Search results for: branched chain amino acid

Authors: Natarajan Ramasamy, Gurulingamurthy Haralur, Ramesh Nivarthu, Nikhil Kumar Singha

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Elastomers are polymeric materials with varied backbone architectures ranging from linear to dendrimeric structures and wide varieties of monomeric repeat units. These elastomers show strongly viscous and weakly elastic when it is not cross-linked. But when crosslinked, based on the extent the properties of these elastomers can range from highly flexible to highly stiff nature. Lightly cross-linked systems are well studied and reported. Understanding the nature of highly cross-linked rubber based upon chemical structure and architecture is critical for varieties of applications. One of the critical parameters is cross-link density. In the current work, we have studied the highly cross-linked state of linear, lightly branched to star-shaped branched elastomers and determined the cross-linked density by using different models. Change in hardness, shift in Tg, change in modulus and swelling behavior were measured experimentally as a function of the extent of curing. These properties were analyzed using varied models to determine cross-link density. We used hardness measurements to examine cure time. Hardness to the extent of curing relationship is determined. It is well known that micromechanical transitions like Tg and storage modulus are related to the extent of crosslinking. The Tg of the elastomer in different crosslinked state was determined by DMA, and based on plateau modulus the crosslink density is estimated by using Nielsen’s model. Usually for lightly crosslinked systems, based on equilibrium swelling ratio in solvent the cross link density is estimated by using Flory–Rhener model. When it comes to highly crosslinked system, Flory-Rhener model is not valid because of smaller chain length. So models based on the assumption of polymer as a Non-Gaussian chain like 1) Helmis–Heinrich–Straube (HHS) model, 2) Gloria M.gusler and Yoram Cohen Model, 3) Barbara D. Barr-Howell and Nikolaos A. Peppas model is used for estimating crosslink density. In this work, correction factors are determined to the existing models and based upon it structure-property relationship of highly crosslinked elastomers was studied.

Keywords: dynamic mechanical analysis, glass transition temperature, parts per hundred grams of rubber, crosslink density, number of networks per unit volume of elastomer

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Authors: Esmat Mohammadinasab, Mostafa Sadeghi

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In this study are computed some thermodynamic properties such as entropy and specific heat capacity, enthalpy, entropy and gibbs free energy in 10 type different Aminoacids using Gaussian software with DFT method and 6-311G basis set. Then some topological indices such as Wiener, shultz are calculated for mentioned molecules. Finaly is showed relationship between thermodynamic peoperties and above topological indices and with different curves is represented that there is a good correlation between some of the quantum properties with topological indices of them. The instructive example is directed to the design of the structure-property model for predicting the thermodynamic properties of the amino acids which are discussed here.

Keywords: amino acids, DFT Method, molecular descriptor, thermodynamic properties

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Authors: Nazila Dehbari, Javad Tavakoli, Yakani Kambu, Youhong Tang

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Superabsorbent hydrogels (SAP), as an enviro-sensitive material have been widely used for industrial and biomedical applications due to their unique structure and capabilities. Poor mechanical properties of SAPs - which is extremely related to their large volume change – count as a great weakness in adopting for high-tech applications. Therefore, improving SAPs’ mechanical properties via toughening methods by mixing different types of cross-linked polymer or introducing energy-dissipating mechanisms is highly focused. In this work, in order to change the intrinsic brittle character of commercialized Poly Acrylic Acid (here as SAP) to be semi-ductile, a commercial available highly branched tree-like dendritic polymers with numerous –OH end groups known as hyper-branched polymer (HB) has been added to PAA-SAP system in a single step, cost effective and environment friendly solvent casting method. Samples were characterized by FTIR, SEM and TEM and their physico-chemical characterization including swelling capabilities, hydraulic permeability, surface tension and thermal properties had been performed. Toughness energy, stiffness, elongation at breaking point, viscoelastic properties and samples extensibility were mechanical properties that had been performed and characterized as a function of samples lateral cracks’ length in different HB concentration. Addition of HB to PAA-SAP significantly improved mechanical and surface properties. Increasing equilibrium swelling ratio by about 25% had been experienced by the SAP-HB samples in comparison with SAPs; however, samples swelling kinetics remained without changes as initial rate of water uptake and equilibrium time haven’t been subjected to any changes. Thermal stability analysis showed that HB is participating in hybrid network formation while improving mechanical properties. Samples characterization by TEM showed that, the aggregated HB polymer binders into nano-spheres with diameter in range of 10–200 nm. So well dispersion in the SAP matrix occurred as it was predictable due to the hydrophilic character of the numerous hydroxyl groups at the end of HB which enhance the compatibility of HB with PAA-SAP. As the profused -OH groups in HB could react with -COOH groups in the PAA-SAP during the curing process, the formation of a 2D structure in the SAP-HB could be attributed to the strong interfacial adhesion between HB and the PAA-SAP matrix which hinders the activity of PAA chains (SEM analysis). FTIR spectra introduced new peaks at 1041 and 1121 cm-1 that attributed to the C–O(–OH) stretching hydroxyl and O–C stretching ester groups of HB polymer binder indicating the incorporation of HB polymer into the SAP structure. SAP-HB polymer has significant effects on the final mechanical properties. The brittleness of PAA hydrogels are decreased by introducing HB as the fracture energies of hydrogels increased from 8.67 to 26.67. PAA-HBs’ stretch ability enhanced about 10 folds while reduced as a function of different notches depth.

