Notes

Establishment of CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing throughout Witloof (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum).
Whey protein isolate (WPI) fibrils were prepared using an acid hydrolysis induction process. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon nano-onions (CNOs) were made via the catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of methane. WPI fibril-CNTs and WPI fibril-CNOs were prepared via hydrothermal synthesis at 80 °C. The composites were characterized by SEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD, Raman, and TG analyses. The interplay between WPI fibrils and CNTs and CNOs were studied. The WPI fibrils with CNTs and CNOs formed uniform gels and films. CNTs and CNOs were highly dispersed in the gels. Hydrogels of WPI fibrils with CNTs (or CNOs) could be new materials with applications in medicine or other fields. The CNTs and CNOs shortened the WPI fibrils, which might have important research value for curing fibrosis diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. The FTIR revealed that CNTs and CNOs both had interactions with WPI fibrils. The XRD analysis suggested that most of the CNTs were wrapped in WPI fibrils, while CNOs were partially wrapped. This helped to increase the biocompatibility and reduce the cytotoxicity of CNTs and CNOs. HR-TEM and Raman spectroscopy studies showed that the graphitization level of CNTs was higher than for CNOs. After hybridization with WPI fibrils, more defects were created in CNTs, but some original defects were dismissed in CNOs. The TG results indicated that a new phase of WPI fibril-CNTs or CNOs was formed.The windblown sand-induced degradation of glass panels influences the serviceability and safety of these panels. In this study, the degradation of glass panels subject to windblown sand with different impact velocities and impact angles was studied based on a sandblasting test simulating a sandstorm. selleck inhibitor After the glass panels were degraded by windblown sand, the surface morphology of the damaged glass panels was observed using scanning electron microscopy, and three damage modes were found a cutting mode, smash mode, and plastic deformation mode. The mass loss, visible light transmittance, and effective area ratio values of the glass samples were then measured to evaluate the effects of the windblown sand on the panels. The results indicate that, at high abrasive feed rates, the relative mass loss of the glass samples decreases initially and then remains steady with increases in impact time, whereas it increases first and then decreases with an increase in impact angle such as that for ductile materials. Both visible light transmittance and effective area ratio decrease with increases in the impact time and velocities. There exists a positive linear relationship between the visible light transmittance and effective area ratio.A high strength recycled newspaper (NP)/high density polyethylene (HDPE) laminated composite was developed using NP laminas as reinforcement and HDPE film as matrix. Herein, NP fiber was modified with stearic acid (SA) to enhance the water resistance of the NP laminas and NP/HDPE composite. The effects of heat treatment and SA concentration on the water resistance and tensile property of NP and composite samples were investigated. The chemical structure of the NP was characterized with X-ray diffractometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectra techniques. The surface and microstructure of the NP sheets were observed by scanning electron microscopy. An expected high-water resistance of NP sheets was achieved due to a chemical bonding that low surface energy SA were grafted onto the modified NP fibers. Results showed that the hydrophobicity of NP increased with increasing the stearic acid concentration. The water resistance of the composite laminates was depended on the hydrophobicity of the NP sheets. The lowest value of 2 h water absorption rate (3.3% ± 0.3%) and thickness swelling rate (2.2% ± 0.4%) of composite were obtained when the SA concentration was 0.15 M. In addition, the introduction of SA can not only enhance the water resistance of the composite laminates, but also reduce the loss of tensile strength in wet conditions, which shows potential in outdoor applications.Objectives were to investigate somatic cell counts (SCC) and total bacterial counts (TBC) in the raw bulk-tank milk of sheep flocks in Greece, to study factors potentially influencing increased SCC and TBC in the bulk-tank milk of sheep and to evaluate possible associations of SCC and TBC with milk content. Throughout Greece, 325 dairy sheep flocks were visited for collection of milk sampling for somatic cell counting, microbiological examination and composition measurement. Geometric mean SCC were 0.488 × 106 cells mL-1; geometric mean TBC were 398 × 103 cfu mL-1; 228 staphylococcal isolates were recovered form 206 flocks (63.4%). Multivariable analyses revealed annual incidence risk of clinical mastitis, age of the farmer and month into lactation period (among 53 variables) to be significant for SCC > 1.0 × 106 cells mL-1 and month into lactation period at sampling and availability of mechanical ventilators (among 58 variables) to be significant for TBC > 1500 × 103 cfu mL-1. Negative correlation of SCC with fat, total protein and lactose and positive correlation of SCC with added water were found. With SCC > 1.0 × 106 cells mL-1, significant reduction of protein content (2%) was observed, whilst in flocks with SCC > 1.5 × 106 cells mL-1, significantly lower annual milk production per ewe (42.9%) was recorded.Air pollution effects on cardiovascular hospitalizations in small urban/suburban areas have been scantly investigated. Such effects were assessed among the participants in the analytical epidemiological survey carried out in Pisa and