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Objective. To observe the improvement effect of aerobic exercise on liver tissue of rats with NAFLD, explore whether it can reduce NAFLD symptoms without drug dependence, and provide certain data support for the relief of NAFLD by aerobic exercise. Methods. 40 healthful male SD rats have been divided into ordinary diet and high-fat diet. To observe whether the molding is forming after 6 weeks, then divide the rats into control (C), model (M), and exercise (E) group. E group received 8-week aerobic exercise intervention. Serum and liver samples were taken and analyzed after the last intervention. Results. The morphological of hepatocytes between C and M group becomes different, and the accumulation of fat and inflammatory cells was significant, suggesting that NAFLD symptoms appeared, that is, the model was successfully established. Compared with M group, the morphology of rats in E group was improved in varying degrees. The quantity of ALT, AST, and MDA of rats in M group is increased, and the SOD activity is significantly reduced (P < 0.01). However, aerobic exercise intervention changed those result (P < 0.01). Conclusions. Aerobic exercise can relieve oxidative stress damage, lipid peroxidation levels, and chronic inflammatory status in rats with NAFLD, which can reduce NAFLD symptoms without drug dependence, and is expected to become a means of NAFLD treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qilong capsule (QLC) is a well-known Traditional Chinese Medicine, and it has a long history for the treatment of ischemic stroke. Its major ingredients are saponins, such as paeoniflorin, amygdalin and calycosin-7-glucoside, contributing to vasodilation function. In this study, a simple, rapid and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed to determine three bioactive ingredients in rat plasma after oral administration of QLC. A simple acetonitrile precipitation method was introduced during the sample preparation. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Shiseido CAPCELL PAC MGIII-C18 column using a gradient elution with acetonitrile and water (0.1% formic acid) as a mobile phase, and the chromatographic separation was 5 min. The methodological evaluation showed that this method had a high sensitivity (the lower limit of quantification was 1 ng/mL for calycosin-7-glucoside, 5 ng/mL for paeoniflorin, 5 ng/mL for amygdalin), satisfactory accuracy (relative error ≤ ±15%) and precision (relative standard deviation ≤15%). Then, the analytical method was applied to the pharmacokinetic study in rats following oral administration of the extracts in QLC. Meanwhile, the pharmacokinetic parameters of complex system in QLC were analyzed and the potential interaction between ingredients was explored. The present quantification method and pharmacokinetic study will provide a meaningful reference for the formulas research of QLC in the treatment of ischemic stroke. Highlight A simple, rapid and sensitive HPLC–MS/MS analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of three ingredients in rat plasma after oral administration of QLC. A simple acetonitrile precipitation method was introduced to extract three biomedical ingredients during the plasma sample preparation. The pharmacokinetic results revealed the pharmacological active substances, identified internal variation rules and provided a meaningful reference for the formulas research of QLC in the treatment of ischemic stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deadlift is one of the most common weight training exercises that can help build waist muscles. However, many trainers with less experience may not receive the expected effect or even damage themselves. To exercise in a healthier way, a portable and quantifiable deadlift evaluation system is proposed in this article. The system employs a body sensor network (BSN), including the inertial and surface electromyography (sEMG) information, to reconstruct the human motion and segment the deadlift into certain phases to realize the detailed analysis. A two-step extended Kalman filter (EKF) that can reduce the magnetic interference is presented to estimate the attitude and the accuracy of the method is validated by the OptiTrack system. We also carry out the kinematic and sEMG analysis among trainers with different levels. The experiment results reveal that our system can significantly discriminate the technical differences for those trainers, which demonstrated that the system can provide valuable information for the deadlift training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dehydrogenation and dehydration reactions of vicinal diols are orientedly regulated via heterogeneous photocatalytic technology. In the transformation of 1-phenyl-1, 2-ethanediol (PEOL), the dehydrogenation reaction mainly occurs with Pt@ZnIn 2 S 4 catalyst, where a 99.0% conversion of PEOL with 83.0% yield of 2-hydroxy-1-acetophenone was obtained in acetronitrile under the visible light; however, the dehydration reaction is dominant when ZnO@ZnIn 2 S 4 is used as catalyst, in which a 99.0% conversion of PEOL and 81.0% yield of acetophenone was attained in dichlorometane at the similar conditions. Further investigations revealed that the enrichment of hydrogen atom (H·) or hydrogen proton (H+) on the catalyst surface decides the catalytic processes and product selectivity in the reaction. [Display omitted] • A selectivity-controllable transformation