Effect of Pulsed Electric Field Treatment on N-Hydroxyacetylneuraminic Acid Content and Eating Quality of Pork

This study investigated how to reduce the content of N-hydroxyacetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) in pork. By using Neu5Gc standard solution, porcine submandibular gland mucin (PSM) solution, meat pieces and minced meat as experimental subjects, and high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) for quantitative analysis, the effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment (with 50 cycles of electric shock at 1–4 kV/cm) on the content of total and free Neu5Gc and eating quality attributes (pH, color difference and texture quality) in pork was explored. The results showed that the content of free Neu5Gc in Neu5Gc standard solution showed a decreasing trend as PEF intensity increased, and significantly decreased at PEF intensity of 3 and 4 kV/cm (P 0.05). Therefore, PEF can effectively reduce the content of Neu5Gc in pork and the chewiness and elasticity of pork pieces, but it also shows an adverse effect on the pH and color of pork

The Fish-Specific Protein Kinase (PKZ) Initiates Innate Immune Responses via IRF3- and ISGF3-Like Mediated Pathways

PKZ is a fish-specific protein kinase containing Zα domains. PKZ is known to induce apoptosis through phosphorylating eukaryotic initiation factor 2α kinase (eIF2α) in the same way as double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR), but its exact role in detecting pathogens remains to be fully elucidated. Herein, we have found that PKZ acts as a fish-specific DNA sensor by initiating IFN expression through IRF3- or ISGF3-like mediated pathways. The expression pattern of PKZ is similar to those of innate immunity mediators stimulated by poly (dA:dT) and poly (dG:dC). DNA-PKZ interaction can enhance PKZ phosphorylation and dimerization in vitro. These findings indicate that PKZ participates in cytoplasmic DNA-mediated signaling. Subcellular localization assays have also shown that PKZ is located in the cytoplasm, which suggests that PKZ acts as a cytoplasmic PRR. Meanwhile, co-IP assays have shown that PKZ can separately interact with IRF3, STING, ZDHHC1, eIF2α, IRF9, and STAT2. Further investigations have revealed that PKZ can activate IRF3 and STAT2; and that IRF3-dependent and ISGF3-like dependent mediators are critical for PKZ-induced IFN expression. These results demonstrate that PKZ acts as a special DNA pattern-recognition receptor, and that PKZ can trigger immune responses through IRF3-mediated or ISGF3-like mediated pathways in fish

A general strategy for synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles attached on carbon nanomaterials

We report a general strategy for synthesis of a large variety of metal oxide nanoparticles on different carbon nanomaterials (CNMs), including single-walled carbon nanotubes, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and a few-layer graphene. The approach was based on the π-π interaction between CNMs and modified aromatic organic ligands, which acted as bridges connecting metal ions and CNMs. Our methods can be applicable for a large variety of metal ions, thus offering a great potential application

PKZ, a Fish-Unique eIF2 alpha Kinase Involved in Innate Immune Response

PKZ is a novel and unique eIF2 alpha protein kinase identified in fish. Although PKZ is most homologous to PKR, particularly in the C-terminal catalytic domain, it contains two N-terminal Z-DNA-binding domains (Z alpha 1 and Z alpha 2) instead of the dsRNA binding domains (dsRBDs) in PKR. As a novel member of eIF2 alpha kinase family, the available data suggest that PKZ has some distinct mechanisms for recognition, binding, and B-Z DNA transition. Functionally, PKZ seems to be activated by the binding of Z alpha to Z-DNA and participates in innate immune responses. In this review, we summarize the recent progress on fish PKZ.</p

Emotion Makes Rumor Viral? The Effects of Discrete Emotions on Rumor-Mongering on Social Media During a Social Crisis

The rapid development of social media services has broadened the way people share emergency information during a social crisis. However, this also raised an issue of unverified and emotional rumors mongering. This paper extracted discrete emotions based on the Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) emotional state model, and examined the differential effects of eight discrete emotions (sadness, disgust, fear, anger, gratitude, joy, surprise, like) on rumor-mongering during the COVID-19 crisis. We empirically tested the hypotheses by analyzing data collected from online citizens\u27 engagement of rumor events on Sina Weibo. The findings show that emotions such as fear, anger, disgust, and surprise significantly affect rumor-mongering. In addition, the impact of sadness, like, joy and gratitude on rumor-mongering, is not significant. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the vital role of emotions in rumor-mongering during a social crisis

Direct Enrichment of Metallic Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Using NO₂ as Oxidant to Selectively Etch Semiconducting Counterparts

We report an efficient method for enriching high-purity metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes (m-SWCNTs) by using NO₂ as oxidant to remove semiconducting components at 220 °C. After etching, m-SWCNTs with purity higher than 90% were obtained. The surviving m-SWCNTs retain an intact structure without any extra defects on their surface

State Characterization of Lithium-Ion Battery Based on Ultrasonic Guided Wave Scanning

Accurate state characterization of batteries is conducive to ensuring the safety, reliability, and efficiency of their work. In recent years, ultrasonic non-destructive testing technology has been gradually applied to battery state estimation. In this paper, research on the state characterization of lithium-ion batteries based on ultrasonic guided wave (UGW) scanning is carried out. The laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) and the X-Y stage are used to obtain the surface scanning UGW signal and the line scanning UGW signal of lithium-ion batteries under different states of charge and different aging degrees. The propagation law of UGWs in the battery is analyzed by surface scanning signals, then the energy spectrum of the signals is calculated, showing that the aging of the battery attenuates the transmission energy of UGWs. The &ldquo;point&rdquo; parameters are extracted from the scanning point signals. On this basis, the &ldquo;line&rdquo; parameters composed of line scanning multi-point signals are extracted. By analyzing the changing law of parameters during the charge&ndash;discharge process of batteries, several characteristic parameters that can be used to characterize the battery state of charge and state of health are obtained. The method has good consistency in the state characterization of the three batteries and provides a new approach for non-destructive testing and evaluation of battery states

Battery Pack State of Health Prediction Based on the Electric Vehicle Management Platform Data

In electric vehicle technologies, the state of health prediction and safety assessment of battery packs are key issues to be solved. In this paper, the battery system data collected on the electric vehicle data management platform is used to model the corresponding state of health of the electric vehicle during charging and discharging processes. The increment in capacity in the same voltage range is used as the battery state of health indicator. In order to improve the modeling accuracy, the influence of ambient temperature on the capacity performance of the battery pack is considered. A temperature correction coefficient is added to the battery state of health model. Finally, a double exponential function is used to describe the process of battery health decline. Additionally, for the case where the amount of data is relatively small, model migration is also applied in the method. Particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to calibrate the model parameters. Based on the migration battery pack model and parameter identification method, the proposed method can obtain accurate battery pack SOH prediction result. The method is simple and easy to perform on the electric vehicle data management platform