Search

Four new cycloartane triterpenoids (1-4) were isolated from the leaves of Dysoxylum binectariferum. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of HRMS and NMR spectroscopic data. Compounds 1-3 represent a class of rare natural 24,25,26,27-tetranor type cycloartane triterpenoids. Compound 3 displayed moderate cytotoxicity against HCT-116 and DLD-1 with IC50 values of 9.8 ± 0.3 μM and 12.0 ± 0.4 μM, respectively. Compound 4 showed moderate activitiy against HCT-116 with IC50 value of 12.1 ± 0.4 μM. Annexin V-PE/7-ADD staining assay indicated that 3 induced apoptosis in HCT-116 cells. This is the first report on discovery of degraded cycloartane triterpenoids from genus Dysoxylum.

As a natural abundant high-carbon resource, the use of coal to develop carbon nanomaterials is an important research topic. In recent years, a variety of carbon materials with different morphologies and nanotextures have been designed and constructed using coal and their derivatives as precursors, and their use in energy storage, catalysis, adsorption and absorption have been explored. State-of-the-art research on carbon nanomaterials derived from coals of different rank and their derivatives are summarized with specific attention to the synthesis strategies and structure control. The use of these coal-derived carbons for energy storage, such as secondary batteries and supercapacitors, is also discussed in terms of their structural features. The review aims to provide valuable insight into the present challenges and inspire new ideas for the development of advanced coal-derived carbon materials.

Previous research has demonstrated that serum lipid profile is associated with cognitive function as well as brain structure and function in middle-aged, elderly, and clinical populations. However, the nature and extent of lipids-brain-cognition relationships in young adulthood are largely unknown. In this study, 157 healthy young adults underwent resting-state functional MRI scans. Functional connectivity between and within 14 functional networks were calculated using independent component analysis. Peripheral venous blood samples were collected to measure serum lipids. Working memory was assessed using a 3-back task. Linear regression, correlation, and mediation analyses were conducted to test for potential associations between serum lipids, inter- and intranetwork functional connectivity, and working memory performance. We found that higher serum triglyceride (TG) level was correlated with stronger connectivity between left frontoparietal and ventral attention networks, between right frontoparietal and dorsal attention networks, between right frontoparietal and dorsal sensorimotor networks, between right frontoparietal and lateral visual networks, and between salience (SN) and ventral sensorimotor (vSMN) networks, as well as lower connectivity between posterior default mode and left frontoparietal networks, between left frontoparietal and medial visual networks, and between ventral attention and dorsal sensorimotor networks. In addition, higher SN-vSMN connectivity was related to lower 3-back accuracy. More importantly, the relationship between serum TG and 3-back accuracy was mediated by SN-vSMN connectivity. Our findings not only may expand existing knowledge regarding serum lipids-brain-cognition relations from the perspective of large-scale functional network organization but also may inform a translational conceptualization of how to improve cognitive function through regulating serum lipids.

Silicon nitride ceramics are widely used in various industrial fields because of their excellent characteristics: high hardness, high elastic modulus, abrasion resistance, and high heat resistance. Diamond wheel grinding is the predominant and most productive method to machine silicon nitride ceramics. However, a lot of heat is generated due to high friction between a diamond grinding wheel and extremely rigid silicon nitride during grinding. This causes surface/subsurface damage, wheel wear, etc., which impairs the surface quality of silicon nitride. This impairment can restrict the use of silicon nitride ceramic components. To improve the surface quality and service life of grinding wheels, a laser macro-micro combination structured grinding (LMMCSG) method was presented. The results indicated that the grinding force ratio and surface roughness when using LMMCSG were respectively 31% and 40% lower than the grinding force ratio and surface roughness when using conventional grinding. Moreover, the LMMCSG method effectively reduced the wheel wear and workpiece subsurface damage.

Polyporus umbellatus is a precious medicinal fungus. Oxalic acid was observed to affect sclerotial formation and sclerotia possessed more medicinal compounds than mycelia. In this study, the transcriptome of P. umbellatus was analysed after the fungus was exposed to various concentrations of oxalic acid. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) encoding a series of oxidases were upregulated, and reductases were downregulated, in the low-oxalic-acid (Low OA) group compared to the control (No OA) group, while the opposite phenomenon was observed in the high-oxalic-acid (High OA) group. The detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in P. umbellatus mycelia was performed visually, and Ca2+ and H2O2 fluxes were measured using non-invasive micro-test technology (NMT). The sclerotial biomass in the Low OA group increased by 66%, however, no sclerotia formed in the High OA group. The ROS fluorescence intensity increased significantly in the Low OA group but decreased considerably in the High OA group. Ca2+ and H2O2 influx significantly increased in the Low OA group, while H2O2 exhibited efflux in the High OA group. A higher level of oxidative stress formed in the Low OA group. Different concentrations of oxalic acid were determined to affect P. umbellatus sclerotial formation in different ways.

Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo is a traditional and scarce medicinal orchid in China. Mycorrhizal fungi could supply nitrogen (N) to orchids for seed germination and seedling recruitment. However, the N transport mechanism between orchids and the fungus is poorly understand. Early studies found that the fungus MF23 (Mycena sp.) could promote the growth of D. officinale. To better dissect the molecular interactions involved in N transport between D. officinale and MF23, transcriptome and metabolome analyses were conducted on conventional and mycorrhizal cultivations of D. officinale. Moreover, validation tests were carried out in the greenhouse to measure net fluxes of NO3− and NH4+ of roots by a non-invasive micro-test technology (NMT), determine N assimilation enzyme activity by the ELISA, and analyze the expression level of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of N transporters and DEGs involved in N metabolism by RT-qPCR. Combined transcriptome and metabolome analyses showed that MF23 may influence N metabolism in D. officinale. The expression of DoNAR2.1 (nitrate transporter-activating protein), DoAMT11 (ammonium transporter), DoATFs (amino acid transporters), DoOPTs (oligopeptide transporters), and DoGDHs (glutamate dehydrogenases) in symbiotic D. officinale was upregulated. NMT results showed a preference for NH4+ in D. officinale and indicated that MF23 could promote the uptake of NO3− andNH4+, especially for NH4+. ELISA results showed that MF23 could increase the activity of glutamine synthetase (GS) and glutamate dehydrogenase. This study suggested that MF23 increases the production of D. officinale by affecting N uptake and NH4+ assimilation capacity.

