Inhibition of Aspergillus parasiticus and Cancer Cells by Marine Actinomycete Strains

Ten actinomycete strains isolated from the Yellow Sea off China＇s coasts were identified as belonging to two genera by 16S rDNA phylogenetic analysis： Streptomyces and Nocardiopsis. Six Streptomyces strains （MA10, 2SHXF01-3, MA35, MA05-2, MA05-2-1 and MA08-1） and one Nocardiopsis strain （MA03） were predicted to have the potential to produce aromatic polyketides based on the analysis of the KSa （ketoacyl-synthase） gene in the type II PKS （polyketides synthase） gene cluster. Four strains （MA03, MA01, MA10 and MA05-2） exhibited significant inhibitory effects on mycelia growth （inhibition rate 〉50%） and subsequent aria- toxin production （inhibition rate 〉75%） of the mutant aflatoxigenic Aspergillus parasiticus NFRI-95. The ethyl acetate extracts of the broth of these four strains displayed significant inhibitory effects on mycelia growth, and the IC50 values were calculated （MA03： 0.275 mg mL-1, MA01：0.106 mg mL-1, MA10：1.345 mg mL-1 and MA05-2：1.362 mg mL-1）. Five strains （2SHXF01-3, MA03, MA05-2, MA01 and MA08-1） were selected based on their high cytotoxic activities. The ethyl acetate extract of the Nocardiopsis strain MA03 was particularly noted for its high antitumor activity against human carcinomas of the cervix （HeLa）, lung （A549）, kidney （Caki-1） and liver （HepG2） （IC50： 2.890, 1.981, 3.032 and 2.603 μgmL-1, respectively）. The extract also remarkably inhibited colony formation of HeLa cells at an extremely low concentration （0.5μgmL 1）. This study highlights that marine-derived actinomycetes are a huge resource of compounds for the biological control of aflatoxin contamination and the development of novel drugs for human carcinomas.

Carbon nanotubes-reinforced polylactic acid/hydroxyapatite porous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

In the field of bone defect repair,critical requirements for favorable cytocompatibility and optimal mechanical properties have propelled research efforts towards the development of composite materials.In this study,carbon nanotubes/polylactic acid/hydroxyapatite(CNTs/PLA/HA)scaffolds with different contents(0.5,1,1.5 and 2 wt.%)of CNTs were prepared by the thermally induced phase separation(TIPS)method.The results revealed that the composite scaffolds had uniform pores with high porosities over 68%and high through performances.The addition of CNTs significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of resulted PLA/HA,in which the 1.5 wt.%CNTs/PLA/HA composite scaffold demonstrated the optimum mechanical behaviors with the bending elastic modulus of(868.5±12.34)MPa,the tensile elastic modulus of(209.51±12.73)MPa,and the tensile strength of(3.26±0.61)MPa.Furthermore,L929 cells on the 1.5 wt.%CNTs/PLA/HA scaffold displayed good spreading performance and favorable cytocompatibility.Therefore,it is expected that the 1.5 wt.%CNTs/PLA/HA scaffold has potential applications in bone tissue engineering.

Investigation of the Compressible Flow through the Tip-Section Turbine Blade Cascade with Supersonic Inlet

The contribution deals with the experimental and numerical investigation of compressible flow through the tip-section turbine blade cascade with the blade 54″ long. Experimental investigations by means of optical(interferometry and schlieren method) and pneumatic measurements provide more information about the behaviour and nature of basic phenomena occurring in the profile cascade flow field. The numerical simulation was carried out by means of the EARSM turbulence model according to Hellsten [5] completed by the bypass transition model with the algebraic equation for the intermittency coefficient proposed by Straka and P?íhoda [6] and implemented into the in-house numerical code. The investigation was focused particularly on the effect of shock waves on the shear layer development including the laminar/turbulent transition. Interactions of shock waves with shear layers on both sides of the blade result usually in the transition in attached and/ or separated flow and so to the considerable impact to the flow structure and energy losses in the blade cascade.