There is evidence that the metabolic responses to afferent and efferent nervous activity are dissociated at sites of neuronal excitation in brain. Whether efferent activity follows afferent activity depends on the responsiveness of postsynaptic neurons, which in turn depends on the summation of excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials. The afferent activity excites the presynaptic term...

Cancer cells display high rates of aerobic glycolysis, a phenomenon known as the Warburg effect. Lactate and pyruvate, the end products of glycolysis, are overproduced by cancer cells even in the presence of oxygen. The pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) allows glucose conversion to ribose for nucleic acid synthesis, glucose degradation to lactate, and regeneration of redox equivalents. The nonoxi...

The availability of large reserves of methane, which is the main component of most natural gas, makes it a very important feedstock molecule for the production of base chemicals (e.g. ethylene, propylene, and aromatics) and energy carriers (i.e. transportation fuels). More recently, the shale gas bonanza—particularly in the USA—as well as the presence of vast amounts of gas methane hydrates at ...

Benzoylformate decarboxylase (BFDC) and pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) are thiamin diphosphate-dependent enzymes that share some structural and mechanistic similarities. Both enzymes catalyze the nonoxidative decarboxylation of 2-keto acids, yet differ considerably in their substrate specificity. In particular, the BFDC from P. putida exhibits very limited activity with pyruvate, whereas the PDCs...

The nonoxidative catalytic dehydrogenation of ethane allows the production ethylene at lower temperatures than those applied in steam crackers. This, however, requires stable catalysts that minimize coke production. Here, we report a single-component, promoter-free, low-loading, Cr-based catalyst exhibiting high activity, long-term stability, and improved regeneration properties for direct to e...

Pd-catalyzed aerobic oxidative coupling of vinylboronic acids and electronically unbiased alkyl olefins provides regioselective access to 1,3-disubstituted conjugated dienes. Catalyst-controlled regioselectivity is achieved by using 2,9-dimethylphenanthroline as a ligand. The observed regioselectivity is opposite to that observed from a traditional (nonoxidative) Heck reaction between a vinyl b...