Fecal Microbiota Transplantation during and Post-COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 is a major pandemic facing the world today, which has implications on current microbiome-based treatments such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) used for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections. The bidirectional relationship between the inhabitants of our gut, the gut microbiota, and COVID-19 pathogenesis, as well as the underlying mechanism involved, must be elucidated in order to increase FMT safety and efficacy. In this perspective, we discuss the crucial cross-talk between the gut microbiota and the lungs, known as the gut–lung axis, during COVID-19 infection, as well as the putative effect of these microorganisms and their functional activity (i.e., short chain fatty acids and bile acids) on FMT treatment. In addition, we highlight the urgent need to investigate the possible impact of COVID-19 on FMT safety and efficacy, as well as instilling stringent screening protocols of donors and recipients during COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 pandemic to produce a cohesive and optimized FMT treatment plan across all centers and in all countries across the globe.     

Field Enhancement in Metamaterial Split Ring Resonator Aperture Nano-Antenna with Spherical Nano-Particle Arrangement

Silicon - In this paper, we present a split ring resonator (SRR) for a nano-aperture antenna for biomedical and spectroscopy applications. We have shown that while the graphene coat layer is...     

Effect of Eryngium caeruleum essential oil on microbial and sensory quality of minced fish and fate of Listeria monocytogenes during the storage at 4°C

The present study investigated in vitro antimicrobial activity of Eryngium caeruleum essential oil (EEO) against five foodborne pathogenic bacteria based on microdilution and disk diffusion methods. Moreover, its effects on specific spoilage microorganisms, inoculated Listeria monocytogenes, and its sensory changes in minced fish were evaluated during 12 days of storage at refrigeration temperature. The results showed that Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were the most sensitive and the most resistant bacteria with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.125 and 1 mg/ml, as well as inhibition zones of 15.66 and 11.66 mm, respectively. Regarding the antimicrobial effect of EEO on the microbial profile and inoculated L. monocytogenes, treating with 0.4% EEO caused a significant decrease in the studied microorganisms when compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In addition, considering the sensory evaluation, the best scores were observed for the samples treated with 0.2% and 0.4% EEO. However, none of the groups obtained acceptable scores until the final day of storage except for the color attribute. In general, sensory evaluation and its correlation with microbial counting indicated that the treatment with 0.4% EEO was able to preserve the microbial quality of the minced fish at refrigeration temperature without any undesirable sensory effects.     

Modeling the inactivation of Bacillus cereus by infrared radiation in paprika powder (Capsicum annuum)

Infrared (IR) irradiation, a novel technology for modeling of decontamination of Bacillus cereus in paprika powder was evaluated and the effect on temperature profiles and total phenolic content was determined. The highest reduction in B. cereus count (2.3 log CFU/g) was achieved after a holding time of 1 min at 200 W IR power and 5 cm distance. The rapid rise in temperature was observed in surface paprika powder and the highest temperature at 200 W IR power and 5 cm distance reaching to 127.8°C. An increase in IR power and a decrease in sample distance of the IR lamp caused a significant decrease in the total phenolic content. The Double Weibull model closely predicted the inactivation of B. cereus in paprika powder by IR irradiation.     

Novel vibration-based technique for detecting water pipeline leakage

Exacerbating the imbalance between demand for freshwater and available water resources is the sub-optimal performance of water distribution systems, which are plagued with leaks that cause significant losses of treated freshwater. This paper presents an approach for leak detection that involves continuous monitoring of the changes in the correlation between surface acceleration measured at discrete locations along the pipeline length. A metric called leak detection index is formulated based on cross-spectral density of measured pipe surface accelerations for detecting the onset and assessing the severity of leaks. The proposed non-invasive approach requires minimal human intervention and works under normal operating conditions of the pipeline system without causing any operational disturbances. The approach is demonstrated on a 76 mm diameter polyvinyl chloride pipeline test system considering varying leak severities. The preliminary results presented in this paper seem promising and lead to several interesting questions that will require further research.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel optically active poly(amide‐imide)s