Convolutional neural networks have achieved great success in analyzing potential features inside tropical cyclones (TCs) using satellite images for intensity estimation. However, due to the high similarity of visual features in TC images, it is still a challenge to learn the accurate mapping between TC images and numerical intensity. Existing works mainly focus on the visual features of a single TC, ignoring the impact of intensity continuity and time evolution among TCs on decision making. Therefore, we propose a DR-transformer framework for temporal TC intensity estimation. Inside DR-transformers, a novel DR-extractor can extract Distance-consistency(DC) and Rotation-invariance (RI) features between TC images, and therefore can better learn the contours, structures, and other visual features of each TC image. DC features can reduce the estimation error between adjacent intensities, and RI features can eliminate feature deviation caused by shooting angles and TC rotation. Additionally, a transformer with a DR-extractor as the backbone is applied to aggregate the temporal correlation in a series of TC images, which can learn the evolution from intensity to the visual features of TC. Experiments show that the final result, an RMSE of 7.76 knots, outperforms the baseline, and is better than any previously reported method trained on the TCIR dataset.

In this study, seawater from the area of an oil extraction platform in Bohai Bay was subjected to experimental treatments with oil as the only carbon source to understand the transcriptional responses of seawater microbial populations to oil degradation treatments. Twelve enrichment conditions were used, and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) along with metatranscriptomic analyses were used to understand functional changes within each treatment. RNA from the petroleum-degrading bacterial enrichments was extracted after cultivation and FISH was used to evaluate overall activity, while changes in gene expression among different culture conditions were analyzed based on eight hydrocarbon-specific gene probes and flow cytometry. Concomitantly, 1,066 metabolic pathways were identified as being expressed in the populations through RNA sequencing, metatranscriptomic analysis, and metabolic pathway enrichment analysis. The addition of oil led to the inhibition of carbohydrate metabolism and inositol phosphate metabolism, while also reducing extracellular signaling pathway transcription levels. When low- and high-nutrient conditions were compared, low-nutrient conditions inhibited taurine and hypotaurine metabolism in addition to inositol phosphate metabolism. Among oxygen-treated, carbon dioxide-treated, and air-treated conditions, oxygen-treated conditions inhibited taurine and hypotaurine metabolism but promoted galactose metabolism, while carbon dioxide-treated conditions promoted inositol phosphate metabolism. Overall, metabolic pathway expression and functional gene changes indicated that high-nutrient, oil-free, and aerobic culture conditions best promoted the growth and reproduction of marine microbial communities.

Silicon nitride ceramics are extremely difficult and time-consuming to machine with conventional methods due to high strength and hardness. Laser-assisted machining has been a field of extensive research during the past decade, as it is a promising solution to enhance the machinability of many difficult-to-cut materials, including silicon nitride ceramics. To enhance the processing precision of silicon nitride ceramic grinding, in this work a laser macro-structured method using pulsed laser is proposed and applied to produce certain macro patterns on the surface of diamond grinding wheel. Grinding performance of the macro-structured grinding wheel is tested and compared with a non-structured grinding wheel. It is found that the laser structured pattern has a strong influence on the grinding characteristics. The normal and tangential grinding forces for laser macro-structured grinding (LMSG) condition are 16.3% (15.1%) lower than that in the conventional grinding (CG) condition. The grinding temperature and subsurface damage decrease significantly for LMSG condition. However, due to the influence of pattern geometry, the improvement for surface roughness is not obvious. The groove wear does not reveal a significant increase in wear of the structured grinding wheel.

Establishing highly effective charge transfer channels and providing adequate active sites for improving the activity of photocatalyst is still a challenging issue. Herein, a novel marigold-like NiSe2/MoS2 hierarchical heterostructure is firstly reported via in situ deposition of mesoscale hedgehog NiSe2 nanoparticles on the nanosheet edge of MoS2 flowerspheres. The optimal 5.4% NiSe2/MoS2 composite exhibits moderate hydrogen evolution rate of 2473.7 μmol·h−1·g−1 without any noble metal cocatalysts and achieves mineralization capacity for tetracycline hydrochloride (58.1%) after 120 min, respectively. The transfer pathway of photogenerated charge carriers, the generation process and function of different reactive oxygen species (·O2–, ·OH, 1O2 and H2O2) are detailedly discussed. Based on the results of various characterizations and DFT calculations, the improvement of photocatalytic performance could be derived from the unique morphology effect with numerous reactive sites and extended light harvesting ability, as well as the type-II heterojunction with promoted photocarriers separation efficiency and lower interfacial migration impedance, which arose from a continuous two-step/two-electron reduction pathway. The developed synthetic strategy may provide new inspirations for the rational design and construction of high efficiency photocatalysts with hierarchical structures for energy conversion and water environment remediation.

The CREB1 gene encodes a pleiotropic transcription factor that frequently dysregulated in cancers. CREB1 can regulates tumour cell status of proliferation or migration, however, the molecular basis for this switch involvement in cell plasticity has not been fully understood. Here, we show that knocking out CREB1 triggered a remarkable effect of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and led to the occurrence of inhibited proliferation and enhanced motility in cancer cells. Mechanistically, CREB1-knockout cells showed arrest in the G0/G1 phase as a result of impaired CREB1-dependent transcription of CCAT1 and E2F1. Interestingly, the competition between the coactivator CBP/p300 for CREB1 and p65 leads to the activation of the NF-κB pathway in cells with CREB1 disrupted, which induces an EMT phenotype and enhances motility. These studies identified previously unknown mechanisms of CREB1 in cell plasticity via its lncRNA and protein effector pathways, revealing an important feature that should be considered in CREB1-targeted tumour therapies.

Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) is a member of the Tec kinase family and plays a key role in the modulation of the B-cell receptor (BCR)-mediated signaling pathway. Inhibition of BTK has been proven to be an effective therapeutic approach for various hematological malignancies, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), mantle cell leukemia (MCL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Here, a new series of imidazole group-substituted arylaminopyrimidines (IAAPs) were designed and synthesized as potent inhibitors of the enzymatic activity of BTK with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) ranging from 13.10 to 42.40 nM. In particular, 11a and 11b exhibited stronger antiproliferative activity against AML and B lymphomas cell lines compared with BTK inhibitor ibrutinib and showed low cytotoxicity against normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). In addition, analysis of the mechanism of action of these compounds revealed that 11a and 11b induced significant apoptosis in AML and B lymphoma cells by arresting the cell cycle at the G1/G0 or G2/M stage and blocked BTK autophosphorylation as well as the ensuing abrogation of pro-survival AKT and ERK signaling. Taken together, these results suggest that 11a and 11b might serve as valuable preclinical candidates for the treatment of AML and B-cell lymphoma.

The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of berberine (BBR) on endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) in mice with ulcerative colitis (UC). BALB/c mice were randomly divided into five groups as follows: blank control, model, and low-, medium-, and high-dose BBR. A dextran sodium sulfate- (DSS-) induced model of UC was prepared, and the low-, medium-, and high-dose BBR groups were simultaneously gavaged with a BBR suspension for 7 d. Disease activity index (DAI) was assessed, and tissue damage index (TDI) was assessed from colon samples after the last administration. TUNEL assays were used to detect apoptosis of IECs. Immunohistochemistry and/or real-time PCR were applied to determine the expression of GRP78, caspase-12, and caspase-3. In all BBR treatment groups, clinical symptoms of colitis and histopathological damage were significantly reduced. The high-dose BBR group exhibited particularly pronounced decrease (p<0.01) in both DAI (0.48 ± 0.36) and TDI (1.62 ± 0.64) relative to the model group (1.50 ± 0.65 and 3.88 ± 0.04, respectively). In colon tissues of the model group, the number of apoptotic IECs was significantly increased; the expression of GRP78, caspase-12, and caspase-3 proteins was significantly increased; and the expression of the GRP78 mRNA was upregulated. In low-, medium-, and high-dose BBR groups, the number of apoptotic IECs was significantly reduced. Moreover, GRP78 and caspase-3 expression levels were significantly decreased in the medium- and high-dose BBR groups, caspase-12 expression was significantly decreased in the high-dose BBR group, and the GRP78 mRNA expression level was significantly decreased in the high-dose BBR group. BBR can effectively reduce the rate of IEC apoptosis in UC mice and alleviate the inflammatory response in the colon. The underlying mechanism seems to involve ERS modulation and inhibition of ERS-mediated activation of the caspase-12/caspase-3 apoptosis signaling pathway.

Extracellular matrix dynamics mediates many important biological activities including tissue repairing process. Acellular scaffolds would be involved in the extracellular matrix dynamics of the hos...

An important and surprising finding that the acetalization and ketalization of aldehydes and ketones with alcohols, respectively, proceed smoothly in the presence of 0.1 mol % acid, without removing water, has been presented. This process has many merits, such as commercial available catalysts with low cost and low loadings (as low as 0.03 mol %), quite a broad substrate scope (including various aldehydes, ketones, acid-sensitive substrates, and diols), a wide range of reaction temperature (−60 to 50 °C), high yields, large-scale preparation, environmental friendliness, and simple work-up procedure. This new protocol has also been successfully applied to protect the important organic compounds, such as 1,3-diols, 1,2-diols, acid-sensitive substrates, glucose, and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds.

Based on an umpolung strategy, a series of novel full substituted, optically active dihydrothiophenes, which contain several functional groups, such as amine, ester and oxime groups, were obtained via an efficient organocatalytic asymmetric a formal thio[3 + 2]-cyclization of acyclic thioamides with ( E )- α -nitrostyrenes.

Silicon nitride ceramics are extremely difficult and time-consuming to be machined with conventional methods, such as turning and grinding. Laser-assisted machining has been a field of extensive research during the past decade, as it is a promising solution to enhance the machinability of many difficult-to-cut materials, including silicon nitride ceramics. To enhance the processing precision of silicon nitride ceramic grinding, in this work, a method of laser structuring the surface of silicon nitride is proposed. The laser process allows to precisely control the dimensions of the generated features. Therefore, different patterns with equal silicon nitride surface area are produced in order to study the influence of the pattern geometry on the grinding behavior of the silicon nitride. Grinding performance of the structured silicon nitride is tested. The influences of grinding parameters, such as wheel speed and feed rate, are analyzed for their effects on the grinding force, surface roughness. It is found that the procedure of laser-structured silicon nitride has a strong influence on the grinding results. The grooves obtained by laser-structured silicon nitride are favorable for the flow of coolant, and the cracks generated inside the grooves weak the material locally. The laser-structured silicon nitride generally allows for a reduction of grinding forces by up to 63%, and it can effectively reduce the wear of the tool.

An efficient, mild, and substrate/catalyst-controlled chemoselective reaction of o-isothiocyanato-(E)-cinnamaldehyde with amines has been established, producing three types of six-membered heterocycles: 2-(4H-benzo[d][1,3]thiazin-4-yl)acetaldehydes, 2-(2-thioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinazolin-4-yl)acetaldehydes, and (E)-4-(2-methoxyvinyl)-4H-benzo[d][1,3]thiazines. The reaction scopes were quite broad and excellent yield was achieved. This method is extremely efficient and practical and can be conducted on a gram-scale with slightly inferior reactivity under catalyst-free conditions at low cost, making it an ideal alternative to existing methods.

A one-pot synthesis of substituted (dihydro)thieno[2,3-c]chromene derivatives was developed through a Lewis base catalyzed domino Michael addition/intramolecular cyclization reaction between 3-nitro-2H-chromenes and thioamides. The desired (dihydro)thieno[2,3-c]chromene derivatives were prepared with a large substrate scope (22 examples) and excellent diastereoselectivity in moderate to excellent yields.

Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is known to be highly expressed in a variety of epithelial carcinomas, and it is involved in cell adhesion and proliferation. However, its expression profile and biological function in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unclear. In this study, higher expression of EpCAM was found in NPC samples compared with non-cancer nasopharyngeal mucosa by qRT-PCR. Additionally, immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis of NPC specimens from 64 cases showed that high EpCAM expression was associated with metastasis and shorter survival. Multivariate survival analysis identified high EpCAM expression as an independent prognostic factor. Ectopic EpCAM expression in NPC cells promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), induced a cancer stem cell (CSC)-like phenotype, and enhanced metastasis in vitro and in vivo without an effect on cell proliferation. Notably, EpCAM overexpression reduced PTEN expression and increased the level of AKT, mTOR, p70S6K and 4EBP1 phosphorylation. Correspondingly, an AKT inhibitor and rapamycin blocked the effect of EpCAM on NPC cell invasion and stem-like phenotypes, and siRNA targeting PTEN rescued the oncogenic activities in EpCAM knockdown NPC cells. Our data demonstrate that EpCAM regulates EMT, stemness and metastasis of NPC cells via the PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway.

In this paper, a novel composite La0.9Ca0.1Fe0.9Nb0.1O3-δ/Sc0.2Zr0.8O2−δ (LCFNb/ScSZ) is developed and investigated as a fuel electrode candidate for direct electrolyzing carbon dioxide (CO2) in solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs). XRD patterns of LCFNb powder sintered in CO2 at 850 °C for 10 h indicate that no secondary phases are found during the heat treatment and linear thermal expansion results prove that the LCFNb is compatible with ScSZ electrolyte used in this work. The electrolyser with porous LCFNb membrane cathode fabricated by infiltration method shows impressive electrochemical performance. The current density of 1.97 A/cm2 at 2.0 V at 800 °C is obtained. The polarization resistance Rp of the SOEC decreases with the increase of the applied voltage between the electrodes. The obtained lowest Rp is as low as 0.113 Ω cm2 at 2.0 V and this value is much lower than its many other perovskite and nickle-based counterparts. Besides, the LCFNb/ScSZ cathode shows excellent stability in pure CO2 at different applied voltage, especially at 2.0 V. Furthermore, the LCFNb/ScSZ electrode exhibits the current efficiencies close to theoretical ones for CO2 electrolysis, indicating that the LCFNb/ScSZ composite ceramic is an excellent cathode for zirconia-based high temperature electrolyser.

In this paper, the catalytic activity of a ferrite/ceria composite ceramic fuel electrode La 0.9 Ca 0.1 Fe 0.9 Nb 0.1 O 3-δ /Sm 0.1 Ce 0.9 O 2−δ (LCFNb/SDC) for solid oxide reversible cells (SOCs) is studied by using YSZ (Zr 0.84 Y 0.16 O 2-δ ) and LSM/YSZ (LSM(La 0.8 Sr 0.2 MnO 3-δ )) as electrolyte and oxygen electrode, respectively. The asymmetrical LCFNb/SDC|YSZ|LSM/YSZ cells are prepared and evaluated electrochemically by using DC (cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic) and AC impedance techniques in 50% CO: 50% CO 2 at the fuel electrode compartment. XRD results indicate LCFNb in the composite fuel electrode is stable in CO and CO 2 at high temperature and the LCFNb/SDC membane fuel electrode prepared by infiltration method presents high performance towards CO 2 reduction and CO oxidation. The polarization resistance under open circuit in a 50% CO: 50% CO 2 gas composition at 800 °C is 0.97 Ω cm 2 . However, both the CV and polarized impedance data show that the cell performance is higher for the electrolysis of CO 2 than for the oxidation of CO. The polarization resistance in 50% CO: 50% CO 2 at 1.4 V at 800 °C is 0.39 Ω cm 2 . Notably, the cell shows a highly stable activity towards CO 2 electrolysis at different applied voltages at the temperature of 800 °C.

To monitor the spatial distribution of embolic particles inside the target tissues during and after embolization, blank poly (acrylic acid) microspheres (PMs) were initially prepared by inverse suspension polymerization method and then loaded with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles by in situ precipitation method to obtain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detectable SPIO-loaded poly (acrylic acid) microspheres (SPMs). The loading of SPIO nanoparticles in SPMs was confirmed by vibrating sample magnetometer, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and infrared spectrum, respectively. The results showed that SPMs exhibited excellent superparamagnetism and the SPIO embedded in SPMs were proved to be inverse spinel magnetite. The content of SPIO loaded in wet SPMs of subgroups of 100-300, 300-500, 500-700 and 700-900μm was measured to be 11.84±0.07, 10.20±0.05, 9.98±0.00 and 8.79±0.01mg/ml, corresponding to the weight percentage in freeze-dried SPMs to be 18.07±0.28%, 18.54±0.13%, 18.66±0.01% and 18.50±0.07%, respectively. The SPMs were spherical in shape, had smooth surface, and were within the size range of clinical demands for embolization. The compression tests indicated that SPMs were more rigid than PMs and commercially used Embospheres (P

Among the various treatments, induction of synoviocyte apoptosis by natural products during a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathological condition can be considered to have vast potential. However, it is unclear that liquiritin, a kind of natural flavonoid extracted from the roots of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, induced the apoptosis of the synovial membrane and its molecular mechanism. In this study, interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-RA-FLS cells were incubated with different concentrations of liquiritin. An MTT assay, Hoechst 33342 staining, JC-1 staining, and Western blot were used to check the viability, cell apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential changes, and the expression of related proteins, respectively. In vivo, a TUNEL assay and HE staining of tissue were used for histopathological evaluation. Our results showed that liquiritin significantly inhibited the proliferation of IL-1β-induced-RA-FLS, promoted nuclear DNA fragmentation, and changed the mitochondrial membrane potential to accelerate cell apoptosis. Liquiritin downregulated the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax and inhibited the VEGF expression and phosphorylation of JNK and P38. Moreover, liquiritin improved the clinical score of rheumatism, inflammatory infiltration, and angiogenesis and induced apoptosis of the synovial tissue in vivo. Hence, liquiritin ameliorates RA by reducing inflammation, blocking MAPK signaling, and restraining angiogenesis.

This study presents the adsorption behavior of strong-base anion exchange D202 resin for the elimination of free fatty acids (FFAs) from structure-lipid in nonpolar solvent. The kinetics and thermodynamic behaviors that govern FFAs removal by D202 resin were investigated, and appropriate equilibrium isotherm and kinetics models for the removal in batch experiments were identified. Both the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherm models were fitted to the experimental results with the best fit obtained by the latter. The adsorption capacity of D202 resin was 235.69 mg·g–1, as calculated from the nonlinear model of the Langmuir adsorption. The experimental data from the batch adsorption processes were analyzed in terms of the parameters from three adsorption kinetics models, namely, the liquid-film diffusion, the intraparticle, and the chemical-reaction models, to estimate the fit for the adsorption in these systems. The outcomes indicate that the adsorption kinetics between the free fatty acid ions and...

