Utilization of seashells in matte glaze preparation

In this study, the investigation of the optical properties and microstructural development of matte glaze compositions prepared with the addition of seashells was aimed. The seashells obtained from Black Sea beaches of Samsun, Turkey were characterized using XRF, XRD, FTIR, TG-DTA techniques, and heating microscope. The calcite-aragonite polymorphic transition was provided by heat treatment of seashell powders at 700°C for 1 hour and then, aragonite-based seashell powders were incorporated to matte glaze compositions up to 30 wt%. Firstly, four different types of fired body specimens (red clay, chamotte, white, and porcelain) were produced at 800ºC for 7 hour. Secondly, the prepared glazes were applied on surface of all fired bodies and then, all bodies were sintered at 1100ºC for 8 hour. Finally, coloring parameters and microstructural features of seashell added glazes were determined. The addition of seashells to glaze composition by 10 and 20 wt% resulted in higher transparency. The matte glaze was formed with increment of seashell content to 30 wt%. The more reduced fluidity of the glaze caused nonhomogenous matte appearance. As a result, it is possible to produce transparent glazes in eco-friendly and cost-effective way by addition of seashells into glaze composition in 20 wt%.     

Identification of a Hotspot Residue for Improving the Thermostability of a Flavin-Dependent Monooxygenase

HadA is a flavin-dependent monooxygenase that can catalyze the denitration and dehalogenation of a wide variety of toxicants such as pesticides. Although these enzymatic reactions are useful for bioremediation or biocatalysis, the application of HadA for these purposes is not yet possible because of its low thermostability. In this work we have engineered HadA to be more thermostable through the use of structural, in silico, and rational approaches. The X-ray structure of HadA was solved to obtain a reliable three-dimensional protein model for further prediction of thermostable variants. In silico analysis by using two bioinformatic tools—FireProt and Disulfide by Design—suggested 102 variants that we then further refined by applying rational criteria including the location of a particular residue and its nearby interactions, as well as other biophysical parameters to narrow down the list to six candidates. The G513Y variant was found to be an optimal engineered candidate because it has significantly improved stability relative to the wild-type enzyme and equivalent activity. G513Y has an activity half-life 72 (50 °C) and 160 times (45 °C) longer than that of the wild-type enzyme. Coupled together with thermostable reactions of reduced flavin and NADH-regenerating systems, the G513Y variant can be used to catalyze denitration of 4nitrophenol at 45 °C. Structure/sequence alignments of HadA and its homologues indicate that several flavin-dependent monooxygenases also contain amino acid residues homologous to the G513 of HadA, hence opening up the possibility of applying this engineering approach to improving their thermostabilities as well. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations confirmed that the improved thermostability of the G513Y variant was due to aromatic hydrocarbon interactions between Y513 and N359, L347, G348, and F349.     

Involution dependent changes in distribution and localization of bax,survivin, caspase‐3, and calpain‐1 in the rat endometrium

The endometrial layer of the uterus is characterized by continuous cycle of cell growth and apoptosis in response to hormonal changes. Apoptosis is regulated by several apoptotic regulators, but their significance in involuting uterus has not been well understood. For that reason, aim of this study was to investigate possible role of apoptosis‐related proteins (bax and survivin) and enzymes (caspase‐3 and calpain‐1) in the involuting uterus of the rat, using immunohistochemistry. Our results indicated cytoplasmic and nuclear immunostaining for bax, caspase‐3, calpain‐1 and survivin proteins were found in the endometrial epithelium and stromal cells such as fibroblasts, mast cells and macrophages, and blood vessels; however, calpain‐1 immunoreactivity in the endometrial fibroblast was quite weak or absent. Supranuclear punctate bax immunolabelling was also observed in the endometrial fibroblasts and luminal and glandular epithelial cells from days 1st and 3rd following parturition, respectively. Although survivin was localized in the apical cytoplasm underneath the apical membrane of the luminal epithelium on the 1st and 3rd days, it was also localized in the apicolateral membrane and basal cytoplasm on the 10th and 15th days of involution. Immunostainigs demonstrated that expression patterns of all examined proteins varied with structural changes in the luminal epithelium, and number of immunopositive fibroblasts for bax, caspase‐3 and survivin increased with advance of postpartum days and reached a maximum on postpartum days 10 and 15. These results suggest that the process of postpartum involution of endometrium may be regulated by apoptotic and non‐apoptotic activity of bax, caspase‐3, calpain‐1, and survivin. Microsc. Res. Tech. 79:285–297, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Polypropylene/Spray Dried and Silane-Treated Nanofibrillated Cellulose Composites

