Single-cell transcriptomics reveals activation of endothelial cell and identifies LHPP as a potential target in ulcerative colitis.

This study delves into Ulcerative colitis (UC), a persistent gastrointestinal disorder marked by inflammation and ulcers, significantly elevating colorectal cancer risk. The emergence of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology has opened new avenues for dissecting the intricate cellular dynamics and molecular mechanisms at play in UC pathology. By analyzing scRNA-seq data from individuals with UC, our study has revealed a consistent enhancement of inflammatory response pathways throughout the course of the disease, alongside detailing the characteristics of endothelial cell damage within colitis environments. A noteworthy finding is the downregulation of Phospholysine Phosphohistidine Inorganic Pyrophosphate Phosphatase (LHPP), which exhibited a inversely correlate with STAT3 expression levels. The markedly reduced expression of LHPP in both the tissues and plasma of UC patients positions LHPP as a compelling target for therapeutic intervention. Our findings highlight the pivotal role LHPP could play in moderating inflammation, spotlighting its potential as a crucial molecular target in the quest to understand and treat UC.

An Open-Circuit Fault Diagnosis Method for Three-Level Neutral Point Clamped Inverters Based on Multi-Scale Shuffled Convolutional Neural Network.

This study constructs a power switching device open-circuit fault diagnosis model for a three-level neutral point clamped inverter based on the multi-scale shuffled convolutional neural network (MSSCNN) and extracts and classifies the fault information contained in the output current of inverters. The model employs depthwise separable convolution and channel shuffle techniques to improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce model complexity. The experimental results show that the new model has lower model complexity, better noise resistance and higher average diagnostic accuracy compared with fault diagnosis models based on CNN, ResNet, ShuffleNet V2 and Mobilenet V3 networks.

Expansion and diversity of caspases in Mytilus coruscus contribute to larval metamorphosis and environmental adaptation.

BACKGROUND: Apoptosis is involved (directly and indirectly) in several physiological processes including tissue remodeling during the development, the turnover of immune cells, and a defense against harmful stimuli. The disordered apoptotic process participates in the pathogenesis of various diseases, such as neoplasms, and chronic inflammatory or systemic autoimmune diseases, which are associated with its inadequate regulation. Caspases are vital components of the apoptotic pathway that are involved in developmental and immune processes. However, genome-wide identification and functional analysis of caspase have not been conducted in Mytilus coruscus, which is an economically important bivalve. RESULTS: Here, 47 caspase genes were identified from the genomes of M. coruscus, and the expansion of caspase-2/9 and caspase-3/6/7 genes were observed. Tandem duplication acts as an essential driver of gene expansion. The expanded caspase genes were highly diverse in terms of sequence, domain structure, and spatiotemporal expression profiles, suggesting their functional differentiation. The high expression of the expanded caspase genes at the pediveliger larvae stage and the result of apoptosis location in the velum suggest that the apoptosis mediated by them plays a critical role in the metamorphosis of M. coruscus larvae. In gill, caspase genes respond differently to the challenge of different strains, and most caspase-2/9 and caspase-3/6/7 genes were induced by copper stress, whereas caspase-8/10 genes were suppressed. Additionally, most caspase genes were upregulated in the mantle under ocean acidification which could weaken the biomineralization capacity of the mantle tissue. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide a comprehensive overview of the evolution and function of the caspase family and enhanced the understanding of the biological function of caspases in M. coruscus larval development and response to biotic and abiotic challenges.

Optimized Design of Irrigation Water-Heating System and Its Effect on Lettuce Cultivation in a Chinese Solar Greenhouse.

In cold regions, the low irrigation water temperature is an important factor of low-temperature stress for greenhouse crops. In this paper, an irrigation water-heating system (IWHS) is proposed to increase the water temperature by utilizing the excess heat in the solar greenhouse. The heat-collection capacity of the system was analyzed by screening the IWHS process parameters in a Chinese solar greenhouse, and a warm-water irrigation experiment for lettuce was conducted. The results demonstrated that the water temperature increased with the increase in wind speed, and the increase in daily average water temperature reached the maximum value of 8.6 °C at 4.5 m/s wind speed. When the heat exchanger was installed at a height of 3.0 m, the collector capacity increased by 17.8% and 6.0% compared with the heating capacity at 0 m and 1.5 m, respectively, and the operation termination water temperature was 22.0-32.2 °C and its coefficient of performance (COP) was optimal. Surface darkening of the heat exchanger did not affect the heat-collection capacity of the system. Using the IWHS effectively improved the temperature of lettuce irrigation water in the Chinese solar greenhouse. The increased frequency of warm-water irrigation significantly promoted lettuce growth and increased the average yield per plant by 15.9%. Therefore, IWHS effectively increased the irrigation water temperature in a Chinese solar greenhouse in winter. Improving the system would enhance its economic and application value.

Magnetic Continuum Robot with Intraoperative Magnetic Moment Programming.

Magnetic continuum robots (MCRs), which are free of complicated structural designs for transmission, can be miniaturized and are therefore widely used in the medical field. However, the deformation shapes of different segments, including deflection directions and curvatures, are difficult to control simultaneously under an external programmable magnetic field. This is because the latest MCRs have designs with an invariable magnetic moment combination or profile of one or more actuating units. Therefore, the limited dexterity of the deformation shape causes the existing MCRs to collide readily with their surroundings or makes them unable to approach difficult-to-reach regions. These prolonged collisions are unnecessary or even hazardous, especially for catheters or similar medical devices. In this study, a novel magnetic moment intraoperatively programmable continuum robot (MMPCR) is introduced. By applying the proposed magnetic moment programming method, the MMPCR can deform under three modalities, that is, J, C, and S shapes. Additionally, the deflection directions and curvatures of different segments in the MMPCR can be modulated as desired. Furthermore, the magnetic moment programming and MMPCR kinematics are modeled, numerically simulated, and experimentally validated. The experimental results exhibit a mean deflection angle error of 3.3° and correspond well with simulation results. Comparisons between navigation capacities of the MMPCR and MCR demonstrate that the MMPCR has a higher capacity for dexterous deformation.

The influence of children's emotional comprehension on peer conflict resolution strategies.

Peer conflicts commonly happen in children's daily interaction, and strategies they employed to deal with the conflicts have an impact on peer conflict resolution. It has been illustrated that children's understanding of emotion plays an important role in social communication. However, there is little research focusing on the relation between emotional comprehension and peer conflict resolution strategies. In this study, 90 children of 3 to 6 finished the Test of Emotional Comprehension, and their preschool teachers were required to complete the Conflict Resolution Strategy Questionnaire, which scored each child's conflict resolution strategies. The results showed that: (a) the preference of conflict resolution strategies differed in age, and girls tended to adopt positive strategies; (b) children's emotional comprehension grew with age; and (c) children's conflict resolution strategies and emotional comprehension were closely related. Children's emotional comprehension can positively predict the overall conflict resolution strategies and negatively predicted negative strategies, whereas mental emotional comprehension can positively predict positive strategies. The factors affecting children's emotional comprehension and conflict resolution strategies, and their relationship were discussed in depth.

The development of cobalt phosphide co-catalysts on BiVO4 photoanodes to improve H2O2 production.

Photoanodic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production via water oxidation is limited by low yields and poor selectivity. Herein, four variations of cobalt phosphides, including pristine CoP and Co2P crystals, and two mixed-phase cobalt phosphides (CoP/Co2P) with different ratios, were applied as co-catalysts on the BiVO4 (BVO) photoanode to improve H2O2 production. The optimal yield and selectivity were approximately 9.6 µmol‧h-1‧cm-2 and 25.2 % at a voltage bias of 1.7 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (VRHE) under sunlight illumination, respectively. This performance is approximately 1.8 times that of pristine BVO photoanode. The roles of the Co and P sites were investigated. In particular, the Co site promotes the breaking of one HO bond in water to form OH• radicals, which is the rate-determining step in H2O2 production. The P site plays an important role in the desorption of H2O2 formed from the catalyst, which is responsible for the recovery of fresh catalytic sites. Among the four samples, Co2P exhibited the best performance for H2O2 production because it had the highest rate of OH• formation owing to its improved accumulation property. This study offers a rational design strategy for co-catalysts for photoanodic H2O2 production.

