Biotransformation of dietary phytoestrogens by gut microbes: A review on bidirectional interaction between phytoestrogen metabolism and gut microbiota.

Phytoestrogens are a class of plant produced polyphenolic compounds with diphenolic structure, which is similar to 17β-estradiol. These phytoestrogens preferentially bind to estrogen receptors, however, with weak affinity. Recently, many studies have found that these phytoestrogens can be transformed by gut microbiota through novel enzymatic reactions into metabolites with altered bioactivity.

The effects of deletion of cellobiohydrolase genes on carbon source-dependent growth and enzymatic lignocellulose hydrolysis in Trichoderma reesei.

The saprophytic fungus Trichoderma reesei has long been used as a model to study microbial degradation of lignocellulosic biomass. The major cellulolytic enzymes of T. reesei are the cellobiohydrolases CBH1 and CBH2, which constitute more than 70% of total proteins secreted by the fungus.

Improving Xylose Fermentation in by Expressing Nuclear-Localized Hexokinase 2.

Understanding the relationship between xylose and the metabolic regulatory systems is a prerequisite to enhance xylose utilization in recombinant strains. Hexokinase 2 (Hxk2p) is an intracellular glucose sensor that localizes to the cytoplasm or the nucleus depending on the carbon source. Hxk2p interacts with Mig1p to regulate gene transcription in the nucleus.

Salt tolerance of nitrate reductase in Halomonas sp. B01.

A systematic study on the lack of dissimilatory nitrate reductase (NAR) properties in Halomonas strains had been reported so far. The effects of different factors on Halomonas sp. B01 NAR activity were investigated.

Research on intelligent prediction and zonation of basin-scale flood risk based on LSTM method.

Global climate change and human activities aggravate the frequency of flood disasters. Flood risk includes natural flood risk and risk of economic and social disasters, which is displayed intuitively by flood risk zonation maps. In this paper, we take the disaster-causing factors, the disaster environment, the disaster-bearing body, and the disaster prevention and mitigation capability into consideration comprehensively.

Extension of Genetic Marker List Using Unnatural Amino Acid System: An Efficient Genomic Modification Strategy in .

Genetic manipulations including chromosome engineering are essential techniques used to restructure cell metabolism. Lambda/Red (λ/Red)-mediated recombination is the most commonly applied approach for chromosomal modulation in . However, the efficiency of this method is significantly hampered by the laborious removal of the selectable markers.

Therapeutic Potential of Circular RNAs in Osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. Multiagent chemotherapy, together with surgical removal of all detectable lesions, has improved the long-term survival rate to 65-70% in patients with localized osteosarcoma and to 25-30% in patients with metastatic osteosarcoma since the 1970s. However, the conventional strategy has not improved in recent decades.

Deep learning for the determination of myometrial invasion depth and automatic lesion identification in endometrial cancer MR imaging: a preliminary study in a single institution.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic performance of a deep learning (DL) model in evaluating myometrial invasion (MI) depth on T2-weighted imaging (T2WI)-based endometrial cancer (EC) MR imaging (ECM).

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 530 patients with pathologically proven EC at our institution between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2017. All imaging data were reviewed on picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) server.

Confinement of single polyoxometalate clusters in molecular-scale cages for improved flexible solid-state supercapacitors.

Herein, we realized the supramolecular confinement of a single polyoxometalate (POM) cluster precisely in a polypyrrole (PPy) hydrogel-wrapped CNT framework with molecular-scale cages. This hybrid hydrogel framework demonstrated an ultra-high loading (67.5 wt%) and extremely uniform dispersion of individual of H[P(MoO)] (PMo) molecules, as demonstrated by sub-ångström-resolution HAADF-STEM.

Ribonuclease attenuates acute intestinal injury induced by intestinal ischemia reperfusion in mice.

