The influence of bovine serum albumin on β-lactoglobulin denaturation, aggregation and gelation

peer-reviewedThe effect of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the heat-induced denaturation, aggregation and subsequent acid-induced gelation of β-lactoglobulin (β-lg) was investigated in this work. Changes in the denaturation kinetics of β-lg during heating at 78 °C were determined by monitoring the disappearance of the native protein by reverse-phase chromatography. Replacing β-lg with increasing amounts of BSA, while keeping the total protein concentration constant at 5% (w/w), significantly increased the denaturation rate of β-lg from 2.57±0.30×10−3(g L−1)(1−n)s−1 to 5.07±0.72×10−3(g L−1)(1−n)s−1 (β-lg: BSA ratio of 3:1 w/w). The reaction order for β-lg was 1.40±0.09. Partial replacement of β-lg with BSA (β-lg: BSA ratio of 3:1 w/w) significantly increased the reaction order to 1.67±0.13. Heat-induced aggregates between β-lg and BSA were studied by dynamic light scattering, two-dimensional electrophoresis and size exclusion chromatography. The partial replacement of β-lg with BSA significantly changed the gelling properties of the acid-induced gels. A rapid rate of acidification resulted in a significant decrease, while a slow acidification rate resulted in a significant increase in gel strength. Size exclusion chromatography demonstrated that intermolecular disulphide bond formation occurred during both heat-induced denaturation/aggregation and subsequent acid-induced gelation. Results clearly indicate that BSA contributed to the formation of these disulphide bonds.This work was funded under the Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM) of the National Development Plan 2000-2006. J. Kehoe is funded by the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship schem

CMFRI launches Open Access Institutional Repository

'E-prints@CMFRI'feature the facility of searching the articles by year, author, subject, document type or division. Interested users can freely download full-text as most of the documents are directly accessible. 'Request Copy' forms can be used for documents to which direct full-text download is restricted due to publishers' embargoes

Director General, ICAR Launches Open Access Online Indian Journal of Fisheries

Secretary (DARE) and Director General, ICAR Dr S Ayyappan launched the open access online Indian Journal of Fisheries in the ICAR website at a function held at Visakhapatnam RC of CMFRI. He was inaugurating the newly extended wing of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology lab-cumoffice comple

A review of the population structure of yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares, in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

ENGLISH: Since its inception in 1950 by agreement between the Republic of Costa Rica and the United States of America, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission has been engaged in studies of the biology, ecology and population dynamics of yellowfin tuna in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Prime consideration has been given to the evaluation of the effects of fishing pressure on the yellowfin tuna in this area in order to estimate the maximum sustainable yield. A portion of the eastern Pacific has been defined by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (1963) as a regulatory area for yellowfin tuna (Figure 1). SPANISH: Desde su incepción en 1950, por un acuerdo entre la República de Costa Rica y los Estados Unidos de América, la Comisión Interamericana del Atún Tropical ha estado ocupada en los estudios de la biología, ecología y dinámica de las poblaciones del atún aleta amarilla en el Océano Pacífico Oriental. Se consideró primariamente la evaluación de los efectos de la presión de la pesquería sobre el atún aleta amarilla en esta área, para poder estimar el rendimiento máximo sostenible. Una parte del Pacífico Oriental ha sido definida por la Comisión Interamericana del Atún Tropical (1963), como área de reglamentación del atún aleta amarilla (Figura 1). (PDF contains 60 pages.

Minutes of the CD-ROM Workshop

The workshop described in this document had two goals: (1) to establish guidelines for the CD-ROM as a tool to distribute datasets; and (2) to evaluate current scientific CD-ROM projects as an archive. Workshop attendees were urged to coordinate with European groups to develop CD-ROM, which is already available at low cost in the U.S., as a distribution medium for astronomical datasets. It was noted that NASA has made the CD Publisher at the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) available to the scientific community when the Publisher is not needed for NASA work. NSSDC's goal is to provide the Publisher's user with the hardware and software tools needed to design a user's dataset for distribution. This includes producing a master CD and copies. The prerequisite premastering process is described, as well as guidelines for CD-ROM construction. The production of discs was evaluated. CD-ROM projects, guidelines, and problems of the technology were discussed

Open Access Institutional Repository launched

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, in i t s journey towards establishing an Open access Institutional Digital Repository in the library, has uploaded about 7,000 scientific papers of their staff members published since 1953, which was launched as eprints@cmfri on 26 November 2010 by the Secretary, DARE and Director General, ICAR, Dr S. Ayyappan

