Antibiotics are the most common pharmaceutical compounds, and they have been extensively used for the prevention and treatment of bacterial diseases for more than 50 years. However, merely a small ...fraction of antibiotics is metabolized in the body, while the rest is discharged into the environment through excretion, which can cause potential ecological problems and human health risks. In this study, the elimination of seventeen antibiotics from real livestock wastewater effluents was investigated by UV/TiO2 advanced oxidation process. The effect of process parameters, such as TiO2 loadings, solution pHs, and antibiotic concentrations, on the efficiency of the UV/TiO2 process was assessed. The degradation efficiency was affected by the solution pH, and higher removal efficiency was observed at pH 5.8 and 9.9, while the catalyst loading had no significant effect on the degradation efficiency at these experimental conditions. UV photolysis showed a good removal efficiency of the antibiotics. However, the highest removal efficiency was shown by the UV/photocatalyst system due to their synergistic effects. The results showed that more than 90% of antibiotics were removed by UV/TiO2 system during the 60 min illumination, while the corresponding TOC and COD removal was only 10 and 13%, respectively. The results of the current study indicated that UV/TiO2 advanced oxidation process is a promising method for the elimination of various types of antibiotics from real livestock wastewater effluents.
Anthracnose is a fungal disease caused by
species and has detrimental effects on many crops, including red pepper. This study used
GYUN-300 (GYUN-300), which exhibit antagonistic activity against the ...fungal pathogen,
. This pathogen causes anthracnose that manifests primarily as a fruit rot in red pepper. There have been little efforts to identify antagonistic bacteria from mushrooms; this strain of bacteria was identified as
using BIOLOG and 16S rDNA sequencing analysis. The genetic mechanism underpinning the biocontrol traits of GYUN-300 was characterized using the complete genome sequence of GYUN-300, which was closely compared to related strains. GYUN-300 inhibited mycelial growth and spore germination of
under
conditions. Important antagonistic traits, such as siderophore production, solubilization of insoluble phosphate, and production of lytic enzymes (cellulase, protease, and amylase), were observed in GYUN-300, These trains promoted growth in terms of seed germination and vigorous seedling growth compared to the non-treated control. When red pepper fruits were treated with GYUN-300, the preventive and curative effects were 66.6 and 38.3% effective, respectively, in wounded red pepper fruits; there was no difference between the preventive and curative effects in non-wounded red pepper fruits. Furthermore, GYUN-300 was resistant to several commercial fungicides, indicating that GYUN-300 bacterial cells may also be used synergistically with chemical fungicides to increase biocontrol efficiency. Based on
results, GYUN-300 played a role to control anthracnose disease effectively in field conditions when compared to other treatments and non-treated controls. The results from this study provide a better understanding of the GYUN-300 strain as an effective biocontrol agent against red pepper anthracnose; this form of biocontrol provides an environment-friendly alternative to chemical fungicides.
Abstract Objectives Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterized by synovial inflammation and hyperplasia. Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) in RA exhibit a tumor ...cell-like aggressive phenotype. Thus, gas chromatography/time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (GC/TOF-MS) was employed to identify the characteristic metabolic profiling of RA FLS. Methods Metabolite profiling of RA FLS and osteoarthritis (OA) FLS was performed using GC/TOF-MS in conjunction with statistical analyses. We performed metabolite set enrichment analysis to establish which pathways are affected. Results A total of 129 metabolites were identified. A principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis demonstrated clear differentiation of the metabolic profiling between RA FLS and OA FLS. The levels of 35 metabolites that belonged to the amines, fatty acids, phosphates, and organic acids class were significantly increased in RA FLS compared to those in OA FLS. Also, the levels of 26 metabolites that belonged to the amino acids, sugars, and sugar alcohols class were significantly decreased in RA FLS compared to those in OA FLS. The sugar metabolism (glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway) and amino acid metabolism (tyrosine and catecholamine biosynthesis, and protein biosynthesis) were severely disturbed in RA FLS compared to those in OA FLS. Conclusions Our metabolic results suggested that the alteration of sugar metabolism, lipolysis, and amino acid metabolism in RA FLS is related to synovial hyperplasia and inflammation. This is the first metabolomic study to determine metabolic changes characteristic of RA FLS, which will provide valuable information to gain in-depth insights into the pathogenesis of RA.
