Quercetin regulates dendritic cell activation by targeting STAT4 in the treatment of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a class of autoimmune diseases mainly caused by the immune system attacking the myelin sheath of the axons in the nervous system. Although the pathogenesis of MS is complex, studies have shown that dendritic cells (DCs) play a vital role in the pathogenesis of MS. Quercetin (QU) has a unique advantage in clinical application, especially for treating autoimmune diseases. However, the mechanism of QU in the treatment of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) remains unclear. In this study, we explore the potential role of QU in EAE. Finally, we find that QU has anti-inflammatory activities and neural protective effects in EAE. The experimental results suggest that the cellular basis for QU's function is to inhibit the activation of DCs while modulating the Th17 cell differentiation in the co-culture system. Further, QU may target STAT4 to inhibit its activation in DCs. This work will be of great significance for the future development and utilization of QU.

Transcriptional regulation of TacL-mediated lipoteichoic acids biosynthesis by ComE during competence impacts pneumococcal transformation.

Competence development is essential for bacterial transformation since it enables bacteria to take up free DNA from the surrounding environment. The regulation of teichoic acid biosynthesis is tightly controlled during pneumococcal competence; however, the mechanism governing this regulation and its impact on transformation remains poorly understood. We demonstrated that a defect in lipoteichoic acid ligase (TacL)-mediated lipoteichoic acids (LTAs) biosynthesis was associated with impaired pneumococcal transformation. Using a fragment of tacL regulatory probe as bait in a DNA pulldown assay, we successfully identified several regulatory proteins, including ComE. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that phosphomimetic ComE, but not wild-type ComE, exhibited specific binding to the probe. DNase I footprinting assays revealed the specific binding sequences encompassing around 30 base pairs located 31 base pairs upstream from the start codon of tacL. Expression of tacL was found to be upregulated in the ΔcomE strain, and the addition of exogenous competence-stimulating peptide repressed the tacL transcription in the wild-type strain but not the ΔcomE mutant, indicating that ComE exerted a negative regulatory effect on the transcription of tacL. Mutation in the JH2 region of tacL upstream regulatory sequence led to increased LTAs abundance and displayed higher transformation efficiency. Collectively, our work identified the regulatory mechanisms that control LTAs biosynthesis during competence and thereby unveiled a repression mechanism underlying pneumococcal transformation.

[Randomized,double-blind,parallel controlled,multicenter clinical trial of effectiveness and safety of Shexiang Zhuifeng Zhitong Ointment in alleviating pain in knee osteoarthritis(syndrome of cold-dampness obstruction)].

The Shexiang Zhuifeng Zhitong Ointment with the effects of dispelling wind, removing dampness, dissipating cold, and relieving pain is used for treating arthralgia, muscular pain, and sprain pain caused by cold-dampness obstruction. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Shexiang Zhuifeng Zhitong Ointment in relieving the pain due to knee osteoarthritis(syndrome of cold-dampness obstruction), a randomized, double-blind, parallel controlled, multicenter clinical trial was conducted. The stratified randomization method was used to randomize the 240 subjects into a treatment group and a control group in a ratio of 1∶1. In each group, 60 patients received external application for 12 h and the other 60 patients received external application for 6 h. The treatment group received external application of Shexiang Zhuifeng Zhitong Ointment, while the control group received external application of Shexiang Zhuifeng Ointment. The treatment lasted for 21 days in both groups. Follow-up was conducted on days 7, 14, and 21 of treatment. The results based on the full analysis set were as follows.(1)In visual analog scale(VAS) score, the mean difference in the VAS score between baseline and 12 h post-treatment was 3.02 in the treatment group and 2.31 in the control group, with a significant difference(P<0.05). The mean difference in the VAS score between baseline and 6 h post-treatment was 3.19 in the treatment group and 2.48 in the control group, with a significant difference(P<0.05).(2)Response rate in terms of VAS score, after treatment for 12 h, the response rate was 93.22% in the treatment group and 73.33% in the control group, with a significant difference(P<0.05). After treatment for 6 h, theresponse rate in the treatment group was 88.33%, which was higher than that(63.33%) in the control group(P<0.05).The results showed that Shexiang Zhuifeng Zhitong Ointment applied for 12 and 6 h effectively relieved the knee joint pain of patients with knee osteoarthritis due to cold-dampness obstruction, as demonstrated by the reduced VAS score, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index(WOMAC), stiffness, and joint function score. Moreover, Shexiang Zhuifeng Zhitong Ointment outperformed the positive control Shexiang Zhuifeng Ointment in terms of reducing the VAS score, demonstrating a definitetherapeutic effect on the pain due to knee osteoarthritis(syndrome of cold-dampness obstruction).In addition, Shexiang Zhuifeng Zhitong Ointment did not cause other adverse reactions except for mild allergic reactions, which were common in the external application of traditional Chinese medicine plasters on the skin, inseveral patients.Neither other adverse reactions nor abnormalities of liver and kidney functions and electrocardiogram were observed. This ointment had high safety and could be popularized in clinical application.

