Aims: To gain an understanding of the environmental factors that affect the growth of the bacterium Sporosarcina pasteurii, the metabolism of the bacterium and the calcium carbonate precipitation ...induced by this bacterium to optimally implement the biological treatment process, microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP), in situ. Methods and Results: Soil column and batch tests were used to assess the effect of likely subsurface environmental factors on the MICP treatment process. Microbial growth and mineral precipitation were evaluated in freshwater and seawater. Environmental conditions that may influence the ureolytic activity of the bacteria, such as ammonium concentration and oxygen availability, as well as the ureolytic activities of viable and lysed cells were assessed. Treatment formulation and injection rate, as well as soil particle characteristics are other factors that were evaluated for impact on uniform induction of cementation within the soils. Conclusions: The results of the study presented herein indicate that the biological treatment process is equally robust over a wide range of soil types, concentrations of ammonium chloride and salinities ranging from distilled water to full seawater; on the time scale of an hour, it is not diminished by the absence of oxygen or lysis of cells containing the urease enzyme. Significance and Impact of Study: This study advances the biological treatment process MICP towards field implementation by addressing key environmental hurdles faced with during the upscaling process.
The world is facing an impending food crisis by 2050, and insects are a possible sustainable and nutritional solution for this problem. As a result, ways of integrating them into common foods are ...investigated. The objective of this study is to examine the rheological properties, nutritional value and sensorial quality of bread enriched with 100, 200 g/kg grasshopper powder (GP) and 200 g/kg defatted grasshopper powder (DGP). GP contains 350 g/kg protein and 130 g/kg fat and has higher water and oil holding capacity values compared to wheat flour. The addition of GP decreased the specific volume of grasshopper-based bread and resulted in softer texture. Moreover, the inclusion of 200 g/kg GP to the bread recipe increased the protein content by up to 60%. Sensory panel scored 100 g/kg enriched grasshopper bread similarly to wheat bread, while bread enriched with 200 g/kg received a lower score mainly due to its distinctive odor. According to the results, GP may serve as a supplement bread up to 100 g/kg without alterations in sensorial aspects.
•Grasshopper (Schistocerca gregaria) powder (GP) consists of 350 g/kg protein.•The addition of GP to bread resulted in a denser texture but softer crumb.•Each enrichment of 100 g/kg GP in bread increased protein value by 27%.•Overall acceptability scores were similar for wheat and bread enriched with 100 g/kg GP.
Myc oncoproteins are commonly upregulated in human cancers of different organ origins, stabilized by Aurora A, degraded through ubiquitin-proteasome pathway-mediated proteolysis, and exert oncogenic ...effects by modulating gene and protein expression. Histone deacetylases are emerging as targets for cancer therapy. Here we demonstrated that the class III histone deacetylase SIRT2 was upregulated by N-Myc in neuroblastoma cells and by c-Myc in pancreatic cancer cells, and that SIRT2 enhanced N-Myc and c-Myc protein stability and promoted cancer cell proliferation. Affymetrix gene array studies revealed that the gene most significantly repressed by SIRT2 was the ubiquitin-protein ligase NEDD4. Consistent with this finding, SIRT2 repressed NEDD4 gene expression by directly binding to the NEDD4 gene core promoter and deacetylating histone H4 lysine 16. Importantly, NEDD4 directly bound to Myc oncoproteins and targeted Myc oncoproteins for ubiquitination and degradation, and small-molecule SIRT2 inhibitors reactivated NEDD4 gene expression, reduced N-Myc and c-Myc protein expression, and suppressed neuroblastoma and pancreatic cancer cell proliferation. Additionally, SIRT2 upregulated and small-molecule SIRT2 inhibitors decreased Aurora A expression. Our data reveal a novel pathway critical for Myc oncoprotein stability, and provide important evidences for potential application of SIRT2 inhibitors for the prevention and therapy of Myc-induced malignancies.
