New Technology Tools and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) Applied to a Sustainable Livestock Production

Agriculture 4.0, a combination of mechanical innovation and information and communication technologies (ICT) using precision farming, omics technologies and advanced waste treatment techniques, can be used to enhance the biological potential of animal and crop productions and reduce livestock gaseous emissions. In addition to animal proteins being excellent nutritional ingredients for the human diet, there is a growing concern regarding the amount of energy spent converting vegetable crops into animal protein and the relevant environmental impacts. Using the value chain analysis derived from the neoclassic production theory extended to industrial processing and the market, the hypothesis to be tested concerns the sustainability and convenience of different protein sources. The methodology implies the use of life cycle analysis (LCA) to evaluate the efficiency of different livestock diet ingredients. The use of feeding products depend upon various factors, including cost reduction, consumer acceptance, incumbent industry response, civil society support, policy consensus, lower depletion of natural resources, improved sustainable agri-food supply chain and LCA. EU policy makers should be aware of these changes in livestock and market chains and act proactively to encourage the use of alternative animal proteins.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Optimization of Green Silver Nanoparticles Using Neopestalotiopsis clavispora and Evaluation of Its Antibacterial, Antibiofilm, and Genotoxic Effects

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been used in a variety of biomedical applications in the last two decades, including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer treatments. The present study highlights the extracellular synthesis of silver nanoparticles AgNPs using Neopestalotiopsis clavispora MH244410.1 and its antibacterial, antibiofilm, and genotoxic properties. Locally isolated N. clavispora MH244410.1 was identified by Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Optimization of synthesized AgNPs was performed by using various parameters (pH (2, 4, 7, 9 and 12), temperature (25, 35 and 45 °C), and substrate concentration (0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2 and 0.25 mM)). After 72 hours of incubation in dark conditions, the best condition for the biosynthesis of AgNPs was determined as 0.25 mM metal concentration at pH 12 and 35 °C. Fungal synthesized AgNPs were characterized via spectroscopic and microscopic techniques such as Fouirer Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer (FTIR), UV-Visible Spectroscopy, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The average size of the AgNPs was determined less than 60 nm using the TEM and Zetasizer measurement system (measured in purity water suspension). The characteristic peak of AgNPs was observed at ~414 nm from UV-Vis results. Antibacterial and genotoxic activity of synthesized AgNPs (0.1, 1, and 10 ppm) were also determined by using the agar well diffusion method and in vivo Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test (SMART) in Drosophila melanogaster. AgNPs exhibited potential antimicrobial activity against all the tested bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) except Escherichia coli in a dose-dependent manner. AgNPs did not induce genotoxicity in the Drosophila SMART assay. 79.33, 65.47, and 41.95% inhibition of biofilms formed by P. aeruginosa were observed at 10, 1, and 0.1 ppm of AgNPs, respectively. The overall results indicate that N. clavispora MH244410.1 is a good candidate for novel applications in biomedical research.

Effect of storage time on the biodegradability of olive oil mill wastewater from the cold extraction of olive oil system

The olive oil processing industry’s liquid effluents (OMW) have a polluting capacity for the ecosystems. This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical quality of OMW of two varieties of separated and combined olives cultivated in Khenchela Eastern Algeria, from the cold extraction of the olive oil extraction system. These was to determine their degree of pollution and biodegradability during one year of storage at ambient temperature to recommend the correct treatment for each storage time. Results of the measured parameters pH, EC,TSS percent, H2O percent, lipids, DM, OM, MM, VM, COT percent, NTK percent, C/N, BOD5, COD, BI, TOM, BOD5/COD show that wastewater from olive oil mills has an acid pH, and they are very loaded with organic matter evaluated in terms of COD and BOD5, quite filled with minerals. The storage of olive mill waste can reduce progressively the pollution caused by this waste. Whereas during one year, the reduction rate of COD, BOD5, TOM, BI, is respectively 29.4%, 54.8%, 39.16%, 54.2%, but C/N, BOD5/COD continue to increase as well as pH that continues to decrease during the storage. Accordingly, storing olive mill waste during a year reduces its pollution rate, so it is slowly biodegradable. When disposing of it, an adequate treatment procedure must be required to protect the environment.

