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ABSTRACT: The composition of milk lipids varies across different ethnic sources. The lipidome profiles of Chinese Han human milk (HHM) and Chinese Korean human milk (KHM) were investigated in this study. A total of 741 lipids were identified in HHM and KHM. Twenty-eight differentially expressed lipids (DEL) were screened between the 2 milk groups; among these, 6 triacylglycerols (TG), 13 diacylglycerols (DG), 7 free fatty acids (FFA), and 1 monoglyceride (MG) were upregulated in KHM. Carnitine (CAR) was upregulated in HHM. Most DEL showed a single peak distribution in both groups. The correlations, related pathways and diseases of these DEL were further analyzed. The results demonstrated that DG, MG, and FFA showed highly positive correlations with each other (r > 0.8). The most enriched Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/) and Human Metabolome Database (http://www.hmdb.ca) pathways were inositol phosphate metabolism, and α-linolenic acid and linolenic acid metabolism, respectively. Major depressive disorder-related FFA (20:5) and FFA (22:6) were more abundant in KHM, whereas HHM showed more obesity-related CAR. These data potentially provide lipidome information regarding human milk from different ethnicities in China.

ABSTRACT: This multiscale study aimed to evaluate the effects of different salts (NaCl, KCl, MgCl2, and CaCl2) on the foaming capacity (FC) and foam stability (FS) of model protein systems (MPS) for infant formula via changes in surface and structural properties. Our results showed that the FC and FS of MPS were increased with the addition of NaCl, KCl, and MgCl2, whereas CaCl2 significantly decreased FC (79.5 ± 10.6%) and increased FS (93.2 ± 2.2%). The surface hydrophobicity was increased and the net charge and surface tension were reduced after the addition of salts. Structural analysis revealed the reduction of intensity of intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy and UV absorption, and the conversion of α-helix into β-strand, which was attributed to protein agglomeration. Additionally, MgCl2 and CaCl2 exhibited larger size and lower net charge compared with NaCl and KCl, indicating a greater ability to bind to charged amino acids and form larger aggregates. Correlation analysis indicated that FC was positively related to adsorbed protein and β-turn and negatively correlated with particle size. In addition, FS showed a positive correlation with β-strand, apparent viscosity, and zeta potential. However, it exhibited a negative correlation with β-turn, α-helix, and sulfhydryl content. These results provide a theoretical reference for further understanding of the effect of salts on the foaming properties of MPS.

Desert Sand Autoclaved Brick(DSAB) represents a novel type of building wall material. To investigate the performance of this wall material in the high-intensity cold regions of Xinjiang, this study, based on the(GB/T 11945–2019) ''Autoclaved sand-lime solid brick and solid block'' standard, explores the impact of varying lime content, forming pressure, autoclaving time, and autoclaving temperature on compressive strength. The aim was to determine an appropriate preparation process for DSAB that meets meets MU15-grade requirements. Additionally, experimental research was conducted on the micro-pore structure, freeze-thaw durability, and carbonation performance of the manufactured MU15-grade DSAB. Furthermore, microscopic analysis methods were employed to analyze the mechanisms behind the changes in the strength of the DSAB throughout the various experiments. The research findings are as follows: The optimal preparation parameters for producing MU15-grade DSAB are a forming pressure of 20 MPa, an autoclaving time of 8 h, and an autoclaving temperature of 180 ℃. Mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP) revealed that DSAB has a total porosity of 38.19%, an average pore diameter of 55.86 nm, total pore volume of 0.175 mL/g, and total pore area of 12.56 m2/g. The majority of pore spaces consist of harmful and more harmful pores. DSAB exhibits favorable freeze-thaw durability. After 30 freeze-thaw cycles, the strength loss rate is only 7.0%, and the mass loss remains within 1%. After carbonation, the newly formed CaCO3 and SiO2 fill the brick's pores, transforming pre-existing harmful large pores into harmless tiny pores. After complete carbonation, the carbonation coefficient reaches 1.17.

Against the backdrop of saline soil solidification and the resource utilization of solid waste and aeolian sand in cold and arid regions, this study employs locally accessible fly ash and aeolian sand to solidify saline soil. By combining unconfined compressive strength tests, X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, orthogonal experiments, and single-factor analysis, the strength characteristics, mineral composition, and interfacial structure changes of saline soil solidified with different freeze-thaw cycles and varying amounts of fly ash, aeolian sand, and alkali activators were investigated. The effects of each factor were analyzed to determine the optimal mixture ratio and to explore the solidification mechanism.The results indicate that the unconfined compressive strength of saline soil is most significantly enhanced when solidified with a combination of fly ash, aeolian sand, and alkali activators. The optimal mixture ratio was found to be 24 % fly ash, 7 % aeolian sand, and 4.5 mol/L alkali activator. With the incorporation of these solidifying materials, the failure mode of saline soil transitions from plastic to brittle, and the stress-strain curve exhibited a strain-softening behavior. The combined solidification method demonstrated the most pronounced effect in mitigating freeze-thaw damage, with the unconfined compressive strength of the solidified soil reaching 7.01 MPa after seven freeze-thaw cycles, compared to 0.03 MPa for the untreated soil, an increase by a factor of 234.This significant enhancement is attributed to the formation of substantial gel substances, which mitigate the strength loss caused by freeze-thaw cycles. The gel locking mechanism between particles in the solidified soil far exceeds the detrimental effects of freeze-thaw cycles, effectively inhibiting freeze-thaw deterioration. Additionally, the reaction pathways involving AFt and AFm phases reduce the content of SO42- and Cl- in the solidified soil, effectively suppressing salt expansion and significantly improving the soil's strength.

