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The spread of antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern worldwide. Commensal bacteria from the human genitourinary tract can act as reservoirs of resistance genes playing a role in their transfer to pathogens. In this study, the minimum inhibitory concentration of 16 antibiotics to 15 isolates from the human vagina, identified as Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus anginosus, and Streptococcus salivarius, was determined. Eight isolates were considered resistant to tetracycline, five to clindamycin and quinupristin-dalfopristin, and four to rifampicin. To investigate the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes, PCR analysis was performed in all isolates, and five were subjected to whole-genome sequencing analysis. PCR reactions identified tet(M) in all tetracycline-resistant E. faecalis isolates, while both tet(M) and tet(L) were found in tetracycline-resistant S. anginosus isolates. The tet(M) gene in E. faecalis VA02-2 was carried within an entire copy of the transposon Tn916. In S. anginosus VA01-10AN and VA01-14AN, the tet(M) and tet(L) genes were found contiguous with one another and flanked by genes encoding DNA mobilization and plasmid replication proteins. Amplification and sequencing suggested the lsaA gene to be complete in all E. faecalis isolates resistant to clindamycin and quinupristin-dalfopristin, while the gene contain mutations rendering to a non-functional LsaA in susceptible isolates. These results were subsequently confirmed by genome analysis of clindamycin and quinupristindalfopristin resistant and susceptible E. faecalis strains. Although a clinical breakpoint to kanamycin for S. salivarius has yet to be established, S. salivarius VA08-2AN showed an MIC to this antibiotic of 128 µg mL−1 . However, genes involved in kanamycin resistance were not identified. Under the assayed conditions, neither tet(L) nor tet(M) from either E. faecalis or S. anginosus was transferred by conjugation to recipient strains of E. faecalis, Lactococc

Lactic acid bacteria can act as reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes that can be ultimately transferred to pathogens. The present work reports on the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 16 antibiotics to 25 LAB isolates of five Lactobacillus and one Bifidobacterium species from the human vagina. Acquired resistances were detected to kanamycin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, and ampicillin. A PCR analysis of lactobacilli failed to identify genetic determinants involved in any of these resistances. Surprisingly, a tet(W) gene was detected by PCR in two Bifidobacterium bifidum strains, although they proved to be tetracycline-susceptible. In agreement with the PCR results, no acquired genes were identified in the genome of any of the Lactobacillus spp. strains sequenced. A genome analysis of B. bifidum VA07-1AN showed an insertion of two guanines in the middle of tet(W) interrupting the open reading frame. By growing the strain in the presence of tetracycline, stable tetracycline-resistant variants were obtained. An amino acid substitution in the ribosomal protein S12 (K43R) was further identified as the most likely cause of VA07-1AN being streptomycin resistance. The results of this work expand our knowledge of the resistance profiles of vaginal LAB and provide evidence for the genetic basis of some acquired resistances.

