Advances in chemical and biological methods to identify microorganisms—from past to present

Fast detection and identification of microorganisms is a challenging and significant feature from industry to medicine. Standard approaches are known to be very time-consuming and labor-intensive (e.g., culture media and biochemical tests). Conversely, screening techniques demand a quick and low-cost grouping of bacterial/fungal isolates and current analysis call for broad reports of microorganisms, involving the application of molecular techniques (e.g., 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing based on polymerase chain reaction). The goal of this review is to present the past and the present methods of detection and identification of microorganisms, and to discuss their advantages and their limitations.C.F.R. would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT–Portugal) for the C.F.R. for the project UID/EQU/00511/2019—Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology, and Energy—LEPABE funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) and N.M. for the Strategic project ref. UID/BIM/04293/2013 and “NORTE2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte” (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012)

Tagetes spp. Essential oils and other extracts : chemical characterization and biological activity

Tagetes (marigold) is native to America, and its cultivation currently extends to other countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Many species of this genus, such as T. minuta, T. erecta, T. patula, and T. tenuifolia, are cultivated as ornamental plants and studied for their medicinal properties on the basis of their use in folk medicine. Different parts of the Tagetes species are used as remedies to treat various health problems, including dental, stomach, intestinal, emotional, and nervous disorders, as well as muscular pain, across the world. Furthermore, these plants are studied in the field of agriculture for their fungicidal, bactericidal, and insecticidal activities. The phytochemical composition of the extracts of different Tagetes species parts are reported in this work. These compounds exhibit antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and enzyme inhibitory properties. Cultivation and the factors affecting the chemical composition of Tagetes species are also covered. In the current work, available literature on Tagetes species in traditional medicine, their application as a food preservative, and their antimicrobial activities are reviewed

Cucurbita plants: From farm to industry

The Cucurbita genus, a member of Cucurbitaceae family, also known as cucurbits, is native to the Americas. Genus members, like Cucurbita pepo and Cucurbita maxima, have been used for centuries in folk medicine for treating gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal parasites. These pharmacological effects are mainly attributed to their phytochemical composition. Indeed, Cucurbita species are a natural source of carotenoids, tocopherols, phenols, terpenoids, saponins, sterols, fatty acids, functional carbohydrates, and polysaccharides, that beyond exerting remarkable biological effects, have also been increasingly exploited for biotechnological applications. In this article, we specifically cover the habitat, cultivation, phytochemical composition, and food preservative abilities of Cucurbita plants.This work was supported by CONICYT PIA/APOYO CCTE AFB170007. N. Martins would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT-Portugal) for the Strategic project ref. UID/BIM/04293/2013 and “NORTE2020-Northern Regional Operational Program” (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012)

Design and evaluation of electron beam energy degraders for breast boost irradiation

BACKGROUND: For breast cancer patients who require electron boost energies between 6 and 9 MeV, an energy degraders (ED) in the 9 MeV beamline was specially designed and manufactured to increase the skin dose of 6 MeV and to reduce the penetration depth of 9 MeV beams. METHODS: We used Monte Carlo (MC) techniques as a guide in the design of ED for use with linear accelerators. In order to satisfy percent depth dose (PDD) characteristics and dose profile uniformity in water, the shape and thickness of Lucite® ED in the 9 MeV beamline was iteratively optimized and then manufactured. The ED geometry consists of a truncated cone attached on top of a plane plate, with total central thickness of 1.0 cm. The ED was placed on the lower most scraper of the electron applicator. The PDDs, profiles, and output factors were measured in water to validate the MC-based design. RESULTS: Skin doses with the EDs increased by 8–9 %, compared to those of the 9 MeV beam. The outputs with the EDs were 0.882 and 0.972 for 10 × 10 and 15 × 15 cm(2) cones, respectively, as compared to that of a conventional 9 MeV beam for a 10 × 10 cm(2) cone. The X-ray contamination remained less than 1.5 %. In-vivo measurements were also performed for three breast boost patients and showed close agreement with expected values. CONCLUSIONS: The optimally designed ED in the 9 MeV beamline provides breast conserving patients with a new energy option of 7 MeV for boost of the shallow tumor bed. It would be an alternative to bolus and thus eliminate inconvenience and concern about the daily variation of bolus setup

