Distinct Pharmacological Properties of Gaseous CO and CO-Releasing Molecule in Human Platelets

Carbon monoxide (CO)—gaseous or released by CO-RMs—both possess antiplatelet properties; however, it remains uncertain whether the mechanisms involved are the same. Here, we characterise the involvement of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) in the effects of CO—delivered by gaseous CO–saturated buffer (CO_G) and generated by CORM-A1—on platelet aggregation and energy metabolism, as well as on vasodilatation in aorta, using light transmission aggregometry, Seahorse XFe technique, and wire myography, respectively. ODQ completely prevented the inhibitory effect of CO_G on platelet aggregation, but did not modify antiplatelet effect of CORM-A1. In turn, CO_G did not affect, whereas CORM-A1 substantially inhibited energy metabolism in platelets. Even though activation of sGC by BAY 41-2272 or BAY 58-2667 inhibited significantly platelet aggregation, their effects on energy metabolism in platelets were absent or weak and could not contribute to antiplatelet effects of sGC activation. In contrast, vasodilatation of murine aortic rings, induced either by CO_G or CORM-A1, was dependent on sGC. We conclude that the source (CO_G vs. CORM-A1) and kinetics (rapid vs. slow) of CO delivery represent key determinants of the mechanism of antiplatelet action of CO, involving either impairment of energy metabolism or activation of sGG.     

某铁矿强磁尾矿反浮选回收试验研究

针对我国西部某铁矿强磁选尾矿进行了反浮选回收铁资源的试验研究, 探讨了pH值、抑制剂可溶性淀粉用量、阳离子捕收剂十二胺用量对浮选指标的影响。结果表明, 在矿浆pH=10、可溶性淀粉用量2 400 g/t、十二胺用量400 g/t条件下进行一粗一精(精选药剂用量减半)闭路反浮选, 可获得铁品位43.88%、回收率50.93%的铁精矿产品。     

Production of the Carboxylate Reductase from Nocardia otitidiscaviarum in a Soluble,Active Form for in vitro Applications

Accessing aldehydes from carboxylate moieties is often a challenging task. In this regard, carboxylate reductases (CARs) are promising catalysts provided by nature that are able to accomplish this task in just one step, avoiding over-reduction to the alcohol product. However, the heterologous expression of CARs can be quite difficult due to the excessive formation of insoluble protein, thus hindering further characterization and application of the enzyme. Here, the heterologous production of the carboxylate reductase from Nocardia otitidiscaviarum (NoCAR) was optimized by a combination of i) optimized cultivation conditions, ii) post-translational modification with a phosphopantetheinyl transferase and iii) selection of an appropriate expression strain. Especially, the selection of Escherichia coli tuner cells as host had a strong effect on the final 110-fold increase in the specific activity of NoCAR. This highly active NoCAR was used to reduce sodium benzoate to benzaldehyde, and it was successfully assembled with an in vitro regeneration of ATP and NADPH, being capable of reducing about 30 mM sodium benzoate with high selectivity in only 2 h of reaction.     

Extraction and characterisation of pectin polysaccharide from soybean dreg and its dispersion stability in acidified milk drink

In this study, pectin polysaccharide (SDPP) was obtained from soybean dreg (26.2% yield), and characteristics of SDPP were compared with those of soybean soluble polysaccharides (SSPS) and citrus pectin (HMP). The galacturonic acid and molecular weight of SSPS, SDPP or HMP were 11.8%, 40.6% or 70.2% and 112, 446, or 440 kDa. SDPP had similar viscosity and protein content to SSPS, and functional groups and linear structure to HMP. SSPS, SDPP or HMP differed in particle size of 260, 467 or 1195 nm and ζ–potential of −5.8, −14.6 or −23.5 mV at pH 4.0. The precipitation of acidified milk drink (AMD) was 6.31% without stabiliser or below 1.75% with 0.4% SDPP at pH 3.6–4.6. These results suggested that SDPP combines the structure and characteristic of HMP and SSPS, and AMD with SDPP had great stabilising behaviour at wider pH range (pH 3.6–4.6).     

Inhibition of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Ameliorates Phenotype and Cognitive Abilities in a Murine Model of Niemann Pick Type C Disease

Niemann–Pick type C (NPC) disease is a rare autosomal recessive inherited childhood neurodegenerative disease characterized by the accumulation of cholesterol and glycosphingolipids, involving the autophagy-lysosome system. Inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), an enzyme that metabolizes epoxy fatty acids (EpFAs) to 12-diols, exerts beneficial effects in modulating inflammation and autophagy, critical features of the NPC disease. This study aims to evaluate the effects of UB-EV-52, an sEH inhibitor (sEHi), in an NPC mouse model (Npc) by administering it for 4 weeks (5 mg/kg/day). Behavioral and cognitive tests (open-field test (OF)), elevated plus maze (EPM), novel object recognition test (NORT) and object location test (OLT) demonstrated that the treatment produced an improvement in short- and long-term memory as well as in spatial memory. Furthermore, UB-EV-52 treatment increased body weight and lifespan by 25% and reduced gene expression of the inflammatory markers (i.e., Il-1β and Mcp1) and enhanced oxidative stress (OS) markers (iNOS and Hmox1) in the treated Npc mice group. As for autophagic markers, surprisingly, we found significantly reduced levels of LC3B-II/LC3B-I ratio and significantly reduced brain protein levels of lysosomal-associated membrane protein-1 (LAMP-1) in treated Npc mice group compared to untreated ones in hippocampal tissue. Lipid profile analysis showed a significant reduction of lipid storage in the liver and some slight changes in homogenated brain tissue in the treated NPC mice compared to the untreated groups. Therefore, our results suggest that pharmacological inhibition of sEH ameliorates most of the characteristic features of NPC mice, demonstrating that sEH can be considered a potential therapeutic target for this disease.     

Changes in phenolics,soluble solids,vitamin C,and antioxidant capacity of various cultivars of hardy kiwifruits during cold storage

Food Science and Biotechnology - Hardy kiwifruits (Actinidia arguta) contain various bioactive compounds such as vitamin C and phenolics and can withstand cold temperatures. Changes in soluble...     

水溶性番茄浓缩物抗氧化和辅助降血脂功效研究

目的：研究水溶性番茄浓缩物抗氧化和辅助降血脂功效。方法：通过检测老龄小鼠的脂质氧化产物含量、蛋白质羰基含量、还原性谷胱甘肽含量、抗氧化酶活力观察水溶性番茄浓缩物抗氧化作用,通过建立大鼠高脂血症模型,研究水溶性番茄浓缩物对高脂血症模型动物的降血脂作用。结果：水溶性番茄浓缩物对老龄小鼠血清脂质氧化产物含量、蛋白质羰基含量有一定的降低作用,能降低高脂血症模型动物血清胆固醇含量。结论：水溶性番茄浓缩物具有抑制体外脂质过氧化的作用, 能调节高脂模型动物胆固醇水平。     

Calculating the degree of degradation of the volatile solids in continuously operated bioreactors

Determining the degree of degradation is an important means of assessing the efficiency of biological processes. However, one should consider the fact that during degradation, the reference value, such as volume or the mass of total solids, is also subject to change. The assumption that the incoming and outgoing mass flows are identical is only possible for substrates with a high water content and hence, a low energy density. For substrates with a higher energy density, a correction by the gaseous mass flow is required, but usually its quantification is difficult, especially when examining full-scale plants or open systems. Based on the assumption that the mass of inorganic solids is constant during the process, a universally applicable equation has been developed, requiring only the input and output volatile solids concentrations for calculation.