Aims:  To find out membrane tolerance strategy to ethanol in Bacillus subtilis that possesses a powerful system of protection against environmental stresses. Methods and Results:  Cytoplasmic membranes of B. subtilis were severely affected by even short-term exposure to 3% (v/v) ethanol: the growth rate and membrane protein synthesis were markedly ...

Conversion of chemical signals into mechanical force is very important for implementation of stimuli-responsive hydrogels. We design a core-shell hydrogel capsule which can translate the variations of alcohol concentration into mechanical force. Oil-in-water-in-oil (O/W/O) emulsions are prepared with microfluidic technique and serve as templates for synthesis of the core-shell capsules. ...

The many faces of noble metals: Through the simultaneous reduction of Au and Pd ions in the presence of octahedral Au nanocrystal (NC) seeds, hexoctahedron-like convex Au@Pd core-shell NCs, enclosed predominantly by high-index {12 5 3} facets, were synthesized under aqueous room-temperature conditions. The convex Au@Pd NCs showed much higher ...

We report a biosensing method that is based on magnetically immobilized functional liposomes. The vesicles encapsulate magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) and enzymatic sensing reagents. Magnetic attraction between MNP and external magnets first immobilizes liposomes onto the surface of a coverglass. With the assistance from α-hemolysin (aHL), translocations of analytes through a ...

Here, we studied Rayleigh-Brillouin light scattering in ten different glass-forming liquids (α-picoline, toluene, o-toluidine, ethanol, salol, glycerol, dibutyl phthalate, o-terphenyl, propylene carbonate, and propylene glycol). For each of these liquids it was found that the Landau-Placzek ratio is in a good agreement with the theory at high temperatures and significantly ...

A solid state fermentation (SSF) of sweet sorghum stalk to ethanol was conducted in 250-mL flask using thermotolerant Issatchenkia orientalis IPE 100, and the optimal operation parameters were determined as 42°C fermentation temperature, 75% (w/w) water content, 2mm particle size and 3% (w/w) inoculation rate in 250-mL conical flask. When ...

The properties of n-tetradecane emulsions with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) or dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) in 1M ethanol were investigated at 20 and 37°C. The zwitterionic phospholipids having the same headgroup bound to the apolar tail composed of two saturated or unsaturated chains were used as stabilizing agents. Both phospholipids may self-organize into aggregates, ...

In cellulosic ethanol production, use of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) has been suggested as the favorable strategy to reduce process costs. Although SSF has many advantages, a significant discrepancy still exists between the appropriate temperature for saccharification (45-50 °C) and fermentation (30-35 °C). In the present study, the potential of temperature-shift ...

Dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) have been reported to modulate lipid raft-dependent signaling, but not yet lipid raft-dependent oxidative stress. Previously, we have shown that ethanol-induced membrane remodeling, i.e., an increase in membrane fluidity and alterations in physical and biochemical properties of lipid rafts, participated in the development ...

The role of solvents in drug transport has not been properly addressed in the literature, despite its well known influence on drug permeation. Previously we have conducted thermodynamic and kinetic analyses to probe the molecular mechanisms of alcohol enhanced permeation. In the present study, the influence of temperature on the ...

Alcohols are known modulators of lipid bilayer properties. Their biological effects have long been attributed to their bilayer-modifying effects, but alcohols can also alter protein function through direct protein interactions. This raises the question: Do alcohol's biological actions result predominantly from direct protein-alcohol interactions or from general changes in the ...

In this study, we achieve the direct conversion of metallic Cu-In films to compound semiconductor CuInSe₂ films, at quite low temperature around 300 °C using less hazardous metalorganic selenium source in supercritical fluid (SCF). We investigated the effects of temperature and fluid (ethanol) density, and found that supercritical ethanol plays ...

Galvanic deposition of Au onto a thin-sheet sinter-locked 8 μm Ni-fiber delivers a high-performance Au/Ni-fiber catalyst for alcohol oxidation, due to the unique combination of excellent heat conductivity, remarkable low-temperature activity, and good stability/regenerability. The special NiO@Au ensembles formed during the reaction contribute to promoting the low-temperature activity.

