A hyperefficient process for enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis in the intensive mass transfer reactor

Summary A new type of bioreactor, the intensive mass transfer reactor (IMTR), has been developed for enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. Using T. reesei cellulases (2 FPU/ml), 3.5–6% of sugars were obtained in the IMTR after 0.5–2 h of cellulose hydrolysis with a productivity of 30–73 g/l.h.     

C9orf72 deficiency promotes microglial-mediated synaptic loss in aging and amyloid accumulation

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Thyroxine signal transduction in liver cells involves phospholipase C and phospholipase D activation. Genomic independent action of thyroid hormone

Background  

Numerous investigations demonstrate a novel role of thyroid hormone as a modulator of signal transduction. Protein kinase C (PKC) is critical to the mechanism by which thyroid hormones potentiate both the antiviral and immunomodulatory actions of IFNγ in different cells and regulate the exchange of signalling phospholipids in hepatocytes. Because nothing is known about accumulation of PKC modulator - diacylglycerol in cells treated with T₄, we examined the nongenomic effect of thyroid hormones on DAG formation and phospholipase activation in liver cells.     

Blood pressure and survival of a Chromosome 7 congenic strain bred from Dahl rats

11β-hydroxylase (Cyp11b1) mutations were previously linked to altered steroid biosynthesis and blood pressure in Dahl salt-resistant (R) and Dahl salt-sensitive (S) rats. In the present work, interval mapping identified a putative blood pressure quantitative trait locus (QTL) near Cyp11b1 in an F₁(S×R)×S population (LOD = 2.0). Congenic rats (designated S.R-Cyp11b) were constructed by introgressing the R-rat Cyp11b1 allele into the S strain. S.R-Cyp11b rats had significantly lower blood pressure and heart weight compared with S rats, proving the existence of a blood pressure QTL on Chromosome (Chr) 7 despite the fact that QTL linkage analysis of blood pressure never achieved stringent statistical criteria for significance. To test the effects of the introgressed region on blood pressure and survival, S.R.-Cyp11b and S rats were maintained on a 4% NaCl diet until they died or became moribund. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated significant strain differences in blood pressure and days survived (P < 0.0001 for both) as well as gender differences in days survived (P = 0.0003). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis also found significant strain (P < 0.0001) and gender (P = 0.007) differences in days survived. However, when the effects of blood pressure were removed, significant strain differences in survival essentially disappeared. This suggests that the increased survival of S.R-Cyp11b rats was largely due to their decreased blood pressure and thus strongly corroborates the existence of a blood pressure QTL on Chr 7 near or at Cyp11b1. Received: 7 April 1997 / Accepted: 10 August 1997