Upstream and downstream cis-acting elements for cleavage at the L4 polyadenylation site of adenovirus-2

A study of the cis-acting elements involved in the 3' end formation of the RNAs from the major late L4 family of adenovirus-2 was undertaken. Series of 5' or 3' end deletion mutants and mutants harboring either internal deletions or substitutions were prepared and assayed for in vitro cleavage. This first allowed the demonstration of a sequence, located at -6 to -29, relative to AAUAAA, whose deletion or substitution reduces cleavage efficiency at the L4 polyadenylation site two to three fold. This upstream efficiency element 5' AUCUUUGUUGUC/AUCUCUGUGCUG 3' is constituted of a partially repeated 12 nucleotide long, UCG rich sequence. The activities of the 2 sequence elements in cleavage are additive. We also searched for regulatory sequences downstream of the L4 polyadenylation site. We found that the deletion or substitution of a 30 nucleotide long UCG rich sequence, between nucleotides +7 and +35 relative to the cleavage site and harboring a UCCUGU repeat reduces cleavage efficiency at least ten fold. A GUUUUU sequence, starting at +35 had no influence. Thus, the usage of the L4 polyadenylation site requires down-stream sequences different from the canonical GU or U boxes and is regulated by upstream sequence elements.     

碳热还原法制备锂离子电池正极材料Li3V2(PO4)3的研究

以LiCO3、V2O5、NH4H2PO4为原料,采用碳热还原法合成锂离子电池正极材料Li3V2(PO4)3(LVP).根据TG分析得到制备样品的温度范围.对所得材料分别进行了XRD、粉末微电极循环伏安及恒电流充放电测试.XRD分析表明, 850 ℃煅烧所得样品特征衍射峰型尖锐,晶体结构发育良好,为纯相的Li3V2(PO4)3;循环伏安测试表明,锂离子脱嵌分三步进行,循环伏安曲线对称性好;合成的正极材料在7 mA/g恒流充放电,首次充、放电比容量分别为129.8 mA·h/g、116.8 mA·h/g,充放电效率达90%,循环性能有待提高.材料中过量碳的加入提高了其充、放电比容量,使其循环性能有所改善.     

Probing the mechanism of Bacillus 1,3-1,4-beta-D-glucan 4-glucanohydrolases by chemical rescue of inactive mutants at catalytically essential residues

The role of the key catalytic residues Glu134 and Glu138 in the retaining 1,3-1,4-beta-glucanase from Bacillus licheniformis is probed by a chemical rescue methodology based on enzyme activation of inactive mutants by the action of added nucleophiles. While Glu134 was proposed as the catalytic nucleophile on the basis of affinity labeling experiments, no functional proof supported the assignment of Glu138 as the general acid-base catalyst. Alanine replacements are prepared by site-directed mutagenesis to produce the inactive E138A and E134A mutants. Addition of azide reactivates the mutants in a concentration-dependent manner using an activated 2, 4-dinitrophenyl glycoside substrate. The chemical rescue operates by a different mechanism depending on the mutant as deduced from 1H NMR monitoring and kinetic analysis of enzyme reactivation. E138A yields the beta-glycosyl azide product arising from nucleophilic attack of azide on the glycosyl-enzyme intermediate, thus proving that Glu138 is the general acid-base residue. Azide activates the deglycosylation step (increasing kcat), but it also has a large effect on a previous step (as seen by the large decrease in KM, the increase in kcat/KM, and the pH dependence of activation), probably increasing the rate of glycosylation through Bronsted acid catalysis by enzyme-bound HN3. By contrast, azide reactivates the E134A mutant through a single inverting displacement to give the alpha-glycosyl azide product, consistent with Glu134 being the catalytic nucleophile. Formate as an exogenous nucleophile has no effect on the E138A mutant, whereas it is a better activator of E134A than azide. Although the reaction yields the normal hydrolysis product, a transient compound was detected by 1H NMR, tentatively assigned to the alpha-glycosyl formate adduct. This is the first case where a nonmodified sugar gives a long-lived covalent intermediate that mimics the proposed glycosyl-enzyme intermediate of retaining glycosidases.     

