Depolymerization of bagasse by Ruminococcus albus in the production of eco-friendly fuel

Ethanol production by fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass-derived sugars involves a fairly ancient art and an ever-evolving science. Production of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass is not avant-garde, and wood ethanol plants have been in existence since at least 1915. Most current ethanol production relies on starch- and sugarbased crops as the substrate; however, limitations of these materials and competing value for human and animal feeds is renewing interest in lignocellulose  conversion.Lignocellulosic biomass contains carbohydrate fractions that can be converted into ethanol. In order to convert these fractions, the cellulose and hemicelluloses must ultimately be converted or hydrolysed into monosaccharides; it is the hydrolysis that has historically proven to be problematic. Biologically mediated processes are promising for energy conversion, in particular for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into  fuels. The objective of the present study is to optimise cellulosic ethanol production from bagasse by using Ruminococcus albus isolated from rumen of herbivores animals. The processing and utilization of the  lignocellulosic substrate is complex, differing in many aspects from crop-based ethanol production. Since the scientific dogma states that the breakdown or depolymerisation of lignocellulose can be achieved only by chemical or by enzymatic approach; in the present study we isolated Ruminococcus albus from rumen animals which was depolymerise cellulose and hemicellulose as well as to tolerate stress conditions. Optimum temperature, pH and substrate concentration for depolymerization were 390C, 8.8 and 3.5% respectively for Ruminococcus albus. For the feed  stock of concentration 3.5%, ethanol yield of 19.8g/l was obtained

Overexpression of S100A4 as a biomarker of metastasis and recurrence in oral squamous cell carcinoma

S100A4, a biomarker of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), plays an important role in invasion and metastasis by promoting cancer cell motility. In oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), metastasis results in 90% of cancer associated mortality. Objective: To investigate the role of S100A4 expression as an important component of the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) program in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Material and Methods: S100A4 protein expression was assessed semi-quantitatively by immunohistochemistry in 47 histologically confirmed cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and 10 normal oral mucosal biopsies. The association between the S100A4 overexpression and the aggressive features of OSCC were analyzed by X2 test. Results: Moderate to strong cytoplasmic expression of S100A4 was observed in 30 out of 47 specimens of OSCC (64%). Overexpression of S100A4 was significantly associated with the clinical stage, lymph node involvement, metastases, pattern of invasion and recurrence (

Red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and haemoglobin variants among ten endogamous groups of Maharashtra and West Bengal

Over 900 individuals from ten endogamous groups in the Indian states of Maharashtra and West Bengal were studied for G-6-PD deficiency and haemoglobin variants. The incidence of G-6-PD varied from nil to 17.3%, while that of Hb-S varied from nil to 22.3%. In general, the tribal populations of Maharashtra are characterized by the presence of a high incidence of both Hb-S and G-6-PD deficiency. The caste Hindus showed an absence of Hb-S and rather low G-6-PD deficiency. Immigrant Parsis possessed the highest incidence of G-6-PD deficiency (17.3%)

Production of Biodiesel using waste temple oil from Shani Shingnapur temple (Dist. Ahmednagar), Maharashtra, India using chemical and biological methods

In India, due to various mythological and religious reasons hundreds of devotees pour oil over the idols in Hanuman or Maruti and Shani temples. The oil once poured cannot be reutilized and was ultimately wasted. These waste temple oil from Shani Shingnapurwas used to produce biodiesel. Immobilized Pseudomonas aeruginosa was used to catalyze transesterification of waste temple oil. The cells of P.aeruginosa were immobilized within the sodium alginate. Biodiesel production and its applications were gaining popularity in recent years due to decreased petroleum based reserves. Biodiesel cost formed from waste temple oil was higher than that of fossil fuel, because of high raw material cost.To decrease the cost of biofuel, waste temple oil was used as alternative as feedstock. It has lower emission of pollutants; it is biodegradable and enhances engine lubricity. Waste temple oil contains triglycerides that were used for biodiesel production by chemical and biological method.Transesterification reaction of oil produces methyl esters that are substitutes for fatty acid alkyl biodiesel fuel. Characteristics of oil were studied such as specific gravity, viscosity, acid number, saponification number.Parameters such as temperature,oil: methanol ratio were studied and 88%, 96% of biodiesel yield was obtained with effect of temperature and oil: methanol ratio on transesterification reaction. Withaddition ofNaOH or KOH to fatty acids which formed salt known as soap,which is excellent emulsifying and cleaning agents

