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In addition, it was found from histopathological data that Se-MCPIIa-1 could prevent pancreatic islets, liver and kidney damage from diabetes, which suggested that Se-MCPIIa-1 is a promising novel Se supplement and could be applied in the field of food and medicine. Fluorescent nanoprobe with good water dispersibility was synthesized by the coupling of fluorescent 1,8-naphthalimide dye (NANI) as well as biocompatible poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) to cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). FTIR, TGA and XPS analysis confirmed the successful covalent conjugation of NANI and PEG. The rod-like morphology of CNC was generally retained after two-step successive grafting of NANI and PEG. The contact angle and transmittance measurements showed that the grafted PEG brushes improve the hydrophilicity of fluorescent CNC probes and their dispersibility in high-concentration NaCl solutions. The fluorescent CNC probe had good biocompatibility and was successfully used for the bioimaging of Hela cells in physiological environment at high salt concentration. Laser confocal microscopy showed that the fluorescent CNC probe can penetrate the cell membrane and disperse uniformly in the cell with good biocompatibility. The fluorescent CNC probe with nanometer size, strong fluorescence emission and high salt-tolerance possess potential application in biomedical field. Borage seed oil (BSO) is one of the richest sources of γ-linolenic acid and linoleic acid, which are considered to retain plenty of health promoting benefits. However, its application in functional foods and dietary supplements remains limited owing to its superior vulnerability to oxidation. To solve this problem, ultrasound-assisted BSO-loaded nanoemulsions were prepared with modified starch incorporating different concentrations of peppermint oil (PO), as a natural antioxidant. The influence of different PO levels on the mean droplet size, rheology attributes, and oxidative stability of nanoemulsions stored at various temperatures (4, 25, and 40 °C) during 30 days storage was analyzed. In addition, DPPH and ABTS assays were used to determine the antioxidant activity and antioxidant capacity of BSO-loaded nanoemulsions, respectively. The optimized formulation (NE3; 55% v/v PO BSO) exhibited a slight change in droplet size and oxidative stability at all temperatures during storage compared to other formulations. At a concentration of 328.08 μL/mL, formulation NE3 presented the minimum DPPH IC50 at 40 °C, which was lower than other formulations. The findings of this study revealed that the maximum retained antioxidant capacity (99.42 μg Trolox/mL) was related to NE3 comprising (55% v/v PO BSO) stored at 40 °C for 30 days; which could be accredited to the role of PO as a natural antioxidant in order to improve the oxidative stability of nanoemulsion delivery system. Taken together, co-encapsulation of BSO and PO within nanoemulsions provides novel insights regarding the development of functional foods, dietary supplements and beverages. In this study, nanofibrous scaffolds were prepared from polyurethane and cellulose acetate using electrospinning. Reduced graphene oxide/silver nanocomposites, rGO/Ag, were also used into the mats due to the strong antibacterial activity of rGO/Ag nanocomposites. In order to prevent the agglomeration of silver nanoparticles, AgNPs, the nanoparticles were decorated onto the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets. Initially, Graphene oxide, briefly GO, was synthesized by the improved Hummer method. Then, nanocomposites of reduced graphene oxide were decorated with Ag and were fabricated via a green and facile hydrothermal method. Thereafter, the scaffold containing rGO/Ag nanocomposites, curcumin or both of them were prepared using the electrospinning method. The obtained scaffolds were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle, tensile analysis, porosity, and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR). 3-[4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay, MTT, confirmed the biocompatibility of the composite nanofibers. The scaffolds were able to hinder both of the Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria through direct contact with them. In vivo histopathological studies indicated that the scaffold incorporated rGO/Ag nanocomposites and curcumin has the most effect on wound healing and can promote the healing rate of artificial wounds, which indicates the good biomedical potential of nanomaterial in wound healing. Trichomonas vaginalis is the protozoan parasite responsible for the most prevalent, non-viral, sexually transmitted disease, which affects millions of people around the world. The main treatment against this disease is metronidazole and some other nitroimidazole derivatives. However, between five and 20% of clinical cases of trichomoniasis are caused by parasites resistant to these drugs. Here we present three compounds that were selected using an innovative strategy, to propose them as possible drugs to combat trichomoniasis, using the glycolytic enzyme triose phosphate isomerase (TvTIM) as the drug target. In the genome of Trichomonas vaginalis there are two genes that encode for two isoforms of TvTIM, known as TvTIM1 and TvTIM2, varying by four out of 254 aminoacid residues. In this study, we used high-throughput virtual screening to search molecules that bind specifically to TvTIM isoforms, in which 34 compounds were selected from a library of nearly 450,000 compounds. The effects of the 34 compounds on the conformation and enzymatic activity of both TvTIM isoforms and their human homolog (HsTIM) were evaluated. We found three compounds that bind specifically, modify the conformation and inhibit TvTIM2 only; although the sequence of both isoforms of TvTIM is almost identical. The selectivity of these compounds towards TvTIM2 is explained by the lower conformational stability of this isoform and that these interactions can inhibit the activity of this enzyme and have an effect against this