Formation of Ca_3SiO_5 prepared by electric and microwave burning

A new method of sintering Ca3SiO5 by the combination of conventional and microwave heating methods was studied. The influence of transitional metal oxides such as Fe2O3, Cr2O3, MnO2, and V2O5 used as the additive of microwave absorption on the microwave-promoted burning of Ca3SiO5 was investigated. The experimental results indicate that the new burning technique is capable of promoting the sintering of Ca3SiO5. At 1200-1300℃ in an electric furnace, Ca3SiO5 can be obtained only when the sample is heated in a microwave for 110-240 s, and the free lime content is below 40wt%. Based on the experiments, Fe2O3, Cr2O3, MnO2, and V2O5 can enhance microwave sintering. Amongst them, Cr2O3 is the most effective. The characteristic of the X-ray diffraction peaks of Ca3SiO5 is similar to those of standard Ca3SiO5, but the peaks are wider.

Cloning and functional analysis of the promoter of allergen gene Ara h 1 from peanut

Peanut seeds are ideal bioreactors for the production of foreign recombinant proteins or secondary metabolites.Seed-specific promoters(SSPs)can direct the expression of genes specifically in seeds to avoid undesirable effects associated with constitutive expression.However,few SSPs have been identified in peanut.Previous studies have shown that some allergen-encoding genes encode seed storage proteins or exhibit seed-specific/preferential expression.In this study,we characterized allergen-encoding genes from across the genomes of Arachis species to explore seed-specific genes.We found that at least 9 out of 16 identified peanut allergen-encoding genes were expressed specifically in the seeds or were preferentially expressed.A 1493-bp promoter fragment of allergen gene Ara h 1(we named it AHSSP6)was isolated from cultivated peanut genome.cis-element analysis showed that three RY repeat elements which usually exsisted in seed or embryo specific promoter sequence were also present in AHSSP6 sequence.Histochemical analysis showed AHSSP6 could drive the expression of aβ-glucuronidase(GUS)reporter gene specifically in the seeds or cotyledon tissue of transgenic Arabidopsis,while not in other tissues.These findings indicated that these promoters of allergen genes were candidate SSPs,and AHSSP6 was a novel SSP which could be potentially utilized in peanut improvement.

Schisandra lignans ameliorate nonalcoholic steatohepatitis by regulating aberrant metabolism of phosphatidylethanolamines

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH)is a spectrum of chronic liver disease characterized by hepatic lipid metabolism disorder.Recent reports emphasized the contribution of triglyceride and diglyceride accumulation to NASH,while the other lipids associated with the NASH pathogenesis remained unexplored.The specific purpose of our study was to explore a novel pathogenesis and treatment strategy of NASH via profiling the metabolic characteristics of lipids.Herein,multi-omics techniques based on LC—Q-TOF/MS,LC—MS/MS and MS imaging were developed and used to screen the action targets related to NASH progress and treatment.A methionine and choline deficient(MCD)diet-induced mouse model of NASH was then constructed,and Schisandra lignans extract(SLE)was applied to alleviate hepatic damage by regulating the lipid metabolism-related enzymes CES2A and CYP4A14.Hepatic lipidomics indicated that MCD-diet led to aberrant accumulation of phosphatidylethanolamines(PEs),and SLE could significantly reduce the accumulation of intrahepatic PEs.Notably,exogenous PE(18:0/18:1)was proved to significantly aggravate the mitochondrial damage and hepatocyte apoptosis.Supplementing PE(18:0/18:1)also deteriorated the NASH progress by up regulating intrahepatic proinflammatory and fibrotic factors,while PE synthase inhibitor exerted a prominent hepatoprotective role.The current work provides new insights into the relationship between PE metabolism and the pathogenesis of NASH.