Conversion of 12-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid to 12,15-, 12,16- and 12,17-dihydroxyoctadecanoic acids with Bacillus sp. U88

Summary A new microbial isolate, Bacillus sp. U88, transformed 12-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid to 12,15-, 12,16- and 12,17-dihydroxyoctadecanoic acids when grown aerobically in 1 % yeast extract medium at 30°C and shaken at 250 rpm for 5 days. These three dihydroxyfatty acids were derivatized with Trimethylsilyl ether and identified by GC-MS analysis. The yield of 12,15-, 12,16- and 12,17-dihydroxyoctadecanoic acids after 5 day incubation were 2.8 %, 7.1 % and 1.1 %, respectively.Names are necessary to report factually on available data; however the USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and the use of the name by USDA implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of other that may also be suitable.     

Clothing insulation and temperature,layer and mass of clothing under comfortable environmental conditions

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between the microclimate temperature and clothing insulation (I_cl) under comfortable environmental conditions. In total, 20 subjects (13 women, 7 men) took part in this study. Four environmental temperatures were chosen: 14°C (to represent March/April), 25°C (May/June), 29°C (July/August), and 23°C (September/October). Wind speed (0.14ms^-1) and humidity (45%) were held constant. Clothing microclimate temperatures were measured at the chest (T_chest) and on the interscapular region (T_scapular). Clothing temperature of the innermost layer (T_innermost) was measured on this layer 30 mm above the centre of the left breast. Subjects were free to choose the clothing that offered them thermal comfort under each environmental condition. We found the following results. 1) All clothing factors except the number of lower clothing layers (L_lower), showed differences between the different environmental conditions (P<0.05). The ranges of T_chest were 31.6 to 33.5°C and 32.2 to 33.4°C in T_scapular. The range of T_innermost was 28.6 to 32.0°C. The range of the upper clothing layers (L_upper) and total clothing mass (M_total) was 1.1 to 3.2 layers and 473 to 1659 g respectively. The range of I_cl was 0.78 to 2.10 clo. 2) Post hoc analyses showed that analysis of T_innermost produced the same results as for that of I_cl. Likewise, the analysis of L_upper produced the same result as the analysis of the number of total layers (L_total) within an outfit. 3) Air temperature (t_a) had positive relationships with T_chest and T_scapular and with T_innermost but had inverse correlations with I_cl, M_total, L_upper and L_total. T_chest, T_scapular, and T_innermost increased as t_a rose. 4) I_cl had inverse relationships with T_chest and T_innermost, but positive relationships with M_total, L_upper and L_total. I_cl could be estimated by M_total, L_upper, and T_scapular using a multivariate linear regression model. 5) L_upper had positive relationships with I_cl and M_total, but L_lower did not. Subjects hardly changed L_lower under environmental comfort conditions between March and October. This indicates that each of the T_chest, M_total, and L_upper was a factor in predicting I_cl. T_innermost might also be a more influential factor than the clothing microclimate temperature.     

Protein modification by phosphorylation during the process of nuclear membrane dissolution in puromycin-treated mouse oocytes.

The present study was undertaken to elucidate the mechanism of nuclear membrane dissolution (NMD) in puromycin-treated mouse oocytes. Treatment of germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) oocytes with puromycin (50 micrograms/ml) induced chromosome decondensation with formation of a polar body; these are designated nuclear membrane (NM) oocytes. After withdrawal of puromycin, NM oocytes underwent NMD (approximately 70%) during a 12-h culture period. Either dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP, 25-100 micrograms/ml) or isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX, 0.1-1.0 mM) inhibited the process of NMD in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting the involvement of cAMP in the process of NMD. To determine which protein(s) participated in the transition from interphase to metaphase II during NMD, NM oocytes were labeled with [35S]methionine, and one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis were performed. Although the synthesis of stage-specific proteins during NMD was not found, two specific proteins of Mr 27,000 and 46,000, which were synthesized at interphase following removal of puromycin, were modified during NMD. Phosphatase treatment and 32PO4-labeling experiments indicated that phosphorylation was responsible for these modifications, which were inhibited by either dbcAMP or IBMX. Therefore, it appears that phosphorylation of specific proteins may play an important role in the transition from interphase to metaphase II.     

Reactivation of Horseradish peroxidase in organic solvent using extraction

A novel extraction method was developed aiming at increasing the stability of enzymes in organic solvent media. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP), inactivated in a tetrahydrofuran (THF)/water (1:1, v/v), regained and maintained its activity when HRP was extracted by adding a THF/benzene mixture to the original solution. However, the HRP activity was drastically lowered in the enzyme-free blank solution that had been formed by employing the same extraction procedure. As a result, the reactivation after the extraction is believed to depend on enzyme history, and might be arisen from an irreversible structural change of the enzyme.     

Structural analysis of RIG-I-like receptors reveals ancient rules of engagement between diverse RNA helicases and TRIM ubiquitin ligases

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