parasite. These compounds represent promising alternatives for the development of new therapeutic strategies against trichomoniasis. BACKGROUND & AIMS Disturbances of the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids (BAs) are seen in a number of clinically important conditions, including metabolic disorders, hepatic impairment, diarrhea, and gallstone disease. To facilitate the exploration of underlying pathogenic mechanisms, we developed a mathematical model built on quantitative physiological observations across different organs. METHODS The model consists of a set of kinetic equations describing the syntheses of cholic, chenodeoxycholic, and deoxycholic acids, as well as time-related changes of their respective free and conjugated forms in the systemic circulation, the hepatoportal region, and the gastrointestinal tract. The core structure of the model was adapted from previous modeling research and updated based on recent mechanistic insights, including farnesoid X receptor-mediated autoregulation of BA synthesis and selective transport mechanisms. The model was calibrated against existing data on BA distribution and feedback regulation. RESULTS According to model-based predictions, changes in intestinal motility, BA absorption, and biotransformation rates affected BA composition and distribution differently, as follows (1) inhibition of transintestinal BA flux (eg, in patients with BA malabsorption) or acceleration of intestinal motility, followed by farnesoid X receptor down-regulation, was associated with colonic BA accumulation; (2) in contrast, modulation of the colonic absorption process was predicted to not affect the BA pool significantly; and (3) activation of ileal deconjugation (eg, in patents with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) was associated with an increase in the BA pool, owing to higher ileal permeability of unconjugated BA species. CONCLUSIONS This model will be useful in further studying how BA enterohepatic circulation modulation may be exploited for therapeutic benefits. BACKGROUND Heater-cooler units (HCUs) have been implicated in the recent global outbreak of invasive Mycobacterium chimaera infection among patients following cardiothoracic surgery. Because infected patients tend to remain asymptomatic for extended periods, detection of M. chimaera from HCUs in real time is essential to halting the ongoing M. chimaera HCU-associated outbreak. Sample collection protocols to evaluate the presence of M. chimaera offer conflicting recommendations regarding the addition of sodium thiosulfate (NaT) during the collection process. AIM To study the effect of NaT on M. chimaera recovery and culture contamination. METHODS Seventy-six paired HCU water samples (with and without NaT) were collected, processed and cultured simultaneously into Lowenstein-Jensen slants, Middlebrook 7H10 agar plates, and mycobacterial growth indicator tubes (MGITs), and incubated at 37°C. A subset of 31 paired samples was additionally cultured on MGITs and incubated at 30°C. FINDINGS Of 76 samples incubated at 37°C in each of the three media, with and without NaT, M. chimaera was identified in at least one aliquot of 21 samples. CONCLUSION The presence of NaT did not significantly increase the probability of recovering M. chimaera in a multi-variable conditional logistic model and culture contamination rates were similar between aliquots with and without NaT. In the subset of samples cultured on MGITs at both 30°C and 37°C, the presence of NaT again was not associated with M. chimaera recovery, but was significantly associated with reduced culture contamination. In recent years, an increasing number of studies assessed the stability of biotherapeutics in biological fluids. Such studies aim to simulate the conditions encountered in the human body and investigate the in vivo stability under in vitro conditions. However, due to complexity of biological fluids, standard pharmaceutical methods are poorly suited to assess the stability of biotherapeutics. In this study, a fluorescent-labeled therapeutic immunoglobulin G (IgG) was analyzed for proteinaceous particles after mixing with human serum and after an incubation at 37°C for 5 days. Samples were analyzed using standard pharmaceutical methods (light obscuration and dynamic imaging). Moreover, we developed a fluorescence microscopy method allowing to semi-quantitatively detect IgG-particles in serum. see more Several hundred IgG-particles were detected after exposure to serum. Moreover, particle counts and particle size increased in serum over time. The results showed that an IgG may form particles upon mixing with serum and novel methods such as fluorescence microscopy are required to gain insight on the stability of biotherapeutics in biological fluids. Furthermore, we showed distinct advantages of machine learning over traditional threshold-based methods by analyzing microscopy images. Machine learning allowed simplifying particles in regards to count, size, and shape. Controlling ice nucleation at a fixed higher temperature results in larger ice crystals, which can reduce the ice/freeze-concentrate interface area where proteins can adsorb and degrade. Moreover, limited work has been done to address any effects on short-term stability due to a slow ramp or long isothermal hold after the ice nucleation step. The objective was to evaluate the effect of the ice nucleation temperature and residence time in the freeze-concentrate on in-process and/or storage stability of representative proteins, human IgG and recombinant human serum albumin. The results suggest a higher ice nucleation temperature can minimize aggregation of protein pharmaceuticals, which are labile at ice/aqueous interface. Apart from the ice nucleation step, the present study identified the residence time in the freeze-concentrate as the critical factor that influences protein stability post ice nucleation. A long residence time in the freeze-concentrate, at a temperature where enough mobility exists (i.e. above Tg' of the formulation) can result in significant protein aggregation during process.