Single-cell analysis identifies phospholysine phosphohistidine inorganic pyrophosphate phosphatase as a target in ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder characterized by inflammation and ulceration, representing a significant predisposition to colorectal cancer. Recent advances in single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology offer a promising avenue for dissecting the complex cellular inter-actions and molecular signatures driving UC pathology. AIM: To utilize scRNA-seq technology to dissect the complex cellular interactions and molecular signatures that underlie UC pathology. METHODS: In this research, we integrated and analyzed the scRNA-seq data from UC patients. Moreover, we conducted mRNA and protein level assays as well as pathology-related staining tests on clinical patient samples. RESULTS: In this study, we identified the sustained upregulation of inflammatory response pathways during UC progression, characterized the features of damaged endo-thelial cells in colitis. Furthermore, we uncovered the downregulation of phospholysine phosphohistidine inorganic pyrophosphate phosphatase (LHPP) has a negative correlation with signal transducer and activator of transcription 3. Significant downregulation of LHPP in UC patient tissues and plasma suggests that LHPP may serve as a potential therapeutic target for UC. This paper highlights the importance of LHPP as a potential key target in UC and unveils its potential role in inflammation regulation. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that LHPP may serve as a potential therapeutic target for UC, emphasizing its importance as a potential key target in UC and unveiling its role in inflammation regulation.

The overexpression of GPX8 is correlated with poor prognosis in GBM patients.

Glutathione peroxidase 8 (GPX8), located in the endoplasmic reticulum, is associated with poor prognosis in several cancers. However, the expression and functions of GPX8 in cancers remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the expression and functions of GPX8 in glioblastoma (GBM). We obtained expression data of GPX8 by accessing the TCGA, CGGA, GEPIA, and TIMER2.0 databases and validated them using western blot and immunohistochemistry. The Kaplan-Meier overall survival curve and Cox regression model were used to evaluate the prognostic value of GPX8 in glioma patients. Gene ontology (GO) and function enrichment analysis were used to investigate the potential function of GPX8 in GBM. Correlation analysis was used to clarify the role of GPX8 in proneural-mesenchymal transition (PMT). We studied the correlation between GPX8 expression and GBM immune infiltration by accessing cBioPortal and TIMER2.0 databases. Here, we demonstrated that GPX8 was significantly upregulated in GBM, and was associated with IDH-wildtype and mesenchymal subtype with poor prognosis. Survival analysis results indicated that GPX8 is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) in all WHO-grade glioma patients. Through the functional studies, we found that high expression of GPX8 correlated with mesenchymal signature and negatively correlated with proneural signature, indicating that GPX8 might promote PMT in GBM. Finally, based on correlation analysis, we found that the expression of GPX8 was associated with immune infiltration and the IL1/MYD88/IRAK/NF-κB pathway in GBM. Our results show that GPX8 is a key factor affecting the prognosis of GBM patients, and its targeting has the potential to provide a novel therapeutic approach.

Low-oxygen rare earth steels.

Rare earth (RE) addition to steels to produce RE steels has been widely applied when aiming to improve steel properties. However, RE steels have exhibited extremely variable mechanical performances, which has become a bottleneck in the past few decades for their production, utilization and related study. Here in this work, we discovered that the property variation of RE steels stems from the presence of oxygen-based inclusions. We proposed a dual low-oxygen technology, and keeping low levels of oxygen content in steel melts and particularly in the raw RE materials, which have long been ignored, to achieve impressively stable and favourable RE effects. The fatigue life is greatly improved by only parts-per-million-level RE addition, with a 40-fold improvement for the tension-compression fatigue life and a 40% enhancement of the rolling contact fatigue life. We find that RE appears to act by lowering the carbon diffusion rate and by retarding ferrite nucleation at the austenite grain boundaries. Our study reveals that only under very low-oxygen conditions can RE perform a vital role in purifying, modifying and micro-alloying steels, to improve the performance of RE steels.

Long-stranded non-coding RNA HCG11 regulates glioma cell proliferation, apoptosis and drug resistance via the sponge MicroRNA-144COX-2 axis.

