June 2012
Lectins as possible candidates towards anti-microbial defense in silkworm, Bombyx mori L
Unlike vertebrates, insects do not have acquired immunity and therefore rely totally on innate immunity towards defense against invading microorganisms. Insect innate immunity consists of cellular and humoral reactions and both reactions work in concert in preventing insects acquiring infections. The most likely candidates for recognizing foreign material in insects are the lectins, which have already been shown to be...
June 2012
Phytoestrogenic property of Labisia pumila for use as an estrogen replacement therapy agent
Labisia pumila (LP), also known as Kacip Fatimah has been used by Malay women for generations for conditions related to menopausal symptoms. Though, there has been no scientific-based evidence for its efficacy as an estrogen replacement therapy (ERT),LP’s use continues to be on the rise. This could be seen with increase in commercially available supplements which claims that taking the pills can help...
June 2012
Allele mining in β-lactoglobulin gene of Capra hircus
β-Lactoglobulin (β-LG) genetic polymorphisms are important and well known due to their effects on quantitative traits and technological properties of milk. At the DNA level, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) allows for the detection of unknown polymorphisms at β-LG loci. Here we describe the usefulness of the PCR-SSCP technique for β-LG typing. In the...
June 2012
Tools for breeding ‘calçots’ (Allium cepa L.), an expanding crop
Calçots’, the floral stems of second-year onion resprouts of the ‘Ceba Blanca Tardana de Lleida’ landrace, have a growing market. Different constraints have prevented the inclusion of sensory attributes in ‘calçot’ breeding programs. Thus, we aimed to: (i) elaborate a sensory ideotype representing consumers’ preferences for ‘calçots’, (ii) design an...
June 2012
Isolation of filamentous fungi present in swine wastewater that are resistant and with the ability to remove atrazine
In this work, we isolated and identified filamentous fungi present in swine wastewater (SW) that are resistant and with the ability to remove atrazine removal. For the isolation, the SW was inoculated into liquid medium containing 0.01 and 0.1 g L-1 of atrazine and after the adaptation period, was transferred on solid medium containing 10 mg L-1 atrazine. Three strains of filamentous fungi were isolated and...
June 2012
Microbial safety of raw mixed-vegetable salad sold as an accompaniment to street vended cooked rice in Accra, Ghana
A survey of 90 randomly selected subjects indicated raw mixed-vegetable salad as a popular accompaniment to cooked rice sold by street-food vendors in the Kokomlemle municipality of Accra, Ghana, but the salad was generally considered unwholesome and a potential cause of diarrhoea. A survey of 15 vendors of cooked rice indicated that the sources of raw vegetables, method of transportation from the sources to the...
June 2012
Effect of enzyme/substrate ratio on the antioxidant properties of hydrolysed African yam bean
The use of natural antioxidant as compared with synthetic antioxidant in food processing is a growing trend as consumers prefer natural to synthetic antioxidant mainly on emotional ground. This study investigates the antioxidant activity of hydrolysed African yam bean (Sphenostylis sternocarpa) which is regarded as one of the neglected underutilized species (NUS) of crop in Africa and Nigeria especially to...
June 2012
Effect of adding sour yoghurt and dough as bacterial inoculant on quality of corn silage
Thirty-six mini nylon-bags-silos, with about 4 kg corn forage were inoculated with 5% sour yoghurt (Yoghurt) and 5% sourdough (Dough) on a dry matter basis. Silos were kept for 70 days during which four silos of each group were evaluated for their apparent properties (smell, colour and texture) and chemical composition at days 10, 30 and 70 of the experiment. Neither Yoghurt nor Dough had any effect on physical...
June 2012
Proximate, phytochemical and mineral compositions of seeds of Allanblackia floribunda, Garcinia kola and Poga oleosa from Nigerian rainforest
Evaluation of the proximate, phytochemical and mineral compositions of seeds of three tree species was carried out at the University of Agriculture, Umudike. Mature fruits ofAllanblackia floribunda, Garcinia kola and Poga oleosa were collected from the rainforest at Umudike and Oban National Park. The seeds were extracted from the fruits and washed with distilled water. Plant seeds...