Using synthetic biological parts and microbioreactors to explore the protein expression characteristics of Escherichia coli

Synthetic biology has developed numerous parts for the precise control of protein expression. However, relatively little is known about the burden these place on a host, or their reliability under varying environmental conditions. To address this, we made use of synthetic transcriptional and translational elements to create a combinatorial library of constructs that modulated expression strength of a green fluorescent protein. Combining this library with a microbioreactor platform, we were able to perform a detailed large-scale assessment of transient expression and growth characteristics of two <i>Escherichia coli</i> strains across several temperatures. This revealed significant differences in the robustness of both strains to differing types of protein expression, and a complex response of transcriptional and translational elements to differing temperatures. This study supports the development of reliable synthetic biological systems capable of working across different hosts and environmental contexts. Plasmids developed during this work have been made publicly available to act as a reference set for future research

Influence of peptide dendrimers and sonophoresis on the transdermal delivery of ketoprofen

The aim of this study was to determine the individual and combined effects of peptide dendrimers and low frequency ultrasound on the transdermal permeation of ketoprofen. Arginine terminated peptide dendrimers of varying charges (4(+), 8(+) and 16(+), named as A4. A8 and A16 respectively) were synthesized and characterized. Ketoprofen was subjected to passive, peptide dendrimer-assisted and sonophoretic permeation studies (with and without dendrimer application) across Swiss albino mouse skin, both in vitro and in vivo. The studies revealed that the synthesized peptide dendrimers considerably increased the transdermal permeation of ketoprofen and displayed enhancement ratios of up to 3.25 (with A16 dendrimer), compared to passive diffusion of drug alone in vitro. Moreover, the combination of peptide dendrimer treatment and ultrasound application worked in synergy and gave enhancement ratios of up to 1369.15 (with ketoprofen-A16 dendrimer complex). In vivo studies demonstrated that dendrimer and ultrasound-assisted permeation of drug achieved much higher plasma concentration of drug, compared to passive diffusion. Comparison of transdermal and oral absorption studies revealed that transdermal administration of ketoprofen with A8 dendrimer showed comparable absorption and plasma drug levels with oral route. The excised mouse skin after in vivo permeation study with dendrimers and ultrasound did not show major toxic reactions. This study demonstrates that arginine terminated peptide dendrimers combined with sonophoresis can effectively improve the transdermal permeation of ketoprofen. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Peptide dendrimer-conjugates of ketoprofen: synthesis and ex vivo and in vivo evaluations of passive diffusion, sonophoresis and iontophoresis for skin delivery

