Minimising food waste: a call for multidisciplinary research

Food losses and waste have always been a significant global problem for mankind, and one which has become increasingly recognised as such by policy makers, food producers, processors, retailers, and consumers. It is, however, an emotive subject whereby the extent, accuracy and resolution of available data on postharvest loss and waste are questionable, such that key performance indicators on waste can be misinformed. The nature and extent of food waste differ among developed economies, economies in transition and developing countries. While most emphasis has been put on increasing future crop production, far less resource has been and is still channelled towards enabling both established and innovative food preservation technologies to reduce food waste while maintaining safety and quality. Reducing food loss and waste is a more tractable problem than increasing production in the short to medium term, as its solution is not directly limited, for instance, by available land and water resources. Here we argue the need for a paradigm shift of current funding strategies and research programmes that will encourage the development, implementation and translation of collective biological, engineering and management solutions to better preserve and utilise food. Such multidisciplinary thinking across global supply chains is an essential element in the pursuit of achieving sustainable food and nutritional security. The implementation of allied technological and management solutions is reliant on there being sufficient skilled human capital and resources. There is currently a lack of robust postharvest research networks outside of the developed world, and insufficient global funding mechanisms that can support such interdisciplinary collaborations. There is, thus, a collective need for schemes that encourage inter‐supply chain research, knowledge exchange and capacity building to reduce food losses and waste. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry     

A Novel Isogenic Human Cell-Based System for MEN1 Syndrome Generated by CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is a rare tumor syndrome that manifests differently among various patients. Despite the mutations in the MEN1 gene that commonly predispose tumor development, there are no obvious phenotype–genotype correlations. The existing animal and in vitro models do not allow for studies of the molecular genetics of the disease in a human-specific context. We aimed to create a new human cell-based model, which would consider the variability in genetic or environmental factors that cause the complexity of MEN1 syndrome. Here, we generated patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell lines carrying the mutation c.1252G>T, D418Y in the MEN1 gene. To reduce the genetically determined variability of the existing cellular models, we created an isogenic cell system by modifying the target allele through CRISPR/Cas9 editing with great specificity and efficiency. The high potential of these cell lines to differentiate into the endodermal lineage in defined conditions ensures the next steps in the development of more specialized cells that are commonly affected in MEN1 patients, such as parathyroid or pancreatic islet cells. We anticipate that this isogenic system will be broadly useful to comprehensively study MEN1 gene function across different contexts, including in vitro modeling of MEN1 syndrome.     

Ciprofloxacin and Levofloxacin as Potential Drugs in Genitourinary Cancer Treatment—The Effect of Dose–Response on 2D and 3D Cell Cultures

Introduction: Introducing new drugs for clinical application is a very difficult, long, drawn-out, and costly process, which is why drug repositioning is increasingly gaining in importance. The aim of this study was to analyze the cytotoxic properties of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin on bladder and prostate cell lines in vitro. Methods: Bladder and prostate cancer cell lines together with their non-malignant counterparts were used in this study. In order to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of both drugs on tested cell lines, MTT assay, real-time cell growth analysis, apoptosis detection, cell cycle changes, molecular analysis, and 3D cultures were examined. Results: Both fluoroquinolones exhibited a toxic effect on all of the tested cell lines. In the case of non-malignant cell lines, the cytotoxic effect was weaker, which was especially pronounced in the bladder cell line. A comparison of both fluoroquinolones showed the advantage of ciprofloxacin (lower doses of drug caused a stronger cytotoxic effect). Both fluoroquinolones led to an increase in late apoptotic cells and an inhibition of cell cycle mainly in the S phase. Molecular analysis showed changes in BAX, BCL2, TP53, and CDKN1 expression in tested cell lines following incubation with ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin. The downregulation of topoisomerase II genes (TOP2A and TOP2B) was noticed. Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture analysis confirmed the higher cytotoxic effect of tested fluoroquinolone against cancer cell lines. Conclusions: Our results suggest that both ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin may have great potential, especially in the supportive therapy of bladder cancer treatment. Taking into account the low costs of such therapy, fluoroquinolones seem to be ideal candidates for repositioning into bladder cancer therapeutics.     

Urinary Protein and Peptide Markers in Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a non-specific type of kidney disease that causes a gradual decline in kidney function (from months to years). CKD is a significant risk factor for death, cardiovascular disease, and end-stage renal disease. CKDs of different origins may have the same clinical and laboratory manifestations but different progression rates, which requires early diagnosis to determine. This review focuses on protein/peptide biomarkers of the leading causes of CKD: diabetic nephropathy, IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritis, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, and membranous nephropathy. Mass spectrometry (MS) approaches provided the most information about urinary peptide and protein contents in different nephropathies. New analytical approaches allow urinary proteomic–peptide profiles to be used as early non-invasive diagnostic tools for specific morphological forms of kidney disease and may become a safe alternative to renal biopsy. MS studies of the key pathogenetic mechanisms of renal disease progression may also contribute to developing new approaches for targeted therapy.     