Protein hydrolysates have attracted much attention for their high biological activity and are a crucial product form for the utilization of foxtail millet bran by-products. In this study, changes in the structure, functionality, activity and peptide profile of foxtail millet bran protein hydrolysates (FMBPHs) at different ultrasound powers (0 – 600 W) were investigated. The results showed that ultrasound promoted the transformation of α-helix and β-sheet to random coils and β-turn, and the exposure of hydrophobic groups and sulfhydryl groups in FMBPHs. The average particle size of the samples decreased, and the absolute value of the ζ-potential increased significantly. Simultaneously, smaller porous particles and loose fragments appeared on the surface of FMBPHs when the ultrasonic power was increased to 450 W. Additionally, 450 W ultrasound treatment improved solubility, foaming properties, emulsifying properties, thermal stability of FMBPHs. The DPPH, ABTS and hydroxyl radical scavenging ability (IC50, 2.65, 1.06 and 3.02 mg/mL), Fe2+ chelating activity (IC50, 2.62 mg/mL), and reducing power of the samples were also enhanced. The peptidomics results demonstrated that ultrasonication increased the number of active peptides in the hydrolysate, and the relative abundance of 17 active peptides was obviously elevated at 450 W. Peptide map analysis showed that ultrasound-induced structural modifications affected the peptide profiles of Ubiquitin-like domain-containing protein, Cupin type-1 domain-containing protein, 40S ribosomal protein S19, and Oleosin 1, showing changes in the abundance of certain peptides, which may be related to changes in the characterization of FMBPHs.

In order to obtain the optimal geometric structure for sand transport in desert roads, this study fully utilizes the natural sand transport capacity of the desert roads, aiming to reduce occurrences of road damage due to sand burial. The research integrates Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with optimization analysis theory. Various typical geometric structures of desert highway roadbed were modeled using the Design Exploration module in CFD. Optimization analysis methods were employed to model and compute the sediment transport optimization design on both the roadbed and road surface. Then, the initial sample points are obtained by using the Design of Experiments (DOE), and the response surface is established by using the Kriging model to obtain the change trend of the input parameters and the objective function. Finally, the cross-section parameters of the sediment transport subgrade corresponding to different inflow conditions are obtained. The results show that the sediment transport performance of embankment, cutting and semi-filled uphill subgrade is negatively correlated with the height of subgrade. The relationship between slope gradient and sediment transport performance of subgrade depends on the height of subgrade and the type of subgrade section. For embankment and cutting, when the subgrade height is less than 0.5 m, the sediment transport performance of the subgrade is positively correlated with the subgrade slope; however, when the subgrade height exceeds 0.5 m, the sediment transport performance is negatively correlated with the subgrade slope. For the semi-filled uphill flow subgrade, the sediment transport performance of the subgrade is negatively correlated with the subgrade slope. Comprehensive analysis shows that semi-filled and excavated downhill subgrade has the best sand transport performance, embankment subgrade has the second highest sand transport capacity, then cutting subgrades, while semi-filled and excavated uphill subgrade has the worst sand transport performance. The research conclusions provide valuable scientific guidance for the design of sand control embankment structures tailored to local conditions for desert highways. This is of significant importance for enhancing the sediment transport capacity of desert highways and prolonging their service life.

Geopolymers, as a novel cementitious material, exhibit typical brittle failure characteristics under stress. To mitigate this brittleness, fibers can be incorporated to enhance toughness. This study investigates the effects of varying polypropylene fiber (PPF) content and fiber length on the flowability, mechanical properties, and flexural toughness of coal gangue-based geopolymers. Microstructural changes and porosity variations within the Fiber-Reinforced Geopolymer Mortar(GMPF) matrix were observed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Low field NMR(LF-NMR) to elucidate the toughening mechanism of PPF-reinforced geopolymers. The introduction of fibers into the geopolymer matrix demonstrated an initial bridging effect in the viscous geopolymer slurry, with a 3.0 vol% fiber content reducing fluidity by 5.6%. Early mechanical properties of GMPF were enhanced with fiber addition; at 1.5 vol% fiber content and 15 mm length, the 3-day flexural and compressive strengths increased by 30.81% and 17.4%, respectively. Furthermore, polypropylene fibers significantly improved the matrix’s flexural toughness, which showed an increasing trend with higher fiber content. At a 3.0 vol% fiber content, the flexural toughness index increased by 198.35%. The data indicated that a fiber length of 12 mm yielded the best toughening effect, with an 84.03% increase in the flexural toughness index. SEM observations revealed a strong interfacial bond between fibers and the matrix, with noticeable damage on the fiber surface due to frictional forces, and fiber pull-out being the predominant failure mode. Porosity testing results indicated that fiber incorporation substantially improved the internal pore structure of the matrix, reducing the median pore diameter of mesopores and converting mesopores to micropores. Additionally, the number of harmless and less harmful pores increased by 23.01%, while the number of more harmful pores decreased by 30.43%.

In this paper, the electronic nose (E-nose) and headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) were used to analyze the volatiles of rice bran kvass (RBK) with the reference of Qiulin kvass (QLK). Meanwhile, the flavor amino acids of RBK before and after fermentation were determined. The results showed that the kinds of kvass remained consistent in terms of the overall category of volatiles while there were differences in content between them (p

Soy isoflavones (SIF) are bioactive compounds with low bioavailability due to their poor water solubility. In this study, we utilized polymerized goat milk whey protein (PGWP) as a carrier to encapsulate SIF with encapsulation efficiency of 89%, particle size of 135.53 nm, and zeta potential of −35.16 mV. The PGWP-SIF nanoparticles were evaluated for their stability and in vitro digestion properties, and their ability to transport SIF was assessed using a Caco-2 cell monolayer model. The nanoparticles were resistant to aggregation when subjected to pH changes (pH 2.0 to 8.0), sodium chloride addition (0–200 mM), temperature fluctuations (4 °C, 25 °C, and 37 °C), and long-term storage (4 °C, 25 °C, and 37 °C for 30 days), which was mainly attributed to the repulsion generated by steric hindrance effects. During gastric digestion, only 5.93% of encapsulated SIF was released, highlighting the nanoparticles’ resistance to enzymatic digestion in the stomach. However, a significant increase in SIF release to 56.61% was observed during intestinal digestion, indicating the efficient transport of SIF into the small intestine for absorption. Cytotoxicity assessments via the MTT assay showed no adverse effects on Caco-2 cell lines after encapsulation. The PGWP-stabilized SIF nanoparticles improved the apparent permeability coefficient (Papp) of Caco-2 cells for SIF by 11.8-fold. The results indicated that using PGWP to encapsulate SIF was an effective approach for delivering SIF, while enhancing its bioavailability and transcellular transport.

