Search

Gait as a biometric trait has the ability to be recognized in remote monitoring. In this article, a method based on joint distribution of motion angles is proposed for gait recognition. The new feature of the motion angles of lower limbs is defined and extracted from either 2D video database or 3D motion capture database, and the corresponding angles of right leg and left leg are joined together to work out the joint distribution spectrums. Based on the joint distribution of these angles, we build a feature histogram individually. In the stage of distance measurement, three types of distance vector are defined and utilized to measure the similarity between the histograms, and then a classifier is built to implement the classification. Experiments has been carried out both on CASIA Gait Database and CMU motion capture database, which show that our method can achieve a good recognition performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, air-conditioner filter dust samples collected from commercial office, secondary school, shopping mall, electronic factory and manufacturing plant in Hong Kong were collected for 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) assay using a hepatoma cell line (H4IIE) and chemical analysis of dioxins including polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and PCBs with dioxin-like structure. The result of EROD assay showed that bioassay derived TEQ of 2,3,7,8-TCDD (TEQbio) of dust samples varied from 320 to 730pg/g. Chemical analyses revealed that chemical derived TEQ of 2,3,7,8-TCDD (TEQcal) of dust samples ranged from 134 to 531pg/g. In addition, the TEQcal of samples were significantly correlated with TEQbio of samples (R=0.83, P<0.01). The average daily doses (ADDs) of dioxins via indoor dust with the estimated ADDs of dioxins via air and food were compared. The results showed that indoor dust is an important medium of exposure to dioxins. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Human SERPINB3 and SERPINB4 are evolutionary duplicated serine/cysteine protease inhibitors. Genomic analysis indicates that these paralogous genes were encoded from independent loci arising from tandem gene duplication. Although the two molecules share 92% identity of their amino acid sequences, they are distinct in the Reactive Center Loop (RCL) including a hinge region and catalytic sequences which accounts for altered substrate specificity. Elevated expression of the two molecules has been reported to contribute to numerous pathological conditions such as inflammatory diseases and cancer. In this review, we focus on summarizing the biochemical features of SERPINB3/B4 and discussing the mechanistic basis for their biological functions and implications in human diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles in the development and progression of human cancers, including gastric cancer (GC). The discovery of miRNAs may provide a new and powerful tool for studying the mechanism, diagnosis, and treatment of GC. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of miR-128b in the development and progression of GC. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to measure the expression level of miR-128b in GC tissues and cell lines. We found that miR-128b was significantly down-regulated in GC tissues and cell lines. In addition, over-expression of miR-128b inhibited GC cell proliferation, migration and invasion of GC cells in vitro . Gain-of-function in vitro experiments further showed that the miR-128b mimic significantly promoted GC cell apoptosis. Subsequent dual-luciferase reporter assay identified one of the proto-oncogene A2bR as direct target of miR-128b. Therefore, our results indicate that miR-128b is a proto-oncogene miRNA that can suppresses GC proliferation and migration through down-regulation of the oncogene gene A2bR. Taken together, our results indicate that miR-128b could serve as a potential diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic option for human GC in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal parenchymal lung disease with limited effective therapies. Interleukin (IL)-18 belongs to a rather large IL-1 gene family and is a proinflammatory cytokine, which acts in both acquired and innate immunity. We have previously reported that IL-18 play an important role in lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in mice. Persistent inflammation often drives fibrotic progression in the bleomycin (BLM) injury model. However, the role of IL-18 in pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is still unknown. IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP) is able to neutralize IL-18 biological activity and has a protective effect against renal fibrosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of IL-18BP on BLM-induced PF. In the present study, we found that IL-18 was upregulated in lungs of BLM-injured mice. Neutralization of IL-18 by IL-18BP improved the survival rate and ameliorated BLM-induced PF in mice, which was associated with attenuated