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Objective: To screen Bifidobacterium from breast milk and improve its oxygen tolerance under aerobic conditions. Methods: Dilution and spread plate methods were performed to separate and screen Bifidobacterium from breast milk. Their Bifidobacterium identifications were characterized by 16S rDNA sequencing. The oxygen tolerant domestications were conducted through gradual increase of oxygen pressure and alternation of aerobic and anaerobic cultivations. Results: A novel Bifidobacterium strain was isolated from human milk and was identified as Bifidobacterium longum by 16S rDNA sequencing, which was named as MEFZ-2201. The homology between MEFZ-2201 and model strain (accession number in NCBI: ON631733.1) reached 100%. After oxygen tolerant domestication, the highest viable bacteria number of Bifidobacterium longum MEFZ-2201d in aerobic cultivation reached 8.9×109 CFU/mL, which was ten times higher than that of its wild-type strain MEFZ-2201. Whereas, the morphological property and physio-biochemical characteristics of Bifidobacterium longum MEFZ-2201d did not change after oxygen tolerant domestication. The short-chain fatty acid production of domesticated strain Bifidobacterium longum MEFZ-2201d was also significantly higher than that of its wild-type strain even under anaerobic conditions. Conclusion: A novel Bifidobacterium longum strain MEFZ-2201 was isolated from breast milk. The viable bacterium number of its domesticated strain MEFZ-2201d was significantly increased under aerobic conditions, indicating that it would be a potential probiotic strain for further development and utilization.

Purpose: To evaluate the prognostic performance of [68Ga]Pentixafor PET/CT at baseline for staging of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) and to compare it with [18F]FDG PET/CT and the Revised-International Staging System (R-ISS). Methods: Patients who underwent [68Ga]Pentixafor and [18F]FDG PET/CT imaging were retrospectively included. Patient staging was performed according to the Durie-Salmon PLUS staging system based on [68Ga]Pentixafor PET/CT and [18F]FDG PET/CT images, and the R-ISS. Progression-free survival (PFS) at patient follow-up was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier estimator and compared using the log-rank test. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated to assess predictive performance. Results: Fifty-five MM patients were evaluated. Compared with [18F]FDG PET, [68Ga]Pentixafor PET detected 25 patients as the same stage, while 26 patients were upstaged and 4 patients were downstaged (P = 0.001). After considering the low-dose CT data, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of patients classified in each stage using [68Ga]Pentixafor PET/CT and [18F]FDG PET/CT (P = 0.091). [68Ga]Pentixafor PET/CT-based staging discriminated PFS outcomes in patients with different disease stages (stage I vs. stage II, stage I vs. stage III, and stage II vs. stage III; all P < 0.05), whereas for [18F]FDG PET/CT, there was only a difference in median PFS between stage I and III (P = 0.021). When staged by R-ISS, the median PFS for stage III was significantly lower than that for stage I and II (P = 0.008 and 0.035, respectively). When predicting 2-year PFS based on staging, the AUC of [68Ga]Pentixafor PET/CT was significantly higher than that of [68Ga]Pentixafor PET (0.923 vs. 0.821, P = 0.002), [18F]FDG PET (0.923 vs. 0.752 P = 0.002), and R-ISS (0.923 vs. 0.776, P = 0.005). Conclusions: [68Ga]Pentixafor PET/CT-based staging possesses substantial potential to predict disease progression in newly diagnosed MM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To screen Bifidobacterium from breast milk and improve its oxygen tolerance under aerobic conditions. Methods: Dilution and spread plate methods were performed to separate and screen Bifidobacterium from breast milk. Their Bifidobacterium identifications were characterized by 16S rDNA sequencing. The oxygen tolerant domestications were conducted through gradual increase of oxygen pressure and alternation of aerobic and anaerobic cultivations. Results: A novel Bifidobacterium strain was isolated from human milk and was identified as Bifidobacterium longum by 16S rDNA sequencing, which was named as MEFZ-2201. The homology between MEFZ-2201 and model strain (accession number in NCBI: ON631733.1) reached 100%. After oxygen tolerant domestication, the highest viable bacteria number of Bifidobacterium longum MEFZ-2201d in aerobic cultivation reached 8.9 X109 CFU/mL, which was ten times higher than that of its wild-type strain MEFZ-2201. Whereas, the morphological property and physio-biochemical characteristics of Bifidobacterium longum MEFZ-2201d did not change after oxygen tolerant domestication. The short-chain fatty aid production of domesticated strain Bifidobacterium longum MEFZ-2201d was also significantly higher than that of its wild-type strain even under anaerobic conditions. Conclusion: A novel Bifidobacterium longum strain MEFZ2201 was isolated from breast milk. The viable bacterium number of its domesticated strain MEFZ-2201d was significantly increased under aerobic conditions, indicating that t would be a potential probiotic strain for further development and utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is an eco-friendly light source with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. Recent studies have extensively been conducted to evaluate its efficacy in microbiological safety and the potential as a preservation method to extend the shelf-life of foods. This review aims to present the latest update of recent studies on the basics (physical, biochemical and mechanical basics) and antimicrobial activity of LEDs, as well as its application in the food industry. The highlight will be focused on the effects of LEDs on different types (bacteria, yeast/molds, viruses) and forms (planktonic cells, biofilms, endospores, fungal toxin) of microorganisms. The antimicrobial activity of LEDs on various food matrices was also evaluated, together with further analysis on the food-related factors that lead to the differences in LEDs efficiency. Besides, the applications of LEDs on the food-related conditions, packaged food, and equipment that could enhance LEDs efficiency were discussed to explore the future trends of LEDs technology in the food industry. Overall, the present review provides important insights for future research and the application of LEDs in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cordycepin is one of the core high-value-added secondary metabolites produced by fungi belonging to the genus Cordyceps. Compared with other industrial strains, Cordyceps militaris benefits from the innate metabolic flux in the synthesis of adenosine analogs such as cordycepin. In recent years, with the development of omic analysis technology and Cordyceps militaris gene-editing technology, the metabolic network of cordycepin synthesis, particularly the key substrate synthesis pathway, has been completely analyzed. Therefore, this review, the known metabolic network of cordycepin is modularized, dividing it into the central carbon metabolic pathway, inosinate (IMP) pathway, and substrate biosynthesis pathway, completely describing its metabolic network. The composition of cordycepin precursor and the influence of multiple dispersion pathways and key nodes on the synthesis of cordycepin have been analyzed, and the synthesis and flow direction of IMP substances have been systematically elaborated. This shows that the synthesis and metabolism of IMP is the essential node in cordycepin synthesis. These discoveries provide a comprehensive foundation for optimizing the metabolism network of Cordyceps militaris through metabolic engineering and synthetic biology strategies, for developing a stable and high-yielding Cordyceps militaris strain in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]