Search results for: nucleic acid binding

Authors: Fedili Benamar, Belloulou Mohamed Lamine, Ouahes Hassane, Ghattas Samir

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Introduction: Perioperative blood loss is a frequent cause of complications in total hip replacement (THR). The present prospective study assessed the efficacy of tranexamic acid (Exacyl(®)) in reducing blood loss in primary THR. Hypothesis: Tranexamic acid reduces blood loss in THR. Material and method: -This is a prospective randomized study on the effectiveness of Exacyl (tranexamic acid) in total hip replacement surgery performed on a standardized technique between 2019 and September 2022. -It involved 154 patients, of which 84 received a single injection of Exacyl (group 1) at a dosage of 10 mg/kg over 20 minutes during the perioperative period. -All patients received postoperative thromboprophylaxis with enoxaparin 0.4 ml subcutaneously. -All patients were admitted to the post-interventional intensive care unit for a duration of 24 hours for monitoring and pain management as per the service protocol. Results: 154 patients, of which 84 received a single injection of Exacyl (group 1) and 70 patients patients who did not receive Exacyl perioperatively : (Group 2 ) The average age is 57 +/- 15 years The distribution by gender was nearly equal with 56% male and 44% female; "The distribution according to the ASA score was as follows: 20.2% ASA1, 82.3% ASA2, and 17.5% ASA3. "There was a significant difference in the average volume of intraoperative and postoperative bleeding during the 48 hours." The average bleeding volume for group 1 (received Exacyl) was 614 ml +/- 228, while the average bleeding volume for group 2 was 729 +/- 300, with a chi-square test of 6.35 and a p-value < 0.01, which is highly significant. The ANOVA test showed an F-statistic of 7.11 and a p-value of 0.008. A Bartlett test revealed a chi-square of 6.35 and a p-value < 0.01." "In Group 1 (patients who received Exacyl), 73% had bleeding less than 750 ml (Group A), and 26% had bleeding exceeding 750 ml (Group B). In Group 2 (patients who did not receive Exacyl perioperatively), 52% had bleeding less than 750 ml (Group A), and 47% had bleeding exceeding 750 ml (Group B). "Thus, the use of Exacyl reduced perioperative bleeding and specifically decreased the risk of severe bleeding exceeding 750 ml by 43% with a relative risk (RR) of 1.37 and a p-value < 0.01. The transfusion rate was 1.19% in the population of Group 1 (Exacyl), whereas it was 10% in the population of Group 2 (no Exacyl). It can be stated that the use of Exacyl resulted in a reduction in perioperative blood transfusion with an RR of 0.1 and a p-value of 0.02. Conclusions: The use of Exacyl significantly reduced perioperative bleeding in this type of surgery.

Keywords: acid tranexamic, blood loss, anesthesia, total hip replacement, surgery

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Authors: Tej Varma Y, Debi D. Pant

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Photophysics and rotational dynamics of the fluorescent probe, 6-methoxyquinoline (6MQ) with cationic surfactant, alkyltrimethylammonium bromide (nTAB) micelle solutions have been investigated (n = 12, 14 and 16). Absorption and emission peaks of the dye have been observed to shift at concentrations around critical micellar concentration (cmc) of nTAB compared to that of bulk solutions suggesting probe is in a lower polar environment. The probe senses changes in polarity (ET (30)) brought about by variation of surfactant chain length concentration and is invariably solubilized in the aqueous interface or palisade layer. The order of change in polarity observed was DTAB > CTAB > TTAB. The binding constant study shows that the probe binds strongest with TTAB (is of the order TTAB > CTAB > DTAB) due to deeper penetration into the micelle. The anisotropy decay for the probe in all the nTAB micelles studied have been rationalized based on a two-step model consisting of fast-restricted rotation of the probe and slow lateral diffusion of the probe in the micelle that is coupled to the overall rotation of the micelle. Fluorescence lifetime measurements of probe in the cationic micelles demonstrate the close proximity of the 6MQ to the Br - counterions. The fluorescence lifetimes of TTAB and DTAB are much shorter than in CTAB. These results indicate that 6MQ resides to a substantial degree in the head group region of the micelles. All the changes observed in the steady state fluorescence, microenvironment, fluorescence lifetimes, fluorescence anisotropy, and other calculations are in agreement with each other suggesting binding of the cationic surfactant with the neutral dye molecule.

Keywords: photophysics, chain length, ntaB, micelles

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Authors: Alanna Goodman, Kayla Murray, Keith Warriner

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The following reports on a comparative study on the efficacy of different decontamination technologies to decrease Listeria monocytogenes inoculated onto white sliced mushrooms and assesses the fate of residual levels during posttreatment storage under aerobic conditions at 8uC. The treatments were chemical (hydrogen peroxide, peroxyacetic acid, ozonated water, electrolyzed water, chitosan, lactic acid), biological (Listeria bacteriophages), and physical (UV-C, UV:hydrogen peroxide). None of the treatments achieved .1.2 log CFU reduction in L. monocytogenes levels; bacteriophages at a multiplicity of infection of 100 and 3% (vol/vol) hydrogen peroxide were the most effective of the treatments tested. However, growth of residual L. monocytogenes during posttreatment storage attained levels equal to or greater than levels in the nontreated controls. The growth of L. monocytogenes was inhibited on mushrooms treated with chitosan, electrolyzed water, peroxyacetic acid, or UV. Yet, L. monocytogenes inoculated onto mushrooms and treated with UV:hydrogen peroxide decreased during posttreatment storage, through a combination of sublethal injury and dehydration of the mushroom surface. Although mushrooms treated with UV:hydrogen peroxide became darker during storage, the samples were visually acceptable relative to controls. In conclusion, of the treatments evaluated, UV:hydrogen peroxide holds promise to control L. monocytogenes on mushroom surfaces.

Keywords: listeria monocytogenes, sliced mushrooms, bacteriophages, UV, sanitizers

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Authors: Nayeon, Lee, Won-Young, Cho, Hyun Joo, Jang, Chi-Ho, Lee

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This study investigated the effects of the dietary supplementation of the Allium hookeri root, and processed sulfur, on the growth performance of guinea pigs. The guinea pigs were fed a control diet (CON), as well as the control diet including 1% freeze-dried Allium hookeri root (AH), or 0.1% processed sulfur (S), or including both the freeze-dried Allium hookeri root and the processed sulfur (AHS). The weight of perirenal adipose tissue (PAT) and the epididymal adipose tissue (EAT) in the AH were significantly lower than CON (p < 0.05). The serum cholesterols levels of the AH and the AHS were significantly lower than the S (p < 0.05). While the total saturated fatty acid content in the serum of the AH and AHS groups showed a tendency to decrease, the total monounsaturated fatty acid increased. The results of this study suggested that dietary consumption of Allium hookeri root may help to decrease fat accumulation, lower serum cholesterol levels, and control serum free fatty acid contents in the guinea pigs.

