Purification and Identification of Peptides from Hydrilla verticillata (Linn. f.) Royle with Cytoprotective and Antioxidative Effect against H2O2-Treated HepG2 Cells.

Antioxidant peptides were purified from Hydrilla verticillata (Linn. f.) Royle (HVR) protein hydrolysate by ultrafiltration, gel filtration chromatography, and semipreparative reversed-phase HPLC and identified by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Therein, TCLGPK and TCLGER were selected to be synthesized, and they displayed desirable radical-scavenging activity to ABTS (99.20 ± 0.56-99.20 ± 0.43%), DPPH (97.32 ± 0.59-97.56 ± 0.97%), hydroxyl radical (54.32 ± 1.27-70.42 ± 2.01%), and superoxide anion (42.93 ± 1.46-52.62 ± 1.11%) at a concentration of 0.96 µmol/mL. They possessed a cytoprotective effect against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. 1.6 µmol/mL of the two peptides could perfectly protect HepG2 cells from H2O2-induced injury. The TCLGPK exhibited higher antioxidant activity and cytoprotective effect than TCLGER. Western blot and molecular docking results indicated that the two peptides achieved antioxidant ability and cytoprotective effect by combining with Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) to activate the Keap1-nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-antioxidant response elements signaling pathway, leading to the activity and expression of the related antioxidases in the pathway significantly up-regulating and the intracellular reactive oxygen species level, lipid peroxidation, and cell apoptosis rate significantly down-regulating.

Preparation and characterization of aspirin-fucoidan complex and its admirable antitumor activity on human non-small cell lung cancer cells.

The purpose of this work is to prepare a novel acetylated derivative of Undaria pinnatifida fucoidan (UPFUC) with admirable antitumor activity. Fucoidan was first acetylated by acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin, ASA) to form the ASA-UPFUC complex. The antitumor efficacy results stated that ASA-UPFUC inhibited the proliferation of human non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner, with an IC50 value of 49.09 µg/mL, 50.20 % lower than that of UPFUC. Importantly, the acetylation process had no adverse effects on the backbone structure of UPFUC. Simultaneously, ASA-UPFUC demonstrated a larger charge density than UPFUC, leading to enhanced solubility, improved surface charge effects, and a greater potential for exerting biological activity. Consequently, ASA-UPFUC increased the formation of alkyl and hydrogen bonds with tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis-inducing ligand receptors DR4 and DR5, thereby effectively stimulating the generation of cellular reactive oxygen species, diminishing mitochondrial membrane potential, suppressing nuclear factor κB (NFκB) p65 phosphorylation, enhancing the contents of Bax and cleaved caspase 3, and reducing the level of Bcl-2. The collective effects ultimately triggered the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, leading to apoptosis in A549 cells. The findings support the potential utilization of ASA-UPFUC as a novel dietary additive for human lung cancer chemoprevention.

Oroxylin a promoted apoptotic extracellular vesicles transfer of glycolytic kinases to remodel immune microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma model.

Although oroxylin A, a natural flavonoid compound, suppressed progression of hepatocellular carcinoma, whether the tumor microenvironment especially the communication between cancer cells and immune cells was under its modulation remained obscure. Here we investigated the effect of extracellular vesicles from cancer cells elicited by oroxylin A on macrophages in vitro. The data shows oroxylin A elicits apoptosis-related extracellular vesicles through caspase-3-mediated activation of ROCK1in HCC cells, which regulates M1-like polarization of macrophage. Moreover, oroxylin A downregulates the population of M2-like macrophage and promotes T cells infiltration in tumor microenvironment, accompanied by suppression of HCC development and enhancement of immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment in mice model. Mechanistically, glycolytic proteins enriched in oroxylin A-elicited extracellular vesicles from HCC cells are transferred to macrophages where ROS-dependent NLRP3 inflammasome is activated, therefore contributing to anti-tumor phenotype of macrophage. Taken together, this study highlights that oroxylin A promotes metabolic shifts between tumor cells and immune cells, facilitates to inhibit tumor development, and improves immunotherapy response in HCC model.

