Search

Dendritic cells (DCs) are crucial in initiating and shaping both innate and adaptive immune responses. Clinical studies and experimental models have highlighted their significant involvement in various autoimmune diseases, positioning them as promising therapeutic targets. Nicotinamide (NAM), a form of vitamin B3, with its anti-inflammatory properties, has been suggested, while the involvement of NAM in DCs regulation remains elusive. Here, through analyzing publicly available databases, we observe substantial alterations in NAM levels and NAM metabolic pathways during DCs activation. Furthermore, we discover that NAM, but not Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN), significantly inhibits DCs over-activation in vitro and in vivo. The suppression of DCs hyperactivation effectively alleviates symptoms of psoriasis. Mechanistically, NAM impairs DCs activation through a Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs)-NF-κB dependent manner. Notably, phosphoribosyl transferase (NAMPT) and PARPs are significantly upregulated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated DCs and psoriasis patients; elevated NAMPT and PARPs expression in psoriasis patients correlates with higher psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) scores. In summary, our findings underscore the pivotal role of NAM in modulating DCs functions and autoimmune disorders. Targeting the NAMPT-PARP axis emerges as a promising therapeutic approach for DC-related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roots are fundamental for plants to adapt to variable environmental conditions. The development of a robust root system is orchestrated by numerous genetic determinants and, among them, the MADS‐box gene ANR1 has garnered substantial attention. Prior research has demonstrated that, in chrysanthemum, CmANR1 positively regulates root system development. Nevertheless, the upstream regulators involved in the CmANR1‐mediated regulation of root development remain unidentified. In this study, we successfully identified bric‐a‐brac, tramtrack and broad (BTB) and transcription adapter putative zinc finger (TAZ) domain protein CmBT1 as the interacting partner of CmANR1 through a yeast‐two‐hybrid (Y2H) screening library. Furthermore, we validated this physical interaction through bimolecular fluorescence complementation and pull‐down assays. Functional assays revealed that CmBT1 exerted a negative influence on root development in chrysanthemum. In both in vitro and in vivo assays, it was evident that CmBT1 mediated the ubiquitination of CmANR1 through the ubiquitin/26S proteasome pathway. This ubiquitination subsequently led to the degradation of the CmANR1 protein and a reduction in the transcription of CmANR1‐targeted gene CmPIN2, which was crucial for root development in chrysanthemum. Genetic analysis suggested that CmBT1 modulated root development, at least in part, by regulating the level of CmANR1 protein. Collectively, these findings shed new light on the regulatory role of CmBT1 in degrading CmANR1 through ubiquitination, thereby repressing the expression of its targeted gene and inhibiting root development in chrysanthemum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of jatropha oil transesterification was studied for biodiesel production. Rhizomucor miehei lipase (RML) immobilized on 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane functionalized magnetic Fe3O4 was employed as a biocatalyst. The immobilized lipase was confirmed by scanning electron microcopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) techniques. The efficient biodiesel synthesis in ionic liquids using immobilized RML was demonstrated. Fifteen kinds of ionic liquids based on different alkyl chain lengths of the methyl imidazolium cation ([C2MIM], [C4MIM], [C8MIM], [C12MIM], and [C16MIM]) combined with [NTf2], [N(CN)2], [PF6] or [BF4] anions were assayed as reaction media for RML producing biodiesel. The highest synthetic activity of immobilized RML appeared in [BMIM][PF6], which is more than five times higher than the free enzyme. The enzyme catalytic activity remained 60% even after the magnetic nano-biocatalyst and ionic liquid had been reused 5 times in a 48-h reaction cycle. In addition, the immobilized enzyme exhibited excellent storage stability with almost no decrease in catalytic activity after storing at − 20 °C for 98 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peroxidase (POD)-like nanozymes have been found to act as nanoreactors for the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to resolve drug resistance in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Amplifying cellular oxidative stress is considered to be a drug-free strategy to efficiently induce apoptosis in tumor cells. However, the limited content of intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) extremely restricts the performance of POD-like nanozymes to amplify cellular oxidative stress. Moreover, additional operational processes combined with exogenous reagents to achieve oxidative stress lead to a dilemma of extra cytotoxicity. Here, an integrated iron-porphyrin-MOF-based nanozyme composite named HA@GOx@PCN-224(Fe) (HGPF) was precisely designed and constructed. Generally, the POD-like nanozyme PCN-224(Fe) was used as a platform to immobilize glucose oxidase (GOx), and further embedded with hyaluronic acid (HA) to enable the targeting ability of tumor cells. When endocytosed by tumor cells, intracellular glucose was oxidized to H2O2 and gluconic acid catalyzed by immobilized GOx of HGPF. Afterwards, inspired by heme analogs, H2O2 was catalyzed by iron-porphyrin active sites of the HGPF nanozyme to generate hydroxyl radicals (˙OH). Under light irradiation, the iron-porphyrin of HGPF acted as a photosensitizer to facilely produce singlet oxygen (1O2). Such a synergistic generation of ROS strikingly amplified oxidative stress and induced severe apoptosis in tumor cells. HGPF was expected to integrate intracellular oxygen sources and overcome the dilemma of limited intracellular H2O2 content. Consequently, HGPF was constructed as an integrated nanoreactor to simultaneously achieve light-enhanced catalytic oxidation cascades, providing a promising strategy for a synergistic