A fungal immunomodulatory protein (Fip-gts) was purified from Ganoderma tsugae. The DNA encoding Fipgts was isolated from a cDNA library of G. tsugae by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The complete amino acid sequence of Fip-gts, deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the cDNA, was the same as LZ-8 isolated from Ganodermn lucidum. Recombinant Fip-gts was expressed as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein in Escherichia coli with a yield of 20 mg/liter of culture. Recombinant Fip-gts, purified to homogeneity, had the same blast formation stimulatory activity to human peripheral blood lymphocytes as native Fip-gts.The yeast two-hybrid system and site-directed mutagenesis were used to determine whether dimerization of Fip-gts occurred. Deletion analysis of the N-terminal amphipathic ␣-helix domain of Fip-gts identified a sequence of about 10 amino acids responsible for inducing immunomodulatory activity. Non-functional Fip-gts deletion mutants did not form dimers, whereas wild type Fip-gts did as determined by gel filtration. A mutant with deletions at Leu-5, Phe-7, and Leu-9 lost the amphipathic characteristics of the N-terminal domain and the ability to form dimers as well as its immunomodulatory activity.Fusion of Fip-gts with the DNA binding and the transactivation domains of GAL4 resulted in the activation of the lacZ activator gene, indicating the interaction of Fip-gts with it itself. The dimerization domain was further defined by analyzing the ability of the N-terminal 13 amino acids or Leu-5, Phe-7, and Leu-9 deletion mutants of Fip-gts to interact with the wild type Fip-gts. These experiments confirmed the N-terminal amphipathic ␣-helix as the dimerization domain and suggest that the dimerization of Fip-gts may play an important role in Fip-gts immunomodulatory activity.A new family of fungal immunomodulatory proteins (Fips) 1 has recently been established. Four Fips have been isolated and purified from Ganodermn lucidum, Flammulina veltipes, Volvariella volvacea, and Ganoderma tsugae and designated as LZ-8, Fip-fve, Fip-vvo, and Fip-gts, respectively (1-3).Fips are mitogenic in vitro for human peripheral blood lymphocytes (hPBLs) and mouse splenocytes, and induce a bellshaped dose-response curve similar to that for lectin mitogens. Activation of hPBLs with Fips results in the increased production of IL-2, IFN-␥, and tumor necrosis factor-␣ molecules associated with ICAM-1 expression (2, 3). Fips can also act as immunosuppressive agents; in vivo these proteins can prevent systemic anaphylactic reactions and significantly decrease footpad edema during the Arthus reaction (1, 2). LZ-8 can also suppress autoimmune diabetes in young female non-obese diabetes mice (4). Furthermore, LZ-8 has a significant effect on cellular immunity, as shown by the increase of graft survival in transplanted allogenic mouse skin and allogenic pancreatic rats (5) without producing the severe toxic effects on pancreatic islets associated with prednisolone and cyclosporin A treatment (6, 7).The Fips identifi...

Bridging the gap between the theoretical modeling and the practical implementation is always essential for fault detection, classification, and location methods in a power transmission-line network. In this paper, a novel hybrid framework that is able to rapidly detect and locate a fault on power transmission lines is presented. The proposed algorithm presents a fault discrimination method based on the three-phase current and voltage waveforms measured when fault events occur in the power transmission-line network. Negative-sequence components of the three-phase current and voltage quantities are applied to achieve fast online fault detection. Subsequently, the fault detection method triggers the fault classification and fault-location methods to become active. A variety of methods-including multilevel wavelet transform, principal component analysis, support vector machines, and adaptive structure neural networks-are incorporated into the framework to identify fault type and location at the same time. This paper lays out the fundamental concept of the proposed framework and introduces the methodology of the analytical techniques, a pattern-recognition approach via neural networks and a joint decision-making mechanism. Using a well-trained framework, the tasks of fault detection, classification, and location are accomplished in 1.28 cycles, significantly shorter than the critical fault clearing time.Index Terms-Artificial neural networks (ANNs), fault detection, fault location, principal component analysis (PCA), support vector machine (SVM).

This study investigates the microstructures of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)/TiO(2) nanocomposites, obtained by sol-gel and hydrothermal processes. The synthesized nanocomposite materials were characterized by x-ray diffractometry (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) adsorption analysis, transmittance electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The effects of the synthetic procedures and MWNTs on the morphology and photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposites were studied. The photocatalytic activity of the MWNTs/TiO(2) nanocomposite was elucidated based on the photooxidation of NO(x) under UV light illumination. A fleck-like and well dispersed TiO(2) microstructure on the surface of the MWNTs was observed in the sol-gel system, while compact and large aggregated particles were found in the hydrothermal procedure. The nanocomposite prepared by the sol-gel system exhibits better photocatalytic activity for NO oxidation (from 20.52 to 32.14%) than that prepared by the hydrothermal method (from 22.58 to 26.51%) with the same MWNT loading (from 0 to 8 wt%), respectively. The optimal MWNT content in the nanocomposite was considered at 8 wt%. Additionally, results confirm that the introduction of MWNTs will cause the NO(2) to be more consumed than NO in the photocatalytic experiments, leading to more complete NO(x) photooxidation. These observations indicate that the different TiO(2) distributions on the MWNT surfaces and MWNT contents in the materials would determine the morphology, the physicochemical and photocatalytic characteristics for the nanocomposite materials.

Recently, cases of bone defects have been increasing incrementally. Thus, repair or replacement of bone defects is gradually becoming a huge problem for orthopaedic surgeons. Three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds have since emerged as a potential candidate for bone replacement, of which titanium (Ti) alloys are one of the most promising candidates among the metal alloys due to their low cytotoxicity and mechanical properties. However, bioactivity remains a problem for metal alloys, which can be enhanced using simple immersion techniques to coat bioactive compounds onto the surface of Ti–6Al–4V scaffolds. In our study, we fabricated magnesium-calcium silicate (Mg–CS) and chitosan (CH) compounds onto Ti–6Al–4V scaffolds. Characterization of these surface-modified scaffolds involved an assessment of physicochemical properties as well as mechanical testing. Adhesion, proliferation, and growth of human Wharton’s Jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJMSCs) were assessed in vitro. In addition, the cell attachment morphology was examined using scanning electron microscopy to assess adhesion qualities. Osteogenic and mineralization assays were conducted to assess osteogenic expression. In conclusion, the Mg–CS/CH coated Ti–6Al–4V scaffolds were able to exhibit and retain pore sizes and their original morphologies and architectures, which significantly affected subsequent hard tissue regeneration. In addition, the surface was shown to be hydrophilic after modification and showed mechanical strength comparable to natural bone. Not only were our modified scaffolds able to match the mechanical properties of natural bone, it was also found that such modifications enhanced cellular behavior such as adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, which led to enhanced osteogenesis and mineralization downstream. In vivo results indicated that Mg–CS/CH coated Ti–6Al–4V enhances the bone regeneration and ingrowth at the critical size bone defects of rabbits. These results indicated that the proposed Mg–CS/CH coated Ti–6Al–4V scaffolds exhibited a favorable, inducive micro-environment that could serve as a promising modification for future bone tissue engineering scaffolds.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract