Integration of Catalytic Biofuel Production and Anaerobic Digestion for Biogas Production

The drive towards a low carbon economy will lead to an increase in new lignocellulosic biorefinery activities. Integration of biorefinery waste products into established bioenergy technologies could lead to synergies for increased bioenergy production. In this study, we show that solid residue from the acid hydrolysis production of levulinic acid, has hydrochar properties and can be utilised as an Anaerobic Digestion (AD) supplement. The addition of 6 g/L solid residue to the AD of ammonia inhibited chicken manure improved methane yields by +14.1%. The co-digestion of biorefinery waste solids and manures could be a promising solution for improving biogas production from animal manures, sustainable waste management method and possible form of carbon sequestration

Bioinspired Materials 2018: Conference Report

The Bioinspired Materials conference 2018 was organized for the third time by a team of researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University. This international conference aims to bring together the scientific committee in the fields of biomimetic sensors, bioinspired materials, materials chemistry, three-dimensional (3D) printing, and tissue engineering. The 2018 edition was held at the John Dalton Building of Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK, and took place on the 10th of October 2018. There were over 60 national and international attendees, with the international attendees participating in a lab tour through the synthetic facilities and Fuel Cell Innovation Centre on the 9th of October. The three conference sessions encompassed a wide range of topics, varying from biomimetic sensors, hydrogels, and biofabrics and bioengineering

One question might be capable of replacing the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) when measuring disability: a prospective cohort study

Questions: Is it possible to replace the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) with a single substitute question for people with shoulder pain, when measuring disability and how well does this substitute question perform as a predictor for recovery. Design: A prospective cohort study. Participants: A total of 356 patients with shoulder pain in primary care. Analyses: Convergent, divergent, and “known” groups validity were assessed by using hypotheses testing. Responsiveness was assessed using the Receiver Operating Curve and hypothesis testing. In addition, we performed multivariate regression to assess if the substitute question showed similar properties as the SPADI and if it affected the model itself, using recovery as an outcome. Results: The Spearman correlation coefficient between the total SPADI score and the substitute question was high, and moderate with the Shoulder Disability Questionnaire. The correlation between the substitute question and the EQ-5D-3L was low and the responsiveness was acceptable. The substitute question did not significantly contribute to both prognostic prediction models as opposed to the SPADI. Regardless all models showed poor to fair discrimination. Conclusion: The single question is a reasonable substitute for the SPADI and can be used as a screening instrument for shoulder disability in primary clinical practice. It has slightly poorer predictive power and should therefore not be used for prognosis

Electrochemical and thermal detection of allergenic substance lysozyme with molecularly imprinted nanoparticles

Lysozyme (LYZ) is a small cationic protein which is widely used for medical treatment and in the food industry to act as an anti-bacterial agent; however, it can trigger allergic reactions. In this study, high-affinity molecularly imprinted nanoparticles (nanoMIPs) were synthesized for LYZ using a solid-phase approach. The produced nanoMIPs were electrografted to screen-printed electrodes (SPEs), disposable electrodes with high commercial potential, to enable electrochemical and thermal sensing. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) facilitated fast measurement (5–10 min) and is able to determine trace levels of LYZ (pM) and can discriminate between LYZ and structurally similar proteins (bovine serum albumin, troponin-I). In tandem, thermal analysis was conducted with the heat transfer method (HTM), which is based on monitoring the heat transfer resistance at the solid–liquid interface of the functionalized SPE. HTM as detection technique guaranteed trace-level (fM) detection of LYZ but needed longer analysis time compared to EIS measurement (30 min vs 5–10 min). Considering the versatility of the nanoMIPs which can be adapted to virtually any target of interest, these low-cost point-of-care sensors hold great potential to improve food safety

The Effect of a Personalized Newsletter to Physical Therapists on Patient Recruitment:A Cluster Randomized Trial in Primary Physiotherapy Care

Objective: To assess the effect of a personalized newsletter compared with a standard newsletter on patient recruitment in physiotherapy research. Methods: We performed a cluster-randomized trial including 120 physiotherapists who recruited patients for a prospective cohort and were randomly assigned to either receiving personalized feedback in a newsletter (intervention group) or a standard newsletter (control group). We calculated the difference in the number of patients included in the study corrected for inclusion time between both groups. Results: The physiotherapists in the control group (n = 59) included 110 patients (35.4% of the total number of patients included) compared with an inclusion of 200 patients (64.6% of the total number of patients included) by the physiotherapists in the intervention group (n = 61), a difference of 90 patients in favor of the intervention group. However, when corrected for inclusion time and a cluster effect, we found no statistically significant difference between both groups. In addition, therapists who did not include a single patient (inactive therapists) were evenly divided between the 2 groups (n = 29 [49%] in the control group; n = 30 [49%] in the intervention group). Conclusions: A personalized newsletter does not significantly increase the number of recruited patients by physiotherapists. However, therapists receiving personalized feedback recruited nearly double the number of patients compared with the ones receiving standard feedback

Molecularly imprinted polymer based electrochemical biosensors: Overcoming the challenges of detecting vital biomarkers and speeding up diagnosis

Electrochemical biosensors for the detection of vital biomarkers is a well-established technology that utilises a transducer and recognition element in tandem to determine the presence of an analyte. There is growing interest in using Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) as recognition elements in a wide range of sensing devices due to their economic viability and scalability. The inherent properties of polymer platforms, alongside the vast array of monomeric options, synthetic routes and incorporation strategies allow for the production of a multitude of sensitive and selective recognition elements that have significant advantages over classically utilised biological entities. MIPs exhibit superior chemical and thermal stability offering a wider variety of immobilization/incorporation strategies, virtually unlimited ambient shelf-life and a longer product lifetime, whilst the vast array of monomers available offer flexibility to their synthesis. Even though some sensor platforms have been reported for the detection of vital biomarkers, the use of MIPs has a number of challenges and drawbacks that need to be overcome in order to produce sensing platforms with the required sensitivity and specificity for clinical use. In this review, we will provide an overview of the reasoning behind using MIPs as recognition elements in electrochemical biosensors for vital biomarkers, discuss the problems synergizing MIPs and electrochemical read-out strategies and offer insights into the future perspectives of this promising and innovative technology

Evaluation of measurement properties of self-administered PROMs aimed at patients with non-specific shoulder pain and “activity limitations”: a systematic review

Objective: To critically appraise and compare the measurement properties of self-administered patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) focussing on the shoulder, assessing “activity limitations.” Study design: Systematic review. The study population had to consist of patients with shoulder pain. We excluded postoperative patients or patients with generic diseases. The methodological quality of the selected studies and the results of the measurement properties were critically appraised and rated using the COSMIN checklist. Results: Out of a total of 3427 unique hits, 31 articles, evaluating 7 different questionnaires, were included. The SPADI is the most frequently evaluated PROM and its measurement properties seem adequate apart from a lack of information regarding its measurement error and c

A novel thermal detection method based on molecularly imprinted nanoparticles as recognition elements.

Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) are synthetic receptors that are able to selectively bind their target molecule and, for this reason, they are currently employed as recognition elements in sensors. In this work, MIP nanoparticles (nanoMIPs) are produced by solid-phase synthesis for a range of templates with different sizes, including a small molecule (biotin), two peptides (one derived from the epithelial growth factor receptor and vancomycin) and a protein (trypsin). NanoMIPs are then dipcoated on the surface of thermocouples that measure the temperature inside a liquid flow cell. Binding of the template to the MIP layer on the sensitive area of the thermocouple tip blocks the heat-flow from the sensor to the liquid, thereby lowering the overall temperature measured by the thermocouple. This is subsequently correlated to the concentration of the template, enabling measurement of target molecules in the low nanomolar regime. The significant improvement in the limit of detection (a magnitude of three orders compared to previously used MIP microparticles) can be attributed to their high affinity, enhanced conductivity and increased surface-to-volume ratio. It is the first time that these nanosized recognition elements are used in combination with thermal detection, and it is the first report on MIP-based thermal sensors for determining protein levels. The developed thermal sensors have a high selectivity, fast measurement time (<5 min), and data analysis is straightforward, which makes it possible to monitor biomolecules in real-time. The set of biomolecules discussed in this manuscript show that it is possible to cover a range of template molecules regardless of their size, demonstrating the general applicability of the biosensor platform. In addition, with its high commercial potential and biocompatibility of the MIP receptor layer, this is an important step towards sensing assays for diagnostic applications that can be used in vivo

Synthesis of Optimized Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for the Isolation and Detection of Antidepressants via HPLC

Antidepressants such as amitryptiline and fluoxetine are on the list of modern essential medicines of the World Health Organization. However, there are growing concerns regarding the ecological impact of these pharmaceuticals, leading to a great need to improve current wastewater treatment procedures. In this contribution, we will report on the use of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the extraction of antidepressants in water samples. MIPs were developed for fluoxetine and duloxetine, antidepressants belonging to the class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The binding capacity of these microparticles was evaluated using ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. A new high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure coupled to UV detection was developed, which enabled the study of mixtures of fluoxetine and duloxetine with other nitrogen-containing compounds. These results indicate that it is possible to selectively extract SSRIs from complex samples. Therefore, these versatile polymers are a promising analytical tool for the clean-up of water samples, which will benefit aquatic life and reduce the ecological impact of pharmaceuticals

Development of a Flexible MIP-Based Biosensor Platform for the Thermal Detection of Neurotransmitters

We have developed high affinity Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) for neurotransmitters such as dopamine, noradrenaline and caffeine. These polymer particles are mixed within the bulk of screen-printed ink allowing masss-producible bulk modified MIP Screen-Printed Electrodes (MIP-SPEs) to be realised. We have explored different SPE supporting surfaces, such as polyester, tracing paper and household-printing paper. The performance of those MIP-SPEs is studied using the Heat-Transfer Method (HTM), a patented thermal method. With the combination of screen-printing techniques and thermal detection, it is possible to develop a portable sensor platform that is capable of low-cost and straightforward detection of biomolecules on-site. In the future, this unique sensor architecture holds great promise for the use in biomedical devices