Bio-coloration of bacterial cellulose assisted by immobilized laccase

In this work a process for the bio-coloration of bacterial cellulose (BC) membranes was developed. Laccase from Myceliophthora thermophila was immobilized onto BC membranes and retained up to 88% of residual activity after immobilization. Four compounds belonging to the flavonoids family were chosen to test the in situ polymerase activity of immobilized laccase. All the flavonoids were successfully polymerized by laccase giving rise to yellow, orange and dark brown oligomers which conferred color to the BC support. The optimal bio-coloration conditions were studied for two of the tested flavonoids, catechol and catechin, by varying the concentration and time of incubation. High color depth and resistance to washing were obtained for both compounds. The highly porous bacterial cellulose material demonstrated great performance as a bio-coloration support, in contrast to other materials cited in literature, like cotton or wool. The process developed is presented as an environmentally friendly alternative for bacterial cellulose bio-coloration and will contribute deeply for the development of new fashionable products within this material.The authors would like to acknowledge Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI‑01‑0145‑FEDER‑006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE‑01‑0145‑FEDER‑000004) funded by Euro‑ pean Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020‑Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. The authors would like also to acknowl‑ edge the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), which was funded by the Ministry of Education (2017R1D1A1B03031959).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterisation of a Novel White Laccase from the Deuteromycete Fungus Myrothecium verrucaria NF-05 and Its Decolourisation of Dyes

A novel ‘white’ laccase was purified from the deuteromycete fungus, Myrothecium verrucaria NF-05, which was a high laccase-producing strain (40.2 U·ml−1 on the thirteenth day during fermentation). SDS-PAGE and native-PAGE revealed a single band with laccase activity corresponding to a molecular weight of approximately 66 kDa. The enzyme had three copper and one iron atoms per protein molecule determined by ICP-AES. Furthermore, both UV/visible and EPR spectroscopy remained silence, indicating the enzyme a novel laccase with new metal compositions of active centre and spectral properties. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified protein was APQISPQYPM. Together with MALDI-TOF analysis, the protein revealed a high homology of the protein with that from reported M. verrucaria. The highest activity was detected at pH 4.0 and at 30°C. The enzyme activity was significantly enhanced by Na+, Mn2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ while inhibited by DTT, NaN3 and halogen anions. The kinetic constant (Km) showed the enzyme was more affinitive to ABTS than other tested aromatic substrates. Twelve structurally different dyes could be effectively decolourised by the laccase within 10 min. The high production of the strain and novel properties of the laccase suggested its potential for biotechnological applications

A Pilot Study of Circulating miRNAs as Potential Biomarkers of Early Stage Breast Cancer

To date, there are no highly sensitive and specific minimally invasive biomarkers for detection of breast cancer at an early stage. The occurrence of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) in blood components (including serum and plasma) has been repeatedly observed in cancer patients as well as healthy controls. Because of the significance of miRNA in carcinogenesis, circulating miRNAs in blood may be unique biomarkers for early and minimally invasive diagnosis of human cancers. The objective of this pilot study was to discover a panel of circulating miRNAs as potential novel breast cancer biomarkers.Using microarray-based expression profiling followed by Real-Time quantitative Polymerase Cycle Reaction (RT-qPCR) validation, we compared the levels of circulating miRNAs in plasma samples from 20 women with early stage breast cancer (10 Caucasian American (CA) and 10 African American (AA)) and 20 matched healthy controls (10 CAs and 10 AAs). Using the significance level of p<0.05 constrained by at least two-fold expression change as selection criteria, we found that 31 miRNAs were differentially expressed in CA study subjects (17 up and 14 down) and 18 miRNAs were differentially expressed in AA study subjects (9 up and 9 down). Interestingly, only 2 differentially expressed miRNAs overlapped between CA and AA study subjects. Using receiver operational curve (ROC) analysis, we show that not only up-regulated but also down-regulated miRNAs can discriminate patients with breast cancer from healthy controls with reasonable sensitivity and specificity. To further explore the potential roles of these circulating miRNAs in breast carcinogenesis, we applied pathway-based bioinformatics exploratory analysis and predicted a number of significantly enriched pathways which are predicted to be regulated by these circulating miRNAs, most of which are involved in critical cell functions, cancer development and progression.Our observations from this pilot study suggest that the altered levels of circulating miRNAs might have great potential to serve as novel, noninvasive biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer

Fungal Planet description sheets : 951–1041

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Antarctica,Apenidiella antarctica from permafrost, Cladosporium fildesense from an unidentified marine sponge. Argentina,Geastrum wrightii on humus in mixed forest. Australia, Golovinomyces glandulariae on Glandularia aristigera,Neoanungitea eucalyptorum on leaves of Eucalyptus grandis, Teratosphaeria corymbiicola on leaves of Corymbiaficifolia, Xylaria eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus radiata. Brazil, Bovista psammophila on soil, Fusarium awaxy onrotten stalks of Zea mays, Geastrum lanuginosum on leaf litter covered soil, Hermetothecium mikaniae-micranthae(incl. Hermetothecium gen. nov.) on Mikania micrantha, Penicillium reconvexovelosoi in soil, Stagonosporopsis vannacciifrom pod of Glycine max. British Virgin Isles, Lactifluus guanensis on soil. Canada, Sorocybe oblongisporaon resin of Picea rubens. Chile, Colletotrichum roseum on leaves of Lapageria rosea. China, Setophoma cavernafrom carbonatite in Karst cave. Colombia, Lareunionomyces eucalypticola on leaves of Eucalyptus grandis. CostaRica, Psathyrella pivae on wood. Cyprus, Clavulina iris on calcareous substrate. France, Chromosera ambiguaand Clavulina iris var. occidentalis on soil. French West Indies, Helminthosphaeria hispidissima on dead wood.Guatemala, Talaromyces guatemalensis in soil. Malaysia, Neotracylla pini (incl. Tracyllales ord. nov. and Neotracyllagen. nov.) and Vermiculariopsiella pini on needles of Pinus tecunumanii. New Zealand, Neoconiothyriumviticola on stems of Vitis vinifera, Parafenestella pittospori on Pittosporum tenuifolium, Pilidium novae-zelandiaeon Phoenix sp. Pakistan, Russula quercus-floribundae on forest floor. Portugal, Trichoderma aestuarinum fromsaline water. Russia, Pluteus liliputianus on fallen branch of deciduous tree, Pluteus spurius on decaying deciduous wood or soil. South Africa, Alloconiothyrium encephalarti, Phyllosticta encephalarticola and Neothyrostromaencephalarti (incl. Neothyrostroma gen. nov.) on leaves of Encephalartos sp., Chalara eucalypticola on leaf spots ofEucalyptus grandis x urophylla, Clypeosphaeria oleae on leaves of Olea capensis, Cylindrocladiella postalofficiumon leaf litter of Sideroxylon inerme, Cylindromonium eugeniicola (incl. Cylindromonium gen. nov.) on leaf litter ofEugenia capensis, Cyphellophora goniomatis on leaves of Gonioma kamassi, Nothodactylaria nephrolepidis (incl.Nothodactylaria gen. nov. and Nothodactylariaceae fam. nov.) on leaves of Nephrolepis exaltata, Falcocladiumeucalypti and Gyrothrix eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus sp., Gyrothrix oleae on leaves of Olea capensis subsp.macrocarpa, Harzia metro-sideri on leaf litter of Metrosideros sp., Hippopotamyces phragmitis (incl. Hippopotamycesgen. nov.) on leaves of Phragmites australis, Lectera philenopterae on Philenoptera violacea, Leptosilliamayteni on leaves of Maytenus heterophylla, Lithohypha aloicola and Neoplatysporoides aloes on leaves of Aloesp., Millesimomyces rhoicissi (incl. Millesimomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Rhoicissus digitata, Neodevriesiastrelitziicola on leaf litter of Strelitzia nicolai, Neokirramyces syzygii (incl. Neokirramyces gen. nov.) on leaf spots of Syzygium sp., Nothoramichloridium perseae (incl. Nothoramichloridium gen. nov. and Anungitiomycetaceae fam.nov.) on leaves of Persea americana, Paramycosphaerella watsoniae on leaf spots of Watsonia sp., Penicilliumcuddlyae from dog food, Podocarpomyces knysnanus (incl. Podocarpomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Podocarpusfalcatus, Pseudocercospora heteropyxidicola on leaf spots of Heteropyxis natalensis, Pseudopenidiella podocarpi,Scolecobasidium podocarpi and Ceramothyrium podocarpicola on leaves of Podocarpus latifolius, Scolecobasidiumblechni on leaves of Blechnum capense, Stomiopeltis syzygii on leaves of Syzygium chordatum, Strelitziomycesknysnanus (incl. Strelitziomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Strelitzia alba, Talaromyces clemensii from rotting wood ingoldmine, Verrucocladosporium visseri on Carpobrotus edulis. Spain, Boletopsis mediterraneensis on soil, Calycinacortegadensisi on a living twig of Castanea sativa, Emmonsiellopsis tuberculata in fluvial sediments, Mollisia cortegadensison dead attached twig of Quercus robur, Psathyrella ovispora on soil, Pseudobeltrania lauri on leaf litterof Laurus azorica, Terfezia dunensis in soil, Tuber lucentum in soil, Venturia submersa on submerged plant debris.Thailand, Cordyceps jakajanicola on cicada nymph, Cordyceps kuiburiensis on spider, Distoseptispora caricis onleaves of Carex sp., Ophiocordyceps khonkaenensis on cicada nymph. USA, Cytosporella juncicola and Davidiellomycesjuncicola on culms of Juncus effusus, Monochaetia massachusettsianum from air sample, Neohelicomycesmelaleucae and Periconia neobrittanica on leaves of Melaleuca styphelioides x lanceolata, Pseudocamarosporiumeucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus sp., Pseudogymnoascus lindneri from sediment in a mine, Pseudogymnoascusturneri from sediment in a railroad tunnel, Pulchroboletus sclerotiorum on soil, Zygosporium pseudomasonii onleaf of Serenoa repens. Vietnam, Boletus candidissimus and Veloporphyrellus vulpinus on soil. Morphological andculture characteristics are supported by DNA barcodes