Abstract Background Multi-component nano-delivery systems based on chemotherapy (chemo)- photodynamic therapy (PDT)- chemodynamic therapy (CDT) have gained increased attention as a promising strategy to improve clinical outcomes in cancer treatment. However, there remains a challenge in developing biodegradable, biocompatible, less toxic, yet highly efficient multicomponent nanobased drug delivery systems (DDS). Here, our study presents the screening and development of a novel DDS based on co-assemblies natural small molecule (NSMs). These molecules (oleanolic acid, and betulinic acid) are combined with photosensitizers Chlorine6 (Ce6) and Cu2+ that are encapsulated by tumor cell membranes. This nanocarrier encapsulated in tumor cell membranes achieved good tumor targeting and a significant improvement in tumor accumulation. Methods A reprecipitation method was used to prepare the co-assembled nanocarrier, followed by the introduction of Cu2 + into the DDS (OABACe6 NPs). Then, by wrapping the surface of NPs with the cell membranes of 4T1 which is a kind of mouse breast cancer cells (CM@OABACe6/Cu NPs). and analysis of its structure and size distribution with UV–Vis, XPS, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and DLS. The synergistic effects of in vitro chemotherapy, CDT and PDT and targeting were also validated by cellular and animal studies. Results It was shown that CM@OABACe6/Cu NPs achieved good tumor targeting and a significant improvement in tumor accumulation. In the composite nano-assembly, the NSMs work together with the Ce6 to provide effective and safe chemo and PDT. Moreover, the effect of reduced PDT due to the depletion of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by excess glutathione (GSH) in the tumor can be counteracted when Cu2 + is introduced. More importantly, it also confers CDT through a Fenton-like catalytic reaction with H2O overexpressed at the tumor site. Conclusions By constructing CM@OABACe6/Cu NPs with homologous targeting, we create a triple synergistic platform for cancer therapy using PDT, chemo, and CDT. We propose here a novel combinatorial strategy for designing more naturally co-assembled small molecules, especially for the development of multifunctional synergistic therapies that utilize NSMs.

ABSTRACT: Saanen goats are among the major dairy goats in China. In present study, variation of milk fat globule membrane proteins profile of Saanen goat milk caused by geographic location was investigated using sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ions data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry based proteomic approach. A total of 1,001 proteins were quantified in goat milk collected from 3 habitats of China [Guangdong (GD); Inner Mongolia (IM); Shannxi (SX)]. Most of the proteins were found to act cellular process of biological process, cell of cellular component, binding of molecular function after Gene Ontology annotation and metabolic of pathway indicated by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. Differentially expressed proteins (DEP) for GD versus IM, GD versus SX, IM versus SX were identified to be 81, 91, and 44, respectively. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis showed that the greatest DEP for 3 groups (GD vs. IM, GD vs. SX, IM vs. SX) were cellular process, cellular process and organonitrogen compound biosynthetic process/immune system process for biological process. For cellular component, the largest number of DEP for 3 comparison groups were organelle, organelle and organelle/intracellular. For molecular function, DEP of the 3 comparison groups were expressed most in structural molecule activity, binding and anion binding, respectively. Pathways with the majority of DEP were ribosome, systemic lupus erythematosus and primary immunodeficiency/systemic lupus erythematosus/amoebiasis/PI3K-Akt signaling pathway for GD versus IM, GD versus SX and IM versus SX, severally. Protein-protein interaction network analysis showed that DEP interacted most were 40S ribosomal protein S5, fibronectin and Cytochrome b-c1 complex subunit 2, mitochondrial for GD versus IM, GD versus SX and IM versus SX, separately. Data may give useful information for goat milk selection and milk authenticity in China.

Immunotherapy combined with effective therapeutics such as chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy have been shown to be a successful strategy to activate anti-tumor immune responses for improved anticancer treatment. However, developing multifunctional biodegradable, biocompatible, low-toxic but highly efficient, and clinically available transformed nano-immunostimulants remains a challenge and is in great demand. Herein, we report and design of a novel carrier-free photo-chemotherapeutic nano-prodrug COS-BA/Ce6 NPs by combining three multifunctional components—a self-assembled natural small molecule betulinic acid (BA), a water-soluble chitosan oligosaccharide (COS), and a low toxic photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6)—to augment the antitumor efficacy of the immune adjuvant anti-PD-L1-mediated cancer immunotherapy. We show that the designed nanodrugs harbored a smart and distinctive “dormancy” characteristic in chemotherapeutic effect with desired lower cytotoxicity, and multiple favorable therapeutic features including improved 1O2 generation induced by the reduced energy gap of Ce6, pH-responsiveness, good biodegradability, and biocompatibility, ensuring a highly efficient, synergistic photochemotherapy. Moreover, when combined with anti-PD-L1 therapy, both nano-coassembly based chemotherapy and chemotherapy/photodynamic therapy (PDT) could effectively activate antitumor immunity when treating primary or distant tumors, opening up potentially attractive possibilities for clinical immunotherapy.

Panax notoginseng saponins (PNSs) have been used as a nutritional supplement for many years, but their bitter taste limits their application in food formulations. The effects of PNS (groups B, C, and D contained 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2 mg/mL of free PNS, respectively) or Panax notoginseng saponin-polymerized whey protein (PNS-PWP) nanoparticles (groups E, F, and G contained 26.68, 33.35 and 40.03 mg/mL of PNS-PWP nanoparticles, respectively) on the rheological, textural properties and bitterness of yogurt were investigated. Group G yogurt showed a shorter gelation time (23.53 min), the highest elastic modulus (7135 Pa), higher hardness (506 g), higher apparent viscosity, and the lowest syneresis (6.93%) than other groups, which indicated that the yogurt formed a stronger gel structure. The results of the electronic tongue indicated that the bitterness values of group E (−6.12), F (−6.56), and G (−6.27) yogurts were lower than those of group B (−5.12), C (−4.31), and D (−3.79), respectively, which might be attributed to PNS being encapsulated by PWP. The results indicated that PWP-encapsulated PNS could cover the bitterness of PNS and improve the quality of yogurt containing PNS.

