Unraveling nitrogen loss in paddy soils: A study of anaerobic nitrogen transformation in response to various irrigation practice.

Soil nitrogen (N) transformation processes, encompassing denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), and anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled with iron reduction (Feammox), constitute the primary mechanisms of soil dinitrogen (N2) loss. Despite the significance of these processes, there is a notable gap in research regarding the assessment of managed fertilization and irrigation impacts on anaerobic N transformations in paddy soil, crucial for achieving sustainable soil fertility management. This study addressed the gap by investigating the contributions of soil denitrification, anammox, and Feammox to N2 loss in paddy soil across varying soil depths, employing different fertilization and irrigation practices by utilizing N stable isotope technique for comprehensive insights. The results showed that anaerobic N transformation processes decreased with increasing soil depth under alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation, but increased with the increasing soil depth under conventional continuous flooding (CF) irrigation. The denitrification and anammox rates varied from 0.41 to 2.12 mg N kg-1 d-1 and 0.062-0.394 mg N kg-1 d-1, respectively, which accounted for 84.3-88.1% and 11.8-15.7% of the total soil N2 loss. Significant correlations were found among denitrification rate and anammox rate (r = 0.986, p < 0.01), Fe (Ⅲ) reduction rate and denitrification rate (r = 0.527, p < 0.05), and Fe(Ⅲ) reduction rate and anammox rate (r = 0.622, p < 0.05). Moreover, nitrogen loss was more pronounced in the surface layer of the paddy soil compared to the deep layer. The study revealed that denitrification predominantly contributed to N loss in the surface soil, while Feammox emerged as a significant N loss pathway at depths ranging from 20 to 40 cm, accounting for up to 26.1% of the N loss. It was concluded that fertilization, irrigation, and soil depth significantly influenced anaerobic N transformation processes. In addition, the CF irrigation practice is best option to reduce N loss under managed fertilization. Furthermore, the role of microbial communities and their response to varying soil depths, fertilization practices, and irrigation methods could enhance our understanding on nitrogen loss pathways should be explored in future study.

Two Omics Methods Expose Anti-Depression Mechanism of Raw and Vinegar-Baked Bupleurum Scorzonerifolium Willd.

Bupleurum scorzonerifolium willd. (BS) and its vinegar-baked product (VBS) has been frequently utilized for depression management in clinical Chinese medicine. This paper aims to elucidate the antidepressant mechanism of BS and VBS from the perspectives of metabonomics and gut microbiota. A rat model of depression was established by CUMS combined with feeding alone to evaluate the antidepressant effects of BS and VBS. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS-based metabolomics and 16S rRNA sequencing of rat feces were applied and the correlation of differential metabolic markers and intestinal floras was analyzed. The result revealed that BS and VBS significantly improved depression-like behaviors and the levels of monoamine neurotransmitters in CUMS rats. There were 27 differential endogenous metabolites between CUMS and normal rats, which were involved in 8 metabolic pathways. Whereas, BS and VBS could regulate 18 and 20 metabolites respectively, wherein fifteen of them were shared metabolites. On the genus level, BS and VBS could regulate twenty-five kinds of intestinal floras in CUMS rats, that is, they increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria and decreased the abundance of harmful bacteria. In conclusion, both BS and VBS exert excellent antidepressant effects by regulating various metabolic pathways and ameliorating intestinal microflora dysfunction.

Discovery and verification of anti-inflammatory-related quality markers in the aerial part of Bupleurum scorzonerifolium by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and in RAW 264.7 cells and a zebrafish model.

INTRODUCTION: The root of Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd. (BS) is officially recognized in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. In contrast, the aerial part of BS (ABS), accounting for 80% of BS, is typically discarded, causing potential waste of medicinal resources. ABS has shown benefits in the treatment of inflammation-related diseases in China and Spain, and the material basis underlying its anti-inflammatory effects must be systematically elucidated for the rational use of ABS. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to screen and validate the anti-inflammatory quality markers (Q-markers) of ABS and to confirm the ideal time for ABS harvesting. METHODS: The chemical components and anti-inflammatory effects of ABS from 10 extracted parts were analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cell model. Anti-inflammatory substances were screened by Pearson bivariate analysis and gray correlation analysis, and the anti-inflammatory effects were verified in a zebrafish tail-cutting inflammation model. HPLC was applied to measure the Q-marker contents of ABS in different harvesting periods. RESULTS: Ten ABS extracts effectively alleviated the increase in LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokines in RAW 264.7 cells. Forty components were identified from them, among which 27 were common components. Eight components were correlated with anti-inflammatory effects, which were confirmed to reverse the expression of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors in a zebrafish model. Chlorogenic acid, hypericin, rutin, quercetin, and isorhamnetin can be detected by HPLC, and the maximum contents of these five Q-markers were obtained in the sample harvested in August. CONCLUSION: The anti-inflammatory Q-markers of ABS were elucidated by chromatographic-pharmacodynamic-stoichiometric analysis, which served as a crucial basis for ABS quality control.