amplification of cellular oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An "AND" logic gate-based NIR fluorescent probe Si-NH2-Glu was developed based on novel meso-amine Si-Rhodamine, which combined γ-glutamyl transpeptidase and pH dual-responsive sites. The features of Si-NH2-Glu enable it to be applied in orthotopic tumor imaging and fluorescence-guided surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To compare the performance of logistic regression and machine learning methods in predicting postoperative delirium (POD) in elderly patients. Method: This was a retrospective study of perioperative medical data from patients undergoing non‐cardiac and non‐neurology surgery over 65 years old from January 2014 to August 2019. Forty‐six perioperative variables were used to predict POD. A traditional logistic regression and five machine learning models (Random Forest, GBM, AdaBoost, XGBoost, and a stacking ensemble model) were compared by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC‐ROC), sensitivity, specificity, and precision. Results: In total, 29,756 patients were enrolled, and the incidence of POD was 3.22% after variable screening. AUCs were 0.783 (0.765–0.8) for the logistic regression method, 0.78 for random forest, 0.76 for GBM, 0.74 for AdaBoost, 0.73 for XGBoost, and 0.77 for the stacking ensemble model. The respective sensitivities for the 6 aforementioned models were 74.2%, 72.2%, 76.8%, 63.6%, 71.6%, and 67.4%. The respective specificities for the 6 aforementioned models were 70.7%, 99.8%, 96.5%, 98.8%, 96.5%, and 96.1%. The respective precision values for the 6 aforementioned models were 7.8%, 52.3%, 55.6%, 57%, 54.5%, and 56.4%. Conclusions: The optimal application of the logistic regression model could provide quick and convenient POD risk identification to help improve the perioperative management of surgical patients because of its better sensitivity, fewer variables, and easier interpretability than the machine learning model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To realize the automatic sorting of eggs, the sorting models are established in this paper by using the visible-near infrared spectroscopy technique and taking the eggshell colour, integrity, as well as the feeding mode as sorting indexes. A variety of methods are selected to remove the noise and systematic error by preprocess the spectral information. The backpropagation neural network (BP), the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) coupled with BP and the Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) sorting method are used to identify the eggshell colours (white, pink, green), eggshell integrity (intact, cracked) and laying hen feeding mode (caged and cage-free) by their characteristic band, respectively. The prediction correlation coefficient (Rv), the prediction mean square error (RMSEP), the prediction standard error (SEP), the recognition rate ( R r 1 ) and the rejection rate ( R r 2 ) are used to evaluate the established models. The results show that the established classification models have high prediction accuracy and small errors. The non-destructive testing (NDT) technology has great potential for large-scale intelligent laying hen farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the segment and weight prediction problems are investigated for ear of grape based on deep learning technologies. The image datum is collected from ZaoHeiBao grape in a greenhouse by camera. The grape ear target segmentation model is constructed by cross combining three backbone networks (ResNet18, ResNet50, and ResNet101) and four deep learning semantic segmentation networks (SFNet, GCNet, EMANet, and Deeplabv3). The experimental results show that for the SFNet-ResNet18 model, whose structural size is 52.68MB, the mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) is 79.45 % , the mean Pixel Accuracy (mPA) is 92.58 % , and the average segmentation speed of the image ( 4000 × 3000) is 0.217s. Therefore, the performance of the SFNet-ResNet18 model outperforms other combined network models and is selected to segment grape ears. Furthermore, on the basis of the segmentation results of grape ears by using the SFNet-ResNet18 model, the grape ear weight is predicted by adopting fractional regression model. The value of R 2 is 0.8903, which means that the selected model could accurately predict the weight of grape ears. The proposed method can not only segment the grape ears and accurately predict the weight of the grape ears, but also provide theoretical and technical support for grape yield prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the congestion control for named data networking (NDN) is studied. A novel dynamic content store-based congestion control strategy is proposed on account of the characteristic of in-network cache in NDN. A queuing network model is constructed to judge whether congestion occurs. If the network has the tendency of congestion or the congestion happened, the buffer of the output queue is dynamically expanded by borrowing NDN content store (CS), and the forwarding rates of data packets and corresponding interest packets are reduced so as to prevent or alleviate network congestion. In order to reflect fairness, the CS to be borrowed by the data output queue in the port is calculated in terms of the data output queue length and its weight. The simulation results based on ndnSIM show that the given scheme improves the bottleneck link utilization and maintains a low packet loss rate and average flow completion time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chrysanthemum, one of the most popular ornamental plants in the world, is renowned for its brilliant colors and multifarious flower types. Thousands of gorgeous chrysanthemum cultivars exist thanks to both traditional breeding techniques and its characteristic bud sporting. In this study, we identified a pink-to-yellow flower color-changed bud sport of the edible chrysanthemum cultivar 'Pink Candy'. The bud variant and its parent plant bloomed at the same time, but with yellow- and pink-colored flowers, respectively. However, the two flower types exhibited strikingly different combinations and concentrations of primary and secondary metabolites, aromatic compounds, and