Study on Flavor Characteristics and Nutritional Evaluation of Free Amino Acids in Walnut Pellicle

In order to explore the composition, taste characteristics and nutritional value of free amino acids in pellicle of different varieties of walnut, the content of free amino acid in the pellicle of 6 walnut varieties was detected, and the taste activity value (TAV) analysis, principal component analysis and comprehensive evaluation were carried out. The results showed that a total of 17 free amino acids could be detected in the pellicle of walnut, with a total content of 2673.86~3490.12 mg/kg. Nine medicinal amino acids accounted for 57.67%~68.23% of the total amino acids, and Leu was the first limiting amino acid in the pellicle. Glu, Asp, Thr, Cys and Arg were the main amino acids of free amino acids in the pellicle, with Glu having the highest content. The TAV value of Glu among the six cultivars was 2.34~3.81, which contributed the most to the umami of the pellicle. The TAV values of Arg in 'Jing 861', 'Bokexiang' and 'Jinboxiang 8' were 1.03~1.26, which contributed to the bitterness of the pellicle. Among the flavor amino acids, the content of umami amino acids was the highest, while aromatic amino acids had the lowest contentm. The ratio of bitter to sweet amino acid content in the 'Nonghe 1', 'Jing 861', 'Bokexiang' and 'Jinboxiang 8' was greater than 1. While the ratio of bitter to sweet amino acid content in the 'Fenhe 2' and ' Fenhe 4' was less than 1. The comprehensive quality of amino acids was also relatively higher. The amino acids in pellicle had high nutritional value and medicinal value, and the taste was bitter, as a food auxiliary material to supplement Thr, Ile and sulfur-containing amino acids, it could increase the overall taste richness of food

Substantial transition to clean household energy mix in rural China

The household energy mix has significant impacts on human health and climate, as it contributes greatly to many health- and climate-relevant air pollutants. Compared to the well-established urban energy statistical system, the rural household energy statistical system is incomplete and is often associated with high biases. Via a nationwide investigation, this study revealed high contributions to energy supply from coal and biomass fuels in the rural household energy sector, while electricity comprised ∼20%. Stacking (the use of multiple sources of energy) is significant, and the average number of energy types was 2.8 per household. Compared to 2012, the consumption of biomass and coals in 2017 decreased by 45% and 12%, respectively, while the gas consumption amount increased by 204%. Increased gas and decreased coal consumptions were mainly in cooking, while decreased biomass was in both cooking (41%) and heating (59%). The time-sharing fraction of electricity and gases (E&G) for daily cooking grew, reaching 69% in 2017, but for space heating, traditional solid fuels were still dominant, with the national average shared fraction of E&G being only 20%. The non-uniform spatial distribution and the non-linear increase in the fraction of E&G indicated challenges to achieving universal access to modern cooking energy by 2030, particularly in less-developed rural and mountainous areas. In some non-typical heating zones, the increased share of E&G for heating was significant and largely driven by income growth, but in typical heating zones, the time-sharing fraction was <5% and was not significantly increased, except in areas with policy intervention. The intervention policy not only led to dramatic increases in the clean energy fraction for heating but also accelerated the clean cooking transition. Higher income, higher education, younger age, less energy/stove stacking and smaller family size positively impacted the clean energy transition

An invasive podosome-like structure promotes fusion pore formation during myoblast fusion

An F-actin–enriched protrusion resembling an invasive podosome promotes fusion pore formation between muscle founder cells and fusion-competent myoblasts

Deciphering the mechanism of jujube vinegar on hyperlipoidemia through gut microbiome based on 16S rRNA, BugBase analysis, and the stamp analysis of KEEG

