Journal of Applied Biotechnology Reports
Volume:5 Issue: 4, Autumn 2018

The implementation of the convention on biological diversity (CBD) on contracts of access to genetic resources and sharing benefits of them has led those types of contracts to be away from the traditional contracts found in the law of contracts, and as a result, have found special formats to satisfy the requirements of the CBD. After studying the conditions and specific elements within the contracts of access to the genetic resources (ABS), we will find in this paper that these contracts are not consistent with any known conventional formats and are subject to the requirements of the CBD. Due to the implementation of requirements arising from the CBD as a binding international document, the principle of freedom in these contracts is faced with a number of limitations. The failure to comply with the requirements of the CBD by each party of these contracts, especially when one considers their obligations to provide grounds for the implementation of the aims of the CBD, leads to the modification or even revoking of ABS contracts.

The pulp and paper wastewater contains various organic and inorganic compounds in considerable amounts. Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology has been used extensively for various industrial wastewater treatments due to its ability to produce appropriate effluent according to water quality regulations. Pulp and paper wastewater can be successfully treated by MBR in different conditions according to the wastewater and MBR characteristics. However, a major drawback in use of MBR is membrane fouling, which leads to the reduction of effluent permeate flux. Fouling factors need to be considered because they are the major problems affecting the MBR performance. Besides, the performance of MBR can be increased by wastewater pretreatment methods and addition of a fouling reducer. In this paper, the application of aerobic and anaerobic MBR for pulp and paper wastewater treatment and membrane fouling has been reviewed. It has been found that the advantages of MBR over conventional biological treatment processes have made this technology popular for pulp and paper wastewater treatment.

  Oxidative stress is involved in many pathological mechanisms especially those due to aging, such as cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Essential oils are known for their many biological properties, especially as anti-nociceptive, anticancer, antiviral and antioxidative. The main objective of this study was to study the antioxidant activity of essential oils from Thymus fontanesii, Artemisia herba-alba and Rosmarinus officinalis, individually and in the combinations. Essential oils of plants aerial parts were analyzed by (GC) and (GC/MS). The antioxidant properties were evaluated using two different methods, Radical scavenging activity (DPPH) and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP). The essential oil of T. fontanesii was characterized principally by phenolic compounds represented by thymol (76.6%) and p-cymene (7.4%). The constituents identified from A. herba-alba essential oil were principally represented by camphor (32.3%) and chrysanthenone (25.6%). While, R. officinalis essential oil was characterized by 1,8-cineole (18.3%), camphene (15.4%) and α-pinene (12.8%). T. fontanesii essential oil indicated the significantly highest activity in quenching of DPPH radical, followed by R. officinalis and A. herba-alba essential oils with IC50s of 13.7, 24.5 and 79.4 mg/L, respectively. The combination of T. fontanesii , A. herba-alba and R. officinalis essential oils showed the greatest antioxidant activity with an IC50 of 2.6 mg/L almost equal to the synthetic antioxidant BHT. The essential oils blend presented high antioxidant activity compared to individually oils. These findings provide a new source of antioxidant can be used as a natural food preservative and alternative to chemical synthetic preservatives.

