Search Results (15)

Low-frequency alternating electromagnetic fields (LF-AEMF) represent an innovative processing technology with significant potential for extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by modulating key physiological processes. In this study, the impact of the LF-AEMF intensities (1300, 1800, and 2500 V) on the postharvest preservation of satsuma mandarins was evaluated. Compared to the control group, the LF-AEMF-treated samples exhibited reduced weight loss (0.62% vs. 2.11%), respiration rate (32.73 vs. 40.08 mg/kg·h), and malondialdehyde (MDA) content (40.80 vs. 34.87 nmol/g) after 40 days of storage. In addition, LF-AEMF treatment also effectively preserved titratable acidity (TA) (0.34% vs. 0.30%), vitamin C (Vc) content (7.77 vs. 7.05 g/100 g), and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity (79.757 vs. 62.395 U/g). E-nose analysis and low-field NMR further revealed that the application of LF-AEMF effectively facilitated the superior preservation of the intrinsic flavor profile of the satsuma mandarins and mitigated the loss of free water within the fruit. Overall, this research provides valuable insights for the potential application of LF-AEMF in extending the storage life of citrus fruits, which may also be applicable to other seasonal fruits and vegetables that require long-term storage. Full article

The metabolic activity of fermentative microorganisms plays a critical role in determining the flavor profile of fermented meat products. Modulating carbon and nitrogen sources represents a promising strategy for enhancing product quality. In this study, Debaryomyces hansenii strains isolated from dry-cured ham were assessed in a sterile sausage model to evaluate the effects of different carbon sources (sucrose, corn starch) and nitrogen sources (leucine, soy protein isolate) on colony growth, enzyme activity, and physicochemical properties. These nutritional factors significantly affected the fermentation performance of D. hansenii. Corn starch and soy protein isolate increased colony count by 14.94% and 90%, respectively, and enhanced protease activity by 2-fold and 4.5-fold. Both treatments maintained high lipase activity (>50 U/g). Both supplements improved the water-holding capacity and decreased the water activity. Carbon sources reduced the medium pH, whereas nitrogen sources contributed to the maintenance of pH stability. A further analysis indicated that corn starch promoted the accumulation of aldehydes and ketones, which intensified the sourness and suppressed the saltiness. In contrast, soy protein isolate increased the abundance of free amino acids associated with umami and sweetness, and stimulated the formation of esters, ketones, and pyrazines, thereby enhancing flavor richness and umami intensity. Both ingredients also reduced saturated fatty acid levels and increased the unsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio. Soy protein isolate exhibited a more pronounced effect on D. hansenii fermentation. This study provides a technical reference for enhancing the flavor characteristics of fermented meat products via the adjustment of carbon and nitrogen sources to regulate D. hansenii fermentation. Full article

The action of abscisic acid (ABA) is closely related to its level in plant tissues. Uridine diphosphate-glycosyltransferase71c5 (UGT71C5) was characterized as a major UGT enzyme to catalyze the formation of the ABA-glucose ester (ABA-GE), a reversible inactive form of free ABA in Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress). UGTs function in a mode where the catalytic base deprotonates an acceptor to allow a nucleophilic attack at the anomeric center of the donor, achieving the transfer of a glucose moiety. The proteomic data revealed that UGT71C5 can be persulfidated. Herein, an experimental method was employed to detect the persulfidation site of UGT71C5, and the computational methods were further used to identify the yet unknown molecular basis of ABA glycosylation as well as the regulatory role of persulfidation in this process. Our results suggest that the linker and the U-shaped loop are regulatory structural elements: the linker is associated with the binding of uridine diphosphate glucose (UPG) and the U-shaped loop is involved in binding both UPG and ABA.It was also found that it is through tuning the dynamics of the U-shaped loop that is accompanied by the movement of tyrosine (Y388) that the persulfidation of cysteine (C311) leads to the catalytic residue histidine (H16) being in place, preparing for the deprotonation of ABA, and then reorientates UPG and deprotonated ABA closer to the ‘Michaelis’ complex, facilitating the transfer of a glucose moiety. Ultimately, the persulfidation of UGT71C5 is in favor of ABA glycosylation. Our results provide insights into the molecular details of UGT71C5 recognizing substrates and insights concerning persulfidation as a possible mechanism for hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) to modulate the content of ABA, which helps us understand how modulating ABA level strengthens plant tolerance. Full article

