Abstract A chitosan-based edible coating was prepared by incorporating γ-polyglutamic acid and curcumin. The physical, mechanical and antimicrobial properties of the chitosan/γ-polyglutamic acid/curcumin edible coating were characterized. Furthermore, the effect of chitosan/γ-polyglutamic acid/curcumin edible coating on the shelf-life of fresh beef was investigated. The γ-polyglutamic acid and curcumin incorporation greatly improved the performance of chitosan coating, including coating formation and antimicrobial activity. After the application of coating, the chitosan/γ-polyglutamic acid/curcumin edible coating had a good protection effect on the color of beef and was conducive to prolonging the shelf life of beef with good quality compared to pure curcumin edible coating. These results revealed that application of chitosan/γ-polyglutamic acid/ curcumin edible coating will be a good way to preserve freshness of fresh beef.

Abstract Lactoferrin (LF) is a non-heme protein binding Fe3+ tightly and plays a role in regulating the absorption and metabolism of iron under physiological condition. The absorption of non-heme iron occurs in the duodenum. LF is incorporated as a functional factor of food products during food processing. In this review, we describe the structural and functional changes of LF due to thermal processing of food, as well as the metabolic processes of LF iron binding and release in vivo, which characterizes the value of LF as a food matrix from nutrition and biochemistry and provides a basis for the comprehensive utilization of LF in food. (LF nonheme non heme Fe3 Fe condition duodenum review vivo

ABSTRACT The article is a historical study on the role of creativity in Chinese education. It deals with the main periods of its development with the purpose of demonstrating that, contrary to what is proposed at the international level about Chinese education, this has from its roots elements that are directed towards independence, reflection, self-control and intelligence, without ignoring its cultural essence. At present China boasts an impressive and original progress in science, technology and education, a scenario that contrasts with Western arguments that assure that the pedagogical methods in force in the country favor a superficial and memoristic learning that atrophies the analytical capacity of students and, therefore, reduces their creative capacity. In order to solve this paradox, it is proposed as an objective to base, with the support of the historical-logical method, the elements that evidence the presence of creativity since the origins of the nation.

RESUMEN El artículo es un estudio histórico sobre el papel de la creatividad en la educación China. Aborda los principales periodos de su desarrollo con el propósito de demostrar que, contrariamente a lo que se plantea a nivel internacional sobre la educación china, esta tiene desde sus raíces elementos que se direccionan a la independencia, la reflexión, el autocontrol y la inteligencia, sin desconocer su esencia cultural. En la actualidad China ostenta un impresionante y original progreso en la ciencia, la tecnología y la educación, escenario que se contrapone a los argumentos occidentalitas que aseguran que los métodos pedagógicos vigentes en el país favorecen un aprendizaje superficial y memorístico que atrofia la capacidad analítica de los estudiantes y, por tanto, reducen la capacidad creativa. Para lograr resolver esta paradoja, se propone como objetivo fundamentar con el apoyo del método histórico-lógico los elementos que evidencian la presencia de la creatividad desde los orígenes de la nación.

Resumen: Las xilanasas son enzimas que hidrolizan el xilano, produciendo azúcares fermentables tales como xilosa y xilobiosa con aplicaciones industriales muy diversas entre las que destaca el biobleaching y la producción de bioetanol de segunda generación. El objetivo principal del presente estudio se enfoca en la optimización de la producción de xilanasa bacteriana por parte de la bacteria Bacillus sp. K1. La misma ha sido previamente aislada de muestras de madera en putrefacción recolectadas en las premisas de la Universidad de Lakehead para su Departamento de Biología. Las variables investigadas para la optimización fueron físicas tales como pH, temperatura y volumen de inóculo; y de composición del medio de fermentación tales como fuente de carbono, fuente de nitrógeno orgánico e inorgánico y relación porcentual entre dichos componentes. Adicionalmente, se determinó el efecto de iones metálicos (sodio, potasio, magnesio, calcio, ferroso, niqueloso, cúprico, cobaltoso y manganoso) y surfactantes (Polisorbato-20, dodecil sulfato de sodio y Triton X-100) en la actividad enzimática de la xilanasa producida. La mayor producción de xilanasa fue tras 36h de fermentación y las condiciones físicas óptimas asociadas a la producción de xilanasa fueron pH 6, temperatura 35 ºC y volumen de inóculo 1%. La composición óptima del medio de fermentación determinada está constituida por: Afrecho de trigo 4%, Glucosa 0,5%, NH4NO3 0,5%, K2HPO4 0,1%, KCl 0,1%, MgSO4 0,05%, peptona 0,5%, SDS 0,1%. La actividad enzimática generada es de 264,96±7,89 IU/L, con un 248,79% de incremento con respecto al inicial. Los inhibidores más importantes fueron los iones cúprico y manganoso con 32,00% y 49,16% de inhibición comparado con el experimento de control.

