Microalgal lipid is a promising feedstock for biodiesel production. Effect of cultivation temperature on the growth and lipid accumulation properties of a freshwater microalga Scenedesmus sp. LX1 was ...studied. Scenedesmus sp. LX1 could grow in a wide range of temperature (10∼30°C), and the growth activation energy was 49.3kJ·mol−1. The optimal temperature to produce microalgal biomass and lipid was 20°C, and after 15days of batch cultivation the productivities of 313.3g biomass·(gP)−1, 112g lipid (gP)−1 and 14.7g TAGs·(gP)−1 were obtained. The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids decreased with the increase of cultivation temperature. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels at 10°C and 20°C were higher than that under higher temperature. For the first time the cultivation temperature, ROS level, specific growth rate and lipid content per microalgal biomass were correlated together.
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has proved to be a multifunctional signaling molecule in plants and animals. Here, we investigated the role of H2S in the decay of fresh-cut pears (Pyrus pyrifolia). H2S gas ...released by sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) prolonged the shelf life of fresh-cut pear slices in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, H2S maintained higher levels of reducing sugar and soluble protein in pear slices. H2S significantly reduced the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), superoxide radicals (•O2(-)) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Further investigation showed that H2S fumigation up-regulated the activities of antioxidant enzymes ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), and guaiacol peroxidase (POD), while it down-regulated those of lipoxygenase (LOX), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO). Furthermore, H2S fumigation effectively inhibited the growth of two fungal pathogens of pear, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium expansum, suggesting that H2S can be developed as an effective fungicide for postharvest storage. The present study implies that H2S is involved in prolonging postharvest storage of pears by acting as an antioxidant and fungicide.
Glutathione (GSH) plays a crucial role in human pathologies. Near-infrared fluorescence-based sensors capable of detecting intracellular GSH in vivo would be useful tools to understand the mechanisms ...of diseases. In this work, two cyanine-based fluorescent probes, 1 and 2, containing sulfonamide groups were prepared. Evaluation of the fluorescence changes displayed by probe 1, which contains a 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfonamide group, shows that it is cell-membrane-permeable and can selectively detect thiols such as GSH, cysteine (Cys), and homocysteine (Hcy) in living cells. The response of 1 to thiols can be reversed by treatment with N-methylmaleimide (NMM). Probe 2, which possesses a 5-(dimethylamino)naphthalenesulfonamide group, displays high selectivity for GSH over Cys and Hcy, and its response can be reversed using NMM. The potential biological utility of 2 was shown by its use in fluorescence imaging of GSH in living cells. Furthermore, probe 2 can determine changes in the intracellular levels of GSH modualated by H2O2. The properties of 2 enable its use in monitoring GSH in vivo in a mouse model. The results showed that intravenous injection of 2 into a mouse generates a dramatic image in which strong fluorescence is emitted from various tissues, including the liver, kidney, lung, and spleen. Importantly, 2 can be utilized to monitor the depletion of GSH in mouse tissue cells promoted by excessive administration of the painkiller acetaminophen. The combined results coming from this effort suggest that the new probe will serve as an efficient tool for detecting cellular GSH in animals.
BackgroundPatients with cancer on active immune checkpoint inhibitors therapy were recommended to seek prophylaxis from COVID-19 by vaccination. There have been few reports to date to discuss the ...impact of progression cell death-1 blockers (PD-1B) on immune or vaccine-related outcomes, and what risk factors that contribute to the serological status remains to be elucidated. The study aims to find the impact of PD-1B on vaccination outcome and investigate other potential risk factors associated with the risk of seroconversion failure.MethodsPatients with active cancer treatment were retrospectively enrolled to investigate the interaction effects between PD-1B and vaccination. Through propensity score matching of demographic and clinical features, the seroconversion rates and immune/vaccination-related adverse events (irAE and vrAE) were compared in a head-to-head manner. Then, a nomogram predicting the failure risk was developed with variables significant in multivariate regression analysis and validated in an independent cohort.ResultsPatients (n=454) receiving either PD-1B or COVID-19 vaccination, or both, were matched into three cohorts (vac+/PD-1B+, vac+/PD-1B-, and vac-/PD-1B+, respectively), with a non-concer control group of 206 participants. 68.1% (94/138), 71.3% (117/164), and 80.5% (166/206) were seropositive in vac+/PD-1B+cohort, vac+/PD-1B- cohort, and non-cancer control group, respectively. None of irAE or vrAE was observed to be escalated in PD-1B treatment except for low-grade rash.The vaccinated patients with cancer had a significantly lower rate of seroconversion rates than healthy control. A nomogram was thus built that encompassed age, pathology, and chemotherapy status to predict the seroconversion failure risk, which was validated in an independent cancer cohort of 196 patients.ConclusionAlthough patients with cancer had a generally decreased rate of seroconversion as compared with the healthy population, the COVID-19 vaccine was generally well tolerated, and seroconversion was not affected in patients receiving PD-1B. A nomogram predicting failure risk was developed, including age, chemotherapy status, pathology types, and rheumatic comorbidity.
