With rapid development of infrastructures like tunnels and open excavations in Shanghai,investigations on deeper soils have become critically important.Most of the existing laboratory works were focused on the clayey ...With rapid development of infrastructures like tunnels and open excavations in Shanghai,investigations on deeper soils have become critically important.Most of the existing laboratory works were focused on the clayey strata up to Layer 6 in Shanghai,i.e.at depth of up to 40 m.In this paper,Layers 7,9,and 11,which were mostly formed of sandy soils at depth of up to 150 m,were experimentally investigated with respect to physico-mechanical behaviors.The stressestrain behaviors were analyzed by the consolidated drained/undrained(CD/CU)triaxial tests under monotonic loading.One-dimensional(1D)oedometer tests were performed to investigate the consolidation properties of the sandy soils.Specimens were prepared at three different relative densities for each layer.Also,the micro-images and particle size analyzers were used to analyze the shape and size of the sand grains.The influences of grain size,density,and angularity on the stressestrain behaviors and compressibility were also studied.Compared to the other layers,Layer 11 had the smallest mean grain size(D50),highest compressibility,and lowest shear strength.In contrast,Layer 9 had the largest mean grain size,lowest compressibility,and highest shear strength.Layer 7 was of intermediate mean grain size,exhibiting more compressibility and less shear strength than that of Layer 9.Also,the critical state parameters and maximum dilatancy rate of different layers were discussed.展开更多
Global warming has been the subject of concern in today’s world with elevating temperature causing the melting of polar ice and increasing sea level.The aim of this study was to investigate the physiological and phot...Global warming has been the subject of concern in today’s world with elevating temperature causing the melting of polar ice and increasing sea level.The aim of this study was to investigate the physiological and photosynthetic performance of two polar Chlorella,namely Chlorella UMACC 250 and Chlorella UMACC 234 to elevating temperatures as might be experienced under future warming scenarios.The cultures were exposed to three different temperatures of 4℃,8℃and 12℃.The growth and photosynthetic activity were determined every 2 d for a period of 10 d.At the end of the experiment,the cultures were harvested and analysed for biochemical composition.Both Chlorella strains were able to tolerate higher temperatures than their ambient temperature.The final pigments content showed an increasing trend with increased temperatures for both strains.The photosynthetic activities were measured using pulse-amplitude modulation(PAM)fluorometer.The photosynthetic parameters including maximum quantum efficiency(Fv/Fm),maximum relative electron transport rate(r ETRmax),light harvesting efficiency(a)and photoadaptive index(Ek)were derived from the rapid light curves(RLCs).Both Chlorella strains showed a slight decline in growth and photosynthetic activities at the initial part of the experiment.However,they showed the ability to recuperate with Chlorella UMACC 250 recovers better compared to Chlorella UMACC 234.Both Chlorella strains showed similar trend in their carbohydrate content at 12℃,while the protein content of Chlorella UMACC 234 decreased when exposed to increasing temperatures.The results indicated that polar Chlorella are able to survive at increased temperatures throughout the experiment.展开更多
Antibiotics released into the environment through anthropogenic activities exert selective pressure,driving bacteria towards increasing antimicrobial resistance.The prevalence of antibiotics and the ecological risks p...Antibiotics released into the environment through anthropogenic activities exert selective pressure,driving bacteria towards increasing antimicrobial resistance.The prevalence of antibiotics and the ecological risks posed in the riverine estuarine of Larut River and Sangga Besar River,which included wastewater effl uents from hospital,zoo,and poultry slaughterhouse sources were investigated.Solid phase extraction(SPE)followed by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass chromatography(HPLC-MS/MS)were used to extract and quantify the antibiotic residues from 22 antibiotics belonging to six major antibiotic classes(sulfonamide,macrolide,fl uoroquinolone,phenicol,trimethoprim,and tetracycline).Sixteen antibiotic residues were detected with concentrations ranging from limit of detection(LOD)to 1262.3 ng/L.Fluoroquinolones and macrolides were the most frequently detected compounds.Erythromycin,clarithromycin,and ofl oxacin detected in hospital and zoo effl uents posed a high risk to algae while tetracycline had low to medium ecological risks toward all the relevant organisms from aquatic environments(algae,invertebrate Daphnia magna,and fi sh).展开更多
This study aimed to assess the inhibitory activities of methanol extracts from the microalgae Ankistrodesmus convolutus,Synechococcus elongatus,and Spirulina platensis against Epstein-Barr virus(EBV) in three Burkitt&...This study aimed to assess the inhibitory activities of methanol extracts from the microalgae Ankistrodesmus convolutus,Synechococcus elongatus,and Spirulina platensis against Epstein-Barr virus(EBV) in three Burkitt's lymphoma(BL) cell lines,namely Akata,B95-8,and P3HR-1.The antiviral activity was assessed by quantifying the cell-free EBV DNA using real-time polymerase chain reaction(PCR) technique.The methanol extracts from Ankistrodesmus convolutus and Synechococcus elongatus displayed low cytotoxicity and potent effect in re-ducing cell-free EBV DNA(EC50<0.01 μg/ml) with a high therapeutic index(>28 000).After fractionation by column chromatography,the fraction from Synechococcus elongatus(SEF1) reduced the cell-free EBV DNA most effectively(EC50=2.9 μg/ml,therapeutic index>69).Upon further fractionation by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC),the sub-fraction SEF1'a was most active in reducing the cell-free EBV DNA(EC50=1.38 μg/ml,therapeutic index>14.5).This study suggests that microalgae could be a potential source of antiviral compounds that can be used against EBV.展开更多
