Search results for: ionic active ingredient

Authors: Ahmed F. Ghanem, Marwa I. Wahba, Asmaa N. El-Dein, Mohamed A. EL-Raey, Ghada E.A. Awad

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Numerous attempts are being performed in order to formulate suitable packaging materials for meat products. However, to the best of our knowledge, the incorporation of free hibiscus extract or its microcapsules in the pure polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix as packaging materials for meats is seldom reported. Therefore, this study aims at protection of the aqueous crude extract of hibiscus flowers utilizing spry drying encapsulation technique. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and zetasizer results confirmed the successful formation of assembled capsules via strong interactions, spherical rough microparticles, and ~ 235 nm of particle size, respectively. Also, the obtained microcapsules enjoy high thermal stability, unlike the free extract. Then, the obtained spray-dried particles were incorporated into the casting solution of the pure PVA film with a concentration 10 wt. %. The segregated free-standing composite films were investigated, compared to the neat matrix, with several characterization techniques such as FTIR, SEM, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical tester, contact angle, water vapor permeability, and oxygen transmission. The results demonstrated variations in the physicochemical properties of the PVA film after the inclusion of the free and the extract microcapsules. Moreover, biological studies emphasized the biocidal potential of the hybrid films against microorganisms contaminating the meat. Specifically, the microcapsules imparted not only antimicrobial but also antioxidant activities to PVA. Application of the prepared films on the real meat samples displayed low bacterial growth with a slight increase in the pH over the storage time up to 10 days at 4 oC which further proved the meat safety. Moreover, the colors of the films did not significantly changed except after 21 days indicating the spoilage of the meat samples. No doubt, the dual-functional of prepared composite films pave the way towards combined active/smart food packaging applications. This would play a vital role in the food hygiene, including also quality control and assurance.

Keywords: PVA, hibiscus, extraction, encapsulation, active packaging, smart and intelligent packaging, meat spoilage

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Authors: Pao-Huei Chen, Shu-Mei Lin, Yih-Ming Weng, Zer-Ran Yu, Be-Jen Wang

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Pancreatic α-amylase and intestinal α-glucosidase are the critical enzymes for the breakdown of complex carbohydrates into di- or mono-saccharide, which play an important role in modulating postprandial blood sugars. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) converts inactive angiotensin-I into active angiotensin-II, which subsequently increase blood pressure through triggering vasoconstriction and aldosterone secretion. Thus, inhibition of carbohydrate-digestion enzymes and ACE will help the management of blood glucose and blood pressure, respectively. Studies showed Pleurotus citrinopileatus (PC), an edible mushroom and commonly cultured in oriental countries, exerted anticancer, immune improving, antioxidative, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects. Previous studies also showed various molecular weights (MW) fractioned from extracts may affect biological activities due to varying contents of bioactive components. Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate the in vitro antioxidant, hypoglycemic and hypotenstive effects and distribution of active compounds of various MWs of cold water extract from P. citrinopileatus (CWEPC). CWEPC was fractioned into four various MW fractions, PC-I (＜1 kDa), PC-II (1-3.5 kDa), PC-III (3.5-10 kDa), and PC-IV (＞10 kDa), using an ultrafiltration system. The physiological activities, including antioxidant activities, the inhibition capabilities of pancreatic α-amylase, intestinal α-glucosidase, and hypertension-linked ACE, and the active components, including polysaccharides, protein, and phenolic contents, of CWEPC and four fractions were determined. The results showed that fractions with lower MW exerted a higher antioxidant activity (p<0.05), which was positively correlated to the levels of total phenols. In contrast, the inhibition effects on the activities of α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and ACE of PC-IV fraction were significantly higher than CWEPC and the other three low MW fractions (< 10 kDa), which was more related to protein contents. The inhibition capability of CWEPC and PC-IV on α-amylase activity was 1/13.4 to 1/2.7 relative to that of acarbose (positive control), respectively. However, the inhibitory ability of PC-IV on α-glucosidase (IC50 = 0.5 mg/mL) was significantly higher than acarbose (IC50 = 1.7 mg/mL). Kinetic data revealed that PC-IV fraction followed a non-competitive inhibition on α-glucosidase activity. In conclusion, the distribution of various bioactive components contribute to the functions of different MW fractions on oxidative stress prevention, and blood pressure and glucose modulation.

Keywords: α-Amylase, angiotensin converting enzyme, α-Glucosidase, Pleurotus citrinopileatus

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Authors: Cleto J. Sauer Jr

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Introduction: Brazil’s new national curriculum guidelines (NCG) for medical education were published in 2014, presenting active learning methodologies as a cornerstone. Simulation was initially applied for aviation pilots’ training and is currently applied in health sciences. The high-fidelity simulator replicates human body anatomy in detail, also reproducing physiological functions and its use is increasing in medical schools. Realistic Simulation (RS) has pedagogical aspects that are aligned with Brazil’s NCG teaching concepts. The main objective of this study is to carry on a narrative review on RS’s aspects that are aligned with Brazil’s new NCG teaching concepts. Methodology: A narrative review was conducted, with search in three databases (PubMed, Embase and BVS) of studies published between 2010 and 2020. Results: After systematized search, 49 studies were selected and divided into four thematic groups. RS is aligned with new Brazilian medical curriculum as it is an active learning methodology, providing greater patient safety, uniform teaching, and student's emotional skills enhancement. RS is based on reflective learning, a teaching concept developed for adult’s education. Conclusion: RS is a methodology aligned with NCG teaching concepts and has potential to assist in the implementation of new Brazilian medical school’s curriculum. It is an immersive and interactive methodology, which provides reflective learning in a safe environment for students and patients.

Keywords: curriculum, high-fidelity simulator, medical education, realistic simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 153

Authors: D. Venu, N. V. Koteswara Rao

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Space – time adaptive processing (STAP) is an effective tool for detecting a moving target in spaceborne or airborne radar systems. Since airborne passive radar systems utilize broadcast, navigation and excellent communication signals to perform various surveillance tasks and also has attracted significant interest from the distinct past, therefore the need of the hour is to have cost effective systems as compared to conventional active radar systems. Moreover, requirements of small number of secondary samples for effective clutter suppression in bi-static passive radar offer abundant illuminator resources for passive surveillance radar systems. This paper presents a framework for incorporating knowledge sources directly in the space-time beam former of airborne adaptive radars. STAP algorithm for clutter mitigation for passive bi-static radar has better quantitation of the reduction in sample size thereby amalgamating the earlier data bank with existing radar data sets. Also, we proposed a novel method to estimate the clutter matrix and perform STAP for efficient clutter suppression based on small sample size. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified using MATLAB simulations in order to validate STAP algorithm for passive bi-static radar. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance for various applications which augments traditional active radars using cost-effective measures.