Transcriptomic insights into adenoid cystic carcinoma via RNA sequencing.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanisms of adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) at the transcriptome level. Materials and methods: We obtained paired tumor and normal salivary gland tissues from 15 ACC patients, which were prepared for RNA sequencing. Results: Gene enrichment analysis revealed that the upregulated pathways were mainly involved in axonogenesis, and the downregulated pathways were mainly related to leukocyte migration, the adaptive immune response, lymphocyte-mediated immunity, and the humoral immune response. T-cells, B-cells and NK cells showed low infiltration in ACC tissues. In addition to the gene fusions MYB-NFIB and MYBL1-NFIB, a new gene fusion, TVP23C-CDRT4, was also detected in 3 ACC tissues. PRAME was significantly upregulated in ACC tissues, while antigen-presenting human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes were downregulated. Conclusion: We found a new gene fusion, TVP23C-CDRT4, that was highly expressed in ACC. PRAME may be an attractive target for ACC immunotherapy.

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the heterogeneity and microenvironment in one adenoid cystic carcinoma sample.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is one of the most common malignancy of the major salivary glands with a high recurrence rate and poor prognosis. Determining tumor heterogeneity and factors in the microenvironment may provide novel therapeutic targets for ACC. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing of one ACC sample and normal salivary gland tissues from a patient to analyze tumor heterogeneity, immunosuppressive landscape, and intercellular communication networks. The heterogeneity of epithelial cells in ACC tissues was significantly higher compared with that in normal tissues, whereas immune cells were almost absent. We found four malignant cell clusters in ACC and explored their characteristics and function. In tumor tissues, CD8 + cytotoxic T cells and CD4 + T helper cells were significantly decreased, whereas IgA + plasma cells were absent. There were two clusters of macrophages, one representing IL1B macrophages and the other consisted of a cluster of macrophages associated with the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). Both were significantly different from the normal tissue composition. In addition, the communication between epithelial cells and other cells in the tumor tissue was enhanced. MIF-CD74 and APP-CD74 were significantly upregulated. We comprehensively described the heterogeneity of ACC and the tumor microenvironment (TME) from a single cell perspective including cell characteristics, immune cell infiltration, and cell communication. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study provided further insights into ACC and may lead to new treatment strategies.

Production and characterization of exopolysaccharides from salinity-induced Auxenochlorella protothecoides and the analysis of anti-inflammatory activity.

The set scenario of this work was to investigate the production, physicochemical characteristics, and anti-inflammatory activities of exopolysaccharides from salinity-induced Auxenochlorella protothecoides. The results demonstrated that 10 ‰ salinity manipulation endowed preferable exopolysaccharide production by A. protothecoides. Under this salinity stress, ACPEPS1A and ACPEPS2A were purified from exopolysaccharide production by anion chromatography and molecular exclusion chromatography. ACPEPS1A exhibited a molecular weight (Mw) of 132 kDa and mainly consisted of galactose. ACPEPS2A was a heteropolysaccharide with an Mw of 170 kDa and the main monosaccharides of galactose and rhamnose with separate molar percents of 42.41 % and 35.29 %, respectively. FTIR, 1H and 13C NMR supported that monosaccharide components of ACPEPS1A and ACPEPS2A possessed both α- and ß-configuration pyranose rings. Further evidence indicated that ACPEPS1A and ACPEPS2A could effectively inhibit the inflammatory response in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced RAW264.7 cells by quenching inflammatory factor levels such as ROS, iNOS, TNF-α, and IL-6. The potential anti-inflammatory possibilities were that the monosaccharides of ACPEPS1A and ACPEPS2A possessed higher affinity with receptors on the macrophage surface than LPS and hampered LPS-induced inflammation. The findings of this work would favor innovative applications of exopolysaccharides from microalgae in complementary medicines or functional foods.

