Concatenating Microbial, Enzymatic, and Organometallic Catalysis for Integrated Conversion of Renewable Carbon Sources.

The chemical industry can now seize the opportunity to improve the sustainability of its processes by replacing fossil carbon sources with renewable alternatives such as CO, biomass, and plastics, thereby thinking ahead and having a look into the future. For their conversion to intermediate and final products, different types of catalysts-microbial, enzymatic, and organometallic-can be applied. The first part of this review shows how these catalysts can work separately in parallel, each route with unique requirements and advantages.

Exploration of In Situ Extraction for Enhanced Triterpenoid Production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Plant-derived triterpenoids are in high demand due to their valuable applications in cosmetic, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries. To meet this demand, microbial production of triterpenoids is being developed for large-scale production. However, a prominent limitation of microbial synthesis is the intracellular accumulation, requiring cell disruption during downstream processing.

Two-step biocatalytic conversion of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate into value-added products facilitated by genetic and bioprocess engineering.

Solving the plastic crisis requires high recycling quotas and technologies that allow open loop recycling. Here a biological plastic valorization approach consisting of tandem enzymatic hydrolysis and monomer conversion of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate into value-added products is presented. Hydrolysates obtained from enzymatic degradation of pre-treated post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate bottles in a stirred-tank reactor served as the carbon source for a batch fermentation with an engineered Pseudomonas putida strain to produce 90mg/L of the biopolymer cyanophycin.

Shining a Light: Advancing Health Equity in Overlooked Epilepsy Communities.

Achieving equitable health in epilepsy requires addressing systemic barriers and social determinants of health to ensure that every person with epilepsy has the opportunity to attain their highest level of health. We review the literature on disparities that affect several minoritized groups living with epilepsy. Early solutions with the potential for modeling towards replication for low socioeconomic status population, non-English language preference communities, sexual and gender minorities, and rural and underserved communities with high social determinants of health burden are shared as examples to catalyze stakeholder investment in identifying and addressing health disparities across the spectrum of epilepsy at both the provider and health systems level.

plaque formation model to unravel biofilm formation dynamics on implant abutment surfaces.

Background: Biofilm formation on implant-abutment surfaces can cause inflammatory reactions. Ethical concerns often limit intraoral testing, necessitating preliminary in vitro or animal studies. Here, we propose an in vitro model using human saliva and hypothesize that this model has the potential to closely mimic the dynamics of biofilm formation on implant-abutment material surfaces in vivo.

Oxidation of propionate in Pseudomonas sp. LFM046: Relevance to the synthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates containing odd-chain length monomers and 2-methylisocitrate.

Pseudomonas sp. LFM046 produces polyhydroxyalkanoates of medium-chain length. When carbohydrates are used, only monomers of even-length chains (3HA) are generated.

Avoiding overflow metabolite formation in Komagataella phaffii fermentations to enhance recombinant protein production.

Background: Komagataella phaffii (K. phaffii), formerly known as Pichia pastoris, is a widely utilized yeast for recombinant protein production. However, due to the formation of overflow metabolites, carbon yields may be reduced and product recovery becomes challenging.

Association of first antiseizure medication with acute health care utilization in a cohort of adults with newly diagnosed epilepsy.

Objective: Epilepsy is primarily treated with antiseizure medications (ASMs). The recommendations for first ASM in newly diagnosed epilepsy are inconsistently followed, and we sought to examine whether nonrecommended first ASM was associated with acute care utilization.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults (≥18 years old) with newly diagnosed epilepsy (identified using validated epilepsy/convulsion International Classification of Diseases, Clinical Modification codes) in 2015-2019, sampled from Marketscan's Commercial and Medicare Databases.

"She has become my best friend": a qualitative study on the perspective of elderly with type 2 diabetes regarding the use of an interactive virtual assistant device for diabetes care and mental health promotion.

Aims: To qualitatively evaluate the experiences and emotional responses of elderly individuals with type 2 diabetes regarding the use of an interactive virtual assistant device.

Methods And Results: This qualitative study included elderly individuals who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and who had been using the Smart Speaker EchoDot 3rd Gen (Amazon Echo) device for three months. A structured face-to-face interview with open-ended questions was conducted to evaluate their experiences and emotional responses associated with the device.