of vicinal diol is developed. • The dehydrogenation mainly occurs with Pt@ZnIn 2 S 4 catalyst. • The dehydration is dominant using ZnO@ZnIn 2 S 4 as the catalyst. • A possible reaction mechanism has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Characterized the in vitro metabolism and metabolic stability of R D-N after incubation with mouse and human hepatic S9 fractions. • Detected 28 metabolic products of R D-N, and 25 of the structures were predicted by using HPLC-Q-LIT-MS. • R D-N and the main metabolites were firstly quantified or semi-quantified by using LC–MS/MS with MRM scan mode. • The developed screening strategy of MIM/MRM-IDA-EPI is a comprehensive and rapid method, which will be well suited for the routine metabolic research of candidate drug. Riccardin D-N (RD-N) is an aminomethylated derivative of the macrocyclic bisbibenzyl compound riccardin D (RD), which has shown stronger activity against cancer cells than RD. However, there has been no research on the metabolism of RD-N. The present study aimed to characterize the in vitro metabolism and metabolic stability of RD-N after incubation with mouse and human hepatic S9 fractions using high performance liquid chromatography-hybrid triple quadrupole/linear ion trap mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-LIT-MS). Multiple ion monitoring (MIM) and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-information dependent acquisition-enhanced product ion (MIM/MRM-IDA-EPI) scans were used to identify the metabolites formed. MRM scans were also used to quantify the changes in the amount of RD-N and to semi-quantify the main metabolites. Twenty-eight metabolic products were detected and 25 structures were predicted. Hydroxylation, dehydrogenation, glucuronidation, and methylation were proposed to be the principle metabolic pathways in the in vitro incubation with human and mouse hepatic S9 fractions. There were differences in the number and abundance of RD-N metabolites between the human and mouse hepatic S9 fractions. RD-N was shown to have good metabolic stability. After 2 h of incubation, 44% of the original RD-N remained in the human hepatic S9 fraction compared with 22% in the mouse. The major metabolites of RD-N, M4, M8, M20 and M21, were monitored semi-quantitatively using the typical transitions. Finally, HPLC-Q-LIT-MS was used for the identification and quantitation of the metabolites of R D-N, which is a simple and efficient method to rapidly screen potential drug candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to different microenvironmental stimuli, macrophages are polarized into two populations, M1 macrophages which are classically activated by interferon (IFN)-γ with lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) and M2 macrophages which are alternatively activated by interleukin-4 (IL-4), to perform specific roles in innate immune responses. Accordingly, macrophages occupy distinct metabolic profiles, regulated by orchestrated factors and signaling pathways, including the PI3K-AKT, HIF, c-Myc, AMPK, and PPARs pathways. These factors and pathways play pivotal roles not only in metabolic regulation but also in macrophage polarization. After activation, classically activated M1 macrophages and alternatively activated M2 macrophages display distinct patterns in glucose, lipid, amino acid and iron metabolism. Here, we summarized recently discovered metabolism-related inflammatory signaling factors, along with reprogrammed metabolism, after the activation of macrophages under conditions related to immunity and cancer. Additionally, macrophage regulatory roles in infectious diseases, cancer progression and anti-cancer immunotherapy are discussed in terms of metabolic profiles, providing insight into the prevention and treatment of immune-associated diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary : Inflammasome activation and subsequent inflammatory cytokine secretion are essential for innate immune defence against multiple stimuli and are regarded as a link to adaptive immune responses. Dysfunction of inflammasome activation has been discovered at the onset or progression of infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases and cancer, all of which are also associated with metabolic factors. Furthermore, many studies concerning the metabolic regulation of inflammasome activation have emerged in recent years, especially regarding the activity of the NLRP3 inflammasome under metabolic reprogramming. In this review, we discuss the molecular mechanisms of the interactions between metabolic pathways and inflammasome activation, which exerts further important effects on various diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A variational autoencoder is established to generate new hydrocarbon molecules. • A multilayer perceptron is jointly trained to predict fuel properties quickly. • A fuel database containing 11,291,051 hydrocarbon molecules has been established. • Multi-objective optimization of fuel molecules is realized based on a new method. A variational autoencoders (VAE) has been developed to reversibly represent hydrocarbon molecules in the mathematic form of continuous multidimensional vector for fuel design. The characteristics of a hydrocarbon molecule can be efficiently captured to establish the latent space of hydrocarbon fuels by the VAE. The physicochemical properties of a hydrocarbon fuel were automatically calculated by a piece of python code based on the group