The cylindrospermopsin alkaloids Literature review

The cylindrospermopsin alkaloids - Literature review Example CYN is a natural toxin which is usually produced by certain cyanobacteria species majorly Cylindrospermopsin raciborskii and Umezakia natans among others (Masten 2000). The presence of CYN in drinking or recreational water poses a serious environmental and health risk. CYN was initially isolated in 1992 following a suspected outbreak in Palm Island; Australia. Since its isolation and classification, various techniques have been used to isolate, detect, analyze and purify Cylindrospermopsin (Moore, Ohtani and Runnegar 1992). Some of the common techniques include; High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Photodiode Array Detector (HPLC-PDA), Enzyme Linked Immuno-sorbent Assay (ELISA), NMR/Mass Spectrometry (MS), filtration and adsorption techniques among others Masten 2000). This paper shall describe how to grow CYN using bioreactor, analysis using ELISA and HPLC, purification of CYN and analysis using NMR/MS. Detection of Cylindrospermopsin in surface water is important sin ce it acts as the major source of drinking and recreational water for a large percentage of people throughout the world. The Cylindrospermopsins should be constantly removed from water to prevent contamination from toxins which are known to cause hepatotoxicity among other toxic effects (Fastner et al. 2003).Cylindrospermopsin is produced by various cyanobacteria species commonly known as blue-green-algae which are mostly found in fresh water. Some variants of Cylindrospermopsin raciborskii commonly found in U.S., Australia and Hungary, Umezakia natans isolated in Japan and Aphanizomenon ovalisporum found in Israel and Australia produce Cylindrospermopsin (Fastner et al. 2003). Human poisoning which occurs through ingestion of water or food contaminated with Cylindrospermopsin producing strains is the most common problem associated with the toxins. It has been suggested that toxicity by Cylindrospermopsins is majorly mediated through inhibition of protein synthesis which causes loss of liver functioning leading to death of cells. Use of a bioreactor in growing CYN Bioreactors can be used in the growth and isolation of CYN due to their ability to allow controlled growth of the organism under specific conditions. A bioreactor can be used to characterize CYN in terms of its relative biological and chemical components while allowing reproducible generation of the target compound. Bioreactors enable the proliferation of the CYN cells by controlling the environment under which the cells are cultured. Typically, a bioreactor for CYN should alloy control of certain environmental conditions that favor the growth of the organism. Using a bioreactor, conditions like oxygen concentration, temperature, stress and PH as well as sterility are maintained during the procedure (McMahon et al. 2008). The proliferation of CYN cells is also facilitated by the availability of essential nutrients alongside the removal of harmful toxins that can inhibit the growth of the cells. Biore actors enable different operations to be undertaken including fed-batch, batch and continuous cultivation (Choo et al. 2007). Continuous perfusion allows the growth of CYN cells under stable and controlled environmental situations. Isolation of CYN using charcoal filtration method Studies have demonstrated that CYN can be isolated successfully through adsorption techniques utilizing various sediments. Powdered Activated Charcoal (PAC) has been found effective in removing CYN from

Group Dynamics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Group Dynamics - Term Paper Example But there some who are more hostile and are aggressive about their defense. The best example for this is when Gerry acted superior to coach Boone before he got on the bus for football camp. It is well established that the team member is a subordinate to the coach but Gerry felt the need to protect his comfort zone as the team's star player. Coach Boone, as a reaction to the insult, embarrassed Gerry and reminded him of his place. He could have just given him a simple reminder but instead he asked him "who's your daddy" Of course this was effective, but the main point is that that particular phrase slang among blacks. This was also a reminder for Gerry that he is a subordinate of a black coach. There are multiple reasons for the prejudice against the African American coach and players. One of which would be the norm. This is what the whites were use to. For years, blacks are considered as second class individuals and this cannot be changed overnight. The whites have experienced the life where the blacks would bow down to them and would follow whatever they wanted them to do. To some degree they still think this way and it is irritating them that the black would no longer do as they are told. The next theory is that the blacks have a history of rebellion and violence. They have fought for freedom and by doing so have ignited the assumption of being brute. This too is recent history and is still fresh to the memories of whites. Both the theories for the cause of prejudice stated above have something in common; the memories and experiences of the people. It all hinges in the fact that recent history is very difficult to erase. c. How did the new head coach increase group cohesiveness on the team and reduce the level of conflict between the groups To increase group cohesiveness, the separation should first be dissolved. The new head coach did this by pairing up one black player with one white. They were forced to sit together in the bus and later became room mates in the camp. This was a success in terms of them having to do things together and somehow broke the tension between the racial groups. For some time this was a conducive situation for social interactions; they may be of different races but now they were talking. This was until they found out that they had conflicting interests. The coach found this absurd because they had very similar cultural backgrounds, different but similar. The next step that he did was to force them to make deeper social interactions. Having them talk to each other and discover the similarities that they have. This may seem an effective approach but they just found out that they had less and less commonalities. Finally, one morning to took them out for a run in the woods and showed them the place when the battle of Gettysburg. He told them the story of how many have died for the same battle that they are fighting that time. This was an eye opener for all of them. From then on the team members are more active about establishing good rapport between races. This change is clearly shown in the scene where Gerry and Julius had an argument about their team's tactics. This argument