The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the effect of thermal treatment (TT: 121 ± 2 °C, 15 min) on the composition of commercial sweeteners diluted in water (10 °Brix). Additionally, we evaluated the impact of this TT on metabolic responses in C57BL/6 mice during a 24-week treatment. The sweeteners included in this study were sucrose (SC), glucose-63 (GLU63), agave syrup (AS), sucralose (SUC), and steviol glycosides (STG). HPLC analysis showed changes in the concentration of simple sugars of GLU63 and AS after TT. Importantly, in all sweeteners, TT modulated metabolic responses in mice. The mice drinking thermally treated sweetener solution showed an increase of 10−13% (p < 0.05) in food intake (AS, SUC, and STG), beverage intake (2−21%; SC and GLU63), weight gain (38%; SUC), energy (10−13%; AS, SUC, and STG), glucose levels (11−17%; SC and STG), GLP-1 (30%; SC) and insulin (88%; AS) release, and the generation of protein carbonyl (SC) and malondialdehyde (all sweeteners tested)... [more]

Energy generation using microbial fuel cells (MFC) and removing toxic metal ions is a potentially exciting new field of study as it has recently attracted a lot of interest in the scientific community. However, MFC technology is facing several challenges, including electron production and transportation. Therefore, the present work focuses on enhancing electron generation by extracting sugarcane waste. MFC was successfully operated in a batch mode for 79 days in the presence of 250 mg/L Pb2+ and Hg2+ ions. Sugarcane extract was regularly fed to it without interruption. On day 38, the maximum current density and power density were recorded, which were 86.84 mA/m2 and 3.89 mW/m2, respectively. The electrochemical data show that a sufficient voltage generation and biofilm formation produce gradually. The specific capacitance was found to be 11 × 10−4 F/g on day 79, indicating the steady growth of biofilm. On the other hand, Pb2+ and Hg2+ removal efficiencies were found to be 82% and 74.85... [more]

Biological interactions often involve the transport of molecules, ions, or other species across biological membranes or between interacting proteins. The understanding of these transport phenomena is crucial for the development of therapies for various diseases. Atomic force microscopy is a powerful tool that has been increasingly used to study biological systems at the nano scale. The high resolution, quantitative measurements, and the ability to probe biological interactions under near-physiological conditions make AFM an attractive tool for investigating transport phenomena in biological systems. In this article, we focus on the use of AFM in the study of the transport phenomena in biological systems. We discuss the principles of AFM, its instrumentation, and its application in the study of biomolecules and biological systems. We also provide a comprehensive overview of recent articles that have utilized AFM in the study of biomarkers in biological systems.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of growing regions and processing methods on the composition and the quantity of phenolic compounds in ‘Gemlik’ variety table olives. Two different processing methods, Spanish-style and traditional brine (naturally processed) olives, were used in the processing of ‘Gemlik’ table olives. According to the data obtained in this study, the highest concentrations of phenolic compounds were observed for 3-hydroxytyrosol (4.58−168.21 mg/kg), followed by 4-hydroxyphenyl (0.76−97.58 mg/kg), luteolin 7-glucoside (0.32−58.64 mg/kg), tyrosol (1.57−47.24 mg/kg), and luteolin (0.17−53.56 mg/kg) in overall samples. The highest quantity of phenolic compounds was determined in raw olives, and the lowest phenolic compound content was determined in Spanish-style processed olives. Table olives which are produced by the natural process were observed to contain higher concentrations of phenolic compounds compared with the olives, which are produced in the Spa... [more]

Microarrays have been proven to be beneficial for understanding the genetics of disease. They are used to assess many different types of cancers. Machine learning algorithms, like the artificial neural network (ANN), can be trained to determine whether a microarray sample is cancerous or not. The classification is performed using the features of DNA microarray data, which are composed of thousands of gene values. However, most of the gene values have been proven to be uninformative and redundant. Meanwhile, the number of the samples is significantly smaller in comparison to the number of genes. Therefore, this paper proposed the use of a simulated Kalman filter with mutation (SKF-MUT) for the feature selection of microarray data to enhance the classification accuracy of ANN. The algorithm is based on a metaheuristics optimization algorithm, inspired by the famous Kalman filter estimator. The mutation operator is proposed to enhance the performance of the original SKF in the selection o... [more]

The quantity of industrially polluted waters is increasing everywhere, of which a significant part is occupied by a number of mono- and poly-aromatic compounds. Toxins enter the soil, sewage, and clean water by mixing with or seeping into them from industrial wastewater. By using 18S RNA and ITS sequences, the Penicillium commune AL5 strain that was isolated from Antarctic soil was identified. This study is dedicated to exploring its capacity to metabolize hazardous aromatic compounds. The strain showed very good potential in the degradation of hydroxylated monophenols and possessed exceptional abilities in terms of resorcinol degradation. The strain’s ability to metabolize 0.3 g/L of p-cresol at 10 °C is notable. The strain is also capable of metabolizing LMW PAHs (naphthalene, anthracene, and phenanthrene) and eliminating all three tested compounds under 23 °C, respectively, 77.5%, 93.8%, and 75.1%. At 10 °C, the process slowed down, but the degradation of naphthalene continued to be... [more]

