Al-Mukhtar Journal of Sciences

Preliminary Study of SurfactinProduction by Malaysian Local Isolates of Bacillus Subtilis

2023-04-05T18:41:28+00:00

Surfactin is one of the most powerful lipopeptidebiosurfactants produced by various strains of Bacillus subtilis. It has exceptional surface activity, with antiviral, antibacterial, and antitumor properties. The four local isolates, which were named Bacillus subtilis1M, 3M, 7M, and 8M were provided by the School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Kebangsaan, Malaysia. In this study, fermentation on shaker flasks was carried out to assess the ability of four local isolates of Bacillus subtilis strains to produce surfactin by using Cooper’s media formulation, and comparing their production with a commercial strain of Bacillus subtilis ATCC 21332, which was obtained from the American Type Culture Collection. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used for surfactin identification and surfactin concentration measurements. Results obtained show the four local isolates have the ability to produce surfactin. The Bacillus subtilis3M strain showed the highest amount of surfactin production with 117 (3) mg/L, while the Bacillus subtilis1M strain produced the lowest amount with 65 (5.4) mg/L. In addition, the production of Bacillus subtilis ATCC 21332 strain was found at 101(4) mg/L under the same fermentation conditions.

Congo Red Removal From Aqueous Solutions by Ion ExchangerAmberliteLA-2

2023-04-05T18:41:25+00:00

Amberlite LA-2 was used as an ion exchanger to remove Congo red dye from aqueous solution. The effect of the initial concentration of dye and the initial concentration of Amberlite LA-2 on the efficiency of dye removal from the aqueous phase to the organic phase at different contact times, temperatures and pH values was studied. this research aims to study the potential of using Amberlite LA-2 as an extracting material for Congo red dye removal. UV-visible Spectrophotometer were used to assay the dye concentration in the aqueous solution before and after removal. Distribution coefficients (K_D), loading capacity (Z), and extraction efficiency (E%) were computed using experimental data. The maximum extraction efficiency of 99.69 % was obtained with a loading capacity of 384.366 mol/kg. The obtained results also indicated that the removal of dye increases with the increase in the concentration of Amberlite LA-2. The best removal was obtained in a neutral medium (pH = 7), a temperature of 20 ^oC. A mechanism of extraction by Amberlite LA-2 was also proposed.

Morphological , Anatomical and Chemical Studies of Salvia Rosmarinus Spenn. Growing in Al- Marj (Libya)

2023-04-05T18:41:18+00:00

Salvia rosmarinus Spenn (synonym: Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is economically and medically important and grows naturally in Al-Marj (Libya). Macro, micro morphological and chemical characteristics were studied. Leaf venation, leaf anatomy and chemical compounds of essential oils were carried out according to traditional methods. The objective of the present study is to provide detailed description of the characteristics of this species. Morphological charactersistics of leaves, calyx, corolla, stamens are useful for sectional and specific delimitations in Salvia. The leaf architecture characters of primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary veins are good diagnostic markers for the identification and classification of species. Anatomical characters such as glandular and non- glandular trichomes , mesophyll structure, presence of hypodermis and structure of vascular bundles have been found to have taxonomic value. Cineol (32.38%) is main component of essential oil, followed by Camphor, β-pinene, borneol, Caryophyllene, α-terpineol and α-pinene. Chemical data in essential oils carried taxonomic value of Salvia species.

How to Move from Agile to Agility in Software Organizations

2023-04-05T18:41:21+00:00

Agility adoption in software development organizations is considered a strong solution to managing a rapidly changing, uncertain, and unsteady workplace. Especially, as the objective of Agility is to control changes that may happen. So, moving from Agile to Agility increases the organizations’ ability in swiftly and effectively react to unexpected variations in market requests. Agile refers to a mindset emphasizing teamwork, frequent value delivery, and the ability to deal with functional changes. The distinction between Agile and Agility needs to be understood in order to prevent misunderstandings, because Agility is recognized as one of the most important attributes of an organization against market turbulence. Through systematic mapping, this research explores the transition from Agile to Agility in software development companies. Systematic mapping is a technique for gathering, collating, and presenting research evidence. Eight research questions were identified, and to provide answers to these questions, several research papers have been explored in electronic databases. Eventually, 33 research papers were inspected, and answers to all research questions were provided. The results that have been achieved by this research proved that Agile and Agility differ in terms of definitions, attributes, numbers of dimensions, and the dimensions themselves

Fluoride Concentration in Both Tap Water and Drinking Bottled Water (Commercial) in Baninah Area -Benghazi, Northeastern Libya

2023-04-05T18:41:15+00:00

Drinking bottled water has become both popular and increasingly controversial. as a result of the use of these techniques, some of the necessary elements in water are exposed to remove it such as fluoride. For this reason, the present study aimed to determine the fluoride content in both Tap Water and some types of Bottled water (Commercial) in the Baninah area -Benghazi. Six different types of bottled water from the local market, and three sampling point of tap water (water network supply) were collected for analysis of pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), and fluoride for all samples. The results revealed a decrease in total dissolved salts in some types of bottled water compared to the Libyan standard specifications for the quality of drinking water. While the Fluoride content in bottled water and tap water showed fluoride concentrations lower than 1.5 mg/l according to the WHO standards and Libyan standards for drinking water. This requires a medical study to know the other sources that compensate for the lack of fluoride in the water (tap water network supply - bottled water).

