Thermodynamics of complexation of monovalent metal cations by the ionophore monensin free acid in acetonitrile

The standard Gibbs functions, enthalpies, and entropies for the formation of the complexes of monensin acid with monovalent metal cations in acetonitrile were obtained using various methods (conductometry, potentiometry, and calorimetry). Complexation is appreciable (from 2.0 to 4.5 in terms of association constant logarithm) and controlled mainly by the enthalpic effect. Comparison with formation of the corresponding neutral complexes permits a comparison to the process of monensin mediated transport of cation in membranes. A two-step process involving first the formation of the acidic complex is suggested.     

Environmentally benign green composites based on epoxy resin/bacterial cellulose reinforced glass fiber: Fabrication and mechanical characteristics

Bio-based bacterial cellulose (BC) epoxy composites were manufactured and their mechanical properties were examined. The BC was initially fabricated from Vietnamese nata de coco by means of alkaline pretreatment followed by solvent exchange. The obtained fibers were dispersed in epoxy resin (EP) by both mechanical stirring and ultrasonic techniques. The resulting blend was used as the matrix for glass-fiber (GF) composite fabrication using a prepreg method followed by multiple hot-press-curing steps. The morphology, mechanical characteristics and mode-I interlaminar fracture toughness of the fabricated composites were investigated. With a 0.3-wt% BC content, the mode-I interlaminar fracture toughness for both crack initiation and crack propagation were improved by 128.8% and 1110%, respectively. The fatigue life was dramatically extended by a factor of 12, relative to the unmodified composite. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the BC plays a vital role in increasing the interlaminar fracture toughness of a GF/EP composite via the mechanisms of crack reflection, debonding and fiber-bridging.     

细菌感染成像的研究进展

由致病菌或条件致病菌侵入机体繁殖而产生的毒素和其它代谢产物所引起的感染性疾病是目前全球范围内的主要死亡原因之一. 感染性疾病的早期诊断是对其进行有效治疗与控制的重要途径. 分子影像技术的快速发展给体内细菌感染的评估带来了前所未有的变化和机遇. 本文综合评述了计算机断层扫描、 正电子发射断层扫描、 超声成像、 磁共振成像、 荧光成像及光声成像等成像方式在细菌感染体内成像中的研究进展、 不足和发展方向等, 以期为活体细菌感染检测方法的发展提供参考.     

Polyketide Synthase-Mediated O-Methyloxime Formation in the Biosynthesis of the Oximidine Anticancer Agents

Bacterial trans-acyltransferase polyketide synthases (trans-AT PKSs) are modular megaenzymes that employ unusual catalytic domains to assemble diverse bioactive natural products. One such PKS is responsible for the biosynthesis of the oximidine anticancer agents, oxime-substituted benzolactone enamides that inhibit vacuolar H⁺-ATPases. Here, we describe the identification of the oximidine gene cluster in Pseudomonas baetica and the characterization of four novel oximidine variants, including a structurally simpler intermediate that retains potent anticancer activity. Using a combination of in vivo, in vitro and computational approaches, we experimentally elucidate the oximidine biosynthetic pathway and reveal an unprecedented mechanism for O-methyloxime formation. We show that this process involves a specialized monooxygenase and methyltransferase domain and provide insight into their activity, mechanism and specificity. Our findings expand the catalytic capabilities of trans-AT PKSs and identify potential strategies for the production of novel oximidine analogues.     

Detection of Bacterial Neutral Ceramidase in Diabetic Foot Ulcers with an Optimized Substrate and Chemoenzymatic Probes

Ceramidases (CDases) are important in controlling skin barrier integrity by regulating ceramide composition and affording downstream signal molecules. While the functions of epidermal CDases are known, roles of neutral CDases secreted by skin-residing microbes are undefined. Here, we developed a one-step fluorogenic substrate, S-B , for specific detection of bacterial CDase activity and inhibitor screening. We identified a non-hydrolyzable substrate mimic, C6 , as the best hit. Based on C6 , we designed a photoaffinity probe, JX-1 , which efficiently detects bacterial CDases. Using JX-1 , we identified endogenous low-abundance PaCDase in a P. aeruginosa monoculture and in a mixed skin bacteria culture. Harnessing both S-B and JX-1 , we found that CDase activity positively correlates with the relative abundance of P. aeruginosa and is negatively associated with wound area reduction in clinical diabetic foot ulcer patient samples. Overall, our study demonstrates that bacterial CDases are important regulators of skin ceramides and potentially play a role in wound healing.     

Application of BaTiO3-based catalysts for piezocatalytic,photocatalytic and piezo-photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and bacterial disinfection in wastewater: A comprehensive review

The coupling of piezocatalysis and photocatalysis known as piezo-photocatalysis has attracted a lot of attention as one of the most effective advanced oxidation process (AOPs) for wastewater treatment, especially for the degradation of organic pollutants and disinfection of microbes. To advance this technology, there’s a need to develop lead free piezoelectric materials to drive both piezocatalytic and photocatalytic process to prevent secondary pollution due to lead toxicity. Hence, barium titanate (BaTiO₃) has been widely used as lead free piezoelectric material for several applications including water splitting, bacterial disinfection, and wastewater treatment due to its exceptional optical and piezoelectric properties. This work presents a comprehensive review on the application of BaTiO₃ as a promising lead-free piezo-photocatalyst for the catalytic degradation of organic pollutants and bacterial disinfection from aqueous solution. This review article details the optical and piezoelectric properties, modification strategies, and synthetic methods of BaTiO₃. Furthermore, the application of BaTiO₃ as a preferred piezo-photocatalyst for wastewater treatment and a future perspective is presented.     