Abstract: The xylanases are enzymes that hydrolyze xylan, producing fermentable sugars such as xylose and xylobiose. These enzymes have several industrial applications, among which its use in biobleaching and second-generation bioethanol stands out. The main objective in the present study is the optimization of the bacterial xylanase production by the strain Bacillus sp. K1, which has been previously isolated from rotting wood samples collected at Lakehead University's premises for its Biology Department. The variables investigated for optimization were physical such as pH, temperature and inoculum volume; and composition of the fermentation medium such as carbon source, organic and inorganic nitrogen source and percentage ratio between these components. Additionally, the effect of metal ions (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, ferrous, nickelous, cupric, cobaltous and manganous) and surfactants (Tween-20, dodecyl sodium sulfate and Triton X-100) in the xylanase enzyme activity was determined. The highest production of xylanase was obtained after 36h fermentation and the optimal physical conditions associated with the xylanase production were pH 6, temperature 35 ºC and inoculum volume 1%. The optimum composition of the fermentation medium consists of: wheat bran 4%, glucose 0,5%, NH4NO3 0,5%, K2HPO4 0,1%, KCl 0,1%, MgSO4 0,05%, peptone 0,5%, SDS 0,1%. The enzyme activity generated is 264,96±7,89 IU/L, with a 248,79% increase from the initial conditions. The most important inhibitors were cupric and manganous ions with 32,00% and 49,16% inhibition compared to the control experiment.

RESUMO OBJETIVO O objetivo deste estudo é explorar a relação entre desempenho físico e acuidade visual em alunos universitários da China. MÉTODOS testes de salto em distância em pé, corrida de 50 metros, flexões e abdominais foram realizados. A acuidade visual foi medida através de um logaritmo do quadro de ângulo mínimo de resolução (logMAR). A correlação de Pearson foi utilizada para testar a correlação entre o desempenho físico e a acuidade visual em alunos universitários. RESULTADOS O número de flexões apresentou uma associação negativa com a acuidade visual do olho esquerdo em estudantes do sexo masculino e uma correlação negativa foi encontrada entre o tempo da corrida de 50 metros e a acuidade visual do olho direito em estudantes do sexo feminino. CONCLUSÃO O nosso estudo identificou que o exercício físico pode ajudar a aumentar a acuidade visual. Os estudantes universitários devem praticar musculação para melhorar o desempenho físico.

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE The aim of our study is to explore the relationship between physical performance and visual acuity in university students in China. METHODS tests of standing long jump, 50-meter dash and pull-ups sit-ups were conducted. The visual acuity was measured using a logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) chart. Pearson correlation was used to test the correlation of physical performance with visual acuity in university students. RESULTS The number of pull-ups was negatively associated with visual acuity in the left eye for male students, while a negative correlation was found between the time of the 50-meter dash and visual acuity in the right eye for female students. CONCLUSIONS Our study identified that physical exercise might help improve visual acuity. University students should practice strength exercises to improve physical performance.

RESUMO ANTECEDENTES a correlação entre o aumento do nível de proteínas de ferro no soro e o infarto agudo do miocárdio (AMI) continua controversa. O objetivo desta análise é confirmar a relação entre o aumento dos níveis de proteínas de ferro no soro y o AMI. METODOLOGIA busca de artigos sobre Pubmed e a infraestrutura nacional de conhecimentos da China (cnki) para avaliar a relação entre a proteína de ferro no soro e o infarto agudo do miocárdio, incluída a proteína de ferro no soro e o infarto agudo de miocárdio, até 13 de fevereiro de 2019. RESULTADO foram identificados 11 estudos para sua analise e todas as análises resumidas tiveram base em modelos de efeitos aleatórios. Foram utilizados mapas florestais para mostrar as margens, foi utilizado o índice 12 para examinar a heterogeneidade dos estudos e foram utilizados mapas de funil para avaliar os desvios publicados.A diferença entre a norma de fusão dos níveis de proteína de ferro do Grupo ami e o Grupo de controle é de 0,78 (intervalo de confiança de 95% 0,68-0,88). CONCLUSÃO nos resultados das análises da meta indicam que os pacientes com infarto agudo do miocárdio têm proteínas de ferro superiores às do Grupo de controle de saúde.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND An association between increased serum ferritin levels and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains controversial. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to confirm the association between increased serum ferritin levels and AMI. METHODS We searched PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) for relevant articles that assessed the association between serum ferritin and acute myocardial infarction using terms that included serum ferritin and acute myocardial infarction up to February 13, 2019. RESULTS A total of 11 studies were identified for analysis. All pooled analysis was based on a random-effects models. The variance was exhibited using a forest plot, and the heterogeneity among studies was examined using the I2 index, the publication bias was evaluated using a funnel plot. The pooled standard mean difference of ferritin levels between AMI and controls was 0.78 (95%CI,0.68-0.88). CONCLUSION The results of this meta-analysis demonstrate that serum ferritin in acute myocardial infarction patients is higher than that of healthy controls.

Acne is a kind of common, chronic skin condition caused by the inflammation of the sebaceous glands in hair follicles. Recent studies have demonstrated that baicalin (BA) possesses potential anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity of BA in vitro and in vivo. Heat-killed Propionibacterium acnes-induced THP-1 cells and live P. acnes-injected male Sprague Dawley rats were used for establishing the acne model. The rate of ear swelling was calculated, and the severity was determined by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The production of cytokines [interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α)] in the cell supernatant and ear tissue homogenates was measured by ELISA. Protein levels of JNK, ERK, P38, IκBα, P65, Nod-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3), pro-caspase-1, and IL-1β in THP-1 cells and ear tissues were detected by western blotting. NLRP3 and IL-1β were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the NLRP3, IL-1β and pro-caspase-1 mRNAs were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The results showed that BA decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, BA down-regulated the phosphorylation of JNK, ERK1/2, and κBα and inhibited the nuclear translocation of p65. Furthermore, BA inhibited the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, at both the gene and protein levels. Taken together, the results demonstrated that BA might exert its anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting NF-κB/MAPK signaling pathways and consequently suppressing the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome both in vivo and in vitro.

The Mg10YNi alloy was hydrogenated and then coupled with LiBH4 to form LiBH4/Mg10YNi-H reactive hydride composite. The results indicate that thermal dehydrogenation stability of LiBH4 can be remarkably reduced by combining with Mg10YNi hydride. The starting and ending temperatures for hydrogen desorption from the LiBH4/Mg10YNi-H composite are approximately 275 and 430 ºC, respectively. Dehydrogenation of the LiBH4/Mg10YNi-H composite proceeds mainly in two steps with a total reaction of 12LiBH4 + 2.5Mg10YNiH20 → 24Mg + MgNi2.5B2 + 2.5YB4 + 12LiH + 43H2. After rehydrogenation at 450 ºC under 9 MPa hydrogen pressure, the LiBH4/Mg10YNi-H composite starts to release hydrogen around 260 ºC, and as much as approximately 5.2 wt.% of hydrogen can be desorbed during the second dehydrogenation process.

Cuscuta chinensis polysaccharide (CPS) was extracted using hot water and enzymatically hydrolyzed C. chinensis polysaccharide (ECPS) was produced by the mannase enzymatic hydrolysis process. The purpose of this research was to investigate the antimelanogenic activity of ECPS and CPS in B16F10 melanoma cells. The in vitro antioxidant activity was assessed by their ferric iron reducing power and DPPH free radical scavenging activities. The molecular mass distribution of polysaccharides was determined using SEC-MALLS-RI. CPS was successfully enzymatically degraded using mannase and the weighted average molecular weights of CPS and ECPS were 434.6 kDa and 211.7 kDa. The results of biological activity assays suggested that the enzymatically hydrolyzed polysaccharide had superior antimelanogenic activity and antioxidant effect than the original polysaccharide. ECPS exhibited antimelanogenic activity by down-regulating the expression of tyrosinase, MITF, and TRP-1 without cytotoxic effects in B16F10 melanoma cells. In conclusion, ECPS have the potential to become a skin whitening product.

SUMMARY Resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) coexisting with ectopic thyroid is rare. Here we report a case of RTH with ectopic thyroid. A ten-year-old girl had been misdiagnosed as congenital hypothyroidism and treated with levothyroxine since she was born. Ten-year follow-up showed that the elevated thyrotropin was never suppressed by levothyroxine and no signs indicating hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism despite elevated FT3 and FT4 levels. Therefore the girl developed no defects in physical and cognitive development. Pituitary adenoma was excluded by magnetic resonance imaging. Ultrasonography did not find the thyroid gland in the normal place, while the thyroid scan found a large lingual thyroid gland. The octreotide inhibition test showed a reduction in thyrotropin by 41.98%. No mutation was detected in the thyroid hormone receptor (THR) β, THRα, thyrotropin receptor (TSHR), and GNAS1 genes. To our knowledge, it is an interesting RTH case coexisting with lingual thyroid.

ABSTRACT Effects of leached amylose (AM) and amylopectin (AP) on textural and morphological properties of cooked rice were investigated separately by replacing cooking liquid with AM and AP separated from pouring cooking liquid. The pouring of cooking water reduced the hardness (from 28.45 to 19.42N) and stickiness (from 1.74 to 1.19N·s) significantly. However, the addition of AM and AP enhanced the hardness (27.63N) and stickiness (1.71N·s).Scanning electron microscopy show that the leached short-chain AM entered the surface hollows in the cooked rice after water evaporation. Meanwhile, the Long-chain AM cross-linked to formed a three-dimensional network structures, which covered on the filled hollows. This distribution led to a harder texture of cooked rice. The leached AP absorbed water and swelledto form masses. Atthe gelatinization temperature,theAPmassesagglomeratedtoformafilmlayer,whichcoveredtheunevenstructure, the thicker and smoother film contributed to the sticky texture.

Quatro novas dibenzociclooctadienolignanas, neglectalignanas A-D (1-4), juntamente com dezenove compostos conhecidos (5-23), foram isolados das hastes de Schisandra neglecta. Suas estruturas e esteroquímicas foram elucidadas por métodos espectroscópicos, incluindo as técnicas de ressonância magnética nuclear (RMN) de 1D e 2D, e espectrometria de massas de alta resolução com ionização por electrospray (HR-ESI-MS). Avaliou-se as atividades anti-HIV e a citotoxicidade dos compostos 1-4 , e os resultados mostraram que os compostos 1-4 apresentam atividadade anti-HIV moderadas com valores de índice terapêutico (TI) acima de 61,7, 22,6, 57,7 e 27,9, respectivamente, e atividades citotóxicas fracas contra algumas das linhas celulares selecionadas.

Four new dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, neglectalignans A-D (1-4), together with nineteen known compounds (5-23) were isolated from the stems of Schisandra neglecta. Their structures and stereochemistries were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, including 1D-, 2D-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS) techniques. Compounds 1-4 were evaluated for their anti-HIV activities and cytotoxicities. The results revealed that compounds 1-4 showed moderate anti-HIV-1 activities with therapeutic index (TI) values above 61.7, 22.6, 57.7, and 27.9, respectively, and weak cytotoxic activities for some selected cell lines.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of obstructive sleep apnea and continuous positive airway pressure treatment on serum butyrylcholinesterase activity and ischemia-modified albumin levels. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with obstructive sleep apnea and 30 age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled and underwent a diagnostic polysomnogram. The serum butyrylcholinesterase activity, ischemia-modified albumin levels, metabolic parameters, and polysomnography scores were detected and evaluated. Nine patients were studied before and after treatment with continuous positive airway pressure. RESULTS: The serum ischemia-modified albumin levels were significantly higher and the butyrylcholinesterase activity was significantly lower in patients with obstructive sleep apnea than in the controls (p<0.001). The continuous positive airway pressure treatment decreased the modified albumin levels and elevated the buthrylcholinesterase activity (p = 0.019 and p = 0.023, respectively). The modified albumin levels were positively correlated with the apnea-hypopnea index (r = 0.462, p = 0.008) at baseline. Elevated ischemia-modified albumin levels can be more accurate than butyrylcholinesterase activity at reflecting the presence of obstructive sleep apnea. Receiver operating characteristic curves revealed a significant difference between the areas under the curve 0.916 for ischemia-modified albumin and 0.777 for butyrylcholinesterase (z = 2.154, p = 0.031). CONCLUSION: The elevated ischemia-modified albumin level was significantly associated with obstructive sleep apnea and was more sensitive than butyrylcholinesterase activity in reflecting obstructive sleep apnea. The continuous positive airway pressure treatment helped to ameliorate the imbalance.

