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Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are beneficial microbes known for their health-promoting properties. LAB are well known for their ability to produce substantial amounts of bioactive compounds during fermentation. Peptides, exopolysaccharides (EPS), bacteriocins, some amylase, protease, lipase enzymes, and lactic acid are the most important bioactive compounds generated by LAB activity during fermentation. Additionally, the product produced by LAB is dependent on the type of fermentation used. LAB derived from the genera Lactobacillus and Enterococcus are the most popular probiotics at present. Consuming fermented foods has been previously connected to a number of health-promoting benefits such as antibacterial activity and immune system modulation. Furthermore, functional food implementations lead to the application of LAB in therapeutic nutrition such as prebiotic, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, blood glucose lowering actions. Understanding the characteristics of LAB in diverse sources and its potential as a functional food is crucial for therapeutic applications. This review presents an overview of functional food knowledge regarding interactions between LAB isolated from dairy products (dairy LAB) and fermented foods, as well as the prospect of functioning LAB in human health. Finally, the health advantages of LAB bioactive compounds are emphasized.

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Gene Modification Technologies LAB GMO Regulation, Risk Assessment, and Acceptability of LAB GMO Conclusions References

In the recent past, the field of optofluidics has thrived from the immense efforts of researchers from diverse communities. The concept of optofluidics combines optics and microfluidics to exploit novel properties and functionalities. In the very beginning, the unique properties of liquid, such as mobility, fungibility and deformability, initiated the motivation to develop optical elements or functions using fluid interfaces. Later on, the advancements of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and microfluidic technologies enabled the realization of optofluidic components through the precise manipulation of fluids at microscale thus making it possible to streamline complex fabrication processes. The optofluidic system aims to fully integrate optical functions on a single chip instead of using external bulky optics, which can consequently lower the cost of system, downsize the system and make it promising for point-of-care diagnosis. This perspective gives an overview of the recent developments in the field of optofluidics. Firstly, the fundamental optofluidic components will be discussed and are categorized according to their basic working mechanisms, followed by the discussions on the functional instrumentations of the optofluidic components, as well as the current commercialization aspects of optofluidics. The paper concludes with the critical challenges that might hamper the transformation of optofluidic technologies from lab-based procedures to practical usages and commercialization.

This chapter contains sections titled: Evaluations and Conclusions References

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to fit Coffin-Manson equation of Sn-4.0Ag-0.5Cu lead free solder joint by using results of solders joint reliability test and finite element analysis. Also to present a novel device for solder joint reliability test. Design/methodology/approach: Two-points bending test of Sn-4.0Ag-0.5Cu lead free solder joint was carried out at three deflection levels by using a special bending tester that can control displacement exactly by a cam system. The failure criterion was defined as resistance of solder joint getting 10 percent increase. The X-section was done for all failure samples to observe crack initiation and propagation in solder joint. Finite element analysis was presented with ANSYS for obtaining shear strain range, analyzing distribution of stress and strain and supporting experimental results. Findings: The experimental results indicate that the fatigue life decreased obviously with the displacement increased. By using optical microscope and SEM photographs, two kinds of failure mode were found in solder joint. The majority failure mode took place at the bottom corner of solder joint under the termination of resistor initially, and propagated into the solder matrix. Another failure mode was delamination. It appeared at the interface between the termination of resistor and its ceramic body. The distribution status of stress and strain in solder joint and the calculation results of shear strain range at different deflection levels were obtained from simulation result. The Coffin-Manson equation of Sn-4.0Ag-0.5Cu lead free solder joint was fitted by combining experimental data with result of finite element analysis. Originality/value: This paper presents Coffin-Manson equation of Sn-4.0Ag-0.5Cu solder joint with two-points bending test. An effective and economical device was designed and applied.

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction On - Chip Sensing Electrodes Capacitive Biochemical Methods Capacitive Interface Circuits Microfluidic Packaging Conclusion References

Advances in high-throughput and multiplexed microfluidics have rewarded biotechnology researchers with vast amounts of data but not necessarily the ability to analyze complex data effectively. Over the past few years, deep artificial neural networks (ANNs) leveraging modern graphics processing units (GPUs) have enabled the rapid analysis of structured input data – sequences, images, videos – to predict complex outputs with unprecedented accuracy. While there have been early successes in flow cytometry, for example, the extensive potential of pairing microfluidics (to acquire data) and deep learning (to analyze data) to tackle biotechnology challenges remains largely untapped. Here we provide a roadmap to integrating deep learning and microfluidics in biotechnology laboratories that matches computational architectures to problem types, and provide an outlook on emerging opportunities. High-throughput microfluidics has revolutionized biotechnology assays, enabling intriguing new approaches often at the single-cell level. Combining deep learning (to analyze data) with microfluidics (to acquire data) represents an emerging opportunity in biotechnology that remains largely untapped. Deep learning architectures have been developed to tackle raw structured data and address problems common to microfluidics applications in biotechnology. With the abundance of open-source training materials and low-cost graphics processing units, the barriers to entry for microfluidics labs have never been lower.