Temperature Compensation of Laser Methane Sensor Based on a Large-Scale Dataset and the ISSA-BP Neural Network.

We aimed to improve the detection accuracy of laser methane sensors in expansive temperature application environments. In this paper, a large-scale dataset of the measured concentration of the sensor at different temperatures is established, and a temperature compensation model based on the ISSA-BP neural network is proposed. On the data side, a large-scale dataset of 15,810 sets of laser methane sensors with different temperatures and concentrations was established, and an Improved Isolation Forest algorithm was used to clean the large-scale data and remove the outliers in the dataset. On the modeling framework, a temperature compensation model based on the ISSA-BP neural network is proposed. The quasi-reflective learning, chameleon swarm algorithm, Lévy flight, and artificial rabbits optimization are utilized to improve the initialization of the sparrow population, explorer position, anti-predator position, and position of individual sparrows in each generation, respectively, to improve the global optimization seeking ability of the standard sparrow search algorithm. The ISSA-BP temperature compensation model far outperforms the four models, SVM, RF, BP, and PSO-BP, in model evaluation metrics such as MAE, MAPE, RMSE, and R-square for both the training and test sets. The results show that the algorithm in this paper can significantly improve the detection accuracy of the laser methane sensor under the wide temperature application environment.

Effects of exogenous N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) on methanogenic activities and microbial community differences during anaerobic digestion.

N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) function as signaling molecules influencing microbial community dynamics. This study investigates the impact of exogenously applied AHLs on methane production during waste-activated sludge (WAS) anaerobic digestion (AD). Nine AHL types, ranging from 10-4 to 10 µg/g VSS, were applied, comparing microbial community composition under optimal AHL concentrations. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, and Proteobacteria were identified in anaerobic digesters with C4-HSL, C6-HSL, and C8-HSL. Compared to the control, Halobacterota increased by 19.25%, 20.87%, and 9.33% with C7-HSL, C10-HSL, and C12-HSL. Exogenous C7-HSL enhanced the relative abundance of Methanosarcina, Romboutsia, Sedimentibacter, Proteiniclasticum, Christensenellaceae_R-7_group. C10-HSL increased Methanosarcina abundance. C4-HSL, C6-HSL, C8-HSL, C10-HSL, and C12-HSL showed potential to increase unclassified_Firmicutes. Functional Annotation of Prokaryotic Taxa (FAPROTAX) predicted AHLs' impact on related functional genes, providing insights into their role in AD methanogenesis regulation. This study aimed to enhance the understanding of the influence of different types of exogenous AHLs on AD and provide technical support for regulating the methanogenesis efficiency of AD by exogenous AHLs.

[Progress on historical evolution, clinical application, and pharmacological effects of Dachaihu Decoction and predictive analysis of its quality markers].

Dachaihu Decoction is a classic prescription with the function of harmonizing Shaoyang and purging away internal stasis of heat, which was specially developed by Master ZHANG Zhongjing for the concurrent disease of Shaoyang and Yangming. A large number of international studies have shown that Dachaihu Decoction has liver protection, gallbladder benefit, anti-inflammatory, and other pharmacological effects and is mostly used in modern clinical treatment of acute pancreatitis, acute cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, and other digestive diseases. This paper combined bibliography and statistics and selected the ancient book database and CNKI database to search the relevant literature on Dachaihu decoction, verify the composition and dosage, processing method, main diseases, and modern clinical application, and predict its quality markers(Q-markers) based on the "five principles" of Q-markers. The results suggest that saikosaponin a, baicalin, and 6-gingerol can be selected as potential Q-markers for Dachaihu Decoction, so as to provide a basis for the clinical research of traditional Chinese medicine and the development and application of compound preparations.

Brain perfusion, cognition, and plasma Alzheimer's biomarkers in moyamoya disease.

INTRODUCTION: Because growing interest has been focusing on cerebral blood flow (CBF) to predict, prevent, and treat Alzheimer's disease (AD), it is important to clarify the role of CBF in AD pathology and cognitive decline. METHODS: In a moyamoya disease (MMD) cohort, we examined CBF, specific cognitive domains, and plasma AD biomarkers, as well as correlations among these variables. RESULTS: CBF was significantly reduced in newly diagnosed MMD patients, while plasma phosphorylated tau181 was elevated and positively correlated with hypoperfusion accumulation. MMD patients scored significantly lower than controls in multiple cognitive tests. Revascularization increased CBF to the recipient brain territories as well as cognitive performance but produced no significant change in AD biomarker levels. DISCUSSION: These data suggest a link between accumulated reductions in CBF and cognitive decline, as well as a possible role of AD-like pathological burden. Further studies in MMD will provide opportunities to explore new treatment strategies.

Revealing the mechanism of novel nitrogen-doped biochar supported magnetite (NBM) enhancing anaerobic digestion of waste-activated sludge by sludge characteristics.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a promising technology in waste treatment and energy recovery. However, it suffers from long retention time and low biogas yield. In this study, novel nitrogen-doped biochar supported magnetite (NBM) was synthesized and applied to enhance the AD of waste-activated sludge. Results showed that NBM increased cumulative methane production and SCOD removal efficiency by up to 1.75 times and 15% respectively at 5 g/L compared with the blank. NBM enhanced both hydrolysis and methanogenesis process during AD and the activities of α-glucosidase, protease, coenzyme F420 and electron transport system were increased by 19%, 163%, 104% and 160% respectively at 5 g/L NBM compared with the blank. NBM also facilitated the secretion of conductive protein in extracellular polymeric substances as well as the formation of conductive pili, leading to 3.18-7.59 times higher sludge electrical conductivity. Microbial community analysis revealed that bacteria Clostridia and archaea Methanosarcina and Methanosaeta were enriched by the addition of NBM, and direct interspecies electron transfer might be promoted between them. This study provides a practical reference for future material synthesis and its application.

Optimum Reaction Conditions for the Synthesis of Selenized Ornithogalum caudatum Ait. (Liliaceae) Polysaccharides and Measurement of Their Antioxidant Activity In Vivo.

This study determined the optimum reaction conditions for synthesizing selenium-containing polysaccharides. Polysaccharide IIA (with the highest yield) from Ornithogalum caudatum Ait. (Liliaceae) (OCAPIIA) was extracted and purified. Then, three parameters were selected to optimize the synthesis of selenized OCAPIIA (Se-OCAPIIA) using the Box-Behnken design (BBD) and response surface methodology (RSM). The morphology of Se-OCAPIIA was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The characteristic peaks and the monosaccharide composition of Se-OCAPIIA were evaluated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography. A D-galactose-induced aging mouse model was established, and the in vivo antioxidant activity of Se-OCAPIIA was measured. The optimal conditions for the synthesis of Se-OCAPIIA were as follows: reaction temperature, 72.38 °C; Na2SeO3 to OCAPIIA mass ratio, 0.93 g/g; and reaction time, 8.05 h. The selenium content of Se-OCAPIIA obtained using the optimized process was 3.131 ± 0.090 mg/g, close to the maximum predicted value (3.152 mg/g). Se-OCAPIIA contained D-mannose, D-glucose, and D-galactose at a molar ratio of 1.00:0.34:0.88. SEM showed that Se-OCAPIIA was spherical and flocculated. Compared with OCAPIIA, Se-OCAPIIA exhibited two characteristic peaks at 833 and 610 cm-1 in the infrared spectrum. Se-OCAPIIA increased catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase activities and decreased MDA concentrations in the mouse liver. Moreover, Se-OCAPIIA treatment improved liver morphology, decreased the levels of IL-1ß and IL-6, and increased IL-10 concentration. In conclusion, the synthesis of Se-OCAPIIA is effective, simple, and feasible. Se-OCAPIIA demonstrated high antioxidant activity in vivo and is a promising antioxidant and therapeutic agent.

Harnessing Dual-Fluorescence Lifetime Probes to Validate Regulatory Mechanisms of Organelle Interactions.