Keywords: bistatic radar, clutter, covariance matrix passive radar, STAP

Procedia PDF Downloads 295

Authors: B. Nakhostin-Roohi, F. Khoshkhahesh, KH. Parandak, R. Ramazanzadeh

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Introduction: The protective effect of antioxidants in diminishing the post-exercise rise of serum CK and LDH in individuals trained for competitive sports has come to light in recent years. This study was conducted to assess the effect of Two-week L-carnitine supplementation on exercise-induced muscle damage, as well as antioxidant capacity after a bout of strenuous exercise in active healthy young men. Methodology: Twenty active healthy men volunteered for this study. Participants were randomized in a double-blind placebo-controlled fashion into two groups: L-carnitine (C group; n = 10) and placebo group (P group; n = 10). The participants took supplementation (2000 mg L-carnitine) or placebo (2000 mg lactose) daily for 2weeks before the main trial. Then, participants ran 14 km. Blood samples were taken before supplementation, before exercise, immediately, 2h and 24h after exercise. Creatine kinase (CK), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were measured. Results: Serum CK and LDH significantly increased after exercise in both groups (p < 0.05). Serum LDH was significantly lower in C group than P group 2h and 24h after exercise (p < 0.05). Furthermore, CK was significantly lower in C group compared with P group just 24h after exercise (p < 0.05). Plasma TAC increased significantly 14 days after supplementation and 24h after exercise in C group compared with P group (p < 0.05). Discussion and conclusion: These results suggest two-week daily oral supplementation of L-carnitine has been able to promote antioxidant capacity before and after exercise and decrease muscle damage markers through possibly inhibition of exercise-induced oxidative stress.

Keywords: L-carnitine, muscle damage, creatine kinase, Lactate dehydrogenase

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Authors: Saad Mohamed Elsaid Abdelrahman

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The adsorption method is one of the best modern techniques used in removing pollutants, especially organic hydrocarbon compounds, from polluted water. Through this research, bentonite clay can be used to remove organic hydrocarbon compounds, such as heptane and octane, resulting from oil spills in seawater. Bentonite clay can be obtained from the Kholayaz area, located north of Jeddah, at a distance of 80 km. Chemical analysis shows that bentonite clay consists of a mixture of silica, alumina and oxides of some elements. Bentonite clay can be activated in order to raise its adsorption efficiency and to make it suitable for removing pollutants using an ionic organic solvent. It is necessary to study some of the factors that could be in the efficiency of bentonite clay in removing oily organic compounds, such as the time of contact of the clay with heptane and octane solutions, pH and temperature, in order to reach the highest adsorption capacity of bentonite clay. The temperature can be a few degrees Celsius higher. The adsorption capacity of the clay decreases when the temperature is raised more than 4°C to reach its lowest value at the temperature of 50°C. The results show that the friction time of 30 minutes and the pH of 6.8 is the best conditions to obtain the highest adsorption capacity of the clay, 467 mg in the case of heptane and 385 mg in the case of octane compound. Experiments conducted on bentonite clay were encouraging to select it to remove heavy molecular weight pollutants such as petroleum compounds under study.

Keywords: adsorbent, bentonite clay, oil spills, removal

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Authors: Rashmi Ranade, Neelu Joshi

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Barleria prionitis L. is a well explored Indian medicinal plant valued for its stem and leaf which forms an important ingredient of many Ayurvedic formulations. It is used for the treatment of various disorders like toothache, bleeding gums, strengthening gums, whooping cough, inflammation, arthritis, enlargement of scrotum and sciatica etc. The plant is propagated vegetatively through stem cuttings. Frequent harvesting of this plant has led to the shortage of planting material, and it has acquired the status of vulnerable plant species. Plant tissue culture technology offers a very good alternative for propagation and conservation of such plant species. The present investigation was undertaken to develop in vitro regeneration protocol for B. prionitis L. via callus organogenesis pathway. Stem and leaf explants were used for this purpose. Different media and plant growth regulators were optimized to develop the protocol. The problem of phenol secretion and browning and in vitro cultures at the establishment phase was successfully curbed with the usage of antibrowning agents such as ascorbic acid and activated charcoal. Optimum shoot multiplication was achieved by the use of liquid media and incorporation of silver nitrate and TIBA (triiodobenzoic acid) into the media. High percent rooting (76%) was observed on WPM media supplemented with IBA (2.0 mg/l), IAA (0.5 mg/l), GA3(0.5) and activated charcoal(500 mg/l). The rooted plantlets were subjected to in vitro hardening on sterile potting mix (soil:farmyard manure:compost; 1:2:1) and acclimatized under greenhouse conditions. Around 85% survival of plantlets was recorded upon acclimatization. This lab scale protocol would be tested for in vitro scaling up production of B. prionitis L.

Keywords: explant browning, liquid culture, micropropagation, shoot multiplication, phenolic secretion

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Authors: Giap Pham Ngoc Tram, Tran Hong Quan, Tran Tieu Yen, Nguyen Phung Tien

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The use of natural ingredients to enhance the nutritional and sensory properties of food products has gained significant interest in recent years. This study focuses on the effect of Golden oyster mushroom powder (GOMP) on the physiochemical, antioxidative, and sensory properties of noodles. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of GOMP on the nutritional, antioxidant, and sensory properties of noodles. The study determined the color, moisture, total ash, protein, total phenolic, flavonoid contents, water activity, and antioxidant activity of GOMP and noodles. The incorporation of GOMP at levels of 5-15% increased the ash, protein, flavonoid, and total phenolic contents of the noodles. It also enhanced their antioxidant activities, as evidenced by improved DPPH radical scavenging activity and metal chelating activity. However, the incorporation of GOMP resulted in a decrease in the L* and b* values of the noodles. Furthermore, the GOMP-enriched noodles exhibited a lower cutting force compared to the control. This study highlights the potential of GOMP as a nutritional and antioxidant ingredient in noodle preparation. It adds to the existing literature by providing evidence of the positive effects of GOMP on the nutritional and functional properties of noodles. The researchers collected data on the physiochemical properties, nutritional contents, and antioxidant activities of GOMP and noodles. Statistical analysis was then performed to assess the differences between the control and GOMP-enriched noodles. The results of this study demonstrate that the inclusion of GOMP at the amount of 5-15% can increase the nutritional and antioxidant properties of noodles without significantly impacting sensory attributes.

