Advances in lignocellulosic biotechnology: A brief review on lignocellulosic biomass and cellulases

From the last few decades, there has been an increasing research interest in the value of lignocellulosic biomass. Lignoellulosic biomass is an inexpensive, renewable abundant and provides a unique natural resource for large-scale and cost-effective bio-energy collection. In addition, using lignocellulosic materials and other low-cost biomass can significantly reduce the cost of materials used for ethanol production. Therefore, in this background, the rapidly evolving tools of biotechnology can lower the conversion costs and also enhance a yield of target products. In this context, a biological processing presents a promising approach to converting lignocellulosic materials into energy-fuels. The present summarized review work begins with an overview on the physio-chemical features and composition of major agricultural biomass. The information is also given on the processing of agricultural biomass to produce industrially important enzymes, e.g., ligninases or cellulases. Cellulases provide a key opportunity for achieving tremendous benefits of biomass utilization.

Synthesis and characterization of poppy seed oil methyl esters

Response surface methodology(RSM) was used to determine the optimum conditions of the methanolysis of crude poppy seed oil using Na OCH3 as catalyst. The experiments were run according to five levels, four variable central composite rotatable design(CCRD) using RSM. The reaction variables, i.e., molar ratio of methanol/oil(3:1–9:1), catalyst concentration(0.5 wt%–1.25 wt% Na OCH3), reaction temperature(25–65 °C), and reaction time(20–90 min) were studied. We demonstrated that the molar ratio of methanol/oil, catalyst concentration,and reaction temperature were the significant parameters affecting the yield of poppy seed oil methyl esters(PSOMEs). The optimum transesterification reaction conditions, established using the RSM, which offered a89.35% PSOME yield, were found to be 7.5:1 molar ratio of methanol/oil, 0.75% catalyst concentration, 45 °C reaction temperature, and 90 min reaction time. The proposed process provided an average biodiesel yield of more than 85%. A linear correlation was constructed between the observed and predicted values of the yield.The gas chromatography(GC) analyses have shown that PSOMEs contain linoleic-, oleic-, palmitic-, and stearic-acids as main fatty acids. The FTIR spectrum of the PSOMEs was also analyzed to confirm the completion of the transesterification reaction. The fuel properties of the PSOMEs were discussed in light of biodiesel standards(ASTM D 6751 and EN 14214).

POM analysis and computational interactions of 8-hydroxydiospyrin inside active site of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B

Proteintyrosine phosphatase 1B(PTP1B)inhibitionis consideredas a potentialtherapeuticfor the treatmentof cancer,type2 diabetes,andobesity.Inour presentwork,weinvestigatedtheanti-diabeticpotentialof8-hydroxydiospyrin(8-HDN)from D.lotus against the PTP1B enzyme.It showed significant inhibitory activity of PTP1B with an IC 50 value of 18.37±0.02μM.A detailed molecular docking study was carried out to analyze the binding orientation,binding energy,and mechanism of inhibition.A comparative investigation of 8-HDN in the catalytic,as well as the allosteric site of PTP1B,was performed.Binding energy data showed that compound 8-HDN is more selective for the allosteric site and hence avoids the problems associated with catalytic site inhibition.The inhibition mechanism of 8-HDN can be further investigated as an active lead compound against PTP1B by using in vitro and in vivo models.

Estimation of HCV viral load and liver enzymes among different patients groups of District Gujrat, Pakistan

Hepatitis C has a 3% of the global disease burden that remains endemic in many regions of the world. According to a general statistical survey it has approximately 5.3% seroprevalence in Pakistan. HCV is a persistent and silent disease thus making the primary diagnosis complicated. Occasionally HCV positive population could not be diagnosed by routine HCV antibody testing therefore requires molecular diagnosis. This study is aimed to determine the prevalence of HCV and to estimate the HCV viral load by quantitative analysis among different patient groups of District Gujrat, Pakistan. A total of 597 samples were collected from clinically diagnosed liver patients that were categorized into three age groups: 1) up to 25 years;2) 26-50 years 3) above 50 years. All samples were subjected to real time PCR for determination and quantification of HCV RNA. Activity of liver aminotransferases was measured. The overall prevalence of HCV-RNA was 73.87%. Females had slightly higher HCV prevalence which is 74.06% while 73.45% in males. Highest prevalence of active HCV infection was found in age group 26-50. In addition, liver function tests showed that 28.12% HCV-positive patients do not have elevated ALT level whereas 32.65% did not show elevated AST levels. It may be assumed that there is not a significant relationship between increased viral load and liver amino transferases. The study concluded a significantly higher rate of HCV infection in young population. Moreover screening with antibody and liver function tests alone does not exclude the possibility of HCV infection.

