An HPLC-free radical-scavenging activity detection (HPLC-FRSAD) method was established to evaluate the antioxidant activity of each component in a mixed standard phenolics solution (MSPs). This ...method quickly displayed the differences in each composition in the MSPs with regard to their scavenging abilities by DPPH radical and ABTS radical cation. The relationship between the structures and the antioxidant activities of the compounds was discussed. Gallic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol in the MSPs’ compositions represented stronger scavenging activities of DPPH radical and ABTS radical cation. Furthermore, the developed method was successfully applied to screen major antioxidants from guava leaf tea extract (GLTE). The results revealed that the gallic acid, procyanidin B3, quercetin, and kaempferol in the extract had higher DPPH radical and ABTS radical cation scavenging activities than other components, which would be responsible for the antioxidant activities of GLTE. The present method provides a useful strategy for rapidly recognizing the key antioxidant components in complex natural products.
Display omitted
•An HPLC-FRSAD method was developed for rapidly screening antioxidants.•The developed method had a good sensitivity and precision and was easy to implement.•The antioxidant components of the guava leaves tea extracts (GLTE) were recognized.•The antioxidant contribution of the individual composition in the GLTE were verified.
DNA N4-methylcytosine is part of the restrictive modification system, which works by regulating some biological processes, for example, the initiation of DNA replication, mismatch repair and ...inactivation of transposon. However, using experimental methods to detect 4mC sites is time-consuming and expensive. Besides, considering the huge differences in the number of 4mC samples among different species, it is challenging to achieve a robust multi-species 4mC site prediction performance. Hence, it is of great significance to develop effective computational tools to identify 4mC sites. This work proposes a flexible deep learning-based framework to predict 4mC sites, called Hyb4mC. Hyb4mC adopts the DNA2vec method for sequence embedding, which captures more efficient and comprehensive information compared with the sequence-based feature method. Then, two different subnets are used for further analysis: Hyb_Caps and Hyb_Conv. Hyb_Caps is composed of a capsule neural network and can generalize from fewer samples. Hyb_Conv combines the attention mechanism with a text convolutional neural network for further feature learning. Extensive benchmark tests have shown that Hyb4mC can significantly enhance the performance of predicting 4mC sites compared with the recently proposed methods.
Display omitted
•Seed flow in the supratidal zone was significantly greater.•Different tidal zones had significant effects on seed germination.•Tides were the key factor affecting seed dispersal in ...coastal wetlands.•Tidal inundation and depth significantly reduced seed flow in intertidal zone.
Seed dispersal is a key process in the conservation of coastal wetland vegetation. In this study, we selected a typical plant of the Yellow River Delta, namely, Suaeda salsa, to explore its dispersal process and environmental impact factors. The seed flow of S. salsa gradually increased along the direction from the sea to the inland, and the seed flow in the supratidal zone was significantly greater than that in the intertidal and subtidal zones. Seed germination in the subtidal zone was the smallest, whereas the intertidal zone was the largest. Different tidal zones also had significant effects on seed germination. In addition, by analyzing the relationship among tidal inundation frequency, inundation depth, distance from the tidal channel, elevation, soil water and salinity, and seed flow and germination, the influence of tides was more significant than microtopography as well as soil water and salinity. In coastal wetlands, tides were the key factor affecting seed dispersal. In particular, seed flow and germination decreased with the increase of tidal inundation frequency and depth, but they were inhibited by the strengthening of tides within a certain range. Overall, different tidal zones should be selected for the recovery of different stages of seed dispersal and germination, while also taking tidal characteristics into account.
In this paper, a class of p-ary 3-weight linear codes and a class of binary 2-weight linear codes are proposed respectively by virtue of the properties of the perfect nonlinear functions over F p(m) ...and (m, s)-bent functions from F 2(m) to F 2(s) , where p is an odd prime and m, s are positive integers. The weight distributions are completely determined by the sign of the Walsh transform of weakly regular bent functions and the size of the preimage of the employed (m, s)-bent functions at the zero point, respectively. As a special case, a class of optimal linear codes meeting Griesmer bound is obtained from our construction.
