高液限粘土压实性能的试验

通过室内试验,分析高液限粘土的压实性能和最佳压实状态,结合路基工艺实验成果,提出直接利用高液限粘土修筑公路路基的质量控制标准.以福建厦门集美大道高液限粘土为例,经室内试验和现场工艺试验系统分析认为,浸水加利福尼亚承载比(CBR)大于3,只适用于下路堤的填筑,其压实度标准K≥94%.按6种击实功组合,对不同含水量的高液限粘土进行了系列化浸水CBR试验.结果表明,在最佳压实状态下,随着水质量分数的逐渐增大,所采用的击实功宜相应减小,通过水的质量分数和击实功的适当控制,高液限粘土可用于拟建道路的下路堤填筑.     

耐高浓度甘油的1,3-丙二醇生产菌的诱变选育

利用紫外线对克雷伯杆菌进行诱变,筛选出耐高浓度甘油且1,3-丙二醇(1,3-PD)产量较高的突变株KpⅥ.实验结果表明,在距离34 cm,功率30 W的紫外灯垂直照射下,最佳紫外诱变时间为6 min,此时,致死率为90.9%.克雷伯杆菌经过紫外诱变后,菌落明显增大,是原始菌株的2~4倍;变异菌株KpⅥ经过6代遗传稳定性考察,甘油消耗率和1,3-PD产量稳定,且保持了较高水平.在甘油质量浓度为90 g.L-1的条件下,变异菌株KpⅥ的甘油消耗率为98.3%,甘油转化率为50.4%,1,3-PD产量为44.81 g.L-1,生产能力达到0.75 g.(L.h)-1.     

熔丝成型薄板拉伸性能的理论与实验研究

由于熔丝成型(fused filament fabrication, FFF)技术逐层沉积的制造工艺特点,其产品的拉伸性能存在着明显的局限性.为了能够提出切实有效的改进措施,需要明确FFF产品相应的机理,即建立本构关系理论模型.基于经典弹性力学理论,对FFF薄板试件的本构关系进行了理论建模,完成了试件拉伸性能的解析研究;然后利用拉伸实验机获得了试件拉伸性能的实验结果;最后,分别将X和Z方向打印试件的理论与实验的应力-应变曲线结果相对比,发现二者吻合度较好,验证了理论模型的正确性与准确性.     

Understanding the importance of selenium and selenoproteins in muscle function

Selenium is an essential trace element. In cattle, selenium deficiency causes dysfunction of various organs, including skeletal and cardiac muscles. In humans as well, lack of selenium is associated with many disorders, but despite accumulation of clinical reports, muscle diseases are not generally considered on the list. The goal of this review is to establish the connection between clinical observations and the most recent advances obtained in selenium biology. Recent results about a possible role of selenium-containing proteins in muscle formation and repair have been collected. Selenoprotein N is the first selenoprotein linked to genetic disorders consisting of different forms of congenital muscular dystrophies. Understanding the muscle disorders associated with selenium deficiency or selenoprotein N dysfunction is an essential step in defining the causes of the disease and obtaining a better comprehension of the mechanisms involved in muscle formation and maintenance. Received 13 July 2005; received after revision 9 September 2005; accepted 4 October 2005     

Cholera toxin structure, gene regulation and pathophysiological and immunological aspects

Many notions regarding the function, structure and regulation of cholera toxin expression have remained essentially unaltered in the last 15 years. At the same time, recent findings have generated additional perspectives. For example, the cholera toxin genes are now known to be carried by a non-lytic bacteriophage, a previously unsuspected condition. Understanding of how the expression of cholera toxin genes is controlled by the bacterium at the molecular level has advanced significantly and relationships with cell-density-associated (quorum-sensing) responses have recently been discovered. Regarding the cell intoxication process, the mode of entry and intracellular transport of cholera toxin are becoming clearer. In the immunological field, the strong oral immunogenicity of the non-toxic B subunit of cholera toxin (CTB) has been exploited in the development of a now widely licensed oral cholera vaccine. Additionally, CTB has been shown to induce tolerance against co-administered (linked) foreign antigens in some autoimmune and allergic diseases. Received 25 October 2007; accepted 12 December 2007     

The roles of poly(ADP-ribose)-metabolizing enzymes in alkylation-induced cell death

Poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) has been identified as a DNA damage-inducible cell death signal upstream of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF). PAR causes the translocation of AIF from mitochondria to the nucleus and triggers cell death. In living cells, PAR molecules are subject to dynamic changes pending on internal and external stress factors. Using RNA interference (RNAi), we determined the roles of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases-1 and -2 (PARP-1, PARP-2) and poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG), the key enzymes configuring PAR molecules, in cell death induced by an alkylating agent. We found that PARP-1, but not PARP-2 and PARG, contributed to alkylation-induced cell death. Likewise, AIF translocation was only affected by PARP-1. PARP-1 seems to play a major role configuring PAR as a death signal involving AIF translocation regardless of the death pathway involved. Received 7 November 2007; received after revision 19 December 2007; accepted 21 December 2007 O. Cohausz, C. Blenn: These two authors contributed equally to this work.     

Endocrine-dependent expression of circadian clock genes in insects

Current models state that insect peripheral oscillators are directly responsive to light, while mammalian peripheral clock genes are coordinated by a master clock in the brain via intermediate factors, possibly hormonal. We show that the expression levels of two circadian clock genes, period (per) and Par Domain Protein 1 (Pdp1) in the peripheral tissue of an insect model species, the linden bug Pyrrhocoris apterus, are inversely affected by contrasting photoperiods. The effect of photoperiod on per and Pdp1 mRNA levels was found to be mediated by the corpus allatum, an endocrine gland producing juvenile hormone. Our results provide the first experimental evidence for the effect of an endocrine gland on circadian clock gene expression in insects. Received 31 October 2007; received after revision 7 January 2008; accepted 9 January 2008 D. Dolezel, L. Zdechovanova: These authors contributed equally to this work.     

Zinc binding to peptide analogs of the structural zinc site in alcohol dehydrogenase: Implications for an entatic state

Zinc binding to the peptide replica and analogs to residues 93–115 of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) was examined by competition of the peptides and the chromophoric chelator 4-(2- pyridylazo)resorcinol for zinc and X-ray absorption fine structure analysis of the zinc ligands. In the enzyme, zinc is coordinated by four Cys residues. In the peptide replica, zinc is bound to three Cys and one His residue. A four-Cys zinc coordination is observed only when His is removed, leading to increased zinc stability. ADH crystal structures reveal that the ε-amino group of the conserved residue Lys323 is within H-bond distance of the backbone amide oxygens of residues 103, 105 and 108, likely stabilizing the zinc coordination in the enzyme. The peptide data thus indicate structural strain and increased energy in the zinc-binding site in the protein, characteristic of an entatic state, implying a functional nature for this zinc site. Received 3 July 2008; received after revision 11 August 2008; accepted 1 September 2008