Determination of the key aroma compounds in Sachima and using solid phase micro extraction (SPME) and solvent-assisted flavour evaporation (SAFE)-gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry (GC-O-MS)

The aroma-active compounds present in Sachima samples purchased at retail from the same batch code and stored for different durations of the shelf life were analysed by two methods: solid phase micro extraction (SPME) and solvent-assisted flavour evaporation (SAFE)-gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry (GC-O-MS). A total of 41 volatile key compounds were identified. Among them, the predominant compounds in Sachima were tentatively identified by dilution analysis as being 3-(methylthio)propionaldehyde, 2-pentylfuran, 2-methyl-3-(methylthio)pyrazine, dimethyl disulfide, and dipropyl trisulfide. These compounds produced the highest due to their highest calculated flavour dilution (FD) factors. Sensory evaluations of the extracted compounds by a panel of trained individuals revealed that the ‘egg’ aroma was the main characteristic aroma due to its high sensory assessment score. With increasing length of storage of the product from 0 to 10 months, the overall acceptability of the Sachima aroma declined gradually. The observed changes in concentration of the different volatile compounds during storage indicated that the Maillard reaction and lipid oxidation continued during storage, so that aroma compounds and off-flavour compounds were being generated simultaneously. In addition, the undesirable smell of Sachima that increased during storage was not just generated from one volatile compound with a distinct off-flavour, but rather it was the result of an increase in both pleasant and unpleasant aromas. Furthermore, the pleasant aroma components appeared to still play a dominant role in the overall aroma profile of Sachima even after 10 Months of storage, which is within the stated shelf life on the product label

Camellia (Camellia oleifera Abel.) seed oil promotes milk fat and protein synthesis-related gene expression in bovine mammary epithelial cells

Camellia (Camellia oleifera Abel.) seed oil is a commonly used edible oil of China. In ancient Chinese literature, it is mentioned to be helpful for postpartum repair and lactation in women. Research on camellia seed oil (CO) as a feed additive for dairy cattle is less. We investigated the effect of CO on the expression of milk fat and protein syntheses-related genes in differentiated bovine mammary epithelial cells (MAC-T) using soybean oil (SO) as the control. The results showed that CO increased the expression of genes related to de novo synthesis of fatty acids including sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1), acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC), fatty acid synthase (FASN), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) (p < .05). Among the milk protein genes analyzed, CO increased β-casein mRNA expression (p < .05) and decreased αS1-casein mRNA expression (p < .05) in MAC-T cells. CO upregulated the pathways related to milk protein synthesis with increased mRNA levels of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (AKT1), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) (p < .05) in MAC-T cells. Ribosomal protein S6 kinase beta-1 (S6K1) gene was upregulated, and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) gene (p < .05) was downregulated with CO treatment. The mRNA expression levels of janus kinase 2 (JAK2), activator of transcription 5-β (STAT5-β), and E74-like factor 5 (ELF5) were elevated in MAC-T cells treated with CO (p < .05). Meanwhile, the protein expression levels of S6K1, STAT5-β, phosphorylated mTOR (p-mTOR), p-S6K1, and p-STAT5-β increased in MAC-T cells treated with CO (p < .05). In summary, CO promoted β-casein synthesis by regulating PI3K-mTOR-S6K1 and JAK2-STAT5 signaling pathways and influenced fatty acid synthesis by regulating SREBP1-related genes in MAC-T cells. We need to further confirm the function of CO using in vivo models

Dynamic Customization in the µChoices Operating System

The lifetime of an operating system is long compared with that of its many varied applications and uses. General purpose or flexible systems design are solutions that address such lifetime differences. General purpose systems suffer from size and inefficiency. Flexible operating systems suffer from the overhead introduced by the mechanisms permitting flexibility. Structured dynamic customization facilities are required in order for the system to remain manageable and memory efficient. However, if such overheads can be ameliorated by performance improvements obtained by tuning the system to application behavior, flexibility has little cost. In this paper, we describe a meta-level architecture for dynamically modifying the resource management policies of a micro-kernel operating system. The architecture supports reflective computation through a flexible scripting language embedded in the micro-kernel. Kernel interpreters ensure a safe environment for script execution, allowing user proce..

Is mycophenolate mofetil combined with low-dose prednisone a treatment option for advanced IgA nephropathy? A 10-year follow-up case and brief literature review

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is now widely recognized as the most common primary glomerulonephritis worldwide, especially in China. The immunosuppressive treatment option for IgAN is still controversial. Previously, we proved that mycophenolate mofetil (MMF; Shanghai Roche, China) combined with low-dose prednisone was an effective and safe option for biopsy-proven mild to moderate IgAN patients in a short term of follow-up. This article we first reported the safety and efficacy of this regimen in a 42-year-old male biopsy-proven advanced 10-year follow-up IgAN case (Lee’s Class V; the patient was biopsied 10 years ago, so the Oxford Mesangial hypercellularity Endocapillary hypercellularity Segmental glomerulosclerosis Tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis (MEST) classification was not used). The mycophenolate and prednisone were only given for a limited time. The other main medications included calcium channel blockers and antiplatelet agents. Clinical and laboratory indexes were aperiodic assessed during the 10-year follow-up. The serum creatinine decreased from 356 to around 210 μmol/L and urine excretion protein reduced from 3.4 g/d to about 0.5 g/d after 6 months of the initiation of this regimen, respectively. These perfect treatment effects could maintain well during the whole follow-up period. No obvious complications were observed

Epidemiological features and spatial clusters of hand, foot, and mouth disease in Qinghai Province, China, 2009–2015

Abstract Background Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD) is most frequently caused by Enterovirus71 (EV-A71) or Coxsackie virus A16 (CV-A16), infants and young children are at greatest risk. Describing the epidemiology of HFMD can help develop and better target interventions, including the use of pediatric EV-A71 vaccination. Methods We obtained data from the national surveillance system for HFMD cases with onset dates from 2009 to 2015. We defined probable cases as patient with skin papular or vesicular rashes on the hands, feet, mouth, or buttocks and confirmed cases as patients with the above symptoms along with laboratory-based enterovirus detection. We generated overall and age-specific annual incidence rates and described the temporal variability and seasonality of HFMD in Qinghai Province. We identified spatial clustering of HFMD incidence at the county level using the Local Indicator of Spatial Associationand an alpha level of 0.05. Results During the study period, 14,480 HFMD probable or confirmed cases were reported in Qinghai Province. Of the 2158 (14.9%) with laboratory confirmation, 924 (42.6%) were caused by CV-A16 and 830 (38.2%) were caused by EV-A71. The majority (89%) of all case-patients were ≤ 5 years of age and male (61.5%). The overall mean annual HFMD incidence rate was 36.4 cases per 100,000 populations, while the incidence rate for children ≤5 years of age was 379.5 cases per 100,000. Case reports peaked during the months of May through July. HFMD was predominantly caused by EV-A71, except in 2010 and 2014 when CV-A16 was the predominant causative agent. High incidence rates of HFMD were clustered (Moran’s I = 0.59, P < 0.05) in the eastern region of the province. Conclusion HFMD remains an important cause of childhood disease in Qinghai Province, occurring in an acyclical pattern of increased incidence, primarily due to CV-A16 circulation every three years. Incidence is also seasonal and tends to spatially cluster in the eastern region of the province. Since approximately 40% of confirmed HFMD cases were due to EV-A71, EV-A71 vaccination is likely to have a positive impact on the HFMD disease burden. Routine analysis of local surveillance data is crucial for describing disease occurrence and changes in etiology

Customizable Object-Oriented Operating Systems

This article offers our solution to the problem of building customizable operating systems and describes the results achieved in implementing a customizable operating system. We have built an object-oriented, customizable operating system, Choices [3, 4]. We advocate object-oriented programming to structure customizable operating systems, and Choices is designed as an interacting collection of object frameworks. Descriptions of Choices, of framework methodology and its application to OS subsystems is given in the next section. Structuring the system as a set of frameworks facilitates the design, maintenance, and extension

Crystal structure of human phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase 1 reveals a novel allosteric site

PRPP (phosphoribosylpyrophosphate) is an important metabolite essential for nucleotide synthesis and PRS (PRPP synthetase) catalyses synthesis of PRPP from R5P (ribose 5-phosphate) and ATP. The enzymatic activity of PRS is regulated by phosphate ions, divalent metal cations and ADP. In the present study we report the crystal structures of recombinant human PRS1 in complexes with SO(4)(2−) ions alone and with ATP, Cd(2+) and SO(4)(2−) ions respectively. The AMP moiety of ATP binds at the ATP-binding site, and a Cd(2+) ion binds at the active site and in a position to interact with the β- and γ-phosphates of ATP. A SO(4)(2−) ion, an analogue of the activator phosphate, was found to bind at both the R5P-binding site and the allosteric site defined previously. In addi-tion, an extra SO(4)(2−) binds at a site at the dimer interface between the ATP-binding site and the allosteric site. Binding of this SO(4)(2−) stabilizes the conformation of the flexible loop at the active site, leading to the formation of the active, open conformation which is essential for binding of ATP and initiation of the catalytic reaction. This is the first time that structural stabilization at the active site caused by binding of an activator has been observed. Structural and biochemical data show that mutations of some residues at this site influence the binding of SO(4)(2−) and affect the enzymatic activity. The results in the present paper suggest that this new SO(4)(2−)-binding site is a second allosteric site to regulate the enzymatic activity which might also exist in other eukaryotic PRSs (except plant PRSs of class II), but not in bacterial PRSs