Marine cyanobacterial biomass is an efficient feedstock for fungal bioprocesses

BACKGROUND

Marine cyanobacteria offer many sustainability advantages, such as the ability to fix atmospheric CO2, very fast growth and no dependence on freshwater for culture. Cyanobacterial biomass is a rich source of sugars and proteins, two essential nutrients for culturing any heterotroph. However, no previous study has evaluated their application as a feedstock for fungal bioprocesses.

RESULTS

In this work, we cultured the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 in a 3-L externally illuminated bioreactor with working volume of 2 L with a biomass productivity of ~ 0.8 g L-1 day-1. Hydrolysis of the biomass with acids released proteins and hydrolyzed glycogen while hydrolysis of the biomass with base released only proteins but did not hydrolyze glycogen. Among the different acids tested, treatment with HNO3 led to the highest release of proteins and glucose. Cyanobacterial biomass hydrolysate (CBH) prepared in HNO3 was used as a medium to produce cellulase enzyme by the Penicillium funiculosum OAO3 strain while CBH prepared in HCl and treated with charcoal was used as a medium for citric acid by Aspergillus tubingensis. Approximately 50% higher titers of both products were obtained compared to traditional media.

CONCLUSIONS

These results show that the hydrolysate of marine cyanobacteria is an effective source of nutrients/proteins for fungal bioprocesses.

Adjuvant therapy in neonatal sepsis to prevent mortality - A systematic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Despite appropriate antibiotic therapy, the risk of mortality in neonatal sepsis still remains high. We conducted a systematic review to comprehensively evaluate different adjuvant therapies in neonatal sepsis in a network meta-analysis.

METHODS

We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs that evaluated adjuvant therapies in neonatal sepsis. Neonates of all gestational and postnatal ages, who were diagnosed with sepsis based on blood culture or sepsis screen were included. We searched MEDLINE, CENTRAL, EMBASE and CINAHL until 12th April 2021 and reference lists. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment were performed in duplicate. A network meta-analysis with bayesian random-effects model was used for data synthesis. Certainty of evidence (CoE) was assessed using GRADE.

RESULTS

We included 45 studies involving 6,566 neonates. Moderate CoE showed IVIG [Relative Risk (RR); 95% Credible Interval (CrI): 1.00; (0.67-1.53)] as an adjunctive therapy probably does not reduce all-cause mortality before discharge, compared to standard care. Melatonin [0.12 (0-0.08)] and granulocyte transfusion [0.39 (0.19-0.76)] may reduce mortality before discharge, but CoE is very low. The evidence is also very uncertain regarding other adjunctive therapies to reduce mortality before discharge. Pentoxifylline may decrease the duration of hospital stay [Mean difference; 95% CrI: -7.48 days (-14.50-0.37)], but CoE is very low.

CONCLUSION

Given the biological plausibility for possible efficacy of these adjuvant therapies and that the CoE from the available trials is very low to low except for IVIG, we need large adequately powered RCTs to evaluate these therapies in sepsis in neonates.

Integration of Aspergillus niger transcriptomic profile with metabolic model identifies potential targets to optimise citric acid production from lignocellulosic hydrolysate

BACKGROUND

Citric acid is typically produced industrially by Aspergillus niger-mediated fermentation of a sucrose-based feedstock, such as molasses. The fungus Aspergillus niger has the potential to utilise lignocellulosic biomass, such as bagasse, for industrial-scale citric acid production, but realising this potential requires strain optimisation. Systems biology can accelerate strain engineering by systematic target identification, facilitated by methods for the integration of omics data into a high-quality metabolic model. In this work, we perform transcriptomic analysis to determine the temporal expression changes during fermentation of bagasse hydrolysate and develop an evolutionary algorithm to integrate the transcriptomic data with the available metabolic model to identify potential targets for strain engineering.

