A Novel Intelligent Indicator Film: Preparation, Characterization, and Application.

The development of intelligent indicator film that can detect changes in food quality is a new trend in the food packaging field. The WPNFs-PU-ACN/Gly film was prepared based on whey protein isolate nanofibers (WPNFs). Anthocyanin (ACN) and glycerol (Gly) were used as the color indicator and the plasticizer, respectively, while pullulan (PU) was added to enhance mechanical properties of WPNFs-PU-ACN/Gly edible film. In the study, the addition of ACN improved the hydrophobicity and oxidation resistance of the indicator film; with an increase in pH, the color of the indicator film shifted from dark pink to grey, and its surface was uniform and smooth. Therefore, the WPNFs-PU-ACN/Gly edible film would be suitable for sensing the pH of salmon, which changes with deterioration, as the color change of ACN was completely consistent with fish pH. Furthermore, the color change after being exposed to grey was evaluated in conjunction with hardness, chewiness, and resilience of salmon as an indication. This shows that intelligent indicator film made of WPNFs, PU, ACN, and Gly could contribute to the development of safe food.

Impact of job demands on police stress response-the roles of basic psychological needs and job autonomy.

BACKGROUND: Police officers are a high-stress group with special job characteristics, and the Chinese police management system places particularly high demands on police officers. Whether the influence of job demands on officers' job burnout can be deduced to general stress response needs to be verified. Based on the JD-R model, the study aims to explore the impact of job demands on police stress response, whether job autonomy as a job resource has a moderating effect, and whether basic psychological needs mediate this effect. METHODS: A total of 251 police officers in a district-level public security bureau of China, were surveyed using Chinese-language versions of the Job Demands Scale, the Stress Response Scale, the Job Autonomy Scale, and the Basic Psychological Needs Scale. The mediating effect of basic psychological needs and the moderating effect of job autonomy were tested by regression analysis and bootstrap test. RESULTS: Job demands increase police officers' stress response, and job autonomy does not play a buffer role but enhances this impact, and job demands can partially reduce the police stress response through the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, that is, there is a masking effect of basic psychological needs. CONCLUSIONS: Adjusting and optimizing the ratio of job demands and autonomy in police work to provide high guidance under high demands is of great value to reduce the negative stress responses among police officers.

Optical needles with arbitrary homogeneous three-dimensional polarization.

We propose a new method to generate optical needles by focusing vector beams comprised of radially polarized component and azimuthally polarized vortex components. The radial part can generate longitudinal polarization, while the azimuthal parts can generate left- and right-handed polarization. Hence, an arbitrary 3D polarization can be obtained. To our knowledge, it may be the first time that arbitrarily polarized optical needles whose transverse sizes are under 0.5λ have been achieved. The polarized homogeneity of the needles is beyond 0.97.

Theoretical generation of arbitrarily homogeneously 3D spin-orientated optical needles and chains.

The generation of homogeneously 3D spin-orientated optical needles and optical chains is investigated by focusing the annular collimated beam composed of radially polarized component and azimuthally polarized vortex components with aplanatic focusing systems. Using the Richards-Wolf vector diffraction theory, analytic expressions of focal electric fields and target spin-orientation are given. The results show that the spin-orientation is tunable by changing two parameters of the incident beam while keeping the mean size of the focal spot under 0.5λ. Spin-orientation homogeneity purity is introduced to evaluate spin-orientation homogeneity quantitatively and the results present that spin-orientation homogeneity purity is always beyond 0.996 when spin-orientation varies.

Symmetry of electric spin angular momentum density in the tight focusing of linearly polarized vortex beams.

Symmetry of electric spin angular momentum (SAM) density in the tight focusing of linearly polarized vortex beams is investigated in this paper. By calculating analytic expressions of SAM density, reflection symmetry and rotation symmetry of SAM density are found in the focal region. The vortex phase can break some symmetry, leading to non-zero longitudinal SAM. When the vortex phase vanishes, more symmetry will occur. It is proved that longitudinal SAM is zero when the topological charge is zero, and that transverse SAM is always zero. This paper is expected to advance our understanding of distribution of SAM density and optical spin-orbit coupling.

Mode-locked femtosecond laser with a rotary Nd:glass disk.

