A Comprehensive Method for Casein-based Assay of Soil Protease Activity

Data on historic floods along the Danube River exist since the year 1012. In the Middle Ages, floods were estimated based on historical documents, including original handwritten notes, newspaper articles, chronicles, formal letters, books, maps and photographs. From 1500 until the beginning of organized water regime observations, floods were hydraulically reconstructed based on water marks on old buildings in cities along the Danube (Passau, Melk, Emmersdorf an der Donau, Spilz, Schonbuhen and Bratislava). The paper presents a procedure for assessing the statistical significance of registered historic floods using a comprehensive method for defining theoretical flood hydrographs at hydrological stations. The approach is based on correlation analysis of two basic flood hydrograph parameters – maximum hydrograph ordinate (peak) and flood wave volume. The PROIL model is used to define the probability of simultaneous occurrence of these parameters. It defines the exceedance probability of two random variables, in the specific case two hydrograph parameters of the form: P{Qmax more equal to qmax,p)∩(Wmax more equal to wmax,p)} = P (1) where: Qmax – maximum hydrograph ordinate (peak); qmax,p – maximum discharge of the probability of occurrence p; Wmax – maximum hydrograph volume; wmax,p – maximum flood wave volume of the probability of occurrence p; P – exceedance probability. Spatial positions of the lines of exceedance of two flood hydrograph parameters and the empirical points of the corresponding parameters of the considered historic flood in the correlation field Qmax - Wmax, allow direct assessment of the exceedance probability of a historic flood, or its statistical significance. The proposed procedure was applied in practice to assess the statistical significance of the biggest floods registered along the Danube in the sector from its mouth to the Djerdap 1 Dam. The linear trend in the time-series of maximum annual flows at a representative hydrological station and the frequency of historic floods in the considered sector of the Danube are discussed at the end of the paper.

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Extraction and Partial Purification of Protease from Bilimbi (Averrhoa bilimbi L.)

Scientific Research Journal ◽

10.24191/srj.v10i2.9403 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 29

Author(s):

Normah Ismail ◽

Nur' Ain Mohamad Kharoe

Keyword(s):

Molecular Weight ◽

Protein Content ◽

Ammonium Sulfate ◽

Molecular Weight Distribution ◽

Weight Distribution ◽

Protease Activity ◽

Protein Concentration ◽

Temperature Stability ◽

Partial Purification ◽

Ammonium Sulfate Precipitation

Unripe and ripe bilimbi (Averrhoa bilimbi L.) were ground and the extracted juices were partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation at the concentrations of 40 and 60% (w/v). The collected proteases were analysed for pH, temperature stability, storage stability, molecular weight distribution, protein concentration and protein content. Protein content of bilimbi fruit was 0.89 g. Protease activity of both the unripe and ripe fruit were optimum at pH 4 and 40°C when the juice were purified at 40 and 60% ammonium sulfate precipitation. A decreased in protease activity was observed during the seven days of storage at 4°C. Molecular weight distribution indicated that the proteases protein bands fall between IO to 220 kDa. Protein bands were observed at 25, 50 and 160 kDa in both the unripe and ripe bilimbi proteases purified with 40% ammonium sulfate, however, the bands were more intense in those from unripe bilimbi. No protein bands were seen in proteases purified with 60% ammonium sulfate. Protein concentration was higher for proteases extracted with 40% ammonium sulfate at both ripening stages. Thus, purification using 40% ammonium sulfate precipitation could be a successful method to partially purify proteases from bilimbi especially from the unripe stage.

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