PRECIPITATION OF CALCIUM PHOSPHATES FROM A MODEL BLOOD PLASMA SOLUTION ON STEEL GRADE 12X18N10T

В работе представлено исследование процессов осаждения минеральноорганических образований в модельном растворе плазмы крови в присутствии добавок альбумина, глицина, глюкозы, глутаминовой и молочной кислот. Методом рентгенофлуоресцентного анализа изучен фазовый состав образцов. Для измерения площади покрытия образца модифицированным фосфатом кальция были сделаны фотографии. На фотографиях были выделены области покрытия твердой фазой и с помощью программы ToupView произведен расчет степени покрытия образцов стали. Осаждение кристаллической фазы происходит на всех исследуемых образцах. Отличия заключаются в распределении кристаллов по поверхности пластины. Добавка альбумин ингибирует процесс осаждения гидроксилапатита на исследуемых образцах. Показано, что добавки глюкозы, глутаминовой и молочной кислот катализируют процесс осаждения гидроксилапатита на поверхности стального образца. В процентном соотношении, от общей площади фотографии, наибольшее количество осажденного порошка гидроксилапатита наблюдается у образцов с добавлением глюкозы. The paper presents a study of the processes of precipitation of mineral-organic formations in a model solution of blood plasma in the presence of additives of albumin, glycine, glucose, glutamic and lactic acids. The phase composition of the samples was studied by the X-ray diffraction analysis. Photos were taken to measure the surface area of the sample with modified calcium phosphate. The solid phase coating areas were highlighted in the photos and the degree of coating of steel samples was calculated using the ToupView software. The deposition of the crystal phase occurs on all the studied samples. The differences are in the distribution of crystals on the surface of the plate. The additive albumin inhibits the deposition of hydroxyapatite on the studied samples. It is shown, that additions of glucose, glutamic and lactic acids catalyze the process of hydroxylapatite deposition on the surface of a steel sample. As a percentage of the total area of the image, the largest amount of precipitated hydroxylapatite powder is observed in samples with the addition of glucose.

Implementation of Synthetic Pathways to Foster Microbe-Based Production of Non-Naturally Occurring Carboxylic Acids and Derivatives

Microbially produced carboxylic acids (CAs) are considered key players in the implementation of more sustainable industrial processes due to their potential to replace a set of oil-derived commodity chemicals. Most CAs are intermediates of microbial central carbon metabolism, and therefore, a biochemical production pathway is described and can be transferred to a host of choice to enable/improve production at an industrial scale. However, for some CAs, the implementation of this approach is difficult, either because they do not occur naturally (as is the case for levulinic acid) or because the described production pathway cannot be easily ported (as it is the case for adipic, muconic or glucaric acids). Synthetic biology has been reshaping the range of molecules that can be produced by microbial cells by setting new-to-nature pathways that leverage on enzyme arrangements not observed in vivo, often in association with the use of substrates that are not enzymes’ natural ones. In this review, we provide an overview of how the establishment of synthetic pathways, assisted by computational tools for metabolic retrobiosynthesis, has been applied to the field of CA production. The translation of these efforts in bridging the gap between the synthesis of CAs and of their more interesting derivatives, often themselves non-naturally occurring molecules, is also reviewed using as case studies the production of methacrylic, methylmethacrylic and poly-lactic acids.

Rice (Oryza sativa) Bran and Soybean (Glycine max) Meal: Unconventional Supplements in the Mead Production