We demonstrate here femtosecond pulses output from a rotary Nd:glass disk laser, mode-locked with semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors. We obtained an average output power of 0.66 W in cw operation and an average output power of 0.49 W with a duration of 324 fs in mode-locked operation in the case of an absorbed pump power of 7.3 W. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that sub-picosecond pulses have been obtained from rotary Nd:glass disk lasers. It shows a new concept for all-solid-state mode-locked glass lasers with high power.

Needles of light produced with a quasi-parabolic mirror.

We propose a quasi-parabolic mirror that can produce a long needle of light by focusing a radially polarized annular beam. The quasi-parabolic mirror can be acquired by moving the axis of rotation of a parabolic mirror. Using the extended Richards-Wolf theory for axisymmetric surfaces, we calculated that the needle obtained can have a longitudinal FWHM over hundreds to thousands of wavelengths by keeping the transverse FWHM under 0.36λ. The consistent expression of the approximate relationship between the angular thickness of the incident beam and the longitudinal FWHM based on both geometrical optics and wave optics is presented.

Ultra-long magnetization needle induced by focusing azimuthally polarized beams with a spherical mirror.

Based on extended Richards-Wolf theory for axisymmetric surfaces and the inverse Faraday effect, we propose the generation of a purely longitudinal magnetization needle by focusing Gaussian annular azimuthally polarized beams with a spherical mirror. The needle obtained has a longitudinal length varying hundreds to thousands of wavelengths while keeping the lateral size under 0.4λ, and the corresponding aspect ratio can easily reach more than 2000. It may be the first time that a magnetization needle whose aspect ratio is over 500 has been achieved. The approximate analytical expressions of the magnetization needle are given, and the longitudinal length is tunable by changing the value of the angular thickness and the position of the annular beams.

Numerical investigation on the generation of high-order Laguerre-Gaussian beams in end-pumped solid-state lasers by introducing loss control.

This paper reports a robust and systematic approach to generate high-order scalar Laguerre-Gaussian (LGp,l) beams in end-pumped solid-state lasers by introducing loss control. Based on the spatial distributions of Laguerre-Gaussian modes and the theory of transverse mode selection, the "loss control" is implemented by an amplitude mask in the resonator. This proposed mechanism can be divided into three categories: radial loss, azimuthal loss, and the combination of radial and azimuthal loss, which correspond to excite radial high-order modes (LGp,0), azimuthal high-order modes (LG0,l), and regular high-order modes (LGp,l), respectively. By controlling the locations and thicknesses of opaque rings and lines on the mask, all kinds of LGp,l modes can be obtained. With the application of mode purity, all the generated modes possess high mode purities greater than 93% in simulation.

[Effects of qingre xiaoji recipe on the migration, chemotaxis, and tube formation capability of human lung adenocarcinoma cell induced human umbilical vein endothelial cells].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of Qingre Xiaoji Recipe (QXR) on the migration, chemotaxis, and tube formation capability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) induced by human lung adenocarcinoma cells (SPC-A-1). METHODS: The QXR groups at different final concentrations (2.5, 5.0, 10.0, and 20.0 mg/mL) and a control group were set up. Then the chemotaxis and tube formation capabilities were observed using Erasion trace test, Transwell chamber assay, and Matrigel matrix tube formation assay. RESULTS: QXR at three concentrations (2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 mg/mL) had inhibition on the migration of HUVECs cultured by SPC-A-1 cell supernatant (P<0.05). Besides, the migration rate decreased along with increased concentrations. The number of chemotactic HUVECs was significantly less than that of the positive control group (P <0.01), and the inhibition rate of chemokine increased along with increased concentrations. Furthermore, the number of chemotactic HUVECs was negatively correlated to the drug concentration (r = -0.830, P <0.01). The area of HUVEC cell tubule formation was significantly lower than that of the positive control group (P <0.01). The inhibition rate of HUVEC cell tubule formation increased along with increased drug concentration. Besides, the area of HUVEC cell tubular formation was negatively correlated with the drug concentration (r = -0.937, P <0.01). CONCLUSION: The mechanism of QXR for fighting against tumor angiogenesis might be correlated with its inhibition on the migration, chemotaxis, and tube formation of tumor vascular endothelial cells.