Keywords: oyster mushroom, noodles, antioxidant activity, phytochemical, sensory property

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Authors: Noor Ismael, Somaya Malkawi, Sherin Al Awady, Taleb Ismael

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Background/Significance: Cancer is a serious health condition that affects individuals’ quality of life during and after the course of this condition. Children who have survived cancer and their caregivers may deal with residual physical, cognitive or social disabilities. There is little research on caregivers’ health and wellbeing after cancer. To the authors’ best knowledge; there is no specific research about how caregivers cope with everyday stressors after cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the coping strategies that caregivers of children who have survived cancer utilize to overcome everyday stressors. Methods: This study utilized a descriptive survey design. The sample consisted of 103 caregivers, who visited the health and wellness clinic at a national cancer center (additional demographics are presented in the results). The sample included caregivers of children who were off cancer treatments for at least two years from the beginning of data collection. The institution’s internal review board approved this study. Caregivers who agreed to participate completed the survey. The survey collected caregiver reported demographic information and the Brief COPE which measures caregivers' frequency of engaging in certain coping strategies. The Brief COPE consisted of 14 coping sub-scales, which are self-distraction, active coping, denial, substance use, use of emotional support, use of instrumental support, behavioral disengagement, venting, positive reframing, planning, humor, acceptance, religion, and self-blame. Data analyses included calculating sub-scales’ scores for the fourteen coping strategies and analysis of frequencies of demographics and coping strategies. Results: The 103 caregivers who participated in this study were 62% mothers, 80% married, 45% finished high school, 50% do not work outside the house, and 60% have low family income. Result showed that religious coping (66%) and acceptance (60%) were the most utilized coping strategies, followed by positive reframing (45%), active coping (44%) and planning (43%). The least utilized coping strategies in our sample were humor (5%), behavioral disengagement (8%), and substance-use (10%). Conclusions: Caregivers of children who have survived cancer mostly utilize religious coping and acceptance in dealing with everyday stressors. Because these coping strategies do not directly solve stressors like active coping and planning coping strategies, it is important to support caregivers in choosing and implementing effective coping strategies. Knowing from our results that some caregivers may utilize substance use as a coping strategy, which has negative health effects on caregivers and their children, there must be direct interventions that target these caregivers and their families.

Keywords: caregivers, cancer, stress, coping

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Authors: Fadlan Atmaja Nursiwan, Ugi Kurnia Gusti

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Garba Hill, located in Tekana Village, South Sumatera Province is comprised to South Sumatra Basin and classified as back arc basin. This area is entered as an active margin of Sundaland which experiences subduction several times since Mesozoic to recent time. The traces of Mesozoic subduction in the southern part of Sumatra island are exposed in Garba Hill area. The aim of this investigation is to study the tectonic changes in the first phase in Mesozoic era at the active margin of Sundaland which causes the rocks assemblage in Garba hill consist of continental and oceanic plate rocks which the correlation between those rocks show indistinct relation. This investigation is conducted by field observation in Tekana village and Lubar Village, Muara Dua, South Sumatra along with laboratory analysis included fossil and geochemistry analysis of radiolarian chert, petrography analysis of granite and basalt, and structural modelling. Fossil and geochemistry analysis of radiolarian chert and geochemistry of granite rocks shown the relation between the two rocks and Mesozoic subduction of Woyla terrane on western margin of Sundaland. Petrography analysis from granite and basalt depict the tectonic affinity of rocks. Moreover, structural analysis showed the changes of lineation direction from N-S to WNW-ESE.

Keywords: granite, mesozoic, radiolarian, subduction traces

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Authors: Kinga Topolska, Agnieszka Filipiak-Florkiewicz, Adam Florkiewicz, Daria Chechelska, Iwona Cieślik, Ewa Cieślik

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Food choice is a complex human behaviour, that is influenced by many interrelating factors. It is important to understand what consumers really want to eat. Nowadays, the growing popularity of frozen desserts is observed. Among them, sorbets are of the special interest. They are made primarily of fruit juice or fruit purée, water and sugar. A questionnaire study was done to evaluate the consumer preferences towards sorbets. A hundred respondents were included in the study. The respondents answered the questions concerning, inter alia, on the favourite taste of sorbets, additional ingredients (pieces of fruits, nuts etc.), the reason for choosing the product and also the opinion about potential purchasing or not the new product. Women, more frequently than men, indicated strawberry sorbet or the product on the basis of citrus fruits as a favourite one. In turn, 14% of men chose the apple taste. Pieces of chocolate were chosen by most of respondents. Men, more often than women, regarded raisins, alcohol and nuts as the most desirable additional ingredients of sorbets. The candied fruits and spices were indicated more frequently by women. Most of respondents indicated the taste as the major reason for sorbet buying. In turn, for 20% women the most important determinant was the care for their figure. It was observed that more than a half of women regarded sorbets as healthier than traditional ice creams. Answering the question: 'If you had the opportunity to try a new sorbet, containing the ingredient with proven healthy properties, would you buy it?', significantly more men than women answered 'yes, because I like novelty'. Meanwhile, for 14% respondents (independently of gender) it would be only a publicity stunt. Knowing what the consumers desire in selecting a product, is a very important information to design and offer them a new one. Sorbets could be an interesting alternative to ice creams.

Keywords: consumer, preferences, sorbets, questionnaire study

Procedia PDF Downloads 286

Authors: Lamia Bouzgarrou, Amira Omrane, Malika Azzouzi, Asma Kheder, Amira Saadallah, Ilhem Boussarsar, Kamel Rejeb

