Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a biodegradable and biocompatible bioplastic. Effective PHB degradation in nutrient-poor environments is required for industrial and practical applications of PHB. To ...screen for PHB-degrading strains, PHB double-layer plates were prepared and three new Bacillus infantis species with PHB-degrading ability were isolated from the soil. In addition, phaZ and bdhA of all isolated B. infantis were confirmed using a Bacillus sp. universal primer set and established polymerase chain reaction conditions. To evaluate the effective PHB degradation ability under nutrient-deficient conditions, PHB film degradation was performed in mineral medium, resulting in a PHB degradation rate of 98.71% for B. infantis PD3, which was confirmed in 5 d. Physical changes in the degraded PHB films were analyzed. The decrease in molecular weight due to biodegradation was confirmed using gel permeation chromatography and surface erosion of the PHB film was observed using scanning electron microscopy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on B. infantis showing its excellent PHB degradation ability and is expected to contribute to PHB commercialization and industrial composting.
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a biodegradable and biocompatible bioplastic. Effective PHB degradation in nutrient-poor environments is required for industrial and practical applications of PHB. To ...screen for PHB-degrading strains, PHB double-layer plates were prepared and three new
Bacillus infantis
species with PHB-degrading ability were isolated from the soil. In addition,
phaZ
and
bdhA
of all isolated
B. infantis
were confirmed using a
Bacillus
sp. universal primer set and established polymerase chain reaction conditions. To evaluate the effective PHB degradation ability under nutrient-deficient conditions, PHB film degradation was performed in mineral medium, resulting in a PHB degradation rate of 98.71% for
B. infantis
PD3, which was confirmed in 5 d. Physical changes in the degraded PHB films were analyzed. The decrease in molecular weight due to biodegradation was confirmed using gel permeation chromatography and surface erosion of the PHB film was observed using scanning electron microscopy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on
B. infantis
showing its excellent PHB degradation ability and is expected to contribute to PHB commercialization and industrial composting.
The maternal vaginal microbiome is an important source for infant gut microbiome development. However, infants delivered by Cesarean section (CS) do not contact the maternal vaginal microbiome and ...this delivery method may perturb the early establishment and development of the gut microbiome. The aim of this study was to investigate the early gut microbiota of Korean newborns receiving the same postpartum care services for two weeks after birth by delivery mode using fecal samples collected at days 3, 7, and 14. Early gut microbiota development patterns were examined using 16S rRNA gene-based sequencing from 132 infants either born vaginally (VD,
n
= 64) or via Cesarean section (CS,
n
= 68). VD-born neonates showed increased alpha diversity in infant fecal samples collated at days 7 and 14 compared to those from day 3, while those of CS infants did not differ (
p
< 0.015). Bacterial structures of infants from both groups separated at day 7 (
p
< 0.001) and day 14 (
p
< 0.01). The bacterial structure of VD infants gradually changed over time (day 3 vs. day 7,
p
< 0.012; day 3 vs. day 14,
p
< 0.001). Day 14 samples of CS infants differed from day 3 and 7 samples (day 3 vs. day 14,
p
< 0.001). VD infant relative abundance of
Bifidobacterium
(days 7, 14),
Bacteroides
(days 7, 14), and
Lachnospiraceae
(day 7) significantly increased compared to CS infants, with a lower abundance of
Enterobacteriaceae
(found in all periods of the CS group) (LDA > 3.0). Relative abundances of
Bifidobacterium
,
Lactobacillus
, and
Staphylococcus
were significantly increased in both VD and CS groups at day 14 (LDA > 3.0). Predicted functional analysis showed that VD infants had overrepresented starch/sucrose, amino acid and nucleotide metabolism in gut microbiota with depleted lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis until day 14 compared to CS infants. This study confirmed that delivery mode is the major determinant of neonatal intestinal microbiome establishment and provides a profile of microbiota perturbations in CS infants. Our findings provide preliminary insight for establishing recovery methods to supply the specific microbes missing in CS infants.
