Search Results (12)

The production of citric acid, a vital agricultural commodity utilized across various industries such as food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, detergents, and cosmetics, predominantly relies on microbial fermentation, with Aspergillus niger accounting for approximately 90% of global production. In this study, we aimed to optimize the key factors influencing citric acid production, with a focus on strains, fermentation techniques, and carbon sources, particularly sugarcane molasses. A. niger, sourced from the Botany department/Biotechnology laboratories at Govt. College of Science, Lahore, was employed for citric acid production. The process involved inoculum preparation through spore collection from 3 to 5 days of cultured PDA slants. The fermentation medium, comprising cane molasses with a 15% sugar concentration, was meticulously prepared and optimized for various factors, including magnesium sulfate, potassium ferrocyanide, time of addition of potassium ferrocyanide, ammonium oxalate, and calcium chloride. Our optimization results shed light on the significant impact of different factors on citric acid production. For instance, the addition of 0.4 g/L magnesium sulfate led to a maximum yield of 75%, while 2 g/L potassium ferrocyanide, added at 24 h, achieved a yield of 78%. Remarkably, ammonium oxalate, at a concentration of 10 g/L, resulted in a notable 77% yield. Conversely, the addition of calcium chloride exhibited negligible effects on citric acid production, with the control group yielding more at 78%. Our study underscores the potential for optimizing factors to enhance citric acid production by A. niger in submerged fermentation. These findings highlight the pivotal role of magnesium sulfate, potassium ferrocyanide, and ammonium oxalate in augmenting citric acid yields while emphasizing the minimal impact of calcium chloride. Ultimately, these insights contribute to advancing our understanding of microbial citric acid biosynthesis, providing valuable implications for industrial applications and future research endeavors. Full article

The genus Trichoderma holds economic significance due to its widespread distribution and diverse applications, including biological control, enzyme production, and various biotechnological uses. The accurate identification of Trichoderma species is crucial given their close association with human activities. Despite previous efforts in classification, a comprehensive analysis combining morphological and molecular approaches is necessary. This study focuses on the isolation of four Trichoderma species from industrial wastewater in Pakistan, expanding on the known diversity in the region; isolation involved collecting samples from industrial wastewater effluents at specific sites in Punjab, Pakistan. Trichoderma strains were cultured and purified on solid media, with subsequent biomass production for bisorptional activity. Morphological characterization included colony features and microscopic examinations. DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region were conducted for molecular analysis. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using the Maximum Likelihood Algorithm. The study identified three Trichoderma species, viz. T. citrinoviride, T. erinaceum, and T. longibrachiatum. Each species was characterized morphologically and supported by molecular–phylogenetic analysis. Illustrations of microscopic features and a phylogenetic tree based on the ITS-nrDNA region were recorded. T. citrinoviride and T. longibrachiatum, isolated from steel mill and tanneries wastewater, respectively, were differentiated based on morphological characteristics such as phialides and conidia. The combination of morphological and molecular techniques enhances the accuracy of species identification. The study highlights the significance of Trichoderma in industrial wastewater environments and underscores the need for continued research in this area. Future research should focus on exploring the ecological roles and potential applications of the newly identified Trichoderma species. Additionally, further investigations into the biotechnological potential of these species, including enzyme production and bioremediation capabilities, would contribute to their practical applications. Full article

Excessive nitrogenous fertilization in years resulted in larger nitrogen and profit losses. This problem can be reduced by using need-based and time-specific nitrogen management. Therefore, a field experiment was carried out during the Kharif season of 2019 and 2020 in order to evaluate the impact of precision nitrogen management on the phenology, yield and agrometeorological indices of hybrid maize genotypes at the Agronomy Research Farm, FoA Wadura, Sopore, SKUAST-Kashmir. The experiment was carried out in split-plot design consisting of maize hybrids (Shalimar Maize Hybrid-2 Vivek-45 and Kanchan-517) as main plot treatments and precision nitrogen management (T₁: Control, T₂: Recommended N, T₃: 25% N as basal ≤ LCC 3@20 kg N ha⁻¹, T₄: 25% N as basal ≤ LCC 3@30 kg N ha⁻¹, T₅: 25% N as basal ≤ LCC 4@20 kg N ha⁻¹, T₆: 25% N as basal ≤ LCC 4@30 kg N ha⁻¹, T₇: 25% N as basal ≤ LCC 5@20 kg N ha⁻¹ and T₈: 25% N as basal ≤ LCC 5@30 kg N ha⁻¹) as sub-plot treatments. Results demonstrated that maize hybrids showed a non-significant difference in attaining different phenophases during both years. However, Shalimar Maize Hybrid-2 demonstrated higher grain (62.35 and 60.65 q ha⁻¹) and biological yield (170.26 and 165.86 q ha⁻¹), a higher number of days to attain different phenological stages in comparison to Vivek-45 and Kanchan-517 thereby achieved higher heat units, PTUs, HTUs, PTI. The application of nitrogen through LCC ≤ 5@30 kg N ha⁻¹ noted higher grain yield (61.27 and 59.13 q ha⁻¹) and biological yield (171.30 and 166.13 q ha⁻¹) during 2019 and 2020 respectively. Higher values of Growing degree days (GDD), Heliothermal units (HTU), Photothermal units (PTU), Phenothermal index (PTI), heat use efficiency (HUE) and radiation use efficiency (RUE) were observed in the application of nitrogen through LCC ≤ 5@30 kg N ha⁻¹ and required the highest number of days to reach different phenophases than other treatments during crop growing seasons of 2019 and 2020. The results demonstrated that Nitrogen application based on LCC ≤ 5@30 proved effective and should be adopted in maize hybrids especially in Shalimar Maize Hybrid-2 to attain higher yield under the temperate climate of Kashmir Valley. Full article

