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Investigating the Effectiveness between Using Pseudomonas fluorescens and Its Biosurfactant in Bioremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soil

Abstracts

Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of using Pseudomonas fluorescens and its biosurfactant in bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil.

Study Design: (1) Culturing Pseudomonas fluorescens for biosurfactant production using an optimized glycerol-mineral salt medium. (2) Separately using the biosurfactant and the bacterium to remediate hydrocarbon contaminated soil, (3) Determining the extent of hydrocarbon removal between the use of the bacterium and its biosurfactant.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria; Between February 2017 and July 2017.

Methodology: Pseudomonas fluorescens was cultured for biosurfactant production using a glycerol-mineral salt medium with optimized parameters deciphered from a previous study. About 100 ml of the biosurfactant produced was added to petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil in a bioremediation setup. Also, 100 ml broth culture of the bacterium was added to hydrocarbon contaminated soil in another bioremediation setup. A control was also set up. The bioremediation and control setups were monitored for Total heterotrophic bacterial population, Hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial (HUB) population, pH, and total hydrocarbon concentration.

Results: Biosurfactant production was indicated by a reduction of the surface tension of the culture broth from 60.04 mN.m-1 to 30.64 mN.m-1. Addition of the biosurfactant to petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil resulted in about 69% decrease in hydrocarbon concentration. On the other hand, the addition of the bacterium resulted in about 66% decrease in hydrocarbon concentration. There was about 50% decrease in hydrocarbon concentration in the control setup. The HUB population in the bioremediation setup in which biosurfactant was added ranged from 1.70 × 104 - 4.80 × 106 cfu.g-1, while the HUB population in the setup in which the bacterium was added ranged from 2.17 × 104 - 1.35 × 106 cfu.g-1. The HUB population in the control setup ranged from 6.33 × 103 - 9.15 × 104 cfu.g-1.

Conclusion: Though the extent of hydrocarbon attenuation via the use of biosurfactant was higher than that using the bacterium, analysis of variance of the results showed that there is no significant difference between the use of the biosurfactant producing bacterium and its biosurfactant in bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon polluted the soil.

Keywords :Pseudomonas fluorescens; biosurfactant; petroleum hydrocarbon; hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial population; bioremediation.

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Studies on Decolourization of Textile Effluent Using Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from Textile Effluent

Abstracts

Aim: This research work aimed to Study the decolourization of Textile Effluent Using Bacillus subtilisand Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated From Textile Effluent.

Study Design: This study was designed to isolate and identify Bacillus Subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa from textile effluent. To use bacterial isolates in decolourization of the textile effluent individually and in the consortium (both isolates together) at three different concentrations.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Microbiology, Nasarawa State University Keffi, Nasarawa State, Nigeria, between August 2016 and November 2017.

Methodology: Textile effluent was collected in a screw-capped sterilized bottle from the textile mill discharge point. The bacterial species of choice were isolated from the textile effluent and were subjected to bacterial decolorization individually and then in consortium using a decolorization medium, composed of minimal salt medium and textile effluent for a period of 12 days, the %Decolorization was measured by checking absorbance of the sample at 72hours intervals using a spectrophotometer (user 720 nm wavelength). This was repeated at different concentrations of 20 ml/250 ml, 20 ml/500 ml, and 20 ml/750 ml (v/v of textile effluent and minimal salt medium).

Results: Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were found to have significant potential to decolourize the dye effluent. Bacillus subtilis produced high decolourization activity after 12 days with 58.78% at 20 ml/750 ml concentration. Whereas, Pseudomonas aeruginosa produced 53.46% at 20 ml/750 ml concentration after 12 days period of incubation. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtitles in consortium produced the highest decolourization potential of 75.56% at concentration 20 ml/750 ml after 12 days period of incubation.

Conclusion: This study shows that Bacillus subtilis have comparatively higher decolourization potential than Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The bacteria in consortium exhibited the highest ability in the decolorizing process than the individual isolates. However, there is a need for further work to be done to validate and improve these findings.

