Monte Carlo Simulation of the Neurofilament Brush

Grand canonical Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are performed to analyse conformations of projection domains in a neurofilament (NF) brush composed of three types of tails (L, M, and H) at different concentrations of added salt. The NF is modelled as a rigid, uniformly charged cylinder (backbone), surrounded by tethered, flexible polyampholytic chains with charge distributions and stoichiometry similar to those in natural NFs. We calculate the equilibrium trajectory for each projection; that is, the average distance of the amino acid residue from the surface of the backbone as a function of its ranking number. These trajectories demonstrate the tendency for projections to fold back and adopt loop-like conformations at moderate solution salinities. We also perform extended analysis of MC data to identify metastable states of the system, and demonstrate representative snapshots of tail conformations in major metastable states.     

The Casein Kinase 2‐Dependent Phosphorylation of NS5A Domain 3 from Hepatitis C Virus Followed by Time‐Resolved NMR Spectroscopy

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronically affects millions of individuals worldwide. The HCV nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) plays a critical role in the viral assembly pathway. Domain 3 (D3) of NS5A is an unstructured polypeptide responsible for the interaction with the core particle assembly structure. Casein kinase 2 (CK2) phosphorylates NS5A‐D3 at multiple sites that have mostly been predicted and only observed indirectly. In order to identify the CK2‐dependent phosphorylation sites, we monitored the reaction between NS5A‐D3 and CK2 in vitro by time‐resolved NMR. We unambiguously identified four serine residues as substrates of CK2. The apparent rate constant for each site was determined from the reaction curves. Ser408 was quickly phosphorylated, whereas the three other serine residues reacted more slowly. These results provide a starting point from which to elucidate the role of phosphorylation in the mechanisms of viral assembly—and in the modulation of the viral activity—at the molecular level.     

铀矿山废石场边坡稳定化设计

结合湖南某2个退役铀矿山废石场边坡设计实例,简要介绍了废石场治理工程中有关边坡稳定化设计方法,加固措施,防、排洪措施等技术问题。     

Numerical investigation on the number of active surface sites of carbon catalysts in the decomposition of methane

The number of active sites on the surface of carbon catalysts is an important factor in determining their activity in the decomposition of methane. Although several studies have been performed to identify the nature of these sites, no method has been established to estimate their number. A method is presented to estimate this value, and its effect on hydrogen production is evaluated, along with that of temperature and residence time. For this purpose, the thermocatalytic decomposition of methane is modeled with the inclusion of the number of active sites of the catalyst in the kinetics. The results of the model indicate the high influence of variations of small residence times in this process, and the reduction of this effect at high temperatures. Also, the effect of the number of surface sites is shown to be more prominent at low residence times and temperatures. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 2228–2234, 2014     

H-ZSM-5分子筛催化剂上乙醇脱水合成乙醚的研究

乙醇是一种重要的生物质平台分子,而乙醚是一种具有广泛用途的化学品,因此将乙醇高效脱水合成乙醚受到了广泛的关注。文章通过在不同温度下处理H-ZSM-5分子筛,获得了一系列比表面和晶型类似,而Brnsted酸位点比例不同的催化剂。进一步研究发现,催化剂单位酸位点脱水活性随着Brnsted酸位点比例下降而线性下降。所以我们认为在催化乙醇脱水合成乙醚的反应中,Brnsted酸位点起主要作用。     

A New Strategy to Preserve and Assess Oxygen Consumption in Murine Tissues

Mitochondrial dysfunctions are implicated in several pathologies, such as metabolic, cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological diseases, as well as in cancer and aging. These metabolic alterations are usually assessed in human or murine samples by mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymatic assays, by measuring the oxygen consumption of intact mitochondria isolated from tissues, or from cells obtained after physical or enzymatic disruption of the tissues. However, these methodologies do not maintain tissue multicellular organization and cell-cell interactions, known to influence mitochondrial metabolism. Here, we develop an optimal model to measure mitochondrial oxygen consumption in heart and lung tissue samples using the XF24 Extracellular Flux Analyzer (Seahorse) and discuss the advantages and limitations of this technological approach. Our results demonstrate that tissue organization, as well as mitochondrial ultrastructure and respiratory function, are preserved in heart and lung tissues freshly processed or after overnight conservation at 4 °C. Using this method, we confirmed the repeatedly reported obesity-associated mitochondrial dysfunction in the heart and extended it to the lungs. We set up and validated a new strategy to optimally assess mitochondrial function in murine tissues. As such, this method is of great potential interest for monitoring mitochondrial function in cohort samples.     

Citrus Naringenin Increases Neuron Survival in Optic Nerve Crush Injury Model by Inhibiting JNK-JUN Pathway

Traumatic nerve injury activates cell stress pathways, resulting in neuronal death and loss of vital neural functions. To date, there are no available neuroprotectants for the treatment of traumatic neural injuries. Here, we studied three important flavanones of citrus components, in vitro and in vivo, to reveal their roles in inhibiting the JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase)-JUN pathway and their neuroprotective effects in the optic nerve crush injury model, a kind of traumatic nerve injury in the central nervous system. Results showed that both neural injury in vivo and cell stress in vitro activated the JNK-JUN pathway and increased JUN phosphorylation. We also demonstrated that naringenin treatment completely inhibited stress-induced JUN phosphorylation in cultured cells, whereas nobiletin and hesperidin only partially inhibited JUN phosphorylation. Neuroprotection studies in optic nerve crush injury mouse models revealed that naringenin treatment increased the survival of retinal ganglion cells after traumatic optic nerve injury, while the other two components had no neuroprotective effect. The neuroprotection effect of naringenin was due to the inhibition of JUN phosphorylation in crush-injured retinal ganglion cells. Therefore, the citrus component naringenin provides neuroprotection through the inhibition of the JNK-JUN pathway by inhibiting JUN phosphorylation, indicating the potential application of citrus chemical components in the clinical therapy of traumatic optic nerve injuries.     

Effect of Fe/Zn ratio in composite catalyst for synthesizing polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers

Polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers (PODE_n) are extremely effective diesel additives to reduce soot formation during combustion. We introduce a series of Fe-Zn composite solid acid catalysts (SO₄²⁻/xFe₂O₃-yZnO), for the condensation reaction of methanol and paraformaldehyde (PF) with a cheap and feasible route to efficiently synthesize PODE_n. These catalysts were characterized by different characterization techniques, namely BET, XRD, SEM, EDS, FTIR, and NH₃-TPD and the results showed that Fe/Zn molar ratios strongly influenced the physicochemical characteristics of catalysts, thus affecting the methanol conversion and PODE_1-6 and PODE_3-6 selectivity. Accordingly, the methanol conversion was decreased and the selectivity of PODE_3-6 was increased after increasing the Zn molar content. Comparatively, SO₄²⁻/Fe₂O₃-2ZnO exhibited superior catalytic activity among the various investigated catalysts due to the high acid density of strong acid sites. The optimal reaction conditions were observed to be at a 3.0 wt% catalyst loading (catalyst/reactant mass ratio), 2.5 hours ours of reaction time, a reaction temperature of 403 K, and a molar ratio of 3:1 of CH₂O to methanol, achieving a high selectivity of 99.09% PODE_1-6 and 28.23% PODE_3-6 with 55.16% methanol conversion during the reaction.     

澳大利亚核试验场整治中的几个问题

对澳大利亚核试验场整治中的几个问题进行了简要介绍,包括组织管理、整治目标与方案、土壤清除标准、填埋废物的就地玻璃固化、职业健康与安全、终态评价以及整治后场址的管理等。     

酸性材料在CVOCs催化氧化中的应用

含氯挥发性有机化合物(CVOCs)对环境安全和人类健康存在持久性污染和危害。催化氧化法具有操作温度低和CO_2选择性高等优点,被广泛应用于CVOCs催化降解。催化剂作为CVOCs催化降解过程的核心部分,受到很多学者的关注。分析酸性分子筛、金属改性分子筛和复合氧化物酸性材料对各种CVOCs催化氧化活性、副产物控制性能、CO_2和HCl选择性的影响。结果表明,催化剂表面酸中心、氧化中心和催化剂表面结构性质在CVOCs催化氧化过程中起重要作用。较多酸中心和较大比表面积有利于CVOCs分子的吸附和活化,提高HCl选择性。而较多氧化中心则有利于CVOCs深度氧化,减少副产物产生,提高CO_2选择性。