Low-biofouling membrane bioreactor: Effects of cis-2-Decenoic acid addition on EPS and biofouling mitigation.

Biofouling is inevitable in the membrane process, particularly in membrane bioreactors (MBR) combined with activated sludge processes. Regulating microbial signaling systems with diffusible signal factors such as cis-2-Decenoic acid (CDA) can control biofilm formation without microbial death or growth inhibition. This study assessed the effectiveness of CDA in controlling biofouling in membrane bioreactors (MBRs), essential for wastewater treatment.

Dispersive biofilm from membrane bioreactor strains: effects of diffusible signal factor addition and characterization by dispersion index.

Introduction: Biofilm occurs ubiquitously in water system. Excessive biofilm formation deteriorates severely system performance in several water and wastewater treatment processes. Quorum sensing systems were controlled in this study with a signal compound -2-Decenoic acid (CDA) to regulate various functions of microbial communities, including motility, enzyme production, and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) production in biofilm.

Whitening and moisturizing enhancing effects of three-dimensional human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium-containing cream.

Background: High-functional cosmetic products combined with the concept of "treatment" cosmetics are being introduced to the market. Cosmetic products containing a skin-derived microbiome, a three-dimensional (3D) stem cell culture medium, and low-molecular-weight collagen are being introduced, and these products are leading the cosmeceutical market. We aimed to confirm the potential of a 3D stem cell culture medium-containing cream as a skin-whitening and moisturizing product.

It's Hard to Avoid Avoidance: Uncoupling the Evolutionary Connection between Plant Growth, Productivity and Stress "Tolerance".

In the last 100 years, agricultural developments have favoured selection for highly productive crops, a fact that has been commonly associated with loss of key traits for environmental stress tolerance. We argue here that this is not exactly the case. We reason that high yield under near optimal environments came along with of plant stress perception and consequently of stress avoidance mechanisms, such as slow growth, which were originally needed for survival over long evolutionary time periods.

Multimeric Amphipathic α-Helical Sequences for Rapid and Efficient Intracellular Protein Transport at Nanomolar Concentrations.

An amphipathic leucine (L) and lysine (K)-rich α-helical peptide is multimerized based on helix-loop-helix structures to maximize the penetrating activities. The multimeric LK-based cell penetrating peptides (LK-CPPs) can penetrate cells as protein-fused forms at 100-1000-fold lower concentrations than Tat peptide. The enhanced penetrating activity is increased through multimerization by degrees up to the tetramer level.

Multifunctional Photonics Nanoparticles for Crossing the Blood-Brain Barrier and Effecting Optically Trackable Brain Theranostics.

Theranostic photonic nanoparticles (TPNs) that cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and efficiently deliver a therapeutic agent to treat brain diseases, simultaneously providing optical tracking of drug delivery and release, are introduced. These TPNs are constructed by physical encapsulation of visible and/or near-infrared photonic molecules, in an ultrasmall micellar structure (<15 nm). Phytochemical curcumin is employed as a therapeutic as well as visible-emitting photonic component.

Enhanced growth and total fatty acid production of microalgae under various lighting conditions induced by flashing light.

Microalgae are gaining importance as a source of high-value bioproducts. However, data regarding optimization of algal productivity via variation of environmental factors are lacking. Here, we evaluated a novel lighting method for the enhancement of biomass and total fatty acid (TFA) productivities during algal cultivation.