This article is the ninth in the series of Fungal Diversity Notes, where 107 taxa distributed in three phyla, nine classes, 31 orders and 57 families are described and illustrated. Taxa described in the present study include 12 new genera, 74 new species, three new combinations, two reference specimens, a re-circumscription of the epitype, and 15 records of sexual-asexual morph connections, new hosts and new geographical distributions. Twelve new genera comprise Brunneofusispora, Brunneomurispora, Liua, Lonicericola, Neoeutypella, Paratrimmatostroma, Parazalerion, Proliferophorum, Pseudoastrosphaeriellopsis, Septomelanconiella, Velebitea and Vicosamyces. Seventy-four new species are Agaricus memnonius, A. langensis, Aleurodiscus patagonicus, Amanita flavoalba, A. subtropicana, Amphisphaeria mangrovei, Baorangia major, Bartalinia kunmingensis, Brunneofusispora sinensis, Brunneomurispora lonicerae, Capronia camelliae-yunnanensis, Clavulina thindii, Coniochaeta simbalensis, Conlarium thailandense, Coprinus trigonosporus, Liua muriformis, Cyphellophora filicis, Cytospora ulmicola, Dacrymyces invisibilis, Dictyocheirospora metroxylonis, Distoseptispora thysanolaenae, Emericellopsis koreana, Galiicola baoshanensis, Hygrocybe lucida, Hypoxylon teeravasati, Hyweljonesia indica, Keissleriella caraganae, Lactarius olivaceopallidus, Lactifluus midnapurensis, Lembosia brigadeirensis, Leptosphaeria urticae, Lonicericola hyaloseptispora, Lophiotrema mucilaginosis, Marasmiellus bicoloripes, Marasmius indojasminodorus, Micropeltis phetchaburiensis, Mucor orantomantidis, Murilentithecium lonicerae, Neobambusicola brunnea, Neoeutypella baoshanensis, Neoroussoella heveae, Neosetophoma lonicerae, Ophiobolus malleolus, Parabambusicola thysanolaenae, Paratrimmatostroma kunmingensis, Parazalerion indica, Penicillium dokdoense, Peroneutypa mangrovei, Phaeosphaeria cycadis, Phanerochaete australosanguinea, Plectosphaerella kunmingensis, Plenodomus artemisiae, P. lijiangensis, Proliferophoru

This study investigated cloning and expression of enterovirus 71 viral capsid protein 1 (EV71‐VP1) in Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum (B. pseudocatenulatum) M115. To achieve this, a codon‐optimized gene coding for EV71‐VP1 was analysed, designed, synthesized and cloned into a plasmid vector flanked by a transcriptional promoter and terminator sequences. The promoter was based on that of P919, a constitutive promoter of the gene encoding the large ribosomal protein of B. bifidum BGN4, while the terminator was based on that of the peptidase N gene of Lactococcus lactis. The construct was amplified in Escherichia coli XL1‐blue and then transferred into B. pseudocatenulatum M115 by electrotransformation. Western blot analysis revealed that the EV71‐VP1 was intracellularly expressed in B. pseudocatenulatum M115 under the control of the selected heterologous promoter. In addition, plasmid stability analysis showed the construct was maintained stably for more than 160 generations, enough for most future applications. The results derived from this study open the possibility to utilize the bacterium carrying a specific expression plasmid as cell factory for the production of proteins with high commercial and health‐promoting value.

[EN] A spray dryer was modified and tested with superheated steam as the drying medium. The effect of the inlet temperature on the recovery and morphology of the dried powder was then investigated. The results were compared with those obtained from hot-air spray drying. The results showed that the use of superheated steam and an increase in the inlet temperature led to an increase in the product recovery. The morphological results correlated with those of the product recovery in that superheated steam powder exhibited more inflated skin, leading to less adhesion of the sprayed droplets to the dryer wall.

[EN] Puffing is an attractive alternative for the production of healthy crisp snacks without frying. Although image analysis has been used in some prior studies to evaluate puffing, such an evaluation was made only in one or two dimensions, which is inadequate when a sample deforms in three dimensions. In this study, use of combined hot-air and microwave drying to dry and puff banana slices was first evaluated. Algorithms were then developed to characterize the changes in the appearance of puffed banana slices. Various image-based parameters, both in two and three dimensions were assessed and used to monitor the puffing.

[EN] In this work the new process of producing parboiled rice (PB) by combinatintion of microwave and hot air fluidized bed (MWFB) was proposed and investigated. Results showed that the drying time was shorter with smaller bed depth, higher drying temperature and higher microwave power. The initial grain temperature, drying temperature, bed depth and microwave power strongly affected the gelatinization of rice starch. The PB produced by MWFB caused a very small broken kernel (1-2%). The whiteness was decreased with increase in drying time, initial grain temperature, drying temperature and microwave power. The specific energy consumption was increased with increasing such operating parameters.

