Tunable depth of focus with modified complex amplitude modulation of an optical field.

Bessel beams have nondiffraction and self-healing properties in the propagation direction and are widely used in particle optical manipulation and optical microscopy. Bessel beams can be generated by axicons or spatial light modulators, which can produce a zero-order or high-order Bessel beam with different parameters depending on the specific application. The modulation of Bessel beams achieved in the spatial spectrum domain by optimization algorithms has a low light energy utilization rate due to the small effective modulation region. We propose a Bessel-like beam phase generation algorithm based on an improved iterative optimization algorithm directly in the spatial domain to achieve a tunable modulation of the beam's length and the axial center position. The optimization time is reduced from minutes to seconds relative to the genetic algorithm, providing a new means of modulation for different applications in various fields.

Dihydrotanshinone I Inhibits the Lung Metastasis of Breast Cancer by Suppressing Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Formation.

Breast cancer (BC) is a common female malignancy, worldwide. BC death is predominantly caused by lung metastasis. According to previous studies, Dihydrotanshinone I (DHT), a bioactive compound in Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (S. miltiorrhiza), has inhibitory effects on numerous cancers. Here, we investigated the anti-metastatic effect of DHT on BC, where DHT more strongly inhibited the growth of BC cells (MDA-MB-231, 4T1, MCF-7, and SKBR-3) than breast epithelial cells (MCF-10a). Additionally, DHT repressed the wound healing, invasion, and migration activities of 4T1 cells. In the 4T1 spontaneous metastasis model, DHT (20 mg/kg) blocked metastasis progression and distribution in the lung tissue by 74.9%. DHT reversed the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) induced by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, as well as ameliorated NETs-induced metastasis. Furthermore, it inhibited Ly6G+Mpo+ neutrophils infiltration and H3Cit expression in the lung tissues. RNA sequencing, western blot, and bioinformatical analysis indicated that TIMP1 could modulate DHT acting on lung metastasis inhibition. The study demonstrated a novel suppression mechanism of DHT on NETs formation to inhibit BC metastasis.

Smoked-Derived Volatile Phenol Analysis in Wine by Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.

Smoke-derived taint has become a significant concern for the U.S. wine industry, particularly on the west coast, and climate change is anticipated to aggravate it. High volatile phenols such as guaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol, 4-ethylguaiacol, 4-ethylphenol, and o-, p-, m-cresols have been suggested to be related to smoke-exposed grape and wine. This paper describes an analytical approach based on ethylene glycol/polydimethylsiloxane (EG/PDMS)-stir bar sorptive extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SBSE-GC-MS) to quantify or estimate the concentrations of some smoke-related volatile phenols in wines. Correlation coefficients with R2 ≥ 0.990 were obtained. This method can quantify most smoked-related volatile phenols down to 0.5 µg/L in wine in selective ion monitoring mode. Recovery for the targeted volatile phenols ranged from 72.2% to 142.4% in the smoke-tainted wine matrix, except for 4-vinylguaiacol. The standard deviations of the volatile phenols were from 0 to 23% in smoke-tainted wine. The approach provides another tool to evaluate wine smoke exposure and potential smoke taint.

In vitro antioxidant activities of the novel pentapeptides Ser-His-Glu-Cys-Asn and Leu-Pro-Phe-Ala-Met and the relationship between activity and peptide secondary structure.

BACKGROUND: Using high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry, two novel antioxidant pentapeptides [Ser-His-Glu-Cys-Asn (SHECN) and Leu-Pro-Phe-Ala-Met (LPFAM)] were identified from 1-3-kDa soybean protein hydrolysates (SPH). The MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay was used to evaluate cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells. Antioxidant activity was measured using in vitro assays, including the cellular antioxidant activity assay (CAA), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl or 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) inhibition, and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. Finally, the secondary structure was determined using circular dichroism (CD). RESULTS: The results revealed that two novel peptides were nontoxic and possessed antioxidant activity. SHECN had significantly higher antioxidant activity than LPFAM (P < 0.05). The CAA value of SHECN was 776.22 µmol QE 100 g-1 . SHECN also showed significant DPPH inhibition (70.18 ± 4.06%) and ABTS inhibition (88.16 ± 0.76%). It had normalized ORAC values of 0.3000 ± 0.0070 µmol GE mg-1 and 0.0900 ± 0.0020 µmol TE mg-1 , respectively. The results of the CD analysis demonstrated that, compared to LPFAM, which had much lower antioxidant activity, SHECN had a high ß-sheet content and reduced α-helix content. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that SHECN possessed high antioxidant activity. A higher ß-sheet content and lower content levels of α-helix appear to be correlated with antioxidant activity. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

The pharmacological mechanism of Chinese herbs effective in treating advanced ovarian cancer: Integrated meta-analysis and network pharmacology analysis.