pigments. Additionally, the expression patterns of key pigment biosynthesis genes, such as CmPAL (phenylalanineammonialyase), CmDFR (dihydroflavonol 4-reductase), CmF3H (flavanone 3′-hydroxylase), CmNXS (neoxanthin synthase) and CmCCD4 (carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4) were distinct between both flower types, helping to explain the color transformation of the mutant to some extent. Taken together, our results suggest a mechanism explaining the transformation of pink flowers to yellow flowers in the mutant bud sport. These results provide the foundation for the production of a novel chrysanthemum cultivar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Better understanding of wood‐boring beetle distribution patterns and underlying mechanisms is a central issue for forest protection and management. The primary aim of this study was to detect how these pest guilds are distributed in forests and optimize elimination and control strategies. 2. We placed flight intercept traps in the canopy and understory areas of three climatically different forest types across a large elevation gradient and focussed on two important wood‐boring beetles, longhorn and bark beetles, in Yunnan, Southwest China. 3. The results showed that species richness and abundance of two selected wood‐boring beetles between the canopy and understory areas had different patterns across the climatically different forest vegetation types. Bark and longhorn beetles tended to stay in understory and canopy areas, respectively, based on the recorded abundance data. However, richness data showed different responses to the climatically different forest types for both longhorn and bark beetles assemblages. Bark beetles species richness did not significantly differ between the canopy and understory areas across all three forest types in the present study. Longhorn beetles had significantly higher richness values in the canopy areas of tropical and subtropical forests but lower in temperate forest. 4. The community compositions of both the longhorn and bark beetles varied greatly among forest vegetation types but relatively little between the canopy and understory areas across the vegetation types. Thus, considering different heights and positions in different forests during trap deployment is necessary and needed to optimize wood‐boring pest control strategies when various forest types and pests are targeted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Propofol is widely used as an intravenous anesthetic in clinical practice. Previous studies have indicated that propofol induces apoptosis in neurons. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophic factor, is associated with neuronal apoptosis. BDNF-AS, a relatively conserved long non-coding RNA, can reverse the transcription of BDNF. This study aimed to investigate the involvement of BDNF-AS in propofol-induced apoptosis in HT22 cells. HT22 cells were treated with various concentrations of propofol at different time points. BDNF-AS was silenced using BDNF-AS-targeting siRNA. TrkB was antagonized by the TrkB inhibitor, ANA-12. Flow cytometry, quantitative reverse-transcription PCR, and western blotting were performed to analyze apoptosis and the expression of genes and proteins, respectively. In propofol-treated HT22 cells, BDNF-AS was upregulated, and BDNF was downregulated in a time- and dose-dependent manner. BDNF-AS downregulation mediated by siRNA mitigated apoptosis, upregulated the expression of Bcl-2, and downregulated the expression of Bax and caspase-3, 7, and 9. ANA-12 downregulated the expression of Bcl-2, upregulated the expression of Bax and caspase-3, 7, and 9, and increased apoptosis. Our study implied that inhibition of BDNF-AS can decrease propofol-induced apoptosis by activating the BDNF/TrkB pathway. Thus, the BDNF-AS-BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway may be a valuable target for treating propofol-induced neurotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non‐invasive dynamic tracking of lysosomes and their interactions with other organelles is important for the study of lysosomal function and related diseases. However, many fluorescent dyes developed so far to target lysosomes cannot be used to monitor these processes due to the high concentrations required for imaging, long cell penetration times, and non‐ideal photostability. In this regard, we synthesized three lysosomal targeting probes with large Stokes shifts, good stability, and high brightness. The Q‐P‐ARh dye, developed by us for the first time, can stain lysosomes at ultra‐low concentrations (1.0 nM) without affecting the physiological functions of the lysosomes. More importantly, its excellent anti‐interference ability and ultrafast lysosomal staining ability (within 1.0 min) clearly monitored the entire dynamic process of lipophagy. Ultimately, this method can greatly contribute to the study of autophagy pathways. This novel fluorescence platform shows great promise for the development of biological probes for application in pathological environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non‐invasive dynamic tracking of lysosomes and their interactions with other organelles is important for the study of lysosomal function and related diseases. However, many fluorescent dyes developed so far to target lysosomes cannot be used to monitor these processes due to the high concentrations required for imaging, long cell penetration times, and non‐ideal photostability. In this regard, we synthesized three lysosomal targeting probes with large Stokes shifts, good stability, and high brightness. The Q‐P‐ARh dye, developed by us for the first time, can stain lysosomes at ultra‐low concentrations (1.0 nM) without affecting the physiological functions of the lysosomes. More importantly, its excellent anti‐interference ability and ultrafast lysosomal staining ability (within 1.0 min) clearly monitored the entire dynamic process of lipophagy. Ultimately, this method can greatly contribute to the study of autophagy pathways. This novel fluorescence platform shows great promise for the development of biological probes for application in pathological environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Separation of biotic and abiotic impacts on species diversity distribution patterns across a significant climatic gradient is a challenge in the study of diversity maintenance mechanisms. The basic task is to reconcile scale-dependent effects of abiotic and biotic processes on species distribution models. Here, we used a hierarchical modeling method to detect the host specificities of bark beetles (Scolytinae and Platypodinae) with their dependent tree communities across a steep climatic gradient, which was embedded within a relatively homogenous spatial niche. Results: Species turnover of both trees and bark beetles have an opposite pattern along the climatic proxy (represented by the elevation gradients) at the regional scale, but not at local spatial scales. This pattern confirmed the hypothesis wherein emphasis was on influences of macro-climate on local biotic interactions between trees and hosted bark beetle communities, whereas local biotic relations, represented by host specificity dependence, were regionally conserved. Conclusions: At a confined spatial scale, cross-taxa comparisons of β-diversity highlighted the importance of simultaneous impacts from both extrinsic factors related to geography and environment, and intrinsic factors related to organism characteristics. The effects of tree abundance and phylogeny diversity on bark beetle diversity were, to a large extent, indirect, operating via changes in bark beetle abundance through spatial and temporal dynamics of resources distribution. Tree host dependence, which was considered and represented by host specificities, plays a minor role on the hosted beetle community in this concealed wood decomposing interacting system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The interactions between nanoparticles (NPs) and plasma proteins form a protein corona around NPs after entering the biological environment, which provides new biological properties to NPs and mediates their interactions with cells and biological barriers. Given the inevitable interactions, we regard nanoparticle‒protein interactions as a tool for designing protein corona-mediated drug delivery systems. Herein, we demonstrate the successful application of protein corona-mediated brain-targeted nanomicelles in the treatment of glioma, loading them with paclitaxel (PTX), and decorating them with amyloid β-protein (Aβ)-CN peptide (PTX/Aβ-CN-PMs). Aβ-CN peptide, like the Aβ1–42 peptide, specifically binds to the lipid-binding domain of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) in vivo to form the ApoE-enriched protein corona surrounding Aβ-CN-PMs (ApoE/PTX/Aβ-CN-PMs). The receptor-binding domain of the ApoE then combines with low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLr) and LDLr-related protein 1 receptor (LRP1r) expressed in the blood–brain barrier and glioma, effectively mediating brain-targeted delivery. Methods: PTX/Aβ-CN-PMs were prepared using a film hydration method with sonication, which was simple and feasible. The specific formation of the ApoE-enriched protein corona around nanoparticles was characterized by Western blotting analysis and LC–MS/MS. The in vitro physicochemical properties and in vivo anti-glioma effects of PTX/Aβ-CN-PMs were also well studied. Results: The average size and zeta potential of PTX/Aβ-CN-PMs and ApoE/PTX/Aβ-CN-PMs were 103.1 nm, 172.3 nm, 7.23 mV, and 0.715 mV, respectively. PTX was efficiently loaded into PTX/Aβ-CN-PMs, and the PTX release from rhApoE/PTX/Aβ-CN-PMs exhibited a sustained-release pattern in vitro. The formation of the ApoE-enriched protein corona significantly improved the cellular uptake of Aβ-CN-PMs on C6 cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and enhanced permeability to the blood–brain tumor barrier in vitro. Meanwhile, PTX/Aβ-CN-PMs with ApoE-enriched protein corona had a greater ability to inhibit cell proliferation and induce cell apoptosis than taxol. Importantly, PTX/Aβ-CN-PMs exhibited better anti-glioma effects and tissue distribution profile with rapid accumulation in glioma tissues in vivo and prolonged median survival of glioma-bearing mice compared to those associated with PMs without the ApoE protein corona. Conclusions: The designed PTX/Aβ-CN-PMs exhibited significantly enhanced anti-glioma efficacy. Importantly, this study provided a strategy for the rational design of a protein corona-based brain-targeted drug delivery system. More crucially, we utilized the unfavorable side of the protein corona and converted it into an advantage to achieve brain-targeted drug delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the quality detection of nectarines based on hyperspectral imaging technology is proposed. The external quality indexes consist of the intact, cracked, rust, dysmorphic and dark damaged, while the internal quality index is composed of the soluble solid content (SSC). Firstly, 480 nectarine samples (160 intact and 320 defective nectarines) with the similar shape and size are selected. Secondly, 5 spectral principal components and 6 texture values are acquired in the spectral range of 420–1000 nm based on the indexes of external and internal quality. Finally, the methods of Partial Least Squares (PLS), Least Squares Support Vector Machine(LS-SVM) and Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) are used to establish the external quality discrimination models and internal quality prediction models, respectively. As a result, accuracies of 89.73%, 94.45% and 88.62% are obtained in the identification of the external quality. SSC is predicted with determination coefficients of 0.8540, 0.8747, 0.8146, and the root mean squared errors of 0.9849, 0.9101, 1.0732. The results obtained indicate the great potential of the LS-SVM model to predict and discriminate the inner and outer quality of nectarines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SiO2@SiO2:Tb(1,2‐BDC)3phen microspheres with monodispersed core‐shell structure, are kind of fluorescent particles, which are prepared by a seeded growth method under the catalysis of glacial acetic acid (1,2‐BDC, 1,2‐benzenedicarboxylic acid; phen, 1,10‐phenanthroline). Firstly, silica seed was fabricated by the hydrolysis of ethyl orthosilicate, and the Tb(1,2‐BDC)3phen was prepared by using 1,2‐BDC and phen. Then, a thin