Ribonuclease (RNase) reportedly exerts organ-protective effects in several pathological conditions, including ischemia reperfusion (I/R), but whether it can exhibit protective effect on intestinal I/R injury and potential mechanisms remain unknown. The present study was aimed to evaluate the effects of RNase on intestinal I/R injury and explore the underlying mechanisms. Thirty-two wild-type C57BL/6J adult male mice were evenly divided into a sham group, a sham + RNase group, an I/R group and an I/R + RNase group.

Revealing the Phase-Transition Dynamics and Mechanism in a Spinel LiTiO Anode Material through in Situ Electron Microscopy.

Spinel LiTiO is considered as a promising anode material for long-life lithium-ion batteries because of the negligible volumetric variation during the insertion and extraction of Li ions. Phase transition is an inevitable process during the migration of Li ions, and the transition process and mechanism need detailed investigation down to the atomic scale. In this study, we investigated the behavior and mechanism on the phase transition of LiTiO through in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Nitric oxide-induced stromal depletion for improved nanoparticle penetration in pancreatic cancer treatment.

Abundant desmoplastic stroma, which typically exists in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), can act as a natural protective physical barrier rendering insufficient drug delivery and penetration. To address this issue, we herein report a two-step sequential delivery strategy for enhanced pancreatic cancer therapy. In this sequential strategy, the nitric oxide (NO) donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) loaded liposomes (Lip-SNAP) were firstly delivered to pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) in tumor tissue to inhibit the production of dense stroma, by inhibiting the expression of TGF-β1 and its downstream profibrotic signal transduction.

Pulse electrochemical synthesis of polypyrrole/graphene oxide@graphene aerogel for high-performance supercapacitor.

A novel electroactive polypyrrole/graphene oxide@graphene aerogel (PGO@GA) was synthesized for the first time by pulse electropolymerization. The off-time in this technique allows polypyrrole (PPy) to go through a more stable structural arrangement, meanwhile its electronic transmission performance is enhanced by immobilizing graphene oxide between PPy chains. Moreover, graphene aerogel provides a three-dimensional structure with high conductivity to protect PPy from swelling and shrinking during the capacitive testing.

Biochemical Characterization of Xylanases from sp. B6 and Their Application in the Xylooligosaccharide Production from Viscose Fiber Production Waste.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of xylan represents a promising way to produce xylooligosaccharide (XOS), which is a novel ingredient in functional food. However, the recalcitrance of xylan in natural lignocellulosic biomass entails effective and robust xylanases. In the present study, we reported the isolation of a thermophilic sp.

Isolation of extracellular vesicles from intestinal tissue in a mouse model of intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small membranous particles that contribute to intercellular communications. Separating EVs from tissue is still a technical challenge. Here, we present a rigorous method for extracting EVs from intestinal tissue in a mouse intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) model, and for analyzing their miRNA content.

Coupling of electricity generation and denitrification in three-phase single-chamber MFCs in high-salt conditions.

High-salt conditions reduce the efficiency of electricity generation and nitrogen removal in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this work, we propose a three-phase single-chamber MFC (TP-MFC) by setting up a phase with immobilized cells in a conventional bipolar single-chamber MFC (common MFC). Cells from Halomonas were used as the immobilized phase, because these cells secrete the compatible solute ectoine and exhibit simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND).

Metabolic engineering Saccharomyces cerevisiae for de novo production of the sesquiterpenoid (+)-nootkatone.

Background: (+)-Nootkatone is a highly valued sesquiterpenoid compound, exhibiting a typical grapefruit aroma and various desired biological activities for use as aromatics and pharmaceuticals. The high commercial demand of (+)-nootkatone is predominately met by chemical synthesis, which entails the use of environmentally harmful reagents. Efficient synthesis of (+)-nootkatone via biotechnological approaches is thus urgently needed to satisfy its industrial demand.

How Height and Weight of Patients with Spinal Cord Injury Affect the Spring Locations of Unpowered Energy-stored Exoskeleton.

