Detection of hepatitis B virus core antigen by phage display mediated TaqMan real-time immuno-PCR

The core antigen (HBcAg) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the markers for the identification of the viral infection. The main purpose of this study was to develop a TaqMan real-time detection assay based on the concept of phage display mediated immuno-PCR (PD-IPCR) for the detection of HBcAg. PD-IPCR combines the advantages of immuno-PCR (IPCR) and phage display technology. IPCR integrates the versatility of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with the sensitivity and signal generation power of PCR. Whereas, phage display technology exploits the physical association between the displayed peptide and the encoding DNA within the same phage particle. In this study, a constrained peptide displayed on the surface of an M13 recombinant bacteriophage that interacts tightly with HBcAg was applied as a diagnostic reagent in IPCR. The phage displayed peptide and its encoding DNA can be used to replace monoclonal antibody (mAb) and chemically bound DNA, respectively. This method is able to detect as low as 10 ng of HBcAg with 108 pfu/ml of the recombinant phage which is about 10,000 times more sensitive than the phage-ELISA. The PD-IPCR provides an alternative means for the detection of HBcAg in human serum samples

Detection Of Trace Heavy Metal Ions By Anodic Stripping Voltamettry Using L-Cysteine Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes Paste Electrode

The development and application of the L-cysteine functionalized carbon nanotubes paste electrode (Cys-CNTPE) biosensor for the detection of lead ion (Pb2+) and cadmium ion (Cd2+) in the aqueous system are described. L-cysteine was covalently attached to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) via N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide-N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC-NHS) carbodiimide coupling as a recognition element for its high metal-chelating ability towards Pb2+ and Cd2+. The covalent attachment of L-cysteine on MWCNTs was verified with the results from Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) characterization

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) seed oil-in-water Pickering nanoemulsions stabilised by mixture of sodium caseinate, Tween 20 and β-cyclodextrin

The limit application of functional kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) seed oil in food and pharmaceutical industry owing to the poor water solubility and low storage stability can be overcome by the development of kenaf seed oil-in-water Pickering nanoemulsions. In this study, oil-in-water Pickering nanoemulsions were produced to investigate its stability by optimising emulsifier mixtures, namely sodium caseinate (SC), Tween 20 (T20) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD). The interaction effects of SC and T20 on the formation of Pickering nanoemulsions with β-CD was studied and found synergistic effect among them that enhanced the stability of Pickering nanoemulsions. The optimum proportion of emulsifier mixtures obtained by employing simplex centroid mixture design was found to be 57.9% (w/w) SC, 27.6% (w/w) T20, and 14.5% (w/w) β-CD, which produced Pickering nanoemulsion with mean particle size of 155.53 nm, PDI of 0.07 and zeta-potential of −46.67 mV. These experimental values were in accordance with the predicted value, indicating the adequacy of the fitted models. The mixture design was found to be a valuable tool to optimise and study the interaction effects of different components for the development of stable Pickering nanoemulsions

Relationships between cancer pattern, country income and geographical region in Asia.

BACKGROUND: Cancer incidence and mortality varies across region, sex and country\u27s economic status. While most studies focused on global trends, this study aimed to describe and analyse cancer incidence and mortality in Asia, focusing on cancer site, sex, region and income status. METHODS: Age-standardised incidence and mortality rates of cancer were extracted from the GLOBOCAN 2012 database. Cancer mortality to incidence ratios (MIRs) were calculated to represent cancer survival. The data were analysed based on the four regions in Asia and income. RESULTS: Cancer incidence rate is lower in Asia compared to the West but for MIR, it is the reverse. In Asia, the most common cancers in men are lung, stomach, liver, colorectal and oesophageal cancers while the most common cancers in women are breast, lung, cervical, colorectal and stomach cancers. The MIRs are the highest in lung, liver and stomach cancers and the lowest in colorectal, breast and prostate cancers. Eastern and Western Asia have a higher incidence of cancer compared to South-Eastern and South-Central Asia but this pattern is the reverse for MIR. Cancer incidence rate increases with country income particularly in colorectal and breast cancers but the pattern is the opposite for MIR. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that there is a wide variation in cancer incidence and mortality across Asia. This study is the first step towards documenting and explaining the changing cancer pattern in Asia in comparison to the rest of the world

Effectiveness of a Four-days/Eight Hour Work Week

This research paper explores the benefits of a four-day workweek that may affect productivity, self-satisfaction, and life expectancy. We will be using data on a country-wide scale from 25 first world countries over four continents. We will perform regression analysis to investigate the impact of a four-day workweek. The data will be collected using free and public sources published online like Our World In Data and Statista, which include GDP per capita, life satisfaction rate, human development index, and annual working hours. The results of our research and analysis will show how each independent variable will affect the dependent variable of our study, as well as any correlation between them. We aim to uncover any benefits of switching to a four day/eight-hour workweek and support the move for companies to reconsider the traditional five day/eight-hour workweek in hopes of improving the quality of life of working adults. Our results show that Human Development Index, Gross Domestic Product has a p-value of more than 0.05, and therefore we do not reject the null hypothesis that the four days work week has no impact on productivity in the workforce. Life Satisfaction Rate on the other hand has a p-value of less than 0.05, thus rejecting the null hypothesis that the four days work week has no impact on the satisfaction rate of the workforce

How E-Servqual Affects Customer\u27s Online Purchase Intention?

With the boom of Internet, Internet has become one of the consumers’ online shopping channels. However, there is different in online shopping situation is because of consumers in different cultures and countries have different online shopping behavior is worth to discuss. This study is to explore the Internet users’ online shopping situation in developing country, Malaysia, and 118 questionnaire respondents were collected. Statistical analysis software SPSS 17.0 and AMOS 6.0 were used to analyze the impact on e-service quality, satisfaction, trust, and purchase intention. The model fit of this study was in an acceptable level, and this indicates that the theoretical model of this study supports the description of e-service quality for e-retailers that online shopping situation will be effected by trust and satisfaction. The result of this study will be available for those who interested in developing a transnational e-retailer as a reference, as well as academic research on cross-cultural comparative analysis