Identification of histidine residues in Wolinella succinogenes hydrogenase that are essential for menaquinone reduction by H2

This study aimed to demonstrate that sufficient Ph-negative blood progenitors could be collected following administration of glycosylated rhG-CSF (lenograstim) to patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) who responded to recombinant alpha-interferon (alpha-IFN) (Ph-positive marrow metaphases < 35%). 23 patients received lenograstim (150 microg/m2) once daily for a median of 9 d. Peak circulating numbers of white blood cells (36.4 x 10(9)/l), CD34+ cells (24/ microl) and colony-forming unit-granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM; 1346.5/ml) occurred at a median of day 8, day 8 and day 7, respectively. Two to six (median three) leukaphereses (LK) were performed from days 5 to 12. The median number of mononuclear cells (MNC), CD34+ cells and CFU-GM collected per patient was 7.35 x 10(8/)kg, 2.72 x 10(6)/kg and 10.23 x 10(4)/kg, respectively. 22/23 patients had LK which contained either 10(4) CFU-GM/kg and/or 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg; 47LK (from 20/22 patients) were evaluable for cytogenetics. The median percentage of Ph-positive cells was 0, and 43/47 LK (91%) contained <35% Ph-positive cells; 25 (53%) were entirely negative. Sixteen of 20 evaluable patients had one or more LK with <35% Ph-positive cells, and 12 had at least one 100% Ph-negative LK. Mobilization and collection of Ph-negative cells were not influenced by the dose or duration of alpha-IFN administration before (or during) lenograstim administration or by the quality of cytogenetic response (complete v major) during lenograstim administration. No significant side-effects were observed. Thus, lenograstim administration can result in satisfactory Ph-negative blood progenitor cell collection. Autologous transplantation of such cells may be used when indicated.     

Internal cleavage of the inhibitory 7B2 carboxyl-terminal peptide by PC2: a potential mechanism for its inactivation

The neuroendocrine protein 7B2 contains two domains, a 21-kDa protein required for prohormone convertase 2 (PC2) maturation and a carboxyl-terminal (CT) peptide that inhibits PC2 at nanomolar concentrations. To determine how the inhibition of PC2 is terminated, we studied the metabolic fate of the 7B2 CT peptide in RinPE-7B2, AtT-20/PC2-7B2, and alphaTC1-6 cells. Extracts obtained from cells labeled for 6 h with [3H]valine were subjected to immunoprecipitation using an antibody raised against the extreme carboxyl terminus of r7B2, and immunoprecipitated peptides were separated by gel filtration. All three cell lines yielded two distinct peaks at about 3.5 kDa and 1.5 kDa, corresponding to the CT peptide and a smaller fragment consistent with cleavage at an interior Lys-Lys site. These results were corroborated using a newly developed RIA against the carboxyl terminus of the CT peptide which showed that the intact CT peptide represented only about half of the stored CT peptide immunoreactivity, with the remainder present as the 1.5-kDa peptide. Both peptides could be released upon phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate stimulation. We investigated the possibility that PC2 itself could be responsible for this cleavage by performing in vitro experiments. When 125I-labeled CT peptide was incubated with purified recombinant PC2, a smaller peptide was generated. Analysis of CT peptide derivatives for their inhibitory potency revealed that CT peptide 1-18 (containing Lys-Lys at the carboxyl terminus) represented a potent inhibitor, but that peptide 1-16 was inactive. Inclusion of carboxypeptidase E (CPE) in the reaction greatly diminished the inhibitory potency of the CT peptide against PC2, in line with the notion that the CT peptide cleavage product is not inhibitory after the removal of terminal lysines by CPE. In summary, our data support the idea that PC2 cleaves the 7B2 CT peptide at its internal Lys-Lys site within secretory granules; deactivation of the cleavage product is then accomplished by CPE, thus providing an efficient mechanism for intracellular inactivation of the CT peptide.     

Influence of MnO2 modification methods on the catalytic performance of CuO/CeO2 for NO reduction by CO

In order to investigate the influence of MnO2 modification methods on the catalytic performance of CuO/CeO2 catalyst for NO reduction by CO,two series of catalysts(xCuyMn/Ce and xCu/yMn/Ce) were prepared by co-impregnation and stepwise-impregnation methods,and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction(XRD),Raman spectra,H2-temperature programmed reduction(H2-TPR),in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectra(in situ DRIFTS) techniques.Furthermore,the catalytic performances of these catalysts were evaluated by NO+CO model reaction.The obtained results indicated that:(1) The catalysts acquired by co-impregnation method exhibited stronger interaction owing to the more sufficient contact among each component of the catalysts compared with the catalysts obtained by stepwise-impregnation method,which was beneficial to the improvement of the reduction behavior;(2) The excellent reduction behavior was conducive to the formation of low valence state copper species(Cu+/Cu0) and more oxygen vacancies(especially the surface synergetic oxygen vacancies(SSOV,Cu+-□-Mn(4–x)+)) during the reaction process,which were beneficial to the adsorption of CO species and the dissociation of NO species,respectively,and further promoted the enhancement of the catalytic performance.Finally,in order to further understand the difference between the catalytic performances of these catalysts prepared by co-impregnation and stepwise-impregnation methods,a possible reaction mechanism(schematic diagram) was tentatively proposed.     

