Glycogen storage disease type Ia misdiagnosed as multiple acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency by mass spectrometry.

Objective: To report a case of glycogen storage disease (GSD) type Ia misdiagnosed as multiple acyl-coenzyme a dehydrogenase deficiency (MADD) by mass spectrometry.

Methods: A 7 months old boy was admitted to our hospital for elevated transaminase levels lasting more than 1 month. His blood biochemistry showed hypoglycemia, metabolic acidosis, hyperlipidemia, elevated lactate and uric acid, elevated alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transaminase (AST) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT).

Development and Optimization of Djulis Sourdough Bread Fermented by Lactic Acid Bacteria for Antioxidant Capacity.

This study developed a nutritionally valuable product with bioactive activity that improves the quality of bread. Djulis (), a native plant of Taiwan, was fermented using 23 different lactic acid bacteria strains. BCRC10697 was identified as the ideal strain for fermentation, as it lowered the pH value of samples to 4.

Divalent nutrient cations: Friend and foe during zinc stress in rice.

Zn deficiency is the most common micronutrient deficit in rice but Zn is also a widespread industrial pollutant. Zn deficiency responses in rice are well documented, but comparative responses to Zn deficiency and excess have not been reported. Therefore, we compared the physiological, transcriptional and biochemical properties of rice subjected to Zn starvation or excess at early and later treatment stages.

Transcriptomics identifies key defense mechanisms in rice resistant to both leaf-feeding and phloem feeding herbivores.

Background: Outbreaks of insect pests in paddy fields cause heavy losses in global rice yield annually, a threat projected to be aggravated by ongoing climate warming. Although significant progress has been made in the screening and cloning of insect resistance genes in rice germplasm and their introgression into modern cultivars, improved rice resistance is only effective against either chewing or phloem-feeding insects.

Results: In this study, the results from standard and modified seedbox screening, settlement preference and honeydew excretion tests consistently showed that Qingliu, a previously known leaffolder-resistant rice variety, is also moderately resistant to brown planthopper (BPH).

SWATH-MS-based quantitative proteomics reveals a uniquely intricate defense response in Cnaphalocrocis medinalis-resistant rice.

Cnaphalocrocis medinalis is a major insect pest of rice in Asia. A few defensive enzymes were reported to show higher activities in a resistant rice line (Qingliu) than in a susceptible rice line (TN1) upon leaffolder infestation. However, the overall molecular regulation of the rice defense response against leaffolder herbivory is unknown.

The effect of cis-trans configurational difference on the performance of pyridylimine-based ruthenium sensitizers.

New heteroleptic Ru(ii) complexes consisting of pyridylimine as an ancillary ligand were synthesized and characterized for applications in dye sensitized solar cells. Complexes with cis and trans configurations around the central ruthenium metal were obtained using simple synthetic protocols by varying the substituents on the pyridylimine ligands. The geometries of these complexes were confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis.

Effect of Ammonium Salts on the Hydrothermal Synthesis of TiO₂ Nanocubes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

TiO2 nanocubes were synthesized via hydrolysis condensation of titanium tetra-isopropoxide (TTIP) in aqueous media, followed by hydrothermal treatment with ammonium salts. Various ammonium salts with different alkyl chain such as ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH), tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), tetraethylammonium hydroxide (TEAH) and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAH) were investigated. The crystalline phase, shape, and morphology of TiO2 nanocubes were studied by XRD, TEM, and SEM analysis.

Effect of Extended Conjugation of N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Based Sensitizers on the Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

We report the synthesis, characterization, and photovoltaic properties of four ruthenium complexes (CI101, CBTR, CB111, and CB108) having various N-heterocyclic carbene ancillary ligands, pyridine-imidazole, -benzimidazole, -dithienobenzimidazole, and -phenanthroimidazole, respectively. These complexes were designed to investigate the effect of extended conjugation ordained from ring fusion on the power conversion efficiencies of the solar cells. The device sensitized by CB108, the pyridine-phenanthroimidazole conjugated complex, showed an improved efficiency (9.

Anchoring plant metallothioneins to the inner face of the plasma membrane of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells leads to heavy metal accumulation.

In this study we engineered yeast cells armed for heavy metal accumulation by targeting plant metallothioneins to the inner face of the yeast plasma membrane. Metallothioneins (MTs) are cysteine-rich proteins involved in the buffering of excess metal ions, especially Cu(I), Zn(II) or Cd(II). The cDNAs of seven Arabidopsis thaliana MTs (AtMT1a, AtMT1c, AtMT2a, AtMT2b, AtMT3, AtMT4a and AtMT4b) and four Noccaea caerulescens MTs (NcMT1, NcMT2a, NcMT2b and NcMT3) were each translationally fused to the C-terminus of a myristoylation green fluorescent protein variant (myrGFP) and expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells.

