. A final inoculum of 5 × 105 CFU/mL was prepared in Mueller–Hinton broth. Sensititre plates (Thermo Fisher Scientific) containing graded concentrations of imipenem/relebactam and 10 comparator drugs were inoculated and incubated at 35 ± 1°C for 18–24 hours. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using the Sensititre Vizion system (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and endpoints were interpreted using CLSI (2019) breakpoint criteria, with the exception of colistin (EUCAST 2019). Results Selected ESC-R isolates had high rates of resistance to cephalosporins (64%–97%), aztreonam (80%), and levofloxacin (61%). All isolates were susceptible to imipenem/relebactam, imipenem and meropenem (MIC, ≤1 μg/mL for all). The imipenem/relebactam MIC50 (0.06 μg/mL) and MIC90 (0.12 μg/mL) values for ESC-R isolates were within one dilution of MICs of imipenem alone (0.12 μg/mL and 0.25 μg/mL). Among the comparators, colistin, amikacin, and piperacillin/tazobactam demonstrated comparable activities with 100%, 99%, and 94% susceptibilities, respectively. Conclusion Meropenem, imipenem alone and in combination with relebactam exhibited 100% susceptibilities against ESC-R Enterobacteriaceae isolated from pediatric specimens, demonstrating the high potency of carbapenems. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Flame retardant textiles are increasingly in demand. There have been a number of approaches by which textile material is made flame retardant. The plant extracts imparting such properties to lingo-cellulosic material has been studied in this work. The paper reports the application of green coconut ( Cocosnucifera Linn) shell extract which is a natural waste source onto jute fabric. The acidic coconut shell extract was applied in neutral and alkaline conditions on jute fabric in different concentrations. The emerging fabric showed good flame retardant properties which were measured by different standard flammability tests. The limiting oxygen index value found to increase by 48% after application of alkaline coconut shell extract as such and on concentrating the coconut shell extract, it was found to increase 81%. The thermo gravimetric behaviour and degradation mechanism were studied by using thermo gravimetric analysis in nitrogen atmosphere. The presence of different elements, chemical groups and the structural topography of the untreated and coconut shell extract-treated lingo-cellulosic fabric were analysed by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared, Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and phytochemical analysis tests. In addition to the flame retardant property, the treated fabric showed natural colour (measured by colour strength value) and antibacterial property against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria.

In this study, the synthesis of a cerium oxide nanoparticle was carried out from Acalypha indica leaf extract. The synthesized nanoparticle was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) for structural confirmation. The studies clearly indicate that the synthesized CeO 2 nanoparticle is a crystalline material with particle size between 25–30 nm. Further analysis was carried out by Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), to provide evidence for the presence of Ce - O - Ce asymmetry stretching of the CeO 2 nanoparticle. Thermo Gravimetric and Differential Scanning Calorimetry analyses gave the thermal properties of cerium oxide nanoparticles. Antibacterial studies were conducted using the synthesized CeO 2. This result showed increasing rate of antibacterial behavior with gram positive and gram negative bacteria.

Lack of suitable varieties and genotypes of black gram with adaptation to local conditions is among the factors affecting its production. Efforts to genetically improve the crop mostly involve identifying important morphological descriptors followed by development of advanced breeding lines for locale-specific cultivars. The present day available black gram varieties have not been properly characterized for their thermo sensitiveness with respect to morphological and biochemical characters. Hence efforts were taken in the present research to study the effect of the temperature on these characters in seven black gram varieties over different development stages. We aimed at studying the effect of 3 temperature regimes for identifying suitable stress tolerant genotypes. High percent germination (87.2%), root length (3.68 cm), carbohydrate content (3.72 mg g−1 fresh tissue) among the genotypes was highest at 10°C–20°C temperature. High shoot length (13.39 cm), free amino acid content (3.73 mg g−1 fresh tissue), and protein content (9.54 mg g−1 fresh tissue) was found to be present when the genotypes were exposed to 20°C–30°C temperature. The black gram varieties J.L and PDU-1 performed best in all the temperature regimes over characters. Thus suitable varieties for all temperature regimes were identified using biochemical analysis.

Bis-thiourea strontium chloride was synthesized and single crystals were grown by the slow solvent evaporation technique using aqueous solvent. The solubility curve was obtained and the determination of the induction period as well as the evaluation of kinetic parameters of nucleation was carried out. The powder XRD analysis suggested orthorhombic crystal structure. The FT-IR spectrum confirmed the presence of various functional groups. The thermo-gravimetry analysis was carried out and the crystals were found to be stable up to 170°C. Applying Coats and Redferm relation to the thermo-gram, the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of dehydration were calculated. The dielectric study was carried out in the frequency range of applied field from 500 Hz to 1 MHz. The variations of dielectric constant, dielectric loss, AC resistivity and AC conductivity were studied with frequency. It was found that the dielectric constant and the dielectric loss decreased as the frequency of applied field increased, whereas the AC resistivity increased as the frequency increased.

Rapid identification of bloodstream pathogens by MALDI-TOF MS and the recently introduced rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (rAST) directly from positive blood cultures allow clinicians to promptly achieve a targeted therapy, especially for multidrug resistant microorganisms. In the present study, we propose a comparison between phenotypical rASTs performed in light-scattering technology (Alfred 60AST, Alifax®) and fluorescencein situhybridization (Pheno™, Accelerate) directly from positive blood cultures, providing results in 4–7 hours. Blood samples from 67 patients admitted to the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana were analyzed. After the direct MALDI-TOF MS identification, the rAST was performed at the same time both on Alfred 60AST and Pheno. Alfred 60AST provided qualitative results, interpreted in terms of clinical categories (SIR). Pheno provided identification and MIC values for each antibiotic tested. Results were compared to the broth microdilution assay (SensiTitre™, Thermo Fisher Scientific), according to EUCAST rules. Using Alfred 60AST, an agreement was reached, 91.1% for Gram-negative and 95.7% for Gram-positive bacteria, while using Pheno, the agreement was 90.6% for Gram-negative and 100% for Gram-positive bacteria. Both methods provided reliable results; Alfred 60AST combined with MALDI-TOF MS proved itself faster and cheaper. Pheno provided identification and MIC determination in a single test and, although more expensive, may be useful whenever MIC value is necessary and where MALDI-TOF MS is not present.

Regadenoson and Fosphenytoin are USFDA approved drugs which is used for coronary vasodilator and convulsive status epileptics respectively. It is quite natural that low levels of reagents or side products are present in the final active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) or drug product as impurities. Such impurities may have unwanted toxicities, including genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. Hence, it is important to study on impurities present in both the drugs. There are 9 impurities were identified from both drugs and studied pharmacokinetic properties using Qikprop module from Schrödinger software. From the 9 compounds of both the drug’s impurities, 5 compounds obey the Lipinski rule of five and the remaining compounds are having 1 to 3 penalties. All the compounds were subjected to molecular docking study with thermo stabilised HUMAN A2A Receptor with adenosine bound protein (PDB ID: 2YDO) for regadenoson impurities and fosphenytoin impurities were docked with Human GABA-A receptor alpha1-beta2-gamma2 subtype in complex with GABA and flumazenil, conformation A protein (PDB id: 6D6U). All the compounds are showed very good interaction with docked proteins. Further selected compound subjected to in vitro Antibacterial (Gram positive, Gram negative), Antifungal and Antioxidant (DPPH and FRAP) studies.

There is a significant interest in developing environmentally responsive or stimuli-responsive smart materials. The purpose of this study was to investigate multi-function responsive cotton fabrics with surface modification on the nanoscale. Three technologies including electrospinning technology, interpenetrating polymer network technology, and cross-linking technology were applied to prepare the multi-function sericin/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/Poly(ethylene oxide) nanofibers, which were then grafted onto the surfaces of cotton textiles to endow the cotton textiles with outstanding stimuli-responsive functionalities. The multi-function responsive properties were evaluated via SEM, DSC, the pH-responsive swelling behavior test and contact angle measurements. The results demonstrate that with this method, multi-function responsive, including thermo- and pH-responsiveness, cotton fabrics were fast formed, and the stimuli-responsiveness of the materials was well controlled. In addition, the antimicrobial testing reveals efficient activity of cotton fabrics with the sericin/PNIPAM/PEO nanofiber treatments against Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The research shows that the presented strategy demonstrated the great potential of multi-function responsive cotton fabrics fabricated using our method.

Introduction: Saquarema Lagoon (RJ) has a high ecological and economic value owing to its multiple uses. The population’s constant growth increases the amount of sewage containing bacteria and antimicrobial drugs that are discharged to the environment. Objectives: to detect Gram negative bacilli able to colonize or infect humans and animals and determine their antimicrobial resistance profiles. Methodology:samples were collected in the city centre in April 2010 and at Jaconé (Lagoon’s most preserved site) in February 2011. The total and thermo tolerant coliforms were determined and the isolation of samples was made using agar media containing 32cg/ mL of cephalotin. All samples were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility (AST) and on 16 samples, plasmid DNA was extracted. Results: different Gram negative bacteria were detected, such as: Enterobacter spp, Citrobacter freundii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The coliform results showed that the water quality is proper for Human recreation. AST results demonstrated the existence of bacteria resistant to antimicrobial drugs frequently used in the community. It was possible to detected high molecular weight plasmids and nine samples (56,25%) showed at least one plasmid DNA electrophoresis band. Conclusions: there were not detected resistant samples to antimicrobial drugs normally used in hospital settings, which may possibly refute the idea of a contamination by nosocomial and/or veterinary sewage discharge.