Keywords: Allium hookeri, dietary supplementation, growth performance, processed sulfur, Guinea pig

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Authors: Ved Vrat Verma, Rani Gupta, Manisha Goel

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γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT: EC 2.3.2.2) is an N-terminal nucleophile hydrolase conserved in all three domains of life. GGT plays a key role in glutathione metabolism where it catalyzes the breakage of the γ-glutamyl bonds and transfer of γ-glutamyl group to water (hydrolytic activity) or amino acids or short peptides (transpeptidase activity). GGTs from bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes (human, rat and mouse) are homologous proteins sharing >50% sequence similarity and conserved four layered αββα sandwich like three dimensional structural fold. These proteins though similar in their structure to each other, are quite diverse in their enzyme activity: some GGTs are better at hydrolysis reactions but poor in transpeptidase activity, whereas many others may show opposite behaviour. GGT is known to be involved in various diseases like asthma, parkinson, arthritis, and gastric cancer. Its inhibition prior to chemotherapy treatments has been shown to sensitize tumours to the treatment. Microbial GGT is known to be a virulence factor too, important for the colonization of bacteria in host. However, all known inhibitors (mimics of its native substrate, glutamate) are highly toxic because they interfere with other enzyme pathways. However, a few successful efforts have been reported previously in designing species specific inhibitors. We aim to leverage the diversity seen in GGT family (pathogen vs. eukaryotes) for designing specific inhibitors. Thus, in the present study, we have used DIVERGE software to identify sites in GGT proteins, which are crucial for the functional and structural divergence of these proteins. Since, type II divergence sites vary in clade specific manner, so type II divergent sites were our focus of interest throughout the study. Type II divergent sites were identified for pathogen vs. eukaryotes clusters and sites were marked on clade specific representative structures HpGGT (2QM6) and HmGGT (4ZCG) of pathogen and eukaryotes clade respectively. The crucial divergent sites within 15 A radii of the binding cavity were highlighted, and in-silico mutations were performed on these sites to delineate the role of these sites on the mechanism of catalysis and protein folding. Further, the amino acid network (AAN) analysis was also performed by Cytoscape to delineate assortative mixing for cavity divergent sites which could strengthen our hypothesis. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations were performed for wild complexes and mutant complexes close to physiological conditions (pH 7.0, 0.1 M ionic strength and 1 atm pressure) and the role of putative divergence sites and structural integrities of the homologous proteins have been analysed. The dynamics data were scrutinized in terms of RMSD, RMSF, non-native H-bonds and salt bridges. The RMSD, RMSF fluctuations of proteins complexes are compared, and the changes at protein ligand binding sites were highlighted. The outcomes of our study highlighted some crucial divergent sites which could be used for novel inhibitors designing in a species-specific manner. Since, for drug development, it is challenging to design novel drug by targeting similar protein which exists in eukaryotes, so this study could set up an initial platform to overcome this challenge and help to deduce the more effective targets for novel drug discovery.

Keywords: γ-glutamyltranspeptidase, divergence, species-specific, drug design

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Authors: M. El-haj, Z. Olama, H. Holail

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Single cell oils (SCOs) accumulated by oleaginous fungi have emerged as a potential alternative feedstock for biodiesel production. Five fungal strains were isolated from the Lebanese environment namely Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor hiemalis, Penicillium citrinum, Aspergillus tamari, and Aspergillus niger that have been selected among 39 oleaginous strains for their potential ability to accumulate lipids (lipid content was more than 40% on dry weight basis). Wide variations were recorded in the environmental factors that lead to maximum lipid production by fungi under test and were cultivated under submerged fermentation on medium containing glucose as a carbon source. The maximum lipid production was attained within 6-8 days, at pH range 6-7, 24 to 48 hours age of seed culture, 4 to 6.107 spores/ml inoculum level and 100 ml culture volume. Eleven culture conditions were examined for their significance on lipid production using Plackett-Burman factorial design. Reducing sugars and nitrogen source were the most significant factors affecting lipid production process. Maximum lipid yield was noticed with 15.62, 14.48, 12.75, 13.68 and 20.41g/l for Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor hiemalis, Penicillium citrinum, Aspergillus tamari, and Aspergillus niger respectively. A verification experiment was carried out to examine model validation and revealed more than 94% validity. The profile of extracted lipids from each fungal isolate was studied using thin layer chromatography (TLC) indicating the presence of monoacylglycerols, diaacylglycerols, free fatty acids, triacylglycerols and sterol esters. The fatty acids profiles were also determined by gas-chromatography coupled with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Data revealed the presence of significant amount of oleic acid (29-36%), palmitic acid (18-24%), linoleic acid (26.8-35%), and low amount of other fatty acids in the extracted fungal oils which indicate that the fatty acid profiles were quite similar to that of conventional vegetable oil. The cost of lipid production could be further reduced with acid-pretreated lignocellulotic corncob waste, whey and date molasses to be utilized as the raw material for the oleaginous fungi. The results showed that the microbial lipid from the studied fungi was a potential alternative resource for biodiesel production.

Keywords: agro-industrial waste products, biodiesel, fatty acid, single cell oil, Lebanese environment, oleaginous fungi

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Authors: Bahar Tunctan, Sefika Pinar Kucukkavruk, Meryem Temiz-Resitoglu, Demet Sinem Guden, Ayse Nihal Sari, Seyhan Sahan-Firat, Mahesh P. Paudyal, John R. Falck, Kafait U. Malik

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We hypothesized that 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) mimetics such as N-(20-hydroxyeicosa-5[Z],14[Z]-dienoyl)glycine (5,14-HEDGE) may be beneficial for preventing mortality due to inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This study aims to assess the effect of 5,14-HEDGE on the LPS-induced changes in nucleotide binding domain and leucine-rich repeat protein 3 (NLRP3)/apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase activation and recruitment domain (ASC)/pro-caspase-1 inflammasome. Rats were injected with saline (4 ml/kg) or LPS (10 mg/kg) at time 0. Blood pressure and heart rate were measured using a tail-cuff device. 5,14-HEDGE (30 mg/kg) was administered to rats 1 h after injection of saline or LPS. The rats were sacrificed 4 h after saline or LPS injection and kidney, heart, thoracic aorta, and superior mesenteric artery were isolated for measurement of caspase-1/11 p20, NLRP3, ASC, and β-actin proteins as well as interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels. Blood pressure decreased by 33 mmHg and heart rate increased by 63 bpm in the LPS-treated rats. In the LPS-treated rats, tissue protein expression of caspase-1/11 p20, NLRP3, and ASC in addition to IL-1β levels were increased. 5,14-HEDGE prevented the LPS-induced changes. Our findings suggest that inhibition of renal, cardiac, and vascular formation/activity of NLRP3/ASC/pro-caspase-1 inflammasome involved in the protective effect of 5,14-HEDGE on LPS-induced septic shock in rats. This work was financially supported by the Mersin University (2015-AP3-1343) and USPHS NIH (PO1 HL034300).

Keywords: 5, 14-HEDGE, lipopolysaccharide, NLRP3, inflammasome, septic shock

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Authors: Z. Herceg, V. Stulic, T. Vukusic, A. Rezek Jambrak

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High voltage electrical discharge plasmas are new nonthermal developing techniques used for water decontamination. To the full understanding of cell inactivation mechanisms, this study brings inactivation, recovery and cellular leakage of L. innocua cells before and after the treatment. Bacterial solution (200 mL) of L. innocua was treated in a glass reactor with a point-to-plate electrode configuration (high voltage electrode-titanium wire, was in the gas phase and grounded electrode was in the liquid phase). Argon was injected into the headspace of the reactor at the gas flow of 5 L/min. Frequency of 60, 90 and 120 Hz, time of 5 and 10 min, positive polarity and conductivity of media of 100 µS/cm were chosen to define listed parameters. With a longer treatment time inactivation was higher as well as the increase in cellular leakage. Despite total inactivation recovery of cells occurred probably because of a high leakage of proteins, compared to lower leakage of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA). In order to define mechanisms of inactivation further research is needed.

Keywords: Listeria innocua ATCC 33092, inactivation, gas phase plasma, cellular leakage, recovery of cells

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Authors: Azmawati Mohammed Nawi, Siok-Fong Chin, Shamsul Azhar Shah, Rahman Jamal

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In recent years, trace elements have gained importance as biomarkers in many chronic diseases. Unfortunately, the requirement for sample volume increases according to the extent of investigation for diagnosis or elucidating the mechanism of the disease. Here, we describe the method development and validation for simultaneous determination of 25 trace elements (lithium (Li), beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), aluminium (Al), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), gallium (Ga), arsenic (As), selenium (Se), rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), silver (Ag), cadmium (Cd), caesium (Cs), barium (Ba), mercury (Hg), thallium (Tl), lead (Pb), uranium (U)) using just 20 µL of human serum. Serum samples were digested with nitric acid and hydrochloric acid (ratio 1:1, v/v) and analysed using inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Seronorm®, a human-derived serum control material was used as quality control samples. The intra-day and inter-day precisions were consistently < 15% for all elements. The validated method was later applied to 30 human serum samples to evaluate its suitability. In conclusion, we have successfully developed and validated a precise and accurate analytical method for determining 25 trace elements requiring very low volume of human serum.

Keywords: acid digestion, ICP-MS, trace element, serum

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: T. Warinpramote, J. Sanguanjeen, P. Pholphakwaen, S. Kittisorayut, J. Kerdtubtim, S. Palachote, M. Taweechotipatr

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Cholesterol is a type of lipid molecule which is the significant risk factor for coronary heart disease. Currently, there are many cholesterol-lowering alternative treatments especially bile salt hydrolase positive lactobacilli. BSH can cleave the peptide linkage of bile salt, which results in removal of the amino acid group from the steroid core and increases production of the new bile acid by using more cholesterol. The purpose of this study was to isolate, and screen probiotic characteristics of lactobacilli from fermented Thai foods and further investigated for their comparative BSH activity. The result showed that 2 of 81 Lactobacillus strains, JPK2-2 and JPK3-2, isolated from Brassica juncea (L.) had significantly exhibited high BSH activity. In addition, these Lactobacillus strains showed their results that the ability to tolerate acid and bile salt. Furthermore, the using of 16S rDNA sequencing for definitive microbial identifications showed that these 2 strains belong to Lactobacillus plantarum. In the future, the L. plantarum with BSH activity strains JPK2-2 and JPK3-2 may be the candidate probiotics for application in functional foods and dairy products to improve in the patient with cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords: Lactobacillus plantarum, probiotics, bile salt hydrolase, cholesterol-lowering, fermented Thai food

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Feng-Tsai Weng, Rick Wang, Yan-Cong Liao

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Passivation is a kind of surface treatment for material to reinforce the corrosion resistance specially the stainless alloy. Passive film, is to getting more potential compared to their status before passivation. An oxidation film can be formed on the surface of stainless steel, which has a strong corrosion resistance ability after passivation treatment. In this research, a new passivation technology is proposed for a special stainless alloy which contains a 12-14% Chromium. This method includes the A-A-A (alkaline-acid-alkaline) process basically, which was developed by Carpenter that can neutralize trapped acid. Besides, a corrosion resistant coating layer was obtained by immersing the parts in a water bath of mineral oil at high temperature. Salt spray test ASTM B368 was conducted to investigated performance of corrosion resistant of the passivated stainless steel alloy parts. Results show much better corrosion resistant that followed a coating process after A-A-A Passivation process, than only using A-A-A process. The passivation time is with more than 380 hours of salt spray test ASTM B368, which is equal to 3000 hours of Salt spray test ASTM B117. Proposed passivation method of stainless steel can be completed in about 3 hours.

Keywords: passivation, alkaline-acid-alkaline, stainless steel, salt spray test

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Authors: F. Z. Tighilt, N. Belhaneche-Bensemra, S. Belhousse, S. Sam, K. Lasmi, N. Gabouze

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Recently, the gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) became an active multidisciplinary research topic. First, Au thin films fabricated by alkylthiol-functionalized Au NPs were found to have vapor sensitive conductivities, they were hence widely investigated as electrical chemiresistors for sensing different vapor analytes and even organic molecules in aqueous solutions. Second, Au thin films were demonstrated to have speciallocalized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR), so that highly ordered 2D Au superlattices showed strong collective LSPR bands due to the near-field coupling of adjacent nanoparticles and were employed to detect biomolecular binding. Particularly when alkylthiol ligands were replaced by thiol-terminated polymers, the resulting polymer-modified Au NPs could be readily assembled into 2D nanostructures on solid substrates. Monolayers of polystyrene-coated Au NPs showed typical dipolar near-field interparticle plasmon coupling of LSPR. Such polymer-modified Au nanoparticle films have an advantage that the polymer thickness can be feasibly controlled by changing the polymer molecular weight. In this article, the effect of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) coatings on the plasmonic properties of ITO interfaces modified with gold nanostructures (Au NSs) is investigated. The interest in developing ITO overlayers is multiple. The presence of a con-ducting ITO overlayer creates a LSPR-active interface, which can serve simultaneously as a working electrode in an electro-chemical setup. The surface of ITO/ Au NPs contains hydroxyl groups that can be used to link functional groups to the interface. Here the covalent linking of nickel /Au NSs/ITO hybrid LSPR platforms will be presented.

