• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.337-353
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• 2017

Membrane fouling at different solids retention times (SRT) (7, 12 and 20 days) was studied under well-controlled conditions in a laboratory-scale aerobic submerged membrane bioreactor under constant biomass concentration using a synthetic high strength wastewater. An increase in SRT was found to improve membrane performance and this correlated to changes in the total production of bound extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and the composition and properties of bound EPS using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and floc sizes. A larger amount of total bound EPS was found at the lowest SRT (7 days) tested but the ratio of proteins (PN) to carbohydrates (CH) in bound EPS increased with an increase in SRT. Similarly, the quantity of soluble microbial products (SMP) decreased with an increase in SRT and the SMP PN/CH ratio increased with an increase in SRT. SMP concentrations positively correlated to the percentage of membrane pore blocking resistance. The quantity of total bound EPS and total SMP positively corresponded to the membrane fouling rate, while the PN/CH ratio in the bound EPS and SMP negatively correlated to the membrane fouling rate. The results show that both the quantity and composition of bound EPS and SMP and floc sizes are important in controlling membrane fouling.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.275-283
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• 2017

Objective: An experiment was conducted to investigate the environment of the deep litter system and provided theoretical basis for production. Methods: The bedding samples were obtained from a pig breeding farm and series measurements associated with gases concentrations and the bacterial diversity as well as the quantity of Escherichia coli, Lactobacilli, Methanogens were performed in this paper. Results: The concentrations of $CO_2$, $CH_4$, and $NH_3$ in the deep litter system increased with the increasing of depth while the $N_2O$ concentrations increased fiercely from the 0 cm to the -10 cm depth but then decreased beneath the -10 cm depth. Meanwhile, the Shannon index, the dominance index as well as the evenness index at the -20 cm layer was significantly different from the other layers (p<0.05). On the other hand, the quantity of Escherichia coli reached the highest value at the surface beddings and there was a significant drop at the -20 cm layer with the increasing depth. The Lactobacilli numbers increased with the depth from 0 cm to -15 cm and then decreased significantly under the -20 cm depth. The expression of Methanogens reached its largest value at the depth of -35 cm. Conclusion: The upper layers (0 cm to -5 cm) of this system were aerobic, the middle layers (-10 cm to -20 cm) were micro-aerobic, while that the bottom layers (below -20 cm depth) were anaerobic. In addition, from a standpoint of increasing the nitrification pathway and inhibiting the denitrification pathway, it should be advised that the deep litter system should be kept aerobic.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.4.1-4.9
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• 2024

Objectives: This study aims to correlate caries-causing microorganism load, lactic acid estimation, and blood groups to high caries risk in diabetic and non-diabetic individuals and low caries risk in healthy individuals. Materials and Methods: This study includes 30 participants divided into 3 groups: Group A, High-risk caries diabetic individuals; Group B, High-risk caries non-diabetic individuals; and Group C, Low-risk caries individuals. The medical condition, oral hygiene, and caries risk assessment (American Dental Association classification and International Caries Detection and Assessment System scoring) were documented. Each individual's 3 mL of saliva was analyzed for microbial load and lactic acid as follows: Part I: 2 mL for microbial quantity estimation using nutrient agar and blood agar medium, biochemical investigation, and carbohydrate fermentation tests; Part II: 0.5 mL for lactic acid estimation using spectrophotometric analysis. Among the selected individuals, blood group correlation was assessed. The χ² test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and post hoc analysis were done using Dunn's test (p < 0.05). Results: Group A had the highest microbial load and lactic acid concentration, followed by Groups B and C. The predominant bacteria were Lactobacilli (63.00 ± 15.49) and Streptococcus mutans (76.00 ± 13.90) in saliva. Blood Group B is prevalent in diabetic and non-diabetic high-risk caries patients but statistically insignificant. Conclusions: Diabetic individuals are more susceptible to dental caries due to high microbial loads and increased lactic acid production. These factors also lower the executing tendency of neutrophils, which accelerates microbial accumulation and increases the risk of caries in diabetic individuals.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.299-304
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• 2016

