From CO2 to Cell: Energetic Expense of Creating Biomass Using the Calvin-Benson-Bassham and Reductive Citric Acid Cycles Based on Genomic Data

Abstract The ubiquity of the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle (CBB) amongst autotrophic organisms suggests that it provides an advantage over a wide range of environmental conditions. However, in some habitats, such as hydrothermal vents, the reductive citric acid cycle (rCAC) is an equally predominant carbon fixation pathway. It has been suggested that the CBB cycle poses a disadvantage under certain circumstances due to being more energetically demanding compared to other carbon fixation pathways. The purpose of this study was to compare the relative metabolic cost of cell biosynthesis by an autotrophic cell using either the CBB cycle or the rCAC. For both pathways, the energy, in ATP, required to synthesize the macromolecules (DNA, RNA, protein, and cell envelope) for one gram of biomass was calculated, beginning with CO2. Two sulfur-oxidizing chemolithoautotrophic proteobacteria, Thiomicrospira crunogena XCL-2, and Sulfurimonas autotrophica were used to model the CBB cycle and rCAC, respectively while Escherichia coli was used to model both pathways because it has had its cell composition extremely well-characterized. Since these organisms have had their genomes sequenced, it was possible to reconstruct the biochemical pathways necessary for intermediate and macromolecule synthesis. Prior estimates, based solely on the ATP cost of pyruvate biosynthesis, suggested that the cellular energetic expense for biosynthesis from the CBB cycle was more than that from the rCAC. The results of this study support this conclusion; however the difference in expense between the two pathways may not be as extreme as suggested by pyruvate synthesis. Other factors, such as oxygen sensitivity, may act in concert with energetic expense in contributing to the selective advantages between different autotrophic carbon fixation pathways

Functional Lipids in Autoimmune Inflammatory Diseases

Lipids are apolar small molecules known not only as components of cell membranes but also, in recent literature, as modulators of different biological functions. Herein, we focused on the bioactive lipids that can influence the immune responses and inflammatory processes regulating vascular hyperreactivity, pain, leukocyte trafficking, and clearance. In the case of excessive pro-inflammatory lipid activity, these lipids also contribute to the transition from acute to chronic inflammation. Based on their biochemical function, these lipids can be divided into different families, including eicosanoids, specialized pro-resolving mediators, lysoglycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and endocannabinoids. These bioactive lipids are involved in all phases of the inflammatory process and the pathophysiology of different chronic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, type-1 diabetes, and systemic lupus erythematosus

The impact of career insight in the relation with social networks and career self-management: Preliminary evidences from the Italian contamination lab

Universities are developing more education initiatives to increase the entrepreneurial mindset of students to enhance the social sustainability and self-employment. Young people should work to increase their managerial and soft skills in order to face the process of innovation and change. This exploratory study identifies some features of the participants in the first edition of the contamination laboratory (CLab) of the University of Salento (Lecce, Italy) whose mission is to develop creativity, soft skills and entrepreneurial mindset. In particular, it aims to investigate the relationship between career insight, social network and career self-management in a sample of University's students during a training course organized according to the basic principles of Entrepreneurship Education. Data collection is carried out before and after the project. Results highlighted that there are significant differences before and after the course attendance in terms of personal and professional growth. These preliminary results present innovative aspects. From a theoretical point of view, the study laid the groundwork for future research in employability and entrepreneurial skills topics. About the practical implications, the study can provide some suggestions to promote and plan sustainable interventions in order to encourage young entrepreneurship and employability

Fatty acid composition and fat content in milk from cows grazing in the Alpine region

The variation in the fat profile of pooled milk from cows grazing in pastures in June and July at 400\u2013700\ua0m and at 1400\u20132250\ua0m of altitude was evaluated by gas chromatography and compared with that from cows stalled in barns and fed with a diet without fresh grass. The ratios unsaturated/saturated fatty acid in milk samples were 1.33, 1.71 and 1.69 in June and 1.21, 1.69 and 1.84 in July for cows fed with prepared\ua0diet, grazing at 400\u2013700\ua0m or grazing at 1400\u20132250\ua0m, respectively. Analogously, the ratios (oleic plus stearic acid)/palmitic acid were, for the same group of cows, 0.59, 0.72 and 0.78 in June and 0.56, 0.73 and 0.81 in July. In milk from pastured cows, the percentage of oleic, vaccenic, rumenic and \u3b1-linolenic acids increased as a function of the altitude; instead, that of linoleic acid and of cis-12-octadecenoic acid decreased. The yield of fat was always highest in milk from 1400 to 2250\ua0m of altitude (up to 3.6\ua0g per 100\ua0mL). For the milk collected in July at 1400\u20132250\ua0m of altitude, it was observed a decrease in the percentage of decanoic (capric) and dodecanoic acids and an increase in pentadecanoic, stearic, arachidic and docosanoic (behenic) acids. Possible reasons for the differences observed in the milk samples were discussed

α-Chymotrypsin Immobilized on a Low-Density Polyethylene Surface Successfully Weakens Escherichia coli Biofilm Formation

