The effect of pH on structural properties and interaction mechanisms of zein/epicatechin gallate complexes.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of pH on the structural properties and interaction mechanisms of zein/epicatechin gallate (ECG) complexes. QCM-D data demonstrated that the binding capacity of ECG to zein was significantly higher under alkaline condition (pH 9) compared to neutral and acidic conditions ( < 0.05).

Identification and pharmacological properties of 2-(1H-indazole-3-carboxamido)-3,3-dimethylbutanoate (MDMB-INACA), N-(1-amino-3,3-dimethyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl)-1H-indazole-3-carboxamide (ADB-INACA), and N-(1-amino-3,3-dimethyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl)-1-hexyl-1H-indazole-3-carboxamide (ADB-HINACA).

Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are an evolving class of new psychoactive substances (NPS) with structurally various compounds that are increasing over the past few years. Therefore, they are initially hard to identify because of the lack of analytical information. Moreover, there is little to no information regarding the pharmacology of these compounds despite human abuse.

The cryoprotective effect of peptides and its ice-binding mechanism.

Although discarded as waste, shrimp heads are a potential source of antifreeze peptides, which can be used as cryoprotectants in the food industry. Their utilization in frozen foods can help mitigate the negative effects caused by the freezing technique. hrimp heads were autolyzed, and the shrimp head autolysate (SHA) was separated ultra-filtration and ion exchange chromatography.

Insight into the structure-activity relationship of thermal hysteresis activity of cod collagen peptides through peptidomics and bioinformatics approaches.

To elucidate the correlation between variations in thermal hysteresis activity (THA) and the physicochemical properties and structure, antifreeze peptides (AFPs) of isolated fractions (CCP-1 and CCP-2) were characterized on based peptidomics and bioinformatics. The results revealed a positive correlation between the THA of cod collagen antifreeze peptide (CCAFP) and peptide chain length, isoelectric point, and hydrophobic amino acid content. Notably, the THA of CCP-1, which has higher alkaline amino acid content, was 2.

Brain structural changes in diabetic retinopathy patients: a combined voxel-based morphometry and surface-based morphometry study.

The aim of this study was to investigate alterations in gray matter structure among individuals diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy (DR). This study included a cohort of 32 diabetic patients with retinopathy (DR group, n = 32) and 38 healthy adults (HC group, n = 38). Both cohorts underwent comprehensive psychological and cognitive assessments alongside structural magnetic resonance imaging.

Knockdown of KCNQ1OT1 Alleviates the Activation of NLRP3 Inflammasome Through miR-17-5p/TXNIP Axis in Retinal Müller Cells.

Purpose: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most severe and common complications caused by diabetic mellites. Inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation displays a crucial therapeutic value in DR. Studies have shown that KCNQ1OT1 plays a critical role in regulating NLRP3 inflammasome activation and participates in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications.

Chinese consumers' valuation for prepared plant-based meat products: Does environmental information matter?

Despite the growing interest in innovative nonanimal protein-prepared foods, knowledge about consumer demand for these newly prepared foods and their potential scope in the market could be improved. This study reports the results of a discrete choice experiment on consumers' (n = 1245) willingness to pay (WTP) for prepared plant-based meat (PPBM) in the context of Chinese food culture. Consumers were randomly assigned to a treated group with additional environmental information about PPBM.

Prevention of food fraud and fraud emulation among companies in the supply chain based on a social Co-governance framework.

This study develops a three-party evolutionary game model among upstream raw material producers, midstream food producers, and downstream distributors in the food supply chain, and investigates food fraud and fraud emulation among companies in the same group based on a food safety social co-governance framework. Moreover, the equilibrium points are divided into four scenarios according to the number of groups of companies committing fraud in the supply chain and whether companies in the same group emulate each other's fraudulent behavior. The stability conditions of these scenarios are also discussed and verified by numerical simulation in MATLAB.

Safe Food Supply Chain as Health Network: An Evolutionary Game Analysis of Behavior Strategy for Quality Investment.

There is a natural relation between human health and the quality of their food and drinks, and elevating the quality input level of food production for all enterprises within the food supply chain system forms the foundation for preventing various potential food safety risks that may be encountered. Unlike the previous research on quality investment of food production by enterprises, this paper probes into the evolutionary routes of the behavior strategy selection of subjects in the food supply chain and the preconditions for the equilibrium points of the social co-governance system. It takes the approach of establishing a tripartite evolutionary game model of food suppliers, food manufacturers and consumers on the basis of the social co-governance framework, in view of the above, this paper focuses on the influence of the reputation mechanism and the market contracts among supply chain subjects on the selection of a behavior strategy for quality investment by enterprises under the condition of lawful regulation by government.

Formation, physicochemical properties, and biological activities of theabrownins.

Theabrownins (TBs) are heterogeneous mixtures of water-soluble brown tea pigments, and important constituents to evaluate the quality of dark tea. TBs have numerous hydroxyl and carboxyl groups and are formed by the oxidative polymerization of tea polyphenols. Many biological activities attributed to TBs, including antioxidant, anti-obesity, and lipid-regulating, have been demonstrated.

Development of a spiropyran-assisted cellulose aerogel with switchable wettability as oil sorbent for oil spill cleanup.

This research presents the successful development and optimization of a spiropyran-assisted cellulose aerogel (CNF-SP) aerogel with UV-induced switchable wettability, and the evaluation of its performance as an effective oil sorbent for oil spill cleanup. The aerogel initially exhibited strong hydrophobicity (124°) and showed UV-induced switchable wettability due to the photo-response structure of spiropyran. Upon UV irradiation, the hydrophobicity of the aerogel could be switched to hydrophilicity (31°), while visible light irradiation could restore its hydrophobicity.

