« Older Entries

Introduction to the Enzymes Separation and Purification

There are two types of enzymes produced by biological cells: one type of enzymes that are produced inside the cell and then secreted outside the cell for action, called extracellular enzymes. Most of these enzymes are hydrolases. For example, the two amylases used in enzymatic production of glucose are secreted by Bacillus subtilis and root enzymes during fermentation. Such enzymes are generally high in content and easy to obtain.

Another type of enzyme is produced in the cell and is not secreted outside the cell, but plays a catalytic role in the cell, which is called intracellular enzyme. A series of chemical reactions in the fermentation and production of citric acid, inosinic acid and monosodium glutamate are carried out in cells under the catalysis of a variety of enzymes. This type of enzyme is often combined with the cell structure in the cell, has a certain distribution area, and the catalyzed reaction has a certain sequence, so that many reactions can proceed in an orderly manner.

The source of enzymes is mostly biological cells. Although the total amount of enzymes produced in biological cells is very high, the content of each enzyme is extremely low. For example, there are many types of hydrolases in the mid-pancreas digestion, but the content of various enzymes is very different.

Therefore, when extracting a certain enzyme, you should first select the material that contains the most abundant enzyme according to your needs. For example, pancreas is a good material for extracting trypsin, chymotrypsin, amylase and lipase. Since the extraction of enzyme preparations from animal organs or plant fruits is limited by raw materials, the cost is very high if they cannot be used comprehensively.

At present, the industry mostly adopts the method of cultivating microorganisms to obtain a large amount of enzyme preparations. There are many advantages of producing enzyme preparations from microorganisms. It is not restricted by climate and geographical conditions, and most of the enzymes in animals and plants can be found in microorganisms. The microorganisms multiply fast and the enzyme production is abundant.

In biological tissues, in addition to a certain enzyme we need, there are often many other enzymes, general proteins and other impurities. Therefore, in order to prepare a certain enzyme preparation, it must go through the steps of enzyme separation and enzyme purification.

Enzymes are proteins with catalytic activity. Protein is easy to denature, so in the purification process of enzyme should avoid using strong acid and strong base and keep the operation at a lower temperature. In the purification process, it is easier to track the whereabouts of the enzyme in the separation and purification process by measuring the catalytic activity of the enzyme.

The catalytic activity of the enzyme can be used as an index for the selection of separation and purification methods and operating conditions. In each step of the entire enzyme separation and purification process, always determine the total activity and specific activity of the enzyme. Only in this way can we know how many enzymes are recovered through a certain step and how much purity has been improved, which determines the choice of a step.

The separation and purification of enzymes generally includes three basic steps: extraction, purification, crystallization or preparation.

First, the required enzyme is introduced into the solution from the raw material. At this time, some impurities are inevitably entrained. It is necessary to selectively separate the enzyme from the solution (or selectively remove impurities from the solution). Finally, purified enzyme preparation is made.

Tags:

Top strategic technology trends in 2021

Top strategic technology trends in 2021

As is our culture, at the end of the year, we publish a summary of some of the emerging software engineering trends. We draw on our knowledge, current news, and our customers’ requests and perspectives to make these assumptions. In case you’re wondering, by the way, here’s last year’s article in which we predicted a COVID-19 pandemic (just kidding, we were as surprised as you were.

Yes, although in many ways 2020 seems like a lost cause when it comes to digital transformation, software technology is more hectic than ever. That’s why it’s necessary to stay on top of the current trends happening in your industry, as it will allow you to make better decisions and stay ahead of the competition. So what does the post-pandemic world of software development hold in 2021

Know the latest trends in software development?

Virtual reality.

This time, virtual reality is at the forefront of the latest trends in software development. After all, Facebook’s launch of the Oculus Quest 2 could mark a turning point in VR adoption, as it not only frees the user from the desktop but also offers a high-end – and at €299, truly affordable – immersive experience. Tech-savvy entrepreneurs and software developers alike immediately jumped on the idea, and, as a result, new VR applications are created every day. They offer exciting engineering, healthcare, e-commerce, education, digital marketing, and other essential business areas.

