Restoration of Brain Acid Soluble Protein 1 Inhibits Proliferation and Migration of Thyroid Cancer Cells

Background： Brain acid soluble protein 1 （BASPI） is identified as a novel potential tumor suppressor in several cancers. However, its role in thyroid cancer has not been investigated yet. In the present study, the antitumor activities of BASP1 against the growth and migration of thyroid cancer cells were evaluated. Methods： BASP1 expression in thyroid cancer tissues and normal tissues were examined by immunohistochemical staining and the association between its expression and prognosis was analyzed, pcDNA-BASP 1 carrying full length of BASP1 cDNA was constructed to restore the expression of BASP1 in thyroid cancer cell lines （BHT- I 01 and KMH-2）. The cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo was evaluated by WST-1 assay and xenografl tumor models, respectively. Cell cycle distribution after transfection was analyzed using flow cytometry. Cell apoptosis after transfection was examined by annexin V/propidium iodide assay. The migration was examined using transwell assay. Results： BASP1 expression was abundant in normal tissues while it is significantly decreased in cancer tissues （P = 0.000）. pcDNA-BASP1 restored the expression of BASPI and significantly inhibited the growth of BHT-101 and KMH-2 cells as well as xenograft tumors in nude mice （P = 0.000）. pcDNA-BASPI induced G1 arrest and apoptosis in BHT-101 and KMH-2 cells. In addition, pcDNA-BASP1 significantly inhibited the cell migration. Conclusions： Downregulation of BASP1 expression may play a role in the tumorigenesis of thyroid cancer. Restoration of BASPI expression exerted extensive antitumor activities against growth and migration of thyroid cancer cells, which suggested that BASPI gene might act as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of thyroid cancer.

Characteristics of Soluble and Exchangeable Acidity inan Extremely Acidified Acid Sulfate Soil

An extremely acidified acid sulfate soil (ASS) was investigated to characterize its soluble and exchangeableacidity. The results showed that soluble acidity of a sample determined by titration with a KOH solutionwas much significantly greater than that indicated by pH measured using a PH meter, particularly for theextremely acidic soil samples. This is because the total soluble acidity of the extremely acidic soil sampleswas mainly composed of various soluble Al and Fe species, possibly in forms of Al sulfate complexes (e.g.,AISO4) and ferrous Fe (Fe2+). It is therefore suggested not to use pH alone as an indicator of soluble acidityin ASS, particularly for extremely acidic ASS. It is also likely that AISO4+ actively pericipated in cationexchange reactions. It appears that the possible involvement of this Al sulfate canon in the canon adsorptionhas significant effect on increasing the amount of acidity being adsorbed by the soils.

A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE WATER—SOLUBLE OLIGOPEPTIDES AND AMINO ACIDS OF GINSENG

γ-Amino butyric acid(GABA)and several γ-glutamyl oligopeptides were isolated and identified from water-extract of ginseng.

Amino acid digestibility in low-fat distillers dried grains with solubles fed to growing pigs

The objective of this experiment was to determine the standardized ileal digestibility（SID） of amino acids（AA） in 3sources of distillers dried grains with solubles（DDGS） with different concentrations of fat.Twelve growing barrows（initial body weight：76.1 ± 6.2 kg） were randomly allotted to a replicated 6×4 Youden square design with 6 diets and 4 periods.The fat content of the 3 sources of DDGS were 11.5,7.5,and 6.9%respectively.Diets contained 60%DDGS and fat concentration of the diets were 7.5,52,and 5.2%,respectively.Two additional diets containing the 2sources of DDGS with 75 and 6.9%fat were also formulated,and corn oil was added to these diets to increase the concentration of fat in the diets to levels that were calculated to be similar to the diet containing conventional DDGS with 11.5%fat.A N-free diet was also formulated to calculate endogenous losses of crude protein（CP） and AA from the pigs.Pigs were fed experimental diets during four 7-d periods.The first 5 d of each period were an adaptation period and ileal digesta were collected on d 6 and 7 of each period.The apparent ileal digestibililty（AID） and SID of CP and all indispensable AA,except AID Pro and SID of Trp,were greater（P 〈 0.01） in conventional DDGS than in the 2 sources of DDGS with reduced fat.Adding oil to the diets containing the 2 sources of DDGS with reduced fat did not consistently increase SID of AA.In conclusion,conventional DDGS has greater SID values for most AA compared with DDGS that contains less fat and inclusion of additional oil to diets containing low-fat DDGS does not increase AID or SID of AA.The lower AA digestibility in low-fat DDGS could not be overcome by the inclusion of additional fat to the diets.