In this work, we present a new method for constructing self-dual codes over finite commutative rings R with characteristic 2. Our method involves searching for $k\times 2k$ matrices M over R satisfying the conditions that its rows are linearly independent over R and $M{M}^{\top }={\mathit{\alpha }}^{\top }\mathit{\alpha }$ for an R-linearly independent vector $\mathit{\alpha }\in R^k.$ Let $\mathcal{C}$ be a linear code generated by such a matrix $M.$ We prove that the dual code ${\mathcal{C}}^{\perp }$ of $\mathcal{C}$ is also a free linear code with dimension k, as well as $\mathcal{C}/Hull\left(\mathcal{C}\right)$ and ${\mathcal{C}}^{\perp }/Hull\left(\mathcal{C}\right)$ are one-dimensional free R-modules, where $Hull\left(\mathcal{C}\right)$ represents the hull of $\mathcal{C}$. Based on these facts, an isometry from $R\mathit{x}+R\mathit{y}$ onto $R^2$ is established, assuming that $\mathit{x}+Hull\left(\mathcal{C}\right)$ and $\mathit{y}+Hull\left(\mathcal{C}\right)$ are bases for $\mathcal{C}/Hull\left(\mathcal{C}\right)$ and ${\mathcal{C}}^{\perp }/Hull\left(\mathcal{C}\right)$ over R, respectively. By utilizing this isometry, we introduce a new method for constructing self-dual codes from self-dual codes of length 2 over finite commutative rings with characteristic 2. To determine whether the matrix $M{M}^{\top }$ takes the form of ${\mathit{\alpha }}^{\top }\mathit{\alpha }$ with $\mathit{\alpha }$ being a linearly independent vector in $R^k$, a necessary and sufficient condition is provided. Our method differs from the conventional approach, which requires the matrix M to satisfy $M{M}^{\top }=0$. The main advantage of our method is the ability to construct nonfree self-dual codes over finite commutative rings, a task that is typically unachievable using the conventional approach. Therefore, by combining our method with the conventional approach and selecting an appropriate matrix construction, it is possible to produce more self-dual codes, in contrast to using solely the conventional approach. Full article

In this paper, we mainly study free $U\left(\mathfrak{h}\right)$-modules over the $N=1$ Heisenberg–Virasoro superalgebra. We construct a family of non-weight modules that are free of rank 2 when regarded as modules over the Cartan subalgebra. Moreover, we classify the free $U\left(\mathfrak{h}\right)$-modules of rank 2 over the $N = 1$ Heisenberg–Virasoro superalgebra and provide the necessary and sufficient conditions for such $\mathfrak{g}$-modules to be isomorphic. Full article

HeberFERON, a co-formulation of Interferon (IFN)-α2b and IFN-γ, has effects on skin cancer and other solid tumors. It has antiproliferative effects over glioblastoma multiform (GBM) clones and cultured cell lines, including U-87 MG. Here, we report the first label-free quantitative proteomic and phospho-proteomic analyses to evaluate changes induced by HeberFERON after 72 h incubation of U-87 MG that can explain the effect on cellular proliferation. LC-MS/MS, functional enrichment and networking analysis were performed. We identified 7627 proteins; 122 and 211 were down- and up-regulated by HeberFERON (fold change > 2; p < 0.05), respectively. We identified 23,549 peptides (5692 proteins) and 8900 phospho-peptides; 523 of these phospho-peptides (359 proteins) were differentially modified. Proteomic enrichment showed IFN signaling and its control, direct and indirect antiviral mechanisms were the main modulated processes. Phospho-proteome enrichment displayed the cell cycle as one of the most commonly targeted events together with cytoskeleton organization; translation/RNA splicing, autophagy and DNA repair, as represented biological processes. There is a high interconnection of phosphoproteins in a molecular network; mTOR occupies a centric hub with interactions with translation machinery, cytoskeleton and autophagy components. Novel phosphosites and others with unknown biological functionality in key players in the aforementioned processes were regulated by HeberFERON and involved CDK and ERK kinases. These findings open new experimental hypotheses regarding HeberFERON action. The results obtained contribute to a better understanding of HeberFERON effector mechanisms in the context of GBM treatment. Full article