In the INRG dataset, the hypothesis that any segmental chromosomal alteration might be of prognostic impact in neuroblastoma without MYCN amplification (MNA) was tested.
The presence of any segmental ...chromosomal alteration (chromosome 1p deletion, 11q deletion and/or chromosome 17q gain) defined a segmental genomic profile. Only tumours with a confirmed unaltered status for all three chromosome arms were considered as having no segmental chromosomal alterations.
Among the 8800 patients in the INRG database, a genomic type could be attributed for 505 patients without MNA: 397 cases had a segmental genomic type, whereas 108 cases had an absence of any segmental alteration. A segmental genomic type was more frequent in patients >18 months and in stage 4 disease (P<0.0001). In univariate analysis, 11q deletion, 17q gain and a segmental genomic type were associated with a poorer event-free survival (EFS) (P<0.0001, P=0.0002 and P<0.0001, respectively). In multivariate analysis modelling EFS, the parameters age, stage and a segmental genomic type were retained in the model, whereas the individual genetic markers were not (P<0.0001 and RR=2.56; P=0.0002 and RR=1.8; P=0.01 and RR=1.7, respectively).
A segmental genomic profile, rather than the single genetic markers, adds prognostic information to the clinical markers age and stage in neuroblastoma patients without MNA, underlining the importance of pangenomic studies.
•Honey bee (Apis mellifera) brood powder is a potentially valuable nutritional source with 20–25% protein.•A comprehensive sensorial analysis of the odor of honey bee larvae and pupae was ...performed.•Main volatile compounds detected by GC–MS were odorless pheromones differentiated by life stage and diet.•Milky and Buttery were the most distinctive odors perceived by the sensory panel.•Changes in anti-oxidative properties were reflected with different diets.
Future protein demand is expected to rise with global population growth. In this study a comprehensive sensorial analysis of the odor of honey bee (Apis mellifera) larvae and pupae as function of their diet (with and without added sugar solution) was performed, as well as nutritional values and antioxidant activity analysis. Honey bee brood powder is a potentially valuable nutritional source with 20–25% protein (dry matter basis), high antioxidant activity and polyphenol content. Main volatile compounds detected using GC–MS with HS–SPME injection were odorless pheromones that represented differences between larvae and pupae. The determined active odor compounds were 2- and 3-methylbutanal, diacetyl, nonanal, dimethyl sulfide and ocimene. A trained sensory panel described honey bee brood aroma profile mainly with buttery and milky attributes, with different life stages and diets giving similar profiles. Such studies can be useful for future development of food products with desired nutritional and sensorial characteristics.
The accurate diagnosis and clinical management of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is currently limited by the lack of accessible molecular biomarkers that reflect the pathophysiology of this ...heterogeneous disease. To address this challenge, we developed a microchip diagnostic that can characterize TBI more comprehensively using the RNA found in brain-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). Our approach measures a panel of EV miRNAs, processed with machine learning algorithms to capture the state of the injured and recovering brain. Our diagnostic combines surface marker-specific nanomagnetic isolation of brain-derived EVs, biomarker discovery using RNA sequencing, and machine learning processing of the EV miRNA cargo to minimally invasively measure the state of TBI. We achieved an accuracy of 99% identifying the signature of injured vs. sham control mice using an independent blinded test set (N = 77), where the injured group consists of heterogeneous populations (injury intensity, elapsed time since injury) to model the variability present in clinical samples. Moreover, we successfully predicted the intensity of the injury, the elapsed time since injury, and the presence of a prior injury using independent blinded test sets (N = 82). We demonstrated the translatability in a blinded test set by identifying TBI patients from healthy controls (AUC = 0.9, N = 60). This approach, which can detect signatures of injury that persist across a variety of injury types and individual responses to injury, more accurately reflects the heterogeneity of human TBI injury and recovery than conventional diagnostics, opening new opportunities to improve treatment of traumatic brain injuries.
