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Establishing miniaturised structural testing techniques to enable high-throughput screening of microorganisms and microbial components for unpaved road stabilisation application.

ABSTRACT: Roads are expensive to develop particularly in challenging environmental conditions, and a lack of understanding of the properties of soil can lead to poor design and premature failures contributing to costly maintenance. The construction industry is exploring new opportunities involving biological processes and products to modify the structural properties of the in situ material, in terms of strength, volume stability, durability and permeability. Through an integrative interdisciplinary approach several microorganisms and other existing bio-enzymatic products such as secondary metabolites, enzymes, endospores, and extracellular polymeric substances have been considered as possible alternatives to conventional methods for the development of sustainable road infrastructure. Limitations in the current state of technology to developing bio-based solutions include microorganism selection and the ability to evaluate derivative components in rapid structural tests that enhance the time to development of proper commercial products. This study focused on the testing of fermentation derived components of biological materials in a high-throughput manner, using miniaturised structural tests to validate screening and selection methodology. The methods tested included resistance to abrasion, resistance to erosion, water absorption and resistance to compression load. Unique miniaturised test equipment was successfully developed using computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D printing technologies. Effects were measured to enable the rapid evaluation of a target microorganism and for screening of biological components or fractions. Results obtained using a Bacillus isolate reported in the current study exhibit strength characteristics and can potentially be formulated as a product for soil stabilisation. This work forms the basis for in vitro selection methodology to enhance development of bio-based structural materials for application in the road sector.

SUBMITTER: Ramdas VM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7015452 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Establishing miniaturised structural testing techniques to enable high-throughput screening of microorganisms and microbial components for unpaved road stabilisation application.

Ramdas Veshara Malapermal VM Mandree Prisha P Mgangira Martin M Mukaratirwa Samson S Lalloo Rajesh R Ramchuran Santosh S

Journal of advanced research 20191107

Roads are expensive to develop particularly in challenging environmental conditions, and a lack of understanding of the properties of soil can lead to poor design and premature failures contributing to costly maintenance. The construction industry is exploring new opportunities involving biological processes and products to modify the structural properties of the <i>in situ</i> material, in terms of strength, volume stability, durability and permeability. Through an integrative interdisciplinary ...[more]

PMID: 32071783

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Project description:Human induced pluripotent stem cell - derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) are regarded as a promising cell source for establishing in-vitro personalized cardiac tissue models and developing therapeutics. However, analyzing cardiac force and drug response using mature human iPSC-CMs in a high-throughput format still remains a great challenge. Here we describe a rapid light-based 3D printing system for fabricating micro-scale force gauge arrays suitable for 24-well and 96-well plates that enable scalable tissue formation and measurement of cardiac force generation in human iPSC-CMs. We demonstrate consistent tissue band formation around the force gauge pillars with aligned sarcomeres. Among the different maturation treatment protocols we explored, 3D aligned cultures on force gauge arrays with in-culture pacing produced the highest expression of mature cardiac marker genes. We further demonstrated the utility of these micro-tissues to develop significantly increased contractile forces in response to treatment with isoproterenol, levosimendan, and omecamtiv mecarbil. Overall, this new 3D printing system allows for high flexibility in force gauge design and can be optimized to achieve miniaturization and promote cardiac tissue maturation with great potential for high-throughput in-vitro drug screening applications. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The application of iPSC-derived cardiac tissues in translatable drug screening is currently limited by the challenges in forming mature cardiac tissue and analyzing cardiac forces in a high-throughput format. We demonstrate the use of a rapid light-based 3D printing system to build a micro-scale force gauge array that enables scalable cardiac tissue formation from iPSC-CMs and measurement of contractile force development. With the capability to provide great flexibility over force gauge design as well as optimization to achieve miniaturization, our 3D printing system serves as a promising tool to build cardiac tissues for high-throughput in-vitro drug screening applications.

