Active Sulfate Research Articles

Evaluation the Antibacterial Activity of Potassium Aluminium Sulphate (alum) Combined with other Antibiotics

Evaluation the Antibacterial Activity of Potassium Aluminium Sulphate (alum) Combined with other Antibiotics

Sulfur, sterol and trehalose metabolism in the deep-sea hydrocarbon seep tubeworm Lamellibrachia luymesi

BackgroundLamellibrachia luymesi dominates cold sulfide-hydrocarbon seeps and is known for its ability to consume bacteria for energy. The symbiotic relationship between tubeworms and bacteria with particular adaptations to chemosynthetic environments has received attention. However, metabolic studies have primarily focused on the mechanisms and pathways of the bacterial symbionts, while studies on the animal hosts are limited.ResultsHere, we sequenced the transcriptome of L. luymesi and generated a transcriptomic database containing 79,464 transcript sequences. Based on GO and KEGG annotations, we identified transcripts related to sulfur metabolism, sterol biosynthesis, trehalose synthesis, and hydrolysis. Our in-depth analysis identified sulfation pathways in L. luymesi, and sulfate activation might be an important detoxification pathway for promoting sulfur cycling, reducing byproducts of sulfide metabolism, and converting sulfur compounds to sulfur-containing organics, which are essential for symbiotic survival. Moreover, sulfide can serve directly as a sulfur source for cysteine synthesis in L. luymesi. The existence of two pathways for cysteine synthesis might ensure its participation in the formation of proteins, heavy metal detoxification, and the sulfide-binding function of haemoglobin. Furthermore, our data suggested that cold-seep tubeworm is capable of de novo sterol biosynthesis, as well as incorporation and transformation of cycloartenol and lanosterol into unconventional sterols, and the critical enzyme involved in this process might have properties similar to those in the enzymes from plants or fungi. Finally, trehalose synthesis in L. luymesi occurs via the trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) and trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase (TPP) pathways. The TPP gene has not been identified, whereas the TPS gene encodes a protein harbouring conserved TPS/OtsA and TPP/OtsB domains. The presence of multiple trehalases that catalyse trehalose hydrolysis could indicate the different roles of trehalase in cold-seep tubeworms.ConclusionsWe elucidated several molecular pathways of sulfate activation, cysteine and cholesterol synthesis, and trehalose metabolism. Contrary to the previous analysis, two pathways for cysteine synthesis and the cycloartenol-C-24-methyltransferase gene were identified in animals for the first time. The present study provides new insights into particular adaptations to chemosynthetic environments in L. luymesi and can serve as the basis for future molecular studies on host-symbiont interactions and biological evolution.

Properties of Flue Gas Desulphurization Gypsum–Activated Steel Slag Fine Aggregate Red Mud–Based Concrete

The large amount of discharge and accumulation of red mud and steel slag has led to the waste of land resources and serious environmental pollution problems. Therefore, the utilization of a large amount of red mud and steel slag in reasonable fields is an urgent problem. At present, the main practical methods include using red mud as a substitute for cement or raw material in cement clinker production and grinding steel slag as a mineral admixture or directly replacing fine aggregates. However, experimental studies on the simultaneous use of large amounts of red mud and steel slag in concrete are extremely limited. In this paper, red mud was used to replace cement (40%–60%) and steel slag to replace fine aggregate (50%–100%) to prepare steel slag fine aggregate red mud–based concrete (SFA-RM concrete). In addition, flue gas desulphurization gypsum (FGDG) was added as a sulfate activator in the concrete to stimulate the potential cementitious activity of red mud and steel slag to prepare the FGDG-activated SFA-RM concrete with improved strength. A total of 18 concrete mixes with different proportions of red mud, steel slag, and gypsum were designed and the mechanical properties, workability, hydration products, and microstructure of these concretes were studied. The results showed that the mechanical properties of FGDG-activated SFA-RM concretes were excellent, the 60 day compressive strength of the SFA-RM concrete reached 43.8 MPa, and the compressive strength of FGDG-activated SFA-RM with 15% gypsum and 100% replacement rate of steel slag improved to 47.1 MPa, which were both better than ordinary concrete. Moreover, the results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) tests indicated that the hydration products of concrete mainly included Ca(OH)2, C-S-H gel, ettringite, and zeolite, with small and few micropores as well as dense microstructure.

Investigating the evolution of surface physico-chemistry in arsenide minerals during flotation process: A study of skutterudite, gersdorffite, and nickeline

Skutterudite ((Co,Ni,Fe)As3), gersdorffite (NiAsS), and nickeline (NiAs) are some common arsenic- and nickel-bearing minerals often encountered worldwide in mine ores and mine wastes. These arsenides can be the source of arsenic- and nickel-contaminated neutral drainage (CND) when subjected to atmospheric conditions. Environmental desulphurization by froth flotation is a promising technique used to prevent this contamination. This study fills a knowledge gap in the evolution of the surface physicochemistry of these arsenides under different conditions, in order to determine the best conditions for flotation and successful environmental desulfurization. This work evaluates the impact of grinding, air-oxidation (aging), and conditioning on the mineral surfaces, as well as their interaction with potassium amyl xanthate (PAX) as a flotation collector. The effect of activation by copper sulphate (CuSO4) was also examined. The adsorption of PAX was analyzed by ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrophotometry and zeta potential measurements, and the surface was characterized using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) allowing the speciation of the oxidation layer across the different mineral surfaces. Dry grinding and aging of the minerals produces thin heterogenous oxide and hydroxide layers that are mainly enriched in arsenic oxides, especially in the form of arsenate (as an oxidation product of arsenite), and arsenic, cobalt, and nickel sulphates and hydroxides. Arsenides conditioning under alkaline conditions enhances the oxidation effect on the mineral surfaces compared to natural conditions. Copper sulfate activation was found to be effective on the arsenides and improves the adsorption of xanthate on the oxidized arsenide surfaces, especially under alkaline conditions. The results of this study provide a better understanding of the surface chemistry of these minerals before and after collector adsorption, which should impact their flotation behavior.

Heparan Sulfate and Enoxaparin Interact at the Interface of the Spike Protein of HCoV-229E but Not with HCoV-OC43

It is known that the spike protein of human coronaviruses can bind to a secondary receptor, or coreceptor, to facilitate the virus entry. While HCoV-229E uses human aminopeptidase N (hAPN) as a receptor, HCoV-OC43 binds to 9-O-acetyl-sialic acid (9-O-Ac-Sia), which is linked in a terminal way to the oligosaccharides that decorate glycoproteins and gangliosides on the surface of the host cell. Thus, evaluating the possible inhibitory activity of heparan sulfate, a linear polysaccharide found in animal tissues, and enoxaparin sodium on these viral strains can be considered attractive. Therefore, our study also aims to evaluate these molecules' antiviral activity as possible adsorption inhibitors against non-SARS-CoV. Once the molecules' activity was verified in in vitro experiments, the binding was studied by molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulations confirming the interactions at the interface of the spike proteins.

Phenyl Sulfate Derivatives: New Thermometer Ions for Characterization of Internal Energy of Negative Ions Produced by Electrospray Ionization.

Although positive thermometer ions are widely used for evaluating the internal energy distribution of gas-phase ions, negative thermometer ions have not yet been proposed. In this study, phenyl sulfate derivatives were tested as thermometer ions to characterize the internal energy distribution of ions produced by electrospray ionization (ESI) in the negative mode because the activation of phenyl sulfate preferentially undergoes SO3 loss, providing a phenolate anion. The dissociation threshold energies for the phenyl sulfate derivatives were determined using quantum chemistry calculations at the CCSD(T)/6-311++G(2df,p)//M06-2X-D3/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. The values for the appearance energies of the fragment ions of the phenyl sulfate derivatives depend on the dissociation time scale in the experiment; therefore, the dissociation rate constants of the corresponding ions were estimated using the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus theory. The phenyl sulfate derivatives were used as thermometer ions to determine the internal energy distribution of negative ions activated by the in-source collision-induced dissociation (CID) and higher-energy collisional dissociation. Both mean and full width at half-maximum values increased with increasing ion collision energy. In the in-source CID experiments, the internal energy distributions obtained by phenyl sulfate derivatives are similar to that when all voltages are mirrored, and the traditional benzylpyridinium thermometer ions are used. The reported method will aid in determining the optimum voltage for ESI mass spectrometry and the subsequent tandem mass spectrometry of acidic analyte molecules.

