Anthocyanin Accumulation, Antioxidant Ability and Stability, and a Transcriptional Analysis of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Purple Heading Chinese Cabbage (<i>Brassica rapa</i> L. ssp. <i>pekinensis</i>)

Heading Chinese cabbage (<i>Brassica rapa</i> L. ssp. <i>pekinensis</i>) is a significant dietary vegetable for its edible heading leaves in Asia countries. The new purple anthocyanin-rich pure line (11S91) was successfully bred, and the anthocyanins were mainly distributed in 2–3 cell layers beneath the leaf epidermis, whereas siliques and stems accumulated only a cell layer of anthocyanins. The anthocyanins of 11S91 were more stable at pHs below 3.0 and temperatures below 45 °C. The total antioxidant ability was highly positive correlated with the anthocyanin content in 11S91. Thirty-two anthocyanins were separated and identified, and 70% of them were glycosylated and acylated cyanidins. The four major anthocyanins present were cyanidin-3-sophoroside­(<i>p</i>-coumaroyl)-5-glucoside­(malonyl), cyanidin-3-sophoroside­(ferulyl)-5-glucoside­(malonyl), cyanidin-3-sophoroside­(sinapyl-<i>p</i>-coumaroyl)-5-glucoside­(malonyl), and cyanidin-3-sophoroside-(sinapyl-ferulyl)-5-glucoside­(malonyl). According to the expression of biosynthetic genes and the component profile of anthocyanins in 11S91 and its parents, regulatory genes <i>BrMYB2</i> and <i>BrTT8</i> probably activate the anthocyanin biosynthesis but other factors may govern the primary anthocyanins and the distribution

Additional file 1: of Risk factors for postpartum depression among Chinese women: path model analysis

Questionnaire. (DOCX 28 kb

Evaluating the Significance of Viscoelasticity in Diagnosing Early-Stage Liver Fibrosis with Transient Elastography

<div><p>Transient elastography quantifies the propagation of a mechanically generated shear wave within a soft tissue, which can be used to characterize the elasticity and viscosity parameters of the tissue. The aim of our study was to combine numerical simulation and clinical assessment to define a viscoelastic index of liver tissue to improve the quality of early diagnosis of liver fibrosis. This is clinically relevant, as early fibrosis is reversible. We developed an idealized two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model of the liver to evaluate the effects of different viscoelastic values on the propagation characteristics of the shear wave. The diagnostic value of the identified viscoelastic index was verified against the clinical data of 99 patients who had undergone biopsy and routine blood tests for staging of liver disease resulting from chronic hepatitis B infection. Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and the shear wave attenuation fitting coefficient (AFC) were calculated from the ultrasound data obtained by performing transient elastography. Receiver operating curve analysis was used to evaluate the reliability and diagnostic accuracy of LSM and AFC. Compared to LSM, the AFC provided a higher diagnostic accuracy to differentiate early stages of liver fibrosis, namely F1 and F2 stages, with an overall specificity of 81.48%, sensitivity of 83.33% and diagnostic accuracy of 81.82%. AFC was influenced by the level of LSM, ALT. However, there are no correlation between AFC and Age, BMI, TBIL or DBIL. Quantification of the viscoelasticity of liver tissue provides reliable measurement to identify and differentiate early stages of liver fibrosis.</p></div

Peak axial displacements along the depth of propagation for the simulated dataset, viscosity (<i>μ</i>₂) are set as 0/0.5/1/2/4 Pa·s in per subfigure.

<p><b>Young's modulus (E) in each subfigure:</b> (A) E = 4 kPa, (B) E = 6 kPa, (C) E = 8 kPa, and (D) E = 10 kPa.</p

Axial displacement, produced by an external mechanical vibration, measured along the scanning line in the liver tissue model as a function of time (0.02s to 0.15s after excitation).

<p><b>The following combinations of Young's modulus (<i>E</i>) and viscosity (<i>μ</i></b>_<b>2</b><b>) were used for simulations:</b> (A) 4 kPa+0 Pa·s, (B) 4 kPa +1 Pa·s, (C) 4 kPa+4 Pa·s, (D) 6 kPa+0 Pa·s, (E) 6 kPa+1 Pa·s, (F) 6 kPa+4 Pa·s, (G) 8 kPa+0 Pa·s, (H) 8 kPa+1 Pa·s, (I) 8 kPa+4 Pa·s, (J) 10 kPa+0 Pa·s, (K) 10 kPa+1 Pa·s and (L) 10 kPa+4 Pa·s, respectively.</p

Correlation between clinical indicators of liver fibrosis and the LSM and AFC indices.

<p>Correlation between clinical indicators of liver fibrosis and the LSM and AFC indices.</p

General characteristics of the 99 patients included in the study with staging and grading of fibrosis an0064 necro-inflammatory activity, classified using the METAVIR scoring system.

<p>General characteristics of the 99 patients included in the study with staging and grading of fibrosis an0064 necro-inflammatory activity, classified using the METAVIR scoring system.</p

Boxplot of LSM and AFC grouped by two stage of fibrosis.

<p>(A) Boxplot of LSM values, and. (B) Boxplot of AFC values.</p

Finite element model of liver tissue and the mesh generated.

<p>(A) An idealized 3D model. (B) An idealized two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model of liver tissue adopted in our study. (C) The generated finite element mesh (22,500 finite elements).</p

AFC values for different combinations of viscosity and Young's modulus.

<p>AFC values for different combinations of viscosity and Young's modulus.</p