Diacylglycerol Kinase η Activity in Cells Using Protein Myristoylation and Cellular Phosphatidic Acid Sensor

Diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) phosphorylates diacylglycerol to produce phosphatidic acid (PtdOH) and regulates the balance between two lipid second messengers: diacylglycerol and PtdOH. Several lines of evidence suggest that the η isozyme of DGK is involved in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms regulating the pathophysiological functions remain unclear. One reason is that it is difficult to detect the cellular activity of DGKη. To overcome this difficulty, we utilized protein myristoylation and a cellular PtdOH sensor, the N-terminal region of α-synuclein (α-Syn-N). Although DGKη expressed in COS-7 cells was broadly distributed in the cytoplasm, myristoylated (Myr)-AcGFP-DGKη and Myr-AcGFP-DGKη-KD (inactive (kinase-dead) mutant) were substantially localized in the plasma membrane. Moreover, DsRed monomer-α-Syn-N significantly colocalized with Myr-AcGFP-DGKη but not Myr-AcGFP-DGKη-KD at the plasma membrane. When COS-7 cells were osmotically shocked, all DGKη constructs were exclusively translocated to osmotic shock-responsive granules (OSRG). DsRed monomer-α-Syn-N markedly colocalized with only Myr-AcGFP-DGKη at OSRG and exhibited a higher signal/background ratio (3.4) than Myr-AcGFP-DGKη at the plasma membrane in unstimulated COS-7 cells (2.5), indicating that α-Syn-N more effectively detects Myr-AcGFP-DGKη activity in OSRG. Therefore, these results demonstrated that the combination of myristoylation and the PtdOH sensor effectively detects DGKη activity in cells and that this method is convenient to examine the molecular functions of DGKη. Moreover, this method will be useful for the development of drugs targeting DGKη. Furthermore, the combination of myristoylation (intensive accumulation in membranes) and α-Syn-N can be applicable to assays for various cytosolic PtdOH-generating enzymes.     

不同含水率粘土在不同试验条件下的应力-应变特性

采用单轴固结试验和三轴剪切试验对饱和、湿润、风干以及烘干的藤森粘土进行了应力-应变特性研究。在试验过程中,进行了不同轴向应力水平下的恒应变率加载试验、蠕变试验以及卸载与重复加载试验。局部变形测量传感器(LDT)被用于三轴剪切试验中的轴向变形测量以提高小应变测量的精度。试验结果表明,不同含水率与饱和度的藤森粘土在单轴固结试验与三轴剪切试验条件下都表现出明显的粘塑性。它们的加载速率效应、蠕变效应都相似;而且在蠕变结束后的一小段邻域内藤森粘土的强度有明显的提高。笔者提出用参数β来描述藤森粘土的粘性。对试验结果的计算分析表明,在单轴和三轴试验条件下不同含水率与饱和度的藤森粘土的β值介于0.034到0.064之间;而且,含水率高的藤森粘土的β值大于含水率低的藤森粘土的β值,单轴试验条件下的β值大于三轴试验条件下的β值。     

Giant thermoelectric Seebeck coefficient of a two-dimensional electron gas in SrTiO3

Enhancement of the Seebeck coefficient (S ) without reducing the electrical conductivity (sigma) is essential to realize practical thermoelectric materials exhibiting a dimensionless figure of merit (ZT=S2 x sigma x T x kappa-1) exceeding 2, where T is the absolute temperature and kappa is the thermal conductivity. Here, we demonstrate that a high-density two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) confined within a unit cell layer thickness in SrTiO(3) yields unusually large |S|, approximately five times larger than that of SrTiO(3) bulks, while maintaining a high sigma2DEG. In the best case, we observe |S|=850 microV K-1 and sigma2DEG=1.4 x 10(3) S cm-1. In addition, by using the kappa of bulk single-crystal SrTiO(3) at room temperature, we estimate ZT approximately 2.4 for the 2DEG, corresponding to ZT approximately 0.24 for a complete device having the 2DEG as the active region. The present approach using a 2DEG provides a new route to realize practical thermoelectric materials without the use of toxic heavy elements.     

A soft-solution process for recovering rare metals from metal/alloy-wastes by grinding and washing with water

We have developed a novel process for recovering metals from alloy-wastes by using a mechanochemical (MC) reaction. The process consists of co-grinding both alloy and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) samples, followed by washing with water and filtration. The co-grinding of the wastes causes a solid-state MC reaction to form metal chlorides and hydrocarbon in the product. The former products are soluble in water, so they can be recovered from the wastes by washing with water, followed by filtration. The PVC waste plays a significant role as a chlorine source in the MC reaction. After filtration, the solid residue can be used as a fuel, due to the absence of chlorine in the product, and the filtrate is subjected to hydrometallurgical process to extract metals from the solution.     

