Search

Spectral data of the outer wall and inner capsule of Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae Viride from different regions (Anhui, Guangdong, and Sichuan) were collected with portable near infrared spectrometer. Multiple interferences in the spectra were eliminated using single and combined pretreatment methods. Pattern recognition methods such as principal component analysis (PCA), cluster independent soft pattern classification (SIMCA) and Fisher linear discriminant analysis (FLDA) were used to establish traceability models of Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae Viride origin. The results showed that spectral pretreatment could eliminate the interferences of baseline drift, background, and spectral peak overlap to a certain extent. However, the traceability analysis of the origin couldn't be achieved. Among the three pattern recognition methods, accurate traceability analysis of Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae Virid couldn't be achieved with PCA method. The whole identification rate of SIMCA model with the outer wall and inner capsule original spectra were 99.14% and 98.28%, respectively. The whole identification rates of FLDA models were both 99.57%, better than that of SIMCA models. The identification rates of SIMCA and FLDA models with appropriate spectral pretreatment were 100%. Therefore, portable near infrared spectroscopy technology combined with the supervised pattern recognition methods can achieve non-destructive traceability analysis of Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae Viride origin, expanding a new way for the traceability analysis of food and drug homologous substances origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To the increasing difficulty of the detection of multi-pesticide residues in cowpea, optimized moving window target conversion factor analysis (OMWTTFA) algorithm was proposed, in which an adaptive iterative re-weighted penalized least squares calculation had been added to the moving window target transfer factor analysis (MWTTFA) algorithm. And a new method for non-targeted detection of multi-pesticide residues in cowpea was established by combining with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A mass spectrometry database of 500 common pesticides was established and high throughput analysis of cowpea GC-MS data was realized by using OMWTTFA algorithm. The method was verified with actual cowpea and spiked samples. The results showed that the method could realize non-targeted detection of all pesticide residues in the two groups of spiked cowpea samples within 30 min retention time, while no pesticide residues were detected in the actual cowpea samples. The matching values of all components were larger than 800‰, and this method was more accurate than MWTTFA algorithm. The above results showed that this method promised to become a new way for non-targeted and high-throughput detection of multi-pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the central nervous system, oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) are recognized as the progenitors responsible for the generation of oligodendrocytes, which play a critical role in myelination. Extensive research has shed light on the mechanisms underlying OPC proliferation and differentiation into mature myelin-forming oligodendrocytes. However, recent advances in the field have revealed that OPCs have multiple functions beyond their role as progenitors, exerting control over neural circuits and brain function through distinct pathways. This review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of OPCs by first introducing their well-established features. Subsequently, we delve into the emerging roles of OPCs in modulating brain function in both healthy and diseased states. Unraveling the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which OPCs influence brain function holds great promise for identifying novel therapeutic targets for central nervous system diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate and nondestructive prediction method of lime acidity was established based on near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and ensemble learning strategy. Dual-band spectra were obtained nondestructively with a single scan using a desk-top Fourier transform spectrometer and a grating portable spectrometer. Spectral preprocessing methods were used to eliminate the interferences in the spectra. The quantification models of available acidity (pH and 10−pH) and total acidity (TA) were developed with the ensemble learning strategy compared with partial least squares (PLS) and variable selection methods. The results indicated that due to the high-energy light source, the models of the grating portable spectrometer were much better than those of the Fourier transform spectrometer. Short-wave NIR (SWNIR) was more suitable for quantitative analysis of available acidity, while long-wave NIR (LWNIR) was more effective for quantitative analysis of TA. Besides, the models of available acidity were ahead of those of TA. Compared with PLS and variables selection methods, the ensemble learning strategy can produce models with higher prediction accuracy and better robustness. In the optimized models, the correlation coefficients of pH, 10−pH and TA for the prediction set were 0.84, 0.82 and 0.66, respectively. The experiment results show that accurate and nondestructive prediction of lime acidity can be achieved with the grating portable NIR spectrometer and ensemble learning strategy. [Display omitted] • Simultaneous and nondestructive detection of pH and TA in lime was achieved. • Dual-band spectra were obtained with a single scan using two spectrometers. • Models of the grating portable spectrometer can satisfy practical application. • Ensemble learning strategy can produce models with higher prediction accuracy. • SWNIR was more suitable for pH, while LWNIR was more effective for TA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CRP) is closely correlated with the aging time. However, CRPs in different storage ages are similar in appearance, and the young CRP may be labeled as the aged one to obtain the excess profit by some unscrupulous traders. Most traditional analysis methods are laborious and time‐consuming, and they can hardly realize the nondestructive classification. In this paper, a novel method based on near‐infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (NIRDRS) and data combination technique for the nondestructive classification of different‐age CRPs was proposed. The CRPs in different storage ages (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years) were measured. The near‐infrared spectra of outer skin and inner capsule were obtained. Principal component analysis (PCA), soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA), and Fisher's linear discriminant analysis (FLD), with different data pretreatment methods, were used for the classification analysis. Data combination of the outer skin and inner capsule spectra was discussed for further improving the classification results. The results show that multiple sensors provide more useful and complementary information than a single sensor does for improving the prediction accuracy. With the help of data combination strategy, 100% prediction accuracy can be obtained with both second‐order derivative–FLD and continuous wavelet transform–multiplicative scatter correction–FLD methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and nondestructive method for the analysis of soluble solid content in citrus was established using portable visible to near‐infrared spectroscopy (Vis/NIRS) in reflectance mode in combination with appropriate chemometric methods. The spectra were obtained directly by the portable Vis/NIRS without destroying samples. Outlier detection was performed by using leave‐one‐out cross‐validation (LOOCV) with the 3σ criterion, and the calibration models were established by partial least squares (PLS) algorithm. Besides, different data pretreatment methods were used to eliminate noise and background interference before calibration, to determine the one that will lead to better model accuracy. However, the correlation coefficients are all <0.62 and the results of all pretreatments are still unsatisfactory. Variable selection methods were discussed for improving the accuracy, and variable adaptive boosting partial least squares (VABPLS) method was used to get higher robustness models. The results show that standard normal variate (SNV) transformation is the best pretreatment method, while VABPLS can significantly simplify the calculation and improve the result even without pretreatment. The correlation coefficient of the best prediction models is 0.82, while the value is 0.48 for the raw data. The high performance shows the feasibility of portable Vis/NIRS technology combination with appropriate chemometric methods for the determination of citrus soluble solid content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the interaction of Chrysanthemum indicum (CI) flavonoids (luteolin, acacetin, and buddleoside) with α‐amylase. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assay showed their equilibrium dissociation constants (KD) are 1.9695 ± 0.12, 2.9240 ± 0.20, and 3.2966 ± 0.08 mM at pH 6.0, respectively. Furthermore, their binding affinities were influenced by KCl, MgCl2, and CaCl2. Enzymatic kinetic studies revealed that three flavonoids exhibited noncompetitive α‐amylase inhibitory activity. The inhibitory sequence is luteolin > acacetin > buddleoside, which was in accordance with the results of binding affinity from SPR. 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picryl hydrazyl radical assay demonstrated that antioxidant activities of three flavonoids were inhibited significantly with α‐amylase. Meanwhile, the study reveals that hydroxyl on C′‐4, C′‐5, and C‐7 of flavonoids play an important role on the interaction of three flavonoids with α‐amylase. Also, SPR could be used as sensor for rapid screening inhibitors of α‐amylase and provide useful information for the application of C. indicum flavonoids in food and pharmaceutical area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate and nondestructive detection method of hidden mold infection in citrus was established based on portable near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and chemometric methods. [Display omitted] • Nondestructive detection of hidden mold infection in citrus was achieved. • NIRDRS light was demonstrated to penetrate the citrus peel. • Models were validated by the validation and external validation sets. • Identification models of LWNIR were much better than those of SWNIR. • Identification accuracy of LWNIR-DT-PLS-DA model was 100%. An accurate and nondestructive detection method of hidden mold infection in citrus was established based on portable near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (NIRDRS) and chemometric methods. Penetrability of NIRDRS light on the peel of Chunjian hybrid citrus was studied. The results show that NIRDRS light can penetrate the peel to a certain extent, while the penetrability of short-wave near infrared (SWNIR) was better than that of long-wave near infrared (LWNIR). The identification models of hidden mold infection were established with five pattern recognition methods combined with different wavelength bands. The results show that the identification models of LWNIR were much better than those of SWNIR. 100% identification accuracies of LWNIR were obtained with soft independent pattern classification (SIMCA), support vector machine (SVM), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and the optimized pretreatment methods. In addition, the developed models were further validated by the external validation set collected one month later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensive study of the metabolome during the Douchi fermentation can provide new knowledge for optimizing the fermentation process. In this work, the metabolic characterization throughout the fermentation of Mucor racemosus Douchi was investigated using gas chromatography with time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. A total of 511 peaks were found, and 114 metabolites were identified. The fermentation process was clearly distinguished into two main phases by principal components analysis and orthogonal partial least squares‐discriminant analysis. All the samples in the score plots were within the 95% Hotelling T2 ellipse. Two separated clusters can be seen clearly in the score plot, which represents the two stages of fermentation: koji‐making (within 48 hr) and postfermentation (after 48 hr). Besides, clear separation and discrimination by both methods were found among different fermentation time within 15 days, while the discrimination cannot be found with more than 15 days of fermentation, indicating that the fermentation of Douchi was finished in 15 days. Due to the synergistic effect of protease and hydrolase accumulated in the early stage, proteins and other big molecular substances are rapidly hydrolyzed into a large number of small molecule components. However, the activity of enzymes decreased with the further fermentation, and some free amino acids were consumed in Maillard reaction. Therefore, there was no significant change in the content of small molecular substances after 15 days of fermentation. Furthermore, the levels of some metabolites such as alanine and lysine involved in the fermentation varied significantly throughout the processes. This study provides new insights for the metabolomics characteristics of Douchi fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is difficult to produce southern stinky tofu, a famous traditional Chinese snack, at industry scale due to the complex composition of its brine. In this study, the fingerprints of organic volatile flavor compounds in the southern stinky tofu brine samples from five manufacturers were studied using headspace solid‐phase microextraction/gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS‐SPME/GC‐MS) with the aid of chemometric methods. The fingerprints were obtained by HS‐SPME/GC‐MS and analyzed with the time shift alignment method, Shannon entropy, correlation coefficient, and principal component analysis. The results show that the time shifts in the samples can be accurately corrected by the time shift alignment method despite unexpected interferences. The fingerprint information was evaluated by Shannon entropy, while the similarities and differences in the fingerprints were investigated by correlation coefficient. Moreover, the identification of stinky tofu manufacturers can be achieved by principal component analysis. The predominant volatile compounds in southern stinky tofu brines were indole, 3‐methylindole, phenol, and 4‐methylphenol. Therefore, the established fingerprinting of volatile compounds for the brines by combining HS‐SPME/GC‐MS with chemometric methods was a simple and reliable method. The fingerprints of organic volatile flavor compounds in the southern stinky tofu brine samples from five manufacturers were obtained by HS‐SPME/GC‐MS and analyzed with the time shift alignment method, Shannon entropy, correlation coefficient, and principal component analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aid of chemometric methods, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is widely applied to the analysis of complex samples. Boosting partial least squares (BPLS) is one of the important approaches and has many applications to improve the predictive stability and accuracy of the NIR models. However, accurate calculation results are difficult to obtain due to the redundant variables that contribute more collinearity and noise than relevant information to models. In this work, an algorithm named as variable adaptive boosting partial least squares (VABPLS) was proposed to get higher robustness models and enhance the prediction ability. The theory and calculation of VABPLS are just similar with BPLS algorithm, but a variable adaptive strategy based on adaptive reweighted sampling (ARS) theory is fused into the algorithm to improve the accuracy, instead of simply adding. Simultaneous weighting of samples and variables in the boosting series is found to be more effective than the single weighting. The performance of VABPLS is tested with the NIR spectral datasets of corn and tobacco leaf samples. Results show that the advantages of VABPLS are many, such as enhanced accuracy, less parameters and easy to implement, compared with the traditional approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Changes in phenolsand indoles substances in brine were determined by HS-SPME-GC-MS. • Key flavor substances in brine were phenol, p -cresol, indole, and 3-methylindole. • A network diagram of the formation of phenols and indoles substances was constructed. • Metabolic reaction of precursor AAA (aromatic amino acid) generate flavor substance. • Key bacteria and enzyme genes for producing flavor substances were revealed. Understanding the formation mechanism of the flavor compounds in stinky tofu brine is crucial for controlling the flavor quality of Changsha stinky tofu. Dynamic changes in associated bacteria, enzymes, and differential metabolites in the metabolic pathway of aromatic amino acids in brine were investigated. Results showed that phenol (0.39～89.96 μg/mL), p -cresol (0.19～389.62 μg/mL), indole (1.14～242.97 μg/mL), 3-methylindole (0.14～3.00 μg/mL) were the key flavor substances of brine. The main associated bacteria Clostridiales bacterium SYSU GA17129 , Aneurinibacillus aneurinilyticus , and Anaerosalibacter massiliensis were significantly positively correlated with key flavor substances (P < 0.05). The main associated enzymes were transaminase, decarboxylase, and lyase. In summary, phenol and p -cresol were formed by the metabolism of tyrosine and phenylalanine through five reaction chains, and indole and 3-methylindole were formed by the metabolism of tryptophan through one and three reaction chains, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In chromatographic analysis of multicomponent real samples, peak overlapping, high level of noise and background are frequently encountered, making the qualitative and quantitative analysis difficult or even impossible. In this work, an algorithm named as generalized window factor analysis (GWFA) was proposed for quantitative analysis of the target components in the samples with complex matrices by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The theory and calculation of GWFA are just similar with the conventional window factor analysis (WFA), but the “window” is defined as the selected channels (mass-to-charge ratios) in the mass spectral dimension of the data matrix, instead of a continuous region in chromatographic dimension along the retention time. Therefore, the generalized window for a target component can be easily determined with the help of the mass spectrum. Then, the calculated mass spectrum can be obtained with the window and quantitative determination can be achieved with the help of the standard. Both simulated and experimental data were investigated with the proposed method. Whether or not a peak shift occurs during the test, accurate results were obtained from the overlapping GC–MS signals with high level of noise and background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A second-order method, standard signal extraction was proposed for quantitative analysis of target analytes in the samples with complex matrices by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In the method, standard addition was adopted. The data of the pure standard, sample, and spiked sample were used in the calculation. By performing principal component analysis on the data aligned with the measured signals of the sample and standard, the standardized signal that is orthogonal to the signals of interferences in the sample can be extracted. Then, the signal of spiked sample was projected to the standardized signal. The concentration ratio of the target analyte in the sample and spiked sample can be obtained. Finally, the concentration of the target analyte in the sample can be calculated with the added concentration in the spiked sample. Both simulated and experimental data were investigated with the proposed approach, compared with rank annihilation factor analysis. The recoveries of standard addition were found in a range of 99-105%, and the relative standard deviations obtained in three repeated measurements were less than 3%. Results show that the method can accurately estimate the quantitative information of analytes of interest in the presence of interferents and can be applied more widely compared with rank annihilation factor analysis. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry is a well-known technique for elemental analysis. However, in the analysis of trace elements in complex matrices, the signals can easily be interfered by those of other elements and drift the baseline. In this work, a chemometric approach was employed for the identification and quantitative analysis of trace elements in complex matrices. With the help of standard signals, the signals of trace elements can be obtained by a non-negative immune algorithm and used for the quantitative analysis. The method was validated by the analysis of trace calcium in rare earth matrices, trace bismuth, lead, and antimony in a tungsten matrix, trace phosphorus in iron and copper matrices and urban recycled water samples. The recoveries of the spiked samples were in the range of 96.1% to 108.3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginseng is a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal herb, and ginsenosides are its major active components. A method for the fast determination of ginsenosides in ginseng samples by high-performance liquid chromatography was developed and used for the quantitative analysis of four ginsenosides in three different ginseng samples. In this method, instead of time-consuming gradient elution, isocratic elution was used to speed up the analysis. Under strong isocratic elution, all the ginsenosides are eluted in 2.3 min. Although the measured signal is composed of overlapped peaks with the interferences and background, the signal of ginsenosides can be extracted by chemometric resolution. A non-negative immune algorithm was employed to obtain the chromatographic information of the target components from the data. Compared with conventional chemometric approaches, the method can perform the extraction for one-dimensional overlapping signals. The method was validated by the determination of four ginsenosides in three different ginseng samples. The recoveries of the spiked samples were in the range of 94.08-107.3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study produces cupric oxide (CuO) nanowires (NWs) using RF sputtering, and integrated CuO NWs in a micro electron mechanical systems (MEMS) structure to form a CuO-NW S /MEMS gas sensor. The XRD pattern shows a preferred (002) orientation of the CuO NWs. The CuO-NW S grows vertically on the MEMS structure and a competitive growth model is illustrated. It is found that the CuO-NWs/MEMS gas sensor has a higher selectivity to NO 2 compared with CO, CO 2 , NH 3 and SO 2. In long term measurement, the average sensor response is about 50.1% with an inaccuracy of 3% at the temperature of 119 ℃ and the NO 2 concentration of 500 ppb. These results show that the CuO-NWs/MEMS sensor with sputtering method is stable and reproducible in NO 2 gas sensing. • This study uses RF magnetron sputtering to grow vertical CuO nanowires on a MEMS structure to form a NO 2 gas sensor. • SEM and TEM, results show that CuO nanowires grow vertically on the SiO 2 /Si and MEMS structure. • The CuO-NW S grows vertically on the MEMS structure and a competitive growth model is illustrated. • In long term measurement, the average sensor response is about 50.1% (±3%) at 119℃ and the NO 2 of 500 ppb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chaperon protein sigma‐1 receptor (S1R) has been discovered over 40 years ago. Recent pharmacological studies using S1R exogenous ligands demonstrated a promising therapeutical potential of targeting the S1R in several neurological disorders. Although intensive in vitro studies have revealed S1Rs are mainly residing at the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the cell‐specific in vivo expression pattern of S1Rs is still unclear, mainly because of the lack of a reliable detection method which also prevented a comprehensive functional analysis. Here, first, we identified a highly specific antibody using S1R knockout (KO) mice and established an immunohistochemical protocol involving a 1% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) antigen retrieval step. Second, we characterized the S1R expression in the