The biological activity of bacterial rhamnolipids on Arabidopsis thaliana and the cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii is linked to their molecular structure.

Rhamnolipids (RLs) are amphiphilic compounds of bacterial origin that offer a broad range of potential applications as biosurfactants in industry and agriculture. They are reported to be active against different plant pests and pathogens and thus are considered promising candidates for nature-derived plant protection agents. However, as these glycolipids are structurally diverse, little is known about their exact mode of action and, in particular, the relation between molecular structure and biological activity against plant pests and pathogens.

Rapid Fluorescence Assay for Polyphosphate in Yeast Extracts Using JC-D7.

Polyphosphate (polyP) is an intriguing molecule that is found in almost any organism, covering a multitude of cellular functions. In industry, polyP is used due to its unique physiochemical properties, including pH buffering, water binding, and bacteriostatic activities. Despite the importance of polyP, its analytics is still challenging, with the gold standard being P NMR.

Exploring the impact of housing insecurity on the health and wellbeing of children and young people in the United Kingdom: a qualitative systematic review.

Background: Housing insecurity can be understood as experiencing or being at risk of multiple house moves that are not through choice and related to poverty. Many aspects of housing have all been shown to impact children/young people's health and wellbeing. However, the pathways linking housing and childhood health and wellbeing are complex and poorly understood.

Draft genome sequence and annotation of the polyextremotolerant polyol lipid-producing fungus aureobasidium pullulans NRRL 62042.

Objectives: The ascomycotic yeast-like fungus Aureobasidium exhibits the natural ability to synthesize several secondary metabolites, like polymalic acid, pullulan, or polyol lipids, with potential biotechnological applications. Combined with its polyextremotolerance, these properties make Aureobasidium a promising production host candidate. Hence, plenty of genomes of Aureobasidia have been sequenced recently.

Advances in Aureobasidium research: Paving the path to industrial utilization.

We here explore the potential of the fungal genus Aureobasidium as a prototype for a microbial chassis for industrial biotechnology in the context of a developing circular bioeconomy. The study emphasizes the physiological advantages of Aureobasidium, including its polyextremotolerance, broad substrate spectrum, and diverse product range, making it a promising candidate for cost-effective and sustainable industrial processes. In the second part, recent advances in genetic tool development, as well as approaches for up-scaled fermentation, are described.

Depressive Disorder and Trimalleolar Fractures: An Analysis of Outcomes and Costs.

Introduction: Studies have suggested a strong association between depression and poor outcomes following various orthopaedic surgeries. However, depression's impact on complications following open reduction/internal fixation (ORIF) of trimalleolar fractures has not been elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether depression is associated with higher rates of readmissions and medical complications following ORIF of trimalleolar fractures.

Establishing a straightforward I-SceI-mediated recombination one-plasmid system for efficient genome editing in P. putida KT2440.

Pseudomonas putida has become an increasingly important chassis for producing valuable bioproducts. This development is not least due to the ever-improving genetic toolbox, including gene and genome editing techniques. Here, we present a novel, one-plasmid design of a critical genetic tool, the pEMG/pSW system, guaranteeing one engineering cycle to be finalized in 3 days.

Reliable Genomic Integration Sites in Identified by Two-Dimensional Transcriptome Analysis.

Genomic integration is commonly used to engineer stable production hosts. However, so far, for many microbial workhorses, only a few integration sites have been characterized, thereby restraining advanced strain engineering that requires multiple insertions. Here, we report on the identification of novel genomic integration sites, so-called landing pads, for KT2440.

Adaptive laboratory evolution in a novel parallel shaken pH-auxostat.

Adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) is a widely used microbial strain development and optimization method. ALE experiments, to select for faster-growing strains, are commonly performed as serial batch cultivations in shake flasks, serum bottles, or microtiter plates or as continuous cultivations in bioreactors on a laboratory scale. To combine the advantages of higher throughput in parallel shaken cultures with continuous fermentations for conducting ALE experiments, a new Continuous parallel shaken pH-auxostat (CPA) was developed.