A screen-printed electroluminescent display with different sensing capabilities is presented. The sensing principle is based on the direct relationship between the light intensity of the lamp and the conductivity of the external layers. The proposed device is able to detect the ionic concentration of any conductive species. Using both top and bottom emission architectures, for the first time, a humidity sensor based on electroluminescent display functionalized by a graphene oxide nanocomposite is introduced. In this regard, just by coupling the display to a smartphone camera sensor, its potential was expanded for automatically monitoring human respiration in real time. Besides, the research includes a responsive display in which the light is spatially turned on in response to pencil drawing or any other conductive media. The above mentioned features together with the easiness of manufacturing and cost-effectiveness of this electroluminescent display can open up great opportunities to exploit it in sensing applications and point-of-care diagnosis.

A preliminary molecular phylogenetic framework for 12 genera (23 species) of the family Parabathynellidae from Europe, Australia, North Africa and India is presented based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers (Cox1 and 18S). The generated hypothesis places the Southeast Asia genus Paraeobathynella closer to European genera (Iberobathynella, Paraiberobathynella and Parabathynella) than to the Australian (Brevisomabathynella, Atopobathynella, Billibathynella, Octobathynella, Arkaroolabathynella and Lockyerenella) or Indian genera (Habrobathynella), or to the cosmopolitan genus Hexabathynella (Spain and Australia). Three new species of the genus Paraeobathynella from Thailand, P. ratensis n. sp., P. siamensis n. sp. and P. hanjavanitiana n. sp., are described based on morphological and molecular features. This is the first record of the genus from Thailand and extends its range of distribution within Asia, where it was previously known only from Vietnam. The new species are clearly separated as independent units at least since the Middle Miocene.

[EN] In this paper, we introduce a new iterative scheme for solving the split common null point problem. We then prove the strong convergence theorem under suitable conditions. Finally, we give some numerical examples for our results.

[EN] The purpose of this article is to prove some fixed point theorems for simulation functions in complete b-metric spaces with partially ordered by using wt-distance which introduced by Hussain et al. Also, we give some examples to illustrate our main results.

The peptidase from the viscera of farmed giant catfish was used for producing gelatin hydrolysates (HG) and compared with those produced from commercial bovine trypsin (HB). The degree of hydrolysis (DH) observed suggests that proteolytic cleavage rapidly occurred within the first 120 min of incubation, and there was higher DH in HG than in HB. HG demonstrated the highest ACE-inhibitory activity, DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging activity, and FRAP. HB showed the highest FRAP activity. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of HG was quite stable over the pH range of 1–11, but it increased slightly when the heating duration time reached 240 min at 100 °C. The ACE-inhibitory activity of HG showed the highest stability at a pH of 7, and it remained very stable at 100 °C for over 15–240 min. The visceral peptidase from farmed giant catfish could be an alternative protease for generating protein hydrolysates with desirable bioactivities. The resulting hydrolysates showed good stability, making them potential functional ingredients for food formulations.

tic The aim of this study was to determine the effects of β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) on the intestinal absorption of cyclosporin A (CsA) in vivo and in vitro. After intraduodenal co-administration of CsA (5 mg/kg) with 150 mg/kg β-LG, Tmax was significantly lower than that of control rats which were given the same dose of CsA without β-LG. Cmax and AUC were significantly increased as compared with the control while T1/2 were not significant. Moreover, a deconvolution method revealed that the rate of CsA absorption was enhanced by β-LG (150 mg/kg) by about 12 times. These results indicate that β-LG significantly enhanced the rate of CsA absorption and the extent of CsA bioavailability in the gut. β-LG did not change the solubility of CsA in vitro, but β-LG increased the apical-to-basolateral permeability clearance of CsA (PScell), with pronounced increase in the permeability of unbound CsA (PSu,cell), across the Caco-2 monolayers in a concentration-dependent manner in vitro. It was thus considered that β-LG-mediated transport of CsA might be a possible mechanism to enhance the intestinal absorption of CsA in vivo.

