Nuria Peña, Irene Lafuente, Ester Sevillano
et al.
Background/Objectives: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have emerged as promising alternatives to conventional antibiotics in livestock, offering a sustainable strategy for controlling bacterial pathogens in food production systems. In addition to their direct antimicrobial effects, AMPs play a key role in modulating host-associated microbiomes, influencing both microbial composition and function. Advances in metagenomic sequencing and bioinformatic tools now enable comprehensive exploration of AMP diversity and activity within complex microbial ecosystems. Methods: In this study, we employed Illumina-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) to analyze intestinal contents from six gut sections of broiler chickens obtained from a Spanish slaughterhouse. Results: Through de novo assembly and bioinformatic annotation, we identified biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoding ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs), other specialized bioactive secondary metabolites, antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs), virulence factor genes (VFGs), and a diverse microbial community. Among all gut sections, the cecum exhibited the highest genetic richness, characterized by a high diversity of RiPP-like clusters and antimicrobial resistance determinants. Conclusions: These findings highlight the poultry gut, particularly the cecum, as a significant reservoir of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with potential implications in antibiotic-free poultry production and enhanced food safety.
As autonomous driving technologies develop, biometrics technology using driver's bio-signals provides various driver-customized infotainment services. Many studies on driver identification are underway to improve the feature extraction and classification steps to identify drivers with high accuracy. The existing identification systems have used a driver's single biological signal to identify the driver without considering the driver's driving state. The identification error rate was high because electromyography (EMG) is included according to motion artifacts while driving in the electrocardiogram (ECG) acquired by the driver's behavioral characteristics. In this letter, EMG acquired by the driver's motion and ECG acquired by the behavioral characteristics are used simultaneously to improve the identification accuracy. The proposed identification system converts ECG and EMG into 2D constant Q transform (CQT) images and classifies drivers by multistream convolutional neural network (CNN). Our extensive experiments show that a single ECG can achieve 98.1% of the identification accuracy, a single EMG can achieve 84.4% of the identification accuracy, and a multisignal can achieve 98.9% of the identification accuracy with 2D CQT.
Sara Gullace, Verónica Montes García, V. Martín
et al.
The development of novel, highly efficient, reliable, and robust surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates containing a large number of hot spots with programmed size, geometry, and density is extremely interesting since it allows the sensing of numerous (bio-)chemical species. Herein, an extremely reliable, easy to fabricate, and label-free SERS sensing platform based on metal nanoparticles (NPs) thin-film is developed by the layer-by-layer growth mediated by polyelectrolytes. A systematic study of the effect of NP composition and size, as well as the number of deposition steps on the substrate's performance, is accomplished by monitoring the SERS enhancement of 1-naphtalenethiol (532 nm excitation). Distinct evidence of the key role played by the interlayer (poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) or PDDA-functionalized graphene oxide (GO@PDDA)) on the overall SERS efficiency of the plasmonic platforms is provided, revealing in the latter the formation of more uniform hot spots by regulating the interparticle distances to 5 ± 1 nm. The SERS platform efficiency is demonstrated via its high analytical enhancement factor (≈106 ) and the detection of a prototypical substance(tamoxifen), both in Milli-Q water and in a real matrix, viz. tap water, opening perspectives towards the use of plasmonic platforms for future high-performance sensing applications.
Bio-based hydrogels that adsorb contaminant dyes, such as methyl orange (MO), were synthesized and characterized in this study. The synthesis of poly([2-(acryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethylammonium chloride) and poly(ClAETA) hydrogels containing cellulose nanofibrillated (CNF) was carried out by free-radical polymerization based on a factorial experimental design. The hydrogels were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetry. Adsorption studies of MO were performed, varying time, pH, CNF concentration, initial dye concentration and reuse cycles, determining that when the hydrogels were reinforced with CNF, the dye removal values reached approximately 96%, and that the material was stable when the maximum swelling capacity was attained. The maximum amount of MO retained per gram of hydrogel (q = mg MO g−1) was 1379.0 mg g−1 for the hydrogel containing 1% (w w−1) CNF. Furthermore, it was found that the absorption capacity of MO dye can be improved when the medium pH tends to be neutral (pH = 7.64). The obtained hydrogels can be applicable for the treatment of water containing anionic dyes.
SnBiInZn based high entropy alloy (HEA) was studied as a low reflow temperature solder with melting point around 80 oC. The wetting angle is about 52o after reflow at 100 oC for 10 min. The interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) growth kinetics was measured to be ripening-control with a low activation energy about 18.0 kJ/mol, however, the interfacial reaction rate is very slow, leading to the formation of a very thin IMC layer. The low melting point HEA solder has potential applications in advanced electronic packaging technology, especially for bio-medical devices.
