Increasing Added Value of Seaweed Products for Noodle and Jelly Candy in Petemon Surabaya

In this PKM program, our partner is residents in Petemon, Surabaya, East Java Province. This community has generated the production of noodle and jelly candy from seaweed. Seaweed processing has a very broad market potential due to the increasing demand and use of seaweed processing products, whether used in the health, pharmaceutical or industrial fields. Development of seaweed with an industrial concept approach that starts from upstream, processing basic products into formulation products with a lot of derivative products, both food and non-food products. In food ingredients, seaweed can be formulated, among others, into ice cream, pudding, jelly candy or other foods and soft drinks Based on interviews and observations in the field, there are 2 main focuses of the problems currently faced by partners, namely: 1) lack of knowledge about seaweed and 2) product diversification of seaweed which have an added value. Some of the things planned by the PKM team are innovating seaweed to be noodle and jelly candy as well as providing training and mentoring for financial analysis, packaging and marketing. The purpose of this activity is to transfer knowledge of making product diversification of seaweed, develop the creativity of the partner, increase the noodle and jelly candy production and improve the welfare of the partner. This activity was realized with an approach in the form of making a sustainable cooperation program until the end of PKM, creating a family atmosphere between the two and understanding that the problems experienced were a shared problem so that they could be solved together according to the level of responsibility to achieve the expected benefits, namely increased yields, production and productivity and competitiveness, independence and welfare of the community.

Cascaded processing enables continuous upstream processing with E. coli BL21(DE3)

In many industrial sectors continuous processing is already the golden standard to maximize productivity. However, when working with living cells, subpopulation formation causes instabilities in long-term cultivations. In cascaded continuous cultivation, biomass formation and recombinant protein expression can be spatially separated. This cultivation mode was found to facilitate stable protein expression using microbial hosts, however mechanistic knowledge of this cultivation strategy is scarce. In this contribution we present a method workflow to reduce workload and accelerate the establishment of stable continuous processes with E. coli BL21(DE3) exclusively based on bioengineering methods.

Olive oil consumption can prevent non-communicable diseases and COVID-19 : Review

: The Mediterranean diet is appraised as the premier dietary regimen and its espousal is correlated with the prevention of degenerative diseases and extended longevity. The consumption of olive oil stands out as the most peculiar feature of the Mediterranean diet. Olive oil rich in various bioactive compounds like oleanolic acid, oleuropein, oleocanthal, and hydroxytyrosol is known for its anti-inflammatory as well as cardioprotective property. Recently in silico studies have indicated that phytochemicals present in olive oil are a potential candidate to act against SARS-CoV-2. Although extensive studies on olive oil and its phytochemical composition; still, some lacunas persist in understanding how the phytochemical composition of olive oil is dependent on upstream processing. The signaling pathways regulated by olive oil in the restriction of various diseases is also not clear. To answer these queries, a detailed search of research and review articles published between 1990 to 2019 were reviewed in this effect. Olive oil consumption was found to be advantageous for various chronic non-communicable diseases. Olive oil’s constituents are having potent anti-inflammatory activities and thus restrict the progression of various inflammation-linked diseases ranging from arthritis to cancer. But it is also notable that the amount and nature of phytochemical composition of household olive oil are regulated by its upstream processing and the physicochemical properties of this oil can give a hint regarding the manufacturing method as well as its therapeutic. Moreover, daily uptake of olive oil should be monitored as excessive intake can cause body weight gain and change in the basal metabolic index. So, it can be concluded that olive oil consumption is beneficial for human health, and particularly for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, breast cancer, and inflammation. The simple way of processing olive oil maintains the polyphenol constituents and provides more protection against non-communicable diseases and SARS-CoV-2.

AAV Induced Expression of Human Rod and Cone Opsin in Bipolar Cells of a Mouse Model of Retinal Degeneration

Vision loss caused by inherited retinal degeneration affects millions of people worldwide, and clinical trials involving gene supplementation strategies are ongoing for select forms of the disease. When early therapeutic intervention is not possible and patients suffer complete loss of their photoreceptor cells, there is an opportunity for vision restoration techniques, including optogenetic therapy. This therapy provides expression of light-sensitive molecules to surviving cell types of the retina, enabling light perception through residual neuronal pathways. To this end, the bipolar cells make an obvious optogenetic target to enable upstream processing of visual signal in the retina. However, while AAV transduction of the bipolar cells has been described, the expression of human opsins in these cell types within a model of retinal degeneration (rd1) has been less successful. In this study, we have expanded the optogenetic toolkit and shown successful expression of human rhodopsin driven by an ON-bipolar cell promoter (Grm6) in the rd1 mouse model using modified AAV capsids (AAV2.4YF, AAV8.BP2, and AAV2.7m8) delivered via intraocular injection. We also show the first presentation of ectopic expression of human cone opsin in the bipolar cells of rd1 mice. These data provide evidence of an expansion of the optogenetic toolkit with the potential to restore useful visual function, setting the stage for future trials in human patients.

Biotechnological production of plant inoculants based on nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Nitrogen is one of the essential elements for plant growth and development in terms of DNA and protein synthesis. Its main reservoir in nature is the atmosphere; however, inert molecular nitrogen present in the air isn't a suitable nitrogen form for plants' nutrition. Therefore it has to be chemically transformed to NH4 + or NO3 - ion by the process known as biological nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen fixation is carried out by free-living or symbiotic nitrogen-fixing prokaryotes (diazotrophs), including bacteria, archaea and cyanobacteria. In order to be used as plant inoculants for nitrogen fixation, the biomass of these prokaryotes must be produced and formulated appropriately through different biotechnological processes. The aim of this study is to summarize the main aspects of biotechnological production of plant inoculants based on nitrogen-fixing bacteria in terms of upstream processing, cultivation and downstream processing, with a special emphasis on cultivation media composition, cultivation conditions, biomass separation and formulation techniques.