In this letter, we consider a secrecy wireless powered communication network (WPCN), where an information source sends message to a legitimate destination with the energy harvested from a power ...source, while an eavesdropper intends to intercept the information. In such a secrecy WPCN, transmit power and transfer time at the power source, and spatial beam at the information source, are interrelated, and together affect the secrecy performance. Considering imperfect channel state information about the eavesdropper channel, a robust resource allocation scheme is proposed for maximizing the secrecy rate in the worst case. Finally, the simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Ovarian cancer represents a major public health concern worldwide. High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is a primary epithelial ovarian cancer. Cisplatin resistance poses a substantial obstacle ...in the management of HGSOC, leading to unfavourable patient outcomes. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the mechanisms underlying cisplatin resistance in patients with HGSOC. TCGA data, GSE65819 dataset, and multiMiR package were used to identify 35 differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs). Differentially expressed mRNAs (DE-mRNAs) are indicated using TCGA data. Further, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to determine the correlation coefficients between the DE-mRNAs and DE-miRNAs. A network of miR-486-3p and TMIGD2 was constructed. Molecular biology experiments also indicated that low miR-486-3p or high TMIGD2 expression significantly increased the migratory rate and cisplatin resistance of both SK-OV3 and A2780 cells. In contrast, overexpression of miR-486-3p or downregulation of TMIGD2 decreased the migration rate and enhanced the sensitivity to cisplatin treatment, which provides insights for the development of novel therapeutic approaches. Moreover, RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation experiment was used to determine the relationship between miR-486-3p and TMIGD2. Cell rescue assays were performed to further investigate these regulatory relationships. In TCGA and GSE65819 datasets, Benjamini and Hochberg false discovery rates (FDR) were selected for P-values. In the molecular biology experiments, one-way analysis of variance was employed to compare different groups, supplemented by Bonferroni post-hoc testing. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Glutathione transferases (GSTs), the ancient, ubiquitous and multi-functional proteins, play significant roles in development, metabolism as well as abiotic and biotic stress responses in plants. ...Wheat is one of the most important crops, but the functions of GST genes in wheat were less studied.
A total of 330 TaGST genes were identified from the wheat genome and named according to the nomenclature of rice and Arabidopsis GST genes. They were classified into eight classes based on the phylogenetic relationship among wheat, rice, and Arabidopsis, and their gene structure and conserved motif were similar in the same phylogenetic class. The 43 and 171 gene pairs were identified as tandem and segmental duplication genes respectively, and the Ka/Ks ratios of tandem and segmental duplication TaGST genes were less than 1 except segmental duplication gene pair TaGSTU24/TaGSTU154. The 59 TaGST genes were identified to have syntenic relationships with 28 OsGST genes. The expression profiling involved in 15 tissues and biotic and abiotic stresses suggested the different expression and response patterns of the TaGST genes. Furthermore, the qRT-PCR data showed that GST could response to abiotic stresses and hormones extensively in wheat.
In this study, a large GST family with 330 members was identified from the wheat genome. Duplication events containing tandem and segmental duplication contributed to the expansion of TaGST family, and duplication genes might undergo extensive purifying selection. The expression profiling and cis-elements in promoter region of 330 TaGST genes implied their roles in growth and development as well as adaption to stressful environments. The qRT-PCR data of 14 TaGST genes revealed that they could respond to different abiotic stresses and hormones, especially salt stress and abscisic acid. In conclusion, this study contributed to the further functional analysis of GST genes family in wheat.
Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) deposition which involves both dry and wet processes is an important means of controlling air pollution. To investigate the characteristics of dry and wet ...deposition in wetlands, PM concentrations and meteorological conditions were monitored during summer at heights of 1.5 m, 6 m and 10 m above ground level at Cuihu Wetland (Beijing, China) in order to assess the efficiency of PM2.5 (particles with an aerodynamic size of <2.5 μm) and PM10 (particles with an aerodynamic size of <10 μm) removal. The results showed: Daily concentrations of PM, dry deposition velocities and fluxes changed with the same variation trend. The daily average deposition velocity for PM10 (3.19 ± 1.18 cm·s-1) was almost 10 times that of PM2.5 (0.32 ± 0.33 cm·s-1). For PM2.5, the following dry deposition fluxes were recorded: 10 m (0.170 ± 0.463 μg·m-2·s-1) > 6 m (0.007 ± 0.003 μg·m-2·s-1) > 1.5 m (0.005 ± 0.002 μg·m-2·s-1). And the following deposition fluxes for PM10 were recorded: 10 m (2.163 ± 2.941 μg·m-2·s-1) > 1.5 m (1.565 ± 0.872 μg·m-2·s-1) > 6 m (0.987 ± 0.595 μg·m-2·s-1). In the case of wet deposition, the relative deposition fluxes for PM2.5 and PM10 were 1.5 m > 10 m > 6 m, i.e. there was very little difference between the fluxes for PM2.5 (0.688 ± 0.069 μg·m-2·s-1) and for PM10 (0.904 ± 0.103 μg·m-2·s-1). It was also noted that rainfall intensity and PM diameter influenced wet deposition efficiency. Dry deposition (63%) was more tilted towards removing PM10 than was the case for wet deposition (37%). In terms of PM2.5 removal, wet deposition (92%) was found to be more efficient.
The ice-templated method (ITM) has drawn significant attention to the improvement of the electrochemical properties of various materials. The ITM approach is relatively straightforward and can ...produce hierarchically porous structures that exhibit superior performance in mass transfer, and the unique morphology has been shown to significantly enhance electrochemical performance, making it a promising method for energy storage and conversion applications. In this review, we aim to present an overview of the ITM and its applications in the electrochemical energy storage and conversion field. The fundamental principles underlying the ITM will be discussed, as well as the factors that influence the morphology and properties of the resulting structures. We will then proceed to comprehensively explore the applications of ITM in the fabrication of high-performance electrodes for supercapacitors, batteries, and fuel cells. We intend to find the key advances in the use of ITM and evaluate its potential to overcome the existing challenges in the development of efficient energy storage and conversion systems.
The outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in millions of infections and raised global attention. Bitter almonds and licorice are both Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM), ...often used in combination to treat lung diseases. Several prescriptions in the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (trial version ninth) contained bitter almond-licorice, which was effective in the treatment of COVID-19. However, the active ingredients, drug targets and therapeutic mechanisms of bitter almonds-licorice for the treatment of COVID-19 remain to be elucidated.
The active ingredients and targets were derived from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP). Meanwhile, targets associated with COVID-19 were obtained from the GeneCards database, PharmGkb database and DrugBank database. Then, the potential targets of bitter almond-licorice against COVID-19 were screened out. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and core targets were analyzed through the String database and Cytoscape software. In addition, gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed based on potential targets using R statistical software. Finally, molecular docking was used to validate the binding of the active ingredients to the core targets.
The results of the TCMSP database showed that the bitter almond-licorice had 89 active components against COVID-19, involving 102 targets. PPI network and core target analysis indicated that IL-6, TNF, MAPK1, and IL1B were the key targets against COVID-19. In addition, GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the bitter almond-licorice were involved in various biological processes through inflammation-related pathways such as TNF signaling pathway and IL-17 signaling pathway. Finally, molecular docking approaches confirmed the affinity between the active components of the bitter almond-licorice and the therapeutic targets.
The bitter almond-licorice could be used to treat COVID-19 by inhibiting inflammatory responses and regulating cellular stress. This work is based on data mining and molecular docking, and the findings need to be interpreted with caution.
PDF
