Search

This case-series aims to report three cases of endogenous endophthalmitis due to invasive Klebsiella pneumoniae syndrome. Case 1 A 34-year-old lady who was admitted for pneumonia developed painful blurring of vision and redness in the right eye (RE) for one week. An examination of the RE revealed visual acuity (VA) of light perception (PL) with positive relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD), proptosis, and restriction of extraocular movement with hypopyon. The patient was treated for RE panophthalmitis with a lung abscess and was started on systemic and topical antibiotics. The vitreous tap culture grew Klebsiella pneumoniae. Despite treatment, the patient's condition deteriorated, and evisceration was undertaken. Case 2 A 38-year-old lady presented with a sudden painful RE associated with blurred vision and redness for two days, and fever for one week. RE VA was hand movement with a positive RAPD and anterior chamber cells of 2+. A B-scan revealed a dome-shaped subretinal mass with exudative retinal detachment. The patient was treated for RE panophthalmitis complicated by a basal ganglia abscess. The urine and vitreous tap cultures grew Klebsiella pneumoniae. She responded to high-dose intravenous and intravitreal antibiotics. Unfortunately, her RE became phthisical. Case 3 A 70-year-old lady presented with painless blurring of vision over the RE. The blood and urine cultures grew Klebsiella pneumoniae. RE VA was PL, and she was treated for endogenous endophthalmitis. The vitreous culture grew Klebsiella pneumoniae. Unfortunately, the RE became phthisical. In conclusion, endophthalmitis due to Klebsiella pneumoniae is invasive and carries a poor prognosis if prompt treatment is not rendered.

This paper reports a techno-economic assessment for industrial scale bio-flocculant production with okra as biomass feedstock. The sludge dewatering ability of the bio-flocculant was evaluated prior to economic analysis. Several optimisation strategies were investigated in order to lower the bio-flocculant production cost. The results showed that continuous mode microwave extraction was more economically beneficial than conventional extraction in batch and continuous modes. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the production cost was significantly affected by annual production and extract yield, and moderately influenced by raw material price. The optimised scheme for bio-flocculant production was continuous mode microwave extraction at 90° C, a residence time of 10 minutes, a water loading of 3.5 w/w and production rate of 220 tonnes per year. The economic assessment showed that the gross margin was positive, return on investment was in the expected range of 20 to 30% and payback time was within 5 years.

Babesia spp. are tick-transmitted intra-erythrocytic protozoan parasites that infect humans and animals, causing a flu-like illness and hemolytic anemia. There is currently no human vaccine available. People most at risk of severe disease are the elderly, immunosuppressed, and asplenic individuals. B. microti and B. divergens are the predominant species affecting humans. Here, we present a whole-parasite Babesia vaccine. To establish proof-of-principle, we employed chemically attenuated B. microti parasitized red blood cells from infected mice. To aid clinical translation, we produced liposomes containing killed parasite material. Vaccination significantly reduces peak parasitemia following challenge. B cells and anti-parasite antibodies do not significantly contribute to vaccine efficacy. Protection is abrogated by the removal of CD4+ T cells or macrophages prior to challenge. Importantly, splenectomized mice are protected by vaccination. To further facilitate translation, we prepared a culture-based liposomal vaccine and demonstrate that this performs as a universal vaccine inducing immunity against different human Babesia species.

Three main parameters of palm oil mill effluent (POME) i.e. biological oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS) and oil and grease (O&G), at high concentrations, have hindered efficient anaerobic digestion (AD) due to sludge flotation and scum formation. In this study, Moringa Oleifera extract was co-digested with POME to allow TSS and O&G to be coagulated and settled, and hence, an immobilisation media formed for better digestibility. Mono-digestion (POME, T1 and M. oleifera extract, T2, separately) served as control while co-digestion involved dosing 50 mL of M. oleifera extract (500 mg/L) into a fixed volume of POME (450 mL) at two feeding modes: daily, day 1 to day 30 (T3) and one-time, day 1 (T4). Treatments T1-T4 were conducted in an enclosed AD system for 30 days and the undesirable organic materials removal efficiencies i.e. BODremoval, TSSremoval and O&Gremoval were compared. POME co-digestion, T4, showed an improved 92% TSSremoval, 94% BODremoval and methane yield of 24.3 mL CH4/g COD removed. The results suggested that the nitrogen-fixing capabilities of anoxic microbial cells enhanced proliferation and growth encapsulated within the immobilisation media. Methanogen bacterial DNAs isolated from POME, granular sludge and anaerobically-treated POME were identified as Methanoculleus spp., Methanolinea spp. and Methanoculleus spp., respectively. Two-step complementary DNA (cDNA) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) confirmed the highest methanogen DNA concentration in T4. Therefore, the naturally occurring underutilised M. oleifera can be an organic coagulant for efficient POME co-digestion with an overall 69% and 59.5% higher methane yield and TSSremoval than mono-digestion.

