Deamidation analysis of therapeutic drugs using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry and a novel algorithm QuanDA.

A robust deamidation quantification method, called QuanDA, was developed to quantify the spontaneous nonenzymatic deamidation of peptides based on the isotopic distribution change of peptides in matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectra and non-negative least squares calculation. The predictive model of QuanDA using theoretical spectra of pure un-deamidated and deamidated peptides for a series of simulated partial deamidated peptides is satisfying, with a coefficient of determination () and root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.9914 and 0.

Lycium Barbarum Polysaccharide-Derived Nanoparticles Protect Visual Function by Inhibiting RGC Ferroptosis and Microglial Activation in Retinal Ischemia‒Reperfusion Mice.

Retinal ischemia‒reperfusion (IR) is a major contributor to vision impairment and irreversible vision loss due to retinal ganglion cell (RGC) injury or loss. Contemporary therapeutic approaches predominantly focus on the amelioration of symptoms rather than addressing the fundamental etiological factors. Oxidative stress is a notable feature and an important mediator of IR damage.

Profiling of aberrant sialylated N-glycans in hepatocellular carcinoma by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

Background: Aberrant sialylation is closely associated with the tumorigenesis, progression, and metastasis, and may be of importance for disease diagnosis. However, the analysis of altered expression of sialylated glycans (SGs) in blood is particularly challenging due to the low content and poor ionization efficiency of sialylated glycans in mass spectrometry.

Methods: An analytical strategy based on enrichment of SGs, liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometric detection, and automatic glycan annotation was developed to profile the sialylated N-glycome in serum.

Serum lipidomic profiling for liver cancer screening using surface-assisted laser desorption ionization MS and machine learning.

The liver is a major organ in metabolism, and alterations in serum lipids are associated with liver disorders. Here, a rapid, easy, and reliable screening technique based on lipidomic profiling was developed using machine learning and surface-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI MS) for liver cancer diagnosis. A graphitized carbon matrix (GCM) was created for serum lipid profiling in SALDI MS and demonstrated a better performance for neutral lipids analysis than conventional organic matrices.

Oxidative stress and epigenetics in ocular vascular aging: an updated review.

Vascular aging is an inevitable process with advancing age, which plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and microvascular diseases. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), characterized by microvascular dysfunction, are the common causes of irreversible blindness worldwide, however there is still a lack of effective therapeutic strategies for rescuing the visual function. In order to develop novel treatments, it is essential to illuminate the pathological mechanisms underlying the vascular aging during DR and AMD progression.

Water-Land-Food Nexus for Sustainable Agricultural Development in Main Grain-Producing Areas of North China Plain.

Stable and sustainable food production is an important guarantee for national security and social stability. The uneven distribution of cultivated land and water resources will threaten national food security. In this study, we adopt the Gini coefficient and water-land matching coefficient for exploring the water-land nexus in the main grain-producing areas of North China Plain (NCP) from 2000 to 2020.

E-Learning Performance Prediction: Mining the Feature Space of Effective Learning Behavior.

Learning analysis provides a new opportunity for the development of online education, and has received extensive attention from scholars at home and abroad. How to use data and models to predict learners' academic success or failure and give teaching feedback in a timely manner is a core problem in the field of learning analytics. At present, many scholars use key learning behaviors to improve the prediction effect by exploring the implicit relationship between learning behavior data and grades.

Effectiveness of Aromatherapy on Ameliorating Fatigue in Adults: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Fatigue is a common symptom in adults that may cause physical and psychological problems and reduce quality of life. Aromatherapy could possibly provide relief for those suffering from fatigue. Here, we evaluated the effect of aromatherapy on fatigue in adults.

Predicting students' performance in e-learning using learning process and behaviour data.

E-learning is achieved by the deep integration of modern education and information technology, and plays an important role in promoting educational equity. With the continuous expansion of user groups and application areas, it has become increasingly important to effectively ensure the quality of e-learning. Currently, one of the methods to ensure the quality of e-learning is to use mutually independent e-learning behaviour data to build a learning performance predictor to achieve real-time supervision and feedback during the learning process.

Threshold for Relationship between Vitamin D and Parathyroid Hormone in Chinese Women of Childbearing Age.

: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and serum intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) in Chinese childbearing women, and to estimate the optimum threshold of 25(OH)D that maximally inhibits the PTH, which is considered to be the optimal status for vitamin D sufficiency. : Serum samples were selected from the biological samples' bank of the Chinese Chronic Diseases and Nutrition Survey (CCDNS) 2015. The serum 25(OH)D concentration was determined by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and the serum PTH was determined by electronic chemiluminescence.

Effect of Germination and Extrusion on Physicochemical Properties and Nutritional Qualities of Extrudates and Tortilla from Wheat.

Wheat is the most common grain in the temperate region. Modifying its constituent through food processing improves its functionality and nutrient access. In this study, the combined effect of germination and extrusion on physicochemical properties and nutritional qualities of extrudates and tortilla from wheat was evaluated.

[Quantification and comparison of fatty acid between white peanuts and red peanuts].

Objective: To investigate the difference of fatty acid content and types between red peanuts and white peanuts.

Methods: After being hydrolyzed, extracted, and methyl-esterificated, fatty acid in the sample were separated with the chromatographic column HP-88( 100 m × 0. 25 mm × 0.

Identification of a novel polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol‑derived SIRT1 inhibitor with cancer‑specific anti-proliferative and invasion-suppressing activities.

