The effects of ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate on the production of 1,3-propanediol from crude glycerol by microbial consortium

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - Ionic liquids (ILs) as “green” solvents have been widely used owing to their excellent properties, e.g., for biodiesel production. Crude glycerol...     

Expert consensus on organizing the multidisciplinary team (MDT) diagnosis and treatment of hepato-pancreato-biliary diseases in China

Science China Life Sciences -     

Fine-scale spatial distribution of soil organic carbon and its fractions after afforestation with Pinus sylvestris and Salix psammophila in a semiarid desert of China

半干旱沙漠中樟子松和沙柳造林后土壤有机碳及其组分的小尺度空间分布 半干旱沙漠造林有助于改善土壤功能以及增加土壤有机碳(SOC)固定,但人们对造林后SOC及其不稳定(LOC)组分的小尺度空间分布了解甚少。本研究以毛乌素沙地东南缘樟子松(Pinus sylvestris)和沙柳 (Salix psammophila)为研究对象,量化了距离树体20、80、150和240 cm处SOC、LOC组分及其相关变量的小尺度空间分布。研究结果表明,沙柳和樟子松造林显著提高了SOC、总氮(TN)、可溶性有机碳 (DOC)、微生物碳(MBC)和易氧化有机碳(ROOC)含量;在距离树体20 cm处,0–100 cm土层樟子松SOC 储量比沙柳高27.21%;在距离树体80和150 cm处,沙柳SOC储量分别比樟子松高5.50%和5.66%;与流 沙地相比,在距离树体20、80、150 和240 cm处,沙柳和樟子松SOC储量显著增加了94.90%、39.50%、 27.10%和18.50%;沙柳和樟子松ROOC分别占SOC的14.09%和18.93%。总之,造林促进了半干旱流沙地SOC的积累,樟子松比沙柳分配更多的有机质到距离树体<80 cm范围内的土体中。     

副溶血弧菌SH112株OmpA蛋白的高效表达及免疫学特性

【目的】我们前期研究表明副溶血弧菌SH112株的OmpA蛋白在该菌的致病过程中发挥重要作用,是亚单位疫苗研制的潜在靶标抗原。本研究进一步对ompA(VPA1186)基因进行克隆表达,并研究其免疫学特性。【方法】扩增去除信号肽序列的成熟外膜蛋白OmpA的基因片段,定向克隆至表达载体,基因测序后对其编码蛋白质进行生物信息学分析。重组蛋白His-OmpA经纯化后,免疫ICR小鼠制备鼠多抗血清。Western blotting检测该蛋白的免疫原性及鼠多抗血清的特异性。动物实验验证其免疫保护率。【结果】成功表达分子量约为40.0 kDa的重组蛋白His-OmpA。制备的鼠多抗血清ELISA效价可达1∶50000以上。Westernblotting检测结果显示,该血清可与His-OmpA蛋白、总外膜蛋白和全菌蛋白发生特异性反应,说明所表达的目的蛋白保持原蛋白的免疫原性。此外,该高免血清可与其他主要血清型的副溶血弧菌发生特异性交叉反应,而与其他非副溶血弧菌菌株无交叉反应,表明该血清特异性较高,且提示OmpA蛋白可能是副溶血弧菌属的共同保护性抗原。小鼠免疫保护实验结果表明,该蛋白可提供约35%的免疫保护率。【结论】OmpA蛋白可作为诊断副溶血弧菌感染和亚单位疫苗研制的靶蛋白,为进一步开展该蛋白的功能研究提供了参考。     

Serum Cardiac Troponin-I is Superior to Troponin-T as a Marker for Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Clinically Stable Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease

Background

Serum troponin assays, widely used to detect acute cardiac ischemia, might be useful biomarkers to detect chronic cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardiac-specific troponin-I (cTnI) and troponin-T (cTnT) generally detect myocardial necrosis equally well. In dialysis patients however, serum cTnT levels are often elevated, unlike cTnI levels. The present study aims to elucidate the associations of cTnI and cTnT with CVD in clinically stable dialysis patients.