pathological changes, reduced collagen deposition, and decreased content of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). We further demonstrated that IL-18BP treatment suppressed the BLM-induced epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), characterized by decreased α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and increased E-cadherin (E-cad) in vivo. In addition, we provided in vitro evidence demonstrating that IL-18 promoted EMT through upregulation of Snail-1 in A549 cells. In conclusion, our findings raise the possibility that the increase of IL-18 is involved in the development of BLM-induced PF through modulating EMT in a Snail-1-dependent manner. IL-18BP may be a worthwhile candidate option for PF therapy. Highlights • IL-18 expression is increased in BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis mice. • Neutralization of IL-18 by IL-18BP ameliorates pulmonary fibrosis via inhibition of EMT. • IL-18 promotes EMT in a Snial-1-dependent manner in A549 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Interleukin (IL)-18 belongs to a rather large IL-1 gene family and is a proinflammatory cytokine. IL-18 plays important roles in lung injury. IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP), a natural antagonist of IL-18, binds IL-18 with high affinity. IL-18BP is able to neutralize IL-18 biological activity and has a protective effect against renal fibrosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential protective effect of IL-18BP on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in mice and to illuminate the underlying mechanisms. Results indicated that pretreatment with IL-18BP significantly attenuated LPS-induced pulmonary pathological injury. Meanwhile, IL-18BP pretreatment markedly inhibited infiltration of inflammatory cell and release of inflammatory factor in ALI mice in vivo and in primary macrophages after LPS insult in vitro. IL-18BP treatment dramatically reduced oxidative stress through increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) contents, and decreasing the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in LPS-induced ALI mice and primary macrophages. Additionally, IL-18BP was also observed to markedly decreased the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and upregulated the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). Taken together, IL-18BP possessed protective effect against LPS-induced ALI, which might be associated with its regulation of NF-κB and Nrf2 activities. The results rendered IL-18BP worthy of further development into a pharmaceutical drug for the treatment of ALI. Highlights • IL-18BP protectes against LPS-induced ALI. • IL-18BP inhibits the activation of NF-κB in LPS-induced ALI mice. • IL-18BP enhances the activation of Nrf2 in LPS-induced ALI mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of ultrasonic treatment (25 kHz, 400 W, 20 ℃, 20 min) on water-soluble pectin (WSP) content and structure, and degrading enzymes in cell wall of persimmon fruit during storage was studied. Results indicated that after storage for 15 d, the firmness of ultrasonic-treated persimmon fruit increased by 22.43 %, and the activity of pectin degrading enzymes PG, PME, and PL decreased by 34.32 %, 8.52 %, and 17.27 % compared with the control, respectively. Additionally, ultrasonic had little effect on the WSP content, but could slightly inhibit the decrease of WSP molecular weight and branched-chain, thus delaying the degradation of WSP. By inhibiting the activity of pectin degrading enzyme, ultrasonic slowed the depolymerization of the WSP structure and maintained the stability of cell wall structure, thus improving the firmness of persimmon fruit. The results will provide a reference for revealing the mechanism of ultrasonic on fruit softening. [Display omitted] • Ultrasonic treatment could maintain the firmness of persimmon fruit. • Ultrasonic treatment could slightly inhibit the structure decrease of WSP. • Ultrasonic treatment inhibited the increase of the activity of PG, PME and PL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of mild heat treatment (MHT 1 min and MHT 5 min at 40 °C) on inhibiting browning of sliced mushrooms were assayed during 6 d storage at 4 ± 0.5 °C. The results showed that the mushroom slices treated by MHT 5 min exhibited higher Lightness value and total phenolic content than that of MHT 1 min and control, and the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and phenylalanine ammonialyase were increased while polyphenol oxidase activity was suppressed. Furthermore, the increase of superoxide anion production rate, malondialdehyde content and hydrogen peroxide content were delayed in sliced mushrooms treated with MHT 5 min. No significant difference on ascorbic acid content and ascorbate peroxidase activity were found in sliced mushroom treated with MHT and control. The results shown that mild heat treatment (40 °C, 5 min) could delay the browning occurrence of sliced mushrooms by improving the activities of antioxidant enzymes and the contents of antioxidants, inhibiting the accumulation of reactive oxygen and the activities of browning related enzymes. And the appropriate heat treatment (40 °C, 5 min) can prolong the shelf-life of sliced mushrooms from 2 days to more than 6 days. The study suggests that MHT (40 °C, 5 min) could be a promising candidate to inhibit browning of sliced button mushrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Auditory GABA levels and auditory network (AN)-DMN FC decreased in presbycusis. • Auditory GABA levels and AN-DMN FC mediated the cognitive-ear link in presbycusis. • Hearing loss may drive cognitive-ear link reorganization via decreased GABA levels. Recent studies suggest that the interaction between presbycusis and cognitive impairment may be partially explained by the cognitive-ear link. However, the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, we combined magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate auditory gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate (Glu) levels, intra- and inter-network functional connectivity, and their relationships with auditory and cognitive function in 51 presbycusis patients and 51 well-matched healthy controls. Our results confirmed reorganization of the cognitive-ear link in presbycusis, including decreased auditory GABA and Glu levels and aberrant functional connectivity involving auditory networks (AN) and cognitive-related networks, which were associated with reduced speech perception or cognitive impairment. Moreover, mediation analyses revealed that decreased auditory GABA levels and dysconnectivity between the AN and default mode network (DMN) mediated the association between hearing loss and impaired information processing speed in presbycusis. These findings highlight the importance of AN-DMN dysconnectivity in cognitive-ear link reorganization leading to cognitive impairment, and hearing loss may drive reorganization via decreased auditory GABA levels. Modulation of GABA neurotransmission may lead to new treatment strategies for cognitive impairment in presbycusis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of different concentrations (1 g/L, 3 g/L and 5 g/L) of tea polyphenols incorporated into alginate-based (sodium alginate 1 g/L, glycerol 11.6 g/L and sunflower oil 0.25 g/L) edible coating on the respiration intensity, physicochemical properties, and activities of antioxidant enzymes of fresh winter jujube during 8 days storage under ambient temperature were evaluated. Coated jujube without tea polyphenols and uncoated jujube were stored under the same conditions and served as the controls. The alginate-based edible coating with 1 g/L tea polyphenols significantly reduced red indices, total chlorophylls content, respiration rate, electrolyte leakage and malonaldehyde content while maintaining the ascorbic acid content, total phenol content and the activities of antioxidant enzymes. However, the alginate-based edible coating incorporated with tea polyphenols, whichever their concentrations, had no significant effect on firmness. Alginate-based edible coating with 1 g/L tea polyphenols has a potential to maintain the quality of fresh jujube under ambient temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug addicts experience strong craving episodes in response to drug-associated cues. Attenuating these responses using pharmacological or behavioral approaches could aid recovery from addiction. Cue-induced drug seeking can be modeled using the conditioned place preference procedure (CPP). Our previous work showed that conditioned place preference (CPP) can be induced by administration of increasing doses of morphine in rhesus monkeys. Here, we investigated whether expression of morphine-induced CPP can be attenuated by inhibiting activity of insular cortex or by repeated unreinforced exposures to the CPP test. The insula has been demonstrated to be involved in addiction to several drugs of abuse. To test its role in morphine CPP, bilateral cannulae were implanted into the insula in seven adult monkeys. The CPP was established using a biased apparatus by intramuscular injections of morphine at increasing doses (1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 mg/kg) for each monkey. After the monkeys established morphine CPP, their insulae were reversibly inactivated by bilateral microinjection with 5% lidocaine (40 μl) prior to the post-conditioning test (expression) of CPP using a within-subject design. The microinjections of lidocaine failed to affect CPP expression when compared to saline injections. We subsequently investigated morphine-associated memory during six episodes of CPP tests performed in these monkeys over the following 75.0 ± 0.2 months. While the preference score showed a declining trend with repeated testing, morphine-induced CPP was maintained even on the last test performed at 75 months post-conditioning. This observation indicated strong resistance of morphine-induced memories to extinction in rhesus monkeys. Although these data do not confirm involvement of insula in morphine-induced CPP, our observation that drug-associated memories can be maintained over six drug-free years following initial experience with morphine has important implications for treatment of drug addiction using extinction therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] PPAR-γ increases KLF4 protein level but does not influence KLF4 gene transcription. [•] The increase of KLF4 protein levels induced by pioglitazone is PPAR-γ-dependent. [•] Pioglitazone stabilizes KLF4 protein via activating Akt signaling and reducing KLF4 ubiquitination. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We propose a novel non-parametric method to identify generalized frequency response functions (GFRFs) for multi-input multi-output (MIMO) nonlinear systems in this paper. Firstly, the formula to calculate GFRFs is derived in terms of the corresponding output frequency properties of GFRFs of the MIMO nonlinear system excited by a single-tone signal. Secondly, to improve the efficiency of the non-parametric identification method, we utilize the multitone excitation to drive the MIMO nonlinear system, and propose a searching algorithm of the frequency base of multitone excitation. Finally, the general procedure of identifying GFRFs of MIMO nonlinear system excited by the multitone excitation is summarized. The proposed non-parametric identification method is suitable for application as it only depends on input–output data of the MIMO nonlinear system and avoids time-consuming study of its complicated physical mechanisms. Moreover, the proposed non-parametric identification method is proved to be effective by the precisely identifying GFRFs of a two-input two-output nonlinear system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. seed oil byproducts are rich in edible proteins (35.98%, dry matter) and have been scarcely investigated. Therefore, E. ulmoides seed meal proteins (ESMPs) were extracted and modified by dynamic high-pressure microfluidization (DHPM). The results showed that DHPM induced an increase in the α-helix to β-sheet ratio of ESMPs, implying the enhancement of ESMPs bioavailability. The average particle size and absolute zeta potential of ESMPs were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by 91.07% and 27.88%, respectively, with pressure rising to 160 MPa. The solubility of ESMPs via DHPM treatment was noticeably (p < 0.05) increased. DHPM treatment elevated the water holding capacity of ESMPs under acidic conditions as well as the fat absorption capability under high temperature. The foaming properties of ESMPs depended on the protein concentration and DHPM treatment. DHPM at 40, 80, and 120 MPa significantly improved (p < 0.05) the emulsifying capability of ESMPs. Therefore, DHPM treatment would be promising for modifying the functional characteristics of ESMPs. • Microfluidization was applied to treat Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. seed meal proteins (ESMPs). • Microfluidization caused modifications of secondary structure of ESMPs. • Microfluidization reduced the average particle size and absolute zeta-potential of ESMPs. • Microfluidization elevated the water holding capability of ESMP under acidic condition. • Microfluidization improved the surface-active properties of ESMPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, oil-in-water nanoemulsion of Eucommia ulmoides seed oil were produced by dynamic high-pressure microfluidization (DHPM). The nanoemulsion produced with DHPM at pressure of 100Mpa, treated for five times (5 min), Eucommia ulmoides seed oil volume fraction 8%, emulsifier concentration 0.12 g/mL demonstrated the smallest particle sizes, narrowest PSD and highest ζ-potential. The results of rheological properties indicated that the Eucommia ulmoides seed oil nanoemulsion prepared by DHPM has good kinetic stability. The physical stability analysis showed that no precipitation, fat floating and polymerization appeared in the newly prepared nanoemulsion. Additionally, nanoemulsion showed good stability under acidic conditions. The peroxidation values of Eucommia ulmoides seed oil and its nanoemulsion at different storage temperatures showed an increasing trend with temperature and storage time. Within 45 days of accelerated oxidation at 60 °C, the peroxide value of Eucommia ulmoides seed oil increased from 2.41 to 16.15 meq O 2 /kg oil, and the nanoemulsion increased from 2.41 to 14.49 meq O 2 /kg oil, revealing that nanoemulsion could slow down the oxidation of oil. Overall, DHPM could be applied to prepare fine Eucommia ulmoides seed oil nanoemulsion, which is benefit for the protection and wider application of Eucommia ulmoides seed oil. • Fine Eucommia ulmoides seed oil (ESO) nanoemulsion can be successfully prepared by DHPM technique. • The increase of DHPM pressure and treating number can significantly reduce the particle size of ESO nanoemulsion. • Nanoemulsion can improve the storage stability of ESO. • ESO nanoemulsion is stable in acidic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]