Keywords: superabsorbent polymer, toughening, viscoelastic properties, hydrogel network

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Authors: Muhammad Mohsin, Mir Md Abdus Salam, Pertti Pulkkinen, Ari Pappinen

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Soil polluted with elevated level of nickel (Ni) concentration may cause severe hazards to humans and forest ecosystems, for example, by polluting underground water reserves, affecting food quality and by reducing agricultural productivity. The present study investigated the phytoextraction ability of Salix schwerinii, enhanced with an application of the N100 (11-amino-1-hydroxyundecylidene) chelate. N100 has proved to be a non-toxic, low risk of leaching, environmentally friendly and easily biodegradable chelate that has a potential for metal chelation. The Salix were grown in garden soil that was also amended with nickel (Ni; 150 mg kg⁻¹). Multiple doses of N100 were applied to the treatments as follows: Ni + N100 1.2 g and Ni+ N100 2.4 g. Furthermore, N100 doses were also repeated with the control soil. The effect of N100 on height growth, biomass, and the accumulation of Ni in Salix in polluted soils was studied. In this study, N100 application was found to be effective in enhancing height and biomass growth under polluted treatments. Total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectrometry was used to determine the concentration of Ni in the Salix tissues. The total Ni concentrations in the soils amended with N100 increased substantially by up to 324% as compared to the control. The Ni translocation factor (TF) and bioconcentration factor (BF) values for S. schwerinii increased with the application of N100 as varied from 0.45–1.25 and 0.80‒1.50, respectively. This study revealed that S. schwerinii is suitable for the phytoextraction of Ni-contaminated soils.

Keywords: bisphosphonic acid, nickel, phytoextraction, Salix

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Authors: Yi-Chun Kuo, Jo-Chieh Lin

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The objective of a supply chain strategy is to reduce waste and increase efficiency to attain cost benefits, and to guarantee supply chain flexibility when facing the ever-changing market environment in order to meet customer requirements. Strategy implementation aims to fulfill common goals and attain benefits by integrating upstream and downstream enterprises, sharing information, conducting common planning, and taking part in decision making, so as to enhance the overall performance of the supply chain. With the rise of outsourcing and globalization, the increasing dependence on suppliers and customers and the rapid development of information technology, the complexity and uncertainty of the supply chain have intensified, and supply chain vulnerability has surged, resulting in adverse effects on supply chain performance. Thus, this study aims to use supply chain vulnerability as a moderating variable and apply structural equation modeling (SEM) to determine the relationships among supply chain strategy, supply chain integration, and supply chain performance, as well as the moderating effect of supply chain vulnerability on supply chain performance. The data investigation of this study was questionnaires which were collected from the management level of enterprises in Taiwan and China, 149 questionnaires were received. The result of confirmatory factor analysis shows that the path coefficients of supply chain strategy on supply chain integration and supply chain performance are positive (0.497, t= 4.914; 0.748, t= 5.919), having a significantly positive effect. Supply chain integration is also significantly positively correlated to supply chain performance (0.192, t = 2.273). The moderating effects of supply chain vulnerability on supply chain strategy and supply chain integration to supply chain performance are significant (7.407; 4.687). In Taiwan, 97.73% of enterprises are small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) focusing on receiving original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and original design manufacturer (ODM) orders. In order to meet the needs of customers and to respond to market changes, these enterprises especially focus on supply chain flexibility and their integration with the upstream and downstream enterprises. According to the observation of this research, the effect of supply chain vulnerability on supply chain performance is significant, and so enterprises need to attach great importance to the management of supply chain risk and conduct risk analysis on their suppliers in order to formulate response strategies when facing emergency situations. At the same time, risk management is incorporated into the supply chain so as to reduce the effect of supply chain vulnerability on the overall supply chain performance.

Keywords: supply chain integration, supply chain performance, supply chain vulnerability, structural equation modeling

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Authors: Abdelmahmod Saad

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In this study two amino acids were chosen (DL.alanine,DL.serine) to determine their effect on dissociation of S2O8-2 ino. As the reaction was very slow, Ag+ ino was used as a catalyst. The kinetics measurement showed that the reactions in both cases were found in the first order with respect to S2O8-2, half order with respect to Ag+ and zero order with respect to substrates. Mechanisms were proposed for these reactions according to the determined orders. The energy of activation (AE) was determined for each reaction, and was found to by 30.50 k JmoI-1 in case of DL. Serine and 24.40 k JmoI-1 in case of DL.alanine.

Keywords: mechanism, oxidation, amino acids, peroxodisulphate

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Authors: Sirous Eydivandi

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Diacylglycerol-O-acyltransferase (DGAT1) gene encodes diacylglycerol transferase enzyme that plays an important role in glycerol lipid metabolism. DGAT1 is considered to be the key enzyme in controlling the synthesis of triglycerides in adipocytes. This enzyme catalyzes the final step of triglyceride synthesis (transform triacylglycerol (DAG) into triacylglycerol (TAG). A total of 20 DGAT1 gene sequences and corresponding amino acids belonging to 4 species include cattle, goats, sheep and yaks were analyzed, and the differentiation within and among the species was also studied. The length of the DGAT1 gene varies greatly, from 1527 to 1785 bp, due to deletion, insertion, and stop codon mutation resulting in elongation. Observed genetic diversity was higher among species than within species, and Goat had more polymorphisms than any other species. Novel amino acid variation sites were detected within several species which might be used to illustrate the functional variation. Differentiation of the DGAT1 gene was obvious among species, and the clustering result was consistent with the taxonomy in the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Keywords: DGAT1gene, bioinformatic, ruminnants, biotechnology information

