Earticle

Urbanization with advanced technology has led to an increase of waste being generated leading to a waste disposal crisis. In order to reduce the accumulation of waste materials, this study aims to reuse plastic bottles to substitute a percentage of the primary materials used for concrete bricks. The feasibility of waste plastic bottles as cement additive in concrete was investigated. Plastic is a suitable study subject because it is sufficiently strong, can be used for load bearing structural materials and possesses excellent corrosion, moisture, and chemical resistance. Waste plastic bottles were collected, washed, air-dried for 24 hours, and cut into squares that measured no more than 1 cm. Rectangular concrete blocks were casted using 1:3:6:0.5 mass mix ratio of cement, sand, gravel, and water. A 0%, 10%, and 20% additive level of cement and waste plastic bottles was done in three replicates. Mechanical compressive strength was tested after 21 days of curing. Data shows that the compressive strength of concrete after 21 days of curing was 0.00306 MPa (control), 0.00303 MPa (with 10% waste plastic bottles), and 0.00103 MPa (with 20% waste plastic bottles). Results show that adding 10% waste plastic bottles to the cement mixture has similar compressive strength to that of the control group, while adding 20% waste plastic bottles to the cement mixtures shows a lower compressive strength than that of the control group. Results therefore suggest that using waste plastic bottles reinforces the mechanical compressive strength of the concrete brick.

We aimed to explore natural products exhibiting anticancer activities against pancreatic cancer and identify the molecular mechanisms of drugs that target microenvironmental stress in pancreatic cancer cells. After establishing a screening system using GRP78 as a molecular target under microenvironmental stress, 105 different natural products were selected, and their extracts were used to treat pancreatic cancer cells. Morphological assays confirmed the anticancer activity of three natural products (Allii Tuberosi Semen, Bombycis Faecula, and Piperis Nigri Fructus). Colony formation assays performed after treatment with each of the three products showed that Piperis Nigri Fructus exhibited the highest anticancer activity; its anticancer activity was further confirmed by Hoechst 33342 staining. Finally, western blot analysis confirmedthe anticancer activity of Piperis Nigri Fructus extracts in PANC-1 cells by suppressing GRP78 molecular targeting. These results explain the cellular mechanisms of natural products with anticancer activity and confirm the anticancer activity of Piperis Nigri Fructus. These findings will be fundamental to the development of tools to identify anticancer agents in cells under microenvironmental stress as well as novel anticancer drugs.

South Korea is experiencing intermittent avian flu outbreaks, and the situation is becoming worse because the majority of response efforts are concerned with post-emergence treatment instead of prevention. In this situation, the accuracy of the vaccine should be increased and a method of predicting the mutation of the virus is needed. The aim of this study was therefore to predict the mutation of H5N1 virus HA sequence among domestic poultry. Through analyzing the migratory routes of birds, it was found that the same birds that were infected with H5N1 in Korea were also present in China and Japan and shared breeding grounds. We then used BLAST to obtain molecular evidence that confirms that the AI in China and Japan spreads to Korea with mutations. The HA sequences from previous outbreaks were analyzed for their mutations, and this historical data was used to train a predictive model. Analysis revealed that if the Ka/Ks ratio was over 1, the mutation was preserved. If the Ka/Ks ratio was less than 1, the peaks of the Ka/Ks profiles showed diverse, various mutations. And if the Ka / Ks was significantly low, the mutation did not occur. As a result, based on the Ka/Ks ratios of the AI HA sequences from China and Japan, it was possible to predict which parts of the HA sequence in Korea will be mutated. This will help with vaccine development.

