Degradation Of Ring Research Articles

Stabilization Strategies and Optimization of Polyvinyl Alcohol-Chitosan Hybrid Polymer

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan (CS) are biopolymers with immense potential in packaging and biomedical applications, along with water purification due to their biodegradability and structural advantages. However, their inherent mechanical limitations hinder broader applicability. Here we report the enhancement in mechanical properties of PVA/CS hybrid films by optimizing polymer concentrations, coagulation solvents, and crosslinking conditions. FTIR analysis revealed successful crosslinking, with characteristic peaks for PVA’s –OH stretching (2800–3200 cm⁻1) and CS’s amide II vibrations (1555 cm⁻1). Glutaraldehyde (GA) crosslinking introduced aldehyde C=O (1634 cm⁻1) and O-H (3341 cm⁻1) peaks, strengthening the matrix. XRD analysis showed diminished CS crystallinity (reduced peak at 8.63°) due to crosslinking, while new semi-crystalline peaks at 10° and 12° and crystalline peaks at 35° and 42° contributed to a crystallinity index of 0.740. Mechanical properties improved significantly with heat treatment, improving Young’s modulus above 232.76 MPa, enhancing tensile strength, waterproofing, and crystalline fraction. NaOH treatment further strengthened the films due to hydroxide functionalization, improving intermolecular interactions. The material exhibits thermal stability up to 218°C, with major decomposition due to polymer and saccharide ring degradation occurring at higher temperatures (472–553°C). The different characterizations of the optimized PVA/CS films exhibit successful PVA/CS film formation with enhanced mechanical integrity, thermal stability, and biodegradability, with the 3% PVA and 1% CS combination emerging as the best formulation, offering a sustainable alternative to synthetic polymers for diverse environmentally focused applications.

Spectroscopy-based analysis of the effect of Maillard reaction products on oxidative stability of carp myoglobin.

As a pro-oxidant, myoglobin (Mb) can induce lipid oxidation in meat. In this study, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence spectroscopy, UV-vis spectrophotometry, and fluorescence microscopy were used to evaluate the impact of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) formed from glucose and lysine on the oxidative stability of carp Mb. MRPs were found to inhibit the auto-oxidation of Mb, reducing MetMb production by 8.45%. The static quenching of fluorescence indicated that MRPs interacted with Mb through hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces, thereby enhancing the α-helical content by 11.57% and reducing the random coil content by 2.72%. The enhanced stability of this advanced structure helps to minimize the exposure of amino acid in the side chain and prevent the formation of MetMb. Fluorescence microscopy showed that MRPs reduce porphyrin ring degradation, consequently decreasing heme iron release. It is evident that MRPs play a crucial role in maintaining Mb structure stability and inhibiting its oxidation.

Proton Transfer via Arginine with Suppressed pKa Mediates Catalysis by Gentisate and Salicylate Dioxygenase.

Gentisate and salicylate 1,2-dioxygenases (GDO and SDO) facilitate aerobic degradation of aromatic rings by inserting both atoms of dioxygen into their substrates, thereby participating in global carbon cycling. The role of acid-base catalysts in the reaction cycles of these enzymes is debatable. We present evidence of the participation of a proton shuffler during catalysis by GDO and SDO. The pH dependence of Michaelis-Menten parameters demonstrates that a single proton transfer is mandatory for the catalysis. Measurements at variable temperatures and pHs were used to determine the standard enthalpy of ionization (ΔHion°) of 51 kJ/mol for the proton transfer event. Although the observed apparent pKa in the range of 6.0-7.0 for substrates of both enzymes is highly suggestive of a histidine residue, ΔHion° establishes an arginine residue as the likely proton source, providing phylogenetic relevance for this strictly conserved residue in the GDO family. We propose that the atypical 3-histidine ferrous binding scaffold of GDOs contributes to the suppression of arginine pKa and provides support for this argument by employing a 2-histidine-1-carboxylate variant of the enzyme that exhibits elevated pKa. A reaction mechanism considering the role of the proton source in stabilizing key reaction intermediates is proposed.

Decolourization and detoxification of Reactive Red-195 azo dye by Staphylococcus caprae isolated from textile effluent.

