Exploring hydrodynamic cavitation for citrus waste valorisation in Malta: from beverage enhancement to potato sprouting suppression and water remediation.

The endorsement of circular economy, zero-waste, and sustainable development by the EU and UN has promoted non-thermal technologies in agro-food and health industries. While northern European countries rapidly integrate these technologies, their implementation in Mediterranean food-supply chains remains uncertain. We evaluated the usefulness of hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) for valorizing orange peel waste in the fresh orange juice supply chain of the Maltese Islands.

Improved fluorescent phytochromes for in situ imaging.

Modern biology investigations on phytochromes as near-infrared fluorescent pigments pave the way for the development of new biosensors, as well as for optogenetics and in vivo imaging tools. Recently, near-infrared fluorescent proteins (NIR-FPs) engineered from biliverdin-binding bacteriophytochromes and cyanobacteriochromes, and from phycocyanobilin-binding cyanobacterial phytochromes have become promising probes for fluorescence microscopy and in vivo imaging. However, current NIR-FPs typically suffer from low fluorescence quantum yields and short fluorescence lifetimes.

The multiple assemblies of VDAC: from conformational heterogeneity to β-aggregation and amyloid formation.

From their cellular localisation, to their atomic structure and their involvement in mitochondrial-driven cell death, voltage-dependent anion channels (VDACs) have challenged the scientific community with enigmas and paradoxes for over four decades. VDACs form active monomer channels in lipid bilayers, but they can also organise in multimeric assemblies. What induces, regulates and/or controls the monomer-multimer dynamics at the cellular level is not known.

Voltage-dependent anion channels: the wizard of the mitochondrial outer membrane.

Voltage dependent anion channels (VDACs) are the most abundant proteins in the outer mitochondrial membrane. Although they are essential in metabolite exchange, cell defense and apoptosis, the molecular mechanism of these VDAC-mediated processes remains elusive. Here we review recent progress in terms of VDACs' structure and regulation, with a special focus on the molecular aspects of gating and the interaction with effector proteins.