Diversity in secondary metabolites including mycotoxins from strains of aspergillus section nigri isolated from raw cashew nuts from Benin, West Africa

Open access JournalIn a previous study, raw cashew kernels were assayed for the fungal contamination focusing on strains belonging to the genus Aspergillus and on aflatoxins producers. These samples showed high contamination with Aspergillus section Nigri species and absence of aflatoxins. To investigate the diversity of secondary metabolites, including mycotoxins, the species of A. section Nigri may produce and thus threaten to contaminate the raw cashew kernels, 150 strains were isolated from cashew samples and assayed for their production of secondary metabolites using liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Seven species of black Aspergilli were isolated based on morphological and chemical identification: A. tubingensis (44%), A. niger (32%), A. brasiliensis (10%), A. carbonarius (8.7%), A. luchuensis (2.7%), A. aculeatus (2%) and A. aculeatinus (0.7%). From these, 45 metabolites and their isomers were identified. Aurasperone and pyranonigrin A, produced by all species excluding A. aculeatus and A. aculeatinus, were most prevalent and were encountered in 146 (97.3%) and 145 (95.7%) isolates, respectively. Three mycotoxins groups were detected: fumonisins (B2 and B4) (2.7%) ochratoxin A (13.3%), and secalonic acids (2%), indicating that these mycotoxins could occur in raw cashew nuts. Thirty strains of black Aspergilli were randomly sampled for verification of species identity based on sequences of β-tubulin and calmodulin genes. Among them, 27 isolates were positive to the primers used and 11 were identified as A. niger, 7 as A. tubingensis, 6 as A. carbonarius, 2 as A. luchuensis and 1 as A. welwitschiae confirming the species names as based on morphology and chemical features. These strains clustered in 5 clades in A. section Nigri. Chemical profile clustering also showed also 5 groups confirming the species specific metabolites production

Towards a novel framework of barriers and drivers for digital transformation in industrial supply chains

© 2019 PICMET. Businesses across all sectors are facing the complexity of an increasingly digital economy. Digital transformation offers vast opportunities to businesses and entire supply chains. While many investments are targeted at the organization level, the supply chain perspective can lead to even greater impacts on business performance. However, as supply chains involve interconnections between multiple actors, comprehensive digitalization initiatives at this level are very complex. Several strategic factors affect decision-making around digital investments. For this reason, a framework that categorizes all these factors is needed in order to help managers build digitalization strategies for their supply chains. In this paper, based on a review of existing literature, we give indications for a framework encompassing barriers to and drivers for digital transformation in the context of industrial supply chains. Our framework preliminarily allocates these factors by using two dimensions. The first one classifies them using several categories: financial, knowledge and skills, regulatory, technological, market, organizational, and cultural. The second dimension classifies determinants at the level on which actions can be made, i.e. market, supply chain, or organization. The framework can support organizations to exploit the opportunities provided by digitalization of supply chains and will help managers understand the complexity involved

Some characteristics and isolation of novel thermostable ß-galactosidase from Thermus oshimai DSM 12092

The ß-galactosidases belong to the class of hydrolytic enzymes and have been used as lactose hyrolysis. The enzyme is used in reducing lactose milk production, an outstanding industrial product used by a large lactoseintolerant population. This is the first detailed report of some characteristics of ß-galactosidase and the gene encoding ß-galactosidase in Thermus oshimai DSM 12092. The growth rate (µ, 1/h), and the doubling time (tD, h) for T. oshimai grown both in shaking flasks and in a bioreactor were determined. The optimal temperature and pH for ß-galactosidase were determined as 75°C and 7. 4, respectively. This enzyme was thermostable and was retained by more than 70% at 90°C for 3 h. The ß-galactosidase from T. oshimai DSM 12092 was more stable in basic pH and Zn2+ was the most effective divalent cation. Also, 2 steps of purification consisting of ammonium sulfate precipitation and gel filtration were employed and purified 32-fold. © 2013 The Korean Society of Food Science and Technology and Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

Isolated acute lupus pneumonitis as the initial presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus in an 8-year-old girl

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease which has broad pleuropulmonary manifestations. One of the rare and mortal complications is acute lupus pneumonitis, which is reported very rarely, especially in childhood. Herein, we report an 8-year-old girl with isolated acute lupus pneumonitis as the initial presentation that required a lung biopsy for diagnosis. Although she had improvement with the administration of steroids, steroid treatment was reduced due to the drug's side effects resulting in the addition of azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil to the treatment regimen. After the new regimen failed to result in clinical improvement, hydroxychloroquine treatment was started and a significant improvement was observed. Acute lupus pneumonitis is an uncommon manifestation of SLE and diagnosis may be difficult in patients without other organ involvement