Effects of Hydroxyethyl Cellulose and Sulfated Rice Bran Polysaccharide Coating on Quality Maintenance of Cherry Tomatoes during Cold Storage.

Cherry tomatoes are easily damaged due to their high moisture content. A composite coating was developed to delay deterioration and prolong storage by mixing antibacterial sulfated rice bran polysaccharides (SRBP) and edible hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) with film-forming properties. The effects of HEC, HEC-5% SRBP, and HEC-20% SRBP preservative coatings on the maintenance of the quality of cherry tomatoes (LycopersivonesculentumMill., Xiaohuang F2) during cold storage were investigated. The HEC-20% SRBP coating significantly reduced tomato deterioration and weight loss, delayed firmness loss, decreased polyphenol oxidase activity, and increased peroxidase activity. Furthermore, cherry tomatoes treated with HEC-20% SRBP maintained high levels of titratable acid, ascorbic acid, total phenols, and carotenoids. Cherry tomatoes coated with HEC-SRBP also had higher levels of volatile substances and a greater variety of these substances compared to uncoated tomatoes. In conclusion, the HEC-20% SRBP coating effectively delayed deterioration and preserved cherry tomatoes' nutrient and flavor qualities during postharvest cold storage, suggesting it could be a novel food preservation method.

Preparation and Antioxidant Activities of High Fischer's Ratio Oligopeptides from Goat Whey.

This study aimed to obtain high Fischer's ratio oligopeptides from goat whey (HFO) and investigate antioxidant property of it. Hydrolysis of goat whey was done with the approach of sequential digestion of pepsin and flavourzyme. With the adsorption of aromatic amino acids by activated carbon, HFO with a Fischer's ratio of 27.070 and a molecular weight of 200-1,000 Da were obtained, and the branched-chain amino acids accounted for 22.87%. Then the antioxidant activity of HFO was evaluated. At the concentrations of 2.0 mg/mL and 0.50 mg/mL, HFO scavenged 77.27% and 99.63% of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and 3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonate free radicals respectively. The scavenging rate of HFO against hydroxyl radicals reached 92.31% at the concentration of 0.25 mg/mL. Animal experiments demonstrated that HFO could moderate the changes of malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase caused by CCl4-induced oxidative stress in vivo. This study indicated that HFO from goat whey was capable of oxidation resistance both in vivo and in vitro, which provided a scientific basis for the high-value processing and application of goat milk whey.

CH(II), a cerebroprotein hydrolysate, exhibits potential neuro-protective effect on Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, and is the most common type of cognitive impairment and dementia. There is a pressing need to improve the clinical efficacy and quality of life for AD patients, as limited treatments options for AD patients have been developed until now. In this study, we aim to investigate the protective effect of CH(II), a cerebroprotein hydrolysate consisted of abundant biological peptides, on preclinical model of AD. We found that CH(II) treatment effectively protects oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD)-induced N2A cell viability impairment and cell apoptosis. In addition, CH(II) significantly reduces H2O2-induced ROS accumulation and exhibits the protective activities against H2O2-induced oxidative injury. Intriguingly, we found that CH(II) treatment can effectively promote neurite outgrowth of N2A cells. Moreover, CH(II) obviously improve the cognitive and memorial function in scopolamine-induced amnesia mice model. Taken together, this study provides evidences of the neuroprotective activities of CH(II) and offers a potential therapeutic strategy for AD patients.

Analyze Association of BRCA2 Arg372His Polymorphism With Ovarian Cancer Risk.

OBJECTIVE: Studies investigating the association between BRCA2 Arg372His polymorphism and ovarian cancer risks have yielded conflicting results. METHODS: We carried out a meta-analysis of 8488 ovarian cancer cases and 14,510 controls from 7 case-control studies in 5 articles published. The association between BRCA2 Arg372His polymorphism and ovarian cancer susceptibility was calculated using pooled odds ratios (ORs) appropriately derived from fixed effects models. RESULTS: There were no significant associations between BRCA2 Arg372His polymorphisms and ovarian cancer risk in overall comparisons in all genetic models (HH vs NN: OR, 1.06; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.96-1.18; P = 0.25; NH vs NN: OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.96-1.07; P = 0.6; NH + HH vs NN: OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.98-1.04; P = 0.42; HH vs NN + NH: OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.95-1.17; P = 0.29). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis indicates that the BRCA2 Arg372His polymorphism is not associated with ovarian cancer risk for whites. Asian and African populations should be further studied.

