Use of fluorochrome-labeled rRNA targeted oligonucleotide probe and tyramide signal amplification to improve sensitivity of fluorescence in situ hybridization

A tyramide signal amplification (TSA) system was used in combination with a conventional fluorochrome-labeled 16S rRNA oligonucleotide probe to increase the sensitivity of fluorescence in situ hybridization. TSA was performed after hybridization resulted in a low fluorescence signal intensity. In contrast to the horseradish peroxidase-tyramide signal amplification (HRP-TSA) system and biotin-tyramide signal amplification (biotin-TSA) system, no additional expensive probe labeling was required. A whole cell hybridization technique was used to compare the fluorescence signal obtained using a monolabeled probe with that obtained using the TSA system. The fluorescence signal of the probe obtained using the TSA system was much higher than that obtained using the monolabeled probe. The technique was successfully applied to the in situ detection of microbial communities in anaerobic sludge. It was demonstrated that TSA resulted in an increased in sensitivity, as the fluorescence signal intensity was much higher than that obtained using a conventional probe.     

Microbial community structure and performance of an anaerobic reactor digesting cassava pulp and pig manure

Microbial community dynamics in response to changes in substrate types (i.e. pig manure (PM), cassava pulp (CP) and mixtures of PM and CP) were investigated in an anaerobic continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR). Molecular identification of bacterial and archaeal domains were performed, using a 16S rDNA clone library with polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) screening and phylogenetic analysis. Analysis of bacterial clone libraries revealed that the differences in the community structure corresponded to the substrate types. However, the Bacteroidetes were the most abundant group in all substrates, followed by the Clostridia. With pure PM, the dominant bacterial groups were Bacteroidales, Clostridia and Paludibacter. With a co-substrate, at CP to PM (CP:PM) ratio of 50:50, the sequences analysis revealed the greatest diversity of bacterial communities at class level, and the sequences affiliated with Cytophaga sp. became an exclusive predominant. With CP alone, Bacteroides sp. was the dominant species and this reactor had the lowest diversity of bacteria. Archaea observed in the CSTR fed with all substrate types were Methanosaeta sp., Methanosaeta concilii and Methanospirillum hungatei. Among the Archaea, Methanosaeta sp. was the exclusive predominant. The relative distribution of Archaea also changed regarding to the substrate types.     

Antioxidant and anti-glycation properties of Thai herbal teas in comparison with conventional teas

Fifteen Thai herbal teas in comparison with teas of Camellia sinensis, were studied for their antioxidants and anti-glycation properties in correlation with their total phenolics, flavonoids, and non-flavonoids contents. Significant differences were observed among the tea infusions. Only stevia and sappan herbal teas had primary antioxidants and anti-glycation capacities comparable to C. sinensis. However, purple velvet, mulberry and false mallow herbal teas were exceptionally stronger in metal chelating capacity than the C. sinensis teas. Principal component analysis showed that total phenolics, particularly flavonoids highly correlated with primary antioxidants and anti-glycation. Cluster analysis showed that the properties of stevia and sappan herbal teas were similar to green, black and oolong teas. Some common, but rarely mentioned, Thai herbal teas could be choices of interest for healthy beverages and could be new dietary sources for bioactive compounds.     

Prolonged fever due to Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) disease in advanced HIV infection: a public health concern