contribution method, and the energy properties were quickly and accurately predicted by a multilayer perceptron jointly trained with the VAE. Handily manipulating of the fuel molecules have been realized in the latent space, such as sampling new structures, decoding random vectors, perturbing a given fuel structure, and interpolating between fuel molecules. A large database (CH-02) containing 11,291,051 hydrocarbon molecules and their fuel properties have been established. Moreover, an approximate-concentric-sphere method was developed to realize multi-objective optimization of a given fuel molecule. This work opens new avenues in the de novo design of new hydrocarbon fuels to meet the requirements of next generation engine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unavoidable iodine loss in the perovskite layer is closely related to carrier non‐radiative and device degradation. During the post‐annealing process, the fragile PbI bond is easy to break, leading to the formation of iodine vacancies and inducing stress‐driven structure collapse. Herein, a PbI6 octahedra stabilization strategy via building robust grain boundary modification networks is developed. The introduction of conjugated structure into amides can significantly enhance their anchoring ability with PbI units, while the π–π stacking effect of benzamide enables a passivation network with polymer‐like effect. This is well evidenced by the excellent properties in eliminated iodine loss and stabilized perovskite lattice. Therefore, benzamide modification not only transform the perovskite films from n‐type to p‐type by suppressing the iodine vacancy‐doping effect, but also reduces defect density, ultimately bringing the perovskite layer longer carrier diffusion length and better charge injection efficiency. Finally, the benzamide modified devices realize both high power conversion efficiency of 24.78% and excellent operating stability. Of particular note, the module efficiency with 14 cm2 active area is over 21%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Illuminated the instability and controllability of eszopiclone (E-ZOP) in biological matrices because of the hydrolysis at different pH points. • Simplified the method of extraction of E-ZOP from biological matrices, liquid-liquid or solid phase extraction was replaced by direct protein precipitation with acetonitrile. • Monitored hydrolysis production via 2-amino-5-chloropyridine (ACP) throughout the whole HPLC-MS/MS method validation for quantified E-ZOP in rat plasma. • Developed and validated the simple, precise and sensitive HPLC–MS/MS method and successfully applied the method to the determination of E-ZOP in rat plasma. Eszopiclone (E-ZOP), a strictly controlled psychoactive drug, must be accurately quantified in biological matrices. However, because of its rapid degradation and transformation into 2-amino-5-chloropyridine (ACP) during specimen preparation, the concentration of E-ZOP in biological matrices is likely underestimated. In this study, a sensitive and simple high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method for the accurate determination of the initial concentration of E-ZOP in rat plasma was developed and validated. ACP was monitored simultaneously throughout the method validation process to ensure that it was not produced via E-ZOP hydrolysis. E-ZOP and structurally similar metabolites were stabilized in rat plasma by controlling the pH at 4.2 using a modified phosphate buffer solution (PBS) with acetic acid. Using this method, E-ZOP, ACP and the internal standard (IS), venlafaxine, were extracted from rat plasma via a simple protein precipitation and separated on a C 18 column using methanol, 5 mM ammonium acetate, and 0.1 % acetic acid as the isocratic mobile phase. The validated method covered a working range from 0.1–50 ng/mL for E-ZOP, and the lower limit of detection (LLOD) for ACP was 0.2 ng/mL. In conclusion, an accurate, sensitive, and simple HPLC-MS/MS method for E-ZOP quantification was developed and successfully applied to a preclinical pharmacokinetics (PK) study in rats. The toxic product APC was effectively monitored. The HPLC-MS/MS method is a stable and sensitive quantitative method for the determination of E-ZOP in biological matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) remains the most commonly used electron transport layer in inverted perovskite solar cells (IPSCs). However, its insufficient electrical properties and passivation ability limit the device's performance. In this study, it is demonstrated that introducing an appropriate amount of n‐type polymer N2200 into the PCBM can simultaneously enhance the electrical properties of PCBM and passivate the defects distributed on perovskite surface. This modification of PCBM leads to improved band alignment and enhanced electron mobility. Simultaneously, N2200 polymer contains electron donors such as O, S involved in passivating uncoordinated Pb2+ defects. The PCBM@N2200‐based IPSCs exhibit an enhanced open‐circuit voltage (VOC) of 1.20 V with the minimum 0.36 V voltage loss and reach the champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.53% (certified PCE is 24.05%) with narrow distribution. Impressively, the corresponding module achieves an efficiency of 20.30% (11.19 cm2). Moreover, the PCBM@N2200‐based IPSCs maintain 96% of their initial efficiency after operating at the maximum power point for 500 h, thanks to the interfacial passivation, improved uniformity, and increased hydrophobicity resulting from N2200 doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Vitamin K (VK) as well as vitamin D (VD) plays an important role in osteoporosis. Vitamin K1 (VK1), vitamin K2 (VK2, menaquinone-4 (MK-4), and menaquinone-7 (MK-7)) are significant for the metabolism of skeletal muscle. 