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Authors: Misha Ali, Qayyum Husain, Nida Alam, Masood Ahmad

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Improving the activity and stability of the enzyme is an important aspect in bioremediation processes. Immobilization of enzyme is an efficient approach to amend the properties of biocatalyst required during wastewater treatment. The present study was done to immobilize partially purified ginger peroxidase on amino functionalized silica coated titanium dioxide nanocomposite. Interestingly there was an enhancement in enzyme activity after immobilization on nanosupport which was evident from effectiveness factor (η) value of 1.76. Immobilized enzyme was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Immobilized peroxidase exhibited higher activity in a broad range of pH and temperature as compared to free enzyme. Also, the thermostability of peroxidase was strikingly improved upon immobilization. After six repeated uses, the immobilized peroxidase retained around 62% of its dye decolorization activity. There was a 4 fold increase in Vmax of immobilized peroxidase as compared to free enzyme. Circular dichroism spectroscopy demonstrated conformational changes in the secondary structure of enzyme, a possible reason for the enhanced enzyme activity after immobilization. Immobilized peroxidase was highly efficient in the removal of acid yellow 42 dye in a stirred batch process. Our study shows that this bio-remediating system has remarkable potential for treatment of aromatic pollutants present in wastewater.

Keywords: acid yellow 42, decolorization, ginger peroxidase, immobilization

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Authors: K. Tejasri, K. Suvarna Vani, S. Prathyusha, S. Ramya

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Proteins are chained sequences of amino acids which are brought together by the peptide bonds. Many varying formations of the chains are possible due to multiple combinations of amino acids and rotation in numerous positions along the chain. Protein structure prediction is one of the crucial goals worked towards by the members of bioinformatics and theoretical chemistry backgrounds. Among the four different structure levels in proteins, we emphasize mainly the secondary level structure. Generally, the secondary protein basically comprises alpha-helix and beta-sheets. Multi-class classification problem of data with disparity is truly a challenge to overcome and has to be addressed for the beta strands. Imbalanced data distribution constitutes a couple of the classes of data having very limited training samples collated with other classes. The secondary structure data is extracted from the protein primary sequence, and the beta-strands are predicted using suitable machine learning algorithms.

Keywords: proteins, secondary structure elements, beta-sheets, beta-strands, alpha-helices, machine learning algorithms

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Authors: Matteo Rossini, Alberto Portioli Staudacher

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The market competition is moving from the single firm to the whole supply chain one because of increasing competition and growing need for operational efficiencies and customer orientation. Supply chain management allows companies to look beyond their organizational boundaries to develop and leverage resources and capabilities of their supply chain partners. This leads to create competitive advantages in the marketplace and because of this SCM has acquired strategic importance. Lean Approach is a management strategy that focuses on reducing every type of waste present in an organization. This approach is becoming more and more popular among supply chain managers. The supply chain application of lean approach is low diffused. It is not well studied which are the impacts of lean approach principles in a supply chain context. In literature there are only few studies simulating the lean approach performance in single products supply chain. This research work studies the impacts of lean principles implementation along a supply chain. To achieve this, a simulation model of a three-echelon multiproduct product supply chain has been built. Kanban system (and several priority policies) and setup time reduction degrees are implemented in the lean-configured supply chain to apply pull and lot-sizing decrease principles respectively. To evaluate the benefits of lean approach, lean supply chain is compared with an EOQ-configured supply chain. The simulation results show that Kanban system and setup-time reduction improve inventory stock level. They also show that logistics efforts are affected to lean implementation degree. The paper concludes describing performances of lean supply chain in different contexts.

Keywords: inventory policy, Kanban, lean supply chain, simulation study, supply chain management, planning

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Authors: Changtong Wang, Lingyun Wei

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The combination of auctions and supply chains is of great significance in improving the supply chain management system and enhancing the efficiency of economic and social operations. To address the gap in research on supply chain strategies under the auction mechanism, a model is developed for the 1-N auction model in a complete information environment, and it is concluded that the two-part contract auction model for retailers in this model can achieve supply chain coordination. The model is validated by substituting the model into the scenario of a fresh-cut flower industry flower auction in exchange for arithmetic examples to further prove the validity of the conclusions.

Keywords: auction mechanism, supply chain coordination strategy, fresh cut flowers industry, supply chain management

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Authors: Irina Canco, Amela Malaj

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It is evident that there exists a relationship between supply chain management and business performance. Surveys have showed that in many cases the manager's beliefs and expectations on supply chain management do not match the reality of the business. In this context, the study of supply chain issues is of particular importance and interest considering specifically the current period. The economic problems of this period, are present in Albania as well. The complexity of the supply chain focuses on order fulfilment. Therefore, in this paper, attention will be paid to the impact of supply chain management on business performance. The objective of the paper is to find a relationship between the good supply chain management and business performance. This research is based on the results of surveys referring to the experience of successful businesses on issues related to sustainable supply chain management and its synchronization with the provision of products and services required by the final customers. This study clearly evidenced the impact of the speed of meeting customer requirements on AMAZONA performance. This was also confirmed mathematically through one of the decision criteria in conditions of uncertainty—Laplace criterion.

