Life Sciences and Environment Journal

EFFECTS OF NEEM WOOD VINEGAR ON ANTIFUNGAL GROWTH OF NAM WAH BANANA ROPE PRODUCTS

Sutatip Thonglem — 2024-10-22

This research was aimed to examine the influence of neem-wood vinegar on inhibiting fungal growth of banana ‘Namwa Mali-ong’ ropes produced in Chai Badan district, Lopburi province. The experiment was conducted using banana rope samples prepared by four methods: Rope_A (control sample), Rope_B (bleached with sodium hypochlorite), Rope_AN (treated with neem-wood vinegar), and Rope_BN (bleached with sodium hypochlorite and treated with neem-wood vinegar). The results showed the growth of white mycelium fungi in the Rope_A sample only. Sodium hypochlorite and neem wood vinegar solutions could inhibit the growth of the white mycelium fungi. After 30 days of storage at natural condition, 3 mycelium fungi (white, black and green mycelium fungi) were found in Rope_A30 sample (Rope_A after 30 days of storage at natural condition). While Rope_B30, Rope_AN30, and Rope_BN30 samples (banana ropes bleached with sodium hypochlorite and/or treated with neem-wood vinegar after 30 days of storage at natural condition) showed only black mycelium fungi and their numbers were less than in the Rope_A30 sample. This research indicated that sodium hypochlorite and neem wood vinegar could inhibit and reduce fungal growth during product storage but decrease the tensile strength of banana rope products. Neem wood vinegar affected strength reduction less than sodium hypochlorite but increased darkness in banana rope color.

SYNTHESIS OF POLYDIACETYLENE BY MICROWAVE-ASSISTED FOR SURFACTANT DETECTION APPLICATION IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Chanita Khanantong — 2024-10-24

This research focuses on the synthesis of polydiacetylene (PDA) solutions using microwave-assisted method for detecting surfactant contamination in the environment. The PDA was prepared through the solution-mixing method (SMM) combined with microwave synthesis at 80°C, using 1000 watts of power for varying durations of 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes. It was observed that a high-concentration solution with clear morphology was achieved within just 5 minutes of microwave exposure. The exposure time significantly impacted the crystalline structure and molecular interactions, as analyzed by XRD and FT-IR, in alignment with the thin-film hydration method (TFHM).
The microwave-assisted SMM simplified the synthesis process and enhanced safety by eliminating the need for volatile chemical evaporation during fabrication. Additionally, the study examined the colorimetric response of PDA to the cationic surfactant CTAB. The concentration of CTAB that induced a clear color change from blue to yellow was 0.22, 0.45, 0.67, and 1.12 mg/L for synthesis times of 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes, respectively. The results indicate that shorter synthesis times lead to faster color transitions. This study provides valuable insights into the application of microwave-assisted PDA synthesis for monitoring surfactant contamination in the environment.

MOISTURE SORPTION ISOTHERMS AND THIN-LAYER DRYING OF RICE CRACKERS

Chayapat Phusampao — 2024-10-22

In this study, the equilibrium moisture contents of rice cracker samples were experimentally obtained using the gravimetric method at temperatures of 50°C, 60°C, and 70°C, with water activity (aw) ranging from 0.017 to 0.968. The sorption isotherm curves of rice crackers were sigmoidal in shape and decreased with increased temperature at constant relative humidity. Five selected isotherm models were tested to fit the experimental isotherm data of rice crackers. The results showed that the Modified Oswin model fitted the best to the experimental data of rice crackers. Furthermore, thin-layer drying of rice crackers was conducted under controlled conditions of temperature using a convective air dryer. The rice crackers, initially having a moisture content of 85% (d.b.), were dried at temperatures of 50°C, 60°C, and 70°C until their final moisture content reached 6% (d.b.). Besides the effects of drying air temperature and velocity, the Modified Henderson and Pabis model was revealed to be the best, followed by the Two-term model.