Paraspeckles / CARM1 mediates the regulation of OEVs on cell differentiation during in vitro embryonic development of yak.

Mammalian embryos produced in vitro have poor embryo quality and low developmental ability compared with in vivo embryos. The main manifestations are the low number of blastocysts, the low ratio of the number of inner cell mass cells to the number of trophoblastic cells, and the high apoptosis rate of blastocysts, resulting in low embryo implantation rate. Therefore, optimizing in vitro culture conditions has become a key technology to im-prove the quality of preimplantation embryos. Oviduct Epithelial cells exosomes (OEVs) can be absorbed and internalized by embryos to improve the blastocyst rate and blastocyst quality of embryos in vitro. As a special nuclear structure, Paraspeckles are involved in the fate determination of mammalian early embryonic mammalian cells. However, the regulation of embryonic cell differentiation by OEVs remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the effects of OEVs on paraspeckle formation and cell fate determination in yak in vitro fertilization (IVF) of em-bryos. To simulate the in vivo oviduct environment after ovulation, we used follicular fluid exosomes (FEVs) to stimulate yak oviduct epithelial cells and collect OEVs. OEVs were added to the yak IVF embryo culture system. Paraspeckle formation, cell differentiation, and blastocyst quality in yak embryos were determined. Our results show that, development of yak embryos is unique compared to other bovine species, and OEVs can be used as a supplement to the in vitro culture system of yak embryos to improve embryonic development and blas-tocyst quality. And also Paraspeckles/CARM1 mediated the regulation of OEVs on cell differentiation during in vitro yak embryo production. These results provide new insights into the study of yak embryonic development and the role of OEVs in embryonic development.

Identification of 10 differentially expressed and cuproptosis-related genes in immune infiltration and prognosis of thyroid carcinoma.

The association between the cuproptosis-related genes and the immune infiltration and their prognostic value in thyroid carcinoma is still unexplored. Bioinformatics analyses were performed with data obtained from the TCGA dataset. The aberrantly expressed genes were selected. KEGG and GO analyses were conducted to explore the enriched pathways of the up-regulated or down-regulated genes in thyroid carcinoma. Totally 1495 genes were differentially expressed (691 up-regulated, 804 down-regulated) in thyroid carcinoma (p<0.05). The 10 cuproptosis-related RNAs (DLD, LIAS, LIPT1, FDX1, DLAT, MTF1, PDHA1, CDKN2A, GLS and PDHB) were also demonstrated to be aberrantly expressed in thyroid carcinoma patients tissues. FDX1 expression was correlated with the overall survival in thyroid carcinoma patients (HR=0.4995, 95% CI: 0.2688-0.9285, p=0.0282). Further multivariate cox regression analysis revealed that DLD (HR=24.8869, 95% CI: 4.48772-138.01181, p=0.00024), and LIAS (HR=7.74092, 95% CI: 1.12194-53.40898, p=0.03783) were associated with the survival of thyroid carcinoma patients. The immune infiltration analysis demonstrated that significant correlation between the 10 cuproptosis-related genes and immune infiltration in thyroid carcinoma (p<0.01). We presented the expression profiles of dysregulated genes in thyroid carcinoma. The findings of our study highlighted the potential of cuproptosis-related genes as prognostic biomarkers for thyroid carcinoma.

