Tuesday, 30 August 2016

Nano-Filtration and Ultra-Filtration Ceramic Membranes for Food Processing



The development of inorganic membranes started with vycor type glass membranes initially studied around the 1940’s. The first period that proceeded the current generation of inorganic membranes was related to the separation of uranium isotopes by gaseous diffusion processes. The challenge was to employmembrane materials who can sustain aggressive environment and offer reliable performances. Following such developmental work, two companies in the 1973, Ceraver and Euroceral, started to produce ceramic oxide based supports used to supply the Nuclear Fission Industry of suitable propeller. The nature of the membranes still operating in Eurodif plant (France) remains classified. 

Ceramic Membranes for Food Processing


The second period consists on the development of microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) inorganic membranes as a consequence of the knowledge accumulated by the companies producing gaseous diffusion plants. In the 1960’s, Carre (a subsidiary of DuPont) developed the concept of liquid filtration on dynamic zirconium hydroxide supported on stainless steel. In the 1970’s, Union Carbidedeveloped ceramic oxide layers coated on carbon supports. The first commercial cross-flow filtration system equipment with inorganic membrane was manufactured by SFEC in the 1978. The concept of multichannel support was introduced in the 1980’s from Ceraver and could be considered the starting point on the development of the new generation of ceramic membranes (CM) which began to operate at lower porosity scales: UF first and nanofiltration (NF) more recently.

Monday, 29 August 2016

Implementation of linseed oil cake through solid state fermentation by Non-Starch Polysaccharides


Cellulose and hemicellulose are the most common Non- Starch Polysaccharides present in plant ingredients that exhibit anti-nutritional effect. The degradation of cellulosehave been investigated under solid state fermentation using oil cakes, groundnut oil cake, mustard oil cake, sunflower oil cake, sesame oil cake and linseed oil cake as substrates.Further research has investigated about the sustainable utilization of SSF processed LOC to set up a strategy for sustainable utilization of low cost oil cakes as animal feed ingredients.

linseed oil cake
Oil-cakes are the by-products obtained after oil extraction from the seeds. Being rich in protein, oil-cakes are frequently can be used as animal feed ingredients, especially for ruminants and fish. However, beside deficiencies in some of the essential amino acids, the direct incorporation of oil-cakes in animal feed has been restrained by the presence of antinutritional factors (ANFs), majority of which are polyphenols, trypsin inhibitors, phytic acid and Non-Starch Polysaccharides (NSPs). NSPs comprise up to 90% of the plant cell wall, wherein cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin are the most abundant. Xylan is considered as the major structural component of plant cell wall and the most abundant copious renewable hemicellulose. 

Friday, 26 August 2016

Reference Interval for Clinical Laboratory Test Parameters

Health care delivery is no longer a simple process of examining the patient and giving him a prescription. Over the years there has been rapid expansion in the various and giving of health care services. As part of this expansion process and explosion of scientific medical knowledge, it is hard to underestimate the importance of clinical laboratory test results. Nearly 80% of physicians’ medical decisions are based on information provided by laboratory reports. A test result by itself is of little value unless it is reported with the appropriate information for its interpretation. 

Clinical Laboratory
Typically, this information is provided in the form of a reference interval (RI) or medical decision limit. The concept of reference interval was introduced by International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) to avoid the problemswith normal values and values obtained from an individual under clinical investigations. According to IFCC, it is necessary for every laboratory to have its own set of reference limits An RI as defined by Ceriotti “is an interval that, when applied to the population serviced by the laboratory correctly includes most of the subjects with characteristics similar to the reference group and excludes the others”. No RI is completely right or wrong. The majority of RIs in use today refer to the central 95% of the reference population of subjects.

Tuesday, 23 August 2016

Vitamin B12 Deficiency and Metformin Use

Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin essential for hematopoietic and neurological functions in the body. It is obtained primarily from animal sources such as meat and fish. Many breakfast cereals and nondairy beverages such as soymilk are fortified with vitamin B12. When vitamin B12 from animal foods enters the stomach it is protein bound and must be released by the action of pepsin in the stomach. It is then attached to R-proteins and is transported through the duodenum where it is hydrolyzed and free cobalamin is released. Cobalamin requires intrinsic factor (IF) to attach to it, in order to be absorbed in the terminal ileum. This absorption process is calcium mediated and is the most probable opportunity for met formin induced vitamin B12 deficiency. Adding supplemental calcium has been shown to mediate the deficiency in some cases though there is not enough evidence to recommend calcium supplementation as an effective preventative measure.

Metformin Use
Vitamin B12 is an essential cofactor in the conversion of homocysteine to methionine and regeneration of folate. This is a key step in the metabolic process that leads to DNA synthesis and formation and protection of the myelin sheath. Demyelination of nerve endings can lead to peripheral neuropathy. Symptoms begin to manifest as numbness and paresthesia in the feet. This tingling feeling is caused by pressure on the nerves. If the vitamin B12 deficiency is not corrected, weakness, ataxia, sphincter disturbance, and changes in mental status will follow.

Wednesday, 17 August 2016

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Journal

The carbonic anhydrase belongs to the family which depicts structural diversity. Metalloenzymes that catalyze the reversible hydration of CO2 and bicarbonate. They are categorized into five distinct classes (α, β, γ, δ, and ζ). Among these, the αCAs are found primarily in vertebrates, the βCAs are dominantly expressed in higher plants and some prokaryotes, while γCAs are present only in archaebacteria, and the δ and ζ classes have thus far been only isolated in diatoms.
 
co2 bladder
Molecule is a fundamental unit of a chemical compound made up of group of atoms bonded together that can take part in a chemical reaction. It is electrically neutral in nature. For example, H2 is a molecule which has two hydrogen atoms.