Organelles are dynamic yet highly organized to preserve cellular homeostasis. However, the absence of time-resolved molecular tools for simultaneous dual-signal imaging of two organelles has prevented scientists from elucidating organelle interaction regulatory mechanisms on a nanosecond timescale. To date, the regulatory mechanisms governing the interaction between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and autophagosomes are unknown. In this study, we propose a strategy for developing dual-fluorescence lifetime probes localized to the endoplasmic reticulum and autophagosomes to investigate their interaction regulatory mechanisms. Using the robust probe CF2, we investigated the regulatory mechanisms between ER and autophagosomes and discovered the following: (i) motile autophagosome in ER tips drives the ER tubule to grow and slide; (ii) the ER reticulate tubule forms a three-way junction centered on the autophagosome; (iii) ER autophagy is a type of cell damage index during drug-induced apoptosis. Thus, this study advances our knowledge of organelle interaction regulatory mechanisms, shedding light on the identification of therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative diseases.

Thermosensitive P(AAc-co-NIPAm) Hydrogels Display Enhanced Toughness and Self-Healing via Ion-Ligand Interactions.

Hydrogels containing thermosensitive polymers such as poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (P(NIPAm)) may contract during heating and show great promise in fields ranging from soft robotics to thermosensitive biosensors. However, these gels often exhibit low stiffness, tensile strength, and mechanical toughness, limiting their applicability. Through copolymerization of P(NIPAm) with poly(Acrylic acid) (P(AAc)) and introduction of ferric ions (Fe3+ ) that coordinate with functional groups along the P(AAc) chains, here a thermoresponsive hydrogel with enhanced mechanical extensibility, strength, and toughness is introduced. Using both experimentation and constitutive modeling, it is found that increasing the ratio of m(AAc):m(NIPAm) in the prepolymer decreases strength and toughness but improves extensibility. In contrast, increasing Fe3+ concentration generally improves strength and toughness with little decrease in extensibility. Due to reversible coordination of the Fe3+ bonds, these gels display excellent recovery of mechanical strength during cyclic loading and self-healing ability. While thermosensitive contraction imbued by the underlying P(NIPAm) decreases slightly with increased Fe3+ concentration, the temperature transition range is widened and shifted upward toward that of human body temperature (between 30 and 40 °C), perhaps rendering these gels suitable as in vivo biosensors. Finally, these gels display excellent adsorptive properties with a variety of materials, rendering them possible candidates in adhesive applications.

Effects of sulfamethoxazole on aerobic sludge granulation process.

AIMS: Our purpose was to clarify the effect of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) on the start-up period, particle formation, and treatment efficiency of an aerobic granular sludge system. METHODS AND RESULTS: We compared an R1 granular sequencing batch reactor (GSBR) started with 5 µg L-1 SMX and an R2 GSBR started without SMX, as a control, to investigate the impact of a trace amount of SMX (5 µg L-1 ) on aerobic granular sludge (AGS) characteristics and the removal of conventional contaminants. AGS granulation in the R1 system was not inhibited by SMX, but the granule particle size was smaller than that in the R2 system. Both systems had good performance removing conventional pollutants. Extracellular polymeric substance secretion in the R1 system was lower than that in the R2 system. After stabilizing reactor operations, the SMX removal efficiency in the R1 system (~73.93%) was higher than that in the R2 system (~70.66%). The start-up modes also determined the differences in the microbial community structure of the AGS systems. CONCLUSIONS: SMX-activated AGS performed better than AGS without SMX. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: The study can help engineers determine start-up modes with varieties of antibiotics in AGS processes and provide references for the optimization of water treatment processes.

Accurate internal deformation measurement of an indentation test using micro-CT and self-adaptive digital volume correlation.

Mechanical indentation testing is a widely used technique for determining local mechanical properties of materials. Accurate measurement of internal deformation in the indentation test is necessary for further study of material properties. Therefore, an in situ experimental measurement strategy combining micro-CT imaging and self-adaptive digital volume correlation (SA-DVC) is proposed. Unlike conventional DVC, SA-DVC can automatically identify the optimal subvolume size for each calculation point, which can effectively minimize measurement errors. The efficacy of the proposed method is first verified by the simulated indentation experiment. Then, it is used to analyze the deformation of epoxy resin composite in a real indentation experiment. Measurement results indicate that the proposed method can estimate three-dimensional displacement and strain fields with enhanced accuracy, and further application of the obtained measurement results on material parameter identification and stress field reconstruction is expected.

Accurate and efficient internal deformation measurement of multiphase/porous materials via segmentation-aided digital volume correlation.