Effects of Using Aluminum Sulfate as an Accelerator and Acrylic Acid, Aluminum Fluoride, or Alkanolamine as a Regulator in Early Cement Setting.

Aluminum sulfate was employed as the main accelerator in order to explore new non-chloride and alkali-free cement accelerators. Acrylic acid, aluminum fluoride, or alkanolamine were used as regulators to further accelerate cement setting. The setting time, compressive, and flexural strengths in cement early strength progress were detected, and both the cement (raw material) and hydrated mortar were fully characterized. The cement setting experiments revealed that only loading acrylic acid as the regulator would decrease the setting time of cement and increase the compressive and flexural strengths of mortar, but further introduction of aluminum fluoride or alkanolamine improved this process drastically. In the meantime, structural characterizations indicated that the raw material (cement) used in this work was composed of C3S (alite), while hydrated mortar consisted of quartz and C3A (tricalcium aluminate). During this transformation, the coordination polyhedron of Al3+ was changed from a tetrahedron to octahedron. This work puts forward a significant strategy for promoting the activity of aluminum sulfate in cement setting and would contribute to the future design of new non-chloride and alkali-free cement accelerators.

Impaired local hydrophobicity, structural stability and conformational flexibility due to point mutations in SULT1 family of enzymes

Sulfotransferases (SULTs) are enzymes involved in phase II of the metabolism of xenobiotics. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified for genes encoding the SULTs leading to allozymes with modified sulfating activity. This study aims to analyse the effects of the most frequently identified amino acid mutations in the sequences of enzymes belonging to the SULT1 family on their local properties and structural stability. The outcomes reveal that single point mutations alter the local hydrophobicity and flexibility, mainly due to destabilization of the protein structures, may consequently lead to changes in the dynamic of the active site activity reducing the affinity for the substrate. Elucidation of how the single point mutations influence the activity of enzymes contributes to understanding the molecular basis of the specificity of enzymatic activity and mitigating anomalies in the metabolism of xenobiotics.

Synthesis, characterization, and anticancer activity of protamine sulfate stabilized selenium nanoparticles

Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have attracted much recent interest as nutraceuticals, while they face great challenges, such as poor stability and low cellular uptake efficiency. This study introduced a facile approach to synthesizing protamine sulfate (PS) functionalized selenium nanoparticles (PS-SeNPs) by using PS as a surface decorator. The monodisperse spherical PS-SeNPs with a particle size of 130 nm and a ζ-potential of +31 mV were ligated with PS through Se-N, Se-O bonds, and physical adsorption, which exhibits excellent physical stability against pH, temperature, and storage time. The positive surface charge of PS-SeNPs contributed to the enhancement of cellular uptake efficiency by endocytosis, which was 3-times higher than bare SeNPs. Compared to SeNPs (IC50 = 17.675 μg/mL), PS-SeNPs could dramatically inhibit the proliferation of HepG2 cells with an IC50 value of 5.507 μg/mL, as reflected by the induction of apoptosis, S phase arresting, overproduction of intracellular ROS, and depolarization of mitochondria membrane. Overall, these results demonstrated the great potential of PS-SeNPs that can be applied as a functional ingredient in foods and nutraceuticals.

Biogeochemical Factors of Cs, Sr, U, Pu Immobilization in Bottom Sediments of the Upa River, Located in the Zone of Chernobyl Accident.

