Explore the vast range of titles available.

A colorimetric sulfo-phospho-vanillin (SPV) method was developed for high throughput analysis of total lipids. The developed method uses a reaction mixture that is maintained in a 96-well microplate throughout the entire assay. The new assay provides the following advantages over other methods of lipid measurement: (1) background absorbance can be easily corrected for each well, (2) there is less risk of handling and transferring sulfuric acid contained in reaction mixtures, (3) color develops more consistently providing more accurate measurement of absorbance, and (4) the assay can be used for quantitative measurement of lipids extracted from a wide variety of sources. Unlike other spectrophotometric approaches that use fluorescent dyes, the optimal spectra and reaction conditions for the developed assay do not vary with the sample source. The developed method was used to measure lipids in extracts from four strains of microalgae. No significant difference was found in lipid determination when lipid content was measured using the new method and compared to results obtained using a macro-gravimetric method.

Microencapsulation of curcumin in jelly fig pectin was performed by the vacuum spray drying (VSD) technique. The VSD was advanced with a low inlet temperature of 80–90 °C and low pressure of 0.01 mPa. By the in situ cross-linking with multivalent calcium ions, jelly fig pectin produced stable curcumin encapsulated microparticles. The physiochemical characteristics of microparticles were thoroughly investigated. The results revealed that 0.75 w/w% of jelly fig pectin and inlet temperature of 90 °C could be feasible for obtaining curcumin microparticles. The VSD technique showed the best encapsulation efficiency and yield and loading efficiency was up to 91.56 ± 0.80%, 70.02 ± 1.96%, and 5.45 ± 0.14%, respectively. The curcumin was readily released into simulated gastrointestinal fluid with 95.34 ± 0.78% cumulative release in 24 h. The antioxidant activity was stable after being stored for six months and stored as a solution for seven days at room temperature before analysis. Hence, the VSD technique could be applicable for the microencapsulation of bioactive compounds such as curcumin to protect and use in the food/pharmaceutical industry.

One of the major concerns for utilizing ionic liquid on an industrial scale is the cost involved in the production. Despite its proven pretreatment efficiency, expenses involved in its usage hinder its utilization. A better way to tackle this limitation could be overcome by studying the recyclability of ionic liquid. The current study has applied the Box–Behnken design (BBD) to optimize the pretreatment condition of rice straw through the usage of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EMIM-Ac) as an ionic liquid. The model predicted the operation condition with 5% solid loading at 128.4 °C for 71.83 min as an optimum pretreatment condition. Under the optimized pretreatment condition, the necessity of the best anti-solvent was evaluated among water, acetone methanol, and their combinations. The study revealed that pure methanol is the suitable choice of anti-solvent, enhancing the highest sugar yield. Recyclability of EMIM-Ac coupled with anti-solvent was conducted up to five recycles following the predicted pretreatment condition. Fermentation studies evaluated the efficacy of recycled EMIM-Ac for ethanol production with 89% more ethanol production than the untreated rice straw even after five recycles. This study demonstrates the potential of recycled ionic liquid in ethanol production, thereby reducing the production cost at the industrial level.

The fast-dissolving drug delivery systems (FDDDSs) are developed as nanofibers using food-grade water-soluble hydrophilic biopolymers that can disintegrate fast in the oral cavity and deliver drugs. Jelly fig polysaccharide (JFP) and pullulan were blended to prepare fast-dissolving nanofiber by electrospinning. The continuous and uniform nanofibers were produced from the solution of 1% (w/w) JFP, 12% (w/w) pullulan, and 1 wt% Triton X-305. The SEM images confirmed that the prepared nanofibers exhibited uniform morphology with an average diameter of 144 ± 19 nm. The inclusion of JFP in pullulan was confirmed by TGA and FTIR studies. XRD analysis revealed that the increased crystallinity of JFP/pullulan nanofiber was observed due to the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The tensile strength and water vapor permeability of the JFP/pullulan nanofiber membrane were also enhanced considerably compared to pullulan nanofiber. The JFP/pullulan nanofibers loaded with hydrophobic model drugs like ampicillin and dexamethasone were rapidly dissolved in water within 60 s and release the encapsulants dispersive into the surrounding. The antibacterial activity, fast disintegration properties of the JFP/pullulan nanofiber were also confirmed by the zone of inhibition and UV spectrum studies. Hence, JFP/pullulan nanofibers could be a promising carrier to encapsulate hydrophobic drugs for fast-dissolving/disintegrating delivery applications.

