Microwave effect on diffusion: a possible mechanism for non-thermal effect

Abstract

In this study, we assume that microwave radiation affects hydrogen bonding between dipolar water molecules and through that diffusion in water at constant temperature. The experimental study was performed on the setup of two identical reservoirs filled with pure water and 0.9% NaCl solution and connected by a thin tube. Alterations of NaCl concentration in the reservoir initially filled with pure water were measured using the resistance of the solution as an indicator. The applied 450?MHz continuous-wave microwave field had the maximal specific absorption rate of 0.4?W/kg on the connecting tube. The standard deviation of water temperature in the setup was 0.02?°C during an experiment. Our experimental data demonstrated that microwave exposure makes faster the process of diffusion in water. The time required for reduction of initial resistance of the solution by 10% was 1.7 times shorter with microwave. This result is consistent with the proposed mechanism of low-level microwave effect: microwave radiation, rotating dipolar water molecules, causes high-frequency alterations of hydrogen bonds between water molecules, thereby affects its viscosity and makes faster diffusion.     

From obesity to cancer: a review on proposed mechanisms

Nowadays, obesity is considered as a serious and growing global health problem. It is documented that the overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a series of noncommunicable diseases, and in recent years, the obesity‐cancer link has received much attention. Numerous epidemiological studies have shown that obesity is associated with increased risk of several cancer types, including colon, breast, endometrium, liver, kidney, esophagus, gastric, pancreatic, gallbladder, and leukemia, and can also lead to poorer treatment. We review here the epidemiological and experimental evidences for the association between obesity and cancer. Specifically, we discuss potential mechanisms focusing how dysfunctional angiogenesis, chronic inflammation, interaction of proinflammatory cytokines, endocrine hormones, and adipokines including leptin, adiponectin insulin, growth factors, estrogen, and progesterone and strikingly, cell metabolism alteration in obesity participate in tumor development and progression, resistance to chemotherapy, and targeted therapies such as antiangiogenic and immune therapies.     

Rapid preflexes in smooth adhesive pads of insects prevent sudden detachment

Many insects possess adhesive organs that can produce extreme attachment forces of more than 100 times body weight but they can rapidly release adhesion to allow locomotion. During walking, weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) use only a fraction of their maximally available contact area, even upside-down on a smooth surface. To test whether the reduced contact area makes the ants more susceptible to sudden and unexpected detachment forces, for example, by rain or wind gusts, we investigated the reaction of untethered ants to rapid horizontal displacements of the substrate. High-speed video recordings revealed that the pad''s contact area could more than double within the first millisecond after the perturbation. This contact area expansion is much faster than any neuromuscular reflex and therefore represents a passive ‘preflex’, resulting from the mechanical properties and geometrical arrangement of the (pre-)tarsus. This preflex reaction protects ants effectively against unexpected detachment, and allows them to use less contact area during locomotion. Contact area expanded most strongly when the substrate displacement generated a pull along the axis of the tarsus, showing that the ants'' preflex is direction-dependent. The preflex may be based on the ability of Hymenopteran adhesive pads to unfold when pulled towards the body. We tested Indian stick insects (Carausius morosus), which have smooth pads that lack this motility. Similar to the ants, they showed a rapid and direction-dependent expansion of the contact area mainly in the lateral direction. We propose that the preflex reaction in stick insects is based on the reorientation of internal cuticle fibrils in a constant-volume system, whereas the ants'' pad cuticle is probably not a hydrostat, and pad extension is achieved by the arcus, an endoscelerite of the arolium.     

精氨酸抗氧化作用机制

精氨酸是一种功能性氨基酸,在机体生理功能、新陈代谢和营养等方面发挥着重要作用。精氨酸具有抗氧化能力。目前的体外研究表明精氨酸具有较强的清除DPPH自由基、ABTS自由基、超氧自由基能力以及一定的还原力。作为一种带电子的碱性氨基酸,精氨酸可能通过胍基基团向自由基提供电子并与其作用,终止自由基链式反应,从而显示出还原能力与体外抗氧化能力。体内实验则表明精氨酸能有效地提高机体总抗氧化能力,降低体内自由基含量,抑制ROS生成与积累,促进谷胱甘肽(GSH)合成与积累,增强内源性抗氧化酶(CAT、SOD、GPx等)活性,抑制氧化应激的产生。精氨酸能够通过精氨酸——一氧化氮途径、GSH途径、Nrf2信号通路途径及其他途径发挥体内抗氧化作用。本文主要综述了目前精氨酸体外与体内抗氧化功能及其相关作用机制的研究进展,为精氨酸的实际应用提供理论指导意义。     

黄曲霉毒素生物合成的遗传调控研究进展

黄曲霉毒素是一类具有较强毒性和致癌力的次级代谢产物,在小麦、水稻、玉米和花生等多种粮食、油料、饲料和食品中检出率均比较高。因此,黄曲霉毒素不仅给人和动物的健康造成极其严重的威胁,而且也给食品和饲料等行业造成了巨大的经济损失。黄曲霉毒素主要由黄曲霉和寄生曲霉产生。自上个世纪60年代首次发现黄曲霉毒素以来,研究者在黄曲霉毒素合成途径、降解、合成机制和致病机理等方面做了大量研究。本文主要综述近年来国内外以黄曲霉为对象的黄曲霉毒素合成的遗传调控机制研究进展。从转录调控、蛋白翻译后修饰、信号转导途径、参与生长发育和形态建成的蛋白和其他酶等方面对黄曲霉毒素合成机制展开综述,为今后进一步深入系统研究黄曲霉毒素合成机制奠定基础,同时为制定防治黄曲霉及其毒素的策略提供理论基础。     