Better still, with projects like WebXR, VR is becoming more accessible. The move to remote working has even created a movement advocating virtual offices with gamification elements. So who knows, ladies and gentlemen? With all these improvements in virtual reality, we may all soon be working from virtual offices in a collaborative VR environment. This entire article is written from the comfort of a virtual café.

Virtual workspaces as a potential trend for 2021.

Cloud trends in 2021
Multi-cloud infrastructure.
With the recent significant disruption of AWS, enterprises would do well to consider creating a multi-cloud environment for their companies. As the name implies, this is where enterprises combine their operations with multiple cloud providers to improve the resilience of their applications and services. In this way, they can maximize each platform’s benefits and mitigate the drawbacks, such as data loss or unplanned downtime. However, other advantages include not being tied to one vendor and achieving optimal performance.

Next year, Amazon will also launch Amazon ECS Anywhere, which includes on-premises data centers in addition to AWS-managed infrastructure.

Quarks

Quarks may be the latest in a series of open source development trends, but it is poised to grow Java’s very future. Created by Redhat, it is a full-stack structure for Java virtual machines that enables the development of so-called cloud-based, or “Kubernetes-enabled” applications (written in Java, Kotlin, or Scala). Besides improving boot time, runtime costs, and performance, Quarkus simplifies life for software developers by offering real-time restart feedback and providing unified configuration.

Spring Boot Loader.

Spring Boot will also continue to be an excellent choice for the Java platform in 2021. The framework makes it easy to build standalone Spring applications, providing a flexible solution for configuring transactions with databases, Java Beans, and XML and offering batch processing and robust REST endpoint management. Best of all, Spring Boot simplifies dependency management and automatically configures applications.

Micronaut

Another framework worth keeping an eye on is Micronaut, an upcoming JVM-based juggernaut, as it may be the most desirable technology to study in 2021. By default, the structure helps the most popular cloud features – including Eureka, Kubernetes, and Netflix Ribbon – externally

Codeless/low-code technology trends in 2021.

Who says you need developers to bring your product to market? As market leaders Google and Amazon have shown, the continued growth of low-code and no-code platforms makes software development more ubiquitous than ever. While, to some extent, low-code software still requires coding by people familiar with programming, it has become faster – and cheaper – than ever before.

On the other hand, Codeless software takes the concept of low-code to a whole new level and, depending on who you ask; the mayor will have a dramatic impact on the future of software development. But what seems will shift the program to non-programmers – or what some call ‘citizen developers.’

No-code and low-code platforms allow companies to serve customers worldwide without having to maintain their developers. In this way, companies can create websites from pre-built blocks, exchange data with CRM solutions, add online payments using Stripe, and even collect customer feedback using Google Forms or another provider. Entrepreneurs, in turn, can minimize time to market and evaluate their product or business concepts in record time.

More cross-platform frameworks

Multi-platform frameworks are becoming more common, and this couldn’t come at a better time. After all, they allow companies to reuse virtually all business logic and UI across mobile, desktop, and web platforms with little effort and in one fell swoop. A great example is the Uno platform, which enables existing .NET teams to create excellent cross-platform applications. Other alternatives include Xamarin, Log4j, and Bunyan.

Rival technologies: Rust vs. C++, Flutter vs. Electron

When it comes to developing system tools, Rust is likely to share the C/C++ market significantly. Simultaneously, Flutter and Dart will continue to improve their desktop support – and thus compete with Electron for this particular market segment.

ARM chip

Microsoft’s grand experiment with the Surface Pro X seems timely as more devices move to the ARM architecture, primarily due to more straightforward design, power efficiency, and application portability. Apple itself recently left Intel with their MacBook Pro’s new M1 chip touting “up to 2.8x processor performance, up to 5x graphics speed [and] up to 11x faster machine learning.” There will undoubtedly be growing pains, but the potential for future applications is enormous.

Deep Learning Technology Trends in 2021

Despite the conspicuous hype, there is much to be excited about in OpenAI’s new GPT-3 language model. Not only does it include arguably the largest and most sophisticated neural network currently available, but it can also generate anything with a language structure – from poetry to creative fiction to attempting to write computer code. It accomplishes the latter to the impressive level of a junior developer. However, recent reports have suggested that the technology is still far from the singularity it appears to be. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI himself, has admitted that it is only a “first taste” of the future. However, the Elon Musk-founded company has been the talk of the town since it released its API last June – so we’ll have to wait and see what comes of it.

