<Emphasis Type="Italic">In vitro</Emphasis> Enhancement of Lactate Esters on the Percutaneous Penetration of Drugs with Different Lipophilicity

Lactate esters are widely used as food additives, perfume materials, medicine additives, and personal care products. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of a series of lactate esters as penetration enhancers on the in vitro skin permeation of four drugs with different physicochemical properties, including ibuprofen, salicylic acid, dexamethasone and 5-fluorouracil. The saturated donor solutions of the evaluated drugs in propylene glycol were used in order to keep a constant driving force with maximum thermodynamic activity. The permeability coefficient (K _p), skin concentration of drugs (SC), and lag time (T), as well as the enhancement ratios for K _p and SC were recorded. All results indicated that lactate esters can exert a significant influence on the transdermal delivery of the model drugs and there is a structure-activity relationship between the tested lactate esters and their enhancement effects. The results also suggested that the lactate esters with the chain length of fatty alcohol moieties of 10–12 are more effective enhancers. Furthermore, the enhancement effect of lactate esters increases with a decrease of the drug lipophilicity, which suggests that they may be more efficient at enhancing the penetration of hydrophilic drugs than lipophilic drugs. The influence of the concentration of lactate esters was evaluated and the optimal concentration is in the range of 5∼10 wt.%. In sum, lactate esters as a penetration enhancer for some drugs are of interest for transdermal administration when the safety of penetration enhancers is a prime consideration.     

Hyphal morphogenesis in Aspergillus nidulans

The formation of hyphae that grow solely by apical extension is a defining feature of filamentous fungi. Hyphal morphogenesis involves several key steps, including the establishment and maintenance of a stable polarity axis, as well as cell division via the deposition of septa. Several filamentous fungi have been employed in attempts to decipher the mechanisms underlying these steps. Amongst these fungi, Aspergillus nidulans has proven to be a particularly valuable model. The genetic tractability of this fungus coupled with the availability of sophisticated post-genomics resources has enabled the identification and characterization of numerous genes involved in hyphal morphogenesis. Here, we summarize current progress towards understanding the function of these genes and the mechanisms involved in polarized hyphal growth and septation in A. nidulans. We also highlight important areas for future investigation.     

Effect of adenovirus and influenza virus infection on obesity

The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the effects of adenovirus and influenza virus infections on obesity in various experimental models. We reviewed studies that were conducted within the past 10 years and were related to virus infection and obesity prevalence. Here, we discuss a different causal relationship between adenovirus and influenza infections with obesity. Adenovirus infection can cause obesity, whereas obesity can be a risk factor for increasing influenza virus infection and increases the risk of morbidity and mortality. The prevalence of obesity due to adenovirus infections may be due to an increase in glucose uptake and reduction in lipolysis caused by an increase in corticosterone secretion. Adenovirus infections may lead to increases in appetite by decreasing norepinephrine and leptin levels and also cause immune dysfunction. The relationship between obesity and influenza virus infection could be summarized by the following features: decreases in memory T-cell functionality and interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-β, and IFN-γ mRNA expression, increases in viral titer and infiltration, and impaired dendritic cell function in obese individuals. Moreover, leptin resistance may play an important role in increasing influenza virus infections in obese individuals. In conclusion, prevention of adenovirus infections could be a good approach for reducing obesity prevalence, and prevention of obesity could reduce influenza virus infections from the point of view of viral infections and obesity.     

Lactate from cultures of Lactobacillus casei recovered in a fluidized bed column using ion exchange resin

Summary Lactic acid produced by continuous culture of L.casei in an upflow packed bed reactor, was recovered with Amberlite IRA 400 in a fluidized bed column. Bed expansions of 1.25 and 2.25 were applied. Reutilization did not alter the capability of net recovery of 0.048 ± 0.01 g lactic acid/g resin. When 2200 cm/h of ascensional velocity was used, (bed expansion of 2.25), the resin adsorbed 39.3% of the initial lactic acid and 63.5% was eluted. This resin supported the highest exchange capacity of 0.126 g lactic acid/g resin. Applying high flow rates, the process has potential industrial applications due to the short time employed.     

药用植物肿节枫诱导前噬菌体有效组分的分析

在11种溶原性细菌系统中,以双层琼脂平板-纸片法检测药用植物肿节枫对前噬菌体的诱导作用,表明温和性噬菌体φ52 Ⅰ溶原化的金黄色葡萄球菌2009,对肿节枫的诱导反应最为敏感。其它溶原性菌株,包括曾用以筛选抗肿瘤药物的大肠杆菌K_(12)(λ)-K_(12)S系统都呈阴性反应。化学成分的进一步分析说明,仅肿节枫黄酮糖苷组分Ⅰ具有诱导活性。并与丝裂霉素C作了比较。     

酸水解蚕蛹制备复合氨基酸的研究

采用硫酸水解法,以蚕蛹制取复合氨基酸产品,得到氨基酸态氮分别为９．０５％和１３．４５％的食用复合氨基粉和精制复合氨基酸粉。食用复合氨基酸粉含有１８种氨基酸,其中必需氨基酸含量为３９．２％。食用复合氨基酸粉的制备方法经工厂小批量生产证实,其工艺简单易行,适合于中小企业采用,该产品的质量优良,生产成本低廉,具有市场竞争力。     

Potential for seed bank formation in seven Great Lakes sand dune species

Seeds of seven dune species were collected from sand dunes of Lakes Erie and Huron and buried to various depths in a natural sand dune habitat along Lake Huron. The seed samples were then retrieved after varying lengths of time and examined for their germinability and dormancy. Results showed that buried seeds remained viable for at least 2.5 years and had the potential to form a persistent seed bank. Seed banks were larger and longer lasting at greater depths of burial than those at shallow burial depths. The results suggested that failure to verify the existence of effective seed banks in previous studies may be due to insufficient number of samples, shallow sample depth, local population variations, and fruiting events. Several species also possessed a temporary, aboveground seed reserve formed by retention of a small proportion of viable seeds on the previous year's inflorescences. In some species, seeds retained aboveground were dormant and thus capable of forming a persistent seed bank when they entered the soil.     

Low-cost method for the preservation of Sclerotium rolfsii Proimi F-6656: Inoculum standardization and its use in scleroglucan production

Summary The Castellani's Method for the preservation of Sclerotium rolfsii in sterile distilled water was tested. Culturing on Potato Dextrose Yeast extract (PDY) slants, the current system used, was also evaluated. Preservation of sclerotia according to the Castellani's method allowed the strain survival for more than two years. Comparing with the strain periodically activated, a critical decrease (about 80%) in -glucan synthesizing capacity was detected for mycelium preserved either on PDY slants or in water. Activation of stored sclerotia followed by subculturing in liquid Production Medium (PM) allowed preparation of homogeneous suspensions for batch fermentations, and scleroglucan concentrations achieved were similar to those with the strain periodically activated.     

枯草杆菌蛋白酶E的156和165位突变

应用定点突变方法,在M222A突变的枯草杆菌蛋白酶E基因上进行E156S和V165I定点突变. 将突变基因插入大肠杆菌-枯草杆菌穿梭质粒pBE-2中,在碱性和中性蛋白酶缺陷型的枯草杆菌DB104中进行表达,得到突变种(M222A,E156S)和(M222A,E156S,V165I)蛋白酶E. 性质测定表明,E156S突变使蛋白酶比活力增加90%,并不影响酶的热稳定性和抗氧化性. 而V165I突变使蛋白酶比活力降低.     

鳜鱼的耗氧率及其池塘养殖

本文较详细地报道了鳜鱼的耗氧率和窒息点,并对鳜鱼和作其饲料的鱼同池饲养的可能性进行了探讨。结果表明,鳜鱼耗氧量和体重正相关（ｒ＝０．９９）,耗氧率与体重反相关（ｒ＝－０．９７）;在水温２０℃,鱼种耗氧率约为０．１４ｍｇ／ｇ．ｈ．,成鱼约为０．１２ｍｇ／ｇ．ｈ．;耗氧量和耗氧率均与水温正相关（ｒ＝０．９０,ｒ＝０．９４）,水温１３—３０℃时,体重２３０±１１．７ｇ的鳜鱼。耗氧量为１４．３１—４２．１３ｍｇ／尾。ｈ．,耗氧率为０．０５９—０．１７５ｍｇ／ｇ．ｈ．;鳜鱼耗氧率昼夜变化与家鱼相反,黄昏至凌晨是高峰期,为０．１２—０．１５ｍｇ／ｇ．ｈ．（Ｔ＝２０℃）,白天是低谷期,为０．０７—０．１０ｍｇ／ｇ．ｈ;;鳜鱼的窒息点与家鱼类较接近,变化范围为０．４５—０．７６ｍｇ／Ｌ;鳜鱼和作其饲料的鱼在同一池塘中饲养,既可持续不断地提供鳜鱼充足的适口饵料,又简单易行,成本低,效益高,有较大的价值。