RESULTS

The novel integrated procedure matures our understanding of suboptimal citric acid production and reveals potential targets for strain engineering, including targets consistent with the literature such as the up-regulation of citrate export and pyruvate carboxylase as well as novel targets such as the down-regulation of inorganic diphosphatase.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, we demonstrate the production of citric acid from lignocellulosic hydrolysate and show how transcriptomic data across multiple timepoints can be coupled with evolutionary and metabolic modelling to identify potential targets for further engineering to maximise productivity from a chosen feedstock. The in silico strategies employed in this study can be applied to other biotechnological goals, assisting efforts to harness the potential of microorganisms for bio-based production of valuable chemicals.

Increasing the exclusive breastfeeding rate in a private hospital in UAE through quality improvement initiatives

BACKGROUND

Mother's milk is the best, and ideal method for infant feeding. We found that this practice was not being followed in our hospital. A survey was conducted in the unit with regards to breastfeeding practices which revealed that most babies who were discharged from our nursery were on formula supplements. Our goal was to improve established breastfeeding rates in the unit by increasing the number of full-term healthy babies who were discharged on exclusive Breastfeeding.

METHOD

A project team was formed, and data were collected through direct observations and direct interviews with postnatal mothers. Exclusive Breastfeeding at discharge was defined as a baby being fully on breastfeed with no additional formula supplements for at least 12 hours prior to discharge. The primary outcome was to increase the percentage of babies being discharged on exclusive Breastfeeding. We used the FOCUS PDCA model to measure improvements and 8 PDCA cycles of 4 weeks duration were implemented to test the changes.

RESULTS

The interventions we put in place led to a considerable nine times overall improvement in the established breastfeeding rates. Among all the interventions, the most promising results were observed during the PDCA cycles involving staff education, the introduction of antenatal classes for mothers, skin to skin contact and rooming in.

CONCLUSION

Breastfeeding rates in the private sector with nursery services can be improved by reinforcing breastfeeding education for mothers in addition to training the maternal care staff, empowering them to promote and assist in breastfeeding.

Nutrient modulation based process engineering strategy for improved butanol production from Clostridium acetobutylicum

The present study demonstrates a process engineering strategy to achieve high butanol titer and productivity from wild type Clostridium acetobutylicum MTCC 11274. In the first step, two different media were optimized with the objectives of maximizing the biomass and butanol productivity, respectively. In the next step, attributes of these two media compositions were integrated to design a two-stage fed-batch process which resulted in maximal butanol productivity of 0.55 g L^-1 h^-1 with titer of 13.1 g L^-1 . Further, two-stage fed-batch process along with combinatorial use of magnesium limitation and calcium supplementation resulted in the highest butanol titer and productivity of 16.5 g L^-1 and 0.59 g L^-1 h^-1 , respectively. Finally, integration of the process with gas stripping and modulation of feeding duration resulted in a cumulative butanol titer of 54.3 g L^-1 and productivity of 0.58 g L^-1 h^-1 . The strategy opens up possibility of developing a viable butanol bioprocess. © 2019 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 35: e2771, 2019.

Understanding regulation in substrate dependent modulation of growth and production of alcohols in Clostridium sporogenes NCIM 2918 through metabolic network reconstruction and flux balance analysis

Flux Balance Analysis was performed for Clostridium sporogenes NCIM 2918 grown on sole glucose and glycerol or glucose-glycerol combinations at varied concentrations. During acidogenesis, glucose and glucose-glycerol combinations favored improved growth and butyric acid production. Glycerol fermentation was however marked by reduced growth and predominant ethanol synthesis. Further, with increase of glycerol fraction in glucose-glycerol blend, flux towards ethanol synthesis linearly increased with simultaneous decrease in butanol flux. Elevated ATP demand due to improved growth was satisfied by upregulated carbon flux towards butyric acid synthesis during both glucose and dual substrate fermentations. Possible repression of pyruvate carboxylase by glycerol resulting in downturn of carbon uptake flux towards TCA cycle through anaplerotic reaction may be responsible for reduced growth in glycerol fermentation. Ammonium acetate mediated induction of acetic acid utilization, during acidogenesis, led to excess acetyl-CoA generation and its subsequent metabolism to lesser reduced products, butyric acid or ethanol.