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cell-derived exosomes protect against MCD-induced NASH in a mouse model.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) are increasingly being studied in clinical trials of end-stage liver disease because of their good tissue repair and anti-inflammatory effects. hUC-MSC exosomes are vesicles with spherical structures secreted by cells that produce them. The diameter of exosomes is much smaller than that of hUC-MSCs, suggesting that exosomes might be a novel and safer therapeutic product of mesenchymal stem cells. As exosomes have been suggested to have biochemical functions similar to those of hUC-MSCs, this study investigated the efficiency of hUC-MSC-derived exosomes in protecting against nonalcoholic steatohepatitis using an MCD-induced mouse model. METHODS: Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes were extracted and purified. The effect of these exosomes on disease progression in an MCD-induced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis mouse model was investigated. RESULTS: The results showed that UC-MSC exosomes intravenously transplanted into mice with MCD-induced NASH improved MCD-induced body weight loss and liver damage in a mouse model. Additionally, the inflammatory cytokines in liver tissue were reduced, which may be caused by exosome-induced macrophage anti-inflammatory phenotypes both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, UC-MSC exosomes reversed PPARα level in ox-LDL-treated hepatocytes in vitro and in NASH mouse liver, which had been downregulated. CONCLUSIONS: UC-MSC exosomes alleviate MCD-induced NASH in mice by regulating the anti-inflammatory phenotype of macrophages and by reversing PPARα protein expression in liver cells, which holds great potential in NASH therapy.

Rhizopus oryzae fermentation wastewater nutrient removal coupling protein fodder production by employing Chlorella pyrenoidosa.

The scenario was to investigate feasibilities of employing Chlorella pyrenoidosa for Rhizopus oryzae fermentation wastewater nutrient removal coupling protein fodder production. Results stated that TN, TP, NH3-N, COD, BOD removal reached 99.79%, 94.70%, 98.80%, 97.60%, 99.60% to acquire discharge permit under fed-batch manipulation, whilst the peaked protein yield (19.94 g/L) was 6.04-fold more than batch manipulation. Rhizopus oryzae fermentation wastewater feeding C. pyrenoidosa was praised as high-quality protein not only with 26.78% essential amino acids and essential amino acids/nonessential amino acids value of 0.84 but also pathogenic bacteria and heavy metal loads complying with fodder standards. In vitro digestibility of dry matter, protein, lipid, and starch achieving 80.07%, 92.13%, 95.93%, 91.9% and bioavailability of polypeptides, triglycerides, free fatty acids, and oligosaccharides displaying 98.67%, 87.12%, 93.86%, 30.21%, which were roughly-equivalent to corn/soybean fodder. The findings formed exemplifications in utilizing other microalgal systems for wastewater nutrient removal coupling chemicals production.

A preliminary study on preparation, characterization, and prebiotic activity of a polysaccharide from the edible mushroom Ramaria flava.

Polysaccharides derived from edible mushrooms were sources of new prebiotic compounds. Limited studies of their prebiotic effects, as well as the presence of residual dark colors, impede their use as prebiotics in the food industry. To boost the prebiotic value of polysaccharides from the edible mushroom Ramaria flava, a decolorization method, and the physicochemical characterization and prebiotic potential of the decolorized polysaccharide (DRFP) were investigated in this study. The reversed micelle system consisting of n-hexanol/isooctane (3:7, v/v) and 200 mM surfactant (CTAB) was an appropriate decolorized method for R. flava crude polysaccharide. That decolorized polysaccharide was 101.68 kDa and contained glucose, galactose, mannose, fucose, xylose, rhamnose, arabinose, and glucuronic acid in a ratio of 40.61:26.97:17.72:7.78:6.31:0.11:0.06:0.44. Furthermore, DRFP exhibited typical shear-thinning behavior and possessed good thermal stability. And 98.76% of DRFP was allowed to transit through the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract nearly indigestibly in vitro fermentation. It also revealed a prebiotic availability through stimulating Lactobacillus rhamnosus proliferation and inducing enterocoel acidification. When utilized as a carbon source, DRFP significantly improves the production of short-chain fatty acids by L. rhamnosus, particularly acetic, propionic, isobutyric, and hexanoic acids. Therefore, this work suggests the further application of R. flava polysaccharides as emerging prebiotics, which may be used as an ingredient in functional food and nutraceutical products. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Prebiotics could regulate gut microbial community and are closely associated with host health. This work reported that a decolorized polysaccharide (DRFP) prepared from the edible mushroom Ramaria flava was indigestible and could improve Lactobacillus rhamnosus proliferation and short-chain fatty acid production, which could provide useful information for the application of DRFP as a prebiotic additive in the food industry.