In using the regular subvolume-based digital volume correlation (R-DVC) method, calculation points should be defined at the real material phase, and the local deformation within the interrogated subvolumes is assumed to be continuous. However, this basic assumption in R-DVC analysis is often violated when measuring the deformation near the interface when dealing with multiphase materials (including porous materials) or contact problems. This is because discontinuous deformation always presents in the calculation points located at the vicinity of interfaces of various phases. All these factors lead to increased measurement error and/or meaningless calculation burdens when using R-DVC. To address these issues, we propose a segmentation-aided DVC (S-DVC) for accuracy-enhanced internal deformation analysis near the interface. The presented S-DVC first divides the reference volume image into different portions according to the distinct gray scales within different material phases (or background) or objects. Based on the segmented reference volume image, we can ensure that subvolumes only contain the voxels from the same material phase/object and exclude other phases/objects. As such, the error due to undermatched shape function can be minimized and meaningless DVC calculation can be avoided. The accuracy, efficiency, and practicality of S-DVC over R-DVC are validated by a simulated compression test of nodular cast iron (multiphase material) and a real compression experiment of 3D printed polymer (porous material).

Detection of Hb Yulin [ß13(A10)Ala→Val, HBB: c.41C>T] by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry.

We report a rare hemoglobin (Hb) variant on the ß-globin gene, which was detected in a female from Yulin City, Guangxi Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China (PRC), during routine thalassemia screening. The Hb variant remained unnoticed using capillary electrophoresis (CE) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), while an additional peak was observed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS). DNA sequencing revealed the GCC>GTC substitution at codon 13 on the ß-globin gene, causing a substitution of alanine to valine. The mutation is only described in the ITHANET database but no Hb variant name and other information, so we named it Hb Yulin after the place of origin of the proband in this study. Hb Yulin is clinically silent and easily leads to misdiagnosis during hemoglobinopathies screening based on the common methods of HPLC and CE.

Impact of magnesium ions on lysozyme-triggered disintegration and solubilization of waste activated sludge.

Lysozyme can efficiently accelerate solubilization and hydrolysis of waste activated sludge (WAS) for anerobic digestion. However, the effect of lysozyme was easily to be inhibited by metal ions in WAS. The impact of magnesium ions (Mg2+) on lysozyme catalyze WAS disintegration was investigated in this study. The effect of lysozyme on WAS hydrolysis could be hindered by Mg2+. Relatively high concentrations (>50 mg/L) of Mg2+ in sludge significantly reduced the release of soluble polysaccharides and proteins from WAS, while sulfate ions or chloride ions caused no such effect. Proteins were difficult to be extracted from extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of WAS in the presence of Mg2+ (>10 mg/L) due to the divalent cation bridging (DCB) behavior, while the extraction of polysaccharides was not significantly affected. The polysaccharides and proteins in the inner EPS layer were transferred to the outer layer during the lysozyme treatment, and total quantities of both components maintained constantly. At least 23.1% lysozymes were trapped in the liquid phase of 100 mg Mg2+/L in the first hour. Mg2+ could significantly affect the transfer of lysozyme from liquid phase to the inner layer of sludge. Mg2+ neutralized the negative surface charge of the sludge particles, which hindered the absorption of positively charged lysozyme molecules by sludge flocs from the liquid phase. The proteins of TB-EPS had higher ratios of α-helixes and tighter structures than those in LB-EPS, which could impede the lysozyme transfer to the cell wall.

New insight into enhanced short-chain fatty acids production from waste activated sludge through pretreatment of cation exchange resin coupled NaCl addition.

In this study, a novel pretreatment of cation exchange resin (CER) coupled NaCl addition was proposed to enhance waste activated sludge (WAS) hydrolysis and promote short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production in the anaerobic fermentation process. At the optimal pretreatment condition of 3 g/g SS CER and 15 g/L NaCl, considerable SCOD (i.e. 5107 mg/L, 35.4% of TCOD) was released after 2-day coupled treatment, which provided sufficient organic substance for the subsequent SCFAs production. The sludge hydrolysis mechanism was illustrated, i.e. CER triggered extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) disruption and NaCl induced microbial cells lysis. The synergistic interaction between CER and NaCl pretreatment was investigated and application potential of fermentative liquid was evaluated after the coupled pretreatment-enhanced anaerobic fermentation. In the presence of abundant biodegradable substrates in the fermentative liquid, 4742 mg COD/L (i.e. 388 mg COD/g VSS) of SCFAs production was achieved within 6-day anaerobic fermentation, mainly composed of acetic and propionic acids (70.4% of total SCFAs).