PHYTOCHEMICAL CONTENTS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF PASTEURIZED CITRUS AURANTIUM L. (BITTER ORANGE) JUICE

Apitsada KhlongKhlaeo — 2024-10-22

Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L.) is an ancient therapeutic plant. Normally, peels of bitter orange fruit are used as a food ingredient in Thailand, leaving the pulp as waste. This research aimed to develop pasteurized bitter orange juice by studying the effect of dilution and pH on phytochemical contents and antioxidant activity. The bitter orange juice concentrations were prepared at 50, 75, and 100% w/v by DI water and adjusting pH at 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5 by using potassium chloride. The bitter orange juices were pasteurized at 70°C for 5 min. The result showed that 100% w/v pasteurized bitter orange had the highest contents of titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, and total phenolic, approximately 41.60 to 48.67 g/L, 31.26 to 32.26 mg/100 mL, and 54.80 to 57.08 mg GAE/100 mL of juice, respectively when compared to other concentrations. Likewise, antioxidant activity results (DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP) of 100% w/v pasteurized bitter orange juice gave the highest values about 390.58 to 458.15 GAE/100 mL of sample 546.20 to 503.33 µg Trolox/100 mL of sample, and 525.55 to 422.48 µg Trolox/100 mL of sample.

The pH variation did not affect the alteration of phytochemical and antioxidant activities in 100% w/v pasteurized bitter orange (p<0.05). Conversely, pH adjusting of 50 and 75% w/v pasteurized bitter oranges showed significant differences in the ascorbic acid and total phenolic contents (p≤0.05) but non-significant differences in citric and ascorbic acid contents. All pasteurized bitter orange juice microbiological resulted showed that the total coliform counts was <2.2 MPN/ 100 mL of sample and yeast and molds were not detected initially and after 5 days of storage, confirming the safety of the pasteurization process.

OPTIMIZATION PARAMETERS OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR THERMOFORMING MOLD USING THE DESIGN OF EXPERIMENT

Weerayut Surekhum — 2024-10-22

This research aimed to evaluate composite material design using precise engineering experiment principles called the design of experiment, employing the 2^k full factorial test method to determine optimal mixes of natural and synthetic materials. Natural materials included ash powder, pineapple fiber powder, and sugar cane leaf fiber powder, while synthetic materials included aluminum, resin, cobalt, and resin hardener. The study utilized technical processes and experimental design methods to analyze and identify suitable composite materials. The statistical analysis demonstrated the precision of the experimental design by determining the optimum values of thermoforming molds, explicitly analyzing the Shore D hardness level compared to ASTM D2240 standards. The findings revealed that natural materials could effectively replace synthetic materials in the plastic molding industry. All factors expected to influence the Shore D value in the composite material were tested, yielding a hardness value not lower than or close to 80.00 Shore D. The optimal composition as the optimization parameters were identified as 70% resin, 0.01% cobalt, 2.0% hardener, and 20% aluminum powder, with a setting time of 18 hours and a temperature of 70°C. The response optimization method indicated a Shore D value of 80.6725, with experimental results closely aligning with these findings. The analysis showed an R-squared coefficient of 83.72%, confirming that adjusting factor levels according to the experimental design can significantly enhance the performance of composite materials in the thermoforming molding industry.

AN ANALYSIS OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE DECISTION TO DEVELOP BANANA WINE PRODUCTS IN KHLONG NIYOM YATRA SUBDISTRICT, BANG BO DISTRICT, SAMUT PRAKAN PROVINCE

Krieng Kitbumrungrat — 2024-11-04

The objectives of the research were: 1) to analyze the components of decision making to choose to develop a banana wine product and 2) to study the factors influencing the decision to choose to develop a banana wine product in Khlong Niyom Yatra Subdistrict, Bang Bo District, Samut Prakan Province. To use the data for analysis and planning to increase sales as a guideline for entrepreneurs' marketing re-strategies. This study is a quantitative research using a survey research method. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data including, mean, percentage, and standard deviation, whereas inferential statistics were factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. Results: The research revealed that 4 factors of the marketing mix affecting the decision to develop a banana wine product: 1) product and price factors, 2) marketing promotion and advertising factors, 3) distribution channels and information presenter and 4) personnel and sales service factors. Conclusion: Product and price factors give importance to wine products that transform products to suit community tastes. Distribution channel In terms of marketing promotion and advertising, emphasis is placed on advertising distribution channels, both online and offline. And in terms of personnel and sales services, emphasis is placed on having products with a good reputation and good image.

CHARACTERISTIC OF YIELD, PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL QUALITIES OF THREE CHERRY TOMATO CULTIVARS

Laaorthip Naloka — 2024-11-07

The purpose of this study was to investigates the characteristics, yield, physical and chemical quality of three cherry tomato cultivars: Tabtimdaeng (T1), Golden King 1761 (T2), and Luang-Pangda (T3). The experiment comprised two trials. The first trial employed a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three treatments and three replications to evaluate plant height, number of branches and nodes per plant 60 days after planting. The results showed no significant differences in plant height and number of branches among the cultivars. However, there were significant differences in nodes per plant, with Luang-Pangda yielding the highest at 4,559.88 kilograms per rai. The second trial assessed physical and chemical quality using a 3x6 Factorial Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. It investigated the three cultivars across six ripeness. There were significant differences in firmness, titratable acidity, soluble solids content, and vitamin C content among the cultivars. Moreover, it was found that firmness, titratable acidity, soluble solids content, the ratio of soluble solids to titratable acidity, and vitamin C content were significantly different.

NON-INVASIVE REAL-TIME ESTRUS DETECTION IN DAIRY COWS WITH VIDEO PROCESSING TECHNIQUES BASED ON CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS

Watchara Ninphet — 2024-11-12

Estrus detection in dairy cows is a crucial factor in enhancing breeding efficiency and achieving sustainable milk production in the dairy farming industry. This research aims to develop an algorithm and evaluate the performance of a real-time estrus detection model for dairy cows without the use of wearable devices. The model utilizes video processing techniques based on evolutionary neural networks. Estrus behaviors in Holstein Friesian cows with at least 75% Holstein bloodline, with a sample size of at least 10 cows, were detected across four behaviors: walking, flirting (sniffing or licking), mating (mounting), and head mounting (playful or incorrect mounting). A total of 1,520 images, with 380 images per behavior, were used. The dataset was augmented using various image augmentation techniques, increasing the dataset size by 22.238 times, resulting in a total of 33,802 images. The estrus detection model was developed using the YOLOv7 evolutionary neural network. The batch size was set at 16, with 30 epochs, and images were resized to 640x640 pixels. The results indicated that YOLOv7 effectively detected estrus behaviors with an average F1-Score of 1.00, Precision of 1.00, Recall of 1.00, mAP@0.5 of 0.996, and mAP@0.5:.95 of 0.845. These results demonstrate that the model is suitable for practical application in dairy farming, providing an alternative to human labor for estrus detection in cows.

MODIFYING CHITOSAN FROM SHELLS OF BLACK CRAB (SCYLLA OLIVACEA) TO MAINTAIN THE QUALITY OF FROZEN SHRIMP

Numphon Thaiwong — 2024-11-12

Soft-shell crabs are naturally occurring black crabs that grow through molting, a process that leaves behind discarded black crab shells. The objectives of this research were to 1) produce chitosan from black crab shells and 2) study the appropriate type and concentration of crosslinkers: pentasodium tripolyphosphate (TPP), sulfate, and citrate at different concentrations of 1, 2, and 3% to modify chitosan from black crab shell and apply these modified chitosans as a soaking solution for Fenneropenaeus merguiensis (banana shrimp) before freezing. The results found that chitosan from black crab shells had a degree of deacetylation of 72.11±4.13% and a whiteness index of 70.13±0.98. Chitosan showed the water holding capacity, water solubility index, fat binding capacity, and swelling capacity equal to 1.07±0.28, 3.15±0.75%, 9.87±0.65 g/g sample, and 1.80±0.98 mL/g, respectively. The study examined various parameters of frozen banana shrimp stored at -18°C for 6 months, including the production yield (% yield), thawing loss (% thawing loss), drip loss (% drip loss), pH, thiobarbituric acid value (TBA), total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), and trimethylamine (TMA). Samples treated with chitosan modified by TPP exhibited the best quality preservation among frozen food products. These treatments resulted in the lowest drip loss, measured at 0.55±0.18%. Furthermore, they demonstrated superior efficiency in inhibiting lipid oxidation, as evidenced by the lowest thiobarbituric acid content of 0.75 mg malonaldehyde/kg sample.

BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM WASTEWATER FROM THE RUBBER PROCESSING INDUSTRY BY SIMULTANEOUS SULFATE-SULFIDE REMOVAL IN SINGLE STAGE DIGESTER

Wikanda Thongnueakhaeng — 2024-11-14

This study focuses on developing the capability to produce biogas from wastewater contaminated with high organic and sulfate concentrationวลสารและพลังงาน ะวัสดุอุปกร, through an integrated system of sulfate removal and biogas production within a single unit. The experiments were conducted under anaerobic conditions with Sulfate/Nitrate (S/N) of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5. Additionally, the applicability of the system in industry was investigated. This study indicates that operating at an S/N of 2.0 provided the most efficient biogas production, with a biogas generation of 0.36±0.02 L/gCOD_removed. The composition comprised methane and hydrogen sulfide at 70.2±0.2% and 8.0±0.1 ppm, respectively. Moreover, this condition also showed high efficiency in COD, sulfate and sulfide removal. The average COD in influent and effluent was 12,818.25±13.25 and 1,770.42±10.12 mg/L, respectively. The efficiency in COD treatment was 86.19%. In addition, the system was applied in a rubber sheet manufacturing plant. Wastewater that contains nitrogen in form of nitrate-nitrite from the nitrification system was circulated into the biogas production system to control the S/N ratio in influent at 2.0. It was found that the system could produce more methane gas compared to the previous system that did not include sulfate-sulfide removal process. Through energy balance, electrical energy used for wastewater pump and aerator in the nitrification process was 1.5 kWh per day, while it could produce 9.87 m³/day of methane gas.
This implies that it can substitute 11.8 kWh per day of electricity.

TAXONOMIC STATUS INVESTIGATING OF IMPATIENS SIRINDHORNIAE TRIBOUN & SUKSATHAN IN THAILAND

Saineeya Samala — 2024-11-19

This study aimed to investigate the taxonomic status of Impatiens sirindhorniae Triboun & Suksathan from two populations including: plants from limestone hills, Plai Phraya District, Krabi Province, which is type locality, and plants from Ratchaprapha Dam, Suratthani Province by morphological and biomolecular data. From the morphological study, it was found that plants from both populations had many different characteristics such as leaf shape, leaf tip, leaf base, leaf edge, flower color, and stem color. Plant specimens from Suratthani Province was higher variation in characteristics than plant specimens from Krabi Province. Whereas reproductive parts, such as the shape of pistil and stamen, ovary, pollen, pods, and seeds of those specimens from the two populations were very similar. The results of the molecular biology study using molecular markers found that the similarity of the nucleotide sequences using the ClustalX program of the matK gene and the rbcL gene of I. sirindhorniae of both populations was quite high. The matK gene region having the within-species nucleotide sequence variation is 0.00–0.40, which is lower than the inter-species variation of other Impatiens species in the range of 0.46–0.53. For the rbcL gene, the nucleotide sequence variation was 0.00 within species and 0.72–0.78 between species. Therefore, it can be concluded that although the plant from the two populations has different morphology in many characteristics, they are not enough to classify them into different taxonomic units (taxa). This is consistent with the results of the analysis of the nucleotide sequence variation of the matK and rbcL genes. The variation between the 2 populations was lower than other Impatiens species.