Conversion of no/low value waste frying oils into biodiesel and polyhydroxyalkanoates

A sustainable bioprocess was developed for the valorization of a no/low value substrate, i.e. waste frying oils (WFOs) with high content of free fatty acids (FFAs), otherwise unsuitable for biodiesel production. The bioprocess was verified using both recombinant (Escherichia coli) and native (Pseudomonas resinovorans) polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) producing cell factories. Microbial fermentation of WFOs provided a 2-fold advantage: i) the reduction of FFAs content resulting into an upgrading of the "exhausted waste oils" and ii) the production of a bio-based microbial polymer. Proper strain designing and process optimization allowed to achieve up to 1.5 g L-1 of medium chain length, mcl-PHAs, together with an efficient conversion (80% yield) of the treated WFO into biodiesel

Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening

The power of two: An artificial microbial consortium for the conversion of inulin into Polyhydroxyalkanoates

One of the major issues for the microbial production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) is to secure renewable, non-food biomass feedstocks to feed the fermentation process. Inulin, a polydisperse fructan that accumulates as reserve polysaccharide in the roots of several low-requirement crops, has the potential to face this challenge. In this work, a “substrate facilitator” microbial consortium was designed to address PHA production using inulin as feedstock. A microbial collection of Bacillus species was screened for efficient inulinase producer and the genome of the selected strain, RHF15, identified as Bacillus gibsonii, was analysed unravelling its wide catabolic potential. RHF15 was co-cultured with Cupriavidus necator, an established PHA producer, lacking the ability to metabolize inulin. A Central Composite Rotary Design (CCRD) was applied to optimise PHA synthesis from inulin by the designed artificial microbial consortium, assessing the impact of species inoculum ratio and inulin and N-source concentrations. In the optimized conditions, a maximum of 1.9 g L−1 of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), corresponding to ~80% (gpolymer/gCDW) polymer content was achieved. The investigated approach represents an effective process optimization method, potentially applicable to the production of PHA from other complex C- sources

A retrospective analysis of the occurrence of accidents during 20 years of neonatal transport in Liguria region, Italy

Our article focuses on a retrospective analysis of the occurrence of accidents relating to 20 years of activity of Neonatal Emergency Transport Service (NETS) in Liguria region, Italy. The objective of this study is to determine the vehicle accident rate for a specialized emergency medical services-NETS transport system between 1995 and 2015. We reviewed 5035 medical records related to the activity of our NETS from its beginning, in February 1995 to June 2015. We identified the occurrence of three road accidents (rate 3c1: 1600 transports; 1: 170 000 driven km), no helicopter accidents and only one technical problem during helicopter use; our service was not involved in any crashes resulting in injury. We discussed some reasons possibly explaining these good results

A novel Streptomyces strain isolated by functional bioprospecting for laccases

In discovering novel laccase enzymes with interesting catalytic and stability properties, there is still scope for improvement in exploring new sites in Algeria. The bio-prospecting approach allowed the isolation of a novel strain, Streptomyces sp. HBD30 from the Agrioun River, northern Algeria. Following a functional approach, two laccases (LacI and LacII) were purified and characterised, showing appealing properties as thermostable enzymes, and oxidised typical phenolic and non-phenolic substrates with a higher affinity towards syringaldazine, followed by 2,6-dimethoxyphenol and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid). Further analyses revealed that the Streptomyces sp. HDB30 genome contained an array of genes coding for carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZome) and lignin-degrading enzymes to degrade lignocellulose. In addition to enlarging the repertoire of thermostable laccases, this study uncovered the metabolic potential of a new Streptomyces strain, which is useful for a wide range of applications