Biogas manufacture from co-digestion of untreated primary sludge with raw chicken manure under anaerobic mesophilic environmental conditions

This work aimed to co-digest various wastes to assess the best combination of all mixing ratio, also at choosing the best ratio between untreated primary sludge (UPS) singly from two sources, (South valley University (SUPS) and Abu tesht wastewater station (AUPS) and raw chicken manure (RCM) and comparing the results in either case. The co-digestions of untreated primary sludge from Abu tesht wastewater treatment stations with different levels of raw chicken manure (0:100, 10:90, 30:70, 50:50, 90:10, and 100:0) to obtain the best mixtures. Also, co-digestion of untreated primary sludge from south valley university with different levels of raw chicken manure at the same ratios, to obtain the best mixtures. Batch digestion tests were applied in 2.5 L digester with a working volume of 2.0 L. The samples in triplicates were separately loaded into the digesters locally fabricated and kept for 20 days as a retention period and diluted with the same amount of water. Mesophilic under 35 °C was adopted for untreated primary sludge as well as mixtures with raw chicken manure based on total solids (TS) and volatile solid (VS) proportions. The average biogas yields from AUPS/RCM mixture obtained ranged from 8570 to 5600 ml, by the following descending order, 10: 90 > 90:10 and so on >100:0, and the average biogas yields from SUPS/RCM obtained ranged from 6330 to 5635 ml, in the order of 90: 10 > 10:90 and so on >100:0. The results showed highest biogas yield from AUPS/RCM and SUPS/RCM mixtures with mixing ratio of 10:90 and 90:10, respectively, however, the lowest biogas production detected in separate digestion of AUPS and SUPS. The results indicated that co-digestion between the sludge and raw chicken manure could increase total biogas production volume, enhance sludge treatment process, and produce eco-friendly sludge because of co-digestion process than separate processing of each feedstock.     

Hepatoprotective effect of allicin against acetaminophen‐induced liver injury: Role of inflammasome pathway,apoptosis, and liver regeneration

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose leads to liver injury. NLRP3 inflammasome is a key player in APAP‐induced inflammation. Also, apoptosis and liver regeneration play an important role in liver injury. Therefore, we assessed allicin's protective effect on APAP‐induced hepatotoxicity and studied its effect on NLRP3 inflammasome and apoptosis. Mice in the APAP group were injected by APAP (250 mg/kg, intraperitoneal). The allicin‐treated group received allicin orally (10 mg/kg/d) during 7 days before APAP injection. Serum and hepatic tissues were separated 24 hours after APAP injection. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), albumin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) were assessed using the colorimetric method. Hepatic NLRP3 inflammasome, caspase‐1, and interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) were estimated using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Hepatic Bcl‐2 and Ki‐67 were investigated by immunohistochemistry. APAP significantly increased AST, ALT, and ALP, whereas allicin significantly decreased their levels. Also, APAP significantly decreased albumin and allicin significantly improved it. APAP produced changes in liver morphology, including inflammation and massive coagulative necrosis. Allicin protected the liver from APAP‐induced necrosis, apoptosis, and hepatocellular degeneration via increasing Bcl‐2 and Ki‐67 levels. APAP significantly increased the hepatic MDA, whereas allicin significantly prevented this increase. APAP markedly activated the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway and consequently increased the production of caspase‐1 and IL‐1β. Interestingly, we found that allicin significantly inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation, which resulted in decreased caspase‐1 and IL‐1β levels. Allicin has a hepatoprotective effect against APAP‐induced liver injury via the decline of oxidative stress and inhibition of the inflammasome pathway and apoptosis. Therefore, allicin might be a novel tool to halt the progression of APAP‐stimulated hepatotoxicity.     

Phylogenetic diversity of indigenous Rhizobium trapped from the natural habitat of Pisum sativum L. in eastern and central Algeria

Plant and Soil - The nitrogen-fixing symbiosis fixation between legumes and Rhizobium helps the plant to survive and to compete effectively on nitrogen poor soils. The soil environment attached to...     

Study of DYRK1B gene expression and its association with metabolic syndrome in a small cohort of Egyptians

Molecular Biology Reports - A cluster of many risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease is used to describe the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Moreover, genetic differences associated...     

Assessment of eye doses to staff involved in interventional cardiology procedures in Kuwait

In this study, which is the first of its kind in the gulf region, eye doses of interventional cardiologists and nurses were measured using active dosimeters for left and right eyes, in 60 percutaneous coronary interventions in three main hospitals in Kuwait. The dose given in terms of H_p(0.07) per procedure when ceiling suspended screens were used by main operators ranged from 18.5 to 30.3 µSv for the left eye and from 12.6 to 23.6 µSv for the right eye. Taking into account typical staff workload, the results show that the dose limit of 20 mSv/year to the eyes can be exceeded for interventional cardiologists in some situations, which demonstrates the need of using additional effective radiation protection tools, e.g. protective eye spectacles, in addition to the regular and proper use of ceiling suspended screens. With indications of increase in workload, the need for availability of a dedicated active dosimeter for the regular monitoring of eye doses is emphasized.

     

Lessons learned from the syndrome of oculopalatal tremor

Journal of Computational Neuroscience - The syndrome of oculopalatal tremor (OPT) featuring the olivo-cerebellar hypersychrony leads to disabling pendular nystagmus and palatal myoclonus. This rare...     

A new cloud-based classification methodology (CBCM) for efficient semantic web service discovery

Over the last decades, web services are used for performing specific tasks demanded by users. The most important task of service’s classification system is to match an anonymous input service with the stored pre-classified web services. The most challenging issue is that web services are currently organized and classified according to syntax while the context of the requested service is ignored. Due to this motivation, Cloud-based Classification Methodology is proposed as it presents a new methodology based on semantic web service’s classification. Furthermore, cloud computing is used for not only storing but also allocating the high scale of web services with both high availability and accessibility. Fog technology is employed to reduce the latency and to speed up response time. The experimental results using the suggested methodology show a better performance of the proposed system regarding both precision and accuracy in comparison with most of the methods discussed in the literature of the current study.