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The underlying cause of differences in sensitization between bovine and caprine milk β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) remains unclear. In this study, denatured forms of bovine and caprine milk β-LG were obtained through reductive alkylation and evaluated for allergenicity and digestibility in Balb/c mice. Results indicated weaker sensitization to nondenatured caprine milk β-LG compared to nondenatured bovine milk β-LG, with no significant difference in sensitization observed between denatured β-LG from both sources. The nondenatured β-LG of caprine milk and two types of denatured β-LG were degraded more rapidly than nondenatured bovine milk β-LG in the small intestine of mice. In terms of undenatured proteins, mouse intestinal tissues absorbed more bovine milk β-LG than caprine milk β-LG. Overall, structural disparities in β-LG between bovine and caprine milk resulted in varying digestion rates. Moreover, the slower-degraded bovine milk β-LG and its enzymatic fragments facilitated easier absorption by the intestine, disrupting the Th1/Th2 balance and increasing susceptibility to severe allergic reactions in mice.

Storage and transportation are critical processes that significantly affect food quality, with bacterial proliferation serving as a major contributor to deterioration. Preservative films are commonly used in food transportation and preservation. However, the approval process for contact-type preservative films remains challenging due to inconclusive toxicity assessments. In this work, we synthesized antimicrobial zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) with ZnO microtube heterostructures (ZZHs) for contactless biological preservation using the optical vapor phase supersaturated precipitation (OVSP) method, combined with an in situ solvothermal approach. This ZZH exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity and achieved efficiencies of 90.47% and 98.24% against E. coliand S. aureus, respectively. We also developed a highly flexible ZZH/PDMS film that demonstrated exceptional structural stability under various temperature, acid, and alkali conditions, which supported the potential for stable intrinsic antimicrobial activity. The hydrophilic nature and high specific surface area of the ZZH/PDMS film were beneficial to capture the dispersed water vapor, bacteria, and other harmful substances, which enhanced the efficiency of the antimicrobial functional sites. This strategy indirectly inhibited bacterial proliferation by controlling ambient humidity, thus avoiding direct contact between the film and the fruit. This process was defined as a contactless mechanism. This work offers an avenue for the development of highly flexible and durable antimicrobial heterostructure agents for contactless biological preservation in future applications.

Synaptotagmin 7 (SYT7), a member of the synaptotagmin family, exhibits high expression in various tumors and is closely associated with patient prognosis. The tight regulation of SYT7 expression assumes paramount significance in the progression of tumorigenesis. In this study, we detected a high GC content in the first 1000 bp of the promoter region of SYT7, suggesting a potential role of the G-quadruplex in its transcriptional regulation. Circular dichroism spectroscopy results showed that −187 to −172 bp sequence can form a typical parallel G-quadruplex structure, and site mutation revealed the critical role of the ninth guanine in its formation. Then, treatment of two ligands of G-quadruplex (TMPyP4 and Pyridostatin) reduced both the expression of SYT7 and subsequent tumor proliferation, demonstrating the potential of the G-quadruplex as a targeted therapy for tumors. By shedding light on the pivotal role of the G-quadruplex in regulating SYT7 transcription, our study not only advances our comprehension of this intricate regulatory mechanism but also emphasizes the significance of SYT7 in tumor proliferation. These findings collectively contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the interplay between G-quadruplex regulation and SYT7 function in tumor development.

Nowadays, graph collaborative filtering has proven to be a highly effective method in recommendation systems. It learns user preferences through interactions between users and items. During the training process of graph collaborative filtering, introducing suitable perturbations is crucial to model training. It is commonly used to prevent overfitting and enhance model robustness. Perturbation is widely adopted as a data augmentation technique in recommendation systems and extensively used in contrastive learning. Contrastive learning involves multitask learning aimed at learning various views from diverse data augmentations. However, these tasks can sometimes interfere with each other, impacting their effectiveness. In contrast to methods that focus on learning various views in contrastive learning to achieve better embedding representations, we propose a straightforward yet highly effective approach to directly incorporate spike signal embedding perturbation (SEP) into the graph collaborative filtering process. Unlike many other approaches that introduce Gaussian-distributed noise, the spike signals generated by the Poisson encoder typically maintain a positive relationship with the original embeddings. Our experimental results demonstrate that this proposed method significantly enhances the performance of graph collaborative filtering when compared to LightGCN. It leads to substantial improvements in recommendation performance and training efficiency.

