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The combination of κ-Carrageenan (KC) and konjac gum (KGM) were introduced to examine the impact on gelation and microstructural behaviors of scallop male gonads hydrolysates (SMGHs) and the involvement of intermolecular forces. In terms of G' response of SMGHs/KGM/KC, it obviously enhanced by 3.6- and 108.5-fold than controls of KGM/KC and SMGHs/KC at 0.1 Hz, accompanying increasing melting temperatures from 27.9 (KGM/KC) and 30.0 (SMGHs/KC) to 33.7°C (SMGHs/KGM/KC), respectively. Additionally, SMGHs/KGM/KC with decreasing relaxation time T

Sea urchin Mesocentrotus nudus, Glyptocidaris crenularis, and Strongylocentrotus intermedius gonad protein isolates (mnGPIs, gcGPIs, and siGPIs) were extracted by isoelectric solubilization/precipitation (ISP) from the defatted gonads, and their functional properties were compared. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis results showed the similar protein pattern between each protein isolate and defatted gonad, indicating the high efficiency of ISP processing for protein recovery. Amino acid profileconfirmed that the mnGPIs and siGPIs could be potential sources of essential amino acid in nature. As regard to functional properties, mnGPIs showed higher water- and oil- holding capacities followed bysiGPIs and gcGPIs and all protein isolates presented great foaming property. As for emulsifying activity index (EAI), mnGPIs, gcGPIs, and siGPIs showed the minimum solubility and EAI at pH 5, 3, and 4, respectively, and behaved a pH-dependent manner. The gcGPIs revealed the highest EAI from pH 6 to 8 among the samples. In addition, circular dichroism showed increased content of β-sheet at the expense of α-helix and β-turn, suggesting the structure denaturation of the protein isolates. Indeed, no statistical difference was observed between secondary structure of mnGPIs and siGPIs. Moreover, ISP processing increased free sulfhydryl content of sea urchin protein isolates, but no difference was observed among the samples. Furthermore, siGPIs revealed the highest amount of total sulfhydryl and disulfide bonds, whereas both defatted gonads and protein isolates from G. crenularis presented the maximum surface hydrophobicity. These results suggest that gonad protein isolates from three species of sea urchin possess various functionalities and therefore can be potentially applied in food system. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Sea urchin M. nudus, G. crenularis, and S. intermedius gonads are edible, whereas the functional properties of protein isolates from sea urchin gonad remain unknown. In this case, the extraction and comparison of three species of sea urchin gonad protein isolates will not only confirm functional properties but also screen food ingredients with suitable functions. In this study, functionalities of protein isolates derived from M. nudus, G. crenularis, and S. intermedius gonads would provide potential application in bakery food and meat products or as emulsifier candidates in food system.

A conventional single dipole antenna will make the antenna power gain effect poor,and the energy of the effective excitation signal and scattering signal reflected from underground detection target...

Background Albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) from a first morning urine is recommended as a early indicator for diabetic nephropathy. However, it is not always feasible to collect the first morning urine for outpatients. We aimed to explore whether ACR from a second morning urine had a good consistency with that from a first morning urine to predict albuminuria in Chinese elderly citizens. Method One hundred and ninety-one elderly citizens (≧60 years old) from Junliangcheng community, Dongli district, Tianjin, China were included. A first and second morning urine was collected from each participants, successfully and detected the urinary albumin and creatinine of each urine sample. Albumin to creatinine ratio from a first morning urine (ACR1) was compared with that from a second morning urine (ACR2), and the ability of ACR1 and ACR2 to predict albuminuria was assessed. Result: ACR1 and ACR2 were highly correlated (r = 0.901), especially in male and hypertension group (r = 0.938 and 0.904). The slope and intercept were 0.93 and 0.11 after log-transformed. And there was no statistical difference between values of ACR1 and ACR2 (P = 0.271). Overall, 26.2% participants were detected with albuminuria when judged by ACR1 and 28.3% by ACR2. A good concordance of ACR category (normal or albuminuria) was found between ACR1 and ACR2 (Kappa value = 0.815 in overall; in male and hypertension group were 0.900 and 0.850). Conclusion A second morning urine ACR could be the alternative to a first morning urine ACR for albuminuria detection in elderly population.

