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This study developed bigels as substitutes for solid fats, utilizing beeswax/plant sterol esters oleogel and gelatin/whey protein isolates hydrogel. Analysis focused on the effects of varying hydrogel to oleogel ratios on their microstructure, textural properties, and stability. As the oleogel content surpassed 50 wt%, a shift from O/W to W/O type was observed. Bigels with 60 wt%-80 wt% oleogel content exhibit higher hardness, ranging from 298.53 ± 30.33g to 376.55 ± 30.43g. Those with 50 wt% oleogel content show a peak shear strength of 8067.18 ± 17.41 g.sec. The melting temperatures of the bigels ranged from 52.218 to 109.423 °C, higher than the single oleogel at 45.934 °C. X-ray diffraction revealed a polycrystalline structure with α, β, and β′ polymorphs in the W/O bigels, indicating a more organized structure with increased oleogel. During the sensory evaluation, bigels with 60 wt% oleogel content (8.22 ± 0.22) closely resembled butter (8.58 ± 0.14), achieving the highest overall acceptability. After 30 days at room temperature (25 °C), the bigels with 60 wt% oleogel content exhibited excellent water retention (83.78 ± 3.70%) and oil retention (80.05 ± 1.93%), promising for the design of sustainable, low-calorie fat alternatives. [Display omitted] • 1.Bigels with low-calorie, low-fat were synthesized for food industry. • 2.At 50% oleogel content, the type of bigels will transition from O/W to W/O. • 3.Ratio of oleogel can regulate the mechanical characteristics of the bigels. • 4.Bigels enhance oil resistance to oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hovenia dulcis Thunb. is considered as a traditional herbal medicine that has been used in the treatment for ethanol-induced liver disease for centuries. Recently, substantial studies demonstrated that Semen hoveniae extract (SHE) not only suppressed the hepatic steatosis caused by chronic ethanol exposure, but also inhibited lipopolysaccharide-stimulated inflammatory responses. Nevertheless, the underlying molecular mechanisms largely remained elusive.Aim: To determine the hepatoprotective effects of SHE on ethanol-triggered liver damage and further elucidate its potential mechanisms.Methods: In the present study, the Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with the Lieber-DeCarli diet containing alcohol or isocaloric maltose dextrin as control diet with or without SHE (300 and 600 mg/kg/d bw) for 8 weeks. The levels of serum biomarkers (ALT, AST and LDH) and LPS were detected by biochemical assay kits and endotoxin detection LAL kit, respectively. The histopathological changes of liver and intestinal tissues were observed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and Transmission electron microscope (TEM). The expressions of CD14, TLR4, MyD88, NF-κB, Iκ-B, P-Iκ-B and TNF-α in liver, and ZO-1 and occludin in intestine were determined by western blot. The faecal microbial composition was determined by16S rRNA Gene Sequencing Analysis.Results: Biochemical and histopathological analysis revealed that SHE significantly alleviated the lipid deposition and inflammation response in liver induced by ethanol. SHE remarkably inhibited the TLR4 pathway and its downstream inflammatory mediators, and up-regulated the expressions of ZO-1 and occludin in the intestine. The further investigations suggested SHE dramatically reversed ethanol-induced alterations in the intestinal microbial flora and decreased the generation of gut-derived endotoxin.Conclusion: In summary, SHE probably modulated abnormalities of gut-liver axis and inhibited TLR4-associated inflammatory mediators activation to exert its hepatoprotective properties. These findings suggested that SHE as a traditional therapeutic options which may play an essential role in protecting against the chronic ethanol-triggered liver injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrolysis of water offers an efficient and eco-friendly route to separate hydrogen isotopes and cathode electrocatalysts featuring high separation factors coupled with high activity and stability are increasingly in demand. In this work, we propose MoS 2 rich in edge sites (MoS 2 -RS) as a promising hydrogen isotope separation electrocatalyst for the first time. MoS 2 -RS cathode exhibits high activity and hydrogen isotope selectivity with a low overpotential of 182.4 mV at 10 mA cm−2, a small Tafel slope of 61 mV dec−1 and a high hydrogen-deuterium separation factor (S H/D) of 10.22 in contrast to 6.33 for the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Density functional theory calculations ascribe the high selectivity of MoS 2 -RS to the H/D zero-point energy difference. Moreover, MoS 2 -RS demonstrates much higher values of S H/D compared with Pt/C catalyst under all test conditions and good long-term stability under acidic conditions. This work not only provides a promising catalytic material for efficient electrolytic separation of hydrogen isotopes but also indicates the direction of rational design of it. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For 17 consecutive years, the outbreak of Ulva prolifera in the South Yellow Sea area of China has caused significant negative impacts on coastal ecological environment. However, its specific influence on fish immunity is rare. In this study, the juvenile Paralichthys olivaceus was exposed to fresh U. prolifera algae (FU) and decomposing algal effluent (DU). After short-term stress for 14 days, the histopathological and transcriptome analysis were performed to study the effect of U. prolifera decay on P. olivaceus. Histopathological analysis found that the liver, spleen and head kidneys of P. olivaceus were damaged after the short-term stress. The transcriptome results showed that the steroid biosynthesis signaling pathway and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway were significantly enriched. Some immune related genes, including c1qc-like , dusp1 , dusp16 , HSP90 and metabolic related genes serotransferrin , were differentially expressed. These results highlighted the harmfulness of U. prolifera on marine fish, setting a solid foundation for further analyses. • Some immune and metabolic pathways of juvenile P. olivaceus was affected by the degradation of U. prolifera. • Weighted gene co-expression network analysis identified 63 core genes of P. olivaceus responding to U. prolifera. • The liver, spleen and head kidney of P. olivaceus were damaged with U. prolifera stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to evaluate the effect of the large-scale green tide on micro-propagule community in the coastal waters of Qingdao, a year-round survey was conducted to investigate the abundance and species succession of the green macroalgal micro-propagules. Five Ulva and one Blidingia species were detected and an evident shift on species composition was observed in summer when the large-scale floating biomass of Ulva prolifera approached the coasts of Qingdao. Propagules of U. prolifera were only dominant in summer. Detection of the ‘floating’ type of U. prolifera in summer, a unique strain responsible for the green tide in Yellow Sea, supported that large-scale floating U. prolifera biomass could affect local micro-propagule community. There were, however, no ‘floating’ U. prolifera propagules were detected in the following winter, indicating that influence from the large-scale green tide was transient, and it has not leave prolonged seeds in Qingdao coastal waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to effectively prevent the fire, the experiment on the preparation of aqueous foam with high stability was carried out based on the analysis of the current characteristics of the foaming agent. When the SDS and AES solutions were added with RPP, PAM and LA, the foaming heights all higher than the single SDS or AES solution. But the half-time changed up and down. Based on the FCI, the biggest value of FCI is 10762.50, and its corresponding compound solution is composed of 2.5g/L AES+1.5g/L PAM+4.0g/L SAP. The formation mechanism of the novel aqueous foam consist of the PAM particles irreversibly adsorb at the gas-liquid interface, PAM can associate with micelles to result in an increase in the charge of PAM macromolecules and an increase in system viscosity, AES ionization of Na+ further increased the Na+ concentration in the SAP grid and promoted the water absorption. When the temperature is 135℃, it began to have a small amount of water evaporation and the foaming height began to decline. The water evaporation rate increased with the temperature. Through the change of viscosity, it is concluded that the prepared aqueous foam can still maintain the foam form at 220℃. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Trophodynamics features of As and Cd were investigated within continuous tropic level ranges indicated by nitrogen stable isotopes of marine fauna from YRE. • As and Cd bioaccumulation features in invertebrates were distinct from fish. • As and Cd were biomagnified in invertebrates from the YRE through trophic transfer. • High risk invertebrates may be underestimated by an overall trophodynamics evaluation. • Taxa composition may play important role in As and Cd biomagnification in invertebrates. Toxic arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) pollution threatens organisms and humans in coastal ecosystems, but their biomagnification in marine systems remains under debate. This study investigated the levels and trophodynamic features of As and Cd, and potential human health risks of marine fauna within continuous trophic levels (TLs) from the Yellow River Estuary, China, and adjacent sea (YRE), as indicated by nitrogen stable isotope analyses. Individual faunal samples were grouped into continuous TL ranges and analyzed separately in fish and invertebrates. As and Cd concentrations varied significantly between fish and invertebrates within different TL ranges. Trophic magnification factors (TMFs) also revealed different bioaccumulation features of As and Cd with increasing TL via trophic transfer in the food chain. Although As and Cd were biodiluted in marine organisms overall from the YRE, they were biomagnified in invertebrates through trophic transfer, with TMFs of 1.91 and 1.70, respectively. As and Cd biomagnification in invertebrates was hidden by overall evaluation of toxic element bioaccumulation in marine fauna. Crustacea accounted for 55% of the invertebrate taxa in the study, which could have an important role in the biomagnification of these two elements in invertebrates as a whole. Given that marine organisms occupying higher trophic positions at higher risk of As and Cd biomagnification might be underestimated in the analyses of mean values at the species level, the target hazard quotient through fish and invertebrate consumption was calculated separately based on individuals distributed within continuous TL ranges corresponding to element concentrations, and the health risks to adults and children were evaluated. Results indicated that, in the study area, the non-carcinogenic health risk associated with As and Cd from consuming invertebrates was higher than that from fish, especially for children. In addition, estimation of As carcinogenic risk (>10–4 in both invertebrates and fish) also indicated that ingestion of seafood from the YRE with suggested meal size would cause cancer risk with long-term consumption, especially of invertebrates. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor toxic metal concentrations in aquatic organisms to devise regulations around seafood consumption by humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile strategy was developed to fabricate zinc (II) functionalized l -phenylalanine in situ grafted starch (Zn(II)@ l -Phe-g-St). The structure of Zn(II)@ l -Phe-g-St was proposed and well characterized, and the assays of antibacterial activity against typical bacteria ( Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli ) and cytotoxicity of Hela cell were focused on. Boc- l -phenylalanine was used to achieve l -Phe-g-St by in situ grafting onto starch through esterification reaction after removal of Boc. It was confirmed that around 71.02% of NH 2 of l -Phe complexed with Zn(II) by σ-coordinate bonds and the coordination number of Zn(II) approximated to 2. Zn(II)@ l -Phe-g-St exhibited a good antibacterial activity against both Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli with increasing its concentration, and a relatively more effective antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis than Escherichia coli . Furthermore, Zn(II)@ l -Phe-g-St was found to be very low toxicity towards Hela cells especially at the concentration below 40 μg ml −1 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the frequency and intensity of harmful algal blooms (HABs), as well as a profusion of toxic phytoplankton species, have significantly increased in coastal regions of China. Researchers attribute this to environmental changes such as rising atmospheric CO 2 levels. Such addition of carbon into the ocean ecosystem can lead to increased growth, enhanced metabolism, and altered toxicity of toxic phytoplankton communities resulting in serious human health concerns. In this study, the effects of elevated partial pressure of CO 2 (pCO 2 ) on the growth and toxicity of a strain of Alexandrium tamarense (ATDH) widespread in the East and South China Seas were investigated. Results of these studies showed a higher specific growth rate (0.31 ± 0.05 day −1 ) when exposed to 1000 μatm CO 2 , (experimental), with a corresponding density of (2.02 ± 0.19) × 10 7 cells L −1 , that was significantly larger than cells under 395 μatm CO 2( control). These data also revealed that elevated pCO 2 primarily affected the photosynthetic properties of cells in the exponential growth phase. Interestingly, measurement of the total toxin content per cell was reduced by half under elevated CO 2 conditions. The