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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will celebrate its seventy-fifth anniversary at its 2024 summit in Washington, D.C. NATO's age tells a story of alliance endurance through Cold War tensions, [...] more...

In this study, four selected strains of lactic acid bacteria of marine origin were freeze-dried using skim milk as a cryoprotectant. After freeze-drying, survival rates were determined under 24-hour exposure to seawater samples. Isolate Lactiplantibacillus plantarumI had the highest survival rate of 92.5% and was selected for further experiments. Freeze-dried Lpb. plantarumI strain was added to queen scallop Aequipecten opercularis(Linnaeus 1758) in circular basins under climate change conditions (temperature and pH modifications) for one month. After the feeding period, shellfish were collected and microbiological quality was determined for each scallop. The results indicate that the addition of Lpb. plantarumI significantly improved the microbiological quality of the cultivated scallops. The total number of bacteria together with Staphylococcusspecies was significantly reduced, and the added lactic acid bacteria strain was maintained at desired amounts during the entire feeding period. The results obtained indicate that the inclusion of Lpb. plantarumI as a dietary supplement could provide protection against pathogens and serve as a feasible approach to reduce infection levels when cultivating A. opercularisin captivity. more...

Membrane distillation (MD) as thermal-driven membrane separation commonly uses hydrophobic membrane, but this membrane has limitation due to wetting issues from low surface tension liquids, such as oils and surfactants. The strategic improvement to overcome the wetting issue is via omniphobic surface modification as it has the ability to repel low surface tension liquids. This research aims to fabricate and evaluate the anti-wetting properties of omniphobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane modified with ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO Nps) as the re-entrant structure and palmitic acid (PA) as “green material” of the hydrophobic agent. The deposition of ZnO Nps was carried out using dip coating approach with variations of ZnO Nps loadings (1, 2, and 3 wt%) and then followed by palmitic acid surface grafting with various immersion times of 3, 6, 12, and 24 h. The developed omniphobic membrane was characterized using contact angle goniometer, scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), liquid entry pressure test, and leaching test. The results showed that the modification with ZnO Nps and palmitic acid obtained contact angle above 90° when tested with water, ethylene glycol, and 0.4 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), which meets the omniphobic criteria. The presence of ZnO Nps was confirmed by surface morphology from SEM and surface topography of AFM. The PZ3-PA membrane exhibited remarkable water flux of 7.64 L/m2h for 3 days of operation time under the presence of humic acid, crude oil, and SDS as fouling agent, and high salt rejection which is almost 100%. Therefore, omniphobic surface modification with the combination of ZnO Nps and palmitic acid is very promising, as it imparts excellent anti-wetting properties and desalination performance. more...

•Eco-friendly hybrid biocomposites were successfully synthesized using alginate, PCL, and TiO2fillers through an environmentally friendly method.•The addition of TiO2increased the crystallinity and thermal stability of the biocomposites, while slightly decreasing mechanical strength.•The biocomposites exhibited effective photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue, indicated by a color change from blue to transparent after 24 h of irradiation.•The hybrid biocomposite can be separated and recycled without any external intervention, making it environmentally friendly and cost-effective. more...

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and in light of ongoing security challenges from Russia and elsewhere, how will the transatlantic security environment evolve in the next few years? [...]

Marine echinoderms, specifically the sea urchin species Diadema setosum, may hold promise in the medical field as potential sources of antiviral agents for Covid-19. Recent research focused on identifying the compounds within their extracts and their effectiveness as inhibitors for the 3CLpro, RdRp, and ACE2 proteins through in silicomodelling. This research begin with extraction and GC-MS analysis to identify the contents of the extract; the identified compounds were analyzed by molecular docking to determine their potential as antivirals. A compound exhibited a favourable Lipinski profile and low toxicity prediction, suggesting its potential as a viable antiviral candidate. The results showed that there was one compound, namely 5 H-Isoindole[1,2-b][3]benzazepine-5-one, 7,8,13,13a-tetrahydro-10-hydroxy-3,4,12-trimethoxy- which has the potential to as an antiviral with the support of druglikeness profile and prediction of its toxicity. While additional research is necessary to comprehend its therapeutic potential fully, the study’s findings showcase the compound’s potency as a promising antiviral agent. more...

