Production of Cytochrome c by an Obligate Methylotroph,Methylomonas sp. YK 1

An obligate methanol-utilizing bacterium, Methylomonas sp. YK 1, was isolated and used as a cytochrome c producer. The strain was mutagenized so as to be resistant to metabolic inhibitors related to the function of cytochrome c. The strain, YK 56, which was derived as a KCN-resistant mutant contained 3 times the cellular level of cytochrome c compared to the parent strain. Optimization of the culture conditions for the mutant to enhance the cytochrome c productivity was performed. Peptone, succinate, l-malate or FeSO₄ · 7H₂O increased the productivity when added to the culture medium. Under the optimal culture conditions, strain YK 56 produced about 60 mg cytochrome c per liter when methanol and peptone were fed to the medium during the cultivation.     

Dedifferentiation-specific expression of MMP-9 and the effects of RA on its expression during salamander limb regeneration

The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are well known to responsible for the degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) during tissue remodelling such as wound healing, metamorphosis, and regeneration. In present study, gelatinase activities were investigated in normal and retinoic acid (RA)-treated limb regenerates. During the early phase of limb regeneration, gelatinase activities increased greatly, and RA caused the enhanced and prolonged gelatinase activities. We also isolated full length of Hynobius MMP-9, and its spatial and temporal expression profiles were examined in normal, RA-treated, and denervated limb regenerates. Whole mount in situ hybridization showed that the expression of MMP-9 increased in the wound epidermis at the wound healing stage and early phase of dedifferentiation stage. In addition, RA enhanced remarkably its expression both in terms of level and duration in the wound epidermis. However, expression signal of MMP-9 was barely detectable in denervated in limb regenerates. Our results may indicate that MMP-9 plays important role(s) in the dedifferentiation process by participating in ECM degradation and enhancement of MMP-9 expression and activity might be closely related to RA-evoked pattern duplication.     

Evaluating Predictive Pharmacogenetic Signatures of Adverse Events in Colorectal Cancer Patients Treated with Fluoropyrimidines

The potential clinical utility of genetic markers associated with response to fluoropyrimidine treatment in colorectal cancer patients remains controversial despite extensive study. Our aim was to test the clinical validity of both novel and previously identified markers of adverse events in a broad clinical setting. We have conducted an observational pharmacogenetic study of early adverse events in a cohort study of 254 colorectal cancer patients treated with 5-fluorouracil or capecitabine. Sixteen variants of nine key folate (pharmacodynamic) and drug metabolising (pharmacokinetic) enzymes have been analysed as individual markers and/or signatures of markers. We found a significant association between TYMP S471L (rs11479) and early dose modifications and/or severe adverse events (adjusted OR = 2.02 [1.03; 4.00], p = 0.042, adjusted OR = 2.70 [1.23; 5.92], p = 0.01 respectively). There was also a significant association between these phenotypes and a signature of DPYD mutations (Adjusted OR = 3.96 [1.17; 13.33], p = 0.03, adjusted OR = 6.76 [1.99; 22.96], p = 0.002 respectively). We did not identify any significant associations between the individual candidate pharmacodynamic markers and toxicity. If a predictive test for early adverse events analysed the TYMP and DPYD variants as a signature, the sensitivity would be 45.5 %, with a positive predictive value of just 33.9 % and thus poor clinical validity. Most studies to date have been under-powered to consider multiple pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variants simultaneously but this and similar individualised data sets could be pooled in meta-analyses to resolve uncertainties about the potential clinical utility of these markers.     

Topical application of capsaicin reduces visceral adipose fat by affecting adipokine levels in high‐fat diet‐induced obese mice

Objective:

Visceral obesity contributes to the development of obesity‐related disorders such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and fatty liver disease, as well as cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we determined whether topical application of capsaicin can reduce fat accumulation in visceral adipose tissues.

