A multipurpose immobilized biocatalyst with pectinase, xylanase and cellulase activities

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The use of immobilized enzymes for catalyzing various biotransformations is now a widely used approach. In recent years, cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) have emerged as a novel and versatile biocatalyst design. The present work deals with the preparation of a CLEA from a commercial preparation, Pectinex™ Ultra SP-L, which contains pectinase, xylanase and cellulase activities. The CLEA obtained could be used for any of the enzyme activities. The CLEA was characterized in terms of kinetic parameters, thermal stability and reusability in the context of all the three enzyme activities.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Complete precipitation of the three enzyme activities was obtained with n-propanol. When resulting precipitates were subjected to cross-linking with 5 mM glutaraldehyde, the three activities initially present (pectinase, xylanase and cellulase) were completely retained after cross-linking. The V_max/K_mvalues were increased from 11, 75 and 16 to 14, 80 and 19 in case of pectinase, xylanase and cellulase activities respectively. The thermal stability was studied at 50°C, 60°C and 70°C for pectinase, xylanase and cellulase respectively. Half-lives were improved from 17, 22 and 32 minutes to 180, 82 and 91 minutes for pectinase, xylanase and cellulase respectively. All three of the enzymes in CLEA could be reused three times without any loss of activity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A single multipurpose biocatalyst has been designed which can be used for carrying out three different and independent reactions; 1) hydrolysis of pectin, 2) hydrolysis of xylan and 3) hydrolysis of cellulose. The preparation is more stable at higher temperatures as compared to the free enzymes.</p

A productivity dashboard for hospitals: an empirical study

Health information systems are key assets in managing health units’ daily operations. Nevertheless, literature is scarce concerning information systems for increasing and managing hospital productivity. This study aims at filling such gap through an empirical research based on large Portuguese hospital. Specifically, a dashboard prototype is proposed addressing productivity indicators in areas such as assistance, hospitalization, surgery, among others. This dashboard is tuned using a design science research approach where health experts successively validate the prototype. Interviews are conducted to assess the benefits of using our proposal to manage productivity on a daily basis.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Overconfidence in Labor Markets

This chapter reviews how worker overconfidence affects labor markets. Evidence from psychology and economics shows that in many situations, most people tend to overestimate their absolute skills, overplace themselves relative to others, and overestimate the precision of their knowledge. The chapter starts by reviewing evidence for overconfidence and for how overconfidence affects economic choices. Next, it reviews economic explanations for overconfidence. After that, it discusses research on the impact of worker overconfidence on labor markets where wages are determined by bargaining between workers and firms. Here, three key questions are addressed. First, how does worker overconfidence affect effort provision for a fixed compensation scheme? Second, how should firms design compensation schemes when workers are overconfident? In particular, will a compensation scheme offered to an overconfident worker have higher-or lower-powered incentives than that offered to a worker with accurate self-perception? Third, can worker overconfidence lead to a Pareto improvement? The chapter continues by reviewing research on the impact of worker overconfidence on labor markets where workers can move between firms and where neither firms nor workers have discretion over wage setting. The chapter concludes with a summary of its main findings and a discussion of avenues for future research