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The present study tested the effect of addition of whole common buckwheat flour on the rheological properties of wheat dough, and the textural characteristics, water distribution, secondary structure and molecular mass distribution of proteins, microstructure, and color of fresh noodles. The results demonstrated that the dough with 30% whole common buckwheat flour had a higher G’ (5.3 × 105 Pa) and a minimum tan δ value of 0.50. The resulting noodles had a maximum elasticity of 0.97, a maximum α-helix content of 28.30%, and a denser and more homogenous microstructure. According to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) data, the band intensities of buckwheat protein subunits increased with increasing addition of whole common buckwheat flour. Compared with the control group, the addition of whole common buckwheat flour caused partial transformation of tightly bound water to weakly bound water and free water. As the addition of common buckwheat flour increased, the L* value of noodles decreased significantly, the a* and b* values increased to varying degrees, and as a result the overall color turned reddish and yellow. In conclusion, the addition of 30% whole common buckwheat flour can improve the mechanical properties and processing quality of fresh noodles.

Objective: Determine the appropriate soymilk concentration and slurry depth to provide a theoretical reference for the efficient and high-quality production of yuba. Methods: The effect of soymilk solids concentration and slurry depth on the yield, film-forming rate, nutrient contents, mechanical properties, cooking loss rate, and rehydration ratio were investigated. Results: The optimal yield solids of yuba (34.68%) and highest nutritional value occurs when the soymilk solids concentration is 6% and the soymilk slurry depth is 6 cm, which presents 51.05% protein, 23.42% fats, and it also has good tensile strength and rehydration qualities, with respective measurements of 3.74 MPa and 3.80 g/g. Conclusion: Considering various factors such as yield, film formation rate and overall food quality, it is recommended to employ processing conditions with a soymilk solids concentration of 6% and a slurry depth of 6 cm for the efficient and high-quality production of yuba.

To analyze the effect of heat treatment on the structure and physicochemical properties of buckwheat bran protein (BBP), the molecular mass, secondary structure, intrinsic fluorescence spectrum, free sulfhydryl content, disulfide bond content, microstructure, thermal properties, and rheological properties of BBP were characterized before and after heat treatment. The results showed that part of the subunits of BBP were degraded into small polypeptides or oligopeptides. The α-helical structure was transformed into β-sheet, β-turn and random coil, and the contents of free sulfhydryl groups and disulfide bonds were significantly increased. Compared with soy protein isolate (SPI), the peak temperature, denaturation enthalpy, apparent viscosity, storage modulus (G’) and loss modulus (G”) of BBP were significantly lower. The surface of heat-induced gels of BBP was rougher, and there were obvious cracks on the gel wall, indicating that the thermal stability of BBP was lower than that of SPI. In summary, heat treatment could change the structure of BBP, and have different effects on its physicochemical properties.

This study aims to tackle the problem of frequent coal-rock dynamic events caused by local stress concentration in deep mining working face under high static stress environment. Specifically, by taking the deep working face of Hongqinghe Mine located in Xinjie Mining Area as an example for analysisthis paper investigates the geological conditions of No. 3-1coal seam that are affected by the mining method and the coal rock dynamic disaster events occurred during mining; utilizes numerical simulation to simulate the mining stress field and energy field of the stope; analyzes the potential coal burst instability area and mechanism of coal burst gestation and catastrophe in the stope during the mining of the No. 3-1103 working face; probes into the sources of catastrophic stress and influencing factors of coal-rock disasters in dangerous areas, puts forward targeted prevention and control measures. Results show that: ① the roof strata structure, goaf and coal pillar are the key factors influencing coal burst in the stope during the mining of the No. 3-1103 working face; ② the simulation results indicatethe location and characteristics of the coal burst instability area in the stope of the No. 3-1103 working faces, as well as the simulation outlines 5 strong coal burst areas and 11 medium coal burst areas presented in the stope; ③ Measures are proposed for coal burst during mining from the perspective of cutting off the dynamic load source, reducing static load stress concentration, and blocking the transmission of high concentration stress. Detailed measures include implementing multi-source prevention and control in areas with high static or high static+dynamic loads, implement pre-pressure off-load measures prior to mining, and local risk relief and coal burst prevention and reduction treatments during mining.