Methods and Results:

We first observed that topical application of 0.075% capsaicin to male mice fed a high‐fat diet significantly reduced weight gain and visceral fat. Fat cells were markedly smaller in the mesenteric and epididymal adipose tissues of mice treated with capsaicin cream. The capsaicin treatment also lowered serum levels of fasting glucose, total cholesterol, and triglycerides. Immunoblot analysis and RT‐PCR revealed increased expression of adiponectin and other adipokines including peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor (PPAR) α, PPARγ, visfatin, and adipsin, but reduced expression of tumor necrosis factor‐α and IL‐6.

Conclusions:

These results indicate that topical application of capsaicin to obese mice limits fat accumulation in adipose tissues and may reduce inflammation and increase insulin sensitivity.     

Reporting of Adverse Events in Published and Unpublished Studies of Health Care Interventions: A Systematic Review

BackgroundWe performed a systematic review to assess whether we can quantify the underreporting of adverse events (AEs) in the published medical literature documenting the results of clinical trials as compared with other nonpublished sources, and whether we can measure the impact this underreporting has on systematic reviews of adverse events.ConclusionsThere is strong evidence that much of the information on adverse events remains unpublished and that the number and range of adverse events is higher in unpublished than in published versions of the same study. The inclusion of unpublished data can also reduce the imprecision of pooled effect estimates during meta-analysis of adverse events.     

Effects of solvent polarity on the absorption and fluorescence spectra of chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid compounds: determination of the dipole moments

The effects of solvent polarity on absorption and fluorescence spectra of biologically active compounds (chlorogenic acid (CGA) and caffeic acids (CA)) have been investigated. In both spectra pronounced solvatochromic effects were observed with shift of emission peaks larger than the corresponding UV‐vis electronic absorption spectra. From solvatochromic theory the ground and excited‐state dipole moments were determined experimentally and theoretically. The differences between the excited and ground state dipole moment determined by Bakhshiev, Kawski–Chamma–Viallet and Reichardt equations are quite similar. The ground and excited‐state dipole moments were determined by theoretical quantum chemical calculation using density function theory (DFT) method (Gaussian 09) and were also similar to the experimental results. The HOMO‐LUMO energy band gaps for CGA and CFA were calculated and found to be 4.1119 and 1.8732 eV respectively. The results also indicated the CGA molecule is more stable than that of CFA. It was also observed that in both compounds the excited state possesses a higher dipole moment than that of the ground state. This confirms that the excited state of the hydroxycinnamic compounds is more polarized than that of the ground state and therefore is more sensitive to the solvent. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimal Interfacial Engineering with Different Length of Alkylammonium Halide for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells

Recently, two‐dimensional (2D) structure on three‐dimensional (3D) perovskites (graded 2D/3D) has been reported to be effective in significantly improving both efficiency and stability. However, the electrical properties of the 2D structure as a passivation layer on the 3D perovskite thin film and resistance to the penetration of moisture may vary depending on the length of the alkyl chain. In addition, the surface defects of the 2D itself on the 3D layer may also be affected by the correlation between the 2D structure and the hole conductive material. Therefore, systematic interfacial study with the alkyl chain length of long‐chained alkylammonium iodide forming a 2D structure is necessary. Herein, the 2D interfacial layers formed are compared with butylammonium iodide (BAI), octylammonium iodide (OAI), and dodecylammonium iodide (DAI) iodide on a 3D (FAPbI₃)_0.95(MAPbBr₃)_0.05 perovskite thin film in terms of the PCE and humidity stability. As the length of the alkyl chain increased from BA to OA to DA, the electron‐blocking ability and humidity resistance increase significantly, but the difference between OA and DA is not large. The PSC post‐treated with OAI has slightly higher PCE than those treated with BAI and DAI, achieving a certified stabilized efficiency of 22.9%.     

Microbial production of O-methylated flavanones from methylated phenylpropanoic acids in engineered Escherichia coli

Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology - Methylated flavonoids possess improved bioactivities compared to their unmethylated counterparts. In this study, for the efficient...     

Combined influence of meteorological,hydrological, and physicochemical factors on macrophyte overgrowth in agricultural reservoirs

Limnology - Maintaining moderate levels of aquatic plant cover in agricultural reservoirs is an important issue because aquatic plant development is closely related to diverse ecosystem functions,...