Systematic analysis of lncRNA gene characteristics based on PD-1 immune related pathway for the prediction of non-small cell lung cancer prognosis.

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is heterogeneous. Molecular subtyping based on the gene expression profiles is an effective technique for diagnosing and determining the prognosis of NSCLC patients. METHODS: Here, we downloaded the NSCLC expression profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Gene Expression Omnibus databases. ConsensusClusterPlus was used to derive the molecular subtypes based on long-chain noncoding RNA (lncRNA) associated with the PD-1-related pathway. The LIMMA package and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)-Cox analysis were used to construct the prognostic risk model. The nomogram was constructed to predict the clinical outcomes, followed by decision curve analysis (DCA) to validate the reliability of this nomogram. RESULTS: We discovered that PD-1 was strongly and positively linked to the T-cell receptor signaling pathway. Furthermore, we identified two NSCLC molecular subtypes yielding a significantly distinctive prognosis. Subsequently, we developed and validated the 13-lncRNA-based prognostic risk model in the four datasets with high AUC values. Patients with low-risk showed a better survival rate and were more sensitive to PD-1 treatment. Nomogram construction combined with DCA revealed that the risk score model could accurately predict the prognosis of NSCLC patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that lncRNAs engaged in the T-cell receptor signaling pathway played a significant role in the onset and development of NSCLC, and that they could influence the sensitivity to PD-1 treatment. In addition, the 13 lncRNA model was effective in assisting clinical treatment decision-making and prognosis evaluation.

Structural characteristics and biological activity of lactic acid bacteria exopolysaccharides separated by ethanol/(NH4)2SO4 ATPS.

Exopolysaccharides (EPS) from lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as edible and safe bioproducts with health benefits have become an interesting topic. In this study, aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) was established using ethanol and (NH4)2SO4 as phase-forming substances to separate and purify LAB EPS from Lactobacillus plantarum 1.0665. The operating conditions were optimized by a single factor and response surface method (RSM). The results indicated that an effectively selective separation of LAB EPS was achieved by the ATPS consisted of 28 % (w/w) ethanol and 18 % (w/w) (NH4)2SO4 at pH 4.0. Under optimized conditions, the partition coefficient (K) and recovery rate (Y) were well matched with the predicted value of 3.83 ± 0.019 and 74.66 ± 1.05 %. The physicochemical properties of purified LAB EPS were characterized by various technologies. According to the results, LAB EPS was a complex polysaccharide with a triple helix structure mainly composed of mannose, glucose and galactose in the molar ratio of 1.00: 0.32: 0.14, and it proved that the ethanol/(NH4)2SO4 system had good selectivity for LAB EPS. In addition, LAB EPS displayed excellent antioxidant activity, antihypertension activity, anti-gout capacity and hypoglycemic activity in vitro analysis. The results suggested that LAB EPS could be a dietary supplement applied in functional foods.

Correction to "Interleukin-34 promotes the proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of gastric cancer cells".

[This corrects the article on p. 1968 in vol. 14, PMID: 36310707.].

Increased expression of 14-3-3ß promotes tumor progression and predicts extrahepatic metastasis and worse survival in hepatocellular carcinoma.

14-3-3ß is implicated in cell survival, proliferation, migration, and tumor growth; however, its clinical relevance in tumor progression and metastasis have never been elucidated. To evaluate the clinical significance of 14-3-3ß, we analyzed the association of 14-3-3ß expression and clinicopathologic characteristics in primary and subsequent metastatic tumors of hepatocellular carcinoma patients. 14-3-3ß was expressed abundantly in 40 of 55 (70.7%) primary tumors. Increased 14-3-3ß expression in primary tumors predicted a higher 5-year cumulative incidence of subsequent extrahepatic metastasis, and multivariate analysis revealed 14-3-3ß overexpression was an independent risk factor for extrahepatic metastasis. Patients with increased 14-3-3ß expression in primary tumors had worse 5-year overall survival rates, and 14-3-3ß overexpression was an independent prognostic factor on Cox regression analysis. Furthermore, stably overexpressed 14-3-3ß enhanced hepatocellular carcinoma cell migration and proliferation and increased anchorage-independent cell growth. In addition, in vivo study in a nude-mice model showed tumor formation significantly increased with 14-3-3ß overexpression. In conclusion, this is the first report to show that increased 14-3-3ß expression is associated with subsequent extrahepatic metastasis and worse survival rates, as well as cancer progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. Thus, 14-3-3ß may be a novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Three-dimensional measuring technique for surface topography using a light-sectioning microscope.

