Fingerprinting Breast Milk; insights into Milk Exosomics.

Breast milk, often referred to as "liquid gold," is a complex biofluid that provides essential nutrients, immune factors, and developmental cues for newborns. Recent advancements in the field of exosome research have shed light on the critical role of exosomes in breast milk. Exosomes are nanosized vesicles that carry bioactive molecules, including proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and miRNAs. These tiny messengers play a vital role in intercellular communication and are now being recognized as key players in infant health and development. This paper explores the emerging field of milk exosomics, emphasizing the potential of exosome fingerprinting to uncover valuable insights into the composition and function of breast milk. By deciphering the exosomal cargo, we can gain a deeper understanding of how breast milk influences neonatal health and may even pave the way for personalized nutrition strategies.

Scale-up for esters production from straw whiskers for biofuel applications.

Delignified wheat straw was fermented by a mixed bacterial anaerobic culture obtained from a UASB reactor to produce organic acids (OAs). Kissiris was used as immobilization carrier in a 2-compartment 82L bioreactor filled with 17L of fermentation broth for the first 7 fermentation batches and up to 40L for the subsequent batches. The amount of straw used was 30g/L and the temperature was set at 37°C for all experiments. The total OAs reached concentrations up to 17.53g/L and the produced ethanol ranged from 0.3 to 1mL/L. The main OAs produced was acetic acid (6-8g/L) and butyric acid (3-8g/L). The OAs were recovered from the fermentation broth by a downstream process using 1-butanol, which was the solvent with the best recovery yields and also served as the esterification alcohol. The enzymatic esterification of OAs resulted to 90% yield.

Downstream extraction process development for recovery of organic acids from a fermentation broth.

The present study focused on organic acids (OAs) recovery from an acidogenic fermentation broth, which is the main problem regarding the use of OAs for production of ester-based new generation biofuels or other applications. Specifically, 10 solvents were evaluated for OAs recovery from aqueous media and fermentation broths. The effects of pH, solvent/OAs solution ratios and application of successive extractions were studied. The 1:1 solvent/OAs ratio showed the best recovery rates in most cases. Butyric and isobutyric acids showed the highest recovery rates (80-90%), while lactic, succinic, and acetic acids were poorly recovered (up to 45%). The OAs recovery was significantly improved by successive 10-min extractions. Alcohols presented the best extraction performance. The process using repeated extractions with 3-methyl-1-butanol led to the highest OAs recovery. However, 1-butanol can be considered as the most cost-effective option taking into account its price and availability.

Economic evaluation of technology for a new generation biofuel production using wastes.

An economic evaluation of an integrated technology for industrial scale new generation biofuel production using whey, vinasse, and lignocellulosic biomass as raw materials is reported. Anaerobic packed-bed bioreactors were used for organic acids production using initially synthetic media and then wastes. Butyric, lactic and acetic acid were predominately produced from vinasse, whey, and cellulose, respectively. Mass balance was calculated for a 16,000L daily production capacity. Liquid-liquid extraction was applied for recovery of the organic acids using butanol-1 as an effective extraction solvent which serves also as the alcohol for the subsequent enzyme-catalyzed esterification. The investment needed for the installation of the factory was estimated to about 1.7million€ with depreciation excepted at about 3months. For cellulosics, the installation investment was estimated to be about 7-fold higher with depreciation at about 1.5years. The proposed technology is an alternative trend in biofuel production.

An infrared spectroscopic study of aortic valve. A possible mechanism of calcification and the role of magnesium salts.

In the present study fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to study the mechanism of pathogenesis of aortic valve calcification. The high intensity bands of vCH3 and vCH2 groups of lipids and phospholipids of membranes, in the spectral region 3000-2800 cm(-1), show the high concentration of lipids and fatty components in aortic valve, resulting from degradation of the main aliphatic chain of the membranes, with a change of their permeability and fluidity. The presence of bands at 3075 and 1744 cm(-1), assigned to olefinic (v=CH) and aldehyde carbonyl groups, respectively, implies that reactive oxygen species are involved in the initiation of peroxidation of the lipids and phospholipids. These latter bands are related to the oxidative stress of the patients. From the shifts of bands to lower frequencies of the characteristic absorption bands of amide I and amide II, it is suggested that the proteins change their secondary structure from α-helix to ß-sheets and random coil due to modifications of collagen, associated with the permeability of aortic valve atherosclerosis. From the spectral region 1150-900 cm(-1), where the characteristic stretching vibration bands of the phosphate groups (vPO4(-3)) absorb, the calcified aortic valve was found to contain biological hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2), as well as amorphous hydroxyapatite (Ca5(PO4)xOH) and CaHPO4. These findings are in agreement with scanning electron microscopy energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and X-ray diffraction analyses. SEM micrographs show that the valves are rich in fibrils and that the protein-protein cross-linked chemical bonds seem to be the points of initiation of calcification.

Oxidative stress and atherogenesis. An FT-IR spectroscopic study.

Atherosclerosis is a complex phenomenon which leads to sudden death. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to study the pathogenic components of carotids that produce the atheromatic plaque at the molecular level, as well as the role of free radicals, which are developed during oxidative stress and their effect on plaque generation. The absorption infrared spectra reflected significant changes which were analogous to clinical data of each patient. The spectra contained signature bands of the biological molecules which were characteristic for the plaque components. The bands found at about 3080 cm(-1) and 1736 cm(-1) were proportional to low-density lipoprotein concentration for each patient, suggesting the hydroperoxidation of lipids due to free radicals, generated during oxidative stress. From scanning electron microscopy analysis, it was found that the carotid plaques contained calcium minerals, silicon and heavy metals, such as copper, silver, lead and titanium, which were related to the working environment of the patients.