We have micromachined a silicon-chip device that transports DNA with a Brownian ratchet that rectifies the Brownian motion of microscopic particles. Transport properties for a DNA 50-mer agree with theoretical predictions, and the DNA diffusion constant agrees with previous experiments. This type of micromachine could provide a generic pump or separation component for DNA or other charged speci...

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are one of the major commensal species in the small intestine and known for contributing to maintenance of protective immunity and immune homeostasis. However, currently there has been no evidence regarding the cellular mechanisms involved in the probiotic effects of LAB on human immune cells. Here, we demonstrated that LAB double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) triggered interf...

Using a lab-on-a-chip device, an analytical method was developed and validated for the quantitative determination of serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that has a number of roles in biological processes. It is essential to be able to detect and quantify serotonin in different biological fluids because it can be used to evaluate and diagnose several disorders and diseases including depre...

One of the main limitations for achieving truly lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices for point-of-care diagnosis is the incorporation of the "on-chip" detection. Indeed, most of the state-of-the-art LOC devices usually require complex read-out instrumentation, losing the main advantages of portability and simplicity. In this context, we present our last advances towards the achievement of a portable and...

In the framework of the collection and identification of agaric fungi of Iran, three species of the genus Lepiota, viz. Lepiota brunneoincarnata, L. echinella and L. subincarnata are reported as new records for mycobiota of Iran. Two species, L. brunneoincarnata and L. subincarnata are deadly poisonous taxa. Up to now, two species of Amanita, A. phalloides and A. verna, and one from Galerina, G...

Abstract Background Psychrotrophic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) species are the dominant in microbiota of cold-stored modified-atmosphere-packaged food products and main cause spoilage. Despite importance psychrotrophic LAB, their response to cold or heat has not been studied. Here, we studied transcriptome-level cold- heat-shock spoilage with time-series RNA-seq for Le. gelidum, Lc. piscium , P....

Morphological, biochemical and molecular characteristics were studied to identify dominant lactic acid bacteria (LAB), isolated from traditional yoghurts produced by tribes of Iran. From 60 yoghurt samples, a total of 137 LAB isolates were determined, in which 66 and 71 were identified as lactic acid cocci and bacilli, respectively. Biochemical tests showed the occurrence of 9.76% mesophilic ho...

To better understand the effect of species traits on plant invasion, we collected comparative data on 20 reproductive and dispersal traits of 93 herbaceous alien species in the Czech Republic, central Europe, introduced after 1500 A. D. We explain plant invasion success, expressed by two measures: invasiveness, i.e. whether the species is naturalized but non-invasive, or invasive; and dominance...

Behavioral economics has demonstrated systematic decision-making biases in both lab and field data. Do these biases extend across contexts, cultures, or even species? We investigate this question by introducing fiat currency and trade to a colony of capuchin monkeys and recovering their preferences over a range of goods and gambles. We show that capuchins react rationally to both price and weal...

Artisanal cheese, produced with raw milk by a predominantly manual approach, has historical and cultural tradition related to the region of origin. Given its economic importance, main objective this study was investigate characterize diversity lactic acid bacteria (LAB) artisanal cheeses traded family agro-industries in southern Brazil. The LAB composition cheese samples, belonging different mu...