Keywords :Biodecolorization; textile effluent; Bacillus subtilis; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; consortium.

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Synthesis and Characterisation of Biodiesel from Cameroon Palm Kernel Seed Oil

Abstracts

Aims: This study was aimed at synthesizing and characterizing a biodiesel from Cameroon palm kernel oilseed.

Study Design: Synthesis was carried out on purified kernel oil by trans-esterification using methanol in basic medium.

Place and Duration of Study: Laboratory work was effectively carried out in the Department of Chemical Engineering (Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria) in the early part of the year 2017.

Methodology: Oil was extracted from Cameroon palm kernel seed, which constitutes an agricultural industrial waste, by mechanical expression, was purified and analysed. Palm kernel oil (PKO) biodiesel was synthesised by trans-esterification in methanol with potassium hydroxide (KOH) as a base at the mass ratio PKO to methanol to KOH of 100:20:1.

Results: The yield of optimised synthesis of biodiesel was 97%, with a useful by-product (glycerol) which has potential pharmaceutical, cosmetic and engineering applications. PKO biodiesel was analysed using UV and IR spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Biodiesel had the following physical characteristics: specific gravity 0.884 g/mL, ASTM colour 1.5, viscosity at 40ºC 4.9080 cSt, viscosity at 100ºC 1.7914 cSt, cloud point 17ºC, pour point 0ºC, flash point 50ºC, aniline point 90ºF, cetane number 28, and diesel index 25. The following chemical parameters were obtained for the synthesized PKO Biodiesel: sulphur content 0.0328% w/v, acid value 0.4488 mg KOH/g, free fatty acid (FFA) content 0.2244 mg KOH/g, iodine value 7.36 mg I2/g, saponification value 168.30 mg KOH/g, ester value 154.84 mg KOH/g, hydroxyl value 51.89 mg OH/g and peroxide value 3.20 meq/kg.

Conclusion: These results of physical and chemical characterisation of PKO biodiesel fell in the range reported in the literature for biodiesel and were close to those of diesel fuel.

Keywords :Biodiesel; palm kernel oil; trans-esterification; viscosity; saponification value; glycerol.

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Biostimulation of Atrazine-impacted Soil Using Cassava Peel Waste Considering the Associated Soil Bacteria

Abstracts

The biostimulation of atrazine-impacted soil using cassava peel waste (CPW) considering the associated soil bacteria was assessed over a period of seven (7) weeks. The study was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The aim of this work was to enhance indigenous soil bacteria in the biodegradation of atrazine through biostimulation using organic wastes. To achieve this, the physicochemical properties of the soil (before and after treatments) and the basic proximate mineral elements of the organic waste was determined before application using standard analytical methods. The bacterial characteristic and pH of the soil treated with CPW, CPW+ATZ, ATZ, and CONTROL (no treatment) were assessed using culture-dependent and standard analytical technique respectively. The study provided adequate evidence that the study site was naturally endowed with requisite bacteria (Acinetobacter sp., Enterobacter sp., Pseudomonas sp., and Bacillus sp.) with potential enzyme repertoire for atrazine degradation.  The addition of organic amendment improved the physicochemical status of the impacted soil which culminated to significant (P<0.05) increase in soil microbial population and diversity. The study also showed that pollutants (atrazine) at a tolerable level can improve bacterial population (as a result of the proliferation of naturally selected degraders) but reduce bacterial diversity. This was observed in the treatment, ATZ which had the least bacterial diversity but with the highest bacterial density (35.00±4.24×108cfu/g) at week 6. Although some bacteria are good degraders of herbicides in the soil, however, it may require some amendments in order to stimulate them to degrade pollutants. This work showed that the organic waste used in this study was a potential stimulatory agent that enhanced the growth of indigenous atrazine-degrading soil bacteria; hence can serve as an improved method of waste management and potential soil remediation approach.

Keywords :Soil; atrazine; bacteria; cassava peel waste; biostimulation.