Excessive rainfall is one of the triggers for the flooding phenomenon,especially in the tropics with flat or concave areas.Some critical points in the South Tangerang region,which are currently one of the most rapidly...Excessive rainfall is one of the triggers for the flooding phenomenon,especially in the tropics with flat or concave areas.Some critical points in the South Tangerang region,which are currently one of the most rapidly developing cities,cannot be ignored from the flooding problem.Floods cause disturbing human activities,loss of life and property,and in turn affect the economic stretch in an area.This paper aimed to predict rainfall by exploring the application of artificial intelligence techniques such as ANFIS(Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System).The proposed technique combines neural network learning abilities with transparent linguistic representations of fuzzy systems.The ANFIS model with various input structures and membership functions was built,trained,and tested to evaluate the capability of a model.Analyses of six-year rainfall data on a monthly basis in South Tangerang City,Banten found that rainfall prediction based on ANFIS time series is promising where 80%of data testing is well predicted.展开更多
Water samples were collected in order to study the spatial variation of photosynthetic pigments and phytoplankton community composition in the Lembeh Strait(Indonesia) and the Kelantan River Estuary(Malaysia)during Ju...Water samples were collected in order to study the spatial variation of photosynthetic pigments and phytoplankton community composition in the Lembeh Strait(Indonesia) and the Kelantan River Estuary(Malaysia)during July and August 2016, respectively. Phytoplankton photosynthetic pigments were detected using high performance liquid chromatography combining with the CHEMTAX software to confirm the Chl a biomass and community composition. The Chl a concentration was low at surface in the Lembeh Strait, which it was 0.580–0.682 μg/L, with the average(0.620±0.039) μg/L. Nevertheless, the Chl a concentration fluctuated violently at surface in the Kelantan River Estuary, in which the biomass was 0.299–3.988 μg/L, with the average(0.922±0.992) μg/L. The biomass at bottom water was higher than at surface in the Kelantan River Estuary, in which the Chl a concentration was 0.704–2.352 μg/L, with the average(1.493±0.571) μg/L. Chl b, zeaxanthin and fucoxanthin were three most abundant pigments in the Lembeh Strait. As a consequence, phytoplankton community composition was different in the two study areas. In the Lembeh Strait, prasinophytes(26.48%±0.83%) and Synechococcus(25.73%±4.13%) occupied ～50% of the Chl a biomass, followed by diatoms(20.49%±2.34%) and haptophytes T8(15.13%±2.42%). At surface water in the Kelantan River Estuary, diatoms(58.53%±18.44%)dominated more than half of the phytoplankton biomass, followed by Synechococcus(27.27%±14.84%) and prasinophytes(7.00%±4.39%). It showed the similar status at the bottom water in the Kelantan River Estuary,where diatoms, Synechococcus and prasinophytes contributed 64.89%±15.29%, 16.23%±9.98% and 8.91%±2.62%,respectively. The different phytoplankton community composition between the two regions implied that the bottom up control affected the phytoplankton biomass in the Lembeh Strait where the oligotrophic water derived from the West Pacific Ocean. The terrigenous nutrients supplied the diatoms growing, and pico-phytoplankton was grazed through top down control in the Kelantan River Estuary.展开更多
Kathmandu World heritage buildings are made from low strength construction especially traditional bricks. From the lesson from 2015 Gorkha earthquake, saving those buildings in severe quake has been a challenging job....Kathmandu World heritage buildings are made from low strength construction especially traditional bricks. From the lesson from 2015 Gorkha earthquake, saving those buildings in severe quake has been a challenging job. It requires proper assessment of its mechanical properties and strengthening as per seismic requirement. An investigation of mechanical properties on brick masonry heritage building has been done and presented here. Nondestructive test - elastic wave tomography at existing walls of the buildings and destructive tests shear, compression and combined loadings on the wallets made from bricks collected from old buildings The several test tests were conducted to find the properties of brick elements and walls such as, density, modulus of elasticity, Poisson’s ratio, shear modulus, shear wave velocity.展开更多
There is a huge amount of energy savings potential in public building sector that has yet to be realized.By prioritizing energy efficiency in its own buildings and thus promoting the development of required knowledge ...There is a huge amount of energy savings potential in public building sector that has yet to be realized.By prioritizing energy efficiency in its own buildings and thus promoting the development of required knowledge in terms of new technology and construction methods,the public sector will lead the way in efforts to increase the rate of renovations.The low-cost insulation strategies and a comparison of cost with existing insulation materials has been described in this study.We have repeatedly faced energy crises and will continue to do so in the future if appropriate action is not taken in a timely manner.Properly implementing energy-saving initiatives in for achieving thermal comfort in buildings as well as reducing the energy costs would undoubtedly inspire the residential sector,resulting in significant reductions in energy usage.Simulations were carried out to study insulation layers on various building components like exterior walls,floor and roofs,generating different scenarios for a building as a base model,which were then compared and analysed to verify the literature used to develop the cases.The proposed recommendations,which have been validated,are certain to increase building energy efficiency,achieve thermal comfort in low cost than what is currently being used.展开更多