In this research, chitosan−magnetite composites (CS-MNPs) were successfully synthesized using a rapid and easy technique. The materials were characterized by FTIR, XRD, EDX, TEM, VSM, and BET methods. The removal of the antibiotics ciprofloxacin (CFX) and levofloxacin (LFX) from aqueous solutions by CS-MNPs adsorbent was investigated. The influencing factors in a single adsorption system were studied, including pH (1−11), initial concentration (2.5−15.0 mg/L), contact time (0−120 min), and adsorbent dosage (5−50 mg/L). The experiment data were analyzed by pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The adsorption isotherms were studied by fitting the experimental data to the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin models. The results indicated that the adsorption of CFX and LFX antibiotics was consistent with the pseudo-second-order kinetics model, the Langmuir isotherm model. Binary adsorption systems (CFX: LFX) with concentration ratios of 1:0, 1:0.5, 1:1.0, 1:1.5, and 1:2.0... [more]

Phosphatidylserine (PS) has significant biological and nutritional effects and finds wide applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. To produce high-value PS efficiently, phospholipase D (PLD)-induced transphosphatidylation of low-value phosphatidylcholine (PC) with L-serine has been explored. In this research, we purified recombinant PLD from Streptomyces antibioticus SK-3 using ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. Subsequently, we thoroughly characterized the purified enzyme and optimized the transphosphatidylation conditions to identify the most favorable settings for synthesizing PS in a biphasic system. The purified recombinant PLD displayed a robust transphosphatidylation function, facilitating efficient catalysis in the synthesis of PS. Under the optimal conditions (butyl acetate/enzyme solution 1:1, L-serine 160 mg/mL, soybean lecithin 2 mg/mL, and MgCl2 15 mM, at 50 °C for 2.5 h with shaking), we achieved a conversion rate of 9... [more]

Natural rubber (NR) powder wastes contribute to the pollution of the environment and pose a risk to human health. Therefore, Escherichia coli AY1 and Aspergillus oryzae were used to degrade NR in the present investigation. The biodegradation was further confirmed using E. coli AY1 and A. oryzae’s ability to create biofilm, which grew on the surface of the NR. Additionally, the biodegraded NR was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflection−Fourier transform infrared (ATR−FTIR) spectroscopy, and gas chromatography−mass spectrometry (GC−MS). The highest weight loss (69%) of NR was detected (p < 0.05) after 210 d of incubation with the mixed microbial culture (E. coli AY1 + A. oryzae). In the SEM, the surface of the control treatment appeared uniform and normal, whereas the surface of the microbial treatment displayed an irregular shape, with apparent particle deformation and surface erosion. After biodegradation by E. coli AY1 and A. oryzae, the particle... [more]

, popularly known as mistletoe, is a semi-parasitic plant that can grow on many host plants and is native to Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia. D. pentandra is regarded as an unfavourable plant for an economically significant horticultural plant; however, D. pentandra is also regarded as a medicinal plant and is used in traditional and alternative medicine to treat coughs, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. Scientific research has also found that this plant has significant potential for medical properties such as antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, antiproliferative, antidiabetic and antihyperglycaemic, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxicity, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, and anti-aging properties. Numerous phytochemical compounds from D. pentandra extracts have been identified using extraction techniques such as maceration and reflux. Thus, this review aims to provide thorough information on phytomorphology, extraction techniques, phytochemicals, biological activities, and the f... [more]

To date, biochar bacteriostatic material has attracted much attention from researchers. The compact porous structure of fish-scale biochar provides good application prospects. In this study, silver-carrying biochar−polyvinyl alcohol−alginate gel beads (C/PVA/SA) were designed for suppressing bacteria. The biochar was loaded with nano silver particles as the filler, alginate as the substrate, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the additive to enhance the mechanical properties. The composite gel beads were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR). The results indicated that adjusting the PVA concentration could retain the bacteriostatic performance of the gel beads in different pH value solutions. It was found that C/PVA/SA gel beads had a strong inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. After ten consecutive antibacterial tests, the antibacterial rate remained high (above 99%) for 15 days. The adhesive effect of SA a... [more]