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SCIENCEDOMAIN International journal got 35th ranking in Publons

SCIENCEDOMAIN international are delighted to announce (as of 04/01/2016) that British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research got 35th ranking in Publons as per the number of published reviews (see here: https://publons.com/journal/?order_by=reviews) with 304 published reviews (see the screenshot here).  PLOS one (Public Library of Science), ranked first with 5747 published reviews. Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group) ranked 6th with 798 published reviews. BMJ case reports (BMJ publishing Group) got 18th rank with 473 published reviews. PeerJ got 52nd rank with 258 published reviews. BMJ got 60th rank with 244 published reviews. Nature communications (Nature Publishing Group) got 66th rank with 239 published reviews and so on. It should be noted that content of this page and rankings are dynamic and ranking changes with time as per the number of published reviews. Most probably Sciencedomain international is the youngest entity in the first 35, crowded by big names like Nature Publishing Group, Elsevier, Wiley, Taylor and Francis, BMJ, Sage, MDPI, OUP, RSC, ASM, APS, NAS, BioMed central, etc.

SCIENCEDOMAIN international journals follow transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system (Detailed general information is available in this link). OPEN peer review system provides the provision to reveal the identities of the authors and reviewers to each other during review process. In order to add transparency further, details of all reviewers and academic editors are published in the first page of every published paper (in the Article Information section: see example). As a final step to provide highest level transparency in the process, all review comments, authors’ feedbacks, all versions of the manuscript and editorial comments are published (along with date) with the paper in ‘Review History’ link (See example 1, example 2, example 3, etc). This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published with the papers (Example Link).

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Clinical Management of a Mandibular Second Molar with Three Mesial Canals: A Case Study

Abstracts

Most mandibular second molar has two canals in mesial root and one in distal. This report represents a case of mandibular second molar with three mesial and two distal root canals. To achieve the ideal goal of endodontic treatment, clinicians should be aware of the complicated configuration of the root canal system and use suitable methods to identify the accessory canals that exist possibly.

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Spatio-Temporal Pattern of Motorcycle Accidents in Anambra State, Nigeria

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This research work focuses on spatio-temporal pattern of motorcycle accidents in Anambra state, Nigeria. The study used mostly secondary data, accident records which were obtained from Federal Road Safety Commission Awka, Anambra state (RS 5.30). The data on motorcycle accidents were obtained for a period of ten (10) years (2007-2016). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique was employed in the examination of the statistical significance of the variation among the local government areas of the state. The result indicates that there is a significant variation in the number of motorcycle accidents among the local government areas of the state (F29, 189 = 2.609; p<0.05). Again analysis of variance was employed in the examination of the statistical significance of the variation of motorcycle accidents over time (2007-2016) in Anambra state. The result indicates that there is a significant difference in the number of motorcycle accidents from 2007-2016 (F9, 200= 13.210; p<0.05). Multiple regression analysis was employed in the examination of some of the characteristics of the local government areas of the state. It was observed that, there is a joint prediction of motorcycle accidents by a combination of some of the characteristics of the LGA of the state (p<0.05), the result implies that other characteristics of the Local Government areas of the state played little influence on the number of motorcycle accidents that occurred in 2011. The need for re-orientation of the land use pattern in the study area, better road network characteristics, Government should set up more police patrols for the highways in order to enforce road traffic regulation including speed limits and the need to establish Federal Road Safety Corps  archive where accident records will be kept, collated and processed are desirable.

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A Review on Effect of Solvents on Fluorescent Spectra

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When absorption spectra are measured in solvents of different polarity, it is found that the positions, intensities, and shapes of the absorption bands are usually modified by these solvents. These changes are a result of physical intermolecular solute–solvent interaction forces (such as ion-dipole, dipole-dipole, dipole-induced dipole, hydrogen bonding, etc.), which above all tend to alter the energy difference between ground and excited state of the absorbing species containing the chromophore. When excited states of a molecule are created in solution by continuous or flash excitation, the excited-state molecule interacts to a varying degree with the surrounding solvent molecules, depending on their polarity, before returning to the ground state. These excited-state solute/solvent interactions found in fluorescent molecules are often reflected in the spectral position and shape of the emission bands as well as in the lifetimes of the excited-state molecules. The solvent-dependence of the position of emission bands in fluorescence spectra is termed as solvatochromism. These review paper presents detail discussion on solvatochromism, Electrochromism, and reaction field theory.