Background: Advanced ovarian cancer (AOC) develops rapidly, adding to difficulties in treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays a significant role in the treatment of AOC, and so to explore the efficacy and safety of TCM in the treatment of AOC and its effective targets, we performed the following review. Methods: The major databases were searched for randomized controlled trials of TCM for the treatment of AOC. A meta-analysis of the efficacy of Chinese herbs on AOC was conducted using RevMan 5.4 software. Active compounds and target genes were acquired using the TCMSP database. The main targets of AOC were obtained through the GenCards, OMIM, TTD, and DrugBank databases. A protein-protein interaction network carried out on the STRING platform was used to select core genes. The Metascape platform was applied to achieve GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. Results: A total of 24 studies were included. Meta-analysis shows the TCM group improved the overall response rate (OR = 2.71; 95% CI = [2.14, 3.44], Z = 8.25, p < 0.00001), overall survival (OR = 2.93, 95% CI = [2.03, 4.24], Z = 5.72, p < 0.00001), and progression-free survival (OR = 5.36, 95% CI = [5.03, 5.69], Z = 31.88, p < 0.00001) of AOC patients, as well as reducing many adverse events. There were 120 compounds, 246 herb target genes, and 1503 disease targets extracted. The 10 most important components were quercetin, kaempferol, 7-methoxy-2-methyl isoflavone, formononetin, isorhamnetin, hederagenin, stigmasterol, luteolin, 7-O-methylisomucronulatol, and calycosin. The 20 core targets were TP53, STAT3, JUN, AKT1, MAPK3, RELA, MAPK1, ESR1, IL6, FOS, MAPK14, TNF, CDKN1A, RB1, CCND1, EGFR, STAT1, MDM2, MAPK8, and CAV1. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that there are many pathways directly related to different types of tumors, such as in pathway cancer and prostate cancer. Conclusion: Our article reveals TCM is effective and safe against AOC and that Chinese herbs exert effects on the disease through multi-target, multi-component, and multi-pathway mechanisms. Systematic Review Registration: (www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/), identifier (CRD42022369731).

Effect of microorganisms on the fingerprint of the volatile compounds in pine nut (Pinus koraiensis) peptide powder during storage.

Pine nut (Pinus koraiensis) peptide (PNP) powder possesses promising bioactivities. However, the powder may have the quality problem of becoming sticky and smelly. Therefore, the volatile compounds' fingerprint of PNP powder was established by headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS). The essential spoilage microorganisms were confirmed by 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing. The antioxidant activity, which presents PNP powder's quality, decreased during storage with the highest value of (1.88 ± 0.18) × 1014 at day 30. Fifty-nine significantly changed signals were detected; eight compounds were considered as volatile marker compounds. Besides, Firmicutes and Cyanobacteria were the essential spoilage microorganisms in PNP powder at the phylum level. Significantly, unidentified_Chloroplast, which belongs to Cyanobacteria, had a positive correlation with volatile marker compounds. The results proved that microorganisms indeed affect volatile compounds of PNP powder and induced off-flavor, including hexanal, which can be used as the detection indicator for the quality control of PNP powder. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: In the present study, we controlled the influence of moisture migration on PNP powder and investigated microorganisms' effects on volatile compounds of PNP powder. HS-GC-IMS could be used to establish fingerprints of volatile compounds in PNP powder. 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing method could be used to screen the dominant spoilage bacteria in PNP powder and established essential spoilage microorganisms of PNP powder. This work provides a reference for category identification of PNP powder, which was infected by spoilage bacteria or not, and stored at day 0 or 30 days. Hexanal can be considered as the volatile marker compound generated from microorganisms. It helps to realize the controllability of PNP powder storage and prolongs the shelf life of PNP powder.

Proton Dynamics of Water Diffusion in Shrimp Hydrolysates Flour and Effects of Moisture Absorption on Its Properties.