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) offer tremendous potentialities in biomedical applications for a long while. Since these materials' interactions in biological media largely rely on their crystal structures, sizes, and shapes, detailed studies on their synthesis mechanism for medicinal aspects are crucial. Despite many review reports that have already been published on MNPs, they mainly have focused either on their perspective in biomedical applications or their synthesis and characterization along with functionalization mechanisms as individual entities. For this reason, this review uncovers a comprehensive insight into the ongoing improvement of fabrication processes, surface functionalization of MNPs for biomedical applications together. Besides, various magnetic nanocomposite (MNCs) for smart drug delivery, recent hyperthermia treatment, lab‐on‐a‐chip, and magnetic bio‐separation, and some of the recent emerging imaging techniques using MNPs are discussed. A detailed analysis of toxicity, challenges, and recent progress of clinical trials of MNPs is sketched out to open numerous entryways for advanced research on MNPs for biomedical applications. This study sheds light on the recent developments of the fabrication process and surface functionalization of the magnetic nanoparticles for therapeutic applications. Recent developments in hybrid magnetic nanocarrier assisted drug and gene delivery, magnetic hyperthermia, magnetic bioseparation, and imaging modalities are discussed. Toxicity challenges and recent developments of clinical translation as well as future perspective of magnetic nanoparticles are outlined.

This chapter contains sections titled: Part 10.1 Basics of Computer Simulations Basic Knowledge of UNIX System and Shell Commands A Simple MD Program Static Lattice Calculations Using GULP Introduction of Visualization Tools and Gnuplot Running an Atomistic Simulation Using a Public MD Software DL_POLY Nve and npt Ensemble in MD Simulation Part 10.2: Simulation Applications in Metals and Ceramics by MD Non‐equilibrium MD Simulation of One‐phase Model Under External Shearing (1) Non‐equilibrium MD Simulation of a One‐phase Model Under External Shearing (2) Non‐equilibrium MD Simulation of a Two‐phase Model Under External Shearing Part 10.3: Atomistic Simulation for Protein‐Water System and Brief Introduction of Large‐scale Atomic/Molecular System (LAMMPS) and the GP Simulation Using NAMD Software for Biological Atomistic Simulation Stretching of a Protein Module (1): System Building and Equilibration with VMD/NAMD Stretching of a Protein Module (2): Non‐equilibrium MD Simulation with NAMD Brief Introduction to LAMMPS Multiscale Simulation by Generalized Particle (GP) Dynamics Method Appendix 10.A Code Installation Guide Appendix 10.B Brief Introduction to Fortran 90 Appendix 10.C Brief Introduction to VIM Appendix 10.D Basic Knowledge of Numerical Algorithm for Force Calculation Appendix 10.E Basic Knowledge of Parallel Numerical Algorithm Appendix 10.F Supplemental Materials and Software for Geometric Model Development in Atomistic Simulation References

Both passive and active microfluidic chips are used in many biomedical and chemical applications to support fluid mixing, particle manipulations, and signal detection. Passive microfluidic devices are geometry-dependent, and their uses are rather limited. Active microfluidic devices include sensors or detectors that transduce chemical, biological, and physical changes into electrical or optical signals. Also, they are transduction devices that detect biological and chemical changes in biomedical applications, and they are highly versatile microfluidic tools for disease diagnosis and organ modeling. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the significant advances that have been made in the development of microfluidics devices. We will discuss the function of microfluidic devices as micromixers or as sorters of cells and substances (e.g., microfiltration, flow or displacement, and trapping). Microfluidic devices are fabricated using a range of techniques, including molding, etching, three-dimensional printing, and nanofabrication. Their broad utility lies in the detection of diagnostic biomarkers and organ-on-chip approaches that permit disease modeling in cancer, as well as uses in neurological, cardiovascular, hepatic, and pulmonary diseases. Biosensor applications allow for point-of-care testing, using assays based on enzymes, nanozymes, antibodies, or nucleic acids (DNA or RNA). An anticipated development in the field includes the optimization of techniques for the fabrication of microfluidic devices using biocompatible materials. These developments will increase biomedical versatility, reduce diagnostic costs, and accelerate diagnosis time of microfluidics technology.