Promoting effect of microwave irradiation on CeO_2-TiO_2 catalyst for selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH_3

In this work we prepared several CeO₂-TiO₂ catalysts for the NH₃-SCR reactionusing co-precipitation with assistance of microwave irradiation. The catalytic NH₃-SCR activities over CeO₂-TiO₂ catalysts at low temperatures are largely enhanced by the treatment of microwave irradiation, the operation temperature window is also broadened. For better understanding the promotion mechanism, the catalyst prepared by conventional co-precipitation with and without microwave irradiation treatment was characterized with H₂-TPR, NH₃-TPD, XPS, XRD and BET. Microwave irradiation treatment accelerates the crystallite rate of CeO₂-TiO₂ catalysts, and greatly enlarges their surface area by adjusting their microstructures. The resistance to SO₂ and H₂O is also improved via regulating the hierarchical pore structure by the microwave irradiation. Microwave irradiation treatment can also improve the redox property and increase the acid sites over the catalyst surfaces. The result of in situ DRIFTS suggests that the microwave irradiation treatment generates more Brønsted acid sites on CeO₂-TiO₂-2 h catalyst, helpful in SCR reactions. XPS results show that after microwave irradiation on the CeO₂-TiO₂ catalysts, the surface demonstrates an elevated concentration of chemisorbed oxygen, consequently leading to better oxidation of NO to NO₂. Additionally, the molar ratio of Ce³⁺/Ce⁴⁺ has been elevated after being treated by microwave irradiation, a vital factor in enhancing the NH₃-SCR activities.     

Promotional effects of copper doping on Ti-Ce-O_x for selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH_3 at low temperature

A series of copper-doped Ti-Ce-O_x complex oxide catalysts were synthesized by sol-gel method and evaluated for selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH_3 at low temperature. The promotional effect of copper doping on their structure, acidity and catalytic activity were investigated by means of Brumauer-Emmett-Teller(BET), temperature-programmed reduction(H_2-TPR), X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), temperature programmed desorption(NH_3-TPD) and pyridine adsorption infrared spectrum(Py-IR) technologies. Results showed that the copper additives could improve the low temperature catalytic performance for selective catalytic reduction of Ti-Ce-O_x catalyst and the NO conversion efficiency of Ti-Cu-Ce-O_x catalyst reached above 90% at 150–250 oC(Ti/Cu=4). The introduction of copper could enhance the redox property of the Ti-Ce-O_x complex oxide catalyst, refine the particle size caused by lattice distortion and oxygen vacancy defect and enhance the acid amount of the Lewis acid site. Moreover, Ti-Cu-Ce-O_x complex oxide catalyst also had good anti-sulfur ability and anti-water influence, when injecting 300 ppm SO_2 and 10 vol.%H_2O, the NO conversion efficiency of Ti-Cu-Ce-O_x catalyst reached 80%.     

Effect of praseodymium additive on CeO_2(ZrO_2)/TiO_2 for selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH_3

A series of praseodymium added CeO_2(ZrO_2)/TiO_2 catalysts separately prepared by methods of sol-gel and impregnation were tested for selective catalytic reduction of NO, and characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), N_2-brumauer-emmett-teller(N_2-BET), NH_3-temperature programmed desorption(NH_3-TPD), H_2-temperature programmed reduction(H_2-TPR), PL spectra, Raman spectra, electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), respectively. Influence of preparation method on catalytic performance was studied. Results showed that the influence of Pr addition on catalytic performance of the CeO_2(ZrO_2)/TiO_2 catalysts was different between the sol-gel method and the impregnation method. The Pr addition tended to interact with TiO_2 and formed the structure of Ti-O-Pr in the sol-gel method while it was more likely to interact with CeO_2 forming the structure of Ce-O-Pr in the impregnation method. The total acid amount and redox properties of the catalysts prepared by sol-gel method decreased with the addition of Pr element, which resulted in decrease of catalytic activity. In contrast, the Pr-added catalyst prepared by impregnation method was found to possess easier reducibility, more total acid amount and higher proportion of Ce~(3+) species, which was favourable for higher catalytic activity.     

Promotional effect of CO pretreatment on CuO/CeO2 catalyst for catalytic reduction of NO by CO

The CuO/CeO2 catalysts were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction(XRD),laser Raman spectroscopy(LRS),X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopy(XPS),temperature-programmed reduction(TPR),in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) and NO+CO reaction.The results revealed that the low temperature(150 °C) catalytic performances were enhanced for CO pretreated samples.During CO pretreatment,the surface Cu+/Cu0 and oxygen vacancies on ceria surface were present.The low valence copper species activated the adsorbed CO and surface oxygen vacancies facilitated the NO dissociation.These effects in turn led to higher activities of CuO/CeO2 for NO reduction.The current study provided helpful understandings of active sites and reaction mechanism in NO+CO reaction.     

