The Effect of Microwave Irradiation on the Representation and Growth of Moulds in Nuts and Almonds

Microwave (MW) irradiation is a non-destructive method that can be applied as an alternative method to inhibit the growth of microorganisms. The present study evaluated the effect of MW irradiation on the occurrence of moulds in nuts and almonds. Samples of unshelled natural almonds, pistachios, and in-shell peanuts were treated with different doses of MW irradiation (2400–4000 W). The effect of MW irradiation on mould counts was evaluated by cultivating immediately after irradiation and after 3 and 6 months of storage. The most represented genera in all analysed samples were Aspergillus (68%), Penicillium (21%), and a small amount of Cladosporium (3%). Mould numbers significantly decreased after MW treatment. The treatments with MW irradiations at 3000 and 4000 W significantly reduced the mould colony counts, and their effect persisted during storage; irradiation at 2400 W was partially effective. The strongest effect of MW irradiation was observed in in-shell peanuts. MW irradiation seems to be a promising method for maintaining the microbiological quality of nuts.

Evaluation of the performance of different membrane materials for microalgae cultivation on attached biofilm reactors

Attached microalgae production in wastewater is a promising method to further develop biofilm reactors by reducing economic costs associated with biomass separation and harvesting.

High Surface Area MnO2 Nanomaterials Synthesized by Selective Cation Dissolution for Efficient Water Oxidation

Artificial photosynthesis is a promising method that directly transforms solar energy into chemical energy. To achieve artificial photosynthesis, efficient water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) are essential. In nature, the manganese-oxo-calcium cluster...

RNA Drug Delivery Using Biogenic Nanovehicles for Cancer Therapy

RNA-based therapies have been promising method for treating all kinds of diseases, and four siRNA-based drugs and two mRNA-based drugs have been approved and are on the market now. However, none of them is applied for cancer treatment. This is not only because of the complexity of the tumor microenvironment, but also due to the intrinsic obstacles of RNAs. Until now, all kinds of strategies have been developed to improve the performance of RNAs for cancer therapy, especially the nanoparticle-based ones using biogenic materials. They are much more compatible with less toxicity compared to the ones using synthetic polymers, and the most widely studied biogenic materials are oligonucleotides, exosomes, and cell membranes. Particular characteristics make them show different capacities in internalization and endosomal escape as well as specific targeting. In this paper, we systematically summarize the RNA-based nano-delivery systems using biogenic materials for cancer therapy, and we believe this review will provide a valuable reference for researchers involved in the field of biogenic delivery and RNA-based therapies for cancer treatment.

Tilted Arch; Implementation of Additive Manufacturing and Bio-Welding of Mycelium-Based Composites

Bio-based materials have found their way to the design and fabrication in the architectural context in recent years. Fungi-based materials, especially mycelium-based composites, are a group of these materials of growing interest among scholars due to their light weight, compostable and regenerative features. However, after about a decade of introducing this material to the architectural community, the proper ways of design and fabrication with this material are still under investigation. In this paper, we tried to integrate the material properties of mycelium-based composites with computational design and digital fabrication methods to offer a promising method of construction. Regarding different characteristics of the material, we found additive manufacturing parallel to bio-welding is an appropriate fabrication method. To show the feasibility of the proposed method, we manufactured a small-scale prototype, a tilted arch, made of extruded biomass bound with bio-welding. The project is described in the paper.