Keywords: supply chain management, AMAZONA, business performance, Laplace criteria

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Authors: Alexander Hudson, Shaogang Gong

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Structure determination is key to understanding protein function at a molecular level. Whilst significant advances have been made in predicting structure and function from amino acid sequence, researchers must still rely on expensive, time-consuming analytical methods to visualise detailed protein conformation. In this study, we demonstrate that it is possible to make accurate (≥80%) predictions of protein class and architecture from structures determined at low (>3A) resolution, using a deep convolutional neural network trained on high-resolution (≤3A) structures represented as 2D matrices. Thus, we provide proof of concept for high-speed, low-cost protein structure classification at low resolution, and a basis for extension to prediction of function. We investigate the impact of the input representation on classification performance, showing that side-chain information may not be necessary for fine-grained structure predictions. Finally, we confirm that high resolution, low-resolution and NMR-determined structures inhabit a common feature space, and thus provide a theoretical foundation for boosting with single-image super-resolution.

Keywords: transfer learning, protein distance maps, protein structure classification, neural networks

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Authors: Robin Anderson, Elizabeth Latham, David Nisbet

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Propagation and dissemination of antimicrobial resistant and pathogenic microbes from spoiled silages and composts represents a serious public health threat to humans and animals. In the present study, the antimicrobial activity of the short chain nitro-compound, 2-nitro-1-propanol (9 mM) as well as the medium chain fatty acid, lauric acid, and its glycerol monoester, monolaurin, (each at 25 and 17 µmol/mL, respectfully) were investigated against select pathogenic and multi-drug resistant antimicrobial resistant Gram-positive bacteria common to spoiled silages and composts. In an initial study, we found that growth rates of a multi-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (expressing resistance against erythromycin, quinupristin/dalfopristin and tetracycline) and Staphylococcus aureus strain 12600 (expressing resistance against erythromycin, linezolid, penicillin, quinupristin/dalfopristin and vancomycin) were more than 78% slower (P < 0.05) by 2-nitro-1-propanol treatment during culture (n = 3/treatment) in anaerobically prepared ½ strength Brain Heart Infusion broth at 37oC when compared to untreated controls (0.332 ± 0.04 and 0.108 ± 0.03 h-1, respectively). The growth rate of 2-nitro-1-propanol-treated Listeria monocytogenes was also decreased by 96% (P < 0.05) when compared to untreated controls cultured similarly (0.171 ± 0.01 h-1). Maximum optical densities measured at 600 nm were lower (P < 0.05) in 2-nitro-1-propanol-treated cultures (0.053 ± 0.01, 0.205 ± 0.02 and 0.041 ± 0.01, respectively) than in untreated controls (0.483 ± 0.02, 0.523 ± 0.01 and 0.427 ± 0.01, respectively) for E. faecalis, S. aureus and L. monocytogenes, respectively. When tested against mixed microbial populations during anaerobic 24 h incubation of spoiled silage, significant effects of treatment with 1 mg 2-nitro-1-propanol (approximately 9.5 µmol/g) or 5 mg lauric acid/g (approximately 25 µmol/g) on populations of wildtype Enterococcus and Listeria were not observed. Mixed populations treated with 5 mg monolaurin/g (approximately 17 µmol/g) had lower (P < 0.05) viable cell counts of wildtype enterococci than untreated controls after 6 h incubation (2.87 ± 1.03 versus 5.20 ± 0.25 log10 colony forming units/g, respectively) but otherwise significant effects of monolaurin were not observed. These results reveal differential susceptibility of multi-drug resistant enterococci and staphylococci as well as L. monocytogenes to the inhibitory activity of 2-nitro-1-propanol and the medium chain fatty acid, lauric acid and its glycerol monoester, monolaurin. Ultimately, these results may lead to improved treatment technologies to preserve the microbiological safety of silages and composts.

Keywords: 2-nitro-1-propanol, lauric acid, monolaurin, gram positive bacteria

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Authors: Abdelsabour G. A. Khaled, Ahmed W. A. Abdalla And Sabry Y. M. Mahmoud

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Banana plants showing typical mosaic and yellow stripes on leaves as symptoms were collected from Assiut Governorate in Egypt. The causal agent was identified as Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) on the basis of symptoms, transmission, serology, transmission electron microscopy and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Coat protein (CP) gene was amplified using gene specific primers for coat protein (CP), followed by cloning into desired cloning vector for sequencing. In this study the CMV was transmitted into propagation host either by aphid or mechanically. The transmission was confirmed through Direct Antigen Coating Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (DAC-ELISA). Analysis of the 120 deduced amino acid sequence of the coat protein gene revealed that the EG-A strain of CMV shared from 97.50 to 98.33% with those strains belonging to subgroup IA. The cluster analysis grouped the Egyptian isolate with strains Fny and Ri8 belonging sub-group IA. It appears that there occurs a high incidence of CMV infecting banana belonging to IA subgroup in most parts of Egypt.