Limited Clinical Utility of Lipid-Laden Macrophage Index of Induced Sputum in Predicting Gastroesophageal Reflux-Related Cough.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common cause of chronic cough (CC). However, the diagnosis of GERD associated with CC based on 24-hour esophageal pH-monitoring or favorable response to empirical anti-reflux trials is invasive and time-consuming. Lipid-laden macrophages (LLMs) are supposed to be a biomarker for micro-aspiration of gastric content in the respiratory tract. This study was conducted to collect LLMs by the sputum induction technique and observe the relationship among the amount of LLMs, cough severity, parameters of 24-hour esophageal pH-monitoring and therapeutic response. The 24-hour esophageal pH-monitoring and sputum induction were performed on 57 patients with suspected GERD associated with CC. Thirty-four patients were followed up after empirical anti-reflux trials of 8 weeks to record the therapeutic response. Lipid-laden macrophage index (LLMI), a semiquantitative counting of LLMs, showed no significant correlation with the values of 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring at the proximal or remote electrode. No difference in LLMI or DeMeester score, as well as cough symptom association probability, were found between the responders and the non-responders. Reflux symptoms were more common in the responders (50%) compared to the non-responders (6%) (P < 0.05). Our study suggests that LLMI shows limited utility in clinically diagnosing GERD associated with CC as an underlying etiology or in predicting response to anti-reflux therapy. Anti-reflux therapy is more effective for CC patients with reflux symptoms than for those without.

Ginsenoside Rb3 Alleviates the Toxic Effect of Cisplatin on the Kidney during Its Treatment to Oral Cancer via TGF-ß-Mediated Mitochondrial Apoptosis.

OBJECTIVE: The research aimed to confirm the role of the transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) in cisplatin- (CPT-) evoked kidney toxicity and elucidate the mechanism that ginsenoside Rb3 (Rb3) could alleviate the kidney toxicity by CPT during its treatment to oral cancer via TGF-ß-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis. METHODS: The model of xenograft nude mice bearing oral carcinoma cells ACC83 was established and treated with CPT and/or Rb3, respectively. Bodyweights of the treated mice were weighed, and the kidney tissues were collected; following, the histopathology and the expression of TGF-ß were examined using H&E staining and immunohistochemistry. Afterward, the renal cells GP-293 were treated with CPT and/or Rb3. The expression and phosphoration of TGF-ß, Smad2, Smad3, Bcl-2, and Bax in GP-293 cells were detected by Western blotting. The cellular apoptosis and mitochondrial membrane potential were analyzed using flow cytometry. RESULTS: The xenograft nude mice exposure to CPT presented the bodyweight loss, necrotic areas, and the increased expression of TGF in kidney tissue, and Rb3 pretreatment relieved these changes evoked by CPT. In GP-293 cells, CPT administration induced the phosphorylation of Smad2 and Smad3, and Rb3 pretreatment suppressed the induced phosphorylation by CPT. Besides, flow cytometry analysis showed that Rb3 inhibited the CPT-evoked cellular apoptosis ratio and mitochondrial membrane depolarization. The Western blotting test indicated that Rb3 alleviated the cleavage of PARP, caspase 3, caspase 8, and caspase 9, the induction of Bax expression, and inhibition of Bcl-2 expression. Additionally, after treating with the TGF inhibitor of disitertide, Rb3 exhibited no alleviation effects on CPT-evoked cellular apoptosis ratio, inhibition of Bax expression, and induction of Bcl-2 expression in GP-293 cells. CONCLUSION: Rb3 could alleviate CPT-evoked toxic effects on kidney cells during its treatment to oral cancer via TGF-ß-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis.

