Beta-Cyclodextrins as Agents for Improved Protection Methods of Wood and Strand-Based Wood Composites

This study examined the feasibility of using (BETA)-cyclodextrins ((BETA)CDs), which are derived from starch, as agents to stabilize volatile and leachable biocides for the protection of wood and wood composites. The encapsulation of volatile natural antimicrobial compounds, such as allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) and essential oils (EOs), in βCDs was qualitatively confirmed by Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) method and the maximum inclusion yield was quantitatively estimated by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry (UV/VIS) while the partial fixation of leachable borates with βCD was confirmed by ATR-FTIR and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. The efficacy of the βCD complexes as wood preservatives of southern yellow pine and randomly Oriented Strand Board (OSB) was examined in soil block tests (AWPA E10-16 and E22-16 standard). The results indicate that (A) (BETA)CDs suppress the premature leaching of otherwise volatile natural compounds and suggest a novel approach to the application of volatile or water-immiscible natural preservatives for wood and wood composites protection; (B) (BETA)CD can be used as an agent for partial fixation of boric acid to form boric acid esters. However, the borate esters are susceptible to leach out after AWPA E11 test and not suitable for protection against Gloeophyllum trabeum and Postia placenta in outdoor conditions

Education and Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainability and sustainable development have been on the global political agenda since the end of the 1980s [...

Education and Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainability and sustainable development have been on the global political agenda since the end of the 1980s [...

Effect of Lixujieyu recipe in combination with Five Elements music therapy on chronic fatigue syndrome

AbstractObjectiveTo observe the clinical effects of the Lixujieyu recipe combined with Five Elements music therapy on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) identified as the symptom patterns of liver stagnation and spleen deficiency in terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine.MethodsPatients with CFS were randomly divided into treatment group 1 (Lixujieyu recipe combined with Gong-Tune, n = 15); treatment group 2 (Lixujieyu recipe combined with Jiao-Tune, n = 15); treatment group 3 (Lixujieyu recipe combined with Yu-Tune, n = 15); treatment group 4 (Lixujieyu recipe combined with Shang-Tune, n = 15); treatment group 5 (Lixujieyu recipe combined with Zhi-Tune, n = 15); and the control group (Lixujieyu recipe alone, n = 15). Chinese medicine was given twice daily, and music was listened to for 45 minutes daily, 5 days a week. All patients were treated for 4 weeks. Patients were assessed via the Fatigue Scale, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale before and after treatment.ResultsTreatment groups 1 and 2 had better effects on relieving the symptoms of physical fatigue related to anxiety and depression than the control group (P < 0.05).ConclusionLixujieyu recipe combined with Gong-Tune or Jiao-Tune significantly relieved the symptoms of CFS

Identification and characterization of microRNAs and endogenous siRNAs in Schistosoma japonicum

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Small endogenous non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) such as small interfering RNA (siRNA), microRNA and other small RNA transcripts are derived from distinct loci in the genome and play critical roles in RNA-mediated gene silencing mechanisms in plants and metazoa. They are approximately 22 nucleotides long; regulate mRNA stability through perfect or imperfect match to the targets. The biological activities of sncRNAs have been related to many biological events, from resistance to microbe infections to cellular differentiation. The development of the zoonotic parasite <it>Schistosoma japonicum </it>parasite includes multiple steps of morphological alterations and biological differentiations, which provide a unique model for studies on the functions of small RNAs. Characterization of the genome-wide transcription of the sncRNAs will be a major step in understanding of the parasite biology. The objective of this study is to investigate the transcriptional profile and potential function of the small non-coding RNAs in the development of <it>S. japanicum</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The endogenous siRNAs were found mainly derived from transposable elements (TE) or transposons and the natural antisense transcripts (NAT). In contrast to other organisms, the TE-derived siRNAs in <it>S. japonicum </it>were more predominant than other sncRNAs including microRNAs (miRNAs). Further, there were distinct length and 3'end variations in the sncRNAs, which were associated with the developmental differentiation of the parasite. Among the identified miRNA transcripts, there were 38 unique to <it>S. japonicum </it>and 16 that belonged to 13 miRNA families are common to other metazoan lineages. These miRNAs were either ubiquitously expressed, or they exhibited specific expression patterns related to the developmental stages or sex. Genes that encoded miRNAs are mainly located in clusters within the genome of <it>S. japonicum</it>. However, genes within one cluster could be differentially transcribed, which suggested that individual genes might be regulated by distinct mechanisms during parasite development.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Many miRNA and endogenous siRNA transcripts were identified in <it>S. japonicum </it>and the amount of siRNA was at least 4.4 and 1.6 times more than that of miRNA in both schistosomulum and adult worm stages respectively. SiRNAs are mainly derived from transposable elements (or transposons); while natural antisense transcripts (NAT)-derived siRNAs were much less. A majority of miRNA transcripts identified in the parasite were species-specific and the expression of certain miRNAs was found developmentally regulated. Both miRNA and siRNAs are potentially important regulators in the development of schistosomal parasites.</p

Efficient Convolutional Neural Network for FMCW Radar Based Hand Gesture Recognition