Keywords: banana, CMV, transmission, CP gene, RT-PCR

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Authors: Vita Sterna, Sanita Zute, Inga Jansone, Linda Brunava, Inara Kantane

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Grains, including oats (Avena sativa L.), have been recognized functional foods, because provide beneficial effect on the health of the consumer and decrease the risk of various diseases.Oats are good source of soluble fibre, essential amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Oat breeders have developed oat varieties and improved yielding ability potential of oat varieties. Therefore, the aim of investigation was to analyze the composition of perspective oat varieties and breeding lines grains grown in different conditions and evaluate functional properties. In the studied samples content of protein, starch, β - glucans, total dietetic fibre, composition of amino acids and vitamin E were determined. The results of analysis showed that protein content depending of varieties ranged 9.70 –17.30% total dietary fibre 13.66-30.17 g100g-1, content of β-glucans 2.7-3.5 g100g-1, amount of vitamin E (α-tocopherol) determined from 4 to 9.9 mg kg-1. The sum of essential amino acids in oat grain samples were determined from 31.63 to 54.90 gkg-1. Concluded that amino acids composition of husked and naked oats grown in organic or conventional conditions is close to optimal.

Keywords: dietetic fibre, amino acids, scores, nutrition value

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Authors: Philip J. Purnell

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Innovators propose to use the Internet of Things to solve the problem of maintaining the cold chain during the transport of biopharmaceutical products. Sending a data logger with refrigerated goods is only useful to inform the recipient of the goods that they have either breached the cold chain and are therefore potentially spoiled or that they have not breached it and are therefore assumed to be in good condition. Connecting the data logger to the Internet of Things means that the supply chain manager will be informed in real-time of the exact location and the precise temperature of the material at any point on earth. Readable using a simple online interface, the supply chain manager will watch the progress of their material on a Google map together with accurate and crucially real-time temperature readings. The data logger will also send alarms to the supply chain manager if a cold chain breach becomes imminent allowing them time to contact the transporter and restore the cold chain before the material is affected. This development is expected to save billions of dollars in wasted biologics that currently arrive either spoiled or in an unreliable condition.

Keywords: internet of things, cold chain, data logger, transportation

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Authors: T. I. Mbata, M. J. Ikenebomeh

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Background: The study was aim at formulating a complementary foods based on maize and bambara groundnut with a view of reducing malnutrition in low income families. Protein-energy malnutrition is a major health challenge attributed to the inappropriate complementary feeding practices, low nutritional quality of traditional complementary foods and high cost of quality protein-based complementary foods. Methods: The blends 70% maize, 30% bambara groundnut were evaluated for proximate analyses, minerals, amino acids profile, and antinutritional factors, using proprietary formula (‘Nutrend’) as standard. Antinutritional factors, amino acids, microbiological properties and sensory attributes were determined using standard methods. Results; For Protein, the results were 15.0% for roasted bambara groundnut maize germinated flour (RBMGF), 13.80% for cooked bambara groundnut maize germinated flour (CBMGF), 15.18% for soaked bambara groundnut maize germinated flour (SBMGF); values for maize flour and nutrend had 10.4% and 23.21% respectively. With respect to energy value, RBMGF, CBMGF, SBMGF, maize flour and nutrend had 494.9, 327.58, 356.49, 366.8 and 467.2 kcal respectively. The percentages of total essential amino acids in the composition of the blends were 36.9%, 40.7% and 38.9% for CBMGF, SBMGF and RBMGF, respectively, non-essential amino acids contents were 63.1%, 59.3% and 61.1% for CBMGF, SBMGF and RBMGF respectively. The mineral content, that is, calcium, potassium, magnesium and sodium, of formulated samples were higher than those obtained for maize flour and Nutrend. The antinutrient composition of RBMGF and CBMGF were lower than of SBMGF. The rats fed with the control diet exhibited better growth performance such as feed intake (1527 g) and body weight gain (93.8 g). For the microbial status, microflora gradually changed from gram negative enteric bacteria, molds, lactic acid bacteria and yeast to be dominated by gram positive lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts. Yeasts and LAB growth counts in the complementary food varied between 4.44 and 7.36 log cfu/ml. LAB number increased from 5.40 to 7.36 log cfu/ml during fermentation. Yeasts increased from 4.44 to 5.60 log cfu/ml. Organoleptic evaluation revealed that the foods were well accepted. Conclusion: Based on the findings the application of bambara groundnut fortification to traditional foods can promote the nutritional quality of African maize - based traditional foods with acceptable rheological and cooking qualities.

Keywords: bambara groundnut, maize, fortification, complementary food

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Authors: Azar Alizadeh, Mohammad Reza Naserkhaki

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The application of the IT systems for collecting and analyzing the data can have a significant effect on the performance of any company. In recent decade, different advancements and achievements in the field of information technology have changed the industry compared to the previous decade. The adoption and application of the information technology are one of the ways to achieve a distinctive competitive personality to the companies and their supply chain. The acceptance of the IT and its proper implementation cam reinforce and improve the cooperation between different parts of the supply chain by rapid transfer and distribution of the precise information and the application of the informational systems, leading to the increase in the supply chain efficiency. The main objective of this research is to study the effects and applications of the information technology on and in the supply chain management and to introduce the effective factors on the acceptance of information technology in the companies. Moreover, in order to understand the subject, we will investigate the role and importance of the information and electronic commerce in the supply chain and the characteristics of the supply chain based on the information flow approach.