The gastric cancer risk prediction model used for large-scale gastric cancer screening and individual risk stratification is an artificial intelligence tool that combines clinical diagnostic data with a classification algorithm. The ability to automatically make a quantitative assessment of complex clinical data contributes to increased accuracy for diagnosis with higher efficiency, significantly reducing the incidence of advanced gastric cancer. Previous studies have explored the predictive performance of gastric cancer risk prediction models, as well as the predictive factors and algorithms between each model, but have reached controversial conclusions. Thus, the performance of current machine-learning-based gastric cancer risk prediction models alongside the clinical relevance of different predictive factors needs to be evaluated to help build more efficient and feasible models in the future. In this systematic review, we summarize the current research progress related to the gastri... [more]

The climate crisis, growing pollution of the environment with waste, and ubiquitous microplastics have encouraged the search for new methods and new opportunities to use natural materials in the least harmful processes. Replacing synthetic materials with raw materials is not only a matter of “fashion”, but also a necessity. Therefore, this study aimed to produce fibers from an aqueous solution containing the highest possible concentration of soy protein isolate (SPI) through solution-blowing. As the aqueous solution of SPI has no fiber-forming potential, polyethylene oxide (PEO) was used as the carrier/matrix. The rheology of the aqueous PEO solution and PEO/SPI blends (flow curves, loss modulus, and storage modulus) was then analyzed. The proportions of the PEO/SPI mixtures and the process parameters were determined on this basis. As a result of the conducted research, nanofibers were produced from water solutions of PEO/SPI with a soy protein content of up to 7.88%, with a PEO share... [more]

Bioisosteres are substituents or groups (atoms, ions, or molecules) with similar chemical or physical properties, and which usually have similar biological properties. Pyridazine and its derivatives are invaluable scaffolds in medicinal chemistry, having a large variety of activities such as antibacterial, antifungal, antimalarial, anticancer, antituberculosis, antihypertensive, etc. Also, the pyridazine core is of high interest in agriculture, being used as a growth factor for plants, herbicides, etc. This study aims to review our previous contributions related to antimicrobials and the germination and seedling capabilities of some seeds and plants of some pyridazine classical and nonclassical bioisosteres. So, we present herein the synthesis (under conventional thermal heating and microwave irradiation) and spectral characterization of seven series of pyridazine bioisosteres, the in vitro antimicrobial activity (against different strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria an... [more]

In this study, we present the highly efficient and rapid synthesis of substituted dihydropyrimidinone derivatives through an ultrasound-accelerated approach. We utilize copper ferrite (CuFe2O4) magnetic nanoparticles as heterogeneous catalysts, employing the well-known Biginelli reaction, under solvent-free conditions. The impact of the solvent, catalyst amount, and catalyst type on the reaction performance is thoroughly investigated. Our method offers several notable advantages, including facile catalyst separation, catalyst reusability for up to three cycles with the minimal loss of activity, a straightforward procedure, mild reaction conditions, and impressive yields, ranging from 79% to 95%, within short reaction times of 20 to 40 min. Furthermore, in the context of fighting COVID-19, we explore the potential of substituted dihydropyrimidinone derivatives as inhibitors of three crucial SARS-CoV-2 proteins. These proteins, glycoproteins, and proteases play pivotal roles in the entry... [more]

Skin lesion detection is crucial in diagnosing and managing dermatological conditions. In this study, we developed and demonstrated the potential applicability of a novel mixed-scale dense convolution, self-attention mechanism, hierarchical feature fusion, and attention-based contextual information technique (MSHA) model for skin lesion detection using digital skin images of chickenpox and shingles lesions. The model adopts a combination of unique architectural designs, such as a mixed-scale dense convolution layer, self-attention mechanism, hierarchical feature fusion, and attention-based contextual information, enabling the MSHA model to capture and extract relevant features more effectively for chickenpox and shingles lesion classification. We also implemented an effective training strategy to enhance a better capacity to learn and represent the relevant features in the skin lesion images. We evaluated the performance of the novel model in comparison to state-of-the-art models, incl... [more]

Peptide modification has emerged as an important topic in the academic community and pharmaceutical industry. However, they are primarily focused on the diversification of amines, thiols, and alcohols. Direct and chemoselective modification of acid residues in peptides is relatively underdeveloped. In this context, we report a novel and efficient method for the direct functionalization of acid residues in peptides. By using ynamides as reaction partners, the adducts are rapidly obtained in moderate to excellent yields at room temperature in water. This approach shows excellent chemoselectivity and a broad scope including dipeptides bearing unprotected Trp or Tyr residue and free Ser or Gln residue.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are a category of persistent, non-degradable pollutants that are widespread in the environment and in humans. They have attracted considerable attention due to their high bioaccumulation, multiple toxicities, long-term stability, and, in particular, their effects on human health. Therefore, there is an urgent need for highly efficient technologies and systematic mechanisms for the degradation of PFOS and PFOA. Therefore, we summarize four mainstream technologies for the degradation of PFOS and PFOA in water and their research progress in this review, namely adsorption, advanced oxidation processes, microbial treatment, and membrane separation. Among them, adsorption technology is the earliest and relatively mature, the advanced oxidation process has relatively high treatment efficiency, there are deep and broad development prospects for microbial treatment in the future, and membrane separation technology can recycle ra... [more]

Bioactive compounds, which are abundant in flora, fauna, and microorganisms, can potentially be used by various industries, including pharmaceuticals, functional foods, dietary supplements, and cosmetics [...]