In this study, the spray dried nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) was modified by a silane coupling agent to be used in polypropylene (PP)-copolymer matrix in the presence of maleic anhydride grafted PP (PP-g-MAH) compatibilizer. The PP/NFC composites were melt compounded and injection molded. In the first stage, the NFC was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was shown that fibrillation in aqueous media through high-pressure homogenization was successfully achieved. The nanofibrils having diameter smaller than 50 nm were obtained. The X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS) showed the presence of the silane groups on the NFC surface. Elastic modulus improved by the addition of the high modulus NFC to PP, but the yield strength was not improved. On the other hand, different than many inorganic micron-sized fillers, the elongation-at-break value did not drop much. Differential scanning calorimeter experiments indicated that the NFC acted as a nucleating agent. Rheological investigations exhibited that NFC decreased the viscosity of the PP. The addition of NFC to PP improved the thermal resistance of the PP as can be understood from the TGA experiments. It was demonstrated that renewable nanofiller can be a feasible method to functionalize the existing synthetic polymers. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 60: 352–361, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Region‐specific localization of NOS isoforms and NADPH‐diaphorase activity in the intratesticular and excurrent duct systems of adult domestic cats (Felis catus)

Nitric oxide (NO) is produced by nitric oxide synthases (NOSs) and plays an important role in all levels of reproduction from the brain to the reproductive organs. Recently, it has been discovered that all germ cells and Leydig cells in the cat testis exhibit stage‐dependent nuclear and cytoplasmic endothelial (eNOS) and inducible (iNOS)‐NOS immunoreactivity and cytoplasmic nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate‐diaphorase (NADPH‐d) reactivity. As a continuation of this finding, in this study, cellular localization of NADPH‐d and immunolocalization and expression of all three NOS isoforms were investigated in the intratesticular (tubuli recti and rete testis), and excurrent ducts (efferent ductules, epididymal duct and vas deferens) of adult cats using histochemistry, immunohistochemistry and western blotting. NADPH‐d activity was found in the midpiece of the spermatozoa tail and epithelial cells of all of ducts, except for nonciliated cells of the efferent ductules. Even though the immunoblotting results revealed similar levels of nNOS, eNOS and iNOS in the caput, corpus and cauda segments of epididymis and the vas deferens, immunostainings showed cell‐specific localization in the efferent ductules and region‐ and cell‐specific localization in the epididymal duct. All of three NOS isoforms were immunolocalized to the nuclear membrane and cytoplasm of the epithelial cells in all ducts, but were found in the tail and the cytoplasmic droplets of spermatozoa. These data suggest that NO/NOS activity might be of importance not only for the functions of the intratesticular and excurrent ducts but also for sperm maturation. Microsc. Res. Tech. 79:192–208, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Coprecipitation of Ni(2+), Cd(2+) and Pb(2+) for preconcentration in environmental samples prior to flame atomic absorption spectrometric determinations

A coprecipitation procedure has been presented prior to flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of nickel, cadmium and lead ions in environmental samples. Analyte ions were coprecipitated by using copper hydroxide precipitate. The influences of some analytical parameters like amounts of copper, sample volume, etc., on the recoveries of the analytes were investigated. The interference of other ions was negligible. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits (3 sigma, n=15) of lead(II), nickel(II) and cadmium(II) were 7.0, 3.0 and 2.0 microg/L, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully applied for the determination of traces of Ni, Cd and Pb in environmental samples like tap water.     

Determination of reaction kinetics of hydrolysis of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) protein for manipulating production of bioactive peptides with antioxidant activity,angiotensin‐I‐converting enzyme inhibitory activity and Ca‐binding properties

To manipulate enzymatic hydrolysis of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) muscle protein for production of bioactive peptides, its reaction kinetics was intensively studied. The study showed that the production of peptides with different bioactive properties including antioxidant activity, angiotensin‐I‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition and Ca‐binding property and their kinetics were affected by the degree of hydrolysis and substrate concentration. A comparative study on reaction kinetics found that the kinetic parameters for the production of each bioactive peptide are unique, that is, the maximum initial velocity, V_max, for hydrolysis of protein was as high as 1.07 mg mL^?1 min^?1, but that for the production of peptides with antioxidant activity and Ca‐binding property were very low, range of 7.14–66.7 μg mL^?1 min^?1, and that for the production of peptides with ACE inhibitory activity was the lowest, at 2.57 μg mL^?1 min^?1. This knowledge of reaction kinetics of protein hydrolysis would be useful for manipulating and optimising the production of peptides with desired bioactive properties.