Search

Comprehensive comprehension of the interaction between proteins and polyphenols is crucial for advancing their utilization in food processing. This study investigated no‐covalent interaction between pea protein isolate (PPI) and quercetin (Que) through spectroscopic analysis and molecular simulation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and circular dichroism spectrum showed that the interaction between PPI and Que changed the secondary structure of the protein due to a decrease in α‐helix content and an increase in the random coil. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that the Quebound PPI via hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions (ΔH > 0, ΔS > 0, and ΔG < 0), which was also confirmed by molecular docking. Particle size and ζ‐potential showed that PPI and Que demonstrated effective interaction and binding capabilities, enhancing the stability. In addition, the antioxidant and bioaccessibility of complexes have also been enhanced. This study shed a light on the application of protein–polyphenol complexes for developing functional foods. Practical Application: Interaction between pea protein isolate and quercetin can change the protein conformation to maintain the stability of quercetin and is helpful to expand the market value and application value of plant protein. The research has important implications for using leguminous protein as embedded support to improve the stability of polyphenols compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Maillard reaction can enhance the functional characteristics of the protein. Herein, we investigated changes in the physicochemical and biological properties of gelatin (GA)‐xylooligosaccharide (XOS) conjugates following Maillard reaction. The results showed that the browning intensity of the conjugates increased with the prolongation of heating time. Additionally, sodium dodecyl sulphate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed some macromolecule polymer formed, and the grafting degree of GA was augmented to 40.05% with prolongation of heating time. GA glycation with XOS decreased α‐Helix content and increased level of β‐Turn level, and exerted a slight impact on contact angle. Moreover, the results of in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion analysis showed that the GA‐XOS mixture enhanced resistance to digestion after Maillard reaction for 60 min, affording hydrolysis ratios ranging from 17.86–27.79% and 25.03–35.47% in simulated gastric fluid and intestinal fluid, respectively. The antioxidant ability and heat stability of the conjugates was visibly enhanced following heating treatment. Additionally, increasing the mass of XOS accelerated the antioxidant capacities of GA‐XOS conjugates. The finding will assist the fabrication of GA‐XOS conjugates with highly functional properties by Maillard reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Accurately and early detection of intestinal fibrosis in Crohn's disease (CD) is crucial for clinical management yet remains an unmet need. Fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI) PET/CT has emerged as a promising tool to assess fibrosis. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic capability of [18F]F-FAPI PET/CT in detecting intestinal fibrosis and compared it with[18F]F-FDG PET/CT and magnetization transfer MR imaging (MTI). Methods: Twenty-two rats underwent TNBS treatment to simulate fibrosis development, followed by three quantitative imaging sessions within one week. Mean and maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmean and SUVmax) were calculated on[18F]F-FAPI and [18F]F-FDG PET/CT, along with normalized magnetization transfer ratio on MTI. Intestinal fibrosis was assessed pathologically, with MTI serving as imaging standard for fibrosis. The diagnostic efficacy of imaging parameters in fibrosis was compared using pathological and imaging standards. Ten patients with 34 bowel strictures were prospectively recruited to validate their diagnostic performance, using the identical imaging protocol. Results: In CD patients, the accuracy of FAPI uptake (both AUCs = 0.87, both P ≤ 0.01) in distinguishing non-to-mild from moderate-to-severe fibrosis was higher than FDG uptake (both AUCs = 0.82, P ≤ 0.01) and comparable to MTI (AUCs = 0.90, P ≤ 0.001). In rats, FAPI uptake responded earlier to fibrosis development than FDG and MTI; consistently, during early phase, FAPI uptake showed a stronger correlation (SUVmean: R = 0.69) with pathological fibrosis than FDG (SUVmean: R = 0.17) and MTI (R = 0.52). Conclusion: The diagnostic efficacy of [18F]F-FAPI PET/CT in detecting CD fibrosis is superior to [18F]F-FDG PET/CT and comparable to MTI, exhibiting great potential for early detection of intestinal fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supercapacitors are a promising high-power energy storage device due to highly reversible charge-storage process and long cyclic stability. However, the major limitation of supercapacitors lies in their energy density. Here, a high voltage carbon-based supercapacitor is built by using 2 M CH3COONa aqueous solution as electrolyte. In three-electrode system, this paper uses the potentiostatic polarization curves to study the 1.8 V high operating voltage window with the nitrogen-self-doped mesoporous carbon materials (FBNC-700) as electrode materials. In two-electrode system, the FBNC-700 displayed a specific capacitance of 111 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1 in 2 M CH3COONa aqueous electrolyte. The 2 M CH3COONa aqueous electrolytes which can improve the energy density to 3.8 times than the 1 M H2SO4 aqueous electrolyte exhibits an excellent performance. Also, following 5000 cycles at a current density of 1 A g−1, the FBNC-700 had good stability with 74.2% capacitance retention. As an aqueous electrolyte, 2 M CH3COONa which has the 1.8 V high operating voltage window can improve the energy density in carbon-based supercapactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quantitative transcriptomics analysis has reported that Calmodulin 1 (CALM1) is highly expressed in human brain tissues. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between CALM1 rs3179089 polymorphism and ischemic stroke (IS) in Chinese Han population. A total of 550 patients with IS and 550 control subjects were recruited and genotyped using Sequenom MassArray technology. The mRNA expression of CALM1 was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. CALM1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in patients with IS than that in control subjects (P = 0.006). The genomic frequency distribution was significantly different between female patients with IS and female controls (χ2 = 6.043, P = 0.047). In recessive model, CALM1 rs3179089 polymorphism was associated with the risk of IS in female patients. GG genotype significantly increased the risk of IS compared with the CC+GC genotype in females (OR 8.68, P = 0.042; adjusted OR 8.72, Padj = 0.042). Rs3179089 polymorphism was associated positively with plasmas D-Dimer of patients with IS in recessive model (βa = 3.24, P = 0.018; βb = 3.20, Padj = 0.019). Moreover, rs3179089 polymorphism was related positively to thrombin time of patients with IS in addictive (βa = 2.32, P = 0.005, βb = 2.26, Padj=0.006) and recessive model (βa = 11.19, P = 0.001, βb = 11.13, Padj = 0.001). CALM1 expression was involved in the development of IS. CALM1 rs3179089 polymorphism was associated with IS risk in Chinese females, and related to blood coagulation of IS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical soliton molecules exhibiting behaviors analogous to matter molecules have been the hotspot in the dissipative system for decades. Based on the dispersion Fourier transformation technique, the real-time spectral interferometry has become the popular method to reveal the internal dynamics of soliton molecules. The rising degrees of freedom in pace with the increased constitutes of soliton molecules yield more intriguing sights into the internal motions. Yet the soliton molecules with three or more pulses are rarely investigated owing to the exponentially growing complexity. Here, we present both experimental and theoretical studies on the soliton molecules containing three solitons. Different assemblies of the constitutes are categorized as different types of soliton triplet akin to the geometric isomer, including equally-spaced triplet and unequally-spaced triplet. Typical soliton triplets with different dynamics including regular internal motions, hybrid phase dynamics and complex dynamics involving separation evolution are experimentally analyzed and theoretically simulated. Specifically, the energy difference which remains elusive in experiments are uncovered through the simulation of diverse triplets with plentiful dynamics. Moreover, the multi-dimensional interaction space is proposed to visualize the internal motions in connection with the energy exchange, which play significant roles in the interplays among the solitons. Both the experimental and numerical simulations on the isomeric soliton triplets would release a larger number of degrees of freedom and motivate the potentially artificial configuration of soliton molecules for various ultrafast applications, such as all-optical buffering and multiple encoding for telecommunications.

