scholarly journals Preliminary Examination of the Toxicity of Spalting Fungal Pigments: A Comparison between Extraction Methods

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Badria H. Almurshidi ◽  
R.C. Van Court ◽  
Sarath M. Vega Gutierrez ◽  
Stacey Harper ◽  
Bryan Harper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extraction Methods ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Green Technologies ◽  
Preliminary Examination ◽  
Significant Toxicity ◽  
Natural Colorants ◽  
Industrial Adoption ◽  
Synthetic Colorants ◽  
Fungal Pigments

Spalting fungal pigments have shown potential in technologies ranging from green energy generation to natural colorants. However, their unknown toxicity has been a barrier to industrial adoption. In order to gain an understanding of the safety of the pigments, zebrafish embryos were exposed to multiple forms of liquid media and solvent-extracted pigments with concentrations of purified pigment ranging from 0 to 50 mM from Chlorociboria aeruginosa, Chlorociboria aeruginascens, and Scytalidium cuboideum. Purified xylindein from Chlorociboria sp. did not show toxicity at any tested concentration, while the red pigment dramada from S. cuboideum was only associated with significant toxicity above 23.2 uM. However, liquid cultures and pigment extracted into dichloromethane (DCM) showed toxicity, suggesting the co-production of bioactive secondary metabolites. Future research on purification and the bioavailability of the red dramada pigment will be important to identify appropriate use; however, purified forms of the blue-green pigment xylindein are likely safe for use across industries. This opens the door to the adoption of green technologies based on these pigments, with potential to replace synthetic colorants and less stable natural pigments.

scholarly journals Fungal Pigments: Potential Coloring Compounds for Wide Ranging Applications in Textile Dyeing

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chidambaram Kulandaisamy Venil ◽  
Palanivel Velmurugan ◽  
Laurent Dufossé ◽  
Ponnuswamy Renuka Devi ◽  
Arumugam Veera Ravi
Keyword(s):  
Textile Industry ◽  
Toxicity Testing ◽  
Synthetic Dyes ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Genetic Manipulations ◽  
Textile Fabrics ◽  
Natural Colorants ◽  
Synthetic Colorants ◽  
Synthetic Pigments ◽  
Fungal Pigments

Synthetic pigments/non-renewable coloring sources used normally in the textile industry release toxic substances into the environment, causing perilous ecological challenges. To be safer from such challenges of synthetic colorants, academia and industries have explored the use of natural colorants such as microbial pigments. Such explorations have created a fervent interest among textile stakeholders to undertake the dyeing of textile fabrics, especially with fungal pigments. The biodegradable and sustainable production of natural colorants from fungal sources stand as being comparatively advantageous to synthetic dyes. The prospective scope of fungal pigments has emerged in the opening of many new avenues in textile colorants for wide ranging applications. Applying the biotechnological processes, fungal pigments like carotenoids, melanins, flavins, phenazines, quinones, monascins, violacein, indigo, etc. could be extracted on an industrial scale. This review appraises the studies and applications of various fungal pigments in dyeing textile fabrics and is furthermore shedding light on the importance of toxicity testing, genetic manipulations of fungal pigments, and their future perspectives under biotechnological approaches.

Effect of Green Practices on Organizational Performance: An Evidence from Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (02) ◽  
pp. 291-308
Author(s):  
Yang Shuhui ◽  
Zhang Yu ◽  
Syed Abdul Rehman Khan ◽  
Hina Abbas
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Green Manufacturing ◽  
Industrial Area ◽  
Manufacturing Firms ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Green Technologies ◽  
Green Practices ◽  
Recycling Techniques

This research examines the effects of green supply chain (SC) practices including recycling techniques, green logistics (G2), environmental protection trainings and programs, and green manufacturing. A data sample of 339 manufacturing firms was collected from the industrial area of Punjab, Pakistan. By using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), the findings indicated that except GL, the remaining green practices (GP) have significant and positive association with the organizational performance. In addition, GL have insignificant effect on firms’ performance due to government non seriousness, no financial subsidies on green technologies, heavy import duties, scarcity of green technologies/vehicles in Pakistan and that most firms import green vehicles from European and Western countries which incur huge costs into SC system in terms of long lead time. This study will help the policymakers and SC managers to understand the problems and current situation of GSCM in the manufacturing firms of Pakistan. Further, we also discuss research limitations, areas for future research.