This research presents a novel method to assess inter-chain message relay time in the Cosmos blockchain network, which employs the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol for blockchain ...interoperability. While inter-chain transactions in Cosmos lag behind intra-chain transactions, this research conducts a thorough performance evaluation, emphasizing message relay time across diverse Cosmos chains. The results show a strong association between inter-chain transaction frequency and overall transaction processing speed (TPS), underscoring the inherent trade-off between scalability and compatibility in inter-chain communication protocols. A thorough understanding of inter-chain transaction performance is essential for advancing interoperability and improving cross-blockchain network designs. As a result, this research improves our understanding of Cosmos’ functionality and provides insightful recommendations for boosting the effectiveness and scalability of inter-chain communication. The study also sheds light on message delivery patterns in the Cosmos ecosystem, showing that IBC message relay time has an average duration of 55.448 s and is distributed lognormally. Notably, the time between the commitment of the IBC RecvPacket transaction and the commitment of the IBC Acknowledgement transaction (R to A time) considerably impacts the effectiveness of message transmission, which causes delays in the IBC message relay process.
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a family of proteins containing seven transmembrane helices, with the N- and C-terminus of the protein located at the extracellular space and cytosol, ...respectively. Here, we report that ceramide or related sphingolipids might invert the topology of many GPCRs that contain a GXXXN motif in their first transmembrane helix. The functional significance of this topological regulation is illustrated by the CCR5 chemokine receptor. In the absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), CCR5 adopts a topology consistent with that of GPCR, allowing mouse peritoneal macrophages to migrate toward its ligand CCL5. LPS stimulation results in increased production of dihydroceramide, which inverts the topology of CCR5, preventing macrophages from migrating toward CCL5. These results suggest that GPCRs may not always adopt the same topology and can be regulated through topological inversion.
This article has been through an editorial process in which the authors decide how to respond to the issues raised during peer review. The Reviewing Editor's assessment is that major issues remain unresolved (see decision letter).
Multimorbidity is a global challenge. It is more common in the elderly and deprived populations. Health systems are not providing appropriate care for people with multimorbidity as they are focused ...on managing single diseases and are not oriented to effectively manage complexity of care-coordination for multimorbidity. This study aims to examine trends, disparities and consequences of multimorbidity over a 10-year period. It also aims to analyze different multimorbidity clusters and their association with quality of life.
This study analyzes Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey - a cross-sectional survey repeated each year of 100 000 individuals aged one or more in 192 regions of South Korea - for the 10-year period 2007-2016. This is a population-based study based on nationally representative survey data for 10 years in Korea. Our study included 68 590 adults aged 19 or more who answered questions on presence of diseases. 39 chronic conditions were included. Disease clustering by frequency, composition and number of diseases from the top 10 most common chronic conditions were used to establish patterns of multimorbidity clusters. We performed regression analyses to analyze annual trend and the prevalence of multimorbidity across socioeconomic strata. Regressions were performed to measure association between multimorbidity and unmet need, health care service utilization, sickness days, perceived health status, and EQ-5D.
Multimorbidity increased in the study period and was more prevalent in the elderly, females, and people with lower household income and education level. Multimorbidity was associated with increased unmet need, health care utilization and sickness days and reduced perceived health status and quality of life. Hypertension was the most common condition in individuals with multimorbidity. Reduced quality of life was associated with increasing number of chronic diseases and multimorbidity clusters which included stroke and arthritis.
The prevalence of multimorbidity varied across socioeconomic strata, with higher levels and health consequences observed in individuals in lower socio-economic income groups. Different multimorbidity clusters had differential effect on the quality of life. Health system designs incorporating integrated care strategies for complex conditions are required to effectively manage multimorbidity and different multimorbidity clusters.
