Detailed analysis of the modular Type I polyketide synthase (PKS) involved in the biosynthesis of the marginolactone azalomycin F in mangrove Streptomyces sp. 211726 has shown that only nineteen extension modules are required to accomplish twenty cycles of polyketide chain elongation. Analysis of the products of a PKS mutant specifically inactivated in the dehydratase domain of extension-module...

PpCHS is a member of the type III polyketide synthase family and catalyses the synthesis of the flavonoid precursor naringenin chalcone from p-coumaroyl-CoA. Recent research reports the production of pyrone derivatives using either hexanoyl-CoA or butyryl-CoA as starter molecule. The Cys-His-Asn catalytic triad found in other plant chalcone synthase predicted polypeptides is conserved in PpCHS....

A freshwater population of magnetotactic bacteria has been extracted from the Seine River (France) and studied using transmission electron microscopy. Seventeen different morphotypes were recognized using morphological criteria, which rely on the number of magnetite crystals and their organization within cells, the size and shape of the cells and their statistical distribution. This study revea...

We report the synthesis and application of an elastic, wearable crosslinked polymer layer (XPL) that mimics the properties of normal, youthful skin. XPL is made of a tunable polysiloxane-based material that can be engineered with specific elasticity, contractility, adhesion, tensile strength and occlusivity. XPL can be topically applied, rapidly curing at the skin interface without the need for...

The morphology of Chinese fire-bellied newt liver consists of 5 lobes, with exception of a few individual differences present, which are composed by a number of hepatic lobules. Passing through the center of the lobules, a central vein radiates and is arranged in orderly row from one to several layers. The interval of the hepatic cords or masses are irregular and variable sinusoid. The hepatic ...

Orbits of known extrasolar planets that are located outside the tidal circular-ization regions of their parent stars are often substantially eccentric. By contrast, planetary orbits in our Solar System are approximately circular, reflecting planet formation within a nearly axisymmetric, circumsolar disk. We propose that the remarkable elongations of extrasolar planetary orbits are a consequence...

Equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) was utilized to process a Bi‒42Sn eutectic alloy at room temperature using processing route A for 1, 2, 4, and 8 passes. Tensile testing was performed at room temperature under initial strain rates in the range of 1.0 × 10 -5 to 1.0 × 10 -2 s -1 . The results demonstrate that processing by ECAP improves the ductility in this material and the elongations to ...

We present a study of the effects of nanoconfinement on a system of hard Gaussian overlap particles interacting with planar substrates through the hard-needle-wall potential, extending earlier work by two of us [D. J. Cleaver and P. I. C. Teixeira, Chem. Phys. Lett. 338, 1 (2001)]. Here, we consider the case of hybrid films, where one of the substrates induces strongly homeotropic anchoring, wh...

The trial was designed to compare the atrophies occurring after open surgical tenotomy and percutaneous tenotomy using the experimental model that we established. Fourty Ross-800 hybrid chickens were divided into two equal groups. The first and the second group underwent open surgical tenotomy and percutaneous tenotomy of the Achilles tendon, respectively. The animals were sacrificed after eigh...

To verify whether aluminium phytotoxicity causes oxidative stress in developing greengram seedlings, the present investigation was carried out. An uniform decrease in root and shoot elongations was marked as the primary signs of aluminium injury. A significant increase in lipid peroxidation measured in terms of TBARS content was noticed which was also correlated with an increase in membrane inj...