Recent advances in the detection of pathogenic microorganisms and toxins based on field-effect transistor biosensors.

In food safety analysis, the detection and control of foodborne pathogens and their toxins are of great importance. Monitoring of virus transmission is equally important, especially in light of recent findings that coronaviruses have been detected in frozen foods and packages during the current global epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019. In recent years, field-effect transistor (FET) biosensors have attracted considerable scholarly attention for pathogenic microorganisms and toxins detection and sensing due to their rapid response time, high sensitivity, wide dynamic range, high specificity, label-free detection, portability, and cost-effectiveness. FET-based biosensors can be modified with specific recognition elements, thus providing real-time qualitative and semiquantitative analysis. Furthermore, with advances in nanotechnology and device design, various high-performance nanomaterials are gradually applied in the detection of FET-based biosensors. In this article, we review specific detection in different biological recognition elements are immobilized on FET biosensors for the detection of pathogenic microorganisms and toxins, and we also discuss nonspecific detection by FET biosensors. In addition, there are still unresolved challenges in the development and application of FET biosensors for achieving efficient, multiplexed, in situ detection of pathogenic microorganisms and toxins. Therefore, directions for future FET biosensor research and applications are discussed.

Soy isoflavone-specific biotransformation product S-equol in the colon: physiological functions, transformation mechanisms, and metabolic regulatory pathways.

Epidemiological data suggest that regular intake of soy isoflavones may reduce the incidence of estrogen-dependent and aging-associated disorders. Equol is a metabolite of soy isoflavone (SI) produced by specific gut microbiota and has many beneficial effects on human health due to its higher biological activity compared to SI. However, only 1/3 to 1/2 of humans are able to produce equol in the body, which means that not many people can fully benefit from SI. This review summarizes the recent advances in equol research, focusing on the chemical properties, physiological functions, conversion mechanisms in vitro and vivo, and metabolic regulatory pathways affecting S-equol production. Advanced experimental designs and possible techniques in future research plan are also fully discussed. Furthermore, this review provides a fundamental basis for researchers in the field to understand individual differences in S-equol production, the efficiency of metabolic conversion of S-equol, and fermentation production of S-equol in vitro.

Photoconversion of 2-Chloronaphthalene in Water.

The photoconversion of 2-chloronaphthalene (CN-2) in water in a simulated sunlight system was investigated. The photoconversion efficiency, photoproducts and mechanisms were inspected, and the effects of inorganic ions (NO3-, NO2-) and fulvic acid (FA) were discussed. The results showed that CN-2 could be transformed in water under the irradiation. NO3- and NO2- promoted the photoconversion of CN-2 owing to ·OH generated by the photolysis of NO3- and NO2-; FA at a lower concentration promoted the photoconversion, but it had an inhibition effect at a higher concentration. It was demonstrated that the acidic conditions promoted the photoconversion of CN-2 by the active groups such as superoxide radical anion, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical produced in the system. Eight photoproducts of CN-2 were characterized by the GC-MS method and the possible photoconversion mechanisms were proposed accordingly.

Peptidomics-based study of antihypertensive activity: discovery of novel ACE inhibiting peptides from peanut yogurt.

Studies have confirmed that yogurt has the activity of regulating blood pressure because it is rich in probiotic-fermented food-derived active peptides. There are also studies on angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition (ACEI) peptide milk, but the bioactive molecules in it are still unclear. Therefore, in this study, we developed a peanut yogurt with ACEI activity, analyzed 1877 differential peptides and their antihypertensive pathways before and after fermentation using peptidomics, and identified three peptides (FLPYPY, QPPPSPPPFL and APFPEVFGK) with potential antihypertensive activity using molecular docking and chemical synthesis techniques. These results first elucidated the relationship between peanut yogurt peptides and antihypertensive function, demonstrated the benefits of peanut yogurt, and provided a theoretical basis for the application of probiotic fermented plant yogurt in health care.

Application of Multimodal Transformer Model in Intelligent Agricultural Disease Detection and Question-Answering Systems.

In this study, an innovative approach based on multimodal data and the transformer model was proposed to address challenges in agricultural disease detection and question-answering systems. This method effectively integrates image, text, and sensor data, utilizing deep learning technologies to profoundly analyze and process complex agriculture-related issues. The study achieved technical breakthroughs and provides new perspectives and tools for the development of intelligent agriculture. In the task of agricultural disease detection, the proposed method demonstrated outstanding performance, achieving a precision, recall, and accuracy of 0.95, 0.92, and 0.94, respectively, significantly outperforming the other conventional deep learning models. These results indicate the method's effectiveness in identifying and accurately classifying various agricultural diseases, particularly excelling in handling subtle features and complex data. In the task of generating descriptive text from agricultural images, the method also exhibited impressive performance, with a precision, recall, and accuracy of 0.92, 0.88, and 0.91, respectively. This demonstrates that the method can not only deeply understand the content of agricultural images but also generate accurate and rich descriptive texts. The object detection experiment further validated the effectiveness of our approach, where the method achieved a precision, recall, and accuracy of 0.96, 0.91, and 0.94. This achievement highlights the method's capability for accurately locating and identifying agricultural targets, especially in complex environments. Overall, the approach in this study not only demonstrated exceptional performance in multiple tasks such as agricultural disease detection, image captioning, and object detection but also showcased the immense potential of multimodal data and deep learning technologies in the application of intelligent agriculture.