Association of SGLT2i vs DPP4i With Pneumonia, COVID-19, and Other Adverse Respiratory Events in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim in this study was to systematically assess the association of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) vs dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i) with pneumonia, COVID-19, and adverse respiratory events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were retrieved to include studies on DM patients receiving SGLT2i (exposure group) or DPP4i (control group). Stata version 15.0 statistical software was used for the meta-analysis. RESULTS: Ten studies were included, all 10 of which were used for the qualitative review and 7 for the meta-analysis. According to the meta-analysis, patients receiving SGLT2i had a lower incidence of pneumonia (odds ratio [OR] 0.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.51 to 0.74) and pneumonia risk (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.68, p=0.000) compared with those receiving DPP4i. The same situation was seen for mortality for pneumonia (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.60) and pneumonia mortality risk (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.51). There was lower mortality due to COVID-19 (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.34) and a lower hospitalization rate (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.68, p=0.000) and incidence of mechanical ventilation (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.83, p=0.000) due to COVID-19 in patients with type 2 DM receiving SGLT2i. Qualitative analysis results show that SGLT2i was associated with a lower incidence of COVID-19, lower risk of obstructive airway disease events, and lower hospitalization rate of health-care-associated pneumonia than DPP4i. CONCLUSION: In patients with type 2 DM, SGLT2i are associated with a lower risk of pneumonia, COVID-19, and mortality than DPP4i.

Rural households' livelihood adaptation strategies in the face of changing climate: A case study from Pakistan.

Rural and agricultural communities' adaptation to climate change has gained significant attention owing to many countries' vulnerability to climate change risks. A similar trend has been witnessed in South Asia, a highly climate-vulnerable region, where research has grown dramatically considering the agriculture sector's vulnerability to climate-induced disasters. However, little attention has been paid to the adaptation of the livelihoods of rural households. This research, therefore, takes the case of Pakistan to explore livelihood adaptation strategies of rural households to climate change and investigate the factors that expedite or halt the adoption of livelihood diversification strategies. A multistage sampling design is used in this research, where 480 rural households from the Punjab province of Pakistan were selected and interviewed using stratified and random sampling approaches. A multivariate probit (MVP) regression model is employed to analyze the factors affecting households' adoption of livelihood adaptation strategies. The results show that besides adaptation of agronomic operations (agricultural adaptation strategies), rural households in the study area employed a wide range of strategies to adapt their livelihoods to climate change. These strategies include poultry and livestock farming, value addition of farm produce, trading of animals and farm commodities, small businesses (shops, etc.), daily wage labor, horticultural crop farming, and non-farming jobs. The estimates of the MVP model revealed that respondents' education, household size, income, access to a credit facility, access to farm advisory services, and access to climate forecasts have significantly influenced the choice of livelihood adaptation strategies. Based on these findings, this research recommends that the authorities should make efforts to improve farmers' understanding of the adaptation of climate change risks and educate them to adopt multiple livelihood options to improve the resilience of their livelihoods to climate-induced risks. This research has important policy implications for other countries with similar socio-economic features.

Downregulating miRNA-199a-5p exacerbates fluorouracil-induced cardiotoxicity by activating the ATF6 signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Fluorouracil (5-FU) might produce serious cardiac toxic reactions. miRNA-199a-5p is a miRNA primarily expressed in myocardial cells and has a protective effect on vascular endothelium. Under hypoxia stress, the expression level of miRNA-199a-5p was significantly downregulated and is closely related to cardiovascular events such as coronary heart disease, heart failure, and hypertension. We explored whether 5-FU activates the endoplasmic reticulum stress ATF6 pathway by regulating the expression of miRNA-199a-5p in cardiac toxicity. METHODS: This project established a model of primary cardiomyocytes derived from neonatal rats and treated them with 5-FU in vitro. The expression of miRNA-199a-5p and its regulation were explored in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: 5-FU decreases the expression of miRNA-199a-5p in cardiomyocytes, activates the endoplasmic reticulum stress ATF6 pathway, and increases the expression of GRP78 and ATF6, affecting the function of cardiomyocytes, and induces cardiac toxicity. The rescue assay further confirmed that miRNA-199a-5p supplementation can reduce the cardiotoxicity caused by 5-FU, and its protective effect on cardiomyocytes depends on the downregulation of the endoplasmic reticulum ATF6 signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: 5-FU can down-regulate expression of miRNA-199a-5p, then activate the endoplasmic reticulum stress ATF6 pathway, increase the expression of GRP78 and ATF6, affect the function of cardiomyocytes, and induce cardiac toxicity.

Recurrent Stent Thrombosis Following Myocardial Infarction Associated With VITT-Like Antibodies.

Early stent thrombosis is a rare complication of percutaneous intervention and is associated with significant 30-day mortality. We present a novel case of multiple recurrent early stent thrombosis consistent with spontaneous vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia. We were successfully able to manage this unusual condition through an interdisciplinary collaboration.

Engineered PDGFA-ligand-modified exosomes delivery T3 for demyelinating disease targeted therapy.