As a new type of wound dressing, hydrogels have attracted more and more attention. However, traditional hydrogel wound dressings lack inherent antibacterial properties and are difficult to match irregular wounds, which leads to an easy wound bacterial infection. To solve the problems associated with traditional hydrogels, in this research, a thermosensitive hydrogel (PFLD) for wound dressings was developed based on Poloxamer 407 (PF127), lysine (Lys), and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC). Rheological tests indicated that the PFLD hydrogel possesses injectability, adaptability to deformation, and sufficient mechanical strength for wound dressing applications. In addition, it could in situgel at 33 °C, which indicated that the hydrogel could undergo sol-to-gel transition under body temperature. Upon using it in wound treatment, it could adapt to irregular wounds to achieve full coverage of the wound and promote the rapid hemostasis of wound bleeding. Due to the presence of DOPAC in the hydrogel, it exhibited excellent antibacterial and antioxidant properties on the wounds. The skin defect model showed that the wound shrinkage was the fastest after PFLD hydrogel treatment. On day 14, the wound shrinkage rates were 81.68 and 99.77% for the control and PFLD hydrogel groups, respectively. Therefore, the PFLD hydrogel has a broad application prospect as a dressing for the treatment of irregular wounds.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by poor response to all therapeutic modalities and dismal prognosis. The presence of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) in various solid cancers is of crucial prognostic significance, highlighting the intricate interplay between the tumor microenvironment and immune cells aggregation. However, the extent to which TLSs and immune status affect PDAC prognosis remains incompletely understood. Here, we sought to unveil the unique properties of TLSs in PDAC by leveraging both single-cell and bulk transcriptomics, culminating in a risk model that predicts clinical outcomes. We used TLS scores based on a 12-gene (CCL2, CCL3, CCL4, CCL5, CCL8, CCL18, CCL19, CCL21, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, and CXCL13) and 9-gene (PTGDS, RBP5, EIF1AY, CETP, SKAP1, LAT, CCR6, CD1D, and CD79B) signature, respectively, and examined their distribution in cell clusters of single-cell data from PDAC samples. The markers involved in these clusters were selected to develop a prognostic model using The Cancer Genome Atlas Program database as the training cohort and Gene Expression Omnibus database as the validation cohort. Further, we compared the immune infiltration, drug sensitivity, and enriched and differentially expressed genes between the high- and low-risk groups in our model. Therefore, we established a risk model that has significant implications for the prognostic assessment of PADC patients with remarkable differences in immune infiltration and chemosensitivity between the low- and high-risk groups. This paradigm established by TLS-related cell marker genes provides a prognostic prediction and a panel of novel therapeutic targets for exploring potential immunotherapy.We established a computational model to serve as a prognostic indicator for pancreatic cancer patients using the signatures of TLSs before treatment initiation.

Polysaccharide foulants play a key role in the adhesion of many fouling organisms, which may cause severe marine biofouling. However, the detailed interaction mechanism between polysaccharides and antifouling membranes is still indistinct compared with that between the fouling protein and antifouling surfaces. In this paper, a model oligosaccharide built based on the monosaccharide composition found in diatom extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) was used as a model foulant to investigate its adsorption and desorption above three T4 antifouling membranes. It was found that the anionic poly(3-(methacryloyloxy)propane-1-sulfonate) (T4-SP) antifouling membrane had excellent antifouling ability with respect to the model oligosaccharide, while the oligosaccharide can be easily adsorbed on the poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (T4-DM) membrane with vdW attraction and on the zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (T4-SB) membrane with electrostatic attraction. As little is known about the details of polysaccharides’ adsorption above antifouling membranes at the molecular level, we hope this work will serve as a theoretical basis for finding more effective materials to prevent or control marine biofouling.