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Introduction: Increasing the women’s labor force participation is a political issue in countries with developed economies and those with low growth prospects. However, in the labor market, women continue to face several obstacles, either for the integration or for the maintenance at work. This study aims to assess the prevalence of premature withdrawal from working life -due to invalidity or medical justified early retirement- among active women in the Tunisian center and to identify its determinants. Material and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study, over one year, focusing on the agreement for invalidity or early retirement for premature usury of the body- delivered by the medical commission of the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) in the central Tunisian district. We exhaustively selected women's files. Data related to Socio-demographic characteristics, professional and medical ones, were collected from the CNAM's administrative and medical files. Results: During the period of one year, 222 women have had an agreement for premature departure of their professional activity. Indeed, 149 women (67.11%) benefit of from invalidity agreement and 20,27% of them from favorable decision for early retirement. The average age was 50 ± 6 years with extremes of 23 and 62 years, and 18.9% of women were under 45 years. Married women accounted for 69.4% and 59.9% of them had at least one dependent child in charge. The average professional seniority in the sector was 23 ± 8 years. The textile-clothing sector was the most affected, with 70.7% of premature departure. Medical reasons for withdrawal from working life were mainly related to neuro-degenerative diseases in 46.8% of cases, rheumatic ones in 35.6% of cases and cardiovascular diseases in 22.1% of them. Psychiatric and endocrine disorders motivated respectively 17.1% and 13.5% of these departures. The evaluation of the sequels induced by these pathologies concluded to an average permanent partial disability equal to 61.4 ± 17.3%. The analytical study concluded that the agreement of disability or early retirement was correlated with the insured ‘age (p = 10-3), the professional seniority (p = 0.003) and the permanent partial incapacity (PPI) rate assessed by the expert physician (p = 0.04). No other social or professional factors were correlated with this decision. Conclusion: Despite many advances in labour law and Tunisian legal text on employability, women still exposed to several social and professional inequalities (payment inequality, precarious work ...). Indeed, women are often pushed to accept working in adverse conditions, thus they are more vulnerable to develop premature wear on the body and being forced to premature departures from the world of work. These premature withdrawals from active life are not only harmful to the concerned women themselves, but also associated with considerable costs for the insurance organism and the society. In order to ensure maintenance at work for women, a political commitment is imperative in the implementation of global prevention strategies and the improvement of working conditions, particularly in our socio-cultural context.

Keywords: Active Women , Early Retirement , Invalidity , Maintenance at Work

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Authors: Deepika Saini, Sandeep Jain, Ajay Kumar

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The quinoline scaffold is one of the most widely studied in the discovery of derivatives with various heterocyclic moieties due to its potential antimalarial activities. In the present study, a chalcone series of quinoline derivatives clubbed with pyrazole were synthesized to evaluate their antimalarial property by in vitro schizont maturation inhibition assay against both chloroquine sensitive, 3D7 and chloroquine resistant, RKL9 strain of Plasmodium falciparum. Further, top five compounds were studied for in vivo preclinical study for antimalarial potential against P. berghei in Swiss albino mice. To understand the mechanism of synthesized analogues, they were screened computationally by molecular docking techniques. Compounds were docked into the active site of a protein receptor, Plasmodium falciparum Cysteine Protease Falcipain-2. The compounds were successfully synthesized, and structural confirmation was performed by FTIR, 1H-NMR, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. In vitro study suggested that the compounds 5b, 5g, 5l, 5s and 5u possessed best antimalarial activity and further tested for in vivo screening. Compound 5u (CH₃ on both rings) with EC₅₀ 0.313 & 0.801 µg/ml against CQ-S & CQ-R strains of P. falciparum respectively and 78.01% suppression of parasitemia. The molecular docking studies of the compounds helped in understanding the mechanism of action against falcipain-2. The present study reveals the binding signatures of the synthesized ligands within the active site of the protein, and it explains the results from in vitro study in their EC₅₀ values and percentage parasitemia.

Keywords: antimalarial activity, chalcone, docking, quinoline

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Authors: Kathryn H. Yull, Lina T. Al Kury, Frank Christopher Howarth

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Cardiovascular diseases are frequently reported in patients with Type-1 Diabetes mellitus (DM). In addition to changes in cardiac muscle inotropy, electrical abnormalities are also commonly observed in these patients. In the present study, using streptozotocin (STZ) rat model of Type-1 DM, we have characterized the changes in L-type calcium channel activity in single atrioventricular nodal (AVN) myocytes. Ionic currents were recorded from AVN myocytes isolated from the hearts of control rats and from those with STZ-induced diabetes. Patch-clamp recordings were used to assess changes in cellular electrical activity in individual myocytes. Type-1 DM significantly altered the cellular characteristics of L-type calcium current (ICaL). A reduction in peak ICaL density was observed, with no corresponding changes in the activation parameters of the current. ICaL also exhibited faster time-dependent inactivation in AVN myocytes from diabetic rats. A negative shift in the voltage dependence of inactivation was also evident. These findings demonstrate that experimentally–induced type-1 DM significantly alters AVN L-type calcium channel cellular electrophysiology. The changes in ion channel activity may underlie the abnormalities in the cardiac electrical function that contribute to the high mortality levels in patients with DM.

Keywords: cardiac, ion-channel, diabetes, atrioventricular node, calcium channel

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Authors: Bilal Bhat, M. Masroor A. Khan, Moin Uddin, M. Naeem

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Aromatic herb, peppermint (Mentha piperita L.), is a natural hybrid (M. aquatica × M. spicata) with immense therapeutic uses, apart from other potential uses. Peppermint oil is one of the most popular and widely used essential oil (EO), because of its main components menthol and menthone. In view of enhancing growth, yield and quality of this medicinally important herb, a pot experiment was conducted in the net-house of the department. The experiment was aimed at studying the effect of graded levels of N, P, and K on growth, biochemical characteristics, and content and composition of EO in Mentha piperita L. Six NPK treatments (viz. N0P0K0, N20P20K20, N40P40K40, N20+20 P20+20 K20+20, N60P60K60, and N30+30 P30+30 K30+30) were tested. The plants were harvested 150 days after transplanting. The crop performance was assessed in terms of growth attributes, physiological activities, herbage yield and content as well as yield of active constituents of Mentha piperita L. Biochemical parameters were analyzed spectrophotometrically. The EO was extracted using Clevenger’s apparatus and the active constituents of the oil were determined using Gas Chromatography. Split-dose application of N, P and K (N30+30 P30+30 K30+30) ameliorated most of the parameters significantly including, fresh and dry weight of plant, NPK content, chlorophyll and carotenoids content, and the activities of carbonic anhydrase and nitrate reductase in the leaves. It also enhanced the EO content (44.0%), EO yield (91.0%), menthol content (14.1%), menthone content (34.0%), menthyl acetate content (16.9%) and 1, 8-cineole content (43.7%) but decreased the pulegone content (36.8%). Conclusively, the fertilization proved useful in enhancing the EO content, yield and other EO components of the plant. Thus, the yield and quality of EO of peppermint may be improved by this agricultural strategy.

