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Abstract : Enhanced Virgin Coconut Oil (EVCO) as Natural Postmilking Teat Germicide to Control Environmental Mastitis Pathogens
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Abstract: The antimicrobial capability of oil containing medium-chain fatty acids and their corresponding monoglycerides, known as Enhanced Virgin Coconut Oil (EVCO) against microorganisms isolated from bovine mastitis milk was studied. EVCO contains an effective amount of medium-chain free fatty acids (caprylic, capric and lauric acid) and their corresponding derivatives (monocaprylin, monocaprin and monolaurin) can act as antimicrobial agent with broad spectrum of antimicrobial properties. An in vitro assessment of EVCO against bovine mastitis microorganisms isolated from locally collected mastitis milk samples was conducted to determine its minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC>99). In general, EVCO exhibited its great antimicrobial capability to kill all mastitis microorganisms isolated from the mastitis milk sample at different concentrations of MBC>99 value. In fact, EVCO was found more effective to kill Mycoplasma sp. and gram positive microbes rather than gram negative microbes, especially in Mycoplasma bovis, Acholeplasma oculi, Enterococcus sp., Streptococcus sp. and Staphylococcus aureus with lower MBC>99 values in comparison with the synthetic antibiotic, Mastivet. A further investigation of the antimicrobial activities of EVCO against Staphylococcus aureus and Mycoplasma bovis against time revealed that EVCO was more efficient in killing these two microorganisms in a shorter time at a lower concentration as opposed to Mastivet. These findings indicated that EVCO has great potential application in postmilking teat germicide, which can be used as a preventive measure to control mastitis cases, especially against environmental mastitis pathogens. Keywords: Mastitis, Enhanced Virgin Coconut Oil (EVCO), Mastivet, Antimicrobial Activity. |
Abstract : Evaluation of Wines Rating Based on Sensory Characteristics Using Neural Networks
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Abstract: Wine is an agricultural product with very high commerce price variation, which is highly affected by quality ratings. Therefore, quality rating is particularly important for both industry and consumers. However, absence of clear concepts on what constitutes wine quality makes the perception of quality highly subjective, and it is usual for tasters to disagree on the quality rating of a specific wine. For this purpose, a Feedforward Neural Network (FNN) could be trained in order to predict wine quality. In this study, a new FNN method was developed to predict the accurate wine quality based on major sensory characteristics as FNN inputs, and to improve the ability of a taster, groups of tasters, or consumers, to rate wine by taking into account previous decisions. Specifically, five principle sensory characteristics of wines were used as inputs (Aging in Barrel, Aroma Intensity, Body, Astringency, and Acidity) in a rating range 1-3. As outputs, the quality ratings of wines in a range 70-100 were considered. The FNN was created in MATLAB with 1 hidden layer, 5 neurons and 1 output layer. For ratings divided in 5 categories the accuracy was 53% with the use of the FNN, as opposed to the accuracy of 36% achieved by Multiple Linear Regression. For ratings divided in 9 categories the accuracy was 90%. This method may allow each individual or group of tasters to introduce their own data to produce a more objective rating by taking into account previous decisions (subjective) that have accumulated in the database. Keywords: Wine rating, sensory evaluation, Feedforward Neural Networks, regression analysis. |
Abstract : In Vitro Screening for Antimicrobial Activity of Some Medicinal Plant Seed Extracts
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Abstract: Phytochemical screening (saponins, tannins, steroids, alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols and glycosides) of four medicinal plant seeds (Jatropha curcas, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba), Moringa oleifera and Datura metel) extracted by aqueous, ethanol and Folch solvents, were examined for their antimicrobial activity against three types of plant pathogenic fungi namely; Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani, in addition to four types of bacteria, namely; Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Ralstonia solanacearum and Pesudomonas aeruginosa using disc diffusion paper. Results revealed that different concentrations of aqueous extracts were more effective against bacterial activity compared to fungal activity, except for D. metel aqueous extract which showed no antifungal effect and very weak effect on only two of the tested bacteria. B. cereus was more sensitive to J. curcas aqueous extract, while P. aeruginosa was more sensitive to S. chinensis and M. oleifera aqueous extracts. On the other hand, results showed that J. curcas and M. oleifera ethanol extracts were more effective on Staph. aureus growth, while S. chinensis and D. metel did not have any effect on any of the fungi or bacteria under study. The evaluation of the antifungal and antibacterial effect did not confirm the broad spectrum of S. chinensis Folch extract, while M. oleifera and D. metel were more effective on reducing R. solani growth. Also F. oxysporum was affected by J. curcas Folch extract only at high concentrations. These findings support that the traditional use of the plant extracts in the treatment of different infections caused by pathogenic microbes is valuable and should be taken in consideration. Keywords: Phytochemical screening, antimicrobial activities, Jatropha curcas, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba), Moringa oleifera, Datura metel. |
Abstract : Management of Agroindustrial Lignocellulosic Wastes through Vermitechnology and Production of Agronomic Valid Vermicompost
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Abstract: We aimed to recycle the agroindustrial waste resources- pressmud(PM), sugarcane trash (ST) and biomethanated distillery effluent(BE) and produced agronomic valid vermicompost using earthworm, Perionyx excavatus for maintaining natural soil organic and sustainable agricultural activity. Therefore, a series of studies were carried out to convert PM-ST-BE in different proportion vermibeds (T1-1000g PM+0g ST+790ml BE), (T2- 900g PM+100g ST+740ml BE), (T3-800g PM+200g ST+696ml BE), (T4-700g PM +300g ST+655ml BE), (T5-600g PM+400g ST+625ml BE) and (T6-500g PM+500g ST+542ml BE) into vermicompost. The study was to examine the activity of earthworm- growth, reproduction, vermicompost recovery and its nutrient status. The pronounced and better worm activity was found in all vermibeds, especially more in T1 and T3 vermibeds followed by others. This seems to be due to rich cellulose, OC, N, P, microbial activity, enhanced water holding capacity and palatability of the substrates. Enhanced microbial activity, humic acid content, NPK, normalized pH, declined OC, C-N, and C-P ratio, lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and phenol in vermicompost than normal compost and control. The increased microbial-enzymatic activities contribute an increase in nutrients through nitrification, phosphate solubilization and mineralization. Reduction of OC, C-N, C-P ratio, lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and phenol in the vermicompost are due to combined action of gut microflaura and earthworm during the vermicomposting process and utilization of these contents by the worm for their growth and reproduction. Finally, our study recommended for the production and application of vermifertilizer from lignocellulosic wastes using vermitechnology for sustainable activity. Keywords: Agroindustrial wastes, pressmud, sugarcane waste, biomethanated distillery effluent, vermicompost. |