Prevention of Acute Graft-Versus-Host Reaction after Allogeneic Unrelated Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Comparison of Effectiveness of Treatment Regimens Based on Anti-Thymocyte Globulin and Cyclophosphamide

Background & Aims. So far there is no data presented on the effectiveness of prevention of the graft-versus-host reaction (GVH) using post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) prescribed after unrelated donor allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of acute and chronic GVH, the transplantation-associated mortality rate, the event-free and overall survival rates, as well as the toxicity profile and the incidence of infectious complications in the study group using cyclophosphamide for GVH prevention; the other aim is to carry out a comparative analysis of the obtained results with the historical control group. Methods. 110 adult patients were enrolled in a clinical study to evaluate the effectiveness of GVH prevention, using PTCy (No. NCT02294552). In order to prevent GVH, the study group (PTCy group) received cyclophosphamide, tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). The historical control group (ATG group) consisted of 160 patients prescribed with a GVH prevention regimen including anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG), calcineurin inhibitors, and methotrexate or MMF. Peripheral blood stem cells were used as a source of the transplant. Results. The cumulative incidence of II–IV degree acute GVH (18.2 % vs. 40.4 %, respectively; p < 0.0001), III–IV degree GVH (4.5 % vs. 22.5 %, respectively; p < 0.0001), and chronic GVH (21.7 % vs. 40.6 %, respectively; p < 0.0001) was significantly lower in the PTCy group than in the ATG group. Prevention of GVH based on PTCy was associated with the reduction in transplant-associated mortality (12.7 % vs. 33.7 %, respectively; p = 0.003), increased overall survival (70.9 % vs. 44.4 %, respectively; p < 0.001), event-free survival (68.2 % vs. 38.1 %, respectively; p < 0.001) and GVH- and relapse-free survival rates (59.1 % vs. 16.3 %, respectively; p = 0.001). Prevention of GVH using PTCy (as compared to ATG) was less toxic, accompanied by a reduction in the incidence veno-occlusive disease (2.7 % vs. 10.9 %, respectively; p = 0.016), severe mucositis (69.5 % vs. 87.6 %, respectively; p < 0.001), and invasive mycosis (7.2 % vs. 29 %, respectively; p < 0.001). Conclusion. A combination of cyclophosphamide with tacrolimus and MMF is an effective regimen for GVH prevention in patients after allo-HSCT from an unrelated donor

New Сytogenetic Approaches in Patients with Primary Myelofibrosis

Aim. To evaluate the potential of a new cytogenetic technique in patients with primary myelofibrosis (PMF). Materials and methods. 48-hour blood cell cultures (according to Singh et al., 2013) were used for cytogenetic study in 11 PMF patients (5 female, 6 men, aged 32–60 years; median 48.6 years). GTG-banding and different types of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques were used for identification of chromosomal aberrations. Results. The incidence of abnormal karyotypes in blood cultures was significantly higher than that in standard bone marrow cultures (82 vs 27 %; p < 0.01). The polyploid clones were found in blood cultures of 45 % of patients. Structural chromosomal aberrations were found in chromosomes 6, 1, 3, as well as 16 and 17 (in 2 and 1 patients with each aberration, respectively). In all but one patients these abnormalities in diploid and polyploid metaphases were identical. Partial 1q trisomy resulted from adding of additional (1q21–1q44) material translocated to the short arm of chromosome 5 to the material of 2 normal homologue of chromosome 1. It seems that 1q+, i(17q) and some others chromosomal abnormalities were secondary, whereas 6p21 locus involvement may be a primary defect in PMF. The t(3;6)(q25;p21) translocation described for the first time and confirmed by FISH should be considered a variant of well-known translocation t(1;6). Allo-HSCT in 2 patients with 1q+ was successful, whereas there were problems with engraftment in a female patient with prognostically unfavorable t(3;3)(q21;q26) translocation associated with the EVI1 gene overexpression. Conclusion. Cytogenetic examinations in blood cultures provide important additional information about PMF patients