Enzymatic analysis of levan produced by lactic acid bacteria in fermented doughs

Levans and inulins are fructans with mainly beta-(2 -> 6) and beta-(2 -> 1) linkages, respectively. Levans are produced by many lactic acid bacteria, e.g. during sourdough fermentation. Levans have shown prebiotic properties and may also function as in situ-produced hydrocolloids. So far, levan contents have been measured by acid hydrolysis, which cannot distinguish levans from e.g. inulins. In order to develop a specific analysis for levan in food matrices, a Paenibacillus amylolyticus endolevanase was combined with exoinulinase for levan hydrolysis. A separate endoinulinase treatment was used to detect the possible presence of inulin. Interfering sugars were removed by a pre-wash with aqueous ethanol. Levan content was estimated from fructose and glucose released in the hydrolysis, with a correction made for the residual fructose and glucose-containing sugars. The method was validated using wheat model doughs spiked with commercial Erwinia levan, and tested by analyzing levan content in Leuconostoc mesenteroides DSM 20343-fermented fava bean doughs.Peer reviewe

CT-based radiomic phenotypes of lung adenocarcinoma: a preliminary comparative analysis with targeted next-generation sequencing

ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore the relationship between computed tomography (CT)-based radiomic phenotypes and genomic profiles, including expression of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and the 10 major genes, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), tumor protein 53 (TP53), and Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene (KRAS), in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD).MethodsIn total, 288 consecutive patients with pathologically confirmed LUAD were enrolled in this retrospective study. Radiomic features were extracted from preoperative CT images, and targeted genomic data were profiled through next-generation sequencing. PD-L1 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry staining (chi-square test or Fisher's exact test for categorical data and the Kruskal–Wallis test for continuous data). A total of 1,013 radiomic features were obtained from each patient's CT images. Consensus clustering was used to cluster patients on the basis of radiomic features.ResultsThe 288 patients were classified according to consensus clustering into four radiomic phenotypes: Cluster 1 (n = 11) involving mainly large solid masses with a maximum diameter of 5.1 ± 2.0 cm; Clusters 2 and 3 involving mainly part-solid and solid masses with maximum diameters of 2.1 ± 1.4 cm and 2.1 ± 0.9 cm, respectively; and Cluster 4 involving mostly small ground-glass opacity lesions with a maximum diameter of 1.0 ± 0.9 cm. Differences in maximum diameter, PD-L1 expression, and TP53, EGFR, BRAF, ROS1, and ERBB2 mutations among the four clusters were statistically significant. Regarding targeted therapy and immunotherapy, EGFR mutations were highest in Cluster 2 (73.1%); PD-L1 expression was highest in Cluster 1 (45.5%).ConclusionOur findings provide evidence that CT-based radiomic phenotypes could non-invasively identify LUADs with different molecular characteristics, showing the potential to provide personalized treatment decision-making support for LUAD patients

Excess mortality among patients with severe mental disorders and effects of community-based mental healthcare: a community-based prospective study in Sichuan, China.

BACKGROUND: High-quality primary care reduces premature mortality in the general population, but evidence for psychiatric patients in China is scarce. AIMS: To confirm excess mortality in patients with severe mental illness (SMI), and to examine the impact of community-based mental healthcare and other risk factors on their mortality. METHOD: We included 93 655 patients in 2012 and 100 706 in 2013 from the national mental health surveillance system in Sichuan, China to calculate the standardised mortality ratio (SMR). A total of 112 576 patients were followed up from 2009 to 2014 for model analyses. We used growth models to quantify the patterns of change for community management measures, high-risk behaviour, disease stability and medication adherence of patients over time, and then used multilevel proportional hazard models to examine the association between change patterns of management measures and mortality. RESULTS: The SMR was 6.44 (95% CI 4.94-8.26) in 2012 and 7.57 (95% CI 5.98-9.44) in 2013 among patients with SMI aged 15-34 years, and diminished with age. Unfavourable baseline socioeconomic status increased the hazard of death by 38-50%. Positive changes in high-risk behaviour, disease stability and medication adherence had a 54% (95% CI 47-60%), 69% (95% CI 63-73%) and 20% (4-33%) reduction in hazard of death, respectively, versus in those where these were unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: High excess mortality was confirmed among younger patients with SMI in Sichuan, China. Our findings on the relationships between community management and socioeconomic factors and mortality can inform community-based mental healthcare policies to reduce excess mortality among patients with SMI

Selection response and estimation of the genetic parameters for multidimensional measured breast meat yield related traits in a long-term breeding Pekin duck line

Objective This study was conducted to estimate the genetic parameters and breeding values of breast meat related traits of Pekin ducks. Selection response was also determined by using ultrasound breast muscle thickness (BMT) measurements in combination with bosom breadth (BB) and keel length (KL) values. Methods The traits analyzed were breast meat weight (BMW), body weight (BW), breast meat percentage (BMP) and the three parameters of breast meat (BB, KL, and BMT). These measurements were derived from studying 15,781 Pekin ducks selected from 10 generations based on breast meat weight. Genetic parameters and breeding value were estimated for the analysis of the breeding process. Results Estimated heritability of BMW and BMP were moderate (0.23 and 0.16, respectively), and heritability of BW was high (0.48). Other traits such as BB, KL, and BMT indicated moderate heritability ranging between 0.11 and 0.28. Significant phenotypic correlations of BMW with BW and BMP were discovered (p<0.05), and genetic correlations of BMW with BW and BMP were positive and high (0.83 and 0.66, respectively). It was noted that BMW had positive correlations with all the other traits. Generational average estimated breeding values of all traits increased substantially over the course of selection, which demonstrated that the ducks responded efficiently to increased breast meat yield after 10 generations of breeding. Conclusion The results indicated that duck BMW had the potential to be increased through genetic selection with positive effects on BW and BMP. The ultrasound BMT, in combination with the measurement of BB and KL, is shown to be essential and effective in the process of high breast meat yield duck breeding

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

The impact of market imperfections on stock prices : an empirical analysis of AH price premium in China

With the development of financial market, many Chinese companies have taken the opportunity to go public by listing on various stock exchanges. Besides mainland China, many companies have chosen Hong Kong Stock Exchange to benefit from its international recognition and its tie with mainland China. Contrary to what has been observed in other countries with similar dual-class structures, H shares that are open for off-board investors in Hong Kong trade at a discount relative to A shares that are restricted to domestic investors in mainland China. Such price difference, known as ”Puzzles in the Chinese Stock Market”, exists persistently at both cross-sectional and time-series horizon. We argue that price difference between A shares and H shares could be a result of market imperfections in China. Structural market imperfections, such as asymmetric information, speculative motive, liquidity preference, market sentiment and differential demand, have explanatory power in the existence of AH price premium. We utilize Ordinary Least Squared (OLS) estimation and Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimation to study all existing hypotheses thoroughly. Moreover, we argue that capital control in China plays a unique and significant role in interpreting AH price premium. By using panel data, our empirical results reinforce most of existing hypotheses and provide strong quantitative support for proposed hypotheses of capital control. We find, for example, a company with higher oversea revenue ratio tends to have lower AH price premium.Bachelor of Arts in Economic

The Influence of Nano-Fibrillated Cellulose as a Coating Component in Paper Coating

This work investigates nano-fibrillated cellulose (NFC) as a component in mineral pigment paper coating. In this work, bleached Eucalyptus pulp was pretreated by TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperdinyloxy)-mediated oxidation. The oxidized pulp was then isolated to obtain NFC by sonication. Aqueous coating colors consisting of calcium carbonate, clay, carboxylated butadiene-styrene latex, additives, and NFC were prepared. The rheology of the coating colors and the surface properties of paper coated with NFC containing coating colors were determined. The rheological properties allowed NFC to be used in small amounts under laboratory conditions. Nano-fibrillated cellulose was found to improve the surface strength and smoothness of the coated paper. The water resistance of coated paper, on the other hand, decreased because of the hydrophilicity of NFC