An alkaliphilic cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase from a new Bacillus agaradhaerens WN-I strain isolated from an Egyptian soda lake: Purification and properties

Alkaliphilic bacteria were isolated from soil and water samples obtained from Egyptian soda lakes in the Wadi Natrun area. Screening for cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase- producing alkaliphilic bacteria resulted in the isolation of 15 positive strains. Strain WN-I was selected as the best producer of CGTase. 16S rDNA sequence analysis and DNA-DNA hybridization identified the isolate as Bacillus agaradhaerens. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity up to 21 fold by starch adsorption and anion exchange chromatography with a yield of 26.40%. The pure enzyme was a monomer with an estimated molecular weight of 85 kDa. The enzyme was stable, at 25°C, over a pH range of 5.0 to 11, with a maximum activity at pH 9.0. The enzyme activity exhibited an optimum temperature of 55°C and was stable at 40°C for at least 1 h. Thermal stability was improved in the presence of maltodextrin, starch or CaCl2. The enzyme was slightly stimulated by CaCl2, KC1 and BaCl2 but was completely inhibited in the presence of FeCl2 and strongly inhibited by ZnCl2 and CoCl2 and to a lower extent by CuCl2, EDTA, 2-mercaptoethanol, and dithiothritol. The enzyme produced mainly β-CD (71.20% of the total cyclodextrin amount). The enzyme had higher cyclyzation activity (1.9 fold higher) toward Paselli starch than soluble starch.Key words: Alkaliphiles, soda lakes, cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase, Bacillus agaradhaeren, purification, 16S rDNA

Bioreduction of Cr (VI) by potent novel chromate resistant alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. strain KSUCr5 isolated from hypersaline Soda lakes

Isolation of Cr (VI) resistant alkaliphilic bacteria from sediment and water samples collected from Wadi Natrun hypersaline Soda lakes (located in northern Egypt), resulted in isolation of several alkaliphilic bacterial strains that can tolerate up to 2.94 g/l of Cr (VI) in alkaline medium. However, with increasing Cr (VI) concentration up to 29.4 g/l, only one strain, KSUCr5, was able to tolerate up to 22 g/l (75 mM) and with MIC value of 23.5 g/l (80 mM) in alkaline medium (pH 10.5) containing 10% NaCl. Based on the 16S rRNA gene analysis, strain KSUCr5 was identified as Bacillus sp. with 99% similarity and was referred to as Bacillus sp. KSUCr5. In addition, Bacillus sp. strain KSUCr5 showed high tolerance to several other heavy metals including Cd2+ (50 mM), Mo2+ (75 mM), Mn2+ (100 mM), Cu2+ (2 mM), Ni2+ (100 mM), Pb (75 mM), Co2+ (5 mM) and Zn2+ (2 mM). Strain KSUCr5 was shown to be of a high efficiency in detoxifying chromate, as it could rapidly reduce up to 40 mg/l of Cr(VI) to a non detectable level over 24 h. In addition, at initial Cr(VI) concentration of 60 to 80 and 100 mg/l, 100% of the chromate reduction was achieved within 48 and 72 h, respectively. Strain KSUCr5 could reduce Cr(VI) efficiently  over a wide range of initial Cr(VI) concentrations (10 to 300 mg/l) in alkaline medium under aerobic conditions without significant effect on the bacterial growth. It was able to reduce Cr(VI) in a wide range of NaCl (0 to 20%) with a maximum reduction yield at concentration of 0 to 1.5%, indicating the halo tolerance nature of the bacterium. It was found that addition of glucose and Na2CO3 to the culture medium caused a dramatic increase in Cr(VI)-reduction by Bacillus sp. strain KSUCr5. The maximum chromate removal was exhibited in alkaline medium (pH 10) containing 1.2% Na2CO3, 1.5% glucose and 1% NaCl and at incubation temperature of 35°C and culture shaking of 150 rpm. Under optimum Cr (VI) reduction conditions, Cr(VI) concentration of 80 mg/l was completely reduced within 24 h, with reduction rate of 3.3 mg h-1 which is one of the highest Cr(VI) reduction rate under high alkaline conditions, compared with other microorganisms that has been reported so far. Furthermore, the presence of other metals such as Ni2+, Mo2+, Cu2+ and Mn2+ at concentration of 100 mg/l together with Cr(VI) in the culture medium slightly increased Cr(VI)-reduction by the strain KSUCr5. Moreover, the isolate, Bacillus sp.  strain KSUCr5, exhibited an ability to repeatedly reduce hexavalent chromium without any amendment of nutrients, suggesting its potential application in continuous bioremediation of Cr(VI). The results reveal the possible isolation of potent heavy metals resistant bacteria from extreme environment such as hypersaline Soda lakes and their application in bioremediation of heavy metals.Key words: Chromate reduction, bioremediation, heavy metals, Bacillus sp., Soda lakes