IDH (isocitrate dehydrogenase) mutation, hypoxia, and neo-angiogenesis, three hallmarks of diffuse gliomas, modulate the expression of small non-coding RNAs (miRNA). In this paper, we tested whether pro-angiogenic and/or pro-hypoxic miRNAs could be used to monitor patients with glioma. The miRNAs were extracted from tumoral surgical specimens embedded in the paraffin of 97 patients with diffuse gliomas and, for 7 patients, from a blood sample too. The expression of 10 pro-angiogenic and/or pro-hypoxic miRNAs was assayed by qRT-PCR and normalized to the miRNA expression of non-tumoral brain tissues. We confirmed in vitro that IDH in hypoxia (1% O₂, 24 h) alters pro-angiogenic and/or pro-hypoxic miRNA expression in HBT-14 (U-87 MG) cells. Then, we reported that the expression of these miRNAs is (i) strongly affected in patients with glioma compared to that in a non-tumoral brain; (ii) correlated with the histology/grade of glioma according to the 2016 WHO classification; and (iii) predicts the overall and/or progression-free survival of patients with glioma in univariate but not in a multivariate analysis after adjusting for sex, age at diagnosis, and WHO classification. Finally, the expression of miRNAs was found to be the same between the plasma and glial tumor of the same patient. This study highlights a panel of seven pro-angiogenic and/or pro-hypoxic miRNAs as a potential tool for monitoring patients with glioma. Full article

This paper mainly considers a class of non-weight modules over the Lie algebra of the Weyl type. First, we construct the $U\left(\mathfrak{h}\right)$-free modules of rank one over the differential operator algebra. Then, we characterize the tensor products of these kind of modules and the quasi-finite highest weight modules. Finally, we undertake such research for the differential operator algebra of multi-variables. Full article

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23 induces hypertrophy and calcium (Ca²⁺) dysregulation in cardiomyocytes, leading to cardiac arrhythmia and heart failure. However, knowledge regarding the effects of FGF-23 on cardiac fibrogenesis remains limited. This study investigated whether FGF-23 modulates cardiac fibroblast activity and explored its underlying mechanisms. We performed MTS analysis, 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine assay, and wound-healing assay in cultured human atrial fibroblasts without and with FGF-23 (1, 5 and 25 ng/mL for 48 h) to analyze cell proliferation and migration. We found that FGF-23 (25 ng/mL, but not 1 or 5 ng/mL) increased proliferative and migratory abilities of human atrial fibroblasts. Compared to control cells, FGF-23 (25 ng/mL)-treated fibroblasts had a significantly higher Ca²⁺ entry and intracellular inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP₃) level (assessed by fura-2 ratiometric Ca²⁺ imaging and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). Western blot analysis showed that FGF-23 (25 ng/mL)-treated cardiac fibroblasts had higher expression levels of calcium release-activated calcium channel protein 1 (Orai1) and transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) 1 channel, but similar expression levels of α-smooth muscle actin, collagen type IA1, collagen type Ⅲ, stromal interaction molecule 1, TRPC 3, TRPC6 and phosphorylated-calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II when compared with control fibroblasts. In the presence of ethylene glycol tetra-acetic acid (a free Ca²⁺ chelator, 1 mM) or U73122 (an inhibitor of phospholipase C, 1 μM), control and FGF-23-treated fibroblasts exhibited similar proliferative and migratory abilities. Moreover, polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that atrial fibroblasts abundantly expressed FGF receptor 1 but lacked expressions of FGF receptors 2-4. FGF-23 significantly increased the phosphorylation of FGF receptor 1. Treatment with PD166866 (an antagonist of FGF receptor 1, 1 μM) attenuated the effects of FGF-23 on cardiac fibroblast activity. In conclusion, FGF-23 may activate FGF receptor 1 and subsequently phospholipase C/IP₃ signaling pathway, leading to an upregulation of Orai1 and/or TRPC1-mediated Ca²⁺ entry and thus enhancing human atrial fibroblast activity. Full article