Analyzing association of the XRCC3 gene polymorphism with ovarian cancer risk.

This meta-analysis aims to examine whether the XRCC3 polymorphisms are associated with ovarian cancer risk. Eligible case-control studies were identified through search in PubMed. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) were appropriately derived from fixed effects models. We therefore performed a meta-analysis of 5,302 ovarian cancer cases and 8,075 controls from 4 published articles and 8 case-control studies for 3 SNPs of XRCC3. No statistically significant associations between XRCC3 rs861539 polymorphisms and ovarian cancer risk were observed in any genetic models. For XRCC3 rs1799794 polymorphisms, we observed a statistically significant correlation with ovarian cancer risk using the homozygote comparison (T2T2 versus T1T1: OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.54-0.90, P = 0.005), heterozygote comparison (T1T2 versus T1T1: OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.00-1.21, P = 0.04), and the recessive genetic model (T2T2 versus T1T1+T1T2: OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.52-0.87, P = 0.002). For XRCC3 rs1799796 polymorphisms, we also observed a statistically significant correlation with ovarian cancer risk using the heterozygote comparison (T1T2 versus T1T1: OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.83-0.99, P = 0.04). In conclusion, this meta-analysis shows that the XRCC3 were associated with ovarian cancer risk overall for Caucasians. Asian and African populations should be further studied.

Analyze association of the progesterone receptor gene polymorphism PROGINS with ovarian cancer risk.

Results conflict on the association between progesterone receptor gene (PRG) polymorphism PROGINS and ovarian cancer risk, despite wide-ranging investigations. We therefore performed a meta-analysis of 4,285 ovarian cancer cases and 6,257 controls from 11 published case-control studies. The strength of association between PROGINS polymorphism and ovarian cancer susceptibility was assessed using pooled odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). The results suggest no significant associations exist between PROGINS polymorphisms and ovarian cancer risk in overall comparisons in all genetic models (T2T2 vs. T1T1: OR = 1.37, 95 % CI = 0.89-2.12, P = 0.15; T1T2 vs. T1T1:OR = 1.09, 95 % CI = 0.88-1.35, P = 0.41; T1T2 + T2T2 vs. T1T1:OR = 1.15, 95 % CI = 0.94-1.40, P = 0.17; T2T2 vs. T1 T1 + T1T2:OR = 1.34, 95 % CI = 0.87-2.07, P = 0.18). In conclusion, the results of this meta-analysis indicate that the PRG polymorphism PROGINS is not associated with ovarian cancer risk when multiple ethnic groups or regions were considered overall.

[Differential gene expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha and hypoxic adaptation in chicken].

Hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a transcriptional factor first discovered in cancer cells under hypoxic conditions, and was demonstrated to play a key role in the organism's adaptation to changing oxygen tensions. The Tibetan chicken, a breed indigenous to the Tibetan plateau is particularly adaptable to the low oxygen tension and low temperature conditions in the high altitude environment. By comparison, the White Leghorn and ShouGuang chicken are low-altitude chicken breeds. The eggs of these three chicken breeds were incubated in a fitted hatcher that simulated hypoxic condition. The results demonstrated that the hatching rate for Tibetan chicken was significantly higher than the two low altitude breeds, and Tibetan chicken displayed higher endurance in the hypoxia environment. To a certain degree, the hypoxic condition proved fatal to hatching for the low-altitude chickens. Gene expression of HIF-1alpha was detected in brain and skeletal muscle tissues for three chicken varieties using the TaqMan probe FQRT-PCR method. The results showed that HIF-1alpha mRNA displayed tissue specific differential expression, with the highest in the brain. In addition, the expression of HIF-1alpha mRNA in the brain of Tibetan chicken embryos was similar to that of the low-altitude chickens when they were hatched under normal oxygen tensions.