Secondary chain motion and mechanical properties of γ-irradiated-regenerated cellulose films

Regenerated cellulose films prepared using NaOH/urea solvent system were exposed to different doses of γ-radiation, ranging from 5 to 50 kGy to modify their properties. Change in relative crystallinity as a function of absorbed dose was studied using XRD. The tensile and dynamic mechanical properties were tested and it was found that exposure to 10 kGy imparted maximum improvement in these properties, that is 10% improvement in tensile strength, 43% increase in Young's modulus, and 22% increase in storage modulus. Broadband dielectric spectroscopy technique was used to investigate effect of absorbed dose on the secondary chain motions of the regenerated cellulose and the results were in line with findings of the tensile and dynamic mechanical tests.The authors gratefully acknowledge and thank the Department of Physics, Qatar University for allowing them to use their γ-irradiation facility. MKH would like to acknowledge the Qatar University's financial support through the Center for Advanced Materials’ Start-Up grant.Scopu

Contents Paper Title Author(s) The Effect of Transformational Leadership on Product and Process Innovation in Higher Education: An Empirical Study in Iraq A Structural Model for Organizational Justice in Universities Based on Intellectual Capital Creating

A conference managed by ACPIL, UK Proceedings of The 5th European Conference on Intellectual Capital University of the Basque Country Bilbao, Spain 11-12 April 2013 Edited by Lidia Garcia, Arturo Rodriguez-Castellanos and Jon Barrutia-Guenaga University of the Basque Country Bilbao, Spain No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual authors. Papers have been double-blind peer reviewed before final submission to the conference. Initially, paper abstracts were read and selected by the conference panel for submission as possible papers for the conference. Many thanks to the reviewers who helped ensure the quality of the full papers. These Conference Proceedings have been submitted to Thomson ISI for indexing. Further copies of this book and previous year's proceedings can be purchased from http://academic-bookshop.com E-Book ISBN: 978-1-909507-15-9 E-Book ISSN: 2049-0941 Book version ISBN: 978-1-909507-13-5 Book Version ISSN: 2049-0933 The Electronic version of the Proceedings is available to download at ISSUU.com.. You will need to sign up to become an IS-SUU user (no cost involved) and search for the conference name. Ibrahim Elbeltagi. Is a Senior lecturer in information and knowledge management, School of Management, University of Plymouth. Publications largely related to electronic commerce, adoption of ICT, information systems in developing countries, social networking and knowledge management. I have more than 40 journal and conferences papers published or accepted for publication in many national and international journals and conferences. Nehal El-Helal received her Bachelor degree in business administration from the faculty of commerce-Mansoura University. She is currently working as demonstrator in business administration department in the faculty of commerce-Mansoura University and is preparing for her masters thesis in customer knowledge management topic. Dr. Susana Elena Perez is currently a Scientific Fellow at the IPTS (European Commission). Worked as Lecturer at the Pablo de Olavide University (Spain), member of the PRIME Network of Excellence and participated in various European projects. She holds a PhD in Economics and Management of Innovation. Research interests: universities, management and governance, intellectual capital, and science and technology policy. Mr Ahmed Elsetouhi is assistant lecturer at Faculty of commerce, Mansoura University, Egypt. In 2009 till now, he is a PhD student at Business Management -Plymouth University. His research interests focus on intellectual capital, innovation, knowledge management, e-commerce-ICT and SEMs. He has published a paper at Journal of Global Information Management (3 star), and two conference papers. Jacob Eskildsen is professor of business performance management at Aarhus University and a member of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Organizational Architecture. Before entering academia Jacob worked as quality manager in a large multinational company. He holds an MSc and a PhD from the Aarhus University and is the author of more than 100 publications. Abstract: The authors build on the intellectual capital and new product development perspectives to study the influence of relational capital on product innovation performance. An empirical research was conducted, using a questionnaire administered to Portuguese innovative SMEs. The results suggest that relational capital does have a positive effect on product innovation performance. In particular, "Vertical relationships" stands out as the main relational capital element significantly affecting product innovation at the innovative SMEs level. The existence and proactive management of relationships with customers and suppliers emerge as critical factors to product innovation success. We find our results to be useful for both researchers and practitioners: at the intellectual capital level, we contribute to the ongoing understanding of relational capital's impact on critical business activities; at the product innovation level, we contribute to the identification of additional critical success factors for new product development. At a time when intellectual capital and product innovation management are both considered to be critical for companies to gain a competitive edge (and even survive) in today's unstable business environment, this study contributes to acknowledge the relevance of relational capital management on product innovation success at innovative SMEs