The paper focused on the effects of body dimensions of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) on the spring locations of unpowered energy-stored exoskeleton (ES-EXO) based on energy-stored element optimization method. The optimal spring locations and muscle activations of patients with different combinations of height and weight were simulated in AnyBody Modeling System. The spring locations of ES-EXO changed slightly with height, and the weight affected the spring locations of S and S significantly.

Simulating Extracellular Glucose Signals Enhances Xylose Metabolism in Recombinant .

Efficient utilization of both glucose and xylose from lignocellulosic biomass would be economically beneficial for biofuel production. Recombinant strains with essential genes and metabolic networks for xylose metabolism can ferment xylose; however, the efficiency of xylose fermentation is much lower than that of glucose, the preferred carbon source of yeast. Implications from our previous work suggest that activation of the glucose sensing system may benefit xylose metabolism.

Synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers using a functionalized initiator for chiral-selective recognition of propranolol.

We present a new concept of synthesis for preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers using a functionalized initiator to replace the traditional functional monomer. Using propranolol as a model template, a carboxyl-functionalized radical initiator was demonstrated to lead to high-selectivity polymer particles prepared in a standard precipitation polymerization system. When a single enantiomer of propranolol was used as template, the imprinted polymer particles exhibited clear chiral selectivity in an equilibrium binding experiment.

Circulating osteopontin per tumor volume as a prognostic biomarker for resectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: The role of osteopontin (OPN) in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) remains controversial. This study aimed to explore the prognostic value of OPN in patients with ICC undergoing curative resection.

Methods: Patients undergoing curative resection from 2005 to 2016 were identified for inclusion in this retrospective study.

Preparation of octopus-like lignin-grafted cationic polyacrylamide flocculant and its application for water flocculation.

High efficiency lignin-grafted cationic polyacrylamide (L-CPA) flocculant was synthesized via "grafting to" method using acrylamide (AM), methylacryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (DMC) and enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL) as raw materials. The linear pre-polymer of cationic polyacrylamide (CPA) terminated with chlorine was first synthesized and then grafted onto EHL via reactions of chlorine with phenolic hydroxyl groups in lignin molecules. The synthesized L-CPA could self-assemble into octopus-like nanospheres with CPA segments dissolved in water and hydrophobic lignin skeletons concentrated in the core, which endowed the L-CPA with excellent flocculation efficiency for kaolin suspension under faintly acid, neutral or alkalescent conditions (pH = 5-9).

Suberoylanilide Hydroxamic Acid Alleviates Acute Lung Injury Induced by Severe Hemorrhagic Shock and Resuscitation in Rats.

Background: This study aimed to assess the severity of acute lung injury after mild or severe hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation, and to examine the therapeutic effects of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) on lung injury.

Methods: Mild and severe hemorrhagic shock were induced by total blood volume loss of 20% or 40%, respectively, which was maintained for 60 min. Then, resuscitation was performed by autologous blood and SAHA or a vehicle solution accordingly.

Enhancement of Cellulase Production in via Disruption of Multiple Protease Genes Identified by Comparative Secretomics.

The filamentous fungus is one of the most studied cellulolytic organisms and the major producer of cellulases for industrial applications. However, undesired degradation of cellulases often happens in culture filtrates and commercial enzyme preparations. Even studies have been reported about describing proteolytic degradation of heterologous proteins in , there are few systematic explorations concerning the extracellular proteases responsible for degradation of cellulases.

Multi-Target Localization and Tracking Using TDOA and AOA Measurements Based on Gibbs-GLMB Filtering.

This paper deals with mobile multi-target detection and tracking. In the traditional method, there are uncertainties such as misdetection and false alarm in the measurement data, and it will be inevitable having to deal with the data association. To solve the target trajectory and state estimation problem under a cluttered environment, this paper proposes a non-concurrent multi-target acoustic localization tracking method based on the Gibbs-generalized labelled multi-Bernoulli (Gibbs-GLMB) filter and considers an acoustic array of a fixed arrangement for the tracking of targets by joint time difference of arrival (TDOA) and angle of arrival (AOA) measurements.