Two-step purification strategy for enhanced recovery of recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen from Pichia pastoris

Univariate screening on factors affecting the purification performance of recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) on ion exchange chromatography (IEC) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and the establishment of a two-step purification strategy were performed. Amongst four IEC adsorbents examined, the use of Q Sepharose XL IEC adsorbent under optimized conditions together with optimized SEC purification was able to efficiently purify HBsAg. An established purification strategy comprising the two techniques further demonstrated adaptability for scale-up operations with a final total purification factor (PF) of 94.82 ± 16.20, HBsAg purity of 95.48% and recovery yield of 78.07%.     

COSMO-RS:An ionic liquid prescreening tool for gas hydrate mitigation

Recently ionic liquids(ILs) are introduced as novel dual function gas hydrate inhibitors. However, no desired gas hydrate inhibition has been reported due to poor IL selection and/or tuning method. Trial error as well as selection based on existing literature are the methods currently employed for selecting and/or tuning ILs. These methods are probabilistic, time consuming, expensive and may not result in selecting high performance ILs for gas hydrate mitigation. In this work, COSMO-RS is considered as a prescreening tool of ILs for gas hydrate mitigation by predicting the hydrogen bonding energies(E_(HB)) of studied IL inhibitors and comparing the predicted E_(HB) to the depression temperature(?) and induction time. Results show that, predicted EHBand chain length of ILs strongly relate and significantly affect the gas hydrate inhibition depression temperature but correlate moderately(R = 0.70) with average induction time in literature. It is deduced from the results that, ? increases with increasing IL EHBand/or decreases with increasing chain length. However, the cation–anion pairing of ILs also affects IL gas hydrate inhibition performance. Furthermore, a visual and better understanding of IL/water behavior for gas hydrate inhibition in terms of hydrogen bond donor and acceptor interaction analysis is also presented by determining the sigma profile and sigma potential of studied IL cations and anions used for gas hydrate mitigation for easy IL selection.     

A Meta-frontier method of decomposing long-term construction productivity components and technological gaps at the firm level: evidence from Malaysia

There is a need for a better approach to measure construction productivity rigorously, multilaterally, longitudinally and decomposed into its components. In response, this paper offers a robust approach to analysing construction productivity at the firm level that has been lacking in the industry to date, by measuring the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of 37 public-listed Malaysian construction firms over 14 years (2003–2016), based on the Färe-Primont index. In comparing different groups of building, civil and specialist construction firms, this is the first application of a meta-frontier framework to capture the technological gaps involved. Based on the construction firms’ financial data, it is found that TFP improvement generally occurs due to Technical Efficiency (TE) and Scale-Mix Efficiency (SME) (largely scope economies), and significant technological gaps exist among different groups. Moreover, the industry suffered a decline in technologically related production environment over the period – prompting the conclusion that long-term policy engagement should focus on technological improvements. The paper provides a robust approach to analysing construction productivity at the firm level that also can be used for accessing productivity components and technological gaps in construction and other industries.     

Textural,Rheological and Sensory Properties and Oxidative Stability of Nut Spreads—A Review

Tree nuts are rich in macro and micronutrients, phytochemicals, tocopherols and phenolic compounds. The development of nut spreads would potentially increase the food uses of nuts and introduce consumers with a healthier, non-animal breakfast snack food. Nut spreads are spreadable products made from nuts that are ground into paste. Roasting and milling (particle size reduction) are two important stages for the production of nut spreads that affected the textural, rheological characteristic and overall quality of the nut spread. Textural, color, and flavor properties of nut spreads play a major role in consumer appeal, buying decisions and eventual consumption. Stability of nut spreads is influenced by its particle size. Proper combination of ingredients (nut paste, sweetener, vegetable oil and protein sources) is also required to ensure a stable nut spread product is produced. Most of the nut spreads behaved like a non-Newtonian pseudo-plastic fluid under yield stress which help the producers how to start pumping and stirring of the nut spreads. Similar to other high oil content products, nut spreads are susceptible to autoxidation. Their oxidation can be controlled by application of antioxidants, using processing techniques that minimize tocopherol and other natural antioxidant losses.     