Alpha Hope is a dietary supplement containing pyrroloquinoline quinone and elemental magnesium, which produces molecular hydrogen (H2 gas) when dissolved in water. We determined the impact of Alpha Hope on Nrf-2, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator (PGC-1α), and citrate synthase (CS) activity in C2C12 myoblasts. Alpha Hope was titrated to three concentrations of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) (10 nM, 100 nM, 1000 nM) and treated on C2C12 for 48 h. Nrf-2 and PGC-1α levels were measured using Western blot analysis. CS activity was measured according to previously described methods. Treatment significantly increased Nrf-2 and PGC-1α protein levels in C2C12 myoblasts, with no change for CS. For Nrf-2, values for both the 100 nM (p = 0.046) and 1000 nM (p = 0.011) concentrations were higher than control. For PGC-1α, values for both the 100 nM (p = 0.039) and 1000 nM (p = 0.017) concentrations were higher than control. In a small human pilot study, subjects consumed... [more]

Removal of phenol and phenolic compounds from wastewater using various techniques has received considerable attention in recent years. In this work, the removal of phenol from a model solution of phenol via catalytic oxidation is investigated with oxidant H2O2. For this purpose, we designed a new nano-catalyst (8% Fe2O3/AC) by loading iron oxide nanoparticles over nano-activated carbon via the impregnation process. We modified the recently developed digital basket baffle batch reactor (DBBBR) and used it for the catalytic oxidation process in order to examine the activity of the prepared nano-catalyst. The highest efficiency of phenol removal was found to be 95.35% under the following parameters: oxidation time of 120 min, oxidation temperature at 85 °C, and stirrer speed of 600 rpm. The minimization of the sum of the squared error between the experimental data and predicted results of phenol removal was considered as a base for the optimization technique to estimate the optimal parame... [more]

During the process of drug discovery, many compounds have exhibited polypharmacological interactions with various biological entities [...]

seeds are reported to treat a variety of diseases; they contain multiple antidiabetic constituents and are widely used as anti-hyperglycemic, antibacterial, as well as anti-hyperlipidemic agents. The present work aimed to propose tablet formulations containing extracts of S. securidaca seeds in an attempt to obtain antibacterial and anti-hyperglycemic formulations with a more efficient oral hypoglycemic impact, limited side effects, and higher patient compliance for the first time, resulting in multiple benefits. Tablet formulations were created by encapsulating granules from S. securidaca seed extracts with varying concentrations of sodium starch glycolate as a super-disintegrant (0−3%). The final formulations were examined for weight variation, solubility, hardness, water content, disintegration time, friability, drug content (trigonelline and diosgenin), and in vitro drug release. The S. securidaca tablet formulations completed the weight test because the percentage deviation in the... [more]

The effects of transglutaminase (TGase), reductant, and thermal treatment on the cross-linking of white proteins in soft-shell turtle eggs were investigated. Egg white proteins were denatured by reductant (0.83% 2-mercaptoethanol, 2-ME) pretreatment and thermal pretreatment (95 °C and 5 min), and the denatured proteins were then catalyzed by TGase (1.0 unit/mL). SDS−PAGE showed that without any pretreatments, three major egg white proteins (210 kDa, 115 kDa, and 76 kDa proteins) were inferior substrates for TGase. Only portions of the 210 kDa protein (7.9%), 115 kDa protein (11.4%), and 76 kDa protein (42.9%) were polymerized by TGase into high-molecular-weight (MW) protein polymers (>180 kDa) after incubation for 3 h at 40 °C. However, the combined use of TGase with 0.83% 2-ME and thermal pretreatment led to a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the rate of white protein polymerization after 3 h: 210 kDa protein (90.8%), 115 kDa protein (69.5%), and 76 kDa protein (72.2%). Particle... [more]

Gene expression data are usually known for having a large number of features. Usually, some of these features are irrelevant and redundant. However, in some cases, all features, despite being numerous, show high importance and contribute to the data analysis. In a similar fashion, gene expression data sometimes have limited instances with a high rate of imbalance among the classes. This can limit the exposure of a classification model to instances of different categories, thereby influencing the performance of the model. In this study, we proposed a cancer detection approach that utilized data preprocessing techniques such as oversampling, feature selection, and classification models. The study used SVMSMOTE for the oversampling of the six examined datasets. Further, we examined different techniques for feature selection using dimension reduction methods and classifier-based feature ranking and selection. We trained six machine learning algorithms, using repeated 5-fold cross-validatio... [more]