BackgroundGrowing data indicate that the gut microbiome may contribute to the rising incidence of hyperlipoidemia. Jujube vinegar lowers lipids, protects the liver, and reduces oxidant capacity, however, it is unknown whether this is due to the gut flora. To further research the role of the gut microbiome in treating hyperlipidemia with jujube vinegar, we looked into whether the action of jujube vinegar is related to the regulation of the gut microbiome.MethodThirty male ICR mice were used. The control group (CON), the high-fat diet (HFD) group, and the vinegar group (VIN) each consisted of ten female ICR mice fed consistently for eight weeks. For each treatment, we kept track of body mass, liver index, blood lipid levels, and oxidative stress state. We also analyzed mouse feces using high-throughput 16srRNA sequencing to examine the relationship between jujube vinegar’s hypolipidemic effect and antioxidant activity and how it affects the gut microbiome.ResultsJujube vinegar reduced body weight by 19.92%, serum TC, TG, and LDL-C by 25.09%, 26.83%, and 11.66%, and increased HDL-C by 1.44 times, serum AST and ALT decreased by 26.36% and 34.87% respectively, the blood levels of SOD and GSH-Px increased 1.35-fold and 1.60-fold, respectively. While blood MDA decreased 33.21%, the liver’s SOD and GSH-Px increased 1.32-fold and 1.60-fold, respectively, and the liver’s MDA decreased 48.96% in HFD mice. The gut microbiome analysis revealed that jujube vinegar increased the intestinal microbial ASV count by 13.46%, and the F/B (Firmicutes/Bacteroidota) ratio by 2.08-fold in high-fat diet mice, and the proportion was significantly inversely correlated with TC, TG, and LDL-C and positively correlated with HDL-C. Biomarker bacteria in the vinegar group included Lactobacillaceae and Lactobacillus, which correlated favorably with HDL-C, SOD, and GSH-Px and negatively with LDL-C, TC, and TG. Jujube vinegar increased the abundance of the Aerobic, Contains Mobile Elements, and Facultative Aerobic by 2.84 times, 1.45 times, and 2.40 times, while decreased the abundance of Potential pathogens by 44.72%, according to the BugBase study. The KEGG analysis showed that jujube vinegar was predominantly reflected in the biological process of gene function and related to signal transduction pathways, including glucagon signaling system, HIF-1 signaling pathway, adipocytokine signaling pathway, amino sugar, and nucleotide sugar metabolism, and so forth.ConclusionBased on these findings, jujube vinegar may reduce hyperlipoidemia by controlling the gut microbiome and enhancing antioxidant capacity

Novobiocin Is a Potent Inhibitor for Human Organic Anion Transporters

Organic anion transporters (OATs) mediate the body disposition of a diverse array of environmental toxins and clinically important drugs. Previous studies have shown that novobiocin, an inhibitor for breast cancer resistance proteins (BCRP), inhibited organic anion transport. However, its interactions with specific OATs are unknown. In the current study, we characterized the inhibitory effects of novobiocin on the function of human OATs (hOAT)1, hOAT3, and hOAT4. Kinetic study revealed that novobiocin inhibited OAT-mediated uptake in a competitive manner, with Ki of 14.87 ± 0.40 μM for hOAT1, Ki of 4.77 ± 1.12 μM for hOAT3, and Ki of 90.50 ± 7.50 μM for hOAT4. Furthermore, the cis- and trans-inhibition feature of novobiocin demonstrated that novobiocin was a potent inhibitor but not a substrate for hOAT1 (IC50 = 34.76 ± 0.31 μM), hOAT3 (IC50 = 4.987 ± 0.35 μM), and hOAT4 (IC50 = 92.68 ± 0.34 μM). We further showed that the effects of novobiocin on OATs were not mediated through a change in transporter protein abundance on the plasma membrane. Taken together, we conclude that novobiocin seems to interact with the substrate-binding sites of OATs from both the intracellular and the extracellular sides, and this interaction interferes with the substrate-binding site(s) on respective carriers, leading to an apparent reduction in carriers available for the substrates. Because BCRP is often expressed in the same tissue where multiple OATs are identified such as liver, kidney and placenta, when dissecting the contribution of BCRP to drug disposition using novobiocin as an inhibitor, its inhibitory effect to OATs has to be taken into consideration

Construction practice of water conveyance tunnel among complex geotechnical conditions: a case study

