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Platelet hyperreactivity contributes to the pathogenesis of COVID‐19, which is associated with a hypercoagulability state and thrombosis disorder. It has been demonstrated that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with the severity of COVID‐19 infection. Vitamin D supplement is widely used as a dietary supplement due to its safety and health benefits. In this study, we investigated the direct effects and underlying mechanisms of 1,25(OH)2D3 on platelet hyperreactivity induced by SRAS‐CoV‐2 spike protein via Western blot and platelet functional studies in vitro. Firstly, we found that 1,25(OH)2D3 attenuated platelet aggregation and Src‐mediated signaling. We further observed that 1,25(OH)2D3 attenuated spike protein‐potentiated platelet aggregation in vitro. Mechanistically, 1,25(OH)2D3 attenuated spike protein upregulated‐integrin αIIbβ3 outside‐in signaling such as platelet spreading and the phosphorylation of β3, c‐Src and Syk. Moreover, using PP2, the Src family kinase inhibitor to abolish spike protein‐stimulated platelet aggregation and integrin αIIbβ3 outside‐in signaling, the combination of PP2 and 1,25(OH)2D3 did not show additive inhibitory effects on spike protein‐potentiated platelet aggregation and the phosphorylation of β3, c‐Src and Syk. Thus, our data suggest that 1,25(OH)2D3 attenuates platelet aggregation potentiated by spike protein via downregulating integrin αIIbβ3 outside‐in signaling. Significance Statement: Platelets exhibit enhanced platelet function and play a crucial role in thrombotic disorders in patients with COVID‐19. Several studies also explore the positive effects of vitamin D supplement on COVID‐19. However, the antiplatelet effect of vitamin D on spike protein‐potentiated platelet hyperreactivity is still unknown. In this study, we have observed that 1,25(OH)2D3 could attenuate spike protein‐potentiated platelet aggregation via inhibiting integrin αIIbβ3 outside‐in signaling in vitro. This study revealed the effects and mechanisms of 1,25(OH)2D3 on spike protein‐potentiated platelet aggregation. However, Clinical trials are needed to further confirm this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in consumers' awareness of healthy diet, the development of green foods has become a significant research direction for the modern food industry. Umami peptides, derived from the hydrolysis of natural proteins, which possess nutritional and functional properties. However, protein hydrolysates face many problems, such as a low amount of effective umami peptides, insufficient umami intensity and poor stability. Therefore, the article introduced different pathways to enhance the intensity of umami peptides, and emphatically illustrated the protection and controlled release of these peptides through encapsulation transport systems, including the development of umami peptides, encapsulation materials, methods, quality standards, and their release mechanisms. The review can provide a valuable reference for the development of umami peptides into new flavorings, which aligns with the future trends in the flavoring industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platelet hyperreactivity and oxidative stress are the important causes of thrombotic disorders in patients with COVID-19. Oxidative stress, induced by the excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), could increase platelet function and the risk of thrombus formation. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), exhibits strong antioxidative activity and anti-platelet effect. However, the effects and mechanisms of CoQ10 on attenuating platelet aggregation induced by spike protein have never been studied. This study aims to investigate whether the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein potentiates human platelet function via ROS signaling and the protective effect of CoQ10 in vitro. Using a series of platelet function assays, we found that spike protein potentiated platelet aggregation and oxidative stress, such as ROS level, mitochondrial membrane potential depolarization, and lipid damage level (MDA and 8-iso-PGF2α) in vitro. Furthermore, CoQ10 attenuated platelet aggregation induced by spike protein. As an anti-platelet mechanism, we showed that CoQ10 significantly decreased the excess production of ROS induced by spike protein. Our findings show that the protective effect of CoQ10 on spike protein-potentiated platelet aggregation is probably associated with its strong antioxidative ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a ubiquitous protein in the body, Purα has been considered to possess multiple regulatory functions from DNA replication and transcription to RNA transport and translation. The recent studies have proved that Purα protein played a vital role in neuronal development with the solid and abundant evidence both in transgenic mice and human genetic DNA analysis. The Purα knocked out mice models have been successfully established in two independent research groups and their results demonstrated that lack of Purα alters postnatal brain development. Mice lacking of Purα display decreased neurogenesis and impaired neuronal development. In the mouse brain, the expression level of Purα seems to be regulated with brain development. It starts to express Purα after birth and quickly reach to highest level in the third week. The recent studies also have proved that some neurodegenerative disease also linked with Purα, such as Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome. rCGG-mediated neuronal toxicity could be modulated by heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2/B1 and Purα, which is rCGG-repeat-binding proteins. The 5q31.3 microdeletion syndrome is another disorders that is associated with the mutation of Purα gene, it has been demonstrated that all the symptoms such as the neurocognitive impairment, neurodevelopmental delay and learning disability are caused by the mutation of Purα gene. In this mini review, we will retrospectively review the current progress of Purα in neuronal development and try to figure out the connections between these observed phenomena and the biological function of Purα.