The type specimens of Auerswaldia,Auerswaldiella,Barriopsis,Botryosphaeria,Leptoguignardia,Melanops,Neodeightonia,Phaeobotryon,Phaeobotryosphaeria,Phyllachorella,Pyrenostigme,Saccharata,Sivanesania,Spencermartinsia an...The type specimens of Auerswaldia,Auerswaldiella,Barriopsis,Botryosphaeria,Leptoguignardia,Melanops,Neodeightonia,Phaeobotryon,Phaeobotryosphaeria,Phyllachorella,Pyrenostigme,Saccharata,Sivanesania,Spencermartinsia and Vestergrenia were examined and fresh specimens of Botryosphaeriales were collected from Thailand.This material is used to provide a systematic treatment of Botryosphaeriales based on morphology and phylogeny.Two new genera,Botryobambusa and Cophinforma are introduced and comparedwith existing genera.Four species newto science,Auerswaldia dothiorella,A.lignicola,Botryosphaeria fusispora and Phaeobotryosphaeria eucalypti,are also described and justified.We accept 29 genera in Botryosphaeriales,with Macrovalsaria being newly placed.In the phylogenetic tree,the 114 strains of Botyrosphaeriales included in the analysis cluster into two major clades with 80%,96%and 1.00(MP,ML and BY)support,with Clade A containing the family type of Botryosphaeriaceae,and Clade B containing Phyllosticta,Saccharata and Melanops species.This group may represent Phyllostictaceae.In Clade A the taxa analyzed cluster in eight sub-clades(Clades A1-8).Clade A1 comprises three distinct subclusters corresponding to the genera Diplodia(Diplodia Clade),Neodeightonia(Neodeightonia Clade)and Lasiodiplodia(Lasiodiplodia Clade).Clade A2 clusters into three groups representing Phaeobotryosphaeria(100%),Phaeobotryon(100%)and Barriopsis(94%).Clade A3 incorporates 17 strains that cluster into three well-supported genera(Dothiorella(86%),Spencermartinsia(100%)and Auerswaldia(63%);the position of Macrophomina is not stable.Clade A4 is a single lineage(100%)representing the new genus Botryobambusa.Clade A5 is a wellsupported subclade incorporating Neofussicoccum.Clade A6 represents the type species of Botryosphaeria,three other Botryosphaeria species and two other genera,Neoscytalidium and Cophinforma gen.nov.Clade A7 comprises two Pseudofusicoccum species and Clade A8 has two Aplosporella species.These sub-clades may eventually require separate families but this requires analysis of a much larger dataset.Our data advances the understanding of Botryosphaeriales,there is,however,still much research to be carried out with resolution of families and genera,linkage of sexual and asexual morphs and differentiation of cryptic species.展开更多
Trichomerium is a genus of foliar epiphytes with the appearance of sooty moulds,mostly occurring on the surface of living leaves and apparently gaining their nutrients from insect exudates.Species have ascostromata wi...Trichomerium is a genus of foliar epiphytes with the appearance of sooty moulds,mostly occurring on the surface of living leaves and apparently gaining their nutrients from insect exudates.Species have ascostromata with setae and develop on a loosely interwoven mycelial mass of dark brown hyphae,while asci have a bitunicate appearance with hyaline ascospores.In this study,we made 16 collections of Trichomerium from Thailand.All were isolated,and the LSU and ITS rDNA gene regions sequenced.Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the Trichomerium species form a monophyletic clade within Chaetothyriales and warrant the introduction of a new family Trichomeriaceae.Bootstrap support for the Chaetothyriales is 100%and clearly separates Trichomeriaceae from Capnodiales which are morphologically very similar.A detailed account of Trichomerium is provided and we describe and illustrate three new species based on morphological and molecular data.We propose that T.foliicola is adopted as the generic type of Trichomerium because it has been impossible to obtain the holotype specimen of T.coffeicola and also no molecular data exists in worldwide databases for this species or genus.展开更多
Sooty moulds are a remarkable,but poorly understood group of fungi.They coat fruits and leaves superficially with black mycelia,which reduces photosynthesis rates of host plants.Few researchers have,however,tried to q...Sooty moulds are a remarkable,but poorly understood group of fungi.They coat fruits and leaves superficially with black mycelia,which reduces photosynthesis rates of host plants.Few researchers have,however,tried to quantify their economic importance.Sooty moulds have been well-studied at the morphological level,but they are poorly represented in a natural classification based on phylogeny.Representatives are presently known in Antennulariellaceae,Capnodiaceae,Chaetothyriaceae,Coccodiniaceae,Euantennariaceae,Metacapnodiaceae and Trichomeriaceae and several miscellaneous genera.However,molecular data is available for only five families.Most sooty mould colonies comprise numerous species and thus it is hard to confirm relationships between genera or sexual and asexual states.Future studies need to obtain single spore isolates of species to test their phylogenetic affinities and linkages between morphs.Next generation sequencing has shown sooty mould colonies to contain many more fungal species than expected,but it is not clear which species are dominant or active in the communities.They are more common in tropical,subtropical and warm temperate regions and thus their prevalence in temperate regions is likely to increase with global warming.Sooty moulds are rarely parasitized by fungicolous taxa and these may have biocontrol potential.They apparently grow in extreme environments and may be xerophilic.This needs testing as xerophilic taxa may be of interest for industrial applications.Sooty moulds grow on sugars and appear to out-compete typical“weed”fungi and bacteria.They may produce antibiotics for this purpose and their biochemical potential for obtaining novel bioactive compounds for medical application is underexplored.展开更多
Numerical works have been conducted to investigate the effect of nozzle geometries on the discharge coefficient.Several contoured converging nozzles with finite radius of curvatures,conically converging nozzles and co...Numerical works have been conducted to investigate the effect of nozzle geometries on the discharge coefficient.Several contoured converging nozzles with finite radius of curvatures,conically converging nozzles and conical divergent orifices have been employed in this investigation.Each nozzle and orifice has a nominal exit diameter of 12.7x10^(-3)m.A 3rd order MUSCL finite volume method of ANSYS Fluent 13.0 was used to solve the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations in simulating turbulent flows through various nozzle inlet geometries.The numerical model was validated through comparison between the numerical results and experimental data.The results obtained show that the nozzle geometry has pronounced effect on the sonic lines and discharge coefficients.The coefficient of discharge was found differ from unity due to the non-uniformity of flow parameters at the nozzle exit and the presence of boundary layer as well.展开更多
