Vol. 27 No. 1 (2022): Romanian Biotechnological Letters
This journal is dedicated to publishing original research papers, reviews, rapid and short communications (not exceeding 3 printed pages). The covered topics and subjects include biotechnology (i.e., green, red, white, blue, bioinformatics) and interdisciplinary research in medicine, neuroscience, agriculture, animal husbandry, ecology and environmental protection.
Full Issue
Articles
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Review of Heart Sound Analyses from Phonocardiogram Records
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases are considered as one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Well-beings of people in the risk groups are monitored by various state-of-the-art tools in clinics and home-care units. Phonocardiograph is one of the them which captures sounds
coming from the heart and gives high-quality graphical records (i.e., Phonocardiogram, PCG)
of them for examination of pathologies. PCG records have been studied and interpreted in order
to localize heart sound segments and classify abnormalities for decades. Moreover, there have
been competitions for heart sound classification and researchers have developed successful
solutions based on signal processing and machine learning approaches. Main steps of those
studies are grouped as preprocessing, segmentation, feature extraction and classification. In this
study we present a survey of proposed methods and used datasets. The features used in the
literature are listed as time, frequency and time-frequency domains. Performances of different
studies are presented and compared. From this perspective, it is concluded that there is still
room for automated heart sound analysis. Larger open access PCG databases are required for
testing state-of-the-art machine learning methods. -
Fennel and turmeric powders' effectiveness as natural preservatives in beef burgers
Abstract
This investigation was performed to study the possibility of the utilization of fennel seed powder (FSP) and turmeric seed powder (TSP) at levels of (1.5, 3.0, and 4.5%) as natural preservatives during the preparation of burgers stored at a refrigeration temperature (4 ± 1oC). The obtained results revealed that, FP and TP significantly reduced the total count of bacteria, pH, and thiobarbituric acid (TBA). Furthermore, the results showed that by increasing the concentration of tested powders, the bacterial counts, pH, and TBA values were dropped, with the concentration of 4.5% providing the highest effectiveness. Comparatively, the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Turmeric ether extract (TEE) were higher than of Fennel ether extract (FEE). In conclusion, fennel and turmeric can play an important role as antioxidants and antibacterial agents in refrigerated burgers.
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Quality characteristics of biscuits supplemented with mango kernel and sugar beet molasses ingredients
Abstract
Mango kernel is largely treated as a waste material, but its flour can be used in many foods as a potential replace of wheat flour (WF). Sugar beet molasses (SBM) is a raw material with high possibility to be a functional ingredient in baked commodities. The aims of this research were to process mango kernel flour (MAKF) and sugar beet molasses (SBM) to comparison its chemical composition and minerals content and really to evaluate the quality of MAKF and SBM substituted composite biscuits by investigating chemical composition, minerals content, physical and textural characteristics and sensory evaluation of produced biscuits. The composition of MAKF and SBM showed higher concentration of ash (6.97 and 10.62%, respectively) compared to WF. MAKF showed higher amounts of fat and fiber than WF (3.22 and 2.34%, respectively). Moisture and ash contents of the developed biscuits increased with increasing of MAKF and SBM contents. MAKF increased all minerals content in the all prepared biscuits, while SBM caused an increase only in Na and Fe. Sensory evaluation indicated that 5% SBM and 10% MAKF containing biscuit were the most acceptable to the panelists among composite biscuits.
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Influence of high-voltage electric field thawing on frozen tilapia fillets quality
Abstract
In the food sector, high voltage electric field (HVEF) has recently been regarded as a novel thawing technique. The variance in the quality was compared between frozen tilapia fish fillets thawed by high voltage electrostatic field (HVE) and those thawed conventionally as control. Frozen tilapia fish fillets were thawed under HVEF and were exposed to three different corona voltages from 4.5 to 14 kV at electrode gaps of 3, 4.5, and 6 cm; the control was thawed at 20°C without HVEF treatment. Thawing rate, evaporation, thawing, and drip losses, as well as total volatile binding nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, protein solubility, and color variations, have been employed as the quality indicators. The results revealed that thawing under HVEF greatly enhances the thawing rates of frozen tilapia fish fillets. The greatest rate of thawing was 2.16 times that of the control specimen. However, thawing HVEF reduced the protein solubility and color of fish specimens. In comparison to the control, increasing the applied voltage reduced the protein solubility of the fish specimens High electrostatic field intensities caused frozen tilapia fish fillets to oxidize quicker than lower ones.
