The last two decades have witnessed an increasing interest in the use of the so-called rapid analytical methods or high throughput techniques. Most of these applications reported the use of vibrational spectroscopy methods (near infrared (NIR), mid infrared (MIR), and Raman) in a wide range of samples (e.g., food ingredients and natural products). In these applications, the analytical method is integrated with a wide range of multivariate data analysis (MVA) techniques (e.g., pattern recognition, modelling techniques, calibration, etc.) to develop the target application. The availability of modern and inexpensive instrumentation together with the access to easy to use software is determining a steady growth in the number of uses of these technologies. This paper underlines and briefly discusses the three critical pillars-the sample (e.g., sampling, variability, etc.), the spectra and the mathematics (e.g., algorithms, pre-processing, data interpretation, etc.)-that support the development and implementation of vibrational spectroscopy applications.α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) is an important nicotinic acetylcholine receptors subtype and closely associated with cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer's and schizophrenia disease. The mutant ArIB (V11L, V16A) of α-conotoxin ArIB with 17-amino acid residues specifically targets α7 nAChR with no obvious effect on other nAChR subtypes. In the study, the synthetic gene encoding mature peptide of ArIB and mutant ArIB (V11L, V16A) carried a fusion protein Trx and 6 × His-tag was separately inserted in pET-32a (+) vector and transformed into Escherichia coli strain BL21(DE3) pLysS for expression.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ex229-compound-991.html  The expressions of Trx-ArIB-His6 and Trx-ArIB (V11L, V16A)-His6 were soluble in Escherichia coli, which were purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography column and cleaved by enterokinase to release rArIB and rArIB (V11L, V16A). Then, rArIB and rArIB (V11L, V16A) were purified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Bioactivity of rArIB and rArIB (V11L, V16A) was assessed by two-electrode voltage-clamp electrophysiology in Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing human nAChR subtypes. The results indicated that the yield of the fusion proteins was approximately 50 mg/L and rArIB (V11L, V16A) antagonized the α7 nAChR subtype selectively with 8-nM IC50. In summary, this study provides an efficient method to biosynthesize α-conotoxin ArIB and rArIB (V11L, V16A) in Escherichia coli, which could be economical to obtain massively bioactive disulfide-rich polypeptides at fast speed.Allergic diseases are the most common chronic illness in childhood. Findings from developed countries have reported associations between Vitamin D levels during pregnancy and offspring allergy risk. This prospective cohort study aimed to determine the associations between maternal Vitamin D levels during late pregnancy and allergic diseases in Malaysian infants during the first year of life. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations of 380 pregnant women in the third trimester were measured using a chemiluminescent immunoassay. Children's allergic outcomes were assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months based on parental reports. Specific IgE antibodies against food and inhalant allergens were measured in infants at 12 months of age. A total of 43.2% pregnant women were Vitamin D deficient ( less then 30 nmol/L) and 56.8% were nondeficient (≥30 nmol/L). A total of 27.6% of the infants had eczema, 6.1% had wheeze, 27.4% had food sensitization, 10.8% had inhalant allergen sensitization, and 3.8% had IgE-mediated food allergy during the first year of life. Compared with the nondeficient group, maternal Vitamin D deficiency in late pregnancy was not associated with any allergic outcomes after adjustment for potential confounding factors. In conclusion, the present study does not support an association between maternal Vitamin D levels in late pregnancy and allergic outcomes during the first year of life.Anisotropy is the difference in the microstructure or mechanical properties of materials in different directions. Anisotropic behavior occurs in rolled sheets, and this anisotropy is very obvious in laminated composites. In this work, the influence of anisotropy on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti/Al laminated composites fabricated by rolling was investigated. The results show that the microstructure and mechanical properties of the Ti/Al laminated composites were obviously anisotropic. The grains in the Al layer of the composites were elongated along the rolling direction and were compressed perpendicular to the rolling direction. The grains in the Ti layer of the composites had no obvious preferential orientation and comprised mainly twins. With the rolling direction as 0°, the mechanical properties of the Ti/Al laminated composites varied greatly as the angle of the composites increased. The tensile strength, elongation and bond strength of the Ti/Al laminated composites decreased with increasing angle of the composites. In addition, the microhardness of the Ti/Al laminated composites increased with increasing angle of the composites.This paper presents a method of utilising ilmenite MUD created during the production of titanium dioxide (TiO2) according to the sulphate method as an additive for Portland cement composites. After the production process, undissolved MUD was additionally rinsed with water and filtrated in the factory to make it more useful (R-MUD) for implementation and also to turn back some of the by-products of the production of TiO2. R-MUD is less hazardous waste than MUD. It has a lower concentration of sulphuric acid and some heavy metals. The rinsing process raised the concentration of SiO2, which is a valuable part of R-MUD because of its potential pozzolanic activity. This means that the R-MUD might be a reactive substitute of part of Portland cement in building composites. The article presents the results of research on the pozzolanic activity of R-MUD and other materials with proved pozzolanic activity, such as silica fume, fly ash and natural pozzolana (trass). Tests were performed using thermal analysis techniques.