Highly selective anti-Prelog synthesis of optically active aryl alcohols by recombinant Escherichia coli expressing stereospecific alcohol dehydrogenase

Biocatalytic asymmetric synthesis has been widely used for preparation of optically active chiral alcohols as the important intermediates and precursors of active pharmaceutical ingredients. However, the available whole-cell system involving anti-Prelog specific alcohol dehydrogenase is yet limited. A recombinant Escherichia coli system expressing anti-Prelog stereospecific alcohol dehydrogenase from Candida parapsilosis was established as a whole-cell system for catalyzing asymmetric reduction of aryl ketones to anti-Prelog configured alcohols. Using 2-hydroxyacetophenone as the substrate, reaction factors including pH, cell status, and substrate concentration had obvious impacts on the outcome of whole-cell biocatalysis, and xylose was found to be an available auxiliary substrate for intracellular cofactor regeneration, by which (S)-1-phenyl-1,2-ethanediol was achieved with an optical purity of 97%e.e. and yield of 89% under the substrate concentration of 5 g/L. Additionally, the feasibility of the recombinant cells toward different aryl ketones was investigated, and most of the corresponding chiral alcohol products were obtained with an optical purity over 95%e.e. Therefore, the whole-cell system involving recombinant stereospecific alcohol dehydrogenase was constructed as an efficient biocatalyst for highly enantioselective anti-Prelog synthesis of optically active aryl alcohols and would be promising in the pharmaceutical industry.     

Improved solubility of β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes by using liquid ammonia as a solvent and the possibility of asymmetric reduction

Dramatic improvement in the poor solubility of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and its inclusion complexes in water was achieved by using liquid ammonia (liq. NH₃) instead of water as the solvent. Asymmetric NaBH₄ reduction of the carbonyl groups of the inclusion complexes in liq. NH₃ was examined in a homogeneous condition to give the corresponding alcohols with moderate chirality.     

氨氮和亚硝酸盐对红螯螯虾幼虾和亚成虾的急性毒力

【目的】近年来,红螯螯虾养殖面积越来越广泛,明确不同规格的红螯螯虾对氨氮和亚硝酸盐的耐受力,有利于提高其养成率,促进其养殖业的健康发展。【方法】在水温24~25℃、p H 7.9~8.0的条件下,研究了氨氮和亚硝酸盐对红螯螯虾幼虾和亚成虾的急性毒性,分析半致死浓度(LC50)和安全浓度(SC)。【结果】总氨氮对红螯螯虾幼虾的24、48、72和96 h LC50分别为188.0、136.15、104.67和88.00 mg·L~(-1),SC为8.80 mg·L~(-1);总氨氮对亚成虾的24、48、72和96 h LC50分别为344.01、270.46、205.15和167.68 mg·L~(-1),SC为16.77 mg·L~(-1);非离子氨对幼虾的24、48、72和96 h LC50分别为10.16、7.35、5.65和4.75 mg·L~(-1),SC为0.48 mg·L~(-1);非离子氨对亚成虾的24、48、72和96 h LC50分别为18.58、14.60、11.08和9.05 mg·L~(-1),SC为0.91 mg·L~(-1);亚硝酸盐对幼虾的24、48、72和96 h LC50分别为46.76、33.88、27.97和22.81 mg·L~(-1),SC为2.28 mg·L~(-1);亚硝酸盐对亚成虾的24、48、72和96 h LC50分别为77.56、59.33、45.41和37.48 mg·L~(-1),SC为3.75 mg·L~(-1)。【结论】红螯螯虾对氨氮的耐受力高于亚硝酸盐,亚成虾对氨氮和亚硝酸盐的耐受力高于幼虾。     

Studies on ciliated protozoa in eutrophic lakes: 2. Field and laboratory studies on the effects of oxygen and other chemical gradients on ciliate distribution

An investigation into the spatial distribution of hypolimnetic ciliates in three small eutrophic lakes during the period of summer stratification was carried out. Peak ciliate densities were found to occur at the oxic/anoxic boundary, ciliate numbers declining with increasing depth within the hypolimnion. The ciliates only occurred in aerobic water where oxygen levels were less than about 0.5 mgl^–1 Laboratory experiments demonstrated that the ciliates swim upwards under anaerobic conditions but swim rapidly downwards under aerobic conditions. Further laboratory experiments showed that although the bulk of the population occured within anaerobic water, the hypolimnetic ciliates are aerobes and cannot survive indefinite anoxia. Despite the demonstrable toxicity of high levels of ammonia and sulphide, it was probably excesive distance from an available source of oxygen that excluded the ciliates from the lowest levels of the hypolimnion. Possible mechanisms which allowed these aerobic ciliates to colonise anaerobic water are considered.     

施肥对露地菜地氨挥发和氧化亚氮排放的影响

为探究施氮量和不同肥料调控措施对露地菜地土壤氨(NH₃)挥发和氧化亚氮(N₂O)排放的影响,在华北地区典型露地菜地设置了不同施氮水平和肥料调控措施的田间试验.结果表明: 春播黄瓜生育期内减氮20%和50%分别比常规施氮量降低氨挥发25.7%和48.0%;添加抑制剂(脲酶抑制剂+硝化抑制剂)和生物炭分别比等氮量氮肥处理氨挥发降低10.0%和6.1%;春播黄瓜生育期内减氮20%和50%分别使N₂O排放量比常规施肥处理降低28.8%和61.0%;等氮量条件下添加联合抑制剂使N₂O排放降低58.9%,而添加生物炭处理的N₂O排放增加14.1%;在同样的条施覆土施肥方法下,与纯化学氮肥处理相比,有机肥替代30%氮肥对氨挥发和N₂O减排的作用效果都不显著.对于集约化菜地,合理控制氮肥用量是降低土壤氨挥发及N₂O排放的最有效措施.     

Long-lasting inhibition of EGFR autophosphorylation in A549 tumor cells by intracellular accumulation of non-covalent inhibitors

In the present study, a small set of reversible or irreversible 4-anilinoquinazoline EGFR inhibitors was tested in A549 cells at early (1 h) and late (8 h) time points after inhibitor removal from culture medium. A combination of assays was employed to explain the observed long-lasting inhibition of EGFR autophosphorylation. We found that EGFR inhibition at 8 h can be due, besides to the covalent interaction of the inhibitor with Cys797, as for PD168393 (2) and its prodrug 4, to the intracellular accumulation of non-covalent inhibitors by means of an active cell uptake, as for 5 and 6. Compounds 5–6 showed similar potency and duration of inhibition of EGFR autophosphorylation as the covalent inhibitor 2, while being devoid of reactive groups forming covalent bonds with protein thiols.     

Chronic toxicity of ammonia to juvenile gilthead seabream Sparus aurata and related histopathological effects

Effect of 20 days exposure of juvenile gilthead seabream ( Sparus aurata ) to elevated levels of ammonia on growth and survival was examined in a continuous flow system. Suppressed growth and reduced survival were observed at concentrations of 8.2 and 13 mg l⁻¹ total ammonia-N (0.5 and 0.7 mg l⁻¹ un-ionized ammonia-N, respectively) and higher. The maximum acceptable toxic concentration (MATC) for growth was between 4.8 to 8.2 mg l⁻¹ total ammonia-N (0.3 and 0.5 mg l⁻¹ un-ionized ammonia-N, respectively). Fish exposed to high ammonia levels (13 mg l⁻¹ total ammonia-N, 0.7 mg l⁻¹ un-ionized ammonia-N) displayed clear signs of liver pathology. Existing evidence suggests that S. aurata is less sensitive to ammonia than other reported marine and freshwater fish.
Under certain conditions ammonia concentration in the intensive fish ponds in Eilat may exceed the no observed effect concentration for S. aurata .     

蛹虫草研究进展

蛹虫草（Cordyceps militaris）作为一种药（食）用菌已经被广泛接受,在药理作用、有效成分、人工栽培等方面得到了广泛而深入的研究,具有重要开发价值。依据近年来的有关研究成果,就以上3个方面的研究进展状况展开论述,为蛹虫草进一步的研究与开发提供参考。     

Peat,zeolite and basalt as adsorbents of ammoniacal nitrogen during manure decomposition

The effectiveness of sphagnum peat, zeolite (clinoptilonite) and basalt in reducing ammonia losses during aerobic manure decomposition was determined in an incubation experiment. Peat placed in the spent air-stream adsorbed all of the ammonia volatilized during the first 8 days of decomposition, and reduced overall ammonia losses by 59%. Zeolite reduced total ammonia losses by 16%, and basalt by 6%.All adsorbents were considerably less effective in reducing ammonia losses when mixed with the manure. Reductions in ammonia losses of 24% and 1.5% were obtained with the peat and zeolite, respectively. The addition of basalt increased losses.Ammonia and ammonium adsorption isotherms were determined for the three materials. The adsorption capacities and affinity terms of the adsorbents calculated from the isotherms, reflected their ability to reduce ammonia losses in the incubation experiment. Zeolite had both the highest affinity for ammonium and the highest ammonium adsorption capacity. The peat had a very high affinity for ammonia and a high adsorption capacity (23.4 mg NH₃–N g^–1), whereas zeolite and basalt had a much lower adsorption capacity (1.8 and 0.05 mg NH₃–N g^–1, respectively) compared with their capacity to adsorb ammonium (18.1 and 0.18 mg NH₄–N g^–1).     

Global ammonia emissions from synthetic nitrogen fertilizer applications in agricultural systems: Empirical and process‐based estimates and uncertainty

Excessive ammonia (NH₃) emitted from nitrogen (N) fertilizer applications in global croplands plays an important role in atmospheric aerosol production, resulting in visibility reduction and regional haze. However, large uncertainty exists in the estimates of NH₃ emissions from global and regional croplands, which utilize different data and methods. In this study, we have coupled a process‐based Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM) with the bidirectional NH₃ exchange module in the Community Multiscale Air‐Quality (CMAQ) model (DLEM‐Bi‐NH₃) to quantify NH₃ emissions at the global and regional scale, and crop‐specific NH₃ emissions globally at a spatial resolution of 0.5° × 0.5° during 1961–2010. Results indicate that global NH₃ emissions from N fertilizer use have increased from 1.9 ± 0.03 to 16.7 ± 0.5 Tg N/year between 1961 and 2010. The annual increase of NH₃ emissions shows large spatial variations across the global land surface. Southern Asia, including China and India, has accounted for more than 50% of total global NH₃ emissions since the 1980s, followed by North America and Europe. Rice cultivation has been the largest contributor to total global NH₃ emissions since the 1990s, followed by corn and wheat. In addition, results show that empirical methods without considering environmental factors (constant emission factor in the IPCC Tier 1 guideline) could underestimate NH₃ emissions in context of climate change, with the highest difference (i.e., 6.9 Tg N/year) occurring in 2010. This study provides a robust estimate on global and regional NH₃ emissions over the past 50 years, which offers a reference for assessing air quality consequences of future nitrogen enrichment as well as nitrogen use efficiency improvement.