Bio-Dodecanedioic Acid (DDDA) Production

The demand for dodecanedioic acid (DDDA) is steadily increasing each year with demand expected to exceed 90.4 kilotons per month in 2023.1.1 DDDA is an intermediate chemical used in a variety of end products. Thus, the increase in DDDA demand can largely be attributed to increasing demand for manufacturing nylon, paints, adhesives, and powder coatings. Regionally, Asia Pacific has been observing the fastest growth of all regions at over 6% CAGR.1.2 The robust manufacturing base for nylon, along with a growing automotive industry in India and China, will propel DDDA growth into the next decade. The current synthesis process for DDDA relies on a multi step butadiene process. This pathway has large price volatility and supply/demand imbalances due to using a petrochemical feedstock. This proposed process outlines a biologically-sourced alternative to conventional DDDA production, and would be located in Malaysia to access regional organic feedstocks. The proposed DDDA plant is designed to produce 14,000 metric tons per year of DDDA using palm oil, and would be strategically located near rapidly expanding Asia Pacific markets. This project has an estimated IRR of 24.12%, ROI of 18.20%, and a NPV of approximately $54.1 MM

Effects of Serotonin Transporter Gene Variation on Impulsivity Mediated by Default Mode Network: A Family Study of Depression

Serotonergic neurotransmission, potentially through effects on the brain’s default mode network (DMN), may regulate aspects of attention including impulse control. Indeed, genetic variants of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) have been implicated in impulsivity and related psychopathology. Yet it remains unclear the mechanism by which the 5-HTT genetic variants contribute to individual variability in impulse control. Here, we tested whether DMN connectivity mediates an association between the 5-HTT genetic variants and impulsivity. Participants (N = 92) were from a family cohort study of depression in which we have previously shown a broad distribution of 5-HTT variants. We genotyped for 5-HTTLPR and rs25531 (stratified by transcriptional efficiency: 8 low/low, 53 low/high, and 31 high/high), estimated DMN structural connectivity using diffusion probabilistic tractography, and assessed behavioral measures of impulsivity (from 12 low/low, 48 low/high, and 31 high/high) using the Continuous Performance Task. We found that low transcriptional efficiency genotypes were associated with decreased connection strength between the posterior DMN and the superior frontal gyrus (SFG). Path modeling demonstrated that decreased DMN–SFG connectivity mediated the association between low-efficiency genotypes and increased impulsivity. Taken together, this study suggests a gene-brain-behavior pathway that perhaps underlies the role of the serotonergic neuromodulation in impulse control

The ORIGINS project biobank: A collaborative bio resource for investigating the developmental origins of health and disease

Early onset Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including obesity, allergies, and mental ill-health in childhood, present a serious and increasing threat to lifelong health and longevity. The ORGINS Project (ORIGINS) addresses the urgent need for multidisciplinary efforts to understand the detrimental multisystem impacts of modern environments using well-curated large-scale longitudinal biological sample collections. ORGINS is a prospective community birth cohort aiming to enrol 10,000 pregnant people and follow each family until the children reach 5 years of age. A key objective is to generate a comprehensive biorepository on a sub-group of 4000 families invited to contribute blood, saliva, buccal cells, urine, stool, hair, house dust, cord blood, placenta, amniotic fluid, meconium, breastmilk, and colostrum over eight timepoints spanning the antenatal period and early childhood. Uniquely, ORIGINS includes a series of nested sub-projects, including interventions and clinical trials addressing different aspects of health. While this adds complexity as the project expands, it provides the opportunity for comparative studies. This research design promotes a multidisciplinary, multisystem approach to biological sample collection, analysis, and data sharing to ensure more integrated perspectives and solutions. This paper details the evolving protocol of our collaborative biobanking concept. Further, we outline our future visions for local, national, and ultimately international, comparative, and collaborative opportunities to advance our understanding of early onset NCDs and the opportunities to improve health outcomes for future generations

Behind the counter: pharmacies and dispensing patterns of pharmacy attendants in Karachi.