Allium ulleungense (AU) and A. microdictyon (AM) are valuable medicinal and edible vegetables, referred to as mountain garlic in Korea. The identification of AU, AM and a neighboring species A. ...ochotense (AO) is difficult because of their morphological similarities. We collected samples from three species and 46 cultivated collections to understand the genetic diversity of these valuable Allium species. Among them, we sequenced six collections, including three species and three cultivating collections to obtain data from the plastid genome (plastome) and nuclear 45S ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) for super-barcoding. The AM and AO showed around 60 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 39 Insertion/Deletion (InDels) in the plastome but no variations in the nrDNA sequences. Conversely, the AU and AM showed more than 170 SNPs and 80 InDels in the plastomes, and 20 SNPs and 1 InDel were found in the 45S nrDNA sequences. Among the three cultivating collections, one TB collection was determined to be the AU type in both plastome and nrDNA sequences. However, the other two collections, JB and SA, showed the AM type plastome but were heterozygous in the 45S nrDNA sequences, indicating both AU and AM types (putative AM x AU hybrid). Ten molecular markers were developed based on sequence variations to identify these three species and assess their genetic diversity. A total of 49 collections were genotyped using the ten developed markers and classified into five groups: 14 AU, 22 AM, 1 AO, 3 putative AM x AU hybrids, and 9 putative AU x AM hybrid collections. Super-barcoding with plastomes and nrDNAs revealed the genetic diversity of the three Allium species and putative hybrids between species. The newly developed markers will facilitate species and hybrid identification, thereby benefiting marker-assisted molecular breeding of Allium species.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Peroxisomes are essential organelles for maintaining the homeostasis of lipids and reactive oxygen species (ROS). While oxidative stress-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays an important ...role in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the role of peroxisomes in ROS-mediated ER stress in the development of NAFLD remains elusive. We investigated whether an impaired peroxisomal redox state accelerates NAFLD by activating ER stress by inhibiting catalase, an antioxidant expressed exclusively in peroxisomes. Wild-type (WT) and catalase knockout (CKO) mice were fed either a normal diet or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 11 weeks. HFD-induced phenotype changes and liver injury accompanied by ER stress and peroxisomal dysfunction were accelerated in CKO mice compared to WT mice. Interestingly, these changes were also significantly increased in CKO mice fed a normal diet. Inhibition of catalase by 3-aminotriazole in hepatocytes resulted in the following effects: (i) increased peroxisomal H2O2 levels as measured by a peroxisome-targeted H2O2 probe (HyPer-P); (ii) elevated intracellular ROS; (iii) decreased peroxisomal biogenesis; (iv) activated ER stress; (v) induced lipogenic genes and neutral lipid accumulation; and (vi) suppressed insulin signaling cascade associated with JNK activation. N-acetylcysteine or 4-phenylbutyric acid effectively prevented those alterations. These results suggest that a redox imbalance in peroxisomes perturbs cellular metabolism through the activation of ER stress in the liver.
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•Catalase deficiency accelerates nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in mice.•Catalase deficiency impairs redox balance of peroxisomes in NAFLD.•Peroxisomal redox imbalance accelerates ER stress-mediated NAFLD.
Since electroencephalogram (EEG) is a very small electrical signal from the brain, it is very vulnerable to external noise or motion artifact, making it difficult to measure. Therefore, despite the ...excellent convenience of dry electrodes, wet electrodes have been used. To solve this problem, self-adhesive and conductive composites using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in adhesive polydimethylsiloxane (aPDMS), which can have the advantages of both dry and wet electrodes, have been developed by mixing them uniformly with methyl group-terminated PDMS. The CNT/aPDMS composite has a low Young's modulus, penetrates the skin well, has a high contact area, and excellent adhesion and conductivity, so the signal quality is enhanced. As a result of the EEG measurement test, although it was a dry electrode, results comparable to those of a wet electrode were obtained in terms of impedance and motion noise. It also shows excellent biocompatibility in a human fibroblast cell test and a week-long skin reaction test, so it can measure EEG with high signal quality for a long period of time.
A nano-formulation based on gadolinium silicate-coated porous silicon nanoparticles (pSiNPs) is newly disclosed as an MRI contrast agent and drug delivery carrier. In this study, a new surface ...coating method of pSiNPs using gadolinium ions (Gd3+) was introduced, and the resulting nanoparticles (named pSiNPs-Gd) showed T1-type MR responses and high drug encapsulation efficacy at the same time. The nanoparticle characterization, MR signal, cytotoxicity, and drug release profile were systematically analyzed. We believe our findings could contribute to the development of multi-functional pSiNPs-based nanotherapeutics and their applications in various fields.
A new nano-formulation based on gadolinium silicate-coated porous silicon nanoparticles is disclosed as an MRI contrast agent and drug delivery carrier. Display omitted
•A new nano-formulation based on gadolinium silicate-coated porous silicon nanoparticles is disclosed.•The nano-formulation, pSiNPs-Gd, exhibited strong MR signals.•pSiNPs-Gd showed high drug loading efficiency and superior biocompatibility.
In this study, we introduce a novel approach for synthesizing lignin-incorporated castor-oil-based cationic waterborne polyurethane (CWPU-LX), diverging significantly from conventional waterborne ...polyurethane dispersion synthesis methods. Our innovative method efficiently reduces the required solvent quantity for CWPU-LX synthesis to approximately 50% of that employed in traditional WBPU experimental procedures. By incorporating lignin into the polyurethane matrix using this efficient and reduced-solvent method, CWPU-LX demonstrates enhanced properties, rendering it a promising material for diverse applications. Dynamic interactions between lignin and polyurethane molecules contribute to improved mechanical properties, enhanced thermal stability, and increased solvent resistance. Dynamic interactions between lignin and polyurethane molecules contribute to improved tensile strength, up to 250% compared to CWPU samples. Furthermore, the inclusion of lignin enhanced thermal stability, showcasing a 4.6% increase in thermal decomposition temperature compared to conventional samples and increased solvent resistance to ethanol. Moreover, CWPU-LX exhibits desirable characteristics such as protection against ultraviolet light and antibacterial properties. These unique properties can be attributed to the presence of the polyphenolic group and the three-dimensional structure of lignin, further highlighting the versatility and potential of this material in various application domains. The integration of lignin, a renewable and abundant resource, into CWPU-LX exemplifies the commitment to environmentally conscious practices and underscores the significance of greener materials in achieving a more sustainable future.
Targeted drug delivery has been an important issue for tumor therapy including photodynamic therapy (PDT). The purpose of our study is to increase the targeting efficiency of photosensitizer (PS) ...using folate-modified nanoparticles (NPs) to tumor site in vivo. Folate receptor is over-expressed on the surface of many human cancer cells. We prepared poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs containing pheophorbide a (Pba), a PS that is used in PDT and generates free radical for killing cancer cells. The surface of NPs was composed of phospholipids modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and folate (FA). The size of the resulting FA-PLGA-Pba NPs was about 200 nm in PBS at pH 7.4 and they were stable for long time. They showed faster cellular uptake to MKN28 human gastric cancer cell line than control PLGA-Pba NPs by high-affinity binding with folate receptors on cell surface. In MTT assay, FA-PLGA-Pba NPs also showed enhanced tumor cell killing compared to control PLGA-Pba NPs. In vivo and ex vivo imaging showed high accumulation of FA-PLGA-Pba NPs in tumor site during 24 h after intravenous injection to MKN28 tumor-bearing mice model. These results demonstrate that our FA-PLGA-Pba NPs are useful for tumor-targeted delivery of PS for cancer treatment by PDT.
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•Folate-modified PLGA nanoparticles (FA-PLGA-Pba NPs) were developed with non-toxic materials.•FA-PLGA-Pba NPs were stable in aqueous condition for long time without aggregation.•FA-PLGA-Pba NPs killed cancer cells effectively upon laser irradiation, and showed superior tumor-targeting invivo.
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