ABSTRACT: Milk protein concentrate was hydrolyzed using one-step enzymatic hydrolysis. Both the peptide profiles and antioxidant activities of the resulting extensive hydrolysates of milk protein concentrate (EMPH) were analyzed using a peptidomics approach based on liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The results demonstrated that the degrees of hydrolysis of the 4 EMPH by Alcalase-Protamex, Alcalase-Protease A 2SD, Alcalase-Flavorzyme, and Alcalase-ProteAXH were 12.02%, 16.85%, 15.87%, and 15.77%, respectively. Using size exclusion chromatography, 99.85% of the peptides in the Alcalase-Protease A 2SD hydrolysate were shown to have a molecular weight of

ABSTRACT: A quantitative proteomic technique based on data-independent acquisition (DIA) was used to analyze differentially expressed caseins of Saanen goat milk samples collected from 3 regions in China (Guangdong, GD; Inner Mongolia, IM; Shaanxi, SX). A total of 345 proteins were quantified in each sample. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis showed that proteins were mainly involved in cellular process and cell and binding functions. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis indicated that proteins were mainly involved in metabolic pathways. Differentially expressed proteins (DEP) between goat milk from 3 comparison groups composed of paired regions were compared and analyzed. The number of DEP was 114, 69, and 79 for GD versus IM, GD versus SX, and IM versus SX, respectively. The GO enrichment analysis of the 3 comparison groups showed that differences were mainly related to the regulation of biological quality, biological regulation, and response to stimulus in terms of biological process; extracellular region for cellular component; and binding function for molecular function. Pathways in which DEP of GD versus IM, GD versus SX, and IM versus SX were mostly protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum for the first 2 groups and metabolic pathways for the last. Protein-protein interaction network analysis demonstrated that the most prominent DEP was heat shock protein 90 β family member 1 for both the GD versus IM and the GD versus SX groups, and haptoglobin for the IM versus SX group. Data from this study may offer useful information for further investigation of the protein composition of Saanen goat milk and its application in the dairy industry.

Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a migratory insect pest on rice crops. The migratory C. medinalis population in a particular location may be immigrants, local populations, emigrants, or a mix of these. Immigrants are strongly attracted to plant odor. We conducted research to identify the olfactory receptors in a floral scent mixture that is strongly attractive to C. medinalis. Through gene cloning, 12 olfactory receptor (OR) genes were amplified and expressed in Xenopus oocytes in vitro, and three of them were found to be responsive to plant foliar and floral volatiles. These were CmedOR31, a specific receptor for geraniol; CmedOR32, a broad-spectrum OR gene that responded to both foliar and floral odors; and CmedOR1, which strongly responded to 10−4 M phenylacetaldehyde. The electrophysiological response to phenylacetaldehyde was extremely high, with a current of 3200 ± 86 nA and an extremely high sensitivity. We compared the phylogenetic tree and sequence similarity of CmedOR genes and found that CmedOR1 belonged to a uniquely conserved OR pedigree in the evolution of Glossata species, and the ORs of this pedigree strongly responded to phenylacetaldehyde. The expression of OR1 was significantly higher in the females than in the males. Localization of CmedOR1 in the antennae of C. medinalis by fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that CmedOR1 was expressed in both males and females. CmedOR1 may be an odor receptor used by females to locate food sources. The function of these ORs and their role in pest monitoring were discussed.

This study aimed to synthesize antibacterial carbon quantum dots (SP-CDs) from polyethyleneimine and spermidine via hydrothermal reaction. It was revealed that SP-CDs, with small size (7.18 nm) and high positive charge (+31.15 mV), had good fluorescence properties and lots of amino groups on their surfaces. The inhibition effect of SP-CDs on Staphylococcus aureus was better than that towards Escherichia coli, and the SP-CDs also had an inhibitory effect on multi-drug-resistant E. coli. The mechanism of SP-CDs shows that the SP-CDs were adsorbed on the surface of the negatively charged cell membrane through electrostatic interaction. SP-CDs can cause changes in membrane permeability, resulting in a shift of the cell membrane from order to disorder and the decomposition of chemical components, followed by the leakage of cell contents, resulting in bacterial death. SP-CDs can also significantly inhibit biofilm formation, destroy mature biofilms and reduce the number of living cells. Moreover, SP-CDs had negligible antimicrobial resistance even after 18 generations of treatment. This study proves that SP-CDs effectively inhibit the proliferation of foodborne pathogens, providing new feasibility for the application of carbon-based nanomaterials in the food industry.

This paper investigated the antibacterial mechanism of spermidine-capped carbon dots (S-PCDs) against Staphylococcus aureus. The results showed that there were a large number of amino groups on the surface of S-PCDs and they had a high positive charge (+47.06 mV), which could be adsorbed on the negatively charged bacterial surface through electrostatic interaction and changed the permeability of the bacterial cell membrane. The extracellular protein and nucleic acid contents of S. aureus treated with S-PCDs were 5.4 and 1.2 times higher than those of the control group, respectively. The surface folds and defects of the bacterial cell membrane, and the leakage of cell contents were observed using SEM and TEM. The expression of metabolic oxidation regulatory genes dmpI, narJ and narK was upregulated and the intracellular ROS generation was induced, causing bacterial oxidative stress and eventually bacterial death. S-PCDs can effectively inhibit biofilm formation and had low cytotoxicity. The S-PCD treatment successfully inhibited microbial reproduction when pasteurized milk was stored at 25 °C and 4 °C. These results provide important insights into the antimicrobial mechanism of S-PCDs and lay the foundation for their application in the food field as a potentially novel bacteriostatic nanomaterial.

ABSTRACT: Goat milk whey protein concentrates were manufactured by microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF). When MF retentate blended with cream, which could be used as a starting material in yogurt making. The objective of this study was to prepare goat milk whey protein concentrates by membrane separation technology and to investigate the effects of polymerized goat milk whey protein (PGWP) on the physicochemical properties and microstructure of recombined goat milk yogurt. A 3-stage MF study was conducted to separate whey protein from casein in skim milk with 0.1-µm ceramic membrane. The MF permeate was ultrafiltered using a 10 kDa cut-off membrane to 10-fold, followed by 3 step diafiltration. The ultrafiltration-diafiltration-treated whey was electrodialyzed to remove 85% of salt, and to obtain goat milk whey protein concentrates with 80.99% protein content (wt/wt, dry basis). Recombined goat milk yogurt was prepared by mixing cream and MF retentate, and PGWP was used as main thickening agent. Compared with the recombined goat milk yogurt without PGWP, the yogurt with 0.50% PGWP had desirable viscosity and low level of syneresis. There was no significant difference in chemical composition and pH between the recombined goat milk yogurt with PGWP and control (without PGWP). Viscosity of all the yogurt samples decreased during the study. There was a slight but not significant decrease in pH during storage. Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus acidophilus in yogurt samples remained above 106 cfu/g during 8-wk storage. Scanning electron microscopy of the recombined goat milk yogurt with PGWP displayed a compact protein network. Results indicated that PGWP prepared directly from raw milk may be a novel protein-based thickening agent for authentic goat milk yogurt making.

