Production enhancement of Pseudomonas amyloderamosa isoamylase

Isoamylase production in batchwise and fed-batch cultures of Pseudomonas amyloderomosa (strain WU7211-2) was investigated. By feeding maltose in a mode motivated by its structure gene (iam), the final isoamylase activity of 5100 U/ml was achieved, as compared to 4100 U/ml in batch cultivation and 3800 U/ml in shaken flasks. The enhancement may be due to the fact that the production of isoamylase can be induced effectively by the maltose only if the glucose concentration is maintained below the inhibitory level. Also, cultivations based on 500-ml shaken flasks, performed with different amount of proteimax HE90, showed that higher amounts of proteimax HE90 resulted in an increased value of pH that had an adverse effect on isoamylase yield.The authors wish to thank the Food Industry Research and Development Institute (FIRDI), Taiwan, R.O.C for the financial support (Cooperative Agreement 94M904-2B). Appreciation is also extended to Drs. C.C. Liao, W.S. Chu and L.L. Lin of FIRDI for their valuable discussions.     

Morphometric Analysis of Hepatocellular carcinoma

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Changes in proteoglycan synthesis of chondrocytes in articular cartilage are associated with the time-dependent changes in their mechanical environment

Explant loading experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of load duration on proteoglycan synthesis. A compressive load of 0.1 MPa applied for 10 min was found to stimulate proteoglycan synthesis, while the same load applied for 20 h suppressed synthesis. This bimodal response suggests that the cells are responding to different mechanical stimuli as time progresses. A theoretical model has therefore been developed to describe the mechanical environment perceived by cells within soft hydrated tissues (e.g. articular cartilage) while the tissue is being loaded. The cells are modeled, using the biphasic theory, as fluid-solid inclusions embedded in and attached to a biphasic extracellular matrix of distinct material properties. A method of solution is developed which is valid for any axisymmetric loading configuration, provided that the cell radius, a, is small relative to the tissue height, h (i.e. h/a 1). A closed-form analytical solution for this inclusion problem is then presented for the confined compression configuration. Results from this model show that the mechanical environment in and around the cells is time dependent and inhomogeneous, and can be significantly influenced by differences in properties between the cell and the extracellular matrix.     

Modulation of insulin action by vanadate: evidence of a role for phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity to alter cellular signaling

A number of vanadium compounds (vanadate, vanadyl sulfate, metavanadate) have insulin-mimicking actions bothin vitro andin vivo. They have multiple biological effects in cultured cells and interact directly with various enzymes. The inhibitory action on phosphoprotein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) and enhancement of cellular tyrosine phosphorylation appear to be the most relevant to explain the ability to mimic insulin. We demonstrated that in rat adipocytes both acute insulin effects, e.g. stimulation of IGF-II and transferrin binding and a chronic effect, insulin receptor downregulation, were stimulated by vanadate. Vanadate also enhanced insulin binding, particularly at very low insulin concentrations, associated with increased receptor affinity. This resulted in increased adipocyte insulin sensitivity. Finally vanadate augmented the extent of activation of the insulin receptor kinase by submaximal insulin concentrations. This was associated with a prolongation of the insulin biological response, lipogenesis, after removal of hormone.In conclusion: in rat adipocytes vanadate promotes insulin action by three mechanisms, 1) a direct insulin-mimetic action, 2) an enhancement of insulin sensitivity and 3) a prolongation of insulin biological response. These data suggest that PTP inhibitors have potential as useful therapeutic agents in insulin-resistant and relatively insulin-deficient forms of diabetes mellitus.     

Hepatitis C virus core protein interacts with the cytoplasmic tail of lymphotoxin-beta receptor.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein is a multifunctional protein. We examined whether it can interact with cellular proteins, thus contributing to viral pathogenesis. Using the HCV core protein as a bait to screen a human liver cDNA library in a yeast two-hybrid screening system, we have isolated several positive clones encoding cellular proteins that interact with the HCV core protein. Interestingly, more than half of these clones encode the cytoplasmic domain of lymphotoxin-beta receptor (LT betaR), which is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family. Their binding was confirmed by in vitro glutathione S-transferase fusion protein binding assay and protein-protein blotting assay to be direct and specific. The binding sites were mapped within a 58-amino-acid region of the cytoplasmic tail of LT betaR. The binding site in the HCV core protein was localized within amino acid residues 36 to 91 from the N terminus, corresponding to the hydrophilic region of the protein. In mammalian cells, the core protein was found to be associated with the membrane-bound LT betaR. Since the LT betaR is involved in germinal center formation and developmental regulation of peripheral lymphoid organs, lymph node development, and apoptotic signaling, the binding of HCV core protein to LT betaR suggests the possibility that this viral protein has an immunomodulating function and may explain the mechanism of viral persistence and pathogenesis of HCV.     

拉萨郊区藏族的指纹研究

本文报道了拉萨郊区５１７例（男２２６人,女２９１人）藏族健康人的指纹参数正常值、调查分析了指纹类型、指纹组合、指纹指数和指嵴纹计数。比较了藏族不同居群、不同民族和人种间的差异。结果表明,藏族有自己的指纹特点,又显著蒙古人种的一般特征。     

新型平均势函数在蛋白质反向折叠中的应用

利用蛋白质主链的极性分数及主链二面角为参量,构建了一种基于蛋白质结构数据库的势函数。将该势函数应用于蛋白质反向折叠研究中,发现该函数可成功地将蛋白质分子的天然构象从构建的构象库中识别出来;将一目标序列与构象库的每一可能的构象匹配,并用该势函数计算相应的能量,结果表明对绝大多数蛋白质分子来说,天然的构象的能量值总是最低。此外,该函数还将一些序列相似性较低,而结构相似性较高的蛋白质分子识别出来。我们认     

An analysis of the unconfined compression of articular cartilage

Analytical solutions have been obtained for the internal deformation and fluid-flow fields and the externally observable creep, stress relaxation, and constant strain-rate behaviors which occur during the unconfined compression of a cylindrical specimen of a fluid-filled, porous, elastic solid, such as articular cartilage, between smooth, impermeable plates. Instantaneously, the "biphasic" continuum deforms without change in volume and behaves like an incompressible elastic solid of the same shear modulus. Radial fluid flow then allows the internal fluid pressure to equilibrate with the external environment. The equilibrium response is controlled by the Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of the solid matrix.     

Hematochemical parameters in sheep and goats of Sardinian breeds. II) Total blood cholesterol

It has been studied the total plasma cholesterol rate in lactating or dry sheep and goats of Sardinian breed. The values obtained for the four different groups of subjects have been compared with the "t of Student". While the difference between the sheep groups has seemed very accentuated, it has appeared hardly significant between the goat groups. Highly significant difference has also been found between lactating sheep and goats whereas there was no significant difference among the groups of dry subjects.