The First Homologous Expression System for the β-Lytic Protease of Lysobacter capsici VKM B-2533T,a Promising Antimicrobial Agent

A successful homologous expression system based on Lysobacter capsici VKM B-2533^T and the plasmid pBBR1-MCS5 was first developed for a promising bacteriolytic enzyme of this bacterium, β-lytic protease (Blp). In the expression strains, blp gene expression under the regulation of the GroEL(A) and T5 promoters increased by 247- and 667-fold, respectively, as compared with the wild-type strain. After the cultivation of the expression strains L. capsici P_GroEL(A)-blp and L. capsici P_T5-blp, the Blp yield increased by 6.7- and 8.5-fold, respectively, with respect to the wild-type strain. The cultivation of the expression strain L. capsici P_T5-blp was successfully scaled up. Under fermentation conditions the yield of the enzyme increased by 1.6-fold. The developed homologous system was used to express the gene of the bacteriolytic serine protease (Serp) of L. capsici VKM B-2533^T. The expression of the serp gene in L. capsici P_T5-serp increased by 585-fold. The developed homologous system for the gene expression of bacteriolytic Lysobacter enzymes is potentially biotechnologically valuable, and is promising for creating highly efficient expression strains.     

Correlation between the microstructure and the electromagnetic properties of carbonyl iron filled polymer composites

Electromagnetic properties of polymer composites based on different types of carbonyl iron (CI) are investigated in the frequency range from 1 MHz to 10 GHz. A significant difference in the high frequency permeability of composites filled with primary and processed CI powders is revealed, although the chemical composition and particle size distribution of these powders show small difference. Composites based on processed CI exhibit two regions of magnetic dispersion and higher absolute values of permeability and permittivity in the radio-frequency (RF) band. The observed differences are attributed to the microstructure of particles; namely, these differences depend on whether or not the particles are characterized by “onionlike” multilayered morphology. Electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses show structural changes in the processed CI, which are responsible for the variety of electromagnetic properties of the composites.     

Improved drug loading via spray drying of a chalcone implant for local treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis

Current chemotherapy of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), even the mildest forms, encompasses multiple and painful injections with toxic drugs that cause systemic adverse effects. Recently, we showed the promising use of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles loaded with an antileishmanial nitrosylated chalcone (CH8) for effective, safe, local, and single-dose treatment of CL. Here, we proposed to optimize the delivery system by increasing the CH8 loading in PLGA-microparticles using spray drying instead of emulsification-solvent evaporation. The effect of solvent composition and polymeric matrix changes on thermal properties, loading efficiency, particle size, morphology, and spatial drug distribution of the CH8-loaded microparticles was evaluated. The results showed that spray drying allowed a higher CH8 content (18% w/w), as contrasting with the previous solvent evaporation technique that maximally incorporated 7.8% of CH8. In vitro studies on 96-hour incubation with L. amazonensis-infected macrophages showed that entrapment in spray-dried PLGA microparticles rendered CH8 safer, preserved its antileishmanial activity, and did not affect its antioxidant properties.     

Let the light be a guide: Chromophore communication in metal-organic frameworks

The photonic characteristics of chromophore-containing metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)have led to extensive photophysical studies in an effort to capitalize on the potency of precisely controlled chromophore ensembles.Several examples have laid the foundation that demonstrates how photophysical properties of chromophores can be manipulated by tuning their communications(interactions)through integration within a MOF matrix.The main focus of this review is on harnessing the versatile MOF platform to accentuate the photophysical properties of integrated chromophores.In particular,this review will highlight chromophore dynamics that enhance,alter,or tune the photoluminescence response of single-and multi-chromophore-containing scaffolds,as well as alignment-guided anisotropic fluorescence.Building upon this groundwork,utilization of a hybrid crystalline motif can induce preferential orientation of chromophores resulting in enhanced communication and tailored behavior compared to randomly oriented emissive molecules.Moreover,frameworks that produce upconverted emission via sensitized triplet-triplet annihilation(sTTA),excited-state absorption(ESA),energy transfer upconversion(ETU),multi-photon absorption(MPA),or second-harmonic generation(SHG)can invoke dynamic control of material properties using photochromic linkers and will be discussed herein with a focus on the effects of chromophore alignment.Integration within a framework is a vehicle tofuse chromophores into solid-state platforms,opening an avenue for chromophore utilization in applications such as portable electronics that require solids or thin films.For those reasons,the design of chromophore-containing MOFs with desirable properties that rely on the alignment and communication of hundreds of chromophores within a single platform is a pressing demand for the development of futuristic technologies.