Keywords: conducting polymer, metal nanoparticles (NPs), LSPR, poly (3-(pyrrolyl)–carboxylic acid), polypyrrole

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Authors: Aikaterini Tsalampouni

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The European Union has long been the most developed model of economic and political integration that has brought a common market, a common currency and a standardization of national policies in certain areas in consistent with EU values and principles. To this direction, there is a parallel process of social integration that effect public policy decisions of member states. Even though social policy, i.e. social protection and moreover healthcare policy, still remains in state's responsibility to develop, EU applies different mechanisms in order to influence health policy systems, since from a more federalist point of view, EU ought to expand its regulatory and legislative roles in as many policy areas as possible. Recently, the pandemic has become a turning point for health care provision and at the same time has also highlighted the need to strengthen the EU’s role in coordinating health care. This paper analyses the EU health policy in general, as well as the response to COVID-19 pandemic with an attempt to identify indications of interaction between EU policies and the promotion of sustainable and resilient health systems. More analytically, the paper investigates the EU binding legal instruments, non-binding legal instruments, monitoring and assessment instruments and instruments for co-financing concerning health care provision in member states and records the evolution of health policies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper concludes by articulating some remarks regarding the improvement of health policy in EU. Since the ability to deal with a pandemic depends on continuous and increased investment in health systems, the involvement of the EU can lead to a policy convergence, necessary for the resilience of the systems, maintaining at the same time, a strong health policy framework in Europe.

Keywords: EU health policy, EU response to COVID-19, European Health Union, health systems in Europe

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Authors: Vatsal M. Patel, Navin B. Patel

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The present studies deal with the developing a series bearing a diphenyl ethers nucleus using structure-based drug design concept. A newer series of diphenyl ether based azetidinone namely N-(3-chloro-2-oxo-4-(3-phenoxyphenyl)azetidin-1-yl)-2-(substituted amino)acetamide (2a-j) have been synthesized by condensation of m-phenoxybenzaldehyde with 2-(substituted-phenylamino)acetohydrazide followed by the cyclisation of resulting Schiff base (1a-j) by conventional method as well as microwave heating approach as a part of an environmentally benign synthetic protocol. All the synthesized compounds were characterized by spectral analysis and were screened for in vitro antimicrobial, antitubercular and antiprotozoal activity. The compound 2f was found to be most active M. tuberculosis (6.25 µM) MIC value in the primary screening as well as this same derivative has been found potency against L. mexicana and T. cruzi with MIC value 2.09 and 6.69 µM comparable to the reference drug Miltefosina and Nifurtimox. To provide understandable evidence to predict binding mode and approximate binding energy of a compound to a target in the terms of ligand-protein interaction, all synthesized compounds were docked against an enoyl-[acyl-carrier-protein] reductase of M. tuberculosis (PDB ID: 4u0j). The computational studies revealed that azetidinone derivatives have a high affinity for the active site of enzyme which provides a strong platform for new structure-based design efforts. The Lipinski’s parameters showed good drug-like properties and can be developed as an oral drug candidate.

Keywords: antimycobacterial, antiprotozoal, azetidinone, diphenylether, docking, microwave

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Authors: Pouira Askary

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Indeed, in our globalized world which is facing with various international crises, the transnational corporations and other business enterprises have the capacity to foster economic well-being, development, technological improvement and wealth, as well as causing adverse impacts on human rights. The UN Human Rights Council declared that although the primary responsibility to protect human rights lie with the State but the transnational corporations and other business enterprises have also a responsibility to respect and protect human rights in the framework of corporate social responsibility. In 2011, the Human Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, a set of guidelines that define the key duties and responsibilities of States and business enterprises with regard to business-related human rights abuses. In UN’s view, the Guiding Principles do not create new legal obligations but constitute a clarification of the implications of existing standards, including under international human rights law. In 2014 the UN Human Rights Council decided to establish a working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises whose mandate shall be to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises. Extremely difficult task for the working group to codify a legally binding document to regulate the behavior of corporations on the basis of the norms of international law! Concentration of this paper is on the origins of those human rights applicable on business enterprises. The research will discuss that the social and ethical roots of the CSR are much more institutionalized and elaborated than the legal roots. Therefore, the first step is to determine whether and to what extent corporations, do have an ethical responsibility to respect human rights and if so, by which means this ethical and social responsibility is convertible to legal commitments.

Keywords: CSR, ethics, international law, human rights, development, sustainable business

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Authors: M. M. Hefnawy, A. M. A. Homoda, M. A. Abounassif, A. M. Alanazia, A. Al-Majed, Gamal A. E. Mostafa

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PVC membrane sensors using different approach e.g. ion-pair, ionophore, and Schiff-base has been used as testing membrane sensor. Analytical applications of membrane sensors for direct measurement of variety of different ions in complex biological and environmental sample are reported. The most important step of such PVC membrane sensor is the sensing active material. The potentiometric sensors have some outstanding advantages including simple design, operation, wide linear dynamic range, relative fast response time, and rotational selectivity. The analytical applications of these techniques to pharmaceutical compounds in dosage forms are also discussed. The construction and electrochemical response characteristics of Poly (vinyl chloride) membrane sensors for moxifloxacin HCl (MOX) are described. The sensing membranes incorporate ion association complexes of moxifloxacin cation and sodium tetraphenyl borate (NaTPB) (sensor 1), phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) (sensor 2) or phosphotungstic acid (PTA) (sensor 3) as electroactive materials. The sensors display a fast, stable and near-Nernstian response over a relative wide moxifloxacin concentration range (1 ×10-2-4.0×10-6, 1 × 10-2-5.0×10-6, 1 × 10-2-5.0×10-6 M), with detection limits of 3×10-6, 4×10-6 and 4.0×10-6 M for sensor 1, 2 and 3, respectively over a pH range of 6.0-9.0. The sensors show good discrimination of moxifloxacin from several inorganic and organic compounds. The direct determination of 400 µg/ml of moxifloxacin show an average recovery of 98.5, 99.1 and 98.6 % and a mean relative standard deviation of 1.8, 1.6 and 1.8% for sensors 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The proposed sensors have been applied for direct determination of moxifloxacin in some pharmaceutical preparations. The results obtained by determination of moxifloxacin in tablets using the proposed sensors are comparable favorably with those obtained using the US Pharmacopeia method. The sensors have been used as indicator electrodes for potentiometric titration of moxifloxacin.