CuO / Zn 0.384 Cd 0.616 S was prepared by an impregnation method, and its structure and optical properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet–visible diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and their photocatalytic activity were evaluated based on photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) solution under visible light. The effects on photocatalytic degradation of the catalyst amount, MO concentration and pH were investigated. And the mechanism for enhancing the photocatalytic activity was also discussed. The results indicated that 0.5 wt% CuO / Zn 0.384 Cd 0.616 S showed the highest photocatalytic activity among the prepared samples. The mechanism for the degradation of MO occurring on the CuO/Zn 0.384 Cd 0.616 S surface differs from that on Zn x Cd 1− x S surfaces. The catalytic reaction under visible-light irradiation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics.

A new family of diphenylpyrimidine derivatives bearing an amino acid substituent were identified as potent BTK inhibitors. Among them, compound 7b, which features an l -proline substituent, was identified as the strongest BTK inhibitor, with an IC50 of 8.7 nM. Compound 7b also displayed similar activity against B-cell lymphoma cell lines as ibrutinib. Moreover, 7b exhibited low cytotoxic activity against normal PBMC cells. In addition, the acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining assay, Western blot analysis and flow cytometry analysis also showed its effectiveness in interfering with B-cell lymphoma cell growth. The molecular simulation performance showed that 7b forms additional strong hydrogen bonds with the BTK protein. All these findings provided new clues about the pyrimidine scaffold as an effective BTK inhibitor for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma.

Plant growth-promoting fungi (PGPF) have attracted considerable interest as bio-fertilisers due to their multiple beneficial effects on plant quantity and quality and their positive relationship with the ecological environment. Advancements in the development of PGPF for crops and economic plant cultivation applications have been achieved, but such improvements for the use of PGPF with popular medicinal herbs, such as Salvia miltiorrhiza, are rare. In this study, we collected S. miltiorrhiza specimens inhabiting wild, semi-wild, farmland and pot-cultured areas in the Henan province of China and isolated endophytes from the roots, shoots and leaves of these samples. Twenty-eight strains of the dominant genus Alternaria were identified and selected as candidate PGPF. Under greenhouse conditions, Alternaria sp. A13 simultaneously enhanced the dry root biomass and secondary metabolite accumulation of S. miltiorrhiza as the optimal PGPF of the 28 candidate isolates. To further assess the interaction between S. miltiorrhiza and Alternaria sp. A13, the effects on seedlings growth, active ingredient accumulation, and the activity of key enzymes for effective biosynthetic pathways were investigated over a period of six months under field conditions. Compared to uninoculated seedlings, S. miltiorrhiza seedlings colonised by Alternaria sp. A13 showed significant increment of 140% in fresh weight, 138% in dry weight, and enhancement in the contents of total phenolic acid, lithospermic acids A and B (LAA and LAB, respectively) of 210%, 128% and 213%, respectively. Examination of the related enzyme activities showed that the elicitation effect of A13 on LAB accumulation correlated with cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase (C4H) activity in the phenylpropanoid pathway under field conditions. Our results confirmed that Alternaria sp. A13 not only contributes to the stimulation of S. miltiorrhiza root growth, but also boosts the secondary metabolism, thus demonstrating its application potential as a bio-fertiliser for S. miltiorrhiza cultivation, especially in areas outside of its native growth regions.

A series of experiments have been performed to investigate the temperature effects on the structure and the electrochemical properties of LaNi3.8Co0.6Mn0.3M0.3 (M=Ni, Al, Cu) hydrogen storage alloys at different temperatures of 238, 273, 303 and 323 K. Samples A, B and C were used to represent LaNi4.1Co0.6Mn0.3 (Ni substituted alloy), LaNi3.8Co0.6Mn0.3Al0.3 (Al substituted alloy) and LaNi3.8Co0.6Mn0.3Cu0.3 (Cu substituted alloy), respectively. The structures and the electrochemical properties of A, B and C hydrogen storage alloys were investigated by XRD and simulated battery test, respectively. The results reveal that all of the alloys are composed of the homogeneous LaNi5 phase with a CaCu5-type hexagonal structure. The low-temperature properties of the Cu substituted alloy are improved, and the high-temperature discharge capacity of the Al substituted alloy is enhanced. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis shows that the improvement of high-temperature discharge capacity of alloy electrode B is attributed to the formation of dense oxide film to protect the active material from corrosion, which is not favorable to charge-transfer reaction at the interface of electrode-electrolyte. The deterioration in the high-rate dischargeability (HRD) of alloy electrodes B and C are attributed to the degradation of electrochemical kinetics, including both charge-transfer reactions on the electrode surface and hydrogen diffusion in the bulk. Furthermore, the good low-temperature performance of alloy electrode C is due to the improvement of charge-transfer reaction.

Aluminum-ferric-magnesium polysilicate (PAFMS) was prepared by introducing aluminum, ferric and magnesium metal ions into Polymer silica acid solution. PAFMS was applied in the treatment of oily wastewater from treatment of oily sludge in this paper, and the coagulation performance was valued by the removal efficiency of turbidity and colority. The structure and morphology of PAFMS were characterized by the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM). The results indicated that mole ratios 6:4:15 of Al:Fe:Mg is beneficial to forming of Al-O-Si, Fe-O-Si and Mg-Si-O. Fe played main inhibition role among the three metals. XRD analysis showed that the addition of Al, Fe and Mg into Polysilicon acid did not produce a simple mixture, but resulted in the formation of new chemical structures. The intensity of peaks was influenced by the mole ratios of metals. SEM spectra presented that PAFMS appeared to be a spatial structure consisting of many irregular protuberant parts. The removal efficiency of turbidity and colority in oily water from the treatment of oily sludge was better when the mole ratio of (Al+Fe+Mg):Si was 0.5 and if the mole ratios of Al:Fe:Mg are kept at 6:4:15. Moreover, when the dosage of PAFMS was 1.4-1.8 % and the pH value in range of 8-9, the efficiency of turbidity and colority removal are up to 97.3 and 96.8%, respectively.

A series of manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieves (OMS-2) were prepared by different methods for the purpose of investigating the effect of the preparation methods on their catalytic properties in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH3. These samples were characterized with BET, XRD, Raman, H2-TPR, XPS and TEM techniques. It was found that all the samples showed higher NOx conversions than MnOx in the temperature range from 50 to 150°C due to their easier reduction behavior, and the NOx conversion reached about 100% at 120°C. Nonetheless, the preparation methods have a great effect on the catalytic activity of OMS-2. The sample prepared by the solid-state method shows the highest catalytic activity. The BET, XRD, TEM and XPS results reveal that this because it has lower crystallinity but higher dispersion as result of the presence of larger amounts of surface lattice oxygen and less crystalline MnO2 species.

A homogeneous glycopeptide with a molecular weight of 1.61×10(5)Da, termed as MT2-A, was isolated from crude mannatide by DEAE-52 cellulose column and Sephacryl S-300 gel column. The polysaccharide moiety of MT2-A was mainly composed of mannose and trace amount of glucose. Besides, MT2-A contained 16 kinds of amino acids and the total amino acid content was 4.41%. The detailed chemical structure of MT2-A was elucidated using methylation analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), partial acid hydrolysis, selective acetolysis and 1D/2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Based on the experimental results, it was concluded that the polysaccharide moiety of MT2-A had a backbone of (1→6)-α-D-mannopyranose residues, which highly branched at O-2 position of (1→2,6)-α-D-mannopyranose residues. The side chains were mainly composed of (1→)-α-D-mannopyranose, (1→2)-α-D-mannopyranose and (1→3)-α-D-mannopyranose residues. The length of the side chains could not be longer than four mannose residues.

An actinobacterium, designated strain 9583bT, was isolated from the lichen Lobaria retigera collected from Jiaozi Snow Mountain, Yunnan Province, China. Cells of strain 9583bT were Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. The strain have a short rod-shaped, irregular morphology, and could grow at the temperature range of 4 to 28 °C. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain 9583bT belonged to the genus Subtercola in the family Microbacteriaceae , and shared highest sequence similarity with the type strains of Subtercola frigoramans and Subtercola boreus (96.8 and 95.6 %, respectively). The peptidoglycan type was B2γ, with diaminobutyric acid as the diagnostic diamino acid. The polar lipids comprised of phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, five unidentified glycolipids and three unidentified phospholipids. The respiratory quinone was determined to be MK-10. While the major fatty acids (>5 %) of strain 9583bT were anteiso-C15 : 0, C14 : 0 2-OH and iso-C16 : 0, the 1,1-dimethoxy-alkanes included a-15 : 0 DMA, i-16 : 0 DMA, a-17 : 0 DMA and i-15 : 0 DMA. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain 9583bT was 66.8 mol%. On the basis of the phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data in this study, strain 9583bT represents a novel species of the genus S ubtercola , for which the name Subtercola lobariae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 9583bT (=CGMCC 1.12976T=DSM 103962T).

The aim of this study was to prepare aptamer-modified liposomes loaded with gadolinium (Gd) to enhance the effective diagnosis for tumor by MRI. A modified GBI-10 (GBI-10m) was used to prepare targeted liposomes (GmLs). Liposomes with GBI-10 aptamer (GLs) and without aptamer (non-targeted liposomes (NLs)) were also prepared as controls. The particle size and zeta potential of GmLs, GLs, and NLs were all assayed. A clinical 3.0 T MR scanner was employed to assess the imaging efficiency and measure the longitudinal relaxivity (r 1) of the above liposomes. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and flow cytometry were used to analyze and compare the targeting effects of GmLs, GLs, and NLs to MDA-MB-435s cells at 37°C. The particle size of the prepared liposomes was scattered at 100–200 nm, and their values of r 1 were ∼4 mM−1 s−1. The images of confocal laser scanning microscopy showed that GmLs in the cytoplasm were significantly more than GLs and both GmLs and GLs were more than NLs. The fluorescence intensity of GmLs was increased by about two times than that of GLs and three times than that of NLs by flow cytometry. Therefore, the GmLs in this initial study were suggested to be a potential MRI contrast agent at 37°C for diagnosing tumors with the protein of tenascin-C over-expressed.

Five carbamate derivatives, obtucarbamates C and D (1, 2), dimethyl ((carbonylbis(azanediyl))bis(2-methyl-5,1-phenylene))dicarbamate (3), obtucarbamates A and B (4, 5), and four aromadendrane-type sesquiterpenoids, (+)-4β-N-methenetauryl-10β-methoxy-1β,5α,6β,7β-aromadendrane (6), (−)-4β-N-methenetauryl-10β-methoxy-1β,5β,6α,7α-aromadendrane (7), (−)-4α,10β-aromadendranediol (8), (+)-4β,10β-aromadendranediol (9) were obtained from the South China Sea gorgonian coral Melitodes squamata Nutting. Compounds 1, 2, 6, and 7 were new, and their structures were established by spectroscopic analyses. Compounds 6 and 7 contained a taurine group that was rarely found in marine natural compounds, and 7 showed moderate antibacterial activity. The possible biosynthesis routes of 1–5 were conjectured.

The hydroxyl radical (HO•) is a strong oxidizing agent that can transform dissolved organic matter (DOM) into many intermediate photoproducts and byproducts, which include low molecular weight (LMW) DOM, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), CO2, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC: dissolved CO2, H2CO3, HCO3−, and CO32−), NO3−, NH4+, and so on, in surface waters. Furthermore, HO• has a prominent role in the transformation of recalcitrant pollutants into more biodegradable compounds. This chapter discusses the key sources of HO• in natural waters and elucidates the phototransformation pathways of high molecular weight (HMW) and low molecular weight (LMW) DOM induced by HO•. As an example, the photooxidation of methylmercury chloride (MeHgCl) by hydroxyl radicals is discussed along with its reaction mechanism. Among the possible indicators of DOM transformation, the decrease in the fluorescence intensity of autochthonous fulvic acid is discussed based on field observations. The presented results suggest that HO• may be involved in the photooxidation of both HMW and LMW DOM in surface waters.