mesoporous silica shell doped with Tb(1,2‐BDC)3phen was grown on the prepared monodisperse silica colloids. The prepared phosphor was analyzed by Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric and fluorescence spectroscopy. The experimental results showed that the diameter of the SiO2@SiO2:Tb((1,2‐BDC)3phen microsphere was about 200 nm with a typical core‐shell structure, among which the diameter of the silica core was 180 nm, and that of the mesoporous silicon shell doped with terbium complex was about 10 nm. The fluorescence intensity of SiO2@SiO2:Tb((1,2‐BDC)3phen microsphere is nearly three times higher than that of Tb((1,2‐BDC)3phen complexes. The prepared microspheres could be widely used in bio‐imaging, optoelectronic appliances and medical diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-nitrogen energetic compounds are widely used in military and civil fields. To cope with some special conditions, materials with high melting point and good heat resistance are required. Herein, synthetic approach of two TACOT-derived compounds with high heat resistance and strong insensitivity for friction has been optimized. Significantly, 100 g-scale of aza-TACOT(I) was prepared with a total yield of 80% and a purity of 99.9%. Meanwhile, aza-TACOT(II) was obtained with a purity of 98.9% under the optimized conditions. This practical method features scalable and simple operations. In addition, an acceptable mechanism was firstly proposed for the critical step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the event-triggered control for greenhouse temperature based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is investigated. To overcome the deficiency of sensor which can only represent the temperature value of some points inside the greenhouse, CFD technology is used to simulate and output the temperature field data of the entire greenhouse. Furthermore, in order to reduce the network resource consumption, the event-triggered mechanism is adopted in CFD simulation output-controller channel. When the greenhouse temperature meets the event-triggered condition, the simulated data is transmitted to the controller. Moreover, multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) is used to design the controller to solve the contradiction between energy consumption and control accuracy in the control process. Finally, a numerical simulation example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of given event-triggered scheme for greenhouse temperature under natural ventilation based on CFD simulation. The simulation results show that the control scheme given in this paper can effectively regulate the greenhouse internal temperature and meet the control requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel purine-based iridium complexes were designed for selective determination of ER viscosity. The Ir-PH possessed excellent ER targeting ability and could distinguish the viscosity changes under ER stress by fluorescence lifetime image microscopy (FLIM), which may accelerate the development of relative quantitative detection of microenvironment changes at the subcellular level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is still a challenge to develop new intelligent multifunctional fluorescence reagents with high brightness, high optical stability, and high contrast fluorescence based on small molecules. In this study, by building push–pull electronic structures and adjusting the number of carbazole groups and the length of the alkyl chain, a series of multifunctional molecules based on a purine-core has been successfully synthesized and achieved the improvement of the fluorescence quantum yield. Furthermore, the relationship between the structure and optical properties of these purine derivatives has been investigated from multiple perspectives. Moreover, the most promising molecule (CPPC) exhibits high fluorescence quantum yield, high brightness, high optical stability, and high contrast fluorescence, and it has been successfully applied in information encryption, anti-counterfeiting and LD-tracking of living cells. The present study offers a novel and efficient approach to develop multifunctional fluorescence materials with high performance based on purine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In current work, air impingement drying (AID), infrared-assisted hot air-drying (IR-HAD), and hot air drying based on temperature and humidity control (TH-HAD) drying technologies were employed to drying potato cubes and their effects on drying kinetics, color, ascorbic acid content, rehydration ratio, microstructure, and specific energy consumption (SEC) were explored. Besides, artificial neural network (ANN) was used to predict changes in moisture ratio during the drying process. Results indicated that TH-HAD had the shortest drying time, followed by IR-HAD and AID. The effective moisture diffusivity (Deff) of potato under TH-HAD, IR-HAD and AID were 1.35 × 10−9, 1.18 × 10−9, and 0.90 × 10−9 m2/s, respectively. TH-HAD contributed to excellent physicochemical properties of dried potato when compared to samples dried by IR-HAD and AID. Overall, TH-HAD provided higher ascorbic acid content, better rehydration ability, brighter color, and had lower specific energy consumption (SEC). The microstructure well explained the difference of rehydration ratio and drying kinetics under different drying methods. The ANN models with the optimal topology could predict the moisture ratio under different drying methods with satisfactory accuracy. The current findings indicate that TH-HAD is a promising drying technology for potato cubes and has the potential to be applied in commercial scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Our previous studies demonstrated that the administration of crude Polysaccharide from Panax notoginseng (CPPN) can effectively prolong the lifespan of tumor-bearing mice via boosting the host immune system as well as weak cytotoxicity against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the present study, Neutral Polysaccharide (NPPN) were further purified from crude polysaccharide isolated from panax notoginseng. The effects of NPPN on the immune function and hematopoietic function of mice with low immunity and myelosuppression