Demyelination is a proper syndrome in plenty of central nervous system (CNS) diseases, which is the main obstacle to recovery and still lacks an effective treatment. To overcome the limitations of the brain-blood barrier on drug permeability, we modified an exosome secreted by neural stem cells (NSCs), which had transfected with lentivirus armed with platelet-derived growth factors A (PDGFA)-ligand. Through the in vivo and in vitro exosomes targeting test, the migration ability to the lesion areas and OPCs significantly improved after ligand modification. Furthermore, the targeted exosomes loaded with 3,5, 30-L-triiodothyronine (T3) have a critical myelination ability in CNS development, administrated to the cuprizone animal model treatment. The data shows that the novel drug vector loaded with T3 significantly promotes remyelination compared with T3 alone. At the same time, it improved the CNS microenvironment by reducing astrogliosis, inhibiting pro-inflammatory microglia, and alleviating axon damage. This investigation provides a straightforward strategy to produce a targeting exosome and indicates a possible therapeutic manner for demyelinating disease.

Autophagy in Multiple Sclerosis: Phagocytosis and Autophagy of Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a leading cause of chronic neurological dysfunction in young to middle-aged adults, affecting approximately 2.5 million people worldwide. It is characterized by inflammation, multifocal demyelination, axonal loss, and white and gray matter gliosis. Autophagy is a highly conserved protein degradation pathway. Polymorphisms in autophagy-related genes have been implicated in a variety of autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and MS. However, the significance of autophagy in MS remains to be elucidated. This paper aims to explore the potential role of autophagy-related genes in MS diseases by using bioinformatics combined with machine learning methods. Finally, we obtained 9 autophagy genes with the highest correlation with MS, and further changes in these autophagy genes were verified in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model and oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) engulfed myelin debris (MD). Combined with bioinformatic analysis and experimental data, Becn1 showed obvious expression abnormalities suggesting that this gene has vital functions in autophagy and MD engulfed by OPCs. This work will be of great significance for the further exploration of autophagy-related genes in demyelinating diseases.

PbrWRKY62-PbrADC1 module involves in superficial scald development of Pyrus bretschneideri Rehd.fruit via regulating putrescine biosynthesis.

Putrescine plays a role in superficial scald development during the cold storage of pear fruit. However, the molecular mechanism behind this phenomenon has not been un-fully clarified until recently. In this study, a conjoint analysis of metabolites and gene expression profiles in the putrescine-metabolic pathway of P. bretschneideri Rehd. fruit followed by experimental validation revealed that PbrADC1, forming a homodimer in the chloroplast, was involved in putrescine biosynthesis and thus fruit chilling resistance. Additionally, the substrate-binding residue Cys546 in PbrADC1, whose activity was modified by H2O2, played a crucial role in arginine decarboxylation into agmatine. Through a combined analysis of the distribution of cis-acting elements in the PbrADC1 promoter as well as the expression profiles of related transcription factors (TFs), several TFs were identified as upstream regulators of PbrADC1 gene. Further investigation revealed that the nuclear PbrWRKY62 could directly bind to the W-box elements in the PbrADC1 promoter, activate its expression, enhance putrescine accumulation, and thus increase fruit chilling tolerance. In conclusion, our results suggest that the PbrWRKY62-PbrADC1 module is involved in the development of superficial scald in P. bretschneideri Rehd. fruit via regulating putrescine biosynthesis. Consequently, these findings could serve as valuable genetic resources for breeding scald-resistant pear fruit.

Exosome-specific loading Sox10 for the treatment of Cuprizone-induced demyelinating model.

Demyelination is a pathological feature commonly observed in various central nervous system diseases. It is characterized by the aggregation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) in the lesion area, which face difficulties in differentiating into mature oligodendrocytes (OLGs). The differentiation of OPCs requires the presence of Sox10, but its expression decreases under pathological conditions. Therefore, we propose a therapeutic strategy to regulate OPCs differentiation and achieve myelin repair by endogenously loading Sox10 into exosomes. To accomplish this, we generated a lentivirus-armed Sox10 that could anchor to the inner surface of the exosome membrane. We then infected HEK293 cells to obtain exosomes with high expression of Sox10 (exosomes-Sox10, ExoSs). In vitro, experiments confirmed that both Exos and ExoSs can be uptaken by OPCs, but only ExoSs exhibit a pro-differentiation effect on OPCs. In vivo, we administered PBS, Exos, and ExoSs to cuprizone-induced demyelinating mice. The results demonstrated that ExoSs can regulate the differentiation of PDGFRα+ OPCs into APC+ OLGs and reduce myelin damage in the corpus callosum region of the mouse brain compared to other groups. Further testing suggests that Sox10 may have a reparative effect on the myelin sheath by enhancing the expression of MBP, possibly facilitated by the exosome delivery of the protein into the lesion. This endogenously loaded technology holds promise as a strategy for protein-based drugs in the treatment of demyelinating diseases.

