Intelligence detection of oil absorption in French fries by surface profiles.

Surface profiles are important evaluation indices for oil absorption behavior of fried foods. This research established two intelligent models of partial least-squares regression (PLSR) and back propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN) for monitoring the oil absorption behavior of French fries based on the surface characteristics. Surface morphology and texture of French fries by rapeseed oil (RO) and high-oleic peanut oil (HOPO) at different temperatures were investigated. Results showed that oil content of samples increased with frying temperature, accounting for 37.7% and 41.4% of samples fried by RO and HOPO respectively. The increase of crust ratio, roughness and texture parameters (Fm, Nwr, fwr, Wc) and the decrease of uniformity were observed with the frying temperature. Coefficients of prediction set of PLSR and BP-ANN models were more than 0.93, which indicated that surface features combined with chemometrics were rapid and precise methods for determining the oil content of French fries.

Visual analysis of research hotspots and trends of external therapies in traditional Chinese medicine for insomnia / 数字中医药（英文）

@#【Objective】 To explore the current status and development trend of research on external therapies in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for insomnia over the past 10 years through bibliometrics and visual analysis, to provide references for further research on the topic. 【Methods】 Literature relating to TCM external therapies for insomnia from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2021 was retrieved from Chinese databases, including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), and from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) for English articles. CiteSpace, VOSviewer, Scimago Graphica, and NoteExpress software were used to analyze publication volumes of the papers and how they were distributed in different journals, as well as to visualize the data of the countries, authors, institutions, and keywords. 【Results】 A total of 6 085 papers were obtained, of which 5 592 were from the Chinese databases and 493 were from the English database, with their publication volumes growing steadily year on year. Approximately 45 countries and regions were found to have published research on the topic. In terms of Chinese publications, the author with the most papers published was CHEN Yunfei from Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The closest collaboration was between LIU Chengyong from the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine and YUE Zenghui from Hunan University of Chinese Medicine. In terms of English publications, the author with the most papers published was MAO Junj from Sloan-Kettering Cancer Research Center, USA, and LAO Lixing from the University of Hong Kong was his closest partner in collaboration. Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine was the institution with the most Chinese publications, and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine was the one with the most English papers published. Studies on the topic were published in 386 Chinese journals and 205 English journals, respectively. Nowadays, the clinical application of TCM external treatments for insomnia, the selection of meridians and acupoints, therapies for insomnia and its related diseases are research hotspots. The combined use of different TCM external therapies is a trend in the treatment of insomnia and its concomitant diseases, especially in the fields of oncology, nursing, and psychiatric disorders. The exploration of mechanisms of TCM external therapies for insomnia is also a key direction for future research. In clinical practice, the commonly used external therapies for insomnia include acupuncture, ear-acupressure with beans, acupoint application, etc. The commonly selected acupoints are auricular points, Sishencong (EX-HN1), Shenmen (HT7), etc. The frequently studied meridians are Ren, Du, Qiao, etc. The insomnia concomitant diseases are depression, stroke, anxiety, etc. 【Conclusion】 A wealth of research results have been accumulated in the treatment of insomnia by TCM external therapies, but authoritative research results are not so many. Therefore, institutions in different countries should strengthen communications and cooperation, and researchers should be encouraged to make innovations and breakthroughs on the basis of inherited TCM external therapies, so as to produce more valuable research results and improve TCM external therapies for providing better treatments for patients with sleep disorders.

Label-free quantitative proteomics reveals the mechanism of microwave-induced Tartary buckwheat germination and flavonoids enrichment.

The objective of this study was to reveal the mechanism underlying the effects of microwave treatment on Tartary buckwheat germination and flavonoids enrichment. Label-free quantitative proteomic analysis showed that Tartary buckwheat germinated at 3, 5, and 7 days after 300 W/50 s microwave treatment had 7, 5, and 5 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) compared to those of control. These DEPs are mainly related to energy production and conversion, gene expression, and flavonoids metabolism. Based on KEGG analysis, the DEPs were mainly enriched in photosynthesis, RNA polymerase, flavonoid biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis metabolic pathways. Further, the upregulation of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and flavonol synthase protein enzymes promoted germination and flavonoids accumulation in Tartary buckwheat. These findings reveal the mechanism of Tartary buckwheat germination and the enrichment of flavonoids induced by microwaves and provide a scientific basis for the development of functional foods for Tartary buckwheat.

ZIP10 is a negative determinant for anti-tumor effect of mannose in thyroid cancer by activating phosphate mannose isomerase.

BACKGROUND: Mannose, a natural hexose existing in daily food, has been demonstrated to preferentially inhibit the progression of tumors with low expression of phosphate mannose isomerase (PMI). However, its function in thyroid cancer still remains elusive. METHODS: MTT, colony formation and flow cytometry assays were performed to determine the response of thyroid cancer cells to mannose. Meanwhile, mouse models of subcutaneous xenograft and primary papillary thyroid cancer were established to determine in vivo anti-tumor activity of mannose. The underlying mechanism of mannose selectively killing thyroid cancer cells was clarified by a series of molecular and biochemical experiments. RESULTS: Our data demonstrated that mannose selectively suppressed the growth of thyroid cancer cells, and found that enzyme activity of PMI rather than its protein expression was negatively associated with the response of thyroid cancer cells to mannose. Besides, our data showed that zinc ion (Zn2+) chelator TPEN clearly increased the response of mannose-insensitive cells to mannose by inhibiting enzyme activity of PMI, while Zn2+ supplement could effectively reverse this effect. Further studies found that the expression of zinc transport protein ZIP10, which transport Zn2+ from extracellular area into cells, was negatively related to the response of thyroid cancer cells to mannose. Knocking down ZIP10 in mannose-insensitive cells significantly inhibited in vitro and in vivo growth of these cells by decreasing intracellular Zn2+ concentration and enzyme activity of PMI. Moreover, ectopic expression of ZIP10 in mannose-sensitive cells decrease their cellular response to mannose. Mechanistically, mannose exerted its anti-tumor effect by inhibiting cellular glycolysis; however, this effect was highly dependent on expression status of ZIP10. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrate that mannose selectively kills thyroid cancer cells dependent on enzyme activity of PMI rather than its expression, and provide a mechanistic rationale for exploring clinical use of mannose in thyroid cancer therapy.

Longitudinal changes in spiritual well-being and associations with emotional distress, pain, and optimism-pessimism: a prospective observational study of terminal cancer patients admitted to a palliative care unit.

PURPOSE: Although spiritual well-being (SWB) is gaining increasing attention within the international palliative care (PC) guidelines, a lack of insight exists into the correlates and course of SWB among cancer patients. We therefore conducted a prospective observational study to capture trend of SWB and to identify their predictors in Chinese inpatients with terminal cancer receiving short-term PC. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted of terminal cancer inpatients in the hospice ward, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University. A total of 108 patients completed self-report questionnaires on Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Numerical Rating Scales, and Life Orientation Scale-Revised anonymously at baseline; SWB, depression, anxiety, and pain were subsequently assessed at 1-week interval. Multilevel regression was used to analyze the temporal course and predictors of SWB. RESULTS: Patients' existential well-being (B = - 0.99, p = 0.008; 95%CI = - 1.72 to - 0.26) and meaning dimension (B = - 0.87, p < 0.001; 95% CI = - 1.29 to - 0.43) significantly decreased after admission to the PC unit, but peace and faith did not change over time. Increases in depression and pain were related to lower existential well-being, particularly in the meaning dimension. Optimism-pessimism moderated the linear trend of existential well-being and meaning domain, such that those with higher optimism and lower pessimism paired with a decrease in outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Terminal cancer patients experienced worsening existential well-being, particularly in the meaning facet while hospitalized, indicating that PC should include content that targets the existential concerns of spirituality in China. These findings also supported the need for an integrated PC to address personality traits and emotional and physical distress in this population.

Discovery of 4-Arylindolines Containing a Thiazole Moiety as Potential Antitumor Agents Inhibiting the Programmed Cell Death-1/Programmed Cell Death-Ligand 1 Interaction.

Through specific structural modification of a 4-phenylindoline precursor, new 4-arylindolines containing a thiazole moiety were developed and found to be promising modulators of the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) axis. Compound A30 exhibited outstanding biochemical activity, with an IC50 of 11.2 nM in a homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence assay. In the cell-based assay, A30 significantly promoted IFN-γ secretion and rescued T-cell proliferation, which were inhibited by PD-1 activation. Furthermore, A30 showed favorable in vivo antitumor activity in a mouse 4T1 breast carcinoma model. Moreover, in mouse CT26 colon carcinoma models, A30 potently suppressed the growth of CT26/PD-L1 tumor but did not obviously affect the growth of CT26/vector tumor. The results of flow cytometry analysis indicated that A30 inhibited tumor growth by activating the immune microenvironment. We concluded that A30 is a new starting point for further development of PD-1/PD-L1 interaction inhibitors as antitumor agents.

Cell Line-Dependent Variability of Coordinate Expression of p75NTR and CRABP1 and Modulation of Effects of Fenretinide on Neuroblastoma Cells.

Neuroblastoma is a childhood neural crest tumor. Fenretinide, a retinoic acid analogue, induces accumulation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and consequent apoptosis in neuroblastoma cells. The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) enhances the antineuroblastoma cell efficacy of fenretinide in vitro. We examined the role of the retinoid binding protein, CRABP1, in p75NTR-mediated potentiation of the efficacy of fenretinide. Knockdown and overexpression, respectively, of either p75NTR or CRABP1 were effected in neuroblastoma cell lines using standard techniques. Expression was determined by qRT-PCR and confirmed at the protein level by Western blot. Metabolic viability was determined by Alamar blue assay. While protein content of CRABP1 correlated roughly with that of p75NTR in the three neuroblastoid or epithelioid human neuroblastoma cell lines studied, manipulation of p75NTR expression resulted in cell line-dependent, variable change in CRABP1 expression. Furthermore, in some cell lines, induced expression of CRABP1 in the absence of p75NTR did not alter cell sensitivity to fenretinide treatment. The effects of manipulation of p75NTR expression on CRABP1 expression and the effects of CRABP1 expression on fenretinide efficacy are therefore neuroblastoma cell line-dependent. Potentiation of the antineuroblastoma cell effects of fenretinide by p75NTR is not mediated solely through CRABP1.