Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mabel J. Quintero-Silva, Silvia J. Suarez-Rodriguez, Maria A. Gamboa-Suarez, Cristian Blanco-Tirado, Marianny Y. Combariza
Summary: In this study, cacao mucilage exudates (CMEs) were utilized to formulate culture media for the biosynthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) using a native Bacillus megaterium strain (B2). The strain was successfully adapted to the CMEs-based media and transferred to a batch bioreactor to evaluate PHAs production. The results showed improved productivity and a confirmed structure of polyhydroxybutyrate homopolymer (PHB) for the biopolymer.
JOURNAL OF POLYMERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lior Artzi, Assaf Alon, Kelly P. Brock, Anna G. Green, Amy Tam, Fernando H. Ramirez-Guadiana, Debora Marks, Andrew Kruse, David Z. Rudner
Summary: The study reveals that the germination of Bacillus subtilis spores in response to L-alanine requires the protein GerAB to act as the sensor. GerAB, a part of the Amino Acid-Polyamine-Organocation superfamily of transporters, is crucial for nutrient detection in spores. Mutations in gerAB affect the spores' ability to respond to different amino acids, indicating its role as a sensor in nutrient detection.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Joyce C. Breger, Ellen R. Goldman, Kimihiro Susumu, Eunkeu Oh, Christopher M. Green, Shelby L. Hooe, Meghna Thakur, Igor L. Medintz, Gregory A. Ellis
Summary: Enzyme activity can be greatly enhanced when displayed on nanoparticles, and this phenomenon can also improve the efficiency of coupled enzymatic processes. In this study, glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) displayed on nanocrystalline semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) showed a 5-fold increase in the reduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+) -> NADH). By coupling GDH with lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) on QD-based nanoclusters, the rate of lactate to pyruvate conversion was also increased by a similar amount.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Subbi Rami Reddy Tadi, Ganesh Nehru, Anil Mukund Limaye, Senthilkumar Sivaprakasam
Summary: D-Pantothenic acid (DPA), also known as vitamin B-5, plays a crucial role in metabolic and energetic balance, and fortifying foods with DPA is a viable solution. Study showed that PBL enzyme derived from Bacillus megaterium exhibited high activity, and external supplementation of precursor substrates during fermentation improved DPA production.
JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY-MYSORE
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Subbi Rami Reddy Tadi, Ganesh Nehru, Satya Sai Pavan Allampalli, Senthilkumar Sivaprakasam
Summary: This study successfully improved the production of DPA using metabolic engineering and synthetic biology approaches, achieving higher DPA concentration without precursor supplementation. By overexpressing genes involved in DPA synthesis and optimizing precursor supply, significant enhancement of DPA concentration was achieved.
BIOPROCESS AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Sanjeev Gautam, Pardeep K. Thakur, Shalendra Kumar, Ranber Singh, Di-Jing Huang, Younghak Kim, Keun Hwa Chae
Summary: The experimental results indicate that the ZnCO3 phase after carbon implantation is structurally non-distortive with orbital anisotropy, supported by XLD experiment. Additionally, the absence of XMCD signal at O K- and C K-edges further confirms that bulk VSM ferromagnetism is not related to the magnetic polarization of O 2p/C 2p orbitals.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Akinobu Niozu, Yoshiaki Kumagai, Toshiyuki Nishiyama Hiraki, Hironobu Fukuzawa, Koji Motomura, Maximilian Bucher, Kazuki Asa, Yuhiro Sato, Yuta Ito, Daehyun You, Taishi Ono, Yiwen Li, Edwin Kukk, Catalin Miron, Liviu Neagu, Carlo Callegari, Michele Di Fraia, Giorgio Rossi, Davide Emilio Galli, Tommaso Pincelli, Alessandro Colombo, Shigeki Owada, Kensuke Tono, Takashi Kameshima, Yasumasa Joti, Tetsuo Katayama, Tadashi Togashi, Makina Yabashi, Kazuhiro Matsuda, Christoph Bostedt, Kiyoshi Ueda, Kiyonobu Nagaya
Summary: This study explores the formation process of solid Xe nanoparticles in an expanding supercooled Xe jet under vacuum conditions using X-ray diffraction experiments. It is found that the structure of Xe nanoparticles is a mixture of face-centered cubic and randomly stacked hexagonal close-packed structures, rather than pure face-centered cubic. Instantaneous coexistence of comparably sized face-centered cubic and hexagonal close-packed domains in single Xe nanoparticles is observed.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Irina Jevrosimov, Marijana Kragulj Isakovski, Tamara Apostolovic, Dragana Tamindzija, Srdan Roncevic, Gabriel Sigmund, Marija Ercegovic, Snezana Maletic
Summary: The objective of this study was to investigate the transport behavior of two organic and persistent contaminants on alluvial sediment and the potential of microbially inoculated biochar and hydrochar as remediation techniques. The results showed that the retention time of the contaminants increased with increasing hydrophobicity, and the inoculated biochar increased the retardation of the compounds. Additionally, the bacterial counts increased in all experiments, indicating the potential for the removal of organic pollutants. Therefore, the addition of inoculated chars to contaminated sediments has the potential to inhibit the leaching of pollutants to groundwaters.
INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Christo N. Nanev, Emmanuel Saridakis, Naomi E. Chayen
Summary: X-ray crystallography is currently the dominant method for determining the structure of proteins and biomolecules. However, it faces challenges in obtaining high-resolution data from small protein crystals. Serial crystallography using XFELs is a promising alternative method that can produce excellent structural data from weakly diffracting objects. In this study, the authors calculate the mean crystal size and growth time needed for batch crystallization, which is the main method for preparing microcrystalline slurries. They also consider the impact of impurities on the growth of microcrystals. Experimental results with lysozyme support the theoretical predictions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Saeed M. Ghazani, Alejandro G. Marangoni
Summary: In this study, a new triclinic crystal polymorphic form (beta(1)) of tristearin was discovered with a melting point of 75.7 +/- 0.5 degrees C and an enthalpy of fusion of 243.9 +/- 10.5 J/g. This form was obtained through static crystallization from a dilute solution of tristearin in acetone at 4 degrees C over a period of 2 years. Compared to the well-known beta(2) form, the beta(1) tristearin exhibited different X-ray scattering reflection positions and intensities.
CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Subbi Rami Reddy Tadi, Ganesh Nehru, Senthilkumar Sivaprakasam
Summary: This study explored a safe and alternative route for the production of beta-alanine (BA) through microbial fermentation, achieving high yields through metabolic engineering. By optimizing gene expression and fermentation conditions, the production of BA was significantly increased, highlighting the potential of engineering Bacillus megaterium for sustainable production of related products.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOPROCESS ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Alejandro A. Krauskopf, Andrew M. Jimenez, Abdullah S. Altorbaq, Alejandro J. Muller, Sanat K. Kumar
Summary: It has been found that polymer crystallization can selectively place nanoparticles in the amorphous domains. By analyzing small-angle X-ray scattering data using correlation functions, it was observed that an increase in crystallization temperature leads to more nanoparticles in the amorphous domains and a linear scaling of contrast between nanoparticle-rich and polymer-rich domains with the repeating crystal-amorphous polymer structure.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Steve L. Bonilla, Jeffrey S. Kieft
Summary: Conformational dynamics are crucial for macromolecular function, especially for RNA. However, there has been a lack of methods to simultaneously investigate the structure and conformational dynamics of fully functional RNA. Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), with its ability to image and classify single particles, holds potential for studying structural dynamics in biologically active RNA. This article discusses the possibilities and limitations of applying cryo-EM to study RNA structure and conformational dynamics, and presents an illustrative example.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Wei-Sheng Liu, Balaji Gururajan, Sui-Hua Wu, Li-Cheng Huang, Chung-Kai Chi, Yu-Lun Jiang, Hsing-Chun Kuo
Summary: In this study, aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films were deposited using radio frequency magnetron sputtering, and their properties were characterized. The optimal growth conditions for the AlN thin films were determined, and a gallium nitride (GaN) layer was successfully grown on an AlN thin film as a buffer layer using in situ continual sputtering. This research provides a less expensive method for growing high-quality GaN thin films for various applications.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xiaoyan Zhang, Zhuqing Ouyang
Summary: This study presents the crystal structure of ALDH1A1 from mice and compares it with structures from other species, revealing significant differences. The findings contribute to expanding the structural diversity of the ALDH family.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