In the current study, we analyzed long non-coding RNA HCG11 regulates the proliferation, apoptosis and drug resistance of glioma cells by spongy microRNA-144COX-2 axis. For this purpose, glioma cells at the logarithmic growth stage were divided into blank, up-regulated and down-regulated groups. The blank group did not undergo any treatment. Bacteria were inserted into the complete culture medium of the up-regulated group and down-regulated group for co-culture for 24 h. The down-regulated group was transfected with Mir-HCG11 inhibitor. The expressions of Mir-HCG11, Mir-144-3p and COX-2 in each group were observed, and the proliferation and apoptosis of glioma cells were analyzed, and their drug resistance was analyzed. Results showed that compared with the blank group, the expression of Mir-HCG11 and Mir-144 was increased and the expression of COX-2 was decreased in the up-regulated group (P < 0.05). Compared with the up-regulated group, the down-regulated group increased the expression of Mir-HCG11 and Mir-144 and decreased the expression of COX-2 (P < 0.05). Compared with the blank group, the proliferation rate of glioma cells in the up-regulated group (24h, 48h, 72h) was increased (P < 0.05); Compared with the up-regulated group, the proliferation rate of glioma cells in the down-regulated group (24h, 48h, 72h) was decreased (P < 0.05); Compared with the blank group, apoptosis rate of glioma cells in the up-regulated group (24h, 48h, 72h) was decreased (P < 0.05); Compared with the up-regulated group, the apoptosis rate of glioma cells in the down-regulated group (24h, 48h, 72h) was increased (P < 0.05); The IC50 values of Imatinib, VP-16 and TMZ in blank group and up-regulated group was compared (P > 0.05). Compared with the blank group and up-regulated group, the IC50 values of Imatinib, VP-16 and TMZ in the down-regulated group were decreased (P < 0.05). In general, down-regulation of long non-coding RNA-HCG11 can regulate the microRNA-144COX-2 axis in glioma, thus reducing the proliferation rate of glioma cells and improving the apoptosis rate of glioma cells. In addition, down-regulation of long non-coding RNA-HCG11 is also involved in the drug resistance mechanism of Imatinib, VP-16 and TMZ chemotherapy drugs.

Globular C1q domain-containing protein from Pinctada fucata martensii participates in the immune defense process.

The globular C1q domain-containing (C1qDC) protein can recognize a variety of ligands, such as pathogen-associated molecular patterns, and plays an important role in the innate immune response. Our previous studies showed that a novel globular C1q domain-containing protein (PmC1qDC-1) is involved in the damage repair process of pearl oyster shells. However, the function of PmC1qDC-1 in pearl oyster innate immunity remains unknown. In the present study, the high-level structural analysis showed that PmC1qDC-1 was a spherical structure composed of 10 strands and was similar to the AiC1qDC-2 of bay scallop (Argopecten irradians). In situ hybridization indicated that PmC1qDC-1 had strong fluorescence signal in gills. Furthermore, the mRNA expression of PmC1qDC-1 was highly induced at 6-48 h in gill after lipopolysaccharide, peptidoglycan and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid stimulation. Additionally, we obtained the recombinant protein of PmC1qDC-1 (rPmC1qDC-1) and found that rPmC1qDC-1 had antibacterial activity against Gram-negative (i.e., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Escherichia coli, and Aeromonas hydrophila) and Gram-positive (i.e., Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) bacteria. These results indicated that PmC1qDC-1 might play an important role in the immune response against bacteria and viruses. This study provides clues for further studying the immune defense of Pinctada fucata martensii against pathogens and exploring the evolution of the classic pathway of complement system.

Clinical Feature, Therapy, Antimicrobial Resistance Gene Distribution, and Outcome of Nosocomial Meningitis Induced by Multidrug-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae-A Longitudinal Cohort Study From Two Neurosurgical Centers in Northern China.

Objectives: This is a comparative cohort study aiming to evaluate the mortality risk factors for patients with nosocomial meningitis (NM) induced by multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (MDRE) in China. The clinical features and therapies of patients and the resistance mechanisms of MDRE pathogens were also assessed. Methods: MDRE-NM patients from two neurosurgical centers in China from 2014 to 2019 were included in this study. Clinical features were extracted from the medical record databases of the two centers. The molecular mechanisms underlying the microbiological resistance mechanisms of each MDRE pathogen were determined, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was conducted, and multivariable analyses were performed using a Cox proportional hazard model. Results: Ninety MDRE-NM patients were included in this study. Klebsiella pneumoniae accounted for the highest proportion of causative pathogens (46/90, 51.1%), and 40 causative pathogens (44.4%) were meropenem-resistant. blaKPC (27/40, 67.5%) was the predominant carbapenem resistance gene. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that external ventricular drainage (EVD) [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.524, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.101-5.787, p = 0.029] and a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score ≤;8 (HR = 4.033, 95% CI = 1.526-10.645, p = 0.005) were mortality risk factors for patients with MDRE-NM. A total of 90.0%, 94.4%, and 97.8% of MDRE-NM patients received antibiotic prophylaxis (AP), antibiotic empirical therapy (AET), and antibiotic definitive therapy (ADT), respectively. Conclusions: NM caused by MDRE is an important sign of the failure of neurosurgery. MDRE possesses multiple drug resistance genotypes, and EVD and a GCS score ≤;8 are independent mortality risk factors for patients with MDRE-NM, which deserve the attention of microbiologists and neurosurgical clinicians.