DNA barcoding for wood identification: global review of the last decade and future perspective

IAWA Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 620-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lichao Jiao ◽  
Yang Lu ◽  
Tuo He ◽  
Juan Guo ◽  
Yafang Yin
Keyword(s):  
Dna Barcoding ◽  
Extraction Methods ◽  
Future Perspective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Reference Database ◽  
Wood Identification ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Research Orientation ◽  
Timber Trade ◽  
Dna Extraction Methods

Abstract DNA barcoding technology has emerged as one of the most promising tools available to identify timber at the species level, contributing to the monitoring of the timber trade and the conservation of forestry sources. This paper reviews the progress, challenges, and existing problems in the development of DNA barcoding for wood identification in the last ten years. There is a focus on the optimization of DNA extraction methods for processed or ancient wood, the strategy of screening high-resolution DNA barcodes suitable for wood identification, the development of a wood DNA reference database especially for priority taxa, and the comparison and comprehensive application of sequence analytical methods to achieve accurate identification. In addition to DNA barcoding, the feasibility of other genetic methods for wood identification is also discussed. Furthermore, future research orientation and strategy of wood DNA barcoding are presented. We argue that wood DNA barcoding integrated with other methodologies including wood anatomy can offer an effective approach and a new perspective to promote legal logging for timber trade custody and global biodiversity conservation.

scholarly journals Ribonucleic Acid Engineering of Dendritic Cells for Therapeutic Vaccination: Ready ‘N Able to Improve Clinical Outcome?

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 299
Author(s):  
Yannick Willemen ◽  
Maarten Versteven ◽  
Marc Peeters ◽  
Zwi N. Berneman ◽  
Evelien L. J. Smits
Keyword(s):  
Dendritic Cells ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Ribonucleic Acid ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Therapeutic Vaccination ◽  
Effective Form ◽  
Significant Toxicity ◽  
Clinical Responses ◽  
Reliable Quantification

Targeting and exploiting the immune system has become a valid alternative to conventional options for treating cancer and infectious disease. Dendritic cells (DCs) take a central place given their role as key orchestrators of immunity. Therapeutic vaccination with autologous DCs aims to stimulate the patient’s own immune system to specifically target his/her disease and has proven to be an effective form of immunotherapy with very little toxicity. A great amount of research in this field has concentrated on engineering these DCs through ribonucleic acid (RNA) to improve vaccine efficacy and thereby the historically low response rates. We reviewed in depth the 52 clinical trials that have been published on RNA-engineered DC vaccination, spanning from 2001 to date and reporting on 696 different vaccinated patients. While ambiguity prevents reliable quantification of effects, these trials do provide evidence that RNA-modified DC vaccination can induce objective clinical responses and survival benefit in cancer patients through stimulation of anti-cancer immunity, without significant toxicity. Succinct background knowledge of RNA engineering strategies and concise conclusions from available clinical and recent preclinical evidence will help guide future research in the larger domain of DC immunotherapy.

scholarly journals Compact Wearable Meta Materials Antennas for Energy Harvesting Systems, Medical and IOT Systems

Electronics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Sabban
Keyword(s):  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Ring Resonators ◽  
Green Technologies ◽  
Continuous Growth ◽  
Harvesting Systems ◽  
Low Efficiency ◽  
Line Design

Demand for green technologies and green energy is in continuous growth in the last decade. Compact efficient radiators are very important for energy harvesting portable systems. Small antennas have low efficiency. The efficiency of communication and energy harvesting systems may increase by using efficient passive and active antennas. The system dynamic range may be improved by connecting amplifiers to the printed antenna feed line. Design, design considerations, computed and measured results of wearable meta-materials antennas with high efficiency for energy harvesting applications are presented in this paper. The antennas electrical parameters on human body were analyzed by using commercial full-wave software. The wearable antennas are compact and flexible and are 1.6 mm thick. The directivity and gain of the antennas with Split-ring resonators (SRR), is higher by 2 dB to 3 dB than the antennas without SRR. The resonant frequency of the antennas without SRR is higher by 5% to 10% than the antennas with SRR.

