DataSheet1_Green production information transparency and online purchase behavior: Evidence from green agricultural products in China.pdf

The “lemon effect,” which is the result of information asymmetry and barriers to trust, poses serious challenges to the sustainable development of green agricultural products. Therefore, enhancing consumers’ trust is critical to maintain sustainable purchasing behavior. Information transparency has been widely attention as a marketing tool, and previous research related to agricultural products has focused on the visible information. Based on signaling theory, this study takes an invisible information perspective and empirically investigates how production information transparency of green agricultural products affects consumer trust and online purchasing behavior. The results of structural equation modeling analysis show that production technology information transparency and production means information transparency have different effects on the dimensions of consumer trust (in competence and benevolence). Moreover, trust in competence has a significant positive impact on trust in benevolence; they both have significant impacts on consumers’ online green purchase behavior. The results of this study contribute to signaling theory and the product transparency literature, and offer significant implications to practitioners of the green agricultural sectors.</p

Biomimetic Design of Affinity Peptide Ligand for Capsomere of Virus-Like Particle

Virus-like particle (VLP) of murine polyomavirus (MPV) is a <i>T</i> = 7d icosahedral capsid that self-assembles from 72 capsomeres (Caps), each of which is a pentamer of major coat protein VP1. VLP has great potential in vaccinology, gene therapy, drug delivery, and materials science. However, its application is hindered by high cost downstream processes, leading to an urgent demand of a highly efficient affinity ligand for the separation and purification of Cap by affinity chromatography. Herein a biomimetic design strategy of an affinity peptide ligand of Cap has been developed on the basis of the binding structure of the C-terminus of minor coat protein (VP2-C) on the inner surface of Cap. The molecular interactions between VP2-C and Cap were first examined using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations coupled with the molecular mechanics/Poisson–Boltzmann surface area (MM/PBSA) method, where V283, P285, D286, W287, L289, and Y296 of VP2-C were identified as the hot spots. An affinity peptide library (DWXLXLXY, X denotes arbitrary amino acids except cysteine) was then constructed for virtual screening sequently by docking with AUTODOCK VINA, binding structure comparison, and final docking with ROSETTA FlexPepDock. Ten peptide candidates were selected and further confirmed by MD simulations and MM/PBSA, where DWDLRLLY was found to have the highest affinity to Cap. In DWDLRLLY, six residues are favorable for the binding, including W2, L4, L6 and Y8 inheriting from VP2-C, and R5 and L7 selected in the virtual screening. This confirms the high efficiency and accuracy of the biomimetic design strategy. DWDLRLLY was then experimentally validated by a one-step purification of Cap from crude cell lysate using affinity chromatography with the octapeptide immobilized on Sepharose gel. The purified Caps were observed to self-assemble into VLP with consistent structure of authentic MPV

Synthesis of Calcium Bisphosphonate/Calcium Polyacrylate Spheres for Gene Delivery

Calcium bisphosphonate/calcium polyacrylate spheres were synthesized by a facile method and applied for the first time as gene vectors for transfection. The colloidal spheres of the PAA–Ca²⁺–H₂O complex, formed by sodium polyacrylate and calcium ions in the solution, were used as template to synthesize a spherical PAA–Ca²⁺–BPMP composite (CaBPMP/CaPAA) in the presence of 1,4-bis­(phosphomethyl)­piperazine (BPMP). The CaBPMP/CaPAA composite exhibits uniform and well-dispersed spheres with a particle size of about 200 nm as expected. The cytotoxicity assays confirm that CaBPMP/CaPAA spheres are quite safe for different cells even at a high concentration of 500 μg/mL. In vitro transfection results show that CaBPMP/CaPAA spheres serving as gene vectors are capable of transferring exogenous genes into different cells with about 25% of transfection efficiency and good reproducibility. The transfection capacity of CaBPMP/CaPAA spheres may be attributed to the controllable sphere morphology, low cytotoxicity, moderate DNA loading capacity, and bioresorbable property. The application of calcium phosphonates with adjustable surface properties derived from the different organic groups of phosphonic acid in gene delivery provides a new design idea for gene vectors

MOESM1 of Nondestructive and rapid determination of lignocellulose components of biofuel pellet using online hyperspectral imaging system

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Profiles of reference spectra for biofuel pellets extracted from raw near-infrared hyperspectral images

Moisture Influence Reducing Method for Heavy Metals Detection in Plant Materials Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy: A Case Study for Chromium Content Detection in Rice Leaves

Fast detection of heavy metals in plant materials is crucial for environmental remediation and ensuring food safety. However, most plant materials contain high moisture content, the influence of which cannot be simply ignored. Hence, we proposed moisture influence reducing method for fast detection of heavy metals using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). First, we investigated the effect of moisture content on signal intensity, stability, and plasma parameters (temperature and electron density) and determined the main influential factors (experimental parameters <i>F</i> and the change of analyte concentration) on the variations of signal. For chromium content detection, the rice leaves were performed with a quick drying procedure, and two strategies were further used to reduce the effect of moisture content and shot-to-shot fluctuation. An exponential model based on the intensity of background was used to correct the actual element concentration in analyte. Also, the ratio of signal-to-background for univariable calibration and partial least squared regression (PLSR) for multivariable calibration were used to compensate the prediction deviations. The PLSR calibration model obtained the best result, with the correlation coefficient of 0.9669 and root-mean-square error of 4.75 mg/kg in the prediction set. The preliminary results indicated that the proposed method allowed for the detection of heavy metals in plant materials using LIBS, and it could be possibly used for element mapping in future work

Myeloperoxidase mediated HDL oxidation and HDL proteome changes do not contribute to dysfunctional HDL in Chinese subjects with coronary artery disease

<div><p>High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels and cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) are inversely correlated with coronary artery disease (CAD) risk. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) derived oxidants and HDL proteome changes are implicated in HDL dysfunction in subjects with CAD in the United States; however, the effect of MPO on HDL function and HDL proteome in ethnic Chinese population is unknown. We recruited four matched ethnic Chinese groups (20 patients each): subjects with 1) low HDL levels (HDL levels in men <40mg/dL and women <50mg/dL) and non-CAD (identified by coronary angiography or cardiac CT angiography); 2) low HDL and CAD; 3) high HDL (men >50mg/dL; women >60mg/dL) with no CAD; and 4) high HDL with CAD. Serum cytokines, serum MPO levels, serum CEC, MPO-oxidized HDL tyrosine moieties, and HDL proteome were assessed by mass spectrometry individually in the four groups.</p><p>The cytokines, MPO levels, and HDL proteome profiles were not significantly different between the four groups. As expected, CEC was depressed in the entire CAD group but more specifically in the CAD low-HDL group. HDL of CAD subjects had significantly higher 3-nitrotyrosine than non-CAD subjects, but the MPO-specific 3-chlorotyrosine was unchanged; CEC in the CAD low-HDL group did not correlate with either HDL 3-chlorotyrosine or 3-nitrotyrosine levels. Neither 3-chlorotyrosine, which is MPO-specific, nor 3-nitrotyrosine generated from MPO or other reactive nitrogen species was associated with CEC. MPO mediated oxidative stress and HDL proteome composition changes are not the primary cause HDL dysfunction in Chinese subjects with CAD. These studies highlight ethnic differences in HDL dysfunction between United States and Chinese cohorts raising possibility of unique pathways of HDL dysfunction in this cohort.</p></div

Plasma myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels and activity are unchanged in coronary artery disease patients in China.

<p>Plasma MPO levels in subjects with coronary artery disease (CAD) and without CAD (Non CAD) are represented by box plots of (A) All subjects (n = 40/group), (B) Low HDL subjects alone (n = 20/group) and (C) High HDL subjects alone (n = 20/group). MPO activity is represented by high density lipoprotein (HDL) 3-chlorotyrosine and 3-nitrotyrosine levels normalized to tyrosine levels determined by tandem mass spectrometry. Box plots display the distributions of HDL levels (log scale; log) of 3-chlorotyrosine in (D) All subjects (n = 40/group), (E) Low HDL subjects only (n = 20/group) and (F) High HDL subjects only (n = 20/group) between CAD and Non CAD groups. HDL 3-nitrotyrosine levels represented by box plot (log scale, log) of (G) All subjects (n = 40/group), (H) Low HDL subjects only (n = 20/group), and (I) High HDL subjects only (n = 20/group) between CAD and Non CAD groups. The plasma levels of MPO were not different between CAD and Non CAD subjects in the different cohorts. The HDL 3 chlorotyrosine levels were not different between groups except in the Low HDL subjects were the HDL 3-chlorotyrosine levels were elevated in the CAD subjects than in the non CAD subjects. The HDL 3-nitrotyrosine levels were elevated in the CAD subjects in the entire cohort and in both the low and high HDL subjects. The length of the box defines the interquartile range (IQR). Medians are reported for each group on the raw scale above the respective bar graphs. *denotes p<0.05.</p

Cholesterol efflux capacity is decreased in coronary artery disease patients in China.

<p>(A) Cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) in coronary artery disease (CAD) subjects compared to healthy controls (Non CAD) cohort in the entire cohort. (B) CEC shows differences in the CAD and non CAD cohort in the Low HDL group only and (C) shows differences in the high HDL cohort only. CEC is decreased in CAD group overall and specifically in the low HDL cohort, even as the high HDL cohort showed no differences between the CAD and non CAD group (*p value<0.05).</p

High-density lipoprotein protein composition is not altered in Chinese coronary artery disease subjects irrespective of high-density lipoprotein levels.

<p>The relative enrichment of 25 proteins in the high density lipoprotein (HDL) fraction of with and without coronary artery disease (CAD, Non CAD; n = 10 each) is represented by peptide index as described in the Methods section. No significant changes were observed between CAD and Non CAD subjects in both the cohorts. ALB-Albumin; A1AT-Alpha 1 antitrypsin; APO E-Apolipoprotein E; APOA1-Apolipoprotein A-I; APOA2-Apolipoprotein A-II; APOA4-Apolipoprotein A-IV; APOB-Apolipoprotein B; APOC1-Apolipoprotein C1; APOC2-Apolipoprotein C-II; APOC3-Apolipoprotein C3; APOC4- Apolipoprotein C-IV; APOD- Apolipoprotein D; APOF-Apolipoprotein F; C4A-Complement fragment 4A; C9-Complement 3; CETP-Cholesterol Ester transfer protein; CLU-Clusterin; FGA-Fibrinogen alpha; PCYOX1-Prenylcysteine oxidase 1; PLA2G7-Platelet-Activating Factor Acetylhydrolase; PLTP-Phospholipid transfer protein; PON1-Serum paraoxonase/arylesterase 1; SAA-Serum Amyloid A protein; SHBG- Sex hormone-binding globulin; VTN-Vitronectin.</p

Demographic characteristics of the controls and coronary artery disease patients.

<p>Demographic characteristics of the controls and coronary artery disease patients.</p