Laboratory modeling of Cs, Sr, U, Pu immobilization by phytoplankton of the river Upa, affected after the Chernobyl accident, has been carried out. Certain conditions are selected for strong fixation of radionuclides in bottom sediments due to biogeochemical processes. The process of radionuclide removal from the water phase via precipitation was based on their accumulation by phytoplankton, stimulated by nitrogen and phosphorus sources. After eight days of stimulation, planktonic phototrophic biomass, dominated by cyanobacteria of the genus Planktothrix, appears in the water sample. The effectiveness of U, Pu and Sr purification via their transfer to bottom sediment was observed within one month. The addition of ammonium sulfate and phosphate (Ammophos) led to the activation of sulfate- and iron-reducing bacteria of the genera Desulfobacterota, Desulfotomaculum, Desulfosporomusa, Desulfosporosinus, Thermodesulfobium, Thiomonas, Thiobacillus, Sulfuritallea, Pseudomonas, which form sulphide ferrous precipitates such as pyrite, wurtzite, hydrotroillite, etc., in anaerobic bottom sediments. The biogenic mineral composition of the sediments obtained under laboratory conditions was verified via thermodynamic modeling.

Effect of Alkali and Sulfate on the Hydration Characteristic of Cement-Based Materials Containing Coal Gasification Slag.

Coal gasification slag is an inevitable by-product of the coal gasification process. This paper explored the feasibility of using activators (calcium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, calcium sulfate, sodium sulfate) to promote the pozzolanic activity of milled coal gasification coarse slags (MCS), and analyzed the effect of alkali and sulfate activators on the hydration characteristic of cement-based materials containing MCS. Coal gasification slags with ignition lossses more than 15% were removed and the remaining slags were considered as cementitious material after milling. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and hydration heat tests were employed to analyze the hydration mechanism of the samples. Besides, the compressive strength values of cement mortars with MCS and activators were evaluated. The results showed that calcium hydroxide was conductive to the formation of hydration products and its crystallization could contribute to the strength improvement of the sample. Calcium sulfate mainly participated in the hydration process of cement to form ettringite (AFt) phases. Sodium hydroxide could accelerate the dissolution of active mineral phases of MCS, resulting in the pozzolanic activity being enhanced. Moreover, sodium sulfate could not only increase the formation of AFt phases, but also improved the alkalinity in sample to facilitate the production of gels. Among them, a better promotion effect could be obtained from the combined application of calcium hydroxide and sodium sulfate. In addition, the compressive strength values of cement mortars containing MCS tended to increase when activators were used. The sample activated by calcium hydroxide and sodium sulfate exhibited the highest strength, increasing by 18.55% at 28 days compared with the sample without an activator.

Integrating anodic sulfate activation with cathodic H2O2 production/activation to generate the sulfate and hydroxyl radicals for the degradation of emerging organic contaminants

Conventional electrocatalytic degradation of pollutants involves either cathodic reduction or anodic oxidation process, which caused the low energy utilization efficiency. In this study, we successfully couple the anodic activation of sulfates with the cathodic H2O2 production/activation to boost the generation of sulfate radical (SO4·−) and hydroxyl radical (·OH) for the efficient degradation of emerging contaminants. The electrocatalysis reactor is composed of a modified-graphite-felt (GF) cathode, in-situ prepared by the carbonization of polyaniline (PANI) electrodeposited on a GF substrate, and a boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode. In the presence of sulfates, the electrocatalysis system shows superior activities towards the degradation of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), with the optimal performance of completely degrading the representative pollutant carbamazepine (CBZ, 0.2 mg L−1) within 150 s. Radicals quenching experiments indicated that ·OH and SO4·− act as the main reactive oxygen species for CBZ decomposition. Results from the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and chronoamperometry studies verified that the sulfate ions were oxidized to SO4·−radicals at the anode, while the dissolve oxygen molecules were reduced to H2O2 molecules which were further activated to produce ·OH radicals at the cathode. It was also found that during the catalytic reactions SO4·−radicals could spontaneously convert into peroxydisulfate (PDS) which were subsequently reduced back to SO4·−at the cathodes. The quasi-steady-state concentrations of ·OH and SO4·−were estimated to be 0.51×10−12 M and 0.56×10−12 M, respectively. This study provides insight into the synergistic generation of ·OH/SO4·− from the integrated electrochemical anode oxidation of sulfate and cathode reduction of dissolved oxygen, which indicates a potential practical approach to efficiently degrade the emerging organic water contaminants.

