Bis[2-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-phenolato]-dimethanol-manganese(III) chloride

In the title compound, [Mn(C₁₃H₉N₂O)₂(CH₃OH)₂]Cl, the Mn^III atom (site symmetry ) is coordinated by two N,O-bidentate 2-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)phenolate ligands and two methanol mol­ecules, to generate a distorted trans-MnN₂O₄ octa­hedral geometry for the metal ion. The dihedral angle between the aromatic ring systems in the ligand is 16.0 (3)°. In the crystal structure, the complex cations and chloride anions are linked by O—H⋯Cl and N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds. The chloride ion lies on a crystallographic twofold axis.

The rag locus of Porphyromonas gingivalis might arise from Bacteroides via horizontal gene transfer

Porphyromonas gingivalis is regarded as one of the risk factors of periodontitis. P. gingivalis exhibits a wide variety of genotypes. Many insertion sequences (ISs), located in their chromosomes, made P. gingivalis differentiate into virulent and avirulent strains. In this research, we investigated the prevalence of P. gingivalis in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) among periodontitis patients from Zhenjiang, China, detected the P. gingivalis rag locus distributions by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and analyzed the origin of the P. gingivalis rag locus based on evolution. There were three rag locus variants co-existing in Zhenjiang. The results showed that the rag locus may be associated with severe periodontitis. This work also firstly ascertained that the rag locus might arise, in theory, from Bacteroides sp. via horizontal gene transfer.

Overview of the Rapid Response data

The Type I Diabetes Genetics Consortium (T1DGC) Rapid Response Workshop was established to evaluate published candidate gene associations in a large collection of affected sib-pair (ASP) families. We report on our quality control (QC) and preliminary family-based association analyses. A random sample of blind duplicates was analyzed for QC. Quality checks, including examination of plate-panel yield, marker yield, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, mismatch error rate, Mendelian error rate, and allele distribution across plates, were performed. Genotypes from 2324 families within nine cohorts were obtained from a panel of 21 candidate genes, including 384 single-nucleotide polymorphisms on two genotyping platforms performed at the Broad Institute Center for Genotyping and Analysis (Cambridge, MA, USA). The T1DGC Rapid Response project, following rigorous QC procedures, resulted in a 2297 family, 9688 genotyped individual database on a single-candidate gene panel. The available data include 9005 individuals with genotype data from both platforms and 683 individuals genotyped (276 in Illumina; 407 in Sequenom) on only one platform.

Molecular cloning of the two very low-density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR) subtypes in geese and the effect of overfeeding on their MRNA levels

The objectives of this study were to verify the existence of two subtypes of the very low-density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR) gene in geese, to investigate the effect of overfeeding on the plasma concentration of triglycerides (TG) and the very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), the activity of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and the mRNA level of VLDLR in Sichuan White geese and Landes geese. The results indicate that there are two subtypes of the VLDLR gene in geese, and that they share a high similarity with those of other species. The expression of VLDLR I and VLDLR II was found in both tissues examined. After overfeeding, the expression level of VLDLR I in adipose tissue showed about a onefold increase (P < 0.05) in both breeds. Overfeeding induced a significant decrease of VLDLR I in skeletal muscle of both breeds, and a significant decrease of VLDLR II in Sichuan White geese (P < 0.05), but an obvious increase of VLDLR II in Landes geese (P < 0.05). In addition, overfeeding induced the increase of plasma VLDL, TG concentration and plasma LPL activity. It was concluded that VLDLR may participate in the metabolism of VLDL-TG by regulating the LPL-mediated TG hydrolysis in geese. Key words: Gene expression, geese, molecular cloning, overfeeding, very low-density lipoprotein receptor

Synthesis and Assembling of Semiconductor and Metal Nanocrystals

The synthesis of strongly luminescing semiconductor nanocrystals reported is based on a wet-chemical approach. The use of aqueous solutions and the avoiding of dangerous and unstable precursors make this synthetic approach to be easily up-scaleable. The reaction yields are approaching gram amounts of the dried product and are limited solely by the laboratory facilities and thus may be further increased by using industrial equipments. The nanocrystals obtained by this route are strongly luminescing and suitable for various assembling procedures allowing the creation of core-shell spherical and thin-film composites, that are promising for photonic and optoelectronic applications. New assembly procedures allowing template-based formations of different types of metal-dielectric and porous metal nanostructures are presented.

Therapeutic efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine 319 recipe on hepatic fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride in rats

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Hepatic fibrosis is a consequence of severe liver damage that occurs in many patients with chronic liver diseases. TCM 319 recipe is a Chinese Medicine formula which consists of six Chinese herbs. In this study, we investigated the anti-fibrotic efficacy and mechanisms of TCM 319 recipe.

