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Industrial Purposes (industrial + purpose)
Selected AbstractsSEASONAL VARIATIONS IN FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF OIL IN DEVELOPING COCONUTJOURNAL OF FOOD QUALITY, Issue 2 2009S. NARESH KUMAR ABSTRACT Studies on seasonal variation in oil and fatty acid profile of developing solid endosperm of two cultivars, West Coast Tall (WCT) and Chowghat Orange Dwarf (COD), and their hybrids indicated that oil percentage increased from 30% in 6-month-old nuts to 63% in matured nuts (12 months old). Nuts sampled during July from different levels of maturity had high oil percentage and followed by those sampled during April, October and January. During nut development to maturity, the percentages and contents of medium and long chain saturated fatty acids increased except that of palmitic and myristic acids. Concentration of long chain unsaturated fatty acids (LCUFAs) in developing coconut kernel were high at 5 and 6 months after fertilization and then decreased toward maturity. The LCUFAs were high in nuts developing during October; consequently, saturated to unsaturated fatty acid ratios were low during October. Results indicated that nuts matured during October had better nutritional quality for human consumption and those matured during January are more suitable for industrial purpose due to higher medium chain fatty acid concentrations. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Coconut is consumed either as the tender nut (5,6 months after fertilization) or as the kernel from mature nut (12 months after fertilization). Recent technologies of making snowball tender nut use the nuts aged 7,8 months old. Kernel also is consumed in this product. Apart from this, the coconut is being increasingly used for making different kernel-based value-added products. This information is useful, as the value-added products are being developed using different maturities of coconut. Hence, it is of paramount importance that the fatty acid profile of coconut kernel is known in detail for assessing the safety of food consumption from the human health point of view. Apart from this, information on the seasonal variation in fatty acid profile of developing endosperm gives an integrated knowledge so as to optimize the usage of coconut kernel for both human consumption and industrial exploitation. [source] Carbon stored in human settlements: the conterminous United StatesGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010GALINA CHURKINA Abstract Urban areas are home to more than half of the world's people, responsible for >70% of anthropogenic release of carbon dioxide and 76% of wood used for industrial purposes. By 2050 the proportion of the urban population is expected to increase to 70% worldwide. Despite fast rates of change and potential value for mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions, the organic carbon storage in human settlements has not been well quantified. Here, we show that human settlements can store as much carbon per unit area (23,42 kg C m,2 urban areas and 7,16 kg C m,2exurban areas) as tropical forests, which have the highest carbon density of natural ecosystems (4,25 kg C m,2). By the year 2000 carbon storage attributed to human settlements of the conterminous United States was 18 Pg of carbon or 10% of its total land carbon storage. Sixty-four percent of this carbon was attributed to soil, 20% to vegetation, 11% to landfills, and 5% to buildings. To offset rising urban emissions of carbon, regional and national governments should consider how to protect or even to increase carbon storage of human-dominated landscapes. Rigorous studies addressing carbon budgets of human settlements and vulnerability of their carbon storage are needed. [source] Dietary effects on growth, plasma lipid and tissues of rats fed with non-conventional oil of Telfairia occidentalisJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 13 2004Ibironke A Ajayi Abstract The nutritional value of Telfairia occidentalis seed and seed oil available in local market was studied in rats. The average values of the proximate analysis on dry matter basis were 203 g kg,1 crude protein, 536.3 g kg,1 fat, 39 g kg,1 ash, 95 g kg,1 crude fibre and 43.7 g kg,1 carbohydrate, while the moisture content was 75 g kg,1. The mineral analyses showed that T occidentalis seeds contain potassium (3280 mg kg,1), sodium (1230 mg kg,1), magnesium (60.8 mg kg,1), calcium (60.8 mg kg,1) and iron (13.0 mg kg,1). The oil extracted from the seed sample showed physicochemical properties that suggest its suitability for edible and industrial uses. The oil contained high levels of unsaturated fatty acids, oleic and linoleic, which accounted for 63.22% of total fatty acids recovered, while palmitic acid (27.4% of the oil by weight) was the most prevalent saturated fatty acid in the oil. No trace of eleostearic acid was detected in the oil. The effect on physical appearance, weight gain, organ weight, tissue and plasma cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels was determined in rats fed a diet containing 5% T occidentalis oil. These were compared with those of rats fed a control diet (0% T occidentalis oil) over an 8 week study period. Weekly monitoring of the rats showed good physical appearance and steady weight increase. The test rats were not anaemic and no mortality was recorded. While there was a significantly higher (p < 0.05) level of cholesterol in the heart of test rats compared with the control, there was a significantly lower (p < 0.05) plasma cholesterol level, suggesting that T occidentalis seed oil can be used to lower plasma levels of cholesterol. Histological examination of the sections of the heart, liver, kidney and spleen of the test rats revealed varying degrees of pathology. These include artherosclerotic changes in the walls of vasa vasori and lymphatics in the heart and hyaline degeneration of myofibrils, fatty infiltration of hepatocytes, and glomerular and tubular degeneration in the kidneys. These lesions may have been due to the effect of fatty acids, especially erucic acid, in the seed oil, which at 1.24% (less that the 5% conventional allowable limit for edible oils) may be intolerable for rats and may be unsuitable for human consumption. The seed oil may be used for industrial purposes such as soap making, lubrication and cosmetics for which it is well suited. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Effect of culturing processes and copper addition on laccase production by the white-rot fungus Fomes fomentarius MUCL 35117LETTERS IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2009M. Neifar Abstract Aim:, To produce high laccase activities from the white-rot fungus Fomes fomentarius. Methods and Results:, Different culturing methods, viz, cell immobilization on stainless steel sponges and plastic material and solid-state fermentation (SSF) using wheat bran as substrate were used for laccase production by the white-rot fungus F. fomentarius. The SSF study expresses the highest laccase activities, nearly to 6400 U l,1 after 13 days of laboratory flasks cultivation. When the wheat bran medium was supplemented with 2 mmol l,1 copper sulfate, laccase activity increased by threefold in comparison to control cultures, reaching 27 864 U l,1. With the medium thus optimized, further experiments were performed in a 3 l fixed-bed bioreactor (working volume 1·5 l) leading to a laccase activity of about 6230 U l,1 on day 13. Conclusions:, The results obtained clearly showed the superiority of wheat bran for laccase production over stainless steel sponges and plastic material. Supplementing the wheat bran solid medium with 2 mmol l,1 copper sulfate allowed obtaining high activities at flask scale. The system was scaled to fixed-bed laboratory reactor. Significance and Impact of the Study:, The high enzyme production along with the low-cost of the substrate, showed the suitability of the system F. fomentarius, SSF for industrial purposes. [source] Transferability of microsatellite markers from Eucalyptus spp. to Eugenia dysenterica (Myrtaceae family)MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES, Issue 4 2002M. I. Zucchi Abstract Cagaita (Eugenia dysenterica) is a widespread plant found in the Brazilian cerrado. Its fruit is used for popular consumption and for industrial purposes. A battery of 346 primer pairs developed for Eucalyptus spp. was tested on cagaita. Only 10 primer pairs were found to be transferable between the two species. Using a polyacrilamide gel, an average of 10.4 alleles per locus was detected, in a sample of 116 individuals from 10 natural populations of cagaita. Seven polymorphic loci allowed estimation of genetic parameters, including expected average heterozigosity HE = 0.442, diversity among populations, RST = 0.268 and gene flow Nm = 0.680. [source] Prenatal polychlorinated biphenyl exposures in eastern Slovakia modify effects of social factors on birthweightPAEDIATRIC & PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 3 2008Dean Sonneborn Summary Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) were widely used for industrial purposes and consumer products, but because of their toxicity, production was banned by most industrialised countries in the late 1970s. In eastern Slovakia, they were produced until 1985. During 2002,04, a birth cohort of mothers (n = 1057) residing in two Slovak districts was enrolled at delivery, and their specimens and information were collected after birth. Congeners of PCBs were measured in maternal serum by high-resolution gas chromatography with electron capture detection. In this study, we used multiple linear regression to examine the effects of prenatal PCB exposure on birthweight adjusted for gestational age, controlling for inter-pregnancy interval, and maternal smoking, age, education, ethnicity, pre-pregnancy body mass index and height. The association between total maternal serum PCB levels and birthweight was not statistically significant. However, an interaction model indicated that maternal PCB concentrations were associated with lower birthweight in Romani boys. Based on the fitted regression model, the predicted birthweight of Romani boys at the 90th percentile of maternal PCBs (12.8 ng/mL) was 133 g lower than the predicted birthweight at the 10th percentile of maternal PCBs (1.6 ng/mL). This is a similar magnitude of effect to that observed for maternal smoking and birthweight. These results suggest that higher levels of PCBs in maternal blood sera may inhibit growth in boys, particularly in those already affected by social factors related to ethnicity. This study is consistent with previous findings that boys are more susceptible than girls to growth restriction induced by in utero organochlorine exposures, and further indicates that high PCBs may magnify the influence of social disadvantage in this vulnerable group of boys. [source] Enzymatic Synthesis of 3,-Hydroxyacetaminophen Catalyzed by TyrosinaseBIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 6 2003Edelmira Valero 3,-Hydroxyacetaminophen, a catechol metabolite of N -acetyl- p -aminophenol (acetaminophen) and N -acetyl- m -aminophenol (a structural analogue of acetaminophen and considered as a possible alternative because it is not hepatotoxic), is enzymatically synthesized for the first time using mushroom tyrosinase. Although reported to be weakly hepatotoxic in vivo, this catechol derivative of acetaminophen is not commercially available. This compound was obtained from its monophenolic precursor, acetaminophen, using the enzyme tyrosinase in the presence of an excess of ascorbic acid, thus reducing back the o -quinone product of catalytic activity to the catechol acetaminophen derivative. A mathematical model of the system is proposed, which is also applicable to the tyrosinase-mediated synthesis of any o -diphenolic compound from its corresponding monophenol. This synthesis procedure is continuous, easy to perform and control, and adaptable to a bioreactor with the immobilized enzyme for industrial purposes in a nonpolluting way. [source] Ligand binding strategies of human serum albumin: How can the cargo be utilized?CHIRALITY, Issue 1 2010Ankita Varshney Abstract Human serum albumin (HSA), being the most abundant carrier protein in blood and a modern day clinical tool for drug delivery, attracts high attention among biologists. Hence, its unfolding/refolding strategies and exogenous/endogenous ligand binding preference are of immense use in therapeutics and clinical biochemistry. Among its fellow proteins albumin is known to carry almost every small molecule. Thus, it is a potential contender for being a molecular cargo/or nanovehicle for clinical, biophysical and industrial purposes. Nonetheless, its structure and function are largely regulated by various chemical and physical factors to accommodate HSA to its functional purpose. This multifunctional protein also possesses enzymatic properties which may be used to convert prodrugs to active therapeutics. This review aims to highlight current overview on the binding strategies of protein to various ligands that may be expected to lead to significant clinical applications. Chirality, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | |||||||||||||