Keywords: potentiometry, PVC, membrane sensors, ion-pair, ionophore, schiff-base, moxifloxacin HCl, sodium tetraphenyl borate, phosphomolybdic acid, phosphotungstic acid

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Authors: Alok Raghav, Jamal Ahmad

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Background: Serum albumin glycation and advanced glycation end products (AGE) formation correlates in diabetes and its associated complications. Extensive modified human serum albumin is used to study the biochemical, electrochemical and functional properties in hyperglycemic environment with relevance to diabetes. We evaluate Spectroscopic, side chain modifications, amino acid analysis, biochemical and functional group properties in four glucose modified samples. Methods: A series four human serum albumin samples modified with glucose was characterized in terms of amino acid analysis, spectroscopic properties and side chain modifications. The diagnostic technique employed incorporates UV Spectroscopy, Fluorescence Spectroscopy, biochemical assays for side chain modifications, amino acid estimations. Conclusion: Glucose modified human serum albumin confers AGE formation causes biochemical and functional property that depend on the reactivity of glucose and its concentration used for in-vitro glycation. A biochemical and functional characterization of modified albumin in-vitro produced AGE product that will be useful to interpret the complications and pathophysiological significance in diabetes.

Keywords: glycation, diabetes, human serum albumin, biochemical and electrochemical characterization

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Authors: Ravi R. Patel, Vasudev R. Thakkar

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Use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) to increase the production and decrees disease occurrence is a recent method in agriculture. An RA2 rhizospheric culture was isolated from peanut rhizosphere from Junagadh region of Gujarat, India and showed different direct and indirect plant growth promoting activity like indole acetic acid, gibberellic acid, siderophore, hydrogen cyanide, Ammonia and (1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylate) deaminase production, N2 fixation, phosphate and potassium solubilization in vitro. RA2 was able to protect peanut germinating seedling from A. niger infection and reduce collar rot disease incidence 60-35% to 72-41% and increase germination percentage from 70-82% to 75-97% in two varieties GG20 and GG2 of peanut. RA2 was found to induce resistance in A. hypogaea L. seedlings via induction of different defense-related enzymes like phenylalanine ammonia lyase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, lipoxygenase and pathogenesis related protein like chitinase, ß – 1,3- glucanase. Jasmonic acid one of the major signaling molecules of inducing systemic resistance was also found to induced due to RA2 treatments. RA2 bacterium was also promoting peanut growth and reduce A. niger infection in pot studies. 16S rDNA sequence of RA2 showed 99 % homology to Azotobacter species.

Keywords: plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, peanut, aspergillus niger, induce systemic resistance

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Authors: Saeed Ahmed, Muhammad Imran, Yasir Allah Ditta, Shahid Mehmood, Zahid Rasool

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A study was conducted to investigate the effect of different levels of microencapsulated butyric (MEB) on growth performance, gut health and immunity in commercial broiler chickens. In total, 336 day-old Hubbard classic broilers chicks were randomly assigned to 4 dietary treatments (Control, 0.25, 0.35 and 0.45g/kg of butyric acid) under completely randomized design. Each treatment was replicated 3 times with 28 birds in each replicate. Feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, intestinal morphology, apparent ileal digestibility of protein and immunity parameters were evaluated. At the end of the experiment (35-d) 3 birds/replicate in each group were randomly selected and slaughtered to collect blood, duodenal samples and ileal digesta. The data were analyzed by using ANOVA technique. The results indicated improved body weight gain (P = 0.0222), feed conversion ratio (P = 0.0056), duodenal villus height (P = 0.0512), AID (P = 0.0098) antibody titer against Newcastle disease improved (P = 0.0326). Treatments remained unresponsive with respect to feed intake (P = 0.9685).

Keywords: butyric acid, broilers, gut health, ileal digestibility

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Authors: Muhammad Iqbal, Hafiz Muhammad Tauqeer, Hamza Rafaqat, Muhammad Naveed, Muhammad Awais Irshad

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Soil pollution with chromium (Cr) has become one of the most important concerns due to its toxicity for humans. To date, various remediation approaches have been employed for the remediation and management of Cr contaminated soils. Phytoextraction is an eco-friendly and emerging remediation approach which has gained attention due to several advantages over conventional remediation approach. The use of energy crops for phytoremediation is an emerging trend worldwide. These energy crops have high tolerance against various environmental stresses, the potential to grow in diverse ecosystems and high biomass production make them a suitable candidate for phytoremediation of contaminated soils. The removal efficiency of plants in phytoextraction depends upon several soil and plant factors including solubility, bioavailability and metal speciation in soils. A pot scale experiment was conducted to evaluate the phytoextraction potential of Arundo donax L. with the application of acetic acid (A.A) in Cr contaminated soils. Plants were grown in pots filled with 5 kg soils for 90 days. After 30 days plants acclimatization in pot conditions, plants were treated with various levels of Cr (2.5 mM, 5 mM, 7.5 mM, 10 mM) and A.A (Cr 2.5 mM + A.A 2.5 mM, Cr 5 mM + A.A 2.5 mM, Cr 7.5 mM + A.A 2.5 mM, Cr 10 mM + A.A 2.5 mM). The application of A.A significantly increased metal uptake and in roots and shoots of A. donax. This increase was observed at Cr 7.5 mM + A.A 2.5 mM but at high concentrations, visual symptoms of Cr toxicity were observed on leaves. Similarly, A.A applications also affect the activities of key enzymes including catalase (CAT), superoxidase dismutase (SOD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in leaves of A. donax. Based on results it is concluded that the applications of A.A acid for phytoextraction is an alternative approach for the management of Cr affected soils and synthetic chelators should be replaced with organic acids.

Keywords: acetic acid, A. donax, chromium, energy crop, phytoextraction

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Authors: Beata Pospiech

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Separation of metal ions from aqueous solutions is important as well as difficult process in hydrometallurgical technology. This process is necessary for obtaining of clean metals. Solvent extraction and membrane processes are well known as separation methods. Recently, ionic liquids (ILs) are very often applied and studied as extractants and carriers of metal ions from aqueous solutions due to their good extractability properties for various metals. This work discusses a method to separate copper(II) and iron(III) from hydrochloric acid solutions by solvent extraction and transport across polymer inclusion membranes (PIM) with the selected ionic liquids as extractants/ion carriers. Cyphos IL 101 (trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium chloride), Cyphos IL 104 (trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium bis(2,4,4 trimethylpentyl)phosphi-nate), trioctylmethylammonium thiosalicylate [A336][TS] and trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium thiosalicylate [PR4][TS] were used for the investigations. Effect of different parameters such as hydrochloric acid concentration in aqueous phase on iron(III) and copper(II) extraction has been investigated. Cellulose triacetate membranes with the selected ionic liquids as carriers have been prepared and applied for transport of iron(IIII) and copper(II) from hydrochloric acid solutions.