Catalytic combustion of toluene on Cu-Mn complex oxides was investigated. The catalysts were prepared by urea-based hydrothermal method and characterized by XRD and SEM. It was found that both the decrease of the Cu/Mn molar ratio and the increase of reaction time contributed to improving catalytic activity for toluene combustion. The temperature for 99% conversion of toluene (T99) was lowered to 210°C. The main crystalline phases of Cu-Mn complex oxides were CuO and Cu0.45Mn0.55O2. It was showed that the existence and high dispersion of Cu-Mn complex oxides were related to the catalytic combustion activity.

Four new steroidal glycosides and a new steriod linked with a 4-hydroxyphenylmethylene group, namely muricellasteroids A- E (1 - 5), together with one known steroidal glycoside analog, 22α,2ʹ,3ʹ,4ʹ-O-tetraacetyl-27-O-[β -D-arabino-pyranosyl-oxy]-20β -hydroxy-cholest-4- ene-3-one (6), were isolated from the EtOH/CH2Cl2 extracts of the South China Sea gorgonian coral Muricella flexuosa. The structures of 1 - 5 were established by means of 1D- and 2D-NMR and other spectroscopic analyses. Compounds 1 - 3 and 5 - 6 showed moderate cytotoxicity against A375, K562, and A549 cancer cell lines.

Using callus cells of a salt-tolerant Populus euphratica Oliver and a salt-sensitive P. popularis 35–44 (P. popularis), the effects of NaCl stress on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitric oxide (NO) production and the relevance to ionic homeostasis and antioxidant defense were investigated. Results show that P. euphratica exhibited a greater capacity to tolerate NaCl stress in terms of cell viability, membrane permeability and K+/Na+ relations. NaCl salinity (150 mM) caused a rapid increase of H2O2 and NO in P. euphratica cells, but not in P. popularis. Moreover, salinised P. euphratica cells retained a high and stable level of H2O2 and NO during the period of 24-h salt stress. Noteworthy, P. eupratica cells increased activities of superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase and glutathione reductase under salinity stress, but these antioxidant enzymes were significantly inhibited by the salt treatment in P. popularis cells. Pharmacological experiments proved that the NaCl-induced H2O2 and NO was interdependent and contributed to the mediation of K+/Na+ homeostasis and antioxidant defense in P. euphratica cells. Given these results, we conclude that the increased H2O2 and NO enable P. euphratica cells to regulate ionic and ROS (reactive oxygen species) homeostasis under salinity stress in the longer term.

A strain of bacterium (BC027) for quinoline degradation was inoculated on the activated bamboo charcoal (ABC) substrate. SEM observation showed that the bacterium grew well on the charcoal substrate and thus obtained biologically activated bamboo charcoal (BABC). The investigation on quinoline removal showed that BABC has greater capacity for removing quinoline than ABC or dissociate BC027. The removal ability of BABC is influenced by initial concentration and domestication process. Adsorption of carbon substrate only occurred at the beginning stage, while it had no effect on the bacterium inoculation and activity. The bacteria enhanced the treatment capacity of ABC and prolonged its usage life.

Primer pairs were designed to amplify the genomic DNA sequence of the alpha-farnesene synthase (AFS) gene by PCR. The PCR products were sequenced, spliced and compared to cDNA sequences in the GenBank (accession No. AY182241). The genomic sequence and intron-exon organization of the AFS gene were thus obtained. The AFS genomic sequence has been registered in the GenBank (accession No. DQ901739). It has 6 introns and 7 exons, encoding a protein of 576 amino acids. The sizes of the 6 introns were 108 bp, 113 bp, > 1000 bp, 125 bp, 220 bp and 88 bp, and their phases were 0, 1, 2, 2, 0, 0, respectively. The sizes of the deduced amino acids of the 7 exons were 57, 89, 127, 73, 48, 83 and 99, respectively. The AFS protein contained three motifs: the RR(X8)W motif encoded by a sequence in exon 1, and the RxR motif and DDxxD motif encoded by two sequences in exon 4. After comparing the AFS genomic sequence (accession No. DQ901739) to the cDNA sequence (accession No. AY523409) in the GenBank, it was found that there were 6 single-nucleotide polymorphisms between the two sequences, four of which caused mutations at the amino acid level. Interestingly, one amino acid mutation (291R → RG) was found in the RxR motif, and further investigation is needed to determine whether the alpha-farnesene synthesis ability and superficial scald susceptibility of apples are influenced by this amino acid mutation and other mutations.

The effect of NaCl on growth, biomass and ion relations of two salt-tolerant isolates of Paxillus involutus, MAJ and NAU were investigated. The two Paxillus strains were exposed to the following concentrations of NaCl: 0, 100, 200 and 500 mmol·L−1. Growth of MAJ and NAU was enhanced by 100 mmol·L−1 NaCl but severely inhibited at the concentration of 500 mmol·L−1. NAU exhibited a greater capacity to exclude Na+ and Cl− under all salinity levels, whereas the salt-includer MAJ had a higher capacity in nutrient uptake under salt stress. The ratios Na+/K+, Na+/Ca2+ and Na+/Mg2+ in NaCl-treated MAJ and NAU did not increase at levels of 100 and 200 mmol·L−1 NaCl but markedly increased at 500 mmol·L−1. This suggests that the two strains, especially MAJ, enhanced nutrient uptake corresponding to the increased Na+ influx at moderate salinity. We conclude that both MAJ and NAU are able to tolerate 500 mmol·L−1 NaCl but there are species-specific differences in retaining ionic homeostasis in the two Paxillus strains. NAU is a salt-excluder, MAJ is a salt-includer but retains a high capacity in nutrient selectivity under saline conditions. Their definite mechanisms to enhance salt tolerance of mycorrhizal hosts need further study. peerReviewed

