Treatment of brewery wastewater using anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR)

Brewery wastewater was treated in a pilot-scale anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) in which a floating cover(@) was employed. Long time experiments showed that the reactor worked stably and effectively for COD removal and gas production. When the organic loading rate was controlled between 1.5 kg COD/m3 d and 5.0 kg COD/m(3)d, and hydraulic retention time one day, COD removal efficiency could reach more than 90%. Sludge granulation was achieved in the reactor in approximately 60 days, which is much less than the granulation time ever reported. In addition, high specific methanogenic activity (SMA) for formate was observed. The study suggests that the ASBR technology is a potential alternative for brewery wastewater treatment.     

Enzyme-assisted synthesis and characterization of glucuronide conjugates of neuroactive steroids

Synthesis of reference standards is needed to determine the presence and function of steroid glucuronides in the brain or other tissues, because commercial sources of steroid glucuronide standards are limited or unavailable. In the present study porcine, rat, and bovine liver microsomes were tested to evaluate their ability to glucuronidate eight neurosteroids and neuroactive steroids of various types: dehydroepiandrosterone, pregnenolone, isopregnanolone, 5alpha-tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone, corticosterone, cortisol, beta-estradiol, and testosterone. In general, the glucuronidation efficiency of rat liver was rather poor compared with that of bovine and porcine liver microsomes. Since porcine liver apparently has a relatively large amount of dehydrogenase, its microsomes also produced dehydrogenated steroids and their glucuronides, as well as various regioisomers in which the site of glucuronidation varied. In contrast, bovine liver microsomes produced mainly a single major glucuronidation product and few dehydrogenation products and gave the best overall yield for two-third of the steroids tested. The enzymatic synthesis of five glucuronides of four steroids was carried out and the conditions, purification, and analytical methods for the glucuronidation products were optimized. The steroid glucuronides synthesized were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The stereochemically pure steroid glucuronide conjugates were recovered in milligram amounts (yield 10-78%) and good purity (>85-90%), which is sufficient for LC-MS/MS method development and analyses of steroid glucuronides in biological matrices such as brain, urine, or plasma.     

Definition of the binding mode of a new class of phosphoinositide 3-kinase α-selective inhibitors using in vitro mutagenesis of non-conserved amino acids and kinetic analysis

The binding mechanism of a new class of lipid-competitive, ATP non-competitive, p110α isoform-selective PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) inhibitors has been elucidated. Using the novel technique of isoform reciprocal mutagenesis of non-conserved amino acids in the p110α and p110β isoforms, we have identified three unique binding mechanisms for the p110α-selective inhibitors PIK-75, A-66S and J-32. Each of the inhibitor's p110α-isoform-selective binding was found to be due to interactions with different amino acids within p110. The PIK-75 interaction bound the non-conserved region 2 amino acid p110α Ser(773), A-66S bound the region 1 non-conserved amino acid p110α Gln(859), and J-32 binding had an indirect interaction with Lys(776) and Ile(771). The isoform reciprocal mutagenesis technique is shown to be an important analytical tool for the rational design of isoform-selective inhibitors.     

Risk factors for multiple myeloma: A hospital-based case-control study in Northwest China

BackgroundThe distinctive racial/ethnic and geographic distribution of multiple myeloma (MM) suggests that both family history and environmental factors may contribute to its development.MethodsA hospital-based case–control study consisting of 220 confirmed MM cases and 220 individually matched patient controls, by sex, age and hospital was carried out at 5 major hospitals in Northwest China. A questionnaire was used to obtain information on demographics, family history, and the frequency of food items consumed.ResultsBased on multivariate analysis, a significant association between the risk of MM and family history of cancers in first degree relatives was observed (OR = 4.03, 95% CI: 2.50–6.52). Fried food, cured/smoked food, black tea, and fish were not significantly associated with the risk of MM. Intake of shallot and garlic (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.43–0.85), soy food (OR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.36–0.75) and green tea (OR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.27–0.53) was significantly associated with a reduced risk of MM. In contrast, intake of brined vegetables and pickle was significantly associated with an increased risk (OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.41–2.93). A more than multiplicative interaction on the decreased risk of MM was found between shallot/garlic and soy food.ConclusionOur study in Northwest China found an increased risk of MM with a family history of cancer, a diet characterized by low consumption of garlic, green tea and soy foods, and high consumption of pickled vegetables. The effect of green tea in reducing the risk of MM is an interesting new finding which should be further confirmed.     

