Enhanced Production of Spinosad in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharopolyspora spinosa</Emphasis> by Genome Shuffling

Spinosad (spinosyns A and D) is a mixture of secondary metabolites produced by Saccharopolyspora spinosa. It is used in agriculture as a potent insect control agent with exceptional safety to non-target organisms. In this study, we applied genome shuffling of S. spinosa to achieve a rapid improvement of spinosad production. Ten strains with subtle improvements in spinosad production were obtained from the populations generated by the mutation with nitrosoguanidine and ultraviolet irradiation, and then they were subjected for recursive protoplast fusion. After four rounds of genome shuffling, a high yielding strain, designated as S. spinosa 4-7, was successfully isolated. Its production reached 547 mg/L, which was increased by 200.55% and 436.27% in comparison with that of the highest parent strain and the original strain, respectively. The subculture experiments indicated that the high producer of S. spinosa 4-7 was stable. Spinosad fermentation experiments by S. spinosa 4-7 were carried out in a 5-L fermentor, and its production of spinosad reached 428 mg/L after 168 h of fermentation.     

Investigation and analysis on a cellular heat pipe flat solar heater

A new cellular heat pipe flat solar energy collector is introduced, and the thermal performance of the new solar heater comprised by water heat pipe or acetone heat pipe is tested. The results are compared with the performance of the evacuated glass tube solar heater. It is found that: the heat loss coefficient of the cellular heat pipe flat solar heater is 54% less than that of the evacuated glass tube solar heater, while the daily average efficiency of solar absorbency is 15% higher, when the water temperature of heating is lower than 65°C. In conclusion, the thermal performance of such new solar heater is better than that of evacuated glass tube solar heater or ordinary flat solar heater, both of which are still popular in China. This new solar energy application promises to be a prosperous technology.     

Four New Pregnane Steroids from Aglaia abbreviata and Their Cytotoxic Activities

Four new pregnane steroids, aglaiasterols A–D ( 1 – 4 ), have been isolated from the EtOH extract of stems of Aglaia abbreviata. They were identified as (3α,5α,17Z)‐3‐hydroxypregn‐17‐en‐16‐one ( 1 ), (3β,5α,17E)‐3‐hydroxypregn‐17‐en‐16‐one ( 2 ), (3β,5α,17Z)‐3‐hydroxypregn‐17‐en‐16‐one ( 3 ), and (3α,5α,20S*)‐3‐hydroxy‐16‐oxopregnan‐20‐yl acetate ( 4 ) on the basis of spectroscopic methods, including 1D‐ and 2D‐NMR techniques. Compounds 1 – 4 were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against K562 (human leukemia), MCF‐7 (human breast cancer), and KB (human oral epithelium cancer) cells, and drug‐resistant cells of K562/A02, MCF‐7/ADM, and KB/VCR. These isolates showed weak to moderate inhibitory effects on the growth of the tested cell lines.     

Effective numerical methods for elasto-plastic contact problems with friction

Several effective numerical methods for solving the elasto-plastic contact problems with friction are presented. First, a direct substitution method is employed to impose the contact constraint conditions on condensed finite element equations, thus resulting in a reduction by half in the dimension of final governing equations. Second, an algorithm composed of contact condition probes and elasto-plastic iterations is utilized to solve the governing equation, which distinguishes two kinds of nonlinearities, and makes the solution unique. In addition, Positive-Negative Sequence Modification Method is used to condense the finite element equations of each substructure and an analytical integration is introduced to determine the elasto-plastic status after each time step or each iteration, hence the computational efficiency is enhanced to a great extent. Finally, several test and practical examples are presented showing the validity and versatility of these methods and algorithms. The Project Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

结构安定分析的Galerkin边界元方法

基于Melan静力安定定理,利用Galerkin边界元方法建立了多组交变载荷作用下结构安定分析的下限计算格式.在给定载荷域的载荷角点所对应载荷作用下,采用Galerkin边界元法计算相应的虚拟弹性应力场,并且利用结构在Galerkin边界元弹塑性增量计算中同一增量步中不同迭代步之间的应力差作为自平衡应力场的基矢量,通过这些基矢量的线性组合构造了自平衡应力场,大大降低了所形成的数学规划问题的未知变量数.并通过复合形法对非线性规划问题直接进行求解,得到了结构在交变载荷作用下的下限安定乘子.计算结果表明,所采用的方法具有较高的精度和计算效率.     

确定裂纹体等效弹性模量的边界元方法

采用边界元方法计算含有序分布裂纹的裂纹体在压缩载荷作用下的等效弹性模量，利用一种能适当考虑裂纹有间相作用的自洽理论，建立了相应的迭代格式，通过算例研究了裂纹方向，裂纹面间摩擦系数对裂纹体等效弹性模量的影响。     

The variation in essential oils composition,phenolic acids and flavonoids is correlated with changes in antioxidant activity during Cinnamomum loureirii bark growth

Cinnamomum loureirii is one of the most important medicinal and aromatic plants. It is used by the food, perfumery, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. The objective of this study was to examine the relationships between the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of essential oil (EOs) and ethanol extracts from 10 samples of the bark from C. loureirii trees (6–15 years old). Obtained results showed that C. loureirii bark EO content at 12–15 years old had high oil yields (4.52–5.48%). The major components in the EOs were trans-cinnamaldehyde (50.2–92.9%) and α-copaene (0.5–21.3%). The highest content of trans-cinnamaldehyde in bark EOs was obtained from 10 to 12-year-old trees, while the highest content of α-copaene was obtained at 13–15 years. The highest total phenolic (429.85 and 474.45 mg TAE /g DW) and total flavonoid contents (85.54 and 102.80 mg RE /g e DW) were obtained from the 13- to 14-year-old trees. Our results indicated that the EO and ethanol extract of 13- to 14-year-old bark showed the strongest antioxidant properties. Moreover, GC–MS, PCA and correlation analysis indicated that the changes in α-copaene, beta-caryophyllene, τ-muurolene, γ-muurolene, δ-cadinene and τ-muurolol were positively correlated with the changes in antioxidant activity in oils. Meanwhile, procyanidin B2 and hyperoside were the main contributors to the antioxidant activity of the ethanol extract from C. loureirii bark. This study is the first one that report the antioxidant potential and phenolic profile of C. loureirii plant. These results provide reference information for the rational utilization of C. loureirii resources and the harvest of C. loureirii bark as medicinal materials during the optimal period.     

Combinatorial identities from contour integrals of rational functions

We employ the theory of contour integrals to systematically investigate three kinds of general combinatorial identities in a unified way. As applications some well-known combinatorial identities are presented as special cases, and several new identities are derived.     

L-脯氨酸衍生物为手性侧链的新型C_2对称型手性固定相

绕轴旋转180°能与自身重合的C_2对称型手性化合物在手性催化和手性分离领域有重要应用。以L-脯氨酸苯基酰胺衍生物为手性源,合成了一类新型的C_2对称型手性固定相,并进行了手性色谱拆分评价。与单侧链取代的刷型固定相进行对比,C_2对称型手性固定相对所评价的31种酸性、中性和碱性分析物表现出更好的手性选择性。考察了固定相末端苯环上的取代基团对手性拆分的影响,综合来看,苯环上无取代基的C_2对称型手性固定相的分离性能最优。对某些手性对映体,C_2对称型手性固定相的分离因子随温度的增高而呈现异常增大的现象,表明了其有别于单侧链取代的固定相的分离机理。该类新型手性固定相的提出对进一步丰富刷型手性固定相的种类和拓展其应用具有重要意义。     

Polymer Vesicles with Upper Critical Solution Temperature for Near-infrared Light-triggered Transdermal Delivery of Metformin in Diabetic Rats

Near-infrared light(NIR)triggered transdermal drug delivery systems are of great interest due to their on-demand drug release,which enable to enhance drug treatment efficiency as well as reduce side effect.Herein,a NIR-triggered microneedle(MN)patch array has been fabricated through depositing the photothermal conversion agent and anti-diabetic drug-loaded polymer vesicles with upper critical solution temperature(UCST)into dissolvable polymer matrix.The UCST-type polymer has a clearing point temperature of 41℃ and the drug-loaded polymer vesicles present excellent NIR-triggered and temperature responsive drug release behavior in vitro due to the disassociation of polymer vesicles upon NIR irradiation.After applying MNs to diabetic rats,significant hypoglycemic effect is achieved upon interval NIR irradiation and the blood glucose concentration can decrease to normal state for several hours,which enables to achieve the goal of on-demand drug release.This work suggests that the NIR-triggered MN drug release device has a potential application in the treatment of diabetes,especially for those requiring an active drug release manner.