Homogeneous Form Research Articles

N-Glycan Engineering: Constructing the N-GlcNAc Stump.

N-Glycosylation is often essential for the structure and function of proteins. However, N-glycosylated proteins from natural sources exhibit considerable heterogeneity in the appended oligosaccharides, bringing daunting challenges to corresponding basic research and therapeutic applications. To address this issue, various synthetic, enzymatic, and chemoenzymatic approaches have been elegantly designed. Utilizing the endoglycosidase-catalyzed transglycosylation method, a single N-acetylglucosamine (N-GlcNAc, analogous to a tree stump) on proteins can be converted to various homogeneous N-glycosylated forms, thereby becoming the focus of research efforts. In this concept article, we briefly introduce the methods that allow the generation of N-GlcNAc and its close analogues on proteins and peptides and highlight the current challenges and opportunities the scientific community is facing.

Time-dependent projection operator and nonlinear generalized master equations.

By introducing a special time-dependent projection operator P(t), the nonlinear version of the Nakajima-Zwanzig inhomogeneous generalized master equation(GME) for the relevant part of the N-particle distribution function containing the irrelevant initial correlation term is derived. For this projection operator the relevant part of the N-particle distribution function is a product of the distribution function of a group of s (s≤N) selected particles F_{s}(t) and the distribution function F_{N-s}(t) of N-s particles constituting the "environment" for a group of s selected particles. Thus, the linear projection operator approach results in the exact nonlinear GME for the relevant part of the distribution function, which is equivalent to the exact nonlinear GME for the distribution function of the complex of s particles of interest. This equationis further specified in the first approximation in the particle density, and then considered for one-particle and two-particle distribution functions. Given that there is no satisfactory way of dealing with the initial correlation term, the approach is suggested to rigorously include this term into consideration by converting the obtained inhomogeneous GME into homogeneous form containing initial correlations in the kernel governing the evolution of the relevant part of the distribution function. The homogeneous nonlinear GME for a one-particle distribution function is considered and the conditions for its equivalence to the nonlinear Boltzmann equationare discussed.

Preparation of a camptothecin analog FLQY2 self-micelle solid dispersion with improved solubility and bioavailability

Background7-p-trifluoromethylphenyl-FL118 (FLQY2) is a camptothecin analog with excellent antitumor efficacy against various solid tumors. However, its poor solubility and low bioavailability limited the development of the drug. Polyvinyl caprolactam-polyvinyl acetate-polyethylene glycol graft copolymer (Soluplus®), an emerging carrier for preparing solid dispersion (SD), encapsulated FLQY2 to circumvent the above limitations.ResultsIn this project, FLQY2-SD was prepared by solvent evaporation method and self-assembled into micelles in aqueous solutions owing to the amphiphilic nature of Soluplus®. The physicochemical characterizations demonstrated that FLQY2 existed in a homogeneous amorphous form in SD and was rapidly dissolved. The micelles did not affect cytotoxicity or cellular uptake of FLQY2 in vitro, and the oral bioavailability was increased by 12.3-fold compared to the FLQY2 cyclodextrin suspension. The pharmacokinetics of FLQY2-SD showed rapid absorption, accumulation in the intestine, and slow elimination via fecal. Metabolite identification studies showed 14 novel metabolites were identified, including 12 phase I metabolites (M1–M12) and 2 phase II metabolites (M13–M14), of which M2 (oxidation after decarboxylation) and M7 (dioxolane ring cleavage) were the primary metabolites in the positive mode and negative mode, respectively. The tumor growth inhibition rate (TGI, 81.1%) of FLQY2-SD (1.5 mpk, p.o./QW) in tumor-bearing mice after oral administration was higher than that of albumin-bound Paclitaxel (15 mpk, i.v./Q4D) and Irinotecan hydrochloride (100 mpk, i.p./QW).ConclusionsThe successful preparation, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics studies of FLQY2-SD showed that the solubility and bioavailability of FLQY2 were improved, which facilitated the further druggability development of FLQY2.Graphical