Monitoring the Reproduction and Development of Eggs in the Sea Hare Aplysia fasciata under Laboratory Conditions

2023-04-05T18:41:11+00:00

This study looks at spawning patterns, egg mass shape, and embryo development to learn more about the reproductive biology of the A. fasciata species that lives in Libya's coastal waters. In June 2022, eight mature Aplysia fasciata collected from Tajura coast and kept into aquarium contain aerated seawater and marine algae (Ulva lactuca). After five days, a mating couple was seen in the aquarium, and, a mass of fertilized eggs were produced. The clusters eggs were transfer to new aquarium. After few hours, the eggs started development to embryo and at 10 day the egg masses colour changed to a brownish as the embryo developed to the trochophore stage and started to rotate inside capsules. After 16 day of spawning the trochophore broke the egg capsules to hatch as free swimming larvae (the veliger stage). Unfortunately, after 25 day of fertilized eggs all larvae died as veliger. Probably, the result of inadequate conditions for rearing or lack an availability of appropriate food. Whereas A. fasciata has never been recorded before in the Libyan waters.

Endogenous Salicylic acid Estimation in Wheat leaves treated with Salicylic acid and infected with Alternaria triticina

2023-04-05T18:41:01+00:00

This study was aime to measure the accumulation of endogenous salicylic acid, as indicator for systemic acquired re-sistance of wheat plants of “Utique” variety. The plant was sprayed with salicylic acid (SA) or water as control, at the five-leaf stage, later infected with leaf blight caused by Alternaria triticina. Leaf samples were removed after 10, 20, and 30 days of inoculation to test their endogenous content of salicylic acid as it is the primary internal signal indicating the emergence of systemic acquired resistance in plants, by the spectrophotometer measuring. Endogenous SA values were ascending dramatically from 10 days to 20 days and maximum with 30th day significantly, while control plants exhibit lower values in all day periods, insignificantly. SA treatments proved reduction in disease incidence after 10 days with 54% and after 20 days with 64%, while after 30 days the reduction recorded high percentage of 80%. In comparison between the time intervals, disease severity was clearly reduction and reached to 83% after 10 days of inoculation then decreased to 72% for both 20th and maintained its stability on the 30th day of inoculation by 72%. This study was proved the reduction of wheat leaf blight incidence and disease severity as a result of treatment by using 1Millimolar (mM) of SA was leading to accumulation of significant levels of endogenous SA as indicator for internal induced resistance in plant.

Changes in Hematological Parameters of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) Fi gerlings Fed on Pomegranate (Punica granatum) Peel Supplement

2023-04-05T18:41:05+00:00

The present study aimed to determine the effect on different blood parameters (WBCs, RBC, HGB, HCT, MCV, MCH, and MCHC) in fingerlings of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) weighing 13.5 ± 1 g with pomegranate peels (Punica granatum) in their different forms, raw (PPR), alcoholic (PPA) and water (PPW), which were added to their feed as 0.5% and 1% respectively, in addition to the control treatment (21 replicates). A commercial diet was used containing 35% crude protein, 6% lipid, 12% Ash and 50 TVN for ten weeks. At the end of the experiment, blood was drawn from the heart of the fish, and analyses were performed. The results showed that RBCs, HGB and HCT improved significantly (P< 0.05), while there were no significant differences (P> 0.05) in WBCs, MCH, and MCHC. In short, we recommend adding pomegranate peels or extracts (alcoholic or aqueous) to common carp food at a rate not exceeding 1%.

Soil Science Education: Adaptation of Soil Judging (Evaluation) to Libya

2023-04-05T18:40:58+00:00

Adaptation of Soil Judging to Libya involves tailoring Soil Judging materials to the country's local context. The objectives of this study were to adapt Soil Judging to Libya and evaluate it in various locations in Libya. Different soil judging handbooks from the United States (US) were used to develop teaching materials for Libya (including tables of soil physical and chemical properties and scorecards). The soil judging scorecard was enhanced by adding more specific information relevant to Libya (e.g., soil salinity, calcium carbonate, etc.). Libyan users were asked to complete a survey on the usefulness of Soil Judging in Libya. Eighty-two percent of those surveyed were unaware of Soil Judging prior to this study. After completing Soil Judging trials in various locations in Libya, 95% of those surveyed indicated that Soil Judging is helpful in natural science education in Libya. Future improvements to Soil Judging should include better equipment and explanation.

Bee Honey as a Bioindicator of Environmental Pollution with Some Heavy Metals in Zawia and Janzour Regions, Libya

2023-04-05T18:41:08+00:00

This study aims to estimate the concentration of some heavy metals in bee honey and its various products and the possibility of inferring bees as a bioindicator in determining pollution by these metals. Eight hives were distributed; seven were close to different sources of pollution and one hive was in an agricultural site far control sample. Twenty honey samples were collected from the mentioned sites during three seasons and some samples of pollen, wax, and gum were also collected from one of the sites of pollution sources and the control site. Obtained results indicated that most of the honey samples were above the permissible limit for lead and cadmium compared to the European Union (EU) standard (1.0) mg/kg and the Codex standard. It was found that all samples contained relatively high concentrations of lead and cadmium in all sites. As for copper and zinc, all samples contained concentrations less than the permissible limit according to the Codex standard, which is (5.0) mg/kg. As for the concentration of these elements in pollen, wax, and gum samples, the highest concentration was in bee gum samples. It became clear through the results of this study those bees, and through their various products: honey, pollen, beeswax, and gum, can be consider a bioindicator of the environment to determine the extent of pollution by some heavy metals in the sites surrounding the beehives.