Methods

Troponin levels were measured using 5^th generation hs-cTnT assays (Roche) and STAT hs-cTnI assays (Abbott) in a cohort of dialysis patients. Serum troponin levels were divided into tertiles with the lowest tertile as a reference value. Serum troponins were associated with indicators of CVD such as left ventricular mass index (LVMI), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Associations were explored using regression analysis.

Results

We included 154 consecutive patients, 68±7 years old, 77% male, 70% hemodialysis. Median serum cTnT was 51ng/L (exceeding the 99^th percentile of the healthy population in 98%) and median serum cTnI was 13ng/L (elevated in 20%). A high cTnI (T3) was significantly associated with a higher LVMI (Beta 31.60; p=0.001) and LVEF (Beta -4.78; p=0.005) after adjusting for confounders whereas a high serum cTnT was not. CAD was significantly associated with a high cTnT (OR 4.70 p=0.02) but not with a high cTnI. Unlike cTnI, cTnT was associated with residual renal function (Beta:-0.09; p=0.006).

Conclusion

In the present cohort, serum cTnI levels showed a stronger association with LVMI and LVEF than cTnT. However, cTnT was significantly associated with CAD and residual renal function, unlike cTnI. Therefore, cTnI seems to be superior to cTnT as a marker of left ventricular dysfunction in asymptomatic dialysis patients, while cTnT might be better suited to detect CAD in these patients.     

Pediatric Drug Safety Surveillance in FDA-AERS: A Description of Adverse Events from GRiP Project

Individual case safety reports (ICSRs) are a cornerstone in drug safety surveillance. The knowledge on using these data specifically for children is limited. We studied characteristics of pediatric ICSRs reported to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Public available ICSRs reported in children (0–18 years) to FAERS were downloaded from the FDA-website for the period Jan 2004-Dec 2011. Characteristics of these ICSRs, including the reported drugs and events, were described and stratified by age-groups. We included 106,122 pediatric ICSRs (55% boys and 58% from United States) with a median of 1 drug [range 1–3] and 1 event [1–2] per ICSR. Mean age was 9.1 years. 90% was submitted through expedited (15-days) (65%) or periodic reporting (25%) and 10% by non-manufacturers. The proportion and type of pediatric ICSRs reported were relatively stable over time. Most commonly reported drug classes by decreasing frequency were ‘nervous system drugs’ (58%), ‘antineoplastics’ (32%) and ‘anti-infectives’ (25%). Most commonly reported system organ classes were ‘general’ (13%), ‘nervous system’ (12%) and ‘psychiatric’ (11%) disorders. Duration of use could be calculated for 19.7% of the reported drugs, of which 14.5% concerned drugs being used long-term (>6 months). Knowledge on the distribution of the drug classes and events within FAERS is a key first step in developing pediatric specific methods for drug safety surveillance. Because of several differences in terms of drugs and events among age-categories, drug safety signal detection analysis in children needs to be stratified by each age group.     

Energy advantages of orientation to solar radiation in three African ruminants

Animal orientation relative to incident solar radiation allows an animal to effectively adjust the amount of radiant heat gained from an environment. Yet recent literature found ruminants to primarily orientate north/south and proposed magnetic alignment as the most parsimonious explanation. To test whether such northerly orientation has an energy advantage, we used heated cylindrical models to estimate energy costs of thermoregulation associated with north and east orientations of three species of African ruminants under cool winter conditions. Concurrent behavioural observations revealed that eland, blue wildebeest and impala did not preferentially orientate north/south during warm summer or cool winter conditions. Instead, all three species preferred to orientate perpendicular to incident solar radiation during winter and parallel to incident solar radiation during summer, throughout the day. On clear winter days with little wind, more than 60% of animal orientation preference could be accounted for by the energy savings associated with that orientation. Thus energy demands are likely to be the primary driver of animal orientation preferences.