Exploring fish in a new way: A review on non-food industrial applications of fish.

From ancient times fish has always been considered as an important human food item. The purpose of this article is to introduce the perception that beside consumption, fish can also be used as a raw material for the industrial production of different products. In this article such 19 products have been described. Among them, the conventional fish products described herein include isinglass, pituitary gland, chitin, chitosan, pearl essence, fish skin leather, fish protein hydrolysates and concentrates, fish meal and scrap, fish oil, collagen, gelatin, glue, fish silage, pet food and wet feed from fish, fish fertilizer and compost. These products have important applications in aquaculture, agriculture, food, cosmetics and other industries. Different non-conventional hi-tech fish products has been reported such as novel antimicrobial proteins from skin mucus, enzymes, insulin, protamine, blood proteins, salcotonin, antifreeze proteins, hydroxyapatite, burn treatment bandage, albumins, fishbone calcium powder, biochar, biopolymer, bioplastics, fish industry derived rinse water recovery. These products have many significant applications in chemical, biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. Economical, logistic, environmental and technological considerations from fish waste valorization perspectives has also been presented to evaluate feasibility of industrial-scale production of these products.

Production of Highly Active Extracellular Amylase and Cellulase From Bacillus subtilis ZIM3 and a Recombinant Strain With a Potential Application in Tobacco Fermentation.

In this study, a series of bacteria capable of degrading starch and cellulose were isolated from the aging flue-cured tobacco leaves. Remarkably, there was a thermophilic bacterium, Bacillus subtilis ZIM3, that can simultaneously degrade both starch and cellulose at a wide range of temperature and pH values. Genome sequencing, comparative genomics analyses, and enzymatic activity assays showed that the ZIM3 strain expressed a variety of highly active plant biomass-degrading enzymes, such as the amylase AmyE1 and cellulase CelE1. The in vitro and PhoA-fusion assays indicated that these enzymes degrading complex plant biomass into fermentable sugars were secreted into ambient environment to function. Besides, the amylase and cellulase activities were further increased by three- to five-folds by using overexpression. Furthermore, a fermentation strategy was developed and the biodegradation efficiency of the starch and cellulose in the tobacco leaves were improved by 30-48%. These results reveal that B. subtilis ZIM3 and the recombinant strain exhibited high amylase and cellulase activities for efficient biodegradation of starch and cellulose in tobacco and could potentially be applied for industrial tobacco fermentation.

A rare variety of congenital adrenal hyperplasia with mosaic Klinefelter syndrome: a unique combination presenting with ambiguous genitalia and sexual precocity

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to the three-beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase (3ß-HSD) enzyme deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder presenting with sexual precocity in a phenotypic male. Klinefelter syndrome (KS) is the most common sex chromosome aneuploidy presenting with hypergonadotropic hypogonadism in a male. However, only a handful of cases of mosaic KS have been described in the literature. The co-existence of mosaic KS with CAH due to 3ß-HSD enzyme deficiency portrays a unique diagnostic paradox where features of gonadal androgen deficiency are masked by simultaneous adrenal androgen excess. Here, we report a 7-year-old phenotypic male boy who, at birth presented with ambiguous genitalia, probably a microphallus with penoscrotal hypospadias. Later on, he developed accelerated growth with advanced bone age, premature pubarche, phallic enlargement and hyperpigmentation. Biochemically, the patient was proven to have CAH due to 3ß-HSD deficiency. However, the co-existence of bilateral cryptorchidism made us to consider the possibility of hypogonadism as well, and it was further explained by concurrent existence of mosaic KS (47,XXY/46,XX). He was started on glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid replacement and underwent right-sided orchidopexy on a later date. He showed significant clinical and biochemical improvement on subsequent follow-up. However, the declining value of serum testosterone was accompanied by rising level of FSH thereby unmasking hypergonadotropic hypogonadism due to mosaic KS. In future, we are planning to place him on androgen replacement as well. Learning points: •• Ambiguous genitalia with subsequent development of sexual precocity in a phenotypic male points towards some unusual varieties of CAH. •• High level of serum testosterone, adrenal androgen, plasma ACTH and low basal cortisol are proof of CAH, whereas elevated level of 17-OH pregnenolone is biochemical marker of 3ß-HSD enzyme deficiency. •• Final diagnosis can be obtained with sequencing of HSD3B2 gene showing various mutations. •• Presence of bilateral cryptorchidism in such a patient may be due to underlying hypogonadism. •• Karyotyping in such patient may rarely show mosaic KS (47,XXY/46,XX) and there might be unmasking of hypergonadotropic hypogonadism resulting from adrenal androgen suppression from glucocorticoid treatment.