Search

ABSTRACT The development of the salivary gland (SG) is a complex process regulated by multiple signaling pathways in a spatiotemporal manner. Various stem/progenitor cell populations and respective cell lineages are involved in SG morphogenesis and postnatal maturation. Leucine‐rich repeats and immunoglobulin‐like domains 1 (LRIG1) has been identified as critical regulator of stem cells by virtue of its ability to restrain stem cell proliferation, indicating its potential role in the development of several maxillofacial tissues and in the regulation of the quiescence in adult tissues. This study aimed to investigate the expression pattern and functions of Lrig1 in the developing and mature murine submandibular gland (SMG). To accomplish this objective, we collected the murine SMGs at different developmental stages and examined the expression pattern and levels of Lrig1 with qRT‐PCR, immunofluorescent (IF) and RNAscope staining. We observed that Lrig1 was widely distributed in both epithelial and mesenchymal cells throughout embryonic and neonatal stages, with specific localization in the more mature epithelium. Furthermore, through single‐cell RNA sequencing (scRNA‐Seq) and IF techniques, we confirmed that LRIG1 is highly concentrated along with SMG progenitor markers in acinar and basal cells. Additionally, transcription factors (TFs) that could regulate LRIG1 expression were predicted from JASPAR databases and their motifs were identified by the UCSC browser's BLAT tool. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analyses on postnatal day 5 (PN5) scRNA‐Seq data also provided insights into Lrig1's functions in SG development. Finally, we also conducted in vitro experiments on a human salivary gland (HSG) cell line to assess LRIG1's impact on HSG proliferation and migration, as well as its potential upstream regulatory TFs. Taken together, our study reveals that LRIG1 plays a vital role in SG development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study integrates network pharmacology and metabolomics techniques to explore the potential regulatory mechanisms of Res on gouty arthritis (GA). Methods: Network pharmacology was used to predict the mechanism of Res in regulating GA, and methods such as HE staining, ELISA, immunohistochemistry, Real-time PCR, Western blot, and molecular docking were used to verify the role of NF-κB, MAPK, and JAK/STAT inflammatory signaling pathways in the MSU-induced GA rat model. In addition, non-targeted metabolomics techniques were combined to further investigate the mechanism of Res in treating GA. Results: The results of network pharmacology showed that Res may exert its therapeutic effects through the NF-κB signaling pathway. Animal experiments demonstrated that in the MSU-induced GA rat model, pathological damage, serum biochemical indicators, and levels of inflammatory factors were significantly increased, and the NF-κB signaling pathway was activated. The intervention of Res significantly reduced pathological damage, serum biochemical indicators, levels of inflammatory factors, and the activation of NF-κB, MAPK, and JAK/STAT signaling pathways in the model rats. Metabolomics results showed that Res could improve the metabolic trajectory deviations in serum and joint fluid of GA model rats. Through related metabolic pathway analysis, the most affected metabolic pathways were found to be Sphingolipid metabolism, Glycerophospholipid metabolism, Phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, Pantothenate and CoA, Citrate cycle (TCA cycle), and Arachidonic acid metabolism. Conclusion: Resveratrol can regulate the biosynthetic pathways of arachidonic acid, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan, pantothenic acid and CoA biosynthesis pathways, TCA cycle, and other metabolic pathways, thereby regulating the NF-κB, MAPK, and JAK/STAT3 signaling pathways, and inhibiting the acute inflammatory response during GA attacks, showing characteristics of multi-pathway and multi-target action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black-odor water, which is caused by the excessive accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus in water, is a significant problem. Immobilized microorganisms are considered to be an effective technical solution, but there are still many key parameters to be determined, such as organic matter dissolution, insufficient stability, and insufficient phosphorus removal capacity, among other problems. In this study, the optimum raw material ratios of immobilized microorganism gel beads were determined by means of a response surface experiment. The optimal ratio of raw materials was 5% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), 1% sodium alginate (SA), and 6% bacterial powder. In addition, the nitrogen and phosphorus removal performance of the materials was improved by loading inorganic compounds, such as 0.5 wt.% zeolite, 0.5 wt.% iron powder, and 0.2 wt.