Transhumanism: the epitome of doom and gloom

Ever since the idea of [Transhumanism] came into being, it has divided our society into two opposing factions i.e. the bioconservatives and transhumanists. The transhumanist movement is based on the idea that enhancements should be made in humans through technology while bioconservatives oppose this idea. Transhumanism is already feared to be world's most dangerous idea by bioconservatives such as Francis Fukuyama, as it is not justified or proven yet that transhumanism is safe for our future. The notion is believed to be not only de-humanising but also poses many threats to the rest of humanity. As explicitly suggested by bioconservatives human enhancing technologies are more of a bane than a boon. Furthermore, many of the transhumanist technologies have many demerits to them. Bioconservatives believe that the technological enhancements will lead to obscenity and be a blemish on the human race. It is highly possible that humans will suffer from autocracy by the hands of the posthumans, since the posthuman age will certainly give rise to several moral dilemmas, such as racism, which will plague the human world. There are four fundamental aspects of transhumanism; nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology [IT] and cognitive sciences, which come with many promising advantages, but can also turn our future into a dystopia. Even with constant opposition from the bioconservatives, the dark scenarios related with the ascend of the transhuman era are inevitable and the amalgamation of machines with man is equivalent to forfeiting true humanity

Potential of nano-emulsions as phytochemical delivery system for food preservation

Nature is a rich source of bioactive phytochemicals. These plant based compounds have rich scope as antioxidants, antimicrobial compounds and food preservatives and so for long time to be used in meat, fruits, vegetables and processed food items, either as added preservative or as coating material in various food applications, but the major limitation is their limited solubility in a food grade medium. Nano-emulsion is a best choice as a medium having vast area of application. The major advantage of nano-emulsion would be the solubility of a vast group of compounds, due to the presence of water and lipid phases. In this way, nano-emulsions can be proved to be the most suitable candidate as phytochemical delivery system for food preservation. In present article, the use of phytochemicals as potent food preservatives has been reviewed, in context of solubility of phytochemicals in nano-emulsion and applications of food grade nano-emulsions to food systems

Diagnostic accuracy of CT scan in detecting intestinal obstruction keeping the histopathology findings as gold standard

Objective: to determine diagnostic accuracy of CT scan to diagnose intestinal obstruction on the basis of histopathological analysis as gold standard

Methods: total of one hundred and eleven [n=111] patients with age ranging 20-60 years having profound clinical features of intestinal obstruction were enrolled in the study. CT scan was performed with intravenous contrast medium. Following parameter were assessed on CT scanning: dilatation of bowel loops, presence of abrupt or gradual change of luminal caliber in bowel, and presence of any wall thickening of bowel or focal mass lesion at or around the level of obstruction. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy was assessed among the two procedures

Results: mean age of subjects was 39.6 +/- 11.4 years. The female to male ratio in this study was 1:1. Intestinal obstruction was detected in 70% cases using CT scan while 73% cases were identified positive using the histopathological analysis. Overall sensitivity was found to be 95.1%, specificity 96.7%, and accuracy of 69.4% in this study. Among patients with age 40 years exhibited sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 94.7%. Whereas, among male patients sensitivity was 100% and specificity was 93.3% and in female patients the sensitivity was 90.2% and specificity was 100%

Conclusion: CT is highly sensitive and specific in determining presence of bowel obstruction and it also clearly demonstrates the site and cause of obstruction

Optimization and partial characterization of bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus bulgaricus -TLBFT06 isolated from Dahi

Lactobacillus bulgaricus is one of the predominant lactic acid bacteria of dahi, conferring technological and functional attributes. In the present study thirty dahi samples were investigated for bacteriocin producing L. bulgaricus. Fourteen different isolates were obtained and five were scrutinized for antibacterial activities against food born pathogens. Amongst, a strain TLB06FT was found to have a wide array of antibacterial activities against Gram positive and negative bacteria was selected for further characterization. Growth media optimization for this strain revealed maximum bacteriocin production on MRS media supplemented with glucose [2%], sodium chloride [1%], Tween-80 [0.5%] and yeast extract [1%]. In addition, optimization of growth conditions revealed maximum bacteriocin production at pH 5.5 and temperature of 30-37[degree]C. Bacteriocin showed thermo stability at 90[degree]C and remained highly active in the pH range of 3.5-7.5, inactive by protein catalyzing enzymes and showed no change in activity [800AUmL[-1]] when treated with organic solvents and surfactants. The obtained bacteriocin was purified to 1600AU mL[-1] by ammonium sulfate precipitation [80%] by using dialyzing tubing. In the same way, a single peak was obtained by RP-HPLC having antibacterial activity of 6400AU mL[-1]. Thus, wild strains of L. bulgaricus have great potential for the production new and novel type of bacteriocins

Rapeseed lipase catalyzed synthesis of butyl butyrate for flavour and nutraceutical applications in organic media

Butyl butyrate, a short chain ester with fine fruity pineapple odour, is a significant flavour compound. Recent investigations show that butyrate esters also have anticancer activity. Factors influencing the synthesis of butyl butyrate by organic phase biocatalysis were investigated. Maximum ester yield of 89% was obtained when 0.25 M butanol and butyric acid were reacted at 25 [degree sign] C for 48 h in the presence of 250 mg rape seed lipase acetone powder in hexane. Addition of water did not affect synthesis, while a water activity of 0.45 was found optimum. Of 15 different alcohols evaluated, isoamyl and [Z]-3-hexen-1-ol were esterified most effectively with molar conversion yields of 92.2 and 80.2%. Short chain primary alcohols such as methanol and medium-long chain alcohols, such as heptanol and octanol were esterified were slowly. The results show that rape see lipase is versatile catalyst for ester synthesis with temperature stability range 5-50 [degree sign] C