Objective: To observe the effects of warming needle therapy combined with the modified Hua Tan Tong Luo Tang (decoction for dissipating phlegm and unblocking collaterals) on post-stroke cognitive impairment due to obstruction of wind-phlegm. Methods: A total of 78 patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to an observation group and a control group, with 39 patients in each group. Both groups received conventional treatment. The control group was additionally treated with the modified Hua Tan Tong Luo Tang, while the observation group received warming needle therapy in addition to the treatment given to the control group. Scores on the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), and activities of daily living (ADL) were assessed before and after treatment. Adverse reactions and clinical efficacy were analyzed and compared between the two groups after treatment. Results: The total effective rate was 82.1% in the observation group and 61.5% in the control group, showing statistical significance between the two groups (P<0.05). After treatment, the MMSE, MoCA, and ADL scores of both groups were significantly higher than those before treatment within each group (P<0.05). Notably, the scores in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). No adverse reactions occurred in either group during the treatment period. Conclusion: Based on the conventional treatment, compared to modified Hua Tan Tong Luo Tang alone, warming needle therapy combined with the modified Hua Tan Tong Luo Tang showed superior clinical efficacy in treating post-stroke cognitive impairment due to obstruction of wind-phlegm, and this combined therapy also showed high safety.

Amino acids make up a promising family of molecules capable of direct air capture (DAC) of CO2from the atmosphere. Under alkaline conditions, CO2reacts with the anionic form of an amino acid to produce carbamates and deactivated zwitterionic amino acids. The presence of the various species of amino acids and reactive intermediates can have a significant effect on DAC chemistry, the role of which is poorly understood. In this study, all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) based computational simulations and vibrational sum frequency generation (vSFG) spectroscopy studies were conducted to understand the role of competitive interactions at the air–aqueous interface in the context of DAC. We find that the presence of potassium bicarbonate ions, in combination with the anionic and zwitterionic forms of amino acids, induces concentration and charge gradients at the interface, generating a layered molecular arrangement that changes under pre- and post-DAC conditions. In parallel, an enhancement in the surface activity of both anionic and zwitterionic forms of amino acids is observed, which is attributed to enhanced interfacial stability and favorable intermolecular interactions between the adsorbed amino acids in their anionic and zwitterionic forms. The collective influence of these competitive interactions, along with the resulting interfacial heterogeneity, may in turn affect subsequent capture reactions and associated rates. These effects underscore the need to consider dynamic changes in interfacial chemical makeup to enhance DAC efficiency and to develop successful negative emission and storage technologies.

Our previous studies have demonstrated that Mito-Tempol (also known as 4-hydroxy-Tempo), a mitochondrial reactive oxygen species scavenger, alleviates oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-triggered foam cell formation. Given the effect of oxidative stress on activating the NOD-, LRR-, and pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, which promotes foam cell formation, we aimed to explore whether Mito-Tempo inhibits ox-LDL-triggered foam cell formation by regulating NLRP3 inflammasome. The results revealed that Mito-Tempo re-activated Nrf2 and alleviated macrophage foam cell formation induced by ox-LDL, whereas the effects were reversed by ML385 (a specific Nrf2 inhibitor). Mito-Tempo restored the expression and nuclear translocation of Nrf2 by decreasing ox-LDL-induced ubiquitination. Furthermore, Mito-Tempo suppressed ox-LDL-triggered NLRP3 inflammasome activation and subsequent pyroptosis, whereas the changes were blocked by ML385. Mito-Tempo decreased lipoprotein uptake by inhibiting CD36 expression and suppressed foam cell formation by regulating the NLRP3 inflammasome. Taken together, Mito-Tempo exhibits potent anti-atherosclerotic effects by regulating Nrf2/NLRP3 signaling.Graphical Abstract

The time‐series data of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a crucial indicator for global and regional vegetation monitoring. However, the current assessment of global and regional long‐term vegetation changes is subject to large uncertainties due to the lack of spatiotemporally continuous time‐series data sets. In this study, a long time‐series monthly NDVI data set with a spatial resolution of 250 m from 1982 to 2020 was developed by combining Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and AVHRR (Advanced Very High‐Resolution Radiometer) time‐series NDVI products using the Random Forest (RF) downscaling model. Compared to the MODIS NDVI product, the fused product shows RMSE and mean absolute error ranging from 0 to 0.075 and from 0 to 0.05, respectively, with R2values mostly above 0.7. The long time‐series NDVI products generated in this study are reliable in terms of accuracy and have great potential for long‐term dynamic monitoring of terrestrial ecosystems on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. A long time‐series monthly Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data set with a spatial resolution of 250 m from 1982 to 2020 was developed by combining MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and AVHRR (Advanced Very High‐Resolution Radiometer) time‐series NDVI products using the Random Forest model. The generated product is reliable in accuracy and has great potential for grassland dynamic monitoring in the Tibetan Plateau.

With the increase in the specific energy of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), fire accidents occur more frequently; however, the effective and clean suppression of LIB fires remains a challenge. In the present work, the efficiency of dodecafluoro-2-methylpentan-3-one (C6F12O) in suppressing high energy density (HED) ternary LIB fires is experimentally investigated. It is found that C6F12O can efficiently extinguish the HED battery and its module fire. As the flow rate increases, the extinguishment time decreases and the peak temperature decreases, but the cooling efficiency for the long-term process is reduced. When the C6F12O spray can completely cover the thermal runaway (TR) area, its extinguishing and cooling effect is the best. For the HED module, the application of C6F12O effectively increases the TR trigger temperature, reduces the TR peak temperature, and decreases heat production. The application of water mist enhances the cooling of extinguished LIBs, the combination of C6F12O and water mist extends the TR propagation time of the fully charged LIB module to 1.4 times that without suppression, and the total TR heat production is reduced by 1423.1 kJ. These results provide guidance for the design of inhibitor volume fractions for HED LIB fires.

This paper discusses the functional principle of the theory in detail based on the theory of diversified intelligence and constructs a teaching platform of diversified intelligence. Then, this platform is applied to teaching in different cities, and the application of modern and contemporary literature teaching platforms in different cities is compared. According to the application indicators of each inter city teaching platform, the measures to improve the application rate of this teaching platform are put forward. In short, based on the theory of multiple intelligences, this paper provides some experimental and theoretical support for the development and progress of modern and contemporary Chinese literature.

Comprehending the structure and function of rhizobacteria components and their regulation are crucial for sustainable agricultural management. However, obtaining comprehensive species information for most bacteria in the natural environment, particularly rhizobacteria, presents a challenge using traditional culture methods. To obtain diverse and pure cultures of rhizobacteria, this study primarily reviews the evolution of rhizobacteria culturomics and associated culture methods. Furthermore, it explores new strategies for enhancing the application of culturomics, providing valuable insights into efficiently enriching and isolate target bacterial strains/groups from the environment. The findings will help improve rhizobacteria’s culturability and enrich the functional bacterial library.

As an effective ECL emitter, tetraphenylethene (TPE)-based molecules have recently been reported with aggregation-induced electrochemiluminescence (AIECL) property, while it is still a big challenge to control its aggregation states and obtain uniform aggregates with intense ECL emission. In this study, we develop three TPE derivatives carrying a pyridinium group, an alkyl chain, and a quaternary ammonium group via the Menschutkin reaction. The resulting molecules exhibit significantly red-shifted FL and enhanced ECL emissions due to the tunable reduction of the energy gap between the highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMOs). More importantly, the amphiphilicity of the as-developed molecules enables their spontaneous self-assembly into well-controlled spherical nanoaggregates, and the ECL intensity of nanoaggregates with 3 −CH2– (named as C3) is 17.0-fold higher compared to that of the original 4-(4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)phenyl)pyridine (TPP) molecule. These cationic nanoaggregates demonstrate a high affinity toward bacteria, and an ECL sensor for the profiling of Escherichia coli(E. coli) was developed with a broad linear range and good selectivity in the presence of an E. coli-specific aptamer. This study provides an effective way to enhance the ECL emission of TPE molecules through their derivatization and a simple way to prepare well-controlled AIECL nanoaggregates for ECL application.

Interfaces are considered a major bottleneck in the capture of CO2from air. Efforts to design surfaces to enhance CO2capture probabilities are challenging due to the remarkably poor understanding of chemistry and self-assembly taking place at these interfaces. Here, we leverage surface-specific vibrational spectroscopy, Langmuir trough techniques, and simulations to mechanistically elucidate how cationic oligomers can drive surface localization of amino acids (AAs) that serve as CO2capture agents speeding up the apparent rate of absorption. We demonstrate how tuning these interfaces provides a means to facilitate CO2capture chemistry to occur at the interface, while lowering surface tension and improving transport/reaction probabilities. We show that in the presence of interfacial AA-rich aggregates, one can improve capture probabilities vs that of a bare interface, which holds promise in addressing climate change through the removal of CO2via tailored interfaces and associated chemistries.

Additive manufacturing technology is highly regarded due to its advantages, such as high precision and the ability to address complex geometric challenges. However, the development of additive manufacturing process is constrained by issues like unclear fundamental principles, complex experimental cycles, and high costs. Machine learning, as a novel artificial intelligence technology, has the potential to deeply engage in the development of additive manufacturing process, assisting engineers in learning and developing new techniques. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the research and applications of machine learning in the field of additive manufacturing, particularly in model design and process development. Firstly, it introduces the background and significance of machine learning-assisted design in additive manufacturing process. It then further delves into the application of machine learning in additive manufacturing, focusing on model design and process guidance. Finally, it concludes by summarizing and forecasting the development trends of machine learning technology in the field of additive manufacturing.

