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Amyloid fibrils arise from the slow aggregation of intermediately folded protein states. In this study the kinetics of the protein fibril formation of alpha-lactalbumin and its prevention by alphaS-casein in the presence and absence of the crowding agent, dextran (68 kDa), have been compared using a thioflavin T binding assay. It was found that alphaS-casein, a molecular chaperone found in bovine milk, is a potent in vitro inhibitor of alpha-lactalbumin fibrillization. The effect of alphaS-casein in preventing fibril formation was significant, although less than it is in the absence of the crowding agent, dextran. The interaction between the chaperone and the alpha-lactalbumin and structural change in the target protein are also shown using intrinsic fluorescence intensity, an ANS binding assay, CD spectroscopy and size-exclusion HPLC. In summary, alpha-casein interacts with alpha-lactalbumin and prevents amyloid formation but not as well as it does when the crowding agent, dextran, not present.

Background: General concern is that the pregnancy rate is higher with GnRH-agonist as a protocol of pituitary suppression. GnRH-antagonist protocol provides a shorter period of administration and an easy flexible protocol. Objective: In this study, the outcomes of GnRH agonist and antagonist in ICSI cycles are compared in normo responder patients. Materials and Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 300 normoresponders undergoing ICSI were randomly divided to GnRh agonist (n=150) and GnRh antagonist (n=150) groups. The main outcome measurements were chemical, clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates (PR). Results: The mean duration of stimulation were 9.6±1.6 and 8.2±1.6 days in agonist and antagonist groups respectively (p=0.001). The mean number of MII oocyte retrieved in agonist and antagonist groups were 7.7±4.0 and 6.9±4.3 respectively (p=0.03). There was no significant difference between two groups regarding mean number of gonadotrophin ampoules, follicles, occytes, total embryos and good quality embryos, OHSS incidence, and abortion rate. Chemical pregnancy rate was 35.3% in agonist and 39.3% in antagonist group. Clinical pregnancy rate was 35.3% in agonist and 34% in antagonist group. Ongoing pregnancy rate was 45 (31.3%) in agonist and 44 (29.3%) in antagonist group. There was no significant difference between two groups in pregnancy rates. Conclusion: In this study antagonist protocol was shown to be an easy, safe and friendly protocol in Iranian normoresponder patients, having similar outcomes with standard agonist protocol but shorter period of stimulation.

alpha-Crystallin is the major protein of the mammalian lens where it contributes to the refractive properties needed for vision and possibly to the stability of the tissue. The aim of this study was to determine whether the properties of alpha-crystallin have changed during the course of evolution.Dogfish alpha-crystallin, which appeared over 420 million years ago, has been contrasted with bovine alpha-crystallin, which emerged around 160 million years later, by comparing their sizes, the microenvironments of their cysteine and tryptophan residues, their chaperone-like activities and the flexibility of their COOH-terminal extensions.Dogfish alpha-crystallin consists of alphaA- and alphaB-polypeptides, in a 1:5 ratio, and has a molecular mass of around 400 kDa. By contrast, the bovine protein is around 600-800 kDa in mass and has a 3:1 subunit ratio. Cysteine residues in the proteins were equally accessible to reaction with 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid). Quenching of fluorescence with acrylamide indicated tryptophan residues in the two proteins were in similar environments. The chaperone activity of dogfish alpha-crystallin was comparable to that of bovine alpha-crystallin in preventing the heat-induced precipitation of beta(L)-crystallin but the dogfish protein was three times more effective at preventing insulin precipitation after reduction at 37 C. (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies showed that the last 17 amino acids of the dogfish alphaB polypeptide (V162-K178) have great conformational flexibility, are highly exposed to solvent and adopt little ordered conformation. This is comparable to, but slightly longer in length, than the COOH-terminal extension observed in mammalian alpha-crystallins.The structure and properties of alpha-crystallin have changed relatively little during the evolutionary period from the emergence of sharks and mammals.

Ever increasing competition along with customer demands for receiving customised services persuade firms to collaborate with other firms to create and deliver more value. On the other hand, entrance of information technology into the supply chain (SC) processes offers new opportunities to do collaborative businesses and facilitates integration of appropriate competencies and capabilities through SC. These conditions put emphasis on the importance of effective and efficient resource management especially in supply chain management (SCM) to realise predefined objectives. In accordance with previous works, primary framework was organised by combining transaction cost economics and resource–based view. However, analysis in this case study displayed another important theory, social exchange theory, should be considered in sourcing decisions. Finally, a comprehensive framework to develop sourcing strategies was provided for an international logistics service provider (LSP), Persian Gulf Transportation Co. To present this framework, content analysis and focus group were used for data analysis and validation, respectively.

This paper aims to provide a methodology for strategy development based on previous works to exploit appropriate electronic supply chain management (e-SCM) strategies for a logistics service provider (LSP), PGT Co. Appropriate decision making frameworks in each step of this methodology were developed. To organise related frameworks in this methodology, deep interviews were done with four PGT’s experts. Analysis reliability and final validation were done by two coders and through focus group including four experts, respectively. Finally, appropriate strategies were exploited based on recommended methodology and benchmarking of top 3PLs in the worlds and evaluated via focus group. Despite the emphasis of current researches on opportunities for innovation, new collaborative businesses, PGT Co. experts preferred to develop opportunities for automation and especially process integration. This methodology provides other managers a road map to develop their own e-SCM strategies based on this work to create more value collaboratively. Previous works mainly concerned with some e-SCM strategies without a comprehensive methodology to cover all of them along with their critical dimensions. This paper has addressed this issue.