  In recent years, using the plant products alone and along with metal nanoparticles has been widely considered in preventing or killing pathogens including fungi. Increasing the use of chemical drugs has increased the resistance of pathogenic fungi. The present study aimed at investigating the Biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles by mango plant extract and its anti- Candida effects. First, the Indian mangoes were bought from the Isfahan fruit and vegetable market and the kernel were extracted. Then, the nanoparticles synthesis was conducted on mango cores and the synthesized nanoparticles were evaluated using a UV-VIS, XRD machine and a transient electron microscope. In this study, the anti- Candida effects of mango cores nanoparticles was evaluated on 21 clinical isolates and 3 standard strains of Candida including Candida albicans PPTCC 5027and Candida glabrata PTCC 5297 and Candida krusei PTCC 5295 using a quantitative microdilution method (serial dilution in tubes). For data analysis, ANOVA test and SPSS version 22 software were used at the significance level of P ≤ 0.05. Duncan test was used to analyze the groups. Based on the results, the synthesized nanoparticles were cubic and 65 nm in size. Among the clinical isolates, Candida albicans with the frequency of 52.38% and Candida glabrata with the frequency of 4.76% had the highest and lowest frequency among the 21 clinical isolates. Candida glabrata had the most sensitivity with the quantitative serial dilution method (microdilution) with minimum inhibitory concentration of fungal growth (0.016 mg / ml) and the minimum lethal concentration of fungi (0.032 mg / ml) against nanoparticles of mango cores (p≤0.001). The inhibitory effect of the mango cores nanoparticles after fluconazole on the majority of clinical and standard strains of Candida had a direct relationship with increasing concentrations of this substance. However, further studies are required for determining the effect of this bio-nanoparticle on the treatment of candidal infections in humans.

  Recent increases in microbial resistance to multiple antibiotics have led to the emergence of more economical new methods for producing nanoparticles with physical, chemical effects and limited resistance. The aim of this study was ZnO nanoparticles synthesis and antibacterial properties against some Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria. In this study, ZnO nanoparticle was synthesized using ultrasonic method and bioassayed on 10 human pathogenic bacteria by Agar well diffusion method. MIC and MBC is determined too. Antibiotic resistance pattern of bacteria was determined to nine antibiotics: Gentamicin, Ampicillin, Nalidixic acid, Amoxicillin, Amikacin, Ciprofloxacin, Co-trimoxazole, Norfloxacin and Cephalexin by Disc diffusion assay. The nanoparticles synthesized with suitable morphology and distribution. All Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria were inhibited at the low concentration of ZnO nanoparticles and the most of bacteria had resistance to antibiotics. The findings suggest the ZnO nanoparticles have potential applications, as antibacterial compounds and their mechanism of action is dependent upon composition and surface modifications.

  Today, freezing method is one of the most common approaches in the treatment of infertility, but oxidative stress is a major destructing factor during sperm freezing and thawing. However, antioxidant compounds can play a key role in sperm freezing techniques. In this study, 5 groups of sperms were evaluated with and without Ginseng extract and then some parameters were evaluated such as mobility, activity of mitochondrial, amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA fragmentation. Our results showed that mobility and mitochondrial activity in sperms significantly increased (p≤0.05) in frozen and thawed sperm, which treated with 1 mg/ml compared to freezing and thawing without Ginseng extract. In addition, the results showed that Ginseng treatment decreased the amount of ROS and DNA fragmentation compared to freezing and thawing in frozen and thawed treatment without Ginseng significantly (p≤0.05). By preventing the increase of oxidative stress levels, Ginseng prevented reduction of mobility and mitochondria activity of sperms after freezing and thawing. It also reduced sperm DNA defeat and reduced production of free radicals. The results of the present study support our hypothesis that Ginseng has positive effects sperm quality in cryopreservation process.

  Recent studies have indicated the function of polymorphisms in the miRNAs-binding sites within the target genes in cancer incidence. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between KRAS rs712 polymorphism within let-7 microRNA-binding site and lung cancer risk in Iranian population. This case-control study was performed among 100 patients with lung cancer and 100 healthy individuals. The rs712 polymorphism in KRAS gene promoter was evaluated using PCR-RFLP technique and direct sequencing. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software and t-test. Our findings showed that rs712, TT and GT genotypes and GT genotypes are significantly associated with lung cancer incidence in Iranian population (adjusted OR=3.556, 95% CI=1.346–9.379, P=0.015) and (OR=2.45, 95% CI =1.274–4.719, P=0.010), and rs712 T allele was associated with lung cancer incidence (OR =1.711, 95% CI =1.147–2.553, P=0.011). In addition, our analysis showed an association between the rs712 TT genotype and lung cancer metastasis (P= 0.006). According to our findings, rs712 T allele is significantly associated with the initiation and progression of lung cancer in Iranian population and it may be served as a lung cancer screening marker in the future.