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As an abundant post-translational modification, reversible phosphorylation is critical for the dynamic regulation of various biological processes. prkC, a critical serine/threonine-protein kinase in bacteria, plays important roles in regulation of signaling transduction. Identification of prkC-specific phosphorylation sites is fundamental for understanding the molecular mechanism of phosphorylation-mediated signaling. However, experimental identification of substrates for prkC is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and computational methods for kinase-specific phosphorylation prediction in bacteria have yet to be developed. In this study, we manually curated the experimentally identified substrates and phosphorylation sites of prkC from the published literature. The analyses of the sequence preferences showed that the substrate recognition pattern for prkC might be miscellaneous, and a complex strategy should be employed to predict potential prkC-specific phosphorylation sites. To develop the predictor, the amino acid location feature extraction method and the support vector machine algorithm were employed, and the methods achieved promising performance. Through 10-fold cross validation, the predictor reached a sensitivity of 91.67% at the specificity of 95.12%. Then, we developed freely accessible software, which is provided at . Based on the predictor, hundreds of potential prkC-specific phosphorylation sites were annotated based on the known bacterial phosphorylation sites. prkC-PSP was the first predictor for prkC-specific phosphorylation sites, and its prediction performance was promising. We anticipated that these analyses and the predictor could be helpful for further studies of prkC-mediated phosphorylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A parachute is a kind of decelerator that requires very high reliability. Inflation is a primary step that causes the failure of a parachute structure, especially for a slot parachute. If success/failure data from the airdrop experiment or numerical simulation are to be used for assessing the reliability of a parachute, a series of experiments or simulations is necessary. However, this process is unacceptable in engineering because of the high cost required. A new assessment method is proposed in this paper, and a novel simulation method of slot-parachute inflation is investigated to obtain strength test data. In the assessment method, strength test data are used as the prior information and integrated with inflation simulation information to assess parachute reliability using the Bayesian theory. This method is derived from a strict mathematical theory. The assessment results are consistent with the parachute's actual performance. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: A clinical investigation was conducted to demonstrate the epidemiology of cranio-facial injuries inflicted by animals in southern-central part of China—the World’s most populous eastern country. It consisted of a retrospective study of 149 patients and was carried out in our department. All the patients were attacked by animals, such as buffalo, cattle, donkey, horse, dog, cat, and rat. There were 91 males and 58 females patients, aged from 5 to 65 years. 113 patients were from rural areas, and 36 from urban districts. Dogs, cattle, donkeys and buffalo, were the most common animals involved in this study. Bite was the predominant mechanism of injury, followed by kick, fall, trample, knock and scratch. The lip, chin and cheek were the commonest sites of soft tissue injury; Condylar process, symphysis, parasymphysis, and angle of mandible were the sites of fractures. Regarding the severity of injury, nearly half of the patients belonged to I and II classifications. The treatment results were satisfactory except for obvious scar formation, facial nerve palsy, and dysocclusion in a few patients. Facial injuries caused by animals are common in China, especially in rural areas. Timely treatment should be performed as soon as possible. Special attention should be paid to the prescription of antibiotics and vaccines. Psychotherapy may also be considered when necessary. It is suggested that adequate protective measures should be taken when animals are used for agricultural activities or kept as pets to minimize the incidence of facial injury. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A novel polyoxometalate (1) has been synthesized in the system of Sb2O3-(NH4)6Mo7O24 ·4H2O-H3PO4-en-H2O under hydrothermal conditions and characterized by IR, TGA, elemental analyses, single crystal X-ray diffraction and XPS. Interestingly, compound 1 displays three-dimensional network consisting of one-dimensional sinusoidal chain [(Hen)2(H2O)2]2+ and two-dimensional layer formed by . The structure unit is the first example of bicapped by antimony α-Keggin structure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The suprathreshold sensitivity of participants was evaluated by using the exponent of the power function. • The additive effect of the pungency sensation on the perception of saltiness was revealed at the suprathreshold level. • Low pungency