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Antilipase, antiacetylcholinesterase and antioxidant activities of Moringa oleifera extracts
Abstract
Pancreatic lipase is critical for the catabolism of lipids in the intestine, making it a prime target for obesity management. Acetylcholinesterase is an important enzyme that hydrolyses the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. It inhibition is paramount in enhancing systemic acetylcholine level. Side effects of conventional drugs lead to continued search for alternative anti-obesity and anticholinesterase agents. The present study assessed lipase and acetylcholinesterase inhibition, as
well as antioxidant activity of Moringa oleifera extracts. The inhibitory activities of the extracts on lipase and acetylcholinesterase were dose dependent. Aqueous leaf extract (IC50 = 3.26 ± 0.26 mg/ml) and hexane root extract (IC50 = 0.08 ± 0.00 mg/ml) exhibited the highest antilipase and antiacetylcholinesterase activity respectively. Aqueous extracts of root and leaf (IC50 of 1.43 ± 0.03 mg/ml and 1.86 ± 0.10 mg/ml respectively) had the highest N, N-dimethyl-p-phenylene diamine dihydrochloride radical scavenging activity, while ethyl acetate leaf extract had the highest nitrite scavenging activity (IC50 = 2.20 ± 0.06 mg/ml). Compared to other extracts, methanol leaf extract exhibited the highest ferric reducing power. These findings suggest that M. oleifera possess promising antilipase, antiacetylcholinesterase and antioxidant potentials. Therefore, may be employed as food additive for the management of obesity, Alzheimer and other degenerative
diseases. -
Characterization of a lipolytic strain of Pseudomonas stutzeri SN-3 and production of triacylglycerol hydrolase with concomitant biodegradation of palm oil
Abstract
triglycerides. Lipases are the ubiquitous enzymes with their applications ranging from food industry to cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and bioremediation purposes. The present research involves 16S rDNA sequencing of a lipase producing strain isolated indigenously. The strain was identified as a novel Pseudomonas stutzeri SN-3, the gene sequence of which was deposited in GenBank with accession number MH639065. The research design also includes the exploration of alternative fermentation conditions for maximum production of triacylglycerol hydrolase from the novel strain. Different physical and chemical parameters were studied which includes temperature, pH, fermentation time course, nitrogen sources, carbon sources, phosphate sources, different salts and their concentrations for getting optimal yield of triacylglycerol hydrolase. Utilization of olive oil for production of lipases is a conventional approach, which is quite costly for commercial applications; therefore, palm oil was incorporated in cultivation medium as an alternative cheap substrate for triacylglycerol hydrolase production. Enzyme yield from Pseudomonas stutzeri SN-3 was optimized by using 1 gm% palm oil and 4 gm% yeast extract as carbon and nitrogen sources respectively in the presence of 2 gm% CaCl2 as enzyme stabilizer and 0.01% KH2PO4 as bacterial growth promoter. The maximum enzyme production was observed after 48 hours of fermentation with medium pH 7 at 37 ⁰C. Conclusively, we had a novel Pseudomonas stutzeri SN-3 specie and a cost-effective and eco- friendly medium for commercial production of triacylglycerol hydrolase.
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Some atmospheric trace metals deposition in selected trees as a possible biomonitor
Abstract
Several trees are effectively used to biomonitor of trace metals in urban environmental pollution. It gives information about the speciation of trace metals and their transition between organs in the plant. In the wood of the trees, it can be determined which part is formed in which year with the help of organs formed by the effect of seasonal differences. Air pollutants damage to humans and other living things in nature is generally referred to as a sign of pollution. They are released from anthropogenic sources accumulate in the bodies of nearby species over time. They give information about the history of air pollutants due to the accumulation in their wood, inner bark, and outer bark. In this study, organs of Robinia pseudoacacia L., Cupressus arizonica G., and Platanus orientalis L. were analyzed as biomonitors with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP- MS). All samples were taken from Kocaeli province industrial zone which has quite a wide industrial area. The concentration of selected trace elements as Iron (Fe), Magnesium (Mg), and Zinc (Zn) their emission caused by industrial activities and transport vehicle density. The results of the study show that Robinia pseudoacacia L. was the most suitable species for Fe, Mg, and Zn concentration levels as a biomonitor.
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The influence of a two-point contralateral crutch gait on the loading of the lower limb using a forearm crutch
Abstract
Objectives: This biomechanical study was conducted to validate the assumption that using an elbow crutch on one side diminishes the loading of the contralateral lower limb.
Methods: This study included in total 49 subjects: 39 patients and 10 healthy volunteers with a total of 114 observations divided in two groups. Group I, control group, (forearm crutch) contained 24 subjects (5 healthy volunteers and 19 Orthopedic patients). Group II (electronic forearm crutch) was made up of 25 subjects (5 healthy volunteers and 20 Orthopedic patients) with 60 observations. The electronic crutch recorded the speed of the crutch movement in the sagittal plane, the axial force exerted on the shaft of the crutch and the position of the crutch in the frontal plane in relation to the central axis of the subject.
Results: holding the forearm crutch contralateral of the examined limb, we documented a 74% lower amount of limb loading. Holding the elbow crutch on the same side as the examined limb, we reported in 53.6% less loading.
Conclusions: These results do not corroborate with the theoretical mechanical analysis of limb loading, where a diminishing load of the limb is predicted contralateral to an elbow crutch. -
Optimization of some fish by-products using tilapia and mullet head fortification of rice
Abstract
Fish processing waste is either discarded or considered as a low-value raw material. The chemical composition and fatty acid profile of the tilapia and mullet by-products (heads, viscera, and liver) were determined. Also, the possibility of rice fortification with tilapia head flour (THF) and mullet head flour (MHF) and its effect on the chemical composition and sensory properties of rice were evaluated. Results indicated that, the tilapia and mullet by-products could be considered as a good source of protein and ether extract. Furthermore, the Head had significantly the highest content of crude protein, ash, crude fiber and unsaturated fatty acids among other different parts of tilapia and Mullet by-products. Apparent, fortification rice with various levels of THF and MHF lead to increased significantly protein, ether extract, and ash content. Also, Sensory properties were significantly ((P<0.05) decrease in cooked rice sample fortified with mullet head at the 6 and 9 % compared with the control sample. Finally, THF and MHF is an inexpensive and environmentally friendly alternative source of protein, ether extract, and ash can be converted to the healthy value-added products to increase of the amount of protein, ether extract, and mineral content in food production.
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In vitro Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitory and Antioxidant Activities of Some Sulfur Compounds
Abstract
The angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) catalyzes the conversion of angiotensin I to a key vasoconstrictor angiotensin II in renin-angiotensin system (RAS), thus playing an important role in both regulating blood pressure and maintaining fluid balance through RAS. Free radicals are continuously produced in the biological system. Therefore, organisms need both exogenous and endogenous antioxidants to guard against the damage caused by these free radicals. In this way, they prevent the occurrence of numerous diseases via protecting cellular components and biomolecules. The aim of the current study was to investigate the ACE inhibitory and antioxidant activities of sulfur compounds. The ACE inhibitory and antioxidant activities of all sulfur compounds increased in a concentration-dependent manner. Among these compounds, methionine had the highest ACE inhibitory and antioxidant activityes based on reducing power, DPPH radical scavenging and ORAC methods. Cystine had the highest ABTS radical scavenging, FRAP and nitrite scavenging activities. However, S-benzyl cysteine and S-phenyl cysteine exhibited the lowest ACE inhibitory and antioxidant activities, respectively. These outcomes indicate that sulfur compounds have both ACE inhibitory and antioxidant activities and may serve as gateways for research toward understanding the beneficial pharmacological effects of sulfur compounds against cell damage caused by oxidative stress.
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Diversity, pathogenicity and biocontrol efficacy of Pseudomonas syringae isolated from plants in northern Jordan
Abstract
Diversity, pathogenicity, and biocontrol efficacy of Pseudomonas syringae strains isolated from a wide range of habitats in Jordan were investigated. Thirty-five infected plant samples (vegetable leaves and woody plant twig) were randomly collected. King's B agar medium was implemented and 124 colonies of P. syringae candidates were selected. Phenotypic, biochemical and pathogenicity tests were further carried out to confirm the identity of P. syringae isolates. The frequency of fluorescent isolates varied between 11- 50 %. Even though all isolates were shown to induce chlorosis of tobacco leaves, only two were able to macerate potato slices causing their rotting. This may be due to variation in secretion of cellulase and pectinase enzymes involve in pathogenicity as clearly discussed in this study. Interestingly, 55% of isolates were found to clearly inhibit growth of E. coli. Exceptional inhibition was noticed in P. syringae isolated from tomato and a possible effect of syringomycin was suggested. Therefore, P. syringae obtained in this study was recommended to have a pivotal role in the biological control system. Results obtained from the experiment of ice nucleation activity revealed that this phenotypic feature dominates woody plants.
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Hybrid Approach for Human Diseases Prediction Using Air Quality Index
Abstract
Air pollution has become an extremely serious issue as the air pollutants emitted from motor vehicles has a greater impact on human health than other contaminants. Air quality forecasting plays a major role in giving warning to people and controlling air pollution. The single technique forecasting has various drawbacks such as low accuracy, low performance and low speed. Our present work overcome the above drawbacks by using a hybrid model approach. Our proposed method aims to forecast air quality to predict the hourly concentration of air pollutants using a hybrid model of data mining and machine learning. It predicts diseases due to emission of air pollutants from the motor vehicles based on Air Quality Index level. The CLusteringInQUEst algorithm is used to cluster geo- spatial data for specific input region. The Air Quality Index (AQI) for desirable set of important air pollutant features was calculated from the datasets produced by air pollutants from atmosphere. The calculated AQI was the input to the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) decision tree. It then classifies AQI level for the specific air pollutants. Then the diseases were classified using XGB algorithm.CLIQUE method has chosen than any other data mining techniques for which it can accurately predict diseases based on AQI values. XGBoost classifier is known for its good performance gradient bosting tree models which is very fast and an efficient one for both computation time and memory. Hence the above two techniques were combined as a hybrid approach to get the benefits of those features.The hybrid model produces a result with a higher performance, accuracy and speed compared to other models. In this paper, we have compared accuracy and precision rates for the hybrid approach with two single techniques such as Support Vector Machine and Random Forest.An accuracy and Precision rates of our proposed hybrid approach was 98.6% and 98.7% than Support Vector Machine has 93.85% and 94.8% & Random Forest has 94.28% and 94.52% which proves that hybrid approach is an efficient diseases prediction technique in real-time environment.
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An Efficient Agrobacterium-mediated Genetic Transformation Using cry1F gene in Castor (Ricinus communis L.) for protection Against lepidopteran Insects
Abstract
Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is an essential non-edible, pharmaceutical, and industrial oilseed as well as vulnerable to foliage feeders like Spodoptera litura which resulted in a loss of production. This report focuses on the development of an optimized protocol for the transformation of castor shoot apices by Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 containing plasmid construct pBIN1F harboring neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII), as selectable marker gene and Bacillus thuringiensis var. aizawai (Bt) cry1F gene controlled by cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. Several parameters like O.D., concentration of kanamycin and acetosyringone were optimized and produced a significant difference in the transformation efficiency. Co-cultivation time and seedling age were factors, with overall transformation efficiency of 2.0% in 15 days-old seedlings and co-cultivated for 3 days. The surviving and actively developing shoot apices were validated for gene integration by molecular analysis after being preliminarily screened on kanamycin. Furthermore, PCR, qRT-PCR and insect bioassay were used to confirm the putative primary transformants. When bioassayed against newly hatched Spodoptera litura hatchlings, these putative transgenics with cry1F gene caused significant (≤93%) insect mortality. Cry1F gene expressing transgenic plants had adequate defence against Spodoptera litura when exposed to castor.
