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Tea is one of the most important parts of agricultural production in China. A large amount of waste tea residues can be produced every year with the continuous growth of the tea industry. Waste tea residue shares significant economic and medicinal value, due to its bioactive substances, especially caffeine. However, most waste tea residues cannot be fully utilized in a resourceful way, resulting in the waste of resources and pressure on the environment. In this study, an efficient caffeine extraction was proposed using hydrothermal extraction. A systematic investigation was implemented to explore the effects of different factors on extraction efficiency. Response surface ology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) were also combined to optimize and predict the extraction conditions. Firstly, the efficient extraction of caffeine from tea residue was achieved by hydrothermal extraction. The special properties of water were exploited under high temperature and pressure. As such, the lignocellulose structure in tea residues was effectively destroyed to obtain the dissolution of active substances, such as caffeine. The high efficiency and environmental advantages of hydrothermal approaches were emphasized to treat the wet biomass under mild conditions, compared with the conventional one. The better performance was achieved in the high efficiency, low energy consumption, and reduced use of hazardous chemical solvents. Secondly, the key parameters of extraction (hydrothermal temperature, time, liquid-solid ratio, and pH) were systematically analyzed using RSM. The influencing level of each factor on the caffeine extraction was determined to derive the optimal extraction conditions. The experimental results showed that the hydrothermal temperature shared the most significant effect on the caffeine extraction. The extraction efficiency was significantly improved to appropriately increase the hydrothermal temperature. An ANN model was also established to further validate and optimize the extraction conditions. A large amount of experimental data was trained and then validated to learn and simulate complex nonlinear processes. The ANN model was also used to accurately predict caffeine extraction under different conditions. The prediction of the ANN model showed that the optimal extraction conditions were determined as the hydrothermal temperature of 220 °C, hydrothermal time of 3.5 h, liquid-solid ratio of 50 mL/g, and pH 9.0. A caffeine extraction of 66.19 mg/g was expected to be obtained. There was high agreement with the actual experiment (65.81 ± 0.47 mg/g), indicating a high prediction accuracy. The ANN model was verified to optimize and predict the caffeine extraction from waste tea residue, in terms of the high feasibility and accuracy. In conclusion, the organic solvents were avoided to be environmentally friendly and realize green chemistry, indicating the promising potential for the extraction of natural products. Meanwhile, the efficient extraction of caffeine from waste tea residue can provide a useful reference for the high-value recycling of waste biomass resources using RSM and ANN models. The environmental pressure can be alleviated to reduce the waste of resources for the considerable economic benefits in the tea industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary fibrosis is caused by repeated damage to the pulmonary alveolar epithelium, leading to abnormal epithelial-mesenchymal transition and myofibroblast production, resulting in the accumulation of extra cellular matrix and remodeling of the interstitium. Analogous to many tumor cells, pulmonary fibrosis involves metabolic reprogramming, encompassing alterations in carbohydrate, lipid, and amino acid metabolism. Notably, this reprogramming is marked by enhanced glycolysis, diminished fatty acid oxidation paired with augmented synthesis, and increased degradation of glutamine. Glycolysis efficiently and rapidly fulfills the energy requirements for the proliferation of macrophages and fibroblasts during fibrotic development. Additionally, the reprogramming of amino acid metabolism in activated fibroblasts not only facilitates collagen synthesis but also intensifies myofibroblast activation by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) during the production of hydroxyproline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To evaluate the effect and mechanism of cysteine rich protein 61, namely CCN family member 1(CCN1) on the survival of adipose tissues in rats after autologous fat grafting. Methods At 1 week after the establishment of autologous fat grafting rat models, all animals were randomly divided into the CCN1 group (n=20) and control group (n=20). The survival of fat grafts, the morphology of fat graft tissues, the proportion of active adipocytes and the number of new blood vessels of rats were statistically compared between two groups. The levels of differential expressed messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) in the fat graft tissues of rats were compared between two groups by highthroughput sequencing and subsequently subject to cluster analysis. The expression levels of related proinflammatory cytokines of fat graft tissues of rats were statistically compared between two groups. Results The weight retention rate of adipose tissues in the CCN1 group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). In the CCN1 group, the integrity of adipocytes was considerably higher, the degree of vesiculation and vacuolation, the degree of inflammatory cell aggregation and the degree of fibrosis were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.000 1). Immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that the proportion of active adipocytes with uniform morphology was higher in the CCN1 group, whereas the proportion of active adipocytes was lower and the cells were observed in different sizes accompanied by vesiculation in the control group. Compared with the control group, the quantity of new blood vessels was significantly higher, and the expression levels of platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) mRNA were remarkably higher in the CCN1 group (all P<0.05). High-throughput sequencing analysis showed that the data at the transcriptome levels significantly differed between two groups. In the CCN1 group, the gene expression levels of cell surface markers, inflammatory cytokines and chemokines related to M1 macrophages tended to decline. Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) revealed that the mRNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-8, IL-1 and Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 in the CCN1 group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.01-0.05). Conclusions During autologous fat grafting, supplement of exogenous CCN1 may effectively promote the neovascularization of adipose tissues and improve the survival rate of fat graft probably by mediating the transformation of macrophages into M2 phenotype via down-regulating the TLR2 expression level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