Associations between long-term exposure to air pollution and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) have inconsistent findings. In this study we aimed to evaluate association between 1-year average exposure to traffic-related air pollution and CIMT in middle-aged adults in Asia. CIMT was measured in Taipei, Taiwan, between 2009 and 2011 in 689 volunteers 35-65 years of age who were recruited as the control subjects of an acute coronary heart disease cohort study. We applied land-use regression models developed by the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) to estimate each subject's 1-year average exposure to traffic-related air pollutants with particulate matter diameters ≤ 10 μm (PM10) and ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and the absorbance levels of PM2.5 (PM2.5abs), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the urban environment. One-year average air pollution exposures were 44.21 ± 4.19 μg/m3 for PM10, 27.34 ± 5.12 μg/m3 for PM2.5, and (1.97 ± 0.36) × 10-5/m for PM2.5abs. Multivariate regression analyses showed average percentage increases in maximum left CIMT of 4.23% (95% CI: 0.32, 8.13) per 1.0 × 10-5/m increase in PM2.5abs; 3.72% (95% CI: 0.32, 7.11) per 10-μg/m3 increase in PM10; 2.81% (95% CI: 0.32, 5.31) per 20-μg/m3 increase in NO2; and 0.74% (95% CI: 0.08, 1.41) per 10-μg/m3 increase in NOx. The associations were not evident for right CIMT, and PM2.5 mass concentration was not associated with the outcomes. Long-term exposures to traffic-related air pollution of PM2.5abs, PM10, NO2, and NOx were positively associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in middle-aged adults.

Fresh-harvested, air-dried rice straw was pretreated at a water content of 5 g H₂O/g straw using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and compared to pretreatment at 10 g H₂O/g straw by hydrated lime (Ca(OH)₂). Full factorial experiments including parallel wash-only treatments were completed with both sources of alkali. The experiments were designed to measure the effects of alkaline loading and pretreatment time on delignification and sugar yield upon enzymatic hydrolysis. Reaction temperature was held constant at 95°C for lime pretreatment and 55°C for NaOH pretreatment. The range of delignification was 13.1% to 27.0% for lime pretreatments and was 8.6% to 23.1% for NaOH pretreatments. Both alkaline loading and reaction time had significant positive effects (p < 0.001) on delignification under the design conditions, but only alkaline loading had a significant positive effect on enzymatic hydrolysis. Treatment at higher temperature also improved delignification; delignification with water alone ranged from 9.9% to 14.5% for pretreatment at 95°C, but there was little effect observed at 55°C. Post-pretreatment washing of biomass was not necessary for subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis. Maximum glucose yields were 176.3 mg/g dried biomass (48.5% conversion efficiency of total glucose) in lime-pretreated and unwashed biomass and were 142.3 mg/g dried biomass (39.2% conversion efficiency of total glucose) in NaOH-pretreated and unwashed biomass.

Inorganic salt pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass has proven to be an efficient way to increase the efficiency of enzymatic saccharification. However, it is not clear that this improvement is the result of modification of the lignocellulosic substrate after pretreatment, or removal of inhibitor, or enhancement of cellulase or a combination of these events. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the effects of inorganic salts on kinetics of cellulase enzymes (celluclast 1.5L and accellerase 1500). Two substrates rich in cellulose content [carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), avicel (AV)] and lignocellulose substrate [sugarcane bagasse (SB)] were considered. The enzymatic saccharification was carried with and without the addition of inorganic salts (NaCl and KCl) at 0.5 M and 1.0 M concentration. The kinetic parameters, Km and Vm, were determined to mechanically understand the pattern of inhibition and enhancement of inorganic salts on enzymatic saccharification. The kinetics parameters of celluclast 1.5L and accellerase 1500 for hydrolysis of CMC and AV with NaCl showed uncompetitive inhibition. Whereas, influences of KCl on both cellulase were differentiated to function in inhibition or enhancement modes when challenged with different substrates. On the other hand, enzymatic hydrolysis efficiencies of SB using both cellulases were enhanced under addition of NaCl and KCl, by increasing Vm of celluclast 1.5L from 0.303 to 0.635 mg/mL min (0.5 M KCl) and accellerase 1500 from 0.383 to 0.719 mg/mL min (1.0 M NaCl). The details of kinetic analysis in this work revealed the mechanism of inorganic salts on cellulase kinetics to be involved in substrate modification and removal of inhibitor.Graphic abstract

