Design and Characterization of a New pVII Combinatorial Phage Display Peptide Library for Protease Substrate Mining Using Factor VII Activating Protease (FSAP) as Model

We describe a novel, easy and efficient combinatorial phage display peptide substrate-mining method to map the substrate specificity of proteases. The peptide library is displayed on the pVII capsid of the M13 bacteriophage, which renders pIII necessary for infectivity and efficient retrieval, in an unmodified state. As capture module, the 3XFLAG was chosen due to its very high binding efficiency to anti-FLAG mAbs and its independency of any post-translational modification. This library was tested with Factor-VII activating protease (WT-FSAP) and its single-nucleotide polymorphism variant Marburg-I (MI)-FSAP. The WT-FSAP results confirmed the previously reported Arg/Lys centered FSAP cleavage site consensus as dominant, as well as reinforcing MI-FSAP as a loss-of-function mutant. Surprisingly, rare substrate clones devoid of basic amino acids were also identified. Indeed one of these peptides was cleaved as free peptide, thus suggesting a broader range of WT-FSAP substrates than previously anticipated.     

Electrochemical ferrate generation for waste water treatment using cast irons with high silicon contents

This paper deals with the electrochemical preparation of ferrate in 15 M NaOH media, with a view to treatment of waste waters. Grey cast irons with high silicon contents were shown to allow current yields in the range 20–40% depending on the applied current density, up to 34 mA cm^–2. Ferrate solutions with contents up to 0.08 M could be produced in a divided cell of simple design, and provided with flat or packed-bed electrodes. Deactivation of the anode surface was shown to be of moderate significance for hour-long runs. The ferrate produced was tested for treatment of industrial liquid wastes: coagulation efficiency of the suspended matter was comparable with that of an electrocoagulation process with sacrificial Al anodes. The potential of waste water treatment by addition of ferrate is discussed.     

Synergistic Effect in Selective Reduction of NO by Alkanes over Mechanically Mixed Oxide Catalysts

The process of selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides by propane in the presence of O₂, as well as in the presence or absence of CO, was studied over series of commercial oxide catalysts used in petrochemical processes. For the first time synergistic effect was observed for catalytic systems consisting of mechanical mixtures of Cu–Zn–Ni–Al (catalyst I) + Fe–Cr (catalyst II) and Cu–Zn–Ni–Al (catalyst I) + Ni–Cr (catalyst III). The activity of these mixtures in nitrogen oxides reduction by propane was greater than that of individual components in each case. The worked-out catalytical systems showed high effectivity in the process of simultaneous removal of several toxic components: NO _x , CO, hydrocarbons – from model gas mixtures, as well as from real exhausts of automotive transport.     

Activation of the glmS Ribozyme Confers Bacterial Growth Inhibition

The ever‐growing number of pathogenic bacteria resistant to treatment with antibiotics call for the development of novel compounds with as‐yet unexplored modes of action. Here, we demonstrate the in vivo antibacterial activity of carba‐α‐d ‐glucosamine (CGlcN). In this mode of action study, we provide evidence that CGlcN‐mediated growth inhibition is due to glmS ribozyme activation, and we demonstrate that CGlcN hijacks an endogenous activation pathway, hence utilizing a prodrug mechanism. This is the first report describing antibacterial activity mediated by activating the self‐cleaving properties of a ribozyme. Our results open the path towards a compound class with an entirely novel and distinct molecular mechanism.     

Rapid detection of vegetable oils in milk fat by on‐line LC‐GC analysis of β‐sitosterol as marker

On‐line liquid chromatography‐gas chromatography (LC‐GC) has been applied to the detection of vegetable oils in milk fat using β‐sitosterol as marker. The method involves transesterification of the fat, pre‐separation of the sterol fraction from other lipid constituents and on‐line transfer to the capillary GC system. The on‐line approach avoids time‐consuming sample preparation steps prior to GC analysis. The suitability of this analytical approach was tested with model mixtures of milk fat with cotton and rapeseed oil. The method allows the detection of adulterations at low levels. Simultaneous quantification of cholesterol in milk fat is also possible. Considering the rapid sample preparation, the described method can be applied for screening of large sample numbers.     

Direct <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">d</Emphasis>-Glucose Oxidation over Noble Metal Nanoparticles Introduced on Polymer and Inorganic Supports

In the present work, nanocatalysts prepared on inorganic supports (zeolites) were investigated in d-glucose oxidation and compared to systems supported on polymer (hypercrosslinked polystyrene (HPS)) previously described. Catalytic activities and selectivities were measured under various reaction conditions. The selectivity of d-glucose oxidation and activity of both Pd-containing zeolites and HPS-Ru were similar (99.7% and TOF 0.013–0.014 mol/(mol Me s)). Physicochemical analysis X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, liquid nitrogen physisorption, diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy of adsorbed CO for metal sites evaluation, CD₃CN for acid sites evaluation showed that Pd species were in oxidic form, while Ru species were in oxidic and reduced form. The catalytic activity decreased when acidic sites were present in Pd-containing zeolites.     

Non-Enzymatic Template-Directed Recombination of RNAs

RNA non-enzymatic recombination reactions are of great interest within the hypothesis of the “RNA world”, which argues that at some stage of prebiotic life development proteins were not yet engaged in biochemical reactions and RNA carried out both the information storage task and the full range of catalytic roles necessary in primitive self-replicating systems. Here we report on the study of recombination reaction occuring between two 96 nucleotides (nts) fragments of RNAs under physiological conditions and governed by a short oligodeoxyribonucleotide template, partially complementary to sequences within each of the RNAs. Analysis of recombination products shows that ligation is predominantly template-directed, and occurs within the complementary complex with the template in “butt-to-butt” manner, in 1- or 3- nts bulges or in 2–3 nts internal loops. Minor recombination products formed in the template-independent manner are detected as well.     

The influence of iodide on glass transition temperature of high-pressure nuclear waste glasses

The glass transition temperature (T_g) is a key parameter to investigate for application in nuclear waste immobilization in borosilicate glasses. T_g for several glasses containing iodine (I) has been measured in order to determine the I effect on T_g. Two series of glass composition (ISG and NH) containing up to 2.5 mol% I and synthesized under high pressure (0.5 to 1.5 GPa) have been investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The I local environment in glasses has been determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and revealed that I is dissolved under its iodide form (I⁻). Results show that T_g is decreased with the I addition in the glass in agreement with previous results. We also observed that this T_g decrease is a strong function of glass composition. For NH, 2.5 mol% I induces a decrease of 24°C in T_g, whereas for ISG, 1.2 mol% decreases the T_g by 64°C. We interpret this difference as the result of the I dissolution mechanism and its effect on the polymerization of the boron network. The I dissolution in ISG is accompanied by a depolymerization of the boron network, whereas it is the opposite in NH. Although ISG corresponds to a standardized glass, for the particular case of I immobilization it appears less adequate than NH considering that the decrease in T_g for NH is small in comparison to ISG.