mouse brain and can demonstrate that the S1R is widely expressed: in principal neurons, interneurons and all glial cell types. In addition, unlike reported in previous studies, we showed that the S1R expression in astrocytes is not colocalized with the astrocytic cytoskeleton protein GFAP. Thus, our results raise concerns over previously reported S1R properties. Finally, we generated a Cre‐dependent S1R conditional KO mouse (S1R flox) to study cell‐type‐specific functions of the S1R. As a proof of concept, we successfully ablated S1R expressions in neurons or microglia employing neuronal and microglial Cre‐expressing mice, respectively. In summary, we provide powerful tools to cell‐specifically detect, delete and functionally characterize S1R in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for the fast determination of the components in a complex sample by using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry was developed and used for the quantitative analysis of phthalic acid esters in environmental water. In the method, the adaptively corrected mass spectra were used to compensate for the differences between the library spectra and the measured ones in the experiment. The correction was obtained by the iterative transformation of the library spectra using iterative target transformation factor analysis, and the resolution was performed by non-negative immune algorithm using the corrected spectra. Rapid analysis of 16 phthalic acid esters in water samples was achieved using fast elution gas chromatography with mass spectrometry measurements. The results show that the mass spectra and chromatographic profiles of the phthalic acid esters can be obtained from the overlapping signal of 13 min elution, and accurate quantitative analysis can be obtained. The recoveries of the phthalic acid esters obtained by standard addition are between 90.3 and 107.4%, and the relative standard deviations obtained in repeated measurements are less than 9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liuyang Douchi is a kind of traditional fermented Aspergillus -type Douchi in China for excellent favor. However, studies on the microbial diversity and the characterization of predominate fungi of Liuyang Douchi are few. In present study, the Illumina HiSeq sequencing was performed to reveal the fluctuation characteristics of microbial diversity during fermentation. Results showed that Staphylococcus (33.86%), Staphylococcaceae_unclassified (27.39%) and Pediococcus (8.80%) were the dominated bacteria, while Petromyces (74.57%), Rhizopus (10.93%) and Penicillium (2.68%) were the most predominant fungi during entire fermentation period. Intriguingly, Petromyces was negatively correlated with Alternaria, Saccharomyces and Saccharomycetales_unclassified. Further, four non-aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus strains were first identified and isolated from Liuyang Douchi according to phylogenetic and macroscopic characteristics. These four Aspergillus flavus displayed high cellulase and protease activities, but weak lipase activity. This study could contribute to the quality control of Liuyang Douchi by providing an overview of the microbial diversity. • Staphylococcus and Pediococcus was the dominated bacteria in qu-making period and pile fermentation, respectively. • Petromyces were the predominant fungi in Douchi that was negative correlated with Alternaria and Saccharomyces. • Four Aspergillus flavus strains isolated from Douchi displayed high cellulase and protease activity. • No aflatoxin B1 was detected in these four strains in conditions provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • 115 kinds of VOCs were identified and most of them were accumulated during the pile fermentation. • Most of alcohols and acids decreased while esters and pyrazines increased during fermentation. • Hexanol, hexanal and 2-pentylfuran might be responsible for the odors of unfermented black beans. • Esters and pyrazine (e.g. ethyl acetate) contributed to the aroma of matured Douchi. The present study investigates volatile organic compound (VOC) compositional changes in Liuyang Douchi during fermentation via a HS-GC-IMS and HS-SPME-GC-MS combination approach. A total of 115 VOCs were identified from Douchi, most of which were accumulated during pile fermentation. Notably, most alcohols and acids decreased with fermentation, while esters, ketones, pyrazines, and phenols accumulated during pile fermentation. Depending on the VOCs identified by GC-IMS/MS, the different fermentation stages of Douchi could be facilely distinguished. Of these, 49 VOCs were regarded as the marker VOCs of Douchi in different fermentation stage: hexanol, hexanal, and propanoic acid was the marker VOCs of the black beans before fermentation and contributing beany and grassy odors; 1-octen-3-ol and 3-octanone supplying a mushroom aroma to the Douchi fermented for 3–9 days; and esters and pyrazine, especially ethyl acetate and 2,6-dimethylpyrazine, contributing the cocoa, fruity, and nutty aromas of matured Douchi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fission yeast pericentromere comprises repetitive sequence elements packaged into heterchromatin marked by histone H3K9 methylation and Swi6 binding. Transient disruption of Swi6 during S phase allows a period of RNA synthesis which programs the RNAi machinery to maintain histone methylation. However, Swi6 is also required for early replication timing. We show that not only Swi6 but also the chromodomain protein Chp1 are delocalized during S phase. Different from loss of swi6, mutations that disrupt histone methylation in the centromere, chp1Δ and clr4Δ, undergo early DNA replication. However, timing is modestly delayed in RNAi mutants dcr1Δ or rdp1Δ, while hrr1Δ mutants resemble swi6Δ in their replication delay. Finally, we show that recruitment of RNA polymerase II in the centromere occurs independently of replication. These different effects indicate that replication timing is not simply linked to histone methylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (NIRDRS) was applied to classification and quantification of azithromycin tablets with the aid of chemometric multivariate analysis. Repeatability was investigated by repeated measurements, and the effect of morphology was examined by preparing the tablets in four forms, i.e. tablet product, tablet without coating, powder of tablet without coating, and powder of tablet. Furthermore, baseline elimination by continuous wavelet transform (CWT) and wavenumber selection was discussed for improving the repeatability and accuracy of the method. The results show that the spectra of the samples in the four forms can be measured with an acceptable repeatability, and classification of manufacture sites and quantitative analysis of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) can be achieved by principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) regression, respectively. More importantly, baseline elimination and wavenumber selection can significantly simplify the calculation and improve the results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The nondestructive characterization of citrus varieties (Egyptian sweet orange, Lane Late navel orange, Australian orange, and Blood orange) was developed based on near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (NIRDRS) together with principal component analysis (PCA) and Fisher linear discriminant analysis (FLDA). An experiment for the penetration of NIRDRS into the peel was designed and the effects of different spectral acquisition points were investigated. Pretreatments were used to eliminate the spectral interferences. As an unsupervised pattern recognition method, PCA was used to establish the characterization models. Furthermore, supervised pattern recognition based on PCA and FLDA was employed to enhance the accuracy. The results of the penetration experiments show that near-infrared light enters the citrus peel and is able to characterize the internal composition. Even with the optimized spectral pretreatment, accurate characterization of citrus varieties was not achieved by PCA. However, the accurate characterization of citrus varieties was provided by PCA-FLDA. The accuracies of four spectral acquisition points are 95%, while the characterization accuracies