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3) reflect circulating VD levels. More sensitive measurements remain to be developed. In the present study, a new high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of VK1, VK2 (MK-4 and MK-7), as well as 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 levels in human serum. Methods: We developed a simple LC-MS/MS method for the determination of VK1, MK-4, MK-7, 25(OH)D2, and 25(OH)D3 levels in human serum and validated the method in a study cohort of 200 patients divided into the premenopausal women group and postmenopausal osteoporosis patient group. Results: The overall precision (coefficient of variation) ranged from 2.66 to 10.11% in the specified working range (0.05–5 ng/mL) for VK1, MK-4, and MK-7. Serum VK1, MK-4, and MK-7 levels in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis were 1.187 ± 0.094 ng/mL, 0.058 ± 0.009 ng/mL, and 0.885 ± 0.064 ng/mL, respectively (mean ± standard deviation). Serum VK1, MK-4, and MK-7 levels in premenopausal women were 1.143 ± 0.103 ng/mL, 0.028 ± 0.003 ng/mL, and 1.553 ± 0.226 ng/mL, respectively. Serum 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 levels in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis were 0.757 ± 0.056 ng/mL and 11.72 ± 0.632 ng/mL, respectively. Serum 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 levels in premenopausal were 1.793 ± 0.575 ng/mL and 12.42 ± 1.069 ng/mL, respectively. Conclusion: A new LC-MS/MS method for determination of serum VK and VD levels was evaluated and validated. MK-7 in plasma decreased earlier than VD in postmenopausal osteoporosis patients. MK-7 status is significantly associated with osteoporosis and could be considered a predictable biomarker in the diagnosis of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A facile and efficient method for loading Pd(0) complex on silica support with well-maintained catalytic performance. • PEG has been introduced and adjusted to stably load Pd(0) complex on matched silica support for NBD-QC co-dimerization. • 1.2 L of saturated polycyclic alkane (H Hxx) has been prepared and evaluated as high energy-density fuel. High energy-density hydrocarbon fuels are the key materials for aircraft to increase payload and expand flight distance. Under the catalysis of atomically dispersed Pd(0) complex, saturated hexacyclic exo-exo product with good fuel property can be synthesized via co-dimerization of norbornadiene (NBD) with quadricyclane (QC). But the fragile coordination state of homogeneous Pd(0) complex limited its application in fuel production. In this work, Pd(0) complex has been heterogeneously supported on silica support with the regulation of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to increase its stability and recyclability with limited sacrifice of the activity and dimer selectivity. The structure of silica support was tuned to achieve the proper interaction with PEG and Pd(0) complex. The chain length and concentration of PEG were adjusted to further optimize the state of Pd(0) complex on silica. The as-developed heterogeneous Pd(0) complex supported on dendritic mesoporous silica nanospheres regulated by PEG2000 exhibited superior performance for the production of high energy density fuel through selective NBD-QC co-dimerization. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative blood sampling strategy can enhance the application of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), then improve precision therapy and medication compliance. In developing nations, alternative sampling strategy that allows self-sampling and room temperature transport is especially important. This study validates the use of dried blood spot (DBS) and dried plasma spot (DPS) sampling along with liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) for analyzing seven common antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) (phenytoin, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, topiramate, carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine and its active metabolite 10,11-dihydro-10-hydroxy carbamazepine) and evaluates their applicability to clinical practice. Following simple protein precipitation with acetonitrile, the AEDs were separated on a C18 column by gradient elution with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile–water–0.1% formic acid at a flow rate of 0.65 mL/min. The method provided linear analysis over the tested concentration ranges, with a total run time of 7 min. Intra- and inter-assay precision for all quality controls were ≤12% with accuracies of 85.9%–113%. The average extraction efficiencies were 69.0%–92.4% for DBS and 65.9%–96.5% for DPS, and no significant matrix effects were observed. The AEDs were stable in all samples for seven days at room temprature and 40°C. There was good correlation between the dry and wet plasma concentrations with greater accuracy for DPS compared to DBS indicating that alternative sampling strategy using DBS and DPS are suitable for monitoring the concentrations of AEDs with satisfied performance and logistical advantages. • Development and validation of a LC–MS/MS method