Gene expression study to elucidate the anti-trypanosomal activity of quinapyramine methyl sulphate (QPS).

The kinetoplastid protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma evansi causes a fatal disease condition known as Surra in equines throughout the globe. Disease condition being acute in nature, entrust a huge economic and health impact on the equine industry. Till date, quinapyramine methyl sulphate (QPS) is the first line of treatment and a panacea for the T. evansi infection in equines. Still after the >70years of its discovery, there is no clue about the mode of action of QPS in T. evansi. The establishment of in vitro cultivation of T. evansi in HMI-9 media has provided opportunity to study the alteration in mRNA expression of parasite on exposure to the drug. With this research gap, the present study aimed to investigate the relative mRNA expression of 13 important drug target genes to elucidate the anti-trypanosomal activity of QPS against T. evansi. The IC50 of QPS against a pony isolate of T. evansi was determined as 276.4nM(147.21ng/ mL) in the growth inhibitory assay. The in vitro cultured T. evansi population were further exposed to IC50 of QPS and their relative mRNA expression was studied at 12h, 24h and 48h interval.The mRNA expression of several genes such as hexokinase, trypanothione reductase, aurora kinase, oligopeptidase B and ribonucleotide reductase II were found refractory (non-significant, p>0.1234) to the exposure of QPS. Significant up-regulation of trans-sialidase (p<0.0001), ESAG8 (p<0.0021), ribonucleotide reductase I (p<0.0001), ornithine decarboxylase (p<0.0001), topoisomerase II (p<0.0021) and casein kinase I (p<0.0021) were recorded after exposure with QPS. The arginine kinase 1 and calcium ATPase I showed highly significant (p<0.0001) down-regulation in the drug kinetics. Therefore, the arginine kinase 1 and calcium ATPase I can be explored further to elucidate the trypanocidal activity of QPS. The preliminary data generated provide the potential of arginine kinase 1 and calcium ATPase I mRNA mediated pathway of trypanocidal action of QPS. Further, transcriptomics approach is required to investigate the possible mechanism of action of drugs at molecular level against the targeted organism.

Comparation of the structural characteristics and biological activities of chondroitin sulfates extracted from notochord and backbone of Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis)

To compare the structural properties and biological activities of chondroitin sulfate (CS) in two different tissues of Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) and Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedti), we extracted their backbone cartilage CS (Cart-CS) and notochord CS (Noto-CS), and analyzed the CS structural properties using chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. The molecular weights of Chinese sturgeon Cart-CS and Noto-CS were 54.7 and 25.4 kDa, respectively, and the molecular weights of Russian sturgeon were 50.0 and 38.4 kDa, respectively. The disaccharide composition results showed that Cart-CS was mainly composed of CS-C, while Noto-CS was almost composed of pure CS-A. The antioxidant activity of sturgeon CS and its effect on collagen fibril formation were discussed. Sturgeon CS exhibited higher antioxidant activity than shark and bovine CSs. Sturgeon CS inhibited the self-assemble of type I collagen into fibrils. The inhibition effect of Cart-CS was higher than that of Noto-CS. The high value-added utilization of Cart-CS and Noto-CS will increase the value of sturgeon by-products. Furthermore, the disaccharide composition of CS in sturgeon depends on tissues of origin, but not on species. It means that the CS of Chinese sturgeon can be substituted by the CS of other commercial sturgeon. That will contribute to the protection of endangered species of Chinese sturgeon from illegal fishing and increase the value of commercial sturgeon by-products.