of six spectral acquisition points are 100% combined with optimized spectral pretreatment. Therefore, NIRDRS with PCA-FLDA is suitable for the rapid and nondestructive characterization of citrus varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The study aimed to explore the contribution of the microbial community on flavour formation by measuring physicochemical properties, volatile compounds composition and bacterial community of Yongfeng chilli paste. A similar amino acid nitrogen level and different pH, total acid and salt content were observed in five brands of Yongfeng chilli paste. A total of 106 volatile compounds were identified, wherein, ethyl palmitate, ethyl trans‐4‐decenoate, phenylethyl alcohol were the common volatile compounds with high content in all samples. Additionally, Oxyphotobacteria‐unclassified, Mitochondria‐unclassified, Pediococcus, Bacillus, Lactobacillus and Weissella were the dominant genera. Lactobacillus was related to the production of some alcohols and terpenes. Whereas, Bacillus, Pediococcus and Weissella, which showed higher salt tolerance, could affect the formation of esters, such as ethyl salicylate, ethyl lactate. Thus, this study provided a basis for further research on the mechanism of flavour formation and some guidance for the improvements of the quality of traditional fermented chilli paste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article a spectral-domain decoupling method of electromagnetic waves propagating and radiating of sources in bianisotropic gyroelectromagnetic chiral media is presented, and the general transmission-line-like equations for the description of field quantities (IE, VE, VM, IM) are obtained using the technique of matrix transformation, which has been developed by Tsalamengas. As a practical application, the propagation behavior of electromagnetic waves in multilayered bianisotropic gyroelectromagnetic parallel-plate chirowaveguides is investigated, and it is shown that in such a nonreciprocal chirowaveguide, propagating modes are always hybrid (EH and HE). Especially, the dyadic Green's function of sources in a grounded bianisotropic gyroelectromagnetic chiral superstrate-substrate structure is derived, and it can be directly used to analyze the radiation characteristics of gyroelectromagnetic chirostrip antennas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the coupled-mode propagation in planar gyrotropic chirowaveguides. At first, the transverse components of electric and magnetic fields in such waveguides are expressed in terms of the longitudinal components of E and H. Dispersion diagrams for the parallel metallic-plate gyrotropic chirowaveguides are shown, and their novel features are pointed Out. The effects of chirality admittances on the cutoff wavelengths of propagating modes in the grounded planar and parallel metallic-plate gyrotropic chirowaveguides are taken into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electromagnetic properties of radially stratified spherical chirolenses are examined using the dyadic Green's function, and a general formulation is presented for determining the focal points of inhomogeneous spherical chirolenses. Also, the focal points of Luneberg chirolenses are calculated. It is shown that chirality admittance has strong influence on the location of focal points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CRP), has been used in China for hundreds of years as a functional food and medicine. However, some short-age CRPs are disguised as long-age CRPs by unscrupulous businessmen in order to obtain higher profits. In this paper, a rapid and nondestructive method for the classification of different-age CRPs was established using portable near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in diffuse reflectance mode combination with appropriate chemometric methods. The spectra of outer skin and inner capsule of CRPs at different storage ages were obtained directly without destroying the samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) with single and combined spectral pretreatment methods was used for the classification of different-age CRPs. Furthermore, the data were pretreated with the PCA method, and Fisher linear discriminant analysis (FLD) with optimized pretreatment methods was discussed for improving the accuracy of classification. Data pretreatment methods can be used to eliminate the noise and background interference. The classification accuracy of inner capsule is better than that of outer skin data. Furthermore, the best results with 100% prediction accuracy can be obtained with FLD method, even without pretreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cover image is based on the ORIGINAL RESEARCH I An assessment of the interaction for three i Chrysanthemum indicum I flavonoids and -amylase by surface plasmon resonance i by Pao Li et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.1349. Cover Credit: Cover image © Pao Li and Xia Liu Images. [Extracted from the article]

A method is reported for in-situ detection of the antibiotic tetracycline (TC). It is based on a combination of extraction of TC by magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers nanoparticles (MMIPs NPs) and detection by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The TC-captured MMIPs NPs were flowed over the surface of the SPR chip that was modified with mercaptoethylamine. The SPR signal undergoes a strong increase through the use of MMIPs NPs. It increases linearly in the 5.0–100 pg·mL−1 TC concentration range, and the detection limit is as low as 1.0 pg·mL−1 (at S/N = 3). This method shows selectivity to TC compared with structurally analogues. In order to demonstrate the power of the method, it was applied to the analysis of milk spiked with TC. These results were validated by comparing them to those of an enzyme-linked immunoassay. The average recovery is in the range of 95.7–104.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cover image is based on the Original Research Fingerprints of volatile flavor compounds from southern stinky tofu brine with headspace solid‐phase microextraction/gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and chemometric methods by Pao Li et al., DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.943. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Core-shell magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (MMIP NPs) were prepared for the adsorption and the isolation of tetracycline from food matrices. The obtained MMIP NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, vibrating sample magnetometry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The adsorption properties of the MMIP NPs were systematically characterized by static, kinetic, and selective adsorption as well as reusability measurements. The MMIP NPs were shown to provide a high adsorption capacity, with a maximum value of 40.48 mg/g, satisfactory selectivity with an imprinting factor equal to 2.55, and direct magnetic separation. Moreover, the MMIP NPs were successfully applied to extract tetracycline from milk samples. Satisfactory recoveries from 91.14 to 104.52% were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flavonoids, a class of natural drugs with broad biological activity, exhibit inhibitory effect on α-amylase. Citrus peel is a good source of flavonoids. The real-time interactions between three Citrus flavonoids (naringin, neohesperidin, hesperidin) and α-amylase were investigated by surface plasmon resonance biosensor, and were compared with the α-amylase inhibitors, acarbose. These results showed the binding affinities of naringin, neohesperidin and hesperidin with α-amylase reach the highest at pH 6 with K D values of 2.27 ± 0.18 mM, 3.09 ± 0.20 mM and 3.51 ± 0.09 mM, and can be reinforced with 0.2 M NaCl and 0.1 M CaCl 2 , respectively. The results of 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl radical assay indicate that the antioxidant activities of naringin, neohesperidin and hesperidin are significantly inhibited by interacting with α-amylase, and the inhibition percentage are 47.61 ± 0.034%, 22.81 ± 0.037% and 21.01 ± 0.051%, respectively. Additionally, it is found that both the number and the position of hydroxyl group play an important role in the interaction of three Citrus flavonoids