Characterization of Aspergillus oryzae glycoside hydrolase family 43 β-xylosidase expressed in Escherichia coli

This is the first report of glycoside hydrolase family 43 β-xylosidase from Aspergillus oryzae. To characterize this enzyme, the recombinant enzyme was expressed in Escherichia coli. Unlike known β-xylosidases from fungal origins, the enzyme did not show substrate ambiguity and was stable at alkaline pH.     

Advanced Glycation End Product (AGE)-AGE Receptor (RAGE) System Upregulated Connexin43 Expression in Rat Cardiomyocytes via PKC and Erk MAPK Pathways

The remodeling of cardiac gap junction contributes to the arrhythmias in a diabetic heart. We previously reported that high glucose reduced Cx43 protein level in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. But, the effect and mechanisms of advanced glycation end product (AGE) on Cx43 expression still remain unclear. In this study, we measured the AGE receptor (RAGE) and Cx43 expression by immunohistochemisty in AGE-infused Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. In vitro, the Cx43 and RAGE levels were detected in AGE-treated cardiomyocytes by Western blot and real-time RT-PCR. The function of cells coupling was measured by Scrap loading dye transfer assay. Our results showed that the AGE-infused rat hearts exhibited increased cardiac RAGE and Cx43, as well as Cx43 redistribution. In cultured cardiomyocytes, AGE elevated RAGE expression in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Cx43 protein and mRNA levels were upregulated by AGE (200 mg/L, 24 h), but the gap junction function was not enhanced. RAGE-targeted knock-down or the addition of PKC, and Erk inhibitors abolished the effect of AGE on Cx43. Therefore, AGE-RAGE system might elevate Cx43 expression in rat cardiomyocytes by activating PKC and Erk MAPK pathways, and it also enhanced Cx43 redistribution in vivo, which might contribute to the arrhythmias in diabetes.     

Investigating the microstructures and properties of Mg-Al LDH film-coated Mg-Li alloy: Effect of hydrothermal temperature

Magnesia-alumina layered double hydroxide (Mg-Al LDH) films grown in situ on LA43M magnesium-lithium (Mg-Li) alloy were synthesized utilizing the hydrothermal method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the surface morphologies, composition, and phase of the Mg-Al films. The corrosion resistance of the Mg-Al films was estimated via immersion experiment and hydrogen evolution test, and the tribological properties were investigated using tribological wear tests. The results showed that the thickness of the Mg-Al LDH film enhanced, and the size of the LDH sheets increased as the hydrothermal temperature raised, resulting in the improvement of the corrosion and wear resistance. When the hydrothermal temperature reached 110°C, interlayer anions were loaded the most, and the film achieved the optimal thickness. The Mg-Al LDH film had the optimum corrosion resistance and tribological properties. At this point, the weight loss of the film was 1.3560 mg·cm^–2, and the average friction coefficient was .149. It demonstrated that synthesizing Mg-Al LDH at a hydrothermal temperature of 110°C was an effective approach to improve the corrosion resistance of LA43M.     

过氧化氢溶液中痕量离子吸附分离用氨基功能化SBA-15的制备及性能

通过后接枝法制备了氨基功能化SBA-15介孔氧化硅(S-N),用于吸附过氧化氢溶液中的金属和阴离子及有机杂质制高纯过氧化氢.研究了接枝量对吸附剂结构和性能的影响并发现S-N中的氮含量随接枝剂用量增加而增加,最高为1.83％.S-N保留了高度有序的六方孔道结构,但比表面积和孔体积均随接枝量增加而下降.在过氧化氢溶液中,各...     

Influence of anions on Reactive Red 43 removal in electrochemical coagulation process

The electrochemical coagulation technique (EC) and potentiodynamic polarization tests were used to evaluate the influence of some anions as chloride, sulfate and nitrate on the removal of Reactive Red 43 (RR43) as a model pollutant using aluminum and iron anodes. Higher removal efficiency was obtained using aluminum anodes in the presence of chloride ions. Potentiodynamic polarization tests and determination of total Al³⁺ concentration showed that sulfate ions inhibit the release of Al³⁺ from the anode while in the existences of chloride and nitrate current efficiency was higher than 100%. Dye removal efficiency was considerably decreased by increasing the anion concentration and adding sulfate and nitrate to the solution containing chloride. In EC using iron anodes, the higher removal efficiency was achieved in the presence of chloride and sulfate ions. Potentiodynamic polarization tests revealed that the passive layer formation on the iron surface in the solution containing nitrate caused a considerable decrease in the current and removal efficiency. This passive layer was destroyed by adding chloride ions and in this condition, the removal efficiency and quantity of Fe²⁺ ions increased remarkably. According to the results, iron anode was more efficient than aluminum in the removal of RR43.     

Temporal aggregation and spurious instantaneous causality in multiple time series models

Large aggregation interval asymptotics are used to investigate the relation between Granger causality in disaggregated vector autoregressions (VARs) and associated contemporaneous correlation among innovations of the aggregated system. One of our main contributions is that we outline various conditions under which the informational content of error covariance matrices yields insight into the causal structure of the VAR. Monte Carlo results suggest that our asymptotic findings are applicable even when the aggregation interval is small, as long as the time series are not characterized by high levels of persistence.     

ZA43合金液态挤压组织特征

通过对液态挤压ZA43合金宏观及微观组织的观察分析，研究其不同部位组织特征的成因及影响因素，探讨液态挤压件的成形特点，并提出改善和减少过渡区组织的措施。     

Urothelium-Specific Deletion of Connexin43 in the Mouse Urinary Bladder Alters Distension-Induced ATP Release and Voiding Behavior

Connexin43 (Cx43), the main gap junction and hemichannel forming protein in the urinary bladder, participates in the regulation of bladder motor and sensory functions and has been reported as an important modulator of day–night variations in functional bladder capacity. However, because Cx43 is expressed throughout the bladder, the actual role played by the detrusor and the urothelial Cx43 is still unknown. For this purpose, we generated urothelium-specific Cx43 knockout (uCx43KO) mice using Cre-LoxP system. We evaluated the day–night micturition pattern and the urothelial Cx43 hemichannel function of the uCx43KO mice by measuring luminal ATP release after bladder distention. In wild-type (WT) mice, distention-induced ATP release was elevated, and functional bladder capacity was decreased in the animals’ active phase (nighttime) when Cx43 expression was also high compared to levels measured in the sleep phase (daytime). These day–night differences in urothelial ATP release and functional bladder capacity were attenuated in uCx43KO mice that, in the active phase, displayed lower ATP release and higher functional bladder capacity than WT mice. These findings indicate that urothelial Cx43 mediated ATP signaling and coordination of urothelial activity are essential for proper perception and regulation of responses to bladder distension in the animals’ awake, active phase.     

Structure-Activity Relationship Explorations and Discovery of a Potent Antagonist for the Free Fatty Acid Receptor 2

Free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFA2) is a sensor for short-chain fatty acids that has been identified as an interesting potential drug target for treatment of metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Although several ligand series are known for the receptor, there is still a need for improved compounds. One of the most potent and frequently used antagonists is the amide-substituted phenylbutanoic acid known as CATPB ( 1 ). We here report the structure-activity relationship exploration of this compound, leading to the identification of homologues with increased potency. The preferred compound 37 (TUG-1958) was found, besides improved potency, to have high solubility and favorable pharmacokinetic properties.