Pathogenic enteric viruses are released from infected persons through domestic wastewater to the environment. From that point of view, the knowledge of the viral behavior in wastewater purifying process is important: it is, however, still poorly understood. In this study, we reported the adhesion of Poliovirus to activated sludge samples taken from wastewater purifying plants by using a model system. More than 108 particles adhered to one gram (wet) of activated sludge, and the adhered viral particles maintained infectivity for longer period of time and showed higher thermo-resistant than the free viral particles. The adhered viral particles were released by increase of salt concentration or alkaline pH buffer as infectious particles. The data suggest that pathogenic viruses could be enriched and maintain the infectivity in the activated sludge, and released to environments under certain conditions.

Exploitation of extremophiles as novel bioactive compounds sources has been increasing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity and the class of antibiotic produced by a thermo-halophilic isolate PLS 76, as well as to identify the genotype of the isolate. The activity was determined by a disc diffusion method, while the antibiotic class was determined qualitatively by chemical reactions using ninhydrin, iodine vapour and potassium iodine. The genotype was determined by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene fragment and the phylogenetic tree from the sequence data. The results showed that PLS 76 was a Gram-negative bacterium and able to produce polypeptide antibiotic, which showed a slight activity on E. coli and S. aureus. Sequence alignment of the 16S rRNA gene fragment showed that PLS 76 was most related to Geobacillus kaustophilus. These results may be used to utilise the isolated for further antibiotic study.

ABSTRACTAntimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of cefiderocol poses challenges because of its unique mechanism of action (i.e., requiring an iron-depleted state) and due to differences in interpretative criteria established by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST). Our objective was to compare cefiderocol disk diffusion methods (DD) to broth microdilution (BMD) for AST of Gram-negative bacilli (GNB). Cefiderocol AST was performed on consecutive carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE; 58 isolates) and non-glucose-fermenting GNB (50 isolates) by BMD (lyophilized panels; Sensititre; Thermo Fisher) and DD (30 μg; research-use-only [RUO] MASTDISCS and FDA-cleared HardyDisks). Results were interpreted using FDA (prior to 28 September 2020 update), EUCAST, and investigational CLSI breakpoints (BPs). Categorical agreement (CA), minor errors (mE), major errors (ME), and very major errors (VME) were calculated for DD methods. The susceptibilities of all isolates by BMD were 72% (FDA), 75% (EUCAST) and 90% (CLSI). For DD methods, EUCAST BPs demonstrated lower susceptibility at 65% and 66%, compared to 74% and 72% (FDA) and 87% and 89% (CLSI) by HardyDisks and MASTDISCS, respectively. CA ranged from 75% to 90%, with 8 to 25% mE, 0 to 19% ME, and 0 to 20% VME and varied based on disk, GNB, and BPs evaluated. Both DD methods performed poorly for Acinetobacter baumannii complex. There is considerable variability when cefiderocol ASTs are interpreted using CLSI, FDA, and EUCAST breakpoints. DD offers a convenient alternative approach to BMD methods for cefiderocol AST, with the exception of A. baumannii complex isolates.

From their discovery, antibiotics have significantly improved clinical treatments of infections, thus leading to diminishing morbidity and mortality in critical care patients, as well as surgical, transplant and other types of medical procedures. In contemporary medicine, a significant debate regarding the development of multi-drug resistance involves all types of pathogens, especially in acute care hospitals due to suboptimal or inappropriate therapy. The possibility of nanotechnology using nanoparticles as matrices to encapsulate a lot of active molecules should increase drug efficacy, limit adverse effects and be an alternative helping to combat antibiotic resistance. The major aim of this study was to obtain and to analyze physico-chemical features of chitosan used as a drug-delivery system in order to stop the antibiotic resistance of different pathogens. It is well known that World Health Organization stated that multidrug resistance is one of the most important health threats worldwide. In last few years, nano-medicine emerged as an improved therapy to combat antibiotic-resistant infections agents. This work relies on enhancement of the antimicrobial efficiency of ceftriaxone against gram(+) and gram(−) bacteria by antibiotic encapsulation into chitosan nanoparticles. Physicochemical features of ceftriaxone-loaded polymer nanoparticles were investigated by particle size distribution and zeta potential, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TG/TGA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) characteristics techniques. The obtained results revealed an average particle size of 250 nm and a zeta potential value of 38.5 mV. The release profile indicates an incipient drug deliverance of almost 15%, after 2 h of approximately 83%, followed by a slowed drug release up to 24 h. Characteristics peaks of chitosan were confirmed by FTIR spectra indicating a similar structure in the case of ceftriaxone-loaded chitosan nanoparticles. A good encapsulation of the antibiotic into chitosan nanoparticles was also provided by thermo-gravimetric analysis. Morphological characteristics shown by SEM micrographs exhibit spherical nanoparticles of 30–250 nm in size with agglomerated architectures. Chitosan, a natural polymer which is used to load different drugs, provides sustained and prolonged release of antibiotics at a specific target by possessing antimicrobial activity against gram(+) and gram(−) bacteria. In this research, ceftriaxone-loaded chitosan nanoparticles were investigated as a carrier in antibiotic delivery.

Purpose This study aims to explore the incorporation of the authors previously prepared chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) of size around 60-100 nm in the cross-linking formulation of viscose fabrics to see CNPs impact in terms of imparting multi-functional characteristics such as tensile strength, dry wrinkle recovery angles and antibacterial properties. Design/methodology/approach CNPs of size around 60-100 nm were incorporated in cross-linking formulations for viscose fabrics, including different concentrations of glutaraldehyde as a non-formaldehyde cross-linking agent and magnesium chloride hexahydrate as a catalyst. The formulations were applied at different curing times and temperatures in 100 mL distilled water, giving rise to a wet pickup of ca. 85 per cent. The fabrics were dried for 3 min at 85°C and cured at specified temperatures for fixed time intervals in thermo fixing oven according to the traditional pad-dry-cure method. Findings The above eco-friendly method for finished viscose fabrics was found to obtain high dry wrinkle recovery angle and maintain the tensile strength of the finished fabric within the acceptable range, as well as antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as a gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, respectively. Both, scanning electron microscope and nitrogen percent on the finished fabric confirm the penetration of CNPs inside the fabric structure. Finally, viscose fabrics pageant antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria assessed even after 20 washing cycle. Research limitations/implications CNPs with its flourishing effect with respect to cationic nature, biodegradability, reactivity, higher surface area and antimicrobial activity; in addition to glutaraldehyde as non-formaldehyde finishing agent can be used as multi-functional agents for viscose fabrics instead of DMDHEU, polyacrylate and monomeric composites as hazardous materials. Practical implications CNPs as cationic biopolymers were expected to impart multi-functional properties to viscose fabrics especially with obtaining reasonable dry wrinkle recovery angle and tensile strength in addition to antibacterial properties. Originality/value The novelty addressed here is undertaken with a view to impart easy care characteristics and antibacterial activities onto viscose fabrics using CNPs as antimicrobial agent and glutaraldehyde as non-formaldehyde durable press finishes to-replace the traditional formaldehyde-based resins. Besides, to the authors’ knowledge, there is no published work so far using the above cross-linking formulation written above.

Yield of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) depends on numerous process parameters such as temperature of synthesis, type of catalyst, type of precursor, time of precursor flow and partial pressure of precursor gas as well as carrier gas, etc. Experiments were performed in order to find the optimum temperature of synthesis for varying time of precursor flow. The yield was evaluated in terms of mass of crystalline CNTs per gram of substrate and/or catalyst. The CNTs were grown on a calcium carbonate (CaCO3) substrate, with iron-cobalt (Fe-Co) as a catalyst, using acetylene (C2H2) as a precursor gas and argon (Ar) as a carrier gas. A three-stage purification process, incorporating two acid treatment steps and one annealing step, was used for purification which ensures high grade purity of CNTs. The highest yield of 21.4 g of CNTs per g of catalyst was achieved at 700oC for 60 min of synthesis. The CNTs were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman, Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), and Gas chromatography (GC).

Olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS) is a multifactorial disease affecting olive plants. The onset of this economically devastating disease has been associated with a Gram-negative plant pathogen called Xylella fastidiosa (Xf). Liquid chromatography separation coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry detection is one the most widely applied technologies in metabolomics, as it provides a blend of rapid, sensitive, and selective qualitative and quantitative analyses with the ability to identify metabolites. The purpose of this work is the development of a global metabolomics mass spectrometry assay able to identify OQDS molecular markers that could discriminate between healthy (HP) and infected (OP) olive tree leaves. Results obtained via multivariate analysis through an HPLC-ESI HRMS platform (LTQ-Orbitrap from Thermo Scientific) show a clear separation between HP and OP samples. Among the differentially expressed metabolites, 18 different organic compounds highly expressed in the OP group were annotated; results obtained by this metabolomic approach could be used as a fast and reliable method for the biochemical characterization of OQDS and to develop targeted MS approaches for OQDS detection by foliage analysis.

Olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS) is a multifactorial disease affecting olive plants. The onset of this economically devastating disease has been associated with a Gram-negative plant pathogen called Xylella fastidiosa (Xf). Liquid chromatography separation coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry detection is one the most widely applied technologies in metabolomics, as it provides a blend of rapid, sensitive, and selective qualitative and quantitative analyses with the ability to identify metabolites. The purpose of this work is the development of a global metabolomics mass spectrometry assay able to identify OQDS molecular markers that could discriminate between healthy (HP) and infected (OP) olive tree leaves. Results obtained via multivariate analysis through an HPLC-ESI HRMS platform (LTQ-Orbitrap from Thermo Scientific) show a clear separation between HP and OP samples. Among the differentially expressed metabolites, 18 different organic compounds highly expressed in the OP group were annotated; results obtained by this metabolomic approach could be used as a fast and reliable method for the biochemical characterization of OQDS and to develop targeted MS approaches for OQDS detection by foliage analysis.