and α-amylase. These results provide useful information for rapid screening inhibitors of α-amylase from plant-based food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring motor performance in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) is quite challenging. The objective of this study was to compare the motor performances of individuals with ID and those with typical development (TD) during soccer dribbling through video-based behavior-coded movement assessment along with a wearable sensor. A cross-sectional research design was adopted. Adolescents with TD (N = 25) and ID (N = 29) participated in the straight-line and zigzag soccer dribbling tests. The dribbling performance was videotaped, and the footage was then analyzed with customized behavior-coding software. The coded parameters were the time for movement completion, the number of kicks, blocks, steps, the number of times the ball went out of bounds, the number of missed cones, and the trunk tilt angle. Participants with ID exhibited significantly poorer performance and demonstrated greater variances in many time and frequency domain parameters. It also revealed that participants with ID kicked with both feet while dribbling, whereas those with TD mainly used the dominant foot. The present findings demonstrated how the ID population differed from their peers in lower-extremity strategic control. The customized video-based behavior-coded approach provides an efficient and effective way to gather behavioral data and calculate performance parameter statistics in populations with intellectual disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Color is one of the important indicators affecting the quality of fermented pepper sauces, and it is closely related to carotenoid composition. This study systematically analyzed the changes in carotenoids and related physiochemical indices during the fermentation of yellow lantern pepper sauce. The CIELab color values indicated that L* and C* displayed a significant decreasing trend during fermentation. After 35 days of fermentation, the total carotenoid content significantly reduced from 3446.36 to 1556.50 μg/g DW (p < 0.05), and the degradation rate was 54.84%. Among them, the total content of carotene decreased by 56.03% during fermentation, whereas the degradation rate of xanthophylls and their esters was 44.47%. According to correlation analysis, violaxanthin myristate and lutein played a pivotal role in L*, a *, b *, chroma (C*), and yellowness index (YI). Moreover, PCA analysis indicated that lactic acid and acetic acid were the important qualities affecting the stability of pigment in fermented yellow lantern pepper sauce, which might also be the inducement of the color change. This work gives additional information concerning the discoloration of yellow lantern pepper sauce during fermentation and provides theory evidence regulating and improving the sensory qualities of yellow lantern pepper sauce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] An automatic, rapid and non-targeted detection method for multi-pesticides in plant-derived foods was developed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and chemometrics. In this method, a novel algorithm named moving window iterative target transformation factor analysis was proposed. Although there are challenges of peak overlapping and background interference, the retention time and corrected mass spectra of unknown pesticides can be automatically obtained through iteration calculation in the 'moving window' with reference to the pesticide mass spectral library. One mixed pesticide standard and nine varieties of plant-derived foods were investigated with the proposed method. By contrast, a fast temperature programme was used to shorten detection time compared to the standard temperature programme. For the mixed standard, the mass spectra and retention times of all 39 pesticides were successfully obtained from the overlapping signal. Furthermore, all spiked pesticides were successfully detected in plant-derived foods within 10 min using a fast temperature programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs a near‐infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (NIRDRS) system to accurate nondestructive determine citrus soluble solids content (SSC). The penetration experiment results showed that the interference of thick peel is large and NIRDRS light has the ability to penetrate the peel to a certain extent. Partial least squares with different characteristic variable selection methods were used to establish the quantitative model of SSC. The results demonstrated that characteristic variable selection methods can select targeted characteristic variables and improve the accuracy with few variables. Monte Carlo‐uninformative variable elimination method was selected as the optimal prediction performance. In the best prediction model, the correlation coefficient and root mean square error of prediction of the prediction set are 0.854 and 0.7%Brix, respectively, while the variable number decreases to 440 from 1557. Furthermore, the models using the average spectra of four points on the equator are the most appropriate. Novelty impact statement: The penetrating ability of near‐infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (NIRDRS) light to thick peel and the prediction of internal quality of citrus is still unsatisfactory with traditional partial least squares (PLS) algorithm due to the interference of thick peel. In this study, a nondestructive method for the analysis of soluble solids content (SSC) in citrus was established by NIRDRS with characteristic variable selection algorithms. The results demonstrated that NIRDRS light has the ability to penetrate the peel to a certain extent, while characteristic variable selection methods can select targeted characteristic variables and improve the accuracy of quantitative analysis models with fewer variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel strategy of "pick the best of the best" was proposed for the nondestructive identification of different‐origin and adulterated Poria cocos with near‐infrared spectroscopy. First, various preprocessing methods were divided into three classes: baseline correction, scattering and trend correction, and scaling. The single preprocessing methods with the best predictions in each class were selected. Then, the selected preprocessing methods were combined in pairs according to three classes. The pair combination preprocessing methods with the best predictions and also better predictions than single methods were selected. Finally, the selected pair combination preprocessing method was combined with the methods in the unselected class. The three combination preprocessing methods with the best predictions and also better predictions than pair combination methods were selected as the final prediction. With this strategy, the optimized preprocessing combination can be obtained quickly, and the identification accuracy with principal component analysis method can be greatly improved. 0% identification accuracy of adulterated samples and 12.5% identification accuracy of different‐origin samples were obtained with the raw data. However, 100% accuracy of adulterated samples, 93.8% accuracy of calibration dataset, and 75% accuracy of validation dataset can be obtained with the novel strategy. The developed technology can be regarded as a simple, rapid, and accurate nondestructive identification method for different‐origin and adulterated samples, and has a broad application prospect in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the penetration ability of near infrared (NIR) diffuse reflectance light to peel was studied with grating NIR spectrometer. 