The evolution of osteosynthesis has led to the development of novel miniplate designs, including 3-dimensional (3D) miniplates, which offer improved biomechanical stability. However, mandible fractures resulting from the high impact have a complex fracture configuration. Hence, the authors developed interlocking 3D miniplate to overcome the difficulty in miniplate and screw placement to avoid critical anatomic structures, that is, dental roots and nerve, while still providing stability for the fracture fragments. The interlocking 3D miniplates can be formed according to the specific needs by adjusting the horizontal and vertical cross struts configuration. This study describes a design process of interlocking 3D miniplates and evaluates biomechanical performance compared to standard miniplates. Finite element analysis was performed to evaluate the design’s stress state using human and goat mandible models under various loading conditions. After the authors, established that our design was feasible for fabrication, the authors developed the prototype for biomechanical testing. Biomechanical testing was conducted on 10 goat mandibles to compare stability and displacement under various load between the interlocking 3D miniplate and the standard miniplate configuration. Biomechanical testing revealed reduced displacement in all directions with the interlocking 3D miniplate compared to the standard miniplate. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in all loads in the buccal-lingual displacement (P<0.05). The novel interlocking 3D miniplate design shows an adequate ability to provide stability for fixation for mandibular fractures, as evidenced by finite element analysis and biomechanical testing. Further research is necessary to validate these findings and explore the clinical application of interlocking 3D miniplates in mandibular fracture management. more...

Vegetable oil production from oil palm (Elaeis guineensisJacq.) is an important industry due to the rising demand every year. The somatic embryogenesis culture can propagate oil palm duplicate as parent plant, which can be selected as breeding material to produce new planting germplasm with high production or disease resistance. This study aims to evaluate the genotypic effect of somatic embryogenesis, while immature leaflets were employed as explants. The culture used embryo induction medium based on Murashige and Skoog (MS) modifications that contained 5 ​mg/L Naphthalene Acetic acid (NAA) and 0.5 ​mg/L Benzyl Amino Purine (BAP). The genotypic effect was statistically significant in the percentage of callus induction, producing somatic embryos, and germination embryos. In this study, we successfully cloned thirteen oil palm genotypes (GE-02, GE-03, GE-06, GE-07, GE-09, GE-23, GE-24, GE-27, GE-28, GE-32, GE-33, GE-34, and GE-35), with the highest number of somatic embryos formed on GE-27 with a percentage of 70.1%. The cloning was successful in accelerating the propagation of oil palm for materials breeding programs to create new varieties with high production and disease resistance. It is necessary to observation the performance of these clones in the field in terms of mantle flower appearance. more...

High-profile data breaches like last year's Equifax hack, which exposed the personal information of more than 147 million consumers and led to class action lawsuits, criminal investigations and increased regulatory [...] more...

This study examined the effects of dietary supplementation of queen scallop Aequipecten operculariswith an indigenous strain of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Lactiplantibacillus plantarumI, previously isolated from its digestive tract, on gut microbial populations and growth rates during cultivation under simulated climate change conditions (pH 7.8, T = 16 ± 2 °C). After one month of feeding, the results showed a noticeable reduction in aquaculture diseases causing pathogens while maintaining sufficient viable Lpb. plantarumI cells. A higher pH and temperature resulted in higher growth rates, measured by the weight and length of scallops, compared to the control group. The results obtained shed light on the influence of the addition of lactic acid bacteria on the growth of bivalve mollusks under normal and climate change conditions, and provide control of pathogenic microorganisms. In the context of climate change, host-pathogen interactions need to be recognized and put under control by applying natural solutions to minimize the environmental footprint. more...