scholarly journals Limitations of information extraction methods and techniques for heterogeneous unstructured big data

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 184797901989077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiran Adnan ◽  
Rehan Akbar
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Information Extraction ◽  
Extraction Methods ◽  
Unstructured Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Single Data ◽  
The Impact

During the recent era of big data, a huge volume of unstructured data are being produced in various forms of audio, video, images, text, and animation. Effective use of these unstructured big data is a laborious and tedious task. Information extraction (IE) systems help to extract useful information from this large variety of unstructured data. Several techniques and methods have been presented for IE from unstructured data. However, numerous studies conducted on IE from a variety of unstructured data are limited to single data types such as text, image, audio, or video. This article reviews the existing IE techniques along with its subtasks, limitations, and challenges for the variety of unstructured data highlighting the impact of unstructured big data on IE techniques. To the best of our knowledge, there is no comprehensive study conducted to investigate the limitations of existing IE techniques for the variety of unstructured big data. The objective of the structured review presented in this article is twofold. First, it presents the overview of IE techniques from a variety of unstructured data such as text, image, audio, and video at one platform. Second, it investigates the limitations of these existing IE techniques due to the heterogeneity, dimensionality, and volume of unstructured big data. The review finds that advanced techniques for IE, particularly for multifaceted unstructured big data sets, are the utmost requirement of the organizations to manage big data and derive strategic information. Further, potential solutions are also presented to improve the unstructured big data IE systems for future research. These solutions will help to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the data analytics process in terms of context-aware analytics systems, data-driven decision-making, and knowledge management.

scholarly journals From Social Ties to Network Processes: Do Tie Definitions Matter?

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ed Fincham ◽  
Dragan Gašević ◽  
Abelardo Pardo
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Extraction Methods ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Learning Technology ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Methodological Choices ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Definition Of

The widespread adoption of digital e-learning environments and other learning technology has provided researchers with ready access to large quantities of data. Much of this data comes from discussion forums and has been studied with analytical methods drawn from social network analysis. However, within this large body of research there exists considerable variation in the definition of what constitutes a social tie, and the consequences of this choice are rarely described or examined. This paper presents findings from two distinct learning environments regarding different social tie extraction methods and their influence on the structural and statistical properties of the induced networks, and the association between measures of centrality and academic performance. Our findings indicate that social tie definitions play an important role in shaping the results of our analyses. The primary purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of the consequences that such methodological choices may have, and to promote transparency in future research.

scholarly journals Assessing the macroeconomic impacts of individual behavioral changes on carbon emissions

2019 ◽  
Vol 158 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Niamir ◽  
Gregor Kiesewetter ◽  
Fabian Wagner ◽  
Wolfgang Schöpp ◽  
Tatiana Filatova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Carbon Price ◽  
Computational Social Science ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Green Technologies

Abstract In the last decade, instigated by the Paris agreement and United Nations Climate Change Conferences (COP22 and COP23), the efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels are expanding. The required reductions in greenhouse gas emissions imply a massive decarbonization worldwide with much involvement of regions, cities, businesses, and individuals in addition to the commitments at the national levels. Improving end-use efficiency is emphasized in previous IPCC reports (IPCC 2014). Serving as the primary ‘agents of change’ in the transformative process towards green economies, households have a key role in global emission reduction. Individual actions, especially when amplified through social dynamics, shape green energy demand and affect investments in new energy technologies that collectively can curb regional and national emissions. However, most energy-economics models—usually based on equilibrium and optimization assumptions—have a very limited representation of household heterogeneity and treat households as purely rational economic actors. This paper illustrates how computational social science models can complement traditional models by addressing this limitation. We demonstrate the usefulness of behaviorally rich agent-based computational models by simulating various behavioral and climate scenarios for residential electricity demand and compare them with the business as usual (SSP2) scenario. Our results show that residential energy demand is strongly linked to personal and social norms. Empirical evidence from surveys reveals that social norms have an essential role in shaping personal norms. When assessing the cumulative impacts of these behavioral processes, we quantify individual and combined effects of social dynamics and of carbon pricing on individual energy efficiency and on the aggregated regional energy demand and emissions. The intensity of social interactions and learning plays an equally important role for the uptake of green technologies as economic considerations, and therefore in addition to carbon-price policies (top-down approach), implementing policies on education, social and cultural practices can significantly reduce residential carbon emissions.