In order to meet the needs of the development of low-rise assembly structure in rural areas, a fabricated light-weight steel frame-composite light wall structure is proposed in this paper. The light-weight steel frames are used to bear the vertical loads. The single-row-reinforced recycled concrete wall-boards are used as lateral members to resist most of the horizontal earthquake loads. The wall-board, EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) insulation modules,and fly ash blocks form the thermally insulated wall. Four fabricated lightweight steel frame-composite light wall structures and one light-weight steel frame(FRA)structure were tested under the low cyclic loads. The influence of wall reinforcement spacing and structural form (be it fly ash block or not) on the seismic performance of this new structure was analysed and the damage process of the specimen was simulated using the ABAQUS®software. The results show that the light steel frames and the single-row-reinforced recycled concrete wall-board can work well together. Furthermore, the structure has two clear seismic lines. Due to the use of EPS insulation modules and fly ash blocks, thestructure has good anti-seismic and thermal insulation abilities. Reducing the spacing of bars or compositing fly ash blocks can significantly improve the seismic performance of the structure. The finite element method (FEM) calculations agreed well with the experimental results, which validates the proposed model

In order to investigate the construction of column-to-beam joints and to understand the effect of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) and cross-section of beams and columns on the seismic performance of recycled aggregate concrete-filled light steel tubular frame structure, four new types of assembly joints were proposed in this paper. A low cyclic loading test of six frame specimens was carried out. The failure characteristic, load bearing capacity, hysteresis property, ductility, strength and stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation were analysed. The damage process of the specimen was simulated using the ABAQUS software, and the results agreed well with those obtained from the experiments. The results showed that the construction pathway of the joints exhibited significant influence on the seismic performance of the frame. The proposed reinforced joint (using angle steel and stiffeners) significantly improved the bearing capacity, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity of the recycled aggregate concrete-filled steel tube frame. The seismic performance of the steel frame was improved, while the energy dissipation capacity increased by 635.7% using RAC filled in the steel tubes. Finally, by appropriately increasing the size of cross-section on the beams and columns can improve the bearing capacity, stiffness and ductility of the structure.

Land use change is a considerable representation of mutual effect between human and natural activities. Northern Shanxi is located in the northern agro pastoral ecotone, which the land use pattern changes violently. This paper focuses on the dynamic change characteristics of cultivated land and grassland in the agro pastoral ecotone of northern Shanxi from 2000 to 2015, and explores the main driving factors of their change. It can provide support for land planning and management and relevant policy-making in northern Shanxi and promote regional sustainable development. The results showed that: ➀ There was a close interrelation between the change of cultivated land and grassland I n northern Shanxi, and the whole showed the opposite dynamic change trend. ➁The main land transfer type of cultivated land and grassland is construction land. And grassland is also the main transfer type of cultivated land. And cultivated land contributes greatly to the growth of grassland area. ➂Economic factors are the main driving force which affecting the area change of cultivated land and grassland, followed by the benefit factors of agricultural development, and finally the labor factors. ➃Economic factors can explain the shift of cultivated land and grassland in different districts and counties in northern Shanxi. The benefit factor of cultivated land development plays a negative driving role on cultivated land, the benefit of grassland development plays a promoting role on the growth of grassland area, and the driving force of labor factor is relatively small.

The transport and deposition of particulate materials through fractures is widely involved in environmental engineering and resource development engineering. A 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method (CFD-DEM) coupling method was used to investigate the particle and fluid flow. The Gauss Model was applied to construct the rough surfaces. First, the numerical results were compared with the previous results and reasonable agreements were obtained. Second, the results indicated a novel flow pattern of particles in rough fractures. Then, a comprehensive particle sedimentary analysis indicated that the deposition distance of particles was inversely proportional to the particle size and density ratio. In addition, the particle deposition rates were increased by the mean roughness and there was an uneven sediment distribution impacted by roughness. Reasons for this uneven sediment distribution were analyzed in detail. Moreover, the bridge plugs of particles considering the closure of fractures were simulated as well. A part of particulate materials would be filtered at the inlet due to size effect and the transport distance of entered particles decreased significantly when the particle was large. A critical particle radius (R

Chloride-induced corrosion of steel in reinforced concrete structures is one of the major causes of their deterioration over time. The analysis and research on the diffusion mechanism of chloride ions in reinforced concrete structures is still insufficient, and it is necessary to calculate the path of chloride ions based on theoretical models. In this paper, the fick’s second law was used to describe the free chloride concentration evolution in concrete. The Monte Carlo simulation was used to predict the cumulative distribution of corrosion initiation of reinforcing steel.The results show that the calculated results of the established model are in good agreement with the measured results.

