Targeted Adherence and Enhanced Degradation of Feather Keratins by a Novel Prepeptidase C-Terminal Domain-Fused Keratinase.

Keratinases are valuable enzymes for converting feather keratin waste into bioactive products but often suffer from poor substrate specificity and low catalytic efficiency. This study reported the creating of a novel keratinase with targeted adherence and specific degradation on feather keratins by fusing prepeptidase C-Terminal (PPC) domain. A PPC domain of metalloprotease E423 specifically adsorbed feather keratins by hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions in a time- and temperature-dependent manner.

Rational engineering S1' substrate binding pocket to enhance substrate specificity and catalytic activity of thermal-stable keratinase for efficient keratin degradation.

This study reports the rational engineering of the S1' substrate-binding pocket of a thermally-stable keratinase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa 4-3 (4-3Ker) to improve substrate specificity to typical keratinase (K/C > 0.5) and catalytic activity without compromising thermal stability for efficient keratin degradation. Of 10 chosen mutation hotspots in the S1' substrate-binding pocket, the top three mutations M128R, A138V, and V142I showing the best catalytic activity and substrate specificity were identified.

Novel Antioxidant Peptides Derived from Feather Keratin Alleviate HO-Induced Oxidative Damage in HepG2 Cells via Keap1/Nrf2 Pathway.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are crucial for signal transduction and the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. However, superfluous ROS may engender chronic pathologies. Feather keratin is a promising new source of antioxidant peptides that can eliminate excess ROS and potentially treat oxidative stress-related diseases, but the underlying mechanisms have remained elusive.

Biomimetic Wearable Sensors: Emerging Combination of Intelligence and Electronics.

Owing to the advancement of interdisciplinary concepts, for example, wearable electronics, bioelectronics, and intelligent sensing, during the microelectronics industrial revolution, nowadays, extensively mature wearable sensing devices have become new favorites in the noninvasive human healthcare industry. The combination of wearable sensing devices with bionics is driving frontier developments in various fields, such as personalized medical monitoring and flexible electronics, due to the superior biocompatibilities and diverse sensing mechanisms. It is noticed that the integration of desired functions into wearable device materials can be realized by grafting biomimetic intelligence.

Preparation, Purification, and Identification of Novel Feather Keratin-Derived Peptides with Antioxidative and Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitory Activities.

Feather keratin is an underappreciated protein resource of high quality, with limited bioavailability, and it urgently requires eco-friendly methods to enhance its value. Here, we report on the preparation, purification, and identification of novel peptides with antioxidant and xanthine oxidase (XOD) inhibitory activities from fermented feather broth, using 8-4. Two peptides, namely, DLCRPCGPTPLA (DA-12) and ANSCNEPCVR (AR-10), displayed remarkable 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging abilities with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC) values of 0.

Improving Catalytic Activity, Acid-Tolerance, and Thermal Stability of Glutathione Peroxidase by Systematic Site-Directed Selenocysteine Incorporation.

Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is an important antioxidant enzyme. Selenocysteine (Sec)-containing GPxs (Sec-GPxs) are usually superior to their conventional cysteine-containing counterparts (Cys-GPxs), which make up the majority of the natural GPxs but display unsuitable activity and stability for industrial applications. This study first heterologously expressed and characterized a Cys-GPx from Lactococcus lactis (LlGPx), systematically exchanged all the three Cys to Sec and introduced an extra Sec.

Utilization of feather keratin waste to antioxidant and migration-enhancer peptides by Bacillus licheniformis 8-4.

Aims: Feathers are keratin-rich byproducts of poultry processing, but those are often frequently abandoned as garbage and thus polluting the environment. Therefore, the study focused on the efficient biodegradation, bioactivity, and high-value application of feather keratin.

Methods And Results: Feather-degrading bacteria were identified, and the degradation properties were characterized.

A reliable method of high performance liquid chromatography coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for determining selenoamino acids in selenoproteins from Lactococcus lactis.

A reliable method for simultaneous determination of four organic selenium species by HPLC-ICP-MS was developed and implemented in determining organic selenoamino acids (Se-AAs) in selenoproteins from Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis) NZ9000. The method consisted of liberating Se-AAs from selenoproteins using ultrasound-assisted protease hydrolysis, and quantitatively detecting Se-AA speciations by HPLC-ICP-MS.

Production and characterization of novel thermo- and organic solvent-stable keratinase and aminopeptidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa 4-3 for effective poultry feather degradation.

Feather biodegradation is an important premise for efficient resource development and utilization, in which keratinase plays an important role. However, there are few keratinases that combine the high activity, thermal stability, and organic solvent tolerance required for industrialization. This paper reported an efficient feather-degrading Pseudomonas aeruginosa 4-3 isolated from slaughterhouses.

Computer-assisted in vitro reconstitution of purine degradation pathway to lower the purine content in food.

Background: With the increasing prevalence of gout and its etiological hyperuricemia, dietary control of gout based on low-purine food according to patients' eating habits is becoming a better choice compared to the existing drug treatment such as allopurinol with notorious side effects. Reconstructing the purine metabolic pathway in vitro to degrade purine substances in food into natural functional allantoin appears to be an innovative method for preparing nutritious and healthy food of low purine content. The present study reports a computer-assisted in vitro reconstruction of four purinolytic enzymes metabolizing adenosine into allantoin to reduce purine content in food for personalized dietary control of hyperuricemia and gout.

