Lipoxygenase Products in the Urine Correlate with Renal Function and Body Temperature but not with Acute Transplant Rejection

Acute transplant rejection is the leading cause of graft loss in the first months after kidney transplantation. Lipoxygenase products mediate pro- and anti-inflammatory actions and thus we aimed to correlate the histological reports of renal transplant biopsies with urinary lipoxygenase products concentrations to evaluate their role as a diagnostic marker. This study included a total of 34 kidney transplant recipients: 17 with an acute transplant rejection and 17 controls. LTE4, LTB4, 12-HETE and 15-HETE concentrations were measured by enzyme immunoassay. Urinary lipoxygenase product concentrations were not significantly changed during an acute allograft rejection. Nevertheless, LTB4 concentrations correlated significantly with the body temperature (P ≤ 0.05) 3 months after transplantation, and 12- and 15-HETE concentrations correlated significantly with renal function (P ≤ 0.05) 2 weeks after transplantation. In conclusion, our data show a correlation for LTB4 with the body temperature 3 months after transplantation and urinary 12- and 15-HETE concentrations correlate positively with elevated serum creatinine concentrations but do not predict acute allograft rejection.     

Discovery of a Short‐Chain Dehydrogenase from Catharanthus roseus that Produces a New Monoterpene Indole Alkaloid

Plant monoterpene indole alkaloids, a large class of natural products, derive from the biosynthetic intermediate strictosidine aglycone. Strictosidine aglycone, which can exist as a variety of isomers, can be reduced to form numerous different structures. We have discovered a short‐chain alcohol dehydrogenase (SDR) from plant producers of monoterpene indole alkaloids (Catharanthus roseus and Rauvolfia serpentina) that reduce strictosidine aglycone and produce an alkaloid that does not correspond to any previously reported compound. Here we report the structural characterization of this product, which we have named vitrosamine, as well as the crystal structure of the SDR. This discovery highlights the structural versatility of the strictosidine aglycone biosynthetic intermediate and expands the range of enzymatic reactions that SDRs can catalyse. This discovery further highlights how a sequence‐based gene mining discovery approach in plants can reveal cryptic chemistry that would not be uncovered by classical natural product chemistry approaches.     

iFlash:80℃活化漂白与新型皂洗

加工技术与设备的发展通常会使加工时间缩短.但是新型助剂的应用也可减少加工时间,大大降低成本.随着iFlash系统的应用,漂白温度可降至80℃,活性染料染色后皂洗的时间也大大缩短.因此,织物间歇式染色得到优化,在不增加额外投资的情况下运行更经济.     

Spatial Input for Temporal Navigation in Scientific Visualizations

Scientific-visualization tools can make time-varying simulations easier to understand. The growing efficiency of today's high-performance computers enables simulation of physical phenomena with a high temporal resolution. Consequently, visualization systems require efficient navigation in the temporal dimension. This 3D user interface employs direct-manipulation metaphors for temporal navigation in scientific visualizations. By interacting with objects using their 3D trajectory, users can navigate in time by specifying spatial inputs. This article is part of a special issue on 3D user interfaces.     

Recrystallization kinetics of ultrafine-grained Ni studied by dilatometry

The release of excess volume upon recrystallization of ultrafine-grained Ni deformed by high-pressure torsion was measured with a high-precision difference-dilatometer employing constant heating rates in the range from 0.3 to 10 K min^?1. The kinetics of the recrystallization process was analyzed according to the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov theory adapted to the case of constant heating rates. An effective Avrami exponent of 2 and a value of 1.20 eV for the activation energy of recrystallization was determined. Analysis by the Kissinger method yielded the same result for the activation energy.     

End of life management of industrial robots

End of life management (EOL) is currently a hot topic in the electronics industry. Currently, mostly IT equipment and goods of consumer electronics are considered. In the nearest future automation equipment has also to be taken into account. There are three possibilities depending on the age and kind of the device: resell–reuse–recycle, called the “3Rs”. For recycling fully or semi-automated disassembly will gain in importance in the nearest future also for robots. Producers of robots have to take into account EoL because of regulations and laws as well as according to ethical codes contributing to protection of the environment. Based on previous works a real example will be presented and discussed.