Research background. Due to the lack of nitrogen in honey, the fermentation may be limited or delayed, in addition to stimulating the production of unpleasant sensory compounds, such as sulfur derivatives. The use of natural supplements has been investigated as low-cost alternatives for mainly correcting the nutritional deficiency of nitrogen in honey must in mead production. Experimental approach. Initially, the physicochemical characterization of the extracts was carried out. The fermentative performance of three yeasts [Saccharomyces bayanus Premier Blanc (SbPB), Saccharomyces cerevisiae Montrachet (ScM) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Safbrew T-58 (ScST58)] in honey musts supplemented with rice bran (RBE) and soybean meal (SME) extracts was evaluated. The trials were compared with the fermentations of musts with commercial supplement (CS) and the control trials. Fermentations were carried out in Erlenmeyer flasks containing honey must supplemented with RBE, SME and CS (30 g/L), inoculated with 106 cells/mL and incubated at 30 °C for 264 h. Results and conclusions. There was significant difference in the evaluated properties of the extracts, with the exception of reducing sugars. The fermentations with SME reached the highest cell concentrations, as well as the largest sugar consumption of glucose and fructose and ethanol. The glycerol concentrations slightly increased when SME and CS were used. The largest concentrations of succinic and acetic acids were registered in the control trials produced by SbPB, ScM and ScST58. There was no production of formic and lactic acids. Results showed that the extracts can be used as low-cost alternatives for correcting the nutritional deficiency of nitrogen in honey must since they presented results similar to the synthetic supplement. Novelty and scientific contribution. The use of low-cost, unconventional supplements such as those used in this work, in addition to reducing the cost of the process by reducing fermentation time by providing nutrients needed to improve yeast metabolism, prevents the formation of compounds undesirable in the beverage due to prolonged fermentation time. It also makes it possible to add value to industrial by-products. Unconventional supplements have still been little tested in mead production.

Valorisation of Starch Wastewater by Anaerobic Fermentation

Starch production is mainly focused on feedstocks such as corn, wheat and potato in the EU, whereas cassava, rice, and other feedstocks are utilised worldwide. In starch production, a high amount of wastewater is generated, which accumulates from different process steps such as washing, steeping, starch refining, saccharification and derivatisation. Valorisation of these wastewaters can help to improve the environmental impact as well as the economics of starch production. Anaerobic fermentation is a promising approach, and this review gives an overview of the different utilisation concepts outlined in the literature and the state of the technology. Among bioenergy recovery processes, biogas technology is widely applied at the industrial scale, whereas biohydrogen production is used at the research stage. Starch wastewater can also be used for the production of bulk chemicals such as acetone, ethanol, butanol or lactic acids by anaerobic microbes.

Bifidobacterium species associated with breastfeeding produce aromatic lactic acids in the infant gut

Breastfeeding profoundly shapes the infant gut microbiota, which is critical for early life immune development, and the gut microbiota can impact host physiology in various ways, such as through the production of metabolites. However, few breastmilk-dependent microbial metabolites mediating host–microbiota interactions are currently known. Here, we demonstrate that breastmilk-promoted Bifidobacterium species convert aromatic amino acids (tryptophan, phenylalanine and tyrosine) into their respective aromatic lactic acids (indolelactic acid, phenyllactic acid and 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid) via a previously unrecognized aromatic lactate dehydrogenase (ALDH). The ability of Bifidobacterium species to convert aromatic amino acids to their lactic acid derivatives was confirmed using monocolonized mice. Longitudinal profiling of the faecal microbiota composition and metabolome of Danish infants (n = 25), from birth until 6 months of age, showed that faecal concentrations of aromatic lactic acids are correlated positively with the abundance of human milk oligosaccharide-degrading Bifidobacterium species containing the ALDH, including Bifidobacterium longum, B. breve and B. bifidum. We further demonstrate that faecal concentrations of Bifidobacterium-derived indolelactic acid are associated with the capacity of these samples to activate in vitro the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a receptor important for controlling intestinal homoeostasis and immune responses. Finally, we show that indolelactic acid modulates ex vivo immune responses of human CD4+ T cells and monocytes in a dose-dependent manner by acting as an agonist of both the AhR and hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 3 (HCA3). Our findings reveal that breastmilk-promoted Bifidobacterium species produce aromatic lactic acids in the gut of infants and suggest that these microbial metabolites may impact immune function in early life.