Increasing nitrogen use efficiency in rice intensification (SRI) is pivotal to achieving high crop yield and reducing nitrogen losses. To find the critical value of the leaf color chart (LCC) for real-time nitrogen (N) application in rice varieties under SRI, a field experiment was laid at the Research Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKAUST-Kashmir in Kharif between 2019 and 2020. The experiment comprised two cultivars (SR-3 and SR-4) and eight LCC-based nitrogen managements (control, recommended dose of nitrogen (RDF), and three LCC scores (≤3, ≤4, ≤5 each with 20 and 30 kg N ha⁻¹). SR-4 produced significantly higher values for growth and yield parameters, producing higher grain yield (7.02 and 6.86 t ha⁻¹) compared to SR-3 (6.49 and 6.36 t ha⁻¹) between 2019 and 2020, respectively. An LCC value of 5 with 30 kg N ha⁻¹ produced maximum grain yield (7.84 and 7.70 t ha⁻¹) in 2019 and 2020, respectively, which were statistically at par with the LCC value of 5 with 20 kg Nha⁻¹. Pooled data revealed that the highest B: C ratio of 1.55 was recorded in cultivar SR-4 with an LCC value of 5 with 30 kg N ha⁻¹. Furthermore, agronomic and recovery efficiency of nitrogen remained maximum in LCC 5 with 20 kg N ha⁻¹ for both years. Grain yield recorded in LCC 3 20 kg N ha⁻¹ was similar to recommended nitrogen. The present study highlighted the need-based N application through LCC and proved effective in increasing the N-use efficiency and yield in rice. Full article

In this study, the structural and magnetic properties of a series of functionalized Co_100−xNi_x (x = 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, 85) nanoparticles (NPs) were analyzed with the objective of attaining a high specific absorption rate (SAR). The magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) obtained by ball milling at 1425 rpm lie in the range of 03–29 nm and are studied as potential candidates for magnetic fluid hyperthermia. Magnetic measurements show that all samples possess soft ferromagnetic properties with the reduction in the Curie temperature (T_C) by Ni substitution in Co_100−xNi_x alloys and by ball milling. The specific absorption rate (SAR) and specific loss power (SLP) obtained from magnetothermal measurements for powder and fluid samples lie in the range 4.4–83 W/g and 19–382 W/g, respectively, showing strong dependence on structural and magnetic properties. The SAR/SLP values as a function of the applied field at 425 kHz display a square dependence on the applied magnetic field below 165 Oe, which is expected for single domain ferromagnetic nanoparticles, but deviate from this at higher values of the applied field. We also obtained the effective anisotropy constant $K_{eff}$ for ball-milled nanoparticles at 1425 rpm for 200, 300, and 500 min. within the framework of linear response theory, showing strong dependence on average crystallite size. Additionally, the toxicity of the prepared nanoparticles in the form of percentage hemolysis was controlled with oleic acid. Full article

