Complete Sequencing and Pan-Genomic Analysis of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus Reveal Its Genetic Basis for Industrial Yogurt Production

Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (Lb. bulgaricus) is an important species of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) used for cheese and yogurt fermentation. The genome of Lb. bulgaricus 2038, an industrial strain mainly used for yogurt production, was completely sequenced and compared against the other two ATCC collection strains of the same subspecies. Specific physiological properties of strain 2038, such as lysine biosynthesis, formate production, aspartate-related carbon-skeleton intermediate metabolism, unique EPS synthesis and efficient DNA restriction/modification systems, are all different from those of the collection strains that might benefit the industrial production of yogurt. Other common features shared by Lb. bulgaricus strains, such as efficient protocooperation with Streptococcus thermophilus and lactate production as well as well-equipped stress tolerance mechanisms may account for it being selected originally for yogurt fermentation industry. Multiple lines of evidence suggested that Lb. bulgaricus 2038 was genetically closer to the common ancestor of the subspecies than the other two sequenced collection strains, probably due to a strict industrial maintenance process for strain 2038 that might have halted its genome decay and sustained a gene network suitable for large scale yogurt production

Collapse Potential of Loess under Unloading Effect

Collapsible loess is generally characterized by a sudden and substantial decrease in volume that occurs when is applied under constant stress. To evaluate the loess collapse potential, the self-weight collapse and collapse coefficients have been defined by the code for building construction in collapsible loess regions. However, the method in the code does not account for the vertical stress variation. The loess collapse process commonly occurs with stress variation in practice. This paper documents a low-cost, quantitative evaluation scheme using regression analysis to evaluate the loess collapse potential by varying the unloading levels. The results show that the factors that prominently account for loess collapse deformation are the initial pressure, unloading ratio, and collapse completed-ratio. At a constant collapse-completed ratio, the remnant collapse coefficient significantly decreases with the decreasing unloading ratio; at a constant unloading ratio, the remnant collapse coefficient increases with a decreasing collapse-completed ratio. Decreasing unloading and collapse-completed ratios decreased the loess collapse potential with an initial pressure that exceeds the threshold value. Finally, an unloading collapse deformation calculation of loess was prepared to analyze practical project problems of loess based on the unloading collapse test

Assessment of myofilament Ca²⁺sensitivity underlying cardiac excitation-contraction coupling

Heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias are the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. However, the mechanism of pathogenesis and myocardial malfunction in the diseased heart remains to be fully clarified. Recent compelling evidence demonstrates that changes in the myofilament Ca(2+) sensitivity affect intracellular Ca(2+) homeostasis and ion channel activities in cardiac myocytes, the essential mechanisms responsible for the cardiac action potential and contraction in healthy and diseased hearts. Indeed, activities of ion channels and transporters underlying cardiac action potentials (e.g., Na(+), Ca(2+) and K(+) channels and the Na(+)-Ca(2+) exchanger) and intracellular Ca(2+) handling proteins (e.g., ryanodine receptors and Ca(2+)-ATPase in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SERCA2a) or phospholamban and its phosphorylation) are conventionally measured to evaluate the fundamental mechanisms of cardiac excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling. Both electrical activities in the membrane and intracellular Ca(2+) changes are the trigger signals of E-C coupling, whereas myofilament is the functional unit of contraction and relaxation, and myofilament Ca(2+) sensitivity is imperative in the implementation of myofibril performance. Nevertheless, few studies incorporate myofilament Ca(2+) sensitivity into the functional analysis of the myocardium unless it is the focus of the study. Here, we describe a protocol that measures sarcomere shortening/re-lengthening and the intracellular Ca(2+) level using Fura-2 AM (ratiometric detection) and evaluate the changes of myofilament Ca(2+) sensitivity in cardiac myocytes from rat hearts. The main aim is to emphasize that myofilament Ca(2+) sensitivity should be taken into consideration in E-C coupling for mechanistic analysis. Comprehensive investigation of ion channels, ion transporters, intracellular Ca(2+) handling, and myofilament Ca(2+) sensitivity that underlie myocyte contractility in healthy and diseased hearts will provide valuable information for designing more effective strategies of translational and therapeutic value

System equilibration test using PCA analysis based on the serum metabolic profiling of QC samples in positive ion mode (A) and negative ion mode (B).

<p>System equilibration test using PCA analysis based on the serum metabolic profiling of QC samples in positive ion mode (A) and negative ion mode (B).</p

product ion spectrum of m/z 544 in positive mode and possible MS fragmentation mechanism.

<p>product ion spectrum of m/z 544 in positive mode and possible MS fragmentation mechanism.</p

Photomicrographs of liver tissues (HE×200).

<p>Photomicrographs of liver tissues (HE×200).</p