The protease \u3b1-chymotrypsin (\u3b1-CT) was covalently immobilized on a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) surface, providing a new non-leaching material (LDPE-\u3b1-CT) able to preserve surfaces from biofilm growth over a long working timescale. The immobilized enzyme showed a transesterification activity of 1.24 nmol/h, confirming that the immobilization protocol did not negatively affect \u3b1-CT activity. Plate count viability assays, as well as confocal laser scanner microscopy (CLSM) analysis, showed that LDPE-\u3b1-CT significantly impacts Escherichia coli biofilm formation by (i) reducing the number of adhered cells ( 1270.7 \ub1 5.0%); (ii) significantly affecting biofilm thickness ( 1281.8 \ub1 16.7%), roughness ( 1213.8 \ub1 2.8%), substratum coverage ( 1263.1 \ub1 1.8%), and surface to bio-volume ratio (+7.1 \ub1 0.2-fold); and (iii) decreasing the matrix polysaccharide bio-volume (80.2 \ub1 23.2%). Additionally, CLSM images showed a destabilized biofilm with many cells dispersing from it. Notably, biofilm stained for live and dead cells confirmed that the reduction in the biomass was achieved by a mechanism that did not affect bacterial viability, reducing the chances for the evolution of resistant strains

Expanding the set of rhodococcal Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases by high-throughput cloning, expression and substrate screening

To expand the available set of Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs), we have created expression constructs for producing 22 Type I BVMOs that are present in the genome of Rhodococcus jostii RHA1. Each BVMO has been probed with a large panel of potential substrates. Except for testing their substrate acceptance, also the enantioselectivity of some selected BVMOs was studied. The results provide insight into the biocatalytic potential of this collection of BVMOs and expand the biocatalytic repertoire known for BVMOs. This study also sheds light on the catalytic capacity of this large set of BVMOs that is present in this specific actinomycete. Furthermore, a comparative sequence analysis revealed a new BVMO-typifying sequence motif. This motif represents a useful tool for effective future genome mining efforts.

A spill over effect of entrepreneurial orientation on technological innovativeness:an outlook of universities and research based spin offs

partially_open5siBy shifting towards Romer’s (Am Econ Rev 94:1002–1037, 1986) economy and so the spread of knowledge economy, universities started to adopt a collaborative approach with their entrepreneurial ecosystem. They turn out to be risk taker, autonomous, proactive, competitive, and innovative. In a nutshell, they are entrepreneurial oriented with the aim to generate new innovative ventures, known as research-based spin offs. Doubly, this has induced an improvement of technology transfer and the degree of entrepreneurship in the current knowledge economy. However there still is a paucity of studies on the spill over effect of entrepreneurial orientated universities and research-based spin off on technology transfer need to be more explored. Therefore, the article investigates the link between entrepreneurial orientation and such spill overs by offering an outlook of two universities and two research-based spin offs in the United Kingdom. The scope is to provide a deep view of technological innovativeness in a research context, entrepreneurial oriented. Our research suggests that entrepreneurial attitude has become an imperative to succeed in the context where British institutions currently operate. Entrepreneurship brings the necessary technological innovation to the university and its students, which results in better positioning of the university at national and international levels, with the subsequent impact on their ability to attract not only new students and academics but also funding to conduct their research.openScuotto, Veronica; Del Giudice, Manlio; Garcia-Perez, Alexeis; Orlando, Beatrice; Ciampi, FrancescoScuotto, Veronica; Del Giudice, Manlio; Garcia-Perez, Alexeis; Orlando, Beatrice; Ciampi, Francesc

Big Data for the Greater Good: An Introduction

Big Data, perceived as one of the breakthrough technological developments of our times, has the potential to revolutionize essentially any area of knowledge and impact on any aspect of our life. Using advanced analytics techniques such as text analytics, machine learning, predictive analytics, data mining, statistics, and natural language processing, analysts, researchers, and business users can analyze previously inaccessible or unusable data to gain new insights resulting in better and faster decisions, and producing both economic and social value; it can have an impact on employment growth, productivity, the development of new products and services, traffic management, spread of viral outbreaks, and so on. But great opportunities also bring great challenges, such as the loss of individual privacy. In this chapter, we aim to provide an introduction into what Big Data is and an overview of the social value that can be extracted from it; to this aim, we explore some of the key literature on the subject. We also call attention to the potential ‘dark’ side of Big Data, but argue that more studies are needed to fully understand the downside of it. We conclude this chapter with some final reflections

Biomimetic mineralization of metal-organic frameworks as protective coatings for biomacromolecules

Enhancing the robustness of functional biomacromolecules is a critical challenge in biotechnology, which if addressed would enhance their use in pharmaceuticals, chemical processing and biostorage. Here we report a novel method, inspired by natural biomineralization processes, which provides unprecedented protection of biomacromolecules by encapsulating them within a class of porous materials termed metal-organic frameworks. We show that proteins, enzymes and DNA rapidly induce the formation of protective metal-organic framework coatings under physiological conditions by concentrating the framework building blocks and facilitating crystallization around the biomacromolecules. The resulting biocomposite is stable under conditions that would normally decompose many biological macromolecules. For example, urease and horseradish peroxidase protected within a metal-organic framework shell are found to retain bioactivity after being treated at 80 °C and boiled in dimethylformamide (153 °C), respectively. This rapid, low-cost biomimetic mineralization process gives rise to new possibilities for the exploitation of biomacromolecules.Kang Liang, Raffaele Ricco, Cara M. Doherty, Mark J. Styles, Stephen Bell, Nigel Kirby, Stephen Mudie, David Haylock, Anita J. Hill, Christian J. Doonan, Paolo Falcar