Background and aims Fish by-products are generally used to produce fishmeal or fertilizers, with fish oil as a by-product. Despite their importance, fish wastes are still poorly explored and characterized and more studies are needed to reveal their potentiality. The goal of the present study was to qualitatively characterize and investigate the antimicrobial effects of the fish oil extracted from Salmo salar waste samples and to evaluate the potential use of these compounds for treating pathogen infections. Methods Salmo salar waste samples were divided in two groups: heads and soft tissues. Fatty acids composition, and in particular the content in saturated (SAFAs), mono-unsaturated (MUFAs) and Polyunsaturated (PUFAs) fatty acids, was characterized through GC/MS Thermo Focus GC-DSQ II equipped with a ZB-5 fused silica capillary tubes column. The antimicrobial activity of the salmon waste oils was evaluated through the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration assay and the antibiotics contamination was determined by Liquid Chromatography with tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. All experiments were done at least in triplicate. Results GC/MS analysis has shown the specific fatty acid composition of the salmon waste oils and their enrichment in MUFAs and PUFAs, with special reference to omega-3, -6, -7, -9 fatty acids. Furthermore, our study has highlighted the antimicrobial activity of the fish waste oil samples against two Gram+ and Gram- bacterial strains. Conclusions These data confirm that the fish waste is still quantitatively and qualitatively an important source of available biological properties that could be extracted and utilized representing an important strategy to counteract infective diseases in the context of the circular economy.

Abstract This work was carried out to evaluate in vitro antimicrobial activity of cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) and clove essential oil (Eugenia caryophyllata) on Prevotella albensis (DSM 11370), Prevotella bryantii (DSM 11371) and Prevotella ruminicola (ATCC® 19189™). The experiments were designed using each bacterium exposed to two different doses (1:500 and 1:5000 g/L on Tween) of either clove oil or CNSL and with six replicates. Bacteria were cultivated on Hobson’s M2 medium in Hungate tubes. Cultures without addition of any oils were considered as control. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated using Spectrophotometer Evolution 201 UV-visible (Thermo Scientific) at 600 nm. Readings were performed at 0, 8, 12 and 24 hours after inoculation. Data were analysed using linear mixed models and NLME Procedure in R software. Both clove oil and CNSL had an inhibitory effect against the tested bacteria. However, each bacterium responded differently to the treatment. Clove oil decreased (P < 0.05) the microbial growth of P. ruminicola (-32% and -31%) when doses 1:500 and 1:5000 were used. However, there was no effect of clove oil P. bryantii and P. albensis. The use of CNSL reduced growth of P. albensis (-38 and -41%), P. bryantii (-44% and 52%) and P. ruminicola (-41 and -52%), when doses 1:500 and 1:5000, respectively. These results demonstrate the effect of clove oils and CNSL to inhibit growth of gram negative ruminal bacteria. These results provide a prospect of the use of both products to modulate the rumen. For example, the Prevotellaceae family is responsible to degrade protein, amino acid deamination and formation of volatile fatty acids in the rumen. Thus, CNSL and clove oils have potential to modulate the ruminal fermentation by having antibacterial activity against gram negative bacteria.

A thermo-acidophilic Gram-positive bacterium, strain CsHg2T, which grows aerobically at 35–65 °C (optimum 55 °C) and at pH 2·0–6·0 (optimum 4·0), was isolated from a geothermal pool located in Coso Hot Springs in the Mojave Desert, California, USA. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that this bacterium was most closely related to the type strains of Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius (97·8 % identity) and Alicyclobacillus sendaiensis (96·9 %), three Japanese strains denoted as UZ-1, KHA-31 and MIH 332 (96·1–96·5 %) and Alicyclobacillus genomic species FR-6 (96·3 %). Phenotypic characteristics including temperature and pH optima, G+C composition, acid production from a variety of carbon sources and sensitivity to different metal salts distinguished CsHg2T from A. acidocaldarius, A. sendaiensis and FR-6. The cell lipid membrane was composed mainly of ω-cyclohexyl fatty acid, consistent with membranes from other Alicyclobacillus species. Very low DNA–DNA hybridization values between CsHg2T and the type strains of Alicyclobacillus indicate that CsHg2T represents a distinct species. On the basis of these results, the name Alicyclobacillus vulcanalis sp. nov. is proposed for this organism. The type strain is CsHg2T (ATCC BAA-915T=DSM 16176T).

The increasing concern about antibiotic-resistance has led to the search for alternative antimicrobial agents. In this effort, different metal oxide nanomaterials are currently under investigation, in order to assess their effectiveness, safety and mode of action. This study focused on CuO nanoparticles (CuO NPs) and was aimed at evaluating how the properties and the antimicrobial activity of these nanomaterials may be affected by the interaction with ligands present in biological and environmental media. Ligands can attach to the surface of particles and/or contribute to their dissolution through ligand-assisted ion release and the formation of complexes with copper ions. Eight natural amino acids (L-Arg, L-Asp, L-Glu, L-Cys, L-Val, L-Leu, L-Phe, L-Tyr) were chosen as model molecules to investigate these interactions and the toxicity of the obtained materials against the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 35984. A different behavior from pristine CuO NPs was observed, depending on the aminoacidic side chain. These results were supported by physico-chemical and colloidal characterization carried out by means of Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and light scattering techniques (Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Electrophoretic Light Scattering (ELS) and Centrifugal Separation Analysis (CSA).

Abstract This study was realized to evaluate de effect of a blend of vegetable oils and active ingredients (Ruminatus® - safeeds@safeeds.com.br) on ruminal population density of Ruminococcus albus, Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Streptococcus bovis. The blend contained clove (Eugenia caryophyllata), castor (Ricinus communis) and cashew (Anacardium occidentale) oils and microencapsulated active ingredients (eugenol, thymol and vanillin). The experiments were designed using each bacteria exposed to doses of 1.5; 3.0; 4.5 and 6.0 mg/ml of the product and with six replicates. Bacteria were cultivated on Hobson’s M2 medium in Hungate tubes. Cultures cultivated without the addition of any oils were considered as control. Bacteria were cultivated overnight and freshly inoculated into new tubes containing medium. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated using a Spectrophotometer Evolution 201 UV-visible (Thermo Scientific) at 600 nm. Readings were performed at 0, 8, 12 and 24 hours after inoculation. Data were analyzed using the linear mixed models and the NLME Procedure in R software. The blend had no effect (P < 0.05) on growth of R. albus and R. flavefaciens. On the other hand, S. bovis was affected by all inclusion of the blend (P < 0.05). These results provide evidence of the potential of oils to modulate the ruminal environment. Such feature can impact nutrient metabolism and, consequently, production of volatile fatty acids. Therefore, the use of a blend of clove, castor and cashew essential oils and microencapsulated active ingredients (eugenol, thymol and vanillin) used influenced the growth of gram-positive bacteria.

Most air conditioners utilize vapor compression refrigeration cycle in their operation. In this cycle, the compressor is deployed to circulate the refrigerant from low to high pressures. Lubrication is an important aspect in the compressor to lubricate internal parts. Due to their remarkable properties in the thermo-physical and heat transfer capabilities, nanoparticles have prospect to be applied in the refrigeration and air conditioning system. The reliability and solubility nanoparticle of TiO2 in refrigeration systems have been investigated by several by several researchers. By introducing TiO2 nanoparticle in the lubricant, the friction coefficient and input power of the compressor can be decreased. An air conditioner with cooling capacity of 2.5 kW is utilized in the experiment. Five different concentrations of nanoparticle in the lubricant, viz.: 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6 gram of TiO2 in one liter of lubricant were mixed using a magnetic stirrer. After 10 days, TiO2 nanoparticles in the lubricant were observed its solubility. Furthermore, based on their solubility, TiO2 nanoparticle with concentration of 0.2 g/L was selected in the experiments. The results show that the air conditioner using R290 with TiO2 nanoparticle in the lubricants works normally and the input power of the air conditioner decreases about 3.1% and the cooling capacity and the COP increase about 5.1% and 8.4%, respectively, compared to the system without nanoparticle in the lubricant.

Tungkal Composite Jambi Liberika Coffee is one of the top qualities of Indonesian coffees that has received a geographic indication certificate (IGs). With its limited production and high prices, currently Tungkal Jambi Liberika coffee is one of the coffees that is prone to being counterfeited. The counterfeiting of Tungkal Jambi Liberika coffee is increasingly difficult to identify, especially in the form of ground roasted coffee. This study evaluated the potential application of UV spectroscopy technology to classify Tungkal Jambi Liberika coffee (with geographic indications) and normal Probolinggo Liberika coffee (non- geographic indications). A total of 120 samples for each Liberika coffee were prepared weighing 1 gram for each sample. Spectra measurements were carried out in the form of a coffee solution. Spectral data were taken using a UV-visible spectrometer with a wavelength interval of 200-400 nm (Genesys™ 10S UV-Vis, Thermo Scientific, USA). By using the average transformed spectra in the 250-350 nm interval, the differences between the two types of Liberika coffee can be clearly seen, especially at some wavelength peaks, namely 270 nm, 300 nm, 315 nm and 346 nm. The classification accuracy obtained for the SIMCA classification is 100% for both Tungkal Jambi Liberika and Probolinggo Liberika coffee. Keywords: authentication, classification accuracy, Tungkal Jambi Liberika coffee, SIMCA, UV Spectroscopy

Bacteriocins are proteinaceous antimicrobial substances produce by bacteria against closely related bacterial species. However their broad spectrum inhibitory activity has been observed against other microorganisms such as fungi. The aim of this study was to isolate and determine physical, chemical and biological characteristics of bacteriocin from B. cereus of soil origin. A Gram-positive spore forming bacilli coded as CF1 was isolated by pour plating technique from the soil sample of the cereal farm land of Kura local government area, Kano State Nigeria and identified as Bacillus cereus based on cultural, microscopic and biochemical characteristics. Bacteriocin was isolated from this B. cereus and partially purified by solvent method (cold acetone) and had broad spectrum inhibitory activity with MIC of 64 AU/ ml. This bacteriocin was thermo stable up to 121°C for 15 minutes and its activity was maintained at wider pH value of 2-12. Although, the bacteriocin isolated by this B. cereus was not affected by some chemical such as Urea, EDTA and Tween 80, other chemical such as SDS and trypsin enzyme deactivated its activity. It is therefore recommended that further studies be carryout on this bacteriocin to purify the bacteriocin using Poly Acryl Amide Gel Electrophoresis PAGE and to elucidate its sequence, to determine its molecular conformation and antibacterial activity on multi drug resistant pathogens. Key words: Bacteriocin, Bacillus cereus, Broad spectrum, Tween 80 and Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate.

ABSTRACT: Pseudomonas, the main genus of gram-negative microorganisms isolated from milk, is psychrotrophic, biofilm-forming, and thermo-resistant deteriorating enzyme producers. The aim of this study was to quantify Pseudomonas spp. in goat’s and cow’s milk produced in the Paraná state, Brazil, to evaluate the deteriorating activity of the isolates at mesophilic and psychrotrophic conditions and to identify, at the species level, the isolates with alkaline metalloprotease (aprX gene) production potential. Microbiological, biochemical and molecular methods were used for isolating, confirming and identifying of isolates. The mean counts were 1.6 (±6.3)x104 and 0.89(±3)x102 CFU/mL for goat and bovine milk samples, respectively, immediately after milking. Of the Pseudomonas colonies isolated from goat milk (n=60), 91.7% showed proteolytic potential when incubated at 35°C/48 h and 80% at 7°C/10 days, and lipolytic potential was observed in 95% of the isolates incubated in mesophilic and 78.3% at refrigeration conditions. From the isolates of bovine milk (n=20), 35% showed proteolytic activity only when incubated at 35°C/48 h, and lipolytic potential was observed in 25% of the isolates incubated at 7°C/10d and 35°C/48h. It was observed that 83.3% and 25% of the isolates genetically confirmed as Pseudomonas spp. of goat and bovine milk showed the potential for alkaline metalloprotease production, with the species P. azotoformans, P. koreensis, P. gessardii, P. monteilii and P. lurida being the most frequent in goat milk and P. aeruginosa the only species identified in cow milk.

India is an agrarian country two-thirds of its population is engaged directly or indirectly in agricultural activities. In recent years many food borne pathogens have become major threat to public health and safety. The consumption of contaminated food grains or products has been considered to be the leading source of human food borne infections. Surveillance studies have provided data and a better understanding into the existence and spread of food borne pathogens. Aflatoxins produced by Aspergillus species are important toxic secondary metabolites known for their impacts on animal and human health, and their effects on the economic loss of key grain and nut crops. Several molecular techniques (including multilocus sequence typing, pulsed field gel electrophoresis, DNA sequencing, multiplex PCR, RAPD, and many more) are available for detection and characterisation of pathogenic microorganisms from food samples, which provide reliable epidemiological data for tracing the source of infections. Present study highlights the possible use of PCR technique, in surveillance and detection of A. flavus in fungal infested food grains. The current study was carried out to elucidate the infestation of aflatoxin producing fungus on both kharif (groundnut, rice and maize) and Rabi crops (wheat, gram and soybean). Total 15 samples were collected randomly from local market of Gwalior (M.P). Out of fifteen only nine (60%) samples were found to be Aspergillus positive. Seven samples were infested by Aspergillus flavus and two by A. niger. The selected fungal isolates were identified by amplifying aflR gene of A. flavus in Thermo Cycler.

An obligately alkaliphilic, anaerobic, thermo- and halotolerant, spore-forming bacterium was isolated from sediments of soda lake Magadi (Kenya) and designated strain Z-1001T. Cells of strain Z-1001T were straight, Gram-positive rods, slowly motile. Strain Z-1001T was found to be an obligate anaerobe. It grew within a pH range from 7.5 to 10.7 with an optimum at 9.25–9.5 (at 40 °C), a temperature range from 20 to 57 °C with an optimum at 45–50 °C, and a NaCl concentration range from 0 to 1.55 M with an optimum at 1.2–1.4 M. Peptides, such as meat and yeast extracts, peptone and tryptone, were fermented by Z-1001T. Carbohydrates did not support growth. With yeast extract as an electron donor, strain Z-1001T reduced S 2 O 3 2 − , NO 3 − , AsO 4 3 − , Fe(III) citrate and anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) as electron acceptors. The isolate was able to grow oligotrophically with a very small amount of yeast extract: 0.03 g l−1. The main fatty acids were C16 : 0, C16 : 1ω7c , C18 : 0 and C18 : 1ω9. The DNA G+C content of the isolate was 35.6 mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain Z-1001T is a member of family Natranaerobiaceae , clustering with the type strain of Natranaerobius thermophilus (95.8–96.0 % sequence similarity). On the basis of physiological and phylogenetic data it is proposed that strain Z-1001T ( = DSM 24923T = VKM B-2666T) represents a novel genus and species, Natranaerobaculum magadiense gen. nov., sp. nov.

In this work, we present an ecofriendly, non-hazardous, green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) by leaf extract of Crotalaria verrucosa (C. verrucosa). Total phenolic content, total flavonoid and total protein contents of C. verrucosa were determined. Further, synthesized ZnO NPs was characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) Spectra, transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. UV-vis shows peak at 375 nm which is unique to ZnO NPs. XRD analysis demonstrates the hexagonal phase structures of ZnO NPs. FTIR spectra demonstrates the molecules and bondings associated with the synthesized ZnO NPs and assures the role of phytochemical compounds of C. verrucosa in reduction and capping of ZnO NPs. TEM image exhibits that the prepared ZnO NPs is hexagonal shaped and in size ranged between 16 to 38 nm which is confirmed by DLS. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed to determine the thermal stability of biosynthesized nanoparticles during calcination. The prepared ZnO NPs showed significant antibacterial potentiality against Gram-positive (S. aureus) and Gram-negative (Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli) pathogenic bacteria and SEM image shows the generalized mechanism of action in bacterial cell after NPs internalization. In addition, NPs are also found to be effective against the studied cancer cell lines for which cytotoxicity was assessed using MTT assay and results demonstrate highest growth of inhibition at the concentration of 100 µg/mL with IC50 value at 7.07 µg/mL for HeLa and 6.30 µg/mL for DU145 cell lines, in contrast to positive control (C. verrucosa leaf extract) with IC50 of 22.30 µg/mL on HeLa cells and 15.72 µg/mL on DU145 cells. Also, DAPI staining was performed in order to determine the effect on nuclear material due to ZnO NPs treatment in the studied cell lines taking leaf extract as positive control and untreated negative control for comparison. Cell migration assay was evaluated to determine the direct influence of NPs on metastasis that is potential suppression capacity of NPs to tumor cell migration. Outcome of the synthesized ZnO NPs using C. verrucosa shows antimicrobial activity against studied microbes, also cytotoxicity, apoptotic mediated DNA damage and antiproliferative potentiality in the studied carcinoma cells and hence, can be further used in biomedical, pharmaceutical and food processing industries as an effective antimicrobial and anti-cancerous agent.

Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of a blend of vegetable oils and active ingredients (Ruminatus® - safeeds@safeeds.com.br) on ruminal population density of Prevotella albensis, Prevotella bryantii and Prevotella ruminicola. The blend contained clove (Eugenia caryophyllata), castor (Ricinus communis) and cashew (Anacardium occidentale) oils and microencapsulated active ingredients (eugenol, thymol and vanillin). The experiments were designed using each bacteria exposed to doses of 1.5; 3.0; 4.5 and 6.0 mg/ml of the product and having six replicates. Bacteria were cultivated on Hobson’s M2 medium in Hungate tubes. Cultures cultivated without the addition of any oils were considered as control. Bacteria were cultivated overnight and freshly inoculated into new tubes containing medium. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated using a Spectrophotometer Evolution 201 UV-visible (Thermo Scientific) at 600 nm. Readings were performed at 0, 8, 12 and 24 hours after inoculation. Data were analyzed using the linear mixed models and the NLME Procedure in R software. The use of the blend reduced (P < 0.05) the population density of P. albensis and P. bryantii in comparison to the control treatment. P. ruminicola population only decreased (P < 0.05) when 3.0 mg/ml of the blend was used. Growth impairment of Prevotellaceae prevent excessive degradation of dietary protein, increasing protein digestibility. In addition, there is a reduction on ammonia synthesis, the end product of proteolysis, which is excreted in animal waste. Therefore, the combined action of clove, castor and castor essential oils and microencapsulated active ingredients influences the growth of Gram-negative bacteria and can be used as a rumen modulator.

