This study aimed to establish the culture process for the cost-effective production of prodigiosin (PG) from demineralized crab shell powder (de-CSP), a fishery processing byproduct created via fermentation. Among the tested PG-producing strains, Serratia marcescens TNU02 was demonstrated to be the most active strain. Various ratios of protein/de-CSP were used as the sources of C/N for PG biosynthesis. The PG yield was significantly enhanced when the casein/de-CSP ratio was controlled in the range of 3/7 to 4/6. TNU02 produced PG with a high yield (5100 mg/L) in a 15 L bioreactor system containing 4.5 L of a newly-designed liquid medium containing 1.6% C/N source (protein/de-CSP ratio of 3/7), 0.02% (NH4)2SO4, 0.1% K2HPO4, and an initial pH of 6.15, at 27 °C for 8 h in dark conditions. The red pigment was purified from the culture broth and then quantified as being PG by specific Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and UV spectra analysis. The purified PG demonstrated moderate antioxidant and effective inhibition against four cancerous cell lines. Notably, this study was the first to report on using crab wastes for PG bioproduction with high-level productivity (5100 mg/L) in a large scale (4.5 L per pilot) in a short period of fermentation time (8 h). The salt compositions, including (NH4)2SO4 and K2HPO4, were also a novel finding for the enhancement of PG yield by S. marcescens in this report.
Prophylactic gastrojejunostomy significantly decreases the incidence of gastric outlet obstruction without increasing complication rates. There were no differences in quality of life between the two groups. Together with the previous randomized trial from the Hopkins group, this study provides sufficient evidence to state that a double bypass consisting of a hepaticojejunostomy and a prophylactic gastrojejunostomy is preferable to a single bypass consisting of only a hepaticojejunostomy in patients undergoing surgical palliation for unresectable periampullary carcinoma. Therefore, the trial was stopped earlier than planned.
Academic knowledge and technology transfer has been growing in importance both in academic research and practice. A critical question in managing this activity is how to evaluate its effectiveness. The literature shows an increasing number of studies done to address this question; however, it also reveals important gaps that need more research.One novel approach is to evaluate the effectiveness of this activity from an organizational point of view, which is to measure how much knowledge and technology transfer from a university fulfills the mission of the institution. This research develops a Hierarchical The Index helps an academic institution assess the current performance of its knowledge and technology transfer with respect to its mission. This robust model also helps decision makers discover areas where the university is performing well, or needs to pay more attention. In addition, the university can benchmark its own performance against its peers in order to set up a roadmap for improvement. It is proved that this is the first index in the literature which truly evaluates the effectiveness of university knowledge and technology transfer from an organizational perspective. Practitioners in the area of academic technology transfer can also apply this evaluation model to quantitatively evaluate the performance of their institutions for strategic decision making purposes.ii Dedication I would like to dedicate this work to my mother, one of the greatest mothers in this world.To my beloved wife, Huong Nguyen, and our wonderful children, who supported me during my study with love and patience.iii Acknowledgements
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