This article uses a micro-level data set to investigate the effect of China's Labor Contract Law, implemented in 2008, on the Chinese labor market. Our empirical evidence shows that the labor law reform significantly improved employee benefit. This effect is greater for state-owned enterprises, for large and domestic firms, and for regions with high unionization and high skill intensity. The Labor Contract Law significantly reduces the wage elasticity of labor demand, especially in highly unionized and skill-intensive industries. However, this effect is less significant in globalized industries and female-employee-intensive industries. Overall, our results emphasize the important role of China's Labor Contract Law in improving employment protection, and substantial variations in the impact of labor law reform across different firms, regions, and industries.

Background: Microalbuminuria is an indicator of kidney damage and a risk factor for the progression kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and so on. Therefore, accurate and precise measurement of urinary albumin is critical. However, there are no reference measurement procedures and reference materials for urinary albumin. Methods: Nephelometry, turbidimetry, colloidal gold method, radioimmunoassay, and chemiluminescence immunoassay were performed for methodological evaluation, based on imprecision test, recovery rate, linearity, haemoglobin interference rate, and verified reference interval. Then we tested 40 urine samples from diabetic patients by each method, and compared the result between assays. Results: The results indicate that nephelometry is the method with best analytical performance among the five methods, with an average intraassay coefficient of variation (CV) of 2.6%, an average interassay CV of 1.7%, a mean recovery of 99.6%, a linearity of R=1.00 from 2 to 250 mg/l, and an interference rate of

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine that plays an important role in inflammatory reactions. We have addressed the possible regulation of IL-6 expression by the ubiquitin-protease system in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Cultured endothelial cells were treated with MG-132, a protease inhibitor, and the levels of IL-6 mRNA and protein were measured by reverse transcription-PCR and ELISA. MG-132 increased the expression of IL-6 mRNA and protein;and this effect was abolished by the pretreatment of the cells with U0126, an inhibitor of MAP or ERK kinases (MEK 1/2). MG-132 treatment was also found to enhance the level of phosphorylated MEK 1/2. Treatment of the cells with actinomycin D inhibited IL-6 expression in response to MG-132, suggesting the transcriptional upregulation of IL-6 under proteasomal inhibition. We conclude that a protease inhibitor MG-132 upregulates IL-6 expression in vascular endothelial cells, at least in part, through the activation of MEK 1/2.

Objective The aim of this study was to explore the possible influences of age and gender on urinary Alpha 1-Microglobulin (α1-MG) concentrations and establish specific reference values of urinary α1-MG in a group of healthy adults. Methods Two hundred and ninety-nine adults (141 males and 158 females) aged 20-60 were selected and grouped by gender and age. Urinary levels of α1-MG were detected in morning spot-urine samples, and statistical analysis was performed to explore the association between urinary α1-MG and clinical parameters, and the differences between groups were compared. The 95th percentile of distribution was used as the normal upper limit. Results The value of urinary α1-MG was sex-dependent (P

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the associations of urinary markers (eg albumin), glomerular (eg transferrin [TRF], immunoglobulin G [IgG]), and tubular (eg α1‐microglobulin [α1‐MG], β2‐microglobulin [β2‐MG]) markers with the development of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in type 2 diabetes patients, as assessed by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 252 type 2 diabetes patients and 50 nondiabetic controls from Tianjin, China, were selected. Diabetic patients were divided into three groups according to eGFR levels, including groups A, B, and C with eGFR ≥90 (n=94), 60‐89 (n=94), and 30‐59 (n=64) mL/min/1.73 m(2). Urine levels of glomerular and tubular markers were detected in first morning urine samples, and their associations with eGFR and albuminuria analyzed. RESULTS: Urinary levels of IgG, TRF, and β2‐MG were significantly elevated in diabetic patients with normal eGFR compared with nondiabetic control subjects. Urinary levels of all markers increased per eGFR stratum. All kidney damage markers were significantly associated with eGFR in univariate analysis (standard β between −0.35 and −0.28; all P