The aim of this study was to investigate factors influencing nursing students' intention to use a simulated web-application 'Integrated Nursing Education System' for practicing electronic health documentation. The cross-sectional study was conducted at a Malaysian University that provides undergraduate nursing degree program. A total of 133 undergraduate nursing students in their year 2 to year 4 of the program were recruited. They had accessed the simulated web-application as part of the teaching-learning activities during the academic year 2016/2017. Technology Acceptance Model was used to guide the study. Validated questionnaires were used to measure the students' perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitudes and intention to use the application. Data collection was done at the end of the semester. Data analysis was done using SPSS (19.0) and AMOS (23.0). Perceived usefulness was the most influential factor of the students' intention to use the simulated web-application. Perceived ease of use influenced their perceived usefulness significantly. Nurse educators should explain the usefulness of the simulated web-application before assigning students to access it to practice electronic health documentation. The availability of a stable internet access and IT support is important to influence students' perceived ease of use and intention to use the application.

Palm oil mill effluent has been extensively researched via three different technologies, namely chemical, physicochemical and biological treatment methods. Biological treatment by anaerobic and aerobic means is currently the most commonly used method for palm oil mill effluent. However, the greatest challenge posed by them is the inconsistent biological oxygen demand of 20 mg/L for the final treated effluent. Large amount of investment for additional polishing plant prior to the final discharge has been utilised intentionally to further reduce the biochemical oxygen demand values, but the problem remains unresolved. The performance of current palm oil mill effluent treatment system deployed by the industry was evaluated by comparing two different types of anaerobic treatments: open ponding and covered lagoon systems (with hydraulic and gas mixing). The covered lagoon with hydraulic mixing achieved the highest chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, total volatile solids and lignin removal efficiencies of >80% compared to other systems which showed

Oil and grease, carbohydrate, protein, and lignin are the main constituents of high strength wastewaters such as dairy wastewater, cheese whey wastewater, distillery wastewater, pulp and paper mill wastewater, and slaughterhouse wastewaters. These constituents have contributed to various operational problems faced by the high-rate anaerobic bioreactor (HRAB). During the hydrolysis stage of anaerobic digestion (AD), these constituents can be hydrolyzed. Since hydrolysis is known to be the rate-limiting step of AD, the overall AD can be enhanced by improving the hydrolysis stage. This can be done by introducing pretreatment that targets the degradation of these constituents. This review mainly focuses on the biological pretreatment on various high-strength wastewaters by using different types of enzymes namely lipase, amylase, protease, and ligninolytic enzymes which are responsible for catalyzing the degradation of oil and grease, carbohydrate, protein, and lignin respectively. This review provides a summary of enzymatic systems involved in enhancing the hydrolysis stage and consequently improve biogas production. The results show that the use of enzymes improves the biogas production in the range of 7 to 76%. Though these improvements are highly dependent on the operating conditions of pretreatment and the types of substrates. Therefore, the critical parameters that would affect the effectiveness of pretreatment are also discussed. This review paper will serve as a useful piece of information to those industries that face difficulties in treating their high-strength wastewaters for the appropriate process, equipment selection, and design of an anaerobic enzymatic system. However, more intensive studies on the optimum operating conditions of pretreatment in a larger-scale and synergistic effects between enzymes are necessary to make the enzymatic pretreatment economically feasible.

SummaryThe airway epithelium develops into a tree-like structure via branching morphogenesis. Here, we show a critical role for localized differentiation of airway smooth muscle during epithelial bifurcation in the embryonic mouse lung. We found that during terminal bifurcation, changes in the geometry of nascent buds coincided with patterned smooth muscle differentiation. Evaluating spatiotemporal dynamics of α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) in reporter mice revealed that αSMA-expressing cells appear at the basal surface of the future epithelial cleft prior to bifurcation and then increase in density as they wrap around the bifurcating bud. Disrupting this stereotyped pattern of smooth muscle differentiation prevents terminal bifurcation. Our results reveal stereotyped differentiation of airway smooth muscle adjacent to nascent epithelial buds and suggest that localized smooth muscle wrapping at the cleft site is required for terminal bifurcation during airway branching morphogenesis.

