Search

To optimize the processing technology of Gastrodia elata by water in which millet had been cooked and investigate the effects of LPS-induced microglia (BV2) inflammatory responses. Determination of gastrodin, p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, parishin A, parishin B, parishin C, parishin E in the extract of Gastrodia elata by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the content of six components were used as evaluation index, the volume ratio of water in which millet had been cooked to water, cooking time and drying temperature were selected as single factor variables. The designation of orthogonal test was based on single factor on three indicators, then optimization of the preparation technology. Comparison of the content of six components in different processed product. The neuroinflammatory cell model was induced by LPS and the cell viability was evaluated after treatment with the extract of processed products by a Cell Counting kit 8 (CCK-8) assay. The levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β in the cell culture medium were measured with ELISA kits. The protein expressions of TLR4, MYD88, P65, INOS, COX-2, IL-1β in LPS-induced BV2 cells were detected by Western blot. The results showed that the cooking time and the volume ratio of water in which millet had been cooked to water had a significant effect on the test results. The water in which millet had been cooked of Gastrodia elata processing technology: The ratio of the volume water in which millet had been cooked to water was 1:3, the boiling time was 25 min and the temperature of drying was 75 °C. The comprehensive score of the six components in processing with water in which millet had been cooked products was higher than that of steamed products. The extract of Gastrodia elata had exhibited varying degrees of protective activity on LPS-induced BV2 cells. The results showed that the secretion of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β was significantly increased in BV2 microglial cells induced by LPS compared with the normal control group (P<0.001). Compared with the LPS group, the two extract of Gastrodia elata significantly decreased the expression level of TNF-α (P<0.05), IL-6 (P<0.05, P<0.001), IL-1β (P<0.05, P<0.001) in LPS-induced BV2 microglial cells. The result of Western blot showed that PZH significantly inhibited the LPS-induced TLR4/MYD88/NF-κ B signaling pathway activation, and decreased the protein expressions of TLR4 (P<0.01), MYD88 (P<0.01, P<0.05), P65 (P<0.01), INOS (P<0.05), COX-2 (P<0.05, P<0.001), IL-1β (P<0.001). The optimized processing technique is simple, stable and feasible. The mechanism of processed drugs of Gastrodia elata may reduce inflammatory factor expression by inhibiting the TLR4/MYD88/NF-κ signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high level of industry chain resilience is essential for China's economy to operate safely, soundly, and robustly. It also serves as the foundation for the nation's capacity for growth, competitiveness, sustainable development capacity, and ability to respond to various external dangers. In this regard, the swift advancement of digital inclusive finance has shown significant prospects for enhancing the resilience of China's industry chain. This study empirically examines the impact of digital inclusive finance on industry chain resilience, based on China's provincial panel data from 2013 to 2021. The findings demonstrate the following: digital inclusive finance significantly contributes to industry chain resilience; optimization of industrial structure and technological innovation play mediating roles in the relationship between digital inclusive finance and industry chain resilience; and the high-quality development of the regional economy has a positive moderating effect on that relationship. Subsequent investigation reveals quantile and regional variations in the effect of digital inclusive finance on industry chain resilience. This study not only confirms the critical role that digital inclusive finance plays in bolstering industry chain resilience but also identifies a workable strategy for doing so in the case of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a novel reception scheme for twin single-sideband (twin-SSB) signals using just a single photodetector (PD), significantly reducing the system complexity and cost. To detect a twin-SSB with power-unbalanced quadrature-phase shift keying (QPSK) sidebands upon detection via a single PD at the receiver side, two QPSKs carried in two sidebands are coherently superposed and detected in a 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) format. This technique notably diminishes the linearity and effective number of bits required for the transmitter components in high-speed optical transmission systems. Moreover, a hierarchical blind-phase search (HBPS) algorithm is proposed to compensate for the imperfect phase rotation of QPSK signals during transmission. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method, we successfully conducted simulations of 112 Gb/s 16-QAM signal transmission over a 10 km standard single-mode fiber (SSMF), achieving bit error ratios (BERs) of 7.84 × 10 − 4 , well below the 7% hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) threshold of 3.8 × 10 − 3 . In addition, the synthetic transmission scheme proposed in this paper is compared with the traditional 16-QAM signal transmission scheme, and the results show that the proposed scheme does not introduce a performance cost with the same received optical power (ROP) and transmission distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) is a low‐cost approach for cervical cancer screening used in most low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) but, similar to other visual tests, is subjective and requires sustained training and quality assurance. We developed, trained, and validated an artificial‐intelligence‐based "Automated Visual Evaluation" (AVE) tool that can be adapted to run on smartphones to assess smartphone‐captured images of the cervix and identify precancerous lesions, helping augment VIA performance. Design: Prospective study. Setting: Eight public health facilities in Zambia. Participants: A total of 8204 women aged 25–55. Interventions: Cervical images captured on commonly used low‐cost smartphone models were matched with key clinical information including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human papillomavirus (HPV) status, plus histopathology analysis (where applicable), to develop and train an AVE algorithm and evaluate its performance for use as a primary screen and triage test for women who are HPV positive. Main Outcome Measures: Area under the receiver operating curve (AUC); sensitivity; specificity. Results: As a general population screening tool for cervical precancerous lesions, AVE identified cases of cervical precancerous and cancerous (CIN2+) lesions with high performance (AUC = 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.89–0.93), which translates to a sensitivity of 85% (95% CI = 81%–90%) and specificity of 86% (95% CI = 84%–88%) based on maximizing the Youden's index. This represents a considerable improvement over naked eye VIA, which as per a meta‐analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO) has a sensitivity of 66% and specificity of 87%. For women living with HIV, the AUC of AVE was 0.91 (95% CI = 0.88–0.93), and among those testing positive for high‐risk HPV types, the AUC was 0.87 (95% CI = 0.83–0.91). Conclusions: These results demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing AVE on images captured using a commonly available smartphone by nurses in a screening program, and support our ongoing efforts for moving to more broadly evaluate AVE for its clinical sensitivity, specificity, feasibility, and acceptability across a wider range of settings. Limitations of this study include potential inflation of performance estimates due to verification bias (as biopsies were only obtained from participants with visible aceto‐white cervical lesions) and due to this being an internal validation (the test data, while independent from that used to develop the algorithm was drawn from the same study). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document discusses the advancements in drug discovery and the application of new technologies, particularly focusing on the integration of artificial intelligence, proteomics, metabolomics, next-generation sequencing, and nanotechnology. It highlights the challenges faced in translating these innovations into clinical success, such as the scarcity of biological data and the complexity of synthetic biology. The Special Issue presents groundbreaking studies showcasing novel methodologies and compounds in drug discovery, with applications ranging from viral infection treatment to cancer therapy, aiming to provide valuable resources for researchers in the field. [Extracted from the article]

Chemosensory proteins (CSPs) are highly efficient carry tools to bind and deliver hydrophobic compounds, which play an important role in the chemosensory process in insects. The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is a cosmopolitan pest that attacks cruciferous crops. However, the detailed physiological functions of CSPs in P. xylostella remain limited to date. Here, we identified a typical CSP, named Pxyl CSP18, in P. xylostella and investigated its expression patterns and binding properties of volatiles. PxylCSP18 was highly expressed in antennae and head (without antennae), and the expression level in the male antennae of P. xylostella was obviously higher than that in the female antennae. Moreover, Pxyl CSP18 has a relatively broad binding spectrum. Fluorescence competitive binding assays showed that Pxyl CSP18 had strong binding abilities with 14 plant volatiles (Ki < 10 μM) that were repellent or attractive to P. xylostella. Notably, Pxyl CSP18 had no significant binding affinity to (Z)-11-hexadecenal, (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate, and (Z)-11-hexadecenyl alcolol, which are the pheromone components of P. xylostella. The attractive effects of trans-2-hexen-1-ol and isopropyl isothiocyanate to male adults and the attractive effects of isopropyl isothiocyanate and the repellent effects of linalool to female adults were significantly decreased after knocked down the expression of PxylCSP18. Our results revealed that Pxyl CSP18 might play an important role in host plant detection, avoidance of unsuitable hosts, and selection of oviposition sites; however, it does not participate in mating behavior. Overall, these results extended our knowledge on the CSP-related functions, which provided insightful information about CSP-targeted insecticides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]