carrier reduced the percentage of NaCl (more than 38%) in the semi-sensitive and hypersensitive groups. • The power functions of saltiness in different pungency carriers were obtained for different sensitivity groups. Health concerns related to the intake of salt have necessitated the investigation into NaCl reduction by examining the cross-modal interaction between the perception of saltiness and pungency elicited by Sichuan pepper oleoresin (Spo). The category scale and the generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS) were used to determine the degree to which Spo enhanced the perception of saltiness in the NaCl model solution. Sixty-eight participants were divided into the hyposensitive, semi-sensitive, and hypersensitive groups according to individual exponent. The power functions of saltiness under different pungency carriers were obtained. The level of enhancement varied between the different sensitivity groups and pungency carriers. In the hypersensitive group, the low and strong pungency carriers effectively enhanced the perception of saltiness at low to moderate, and moderate to strong NaCl solutions, respectively. In the semi-sensitive group, low and moderate pungency carriers induced additive effect in the perception of saltiness at full and moderately strong NaCl solutions, respectively. However, the additive effect was inadequate in the hypo-sensitive group. Therefore, the low pungency solution was more feasible for enhancing in the perception of saltiness, while the maximum NaCl reduction percentages corresponded to the hypersensitive and semi-sensitive groups at 38.61% and 39.06%, respectively. This research not only provided insight into the effect of pungency on the perception of saltiness as it related to individual sensitivity, but also presented valuable information regarding flavor when developing food with reduced salt content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• RT of saltiness is decreased in the sub-threshold pungent carrier. • The enhancement effect of slight pungency carrier on salty intensity differs among age groups. • The perception of saltiness is influenced by the individual sensitivity and psychological traits. Excessive salt in the diet can pose significant health risks and, therefore, the reduction of salt derived from food is an important issue relating to human nutrition and health. Furthermore, the perception of saltiness will be different among people when considering their innate sensitivity, gender, age, psychological traits and dietary habits. In this study, 31 younger participants and 29 older participants were used as research subjects. A web-based questionnaire survey was used to collect information regarding of socio-demographics, consumption frequency and liking for salty and pungent food, as well as personality traits throughout the younger and the older participants. In addition, the 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) ratings were tested by the generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS) in the laboratory conditions. The rated difference from control method was used to test the sensitivity differences in the saltiness of NaCl and the pungent sensation elicited by Sichuan pepper oleoresin between the younger and older groups. The results showed that the thresholds were significantly lower in the younger group than in the older group, except for the detection threshold of saltiness. Furthermore, the recognition threshold of saltiness decreased in the presence of the sub-threshold pungency solution, while, the salty intensity was enhanced in both the younger and older groups when exposed to the slightly pungent solution (0.106 g Sichuan pepper oleoresin/L water solutions) compared to the control (spring water). For the younger group, the enhancement percentage of the salty intensity was between 9.3% and 12.5%, while, at the concentration of 4.05 g/L, the salty-enhancement percentage increased by 6.4% in the older group. In addition, the reduction percentage of NaCl reached a level of up to 34.4% in the younger group and was 4.4% in the older group. The Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) results indicated that the percentage change in salty intensity increased when the detection threshold of saltiness, the sensation seeking ratings, and PROP ratings increased. On the contrary, the change decreased when the age, life satisfaction ratings, detection threshold of pungency, and consumption frequency of salty food increased. These findings not only provide new information for the flavor design of salt-reduced food and dishes, but also be valuable to public health as well as economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Two novel polyoxometalate derivatives, {X IVWVI 10WV 2O40[Cu(en)2(H2O)]3} [X=V (1), Si (2); en=ethylenediamine], have been hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, IR, UV–Vis, XPS, EPR, TG and single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. They represent the first classical Keggin polyoxoanion supported by three transition metal complex moieties, which further act as the neutral molecular unit for the construction of the interesting three-dimensional supramolecular frameworks. The magnetic properties of 1 have also been studied in the temperature range of 4–300K, and its magnetic susceptibility obeys the Curie–Weiss law, showing antiferromagnetic coupling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Three compounds based on polyoxometalate building blocks, [Cu(en)2]{[Cu(en)2]2[MoVI 5MoV 3VIV 8O40(PO4)]}·4H2O (1), [Co(en)2]{[Co(en)2]2[HMoVI 4MoV 4VIV 8O40(PO4)]}·5H2O (2) and [Ni(en)2]{[Ni(en)2]2[MoVI 5MoV 3VIV 8O40(VO4)]}·2H2O (3) (en=ethylenediamine), have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, XPS, XRD, TGA and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The result of structure determination shows that isomorphic compounds 1, 2 and 3 feature a one-dimensional chain built from the reduced tetra-capped pseudo-Keggin polyoxoanion, which is further interconnected by [M(en)2]2+ (M=Cu, Co and Ni) groups via the terminal oxygen atoms of polyoxoanions. The crystal data for these compounds are the following: 1, monoclinic, space group C2/c, a =26.702(3)Å, b =13.4539(14)Å, c =19.5987(19)Å, β =108.650(2)°, V =6671.0(12)Å3, Z =4; 2, monoclinic, space group C2/c, a =26.244(3)Å, b =13.5070(17)Å, c =19.581(3)Å, β =106.881(2)°, V =6641.8(15)Å3, Z =4; 3, monoclinic, space group C2/c, a =26.2789(15)Å, b =13.5408(6)Å, c =19.6312(9)Å, β =106.2590(10)°, V =6706.1(6)Å3, Z =4. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements of compounds 1 and 3 reveal the feature of antiferromagnetic exchange in these compounds. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • The pungency thresholds increased significantly in the NaCl solutions. • The intensity of Sichuan pepper oleoresin (Spo) was suppressed in the 167.90 g/L NaCl. • The TI parameters of Spo solutions were decreased at 42.95 g/L and 167.90 g/L NaCl. A cross-modal interaction may exist between the perception of saltiness and the pungency elicited by Sichuan pepper oleoresin (Spo). Thirty-one hypersensitive panelists were selected to participate in this study. Spo solutions dissolved in different NaCl concentrations, ranging from 1.25 g/L to 167.9 g/L, were used as the test samples. The rated difference from control, the generalized labeled magnitude scale (gLMS), and the time-intensity (TI) method were used to determine the detection threshold (DT), the recognition threshold (RT), the intensity, and the dynamic perception of pungent sensation. The results revealed that the pungency thresholds increased significantly (p < 0.01) in the solution with a high NaCl (167.9 g/L) concentration. Furthermore, high NaCl solutions suppressed the pungency intensity at all Spo concentrations except for 0.02 g Spo/L in water (p < 0.05). The TI and principal component analysis (PCA) results showed that an increase in the Spo concentration prolonged the duration of the pungency sensation. However, the maximum intensity, the time to reach maximum intensity, the decay time of perception, and the end time of perception of the Spo solutions ranging from 2.13 g/L to 4.69 g/L were significantly reduced at medium (42.95 g/L) and high NaCl concentrations. Since the salty and pungency sensations exhibited by NaCl and Spo are common flavor combinations in food products and dishes, studying the influence of saltiness on the dynamic perception of pungent sensation not only aids the development of oral cleaners during pungency evaluation but also presents significant theoretical and practical value in creating pungent food and cuisine based on consumer preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) predicted a poor prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease. There is a paucity of data on outcomes after revascularization in patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO) and CKD. This study aims to investigate the impact of CKD on the revascularization of CTO., Methods: This study enrolled 1,092 CTO patients received treatments in our hospital between February 2009 and January 2014. Major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) and all-cause mortality were compared to evaluate medium- and long-term outcomes. Median follow-up was 39 months (interquartile range, 27-52 months)., Result: CKD decreased cumulative MACCE-free survival rate (54.4 ± 6.2% vs. 70.9 ± 2.5%, P < 0.001) and cumulative survival rate (68.6 ± 6.3% vs. 90.5 ± 1.6%, P < 0.001). Revascularization was associated with better outcomes among patients with (MACCE-free survival rate: 64.8 ± 5.7% vs. 20.1 ± 15.3%, P = 0.009; survival rate 78.4 ± 5.6% vs. 38.7 ± 17.4%, P = 0.006) or without CKD (MACCE-free survival rate 73.9 ± 2.7% vs. 61.0 ± 5.4%, P = 0.001; survival rate 92.9 ± 1.5% vs. 83.8 ± 4.0%, P = 0.009). The benefit from revascularization was attenuated by CKD. Compared with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) had similar cumulative survival rates among patients, whether with or without CKD, but was associated with a higher cumulative MACCE-free survival rate (80.5 ± 3.4% vs. 68.5 ± 4.0%, P = 0.017) among patients without CKD., Conclusion: CKD attenuated the benefit from revascularization for CTO. Moreover, CABG was not superior to PCI among CTO patients, but with a reduction in MACCE in patients without CKD.