A Simple and Effective Mass Spectrometric Approach to Identify the Adulteration of the Mediterranean Diet Component Extra-Virgin Olive Oil with Corn Oil

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) with its nutraceutical characteristics substantially contributes as a major nutrient to the health benefit of the Mediterranean diet. Unfortunately, the adulteration of EVOO with less expensive oils (e.g., peanut and corn oils), has become one of the biggest source of agricultural fraud in the European Union, with important health implications for consumers, mainly due to the introduction of seed oil-derived allergens causing, especially in children, severe food allergy phenomena. In this regard, revealing adulterations of EVOO is of fundamental importance for health care and prevention reasons, especially in children. To this aim, effective analytical methods to assess EVOO purity are necessary. Here, we propose a simple, rapid, robust and very sensitive method for non-specialized mass spectrometric laboratory, based on the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) coupled to unsupervised hierarchical clustering (UHC), principal component (PCA) and Pearson’s correlation analyses, to reveal corn oil (CO) adulterations in EVOO at very low levels (down to 0.5%).     

Preparation and characterization of Fe‐Tetranitro phthalocyanine/polyurethane blends

In this article, Fe‐Tetranitro phthalocyanine (Fe‐TNPc)/polyurethane (PU) blends were prepared by solution blending. The mechanical properties of the samples were studied by tensile tests. The results showed that the tensile strength and the elongation at break of the samples increased with increasing Fe‐TNPc content. The improved mechanical properties for the samples containing Fe‐TNPc was attributed to the increased microphase separation degree of PU, which was further investigated by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and Fourier transform infrared analysis. The lower T_g of the soft segments and the higher T_g of the hard segments for the samples containing Fe‐TNPc indicated an increase of microphase separation degree of PU. The increased hydrogen bonded carbonyl groups in the samples with increasing Fe‐TNPc content also proved the conclusion. Quantitative evaluation of the interaction between Fe‐TNPc and PU was also investigated by analyzing the physical crosslinking density of the samples. The results indicated that the physical crosslinking density of the samples increased with increasing Fe‐TNPc content. The antibacterial properties of the samples were investigated. The results showed that the percentage bacterial inactivation toward S. aureus and E. coli of the samples were 98.9% and 90.9%, respectively, when Fe‐TNPc was added to 1%. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41284.     

The organization of biological sequences into constrained and unconstrained parts determines fundamental properties of genotype–phenotype maps

Biological information is stored in DNA, RNA and protein sequences, which can be understood as genotypes that are translated into phenotypes. The properties of genotype–phenotype (GP) maps have been studied in great detail for RNA secondary structure. These include a highly biased distribution of genotypes per phenotype, negative correlation of genotypic robustness and evolvability, positive correlation of phenotypic robustness and evolvability, shape-space covering, and a roughly logarithmic scaling of phenotypic robustness with phenotypic frequency. More recently similar properties have been discovered in other GP maps, suggesting that they may be fundamental to biological GP maps, in general, rather than specific to the RNA secondary structure map. Here we propose that the above properties arise from the fundamental organization of biological information into ‘constrained'' and ‘unconstrained'' sequences, in the broadest possible sense. As ‘constrained'' we describe sequences that affect the phenotype more immediately, and are therefore more sensitive to mutations, such as, e.g. protein-coding DNA or the stems in RNA secondary structure. ‘Unconstrained'' sequences, on the other hand, can mutate more freely without affecting the phenotype, such as, e.g. intronic or intergenic DNA or the loops in RNA secondary structure. To test our hypothesis we consider a highly simplified GP map that has genotypes with ‘coding'' and ‘non-coding'' parts. We term this the Fibonacci GP map, as it is equivalent to the Fibonacci code in information theory. Despite its simplicity the Fibonacci GP map exhibits all the above properties of much more complex and biologically realistic GP maps. These properties are therefore likely to be fundamental to many biological GP maps.     

Sequence-Dependent Nanofiber Structures of Phenylalanine and Isoleucine Tripeptides

The molecular design of short peptides to achieve a tailor-made functional architecture has attracted attention during the past decade but remains challenging as a result of insufficient understanding of the relationship between peptide sequence and assembled supramolecular structures. We report a hybrid-resolution model to computationally explore the sequence–structure relationship of self-assembly for tripeptides containing only phenylalanine and isoleucine. We found that all these tripeptides have a tendency to assemble into nanofibers composed of laterally associated filaments. Molecular arrangements within the assemblies are diverse and vary depending on the sequences. This structural diversity originates from (1) distinct conformations of peptide building blocks that lead to different surface geometries of the filaments and (2) unique sidechain arrangements at the filament interfaces for each sequence. Many conformations are available for tripeptides in solution, but only an extended β-strand and another resembling a right-handed turn are observed in assemblies. It was found that the sequence dependence of these conformations and the packing of resulting filaments are determined by multiple competing noncovalent forces, with hydrophobic interactions involving Phe being particularly important. The sequence pattern for each type of assembly conformation and packing has been identified. These results highlight the importance of the interplay between conformation, molecular packing, and sequences for determining detailed nanostructures of peptides and provide a detailed insight to support a more precise design of peptide-based nanomaterials.     