for the quantification of seven antiepileptic drugs in dried microsamples. • Demonstration of the method's applicability in clinical practice by comparing the results with traditional plasma analyses. • An affirmation that the antiepileptic drug concentrations in dried samples are highly consistent with plasma levels. Dried plasma spot-based analyses showcasing higher accuracy than dried blood spot-based analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-power multichannel metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensor device is presented, including a gas sensor with four gas detecting channels. The device adopts a T-shaped structure having a bridge-type single strip microheater along its horizontal axis, which also houses the four gas detecting channels. The device was designed and fabricated using MEMS technology with SnO2 deposited by sputtering as the sensing layer. Based on the temperature gradient of the microheater, at the same heating voltage, the device has a different temperature at each channel. Gas tests for four environmental air pollutants were carried out, and all four channels responded to H2, CO, NO2, and NH3 gases with a total power consumption of 21.92 mW. The responses characteristics of two sets of symmetrical channels are different under the same input heating voltage. The response change trend of each channel is also different with different target gas as the input heating voltage changes. [2021-0243] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper firstly introduces common wearable sensors, smart wearable devices and the key application areas. Since multi-sensor is defined by the presence of more than one model or channel, e.g. visual, audio, environmental and physiological signals. Hence, the fusion methods of multi-modality and multi-location sensors are proposed. Despite it has been contributed several works reviewing the stateoftheart on information fusion or deep learning, all of them only tackled one aspect of the sensor fusion applications, which leads to a lack of comprehensive understanding about it. Therefore, we propose using a more holistic approach in order to provide a more suitable starting point from which to develop a full understanding of the fusion methods of wearable sensors. Specifically, this review attempts to provide a more comprehensive survey of the most important aspects of multi-sensor applications for human activity recognition, including those recently added to the field for unsupervised learning and transfer learning. Finally, the open research issues that need further research and improvement are identified and discussed. • Machine learning combines heterogeneous features into multi-sensor information fusion. • Deep learning algorithms have been proposed for automatic feature representation. • Transfer learning and domain adaptation keep the generalization performance up. • Hyper-parameters tunning has been used for providing effective fusion strategies. • Encryption and authentication approaches are necessary to protect privacy of users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract For the modeling of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), the accuracy of the basic data, the stability of the spectra and the optimality of variables selection method were the important factors. In this paper, a novel optimization strategy for NIRS modeling was proposed, which was formed by data mean and ratio of absorbance to concentration (RATC) methods. The data mean method was aim to obtain accurate basic data and stable spectra, the RATC method was aim to select the optimal variables and compared with other variables selection methods (FiPLS, BiPLS, CC, UVE). The experimental subject was raw human plasma, with this novel optimization strategy, the predictive capability of NIRS model of its total protein (TP) content had been improved. At the same time, the public NIRS testing data (water, protein, oil, starch of corn and octane of gasoline) were used to verify the proposed variables selection method, and the predictive capability of these models of different parameters were also improved. To some extent, the optimization strategy of NIRS modeling provided theoretical supports for the development of protein content analyzer of NIRS and the quick determination of parameters of biologics and other materials. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • A novel optimization strategy of NIRS modeling was proposed, which was formed by data mean and ratio of absorbance to concentration (RATC) methods. • The data mean method was proposed to obtain accurate basic data and stable spectra, and it was verified by raw human plasma. • The RATC method was proposed for the variables selection, and it was verified by raw human plasma and public NIRS testing data (water, protein, oil, starch of corn and octane of gasoline). • The RATC method was superior to other variables selection methods (CC, UVE, FiPLS, BiPLS). • The novel optimization strategy of NIRS modeling could provide theoretical supports for the development of protein content analyzer of NIRS and the quick determination of parameters of biologics and other materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In traditional Chinese medicine, an extract intermediate is an extracted and purified intermediary of the production process, and its quality is crucial to the efficacy of the final product. Lumbrokinase (LK), which is found in earthworm extract