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can differentiate into cells of the three germ layers and are promising cell sources for regenerative medicine therapies. However, current protocols generate hiPSCs with low efficiency, and the generated iPSCs have variable differentiation capacity among different clones. Our previous study reported that MYC proteins (c-MYC and MYCL) are essential for reprogramming and germline transmission but that MYCL can generate hiPSC colonies more efficiently than c-MYC. The molecular underpinnings for the different reprogramming efficiencies between c-MYC and MYCL, however, are unknown. In this study, we found that MYC Box 0 (MB0) and MB2, two functional domains conserved in the MYC protein family, contribute to the phenotypic differences and promote hiPSC generation in MYCL-induced reprogramming. Proteome analyses suggested that in MYCL-induced reprogramming, cell adhesion-related cytoskeletal proteins are regulated by the MB0 domain, while the MB2 domain regulates RNA processes. These findings provide a molecular explanation for why MYCL has higher reprogramming efficiency than c-MYC.

Lung cancer remains a major health problem despite the considerable research into prevention and treatment methods. Through a deeper understanding of tumors, patient‐specific ex vivo spheroid models with high specificity can be used to accurately investigate the cause, metastasis, and treatment strategies for lung cancer. Biofabricate lung tumors are presented, consisting of patient‐derived tumor spheroids, endothelial cells, and lung decellularized extracellular matrix, which maintain a radial oxygen gradient, as well as biophysicochemical behaviors of the native tumors for precision medicine. It is also demonstrated that the developed lung‐cancer spheroid model reproduces patient responses to chemotherapeutics and targeted therapy in a co‐clinical trial, with 85% accuracy, 86.7% sensitivity, and 80% specificity. RNA sequencing analysis validates that the gene expression in the spheroids replicates that in the patient's primary tumor. This model can be used as an ex vivo predictive model for personalized cancer therapy and to improve the quality of clinical care. A facile route to construct a highly accurate sophisticated ex vivo lung tumor spheroid model for considering patient‐specific therapies. The LdECM provides native‐tissue‐mimetic physicochemical cues that support the organization of spheroids with a hypoxic signature. The developed patient‐derived tumor spheroid model for the prediction of the optimal chemotherapy or target therapy drug for the patient.

Apigenin (Apig) is used as a model drug due to its many beneficial bio-activities and therapeutic potentials. Nevertheless, its poor water solubility and low storage stability have limited its application feasibility on the pharmaceutical field. To address this issue, this study developed nanoemulsions (NEs) using an anti-oxidative polymeric amphiphile, d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS), hydrogenated soy lecithin (HL), black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) oil, and avocado (AV) oil through pre-homogenization and ultrasonication method. Addition of TPGS (weight ratios 100 and 50% as compared to HL) into NEs effectively reduced particle size and phase transition region area of NEs with pure HL. Incorporation of Apig into NEs made particle size increase and provided a disorder effect on intraparticle molecular packing. Nevertheless, the encapsulation efficiency of NEs for Apig approached to about 99%. The chemical stability of Apig was significantly improved and its antioxidant ability was elevated by incorporation with BSFL oil and AV oil NEs, especially for NEs with single TPGS. NEs with single TPGS also exhibited the best Apig skin deposition. For future application of topical Apig delivery, NEs-gel was formed by the addition of hyaluronic acid (HA) into NEs. Their rheological characteristics were dominated by the surfactant ratios of HL to TPGS.