Properties of Ferrite-Filled Natural Rubber Composites

Nickel zinc ferrite (Ni-ZnFe₂O₄)-filled natural rubber (NR) composite was prepared at various loading of ferrite. The tensile properties included in this study were tensile strength, tensile modulus and elongation at break. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the composites increased up to 40 parts per hundred rubber (phr) of ferrite and then decreased at higher loading whereas the tensile modulus was increased gradually with increasing of ferrite loading. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the wettability of filler in rubber matrix. From the observation, the increase of filler loading reduced the wettability of the filler. Thermal stability of the composites was conducted by using a thermogravimetry analyser (TGA). The incorporation of ferrite in NR composites enhanced the thermal stability of NR composites. The swelling test results indicate that the swelling percentage of the composites decreased by increasing of ferrite loading. The initial permeability, μ_i and quality factor, Q of magnetic properties of NR composites achieved maximum value at 60 phr of ferrite loading for frequency range between 5000–40,000 kHz. The maximum impedance, Z _max of the NR composites was at the highest value at 80 phr ferrite loading for frequency range between 200–800 MHz.     

a-Si:H/SiNW shell/core for SiNW solar cell applications

Vertically aligned silicon nanowires have been synthesized by the chemical etching of silicon wafers. The influence of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layer (shell) on top of a silicon nanowire (SiNW) solar cell has been investigated. The optical properties of a-Si:H/SiNWs and SiNWs are examined in terms of optical reflection and absorption properties. In the presence of the a-Si:H shell, 5.2% reflection ratio in the spectral range (250 to 1,000 nm) is achieved with a superior absorption property with an average over 87% of the incident light. In addition, the characteristics of the solar cell have been significantly improved, which exhibits higher open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, and efficiency by more than 15%, 12%, and 37%, respectively, compared with planar SiNW solar cells. Based on the current–voltage measurements and morphology results, we show that the a-Si:H shell can passivate the defects generated by wet etching processes.     

The effect of magnetic and optic field in water electrolysis

Hydrogen production via water electrolysis was studied under the effect of magnetic and optical field. A diode solid state laser at blue, green and red were utilized as optical field source. Magnetic bar was employed as external magnetic field. The green laser has shown a greatest effect in hydrogen production due to its non-absorbance properties in the water. Thus its intensity of electrical field is high enough to dissociation of hydronium and hydroxide ions during orientation toward polarization of water. The potential to break the autoprotolysis and generate the auto-ionization is the mechanism of optical field to reveal the hydrogen production in water electrolysis. The magnetic field effect is more dominant to enhance the hydrogen production. The diamagnetic property of water has repelled the present of magnetic in water. Consequently the water splitting occurs due to the repulsive force induced by the external magnetic field. The magnetic distributed more homogenous in the water to involve more density of water molecule. As a result hydrogen production due to magnetic field is higher in comparison to optical field. However the combination both fields have generated superior effect whereby the hydrogen yields nine times higher in comparison to conventional water electrolysis.     

Reinforcement of graphene nanoplatelets on plasticized poly(lactic acid) nanocomposites: Mechanical,thermal, morphology,and antibacterial properties

Plasticized poly(lactic acid) (PLA)‐based nanocomposites filled with graphene nanoplatelets (xGnP) and containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and epoxidized palm oil (EPO) with ratio 2 : 1 (2P : 1E) as hybrid plasticizer were prepared by melt blending method. The key objective is to take advantage of plasticization to increase the material ductility while preserving valuable stiffness, strength, and toughness via addition of xGnP. The tensile modulus of PLA/2P : 1E/0.1 wt % xGnP was substantially improved (30%) with strength and elasticity maintained, as compared to plasticized PLA. TGA analysis revealed that the xGnP was capable of acting as barrier to reduce thermal diffusion across the plasticized PLA matrix, and thus enhanced thermal stability of the plasticized PLA. Incorporation of xGnP also enhanced antimicrobial activity of nanocomposites toward Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41652.     

Investigation of laser consolidation process for metal powder by two-color pyrometer and high-speed video camera

This paper deals with the measurement of surface temperature on metal powder during the laser consolidation process with two-color pyrometer. Additionally, the aspect of selective laser sintering (SLS) and selective laser melting (SLM) of metal powder is visualized with high speed video camera. As a result, the surface temperature during the laser irradiation was ranged 1520–1810 °C and the consolidation phenomena was classified according to the melting point of metal powder. The metal powder at the heating process cohered intermittently to the melt pool although the laser beam was continuously irradiated to the powder surface.     

Hypocholesterolaemic effect of yoghurt containing Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4 or Bifidobacterium longum BB536

The effect of a yoghurt supplement containing Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4 or Bifidobacterium longum BB536 on plasma lipids, lipid peroxidation and the faecal excretion of bile acids was examined in rats fed a cholesterol-enriched diet. After 8 weeks, the rats in the positive control (PC) group who were fed the cholesterol-enriched diet showed significant increases in plasma total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and malondialdehyde (MDA). However, groups fed a cholesterol-enriched diet supplemented with yoghurt containing B. pseudocatenulatum G4 or B. longum BB536 had significantly lower plasma TC, LDL-C, very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol, and MDA than had the PC group after 8 weeks of treatment. In addition, faecal excretion of bile acids was markedly increased in the rats fed the yoghurt containing B. pseudocatenulatum G4 or B. longum BB536 as compared to the PC and NC groups.