Characterization of Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage BasuTN3 isolated from Thua Nao,a thai fermented soybean food product

Food Science and Biotechnology - The infection of bacteriophage is of great concern in food industry as this can result in complete fermentation failure. In this study, a virulent bacteriophage,...     

Complementary Functions of Vanadium in Boosting Electrocatalytic Activity of CuCoNiFeMn High-Entropy Alloy for Water Splitting

High entropy alloys (HEAs) composed of multi-metal elements in a single crystal structure are attractive for electrocatalysis. However, identifying the complementary functions of each element in HEAs is a prerequisite. Thus, V_xCuCoNiFeMn (x = 0, 0.5, and 1.0) HEAs are investigated to identify the active role of vanadium in improving the electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Structural studies show the successful incorporation of V in the HEA. V_1.0CuCoNiFeMn (V_1.0-HEA) shows an overpotential of 250 mV versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (at −50 mA cm⁻², 1 m KOH), which is ≈170 mV lower than that of control-HEA (422 mV). Improves electrical conductivity and the electrochemical surface area of the V_1.0-HEA accelerated HER activity. Furthermore, density functional theory calculations reveal reduced water dissociation and hydrogen adsorption energies of V_1.0-HEA, resulting in the boosted HER kinetics. The effect of V incorporation on the barrier height and active sites at the surface of V_1.0-HEA is schematically explained. This study can be facilitated for the development of highly active HEAs for large-scale electrochemical water splitting.     

Cell-Like Capsules with “Smart” Compartments

Eukaryotic cells have inner compartments (organelles), each with distinct properties and functions. One mimic of this architecture, based on biopolymers, is the multicompartment capsule (MCC). Here, MCCs in which the inner compartments are chemically unique and “smart,” i.e., responsive to distinct stimuli in an orthogonal manner are created. Specifically, one compartment alone is induced to degrade when the MCC is contacted with an enzyme while other compartments remain unaffected. Similarly, just one compartment gets degraded upon contact with reactive oxygen species generated from hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). And thirdly, one compartment alone is degraded by an external, physical stimulus, namely, by irradiating the MCC with ultraviolet (UV) light. All these specific responses are achieved without resorting to complicated chemistry to create the compartments: the multivalent cation used to crosslink the biopolymer alginate (Alg) is simply altered. Compartments of Alg crosslinked by Ca²⁺ are shown to be sensitive to enzymes (alginate lyases) but not to H₂O₂ or UV, whereas the reverse is the case with Alg/Fe³⁺ compartments. These results imply the ability to selectively burst open a compartment in an MCC “on-demand” (i.e., as and when needed) and using biologically relevant stimuli. The results are then extended to a sequential degradation, where compartments in an MCC are degraded one after another, leaving behind an empty MCC lumen. Collectively, this work advances the MCC as a platform that not only emulates key features of cellular architecture, but can also begin to capture rudimentary cell-like behaviors.     

Clarification on phase transition behaviors by local strain engineering in Bi1/2Na1/2TiO3–SrTiO3-based ternary ceramics

The stabilization of ergodicity plays an important role in realizing large strain in a Bi_1/2Na_1/2TiO₃ (BNT)-based relaxor, which is strongly related to the degree of random fields with respect to the randomly distributed different cations. To clarify the effects of different ionic radii, this study investigated and compared the microstructures, crystal structures, phase transition behaviors, and electrical properties of BNT–ST-based ternary ceramics by modifying BiMeO₃ (where Me = Al and Fe). It was observed that the stabilized relaxor states are different between BiFeO₃-/and BiAlO₃-modified BNT–ST ternary ceramics. As a result, it is suggested that phase transition (more precisely, the stabilization of ergodicity) can be influenced by the different internal strain in BNT–ST-based ternary ceramics.     