The production of natural biopolymers as flocculants for water treatment is highly desirable due to their inherent low toxicity and low environmental footprint. In this study, bio-flocculants were extracted from Hibiscus/Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) by using a water extraction method, and the extract yield and its performance in sludge dewatering were evaluated. Single factor experimental design was employed to obtain the optimum conditions for extraction temperature (25–90 °C), time (0.25–5 h), solvent loading (0.5–5 w/w) and agitation speed (0–225 rpm). Results showed that extraction yield was affected non-linearly by all experimental variables, whilst the sludge dewatering ability was only influenced by the temperature of the extraction process. The optimum extraction conditions were obtained at 70 °C, 2 h, solvent loading of 2.5 w/w and agitation at 200 rpm. Under the optimal conditions, the extract yield was 2.38%, which is comparable to the extraction of other polysaccharides (0.69–3.66%). The bio-flocculants displayed >98% removal of suspended solids and 68% water recovery during sludge dewatering, and were shown to be comparable with commercial polyacrylamide flocculants. This work shows that bio-flocculants could offer a feasible alternative to synthetic flocculants for water treatment and sludge dewatering applications, and can be extracted using only water as a solvent, minimising the environmental footprint of the extraction process.

Flocculation is an essential phenomenon in industrial wastewater treatment. Inorganic coagulants (salts of multivalent metals) are being commonly used due to its low cost and ease of use. However, their application is constrained with low flocculating efficiency and the presence of residue metal concentration in the treated water. Organic polymeric flocculants are widely used nowadays due to its remarkable ability to flocculate efficiently with low dosage. However, its application is associated with lack of biodegradability and dispersion of monomers residue in water that may represent a health hazard. Therefore, biopolymers based flocculants have been attracting wide interest of researchers because they have the advantages of biodegradability and environmental friendly. But, natural flocculants are needed in large dosage due to its moderate flocculating efficiency and shorter shelf life. Thus, in order to combine the best properties of both, synthetic polymers are grafted onto the backbone of natural polymers to obtain tailor-made grafted flocculants. This paper gives an overview of the development of different types of flocculants that were being investigated for treatment of industrial wastewater. Furthermore, their flocculation performance will be reviewed and the flocculation mechanism will be discussed.

Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket-hollow centered packed bed (UASB-HCPB) reactor was developed with the aim to minimize operational problems in the anaerobic treatment of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) under thermophilic conditions. The performance of UASB-HCPB reactor on POME treatment was investigated at 55 °C. Subsequent to start-up, the performance of the UASB-HCPB reactor was evaluated in terms of i) effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT); ii) effect of organic loading rate (OLR); and iii) effect of mixed liquor volatile suspended solid (MLVSS) concentration on thermophilic POME treatment. Start-up up of the UASB-HCPB reactor was completed in 36 days, removing 88% COD and 90% BOD respectively at an OLR of 28.12 g L−1 d−1, producing biogas with 52% of methane. Results from the performance study of the UASB-HCPB reactor on thermophilic POME treatment indicated that HRT of 2 days, OLR of 27.65 g L−1 d−1 and MLVSS concentration of 14.7 g L−1 was required to remove 90% of COD and BOD, 80% of suspended solid and at the same time produce 60% of methane.

Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) treatment has always been a topic of research in Malaysia. This effluent that is extremely rich in organic content needs to be properly treated to minimize environmental hazards before it is released into watercourses. The main aim of this work is to evaluate the potential of applying natural, chemically and thermally modified banana peel as sorbent for the treatment of biologically treated POME. Characteristics of these sorbents were analyzed with BET surface area and SEM. Batch adsorption studies were carried out to remove color, total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), tannin and lignin, and biological oxygen demand (BOD) onto natural banana peel (NBP), methylated banana peel (MBP), and banana peel activated carbon (BPAC) respectively. The variables of pH, adsorbent dosage, and contact time were investigated in this study. Maximum percentage removal of color, TSS, COD, BOD, and tannin and lignin (95.96%, 100%, 100%, 97.41%, and 76.74% respectively) on BPAC were obtained at optimized pH of 2, contact time of 30 h and adsorbent dosage of 30 g/100 ml. The isotherm data were well described by the Redlich-Peterson isotherm model with correlation coefficient of more than 0.99. Kinetic of adsorption was examined by Langergren pseudo first order, pseudo second order, and second order. The pseudo second order was identified to be the governing mechanism with high correlation coefficient of more than 0.99.

The Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, The University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus has introduced “Year 1 Assessment Week” to replace the conventional coursework assessment method. During the assessment week, the first year students are required to conduct activities in groups. The activities involve elements of experiment, analysis, interpretation and presentation. This paper evaluates and analyse the impacts of such assessment system in promoting transferable skills among the students. Three stages of reflection (Teaching Activity, Reflecting and Interpreting) were conducted throughout the study. Questionnaires completed by the students, feedback from lecturers and self-observations are taken as the measurement of this study. Based on the results from the questionnaires, it is noted that most of the students agreed or strongly agreed with the transferable skills of “data sorting”, “manipulating and analysing”, “logical reasoning”, “communication”, “creativity and innovation”, “safety and teamwork” and “independent learning” were being applied during the assessment week. However, they were uncertain on how the transferable skills of “working within limited and conflicting data” and “information technology” could be applied in the activities during the assessment week. Most of the lecturers agreed that the students achieved the basic requirements of the assessment and fulfilled the learning outcomes. However, some lecturers found that the presentation and report writing skills were not highlighted during the assessment. In addition, some experienced lecturers reflected critically that the limited materials used in some of the activities had limited the creativity of the students.