Formulasi dan Uji Antioksidan Sediaan Krim Ekstrak Etanol Buah Asam Cikala (Etlingera elatior (Jack) R. M. Sm) sebagai Pelembab Kulit

Cikala acid fruit is fruit of kecombrang plant (Etlingera elatior) which phenolic compounds including flavonoids and has strong antioxidants activity. Antioxidants are nutrients in the form of vitamins and minerals that function to prevent and repair damaged body tissues. Antioxidant compounds are generally used in cosmetic products. The purpose of this study to determine the antioxidant activity of the ethanolic extract of the cikala fruit was formulated into a moisturizing cream. This research is experimental, covering extract manufacture, phytochemical screening, manufacture and testing of cream preparations as well as testing of antioxidant activity in moisturizing cream. The cream formulation formula was made with a concentration ratio of 1.5%, 2%, 2.5% and blank. Chemical compounds from the ethanolic extract of cikala fruit are alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids and triterpenoids; has a homogeneous cream dosage form with a pH range of 5.7-6.1 after short storage and 12 weeks of storage; and has antioxidant activity with inhibitor concentration value of 19.92 g/mL at concentration 2.5%.

이동통치의 관점에서 본 난민 담론의 형성과 변화

This study aims to analyze the changing issues of refugee discourse as the concept of governmobility. From the perspective of governmobility, refugees are not only politically interpreted, but also become a tool to represent the position of the receiving country. As a result of the keyword analysis on Afghanistan refugees in Korean newspaper articles, Afghanistan refugees were only an issue in Europe and Western countries until the 1990s, but are now at the center of refugee issues in many countries, including South Korea. The background of the change is related to the internalization of refugee issues, mainly focusing on the nation’s inclusiveness to refugees. Also, the domestic refugee issue is not composed of homogeneous forms and contents, creating new discourses and various political spaces.

An edge-centered scheme for anisotropic diffusion problems with discontinuities on distorted quadrilateral meshes

We propose a Tailored Finite Point Method for the solution of transient anisotropic diffusion problems on distorted quadrilateral meshes. We establish an edge-centered scheme based on the flux continuity. The main feature of the scheme lies in the fact that the approximate solutions as well as the gradients are determined by using a linear combination of special solutions. These special solutions are required to satisfy the homogeneous form of approximated equations on the local cell. This brings two important assets to numerical solution of the problems. First, the scheme efficiently tailors itself fit into the local properties of the solution, so that it exhibits robustness to mesh distortion and can correctly reproduce the details of the interface layers even without refining the mesh. Second, the flux can be approximated in terms of the edge-centered unknowns defined at the local cell and the unknowns at the adjacent cells are not needed. The local stencil makes writing code for the continuity condition of the flux on each edge easier. Numerical experiments are carried out to validate the performance of the scheme with or without discontinuities on various types of distorted quadrilateral meshes.

Single and multiple site Cu(II) catalysts for benzyl alcohol and catechol oxidation reactions

Cu(II) catalysts both in homogeneous and heterogeneous form were synthesized to bring the distinction between the single and multiple site catalysis. The single site mononuclear complexes with axial occupancy of Cl- and CH3COO- ligand and the acetate, imidazolate bridged dinuclear Cu(II) complexes were tested for selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol and catechol oxidation. The reactivity of the complexes was compared with the multiple site copper oxide (CuO) nanocatalyst derived from the metal complex precursor. The single site Cu(II) catalyst showed much superior activity in the selective oxidation of BA compared to the dinuclear and the CuO-nanocatalyst. The oxidation of catechol to o-benzoquinone was however found to be catalyzed more preferably by the di-nuclear systems. The high lability of Cl- and -OOCH3 groups in the mononuclear complexes allowed the incoming oxidant, substrate as well as the solvent (acetonitrile, CH3CN) molecules to interact with the active Cu-centre and thereby favoured the benzyl alcohol oxidation. Both the experimental and theoretical studies provided a conclusive idea about the reaction mechanism of benzyl alcohol and catechol oxidation. UV–vis, cyclic voltammetric study and density functional theory (DFT) calculations provided the strong evidence for the formation of Cu-CH3CN complex during benzyl alcohol oxidation. FTIR and Raman study substantiated by the theoretical calculations indicated for the formation of Cu- hydroperoxo species during the catalytic studies. The kinetics study revealed for the 1st order kinetic for the catechol oxidation and the DFT study predicted for the exothermic nature of the catechol oxidation process.

