Factors affecting sorghum protein digestibility

In the semi-arid tropics worldwide, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is cultivated by farmers on a subsistence level and consumed as food by humans. A nutritional limitation to its use is the poor digestibility of sorghum protein when wet cooked. The factors affecting wet cooked sorghum protein digestibility may be categorised into two main groups: exogenous factors (grain organisational structure, polyphenols, phytic acid, starch and non-starch polysaccharides) and endogenous factors (disulphide and non-disulphide crosslinking, kafirin hydrophobicity and changes in protein secondary structure). All these factors have been shown to influence sorghum protein digestibility. More than one factor may be at play at any time depending on the nature or the state in which the sorghum grain is; that is whether whole grain, endosperm, protein body preparation, high-tannin or condensed-tannin-free. It is proposed that protein crosslinking may be the greatest factor that influences sorghum protein digestibility. This may be between ?- and ß-kafirin proteins at the protein body periphery, which may impede digestion of the centrally located major storage protein, a-kafirin, or between ?- or ß-kafirin and a-kafiri

Modular local polynomials

In this paper, we consider modular local polynomials. These functions satisfy modularity while they are locally defined as polynomials outside of an exceptional set. We prove an inequality for the dimension of the space of such forms when the exceptional set is given by certain natural geodesics related to binary quadratic forms of (positive) discriminant D. We furthermore show that the dimension is the largest possible if and only if D is an even square. Following this, we describe how to use the methods developped in this paper to establish an algorithm which explicitly determines the space of modular local polynomials for each D.postprin

Limb amputations in fixed dystonia: a form of body integrity identity disorder?

Fixed dystonia is a disabling disorder mainly affecting young women who develop fixed abnormal limb postures and pain after apparently minor peripheral injury. There is continued debate regarding its pathophysiology and management. We report 5 cases of fixed dystonia in patients who sought amputation of the affected limb. We place these cases in the context of previous reports of patients with healthy limbs and patients with chronic regional pain syndrome who have sought amputation. Our cases, combined with recent data regarding disorders of mental rotation in patients with fixed dystonia, as well as previous data regarding body integrity identity disorder and amputations sought by patients with chronic regional pain syndrome, raise the possibility that patients with fixed dystonia might have a deficit in body schema that predisposes them to developing fixed dystonia and drives some to seek amputation. The outcome of amputation in fixed dystonia is invariably unfavorable

Half-integral weight p-adic coupling of weakly holomorphic and holomorphic modular forms

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Rice endosperm is cost-effective for the production of recombinant griffithsin with potent activity against HIV

Protein microbicides containing neutralizing antibodies and antiviral lectins may help to reduce the rate of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) if it is possible to manufacture the components in large quantities at a cost affordable in HIV‐endemic regions such as sub‐Saharan Africa. We expressed the antiviral lectin griffithsin (GRFT), which shows potent neutralizing activity against HIV, in the endosperm of transgenic rice plants (Oryza sativa), to determine whether rice can be used to produce inexpensive GRFT as a microbicide ingredient. The yield of (OS)GRFT in the best‐performing plants was 223 μg/g dry seed weight. We also established a one‐step purification protocol, achieving a recovery of 74% and a purity of 80%, which potentially could be developed into a larger‐scale process to facilitate inexpensive downstream processing. (OS)GRFT bound to HIV glycans with similar efficiency to GRFT produced in Escherichia coli. Whole‐cell assays using purified (OS)GRFT and infectivity assays using crude extracts of transgenic rice endosperm confirmed that both crude and pure (OS)GRFT showed potent activity against HIV and the crude extracts were not toxic towards human cell lines, suggesting they could be administered as a microbicide with only minimal processing. A freedom‐to‐operate analysis confirmed that GRFT produced in rice is suitable for commercial development, and an economic evaluation suggested that 1.8 kg/ha of pure GRFT could be produced from rice seeds. Our data therefore indicate that rice could be developed as an inexpensive production platform for GRFT as a microbicide component

HPLC Method for Determination of Rifaximin in Human Plasma Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry Detection

The present study was aimed at developing a simple, sensitive, and specific liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of rifaximin in human plasma using rifaximin D6 as internal standard. Chromatographic separation was performed on Zorbax SB C18, 4.6 x 75 mm, 3.5 μm column with an isocratic mobile phase composed of 10 mM ammonium formate (pH 4.0) and acetonitrile in the ratio of (20:80 v/v), at a flow-rate of 0.3 mL/min. Rifaximin and rifaximin D6 were detected with proton adducts at m/z 786.4 → 754.4 and 792.5 → 760.5 in multiple reaction monitoring positive mode respectively. The acidified samples were subjected to liquid–liquid extraction using a mixture of methyl t-butyl ether - dichloromethane (75: 25) followed by centrifugation, nitrogen-aided evaporation and reconstitution. The method was validated over a linear concentration range of 20 - 20000 pg/mL with correlation coefficient of more than 0.9995. This method demonstrated intra and inter-day precision within 0.6 - 2.6% and 2.2 - 5.6%, and accuracy within 95.7 - 104.2% and 95.8 - 105.0% for rifaximin, respectively. Rifaximin was found to be stable throughout freeze–thawing cycles, bench top and postoperative stability studies. This method was applied successfully for the analysis of blood samples following oral administration of rifaximin (200 mg) in 17 healthy Indian male human volunteers under fasting conditions.Keywords: Bioequivalence, mass spectrometry, rifaximinEast and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 13 (2010) 78-8

Cobalt and chromium exposure affects osteoblast function and impairs the mineralization of prosthesis surfaces in vitro.