This study aims to provide an optimal method that can yield the largest amount of chitin. Specifically, this study aims to compare the amount of chitin extracted from mud crabs (Scylla serrata) between different samples varying in the concentrations of the acid treatments during the demineralization and deproteinization processes. Chitin was extracted from ground Scylla serrata shells. During the demineralization process, samples were soaked in different HCl solutions: 1% concentration, 5% concentration, and 8% concentration. Likewise, during the demineralization process, samples were soaked in different NaOH solutions: 1% concentration, 5% concentration, and 8% concentration. The samples were tested for chitin through FTIR analysis, while chitin yield was determined by ANOVA testing. The results showed the optimal chitin yield can be extracted from Scylla serrata shells by soaking the samples in the lower HCl concentrations during demineralization and higher concentrations during deproteinization, specifically 5% HCl and 8% NaOH respectively. Furthermore, soaking the samples in 1% HCl does not successfully extract the calcium carbonate, thus unable extract chitin. The results of this study can be used to further extend current knowledge of chitin extraction from mud crabs (Scylla serrata) to obtain high-yielding results.

Water scarcity is a problem the world is facing nowadays. Although the amount of water in the world is in vast supply, the portion of water which is available for human consumption is in limited supply. Water filtration is a method which best remedies this catastrophe. There are numerous water filtration methods but they are either too expensive or they use inorganic substances which can be dangerous to our health. Also, there has been very little development on water filtration methods that best fits situations where in natural calamities are occurring. The researchers aim to answer these problems by developing a prototype of a water filtration design that makes use of an organomineral based substance that contains zeolite Zeolite, which has the capability to flocculate bacteria and other defects that disallows water for human consumption. It is used as an adsorbent for metallic contaminants in water and subsequently removed from the medium by a simple magnetic process. This research study also aims to test the effectivity of an organomineral-based water filter in the purification of water through several water quality parameters. The study included the optimum ratio of fine sand and organominerals and the Sewage water used was from a sewer canal in J.C. Aquino Avenue Butuan City. This was collected to test the filtration capabilities of the organomineral based substance. Four setups with 5 trials were made and water quality parameters such as pH, Total Suspended Solids and Dissolved Oxygen were done to see its effects. Results showed that the organomineral filters proved to be more efficient in treating wastewater interms of their pH, dissolved oxygen and Total Suspended Solids, than that of the sand filter without the presence of zeolite. It showed that there is a significant difference between variables and as organomineral concentration increases, Total Suspended Solids decreases. It also showed that there is a significant difference in Dissolved oxygen level between the sand filters with organominerals. As the amount of organominerals increases, Dissolved oxygen also increases. There seems to be no significant difference in pH if the amount of organominerals increases but there is a significant change when organominerals are added to the sand filter. The optimum setup of the organomineral substance is setup D with an organomineral depth of 37.5cm. The water filter remains effective until 35 liters of wastewater is poured into the filter. Beyond this point, the filter no longer goes within the range of the C classification of water.

This study aims to isolate and identify local bacteria capable of degrading PET bottles. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Pseudomonas putida, and Klebsiella pneumoniae ssp. pneumoniae were isolated from the San Mateo Sanitary Landfill (SMSL) in San Mateo, Rizal, Philippines and were found to be capable of degrading polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. All treated films had a decrease in mass and had a final tensile strength lower than that of the control, though statistically insignificant. Films degraded by P. putida had the highest average mass loss percentage of 5.57%, whereas both K. pneumoniae and S. maltophilia have 0.28% mass loss percentage. Meanwhile, films degraded by S. maltophilia had the highest final mean tensile strength difference of 52.1±12.44 mPa from that of the control among the other bacteria. This is followed by K. pneumoniae (difference: 49.9±12.44 mPa) and P. putida (difference: 46.4±12.44 mPa). Scanning Electron Microscope photomicrographs revealed dents and etches on all films, except the negative control film. Results from the mentioned tests indicate damage to treated films and show that the bacteria isolated from SMSL are capable of utilizing the PET bottle films as their sole carbon source.

Municipal solid waste remains a major problem in modern societies, despite the significant efforts to prevent, reduce, reuse and recycle. Recent studies show that the present level of landfill disposal for municipal solid waste is not a sustainable option. At present, waste incineration with energy recovery plants is one of the main management options in most of the developed countries. Incinerators including stoker, rotary kiln, liquid injection, and fluidized bed types are useful. The most advanced type is pyrolysis gasification system. It can be optimized to produce mainly syngas, which has a significant fuel value. But incinerators offer a solution to the solid waste disposal problems of the country only if the emission is controlled.