Lipoic acid entrains the hepatic circadian clock and lipid metabolic proteins that have been desynchronized with advanced age

It is well established that lipid metabolism is controlled, in part, by circadian clocks. However, circadian clocks lose temporal precision with age and correlates with elevated incidence in dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome in older adults. Because our lab has shown that lipoic acid (LA) improves lipid homeostasis in aged animals, we hypothesized that LA affects the circadian clock to achieve these results. We fed 24 month old male F344 rats a diet supplemented with 0.2% (w/w) LA for 2 weeks prior to sacrifice and quantified hepatic circadian clock protein levels and clock-controlled lipid metabolic enzymes. LA treatment caused a significant phase-shift in the expression patterns of the circadian clock proteins Period (Per) 2, Brain and Muscle Arnt-Like1 (BMAL1), and Reverse Erythroblastosis virus (Rev-erb) β without altering the amplitude of protein levels during the light phase of the day. LA also significantly altered the oscillatory patterns of clock-controlled proteins associated with lipid metabolism. The level of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α was significantly increased and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) were both significantly reduced, suggesting that the LA-supplemented aged animals are in a catabolic state. We conclude that LA remediates some of the dyslipidemic processes associated with advanced age, and this mechanism may be at least partially through entrainment of circadian clocks.     

A compact multi-channel apparatus for automated real-time monitoring of bioluminescence

We have developed a multi-channel apparatus for automated monitoring of bioluminescence in real time. We designed this apparatus to be compact (230 mm wide, 600 mm deep, and 227.5 mm high) so that it can be operated in a relatively small commercially-available incubator. The apparatus can process 20 samples at maximum in a single run, providing enough processibility in small-scale experiments. We verified the reliability and sensitivity of the apparatus by observing circadian bioluminescence rhythms over one week from a bioluminescent reporter strain (E9) of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7942 [Ishiura, M., Kutsuna, S., Aoki, S., Iwasaki, H., Andersson, C.R., Tanabe, A., Golden, S.S., Johnson, C.H., Kondo, T., Expression of a gene cluster kaiABC as a circadian feedback process in cyanobacteria, Science, 281 (1998) 1519-1523]. Our apparatus allows flexible experimental designs and will be effectively used for the studies of gene expression in various purposes.     

ZT和2iP对3个南方高丛蓝浆果优选系丛生枝增殖及生长的影响

研究了不同质量浓度ZT和2iP对南方高丛蓝浆果(Vaccinium corymbosum hybrids)优选系A47、A119和A167丛生枝的增殖倍数、质量、含水量和长度的影响.结果表明,在0.5～3.0 mg·L~(-1)质量浓度范围内,随ZT质量浓度提高,3个优选系丛生枝的总增殖倍数、有效增殖倍数、鲜质量、干质量、含水量及总长度均呈增加趋势,而平均长度则呈下降趋势.在2.5～15.0 mg·L~(-1)质量浓度范围内,随2iP质量浓度提高,3个优选系丛生枝的总增殖倍数和含水量先增加后下降,在2iP质量浓度为5.0～10.0 mg·L~(-1)时达到峰值;有效增殖倍数、总长度和平均长度一直呈下降趋势;鲜质量和干质量无明显的变化规律.在改良WPM培养基中添加2.0～3.0 mg·L~(-1) ZT或5.0～10.0 mg·L~(-1) 2iP可使3个南方高丛蓝浆果优选系丛生枝有较高的增殖倍数,而添加0.5～1.0 mg·L~(-1) ZT或2.5 mg·L~(-1) 2iP可使丛生枝生长较好.此外,优选系A47和A167丛生枝的增殖倍数显著高于优选系A119.     

Synergistically Optimizing Electrical and Thermal Transport Properties of BiCuSeO via a Dual‐Doping Approach

The layered oxyselenide BiCuSeO system is known as one of the high‐performance thermoelectric materials with intrinsically low thermal conductivity. By employing atomic, nano‐ to mesoscale structural optimizations, low thermal conductivity coupled with enhanced electrical transport properties can be readily achieved. Upon partial substitution of Bi³⁺ by Ca²⁺ and Pb²⁺, the thermal conductivity can be reduced to as low as 0.5 W m^?1 K^?1 at 873 K through dual‐atomic point‐defect scattering, while a high power factor of ≈1 × 10^?3 W cm^?1 K^?2 is realized over a broad temperature range from 300 to 873 K. The synergistically optimized power factor and intrinsically low thermal conductivity result in a high ZT value of ≈1.5 at 873 K for Bi_0.88Ca_0.06Pb_0.06CuSeO, a promising candidate for high‐temperature thermoelectric applications. It is envisioned that the all‐scale structural optimization is critical for optimizing the thermoelectricity of quaternary compounds.     

Isolation and functional characterization of the FLOWERING LOCUS T homolog, the LsFT gene, in lettuce

High temperature-induced bolting of lettuce is undesirable agriculturally, making it important to find the mechanism governing the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth. FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) genes play important roles in the induction of flowering in several plant species. To clarify floral induction in lettuce, we isolated the FT gene (LsFT) from lettuce. Sequence analysis and phylogenetic relationships of LsFT revealed considerable homology to FT genes of Arabidopsis, tomato, and other species. LsFT induced early flowering in transgenic Arabidopsis, but was not completely effective compared to AtFT. LsFT mRNA was abundant in the largest leaves under flowering-inducible conditions (higher temperatures). Gene expression was correlated with flower differentiation of the shoot apical meristem. Our results suggest that LsFT is a putative FT homolog in lettuce that regulates flower transition, similar to its homolog in Arabidopsis. This is the first information on the lettuce floral gene for elucidating regulation of the flowering transition in lettuce.     

Thermoelectric Enhancement of Different Kinds of Metal Chalcogenides

Due to the urgency of our energy and environmental issues, a variety of cost‐effective and pollution‐free technologies have attracted considerable attention, among which thermoelectric technology has made enormous progress. Substantial numbers of new thermoelectric materials are created with high figure of merit (ZT) by using advanced nanoscience and nanotechnology. This is especially true in the case of metal‐chalcogenide‐based materials, which possess both relatively high ZT and low cost among all the different kinds of thermoelectric materials. Here, comprehensive coverage of recent advances in metal chalcogenides and their correlated thermoelectric enhancement mechanisms are provided. Several new strategies are summarized with the hope that they can inspire further enhancement of performance, both in metal chalcogenides and in other materials.     

Evidence for phosphorylation of rat liver glucose-regulated protein 58, GRP58/ERp57/ER-60, induced by fasting and leptin

Glucose-regulated protein 58 (GRP58)-like immunoreactivity in rat liver obtained in the evening or after fasting underwent an electrophoretic band-shift, which disappeared after phosphatase-treatment. Since mass spectrometric analysis raised a possibility that Ser150 of GRP58 is phosphorylated, an antibody against the phosphoserine150 GRP58 was generated. Immunoreactivity to this antibody was increased in the evening and after fasting. Since GRP58 was shown to interact with signal transducer and activator of transduction 3 (STAT3), a leptin-related protein, the effect of leptin was examined. Immunoreactivity to the anti-phosphoGRP58 antibody was markedly elevated after the leptin injection, indicating that Ser150 of GRP58 is phosphorylated after fasting and leptin-treatment.