Investigation of catalytic activity of vanadyl sulphate immobilized on prepared UiO-66 modified with urea and melamine as allyl alcohol epoxidation catalysts

Investigation of catalytic activity of vanadyl sulphate immobilized on prepared UiO-66 modified with urea and melamine as allyl alcohol epoxidation catalysts

Sulfation and Its Effect on the Bioactivity of Magnolol, the Main Active Ingredient of Magnolia Officinalis.

Magnolol, the main active ingredient of Magnolia officinalis, has been reported to display anti-inflammatory activity. Sulfation plays an important role in the metabolism of magnolol. The magnolol sulfated metabolite was identified by the ultra-performance liquid chromatography to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and a proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR). The magnolol sulfation activity of seven major recombinant sulfotransferases (SULTs) isoforms (SULT1A1*1, SULT1A1*2, SULT1A2, SULT1A3, SULT1B1, SULT1E1, and SULT2A1) was analyzed. The metabolic profile of magnolol was investigated in liver S9 fractions from human (HLS9), rat (RLS9), and mouse (MLS9). The anti-inflammatory effects of magnolol and its sulfated metabolite were evaluated in RAW264.7 cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Magnolol was metabolized into a mono-sulfated metabolite by SULTs. Of the seven recombinant SULT isoforms examined, SULT1B1 exhibited the highest magnolol sulfation activity. In liver S9 fractions from different species, the CLint value of magnolol sulfation in HLS9 (0.96 µL/min/mg) was similar to that in RLS9 (0.99 µL/min/mg) but significantly higher than that in MLS9 (0.30 µL/min/mg). Magnolol and its sulfated metabolite both significantly downregulated the production of inflammatory mediators (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) stimulated by LPS (p < 0.001). These results indicated that SULT1B1 was the major enzyme responsible for the sulfation of magnolol and that the magnolol sulfated metabolite exhibited potential anti-inflammatory effects.

Manufacturing 3D nano-porous architecture for boron-doped diamond film to efficient abatement of organic pollutant: Synergistic effect of hydroxyl radical and sulfate radical

Electrochemical advanced oxidation process (EAOP) has caught increasing attention in purification of organic wastewater. However, its degradation performance is chiefly relevant to electrode micro-structure and radical species. Herein, the three-dimensional (3D) nano-porous boron-doped diamond (BDD) film with controllable nano-pore size is tailored for enhancing the production of hydroxyl radical (•OH) and activating sulfate to sulfate radical (SO4•-) in EAOP. The nano-porous BDD film favors interconnected porous structure, channel-like pores with size ranged from 10 nm to 1 μm, highly improved electron-transfer rate and large oxygen evolution potential (>2.0 V). It is effective for elimination of p-nitrophenol (PNP) with pseudo first-order kinetics rate of 1.14 × 10-2 min−1 and remove rate of 92.43 % after 180 min. The indirect oxidation is the dominant mechanism of PNP degradation. Benefited from enhanced active surface area and fast mass diffusion based on 3D interconnected porous channel, the generation of •OH increases from 1.41 mM to 2.20 mM after 180 min, which not only eliminates polymer intermediate, but also signally stimulates the degradation efficiency. Additionally, SO4•- is produced by activation of sulfate on the nano-porous BDD film, resulting in the 79.58 % of remove rate of chemical oxygen demand in Na2SO4 which is higher than that in NaNO3 (55.20 %). Oxidation of PNP with radical quenchers is conducted and PNP remove rate slightly decreases with addition of ethanol compared to that in presence of tert-butanol, indicating both •OH and SO4•- contribute to the oxidation of PNP but •OH is more important. Based on intermediate characterization, it’s found that detachment of nitro, abstraction of hydrogen atom, cleavage of aromatic ring and decarboxylation reactions rapidly occur and effectively accelerate the mineralization of organic pollutant. This study enriches the EAOP application of nano-grade porous BDD film and broadens the aspect of designing porous electrode in the environment fields.

