Advanced technological approaches and market status analysis of xylose bioconversion and utilization: Xylooligosacharides and xylonic acid as emerging products.

The efficient conversion of xylose is a short board of cask effect to lignocellulosic biorefining, by markedly affecting the total economic and environmental benefits. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the current commercial status of traditional xylose utilization and industrial technology development, this review outlines new technological avenues for the efficient utilization of xylose from lignocellulosic biomass, focusing on super prebiotic xylo-oligosaccharides and multifunctional platform compound xylonic acid. Firstly, the traditional products that can be derived from lignocellulosic xylose, including xylitol (447.

Design of Environmental-Friendly Carbon-Based Catalysts for Efficient Advanced Oxidation Processes.

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) represent one of the most promising strategies to generate highly reactive species to deal with organic dye-contaminated water. However, developing green and cost-effective catalysts is still a long-term goal for the wide practical application of AOPs. Herein, we demonstrated doping cobalt in porous carbon to efficiently catalyze the oxidation of the typically persistent organic pollutant rhodamine B, via multiple reactive species through the activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS).

Interplay of α-synuclein with Lipid Membranes: Cooperative Adsorption, Membrane Remodeling and Coaggregation.

α-Synuclein is a small neuronal protein enriched at presynaptic termini. It is hypothesized to play a role in neurotransmitter release and synaptic vesicle cycling, while the formation of α-synuclein amyloid fibrils is associated with several neurodegenerative diseases, most notably Parkinson's Disease. The molecular mechanisms of both the physiological and pathological functions of α-synuclein remain to be fully understood, but in both cases, interactions with membranes play an important role.

High cell density sequential batch fermentation for enhanced propionic acid production from glucose and glycerol/glucose mixture using Acidipropionibacterium acidipropionici.

Background: Propionic acid fermentation from renewable feedstock suffers from low volumetric productivity and final product concentration, which limits the industrial feasibility of the microbial route. High cell density fermentation techniques overcome these limitations. Here, propionic acid (PA) production from glucose and a crude glycerol/glucose mixture was evaluated using Acidipropionibacterium acidipropionici, in high cell density (HCD) batch fermentations with cell recycle.

Structural characterisation of α-synuclein-membrane interactions and the resulting aggregation using small angle scattering.

The presence of amyloid fibrils is a hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases. Some amyloidogenic proteins, such as α-synuclein and amyloid β, interact with lipids, and this interaction can strongly favour the formation of amyloid fibrils. In particular the primary nucleation step, the formation of amyloid fibrils, has been shown to be accelerated by lipids.

Carboligation of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural via whole-cell catalysis to form C12 furan derivatives and their use for hydrazone formation.

Background: Biobased 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (5-HMF) is an important platform that offers numerous possibilities for upgrading to a range of chemical, material and fuel products. One reaction of special interest is the carboligation of 5-HMF into C compounds, including 5,5'-bis(hydroxymethyl)furoin (DHMF) and its subsequent oxidation to 5,5'-bis(hydroxymethyl)furil (BHMF), due to their potential applications as building blocks for polymers and hydrocarbon fuels.

Objectives: This study was aimed at evaluating the use of whole cells of Escherichia coli carrying recombinant Pseudomonas fluorescens benzaldehyde lyase as biocatalysts for 5-HMF carboligation, recovery of the C derivatives DHMF and BHMF, and testing the reactivity of the carbonyl groups for hydrazone formation for potential use as cross-linking agents in surface coatings.

A facile process for adipic acid production in high yield by oxidation of 1,6-hexanediol using the resting cells of Gluconobacter oxydans.

Background: Adipic acid (AA) is one of the most important industrial chemicals used mainly for the production of Nylon 6,6 but also for making polyurethanes, plasticizers, and unsaturated polyester resins, and more recently as a component in the biodegradable polyester poly(butylene adipate terephthalate) (PBAT). The main route for AA production utilizes benzene as feedstock and generates copious amounts of the greenhouse gas NO. Hence, alternative clean production routes for AA from renewable bio-based feedstock are drawing increasing attention.

Reviewing a plethora of oxidative-type reactions catalyzed by whole cells of species.