Expression of the ZNT1 Zinc Transporter from the Metal Hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens Confers Enhanced Zinc and Cadmium Tolerance and Accumulation to Arabidopsis thaliana.

Prompt regulation of transition metal transporters is crucial for plant zinc homeostasis. NcZNT1 is one of such transporters, found in the metal hyperaccumulator Brassicaceae species Noccaea caerulescens. It is orthologous to AtZIP4 from Arabidopsis thaliana, an important actor in Zn homeostasis.

Adsorption of Phosphate in Aqueous Solution by Magnetite Modified with Diethylenetriamine.

A magnetic adsorbent, amine-functionalized silica magnetite (NH2-Al/SiO2/Fe3O4), has been synthesized to behave as an cationic adsorbent by adjusting the pH value of the aqueous solution to make amino groups protonated. NH2-Al/SiO2/Fe3O4 was used to adsorb phosphate ions in an aqueous solution in a batch system, and the maximum adsorption were found to occur at pH 3.0.

A comprehensive set of transcript sequences of the heavy metal hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens.

Noccaea caerulescens is an extremophile plant species belonging to the Brassicaceae family. It has adapted to grow on soils containing high, normally toxic, concentrations of metals such as nickel, zinc, and cadmium. Next to being extremely tolerant to these metals, it is one of the few species known to hyperaccumulate these metals to extremely high concentrations in their aboveground biomass.

Optimizing treatment of benzoic acid by ozone process with recyclable catalyst of magnetism.

This study is to optimize the multi-quality performance of magnetic catalyst/ozone process by combining a technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) with the Taguchi method, which simultaneously has the best decomposition rate constant of benzoic acid and removal rate constant of total organic carbon (TOC). The optimal experimental parameters were pH of 7, initial concentration of 75 ppm and catalyst loading of 0.05 g/L.

The molecular mechanism of zinc and cadmium stress response in plants.

When plants are subjected to high metal exposure, different plant species take different strategies in response to metal-induced stress. Largely, plants can be distinguished in four groups: metal-sensitive species, metal-resistant excluder species, metal-tolerant non-hyperaccumulator species, and metal-hypertolerant hyperaccumulator species, each having different molecular mechanisms to accomplish their resistance/tolerance to metal stress or reduce the negative consequences of metal toxicity. Plant responses to heavy metals are molecularly regulated in a process called metal homeostasis, which also includes regulation of the metal-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling pathway.

Stem cell antigen 1 protects against cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis after pressure overload.

Stem cell antigen (Sca) 1, a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol-anchored protein localized to lipid rafts, is upregulated in the heart during myocardial infarction and renovascular hypertension-induced cardiac hypertrophy. It has been suggested that Sca-1 plays an important role in myocardial infarction. To investigate the role of Sca-1 in cardiac hypertrophy, we performed aortic banding in Sca-1 cardiac-specific transgenic mice, Sca-1 knockout mice, and their wild-type littermates.

Application of bifunctional magnetic adsorbent to adsorb metal cations and anionic dyes in aqueous solution.

A magnetic adsorbent, amine-functionalized silica magnetite (NH(2)/SiO(2)/Fe(3)O(4)), has been synthesized to behave as an anionic or cationic adsorbent by adjusting the pH value of the aqueous solution to make amino groups protonic or neutral. NH(2)/SiO(2)/Fe(3)O(4) were used to adsorb copper ions (metal cation) and Reactive Black 5 (RB5, anionic dye) in an aqueous solution in a batch system, and the maximum adsorption were found to occur at pH 5.5 and 3.

Arabidopsis IRT3 is a zinc-regulated and plasma membrane localized zinc/iron transporter.

ZIP transporters (ZRT, IRT-like proteins) are involved in the transport of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn) and other divalent metal cations. The expression of IRT3, a ZIP transporter, is higher in the Zn/cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulator Arabidopsis halleri than is that of its ortholog in Arabidopsis thaliana, which implies a positive association of its expression with Zn accumulation in A. halleri.

High temperature oxidation of C2Cl4/CH4 mixtures.

Experiments on high temperature oxidation of multi-chlorinated hydrocarbons, tetrachloroethylene (C2Cl4), with hydrocarbon fuels, CH4, were performed in a 15 mm i.d. tubular flow reactor.