Lignocellulose Derived Nanocellulose, Its Properties, and Applications - A Review

Natural fibers are abundant in natural resources. Natural fibers have been used in various applications. Natural fibers have been proved to be extremely useful in multiple fields in the world.  Natural fibers possess great mechanical and optical properties. Nanocellulose fibers are obtained from plants and it has many applications. It can be used as a nanocomposite. They can be extracted by performing various techniques. It is used as a barrier due to its crystalline structure, which makes it difficult for molecules to flow through. Nanocellulose fibers are biodegradable, strong, lightweight, low density, and renewable since they have been produced from natural resources. They have immense applications in electricals, nanotechnology, medicine, drug delivery, aerospace, adsorbents, papermaking, and dental.  The following review will focus on the properties of lignocellulose-derived nanocellulose, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and their applications in nanotechnology

Transcriptome analysis highlights key differentially expressed genes involved in cellulose and lignin biosynthesis of sugarcane genotypes varying in fiber content

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) is a potential lignocellulosic feedstock for biofuel production due to its exceptional biomass accumulation ability, high convertible carbohydrate content and a favorable energy input/output ratio. Genetic modification of biofuel traits to improve biomass conversion requires an understanding of the regulation of carbohydrate and lignin biosynthesis. RNA-Seq was used to investigate the transcripts differentially expressed between the immature and mature tissues of the sugarcane genotypes varying in fiber content. Most of the differentially expressed transcripts were found to be down-regulated during stem maturation, highlighting their roles in active secondary cell-wall development in the younger tissues of both high and low fiber genotypes. Several cellulose synthase genes (including CesA2, CesA4, CesA7 and COBRA-like protein), lignin biosynthesis-related genes (ρ-coumarate 3-hydroxylase, ferulate 5-hydroxylase, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase and gentiobiase) and transcription regulators for the secondary cell-wall synthesis (including LIM, MYB, PLATZ, IAA24, C2H2 and C2C2 DOF zinc finger gene families) were exclusively differentially expressed between immature and mature tissues of high fiber genotypes. These findings reveal target genes for subsequent research on the regulation of cellulose and lignin metabolism

Infections in Patients With a Total Artificial Heart Are Common but Rarely Fatal

Patients who received a total artificial heart (TAH) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011 were identified from the VCU Mechanical Circulatory Support Clinical Database. Retrospective data extraction from the medical records was performed from the time of TAH implantation until heart transplantation or death. Infections were classified as confirmed or suspected. Twenty-seven men and 5 women, mean age 49.5 years (range 24 to 68 years) received a TAH. The mean duration of TAH support was 225 days (range 1 to 1334 days). Of the 32 patients, 4 (12.5%) died and 28 (87.5 %) underwent heart transplantation. Causes of death were pneumonia (n=1), TAH malfunction (n=1), refractory cardiogenic shock (n=1), and respiratory failure (n=1). Seventy documented and 13 suspected infections developed in 25 patients (78%). The most common sources of infection were urinary tract (n=26), respiratory tract (n=18), and bloodstream (n=11). There were 5 pump infections and 2 drive line infections. The number of infections per patient ranged from 0 to 10. Sixteen different pathogens were identified; the most common were: Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=15), coagulase-negative Staphylococci (n=10), Enterococcus species (n=9) and Enterobacter species (n=8). Mortality directly attributable to infection was infrequent

Deep sequencing of suppression subtractive library identifies differentially expressed transcripts of Saccharum spontaneum exposed to salinity stress

Saccharum spontaneum, a wild relative of sugarcane, is highly tolerant to drought and salinity. The exploitation of germplasm resources for salinity tolerance is a major thrust area in India. In this study, we utilized suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) followed by sequencing for the identification of upregulated transcripts during salinity stress in S. spontaneum clones coming from different geographical regions of India. Our sequencing of the SSH library revealed that 95% of the transformants contained inserts of size 200–1500 bp. We have identified 314 differentially expressed transcripts in the salinity-treated samples after subtraction, which were subsequently validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Functional annotation and pathway analysis revealed that the upregulated transcripts were a result of protein modifications, stress, and hormone signaling along with cell wall development and lignification. The prominently upregulated transcripts included UDP glucose dehydrogenase, cellulose synthase, ribulose, cellulose synthase COBRA, leucine-rich protein, NAC domain protein, pectin esterase, ABA-responsive element binding factor 1, and heat stress protein. Our results is a step forward the understanding of the molecular response of S. spontaneum under salinity stress, which will lead to the identification of genes and transcription factors as novel targets for salinity tolerance in sugarcane