Effects of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy on the complications in very low birth weight neonates.

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the effects of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) on the complications in very low birth weight (VLBW) neonates.

Methods: We retrospectively included VLBW neonates (<37 weeks) who were delivered by HDP pregnant women with a body weight of < 1,500 g (HDP group) hospitalized in our hospital between January 2016 and July 2021. Gestational age matched VLBW neonates delivered by pregnant women with a normal blood pressure, with a proportion of 1:1 to the HDP group in number, served as normal control.

Long noncoding RNAs in human reproductive processes and diseases.

Infertility has become a global disease burden. Although assisted reproductive technologies are widely used, the assisted reproduction birth rate is no more than 30% worldwide. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of reproduction can provide new strategies to improve live birth rates and clinical outcomes of enhanced implantation.

Effect of intraoperative abdominal lavage versus suction alone on postoperative wound infection in patients with appendicitis: A meta-analysis.

There is much controversy about the application of abdominal irrigation in the prevention of wound infection (WI) and intra-abdominal abscess (IAA) in the postoperative period. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis of the effect of suctioning and lavage on appendectomy to assess the efficacy of either suctioning or lavage. Data were collected and estimated with RevMan 5.

Synergistically Stabilizing Zinc Anodes by Molybdenum Dioxide Coating and Tween 80 Electrolyte Additive for High-Performance Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Recently, aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have become increasingly attractive as grid-scale energy storage solutions due to their safety, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, severe dendrite growth, self-corrosion, hydrogen evolution, and irreversible side reactions occurring at Zn anodes often cause poor cyclability of ZIBs. This work develops a synergistic strategy to stabilize the Zn anode by introducing a molybdenum dioxide coating layer on Zn (MoO@Zn) and Tween 80 as an electrolyte additive.

Food manufacturer willingness to employ blockchain technology system under the social Co-governance framework: China's situation.

The blockchain technology system has gradually come to be employed in the food supply chain system, and it has emerged that the system offers the unique function of effectively curbing counterfeiting by food manufacturers. Unlike previous research on adoption by enterprises of new technology, this paper probes into the specific evolutionary routes of game subjects from the perspective of the precondition for enterprises' willingness to employ blockchain technology on the basis of China's social co-governance framework and by establishing a tripartite evolutionary game model of food manufacturer, government and consumer. The study then tests and verifies the stability conditions of equilibrium points and the relationship between these equilibrium points and the social co-governance level through numerical simulation analysis.

Cardiopulmonary prognosis of prophylactic endotracheal intubation in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding undergoing endoscopy.

Background: It is controversial whether prophylactic endotracheal intubation (PEI) protects the airway before endoscopy in critically ill patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB). The study aimed to explore the predictive value of PEI for cardiopulmonary outcomes and identify high-risk patients with UGIB undergoing endoscopy.

Methods: Patients undergoing endoscopy for UGIB were retrospectively enrolled in the eICU Collaborative Research Database (eICU-CRD).

Characterization of the long noncoding RNA transcriptome in human preimplantation embryo development.

Purpose: Infertility remains a human health burden globally. Only a fraction of embryos produced via assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) develop to the blastocyst stage in vitro. lncRNA abundance changes significantly during human early embryonic development, indicating vital regulatory roles of lncRNAs in this process.

Development and validation of a facile rapid assessment scale for perinatal venous thromboembolism in puerperium in Chinese women.

Background: It is still urgent and challenge to develop a simple risk assessment scale for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in puerperium in Chinese women.

Methods: The study, a retrospective case-control study, was conducted in 12 hospitals in different cities in China. A total of 1152 pregnant women were selected, including 384 cases with VTE and 768 cases without VTE.

The role of long noncoding RNAs in liquid-liquid phase separation.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are among the most well-characterized noncoding RNAs, have attracted much attention due to their regulatory functions and potential therapeutic options in many types of disease. Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), the formation of droplet condensates, is involved in various cellular processes, but the molecular interactions of lncRNAs in LLPS are unclear. In this review, we describe the research development on LLPS, including descriptions of various methods established to identify LLPS, summarize the physiological and pathological functions of LLPS, identify the molecular interactions of lncRNAs in LLPS, and present the potential applications of leveraging LLPS in the clinic.

Cell division cycle associated 8 promotes the growth and inhibits the apoptosis of endometrial cancer cells by regulating cell cycle and P53/Rb signaling pathway.

Objective: Cell division cycle associated 8 (CDCA8) is over-expressed in a variety of tumors and associated with tumor progression. Nevertheless, the role of CDCA8 in endometrial cancer (EC) is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the role and mechanism of CDCA8 in EC.

Mining of clinical and prognosis related genes in the tumor microenvironment of endometrial cancer: A field synopsis of observational study.

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the sixth most common malignant tumor in women worldwide, and its morbidity and mortality are on the rise. The purpose of this study was to explore potential tumor microenvironment (TME)-related biomarkers associated with the clinical features and prognosis of EC. The Estimating Stromal and Immune Cells in Malignancy Using Expression Data (ESTIMATE) algorithm was used to calculate TME immune and stromal scores of EC samples and to analyze the relationship between immune/stromal scores, clinical features, and prognosis.

Interaction of air pollution and meteorological factors on IVF outcomes: A multicenter study in China.

Background: Previous studies revealed associations between air-pollutant exposure and in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. However, modification effects of air pollution on IVF outcomes by meteorological conditions remain elusive.

Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 15,217 women from five northern Chinese cities during 2015-2020.