Ecdysone signal pathway participates in shell formation in pearl oysters Pinctada fucata martensii.

Ecdysone exists in arthropods, Mollusca and other invertebrates and plays vital roles in exoskeleton formation of Ecdysozoa. However, little is known about its functions in bivalve species. Herein, we identified ecdysone from the serum of pearl oyster Pinctada fucata martensii and obtained the coding sequence of ecdysone receptor (PmEcR) and homologue of its heterodimer protein retinoid X receptor (PmRXR). The deduced amino acid sequences of PmEcR and PmRXR contained a DNA-binding and ligand-binding domain and were very similar to the orthologs of other species. Moreover, PmEcR and PmRXR were located in the nuclei and cytoplasm of HEK-293T cells. PmEcR and PmRXR were highly expressed in early embryos and biomineralized mantle tissue. Moreover, the serum concentration of ecdysone significantly increased at 2, 4, 6, and 8 h post-shell notching. The expression of PmEcR in the mantle tissue was significantly induced at the corresponding time points, while that of PmRXR was significantly induced at 6 h. Ecdysone stimulation remarkably induced the expression of growth factors (BMP2 and BMP7), transcription factors (PmRunt and AP-1), and shell matrix protein genes (chitinase, lysine-rich matrix protein (KRMP), TYR2, and PmCOLVI), which indicated that ecdysone signaling plays important roles in shell repair. However, yeast two-hybrid assay and bimolecular fluorescence complementation showed that PmEcR and PmRXR did not form dimers, suggesting the different molecular interactions of EcR in bivalves. These findings provide insights into the function of ecdysone and its regulation pathway in bivalve species.

Polyamine Putrescine Regulates Oxidative Stress and Autophagy of Hemocytes Induced by Lipopolysaccharides in Pearl Oyster Pinctada fucata martensii.

The polyamine putrescine (Put) is a ubiquitous small cationic amine. It plays an essential role in controlling the innate immune response. However, little is known about its function in mollusks. In this study, the Put content was observed to increase in the serum of pearl oyster Pinctada fucata martensii after 6 and 24 h of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) increased, and nitric oxide synthase was downregulated in the Put group (i.e., combined treatment with Put and LPS) compared with that in the LPS group (i.e., combined treatment with phosphate-buffered saline and LPS). Furthermore, activities of alkaline phosphatase and acid phosphatase were inhibited after 6 h of LPS stimulation. The expression levels of the nuclear factor kappa B, IκB kinase, Janus kinase, and signal transducer and activator of transcription proteins genes were all significantly suppressed at 12 and 24 h in the Put group. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis grew better after being incubated with the serum from the Put group than that from the LPS group. Additionally, the Put treatment remarkably inhibited the autophagy of hemocytes mediated by the AMP-activated protein kinase-mammalian target of rapamycin-Beclin-1 pathway. This study demonstrated that Put can effectively inhibit the inflammatory response induced by LPS in pearl oysters. These results provide useful information for further exploration of the immunoregulatory functions of polyamines in bivalves and contribute to the development of immunosuppressive agents.

Volume of Crescents Affects Prognosis of IgA Nephropathy in Patients without Obvious Chronic Renal Pathology.

INTRODUCTION: A working group on the Oxford classification of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) recently reported that crescents detected in the kidney tissue predicted a worse renal outcome. However, the effect of C1 lesion (crescents in <1/4th of all glomeruli) and their volume on the prognosis of IgAN is still unclear. We explored the association of C1 lesion with the renal prognosis in IgAN patients without obvious chronic renal lesions (glomerulosclerosis <25%, T score <2). METHODS: We investigated 305 biopsy-proven IgAN patients without obvious chronic renal lesions. Clinicopathologic features and treatment modalities were recorded. The patients were divided into several groups according to the presence or absence of a global crescent: no crescent (NC) group, only segmental crescent (SC) group, and global crescent (GC) group. The outcome was the survival from a combined event defined by a ≥15% decline in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) after 1 year or ≥30% decline in the eGFR after 2 years. RESULTS: Among all patients, 75.7% were in the NC group, 14.8% were in the SC group, and 9.5% were in the GC group. Compared with the NC group, patients in the SC group and the GC group had more urine protein, lower eGFR, and presented with more severe pathological change. During a median follow-up of 34.8 (26.16-57.95) months, the combined event occurred in 34 individuals (11.1%). In a multivariate model, the GC group (HR = 2.756, 95% CI = 1.068-7.109) was associated with an increased risk of the combined event. CONCLUSIONS: In IgAN patients without obvious chronic renal lesions, the GC group had more severe clinical and pathological manifestations than in the NC group. GC is an independent risk factor for the progression of IgAN renal function.