BACKGROUND: There is little literature available on dispensing patterns and unsupervised sale of medicines from pharmacies in developing countries. OBJECTIVE: This study obtained background information on pharmacies assessed the level of training, knowledge and dispensing patterns of pharmacy attendants in Karachi. METHODOLOGY: This is a descriptive cross sectional study with convenient sampling. A structured questionnaire was used to interview pharmacy attendants. RESULTS: Of the 219 pharmacies surveyed, 62% reported more than 50 customers daily and 20% also sold items of general provision. Mean operating hours were 13. Only 24 (11%) had a visible license. On an average 3 attendants were employed per pharmacy. We interviewed one in each. Amongst the 219 interviewed, 77 (35%) were intermediate qualified and only 26 (12%) pharmacologically trained. Correct frequency of ORS administration was not known by 167 (76%) and 21% incorrectly suggested an anti-diarrhoeal preparation for viral diarrhoea in children. The knowledge of those with pharmacological training was significantly better. For respiratory tract infection in children approximately 60% did not know the correct dose of Paracetamol and Amoxicillin. Only 13 (6%) knew that Propanalol was contraindicated in hypertensive asthamatics. For Cotrimoxazole, metronidazole and lomotil only 40%, 21% and 15% respectively, were aware that these could not be dispensed without prescription. CONCLUSION: In the absence of trained pharmacists existing pharmacy attendants should be trained to improve drug-dispensing patterns

Perinatal maternal antibiotic exposure augments lung injury in offspring in experimental bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Copyright © 2020 the American Physiological Society. During the newborn period, intestinal commensal bacteria influence pulmonary mucosal immunology via the gut-lung axis. Epidemiological studies have linked perinatal antibiotic exposure in human newborns to an increased risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia, but whether this effect is mediated by the gut-lung axis is unknown. To explore antibiotic disruption of the newborn gut-lung axis, we studied how perinatal maternal antibiotic exposure influenced lung injury in a hyperoxia-based mouse model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. We report that disruption of intestinal commensal colonization during the perinatal period promotes a more severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia phenotype characterized by increased mortality and pulmonary fibrosis. Mechanistically, metagenomic shifts were associated with decreased IL-22 expression in bronchoalveolar lavage and were independent of hyperoxia-induced inflammasome activation. Collectively, these results demonstrate a previously unrecognized influence of the gut-lung axis during the development of neonatal lung injury, which could be leveraged to ameliorate the most severe and persistent pulmonary complication of preterm birth

Associations Between Brain Structure and Connectivity in Infants and Exposure to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors During Pregnancy

Importance Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) use among pregnant women is increasing, yet the association between prenatal SSRI exposure and fetal neurodevelopment is poorly understood. Animal studies show that perinatal SSRI exposure alters limbic circuitry and produces anxiety and depressive-like behaviors after adolescence, but literature on prenatal SSRI exposure in humans is limited and mixed. Objective To examine associations between prenatal SSRI exposure and brain development using structural and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Design, Setting, and Participants A cohort study conducted at Columbia University Medical Center and New York State Psychiatric Institute included 98 infants: 16 with in utero SSRI exposure, 21 with in utero untreated maternal depression exposure, and 61 healthy controls. Data were collected between January 6, 2011, and October 25, 2016. Exposures Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and untreated maternal depression. Main Outcomes and Measures Gray matter volume estimates using structural MRI with voxel-based morphometry and white matter structural connectivity (connectome) using diffusion MRI with probabilistic tractography. Results The sample included 98 mother (31 [32%] white, 26 [27%] Hispanic/Latina, 26 [27%] black/African American, 15 [15%] other) and infant (46 [47%] boys, 52 [53%] girls) dyads. Mean (SD) age of the infants at the time of the scan was 3.43 (1.50) weeks. Voxel-based morphometry showed significant gray matter volume expansion in the right amygdala (Cohen d = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.06-1.23) and right insula (Cohen d = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.26-1.14) in SSRI-exposed infants compared with both healthy controls and infants exposed to untreated maternal depression (P < .05; whole-brain correction). In connectome-level analysis of white matter structural connectivity, the SSRI group showed a significant increase in connectivity between the right amygdala and the right insula with a large effect size (Cohen d = 0.99; 95% CI, 0.40-1.57) compared with healthy controls and untreated depression (P < .05; whole connectome correction). Conclusions and Relevance Our findings suggest that prenatal SSRI exposure has an association with fetal brain development, particularly in brain regions critical to emotional processing. The study highlights the need for further research on the potential long-term behavioral and psychological outcomes of these neurodevelopmental changes