Biodiesel is commonly produced from lipid feedstock, animal fats and waste cooking oil by transesterification reaction. Considering the depletion of fossil fuel, biodiesel is gaining more attention as a renewable and environmental friendly fuel. The rapid growth of biodiesel industry thereafter has raised concerns to many existing commercial biodiesel enterprises. The major issues like feedstock flexibility, yield productivity and environmental impact are always the challenges to the continuous growth of conventional biodiesel processing technology. The processing of biodiesel is greatly hinged on the rich scientific background and technology development for better process advancement. The present paper reviews various concerns raised from the commercial biodiesel processing technology. It also addresses some innovative process intensification (PI) technologies, which likely bring appropriate technological improvement for biodiesel production.

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) with average chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of 70,000 and 30,000 mg/L, respectively, can cause serious environmental hazards if discharged untreated. There are conventional palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment systems that require large footprint, long HRT and fail to meet the Malaysian Department of Environment (DOE) discharge limit. Hence, the current research is aimed to design a novel integrated anaerobic–aerobic bioreactor (IAAB) for POME treatment in order to overcome these shortcomings of the conventional system. IAAB is a new bioreactor configuration which integrates anaerobic and aerobic digestion in one reactor. The overall removal efficiencies in steady state condition in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) were more than 99% at the organic loading rate (OLR) of 10.5 g COD/L day with methane yield of 0.24 L CH4/g COD removed. The effluent quality remained stable (BOD < 70 mg/L) and complied with the discharge limit (BOD < 100 mg/L). Overall, the IAAB system exhibited good stability and pH adjustment was unnecessary. The results show that the IAAB achieves higher performance in terms of organic removal efficiency and methane yield at higher OLR and shorter HRT as compared to the conventional system. Further evaluations of its long-term performance are proposed for the subsequent study.

This research is aimed at improving the thermophilic aerobic treatment system of anaerobically digested palm oil mill effluent (POME) through optimization of mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) at high concentration range for the first time besides other parameters of organic loading rate (OLR), dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations and settling time. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) removal ratios were measured as indicators of the system performance. Experimental results clearly indicate that MLSS and OLR are the crucial parameters in thermophilic aerobic treatment. Optimal COD, BOD and TSS removals up to 86%, 87% and 89%, respectively, were achieved with MLSS concentration and OLR of 27,000 mg/L and 2.5 g COD/(L day), respectively. More significantly, high MLSS concentration range which is yet to be reported was successfully applied and this has resulted in superior performance as compared to other thermophilic treatment studies. No significant improvement of the treatment efficiency was attained with DO concentration exceeding 5 mg/L and settling time up to 24 h. Hence, operation at DO concentration of 2 mg/L and settling time of 2 h gives a good compromise between effluent quality and system operating costs.

The aim of this study was to investigate protein requirements for the maintenance and growth of blue-breasted quail (Excalfactoria chinensis) from 7 to 21 days of age. A total of 180 quails, 7 days old, were randomly assigned to 36 cages and for 2 weeks were fed diets with a metabolisable energy concentration of 12.13 MJ/kg and a dietary CP concentration of 125, 150, 175, 200, 225 or 250 g/kg. The average BW per cage and the feed intake per cage were recorded daily. The results showed that quails fed 125 g/kg CP could not maintain their BW and had negative feed efficiency. There were linear and quadratic relationships between CP level and response criteria, including BW, weight gain, feed intake, feed efficiency, final body nitrogen mass and body nitrogen accretion (P < 0.05). The dietary CP requirements, as calculated using a one-slope quadratic broken-line model, were 211 and 202 g/kg according to weight gain and feed efficiency, respectively. The regression equations, on the basis of metabolic BW, of daily weight gain on daily protein intake according to the model were Y = 0.137−2.128(0.113−X) if X < 0.113 and Y = 0.137 if X ⩾ 0.113 (R2 = 0.96, P < 0.001), which meant that the protein requirement for maintenance was 0.049 times the metabolic BW and that to gain 1 g weight quails needed to ingest an extra 0.47 g protein after the maintenance requirement was satisfied. The regression equations, on the basis of metabolic BW, of daily body nitrogen accretion on daily protein intake according to the model were Y = 5.667−76.700(0.119−X) if X < 0.119 and Y = 5.667 if X ⩾ 0.119 (R2 = 0.95, P < 0.001), which meant that quails had to receive an amount of protein equal to their metabolic BW multiplied by 0.045 to satisfy the requirement for maintenance and then ingest an extra 13 g protein to accrete 1 g body nitrogen. In conclusion, growth or protein accretion rates should be regulated according to dietary CP for specific experimental purposes via apportioning protein requirements for maintenance v. growth.

