Improved Productivity of Astaxanthin from Photosensitive Using Phototaxis Technology.

is a microalgae actively studied for the production of natural astaxanthin, which is a powerful antioxidant for human application. However, it is economically disadvantageous for commercialization owing to the low productivity of astaxanthin. This study reports an effective screening strategy using the negative phototaxis of the to attain the mutants having high astaxanthin production.

Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes after periconceptional exposure to isotretinoin in Koreans.

Objective: Isotretinoin should not be used during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. Most pregnant women exposed to isotretinoin choose voluntary pregnancy termination due to concerns about birth defects. However, birth outcome data supporting the termination of pregnancy are lacking.

A green decontamination technology through selective biomineralization of algicidal microorganisms for enhanced astaxanthin production from Haematococcus pluvialis at commercial scale.

Currently, there is a lack of an efficient, environmentally-benign and sustainable industrial decontamination strategy to steadily achieve improved astaxanthin production from Haematococcus pluvialis under large-scale outdoor conditions. Here, this study demonstrates for the first time that a CaCO biomineralization-based decontamination strategy (CBDS) is highly efficient in selectively eliminating algicidal microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, during large-scale H. pluvialis cultivation under autotrophic and mixotrophic conditions, thereby augmenting the astaxanthin productivity.

The rates of major malformations after gestational exposure to isotretinoin: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Isotretinoin is among the most notorious human teratogens, documented originally as causing up to 30% of malformations. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the rates of major malformation (MM) among isotretinoin-exposed pregnant women over the years through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: Eligible studies were searched and identified using various databases.

Association of Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters in Meconium of Neonates with Growth Deficits at Birth: a Prospective, Single-Centre Cohort Study.

Background: In this prospective cohort study, we investigated the association between fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) in meconium as biomarkers of prenatal ethanol exposure and growth deficits, as birth outcomes, that constitute several of the key cardinal features of fetal alcohol syndrome.

Methods: A total of 157 meconium samples were collected from enrolled infants within 24 hours of birth, and nine FAEEs were quantified using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. The relationships between cumulative concentrations of nine species of FAEEs in meconium and birth parameters of growth (age-sex-specific centiles of head circumference [HC], weight, and length) and respective and combined birth outcomes of growth deficits (HC ≤ 10th centile, weight ≤ 10th centile, and length ≤ 10th centile) were determined.

Performance and potential appraisal of various microalgae as direct combustion fuel.

Direct combustion of biomass is considered the most effective and simple means to contribute to CO reduction. In this context, the life-cycle potential of microalgal solid fuel, which has been overlooked so far, was comprehensively scrutinized ranging from cultivation to direct combustion. According to the quantitative data, using the raw fuel was confirmed to offer great benefits over the conventional lipid-targeted microalgal fuel systems through exploiting all of the biomass' energy potential, thereby being able to significantly increase the energy yield from biomass.

Two-Dimensional Microfluidic System for the Simultaneous Quantitative Analysis of Phototactic/Chemotactic Responses of Microalgae.

Microalgae have been spotlighted as a renewable energy source to produce biofuels from CO by photosynthesis. However, their innate inefficiency of CO conversion using light energy has been a challenge to the commercialization of algae-based biofuel production. Photosynthetic organisms have evolved behavioral responses, including phototaxis and chemotaxis, to find optimal conditions for capturing light energy and inorganic carbon (Ci) sources for photosynthesis.

Rapid selection of astaxanthin-hyperproducing Haematococcus mutant via azide-based colorimetric assay combined with oil-based astaxanthin extraction.

The aim of this work was to develop a new approach for simple and high-throughput selection of astaxanthin-hyperproducing Haematococcus mutants through a sequential combination method of azide-based colorimetric assessment and oil-based astaxanthin quantification. Randomly mutagenized cells were spotted on solid culture medium containing 50 µM of sodium azide to accelerate the biosynthesis of astaxanthin. After 3 days, highly-induced mutants were preliminarily isolated by visual inspection and their astaxanthin accumulations were rapidly quantified by soybean oil-based extraction method.

Smoking Exposure in Early Pregnancy and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: Usefulness of Urinary Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamine Metabolite 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-Pyridyl)-1-Butanol Levels.

Objectives: The aim was to investigate the effect of -maternal smoking exposure assessed by urinary tobacco-specific nitrosamine metabolite 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-a1-butanol (NNAL) with adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: A total of 251 pregnant women were recruited. Urinary cotinine and NNAL were measured.

Magnetophoretic sorting of microdroplets with different microalgal cell densities for rapid isolation of fast growing strains.

Microalgae - unicellular photosynthetic organisms - have received increasing attention for their ability to biologically convert CO into valuable products. The commercial use of microalgae requires screening strains to improve the biomass productivity to achieve a high-throughput. Here, we developed a microfluidic method that uses a magnetic field to separate the microdroplets containing different concentrations of microalgal cells.

Development of an X-Shape airlift photobioreactor for increasing algal biomass and biodiesel production.

The aim of this work was to develop a high efficient photobioreactor for increasing biomass and lipid production in microalgae by assessment of the hydrodynamic properties and ka which are important parameters for improving the algal cultivation efficiency. We designed three different photobioreactors (H-Shape, X-Shape and serial-column). Among them, X-Shape showed the highest hydrodynamic properties and ka for algal cultivation.

Improvement of Squalene Production from CO in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 by Metabolic Engineering and Scalable Production in a Photobioreactor.

The push-and-pull strategy for metabolic engineering was successfully demonstrated in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, a model photosynthetic bacterium, to produce squalene from CO. Squalene synthase (SQS) was fused to either a key enzyme (farnesyl diphosphate synthase) of the methylerythritol phosphate pathway or the β-subunit of phycocyanin (CpcB1). Engineered cyanobacteria with expression of a fusion CpcB1-SQS protein showed a squalene production level (7.