In Search of Scholarly Impact

In Search of Scholarly Impact

Redispersible 3D printed nanomedicines: An original application of the semisolid extrusion technique

Semisolid extrusion is a layer-by-layer 3D printing technique that produces objects from gels or pastes. This process can be carried out at room temperature, without using a light source, and has been explored in pharmaceutics in the last few years. In this regard, our group hypothesized its suitability for the production of three-dimensional (3D) printed nanomedicines containing drug-loaded organic nanocarriers. In this study, the original application of the semisolid extrusion was evaluated to produce redispersible 3D printed oral solid forms containing drug-loaded polymeric nanocapsules. A carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogel containing resveratrol and curcumin co-encapsulated in nanocapsules was prepared, and the nanocapsules did not change its complex viscosity and yield stress. Homogeneous and yellow cylindrical-shaped solid forms were printed, with a mean weight of 0.102 ± 0.015 g, a polyphenol content of approximately 160 μg/unit, disintegration time of <45 min, and recovery of the nanosized carriers. The polyphenols were completely released from the solid forms after 8 h, although part of them remained encapsulated in the nanocapsules. This study represents a proof of concept concerning the use of semisolid extrusion to produce 3D printed forms composed of polymeric nanocapsules in a one-step process. It proposes an original platform for the development of solid nanomedicines from liquid aqueous nanocapsule suspensions.

New Criterions-Based H-Tensors for Testing the Positive Definiteness of Multivariate Homogeneous Forms

Positive definite homogeneous multivariate forms play an important role in polynomial problems and medical imaging, and the definiteness of forms can be tested using structured tensors. In this paper, we state the equivalence between the positive definite multivariate forms and the corresponding tensors, and explain the connection between the positive definite tensors with H-tensors. Then, based on the notion of diagonally dominant tensors, some criteria for H-tensors are presented. Meanwhile, with these links, we provide an iterative algorithm to test the positive definiteness of multivariate homogeneous forms and prove its validity theoretically. The advantages of the obtained results are illustrated by some numerical examples.

Development of a Methodology to Adapt an Equilibrium Buffer/Wash Applied to the Purification of hGPN2 Protein Expressed in Escherichia coli Using an IMAC Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography System

Protein purification is a complex and non-standardized process; the fact that proteins have different structural types making it difficult to create a standard methodology to obtain them in a pure, soluble, and homogeneous form. The present study shows the selective development of a buffer suitable for proteins of interest that allows high concentrations of hGPN2 protein to be obtained with low polydispersion and high homogeneity and purity. By taking the different reagents used in the construction of different buffers as a basis and performing purifications using different additives in different concentrations to determine the optimal amounts, the developed process helps to minimize the bonds, maintain solubility, release the proteins present in inclusion bodies, and provide an adequate environment for obtaining high concentrations of pure protein. GPN proteins are of unknown function, have not been purified in high concentrations, and have been found as part of the RNA polymerase assembly; if they are not expressed, the cell dies, and overexpression of certain GPN proteins has been linked to decreased survival in patients with invasive ductal carcinoma breast cancer types ER+ and HER2+. The results of the present study show that the use of the buffer developed for recombinant hGPN2 protein expressed in Escherichia coli could be manipulated in order to isolate the protein in a totally pure form and without the use of protease inhibitor tablets. The resulting homogeneity and low polydispersion was corroborated by studies carried out using dynamic dispersion analysis. Thanks to these properties, it can be used for crystallography or structural genomics studies.

An ℋ-tensor-based criteria for testing the positive definiteness of multivariate homogeneous forms

Abstract A positive definite homogeneous multivariate form plays an important role in the field of optimization, and positive definiteness of the form can be identified by a special structured tensor. In this paper, based on the equivalence between the form and the corresponding tensor, and the links of the positive definiteness of a tensor with ℋ-tensor, we propose an ℋ-tensor-based criterion for identifying the positive definiteness of multivariate homogeneous forms. Some numerical examples are provided to illustrate the efficiency and validity of our results.