Correlation between microbial characteristics and reproductive status of the yak uterus based on macrogenomic analysis.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to investigate the microbial characteristics of yak uteri collected using intrauterine cotton swabs (CS) during different reproductive stages and the correlation of these microbial characteristics with reproductive status. METHODS: We used a macrogenomic approach to analyze the functional aspects of different microorganisms in samples collected during the pre-estrus, estrus, late estrus, and diestrus stages. RESULTS: The results revealed the presence of 1293 microbial genera and 3401 microbial species in the uteri of yaks at different reproductive stages. The dominant bacterial species varied across the different periods, with Micrococcus and Proteus being dominant during pre-estrus; Pseudomonas, Clostridium, Flavobacterium, Bacillus, and Staphylococcus during estrus; Acinetobacter, Bacillus and Proteus during late estrus; and Pseudomonas, Escherichia coli, and Proteus during diestrus. DISCUSSION: The primary functions of these bacteria are enriched in various metabolic pathways, including carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, intracellular transport and secretion, post-translational protein modification, and drug resistance. These findings suggest that the microbial diversity in the uterus of yaks plays a crucial role in reproductive regulation and can help prevent reproductive tract-related diseases.

Development of a one-pot and sequence-specific LAMP assay based on the self-quenching probe integrated by the complementary oligonucleotide for an enhanced fluorescence quenching.

Single-modified fluorogenic primer (Sfp) enables accurate identification of LAMP amplicons without being affected by non-specific products. However, the fluorescence self-quenching by nucleobases for Sfp is generally of low efficiency, and the high background signal makes it a great challenge to achieve visual inspection with naked eyes. In the present study, the oligonucleotide (Ao) complementary to Sfp was designed, which would hybridize to Sfp and dramatically heighten the quenching effect, leading to a low background signal in negative reaction. Instead, for positive reaction, Sfp is incorporated into the double-stranded amplicons, resulting in dequenching and consequently, enhanced fluorescence. The detection scheme can be further improved by a dual-color fluorescence strategy, allowing visual detection of 1 pg rainbow trout DNA in a closed-tube format within 30 min. Therefore, our LAMP-Ao-Sfp assay represents a useful tool for rapid and sensitive detection, and can serve as a reliable method for on-site detection in low-resource settings.

Microglia-derived exosomes modulate myelin regeneration via miR-615-5p/MYRF axis.

Demyelination and failure of remyelination in the central nervous system (CNS) characterize a number of neurological disorders. Spontaneous remyelination in demyelinating diseases is limited, as oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), which are often present in demyelinated lesions in abundance, mostly fail to differentiate into oligodendrocytes, the myelinating cells in the CNS. In addition to OPCs, the lesions are assembled numbers of activated resident microglia/infiltrated macrophages; however, the mechanisms and potential role of interactions between the microglia/macrophages and OPCs are poorly understood. Here, we generated a transcriptional profile of exosomes from activated microglia, and found that miR-615-5p was elevated. miR-615-5p bound to 3'UTR of myelin regulator factor (MYRF), a crucial myelination transcription factor expressed in oligodendrocyte lineage cells. Mechanistically, exosomes from activated microglia transferred miR-615-5p to OPCs, which directly bound to MYRF and inhibited OPC maturation. Furthermore, an effect of AAV expressing miR-615-5p sponge in microglia was tested in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and cuprizone (CPZ)-induced demyelination model, the classical mouse models of multiple sclerosis. miR-615-5p sponge effectively alleviated disease progression and promoted remyelination. This study identifies miR-615-5p/MYRF as a new target for the therapy of demyelinating diseases.

PbrbZIP15 promotes sugar accumulation in pear via activating the transcription of the glucose isomerase gene PbrXylA1.