Moisture absorbed into shrimp hydrolysates (SHs) flour profoundly affected its properties. The unstored hydrolysate flour was called SHs-0h and SHs stored for 30 h at 25 °C and 75% relative humidity was named SHs-30. During the process of storage, the moisture dynamics in SHs flour were investigated by dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR). The effects of moisture absorption on the radicals scavenging rates of SHs flour were evaluated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The effects of moisture absorption on secondary structure were studied by mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy and infrared microimaging spectroscopy. The changes of volatile components were monitored by purge and trap coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PT-GC-MS). DVS results showed that the moisture absorption rate of SHs flour could reach a maximum of 88.93%. Meanwhile, the water was transformed into more stable water with shorter relaxation times. The porous structure of the SHs-30 h flour disappeared and became smoother compared to SH-0 h flour. DPPH (31.09 ± 0.54%) and OH (26.62 ± 1.14%) radicals scavenging rates of SHs-30 h significantly reduced (p < 0.05) compared to that of SHs-0 h flour. The vibrations of the MIR absorbance peaks were changed. Finally, eight volatile components disappeared and six new volatile compounds were found. This study provided a theory basis for moisture dynamics in peptide flour during the storage process.

Exploration on self-equilibrium rule and adsorption-desorption model between pine nut (Pinus koraiensis) peptide molecules and environmental moisture molecules.

The storage of pine nut (Pinus koraiensis) peptide (PNP) powder involves hygroscopic phenomena. To investigate the adsorption and self-equilibrium rules between these peptides and the environmental moisture molecules, several studies such as low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR), dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) and adsorption-desorption models were done. The results showed that the outward moisture migration occurred during storage as 7.80% and 16.68% moisture were respectively constrained by the original sample and 90 days after lyophilization, by chemical bonding. Additionally, 1.79% moisture was lost in PNP powder at day 90. The optimized adsorption model for PNP powder was changed from Henderson's to Oswin's model during the 90 days' storage whereas the optimized desorption model was changed from Halsey's to GAB's model. The PNP powder at day 90 presented smaller particles with an average diameter and height of 15.645 nm and 50 nm, respectively, and it contained more molecular moisture which cannot be removed. The free thiol of the PNP powder at day 0 and day 90 was 1.75 ± 0.16 µM SH/g and 1.95 ± 0.16 µM SH/g, respectively, and the total sulfhydryl was 101.46 ± 1.06 µM SH/g and 118.44 ± 1.27 µM SH/g. The registered increased sulfhydryl content contributed to the generation of off-flavor.

Mechanism of aroma compounds changes from sea cucumber peptide powders (SCPPs) under different storage conditions.

A rapid and sensitive measurement technique was used to investigate the mechanism of aroma compounds changes in SCPPs under the storage conditions with hygroscopicity and no-microorganism (HNM), nonhygroscopicity and no-microorganism (NHNM) and hygroscopicity and microorganism (HM) by HS-GC-IMS. The types and signal of aroma compounds increased obviously at the 5th day under the storage condition (HNM and HM). The signal of majority of aroma compounds decreased gradually since the 5th day. However, during the storage of SCPPs for 15 days, the total signals of aldehydes, ketones and alcohols gradually increased and reached a maximum. Thereinto, the saturated aldehydes such as hexanal had been produced as an off-flavor. These off-flavor compounds principally including aldehydes and ketones could be generated through Maillard reaction, while alcohols could be generated by microbial fermentation. The study discovered moisture adsorption and microorganism during storage could affect aroma compounds of SCPPs and the effect of moisture absorption was greater than microorganisms.

Development of a flavor fingerprint by HS-GC-IMS with PCA for volatile compounds of Tricholoma matsutake Singer.

The flavor fingerprint of Tricholoma matsutake Singer was developed and volatile compounds were investigated by HS-GC-IMS fingerprinting combining with PCA. A total of 25 typical target compounds were identified. The differences of flavor compounds in pileus and stipe of Tricholoma matsutake Singer from different areas were observed. After drying, the concentration of C8 compounds, including 3-octanone, 3-octanol, 1-octen-3-one and 1-octanol, decreased, while the concentration of methanol and 1-pentanol increased. Subsequently, PCA was performed based on the signal intensity of the identified violate compounds, and the results clearly showed that the samples in a relatively independent space would be well distinguished. Combining the signal intensity of the identified violate compounds by HS-GC-IMS and PCA, the samples from different portions of Tricholoma matsutake Singer and different areas were distinguished. The results showed that the flavor fingerprint of Tricholoma matsutake Singer were established by HS-GC-IMS and PCA based on the identified volatile compounds.