Evaluation of Ageratum conyzoides in field scale constructed wetlands (CWs) for domestic wastewater treatment

Ageratum conyzoides were evaluated in field scale subsurface flow constructed wetlands (CWs) to quantify its nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) uptake and compare with wetland plants (Pistia stratiotes, Typha latifolia and Canna indica). The two-field scale subsurface flow CWs, located in the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics, received wastewater from an urban colony. The CW1 and CW2 had the same dimensions (length:10 m, width:3 m, total depth:1.5 m and sand and gravel:1 m), similar flow rates (3 m³/d), hydraulic loading rates (HLRs-10 cm/d) and hydraulic retention time (HRT-5 days) from July 2014-August 2015. The vegetation in both CWs consisted of Pistia stratiotes, Typha latifolia, Canna indica, and Ageratum conyzoides, respectively. The CW1 (% reduction with respect to concentrations) reduced total suspended solids (TSS) (68%), NH₄-N (26%), NO₃-N (30%), soluble reactive P (SRP) (20%), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (45%) and fecal coliforms (71%), while the CW2 (%-reduction with respect to concentrations) reduced TSS (63%), NH₄-N (32%), NO₃-N (26%), SRP (35%), COD (39%) and fecal coliforms (70%). Ageratum conyzoides can be used in combination with Pistia stratiotes, Typha latifolia and Canna indica to enhance removal of excessive N, P and fecal coliforms from domestic wastewater.

Substrate dependent modulation of butanol to ethanol ratio in non-acetone forming Clostridium sporogenes NCIM 2918

Present study reports a non-acetone producing Clostridium sporogenes strain as a potential producer of liquid biofuels. Alcohol production was positively regulated by sorbitol and instant dry yeast as carbon and nitrogen sources respectively. Media optimization resulted in maximum butanol and ethanol titer (gL^-1) of 12.1 and 7.9 respectively. Depending on the combination of carbon sources, the organism was found to manipulate its metabolism towards synthesis of either ethanol or butanol, thereby affecting the total alcohol titer. Among various dual substrate combinations, glucose-glycerol mixture in the ratio of 60:40 resulted in maximum butanol and ethanol titer (gL^-1) of 11.9 and 12.1 respectively with total alcohol productivity of 0.59gL^-1h^-1. In the mixture, when pure glycerol was replaced with crude glycerol, butanol and ethanol titer (gL^-1) of 11.2 and 11.7 was achieved. Hence, the strain shows immense potential for biofuels production using crude glycerol as cheap substrate.

Drill bit failure and retrieval during arthroscopic ACL reconstruction

A case of broken drill bit during arthroscopic ACL reconstruction and the technique adopted to overcome this complication is presented. We also review the literature for intra-operative incidents and technical complications during arthroscopic ACL reconstruction and various precautions we should implement to prevent such technical pitfalls from coming into reality.

Cling wrap, an innovative intervention for temperature maintenance and reduction of insensible water loss in very low-birthweight babies nursed under radiant warmers: a randomized, controlled trial

AIM

The value of polythene film ('cling wrap') to improve thermal control and reduce postnatal weight loss in preterm, very low-birthweight babies was investigated.

METHODS

Consecutively born babies with birthweights between 750 and 1500 g were stratified by birthweight (<1250 g, 1251-1500 g) and randomised either to the cling wrap (CW) or no cling wrap (NCW) group. The baby bassinette of the RW was covered with cling wrap up to the level of the neck in the CW group for the 1st 7 days. The primary outcome variables were the incidence of hypothermia (axillary temperature < or = 36 degrees C) after initial stabilisation during the first 7 days and cumulative weight loss (percentage of birthweight) at 48 hours of age.