The kic1 kinase of schizosaccharomyces pombe is a CLK/STY orthologue that regulates cell-cell separation

The CLK/STY kinases are a family of dual-specificity protein kinases implicated in the regulation of cellular growth and differentiation. Some of the kinases in the family are shown to phosphorylate serine-arginine-rich splicing factors and to regulate pre-mRNA splicing. However, the actual cellular mechanism that regulates cell growth, differentiation, and development by CLK/STY remains unclear. Here we show that a functionally conserved CLK/STY kinase exists in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and this orthologue, called Kic1, regulates the cell surface and septum formation as well as a late step in cytokinesis. The Kic1 protein is modified in vivo, likely by phosphorylation, suggesting that it can be involved in a control cascade. In addition, kic1(+) together with dsk1(+), which encodes a related SR-specific protein kinase, constitutes a critical in vivo function for cell growth. The results provide the first in vivo evidence for the functional conservation of the CLK/STY family through evolution from fission yeast to mammals. Furthermore, since cell division and cell-cell interaction are fundamental for the differentiation and development of an organism, the novel cellular role of kic1(+) revealed from this study offers a clue to the understanding of its counterparts in higher eukaryotes.     

Modification of life-history parameters of Daphnia pulex Leydig and D. magna Straus by the presence of Chaoborus sp.

Contamination of the culture water by high densities of phantom midge larvae, Chaoborus sp. resulted in size diminution, retarded reproduction and decrease in the clutch size of D. pulex, and size diminution of D. magna. Furthermore, D. pulex suffered heavy mortality. The results are discussed in the context of the hypothesis that energy is expended in the formation of defensive cyclomorphic spines. Other hypotheses are also discussed.     

Molecular Characterization of Subunit 6 of the COP9 Signalosome and Its Role in Multifaceted Developmental Processes in Arabidopsis

The COP9 signalosome is a highly conserved protein complex initially identified as a repressor of photomorphogenesis. Here, we report that subunit 6 of the Arabidopsis COP9 signalosome is encoded by a family of two genes (CSN6A and CSN6B) located on chromosomes V and IV, respectively. The CSN6A and CSN6B proteins share 87% amino acid identity and contain a MPR1p and PAD1p N-terminal (MPN) domain at the N-terminal region. The CSN6 proteins share homology with CSN5 and belong to the Mov34 superfamily of proteins. CSN6 proteins present only in the complex form and coimmunoprecipitate with other known subunits of the COP9 signalosome. Partial loss-of-function strains of the COP9 signalosome created by antisense and cosuppression with CSN6A exhibit diverse developmental defects, including homeotic organ transformation, symmetric body organization, and organ boundary definition. Protein blot analysis revealed that the defective plants accumulate significant amounts of ubiquitinated proteins, supporting the conclusion that the COP9 signalosome regulates multifaceted developmental processes through its involvement in ubiquitin/proteasome-mediated protein degradation.     

岩棉育苗对番茄幼苗生长发育的影响

采用岩棉和营养土方作育苗基质,观测了基质对番茄幼苗各时期生长的影响。其试验结果是：以岩棉作基质培育功苗能增加番茄幼苗全株的干重,其中幼苗根系的干重增加较为显著。在播种２４ｄ内,岩棉育苗的幼苗高度、茎干重、叶面积和干重的增长略低于营养土方育苗,２４ｄ以后,岩棉育苗则增长迅速,说明岩棉育苗具有增加幼苗干物质累积、培育壮苗的特点,证实岩棉是一种良好的育苗基质。     

基于NLPCA-GSO可持续发展评价——以环渤海区域为例

区域可持续发展水平、发展的持续性和系统的协调性是区域可持续发展定量评价研究的三角构架,而在传统上基于各子系统主成分分析结果直接进行形色各异的加权计算对可持续发展评价而言是有待商榷的。提出了非线性主成分分析和施密特正交化(NLPCA-GSO)相耦合的方法评价区域的可持续发展水平来弥补传统方法的不足,并由此建立区域发展持续性模型和可持续发展系统协调度模型,再以环渤海区域为实证分析其2001—2010年的可持续发展状况。结果表明:基于NLPCA-GSO的可持续发展水平模型可以很好地弥补传统主成分分析及对各子系统结果的综合评价的不足;区域发展持续性模型、协调性模型和区域可持续系统变化的滤波分析形象地揭示区域可持续发展的实质和内涵;实证研究表明环渤海区域在研究时段内可持续发展水平有所上升,而环境子系统持续性的下降是引起区域发展持续性和系统协调度的变化的主要原因。研究结果可丰富区域可持续发展评价的方法学,也可为环渤海区域的可持续发展研究奠定基础。