Production of biodiesel from palm fatty acid distillate using sulfonated-glucose solid acid catalyst:Characterization and optimization

A palm fatty acid distillate （PFAD） has been used for biodiesel production. An efficient sulfonated-glucose acid catalyst （SGAC） was prepared by sulfonation to catalyze the esterification reaction. The effect of three variables i.e. methanol-to-PFAD molar ratio, catalyst amount and reaction time, on the yield of PFAD esters was studied by the response surface methodology （RSM）. The optimum reaction conditions were： 12.2：1 methanol-to- PFAD molar ratio, 2.9% catalyst concentration and 134 rain of time as predicted by the RSM. The reaction under the optimum conditions resulted in 94.5% of the free fatty acid （FFA） conversion with 92.4% of the FAME yield. The properties of the PFAD esters were determined according to biodiesel standards.

Development of bis-thiobarbiturates as successful urease inhibitors and their molecular modeling studies

Bis-thiobarbiturate derivatives 1-15 have been synthesized, characterized by 1HNMR and El-MS and screened for urease inhibition. All compounds showed various degree of urease inhibitory activity with iC50 values ranging 7.45 ± 0.12 - 74.24 ± 0.81 μmol/L while the standard thiourea behaved normally （ICso = 21.10 ±0.12）. Compounds I （IC50= 7.45 ± 0.12 ]μmol/L）, 9 （IC50 =18,17 ± 1.03 bmol/L） and 13 （IC50= 8.61 ± 0.45 bmol/L） showed excellent urease inhibitory activity in the series. Molecular modeling studies were performed to understand the binding site with the bimetallic nickel center of the enzyme. Structure-activity relationship has also been established for these compounds. This study identified bis- thiobarbiturate as a novel class of urease inhibitors.

Fabrication of NiO coated SiO_2 and SiO_2 coated NiO for the removal of Pb^(2+) ions

We have prepared silica,SiO2coated NiO and NiO coated SiO2by sol-gel method.The physicochemical properties of the desired materials were investigated by surface charge properties,scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,energy dispersive X-ray（EDX） spectroscopy,surface area measurements and X-ray diffraction（XRD） analyses.The point of zero charge（PZC） of the solid was determined by the salt addition method.In coated materials,two PZC values were noted representing the surface charge of their counterparts.The SEM image of SiO2coated NiO displays a uniform coating of silica on the surface of NiO whereas in case of NiO coated SiO2,a honeycomb like appearance was observed with highly porous structures.In the diffractograms of NiO,the characteristic peaks were suppressed in NiO coated silica however,no diffraction peak could be seen in SiO2coated NiO.Batch adsorption technique was applied for the removal of Pb2＋ions from aqueous solution.The sorption trend for Pb2＋ions was observed in the order of NiO coated SiO2〉 SiO2coated NiO 〉 NiO 〉 SiO2.This trend confirms that the coated materials have more sorption capacities than their parent counterparts.

Application of GIS for the identification and demarcation of selective heavy metal concentrations in the urban groundwater

Groundwater is the most appropriate and widely used source of drinking water, which is increasingly threatened by pollution from industrial and agricultural activities. To check the severity of the problem, 156 groundwater samples were collected from various depths （60-110 ft） of 52 different localities in Faisalabad city, the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, and analyzed for the metals （Zn, Cu, Cd, Ni, Pb, Mn and Fe） concentration in 2009. Quantification was done by using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer technique and the results were compared with WHO standards for drinking water quality. Results showed that the levels of Cu, Mn and Fe were below the WHO standards while the concentrations of Zn, Cd, Ni and Pb were above the recommended levels of safe drinking water. Correlation analysis among the occurrence of these heavy metals revealed a highly significant and positive correlation of Mn with Zn and Fe. A significant and positive correlation of Cd was also found with Cu and groundwater depth showing that there is strong association between Cu-Cd pair and that the Cd concentration varies with depth of groundwater in the study area. Regional patterns of heavy metals occurrence were mapped using Geographical Information System （GIS） for the identification and demarcation of risk areas. The concentration maps may be used by policymakers of the city to mitigate groundwater pollution.