5-Azacytidine induces changes in electrophysiological properties of human mesenchymal stem cells

Previously, mouse bone marrow-derived stem cells （MSC） treated with the unspecific DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-azacytidine were reported to differentiate into cardiomyocytes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficiency of a similar differentiation strategy in human mononuclear cells obtained from healthy bone marrow donors. After 1-3 passages, cultures were exposed for 24 h to 5-azacytidine （3 μM） followed by 6 weeks of further culture. Drug treatment did not induce expression of myogenic marker MyoD or cardiac markers Nkx2.5 and GATA-4 and did not yield beating cells during follow-up. In patch clamp experiments, approximately 10-15% of treated and untreated cells exhibited L-type Ca^2＋ currents. Almost all cells showed outwardly rectifying K^＋ currents of rapid or slow activation kinetics. Mean current amplitude at ＋60 mV doubled after 6 weeks of treatment compared with time-matched controls. Membrane capacitance of treated cells was significantly larger than in controls 2 weeks after treatment and remained high after 6 weeks, Expression levels of mRNAs for the K^＋ channels Kv 1,1, Kv 1,5, Kv2,1, Kv4,3 and KCNMA 1 and for the Ca^2＋ channel Cav 1.2 were not affected by 5-azacytidine. Treatment with potassium channel blockers tetraethylammonium and clofilium at concentrations shown previously to inhibit rapid or slowly activating K^＋ currents of hMSC inhibited proliferation of these cells. Our results suggest that despite the absence of differentiation ofhMSC into cardiomyocytes, treatme.nt with 5-azacytidine caused profound changes in current density.

Ethene and butene oligomerization over isostructural H-SAPO-5 and H-SSZ-24: Kinetics and mechanism

BrФnsted-acidic zeolite and zeotype materials are potential catalysts for the conversion of ethene to higher alkenes. In this study, two materials with AFI structure but different acid strength, H-SAPO-5 and H-SSZ-24, were subject to studies of ethene, cis-2-butene and ethene-butene mixture conversion under conditions where C3-C5 alkene formation is thermodynamically favoured over higher hydrocarbons(673-823 K, 1 atm). Ethene and cis-2-butene partial pressures were varied in the range 9-60 and 0.9-8.1 kPa, respectively, and contact times were varied in the range 3.78-756 and 0.573-76.4 s.μmol H+/cm^3 over H-SAPO-5 and H-SSZ-24, respectively. Less than 1% conversion of ethene and less than 10% conversion of butene was obtained in the range of conditions used for elucidation of rate parameters. The ethene conversion rates were more than an order of magnitude higher over the more acidic H-SSZ-24 than over H-SAPO-5(6.5 vs. 0.3 mmol/mol H+.s at 748 K, Pethene = 33 kP a), with corresponding lower reaction order in ethene(1.5 vs. 2.0 at 673 K) and lower apparent activation energy(52 vs. 80 kJ/mol at 698-823 K). Propene selectivity was substantially higher over H-SSZ-24 than over H-SAPO-5(68% vs. 36% at 0.5% ethene conversion). A similar difference in apparent reaction rates was observed for cis-2-butene conversion over the two catalysts, and for co-feeds of ethene and cis-2-butene. However, the cis-2-butene conversion to C3-C5 alkenes was found to be severely influenced by thermodynamic limitations, impeding a detailed kinetic analysis, and leading predominantly to isobutene formation at the highest temperatures.

STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE FROM GMS-5 INFRARED CLOUD IMAGERY AND SURFACE RAIN RATES DURING THE RAINING SEASONS OF FUJIAN PROVINCE

The GMS-5 infrared cloud imagery for two yearly first raining seasons in 1998 and 1999 are used to study the relationship between brightness temperature and surface rain rates. The result shows that it is likely to have large probability of heavy precipitation with the decrease of brightness temperature and the gradual increase of rainfall intensity; for areas of low temperature, the brightness temperature is better determined for atmosphere above rain gauge stations with multiple points sampling than with single point one; for the yearly first raining season, the threshold brightness temperature is set at 4.6℃ for indication of heavy precipitation in the Fujian area.

Sustainable synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from waste cotton stalk catalyzed by solid superacid-SO4^2-/ZrO2

A sustainable process was explored for the preparation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural(HMF) by catalytic degradation of the waste cotton stalk. Solid super-acid(SO_4^(2-)/ZrO_2) was used as an efficient catalyst for the degradation of cotton stalk. Both decomposition experiments and kinetic study were conducted for the exploration of degradation condition and kinetics mechanism. The optimized experimental conditions are reaction temperature 503 K, reaction time 75 min and dosage of catalyst 30%(mass fraction) based on the decomposition experiments, under which a maximum yield of 27.2% for HMF could be achieved. Kinetic study was then carried out in the presence of SO_4^(2-)/ZrO_2. The theoretical results indicate that the activation energies for reducing sugar and HMF with catalyst are 96.71 k J/mol, 84.21 kJ/mol in the presence of SO_4^(2-)/ZrO_2, and they are 105.96 k J/mol and 119.37 k J/mol in the absence of SO_4^(2-)/ZrO_2.