In silico approaches to investigate enzyme immobilization: a comprehensive systematic review.

Enzymes are popular catalysts with many applications, especially in industry. Biocatalyst usage on a large scale is facing some limitations, such as low operational stability, low recyclability, and high enzyme cost. Enzyme immobilization is a beneficial strategy to solve these problems. Bioinformatics tools can often correctly predict immobilization outcomes, resulting in a cost-effective experimental phase with the least time consumed. This study provides an overview of in silico methods predicting immobilization processes via a comprehensive systematic review of published articles till 11 December 2022. It also mentions the strengths and weaknesses of the processes and explains the computational analyses in each method that are required for immobilization assessment. In this regard, Web of Science and Scopus databases were screened to gain relevant publications. After screening the gathered documents (n = 3873), 60 articles were selected for the review. The selected papers have applied in silico procedures including only molecular dynamics (MD) simulations (n = 20), parallel tempering Monte Carlo (PTMC) and MD simulations (n = 3), MD and docking (n = 1), density functional theory (DFT) and MD (n = 1), only docking (n = 11), metal ion binding site prediction (MIB) server and docking (n = 2), docking and DFT (n = 1), docking and analysis of enzyme surfaces (n = 1), only DFT (n = 1), only MIB server (n = 2), analysis of an enzyme structure and surface (n = 12), rational design of immobilized derivatives (RDID) software (n = 3), and dissipative particle dynamics (DPD; n = 2). In most included studies (n = 51), enzyme immobilization was investigated experimentally in addition to in silico evaluation.

Concept development of "Aging in place": Application of hybrid model.

There are various methods and services which help elders protect their independency and ability and take care. Like aging in place (AIP), that is a home and community-based model. Despite its importance, this concept is still ambiguous and there is no comprehensive definition for it. This study aims to clarify and conceptualize the meaning of AIP and to develop a context-based definition. In this qualitative study, the concept was developed using a hybrid model during three theoretical phases, fieldwork and final analysis. In the theoretical phase, 30 selected articles, following a systematic search in Web of sciences-Scopus-PubMed databases using the keywords "Aging in place", "Aging at home" and "Aging in community", during 2000-2019 were screened and analyzed. After providing the working definition, the fieldwork phase directed qualitative content analysis was performed on interviews conducted with seven eligible elderly. Finally, in the final phase, after comparing the findings of the previous two phases, the final definition was presented. The results of the hybrid model extracted and identified various definitions of AIP and attributes, antecedent and consequences of AIP. attributes included; independency, belonging to the place, maintaining network, living in one's own home and community, safety, comfort, non-institutionalization, first preference, and life routines continuity. Antecedents included; health, physical environment, financial ability, socialization, information support, technology, AIP antecedent prediction, community services and transportation. Finally, Consequences included; Individual acceptability and community acceptability. Also final definition was provided. If the AIP and its related factors are known and provided so that elders can stay in their homes, then they do not have to choose a nursing home and thus stay out of the community. As a result, following the AIP, both the elderly and community will be satisfied.

Considerable increase in Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) production via phbC gene overexpression in Ralstonia eutropha PTCC 1615.

Introduction: Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a well-known biodegradable polymer produced by some microorganisms and can be a suitable alternative for petrochemical plastics. PHB synthase encoded by phb C gene is the main enzyme in PHB biosynthesis pathway in Ralstonia eutropha. The aim of current study was the transformation of R. eutropha PTCC 1615 with its own phb C gene and evaluation of the overexpression effect on PHB accumulation. Methods: DNA fragment including phbC gene and its promoter and terminator regions, was isolated from R. eutropha PTCC 1615, inserted into pET28a(+) vector, and transferred to the competent bacteria using calcium chloride and heat shock method. The effect of the cloned gene expression on PHB production was investigated with absorption of crotonic acid produced through PHB dehydration. Statistical analyses were carried out by SPSS software. Results: PHB content of cells of the engineered strain was 1.4 times more than that of the native bacteria. This significant difference can be an important finding for improvement of biopolymer production. Conclusion: Overexpression of phb C, the critical gene in PHB biosynthesis pathway, in R. eutropha PTCC 1615 had considerable effect on PHB accumulation.

Techniques, perspectives, and challenges of bioactive peptide generation: A comprehensive systematic review.

Due to the digestible refractory and absorbable structures of bioactive peptides (BPs), they could induce notable biological impacts on the living organism. In this regard, the current study was devoted to providing an overview regarding the available methods for BPs generation by the aid of a systematic review conducted on the published articles up to April 2019. In this context, the PubMed and Scopus databases were screened to retrieve the related publications. According to the results, although the characterization of BPs mainly has been performed using enzymatic and microbial in-vitro methods, they cannot be considered as suitable techniques for further stimulation of digestion in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, new approaches for both in-vivo and in-silico methods for BPs identification should be developed to overcome the obstacles that belonged to the current methods. The purpose of this review was to compile the recent analytical methods applied for studying various aspects of food-derived biopeptides, and emphasizing generation at in vitro, in vivo, and in silico.

The Effect of Aromatherapy on Anxiety in Patients.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety is the most common mental disorder in end-stage renal disease patients. The use of aromatherapy as a treatment for anxiety has increased substantially in most countries. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the effect of inhaling rose water aromatherapy on anxiety in hemodialysis patients. METHODS: This randomized controlled clinical trial was carried out in the hemodialysis ward of Birjand Vali-Asr hospital on 46 patients who were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The standard state-trait anxiety inventory of Spielberger was used to investigate the anxiety level of the samples. The experimental group inhaled rose water for 4 weeks, but the control group did not undergo any intervention. At the end of week 2 and week 4, the participants' anxiety was measured, and the results were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Mean scores of state and trait anxiety in the experimental group before intervention were 47/47 ± 7/6 and 49/56 ± 13/8, respectively; those after week 4 following the intervention were reduced to 37/1 ± 6/5 and 42/9 ± 10/1; inhalation of rose water fragrance in the experimental group caused a significant decrease (P < 0.001) in the state and trait anxiety levels compared with controls (P = 0.43). CONCLUSIONS: According to the present study, rose water noticeably reduces the anxiety of hemodialysis patients. Therefore, inhalation of rose water can improve the patient's emotional and spiritual condition during hemodialysis treatment.