A Cyclic KLVFF‐Derived Peptide Aggregation Inhibitor Induces the Formation of Less‐Toxic Off‐Pathway Amyloid‐β Oligomers

Inhibition of amyloid‐β (Aβ) aggregation could be a target of drug development for the treatment of currently incurable Alzheimer's disease. We previously reported that a head‐to‐tail cyclic peptide of KLVFF (cyclic‐KLVFF), a pentapeptide fragment corresponding to the Aβ16–20 region (which plays a critical role in the generating Aβ fibrils), possesses potent inhibitory activity against Aβ aggregation. Here we found that the inhibitory activity of cyclic‐KLVFF was significantly improved by incorporating an additional phenyl group at the β‐position of the Phe4 side chain (inhibitor 3 ). Biophysical and biochemical analyses revealed the rapid formation of 3 ‐embedded oligomer species when Aβ1–42 was mixed with 3 . The oligomer species is an “off‐pathway” species with low affinity for cross‐β‐sheet‐specific dye thioflavin T and oligomer‐specific A11 antibodies. The oligomer species had a sub‐nanometer height and little capability of aggregation to amyloid fibrils. Importantly, the toxicity of the oligomer species was significantly lower than that of native Aβ oligomers. These insights will be useful for further refinement of cyclic‐KLVFF‐based aggregation inhibitors.     

Startup,performance, and microbial communities of an anammox reactor inoculated with indigenous sludge for the treatment of high-salinity and mesophilic underground brine

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) has been implemented as a cost-effective nitrogen removal process in wastewater treatment. To apply the process...     

Wavelet-Texture Method: Appearance Compression by Polarization, Parametric Reflection Model, and Daubechies Wavelet

In order to create a photorealistic Virtual Reality model, we have to record the appearance of the object from different directions under different illuminations. In this paper, we propose a method that renders photorealistic images from a small amount of data. First, we separate the images of the object into a diffuse reflection component and a specular reflection component by using linear polarizers. Then, we estimate the parameters of the reflection model for each component. Finally, we compress the difference between the input images and the rendered images by using wavelet transform. At the rendering stage, we first calculate the diffuse and specular reflection images from the reflection parameters, then add the difference decompressed by inverse wavelet transform into the calculated reflection images, and finally obtain the photorealistic image of the object.     

The characteristics of the bacterial community structure and population dynamics for phosphorus removal in SBR activated sludge processes

The characteristics of the bacterial community structure and population dynamics for phosphorus removal in activated sludge were investigated using laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) activated sludge processes fed with four different carbon sources. Phosphorus removal activity, quinone profile of the activated sludge and isolated bacterial strains were monitored. An enhanced phosphorus removal activity was accompanied by the increase in ubiquinone-9 (Q-9). The relationships between phosphorus removal activity and Q-9 contents of the isolated bacterial strains were dependent neither on the organic substrates nor on the species of isolated bacterial strains. The enhanced phosphorus removal capability of activated sludge seemed to be due to the increase in the populations of bacteria with activity of phosphorus removal, i.e. species succession of bacteria in activated sludge ecosystems, rather than the increase in the phosphorus removal capability of phosphorus removal bacteria. Not only Acinetobacter but also Pseudomonas identified from isolated strains were regarded as representative polyphosphates-accumulating organisms and predominant species to the whole of bacterial population in activated sludge for phosphorus removal.     

Interfacial crosslinking and diffusion via extensional rheometry

When a coextruded multilayer sheet is pulled in a uniaxial extensional rheometer the interfacial area per unit volume increases, amplifying interfacial effects. To investigate interfacial reaction, a pair of functional and miscible polyethylenes were co‐extruded into multilayer sheets (256 layers). One polyethylene contained 8 wt% glycidyl methacrylate comonomer the other 4 wt% anhydride grafts. The extensional force to pull the molten multilayer sheet was measured via a rotating clamp extensional rheometer (RME, Rheometric Scientific). Owing to the reaction in the interfacial region before and during the extension, the measured extensional force increased dramatically. The interfacial stress was extracted and correlated to the extent of interfacial crosslinking. The rate of interfacial crosslinking was found to exceed the rate of area generation at extension rates < 0.01 s^?1. By annealing samples and then stretching them, the growth rate of the interlayer was determined, and a diffusion coefficient estimated.