When used for amplicon sequencing, Illumina platforms produce more than hundreds of sequence artefacts, which affects operational taxonomic units based analyses such as differential abundance and network analyses. Nevertheless it has become a major tool for fecal microbial community analysis. In addition, results from sequence-based fecal microbial community analysis vary depending on conditions of samples (i.e., freshness, time of storage and quantity). We investigated if freeze-drying samples could improve quality of sequence data. Our results showed reduced number of possible artefacts while maintaining overall microbial community structure. Therefore, freeze-drying feces prior to DNA extraction is recommended for Illumina-based microbial community analysis.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.443-458
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• 2018

An archive is a collection of documents or records. Currently, most archived documents are made of paper. Paper is susceptible to biological damage and deterioration due to its material properties. To control the biological damage, treatment with chemical disinfectants and control of the storage environment are often used. In government-controlled bulk public archives, all documents are chemically sterilized before storage. However, an extremely large quantity of public records have been produced, and storage space and conservation management are gradually reaching their limits. In this study, 60 species of microbes were identified using a genetic method. We successfully applied the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence method to detect microbial contamination on paper documents. A calibration curve of the ATP bioluminescence as a function of the microbe quantity was obtained, and the microbial activity on non-sterilized paper archives from 1951 was analyzed using an ATP luminometer. It was found that the microbial activity was suppressed or reduced in climate-controlled storage environments at $22^{\circ}C$ and 55% relative humidity. We anticipate that these results will be used to establish selective sterilization systems for government-controlled bulk public archives.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.732-739
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• 2009

Pig slurry is a good soil amendment not only because of its high organic matter content, but also because of its ability to provide various nutrients. The objective of this study was to estimate the influence of raw and processed pig slurry application on pot soil over chemical fertilizer and non-amended control soil. Change in the chemical parameters (pH, organic matter (OM), organic carbon (OC), macro and micronutrients) and microbial mass of the treated soils were monitored over 30 to 90 days. Pot soil was treated with the recommended dose of pig slurry and chemical fertilizer, and was sampled after 30, 60 and 90 days of incubation. The least significanct difference (p<0.05) was observed on Fe, Cu, Zn, available P and K between treatments. All treatments increased N, P and K content and microbial mass of soil over control soil. Interestingly, no significant effects were detected on OM, OC, total bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi mass in soil irrespective of treatments given. However fungal and bacterial counts, as well as available nutrients, were found to be higher in processed slurry (PS)-treated soil compared to other soils. In general a significant correlation existed between the fungal count and OM, OC, Zn, T Kjeldahl N (TKN), available P and K of soil. A strong negative correlation was observed between pH and Fe in soil. This study clearly demonstrated that the use of processed manure as a fertilizer could be a key for sustainable livestock agriculture.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.1399-1406
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• 2000

A continuous culture study was conducted to determine the impact of ruminal degradable soy protein (S-RDP) level and dilution rate (D) on growth of ruminal non-structural carbohydrate-fermenting microbes. Corn starch, urea and isolated soy protein (ISP) were used to formulate three diets with S-RDP levels of 0, 35 and 70% of total dietary CP. Two Ds were 0.03 and $0.06h^{-1}$ of the fermenter volume in a single-effluent continuous culture system. As S-RDP levels increased, digestibilities of dietary dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) linearly (p=0.001) decreased, whereas digestion of dietary starch linearly (p=0.001) increased. Increasing D from 0.03 to $0.06h^{-1}$ resulted in decreased digestibilities of dietary DM and OM, but had no effect on digestibilities of dietary starch (p=0.77) and CP (p=0.103). Fermenter pH, the concentration of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and daily VFA production were unaffected (p=0.159-0.517) by S-RDP levels. Molar percentages of acetate, propionate and butyrate were greatly affected by S-RDP levels (p=0.016-0.091), but unaffected by D (p=0.331-0.442). With increasing S-RDP levels and D, daily bacterial counts, daily microbial N production (DMNP) and microbial efficiency (MOEFF; grams of microbial N produced per kilogram of OM truly digested) were enhanced (p=0.001). The increased microbial efficiency with increasing S-RDP levels is probably the result of peptides or amino acids that served as a stimulus for optimal protein synthesis. The quantity of ruminal degradable protein from soy proteins required for optimum protein synthesis of non-structural carbohydrate-fermenting microbes appears to be equivalent to 9.5% of dietary fermented OM.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.308-320
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• 2022