Purpose: This study aims to analyze and characterize anthrax vaccine-related research, key developments, global research trends, and mapping of published scientific research articles during the last three decades (1991–2021). Methods: A bibliometric and visualized study was conducted. The Web of Science Core Collection database (WoSCC) was searched using relevant keywords (“Anthrax” OR “Anthrax bacterium” OR “Bacillus anthracis” OR “Bacteridium anthracis” OR “Bacillus cereus var. Anthracis” (Topic)) AND (“Vaccine” OR “Vaccines” OR “Immunization” OR “Immunisation” OR “Immunizations” OR “Immunisations” (Topic)) with specific restrictions. The data was analyzed and plotted by using different bibliometric software and tools (HistCiteTM software, version 12.3.17, Bibliometrix: An R-tool version 3.2.1, and VOSviewer software, version 1.6.17). Results: The initial search yielded 1750 documents. After screening the titles and abstracts of the published studies, a total of 1090 articles published from 1991 to 2021 were included in the final analysis. These articles were published in 334 journals and were authored by 4567 authors from 64 countries with a collaboration index of 4.32. The annual scientific production growth rate was found to be 9.68%. The analyzed articles were cited 31335 times. The most productive year was 2006 (n = 77, 7.06%), while the most cited year was 2007 (2561 citations). The leading authors and journals in anthrax research were Rakesh Bhatnagar from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India (n = 35, 3.21%), and Vaccine (n = 1830, 16.51%), while the most cited author and journal were Arthur M. Friedlander from the United States Department of Defense (n = 2762), and Vaccine (n = 5696), respectively. The most studied recent research trend topics were lethal, double-blind, epidemiology, B surface antigen, disease, and toxin. The United States of America (USA) was the most dominant country in terms of publications, citations, corresponding author country, and global collaboration in anthrax vaccine research. The USA had the strongest collaboration with the United Kingdom (UK), China, Canada, Germany, and France. Conclusion: This is the first bibliometric study that provides a comprehensive historical overview of scientific studies. From 2006 to 2008, more than 20% of the total articles were published; however, a decrease was observed since 2013 in anthrax vaccine research. The developed countries made significant contributions to anthrax vaccine-related research, especially the USA. Among the top 10 leading authors, six authors are from the USA. The majority of the top leading institutions are also from the USA. About 90% of the total studies were funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), USA. Full article

Erosive wear due to the fact of sand severely affects hydrocarbon production industries and, consequently, various sectors of the mineral processing industry. In this study, the effect of the elbow geometrical configuration on the erosive wear of carbon steel for silt–water–air flow conditions were investigated using material loss analysis, surface roughness analysis, and microscopic imaging technique. Experiments were performed under the plug flow conditions in a closed flow loop at standard atmospheric pressure. Water and air plug flow and the disperse phase was silt (silica sand) with a 2.5 wt % concentration, and a silt grain size of 70 µm was used for performing the tests. The experimental analysis showed that silt impact increases material disintegration up to 1.8 times with a change in the elbow configuration from 60° to 90° in plug flow conditions. The primary erosive wear mechanisms of the internal elbow surface were sliding, cutting, and pit propagation. The maximum silt particle impaction was located at the outer curvature in the 50° position in 60° elbows and the 80° position in 90° elbows in plug flow. The erosion rate decreased from 10.23 to 5.67 mm/year with a change in the elbow angle from 90° to 60°. Moreover, the microhardness on the Vickers scale increased from 168 to 199 in the 90° elbow and from 168 to 184 in the 60° elbow. Full article

A research trial was conducted at Agronomy Farm (SKUAST-K, Wadura, Jammu & Kashmir), during kharif 2017 and 2018 to evaluate nutrient removal in rice under various rice establishment methods and weed control measures. The study comprised of two factors: rice establishment techniques {Transplanting (TPR); Direct seeding (DSR) and System of rice intensification (SRI)} as main plot treatments and weed control measures {Butachlor @ 1500 g a.i ha⁻¹ (B); Penoxsulam @ 22.5 g a.i ha⁻¹ (P); Pyrazosulfuron ethyl + Pretilachlor @ 15 and 600 g a.i ha⁻¹ (PP); Bensulfuron methyl + Pretilachlor @ 60 and 600 g a.i ha⁻¹ (BP); 2 Conoweeding/Hand Weeding (CW/HW); Weed free (WF) and weedy check (WC)} as sub-plot treatments meant to evaluate the best establishment method and weed management practice for rice. Over DSR and transplanted rice, the SRI technique yielded a significant increase in dry biomass accumulation (17.04 and 17.20 t ha⁻¹) and grain (7.92 and 8.17 t ha⁻¹) and straw (9.60 and 10.17 t ha⁻¹) yields. Penoxsulam herbicide significantly showed higher grain and straw yield of 8.19 and 8.28 t ha⁻¹ and 10.13 and 10.44 t ha⁻¹, respectively, than other weed management measures by comparing the means using critical difference. TPR excelled in reducing dry weed biomass more than other established methods. All herbicides considerably reduced dry weed biomass, but Penoxsulam herbicide showed the greatest reduction in dry weed biomass and proved superior against complex weed flora. Weeds showed maximum contribution towards total Biomass under DSR, among rice establishment techniques. In contrast, among different weed control measures, it was maximum in weedy check treatment (Untreated Control) and minimum in penoxsulam treatment. SRI significantly excelled in crop (grain and straw) nutrient uptake compared to the DSR and TPR method, although different crop establishment techniques non-significantly influenced nutrient concentrations. Furthermore, penoxsulam treatment demonstrated higher crop (grain and straw) nutrient uptake among the various weed management measures. However, available soil nutrients were observed among establishment techniques, highest in DSR and lowest in SRI. Moreover, direct-seeded rice excelled SRI and transplanted rice in weed nutrient uptake, and among the different herbicidal treatments, penoxsulam recorded the lowest uptake in weeds. Nutrient budgeting demonstrated that DSR showed the maximum percentage of nutrient removal by weeds, and the minimum ratio was in TPR. In contrast, the lowest rate of nutrients removed via weeds were seen in penoxsulam application under various weed management measures. Full article

Protein kinase inhibitors (PKIs) are important therapeutic agents. As of 31 May 2021, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has approved 70 PKIs. Most of the PKIs are employed to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases. Imatinib was the first PKI approved by USFDA in 2001. This review summarizes the compound patents and the essential polymorph patents of the PKIs approved by the USFDA from 2001 to 31 May 2021. The dates on the generic drug availability of the PKIs in the USA market have also been forecasted. It is expected that 19 and 48 PKIs will be genericized by 2025 and 2030, respectively, due to their compound patent expiry. This may reduce the financial toxicity associated with the existing PKIs. There are nearly 535 reported PKs. However, the USFDA approved PKIs target only about 10–15% of the total said PKs. As a result, there are still a large number of unexplored PKs. As the field advances during the next 20 years, one can anticipate that PKIs with many scaffolds, chemotypes, and pharmacophores will be developed. Full article

Introduction: Considering a growing number of female sex workers (FSWs) in Bangladesh, there remains a greater need to reduce sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates, as lower social and cultural status cause FSWs to have less access to education, employment opportunities, and health care, including opportunities for HIV tests, counseling, and medical care. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 546 street, hotel, and residence-based FSWs. This current study aimed to identify the prevalence and to ascertain the associated risk factors among the FSW populations in Dhaka. Results: We found a majority of the participants were in the working age of more than 26 years for the FSW profession, with a mean age of 28 years. While the majority were unemployed (42.5%), alcohol abuse (p = 0.01) and drug dependency (p = 0.01) had an association, and inconsistency of condom use had a higher risk factor (AOR = 3.54) for a new STI case. Conclusions: FSW-oriented service platform should be integrated with health literacy interventions in urban and rural locations in Bangladesh. Understanding the differences in risk patterns and tailoring intervention will increase contraception use and lower STI cases and improve overall FSW quality of life. Full article

Erosion-corrosion of elbow configurations has recently been a momentous concern in hydrocarbon processing and transportation industries. The carbon steel 90° elbows are susceptible to the erosion-corrosion during the multiphase flow, peculiarly for erosive slug flows. This paper studies the erosion-corrosion performance of 90° elbows at slug flow conditions for impact with 2, 5, and 10 wt.% sand fines concentrations on AISI 1018 carbon steel exploiting quantitative and qualitative analyses. The worn surface analyses were effectuated by using laser confocal and scanning electron microscopy. The experiment was conducted under air and water slug flow containing sand fines of 50 µm average size circulated in the closed flow loop. The results manifest that with the increase of concentration level, the erosion-corrosion magnitude increases remarkably. Sand fines instigate the development of perforation sites in the form of circular, elongated, and coalescence pits at the elbow downstream and the corrosion attack is much more obvious with the increase of sand fines concentration. Another congruent finding is that cutting and pitting corrosion as the primitive causes of material degradation, the 10 wt.% sand fines concentration in carrier phase increases the erosion-corrosion rate of carbon steel up to 93% relative to the 2 wt.% sand fines concentration in slug flow. Full article

Cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are underreported in Bangladesh. Women in general suffer from poor sexual health outcomes due to a lack of access to sexual health services. mHealth, a digital approach to STI services, is an easier and cheaper way to disseminate health information in Bangladesh. However, women have less autonomy in accessing STI services and it is important to learn if, how and/or why women use mHealth. A qualitative study was conducted with 26 medical doctors to explore their perceptions of the mHealth STI services used by Bangladeshi women. Themes were grouped under four categories: (1) provider perceptions of mHealth for sexual healthcare; (2) the health literacy of women clients; (3) cost and maintaining timeliness in providing mHealth services; (4) mHealth service accessibility. Data suggest that mHealth can play a significant role in improving the awareness and utilization of STI services in Bangladeshi women. Successful opportunities for STI service expansion using mHealth were identified, depending on the quality and type of service delivery options, awareness of challenges related to health literacy framework, cost, accessibility to information and availability of culturally competent health experts to disseminate health information. We identify the need to increase access and use of mHealth services for sexual health, as it provides an innovative platform to bridge the health communication gaps in sexual health for Bangladeshi women. Full article