Publications by authors named "Kromer J"

Acetate is a biological anion with many applications in the chemical and food industries. In addition to being a common microbial fermentative end-product, acetate can be produced by photosynthetic cyanobacteria from CO using solar energy. Using wild-type cells of the unicellular model cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 only low levels of acetate are observed outside the cells.

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Biophotovoltaics (BPV) represents an innovative biohybrid technology that couples electrochemistry with oxygenic photosynthetic microbes to harness solar energy and convert it into electricity. Central to BPV systems is the ability of microbes to perform extracellular electron transfer (EET), utilizing an anode as an external electron sink. This process simultaneously serves as an electron sink and enhances the efficiency of water photolysis compared to conventional electrochemical water splitting.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study explores the construction of synthetic phototrophic microbial consortia for sustainable bioenergy, highlighting the challenges in regulation and efficiency.
  • It successfully engineered a community utilizing specific strains, allowing for the production of biohydrogen and fatty acids while fixing nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
  • Key findings indicate that circadian illumination and infrared light enhance H and fatty acid production by regulating metabolic activities and protein expression related to nitrogen fixation and photosynthesis.
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Background: Pseudomonas putida KT2440 has emerged as a promising host for industrial bioproduction. However, its strictly aerobic nature limits the scope of applications. Remarkably, this microbe exhibits high bioconversion efficiency when cultured in an anoxic bio-electrochemical system (BES), where the anode serves as the terminal electron acceptor instead of oxygen.

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Background: Abnormal neuronal synchrony is associated with several neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD), essential tremor, dystonia, and epilepsy. Coordinated reset (CR) stimulation was developed computationally to counteract abnormal neuronal synchrony. During CR stimulation, phase-shifted stimuli are delivered to multiple stimulation sites.

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We present simulated data on coordinated reset stimulation (CRS) of plastic neuronal networks. The neuronal network consists of excitatory leaky integrate-and-fire neurons and plasticity is implemented as spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP). A synchronized state with strong synaptic connectivity and a desynchronized state with weak synaptic connectivity coexist.

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For the histopathological work-up of resected neuroendocrine tumors of the small intestine (siNET), the determination of lymphatic (LI), microvascular (VI) and perineural (PnI) invasion is recommended. Their association with poorer prognosis has already been demonstrated in many tumor entities. However, the influence of LI, VI and PnI in siNET has not been sufficiently described yet.

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Providing an anodic potential in a bio-electrochemical system to the obligate aerobe Pseudomonas putida enables anaerobic survival and allows the cells to overcome redox imbalances. In this setup, the bacteria could be exploited to produce chemicals via oxidative pathways at high yield. However, the absence of anaerobic growth and low carbon turnover rates remain as obstacles for the application of such an electro-fermentation technology.

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Even with particular interest in sustainable development, due to the limited types of bioavailable carbon sources that could support heterotrophic/mixotrophic growth, microalgae-derived products still suffer from inconsistent yield and high costs. This study demonstrates a successful cocultivation of the photoautotroph with a hydrolytic-enzyme-abundant heterotroph, , enabling efficient starch upcycling from water/wastewater toward enhancing microalgae-dominant biomass and lipid production. The enzymatic activities of contributed to the hydrolysis of starch into glucose, generating a 7-fold higher biomass through mixotrophic/heterotrophic growth of .

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Introduction: The basal ganglia (BG) are involved in motor control and play an essential role in movement disorders such as hemiballismus, dystonia, and Parkinson's disease. Neurons in the motor part of the BG respond to passive movement or stimulation of different body parts and to stimulation of corresponding cortical regions. Experimental evidence suggests that the BG are organized somatotopically, i.

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Hypersynchrony of neuronal activity is associated with several neurological disorders, including essential tremor and Parkinson's disease (PD). Chronic high-frequency deep brain stimulation (HF DBS) is the standard of care for medically refractory PD. Symptoms may effectively be suppressed by HF DBS, but return shortly after cessation of stimulation.

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Anthropogenic global warming is driven by the increasing energy demand and the still dominant use of fossil energy carriers to meet these needs. New carbon-neutral energy sources are urgently needed to solve this problem. Biophotovoltaics, a member of the so-called bioelectrochemical systems family, will provide an important piece of the energy puzzle.

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Synaptic dysfunction is associated with several brain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease (PD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Utilizing synaptic plasticity, brain stimulation is capable of reshaping synaptic connectivity. This may pave the way for novel therapies that specifically counteract pathological synaptic connectivity.

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Isoprenoids, also known as terpenes or terpenoids, are a very large and diverse group of natural compounds. These compounds fulfil a myriad of critical roles in biology as well as having a wide range of industrial uses. Isoprenoids are produced via two chemically distinct metabolic pathways, the mevalonate (MVA) pathway and the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway.

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Abnormally strong synchronized activity is related to several neurological disorders, including essential tremor, epilepsy, and Parkinson's disease. Chronic high-frequency deep brain stimulation (HF DBS) is an established treatment for advanced Parkinson's disease. To reduce the delivered integral electrical current, novel theory-based stimulation techniques such as coordinated reset (CR) stimulation directly counteract the abnormal synchronous firing by delivering phase-shifted stimuli through multiple stimulation sites.

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Pseudomonas putida (P. putida) is a microorganism of interest for various industrial processes, yet its strictly aerobic nature limits application. Despite previous attempts to adapt P.

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Background: Abnormal synchronization of neuronal activity in dopaminergic circuits is related to motor impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD). Vibrotactile coordinated reset (vCR) fingertip stimulation aims to counteract excessive synchronization and induce sustained unlearning of pathologic synaptic connectivity and neuronal synchrony. Here, we report two clinical feasibility studies that examine the effect of regular and noisy vCR stimulation on PD motor symptoms.

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A carbon-free energy supply is essential to sustain our future. Biophotovoltaics (BPV) provides a promising solution for hydrogen supply by directly coupling light-driven water splitting to hydrogen formation using oxygenic photoautotrophic cyanobacteria. However, BPV is currently limited by its low photon-to-current efficiency, and current experimental setups at a miniaturized scale hinder the rational investigation of the process and thus system optimization.

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The polarisome is a cortical proteinaceous microcompartment that organizes the growth of actin filaments and the fusion of secretory vesicles in yeasts and filamentous fungi. Polarisomes are compact, spotlike structures at the growing tips of their respective cells. The molecular forces that control the form and size of this microcompartment are not known.

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Excessive neuronal synchrony is a hallmark of neurological disorders such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. An established treatment for medically refractory Parkinson's disease is high-frequency (HF) deep brain stimulation (DBS). However, symptoms return shortly after cessation of HF-DBS.

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Cyanobacteria play an important role in photobiotechnology. Yet, one of their key central metabolic pathways, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, has a unique architecture compared to most heterotrophs and still remains largely unexploited. The conversion of 2-oxoglutarate to succinate via succinyl-CoA is absent but is by-passed by several other reactions.

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Background: Isoprenol is the basis for industrial flavor and vitamin synthesis and also a promising biofuel. Biotechnological production of isoprenol with E. coli is currently limited by the high toxicity of the final product.

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