scholarly journals qPCR Assays for the Detection of Cylindrocladium buxicola in Plant, Water, and Air Samples

Plant Disease ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (8) ◽  
pp. 1082-1090 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Gehesquière ◽  
S. D'Haeyer ◽  
K. T. K. Pham ◽  
A. J. Van Kuik ◽  
M. Maes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Samples ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Extraction Methods ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Taqman Probe ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Plant Water ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Air Samples ◽  
Latently Infected

Cylindrocladium buxicola (syn. C. pseudonaviculatum; teleomorph Calonectria pseudonaviculata) is an important fungal pathogen of Buxus spp. Although widespread in Western Europe, this pathogen has only recently been introduced into North America, where it represents a significant threat to the U.S. and Canadian boxwood industries. Trade of latently infected nursery stock is an important mode of long-distance dissemination and introduction of this pathogen but no methods for detection of latently infected material are available. Also, the pathways for short-distance dispersal of C. buxicola have not been adequately studied. Improved detection methods of this pathogen in air and water samples would benefit future research in this area. We have developed real-time polymerase chain reaction assays for the detection of C. buxicola based on the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS) and the β-tubulin 2 gene (TUB). Using a TaqMan probe conjugated with a 3′ minor groove binding group (TaqMan MGB probe), the ITS-based assay could reliably detect as little as 10 fg of genomic DNA or 20 copies of cloned target DNA and was approximately 70 times more sensitive than the SYBR Green TUB-based assay. The ITS-based assay provided good but not complete specificity, and is well suited for epidemiological studies. The TUB-based assay, however, proved to be fully specific and can be used for diagnostics. We developed and optimized sample processing and DNA extraction methods for detection of latently present C. buxicola in boxwood plants and quantification of conidia in water and air samples. C. buxicola could be detected in 20 g of plant material, of which only 1 ppm of the tissue was infected, in 10-ml water samples containing as low as 1 conidium/ml, and on Melinex tape pieces representing 12 h of air sampling containing 10 or more conidia. The applicability of the techniques to plant, water, and air samples of practical size was demonstrated.

scholarly journals Valorization of Mushroom By-Products as a Source of Value-Added Compounds and Potential Applications

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 2672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filipa Antunes ◽  
Sara Marçal ◽  
Oludemi Taofiq ◽  
Alcina M. M. B. Morais ◽  
Ana Cristina Freitas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bioactive Compounds ◽  
Food System ◽  
Animal Feed ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Pharmaceutical Formulations ◽  
Extraction Methods ◽  
Industrial Wastes ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Future Research ◽  
By Products

Nowadays, the food sector is highly concerned with environmental issues and foreseen to develop strategies to reduce waste and losses resulting from activities developed in the food system. An approach is to increment added value to the agro-industrial wastes, which might provide economic growth and environmental protection, contributing to a circular economy. Mushroom by-products represent a disposal problem, but they are also promising sources of important compounds, which may be used due to their functional and nutritional properties. Research has been developed in different fields to obtain value added solutions for the by-products generated during mushroom production and processing. Bioactive compounds have been obtained and applied in the development of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical formulations. Additionally, other applications have been explored and include animal feed, fertilizer, bioremediation, energy production, bio-based materials, cosmetics and cosmeceuticals. The main purpose of this review is to highlight the relevant composition of mushroom by-products and discuss their potential as a source of functional compounds and other applications. Future research needs to explore pilot and industrial scale extraction methods to understand the technological feasibility and the economic sustainability of the bioactive compounds extraction and valorization towards different applications.

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