Non Pharmacological Use of Daucus Carota Juice



A cross sectional survey was conducted comprising of N=200 individuals both males and females belonging  to  age  group  18-55  years  from  different  universities  and  locations  in  Karachi.  The  questionnaire  was designed to evaluate awareness in population regarding carrots benefit, composition and use.Experimental  study  consisted  of  six  mice  which  were  taken  into  three  groups  and  were  marked  as  Control,standard and Test. Control group received same quantity of water as test. Standard group received furosemide 40mg/70 kg, while test group received pure carrot juice in twodifferent doses 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg. Metabolic cage was used in order to evaluate the diuretic activity. The carrots  were  purchased  from  local  market identified  by Department of Pharmacognosy Jinnah University for Women and then their juice was taken.


Daucus Carota Juice


Нe word diuresis is derived from the Greek word ourein which means ‘’to urinate’’. Нe diuretic agents are not only involved in the excretion of water but also capable to remove or excrete other urinary constituents which may be beneficial in the treatment of diوٴerent conditions like hypertension, edema. Diuretic agents reduce morbidity and mortality related to stroke and congestive heart failure in hypertensive patients. 

Tuesday, 16 August 2016

Microbiological Study of Modern Cosmetics


Cosmetic products support microbial growth due to the presence of variable amounts of nutrients.The Most bacterial contaminants that were found in cosmetic products,Staphylococcu Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Achromobacter and Alcaligenes Mostly due to contaminated water. The  Ministry  of  Health  of  Turkey  defined  “Cosmetics  as  all  the  preparations  that  were  prepared  to  be  used  for  epidermis,  nails,  hair,  lips,  genital  organs  and  teeth  and  mouth  mucosa  and  their  only  aim is  to  clean,  give  odors,  change  the  morphological  appearance  and/or  to  regulate  the  body  odors  and  keep  them  in  good  positions” otal bacterial count, isolation and identification ofpathogenic isolates were performed on the collected cosmetics. About 10.6% of tensiolytes (13.5% bath foam, 6.7% shampoo, 10% liquid soaps) were contaminated by Staphylococcus warneri, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas putida. The efficacy of the preservative systems of two cosmetic products, tested against standard micro-organisms (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 4338 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027) and two isolates from cosmetics in this study (S. epidermidis and P. putida), satisfied the Cosmetics, Toiletries, and Fragrance Association and Official Italian Pharmacopeia criteria, while only one tested cosmetic respected the Rapid Challenge Test criterion. Contaminated cosmetic products are relatively uncommon, but some products, unable to suppress the growth of several micro-organisms, represent a potential health hazard.

Modern Cosmetics
The Ministry of Health of Turkey defined “Cosmetics as all the preparations that were prepared to be used for epidermis, nails, hair, lips, genital organs and teeth and mouth mucosa and their only aim is to clean, give odors, change the morphological appearance and/ or to regulate the body odors and keep them in good positions”. However the Federal Food and Drug Cosmetic Act criteria defined it as the articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance, and articles intended for use as a component of any such articles; except that such term shall not include soap.

Saturday, 13 August 2016

Tubulin Conformation and Anaesthetic Interaction



The current endeavour of  and philosophy is to get the code of consciousness or rather however the material brain produces our in Material sense of awareness. Some scientists believe that consciousness is something distinct from the physical brain and body, as consciousness continues to exist even once the brain isn't functioning. however from a scientific viewpoint, consciousness could be a perform of the brain. Since the brain could be a material entity, consciousness is subject to the study of science. The human brain could be a advanced mass of tissue blessed with extraordinary capabilities. Microtubules prove to be a typical target of neurochemical action and play a big role in learning and memory. Memory and consciousness ar reticular, thus, microtubules might be the link between these 2 phenomena. Microtubules ar cylindrical polygonal shape lattice polymers of the macromolecule tubulin, comprising V-day of total brain macromolecule. Microtubules regulate synapses and are recommended to method data viainteractive bit-like states of tubulin. Microtubules ar terribly dynamic polymers whose assembly and dismantling is set by whether or not their heterodimer tubulin subunits ar during a straight or arced conformation. Curvature is introduced by bending at the interfaces between monomers. this is often as a result of GTP reaction promotes bends in protofilaments. However, whereas GDPbound protofilaments ar still associated along as a tubule or 2-D sheet, the contacts between neighbour subunits constrain them to stay during a straight type. The ensuing tension is planned to store conformational energy that is free throughout depolymerisation. Also, the mechanism by that anaesthetics forestall consciousness remains largely unknown as a result of the mechanism by that brain physiology produces consciousness is unexplained.

Anaesthetic Interaction

Tubulinshave other smaller non-polar regions that contain pi electron-rich indole rings separated by solely regarding a pair of nm. PenroseHameroff Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR) Theory proposes that these electrons ar shut enough to become quantum entangled. They suppose that quantum-superposed states develop in tubulins, stay coherent and recruit a lot of superposed tubulins till a mass-time-energy threshold, associated with quantum gravity, is reached known as the 'bing' moment. This paper characterizes the conformation of tubulin in presence of anesthetics.