Evolution of Institutional Repository at CMFRI

The paper traces the evolution of IR at CMFRI which is an initiative to implement IR at other ICAR Institutes. Discusses the lessons learned and best practices for implementing IRs and will pave way for other ICAR Institutions and State Agricultural Universities in India the examine the feasibility of IRs in the Indian context. CMFRI first introduced the Green Stone Digital Library (GSDL) software for uploading the scanned scientific papers and experienced some Hurdles. Realizing the difficulty in this software, selected Eprints software Version 3.1.3 which is freely available at developed by University of Southampton, UK. The Eprints software produces the necessary Dublin Core metadata for harvesting by service providers. The repository configures a new archive with a set of metadata fields aims at an archive of research papers. The CMFRI institutional repository is titled as Eprints@CMFRI. The steps in implementing the IR are summarized and lessons articulated

Transforming traditional libraries into Digital Libraries

Information Technology (IT) developments have changed the ICAR, ICMR and CSIR Institutes' libraries over the last few decades and speculates about further changes to come. The study discussed a 3 phase procession of the effects of IT on organization: modernization, innovation and transformation. The first stage of the study is to dominate by the theme of computerization of library applied a growing range of IT in the management of collection of primarily print on agriculture, industry and medical science information. The second stage is the rise of public access through LAN and WAN shared information it's resulted that Public Access Cataloguing (PAC), abstracting and indexing databases (CDRom database) had become quite large as a result of respective conversion programs for older books and some years of use in cataloguing new acquisitions. The development of automation age, print content goes electronic, online catalogue through widely popular rapidly created demand for actual content in digital form. The third stage is the innovation and transformation of information the institutions characterized by an enormous, exhilarating flowering of innovation, creativity and experimentation. The libraries must turn their attention to defining their mission and activities in relationship to their transforming information. Numerous troubles some issues had already encountered. High cost, pricing, licesing copy right, uninterrupted online access, perpetual access to back issues etc. will be much harder and more challenging issues

Wind tunnel pressurization and recovery system

The high density, low toxicity characteristics of refrigerant-12 (dichlorofluoromethane) make it an ideal gas for wind tunnel testing. Present limitations on R-12 emissions, set to slow the rate of ozone deterioration, pose a difficult problem in recovery and handling of large quantities of R-12. This preliminary design is a possible solution to the problem of R-12 handling in wind tunnel testing. The design incorporates cold temperature condensation with secondary purification of the R-12/air mixture by adsorption. Also discussed is the use of Freon-22 as a suitable refrigerant for the 12 foot wind tunnel

Bibliography of the Gulf of Mannar

The Gulf of Mannar has a chain of 21 islands (area of each island : 0.95 to 130 ha) along the 140 km stretch between Tuticorin and Rameswaram (Lat 8°55'-9°15'N and Long 78°0'-79°16'E) (Figs.l&2). They have fringing coral reefs and patch reefs rising from shallower areas of sea-shore. Fringing reefs are located n^ostly at a distance of 50-100 m from the islands and are narrow. Patch reefs arise from depti/is of 3 to 5 fathoms and are 1-2 km in length with widths of as much as 50 meters. These coral reefs have a rich variety of food fishes and ornamental fishes of various dimensions, colours and designs. The Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve (GOMMBR) is the India's firstj Maiiline National Park. The Biosphere includes the microecosystems of coral reefs, rocks, seaweeds, seagrasses, each supporting its own characteristic commvmity structures and zonations. The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, is the last preserve of the dugong, the most endangered mammal on earth. The area of the Gulf of Mannar under the Indian EEZ is about 15,000 sq. km-, where commercial fishing takesplace in about 5500 sq.km (upto 50 m depth). The deptli of the Gulf of Mannar beyond the island chain ranged from 3.5 to 15 m with a preciptous fall giving oceanic condition to the coastal areas. This ecosystem supports a wide spectra of flora and fauna of taxonomic and economic importance. They comprise of 128 species of corals, 641 species of crustaceans, 731 species of moUuscs, 441 species of finfishes, 147 species seaweeds and 52 species of seagrasses besides seasonally migratory marine mammals like whales, dolphines, porpoises, cirrious dugongs and aU the species of turtles. This habitat holds vast patches of mangroves belonging to 9 species of vegetation along witli flie supporting faima