BACKGROUND Natural articular cartilage has a limited capacity for spontaneous regeneration. Controlled release of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) to cartilage defects can enhance chondrogenesis. In this study, we assessed the feasibility of using biodegradable chitosan microspheres as carriers for controlled TGF-beta1 delivery and the effect of released TGF-beta1 on the chondrogenic potential of chondrocytes. METHODS Chitosan scaffolds and chitosan microspheres loaded with TGF-beta1 were prepared by the freeze-drying and the emulsion-crosslinking method respectively. In vitro drug release kinetics, as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, was monitored for 7 days. Lysozyme degradation was performed for 4 weeks to detect in vitro degradability of the scaffolds and the microspheres. Rabbit chondrocytes were seeded on the scaffolds containing TGF-beta1 microspheres and incubated in vitro for 3 weeks. Histological examination and type II collagen immunohistochemical staining was performed to evaluate the effects of released TGF-beta1 on cell adhesivity, proliferation and synthesis of the extracellular matrix. RESULTS TGF-beta1 was encapsulated into chitosan microspheres and the encapsulation efficiency of TGF-beta1 was high (90.1%). During 4 weeks of incubation in lysozyme solution for in vitro degradation, the mass of both the scaffolds and the microspheres decreased continuously and significant morphological changes was noticed. From the release experiments, it was found that TGF-beta1 could be released from the microspheres in a multiphasic fashion including an initial burst phase, a slow linear release phase and a plateau phase. The release amount of TGF-beta1 was 37.4%, 50.7%, 61.3%, and 63.5% for 1, 3, 5, and 7 days respectively. At 21 days after cultivation, type II collagen immunohistochemical staining was performed. The mean percentage of positive cells for collagen type II in control group (32.7% +/- 10.4%) was significantly lower than that in the controlled TGF-beta1 release group (92.4% +/- 4.8%, P < 0.05). Both the proliferation rate and production of collagen type II in the transforming growth factor-beta1 microsphere incorporated scaffolds were significantly higher than those in the scaffolds without microspheres, indicating that the activity of TGF-beta1 was retained during microsphere fabrication and after growth factor release. CONCLUSION Chitosan microspheres can serve as delivery vehicles for controlled release of TGF-beta1, and the released growth factor can augment chondrocytes proliferation and synthesis of extracellular matrix. Chitosan scaffolds incorporated with chitosan microspheres loaded with TGF-beta1 possess a promising potential to be applied for controlled cytokine delivery and cartilage tissue engineering.

Meng-Jie Gu,1,* Kun-Feng Li,1,* Lan-Xin Zhang,1 Huan Wang,1 Li-Si Liu,2 Zhuo-Zhao Zheng,2 Nan-Yin Han,1 Zhen-Jun Yang,1 Tian-Yuan Fan1 1State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, 2Department of Radiology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally tothis work Abstract: Novel gadolinium-loaded liposomes guided by GBI-10 aptamer were developed and evaluated in vitro to enhance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnosis of tumor. Nontargeted gadolinium-loaded liposomes were achieved by incorporating amphipathic material, Gd (III) [N,N-bis-stearylamidomethyl-N'-amidomethyl] diethylenetriamine tetraacetic acid, into the liposome membrane using lipid film hydration method. GBI-10, as the targeting ligand, was then conjugated onto the liposome surface to get GBI-10-targeted gadolinium-loaded liposomes (GTLs). Both nontargeted gadolinium-loaded liposomes and GTLs displayed good dispersion stability, optimal size, and zeta potential for tumor targeting, as well as favorable imaging properties with enhanced relaxivity compared with a commercial MRI contrast agent (CA), gadopentetate dimeglumine. The use of GBI-10 aptamer in this liposomal system was intended to result in increased accumulation of gadolinium at the periphery of C6 glioma cells, where the targeting extracellular matrix protein tenascin-C is overexpressed. Increased cellular binding of GTLs to C6 cells was confirmed by confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, and MRI, demonstrating the promise of this novel delivery system as a carrier of MRI contrast agent for the diagnosis of tumor. These studies provide a new strategy furthering the development of nanomedicine for both diagnosis and therapy of tumor. Keywords: magnetic resonance imaging, gadolinium, liposomes, tenascin-C, GBI-10 aptamer, tumor targeting

By using high pure Magnesium (99.9 wt%) as matrix and multi-walled bended carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as reinforced phase, carbon nanotubes/magnesium matrix composite was prepared by the foundry method under the argon gas protection, and its mechanical properties were tested. The interface structure and component of plating and un-plating carbon nanotubes were analyzed by TEM and EDS, and the action mechanism was discussed. The experiment results show that the CNTs can strengthen mechanical properties of the nanotube-reinforced Mg matrix composite, the tensile strength and elongation ratio are greatly improved. Furthermore, the plating CNTs are better than un-plating CNTs in strengthening effects. The tensile strength is inereased by 150% and the elongation ratio is increased by 30% than that of matrix when content of CNTs is 0.67 wt%.

The quartz crystal microbalance was employed to study the adsorption behavior of bilirubin on human-albumin layer, which was chemically bound to the self-assembled monolayer of 4-aminothiophenol on the surface of a gold electrode of the crystal via glutaraldehyde. A long-time adsorption process of bilirubin that took place on a human-albumin-modified surface was observed, and the adsorption kinetic parameters were estimated from the in situ frequency measurements. The amount of adsorbed bilirubin increased with increasing of both hydrogen ions and bilirubin concentration and was larger than that estimated based on the conclusion that there are two affinity sites for bilirubin per albumin molecule. With the present method, the displacement of bilirubin from an albumin layer caused by aspirin was also examined. QCM measurement provides a facile method for in situ monitoring of the adsorption/desorption of bilirubin on proteins layers.

The human adenovirus (HAdV) early protein E1B55K interacts with E4orf6 to form an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, which plays key roles in virus replication. To illustrate the reason for the fastidiousness of HAdV-41 in 293 cells, interaction between heterotypic E1B55K and E4orf6 proteins was investigated. HAdV-5 E1B55K could interact with HAdV-41 E4orf6, and vice versa. To form E1B55K/E4orf6 E3 ubiquitin ligase, HAdV-41 E4orf6 recruited Cul2 while HAdV-5 E4orf6 interacted with Cul5. The ligase complex formed by HAdV-5 E1B55K and HAdV-41 E4orf6 could cause the degradation of p53 and Mre11. However, in E1-deleted HAdV-41-infected 293TE7 cells, which expressed HAdV-41 E1B55K, viral late mRNAs were exported from nucleus more efficiently and accumulated to a higher concentration in cytoplasm when compared with that in infected 293 cells. These results suggested that interaction between homotypic E1B55K and E4orf6 was indispensable for efficient export of viral late mRNAs.