Azo dyes are used as coloring agent in textile industries at larger scale. As a result, large quantity of dye-enriched waste water is generated which subsequently poses environmental problems. Biological tool involving bacteria having azoreductase enzyme has proved to be more effective and efficient in dye effluent treatment. Current work focuses on Staphylococcus caprae (S. caprae) for degradation and decolorization of Reactive Red-195 (RR-195) azo dye. For this purpose, factors such as pH, temperature, inoculums, carbon and nitrogen sources, and dye concentrations have been optimized for maximum decolorization and degradation. S. caprae (4mg/mL) efficiently resulted into 90% decolorization of RR-195 dye under static condition at 100µg/mL concentration, 30°C and pH 7.0 at a 12-h contact period. FTIR analysis has revealed the formation of new functional groups in the treated dye such as O-H stretch at 3370cm-1, C-H band stretching at 2928cm-1, and new band at 1608cm-1 which specify the degradation of aromatic ring, 1382 and 1118cm-1 represents desulfonated peaks. Biodegraded metabolites of RR-195 dye such as phenol, 3, 5-di-tert-butylphenol, and phthalic acid have been identified respectively that find industrial applications. Phytotoxicity test has shown non-toxic effects of treated dye on germination of Vigna radiata and Triticum aestivum seeds. Further, antibiotic diffusion assay has confirmed the biosafety of S. caprae.

Beta-Irradiation of pure 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium-based ionic liquids

1-Alkyl-3-methylimidazolium ionic liquids are common cellulose solvents and biomass pretreatment agents, while beta-irradiation (“e-beaming”) is often used to decrease the recalcitrance of biomass towards hydrolysis or saccharification. Aiming at the general goal of elucidating the interaction between lignocellulosics, imidazolium-based ionic liquids, and beta-irradiation, we studied the effect of beta-irradiation on the pure ILs 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium, both as chloride and acetate. Contrary to the expectation of inertness, irradiation caused degradation of the ILs, which was proportional to irradiation dosage, i.e., to irradiation time and intensity. At a dosage of 2400 kGy, 0.2% (2000 ppm) of the IL were chemically altered. The main degradation pathway is the formation of imidazole and N-methylimidazole with concomitant dealkylation. The cleaved-off alkyl groups, apparently in cationic form, react with the anions present, accounting for the formation of alkyl chlorides and alkyl acetates from the chloride ILs and acetate ILs, respectively. A second, minor pathway comprises the degradation of the imidazole ring under conversion of the C2-unit from the former C4-C5 moiety into ethylenediamine and reaction of the C1-unit from the former C2 with the IL anions. Because of the non-neglible byproduct formation, the degradation of the ILs upon beta-irradiation and possible side reactions of the resulting byproducts need to be kept in mind for all setups that involve beta-irradiation and imidazolium ILs simultaneously.Graphical abstract

Evolution of surface functional groups and aromatic ring degradation upon treatment of polystyrene with hydroxyl radicals

The surface properties of hydrocarbon polymers are inadequate for numerous applications. Hence, they require alteration via functionalisation with desired functional groups. Hydroxyl groups are often preferred, since they enable appropriate polarity for the irreversible grafting of desired molecules. In this study, the surface kinetics resulting from the treatment of polystyrene with hydroxyl (OH) radicals from the gas phase was fundamentally investigated through a precisely-designed experiment. Polystyrene samples were exposed to various known fluences of OH radicals, and the evolution of surface functional groups versus the OH fluence was monitored using high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The fluences of OH radicals varied between 1 × 1018 and 4 × 1023 m−2 in the process of finding a threshold fluence for the formation of specific groups. The surface concentration of carbonyl (C=O) groups could be measured using XPS at a fluence of approximately 5 × 1020 m−2. The C=O groups became measurable at a fluence of approximately 1.5 × 1021 m−2, and carboxyl (COOH)/ester groups at approximately 4 × 1021 m−2. As deduced from the XPS, a concentration of C=O groups at approximately 5 % occurred before the degradation of the aromatic ring. The formation of other oxygen-functional groups required opening of the aromatic ring. The results have been explained using a two-step process, considering available theories vis-a-vis initial stages in the functionalisation of PS with polar functional groups.

A Novel Hydrophobic Polyimide Film with Sag Structure Derived from Multi-Hybrid Strategy.

Polyimide (PI) film with hydrophilic greatly limits their application in the field of microelectronic device packaging. A novel hydrophobic PI film with sag structure and improved mechanical properties is prepared relying on the reaction between anhydride-terminated isocyanate-based polyimide (PIY) containing a seven-membered ring structure and the amino-terminated polyamide acid (PAA) via multi-hybrid strategy, this work named it as hybrid PI film and marked it as PI-PIY-X. PI-PIY-30 showed excellent hydrophobic properties, and the water contact angle could reach to 102°, which is 20% and 55% higher than simply PI film and PIY film, respectively. The water absorption is only 1.02%, with a decrease of 49% and 53% compared with PI and PIY. Due to that the degradation of seven-membered ring and generation of carbon dioxide led to the formation of sag structure, the size of sag structures is ≈16.84 and 534.55nm for in-plane and out-plane direction, which are observed on surface of PI-PIY-30. Meanwhile, PI-PIY-30 possessed improved mechanical properties, and the tensile strength is 109.08MPa, with 5% and more than 56% higher than that of pure PI and PIY film, showing greatly application prospects in the field of integrated circuit.

Polyphosphazene nanodrugs for targeting delivery and inflammation responsive release of curcumin to treat acute lung injury by effectively inhibiting cytokine storms

An excessive inflammatory response induced by cytokine storms is the primary reason for the deterioration of patients with acute lung injury (ALI). Though natural polyphenols such as curcumin (CUR) have anti-inflammation activity for ALI treatment, they often have limited efficacy due to their poor solubility in water and oxidising tendency. This study investigates a highly cross-linked polyphosphazene nano-drug (PHCH) developed by copolymerisation of CUR and acid-sensitive units (4-hydroxy-benzoic acid (4-hydroxy-benzylidene)-hydrazide, D-HBD) with hexachlorotripolyphosphonitrile (HCCP) for improved treatment of ALI. PHCH can prolong the blood circulation time and targeted delivery into lung inflammation sites by enhancing CUR's water dispersion and anti-oxidant properties. PHCH also demonstrates the inflammation-responsive release of CUR in an inflammation environment due to the acid-responsive degradation of hydrazine bonds and triphosphonitrile rings in PHCH. Therefore, PHCH has a substantial anti-inflammation activity for ALI treatment by synergistically improving CUR's water-solubility, bioavailability and biocompatibility. As expected, PHCH attenuates the cytokine storm syndrome and alleviates inflammation in the infected cells and tissues by down-regulating several critical inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-8). PHCH also decreases the expression of p-p65 and C-Caspase-1, inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasomes and suppressing NF-κB signalling pathways. The administrated mice experiments confirmed that PHCH accumulation was enhanced in lung tissue and showed the efficient scavenging ability of reactive oxygen species (ROS), effectively blocking the cytokine storm and alleviating inflammatory damage in ALI. This smart polyphosphazene nano-drug with targeting delivery property and inflammation-responsive release of curcumin has excellent potential for the clinical treatment of various inflammatory diseases, including ALI.

Proximity-dependent biotin identification links cholesterol catabolism with branched-chain amino acid degradation in Mycobacterium smegmatis.

