Molecular Bio-imprinting of Biocatalysts

Energy conservation is the cry of the day. Attempts are made all over the world to occupy and use energy reserves. Increased industrialization and mechanization has led to the depletion of natural energy reserves. Its unavoidable to search for renewable sources of energy, which may be not used now but can be used by future generations. We are using the expertise of our ancestors. Thus exploiting the nature and newer techniques in this area would yield the best results. Bio-imprinting is one of those techniques whereby chemical modification is done in order to achieve highly expressed protein which can be stored in its highly active form in the specific solvent

Different Approaches For Protein Engineering In Industrial Biotechnology

Protein engineering is the novel field which has wide applications from pharmaceutics, industry, commercial, laundry and research. It may apply rational design or non rational design or both. Site directed mutagenesis is a classical approach involving the protein folding principles and as such different techniques involving multidisciplinary research and broad knowledge is required involving biocomputing of complex data obtained from various sequencing projects and prediction of the future protein structure either chemically or genetically modified. Non rational mutagenesis or directed evolution involves random mutations in the gene encoding protein or shuffling the genes encoding different domains producing a random set of numerous large libraries of mutant proteins, using advanced technology the desired protein can be selected but the exact structure or changes may remain unnoticed

Mass transfer efficiency of a tall and low plate free area liquid pulsed sieve-plate extraction column

Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge Chakwal group of industries for funding the project. Ms. Madiha, Ms. Zona, Mr. Sohaib, Mr. Abdullah, Mr. Mudassar, and Mr. Salahuddin also deserve our acknowledgements for their assistance in different ways.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Role of Board and Firm Performance in Determination of CEO Compensation: Evidence from Islamic Republic of Pakistan

The current research aims to investigate the influence of board effectiveness and firm performance on CEO compensation within the context of developing economy of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The study uses Partial Least Square (PLS) based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Technique to draw the inference using PLS Graph Version 3.0. It uses Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE)-100 index companies as a sample for the period of five years 2007-2011. Before analyzing the structural model the validity and reliability of the model is confirmed through bootstrapping technique and variance inflationary factor respectively. The structural model results reveal that board effectiveness has negative influence on CEO compensation. Opposite to agency theory and current studies from developed countries, we have found a negative association between the firm performance (firm value and firm profitability) and CEO compensation. These results are due to different business environment of Pakistan and poor corporate governance structure. So, it is concluded that board of directors of Pakistani companies are not that much effective to facilitate the objective determination of CEO compensation and failed to design such contracts which can link the CEO pay with firm performance. Our results also support the international literature that firm size is the major determinant of CEO compensation. Most of the previous studies have been conducted with reference to developed economies so we need to know the procedure through which the corporate managers in developing economies are compensated. The unique characteristics of Pakistani business environment like concentrated ownership, family owned businesses and poor governance structure make it interesting to study this issue. Moreover, unlike developed economies the CEO compensation does not include stock options as a part of the total compensation representing the difference in CEO compensation contracts with respect to developed economies and developing economies. So, current study makes a valuable addition to the available literature by investigating the issue within the context of unique business environment of Pakistan

Expression and sequence characterization of growth hormone binding protein of Nili-Ravi buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

The growth hormone binding protein (GHBP) was isolated from the liver of Nili-Ravi buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplified and sequence characterized. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated high degree sequence identities (97.3 to 99.6%) of BbGHBP cDNA with Bos taurus, Ovis aries and Capra hircus. An expression plasmid was constructed for the production of BbGHBP in Escherichia coli BL21 (RIPL) CodonPlus under the control of T7lac promoter. On induction with isopropyl β-D thiogalactopyranoside, the BbGHBP was expressed at levels >30% of the total E. coli proteins. The target protein expressed as inclusion bodies was solubilized in denaturing solution and refolded by step/pulsatile dilution method using cysteine and cystine redox potential. Purification to near homogeniety (>98%) was achieved by ion-exchange chromatography with a recovery yield of 64%. Mass spectrometric analysis of the purified BbGHBP showed a single peak of 30,756 Da. A radioprotein assay evaluated the binding affinity of recombinant BbGHBP with iodinated bovine growth hormone (bGH) which demonstrated active conformation of BbGHBP. These results demonstrate high expression and sequence characterization of BbGHBP in Nili-Ravi buffaloes and provide the basis for the assessment of BbGHBP in other breeds of buffalo.Keywords: Liver, Nili-Ravi buffalo, GHBP, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, radioprotein binding assay, refoldin

Surgical Outcome of Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy in Patients Having High ETV Success Score: One-Year Experience at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background & Objective:  Endoscopic third Ventriculostomy (ETV) is an accepted alternative to VP shunt in patients with obstructive hydrocephalus. We will share our experience and outcome. Materials & Methods:  Thirty consecutive ETV cases performed by a single surgeon during 1 year in patients with an ETV success score of 60 or higher were included in this study. Patients’ demographics, outcomes, and complications are reported. Results:  (60%) were male and 12 (40%) were female. The mean age in our study was 6.1 years ± 9 (mean ± SD). Posterior fossa tumor was the most common etiology in our series (46.6%) followed by aqueductal stenosis (23.3%). Eighty percent of our patients did not experience an ETV failure. The complication rate was 20%. Inadequate ventriculostomy in 6.6% of the patients was the commonest complication. Conclusion:  ETV is safe and effective in patients with high ETV success scores

Firm Size as Moderator to Leverage-Performance Relation: An Emerging Market Review

Present study explored leverage-performance relation while the moderating firm size in developing countries like Pakistan. Data is collected for 304 Pakistani non-financial firms for the period of 2005-2013. It is found that overall leverage-performance relation is negative for all types of firms. However, such losses are more prominent for small size firms. Results also showed that the leverage-performance relation is nonlinear for medium and large size firms.However, in practice these firms are not targeting optimal level and over-leveraging that ultimately decrease their profits.So, financial managers of small size firms should avoid debt financing while for large and medium size firms,managers need to adjust their debt ratio toits optimal level. Keywords: Leverage, Performance, Capital Structure, Moderation, Firm Size JEL code: G32

Person-Organization Fit and Innovative Work Behavior: The Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support, Affective Commitment and Trust

The present study investigates the mediating role of perceived organizational support, trust and affective commitment in the relationship between person-organization fit and innovative work behavior. Sample consists of 151 respondents. Existing validated questionnaires were used for the collection of data from nurses employed in different hospitals of Islamabad, Pakistan. PROCESS Macros technique is applied to test the hypothesized model. The results show that affective commitment, perceived organizational support, and trust have an indirect effect on the relationship between person-organization fit and innovative work behavior. Managerial implications, directions and limitations for the future studies are mentioned at the end

Triggering employee green activism through green human resource management : The role of green organizational learning and responsible leadership

Several studies have unveiled that green human resource management (GHRM) positively affects employees' voluntary green behaviors at work. However, the literature has overlooked the influence of GHRM on employee beyond-work green activism—employees' participation in different environmental campaigns and initiatives and supporting/influencing organizations, environmental groups, and political actions aimed at protecting the natural environment. We hypothesize that GHRM leads to employee beyond-work green activism directly and indirectly via green organizational learning. The present study also tests the moderating role of responsible leadership in the GHRM-green organizational learning link. Multisource survey data collected using the time-lagged strategy supported the proposed relationships. The findings offer important recommendations for managers that can help them signify the role of business organizations and HR practices in protecting the natural environment.© 2024 The Author(s). Business Strategy and the Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed