Somatic stem cell biology and periodontal regeneration.

Somatic stem cells have been acknowledged for their ability to differentiate into multiple cell types and their capacity for self-renewal. Some mesenchymal stem cells play a dominant role in the repair and reconstruction of periodontal tissues. Both dental-derived and some non-dental-derived mesenchymal stem cells possess the capacity for periodontal regeneration under certain conditions with induced differentiation, proliferation, cellular secretion, and their interactions.

Improvement of alkali stability and thermostability of Paenibacillus campinasensis Family-11 xylanase by directed evolution and site-directed mutagenesis.

The extreme process condition of high temperature and high alkali limits the applications of most of natural xylanases in pulp and paper industry. Recently, various methods of protein engineering have been used to improve the thermal and alkalic tolerance of xylanases. In this work, directed evolution and site-directed mutagenesis were performed to obtain a mutant xylanase improved both on alkali stability and thermostability from the native Paenibacillus campinasensis Family-11 xylanase (XynG1-1).

Integration of a calcined bovine bone and BMSC-sheet 3D scaffold and the promotion of bone regeneration in large defects.

Reconstruction of large area bone defect with mechanical integrity to the skeleton is important for patient's rehabilitation. However with the limitation of scaffold material and suitable seed cell sources, the best treating strategy remains to be identified though various tissue engineering methods were reported. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of applying calcined bovine bone (CBB) which was coated by allograft bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC)-sheet as a 3D scaffold material in bone repairing tissue engineering.

Overexpression of a Paenibacillus campinasensis xylanase in Bacillus megaterium and its applications to biobleaching of cotton stalk pulp and saccharification of recycled paper sludge.

A xylanase gene (xynG1-1) from Paenibacillus campinasensis G1-1 was expressed in Bacillus megaterium MS941 and a high level of extracellular xylansae activity (304.26 IU/mL) was achieved after induction with 0.5% xylose.

Skin epithelial cells as possible substitutes for ameloblasts during tooth regeneration.

The disappearance of ameloblasts in erupted teeth hampers the implementation of tissue engineering-based tooth regeneration. We aimed at utilizing skin epithelial cells as the appropriate substitute for ameloblasts. The conversion potential of 1 day postnatal rat skin epithelial cells to ameloblasts was investigated under the induction of dental papillae mesenchymal cells (DPMCs).

[Influence of background color on four veneered dental ceramic core material].

Objective: To investigate the influence of background color on veneered In-Ceram and Cercon dental ceramics including Vita In-Ceram Electroformed Alumina (AL2), Electroformed Zirconia (Z21), Cercon base color Zirconia and Cercon base Zirconia.

Methods: The colorimetric values of all the materials on noble metal, Ni-Cr alloy, silver amalgam and resin background were measured with a spectrocolorimeter, and the color difference among the groups was calculated.

Results: After veneered, the color difference of Z21 Electroformed Zirconia was more distinct against the background of silver amalgam than against the backgrounds of noble metal and resin, but the color differences of the 4 veneered dental ceramics against different backgrounds were unidentifiable by human eyes (δE<1.

Isolation, purification, and characterization of a thermostable xylanase from a novel strain, Paenibacillus campinasensis G1-1.

High levels of xylanase activity (143.98 IU/ml) produced by the newly isolated Paenibacillus campinasensis G1-1 were detected when it was cultivated in a synthetic medium. A thermostable xylanase, designated XynG1-1, from P.

Construction of Escherichia coli strains producing L-serine from glucose.

L-Serine is usually produced from glycine. We have genetically engineered Escherichia coli to produce L-serine from glucose intracellularly. D-3-Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PGDH, EC 1.

Efficient expression of an alkaline pectate lyase gene from Bacillus subtilis and the characterization of the recombinant protein.

The gene encoding a novel alkaline pectate lyase (Apel) from Bacillus subtilis was cloned and expressed in B. subtilis WB600. Apel contained an ORF of 1,260 bp, encoding a signal peptide of 21 amino acids and a mature protein of 399 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 45497.

Synthesis of GDP-mannose using coupling fermentation of recombinant Escherichia coli.

Glucokinase (glk), phosphomannomutase (manB), and mannose-1-phosphate guanylytransferase (manC) are needed for the biosynthesis of GDP-mannose. A recombinant E. coli strain over-expressing these three genes was constructed to produce guanosine 5'-diphosphate (GDP)-mannose, the donor of GDP-fucose, an essential substrate for synthesis of fucosyloligosaccharides.

Perspectives of phase changes and reversibility on a case of emulsion inversion.

The conventional treatment of catastrophic inversion is based on a two-phase model of oil-in-water (O/W) or water-in-oil (W/O). The present investigation takes a closer look at the process of inversion with focus on its relation to the detailed phase changes in the system. It is found that phase behavior inserts a decisive call for when the inversion starts and completes, even for an inversion seemingly brought by a simple change of water-to-oil ratio.

Role of liquid crystal in the emulsification of a gel emulsion with high internal phase fraction.

A gel emulsion with high internal oil phase volume fraction was formed via an inversion process induced by a water-oil ratio change. The process involved the formation of intermediate multiple emulsions prior to inversion. The multiple emulsions contain a liquid crystal formed by the surfactant with water; this was both predicted by the equilibrium phase diagram as well as observed using polarization microscopy.

High-level expression, purification and characterization of a recombinant medium-temperature alpha-amylase from Bacillus subtilis.

Alpha-amylases are important industrial enzymes with a wide range of applications. Although medium-temperature alpha amylase (AmyE) has some practical advantages, its low yield has limited its applications. When an amyE gene from Bacillus subtilis BF768 was cloned into vector pWB980 and over-expressed in B.

Evaluation of mechanical properties and porcelain bonded strength of nickel-chromium dental alloy fabricated by laser rapid forming.

The aim was to evaluate the mechanical properties and porcelain bonded strength of nickel-chromium (Ni-Cr) dental alloy fabricated by laser rapid forming (LRF). The tensile properties and porcelain bonded strengths of LRF Ni-Cr dental alloy were evaluated by tensile tests (five specimens per group) and three-point bending tests (ten specimens per group). The same tests for the cast Ni-Cr dental alloy were used as for the control.

Acid stabilization of Bacillus licheniformis alpha amylase through introduction of mutations.

This paper provided further understanding of the relationships between acid resistance and structural features of different mutants in Bacillus licheniformis alpha amylase (BLA) due to the changes of two crucial positions Leu134 and Ser320. In order to investigate effect of the two positions on the acid stability, we described the detailed characterization of wild-type and the single mutants L134R and S320A as well as the double mutant L134R/S320A. The highest k(cat)/Km with pH 4.

Characterisation of mutagenised acid-resistant alpha-amylase expressed in Bacillus subtilis WB600.

Based on the original thermostable alpha-amylase gene from Bacillus licheniformis, two amino acids were site-directed mutagenised by polymerase chain reaction to obtain a new gene. This gene, with Leu134-->Arg and Ser320-->Ala, was substituted for acid-resistant capability previously. To favor purification of the product, high-level expression and secretion of mature, authentic and stable recombinant mutagenised alpha-amylase were achieved with protease-deficient strain Bacillus subtilis WB600 as the host.