Optimizing pentose utilization in yeast: the need for novel tools and approaches

Hexose and pentose cofermentation is regarded as one of the chief obstacles impeding economical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels. Over time, successful application of traditional metabolic engineering strategy has produced yeast strains capable of utilizing the pentose sugars (especially xylose and arabinose) as sole carbon sources, yet major difficulties still remain for engineering simultaneous, exogenous sugar metabolism. Beyond catabolic pathways, the focus must shift towards non-traditional aspects of cellular engineering such as host molecular transport capability, catabolite sensing and stress response mechanisms. This review highlights the need for an approach termed 'panmetabolic engineering', a new paradigm for integrating new carbon sources into host metabolic pathways. This approach will concurrently optimize the interdependent processes of transport and metabolism using novel combinatorial techniques and global cellular engineering. As a result, panmetabolic engineering is a whole pathway approach emphasizing better pathways, reduced glucose-induced repression and increased product tolerance. In this paper, recent publications are reviewed in light of this approach and their potential to expand metabolic engineering tools. Collectively, traditional approaches and panmetabolic engineering enable the reprogramming of extant biological complexity and incorporation of exogenous carbon catabolism

Symmetrical Aspects of Urban Regeneration in Seoul

Korea has developed very rapidly since 1980s highlighted with Seoul olympic, and urbanization necessarily incurred. Population grew with increasing housing demands, but old towns could not provide enough land. The old town was already congested, and living conditions fell off. Therefore, new towns outside the old town were planned and built through three sequential phases. This suburbanization brought about heavy load on commuter transportation and air pollution. At the same time, improper infrastructure and amenities turned new towns into bedtowns. To escape from bedtowns, people returned to the old town, and urban remodeling was needed to accommodate adequate living conditions. In doing so, local characteristics were lost. Urban regeneration aroused as a countermeasure to this mishap. In this study, urban regeneration reinforced with smart technologies is suggested to revive lost placeness, communal connectivity, and urban orientation. Gentrification is another important issue to be resolved for the sustainable urbanization. This study focused on symmetrical aspects of the successful urban regeneration

Engineered xylose transporters with reduced glucose inhibition

Provided herein are compositions and methods useful for reducing glucose inhibition in transporting xylose, arabinose and other monosaccharides, into a yeast cell.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Validation Study of Kim's Sham Needle by Measuring Facial Temperature: An N-of-1 Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Introduction. In 2008, Kim's sham needle was developed to improve the quality of double-blinded studies. The aim of this study is to validate Kim's sham needle by measuring facial temperature. Methods. We designed “N-of-1” trials involving 7 smokers. One session was composed of 2 stimulations separated by a 2 h washout period. Six sessions were applied daily for all subjects. Infrared thermal imaging was used to examine the effects of acupuncture (HT8, KI2) on facial temperature following smoking-induced decrease. Results. All subjects demonstrated decreased temperatures after sham needle treatment, but 5 of the 7 subjects showed increased temperatures after real needle treatment. 6 of the 7 subjects showed a significant difference (P < 0.05) between treatments with real and sham needles. Thus, the physiological stimulation of Kim's sham needle is different from that of a real needle, suggesting that Kim's sham needle is a potential inactive control intervention