Students' perceptions of online education: A session at the FAOBMB-IUBMB-CBSL virtual education symposium 2021.

The Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists and Molecular Biologists (FAOBMB) and the College of Biochemists of Sri Lanka (CBSL) organized a virtual education symposium in 2021 funded by the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB). The parallel session named "Students' Perception" was attended by 188 participants from 11 countries. The main objectives of this session were to aggregate participants' viewpoints on aspects of virtual education, including innovative strategies to enhance motivation and engagement of students, improving teacher-student and student-student interactions, managing stress, and virtual learning platforms.

Accelerating language emergence by functional pressures.

In language emergence, neural agents acquire communication skills by interacting with one another and the environment. Through these interactions, agents learn to connect or ground their observations to the messages they utter, forming a shared consensus about the meaning of the messages. Such connections form what we refer to as a grounding map.

Prevalence of pretreatment drug resistance in persons initiating and reinitiating antiretroviral therapy in Sri Lanka: results from a national representative survey.

Background: We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study to estimate pretreatment drug resistance (PDR) prevalence in adults initiating ART in Sri Lanka following the WHO's recommendations.

Methods: HIV drug resistance was determined on dried blood spots (DBSs) using population-based sequencing of the protease and reverse transcriptase genes and interpretation was based on Stanford HIVdb v9.0.

The Role of Reprogrammed Glucose Metabolism in Cancer.

Cancer cells reprogram their metabolism to meet biosynthetic needs and to adapt to various microenvironments. Accelerated glycolysis offers proliferative benefits for malignant cells by generating glycolytic products that move into branched pathways to synthesize proteins, fatty acids, nucleotides, and lipids. Notably, reprogrammed glucose metabolism and its associated events support the hallmark features of cancer such as sustained cell proliferation, hijacked apoptosis, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis.

Toxicology and digestibility of Chlamydomonas debaryana green algal biomass.

There is an economic interest, both for food security and for the non-meat-eating population, in the development of novel, sustainable sources of high-quality protein. The green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has already been developed for this purpose, and the closely related species, Chlamydomonas debaryana, is a complementary source that also presents some additional advantages, such as reduced production cost. To determine whether C.

Clinical Presentation and Genetic Heterogeneity Including Two Novel Variants in Sri Lankan Patients With Infantile Sandhoff Disease.

Infantile Sandhoff Disease (SD) is a subtype of GM2 gangliosidosis, which is never been reported in Sri Lanka. Data of eight children, who were diagnosed with SD during the period of 2017 to 2021, were analyzed retrospectively. The aim of this study was to analyze genotypic and phenotypic variations of native SDs.

Identification of long-chain alkane-degrading (LadA) monooxygenases in analysis.

Efficient degradation of alkanes in crude oil by the isolated MM1 alluded to the presence of highly active alkane-degrading enzymes in this fungus. A long-chain alkane-degrading, LadA-like enzyme family in was identified, and possible substrate-binding modes were analyzed using a computational approach. By analyzing publicly available protein databases, we identified six uncharacterized proteins in NRRL 3357, of which five were identified as class LadAα and one as class LadAβ, which are eukaryotic homologs of bacterial long-chain alkane monooxygenase (LadA).

Urine Organic Acid Analysis: Key Diagnostic Test for Fumaric Aciduria in a Sri Lankan Child.

Fumaric aciduria resulting from fumarate hydratase deficiency is a rare inherited disorder of the Krebs tricarboxylic acid cycle that is characterized by neurologic manifestations, a spectrum of brain abnormalities, and the excretion of fumaric acid in urine. We describe a 3 year old Sri Lankan boy who was referred at age 10 months with poor weight gain and hypotonia for further laboratory investigations. In addition to global developmental delay, there were noticeable dysmorphic features with a prominent forehead, low-set ears, micrognathia, and hypertelorism with persistent neutropenia.

Development and Interlaboratory Evaluation of an LC-MS/MS Method for the Quantification of Lysozyme in Wine Across Independent Instrument Platforms.

Background: Various processing aids and fining agents are used in winemaking to help improve sensory characteristics. Some of these materials may contain or be derived from allergenic foods, such as eggs. In order to ensure food safety and that products meet regulatory compliance, it is essential to have robust and effective analytical methods to verify the removal of allergenic proteins following their use.

Reduction of lag in crude oil degradation by Aspergillus when it is in synergy with Bacillus in biofilm mode.

A major hindrance to the effective use of fungi in bioremediation is their inherent slow growth. Despite this, Aspergillus spp. may be used effectively.

Thermal processing of peanut impacts detection by current analytical techniques.

Recalls of spice containing products due to undeclared peanut have highlighted the importance of analytical methods in these foods. We examined the performance of peanut detection methods in cumin and garlic, focusing on quantitative ELISA. Although suitable for qualitative detection, accurate quantitation proved difficult.

Comparison of recovery and immunochemical detection of peanut proteins from differentially roasted peanut flour using ELISA.