Oscillating water column （OWC） based wave energy plants have been designed with several types of bidirectional turbines for converting pneumatic power to shaft power. Impulse turbines with linked guide vanes and fix...Oscillating water column （OWC） based wave energy plants have been designed with several types of bidirectional turbines for converting pneumatic power to shaft power. Impulse turbines with linked guide vanes and fixed guide vanes have been tested at the Indian Wave Energy plant. This was after initial experimentation with Well＇s turbines. In contrast to the Well＇s turbine which has a linear damping characteristic, impulse turbines have non-linear damping. This has an important effect in the overall energy conversion from wave to wire. Optimizing the wave energy plant requires a turbine with linear damping and good efficiency over a broad range of flow coefficient. This work describes how such a design can be made using fixed guide vane impulse turbines. The Indian Wave Energy plant is used as a case study.展开更多
Many fungi are pathogenic on plants and cause significant damage in agriculture and forestry.They are also part of the natural ecosystem and may play a role in regulating plant numbers/density.Morphological identifica...Many fungi are pathogenic on plants and cause significant damage in agriculture and forestry.They are also part of the natural ecosystem and may play a role in regulating plant numbers/density.Morphological identification and analysis of plant pathogenic fungi,while important,is often hampered by the scarcity of discriminatory taxonomic characters and the endophytic or inconspicuous nature of these fungi.Molecular(DNA sequence)data for plant pathogenic fungi have emerged as key information for diagnostic and classification studies,although hampered in part by non-standard laboratory practices and analytical methods.To facilitate current and future research,this study provides phylogenetic synopses for 25 groups of plant pathogenic fungi in the Ascomycota,Basidiomycota,Mucormycotina(Fungi),and Oomycota,using recent molecular data,up-to-date names,and the latest taxonomic insights.Lineagespecific laboratory protocols together with advice on their application,as well as general observations,are also provided.We hope to maintain updated backbone trees of these fungal lineages over time and to publish them jointly as new data emerge.Researchers of plant pathogenic fungi not covered by the present study are invited to join this future effort.Bipolaris,Botryosphaeriaceae,Botryosphaeria,Botrytis,Choanephora,Colletotrichum,Curvularia,Diaporthe,Diplodia,Dothiorella,Fusarium,Gilbertella,Lasiodiplodia,Mucor,Neofusicoccum,Pestalotiopsis,Phyllosticta,Phytophthora,Puccinia,Pyrenophora,Pythium,Rhizopus,Stagonosporopsis,Ustilago and Verticillium are dealt with in this paper.展开更多
Despite more than a decade of study,there are still significant obstacles to overcome before graphene can be successfully produced on a large scale for commercial use.Chemical oxidation of graphite to produce graphene...Despite more than a decade of study,there are still significant obstacles to overcome before graphene can be successfully produced on a large scale for commercial use.Chemical oxidation of graphite to produce graphene oxide(GO),followed by a subsequent reduction process to synthesize reduced graphene oxide(rGO),is considered the most practical method for mass production.Microorganisms,which are abundant in nature and inexpensive,are one of the potential green reductants for rGO synthesis.However,there is no recent review discussing the reported microbial reduction of GO in detail.To address this,we present a comprehensive review on the reduction of GO by a range of microorganisms and compared their efficacies and reaction conditions.Also,presented were the mechanisms by which microorganisms reduce GO.We also reviewed the recent advancements in using microbially reduced GO as the anode and cathode material in the microbial fuel cell(MFC)and algal biophotovoltaics(BPV),as well as the challenges and future directions in microbial fuel cell research.展开更多
Bioluminescent plankton are marine organisms capable of emitting visible light through chemical reactions in their bodies.This unique biochemical trait is attributed to a luciferin-luciferase reaction,which produces a...Bioluminescent plankton are marine organisms capable of emitting visible light through chemical reactions in their bodies.This unique biochemical trait is attributed to a luciferin-luciferase reaction,which produces a striking blue light.This fascinating phenomenon,often referred to as the“blue tears”effect,has become a major attraction for tourist attractions in many countries.Since their discovery,most investigations related to these marine organisms have primarily focused on the fields of biology,ecology,oceanography,and microbiology.However,there has been limited to almost no study of their potential applications in the area of energy or lighting.This paper provides viewpoints on the opportunities for using these marine organisms and their light-emitting characteristics as an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly lighting solution,rather than just as a tourist attraction.Additionally,it addresses the challenges associated with sustaining the growth of bioluminescent plankton collected from the marine environment,the importance of establishing suitable protocols for in-house cultivation,challenges in stimulating the light-production at desired time,constraint imposed by the circadian rhythm,the toxicity of certain bioluminescent plankton,and the capacity of their luminous intensity.展开更多
基金The financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.42072317 and 41727802)is gratefully acknowledged.
