Mycoremediation of chlorpyrifos and lambda-cyhalothrin by two species of filamentous fungi

Chlorpyrifos and lambda-cyhalothrin are two of the most commonly used insecticides in agriculture. Their residues reach water courses, affecting aquatic fauna and subsequently human beings. Aspergillus viridinutans and Penicillium implicatum isolated from water drains at El-Giza and El-Ismailia governorates were grown in potato dextrose broth media supplemented with different concentrations of chlorpyrifos and lambda-cyhalothrin. Samples, taken at 0, 7 and 14 days, were analysed for pesticide residues by gas chromatography. The fungal species showed biodegradation potentials of 2.5, 5 and 20 ppm of chlorpyrifos and lambda-cyhalothrin. Degradation percentage reached 100% after 14 days of incubation of both pesticides (2.5 ppm) individually with the two tested fungal species. The values of degradation rate, besides the weights of dry fungal biomasses ensured that the optimum chlorpyrifosconcentration for A. viridinutans and P. implicatum was 5 ppm, while the optimum lambda-cyhalothrin concentration for A. viridinutanswas 5 ppm and 2.5 ppm for P. implicatum.     

Stabilisation/solidification of synthetic petroleum drill cuttings

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation into the use of stabilisation/solidification (S/S) to treat synthetic drill cuttings as a pre-treatment to landfilling or for potential re-use as construction products. Two synthetic mixes were used based on average concentrations of specific contaminates present in typical drill cuttings from the North Sea and the Red Sea areas. The two synthetic drill cuttings contained similar chloride content of 2.03% and 2.13% by weight but different hydrocarbon content of 4.20% and 10.95% by weight, respectively; hence the mixes were denoted as low and high oil content mixes, respectively. A number of conventional S/S binders were tested including Portland cement (PC), lime and blast-furnace slag (BFS), in addition to novel binders such as microsilica and magnesium oxide cement. Physical, chemical and microstructural analyses were used to compare the relative performance of the different binder mixes. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) values were observed to cover a wide range depending on the binder used. Despite the significant difference in the hydrocarbon content in the two synthetic cuttings, the measured UCS values of the mixes with the same binder type and content were similar. The leachability results showed the reduction of the synthetic drill cuttings to a stable non-reactive hazardous waste, compliant with the UK acceptance criteria for non-hazardous landfills: (a) by most of the binders for chloride concentrations, and (b) by the 20% BFS-PC and 30% PC binders for the low oil content mix. The 30% BFS-PC binder successfully reduced the leached oil concentration of the low oil content mix to inert levels. Finally, the microstructural analysis offered valuable information on the morphology and general behaviour of the mixes that were not depicted by the other tests.     

Comparative lyophilized platelet-rich plasma wafer and powder for wound-healing enhancement: formulation,in vitro and in vivo studies

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) accelerates wound healing, as it is an excellent source of growth factors. PRP was separated from whole human blood by centrifugation. PRP powder and wafers were prepared by lyophilization, with the wafers prepared using sodium carboxymethylcellulose (Na CMC). The PRP wafers showed porous structures, as indicated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, and the ability of the wafer to absorb exudates and thus promote wound healing was tested with the hydration capacity test. The platelet count was tested and indicated that the presence of PRP in the wafers had no effect on the platelet count. An antimicrobial activity test was carried out, showing that PRP had antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria. Compared with lyophilized PRP powder and PRP-free wafers, PRP wafers showed the highest percent of wound size reduction on induced wounds in rats. Histopathological examination of rat skin showed that the PRP wafers achieved the shortest healing time, followed by the lyophilized PRP powder and finally the PRP-free wafers. The present study revealed that PRP can be formulated as a wafer, which is a promising pharmaceutical delivery system that can be used for enhanced wound-healing activity and improved the ease of application compared to lyophilized PRP powder.     