Reconstruction and analysis of the aberrant lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network based on competitive endogenous RNA in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the salivary gland.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this work was to investigate the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the salivary gland (SACC). METHODS: Differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs), miRNAs (DEmiRNAs), and mRNAs (DEmRNAs) between cancer tissues and normal salivary gland (NSG) in ACC were identified using data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Functional annotation and pathway enrichment analysis of DEmRNAs were performed using the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases. The miRNAs that are targeted by lncRNAs were predicted using miRanda and PITA, while the target mRNAs of miRNAs were retrieved from miRanda, miRWalk, and TargetScan. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database, and then we constructed the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks of ACC. RESULTS: Differentially expressed RNAs were identified in SACC. Upon comparing cancer tissues and NSG tissues, 103 upregulated and 52 downregulated lncRNAs and 745 upregulated and 866 downregulated mRNAs were identified in GSE88804; in addition, 39 upregulated and 43 downregulated miRNAs were identified in GSE117275. GO enrichment analyses revealed that the most relevant GO terms were regulation of transcription DNA-templated, transcription DNA-templated, and cell division. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were mainly enriched in the cell cycle, pathways in cancer, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, breast cancer, and microRNAs in cancer. The PPI network consisted of 27 upregulated and 54 downregulated mRNAs. By constructing ceRNA network, NONHSAT251752.1-hsa-miR-6817-5p-NOTCH1, NONHSAT251752.1-hsa-miR-204-5p/hsa-miR-138-5p-CDK6 regulatory axises were identified and all genes in the network were verified by qRT-PCR. CONCLUSIONS: The present study constructed ceRNA networks in SACC and provided a novel perspective of the molecular mechanisms for SACC.

Super and selective adsorption of cationic dyes using carboxylate-modified lignosulfonate by environmentally friendly solvent-free esterification.

Herein, following the strategy of sustainable, environment protection, circular economy development, carboxylate-modification lignosulfonate polymer (M-LSP) was synthesized from lignosulfonate by solvent-free esterifying with maleic anhydride (MA) by one step, and was used to remove the dyes by adsorption. FT-IR and XPS were used to confirm successful preparation of M-LSP. The result is that: M-LSP is apt to adsorb cationic dye. In single system, the super adsorption performance of M-LSP for methylene blue (MB) is depended on the carboxyl content in M-LSP. M-LSP performs its remarkable adsorption performance for MB stably at pH 7.0 ~ 10.0, and the maximum adsorption capacity of M-LSP for MB is up to 613.5 mg/g according to Langmuir isotherm model. The Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models are more suitable to descript adsorption process of M-LSP for MB. In binary and ternary system, the M-LSP adsorbs the cationic dyes simultaneously, but selectively adsorbs MB. M-LSP can effectively remove cationic dyes in simulate dyestuff water. Moreover, the removal percentage of regenerated M-LSP decreases only 8.4% after 4 desorption-resorption cycles. The results indicated that M-LSP could be a candidate for remediation of real printing and dyeing or textile wastewater containing cationic dyes.

The growth and lutein accumulation in heterotrophic Chlorella protothecoides provoked by waste Monascus fermentation broth feeding.