Cholesterol is a crucial component in Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence as it is required for phagocytosis of mycobacteria by macrophages. In addition, the tubercle bacilli can grow using cholesterol as the sole carbon source. Thus, cholesterol catabolism represents a valuable target for the development of new antitubercular drugs. However, the molecular partners of cholesterol catabolism remain elusive in mycobacteria. Here, we focused on HsaC and HsaD, enzymes involved in two consecutive steps of cholesterol ring degradation and identified putative partners, using a BirA-based proximity-dependent biotin identification (BioID) approach in Mycobacterium smegmatis. In rich medium, the fusion protein BirA-HsaD was able to fish the endogenous cognate HsaC, thus validating this approach to study protein-protein interactions and to infer metabolic channeling of cholesterol ring degradation. In chemically defined medium, both HsaC and HsaD interacted with four proteins, BkdA, BkdB, BkdC, and MSMEG_1634. BkdA, BkdB, and BkdC are enzymes that participate in the degradation of branched-chain amino acids. As cholesterol and branched-chain amino acid catabolism both generate propionyl-CoA, which is a toxic metabolite for mycobacteria, this interconnection suggests a compartmentalization to avoid dissemination of propionyl-CoA into the mycobacterial cytosol. Moreover, the BioID approach allowed us to decipher the interactome of MSMEG_1634 and MSMEG_6518, two proteins of unknown function, which are proximal to the enzymes involved in cholesterol and branched-chain amino acid catabolism. In conclusion, BioID is a powerful tool to characterize protein-protein interactions and to decipher the interconnections between different metabolic pathways, thereby facilitating the identification of new mycobacterial targets.

A new member of the flavodoxin superfamily from Fusobacterium nucleatum that functions in heme trafficking and reduction of anaerobilin

Fusobacterium nucleatum is an opportunistic oral pathogen that is associated with various cancers. To fulfill its essential need for iron, this anaerobe will express heme uptake machinery encoded at a single genetic locus. The heme uptake operon includes HmuW, a class C radical SAM-dependent methyltransferase that degrades heme anaerobically to release Fe2+ and a linear tetrapyrrole called anaerobilin. The last gene in the operon, hmuF encodes a member of the flavodoxin superfamily of proteins. We discovered that HmuF and a paralog, FldH, bind tightly to both FMN and heme. The structure of Fe3+-heme-bound FldH (1.6Å resolution) reveals a helical cap domain appended to the ⍺/β core of the flavodoxin fold. The cap creates a hydrophobic binding cleft that positions the heme planar to the si-face of the FMN isoalloxazine ring. The ferric heme iron is hexacoordinated to His134 and a solvent molecule. In contrast to flavodoxins, FldH and HmuF do not stabilize the FMN semiquinone but instead cycle between the FMN oxidized and hydroquinone states. We show that heme-loaded HmuF and heme-loaded FldH traffic heme to HmuW for degradation of the protoporphyrin ring. Both FldH and HmuF then catalyze multiple reductions of anaerobilin through hydride transfer from the FMN hydroquinone. The latter activity eliminates the aromaticity of anaerobilin and the electrophilic methylene group that was installed through HmuW turnover. Hence, HmuF provides a protected path for anaerobic heme catabolism, offering F.nucleatum a competitive advantage in the colonization of anoxic sites of the human body.

Identification of the aldolase responsible for the production of 22-hydroxy-23,24-bisnorchol-4-ene-3-one from natural sterols in Mycolicibacterium smegmatis.

Mycobacterial mutants blocked in ring degradation constructed to achieve C19 synthons production, also accumulate by-products such as C22 intermediates throughout an alternative pathway reducing the production yields and complicating the downstream purification processing of final products. In this work, we have identified the MSMEG_6561 gene, encoding an aldolase responsible for the transformation of 22-hydroxy-3-oxo-cholest-4-ene-24-carboxyl-CoA (22-OH-BCN-CoA) into the 22-hydroxy-23,24-bisnorchol-4-ene-3-one (4-HBC) precursor (20S)-3-oxopregn-4-ene-20-carboxaldehyde (3-OPA). The deletion of this gene increases the production yield of the C-19 steroidal synthon 4-androstene-3,17-dione (AD) from natural sterols, avoiding the production of 4-HBC as by-product and the drawbacks in the AD purification. The molar yield of AD production using the MS6039-5941-6561 triple mutant strain was checked in flasks and bioreactor improving very significantly compared with the previously described MS6039-5941 strain.

The Photocatalytic Activity of CaTiO3 Derived from the Microwave-Melting Heating Process of Blast Furnace Slag.