Acute inflammation (INF) and apoptosis are induced in monocytes by the generation of several factors, including the products of cytosolic oxygen free radicals (cROS) and the excessive influx of Ca²⁺ via the stimulation of TRPV1. These are main factors in the etiology of monocyte activation-induced inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. Importantly, the protective action of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) treatment via the inhibition of TRPV1 on the levels of inflammatory factors, cROS, and apoptosis in acute INF (lipopolysaccharide, LPS)-exposed neuronal cells was recently reported. However, the relationships between acute INF via TRPV1 activation and HCQ in monocytes have not been fully clarified yet. The cell membrane of U937 human monocytes contains natural TRPV1. In the study plan, we used U937 cells in four main groups, namely control, HCQ (60 μM for 48 h), INF (1 μg/mL LPS for 16 h), and HCQ + INF. The current data indicate that LPS-induced acute INF caused the upregulation of excessive cytosolic Ca²⁺ accumulation via the stimulation of TRPV1 in the cells. The treatment of INF additionally upregulated the levels of apoptosis and cytokines (IL6, IL1β, and TNFα), due to upregulated cROS and lipid peroxidation levels as well as upregulated generation of caspase -3 (CAS3) and -9 (CAS9) but a decrease in glutathione and glutathione peroxidase. The expression levels of TRPV1, Bax, CAS3, and CAS9 were also upregulated by the treatment of LPS. However, treatment with HCQ and TRPV1 blocker (capsazepine) modulated the levels of cytokines, caspases, cROS, Ca²⁺ influx, and apoptosis through the modulation of TRPV1 in the U937 that were stimulated with LPS. In summary, the present data suggest TRPV1 activation through the acute INF (LPS)-induced inflammatory, oxidant, and apoptotic adverse actions in monocyte cells, whereas HCQ prevented adverse actions via the modulation of TRPV1. The results may be significant in the modulation of monocyte activation-caused inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. Full article

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) have been implicated in tumor growth and metastasis in breast cancer. ADSCs exhibit tumor tropism, and are of increasing clinical relevance due to the autologous fat grafting for breast reconstruction. Although we have previously shown that a high level of the adipocytokine visfatin in human breast cancer tissues correlated with tumor progression mediated by cAbl and STAT3, the effects of visfatin in the tumor microenvironment are unclear. To understand how visfatin modulates breast cancer within the tumor-stromal environment, we examined determinants of breast cancer progression using a visfatin-primed ADSCs-tumor co-culture model. ADSCs were isolated from tumor-free adipose tissue adjacent to breast tumors. ADSCs were treated with or without visfatin for 48 h and then collected for co-culture with breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 for 72 h in a transwell system. We found that the MDA-MB-231 cells co-cultured with visfatin-treated ADSCs (vADSCs) had higher levels of cell viability, anchorage independent growth, migration, invasion, and tumorsphere formation than that co-cultured with untreated ADSCs (uADSCs). Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) upregulation was found in the co-culture conditioned medium, with GDF15 neutralizing antibody blocking the promoting effect on MDA-MB-231 in co-culture. In addition, a GDF15-induced AKT pathway was found in MDA-MB-231 and treatment with PI3K/AKT inhibitor also reversed the promoting effect. In an orthotopic xenograft mouse model, MDA-MB-231 co-injected with vADSCs formed a larger tumor mass than with uADSCs. Positive correlations were noted between visfatin, GDF15, and phosphor-AKT expressions in human breast cancer specimens. In conclusion, visfatin activated GDF15-AKT pathway mediated via ADSCs to facilitate breast cancer progression. Full article

