Search

Two aspects of real-world visual search are typically studied in parallel: category knowledge (e.g., searching for food) and visual patterns (e.g., predicting an upcoming street sign from prior street signs). Previous visual search studies have shown that prior category knowledge hinders search when targets and distractors are from the same category. Other studies have shown that task-irrelevant patterns of non-target objects can enhance search when targets appear in locations that previously contained these irrelevant patterns. Combining EEG (N2pc ERP component, a neural marker of target selection) and behavioral measures, the present study investigated how search efficiency is simultaneously affected by prior knowledge of real-world objects (food and toys) and irrelevant visual patterns (sequences of runic symbols) within the same paradigm. We did not observe behavioral differences between locating items in patterned versus random locations. However, the N2pc components emerged sooner when search items appeared in the patterned location, compared to the random location, with a stronger effect when search items were targets, as opposed to non-targets categorically related to the target. A multivariate pattern analysis revealed that neural responses during search trials in the same time window reflected where the visual patterns appeared. Our finding contributes to our understanding of how knowledge acquired prior to the search task (e.g., category knowledge) interacts with new content within the search task.

Sarcoplasmic proteins (SP) derived from yak meat were oxidized by malondialdehyde (MDA) at different concentrations. The effects of lipid oxidation on physicochemical properties and color stability of SP were investigated by evaluating side-chain amino acid oxidation, protein structure and color of SP and the oxidation status of myoglobin (Mb). The results showed that after MDA oxidation, the a* value, b* value, C* value, and deoxymyoglobin and oxymyoglobin contents of SP significantly decreased (P < 0.05), and the L* value, metmyoglobin content, and ferrylmyoglobin concentration significantly increased (P < 0.05), indicating that MDA oxidation lowered color stability. The contents of carbonyl groups and dimeric tyrosine, the fluorescence intensity of SP-MDA adducts, and the relative contents of β-helix and β-turn significantly increased (P < 0.05), and total sulfhydryl content, surface hydrophobicity, intrinsic fluorescence intensity, and the relative contents of α-helix and random coil significantly declined (P < 0.05). Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) showed blurred expansion of small molecule bands and the formation of macromolecular aggregates, suggesting that MDA promoted the oxidation and aggregation of SP. Pearson correlation analysis revealed significant correlations between MDA oxidation and physicochemical properties and color stability of SP (P < 0.05). This study reveals that MDA alters the structure of SP by directly oxidizing it or mediating Mb oxidation, causing cross-linked aggregation of SP and reducing its color stability.

The effects of adding different levels (0.01%, 0.05% and 0.10%) of banana flower extract (BFE) versus dibutylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) on protein oxidation in naturally fermented yak meat sausages were investigated. lys The carbonyl content, Schiff base content, total sulfhydryl content, active sulfhydryl content, surface hydrophobicity, dimeric tyrosine content, endogenous fluorescence intensity and solubility of myofibrillar proteins (MPs) from fermented yak meat sausage were measured at different fermentation times, and the secondary structure and composition of MPs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The results showed that compared with the blank control, the addition of BFE decreased the carbonyl group content, Schiff base content, surface hydrophobicity, dimeric tyrosine content and endogenous tryptophan fluorescence intensity of MPs, and increased the total sulfhydryl group content, active sulfhydryl group content and solubility. FTIR spectroscopy showed that the addition of BFE improved the reveal the more stability of the secondary structure of MPs. SDS-PAGE showed that BFE reduced the diffusion of myosin heavy chain and had a protective effect on myosin. This study showed that BFE inhibited protein oxidation in naturally fermented yak sausage, and this effect was positively correlated with BFE concentration, being most pronounced at 0.10% BFE concentration.

To explore the effect of different levels of lipid oxidation on the structural and functional properties of myofibrillar protein (MP) in yak meat, the oxidation of side-chain amino acids, structure, rheological characteristics, and emulsion stability of MP incubated in the presence of different concentrations (0, 0.1, 1, 5, 10 and 20 mmol/L) of malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. The results showed that with an increase in MDA concentration, the contents of carbonyl group, MDA-MP adducts and dimeric tyrosine and the relative content of β-turn in MP overall increased, while total sulfhydryl content, surface hydrophobicity, endogenous fluorescence intensity, and the relative contents of α-helix and β-sheet decreased. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) results indicated gradual loss of myosin heavy and light chains, implying that interaction with MDA could induce MP oxidation and cross-linked aggregation and result in structural transition from an ordered to a disordered state. In addition, moderate oxidation (with MAD concentration < 10 mmol/L) increased the storage and loss moduli and improved the gel quality of MP; however, excessive oxidation (with MAD concentration ≥ 10 mmol/L) led to serious aggregation of MP and a decrease in the storage and loss moduli as well as a decrease in the emulsion stability and color deterioration. In conclusion, MDA oxidation can promote the oxidation of MP, and alter the structural and functional properties.