Although the potential of heterotrophic microalgae served as a sustainable source for lutein, it was still crucial to formulate a suitable medium to offset the cost involved in algal biomass cultivation while improve inherent lutein productivity. The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibilities of waste Monascus fermentation broth medium (MFBM) toward heterotrophic Chlorella protothecoides-enriched lutein. The results indicated that C. protothecoides subjected to MFBM batch feeding achieved 7.1 g/L biomass and 7.27 mg/g lutein. The resulting lutein productivity (7.34 mg/L/day) represented 1.54-fold more than that of frequently used Basal medium. Concurrently, the effective metabolism and absorption of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in MFBM by C. subellipsoidea cultivation make it easily complied with the permissible dischargeable limits for fermentation broth. When response to fed-batch culture mode, the biomass and lutein productivity peaked 20.4 g/L and 9.11 mg/L/day with concentrated MFBM feeding. Transcriptomics data hinted that MFBM feeding manipulated lutein biosynthesis key checkpoints (e.g., lycopene ß-cyclase and lycopene ε-cyclase) while accelerated energy pathways (e.g., glycolysis and TCA cycle) to contribute such high lutein productivity in C. protothecoides. These encouraging findings not only provided indications in applying nutrient-rich fermentation broth for affordable microalgae cultivation but also presented possibilities in linking algal high value-added products like lutein with high-efficient biological nutrition removal from industrial fermentation processing.

The potential growth and lipid accumulation in Coccomyxa subellipsoidea triggered by glucose combining with sodium acetate.

Carbon sources whether types or magnitudes were fateful in terms of stimulating growth and lipids accumulation in microalgae applied for biodiesel production. The set scenario of this work was to investigate the feasibilities of glucose (G) combining with sodium acetate (SA) carbon sources in enhancing biomass and lipid accumulation in Coccomyxa subellipsoidea. The results demonstrated that C. subellipsoidea subjected to the combination feeding of G (20 g/L) and SA (12 g/L) achieved the favorable biomass (5.22 g/L) and lipid content (52.16%). The resulting lipid productivity (388.96 mg/L/day) was 1.33- to 7.60-fold more than those of sole G or SA as well as other combinations of G and SA. Even though the total fatty acids of C. subellipsoidea cells treated with the optimal combination of G and SA showed no noticeable increment in comparison with sole G or SA, the proportion of monounsaturated C18:1 (over 48.69%) and the content of C18:3 (< 12%) were commendable in high-quality algal biodiesel production. Further, such fascinating lipid accumulation in C. subellipsoidea cells treated with G combining with SA might be attributed to that G promoted glycolysis as well as SA activated glyoxylate shunt and TCA cycle to synergistically provide sufficient acetyl-CoA precursors for lipid accumulation. These findings hinted the potential of the combination of carbon sources in enhancing the overall lipid productivity to offset alga-based biodiesel production cost and would guide other alga strains cultivation.

Determination of trace amount of formaldehyde base on a bromate-Malachite Green system.

A novel catalytic kinetic spectrophotometric method for determination of trace amount of formaldehyde (FA) has been established, based on catalytic effect of trace amount of FA on the oxidation of Malachite Green (MG) by potassium bromate in presence of sulfuric acid medium, and was reported for the first time. The method was monitored by measuring the decrease in absorbance of MG at 617 nm and allowed a precise determination of FA in the range of 0.003-0.08 µg mL(-1), with a limit of detection down to 1 ng mL(-1). The relative standard deviation of 10 replicate measurements was 1.63%. The method developed was approved to be sensitive, selective and accurate, and adopted to determinate free FA in samples directly with good accuracy and reproducibility.

The catalytic kinetic method for the determination of trace formaldehyde (FA) base on a bromate-eosin Y system.

A new simple and highly sensitive catalytic kinetic method for the determination of trace amount of FA in food sample has been established. The method was based on the catalytic effect of FA on the oxidation of eosin Y by potassium bromate in present of phosphoric acid. The reaction was monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in absorbance of eosin Y at 518 nm. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the developed method allowed the determination of FA in the range of 0.03-0.6 µg mL(-1) with a good precision, and the limit of detection was down to 0.00988 µg mL(-1). The relative standard deviation of five replicate measurements for the determination of FA in concentration 0.12 µg mL(-1) was 1.8%. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of FA in food directly and satisfactory results were obtained.