Development of phage-based assay to differentiate ciprofloxacin resistant and sensitive Salmonella Typhimurium

This study was designed to evaluate the possibility of using phage-amplification assay for discriminating between antibiotic-sensitive and antibiotic-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium. The characteristics of Salmonella phage PBST32 were determined by adsorption rate, one-step growth curve, and lytic activity. The ability of phage-based method to detect S. Typhimurium ATCC 19585 (ST^CIP) was determined in single culture and bacterial mixtures of S. Typhimurium ATCC 19585 (ST^WT), Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus. The adsorption rates of PBST32 were 95% and 93% against ST^WT and ST^CIP after 20 min, respectively. The PBST32 showed latent period of 20 min and average burst size of 90 against ST^WT and ST^CIP. The ST^CIP was selectively detected in mixtures of S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, and ST^WT by phage amplification assay. These results provide useful information for designing phage amplification method that can differentially detect antibiotic-resistant pathogens.     

Vision-based Recognition Algorithm for Up-To-Date Indoor Digital Map Generations at Damaged Buildings

When firefighters are engaged in search and rescue missions inside a building at a risk of collapse, they have difficulty in field command and rescue because they can only simply monitor the situation inside the building utilizing old building drawings or robots. To propose an efficient solution for fast search and rescue work of firefighters, this study investigates the generation of up-to-date digital maps for disaster sites by tracking the collapse situation, and identifying the information of obstacles which are risk factors, using an artificial intelligence algorithm based on low-cost robots. Our research separates the floor by using the mask regional convolutional neural network (R-CNN) algorithm, and determines whether the passage is collapsed or not. Then, in the case of a passage that can be searched, the floor pattern of the obstacles that exist on the floor that has not collapsed is analyzed, and obstacles are searched utilizing an image processing algorithm. Here, we can detect various unknown as well as known obstacles. Furthermore, the locations of obstacles can be estimated using the pixel values up to the bounding box of an existing detected obstacle. We conduct experiments using the public datasets collected by Carnegie Mellon university (CMU) and data collected by manipulating a low-cost robot equipped with a smartphone while roaming five buildings in a campus. The collected data have various floor patterns for objectivity and obstacles that are different from one another. Based on these data, the algorithm for detecting unknown obstacles of a verified study and estimating their sizes had an accuracy of 93%, and the algorithm for estimating the distance to obstacles had an error rate of 0.133. Through this process, we tracked collapsed passages and composed up-to-date digital maps for disaster sites that include the information of obstacles that interfere with the search and rescue work.     

Aging-Related Metabolic Dysfunction in the Salivary Gland: A Review of the Literature

Aging-related salivary dysfunction commonly induces the poor oral health, including decreased saliva flow and dental caries. Although the clinical significance of the salivary glands is well-known, the complex metabolic pathways contributing to the aging-dysfunction process are only beginning to be uncovered. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the metabolic changes in aging-mediated salivary gland dysfunction as a key aspect of oral physiology. Several metabolic neuropeptides or hormones are involved in causing or contributing to salivary gland dysfunction, including hyposalivation and age-related diseases. Thus, aging-related metabolism holds promise for early diagnosis, increased choice of therapy and the identification of new metabolic pathways that could potentially be targeted in salivary gland dysfunction.     

Cu–Co–P electrodeposited on carbon paper as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction in anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers

To solve the issues of energy shortage and environmental pollution, it is essential to develop highly effective catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in water electrolysis. Herein, we report a facile and rapid fabrication of a Cu–Co–P catalyst on a carbon paper (CP) substrate using electrodeposition. First, the deposition conditions for Co–P/CP were optimized. The prepared Co–P consisted of numerous spheres and exhibited acceptable catalytic activity towards HER in an alkaline medium with an overpotential of 72 mV at current density of ?10 mA/cm². Further performance enhancement was achieved by the incorporation of Cu to modify the electronic structure of the Co–P catalyst. In a half-cell test, the optimized Cu–Co–P/CP exhibits remarkable performance, achieving ?10 mA/cm² at an overpotential of 59 mV, and the Tafel slope is 38 mV/dec. In a single-cell test, an anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer with a Cu–Co–P/CP cathode and commercial IrO₂/CP anode exhibited high current density of 0.70 A/cm² at 1.9 V_cell.     

Novel application of an optical inspection system to determine the freshness of Scomber japonicus (mackerel) stored at a low temperature

Food Science and Biotechnology - This study evaluated the use of an optical inspection system (OIS) to determine the freshness of mackerel (Scomber japonicus). The correlations between the light...