Properties and applications of β‐glycosidase from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron that specifically hydrolyses isoflavone glycosides

To modify the glycan part of glycosides, the gene encoding β‐glycosidase was cloned from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron VPI‐5482. The cloned gene, bt_1780, was expressed in Escherichia coli MC1061 and the expressed enzyme was purified using Ni‐NTA affinity chromatography. The purified enzyme, BTBG, showed optimal activity at 50 °C and pH 5.5. Interestingly, this enzyme did not have any hydrolysing activity on ordinary β‐linkage–containing substrates such as xylobiose, lactose and cello‐oligosaccharide, but specifically hydrolysed isoflavone glycosides such as daidzin, genistin and glycitin. Compared to a commercial beta glucosidase, BTBG selectively hydrolysed isoflavone glycosides in soybean extract mixture solution. These results suggest that BTBG may be a specialized enzyme for the hydrolysis of glycosides and that the substrate specificity of BTBG is applicable for the bioconversion of isoflavone glycosides in the food industry.     

Properties of recombinant 4-α-glucanotransferase from Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum JCM 1217 and its application

Food Science and Biotechnology - To determine the physiochemical properties of the 4-α-glucanotransferase from Bifidobacterium sp., the bllj_0114 gene encoding 4-α-glucanotransferase was...     

Combination of vegetable soup and glucan demonstrates synergistic effects on macrophage-mediated immune responses

Vegetable soup (VS), a plant-based functional food, has been used as a traditional folk medicine and is attracting attention for its ability to enhance the immune response. β-Glucan, a well-established and effective immunomodulator, has synergistic effects when used in combination with some bioactive compounds. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the synergistic immunomodulatory effects of the combination of VS and β-glucan on macrophage-mediated immune responses. β-Glucan was demonstrated to synergistically enhance the VS-stimulated immune response, including the production of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and nitric oxide, mainly through the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in macrophages. In addition, this combination has the potential for further development in functional foods with immune-enhancing activity.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-021-00888-x.     

Serum calcium, phosphate and alkaline phosphate levels in epileptic children treated with phenobarbitone

A longitudinal study to estimate the serum calcium, phosphate and alkaline phosphatase levels of 89 ambulatory epileptic children, aged between 3 years and 12 years, and having generalised tonic-clonic seizures, was carried out. None was on any form of medication for the treatment of seizures prior to presentation. Each patient received only phenobarbitone during the period of study. Serum levels of the biochemical parameters were determined at presentation, 6 months and 12 months, while serum phenobarbitone levels were estimated at 6 months and 12 months. Mean serum calcium, phosphate and alkaline phosphatase of the patients remained within the normal range. Using the paired 't' test, the differences in the levels of the parameters at the three measurements were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Serum phenobarbitone levels remained within the therapeutic range during the period of study. Our results show that over a 12-month period, serum levels of calcium, phosphate, and alkaline phosphatase, remain normal in ambulant epileptic children treated with phenobarbitone.     

Prenatal exposure to methylmercury alters locomotor activity of male but not female rats

In the present study the neurotoxic effects of a low dosage (0.5 mg/kg per day) of methylmercury (MeHg) on the developing nervous system were investigated. Pregnant rats were treated with MeHg from day 7 of pregnancy to day 7 of lactation. Locomotor activity (locomotion, rearing, and motility) and spatial learning ability were tested in the offspring at 6 months of age. The expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) was examined by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. A significant decrease in spontaneous motility and rearing was observed only in the MeHg-treated male rats. After administration of a low dose of d-amphetamine (0.5 mg/kg) no differences could be observed between control and MeHg-treated male rats, suggesting that changes in dopaminergic transmission were involved. However, no change in TH messenger RNA expression was observed. No changes in spatial learning acquisition or memory were shown in MeHg-treated rats. Taken together, these findings show that during development a very low dosage of MeHg exerts neurotoxic effects detectable in adulthood, and that susceptibility is gender-dependent.     

Preparation of core–shell type nanoparticles of diblock copolymers of poly(L‐lactide)/poly(ethylene glycol) and their characterization in vitro

Core–shell type nanoparticles of poly(L ‐lactide)/poly(ethylene glycol) (LE) diblock copolymer were prepared by a dialysis technique. Their size was confirmed as 40–70 nm using photon correlation spectroscopy. The ¹H‐NMR analysis confirmed the formation of core–shell type nanoparticles and drug loading. The particle size, drug loading, and drug release rate of the LE nanoparticles were slightly changed by the initial solvents that were used. The drug release behavior of LE core–shell type nanoparticles showed an initial burst during the first 12 h and then a sustained release until 100 h. The degradation behavior of LE block copolymer nanoparticles was divided into three phases: the initial rapid degradation phase, the stationary phase, and the rapid degradation phase until complete degradation. It was suggested that lidocaine release kinetics were predominantly governed by the diffusion mechanism in the initial burst phase and after that by both of the diffusion and degradation mechanisms. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 2625–2634, 2002     

US-guided pseudoaneurysm repair with a compression device

A simple commercially available compression device allowed intermittent ultrasound scanning of the compression site during compression repair of a femoral artery pseudoaneurysm in six patients. All six of the pseudoaneurysms (five superficial femoral and one common femoral) were compressed without compression of the underlying vessels. The procedure was successful in four of the six patients, without complications. Use of this device may decrease operator fatigue during compression repair of pseudoaneurysm.     

Cover Picture: Functionalization of Crystalline Colloidal Arrays through Click Chemistry (Adv. Mater. 21/2007)

Photonic crystals based on electrostatically‐stabilized colloidal arrays dispersed in a liquid medium are of interest to materials scientists partly because of the optical tuning afforded to theses systems with a variation in interparticle distance. On p. 3507, Stephen Foulger and co‐workers from Clemson University, USA report on a general strategy for the preparation of well‐defined and regioselectively functionalized ordered colloidal particles through the exploitation of “click” chemistry. Click transformations have found utility in the synthesis and/or functionalization of a range of systems. In addition, the solvochromic tuning of the ordered arrays is employed to modify the emission spectra of the surface‐attached photoluminescent dyes.     

The Fabrication and Characterization of Single‐Component Polymeric White‐Light‐Emitting Diodes

By using Ni⁰‐mediated polymerization, we have systematically synthesized a series of fluorene‐based copolymers composed of blue‐, green‐, and red‐light‐emitting comonomers with a view to producing polymers with white‐light emission. 2,7‐Dibromo‐9,9‐dihexylfluorene, {4‐(2‐[2,5‐dibromo‐4‐{2‐(4‐diphenylamino‐phenyl)‐vinyl}‐phenyl]‐vinyl)‐phenyl}‐diphenylamine (DTPA), and 2‐{2‐(2‐[4‐{bis(4‐bromo‐phenyl)amino}‐phenyl]‐vinyl)‐6‐tert‐butyl‐pyran‐4‐ylidene}‐malononitrile (TPDCM) were used as the blue‐, green‐, and red‐light‐emitting comonomers, respectively. It was found that the emission spectra of the resulting copolymers could easily be tuned by varying their DTPA and TPDCM content. Thus with the appropriate red/green/blue (RGB) unit ratio, we were able to obtain white‐light emission from these copolymers. A white‐light‐emitting diode using the polyfluorene copolymer containing 3 % green‐emitting DTPA and 2 % red‐emitting TPDCM (PG3R2) with a structure of indium tin oxide/poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid)/PG3R2/Ca/Al was found to exhibit a maximum brightness of 820 cd m^–2 at 11 V with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.33,0.35), which are close to the standard CIE coordinates for white‐light emission (0.33,0.33).