Dynamic formation of melanoidins and parallel competitive pathways during sludge thermal hydrolysis affected by heating temperature.

The melanoidins formed through the Maillard reaction during thermal hydrolysis pretreatment (THP) of sludge contribute to darkening, refractoriness, and inhibition of effective wastewater and sludge treatment. However, the dynamic production and structural evolution of THP-derived melanoidins are not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing melanoidins production and the associated mechanisms during THP.

Development and standardization of spectrophotometric assay for quantification of thermal hydrolysis-origin melanoidins and its implication in antioxidant activity evaluation.

Melanoidins are brown recalcitrant polymers originating from the thermal hydrolysis pretreatment (THP) of organic solid waste (OSW). Owing to their various formation pathways and complex structures, there is currently no reliable method to quantify melanoidins. In this study, a spectrophotometric method was developed to determine melanoidins concentration in different OSW.

Genome-wide DNA mutations in Arabidopsis plants after multigenerational exposure to high temperatures.

Background: Elevated temperatures can cause physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses in plants that can greatly affect their growth and development. Mutations are the most fundamental force driving biological evolution. However, how long-term elevations in temperature influence the accumulation of mutations in plants remains unknown.

Whole-genome resequencing of Osmanthus fragrans provides insights into flower color evolution.

Osmanthus fragrans is a well-known ornamental plant that has been domesticated in China for 2500 years. More than 160 cultivars have been found during this long period of domestication, and they have subsequently been divided into four cultivar groups, including the Yingui, Jingui, Dangui, and Sijigui groups. These groups provide a set of materials to study genetic evolution and variability.

Peroxisome-targeted and tandem repeat multimer expressions of human antimicrobial peptide LL37 in Pichia pastoris.

Although the human antimicrobial peptide LL37 has a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities, it easily damages host cells following heterologous expressions. This study attempted two strategies to alleviate its damage to host cells when expressed in Pichia pastoris using the AOX1 promoter. Tandem repeat multimers of LL37 were first designed, and secretion expression strains GS115-9K-(DPLL37DP) (n = 2, 4, 6 and 8) containing different copies of the LL37 gene were constructed.

Engineered fungal polyketide biosynthesis in Pichia pastoris: a potential excellent host for polyketide production.

Background: Polyketides are one of the most important classes of secondary metabolites and usually make good drugs. Currently, heterologous production of fungal polyketides for developing a high potential industrial application system with high production capacity and pharmaceutical feasibility was still at its infancy. Pichia pastoris is a highly successful system for the high production of a variety of heterologous proteins.

Application of cycloaddition reactions to the syntheses of novel boron compounds.

This review covers the application of cycloaddition reactions in forming the boron-containing compounds such as symmetric star-shaped boron-enriched dendritic molecules, nano-structured boron materials and aromatic boronic esters. The resulting boron compounds are potentially important reagents for both materials science and medical applications such as in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) in cancer treatment and as drug delivery agents and synthetic intermediates for carbon-carbon cross-coupling reactions. In addition, the use of boron cage compounds in a number of cycloaddition reactions to synthesize unique aromatic species will be reviewed briefly.