Hyperuricemia (HUA) is a metabolic disorder characterized by an increase in the concentrations of uric acid (UA) in the bloodstream, intricately linked to the onset and progression of numerous chronic diseases. The tripeptide Pro-Glu-Trp (PEW) was identified as a xanthine oxidase (XOD) inhibitory peptide derived from whey protein, which was previously shown to mitigate HUA by suppressing UA synthesis and enhancing renal UA excretion. However, the effects of PEW on the intestinal UA excretion pathway remain unclear. This study investigated the impact of PEW on alleviating HUA in rats from the perspective of intestinal UA transport, gut microbiota, and intestinal barrier. The results indicated that PEW inhibited the XOD activity in the serum, jejunum, and ileum, ameliorated intestinal morphology changes and oxidative stress, and upregulated the expression of ABCG2 and GLUT9 in the small intestine. PEW reversed gut microbiota dysbiosis by decreasing the abundance of harmful bacteria (e.g., Bacteroides, Alloprevotella, and Desulfovibrio) and increasing the abundance of beneficial microbes (e.g., Muribaculaceae, Lactobacillus, and Ruminococcus) and elevated the concentration of short-chain fatty acids. PEW upregulated the expression of occludin and ZO-1 and decreased serum IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α levels. Our findings suggested that PEW supplementation ameliorated HUA by enhancing intestinal UA excretion, modulating the gut microbiota, and restoring the intestinal barrier function.

The absence of pixel-scale ground measurements presents a notable challenge in the creation and validation of passive microwave snow depth (SD) inversion models, due to the huge scale mismatch between ground measurements and remotely sensed pixels. The coarse spatial resolution of passive microwave remote sensing products further complicates the accurate representation of detailed SD information in space, particularly in mountainous regions. In this study, pixel-scale SD values were generated using regression kriging (RK) and simple averaging (SA) point-to-surface upscaling models, and their impact on the two SD downscaling inversion models, and Chang’s and best subset regression (BSR) models were evaluated. The results indicate that the RK model exhibits superior upscaling accuracy and alignment with observed SD, yielding root-mean-square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) values of 1.75 and 1.41 cm, respectively. The performance of the SA model is affected by the observed SD thickness within the snow quadrat, with RMSE and MAE values of 2.35 and 1.92 cm, respectively. However, the accuracy of the pixel-scale ground measurements does not significantly influence the accuracy of Chang’s algorithm. Nevertheless, the BSR model, utilizing ascending brightness temperature (BT) data and the simulated pixel-scale ground SD measurements, achieves the ideal accuracy and suitability for complex terrain areas, with RMSE and MAE values of 2.04 and 1.53 cm, respectively. This study is expected to provide valuable insights for developing point-to-surface upscaling strategies and addressing scale effect challenges in SD inversion.

Nanotherapies, valued for their high efficacy and low toxicity, frequently serve as antitumor treatments, but do not readily penetrate deep into tumor tissues and cells. Here we developed an improved tumor-penetrating peptide (TPP)-based drug delivery system. Briefly, the established TPP iNGR was modified to generate a linear NGR peptide capable of transporting nanotherapeutic drugs into tumors through a CendR pathway-dependent, neuropilin-1 receptor-mediated process. Although TPPs have been reported to reach intended tumor targets, they often fail to penetrate cell membranes to deliver tumoricidal drugs to intracellular targets. We addressed this issue by harnessing cell penetrating peptide technology to develop a liposome-based multibarrier-penetrating delivery system (mbPDS) with improved synergistic drug penetration into deep tumor tissues and cells. The system incorporated doxorubicin-loaded liposomes coated with nona-arginine (R9) CPP and cyclic iNGR (CRNGRGPDC) molecules, yielding Lip-mbPDS. Lip-mbPDS tumor-targeting, tumor cell/tissue-penetrating and antitumor capabilities were assessed using CD13-positive human fibrosarcoma-derived cell (HT1080)-based in vitroand in vivotumor models. Lip-mbPDS evaluation included three-dimensional layer-by-layer confocal laser scanning microscopy, cell internalization/toxicity assays, three-dimensional tumor spheroid-based penetration assays and antitumor efficacy assays conducted in an animal model. Lip-mbPDS provided enhanced synergistic drug penetration of multiple biointerfaces for potentially deep tumor therapeutic outcomes.

