Fertiliser drawn forward osmosis desalination: the concept, performance and limitations for fertigation

With the world??s population growing rapidly, pressure is increasing on the limited fresh water resources. Membrane technology could play a vital role in solving the water scarcity issues through alternative sources such as saline water sources and wastewater reclamation. The current generation of membrane technologies, particularly reverse osmosis (RO), has significantly improved in performance. However, RO desalination is still energy intensive and any effort to improve energy efficiency increases total cost of the product water. Since energy, environment and climate change issues are all inter-related, desalination for large-scale irrigation requires new novel technologies that address the energy issues. Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging membrane technology. However, FO desalination for potable water is still a challenge because, recovery and regeneration of draw solutes require additional processes and energy. This article focuses on the application of FO desalination for non-potable irrigation where maximum water is required. In this concept of fertiliser drawn FO (FDFO) desalination, fertilisers are used as draw solutions (DS). The diluted draw solution after desalination can be directly applied for fertigation without the need for recovery and regeneration of DS. FDFO desalination can make irrigation water available at comparatively lower energy than the current desalination technologies. As a low energy technology, FDFO can be easily powered by renewable energy sources and therefore suitable for inland and remote applications. This article outlines the concept of FDFO desalination and critically evaluates the scope and limitations of this technology for fertigation, including suggestions on options to overcome some of these limitations.     

Development of an Intelligent Mobile Health Monitoring System for the Health Surveillance System in Indonesia

Mobile phone applications have been widely used in various fields, including health care. Generally, this technology is used to overcome problems in health care by utilising mobile phone features for facilitating basic needs in health services. This study proposes an intelligent mobile health monitoring system that can be used in rural and remote areas where health services are still lacking. The system was made based on client/server architecture. Nine symptoms of typhoid, cough and diarrhoea from 30 patients were gathered from a hospital. Based on this data, a machine learning model using Support Vector Machine (SVM) was performed to distinguish these diseases. To find the best model parameters of the SVM, three different kernels (linear, polynomial, and Radial Basis Function (RBF)) were analysed. The result showed that RBF with degree 2 provided the best result in this particular application. The system was designed to receive input from patients about symptoms of the disease they have. The mobile phone application sends the data of the symptoms using Short Message Service (SMS) to the server. Furthermore, a machine algorithm module in the server identifies to which disease it belongs to based on the machine learning model created before. The prediction result is accessible to the doctor and the nearest Community Health Center (CHC). Based on the result, the doctor proposes a treatment plan for the patient to be recorded and sent to the patient by CHC. The proposed mobile health monitoring system has run properly and is ready to be evaluated in a real situation.     

Use of feeding rate as an indicator of caloric value in some lepidopterous larvae

Summary A significant, positive correlation between feeding rate and caloric value becomes apparent in 6 species of lepidopterous larvae exposed to different rations, food plants and temperatures. There is a possibility of using feeding rate of the final instar larvae as an indicator of its caloric value. Larvae feeding at the rates of 100, 200, 400 and 600 mg dry weight/g live insect/day contained around 5,320, 5,670, 5,800 and 5,900 g cal/g dry weight, respectively.     

Mechanisms associated with the dysregulation of mitochondrial function due to lead exposure and possible implications on the development of Alzheimer’s disease

BioMetals - Lead (Pb) is a multimedia contaminant with various pathophysiological consequences, including cognitive decline and neural abnormalities. Recent findings have reported an association of...     

Molecular dynamics simulation studies of the structural response of an isolated Aβ1–42 monomer localized in the vicinity of the hydrophilic TiO2 surface

We have probed the effect of a model hydrophilic surface, rutile TiO₂, on the full-length amyloid beta (Aβ_1–42) monomer using molecular dynamics simulations. The rutile surface brings about sharp changes in the peptide’s intrinsic behavior in a distance-dependent manner. The intrinsic collapse of the peptide is disrupted, while the β-sheet propensity is sharply enhanced with increased proximity to the surface. The results may have implications for Aβ self-assembly and fibrillogenesis on hydrophilic surfaces and should be taken into consideration in the design of novel nanomaterials for perturbing amyloidogenic behavior.     

Iron-Induced Apoptotic Cell Death and Autophagy Dysfunction in Human Neuroblastoma Cell Line SH-SY5Y

Biological Trace Element Research - Iron accumulation plays a major role in neuronal cell death which has severe effects on mental health like neurodegenerative disorders. The present work aims to...     

Efficacy of single versus multiple exposure by electromagnetic modalities on gram-negative and positive bacterial strains in an in-vitro model

ObjectivesThe primary purpose of the recent experiment was to scrutinize the dissimilarity between single and multiple exposures by electrotherapeutic modalities to determine the development of Gram-positive and Gram negative bacteria spectrum.Material and methodsBacterial strains employed in this study were Gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumonae and Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Streptococcus pyogenes. Fluence for Low level laser therapy (LLLT) (810 nm) was 40 J/cm² for 80 s, for microwave (MWD) a dosage of 100-Watt with duration of 5 min and for magnetic field therapy (MT) duration of 30 min with 100% intensity was used.ResultsRepeated Measures of analysis of variances (RANOVA) for within-subject effects was used to detect a global significant change within the means at dissimilar time points. The experiments of within-subjects revealed a significant difference within groups, df of (3, 40), F value of 39.38 and a p value less than 0.001, representing a significant variation between the three groups between pre and post exposures. There was a significant variation between single exposure and multiple exposures in the experimental sample’s pre-post between the four groups with df (1, 40) f value of 2943.69 and p value less than 0.001. Scanning and Transmission electron microscopy images were also taken into account to determine the extent of damage caused to the bacterial cells surface topography in Gram negative and Gram positive spectrums.ConclusionThe study demonstrated that single high exposure with the LLLT appears to have the most emphatic effect followed by exposure by MWD and MT.     

Losartan delays the progression of streptozotocin‐induced diabetic cataracts in albino rats

The ocular renin‐angiotensin system has become an interesting target for ocular diseases because it has been implicated in various ocular diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age‐related macular degeneration, uveitis, and hypertensive cataracts. In the present study, we explored the effect of topically and orally administered losartan (an angiotensin receptor blocker) on streptozotocin‐induced diabetic cataract in albino rats. Topical treatment with losartan modulated neither the blood glucose level nor the polyol content but oral treatment with losartan decreased both. Topical and oral treatment with losartan significantly increased the antioxidants (glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase), decreased the lipid peroxidant malondialdehyde, and restored soluble protein, and insoluble protein and various ions (Na⁺, K⁺, and Ca²⁺) in the lens; however, topical treatment had a better effect than oral treatment. These findings demonstrate that topical administration of losartan significantly reduces the risk of cataract formation without affecting either the blood glucose level or polyol contents.