Cobalt (Co) and chromium (Cr) ions and nanoparticles equivalent to those released through tribo-corrosion of prosthetic metal-on-metal (MOM) bearings and taper junctions are detrimental to osteoblast activity and function in-vitro when examined as individual species. Here we examined the effects of Co(2+) :Cr(3+) and Co(2+) :Cr(6+) combinations on osteoblast-like SaOS-2 cellular activity, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and mineralization to better reflect clinical exposure conditions in vivo. We also assessed the effect of Co(2+) :Cr(3+) combinations and Co:Cr nanoparticles on SaOS-2 cell osteogenic responses on grit-blasted, plasma-sprayed titanium-coated and hydroxyapatite-coated prosthesis surfaces. Cellular activity and ALP activity were reduced to a greater extent with combination treatments compared to individual ions. Co(2+) and Cr(3+) interacted additively and synergistically to reduce cellular activity and ALP activity respectively, whilst the Co(2+) with Cr(6+) combination was dominated by the effect of Cr(6+) alone. Mineralization by osteoblasts was greater on hydroxyapatite-coated surfaces compared to grit-blasted and plasma-sprayed titanium-coated surfaces. Treatments with Co(2+) :Cr(3+) ions and Co:Cr nanoparticles reduced the percentage mineralization on all surfaces, with hydroxyapatite-coated surfaces having the least reduction. In conclusion, our data suggests that previous studies investigating individual metal ions underestimate their potential clinical effects on osteoblast activity. Furthermore, the data suggests that hydroxyapatite-coated surfaces may modulate osteoblast responses to metal debris. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

A Scoping Study of Business Events: Beyond Tourism Benefits

The purpose of this study is to provide an empirically-based assessment of the range and impact of contributions made by business events to host communities beyond the tourism dimension. This project is classified as a scoping study, delivering baseline data on which future stages of research could be built. Future stages of the project could be designed to deliver quantitative data on the contributions made by business events to complement the more qualitative focus of this study. It is well established that business events make a substantial contribution to the Australian economy from a tourism perspective. However, the Business Events Council of Australia (2009a) argues that impacts from business events in areas such as innovation, education, networking, trade, research and practice are likely to far outweigh the financial returns of the tourism spend. They have called for evidence-based research to be undertaken in this area (Business Events Council of Australia 2009b

The Influence of Online Store Beliefs Towards Impulse Buying (Study on Elevania.co.id)

The rapid development of information technology brings a great impact to all aspects, including the development of business and marketing. The rapid growth of internet user makes online business becomes a potential market. One of the factors that determine the success of an online business is consumer beliefs to an online store. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of online stores beliefs towards impulse buying on elevenia consumers. This study was conducted on elevenia consumers who have shopped at elevenia.co.id. Sample size of 100 people with purposive sampling method. Data was collected through questionnaires using a 5 point Likert scale to measure 11 indicators. The analysis technique is multiple linear regression. The research found that the online store beliefs variable consist of functional convenience beliefs and representation delight, simultaneously influence impulse buying on elevenia consumers.While in partial functional convenience beliefs variable have no influence towards impulse buying on elevenia consumers

Improving post-partum family planning services provided by female community health volunteers in Nepal: a mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: Family planning services in the post-partum period, termed post-partum family planning (PPFP) is critical to cover the unmet need for contraception, especially when institutional delivery rates have increased. However, the intention to choose PPFP methods such as post-partum intrauterine devices (PPIUD) remains low in countries such as Nepal. Community health workers such as Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) could play an important role in improving the service coverage of PPFP in Nepal. However, their knowledge of PPFP and community-based services related to PPFP remain unclear. This study aims to assess the effect on community-based PPFP services by improving FCHV's knowledge through orientation on PPFP. METHODS: We conducted this mixed-methods study in Morang District in Nepal. The intervention involved orientation of FCHVs on PPFP methods. We collected quantitative data from three sources; via a survey of FCHVs that assessed their knowledge before and after the intervention, from their monthly reporting forms on counseling coverage of women at different stages of pregnancy from the communities, and by interviewing mothers in their immediate post-partum period in two selected hospitals. We also conducted six focus group discussions with the FCHVs to understand their perception of PPFP and the intervention. We performed descriptive and multivariable analyses for quantitative results and thematic analysis for qualitative data. RESULTS: In total, 230 FCHVs participated in the intervention and their knowledge of PPFP improved significantly after it. The intervention was the only factor significantly associated with their improved knowledge (adjusted odds ratio = 24, P < 0.001) in the multivariable analysis. FCHVs were able to counsel 83.3% of 1872 mothers at different stages of pregnancy in the communities. In the two hospitals, the proportion of mothers in their immediate post-partum period whom reported they were counseled by FCHVs during their pregnancy increased. It improved from 7% before the intervention to 18.1% (P < 0.001) after the intervention. The qualitative findings suggested that the intervention improved their knowledge in providing PPFP counseling. CONCLUSION: The orientation improved the FCHV's knowledge of PPFP and their community-based counseling. Follow-up studies are needed to assess the longer term effect of the FCHV's role in improving community-based PPFP services