Acetic acid bacteria - taxonomy, ecology, and industrial application

Bakterie kwasu octowego (AAB) należą do Gram-ujemnych, tlenowych pałeczek, szeroko rozpowszechnionych w przyrodzie. Izolowane są zarówno ze środowisk pochodzenia roślinnego, takich jak: kwiaty, owoce, miody i rośliny uprawne, jak i z zanieczyszczonych smakowych wód mineralnych oraz produktów pochodzących z ukierunkowanych i spontanicznych procesów fermentacyjnych. Taksonomia AAB charakteryzuje się dużą dynamiką. W pracy dokonano przeglądu literatury obejmującej fizjologię, morfologię i właściwości biochemiczne, które wchodzą w zakres identyfikacji polifazowej. W ciągu ostatnich lat badania polifazowe umożliwiły tworzenie nowych rodzajów i gatunków AAB. Omówiono wybrane aspekty wykorzystania bakterii kwasu octowego w przemyśle spożywczym, zwłaszcza w produkcji tradycyjnych octów winnych oraz octów regionalnych. Ponadto przedstawiono zastosowanie AAB w procesach fermentacji ziaren kakaowca oraz wytwarzania herbaty kombucha.Acetic acid bacteria (AAB) are gram negative, aerobic rods that are widespread in nature. They are isolated both from the environments of plant origin, such as flowers, fruits, honeys, and cultivated plants, and the flavoured mineral waters that are microbiologically contaminated, as well as from the products produced using targeted and spontaneous fermentation processes. The taxonomy of AAB is characterized by high dynamics. This paper is a review of the literature on the physiology and morphology of AAB, and on those biochemical properties thereof, which are included into the range of polyphasic taxonomy. In recent years, the polyphasic studies made it possible to create new genera and species of AAB. Selected aspects are discussed of using acetic acid bacteria in food industry, especially to produce traditional wine vinegars and regional vinegars. Moreover, the use of AAB is described in the fermentation processes of cocoa beans and in the production of kombucha tea

Isolation and identification of acetic acid bacteria with potential prohealth properties

Celem pracy była izolacja i identyfikacja szczepów bakterii kwasu octowego (AAB) w systemie poli- fazowym oraz wstępne zdefiniowanie in vitro ich potencjalnych właściwości probiotycznych w warun- kach laboratoryjnych. Materiał do izolacji bakterii kwasu octowego stanowiły owoce sezonowe pochodzące z lokalnych upraw z województwa mazowieckiego i łódzkiego oraz kultura startowa do produkcji Kombuchy. Identy- fikację szczepów przeprowadzono z zastosowaniem systemu polifazowego bazującego na charakterystyce morfologicznej, uzdolnieniach biochemicznych i identyfikacji genetycznej. Na podstawie otrzymanych wyników utworzono kolekcję szczepów AAB bezpiecznych dla zdrowia ludzi, następnie określono anty- biotykowrażliwość na 12 wybranych substancji bakteriobójczych i wykonano testy in vitro przeżywalno- ści wyselekcjonowanych szczepów w warunkach modelowego przewodu pokarmowego człowieka. Na podstawie analizy fenotypu i sekwencjonowania genu 16S rRNA spośród 9 izolatów bakterii kwasu octo- wego do badań wybrano 3 szczepy należące do gatunku Gluconobacter oxydans: H31 wyizolowany z czarnej porzeczki oraz H30 i H32 – z kultury startowej do produkcji herbaty Kombucha. Stwierdzono, że 2 szczepy: G. oxydans H30 wyizolowany z Kombuchy i G. oxydans H31 pochodzący z czarnej porzeczki charakteryzują się dobrą przeżywalnością średnio na poziomie 6 log jtk/ml podczas pasażu przez modelo- wy układ pokarmowy człowieka i tym samym spełniają jedno z podstawowych kryteriów dla bakterii potencjalnie probiotycznych. Wszystkie badane szczepy wykazywały zbliżoną antybiotykowrażliwość. Przeprowadzona diagnostyka wyselekcjonowanych szczepów bakterii kwasu octowego stanowi podstawę do dalszych badań tych mikroorganizmów w kierunku potwierdzenia pozostałych cech probiotycznych

Ion-induced gammas for photofission interrogation of HEU.

High-energy photons and neutrons can be used to actively interrogate for heavily shielded special nuclear material (SNM), such as HEU (highly enriched uranium), by detecting prompt and/or delayed induced fission signatures. In this work, we explore the underlying physics for a new type of photon source that generates high fluxes of mono-energetic gamma-rays from low-energy (<500 keV) proton-induced nuclear reactions. The characteristic energies (4- to 18-MeV) of the gamma-rays coincide with the peak of the photonuclear cross section. The source could be designed to produce gamma-rays of certain selected energies, thereby improving the probability of detecting shielded HEU or providing a capability to determine enrichment inside sealed containers. The fundamental physics of such an interrogation source were studied in this LDRD through scaled ion accelerator experiments and radiation transport modeling. The data were used to assess gamma and neutron yields, background, and photofission-induced signal levels from several (p,{gamma}) target materials under consideration

A flexible Labview{trademark}-based data acquisition and analysis system for scanning microscopy

A new data analysis system has been developed with computer-controlled beam and sample positioning, video sample imaging, multiple large solid angle detectors for x-rays and gamma-rays, and surface barrier detectors for charged particles. The system uses the LabVIEW{trademark} programming language allowing it to be easily ported between different computer operating systems. In the present configuration, digital signal processors are directly interfaced to a SCSI CAMAC controller. However, the modular software design permits the substitution of other hardware with LabVIEW-supported drivers. On-line displays of histogram and two-dimensional elemental map images provide a user-friendly data acquisition interface. Subregions of the two-dimensional maps may be selected interactively for detailed analysis or for subsequent scanning. Off-line data processing of archived data currently yields elemental maps, analyzed spectra and reconstructions of tomographic data

Cucurbits plants: A key emphasis to its pharmacological potential

PubMed ID: 31091784Cucurbita genus has received a renowned interest in the last years. This plant species, native to the Americas, has served worldwide folk medicine for treating gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal parasites, among other clinical conditions. These pharmacological effects have been increasingly correlated with their nutritional and phytochemical composition. Among those chemical constituents, carotenoids, tocopherols, phenols, terpenoids, saponins, sterols, fatty acids, and functional carbohydrates and polysaccharides are those occurring in higher abundance. However, more recently, a huge interest in a class of triterpenoids, cucurbitacins, has been stated, given its renowned biological attributes. In this sense, the present review aims to provide a detailed overview to the folk medicinal uses of Cucurbita plants, and even an in-depth insight on the latest advances with regards to its antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer effects. A special emphasis was also given to its clinical effectiveness in humans, specifically in blood glucose levels control in diabetic patients and pharmacotherapeutic effects in low urinary tract diseases. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licenseUniversidade do Porto Istanbul Teknik Üniversitesi Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II Entomology and Nematology Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences University of Calcutta Universidad de Concepción Zabol University of Medical Sciences Politechnika LódzkaStudent Research Committee, School of Medicine, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam 44340847, Iran; [email protected] Faculty of Chemical & Metallurgical Engineering, Food Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, 34469 Maslak, Turkey; [email protected] (E.C.); [email protected] (G.C.) Laboratoire de Biotechnologie Végétale et d’Ethnobotanique, Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Université de Bejaia, Bejaia 06000, Algérie; [email protected] Department of Plant Sciences, LCWU, Lahore 54000, Pakistan; [email protected] (S.S.); [email protected] (M.J.) G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment & Sustainable Development Kosi-Katarmal, Almora 263 643, India; [email protected] (L.G.); [email protected] (R.S.) G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment & Sustainable Development Garhwal Regional Centre, Srinagar 246174, India; [email protected] Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania; [email protected] Department of Toxicology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania; [email protected] Mevsim Gida Sanayi ve Soguk Depo Ticaret A.S. (MVSM Foods), Turankoy, Kestel, 16540 Bursa, Turkey; [email protected] 10 Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-924 Lodz, Poland; [email protected] (D.K.); [email protected] (H.A.); [email protected] (E.P.) 11 Molecular and Applied Mycology and Plant Pathology Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Calcutta, Kolkata 700019, India; [email protected] (S.S.); [email protected] (K.A.) 12 Department of Botany, Fakir Chand College, Diamond Harbour, West Bengal 743331, India 13 Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Nigde Ömer Halisdemir University, Campus, 51240 Nigde, Turkey; [email protected] 14 Zabol Medicinal Plants Research Center, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol 61615-585, Iran 15 Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Concepcion, Concepcion 4070386, Chile 16 LEPABE, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal; [email protected] 17 Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Avicenna Tajik State Medical University, Rudaki 139, Dushanbe 734003, Tajikistan; [email protected] 18 Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal 19 Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S), University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal 20 Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Ital