The effect of heat on extractability and immunoreactivity of proteins from roasted peanut flours and whole peanuts was evaluated using two general protein assays and six commercial peanut ELISA kits, respectively. The highest amount of protein was recovered from roasted peanuts with all ELISAs, while recovery showed a decrease with increasing levels of roasting of the peanut flours. Only the Morinaga kit showed sufficient sensitivity to detect peanut at low concentrations of the dark roast peanut flours.

Biofilm mediated synergistic degradation of hexadecane by a naturally formed community comprising Aspergillus flavus complex and Bacillus cereus group.

Background: The hydrophobic nature of hydrocarbons make them less bioavailable to microbes, generally leading to low efficiency in biodegradation. Current bioremediation strategies for hydrocarbon contamination, uses induced mixed microbial cultures. This in-vitro study demonstrates the utilization of naturally occurring communities in suitable habitats for achieving highly efficient, synergistic degradation of hydrocarbons in a simple community structure without additives.

Improved extraction of peanut residues from a wheat flour matrix for immunochemical detection.

The efficacy of different buffers in extracting peanut from a solid model food incurred with peanut and subjected to processing was evaluated using two commercial ELISA kits: Veratox® for peanut allergen and peanut ELISA from Morinaga. Average percentage recoveries of peanut from unprocessed samples using the kit supplied buffers were 46 ± 5 and 28 ± 2 with the Veratox and Morinaga kits, respectively. However, NaCO, pH 9.

Purification and Characterization of Naturally Occurring Post-Translationally Cleaved Ara h 6, an Allergen That Contributes Substantially to the Allergenic Potency of Peanut.

The 2S albumin Ara h 6 is one of the most important peanut allergens. A post-translationally cleaved Ara h 6 (pAra h 6) was purified from Virginia type peanuts, and the cleavage site was mapped using high-resolution mass spectrometry. Compared to intact Ara h 6, pAra h 6 lacks a 5-amino acid stretch, resembling amino acids 43-47 (UniProt accession number Q647G9) in the nonstructured loop.

Evaluation of a Handheld Gluten Detection Device.

A portable, handheld gluten detection device, the Nima sensor, is now available for consumers wishing to determine if gluten is present in food. By U.S.

A heterozygous variant in the SLC22A12 gene in a Sri Lanka family associated with mild renal hypouricemia.

Background: Renal hypouricemia is a rare heterogeneous inherited disorder characterized by impaired tubular uric acid transport, reabsorption insufficiency and /or acceleration of secretion. The affected individuals are predisposed to nephrolithiasis and recurrent episodes of exercise-induced acute kidney injury. Type 1 is caused by dysfunctional variants in the SLC22A12 gene (URAT1), while type 2 is caused by defects in the SLC2A9 gene (GLUT9).

Acceleration of Diabetic Wound Healing with PHD2- and miR-210-Targeting Oligonucleotides.

In diabetes-associated chronic wounds, the normal response to hypoxia is impaired and many cellular processes involved in wound healing are hindered. Central to the hypoxia response is hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), which activates multiple factors that enhance wound healing by promoting cellular motility and proliferation, new vessel formation, and re-epithelialization. Prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing protein 2 (PHD2) regulates HIF-1α activity by targeting it for degradation under normoxia.

Correction to: Dubin-Johnson syndrome and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy in a Sri Lankan family: a case report.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors requested the following corrections: 1. Author 2-given name should be Dilanthi and family name Warawitage. 2.

Dubin-Johnson syndrome and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy in a Sri Lankan family: a case report.

Background: Dubin-Johnson syndrome and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy are rare chronic liver disorders. Dubin-Johnson syndrome may manifest as conjugated hyperbilirubinemia, darkly pigmented liver, presence of abnormal pigment in the parenchyma of hepatocytes and abnormal distribution of the coproporphyrin isomers I and III in the urine. Intrahepatic cholestatic jaundice of pregnancy presents as pruritus, abnormal liver biochemistry and increased serum bile acids.

Allergenicity attributes of different peanut market types.

Four different market classes of peanut (Runner, Virginia Spanish, and Valencia) are commonly consumed in Western countries, but for some consumers peanuts are a main cause of food-induced anaphylaxis. Limited information is available on the comparative allergenicity of these distinct market classes. The aim of this study was to compare allergenicity attributes of different peanut cultivars.

Comparison of six commercial ELISA kits for their specificity and sensitivity in detecting different major peanut allergens.

Six commercial peanut enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits were assessed for their ability to recover peanut from the standard reference material 2387 peanut butter and also for their specificity in detecting four major peanut allergens, Ara h 1, Ara h 2, Ara h 3, and Ara h 6. The percentage recovery of peanut from peanut butter differed across different kits as well as at different sample concentrations. The highest recovery was observed with the Romer and R-Biopharm kits, while four other kits were found to underestimate the protein content of the reference peanut butter samples.