The Role of Carnitine Acyltransferases in the Maintenance of Cell Function

Summary. Carnitine acyltransferases catalyse equilibria between acyl-CoA esters and the respective acylcarnitines. Therefore, they act not only as pathway enzymes, but also as modulators of acyl-CoA concentrations within individual sub-cellular compartments. Because acyl-CoA esters are potent biologically active metabolites, carnitine acyltransferase activities are potentially able to affect a diverse range of physiological processes, ranging from insulin secretion, to appetite control, and insulin sensitivity of tissues. The distinctive subcellular distributions of the different types of carnitine acyltransferases also enables them to participate in the transfer of acyl moieties across intracellular membranes, and of particular acylcarnitine esters across the plasma membrane and into the plasma. Pharmacological strategies that make use of these properties to improve cell function are discussed.     

Comparative performance of MM3(92) and two TINKER MM3 versions for the modeling of carbohydrates

The 1992 version of MM3 was largely used for modeling mono-, di-, and trisaccharides. In later versions of MM3 improvements were made in some parameters that may be important for carbohydrates. This corrected MM3 force field is part of the Tinker package, freely available (as its 4.1 version), and included in the Chem 3D Ultra 8.0 package (as the 3.7 version). The latter version lacks the corrections to the standard bond lengths produced by electronegativity and anomeric effects, whereas the Tinker 4.1 version only lacks the latter correction. The present work compares the performance of the three MM3 versions (and in some cases, DFT and/or HF/ab initio procedures) on several carbohydrate model problems as the chair and rotamer equilibria in 2-hydroxy- and 2-methoxytetrahydropyran, hydrogen bonding in cis-2,3-dihydroxytetrahydropyran, and the potential energy surfaces around the glycosidic bonds of two sulfated disaccharides and two trisaccharides. Tinker MM3 can be used accurately to estimate carbohydrate energies and geometries, and-with the help of some programming-to pursue studies on the potential energy surfaces of di- and trisaccharides. In most cases results obtained using the three MM3 versions are similar, although large energy differences are obtained when comparing a rotameric distribution around a O-C-O-H dihedral, which is almost forced to the exo-anomeric position by the Tinker versions. In other systems smaller energy differences are found, but they can nevertheless lead to a different global minimum when comparing conformers of similar energy. MM3(92) establishes better the differences between the bond lengths in both anomers, as an expected expression of the anomeric correction.     

Solid-state synthesis and properties of SmCoO3

In this paper, perovskite oxide SmCoO₃ was prepared by the solid-state reaction method using Co₂O₃ and Sm₂O₃ as raw materials. The structure and properties of the samples were investigated by XRD, Raman spectral techniques, and DC measurements and so on. The results of XRD and Raman spectra showed that the mixtures of Co₂O₃ and Sm₂O₃ can react to produce a single phase perovskite oxide SmCoO₃ around 1353 K. The single-phase SmCoO₃ changes from an insulator to a semi-conductor and transition occurs around 470 K. The thermal expansion coefficient (2.17 × 10⁻⁵ K⁻¹) of the single-phase SmCoO₃ is approximately equal to that of doped LaGaO₃, but much bigger than that of SDC(Ce_0.85Sm_0.15O₂) above 873 K.     

热解-还原法制备单分散Fe3O4亚微空心球

在用模板法水解FeCl3制备单分散聚(苯乙烯-共-丙烯酸)/Fe2O3[P(St-co-AA)/Fe2O3]核壳粒子的基础上, 于N2环境下热解内核直接得到了单分散的磁性Fe3O4亚微空心球. 用透射电镜(TEM)、场发射扫描电镜(FESEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、振动样品磁强计(VSM)表征并测试了空心微球的结构形貌、成分以及静磁性能. 结果表明, P(St-co-AA)/Fe2O3核壳粒子在热处理过程中, 由于内核热解生成的有机小分子将Fe2O3 壳层同时还原为Fe3O4, 从而生成了粒径和壁厚均匀的单分散Fe3O4亚微空心球. 该空心微球在室温下的饱和磁化强度、剩余磁化强度和矫顽力分别为50.91 A·m2·kg-1、3.97 A·m2·kg-1和2.33 kA·m-1.     

Poly[3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)glyceric acid] from Stems of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Symphytum asperum</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">S. caucasicum</Emphasis>

Two high-molecular-weight (>1000 kDa) water-soluble preparations were isolated from stems of Symphytum asperum and S. caucasicum. Their basic component was established as poly[hydroxy-1-carboxy-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethylene], analogous to that of high-molecular-weight (>1000 kDa) preparations from roots of these same plants, using IR and NMR spectral data. __________ Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 303–305, July–August, 2005. An erratum to this article is available at .     

2-烷氧基-3H-喹唑啉-4-酮的合成与杀菌活性

研究了合成2-烷氧基-3H-喹唑啉-4-酮衍生物4的方法,该方法应用膦亚胺1与芳基异氰酸酯的氮杂Wittig反应,得到的碳二亚胺2再与醇在醇钠催化下反应,合成了12种未见文献报道的喹唑啉酮衍生物4.所得产物4的结构由NMR,MS,IR所确证.探讨了成环反应的条件以及所合成的新型杂环化合物的杀菌活性,结果表明部分化合物表现出较好的抑菌活性,如41在50 mg/L浓度时,对水稻纹枯菌的抑制率为89%.     

Simplified chemical and radiochemical synthesis of 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol, an endogenous ligand of cannabinoid receptors

Endocannabinoids have emerged as a new class of lipid mediators, with manifold roles in the central nervous system and in the periphery. Several studies have identified 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG) as a major endogenous agonist of cannabinoid receptors. Here, the chemical synthesis of 2-AG is reported, along with the synthesis of its tritium-labeled derivative. These unlabeled and radiolabeled compounds are suitable tools for unravelling some metabolic routes and biological activities of 2-AG in various cells and tissues.     

无保护流体室温燐光法测定吲哚-3-丁酸的研究

在仅以碘化钾为重原子微扰剂、亚硫酸钠为除氧剂及无任何保护性介质存在的水溶液中 ,吲哚_3_丁酸 (IBA)能发射很强的室温光 (RTP) ;详细研究了分析测定条件及有机溶剂对RTP的影响 ;在最大光波长λex/λem =281/447nm处 ,光强度与IBA浓度在2.0×10 -7～1.0×10 -5mol/L范围内呈良好的线性关系 ,检出限4.3×10-8 mol/L ;方法直接用于强化水样和土壤中IBA的测定 ,回收率96 %～104 % ,相对标准偏差2.37 %～3.97 %。     

In Situ IR Spectroscopic Studies on Molybdenum Nitride Catalysts: Active Sites and Surface Reactions

Recent IR spectroscopic studies on the surface properties of fresh Mo₂N/-Al₂O₃ catalyst are presented in this paper. The surface sites of fresh Mo₂N/-Al₂O₃, both Mo⁺ (0<<2) and N sites, are probed by CO adsorption. Two characteristic IR bands were observed at 2045 and 2200 cm^-1, due to linearly adsorbed CO on Mo and N sites, respectively. The surface N sites are highly reactive and can react with adsorbed CO to form NCO species. Unlike adsorbed CO on reduced passivated one, the adsorbed CO on fresh Mo₂N/-Al₂O₃ behaves similarly to that of group VIII metals, suggesting that fresh nitride resembles noble metals. It is found that the surface of Mo nitrides slowly transformed into sulfide under hydrotreating conditions, which could be the main reason for the activity drop of molybdenum nitride catalysts in the presence of sulfur-containing species. Some surface reactions, such as selective hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene, isomerization of 1-butene, and hydrodesulfurization of thiophene, were studied on both fresh and reduced passivated Mo₂N/-Al₂O₃ catalysts using IR spectroscopy. The mechanisms of these reactions are proposed. The adsorption and reaction behaviors of these molecules on fresh molybdenum nitride also resemble those on noble metals, manifesting the unique properties of fresh molybdenum nitride catalysts. Mo and N sites are found to play different roles in the adsorption and catalytic reactions on the fresh Mo₂N/-Al₂O₃ catalyst. Generally, Mo sites are the main active sites for the adsorption and reactions of adsorbates; N sites are not directly involved in catalytic reactions but they modify the electronic properties of Mo sites.     

27Al和29Si MAS-NMR对Mo/HZSM-5催化剂的研究

使用＾２９Ａｌ固体离分辨核磁技术对甲烷无氧芳构化催化剂Ｍｏ／ＨＺＳＭ－５分子筛进行了研究，发现ＨＺＳＭ－５分子筛本体中仅含有少量非骨架Ａｌ，Ｍｏ物种与分子筛骨架Ａｌ的相互作用随Ｍｏ担载量以及焙烧的温度的升高而增加，在高温焙烧下，Ｍｏ物种会使分子筛骨架严重脱铝，并且生成Ａｌ２（ＭｏＯ４）３新相，最终导致分子筛骨架塌陷，催化性能下降。