Background The cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis shows promise as a carbohydrate feedstock for biofuel production. The glycogen accumulated in A. platensis can be extracted by lysozyme-degrading the peptidoglycan layer of the bacterial cell walls. The extracted glycogen can be converted to ethanol through hydrolysis by amylolytic enzymes and fermentation by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae...

1. After the concentration of potassium in the haemolymph of Helix pomatia has been raised by the infusion of KCl, it falls approximately exponentially for a time and then tends to rise. The accompanying rise and fall of calcium concentration can be fitted to a simple mathematical model. 2. The mobilization of calcium is accompanied by the generation of bicarbonate in equivalent amounts, withou...

The self-assembly of anionic kappa and iota carrageenan polysaccharides in the presence of NaCl, KCl and CaCl2 is studied by high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM). A hierarchical supramolecular chirality amplification over various length scales is observed upon the addition of KCl, whereas in the presence of NaCl and CaCl2 the chains undergo solely a coil-helix transition with stiff kap...

The effects of varying concentrations of Mn2* on the absorption of divalent cations, viz., Ca2+ and Zn2+ from 2 concentrations were studied. Mn2+ at all concentrations tested were inhibitory to Ca2+ uptake from 0.1 and 5 mM CaCl2 . However, when Ca2+ uptake was measured at concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 10 mM CaCl2, MnCl2 only at high concentration of 5 mM, inhibited Ca ab­ sorption. Zn2+ ...

background: purple coneflower (echinacea purpurea l.) is one of the most important medicinal plants. hairy root culture of echinace, represent a valuable alternative to field cultivation for the production of bioactive secondary metabolites. objective: the present study investigates the effects of kno3, cacl2 and mgso4 concentrations on growth and the biosynthesis of cichoric acid in echinacea ...

Dextran glucosidase from Streptococcus mutans (SmDG), which belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 13 (GH13), hydrolyzes the non-reducing terminal glucosidic linkage of isomaltooligosaccharides and dextran. Thermal deactivation of SmDG did not follow the single exponential decay but rather the two-step irreversible deactivation model, which involves an active intermediate having 39% specific act...

Oil-in-water nanoemulsions were prepared by emulsification and solvent evaporation using whey protein isolate (WPI), lactoferrin and Tween 20 as emulsifiers. Protein-stabilised nanoemulsions showed a decrease in particle size with increasing protein concentration from 0.25% to 1% (w/w) level with Z-average diameter between 70 and 90 nm. However, larger droplets were produced by Tween 20 (120-45...

This work was carried out during two successive seasons (2009) and (2010) to examine the response of Florida Prince peach fruits to some pre-harvest treatments i.e. chitosan at 0.5 and 1.0% and CaCl2 at 2 and 4 % as well as their combinations on some fruit quality parameters under cold storage . Fruit weight loss (%), decay (%) and T.S.S.(%) of Florida Prince peach fruits were increased in most...

BACKGROUND Elastin calcification is a widespread feature of vascular pathology, and circumstantial evidence exists for a correlation between elastin degradation and calcification. We hypothesized that matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-mediated vascular remodeling plays a significant role in elastin calcification. METHODS AND RESULTS In the present studies, we determined that short-term periadven...

In this study, pH-sensitive blended polymeric beads were prepared by ionic gelation of mixed alginate and N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan (NOCC) solutions in aqueous media containing calcium chloride. To prepare drug-loaded beads, sulfasalazine (SA) as a model drug was added to the initial aqueous polymer solution. These beads were characterized and evaluated in vitro as potential carriers for colon...