Peptidases were extracted from the viscera of farmed giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) in an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) of 15% (w/w) polyethylene glycol (PEG-2000) and 15% (w/w) sodium citrate. The recovery of the enzymes was 273% with 12-fold purification. Protein pattern, activity and inhibitory staining confirmed that the proteins with molecular weights of 12 and 31kDa were a mixture of proteolytic enzyme. The optimum pH and temperature of the enzyme were 8.0 and 70C, respectively. Besides, it retained more than 50% of activity at the highest salt concentration (30% w/v). The enzyme was strongly inhibited by serine protease inhibitors (>80% inhibition), while low inhibition with cysteine-, aspartic- and metallo-protease inhibitors (<20% inhibition). The enzyme activity was extremely inhibited by the metal ions Ag+, Cu2+ and Fe2+. The peptidases from the giant catfish viscera have potential applications in food processing where high temperatures (60-70C) and/or high salt content are used, or even in detergent formulation. Practical Applications: Extraction and characterization of a proteolytic enzyme from viscera, fishery processing by-product, could add value to it. According to its properties, the isolated peptidases could be potentially applied to food industry, especially in fish sauce production, protein hydrolysate production, or in neutraceutical and in detergent industry.

[EN] In this paper, we consider the KKM maps defined for a nonself map and the correlated intersection theorems in Hadamard manifolds. We also study some applications of the intersection results. Our outputs improved the results of Raj and Somasundaram [17, V. Sankar Raj and S. Somasundaram, KKM-type theorems for best proximity points, Appl. Math. Lett., 25(3): 496–499, 2012.].

[EN] Novel species of microfungi described in the present study include the following from South Africa: Cercosporella dolichandrae from Dolichandra unguiscati, Seiridium podocarpi from Podocarpus latifolius, Pseudocercospora parapseudarthriae from Pseudarthria hookeri, Neodevriesia coryneliae from Corynelia uberata on leaves of Afrocarpus falcatus, Ramichloridium eucleae from Euclea undulata and Stachybotrys aloeticola from Aloe sp. (SouthAfrica), as novel member of the Stachybotriaceae fam. nov. Several species were also described from Zambia, and these include Chaetomella zambiensis on unknown Fabaceae, Schizoparme pseudogranati from Terminalia stuhlmannii, Diaporthe isoberliniae from Isoberlinia angolensis, Peyronellaea combreti from Combretum mossambiciensis, Zasmidium rothmanniae and Phaeococcomyces rothmanniae from Rothmannia engleriana, Diaporthe vangueriae from Vangueria infausta and Diaporthe parapterocarpi from Pterocarpus brenanii. Novel species from the Netherlands include: Stagonospora trichophoricola, Keissleriella trichophoricola and Dinemasporium trichophoricola from Trichophorum cespitosum, Phaeosphaeria poae, Keissleriella poagena, Phaeosphaeria poagena, Parastagonospora poagena and Pyrenochaetopsis poae from Poa sp., Septoriella oudemansii from Phragmites australis and Dendryphion europaeum from Hedera helix (Germany) and Heracleum sphondylium (the Netherlands). Novel species from Australia include: Anungitea eucalyptorum from Eucalyptus leaf litter, Beltraniopsis neolitseae and Acrodontium neolitseae from Neolitsea australiensis, Beltraniella endiandrae from Endiandra introrsa, Phaeophleospora parsoniae from Parsonia straminea, Penicillifer martinii from Cynodon dactylon, Ochroconis macrozamiae from Macrozamia leaf litter, Triposporium cycadicola, Circinotrichum cycadis, Cladosporium cycadicola and Acrocalymma cycadis from Cycas spp. Furthermore, Vermiculariopsiella dichapetali is described from Dichapetalum rhodesicum (Botswana), Ophiognomonia