Three-dimensional (3D) surface topographic analysis, measurement, and assessment techniques have raised great interest not only among researchers but also among industrial users. Many industrial processes and applications are directly influenced by the small-scale roughness of surface finishes. This paper describes the development and implementation of a noncontact, three-dimensional, microtopography measuring system. The instrument is formed by combining a modified light-sectioning microscope subsystem with a computer subsystem. In particular, optical system characteristics of the light-sectioning microscope are investigated, and a textured steel sheet is measured to demonstrate good practical outcomes. Details of measuring processes and image processing algorithms are provided, such as procedures for measurement, image edge extraction, and 3D topography reconstruction. After the 3D topography of the measured surface has been reconstructed, the topography field description parameters are calculated. A standard roughness block was used for calibration of the surface microtopography measuring system. Results obtained showed the measurement method output has good agreement with the actual asperity (unevenness or roughness) of the surface. The computer subsystem is used to process and control asperity measurements and image generation, and for image acquisition and presentation.

Covalent and Noncovalent Complexation of Phosvitin and Gallic Acid: Effects on Protein Functionality and In Vitro Digestion Properties.

To investigate the effects of different binding modes on the structure, function, and digestive properties of the phosvitin (Pv) and gallic acid (GA) complex, Pv was covalently and noncovalently combined with different concentrations of GA (0.5, 1.5, and 2.5 mM). The structural characterization of the two Pv-GA complexes was performed by Fourier transform infrared, circular dichroism, and LC-MS/MS to investigate the covalent and noncovalent binding of Pv and GA. In addition, the microstructure of the two Pv-GA complexes was investigated by super-resolution microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The particle size and zeta potential results showed that the addition of GA increased the particle size and the absolute potential of Pv. The determination of protein digestibility, polyphenol content, SH and S-S group levels, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and antioxidant capacity of the digests indicated that noncovalent complexes had greater antioxidant and protective effects on polyphenols. Molecular docking revealed that GA was conjugated with Pv through hydrogen bond interactions.

Establishment and validation of individualized clinical prognostic markers for LUAD patients based on autophagy-related genes.

There is considerable heterogeneity in the genomic drivers of lung adenocarcinoma, which has a dismal prognosis. Bioinformatics analysis was performed on lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) datasets to establish a multi-autophagy gene model to predict patient prognosis. LUAD data were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database as a training set to construct a LUAD prognostic model. According to the risk score, a Kaplan-Meier cumulative curve was plotted to evaluate the prognostic value. Furthermore, a nomogram was established to predict the three-year and five-year survival of patients with LUAD based on their prognostic characteristics. Two genes (ITGB1 and EIF2AK3) were identified in the autophagy-related prognostic model, and the multivariate Cox proportional risk model showed that risk score was an independent predictor of prognosis in LUAD patients (HR=3.3, 95%CI= 2.3 to 4.6, P< 0.0001). The Kaplan-Meier cumulative curve showed that low-risk patients had significantly better overall (P<0.0001). The validation dataset GSE68465 further confirmed the nomogram's robust ability to assess the prognosis of LUAD patients. A prognosis model of autophagy-related genes based on a LUAD dataset was constructed and exhibited diagnostic value in the prognosis of LUAD patients. Moreover, real-time qPCR confirmed the expression patterns of EIF2AK3 and ITGB1 in LUAD cell lines. Two key autophagy-related genes have been suggested as prognostic markers for lung adenocarcinoma.

Clinical implication of aquaporin 9 in non-small cell lung cancer patients: its expression and relationship with clinical features and prognosis.