METHODS

Hepatic fibrosis in rats was induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). 34 male adult SD rats were allocated into five groups (group 1-concomitant CCl4 and TCM 319 recipe for 8 weeks; group 2-CCl4 for 4 weeks and then CCl4 and TCM 319 recipe for 4 weeks; group 3-CCl4 alone for 8 weeks; group 4-TCM 319 recipe only for 8 weeks; group 5-untreated controls). After 8 weeks of treatment, serum ALT assay, liver tissue histological examination and immunostaining were carried out to examine the liver function and fibrosis degree. The expression levels of platelet derived growth factor (PDGF-B), PDGF-Rbeta, and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta1) were measured by quantitative RT-PCR and western blot.

RESULTS

TCM 319 recipe reduced liver injury and attenuated hepatic fibrosis in group 1 compared with that in group 3. TCM 319 recipe suppressed the mRNA expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1). In addition, treatment with TCM 319 recipe significantly down-regulated mRNA expression of PDGF-B and PDGF-Rbeta, and it also suppressed protein expression of PDGF-Rbeta and TGF-beta1.

CONCLUSIONS

TCM 319 recipe extracts could attenuate hepatic fibrosis induced by CCl4 in rats. The anti-fibrotic effect of TCM 319 recipe is associated with the down-regulation of mRNA expression of TIMP-1, PDGF-B and PDGF-Rbeta, and with the suppression of protein expression of PDGF-Rbeta and TGF-beta1.

Performance and mechanism of polyferric-quaternary ammonium salt composite flocculants in treating high organic matter and high alkalinity surface water

A series of composite flocculants PFC-PD with different basicity (B) of polyferric chloride (PFC), different weight percentage (w(P)) and intrinsic viscosity (eta) of polydimethyl diallylammonium chloride (PDMDAAC) were prepared by prepolymerization. The turbidity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) removal efficiency as well as flocculation mechanism of PFC-PD were compared with that of PFC, PDMDAAC and successive addition of PFC and PDMDAAC in treating high DOC and high alkalinity surface water by jar tests. The effect of B, w(P) and eta on coagulation efficiency and mechanisms were also studied. The experimental results showed that PFC-PD was more efficient and more applicable for turbidity, DOC and SUVA removal than PFC, PDMDAAC and successive addition of PFC and PDMDAAC. Further, the water pH was slightly depressed by PFC-PD. Coagulation efficiency of PFC-PD was improved at lower B, larger w(P) and larger eta. Charge neutralization was dominant mechanism of PFC-PD.

Facile Synthesis of Novel Nanostructured MnO(2) Thin Films and Their Application in Supercapacitors

Nanostructured alpha-MnO(2) thin films with different morphologies are grown on the platinum substrates by a facile solution method without any assistance of template or surfactant. Microstructural characterization reveals that morphology evolution from dandelion-like spheres to nanoflakes of the as-grown MnO(2) is controlled by synthesis temperature. The capacitive behavior of the MnO(2) thin films with different morphologies are studied by cyclic voltammetry. The alpha-MnO(2) thin films composed of dandelion-like spheres exhibit high specific capacitance, good rate capability, and excellent long-term cycling stability.

Relative bioavailabilities of organic zinc sources with different chelation strengths for broilers fed a conventional corn-soybean meal diet

An experiment was conducted to estimate relative bioavailability of Zn in 3 organic zinc sources with different chelation strength (Q(f)) compared with ZnSO(4). A total of 1,092, 1-d-old male broiler chicks were assigned randomly to 6 replicate cages (14 chicks per cage) for each of 13 treatments. Dietary treatments included the basal corn-soybean meal diet (27.82 mg of Zn/kg of DM) supplemented with 0, 30, 60, or 90 mg of added Zn as reagent ZnSO(4), or Zn sources with Q(f) of 6.5 (11.93% Zn; Zn AA C), 30.7 (13.27% Zn; Zn Pro B), or 944.0 (18.61% Zn; Zn Pro A)/kg, which are considered as weak, moderate, or strong Q(f), respectively. Bone Zn, pancreas Zn, pancreas metallothionein (MT) concentration, and pancreas MT messenger RNA (mRNA) were analyzed at 6, 10, or 14 d of age. The results showed that bone Zn, pancreas Zn, pancreas MT concentration, and pancreas MT mRNA increased linearly (P < 0.001) as dietary Zn concentration increased at all ages. At 6 d of age, pancreas MT mRNA differed (P < 0.001) among dietary Zn sources, and the same tendency was observed at 10 (P = 0.08) or 14 d (P = 0.06) of age. The R(2) for a linear model was greater on d 6 than d 10 or 14 for all the response criteria. Based on slope ratios from the multiple linear regression of pancreas MT mRNA concentration on daily intake of dietary Zn, the bioavailability of Zn AA C, Zn Pro B, and Zn Pro A relative to ZnSO(4) (100%) were 100.0, 121.1, and 72.3%, respectively, at 6 d of age. The results indicated that MT mRNA concentration in pancreas was more sensitive in reflecting differences in bioavailability among organic Zn sources than the MT concentration in pancreas or other indices. Moreover, the bioavailability of organic Zn sources was closely related to their Q(f).