Cation off-stoichiometric SrMnO<Subscript>3−δ</Subscript> thin film grown by pulsed laser deposition

The laser energy density (laser fluence) dependency of the Sr/Mn ratio was investigated for SrMnO_3−δ (SMO) thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). It was found that the Sr/Mn ratio showed a steep increase followed by a gradual increase as the laser fluence was increased. However, the Sr/Mn ratio always showed Mn-excess under the present laser fluence condition as long as stoichiometric SrMnO₃ targets were used. In order to obtain cation stoichiometric SMO films, it was necessary to use Sr-excess SrMnO₃ targets in addition with laser fluence tuning. The crystal quality of the SMO thin film was found to vary with the Sr/Mn ratio. In stoichiometric or Sr-excess SMO thin films, epitaxial thin films could be obtained, whereas Mn-excess thin films showed very low crystallinity. Sr-excess films were also found to have some extra SrO planes. In addition, they exhibited out-of-plane lattice expansion which electron energy loss spectroscopy analysis revealed was due to Mn vacancies. The variation of film growth was closely related to point defects due to excess cations included in growing thin films.     

Nano-Ag-loaded hydroxyapatite coatings on titanium surfaces by electrochemical deposition

Hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings on titanium (Ti) substrates have attracted much attention owing to the combination of good mechanical properties of Ti and superior biocompatibility of HA. Incorporating silver (Ag) into HA coatings is an effective method to impart the coatings with antibacterial properties. However, the uniform distribution of Ag is still a challenge and Ag particles in the coatings are easy to agglomerate, which in turn affects the applications of the coatings. In this study, we employed pulsed electrochemical deposition to co-deposit HA and Ag simultaneously, which realized the uniform distribution of Ag particles in the coatings. This method was based on the use of a well-designed electrolyte containing Ag ions, calcium ions and l-cysteine, in which cysteine acted as the coordination agent to stabilize Ag ions. The antibacterial and cell culture tests were used to evaluate the antibacterial properties and biocompatibility of HA/Ag composite coatings, respectively. The results indicated the as-prepared coatings had good antibacterial properties and biocompatibility. However, an appropriate silver content should be chosen to balance the biocompatibility and antibacterial properties. Heat treatments promoted the adhesive strength and enhanced the biocompatibility without sacrificing the antibacterial properties of the HA/Ag coatings. In summary, this study provided an alternative method to prepare bioactive surfaces with bactericidal ability for biomedical devices.     

Cryogenic fracture of cracked piezoelectric ceramics in three-point bending under electric fields

This paper investigates theoretically and experimentally the cryogenic fracture behavior of cracked piezoelectric ceramics under electric fields. Fracture tests were performed in three-point bending with the single-edge precracked-beam specimens at room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K), and the fracture loads under electric fields were obtained. Plane strain finite element analysis was also carried out using temperature-dependent material properties of the piezoelectric ceramics, and the dependence of the energy release rate on the electric field and temperature was discussed. In addition, possible mechanisms for cryogenic fracture were examined by scanning electron microscopy.     

Fatty Acid Conjugates of Water‐Soluble (±)‐trans‐Selenolane‐3,4‐diol: Effects of Alkyl Chain Length on the Antioxidant Capacity

Fatty acid monoesters of the title compound (DHS^red), of variable carbon chain length (propionate, laurate, myristate, palmitate, and stearate), were synthesized, and their antioxidant capacities were evaluated by means of a lipid peroxidation assay with lecithin/cholesterol liposomes. The selenides with long alkyl chains exhibited significant antioxidant activity (IC₅₀=9–34 μM ) against accumulation of lipid hydroperoxide. Incorporation of the myristate into the liposome was ≈50 % by EPMA analysis. Intermediacy of the selenoxide was examined by NMR. In addition, enhancement of interfacial redox catalytic activity was observed for the myristate, but not for PhSeSePh and edaravone, in a PhCl/H₂O biphasic peroxidation assay. These results suggested that a combination of a hydrophilic selenide moiety as a redox center with a long alkyl chain is an effective approach to selenium antioxidants with interfacial glutathione‐peroxidase‐like (GPx‐like) activity. The activity can be controlled by the alkyl chain length.