Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the most important grain legumes worldwide. Polyphenols are the predominant bioactive components with multifold bioactivities in diverse common bean ...cultivars. Phenolic acids, flavonoids, and proanthocyanidins are the main polyphenols in common beans, and colorful common beans are overall rich in polyphenols, mainly in their pigmented seed coats. In addition, factors of influence, such as genotype, environmental conditions, storage, and processing methods, play a critical role in the content and composition of common bean polyphenols. Besides, analytical methods, including extraction, separation, and identification, are of importance for precise and comparable evaluation of polyphenols in common beans. Therefore, in order to provide a comprehensive and updated understanding of polyphenols in common beans, this review first summarizes the content and different compositions of polyphenols in common beans, and next discusses the factors affecting these compositions, followed by introducing the analytical methods for common bean polyphenols, and finally highlights the antioxidant activity of polyphenols in common beans. Considering the recent surge in interest in the use of grain legumes, we hope this review will further stimulate work in this field by providing a blueprint for further analytical studies to better utilize common bean polyphenols in food products to improve human nutrition.
The first use of an organosilane as a coordinating solvent to synthesize highly luminescent (quantum yield = 47%) amorphous carbon dots (CDs) in one minute is reported. The CDs, which benefit from ...surface methoxysilyl groups, have a diameter of ~0.9 nm and can easily be fabricated into pure CD fluorescent films or monoliths simply by heating them at 80 ºC for 24 h. Moreover, the non‐water‐stable CDs can be further transformed into water‐soluble CDs/silica particles, which are biocompatible with and nontoxic to the selected cell lines in our preliminary evaluation. The proposed novel synthetic route is believed to provide an alternative synthesis route and should inspire more research into the origin and applications of CDs, as well as delivering CD‐based materials.
Bright dots: The first use of an organosilane as a coordinating solvent to synthesize highly luminescent (quantum yield = 47%) amorphous carbon dots (CDs) in one minute is reported. The CDs, which benefit from surface methoxysilyl groups, have a diameter of ≈0.9 nm and can easily be fabricated into fluorescent films or monoliths by heating them at 80 ºC for 24 h. Moreover, the non‐water‐stable CDs can be further transformed into water‐soluble CDs/silica particles, which are biocompatible with and nontoxic to the selected cell lines in our preliminary evaluation.
The MoS2/CoS2 nanosheet is uniformly dispersed on the two-dimensional graphene layer, and the structure effectively prevents the capacity fading caused by the volume expansion.
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Metal ...sulfide is the most promising anode material for sodium storage devices due to its high theoretical capacity and low cost. However, the practical application of metal sulfide is largely hindered by huge capacity fading during the sodiation/desodiation process. Here mixed bimetallic sulfides grown on reduced graphene oxide (MoS2/CoS2-RGO) are prepared via a facile hydrothermal method. MoS2/CoS2-RGO displays a unique 2D structure which provides large specific surface area for pseudocapacitive charge storage, polyvalent ion reaction for ultrahigh capacity, and a heterostructure to high Na-ion diffusion rate. The optimized MoS2/CoS2-RGO shows a considerable reversible capacity of 593.6 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1 over 50 cycles and a high rate capability of 215.8 mA h g−1 even at a high specific current of 5000 mA g−1. A reaction kinetics and galvanostatic intermittent titration technique analysis indicates that MoS2/CoS2-RGO possesses fast pseudocapacitive charge storage and high Na-ion diffusion rate, benefiting the kinetics balance between anode and cathode. With this special structure, SICs containing the anode deliver a high specific energy of 152.98 W h kg−1 at 562.5 W kg−1. Similarly, the SIB exhibits a good capacities of 64 mA h g−1 at the high rates of 5C over 100 cycles.
•A convex closed-form mathematical programming model is proposed based on queueing theory to minimize CO2 emission by optimizing the number of quay cranes (QCs).•The analytical solution of the number ...of QCs is obtained by the proposed model.•It is found that the optimal number of QCs increases with the expected arrival rate of AGVs and the mean fuel consumption per AGV per hour, but decreases with the mean queue service rate of QCs and the electricity consumption per QC per hour.