RESULTS

Of 51 babies, 26 were randomised to the CW and 25 to the NCW group. None of the babies in the CW group developed hypothermia in the 1st 7 days but 36% in the NCW group (p = 0.001) did. Babies who were hypothermic on admission took less time to reach normal temperature in the CW group. Cumulative weight loss in the 1st 48 hours was 5.0 + 5.6% in the CW group and 8.6 + 7.0% in the NCW group (p = 0.06).

CONCLUSION

Use of CW might be a simple method of maintaining temperature in very low-birthweight babies in developing countries.

Neuroprotective effects of alpha-ketoglutarate and ethyl pyruvate against motor dysfunction and oxidative changes caused by repeated 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6 tetrahydropyridine exposure in mice

1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is a neurotoxin associated with drug abuse and causes permanent symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) by destroying dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain. In the present study, the neuroprotective effects of two carboxylic acid compounds, viz. alpha-ketoglutarate (A-KG), a Kreb’s cycle intermediate and ethyl pyruvate (EP), a lipid-soluble analogue of pyruvate, were evaluated against MPTP intoxication in mice and compared with madopar (MD; combination of levodopa plus benserazide), a standard drug. Animals received oral treatment of A-KG (500 mg/kg), EP (100 mg/kg) or MD (5 mg/kg) daily for 5 days followed by intraperitoneal administration of MPTP (20 mg/kg) and posttreatment (+10 min) of A-KG, EP or MD daily for the remaining 5 days. MPTP caused the inhibition of complex I of electron transport chain accompanied by oxidative stress in the brain. It also caused cytotoxicity in the midbrain region as characterized by histology and immunohistochemistry. Treatments of A-KG and EP were found to resolve the loss of motor coordination, oxidative stress, diminished complex I activity and tyrosine hydroxylase–positive neurons in midbrain. A-KG and EP also regressed the histological damage in the brain and minimized the accumulation of alpha-synuclein in the midbrain region. The data suggest that A-KG and EP which are nontoxic carboxylic acid compounds could be of potential therapeutic value in the treatment of PD.

P5-23-07: Treatment Strategy of Locally Advanced Breast Cancer in Sub Group (T3N1M0, T4bN1M0) in Developing Countries

With the recent advances in modern day chemotherapy and hormonal therapy for locally advanced breast cancer [stage III, T3 N1 and T4bN1], most of the oncologist around the globe now prefer to give neoadjuvent chemotherapy and, or hormonal therapy followed by surgery in the treatment of these cases.

Randomized research have also shown that this strategy provides ‘pathological complete resolution’ as compared to surgery and then adjuvant chemotherapy in terms of decreasing in size of tumar, decrease in vascularity of tumor mass and micrometastasis. Some author believes that this improve the overall survival duration of patients.

This protocol is widely accepted but ….

BUT WHAT IF YOU LOSE YOUR PATIENT ON FOLLOWUP …

Especially in the developing countries of south east asian region and African continent, where there is poor socioeconomic status and lack of education among common people. The patient gets frustrated after first few doses of neoadjuvent therapy, due to side effects of chemotherapy and don't consider chemotherapy as a treatment compare to surgery. Thus the patient loses faith in treatment strategy itself and go untraceable after one or two sessions of the therapy. The government of developing countries lack resources in terms of manpower and money for satisfactory completion of treatment making the above condition even worse. In our study we followed 230 patients of locally advanced breast cancer in subgroup of stage III [T3 N1, T4bN1] and divided them into two plans on random basis. In first plan we approached with the surgical management followed by adjuvant chemotherapy & counseled the patients for completion of chemotherapy. This plan was shown to 115 patients, out of which 100 patients provided good acceptance & completed the course of chemotherapy. There were 15 patients who remained untraceable after surgery.

