Potential of Wood Hemicelluloses and Their Derivates as Food Ingredients.

A holistic utilization of all lignocellulosic wood biomass, instead of the current approach of using only the cellulose fraction, is crucial for the efficient, ecological, and economical use of the forest resources. Use of wood constituents in the food and feed sector is a potential way of promoting the global economy. However, industrially established food products utilizing such components are still scarce, with the exception of cellulose derivatives.

Starch-Rich Microalgae as an Active Ingredient in Beer Brewing.

Microalgal biomass is widely studied for its possible application in food and human nutrition due to its multiple potential health benefits, and to address raising sustainability concerns. An interesting field whereby to further explore the application of microalgae is that of beer brewing, due to the capacity of some species to accumulate large amounts of starch under specific growth conditions. The marine species is a well-known starch producer, and was selected in this study for the production of biomass to be explored as an active ingredient in beer brewing.

Technical pipeline for screening microbial communities as a function of substrate specificity through fluorescent labelling.

The study of specific glycan uptake and metabolism is an effective tool in aiding with the continued unravelling of the complexities in the human gut microbiome. To this aim fluorescent labelling of glycans may provide a powerful route towards this target. Here, we successfully used the fluorescent label 2-aminobenzamide (2-AB) to monitor and study microbial degradation of labelled glycans.

Secondhand homes: The multilayered influence of woodpeckers as ecosystem engineers.

Ecosystem engineers alter, and can be influenced in turn by, the ecosystems they live in. Woodpeckers choose foraging and nesting sites based, in part, on food availability. Once abandoned, these cavities, particularly within areas of high forage, may be crucial to secondary cavity-nesting birds otherwise limited by cavities formed through decay.

Human Gut Faecalibacterium prausnitzii Deploys a Highly Efficient Conserved System To Cross-Feed on β-Mannan-Derived Oligosaccharides.

β-Mannans are hemicelluloses that are abundant in modern diets as components in seed endosperms and common additives in processed food. Currently, the collective understanding of β-mannan saccharification in the human colon is limited to a few keystone species, which presumably liberate low-molecular-weight mannooligosaccharide fragments that become directly available to the surrounding microbial community. Here, we show that a dominant butyrate producer in the human gut, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, is able to acquire and degrade various β-mannooligosaccharides (β-MOS), which are derived by the primary mannanolytic activity of neighboring gut microbiota.

Calcium Affects Polyphosphate and Lipid Accumulation in Mucoromycota Fungi.

Calcium controls important processes in fungal metabolism, such as hyphae growth, cell wall synthesis, and stress tolerance. Recently, it was reported that calcium affects polyphosphate and lipid accumulation in fungi. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of calcium on the accumulation of lipids and polyphosphate for six oleaginous Mucoromycota fungi grown under different phosphorus/pH conditions.

Synthesis of glycoconjugates utilizing the regioselectivity of a lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase.

Polysaccharides from plant biomass are the most abundant renewable chemicals on Earth and can potentially be converted to a wide variety of useful glycoconjugates. Potential applications of glycoconjugates include therapeutics and drug delivery, vaccine development and as fine chemicals. While anomeric hydroxyl groups of carbohydrates are amenable to a variety of useful chemical modifications, selective cross-coupling to non-reducing ends has remained challenging.

A pair of esterases from a commensal gut bacterium remove acetylations from all positions on complex β-mannans.

β-mannans and xylans are important components of the plant cell wall and they are acetylated to be protected from degradation by glycoside hydrolases. β-mannans are widely present in human and animal diets as fiber from leguminous plants and as thickeners and stabilizers in processed foods. There are many fully characterized acetylxylan esterases (AcXEs); however, the enzymes deacetylating mannans are less understood.

External temperature and distance from nearest entrance influence microclimates of cave and culvert-roosting tri-colored bats ().

Many North American bat species hibernate in both natural and artificial roosts. Although hibernacula can have high internal climate stability, they still retain spatial variability in their thermal regimes, resulting in various "microclimates" throughout the roost that differ in their characteristics (e.g.

Correction: Winter habitats of bats in Texas.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Winter habitats of bats in Texas.

Few studies have described winter microclimate selection by bats in the southern United States. This is of particular importance as the cold-adapted fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which causes the fatal bat disease white-nose syndrome (WNS), continues to spread into southern United States. To better understand the suitability of winter bat habitats for the growth of P.

Carbohydrate-derived fulvic acid is a highly promising topical agent to enhance healing of wounds infected with drug-resistant pathogens.

Background: This work was intended as a proof-of-principle study to help establish carbohydrate-derived fulvic acid (CHD-FA) as a safe and effective agent that can be deployed to prevent the onset of drug-resistant bacterial and fungal infections in military and civilian personnel experiencing traumatic wound.

Methods: Minimum inhibitory concentrations for CHD-FA were established on a total of 500 clinical isolates representing wound-associated drug-sensitive and drug-resistant bacterial and fungal pathogens. The efficacy of early use of CHD-FA to enhance healing of wounds infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa was evaluated in an in vivo rat model.

Men's Sexual Faithfulness Judgments May Contain a Kernel of Truth.

Mechanisms enabling men to identify women likely to engage in extra-pair copulations (EPCs) would be advantageous in avoiding cuckoldry. Men's judgments of female sexual faithfulness often show high consensus, but accuracy appears poor. We examined whether accuracy of these judgments made to images of women could be improved through i) employing a forced choice task, in which men were asked to select the more faithful of two women and/or ii) providing men with full person images.

Sperm competition in humans: mate guarding behavior negatively correlates with ejaculate quality.