The authors report the structural characterization of M4R selective allosteric agonist, compound-110, as well as agonist iperoxo and positive allosteric modulator LY2119620. The cryo-EM structures of compound-110, iperoxo or iperoxo-LY2119620 bound M4R-Gi complex reveal different interaction modes and activation mechanisms of M4R. An antipsychotic activity of compound-110 with low extrapyramidal side effects in a schizophrenia-mimic mouse model is also reported. Thus, the study provides structural insights for selectively targeting mAChRs subtypes.

ABSTRACT: Monk fruit extract (MFE) is widely used as a sweetener in foods. In this study, the effects of the consumption of MFE-sweetened synbiotic yogurt on the lipid biomarkers and metabolism in the livers of type 2 diabetic rats were evaluated. The results revealed that the MFE-sweetened symbiotic yogurt affected the phosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylethanolamines, phosphatidylglycerol, lysophosphatidic acids, lysophosphatidylcholines, lysophosphatidylethanolamines, lysophosphatidylglycerols, lysophosphatidylinositols, lysophosphatidylserines, and fatty acid–hydroxy fatty acids biomarkers in the livers of type 2 diabetic rats. In addition, the consumption of the MFE-sweetened synbiotic yogurt significantly altered 12 hepatic metabolites, which are involved in phenylalanine metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, bile secretion, and glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism in the liver. Furthermore, a multiomics (metabolomic and transcriptomic) association study revealed that there was a significant correlation between the MFE-sweetened synbiotic yogurt and the metabolites and genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis, bile secretion, and glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism. The findings of this study will provide new insights on exploring the function of sweeteners for improving type 2 diabetes mellitus liver lipid biomarkers.

This study aimed to prepare an emulsion stabilised by an ultrasound-treated casein (CAS)-hyaluronic acid (HA) complex and to protect vitamin E during in vitro digestion. It was found that high-intensity ultrasound (HIU) treatment significantly changed the hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interaction and hydrophobic interaction between CAS and HA, reduced the particle size of the CAS-HA complex, increased the intermolecular electrostatic repulsion, and thus significantly improved the emulsifying properties of the CAS-HA complex. Meanwhile, the creaming index (CI) and confocal laser scanning microscopy images showed that the stability of the CAS-HA-stabilised emulsion was the best when treated at 150 W for 10 min, which could be attributed to the enhanced adsorption capacity of the CAS-HA complex at the oil–water interface and the viscosity of the formed emulsion. In vitro digestion experiments revealed that the emulsion stabilised by the ultrasound-treated CAS-HA complex had a good protective effect on vitamin E. This study is significant for the development of emulsions for the delivery of lipophilic nutrients.

In this study, the differences in effects of (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and proanthocyanidins (PC) on the functionality and allergenicity of soybean protein isolate (SPI) were studied. SDS-PAGE demonstrated that SPI-PC conjugates exhibited more high-molecular-weight polymers (>180 kDa) than SPI-EGCG conjugates. Structural analysis showed that SPI-PC conjugates exhibited more disordered structures and protein-unfolding, improving the accessibility of PC to modify SPI, compared to SPI-EGCG conjugates. LC/MS-MS demonstrated that PC caused more modification of SPI and major soybean allergens than EGCG, resulting in a lower abundance of epitopes. The successful attachment of EGCG and PC to SPI significantly increased antioxidant capacity in conjugates. Furthermore, SPI-PC conjugates exhibited greater emulsifying activity and lower immunoglobulin E (IgE) binding capacity than SPI-EGCG conjugates, which was attributed to more disordered structure and protein-unfolding in SPI-PC conjugates. It is implied that proanthocyanidins may be promising compounds to interact with soybean proteins to produce functional and hypoallergenic foods.

The current study aims to investigate differences in whey protein of breastmilk of volunteered mother collected from two ethnic groups (Korean and Han) in China using data-independent acquisition (DIA) based proteomics technique. The total detected 624 proteins were principally allocated to cellular process of biological process (BP), cell and cell part of cell component (CC) and binding of molecular function (MF) according to Gene Ontology (GO) annotation; and carbohydrate metabolism of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. Among the 54 differently expressed proteins, 8 were related with immunity. Enrichment data showed that intracellular of GO functions and viral myocarditis of KEGG pathways were most significantly enriched (p

IntroductionHuman breast milk provides neonates with indispensable nutrition and function. Milk protein is one of the main constituents of breast milk. Human milk profiles can be influenced by many factors.MethodsThe present study aimed to investigate the difference in casein isolated from mature milk of healthy mothers of Korean and Han ethnic groups in China using data-independent acquisition (DIA) proteomics.ResultsA total of 535 proteins were identified and quantified in casein fraction samples from both groups. A total of 528 proteins were annotated to 52 Gene Ontology (GO) terms, the majority (94.13%) of which were distributed in the cell and cell parts of the cellular component. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that 106 proteins were involved in 23 pathways, the greatest (36.79%) in carbohydrate metabolism. There were 39 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs)–10 upregulated and 29 downregulated–between Korean and Han milk. The GO function of blood microparticles and KEGG pathway of Staphylococcus aureus infection for DEPs were the most significantly enriched (p < 0.05). Protein-protein interaction analysis revealed a network with 23 DEPs in 47 interactions, and the fibrinogen alpha chain ranked first as the hub protein.DiscussionThese data may provide useful technical guidance for the development of specific infant foods for certain populations.

Goat milk whey protein products are a hard-to-source commodity. Whey protein concentrate was directly prepared from fresh goat milk. The effects of the heating temperature (69–78 °C), time (15–30 min), and pH (7.5–7.9) on the physicochemical and functional properties of the goat milk whey protein were investigated. The results showed that the particle size of the samples significantly increased (p < 0.05) after heat treatment. The zeta potential of polymerized goat milk whey protein (PGWP) was lower than that of native goat milk whey protein. The content of the free sulfhydryl groups of PGWP decreased with increasing heating temperature and time, while an increase in surface hydrophobicity and apparent viscosity of PGWP were observed after heat treatment. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis indicated that heat treatment and pH had considerable impacts on the secondary structure of goat milk whey protein. Transmission electron microscope images revealed that heat induced the formation of a large and uniform protein network. Additionally, the changes in the physicochemical and structural properties contributed to the improvement of the emulsifying and foaming properties of goat milk whey protein after heat treatment. The results may provide a theoretical basis for the applications of polymerized goat milk whey protein in related products.