Robust block sparse discriminative classification framework.

In this paper, a block sparse discriminative classification framework (BSDC) is proposed under the assumption that a block or group structure exists in sparse coefficients on classification. First, we propose a block discriminative dictionary-learning (BDDL) algorithm, which learns class-specific subdictionaries and forces the sparse coefficients to be block sparse. An efficient gradient-based optimization strategy of BDDL also is developed, and the block sparse constraint of the sparse coefficient leads to a least-squares solution of nonzero entries in the sparse coding stage of dictionary learning. Second, to take advantage of the structures when a new test sample is given, conventional sparse coding algorithms are discarded, and structured sparse coding methods are adopted. Experiments validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework in face recognition and texture classification. We also show that BSDC is robust to noise.

EDTA and electricity synergetic catalyzed Fe(3+)/H2O2 process for amoxicillin oxidation.

Three oxidation processes for amoxicillin wastewater pretreatment such as Electro-Fe(3+)(EDTA)/H2O2 (EDTA: ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), Fe(3+)(EDTA)/H2O2 and Electro-Fe(3+)/H2O2 were simultaneously discussed at pH of 7.0 (+/-0.1). It was found that the above processes could achieve 78%, 64%, 33% chemical oxygen demand (COD(cr)) removal, and 86%, 70%, 47% amoxicillin degradation respectively. Moreover, the results of biodegradability (biological oxygen demand (BOD(5))/COD(cr) ratio) showed that the Electro-Fe(3+)(EDTA)/H2O2 process was a promising way to pretreat antibiotic wastewater due to the biodegradability of the effluent improved to 0.48 compared with the cases of Fe(3+)(EDTA)/H2O2 (0.40) and Electro-Fe(3+)/H2O2 process (0.12). Therefore, it was reasonable to note that EDTA and electricity showed synergetic effect on the oxidation process. Additionally, infrared spectra (IR) were applied to concisely propose a potential degradation way of amoxicillin. The characteristic changes of H2O2 and EDTA in the oxidation process were also investigated in detail.

Isoform-specific inhibition of TRPC4 channel by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate.

Full-length transient receptor potential (TRP) cation channel TRPC4alpha and shorter TRPC4beta lacking 84 amino acids in the cytosolic C terminus are expressed in smooth muscle and endothelial cells where they regulate membrane potential and Ca(2+) influx. In common with other "classical" TRPCs, TRPC4 is activated by G(q)/phospholipase C-coupled receptors, but the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Little is also known about any isoform-specific channel regulation. Here we show that TRPC4alpha but not TRPC4beta was strongly inhibited by intracellularly applied phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP(2)). In contrast, several other phosphoinositides (PI), including PI(3,4)P(2), PI(3,5)P(2), and PI(3,4,5)P(3), had no effect or even potentiated TRPC4alpha indicating that PIP(2) inhibits TRPC4alpha in a highly selective manner. We show that PIP(2) binds to the C terminus of TRPC4alpha but not that of TRPC4beta in vitro. Its inhibitory action was dependent on the association of TRPC4alpha with actin cytoskeleton as it was prevented by cytochalasin D treatment or by the deletion of the C-terminal PDZ-binding motif (Thr-Thr-Arg-Leu) that links TRPC4 to F-actin through the sodium-hydrogen exchanger regulatory factor and ezrin. PIP(2) breakdown appears to be a required step in TRPC4alpha channel activation as PIP(2) depletion alone was insufficient for channel opening, which additionally required Ca(2+) and pertussis toxin-sensitive G(i/o) proteins. Thus, TRPC4 channels integrate a variety of G-protein-dependent stimuli, including a PIP(2)/cytoskeleton dependence reminiscent of the TRPC4-like muscarinic agonist-activated cation channels in ileal myocytes.