The extraction of titanium-bearing components in the form of CaTiO3 is an efficient utilization of blast furnace slag. The photocatalytic performance of this obtained CaTiO3 (MM-CaTiO3) as a catalyst for methylene blue (MB) degradation was evaluated in this study. The analyses indicated that the MM-CaTiO3 had a completed structure with a special length-diameter ratio. Furthermore, the oxygen vacancy was easier to generate on a MM-CaTiO3(110) plane during the photocatalytic process, contributing to improving photocatalytic activity. Compared with traditional catalysts, MM-CaTiO3 has a narrower optical band gap and visible-light responsive performance. The degradation experiments further confirmed that the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of pollutants by using MM-CaTiO3 was 3.2 times that of pristine CaTiO3 in optimized conditions. Combined with molecular simulation, the degradation mechanism clarified that acridine of MB molecular was stepwise destroyed by using MM-CaTiO3 in short times, which is different from demethylation and methylenedioxy ring degradation by using TiO2. This study provided a promising routine for using solid waste to obtain catalysts with excellent photocatalytic activity and was found to be in keeping with sustainable environmental development.

Online tracking and prediction of slip ring degradation using chaos theory based on LSTM neural network

The online monitoring of the slip ring is important for ensuring normal operations of wind turbine equipment. A current-carrying friction experiment was conducted to simulate the degradation process of the slip ring. The chaotic parameter enclosing the radius and statistical parameter root mean square (RMS) were used to characterize the multi-sensor signals comprehensively. A new health indicator (HI) was proposed to evaluate the degradation state of slip rings based on long- and short-term memory neural networks. It was fused by the signals of friction vibration, friction torque, voltage and electric current. The HI presents a better prediction effect by the prediction model. At the severe stage of the slip ring, the evaluation criteria mean absolute error, root mean square error and mean percentage error of the HI were 0.0306, 0.0323 and 5.0225% respectively. These values are much better than the RMS of the vibration signal. The results verify that the method can effectively determine the real-time degradation state of the slip ring.

TiO2 supported on rice straw biochar as an adsorptive and photocatalytic composite for the efficient removal of ciprofloxacin in aqueous matrices

Ciprofloxacin (CIP) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, but it is widely found in pharmaceutical wastewater, livestock wastewater, domestic sewage, and river sediments. CIP is not easy to be decomposed naturally and has high harm to human body. The development of cheap, environmental-friendly, and efficient biochar materials for antibiotic removal has certain practicability and applicability. The characteristics of rice straw biochar (RSB) and TiO2 modified rice straw biochar (Ti-RSB) were examined by BET, FTIR, UV–vis DRS, LRS, XPS, Zeta potential, SEM, EDS and XRD. Then the ability and mechanism of RSB and Ti-RSB to remove CIP were evaluated through kinetic and isotherm adsorption experiments. The results showed that the adsorption of CIP by RSB is more consistent with BET model. When pH= 5, the maximum adsorption capacity for CIP based on Langmuir model was 747.64 mg/g. The adsorption mechanism includes electrostatic interaction, π-π interaction, and H bond interaction, in which CO is the functional group that plays the main adsorption role. While using TiO2 to functionalize the surface of RSB, increasing the photocatalytic performance of the material, the composite Ti-RSB has a superior removal effect on CIP degradation at a wide pH from 5 to 9. The degradation mechanism belongs to the first defluorination reaction, and then the degradation of the piperazine ring. The recycling of rice straw into biochar and its functional modification into composite materials have application values in the removal of CIP.

A Keto Reductase Involved in Steroid Degradation in Mycolicibacterium neoaurum.

Phytosterols can be used by microorganisms as carbon and energy sources and completely degraded into CO2 and H2 O. The catabolic pathway of phytosterols was well characterized in many microorganisms. Blocking the steroid core ring degradation by deletions of fadE30 and fadD3 genes, two important steroid intermediates, 3aα-H-4α-(3'-Propionic acid)-5α-hydroxy-7aβ-methylhexahydro-1-indanone-δ-lactone (sitolactone, or HIL) and 3aα-H-4α-(3'-propionic acid)-7aβ-methylhexahydro-1,5-indanedione (HIP) can be accumulated. They are currently used to synthesize nor-steroid drugs with an α-methyl group or without the methyl group at the C10 -position, such as estrone and norethindrone. In this study, a key gene involved in the bioconversion of HIP to HIL was identified in Mycolicibacterium neoaurum. Through heterologous expression, gene hipR was found to be involved in the reduction of the C5 keto group of HIP to a hydroxy group, leading to spontaneously lactonization into HIL in vitro. Through gene complementation and knockout, HipR functions were verified and two HIP degradation pathways in vivo were elucidated. The finding of this research facilitated the understanding of the metabolic pathway of sterols, and was directly applied to engineering robust production strains by overexpression or knockout of related genes.

Investigation of rolling bearing weak fault diagnosis based on cnn with two-dimensional image

In this paper, we choose convolution neural network (CNN) as the method to diagnosis weak fault of rolling bearings. In order to improve the training effect of CNN, different two-dimensional image conversion algorithms which include Gramian angular sum difference fields, wavelet time-frequency diagram, Markov transition field are introduced in to convert one-dimensional time series of bearing vibration signals into images. To relieve the pressure of hardware calculation and shorten the time of training and validation, we use the piecewise aggregate approximation (PAA) to compress the data as much as possible while preserving the whole signal information. We add the batch normalization layer to avoid the gradient saturation problem of ReLU function and minibatch method is used to overcome the instability of stochastic gradient descent with momentum (SGDM) while designing CNN. Each kind of images are made as the training sample, and the results show that both the wavelet time-frequency diagram and the Gramian sum or difference angle field diagram can better identify the fault state, and the wavelet time-frequency diagram was relatively better. By comparing with different recurrent neural network (RNN) diagnosis models, the validity of the model was proved. At the same time, the model is applied to the performance degradation identification of fault parts, and the results shows that the model can effectively identify the degradation of inner ring, outer ring and rolling body, while the accuracy of inner ring and the outer ring is better. This paper provides a new idea for weak fault diagnosis of rolling bearings.

F-box receptor mediated control of substrate stability and subcellular location organizes cellular development of Aspergillus nidulans.

Fungal growth and development are coordinated with specific secondary metabolism. This coordination requires 8 of 74 F-box proteins of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. F-box proteins recognize primed substrates for ubiquitination by Skp1-Cul1-Fbx (SCF) E3 ubiquitin RING ligases and degradation by the 26S proteasome. 24 F-box proteins are found in the nuclear fraction as part of SCFs during vegetative growth. 43 F-box proteins interact with SCF proteins during growth, development or stress. 45 F-box proteins are associated with more than 700 proteins that have mainly regulatory roles. This corroborates that accurate surveillance of protein stability is prerequisite for organizing multicellular fungal development. Fbx23 combines subcellular location and protein stability control, illustrating the complexity of F-box mediated regulation during fungal development. Fbx23 interacts with epigenetic methyltransferase VipC which interacts with fungal NF-κB-like velvet domain regulator VeA that coordinates fungal development with secondary metabolism. Fbx23 prevents nuclear accumulation of methyltransferase VipC during early development. These results suggest that in addition to their role in protein degradation, F-box proteins also control subcellular accumulations of key regulatory proteins for fungal development.

Synergistic improvement of CO2/CH4 separation performance of phenolphthalein-based polyimide membranes by thermal decomposition and thermal-oxidative crosslinking

Thermal oxidative crosslinking results in the generation of oxygen bridges among polymer chains and helps regulate the membrane microstructure. Simultaneously, any strategy to increase the crosslinking sites of polyimide (PI) can improve the crosslinking efficiency and allow precise control of the pore structure of membranes. Phenolphthalein-based PIs are potentially suitable precursors for thermal oxidative crosslinking of membranes, since thermal treatment will result in the degradation of lactone ring leading to the generation of a pair of phenyl crosslinking sites. In this work, three phenolphthalein-based diamines with different structures were designed and synthesized. The three diamines were subsequently reacted with 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) to prepare phenolphthalein-based PIs. The original membranes were post-treated by thermal oxidation crosslinking at 400 °C and 425 °C, respectively; the lactone ring underwent decomposition, and the imide ring opened at the same time, resulting in the generation of multiple crosslinking sites and correspondingly improving the crosslinking efficiency. The effect of the side groups (−CH3, –CF3 or unsubstituted) of phenolphthalein-based diamine and thermal treatment temperatures on the gas separation performance of phenolphthalein-based PI membranes were investigated. Wide-angle X-ray diffractometry (WAXD) and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) analysis demonstrated that the π-π stacking distance were improved. BTDA-FPP-425 had a CO2/CH4 selectivity of 37.68. This thermal degradation along with thermal oxidative crosslinking strategy provides a promising approach for fabrication of CO2/CH4 separation membrane.

