Ni/HZSM-5 catalyst preparation by deposition-precipitation. Part 2. Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation reactions of lignin model compounds in organic and aqueous systems

Nickel metal supported on HZSM-5 (zeolite) is a promising catalyst for lignin depolymerization. In this work, the ability of catalysts prepared via deposition-precipitation (DP) to perform hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) on two lignin model compounds in organic and aqueous solvents was evaluated; guaiacol in dodecane and 2-phenoxy-1-phenylethanol (PPE) in aqueous solutions. All Ni/HZSM-5 catalysts were capable of guaiacol HDO into cyclohexane at 523 K. The role of the HZSM-5 acid sites was confirmed by comparison with Ni/SiO2 (inert support) which exhibited incomplete deoxygenation of guaiacol due to the inability to perform the cyclohexanol dehydration step. The catalyst prepared with 15 wt% Ni, a DP time of 16 h, and a calcination temperature of 673 K (Ni(15)/HZSM-5 DP16_Cal673), performed the guaiacol conversion with the greatest selectivity towards HDO products, with an intrinsic rate ratio (HDO rate to conversion rate) of 0.31, and 90% selectivity to cyclohexane. Catalytic activity and selectivity of Ni/HZSM-5 (15 wt%) in aqueous environments (water and 0.1 M NaOH solution) was confirmed using PPE reactions at 523 K. After 30 min reaction time in water, Ni/HZSM-5 exhibited ~100% conversion of PPE, and good yield of the desired products; ethylbenzene and phenol (~35% and 23% of initial carbon, respectively). Ni/HZSM-5 in NaOH solution resulted in significantly higher ring saturation compared to the Ni/HZSM-5 in water or the NaOH solution control

Clinical mastitis in cows treated with sometribove (recombinant bovine somatotropin) and its relationship to milk yield.

Effect of sometribove (methionyl bovine somatotropin) on mastitis in 15 full lactation trials (914 cows) in Europe and the US and 70 short-term studies (2697 cows) in eight countries was investigated. In full lactation studies, sometribove (500 mg/2 wk) was given for 252 d, commencing 60 d postpartum. Although herds varied considerably, incidence of clinical mastitis within a herd was similar for cows receiving control and sometribove treatments. Relative risk analyses indicated no treatment effect, and percentage of mastitis during treatment was similar for control and sometribove groups. A positive linear relationship existed between peak milk yield and mastitis incidence (percentage of cows contracting mastitis or cases per 100 cow days); sometribove treatment did not alter this relationship. Increases in mastitis related to milk yield increase from sometribove or related to genetic selection were similar. When expressed per unit of milk, mastitis incidence declined slightly as milk yield increased; this relationship was not altered by sometribove. No effect on clinical mastitis was observed in 70 commercial herds utilizing sometribove for 84 d. However, effects were significant for stage of lactation and milk yield. Overall, studies represented a wide range of research and commercial situations demonstrating that sometribove had no effect on incidence of clinical mastitis during the lactation of treatment. Furthermore, sometribove did not alter typical relationships between milk yield or herd factors and incidence of clinical mastitis

Identification and validation of novel biomarkers and therapeutics for pulpitis using connectivity mapping

International audienceAim To create an irreversible pulpitis gene signature from microarray data of healthy and inflamed dental pulps, followed by a bioinformatics approach using connectivity mapping to identify therapeutic compounds that could potentially treat pulpitis. Methodology The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, an international public repositor

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Large-scale sequencing identifies multiple genes and rare variants associated with Crohn's disease susceptibility

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified hundreds of loci associated with Crohn's disease (CD). However, as with all complex diseases, robust identification of the genes dysregulated by noncoding variants typically driving GWAS discoveries has been challenging. Here, to complement GWASs and better define actionable biological targets, we analyzed sequence data from more than 30,000 patients with CD and 80,000 population controls. We directly implicate ten genes in general onset CD for the first time to our knowledge via association to coding variation, four of which lie within established CD GWAS loci. In nine instances, a single coding variant is significantly associated, and in the tenth, ATG4C, we see additionally a significantly increased burden of very rare coding variants in CD cases. In addition to reiterating the central role of innate and adaptive immune cells as well as autophagy in CD pathogenesis, these newly associated genes highlight the emerging role of mesenchymal cells in the development and maintenance of intestinal inflammation.Large-scale sequence-based analyses identify novel risk variants and susceptibility genes for Crohn's disease, and implicate mesenchymal cell-mediated intestinal homeostasis in disease etiology.Cellular mechanisms in basic and clinical gastroenterology and hepatolog