Effect of Cerebrospinal Fluid on Fibroblasts Concerning Epidural Fibrosis: An In Vitro Study

One of the most common treatments for lumbar disc herniation and other lumbar disorders is lumbar laminectomy. There may be some unwanted and serious complications with this procedure such as the “failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS)”. Epidural fibrosis (EF), mainly due to fibroblast proliferation, emerges as the main cause of failed back surgery syndrome. According to the current literature and practice techniques, different agents are being used to prevent EF formation. To date there is no single agreed upon treatment method of EF. In this study, dilutional effect of CSF, together with low potassium levels, on primary skin fibroblast cultures was studied as a possible material for EF prevention. CSF at different concentrations (0-100%) were tested to see its effect on Skin fibroblast proliferation. A wound healing assay was also performed to see the effect of CSF on wound healing. The cell proliferation goes up from 24h to 72hr in all CSF percentages from 0-75% but the proliferation was inhibited at 100% CSF. The “wound” is closed successfully in all CSF percentages between 0-75. The 100% CSF fails to completely close the wound. Adverse effects of low concentrations of potassium levels and dilutional effect of CSF may be a promising solution in the prevention of EF. Further in vivo and in vitro experiments are required to characterize its use.

The 3M Concept: Biomedical Translational Imaging from Molecules to Mouse to Man

Imaging keeps pervading biomedical sciences from the nanoscale to the bedside. Connecting the hierarchical levels of biomedicine with relevant imaging approaches, however, remains a challenge. Here we present a concept, called “3M”, which can deliver a question, formulated at the bedside, across the wide-ranging hierarchical organization of the living organism, from the molecular level, through the small-animal scale, to whole-body human functional imaging. We present an example of nanoparticle development pipeline extending from atomic force microscopy to pre-clinical whole body imaging methods to highlight the essential features of the 3M concept, which integrates multi-scale resolution and quantification into a single logical process. Using the nanoscale to human clinical whole body approach, we present the successful development, characterisation and application of Prussian Blue nanoparticles for a variety of imaging modalities, extending it to isotope payload quantification and shape-biodistribution relationships. The translation of an idea from the bedside to the molecular level and back requires a set of novel combinatorial imaging methodologies interconnected into a logical pipeline. The proposed integrative molecules-to-mouse-to-man (3M) approach offers a promising, clinically oriented toolkit that lends the prospect of obtaining an ever-increasing amount of correlated information from as small a voxel of the human body as possible.

Investigation of Polyacrylic Acid Toxicity in Human Breast Cancer (MCF-7) and Mouse Fibroblast (L-929) Cell Lines

In recent years, biopolymers have been widely used in various fields of medicine. Before using any polymer, its biocompatibility should be examined. Polyacrylic acid (PAA), a polyelectrolyte, is known to be used as an adjuvant effect in immunology, anti-thrombogenic effect in medical experiments, and as a carrier in drug delivery systems. Although there are studies on various conjugates and nanoparticles of PAA, studies on its toxicity alone are limited. Determination of toxicity in biopolymer studies is extremely important. Cultures of various cells are used for toxicity analyses. This study aimed to investigate the toxicity of PAA in human breast cancer (MCF-7) and mouse fibroblast (L-929) cell lines by various methods. Cell culture, 3-(4,5-dimethyltriazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), trypan blue and 4,6-diamidino 2 phenylindole (DAPI) methods were used in the study. The half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) value of PAA was 6.6 mg/ml in MCF 7 cells and 1.8 mg/ ml in L-929 cells. Apoptosis was observed in cells on the increasing PAA concentration with DAPI. With these results, the cytotoxic properties of PAA were determined in vitro. Accordingly, the biocompatibility of polymers to be used in modeling should be supported by in vitro and in vivo studies.