Comparison of biochemical activities between high and low lipid-producing strains of Mucor circinelloides: An explanation for the high oleaginicity of strain WJ11

© 2015 Tang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The oleaginous fungus, Mucor circinelloides, is one of few fungi that produce high amounts of γ-linolenic acid (GLA); however, it usually only produces +:isocitrate dehydrogenase and NADP NADP+:isocitrate dehydrogenase, however, were 43% and 54%, respectively, lower in WJ11 than in CBS 277.49 and may retard the tricarboxylic acid cycle and thereby provide more substrate for ATP:citrate lyase (ACL) to produce acetyl-CoA. Also, the activities of ACL and fatty acid synthase in the high lipid-producing strain, WJ11, were 25% and 56%, respectively, greater than in strain CBS 277.49. These enzymes may therefore cooperatively regulate the fatty acid biosynthesis in these two strains.Peer Reviewe

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of multiple doses of BG00010, a neurotrophic factor with anti-hyperalgesic effects, in patients with sciatica

AIMS: BG00010 is a protein in the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family. It is a selective ligand for the GDNF family receptor alpha-3 (GFRα3) co-receptor that normalizes cellular changes resulting from damage or disease, and potentially alleviates neuropathic pain. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the pharmacokinetic and safety profiles and to determine the effects on pain of ascending doses of intravenous injections of BG00010 in patients with sciatica.METHODS: This was a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled multiple-dose study in subjects with sciatica. In Part I (16 patients), four IV dose levels were examined (50, 150, 400, 800 μg kg(-1) ) and in Part II (12 patients), three dose levels were examined (400, 600 and 1200 μg kg(-1) ). Safety and efficacy assessments were used as endpoints.RESULTS: The BG00010 concentration-time data indicated relatively low inter-patient variability and there was a dose-dependent (not dose-proportional) increase in serum exposure from 150 to 1200 μg kg(-1) . The effective half-life was between 40 and 60 h. The most frequently occurring adverse events (AEs) reported by patients receiving BG00010 were headache (67-83%), feeling hot (50-100%), and pruritus (42-67%). Most AEs were mild; no serious AEs or AEs leading to discontinuation occurred. Higher dose regimens of BG00010 resulted in greater pain reduction than placebo or lower dose regimens, although a clear dose-response relationship was not seen.CONCLUSIONS: The pharmacokinetic profile of BG00010 was characterized by low intra-patient variability. These data from a small sample suggest that BG00010 may have a benefit for patients with sciatica.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00961766 NCT01405833.Perioperative Medicine: Efficacy, Safety and Outcom

Mapping of periodically poled crystals via spontaneous parametric down-conversion

A new method for characterization of periodically poled crystals is developed based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion. The method is demonstrated on crystals of Y:LiNbO3, Mg:Y:LiNbO3 with non-uniform periodically poled structures, obtained directly under Czochralski growth procedure and designed for application of OPO in the mid infrared range. Infrared dispersion of refractive index, effective working periods and wavelengths of OPO were determined by special treatment of frequency-angular spectra of spontaneous parametric down-conversion in the visible range. Two-dimensional mapping via spontaneous parametric down-conversion is proposed for characterizing spatial distribution of bulk quasi-phase matching efficiency across the input window of a periodically poled sample.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figure

Theory of spin-polarized bipolar transport in magnetic p-n junctions

The interplay between spin and charge transport in electrically and magnetically inhomogeneous semiconductor systems is investigated theoretically. In particular, the theory of spin-polarized bipolar transport in magnetic p-n junctions is formulated, generalizing the classic Shockley model. The theory assumes that in the depletion layer the nonequilibrium chemical potentials of spin up and spin down carriers are constant and carrier recombination and spin relaxation are inhibited. Under the general conditions of an applied bias and externally injected (source) spin, the model formulates analytically carrier and spin transport in magnetic p-n junctions at low bias. The evaluation of the carrier and spin densities at the depletion layer establishes the necessary boundary conditions for solving the diffusive transport equations in the bulk regions separately, thus greatly simplifying the problem. The carrier and spin density and current profiles in the bulk regions are calculated and the I-V characteristics of the junction are obtained. It is demonstrated that spin injection through the depletion layer of a magnetic p-n junction is not possible unless nonequilibrium spin accumulates in the bulk regions--either by external spin injection or by the application of a large bias. Implications of the theory for majority spin injection across the depletion layer, minority spin pumping and spin amplification, giant magnetoresistance, spin-voltaic effect, biasing electrode spin injection, and magnetic drift in the bulk regions are discussed in details, and illustrated using the example of a GaAs based magnetic p-n junction.Comment: 36 pages, 11 figures, 2 table

A Diffractive Study of Parametric Process in Nonlinear Photonic Crystals

We report a general description of quasi-phase-matched parametric process in nonlinear photonic crystals (NLPC) by extending the conventional X-ray diffraction theory in solids. Under the virtual wave approximation, phase-matching resonance is equivalent to the diffraction of the scattered virtual wave. Hence a modified NLPC Ewald construction can be built up, which illustrates the nature of the accident for the diffraction of the virtual wave in NLPC and further reveals the complete set of diffractions of the virtual wave for both of the air-dielectric and dielectric-dielectric contacts. We show the two basic linear sequences, the anti-stacking and para-stacking linear sequences, in one-dimension (1D) NLPC and present a general rule for multiple phase-matching resonances in 1D NLPC. The parameters affecting the NLPC structure factor are investigated, which indicate that not only the Ewald construction but also the relative NLPC atom size together determine whether a diffraction of the virtual wave can occur in 2D NLPC. The results also show that 1D NLPC is a better choice than 2D NLPC for a single parametric process

Measurements of the Mass and Full-Width of the ηc\eta_c Meson

In a sample of 58 million $J/\psi$ events collected with the BES II detector, the process J/$\psi\to\gamma\eta_c$ is observed in five different decay channels: $\gamma K^+K^-\pi^+\pi^-$, $\gamma\pi^+\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-$, $\gamma K^\pm K^0_S \pi^\mp$ (with $K^0_S\to\pi^+\pi^-$), $\gamma \phi\phi$ (with $\phi\to K^+K^-$) and $\gamma p\bar{p}$. From a combined fit of all five channels, we determine the mass and full-width of $\eta_c$ to be $m_{\eta_c}=2977.5\pm1.0 ({stat.})\pm1.2 ({syst.})$ MeV/$c^2$ and $\Gamma_{\eta_c} = 17.0\pm3.7 ({stat.})\pm7.4 ({syst.})$ MeV/$c^2$.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures and 4 table. Submitted to Phys. Lett.

Search for the Rare Decays J/Psi --> Ds- e+ nu_e, J/Psi --> D- e+ nu_e, and J/Psi --> D0bar e+ e-

We report on a search for the decays J/Psi --> Ds- e+ nu_e + c.c., J/Psi --> D- e+ nu_e + c.c., and J/Psi --> D0bar e+ e- + c.c. in a sample of 5.8 * 10^7 J/Psi events collected with the BESII detector at the BEPC. No excess of signal above background is observed, and 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions are set: B(J/Psi --> Ds- e+ nu_e + c.c.)<4.8*10^-5, B(J/Psi --> D- e+ nu_e + c.c.) D0bar e+ e- + c.c.)<1.1*10^-5Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Direct Measurements of the Branching Fractions for D0→K−e+νeD^0 \to K^-e^+\nu_e and D0→π−e+νeD^0 \to \pi^-e^+\nu_e and Determinations of the Form Factors f+K(0)f_{+}^{K}(0) and f+π(0)f^{\pi}_{+}(0)

The absolute branching fractions for the decays $D^0 \to K^-e ^+\nu_e$ and $D^0 \to \pi^-e^+\nu_e$ are determined using $7584\pm 198 \pm 341$ singly tagged $\bar D^0$ sample from the data collected around 3.773 GeV with the BES-II detector at the BEPC. In the system recoiling against the singly tagged $\bar D^0$ meson, $104.0\pm 10.9$ events for $D^0 \to K^-e ^+\nu_e$ and $9.0 \pm 3.6$ events for $D^0 \to \pi^-e^+\nu_e$ decays are observed. Those yield the absolute branching fractions to be $BF(D^0 \to K^-e^+\nu_e)=(3.82 \pm 0.40\pm 0.27)$ and $BF(D^0 \to \pi^-e^+\nu_e)=(0.33 \pm 0.13\pm 0.03)$. The vector form factors are determined to be $|f^K_+(0)| = 0.78 \pm 0.04 \pm 0.03$ and $|f^{\pi}_+(0)| = 0.73 \pm 0.14 \pm 0.06$. The ratio of the two form factors is measured to be $|f^{\pi}_+(0)/f^K_+(0)|= 0.93 \pm 0.19 \pm 0.07$.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Study of J/psi decays to Lambda Lambdabar and Sigma0 Sigma0bar

The branching ratios and Angular distributions for J/psi decays to Lambda Lambdabar and Sigma0 Sigma0bar are measured using BESII 58 million J/psi.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Measurements of J/psi Decays into 2(pi+pi-)eta and 3(pi+pi-)eta

Based on a sample of 5.8X 10^7 J/psi events taken with the BESII detector, the branching fractions of J/psi--> 2(pi+pi-)eta and J/psi-->3(pi+pi-)eta are measured for the first time to be (2.26+-0.08+-0.27)X10^{-3} and (7.24+-0.96+-1.11)X10^{-4}, respectively.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure