Abstract Aiming to provide a new way that preserves more active components in Eucommia ulmoides (EU) leaves, this paper utilizes 4 methods, i.e., microwave, steam, air heating, and frying, to process EU leaves before drying, and their respective effects on the leaves were evaluated. The antioxidant activity of EU leaves in vitro was measured by the DPPH free radical method; the contents of total flavonoids (TFC) and total phenols (TPC) were analyzed by spectrophotometry; and the contents of main active components were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results showed the pre-process improved the quality of the EU leaves. As a simple and fast process, the microwave process is the most effective technique in the retention of flavonoids and four active ingredients except aucubin. High power (800 W) and short time (2.5 min) are more conducive to the retention of active ingredients, with high antioxidant activity. Appropriate steam and frying processes also exhibited benefits for the active components. In particular, the samples treated with steam for 10 minutes showed great potential for industrial application with the highest antioxidant activity and polyphenol content. Therefore, proper pre-processing before drying should be conducted to effectively protect the active components of EU leaves.

RESUMEN La conservación del suelo y el agua es una de las medidas clave para mejorar el entorno ecológico de las pequeñas cuencas y mantener la vida de la región sana. Con el método actual para monitorear la evolución de las características topográficas e hidrológicas de las cuencas hidrográficas pequeñas, el índice de mantenimiento de bordes de la imagen y la relación señal/ruido de la imagen son bajos, los resultados del monitoreo son inexactos y hay algunos problemas como la capacidad baja del mantenimiento de bordes, un efecto de eliminación de ruido deficiente y una precisión de monitoreo baja. En este trabajo se propone un método de monitoreo basado en teledetección y en Sistemas de Información Geográfica para determinar la evolución de las características topográficas e hidrológicas de pequeñas cuencas hidrográficas. Los datos hiperespectrales fueron transformados por el método de Análisis de Componentes Principales (PCA). Agrupar las imágenes de componentes principales, utilizar un método de representación disperso basado en un diccionario adaptativo y un método de transformación de wavelet complejo de árbol dual para reemplazar las imágenes de componentes principales con una pequeña cantidad de información fueron los principales objetivos de este trabajo; también usar la transformación de wavelet multiescala para detectar el borde de la imagen; construir un modelo binario de píxeles, extraer el índice de vegetación y el factor de terreno basado en el modelo binario de píxeles, y realizar las características del terreno y las características hidrológicas de las pequeñas cuencas. Los resultados experimentales muestran que el método propuesto tiene una alta capacidad de preservación de bordes, buen efecto de eliminación de ruido y alta precisión de monitoreo.

ABSTRACT Soil and water conservation is one of the key measures to improve the ecological environment of small watersheds and maintain the healthy life of the region. With the current method used to monitor the evolution of topographic and hydrological characteristics of a small watershed, the edge keeping index of the image and the signal-to-noise ratio of the image are low, the monitoring results are inaccurate, and there are some problems such as low edge keeping ability, poor denoising effect, and low monitoring accuracy. A monitoring method based on remote sensing and GIS for the evolution of topographic and hydrological characteristics of small watersheds is proposed. The hyperspectral data was transformed by the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Group principal component images, use sparse representation method based on adaptive dictionary and dual-tree complex wavelet transform method to denoise principal component images with a small amount of information were the objectives of the paper; also the use the multi-scale wavelet transform to detect image edge; build a binary model of a pixel, extract vegetation index, and terrain factor based on a binary model of the pixel, and realize terrain and hydrological characteristics of the small watershed. The experimental results show that the proposed method has the high edge-preserving ability, good denoising effect, and high monitoring accuracy.

The aim of this study was to make a comparison between the tissue fusion technique and conventional methods for sealing bowel anastomosis. Eighteen female domestic pigs (Suidae, Sus) were used in our study. Tissue-fused anastomoses (LigaSure groups) were made in 13 animals (5 anastomoses per animal), which were subdivided into 4 groups according to different manufacturing settings: “LigaSure-L-1” and “LigaSure-L-2”, with low energy output level with 1 or 2 device-activated tissue sealing times, and “LigaSure-M” and “LigaSure-H”, with medium or high energy output level. As controls, automatically stapled (GIA group) and hand-sewn (suture group) anastomoses were utilized in 3 and 2 animals, respectively. There was no statistical difference in the overall leakage rate between the GIA group (6.7%) and the LigaSure groups (15%) (P=1.000). There was less proliferating epithelium covering the anastomosis gap in the LigaSure groups compared with the other two groups. The gap between the two extremities of muscular layers of the anastomosis in the LigaSure groups was filled with collagen fibers. More proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-positive cells were found in the anastomoses of the LigaSure groups compared with the other two groups (P=0.010). Our results showed that the tissue fusion technology was a feasible and safe method for anastomoses.

ABSTRACT Cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) is a protein kinase that is homologous to mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). Mutations in the CDKL5 gene cause X-linked infantile spasms and phenotypes that overlap with that of Rett syndrome, which is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused primarily by mutations in the methyl CpG binding protein 2 gene (MECP2). Previous studies in transfected cell lines showed that CDKL5 interacts with MeCP2 and DNA (cytosine-5)-methyltransferase 1 (Dnmt1). However, little is known about the relationships of CDKL5 with interacting proteins in primary neuronal cultures. In this study, we investigated the expression patterns of CDKL5, MeCP2 and Dnmt1, and their interaction in cultured rat cortical neurons. Using real-time PCR analysis, we found that CDKL5, MeCP2 and Dnmt1 have similar expression patterns at the mRNA level. In contrast, the expression patterns of those proteins at the protein level are different and could be inversely correlated, as shown by western blotting. Using co-immunoprecipitation, we further demonstrated that CDKL5 interacts with MeCP2 and Dnmt1 in primary rat cortical neurons. These data suggest that a functional link exists among CDKL5, MeCP2 and Dnmt1 during neuronal development and may provide further insight into the pathogenesis of Rett syndrome.

Intramuscular fat (IMF) content plays an important role in meat quality. Many genes involved in lipid and energy metabolism were identified as candidate genes for IMF deposition, since genetic polymorphisms within these genes were associated with IMF content. However, there is less information on the expression levels of these genes in the muscle tissue. This study aimed at investigating the expression levels of sterol regulating element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT-1), heart-fatty acids binding protein (H-FABP), leptin receptor (LEPR) and melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) genes and proteins in two divergent Banna mini-pig inbred lines (BMIL). A similar growth performance was found in both the fat and the lean BMIL. The fat meat and IMF content in the fat BMIL were significantly higher than in the lean BMIL, but the lean meat content was lower. The serum triacylglycerol (TAG) and free fatty acid (FFA) contents were significantly higher in the fat than in the lean BMIL. The expression levels of SREBP-1c, DGAT-1 and H-FABP genes and proteins in fat BMIL were increased compared to the lean BMIL. However, the expression levels of LEPR and MC4R genes and proteins were lower.