A two-step method of cyclolinopeptide (linusorb) preparation from flaxseed cake via dry-screening.

Linusorbs (LO), cyclolinopeptides, are a group of cyclic hydrophobic peptides and considered a valuable by-product of flaxseed oil due to numerous health benefits. Currently applied acetone or methanol extraction could contaminate the feedstocks for further food-grade application. Using flaxseed cake as feedstock, this study established a practical method for preparing LO from pressed cake. Firstly, LO composition of 15 flaxseed cultivars was analyzed. Next, cold-pressed cake was milled and screened mechanically. The kernel and hull fractions were separated based on the disparity of their mechanical strength. Monitored by hyperspectral fluorescence, the LO-enriched kernel fraction separated from cold-pressed flaxseed cake was further used as feedstock for LO production. After ethanol extraction, partition, and precipitation, LOs were extracted from cold-pressed flaxseed cake with a purity of 91.4%. The proposed method could serve as feasible flaxseed cake valorization strategy and enable the preparation of other polar compounds such as flax lignan and mucilage.

[Cloning and gene function of dicarboxylate-tricarboxylate carrier protein in Gastrodia elata].

The gene GeDTC encoding the dicarboxylate-tricarboxylate carrier protein in Gastrodia elata was cloned by specific primers which were designed based on the transcriptome data of G. elata. Bioinformatics analysis on GeDTC gene was carried out by using ExPASY, ClustalW, MEGA, etc. Positive transgenic plants and potato minituber were obtained by virtue of the potato genetic transformation system. Agronomic characters, such as size, weight, organic acid content, and starch content, of potato minituber were tested and analyzed and GeDTC gene function was preliminarily investigated. The results showed that the open reading frame of GeDTC gene was 981 bp in length and 326 amino acid residues were encoded, with a relative molecular weight of 35.01 kDa. It was predicted that the theoretical isoelectric point of GeDTC protein was 9.83, the instability coefficient was 27.88, and the average index of hydrophilicity was 0.104, which was indicative of a stable hydrophilic protein. GeDTC protein had a transmembrane structure and no signal peptide and was located in the inner membrane of mitochondria. The phylogenetic tree showed that GeDTC was highly homologous with DTC proteins of other plant species, among which GeDTC had the highest homology with DcDTC(XP＿020675804.1) in Dendrobium candidum, reaching 85.89%. GeDTC overexpression vector pCambia1300-35Spro-GeDTC was constructed by double digests, and transgenic potato plants were obtained by Agrobacterium-mediated gene transformation. Compared with the wild-type plants, transgenic potato minituber harvested by transplanting had smaller size, lighter weight, lower organic acid content, and no significant difference in starch content. It is preliminarily induced that GeDTC is the efflux channel of tricarboxylate and related to the tuber development, which lays a foundation for further elucidating the molecular mechanism of G. elata tuber development.

[Thinking on research of acupuncture for amblyopia].

It has been found by the author that among the researches concerning acupuncture in the treatment of amblyopia, only anisometropic amblyopia has noticeable results with treatment. Based on the previous publications, a hypothesis theory of self biological single eye occlusion is displayed particularly for simplex anisometropic amblyopia. It is also reminded that amblyopia acupuncture treatment does not always have sufficient RCTs for clinical research, so it couldn't be promoted as a normalized clinic treatment measure on an international base. It is also mentioned that reports from mainland China present a significant discrepancy with that from international in terms of successful treatment percentage. This is probably caused by the disagreement of amblyopia test methods and clinical standards. Some important considerations and key points that require particular attention during amblyopia acupuncture treatment and several recommendations on development and directions for further research are also put forward.

[Acupuncture treatment on ophthalmic diseases].

Clinical experiences of acupuncture treatment on ophthalmic diseases over the years are summarized and analyzed to study the therapeutic capacity of acupuncture. Ophthalmic disorders are categorized into diseases with acupuncture treatment as the predominant or supplementary therapy, or as the therapeutic or prevention regimen. At the same time, various treating courses are designed for different phases of the diseases. And effects of acupuncture on different categories of ophthalmic disorders are discussed so as to improve the level of clinical application of acupuncture.

Improving the cell affinity of a poly(D,L-lactide) film modified by grafting collagen via a plasma technique.

Poly(D,L-lactide) films were surface-modified by grafting collagen via NH(3) plasma to improve cell affinity. The modified films were characterized by IR analysis, contact angle measurement, SEM analysis and collagen quantity determination. It was demonstrated that -NH(2) and collagen were incorporated into the surface of PDLLA films. The hydrophilicity of the PDLLA film increased after NH(3) plasma treatment, but decreased with further collagen modification. More collagen was incorporated into the PDLLA films by a grating method as compared to that with an anchorage treatment. L929 fibroblast cells were used to evaluate the cell affinity of the modified films and control. It was shown that PDLLA films surface-modified by grafting collagen via NH(3) plasma more efficiently enhanced the cells attachment and proliferation than those films modified by collagen anchorage or only NH(3) plasma treatment.