15 kinds of fruit, including 3 kinds of thin-peel non-citrus fruit, 9 kinds of medium-peel citrus and 3 kinds of thick-peel citrus were investigated. A new strategy to evaluate the NIR penetration ability was developed with a designed penetration experiment and chemometric methods. The penetration abilities of different integration time, peel thickness and wavelength bands were compared. The results show that NIR light can easily penetrate the peel of thin-peel fruit, while it is not easy to penetrate the peel of citrus due to the thick peel. Both the thickness and composition of the peel have relationship with the penetration ability. Increase of integration time can improve the penetration ability to some extent. However, as the integration time lengthens, noise interference and spectral distortion may appear in long wave near infrared (LWNIR) region. The optimal integration time is 65 ms for citrus. Besides, the penetration ability of short wave near infrared (SWNIR) light is better than that of LWNIR light, and the absorption peaks of peel are mainly located in LWNIR region, indicating that SWNIR is more suitable for fruit internal quality detection. [Display omitted] • A new method to evaluate the NIR penetration ability of peel was developed. • Penetrability of integration time, peel thickness and wavelength was compared. • It is not easy for NIR light to penetrate peel of citrus due to the thick peel. • Increase of integration time can improve NIR penetration ability to some extent. • Penetration ability of SWNIR light is better than those of LWNIR light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports the optimization of culture conditions and medium components of M9, an endophytic strain of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, which we had previously isolated from kiwifruit, and evaluation of its effect on kiwifruit postharvest protection against soft rot. The method of one‐factor‐at‐a‐time was used to determine the optimum culture conditions, and response surface methodology was applied to optimize the medium constituents. After optimization, a high rate of antifungal activity (73.12% decrease in decay rate) by M9 culture filtrate against the soft rot fungal pathogen, Botryosphaeria dothidea, was obtained. Compared with the initial culture conditions, the antifungal activity of M9 culture filtrate was increased by 19.5%. Furthermore, a postharvest storage experiment on kiwifruit showed that M9 culture filtrate could maintain the quality of stored kiwifruit, delay fruit senescence, and significantly enhance the storability of kiwifruit. Using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, we found that the antifungal activity of M9 was associated with the presence of the C12‐surfactin A lipopeptide. Practical applications: Soft rot caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea is one of the most important diseases of kiwifruit, causing postharvest fruit rot. The disease progresses rapidly and is difficult to control, posing a great threat to the kiwifruit industry. In this study, the culture conditions and medium composition for culture of the strain M9 (kiwifruit endophytic Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) were optimized to maximize the inhibition of B. dothidea. A postharvest storage experiment showed that M9 culture filtrate could improve the disease resistance of kiwifruits, delay the senescence of the fruits, and maintain the quality of kiwifruit during storage. Because M9 is a natural endophyte of kiwifruit, the strategy used in this study was both effective and safe. This work will contribute to the exploitation of B. amyloliquefaciens in controlling the pathogens of kiwifruit and the development of safer and more advanced strategies for the postharvest protection of kiwifruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aim of this study was to improve medication reconciliation and reduce the occurrence of duplicate prescriptions by pharmacists and physicians within 72 hours of hospital admission using an intelligent prescription system combined with the National Health Insurance PharmaCloud system to integrate the database with the medical institution computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system. Methods: This 2‐year intervention study was implemented in the geriatric ward of a hospital in Taiwan. We developed an integrated CPOE system linked with the PharmaCloud database and established an electronic platform for coordinated communication with all healthcare professionals. Patients provided written informed consent to access their PharmaCloud records. We compared the intervention effectiveness within 72 hours of admission for improvement in pharmacist medication reconciliation, increased at‐home medications documentation and decreased costs from duplicated at‐home prescriptions. Results: The medication reconciliation rate within 72 hours of admission increased from 44.0% preintervention to 86.8% postintervention (relative risk = 1.97, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.69–2.31; P < .001). The monthly average of patients who brought and took home medications documented in the CPOE system during hospitalization increased by 7.54 (95% CI 5.58–20.49, P = .22). The monthly average of home medications documented increased by 102.52 (95% CI 38.44–166.60; P = .01). Savings on the monthly average prescription expenditures of at‐home medication increased by US$ 2,795.52 (95% CI US$1310.41–4280.63; P < .01). Conclusion: Integrating medication data from PharmaCloud to the hospital's medical chart system improved pharmacist medication reconciliation, which decreased duplicated medications and reduced in‐hospital medication costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximate computing has been shown to be a promising manner to enhance circuit performance via acceptable quality degradation. This manner is applicable to many multimedia applications such as videos. In order to carry out a dynamic approximate computing scheme, on-line quality evaluation/monitoring will be needed. However, to the best of our knowledge, on-line error-tolerability evaluation of videos is seldom studied in the literature. To achieve this, a no-reference manner will be helpful, which means that no reference (golden) videos are needed for comparison with the videos under test. Implementation of on-line test procedures can thus be greatly simplified. In this paper we investigate how to achieve no-reference error-tolerability evaluation for videos with fixed or varied background. For videos with fixed background a no-reference error-tolerability test technique is proposed. By well exploiting some simple attributes, the proposed technique can accurately determine the acceptability for 81,412 erroneous videos with >90% accuracy. As a comparison, the related previous work can only achieve about 80% accuracy. In addition, our attribute acquirement process requires only 33% of the computation time for the previous work. As for videos with varied background, we also discuss possible solutions. Hardware implementation of the proposed test technique is also addressed. The results show that the hardware contains about 13,702 logic gates, which is 8.11% of an open-source baseline H.264 video decoder. The proposed hardware operates at 20 MHz frequency, which is sufficient to support real-time error-tolerability testing of videos. • An on-line error-tolerability test technique is developed. • High test accuracy is achieved by the developed test technique for videos with various error significances. • No golden video data are needed for comparison to determine error tolerability in the developed test technique. • Hardware implementation of the developed test technique is addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial dysfunction is an early feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Accumulated damaged mitochondria, which are associated with impaired mitophagy, contribute to neurodegeneration in AD. We show levels of Disrupted‐in‐schizophrenia‐1 (DISC1), which is genetically associated with psychiatric disorders and AD, decrease in the brains of AD patients and transgenic model mice and in Aβ‐treated cultured cells. Disrupted‐in‐schizophrenia‐1 contains a canonical LC3‐interacting region (LIR) motif (210FSFI213), through which DISC1 directly binds to LC3‐I/II. Overexpression of DISC1 enhances mitophagy through its binding to LC3, whereas knocking‐down of DISC1 blocks Aβ‐induced mitophagy. We further observe overexpression of DISC1, but not its mutant (muFSFI) which abolishes the interaction of DISC1 with LC3, rescues Aβ‐induced mitochondrial dysfunction, loss of spines, suppressed long‐term potentiation (LTP). Overexpression of DISC1 via adeno‐associated virus (serotype 8, AAV8) in the hippocampus of 8‐month‐old APP/PS1 transgenic mice for 4 months rescues cognitive deficits, synaptic loss, and