On the other hand in the 2 group the patients were counseled for neoadjuvent chemotherapy and then surgery in next stage. In this group 115 patients were introduced, out of which 60 patients were lost on follow up after 2–3 sessions. The majority of patients complained about the side effects of chemotherapy and financial reasons and did not come back. Rest of the patients completed the whole course. With no doubt about the result of the treatment, the second group has equivocal survival advantages in terms of morbidity and mortality, but we lost more than half of the patients of second group before completion of treatment.

Primarily the acceptance of surgical treatment is more in developing countries, as it is quite more feasible for government and even economical for common people. Thus we prefer the strategy of surgery followed by adjuvant chemo/hormonal therapy in locally advanced breast cancer [stage III T3N1, T4bN1] especially in developing countries like India.

THE MOTTO OF THIS STRATEGY IS TO PROVIDE BENEFIT OF COMPLETE TREATMENT TO THE PATIENT THAN TO LOSE THE PATIENT COMPLETELY BEFORE TREATMENT.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-23-07.

Contribution of germ line BRCA2 sequence alterations to risk of familial esophageal cancer in a high-risk area of India

The incidence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is very high in the northeast region of India. An earlier study from China and Iran suggested that mutations in BRCA2 gene may play a role in the etiology of familial ESCC. However, the frequency of BRCA2 gene germ line mutations and its contribution to risk of familial aggregation of ESCC in high-risk region of India are not known. In the current study of 317 cases of esophageal cancer, 92 (29%) cases had a family history of esophageal and/or other cancers. Of these 92 patients, 45 (49%) patients had a family history of esophageal cancer. The risk of developing esophageal cancer was higher in cases where family history showed occurrence of cancers in first-degree relatives (odds ratio [OR]: 3.1; confidence interval [CI]: 1.9-5.3) than in second-degree relatives (OR: 1.3; CI: 0.25-3.2). Moreover, the risk of developing esophageal cancer was higher in subjects whose predegree suffered from esophageal cancer (OR: 2.4; CI: 1.1-4.1) than from any other cancers (OR: 1.1; CI: 0.32-3.3). The subjects with family history of cancer were more likely to develop ESCC if they were tobacco chewers (OR: 4.2; CI: 2.1-5.8) and betel quid users (OR: 3.6; CI: 1.8-4.6). Screening for mutations of the BRCA2 gene in the germ line DNA was carried out for 20 familial and 80 nonfamilial ESCC patients. One hundred unrelated healthy controls from the same population were included in this study. Nonsynonymous variants in exon 18 (K2729N) and exon 27 (I3412V) of BRCA2 gene were found in 3 of 20 patients with familial ESCC. No sequence alterations were found in 80 nonfamilial ESCC cases (P=0.01) and 100 healthy controls (P=0.0037), suggesting that germ line BRCA2 gene mutation may play a role in familial aggregation of ESCC in high-risk region of India.

Congenital stridor due to bilateral vocal cord palsy

Congenital stridor is one of the rare presentations of respiratory distress at birth. The commonest cause of congenital stridor is laryngomalacia, which accounts for 60% of the causes. The other common causes are congenital subglottic stenosis and vocal cord palsy (VCP). VCP is usually unilateral and most often linked with birth trauma, and is temporary. Bilateral palsy can be associated with other congenital anomalies. The current report describes a case of congenital bilateral VCP, not related to birth trauma and severe enough to require tracheostomy.

Differing rates of loss of DPC4 expression and of p53 overexpression among carcinomas of the proximal and distal bile ducts

BACKGROUND

Biliary tract carcinomas are clinically heterogeneous. It is not known if molecular heterogeneity underlies the clinical differences.

METHODS

The authors evaluated 128 bile duct carcinomas, 88 of the distal common bile duct and 40 of more proximal origin (28 perihilar carcinomas, 12 intrahepatic carcinomas), immunohistochemically for abnormalities in the expression of the products of the DPC4 and p53 tumor-suppressor genes. Prognostic factors were evaluated in the series of distal bile duct carcinomas for which follow-up information was available.