Quay cranes (QCs) play a significant role in CO2 emission of the operations of global supply chains, since huge global container traffic requires a considerable number of handing operations of QCs. The traditional studies of QC assignment mainly aim to investigate the scheduling efficiency of QCs and seldom touch on CO2 emission or other green transportation objectives and the resulting models are normally mixed-integer programming (MIP) problems and solved by heuristic algorithms. In this paper, a convex mathematical programming model is proposed for the QC assignment problem, in which the queueing theory is used to model the queueing behavior of automatic guided vehicles (AGVs). The objective of the proposed model is to minimize CO2 emission during an unloading process of containers from QCs to AGVs by optimizing the number of QCs. The analytical solution of the number of QCs is obtained to the proposed model. It is found that the optimal number of QCs increases with the expected arrival rate of AGVs and the mean fuel consumption per AGV per hour but it decreases with the mean queue service rate of QCs and the electricity consumption per QC per hour.
Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disease defined by thrombotic or obstetrical events and persistent antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs). Chemokine-like factor-like MARVEL ...transmembrane domain-containing family (CMTM) is widely expressed in the immune system and may closely related to APS. This review aimed to systematically summarize the possible effects of CMTM on APS. Publications were collected from PubMed and Web of Science databases up to August 2020. CKLF, CKLFSF, CMTM, antiphospholipid syndrome, immune cells, and immune molecules were used as search criteria. Immune cells, including neutrophil, dendritic cells (DCs), T-cells, B-cells, and inflammatory cytokines, play an important role in the development of APS. Chemokine-like factor 1 (CKLF1) has a chemotactic effect on many cells and can affect the expression of inflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules through the nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) pathway or mitogen-activated protein kinase (MARK) pathway. CKLF1 can participate in the maturation of DCs, T lymphocyte activation, and the activation of neutrophils through the MAPK pathway. CMTM1 may act on Annexin A2 by regulating Ca2+ signaling. CMTM2 and CMTM6 are up-regulated in neutrophils of APS patients. Some CMTM family members influence the activation and accumulation of platelets. CMTM3 and CMTM7 are binding partners of B-cell linker protein (BLNK), thereby linking B cell receptor (BCR) and activating BLNK-mediated signal transduction in B cells. Moreover, CMTM3 and CMTM7 can act on DCs and B-1a cell development, respectively. CMTM may have potential effects on the development of APS by acting on immune cells and immune molecules. Thus, CMTM may act as a novel prognostic factor or immunomodulatory treatment option of APS.
China is the worldâs largest producer of reactive nitrogen (Nr), and Nr in the form of synthetic fertilizer has contributed substantially to increased food production there. However, Nr losses from ...overuse and misuse of fertilizer, combined with industrial emissions, represent a serious and growing cause of air and water pollution. This paper presents a substantially complete and coherent Nr budget for China and for 14 subsystems within China from 1980 to 2010, evaluates human health/longevity and environmental consequences of excess Nr, and explores several scenarios for Nr in China in 2050. These scenarios suggest that reasonable pathways exist whereby excess Nr could be reduced substantially, while at the same time benefitting human well-being and environmental health.
Reactive nitrogen (Nr) plays a central role in food production, and at the same time it can be an important pollutant with substantial effects on air and water quality, biological diversity, and human health. China now creates far more Nr than any other country. We developed a budget for Nr in China in 1980 and 2010, in which we evaluated the natural and anthropogenic creation of Nr, losses of Nr, and transfers among 14 subsystems within China. Our analyses demonstrated that a tripling of anthropogenic Nr creation was associated with an even more rapid increase in Nr fluxes to the atmosphere and hydrosphere, contributing to intense and increasing threats to human health, the sustainability of croplands, and the environment of China and its environs. Under a business as usual scenario, anthropogenic Nr creation in 2050 would more than double compared with 2010 levels, whereas a scenario that combined reasonable changes in diet, N use efficiency, and N recycling could reduce N losses and anthropogenic Nr creation in 2050 to 52% and 64% of 2010 levels, respectively. Achieving reductions in Nr creation (while simultaneously increasing food production and offsetting imports of animal feed) will require much more in addition to good science, but it is useful to know that there are pathways by which both food security and health/environmental protection could be enhanced simultaneously.
Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a natural phenolic compound found in many plants, especially in green tea, which is a popular and restorative beverage with many claimed health benefits such as ...antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, and anti-obesity activities. Despite its great curative potential, the poor bioavailability of EGCG restricts its clinical applcation. However, nanoformulations of EGCG are emerging as new alternatives to traditional formulations. This review focuses on the nanochemopreventive applications of various EGCG nanoparticles such as lipid-based, polymer-based, carbohydrate-based, protein-based, and metal-based nanoparticles. EGCG hybridized with these nanocarriers is capable of achieving advanced functions such as targeted release, active targeting, and enhanced penetration, ultimately increasing the bioavailability of EGCG. In addition, this review also summarizes the challenges for the use of EGCG in therapeutic applications, and suggests future directions for progress.
Tripterygium wilfordii
Hook F has significant anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties and is widely used for treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ...systemic lupus erythematosus, and kidney disease, especially in traditional Chinese medicine. The mechanisms underlying its effects may be diverse but they remain unclear, and its toxicity and side effects limit its wider clinical application. This review summarizes the clinical application of
Tripterygium wilfordii
Hook F in recent years, as well as the results of studies into its mechanisms and toxicity, to provide a reference for its future clinical application.
The explosion in sequencing technologies has provided us with an instrument to describe mammalian transcriptomes at unprecedented depths. This has revealed that alternative splicing is used ...extensively not only to generate protein diversity, but also as a means to regulate gene expression post‐transcriptionally. Intron retention (IR) is overwhelmingly perceived as an aberrant splicing event with little or no functional consequence. However, recent work has now shown that IR is used to regulate a specific differentiation event within the haematopoietic system by coupling it to nonsense‐mediated mRNA decay (NMD). Here, we highlight how IR and, more broadly, alternative splicing coupled to NMD (AS‐NMD) can be used to regulate gene expression and how this is deregulated in disease. We suggest that the importance of AS‐NMD is not restricted to the haematopoietic system but that it plays a prominent role in other normal and aberrant biological settings.
The excision of introns may be affected by different mechanisms, which all lead to the retention of an intron in the final mRNA. As demonstrated in recent reports, intron retention is employed not only to regulate gene expression output but is also found to be deregulated in disease.
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, plays an important role in human cell metabolism and participates in various redox reactions and in energy utilization. In this study, 90 riboflavin-producing ...lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were screened out from pickle juices. The yields of riboflavin in these LAB were about 0.096-0.700 mg/L, and one strain,
RYG-YYG-9049, was found to produce the highest riboflavin content. Next, roseoflavin was used to induce the spontaneous mutation of RYG-YYG-9049, and selected roseoflavin-resistant colonies generally produced higher riboflavin contents, ranging from 1.013 to 2.332 mg/L. The No. 10 mutant,
RYG-YYG-9049-M10, had the highest riboflavin content. Next, the molecular mechanism of enhancing riboflavin production in RYG-YYG-9049-M10 was explored, leading to the finding that roseoflavin treatment did not change the
operons including the
,
,
,
, and
genes. Unexpectedly, however, this mechanism did induce an insertion of a 1059-bp DNA fragment in the upstream regulatory region of the
operon, as compared to the wild-type RYG-YYG-9049. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that roseoflavin could induce an insertion of DNA fragment in LAB to increase riboflavin content, representing a new mutation type that is induced by roseoflavin. Finally, in order to fortify riboflavin content in soymilk, RYG-YYG-9049 and RYG-YYG-9049-M10 were used to ferment soymilk, and several fermentation parameters were optimized to obtain the fermented soymilk with riboflavin contents of up to 2.920 mg/L. In general, roseoflavin induction is an economical and feasible biotechnological strategy to induce riboflavin-overproducing LAB, and this strategy can be used to develop LAB-fermented functional foods that are rich in riboflavin.
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