Keywords: electronic commerce, industry, information technology, management, supply chain, system

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Authors: Faisal Mehmood

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In this globalization era, the supply chain management has acquired strategic importance in diverse business environments. In the current highly competitive business environment, the success of any business considerably depends on the efficiency of the supply chain. Management has now realized that due to the inefficiency of any member of supply chain, the profitability of the business will be affected. This paper proposes an analysis of backward supply chain in the beverages industry of Pakistan. Although reuse of products and materials is a common phenomenon, companies have long ignored this important part of the supply chain, known as backward supply chain or reverse logistics. The beverage industry is among the pioneers of backward supply chain or reverse logistics in Pakistan. The empty glass bottles are returned back from the point of consumption to the warehouse for refilling and reusability purposes. Due to the lack of information on reverse flow of logistics and more attention on the forward distribution, beverages industry in Pakistan is facing high rate of inefficiencies and ineffectiveness. Analysis of backward or reverse logistics practiced in beverages industry is the subject of this study in which framework dictating the current needs of market will be developed.

Keywords: backward supply chain, reverse logistics, refilling, re-usability

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Authors: Chul Lee, Seoae Cho, Erich D. Jarvis, Heebal Kim

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Vocal learning, the ability to imitate vocalizations based on auditory experience, is a homoplastic character state observed in different independent lineages of animals such as songbirds, parrots, hummingbirds and human. It has now become possible to perform genome-wide molecular analyses across vocal learners and vocal non-learners with the recent expansion of avian genome data. It was analyzed the whole genomes of human and 48 avian species including those belonging to the three avian vocal learning lineages, to determine if behavior and neural convergence are associated with molecular convergence in divergent species of vocal learners. Analyses of 8295 orthologous genes across bird species revealed 141 genes with amino acid substitutions specific to vocal learners. Out of these, 25 genes have vocal learner specific genetic homoplasies, and their functions were enriched for learning. Several sites in these genes are estimated under convergent evolution and positive selection. A potential role for a subset of these genes in vocal learning was supported by associations with gene expression profiles in vocal learning brain regions of songbirds and human disease that cause language dysfunctions. The key candidate gene with multiple independent lines of the evidences specific to vocal learners was DRD5. Our findings suggest cAMP-based learning pathway in avian vocal learners, indicating molecular homoplastic changes associated with a complex behavioral trait, vocal learning.

Keywords: amino acid substitutions, convergent evolution, positive selection, vocal learning

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Authors: Muhammad Ali Siddiquee, Md. Alauddin, Md. Omar Faruque, Zakir Hossain Howlader, Mohammad Asaduzzaman

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Rice bran (RB) and rice bran oil (RBO) are explored as prominent food components worldwide. In this study, fermented rice bran (FRB) was produced by employing edible gram-positive bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Bifidobacterium bifidum) at 125 x 10⁵ spore g⁻¹ of rice bran, and investigated to evaluate nutritional quality. The crude rice bran oil (CRBO) was extracted from RB, and its quality was also investigated compared to market-available rice bran oil (MRBO) in Bangladesh. We found that fermentation of rice bran with lactic acid bacteria increased total proteins (29.52%), fat (5.38%), ash (48.47%), crude fiber (38.96%), and moisture (61.04%) and reduced the carbohydrate content (36.61%). We also found that essential amino acids (methionine, tryptophan, threonine, valine, leucine, lysine, histidine, and phenylalanine) and non-essential amino acids (alanine, aspartate, glycine, glutamine, proline, serine, and tyrosine) were increased in FRB except methionine and proline. Moreover, total phenolic content, tannin content, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity were increased in FRB. The RBO analysis showed that γ-oryzanol content (10.00mg/g) was found in CRBO compared to MRBO (ranging from 7.40 to 12.70 mg/g) and Vitamin-E content 0.20% was found higher in CRBO compared to MRBO (ranging 0.097 to 0.12%). The total saturated (25.16%) and total unsaturated fatty acids (74.44%) were found in CRBO, whereas MRBO contained total saturated (22.08 to 24.13%) and total unsaturated fatty acids (71.91 to 83.29%), respectively. The physiochemical parameters were found satisfactory in all samples except acid value and peroxide value higher in CRBO. Finally, animal experiments showed that FRB and CRBO reduce the body weight, glucose, and lipid profile in high-fat diet-induced animal models. Thus, FRB and RBO could be value-added food supplements for human health.

Keywords: fermented rice bran, crude rice bran oil, amino acids, proximate composition, gamma-oryzanol, fatty acids, heavy metals, physiochemical parameters

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Authors: Sujata Sharma, Avinash Singh, Lovely Gautam, Pradeep Sharma, Mau Sinha, Asha Bhushan, Punit Kaur, Tej P. Singh

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Peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase (Pth) Pth is an essential bacterial enzyme that catalyzes the release of free tRNA and peptide moeities from peptidyl tRNAs during stalling of protein synthesis. In order to design inhibitors of Pth from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PaPth), we have determined the structures of PaPth in its native state and in the bound states with two compounds, amino acylate-tRNA analogue (AAtA) and 5-azacytidine (AZAC). The peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase gene from Pseudomonas aeruginosa was amplified by Phusion High-Fidelity DNA Polymerase using forward and reverse primers, respectively. The E. coliBL21 (λDE3) strain was used for expression of the recombinant peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The protein was purified using a Ni-NTA superflow column. The crystallization experiments were carried out using hanging drop vapour diffusion method. The crystals diffracted to 1.50 Å resolution. The data were processed using HKL-2000. The polypeptide chain of PaPth consists of 194 amino acid residues from Met1 to Ala194. The centrally located β-structure is surrounded by α-helices from all sides except the side that has entrance to the substrate binding site. The structures of the complexes of PaPth with AAtA and AZAC showed the ligands bound to PaPth in the substrate binding cleft and interacted with protein atoms extensively. The residues that formed intermolecular hydrogen bonds with the atoms of AAtA included Asn12, His22, Asn70, Gly113, Asn116, Ser148, and Glu161 of the symmetry related molecule. The amino acids that were involved in hydrogen bonded interactions in case of AZAC included, His22, Gly113, Asn116, and Ser148. As indicated by fittings of two ligands and the number of interactions made by them with protein atoms, AAtA appears to be a more compatible with the structure of the substrate binding cleft. However, there is a further scope to achieve a better stacking than that of O-tyrosyl moiety because it is not still ideally stacked. These observations about the interactions between the protein and ligands have provided the information about the mode of binding of ligands, nature and number of interactions. This information may be useful for the design of tight inhibitors of Pth enzymes.

