Objective(s): Chitosan based composite fine fibers were successfully produced via a centrifugal spinning technology. This study evaluates the ability of the composites to function as scaffolds for cell growth while maintaining an antibacterial activity. Materials and methods: Two sets of chitosan fiber composites were prepared, one filled with anti-microbial silver nanoparticles and another on...

It is quite evident that microbial (bacteria or fungi) crude extracts contain several important bioactive compounds and some have already shown their therapeutic activity. Unfortunately, most of the compounds have not properly been evaluated for the exploration of new lead molecule. Moreover, some of the mechanisms of actions of few bioactive compounds have not been identified so far. Hence, ex...

Biodiscovery from microbial resources can be defined as the exploration of microbial metabolic products to detect, identify and evaluate their potential for medicinal, agricultural and biotechnological operations. Microbial resource centres house microbial compounds produced under different physical and nutritional parameters to maximise the production of metabolites and are subsequently tested...

land use change of forest ecosystems in northern iran changes the soil quality of paresar (gilan province) and gorgan (gorgan province) regions. in order to study changes in some biological soil quality indices due to land use change from forest to cultivated lands, composite soil samples from two depths (0-20 and 20-40 cm) were taken from paresar and gorgan regions and urease, alkaline and aci...

Multidimensional gradients of inorganic compounds influence microbial activity in diverse pristine and anthropogenically perturbed environments. Here, we suggest that high-throughput cultivation and genetics can be systematically applied to generate quantitative models linking gene function, microbial community activity, and geochemical parameters. Metal resistance determinants represent a uniq...

With the respect to microbial flora, the oral cavity is one of the most densely populated sites of the human body. The environmental diversity of the oral cavity promotes the establishment of distinct microbial communities, such as supragingival plaque, subgingival plaque and tongue coating. The properties of the environment determine which microorganisms can occupy a site, while the metabolic ...

If changes in the composition of the soil microbial community alter the physiological capacity of the community then such changes may have ecosystem consequences. We examined the relationships among community composition (PLFA), microbial biomass (CFDE), substrate utilization profiles (BIOLOG), lignocellulose degrading enzyme activities (b-glucosidase, cellobiohydrolase, b-xylosidase, phenol ox...

The microbial contamination in food packaging have been a major concern that paved the way for the search for natural based new anti-microbial agents, such as modified α-mangostin. In the present work, twelve synthetic analogs were obtained via semi-synthetic modification of α-mangostin by Ritter reaction, reduction by palladium-carbon (Pd-C), alkylation, and acetylation. The evaluation of the ...

Population growth and climate change challenge our food and farming systems and provide arguments for an increased intensification of agriculture. A promising option is eco-functional intensification through organic farming, an approach based on using and enhancing internal natural resources and processes to secure and improve agricultural productivity, while minimizing negative environmental i...