Superoxide dismutase secreting Bacillus amyloliquefaciens spores attenuate pulmonary fibrosis.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) can convert active oxygen to oxygen or hydrogen peroxide, and recent research has suggested that it can protect against lung damage and fibrosis. Clinical applications based on SOD remain limited however due to costs and low stability. We here investigated a potential new therapeutic delivery system for this enzyme in the form of SOD-overexpressing Bacillus amyloliquefaciens spores which we introduced into a bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis mouse model.

The complete chloroplast genome of the medicinal plant (Lamarck, 1792).

Lam. (Primulaceae) is known as a medicinal plant with anti-tumor and anti-viral effects. In this study, we reported the first complete chloroplast genome sequence of The total length of the complete chloroplast genome was 152,691 bp, comprising a small-single copy region (SSC) of 17,928 bp, a large-single copy region of 83,811 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat regions of 25,476 bp.

Multiterminal Quantized Conductance in InSb Nanocrosses.

By studying the time-dependent axial and radial growth of InSb nanowires (NWs), the conditions for the synthesis of single-crystalline InSb nanocrosses (NCs) by molecular beam epitaxy are mapped. Low-temperature electrical measurements of InSb NC devices with local gate control on individual terminals exhibit quantized conductance and are used to probe the spatial distribution of the conducting channels. Tuning to a situation where the NC junction is connected by few-channel quantum point contacts in the connecting NW terminals, it is shown that transport through the junction is ballistic except close to pinch-off.

Highly Transparent Gatable Superconducting Shadow Junctions.

Gate-tunable junctions are key elements in quantum devices based on hybrid semiconductor-superconductor materials. They serve multiple purposes ranging from tunnel spectroscopy probes to voltage-controlled qubit operations in gatemon and topological qubits. Common to all is that junction transparency plays a critical role.

Detailed Mode of Action of Arabinan-Debranching α--Arabinofuranosidase GH51 from .

The gene encoding an α--arabinofuranosidase (BvAF) GH51 from FZB42 was cloned and expressed in . The corresponding open reading frame consists of 1,491 nucleotides which encode 496 amino acids with the molecular mass of 56.9 kDa.

Identification of Preoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Features Associated with Positive Resection Margins in Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Study.

Objective: To determine which preoperative breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and clinicopathologic features are associated with positive resection margins at the time of breast-conserving surgery (BCS) in patients with breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed preoperative breast MRI and clinicopathologic features of 120 patients (mean age, 53.3 years; age range, 27-79 years) with breast cancer who had undergone BCS in 2015.

Nonlocal supercurrent of quartets in a three-terminal Josephson junction.

A novel nonlocal supercurrent, carried by quartets, each consisting of four electrons, is expected to appear in a voltage-biased three-terminal Josephson junction. This supercurrent results from a nonlocal Andreev bound state (ABS), formed among three superconducting terminals. While in a two-terminal Josephson junction the usual ABS, and thus the dc Josephson current, exists only in equilibrium, the ABS, which gives rise to the quartet supercurrent, persists in the nonlinear regime.

Au-Assisted Substrate-Faceting for Inclined Nanowire Growth.

We study the role of gold droplets in the initial stage of nanowire growth via the vapor-liquid-solid method. Apart from serving as a collections center for growth species, the gold droplets carry an additional crucial role that necessarily precedes the nanowire emergence, that is, they assist the nucleation of nanocraters with strongly faceted {111}B side walls. Only once these facets become sufficiently large and regular, the gold droplets start nucleating and guiding the growth of nanowires.

Comparison of the diagnostic performances of ultrasonography, CT and fine needle aspiration cytology for the prediction of lymph node metastasis in patients with lymph node dissection of papillary thyroid carcinoma: A retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic performances of ultrasonographic (US) findings, computed tomography (CT) findings and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) for the prediction of cervical lymph node (LN) metastases of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) to determine which LN should be dissected.

Methods: 376 LNs in 302 patients who underwent both US-guided skin surface LN markings and CT before LN dissection were analyzed retrospectively. Indications for LN dissection were suspicious US findings of LN metastases (n = 300), suspicious CT findings (n = 67) or surgeon's request (n = 9).

Robust Epitaxial Al Coating of Reclined InAs Nanowires.

It was recently shown that in situ epitaxial aluminum coating of indium arsenide nanowires is possible and yields superior properties relative to ex-situ evaporation of aluminum ( Nat. Mater. 2015 , 14 , 400 - 406 ).

Prediction of pancreatic fistula after pancreatoduodenectomy by preoperative dynamic CT and fecal elastase-1 levels.

Objective: To validate preoperative dynamic CT and fecal elastase-1 level in predicting the development of pancreatic fistulae after pancreatoduodenectomy.

Materials And Methods: For 146 consecutive patients, CT attenuation values of the nontumorous pancreatic parenchyma were retrospectively measured on precontrast, arterial and equilibrium phase images for calculation of enhancement ratios. CT enhancement ratios and preoperative fecal elastase-1 levels were correlated with the development of pancreatic fistulae using independent t-test, logistic regression models, ROC analysis, Youden method and tree analysis.

