Long-Term Disinfection in Operating Rooms Affects Skin Microbiota and Metabolites of Medical Personnel.

INTRODUCTION: Disinfectants play a critical role in reducing healthcare-associated infections by eliminating microorganisms on surfaces. However, prolonged use of disinfectants may adversely affect the skin microflora, essential for skin health and infection prevention. This study investigates the impact of disinfection on the skin microbiota and metabolites of medical personnel in operating rooms, aiming to provide a scientific foundation for safeguarding their skin health. METHODS: We conducted 16S sequencing and metabolomic analysis to assess the effects of disinfection on the skin microbiota and metabolites of medical personnel. Samples were collected from operating room personnel after disinfectant exposure to identify changes in microbial communities and metabolite profiles. RESULTS: Our analysis revealed that prolonged use of disinfectants led to alterations in skin microbial communities and microbial metabolites. These alterations included the production of harmful metabolites that could potentially promote skin infections and other health issues among medical personnel. CONCLUSION: The findings underscore the importance of minimizing disruptions to skin microbiota and metabolites caused by long-term disinfectant use to preserve the overall health of medical personnel. This study provides valuable insights into the relationship between disinfectant use, skin microbiota, and metabolites, highlighting the necessity for further research in this area.

Amphiphilic Block Copolymers Containing Benzenesulfonyl Azide Groups as Visible Light-Responsive Drug Carriers for Image-Guided Delivery.

Nanoparticles (NPs) containing light-responsive polymers and imaging agents show great promise for controlled drug delivery. However, most light-responsive NPs rely on short-wavelength excitation, resulting in poor tissue penetration and potential cytotoxicity. Moreover, excessively sensitive NPs may prematurely release drugs during storage and circulation, diminishing their efficacy and causing off-target toxicity. Herein, we report visible-light-responsive NPs composed of an amphiphilic block copolymer containing responsive 4-acrylamide benzenesulfonyl azide (ABSA) and hydrophilic N,N'-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) units. The polymer pDMA-ABSA was loaded with the chemotherapy drug dasatinib and zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP). ZnTPP acted as an imaging reagent and a photosensitizer to reduce ABSA upon visible light irradiation, converting hydrophobic units to hydrophilic units and disrupting NPs to trigger drug release. These NPs enabled real-time fluorescence imaging in cells and exhibited synergistic chemophotodynamic therapy against multiple cancer cell lines. Our light-responsive NP platform holds great promise for controlled drug delivery and cancer theranostics, circumventing the limitations of traditional photosensitive nanosystems.

Global trends and future prospects of lactic acid production from lignocellulosic biomass.

Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) stands as a substantial and sustainable resource capable of addressing energy and environmental challenges. This study employs bibliometric analysis to investigate research trends in lactic acid (LA) production from LCB spanning the years 1991 to 2022. The analysis reveals a consistent growth trajectory with minor fluctuations in LA production from LCB. Notably, there's a significant upswing in publications since 2009. Bioresource Technology and Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology emerge as the top two journals with extensive contributions in the realm of LA production from LCB. China takes a prominent position in this research domain, boasting the highest total publication count (736), betweenness centrality value (0.30), and the number of collaborating countries (42), surpassing the USA and Japan by a considerable margin. The author keywords analysis provides valuable insights into the core themes in LA production from LCB. Furthermore, co-citation reference analysis delineates four principal domains related to LA production from LCB, with three associated with microbial conversion and one focused on chemical catalytic conversion. Additionally, this study examines commonly used LCB, microbial LA producers, and compares microbial fermentation to chemical catalytic conversion for LCB-based LA production, providing comprehensive insights into the current state of this field and suggesting future research directions.

Global trends and future prospects of acid mine drainage research.

