Composing functional food from agro-forest wastes: Selectively extracting bioactive compounds using supercritical fluid extraction.

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) employing carbon dioxide (SC-CO) is an efficient method to extract bioactive compounds from agro-forest wastes. These compounds maintain and/or improve food nutrition, safety, freshness, taste, and health and are employed as natural functional food components. To highlight the potential of this technology, we focus on the following current advances: (I) parameters affecting solubility in SFE (pressure, temperature, SC-CO flow rate, extraction time, and co-solvents); (II) extraction spectra and yield obtained according to proportion and composition of co-solvents; (III) extract bioactivity for functional food production.

Characterization of PA12/HA composite scaffolds based on selective laser sintering.

Composite scaffolds have been extensively studied in bone tissue engineering, which can achieve excellent properties that cannot be obtained by a single material. In this study, the effect of hydroxyapatite (HA) on the reliability of polyamide 12 (PA12) scaffold for bone graft was explored in terms of mechanical and biological properties. Thermal properties testing showed that no physical or chemical reaction occurs in the prepared PA12/HA composite powders.

Mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of polyamide 12 gradient scaffolds developed with selective laser sintering.

Developing a functional gradient scaffold compatible with the fantastic biological and mechanical properties of natural bone tissue is imperative in bone tissue engineering. In this work, the stretch-dominated (cubical and circular) and bending-dominant (diamond and gyroid) pore styles were employed to design custom-graded scaffolds based on the curve interference method and then were fabricated by selective laser sintering (SLS) using polyamide 12 (PA12) powder. Subsequently, the mechanical behavior, failure mechanism, and energy absorption performance of porous structures were investigated via compression experiments and finite element (FE) simulation.

Functional investigation of AfsKRS regulatory system for pristinamycin biosynthesis in .

Three genes encoding AfsK, AfsR, AfsS homologues in were studied, respectively, to investigate regulatory role of AfsKRS system for pristinamycin biosynthesis. Transcription change and gene inactivation analysis indicated that these genes had active transcription and positive regulation for the improvement of pristinamycin production in . The analysis of AfsKRS-defective mutagenesis indicated that there might be a positive correlation between the product of and pristinamycin I biosynthesis, and a negative correlation to pristinamycin II biosynthesis.

A novel carbonyl reductase with anti-Prelog stereospecificity for the production of -butyl 6-cyano-(3, 5)-dihydroxyhexanoate.

A novel gene () from was cloned and then overexpressed in a recombinant strain BL21(DE3)/pET30a-crc1 of . The resulting carbonyl reductase was prepared through fermentations using the recombinant strain. The purified enzyme showed an NADPH-dependent activity and specific activity was 4.

Curcumin inhibits the proliferation and induces apoptosis in HT-29 cell lines through a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent mechanism.

Curcumin, a natural pigment extracted from Curcuma longa, has anti-carcinogenic activities in many cancer cell lines. The molecular mechanism of apoptosis induced by curcumin are still unknown. In the current study, we investigated the roles of reactive oxygen species in curcumin stimulated apoptosis in HT-29 cells.

Nup62, associated with spindle microtubule rather than spindle matrix, is involved in chromosome alignment and spindle assembly during mitosis.

An increasing number of the active mitotic functions of nucleoporins in the distinct steps of mitosis have been assigned over the past few years. As one of FG-repeats containing nucleoporins, Nup62 has been found to be involved in nuclear transport, cell migration, virus infection, and cell cycle regulation. However, the role and mechanism of Nup62 in mitotic regulation have not been fully revealed.

C. butyricum lipoteichoic acid inhibits the inflammatory response and apoptosis in HT-29 cells induced by S. aureus lipoteichoic acid.

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is one of microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP) molecules of gram-positive bacteria. In this study, we demonstrated that Clostridium butyricum LTA (bLTA) significantly inhibited the inflammatory response and apoptosis induced by Staphylococcus aureus LTA (aLTA) in HT-29 cells. aLTA stimulated the inflammatory responses by activating a strong signal transduction cascade through NF-κB and ERK, but bLTA did not activate the signaling pathway.

Different effects of lipoteichoic acid from C. butyricum and S. aureus on inflammatory responses of HT-29 cells.

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is an important cell wall component of Gram-positive bacteria and represents one of the most critical microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP) molecules. In this study, we isolated and purified LTA from Clostridium butyricum (bLTA) and compared its effects on the inflammatory responses of HT-29 cells with those of LTA from Staphylococcus aureus (aLTA). We also compared the effects of bLTA and aLTA on cell growth, proliferation, and apoptosis.

Spatial Compartmentalization Specializes the Function of Aurora A and Aurora B.

Aurora kinase A and B share great similarity in sequences, structures, and phosphorylation motif, yet they show different localizations and play distinct crucial roles. The factors that determine such differences are largely unknown. Here we targeted Aurora A to the localization of Aurora B and found that Aurora A phosphorylates the substrate of Aurora B and substitutes its function in spindle checkpoint.

Phosphorylation of Crm1 by CDK1-cyclin-B promotes Ran-dependent mitotic spindle assembly.

Mitotic spindle assembly in animal cells is orchestrated by a chromosome-dependent pathway that directs microtubule stabilization. RanGTP generated at chromosomes releases spindle assembly factors from inhibitory complexes with importins, the nuclear transport factors that facilitate protein import into the nucleus during interphase. In addition, the nuclear export factor Crm1 has been proposed to act as a mitotic effector of RanGTP through the localized assembly of protein complexes on the mitotic spindle, notably at centrosomes and kinetochores.