Keywords: copper, iron, ionic liquids, solvent extraction

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Authors: C. E. Chinma, S. O. Azeez, J. C. Anuonye, O. B. Ocheme, C. M. Yakubu, S. James, E. U. Ohuoba, I. A. Baba

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There is growing interest in the use of rice bran protein in food formulation due to its hypoallergenic protein, high nutritional value and health promoting potentials. For the first time, the amino acid profile, protein digestibility, antioxidant, and functional properties of protein concentrate from some local varieties of rice bran from Nigeria were studied for possible food applications. Protein concentrates were prepared from rice bran and analysed using standard methods. Results showed that protein content of Kwandala, Yardass, Jeep, and Jamila were 69.24%, 69.97%, 68.73%, and 71.62%, respectively while total essential amino acid were 52.71, 53.03, 51.86, and 55.75g/100g protein, respectively. In vitro protein digestibility of protein concentrate from Kwandala, Yardass, Jeep and Jamila were 90.70%, 91.39%, 90.57% and 91.63% respectively. DPPH radical inhibition of protein from Kwandala, Yardass, Jeep, and Jamila were 48.15%, 48.90%, 47.56%, and 53.29%, respectively while ferric reducing ability power were 0.52, 0.55, 0.47 and 0.67mmol TE per gram, respectively. Protein concentrate from Jamila had higher onset (92.57oC) and denaturation temperature (102.13oC), and enthalpy (0.72J/g) than Jeep (91.46oC, 101.76oC, and 0.68J/g, respectively), Kwandala (90.32oC, 100.54oC and 0.57J/g, respectively), and Yardass (88.94oC, 99.45oC, and 0.51J/g, respectively). In vitro digestibility of protein from Kwandala, Yardas, Jeep, and Jamila were 90.70%, 91.39%, 90.57% and 91.63% respectively. Oil absorption capacity of Kwandala, Yardass, Jeep, and Jamila were 3.61, 3.73, 3.40, and 4.23g oil/g sample respectively, while water absorption capacity were 4.19, 4.32, 3.55 and 4.48g water/g sample, respectively. Protein concentrates had low bulk density (0.37-0.43g/ml). Protein concentrate from Jamila rice bran had the highest foam capacity (37.25%), followed by Yardass (34.20%), Kwandala (30.14%) and Jeep (28.90%). Protein concentrates showed low emulsifying and gelling capacities. In conclusion, protein concentrate prepared from these local rice bran varieties could serve as functional ingredients in food formulations and for enriching low protein foods.

Keywords: rice bran protein, amino acid profile, protein digestibility, antioxidant and functional properties

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Authors: Payam Rasoulnia, Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi

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Heavy fuel oil firing power plants produce huge amounts of ashes as solid wastes, which seriously need to be managed and processed. Recycling precious metals of V and Ni from these oil-fired ashes which are considered as secondary sources of metals recovery, not only has a great economic importance for use in industry, but also it is noteworthy from the environmental point of view. Vanadium is an important metal that is mainly used in the steel industry because of its physical properties of hardness, tensile strength, and fatigue resistance. It is also utilized in oxidation catalysts, titanium–aluminum alloys and vanadium redox batteries. In the present study bioleaching of vanadium and nickel from an oil-fired ash sample was conducted using Aspergillus niger fungus. The experiments were carried out using spent-medium bioleaching method in both Erlenmeyer flasks and also bubble column bioreactor, in order to compare them together. In spent-medium bioleaching the solid waste is not in direct contact with the fungus and consequently the fungal growth is not retarded and maximum organic acids are produced. In this method the metals are leached through biogenic produced organic acids present in the medium. In shake flask experiments the fungus was cultured for 15 days, where the maximum production of organic acids was observed, while in bubble column bioreactor experiments a 7 days fermentation period was applied. The amount of produced organic acids were measured using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the results showed that depending on the fermentation period and the scale of experiments, the fungus has different major lixiviants. In flask tests, citric acid was the main produced organic acid by the fungus and the other organic acids including gluconic, oxalic, and malic were excreted in much lower concentrations, while in the bioreactor oxalic acid was the main lixiviant and it was produced considerably. In Erlenmeyer flasks during 15 days fermentation of Aspergillus niger, 8080 ppm citric acid and 1170 ppm oxalic acid was produced, while in bubble column bioreactor over 7 days of fungal growth, 17185 ppm oxalic acid and 1040 ppm citric acid was secreted. The leaching tests using the spent-media obtained from both of fermentation experiments, were performed at the same conditions of leaching duration of 7 days, leaching temperature of 60 °C and pulp density up to 3% (w/v). The results revealed that in Erlenmeyer flask experiments 97% of V and 50% of Ni were extracted while using spent medium produced in bubble column bioreactor, V and Ni recoveries were achieved to 100% and 33%, respectively. These recovery yields indicate that in both scales almost total vanadium can be recovered, while nickel recovery was lower. With help of the bioreactor spent-medium nickel recovery yield was lower than that of obtained from the flask experiments, which it could be due to precipitation of some values of Ni in presence of high levels of oxalic acid existing in its spent medium.

Keywords: Aspergillus niger, bubble column bioreactor, oil-fired ash, spent-medium bioleaching

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Authors: Rasha Al-Saedi, Anthony Meijer