A novel catalyst of silicon cerium complex oxides for selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH3

A series of CeO2/SiO2 and SixCe1-xO2 complex oxides supported on an activated Al2TiO5-TiO2-SiO2 complex phase (ATS) ceramics were prepared by step impregnation and co-impregnation methods, and characterized by N2-BET, XRD, SEM and NH3-TPD techniques. The effects of reaction temperature, CeO2/SiO2 loadings and Si/Ce molar ratio on the granular catalysts for NO selective catalytic reduction with ammonia (NH3-SCR) were studied. Results indicated that both CeO2/SiO2/ATS and CeO2/ATS catalysts showed the same ac...     

A method for determination of the absolute configuration of chiral glycerol residues in natural products using TEMPO oxidation and characterization of the glyceric acids formed

A method has been developed for determination of the absolute configuration of glycerol residues in natural products. It is required that the glycerol moiety contain a primary nonsubstituted hydroxymethyl group or that such a group can be obtained by modification without racemization. The method employs TEMPO oxidation of the primary hydroxyl group, hydrolysis, butanolysis with chiral 2-butanol, and acetylation. The acetylated (+)-2-butyl esters of the glyceric acid formed by oxidation are analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. The esterification can also be performed with other chiral alcohols, e.g., (-)-2-octanol. The method is general and applicable to both primary and secondary substituted glycerols. It has recently been used for determination of the chiral glycerol-1-phosphate residue of the Escherichia coli O28 O-antigen, and now we report the absolute configurations of the glycerol moieties in Streptococcus pneumoniae type 18A and Streptococcus agalactaie type III. All studied glycerol residues were found to have the D-configuration.     

Casein kinase 2 down-regulation and activation by polybasic peptides are mediated by acidic residues in the 55-64 region of the beta-subunit. A study with calmodulin as phosphorylatable substrate

The noncatalytic beta-subunit is responsible for the latency of casein kinase 2 (CK2) activity toward calmodulin. Twenty-one mutants of the beta-subunit bearing either deletions or Ala substitutions for charged residues in the 5-6, 55-70, and 171-178 sequences have been assayed for their ability to substitute for wild-type beta-subunit as a suppressor of activity toward calmodulin. The only mutations that reduced the ability of the beta-subunit to suppress calmodulin phosphorylation activity, though being compatible with normal reconstitution of CK2 holoenzyme, were those affecting Asp55, Glu57 and the whole triplet Glu59-Asp-Glu61. The activity of CK2 holoenzyme, either native or reconstituted, toward calmodulin can be elicited by a variety of polybasic effectors, including polylysine, polyarginine, salmine, and histones H4, H3, and, to a lesser extent, H2a and H2b. Histone H1 and polyamines are conversely ineffective. The latent "calmodulin kinase" activity of CK2 can also be specifically unmasked by a peptide (alpha[66-86]) reproducing a basic insert of the catalytic subunit. This effect is reversed by equimolar addition of a peptide (beta[55-71]) including the 55-64 acidic stretch of the beta-subunit. Comparable polylysine stimulation was observed with the holoenzymes reconstituted with either beta wt or the beta mutants capable of assembling with the alpha-subunit, with the notable exception of those bearing Ala substitutions for acidic residues at positions 55, 57, and 59-61. These were nearly insensitive to 42 nM polylysine, which conversely promotes a more than 10-fold increase of calmodulin phosphorylation with wild-type beta.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A highly active VOx-MnOx/CeO2 for selective catalytic reduction of NO: The balance between redox property and surface acidity

Excellent catalysts with low-temperature activity and relatively wide temperature window for selective catalytic reduction of NO with ammonia (NH₃-SCR) are highly demanded in view of the practical treatment of NO. Herein, we have designed a highly active VO_x-MnO_x/CeO₂ material based on the intrinsic requirement of SCR reaction for catalyst, namely redox sites and surface acid sites. The vanadium oxide and manganese oxide are highly dispersed over the ceria mesosphere via simple incipient wetness impregnation. The loading of manganese could introduce acid sites and enhance the redox property remarkably, while the loading of vanadium increases acid sites and weakens redox property. Through tentatively controlling the appropriate loading ratio of the two components, the optimal catalyst achieves a balance between redox property and surface acidity. The work shed light on the development of new SCR catalyst with superior low temperature activity, wide work temperature window and good hydrothermal stability.     

宝钢2号高炉4号热风炉凉炉实践

对宝钢2号高炉4号热风炉凉炉的原因、凉炉的前期族备工作、凉炉的设备和方法以及凉炉的实际效果进行了总结。通过这次凉炉实践，取得了一些有价值的经验，这些经验对今后宝钢砖硅热风炉的凉炉具有重要的参考意义。