Cloning and functional characterization of a complex endo-beta-1,3-glucanase from Paenibacillus sp

A beta-1,3-glucanase gene, encoding a protein of 1,793 amino acids, was cloned from a strain of Paenibacillus sp. in this study. This large protein, designated as LamA, consists of many putative functional units, which include, from N to C terminus, a leader peptide, three repeats of the S-layer homologous module, a catalytic module of glycoside hydrolase family 16, four repeats of the carbohydrate-binding module of family CBM_4_9, and an analogue of coagulation factor Fa5/8C. Several truncated proteins, composed of the catalytic module with various organizations of the appended modules, were successfully expressed and characterized in this study. Data indicated that the catalytic module specifically hydrolyze beta-1,3- and beta-1,3-1,4-glucans. Also, laminaritriose was the major product upon endolytic hydrolysis of laminarin. The CBM repeats and Fa5/8C analogue substantially enhanced the hydrolyzing activity of the catalytic module, particularly toward insoluble complex substrates, suggesting their modulating functions in the enzymatic activity of LamA. Carbohydrate-binding assay confirmed the binding capabilities of the CBM repeats and Fa5/8C analogue to beta-1,3-, beta-1,3-1,4-, and even beta-1,4-glucans. These appended modules also enhanced the inhibition effect of the catalytic module on the growth of Candida albicans and Rhizoctonia solani

New Steganographic Techniques for the OOXML File Format

Part 2: WorkshopInternational audienceThe simplest container of digital information is the file and among the vast array of files currently available, MS-Office files are the most widely used. The “Microsoft Compound Document File Format” (MCDFF) has often been used to host secret information. The new format created by Microsoft, first used with MS-Office 2007, makes use of a new standard, the “Office Open XML Formats” (OOXML). The benefits include that the new format introduces the OOXML format, which lowers the risk of information leakage, as well as the use of MS-Office files as containers for steganography.This work presents some new methods of embedding information into the OOXML file format which can be extremely useful when using MS-Office documents in steganography. The authors highlight how the new methods introduced in this paper can also be used in many other scenarios, not only in MS-Office documents. An evaluation of the limits of the proposed methods is carried out by comparing them against the tool introduced by Microsoft to sanitize MS-Office files. The methods presented can be combined in order to extend the amount of data to be hidden in a single cover file

Traffic restrictions during the 2008 Olympic Games reduced urban heat intensity and extent in Beijing

Satellite thermal remote sensing has been utilized to examine the urban heat dynamics in relation to the urban traffic restriction policy. During the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the traffic volume was approximately cut off by half through the road space rationing. Based on daily MODIS satellite thermal observations on the surface temperature, statistical models were developed to analyze the contribution of traffic volume reduction to the urban heat intensity and spatial extent. Our analyses show that cutting off half of the traffic volume has led to a marked decrease in the mean surface temperature by 1.5–2.4 °C and shrinkage of the heat extent by 820 km2 in Beijing. This research suggests that the impact of urban traffic on heat intensity is considerably larger than previously thought, and the management of urban traffic and vehicle fossil fuel use should be included in the future urban heat mitigation plan

Magnetic properties and switching volumes of nanocrystalline SmFeSiC films

Systematic studies of the effects of Si addition on the magnetic and magnetization reversal properties of SmFeSiC films are presented. The magnetic switching volume and other magnetic parameters (e.g., coercivity) are strongly dependent upon the Si content. Correlations between switching volume, coercivity, and the intergrain interactions are discussed

Structurally and elementally promoted nanomaterials for photocatalysis

EditorialTian-Yi Ma, Zhan-Ying Zhang, Jian-Liang Cao, Luminita Andronic, Yong Ma, and Lei Li

An online position error correction method for sensorless control of permanent magnet synchronous machine with parameter mismatch

To eliminate the influence of parameter mismatch for fundamental model based sensorless methods, an effective online position error correction method is proposed for permanent magnet synchronous machines in this paper. Based on the derived position error mechanism, i.e. the error varies proportionally to the dq -axis currents, the proposed method injects a sinusoidal current signal with a small amplitude and low frequency into the d - or q -axis current for a short period. During injection, the corresponding sinusoidal response for current injection can be acquired from the estimated speed of the sensorless position observer. It is found that the amplitude of the response in the estimated speed decreases as the parameter mismatch reduces, and eventually reaches a minimum if there is no parameter mismatch. Thus, by applying the least mean square (LMS) algorithm, the amplitude of the response in the estimated speed can be minimised as the parameters are adaptively adjusted to the actual values, and then the position error can be corrected. The proposed method is validated through experiments on a permanent magnet generator drive system

Characterization of the monoclonal antibody against classical swine fever virus glycoprotein E-rns and its application to an indirect sandwich ELISA

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) E-rns is an envelope glycoprotein possessing RNase activity. The E-rns-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been considered a discriminating diagnostic test for differentiating infected from vaccinated animals. The purpose of this study was to produce a specific monoclonal antibody (MAb) to E-rns for further developing an indirect sandwich ELISA. The MAb CW813 was shown to specifically recognize both the monomer and dimer forms of Pichia pastoris yeast-expressed E-rns (yE(rns)). The antigenic site recognized by MAb CW813 was mapped to the region of amino acid residues 101-160 of E-rns where it was neither a neutralizing epitope nor essential to RNase activity. Furthermore, MAb CW813 was utilized as a capture antibody to develop a yE(rns)-based indirect sandwich ELISA for detecting swine antibody to E-rns. The assay demonstrated a high sensitivity and specificity that may provide an alternative method for developing a diagnostic kit with easy manipulation and low cost

SORLA attenuates EphA4 signaling and amyloid, β-induced neurodegeneration

Sortilin-related receptor with LDLR class A repeats (SORLA, SORL1, or LR11) is a genetic risk factor associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although SORLA is known to regulate trafficking of the amyloid {beta} (A{beta}) precursor protein to decrease levels of proteotoxic A{beta} oligomers, whether SORLA can counteract synaptic dysfunction induced by A{beta} oligomers remains unclear. Here, we show that SORLA interacts with the EphA4 receptor tyrosine kinase and attenuates ephrinA1 ligand-induced EphA4 clustering and activation to limit downstream effects of EphA4 signaling in neurons. Consistent with these findings, SORLA transgenic mice, compared with WT mice, exhibit decreased EphA4 activation and redistribution to postsynaptic densities, with milder deficits in long-term potentiation and memory induced by A{beta} oligomers. Importantly, we detected elevated levels of active EphA4 in human AD brains, where EphA4 activation is inversely correlated with SORLA/EphA4 association. These results demonstrate a novel role for SORLA as a physiological and pathological EphA4 modulator, which attenuates synaptotoxic EphA4 activation and cognitive impairment associated with A{beta}-induced neurodegeneration in AD