Patients with ER/HER2-positive breast cancer have a poor prognosis and are less responsive to selective estrogen receptor modulators; this is presumably due to the crosstalk between ER and HER2. Fatty acid synthase (FASN) is essential for the survival and maintenance of the malignant phenotype of breast cancer cells. An intimate relationship exists between FASN, ER and HER2. We hypothesized that FASN may be the downstream effector underlying ER/HER2 crosstalk through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in ER/HER2-positive breast cancer. The present study implicated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in the regulation of FASN expression in ER/HER2-positive breast cancer cells and demonstrated that rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor, inhibited FASN expression. Cerulenin, a FASN inhibitor, synergized with rapamycin to induce apoptosis and inhibit cell migration and tumorigenesis in ER/HER2-positive breast cancer cells. Our findings suggest that inhibiting the mTOR-FASN axis is a promising new strategy for treating ER/HER2-positive breast cancer.

Abstract Background The prognosis of most hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients is poor due to the high metastatic rate of the disease. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying HCC metastasis is extremely urgent. The role of CD24 and NDRG2 (N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2), a candidate tumor suppressor gene, has not yet been explored in HCC. Methods The mRNA and protein expression of CD24 and NDRG2 was analyzed in MHCC97H, Huh7 and L-02 cells. Changes in cell adhesion, migration and invasion were detected by up- or down-regulating NDRG2 by adenovirus or siRNA. The expression pattern of NDRG2 and CD24 in HCC tissues and the relationship between NDRG2 and HCC clinical features was analyzed by immunohistochemical and western blotting analysis. Results NDRG2 expression was negatively correlated with malignancy in HCC. NDRG2 exerted anti-tumor activity by regulating CD24, a molecule that mediates cell-cell interaction, tumor proliferation and adhesion. NDRG2 up-regulation decreased CD24 expression and cell adhesion, migration and invasion. By contrast, NDRG2 down-regulation enhanced CD24 expression and cell adhesion, migration and invasion. Immunohistochemical analysis of 50 human HCC clinical specimens showed a strong correlation between NDRG2 down-regulation and CD24 overexpression (P = 0.04). In addition, increased frequency of NDRG2 down-regulation was observed in patients with elevated AFP serum level (P = 0.006), late TNM stage (P = 0.009), poor differentiation grade (P = 0.002), tumor invasion (P = 0.004) and recurrence (P = 0.024). Conclusions Our findings indicate that NDRG2 and CD24 regulate HCC adhesion, migration and invasion. The expression level of NDRG2 is closely related to the clinical features of HCC. Thus, NDRG2 plays an important physiological role in HCC metastasis.

Abstract Backgroud Interleukin-10(IL-10) is a multifunctional cytokine with both immunosuppressive and antiangiogenic functions. Polymorphisms in the IL-10 gene promoter genetically determine interindividual differences in IL-10 production. This study was performed to determined whether polymorphisms in the IL-10 gene promoter were associated with breast cancer in a Chinese Han population. Methods We genotyped 315 patients with breast cancer and 322 healthy control subjects for -1082A/G, -819T/C and -592A/C single nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter region of the IL-10 gene by polymerase chain reactionerestriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results There were no significant differences in genotype, allele, or haplotype frequencies in all three loci between patients and healthy controls. Analysis of breast cancer prognostic and predictive factors revealed that the -1082AA genotype was associated with a significantly increased risk of lymph node (LN) involvement (P = 0.041) and larger tumor size (P = 0.039) at the time of diagnosis. Furthermore, in the haplotype analysis of IL-10 gene, we found that patients carrying ATA haplotype were in higher LN involvement (p = 0.022) and higher tumor stage(p = 0.028) of breast cancer at the time of diagnosis compared with others. Conclusions Our findings suggest that IL-10 promoter polymorphisms participate in the progression of breast cancer rather than in its initial development in Chinese Han women.