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Antibiotics Susceptibility Pattern and Plasmid Profile of Escherichia coli O157 Isolated from Fecal Samples of Apparently Healthy Children

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Escherichia coli O157:H7 is an enterohemorrhagic serotype of the bacterium Escherichia coli. It is a cause of severe colitis, bloody diarrhoea and Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) which is associated with life threatening systemic manifestations. This study was designed to investigate the occurrence, antibiotics susceptibility pattern and plasmid profile of E. coli O157 from fecal samples of children. A total of 311 fecal samples were collected from apparently healthy children (111 males and 200 females) within the age range of 0-5 years at Mother and Child Hospital, Anchorite Daycare, Women’s’ Forum Daycare and FUTA Daycare in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. The fecal samples were screened using standard bacteriological and serological techniques. Twenty one (6.75%) of the samples were positive for E. coli O157. Antibiotics susceptibility testing was carried out using disk diffusion technique, many of the isolates displayed multi-drug resistance to the antibiotics employed in this study. The resistance pattern observed is as follows: Ceftriazone 19 (90.5%), Amoxycilin 18 (85.7%), Tetracycline 13 (61.9%), Gentamycin 11(52.4%), Cotrimoxazole 9 (42.9%), Augmentin 8 (25.8%), Ofloxacin 2 (9.5%), Ciprofloxacin 2 (9.5%) and Nitrofurantoin 2 (9.5%). Plasmid profiling of the strains revealed the presence of multiple plasmids ranging in sizes from 4.0 to 17.5 kb. Conclusively, since the mode of transmission of this pathogen is via the fecal-oral route and an exceptionally low dose of the organism is able to cause infection. It is therefore recommended that routine screening is carried out to determine the carrier rate of the organism, more public awareness should be carried out to educate the community on need for adherence to personal hygiene, environmental hygiene and good food handling practices to prevent an outbreak.

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Long-Term Changes in the Dominance of Drought Tolerant Trees Reflect Climate Trends on a Micronesian Island

Abstracts

Background: The Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands of Micronesia lie in the western Pacific Ocean and are unique in terms of their isolation, climate, soils and diversity of rare plant species. We hypothesized that the vegetation on the islands will be a robust model system to study long-term climate change impacts on vegetation dynamics.

Methods: A large, long-term vegetation monitoring plot was established on Chichijima Island and measured in 1976 and 2017. It was located in an undisturbed dry forest area that contained many endemic and endangered species.

Results: During the 41 year study period, total basal area of tree species increased by 24.6% and was dominated by Schima, Distylium and Pouteria, whereas tree density declined by 30%. Tree genera exhibiting the largest increases in basal area were Elaeocarpus, Ilex, Pandanus, Pouteria, Rhaphiolepis, Syzgium and Schima. During the study period, the annual average (23.2ºC), minimum and maximum temperatures increased by 0.5 to 0.8ºC, respectively. The average annual precipitation was 1276 mm with severe droughts occurring in 1980, 1990 and 2016. The largest increases in the basal area were exhibited in trees species with wide functional distribution and attributes, including drought tolerance.

Conclusions: The results of this study suggest a link between the drought tolerance, species dominance and climate change at the study location. Our unique approach of linking functional attributes with long-term vegetation and climate change can serve as a model for other studies of global change impacts.

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Incidence of Enterobacteriaceae in Retail Meat Samples and Their Antibiotic Susceptibility

Abstracts

The study aims at accounting the prevalence of pathogenic bacteria within the family Enterobacteriaceae in retail meat samples. Eighty samples were collected from four different locations of Allahabad region. Isolation was done using selective plating according to ISO Standard; ISO 21528-1:2004. Differentiation and characterization of different isolates was based on their growth characteristics on specific culture media, their biochemical confirmatory tests and Gram-staining reactions. Total soluble proteins of the isolates were estimated by Biuret method. Antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates was tested against antibiotics including ampicillin, streptomycin and ciprofloxacin at different concentrations. A total of 62 isolates were obtained and identified as Klebsiella planticola, Citrobacter youngae, Enterobacter sp, E. cloacae, K. ornithinolytica and K. pneumonia. All the isolates were susceptible to ampicillin, streptomycin and ciprofloxacin at concentrations of 10, 50, 80 and 100 mg/ml. The virulent proteins were highest in Enterobacter (127.3 mg/ml) followed by C. youngae (119.4 mg/ml). Meat sold in the local markets of Allahabad showed presence of pathogenic bacteria belonging particularly to the family Enterobacteriaceae; indicating poor hygienic conditions as well as improper storage environment. The results revealed that K. pneumonia (29.9%) represented the major part of bacterial flora, in the samples followed by C. youngae (20%).

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Test Cases Generation for Object-oriented Software from Decision Slicing of UML Activity Diagram

Abstracts

Software testing is an integral part of the software development life cycle. Design of good test cases is a key challenge in software testing. Test cases can be designed from different artifacts like requirements, design and software code. In Software engineering, different UML diagrams are used for designing and analysis of the software systems. The main contribution of this work is to propose a novel technique of test cases generation from UML activity diagram using an iterative method. Iterative methods are used in numerical analysis for generation of solution of equation iteratively. In the present work a test cases generation technique from decision slicing of UML activity diagram is presented. Decision slices for each decision nodes are derived from the Activity Flow Graph (AFG) of the activity diagram. Test cases are generated for each activity path of the activity flow graph. Decision nodes at each activity path are used to generate system of equations and these equations are solved by an iterative method to generate test data for each activity path. A case study of ticket purchasing from ticket vending machine using UML activity diagram is presented.

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Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity and Hypertension among Two Tribal Communities of Manipur

Abstracts

The present cross sectional study was carried out among 368 adults in which 168 and 200 are from Chothe and Vaiphei respectively, aged 18-80 years. Subjects were randomly chosen from four (4) Chothe and Vaiphei inhabited villages of Chandel and Kangpokpi districts, Manipur. Anthropometric measurements that is, body height, weight, hip and waist girths were measured from the subjects. Body mass index (BMI) and Waist hip ratio (WHR) of each subject were computed. Blood pressure (BP) was measured and classified as per WHO (1999). Mean values of  anthropometric parameters and blood pressure indicate that the highest in waist girth, systolic and diastolic pressure and the second highest in height, weight and hip girth are represented by the Chothe men, while the Vaiphei men have the highest in body height and weight. Chothe and Vaiphei women have almost the same mean value of hip girth. It is also observed that more men are in the overweight than women except for Vaiphei women, while more women are in the obese criteria as compared with men, Less than 50% men and women are for overweight and obese criteria as per BMI, but higher among the Chothe and Vaiphei women (49.5% and 37.89%) as compared with men (45.5% and 36.19%). While using WHR cut off, the percentages increase among the Chothes, than using BMI levels with higher number of women (87.91%) than males (51.95%), however, among the Vaipheis, percentages decrease in using WHR cut off values. The prevalence of various grades of hypertension among the Chothes is found to be 62.34% for men and 34.16% for women. As for the Vaipheis, total of 42.86% and 11.58% are for men and women respectively who have suffered from different forms of systolic and diastolic pressures. Hence, higher percentage of Chothe adults are prone to hypertension than the Vaipheis, moreover, more men have hypertension problem as compared with women.

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Physicochemical Characteristics of Roub; Traditional Fermented Dairy Product of the Sudan

Abstracts

Aims: This study was conducted to determine the physicochemical characteristics of fermented milk “roub” during the storage period.