The high internal resistance (R_int) that develops across the sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFC) limits their power production (~4/10 mW m^-2) that can be recovered from an initial oil-contaminated sediment (OCS). In the anolyte, R_int is related to poor biodegradation activity, quality and quantity of contaminant content in the sediment and anode material. While on the catholyte, R_int depends on the properties of the catholyte, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and the cathode material. In this work, the main factors limiting the power output of the SMFC have been minimized. The power output of the SMFC was increased (47 times from its initial value, ~4 mW m^-2) minimizing the SMFC R_int (28 times from its initial value, 5000 ohms), following the main modifications. Anolyte: the initial OCS was amended with several amounts of gasoline and kerosene. The best anaerobic microbial activity of indigenous populations was better adapted (without more culture media) to 3 g of kerosene. Catholyte: ORR was catalyzed in birnessite/carbon fabric (CF)-cathode at pH 2, 0.8M Na₂SO₄. At the class level, the main microbial groups (Gammaproteobacteria, Coriobacteriia, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria) with electroactive members were found at C-anode and were associated with the high-power densities obtained. Gasoline is more difficult to biodegrade than kerosene. However, in both cases, SMFC biodegradation activity and power output are increased when ORR is performed on birnessite/CF in 0.8 M Na₂SO₄ at pH 2. The work discussed here can focus on bioremediation (in heavy OCS) or energy production in future work.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.126-136
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• 1995

The studies had been conducted to evaluate the grain processing effects for ruminants on starch digestion, body weight gain and feed efficiency since 1970. This research deals with experimental results on chemical structure, gelatinization, microbial starch digestion in rumen, intestinal starch digestion in rumen, roles of protozoa, intestinal starch digestion of bypass starch, limits to starch digestion in small intestine. The grain processing has different effects on digestion, weight gain and feed efficiency when different grain sources and contents is used, and the quality and quantity of roughage is different. The economical and efficient method of grain processing should be selected considering weight gain and feed efficiency enhancement than digestibility.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.820-826
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• 2013

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of rain tree pod meal with palm oil supplementation on feed intake, digestibility, microbial protein synthesis and microbial populations in dairy cows. Four, multiparous early-lactation Holstein-Friesian crossbred (75%) lactating dairy cows with an initial body weight (BW) of $405{\pm}40$ kg and $36{\pm}8$ DIM were randomly assigned to receive dietary treatments according to a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design. The four dietary treatments were un-supplementation (control), supplementation with rain tree pod meal (RPM) at 60 g/kg, supplementation with palm oil (PO) at 20 g/kg, and supplementation with RPM at 60 g/kg and PO at 20 g/kg (RPO), of total dry matter intake. The cows were offered concentrates, at a ratio of concentrate to milk production of 1:2, and chopped 30 g/kg of urea treated rice straw was fed ad libitum. The RPM contained condensed tannins and crude saponins at 88 and 141 g/kg of DM, respectively. It was found that supplementation with RPM and/or PO to dairy cows diets did not show negative effects on feed intake and ruminal pH and BUN at any times of sampling (p>0.05). However, RPM supplementation resulted in lower crude protein digestibility, $NH_3$-N concentration and number of proteolytic bacteria. It resulted in greater allantoin absorption and microbial crude protein (p<0.05). In addition, dairy cows showed a higher efficiency of microbial N supply (EMNS) in both RPM and RPO treatments. Moreover, NDF digestibility and cellulolytic bacteria numbers were highest in RPO supplementation (p<0.05) while, supplementation with RPM and/or PO decreased the protozoa population in dairy cows. Based on this study, supplementation with RPM and/or PO in diets could improve fiber digestibility, microbial protein synthesis in terms of quantity and efficiency and microbial populations in dairy cows.