AIMS: Evaluation of the diversity and antibacterial activity of bacteria cultivated from Mediterranean Axinella sponges and investigating the influence of culture conditions on antibacterial activity ...profiles of sponge bacteria. METHODS AND RESULTS: Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the 259 bacteria isolated from the three Mediterranean Axinella sponges A. cannabina, A. verrucosa and A. polypoides belonged to 41 genera from the four phyla Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria and included five potential newly cultured genera. In antagonistic streak assays, 87 isolates (34%) from 13 genera showed antibacterial activity towards at least one of the 10 environmental and laboratory test bacteria. The extracts and filtrates of 22 isolates grown under three different culture conditions were less often active as the isolates in the corresponding antagonistic streak assays. Changes in antibacterial activity profiles were isolate‐ and culture condition‐specific. CONCLUSIONS: Axinella sponges are a good source to cultivate phylogenetic diverse and hitherto novel bacteria, many of which with antibacterial activity. Analysis of induced antibacterial activities might enhance the role of sponge bacteria in efforts to isolate new antibiotics in the future. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study was the first to investigate the diversity and antibacterial activity of bacteria isolated from A. cannabina and A. verrucosa. It highlights the potential importance of induced activity and the need for employing multiple culture conditions in antibacterial screening assays of sponge‐associated bacteria.
Rapid detection and characterization of pathogens in patients with bloodstream infections (BSIs) is a persistent problem for modern medicine, as current techniques are slow or provide incomplete ...diagnostic information. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) allows specific detection of a wide range of targets and quantification of pathogenic burdens to aid in treatment planning. However, new technological advances are required for a rapid and multiplex implementation of qPCR in clinical applications. In this paper, the feasibility of a novel microfluidic platform for qPCR is presented, integrating highly sensitive, label-free localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) imaging of DNA hybridization into a recirculating chip design for real-time analysis. Single target and multiplex detection of DNA target amplification are demonstrated, with a limit of detection of 5 fg μL
of E. coli DNA for single target PCR, correlating with approximately 300 bacteria per mL. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of this platform for simultaneous real-time detection of multiple target genes within 15 minutes that could provide live saving benefits in patients with BSIs.
Background. Streptococcus pneumoniae infections have become increasingly complicated and costly to treat with the spread of antibiotic resistance. We evaluated the relationship between antibiotic ...prescribing and nonsusceptibility among invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) isolates. Methods. Outpatient antibiotic prescription data for penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole were abstracted from the IMS Health Xponent database to calculate the annual number of prescriptions per capita. We analyzed IPD data from 7 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Active Bacterial Core surveillance sites (population, 18.6 million) for which data were available for the entire time period under study (1996—2003). Logistic regression models were used to assess whether sites with high antibiotic prescribing rates had a high proportion of nonsusceptible and serotype 19A IPD. Results. Yearly prescribing rates during the period 1996—2003 for children <5 years of age decreased by 37%, from 4.23 to 2.68 prescriptions per capita per year (P <.001), and those for persons ≥5 years of age decreased by 42%, from 0.98 to 0.57 prescriptions per capita per year (P <.001); increases in azithromycin prescribing were noted for both groups. Sites with high rates of antibiotic prescribing had a higher proportion of IPD nonsusceptibility than did low-prescribing sites (P =.003 for penicillin, P <.001 for every other antibiotic class). Cephalosporin and macrolide prescribing were associated with penicillin and multidrug nonsusceptibility and serotype 19A IPD (P <.001). Conclusions. In sites where antibiotic prescribing is high, the proportion of nonsusceptible IPD is also high, suggesting that local prescribing practices contribute to local resistance patterns. Cephalosporins and macrolides seem to be selecting for penicillin- and multidrug-resistant pneumococci, as well as serotype 19A IPD. Antibiotic use is a major factor contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance; strategies to reduce antibiotic resistance should continue to include judicious use of antibiotics.
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