α-Actinin involvement in Z-disk assembly during skeletal muscle C2C12 cells in vitro differentiation

α-Actinin is involved in the assembly and maintenance of muscle fibers. α-Actinin is required to cross-link actin filaments and to connect the actin cytoskeleton to the cell membrane and it is necessary for the attachment of actin filaments to Z-disks in skeletal muscle fibers and to dense bodies in smooth muscle ones. In addition to its mechanical role, sarcomeric α-actinin interacts with proteins involved in a variety of signaling and metabolic pathways.The aim of this work is to monitor Z-disk formation, in order to clear up the role of sarcomeric α-actinin in undifferentiated stage, after 4 days of differentiation (intermediate differentiation stage) and after 7 days of differentiation (fully differentiated stage). For this purpose, C2C12 murine skeletal muscle cells, grown in vitro, were analyzed at three time points of differentiation.Confocal laser scanner microscopy and transmission electron microscopy have been utilized for α-actinin immunolocalization.Both techniques reveal that in undifferentiated cells labeling appears uniformly distributed in the cytoplasm with punctate α-actinin Z-bodies. Moreover, we found that when differentiation is induced, α-actinin links at first membrane-associated proteins, then it aligns longitudinally across the cytoplasm and finally binds actin, giving rise to Z-disks. These findings evidence α-actinin involvement in sarcomeric development, suggesting for this protein an important role in stabilizing the muscle contractile apparatus.     

Electrical conductivity,optical properties and mechanical stability of 3, 4, 9, 10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhidride based organic semiconductor

The 3, 4, 9, 10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) doped polymer films were prepared with Polypyrrole (PPy) and Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymers by solution-casting. The change in structure and chemical composition of samples was identified by XRD and FTIR respectively. The UV–visible spectroscopy demonstrates the optical characteristics and band gap properties of sample. The homogeneous morphology of sample for higher wt% of PTCDA was examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results demonstrate the decrease in melting temperature (T_m) and degree of crystallinity (χ_c%) of polymeric organic semiconductor. The mechanical property demonstrates the high tensile strength and improved plasticity nature. Impedance spectroscopy was evaluated to determine the conductivity response of polymeric organic semiconductor. The highest DC conductivity (2.08×10⁻³ S/m) was obtained for 10 wt% of PTCDA at 140 °C. The decrease in activation energy (E_a) represents the non-Debye process and was evaluated from the slope of ln σ_dc vs. 10³/T plot.     

Optical heterodyne Herriott-type multipass laser absorption spectrometer

We present a Herriott-type multipass laser absorption spectrometer enhanced by optical heterodyne detection. The proposal is demonstrated by measuring the spectra of water vapor molecule in the region from 12247.6873 to 12249.6954 cm-1. Compared with direct absorption spectroscopy, the signal-to-noise ratio is improved nearly one magnitude of factor by combining with the optical heterodyne spectroscopy and extra weak absorption lines are observed. The minimum detectable absorption is estimated at 4.36×10-8 cm-1 and the measured line shape dominated by Doppler broadening can be precisely recovered by direct transformation of experimental optical heterodyne spectral profile.     

The Photo‐Nazarov Reaction: Scope and Application

The reaction conditions and scope of the photo‐Nazarov reaction of aryl vinyl ketones were investigated. In contrast to the conventional acid‐catalyzed methods, this photolytic electrocyclization proceeds in the neutral or basic conditions. Irradiating substrates bearing various aromatic rings, acid‐sensitive groups, cyclohexenyl, cycloheptenyl, and unsaturated pyran with UV‐light (254 nm) smoothly yielded hexahydrofluorenones and related structures. This photo‐Nazarov reaction could also be applicable to the substrates carrying β‐alkyl groups on the enone, which gave corresponding polycyclic rings containing quaternary centers. These photo‐electrocyclized products may prove useful for synthesizing a variety of natural products and their derivatives. Further application of this mild photo‐Nazarov reaction in the synthesis of taiwaniaquinol B was achieved.     