Anaerobic systems operated under thermophilic condition often encounter longer start-up period and operating problems pertaining to temperature shift when mesophilic seed sludge were utilized as thermophilic sludge. Bioaugmentation products for thermophilic conditions were not readily available in the market. Hence, a thermophilic mixed culture has been cultivated specifically for Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) treatment at thermophilic conditions using a batch Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) where POME was utilized as a substrate for the growth of microbes. The thermophilic mixed culture managed to reduce at least 90% of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) in POME with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6 days with a MLSS concentration of 14,000 mg/L. The biogas produced from the batch CSTR contained at least 64% of methane. The kinetic parameters for batch thermophilic POME treatment were obtained by fitting the Chen and Hashimoto's model to the experimental data. The maximum substrate utilization rate for this system was found to be 0.476 day −1 , which was higher than the systems operated under mesophilic range, and dimensionless kinetic parameters k and Q were −1.365 and 0.0007 respectively. The mixed culture had a methanogenic population which consisted of Methanosaeta thermophila , Methanosarcina thermophila , Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum , Methanobacterium thermoformicicum and Methanobacterium wolfei .

The production of highly polluting palm oil mill effluent (POME) has resulted in serious environmental hazards. While anaerobic digestion is widely accepted as an effective method for the treatment of POME, anaerobic treatment of POME alone has difficulty meeting discharge limits due to the high organic strength of POME. Hence, subsequent post-treatment following aerobic treatment is vital to meet the discharge limits. The objective of the present study is to investigate the aerobic treatment of anaerobically digested POME by using a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The SBR performance was assessed by measuring Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) removal as well as Sludge Volume Index (SVI). The operating pH and dissolved oxygen concentrations were found to be 8.25-9.14 and 1.5-6.4 mg/L, respectively, throughout the experiment. The experimental results demonstrate that MLVSS, OLR and sludge loading rate (SLR) play a significant role in the organic removal efficiency of SBR systems and therefore, further investigation on these parameters was conducted to attain optimum SBR performance. Maximum COD (95-96%), BOD (97-98%) and TSS (98-99%) removal efficiencies were achieved at optimum OLR, SLR and MLVSS concentration ranges of 1.8-4.2 kg COD/m(3)day, 2.5-4.6 kg TSS/m(3)day and 22,000-25,000 mg/L, respectively. The effluent quality remained stable and complied with the discharge limit. At the same time, the sludge showed good settling properties with average SVI of 65. It is envisaged that the SBR process could complement the anaerobic treatment to produce final treated effluent which meets the discharge limit.

Boron is extensively used in the ceramic industry for enhancing mechanical strength of the tiles. The discharge of boron containing wastewater to the environment causes severe pollution problems. Boron is also dangerous for human consumption and causes organisms' reproductive impediments if the safe intake level is exceeded. Current methods to remove boron include ion-exchange, membrane filtration, precipitation–coagulation, biological and chemical treatment. These methods are costly to remove boron from the wastewater and hence infeasible for industrial wastewater treatment. In the present research, adsorption–flocculation mechanism is proposed for boron removal from ceramic wastewater by using Palm Oil Mill Boiler (POMB) bottom ash and long chain polymer or flocculant. Ceramic wastewater is turbid and milky in color which contains 15 mg/L of boron and 2000 mg/L of suspended solids. The optimum operating conditions for boron adsorption on POMB bottom ash and flocculation using polymer were investigated in the present research. Adsorption isotherm of boron on bottom ash was also investigated to evaluate the adsorption capacity. Adsorption isotherm modeling was conducted based on Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The results show that coarse POMB bottom ash with particle size larger than 2 mm is a suitable adsorbent where boron is removed up to 80% under the optimum conditions (pH = 8.0, dosage = 40 g bottom ash/300 ml wastewater, residence time = 1 h). The results also show that KP 1200 B cationic polymer is effective in flocculating the suspended solids while AP 120 C anionic polymer is effective in flocculating the bottom ash. The combined cationic and anionic polymers are able to clarify the ceramic wastewater under the optimum conditions (dosage of KP 1200 B cationic polymer = 100 mg/L, dosage of AP 120 C anionic polymer = 50 mg/L, mixing speed = 200 rpm). Under the optimum operating conditions, the boron and suspended solids concentration of the treated wastewater were reduced to 3 mg/L and 5 mg/L respectively, satisfying the discharge requirement by Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE). The modeling study shows that the adsorption isotherm of boron onto POMB bottom ash conformed to the Freundlich Isotherm. The proposed method is suitable for boron removal in ceramic wastewater especially in regions where POMB bottom ash is abundant.