Experiment of Water Soluble Fertilizers Containing Humic Acid in Tomato Planting

As a natural macromolecular organic compound,humic acid can promote plant growth.Water soluble humic acid fertilizers refer to liquid or solid water soluble fertilizers made by adding appropriate amounts of nitrogen,phosphorus,potassium macroelements or zinc,boron,iron,molybdenum,manganese,copper and other trace elements or organic matter,based on humic acid in the required proportions for plant growth.In order to verify the application effect of humic acid containing water soluble fertilizer produced by Tai’an Gold Land Chemical Co.,Ltd.,in tomato production in Daiyue District,Tai’an City,a fertilizer effect application experiment of humic acid containing water soluble fertilizer on tomato planting was specially carried out.The results showed that the water soluble fertilizer containing humic acid could obviously improve the agronomic characters of tomato;the yield was significantly increased;the effect of increasing the income of tomato growers was obvious.

GRAFTING ONTO WOOL V.RADIATION-INITIATED GRAFTING OF ACRYLIC ACID ONTO WOOL FIBER

This paper deals with graft copolymerization of acrylic acid (AA) onto Xinjiang fine wool.fiber in aqueous medium initiated by gamma rays. Graft copolymerization was carried out by themutual irradiation method in limited air. Percent grafting and percent efficiency have been deter-mined as a function of total dose, dose rate, concentration of monomer, wool weight and reactiontemperature. Graft copolymers are characterized with infrared (IR) spectroscopy, scanning elec-tron microscopy (SEM), and X--ray diffractometer. Properties of the grafts were studied, and compared with the virgin fiber.

Preparation and properties of magnesium oxysulfate cement and its application as lost circulation materials

Loss of drilling fluids in large porous and fractured zones inevitably up-regulates the overall cost of drilling.As a type of acid-soluble cement,magnesium oxysulfate(MOS)cement is arousing huge attention for the less hygroscopic nature and less damaging to steel casings compared with magnesium oxychloride(MOC)cement.The present study developed MOS cement as a fast setting,high strength and acid-soluble lost circulation material to reduce the problem of losses.As suggested in this study,a higher strength of MOS cement at 70℃could be achieved by elevating M_(g)O/MgSO_(4)·7 H_(2)O molar ratio or downregulating H_(2)O/MgSO_(4)·7 H_(2)O molar ratio.Boric acid and borax could act as effective retarders.Plugging slurry based on MOS cement could effectively block the simulated porous loss zones exhibiting a diameter from 1.24 mm to 1.55 mm,as well as the fractured loss zones with a width from 2 mm to 5 mm and bearing a pressure difference up to 8 MPa.Permeability recovery test demonstrated that it facilitated future oil and gas production.The successful field application in the Junggar Basin,Xinjiang,China verified the significant plugging effect of MOS cement for severe loss problems.

Transformation of Sucrose to Starch and Protein in Rice Leaves and Grains under Two Establishment Methods

Six rice varieties, PR120, PR116, Feng Ai Zan, PR115, PAU201 and Punjab Mehak 1 were raised under aerobic and transplanting conditions to assess the effects of planting conditions on sucrose metabolising enzymes in relation to the transformation of free sugars to starch and protein in flag leaves and grains. Activities of sucrose synthase, sucrose phosphate synthase and acid invertase increased till flowering stage in leaves and mid-milky stage（14 d after flowering） in grains and thereafter declined in concomitant with the contents of reducing sugar. Under aerobic conditions, the activities of acid invertase and sucrose synthase（cleavage） significantly decreased in conjunction with the decrease in non-reducing sugars and starch content in all the varieties. Disruption of starch biosynthesis under the influence of aerobic conditions in both leaves and grains and the higher build up of sugars possibly resulted in their favoured utilization in nitrogen metabolism. Feng Ai Zan, PR115 and PR120 maintained higher levels of sucrose synthase enzymes in grains and leaves and contents of metabolites（amino acid, protein and non-reducing sugar） under aerobic conditions, while PR116, Punjab Mehak 1 and PAU201 performed better under transplanting conditions, thus showing their adaptation to environmental stress. Yield gap between aerobic and transplanting rice is attributed primarily to the difference in sink activity and strength. Overall, it appear that up-regulation of sucrose synthase（synthesis） and sucrose phosphate synthase under aerobic conditions might be responsible in enhancing growth and productivity of rice varieties.