induced by cyclophosphamide (CTX) were investigated. The effect of NPPN combined with CTX on the tumor inhibition rate of the H22 tumor-bearing mice and the impact of NPPN on the proliferation of H22 liver cancer cells in vitro were investigated.Methods: CPPN was obtained by water extraction and alcohol precipitation method, and further purified by DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow ion exchange resin column. NPPN was added to the immunosuppressed with myelosuppression mice induced by CTX. Thymus index, spleen index, lymphocyte proliferation stimulation index by adding of concanavalin A, determination of serum hemolysin, NK cell activity assay, mice carbon clearance experiment, blood count tests were detected. The tumor inhibition rate of the H22 tumor-bearing mice treated with NPPN combined with CTX was recorded.Results: NPPN and 4 kinds of acid polysaccharide from Panax notoginseng (APPN) were successfully isolated from the CPPN by DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow ion exchange resin column. NPPN inhibited the growth of H22 cells and significantly increase the tumor inhibition rate of the H22 tumor-bearing mice combined with CTX. The elevation of the cellular and humoral immunity levels as well as a variety of blood count tests indicators of immunosuppressive with myelosuppression mice may contribute to the antitumor activity of NPPN.Conclusion: NPPN has a potential antitumor activity for the treatment of liver cancer combined with cyclophosphamide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed an online continuous‐flow spectrophotometric method for determination of ferrous iron and total iron mass fractions in various types of geological certified reference materials (CRMs) using a Schlenk line technique to exclude oxygen during the digestion process. The continuous‐flow technique enabled automatic, reliable and real‐time analysis, and decreased sample and reagent consumption. The Schlenk line expels air to prevent oxidation during sample digestion. Compared with traditional spectrophotometric procedures, this analytical procedure is easier, more automated and more accurate. The composition of the acid matrix and time used to dissolve the samples were carefully examined. The procedure was tested on 186 replicates of twenty‐seven rock CRMs, and the results showed good agreement with the compiled values from the literature. Based on the statistical data, the proposed procedure was found to be accurate within 0.12% m/m for ferrous iron mass fraction and 0.084% m/m for total iron mass fraction compared with the certified/recommended values. The proposed procedure is accurate, reproducible and has a high throughput (ten samples per hour). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The overexpression of TSLP and DNA methylation in asthma were both risk factors the relationship was not clear. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between methylation status of TSLP promoter and mRNA/protein expression in asthmatic airway epithelial cells. Methods: Human bronchial epithelial cells were cultured in vitro and divided into: Control group, treated with PBS, model group, sensitized with LPS (10 μg/mL) for 12 h (37 °C, 5% CO2). Other groups were cultured with the pCMV3 plasmid (M + NC/pCMV), pGPH1 plasmid (M + NC/pGPH), DNMT1/pCMV3 plasmid (M + DNMT1/pCMV), and DNMT1/pGPH1 plasmid (M + DNMT1/pGPH) for 48 h. The expression of DNA methyltransferase 1 and TSLP were measured using real-time PCR and western blotting. Results: Compared with the control group, TSLP mRNA (1.00 ± 0.00 vs. 2.82 ± 0.81 vs. 1, P < 0.001) and protein (1.07 ± 0.04 vs. 1.46 ± 0.11, P < 0.01) were significantly greater, and the methylation of promoter was lower (92.75 ± 1.26 vs. 58.57 ± 3.34, P < 0.05) in the model group. Compared with the model group, TSLP mRNA (2.82 ± 0.81 vs. 1.17 ± 0.10, P < 0.001) decreased, but TSLP promoter methylation increased (58.57 ± 3.34 vs. 92.58 ± 7.30, P < 0.05) in M + DNMT1/pCMV. TSLP mRNA and protein were higher (2.82 ± 0.81 vs. 5.32 ± 0.21, P < 0.001; 1.46 ± 0.11 vs. 1.94 ± 0.11, respectively, P < 0.01), TSLP promoter methylation was lower (58.57 ± 3.34 vs. 33.57 ± 4.29, P < 0.05) in M + DNMT1/pGPH. Conclusions: Overexpression of TSLP in asthmatic airway epithelial cells may be regulated by DNA demethylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a fusion glass disc technique using small-size samples (30 mg) for assaying precious siliceous samples of geochemical reference materials using wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence determination of major (SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, TFe2O3, MnO, MgO, CaO, Na2O, K2O, and P2O5) and minor (Ni, Sr, and Zr) elements. The normal-size glass discs (approximately 30 mm in diameter) were prepared using an automatic fluxer, combined with manual preparation, with a flux to sample ratio of 100 : 1. GSR-1 and GSR-3 were selected to evaluate the results obtained using XRF, ICP-OES (fusion), and ICP-OES (acid attack) and to assess the accuracy and precision of the three methods based on Whitty-Léveillé and coworkers' protocol. In the present work, a set of 46 rock certified reference materials (CRMs) was used to calibrate the spectrometer and another set of 16 CRMs was analyzed further to validate the accuracy and precision of the procedure. The homogeneity of the discs was evaluated using the μ-XRF mapping image technique. In general, we obtained good agreement with the recommended values for most determinations. Finally, we summarized the small-size sample methods published in recent years and compared the advantages and disadvantages of these methods in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metabolism of retinoids and their major functions to skin are briefly summarized. The formula stability, skin irritation and formula compatibility are introduced. Related cosmetic products of retinoids are also discussed. The application prospect of retinoids in cosmetics is also forecasted [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-channeled filtering properties are found in the sandwich structure composed of two [variant_greek_epsilon]-negative layers with dielectric permittivity described by Drude model separated by