Benchmarking the Activity,Stability, and Inherent Electrochemistry of Amorphous Molybdenum Sulfide for Hydrogen Production

Anodically electrodeposited amorphous molybdenum sulfide (AE‐MoS_x) has attracted significant attention as a non‐noble metal electrocatalyst for its high activity toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The [Mo₃S₁₃]^2? polymer‐based structure confers a high density of exposed sulfur moieties, widely regarded as the HER active sites. However, their intrinsic complexity conceals full understanding of their exact role in HER catalysis, hampering their full potential for water splitting applications. In this report, a unifying approach is adopted accounting for modifications in the inherent electrochemistry (EC), HER mechanism, and surface species to maximize the AE‐MoS_x electroactivity over a broad pH region (0–10). Dramatic enhancements in HER performance by selective electrochemical cycling within reductive (overpotential shift, η_HER ≈ ?350 mV) and electro‐oxidative windows (η_HER ≈ ?290 mV) are accompanied by highly stable performance in mildly acidic electrolytes. Joint analysis of X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman, and EC experiments corroborate the key role of bridging and terminal S ligands as active site generators at low pH, and reveal molybdenum oxysulfides (Mo⁵⁺O_xS_y) to be the most active HER moiety in AE‐MoS_x in mildly acidic‐to‐neutral environments. These findings will be extremely beneficial for future tailoring of MoS_x materials and their implementation in commercial electrolyzer technologies.     

A c-Myc–SIRT1 feedback loop regulates cell growth and transformation

The protein deacetylase SIRT1 has been implicated in a variety of cellular functions, including development, cellular stress responses, and metabolism. Increasing evidence suggests that similar to its counterpart, Sir2, in yeast, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster, SIRT1 may function to regulate life span in mammals. However, SIRT1''s role in cancer is unclear. During our investigation of SIRT1, we found that c-Myc binds to the SIRT1 promoter and induces SIRT1 expression. However, SIRT1 interacts with and deacetylates c-Myc, resulting in decreased c-Myc stability. As a consequence, c-Myc''s transformational capability is compromised in the presence of SIRT1. Overall, our experiments identify a c-Myc–SIRT1 feedback loop in the regulation of c-Myc activity and cellular transformation, supporting/suggesting a role of SIRT1 in tumor suppression.     

耐高盐枯草芽孢杆菌XP合成球形纳米硒及其抑制草莓病原真菌生物活性

生物方法合成纳米材料具有低能耗、高安全性以及环境友好等优良特点,因而备受人们关注.利用细菌将硒酸盐或亚硒酸盐还原为单质硒,不仅可以降低硒毒性,而且还能获得价值更高的生物纳米材料.文中选用可耐受高盐环境胁迫的枯草芽孢杆菌亚种Bacillus subtilis subspecies stercoris strain XP构...     

Proteomic profiling of N‐linked glycoproteins identifies ConA‐binding procathepsin D as a novel serum biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma

The aim of this study was to identify novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of, and potential therapeutic targets for, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Multilectin affinity chromatography was used to enrich N‐linked glycoproteins from nontumorous liver and HCC tissues followed by 2DE and protein identification by MS. Twenty‐eight differentially expressed proteins were identified. Western blotting validated consistently lower concentrations of human liver carboxylesterase 1 and haptoglobin, and higher concentration of procathepsin D (pCD) in HCC tissues. Knockdown of cathepsin D (CD) expression mediated by siRNA significantly inhibited the in vitro invasion of two HCC cell lines, SNU449 and SNU473, which normally secrete high‐levels of CD. Prefractionation using individual lectins demonstrated an elevation in ConA‐binding glycoforms of proCD and CD in HCC tissues. In the serum of HCC patients, “ConA‐binding proCD” (ConA‐pCD) is significantly increased in concentration and this increase is comprised of several distinct upregulated acidic isoforms (pI 4.5–5.5). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the sensitivity and specificity of serum ConA‐pCD for HCC diagnosis were 85% and 80%, respectively. This is the first report that serum ConA‐pCD is increased significantly in HCC and is potentially useful as a serological biomarker for diagnosis of HCC.     

毛竹漆酶基因PeLAC的克隆与表达分析

漆酶（LAC）对植物生长发育具有重要作用。本研究以毛竹（Phyllostachys edulis（Carr.） Lehaie）为实验材料,克隆获得毛竹漆酶基因PeLAC的cDNA和基因组序列,长度分别为1692bp和2785bp。该基因包含5个内含子和6个外显子;PeLAC蛋白编码563个氨基酸,推测的分子质量和等电点分别为62.3kD和9.056。系统进化分析表明,PeLAC与其它植物的漆酶具有较高的一致性。经预测PeLAC基因编码序列中含有miR397的靶点,利用RLM-5'RACE技术证明miR397对PeLAC能够准确切割,位点位于靶序列的第10~11位碱基之间。组织特异性分析表明,PeLAC基因在茎中表达丰度最高,根中次之,叶鞘中较少,叶片中几乎未检测到表达;随着笋高度的增加,PeLAC表达丰度上升,生长至15cm时达到最大值,30cm时又有所下降;而miR397的表达与PeLAC相反。本研究同时克隆了PeLAC基因上游启动子序列PeLACp,其包含ABRE、MBS等多种与逆境胁迫相关的响应元件。利用ABA（100μmol/L）和NaCl（400mmol/L）溶液处理可明显诱导PeLAC在毛竹根中表达,而GA₃（100μmol/L）处理则对其表达具有抑制作用。     

毛竹GRF转录因子家族的全基因组鉴定与分析

利用生物信息学方法,于毛竹(Phyllostachys edulis (Carr.) Lehaie)全基因组中鉴定获得18个GRF转录因子,并对其理化特性、保守结构域、系统发育关系、mi R396靶位点以及基因表达模式进行了分析。结果表明,18个Pe GRF蛋白长度为170～551 aa,分子量为18.5～58.8 k D;这些Pe GRF蛋白均具有QLQ和WRC结构域,部分Pe GRF含有FFD和TQL保守结构域。对毛竹、拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh)和水稻(Oryza sativa L.)的系统进化分析结果显示,毛竹18个GRF可分为3个亚类,且单子叶植物毛竹和水稻的GRF转录因子亲缘关系更近。mi R396靶位点预测分析结果发现,在13个Pe GRF基因序列的编码区存在毛竹mi R396结合位点; Pe GRF基因表达模式分析结果显示,Pe GRF主要在毛竹的竹笋中表达。     

mtATPase6基因变异与弱精子症的相关分析

为了分析mtATPase6基因突变与弱精子症的相关性,按wHO标准收集了27例弱精子症精液标本和28例精子活力正常精液标本,PCR扩增mtATPase6基因,纯化测序,分析mtATPase6基因突变,比较两组突变频率的差异.结合生物信息学工具分析错义突变位点的氨基酸进化保守性及其蛋白质部分三级结构.结果显示:发现了6个未曾报道过的突变位点;弱精子症组mtATPase6基因平均突变率显著高于对照组,可能与弱精子症有一定的相关性.G8584A、A8701G和G9053A三个错义突变可能是多态性位点,其余8个错义突变中的6个具有进化保守性的位点累计突变频率显著高于对照组,这些位点突变可能与弱精子症有关.     

Mechanical unfolding of a β-barrel membrane protein by single-molecule force spectroscopy

正Dear Editor.Transmembrane proteins withβ-barrel topology are mainly found in the outer membranes (OMs) of Gram-negative bacteria,mitochondria and chloroplasts (Wimley,2003).These proteins usually contain even numbers ofβ-strands,ranging from 8-36.To achieve an overall cylindrical topology,the polypeptide chain of aβ-barrel OMP must fold to form a series of anti-parallelβ-strands with eachβ-strand hydrogen-bonding to its neighboring strands (Otzen and Andersen,2013).The folding and insertion of aβ-barrel OMP in vivo requires an evolutionarily conserved multiprotein complex termedβ-barrel assembly machinery(BAM) complex (Noinaj et al.,2015).The structures of the     

昆虫的化学感觉机理

昆虫是通过化学感觉器与其周围环境中的大量化学信息发生联系的。通过特定的化学感觉机制 ,昆虫可感知来自种内和种间 ,以及无机环境中的各种化学信息 ,并由此而作出相应的行为反应 ,从而为其自身寻找适宜的食物、配偶以及生存与繁殖场所 (如躲避天敌、避免或减少竞争等等 ) ,达到最大的繁殖成功。阐明昆虫的化学感觉机理 ,不仅可在理论上进一步加深对昆虫与植物、昆虫与昆虫相互关系的了解 ,而且可在实践上为开发害虫治理的新途径提供理论指导。本文将根据目前的最新研究成果 ,主要就昆虫的化学感觉机理 ,包括嗅觉和味觉机理作一综述 ,以期…