Cascina, Tuscany, Italy (2009-2011). Cardiovascular hospitalizations from 1585 subjects were followed up (2011-2015). Daily mean pollutant concentrations were estimated through random forests at 1 km (particulate matter PM10, 2011-2015; PM2.5, 2013-2015) and 200 m (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, O3, 2013-2015) resolutions. Exposure effects were estimated using the case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression (odds ratio-OR-and 95% confidence interval-CI-for 10 μg/m3 increase; lag 0-6). During the period 2011-2015 (137 hospitalizations), a significant effect at lag 0 was observed for PM10 (OR = 1.137, CI 1.023-1.264) at 1 km resolution. During the period 2013-2015 (69 hospitalizations), significant effects at lag 0 were observed for PM10 (OR = 1.268, CI 1.085-1.483) and PM2.5 (OR = 1.273, CI 1.053-1.540) at 1 km resolution, as well as for PM10 (OR = 1.365, CI 1.103-1.690), PM2.5 (OR = 1.264, CI 1.006-1.589) and NO2 (OR = 1.477, CI 1.058-2.061) at 200 m resolution; significant effects were observed up to lag 2. Larger ORs were observed in males and in subjects reporting pre-existent cardiovascular/respiratory diseases. Combining analytical and routine epidemiological data with high-resolution pollutant estimates provides new insights on acute cardiovascular effects in the general population and in potentially susceptible subgroups living in small urban/suburban areas.Apple (Malus domestica Borkh.), a popular and widely cultivated fruit world-wide, contains bioactive compounds responsible for their health benefits. Here we report the amounts of some bioactive compounds two major triterpenes (oleanolic and ursolic acids) and polyphenols (phenolic acids, flavan-3-ols, flavonoids and t-resveratrol), together with bioactive properties of twelve apple cultivars measured by chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods. Significant variations were found comparing the bioactive potential of the investigated cultivars. High contents of phenolic acids were identified in the Montuan, Golden Delicious and Cretesc cultivars, while the most flavonoid dominant was the Richard cultivar. Starkrimson, Jonatan, Beliy Naliv and Richard cultivars present higher antioxidant capacity. Oleanolic acid ranged from 11 to 83 mg/g apple extract, while ursolic acid ranged from 55 to 436 mg/g apple extract, with higher amounts in Richard and Montuan cultivars. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) allowed the discrimination of apple cultivars depending on polyphenolic and triterpene acids composition. Caffeic acid, gallic acid and epicatechin were identified as the main bioactive compounds in Starkrimson, Jonathan, Beliy Naliv and Richard cultivars, while ursolic and oleanolic acids were identified in high amounts in Richard, Montuan, Golden Delicious, Idared and Beliy Naliv apple cultivars. The results obtained in this study will contribute to the understanding of the bioactive composition of apples as well as the importance of their capitalization to obtain value-added products that promote human health.The Mediterranean region is a center of species and genetic diversity of many plant groups, which served as a source of recolonization of temperate regions of Eurasia in Holocene. We investigate the evolutionary history of species currently classified in Lotus sect. Bonjeanea in the context of the evolution of the genus Lotus as a whole, using phylogenetic, phylogeographic and dating analyses. Of three species of the section, L. rectus and L. hirsutus have wide Mediterranean distribution while L. strictus has a disjunctive range in Bulgaria, Turkey, Armenia, Eastern Kazakhstan, and adjacent parts of Russia and China. We used entire nuclear ribosomal ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region (nrITS) and a plastid dataset (rps16 and trnL-F) to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships within Lotus with an extended representation of Bonjeanea group. We analyzed the phylogeographic patterns within each species based on the plastid dataset. For divergence time estimation, the nrITS dataset was analyzed. Our results confirmed the non-monophyletic nature of the section Bonjeanea. They indicate that Lotus is likely to have diverged about 15.87 (9.99-19.81) million years ago (Ma), which is much older than an earlier estimate of ca. 5.54 Ma. Estimated divergence ages within L. strictus, L. rectus, and L. hisrutus (6.1, 4.94, and 4.16 Ma, respectively) well predate the onset of the current type of Mediterranean climate. Our data suggest that relatively ancient geological events and/or climatic changes apparently played roles in early diversification of Lotus and its major clades, as well as in formation of phylogeographic patterns, in at least some species.Flavonoids display a broad range of structures and are responsible for the major organoleptic characteristics of plant-derived foods and beverages. Recent data showed their activity, and in particular of luteolin-7-O-glucoside (LUT-7G), in reduction of oxidative stress and inflammatory mechanisms in different physiological systems. In this paper, we tried to elucidate how LUT-7G could exert both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in endothelial cells cultured in vitro. Here, we showed that LUT-7G is able to inhibit the STAT3 pathway, to have an antiproliferative action, and an important antioxidant property in HUVEC cells. These properties are exerted by the flavone in endothelial through the transcriptional repression of a number of inflammatory cytokines and their receptors, and by the inhibition of ROS generation. ROS and STAT3 activation has been correlated with the production of oxysterols and other hydroxylated fatty acids, and they have been recognized important as players of atherogenesis and cardiocirculatory system diseases.
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