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Evaluation of the genotoxic activity of wastewater obtained after steam distillation of essential oil of Bulgarian Rosa alba L. – in vivo study
Abstract
The process of essential oil water-steam distillation leaves a water fraction as a rest material of the technological process. This residual fraction represents a serious environmental pollutant. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clastogenic and cytotoxic effects of R. alba L. distillation wastewater in laboratory animal's test model in vivo. The ICR mice received a single dose (0.01 mL/b. w.) of 20% (v/v) or 11% (v/v) wastewater solution by intraperitoneal administration. The chromosomal aberrations frequency, mitotic index and micronuclei formation in peripheral blood were scored. The results suggested that the distillation wastewater extracts of white oil-bearing rose R. alba L. did not induce a considerable amount of chromosome aberrations, but a cell proliferation inhibition in mice bone marrow cells, compared to the negative control group (p<0.001). The rodent erythrocyte MN assay showed a slightly increased frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes under the present experimental conditions. Rosa alba L. wastewater solution applied showed a negligible genotoxic effect, but a slight antiproliferative effect.
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In vitro elicitation supports the enrichment of 2H4MB production in callus suspension cultures of D. hamiltonii Wight & Arn
Abstract
Influence of elicitation on in vitro production of 2-Hydroxy-4-Methoxy Benzaldehyde (2H4MB), a structural isomer of vanillin from callus suspension cultures of Decalepis hamiltonii was investigated. In vitro culture conditions were optimized to induce callus, suspension culture and biomass followed by metabolite production. Suspension cultures were established using leaf generated friable callus. Maximum content of 2H4MB production 0.079 ± 0.01 mg 100g-1 DW and biomass 197.5 ± 1.5 gL-1 were observed by 4th week of culturing. Elicitation was induced to suspension cultures by using m-topolin (mT), sodium nitroprusside (SNP), and pectin individually at different concentrations. m-topolin (15 μM), pectin (15 μM) and SNP (10 μM) supported 0.31 mg100g-1 DW, 0.27mg100g-1 DW and 0.21 mg100g-1 of 2H4MB production respectively by 4th week. This data infers that the elicitation improves 2H4MB content in callus suspension cultures of D. hamiltonii.
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The assessment of the soil mineralization processes along the traffic corridors from urban and rural areas in Romania
Abstract
The soils of the green areas located near the traffic corridors accumulate different pollutants, especially heavy metals, which have an important impact on the microbial decomposition processes. The extracellular enzymes can be used as an indicator of the metabolic activity of the microorganism communities. Four extracellular enzymes - α and β glucosidase, alkaline phosphatase and alanine aminopeptidase - were assessed in green areas close to the traffic zones in several urban, peri-urban and rural localities in Romania. The data showed that the highest values of enzymatic activities were registered in rural areas. At the same time, the spatial dynamics of the studied enzymes revealed an important variability between the three types of sampled areas, without a clear pattern of their distribution.
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Adipose Tissue-derived Cardiomyocytes for Enhancing Cardiac Remodeling in a Rat Model of Acute Myocardial Infarction
Abstract
This investigation was directed towards addressing the pivotal role of adipose tissue-derived cardiomyocytes seeded onto nanofiber (NF) in repairing the deteriorated cardiac tissue in a model of MI. Molecular analysis for MEF2C and Actn expression was attained to ensure the differentiation of ADMSCs into cardiomyocytes in vitro. The in vivo study was conducted on forty adult rats assigned into four groups: (1) control; (2) MI; (3) MI treated with adipose tissue- derived cardiomyocytes; (4) MI treated with adipose tissue-derived cardiomyocytes seeded onto NF. Treatment of MI-challenged rats with adipose tissue-derived cardiomyocytes modulates ST height, heart rate, RR, PR, QTc, QRS intervals and P duration as manifested in the ECG. The biochemical parameters corroborated the ECG outcomes as they displayed significant inhibition in serum LDH and CK-MB enzymes activity as well as significant suppression in cardiac cTnT level paralleled with significant elevations in cardiac Cx43 and Actn levels in the treated groups. Molecular analysis of GATA4 and NKX2.5 gene expression levels declared significant downregulation in the treated groups. Photomicrographs of cardiac tissue sections of rats in the treated groups showed great renovation in the cardiac microarchitecture. Conclusively, this study delivers a futuristic approach for treatment of MI by applying differentiated cardiomyocytes systematically.
