Publications by authors named "Zexin Zhao"

This study examines the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating changes on fund shareholding based on rating data from five agencies. Using a sample of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies in China spanning from 2019 to 2021, we find robust evidence that the mean value of ESG ratings by agencies positively impact the number of fund holdings, while the standard deviation of ESG ratings by agencies have no impact on the number of fund holdings. Additionally, the mean value of ESG ratings by agencies have a greater impact on the number of fund holdings among state-owned and industrial companies, and the mean value of ESG ratings by agencies has a larger impact on the number of fund holdings in a one-year window than in a six-month window.

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Developing reusable and easy-to-operate biocatalysts is of significant interest in biodiesel production. Here, magnetic whole-cell catalysts constructed through immobilizing recombinant cells (containing MAS1 lipase) into FeO-chitosan magnetic microspheres (termed MWCC@MAS1) were used for fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) production from waste cooking oil (WCO). During the preparation process of immobilized cells, the effects of chitosan concentration and cell concentration on their activity and activity recovery were investigated.

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Green outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has become an important driving force for sustainable economic and environmental development. However, increasing geopolitical risks (GPR) pose a critical obstacle to the green OFDI of multinational enterprises. Drawing upon international production eclectic theory, we explore the impact of GPR on the green OFDI of Chinese enterprises and discuss the moderating role of firms' green technological and political capabilities including different moderating effects of these types of capabilities in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and non-BRI countries.

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Enzymatic degumming is an essential refining process to improve oil quality. In this study, a monoacylglycerol lipase GMGL was derived from marine Geobacillus sp., and was found that not only took monoacylglycerol (MAG) as substrate, but also had activity toward lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE) and glycerolphosphatidylcholine (GPC).

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The efficiency and accuracy of the synthesis of structural lipids are closely related to the regiospecificity of lipases. Understanding the structural mechanism of their regiospecificity contributes to the regiospecific redesign of lipases for meeting the technological innovation needs. Here, we used a thermostable lipase from Streptomyces sp.

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Hippocampal deficits and metabolic dysregulations such as dyslipidemia have been frequently reported in schizophrenia and are suggested to contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Hippocampus is particularly susceptible to environmental challenges including metabolism and inflammation. However, evidence linking hippocampal alterations and metabolic dysregulations are quite sparse in drug-naïve schizophrenia.

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Traditionally, it is believed that the substrate and products of a monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL) share the same path to enter and exit the catalytic site. Glycerol (a product of MGL), however, was recently hypothesized to be released through a different path. In order to improve the catalytic efficacy and thermo-stability of MGL, it is important to articulate the pathways of a MGL products releasing.

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With the rapid development of green chemistry, the design and application of the related methods and requisite solvents have received increasing attention in recent years. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are mixtures formed from a hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) and a hydrogen bond donor (HBD). Generally, ionic liquids (ILs) and DESs have similar physical and chemical properties, and hence, find application in the same fields.

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A rapid, reliable and eco-friendly method for the determination of three sex hormones in five kinds of milk was developed and validated by combining vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (VALLME) and magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE). Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) such as choline chloride/urea were considered as the extraction solvent in VALLME and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MMWCNTs) were used as the adsorbent which could adsorb DESs on the surface. The optimum experimental conditions were as follows: amount of MMWCNTs for 10 mg, volume of acetone for 4 mL, no sodium chloride and extraction pH at 7.

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n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)-rich triacylglycerols (TAG) with many beneficial effects are still difficult to be synthesized efficiently and rapidly by current synthetic techniques. This study reports the fatty acid specificity of immobilized MAS1 lipase and its efficient synthesis of n-3 PUFA-rich TAG by esterification of glycerol with n-3 PUFA in natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) systems. Immobilized MAS1 lipase showed the highest preference for capric acid [C10:0, the highest specificity constant (1/α)=1] whereas it discriminated strongly against docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) due to their lowest specificity constants (1/α=0.

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This study reports the properties of immobilized MAS1-H108A lipase from marine Streptomyces sp. strain W007 on XAD1180 resin and its application in the synthesis of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)-rich triacylglycerols (TAG) for the first time. It was found that the optimal temperature and pH for both immobilized MAS1-H108A lipase and free lipase MAS1-H108A were 70 °C and 7.

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A simple rapid and efficient deep eutectic solvent-based magnetic colloidal gel (DES-MCG) assisted magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) method followed by high performance liquid chromatography with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) was established for determination of four sex hormones (including ethinylestradiol, norgestrel, megestrol acetate and medroxyprogesterone acetate) in cosmetic skin care toners. The DES-MCG with the desirable advantages of high adsorbing ability was prepared by combining choline chloride/urea deep eutectic solvent and magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MMWCNTs). The synthesized DES-MCG was characterized using fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM).

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Two effective molecularly imprinted polymers for the adsorption of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) were synthesized by the cross-linking of chitosan with epichlorohydrin (ECH) and glutaraldehyde (GLU), respectively, in the presence of ALA as template molecules. Investigations on the molar ratios of ALA and chitosan (-NH) in the preparation of chitosan molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were carried out with a factor of ALA rebinding capabilities. The surface morphology and chemical properties of the polymers were characterized.

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A green and highly efficient ultrasound-assisted deep eutectic solvent extraction combined with functionalized magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes solid-phase extraction method for determination of seven pesticide residues in food products was developed. Various types of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were screened for high extraction efficiencies and DES composing of proline and propylene glycol at 1:3 M ratio was selected as it exhibited highest yields. Extraction conditions were statistically optimized through response surface methodology using a Box-Behnken design.

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n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-rich lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) with many beneficial effects was effectively synthesized by immobilized MAS1 lipase-catalyzed esterification of n-3 PUFA with -glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (GPC) under vacuum in a solvent-free system. Immobilized MAS1 lipase was found to be a more suitable catalyst for the production of n-3 PUFA-rich LPC when compared with Novozym 435. The maximal GPC conversion and LPC content (93.

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This study reported the modification of phosphatidylcholine (PC) with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)-rich ethyl esters (EE) by immobilized MAS1 lipase-catalyzed transesterification in the solvent-free system. Effects of n-3 PUFA-rich EE/PC mass ratio, enzyme loading, reaction temperature, and water dosage on the incorporation of n-3 PUFA into PC were investigated, respectively. The results indicate that the maximum incorporation of n-3 PUFA into PC reached 33.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The crystal structure of AFLB reveals a CALB-like catalytic domain with a unique closed 'lid' and an additional N-terminal subdomain that may impact its enzymatic function.
  • * Mutations in the lid and N-terminal subdomain improve substrate affinity and catalytic activity but compromise enzyme stability, while the N-terminal peptide serves as an inhibitor, revealing a novel regulatory mechanism for AFLB activity.
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Lipases with unique substrate specificity are highly desired in biotechnological applications. In this study, a putative marine sp. monoacylglycerol lipase (GMGL) encoded gene was identified by a genomic mining strategy.

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Penicillium camembertii (PCL), a mono- and di-acylglycerol lipase (DGL), has the vital potential in the oil chemistry for food industry. However, known DGLs are mesophilic enzymes which restricts its application in the industry. To improve thermostability of PCL, we used amino acid substitution by comparison of amino acids compositions of PCL and protein sequences from typical thermophilic bacteria.

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Unlabelled: MAS1 from marine Streptomyces sp. strain W007 belongs to the bacterial lipase I.7 subfamily and is characterized as a thermostable and nonregiospecific lipase.

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Using the classical emulsified system and the monomolecular film technique, the substrate specificity of recombinant lipase (rGZEL) that originates from was characterized in detail. Under the emulsified reaction system, both phospholipase and glycolipid hydrolytic activities were observed, except for the predominant lipase activity. The optimum conditions for different activity exhibition were also determined.

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Lipases are important industrial enzymes. Most of the lipases operate at lipid-water interfaces enabled by a mobile lid domain located over the active site. Lid protects the active site and hence responsible for catalytic activity.

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The mechanism of lipase binding to the lipid-water interface is crucial for substrate specificity and kinetic properties. In this study, the chain-length specificity, regiospecificity and substrate specificity of Phospholipase A (PLA) and its parent enzyme Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TLL) have been investigated using a classical emulsion system. The results show that both PLA and TLL are 1,3-regioselective lipases.

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