Conversion of squid pens to chitosanases and dye adsorbents via Bacillus cereus

Research on Chemical Intermediates - The purpose of this study was to reclaim squid pens for the production of chitosanases and biosorbents of food colorants and industrial dyes via Bacillus cereus...     

Influence of buffer composition and sample pretreatment on efficiency separation for monitoring neuropeptides in plasma using capillary electrophoresis

More efficient and faster separation conditions for qualitative as well as quantitative analysis of neuropeptides in human plasma using capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) have been developed. The analysis method for neuropeptides has been improved specifically to study thyroid hormone related neuropetides for the regulation of thyroid disease. In this study, we investigated the pretreatment methods, composition of the running buffer and rinsing procedures between runs in order to obtain more sensitive and faster separation of trace neuropeptides in plasma by CZE. The tested neuropeptides were somatostatin (SOMA), vasopressin (VP), neurotensin (NT), and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). Plasma samples were pretreated by deproteinization and solid-phase extraction method. The fraction of neuropeptides was reconstituted in 40% acetonitrile followed by ultrafiltration, and then analyzed by CZE. Resolution and sensitivity was improved using the separation buffer composition with 100 mM Tris-phosphate buffer (pH 2.0) while the sensitivity was further improved via a stacking method using the sample buffer of 40% acetonitrile. These sample pretreatment methods and buffer condition permit quantitative analysis on tested neuropeptides at the 20 ng/mL level. The rinsing procedures between runs using 90% ethanol dramatically shortened the rinsing time to 30 min.     

多极板电流变阀应用于避震器之研究

以流动模式(flow mode)多极板之电流变阀(electrorheological valve) 进行避震器阻尼力特性的研究.由于电极板的大小直接影响到流体流动的剪力及避震器的阻尼力,因此使用多极板型式来探讨避震器的特性.设计有1～5个流道之并联及1～3个流道之串联多极板电流变阀的电流变避震器,并使用自制的电流变液进行实验.由研究结果显示,流动式并联极板之电流变避震器,一个流道之阻尼力最大,流道极板增加则阻尼力反而下降,而流动式串联多极板之电流变避震器之阻尼力则随极板数递增,故需要高阻尼力之避震器较适合使用串联多极板型式.     

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A NOVEL ALCOHOL-SOLUBLE POLYORGANOSILOXANE CONTAINING AMINO SIDE GROUPS*

 A novel alcohol-soluble polyorganosiloxane containing amino side groups, poly[3-(4-aminophenoxy)propylmethylsiloxane] (2), was first prepared by the reduction of nitro groups on 4-nitrophenoxypropyl side chains of poly[3-(4-nitrophenoxy)propylmethylsiloxane] (1). The reaction proceeded easily with nearly 100% conversion. The synthesized alcohol-soluble polymer 2, which has potential application as a precursor for preparing advanced functional polymers, was characterized by FTIR ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, ²⁹Si-NMR, VPO and GPC, respectively.     

Identification of glycerophospholipid fatty acid remodeling by using mass spectrometry imaging in bisphenol S induced mouse liver

Exposure to BPS induced glycerophospholipid fatty acid remodeling, which might be useful in toxicity evaluation for bisphenols-induced hepatic diseases.     

GalaxyDock BP2 score: a hybrid scoring function for accurate protein–ligand docking

Protein–ligand docking is a useful tool for providing atomic-level understanding of protein functions in nature and design principles for artificial ligands or proteins with desired properties. The ability to identify the true binding pose of a ligand to a target protein among numerous possible candidate poses is an essential requirement for successful protein–ligand docking. Many previously developed docking scoring functions were trained to reproduce experimental binding affinities and were also used for scoring binding poses. However, in this study, we developed a new docking scoring function, called GalaxyDock BP2 Score, by directly training the scoring power of binding poses. This function is a hybrid of physics-based, empirical, and knowledge-based score terms that are balanced to strengthen the advantages of each component. The performance of the new scoring function exhibits significant improvement over existing scoring functions in decoy pose discrimination tests. In addition, when the score is used with the GalaxyDock2 protein–ligand docking program, it outperformed other state-of-the-art docking programs in docking tests on the Astex diverse set, the Cross2009 benchmark set, and the Astex non-native set. GalaxyDock BP2 Score and GalaxyDock2 with this score are freely available at http://galaxy.seoklab.org/softwares/galaxydock.html.     

Impact of poly(ɛ‐caprolactone) architecture on the thermomechanical and shape memory properties

We report the synthesis of linear‐ and brush‐type poly(?‐caprolactone) (PCL) networks and investigate their thermal, mechanical, and shape memory behavior. Brush‐PCLs are prepared by ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of a norbornenyl‐functionalized ?‐caprolactone macromonomer (MM‐PCL) of different molecular weights. The linear analog, diacrylate end‐functionalized PCL (linear‐PCL), having comparable molecular weight of side chain of brush‐PCL is also synthesized. These polymers are thermally cured by a radical initiator in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate crosslinker. Thermal and linear viscoelastic properties as well as shape memory performance of the resulting PCL networks are investigated, and are significantly impacted by the PCL architecture. Therefore, our work highlights that tailoring macromolecular architecture is useful strategy to manipulate thermal, mechanical, and resulting shape memory properties. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55 , 3424–3433     

Environmental monitoring of134Cs in beach sand using a coincident spectrometer

Environmental samples of beach sand taken at northern Taiwan have been monitored using a coincident gamma-ray spectrometer. The concentration of¹³⁴Cs, under intense interference from natural and other artificial radioactivity, is determined as low as 0.2 Bq/kg dry. The accumulation of trace levels of¹³⁴Cs originates from the discharge of nuclear power plants nearby.     

Empirical study and prediction of liquids retention on structured polymer surfaces

Liquids' contact angle hysteresis and critical retention volumes on five commonly used plastics with surface structures were studied. The chevron‐like groove structures, which are orthogonally arranged, make the liquid–solid contact line elongated while the droplet found staying in the Wenzel state. Various dimensions of surface structures were represented by contact length ratio σ. Advancing and receding contact angles of liquids on polymer surfaces with various conditions were reported. Reduced hysteresis H, which links between advancing and receding contact angles, was also studied and found to extend its availability on structured surfaces. The research found that surface structures have linear effects on liquids' advancing contact angles in the range of σ = 1.0 to 1.42. Linear regression analysis was hence proposed to predict advancing contact angles, and the results indicate that approximate 80% of data points have less than 6% error. An empirical model, which adopts liquid–solid surface tension as the source of liquids' retention force, was proposed to estimate liquids' critical retention volumes on inclined surfaces. The proposed model found good agreements with existing experiment data and demonstrated its superiority over previous ones. The present model provides an approach to predict liquids' storage/repellency on structured surfaces when the advancing contact angles are predictable. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.