Keywords: peptidyl tRNA hydrolase, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pth enzymes, O-tyrosyl

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Authors: Jafar Ahmadi, Zhohreh Asiaban, Sedigheh Fabriki Ourang

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Brassinosteroids (BRs) regulate cell elongation, vascular differentiation, senescence and stress responses. BRs signal through the BES1/BZR1 family of transcription factors, which regulate hundreds of target genes involved in this pathway. In this research a comprehensive genome-wide analysis was carried out in BES1/BZR1 gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana, Cucumis sativus, Vitis vinifera, Glycin max, and Brachypodium distachyon. Specifications of the desired sequences, dot plot and hydropathy plot were analyzed in the protein and genome sequences of five plant species. The maximum amino acid length was attributed to protein sequence Brdic3g with 374aa and the minimum amino acid length was attributed to protein sequence Gm7g with 163aa. The maximum Instability index was attributed to protein sequence AT1G19350 equal with 79.99 and the minimum Instability index was attributed to protein sequence Gm5g equal with 33.22. Aliphatic index of these protein sequences ranged from 47.82 to 78.79 in Arabidopsis thaliana, 49.91 to 57.50 in Vitis vinifera, 55.09 to 82.43 in Glycin max, 54.09 to 54.28 in Brachypodium distachyon 55.36 to 56.83 in Cucumis sativus. Overall, data obtained from our investigation contributes a better understanding of the complexity of the BES1/BZR1 gene family and provides the first step towards directing future experimental designs to perform systematic analysis of the functions of the BES1/BZR1 gene family.

Keywords: BES1/BZR1, brassinosteroids, phylogenetic analysis, transcription factor

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Authors: Hana Hanaee-Ahvaz, Monika Cserjan-Puschmann, Christopher Tauer, Gerald Striedner

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Incorporation of noncanonical amino acids (ncAA) into proteins has become an interesting topic as proteins featured with ncAAs offer a wide range of different applications. Nowadays, technologies and systems exist that allow for the site-specific introduction of ncAAs in vivo, but the efficient production of proteins modified this way is still a big challenge. This is especially true for 'hard-to-express' proteins where low yields are encountered even with the native sequence. In this study, site-specific incorporation of azido-ethoxy-carbonyl-Lysin (azk) into an anti-tumor-necrosis-factor-α-Fab (FTN2) was investigated. According to well-established parameters, possible site positions for ncAA incorporation were determined, and corresponding FTN2 genes were constructed. Each of the modified FTN2 variants has one amber codon for azk incorporated either in its heavy or light chain. The expression level for all variants produced was determined by ELISA, and all azk variants could be produced with a satisfactory yield in the range of 50-70% of the original FTN2 variant. In terms of expression yield, neither the azk incorporation position nor the subunit modified (heavy or light chain) had a significant effect. We confirmed correct protein processing and azk incorporation by mass spectrometry analysis, and antigen-antibody interaction was determined by surface plasmon resonance analysis. The next step is to characterize the effect of azk incorporation on protein stability and aggregation tendency via differential scanning calorimetry and light scattering, respectively. In summary, the incorporation of ncAA into our Fab candidate FTN2 worked better than expected. The quantities produced allowed a detailed characterization of the variants in terms of their properties, and we can now turn our attention to potential applications. By using click chemistry, we can equip the Fabs with additional functionalities and make them suitable for a wide range of applications. We will now use this option in a first approach and develop an assay that will allow us to follow the degradation of the recombinant target protein in vivo. Special focus will be laid on the proteolytic activity in the periplasm and how it is influenced by cultivation/induction conditions.

Keywords: degradation, FTN2, hard-to-express protein, non-canonical amino acids

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Authors: Farnaz Firuzian, Farhad Choobdar, Ali Mazouri

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As Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) neonates cannot tolerate enteral feeding, parenteral nutrition (PN) must be administered shortly after birth. To find an optimal combination of nutrition, in this study, we compare administering high glucose versus high protein intake as a component of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) to test their effect on birth weight (BW) regain in VLBW. This study employs a multi-arm randomized trial: 145 newborns with BW < 1500 g were randomized to control (C) or experimental groups: high glucose (G) or high protein (P). All samples in each group received the same TPN regimens except glucose and protein intake: Glocuse was provided by dextrose water (DW) serum: 7-15 g/kg/d (10% DW) in groups C and P versus 8.75-18.75 g/kg/d (12.5% DW) in group G. Protein provided by amino acids 3 g/kg/d for groups C and G versus 4 g/kg/d for group P. Outcomes (weight, height, and head circumference) was monitored on a daily basis until the BW was regained. Data has been gathered recently and is being processed. We hypothesize that neonates with higher amino acid intake will result in sooner BW regain than other groups. The result will be presented at the conference. The findings of this study not only can help optimize nutrition, cost reduction, and shorter NICU admission of VLBW neonates at the hospital level but eventually contribute to reduced healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and an improved health economy.

