Search

In this study, pancrelipase inhibitory peptides (PES) from an enzymatic protein hydrolysate of Chlorella pyrenoidosa were isolated and purified by ultrafiltration and Sephadex gel chromatography. The in vivo hypolipidemic activity of PES was evaluated by fat deposition and the levels of triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) in Caenorhabditis elegans fed a high sugar diet. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to identify the peptide sequence of PES, and molecular docking was used to select potential pancreatic lipase inhibitory peptides, and the pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity of the synthesized peptides was verified. The results showed that PES had good hypolipidemic activity at a concentration of 1 mg/mL; it inhibited lipid deposition by 22.5%, and reduced the levels of TG and TC by 27.4% and 29.4%, respectively. In total, 999 peptides were identified, and four potential lipase inhibitory peptides were obtained. Among them, FLGPF had the best inhibitory effect on pancreatic lipase, with an inhibition rate of 50.12% at 8 mg/mL. The inhibition was reversible and non-competitive, with an inhibition constant of 5.23 mg/mL. Molecular docking showed that FLGPF could better bind to human pancreatic triacylglycerol lipase (PTL) via π-hydrogen, π-cation and hydrogen bond interactions. This study can provide a theoretical reference for the development and utilization of C. pyrenoidosa protein-derived hypolipidemic peptide.

We propose a tunable electronic band gap and zero-energy modes in periodic heterosubstrate-induced graphene superlattices. Interestingly, there is an approximate linear relation between the band gap and the proportion of an inhomogeneous substrate (i.e., percentages of different components) in the proposed superlattice, and the effect of structural disorder on the relation is discussed. In an inhomogeneous substrate with equal widths, zero-energy states emerge in the form of Dirac points by using asymmetric potentials, and the positions of Dirac points are addressed analytically. Further, the Dirac point exists at k=0 only for specific potentials; every time it appears, the group velocity vanishes in the ky direction, and the resonance occurs. For general cases of an inhomogeneous substrate with unequal widths, part of the zero-energy states are described analytically, and differently, they are not always Dirac points. Our prediction may be realized on a heterosubstrate such as SiO2/BN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the electronic band structure and transport properties of periodically alternating mono- and bi-layer graphene superlattices (MBLG SLs). In such MBLG SLs, there exists a zero-averaged wave vector (zero-) gap that is insensitive to the lattice constant. This zero- gap can be controlled by changing both the ratio of the potential widths and the interlayer coupling coefficient of the bilayer graphene. We also show that there exist extra Dirac points; the conditions for these extra Dirac points are presented analytically. Lastly, we demonstrate that the electronic transport properties and the energy gap of the first two bands in MBLG SLs are tunable through adjustment of the interlayer coupling and the width ratio of the periodic mono- and bi-layer graphene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lane-changing recognition is an important task for advanced driver assistance systems, but is heavily challenged by poor driving habits, such as turning without using turn signals. To address this problem in this study, a lane-changing recognition method using frequency analysis was proposed. First, highest-frequency–based and frequency-bands–based methods were employed to evaluate the three behaviors of left lane changing, lane keeping, and right lane changing. To improve the recognition accuracy, the two methods were fused according to their classification advantages for different behaviors. The fused method was verified by lateral position data incorporating lane features that were manually extracted and annotated from the Next-Generation Simulation dataset. The frequency analysis framework achieved recognition accuracy of 91.8%, 97.4%, and 99.1% in 2, 1, and 0 s, respectively, before the vehicle crossed the lane line, which were significant improvements over the time-domain analysis methods. The proposed method was also validated by real-world road data with promising results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although puerarin is generally considered as a protective agent for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, the exact effect on reducing myocardial infarction reperfusion injury (MIRI) is not well understood. This study aimed to pool previous randomized controlled studies based on rat models to evaluate the effects of puerarin on MIRI., Material and Methods: Relevant studies were searched among PubMed, Embase, Medline, and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure). To assess the therapeutic effects of protective effects of puerarin on myocardial infarction reperfusion injury, the outcome indicators which were reported in at least 3 original studies were extracted and pooled, including size of myocardial ischemia (MIS) and myocardial infarction (MIN), creatine kinase (CK), methylene dioxyamphetamine (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD)., Results: Administration of puerarin could effectively reduce the size of MIN after MIR (mean difference: -29.20, 95%CI: -44.90 to -13.51, p=0.0003). Puerarin directly led to decreased CK (mean difference: -6.89, 95%CI: -9.40 to -4.38, p=0.00001) and MDA (mean difference: -2.41, 95%CI: -3.14 to -1.68, p<0.00001) and increased serum SOD (mean difference: 63.97, 95%CI: 38.19 to 89.75, p<0.00001)., Conclusions: Puerarin might have a protective effect in myocardial tissues during MIRI through increasing SOD and decreasing CK and MDA. However, more animal studies and randomized controlled clinical trials are required to confirm these results.