Characterization and expression analysis of tandemly duplicated nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in pearl oysters after stimulation of pathogen-related molecular patterns.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are a class of ligand-gated ion channels that participate in signal transduction and are reported to play an important role in the immunomodulation of vertebrates and invertebrates. Previous studies have shown that the nAChRs in mollusks have undergone large-scale expansion after tandem repeats and retrotransposition, with the most expansion observed in bivalves. This study characterized the sequence of a tandem repeat nAChR unique to several bivalve mollusks and investigated its functions in Pinctada fucata martensii. Firstly, phylogenetic analysis revealed that the tandem arrays of nAChRs existed before bivalve differentiation and m ost tandem-replicated nAChR genes have a conserved genomic structure and domain combination. In present study, five tandemly duplicated nAChR genes were cloned from P. f. martensii and designated as PmnAChR-1 to PmnAChR-5. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that five PmnAChRs were specifically expressed in adult gills. In addition, after PAMP stimulation, the expression of PmnAChRs in hemocytes of P. f. martensii were strongly induced but exhibited different responses to different stimuli. PmnAChR-1, PmnAChR-4, and PmnAChR-5 exhibited strong and wide responsiveness to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation but had no response to peptidoglycan (PGN) stimulation. PmnAChR-2 expression was notably upregulated at 6 h after PGN challenge but had no response to LPS stimulation. Polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid challenge upregulated nearly all PmnAChRs, except for PmnAChR-5. Furthermore, Pm-miR-873-3p, Pm-miR-4577, Pm-miR-103a-3p, and Pm-miR-6753-3p were identified as the regulatory miRNA of PmnAChR-1, PmnAChR-3, PmnAChR-4, and PmnAChR-5, respectively. These findings suggested that these tandem arrays of nAChRs are unique to bivalves, and the tandem duplication of nAChR genes may be involved in the immune regulation process after pathogen stimulation.

Influence of emulsifiers and enzymes on dough rheological properties and quality characteristics of steamed bread enriched with potato pulp.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether processing characteristics of steamed bread enriched with potato pulp could be improved through the addition of different emulsifiers (soy lecithin-Soy L, sodium stearoyl lactate and diacetyl tartaric esters of monoglyceride) and enzymes (glucose oxidase-GOX and transglutaminase). Results showed that separate addition of each emulsifier at 1% concentration or each enzyme at 1.5 U/g could increase the viscoelasticity and strength of potato pulp dough due to enhancement of gluten network. Fermentation properties of dough showed that Soy L and GOX significantly (P < 0.05) increased the maximum dough height and the gas retention capacity during fermentation which promoting dough expansion. Moreover, Soy L and GOX increased specific volume and improved crumb structure and softness of steamed bread, which were consistent with the results of sensory analysis. In conclusion, Soy L and GOX could be used as improvers of potato pulp steamed bread.

Characteristics, Mechanism and Criterion of Channel Segregation in NbTi Alloy via Numerical Simulations and Experimental Characterizations.

Channel segregation (CS) is the most typical defect during solidification of NbTi alloy. Based on numerical simulation and experimental characterizations, we deeply elucidated its characteristics, formation mechanism, effecting factor and prediction criterion. According to acid etching, industrial X-ray transmission imaging, 3D X-ray microtomography and chemical analysis, it was found that in a casing ingot, by He cooling, finer grain size, weaker segregation and slighter CS can be obtained compared with air-cooled ingot. The simulation results of macrosegregation show that CS is caused by the strong natural convection in the mushy zone triggered by the thermo-solutal gradient. Its formation can be divided into two stages including channel initiation and growth. In addition, due to the stronger cooling effect of the He treatment, the interdendritic flow velocity becomes smaller, consequently lowering the positive segregation and CS and improving the global homogenization of the final ingot. Finally, to predict the formation of CS, the Rayleigh number model was proposed and its critical value was found to be 15 in NbTi alloy for the first time. When it is lower than the threshold, CS disappears. It provides an effective tool to evaluate and optimize the solidification parameters to fabricate the homogenized NbTi ingot in engineering practice.