The aim of the paper was to investigate the effect of ultrasonic emulsification treatment on the fabrication mechanism and stability of the emulsion. The covalent conjugate made with rice bran protein hydrolysate (RBPH) and ferulic acid (FA) was used as the emulsifier. The effects of high intensity ultrasound (HIU) power with different level (0 W, 150 W, 300 W, 450 W and 600 W) on the stability of emulsion were evaluated. The results showed that ultrasonic emulsification can significantly improve the stability of the emulsions (p

Cost and contamination are the bottleneck problems for the replacement of antibiotics with fermented feed. A strain of lactic acid bacteria was isolated and screened from acidified apple juice and identified as Pediococcus acidilactici using morphological, physiological, and biochemical tests and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The strain was combined with Bacillus subtilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae to ferment raw corn–soybean meal, and the two-stage fermentation process was optimized with a single-factor test, orthogonal test, and response surface methodology. Compared with unfermented raw material, the protein content of fermented feed was increased by 5.21 percentage points (p < 0.05) and the total amino acids were increased by 3.7 percentage points (p < 0.05), making it rich in amino acids essential for pigs. The high-throughput sequencing results showed that, at the species level, the highest relative abundances of bacteria in the fermentation system were those of Pediococcus acidilactici and Bacillus subtilis, and the most abundant fungi was Saccharomyces cerevisiae. No pathogenic bacteria, such as Salmonella, were detected in the fermentation system. This paper provides a feasible scheme for cheap preparation of an alternative to antibiotics, fermented feed, with uncooked raw materials. It has positive significance for promoting high-value utilization of agricultural and sideline products and improving feed cost-effectiveness.

Macrocycles are molecular structures extensively used in the design of catalysts, therapeutics and supramolecular assemblies but synthesis procedures that can produce macrocycles in high yield under high reaction concentrations are rare. Here the authors report the use of dynamic hindered urea bond for the construction of urea macrocycles with high efficiency.

The recent advances in accelerated polymerization of N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs) enrich the toolbox to prepare well-defined polypeptide materials. Here the authors use crown ethers to catalyze the polymerization of NCA initiated by conventional primary amine initiators in solvents with low polarity and low hydrogen-bonding ability.

Abstract As one of the most successful therapeutic target families, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have experienced a transformation from random ligand screening to knowledge-driven drug design. We are eye-witnessing tremendous progresses made recently in the understanding of their structure–function relationships that facilitated drug development at an unprecedented pace. This article intends to provide a comprehensive overview of this important field to a broader readership that shares some common interests in drug discovery.

A miniature Fourier transform spectrometer is proposed using a thin-film lithium niobate electro-optical modulator instead of the conventional modulator made by titanium diffusion in lithium niobate. The modulator was fabricated by a contact lithography process, and its voltage-length and optical waveguide loss were 2.26 V·cm and 1.01 dB/cm, respectively. Based on the wavelength dispersion of the half-wave voltage of the fabricated modulator, the emission spectrum of the input signal was retrieved by Fourier transform processing of the interferogram, and the analysis of the experimental data of monochromatic light shows that the proposed miniaturized FTS can effectively identify the input signal wavelength.

Objectives: As a common nosocomial infection bacterium, A. baumannii’s drug resistance rate continues to rise. In this study, the objective was to explore the possible reasons for the increased drug resistance of A. baumannii after tigecycline treatment. Methods: Based on the drug resistance analysis of 183 clinical isolates of A. baumannii, a pair of strains (AB711 and AB721) which changed their resistance after treatment was selected. Tigecycline was used to induce the drug resistance of strain AB711 in vitro. The differential expressed genes from A. baumannii strains were analyzed using whole gene sequencing (WGS) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) combined with online MLST, SNP tools and bioinformatics software, and verified by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results: AB721 became more resistant to tetracyclines than AB711 at the initial detection. However, after a period of time, the resistance of AB711 and AB721 became consistent. This phenomenon can also be repeated using AB711 in vitro. After induction, the AB711 with increased MIC value of tigecycline was named AB712. The results of WGS, MLST and SNP based Phylogenetic tree indicated that AB711, AB712, AB721 were co-origin and belong to ST2 (Pasteur) / ST1791 (Oxford). Comparative transcriptome indicated that the Differential expression of some genes can play an important role in the resistance enhancement process of AB711. For example, compared with AB711, genes related to benzene-containing compound metabolic process, translation, ribosomal structure and biogenesis and so on were upregulated significantly in AB712. In addition, efflux pumps such as RND transporter permease subunit, EmrAB, MacB, and Tet resistance operon were also upregulated. Conclusion: Tigcycline induced changes in the expression of some related genes in A. baumannii, which may be the main reason for its increased drug resistance.

The D2 dopamine receptor (DRD2) is one of the most well-established therapeutic targets for neuropsychiatric and endocrine disorders. Here, the authors report the crystal structure of the antipsychotic drug haloperidol bound to DRD2 via an extended binding pocket that distinguishes it from other D2-like subtypes.

The folding-dependent catalytic behavior of enzymes is of fundamental biological importance, yet mechanistically underexplored. Here, the authors show that an α-helix, commonly found in proteins, can facilitate its own growth through the self-catalyzed polymerization of N-carboxyanhydride in solvents with low polarity.

The research object of this paper is a geogrid-reinforced embankment. Through numerical simulation and data monitoring, the characteristics of vertical displacement, horizontal displacement, vertical earth pressure, horizontal earth pressure, and internal force in a geogrid-reinforced embankment are studied. The results show that: (1) According to the analysis of monitoring data, the cumulative horizontal displacement decreases and the cumulative vertical displacement increases with time. Additionally, the cumulative vertical displacement is greater than the cumulative horizontal displacement. (2) The vertical pressure of the fill and tensile stress of the geogrid are largest at the center of the structure section, and the horizontal earth pressure is also largest on both sides of the structure. (3) The numerical simulation value and actual monitoring value of the project are compared with the design value. It is found that the tensile force, horizontal pressure, vertical pressure, horizontal displacement, and vertical displacement of the geogrid are less than the design value. The simulated characteristic value is greater than the actual monitored characteristic value. The research results provide a reference for the design of similar geogrid-reinforced embankments.