Rice husk silica (RHS) which was obtained with thermal treatment of rice husk has the size of approximately 10 micrometer with 4-5 nm pore. RHS can be mold to a disk type membrane. The membrane may have submicron pore originated from the space among the particles, and the nano pores ...

Background:  A prevailing hypothesis is that the set of genes that underlie the endophenotypes of alcoholism overlap with those responsible for the addicted state. Functional ethanol tolerance, an endophenotype of alcoholism, is defined as a reduced response to ethanol caused by prior ethanol exposure. The neuronal origins of functional rapid ...

The ability of macroencapsulated Saccharomyces cerevisiae CBS 8066 to produce ethanol at elevated temperatures was investigated in consecutive batch and continuous cultures. Prior to cultivation yeast was confined inside alginate-chitosan capsules composed of an outer semi-permeable membrane and an inner liquid core. The encapsulated yeast could successfully ferment 30g/L glucose ...

Increased membrane fluidity, which causes cofactor leakage and loss of membrane potential, has long been documented as a cause for decreased cell growth during exposure to ethanol, butanol, and other alcohols. Reinforcement of the membrane with more complex lipid components is thus thought to be beneficial for the generation of ...

Unilamellar liposomes are conventionally prepared by rapid injection of an ethanolic solution of lipids into an aqueous medium. The aim of the present study was to control, more efficiently, vesicle diameter by using an alternative solvent. The results show that isopropanol injection is a good alternative to ethanol injection for ...

A new strategy for fast, convenient high-throughput screening of liposomal formulations was developed, utilizing the automation of the so-called ethanol-injection method. This strategy was illustrated by the preparation and screening of the liposomal formulation library of a potent second-generation photosensitizer, temoporfin. Numerous liposomal formulations were efficiently prepared using a pipetting ...

In this paper, we explore the effects of the chain length of n-alcohols (C2OH-C8OH) and benzyl alcohol (C6H5CH2OH) upon the fluorescence dynamics of a dipolar solute probe, coumarin 153 (C153) in vesicles formed in aqueous solutions of two oppositely charged (cationic and anionic) surfactants in the presence of 0.05 m ...

The kinetics of the thermal hydrolysis from the fructans of Agave salmiana were determined during the cooking step of mezcal production in a pilot autoclave. Thermal hydrolysis were achieved at different temperatures and cooking times, ranging from 96oC to 116o C and 20 to 80 h. A simple kinetic model ...

This study aimed to characterize and compare the chemical structure, physical property, and enzymatic hydrolysis rate of five sorghum starches (6B73, 6C21, 6C69, 7R34, and X789) with that of corn starch (B73). Sorghum kernels consisted of 68.7-70.6% starch, more than the B73 corn (67.4%). Sorghum starches displayed higher gelatinization temperatures ...

In this contribution, we report the relationship between molecular structures of polydiacetylene (PDA) vesicles, fabricated by using three monomers, 10,12-tricosadiynoic acid (TCDA), 10,12-pentacosadiynoic acid (PCDA) and N-(2-aminoethyl)pentacosa-10,12-diynamide (AEPCDA), and their color-transition behaviors. The modification of side chain length and head group of the PDA vesicles strongly affects the colorimetric response ...

The presence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in grape berries and fresh musts is usually very low. However, as fermentation progresses, the population levels of this species considerably increase. In this study, we use the concept of fitness advantage to measure how increasing ethanol concentrations (0-25%) and temperature values (4-46 °C) in wine ...

Ethanol and endopolygalacturonase (endoPG) are simultaneously produced by the yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus CCEBI 2011. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal combination of seven environmental and nutritional variables, as well as the influence of each one, with respect to the fermentation process in yeast cultures in which ...

