A comparison of computed tomography imaging with histopathology in the sensitivity and correlation of evaluating coronary arterial calcification.

Background: The sensitivity and correlation of coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) as compared with histopathology are unknown in evaluating coronary arterial calcification. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively the sensitivity and correlation of coronary CTA compared with histopathology in assessing coronary arterial calcification.

Methods: This study was conducted on 12 randomly selected cadavers aged over 40 years at the time of death, and 53 segments of coronary arteries from these 12 cadavers were obtained from the Human Anatomy Laboratory of Tianjin Medical University.

The differences between broad bean koji fermented in laboratory and factory conditions by an efficient .

Broad bean paste-meju was fermented by a mixture of broad bean koji and saline; koji fermentation is an essential process for the production of broad bean paste-meju. was the most widely used in sauce fermentation. The purpose of this study was to research the factory adaptability of the highly efficient PNM003 and further evaluate the effect of fermentation conditions and fermentation strains on koji.

Terphenyl derivatives and terpenoids from a wheat-born mold Aspergillus candidus.

A new p-terphenyl derivative aspergicandidusin A (1), a new cleistanthane diterpenoid 6-deoxyaspergiloid C (13), and 12 known compounds (2-12, and 14) were isolated from the mold Aspergillus candidus. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by spectral analysis of NMR and MS data. The absolute configuration of C-1 in 13 was determined via the circular dichroism data of the [Rh(OCOCF)] complex.

Efficient production of trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline from glucose using a new trans-proline 4-hydroxylase in Escherichia coli.

trans-4-Hydroxy-l-proline (trans-4Hyp) is widely used as a valuable building block for the organic synthesis of many pharmaceuticals such as carbapenem antibiotics. The major limitation for industrial bioproduction of trans-4Hyp is the low titer and productivity by using the existing trans-proline 4-hydroxylases (trans-P4Hs). Herein, three new trans-P4Hs from Alteromonas mediterranea (AlP4H), Micromonospora sp.

Comparative Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analyses Reveal a FluG-Mediated Signaling Pathway Relating to Asexual Sporulation of Antrodia camphorata.

Medicinal mushroom Antrodia camphorata sporulate large numbers of arthroconidia in submerged fermentation, which is rarely reported in basidiomycetous fungi. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms underlying this asexual sporulation (conidiation) remain unclear. Here, we used comparative transcriptomic and proteomic approaches to elucidate possible signaling pathway relating to the asexual sporulation of A.

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 levels and aortic valve calcification: A prospective, cross sectional study.

Objective: To investigate the possible association between plasma proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) and the incidence and severity of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD).

Methods: This prospective, cross sectional study involved patients with and without (controls) aortic valve calcification diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography and dual source computed tomography (DSCT) scan. Aortic valves calcification scores were calculated from DSCT scans and patients were graded: grade 1, no calcification; grade 2, mildly calcified; grade 3, moderately calcified; grade 4, heavily calcified.

Efficient production of bioactive metabolites from Antrodia camphorata ATCC 200183 by asexual reproduction-based repeated batch fermentation.

Large-scale submerged fermentation (SmF) of Antrodia camphorata (A. camphorata) usually encounters challenges including tedious preparation of mycelial inoculum, long fermentation period (10-14 d), and poor repeatability. Here we developed an asexual reproduction-based repeated batch fermentation (RBF) process for bioactive metabolites production by A.

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) production by Haloarchaeon Halogranum amylolyticum.

Haloarchaea is an important group of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)-accumulating organisms. However, few promising haloarchaeal species for economical and efficient PHA production have been reported. Here, we first discovered that Halogranum amylolyticum TNN58 could efficiently accumulate poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) with a high 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) fraction using glucose as carbon source.

Developing a xylanase XYNZG from Plectosphaerella cucumerina for baking by heterologously expressed in Kluyveromyces lactis.

Background: Xylanase can replace chemical additives to improve the volume and sensory properties of bread in the baking. Suitable baking xylanase with improved yield will promote the application of xylanase in baking industry. The xylanase XYNZG from the Plectosphaerella cucumerina has been previously characterized by heterologous expression in Pichia pastoris.

Ectopic expression of a bacterium NhaD-type Na+/H+ antiporter leads to increased tolerance to combined salt/alkali stresses.

AaNhaD, a gene isolated from the soda lake alkaliphile Alkalimonas amylolytica, encodes a Na(+) /H(+) antiporter crucial for the bacterium's resistance to salt/alkali stresses. However, it remains unknown whether this type of bacterial gene may be able to increase the tolerance of flowering plants to salt/alkali stresses. To investigate the use of extremophile genetic resources in higher plants, transgenic tobacco BY-2 cells and plants harboring AaNhaD were generated and their stress tolerance was evaluated.

Crystal structure of histidine-containing phosphocarrier protein from Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis MB4 and the implications for thermostability.

Protein thermostability is an inherent characteristic of proteins from thermophilic microorganisms, and therefore enables these organisms to survive at extreme temperatures. Although it is well-known that thermostable proteins are critical for the growth of thermophilic organisms, the structural basis of protein thermostability is not yet fully understood. The histidine-containing phosphocarrier (HPr) protein, a phosphate shuttle protein in the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent sugar transport system (PTS) of bacterial species, is an ideal model for investigating protein thermostability with respect to its small size and deficiency in disulphide bonds or cofactors.

