Application studies of the halotolerant protease from a newly isolated Virgibacillus dokdonensis VIT P14

Protease extracted from halotolerant bacterium - was tested for possible industrial applications. This enzyme was able to dissolve blood clot and coagulated egg within 30 min. The enzyme exhibited substantial keratinolytic activity. It was compatible with all the tested commercial detergents like Rin, Surfexcel, Henko, Tide, Ariel and Technobright and was found to be effective in the removal of blood strains from cotton fabric in the presence of these detergents. The enzyme was compatible with the organic solvents like xylene, toluene, hexane and ethanol and the maximum activity was observed in the presence of ethanol. The enzyme was tested for antimicrobial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria and it was found that it possesses good inhibition capability against Escherichia coli, Streptococcus eqiuns, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella enterica. The present report indicates that this halotolerant  protease has a wide range of properties and the conditions could be optimized to suit any particular industrial application

The TOC-ABC choice debate for product mix decisions : introducing asset specificity as an alternate explanation

Though constructed with different purposes, the theory of constraints and activity based costing systems pose a choice problem in respect of product mix decisions. We believe that the existing explanation of short versus long run criterion to explain firms\u27 choice between these two systems is incomplete and offer an alternate explanation based on asset specificity. We argue that the extent to which specialized resources are deployed to make products in a mix determines the choice. We present a 2*2 matrix stating that when asset specificity is high, a firm is likely to choose ABC instead of TOC since ABC makes a large portion of costs visible to enable control. However, the choice is likely to be a TOC-ABC combination when the manufacture of asset specific products is also constrained by bottlenecks.<br /

The use of control systems in new product development innovation : advancing the \u27help or hinder\u27 debate

New Product Development (NPD) innovation is a critical activity in the current economic environment. In order to manage their NPD innovation projects, firms use Management Controls Systems (MCS). However, the effect that these systems have on NPD innovation is not clear. One stream of research suggests that MCS help NPD innovation while another stream suggests MCS hinder NPD innovation. Past research has shown that the role and style of MCS used may offer explanations on why MCS can both help and hinder NPD innovation. This paper adds another explanation by examining the relationship between three models (divisional, activity/decision and conversion/response) of a commonly used MCS, known as the Stage-Gate Process1 in the NPD innovation literature, and three types of NPD innovation projects (incremental, semi-radical and radical). The insights from an ethnomethodology informed field study are used to understand how and why the firms may use a different MCS (Stage-Gate Process models) for different NPD innovation project types. <br /

A study on some phenotypic virulence markers of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

Background and Objectives: The problem of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) causing diarrhoea in infants exists in India. But often the enteropathogenic status is not based on adequate characterization. Hence there is a need for evaluating the serotyping being used to identify EPEC for its validity in the light of recent knowledge on phenotypic markers of virulence. This study was done to evaluate the EPEC isolates for two potential virulence factors namely entero-adhesiveness with subsequent actin accumulation and verotoxin production. Methods: Fifty consecutive EPEC strains identified by serotyping from stool samples of children with diarrhoea during January 1997 to June 1999 were studied for HEp-2 cell adherence, the fluorescent actin staining (FAS) characteristics of Hep-2 cells and vero cytotoxin production. Results: Serotypes O55, O125 and O126 accounted for most of the isolates. In the Hep-2 assay, 72 per cent of the strains showed localised pattern of adherence and 22 per cent showed a mixed pattern of localised and diffuse adherence. In the FAS test 96 per cent strains showed typical staining while none of the strains produced verotoxin. Interpretation and Conclusion: 'O' serogrouping appears to be still the simplest and an useful test for presumptive identification of EPEC. The FAS test for confirmation of EPEC was found to be very consistent in indicating EPEC

Onset of Nucleate Boiling and Critical Heat Flux with Boiling Water in Microchannels

This paper focuses on experimental determination of onset of nucleate boiling\ud (ONB) and critical heat flux (CHF) at the microscales, and comparison of these with\ud available correlations. The working fluid is deionised water and microchannel of four\ud different hydraulic diameters: 65, 70, 107 and 125 m, have been tested. Effect of\ud hydraulic diameter (65-125 m), mass flux (60-1410 kg/m2s) and heat flux (0-910\ud kW/m2) on ONB and CHF has been studied in detail. The heat flux for onset of nucleate\ud boiling increases with hydraulic diameter and mass flux. The critical heat flux tends to\ud increase with a decrease in hydraulic diameter and with increasing mass flux. The effect\ud of surface roughness on CHF has also been tested to a limited extent; no clear change in\ud the CHF value was observed upon changing the surface roughness by an order of\ud magnitude. The empirical correlations tested in this study predict the experimental data to\ud varying extent. These results may help better determine the lower and upper limits of heat\ud flux while designing heat sink for electronic cooling

Contextual factors among indiscriminate or larger attacks on food or water supplies, 1946-2015

This research updates previous inventories of malicious attacks on food and water to include data from 1946 through mid-2015. A systematic search of news reports, databases and previous inventories of poisoning events was undertaken. Incidents that threatened or were intended to achieve direct harm to humans, and that were either relatively large (number of victims > 4 or indiscriminate in intent or realisation were included. Agents could be chemical, biological or radio-nuclear. Reports of candidate incidents were subjected to systematic inclusion and exclusion criteria as well as validity analysis (not always clearly undertaken in previous inventories of such attacks). We summarise contextual aspects of the attacks that may be important for scenario prioritisation, modelling and defensive preparedness. Opportunity is key to most realised attacks, particularly access to dangerous agents. The most common motives and relative success rate in causing harm were very different between food and water attacks. The likelihood that people were made ill or died also varied by food/water mode, and according to motive and opportunity for delivery of the hazardous agent. Deaths and illness associated with attacks during food manufacture and prior to sale have been fewer than those in some other contexts. Valuable opportunities for food defence improvements are identified in other contexts, especially food prepared in private or community settings

Physical characterisation of southern massive star-forming regions using Parkes NH3_3 observations

We have undertaken a Parkes ammonia spectral line study, in the lowest two inversion transitions, of southern massive star formation regions, including young massive candidate protostars, with the aim of characterising the earliest stages of massive star formation. 138 sources from the submillimetre continuum emission studies of Hill et al., were found to have robust (1,1) detections, including two sources with two velocity components, and 102 in the (2,2) transition. We determine the ammonia line properties of the sources: linewidth, flux density, kinetic temperature, NH$_3$ column density and opacity, and revisit our SED modelling procedure to derive the mass for 52 of the sources. By combining the continuum emission information with ammonia observations we substantially constrain the physical properties of the high-mass clumps. There is clear complementarity between ammonia and continuum observations for derivations of physical parameters. The MM-only class, identified in the continuum studies of Hill et al., display smaller sizes, mass and velocity dispersion and/or turbulence than star-forming clumps, suggesting a quiescent prestellar stage and/or the formation of less massive stars.Comment: 20 pages, 9 Figures, 1 appendix (to appear in full online only, a sample appendix in the paper); 7 tables. Accepted by MNRA

Ayurveda and Epilepsy

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