The uncontrolled release of acid mine drainage (AMD) results in the ongoing deterioration of groundwater and surface water, along with harmful impacts on aquatic ecosystems and surrounding habitats. This study employed a bibliometric analysis to examine research activities and trends related to AMD from 1991 to 2021. The analysis demonstrated a consistent growth in AMD research over the years, with a notable surge in the number of publications starting from 2014. Applied Geochemistry and Science of the Total Environment emerged as the top two extensively published journals in the field of AMD research. The USA held a prominent position, achieving the highest h-index (96) and central value (0.36) among 111 countries/territories, with China and Spain following closely behind. The author keyword analysis provides an overview of the main focuses in AMD research. Furthermore, the co-citation reference analysis reveals four primary domains of AMD research. Moreover, the prevention and remediation of AMD, including source prevention and migration control, as well as the hazards posed by heavy metals/metalloids and the mechanisms and techniques employed for their removal, are discussed in detail.

Ultrasound-responsive glycopolymer micelles for targeted dual drug delivery in cancer therapy.

Controlled drug release of nanoparticles was achieved by irreversibly disrupting polymer micelles through high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) induction. An ultrasound-responsive block copolymer was synthesized, comprising an end-functional Eosin Y fluorophore, 2-tetrahydropyranyl acrylate (THPA), and acrylate mannose (MAN). The block copolymer was then self-assembled to produce micelles. The chemotherapy drug dasatinib (DAS) and the sonodynamic therapy agent methylene blue (MB) were encapsulated by the self-assembly of the block copolymer. This targeted nanoparticle enables sonodynamic therapy through high-intensity focused ultrasound while triggering nanoparticle disassembly for controlled drug release. The ultrasound-mediated, non-invasive strategy provides external spatiotemporal control for targeted tumour treatment.

Meta-fermentation system with a mixed culture for the production of optically pure l-lactic acid can be reconstructed using the minimum isolates with a simplified pH control strategy.

Meta-l-lactic acid fermentation from non-treated kitchen refuse was reconstructed using a combination of isolated bacterial strains under several pH control strategies. The meta-fermentation system was successfully reconstructed using a combination of Weizmannia coagulans MN-07, Caldibacillus thermoamylovorans OM55-6, and Caldibacillus hisashii N-11 strains. Additionally, a simplified constant pH control strategy was employed, which decreased fermentation time and increased production. The optimum pH (6.5) for the reconstructed meta-fermentation was favorable for the respective pure cultures of the three selected strains. The l-lactic acid production performance of the reconstructed meta-fermentation system was as follows: concentration, 24.5 g L-1 ; optical purity, 100%; productivity, 0.341 g L-1 h-1 ; yield, 1.06 g g-1 . These results indicated that constant pH control was effective in the reconstructed meta-fermentation with the best performance of l-lactic acid production at pH optimal for the selected bacterial growth, while the switching from swing pH control would suppress the activities of unfavorable bacterial species in un-isolated meta-fermentation.

Lab-scale autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion can maintain and remove nitrogen by controlling shear stress and oxygen supply system.

Autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) is used to treat human excreta hygienically. We previously reported a unique full-scale ATAD, showing distinctive bacterial community transitions and producing high-nitrogen-content liquid fertilizer; nevertheless, the mechanism remains unclear. One hypothesis involves using a gas-inducing (GI) agitator. We designed a lab-scale GI system and compared it with a disk-turbine (DT) agitator system by mimicking the temperature shift of full-scale ATAD. The agitation system and its agitation speed greatly affected physicochemical properties and bacterial community structure. GI system at 1000 rpm (GI1000; high total carbon removal efficiency, 88.3%), with few nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, maintained a high ammoniacal nitrogen concentration and had more shared operational taxonomic units related to Acinetobacter sp., Arcobacter sp., and Longimicrobium sp. with the full-scale ATAD compared with the GI system at 490 rpm and DT system at 1000 rpm (DT1000). Furthermore, DT1000, with a high abundance of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria such as Alcaligenes aquatilis and Pseudomonas caeni, removed 94.7% total nitrogen with 71.9% total carbon removal efficiency. These results suggested that shear stress and oxygen supply system would change the bacterial community structure, thus affected ATAD performances. Consequently, it is possible that ATAD can be applied for not only production of highly nitrogen-containing liquid fertilizer but also extremely nitrogen removal of wastewater.

Modeling the Effects of the Preculture Temperature on the Lag Phase of Listeria monocytogenes at 25°C.

In predictive microbiology, the study of the microbial lag phase, i.e., the time needed for bacteria to adapt to a new environment before multiplying, has received a great deal of attention in the research literature. The microbial lag phase is more difficult to estimate than the specific growth rate because the lag phase is impacted by the previous and actual growth environments. In this study, the growth of Listeria monocytogenes preincubated at 0, 5, 10, and 15°C and subsequently grown at 25°C was investigated at the single-cell and population levels. The population lag phase of L. monocytogenes was obtained by fitting the Baranyi model, and the single-cell lag time was estimated by the time to detection method. The lag phase at the single-cell and population levels of L. monocytogenes presented a downward trend as the preculture temperature ranged from 0 to 15°C. The population lag phase of L. monocytogenes was lower than the single-cell lag time at the same preculture temperature. In addition, except for the zero-lag distribution at a preculture temperature of 15°C, all the single-cell lag time distributions of L. monocytogenes followed a Weibull distribution under all preculture temperatures. The preculture temperature had a significant impact on the rapid variation in the single-cell lag time distribution. Thus, the influence of preculture temperature on the lag phase needs to be quantitatively analyzed for better assessment of microbiological risk.

[Progress in detection and modeling of quorum sensing molecules of foodborne pathogens].

Quorum sensing (QS) plays a major role in the outbreak mechanism of foodborne diseases caused by food poisoning and food spoilage. QS affects the formation of cell membrane and pathogenicity ofpathogenic bacteria. Through the in-depth understanding of QS molecules of food-borne pathogens, we describe here the types of signal molecules produced by Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, and the differences in QS molecules. Meanwhile, we introduce the detection of QS molecules by different technologies. According to the influence of QS on food, we propose also future research needs for the control of foodborne pathogenic bacteria.

Concise review on ethanol production from food waste: development and sustainability.

The development of sustainable bioethanol fuel production from food waste has increasingly become an attractive topic. Food waste is recognized as the most available and costless feedstock. Therefore, ethanol production has been adopted as cost-efficient and an ecological way for FW disposal. This paper reviewed the microorganisms utilized for ethanol fermentation, the effect of enzymatic hydrolysis on ethanol concentration, optimization of accurate process parameters, and recycling of huge volumes of stillage for ethanol production towards reducing any incurred environmental burdens and minimizing the cost. The statistical tools which may enhance the process efficiency had been presented. Also, the perspective and the future development were introduced. All these aimed to fully utilize the food waste and also reduce the cost for side-product in this process; proper operation conditions and the control methods for stillage recycling were considered as the methods to improve ethanol fermentation from food waste.

Global trends and future prospects of food waste research: a bibliometric analysis.

The unregulated discharge reams of food waste (FW) causes severe resource loss and environmental pollution. In the present study, a bibliometric analysis was used for research activities and tendencies of food waste from 1991 to 2015. The results indicated that the amount of FW research continually grew by the years, and the number of publications rose significantly from 2012. Bioresource Technology and Waste Management were the two most frequently published journals in the field of FW research. China took a leading position and had a high h-index (38) out of 94 countries/territories, followed by the USA and South Korea. Presently, anaerobic digestion for methane and dark fermentation for hydrogen production are the mainstream techniques in FW disposal. Lactic and ethanol fermentation from FW received more and more attention in recent years. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was an ever-increasingly popular evaluation method for FW-related research. Moreover, cluster analysis indicated microbial community structure, food security, leachate, and pathogens were also the research hotspots.