Characterization and dye decolorization ability of an alkaline resistant and organic solvents tolerant laccase from Bacillus licheniformis LS04.

A new bacterial strain exhibiting laccase activity was isolated from forest soil and was identified as Bacillus licheniformis LS04. The spore laccase of B. licheniformis LS04 demonstrated a broad pH range for catalyzing substrates.

Formation of the postmitotic nuclear envelope from extended ER cisternae precedes nuclear pore assembly.

During mitosis, the nuclear envelope merges with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and nuclear pore complexes are disassembled. In a current model for reassembly after mitosis, the nuclear envelope forms by a reshaping of ER tubules. For the assembly of pores, two major models have been proposed.

The mechanism of excessive intestinal inflammation in necrotizing enterocolitis: an immature innate immune response.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating neonatal intestinal inflammatory disease, occurring primarily in premature infants, causing significant morbidity and mortality. The pathogenesis of NEC is associated with an excessive inflammatory IL-8 response. In this study, we hypothesized that this excessive inflammatory response is related to an immature expression of innate immune response genes.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapy for eye diseases.

Gene therapy emerged as important approach in treatment for many inborn disorders caused by genetic defects, as well as other diseases. This manuscript focused on Adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapy to eye diseases. The paper firstly introduced the AAV vectors and the techniques of eye delivery, then summarized some tested genes that were used in past treatment to retinal degeneration disorders.

Amelioration of glomerulosclerosis with all-trans retinoic acid is linked to decreased plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and α-smooth muscle actin.

Aim: To examine the effects of all-trans retinoic acid (atRA) on renal morphology and function as well as on renal plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) expression and plasmin activity in rats with 5/6 nephrectomy.

Methods: Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were given 5/6 nephrectomy or sham operation. Renal function was measured 2 weeks later.

Hydrocortisone induces changes in gene expression and differentiation in immature human enterocytes.

It is known that functional maturation of the small intestine occurring during the weaning period is facilitated by glucocorticoids (such as hydrocortisone, HC), including an increased expression of digestive hydrolases. However, the molecular mechanisms are not well understood, particularly in the human gut. Here we report a microarray analysis of HC-induced changes in gene expression in H4 cells (a well-characterized human fetal small intestinal epithelial cell line).

Evaluating the safety of the Harmonic Scalpel around the recurrent laryngeal nerve.

Background: The Harmonic Scalpel (HS) is widely used in thyroidectomy. Determining the safety margin of using the HS near the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) is helpful in preventing the injury to this nerve during thyroidectomy.

Methods: The parameters of evoked electromyography (EEMG) of vocal muscles before and after using the HS at a power level of 3 were recorded in a rabbit model.

Breast milk-transforming growth factor-β₂ specifically attenuates IL-1β-induced inflammatory responses in the immature human intestine via an SMAD6- and ERK-dependent mechanism.

Background: Breast milk is known to protect the infant against infectious and immuno-inflammatory diseases, but the mechanisms of this protection are poorly understood.

Objectives: We hypothesized that transforming growth factor-β₂ (TGF-β₂), an immunoregulatory cytokine abundant in breast milk, may have a direct anti-inflammatory effect on immature human intestinal epithelial cells (IECs).

Methods: Human fetal ileal organ culture, primary human fetal IECs, and the human fetal small intestinal epithelial cell line H4 were stimulated with interleukin 1β (IL-1β) with or without TGF-β₂.

[Research advances in denitrogenation characteristics of aerobic denitrifiers].

The discovery of aerobic denitrifiers is the enrichment and breakthrough of traditional denitrification theory. Owing to their unique superiority in denitrogenation, aerobic denitrifiers have become a hotspot in the study of bio-denitrogenation of waste water. Under aerobic conditions, the aerobic denitrifiers can utilize organic carbon sources for their growth, and produce N2 from nitrate and nitrite.

Preparation of high-affinity rabbit monoclonal antibodies for ciprofloxacin and development of an indirect competitive ELISA for residues in milk.

A convenient competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for ciprofloxacin (CPFX) was developed by using rabbit monoclonal antibodies (RabMAbs) against a hapten-protein conjugate of CPFX-bovine serum albumin (BSA). The indirect competitive ELISA of CPFX had a concentration at 50% inhibition (IC(50)) of 1.47 ng/ml and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.

Electrical stimulation accelerates motor functional recovery in the rat model of 15-mm sciatic nerve gap bridged by scaffolds with longitudinally oriented microchannels.

Background: Electrical stimulation (ES) can enhance the regenerative capacity of axotomized motor and sensory neurons. However, the impact of ES on axonal regeneration and functional recovery has not been investigated in an animal model of a lengthy peripheral nerve defect.

Objective: To determine whether ES accelerates axonal regeneration and functional recovery of a 15-mm sciatic nerve defect in rats.

[One stage treatment of infected tibial defects combined with skin defects with Ilizarov technique].

Objective: To explore the therapeutic effectiveness of Ilizarov technique in treatment of infected tibial defects combined with overlaying skin defects.

Methods: Twenty-one cases with infected tibial defects combined with skin defects were treated between 2001 and 2008 includeing 18 males and 3 females with an average age of 31 years ranging from 19 to 43 years. The length of bone defect ranged from 3 to 13 cm (means 6 cm).

[Clinical characteristics and treatment of syphilitic posterior uveitis].

Objective: To study clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of syphilitic posterior uveitis.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in 26 patients with syphilitic posterior uveitis. The diagnosis was confirmed by clinical and laboratory tests.

Dislocation nucleation governed softening and maximum strength in nano-twinned metals.

In conventional metals, there is plenty of space for dislocations-line defects whose motion results in permanent material deformation-to multiply, so that the metal strengths are controlled by dislocation interactions with grain boundaries and other obstacles. For nanostructured materials, in contrast, dislocation multiplication is severely confined by the nanometre-scale geometries so that continued plasticity can be expected to be source-controlled. Nano-grained polycrystalline materials were found to be strong but brittle, because both nucleation and motion of dislocations are effectively suppressed by the nanoscale crystallites.

[Measurement of the cross section in Li(2P)+H2-->LiH+H reaction].

At a Li density of approximately 10(13) cm(-3), the lithium vapor was irradiated in a five-arm stainless steel heat pipe oven containing Li and H2 with pulses of radiation from a N2-laser-pumped dye laser, populating Li(2P) state by the Li(2S-->2P) resonance transition at 670.8 nm. Typical operating pressure of H2 was 60-300 Pa.

Lethal skeletal dysplasia in mice and humans lacking the golgin GMAP-210.

Background: Establishing the genetic basis of phenotypes such as skeletal dysplasia in model organisms can provide insights into biologic processes and their role in human disease.

Methods: We screened mutagenized mice and observed a neonatal lethal skeletal dysplasia with an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. Through genetic mapping and positional cloning, we identified the causative mutation.

Electrical stimulation induces calcium-dependent release of NGF from cultured Schwann cells.

Production of nerve growth factor (NGF) from Schwann cells (SCs) progressively declines in the distal stump, if axonal regeneration is staggered across the suture site after peripheral nerve injuries. This may be an important factor limiting the outcome of nerve injury repair. Thus far, extensive efforts are devoted to modulating NGF production in cultured SCs, but little has been achieved.

[Measurement of fine-structure branching ratios for Rb-He optical collisions].

Experimental ratios of branching in the fine-structure levels of the Rb5P multiplet, as a consequence of an optical collision with He, are reported. The process studied is Rb(5S1/2 )+ He + hrv --> Rb(5P(J)) +He, where the pulsed laser frequency v is tuned in the wings of the Rb resonance transitions. The authors defined the detuning delta to be v-v (D2 )(delta > 0) for laser frequency v highter than that of RbD2 transition and to be v-v (D1)(delta < 0) for v lower than the RbD1 transition.

Electrical regulation of Schwann cells using conductive polypyrrole/chitosan polymers.

Electrical stimulation (ES) can dramatically enhance neurite outgrowth through conductive polymers and accelerate peripheral nerve regeneration in animal models of nerve injury. Therefore, conductive tissue engineering graft in combination with ES is a potential treatment for neural injuries. Conductive tissue engineering graft can be obtained by seeding Schwann cells on conductive scaffold.

Cisternal organization of the endoplasmic reticulum during mitosis.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of animal cells is a single, dynamic, and continuous membrane network of interconnected cisternae and tubules spread out throughout the cytosol in direct contact with the nuclear envelope. During mitosis, the nuclear envelope undergoes a major rearrangement, as it rapidly partitions its membrane-bound contents into the ER. It is therefore of great interest to determine whether any major transformation in the architecture of the ER also occurs during cell division.

[Effects of Baihe Recipe on expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor and p53 proteins in tumor tissues of nude mice bearing orthotopically transplanted gastric carcinoma BGC-823].

Objective: To investigate the effects of Baihe Recipe, a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on growth and metastasis of orthotopically transplanted gastric carcinoma and the expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and p53 proteins in the tumor tissues in nude mice.

Methods: Forty-five nude mice orthotopically transplanted with BGC-823 human gastric cancer cells were randomly divided into three groups: Baihe Recipe group, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) group and untreated group. The mice in the Baihe Recipe group received intragastric administration of 0.

ADP-ribosylation factors regulate the development of CT signaling in immature human enterocytes.

Diarrheal disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in infants and children worldwide. Evidence suggests that the interaction of immature human enterocytes with bacteria and their enterotoxins may account for the increased susceptibility of neonates to diarrheal diseases. However, the precise mechanisms that contribute to the excessive response to cholera toxin by the immature gut are largely unknown.

Electrical stimulation accelerates motor functional recovery in autograft-repaired 10 mm femoral nerve gap in rats.

Electrical stimulation has been shown to enhance peripheral nerve regeneration after nerve injury. However, the impact of electrical stimulation on motor functional recovery after nerve injuries, especially over long nerve gap lesions, has not been investigated in a comprehensive manner. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether electrical stimulation (1 h, 20 Hz) is beneficial for motor functional recovery after a 10 mm femoral nerve gap lesion in rats.

Dry powder inhalations containing thymopentin and its immunomodulating effects in Wistar rats.

Thymopentin (TP5), a synthetic pentapeptide, has been used in clinic as a modulator for immunodeficiences through intramuscular administration. The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate dry powder inhalations (DPIs) for pulmonary delivery of TP5. Dry powder inhalations containing leucine (a dispersibility enhancer), mannitol, and lactose (bulking agents) were prepared by spray-drying from aqueous formulations.