Effect of drainage ratio during strawberry cultivation:The volatilomics-based shelf-life indicators for strawberry fruit

The metabolome of strawberries at harvest determines their storage capacity. Therefore, dynamics of volatile production during storage of strawberry cultivated under diverse drainage ratios, T1 (12.0%), T2 (25.3%), T3 (36.4%), and T4 (56.5%), were evaluated. Among the various non-target VOCs analysis, there were some groups including aldehydes, esters, and furans occupied over 5% with exhibiting high coefficient of determination (R2) following the days after storage (DAS). Aldehydes content decreased over the storage period, while the esters (methyl butanoate, methyl hexanoate, ethyl hexanoate, and benzyl acetate) and furanones (furaneol and mesifuran) were increased as representing aroma compounds in strawberry ripening. Even on the same day, it was investigated that the release of VOCs linked to fruit decay was delayed in the groups (T1 and T2) that were given relatively little water compared to T3 and T4. The hexanal and ethyl hexanoate as an over-ripened signal showed a rapid increase from 4 DAS to 5 DAS in T3 and T4, respectively, while T1 and T2 showed significant increase from 5 DAS to 6 DAS. Relatively slower over-ripening tendency of T1 and T2 was supported by changes of firmness, total soluble solid content, anthocyanin content, and antioxidant activity during storage. T1 and T2 showed higher antioxidant activity at the harvest time and lower anthocyanin accumulation than T3 and T4. The present study elucidated that the preharvest drainage changes during cultivation was involved in fruit quality during strawberry storage. Besides, volatilomics analysis depicted that T2 as an optimal ratio, could delay the occurrence of stress and senescence, and guaranteed the strawberry yield. In conclusion, this study provided evidence that the practical application of drainage ratios could improve horticultural product quality even with low water use and VOCs might be considered an early indicator for strawberry fruit shelf-life

Durvalumab Plus Carboplatin/Paclitaxel Followed by Maintenance Durvalumab With or Without Olaparib as First-Line Treatment for Advanced Endometrial Cancer: The Phase III DUO-E Trial

PURPOSE Immunotherapy and chemotherapy combinations have shown activity in endometrial cancer, with greater benefit in mismatch repair (MMR)-deficient (dMMR) than MMR-proficient (pMMR) disease. Adding a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor may improve outcomes, especially in pMMR disease. METHODS This phase III, global, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial randomly assigned eligible patients with newly diagnosed advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer 1:1:1 to: carboplatin/paclitaxel plus durvalumab placebo followed by placebo maintenance (control arm); carboplatin/paclitaxel plus durvalumab followed by maintenance durvalumab plus olaparib placebo (durvalumab arm); or carboplatin/paclitaxel plus durvalumab followed by maintenance durvalumab plus olaparib (durvalumab + olaparib arm). The primary end points were progression-free survival (PFS) in the durvalumab arm versus control and the durvalumab + olaparib arm versus control. RESULTS Seven hundred eighteen patients were randomly assigned. In the intention-to-treat population, statistically significant PFS benefit was observed in the durvalumab (hazard ratio [HR], 0.71 [95% CI, 0.57 to 0.89]; P = .003) and durvalumab + olaparib arms (HR, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.43 to 0.69]; P < .0001) versus control. Prespecified, exploratory subgroup analyses showed PFS benefit in dMMR (HR [durvalumab v control], 0.42 [95% CI, 0.22 to 0.80]; HR [durvalumab + olaparib v control], 0.41 [95% CI, 0.21 to 0.75]) and pMMR subgroups (HR [durvalumab v control], 0.77 [95% CI, 0.60 to 0.97]; HR [durvalumab + olaparib v control] 0.57; [95% CI, 0.44 to 0.73]); and in PD-L1-positive subgroups (HR [durvalumab v control], 0.63 [95% CI, 0.48 to 0.83]; HR [durvalumab + olaparib v control], 0.42 [95% CI, 0.31 to 0.57]). Interim overall survival results (maturity approximately 28%) were supportive of the primary outcomes (durvalumab v control: HR, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.56 to 1.07]; P = .120; durvalumab + olaparib v control: HR, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.42 to 0.83]; P = .003). The safety profiles of the experimental arms were generally consistent with individual agents. CONCLUSION Carboplatin/paclitaxel plus durvalumab followed by maintenance durvalumab with or without olaparib demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful PFS benefit in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Effects of Harvest Timing on Phytochemical Composition in <i>Lamiaceae</i> Plants under an Environment-Controlled System

The Lamiaceae family is widely recognized for its production of essential oils and phenolic compounds that have promising value as pharmaceutical materials. However, the impact of environmental conditions and different harvest stages on the phytochemical composition of Lamiaceae plants remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the effects of harvest time on the phytochemical composition, including rosmarinic acid (RA) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), of four Lamiaceae plants—Korean mint (AR), lemon balm (MO), opal basil (OBP), and sage (SO)—and was conducted under an environment-controlled system. Although all four plants had RA as the dominant compound, its distribution varied by species. The flowered plants, including AR and OBP, exhibited a rapid increase of RA during the transition from the vegetative stage to the reproductive stage. In contrast, non-flowered groups, including MO and SO, showed a steady increase in the content of total phenolics and RA. The main components of VOCs also differed depending on the plant, with characteristic fragrance compounds identified for each one (AR: estragole; MO: (Z)-neral and geranial; OBP: methyl eugenol, eugenol, and linalool; and SO: (Z)-thujone, camphor, and humulene). The total VOCs content was highest on the 60th day after transplanting regardless of the species, while the trends of total phenolics, RA content, and antioxidant activities were different depending on whether plant species flowered during the cultivation cycle. There was a steady increase in species that had not flowered, and the highest content and activity of the flowering period were confirmed in the flowering plant species