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a highly polluting wastewater that pollutes the environment if discharged directly due to its high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) concentration. Anaerobic digestion has been widely used for POME treatment with large emphasis placed on capturing the methane gas released as a product of this biodegradation treatment method. The anaerobic digestion method is recognized as a clean development mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto protocol. Certified emission reduction (CER) can be obtained by using methane gas as a renewable energy. This review aims to discuss the various anaerobic treatments of POME and factors that influence the operation of anaerobic treatment. The POME treatment at both mesophilic and thermophilic temperature ranges are also analyzed.

Selective gold adsorption was investigated for the NH 2 -MCM-41 and SH-MCM-41 adsorbents prepared by grafting aminopropyl and thiolpropyl groups on the surface of the MCM-41 mesoporous silica. The single component adsorption of gold, copper and nickel from salt solutions, and the binary adsorption studies of Au 3+ /Cu 2+ and Au 3+ /Ni 2+ solutions were carried out for the two adsorbents. Gold adsorption from simulated gold mining solution and gold electroplating wastewater were also reported. The NH 2 -MCM-41 and SH-MCM-41 displayed strong affinity for gold in the solution and both exhibited 100% selectivity for the gold in the binary Au 3+ /Cu 2+ and Au 3+ /Ni 2+ solutions. The NH 2 -MCM-41 is more suitable for the gold mining solution, while SH-MCM-41 is efficient for gold adsorption from the electroplating waste containing high amount of organics. The gold was recovered as high purity salt solution by elution with mineral acid for NH 2 -MCM-41 and thiolsulfate for SH-MCM-41. The regenerated adsorbent remained selective to gold and exhibited the same adsorption capacity as the fresh adsorbent. Also, the regenerated adsorbent performed well even after several reuses.

The present study is intended for the first time to completely replace the inorganic coagulants with organic polymers in palm oil mill effluent (POME) pretreatment by using direct flocculation of single and dual polymer systems under applied shear. The efficiency of direct flocculation of POME was investigated by using the Population Balance Model (PBM) which considered the charge neutralization and bridging attraction under applied shear. The collision efficiency was calculated based on the Derjaguin Landau Verwey Overbeek (DLVO) theory which considered the effect of adsorbed polymer layers on van der Waals attraction and bridging attraction. This is the first attempt to correlate the floc size distribution from PBM to the indirect indicators of COD, suspended solids, oil and grease. The model predictions are in close agreement with the experimental results for both single and dual polymer systems. The interaction energy curves based on PBM shows that the flocculation using cationic polymer is by charge neutralization and bridging attraction whereas flocculation using anionic polymer is by only bridging attraction. At the optimum flocculation conditions, 99.66%, 55.79%, 99.74% and 80.78% of suspended solids, COD, oil and grease removal and water recovery are achieved, respectively. The direct flocculation process significantly reduced the treatment cost by a factor of 3.6 compared to the conventional coagulation–flocculation process.

Petunia (Petunia × hybrida Hort. Vilm.-Andr.) plants were transformed by Agrobacterium with antisense BoACS1 (broccoli ACC synthase) and antisense BoACO1 (broccoli ACC oxidase) coding sequences of enzymes involved in biosynthesis of ethylene in broccoli plants. The integration of these genes with an antisense orientation was verified by PCR analyses of kanamycin-resistant regenerants. The expression of transgenes and endogenous genes was further confirmed by RT-PCR analysis. Production of ethylene in shoot tissues was reduced among most transgenic plants. Flowers of transformants, especially excised flowers, generally remained fresh longer than those of untransformed controls. The delayed flower senescence was more pronounced with the antisense BoACO1 than the antisense BoACS1. Transgenic tissues were, nevertheless, still responsive to ethylene. We conclude that the antisense BoACO1 gene from Brassica oleracea is able to reduce ethylene biosynthesis and delay flower senescence of Petunia hybrida more efficiently than the antisense BoACS1 gene.