目的 探讨白芍总苷治疗类风湿关节炎合并肺间质疾病的临床疗效以及患者肺功能的变化。方法 将类风湿关节炎合并肺间质疾病76例患者随机分为对照组和观察组各38例。对照组给予甲氨蝶呤、来氟米特治疗,观察组采用白芍总苷联合甲氨蝶呤、来氟米特治疗,疗程3个月。治疗前后记录两组关节压痛指数、关节肿胀指数、晨僵时间和关节功能障碍指数,检测红细胞沉降率(ESR)、C反应蛋白(CRP)、类风湿因子(RF)、血小板(PLT)、第1秒用力呼气容积(FEV1)、用力肺活量(FVC)和FEV1/FVC;比较两组以上观察指标变化以及治疗后总体疗效。结果 与治疗前比较,治疗后两组临床症状体征减轻,ESR、CRP、RF、PLT水平下降,FEV1、FVC、FEV1/FVC升高(P均<0.05);治疗后比较,观察组各项指标均较对照组明显改善,差异有统计学意义(P均<0.05);治疗后观察组总有效率(94.74%),高于对照组(71.05%)(P<0.05)。结论 白芍总苷联合甲氨蝶呤、来氟米特治疗可显著改善类风湿关节炎合并肺间质纤维化患者关节症状及肺功能,提高患者生活质量。 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing fully homomorphic encryption schemes are faced with challenges like large ciphertext sizes or low efficiency in calculation due to single-bit encryption. Based on the fully homomorphic encryption scheme proposed by Gentry et al. ( GSW13 scheme), this paper proposed a new fully homomorphic encryption scheme by modifying its expansion method and using the idea of approximate eigenvector. It reduced the security of the new scheme to the complexity of the DLWE problem under the random oracle model, and gave the proof of its correctness and security. It used the multi-bit encryption to optimize the new scheme without changing the scheme parameters. Compared with the GSW13 scheme, the ciphertext size of the proposed scheme is reduced by 61. 47 %, and the number of encryption operations is minimized by 68 . 97 % . The proposed scheme not only further reduces the ciphertext size, but also greatly reduces the number of homomorphic operations, thus further improving the scheme efficiency . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the antidepressant effects and mechanism of Jinaotong (JNT) with extracts of sea buckthorn and peanut hull as its main components. METHODS: (1) At the animal level, chronic unpredictable mild stress ( CUMS ) depression model mice were randomly divided into the blank group, model group, JNT administration group ( JNT low concentration group and JNT high concentration group) and fluoxetine group. The antidepressant effects of JNT were inspected by behavioral studies such as body weight test, sugar-water preference test and tail suspension immobility time test. (2) At the cellular level, different concentrations of JNT were applied to PC12 cells, SH-SY5Y cells, BV2 cells and RAW 264. 7 cells, so as to probe into the promotional effects of JNT on the function of neurotrophic factors, the protection of neuronal cells and the induction of neural differentiation, as well as the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. RESULTS: (1) Compared with the blank group, the sugar-water preference rate and body weight of the model group decreased significantly, the tail suspension immobility time and forced swimming immobility time of the model group were significantly prolonged ( P < 0. 01 ). The sugar-water preference rate of JNT administration group was significantly higher than that of the model group (P<0. 05), the body weight of the JNT administration group and fluoxetine group were significantly higher than that of the model group (P< 0. 01), the tail suspension immobility times of the JNT low concentration group and JNT high concentration group were significantly shorter than that of the model group (P<0. 01, P<0. 05), the forced swimming immobility time of the JNT administration group was significantly shorter than those of the model group ( P < 0. 01), the differences were statistically significant. (2) When JNT was synergistically administered with nerve growth factor (5 and 50 ng / mL), the differentiated degree of PC12 cell and activity of pNF200-Luc expression luciferase increased significantly. The luciferase activity increased significantly when JNT was synergistically administered with brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin-3 and neurotrophin-4 (5 ng / mL). Dose from 100 to 1 000 μg / mL of JNT could significantly reduced amyloid β-protein aggregation. After the oxidative damage of PC12 cells induced by tBHP, the application of JNT can increased the activity of PC12 cells, the higher the concentration, the better the effect. After the iron death of SH-SY5Y cells induced by Erastin, the application of JNT can increase the activity of SH-SY5Y cells, the higher the concentration, the better the effect. After using lipopolysaccharide on BV2 and RAW 264. 7 cells, the application of JNT can reduce the mRNA level of interleukin-1β and the nuclear factor kappa B transcriptional activity, which showed a concentration-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: JNT has the effects of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, protecting nerve cells, inducing the expression of neurofilaments, and enhancing the neurotrophic factor-like; the JNT exerts antidepressant effects through the above effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problem that the flight altitude of traditional radiosonde is difficult to break through to 30～80 km, a rocket drop radiosonde for detecting the atmospheric environment was designed at an altitude of 30～80 km, including a radiosonde temperature sensor composed of thermocouple array, which can reduce the temperature measurement error caused by high-altitude solar radiation. Firstly, the numerical solution of radiation error of thermocouple temperature probes with different sizes was studied by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Secondly, the radiation error of thermocouple probes coated with different solar radiation absorptivity materials was calculated by CFD method, and the ambient temperature was calculated by the ratio of radiation error between each probe. Thirdly, the solar radiation error was solved and processed by support vector machine (SVM) algorithm. Finally, the low pressure wind tunnel and solar simulator experimental platform were built to carry out experimental verification research. The experimental results show that the average measurement error of the temperature sensor on the rocket drop radiosonde is 0.107 ℃, and the root mean square error is 0.22 ℃. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]