Sixteen known compounds, including three lignan glycosides (1–3), seven phenolic glycosides (4–10), three glycosides (11–13), and three flavonoids (14–16), were isolated from the rhizomes of Actinidia kolomikta(Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim., Actinidiaceae. Their structures were elucidated through extensive spectroscopic analyses and comparison with those reported in the literature. This study is the first confirmation of the presence of the twelve compounds (1–4, 6–13) isolated from the Actinidiaceae family. The isolated compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on NO, TNF-α, and IL-6 production in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells. Among them, salidroside (9), D-threo-guaiacylglycerol 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (10), and epi-afzelechin (15) exhibited the potent anti-inflammatory effect against NO, TNF-α, and IL-6. In addition, compound 10showed significant inhibitory effects on COX-2 expression at 50 μM, and compound 15showed significant inhibitory effects on iNOS expression at 50 μM. These results suggest that the anti-inflammatory activity of A. kolomiktamight in part occur via the inhibition of the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Spatially resolved transcriptomics (SRT) studies are becoming increasingly common and large, offering unprecedented opportunities in mapping complex tissue structures and functions. Here we present integrative and reference-informed tissue segmentation (IRIS), a computational method designed to characterize tissue spatial organization in SRT studies through accurately and efficiently detecting spatial domains. IRIS uniquely leverages single-cell RNA sequencing data for reference-informed detection of biologically interpretable spatial domains, integrating multiple SRT slices while explicitly considering correlations both within and across slices. We demonstrate the advantages of IRIS through in-depth analysis of six SRT datasets encompassing diverse technologies, tissues, species and resolutions. In these applications, IRIS achieves substantial accuracy gains (39–1,083%) and speed improvements (4.6–666.0) in moderate-sized datasets, while representing the only method applicable for large datasets including Stereo-seq and 10x Xenium. As a result, IRIS reveals intricate brain structures, uncovers tumor microenvironment heterogeneity and detects structural changes in diabetes-affected testis, all with exceptional speed and accuracy.

Ferula ferulaeoides(Steud.) Korov. is a well-known perennial herb whose growth and distribution are negatively affected by drought. However, the drought sensitivity of its seed germination stage and early seedling growth stage have not been studied in detail. In this study, PEG-6000 induced water deficiency conditions were perform to obverse the drought tolerance of seeds and seedlings of F. ferulaeoides. Data exhibited that the seed germination rate was reduced with elevated PEG-6000 concentrations and especially, no seeds germinated at a PEG-6000 concentration of 20%. Besides, water deficiency conditions altered the morphology of seedling leaf and root, which made the chloroplast of seedling leaf cells deformed and vacuolized and caused mitochondria structure damage in both tissues. The antioxidant parameters of seedlings under drought stress were further observed. Data exhibited that catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase responded rapidly under drought stress. The seedlings accumulated a large amount of malondialdehyde under high drought stress. Drought stress affected the accumulation of proline and photosynthetic pigments. In summary, the germination and seedling stage of F. ferulaeoidesexhibited poorly environmental adaptability to drought stress, which mainly manifested in the water-dependent changes of seed survival rate, seedling morphology, physiological and biochemical indexes. Our results could provide guiding suggestions for future artificial cultivation.

Lattice metamaterials based on three-period minimum surface (TPMS) are an effective means to achieve lightweight and high-strength materials which are widely used in various fields such as aerospace and ships. However, its vibration and noise reduction, and damping properties have not been fully studied. Therefore, in this study, the TPMS structures with parameterization were designed by the method of surface migration, and the TPMS structures with high forming quality was manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). The mechanical properties and energy absorption characteristics of the beam and TPMS structures were studied and compared by quasi-static compression. The modal shapes of the beam lattice structures and TPMS structures were obtained by the free modal analysis, and the damping properties of two structures were obtained by modal tests. For the two structures after heat treatment with the same porosity of 70%, the yield strength of the beam lattice structure reaches 40.76 MPa, elastic modulus is 20.38 GPa, the energy absorption value is 32.23 MJ·m−3, the damping ratio is 0.52%. The yield strength, elastic modulus, energy absorption value and damping ratio of the TPMS structure are 50.74 MPa, 25.37 GPa, 47.34 MJ·m−3, and 0.99%, respectively. The results show that TPMS structures exhibit more excellent mechanical properties and energy absorption, better damping performance, and obvious advantages in structural load and vibration and noise reduction compared with the beam lattice structures under the same porosity.