FMCW radar could detect object's range, speed and Angleof-Arrival, advantages are robust to bad weather, good range resolution, and good speed resolution. In this paper, we consider the FMCW radar as a novel interacting interface on laptop. We merge sequences of object's range, speed, azimuth information into single input, then feed to a convolution neural network to learn spatial and temporal patterns. Our model achieved 96% accuracy on test set and real-time test.Comment: Poster in Ubicomp 201

Purifikacija i svojstva kolagenolitičke proteaze proizvedene s pomoću Bacillus cereus MBL13

A novel collagenase-producing bacterium has been isolated and identified as Bacillus cereus MBL13. From the culture supernatant of B. cereus MBL13 grown on bone collagen as the sole carbon and nitrogen source, an extracellular protease with novel property of hydrolyzing waste animal bones was purified. The molecular mass of the purified collagenolytic protease was estimated to be (38.0±1.5) kDa. As determined by amino acid analysis, it had high contents of asparagine, lysine and serine. The optimum temperature and pH for the collagenase activity were 40 °C and pH=8.0, respectively. The results of the effects of some metal ions, inhibitors and protein substrates suggested that the purified collagenolytic protease is a member of the metalloproteases. Type I collagen (the typical collagen in animal bone) was used as the substrate for determination of Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The obtained Km value was (1.31±0.05) g/L and the corresponding vmax value was (12.54±2.5) μmol/min. The study assumes that the collagenolytic protease purified from B. cereus MBL13 strain could be applied in the hydrolysis of waste animal bones.Izolirana je nova bakterija koja proizvodi kolagenazu, identificirana kao Bacillus cereus MBL13. Iz supernatanta kulture B. cereus MBL13, uzgojene na koštanom kolagenu kao izvoru ugljika i dušika, izdvojena je ekstracelularna proteaza sa sposobnošću razgradnje životinjskih kostiju. Procijenjena je molekularna masa pročišćene kolagenolitičke proteaze od (38,0±1,5) kDa. Analiziran je aminokiselinski sastav i utvrđeno da enzim sadržava veliku količinu asparagina, lizina i serina. Optimalna temperatura za aktivnost kolagenaze bila je 40 °C, a optimalna pH-vrijednost 8,0. Prema utjecaju iona metala, inhibitora i proteinskih supstrata na aktivnost enzima zaključeno je da enzim pripada u grupu metaloproteaza. Kolagen tipa I (tipični sastojak životinjskih kostiju) upotrijebljen je kao supstrat pri određivanju parametara Michaelis-Mentenove kinetike. Km vrijednost bila je (1,31±0,05) g/L, a vmax (12,54±2,5) μmol/min. Zaključeno je da se kolagenolitička proteaza izdvojena iz B. cereus MBL13 može upotrijebiti za razgradnju životinjskih kostiju

Purifikacija i svojstva kolagenolitičke proteaze proizvedene s pomoću Bacillus cereus MBL13

A novel collagenase-producing bacterium has been isolated and identified as Bacillus cereus MBL13. From the culture supernatant of B. cereus MBL13 grown on bone collagen as the sole carbon and nitrogen source, an extracellular protease with novel property of hydrolyzing waste animal bones was purified. The molecular mass of the purified collagenolytic protease was estimated to be (38.0±1.5) kDa. As determined by amino acid analysis, it had high contents of asparagine, lysine and serine. The optimum temperature and pH for the collagenase activity were 40 °C and pH=8.0, respectively. The results of the effects of some metal ions, inhibitors and protein substrates suggested that the purified collagenolytic protease is a member of the metalloproteases. Type I collagen (the typical collagen in animal bone) was used as the substrate for determination of Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The obtained Km value was (1.31±0.05) g/L and the corresponding vmax value was (12.54±2.5) μmol/min. The study assumes that the collagenolytic protease purified from B. cereus MBL13 strain could be applied in the hydrolysis of waste animal bones.Izolirana je nova bakterija koja proizvodi kolagenazu, identificirana kao Bacillus cereus MBL13. Iz supernatanta kulture B. cereus MBL13, uzgojene na koštanom kolagenu kao izvoru ugljika i dušika, izdvojena je ekstracelularna proteaza sa sposobnošću razgradnje životinjskih kostiju. Procijenjena je molekularna masa pročišćene kolagenolitičke proteaze od (38,0±1,5) kDa. Analiziran je aminokiselinski sastav i utvrđeno da enzim sadržava veliku količinu asparagina, lizina i serina. Optimalna temperatura za aktivnost kolagenaze bila je 40 °C, a optimalna pH-vrijednost 8,0. Prema utjecaju iona metala, inhibitora i proteinskih supstrata na aktivnost enzima zaključeno je da enzim pripada u grupu metaloproteaza. Kolagen tipa I (tipični sastojak životinjskih kostiju) upotrijebljen je kao supstrat pri određivanju parametara Michaelis-Mentenove kinetike. Km vrijednost bila je (1,31±0,05) g/L, a vmax (12,54±2,5) μmol/min. Zaključeno je da se kolagenolitička proteaza izdvojena iz B. cereus MBL13 može upotrijebiti za razgradnju životinjskih kostiju