4,4′‐(Hexafluoroisopropylidene)‐bis‐(phthalic anhydride) (1) was reacted with L ‐leucine (2) in toluene solution at refluxing temperature in the presence of triethylamine and the resulting imide‐acid (4) was obtained in quantitative yield. The compound (4) was converted to the diacid chloride (5) by reaction with thionyl chloride. The polymerization reaction of the imide‐acid chloride (5) with 1,6‐hexamethylenediamine (6a) , benzidine (6b) , 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylmethane (6c) , 1,5‐diaminoanthraquinone (6d) , 4,4′‐sulfonyldianiline (6e) , 3,3′‐diaminobenzophenone (6f) , p‐phenylenediamine (6g) and 2,6‐diaminopyridine (6h) was carried out in chloroform/DMAc solution. The resulting poly(amide‐imide)s were obtained in high yield and are optically active and thermally stable. All of the above compounds were fully characterized by IR, elemental analyses and specific rotation. Some structural characterization and physical properties of those optically active poly(amide‐imide)s are reported. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

Melatonin as a Therapeutic Agent for the Inhibition of Hypoxia-Induced Tumor Progression: A Description of Possible Mechanisms Involved

Hypoxia has an important role in tumor progression via the up-regulation of growth factors and cellular adaptation genes. These changes promote cell survival, proliferation, invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, and energy metabolism in favor of cancer development. Hypoxia also plays a central role in determining the resistance of tumors to chemotherapy. Hypoxia of the tumor microenvironment provides an opportunity to develop new therapeutic strategies that may selectively induce apoptosis of the hypoxic cancer cells. Melatonin is well known for its role in the regulation of circadian rhythms and seasonal reproduction. Numerous studies have also documented the anti-cancer properties of melatonin, including anti-proliferation, anti-angiogenesis, and apoptosis promotion. In this paper, we hypothesized that melatonin exerts anti-cancer effects by inhibiting hypoxia-induced pathways. Considering this action, co-administration of melatonin in combination with other therapeutic medications might increase the effectiveness of anti-cancer drugs. In this review, we discussed the possible signaling pathways by which melatonin inhibits hypoxia-induced cancer cell survival, invasion, migration, and metabolism, as well as tumor angiogenesis.     

Multi-Phase Composite Nanofibers via Electrospinning of Latex Containing Nanocapsules with Core-Shell Morphology

Nanocapsules containing hexadecane (HD) as core material and polystyrene (PS) as shell, were electrospun with polyethylene oxide (PEO) as a matrix material into the fiber webs. The morphology and thermal properties of PEO fibers containing (1) both PS nanocapsules with core-shell morphology and solid PS particles, (2) only solid PS particles, and (3) without any PS particles, were compared and the effect of PEO concentration on morphology of the resultant fibers have been studied. The resultant fibers were characterized by means of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). Both TEM observation and DSC analyses confirmed that the PS nanocapsules were encapsulated within the PEO nanofibers. The fibers had an average diameter of 950 nm for nanocapsules containing parts, 300 nm for solid particles containing parts, and 150 nm for usual parts. The phase change temperatures and phase transition heat of the produced fibers were determined by DSC analyses. TGA was also used to confirm the preparation of multi phase fibers and to determine the amount of HD within the fibers.     

The effect of gelatin and thymol-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier on physicochemical,rheological, and sensory properties of sesame paste/date syrup blends as a snack bar

The development of a novel snack bar based on sesame paste (SP) and date syrup (DS) was investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluation the effects of SP/DS ratio and encapsulated thymol (thymol-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier [TNLC]) on physicochemical, textural, rheological, and sensorial properties of snack bars. The effect of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), thymol, and TNLC showed that the addition of 100 ppm TNLC could improve the oxidative stability of SP/DS mixtures even better than BHT, while a higher concentration of TNLC had a negative effect. The unpleasant taste and odor of thymol could be overcome by its encapsulation in nanostructured lipid carriers. The textural properties of the formulations with different SP/DS ratios (1:2, 1:1, 2:1) and an overall concentration of 7 g of gelatin/kg of mixtures were evaluated. The texture profile analysis showed that the sample with an SP/DS ratio of 1:1 had higher hardness, adhesiveness, springiness, cohesiveness, and gumminess in comparison with the other ratios. From the sensory evaluation data, the bar prepared with an SP/DS ratio of 1:1 had the most acceptable texture. According to the results, the SP/DS ratio of 1:1 with gelatin and 100 ppm TNLC can be used in developing SP/DS blends as a highly acceptable functional food.