Vitamin E is localized in membranes and functions as an efficient inhibitor of lipid peroxidation in biological systems. In this study, we measured the reaction rates of vitamin E (α-, β-, γ-, δ-tocopherols, TocH) and tocol with aroxyl radical (ArO) as model lipid peroxyl radicals in membranes by stopped-flow spectrophotometry. ...

Erythrocyte membranes are an excellent model system to study interaction of pro—oxidants with membranes. The aim of the present study is to examine the effect of vitamin E on ethion—induced biochemical and morphological alterations in erythrocytes. Ethion was administered to the rats orally at a daily dose of 2.7 mg/kg ...

The specific rates of solvolysis of isobutyl chloroformate (1) are reported at 40.0 °C and those for isobutyl chlorothioformate (2) are reported at 25.0 °C, in a variety of pure and binary aqueous organic mixtures with wide ranging nucleophilicity and ionizing power. For 1, we also report the first-order rate ...

The local delivery of antibiotics in the treatment of infectious respiratory diseases is an attractive alternative to deliver high concentration of antimicrobials directly to the lungs and minimize systemic side effects. In this study, inhalable microparticles containing doxycycline hyclate, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, leucine and lactose were prepared by spray drying of ...

In the search to uncover ethanol's molecular mechanisms, the calcium and voltage activated, large conductance potassium channel (BK) has emerged as an important molecule. We examine how cholesterol content in bilayers of 1,2-dioleoyl-3-phosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE)/sphingomyelin (SPM) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylethanolamine (POPE)/1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylserine (POPS) affect the function and ethanol sensitivity of BK. In addition, we ...

Diffusion of two Escherichia coli outer membrane proteins-the cobalamin (vitamin B12) receptor (BtuB) and the OmpF porin, which are implicated in the cellular import pathways of colicins and phages-was measured in vivo. The lateral mobility of these proteins is relevant to the mechanism of formation of the translocon for cellular ...

The heat capacity of the mass selected Na(41) (+) cluster has been measured using a differential nanocalorimetry method. A two-peak structure appears in the heat capacity curve of Na(41) (+), whereas Schmidt and co-workers [M. Schmidt, J. Donges, Th. Hippler, and H. Haberland, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 103401 (2003)] observed, ...

The anaerobic acetogenic bacterium Acetobacterium woodii carries out a unique type of Na(+)-motive, anaerobic respiration with caffeate as electron acceptor, termed "caffeate respiration." Central, and so far the only identified membrane-bound reaction in this respiration pathway, is a ferredoxin:NAD(+) oxidoreductase (Fno) activity. Here we show that inverted membrane vesicles of ...

An influx of experimental and theoretical studies of ion transport protein structure has inspired efforts to understand underlying determinants of ionic selectivity. Design principles for selective ion binding can be effectively isolated and interrogated using simplified models composed of a single ion surrounded by a set of ion-ligating molecular species. ...

The impact of seawater intrusion was investigated using major hydrogeochemical ions to evaluate the origin of salinity in Sadras watershed located between Buckingham Canal and Bay of Bengal in the southeastern coast of India. From empirical data collected twice during pre- and post-monsoon seasons, it was found that groundwater was ...

In this work, the silylation of sodium montmorillonite (Na-MMT) was performed in glycerol using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane and 3-[2-(2-aminoethylamino)ethylamino]-propyl-trimethoxysilane. The effects on the d-spacing of sodium montmorillonite (Na-MMT) upon reaction with three aminosilanes of different chain length were studied in details by combining experimental and computational techniques. Infrared spectroscopy was used ...

This work examined the effect of sodium carbonate (Na(2)CO(3)) on the topical delivery of methotrexate (MTX) from a loaded nanogel in vitro and the modulation of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) production in skin ex vivo. A nanogel based on co-polymerised N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and butylacrylate (BA) was synthesized, characterized and loaded with ...

The formation of supramolecular structures initiated by a p-tert-butylphenylamide derivative of deoxycholic acid (Na-t-butPhDC) is investigated. At 1.18 mM concentration of Na-t-butPhDC and 37 degrees C, initial flat ribbons are observed which self-transform into helical ribbons (with a mean pitch angle of 47 +/- 6 degrees) which finally originate molecular ...