虎杖象甲培植真菌营养特性及对菌丝附属物形成的影响

虎杖象甲培植共生真菌形成的共生体系是植菌昆虫菌业中的典型代表。共生真菌Penicillium herquei如何向虎杖象甲Euops chinensis提供营养尚未明确。本研究发现共生真菌P. herquei的菌丝表面存在大量瘤状凸起物及由凸起物衍生的附属丝等特化结构,该结构可能为虎杖象甲提供营养;对共生真菌的营养研究表明,共生真菌能高效利用山梨醇、蔗糖、海藻糖、葡萄糖等单糖或双糖,以及酪氨酸、甘氨酸、谷氨酰胺等昆虫非必须氨基酸,同时在高碳和最适碳源条件下有利于菌丝特化附属物的产生。研究结果不仅提供了植菌卷叶象甲菌业中共生真菌在营养方面的适应性进化证据,而且为进一步揭示共生真菌适应卷叶象甲的营养机制奠定了基础。     

多重耐药鲍曼不动杆菌的耐药性及其耐药基因分析

目的:探讨多重耐药鲍曼不动杆菌(MDR-Ab)的耐药性及其耐药基因,为临床合理选择抗菌药物提供依据。方法:回顾性分析2018年1月至2018年12月鲍曼不动杆菌感染的住院患者信息。使用VITEK-32微生物分析仪/梅里埃药敏卡片GN13鉴定MDR-Ab 95株。采用聚合酶链式反应(多重PCR)检测MDR-Ab携带相关耐药基因。结果:95株MDR-Ab对头孢类抗菌药物耐药率为100%。对氨苄西林-舒巴坦和头孢哌酮-舒巴坦耐药率分别为95.79%和81.05%,对美罗培南和亚胺培南耐药率分别为56.84%和57.89%,对庆大霉素和阿米卡星耐药率均为88.42%,对环丙沙星和左氧氟沙星耐药率分别为100%和88.42%,对四环素、米诺环素、替加环素耐药率分别为87.37%、16.84%和9.47%,对多粘菌素B耐药率为1.05%。95株MDR-Ab中携带β-内酰胺酶中A类酶耐药基因TEM、PER分别95株和25株,D类酶耐药基因OXA-51、carO和adeB各95株,OXA-23基因90株。携带消毒剂耐药基因qacE 60株。携带16S r RNA甲基化酶耐药基因armA 75株。每株MDR-Ab除携带TEM+carO+adeB+OXA-51四种基因外,另同时携带四种基因20株(21.05%),三种基因38株(40.00%)。结论:MDR-Ab对多种抗菌药物的耐药率较高,携带的耐药基因型主要为TEM、carO、adeB及OXA-51。携带多种耐药基因是MDR-Ab耐药重要原因。加强医院感染防控、合理应用抗菌药物对于延缓泛鲍曼不动杆菌耐药性发展具有重要的临床意义。     

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii-derived multimer Mytichitin-CB possesses potent antibacterial properties

Mytichitin-CB was isolated from Mytilus coruscus in 2014. This antimicrobial peptide shows a weak inhibitory effect on Gram-negative bacteria but inhibits the growth of Gram-positive bacteria and fungi efficiently. Here, a C-terminal hemagglutinin and 6×Histidine (HA-6×His) double tagged three tandem repeats of Mytichitin-CB (3×Mytichitin-CB) with a molecular weight of about 21.5 kDa was expressed in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The recombinant 3×Mytichitin-CB was stably expressed following continuous sixth passages of cells and inhibited the growth of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria at maximum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values between 30 and 50 μg/mL. 3×Mytichitin-CB was stable in terms of its antibacterial activity when treated by a wide range of temperatures and pHs and was resistant to digestion by various proteases. C. reinhardtii-derived 3×Mytichitin-CB had low hemolytic activity and cell cytotoxicity. Moreover, 3×Mytichitin-CB efficiently caused changes on the cell morphology by destroying membrane integrity of the tested bacteria. Our data thus, for the first time, show that C. reinhardtii is a suitable host for stably expressing recombinant 3×Mytichitin-CB, which possesses potent antibacterial properties.     

Plasmid composition and the chpG gene determine the virulence level of Clavibacter capsici natural isolates in pepper

The gram-positive bacterial species Clavibacter capsici causes necrosis and canker in pepper plants. Genomic and functional analyses of C. capsici type strain PF008 have shown that multiple virulence genes exist in its two plasmids. We aimed to identify the key determinants that control the virulence of C. capsici. Pepper leaves inoculated with 54 natural isolates exhibited significant variation in the necrosis. Six isolates showed very low virulence, but their population titres in plants were not significantly different from those of the highly virulent isolates. All six isolates lacked the pCM1_Cc plasmid that carries chpG, which has been shown to be required for virulence and encodes a putative serine protease, but two of them, isolates 1,106 and 1,207, had the intact chpG elsewhere in the genome. Genomic analysis of these two isolates revealed that chpG was located in the pCM2_Cc plasmid, and two highly homologous regions were present next to the chpG locus. The chpG expression in isolate 1,106 was not induced in plants. Introduction of chpG of the PF008 strain into the six low-virulence isolates restored their virulence to that of PF008. Our findings indicate that there are at least three different variant groups of C. capsici and that the plasmid composition and the chpG gene are critical for determining the virulence level. Moreover, our findings also indicate that the virulence level of C. capsici does not directly correlate with bacterial titres in plants.