following individual toxins were measured in this study: C1, C2, GTX1, GTX2, GTX3, GTX4, GTX5, STX, dcGTX2, dcGTX3, and dcSTX. Cells grown in 1000 μatm CO 2 showed an overall decrease in the cellular concentrations of C1, C2, GTX2, GTX3, GTX5, STX, dcGTX2, dcGTX3, and dcSTX, but an increase in GTX1 and GTX4. Total cellular toxicity per cell was measured revealing an increase of nearly 60% toxicity in the presence of elevated CO 2 compared to controls. This unusual result was attributed to a significant increase in the cellular concentrations of the more toxic derivatives, GTX1 and GTX4.Taken together; these findings indicate that the A. tamarense strain ATDH isolated from the East China Sea significantly increased in growth and cellular toxicity under elevated pCO 2 levels. These data may provide vital information regarding future HABs and the corresponding harmful effects as a result of increasing atmospheric CO 2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fishing is the most widespread human exploitation of marine resources, which has an annual cyclical influence on aquatic species in Chinese offshore waters. This study used carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios as tracers to reveal the changes in trophic level and dietary composition of offshore organisms during four cruises in March, June, August and November 2014. The results indicated that the trophic levels of fishes declined during two fishing periods, from March (average trophic level = 3.36) to June (3.01), and from August (2.99) to November (2.57), while most invertebrates did not show this trend. The self-restoring ability of this ecosystem was reflected in the trophic level changes after the closed fishing season (from June 1 to September 1). The trophic levels of fishes remained stable, and some species even recovered such as Enchelyopus elongates (trophic level increased from 2.84 in June to 2.86 in August), Cryptocentrus filifer (from 3.10 to 3.12), and Ernogrammus hexagrammus (from 2.91 to 2.96). According to the trophic results, we selected the invertebrates Octopus minor and Asterias amurensis from the top trophic levels for dietary composition analysis. The composition of their diets changed significantly after fishing periods, and the proportions of some smaller and “non-commercial” species increased, such as Notoacmea schrenckii and Chlorostoma rustica . After the closed fishing season, the larger and “commercial” species contributed a greater proportion to their diet composition. These results indicated that the closed fishing season should be prolonged to give the ecosystem enough time to restore itself and further halt the trend of this fishery towards environment deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TGF-β1 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and autophagy in a variety of cells. However, the role of autophagy in TGF-β1-induced EMT has not been clearly elucidated and the underlying mechanisms are unclear. In the present study, we found that TGF-β1 induced both autophagy and EMT in mouse tubular epithelial C1.1 cells. Inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine or siRNA knockdown of Beclin 1 reduced TGF-β1-induced increase of vimentin and decreased E-cadherin expression. In contrast, rapamycin-associated enhancement of TGF-β1-induced autophagy increased EMT of C1.1 cells. Serum rescue inhibited autophagy followed by reversal of EMT. Blocking of autophagosome-lysosomal but not proteosomal degradation reduced the decrease of E-cadherin, demonstrating a role for autophagy in degradation of E-cadherin during EMT. Autophagy promoted the activation of Src and Src-associated phosphorylation of β-catenin at Y-654 leading to pY654-β-catenin/p-Smad2 complex formation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated binding by the pY654-β-catenin/p-Smad2 complex to ILK promoter thus increasing ILK expression. Taken together, our results demonstrate that TGF-β1-induced autophagy links β-catenin and Smad signaling to promote EMT in C1.1 cells through a novel pY654-β-catenin/p-Smad2/ILK pathway. The pathway delineated links disruption of E-cadherin/β-catenin-mediated cell–cell contact to induction of EMT via upregulation of ILK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geometrical optimizations of the ground and first excited states of benzimidazole and indene were performed using the density functional theory (DFT) and its time-dependent extension methods (TD-DFT), respectively. Their vibrationally resolved 1 L b ( 1 A′) ↔ S 0 ( 1 A′) absorption and fluorescence spectra were simulated within the Franck–Condon approximation including the Herzberg–Teller (HT) and