Homogenisasi Budaya dan Pengaruh Teknologi: Korean Wave Sebagai Budaya Global

Korean Wave or Hallyu is a trend that has developed in the world in the last thirty years. This article discusses the development of the Korean Wave as a form of cultural homogenization facilitated by technology until it is adopted as a global culture. The type of this research is descriptive with a qualitative approach. Data was collected through internet based research. The results show that the spread of the Korean Wave as a form of cultural homogenization is strongly influenced by technology. This can be seen by the dominance of the Korean Wave not only in Asia, but also in Europe, America, and even the Middle East from the use of the internet and social media. This shows that the Korean Wave has been adopted as a global culture.

Effect of chromium content on the phase composition, crystallization and components extraction of vanadium slag

The existence of chromium in vanadium slag is generally considered to affect its phase composition, micromorphology, and further vanadium extraction by calcification roasting process. In this work, remelting and crystallization were used to prepare vanadium slag with different Cr2O3 mass fractions. The aforementioned effects were then examined through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and leaching experiments. Results showed that Cr2O3 content affects spinel phase in vanadium slag. With the increase in Cr2O3 content, chromium was observed in the (Mn, Fe)(V, Cr)2O4 phase with vanadium in a homogeneous form, while the diffraction peak positions of (Mn, Fe)(V, Cr)2O4 shifted by a large angle from the lattice distortion. Further, the average grain size of spinel gradually decreased because of the increase in the number of crystallization centers, and the distribution of Cr, V, and Ti in the spinel phase were gradually homogenized instead of having obvious stratification. After calcification roasting, vanadium and chromium existed in the form of vanadate and (Fe0.6Cr0.4)2O3, achieving the complete separation of them after acid leaching. The increase in Cr2O3 content had no significant effect on the leaching behavior of vanadium. Additionally, increasing the roasting temperature and accelerating the heating process contributed to restraining chromium extraction. These results provide a research basis for the resource utilization of vanadium slag and vanadium chromium slag.

Trichoderma as a growth promoter in Astronium urundeuva (M. Allemão) Engl.

The low growth is one of the biggest problems encountered in the production of native forest seedlings. Fungi of the genus Trichoderma are microorganisms capable of potentialize the plant growth. Thereby, this article aims to evaluate the efficiency of Trichoderma inoculation, as a plant growth promoter of Aroeira seedlings (Astronium urundeuva (M. Allemão) Engl.), in the greenhouse. The isolated ones, at the approximate concentration of conidia at 1 x 109 per colonized gram of rice, were individually mixed with the soil in a homogeneous form in the experiments with and without phosphate fertilization. For the control treatment, sterilized rice without Trichoderma was used. Two experiments were carried out, at 50 and 100 days after the sowing (DAS). Were evaluated the biomass characteristics of the selected crop through the dry mass of aerial part, the root dry mass and the total dry mass, as well as the relative efficiency and quality index of Dickson. The experiment whose received the natural fertilizer phosphate, occurred a variation of 25.4 to 925% in growth promotion, compared to the control treatment. The experiment without fertilizer showed a variation of 26.5 to 425.4% in growth, compared to the control treatment. The results demonstrate the capacity of isolated Trichoderma to promote an initial growth with or without natural fertilize phosphate to Aroeira.

Semigroups for quadratic evolution equations acting on Shubin–Sobolev and Gelfand–Shilov spaces

We consider the initial value Cauchy problem for a class of evolution equations whose Hamiltonian is the Weyl quantization of a homogeneous quadratic form with non-negative definite real part. The solution semigroup is shown to be strongly continuous on several spaces: the Shubin-Sobolev spaces, the Schwartz space, the tempered distributions, the equal index Beurling type Gelfand-Shilov spaces and their dual ultradistribution spaces.