Wurtzite/Zinc-Blende 'K'-shape InAs Nanowires with Embedded Two-Dimensional Wurtzite Plates.

The prediction that Majorana Fermions obey nonabelian exchange statistics can only be tested by interchanging such carriers in "Y'- or 'X'- (or 'K'-) shaped nanowire networks. Here we report the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth of 'K'-shaped InAs nanowires consisting of two interconnected wurtzite wires with an additional zinc-blende wire in between. Moreover, occasionally, the growth results in formation of a purely wurtzite two-dimensional plate between the zinc-blende nanowire and one (sometimes both) intersecting wurtzite arm.

Charge of a quasiparticle in a superconductor.

Nonlinear charge transport in superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) Josephson junctions has a unique signature in the shuttled charge quantum between the two superconductors. In the zero-bias limit Cooper pairs, each with twice the electron charge, carry the Josephson current. An applied bias VSD leads to multiple Andreev reflections (MAR), which in the limit of weak tunneling probability should lead to integer multiples of the electron charge ne traversing the junction, with n integer larger than 2Δ/eVSD and Δ the superconducting order parameter.

In vitro digestion and fermentation properties of linear sugar-beet arabinan and its oligosaccharides.

This study was conducted to investigate the prebiotic effects of linear arabino-oligosaccharides (LAOS) and debranched (linear) sugar beet arabinan (LAR) for the development of new prebiotics. LAOS were prepared from LAR by enzymatic hydrolysis with endo-arabinanase from Bacillus licheniformis, followed by removal of the arabinose fraction by incubation with resting cells of Leuconostoc mesenteroides. The resulting LAOS contained DP2 (28.

Synergistic action modes of arabinan degradation by exo- and endo-arabinosyl hydrolases.

Two recombinant arabinosyl hydrolases, α-L-arabinofuranosidase from Geobacillus sp. KCTC 3012 (GAFase) and endo-(1,5)-α-L-arabinanase from Bacillus licheniformis DSM13 (BlABNase), were overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and their synergistic modes of action against sugar beet (branched) arabinan were investigated. Whereas GAFase hydrolyzed 35.

Crystal structure and transport in merged InAs nanowires MBE grown on (001) InAs.

Molecular beam epitaxy growth of merging InAs nanowire intersections, that is, a first step toward the realization of a network of such nanowires, is reported. While InAs nanowires play already a leading role in the search for Majorana fermions, a network of these nanowires is expected to promote their exchange and allow for further development of this field. The structural properties of merged InAs nanowire intersections have been investigated using scanning and transmission electron microscope imaging.

Detailed modes of action and biochemical characterization of endo-arabinanase from Bacillus licheniformis DSM13.

An endo-arabinanase (BLABNase) gene from Bacillus licheniformis DSM13 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and the biochemical properties of its encoded enzyme were characterized. The BLABNase gene consists of a single open reading frame of 987 nucleotides that encodes 328 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of about 36 kDa. BLABNase exhibited the highest activity against debranched α-(1,5)-arabinan in 50 mM sodium acetate buffer (pH 6.

Transient Rayleigh scattering: a new probe of picosecond carrier dynamics in a single semiconductor nanowire.

Using a new technique, transient Rayleigh scattering, we show that measurements from a single GaAs/AlGaAs core-shell semiconductor nanowire provide sensitive and detailed information on the time evolution of the density and temperature of the electrons and holes after photoexcitation by an intense laser pulse. Through band filling, band gap renormalization, and plasma screening, the presence of a dense and hot electron-hole plasma directly influences the real and imaginary parts of the complex index of refraction that in turn affects the spectral dependence of the Rayleigh scattering cross-section in well-defined ways. By measuring this spectral dependence as a function of time, we directly determine the thermodynamically independent density and temperature of the electrons and holes as a function of time after pulsed excitation as the carriers thermalize to the lattice temperature.

Hydrogen production and microbial diversity in sewage sludge fermentation preceded by heat and alkaline treatment.

Combined pretreatment of heat treatment with alkaline condition was applied to the sewage sludge in order to acquire the effective method for sludge solubilization and bio-hydrogen production. Solubilization ratio of the sludge with heat treatment at alkaline condition (pH 13) was as high as 85.0%, resulting in an increase of COD concentration in aqueous solution, but the ratio of sludge with heat treatment or alkaline treatment alone was 32.

Reproductive and Hormonal Factors Associated with Fatty or Dense Breast Patterns among Korean Women.

Purpose: Dense breasts have been suggested as a risk factor for breast cancer, but controversy still remains. This study evaluates the association of reproductive and hormonal factors with dense breasts among Korean women.

Materials And Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, 516 women were recruited and classified for breast density patterns as being either fatty or dense, using the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) of the American College of Radiology.