Biogas is known to contain mainly methane (CH4), and other gas impurities such as carbon dioxide (CO2), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Biogas should be purified to remove gas impurities prior to be used as a fuel. Activated carbon is a famous biogas purifier. Commercial activated carbons are found expensive due to high cost during production. New routes for low cost production of activated carbon are still in progress. Many natural sources were explored for production of low cost and good quality activated carbon. One of the natural sources of raw material of activated carbon is bamboo. The bamboo from species of Gigantochloa verticillata from the tropical source of Indonesia was prepared for this purpose. The bamboo was cut from the tree, dried under the sun and cut to small pieces. The dried small pieces of bamboo cut were carbonized at 700 °C for 1.5 hours in air-tight chamber made from steel. The sample then was crushed and screen in 3 different particle sizes, namely: 150-250 mesh, 250-350 mesh and 350-450 mesh. About 100 gram of carbonized bamboo from these three variations were activated at 750°C for 1 hour in around 5100 cm3 steel chamber with nitrogen gas (N2) was flowed with rate 350 ml/minute. The result of activated carbon were analyzed by using TGA (thermo gravimetric analyses) for moisture, volatile, ash and fixed carbon composition test. The activated carbon then was set in acrylic tube for biogas purification. Around 200 liters of raw biogas were collected in PVC bag. The biogas was flowed with flow rate 500 mL/minute. The biogas composition before and after passing the activated carbon was measured in three time repetitions. The results indicate that the activated carbon made from Gigantochloa verticillata bamboo developed in this work is promising biogas purifier.

Green gram (Vigna radiata) is considered the chief legume in Pakistan. Thus, current study was conducted to examine the ameliorating effect of phytohormones pre-treatments under salt stress on proteome profile of green gram by sodium-dodecyl-sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The soluble green gram seedlings proteins were resolved on 4% stacking and 12% resolving gels. The SDS-PAGE resolved 24 polypeptide bands ranging from 200 to 17kDa. Among these, 12 out of 24 bands of proteins were essentials house-keeping or growth proteins of green grams. While, 120, 114.6, 51.8, 29.1, and 22.8 kDa bands were over-expressed under 50 to 350mM salt with phytohormones treatments. The others 104.5 kDa, 99.8 kDa, 95.3 kDa, 91.0 kDa, 55 kDa, 46 kDa, and 17kDa bands were related to the GAᴣ, IAA, and SA induced tolerance. Overall 120 kDa, 114.6 kDa, 104.5 kDa, 99.8, 95.3 kDa, 51.8 kDa, 29.1 kDa and 22.8kDa bands were first time identified in the current study. The information retrieved from NCBI protein database, the resolved peptides were principally belonging to 7S and 8S vicilin, 2S, 8S, 11S, and 16.5S globulins. It is determined that seed priming with SA enhanced tolerance in green gram by rapidly synthesizing stress alleviating peptides.Key word: Cluster analysis, dendrogram, mungbean, salt stress, SDS-PAGEINTRODUCTIONVarious world-wide health concerning organization recommended the use of high graded plant protein such as legumes to prevent the risk of metabolic disorder (Hou et al., 2019). Legumes are most important protein crop on the earth. Among the legumes, the green gram is the major pulses. Its seeds are rich in superior quality storage protein, which account 85% of the total protein while, another 15% have not been broadly studied (Yi-Shen et al., 2018). The soluble storage protein comprises of 60% globulins, 25% albumin and 15% prolamins. Globulins are further divided into 3.4% basic-type (7S), 7.6% legumin-type (11S), and 89% vicilin-type (8S) (Mendoza et al., 2001; Itoh et al., 2006). Other than proteins, the green gram seeds also contain starch, fiber, phenolic compound, saponins, vitamins, calcium zinc, potassium, folate, magnesium, manganese and very low in fat that made it meager man’s meat (Hou et al., 2019). It is also a good source of green manure and fodder (El-Kafafi et al., 2015). Its root has ability to fix 30 to 50 Kg/ha atmospheric nitrogen in the soil which is essential for maintaining soil fertility (Chadha, 2010). The green gram is the valuable and the major Rabi pulse crop of Pakistan. Its cultivation area in 2016-2017 was about 179,000 hectares with seed yield of 130,000 tones. In comparison during 2017-2018, it was cultivated on 161,800 hectares land with 118,800 tones seed yield (GOP, 2018). One of the reasons of this 9% decrease in both land and productivity is the shortage of irrigated land due to soil salinity. The salinity induce oxidative bust in the mungbean cells, caused by responsive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide, singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical and superoxide radical. The ROS create hindrance in various metabolic processes of plant via interacting with macromolecules like proteins (Alharby et al., 2016). However, phytohormones like gibberellic acid (GAᴣ), indole acetic acid (IAA), and salicylic acid (SA) take part in the biosynthesis of salt tolerance proteins under salinity. These salt tolerance proteins acclimate plants under salinity stress. Application of biotechnology plays a significant role in agriculture (Khan et al., 2017). Therefore, production of particular proteins under salt stress is a specific response of cell which can be analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). SDS-PAGE is the simple, valid, and cost-effective biochemical marker (Mushtaq et al., 2018). This marker has been widely used to determine the extent of evolutionary variations in crops (El-Kafafi et al., 2015).OBJECTIVES The present study was directed first time with the aim to investigate the toxic effect of sodium chloride (0-350 mM) and stress acclimation by pre-treatment of GAᴣ, IAA, and SA on the proteome profile of NM-92 cultivar of a Pakistani green gram.MATERIALS AND METHODSThe present study was replicated thrice in the plant laboratory of Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, and University of Karachi. The seeds of mung bean cultivar NM-92 were acquired from National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad. These freshly collected 15 seedsˉ1 treatment / replication were divided into two sets. The first was named as sodium chloride (SC) stress treatments were imbibed in sterile distilled water (DW) whereas, second set soaked in gibberellic acid (GAᴣ) (BDH Chemicals, England), indole acetic acid (IAA) (Fluka, Switzerland), and salicylic acid (SA) (J.T. Baker, Holland) in the separate beaker for 24 hours under dark condition. After 24 hours, given ample time to both the sets at room temperature. After recovery, all 20 treatments were sown in the 150 X 30 mm sized petri-dishes containing 0, 50, 150, 250, and 350 millimolar (mM) sodium chloride solution (Fisher Scientific, UK) for 72 hours.Protein extraction: Protein extraction was done by taking 0.3g of seedlings in an ice chilled mortar and crushed by adding 600µL 0.2 M Tris-HCl buffer having pH 7.5 contained 5% SDS (w/v) and 5% 2-mercaptoethanol (v/v). The homogenate was incubated at 0oC for 30 min., boiled in the water bath for 3 min. at 100oC. Samples were centrifuged in Heraeus Biofuge D-37520, Germany for 30 min. at 8000 rpm. The protein supernatant was saved at below 0°C for quantitative and qualitative determination with minor modifications. The total soluble protein content of the samples was estimated via “Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) standard curve” and explicit in µg protein milligramˉ1 fresh weight of mung seedlings.Bovine serum albumin standard curve (2000 μg/mL): Total protein standard curve was made by dissolving 0.05g of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) in 25mL of distilled water. Ten serial dilutions were made from 0.1 mL to 1mL by BSA solution then performed Lowry. A standard curve of total proteins was plotted by taking BSA absorbance at Y-axis and 2000 μg BSA / mL at X-axisSample preparation for SDS-PAGE: For qualitative assessment of total proteins; the 35μL of saved protein supernatant was combined with 15μL of sample diluting buffer (SDB). The SDB was made up of 0.0625 M Tris-HCl pH 6.8 with 2% of SDS, 10% of glycerol, 0.003% of bromophenol blue dye and 5% of 2-mercaptoethanol. Boil the 50μL protein SDB supernatant at 100oC in water bath for 3 min., centrifuged at 6000 rpm for 4 min. The supernatant was loaded on SDS-PAGE gel with the given formulae. The SDS- PAGE: Total proteins were fractionated via SDS-PAGE with 4% stacking and 12% resolving gel. The resolving gel of 12% was made by taking 6mL solution A, 1.8 mL 3 M Tris 1 M HCl buffer pH 8.8, 144μL 10% SDS, 5.74 mL sterile distilled water, 720μL 1.5% ammonium persulphate (APS) in deionized water and 10μL TEMED. While, stacking was composed of 1.25mL of solution A, 2.5mL of 0.5M Tris 1M HCl buffer pH 6.8, 100μL 10% SDS, 1.8 mL of distilled water, 500μL 1.5% APS and 12μL TEMED. Solution A was prepared by conjoining 30% acrylamide and 0.8% N, N’-methylene-bisacrylamide in deionized water. To avoid polymerization in the beaker; the prepared solution was quickly poured into the 3 mm thick gel plates after adding TEMED. The stacking was lined over resolving gel, then combs were inserted between the gel plates of SCIE-PLAS TV-100 separation system, UK, and allowed to polymerize for ½ an hour. After polymerization gel was placed in the tank which were filled with Tris-Glycine buffer (electrode buffer) pH 8.4 then combs were removed. The electrode buffer contained 0.3% Tris, 1.41% Glycine and 0.1% SDS in 2000mL d/w. The gel was pre-run for 15 min. at 60 volts and 120 mA currents. The prepared SDS-PAGE samples were loaded in wells with BlueStepTM Broad Range Protein Marker, AMRESCO, USA as standard and run at 60 volts & 120 mA for about 45 min. When samples entered in resolving gel, and then gave 100 volts and 200 mA currents for around 2.5 hours. Furthermore, electrophoresis was carried out at a constant watt.The Gel was washed with 30% ethanol on Uni Thermo Shaker NTS-1300 EYELA, Japan at the constant shaking for 30 min. Then gels were placed in 10% glacial acetic acid in 50% methanol solution (Fixative) for 24 hours. SDS Gel was stained until protein bands were visible thereat placed as 5% of Methanol in 7.5% acetic acid glacial solution to destain the bands background. SDS-PAGE stain composed of 0.125% coomassie brilliant blue R-250 dissolved in 40% of Methanol and 7% acetic acid glacial solution. The stain was stirred on Magnetic stirrer & hot plate M6/1, Germany for 6-10 hours before used. Photographs were taken by Sanyo digital camera VPC-T1284BL and bands were scored through numbering pattern. Gels preserved in 10% acetic acid solution at 4°C.Interpretation of bands and data analysis: The total soluble protein bands relative mobility calculated by below formulae and Dendrogram was constructed via SPSS v. 20Where,F=(Migrated distance of protein band)/(Migrated distance of dye front)Slop=(Log MW of protein marker lower limit band–log〖MW of protein marker upper limit band )/(RF protein marker lower limit band –RF of protein marker upper limit band)RESULTS:The total soluble proteins extracted from green gram were perceived by SDS-PAGE Blue StepTm broad range biochemical markers. The protein-based marker was used to evaluate the toxic effect of sodium chloride along with pre-treatments of GAᴣ, IAA, and SA on proteome assay. In the current work, seedlings total soluble proteome resolved 24 polypeptide bands ranging from 200 to 17.1 kDa were recognized by using SDS-PAGE. The figure 1 showed Dendrogram assay, which classified the 20 treatments of SC, GAᴣ, IAA and SA into two major clusters where, the cluster I was the largest one (figure 1). Cluster I consisted of 15 treatments that further divided into I-A, and I-B. The pre-treatments of SC50+SA, SC150+SA, SC250+SA, and SC350+IAA were grouped together into C-1 of sub-cluster I-A. The C-2 of sub-cluster I-A, pre-treatment SC350+SA was most diverse among 20 treatments. The C-1 treatments showed 99% homology when compared with each other while, it was 97% similar with C-2. The sub-cluster I-B comprised another 10 treatments, SC0+GAᴣ, SC50+GAᴣ, SC150+GAᴣ, SC250+GAᴣ, SC350+GAᴣ, SC0+IAA, SC50+IAA, SC150+IAA, SC250+IAA, and SC0+SA that were also 99% similar for total proteins. Sub-cluster I-B pre-treatments was exhibiting 94% homology with the sub-cluster I-A. The second cluster was the smallest one that was divided into two sub-clusters, II-A and II-B. The II-A was comprised of SC50, SC150, and SC250 while, sub-cluster II-B consisted of SC0 and SC350. Within each sub-cluster, pre-treatments expressed 99% homology whereas, II-A was 97 different from II-B. Furthermore, cluster I showed 75% similarities with cluster II (figure 1). The seedlings storage proteome profile of green gram was shown in table 1.The results showed that 120kDa, 114.6 kDa, 51.8 kDa, 29.1 kDa and 22.8 kDa proteins bands were not induced at 0 mM SC, GAᴣ, IAA, and SA. The table 1 depicted the presence of 120 kDa and 114.6 kDa bands only at 350 mM SC level with all phytohormones treatments. Similarly, 51.8 kDa protein bands were appearing at 150SC, 250SC and 350SC stress with phytohormones. Based on the information collected from the NCBI protein database, this peptide was related to the 8S globulin alpha subunits. The two other, 7S globulins sub-units having 29.1kDa and 22.8 kDa molecular weights bands were synthesized under 50mM, 150mM, 250mM, 350mM SC stress with phytohormones. Concerning protein polypeptide of molecular weight 104.5 kDa, 99.8 kDa, 91.0 kDa, 55.0 kDa, and 46.0 kDa, those were induced by GAᴣ, IAA and SA at 0 to 350 mM SC. While, 17kDa protein band was appearing in SA, and IAA treated samples and 95.3kDa band was only present in SA treatment. Other 12 protein bands were present in all treatments proved as house-keeping proteins of green gram (table 1).DISCUSSIONThe SDS-PAGE profiling for proteome is the reliable and applied biochemical approach that has been used as biochemical marker in various crop differentiation, and characterization. In the current study, first time SDS-PAGE was utilized to investigate the impact of GAᴣ, IAA, and SA pre-soaking on green gram under salt toxicity. The salt toxicity adversely affects all seed, seedling, and plant metabolic process (Parveen et al., 2016). At salt toxicity, the endogenous GAᴣ, IAA, and SA levels markedly decrease (El-Khallal et al., 2009). In such condition, exogenous application of GAᴣ, IAA, and SA enhance seedlings survival rate by increasing synthesis of seed storage proteins. Likewise, our Dendrogram characterization based on 20 treatments showed significant diversity under 0 to 350 mM SC stress. The salicylic acid treatments were grouped together except SC0+SA treatment, exhibiting a close relationship, which proved its acclimating role under salt stress. These findings will help plant breeder toward enhancing food quality and quantity of green gram in future breeding programme on saline sodic land.The SDS-PAGE assay revealed 200. kDa, 109.4 kDa, 77 kDa, 68 kDa, 49 kDa, 38 kDa, 33 kDa, 26 kDa, 24 kDa, 22 kDa, 21 kDa and 19 kDa fractions as essential green gram proteins. Among these, 68 kDa, 49 kDa, 33 kDa, 26 kDa, 24 kDa and 21 kDa peptides were seed biotinylated isoform protein (Riascos et al., 2009), putative NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit H (Gostinčar et al., 2019), heat shock protein 33 (Hamidian et al., 2015), globulin protein, seed coat / maturation protein (Dhaubhadel et al., 2005), and protein for dimerization. While, 22 kDa proteins belonged to the class of prolamin alpha zein Z1C1_2, Z1C1_4, and Z1C1_8 precursors, and 19kDa peptide was related with Z1A1_2, Z1A2_2, and Z1B_6 precursors (Miclaus et al., 2011). Further, the 91 kDa peptide is sucrose synthase SS1 protein, and 77kDa protein is the NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (Wang et al., 2004). Also, the phosphatase-associated two other proteins having 46 and 55 kDa molecular weight were reported earlier in Mucuna pruriens. Hameed et al. (2012) and Malviya et al. (2008) found 55 and 46kDa peptides as 7S vicilin small sub-units and 17kDa as 11S globulins sub-unit in the studied Vigna radiata. Some other molecular weight proteome such as 68 kDa and 49kDa are 7S vicilin, 33kDa is 8S vicilin, 38 and 26kDa 8S globulins, 24kDa 11S globulins, and 22kDa 16.5S globulins. These proteins required for germination and seed establishment of green gram plant (Hameed et al., 2012).The vast accumulation of 23kDa and 22kDa peptides under salt stress by salicylic acid, were reported previously in the mangrove Bruguiera parviffora and Zea mays (El-Khallal et al., 2009). Correspondingly, El-Kafafi et al. (2015) reported the presence of 115kDa, 23kDa, and 22kDa bands in the salt tolerant lines of green gram. These proteomes induced under salt stress may play a pivotal part in the stress acclimation and osmotic adjustment. Similarly, the induction of 104 kDa and 100kDa MW polypeptide by SC stress in the salt tolerant genotypes of green gram indicated the functional role of phytohormones in various metabolic and defense response El-Kafafi et al. (2015); Alharby et al. (2016), El-Khallal et al. (2009), Qados (2010). Ali et al. (2007), Alharby et al. (2016), and El-Kafafi et al. (2015) observed 17kDa, 26kDa, 33kDa and 77kDa bands involving in salt tolerance and can be considered as a positive biochemical marker for salt stress. Further, 26 kDa MW peptide also functions as osmotin under the salt stress that involved in enhancing the accumulation of glycine betaine and proline in the cells. Hence, proteome assay of green gram showed that GAᴣ, IAA, and SA could regulate the expression of salt stress proteins that are anticipated to play a crucial part in the salt tolerance mechanism. Likewise, the involvement of phytohormones in the induction of changes in the proteome profile pattern was attributed to their part in managing cell division by regulating some genes of apical meristems.CONCLUSIONFinally, the results revealed the presence of the ten new bands with MW of 200kDa, 120 kDa, 114.6 kDa, 109.4kDa, 104.5kDa, 99.8kDa, 95.3kDa, 51.8kDa, 29.1kDa and 22.8kDa have not reported previously under salt stress with phytohormones treatments in green gram. Furthermore, it was observed that phytohormones alleviate the negative impact of salt stress on green gram by enhancing synthesis of salt defense polypeptides. Hence, higher accumulation of proteins was observed in salicylic acid treated seedlings. Thus, present work recommended the pre-soaking of phytohormones to overcome the toxic impact of sodium chloride on green gram. Further research is needed on a biomolecular level to reveal the mechanism of signalling pathways under sever salt stress.CONFLICT OF INTERESTBoth authors have declared that no disagreement of interest regarding this research.REFERENCES Alharby, H. F., E. M. Metwali, M. P. Fuller and A. Y. Aldhebiani, 2016. The alteration of mRNA expression of sod and gpx genes, and proteins in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) under stress of Nacl and/or ZnO nanoparticles. Saudi journal of biological sciences, 23(6): 773-781.Ali, A., M. Mageed, I. Ahmed and S. Mariey, 2007. Genetic and molecular studies on barley salt tolerance. In: African crop science conference proceedings. pp: 669-682.Chadha, M., 2010. Short duration mungbean: A new success in South Asia. Asia-Pacific association of agricultural research institutions.Dhaubhadel, S., K. Kuflu, M. C. Romero and M. Gijzen, 2005. A soybean seed protein with carboxylate-binding activity. Journal of experimental botany, 56(419): 2335-2344.El-Kafafi, E.-S. H., A. G. Helal, S. F. El Hafnawy and R. Flaah, 2015. Characterization and evaluation of some mungbean genotypes for salt tolerance. World applied science journal, 33(3): 360-370.El-Khallal, S. M., T. A. Hathout, A. Ahsour and A.-A. A. Kerrit, 2009. Brassinolide and salicylic acid induced antioxidant enzymes, hormonal balance and protein profile of maize plants grown under salt stress. Research journal of agriculture biological sciences, 5(4): 391-402.GOP, 2018. Pakistan economic survey from 2017 to 2018. Ministry of Finance. Islamabad. Government of Pakistan. Accessed 18-8-2019, http://www.finance.gov.pk/su rvey/chapters18/02-Agriculture.pdf.Gostinčar, C., M. Turk, J. Zajc and N. Gunde‐Cimerman, 2019. Fifty aureobasidium pullulans genomes reveal a recombining polyextremotolerant generalist. Environmental microbiology, 21(10): 3638-3652.Hameed, A., M. Qureshi, M. Nawaz and N. Iqbal, 2012. Comparative seed storage protein profiling of mung bean genotypes. Pakistan jouranl of botany, 44(6): 1993-1999.Hamidian, M., J. Hawkey, K. E. Holt and R. M. Hall, 2015. Genome sequence of Acinetobacter baumannii strain d36, an antibiotic-resistant isolate from lineage 2 of global clone 1. Genome announced, 3(6): e01478-01415.Hou, D., L. Yousaf, Y. Xue, J. Hu, J. Wu, X. Hu, N. Feng and Q. Shen, 2019. Mung bean (vigna radiata l.): Bioactive polyphenols, polysaccharides, peptides, and health benefits. Nutrients, 11(6): 1238.Itoh, T., R. N. Garcia, M. Adachi, Y. Maruyama, E. M. Tecson-Mendoza, B. Mikami and S. J. A. C. S. D. B. C. Utsumi, 2006. Structure of 8sα globulin, the major seed storage protein of mung bean. Acta crystallographica section D: Biological crystallography, 62(7): 824-832.Khan, F. F., K. Ahmad, A. Ahmed and S. Haider, 2017. Applications of biotechnology in agriculture-review article. World journal of biology biotechnology, 2(1): 139-142.Malviya, N., S. Nayak and D. Yadav, 2008. Characterization of total salt soluble seed storage proteins of grain legumes using sds-page. Bulletin de ressources phytogénétiques(156): 50.Mendoza, E. M. T., M. Adachi, A. E. N. Bernardo and S. Utsumi, 2001. Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) wilczek] globulins: Purification and characterization. Journal of agricultural food chemistry, 49(3): 1552-1558.Miclaus, M., J.-H. Xu and J. Messing, 2011. Differential gene expression and epiregulation of alpha zein gene copies in maize haplotypes. PLoS genetics, 7(6).Mushtaq, F., S. A. Jatoi, S. S. Aamir and S. U. Siddiqui, 2018. Genetic variability for morphological attributes and seed protein profiling in chili (Capsicum annuum L.). Pakistan jouranl of botany, 50(4): 1661-1668.Parveen, A.-u.-H. M., J. Akhtar and S. M. Basra, 2016. Interactive effect of salinity and potassium on growth, biochemical parameters, protein and oil quality of soybean genotypes. Pakistan journal of agricultural sciences, 53(01): 69-78.Qados, A., 2010. Effect of arginine on growth, nutrient composition, yield and nutritional value of mung bean plants grown under salinity stress. Nature, 8: 30-42.Riascos, J., W. Burks, L. Pons, A. Weissinger and S. Weissinger, 2009. Identification of a soybean seed biotinylated protein as a novel allergen. Journal of allergy cinical Immunology, 123(2): S24.Wang, S. Y., J. H. Wu, T. Ng, X. Y. Ye and P. F. Rao, 2004. A non-specific lipid transfer protein with antifungal and antibacterial activities from the mung bean. Peptides, 25(8): 1235-1242.Yi-Shen, Z., S. Shuai and R. FitzGerald, 2018. Mung bean proteins and peptides: Nutritional, functional and bioactive properties. Food nutrition research, 62.