Keywords: mentha piperita, menthol, menthone, EO

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Authors: Bhaskar M. Murai, Neeraj Banchor, Ishveen Chabbra, Madhusudhan Nadgir, S. Vidhya

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Sol-gel technology combined with electronics and biochemistry helps to overcome the problems caused by mosquitoes by developing a portable, low-cost device which enables controlled release of trapped compound inside it. It is a wet-chemical technique which is used primarily for fabrication of silicate gel which is usually allowed to dry as per requirement. The outcome is solid rock hard material which is porous and has lots of applications in different fields. Taking porosity as a key factor, allethrin a naturally occurring synthetic compound with molecular mass 302.40 was entrapped inside the sol-gel matrix as a dopant. Allethrin is commonly used as an insecticide and is a key ingredient in commercially available mosquitoes repellent in Asian and subtropical countries. It has low toxicity for humans and birds, and are used in many household insecticides such as RAID as well as mosquito coils. They are however highly toxic to fish and bees. Insects subject to its exposure become paralyzed (nervous system effect) before dying. They are also used as an ultra-low volume spray for outdoor mosquito control. Therefore, there is a need for controlled release of allethrin in the environment. For controlled release of allethrin from sol-gel matrix, its (allethrin) we utilized temperature based controlled evaporation through porous sol-gel. Different types of fabric like cotton, Terri-cotton, polyester, surgical cap, knee-cap etc are studied and the best with maximum absorption capacity is selected to hold the sol-gel matrix with maximum quantity. For sol-gel coating 2 x 2cm cloth pieces are dipped in sol-gel solution for 10 minutes and by calculating the weight difference we concluded that Terri cotton is best suitable for our project. An electronic circuit with heating plate is developed in to test the controlled release of compound. An oscillatory circuit is used to produce the required heat.

Keywords: sol-gel, allethrin, TEOS, biochemistry

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Authors: Maziar Asefi, Safa Salkhi Khasraghi

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Despite the great development of Islamic Architecture in its conquered lands, its active performance in a vast geographical area, faded by the advent of industrial age. Now in the Information Age with great advances in technologies and increased interconnection among many societies, every aspect of life is affected by rapid spreading phenomenon called globalization which resulted in the world with less regional and cultural boundaries. So being proudly globalized in the past and becoming inactive in today's globalized world puts Islamic Architecture in a great challenge. Indeed, its important role has changed from transmitting cultural values to the world to importing dominated values even defectively. This study aimed to determine the factors influenced this controversial situation of Islamic Architecture, especially in current age. The paper focuses on performance of Islamic architecture in relation with Globalization as an ancient process. So qualitative method in terms of logic analysis was chosen to evaluate how Islamic architecture of Iran has contributed in Globalization subject in different time periods. Several works were analyzed as case studies in three categories: religious, monumental, commercial utilities and climate element. Theoretical and practical findings indicate that there is a mutual relationship between Islamic Architecture and Globalization which is transformed from the active mode to passive mode gradually in three periods of Globalization: proto, modern and communication Globalization. The proposed solution in the response to this challenge is finding a solution that makes an equilibrium between science, art, and technology, as well as taking the global performance of architecture.

Keywords: Islamic architecture, globalisation, the relationship among art, science and technology, Iranian architecture

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Authors: S. Somerset, D. J. Hoare

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Participation in sport is linked to better mental and physical health in children and adults. Studies have shown children who participate in sports benefit from improved social skills, self-confidence, communication skills and a better quality of life. Children who participate in sports from a young age are also more likely to continue to have active lifestyles during adulthood. This is an important consideration with a nation where physical activity levels are declining and the incidences of obesity are rising. Getting children active and keeping them active can provide long term health benefits to the individual but also a potential reduction in health costs in the future. This systematic review aims to identify the barriers to participation in sport for children aged up to 18 years and encompasses both qualitative and quantitative studies. The bibliographic databases, EMBASE, Medline, CINAHL and SportDiscus were searched. Additional hand searches were carried out on review articles found in the searches to identify any studies that may have been missed. Studies involving children up to 18 years without additional needs focusing on barriers to participation in sport were included. Randomised control trials, policy guidelines, studies with sport as an intervention, studies focusing on the female athlete triad, tobacco abuse, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, pre exercise testing, and cardiovascular disease were excluded. Abstract review, full paper review and quality appraisal were conducted by two researchers. A consensus meeting took place to resolve any differences at the abstract, full text and data extraction / quality appraisal stages. The CASP qualitative studies appraisal tool and the CASP cohort studies tool (excluding question 3 and 4 which refer to interventions) were used for quality appraisal in this review. The review identified several salient barriers to participation in sport for children. These barriers ranged from the uniform worn during school physical education lessons to the weather during participation in sport. The most commonly identified barriers in the review include parental support, time allocation, location of the activity and the cost of the activity. Therefore, it would be beneficial for a greater provision to be made within the school environment for children to participate sport. This can reduce the cost and time commitment required from parents to encourage participation. This would help to increase activity levels of children, which ultimately can only be a good thing.

Keywords: barrier, children, participation, sport

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Authors: S. F. H. Tasfy, N. A. M. Zabidi, M.-S. Shaharun

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Utilization of CO2 as a carbon source to produce valuable chemicals is one of the important ways to reduce the global warming caused by increasing CO2 in the atmosphere. Supported metal catalysts are crucial for the production of clean and renewable fuels and chemicals from the stable CO2 molecules. The catalytic conversion of CO2 into methanol is recently under increased scrutiny as an opportunity to be used as a low-cost carbon source. Therefore, series of the bimetallic Cu/ZnO-based catalyst supported by SBA-15 were synthesized via impregnation technique with different total metal loading and tested in the catalytic hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol. The morphological and textural properties of the synthesized catalysts were determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), temperature programmed desorption, reduction, oxidation and pulse chemisorption (TPDRO), and N2-adsorption. The CO2 hydrogenation reaction was performed in microactivity fixed-bed system at 250 °C, 2.25 MPa, and H2/CO2 ratio of 3. Experimental results showed that the catalytic structure and performance was strongly affected by the loading of the active site. Where, the catalytic activity, methanol selectivity as well as the space-time yield increased with increasing the metal loading until it reaches the maximum values at a metal loading of 15 wt% while further addition of metal inhibits the catalytic performance. The higher catalytic activity of 14 % and methanol selectivity of 92 % were obtained over Cu/ZnO-SBA-15 catalyst with total bimetallic loading of 15 wt%. The excellent performance of 15 wt% Cu/ZnO-SBA-15 catalyst is attributed to the presence of well disperses active sites with small particle size, higher Cu surface area, and lower catalytic reducibility.