Ascorbate (vitamin C) is the major electron donor to a tPMET (transplasma membrane electron transport) system that was originally identified in human erythrocytes. This plasma membrane redox system appears to transfer electrons from intracellular ascorbate to extracellular oxidants (e.g. non-transferrin-bound iron). Although this phenomenon has been observed in nucleated cells, ...

The endolymphatic sac (ES) is a part of the membranous labyrinth. ES is believed to perform endolymph absorption, which is dependent on several ion transporters, including Na(+)/K(+)/2Cl(-) cotransporter type 2 (NKCC-2) and Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase. NKCC-2 is typically recognized as a kidney-specific ion transporter expressed in the apical membrane of the absorptive ...

Plant vacuolar Na(+)/H(+) antiporters play important roles in maintaining cellular ion homeostasis and mediating the transport of Na(+) out of the cytosol and into the vacuole. Vacuolar antiporters have been shown to play significant roles in salt tolerance; however the relatively low V(max) of the Na(+)/H(+) exchange of the Na(+)/H(+) ...

Immunological assays and transport measurements in apical membrane vesicles revealed that the apical membrane of rat kidney cortex and medulla presents OCTN2 and OCTN3 proteins and transports L-[(3)H]-carnitine in a Na(+)-dependent and -independent manner. OCTN2 mediates the Na(+)/L-carnitine transport activity measured in medulla because (i) the transport showed the same ...

Ca/Na montmorillonite and natural Wyoming bentonite (MX-80) have been studied experimentally and theoretically. For a clay system in equilibrium with pure water, Monte Carlo simulations predict a large swelling when the clay counterions are monovalent, while in presence of divalent counterions a limited swelling is obtained with an aqueous layer ...

The feasibility of solid-state magic angle spinning (MAS) (31)P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and (23)Na NMR spectroscopy to investigate both phosphates and Na(+) ions distribution in semi-hard cheeses in a non-destructive way was studied. Two semi-hard cheeses of known composition were made with two different salt contents. (31)P Single-pulse ...

The existence of bacterial K(+)/H(+) antiporters that prevent the overaccumulation of potassium in the cytoplasm was predicted by Peter Mitchell almost 50 years ago. The importance of K(+)/H(+) antiport for bacterial physiology is widely recognized, but its molecular mechanisms remain underinvestigated. Here, we demonstrate that a putative Na(+)/H(+) antiporter, Vc-NhaP2, ...

p-Type ZnO microwires were first synthesized by a simple chemical vapor deposition method using Na as the dopant source. p-Type doping was confirmed by the electrical transport in single-wire field-effect transistors and low-temperature photoluminescence. The carrier mobility of the microwires was estimated to be approximately 2.1 cm(2) V(-1) S(-1).

Soon after hatching, the osteoglossid fish Arapaima gigas undergoes a rapid transition from a water breather to an obligate air breather. This is followed by a gradual disappearance of gill lamellae, which leaves smooth filaments with a reduced branchial diffusion capacity due to loss of surface area, and a fourfold ...

For the first time, reduced pressure to induce a framework contraction of the microporous titanosilicate ETS-4 is used. A vacuum of 10(-2) Torr decreases the temperature of structural contraction from 200 degrees C to near room temperature and presents a potential alternative to the temperature-induced and anion-controlled molecular gate effect. ...

The crystal structure of Na(+)-coupled galactose symporter (vSGLT) reports the transporter in its substrate-bound state, with a Na(+) ion modeled in a binding site corresponding to that of a homologous protein, leucine transporter (LeuT). In repeated molecular dynamics simulations, however, we find the Na(+) ion instable, invariably and spontaneously diffusing ...

Rice is the second most important cereal crop in the world but its production suffers from saline environments in many areas since it is one of the most salt sensitive crops. However, the large divergence in tolerance between rice cultivars can be exploited to gain insights into mechanisms of salinity ...