Synergistic xylan decomposition by a reducing-end xylose-releasing exo-oligoxylanase with other xylanolytic enzymes derived from Paenibacillus xylaniclasticus strain TW1.

Paenibacillus xylaniclasticus strain TW1 is a promising tool for decomposing xylan-containing lignocellulosic biomass, since this strain possesses various genes encoding cellulolytic/hemicellulolytic enzymes. In this study, PxRex8A from the TW1 strain was found to be a reducing-end xylose-releasing exo-oligoxylanase of glycoside hydrolase family 8, which cleaves xylose from xylooligosaccharides of corn core xylan. In a synergistic assay, the efficient decomposition of oat spelt xylan (OSX) and beech wood xylan was exemplified in the combination of endo-β-1,4-xylanase (PxXyn11A) and PxRex8A from the TW1 strain in a molar ratio of 4:1.

A C1/C4-Oxidizing AA10 Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenase from Strain TW1.

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMO) are key enzymes for the efficient degradation of lignocellulose biomass with cellulases. A lignocellulose-degradative strain, TW1, has LPMO-encoding AA10A gene. Neither the C1/C4-oxidizing selectivity nor the enzyme activity of AA10A has ever been characterized.

Characterization of a GH Family 43 β-Xylosidase Having a Novel Carbohydrate-binding Module from Strain TW1.

strain TW1, a gram-positive facultative anaerobic bacterium, was isolated as a xylanolytic microorganism from the wastes of a pineapple processing factory. A gene encoding one of its xylanolytic enzymes, a β-xylosidase, was cloned and sequenced. Sequence analysis revealed that this β-xylosidase, named Xyl43A, was composed of a glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 43 subfamily 12 catalytic module and an unknown function module (UM).

Identification and biochemical characterization of a novel N-acetylglucosamine kinase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) is a key component of glycans such as glycoprotein and the cell wall. GlcNAc kinase is an enzyme that transfers a phosphate onto GlcNAc to generate GlcNAc-6-phosphate, which can be a precursor for glycan synthesis. GlcNAc kinases have been found in a broad range of organisms, including pathogenic yeast, human and bacteria.

The expression of alternative sigma-I7 factor induces the transcription of cellulosomal genes in the cellulolytic bacterium Clostridium thermocellum.

The composition of cellulosomal carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) secreted from a cellulolytic bacterium Clostridium thermocellum varies depending on the cellulosic substrate used during cultivation. C. thermocellum detects the polysaccharides in cellulosic material via anti-sigma factors and expresses the appropriate CAZyme gene via alternative sigma factors, SigIs.

Optimized biotransformation of acid-treated water melon peel hydrolyzate into ethanol.

Today, global focus of research is to explore the solution of energy crisis and environmental pollution. Like other agricultural countries, bulk quantities of watermelon peels (WMP) are disposed-off in environment as waste in Pakistan and appropriate management of this waste is the need of hour to save environment from pollution. The work emphasizes the role of ethanologenic yeasts to utilize significant sugars present in WMP for low-cost bioethanol fermentation.

The Emi2 Protein of is a Hexokinase Expressed under Glucose Limitation.

Hexokinases catalyze glucose phosphorylation at the first step in glycolysis in eukaryotes. In the budding yeast , three enzymes for glucose phosphorylation have long been known: Hxk1, Hxk2, and Glk1. In this study, we focus on Emi2, a previously uncharacterized hexokinase-like protein of .

Metabolome Analysis of Constituents in Membrane Vesicles for Growth Stimulation.

The cultivation of the cellulolytic bacterium, , can have cost-effective cellulosic biomass utilizations, such as consolidated bioprocessing, simultaneous biological enzyme production and saccharification. However, these processes require a longer cultivation term of approximately 1 week. We demonstrate that constituents of the membrane vesicle fraction significantly promoted the growth rate of .

Early removal or avoiding the use of perioperative indwelling urinary catheters with spontaneous pneumothorax surgery.

Objectives: The study evaluated the safety and advantages of no using urinary catheters (UCs) during the perioperative period in patients undergoing spontaneous pneumothorax surgery.

Methods: Forty-one patients aged 30 years or younger who underwent spontaneous pneumothorax surgery at our hospital between January 2018 and March 2020 were screened. Patients with postoperative recurrence were excluded.

Mitotic cyclin Clb4 is required for the intracellular adaptation to glucose starvation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Cellular homeostasis in response to glucose availability is maintained through the tight coordination of various physiological processes, including cell proliferation, transcription, and metabolism. In this study, we use the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to identify proteins implicated in carbon source-dependent modulation of physiological processes. We find that the mitotic cyclin Clb4 is required for optimal regulation of glucose-starvation-responsive pathways through the target of rapamycin complex 1.

Cellulosomes localise on the surface of membrane vesicles from the cellulolytic bacterium Clostridium thermocellum.

Membrane vesicles released from bacteria contribute to cell-cell communication by carrying various cargos such as proteins, nucleic acids and signaling molecules. Cellulolytic bacteria have been isolated from many environments, yet the function of membrane vesicles for cellulolytic ability has been rarely described. Here, we show that a Gram-positive cellulolytic bacterium Clostridium thermocellum released membrane vesicles, each approximately 50-300 nm in diameter, into the broth.

COA-Cl prevented TGF-β1-induced CTGF expression by Akt dephosphorylation in normal human dermal fibroblasts, and it attenuated skin fibrosis in mice models of systemic sclerosis.