Protein, as one of the main ingredients for infant formula, may be closely related to the undesirable foam formed during the reconstitution of infant formula. Demineralized whey powder (D70 and D90), whey protein concentrate (WPC), and skimmed milk powder (SMP) are the four protein ingredients commonly used in infant formula formulation. The foaming and physicochemical properties of these four protein ingredients from different manufacturers were analyzed in the present study. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in foaming properties were found between the samples from different manufacturers. SMP showed a highest foaming capacity (FC) and foam stability (FS), followed by D70, D90, and WPC. Although the protein composition was similar based on reducing SDS-PAGE, the aggregates varied based on non-reducing SDS-PAGE, probably resulting in the different foaming properties. Particle size, zeta potential, and solubility of the protein ingredients were assessed. The protein structure was evaluated by circular dichroism, surface hydrophobicity, and free sulfhydryl. Pearson’s correlation analysis demonstrated that FC and FS were positively correlated with random coil (0.55 and 0.74), β-turn (0.53 and 0.73), and zeta potential (0.55 and 0.51) but negatively correlated with β-strand (−0.56 and −0.71), free sulfhydryl (−0.56 and −0.63), particle size (−0.45 and −0.53), and fat content (−0.50 and −0.49). The results of this study could provide a theoretical guidance for reducing formation of foam of infant formula products during reconstitution.

In this study, the effects of different fine aggregates on the properties of polyethylene fiber engineered cementitious composite (PE-ECC) were systematically investigated. The PE-ECCs were prepared with four fine aggregates, respectively. Furthermore, their flowability, compressive strength, and uniaxial tensile properties were studied experimentally and comparatively analyzed by microscopic techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The results showed that all the different types of fine aggregates exhibited little effect on the flowability of PE-ECC, but a greater effect on the compressive strength, uniaxial tensile strength, and ultimate tensile strain. PE-ECC prepared from untreated desert sand showed the best comprehensive performance, with compressive strength, uniaxial tensile strength, and ultimate tensile strain of 47.92 MPa, 6.26 MPa, and 3.638%, respectively. Moreover, it was found that the ultra-fine particles in the desert sand promoted the hydration reaction of cement and produced more C–S–H gels. The pore structures of ECC prepared with different aggregates exhibited obvious fractal characteristics, and the fractal dimension ranged from 2.8 to 2.9. The fractal dimension showed a strong correlation with parameters including ultimate tensile strain and pore structure, and the larger the fractal dimension, the smaller the ultimate tensile strain, porosity, and average pore size of ECC.

Based on wind velocity and wind direction data monitored by Qiemo and Ruoqiang Meteorological Stations, a systematic elaboration on the wind-sand hazards threatening railways in the study area is given. The results indicate that the study area had an annual sand-moving wind frequency of 7.63–20.09%. The prevailing directions of sand-moving wind were NE and ENE. The annual drift potential (DP) of the study area fell within the range of 66.18–124.21 VU, so the study area had a low-wind-energy environment. The yearly direction variability index fell within 0.594–0.610, which was a medium ratio. The yearly resultant drift directions (RDDs) were 222.34° (SW) and 241.79° (WSW), respectively. The seasonal DPs and sand-moving wind frequencies in various directions manifested consistent variation characteristics. The direction variability index presented obvious seasonal variation characteristics. The surface particles in the study area were primarily extremely fine sand, fine sand, and medium sand, which formed wind-sand flows under the sand-moving wind, resulting in railway erosion and two forms of hazards (sand burial and wind erosion) along railways. Following the “blocking-fixing” principle, sand control measures combining mechanical and biological elements are taken along railways to ensure safe service.

Link prediction is one of the research hotspots in complex network analysis and has a wide range of applications in both theory and reality. To improve the prediction accuracy, this paper proposes a new link prediction framework by considering both node similarity and community information, which overcomes the weaknesses of existing community-based prediction methods. In the proposed framework, a reasonable measure, called community relationship strength (CRS), is defined to estimate the closeness between communities. In this paper, we hold the view that the connection likelihood between two target nodes rests upon not only their similarity but also the closeness of communities that they belong to. Therefore, to measure the connection likelihood, the proposed framework combines CRS with traditional similarity indexes. Three CRS-based methods are derived from the framework. The performance of the CRS-based methods is comprehensively studied on 12 real-world networks compared with several groups of baselines. The experimental results indicate that the CRS-based methods are more effective and robust than others.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of fermentation parameters on heat-denatured soybean meal by Monascus purpureus 04093 on the soluble protein and polypeptide production and to evaluate the antioxidant activity and functional properties of the fermented products. The optimal fermentation parameters were obtained as follows: 11.25% soybean meal loaded in a 80 g/500 mL flask with 0.02 g/L Na2SO4 at 28°C and pH 6.5 for 96 h. The soluble protein and polypeptide yield reached 290.9 ± 3.4 mg/g and 106.6 ± 0.9 mg/g, respectively, which was 3.25 and 12.25 times that of the control, respectively. Moreover, the polysaccharide and amino acid contents, the antioxidant activities, the emulsifying properties and foaming capacities were significantly enhanced by Monascus fermentation (P

Community structure is one of the common characteristics of complex networks. In the practical work, we have noted that every node and its most similar node tend to be assigned to the same community and that two communities are often merged together if there exist relatively more edges between them. Inspired by these observations, we present a community-detection method named NSCLS in this paper. Firstly, we calculate the similarities between any node and its first- and second-order neighbors in a novel way and then extract the initial communities from the network by allocating every node and its most similar node to the same community. In this procedure, some nodes located at the community boundaries might be classified in the incorrect communities. To make a redemption, we adjust their community affiliations by reclassifying each of them into the community in which most of its neighbors have been. After that, there might exist relatively larger number of edges between some communities. Therefore, we consider to merge such communities to improve the quality of the final community structure further. To this end, we calculate the link strength between communities and merge some densely connected communities based on this index. We evaluate NSCLS on both some synthetic networks and some real-world networks and show that it can detect high-quality community structures from various networks, and its results are much better than the counterparts of comparison algorithms.