Keywords: hydrogenation of carbon dioxide, methanol synthesis, metal loading, Cu/ZnO-SBA-15 catalyst

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Authors: Sara Corvino

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The aim of this study is to explore the potential of inclusive learning and assessment strategies to foster students' engagement with historical debates surrounding the field of graphic design. The goal is to respond to the diversity of L4 Graphic Design students, at Nottingham Trent University, in a way that instead of 'lowering standards' can benefit everyone. This research tests, measures, and evaluates the impact of a specific intervention, an assessment task, to develop students' critical visual analysis skills and stimulate a deeper engagement with the subject matter. Within the action research approach, this work has followed a case study research method to understand students' views and perceptions of a specific project. The primary methods of data collection have been: anonymous electronic questionnaire and a paper-based anonymous critical incident questionnaire. NTU College of Business Law and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee granted the Ethical approval for this research in November 2019. Other methods used to evaluate the impact of this assessment task have been Evasys's report and students' performance. In line with the constructivist paradigm, this study embraces an interpretative and contextualized analysis of the collected data within the triangulation analytical framework. The evaluation of both qualitative and quantitative data demonstrates that active learning strategies and the disruption of thinking patterns can foster greater students' engagement and can lead to meaningful learning.

Keywords: active learning, assessment for learning, graphic design, higher education, student engagement

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Authors: Chun-Wei Yeh, Santhanamoorthi Nachimuthu, Jyh-Chiang Jiang

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Reducing greenhouse gases or converting them into fuels and chemicals with added value is vital for the environment. Given the enhanced techniques for hydrocarbon extraction in this context, the catalytic conversion of methane to methanol is particularly intriguing for future applications as vehicle fuels and/or bulk chemicals. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received much attention recently for the oxidation of methane to methanol. In addition, biomimetic material, particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO), has been reported to convert methane using copper oxide clusters as active sites. Inspired by these, in this study, we considered the well-known MIL-53(Al) MOF as support for copper oxide clusters (Cu2Ox, Cu3Ox) to investigate their reactivity towards methane oxidation using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. The copper oxide clusters (Cu2O2, Cu3O2) are modeled by oxidizing copper clusters (Cu2, Cu3) with two oxidizers, O2 and N2O. The initial C-H bond activation barriers on Cu2O2/MIL-53(Al) and Cu3O2/MIL-53(Al) catalysts are 0.70 eV and 0.64 eV, respectively, and are the rate-determining steps in the overall methane conversion to methanol reactions. The desorption energy of the methanol over the Cu2O/MIL-53(Al) and Cu3O/MIL-53(Al) is 0.71eV and 0.75 eV, respectively. Furthermore, to explore the prospect of catalyst reusability, we considered the different oxidants and proposed the different reaction pathways for completing the reaction cycle and regenerating the active copper oxide clusters. To know the reason for the difference between bi-copper and tri-cooper systems, we also did an electronic analysis. Finally, we calculate the Microkinetic Simulation. The result shows that the reaction can happen at room temperature.

Keywords: DFT study, copper oxide cluster, MOFs, methane conversion

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Authors: Miguel Pereira, Lígia Pimentel, Manuela Pintado

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Animal blood is a major by-product of slaughterhouses and still represents a cost and environmental problem in some countries. To be eliminated, blood should be stabilised by cooking and afterwards the slaughterhouses must have to pay for its incineration. In order to reduce the elimination costs and valorise the high protein content the aim of this study was the optimization of hydrolysis conditions, in terms of enzyme ratio and time, in order to obtain hydrolysates with biological activity. Two enzymes were tested in this assay: pepsin and proteases from Cynara cardunculus (cardosins). The latter has the advantage to be largely used in the Portuguese Dairy Industry and has a low price. The screening assays were carried out in a range of time between 0 and 10 h and using a ratio of enzyme/reaction volume between 0 and 5%. The assays were performed at the optimal conditions of pH and temperature for each enzyme: 55 °C at pH 5.2 for cardosins and 37 °C at pH 2.0 for pepsin. After reaction, the hydrolysates were evaluated by FPLC (Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography) and tested for their antioxidant activity by ABTS method. FPLC chromatograms showed different profiles when comparing the enzymatic reactions with the control (no enzyme added). The chromatogram exhibited new peaks with lower MW that were not present in control samples, demonstrating the hydrolysis by both enzymes. Regarding to the antioxidant activity, the best results for both enzymes were obtained using a ratio enzyme/reactional volume of 5% during 5 h of hydrolysis. However, the extension of reaction did not affect significantly the antioxidant activity. This has an industrial relevant aspect in what concerns to the process cost. In conclusion, the enzymatic blood hydrolysis can be a better alternative to the current elimination process allowing to the industry the reuse of an ingredient with biological properties and economic value.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, blood, by-products, enzymatic hydrolysis

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Authors: Ashutosh Verma, Satyendra Mittal

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Numerous geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) abutment failures over the years have been attributed to the loss of strength at the facing-reinforcement interface due to seasonal thermal expansion/contraction of the bridge deck. This causes excessive settlement below the bridge seat, causing bridge bumps along the approach road which reduces the design life of any abutment. Before designers while choosing the type of facing, a broad range of facing configurations are undoubtedly available. Generally speaking, these configurations can be divided into three groups: modular (panels/block), continuous, and full height rigid (FHR). The purpose of the current study is to use 1g physical model tests under serviceable cyclic lateral displacements to experimentally investigate the behaviour of these three facing classifications. To simulate field behaviour, a field instrumented GRS abutment prototype was modeled into a N scaled down 1g physical model (N = 5) with adjustable facing arrangements to represent these three facing classifications. For cyclic lateral displacement (d/H) of top facing at loading rate of 1mm/min, the peak earth pressure coefficient (K) on the facing and vertical settlement of the footing (s/B) at 25, 50, 75 and 100 cycles have been measured. For a constant footing offset of x/H = 0.1, three forms of cyclic displacements have been performed to simulate active condition (CA), passive condition (CP), and active-passive condition (CAP). The findings showed that when reinforcements are integrated into the wall along with presence of gravel gabions i.e. FHR design, a rather substantial earth pressure occurs over the facing. Despite this, the FHR facing's continuous nature works in conjunction with the reinforcements' membrane resilience to reduce footing settlement. On the other hand, the pressure over the wall is released upon lateral excitation by the relative displacement between the panels in modular facing reducing the connection strength at the interface and leading to greater settlements below footing. On the contrary, continuous facing do not exhibit relative displacement along the depth of facing rather fails through rotation about the base, which extends the zone of active failure in the backfill leading to large depressions in the backfill region around the bridge seat. Conservatively, FHR facing shows relatively stable responses under lateral cyclic excitations as compared to modular or continuous type of abutment facing.