Effects of continuous thermophilic composting (CTC) on bacterial community in the active composting process.

The method of continuous thermophilic composting (CTC) remarkably shortened the active composting cycle and enhanced the compost stability. Effects of CTC on the quantities of bacteria, with a comparison to the traditional composting (TC) method, were explored by plate count with incubation at 30, 40 and 50°C, respectively, and by quantitative PCR targeting the universal bacterial 16S rRNA genes and the Bacillus 16S rRNA genes. The comparison of cultivatable or uncultivatable bacterial numbers indicated that CTC might have increased the biomass of bacteria, especially Bacillus spp.

Comparative proteome analysis of alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. N16-5 grown on different carbon sources.

To determine the impact of carbohydrates on the metabolic pathway in alkaliphiles, proteomes were obtained from cultures containing different carbohydrates and were resolved on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). The proteomes were compared to determine differentially expressed proteins. A novel alkaliphilic bacterium (alkaliphilic Bacillus sp.

Changes in the actinomycetal communities during continuous thermophilic composting as revealed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and quantitative PCR.

Actinomycetes degrade cellulose and solubilize lignin during composting. Changes in the diversity of the actinomycetal communities and the 16S rDNA copy numbers of actinomycetes were monitored by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and quantitative PCR (qPCR), respectively, during continuous thermophilic composting (CTC) and traditional composting (TC). qPCR indicated that the copy numbers from the CTC samples were 25-80% higher than those from the TC samples during similar phases of active composting and they were lower than 3×10(9) gene copies/g (dry weight) in the mature compost from both runs.

The crystal water affect in the interaction between the tenebrio molitor alpha-amylase and its inhibitor.

Molecular dynamics simulation of the interaction between the Tenebrio molitor alpha-amylase and its inhibitor at different proportion of crystal water was carried out with OPLS force field by hyperchem 7.5 software. In the correlative study, the optimal temperature of wheat monomeric and dimeric protein inhibitors was from 273 K to 318 K.

[Identification and expression a D-amino acid dehydrogenase gene from Pseudomonas fluorescens TM5-2].

In the previous study we have isolated DNA fragment containing an alanine racemase gene (dadX) from Pseudomonas fluorescens TM5-2. Adjacent to dadX one ORF similar to a putative glycine/D-amino acid oxidase gene have been found. The same gene organization is found in several Pseudomonas species.

[Bacterial diversity in sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR) for landfill leachate treatment using PCR-DGGE].

For studying the bacterial diversity and the mechanism of denitrification in sequencing bath biofilm reactor (SBBR) treating landfill leachate to provide microbial evidence for technique improvements, total microbial DNA was extracted from samples which were collected from natural landfill leachate and biofilm of a SBBR that could efficiently remove NH4+ -N and COD of high concentration. 16S rDNA fragments were amplified from the total DNA successfully using a pair of universal bacterial 16S rDNA primer, GC341F and 907R, and then were used for denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis. The bands in the gel were analyzed by statistical methods and excided from the gel for sequencing, and the sequences were used for homology analysis and then two phylogenetic trees were constructed using DNAStar software.

[Microbial diversity in shengli petroleum reservoirs analyzed by T-RFLP].

Recent investigations on the microbial ecology of oil reservoirs in a variety of locales indicated that these habitats harbor various assemblages. In this study, a cultured-independent molecular technique, Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP), was used to analyze the microbial diversity of an injection well (S12-ZHU) and three related production wells (S12-4, S12-5 and S12-19) in the ShengLi oilfield (Shandong province, China). The 16S rRNA genes were amplified by PCR with the 5'carboxy-fluorescein (5-FAM)-labelled universal forward primers (27F for bacteria and 21F for archaea) and a universal reverse primer (1495R).

Expression and characterization of the chaperonin molecular machine from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus.

The chaperonin molecular machine from hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus was studied in this paper. The Pyrococcus furiosus chaperonin gene (PfCPN) was amplified by PCR from the Pyrococcus furiosus genomic DNA, and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21-Codonplus(DE)(3)-RIL. The recombinant PfCPN was purified to homogeneity by using ion-exchange and size-exclusion chromatography.

Optimization of medium composition for the production of alkaline beta-mannanase by alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. N16-5 using response surface methodology.

In this work, a 2(2) factorial design was employed combining with response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize the medium compositions for the production of alkaline beta-mannanase by alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. N16-5 isolated previously from sediment of Wudunur Soda Lake in Inner Mongolia, China. The central composite design (CCD) used for the analysis of treatment combinations showed that a second-order polynomial regression model was in good agreement with experimental results, with R (2) = 0.

[Study on the membrane proteins of Alkalimonas amylolytica N10 expressed at different pH environment].

The research on the membrane proteins expressed in alkaliphiles at different pH media will be benefit to understand the molecular mechanisms how they survive from such harsh alkaline environment. A preliminary investigation to the differential membrane proteomes from Alkalimonas amylolytica N10 (N10), a novel alkaliphilic bacterium, is reported herein. Upon the growth curves of N10 at different pH environment, three pH media, 8.