Duschinsky effects. Calculated results revealed that, with the HT and Duschinsky effects getting involved, the simulated weak 1 L b ( 1 A′) ↔ S 0 ( 1 A′) electronic spectra of the two molecules excellently reproduce the experimental findings. Based on the experimental data and other theoretical results, we tentatively assigned most of the vibrational normal modes which emerged in the experimental spectra of the two molecules. The present theoretical insights are expected to help us understand the nature of electronic transitions in the vibrationally resolved absorption and fluorescence spectra of benzimidazole and its analogues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the density functional theory and its time-dependent extension, the properties of the ground and the first excited states of phenanthrene were calculated. In harmonic and anharmonic approximations, the well-resolved absorption and emission spectra of phenanthrene were simulated using the Franck–Condon approximation combined with the Herzberg–Teller and Duschinsky effects, and the results reproduced the experimental spectra very well. The mirror symmetry breakdown between absorption and emission spectra is induced mainly from the Herzberg–Teller effect and Duschinsky mode mixing. Moreover, most of the vibrational modes were tentatively assigned and compared with the experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the introduction of drug discovery based on single targets, the number of newly developed drugs has steadily declined, and the reliablility of the current drug-discovery paradigm has been unceasingly questioned. As an alternative, an emerging approach pursuing multi-targeting drugs has arisen to reflect multifactorial diseases caused by the complex networks of various mechanisms. The purpose of this paper is to review multi-target drugs and introduce our progress in establishing a practical methodology for identifying antinociceptive multi-target drugs. We have adopted a system of ex vivo efficacy screening using long-term potentiation in rat spinal cord as a surrogate biomarker for neuropathic pain. A bait-target approach is also adopted to lure an unknown target combination that induces synergistic mechanisms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Automatic calibration is widely used to estimate parameters in hydrological models. The main idea is to use optimization algorithms to minimize the discrepancy between field data and simulation prediction. This process involves iterative exchanges of a parameter set chosen by the optimization and simulation. However, for computationally expensive models, such as groundwater flow and transport models, the calibration process may be extremely computationally demanding. In this study, we introduce and demonstrate a new asynchronous parallel surrogate-assisted optimization algorithm with an early truncation feature and different knowledge extraction strategies (SO-AET-k). Results show that our asynchronous algorithm performs significantly better than the synchronous analogue (SO-SP), requiring only 40%–70% of the computation time to achieve the same averaged results. In addition, various knowledge extraction strategies of the asynchronous SO-AET-k are tested. In comparisons with two other algorithms, SCE-UA and APPSPACK, asynchronous SO-AET-k shows significantly better performance in terms of both efficiency and robustness. • Asynchronous parallel with dynamic early truncation strategies are proposed to solve calibration problems. • Knowledge extraction rules used in optimization are investigated to exploit and explore the search of optimal solution. • The reduction of computational time in finding optimal solution is demonstrated by early stopping expensive objective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We tested whether N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the dorsal hippocampus (DH) are critical for the acquisition of trace fear conditioning using conditioned hypoalgesia (CHA), decrease in pain reactivity, as the conditioned response (CR) instead of commonly used freezing. Infusions of the NMDA receptor antagonist, dl-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV) into DH prior to conditioning resulted in impaired CHA, measured with the radiant heat tail flick test, only in the trace-conditioning group when they were tested during the trace interval. The same infusion had no effect on CHA in the delay-conditioned animals. The results support that NMDA receptors in DH are critically involved in associating the CS with the US across a temporal gap. In addition, temporal specificity of the CR was revealed as CHA was induced only in the temporal vicinity of the US used for the training. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In stomach, metaplasia can arise from differentiated chief cells that become mitotic via paligenosis, a stepwise program. In paligenosis, mitosis initiation requires reactivation of the cellular energy hub mTORC1 after initial mTORC1 suppression by DNA damage induced transcript 4 (DDIT4 aka REDD1). Here, we use DDIT4-deficient mice and human cells to study how metaplasia increases tumorigenesis risk. A tissue microarray of human gastric tissue specimens was analyzed by immunohistochemistry for DDIT4. C57BL/6 mice were administered combinations of intraperitoneal injections of high-dose tamoxifen (TAM) to induce spasmolytic polypeptide-expressing metaplasia (SPEM) and rapamycin to block mTORC1 activity, and N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) in drinking water to induce spontaneous gastric tumors. Stomachs were analyzed for proliferation, DNA damage, and tumor formation. CRISPR/Cas9-generated DDIT4 −/− and control human gastric cells were analyzed for growth in vitro and in xenografts with and without 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) treatment. DDIT4 was expressed in normal gastric chief cells in mice and humans and decreased as chief cells became metaplastic. Paligenotic Ddit4 −/− chief cells maintained constitutively high mTORC1, causing increased mitosis of metaplastic cells despite DNA damage. Lower DDIT4 expression correlated with longer survival of patients with gastric cancer. 5-FU–treated DDIT4 −/− human gastric epithelial cells had significantly increased cells entering mitosis despite DNA damage and increased proliferation in vitro and in xenografts. MNU-treated Ddit4 −/− mice had increased spontaneous tumorigenesis after multiple rounds of paligenosis induced by TAM. During injury-induced metaplastic proliferation, failure of licensing mTORC1 reactivation correlates with increased proliferation of cells harboring DNA damage, as well as increased tumor formation and growth in mice and humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metal detoxification mechanism is essential for the accumulation activity of some polychaetes. In order to investigate the detoxification function of metalloprotein II in polychaete Perinereis aibuhitensis , a recombinant fusion protein of MP II was successfully expressed in vitro and an anti-MP II polyclonal antibody was got. The tissue distribution of MP II in P. aibuhitensis and the protein expression under Cd, Pb and Zn exposure were detected by ELISA with this antibody. The results showed that MP II was higher in the intestine of P. aibuhitensis , followed by the body wall and parapodium. Cd, Zn and Pb exposure can induced MP II expression, but the change trend of MP II under various heavy metal exposure was different. The amount of MP II induced in P. aibuhitensis increased with the rises of Cd concentration, but there is no significant relationship between Zn and Pb concentration and MP II level. • A polyclonal antibody specific to P. aibuhitensis MP II is developed for monitoring the heavy metal. • The intestine of P. aibuhitensis is the target organ with highest expression of MP II. • The toxicity of Cd to P. aibuhitensis is greater than that of Pb and Zn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Annealing behavior of amylose and amylopectin was unclear. In this work, high purity amylose and amylopectin were extracted from rice starch, and structural properties of the retrograded rice starch, amylose, and amylopectin before and after annealing treatment were explored. It was found that the purity of the amylose and amylopectin was 95.64% ± 2.69% and 94.98% ± 0.97%, respectively. Their molecular weight was (2.93 ± 0.21) × 106 Da and (5.90 ± 0.13) × 107 Da, respectively. Besides, the relative crystallinities and ratios of 1047 cm−1/1022 cm−1 of the retrograded rice starch and amylose were significantly increased by annealing treatment, while that of retrograded amylopectin did not change. These results clarified that amylose was more sensitive to annealing treatment than amylopectin, and amylose was more responsible for annealing of starch than amylopectin. The findings contributed to a better understanding of the annealing behavior of starch. • Amylose and amylopectin with high purity were extracted from rice starch. • Annealing had same effects on structural properties of rice starch and amylose. • Structural properties of amylopectin were not changed by annealing treatment. • Amylose was more sensitive to annealing treatment than amylopectin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]