Databases

Over the past year, the world has continued to witness the extraordinary expansion of data. With this remarkable growth, you usually had to invest in additional DBA services. But today, you can take the help of various AI consultants like EverSQL and Postgres.ai and save money by integrating these services into your company’s development process.

On the other hand, DB vendors such as Oracle are expanding their solutions with more modern autonomous databases. Suppose you’re not familiar with this term. In that case, it refers to a cloud database that – according to Oracle’s website – uses machine learning to “automate database tuning, security, backups, updates and other routine management tasks traditionally performed by DBAs.”

Moreover, unlike a conventional database, a standalone database can perform these tasks without any human intervention.

NET 5

This month, Microsoft released .NET 5, a significant update to the .NET platform designed to provide developers with a unified, cross-platform experience. The platform replaces .NET Core 3.1 and .NET Framework 4.8, making their various headache-inducing variants – i.e., .NET Standard, Mono, etc. – completely obsolete. – completely obsolete. Also, .NET 5 brings C# 9, the latest version of the platform’s programming language, with exciting new features. And although .NET MAUI, the long-awaited evolution of Xamarin. Unfortunately, forms have been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic; life for .NET developers has already become much more comfortable

Lower app store fees and cloud infrastructure costs.

And finally, to complete the list of technology trends in 2021, the various platforms are becoming cheaper! Not only has Apple announced its App Store Small Business Program, which will lower App Store fees by 50% for all businesses earning $1 million or less per year, but the cost of cloud infrastructure should also come down. For this reason, it may be cheaper to use a cloud provider if you currently run your on-premise infrastructure. And who knows? If we’re lucky, we might even end up benefiting from some exciting new developments!

Tags:

What Are The E-Wallet Trends In Malaysia?

The rising use of e-wallets across the Southeast Asian region has brought Malaysia to the limelight in the digital revolution. Consumers are shifting from cash to contactless payments, as they find the modern convenience of managing their everyday finance via their mobile phones much more pleasant. However, The E-Wallet Trends In Malaysia is moving at an even faster pace because of the reduction of cash usage experienced during the covid pandemic.

Seeing the increasing demand for digital payment solutions in Malaysia, more and more digital wallet providers are now offering innovative solutions in the market.

A Study by Mastercardin 2020 revealed that Malaysia is leading its Southeast Asian (SEA) neighboring countries in terms of usage of digital wallets. The study also found that the use of e-wallets in Malaysia is at 40 percent, followed by the Philippines at 36 percent, Thailand at 27%, and Singapore at 26%. Mastercard gathered data from 10,000 consumers across the Asia Pacific region.

Where customers use E-Wallets?
Across SEA nations, the use of e-wallets has risen by 8% from 2019. Among all the payment methods, cash was still the most preferred payment method for the SEA population in 2020, followed by credit/debit cards at 22.7%, and e-wallets at 22%.

Another study regarding e-wallet trends in Malaysia by Oppotus, found that 60% of the Malaysian customers have used an e-wallet in Q3 2020, which is more than double the number from 27% in Q3 2019. The study also revealed that on average, Malaysian customers used 2-3 e-wallets during Q3 2020.

The surge in the number of users utilizing the power of contactless payment technology is fueled by several industries supporting digital payments. Food & Beverages, Convenience Stores, and the Groceries industry continue to see growth in the number of customers paying via e-wallets. It is due to the continuous promotion of contactless payments (via offers and discounts). Needless to mention that the e-Penjana campaign also elevated the growth chart.

The food delivery services also saw an upsurge in the payments via e-wallets as everyone was trying to stay indoors during the pandemic. Other areas, including Transportation and fuel, realized this increase too.

Another study by BCG (Boston Consulting Group) provided a different view of the market. It revealed that adoption of e-wallet is highest among banked consumers (31%), followed by underbanked at 17%, and unbanked at 9%.

In its study, BCG also discovered that almost 33 percent of the SEA consumers are willing to prioritise choosing non-bank digital solutions for some of their banking activities. The consulting company believes that 12 percent of the credit card and 10 percent of the deposits could shift to non-bank digital solution providers in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Which customer segment uses e-wallets the most?
The report by Oppotus also found that Gen Z has the highest adoption rate for e-wallets in Malaysia, with 71 percent of the respondents using digital payment solutions in Q3 2020. They are followed by millennials, GenX, and Baby Boomers at 60 percent, 59 percent, and 43 percent, respectively.

The study also revealed that households with a median monthly income (between 7,001 and 10,000 RM) use e-wallets the most – at a 73 percent adoption rate. Whereas with 67 percent, high-earning families rank second, and the lower-income families rank in third place with 55 percent rate.

In an earlier study in 2019, the company found that Malaysian males have a slightly higher e-wallet adoption rate (52 percent) than females (48 percent).

Another study by Facebook and Bian & Co., Malaysia found that with 83 percent, Malaysia has the highest percentage of digital customers in the SEA region. Followed by Singapore and the Philippines at 79 and 74 percent, respectively.

The highest adoption of digital customers in the SEA region by Malaysia can be due to the highest smartphone penetration. A report by Statista forecasted that the figure is 94 percent in 2020, and will grow to 97.4 percent by 2022.

E-wallet landscape in Malaysia
With Bank Negara Malaysia licensing more non-banking institutes, Malaysia is set to embrace the vision for a cashless society, in which the residents will have a variety of methods to make mobile/online payments.

Although considering the e-wallet trends in Malaysia, the market is still in its infancy. As many banking, as well as non-banking financial institutions, focus on gaining access to merchants and customers. The increasing mobile penetration will result in a lucrative market for e-wallets in Malaysia.

The development of the tech industry and e-commerce has also added to the increasing popularity of digital payments in Malaysia. While convenience remains the foremost reason why customers prefer paying via e-wallets. Financial transaction security, reward points and cashbacks schemes have also contributed to the growth of e-wallets in the Malaysian market.

As per a report by Fintech Malaysia in 2019, there were a total of 53 e-wallets in Malaysia, with the industry occupying 19 percent of the FinTech space.

Boost, Samsung Pay, and Maybank QRPay are among the top three e-wallets (as per market share) in the Malaysia market, followed by BigPay, Fave Pay, Alipay, GrabPay, and others. Let’s go through them one by one and understand how they’re operating in Malaysia.

1. Boost
With an 18 percent market share, Boost is the top e-wallet in the Malaysian market. Boost is an award-winning lifestyle e-wallet, which was launched in 2017 by Axiata Group Berhad, a telecommunications giant in Malaysia.

The e-wallet has partnered with 17 banks, including Maybank, RHB Bank, CIMB, Hong Leong Bank, Public Bank, and many others.

Boost is home to 7 million consumers, and the user base is still growing. The e-wallet service is available at over 140,000 customer touchpoints, covering both brick and mortar stores and online stores in Malaysia.

Boost also allows its customers to pay to any merchant that accepts UnionPay cards. Moreover, their signature Shake Rewards offers up to eight times more cashback, coins, Golden Tickets, and prizes.

In May last year, Samsung Pay integrated Boost e-wallet into their app to provide customers with a seamless and secure payment option. Boost has also partnered with Shell stations to allow the consumers to pay for petrol at 800+ Shell stations across the country. The users would get RM5 cashback with every spend of a minimum of RM40 at Shell stations.

The growth strategy of Boost also includes the partnership with Astro, Syabas, and Telekom for bill payments, and with Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur’s (DBKL) car parks for parking payments.

Till now, around 60 percent of merchants that use Boost are small and micro businesses, including ‘Pasar Malam’ vendors, ‘nasi lemak’ sellers, and food truck operators. Its latest feature, Boost Partner Wallet, allows consumers to earn cashback by making payments to the participating merchants. The users can use the cashback next time when they pay those merchants.

2. Touch ‘n Go
Launched by China’s Ant Group and Malaysia’s Commerce International Merchant Bankers (CIMB), Touch ‘n Go (TNG) is in talks with investors to raise $150 million to fund expansion plans.

The e-wallet was launched in July 2017 as a joint venture between Touch ‘n Go and Ant Financial. TNG allows users to pay at over 280,000 merchant touch points via QR codes. The wallet users can pay for tolls, street parking, car-sharing apps, and taxis via RFID; and even top-up their prepaid phones.

Tags: