A TEM study on the microstructure of spark plasma sintered ZrB_2-based composite with nano-sized SiC dopant

Sintering behavior of ZrB_2 ceramic with nano-sized SiC dopant was studied. ZrB_2-25 vol% nano-sized SiC was selected as the starting mixture to fabricate the composite. The manufacturing process was accomplished at 1800℃ for 5 min under 25 MPa via spark plasma sintering(SPS). The as-sintered sample reached a relative density of 99%. Besides the initial phases, namely ZrB_2 and SiC, the high-resolution X-ray diffraction(HRXRD) was used to study the formation of an in-situ ZrC phase. The possible chemical interactions during the ZrC phase formation were scrutinized. The microstructure of the composite was studied by the field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). Elemental analysis through FESEM evaluations revealed the formation of amorphous phases, rich in Zr, C, Si, B, and O elements, which was in harmony with the thermodynamical assessments. TEM studies endorsed the formation of such phases, containing a glassy bed of Si–B–O with ZrC and C islands dispersed therein.     

Environmental Friendly Route and Wool Shrink Proofing

The shrink proofing on wool with treatment of protease named Argaenzyme STL was studied. The various pretreating auxiliaries, different parameters for protease treating process and the effect of stabilizer were discussed in detail. The varieties of some properties before and after protease treatment were also investigated.     

Photon emission of phagocytes in relation to stress and disease.

Phagocytes, the first-line cells of the body's defence mechanisms against invading pathogens, kill microorganisms by means of lysosomal degradative enzymes and highly toxic reactive oxygen intermediates. The reactive oxygen compounds are produced, in a process called the 'respiratory burst', by the NADPH oxidase complex in plasma membranes, and by myeloperoxidase in phagolysosomes after degranulation. These processes generate electronically excited states which, on relaxation, emit photons, giving rise to phagocyte chemiluminescence (CL). This paper describes the conditions for the measurement of CL, and reviews the activity of phagocytes from individuals undergoing stress or disease. The capability of phagocytes to emit photons reflects remarkably well the pathophysiological state of the host. In many cases even the magnitude of the stress, the presence of a pathogen in the body, or the activity of the disease can be estimated. Physiological changes, e.g. in the reproductive cycle, can also be predicted.     

Stepwise replication identifies a low-producing lymphotoxin-alpha allele as a major risk factor for early-onset leprosy

Host genetics has an important role in leprosy, and variants in the shared promoter region of PARK2 and PACRG were the first major susceptibility factors identified by positional cloning. Here we report the linkage disequilibrium mapping of the second linkage peak of our previous genome-wide scan, located close to the HLA complex. In both a Vietnamese familial sample and an Indian case-control sample, the low-producing lymphotoxin-alpha (LTA)+80 A allele was significantly associated with an increase in leprosy risk (P = 0.007 and P = 0.01, respectively). Analysis of an additional case-control sample from Brazil and an additional familial sample from Vietnam showed that the LTA+80 effect was much stronger in young individuals. In the combined sample of 298 Vietnamese familial trios, the odds ratio of leprosy for LTA+80 AA/AC versus CC subjects was 2.11 (P = 0.000024), which increased to 5.63 (P = 0.0000004) in the subsample of 121 trios of affected individuals diagnosed before 16 years of age. In addition to identifying LTA as a major gene associated with early-onset leprosy, our study highlights the critical role of case- and population-specific factors in the dissection of susceptibility variants in complex diseases.     

Alcohol dehydrogenase 2 is a major hepatic enzyme for human retinol metabolism

The metabolism of all-trans- and 9-cis-retinol/ retinaldehyde has been investigated with focus on the activities of human, mouse and rat alcohol dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2), an intriguing enzyme with apparently different functions in human and rodents. Kinetic constants were determined with an HPLC method and a structural approach was implemented by in silico substrate dockings. For human ADH2, the determined K_m values ranged from 0.05 to 0.3 μM and k_cat values from 2.3 to 17.6 min⁻¹, while the catalytic efficiency for 9-cis-retinol showed the highest value for any substrate. In contrast, poor activities were detected for the rodent enzymes. A mouse ADH2 mutant (ADH2Pro47His) was studied that resembles the human ADH2 setup. This mutation increased the retinoid activity up to 100-fold. The K_m values of human ADH2 are the lowest among all known human retinol dehydrogenases, which clearly support a role in hepatic retinol oxidation at physiological concentrations. Received 12 October 2006; received after revision 6 December 2006; accepted 8 January 2007     

A propos d'antibiotiques insolubles

Summary The authors show the antibiotic activity of water-insoluble salts of hydrosoluble antibiotics in the case of penicillin G (salts of iron, copper, silver, gold, and uranium) and streptomycin (oleate).     

A recurrent mutation in MED12 leading to R961W causes Opitz-Kaveggia syndrome

Opitz-Kaveggia syndrome (also known as FG syndrome) is an X-linked disorder characterized by mental retardation, relative macrocephaly, hypotonia and constipation. We report here that the original family for whom the condition is named and five other families have a recurrent mutation (2881C>T, leading to R961W) in MED12 (also called TRAP230 or HOPA), a gene located at Xq13 that functions as a thyroid receptor-associated protein in the Mediator complex.     

Phytanic acid impairs mitochondrial respiration through protonophoric action

Refsum disease is a rare, inherited neurodegenerative disorder characterized by accumulation of the dietary branched-chain fatty acid phytanic acid in plasma and tissues caused by a defect in the alphaoxidation pathway. The accumulation of phytanic acid is believed to be the main pathophysiological cause of the disease. However, the exact mechanism(s) by which phytanic acid exerts its toxicity have not been resolved. In this study, the effect of phytanic acid on mitochondrial respiration was investigated. The results show that in digitonin-permeabilized fibroblasts, phytanic acid decreases ATP synthesis, whereas substrate oxidation per se is not affected. Importantly, studies in intact fibroblasts revealed that phytanic acid decreases both the mitochondrial membrane potential and NAD(P)H autofluorescence. Taken together, the results described here show that unesterified phytanic acid exerts its toxic effect mainly through its protonophoric action, at least in human skin fibroblasts. Received 4 August 2007; received after revision 26 September 2007; accepted 10 October 2007 J. C. Komen, F. Distelmaier: These authors contributed equally to this work.     

Systematic pathway analysis using high-resolution fitness profiling of combinatorial gene deletions

Systematic genetic interaction studies have illuminated many cellular processes. Here we quantitatively examine genetic interactions among 26 Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes conferring resistance to the DNA-damaging agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), as determined by chemogenomic fitness profiling of pooled deletion strains. We constructed 650 double-deletion strains, corresponding to all pairings of these 26 deletions. The fitness of single- and double-deletion strains were measured in the presence and absence of MMS. Genetic interactions were defined by combining principles from both statistical and classical genetics. The resulting network predicts that the Mph1 helicase has a role in resolving homologous recombination-derived DNA intermediates that is similar to (but distinct from) that of the Sgs1 helicase. Our results emphasize the utility of small molecules and multifactorial deletion mutants in uncovering functional relationships and pathway order.