Keywords: GRS abutments, 1g physical model, full height rigid, cyclic lateral displacement

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Authors: Shivankar Agrawal, Sunil Kumar Deshmukh, Colin Barrow, Alok Adholeya

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Millions of people worldwide are affected by infectious diseases caused by bacteria and fungi. Skin and skin structure infections (SSSI) represent a significant category of infectious disease. Unexpectedly, many pathogens have developed resistance towards current antibiotics and over the time this problem has become more and more serious. All these new problems necessitate the continuous search for novel and alternative antibiotics and antifungals. The aim of our research is the screening of extracts of marine fungi for their antibacterial activity against bacteria causing skin and wound infection in humans. A total of 40 marine samples were collected from west coast and Andaman Island of India and 35 morphologically different marine fungi were isolated using natural sea water medium. Among 35 marine fungi, eight isolates exhibited significant antimicrobial activity against human pathogens. In the course of systematic screening program for bioactive marine fungi, strain 'D5' was found to be most potent strain with MIC value of 1 mg/mL, which was morphologically identified as Simplicillium lamellicola. The effects of the most active crude extracts against their susceptible test microorganisms were also investigated by SEM analysis. Purification and characterization of crude extracts for identification of active lead molecule is under process. The results of diversity and antimicrobial activity have increased the scope of finding industrially important marine fungi from Indian marine environments and these organisms could be vital sources for the discovery of pharmaceutically useful molecules.

Keywords: antimicrobial activity, antibiotic, marine fungi, skin infections

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Authors: Tesfay Gebremichael Reda

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Nanoparticle technology is fast progressing and is being employed in innumerable medical applications. At this time, the public's health is seriously threatened by the rise of bacterial strains resistant to several medications. Metal nanoparticles are a potential alternate approach for tackling this global concern, and this is the main focus of this study. The citrate precursor sol-gel synthesis method was used to synthesize the, Niₓ Co(₁-ₓ) Fe₂ O₄, (where x = 0.0:0.2:1.0) nanoparticle. XRD identified the development of the cubic crystal structure to have a preferential orientation along (311), and the average particle size was found to be 29-38 nm. The average crystallizes assessed with ImageJ software and origin 22 of the SEM are nearly identical to the XRD results. In the created NCF NPs, the FT-IR spectroscopy reveals structural examinations and the redistribution of cations between octahedral (505-428 cm-1) and tetrahedral (653-603 cm-1) locales. Finally, the decrease of coercive fields HC, 2384 Oe to 241.93 Oe replacement of Co²+ cation with Ni²+. Band gap energy rises as Ni concentration increases, which may be attributed to the fact that the ionic radii of Ni²+ ions are smaller than that of Co²+ ions, which results in a strong electrostatic interaction. On the contrary, except at x = 0.4, the dielectric constant decreases as the nickel concentration increases. According to the findings of this research work, nanoparticles composed of Ni₀.₄ Co₀.₄ Fe₂ O₄ have demonstrated a promising value against S. aureus and E. coli, and it suggests a proposed model for their potential use as a new source of antibacterial agents.

Keywords: antimicrobial, band gap, citrate precursor, dielectric, nanoparticle

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Authors: Hyun Lim, Dong Sook Min, Han Eul Yun, Kil Tae Kim, Ya Nan Sun, Young Ho Kim, Hyun Pyo Kim

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Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13 has an important role for degrading cartilage materials under inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. Since the 70% ethanol extract of Acanthopanax koreanum inhibited MMP-13 expression in IL-1β-treated human chondrocyte cell line, SW1353, two major constituents including acanthoic acid and impressic acid were initially isolated from the same plant materials and their MMP-13 down-regulating capacity was examined. In IL-1β-treated SW1353 cells, acanthoic acid and impressic acid significantly and concentration-dependently inhibited MMP-13 expression at 10 – 100 μM and 0.5 – 10 μM, respectively. The potent one, impressic acid, was found to inhibit MMP-13 expression by blocking the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription-1/-2 (STAT-1/-2) and activation of c-Jun and c-Fos among cellular signaling pathway involved, but did not affect the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB). Further, impressic acid was also found to inhibit the expression of MMP-13 mRNA (47.7% inhibition at 10 μM), the glycosaminoglycan release (42.2% reduction at 10 μM) and proteoglycan loss in IL-1-treated rabbit cartilage explants culture. For a further study, 21 impressic acid derivatives were isolated from the same plant materials and their suppressive activities against MMP-13 expression were examined. Among the derivatives, 3α-hydroxy-lup-20(29)-en-23-oxo,28-oic acid, (20R)-3α-hydroxy-29-dimethoxylupan-23,28-dioic acid, acankoreoside F and acantrifoside A clearly down-regulated MMP-13 expression, but impressic acid being most potent. All these results suggest that impressic acid, 3α-hydroxy-lup-20(29)-en-23-oxo,28-oic acid, (20R)-3α-hydroxy-29-dimethoxylupan-23,28-dioic acid, acankoreoside F, acantrifoside A and A. koreanum may have a potential for therapeutic agents to prevent cartilage degradation possibly by inhibiting matrix protein degradation.

Keywords: acanthoic acid, Acanthopanax koreanum, cartilage, impressic acid, matrix metalloproteinase

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Authors: Rameesha Javaid

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Balochistan, the largest landmass named after and dominated by the 55% Baloch population, which has had a difficult anti-center history like their brothers the Kurds of Middle East, reluctantly acceded to Pakistan in 1947. The region, which attained the status of a province after two decades of accession, has lagged behind in social development and economic growth as compared to the other three federating units. The province has seen the least financial autonomy and administrative decentralization both in autocratic and democratic dispensations under geostrategic and security considerations. Significant corrections have been recently made in the policy framework through changing the formula for intra-provincial National Finance Award, curtailing the number of subjects under federal control, and reactivating the Council of Common Interests. Yet policymaking remains overwhelmingly bureaucratic under a weak parliamentary oversight. The provincial coalition governments are unwieldy and directionless. The government machinery has much less than the optimal capability, character, integrity, will, and opportunity to perform. Decentralization further loses its semblance in the absence of local governments for long intervals and with the hold of hereditary tribal chiefs. Increased allocations failed to make an impact in the highest per capita cost environment due to long distances and scattered settlements. Decentralization, the basic ingredient of federalism has remained mortgaged to geo-strategic factors, internal security perceptions, autocratic and individualistic styles of governments, bureaucratic policymaking structures, bad governance, non-existent local governments, and feudalistic tribal lords. This suboptimal federalism speaks for the present underdevelopment in Balochistan and will earmark the milestones in the future.