[Mechanism of Bupleurum scorzonerifolium and Paeonia lactiflora herbal pair against liver cancer: an exploration based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS combined with network pharmacology].

This study aimed to decipher the pharmacodynamic material basis and mechanism of herbal pair Bupleurum scorzonerifolium-Paeonia lactiflora(BS-PL) against liver cancer based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and network pharmacology. MTT assay and human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells were used to screen the effective part of BS-PL, the active components of which were further analyzed and identified by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. Next, we applied Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP) to screen the active ingredients with OB≥30%. Then TCMSP and SwissTargetPrediction were used to collect and predict component targets, followed by the search of liver cancer-related targets with GeneCards and DisGeNET. The intersection targets were obtained using Venny 2.1.0. Protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was constructed using STRING to uncover the core targets, which were subjected to Gene Ontology(GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) enrichment analysis based on DAVID. Finally, the effects of active ingredients on the expression of main proteins enriched in the key pathways of HepG2 cells were verified by Western blot. The results indicated that compared with 30%, 50%, and 70% ethanol extracts of BS-PL, the n-butanol extraction part(CSYZ) from 95% ethanol extract of BS-PL exhibited the best anti-tumor effect. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS revealed 31 ingredients, 14 of which showed OB≥30%. A total of 220 intersection targets were obtained, from which 35 were selected as the key targets under the condition of two times the median of degree. Among the 215 items with P<0.05 obtained through GO enrichment analysis, 154 were classified into biological processes, 22 into cell components and 39 into molecular functions. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed 95 significantly affected signaling pathways, and the ones(sorted in a descending order by P value) closely related to the anti-liver cancer effect of herbal pair were PI3 K-AKT signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, and ErbB signaling pathway. Finally, the PI3 K/AKT signaling pathway involving the largest number of targets was extrapolated, and it was found that this pathway contained 15 core targets and 8 active components. Experimental verification showed that the effective components of BS-PL significantly inhibited the expression of p-PI3 K and p-AKT, consistent with the prediction results of network pharmacology. In conclusion, the main pharmacodynamic substances of BS-PL against liver cancer are 14 components like saikosaponin a, saikosaponin d, and paeoniflorin, which exert the anti-liver cancer effect by regulating PI3 K/AKT pathway.

Label-Free Histology and Evaluation of Human Pancreatic Cancer with Coherent Nonlinear Optical Microscopy.

Surgeries achieving maximal tumor resection remain the major effective treatment of pancreatic cancer. Rapid and precise intraoperative diagnosis of pancreatic tissues is critical for optimum surgical outcomes but is challenging for the current staining-based histological methods. We demonstrated that label-free coherent nonlinear optical microscopy with combined stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and second harmonic generation (SHG) could reveal key diagnostic features of both normal and cancerous human pancreatic tissues. Adjacent pairs of tissue sections from resection margins of 37 patients were imaged by SRS and hematoxylin and eosin staining for direct comparison, demonstrating high diagnostic concordance (Cohen's kappa, κ > 0.97) between them. Fresh unprocessed tissues showed well-preserved histoarchitectures including pancreatic ducts, islets, acini, and nerves. Moreover, the area ratios of collagen fibers were analyzed and found to correlate with the drainage pancreatic amylase level (odds ratio = 28.0, p = 0.0017). Our results indicated that SRS/SHG histology provides potential for rapid intraoperative diagnosis of pancreatic cancer as well as a predictive value of postoperative pancreatic fistula.

Sustainable production and biomedical application of polymalic acid from renewable biomass and food processing wastes.

Polymalic acid (PMA), a homopolymer of L-malic acid (MA) generated from a yeast-like fungus Aureobasidium pullulans, has unique properties and many applications in food, biomedical, and environmental fields. Acid hydrolysis of PMA, releasing the monomer MA, has become a novel process for the production of bio-based MA, which currently is produced by chemical synthesis using petroleum-derived feedstocks. Recently, current researches attempted to develop economically competitive process for PMA and MA production from renewable biomass feedstocks. Compared to lignocellulosic biomass, PMA and MA production from low-value food processing wastes or by-products, generated from corn, sugarcane, or soybean refinery industries, showed more economical and sustainable for developing a MA derivatives platform from biomass biorefinery to chemical conversion. In the review, we compared the process feasibility for PMA fermentation with lignocellulosic biomass and food process wastes. Some useful strategies for metabolic engineering are summarized. Its changeable applicability and future prospects in food and biomedical fields are also discussed.