Roasted fish reaction flavor by plant-based ingredients.

Currently, there are no commercially available plant-based products that replicate the flavor profile of roasted fish. As the increasing demand of plant-based meat in the recent years, the exploration of plant-based meat flavors holds significant importance. This study revealed that a blend of lysine, leucine, glutamic acid, alanine, cysteine, glucose, and algae oil (rich in docosahexaenoic acid, DHA), when subjected to heating in low pH, generated the distinct flavor like roasted mackerel. The precursor, mechanism and flavor note were investigated. Key aromatic compounds such as isovaleric acid, octanoic acid, 1,5-octadien-3-one, 2,4-octadienal, 2-octenal, furaneol, 2,5-furandicarboxaldehyde, and 2-pentenylfuran were found as important contributors in the reaction flavor model. These compounds primarily derived from heat-induced lipid oxidation, lipid degradation, and Maillard reaction of these plant-based ingredients. The development of plant-based meat flavors is crucial for promoting the substantial progress of plant-based meat products.

The mechanism of Cry41-related toxin against Myzus persicae based on its interaction with Buchnera-derived ATP-dependent 6-phosphofructokinase.

BACKGROUND: Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is one of the most notorious pests of many crops worldwide. Most Cry toxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis show very low toxicity to M. persicae; however, a study showed that Cry41-related toxin had moderate toxic activity against M. persicae. In our previous work, potential Cry41-related toxin-binding proteins in M. persicae were identified, including cathepsin B, calcium-transporting ATPase, and Buchnera-derived ATP-dependent 6-phosphofructokinase (PFKA). Buchnera is an endosymbiont present in almost all aphids and it provides necessary nutrients for aphid growth. This study investigated the role of Buchnera-derived PFKA in Cry41-related toxicity against M. persicae. RESULTS: In this study, recombinant PFKA was expressed and purified, and in vitro assays revealed that PFKA bound to Cry41-related toxin, and Cry41-related toxin at 25 µg ml-1 significantly inhibited the activity of PFKA. In addition, when M. persicae was treated with 30 µg ml-1 of Cry41-related toxin for 24 h, the expression of dnak, a single-copy gene in Buchnera, was significantly decreased, indicating a decrease in the number of Buchnera. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that Cry41-related toxin interacts with Buchnera-derived PFKA to inhibit its enzymatic activity and likely impair cell viability, resulting in a decrease in the number of Buchnera, and finally leading to M. persicae death. These findings open up new perspectives in our understanding of the mode of action of Cry toxins and are useful in helping improve Cry toxicity for aphid control. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

A possible mechanism of Cry7Ab4 protein in delaying pupation of Plutella xylostella larvae.

Cry toxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are well known for their insecticidal activities against Lepidopteran, Dipteran, and Coleopteran species. In our previous work, we showed that trypsin-digested full-length Cry7Ab4 protoxin did not have insecticidal activity against Plutella xylostella larvae but strongly inhibited their growth. In this paper, we expressed and purified recombinant active Cry7Ab4 toxic core from Escherichia coli for bioassay and identified its binding proteins. Interestingly, Cry7Ab4 toxic core exhibited activity to delay the pupation of P. xylostella larvae. Using protein pull-down assay, several proteins, including basic juvenile hormone-suppressible protein 1-like (BJSP-1), were identified from the midgut juice of P. xylostella larvae as putative Cry7Ab4-binding proteins. We showed that feeding P. xylostella larval Cry7Ab4 toxic core upregulated the level of BJSP-1 mRNA in the hemocytes and fat body and decreased the free juvenile hormone (JH) level in larvae. BJSP-1 interacted with Cry7Ab4 and bound to free JH in vitro. A possible mechanism of Cry7Ab4 in delaying the pupation of P. xylostella larvae was proposed.

[Synthesis and fluorescence property of novel rare earth europium, terbium complexes with beta-diketone].

A novel beta-diketone 1-(4-aminophenyl)-4,4,4-trifluorobutane-1, 3-dione(p-NBFA) was synthesized by Classical claisen condensation reaction. With p-NBFA as the first ligand and 1,10-phenanthroline(phen) as the secondary ligand, two new rare earth Eu(III), Tb(III) ternary complexes were prepared. Elemental analysis demonstrated that the compositions of the complexes were Eu(p-NBFA)3 phen and Tb(p-NBFA)3 phen. IR spectra indicated that rare earth ions were coordinated with oxygen atoms of the first ligand and two nitrogen atoms of the secondary ligand. UV spectra showed that the main absorption was from the first ligand in the complexes, the secondary ligand was acted as the synergistic coordination. Fluorescence spectra demonstrated that the emission intensity of Eu(p-NBFA)3 phen was obviously stronger than that of Tb(p-NBFA)3 phen. Further investigation showed that the emission intensity was influenced by the matching situation of energy level between the triplet state of ligand and the emission energy of rare earth ion. In Tb(p-NBFA)3phen, due to that the triplet state energy level of p-NBFA was too near to the energy level of 5D4, then the energy transfered back to the ligand, most of the excitation energy was consumed, so the terbium complex showed lower luminescence intensity and competitive luminescence of p-NBFA also appeared. In Eu(p-NB-FA)3phen, the energy level difference was well matched and the emission of europium complex was characteristic and high.

Effectiveness of Telemonitoring for Reducing Exacerbation Occurrence in COPD Patients With Past Exacerbation History: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Although an increasing number of studies have reported that telemonitoring (TM) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be useful and efficacious for hospitalizations and quality of life, its actual utility in detecting and managing acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) is less established. This meta-analysis aimed to identify the best available evidence on the effectiveness of TM targeting the early and optimized management of AECOPD in patients with a history of past AECOPD compared with a control group without TM intervention. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials published from 1990 to May 2020. Primary endpoints included emergency room visits and exacerbation-related readmissions. P-values, risk ratios, odds ratios, and mean differences with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results: Of 505 identified citations, 17 original articles with both TM intervention and a control group were selected for the final analysis (N = 3,001 participants). TM was found to reduce emergency room visits [mean difference (MD) -0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.36 to -0.03], exacerbation-related readmissions (risk ratio 0.74, 95% CI 0.60-0.92), exacerbation-related hospital days (MD -0.60, 95% CI -1.06 to -0.13), mortality (odds ratio 0.71, 95% CI 0.54-0.93), and the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) score (MD -3.72, 95% CI -7.18 to -0.26) but did not make a difference with respect to all-cause readmissions, the rate of exacerbation-related readmissions, all-cause hospital days, time to first hospital readmission, anxiety and depression, and exercise capacity. Furthermore, the subgroup analysis by observation period showed that longer TM (≥12 months) was more effective in reducing readmissions. Conclusions: TM can reduce emergency room visits and exacerbation-related readmissions, as well as acute exacerbation (AE)-related hospital days, mortality, and the SGRQ score. The implementation of TM intervention is thus a potential protective therapeutic strategy that could facilitate the long-term management of AECOPD. Systematic Review Registration: This systematic review and meta-analysis is reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement and was registered at International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (number: CRD42020181459).

[Role of repetitive sequence and heterochromatize in recombination suppression of plant sex chromosomes].

Suppression of recombination is the prerequisite for plant sex chromosome evolution from a pair of autosomes. Recombination suppression around the locus controlling sex determination results in sex chromosome degeneration and differentiation. Important events such as repetitive sequence accumulation, heterochromatize, and DNA methylation have relation to recombination suppression. Accumulation of repetitive DNA sequence, including transposable elements and satellite DNA, leads to primitive sex chromosome differentiated on morphological and molecular structure, and also gives rise to chromosome heterochromatize, and thus recombination between sex chromosomes was suppressed. Here, we re-viewed the advances in this field, meanwhile, the function of DNA methylation in recombination suppression was analyzed.

Large Tracheocutaneous Fistula Successfully Treated With Bronchoscopic Intervention and Flap Grafting: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Tracheocutaneous fistula (TCF) is the most common related post-operative complication after tracheotomy. Treatments such as surgery and flap grafting are usually applied to close TCFs. We report a case of a large TCF with an area of ~3.0 cm × 1.0 cm. Here, we describe a relatively convenient approach for the management of a patient with a large TCF. In our treatment strategy, a coverd tracheal stent was used to cover the defect by bronchoscopy, the bronchial defect was closed with a local turnover flap, the structure was reinforced with biodegradable material (RapidSorb Plate 2.0), and then transplantation of a deltopectoral flap was performed. It is worth noting that the patency of the trachea was maintained during the whole surgery course. No recurrence or complications occurred after the 12-month follow-up. The large TCF was successfully treated with bronchoscopic intervention, biodegradable material and flap grafting, and without cartilage grafting.