Saccharomyces boulardii is a probiotic yeast that exhibits antimicrobial and anti-toxin activities. Although S. boulardii has been clinically used for decades to treat gastrointestinal disorders, ...several studies have reported weak or no beneficial effects of S. boulardii administration in some cases. These conflicting results of S. boulardii efficacity may be due to nutrient deficiencies in the intestine that make it difficult for S. boulardii to maintain its metabolic activity. To enable S. boulardii to overcome any nutritional deficiencies in the intestine, we constructed a S. boulardii strain that could metabolize l-fucose, a major component of mucin in the gut epithelium. The fucU, fucI, fucK, and fucA from Escherichia coli and HXT4 from S. cerevisiae were overexpressed in S. boulardii. The engineered S. boulardii metabolized l-fucose and produced 1,2-propanediol under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. It also produced large amounts of 1,2-propanediol under strict anaerobic conditions. An in silico genome-scale metabolic model analysis was performed to simulate the growth of S. boulardii on l-fucose, and elementary flux modes were calculated to identify critical metabolic reactions for assimilating l-fucose. As a result, we found that the engineered S. boulardii consumes l-fucose via (S)-lactaldehyde-(S)-lactate-pyruvate pathway, which is highly oxygen dependent. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in which S. cerevisiae and S. boulardii strains capable of metabolizing l-fucose have been constructed. This strategy could be used to enhance the metabolic activity of S. boulardii and other probiotic microorganisms in the gut.
Apple grower in the Cheongsong region, Korea has reported the increased loss of apple yield due to severe bitter rot incidence. We noticed that this indience is because the Colletotrichum population ...has developed resistance to commonly used fungicides. We isolated 39 Colletotrichum isolates from 13 orchards in Cheongsong, and all the isolated Colletotrichum species were identified as C. siamense or C. fructicola. These 39 strains were tested for mycelial growth and conidial germination against 12 fungicides. trifloxystrobin (30–55% in recommended concentrations) was shown lower inhibitory effect on mycelial growth. However, the inhibition of conidial germination was shown higher than mycelial growth (62–100%). Kresoxim-methyl was shown lower inhibitory effect on mycelial growth (29–55%). conidial germination inhibitory effect was shown 51% to 96%. dithianon was shown diversity response to inhibition of mycelial growth (43–100%). tebuconazole was shown high inhibitory effect on mycelial growth (84–100%) and conidial germination inhibitory effect was shown to be 64 to 100%. metconazole has been found to display with high inhibitory effect on mycelial growth (79–100%) and conidial germination (70–80%). fluazinam was shown to possess high inhibitory effect on mycelial growth (87–100%) and conidial germination (94–100%). This study provides basic information for the effective management of apple bitter rot.
L-Fucose, one of the major monomeric sugars in brown algae, possesses high potential for use in the large-scale production of bio-based products. Although fucose catabolic pathways have been ...enzymatically evaluated, the effects of fucose as a carbon source on intracellular metabolism in industrial microorganisms such as
are still not identified. To elucidate the effects of fucose on cellular metabolism and to find clues for efficient conversion of fucose into bio-based products, comparative metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses were performed on
on L-fucose and on D-glucose as a control. When fucose was the carbon source for
, integration of the two omics analyses revealed that excess gluconeogenesis and quorum sensing led to severe depletion of ATP, resulting in accumulation and export of fucose extracellularly. Therefore, metabolic engineering and optimization are needed for
to more efficiently ferment fucose. This is the first multi-omics study investigating the effects of fucose on cellular metabolism in
. These omics data and their biological interpretation could be used to assist metabolic engineering of
producing bio-based products using fucose-containing brown macroalgae.
Wearable health devices and respiratory rates (RRs) have drawn attention to the healthcare domain as it helps healthcare workers monitor patients’ health status continuously and in a non-invasive ...manner. However, to monitor health status outside healthcare professional settings, the reliability of this wearable device needs to be evaluated in complex environments (i.e., public street and transportation). Therefore, this study proposes a method to estimate RR from breathing sounds recorded by a microphone placed inside three types of masks: surgical, a respirator mask (Korean Filter 94), and reusable masks. The Welch periodogram method was used to estimate the power spectral density of the breathing signals to measure the RR. We evaluated the proposed method by collecting data from 10 healthy participants in four different environments: indoor (office) and outdoor (public street, public bus, and subway). The results obtained errors as low as 0% for accuracy and repeatability in most cases. This research demonstrated that the acoustic-based method could be employed as a wearable device to monitor RR continuously, even outside the hospital environment.
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