Project description:Enhanced quantitative urine culture (EQUC) detects live microorganisms in the vast majority of urine specimens reported as "no growth" by the standard urine culture protocol. Here, we evaluated an expanded set of EQUC conditions (expanded-spectrum EQUC) to identify an optimal version that provides a more complete description of uropathogens in women experiencing urinary tract infection (UTI)-like symptoms. One hundred fifty adult urogynecology patient-participants were characterized using a self-completed validated UTI symptom assessment (UTISA) questionnaire and asked "Do you feel you have a UTI?" Women responding negatively were recruited into the no-UTI cohort, while women responding affirmatively were recruited into the UTI cohort; the latter cohort was reassessed with the UTISA questionnaire 3 to 7 days later. Baseline catheterized urine samples were plated using both standard urine culture and expanded-spectrum EQUC protocols: standard urine culture inoculated at 1 ?l onto 2 agars incubated aerobically; expanded-spectrum EQUC inoculated at three different volumes of urine onto 7 combinations of agars and environments. Compared to expanded-spectrum EQUC, standard urine culture missed 67% of uropathogens overall and 50% in participants with severe urinary symptoms. Thirty-six percent of participants with missed uropathogens reported no symptom resolution after treatment by standard urine culture results. Optimal detection of uropathogens could be achieved using the following: 100 ?l of urine plated onto blood (blood agar plate [BAP]), colistin-nalidixic acid (CNA), and MacConkey agars in 5% CO2 for 48 h. This streamlined EQUC protocol achieved 84% uropathogen detection relative to 33% detection by standard urine culture. The streamlined EQUC protocol improves detection of uropathogens that are likely relevant for symptomatic women, giving clinicians the opportunity to receive additional information not currently reported using standard urine culture techniques.

Project description:BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests yoga is a safe and effective intervention for the management of physical and psychosocial symptoms associated with musculoskeletal conditions. However, heterogeneity in the components and reporting of clinical yoga trials impedes both the generalization of study results and the replication of study protocols. The aim of this Delphi survey was to address these issues of heterogeneity, by developing a list of recommendations of key components for the design and reporting of yoga interventions for musculoskeletal conditions. METHODS: Recognised experts involved in the design, conduct, and teaching of yoga for musculoskeletal conditions were identified from a systematic review, and invited to contribute to the Delphi survey. Forty-one of the 58 experts contacted, representing six countries, agreed to participate. A three-round Delphi was conducted via electronic surveys. Round 1 presented an open-ended question, allowing panellists to individually identify components they considered key to the design and reporting of yoga interventions for musculoskeletal conditions. Thematic analysis of Round 1 identified items for quantitative rating in Round 2; items not reaching consensus were forwarded to Round 3 for re-rating. RESULTS: Thirty-six panellists (36/41; 88%) completed the three rounds of the Delphi survey. Panellists provided 348 comments to the Round 1 question. These comments were reduced to 49 items, grouped under five themes, for rating in subsequent rounds. A priori group consensus of ?80% was reached on 28 items related to five themes concerning defining the yoga intervention, types of yoga practices to include in an intervention, delivery of the yoga protocol, domains of outcome measures, and reporting of yoga interventions for musculoskeletal conditions. Additionally, a priori consensus of ?50% was reached on five items relating to minimum values for intervention parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Expert consensus has provided a non-prescriptive reference list for the design and reporting of yoga interventions for musculoskeletal conditions. It is anticipated future research incorporating the Delphi guidelines will facilitate high quality international research in this field, increase homogeneity of intervention components and parameters, and enhance the comparison and reproducibility of research into the use of yoga for the management of musculoskeletal conditions.

Dataset Information

Establishing miniaturised structural testing techniques to enable high-throughput screening of microorganisms and microbial components for unpaved road stabilisation application.

Publications

Establishing miniaturised structural testing techniques to enable high-throughput screening of microorganisms and microbial components for unpaved road stabilisation application.

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