Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase as a sustainable and promising plant source of bioactive peptides for food applications

Background Plant proteins are well-known precursors of bioactive peptides. In translating the peptides into functional foods, the protein sources need to be sustainable and readily available. Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) is the major enzyme in photosynthesis and photorespiration in plants and some other organisms, and is known to be the most abundant protein on earth. Therefore, RuBisCO is an attractive and sustainable source of bioactive peptides. Scope and approach This review discusses the structure, function, composition and technology for plant RuBisCO extraction, as well as the fractionation and known bioactivities of its enzymatic hydrolysate and peptides. Feasibility of industrial scale up and practical application of the RuBisCO peptides in food were also considered. Key findings and conclusions Several processes are available for extraction of the RuBisCO subunits and some are simple, fast and adaptable for industrial scale production. Work is however needed on recovery of high protein yields with high purity. Most studies reported that peptides, mostly from the large subunit, from enzymatic hydrolysis of spinach or alfalfa RuBisCO possess antihypertensive, opioid-like, secretagogue and food intake stimulating, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. These properties demonstrate that RuBisCO can be utilized as a sustainable source of peptides with multiple bioactivities for formulation of functional foods

Prevalence and associated factors of apathy in Chinese ALS patients

ObjectivveThis study aimed to explore the prevalence and clinical correlates of apathy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a cohort of Chinese patients.MethodsA total of 1,013 ALS patients were enrolled in this study. Apathy was recorded during face-to-face interviews using Frontal Behavioral Inventory, and other patient characteristics, including depression, anxiety, and cognitive function, were collected using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and Chinese version of Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-revised. Health-related quality of life of ALS patients and their caregivers was also evaluated, and the potential factors associated with apathy were explored using forward binary regression analysis. Survival was analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model.ResultsThe prevalence of apathy in all patients was 28.9%. Patients in the late disease stage had a higher prevalence of apathy than those in the early disease stage. Furthermore, patients with apathy had a lower ALS Functional Rating Scale revised (ALSFRS-R) score, higher HDRS score, HARS score and higher proportion of reported problems in the anxiety/depression. Additionally, their caregivers had higher score of depression and higher Zarit-Burden Interview scores. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that apathy in ALS was associated with the onset region (p = 0.027), ALSFRS-R score (p = 0.007), depression (p = 0.001) and anxiety (p < 0.001). Apathy had a significant negative effect on survival in ALS patients (p = 0.032).ConclusionApathy is relatively common (28.9%) in Chinese patients with ALS. Apathy is related to both the severity of the disease, and the presentation of non-motor symptoms in ALS, such as depression and anxiety disorders. Apathy is an independent prognostic factor for survival and requires early intervention and management

Clinical Staging of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Chinese Patients

Objective: It is important to explore the utility of clinical staging systems in the management of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Our aim was to assess the validity of King's College in a Chinese ALS cohort, by evaluating the duration and informativeness of each stage and examining the association between stage and prognosis.Methods: From May 2008 to December 2016, patients with a likely diagnosis of ALS were registered. We prospectively assessed the progression of the patients through the stages and calculated the duration of each stage.Results: The median duration in Stage 1 was 12.00 months, Stage 2 7.50 months, Stage 3 6.50 months, and Stage 4 4.10 months. Subset analysis revealed that the spinal-onset and early-onset patients had a longer median time in Stage 1 compared to bulbar-onset and late-onset patients, respectively. Riluzole treatment extended the durations of Stages 1 and 2, and the effect was maintained in patients with long-term use of riluzole (>6 months). Patients who initiated long-term riluzole therapy early, in Stage 1 or 2, had a longer Stage 2. Patients who received percutaneous gastrostomy endoscopy (PEG) or non-invasive positive-pressure ventilation (NIPPV) showed longer durations of Stage 4. The differences in survival time measured from each stage to death or censor date were significant.Conclusions: We validated the King's College staging system in a Chinese population, and showed this system to be useful in clinical practice. Patients with bulbar-onset or an age of onset>45 years tended to have rapidly progressing ALS. Riluzole may be more effective when initiated in an early disease stage and continued long-term. PEG and NIPPV treatments can extend disease duration of Stage 4

Are public lessons in China teachers’ shows?: an investigation of English teachers’ beliefs

This report is part of a larger study concerning teachers? beliefs towards public lessons and their effectiveness on professional development (PD) in China. Despite being a major form of PD, most public lessons resemble shows, in which teachers put up their best performances. As a result, not much PD may take place for the teacher and observers. The study concluded with implications for enhancing PD through a better design and assessment of public lessons

Determination of the Enhancement or Shielding Interaction between Two Parallel Cracks under Fatigue Loading

In this paper, the interactions between two parallel cracks are investigated experimentally and numerically. Finite element models have been established to obtain the stress intensity factors and stress distributions of the parallel cracks with different positions and sizes. Fatigue crack growth tests of 304 stainless steel specimens with the single crack and two parallel cracks have been conducted to confirm the numerical results. The numerical analysis results indicate that the interactions between the two parallel cracks have an enhancement or shielding effect on the stress intensity factors, depending on the relative positions of the cracks. The criterion diagram to determine the enhancement or shielding effect between two parallel cracks is obtained. The changes of the stress fields around the cracks have been studied to explain the mechanism of crack interactions

Hydroforming of Toroidal Bellows: Process Simulation and Quality Control

Having higher capacity to undertake pressures and larger compensation ability compared with the U-shape bellows, toroidal or Ω-shape bellows are being more and more widely used in engineering. The wave-shape and wall thickness reduction of bellows are the most important parameters for measuring the hydroforming quality of the bellows. In order to provide references for actual manufacturing, it is valuable to study the factors influencing the hydroforming process and quality of the bellows. In this paper, finite element simulations of the hydroforming process of a monolayer and single-wave toroidal bellows and a two-layer and four-wave toroidal bellows were carried out. Stress and strain distributions before and after unloading were analyzed and the wave height and wall thickness reduction were examined. The numerical results were verified by the actual hydroforming measurements. In addition, ranges of the significant structural or operating factors for producing better bellows were studied and a formula to compute the wall thickness reduction was fitted based on the sufficient numerical results of the hydroforming simulations

Optimal Design of Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Pipe Jackets Having Bow Cross-Sections

Pipe jackets are widely used in engineering as a component for heating or cooling reactors or other equipment. In this paper, fluid flow and heat transfer performances in straight or helical pipes having bow cross-sections with the central angle α in the range of 90–180° were numerically simulated using water as the medium under turbulent flow conditions. The results show that, under the same volume flow rate, the bow cross-sectional pipe with α less than 180° can enhance heat transfer and shows better comprehensive heat transfer performance compared with the half-pipe with α being 180°. As a result, less heat exchange surface (or the weight) of the bow cross-sectional pipe is needed for transferring the same amount of heat. Specifically, for the helical pipe having the bow cross-section with α being 90°, the weight of the pipe can be reduced by about 80%. In order to facilitate the engineering design of bow cross-sectional pipe jackets, correlation formulas for Nu and f of the whole straight pipe and the helical pipe were modified to include the influence of the central angle α of the bow cross-sections