Community detection is one of the key research directions in complex network studies. We propose a community detection algorithm based on a density peak clustering model and multiple attribute decision-making strategy, TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution). First, the two-dimensional dataset, which is transformed from the network by taking the density and distance as the attributes of nodes, is clustered by using the DBSCAN algorithm, and outliers are determined and taken as the key nodes. Then, the initial community frameworks are formed and expanded by adding the most similar node of the community as its new member. In this process, we use TOPSIS to cohesively integrate four kinds of similarities to calculate an index, and use it as a criterion to select the most similar node. Then, we allocate the nonkey nodes that are not covered in the expanded communities. Finally, some communities are merged to obtain a stable partition in two ways. This paper designs some experiments for the algorithm on some real networks and some synthetic networks, and the proposed method is compared with some popular algorithms. The experimental results testify for the effectiveness and show the accuracy of our algorithm.

The study investigated the changes in IgE binding capacity, protein profiles and peptide compositions after soybeans were boiled and autoclaved. The results of ELISA showed that the IgE binding capacity of soybean was reduced by 69.3% and 88.9% after boiling and autoclaving, respectively. Above 43 and 10 kDa proteins disappeared in boiled and autoclaved soybeans from SDS-PAGE, respectively. A Venn diagram and heat map showed that there was no change in allergen types and a reduction in allergen contents in the boiled and autoclaved soybeans. The changes in peptide compositions were also observed in the boiled and autoclaved soybeans through Venn diagram, PCA and heat map. LC/MS-MS and peptide mapping analysis demonstrated that boiling and autoclaving masked many epitopes in Gly m 4 and Gly m 5, such as ALVTDADNVIPK, SVENVEGNGGPGTIKK and KITFLEDGETK of Gly m 4 and VEKEECEEGEIPRPRPRPQHPER of Gly m 5, resulting in a reduction of IgE binding capacity in the extracted proteins. By contrast, the exposure of many epitopes in Gly m 6 was observed in boiled and autoclaved soybeans, which might be mainly responsible for the existing IgE binding capacity in the treated soybean proteins. Interestingly, the IgE binding capacity of soybeans showed a positive correlation with the total contents and number of peptides in Gly m 4–Gly m 6.

Pet foods are gaining ground in China. Canine milk substitute formulations are based on their milk chemistry. This study aimed to analyze and compare the differences in proteins, fatty acids, minerals, and basic chemical composition between canine, bovine, and caprine milk. Canine milk contains higher contents of protein (6.62–17.34%), fat (8.92–14.31%), and ash (1.11–1.81%), and a lower content of lactose (1.56–3.92%) compared to bovine and caprine milk. The protein profiles of canine, bovine, and caprine milk were similar as confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide electrophoresis gel (SDS-PAGE). The quantification of proteins in canine, bovine, and caprine milk were significantly different when analyzed by inverse high-performance liquid chromatography. Canine milk showed higher contents of monounsaturated fatty acids (29.71–32.95% of total fatty acids) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (16.83–20.56% of total fatty acids), but a lower proportion of saturated fatty acids (47.57–53.18% of total fatty acids) than bovine and caprine milk. The essential fatty acids ARA and DHA were also found in canine milk in the ranges of 0.82–1.77% and 0.12–0.43% of total fatty acids, respectively. Canine milk had higher levels of Mg, K, Na, Fe, and Zn than those in bovine and caprine milk. The nutrient profile of canine milk was different from that of bovine and caprine milk. There were differences in nutritional compositions of the milk samples from four breeds, and Rottweiler milk had the highest nutritional content. The data of this study may provide useful information about the nutritional needs of puppies during their first months of life and the basic information for formulations of puppy milk substitutes.

Lactobacillus reuteri YSJL-12 was isolated from healthy sow fresh feces and used as probiotics additives previously. To investigate the genetic basis on probiotic potential and identify the genes in the strain, the complete genome of YSJL-12 was sequenced. Then comparative genome analysis on 9 strains of Lactobacillus reuteri was performed. The genome of YSJL-12 consisted of a circular 2,084,748 bp chromosome and 2 circular plasmids (51,906 and 15,134 bp). From among the 2065 protein-coding sequences (CDSs), the genes resistant to the environmental stress were identified. The function of COG (Clusters of Orthologous Group) protein genes was predicted, and the KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathways were analyzed. The comparative genome analysis indicated that the pan-genome contained a core genome of 1257 orthologous gene clusters, an accessory genome of 1064 orthologous gene clusters, and 1148 strain-specific genes, and the antibacterial mechanism among Lactobacillus reuteri strains might be different. The phylogenetic analysis and genomic collinearity revealed that the phylogenetic relationship among 9 strains of Lactobacillus reuteri was connected with host species and showed host specificity. The research could help us to better predict genes function and understand genetic basis on adapting to host gut in Lactobacillus reuteri YSJL-12.

The centrality plays an important role in many community-detection algorithms, which depend on various kinds of centralities to identify seed vertices of communities first and then expand each of communities based on the seeds to get the resulting community structure. The traditional algorithms always use a single centrality measure to recognize seed vertices from the network, but each centrality measure has both pros and cons when being used in this circumstance; hence seed vertices identified using a single centrality measure might not be the best ones. In this paper, we propose a framework which integrates advantages of various centrality measures to identify the seed vertices from the network based on the TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) multiattribute decision-making technology. We take each of the centrality measures involved as an attribute, rank vertices according to the scores which are calculated for them using TOPSIS, and then take vertices with top ranks as the seeds. To put this framework into practice, we concretize it in this paper by considering four centrality measures as attributes to identify the seed vertices of communities first, then expanding communities by iteratively inserting one unclassified vertex into the community to which its most similar neighbor belongs, and the similarity between them is the largest among all pairs of vertices. After that, we obtain the initial community structure. However, the amount of communities might be much more than they should be, and some communities might be too small to make sense. Therefore, we finally consider a postprocessing procedure to merge some initial communities into larger ones to acquire the resulting community structure. To test the effectiveness of the proposed framework and method, we have performed extensive experiments on both some synthetic networks and some real-world networks; the experimental results show that the proposed method can get better results, and the quality of the detected community structure is much higher than those of competitors.