A novel salt-adapted bifunctional glucanase/mannanase from Klebsiella pneumoniae and its application in oligosaccharide production.

Klebsiella pneumoniae exhibits extensive glycohydrolase activity in the gut microbiota. However, there are few studies on glucomannanase of Klebsiella pneumoniae. This study cloned and characterized a bifunctional mannanase/glucanase (GH8-3995) of K.

The involvement of decomposition and composition processes in restructuring during problem solving.

Decomposition of chunks has been widely accepted as a critical proxy of restructuring, but the role of composition in forming new representations has been largely neglected. This study aims to investigate the roles of both decomposition and composition processes in chunk restructuring, as well as their relationships with "aha" experiences during problem-solving. Participants were asked to move a part of a character to another character to create two new characters.

The Bombyx mori G protein β subunit 1 (BmGNβ1) gene inhibits BmNPV infection.

G protein β subunit 1 (GNβ1) has several functions, including cell growth regulation, the control of second messenger levels, and ion channel switching. Previous transcriptome analyses in our laboratory have shown that BmGNβ1 transcription is reduced following infection with Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), but it is unknown what role this gene may have in the host response to BmNPV infection. In this study, the BmGNβ1 gene was cloned using the RACE method.

DNA templated Click Chemistry via 5-vinyl-2'-deoxyuridine and an acridine-tetrazine conjugate induces DNA damage and apoptosis in cancer cells.

Aims: Click Chemistry is providing valuable tools to biomedical research, but its direct use in therapies remains nearly unexplored. For cancer treatment, nucleoside analogues (NA) such as 5-vinyl-2'-deoxyuridine (VdU) can be metabolically incorporated into cancer cell DNA and subsequently "clicked" to form a toxic product. The inverse electron-demand Diels-Alder (IEDDA) reaction between VdU and an acridine-tetrazine conjugate (PINK) has previously been used to label cell nuclei of cultured cells.

Design, Manufacture, and Characterization of Auxetic Yarns with Multiple Core/Wrap Structure by Braiding Method.

Auxetic textiles with a negative Poisson's ratio show significant energy absorption and synclastic curvature characteristics and potential application value in sportsmen protection material. The stability and reliability of the structure and properties of auxetic textiles is also an important factor to assess and promote the application. Thus, auxetic yarns with multiple core/wrap structure were prepared by a 16-spindle braiding machine.

Research on Concrete Columns Reinforced with New Developed High-Strength Steel under Eccentric Loading.

The use of new developed high-strength steel in concrete members can reduce steel bar congestion and construction costs. This research aims to study the behavior of concrete columns reinforced with new developed high-strength steel under eccentric loading. Ten reinforced concrete columns were fabricated and tested.

Inhibition of MAPKAPK2/MK2 facilitates DNA replication upon cancer cell treatment with gemcitabine but not cisplatin.

The signaling pathway driven by p38 and MAPKAPK2 alias MK2 is activated as part of stress responses, and these kinases represent attractive drug targets for cancer therapy. However, seemingly conflicting results were obtained when assessing the role of MK2 in chemotherapy. MK2 inhibitors were reported to either enhance or diminish the chemosensitivity of cancer cells.

An RFID Indoor Positioning Algorithm Based on Bayesian Probability and K-Nearest Neighbor.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is widely used in outdoor environmental positioning. However, GPS cannot support indoor positioning because there is no signal for positioning in an indoor environment. Nowadays, there are many situations which require indoor positioning, such as searching for a book in a library, looking for luggage in an airport, emergence navigation for fire alarms, robot location, etc.

Membrane fouling mitigation in a moving bed membrane bioreactor combined with anoxic biofilter for treatment of saline wastewater from mariculture.

Membrane fouling mitigation in a novel AF-MBMBR system (moving bed membrane bioreactor (10L) coupled with anoxic biofilter (4L)) under high salinity condition (35‰) was systematically investigated. Pre-positioned AF served as a pretreatment induced significant decrease of suspended biomass by 85% and dissolved organic matters by 51.7% in subsequent MBR, which resulted in a reduction of cake layer formation.

p53 Activity Results in DNA Replication Fork Processivity.

p53 induces cell death upon DNA damage, but this may not confer all of its tumor suppressor activity. We report that p53 activation enhances the processivity of DNA replication, as monitored by multi-label fiber assays, whereas removal of p53 reduces fork progression. This is observed in tumor-derived U2OS cells but also in murine embryonic fibroblasts with heterozygous or homozygous p53 deletion and in freshly isolated thymocytes from mice with differential p53 status.

Cooperation of Nutlin-3a and a Wip1 inhibitor to induce p53 activity.

Targeting the Mdm2 oncoprotein by drugs has the potential of re-establishing p53 function and tumor suppression. However, Mdm2-antagonizing drug candidates, e. g.

Mdm2 inhibition confers protection of p53-proficient cells from the cytotoxic effects of Wee1 inhibitors.

Pharmacological inhibition of the cell cycle regulatory kinase Wee1 represents a promising strategy to eliminate cancer cells. Wee1 inhibitors cooperate with chemotherapeutics, e. g.

Wee1 is required to sustain ATR/Chk1 signaling upon replicative stress.

The therapeutic efficacy of nucleoside analogues, e.g. gemcitabine, against cancer cells can be augmented by inhibitors of checkpoint kinases, including Wee1, ATR, and Chk1.

Regulation of polyp-to-jellyfish transition in Aurelia aurita.

Background: The life cycle of scyphozoan cnidarians alternates between sessile asexual polyps and pelagic medusa. Transition from one life form to another is triggered by environmental signals, but the molecular cascades involved in the drastic morphological and physiological changes remain unknown.

Results: We show in the moon jelly Aurelia aurita that the molecular machinery controlling transition of the sessile polyp into a free-swimming jellyfish consists of two parts.

[The relationship between anaphylatoxin C3a and benign prostatic hyperplasia with inflammation].

Objective: To study the relationship of anaphylatoxin C3a level in expressed prostatic secretions (EPS) with prostate tissue inflammation in BPH.

Methods: This study included 40 BPH patients receiving TURP operational therapy in West China Hospital during September, 2009 to March, 2010. For each patient, IPSS and NIH-CPSI were evaluated, serum PSA levels, prostatic volume and urine WBC were measured.