Molecular dynamics simulations of the diffusion and rotation of Pt nanoclusters supported on graphite

We study the diffusion and rotation of Pt nanoclusters supported on graphite. Using molecular dynamics simulation, we reveal that the supported Pt clusters have two types of bottom layers: a hexagonal lattice and a rectangular lattice. The diffusion rate of the Pt clusters mainly depends on the types of bottom layers. This observation is explained by the periodic lattice matching between the bottom layer and the graphite. In addition to lateral diffusion, we find that the Pt clusters with a rectangular or mixed lattice tend to rotate or wag on the z axis. By using the rotation rates and total movements of all atoms, we show that the rotation of a Pt cluster can be induced by the difference in the diffusion rates for the different types of bottom layers. This outcome is well in accord with our diffusion mechanism

Variation in Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Various Organs of African Cabbage (<i>Cleome gynandra</i> L.) Accessions at Different Growth Stages

The presence of nutritional and health-benefiting compounds has increased awareness of orphan leafy vegetables such as Cleome gynandra (CG), whose phytochemicals vary among accessions and organs during growth. This study investigated the polyphenol accumulation and antioxidant activities (AOA) of eight CG accessions from the vegetative stage to the seed set stage. Plants were separated into leaves and stem (LS), flowers, and silique organs, and extracts were analyzed for total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), rutin and astragalin content, and AOA using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS). There were significant interaction effects of growth stages and accessions that contributed to changes in compounds content and AOA. TPC accumulated in plant generative parts, whereas flavonoids accumulated in young plant organs. HPLC profiling revealed that rutin was the most abundant compound in all organs, with flowers having the highest levels, while astragalin was only found in flowers. Silique extracts, particularly accession KF-14, recorded the highest TPC, which corresponded to the strongest radical scavenging activity in ABTS and DPPH assays and a strong linear correlation. The germplasm contained accessions with significantly different and varying levels of bioactive compounds and AOA. These findings potentiate the exploitation of CG organs such as siliques for AOA, flowers for rutin and astragalin, and young shoots for flavonoids. Moreover, the significant accumulation of the compounds in particular accessions of the germplasms suggest that such superior accessions may be useful candidates in genetic breeding programs to improve CG vegetable

DataSheet_1_Effect of drainage ratio during strawberry cultivation:The volatilomics-based shelf-life indicators for strawberry fruit.docx

The metabolome of strawberries at harvest determines their storage capacity. Therefore, dynamics of volatile production during storage of strawberry cultivated under diverse drainage ratios, T1 (12.0%), T2 (25.3%), T3 (36.4%), and T4 (56.5%), were evaluated. Among the various non-target VOCs analysis, there were some groups including aldehydes, esters, and furans occupied over 5% with exhibiting high coefficient of determination (R2) following the days after storage (DAS). Aldehydes content decreased over the storage period, while the esters (methyl butanoate, methyl hexanoate, ethyl hexanoate, and benzyl acetate) and furanones (furaneol and mesifuran) were increased as representing aroma compounds in strawberry ripening. Even on the same day, it was investigated that the release of VOCs linked to fruit decay was delayed in the groups (T1 and T2) that were given relatively little water compared to T3 and T4. The hexanal and ethyl hexanoate as an over-ripened signal showed a rapid increase from 4 DAS to 5 DAS in T3 and T4, respectively, while T1 and T2 showed significant increase from 5 DAS to 6 DAS. Relatively slower over-ripening tendency of T1 and T2 was supported by changes of firmness, total soluble solid content, anthocyanin content, and antioxidant activity during storage. T1 and T2 showed higher antioxidant activity at the harvest time and lower anthocyanin accumulation than T3 and T4. The present study elucidated that the preharvest drainage changes during cultivation was involved in fruit quality during strawberry storage. Besides, volatilomics analysis depicted that T2 as an optimal ratio, could delay the occurrence of stress and senescence, and guaranteed the strawberry yield. In conclusion, this study provided evidence that the practical application of drainage ratios could improve horticultural product quality even with low water use and VOCs might be considered an early indicator for strawberry fruit shelf-life.</p

Curcuma longa L. extract increased immune responses in RAW 264.7 cells and cyclophosphamide-induced BALB/c mice

Abstract Curcuma longa L. extract (CLE) exerts various biological functions including antioxidant, anti-inflammation, anticancer, and antiallergenic effects. However, its immune-enhancing capacity remains unclear. Therefore, the immune-enhancing effect of CLE was investigated in RAW 264.7 cells and cyclophosphamide (CPP)-induced immunosuppression model. CLE upregulated nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species production and increased inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression without affecting the RAW 264.7 cells viability. The results of quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed that CLE increased the gene expression and protein levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1β in RAW 264.7 cells. Moreover, CLE upregulated p65, I kappa B kinase α/β, and I kappa B α (IκBα) phosphorylation and downregulated IκBα expression in RAW 264.7 cells. CLE also increased p65 translocation from the cytoplasmic to the nucleus in RAW 264.7 cells. The oral administration of CLE increased organ indexes (including the spleen and thymus) and NO production in peritoneal macrophages and improved natural killer cell activity in CPP-induced immunosuppression BALB/c mice. Overall, CLE could be a useful health functional food material that can improve innate immunity via macrophage activation