In recent years, the dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors, an antidiabetic drug extending the half-life of incretin, have attracted the researchers’ attention. The current study aimed to explore the inhibitory peptides obtained from oat protein hydrolysates (OPHs) and their derivative peptides against DPP-IV. OPHs obtained by digestion with alcalase, papain, and trypsin exhibited DPP-IV inhibitory activities. Among them, the OPHs produced by digestion with alcalase exhibited the strongest inhibitory effects on DPP-IV (92.92 ± 0.13%). The inhibitory peptides obtained with alcalase digestion were isolated and purified using anion-exchange chromatography (DEAE-52) and volume-exclusion chromatography (Sephadex-G25) sequentially. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to identify 11 peptides in total. Molecular docking results showed that the SPVAEVPFLR (SP10, − 8.0 kcal/mol) and LDATDMVALVG (LD11, − 7.1 kcal/mol) had the lowest binding energies with DPP-IV and primarily bound by hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. Moreover, simulated digestion verified that SP10 and LD11 could resist gastrointestinal degradation. The inhibitory activities of SP10 and LD11 on DPP-IV were investigated in vitro using a monolayer intestinal model of Caco-2 cells. The results indicated that SP10 and LD11 had in situ IC50values of 167.8 and 269.1 µM, respectively. Therefore, OPHs can be considered promising natural sources of DPP-IV inhibitory peptides.

AbstractObesity has emerged as a global issue, but with the complex structures of multiple related important targets and their agonists or antagonists determined, the mechanism of ligand-protein interaction may offer new chances for developing new generation agonists anti-obesity. Based on the molecule surface of the cryo-EM protein structure 7AUE, we tried to replace D-Ala3 with D-Met in setmelanotide as the linker site for fragment-growing with De novo evolution. The simulation results indicate that the derivatives could improve the binding abilities with the melanocortin 4 receptor and the selectivity over the melanocortin 1 receptor. The improved selectivity of the newly designed derivatives is mainly due to the shape difference of the molecular surface at the orthosteric peptide-binding pocket between melanocortin 4 receptor and melanocortin 1 receptor. The new extended fragments could not only enhance the binding affinities but also function as a gripper to seize the pore, making it easier to balance and stabilize the other component of the new derivatives. Although it is challenging to synthesize the compounds designed in silico, this study may perhaps serve as a trigger for additional anti-obesity research.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

AbstractCDC25B belongs to the CDC25 family, and it plays an important part in regulating the activity of CDK/CyclinA. Studies have shown that CDC25B is closely related to cancer development. When CYS473 on CDC25B is mutated into ASP, the affinity between CDC25B and CDK2/CyclinA weakens, and their dissociation speed is greatly improved. However, the mechanism by which the CDC25BC473Dmutant weakens its binding to CDK2/CyclinA is unclear. In order to study the effect of CDC25BC473Dmutants on CDK2/CyclinA substrates, we constructed and verified the rationality of the CDC25BWT:CDK2/CyclinA system and CDC25BC473D:CDK2/CyclinA system and conducted molecular dynamics (MD) simulation analysis. In the post-analysis, the fluctuations of residues ARG488-SER499, LYS541-TRP550 on CDC25B and residues ASP206-ASP210 on CDK2 were massive in the mutant CDC25BC473D:CDK2/CyclinA system. And the interactions between residue ARG492 and residue GLU208, residue ARG544 and residue GLU42, residue ARG544 and TRP550 were weakened in the mutant CDC25BC473D:CDK2/CyclinA system. The results showed that when CYS473 on CDC25B was mutated into ASP473, the mutant CDC25BC473D:CDK2/CyclinA system was less stable than the wild-type CDC25BWT:CDK2/CyclinA system. Finally, active site CYS473 of CDC25B was speculated to be the key residue, which had great effects on the binding between CDC25BCYS473and CDK2 in the CDC25BC473D:CDK2/CyclinA system. Consequently, overall analyses appeared in this study ultimately provided a useful understanding of the weak interactions between CDC25BCYS473Dand CDK2/CyclinA.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma