Study of sponge gourd ascorbate peroxidase and winter squash superoxide dismutase under respective flooding and chilling stresses

AbstractThe objectives of this work were to study the responses of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), and physiological parameters of bitter melon (BM), sponge gourd (SG), and winter squash (WS) under waterlogged and low temperature conditions. The BM and SG plants were subjected to 0–72h flooding treatments. Moreover, BM and WS plants were exposed to chilling at 12/7°C (day/night) for 0–72h. The results show that different genotypes responded differently to environmental stress according to their various antioxidant enzymes and physiological parameters. The activity of APX in roots and leaves of SG plants significantly higher than that of BM plants during continuous flooding. Significant increases in SOD activity in leaves of WS plants were also observed throughout the entire chilling duration compared to BM plants. On the basis of our observations, we conclude that increased APX and SOD activities provide SG and WS plants with increased waterlogging and chilling stress tolerance, respectively. Both APX and SOD activities can be used for selecting BM lines with the best tolerances to water logging and chilling stresses

裸根及黑暗模擬貯運對文心蘭生理及形態之影響

The studies were to seek that effect of bare root and dark Simulated transport on physiology and morphology of Colmanara Wildcat. The results showed that ethylene production of Colmanara Wildcat with bare root substantially increase in seventh day in simulated dark transport than that of the control. After simulated dark transport for 5, 7, 10 days that caused the root activity descended, and along with the days after dark treatment, the activity of roots more low. The roots lost activity and dry resulted in loss water, which led Colmanara Wildcat root activity to decrease into 1.01 O.D./g and 0.92 O.D./g and 0.89 O.D./g from original 1.56 O.D./g. The total soulable sugar content of pseudobulb was increase following days past, and the starch content of preudobulb was increase in fifth day then decline in seventh day during dark treatment. 1-aminocyclopropane-1carboxylic acid (ACC) was high in seventh day than that of the control, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1carboxylic acid oxidase (ACO) activity was high, too. The results indicate that dark stress and loss water stress had large effect on bare rooted Colmanara Wildcat with quality or senescence of many examined.本試驗主要探討文心蘭野貓品種Colmanara Wildcat 裸根黑暗模擬貯運不同天數後對生理及形態之影響。文心蘭野貓Colmanara Wildcat經裸根模擬貯運0、5、7及10天，結果顯示，於第7天時乙烯生成量相較於對照組高出甚多，植株根部會因失水導致活力的喪失及乾癟，且根部活力隨天數的增加而下降，經模擬貯運5、7及10天之文心蘭根部活性會由原本的1.56 O.D./g分別降低為1.01 O.D./g、0.92 O.D./g及0.89 O.D./g。模擬貯運過程中假球莖全可溶性糖含量會依天數增加而增加，於第10天時為44.93%DW。而假球莖中澱粉含量則依天數增加而減少。分析ACC生成及ACO活性在模擬貯運第7天時皆高於對照組。試驗中之結果顯示黑暗模擬貯運及缺水逆境會對文心蘭裸根植株的品質及老化上造成莫大的影響。本試驗主要探討文心蘭野貓品種Colmanara Wildcat 裸根黑暗模擬貯運不同天數後對生理及形態之影響。文心蘭野貓Colmanara Wildcat經裸根模擬貯運0、5、7及10天，結果顯示，於第7天時乙烯生成量相較於對照組高出甚多，植株根部會因失水導致活力的喪失及乾癟，且根部活力隨天數的增加而下降，經模擬貯運5、7及10天之文心蘭根部活性會由原本的1.56 O.D./g分別降低為1.01 O.D./g、0.92 O.D./g及0.89 O.D./g。模擬貯運過程中假球莖全可溶性糖含量會依天數增加而增加，於第10天時為44.93%DW。而假球莖中澱粉含量則依天數增加而減少。分析ACC生成及ACO活性在模擬貯運第7天時皆高於對照組。試驗中之結果顯示黑暗模擬貯運及缺水逆境會對文心蘭裸根植株的品質及老化上造成莫大的影響

On the Infra-Red Spectra of Solutions of O-Chlorophenol and Phenol

<p><b>a–d Immunoblotting of different proteins in control and study groups of gastric adenocarcinoma.</b> (a) Representative immunoblots of different target proteins in gastric epithelium of the control and study groups (from patients 1 to 4) with GAPDH as a loading control. M, marker. Relative protein abundance of NKA α1 (b), NKA β1 (c), and E-cadherin (d) in gastric epithelium of the control and study groups. The asterisks indicate a significant difference between the control and study groups. Values were expressed as the means ± SEM. A.u., arbitrary unit. ***, P < 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001.</p

High-level expression and molecular characterization of a recombinant prolidase from Escherichia coli NovaBlue

Long-term use of organophosphorus (OP) compounds has become an increasing global problem and a major threat to sustainability and human health. Prolidase is a proline-specific metallopeptidase that can offer an efficient option for the degradation of OP compounds. In this study, a full-length gene from Escherichia coli NovaBlue encoding a prolidase (EcPepQ) was amplified and cloned into the commercially-available vector pQE-30 to yield pQE-EcPepQ. The overexpressed enzyme was purified from the cell-free extract of isopropyl thio-β-D-galactoside IPTG-induced E. coli M15 (pQE-EcPepQ) cells by nickel-chelate chromatography. The molecular mass of EcPepQ was determined to be about 57 kDa by 12% sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the result of size-exclusion chromatography demonstrated that the enzyme was mainly present in 25 mM Tris–HCl buffer (pH 8.0) as a dimeric form. The optimal conditions for EcPepQ activity were 60 °C, pH 8.0, and 0.1 mM Mn2+ ion. Kinetic analysis with Ala-Pro as the substrate showed that the Km and kcat values of EcPepQ were 8.8 mM and 926.5 ± 2.0 s−1, respectively. The thermal unfolding of EcPepQ followed a two-state process with one well-defined unfolding transition of 64.2 °C. Analysis of guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl)-induced denaturation by tryptophan emission fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that the enzyme had a [GdnHCl]0.5,N-U value of 1.98 M. The purified enzyme also exhibited some degree of tolerance to various water/organic co-solvents. Isopropanol and tetrahydrofuran were very detrimental to the enzymatic activity of EcPepQ; however, other more hydrophilic co-solvents, such as formamide, methanol, and ethylene glycol, were better tolerated. Eventually, the non-negative influence of some co-solvents on both catalytic activity and structural stability of EcPepQ allows to adjust the reaction conditions more suitable for EcPepQ-catalyzed bioprocess

Effective attenuation of acute lung injury in vivo and the formyl peptide-induced neutrophil activation in vitro by CYL-26z through the phosphoinositide 3-kinase gamma pathway

b i o c h e m i c a l p h a r m a c o l o g y 7 2 ( 2 0 0 6 ) 7 4 9 -7 6 0 a r t i c l e i n f o 8.4 AE 0.9 mM and 2.0 AE 0.6 mM, respectively). CYL-26z had no effect on superoxide anio

Authoritarianism in the Living Room: Everyday Disciplines, Senses, and Morality in Taiwan’s Military Villages

With the nationalist government – Kuomintang (KMT) – retreating from mainland China in 1949, some 600,000 military personnel relocated to Taiwan. The military seized former Japanese colonial properties and built its own settlements, establishing temporary military dependents’ villages called juancun (眷村). When the prospect of counter-attacking the mainland vanished, the KMT had to face the reality of settling permanently in Taiwan. How, then, did the KMT’s authoritarian power enter the everyday lives of its own support group? In this article I will focus on the coercive elements of KMT authoritarianism, which permeated these military villages in Taiwan. I will look at the coercive mechanisms through the analytical lens of Foucauldian discipline. I argue that disciplinary techniques such as surveillance, disciplining of the body and the senses, as well as the creation of morality regimes played an important role in the cooptation of village residents into KMT authoritarianism by normalising and naturalising it

The efficacy and safety of Yupingfeng Powder with variation in the treatment of allergic rhinitis: Study protocol for a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an upper airways chronic inflammatory disease mediated by IgE, which affects 10%–20% of the population. The mainstay for allergic rhinitis nowadays include steroids and antihistamines, but their effects are less than ideal. Many patients therefore seek Chinese medicine for treatment and Yupingfeng Powder is one of the most common formulae prescribed. In this study, we aim to investigate the efficacy and safety of Yupingfeng Powder with variation for the treatment of allergic rhinitis.Study design: This is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. A 2-week screening period will be implemented, and then eligible subjects with allergic rhinitis will receive interventions of either “Yupingfeng Powder with variation” granules or placebo granules for 8 weeks, followed by post treatment visits at weeks 12 and 16. The change in the Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS) will be used as the primary outcome.Discussion: This trail will evaluate the efficacy and safety of Yupingfeng Powder in treating allergic rhinitis. The study may provide the solid evidence of Yupingfeng Powder with variation can produce better clinical efficacy than the placebo granules.Trial registration:ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT04976023

Safety Issues of Long-Term Glucose Load in Patients on Peritoneal Dialysis—A 7-Year Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Effects of long-term glucose load on peritoneal dialysis (PD) patient safety and outcomes have seldom been reported. This study demonstrates the influence of long-term glucose load on patient and technique survival. METHODS: We surveyed 173 incident PD patients. Long-term glucose load was evaluated by calculating the average dialysate glucose concentration since initiation of PD. Risk factors were assessed by fitting Cox's models with repeatedly measured time-dependent covariates. RESULTS: We noted that older age, higher glucose concentration, and lower residual renal function (RRF) were significantly associated with a worse patient survival. We found that female gender, absence of diabetes, lower glucose concentration, use of icodextrin, higher serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and higher RRF were significantly associated with a better technique survival. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term glucose load predicted mortality and technique failure in chronic PD patients. These findings emphasize the importance of minimizing glucose load in PD patients

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012

A Novel Peptide Enhances Therapeutic Efficacy of Liposomal Anti-Cancer Drugs in Mice Models of Human Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. The lack of tumor specificity remains a major drawback for effective chemotherapies and results in dose-limiting toxicities. However, a ligand-mediated drug delivery system should be able to render chemotherapy more specific to tumor cells and less toxic to normal tissues. In this study, we isolated a novel peptide ligand from a phage-displayed peptide library that bound to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines. The targeting phage bound to several NSCLC cell lines but not to normal cells. Both the targeting phage and the synthetic peptide recognized the surgical specimens of NSCLC with a positive rate of 75% (27 of 36 specimens). In severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice bearing NSCLC xenografts, the targeting phage specifically bound to tumor masses. The tumor homing ability of the targeting phage was inhibited by the cognate synthetic peptide, but not by a control or a WTY-mutated peptide. When the targeting peptide was coupled to liposomes carrying doxorubicin or vinorelbine, the therapeutic index of the chemotherapeutic agents and the survival rates of mice with human lung cancer xenografts markedly increased. Furthermore, the targeting liposomes increased drug accumulation in tumor tissues by 5.7-fold compared with free drugs and enhanced cancer cell apoptosis resulting from a higher concentration of bioavailable doxorubicin. The current study suggests that this tumor-specific peptide may be used to create chemotherapies specifically targeting tumor cells in the treatment of NSCLC and to design targeted gene transfer vectors or it may be used one in the diagnosis of this malignancy