Radical Scavenging Activity of Black Currant (\u3ci\u3eRibes nigrum\u3c/i\u3e L.) Extract and Its Inhibitory Effect on Gastric Cancer Cell Proliferation via Induction of Apoptosis

A black currant extract (BCE) was prepared and its antiproliferative activity against gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells was investigated. Strong 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical scavenging activities and a high reducing power were confirmed with BCE. BCE inhibited the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and the IC50 were 12.7, 10.2 and 9.0 mg/mL for 12, 24 and 48 h, respectively. Morphologic observations with inverted and fluorescence microscopes yielded vivid evidence of cell shrinkage, formation of cytoplasmic filaments, condensation of nuclear chromatin, and cell apoptosis in the presence of BCE. Flow cytometric analysis also showed that BCE treatment at concentrations of 10–20 mg/mL resulted in marked reductions of viable cells. The high concentration of phenolic compounds present in the BCE (12.2 mg/mL), including six prominent anthocyanins identified by HPLC–ESI-MS2, appeared to be responsible for BCE’s antiradical activity and anticancer effects. These findings of inhibition of SGC-7901 cells and induction of apoptosis suggest that black currant may contribute to the reduction in gastric cancer risk

Research Progress on the Formation and Chromogenic Mechanism of Zinc Protoporphyrin and Its Replacement for Nitrite in Meat Products

Nitrite has been used widely in meat products because of its unique properties, especially its role in promoting the color development of meat products and its bacteriostatic effect. Searching for nitrite alternatives has become an urgent topic for the meat industry due to consumers’ concerns about the potential health risk associated with nitrite and consumers’ demand for natural products with a clean label. As a natural pigment substance, zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) has a significant advantage in promoting the color development of meat products. This paper introduces the properties, formation mechanism, quantitative analysis and distribution in meat products of ZnPP, with a focus on the factors influencing ZnPP formation. Finally, future prospects for the application of ZnPP are discussed in order to provide new ways for the development of the low-nitrate meat processing industry

Fabrication and Antibacterial Performance of Pea Protein Isolate/Pullulan/Allicin Composite Electrospun Nanofibers

Using pea protein isolate (PPI) and pullulan (PUL) as raw materials and allicin (AC) as an antibacterial substance, nanofiber materials were prepared by electrospinning technology. The influence of allicin concentration on the structural and morphological characteristics, diameter distribution and antibacterial effects of nanofibers were investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated that allicin was wrapped in the composite nanofibers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that spherical structures of different sizes appeared around the nanofibers due to the addition of allicin. The size of the spherical structures increased (P < 0.05) with an increase in allicin concentration, while the nanofiber diameter gradually decreased (P < 0.05). With increasing allicin concentration up to 15%, the elastic modulus and tensile strength of the composite nanofibers gradually increased (P < 0.05), and the elongation at break gradually decreased (P < 0.05). Additionally, the composite nanofibers with more than 10% allicin exhibited an obvious bacteriostatic effect, and it was strongest at allicin concentrations of 15% and 20%, with inhibition zone diameters of 16.5 and 12.8 mm against E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. This research will provide data support and a theoretical basis for the development and application of new green food packaging nanomaterials

Genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screening for drug resistance in tumors

Genome-wide clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR associated nuclease 9 (Cas9) screening is a simple screening method for locating loci under specific conditions, and it has been utilized in tumor drug resistance research for finding potential drug resistance-associated genes. This screening strategy has significant implications for further treatment of malignancies with acquired drug resistance. In recent years, studies involving genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screening have gradually increased. Here we review the recent application of genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screening for drug resistance, involving mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway inhibitors, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi), alkylating agents, mitotic inhibitors, antimetabolites, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKI). We summarize drug resistance pathways such as the KEAP1/Nrf2 pathway MAPK pathway, and NF-κB pathway. Also, we analyze the limitations and conditions for the application of genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screening techniques

Novel Evolved Immunoglobulin (Ig)-Binding Molecules Enhance the Detection of IgM against Hepatitis C Virus

Detection of specific antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most widely available test for viral diagnosis and monitoring of HCV infections. However, narrowing the serologic window of anti-HCV detection by enhancing anti-HCV IgM detection has remained to be a problem. Herein, we used LD5, a novel evolved immunoglobulin-binding molecule (NEIBM) with a high affinity for IgM, to develop a new anti-HCV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using horseradish peroxidase-labeled LD5 (HRP-LD5) as the conjugated enzyme complex. The HRP-LD5 assay showed detection efficacy that is comparable with two kinds of domestic diagnostic kits and the Abbott 3.0 kit when tested against the national reference panel. Moreover, the HRP-LD5 assay showed a higher detection rate (55.9%, 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) 0.489, 0.629) than that of a domestic diagnostic ELISA kit (Chang Zheng) (53.3%, 95% CI 0.463, 0.603) in 195 hemodialysis patient serum samples. Five serum samples that were positive using the HRP-LD5 assay and negative with the conventional anti-HCV diagnostic ELISA kits were all positive for HCV RNA, and 4 of them had detectable antibodies when tested with the established anti-HCV IgM assay. An IgM confirmation study revealed the IgM reaction nature of these five serum samples. These results demonstrate that HRP-LD5 improved anti-HCV detection by enhancing the detection of anti-HCV IgM, which may have potential value for the early diagnosis and screening of hepatitis C and other infectious diseases

Rime length, stress, and association domains

Every regular Chinese syllable has a syllable tone (the tone we get when the syllable is read in isolation). In some Chinese languages, the tonal pattern of a multisyllabic expression is basically a concatenation of the syllable tones. In other Chinese languages, the tonal pattern of a multisyllabic expression is determined solely by the initial syllable. I call the former M -languages (represented by Mandarin) and the latter S -languages (represented by Shanghai). I argue that there is an additional difference in rime structures between the two language groups. In S-languages, all rimes are simple, i.e., there are no underlying diphthongs or codas. In M-languages, all regular rimes are heavy. I further argue that a syllable keeps its underlying tones only if it has stress. Independent metrical evidence tells us that heavy rimes may carry inherent stress. Thus, in M-languages, all regular syllables are stressed and retain their underlying tones (which may or may not undergo further changes). In contrast, in S-languages, regular rimes do not carry inherent stress; instead, only those syllables that are assigned stress by rule can keep their underlying tones and hence head a multisyllabic tonal domain.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42998/1/10831_2005_Article_BF01440582.pd

Insight into the Quality Development and Microbial Dynamics of Meat and Meat Products

Meat and meat products play a vital role in the daily diet due to their desirable texture, delicious flavor and nutritional value [...

Optimal Design and Simulation for the Intelligent Control of Sewage Treatment Based on Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization

With the continuous increase in emphasis on the environmental protection industry, sewage treatment plants have been built in many places, and these sewage treatment plants undoubtedly occupy an important position in protecting the local environment. The sewage treatment process is generally complicated and the treatment environment is difficult, which means that the treatment plant must have an excellent control system. At this stage, the sewage treatment systems in many cities have the issue of possessing backward technology and huge costs, which hinder the development of urban sewage treatment. In this paper, a new intelligent control method for sewage treatment is proposed, combined with the multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm. The MOPSO algorithm is used to optimize the parameters and control rules of the controller globally, thereby improving the performance and work efficiency of the controller. Practice has shown that the intelligent control system combined with the MOPSO algorithm can make chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the sewage treatment quickly meet the expected requirements, and the control accuracy is also very accurate, which greatly improves the sewage treatment performance. Through our calculations, the new method improved the sewage treatment efficiency by 7.15%