intermediate, has good fibrinolysis, is an anticoagulant, provides hemorheological improvement and has other pharmacological effects, and it shows significant advantages in the treatment of thromboses. The traditional method for determining lumbrokinase potency is an agarose-fibrin plate assay, but it takes more than a dozen hours to perform and requires expensive culture medium. To develop a new method for rapidly and accurately determining the potency of lumbrokinase, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics is presented in this study. In addition, the variable selection combination method was investigated to optimize the modeling variables and improve the predictive abilities of the NIR model. After optimization, the parameter values of the correlation coefficient, R 2 c , R 2 p , RMSEC and RMSEP, of the partial least squares regression (PLSR) quantitative model were 0.9398, 0.9340, 289.618 U, and 538.313 U, respectively. This study demonstrates that NIR analysis techniques are a potential tool for rapidly determining lumbrokinase potency in earthworm extract intermediate. Highlights • Investigation the feasibility of predicting enzyme activity by NIR. • NIRS was used in TCM intermediates to improve production efficiency. • Proposed variable selection combination method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Plasma ethanol precipitation process is an important step in the biopharmacy production process, and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is an effective process analytical technology (PAT) tool in detecting the key quality attribute: the total protein (TP) content. But establishing a robust model is pretty complex. The aim of this study was to explore the calibration transfer strategy between master and slave spectrometers with the biopharmacy. Firstly, 8 batches of ethanol precipitation process were experimented. The changing spectra were collected by two spectrometers, reference values were measured by biuret method. Then, calibration transfer based on the PRS algorithm was carried out. Finally, before establishment of the optimal TP content partial least squares regression (PLSR) model of calibration transfer, rank sample set partitioning based on joint x-y distance (Rank-SPXY) and spectral pretreatment methods were selected after comparison. The determination coefficients of prediction (R p 2 ) and root mean squares error of prediction (RMSEP) were 0.934 and 0.8395 g/L, respectively. The results showed that Rank-SPXY-PRS was an effective calibration transfer strategy with different NIRS spectrometers. To some extent, the predictive capability of PLSR model was improved after calibration transfer, and it could provide reference for the further research in biopharmacy production process. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Rank-SPXY-PRS was an effective calibration transfer strategy which was proved by the experiments between master and slave spectrometers. It was better than the SPXY-PRS, KS-PRS and Rank-KS-PRS strategy. • The prediction capability of PLSR model was improved after calibration transfer. • A useful samples division method was proposed: Rank-SPXY. • NIRS, as a PAT tool, was introduced to realize the quick determination of TP content in plasma ethanol precipitation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate diagnosis of influenza viruses is difficult and generally requires a complex process because of viral diversity and rapid mutability. In this study, we report a simple and rapid strategy for the detection and differentiation of influenza viruses using glycan-functionalized gold nanoparticles (gGNPs). This method is based on the aggregation of gGNP probes on the viral surface, which is mediated by the specific binding of the virus to the glycans. Using a set of gGNPs bearing different glycan structures, fourteen influenza virus strains, including the major subtypes currently circulating in human and avian populations, were readily differentiated from each other and from a human respiratory syncytial virus in a single-step colorimetric procedure. The results presented here demonstrate the potential of this gGNP-based system in the development of convenient and portable sensors for the clinical diagnosis and surveillance of influenza viruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Near 100% yield of ethyl pyruvate was obtained. • The trace HBr (ca. 0.009 equiv.) was used as a highly efficient promoter in the biomass transformation. • Green and clean oxidant (e. g. O 2 or air), combined with low-energy visible light source (blue light, 455 nm), is applied for the selective oxidation of ethyl lactate. • This photocatalytic system has been proved to be suitable for the gram-scale production. The selective aerobic oxidation of ethyl lactate (EL) is considered as a green protocol for producing ethyl pyruvate (EP) in chemical industry. In this work, a mild, low-cost and efficient approach has been developed, in which 99.2% EL conversion and 99% EP yield was obtained in the presence of O 2 by using a trace of HBr with blue light. Also, a more than 94.6% yield of EP could be obtained even in air. Meanwhile, about 90.3% yield of EP was attained when the reaction was further amplified by 20 times. Based on the radical trapping and control experiments, a possible reaction mechanism is proposed. Therein, the generation of the Br· radical and ·O 2 − plays a crucial role in the EL oxidation. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid expansion of aquaculture has led to increased demand for protein sources for feed production. Lipids and carbohydrates can serve as energy sources and induce a "protein-sparing" effect. However, excessive dietary lipids and carbohydrates may cause lipid accumulation in the liver, impair immune and antioxidant capacities, thus hidering the growth and meat quality of farmed fish. Bile acids are physiological detergents that are initially synthesized in the liver. They can not only accelerate absorption and transportation of lipid and lipid-soluble nutrients, but also regulate energy metabolism and health condition as molecular signals. Recent studies revealed that exogenous bile acids can maintain lipid and glucose homeostasis, improve fish health and growth performance hampered by high lipid or high carbohydrate diet. However, such beneficial effects are limited and vary with fish species. The mechanisms and theories behind the different results should be elucidated. Thus, this review aims to summarize the biosynthesis, metabolism, and circulation of bile acids, the mechanisms of exogenous bile acids on growth promotion, lipid and glucose homeostasis, antioxidant and immune capacities, as well as the crosstalk between bile acids and intestinal microbiota. This paper will provide a clear view of the mechanisms, prospects, and potential risks of using bile acids as feed additives in fish, which may benefit their further application in the aquatic feed industry. • Bile acids maintain lipid and glucose homeostasis, thus reducing hepatic lipid accumulation. • Bile acids can improve fish health mainly via the FXR and TGR5 pathways. • Intestinal microbiota interacts with bile acid is the main target that regulate fish health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A sensitive HPLC–MS/MS method for 5 steriod hormones with PBS as a blank surrogate was developed. • The absolute reference concentrations of ASD, Ts, DHEA, DHT, and P in human serum were provided. • The concentrations of 5 steriod hormones were compared with reference data used in clinical practice. Steroid hormones play an essential role in regulating physiological and reproductive development throughout the lifetime of an individual. One of the difficulties in determining endogenous substances is the lack of a blank matrix. Especially when the level of analytes is lower than the level in the so-called blank matrix. In the present study, an optimized HPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated to quantify androstenedione (ASD), testosterone (Ts), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and progesterone (P) in serum samples from healthy people using PBS (pH = 7.4) as the blank surrogate matrix. Simultaneously, the method investigated the characteristics of NaCl, bull serum albumin, pure water as surrogate matrices for the analysis of steroid hormones. The data showed that the matrix effects of ASD, Ts, DHEA, DHT, and P in the same groups were not significantly different between PBS and twice charcoal-stripped serum (CS 2 S) as a blank surrogate matrix. Furthermore, the LLOQ using PBS as the blank matrix was up to 0.005 ng/mL for ASD, Ts, and P and 0.05 ng/mL for DHEA and DHT. The reference ranges of concentration (C PBS) of 5 steroid hormones were provided. Compared to the concentration with CS 2 S (C CSS) as the blank surrogate matrix, the relative biases (RBs) of Ts, DHT, P, and DHEA were finally stabilized at approximately −0.7%, −15%, −1.2%, and 9.2%, respectively. The results suggest that, in the cases of special required, the developed HPLC-MS/MS method can be used to determine the absolute concentration of 5 hormones in biological samples with PBS as the blank surrogate matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The therapeutic effects of glucocorticoids on colitis and colitis-associated cancer are unclear. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic roles of glucocorticoids in acute experimental ulcerative colitis and colitis-associated cancer in mice and their immunoregulatory mechanisms. Murine acute ulcerative colitis was induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and treated with dexamethasone (Dex) at different doses. Dex significantly exacerbated the onset and severity of DSS-induced colitis and potentiated mucosal inflammatory macrophage and neutrophil infiltration, as well as cytokine production. Furthermore, under inflammatory conditions, the expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) did not change significantly, while mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling was higher in colonic epithelial cells than in colonic immune cells. The deletion of mTOR in intestinal epithelial cells, but not that in myeloid immune cells, in mice significantly ameliorated the severe course of colitis caused by Dex, including weight loss, clinical score, colon length, pathological damage, inflammatory cell infiltration and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. These data suggest that mTOR signaling in intestinal epithelial cells, mainly mTORC1, plays a critical role in the Dex-induced exacerbation of acute colitis and colitis-associated cancer. Thus, these pieces of evidence indicate that glucocorticoid-induced mTOR signaling in epithelial cells is required in the early stages of acute ulcerative colitis by modulating the dynamics of innate immune cell recruitment and activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]