Production of butanol and polyhydroxyalkanoate from industrial waste by Clostridium beijerinckii ASU10

This study demonstrated a biotechnological approach for simultaneous production of low‐cost H₂, liquid biofuels, and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) by solventogenic bacterium (Clostridium beijerinckii) from renewable industrial wastes such as molasses and crude glycerol. C beijerinckii ASU10 (KF372577) exhibited considerable performance for hydrogen production of 5.1 ± 0.84 and 11 ± 0.44 mL H₂ h^?1 on glycerol and sugarcane molasses, respectively. The total acetone‐butanol‐ethanol (ABE) generation from glycerol and molasses was 9.334 ± 2.98 and 10.831 ± 4.1 g L^?1, respectively. ABE productivity (g L^?1 h^?1) was 0.0486 and 0.0564 with a yield rate (g g^?1) up to 0.508 and 0.493 from glycerol and molasses fermentation, respectively. The PHA yields from glycerol and sugarcane molasses were 84.37% and 37.97% of the dried bacterial biomass, respectively. Additionally, the ultrathin section of C beijerinckii ASU10 showed that PHA granules were accumulated more densely on glycerol than molasses. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) analysis confirmed that the PHAs obtained from molasses fermentation included 3‐hydroxybutyrate (47.3%) and 3‐hydroxyoctanoate (52.7%) as the main constituents. Meanwhile, 3‐hydroxybutyrate represented the sole monomer of PHA produced from glycerol fermentation. This study demonstrated that C beijerinckii ASU10 (KF372577) is a potent strain for low‐cost PHA production depending on its high potential to produce high‐energy biofuel and other valuable compounds from utilization of organic waste materials.     

Semi-modified okara whey diet increased insulin secretion in diabetic rats fed a basal or high fat diet

Food Science and Biotechnology - Lifestyle and diet preferences are primarily responsible for developing type 2 diabetes. In this study, okara was manufactured into okara whey crackers (OWC) to...     

Gelation of Plasticized Polyvinyl Chloride Compounds in a Co‐Kneader

The co‐kneader is a proper tool for processing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) compounds. Gelation of PVC is complex because of a narrow processing window. At low temperature, gelation is incomplete and leads to poor mechanical properties, while at high temperature, degradation may occur. The aim of this study is to gain a fundamental understanding of the gelation process of PVC in co‐kneaders. Careful examination of the gelation state of extruded PVC samples was carried out qualitatively by swelling the extruded samples in acetone and quantitatively by differential scanning calorimetry measurements. Gelation in various conditions of temperature and shear was firstly studied in a capillary device that ensures both pre‐shearing and extrusion through a circular die. This provided a reference basis for comparison with gelation state obtained in the co‐kneader. Samples were collected in the co‐kneader by means of opening the barrel. The gelation state was particularly examined in connection with the measured temperature at a fixed position along the screw at which a temperature sensor was positioned. The obtained results showed that the co‐kneader allows fast gelation with a mixing energy value lower than 200 kJ/kg when the temperature is higher than a critical value of 165°C for the studied formulation. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 26:316–324, 2020. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Thermal,FTIR and UV spectral studies on tellurite glasses doped with cerium oxide

Tellurium oxide-based glasses in the form of 75TeO₂ – 10ZnO – (10-x)Nb₂O₅ – 5Li₂O – xCe₂O₃; where x = 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 mol%, were prepared by using the melt-quenching method. X-Ray Diffraction pattern (XRD) detected the amorphous nature of all the prepared glasses. Physical properties like density (ρ), molar volume $(V_m)$, and oxygen packing density (OPD), have been determined and calculated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies showed that the glass network contains TeO₄, TeO₃₊₁/TeO₃, ZnO₄, and NbO₆ as structural units. The glass transition temperature (T_g), onset of glass crystallization temperature (T_x), crystallization temperature (T_c), and melting temperature (T_m) have been determined by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The optical band gap (E_opt), the Urbach energy (?E), and the cut off wavelength (λc) were determined through the optical absorption data.     

Prediction-based secured handover authentication for mobile cloud computing

Mobile cloud computing (MCC) is a new technology that brings cloud computing and mobile networks together. It enhances the quality of service delivered to mobile clients, network operators, and cloud providers. Security in MCC technology, particularly authentication during the handover process, is a big challenge. Current vertical handover authentication protocols encounter different problems such as undesirable delays in real-time applications, the man in the middle attack, and replay attack. In this paper, a new authentication protocol for heterogeneous IEEE 802.11/LTE-A mobile cloud networks are proposed. The proposed protocol is mainly based on the view of the 3GPP access network discovery and selection function, which uses the capacities given by the IEEE 802.11 and the 3GPP long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A) standards interconnection. A prediction scheme, with no additional load over the network, or the user is utilized to handle cloud computing issues arising during authentication in the handover process. The proposed handover authentication protocol outperformed existing protocols in terms of key confidentiality, powerful security, and efficiency which was used to reduce bandwidth consumption.