A mathematical model suitable for the multiple solutes system in continuous cross-flow ultrafiltration is developed. This model is based on mass balance analysis coupled with the filtration theory (osmotic pressure model, Kozeny–Carman equation), resistance-in-series model and gel polarization model. This model is characterized by the parameters R m , P m , K b , K bi and k i . These parameters are estimated by using the Levenberg–Marquardt method coupled with the Gauss–Newton algorithm based on the experimental data obtained from the treatment of pretreated palm oil mill effluent (POME) as a feed in the pilot plant scale ultrafiltration system. The pretreated POME is composed of a ternary system with the solutes of carbohydrate constituents, crude protein and ammoniacal nitrogen. The simulation results show a good agreement with the experimental data. The proposed model is suitable for predicting the performance of multiple solutes in an ultrafiltration process. The concentration of each solute present is correlated with the COD value of the permeate stream.

Synthesis of a tri-epitopic Group A streptococcal lipopeptide vaccine was achieved using native chemical ligation. The vaccine was administered intranasally to B10.BR mice, (H-2 k ) with cholera toxin B-subunit (CTB) or sterile phosphate-buffered saline. Following five boosts, blood was collected for ELISA. Significant IgG antibody titres were observed to the included peptide epitopes following administration with CTB. However, no significant IgG titres were observed in the absence of CTB.

A one-dimensional model for the multiple solutes filtration system is developed by extending the Spiegler–Kedem model by incorporating the solute–solute interactions. This extended Spiegler–Kedem model is suitable for predicting the performance of multiple solutes system in nanofiltration. The model is characterized by the parameters of Lp, σs, Psi, Pss and ks. The parameters were estimated using the Levenberg–Marquardt method coupled with Gauss–Newton algorithm based on the experimental data obtained from the literature. The simulation results obtained from the proposed model were also compared with the simulation results obtained from the Spiegler–Kedem model and extended Nerst–Plank model, respectively. The simulation results indicate that the flux behavior and the predicted permeate concentrations were in good agreement with that predicted by the two existing models and the experimental data. The extended Spiegler–Kedem model developed is suitable for predicting the performance of multiple solutes for nanofiltration system.

Objective: To evaluate the use of the Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA), the oesophageal-tracheal combitube (ETC) and the tracheal tube (TT) by medical students, with a view to recommend changes to the medical school curriculum. Methods: A prospective cohort study of 93 third-year medical students were taught the use of LMA, ETC and TT on manikins and had their skills tested at 0 and 6 months. Results: Overall, LMA insertion was the fastest technique with a mean time taken for successful insertion of 32.2s, compared to that for ETC (55.0s, P = 0.000) and TT (71.5s, P = 0.000). There was a significant delay in the time taken for insertion at 6 months for all three devices: 13.5s for the LMA ( P = 0.000), 29.6s for the ETC ( P = 0.000) and 31.8s for the TT ( P = 0.001). Both the ETC and the TT had a significantly lower first-attempt success rate at 6 months (ETC: 91% versus 63%, P = 0.000 and TT: 80% versus 55%, P = 0.003) but not the LMA (96% versus 92%, P = 0.549). At 6 months, the overall success rate was 99% for the LMA, 100% for the ETC and 93% for the TT. Complication rate was higher for the ETC (9% versus 46%, P = 0.000) and the TT (38% versus 78%, P = 0.005) but not for the LMA (3% versus 10%, P = 0.688). Conclusions: The use of the TT is difficult and the skills acquired by the medical students deteriorate significantly over time. The LMA and the ETC seem to have an advantage over the TT in that they are more easily learnt and the skills better retained. It is recommended that these alternative devices be included in the medical school curriculum for airway management.

Precise modification of the human genome has been a goal of researchers for over two decades. Currently, genome modification is performed by either transient or stable delivery of nucleic acids that encode genome modifying components to target cells. This nucleic-acid-based approach has a number of drawbacks, including low efficiency, toxicity, prolonged expression, off target effects, and potential delay in modification due to transcription and translation post-delivery. An alternative approach is direct intracellular delivery of genome-modifying proteins to live cells. This method allows both the timing and dose of target protein to be tightly controlled, thereby improving efficiency. Consistent with this, it has been reported that direct Cas9 protein delivery leads to higher levels of on-target editing and fewer off-target effects (eLife 2014;10.7554/eLife.04766). Direct protein delivery, however, is limited by the need to express and purify protein in E. coli, where issues with protein yield, proper folding, lack of post-translational modification may ultimately reduce activity. The use of recombinant protein is further complicated by a lack of efficient and consistent delivery methods into target cells of interest. Improved methods, combining mammalian based protein production and efficient packaging into particles into one step can address these shortcomings. Here we report cellular delivery of DNA modifying proteins using VSV-G induced microvesicles (Gesicles). Gesicles are produced by co-overexpression of the spike glycoprotein of VSV-G with a protein of interest (POI), within a mammalian packaging cell. This leads to production of Gesicles containing active amounts of the POI expressed in mammalian cells. Based on this principle, we have developed a method for actively packaging genome modifying proteins into the Gesicles via ligand dependent dimerization. This approach allowed us package a POI containing a nuclear localization signal (NLS) efficiently into this particle. Analysis of the physical properties of these Gesicles demonstrated that they are highly stable over multiple freeze-thaw cycles, are consistent in size, and demonstrate minimal aggregation. Functionally, these Gesicles could efficiently deliver genome modifying proteins to a variety of cells, ultimately leading to genomic alterations. This effect could be demonstrated in over a dozen different cell lines; in all cases, cells maintained high viability and the results closely mimicked those obtained with viral transduction. Taken together, this work suggests that Gesicles can be considered a novel and universal tool for genome modification, providing a direct, rapid, and transient method for delivering active genome modifying proteins to target cells.

HIV-1 infection stimulates a strong CTL response that coincides with resolution of viremia in acute infection and declines with development of opportunistic infections. Recognition of HIV gp160 by PBMC-derived T cell lines from 20 HIV-infected subjects is dominated by the response to a small number of peptide epitopes. Overlapping CTL epitopes restricted by multiple MHC Class I elements were identified in 3 relatively conserved regions of gp160 (amino acids 49-68, 591-600 and 844-863). CTL from five of 20 subjects recognized three overlapping immunodominant epitopes in the 49-68 a.a. region restricted by A24, B38, and B55. CTL from four subjects recognized at least three distinct epitopes in a.a 591-600 in the context of A24, B8, B14, and B27. CTL from seven subjects recognized epitopes within a.a. 844-863 restricted by A30, B7, B8 and B35.

SummaryAngiogenesis, the process by which new blood vessels arise from preexisting ones, is critical for embryonic development and is an integral part of many disease processes. Recent studies have provided detailed information on how angiogenic sprouts initiate, elongate, and branch, but less is known about how these processes cease. Here, we show that S1PR1, a receptor for the blood-borne bioactive lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), is critical for inhibition of angiogenesis and acquisition of vascular stability. Loss of S1PR1 leads to increased endothelial cell sprouting and the formation of ectopic vessel branches. Conversely, S1PR1 signaling inhibits angiogenic sprouting and enhances cell-to-cell adhesion. This correlates with inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A)-induced signaling and stabilization of vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin localization at endothelial junctions. Our data suggest that S1PR1 signaling acts as a vascular-intrinsic stabilization mechanism, protecting developing blood vessels against aberrant angiogenic responses.

CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing has revolutionized the field of cell biology and is quickly being incorporated into the toolboxes of many laboratories. While CRISPR/Cas9 is a powerful technique for genome manipulation, two significant challenges remain: obtaining efficient delivery of Cas9 to all cell types and achieving fewer off-target effects. Recently, it has been demonstrated that genome editing via direct delivery of Cas9 is as effective as plasmid-based delivery, but with the added benefit of fewer off-target effects due to the short duration of the Cas9 protein in the cell (1). Here we report on the delivery of Cas9 using cell-derived nanovesicles termed gesicles. Gesicles are produced via co-overexpression of three components in a mammalian packaging cell: a nanovesicle-inducing glycoprotein, Cas9 endonuclease, and the sgRNA specific to the target gene. Additionally, we have developed a method for actively packaging sgRNA-loaded Cas9 into gesicles via ligand-dependent dimerization (iDimerize™ technology). The active packaging mechanism results in an approximate 4-fold increase in the loading of Cas9 into the gesicles. Moreover, the ligand-dependent dimerization approach also allowed us to efficiently package active Cas9 containing a nuclear localization signal (NLS) into these nanovesicles. We also have developed an optimized, lyophilized, one-step transfection formulation to promote high transfection efficiencies during the production of the Cas9-sgRNA gesicles. Gesicle-based protein delivery does not rely on recombinant protein production from a bacterial source or on the use of a transfection reagent for delivery. In this work, we were able to demonstrate that gesicles carrying a Cas9-sgRNA protein complex can mediate specific target-gene knockout in a wide variety of cell types, including human iPS cells. The observed knockout efficiency is often considerably higher than that observed with plasmid-based delivery of sgRNA and Cas9. This nanovesicle-based method allows for tight control of the dose and duration of the Cas9-sgRNA complex in the cell which has been shown to correlate with the amount of off-target cleavage (1). Through mismatch detection and Sanger sequencing of edited target sequences, we were able to demonstrate a lack of off-target cleavage when compared to plasmid-based delivery. Close analysis of the gesicles shows that they are stable over several freeze/thaw cycles and are consistent in size (~150-170 nm) as determined by nanoparticle tracking analysis. Overall, gesicles can be considered a novel and effective tool for simultaneous Cas9 and sgRNA delivery to any target cells. (1) Zuris, J. A. et al. (2014) Nat. Biotechnol. 33(1): 73-80.