Previous works established that entropy is characterized uniquely as the first cohomology class in a topos and described some of its applications to the unsupervised classification of gene expression modules or cell types. These studies raised important questions regarding the statistical meaning of the resulting cohomology of information and its interpretation or consequences with respect to usual data analysis and statistical physics. This paper aims to present the computational methods of information cohomology and to propose its interpretations in terms of statistical physics and machine learning. In order to further underline the cohomological nature of information functions and chain rules, the computation of the cohomology in low degrees is detailed to show more directly that the k multivariate mutual information ( $I_k$ ) are $(k-1)$ -coboundaries. The $(k-1)$ -cocycles condition corresponds to $I_k=0$ , which generalizes statistical independence to arbitrary degree k. Hence, the cohomology can be interpreted as quantifying the statistical dependences and the obstruction to factorization. I develop the computationally tractable subcase of simplicial information cohomology represented by entropy $H_k$ and information $I_k$ landscapes and their respective paths, allowing investigation of Shannon’s information in the multivariate case without the assumptions of independence or of identically distributed variables. I give an interpretation of this cohomology in terms of phase transitions in a model of k-body interactions, holding both for statistical physics without mean field approximations and for data points. The $I_1$ components define a self-internal energy functional $U_k$ and ${(-1)}^k{I}_{k,k\ge 2}$ components define the contribution to a free energy functional $G_k$ (the total correlation) of the k-body interactions. A basic mean field model is developed and computed on genetic data reproducing usual free energy landscapes with phase transition, sustaining the analogy of clustering with condensation. The set of information paths in simplicial structures is in bijection with the symmetric group and random processes, providing a trivial topological expression of the second law of thermodynamics. The local minima of free energy, related to conditional information negativity and conditional independence, characterize a minimum free energy complex. This complex formalizes the minimum free-energy principle in topology, provides a definition of a complex system and characterizes a multiplicity of local minima that quantifies the diversity observed in biology. I give an interpretation of this complex in terms of unsupervised deep learning where the neural network architecture is given by the chain complex and conclude by discussing future supervised applications. Full article

Berries and other anthocyanin-rich treatments have prevented weight gain and adiposity in rodent models of diet-induced obesity. Their efficacy may be explained by modulation of energy substrate utilization. However, this effect has never been translated to humans. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of berry intake on energy substrate use and glucoregulation in volunteers consuming a high-fat diet. Twenty-seven overweight or obese men were enrolled in a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study with two treatment periods. Subjects were fed an investigator controlled, high-fat (40% of energy from fat) diet which contained either 600 g/day blackberries (BB, 1500 mg/day flavonoids) or a calorie and carbohydrate matched amount of gelatin (GEL, flavonoid-free control) for seven days prior to a meal-based glucose tolerance test (MTT) in combination with a 24 h stay in a room-sized indirect calorimeter. The washout period that separated the treatment periods was also seven days. The BB treatment resulted in a significant reduction in average 24 h respiratory quotient (RQ) (0.810 vs. 0.817, BB vs. GEL, p = 0.040), indicating increased fat oxidation. RQ during the MTT was significantly lower with the BB treatment (0.84) compared to GEL control (0.85), p = 0.004. A 4 h time isolation during dinner showed similar treatment effects, where RQ was reduced and fat oxidation increased with BB (0.818 vs. 0.836, 28 vs. 25 g, respectively; BB vs. GEL treatments). The glucose AUC was not different between the BB and GEL treatments during the MTT (3488 vs. 4070 mg·min/dL, respectively, p = 0.12). However, the insulin AUC was significantly lower with the BB compared to the GEL control (6485 vs. 8245 µU·min/mL, p = 0.0002), and HOMA-IR improved with BB (p = 0.0318). Blackberry consumption may promote increased fat oxidation and improved insulin sensitivity in overweight or obese males fed a high fat diet. Full article

It is known that increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) can exert harmful effects, altering the cellular redox state. Electrolyzed Reduced Water (ERW) produced near the cathode during water electrolysis exhibits high pH, high concentration of dissolved hydrogen and an extremely negative redox potential. Several findings indicate that ERW had the ability of a scavenger free radical, which results from hydrogen molecules with a high reducing ability and may participate in the redox regulation of cellular function. We investigated the effect of ERW on H₂O₂-induced U937 damage by evaluating the modulation of redox cellular state. Western blotting and spectrophotometrical analysis showed that ERW inhibited oxidative stress by restoring the antioxidant capacity of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase. Consequently, ERW restores the ability of the glutathione reductase to supply the cell of an important endogenous antioxidant, such as GSH, reversing the inhibitory effect of H₂O₂ on redox balance of U937 cells. Therefore, this means a reduction of cytotoxicity induced by peroxynitrite via a downregulation of the NF-κB/iNOS pathway and could be used as an antioxidant for preventive and therapeutic application. In conclusion, ERW can protect the cellular redox balance, reducing the risk of several diseases with altered cellular homeostasis such as inflammation. Full article