Molecular simulations of Taxawallin I inside classical taxol binding site of β-tubulin

A new taxoid Taxawallin I (1) along with two known taxoids (2-3) were isolated from methanolic bark extract of Taxus wallichiana Zucc. Structural characterization was confirmed by mass and NMR spectral techniques. Taxawallin I exhibited significant in-vitro anticancer activity against HepG2, A498, NCI-H226 and MDR 2780AD cancer lines. Tubulin binding assay was performed to assess its tubulin binding activity. Molecular docking analysis was performed to study the potential binding mode inside the taxol binding site of β-tubulin.     

Genetic variability in cultivated common bean beyond the two major gene pools

It is generally accepted that two major gene pools exist in cultivatedcommon bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), a MiddleAmerican and an Andean one. Some evidence, based on unique phaseolin morphotypesand AFLP analysis, suggests that at least one more gene pool exists incultivated common bean. To investigate this hypothesis, 1072 accessions from acommon bean core collection from the primary centres of origin, held at CIAT,were investigated. Various agronomic and morphological attributes (14categorical and 11 quantitative) were measured. Multivariate analyses,consisting of homogeneity analysis and clustering for categorical data,clustering and ordination techniques for quantitative data and nonlinearprincipal component analysis for mixed data, were undertaken. The results ofmost analyses supported the existence of the two major gene pools. However, theanalysis of categorical data of protein types showed an additional minor genepool. The minor gene pool is designated North Andean and includes phaseolintypes CH, S and T; lectin types 312, Pr, B and K; and mostly A5, A6 and A4 types-amylase inhibitor. Analysis of the combined categorical data ofprotein types and some plant categorical data also suggested that some othergermplasm with C type phaseolin are distinguished from the major gene pools.     

饲粮高钙对雏鸡锌利用的影响

试验采用含钙0.88％和1.78％的玉米—豆饼型基础饲粮(含锌29ppm,添加0.10和40ppm锌(ZnSO_4·7H_2O)。结果表明,随着饲粮锌水平的提高,雏鸡增重显著提高(P<0.01),这种效应随着雏鸡周龄的增长愈趋明显。饲粮高钙使雏鸡前期增重显著降低(P<0.01),后期效应愈趋缓解。血清碱性磷酸酶的活性随着饲粮锌水平的提高而显著提高(P<0.01),饲粮高钙使之显著降低(P<0.01)。饲粮加锌使血清白蛋白含量显著高于未加锌组(P<0.05),饲粮高钙使血清白蛋白含量显著降低(P<0.01),使血清球蛋白含量显著提高(P<0.01),而血清总蛋白含量不受饲粮钙水平显著影响(P>0.05)。肝脏(P<0.05)、肾脏(P<0.01)、胰脏(P<0.01)、胫骨(P<0.01)以及粪便排泄物(P<0.01)中锌含量随饲粮锌水平的提高而显著提高,肺脏锌含量没有明显变化(P>0.05)。饲粮高钙使肾脏(P<0.05)、肺脏(P<0.01)、胫骨(P<0.05)锌含量显著降低,使粪便排泄物中锌含量显著提高(P<0.05)。饲粮中含锌29ppm,不能满足雏鸡维持正常代谢和生长发育的营养需要,饲粮高钙时,饲粮总锌69ppm为宜。     

Premelting at defects within bulk colloidal crystals

Premelting is the localized loss of crystalline order at surfaces and defects at temperatures below the bulk melting transition. It can be thought of as the nucleation of the melting process. Premelting has been observed at the surfaces of crystals but not within. We report observations of premelting at grain boundaries and dislocations within bulk colloidal crystals using real-time video microscopy. The crystals are equilibrium close-packed, three-dimensional colloidal structures made from thermally responsive microgel spheres. Particle tracking reveals increased disorder in crystalline regions bordering defects, the amount of which depends on the type of defect, distance from the defect, and particle volume fraction. Our observations suggest that interfacial free energy is the crucial parameter for premelting in colloidal and atomic-scale crystals.     

Laser ablation and the production of polymer films

The formation of high-quality thin films of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is important in many applications ranging from material reinforcement to molecular electronics. Laser ablation, a technique widely used to deposit a variety of inorganic materials, can also be used as a simple and highly versatile method for forming thin polymer films. The data presented show that PTFE films can be produced on various supports by the evaporation of a solid PTFE target with a pulsed ultraviolet laser. The composition of the ablation plume suggests that PTFE ablation and subsequent film formation occur by way of a laser-induced pyrolitic decomposition with subsequent repolymerization. The polymer films produced by this method are composed of amorphous and highly crystalline regions, the latter being predominantly in a chain-folded configuration with the molecular axis aligned parallel to the substrate surface.     

Community proteomics of a natural microbial biofilm

Using genomic and mass spectrometry-based proteomic methods, we evaluated gene expression, identified key activities, and examined partitioning of metabolic functions in a natural acid mine drainage (AMD) microbial biofilm community. We detected 2033 proteins from the five most abundant species in the biofilm, including 48% of the predicted proteins from the dominant biofilm organism, Leptospirillum group II. Proteins involved in protein refolding and response to oxidative stress appeared to be highly expressed, which suggests that damage to biomolecules is a key challenge for survival. We validated and estimated the relative abundance and cellular localization of 357 unique and 215 conserved novel proteins and determined that one abundant novel protein is a cytochrome central to iron oxidation and AMD formation.