The aim of this study was to evaluate skin delivery of ketoprofen when covalently tethered to mildly cationic (2or 4) peptide dendrimers prepared wholly by solid phase peptide synthesis. The amino acids glycine, arginine and lysine formed the dendrimer with ketoprofen tethered either to the lysine side-arm (N) or periphery of dendrimeric branches. Passive diffusion, sonophoresis- and iontophoresis-assisted permeation of each peptide dendrimer-drug conjugate (D1–D4) was studied across mouse skin, both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, skin toxicity of dendrimeric conjugates when trialed with iontophoresis or sonophoresis was also evaluated. All dendrimeric conjugates improved aqueous solubility at least 5-fold, compared to ketoprofen alone, while also exhibiting appreciable lipophilicity. In vitro passive diffusion studies revealed that ketoprofen in its native form was delivered to a greater extent, compared with a dendrimer-conjugated form at the end of 24\ua0h (Q(μg/cm): ketoprofen (68.06\ua0±\ua03.62)\ua0>\ua0D2 (49.62\ua0±\ua02.92)\ua0>\ua0D4 (19.20\ua0±\ua00.89)\ua0>\ua0D1 (6.45\ua0±\ua00.40)\ua0>\ua0D3 (2.21\ua0±\ua00.19). However, sonophoresis substantially increased the skin permeation of ketoprofen-dendrimer conjugates in 30\ua0min (Q(μg/cm): D4 (122.19\ua0±\ua07.14)\ua0>\ua0D2 (66.74\ua0±\ua03.86)\ua0>\ua0D1 (52.10\ua0±\ua03.22)\ua0>\ua0D3 (41.66\ua0±\ua03.22)) although ketoprofen alone again proved superior (Q: 167.99\ua0±\ua09.11\ua0μg/cm). Next, application of iontophoresis was trialed and shown to considerably increase permeation of dendrimeric ketoprofen in 6\ua0h (Q(μg/cm): D2 (711.49\ua0±\ua039.14)\ua0>\ua0D4 (341.23\ua0±\ua016.43)\ua0>\ua0D3 (89.50\ua0±\ua04.99)\ua0>\ua0D1 (50.91\ua0±\ua02.98), with a Qvalue of 96.60\ua0±\ua05.12\ua0μg/cmfor ketoprofen alone). In vivo studies indicated that therapeutically relevant concentrations of ketoprofen could be delivered transdermally when iontophoresis was paired with D2 (985.49\ua0±\ua043.25\ua0ng/mL). Further, histopathological analysis showed that the dendrimeric approach was a safe mode as ketoprofen alone. The present study successfully demonstrates that peptide dendrimer conjugates of ketoprofen, when combined with non-invasive modalities, such as iontophoresis can enhance skin permeation with clinically relevant concentrations achieved transdermally

Razvoj matriksnih sustava za transdermalnu isporuku pentazocina: In vitro/in vivo ispitivanje

The present study aimed to develop hydroxypropyl methylcellulose based transdermal delivery of pentazocine. In formulations containing lower proportions of polymer, the drug released followed the Higuchi kinetics while, with an increase in polymer content, it followed the zero-order release kinetics. Release exponent (n) values imply that the release of pentazocine from matrices was non-Fickian. FT-IR, DSC and XRD studies indicated no interaction between drug and polymer. The in vitro dissolution rate constant, dissolution half-life and pharmacokinetic parameters (Cmax, tmax, AUC(s), t1/2, Kel, and MRT) were evaluated statistically by two-way ANOVA. A significant difference was observed between but not within the tested products. Statistically, a good correlation was found between per cent of drug absorbed from patches vs. Cmax, and AUC(s). A good correlation was also observed when per cent drug released was correlated with the blood drug concentration obtained at the same time point. The results of this study indicate that the polymeric matrix films of pentazocine hold potential for transdermal drug delivery.U radu je opisan razvoj transdermalnih sustava na bazi hidroksipropil metilceluloze za isporuku pentazocina. U pripravcima koji sadrže manje udjele polimera, otpuštanje lijeka slijedilo je Higuchijevu kinetiku. Međutim, ako je udio polimera veći oslobađanje je najbolje odgovaralo kinetici nultog reda. Vrijednost eksponenta n implicira da oslobađanje pentazocina iz matriksa nije po Fickovom zakonu. FT-IR, DSC i X RD studije ukazuju da nema interakcije između ljekovite tvari i polimera. In vitro konstanta oslobađanja, poluvrijeme oslobađanja i farmakokinetički parametri (Cmax, tmax, AUC(s), t1/2, Kel, i MRT) procijenjeni su statistički koristeći ANOVA program. Značajna razlika primijećena je između, ali ne i unutar testiranih pripravaka. Pronađena je dobra korelacija između lijeka apsorbiranog iz flastera i Cmax i AUC(s) te oslobođenog lijeka i koncentracije lijeka u krvi. Rezultati ukazuju da su polimerni matriksni filmovi pentazocina potencijalno dobri sustavi za transdermalnu primjenu lijeka