Study on the interaction between urea and cellulose by combining solid-state 13C CP/MAS NMR and extended Hückel charges

In this article, solid-state ¹³C CP/MAS NMR combined with extended Hückel charges was applied to investigate the interaction between urea and cellulose in the NaOH/urea aqueous solvent system. Direct experimental evidence was provided to support the interaction between urea and cellulose. The solid-state ¹³C CP/MAS NMR results revealed that complicated complexes are formed by urea, NaOH and cellulose in the solution. Excess urea exists in a free state, which explains why 7 wt% NaOH/12 wt% urea/81 wt% H₂O is the optimal ratio selection to dissolve cellulose. Based on the correlation in which the computed extended Hückel charge on carbon of urea is approximately inversely proportional to its ¹³C chemical shift, a possible interaction model of cellulose, NaOH and urea was proposed. Interactions exist between any two of urea, NaOH and cellulose, which results in the cellulose chain being surrounded by NaOH and urea molecules. NaOH and urea may be in the same surface layer of cellulose chains.     

Total Synthesis of Gracilamine

The total synthesis of gracilamine, a pentacyclic Amaryllidaceae alkaloid, was achieved from simple building blocks. The synthesis features a mild photo‐Nazarov reaction, intramolecular 1,4‐addition, and an intramolecular Mannich reaction. This approach not only confirms the C6 stereochemistry of natural gracilamine, and also provides a novel solution to prepare its derivatives and structurally related natural products.     

Capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection of main polyamines and precursor amino acids in saliva

A hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction （HF-LPME） method has been developed for the purification and preconcentration of biogenic polyamines and their precursor amino acids in human saliva. Putrescine （Put）, cadaverine （Cad）, spermidine （Spe）, ornithine （Orn）, lysine （Lys）, and arginine （Arg） were determined by the CE-LIF detection after microextraction. Several factors that affect extraction efficiency, separation, and detection were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, six analytes could achieve baseline separation within 30 min, exhibiting a linear calibration at three orders of magnitude （r2 〉 0.998）; the obtained enrichment factors of HF-LPME were between 19 （for Orn） and 2] 8 （for Cad）, and the LODs were in the range of 0.0072-0.26 nmol/L. The proposed HF-LPME/CE-LIF method has been successfully applied for the sensitive analyses of the real-world saliva samples collected from healthy volunteers and different patients with oral diseases, providing a potential method for primary non-invasive diagnosis of some oral diseases.     

电喷雾质谱脱溶剂过程的改进和应用

电喷雾电离(ESI)技术由于脱溶剂过程中产生的电解作用及溶剂蒸发作用,使得酸性溶液喷雾液滴中质子残留,pH值降低,导致蛋白质在液滴中的空间构象受到破坏,所得质谱图无法正确反映蛋白质在溶剂中的真实构象。本研究以两种经典蛋白质(细胞色素C和肌红蛋白)为实验样本,通过在ESI源和质谱仪进样端中间加入自行设计的空气放大器,产生高流速大流量气流,改善ESI脱溶剂过程。结果表明,电喷雾电离的初始液滴在高流速大流量气流引发的激烈碰撞中,被切割为粒径极小的喷雾液滴,同时液滴所带电荷被均分,从而使液滴pH值保持稳定,避免因ESI脱溶剂作用而破坏蛋白质的空间构象。基于高流速大流量气流在ESI脱溶剂过程的新机理,在使用商业化的ESI源时,着重于鞘气等脱溶剂辅助气体的使用和调节。通过增大鞘气的气流量保持蛋白质的生物构象。     

氢化物发生与扇形磁场电感耦合等离子体质谱联用测定天然水中无机硒的价态

通过对仪器参数、质谱干扰、Se同位素选择、NaBH4浓度、样品酸度、Se?还原条件及氢化反应干扰的评估和优化,建立了自制连续流动氢化物发生装置与扇形磁场电感耦合等离子体质谱联用测定天然水中无机硒价态的分析方法,克服了天然水中多种元素对氢化反应的干扰,解决了不同介质样品中Se?还原率保持95%以上时间短的问题。方法检出限为0.002μg/L,灵敏度为215378 cps/(μg/L),优于同类方法,测定河水和海水中Se?和Se?精密度小于4%,加标回收率在97%~103%之间,可应用于准确测定海水、河口区半咸水、河水等天然水中Se?和Se?浓度。