In silico Study of Essential Oil of Bambusa vulgaris Leaves as an Anti Beta-lactamase Compound

Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae is known as an extended spectrum beta (β)-lactamases (ESBLs)-producing bacteria, which produces enzymes that cause resistance to β-lactam antibiotics by degrading β-lactam ring. A solution is needed to prevent the degradation of the β-lactam ring. In this in silico study, combining β-lactam antibiotics with secondary metabolites has the possibility to inhibit the active site of the β-lactamase enzyme. This study aimed to explore the potential of the essential oil of yellow bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris) leaves as inhibitors of β-lactamase. Materials and methods: This research was conducted by simulating molecular docking to determine the interaction of ligands with proteins, pharmacological tests of compounds based on the Lipinski’s rule of five, and ligand toxicity tests with pkCSM. Results: The free bond energy values (∆G) were in the range of -4.3 to -8.0 kcal/mol. The ligands with the best ∆G value were sulfur pentafluoride (-8.0 kcal/mol), squalene (-7.3 kcal/mol), 3-aminodibenzofuran (-7.1 kcal/mol), and 2- monolaurin (-5.5 kcal/mol). Secondary metabolites from the essential oil of B. vulgaris leaves fulfilled Lipinski’s rule of five, so that oral use can be carried out except for squalene and tridecane. Conclusion: Secondary metabolite compounds in the essential oil that have potential as oral drugs based on the Lipinski pharmacological test and the pkCSM toxicity test are dipivaloylmethane, β-ocimene, 2-monolaurin, and undecane. Keywords: β-lactamase, Bambusa vulgaris, essential oil, Klebsiella pneumoniae

Novel mechanism and degradation kinetics of allethrin using Bacillus megaterium strain HLJ7 in contaminated soil/water environments

As a common pyrethroid insecticide, allethrin is widely used for various purposes in agriculture and home applications. At present, allethrin residues have been frequently detected worldwide, yet little is known about the kinetics and degradation mechanisms of this insecticide. In this study, a highly efficient allethrin-degrading bacterium, Bacillus megaterium strain HLJ7, was obtained through enrichment culture technology. Strain HLJ7 can remove 96.5% of 50 mg L−1 allethrin in minimal medium within 11 days. The first-order kinetic analysis of degradation demonstrated that the half-life of allethrin degradation by strain HLJ7 was 3.56 days, which was significantly shorter than the 55.89 days of the control. The Box–Behnken design of the response surface method optimized the degradation conditions for strain HLJ7: temperature 32.18 °C, pH value 7.52, and inoculation amount 1.31 × 107 CFU mL−1. Using Andrews equation, the optimal concentration of strain HLJ7 to metabolize allethrin was determined to be 21.15 mg L−1, and the maximum specific degradation rate (qmax), half-rate constant (Ks) and inhibition coefficient (Ki) were calculated to be 1.80 d−1, 1.85 mg L−1 and 68.13 mg L−1, respectively. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified five intermediate metabolites, suggesting that allethrin could be degraded firstly by cleavage of its carboxylester bond, followed by degradation of the five-carbon ring and subsequent metabolism. The results of soil remediation experiments showed that strain HLJ7 has excellent bioremediation potential in the soils. After 15 days of treatment, about 70.8% of the initial allethrin (50 mg kg−1) was removed and converted into nontoxic intermediate metabolites, and its half-life was significantly reduced in the soils. Taken together, these findings shed light on the degradation mechanisms of allethrin and also highlight the promising potentials of B. megaterium HLJ7 in bioremediation of allethrin-comtaminated environment.