Abstract Background In the age of antimicrobial resistance, rapid identification of infectious agents is critical for antimicrobial stewardship and effective therapy. To this end, ambient ionization mass spectrometry techniques have been applied for rapid identification of microbes directly from culture isolates. We have developed a handheld, mass spectrometry-based device, the MasSpec Pen, that permits direct molecular analysis of a biological sample in seconds (Scheme 1). Here, we employ the MasSpec Pen to identify clinically relevant microbes directly from culture isolates. Methods Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Group A and B Streptococcus, Kingella kingae (K.k), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P.a) were cultured on 5% sheep’s blood nutrient agar at 37 °C overnight. Colonies were transferred to a glass slide where they were analyzed directly with the MasSpec Pen coupled to a Q Exactive mass spectrometer (Thermo Scientific) in negative ion mode. For MasSpec Pen analysis, a 10 µL droplet of water was held in contact with the sample surface for 3 seconds and then aspirated to the mass spectrometer for analysis. Data was normalized and the molecular features resulting from the analysis solvent and nutrient medium were removed. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) statistical method was used to build classification models for prediction of bacterial identity. Model performance was evaluated by leave-one-out cross-validation and a validation set of samples. Scheme 1: MasSpec Pen workflow Results Various small molecules were detected including metabolites and glycerophospholipid species. The mass spectral profiles for each species exhibited qualitative differences among them (Figure 1). Additionally, several quorum-sensing molecules were observed in P.a. including hydroxy-heptyl-quinoline (m/z 242.155). Lasso statistical classifiers were created to differentiate organisms at the level of Gram type, genus, and species with each model comprised of a sparse set of molecular features. Accuracies of 90% or greater were achieved for all lasso models and as high as 98% for the differentiation of Staphylococcus (Staph.) and Streptococcus (Strep.). Figure 1: Molecular profiles of species analyzed Figure 2: Statistical classification results Conclusion These results demonstrate the potential of the MasSpec Pen as a tool for clinical analysis of infected biospecimens. Disclosures Sydney C. Povilaitis, BA, MS Pen Technologies, Inc. (Other Financial or Material Support, Patent) Livia Eberlin, PhD, MS Pen Technolpogies, Inc. (Board Member, Shareholder)

Paduan Mg-1,6Gd (wt%) mempunyai potensial sebagai material implan yang mudah larut dalam tubuh. Penambahan Gd kedalam magnesium dan selanjut di proses melalui termomekanik bertujuan untuk memperbaiki sifat-sifat mekanik yaitu kekerasan, kekuatan, ketangguhan dan keuletan dan juga dapat mengontrol laju korosi dalam lingkungan biologis. Perubahan mekanik yang terbentuk akibat penambahan sedikit Gd (1,6wt%) kedalam Mg kemudian diproses termomekanik melalui ekstrusi dan rolling yang dikaitkan dengan hasil strukturmikro melalui ukuran butir dan phasa. Proses termomekanik dilakukan pada temperatur rekristalisasi (400-550 °C) paduan Mg-1,6Gd dengan reduksi 95 %. Pemeriksaan dilakukan di skala labor dengan menggunakan tahap-tahap metalografi dan pengujian tarik dengan ukuran sample yang standar ASTM E8. Uji kekerasan dengan menggunakan alat uji Hardness Vicker dengan berat 300 gram dan ditahan selama 15 detik. Pemerikasaan ini dilanjutkan dengan pengujian laju korosi dengan menggunakan cairan infus. Hasil menunjukan bahwa terjadi perubahan ukuran butir yang siknifikan pada paduan Mg-1,6Gd setelah proses termomekanik terutama pada proses ekstrusi panas yaitu mencapai 14 µm, namun kekerasan tertinggi terdapat pada proses pengerolan yaitu mencapai 50 HVN. Adanya sejumlah presipitat ditemui pada strukturmikro yang dapat mempengaruhi kekerasan akibat pengerolan. Sifat-sifat mekanik paduan Mg-1,6Gd juga dipengaruhi oleh presipitat, dimana kekuatan tertinggi adalah 197 MPa pada pengerolan dibanding ekstrusi hanya mencapai 187 MPa. Meskipun demikian keuletan terbesar dimiliki oleh pengerolan yaitu 26 %, sementara ekstrusi hanya mencapai 24 %. Pada pengujian korosi, pengerolan memiliki laju korosi yang lebih tinggi dibanding laju korosi ekstrusi yaitu 5,7 mmpy dalam larutan Ringer. Kedua proses termodinamik ini mempunyai peluang sebagai material implan yang mudah larut dalam tubuh, namun pengerolan lebih di rekomendasi baik dari sifat mekanik maupun laju korosi yang lebih terkontrol. Mg-1,6Gd (wt%) alloys has potential as a degradable materials implant. The addition of Gd in magnesium and then subsequently processed through thermo-mechanics aims to improve mechanical properties such as hardness, strength, toughness, ductility and can also control the rate of corrosion in the biological environment.Mechanical can be changed by the small addition of Gd (1.6wt%) into Mg are then is processed through extrusion and rolling which are associated with grain size and phase. The thermomechanical process was carried out at a recrystallization temperature (400-550 °C). Mg-1,6Gd alloys was hot rolled with a reduction of 95%. The examination is carried out at a labor scale using metallographic steps and tensile testing with a standard of ASTM E8. Hardness test use the Hardness Vicker with 300 grams and held for 15 seconds. This examination is followed by testing the rate of corrosion using intravenous fluids. The results showed that there was a significant change in grain size in the Mg-1,6Gd alloys after the thermomechanical process, especially in the hot extrusion which reached 14 ?m, but the highest hardness was found in the rolling process which reached 50 HVN. A number of precipitates are found in micro structures that can affect violence due to rolling. The mechanical properties of the Mg-1,6Gd alloys are also affected by the precipitate, where the highest strength is 197 MPa on rolling compared to extrusion reaching only 187 MPa. However, the greatest tenacity is owned by rolling, which is 26%, while extrusion only reaches 24%. In corrosion testing, rolling has a higher corrosion rate than the extrusion corrosion rate of 5.7 mmpy in Ringer's solution. Both of these thermodynamic processes have opportunities as a degradable materials implant, but rolling is more recommended both in terms of mechanical properties and corrosion rates.