June 2012
Improving oxidative stability of soya and sunflower oil using Temnocalyx obovatus extracts
Recently an increasing interest in formulations of medicinal plant origin and other plant additives as antioxidants has been observed in the food market and pharmaceutical fields. This is as a result of the realization that synthetic antioxidants can participate as mutagenic and genotoxic agents. In this study Temnocalyx obovatus extracts were compared with rosemary (Rosmarinus officinallis) and...
June 2012
Purification of human recombinant granulocyte colony stimulating factor from Escherichia coli
In Escherichia coli, recombinant proteins were produced either as three dimensionally folded forms or as unfolded forms, inclusion body (IB). The formation of IB was a frequent consequence of high-level protein production and inadequacy of folding agents namely chaperones in the cytoplasm. The structure of the protein in inclusion bodies was poorly understood but it has been hypothesized that the protein may form...
June 2012
Influence of different concentrations of two chemical chaperones on human islet amyloid polypeptide folding under experimental conditions
It has been implicated that type 2 diabetes mellitus is a conformational disease because amylin, a peptide produced by beta cell, undergoes an alteration in the native formation followed by self-aggregation and deposition. Amyloidogenesis causesdestruction of pancreatic beta-cells. The subsequent lack of insulin leads to increased blood glucose. The main aim of this study was to investigate...
June 2012
Medical effects of poly-ethylene terephthalate (PET) non-woven fabrics treated with bamboo activated charcoal
In this study, bamboo activated charcoal was mixed with acrylic resin in various proportions and deposited on poly-ethylene terephthalate (PET) non-woven fabrics. A series of characterizations were carried out to estimate the performances of PET non-woven fabrics such as far infrared ray emission, heat retention, negative ions, deodorization of ammonia gas and tenacity. The results obtained indicate that the...
June 2012
Recombinant EXLX1 from Bacillus subtilis for enhancing enzymatic hydrolysis of corn stover with low cellulase loadings
BsEXLX1 protein from Bacillus subtilis has been proposed to have a structure that is similar to plant expansin. In this study, the recombinant BsEXLX1 protein was successfully expressed and purified in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). When the purified BsEXLX1 which contained the thioredoxin (Trx) protein was incubated with low-dose cellulases either simultaneously or sequentially, it showed a...
June 2012
Effects of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) on skin keratinocytes by nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activation
Advance glycation end-products (AGEs) are produced in patients with long-term hyperglycemia metabolic disorder and responsible for multiple symptoms including impaired wound healing. This study was designed to reveal the roles and possible mechanism of AGE in diabetic wound healing. Sixteen Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into two groups randomly; the streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic group...
June 2012
Isolation and identification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from students’ coins
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a nosocomial pathogen of increasing risk on community. This study aims at determining the risk of MRSA transfer from coins as silent and underestimated reservoir in community. One hundred swabs from coins were collected from college students in Malaysia. A series of identification and differentiating tests were conducted for precise identification of MRSA...
June 2012
Novel approaches toward the development of an oral post-exposure DNA vaccine for latent tuberculosis using Salmonella typhimurium ∆aroA vector
Tuberculosis remains one of the major causes of global public health problems. There is no effective vaccine for the disease until now. Many reports show that DNA vaccines are promising to induce protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb); however, the efficiency of DNA vaccine is limited due to inadequate delivery systems. Among others, live attenuated bacterial vectors such as Salmonella...
June 2012
Producing ergosterol from corn straw hydrolysates using Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Ergosterol is an economically important metabolite produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this study, the production of ergosterol by the strain using corn straw as an inexpensive carbon source was investigated. The total yield of ergosterol was determined by both the biomass and ergosterol content in yeast cells which depend not only on the hydrolyze condition, but also on the culture conditions. The corn straw...
June 2012
Length-weight and length-length relationships of freshwater wild catfish Mystus bleekeri from Nala Daik, Sialkot, Pakistan
Length-weight (LWR) and length-length relationships (LLR) were determined for a freshwater catfish Mystus bleekeri (Day, 1877) collected from Nala Daik, Sialkot, Pakistan. A total of 105 specimens (56 males; 49 females) were collected from February to March, 2010. Each specimen was weighed (g) and measured (cm). The total length of specimens studied ranged from 5.5 to 7.8 cm. Linear...
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