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The progress of new porous materials has increased rapidly over the past decade for use in applications such as catalysis, gas storage and removal of environmentally unfriendly species due to their high surface area and high thermal stability. In this work, a theoretical study of the zirconium-based metal organic framework (MOFs) were examined in order to determine their potential for gas adsorption of various guest molecules: CO2, N2, CH4 and H2. The zirconium cluster consists of an inner Zr6O4(OH)4 core in which the triangular faces of the Zr6- octahedron are alternatively capped by O and OH groups which bound to nine formate groups and three benzoate groups linkers. General formula is [Zr(μ-O)4(μ-OH)4(HCOO)9((phyO2C)3X))] where X= CH2OH, CH2NH2, CH2CONH2, n(NH2); (n = 1-3). Three types of adsorption sites on the Zr metal center have been studied, named according to capped chemical groups as the ‘−O site’; the H of (μ-OH) site removed and added to (μ-O) site, ‘–OH site’; (μ-OH) site removed, the ‘void site’ where H2O molecule removed; (μ-OH) from one site and H from other (μ-OH) site, in addition to no defect versions. A series of investigations have been performed aiming to address this important issue. First, density functional theory DFT-B3LYP method with 6-311G(d,p) basis set was employed using Gaussian 09 package in order to evaluate the gas adsorption performance of missing-linker defects in zirconium cluster. Next, study the gas adsorption behaviour on different functionalised zirconium clusters. Those functional groups as mentioned above include: amines, alcohol, amide, in comparison with non-substitution clusters. Then, dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D) calculations were performed to further understand the enhanced gas binding on zirconium clusters. Finally, study the water effect on CO2 and N2 adsorption. The small functionalized Zr clusters were found to result in good CO2 adsorption over N2, CH4, and H2 due to the quadrupole moment of CO2 while N2, CH4 and H2 weakly polar or non-polar. The adsorption efficiency was determined using the dispersion method where the adsorption binding improved as most of the interactions, for example, van der Waals interactions are missing with the conventional DFT method. The calculated gas binding strengths on the no defect site are higher than those on the −O site, −OH site and the void site, this difference is especially notable for CO2. It has been stated that the enhanced affinity of CO2 of no defect versions is most likely due to the electrostatic interactions between the negatively charged O of CO2 and the positively charged H of (μ-OH) metal site. The uptake of the gas molecule does not enhance in presence of water as the latter binds to Zr clusters more strongly than gas species which attributed to the competition on adsorption sites.

Keywords: density functional theory, gas adsorption, metal- organic frameworks, molecular simulation, porous materials, theoretical chemistry

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Authors: Taiwo O. Margaret, Olaoluwa O. Olaoluwa

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Moraceae family has immense phytochemical constituents and significant pharmacological properties, hence have great medicinal values. The aim of this study was to screen and quantify phytochemicals as well as the antioxidant activities of the leaf and stem bark extracts and fractions (crude ethanol extracts, n-hexane, ethyl acetate and aqueous ethanol fractions) of Ficus sagittifolia. Leaf and stem bark of F. sagittifolia were extracted by maceration method using ethanol to give ethanol crude extract. The ethanol crude extract was partitioned by n-hexane and ethyl-acetate to give their respective fractions. All the extracts were screened for their phytochemicals using standard methods. The total phenolic, flavonoid, tannin, saponin contents and antioxidant activity were determined by spectrophotometric method while the alkaloid content was evaluated by titrimetric method. The amount of total phenolic in extracts and fractions were estimated in comparison to gallic acid, whereas total flavonoids, tannins and saponins were estimated corresponding to quercetin, tannic acid and saponin respectively. 2, 2-diphenylpicryl hydrazyl radical (DPPH)* and phosphomolybdate methods were used to evaluate the antioxidant activities of leaf and stem bark of F. sagittifolia. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, terpenoids/steroids, alkaloids for both extracts of leaf and stem bark of F. sagittifolia. The phenolic content of F. sagittifolia was most abundant in leaf ethanol crude extract as 3.53 ± 0.03 mg/g equivalent of gallic acid. Total flavonoids and tannins content were highest in stem bark aqueous ethanol fraction of F. sagittifolia estimated as 3.41 ± 0.08 mg/g equivalent of quercetin and 1.52 ± 0.05 mg/g equivalent of tannic acid respectively. The hexane leaf fraction of F. sagittifolia had the utmost saponin and alkaloid content as 5.10 ± 0.48 mg/g equivalent of saponins and 0.171 ± 0.39 g of alkaloids. Leaf aqueous ethanol fraction of F. sagittifolia showed high antioxidant activity (IC₅₀ value of 63.092 µg/mL) and stem ethanol crude extract (227.43 ± 0.78 mg/g equivalent of ascorbic acid) for DPPH and phosphomolybdate method respectively and the least active was found to be the stem hexane fraction using both methods (313.32 µg/mL; 16.21 ± 1.30 mg/g equivalent of ascorbic acid). The presence of these phytochemicals in the leaf and stem bark of F. sagittifolia are responsible for their therapeutic importance as well as the ability to scavenge free radicals in living systems.

Keywords: Moraceae, Ficus sagittifolia, phytochemicals, antioxidant

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Authors: Ezaldin A. M. Mohammed, Youssef K. H. Abdalhafid, Masoud. M. Zatout

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The study aims to clarify the toxic effect of plant hormones, which are widely used in agriculture. One of these is the plant hormones (indole acetic acid); has been ٳata hormone to rats at 100 ppm salt solution of 0.2 per day after day for a period of forty days before conception until the fourteenth day or sixteenth or childbirth. Treatment brought about a marked shortage in the rate of increase in the weight of mice., And a percentage of the weight of the liver there was a distinct increase in the relative weight of the liver. As well as the increase in pathological changes and increase the size of the nuclei and Kupffer cell, as noted widespread and dense clusters of inflammatory cells accompanied by about the erosion of liver tissue and blood ٳrchah. Biochemical analyzes showed a marked decrease of the liver in antioxidant enzymes and an increase in the rate of free radicals. It was also noted an increase in cases of abortion. The owner of so many birth defects. It was also noted the lack of body weight in fetuses and increase the absorption rate of embryos in fetuses of mothers treatment compared to the control group. Showed microscopic examinations of the liver of mice born in the transaction and the decay in the presence of hepatic cells and edema, blood vessels and increase the rate of cell death.

Keywords: indol acetic acid, liver, pathological changes, albino rats

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Authors: Akanksha Jain, Santosh J. Passi, William Selvamurthy, Archna Singh

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Heating/frying at elevated temperatures cause numerous physiochemical reactions including oxidative deterioration and trans fatty acid (TFA) formation; however Indian data on these parameters are scanty. The present study was designed to assess the effect of constant heating/frying on formation of TFAs and oxidative stability in groundnut oil. 750 mL of the oil was heated in a large iron karahi (utensil similar to a wok) and freshly cut potato strips were fried constantly at varying temperatures (160ºC, 180ºC, 200ºC, 220ºC, 230ºC). In each case, the oil sample was drawn after one hour and stored at –20ºC until analysed. While TFA was estimated using gas chromatography with flame ionisation detector (AOCS official method Ce 1h–05), other chemical parameters were assessed by AOCS official methods. Oil samples subjected to heating/frying at varying temperatures demonstrated a significant increase in TFAs (p < 0.01) and saturated fatty acids (p < 0.01) while there was a corresponding decrease in cis-unsaturated fatty acids (p < 0.01). Frying process demonstrated greater TFA formation (mean TFA at 160ºC being 0.11±0.01g/100g; at 230ºC it being 2.33±0.05g/100g) as compared to heating alone (mean TFA at 160ºC being 0.07g±0.01/100g; at 230ºC it being 0.47±0.02g/100g), indicating that there was a significant difference in the generation of TFAs during the two thermal treatments (heating vs. frying; p=0.05). With increasing temperatures, acid value, p-anisidine value and total oxidation (TOTOX) value registered a significant increase (p < 0.01); however, peroxide value was found to be inconsistent. Thus, the formation of TFA and various oxidative parameters (except peroxide value) is directly influenced by the temperature of heating/frying. Since TFA formation and poor oxidative stability of oils can pose serious health concerns, food safety agencies/organizations need to devise appropriate policies, stringent food laws/standards and impose necessary safety regulations to curb oil abuse during the process of heating and frying. There is a dire need to raise consumer awareness regarding deleterious health effects of TFA and oxidative deterioration of oils at elevated temperatures employed during heating/frying procedures.

