Extraction of Fat and Fatty Acid Composition from Slaughterhouse Waste by Evaluating Conventional Analytical Methods

To attain maximum recovery of useful compounds from slaughterhouse waste (Suet, Tongue, Pancreas) of selected ruminant (cow, goat, lamb, and bull), the fat extraction efficiency of popular methods was compared along with fatty acid (FAs) composition. Four selected methods including Soxhlet (SOX), acid hydrolysis, Bligh & dyer (B&D), and Folch (FOL) were assessed. After methylation, extracted lipids were analyzed by Gas chromatography for FA composition. Data indicated that all selected methods were significantly (p < 0.05) different from each other, particularly higher differences were noticed for low lipid-containing products (Tongue, Pancreas) as well as their respective FA Composition. Based on Analysis of Variance and Principal component analysis, the effective method for lipid and FA Composition analysis was the FOL method. The Soxhlet method was only effective for samples with high-fat content i.e., suet, while the B&D method gave comparatively low lipid content in analyzed samples. Hence based on the results, excellent fat and fatty acid extraction was achieved with the FOL method.

Water promoted, microwave-assisted oxidative novel deamination of N-aminoquinazolinones

A novel deamination of 2-alkyl/aryl 3-amino-4（3H）-quinazolinones series using aqueous KMnO4 under thermal condition and microwave irradiation is described. Compared to thermal condition, significantly higher yields in much shorter times were observed for reactions under microwave irradiation. A plausible mechanism has been proposed for the oxidative water-promoted deamination.

The Scorpion Venom Peptide Smp76 Inhibits Viral Infection by Regulating Type-Ⅰ Interferon Response

Dengue virus(DENV) and Zika virus(ZIKV) have spread throughout many countries in the developing world and infect millions of people every year, causing severe harm to human health and the economy. Unfortunately, there are few effective vaccines and therapies available against these viruses. Therefore, the discovery of new antiviral agents is critical.Herein, a scorpion venom peptide(Smp76) characterized from Scorpio maurus palmatus was successfully expressed and purified in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The recombinant Smp76(rSmp76) was found to effectively inhibit DENV and ZIKV infections in a dose-dependent manner in both cultured cell lines and primary mouse macrophages. Interestingly,rSmp76 did not inactivate the viral particles directly but suppressed the established viral infection, similar to the effect of interferon(IFN)-b. Mechanistically, rSmp76 was revealed to upregulate the expression of IFN-b by activating interferon regulatory transcription factor 3(IRF3) phosphorylation, enhancing the type-Ⅰ IFN response and inhibiting viral infection.This mechanism is significantly different from traditional virucidal antimicrobial peptides(AMPs). Overall, the scorpion venom peptide Smp76 is a potential new antiviral agent with a unique mechanism involving type-Ⅰ IFN responses,demonstrating that natural AMPs can enhance immunity by functioning as immunomodulators.

Adipose-derived cells:building blocks of three-dimensional microphysiological systems

Microphysiological systems(MPS)created with human-derived cells and biomaterial scaffolds offer a potential in vitro alternative to in vivo animal models.The adoption of three-dimensional MPS models has economic,ethical,regulatory,and scientific implications for the fields of regenerative medicine,metabolism/obesity,oncology,and pharmaceutical drug discovery.Key opinion leaders acknowledge that MPS tools are uniquely positioned to aid in the objective to reduce,refine,and eventually replace animal experimentation while improving the accuracy of the finding’s clinical translation.Adipose tissue has proven to be an accessible and available source of human-derived stromal vascular fraction(SVF)cells,a heterogeneous population available at point of care,and adipose-derived stromal/stem cells,a relatively homogeneous population requiring plastic adherence and culture expansion of the SVF cells.The adipose-derived stromal/stem cells or SVF cells,in combination with human tissue or synthetic biomaterial scaffolds,can be maintained for extended culture periods as three-dimensional MPS models under angiogenic,stromal,adipogenic,or osteogenic conditions.This review highlights recent literature relating to the versatile use of adipose-derived cells as fundamental components of three-dimensional MPS models for discovery research and development.In this context,it compares the merits and limitations of the adipose-derived stromal/stem cells relative to SVF cell models and considers the likely directions that this emerging field of scientific discovery will take in the near future.