RESULTS

The authors found that a significantly higher percentage of distal bile duct carcinomas (55%) demonstrated loss of DPC4 expression than did the proximal bile duct carcinomas (15%; P < 0.001). They also found that a significantly higher percentage of the distal tumors abnormally expressed the p53 gene product (51% vs. 26%; P < 0.001). Among the distal common bile duct carcinomas, the presence of poorly differentiated histology correlated with decreased survival in multivariate analysis, while labeling for p53 or Dpc4, margin status, lymph node status, and tumor dimension did not correlate significantly with survival.

CONCLUSIONS

These results demonstrate that abnormalities in DPC4 and p53 gene expression are frequent in distal common bile duct carcinomas, just as they are in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, suggesting that these two tumor types might share a similar molecular pathogenesis. They also show that proximal and distal bile duct carcinomas have different patterns of inactivation of tumor-suppressor genes, indicating that they often arise through different molecular mechanisms likely reflecting their differing etiologies.

Nuclear localization of Dpc4 (Madh4, Smad4) in colorectal carcinomas and relation to mismatch repair/transforming growth factor-beta receptor defects

The tumor-suppressor protein Dpc4 (Smad4, Madh4) regulates gene expression. On binding of an extracellular ligand of the extensive transforming growth factor (TGF) superfamily to its cognate receptor complex, latent cytoplasmic Dpc4 is activated and translocated into the nucleus to function as part of various DNA-binding transcriptional activator complexes. The most relevant ligand/receptor pair to control the tumor suppressive function of Dpc4 remains uncertain, but is usually assumed to be TGF-beta and its heteromeric receptor. We exploited a fortuitous experiment of nature to directly test this hypothesis: the TGF-beta type II receptor gene is inactivated by mutation in nearly all colorectal carcinomas having microsatellite instability, as seen in hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) and in sporadic medullary colorectal cancers. Using a specific and sensitive immunohistochemical label for Dpc4, we examined nuclear localization of Dpc4 in 13 HNPCC, six medullary, and 41 sporadic nonmedullary colorectal carcinomas. In agreement with published rates, two (5%) of 41 sporadic tumors showed complete loss of Dpc4 protein, indicative of genetic inactivation. All 13 HNPCC and six medullary tumors had intact cytoplasmic and nuclear Dpc4 localization. The TGFBR2 gene was sequenced in three of the cancers from patients with HNPCC, and all of these harbored inactivating mutations. The specificity of the immunohistochemical assay was demonstrated in xenograft tumors of syngeneic cell lines that differed in DPC4 genetic status because of an engineered gene knockout. Thus, nuclear localization of Dpc4 can be maintained in cells with inactivated TGF-beta type II receptors, suggesting the persistence of tumor-suppressive action of an upstream signaling input, most likely a ligand/receptor complex distinct from TGF-beta. Identification of the relevant input would be expected to have implications for the understanding of tumorigenesis and the design of rational biological therapy.

Effect of various doses of medroxyprogesterone acetate on intestinal functions in rats

The dose relationship between medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), a long acting contraceptive, and rat intestinal digestive and absorptive functions has been investigated. The study revealed that the activities of brush border sucrase, lactase and leucine aminopeptidase were stimulated only at high doses, viz 70 mg/kg (180 mumol/kg) body weight and above, whereas the activity of alkaline phosphate was depressed at comparatively low dose (17.5 mg/kg; 45 mumol/kg body weight). This decrease was found to be significant (p less than 0.001) at all the doses tested. The inhibition in the intestinal uptake of calcium paralleled the decrease in alkaline phosphatase activity. Relatively high amount of MPA (140 mg/kg; 360 mumol/kg) was required to augment the uptake of glucose and amino acid. The results obtained do not indicate a close relationship between the dose of the drug and the extent of alteration in the rat intestinal digestive and absorptive functions. The study appears to confirm the association between brush border enzymes activities and uptake of nutrients in rat intestine.