In species where females mate with multiple males, the sperm from these males must compete to fertilise available ova. Sexual selection from sperm competition is expected to favor opposing adaptations in males that function either in the avoidance of sperm competition (by guarding females from rival males) or in the engagement in sperm competition (by increased expenditure on the ejaculate). The extent to which males may adjust the relative use of these opposing tactics has been relatively neglected.

The structure and immunomodulatory activity on intestinal epithelial cells of the EPSs isolated from Lactobacillus helveticus sp. Rosyjski and Lactobacillus acidophilus sp. 5e2.

The Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) Lactobacillus acidophilus sp. 5e2 and Lactobacillus helveticus sp. Rosyjski both secrete exopolysaccharides (EPSs) into their surrounding environments during growth.

Structure of the high molecular weight exopolysaccharide produced by Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis IPLA-R1 and sequence analysis of its putative eps cluster.

The bile adapted strain Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis IPLA-R1 secretes a high molecular weight exopolysaccharide (HMW-EPS) when grown on the surface of agar-MRSC. This EPS is composed of L-rhamnopyranosyl, D-glucopyranosyl, D-galactopyranosyl and D-galactofuranosyl residues in the ratio of 3:1:1:1.

Anti-HIV, anti-poxvirus, and anti-SARS activity of a nontoxic, acidic plant extract from the Trifollium species Secomet-V/anti-vac suggests that it contains a novel broad-spectrum antiviral.

Enveloped animal viruses such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human papillomavirus, Marburg, and influenza are major public health concerns around the world. The prohibitive cost of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for most HIV-infected patients in sub-Saharan Africa and the serious side effects in those who have access to ARV drugs make a compelling case for the study of complementary and alternative therapies. Such therapies should have scientifically proved antiviral activity and minimal toxic effects.

Alveolar macrophages: antigen presentation activity in vivo.

Previous studies on the antigen-presenting activity of alveolar macrophages (AM) have been restricted to the use of in vitro assay systems, and have generally shown suppression of T cell activation by these macrophages. The present study exploits the rapid adaptability of AM to changes in oxygen tension, which facilitates their transfer to other tissues in a functional state. Employing this rationale, antigen-pulsed AM were shown to trigger T cell-dependent immune responses following subcutaneous or intraperitoneal inoculation, while suppressing similar responses in tissue culture.

Long-lived IgE- and IgG-secreting cells in rodents manifesting persistent antibody responses.

BALB/c mice and BN rats manifesting persistent IgE and IgG responses were examined up to 1 year after immunization. A significant proportion of the ongoing antibody response in these animals survived lethal X-irradiation employing dosages sufficient to deplete B memory cells. The persistent IgE responses in both species were refractory to exogenous isotype-specific suppressor cells taken from tolerant syngeneic animals, which were shown to abrogate primary IgE responses in parallel tests.

Radiation-resistant IgE-secreting cells in the mouse: susceptibility to suppressor T cells.

X-irradiation (800 or 1,000 R) of Balb/c mice displaying 'persistent' high-titer anti-ovalbumin IgE responses resulted in only minor decreases in antibody titres measured 40 days later, indicating that the bulk of IgE production could be ascribed to long-lived radiation-resistant (and thus non-dividing) plasma cells. IgE-specific suppressor T cells from ovalbumin-tolerant mice did not affect ongoing persistent IgE synthesis by these plasma cells, but prevented their emergence in ovalbumin-immunized mice and in those adoptively immunized with splenocytes from animals displaying persistent IgE responses.

Tolerance induction via antigen inhalation: isotype specificity, stability, and involvement of suppressor T cells.

Mice were exposed to aerosolized ovalbumin (OA) once weekly for 5 min on 6 occasions, prior to systemic challenge with soluble or alum-adsorbed (AH-OA) antigen. Mice challenged with AH-OA manifested profound IgE isotype-specific tolerance; those challenged with soluble OA initially manifested anamnestic IgE/IgG responses, but secondary intraperitoneal immunization 13 days later with soluble OA revealed IgE isotype-specific tolerance. The tolerized mice contained splenic suppressor T cells which inhibited IgE but not IgG responses in an adoptive transfer assay.

Isolation of Murray Valley encephalitis virus and other arboviruses in the Ord River Valley 1972-1976.

This paper summarizes the isolation of arboviruses from mosquitoes collected in the Ord Valley between 1972 and 1976. A total of one hundred and ninety five strains of at least fifteen antigenically distinct viruses have been isolated. Seven of these isolates appear to be "new' antigenic types, and several are undergoing further testing.

Optimal culture conditions for in vitro antigen-induced proliferation of rat lymph node cells.

Popliteal and inguinal lymph node cells (LNC) from rats immunized with ovalbumin (OA) in Freund's adjuvant, were cultured with OA for 4 days in a variety of serum-supplemented media. Incorporation of [3H]thymidine into [3H]DNA was assessed as an index of antigen-induced lymphoproliferation. Optimal conditions for proliferation were found to comprise culture in flat-bottomed vessels, in the presence of RPMI 1640 medium adjusted to rat osmolality (310 mosmoles/kg) containing 5% v/v fresh syngeneic rat serum plus 4 X 10(-4) M 2-mercaptoethanol.

Adoptive transfer of "persistent' IgE responses in mice in the absence of secondary antigenic stimulation.

Spleen cells were prepared from Balb/c mice immunized 30 days previously with alum-precipitated ovalbumin (OA), which manifested high, persistent titres of anti-OA IgE and IgG. The adoptive transfer of 5.0 X 10(7) such cells to X-irradiated syngeneic recipients produced comparable persistent IgE/IgG responses, in the absence of secondary antigenic challenge.