Novel Salt-Tolerant Leucine Dehydrogenase from Marine Pseudoalteromonas rubra DSM 6842.

This study reported the cloning, expression, and characterization of a new salt-tolerant leucine dehydrogenase (PrLeuDH) from Pseudoalteromonas rubra DSM 6842. A codon-optimized 1038 bp gene encoding PrLeuDH was successfully expressed on pET-22b( +) in E. coli BL21(DE3).

Mechanisms Affecting the Biosynthesis and Incorporation Rate of Selenocysteine.

Selenocysteine (Sec) is the 21st non-standard proteinogenic amino acid. Due to the particularity of the codon encoding Sec, the selenoprotein synthesis needs to be completed by unique mechanisms in specific biological systems. In this paper, the underlying mechanisms for the biosynthesis and incorporation of Sec into selenoprotein were comprehensively reviewed on five aspects: (i) the specific biosynthesis mechanism of Sec and the role of its internal influencing factors (SelA, SelB, SelC, SelD, SPS2 and PSTK); (ii) the elements (SECIS, PSL, SPUR and RF) on mRNA and their functional mechanisms; (iii) the specificity (either translation termination or translation into Sec) of UGA; (iv) the structure-activity relationship and action mechanism of SelA, SelB, SelC and SelD; and (v) the operating mechanism of two key enzyme systems for inorganic selenium source flow before Sec synthesis.

Engineering better catalytic activity and acidic adaptation into Kluyveromyces marxianus exoinulinase using site-directed mutagenesis.

Background: Exoinulinase catalyzes the successive removal of individual fructose moiety from the non-reducing end of the inulin molecule, which is useful for biotechnological applications like producing fructan-based non-grain biomass energy and high-fructose syrup. In this study, an exoinulinase (KmINU) from Kluyveromyces marxianus DSM 5418 was tailored for increased catalytic activity and acidic adaptation for inulin hydrolysis processes by rational site-directed mutagenesis.

Results: Three mutations, S124Y, N158S and Q215V distal to the catalytic residues of KmINU were designed and heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris GS115.

Simultaneously Improved Thermostability and Hydrolytic Pattern of Alpha-Amylase by Engineering Central Beta Strands of TIM Barrel.

This study reported simultaneously improved thermostability and hydrolytic pattern of α-amylase from Bacillus subtilis CN7 by rationally engineering the mostly conserved central beta strands in TIM barrel fold. Nine single point mutations and a double mutation were introduced at the 2nd site of the β7 strand and 3rd site of the β5 strand to rationalize the weak interactions in the beta strands of the TIM barrel of α-amylase. All the five active mutants changed the compositions and percentages of maltooligosaccharides in final hydrolytic products compared to the product spectrum of the wild-type.

Different treatments for acute myocardial infarction patients via outpatient clinics and emergency department.

To investigate relevant factors and patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were admitted during between weekdays and weekends period.Retrospective population-based study setting: from the 2005 population-based national health insurance underwriting database of millions of people, random sampling (National Health Insurance Research Database [NHIRD]-Longitudinal Health Insurance Database [LHID] 2005).In 2000 to 2009 data of NHIRD, subjects presented with first episode AMI who had received the thrombolytic therapy (TPA), or percutaneous coronary artery intervention (PTCA) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) during between weekdays and weekends period.

Resistance to Diamide Insecticides in Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae): Comparison Between Lab-Selected Strains and Field-Collected Populations.

Diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.; Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is an important pest of crucifers worldwide. The extensive use of diamide insecticides has led to P.

Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli cell factory for highly active xanthine dehydrogenase production.

The aim of this work was to demonstrate the first proof-of-concept for the use of ab initio-aided assembly strategy intensifying in vivo biosynthesis process to construct Escherichia coli cell factory overproducing highly active xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH). Three global regulator (IscS, TusA and NarJ) and four chaperone proteins (DsbA, DsbB, NifS and XdhC) were overexpressed to aid the formation and ordered assembly of three redox center cofactors of Rhodobacter capsulatus XDH in E. coli.

Improved production of trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline by chromosomal integration of the Vitreoscilla hemoglobin gene into recombinant Escherichia coli with expression of proline-4-hydroxylase.

trans-4-Hydroxy-l-proline (Hyp) is a chiral amino acid conventionally produced by acid hydrolysis of animal collagen, a process which involves the bottleneck problems of low efficiency and heavy environmental pollution. Biotransformation of l-proline into Hyp using recombinant whole-cell biocatalysis with proline-4-hydroxylase (P4H) is an environmentally-friendly alternative method. Since biohydroxylation of proline by whole cells is a high-oxygen-demand process, oxygen transfer needs to be improved.

Nursing Job Rotation Stress Scale development and psychometric evaluation.

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop and assess the reliability and validity of the Nurse Job Rotation Stress Scale (NJRS).

Methods: A convenience sampling method was utilized to recruit two groups of nurses (n = 150 and 253) from a 2751 bed medical center in southern Taiwan. The NJRS scale was developed and used to evaluate the NJRS.

Bibliometric Analysis of Medication Errors and Adverse Drug Events Studies.

Objectives: Medication errors and adverse drug events are a key concern of the health-care industry. The objectives of this study were to map the intellectual structure of the studies of medication errors and adverse drug events and to investigate the developing path of this literature and interrelationships among the main topics.

Methods: The Web of Science database was searched for documentation of medication errors and adverse drug events from 1961 to 2013.