Quantitative analysis of the chemotaxis of a green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, to bicarbonate using diffusion-based microfluidic device.

There is a growing interest in the photosynthetic carbon fixation by microalgae for the production of valuable products from carbon dioxide (CO2). Microalgae are capable of transporting bicarbonate (HCO3 (-)), the most abundant form of inorganic carbon species in the water, as a source of CO2 for photosynthesis. Despite the importance of HCO3 (-) as the carbon source, little is known about the chemotactic response of microalgae to HCO3 (-).

Microfluidic high-throughput selection of microalgal strains with superior photosynthetic productivity using competitive phototaxis.

Microalgae possess great potential as a source of sustainable energy, but the intrinsic inefficiency of photosynthesis is a major challenge to realize this potential. Photosynthetic organisms evolved phototaxis to find optimal light condition for photosynthesis. Here we report a microfluidic screening using competitive phototaxis of the model alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, for rapid isolation of strains with improved photosynthetic efficiencies.

Multiplex microfluidic system integrating sequential operations of microalgal lipid production.

The unit cost for the production of algal biofuel needs to be reduced in order to be a substitute for fossil fuel. To achieve this goal, the development of a novel system is needed for a rapid screening of numerous microalgal species to isolate superior strains with the highest lipid productivity. Here, we developed a PDMS-based multiplex microfluidic system with eight chambers and micropillar arrays to expedite multiple steps for lipid sample preparation from different microalgal strains.

Could a first-trimester blood phosphatidylethanol concentration ⩾4 nM be useful to identify women with moderate-to-heavy prenatal alcohol exposure who are at high risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes?

It is accepted that blood phosphatidylethanol (PEth) concentrations are reliable biomarkers of ethanol (alcohol) exposure. We therefore conducted a preliminary study to test the hypothesis that elevated blood PEth concentrations can help to identifying women with prenatal alcohol exposure who are at higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The study included 35 first-trimester pregnant women who self-reported alcohol ingestion and had PEth blood concentration ⩾4 nM at recruitment.

A Microreactor System for Cultivation of Haematococcus pluvialis and Astaxanthin Production.

Development of efficient culture and monitoring system for cell growth and production of useful materials is required for practical utilization of microalgae. In the present study, we developed a PDMS-based microreactor system for efficient, rapid culture of microalgae and monitoring of cell growth, carotenoid content under diverse culture conditions. Due to advantages of PDMS, we optimized culture conditions (light intensity, pH, nitrate depletion, carbon dioxide concentration) for improving growth rate and astaxanthin productivity in considerably less time compared to conventional culture methods using flask or well plate.

A microscale approach for simple and rapid monitoring of cell growth and lipid accumulation in Neochloris oleoabundans.

Due to the increasing environmental problems caused by the use of fossil fuels, microalgae have been spotlighted as renewable resources to produce biomass and biofuels. Therefore, the investigation of the optimum culture conditions of microalgae in a short time is one of the important factors for improving growth and lipid productivity. Herein, we developed a PDMS-based high-throughput screening system to rapidly and easily determine the optimum conditions for high-density culture and lipid accumulation of Neochloris oleoabundans.

Prediction of fetal lung maturity using the lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratio analysis with a simplified sample preparation, using a commercial microtip-column combined with mass spectrometric analysis.

Fetal lung maturity is estimated using the lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio (L/S ratio) in amniotic fluid and it is commonly measured with thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The TLC method is time consuming and technically difficult; however, it is widely used because there is no alternative. We evaluated a novel method for measuring the L/S ratio, which involves a tip-column with a cation-exchange resin and mass spectrometry.

Fabrication of plasmon length-based surface enhanced Raman scattering for multiplex detection on microfluidic device.

The length of bioreceptors plays an important role in signal enhancement of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) due to amplification of electromagnetic fields generated by the excitation of localized surface plasmons. Herein, intact antibodies (IgG) and Fab fragments conjugated onto gold nanostar were used to fabricate two kinds of immunosensors for measurement of their SERS signals. Using CA125 as the antigen and Rhodamine-6G (R6G)-conjugated immunogolds, a SERS immunosensor was self-assembled by antigen-antibody interaction.

Integrated microfluidic platform for multiple processes from microalgal culture to lipid extraction.

For economically viable biofuel production from microalgae, it is necessary to develop efficient analytical platforms for quantitative evaluation of different lipid productivities of numerous microalgal species. Currently, microalgal culture, lipid accumulation, and lipid extraction depend on conventional benchtop methods requiring laborious and time-consuming processes. A poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based integrated microfluidic platform was developed to perform multiple steps in sample preparation on a single device for efficient and quantitative analysis of lipid from various microalgal strains.

Dose-response and time-response analysis of total fatty acid ethyl esters in meconium as a biomarker of prenatal alcohol exposure.

Objectives: Little is known on how the dose and timing of exposure co-influence the cumulative concentration of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) in meconium. The objective of the study was to assess the cumulative concentration of FAEEs in meconium as a biomarker of light, moderate, or heavy prenatal alcohol exposure occurring at either first, second, or third trimesters of pregnancy.

Methods: History of prenatal alcohol exposure was obtained in the 34th week of gestation from 294 pregnant women.

Characterization of phosphatidylethanol blood concentrations for screening alcohol consumption in early pregnancy.

Objective: Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is formed endogenously by the direct action of ethanol, and has a half-life long enough to make it a reliable biomarker of alcohol exposure in early pregnancy. In this study, we aimed to characterize PEth blood concentrations to differentiate different levels of alcohol exposure in pregnant women.

Methods: The study consisted of 305 consecutive pregnant women who had been referred to our hospital for antenatal care.