Purpose Currently, the clinical benefits of tea polyphenols have contributed to the development of efficient systemic delivery systems with adequate bioavailability and stability. In this study, we aimed to establish a nanoparticle model to overcome the shortcomings of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in the treatment of lung cancer. Materials and Methods Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with EGCG were prepared by the oil-in-water emulsion solvent evaporation technique. The characteristics of NPs, entrapment efficiency, and in vitro release were systematically evaluated. The cellular uptake, cytotoxic activity, and the effect of the formulation on cellular apoptosis of free-from EGCG and the NPs were compared. The interaction between protein-NF-κB and EGCG was detected by bio-layer interferometry (BLI). NF-κB signaling was evaluated by Western blotting and q-RT-PCR. The efficacy of the optimized nanoformulation was evaluated using a patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) model. Results EGCG-loaded NPs (175.8±3.8 nm in size) demonstrated its optimal efficacy, with approximately 86.0% of encapsulation efficiency and 14.2% of loading efficiency. Additionally, EGCG-encapsulated PLGA-NPs offered a 3-4-fold dose advantage compared to free EGCG in terms of exerting antiproliferative effects and inducing apoptosis at lower doses (12.5, 25 μM). Molecular interaction assays demonstrated that EGCG binds to NF-κB with high affnity (KD=4.8×10−5 M). EGCG-NPs were more effective at inhibiting NF-κB activation and suppressing the expression of NF-κB-regulated genes than free EGCG. Furthermore, EGCG-NPs showed superior anticancer activity in the PDX model than free EGCG. Conclusion These findings indicated that the prepared EGCG-NPs were more effective than free EGCG in inhibiting lung cancer tumors in the PDX model.
Surveillance and detection of polioviruses (PV) remain crucial to monitoring eradication progress. Intratypic differentiation (ITD) using the real-time RT-PCR kit is key to the surveillance workflow, where viruses are screened after cell culture isolation before a subset are verified by sequencing. The ITD kit is a series of real-time RT-PCR assays that screens cytopathic effect (CPE)-positive cell cultures using the standard WHO method for virus isolation. Because ITD screening is a critical procedure in the poliovirus identification workflow, validation of performance of real-time PCR platforms is a core requirement for the detection of poliovirus using the ITD kit. In addition, the continual update and improvement of the ITD assays to simplify interpretation in all platforms is necessary to ensure that all real-time machines are capable of detecting positive real-time signals. Four platforms (ABI7500 real-time systems, Bio-Rad CFX96, Stratagene MX3000P, and the Qiagen Rotor-Gene Q) were validated with the ITD kit and a redesigned poliovirus probe. The poliovirus probe in the real-time RT-PCR pan-poliovirus (PanPV) assay was re-designed with a double-quencher (Zen™) to reduce background fluorescence and potential false negatives. The updated PanPV probe was evaluated with a panel consisting of 184 polioviruses and non-polio enteroviruses. To further validate the updated PanPV probe, the new assay was pilot tested in five Global Polio Laboratory Network (GPLN) laboratories (Madagascar, India, Philippines, Pakistan, and Democratic Republic of Congo). The updated PanPV probe performance was shown to reduce background fluorescence and decrease the number of false positives compared to the standard PanPV probe.
Label-free bio-sensing is a critical functionality underlying a variety of health- and security-related applications. Micro-/nano-photonic devices are well suited for this purpose and have emerged as promising platforms in recent years. Here we propose and demonstrate an approach that utilizes the optical spring effect in a high-Q coherent optomechanical oscillator to dramatically enhance the sensing resolution by orders of magnitude compared with conventional approaches, allowing us to detect single bovine serum albumin proteins with a molecular weight of 66 kDa at a signal-to-noise ratio of 16.8. The unique optical spring sensing approach opens up a distinctive avenue that not only enables biomolecule sensing and recognition at individual level, but is also of great promise for broad physical sensing applications that rely on sensitive detection of optical cavity resonance shift to probe external physical parameters. Detection of a single nanoparticle or molecule is essential for many applications. Here, Yu et al.demonstrate the use of an optical cavity with optomechanical oscillation to detect single bovine serum albumin proteins, with potential for studying mechanical properties and interactions of individual molecules.
