Preparation of capacitor’s electrode from sunflower seed shell

Series of nanoporous carbons are prepared from sunflower seed shell (SSS) by two different strategies and used as electrode material for electrochemical double-layer capacitor (EDLC). The surface area and pore-structure of the nanoporous carbons are characterized intensively using N₂ adsorption technique. The results show that the pore-structure of the carbons is closely related to activation temperature and dosage of KOH. Electrochemical measurements show that the carbons made by impregnation-activation process have better capacitive behavior and higher capacitance retention ratio at high drain current than the carbons made by carbonization-activation process, which is due to that there are abundant macroscopic pores and less interior micropore surface in the texture of the former. More importantly, the capacitive performances of these carbons are much better than ordered mesoporous carbons and commercial wood-based active carbon, thus highlighting the success of preparing high performance electrode material for EDLC from SSS.     

Physical microhabitat requirements of freshwater pearl mussels,Margaritifera margaritifera (L.)

Surface sediment diatoms from the east coast of Lake Tanganyika were analysed using ordination and classification techniques, and compared with assemblages previously described from the northern part of the lake. Grain-size analyses were performed on subsamples. Four groups of diatom assemblages were recognised. The first group clusters samples taken in the north, far from the Rusizi river mouth. The second group comprises samples taken on silty sediment along the Tanzanian coast, including one sample taken near the mouth of the Malagarazi river and those from the northernmost part of the lake. The third group comprises surface sediments along the Burundian coast (near Ramba and Magara), and the fourth is characterised by epipsammic taxa. A sample taken near the central arm of the Malagarazi river is included in the latter group. The impact of small rivers on the diatom assemblages in the surface sediments is restricted to the mouth area.     

Products of mitochondrial protein synthesis in Tetrahymena.

The products of mitochondrial protein synthesis have been investigated in Tetrahymena after labelling with [35S]methionine in the presence of cycloheximide. The labelled proteins were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate slab polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. We have identified 13 electrophoretically discrete bands as well as 4 other bands with a more variable occurrence. These proteins ranged in apparent molecular weight from 8100 to 57,500. The cycloheximide-resistant incorporation could be blocked with chloramphenicol. The mitochondrial proteins appeared to be in a disaggregated state and were stable to agents such as trichloroacetic acid (hot or cold) and chloroform-methanol. The pattern of proteins was similar following labelling times ranging from 30 min to 3 h.     

Isomeric lipid signatures reveal compartmentalized fatty acid metabolism in cancer

The cellular energy and biomass demands of cancer drive a complex dynamic between uptake of extracellular FAs and their de novo synthesis. Given that oxidation of de novo synthesized FAs for energy would result in net-energy loss, there is an implication that FAs from these two sources must have distinct metabolic fates; however, hitherto, all FAs have been considered part of a common pool. To probe potential metabolic partitioning of cellular FAs, cancer cells were supplemented with stable isotope-labeled FAs. Structural analysis of the resulting glycerophospholipids revealed that labeled FAs from uptake were largely incorporated to canonical (sn-) positions on the glycerol backbone. Surprisingly, labeled FA uptake also disrupted canonical isomer patterns of the unlabeled lipidome and induced repartitioning of n-3 and n-6 PUFAs into glycerophospholipid classes. These structural changes support the existence of differences in the metabolic fates of FAs derived from uptake or de novo sources and demonstrate unique signaling and remodeling behaviors usually hidden from conventional lipidomics.     

Targeting Homologous Recombination in Notch-Driven C. elegans Stem Cell and Human Tumors

Mammalian NOTCH1-4 receptors are all associated with human malignancy, although exact roles remain enigmatic. Here we employ glp-1(ar202), a temperature-sensitive gain-of-function C. elegans NOTCH mutant, to delineate NOTCH-driven tumor responses to radiotherapy. At ≤20°C, glp-1(ar202) is wild-type, whereas at 25°C it forms a germline stem cell⁄progenitor cell tumor reminiscent of human cancer. We identify a NOTCH tumor phenotype in which all tumor cells traffic rapidly to G2⁄M post-irradiation, attempt to repair DNA strand breaks exclusively via homology-driven repair, and when this fails die by mitotic death. Homology-driven repair inactivation is dramatically radiosensitizing. We show that these concepts translate directly to human cancer models.     

Further aspects of IL-1 beta secretion revealed by transfected monkey kidney cells.

Because the cytokine interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) lacks a classical hydrophobic signal sequence, it has been unclear how it is released from cells, and whether release proceeds via a novel mechanism or through non-specific leakage. To address this issue, we have examined the secretion of the recombinant forms of human IL-1 beta from COS monkey kidney cells, which express low levels of endogenous IL-1 beta. Four proteins were expressed: precursor and mature IL-1 beta and precursor and mature IL-1 beta fused to an amino terminal hydrophobic signal sequence from human tissue plasminogen activator. By monitoring the appearance of a known cytosolic protein (ATP citrate lyase) in the medium, we find that the unmodified IL-1 beta s are non-specifically released in very small quantities from the cytosol. On the other hand, the signal sequence-modified IL-1 beta s are glycosylated and efficiently secreted by the ER/Golgi pathway. The secreted, modified-mature protein is also biologically active, suggesting that this pathway has been bypassed for reasons other than maintaining the structural integrity of IL-1 beta. More likely the alternative pathway is a critical aspect of IL-1 biology. The differences in kinetics and quantity of IL-1 beta release from monocytic and COS cells suggest that COS cells lack critical components for the rapid release seen in monocytes.     

Fluid shear stress regulates HepG2 cell migration though time-dependent integrin signaling cascade

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a subtype of malignant liver cancer with poor prognosis and limited treatment options. It is noteworthy that mechanical forces in tumor microenvironment play a pivotal role in mediating the behaviors and functions of tumor cells. As an instrumental type of mechanical forces in vivo, fluid shear stress (FSS) has been reported having potent physiologic and pathologic effects on cancer progression. However, the time-dependent mechanochemical transduction in HCC induced by FSS remains unclear. In this study, hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells were exposed to 1.4 dyn/cm² FSS for transient duration (15s and 30s), short duration (5 min, 15 min and 30 min) and long duration (1h, 2h and 4h), respectively. The expression and translocation of Integrins induced FAK-Rho GTPases signaling events were examined. Our results showed that FSS endowed HepG2 cells with higher migration ability via reorganizing cellular F-actin and disrupting intercellular tight junctions. We further demonstrated that FSS regulated the expression and translocation of Integrins and their downstream signaling cascade in time-dependent patterns. The FSS downregulated focal adhesion components (Paxillin, Vinculin and Talin) while upregulated the expression of Rho GTPases (Cdc42, Rac1 and RhoA) in long durations. These results indicated that FSS enhanced tumor cell migration through Integrins-FAK-Rho GTPases signaling pathway in time-dependent manners. Our in vitro findings shed new light on the role of FSS acting in physiologic and pathological processes during tumor progression, which has emerged as a promising clinical strategy for liver carcinoma.