The formation pattern of off-flavor compounds induced by water migration during the storage of sea cucumber peptide powders (SCPPs).

The formation pattern of off-flavor compounds induced by water migration in sea cucumber peptide powders (SCPPs) stored at 25 °C and 75% RH for 24 h and 80 days were investigated. Water migration characteristic of SCPPs was monitored by LF-NMR. The effect of water migration on structure and morphology were analyzed by SEM, CD, and FTIR, respectively. The antioxidant activity of SCPPs was detected by EPR. Volatiles generated from SCPPs were detected by P&T-GC-MS. The antioxidant activity of SCPPs declined and structure exhibited abnormalities during the storage. After 24 h of storage, kinds of aldehydes decreased and the content of alcohols increased obviously. After 80 days, (Z)-3,5-dimethyl-2-(1-propenyl)-pyrazine and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid-bis(2-methylpropyl) ester were identified as the characteristic off-flavor. These off-flavor compounds were probably formed through Maillard reaction. esterification, and microbial metabolism. This study can provide a basis for further exploration of the off-flavor formation mechanism.

Moisture absorption and dynamic flavor changes in hydrolysed and freeze-dried pine nut (Pinus koraiensis) by-products during storage.

In the present study, two different fractions of pine nut (Pinus koraiensis) protein hydrolysate powder (PNPHP1-3kDa and PNPHP3-10kDa) were prepared and stored for fifteen days at 25°C and 50% relative humidity. Changes in moisture absorption, secondary structure and flavor compounds were measured at various time intervals over fifteen days. Results showed that the PNPHP3-10kDa had higher moisture absorption capacity from day 6 to day 15 and that the secondary structure of two PNPHP fractions was changed. Major nine and eight flavor compounds were identified from PNPHP1-3kDa and PNPHP3-10kDa, respectively. PNPHP1-3kDa mainly generated aldehydes and PNPHP3-10kDa generated pyrazines. Finally, the formation of pyrazines was conjectured. The data suggests that Maillard reaction, microbial fermentation and lipid oxidation occurred during storage. The reactions appeared to be strongest by the sixth day.

Inorganic Self-Assembled Bioactive Artificial Proto-Osteocells Inducing Bone Regeneration.

Since the discovery of osteoinduction in the early 20th century, innovative biomaterials with osteoinductive potential have emerged as candidates for bone repair. Recently, artificial protocell models have demonstrated great potential for tissue regeneration. Herein, we developed artificial bioactive proto-osteocells by self-assembly of biodegradable biphasic-phosphate particles in the form of aqueous bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2)-containing Pickering emulsions in corn oil to fulfill the release of BMP2 with controlled and local efficacy. These artificial proto-osteocells have the advantage of (1) being directly injected into the target location to avert reported side effects of BMP2, minimizing surgical complications, (2) exhibiting the capability of osteoinduction as shown in both in vitro and in vivo models, and (3) demonstrating calcific deposition locally by utilizing the biodegradable calcium phosphate shell. The efficiency of BMP2 within the artificial proto-osteocells showed 25 times greater bone-inducing potential when compared to the control. This study demonstrates for the first time a new strategy toward utilizing material-based artificial proto-osteocells to tackle medical issues in bone tissue repair and regeneration.

Identification of novel peptides from 3 to 10kDa pine nut (Pinus koraiensis) meal protein, with an exploration of the relationship between their antioxidant activities and secondary structure.

In the present study, two novel peptides Lys-Trp-Phe-Cys-Thr (KWFCT) and Gln-Trp-Phe-Cys-Thr (QWFCT) were purified and identified from 3 to 10kDa pine nut (Pinus koraiensis) meal protein. Their cytotoxicity and antioxidant activities in vitro were determined. Additionally, pulsed electric field technology, antioxidant activities, and circular dichroism were used together to investigate the relationship between antioxidant activities and secondary structure. The results showed that neither peptide demonstrated cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells. KWFCT had higher values for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) inhibition (67.43%±1.33%) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (67.86±1.03mM Fe2+/mg), and Ac-QWFCT had higher values for 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) inhibition (74.9%±1.19%) and cellular antioxidant activity (916.32µmol of QE/100g) (P<0.05). The antioxidant activities reached their highest values when parameters of PEF were 5kV/cm and 2400Hz. An increase in antioxidant activities of Ac-QWFCT was correlated with a decrease in random coil content.