Keywords: Balochistan, economic development, federalism, political economy

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Authors: Nikita Pasricha, Karen Smith, Simone Marshall, Vincent DePaul, Jessica Trier

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Understanding that physical activity in rehabilitation programs shapes outcomes in acquired brain injury (ABI) populations is not a new concept. However, there is a void in understanding the physical activity patterns of inpatients in ABI rehabilitation, the trajectory of physical activity recovery, and factors that contribute to the recovery of physical activity over the initial months post-ABI. The purpose of this study was to determine if physical activity patterns vary in people with recent ABI in inpatient rehabilitation. The study also investigated differences in physical activity patterns in ABI patients compared to age-related healthy participants. Results revealed that ABI patients spent approximately 6.7 times longer per day in sedentary postures than in active positions. In comparison, the control group spent only 2.8 times longer in sedentary postures compared to active positions. Patients with ABI took significantly fewer steps than age-matched health control participants. Within the ABI population, patients took 0.78 times fewer steps on weekends compared to weekdays. Participants with greater mobility limitations had a greater difference in WD to WE steps taken. Potential reasons could be from no structured weekend rehabilitation programs, lower availability of staff, or varying schedules. Given that the rehabilitation program is only structured on weekdays, further research to investigate the benefits of structured physical activities like group walking programs on weekends for ABI patients in inpatient rehabilitation programs is warranted.

Keywords: brain, ABI, TBI, rehabilitation

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Authors: Edwin Oviedo, Carlos Linares, Philippe Ayrault, Sylvette Brunet

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Nowadays, light conventional crude oils are going down. Therefore, the exploitation of heavy crude oils has been increasing. Hence, a major quantity of refractory sulfur compounds such as dibenzothiophene (DBT) should be removed. Many efforts have been carried out to modify hydrotreatment typical supports in order to increase hydrodesulfurization (HDS) reactions. The present work shows the synthesis of tertiaries MgFeAl(0.16), MgFeAl(0.32), CoFeAl, ZnFeAl hydrotalcites, as supports of CoMo based catalysts, where 0.16 and 0.32 are the Fe3+/Al3+ molar ratio. Solids were characterized by different techniques (XRD, CO2-TPD, H2-TPR, FT-IR, BET, Chemical Analysis and HRTEM) and tested in the DBT HDS reaction. The reactions conditions were: Temp=325°C, P=40 Bar, H2/feed=475. Results show that the catalysts CoMo/MgFeAl(0.16) and CoMo/MgFeAl(0.32), which were the most basics, reduced the sulfur content from 500ppm to less than 1 ppm, increasing the cyclohexylbenzene content, i.e. presented a higher selective toward the HYD pathway than reference catalyst CoMo/γ- Al2O3. This is suitable for improving the fuel quality due to the increase of the cetane number. These catalysts were also more active to the HDS reaction increasing the direct desulfurization (DDS) way and presented a good stability. It is advantageous when the gas oil centane number should be improved. Cobalt, iron or zinc species inside support could avoid the Co and Mo dispersion or form spinel species which could be less active to hydrodesulfuration reactions, while hydrotalcites containing Mg increases the HDS activity probably due to improved Co/Mo ratio.

Keywords: catalyst, cetane number, dibenzothiophene, diesel, hydrodesulfurization, hydrotreatment, MoS2

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Authors: Alexander A. Osmolovskiy, Anastasia V. Orekhova, Daria M. Bednenko, Yelyzaveta Boiko

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Micromycetes from Aspergillus genus can produce proteases capable of promoting proteolysis of hemostasis proteins or, along with hydrolytic activity, to show the ability to convert proenzymes of this system activating them into an active form. At the same time, practical medicine needs specific activators for quantitation of the level of some plasma enzymes, especially protein C and factor X, the lack of which leads to the development of thromboembolic diseases. Thus, some micromycetes of the genus Aspergillus were screened for the ability to synthesize extracellular proteases with promising activity for designing anti-thrombotic and diagnostic preparations. Such standard methods like salting out, electrophoresis, isoelectrofocusing were used for isolation, purification and study of physicochemical properties of proteases. Enzyme activity was measured spectrophotometrically fibrin as a substrate of the reaction and chromogenic peptide substrates of different proteases of the human hemostasis system. As a result of the screening, four active producers were selected: Aspergillus janus 301, A. flavus 1, A. terreus 2, and A. ochraceus L-1. The enzyme of A. janus 301 showed the greatest fibrinolytic activity (around 329.2 μmol Tyr/(ml × min)). The protease produced by A. terreus 2 had the highest plasmin-like activity (54.1 nmol pNA/(ml × min)), but fibrinolytic activity was lower than A. janus 301 demonstrated (25.2 μmol Tyr/(ml × min)). For extracellular protease of micromycete A. flavus a high plasmin-like activity was also shown (39.8 nmol pNA / (ml × min)). Moreover, according to our results proteases one of the fungi - A. terreus 2 were able to activate protein C of human plasma - the key factor of the human anticoagulant hemostasis system. This type of activity was 39.8 nmol pNA/(ml × min)). It was also shown that A. ochraceus L-1 could produce extracellular proteases with protein C and factor X activator activities (65.9 nmol pNA/(ml × min) and 34.6 nmol pNA/(ml × min) respectively). The maximum accumulation of the proteases falls on the 4th day of cultivation. Using isoelectrofocusing was demonstrated that the activation of both proenzymes might proceed via limited proteolysis induced by proteases of A. ochraceus L-1. The activatory activity of A. ochraceus L-1 proteases toward essential hemostatic proenzymes, protein C and X factor may be useful for practical needs. It is well known that similar enzymes, activators of protein C and X factor isolated from snake venom, South American copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix and Russell’s viper Daboia russelli russeli, respectively, are used for the in vitro diagnostics of the functional state of these proteins in blood plasma. Thus, the proteases of Aspergillus genus can be used as cheap components for enzyme thrombolytic preparations.

Keywords: anti-trombotic drugs, fibrinolysis, diagnostics, proteases, micromycetes

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