Keywords: very low birth weight neonates, weight gain, parenteral nutrition, glucose, amino acids

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Authors: Seyedeh Mersedeh Banijamali, Ali Rajabzadeh

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Industrial development in recent centuries has been replaced by a sustainable development. The industry executives, particularly in the development countries are looking for procedures to protect the environment, improve their organization's performance. One of these approaches is the green supply chain management. Green supply chain management approach as a comprehensive approach to environmental management that contains all flows from suppliers to producers and ultimately to consumers, in many industries, particularly in the Steel industry, which has a strategic role in the country's industrial and economic development, has been receiving significant attention. The purpose of this study is examining the impact of green supply chain on chain operational performance in the Steel industry and formulating model for it. In this way, first the components of green supply chain (in 5 dimensions, planning, sourcing, making, delivery and return) have been prioritized through TOPSIS decision technique and then impact of these components on operational performance has been modeled with model dynamic systems and Vensim software. This research shows that green supply chain has a positive impact on operational performance and improve it.

Keywords: green supply chain, the dimensions of the green supply chain, operational performance, steel industry, dynamical systems

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Authors: Zulkifli Mohamed Udin, Lee Khai-Loon, Mohamad Ghozali Hassan

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In today’s dynamic business environment, the competition is no longer between firms, but between supply chains to gain competitive advantages. The global manufacturing sector, especially the textile and apparel industry are essentially known for its supply chain dependency. The delicate nature of its business leads to emphasis on the smooth movement of upstream and downstream supply chain. The nature of this industry, however, result in huge dynamic flow of physical, information, and financial. The dynamic management of these flows requires adoption of supply chain technologies. Even though technology is widely implemented and studied in many industries by researchers, adoption of supply chain technologies in Malaysian textile and apparel industry is limited. There is relatively a handful academic study conducted on recent developments in Malaysian textile and apparel industry and supply chain technology adoption indicate a major gap in supply chain performance studies. Considering the importance given to Third Industrial Master Plan by the government Malaysia, it is necessary to understand the power of supply chain technology adoptions. This study aims to investigate supply chain technology adoption by textile and apparel companies in Malaysia. The result highlighted the benefits perceived by textile and apparel companies from supply chain technologies. The indifference of small and medium enterprises to operation management acts as a major inhibitor to the adoption of supply chain technologies, since they have resource limitations. This study could be used as a precursor for further detailed studies on this issue.

Keywords: supply chain technology adoption, supply chain performance, textile, apparel industry

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Authors: Sameer N. Goyal, Chandragauda R. Patil

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Oleanolic acid (3/3-hydroxy-olea-12-en-28-oic acid) and its isomer, Ursolic acid (38-hydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oic acid) are triterpenoids compounds which exist widely in plant kingdom in the free acid form or as glycosidic triterpenoids saponins. The aim of the study is to evaluate intravenously administered oleanolic acid and ursolic acid in doxorubicin induced cardiotoxicity. Cardiotoxicity was induced in albino wistar rat with single intravenous injection of doxorubicin at dose of 67.75mg/kg i.v for 48 hrs at 12 hrs interval following doxorubicin administration in the same model cardioprotective effect of amifostine (90 mg/kg i.v, single dose prior 30 min before doxorubicin administration) was evaluated as standard treatment. Induction of cardiotoxicity was confirmed by rise in cardiac markers in serum such as CK–MB, LDH and also by electrocardiographically. The doxorubicin treated group significantly increased in QT interval, serum CK-MB, serum LDH, SGOT, SGPT and antioxidant parameter. Both the treatment group showed significant protective effect on Hemodynamic, electrocardiographic, biochemical, and antioxidant parameters. The oleanolic acid showed slight protective effect in histological lesions in doxorubicin induced cardiotoxicity. Hence, the results indicate that Oleanolic acid has more cardioprotective potential than ursolic acid against doxorubicin induced cardiotoxicity in rats.

Keywords: cardioprotection, doxorubicin, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid

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Authors: Abdelazeem Algammal, Reham Abouelmaatti, Xiaokun Li, Jisheng Ma, Eman Abdelnaby, Wael Elfeil

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Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are the best understood of the innate immune receptors that detect infections in vertebrates. However, the fish TLRs also exhibit very distinct features and a large diversity, which is likely derived from their diverse evolutionary history and the distinct environments that they occupy. Little is known about the fish immune system structure. Our work was aimed to identify and clone the Nile tilapiaTLR-3 as a model of freshwater fish species; we cloned the full-length cDNA sequence of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) TLR-3 and according to our knowledge, it is the first report illustrating tilapia TLR-3. The complete cDNA sequence of Nile tilapia TLR-3 was 2736 pair base and it encodes a polypeptide of 912 amino acids. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence indicated that Nile tilapia TLR-3 has typical structural features and main components of proteins belonging to the TLR family. Our results illustrate a complete and functional Nile tilapia TLR-3 and it is considered an ortholog of the other vertebrate’s receptor.

Keywords: Nile tilapia, TLR-3, cloning, gene expression

Procedia PDF Downloads 109