Abstract The construction practice of water conveyance tunnels often encounters various complex geotechnical engineering conditions, which bring huge challenges to the design and construction of water conveyance tunnels. Based on the theory of rock elastic–plastic mechanics and finite element analysis technology, this article carried out investigations of engineering geological features, geological formations and hydrological conditions establishes a calculation model for the 3# water conveyance tunnel of the Fenhe River Diversion Project, and analyzes the variation law of surrounding rock stress and displacement during TBM excavation of the tunnel. The results indicate that the dominant direction of the rock mass principal stress measured by the hydraulic fracturing method is NE84°, and the maximum horizontal principal stress, minimum horizontal principal stress, and vertical stress decrease sequentially, analyzing the characteristics of shield TBM construction technology, it is applied to the construction of water transfer tunnels. The numerical simulation of TBM construction using FLAC3D software shows that as the excavation surface advances, the subsidence value of the tunnel roof first slowly increases, then rapidly increases, and then tends to stabilize. The horizontal displacement of the surrounding rock is increasing. The maximum principal stress of the surrounding rock gradually increases. The final surrounding rock stress is 35 MPa. The TBM shield machine with mud water balance driven by indirectly controlled frequency conversion motor is selected for TBM construction of the tunnel. The study offers statistical information to support tunneling technology for water conveyance in the geotechnical engineering practice

Regulation of human organic anion transporter 3 by peptide hormone bradykinin. J Pharmacol Exp Ther

ABSTRACT Human organic anion transporter (hOAT) 3 belongs to a family of organic anion transporters that play critical roles in the body disposition of numerous clinically important drugs. In the current study, we examined the regulation of hOAT3 by peptide hormone bradykinin (BK) in COS-7 cells. BK (Յ500 nM) induced a concentration-and time-dependent stimulation of hOAT3 activity, kinetically revealed as an increased V max . Such an increase in V max resulted from an increased cell surface expression without a change in total cell expression of the transporter. BK-induced stimulation of hOAT3 activity could be prevented by treating hOAT3-expressing cells with staurosporine, a general inhibitor for protein kinase C (PKC). To obtain further information on which PKC isoform mediates BK regulation of hOAT3 activity, cellular distribution of various PKC isoforms was examined in cells treated with BK. We showed that BK treatment resulted in a significant translocation of PKC␦, PKC, and PKC from cytosol to membrane. We further showed that BK treatment enhanced association of hOAT3 with PKC␦, PKC, and PKC and that isoform-specific inhibitor for PKC␦, PKC, and PKC reversed BK effect on hOAT3 activity. We therefore concluded that BK stimulated hOAT3 activity through activation of PKC␦, PKC, and PKC, which then led to the redistribution of hOAT3 from the intracellular compartments to the cell surface and to the up-regulation of hOAT3 activity

Regulation of human organic anion transporter 1 by ANG II: involvement of protein kinase Cα

Human organic anion transporter 1 (hOAT1) belongs to a family of organic anion transporters that play critical roles in the body disposition of clinically important drugs, including anti-human immunodeficiency virus therapeutics, anti-tumor drugs, antibiotics, antihypertensives, and anti-inflammatories. hOAT1 is abundantly expressed in the kidney. In the current study, we examined the regulation of hOAT1 by ANG II in kidney COS-7 cells. ANG II induced a concentration- and time-dependent inhibition of hOAT1 transport activity. Such inhibition mainly resulted from a decreased cell surface expression without a change in total cell expression of the transporter, kinetically revealed as a decreased maximal velocity without significant change in Michaelis constant. ANG II-induced inhibition of hOAT1 activity could be prevented by treating hOAT1-expressing cells with staurosporine, a general protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor. To obtain further information on which PKC isoform mediates ANG II regulation of hOAT1 activity, cellular distribution of various PKC isoforms was examined in cells treated with or without ANG II. We showed that ANG II treatment resulted in a significant translocation of PKCα from cytosol to membrane, and such translocation was blocked by treating hOAT1-expressing cells with Gö-6976, a PKCα-specific inhibitor. We further showed that ANG II-induced inhibition of hOAT1 activity and retrieval of hOAT1 from the cell surface could also be prevented by treating hOAT1-expressing cells with Gö-6976. We concluded that ANG II inhibited hOAT1 activity through activation of PKCα, which led to the redistribution of the transporter from the cell surface to the intracellular compartments