Objective: To assess the value of MDCT with vessel probe(VP) in the diagnosis and treatment of isolated superior mesenteric artery dissection (ISMAD)., Methods: Clinical and imaging data of 15 patients with ISMAD admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University from June 2008 to May 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Relationship among radiograpic features, clinical symptoms and therapeutic options of ISMAD was examined based on the imaging of 64-MDCT with VP., Results: The dissection crevasse of all the 15 patients located in anterior arterial wall, and the distance was(24.3±9.7) mm from the origin of SMA. Meanwhile dissection crevasse of 73.3%(11/15) patients located in the zone within 1 cm of proximal end and 1 cm of distal end of the proximal SMA curvature. There were significant differences between patients without abdominal pain(8 cases) and those with abdominal pain(7 cases) in dissection length, minor diameter ratio of true lumen to false lumen, major diameter ratio of true lumen to false lumen(all P<0.01). According to classification of Yun, there were 5 patients of typeI( and 3 type II(a, whose conservative treatment were successful. In other 7 patients of type II(b, 3 patients received successful conservative treatment, and 4 patients had symptom remission after turning to interventional treatment or surgery., Conclusions: 64-MDCT with VP can clearly depict the image manifestation of ISMAD, which provides evidence for the diagnosis and therapeutic options of ISMAD.

Objective: To explore the value of comprehensive application of CT and PET/CT in differential diagnosing mucinous and non-mucinous colorectal adenocarcinoma., Methods: CT and PET/CT image data of 37 patients with mucinous adenocarcinoma and 50 patients with non-mucinous adenocarcinoma confirmed by pathology in our hospital from January 2010 to December 2012 were analyzed retrospectively. Differences of image were compared between two methods., Results: On CT, lesion density of pre-contrast, pro-contrast phase and enhancement degree were significantly lower in mucinous adenocarcinoma than those in non-mucinous adenocarcinoma(all P<0.01). Enhancement degree of hypointense area, hypointense area proportion of total lesion, and lymphatic or distant metastasis ratio were significantly higher in mucinous adenocarcinoma than those in non-mucinous adenocarcinoma(all P<0.05). On PET/CT, maximal SUV value of mucinous adenocarcinoma was significantly lower as compared to non-mucinous adenocarcinoma[(8.64±4.34) Bq/L vs. (12.38±5.96) Bq/L, P=0.015]., Conclusions: CT combined with PET/CT provides better valuable information in differential diagnosing between mucinous and non-mucinous colorectal adenocarcinoma and clinical practice.

Objective: To investigate the mechanism of airway neurogenic inflammation by studying the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and substance P in C(7)-T(5) dorsal root ganglion sensory neuron cells induced by nerve growth factor (NGF) and the role of interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1)., Methods: The dorsal root ganglia neuron (DRGn) cells were primary cultured, and then stimulated with or without NGF or NGF+interferon (IFN)-γ. Subsequently the DRGn cells were transinfected with or without green fluorescent protein (GFP)-IRF-1-vshRNA, and then stimulated with or without NGF. The expressions of iNOS and substance P were detected by real-time PCR., Results: NGF induced the mRNA expression of iNOS and substance P in dorsal root ganglion sensory neuron cells, and IFN-γ increased NGF-induced iNOS mRNA expression. The expressions of iNOS and substance P in sensory neuron cells were decreased significantly at the mRNA level after IRF-1 was blocked down by IRF-1-vshRNA transinfection., Conclusion: NGF is involved in the airway neurogenic inflammation by prompting the expression of iNOS and substance P through transcription factor IRF-1 in airway sensory neuron cells. IRF-1 may be a therapeutic target for airway neurogenic inflammation.