Performance Improvement of Air-cooled Battery Thermal Management System using Sink of Different Pin-Fin Shapes

One of the most important influences on battery safety, capacity, and cell ageing is heat generation and temperature inhomogeneity, which cause unbalanced ageing, resulting in cell performance decline. A well-developed temperature management module is required to avoid such undesirable actions. In this study, an air-cooled temperature management module was developed by coupling a unique heat sink of different pin-fin geometries/shapes to prismatic Li-ion cells and a 3D transient analysis was conducted to simulate the cooling performance of this heat sink under the effect of inlet airflow velocities and temperatures at a discharge rate of 2C for three cases. The results in the form of maximum temperature and temperature homogeneity inside the battery were derived and compared to the commonly used circular pin-fin heat sink. The overall result indicates that case 2, which consists of uniform height, shows better promise than others, taking into consideration the geometry employed. After 600 s and at a constant inlet air velocity of 0.412 m/s across a range of 20 oC to 35 oC, it was found that this heat sink performed better, providing an average of 1.87% and 1.93% improvement in temperature homogeneity and battery maximum temperature, respectively. Also, at a constant inlet air temperature of 27 oC across the range of inlet air velocity of 0.206 m/s to 0.824 m/s, this heat sink provides an average of 1.77% and 0.27% improvement in temperature homogeneity and battery maximum temperature, respectively. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2022-06-04-013 Full Text: PDF

Preparasi Detergen Penyuci Najis Air Liur Anjing dengan Variasi Konsentrasi Surfaktan Metil Ester Sulfonat (MES)

The kaolin detergent preparation as an alternative a dog saliva cleanser has been carried out by varying the concentration of Methyl Ester Sulfonate (MES) surfactant. This study aims to obtain the best kaolin detergent composition based on the results of physicochemical testing. The manufacture of kaolin detergent in this study has three stages. The first step is the preparation and characterization of kaolin using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The second step is the manufacture of kaolin detergent with various concentrations of MES surfactant by 10%, 14%, and 18% (w/w). The third step is testing the physicochemical properties which include organoleptic, pH, foam stability, and surface tension. The results showed that kaolin used in the manufacture of detergents has the main mineral content in the form of kaolinite is shown at 2θ=12,24o (d=7,24 Å) and 2θ=24,78o (d=3,58 Å). Based on the results of physicochemical testing, kaolin detergent F3 (MES 18%) was chosen as the best kaolin detergent because it has a thick and homogeneous liquid form, soft texture, white color, has a coconut milk smell, pH 8,270, and surface tension of 0,010 Nm-1.

Sums of the higher divisor function of diagonal homogeneous forms

Sums of the higher divisor function of diagonal homogeneous forms

Adaptation of micro- and metafauna in activated sludge with microbial augmentation to shock loading with amaranth

Wastewaters from the industrial sector and, in particular, those from the textile industry have a diverse composition of organic dyes. These dyes are xenobiotics for living organisms and, falling into natural water, can lead to severe consequences for aquatic flora and fauna. This is the case with the azo-dyes, such as, for example, the amaranth. The adaptive responses of the micro- and metafauna communities in activated sludge towards shock loading of high concentrations of the azo-dyes in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been poorly studied. The aim of this research was to study the adaptation mechanisms of the communities of micro- and metafauna in activated sludge towards the shock loading of amaranth (200 mg/L)with and without the addition of Pseudomonas aureofaciens AP-9 as a bioaugmentation agent (3.03 × 107 cells/mL). To achieve this, the change in the quantities of key groups of micro- and metafauna was monitored in the course of a model biodegradation process involving real activated sludge from a WWTP and toxic pollutant amaranth at a concentration of 200 mg/L. The results showed that in the case of such shock loading with amaranth, the microfauna communities changed very quickly. In addition, a positive bioaugmentation effect of the added strain of Pseudomonas aureofaciens AP-9 was observed for the micro- and metafauna. The bacteria in a homogenous form provide easily accessible food for the macro-organisms and contribute to their adaptation in the conditions of a toxic shock. This is particularly pronounced in the representatives of free-swimming ciliates and small flagellates.