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Although transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1-induced connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2) expression has been presented in SSc fibrosis, the therapeutic potential of targeting CTGF in SSc has not been fully explored. COA-Cl is a novel nucleic acid analog, which is reported to have pleiotropic beneficial biologic effects.

Serum levels of candidate microRNA diagnostic markers differ among the stages of non-small-cell lung cancer.

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are promising markers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Numerous studies evaluating miRNAs as markers for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been conducted in recent years; however, the majority of candidate markers proposed via individual studies were inconsistent and no marker miRNAs for the diagnosis of early stage NSCLC have been established. In the present study, miR-145, miR-20a, miR-21 and miR-223, which were previously reported as candidate diagnostic markers of NSCLC, were re-evaluated.

Glucose production from cellulose through biological simultaneous enzyme production and saccharification using recombinant bacteria expressing the β-glucosidase gene.

Efficient cellulosic biomass saccharification technologies are required to meet biorefinery standards. Biological simultaneous enzyme production and saccharification (BSES), which is glucose production from cellulosic biomass by Clostridium thermocellum, can be a reliable cellulose saccharification technology for biorefineries. However, the current BSES processes require purified β-glucosidase supplementation.

Screening of yeast isolates from flowers for effective ethanol production.

The use of alternative substrates to produce biofuel is a striking option nowadays. This study aimed to screen bioethanolproducing yeast strains. From different flowers, 65 yeasts were isolated.

Characterization of lignocellulose particles during lignocellulose solubilization by Clostridium thermocellum.

Clostridium thermocellum is a candidate bacterium for lignocellulose utilization due to its efficient lignocellulose solubilization ability. It has been reported that C. thermocellum efficiently degrades purified cellulose substrates, but cannot completely degrade milled lignocellulose powders.

Giant bulla formation in the lung because of a check-valve mechanism.

The pathogenesis of bulla formation has not yet been demonstrated in pathologic examinations or through direct visualization during thoracotomy or thoracoscopic surgery. We present two cases of giant bulla formation after pneumothorax because of cryptogenic organizing pneumonia and lung abscess. The case findings suggested that the pathogenesis was attributable to a check-valve mechanism, secondary to bronchiolitis obliterans, or the presence of an obstructing air leakage due to a lung fistula.

Chelate titrations of Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) using microfluidic paper-based analytical devices.

We developed microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) for the chelate titrations of Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) in natural water. The μPAD consisted of ten reaction zones and ten detection zones connected through narrow channels to a sample zone located at the center. Buffer solutions with a pH of 10 or 13 were applied to all surfaces of the channels and zones.

Thoracoscopic modified pleural tent for spontaneous pneumothorax.

Objectives: We developed a modified pleural tent (m-tent) procedure and used it in our hospital in almost 30 consecutive patients with spontaneous pneumothorax. The objective of this study was to clarify the feasibility and effectiveness of a thoracoscopic m-tent for the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax.

Methods: From July 2013 to November 2014, 107 patients with spontaneous pneumothorax were treated in our institution.

A key role of PGC-1α transcriptional coactivator in production of VEGF by a novel angiogenic agent COA-Cl in cultured human fibroblasts.

We previously demonstrated a potent angiogenic effect of a newly developed adenosine-like agent namedCOA-Cl.COA-Cl exerted tube forming activity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells in the presence of normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF). We therefore explored whether and howCOA-Cl modulates gene expression and protein secretion ofVEGF, a master regulator of angiogenesis, inNHDFRT-PCRandELISArevealed thatCOA-Cl upregulatedVEGF mRNAexpression and protein secretion inNHDFHIF1α(hypoxia-inducible factor 1α), a transcription factor, andPGC-1α(peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γcoactivator-1α), a transcriptional coactivator, are known to positively regulate theVEGFgene.

Bacterial production and secretion of water-insoluble fuel compounds from cellulose without the supplementation of cellulases.

Achieving economic biofuel production from cellulosic biomass will require significant cost reductions. Enzymatic degradation of cellulosic biomass and distillation of water-soluble fuel compounds substantially increase the cost of biofuel production. Consolidated bioprocessing is a strategy to circumvent expensive biofuel production steps.

Carbohydrate-binding modules influence substrate specificity of an endoglucanase from Clostridium thermocellum.

Most cellulases contain carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs) that largely contribute to their activity for insoluble substrates. Clostridium thermocellum Cel5E is an endoglucanase having xylanolytic activity. The Cel5E originally has a family 11 CBM preferentially binding to β-1,4- and β-1,3-1,4-mixed linkage glucans.

Changes in nutrient composition and in vitro ruminal fermentation of total mixed ration silage stored at different temperatures and periods.

Background: Total mixed ration (TMR) is widely used for dairy cattle and needs to be prepared daily because it deteriorates rapidly. Ensiling TMR allows preservation and saves labour at the farm; however, silage fermentation may influence various nutritional components. The objectives of this study were to evaluate nutritional changes and in vitro rumen fermentation of TMR silage that was stored at different temperatures and durations on a laboratory scale in comparison with those of typical TMR before ensiling.

Acid-base titrations using microfluidic paper-based analytical devices.

Rapid and simple acid-base titration was accomplished using a novel microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μPAD). The μPAD was fabricated by wax printing and consisted of ten reservoirs for reaction and detection. The reaction reservoirs contained various amounts of a primary standard substance, potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHPth), whereas a constant amount of phenolphthalein was added to all the detection reservoirs.