Uma série de novos conjugados de camptotecina e 5-fluorouracil foi sintetizada pela primeira vez e suas atividades citotóxicas contra duas linhagens de células humanas tumorais (SGC-7901 e A-549) assim como a determinação farmacocinética in vitro da estabilidade de lactona foram investigadas. Dentre estes compostos, a maioria apresentou atividades citotóxicas comparáveis ou superiores a 2, mas menos potentes quando comparados a 1. Em particular, os conjugados 10b e 10d foram altamente ativos contra A-549 com valores de IC50 de 0,45 e 0,38 mmol L-1, respectivamente. Além disto, a determinação farmacocinética in vitro dos níveis de lactona do composto representativo 10b mostraram que o tempo de vida biológico de suas formas de lactona em plasma humano e de rato aumentaram significativamente quando comparados com o composto-mãe 1. O método de relações quantitativas de estrutura-atividade (QSAR) foi então aplicado para o desenvolvimento de modelos lineares para prever as atividades citotóxicas destes derivados que ainda não foram sintetizados ou testados experimentalmente. Além disto, 'docking' molecular foi utilizado para esclarecer o modo de ligação destes derivados a DNA topoisomerase humana I. Ligações de hidrogênio importantes foram observadas entre estes derivados e seu receptor. Os resultados de modelagem molecular e estudos QSAR podem ser usados para guiar o design de novos conjugados com maior atividade antitumoral

A series of novel conjugates of camptothecin and 5-fluorouracil were first synthesized and their cytotoxic activities against two human tumor cell lines (SGC-7901 and A-549) as well as in vitro pharmacokinetic determination of lactone stability were studied. Among these compounds, most tested conjugates showed comparable or superior cytotoxic activities to 2, but less potent compared with 1. Particularly, conjugates 10b and 10d were highly active against A-549 with IC50 values of 0.45 and 0.38 µmol L-1, respectively. Also, the in vitro pharmacokinetic determination of lactone levels of representative compound 10b showed that the biological life span of their lactone forms in human and mouse plasma significantly increased compared with their mother compound 1. Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) method was then applied for developing linear models to predict the cytotoxic activities of these derivatives that have not yet been synthesized or experimentally tested. In addition, molecular docking was used to clarify the binding mode of these derivatives to human DNA topoisomerase I. The important hydrogen-bonding interactions were observed between these derivatives and their receptor. The results from molecular modeling and QSAR study can guide the design of novel conjugates with higher antitumor activity.

The update summary as defined for the DUC2007 new task aims to capture evolving information of a single topic over time. It delivers focused information to a user who has already read a set of older documents covering the same topic. This paper presents a novel manifold-ranking frame based on iterative feedback mechanism to this summary task. The topic set is extended by using the summarization of previous timeslices and the first sentences of documents in current timeslice. Iterative feedback mechanism is applied to model the dynamically evolving characteristic and represent the relay propagation of information in temporally evolving data. Modified manifold-ranking process also can naturally make use of both the relationships among all the sentences in the documents and relationships between the topic and the sentences. The ranking score for each sentence obtained in the manifold-ranking process denotes the importance of sentence biased towards topic, and then the greedy algorithm is employed to rerank the sentences for removing the redundant information. The summary is produced by choosing the sentences with high ranking score. Experiments on dataset of DUC2007 update task demonstrate the encouraging performance of the proposed approach.