Separation and determination of D-malic acid enantiomer by reversed-phase liquid chromatography after derivatization with (R)-1-(1-naphthyl) ethylamine

Abstract L-Malic acid is the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient of the latest generation of compound electrolyte injection (STEROFUNDIN ISO, Germany) and plays a very important role in the rescue of critically ill patients. The optical purity of L-malic acid is a Critical Quality Attributes. A new reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for pre-column derivatization of D-malic acid enantiomer impurity in L-malic acid bulk drug was established. The derivatization reaction was carried out using (R)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine ((R)-NEA) as a chiral derivatization reagent. The Kromasil C18 column was used with a detection wavelength of 225 nm, a flow rate of 1.0 mL·min-1, and a column temperature of 30 °C. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-0.01 mol·L-1 potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution (containing 20 mmol·L-1 sodium heptanesulfonate, adjusted to pH 2.80 with phosphoric acid) (at a ratio of 45:55) and the resolution of D-malic acid and L-malic acid derivatization products reached 1.7. The proposed method possesses the advantages of simple operation, mild conditions, stable derivatization products and low cost. Also it gave better separation and was more accurate than previous methods

Transcriptome analysis of biological pathways associated with heterosis in Chinese cabbage.

Chinese cabbage is an important vegetable in Asia, and high-yielding hybrids are needed to cope with the growing demand. A comparative transcriptome profiling was conducted to reveal the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with heterosis in two hybrids relative to their parents. Our data suggests that heterosis is underlined by a significant upregulation of gene expression. High expression of DEGs in glycolysis and photosynthesis pathways in hybrids depicted their relation with growth and hybrid vigor. Besides, DEGs related to auxin, abscisic acid, ethylene and gibberellin were identified, implying that these hormones may boost the mechanisms of growth and developmental processes in the hybrids. Furthermore, transcription factors, including bHLH, ERF, MYB and WRKY were predicted to regulate downstream genes linked to hybrid vigor. Collectively, the present study will be helpful for a better understanding of the regulation mechanisms of heterosis to aid cabbage yield improvement.

The Response of COL and FT Homologues to Photoperiodic Regulation in Carrot (Daucus carota L.).

Carrot (Daucus carota L.) is a biennial plant requiring vernalization to induce flowering, but long days can promote its premature bolting and flowering. The basic genetic network controlling the flowering time has been constructed for carrot, but there is limited information on the molecular mechanisms underlying the photoperiodic flowering response. The published carrot genome could provide an effective tool for systematically retrieving the key integrator genes of GIGANTEA (GI), CONSTANS-LIKE (COL), FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), and SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1) homologues in the photoperiod pathway. In this study, the bolting time of wild species "Songzi" (Ws) could be regulated by different photoperiods, but the orange cultivar "Amsterdam forcing" (Af) displayed no bolting phenomenon. According to the carrot genome and previous de novo transcriptome, 1 DcGI, 15 DcCOLs, 2 DcFTs, and 3 DcSOC1s were identified in the photoperiod pathway. The circadian rhythm peaks of DcGI, DcCOL2, DcCOL5a, and DcCOL13b could be delayed under long days (LDs). The peak value of DcCOL2 in Af (12.9) was significantly higher than that in Ws (6.8) under short day (SD) conditions, and was reduced under LD conditions (5.0). The peak values of DcCOL5a in Ws were constantly higher than those in Af under the photoperiod treatments. The expression levels of DcFT1 in Ws (463.0) were significantly upregulated under LD conditions compared with those in Af (1.4). These responses of DcCOL2, DcCOL5a, and DcFT1 might be related to the different bolting responses of Ws and Af. This study could provide valuable insights into understanding the key integrator genes in the carrot photoperiod pathway.

Spreading speeds of epidemic models with nonlocal delays.

We estimate the spreading speeds in diffusive epidemic models with nonlocal delays, nonlinear incidence rate and constant recruitment rate. The purpose is to model the process that the infective invades the habitat of the susceptible, and they coexist eventually. In order to focus on our idea, a system with a nonlinear incidence rate is firstly studied, which implies a saturation level of the infective individuals and monotone incidence rate. When the initial value of the infective has nonempty compact support, we prove the rough spreading speed that equals the minimal wave speed of traveling wave solutions in the known results. Then for a general (nonmonotone) incidence rate, we obtain the spreading speeds by constructing auxiliary systems admitting a monotone incidence rate, and prove the convergence of solutions on any compact spatial interval. Furthermore, some numerical examples are given to estimate the invasion speed and show the nontrivial effect of time delay and spatial nonlocality, which implies that the stronger spatial nonlocality leads to larger spreading speeds.