another normal material layer. Epsilon-negative metamaterials are successfully realized by using composite right/left-handed transmission line, based on which the Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity was also constituted. The single resonant mode is split into some discrete resonant peaks, leading to the multi-channeled filtering phenomenon through the several coupled FP cavity resonators. In comparison with the conventional multichanneled filters, the proposed structure is more compact and tunable. The microwave experiment results are found in agreement with simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insects are ecotothermic organisms. Their development, survival, reproduction as well as distribution and abundance are affected by temperature. Heat shock protein (HSP) gene expression is closely associated with temperature variation and influences the adaptation of organisms to adverse environments. The beetle Agasicles hygrophila has successfully been used for biological control of the invasive plant alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides). As A. hygrophila populations are substantially inhibited by high temperatures in the summer, increasing global temperatures may limit the efficacy of this control agent. We previously established that A. hygrophila eggs have low tolerance to heat and this factored into the decreased numbers of A. hygrophila beetles at temperatures of 37.5°C and above. Here, we identified 26 HSP genes in A. hygrophila and examined the relationship between the transcript levels of these genes and heat tolerance. The temperature at which the expression of these 21 HSP genes peaked (T peak) was 37.5°C, which is in line with the limit of the high temperatures that A. hygrophila eggs tolerate. Therefore, we speculate that the T peak of HSP gene expression in eggs indicates the upper limit of temperatures that A. hygrophila eggs tolerate. This study identifies HSP genes as potential robust biomarkers and emphasizes that determining species' heat tolerance in their natural habitats remains an important consideration for biocontrol. HSP gene expression data provide information about a species' heat tolerance and may be used to predict its geographical distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abnormality of the plasma membrane (PM) is an important biomarker for cell status and many diseases. Hence, visualizing the PM, especially in complex systems, is an emerging field in the life sciences, especially in low‐resource settings. Herein, we developed a water‐soluble PM‐specific probe utilizing electrostatic and hydrophobic interaction strategies with aggregation‐induced emission as the signal output. The probe could image the PM with many advanced features (wash‐free, ultrafast staining process, excellent PM specificity, and good biocompatibility), which were demonstrated by the PM imaging of neurons. The probe allowed for the first time the imaging of erythrocytes in the complex brain environment through a fluorescence‐based method. Moreover, the PM of the epidermal and partial view of the eyeball structure of live zebrafish are also revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abnormality of the plasma membrane (PM) is an important biomarker for cell status and many diseases. Hence, visualizing the PM, especially in complex systems, is an emerging field in the life sciences, especially in low‐resource settings. Herein, we developed a water‐soluble PM‐specific probe utilizing electrostatic and hydrophobic interaction strategies with aggregation‐induced emission as the signal output. The probe could image the PM with many advanced features (wash‐free, ultrafast staining process, excellent PM specificity, and good biocompatibility), which were demonstrated by the PM imaging of neurons. The probe allowed for the first time the imaging of erythrocytes in the complex brain environment through a fluorescence‐based method. Moreover, the PM of the epidermal and partial view of the eyeball structure of live zebrafish are also revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the natural properties of the phospholipid bilayer (PB), three probes that could assemble with phospholipid bilayer through hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions are reported for rapid and accurate specific imaging of plasma membrane in 2D and 3D cell models. What's more, we have captured the picture of probe assembly with the phospholipid bilayer in cells for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cationic polymers have shown great potential in the delivery of nucleic acids and proteins. In this study, a series of pyrimidine-based cationic polymers were synthesized via the Michael addition reaction from pyrimidine-based linkages and low molecular weight polyethyleneimine (PEI). The structure–activity relationship (SAR) of these materials in DNA and protein delivery was investigated. These materials could condense both DNA and protein into nanoparticles with proper sizes and zeta-potentials. In vitro experiments indicated that such polymers were efficient in transporting DNA and proteins into cells. Furthermore, the bioactivity of the genes and proteins encapsulated in these polymers were maintained during the delivery processes. Among the polymers, U-PEI600 synthesized from a uracil-containing linker and PEI 600 Da mediated comparable gene expression to PEI 25 kDa. Moreover, the activities of β-galactosidase delivered by U-PEI600 were well maintained after entering the cells. Evaluation using an immune response assay showed that the U-PEI600/OVA polyplex could stimulate greater production of immune factors with low cytotoxicity. Our study provides a strategy for the construction of cationic polymeric gene and cytosolic protein vectors with high efficiency and low toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of glucose, soya oil or glutamine on jejunal morphology, protein metabolism and protein expression of the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signalling pathway in jejunal villus or crypt compartment of piglets. Forty-two 21 d-weaned piglets were randomly allotted to one of the three isoenergetic diets formulated with glucose, soya oil or glutamine for 28 d. On day 14 or 28, the proteins in crypt enterocytes were analysed with isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification and proteins involved in mTORC1 signalling pathway in villus or crypt compartment cells were determined by Western blotting. Our results showed no significant differences (P > 0·05) in jejunal morphology among the three treatments on day 14 or 28. The differentially expressed proteins mainly took part in a few network pathways, including antimicrobial or inflammatory response, cell death and survival, digestive system development and function and carbohydrate metabolism. On day 14 or 28, there were higher protein expression of eukaryotic initiation factor-4E binding protein-1 in jejunal crypt compartment of piglets supplemented with glucose or glutamine compared with soya oil. On day 28, higher protein expression of phosphor-mTOR in crypt compartment was observed in piglets supplemented with glucose compared with the soya oil. In conclusion, the isoenergetic glucose, soya oil or glutamine did not affect the jejunal morphology of piglets; however, they had different effects on the protein metabolism in crypt compartment. Compared with soya oil, glucose or glutamine may be better energy supplies for enterocytes in jejunal crypt compartment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delayed greening of young leaves is a ubiquitous and visually striking phenomenon in the tropics. Here, we investigated the potential ecological functions of red coloration patterns in young leaves. To detect any protective function of the red coloration on the young leaves, leaf damage by insect herbivores was recorded in the field. To determine capacity for chemical defense, the concentrations of tannins and anthocyanins were measured in both young and mature leaves. To test the hypothesis that anthocyanins function as photo-protective molecules, chlorophyll content, maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (F v / Fm), non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), and effective quantum yield of PSII (ΦPSII) were measured in the field. Phylogenetic relationships were analyzed to test the relationary significance of the occurrence of redness in young leaves. Compared to the coloration in non-red leaves, young red leaves had significant higher anthocyanins and tannins content and lower herbivore damages. Young, red leaves had the lowest Fv / Fm values, which were significantly lower than those of non-red leaves. NPQ values in young red leaves were comparable to those of other groups. Although young red leaves had high ΦPSII , these values were significantly lower than those of the other three groups. The results suggest that the red coloration of young leaves protects them from insect herbivory primary by chemical defense through high concentrations of tannins and anthocyanins. Additionally, low Fv / Fm values in young red leaves indicate that anthocyanins might not be functioning as light attenuators to compensate for insufficient photo-protection mediated by NPQ. And finally, red coloration in young leaves is predominantly a result of adaptation to heavy herbivory stress but without significant intrinsic phylogenetic relationship of plant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agasicles hygrophila has been introduced worldwide as a control agent for the invasive weed Alternanthera philoxeroides. However, global warming has potential impact on its controlling efficacy. The aim of this research was to explore the primary factors responsible for the greatly reduced A. hygrophila population in hot summers. To imitate the temperature conditions in summers, different developmental stages of A. hygrophila were treated with high temperatures from 32.5 °C to 45 °C for 1–5 h. Based on the survival rate, the heat tolerance of each developmental stage was ranked from lowest to highest as follows: egg, 1st, 2nd, 3rd instar larva, adult and pupa. Eggs showed the lowest heat tolerance with 37.5 °C as the critical temperature affecting larval hatching. Heat treatment of the A. hygrophila eggs at 37.5 °C for 1 h decreased the hatch rate to 24%. Our results indicated that when compared with the control at 25 °C, 1 h treatment at 37.5 °C prolonged the duration of the egg stage, shortened the duration of oviposition and total longevity, and changed the reproductive pattern of A. hygrophila. The net reproductive rate, intrinsic rate and finite rate were all significantly reduced. The results suggest that low heat tolerance of the eggs was the major factor responsible for the reduction of A. hygrophila populations, and the key temperature was 37.5 °C. Therefore, appropriate measures should be taken to protect eggs in order to maintain the efficacy of A. hygrophila in the biological control of A. philoxeroides in hot summers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficient delivery of therapeutic genes remains a major challenge in realizing a feasible gene-based treatment. Herein, a versatile oligopeptide, glutathione, was introduced to construct novel non-viral cationic gene vectors. Reduced/oxidized forms of glutathione (GSH/GSSG) and relevant amino acids (Glu, Cys, and Gly) were used to modify low molecular weight PEI through surface modification or crosslinking. These polymers could bind well and condense DNA into spherical nanoparticles, which were stable in the presence of serum. The disulfide bonds within the crosslinked polymer GSSG-PEI may facilitate polymer degradation and DNA release under a reductive environment. In vitro transfection experiments reveal that the modification could largely improve the gene transfection efficiency of low molecular weight PEI, especially in the presence of serum. In HeLa cells, GSSG-PEI could even give up to 150 times higher efficiency than PEI 25 kDa. TEM and serum concentration effect assay also demonstrate the good serum tolerance of the polymers. Flow cytometry results show that GSSG-PEI might induce cellular uptake with higher efficiency than PEI 25 kDa, especially in the presence of serum. Results reveal that GSSG is a good candidate for the crosslinking of small cationic molecules to form polymeric gene vectors with improved transfection efficiency and biocompatibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]