In this paper we study the behavior of Rul1 layers deposited by thermal metal spraying to the thermal shock using infrared thermography. It will present thermo grams obtained for the thermal field distribution during heating and the resulting defects. In particular it aims to interfaces defects such as lack of adherence.

The article tackles the issues related to a process of heating of three way catalytic converter during the cold start and the heating of the spark ignition engine. The measurements on the test bench were performed, taking into consideration how engine works directly after the start, on the idle speed and under the load, during which the temperature of the exhaust gases in the exhaust system and coolant on the cylinder head were measured. At the same time the track of the heat state of the catalytic converter was monitored using thermo-vision camera. The results of the measurements were presented as charts and selected thermo-grams, qualitatively representing the issue of heating of the catalytic converter.

This study was undertaken to determine if high temperature and high pH interact synergistically to enhance the rate of destruction of two important gram-negative foodborne pathogens, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enteritidis. The rates of destruction in NaHCO3-NaOH buffers at pH 7.0, 10.0, and 11.0 were determined at 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, and 65°C. Use of an improved heating protocol eliminated a “tailing effect” at longer exposure times. The present study demonstrated that the combination of high pH and high temperature resulted in a highly significant synergistic interaction (P > F = 0.0001), which caused rapid death of both E. coli O157:H7 and S. enteritidis. This “alka-therm” technology might be used commercially to destroy gram-negative foodborne pathogens on various raw agricultural commodities.

This study was done to optimize accuracy of predicting growth of Salmonella serovars, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Staphylococcus aureus in temperature-abused raw beef, poultry, and bratwurst (with salt but without added nitrite). Four mathematical approaches were used with experimentally determined lag-phase duration (LPD) and growth rate (GR) values to develop 12 versions of THERM (Temperature History Evaluation for Raw Meats; http://www.meathaccp.wisc.edu/THERM/calc.aspx), a computer-based tool that calculates elapsing lag phase or growth that occurs in each entered time interval and sums the results of all intervals to predict growth. Each THERM version utilized LPD values calculated by linear interpolation, quadratic equation, piecewise linear regression, or exponential decay curve and GR values calculated by linear interpolation, quadratic equation, or piecewise linear regression. Each combination of mathematical approaches for LPD and GR calculations was defined as another THERM version. Time, temperature, and pathogen level (log CFU per gram) data were obtained from 26 inoculation experiments with ground beef, pork sausages, and poultry. Time and temperature data were entered into the 12 THERM versions to obtain pathogen growth. Predicted and experimental results were qualitatively described and compared (growth defined as >0.3-log increase) or quantitatively compared. The 12 THERM versions had qualitative accuracies of 81.4 to 88.6% across 70 combinations of product, pathogen, and experiment. Quantitative accuracies within ±0.3 log CFU were obtained for 51.4 to 67.2% of the experimental combinations; 82.9 to 88.6% of the quantitative predictions were accurate or fail-safe. Piecewise linear regression or linear interpolation for calculating LPD and GR yielded the most accurate THERM performance.

Abstract Hydrogenated-Nitrile-Butadiene-Rubber (HNBR) is known for its good physical strength. It is a widely used rubber in electrical insulation and other high performance applications. Performance of HNBR is affected in high temperature and an aggressive fluid environment. Adding silica to HNBR may overcome this problem. In order to investigate the effect of fluids and temperature on HNBR/silica composites we prepared multiple composites of HNBR with 8.3, 16.7, 33.4, 50 and 66.7 phr of silica (SiO2) by two roll compounding method. Swelling index and thermo gravimetric analyses were performed. Calculations of swelling indexes were performed at different time periods with ethanol, toluene and water. For thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), thermo grams of samples were obtained and % char yields at 550 °C were analyzed for all samples. Improvements with the addition of silica were recorded up to a great extent in both analyses. Swelling index decreased with the addition of silica as compared to neat HNBR and reached an optimum position with 50 phr silica loading in ethanol, 8.3 phr in water and 66.7 phr in toluene. Moreover, the HNBR composite with 66.7 phr of silica was found to be the highest thermally stable sample and lost less than 60% of weight at 550 °C in comparison to neat HNBR in which 80% of weight loss occurred at 550 °C.

<p>Biometrics associated with automated methods of identifying a person or verifying the identity of a person based on physiological or behavioral characteristics. Commonly used biometric features are facial features, fingerprints, voice, facial thermo grams, iris, posture/gait, palm print, hand geometry etc. Compared with other biometric characteristics iris is the most stable and hence the most reliable biometric characteristic over the period of a lifetime. This proposed work provides comparative study of various filters of Wavelet Transforms in terms of size and PSNR of images<em>.</em></p>

Lag-phase duration (LPD) and growth rate (GR) values were calculated from experimental data obtained using a previously described protocol (S. C. Ingham, M. A. Fanslau, G. M. Burnham, B. H. Ingham, J. P. Norback, and D. W. Schaffner, J. Food Prot. 70:1445–1456, 2007). These values were used to develop an interval accumulation-based tool designated THERM (temperature history evaluation for raw meats) for predicting growth or no growth of Salmonella serovars, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Staphylococcus aureus in temperature-abused raw sausage. Data (time-temperature and pathogen log CFU per gram) were obtained from six inoculation experiments with Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and S. aureus in three raw pork sausage products stored under different temperature abuse conditions. The time-temperature history from each experiment was entered into THERM to predict pathogen growth. Predicted and experimental results were described as growth (&gt;0.3 log increase in CFU) or no growth (≤0.3 log increase in CFU) and compared. The THERM tool accurately predicted growth or no growth for all 18 pathogen-experiment combinations. When compared with the observed changes in log CFU values for the nine pathogen-experiment combinations in which pathogens grew, the predicted changes in log CFU values were within 0.3 log CFU for three combinations, exceeded observed values by 0.4 to 1.5 log CFU in four combinations, and were 1.2 to 1.4 log CFU lower in two combinations. The THERM tool approach appears to be useful for predicting pathogen growth versus no growth in raw sausage during temperature abuse, although further development and testing are warranted.

ABSTRACT HiPERCAM is a portable, quintuple-beam optical imager that saw first light on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) in 2018. The instrument uses re-imaging optics and four dichroic beamsplitters to record $u_{\rm s}\, g_{\rm s}\, r_{\rm s}\, i_{\rm s}\, z_{\rm s}$ (320–1060 nm) images simultaneously on its five CCD cameras, each of 3.1-arcmin (diagonal) field of view. The detectors in HiPERCAM are frame-transfer devices cooled thermo-electrically to 183 K, thereby allowing both long-exposure, deep imaging of faint targets, as well as high-speed (over 1000 windowed frames per second) imaging of rapidly varying targets. A comparison-star pick-off system in the telescope focal plane increases the effective field of view to 6.7 arcmin for differential photometry. Combining HiPERCAM with the world’s largest optical telescope enables the detection of astronomical sources to gs ∼ 23 in 1 s and gs ∼ 28 in 1 h. In this paper, we describe the scientific motivation behind HiPERCAM, present its design, report on its measured performance, and outline some planned enhancements.

Since their discovery in 1945, tetracyclines have been used extensively in the therapy and prophylaxis of infectious diseases and as growth promoters. These wide applications have led to the equally fast spread of tetracycline resistant strains of gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial genera, including strains belonging to pathogenic as well as nonpathogenic species. Nonpathogenic bacteria could act as a reservoir of resistance determinants, which can be disseminated by horizontal transfer into pathogens. More than thirty different tetracycline resistance genes have been characterized. They encode two major mechanisms of resistance: 1 &ndash; active efflux of the antibiotic, and 2 &ndash; protection of ribosomes. Further mechanisms of tetracycline resistance include enzymatic inactivation of antibiotic, permeability barriers, mutations or multidrug transporter systems. Effective horizontal spread is favoured by the location of tetracycline resistance genes on mobile genetic elements such as plasmids and transposons. Their exchange, enhanced by the use of tetracyclines, is observed between bacteria of the same or different species and genera as well. Thus, questions of reevaluating and global reducing of tetracyclines in human and animal healthcare and food production are extensively discussed.

The process of curing of large thick composite parts needs attention regarding the formation of residual stresses. Similarly, novel reactive thermoplastics need investigating to produce an efficient thermal cure profile that decreases the risk of warpage and residual stress. In this work, the polymerization kinetics of the Elium resin system is investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) tests, the analysis of thermo-grams, and the parameters of Kamal and Sourour’s semi-empirical model. A numerical model based on finite elements was set up to reproduce the temperature fields during part consolidation. Several processing conditions were investigated (dwell temperature, environment, heat exchange) in order to predict the thermal gradient within the part. The optimal cure profile was identified as a function of process parameters with the aim of minimizing the thermal gradient within the composite element. The analysis revealed that, for the reactive thermoplastic Elium, the consolidation in facilities with high thermal exchange may increase the risk of residual stresses within the parts, erasing the advantage of short cure cycles.