This paper studies the power production optimization problem of multiple offshore wind farms (OWFs) considering different maintenance demands and requirements under the wind power uncertainty. A decentralized robust operation optimization model is developed, in which OWFs and a maintenance service provider (MSP) are treated as individual stakeholders with different interests but coupled by maintenance resources. Based on the analytical target cascading (ATC) algorithm, the model is decoupled into independent models for MSP and each OWF. The operation and objectives of individual entities can be autonomously optimized only considering their own conditions. For each OWF, the power production planning coupled with maintenance scheduling is formulated as a two‐stage robust optimization model and solved by a column‐and‐constraint generation (C&CG) algorithm to tackle the wind power uncertainty. Numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model and the applicability of the integrated solution method to the studied problem. Results illustrate that the developed model shows a better guarantee for individual interests of OWFs, lower communication burden, and better information privacy than the centralized optimization model, especially in large‐scale systems. The integrated solution framework can guarantee a quick convergence and optimality. Moreover, it reduces impacts of uncertain factors on power productions and maintenance schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For general nanoparticle-like gas-sensing materials, high dispersion, low agglomeration, and high active surface available for gas adsorption are highly desirable for achieving high sensing performance. Inspired from the distribution structure of olfactory cells of mice, this work describes a macroporous nanocomposite of polypyrrole/three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (PPy/3D-rGO) with biomimetic structure for highly sensitive application. The PPy/3D-rGO nanocomposite was prepared via in-situ chemical polymerization of sensitive PPy nanoparticles on the pore wall of rGO with 3D architecture. The 3D-rGO, pre-prepared by a facile hydrothermal reduction method, serves as 3D skeleton to provide solid support for sensitive PPy nanoparticles attachment. The as-formed nanocomposite displays loose 3D morphology and the fine PPy nanoparticles with high dispersion and low agglomeration distribute on the pore walls of 3D-rGO uniformly. The NH 3 -sensing properties of the PPy/3D-rGO nanocomposite and the single components were evaluated at room temperature. It is found that the bioinspired PPy/3D-rGO nanocomposite displays a 4–5 times enhancement in gas response compared with pure PPy and can rapidly response NH 3 with sub-ppm level. It also demonstrates good dynamic characteristic, satisfactory selectivity and stability for PPy/3D-rGO nanocomposite sensor. The enhanced sensing performances of PPy/3D-rGO nanocomposite are analyzed reasonably based on its unique microstructure and the effective nanocompositeization between rGO and PPy nanoparticles. Image 10437750 • Bioinspired PPy/3D-rGO nanocomposite for gas-sensing were reported. • 3D-rGO was prepared as a 3D skeleton to provide solid support for PPy attachment. • PPy attached on 3D-rGO displays features of high dispersion and low agglomeration. • The nanocomposite can rapidly response to sub-ppm NH 3 with enhanced response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic dispatch problem (EDP) is a fundamental optimization problem of power systems. With the penetration of renewable energy sources in microgrids, this paper proposes a distributed algorithm based on consensus theory to solve the EDP with a quadratic cost function. The method takes advantage of the fact that incremental costs need to be equal for all buses at optimal output power values. Thus, the incremental cost of each bus is selected as a consensus variable and the local mismatch between total demand and generation is assigned as a feedback variable to meet demand constraints. Unlike the existing related works, the feedback gains for the feedback variables are different and time-varying. Using multi-parameter perturbation theory and graph theory, the convergence of the algorithm is proved. Furthermore, the upper bounds of the feedback gains are given theoretically, and we obtain that the algorithm converges to the optimal solution at a rate governed by the second largest eigenvalue of the system matrix. Meanwhile, the algorithm is a fully distributed algorithm without a leader or a virtual command node. The simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the algorithm even though there is a demand change and generator damage. Some simulation results intuitively illustrate how the convergence speed changes with the feedback gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve better economic and environmental benefits of microgrids (MGs) under multiple uncertainties in renewable energy resources and loads, a novel energy production scheduling method is proposed based on robust multi-objective optimization with minimax criterion. Firstly, a mixed integer minimax multi-objective formulation is developed to capture uncertainties as well as minimize economic and environmental objectives. Secondly, the primal problem is decomposed into a bi-level optimization problem, which attempts to seek robust scheduling scheme set under the worst-case realization of uncertainties in a multi-objective framework. Finally, a hierarchical meta-heuristic solution strategy, including multi-objective cross entropy algorithm and δ+ indicator, is designed to solve the reconstructed problem. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed scheduling method can effectively attenuate the disturbance of uncertainties as well as reduce energy costs and emissions, as compared with single-objective robust optimization and multi-objective optimization scheduling approaches. This study could offer useful insights which help decision-makers balance robustness and comprehensive benefits in the operation of MGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical behavior of resveratrol was studied in Britton-Robinson (B-R) buffer solution (pH = 4.0) at glassy carbon electrode (GCE) using cyclic voltammetry (CV). Resveratrol showed an irreversible anodic peak at 0.570 V which was involving one electron and one proton. Also, the interaction of resveratrol with double-stranded fish sperm DNA was investigated by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and UV-vis spectra. The results showed that peak potentials shifted to more positive value and peak currents decreased in electrochemical experiment and the maximum absorption decreased with red shift in UV-vis spectra experiment with the addition of DNA, indicating the resveratrol interacted with DNA by intercalating into the double helix of DNA. Besides, the binding of resveratrol with DNA, analyzed in terms of the cooperative Hill model, yields the association constant Ka = 3.18 × 105 and a Hill coefficient m = 1.06. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To investigate the impacts of combinatorial atorvastatin (Ator) perioperative administration and mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) implantation on therapeutic effects in the rat experimental acute kidney injury. Methods: The model of renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury was induced by the release of bilateral renal pedicle clamps following 45 min of occlusion. Immediately after reperfusion, CM-Dil-labeled MSCs (1 × 106 cells) or vehicles only were administered through the carotid artery of the animals pretreated with or without Ator. Results: The combined treatment with Ator and MSCs (Ator+MSCs) markedly reduced the elevated levels of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, as well as the severity of renal damage 24 h after I/R injury. In addition, we also observed inhibition of renal tubular cell apoptosis and promotion of proliferation in the Ator+MSCs group compared with the other groups. Consistent with the improvement in renal function and morphology, Ator pretreatment significantly ameliorated oxidative stress, inhibited inflammation response, and increased the viability of implanted MSCs. With regard to the further mechanism, we found that the expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and high-mobility group box 1, potential mediators of innate immunity, was significantly decreased in the Ator-treated groups. Conclusion: Ator treatment may protect the kidney undergoing I/R injury through suppression of TLR4 signaling, creating a better environment for the survival of grafted MSCs. The extra benefit of the Ator+MSCs combined therapy may result from the Ator-mediated inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammation in the ischemic kidney. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type IV collagen is an integral component of basement membranes. Mutations in COL4A1, one of the key genes encoding Type IV collagen, can result in a variety of diseases. It is clear that a significant proportion of mutations that affect splicing can cause disease directly or contribute to the susceptibility or severity of disease. Here, we analyzed exonic mutations and intronic mutations described in the COL4A1 gene using bioinformatics programs and identified candidate mutations that may alter the normal splicing pattern through a minigene system. We identified seven variants that induce splicing alterations by disrupting normal splice sites, creating new ones, or altering splice regulatory elements. These mutations are predicted to impact protein function. Our results help in the correct molecular characterization of variants in COL4A1 and may help develop more personalized treatment options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We constructed the SCN1A knockdown cell model using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. • We found that many genes have changed in the SCN1A knockout cell line. • The glycolytic metabolism of cells was impaired after SCN1A knockdown. • The spliceosome is closely related to the pathogenesis of Dravet syndrome. Abstract Dravet syndrome (DS) is a disease that is primarily caused by the inactivation of the SCN1A-encoded voltage-gated sodium channel alpha subunit (Nav1.1). In this study, we constructed an SCN1A gene knockout model using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology to deprive the Nav1.1 function in vitro. With mRNA-seq analysis we found abundant gene changes after SCN1A knockout, which associated with various signaling pathways, such as cancer pathways, the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, the MAPK signaling pathway, and pathways involved in HTLV-I infection. We also noticed changes in the spliceosome, decreased glycolytic capacity, disturbances in calcium signaling pathways, and changes in the potassium, sodium, chloride, and calcium plasma channels after SCN1A knockout. In this study, we have been the first time to discover these changes and summarize them here and hope it would provide some clue for the study of Nav1.1 in the nervous system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]