The physicochemical surface characteristics of Brevibacterium linens

The physicochemical surface characteristics and interfacial behavior of two strains of Brevibacterium linens (BL-MGE and BL-9174), that may enhance cheese flavor, were assessed. Cell surface hydrophobicity was determined by measuring the contact angle of a variety of polar and non-polar wetting agents on lawns of the bacterial cells. The contact angles obtained were used to calculate the cell surface free energy components γ^LW, γ^AB, γ⁺ and γ⁻. The Lifshitz van der Waals component and the Lewis acid-base component were approximately 35 mJ m⁻² and 22 mJ m⁻², respectively, for both strains. Under conditions of physiological pH and low ionic strength, neither strain exhibited affinity for an octyl ligand in hydrophobic interaction chromatography. This occurred despite a favorable free energy of interfacial interaction which was attributable almost entirely to favorable acid-base interactions between cells and octyl-sepharose. The nature of surface functional groups was evaluated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Excluding H, the mean percentage of atomic fraction for C, O, N and P for BL-MGE was 57.7, 37.8, 3.9 and 0.6%, respectively and 61.0, 31.8, 7.0 and 0.2%, respectively for BL-9174.     

Fuzzy goal programming for inventory management: A bacterial foraging approach

An efficient inventory planning approach in today’s global trading regime is necessary not only for increasing the profit margin, but also to maintain system flexibility for achieving higher customer satisfaction. Such an approach should hence be comprised of a prudent inventory policy and clear satisfaction of stakeholder’s goals. Relative significance given to various objectives in a supply chain network varies with product as well as time. In this paper, a model is proposed to fill this void for a single product inventory control of a supply chain consisting of three echelons. A generic modification proposed to the membership functions of the fuzzy goal-programming approach is used to mathematically map the aspiration levels of the decision maker. The bacterial foraging algorithm has been modified with enhancement of the algorithms’ capability to map integer solution spaces and utilised to solve resulting fuzzy multi-objective function. An illustrative example comprehensively covers various decision scenarios and highlights the underlying managerial insights.     

Inactivation of microorganisms by low-frequency high-power ultrasound: 1. Effect of growth phase and capsule properties of the bacteria

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of high-intensity low-frequency (20 kHz) ultrasound treatment on the viability of bacteria suspension. More specifically, we have investigated the relationship between the deactivation efficiency and the physical (size, hydrophobicity) and biological (gram-status, growth phase) properties of the microbes. Enterobacter aerogenes, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, S. epidermidis SK and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius were chosen for this study owing to their varying physical and biological properties. The survival ratio of the bacteria suspension was measured as a function of the ultrasound power (up to 13 W) for a constant sonication time of 20 min. Transmission electron microscopy was used to evaluate the ultrasound-induced damages to the microbes. Ultrasound treatment resulted in lethal damage to E. aerogenes and B. subtilis (up to 4.5-log reduction), whereas Staphylococcus spp. were not affected noticeably. Further, E. aerogenes suspensions were more sensitive to ultrasonication in exponential growth phase than when they were in stationary phase. The results of this study demonstrate that the main reason for bacterial resistance to ultrasonic deactivation is due to the properties of the bacterial capsule. Microbes with a thicker and “soft” capsule are highly resistant to ultrasonic deactivation process.     

Nondestructive monitoring,kinetics and antimicrobial properties of ultrasound technology applied for surface decontamination of bacterial foodborne pathogen in pork

In this study, electronic nose (E-nose) and Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) was employed for nondestructive monitoring of ultrasound efficiency (20KHZ) in the inactivation of Salmonella Typhimurium, and Escherichia coli in inoculated pork samples treated for 10, 20 and 30 min.Weibull, and Log-linear model fitted well (R² ≥ 0.9) for both Salmonella Typhimurium, and Escherichia coli inactivation kinetics. The study also revealed that ultrasound has antimicrobial effects on the pathogens. For qualitative analysis, unsupervised (PCA) and supervised (LDA) chemometric algorithms were applied. PCA was used for successful sample clustering and LDA approach was used to construct statistical models for the classification of ultrasound treated and untreated samples. LDA showed classification accuracies of 99.26%,99.63%,99.70%, 99.43% for E-nose - S. Typhimurium, E-nose -E. coli, HSI - S. Typhimurium and HSI -E. coli respectively. PLSR quantitative models showed robust models for S. Typhimurium- (E-nose Rp² = 0.9375, RMSEP = 0.2107 log CFU/g and RPD = 9.7240 and (HSI Rp² = 0.9687 RMSEP = 0.1985 log CFU/g and RPD = 10.3217) and E. coli -(E-nose -Rp² = 0.9531, RMSEP = 0.2057 log CFU/g and RPD = 9.9604) and (HIS- Rp² = 0.9687, RMSEP = 0.2014 log CFU/g and RPD = 10.1731).This novel study shows the overall effectiveness of applying E-nose and HSI for in-situ and nondestructive detection, discrimination and quantification of bacterial foodborne pathogens during the application of food processing technologies like ultrasound for pathogen inactivation.