Biochemical Characterization of Soluble Acid and Alkaline Invertases from Shoots of Etiolated Pea Seedlings

Soluble invertase was purified from pea （Pisum sativum L.） by sequential procedures entailing ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-Sepharose column, Con-A- and Green 19-Sepharose affinity columns, hydroxyapatite column, ultra-filtration, and Sephacryl 300 gel filtration. The purified soluble acid （SAC） and alkaline （SALK） invertases had a pH optimum of 5.3 and 7.3, respectively. The temperature optimum of two invertases was 37 ℃. The effects of various concentrations of Tris-HCI, HgCI2, and CuSO4 on the activities of the two purified enzymes were examined. Tris-HCI and HgCI2 did not affect SAC activity, whereas 10 mM Tris-HCI and 0.05 mM HgCI2 inhibited SALK activity by about 50%. SAC and SALK were inhibited by 4.8 mM and 0.6 mM CuSO4 by 50%, respectively. The enzymes display typical hyperbolic saturation kinetics for sucrose hydrolysis. The Kms of SAC and SALK were determined to be 1.8 and 38.6 mM, respectively. The molecular masses of SAC shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting were 22 kDa and 45 kDa. The molecular mass of SALK was 30 kDa. Iso-electric points of the SAC and SALK were estimated to be about pH 7.0 and pH 5.7, respectively.

Synthesis and Evaluation of a Water-Swelling Polymer Plugging Agent SWL-1

In this paper, to solve the problems of low water absorption and weak pressure bearing capacity of current plugging materials, acrylic acid (AA), acrylamide (AM), and sodium allyl sulfonate (SAS) are used as monomers, and soluble starch is used as grafting. Material, the use of free radical aqueous solution method to synthesize the plugging agent SWL-1 with good water absorption and strong salt resistance. The monomer ratio is set as n (AA):n (AM):n (SAS) = 5:2:1, the experimental synthesis temperature is 70°C, and the orthogonal experiment is used to determine the experimental synthesis conditions as AA neutralization degree 80%, The amount of initiator is 0.60%, the amount of crosslinking agent is 0.50%, the ratio of monomer to starch is 7:1, and the amount of calcium carbonate is 13%. The comprehensive evaluation of the performance of the plugging agent SWL-1 shows that the water absorption performance at 60°C is the best 268.78 g/g, and the water absorption performance in 8% NaCl, 0.9% CaCl2 and composite brine is 21.5 g/g, 12.5 g/g and 24.9 g/g, indicating good resistance to sodium and calcium, the water retention rate is still higher than 30% after 15 days at 160°C. The sand bed plugging test found that the maximum pressure of SWL-1 was 7 MPa, and the crack plugging test found that when the crack width was 1 mm, 2 mm, and 3 mm, the maximum compressive strength of SWL-1 was 10 MPa. The acid solubility test showed that the maximum pressure was 10 MPa. The highest rate is 86.38%.

Purification, Biochemical and Immunological Characterization of Acid Invertases from Apple Fruit

: The soluble acid invertase (SAI) and cell wall-bound invertase (CWI) were purified from apple fruit to apparent electrophoretic homogeneity. Based on sequencing, substrate specificity, and immunoblotting assay, the purified enzymes were identified to be two isoforms of acid invertase (β-fructosidase; EC 3.2.1. 26). The SAI and CWI have the same apparent molecular mass with a holoenzyme of molecular mass of 220 kDa composed of 50 kDa subunits. The SAI has a lower Km value for sucrose and higher Km for raffinose compared with CWI. These acid invertases differ from those in other plants in some of their biochemical properties, such as the extremely high Km value for raffinose, no hydrolytic activity for stachyose, and a mixed form of inhibition by fructose to their activity. The antibodies directed against the SAI and CWI recognized, from the crude extract, three polypeptides with a molecular mass of 50, 68, and 30 kDa, respectively. These results provide a substantial basis for the further studies of the acid invertases in apple fruit.

Experimental investigation of the application of Eucalyptus bark to prevent lost circulation in pay zones with acid dissolution capability

Loss of drilling fluid is a common problem during the drilling of wells and it restricts the appropriate functionality of muds.Drilling fluid loss significantly increases drilling costs and non-productive time as well as the drilling operation risks.Various investigations have been carried out in order to find appropriate mud additives that either block fractures and pores or reduce fluid loss by improving the fluid rheology.Cheap,environmentally friendly and effective additives are still required by the drilling industry.Hence,the application of available materials in each region,to produce appropriate additives,is a challenge for the oil industry.In this study,Eucalyptus Camaldulensis(EUC)bark powder has been chosen as a new,fibrous,cheap,environmentally friendly and available material to control fluid loss,particularly in southern Iran.Different characterization tests,such as acid dissolution and fluid loss control,were carried out to study the performance of the new proposed additive.Removal by hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid were studied at various acid concentrations and temperatures.Dynamic fluid loss was also measured at different EUC concentrations.Our study showed that EUC powder can reduce the final fluid loss by 88-97%,the initial fluid loss by 45-66%,and the total loss by 87e94%,which is a satisfactory level.