Methodology: Thirty roub samples were collected (10 samples from each of Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman areas) in sterile polyethylene bags, preserved in sample containers in ice (4°C) and transported to the laboratory for analysis.  Physicochemical characteristics [fat, protein, total solids (TS), solids-non-fat (SNF), ash, acidity] were determined at 1, 7, 14 and 20-day intervals.

Results: The results showed that area from which samples were collected had a significant effect on all physicochemical characteristics of roub except solids-non-fat and acidity.  During the storage period, there was no significant variation in all physicochemical characteristics of samples collected from Khartoum except the protein content, while in samples collected from Khartoum North there was a significant effect of the storage period on the protein and total solids contents only, and in samples collected from Omdurman the storage period significantly affected the protein and ash contents and acidity of roub. Roub samples were good up to the end of the storage period.

Conclusion: The significant variation in physicochemical characteristics of the product indicates the differences in the source of milk rather than and/or the processing methods. Therefore, the authorities are encouraged to control this process by implementing legislations or prohibit the manufacture of this product in such prevailing conditions.

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Waste-to-Wealth Applications of Cassava–A Review Study of Industrial and Agricultural Applications

Abstracts

Cassava plant and its products have long been used as food and feed but lately as industrial ingredients. The present study unveils various agricultural and industrial applications of cassava especially the waste cyanogenic component which hitherto has constituted a huge agricultural waste. The study reviewed current engineering values which cassava cyanide has created in the industrial sector. Some very exciting ongoing research studies on engineering applications of the cassava cyanogenic glucoside are also highlighted.

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Influence of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria’s on Productivity of Crop Plants

Abstracts

Worldwide growth in population, increase in demand of global food production and environmental damage causing problems in agriculture yield are major concerns. These problems may soon cause insufficiency to feed all of the world population. Adding up in to the above mentioned constrains, there is loss in the agricultural production due to environmental abiotic and biotic stresses posed on the crops growing in the field. Abiotic stresses such as drought, salt stress and temperature stress are major limiting factors in crop production. On the other hand, biotic stresses also cause reduction in agricultural yield due to diseases in field crops. These diseases decrease the annual agriculture yield by at least 30% globally. So, any effective and longer term solutions to provide food for the world must include sustainable and eco-friendly biological solutions. In context to this problem, use of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in agriculture is a striking technology hypothesized to overcome these constrains.

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Peer Review History: Production of Fat and Sterol by Aspergillus nidulans in Submerged Fermentation

Abstracts

The efficiency of fat and sterol production by Aspergillus nidulans was evaluated. The fungus was grown in media containing various carbon and nitrogen sources. Some agricultural waste materials namely, corn cob, rice husk and potato peels were also used as sole carbon sources for fat and sterol production. Sodium acetate was added into culture media at various concentrations. After a 72 h incubation, mycelia obtained from culture media were assayed for fat and sterol contents. Among the sole carbon sources used for fat production, the highest yield of 48.63 mg/100 mL broth was achieved with mannitol after 72 h incubation. Carboxyl methyl cellulose was the poorest carbohydrate for fat production. The agricultural waste materials greatly improved fat production by Aspergillus nidulans. Levels of 44.62, 43.99 and 43.1 mg/100 mL broth were achieved with corn cob, rice husk and potato peels after 72 h incubation.  Mannitol also caused the best sterol production by the fungus. Monosodium glutamate and corn steep liquor were the best nitrogen sources for the production of fat and caused the production of 64.36 and 64.27 mg/100 mL broth respectively. Urea and potassium nitrate did not support good fat production by the fungus. Hydrolyzed potato peels supported high yields of sterol as compared to mannitol. Increased fat production was accomplished through the addition of 0.1 to 0.5% sodium acetate. Maximum fat yield of 168.67 mg/100 mL broth occurred after 72 h in medium in which acetate concentration was 0.4%. This level was significantly higher than that of the control which had only 34.82 mg/100 mL broth of fat after 72 h. Acetate addition also caused reasonable increases in sterol synthesis higher than the control.

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