人纤维蛋白原对急诊外伤致创伤性凝血病疗效及相关因素分析

目的:探讨人纤维蛋白原(fibrinogen，FIB)对急诊创伤性凝血病患者的临床疗效及相关因素。方法:将2015年6月至2018年6月本院收治的100例严重创伤患者纳入本研究，根据是否创伤性凝血病分为凝血病组(80例)和非凝血病组(20例)。比较凝血病组和非凝血病组患者收住后第1个24 h的急性生理和慢性健康评分(acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II，APACHE II)、创伤严重程度评分(injury severity score，ISS)、低体温及低灌注发生率等指标。采用Logistic多因素回归方法分析严重创伤患者发生创伤性凝血病的相关因素。将80例创伤性凝血病患者随机分为观察组(40例)和对照组(40例)。对照组按照常规诊疗措施治疗，观察组在对照组处理基础上给予人FIB，比较治疗前后观察组和对照组的凝血功能指标，及治疗后的临床用血量、住院时间及病死率。结果:与治疗前相比，治疗后观察组和对照组的凝血酶原时间(prothrombin time，PT)、活化部分凝血活酶时间(activated partial thromboplastin time，APTT)及D-二聚体水平降低(P<0.05)，FIB水平明显升高(P<0.05)。观察组的红细胞(red blood cell，RBC) 输注量、新鲜冰冻血浆(fresh frozen plasma，FFP)输注量、重症加强护理病房(intensive care unit，ICU)时间及病死率均明显低于对照组，差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。创伤性凝血病患者PT>18 s(r=0.623，P=0.024)、APTT>60 s(r=0.722，P=0.018)、凝血酶时间(thrombin time，TT)>15 s(r=0.719，P=0.033)与ISS评分呈正相关。碱缺失(base deficit，BD)≥6(OR=3.678，95%CI=1.065～9.417)、格拉斯哥评分(Glasgow coma scale，GCS)≤8(OR=5.299，95%CI=1.122～8.711)和血小板(platelet，PLT)计数(OR=0.982，95%CI=0.971～0.996)是严重创伤患者发生创伤性凝血病的独立预测因素。结论:人FIB可有效改善创伤性凝血病患者的凝血功能，降低病死率、缩短ICU时间，创伤性凝血病与创伤严重程度、合并休克、低体温和重型颅脑损伤存在一定的相关性。     

Tuning effect of silicon substitution on magnetic and high frequency electromagnetic properties of R2Fe17 and their composites

In this work, we report the tuning effect of the Si substitution on the magnetic and high frequency electromagnetic properties of R₂Fe₁₇ compounds and their paraffin composites. It is found that the introduction of Si can remarkably improve the magnetic and electromagnetic properties of the R₂Fe₁₇ compounds, making the R₂Fe_17–xSi_x-paraffin composites excellent microwave absorption materials (MAMs). By introducing the Si element, their saturation magnetizations decrease slightly, while much higher Curie temperatures are obtained. Furthermore, better impedance match is reached due to the decrease of the high-frequency permittivity ε′ by about 40%–50%, which finally enhances the performance of the microwave absorption. The peak frequency (f_RL) of the reflection loss (RL) curve moves toward high frequency domain and the qualified bandwidth (QB, RL ≤ ?10 dB) increases remarkably. The maximum QB of 3.3 GHz (12.0–15.3 GHz) is obtained for the Sm_1.5Y_0.5Fe₁₅Si₂-paraffin composite (d = 1.0 mm) and the maximum RL of ?53.6 dB is achieved for Nd₂Fe₁₅Si₂-paraffin composite (d = 2.2 mm), both surpassing most of the reported MAMs. Additionally, a distinguished dielectric microwave absorption peak is observed, which further increases the QB in these composites.     

基于开源技术的城市地理信息平台构建方法研究

摘 要：针对城市地理信息平台构建过程中存在的数据获取困难、研发成本较高等问题， 引入开源技术，对基于开源数据、开源开发平台与开源工具的城市地理信息平台构建技术进行 研究。所提出的城市地理信息平台由数据模块与可视化模块 2 部分组成。为构建数据模块，由 开源地理信息项目(OSM)获取了建筑与区划数据，并设计了建筑合并算法以提升数据质量。建 筑数据随之基于行政区划分级存储，通过由 ASP. NET 构建的数据接口提供给具体应用。可视 化模块则基于开源地理信息系统(GIS)项目 Cesium 实现，并设计了完善的用户界面。以北京市 为例，完成了原型系统的开发与测试，证实了该技术体系的可行性，通过开源技术降低平台研 发成本，推进城市地理信息平台的研究与应用。     

High-efficiency Silicon Solar Cells: A Review

Over the past few decades, crystalline silicon solar cells have been extensively studied due to their high efficiency, high reliability, and low cost. In addition, these types of cells lead the industry and account for more than half of the market. For the foreseeable future, Si will still be a critical material for photovoltaic devices in the solar cell industry. In this paper, we discuss key issues, cell concepts, and the status of recent high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells.     

Fatal Attraction: How Bacterial Adhesins Affect Host Signaling and What We Can Learn from Them

The ability of bacterial species to colonize and infect host organisms is critically dependent upon their capacity to adhere to cellular surfaces of the host. Adherence to cell surfaces is known to be essential for the activation and delivery of certain virulence factors, but can also directly affect host cell signaling to aid bacterial spread and survival. In this review we will discuss the recent advances in the field of bacterial adhesion, how we are beginning to unravel the effects adhesins have on host cell signaling, and how these changes aid the bacteria in terms of their survival and evasion of immune responses. Finally, we will highlight how the exploitation of bacterial adhesins may provide new therapeutic avenues for the treatment of a wide range of bacterial infections.