Aβ plaque accumulation, in a way dependent on the interaction of DISC1 with LC3. These results indicate that DISC1 is a novel mitophagy receptor, which protects synaptic plasticity from Aβ accumulation‐induced toxicity through promoting mitophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Sphingolipids emerge as essential modulators in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with unclear mechanisms. Elevated levels of SM synthase 1 (SMS1), which catalyzes the synthesis of SM from ceramide and phosphatidylcholine, have been observed in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD), where expression of β-site APP cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), a rate limiting enzyme in amyloid-β (Aβ) generation, are upregulated. In the present study, we show knockdown of SMS1 via andeno associated virus (serotype 8, AAV8) in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 transgenic mice, attenuates the densities of Aβ plaques, neuroinflammation, synaptic loss and thus rescuing cognitive deficits of these transgenic mice. We further describe that knockdown or inhibition of SMS1 decreases BACE1 stability, which is accompanied with decreased BACE1 levels in the Golgi, whereas enhanced BACE1 levels in the early endosomes and the lysosomes. The reduction of BACE1 levels induced by knockdown or inhibition of SMS1 is prevented by inhibition of lysosomes. Therefore, knockdown or inhibition of SMS1 promotes lysosomal degradation of BACE1 via modulating the intracellular trafficking of BACE1. Knockdown of SMS1 attenuates AD-like pathology through promoting lysosomal degradation of BACE1. Highlights • Inhibition of SMS1 attenuates AD pathology of APP/PS1 transgenic mouse. • Inhibition of SMS1 attenuates Aβ generation through reducing BACE1 level. • Inhibition of SMS1 promotes BACE1 translocation to the lysosome for degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute brain injuries evoke various response cascades directing the formation of the glial scar. Here, we report that acute lesions associated with hemorrhagic injuries trigger a re-programming of oligodendrocytes. Single-cell RNA sequencing highlighted a subpopulation of oligodendrocytes activating astroglial genes after acute brain injuries. By using PLP-DsRed1/GFAP-EGFP and PLP-EGFP mem /GFAP-mRFP1 transgenic mice, we visualized this population of oligodendrocytes that we termed AO cells based on their concomitant activity of a stro- and o ligodendroglial genes. By fate mapping using PLP- and GFAP-split Cre complementation and repeated chronic in vivo imaging with two-photon laser-scanning microscopy, we observed the conversion of oligodendrocytes into astrocytes via the AO cell stage. Such conversion was promoted by local injection of IL-6 and was diminished by IL-6 receptor-neutralizing antibody as well as by inhibiting microglial activation with minocycline. In summary, our findings highlight the plastic potential of oligodendrocytes in acute brain trauma due to microglia-derived IL-6. [Display omitted] • Upon acute brain injuries, oligodendrocytes can activate astroglial genes • Oligodendrocytes can become astrocytes via the transitional AO cell status • Microglia-derived IL-6 drives the transition of oligodendrocytes to AO cells Bai et al. identify a subset of cells in mice with concomitant activation of astro- and oligo-dendroglial genes (termed AO cells), derived from oligodendrocytes upon acute brain injury. AO cells differentiate into astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and oligodendrocyte precursors, and microglial-derived interleukin-6 promotes the transition of mature oligodendrocytes to AO cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims Hepatitis B virus (HBV) RNA in serum has recently been linked to efficacy and prognosis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) treatment. This study explored the nature, origin, underlying mechanisms, and potential clinical significance of serum HBV RNA. Methods The levels of HBV DNA and RNA were determined in the supernatant of induced HepAD38, HBV-expressing HepG2.2.15 cells and primary human hepatocytes (PHH), and in the serum of transgenic mice and CHB patients. NP-40 and proteinase K treatment, sucrose density gradient centrifugation, electron microscopy, northern blot, multiple identification PCRs and 5′ rapid-amplification of cDNA ends were performed to identify the nature of serum HBV RNA. Results Although significantly lower than HBV DNA levels, abundant HBV RNA was present in the serum of CHB patients. A series of experiments demonstrated that serum HBV RNA was pregenome RNA (pgRNA) and present in virus-like particles. HBV pgRNA virion levels increased after blocking the reverse transcription activity of HBV DNA polymerase, and decreased after blocking the encapsidation of pgRNA. Furthermore, the presence of HBV pgRNA virion was associated with risk of viral rebound after discontinuation of nucleot(s)ide analogues (NAs) therapy in CHB patients. Conclusions Serum HBV RNA was confirmed to be pgRNA present in virus-like particles. HBV pgRNA virions were produced from encapsidated particles in which the pgRNA was non- or partially reverse transcribed. Clinically, HBV pgRNA virion might be a potential biomarker for monitoring safe discontinuation of NA-therapy. Lay summary HBV may have another virion form in which the nucleic acid is composed of RNA, not DNA. The level of HBV RNA virion in serum may be associated with risk of HBV viral rebound after withdrawal of treatment, and therefore, a potential predictive biomarker to monitor the safe discontinuation of nucleot(s)ide analogues-therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The MMIPs NPs was synthesized combining bifunctional monomers strategy with magnetic nanotechnology. • Use of MAA and SSS improved the adsorption capacity and selectivity of the MMIPs NPs. • The MMIPs NPs were applied to extract 6-BA with satisfactory recoveries from vegetables. An adsorbent-magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers nanoparticles (MMIPs NPs) were synthesized for the extraction of 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA) using Fe 3 O 4 as magnetic core. The MIPs were prepared with methacrylic acid and sodium p-styrene sulfonate as bifunctional monomers. The adsorbents were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer, thermogravimetric analysis and vibrating sample magnetometer. The adsorption properties were evaluated by static, kinetic and selective adsorption experiments. The MMIPs NPs exhibit a high adsorption capacity (37.63 mg g−1) and favorable imprinting factor (2.88) toward 6-BA. The chromatogram of 6-BA extraction using the MMIPs NPs as the adsorbent demonstrates that the matrix interference has been minimized. More importantly, MMIPs NPs can be applied to extracting 6-BA from mung bean sprout and cucumber with satisfactory recoveries (91.14–104.52%), and can be reused for at least five times. This work provides a new strategy to efficiently extract 6-BA from vegetables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The MMIPs NPs were prepared by simple self-polymerization of dopamine. • The MMIPs NPs exhibited a good magnetic property. • The MMIPs NPs showed good adsorption capacity, selectivity and reusability for norfloxacin. The magnetic molecular imprinting polymers nanoparticles (MMIPs NPs) for the extraction of norfloxacin (NOR) were prepared by self-polymerization of dopamine onto the surface of (3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES)-modified Fe 3 O 4 NPs. The MMIPs NPs were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, XRD, VSM and TEM. The characterization results show that the MMIPs NPs possess superparamagnetic characteristic with the saturated magnetization value of 38.6 emu/g, and the average particle size of about 14.3 nm. Furthermore, the adsorption performance of the MMIPs NPs was evaluated by the static, dynamic, selective adsorption and reusability experiments. The adsorption capacity of MMINs NPs for NOR is 14.2 mg/g with an imprinted factor of 2.1. About 82.4–102.4% of the added NOR (20, 40, 60 μg/mL) were recovered from fortified milk samples with MMIPs NPs as sorbent. Moreover, the MMIPs NPs can be reused for at least six times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]