Abstract The present work investigated the potential of acidogenesis digestate rich in volatile fatty acids (Bio-D Acid ) and methanogenesis digestate rich in ammonia (Bio-D Meth ) as a green method for the pretreatment of rice straw and biomethane production. After pretreatment with Bio-D Meth for 48 h, a maximum hemicellulose reduction of 22.4% was recorded, while 48 h of Bio-D Acid showed the lowest reduction of 15.7%. In addition, pretreatment for 48 h with Bio-D Meth and Bio-D Acid showed significant removal of lignin by 16.6 and 11.0%, respectively. SEM and FTIR confirmed major increase in straw porosity and degradation after all applied pretreatments. The highest significant biomethane content of 71.2% was recorded in 24 h Bio-D Acid -pretreated straw. However, the highest significant yield of 249.1 L kg −1 VS was recorded from the 48 h Bio-D Meth -pretreated straw, which was 9.8, 19.6, and 27.0% higher than 24 h Bio-D Meth -, 24 h Bio-D Acid and 48 h Bio-D Meth -treated straw, respectively. Importantly, pretreatment with Bio-D Meth for 24 h showed the highest estimated net bioenergy output of 7.37 GJ ton −1 dry straw, which represented 28.6 and 0.13% increase over that of the control and 48 h Bio-D Meth -pretreated straw, respectively. The present study suggested application of Bio-D Meth for 24 h as an efficient eco-friendly pretreatment method for efficient AD of rice straw.
Abstract The present work includes the production of six blends of biodiesel using waste cooking oil/mustard oil with methanol (99% pure) having NaOH/KOH (91% pure) as the catalysts. The kinematic viscosity, density, calorific value, flash point, cloud point, pour point, and cetane number of prepared bio-fuels were determined. The comparative energy-exergy analyses for six biodiesel fuels were conducted using a 4 inline-4stroke diesel engine with 2392 cc at 0%, 25%, 50%, and 100% load for constant/varying speed. The break-power (BP), heat taken by cooling water (Q w ), heat taken away by exhaust gases (Q ex ), and unaccountable losses were evaluated. It was found that the tested biodiesels offer competitive energetic performance to the diesel. The exergetic performance parameters followed similar trends with the corresponding energetic ones, but with increased brake specific fuel consumption and reduced exhaust emission due to higher oxygen content in biodiesel fuel. The results of analysis of variance clearly reflect that the B.P. is influenced most by the load, followed by the type of oil and speed has the least effect. It was also found that the biodiesels are having considerably lower CO emission than diesel. NOx emissions were least at higher load in diesel followed by waste cooking oils. Soot emissions were alike for diesel, waste cooking oils, and mustered oils at low load, but at higher load diesel has an exponential increment in soot emissions.
We have witnessed abundant breakthroughs in research on the bio-applications of graphene family materials in current years. Owing to their nanoscale size, large specific surface area, photoluminescence properties, and antibacterial activity, graphene family materials possess huge potential for bone tissue engineering, drug/gene delivery, and biological sensing/imaging applications. In this review, we retrospect recent progress and achievements in graphene research, as well as critically analyze and discuss the bio-safety and feasibility of various biomedical applications of graphene family materials for bone tissue regeneration.
Abstract Electrochemical reduction of CO2 is promising for a bio-based economy as it combines utilization of CO2 as feedstock and provides a pathway for the utilization and (temporary) storage of electric energy. Among different products formate (HCOO-) can be produced with high rates and selectivity using indium as electrocatalyst. This can be achieved at mild biocompatible reaction conditions, e.g. ambient temperature, ambient pressure and neutral pH. Formate can serve as a source of carbon and energy for the biosynthesis of energy carriers or chemicals. However, the in situ interfacing of electrochemical CO2 reduction and biosynthesis creates challenges for electrochemical engineering. It is demonstrated that the electrode potential is the main steering parameter affecting the columbic efficiency, selectivity and rate of formate production in NaHCO3 electrolyte solution at biocompatible conditions. Coulombic efficiencies and formate production rates of 94.5 ± 2% and 0.136 ± 0.016 mmol h-1 cm-2 (at -2.2 vs. Ag/AgCl and ĸ = 10 mS cm-1), respectively, were achieved. Further, increasing the conductivity using inert electrolytes can enhance formate space-time yields up to 0.254 ± 0.031 mmol h-1 cm-2. Surprisingly, high NaHCO3 concentrations do not further increase formate production which supports that HCO3- is not electrochemically converted but only acting as CO2/H+ reservoir. Based on kinetic modeling insight on the inter-conversion of the carbonaceous species by CO2 sparging of the electrolyte solution is provided. Importantly, the influence of O2 on the electrochemical CO2 reduction was revealed to be marginal. This study, providing principles on the engineering of electrochemical CO2 reduction to formate for future interfacing to biosynthesis, demonstrates its feasibility to become technologically relevant.