Effect of the presence of surfactant and ionic liquids on the esterification of oleic acid catalyzed by immobilized lipase

Ionic liquids (ILs) and surfactants are widely used in order to increase the catalytic efficiency of lipases. In this sense, the present study aimed to evaluate the potential of different ionic liquids (C4MIM.Ac, C4MIM.HSO4, C4MIM.TF2N, C4MIM.BF4, C12MIM.I, and C12MIM.Cl), Aliquat 336 and di-2-ethylhexyl sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT) as adjuvants in the esterification of oleic acid with different alcohols catalyzed by Novozyme 435. First of all, it evaluates the effect of alkyl chain length of the alcohol and the positioning of the hydroxyl group. The selection of additives, made with isopropyl alcohol, pointed AOT and C4MIM.Ac as adjuvants effective on the potential of esterification of the enzyme (an increase of 35% in the potential of esterification). Using methanol, ethanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol, the C4MIM.Ac was proven not to be efficient, while the AOT shows adjuvant effect in the esterification of oleic acid with methanol (increasing in catalytic efficiency of enzyme in 21%).Key words: Esterification, di-2-ethylhexyl sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT), Ionic Liquids, Novozyme 435

The Eag potassium channel as a new prognostic marker in ovarian cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ovarian cancer is the second most common cancer of the female genital tract in the United Kingdom (UK), accounting for 6% of female deaths due to cancer. This cancer is associated with poor survival and there is a need for new treatments in addition to existing chemotherapy to improve survival. Potassium (K⁺) channels have been shown to be overexpressed in various cancers where they appear to play a role in cell proliferation and progression.</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>To determine the expression of the potassium channels Eag and HERG in ovarian cancer tissue and to assess their role in cell proliferation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The expression of Eag and HERG potassium channels was examined in an ovarian cancer tissue microarray. Their role in cell proliferation was investigated by blocking voltage-gated potassium channels in an ovarian cancer cell line (SK-OV-3).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show for the first time that high expression of Eag channels in ovarian cancer patients is significantly associated with poor survival (P = 0.016) unlike HERG channel expression where there was no correlation with survival. There was also a significant association of Eag staining with high tumour grade (P = 0.014) and presence of residual disease (P = 0.011). Proliferation of SK-OV-3 cells was significantly (P < 0.001) inhibited after treatment with voltage gated K⁺channel blockers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This novel finding demonstrates a role for Eag as a prognostic marker for survival in patients with ovarian cancer.</p

Molecular phylogenetics and temporal diversification in the genus Aeromonas based on the sequences of five housekeeping genes

Several approaches have been developed to estimate both the relative and absolute rates of speciation and extinction within clades based on molecular phylogenetic reconstructions of evolutionary relationships, according to an underlying model of diversification. However, the macroevolutionary models established for eukaryotes have scarcely been used with prokaryotes. We have investigated the rate and pattern of cladogenesis in the genus Aeromonas (γ-Proteobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteria) using the sequences of five housekeeping genes and an uncorrelated relaxed-clock approach. To our knowledge, until now this analysis has never been applied to all the species described in a bacterial genus and thus opens up the possibility of establishing models of speciation from sequence data commonly used in phylogenetic studies of prokaryotes. Our results suggest that the genus Aeromonas began to diverge between 248 and 266 million years ago, exhibiting a constant divergence rate through the Phanerozoic, which could be described as a pure birth process