% activated carbon. Tolerance analysis determined that these gel beads could maintain a good performance in a series of harsh environments, such as during intense agitation, at high temperatures, and at low pH values, etc. The total nitrogen (TN), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), and phosphorus (TP) removal efficiencies were 88.9%, 90%, and 95%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process conditions and antioxidant activity of ultra-high pressure assisted extraction of polysaccharides from Moringa oleifera seed husks were studied. Taking the yield of polysaccharides as the index, the effects of degree of crushing, extraction pressure, holding pressure time and material-to-liquid ratio on the yield of polysaccharides from Moringa oleifera seed husks were investigated. The optimal extraction conditions were determined by single-factor test and orthogonal test: a holding time of 10 min, a material-to-liquid ratio of 1:25, an extraction pressure of 350 MPa, and a polysaccharide yield of 0.264%. Its antioxidant activity can be determined by measuring the total antioxidant capacity and their ability to scavenge DPPH and ·OH radicals. The results showed that the IC50 of Moringa oleifera seed husk polysaccharides on DPPH and hydroxyl radicals were 0.0662 g/L and 0.0844 g/L, respectively. The total antioxidant capacity was 0.1826 mm/g (expressed as the equivalent concentration of ferrous sulfate). Compared with hot water extraction methods, ultra-high pressure assisted extraction methods can shorten extraction time, improve extraction efficiency. The water-soluble polysaccharides extracted from Moringa oleifera seed husks by ultra-high pressure assisted extraction technology also have higher antioxidant activity than that by hot water extraction method at the same concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the important research components of photocatalytic research is the development of new photocatalysts, and recent studies have shown the rise of borate‐type photocatalysts. This paper focuses on the photoreduction of potassium dichromate and the photodegradation of rhodamine B by two borate composites under simulated sunlight. A coral‐like borate was obtained by sol‐gel preparation and then assembled by photodeposition with Pt nanoparticles dots or CuO particles to obtain the new composites with excellent performance. The kinetic constants of photocatalytic properties of 2 %Pt/Gd0.85Ce0.15B5O9 and 2.5 %CuO/Gd0.90Ce0.10B5O9 samples in the reduction and degradation reactions are 0.0050 min−1 and 0.0150 min−1, which are 25 and 4.2 times of the intrinsic GdB5O9 sample respectively. The results of the study indicate the research promise of developing new visible photocatalysts based on borates, especially for photocatalytic applications for pollutant removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the global population on the rise, an escalating interest exists in environmentally sustainable and friendly protein sources. Insects have emerged as multifaceted resources, viewed not only as potential food items, but also as sources of traditional medicines and proteins. This study utilized response surface methodology (RSM) to ascertain the optimal extraction conditions for proteins from Musca domestica used in toad feeding, denoted as MDPs-T. The yield of MDPs-T was elevated to 18.3% ± 0.2% under these optimized conditions. Subsequently, the particle size, ζ-potentials, and structures of MDPs-T were analyzed and compared with the proteins derived from Musca domestica fed on a normal diet (MDPs-ND). This comparative analysis utilized a range of advanced techniques, involving UV spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The outcomes have revealed a marginal disparity in the physical and chemical properties between MDPs-T and MDPs-ND. Derosination led to a reduction in the particle size of the MDPs by 10.98% to 62.81%. MDPs-T exhibited a higher proportion of low-molecular-weight components relative to MDPs-ND. Additionally, in a comparative analysis of amino acids, MDPs-T displayed a greater abundance of essential and total amino acids relative to MDPs-ND. Consequently, MDPs-T holds potential as a valuable food supplement for human consumption or as a nutrient-rich feed supplement for animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As more and more large-scale scientific workflows are delivered to clouds, the business model of workflow-as-a-service is emerging. But there are many kinds of threats in the cloud environment, which can interrupt the task execution and extend the workflow completion time. As an important QoS parameter, the workflow completion time is determined by the critical task path. Therefore, critical path redundancy method is proposed to create a redundant path having the interact parallel relationship with the critical path, which can provide the protection for the tasks in the critical path and reduce the probability of the critical path interruption. Computing instance allocation is an essential part of the cloud workflow execution, since only the tasks assigned the instance can begin execution. In order to further reduce the workflow completion time, computing instance allocation algorithm based on HEFT (heterogeneous earliest finish time) is proposed. The algorithm considers diverse task dependency relationships and takes full advantages of the critical path redundancy method, which can improve the efficiency of workflow execution. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively reduce the cloud workflow completion time under the task interruption.

Consumer preference for products made from transgenic technology has been widely studied, yet few studies exist exploring the factors influencing producers’ adoption of transgenic technology. Based on field surveys in Chinese provinces of Shanxi, Henan and Shandong, we employed a gambling experiment to capture producers’ risk preferences by estimating their risk aversion coefficients. We further estimated producers’ risk amplification and risk perception of GM technology. Using ordered logit model, we identified the major factors influencing producers’ adoption of transgenic technology. We found the factors impacted the decision of producers from different regions in different ways. The results showed that two-thirds of participants amplified the risk of transgenic crops. When there was potential risk, producers might not be rational even if they had high level of knowledge and cognition about the technology. Our results shed light on government policies aiming to increase the adoption of new technologies by producers.