Production of curcuminoids from tyrosine by a metabolically engineered Escherichia coli using caffeic acid as an intermediate

Curcuminoids are phenylpropanoids with high pharmaceutical potential. Herein, we report an engineered artificial pathway in Escherichia coli to produce natural curcuminoids through caffeic acid. Arabidopsis thaliana 4-coumaroyl-CoA ligase (4CL1) and Curcuma longa diketide-CoA synthase (DCS) and curcumin synthase (CURS1) were used to produce curcuminoids and 70 mg/L of curcumin was obtained from ferulic acid. Bisdemethoxycurcumin and demethoxycurcumin were also produced, but in lower concentrations, by feeding p-coumaric acid or a mixture of p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid, respectively. Additionally, curcuminoids were produced from tyrosine through the caffeic acid pathway. To produce caffeic acid, tyrosine ammonia lyase (TAL) from Rhodotorula glutinis and 4-coumarate 3-hydroxylase (C3H) from Saccharothrix espanaensis were used. Caffeoyl-CoA 3-O-methyltransferase (CCoAOMT) from Medicago sativa was used to convert caffeoyl-CoA to feruloyl-CoA. Using caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid or tyrosine as a substrate, 3.9 mg/L, 0.3 mg/L and 0.2 mg/L of curcumin were produced, respectively. This is the first time DCS and CURS1 were used in vivo to produce curcuminoids and that curcumin was produced by feeding tyrosine. We have shown that curcumin can be produced using a pathway through caffeic acid. This alternative pathway represents a step forward in the heterologous production of curcumin using E. coli.This work was supported by FEDER funds through the COMPETE and ON2 program and through National funds of FCT in the scope of the project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462, PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013, NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000028, and NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000027. Financial support for this work was provided by FCT grant SFRH/BD/51187/2010 and SYNBIOBACTHER project (PTDC/EBB-BIO/102863/2008)

Thermal properties of highly birefringent optical fibres and preforms

Temperature cycling of highly birefringent optical fibers and preforms has been used to investigate the thermal properties of bow-tie and elliptically clad structures. The thermal hysteresis of the birefringence is shown to be a direct consequence of the thermal history of the fiber or preform and has been related to volume changes in the stress-producing borosilicate sections. Annealing increases the axial stress as well as the stress anisotropy and hence the birefringence. Increases of up to a factor of 2 in the birefringence on suitable thermal treatment indicate a new method for further improvement of high birefringence fibers. The implications of the results in the design, fabrication, and use of such fibers are discussed

Tuberculosis Suspect in the Companies in Semarang District Indonesia; Case-Control Study

In Semarang district, the population at the companies were 83120 workers. The number of smear positive cases in 2011 were 258 and 3898 suspected tuberculosis. Case-control study was conducted to analyze the risk of TB suspect infection among workers in the factory. We recruited 194 suspects and 197 controls who visited the factory clinic. The most common symptom was coughing with sputum (63 %) and then followed by malaise, chest pain, sweating at night, weight loss, dyspnea, anorexia, cough more than 2 weeks, sub febris and hemoptoe. Around 47 % both of the suspects and controls don't know received Bacillus Calmette-guérin (BCG) or not. The multivariate analysis showed the dominant factors that influence the occurrence of TB suspect, “education”, “income”, “ashamed of having TB”, “TB treatment is very costly”, and “share dish”.distribution of health education booklet to teachers and parents

Picture of the low-dimensional structure in chaotic dripping faucets

Chaotic dynamics of the dripping faucet was investigated both experimentally and theoretically. We measured continuous change in drop position and velocity using a high-speed camera. Continuous trajectories of a low-dimensional chaotic attractor were reconstructed from these data, which was not previously obtained but predicted in our fluid dynamic simulation. From the simulation, we further obtained an approximate potential function with only two variables, the drop mass and its position of the center of mass. The potential landscape helps one to understand intuitively how the dripping dynamics can exhibit low-dimensional chaos.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Ultraviolet Laser Oscillations of Multiple Ionized Ions in Z-Pinch Discharge

Pulse laser oscillations from multiple ionized N, O and rare gases were observed in the ultraviolet region for the Z-pinch discharge. Optimum value of gas pressure, oscillation time and its pressure dependence were examined for laser oscillations. It has been found that oscillations from different ions occur in the increasing order of ionization after the breakdown of discharge. The line Aril λ4765 A showed an anomalous behavior. Calculation is made on two different models for ionization and excitation of plasma. The first one is concerned with ionization and excitation by thermal electrons during plasma compression. The second one is concerned with direct excitation of laser oscillation by runaway electrons. The calculation based on the former explains the temporal sequence of laser oscillations ; and that on the latter explains the anomalous behavior of ArII λ4765 A line

Computer Aided Design of Thyristor Phase-Control Circuits

The paper presents the computer aided design (CAD) method, the program, the design and the experimental results of inverse parallel thyristor phase control circuits. The calculated values agree well with the measured. The CAD program contains the next two methods which are inquired carefully by authors, such as (i) the optimization by SUMT (Sequential Unconstrained Minimization Technique) method, and (ii) the combined use of the gradient and the cramp calculation methods