The Impact of COVID-19 on Urological Cancer: An internet Search Volume Analysis

Objectives: Health services have been disrupted due to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). With patients, unable to access face to face healthcare, many turn to sources such as the Internet for health-related information. Other patients ignore all other health related issues and focus on the threat posed by a pandemic. This study sought to analyse the Internet health-seeking behaviour related to urological cancer of patients in the United Kingdom (UK) during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Methods: Internet search volumes over a 3-month period, during the UK pandemic, were analysed using Google TrendsTM to obtain a search volume index (SVI) and compared to an equivalent pre COVID-19 period. The SVI measures relative search volume and was obtained for “Prostate Cancer”, “Kidney Cancer”, “Bladder Cancer” and Testicular Cancer” searches. Results: The average SVI for Prostate Cancer before the COVID-19 pandemic was 49.3, compared to 42.6 during the pandemic (p=0.001). Kidney cancer had an average SVI of 45.5 before the pandemic compared to 35.4 during the pandemic (p <0.001). Similar results were obtained for Bladder and Testicular Cancer. There was a 23% decrease in SVI for urological cancer searches during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic (p <0.001). Conclusions: The decline in searches for urological cancer during the pandemic may have implications. Patients maybe ignoring new cancer related symptoms which could result in late diagnoses, public health campaigns are required. Patients with cancer may not be utilising online resources available to them and healthcare professionals should reach out to patients at a time when face-face interaction is limited

Gender oppression and possibilities of empowerment: images of women in African literature with specific reference to Mariama Ba's So long a letter, Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of motherhood and Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous conditions

This study consists of a comparative analysis of three novels by three prominent African women writers which cast light on the ways in which women are oppressed by traditional and cultural norms in three different African countries. These three primary texts also explore the ways in which African women's lives are affected by other issues, such as colonialism and economic factors, and this study discusses this. An analysis of these novels reveals that the inter-connectedness of racial, class and gender issues exacerbates the oppression of many African women, thereby lessening the opportunities for them to attain self-realization. This study goes on to investigate whether there are possibilities of empowerment for the women in the primary texts, and examining the reasons why some women fail to transcend their situations of oppression. The primary novels will be discussed in different chapters, which explore the problems with which various women are beset, and discuss the extent to which the various women in the novels manage to attain empowerment. In conclusion, this study compares and contrasts the ways in which the women in the primary texts are oppressed and highlights the reasons why some women are able to attain empowerment, whilst others are unable to do so. It also shows that many women are beset with comparable forms of oppression, but they may choose to react to these situations differently. Over and above these issues, the study seeks to draw attention to the fact that women need to come together and contribute to the ways in which they can attain various forms of empowerment

AI for Open Science: A Multi-Agent Perspective for Ethically Translating Data to Knowledge

AI for Science (AI4Science), particularly in the form of self-driving labs, has the potential to sideline human involvement and hinder scientific discovery within the broader community. While prior research has focused on ensuring the responsible deployment of AI applications, enhancing security, and ensuring interpretability, we also propose that promoting openness in AI4Science discoveries should be carefully considered. In this paper, we introduce the concept of AI for Open Science (AI4OS) as a multi-agent extension of AI4Science with the core principle of maximizing open knowledge translation throughout the scientific enterprise rather than a single organizational unit. We use the established principles of Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD) to formalize a language around AI4OS. We then discuss three principle stages of knowledge translation embedded in AI4Science systems and detail specific points where openness can be applied to yield an AI4OS alternative. Lastly, we formulate a theoretical metric to assess AI4OS with a supporting ethical argument highlighting its importance. Our goal is that by drawing attention to AI4OS we can ensure the natural consequence of AI4Science (e.g., self-driving labs) is a benefit not only for its developers but for society as a whole.Comment: NeurIPS AI For Science Workshop 2023. 11 pages, 2 figure

Enzymatic colouration with laccase and peroxidases : recent progress

Enzymes have received significant attention as alternative catalysts to chemical auxiliaries in textile processing. For example, laccases and peroxidises are promising alternatives for bleaching and denim stone washing processes. Similarly, the ability to oxidise different phenolic substrates and dye precusors resulting in the formation of different coloured polymeric molecules is being exploited for developing green chemistry dyeing processes. The enzymatic process is simpler than conventional coloration processes, giving economic and environmental benefits. In this review, the applications of laccase and peroxidise enzymes in dyeing processes of various textile meterials is discussed.This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities JUSRP211A02 and JUSRP21001; the Open Project Program of Key Laboratory of Eco-Textiles, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University KLET1007 and the Open Project Program of State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, DongHua University LK1005