From March 1997 to June 1998, infectious etiologies of prolonged fever was prospectively investigated in 104 advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients admitted to Siriraj Hospital. The etiology could be identified in 91 cases (87.5%). Of these, blood cultures from 68 patients yielded mycobacteria and fungi. Mycobacterium avium complex was the most common blood isolate in 24 per cent of the patients; followed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 20.2 per cent, Cryptococcus neoformans in 5.8 per cent, Penicillium marneffei in 5.8 per cent. During the course of febrile illness, 79 of the 91 patients (86.8%) exhibited focal lesions. Weight loss, elevated serum alkaline phosphatase were often found to be significantly more associated with MAC bacteremia (P < 0.05). Pulmonary involvement significantly correlated more with M. tuberculosis bacteremia than MAC bacteremia (P < 0.05). No cause could be identified in 13 cases. Mycobacterium blood culture alone established the etiologies in 68 cases (65.4%). Of the 25 patients with disseminated MAC (DMAC) infection, nine patients died during hospitalization. Another three cases died within a few months of appropriate anti-MAC chemotherapy. We concluded that the risk of DMAC infection in advanced AIDS patients in Thailand is high when low CD4 lymphocyte count is established. The prolonged fever resulted from DMAC in advanced HIV infection is warrant to be public health concern. Mycobacterium blood culture is a most valuable tool contributing to the diagnosis of infectious agents in this condition. The guidelines of 1997 USPHS/IDSA should be followed to give chemoprophylaxis against DMAC disease in patients with advanced HIV infection and a CD4 count less than 50 cells/mm3.     

Photoreflectance study of strained GaAsN/GaAs T-junction quantum wires grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy

Strained GaAsN T-junction quantum wires (T-QWRs) with different N contents grown on GaAs by two steps metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy in [001] and [110] directions, namely QW1 and QW2 respectively, have been investigated by photoreflectance (PR) spectroscopy. Two GaAsN T-QWRs with different N contents were formed by T-intersection of (i) a 6.4-nm-thick GaAs0.89N0.011 QW1 and a 5.2-nm-thick GaAs0.968N0.032 QW2 and (ii) a 5.0-nm-thick GaAs0.985N0.015 QW1 and a 5.2-nm-thick GaAs0.968N0.032 QW2. An evidence of a one-dimensional structure at T-intersection of the two QWs on the (001) and (110) surfaces was established by PR resonances associated with extended states in all the QW and T-QWR samples. It is found that larger lateral confinement energy than 100 meV in both of [001] and [110] directions were achieved for GaAsN T-QWRs. With increasing temperature, the transition energy of GaAsN T-QWRs decreases with a faster shrinking rate compared to that of bulk GaAs. Optical quality of GaAsN T-QWRs is found to be affected by the N-induced band edge fluctuation, which is the unique characteristic of dilute III-V-nitrides.     

Activated carbons derived from sugarcane bagasse for high-capacitance electrical double layer capacitors

Activated carbon (AC) from sugarcane bagasse was prepared using a simple two-step method of carbonization and chemical activation with four different activating agents (HNO₃, H₂SO₄, NaOH, and KOH). Amorphous carbon structure as identified by X-ray diffraction was observed in all samples. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the AC had more porosity than the non-activated carbon (non-AC). Specific capacitance of the non-AC electrode was 32.58 F g^?1 at the current density of 0.5 A g^?1, whereas the AC supercapacitor provided superior specific capacitances of 50.25, 69.59, 109.99, and 138.61 F g^?1 for the HNO₃ (AC-HNO₃), H₂SO₄ (AC-H₂SO₄), NaOH (AC-NaOH), and KOH (AC-KOH) activated carbon electrodes, respectively. The AC-KOH electrode delivered the highest specific capacitance (about 4 times of the non-AC electrode) because of its good surface wettability, the largest specific surface area (1058.53 m² g^?1), and the highest total specific pore volume (0.474 cm³ g^?1). The AC-KOH electrode also had a great capacitance retention of almost 100% after 1000 GCD cycles. These results demonstrate that our AC developed from sugarcane bagasse has a strong potential to be used as high stability supercapacitor electrode material.

     

Effects of promoters on biomass gasification using nickel/dolomite catalyst

Metallic nickel has been selected as a catalyst for biomass gasification because of its activity in biomass steam gasification and tar reduction. The effects of types of promoters such as platinum, cobalt, and iron on biomass gasification were evaluated. The area of interest was the effects of preparation methods, which were impregnation and coprecipitation. Catalyst preparation by the impregnation method showed superior performance. The conclusion can be drawn from the experiments that the platinum promoter enhanced the reforming reaction, iron promoted a water-gas shift reaction, and the cobalt promoter favored a methanation reaction. Moreover, the addition of noble metal reduced carbon deposition on Ni/dolomite.