The hydroglycolic extracts from Terminalia chebula Retzius, Terminalia bellerica Roxb and Rafflesia kerrii Meijer were investigated for total phenolic content (TPC), cytotoxicity, mutagenicity, antimutagenicity and antityrosinase for safety assessment as novel botanical-based cosmeceutical ingredients. These plant extracts showed TPC between 14.90 ± 0.02 and 112.40 ± 0.08 mg GAE g-1 of extract when using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The cytotoxicity study revealed that the 50% cytotoxicity dose (CD50) towards normal mouse fibroblast L929 and mouse melanoma B16F10 cell lines was 5.43 ± 0.18 - 39.39 ± 0.14 mg mL-1 and 4.35 ± 0.33 - 58.23 ± 0.18 mg mL-1, respectively. In genotoxicity investigation, it was found that all extracts were not mutagenic at the concentrations up to 87.34 mg 0.1 mL-1 when tested with Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 in the presence and absence of metabolic activation (S9 microsomal fraction). The extracts were further tested for antimutagenic activity against 2-aminoanthracene (2-AA) and 2-(2-furyl)-3-(5-nitro-2-furyl) acrylamide (AF-2) which were used as the tested mutagens. Interestingly, all hydroglycolic extracts exhibited the inhibitory effect on the mutagenicity after being induced by 2AA and AF-2 in S. typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 in the presence and absence of metabolic activation. All plant extracts were further investigated for tyrosinase inhibitory activity. Results showed that all extracts possessed tyrosinase inhibitory activity with 50% inhibitory concentration values (IC50) of 1.27 ± 0.49 - 39.96 ± 0.21 mg mL-1. Overall studies including their antimutagenicity and antityrosinase activities suggest that the hydroglycolic extracts of these three plants may be used as potential candidates for skin-care cosmeceutical ingredients.

Reaction of iron(II) selenocyanate (obtained from Fe(ClO4)2 and KNCSe) with 2-(N,N-bis(2-pyridyl)amino)-4,6-bis(pentafluorophenoxy)-(1,3,5)triazine (L1F) in propionitrile produces the compound [Fe(L1F)2(NCSe)2].2CH3CH2CN (1NCSe.2PrCN), which shows spin-crossover (SCO) properties characterized by a T1/2 of 283 K and a ?T80 (i.e., temperature range within which 80% of the transition considered occurs) of about 65 K. Upon air exposure, 1NCSe.2PrCN gradually converts to a new SCO species that exhibits different properties, as reflected by T1/2 = 220 K and ?T80 = 70 K. Various characterization techniques, namely, IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and thermodiffractometric studies, reveal that the new phase is obtained through the loss of the lattice propionitrile molecules within several days upon air exposure or several hours upon heating above 390 K.

Reactions of the new, closely related ligands 4,6-dichloro-N,N-di(pyridine-2-yl)-1,3,5-triazine-amine (Cldpat) and 6-chloro-N′-phenyl-N,N-di(pyridin-2-yl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine (Cladpat) with iron(II) thiocyanate produced coordination compounds with drastically distinct magnetic properties. The compound trans-[Fe(Cldpat)2(NCS)2](H2O) (1) is a high-spin complex from room temperature down to 5 K whereas the analogous compound trans-[Fe(Cladpat)2(NCS)2] (2) exhibits spin-crossover (SCO) properties with T1/2 = 178 K. Compounds 1 and 2 (both in its low-spin and high-spin states) have been structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction studies, which revealed identical metal coordination spheres. The SCO properties of 2 have been thoroughly investigated by temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and a LIESST process with rapid relaxation of the trapped HS species has been observed. The equivalent coordination compound with selenocyanate anions, namely [Fe(Cladpat)2(NCSe)2] (3) also displays SCO properties, although more gradual and with a lower T1/2 value of 166 K.

A high sensitive voltammetric method for rapid determination of thrombin spiked in whole blood by taking advantage of both aptamer-based recognition and the use of a nanoporous membrane has been developed. The nanoporous membrane not only acts as platform for the thrombin recognition but also as filter of the micrometric components such as white and red blood cells, consequently minimizing matrix effects. The protocol involves a sandwich format in the inner walls (200nm diameter) of an anodized alumina oxide filter membrane (AAO). The analytical signal, by DPV oxidation of [Fe(CN) 6] 4-, is based on the blockage in the pores which affects the diffusion of [Fe(CN) 6] 4- to the screen-printed carbon electrotransducer (SPCEs) modified with the membrane. By labeling the anti-thrombin IgG with AuNPs followed by silver enhancement a greater passive signal enhancement in comparison to the membrane blockage has been observed. The contribution of both electrostatic/steric effects in this blockage due to the subsequent formation of the aptamer-thrombin complex and the final sandwich assay is investigated. The efficiency of the system is also monitored by microscopic techniques. The resulted biosensing system allows detecting thrombin spiked in whole blood at very low levels (LOD 1.8ngmL -1) which are within the range of clinical interest for the diagnostic of coagulation abnormalities as well as pulmonary metastasis. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