Sulfate-TOR signaling controls transcriptional reprogramming for shoot apex activation.

Plants play a primary role for the global sulfur cycle in the earth ecosystems by reduction of inorganic sulfate from the soil to organic sulfur-containing compounds. How plants sense and transduce the sulfate availability to mediate their growth remains largely unclear. The target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase is an evolutionarily conserved master regulator of nutrient sensing and metabolic signaling to control cell proliferation and growth in all eukaryotes. By tissue-specific Western blotting and RNA-sequencing analysis, we investigated sulfate-TOR signal pathway in regulating shoot apex development. Here, we report that inorganic sulfate exhibits high potency activating TOR and cell proliferation to promote true leaf development in Arabidopsis in a glucose-energy parallel pathway. Genetic and metabolite analyses suggest that this sulfate activation of TOR is independent from the sulfate-assimilation process and glucose-energy signaling. Significantly, tissue specific transcriptome analyses uncover previously unknown sulfate-orchestrating genes involved in DNA replication, cell proliferation and various secondary metabolism pathways, which largely depends on TOR signaling. Systematic comparison between the sulfate- and glucose-TOR controlled transcriptome further reveals that TOR kinase, as the central growth integrator, responds to different nutrient signals to control both shared and unique transcriptome networks, therefore, precisely modulates plant proliferation, growth and stress responses.

Study on the Hydration Reaction of Typical Clay Minerals under Alkali and Sulfate Compound Activation.

Sand, stone, tailings and other aggregates often contain a small amount of clay mineral and their hydration activity is low, thereby lowering concrete performance indexes while negatively affecting their resource utilisation. In this study, clay minerals, calcium hydroxide and desulfurised gypsum were used to prepare cementitious materials to examine kaolinite, montmorillonite, illite and chlorite clay mineral contents under compound activation. The effects of curing temperature and water reducer on clay samples were analysed. The results showed that the compressive strength of kaolinite samples cured at 25 °C and 55 °C reached 1.09 and 4.93 MPa in 28 days and increased by 43% and 12%, respectively, after adding a 0.3% water reducer. Montmorillonite was activated and its compressive strength reached 5.33 MPa after curing at 55 °C in 28 days. Illite exhibited some activity and its compressive strength reached 1.43 MPa after curing at 55 °C in 28 days and the strength increased slightly after adding a water reducer. The chlorite sample had no strength after activation under the same conditions. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive spectroscopy microstructure analyses showed that after alkali and sulfate activation, the hydration products of activated clay minerals mainly included ettringite, hydrated calcium aluminate and hydrated calcium silicate. The increase in curing temperature accelerated the reaction speed and improved the early strength. However, the effect on chlorite minerals was not obvious.

The Potential Impact of Heparanase Activity and Endothelial Damage in COVID-19 Disease.

SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in 2019 in Wuhan, China. It has been found to be the most pathogenic virus among coronaviruses and is associated with endothelial damage resulting in respiratory failure. Determine whether heparanase and heparan sulfate fragments, biomarkers of endothelial function, can assist in the risk stratification and clinical management of critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit. We investigated 53 critically ill patients with severe COVID-19 admitted between March and April 2020 to the University Hospital RWTH Aachen. Heparanase activity and serum levels of both heparanase and heparan sulfate were measured on day one (day of diagnosis) and day three in patients with COVID-19. The patients were classified into four groups according to the severity of ARDS. When compared to baseline data (day one), heparanase activity increased and the heparan sulfate serum levels decreased with increasing severity of ARDS. The heparanase activity significantly correlated with the lactate concentration on day one (r = 0.34, p = 0.024) and on day three (r = 0.43, p = 0.006). Heparanase activity and heparan sulfate levels correlate with COVID-19 disease severity and outcome. Both biomarkers might be helpful in predicting clinical course and outcomes in COVID-19 patients.