文摘With rapid development of infrastructures like tunnels and open excavations in Shanghai,investigations on deeper soils have become critically important.Most of the existing laboratory works were focused on the clayey strata up to Layer 6 in Shanghai,i.e.at depth of up to 40 m.In this paper,Layers 7,9,and 11,which were mostly formed of sandy soils at depth of up to 150 m,were experimentally investigated with respect to physico-mechanical behaviors.The stressestrain behaviors were analyzed by the consolidated drained/undrained(CD/CU)triaxial tests under monotonic loading.One-dimensional(1D)oedometer tests were performed to investigate the consolidation properties of the sandy soils.Specimens were prepared at three different relative densities for each layer.Also,the micro-images and particle size analyzers were used to analyze the shape and size of the sand grains.The influences of grain size,density,and angularity on the stressestrain behaviors and compressibility were also studied.Compared to the other layers,Layer 11 had the smallest mean grain size(D50),highest compressibility,and lowest shear strength.In contrast,Layer 9 had the largest mean grain size,lowest compressibility,and highest shear strength.Layer 7 was of intermediate mean grain size,exhibiting more compressibility and less shear strength than that of Layer 9.Also,the critical state parameters and maximum dilatancy rate of different layers were discussed.
基金funded by a research grant from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme(Grant no.FRGS/1/2017/STG05/TAYLOR/02/2)。
文摘Global warming has been the subject of concern in today’s world with elevating temperature causing the melting of polar ice and increasing sea level.The aim of this study was to investigate the physiological and photosynthetic performance of two polar Chlorella,namely Chlorella UMACC 250 and Chlorella UMACC 234 to elevating temperatures as might be experienced under future warming scenarios.The cultures were exposed to three different temperatures of 4℃,8℃and 12℃.The growth and photosynthetic activity were determined every 2 d for a period of 10 d.At the end of the experiment,the cultures were harvested and analysed for biochemical composition.Both Chlorella strains were able to tolerate higher temperatures than their ambient temperature.The final pigments content showed an increasing trend with increased temperatures for both strains.The photosynthetic activities were measured using pulse-amplitude modulation(PAM)fluorometer.The photosynthetic parameters including maximum quantum efficiency(Fv/Fm),maximum relative electron transport rate(r ETRmax),light harvesting efficiency(a)and photoadaptive index(Ek)were derived from the rapid light curves(RLCs).Both Chlorella strains showed a slight decline in growth and photosynthetic activities at the initial part of the experiment.However,they showed the ability to recuperate with Chlorella UMACC 250 recovers better compared to Chlorella UMACC 234.Both Chlorella strains showed similar trend in their carbohydrate content at 12℃,while the protein content of Chlorella UMACC 234 decreased when exposed to increasing temperatures.The results indicated that polar Chlorella are able to survive at increased temperatures throughout the experiment.
基金Supported by the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia(Nos.IOES-2014D,FP048-2013A,SF022-2013)the University Malaya(Nos.RU009D-2015,PG309-2016A)。
文摘Antibiotics released into the environment through anthropogenic activities exert selective pressure,driving bacteria towards increasing antimicrobial resistance.The prevalence of antibiotics and the ecological risks posed in the riverine estuarine of Larut River and Sangga Besar River,which included wastewater effl uents from hospital,zoo,and poultry slaughterhouse sources were investigated.Solid phase extraction(SPE)followed by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass chromatography(HPLC-MS/MS)were used to extract and quantify the antibiotic residues from 22 antibiotics belonging to six major antibiotic classes(sulfonamide,macrolide,fl uoroquinolone,phenicol,trimethoprim,and tetracycline).Sixteen antibiotic residues were detected with concentrations ranging from limit of detection(LOD)to 1262.3 ng/L.Fluoroquinolones and macrolides were the most frequently detected compounds.Erythromycin,clarithromycin,and ofl oxacin detected in hospital and zoo effl uents posed a high risk to algae while tetracycline had low to medium ecological risks toward all the relevant organisms from aquatic environments(algae,invertebrate Daphnia magna,and fi sh).
基金Project (IRPA:06-05-01-0000-PR0054105-04) supported by the Ministry of Science,Technology,and Innovation (MOSTI) of Malaysia
文摘This study aimed to assess the inhibitory activities of methanol extracts from the microalgae Ankistrodesmus convolutus,Synechococcus elongatus,and Spirulina platensis against Epstein-Barr virus(EBV) in three Burkitt's lymphoma(BL) cell lines,namely Akata,B95-8,and P3HR-1.The antiviral activity was assessed by quantifying the cell-free EBV DNA using real-time polymerase chain reaction(PCR) technique.The methanol extracts from Ankistrodesmus convolutus and Synechococcus elongatus displayed low cytotoxicity and potent effect in re-ducing cell-free EBV DNA(EC50<0.01 μg/ml) with a high therapeutic index(>28 000).After fractionation by column chromatography,the fraction from Synechococcus elongatus(SEF1) reduced the cell-free EBV DNA most effectively(EC50=2.9 μg/ml,therapeutic index>69).Upon further fractionation by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC),the sub-fraction SEF1'a was most active in reducing the cell-free EBV DNA(EC50=1.38 μg/ml,therapeutic index>14.5).This study suggests that microalgae could be a potential source of antiviral compounds that can be used against EBV.