Connecting the Dots: The Cerebral Lymphatic System as a Bridge Between the Central Nervous System and Peripheral System in Health and Disease.

As a recently discovered waste removal system in the brain, cerebral lymphatic system is thought to play an important role in regulating the homeostasis of the central nervous system. Currently, more and more attention is being focused on the cerebral lymphatic system. Further understanding of the structural and functional characteristics of cerebral lymphatic system is essential to better understand the pathogenesis of diseases and to explore therapeutic approaches. In this review, we summarize the structural components and functional characteristics of cerebral lymphatic system. More importantly, it is closely associated with peripheral system diseases in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and kidney. However, there is still a gap in the study of the cerebral lymphatic system. However, we believe that it is a critical mediator of the interactions between the central nervous system and the peripheral system.

Preparation and characterization of tannin-maltodextrin-polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel based on hydrogen bonding for wound healing.

The development of multifunctional and low-cost hydrogel dressings with good mechanical properties, antibacterial activity, and nontoxicity is of great relevance in healthcare. This study aimed to prepare a series of hydrogels consisting of maltodextrin (MD), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and tannic acid (TA) through a freeze-thaw cycling technique. Micro-acid hydrogels with different mass ratios (0, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 wt%) were obtained by adjusting the TA content. Among all hydrogels, TA-MP2 hydrogels (with a TA content of 0.5 wt%) showed good physicochemical and mechanical properties. In addition, the biocompatibility of TA-MP2 hydrogels was confirmed by the high cell survival rate of NIH3T3 cells, which was over 90% after 24 h and 48 h of incubation. Additionally, TA-MP2 hydrogels showed multifunctional properties, including antibacterial and antioxidative effects. In vivo experiments showed that TA-MP2 hydrogel dressings significantly accelerated wound healing in a full-layer skin wound model. These findings indicated the potential of TA-MP2 hydrogel dressings in promoting wound healing.

The Detection of Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria in Seafood Using a Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction System.

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays are mainly used to simultaneously detect or identify multiple pathogenic microorganisms. To achieve high specificity for detecting foodborne pathogenic bacteria, specific primers need to be designed for the target strains. In this study, we designed and achieved a multiplex PCR system for detecting eight foodborne pathogenic bacteria using specific genes: toxS for Vibrio parahaemolyticus, virR for Listeria monocytogenes, recN for Cronobacter sakazakii, ipaH for Shigella flexneri, CarA for Pseudomonas putida, rfbE for Escherichia coli, vvhA for Vibrio vulnificus, and gyrB for Vibrio alginolyticus. The sensitivity of the single system in this study was found to be 20, 1.5, 15, 15, 13, 14, 17, and 1.8 pg for V. parahaemolyticus, L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7, C. sakazakii, S. flexneri, P. putida, V. vulnificus, and V. alginolyticus, respectively. The minimum detection limit of the multiplex system reaches pg/µL detection level; in addition, the multiplex system exhibited good specificity and stability. Finally, the assays maintained good specificity and sensitivity of 104 CFU/mL for most of the samples and we used 176 samples of eight aquatic foods, which were artificially contaminated to simulate the detection of real samples. In conclusion, the multiplex PCR method is stable, specific, sensitive, and time-efficient. Moreover, the method is well suited for contamination detection in these eight aquatic foods and can rapidly detect pathogenic microorganisms.

PNMA1, regulated by miR-33a-5p, promotes proliferation and EMT in hepatocellular carcinoma by activating the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors throughout the world. However, its mortality rate remains very high due to the absence of early diagnostic modalities and effective treatments, and its specific pathogenesis remains unclear. Here, we investigated the role of PNMA1 in the tumorigenesis of HCC. We found that PNMA1 was significantly upregulated in HCC. Clinically, higher expression of PNMA1 was associated with aggressive phenotypes and poor prognosis. Functionally, silencing of PNMA1 repressed proliferation in vitro and in vivo, and knockdown of PNMA1 suppressed tumor cell migration and invasion. Via GSEA analysis, we predicted that PNAM1 may be related to the epithelial-mesenchymal-transition and the Wnt signaling pathway. Both these assumptions were confirmed in our study. Furthermore, we proved that miR-33a-5p participated in the posttranscriptional regulation of PNMA1. Together, our findings suggested that PNMA1 participated in HCC progression and may be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.