The composition and abundance of soluble sugars in mature pear (Pyrus) fruit are important for its acceptance by consumers. However, our understanding of the genes responsible for soluble sugar accumulation remains limited. In this study, a S1-group member of bZIP gene family, PbrbZIP15, was characterized from pear genome through the combined analyses of metabolite and transcriptome data followed by experimental validation. PbrbZIP15, located in nucleus, was found to function in fructose, sucrose, and total soluble sugar accumulation in pear fruit and calli. After analyzing the expression profiles of sugar-metabolism-related genes and the distribution of cis-acting elements in their promoters, the glucose isomerase 1 gene (PbrXylA1), whose corresponding protein catalyzed the isomerization of glucose and fructose in vitro, was identified as a downstream target gene of PbrbZIP15. PbrbZIP15 could directly bind to the G-box element in PbrXylA1 promoter and activate its transcription, as evidenced by chromatin immunoprecipitation-quantitative PCR, yeast one-hybrid, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, and dual-luciferase assay. PbrXylA1, featuring a leucine-rich signal peptide in its N-terminal, was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum. It was validated to play a significant role in fructose, sucrose, and total soluble sugar accumulation in pear fruit and calli, which was associated with the upregulated fructose/glucose ratio. Further studies revealed a positive correlation between the sucrose content and the expression levels of several sucrose-biosynthesis-related genes (PbrFRK3/8, PbrSPS1/3/4/8, and PbrSPP1) in PbrbZIP15-/PbrXylA1-transgenic fruit/calli. In conclusion, our results suggest that PbrbZIP15-induced soluble sugar accumulation during pear development is at least partly attributed to the activation of PbrXylA1 transcription.

Strengthening Cracked Steel Plates with Shape Memory Alloy Patches: Numerical and Experimental Investigations.

To investigate the retarding effect of bonding the shape memory alloy (SMA) patches on crack propagation in steel plates, both numerical and experimental analyses were conducted in the present study. A compact tension (CT) model was developed to clarify the feasibility of bonding the SMA patch to the reinforcement of the mode Ⅰ, mode Ⅱ, and mode Ⅲ cracks. On this basis, parametric analysis was conducted to investigate the strengthening parameters, i.e., the bonding area, the thickness, and the strengthening angle of the SMA patch. Subsequently, fatigue tests on the unreinforced steel plate and cracked steel plate strengthened by the SMA patches were conducted. The monitored stress variation, crack propagation behavior, and fatigue fracture surfaces were analyzed. Findings are meaningful to the application of the SMA reinforcement method in practical engineering.

Flavor Characteristics of Ten Peanut Varieties from China.

To investigate the flavor characteristics of peanuts grown in Jiangsu, China, ten local varieties were selected. The amino acids, 5'-nucleotides and volatile substances were detected, and the flavor and odor characteristics of these varieties were estimated using an electronic tongue and nose. The results showed that the fat and protein contents of ten peanut varieties changed significantly (p < 0.05), and may have been negatively correlated with those of the Taihua 6 variety-in particular, having the highest protein content and the lowest fat content. The amino acid contents of the peanuts were 20.08 g/100 g (Taihua 4)-27.18 g/100 g (Taihua 6). Taihua 6 also contained the highest bitter (10.41 g/100 g) and sweet (6.06 g/100 g) amino acids, and Taihua 10 had the highest monosodium glutamate-like amino acids (7.61 g/100 g). The content of 5'-nucleotides ranged from 0.08 mg/g (Taihua 9725) to 0.14 mg/g (Taihua 0122-601). Additionally, 5'-cytidylate monophosphate (5'-CMP) and 5'-adenosine monophosphate (5'-AMP) were the major 5'-nucleotides detected in the peanuts. A total of 42 kinds of volatile flavor compounds were detected, with both Taihua 4 and 6 showing the most (18 kinds) and the highest content being in Taihua 4 (7.46%). Both Taihua 9725 and 9922 exhibited the fewest kinds (nine kinds) of volatile components, and the lowest content was in Taihua 9725 (3.15%). Formic acid hexyl ester was the most abundant volatile substance in peanuts, and the highest level (3.63%) was detected in Taihua 7506. The electronic tongue and nose indicated that the greatest taste difference among the ten varieties of peanuts was mainly related to sourness, and Taihua 4 and Taihua 9922 had special taste characteristics. On the other hand, the greatest smell difference among the ten varieties of peanuts was mostly for methane and sulfur organic substances, and Taihua 0605-2 had a special and strong smell characteristic. In conclusion, the content and composition differences of the flavor substances of ten peanut varieties were responsible for their divergences in taste and smell. These results will provide guidelines for the further use (freshly consumed or processed) of these ten peanut varieties.

Correction: Fuling Granule, a Traditional Chinese Medicine Compound, Suppresses Cell Proliferation and TGFß-Induced EMT in Ovarian Cancer.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168892.].