Keywords: cis-unsaturated fatty acid, oxidative stability, saturated fatty acid, trans fatty acid

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Authors: Hsiang-Ru Lin

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Cholesterol plays an essential role in the regulation of the progression of numerous important diseases including atherosclerosis and Alzheimer disease so the generation of suitable cholesterol-lowering reagents is urgent to develop. Liver X receptor (LXR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor whose natural ligands are cholesterols, oxysterols and glucose. Once being activated, LXR can transactivate the transcription action of various genes including CYP7A1, ABCA1, and SREBP1c, involved in the lipid metabolism, glucose metabolism and inflammatory pathway. Essentially, the upregulation of ABCA1 facilitates cholesterol efflux from the cells and attenuates the production of beta-amyloid (ABeta) 42 in brain so LXR is a promising target to develop the cholesterol-lowering reagents and preventative treatment of Alzheimer disease. Engelhardia roxburghiana is a deciduous tree growing in India, China, and Taiwan. However, its chemical composition is only reported to exhibit antitubercular and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, four compounds, engelheptanoxides A, C, engelhardiol A, and B isolated from the root of Engelhardia roxburghiana were evaluated for their agonistic activity against LXR by the transient transfection reporter assays in the HepG2 cells. Furthermore, their interactive modes with LXR ligand binding pocket were generated by molecular modeling programs. By using the cell-based biological assays, engelheptanoxides A, C, engelhardiol A, and B showing no cytotoxic effect against the proliferation of HepG2 cells, exerted obvious LXR agonistic effects with similar activity as T0901317, a novel synthetic LXR agonist. Further modeling studies including docking and SAR (structure-activity relationship) showed that these compounds can locate in LXR ligand binding pocket in the similar manner as T0901317. Thus, LXR is one of nuclear receptors targeted by pharmaceutical industry for developing treatments of Alzheimer and atherosclerosis diseases. Importantly, the cell-based assays, together with molecular modeling studies suggesting a plausible binding mode, demonstrate that engelheptanoxides A, C, engelhardiol A, and B function as LXR agonists. This is the first report to demonstrate that the extract of Engelhardia roxburghiana contains LXR agonists. As such, these active components of Engelhardia roxburghiana or subsequent analogs may show important therapeutic effects through selective modulation of the LXR pathway.

Keywords: Liver X receptor (LXR), Engelhardia roxburghiana, CYP7A1, ABCA1, SREBP1c, HepG2 cells

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Authors: Eleftheria Barouni, Antonia Terpou, Maria Kanellaki, Argyro Bekatorou, Athanasios A.Koutinas

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The aim of the present work was to evaluate the production of cheese using a composite filter of tubular cellulose (TC) with [a] entrapped rennin enzyme and [b] immobilized L.casei and entrapped enzyme. Tubular cellulose from sawdust was prepared after lignin removal with 1% NaOH. The biocatalysts were thermally dried at 38oC and used for milk coagulation. The effect of temperature (5,20,37 oC) of the first dried biocatalyst on the pH kinetics of milk coagulation was examined. The optimum temperature (37oC) of the first biocatalyst was used for milk coagulation with the second biocatalyst prepared by entrapment of both rennin enzyme and probiotic lactic acid bacteria in order to introduce a sour taste in cheeses. This co-biocatalyst was used for milk coagulation. Samples were studied as regards its effect on lactic acid formation and its correlation with taste test results in cheeses. For both biocatalysts samples were analyzed for total acidity and lactic acid formation by HPLC. The quality of the produced cheeses was examined through the determination of volatile compounds by SPME GC/MS analysis. Preliminary taste tests and microbiological analysis were performed and encourage us for further research regarding scale up.

Keywords: tubular cellulose, Lactobacillus casei, rennin enzyme, cheese production

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Authors: Nurcan Cetinkaya

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The aim of the study was to estimate the microbial-N flow to small intestine based on daily urinary purine derivatives(PD) mainly xanthine, hypoxanthine, uric acid and allantoin excretion in Angora goats fed by grass hay and concentrate (Period I); barley straw and concentrate (Period II). Daily urine samples were collected during last 3 days of each period from 10 individually penned Angora bucks( LW 30-35 Kg, 2-3 years old) receiving ad libitum grass hay or barley straw and 300 g/d concentrate. Fresh water was always available. 4N H2SO4 was added to collected daily urine .samples to keep pH under 3 to avoid of uric acid precipitation. Diluted urine samples were stored at -20°C until analysis. Urine samples were analyzed for xanthine, hypoxanthine, uric acid, allantoin and creatinine by High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method (HPLC). Urine was diluted 1:15 in ratio with water and duplicate samples were prepared for HPLC analysis. Calculated mean levels (n=60) for urinary xanthine, hypoxanthine, uric acid, allantoin, total PD and creatinine excretion were 0.39±0.02 , 0.26±0.03, 0.59±0.06, 5.91±0.50, 7.15±0.57 and 3.75±0.40 mmol/L for Period I respectively; 0.35±0.03, 0.21±0.02, 0.55±0.05, 5.60±0.47, 6.71±0.46 and 3.73±0.41 mmol/L for Period II respectively.Mean values of Period I and II were significantly different (P< 0.05) except creatinine excretion. Estimated mean microbial-N supply to the small intestine for Period I and II in Angora goats were 5.72±0.46 and 5.41±0.61 g N/d respectively. The effects of grass hay and barley straw feeding on microbial-N supply to small intestine were found significantly different (P< 0.05). In conclusion, grass hay showed a better effect on the ruminal microbial protein synthesis compared to barley straw, therefore; grass hay is suggested as roughage source in Angora goat feeding.

Keywords: angora goat, HPLC method, microbial-N supply to small intestine, urinary purine derivatives

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