An ultraviolet (UV)-based advanced oxidation process (AOP) for disinfecting water is introduced in this paper. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of UV light-emitting diodes ...(UV-LEDs)/chlorine AOP (UV/Cl2) for Bacillus subtilis spore inactivation. Chlorine was combined with 265 and 280 nm LEDs (UV265/Cl2, UV280/Cl2) and investigated. The addition of 4.0 mg/L of free chlorine at pH 7.0 in the presence of 125 mJ/cm2 of UV irradiation resulted in an additional 1.8-log reduction in UV265/Cl2 and 1.5-log reduction in UV280/Cl2. There was no observed enhancement in spore inactivation with the addition of a radical scavenger, t-BuOH, which indicated the role of •OH in the synergistic effect. To quantitatively evaluate the synergism, the primary treatment with UV/Cl2 was followed by further UV or Cl2 treatment. After UV/Cl2 pretreatment at different pH levels, the 265 and 280 nm LEDs treatment enhanced an approximate 0.4–0.5-log reduction compared to UV only, and Cl2 treatment enhanced an approximate 0.7–1.1-log reduction compared to Cl2 only. In addition, at pH 7.0, in UV265/Cl2-Cl2 and UV280/Cl2-Cl2, the inactivation rate constant k increased by approximately 2 and 1.5 times, respectively. The CT for the lag phases (CTlag) reduced to approximately 67 and 58%, respectively. Similar results were obtained at pH 7.5 and 8.0, and in the secondary effluent. The synergistic effect on spore inactivation suggested that the pathogen inactivation efficiency of sequential UV and chlorine disinfection processes, which are commonly applied, can be significantly enhanced by adding chlorine prior to UV treatment.
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•The combined UV-LEDs and chlorine systems on B. subtilis spore inactivation were evaluated.•Significant enhanced spore inactivation were obtained in the combined systems.•Role of hydroxyl radical formed from chlorine photolysis was investigated.•UV-LEDs and chlorine disinfection were both accelerated after combined system treatment.
Protective role of hydrogen sulfide （H2S） on seed germination and seedling growth was studied in wheat （Triticum） seeds subjected to aluminum （Al3＋） stress. We show that germination and seedling ...growth of wheat is inhibited by high concentrations of AICI3. At 30 mmol/L AICI3 germination is reduced by about 50% and seedling growth is more dramatically inhibited by this treatment. Pre-incubation of wheat seeds in the H2S donor NaHS alleviates AICI3-induced stress in a dose-dependant manner at an optimal concentration of 0.3 mmol/L. We verified that the role of NaHS in alleviating Al3＋ stress could be attributed to H2S/HS- by showing that the level of endogenous H2S increased following NaHS treatment. Furthermore, other sodium salts containing sulfur were ineffective in alleviating Al3＋ stress. NaHS pretreatment significantly increased the activities of amylases and esterases and sustained much lower levels of MDA and H2O2 in germinating seeds under Al3＋ stress. Moreover, NaHS pretreatment increased the activities of guaiacol peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase and decreased that of lipoxygenase. NaHS pretreatment also decreased the uptake of Al3＋ in AICI3-treated seed. Taken together these results suggest that H2S could increase antioxidant capability in wheat seeds leading to the alleviation of Al3＋ stress.
In this paper, we formulate a general time-inconsistent stochastic linear--quadratic (LQ) control problem. The time-inconsistency arises from the presence of a quadratic term of the expected state as ...well as a state-dependent term in the objective functional. We define an equilibrium, instead of optimal, solution within the class of open-loop controls, and derive a sufficient condition for equilibrium controls via a flow of forward--backward stochastic differential equations. When the state is one dimensional and the coefficients in the problem are all deterministic, we find an explicit equilibrium control. As an application, we then consider a mean--variance portfolio selection model in a complete financial market where the risk-free rate is a deterministic function of time but all the other market parameters are possibly stochastic processes. Applying the general sufficient condition, we obtain explicit equilibrium strategies when the risk premium is both deterministic and stochastic. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Natural proteins often rely on the disulfide bond to covalently link side chains. Here we genetically introduce a new type of covalent bond into proteins by enabling an unnatural amino acid to react ...with a proximal cysteine. We demonstrate the utility of this bond for enabling irreversible binding between an affibody and its protein substrate, capturing peptide-protein interactions in mammalian cells, and improving the photon output of fluorescent proteins.
Gut microbiome is integral to the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis. A novel probiotic Lactobacillus intestinalis (L. intestinalis) exerts a protective effect against dextran sodium sulfate‐induced ...colitis in mice. Based on flow cytometry, colitis‐associated Th17 cells are the target of L. intestinalis, which is supported by the lack of protective effects of L. intestinalis in T cell‐null Rag1−/− mice or upon anti‐IL‐17‐A antibody‐treated mice. Although L. intestinalis exerts no direct effect on T cell differentiation, it decreases C/EBPA‐driven gut epithelial SAA1 and SAA2 production, which in turn impairs Th17 cell differentiation. Cometabolism of L. intestinalis ALDH and host ALDH1A2 contributed to elevated biosynthesis of retinoic acid (RA), which accounts for the anti‐colitis effect in RAR‐α ‐mediated way. In a cohort of ulcerative colitis patients, it is observed that fecal abundance of L. intestinalis is negatively associated with the C/EBPA‐SAA1/2‐Th17 axis. Finally, L. intestinalis has a synergistic effect with mesalazine in alleviating murine colitis. In conclusion, L. intestinalis and associated metabolites, RA, have potential therapeutic effects for suppressing colonic inflammation by modulating the crosstalk between intestinal epithelia and immunity.
By improving retinoic acid synthesis, a novel probiotic L. intestinalis exerts a protective effect against colitis. Retinoic acid triggers epithelial gene alteration, including SAA1, SAA2, and C/EBPA, to downregulate RORγt+ Th17 cells. L. intestinalis and its associated metabolite, retinoic acid, have potential therapeutic effects for suppressing colonic inflammation.
The IWA Publishing journals Water Reuse and Water Science and Technology have been successfully enrolled in the catalog of high-quality journals in the field of environmental science in China. The ...catalog was organized by the China Association for Science and Technology. After a rigorous procedure of selection, evaluation, publicity, and review by the expert panel led by the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, 161 journals (including 115 English journals and 46 Chinese journals) were finally enrolled in the catalog.
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