SIRT1, a class III histone deacetylase, plays a critical role in regulating cancer cell growth, migration and invasion, which makes it a potential target for cancer therapeutics. In this study, we screened derivatives of several groups of natural products and identified a novel SIRT1 inhibitor JQ-101, a synthetic derivative of the polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol (PPAP) natural products, with an IC(50) for SIRT1 of 30 µM in vitro, with 5-fold higher activity for SIRT1 vs. SIRT2.

SIRT1 inactivation evokes antitumor activities in NSCLC through the tumor suppressor p27.

Unlabelled: P27(Kip1) (CDKN1B) regulates cellular proliferation and senescence, and p27(Kip1) deficiency in cancer is strongly correlated with poor prognosis of multiple cancer types. Understanding the mechanism of p27(Kip1) loss in cancer and the consequences of restoring p27(Kip1) levels is therefore critical for effective management during therapy. Here, SIRT1, a class III histone deacetylase (HDAC), is identified as an important regulator of p27(Kip1) expression.

[Screening of urinary biomarkers in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus].

Objective: To screen the biomarkers of the middle-aged type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in urine based on metabolomics.

Methods: First, both the metabolite profiles of morning urine sample in T2DM and control group were obtained by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Second, an automated compound (feature) extraction algorithm was employed for processing background subtracted single MS data.

Ordered structure and thermal property of acid-modified high-amylose rice starch.

High-amylose cereal starch has a great benefit on human health. Acid modification is very helpful for application of high-amylose starch in food and non-food industries. In this study, the ordered structure of acid-modified high-amylose rice starch was investigated by GPC, HPAEC, (13)C CP/MAS NMR and XRD.

Toward underlying reasons for rice starches having low viscosity and high amylose: physiochemical and structural characteristics.

Background: To understand the reasons for low starch viscosity in rice variety Q11 (Qing-lu-zhan 11), the physiochemical and structural characteristics of flours and starches were investigated and compared with another rice cultivar with similar high amylose but normal viscosity.

Results: Our results showed that residual α-amylase activity and proteins were not the major causes of low starch viscosity in Q11 rice. Homogeneous small granule size and lower swelling power of high-amylose Q11 rice starches was one reason for the low swelling volume and thus the low pasting property.

SIRT1 enhances matrix metalloproteinase-2 expression and tumor cell invasion in prostate cancer cells.

Background: Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2) has been shown to play an important role in cancer cell invasion and the expression of MMP2 is associated with the poor prognosis of prostate cancer; however, the mechanism of MMP2 expression is largely unknown. SIRT1 is a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent histone deacetylase (class III HDAC) that has recently been shown to have implications in regulating cancer cell growth and apoptosis. The purpose of this study is to determine the role of SIRT1 in regulating MMP2 expression and tumor invasion in prostate cancer cells.

High-amylose rice improves indices of animal health in normal and diabetic rats.

A high-amylose rice with 64.8% amylose content (AC) was developed by transgenic inhibition of two isoforms of starch branching enzyme (SBE), SBEI and SBEIIb, in an indica rice cultivar. The expression of SBEI and SBEIIb was completely inhibited in the transgenic line, whereas the expression of granule-bound starch synthase was normal.

Granule structure and distribution of allomorphs in C-type high-amylose rice starch granule modified by antisense RNA inhibition of starch branching enzyme.

C-type starch, which is a combination of both A-type and B-type crystal starch, is usually found in legumes and rhizomes. We have developed a high-amylose transgenic line of rice (TRS) by antisense RNA inhibition of starch branching enzymes. The starch in the endosperm of this TRS was identified as typical C-type crystalline starch, but its fine granular structure and allomorph distribution remained unclear.

Aberrant cytoplasm localization and protein stability of SIRT1 is regulated by PI3K/IGF-1R signaling in human cancer cells.

SIRT1, an NAD-dependent histone/protein deacetylase, has classically been thought of as a nuclear protein. In this study, we demonstrate that SIRT1 is mainly localized in the nucleus of normal cells, but is predominantly localized in the cytoplasm of the cancer / transformed cells we tested. We found this predominant cytoplasmic localization of SIRT1 is regulated by elevated mitotic activity and PI3K/IGF-1R signaling in cancer cells.

C-type starch from high-amylose rice resistant starch granules modified by antisense RNA inhibition of starch branching enzyme.

High-amylose starch is a source of resistant starch (RS) which has a great benefit on human health. A transgenic rice line (TRS) enriched amylose and RS had been developed by antisense RNA inhibition of starch branching enzymes. In this study, the native starch granules were isolated from TRS grains as well as the wild type, and their crystalline type was carefully investigated before and after acid hydrolysis.

Microstructure and ultrastructure of high-amylose rice resistant starch granules modified by antisense RNA inhibition of starch branching enzyme.

A high-amylose transgenic rice line (TRS) modified by antisense RNA inhibition of starch branching enzymes revealed a resistant starch-rich quality. Compound starch granules in whole grains of the regular rice cultivar Teqing (TQ) were readily split during fracturing, whereas the starch granules in TRS were structurally intact and showed large voluminous, non-angular rounded bodies and elongated, filamentous structures tolerant of fracturing. In isolated preparation, TQ starch granules broke up into separate polygonal granules, whereas TRS starch granules kept their intactness.

Quality-of-life analysis in the management of endometrial cancer.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether and how the quality of life (QL) of patients with stage I endometrial cancer was influenced by different surgical procedures with or without radiation therapy.

Study Design: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 200 women with stage I endometrial cancer at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada in 2001 through 2002. Modified QLQ-C30 Questionnaires were used in evaluating differences in the weighted QL of patients who underwent staged surgery and patients who had nonstaged surgery, the latter of which refers to total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (TAH-BSO) with or without radiation therapy.