The effects of the addition of different amounts (0.01%, 0.05% and 0.10%) of banana flower extract (BFE) on the physicochemical quality of fermented yak meat sausage were investigated using butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) as a positive control, and the changes in the pH, moisture content, color, water retention, texture, rheological properties, total bacterial count, volatile flavor substances and sensory quality of the sausage during fermentation and storage were evaluated. The results showed that the sausage with 0.10% BFE had stronger water retention and bacterial inhibition ability, while increasing BFE addition reduced the textural characteristics and storage modulus of the fermented sausage. A total of seven classes of volatile flavor substances, including alcohols, aldehydes, acids and esters, were detected in all samples during fermentation, and three principal components were obtained by principal component analysis, with a cumulative contribution of 75.014%. In conclusion, BFE has strong antioxidant activity and significantly improves the physicochemical properties of fermented yak meat sausage, and the most pronounced effect is obtained with 0.01% BFE addition.

In this research, the distribution and physicochemical properties of polysaccharides from the whole seed, cotyledon and hull of Cicer arietinum were analyzed and compared, and the structure characteristics of Cicer arietinum hull polysaccharide (CAHP) were characterized. It was found that polysaccharide was concentrated in the hull of chickpea according to the yield and composition of polysaccharide. CAHP was further purified by column chromatography into six fractions (Fw, F0.1, F0.2, F0.3, F0.5 and F2), and the structure of CAHP-F0.2, which showed relatively high yield and good homogeneity, was characterized. The results showed that CAHP-F0.2 was consisted of mostly homogalacturonan (HG)-type pectic polysaccharide whose main chain was linked by 1,4-GalpA, and contained a small amount of RG-I domain, with arabincan and arabinogalactan-II side chain. This study will provide a theoretical basis for future research on the structure, biological activity and resource development of chickpea polysaccharides.

Two aspects of real-world visual search are typically studied in parallel: category knowledge (e.g., searching for food) and visual patterns (e.g., predicting an upcoming street sign from prior street signs). Previous visual search studies have shown that prior category knowledge hinders search when targets and distractors are from the same category. Other studies have shown that task-irrelevant patterns of non-target objects can enhance search when targets appear in locations that previously contained these irrelevant patterns. Combining EEG (N2pc ERP component, a neural marker of target selection) and behavioral measures, the present study investigated how search efficiency is simultaneously affected by prior knowledge of real-world objects (food and toys) and irrelevant visual patterns (sequences of runic symbols) within the same paradigm. We did not observe behavioral differences between locating items in patterned versus random locations. However, the N2pc components emerged sooner when search items appeared in the patterned location, compared to the random location, with a stronger effect when search items were targets, as opposed to non-targets categorically related to the target. A multivariate pattern analysis revealed that neural responses during search trials in the same time window reflected where the visual patterns appeared. Our finding contributes to our understanding of how knowledge acquired prior to the search task (e.g., category knowledge) interacts with new content within the search task.

The mind readily learns cue-outcome associations where an object predicts a specific outcome. Previous work suggested that when multiple objects associated with different outcomes were jointly presented , the mind made conjunctive predictions that represented the common property of the associated outcomes. Using attentional tracking measures, we provided more evidence for the weighted summation framework when the conjunctive predictions involved spatial locations (Experiment 1) or conceptual categories (Experiment 2). Then, we examined the reverse of conjunction, where participants were presented with a single object, which is a part of an object pair that was previously associated with an outcome (Experiment 3). Rather than making predictions based on mental operations such as subtraction, we found that participants’ predictions were purely based on previous associations. These results together demonstrated the robust tendency to make conjunctive predictions based on knowledge of cue-outcome associations.

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death. Most advanced lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients have poor survival because of drug resistance and relapse. Neglecting intratumoral heterogeneity might be one of the reasons for treatment insensitivity, while single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technologies can provide transcriptome information at the single-cell level. Herein, we combined scRNA-seq and bulk RNA-seq data of LUAD and identified a novel cluster of malignant epithelial cells - KRT81+ malignant epithelial cells - associated with worse prognoses. Further analysis revealed that the hypoxia and EMT pathways of these cells were activated to predispose them to differentiate into metastatic lung adenocarcinoma cells. Finally, we also studied the role of these tumor cells in the immune microenvironment and their role in the classification and prognosis prediction of lung adenocarcinoma patients.

The cognitive system readily learns when multiple cuesjointly predict a specific outcome. What is less known is howthe mind generates predictions when only a single cue ispresent. In four experiments, participants were first exposedto two objects followed by a circle with a specific size or aspecific numeric value. Afterwards, participants viewed asingle object and estimated the associated size or value.Finally, participants recalled the size or value that followedthe initial two objects. We found that the estimated sizeassociated with the single object was significantly smallerthan 100% but significantly larger than 50% of the recalledsize associated with the two objects. No participants wereconsciously aware of the associations. The results reveal anew consequence of statistical learning on automaticinferences: When multiple objects were previously associatedwith an outcome, the single object is implicitly expected topredict a subadditive outcome.