基金supported by a TU001-2018 grant under the University of MalayaLP2M Universitas Pembangunan Jaya where part of the work was initiated here and supported under the Internal Research Fund(001/PER-P2M/UPJ/05.19)
文摘Excessive rainfall is one of the triggers for the flooding phenomenon,especially in the tropics with flat or concave areas.Some critical points in the South Tangerang region,which are currently one of the most rapidly developing cities,cannot be ignored from the flooding problem.Floods cause disturbing human activities,loss of life and property,and in turn affect the economic stretch in an area.This paper aimed to predict rainfall by exploring the application of artificial intelligence techniques such as ANFIS(Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System).The proposed technique combines neural network learning abilities with transparent linguistic representations of fuzzy systems.The ANFIS model with various input structures and membership functions was built,trained,and tested to evaluate the capability of a model.Analyses of six-year rainfall data on a monthly basis in South Tangerang City,Banten found that rainfall prediction based on ANFIS time series is promising where 80%of data testing is well predicted.
基金The National Key R&D Program of China under contract Nos 2017YFC0604902 and 2017YFC1405101the ChinaIndonesia Maritime Cooperation Fund Project "China-Indonesia Bitung Ecological Station Establishment"the China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund and HICoE-MOHE Grant IOES–2014
文摘Water samples were collected in order to study the spatial variation of photosynthetic pigments and phytoplankton community composition in the Lembeh Strait(Indonesia) and the Kelantan River Estuary(Malaysia)during July and August 2016, respectively. Phytoplankton photosynthetic pigments were detected using high performance liquid chromatography combining with the CHEMTAX software to confirm the Chl a biomass and community composition. The Chl a concentration was low at surface in the Lembeh Strait, which it was 0.580–0.682 μg/L, with the average(0.620±0.039) μg/L. Nevertheless, the Chl a concentration fluctuated violently at surface in the Kelantan River Estuary, in which the biomass was 0.299–3.988 μg/L, with the average(0.922±0.992) μg/L. The biomass at bottom water was higher than at surface in the Kelantan River Estuary, in which the Chl a concentration was 0.704–2.352 μg/L, with the average(1.493±0.571) μg/L. Chl b, zeaxanthin and fucoxanthin were three most abundant pigments in the Lembeh Strait. As a consequence, phytoplankton community composition was different in the two study areas. In the Lembeh Strait, prasinophytes(26.48%±0.83%) and Synechococcus(25.73%±4.13%) occupied ～50% of the Chl a biomass, followed by diatoms(20.49%±2.34%) and haptophytes T8(15.13%±2.42%). At surface water in the Kelantan River Estuary, diatoms(58.53%±18.44%)dominated more than half of the phytoplankton biomass, followed by Synechococcus(27.27%±14.84%) and prasinophytes(7.00%±4.39%). It showed the similar status at the bottom water in the Kelantan River Estuary,where diatoms, Synechococcus and prasinophytes contributed 64.89%±15.29%, 16.23%±9.98% and 8.91%±2.62%,respectively. The different phytoplankton community composition between the two regions implied that the bottom up control affected the phytoplankton biomass in the Lembeh Strait where the oligotrophic water derived from the West Pacific Ocean. The terrigenous nutrients supplied the diatoms growing, and pico-phytoplankton was grazed through top down control in the Kelantan River Estuary.
文摘Kathmandu World heritage buildings are made from low strength construction especially traditional bricks. From the lesson from 2015 Gorkha earthquake, saving those buildings in severe quake has been a challenging job. It requires proper assessment of its mechanical properties and strengthening as per seismic requirement. An investigation of mechanical properties on brick masonry heritage building has been done and presented here. Nondestructive test - elastic wave tomography at existing walls of the buildings and destructive tests shear, compression and combined loadings on the wallets made from bricks collected from old buildings The several test tests were conducted to find the properties of brick elements and walls such as, density, modulus of elasticity, Poisson’s ratio, shear modulus, shear wave velocity.
文摘There is a huge amount of energy savings potential in public building sector that has yet to be realized.By prioritizing energy efficiency in its own buildings and thus promoting the development of required knowledge in terms of new technology and construction methods,the public sector will lead the way in efforts to increase the rate of renovations.The low-cost insulation strategies and a comparison of cost with existing insulation materials has been described in this study.We have repeatedly faced energy crises and will continue to do so in the future if appropriate action is not taken in a timely manner.Properly implementing energy-saving initiatives in for achieving thermal comfort in buildings as well as reducing the energy costs would undoubtedly inspire the residential sector,resulting in significant reductions in energy usage.Simulations were carried out to study insulation layers on various building components like exterior walls,floor and roofs,generating different scenarios for a building as a base model,which were then compared and analysed to verify the literature used to develop the cases.The proposed recommendations,which have been validated,are certain to increase building energy efficiency,achieve thermal comfort in low cost than what is currently being used.
基金We are grateful to the Directors and Curators of the following herbaria for the loan of specimens in their keeping:BAFC,BPI,IMI,K(M),LPS,PREM,S and ZT.The Mushroom Research Foundation,Bandoo District,Chiang Rai Province,Thailand is acknowledged for providing postgraduate scholarship support and facilities to JK Liu.Appreciation is extended to the Thailand Research Fund BRG528002 for supporting this work.
文摘The type specimens of Auerswaldia,Auerswaldiella,Barriopsis,Botryosphaeria,Leptoguignardia,Melanops,Neodeightonia,Phaeobotryon,Phaeobotryosphaeria,Phyllachorella,Pyrenostigme,Saccharata,Sivanesania,Spencermartinsia and Vestergrenia were examined and fresh specimens of Botryosphaeriales were collected from Thailand.This material is used to provide a systematic treatment of Botryosphaeriales based on morphology and phylogeny.Two new genera,Botryobambusa and Cophinforma are introduced and comparedwith existing genera.Four species newto science,Auerswaldia dothiorella,A.lignicola,Botryosphaeria fusispora and Phaeobotryosphaeria eucalypti,are also described and justified.We accept 29 genera in Botryosphaeriales,with Macrovalsaria being newly placed.In the phylogenetic tree,the 114 strains of Botyrosphaeriales included in the analysis cluster into two major clades with 80%,96%and 1.00(MP,ML and BY)support,with Clade A containing the family type of Botryosphaeriaceae,and Clade B containing Phyllosticta,Saccharata and Melanops species.This group may represent Phyllostictaceae.In Clade A the taxa analyzed cluster in eight sub-clades(Clades A1-8).Clade A1 comprises three distinct subclusters corresponding to the genera Diplodia(Diplodia Clade),Neodeightonia(Neodeightonia Clade)and Lasiodiplodia(Lasiodiplodia Clade).Clade A2 clusters into three groups representing Phaeobotryosphaeria(100%),Phaeobotryon(100%)and Barriopsis(94%).Clade A3 incorporates 17 strains that cluster into three well-supported genera(Dothiorella(86%),Spencermartinsia(100%)and Auerswaldia(63%);the position of Macrophomina is not stable.Clade A4 is a single lineage(100%)representing the new genus Botryobambusa.Clade A5 is a wellsupported subclade incorporating Neofussicoccum.Clade A6 represents the type species of Botryosphaeria,three other Botryosphaeria species and two other genera,Neoscytalidium and Cophinforma gen.nov.Clade A7 comprises two Pseudofusicoccum species and Clade A8 has two Aplosporella species.These sub-clades may eventually require separate families but this requires analysis of a much larger dataset.Our data advances the understanding of Botryosphaeriales,there is,however,still much research to be carried out with resolution of families and genera,linkage of sexual and asexual morphs and differentiation of cryptic species.
基金supported by the Thailand Research Fund BRG528002.
文摘Trichomerium is a genus of foliar epiphytes with the appearance of sooty moulds,mostly occurring on the surface of living leaves and apparently gaining their nutrients from insect exudates.Species have ascostromata with setae and develop on a loosely interwoven mycelial mass of dark brown hyphae,while asci have a bitunicate appearance with hyaline ascospores.In this study,we made 16 collections of Trichomerium from Thailand.All were isolated,and the LSU and ITS rDNA gene regions sequenced.Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the Trichomerium species form a monophyletic clade within Chaetothyriales and warrant the introduction of a new family Trichomeriaceae.Bootstrap support for the Chaetothyriales is 100%and clearly separates Trichomeriaceae from Capnodiales which are morphologically very similar.A detailed account of Trichomerium is provided and we describe and illustrate three new species based on morphological and molecular data.We propose that T.foliicola is adopted as the generic type of Trichomerium because it has been impossible to obtain the holotype specimen of T.coffeicola and also no molecular data exists in worldwide databases for this species or genus.
基金This work was carried out using a grant to the first author by the Office of the Higher Education Commission of Thailand.
文摘Sooty moulds are a remarkable,but poorly understood group of fungi.They coat fruits and leaves superficially with black mycelia,which reduces photosynthesis rates of host plants.Few researchers have,however,tried to quantify their economic importance.Sooty moulds have been well-studied at the morphological level,but they are poorly represented in a natural classification based on phylogeny.Representatives are presently known in Antennulariellaceae,Capnodiaceae,Chaetothyriaceae,Coccodiniaceae,Euantennariaceae,Metacapnodiaceae and Trichomeriaceae and several miscellaneous genera.However,molecular data is available for only five families.Most sooty mould colonies comprise numerous species and thus it is hard to confirm relationships between genera or sexual and asexual states.Future studies need to obtain single spore isolates of species to test their phylogenetic affinities and linkages between morphs.Next generation sequencing has shown sooty mould colonies to contain many more fungal species than expected,but it is not clear which species are dominant or active in the communities.They are more common in tropical,subtropical and warm temperate regions and thus their prevalence in temperate regions is likely to increase with global warming.Sooty moulds are rarely parasitized by fungicolous taxa and these may have biocontrol potential.They apparently grow in extreme environments and may be xerophilic.This needs testing as xerophilic taxa may be of interest for industrial applications.Sooty moulds grow on sugars and appear to out-compete typical“weed”fungi and bacteria.They may produce antibiotics for this purpose and their biochemical potential for obtaining novel bioactive compounds for medical application is underexplored.
文摘Numerical works have been conducted to investigate the effect of nozzle geometries on the discharge coefficient.Several contoured converging nozzles with finite radius of curvatures,conically converging nozzles and conical divergent orifices have been employed in this investigation.Each nozzle and orifice has a nominal exit diameter of 12.7x10^(-3)m.A 3rd order MUSCL finite volume method of ANSYS Fluent 13.0 was used to solve the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations in simulating turbulent flows through various nozzle inlet geometries.The numerical model was validated through comparison between the numerical results and experimental data.The results obtained show that the nozzle geometry has pronounced effect on the sonic lines and discharge coefficients.The coefficient of discharge was found differ from unity due to the non-uniformity of flow parameters at the nozzle exit and the presence of boundary layer as well.
文摘Oscillating water column （OWC） based wave energy plants have been designed with several types of bidirectional turbines for converting pneumatic power to shaft power. Impulse turbines with linked guide vanes and fixed guide vanes have been tested at the Indian Wave Energy plant. This was after initial experimentation with Well＇s turbines. In contrast to the Well＇s turbine which has a linear damping characteristic, impulse turbines have non-linear damping. This has an important effect in the overall energy conversion from wave to wire. Optimizing the wave energy plant requires a turbine with linear damping and good efficiency over a broad range of flow coefficient. This work describes how such a design can be made using fixed guide vane impulse turbines. The Indian Wave Energy plant is used as a case study.
基金the Chinese Academy of Sciences,project number 2013T2S0030,for the award of Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists at Kunming Institute of Botanythe National Research Council of Thailand(grant for Pestalotiopsis No:55201020008)+3 种基金Mae Fah Luang University(grant for Pestalotiopsis No:55101020004)for financial supportthe University of Malaya for grant number RU006H-2014 entitled“diversity and importance of fungal mangrove disease”Financial support to Julia Pawłowska and Marta Wrzosek was partially provided by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education(MNiSW),grant no.NN303_548839financial support from FORMAS(215-2011-498).
文摘Many fungi are pathogenic on plants and cause significant damage in agriculture and forestry.They are also part of the natural ecosystem and may play a role in regulating plant numbers/density.Morphological identification and analysis of plant pathogenic fungi,while important,is often hampered by the scarcity of discriminatory taxonomic characters and the endophytic or inconspicuous nature of these fungi.Molecular(DNA sequence)data for plant pathogenic fungi have emerged as key information for diagnostic and classification studies,although hampered in part by non-standard laboratory practices and analytical methods.To facilitate current and future research,this study provides phylogenetic synopses for 25 groups of plant pathogenic fungi in the Ascomycota,Basidiomycota,Mucormycotina(Fungi),and Oomycota,using recent molecular data,up-to-date names,and the latest taxonomic insights.Lineagespecific laboratory protocols together with advice on their application,as well as general observations,are also provided.We hope to maintain updated backbone trees of these fungal lineages over time and to publish them jointly as new data emerge.Researchers of plant pathogenic fungi not covered by the present study are invited to join this future effort.Bipolaris,Botryosphaeriaceae,Botryosphaeria,Botrytis,Choanephora,Colletotrichum,Curvularia,Diaporthe,Diplodia,Dothiorella,Fusarium,Gilbertella,Lasiodiplodia,Mucor,Neofusicoccum,Pestalotiopsis,Phyllosticta,Phytophthora,Puccinia,Pyrenophora,Pythium,Rhizopus,Stagonosporopsis,Ustilago and Verticillium are dealt with in this paper.
基金This work was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia via Fundamental Research Grant Scheme(FRGS)[FRGS/1/2022/STG01/UM/03/2][FP064-2022]Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia under the Higher Institution Centre of Excellence(HICoE)Programme[IOES-2014F]+1 种基金UM Innovate Fund[PPSI-2020-HICOE-03]the Research University Grant,Universiti Malaya[RU003-2022].
文摘Despite more than a decade of study,there are still significant obstacles to overcome before graphene can be successfully produced on a large scale for commercial use.Chemical oxidation of graphite to produce graphene oxide(GO),followed by a subsequent reduction process to synthesize reduced graphene oxide(rGO),is considered the most practical method for mass production.Microorganisms,which are abundant in nature and inexpensive,are one of the potential green reductants for rGO synthesis.However,there is no recent review discussing the reported microbial reduction of GO in detail.To address this,we present a comprehensive review on the reduction of GO by a range of microorganisms and compared their efficacies and reaction conditions.Also,presented were the mechanisms by which microorganisms reduce GO.We also reviewed the recent advancements in using microbially reduced GO as the anode and cathode material in the microbial fuel cell(MFC)and algal biophotovoltaics(BPV),as well as the challenges and future directions in microbial fuel cell research.
基金supported by UCSI University through Research Excellence and Innovation Grant(REIG)with project code REIG-FETBE-2024/032.
文摘Bioluminescent plankton are marine organisms capable of emitting visible light through chemical reactions in their bodies.This unique biochemical trait is attributed to a luciferin-luciferase reaction,which produces a striking blue light.This fascinating phenomenon,often referred to as the“blue tears”effect,has become a major attraction for tourist attractions in many countries.Since their discovery,most investigations related to these marine organisms have primarily focused on the fields of biology,ecology,oceanography,and microbiology.However,there has been limited to almost no study of their potential applications in the area of energy or lighting.This paper provides viewpoints on the opportunities for using these marine organisms and their light-emitting characteristics as an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly lighting solution,rather than just as a tourist attraction.Additionally,it addresses the challenges associated with sustaining the growth of bioluminescent plankton collected from the marine environment,the importance of establishing suitable protocols for in-house cultivation,challenges in stimulating the light-production at desired time,constraint imposed by the circadian rhythm,the toxicity of certain bioluminescent plankton,and the capacity of their luminous intensity.