BACKGROUND: Aquaporin 9 (AQP9) is recognized as a key regulator in several cancers, whereas little is known about its clinical implication in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Thus, we aimed to explore AQP9 expression and its relationship with clinical features, prognosis in NSCLC patients. METHODS: One hundred ninety-eight NSCLC patients who received resection were retrospectively enrolled. This study contained two cohorts: in cohort A, AQP9 protein expression (from formalin fixed paraffin embedded tumor and paired adjacent tissue specimens) in 198 patients was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). In cohort B, AQP9 mRNA expression (from fresh-frozen tumor and paired adjacent tissues) in 108 patients (out of 198 patients) was detected by RT-qPCR. RESULTS: In cohort A, increased AQP9 IHC score and greater proportion of AQP9 protein high expression cases were shown in tumor tissue than adjacent tissue (both P < 0.001). Tumor AQP9 protein high expression correlated with lymph node (LYN) metastasis (P = 0.002) and raised TNM stage (P = 0.012). Interestingly, tumor AQP9 protein high expression related to worse disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.002) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.026). In cohort B, AQP9 mRNA expression in tumor tissue was increased than adjacent tissue (P < 0.001), and tumor AQP9 mRNA high expression linked to LYN metastasis (P = 0.024) and increased TNM stage (P = 0.032) as well; tumor AQP9 mRNA high expression was related to shorter DFS (P = 0.009), and it presented with a trend to be correlated with worse OS (P = 0.054), but without statistical significance. CONCLUSION: AQP9 serves as a potential indicator for monitoring disease progression and prognostication in NSCLC patients.

Interleukin-34 promotes the proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of gastric cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: Interleukin (IL)-34 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in tumor development. The role of IL-34 in the proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of gastric cancer (GC) remains to be investigated. AIM: To investigate whether and how IL-34 affects the proliferation of GC cells and EMT. METHODS: Using immunohistochemical staining, the expression of IL-34 protein was detected in 60 paired GC and normal paracancerous tissues and the relationship between IL-34 and clinicopathological factors was analyzed. The expression of IL-34 mRNA and protein in normal gastric epithelial cell lines and GC was detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting, respectively. Stable IL-34 knockdown and overexpression in AGS cell lines were established by lentiviral infection and validated by qRT-PCR and western blotting. The cholecystokinin-8 assay, clone formation assay, cell scratch assay, and transwell system were used to detect GC cell proliferation, clone formation, migration, and invasion capacity, respectively. The effects of IL-34 on the growth of GC transplant tumors were assessed using a subcutaneous transplant tumor assay in nude mice. The effects of IL-34 on the expression level of EMT-associated proteins in AGS cells were examined by western blotting. RESULTS: Expression of IL-34 protein and mRNA was higher in GC cell lines than in GES-1 cells. Compared to matched normal paraneoplastic tissues, the expression of IL-34 protein was higher in 60 GC tissues, which was correlated with tumor size, T-stage, N-stage, tumor, node and metastasis stage, and degree of differentiation. Knockdown of IL-34 expression inhibited the proliferation, clone formation, migration, and invasion of AGS cells, while overexpression of IL-34 promoted cell proliferation, clone formation, migration, and invasion. Furthermore, the reduction of IL-34 promoted the expression of E-cadherin in AGS cells but inhibited the expression of vimentin and N-cadherin. Overexpression of IL-34 inhibited E-cadherin expression but promoted expression of vimentin and N-cadherin in AGS cells. Overexpression of IL-34 promoted the growth of subcutaneous transplanted tumors in nude mice. CONCLUSION: IL-34 expression is increased in GC tissues and cell lines compared to normal gastric tissues or cell lines. In GC cells, IL-34 promoted proliferation, clone formation, migration, and invasion by regulating EMT-related protein expression cells. Interference with IL-34 may represent a novel strategy for diagnosis and targeted therapy of GC.

Development and application of an analytical approach to assess an antibody's potential for disulfide reduction.

Monoclonal antibody (mAb) interchain disulfide bond reduction has been observed in a recent large-scale clinical manufacturing operation. A massive reduction/precipitation at post-clarification steps has occurred. This note presents the development of a novel analytical approach to identify the "potential reduction"-a unique approach to predict the propensity of a monomeric-profiled mAb to be reduced in the post-harvest stage, such as harvest clarification and/or purification steps. The core of this new approach includes comparing the non-reducing capillary electrophoresis profiles of pre- and post-vacuum treated mAb in harvest cell culture fluid (HCCF). Using this approach, the potential reductions of two in-house mAbs in the unclarified and clarified cell culture harvest were assessed.