peer-reviewed, This work demonstrates that the coupling of supercritical carbon dioxide extraction with pyrolysis is an effective method for the removal of extractives from forestry residues and generation of solid char with different properties from the remaining solid wood fractions. Extraction of the needles and stumps shows greater yields of resin acids, terpenes, steroids and other derivatives than that of pinewood bark, cones and branches. The char yields of both non-treated and scCO2 extracted wood fractions varied from approximately 17.5 to 38.5 wt. % on dry basis at fast heating rates. The catalytic effect of extractives is significant on the yields and morphology of solid chars in fast pyrolysis and less pronounced at slow heating rates. These results are promising as they show that both the composition and location of extractives inclusions in the interior of wood particle can affect the morphology of char samples. Moreover, the impact of alkali metals on the wood devolatilization appears to be less compared to the lignocellulosic composition in slow pyrolysis. These results demonstrate that supercritical carbon dioxide extraction can be integrated in biorefinery as a pretreatment step to control the properties of pyrolysis products by varying the heating rate.

peer-reviewed, This work demonstrated that supercritical carbon dioxide extraction is effective as a pre-treatment technology to generate soot particles with the fullerene-like structure and increase syngas yield from extracted residues during coupled microwave activation with gasification. Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction removes over half of the fatty and resin acids from needles and branches, whereas the extraction of needles generates greater yields of value-added compounds. The high yields of extractives indicate the effective conversion of waste wood for the sustainable production of value-added chemicals. The wood extraction did not influence the solid residue yields during pyrolysis/gasification emphasizing the significant potential of integrating the extraction process into the holistic biorefinery. Interestingly, supercritical carbon dioxide extraction had a significant effect on the structure and quality of soot particles formed. The differences in the extractives composition led to the formation of needle soot particles with a porous and less ordered nanostructure, whereas the soot branches obtained a ring graphitic structure. The greater yields of steroids and terpenes during the extraction of needles compared to the branches pretreatment indicated the influence of the extractives type on the soot nanostructure

peer-reviewed, This work demonstrates that the integration of supercritical carbon dioxide extraction with slow pyrolysis is an effective method for the production of value-added chemicals and charcoal that is an attractive alternative to coke for industry. Integration of technologies is key for the development of holistic biorefineries that exploit all parts of the biomass feedstock and generate little or ideally no waste. In fact, the use of waste or low valued wood fractions is attractive due to their plentiful abundance and lack of exploitation. Supercritical carbon dioxide has been demonstrated to be effective at the removal of over half of extractives from low quality wood and forestry wastes, which can account for up to 11 wt %, of the dried biomass in waste needles. High extractive yields by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction illustrates the potential of utilizing low quality wood as an alternative feedstock for the sustainable production of value-added chemicals. High yields of steroids and derivatives, terpenes and other plant metabolites were obtained in the extracts of needles, branches and bark. Importantly, supercritical carbon dioxide extraction had little impact neither on the physical properties of original wood nor on the yield of solid charcoal. This indicates that extraction by supercritical carbon dioxide can be used as a method for adding further value to the process by removal of bio-based chemicals, whilst still maintaining the yield of the solid fuel product. Moreover, the heat treatment temperature and supercritical carbon dioxide extraction had a significant impact on the tar yields during pyrolysis, leading to an increase in naphthalene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aromatic and phenolic fractions with greater temperature. These results are promising as they show that the charcoal obtained from this renewable feedstock could be used as an alternative to fossil-based coke in applications including ferroalloy industries.