Reverse zymography using fluorogenic substrates for protease inhibitor detection

A novel, sensitive method for detecting protease inhibitors by using fluorescent protease substrates in gels is described. The protease inhibitors were separated on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gels containing a copolymerized peptide substrate, namely 4-methyl-coumaryl-7-amide (MCA). As the incorporated substrates in the gel, Boc-Phe Ser-Arg-MCA was used for trypsin, Suc-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-MCA for alpha-chymotrypsin, and Z-Phe-Arg-MCA for papain. After electrophoresis, washing and incubating the gel with the target protease solutions allowed the substrate to be cleaved by the protease, and the release of the fluorescent 7 amino-4 methyl-coumarin (AMC), which was detected under a UV transilluminator. The uncleaved peptide-MCA substrate remained where the inhibitors were present, and was visualized as dark blue bands on the light-green fluorescent background gel. This new method offers several advantages over other previous methods including: (i) greatly increased sensitivity can be achieved in a shorter period of time, which may be useful for discovering new protease inhibitors in small amounts of crude material; (ii) the procedure is quite simple and quick since the incubation period is very short and no time is needed for staining and destaining steps; (iii) since these probes using substrate specificity/target proteases, they are excellent tools for detection and discrimination of unknown protease inhibitors for various target proteases.     

金属基底上吡咯光电化学聚合的研究

近年来,国内外对聚吡咯已进行广泛的研究,主要内容包括:电化学聚合,机理与结构表征,电化学氧化还原性质,聚吡咯的化学修饰。最近报导了半导体上吡咯的光电化学聚合。我们在低于吡咯电聚合电位下观察到聚吡咯的Raman讯号。本文研究在中性溶液中金属基底上吡咯的光电化学聚合,以及光源波长、强度和介质等因素的影响。     

Kinetics, selectivity, and mechanism of the reactions of arenes with adamantyl carbocations in sulfuric acid

Data on the kinetics, selectivity, kinetic isotope effect, and the effect of the acidity of the medium on the rate of the reactions of benzene and alkylbenzenes in sulfuric acid (59–78 wt.% H₂SO₄) solutions of 1-adamantanol at 30 °C indicate that the direct reagents are the adamantyl carbocations (Ad⁺) that alkylate the arenes. The ortho positions of the benzene ring are not accessible on account of steric hindrances. The rate of attack by the Ad⁺ cation on the accessible para and meta positions of the ring is controlled by the formation of a σ complex. __________ Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental’naya Khimiya, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 14–18, January–February, 2006.     

COMMUNICATION: Culture conditions producing structure entities composed of Cellulose I and II in bacterial cellulose

Culture conditions for the production of Cellulose I and/or II structures have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy using smooth colonies of Acetobacter xylinum ATCC23769. Cells prepared from smooth colonies produce the band material composed of Cellulose II in phosphate buffer (pH 7) at 4 °C. In contrast, the same cells produce the normal twisting ribbons of Cellulose I when the incubation temperature is raised to 28 °C. The band material is also produced at 4 °C in 2% buffered glucose solution and in the standard Hestrin-Schramm medium. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

金属载体催化剂的涂层研究

在高温氧化处理不同时间的金属载体箔片上涂覆MgAl2O4/Al2O3过渡涂层,利用TG-DSC,XRD,SEM,BET和超声振动等分析测试技术,对载体和涂层的微观结构与表面特性进行研究.结果表明,在950 ℃下高温氧化5 h,箔片表面生成板状Al2O3晶须,有利于增强涂层与箔片的附着力.在载体表面涂覆一层MgAl2O4/Al2O3过渡涂层,有助于提高活性组分与金属载体的结合力,可以获得高结合强度的涂层结构,促使活性元素高度分散.     

Electrochemical technique for the determination of fractal dimension of dental surfaces

Fractal dimension of a carious tooth surface was determined using an electrochemical method. The method was based on time-dependent diffusion towards electrode surfaces, which is one of the most useful and reliable methods for the determination of fractal dimension of electrode surfaces. For this purpose, the tooth was covered with a gold layer, which acted as an electrode in electrochemical experiments. It is suggested that the fractal dimension can be used as a quantitative measure of the state of dental surfaces. The method presented demonstrates the power of electrochemical techniques for the determination of fractal dimension of surface of non-conducting objects.     

粒度空间约简及其粗糙集模型研究

针对交可约粒度空间中覆盖、基和粒结构的关系,结合偏序关系的哈斯图,给出一种约简粒度空间的方法.另外,通过限定上、下近似算子的取值范围,重新定义了交可约粒度空间上的粗糙集模型,并讨论了其相关性质.     

Numerical and analytic study of rough surface morphology on the angular distribution of eroded impurity

The impact of rough surface morphology on the angular distribution of eroded impurities has been investigated with the three‐dimensional (3D ) rough surface code SURO and a newly developed analytic model. The property of the rough surface structure can be described by the shadow angle of the rough surface in SURO , which is defined as the ratio of the horizontal characteristic length to the initial surface roughness. The SURO simulation results show that the influence of the rough surface on the angular distribution of eroded impurities comes into play when the shadow angle is larger than a threshold value. The larger shadow angle of the rough surface leads to a stronger shift of the angular distribution of the eroded impurities. Different rough surface topographies have been used in the SURO code to check the angular distribution of the eroded impurities. It is found that the shift tendency of the angular distribution is similar for different structures of the rough surface. Based on the numerical modelling results, an analytical model has been developed to investigate the impact of the shadow angle on the angular distribution of the eroded impurities, which shows the consistent result as the SURO simulations.     

Symbiotic N2 Fixation and N Uptake of Yellow and White Lupines Influenced by Spontaneous Rhizobia Infection and Substrate

Abstract

By using soil as substrate, white and yellow lupines (Lupinus albus L., Lupinus luteus L.) assimilated higher N amounts than under quartz sand conditions. This was caused by spontaneous infection of lupines with wild Rhizobia strains and also by an additional N uptake from the soil. In yellow lupines without inoculation in non-sterile soil, only the additional N uptake played a role. Differences in P and K supply as the cause of different N acquisition from soil and quartz sand could be excluded. As compared with white lupines, yellow lupines inoculated with Rhizobia had a high N₂ fixation that exceeded the effect of spontaneous infections. This result as well as the positive effect of spontaneous infections with soil-borne Rhizobia on white lupines indicates insufficient effectiveness of the strains used for inoculation on this plant species.