Selective oxidation reactions represent a challenging task for conventional organic chemistry. Whole-cell biocatalysis provides a very convenient, easy to apply method to carry out different selective oxidation reactions including chemo-, regio-, and enantio-selective reactions. species are important biocatalysts as they can catalyze these selective reactions very efficiently owing to the wide diversity of enzymes and enzymatic cascades in their cell niche.

Oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural with a novel aryl alcohol oxidase from Mycobacterium sp. MS1601.

Bio-based 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) serves as an important platform for several chemicals, among which 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) has attracted considerable interest as a monomer for the production of polyethylene furanoate (PEF), a potential alternative for fossil-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This study is based on the HMF oxidizing activity shown by Mycobacterium sp. MS 1601 cells and investigation of the enzyme catalysing the oxidation.

Aggregation Behavior of Structurally Similar Therapeutic Peptides Investigated by H NMR and All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

Understanding of peptide aggregation propensity is an important aspect in pharmaceutical development of peptide drugs. In this work, methodologies based on all-atom molecular dynamics (AA-MD) simulations and H NMR (in neat HO) were evaluated as tools for identification and investigation of peptide aggregation. A series of structurally similar, pharmaceutically relevant peptides with known differences in aggregation behavior (D-Phe-GnRH, ozarelix, cetrorelix, and degarelix) were investigated.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate production from rice straw hydrolysate obtained by alkaline pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis using Bacillus strains isolated from decomposing straw.

Rice straw is an important low-cost feedstock for bio-based economy. This report presents a study in which rice straw was used both as a source for isolation of bacteria producing the biodegradable polyester polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), as well as the carbon source for the production of the polymer by the isolated bacteria. Of the 100 bacterial isolates, seven were found to be positive for PHA production by Nile blue staining and were identified as Bacillus species by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis.

Bioplastic accumulates antibiotic and metal resistance genes in coastal marine sediments.

The oceans are increasingly polluted with plastic debris, and several studies have implicated plastic as a reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes and a potential vector for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Bioplastic is widely regarded as an environmentally friendly replacement to conventional petroleum-based plastic, but the effects of bioplastic pollution on marine environments remain largely unknown. Here, we present the first evidence that bioplastic accumulates antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and metal resistance genes (MRGs) in marine sediments.

NAD+ pool depletion as a signal for the Rex regulon involved in Streptococcus agalactiae virulence.

In many Gram-positive bacteria, the redox-sensing transcriptional repressor Rex controls central carbon and energy metabolism by sensing the intra cellular balance between the reduced and oxidized forms of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide; the NADH/NAD+ ratio. Here, we report high-resolution crystal structures and characterization of a Rex ortholog (Gbs1167) in the opportunistic pathogen, Streptococcus agalactiae, also known as group B streptococcus (GBS). We present structures of Rex bound to NAD+ and to a DNA operator which are the first structures of a Rex-family member from a pathogenic bacterium.

Enhanced Protocatechuic Acid Production From Glucose Using 3-Dehydroshikimate Dehydratase Expressed in a Phenylalanine-Overproducing Mutant of .

Protocatechuic acid (PCA) is a strong antioxidant and is also a potential platform for polymer building blocks like vanillic acid, vanillin, muconic acid, and adipic acid. This report presents a study on PCA production from glucose via the shikimate pathway precursor 3-dehydroshikimate by heterologous expression of a gene encoding 3-dehydroshikimate dehydratase in . The phenylalanine overproducing strain, engineered to relieve the allosteric inhibition of 3-deoxy-7-phosphoheptulonate synthase by the aromatic amino acids, was shown to give a higher yield of PCA than the unmodified strain under aerobic conditions.

Draft Genome Sequence of sp. Strain BM01, Isolated from a Hypersaline Lake of the Momela Ecosystem in Tanzania.

The genus includes cyanobacterial species used for industrial production of dietary supplements and nutraceutical agents. The metagenome-assembled genome of sp. strain BM01 from Big Momela Lake, Tanzania, was 6,228,312 bp long with a GC content of 44.

Metabolic potential of the moderate halophile Yangia sp. ND199 for co-production of polyhydroxyalkanoates and exopolysaccharides.

Yangia sp. ND199 is a moderately halophilic bacterium isolated from mangrove samples in Northern Vietnam, which was earlier reported to grow on several sugars and glycerol to accumulate poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHA). In this study, the potential of the bacterium for co-production of exopolysaccharides (EPS) and PHA was investigated.

Low-temperature statistical mechanics of the Quantizer problem: Fast quenching and equilibrium cooling of the three-dimensional Voronoi liquid.

The quantizer problem is a tessellation optimization problem where point configurations are identified such that the Voronoi cells minimize the second moment of the volume distribution. While the ground state (optimal state) in 3D is almost certainly the body-centered cubic lattice, disordered and effectively hyperuniform states with energies very close to the ground state exist that result as stable states in an evolution through the geometric Lloyd's algorithm [M. A.

Revisiting the dissolution of cellulose in HPO(aq) through cryo-TEM, PTssNMR and DWS.

Cellulose can be dissolved in concentrated acidic aqueous solvents forming extremely viscous solutions, and, in some cases, liquid crystalline phases. In this work, the concentrated phosphoric acid aqueous solvent is revisited implementing a set of advanced techniques, such as cryo-transmission electronic microscopy (cryo-TEM), polarization transfer solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (PTssNMR), and diffusing wave spectroscopy (DWS). Cryo-TEM images confirm that this solvent system is capable to efficiently dissolve cellulose.

3D Printable Non-Isocyanate Polyurethanes with Tunable Material Properties.

Green chemistry-based non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPU) are synthesized and 3D-printed via rapid, projection photopolymerization into compliant mechanisms of 3D structure with spatially-localized material properties. Trimethylolpropane allyl ether-cyclic carbonate is used to couple the unique properties of two types of reaction chemistry: (1) primary diamine-cyclic carbonate ring-opening conjugation for supplanting conventional isocyanate-polyol reactions in creating urethane groups, with the additional advantage of enabling modular segment interchangeability within the diurethane prepolymers; and (2) thiol-ene (click) conjugation for non-telechelic, low monodispersity, quasi-crystalline-capable, and alternating step-growth co-photopolymerization. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy is used to monitor the functional group transformation in reactions, and to confirm these process-associated molecular products.

Clean Production of Levulinic Acid from Fructose and Glucose in Salt Water by Heterogeneous Catalytic Dehydration.

Levulinic acid (LA) is considered to be one of the promising organic bio-platform chemicals and intermediates for the synthesis of fuels, chemicals, and polymers. In the present study, heterogeneous catalytic dehydration of hexose sugars, fructose and glucose, using a strong cation exchange resin (hydrogen form) as an acid catalyst, was performed to produce LA in an aqueous medium. The effect of salts such as NaCl, KCl, CaCl, NaCO, and NaSO in the medium on the rate of sugar conversion and LA yield was evaluated.

Omics for Bioprospecting and Drug Discovery from Bacteria and Microalgae.

"Omics" represent a combinatorial approach to high-throughput analysis of biological entities for various purposes. It broadly encompasses genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics. Bacteria and microalgae exhibit a wide range of genetic, biochemical and concomitantly, physiological variations owing to their exposure to biotic and abiotic dynamics in their ecosystem conditions.

Exploring the Enzymatic and Antibacterial Activities of Novel Mycobacteriophage Lysin B Enzymes.

Mycobacteriophages possess different sets of lytic enzymes for disruption of the complex cell envelope of the mycobacteria host cells and release of the viral progeny. Lysin B (LysB) enzymes are mycolylarabinogalactan esterases that cleave the ester bond between the arabinogalactan and mycolic acids in the mycolylarabinogalactan-peptidoglycan (mAGP) complex in the cell envelope of mycobacteria. In the present study, four LysB enzymes were produced recombinantly and characterized with respect to their enzymatic and antibacterial activities.

Anisotropic charge carrier transport of optoelectronic functional selenium-containing organic semiconductor materials.

Organic semiconductors (OSCs) materials are currently under intense investigation because of their potential applications such as organic field-effect transistors, organic photovoltaic devices, and organic light-emitting diodes. Inspired by the selenization strategy can promote anisotropic charge carrier migration, and selenium-containing compounds have been proved to be promising materials as OSCs both for hole and electron transfer. Herein, we now explore the anisotropic transport properties of the series of selenium-containing compounds.