Primjena oksidoreduktaza iz gljiva roda Trametes spp. u biotehnologiji – obilje katalitičkog djelovanja

Those oxidoreductases that are part of the ligninolytic complex of basidiomycete and ascomycete fungi have played an increasingly important role in biotechnological applications during the last decade. The stability of these extracellular enzymes, their good solubility, and a multitude of catalyzed reactions contribute to this trend. This review focuses on a single genus of white-rot basidiomycetes, Trametes, to highlight the numerous possibilities for the application of this microorganism as well as three of its enzymes: laccase, cellobiose dehydrogenase, and pyranose 2-oxidase. Whereas laccase is without doubt a major player in biotechnology, the two other enzymes are less well known, but represent emerging biocatalysts with potential. Both cellobiose dehydrogenase and pyranose 2-oxidase are presumed to participate in lignin breakdown and will be used to exemplify the potential of less prominent oxidoreductases from this genus.Posljednjih deset godina oksidoreduktaze koje sudjeluju u procesu razgradnje lignina gljiva stapčara i mješinarki imaju sve važniju ulogu u biotehnološkoj primjeni. Tomu trendu je pridonijela stabilnost tih ekstracelularnih enzima, njihova dobra topljivost i mogućnost primjene u raznim katalitičkim procesima. U ovom je revijalnom prikazu osobito opisana jedna vrsta gljive stapčare koja uzrokuje bijelu trulež, Trametes, i istaknute razne mogućnosti primjene toga mikroorganizma i njegovih triju enzima: lakaze, celobioza-dehidrogenaze i piranoza-2-oksidaze. Dok lakaza bez sumnje ima glavnu ulogu u biotehnologiji, druga su dva enzima manje poznata, ali sve se više koriste kao biokatalizatori. Pretpostavlja se da celobioza-dehidrogenaza i piranoza-2-oksidaza sudjeluju u razgradnji lignina te se pomoću njih mogu objasniti mogućnosti manje poznatih oksidoreduktaza toga roda gljiva

Semi-rational engineering of cellobiose dehydrogenase for improved hydrogen peroxide production

Abstract Background The ability of fungal cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) to generate H2O2 in-situ is highly interesting for biotechnological applications like cotton bleaching, laundry detergents or antimicrobial functionalization of medical devices. CDH’s ability to directly use polysaccharide derived mono- and oligosaccharides as substrates is a considerable advantage compared to other oxidases such as glucose oxidase which are limited to monosaccharides. However CDH’s low activity with oxygen as electron acceptor hampers its industrial use for H2O2 production. A CDH variant with increased oxygen reactivity is therefore of high importance for biotechnological application. Uniform expression levels and an easy to use screening assay is a necessity to facilitate screening for CDH variants with increased oxygen turnover. Results A uniform production and secretion of active Myriococcum thermophilum CDH was obtained by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as expression host. It was found that the native secretory leader sequence of the cdh gene gives a 3 times higher expression than the prepro leader of the yeast α-mating factor. The homogeneity of the expression in 96-well deep-well plates was good (variation coefficient <15%). A high-throughput screening assay was developed to explore saturation mutagenesis libraries of cdh for improved H2O2 production. A 4.5-fold increase for variant N700S over the parent enzyme was found. For production, N700S was expressed in P. pastoris and purified to homogeneity. Characterization revealed that not only the kcat for oxygen turnover was increased in N700S (4.5-fold), but also substrate turnover. A 3-fold increase of the kcat for cellobiose with alternative electron acceptors indicates that mutation N700S influences the oxidative- and reductive FAD half-reaction. Conclusions Site-directed mutagenesis and directed evolution of CDH is simplified by the use of S. cerevisiae instead of the high-yield-host P. pastoris due to easier handling and higher transformation efficiencies with autonomous plasmids. Twelve clones which exhibited an increased H2O2 production in the subsequent screening were all found to carry the same amino acid exchange in the cdh gene (N700S). The sensitive location of the five targeted amino acid positions in the active site of CDH explains the high rate of variants with decreased or entirely abolished activity. The discovery of only one beneficial exchange indicates that a dehydrogenase’s oxygen turnover is a complex phenomenon and the increase therefore not an easy target for protein engineering.The authors thank the European Commission (FP7 243529-2-COTTONBLEACH) for financial support. CKP thanks the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) for financial support (grant P22094). IK is a member of the doctoral program BioToP (Biomolecular Technology of Proteins) of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF; W1224). MA thanks the Spanish Government for financial support (BIO2010-19697).Peer Reviewe

Mechanistic investigation of the effect of endoglucanases related to pulp refining

Endoglucanases are increasingly being touted as the ultimate solution for reducing energy consumption during the refining process in the pulp and paper industry. However, due to the high variety of endoglucanases in different enzyme formulations, these perform heterogeneously when applied to different pulps. In this study, the effect of four endoglucanases on softwood and hardwood pulp was studied using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) after addition of fluorescently labelled carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs). Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis and high-performance liquid chromatography quantification of released oligo- and monosaccharides was performed for in-depth mechanistical investigation. Changes in the crystallinity levels caused by enzymatic degradation of amorphous regions were monitored by incubation with two different CBMs from Caldicellulosiruptor bescii and from Thermobifida fusca with high preference to either amorphous or crystalline regions of cellulose, respectively. When dosed at identical activity on the endoglucanase specific CellG5 substrate, CLSM analysis indicated the highest decrease of amorphous regions for those endoglucanases which were also most active in laboratory refining trials and which released highest amounts of cellooligomers from pulp. Using 13C-NMR analysis, an increase in para-crystalline cellulose caused by enzyme application was observed. Release of reducing sugars was determined at identical CellG5 dosage, indicating a high variance between the enzymes, especially when complex enzyme formulations were used. Scanning electron microscopy images were obtained for visualization of the endoglucanase activity. The results of mechanistical studies indicate that reduction of amorphous moieties of pulp by endoglucanases is especially beneficial for the refining proces

Bamboo fibre processing: insights into hemicellulase and cellulase substrate accessibility

A biological approach for degumming bamboo substrates has been assessed. The ability of various commercially available enzymes, including cellulase, xylanase, pectinase and mannanase, to hydrolyze bamboo powders was investigated. In addition, a commercial cellulase preparation was applied onto bamboo fibre bundles obtained by natural retting. It was found that almost all enzymes applied can use bamboo material as a substrate. Mild autoclave pre-treatment can enhance reducing sugar yield from different enzyme treatments. A most pronounced effect was observed with cellulase treatment in which the hydrolysis degree increased 1.7 fold as measured by reducing sugars for autoclave pre-treated bamboo powders versus non-treated powders after only a short period of incubation. The combined treatment of hemicellulase preparations showed no effect on the hydrolysis of bamboo substrates. The effect of autoclave pre-treatment on cellulase-treated samples was confirmed by the increase of sugar yield, protein absorption as well as by the enhancement of surface modification and enzyme penetration observed by CLSM (confocal laser scanning microscopy). This work establishes a base for future studies to develop enzymatic hydrolysis of bamboo materials, making them suitable for textile processing.This work was made possible by support from the earmarked fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System (nycytx-19-E23), the European Union Biorenew Project [Sixth Framework Programme (FP6-2004-NMP-NI-4)] and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (JUSRP211A02)

Evaluating the brucellin skin test as an additional test to control bovine brucellosis

Brucellosis is a bacterial disease of high veterinary importance, besides being a significant zoonosis worldwide. It is characterised by variable, and at times long and latent, incubation periods, which makes its control and eradication a challenging effort. No single test is able to identify all stages of the disease with high sensitivity. The brucellin skin test, which has been proved to identify some acute and chronic latent stages of brucellosis, has not been validated in South Africa. The objective of this study was to evaluate the brucellin skin test in brucellosis free, as well as confirmed infected cattle herds, under South African commercial farming conditions. The results indicate that the brucellin skin test has a high specificity (99.2% (95% confidence interval (CI): 98.1% – 99.7%)), and that despite a relatively low sensitivity (42.9 % (95% CI: 30.5% – 56.0%)), it was able to identify all the infected herds and detect more infected heifers in infected herds when compared to the routinely used Rose Bengal Test and Complement Fixation Test. It was concluded that the brucellin skin test could be used in parallel with serological tests to improve the sensitivity of the current diagnostic strategy in chronically infected herds where eradication of the disease has proven problematic. Removal of more infected heifers would decrease infection pressure and streamline vaccination towards heifers not exposed to Brucella abortus.The Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases (University of Pretoria, Faculty of Veterinary Science) and the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp.https://symbiosisonlinepublishing.com/microbiology-infectiousdiseasesam2018Mammal Research InstituteVeterinary Tropical Disease