Andrographolide Inhibits Biofilm and Virulence in Listeria monocytogenes as a Quorum-Sensing Inhibitor

Listeria monocytogenes is a major foodborne pathogen that can cause listeriosis in humans and animals. Andrographolide is known as a natural antibiotic and exhibits good antibacterial activity. We aimed to investigate the effect of andrographolide on two quorum-sensing (QS) systems, LuxS/AI-2 and Agr/AIP of L. monocytogenes, as well as QS-controlled phenotypes in this study. Our results showed that neither luxS expression nor AI-2 production was affected by andrographolide. Nevertheless, andrographolide significantly reduced the expression levels of the agr genes and the activity of the agr promoter P₂. Results from the crystal violet staining method, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) demonstrated that andrographolide remarkably inhibited the biofilm-forming ability of L. monocytogenes 10403S. The preformed biofilms were eradicated when exposed to andrographolide, and reduced surviving cells were also observed in treated biofilms. L. monocytogenes treated with andrographolide exhibited decreased ability to secrete LLO and adhere to and invade Caco-2 cells. Therefore, andrographolide is a potential QS inhibitor by targeting the Agr QS system to reduce biofilm formation and virulence of L. monocytogenes.     

振动噪声等高图的电驱动桥噪声预测及优化*

在项目开发前期通过优化电驱动桥扭矩特性的设计,可以规避噪声大问题。根据电驱动桥台架在对应扭矩下的振动噪声特性,提出了一套稳定高效的测试流程和分析方法。首先设计了一套完整的试验流程,制定了精准的数据分析方法。然后绘制出能够全面反映电驱动桥振动噪声特性的等高图。最后利用电驱动桥台架的振动噪声等高图,准确评估电驱动桥加速工况下振动噪声风险,为主机厂和电驱动桥零部件企业提供电驱动桥扭矩特性设计前期指导。利用该方法成功识别到某电驱动桥匀速及加速工况下电机及齿轮的啸叫问题。通过优化电驱动桥扭矩特性设计,电机48阶噪声峰值降低了8.5dB(A),确认该方法准确可靠,具备推广应用价值。     

交叉分段差分进化支持向量回归的气体超声 流量计测量方法

为了进一步提高全量程气体超声流量计的测量精度,基于多通道声波到时和实时温度,提出了一种交叉分段差分进化(Differential Evolution)支持向量回归(Support Vector Regression)DE-SVR模型。考虑到气体在不同流量条件下的流体状态不同,提出了交叉分段处理的方法,采用DE算法优化选取SVR参数。实验结果表明,对于16~1600m3/h全量程,交叉分段DE-SVR和传统积分方法计算气体流量的平均相对误差分别为0.00447和0.02781,前者较后者降低了83.93%;对于16~160m3/h小流量,交叉分段DE-SVR和无分段DE-SVR算法计算结果平均相对误差分别为0.00436和0.03214,前者较后者降低了86.43%。该方法有效避免了声道长度、探头角度以及管道直径等参数不确定性对流量计算的影响,为全量程气体流量的高精度测量提供了保障。     

圆柱类构件超声相控阵聚焦模型

在利用平面相控阵超声换能器对圆柱类构件检测时,受曲界面结构引起的入射波和回波时延的影响,扫描声束的波阵面产生弯曲,在利用传统迭代遍历算法计算延迟时间时效率低,无法发挥相控阵换能器检测优势。针对上述问题,建立了一种基于圆柱类构件特征和耦合介质特性的超声相控阵扫描成像的聚焦模型。该模型基于换能器、耦合介质、圆柱类构件材料特性和几何关系以及声线模型和折射定律,建立了耦合介质及被检构件的声速、曲面曲率半径、阵列与曲面间的距离等关联的延迟时间聚焦控制模型。利用该模型计算出的延时时间,对各阵元发射时间进行控制,从而实现扫描声束的聚焦。该文以液体和有机玻璃制介质楔块为例,对圆柱钢曲面的相控阵声束聚焦进行了仿真实验,结果表明该文方法计算效率显著提升,同时声束可以在预设位置实现聚焦,验证了该模型在计算效率上的优势与有效性。     

信息时代的铌酸锂晶体:进展与展望

铌酸锂晶体具有非线性效应、电光效应、声光效应、光折变效应、压电效应与热释电效应等多种物理特性,在表面声波器件、光电器件、声光器件等方面获得广泛的应用.经历了六十多年的发展,铌酸锂晶体历久弥新,随着材料特性的不断开发,新功能、新器件、新应用层出不穷,尤其是铌酸锂单晶薄膜在薄膜滤波器、集成光电器件等领域的性能具有明显优势,...     

Rutin Inhibits Ox-LDL-Mediated Macrophage Inflammation and Foam Cell Formation by Inducing Autophagy and Modulating PI3K/ATK Signaling

Atherosclerosis (AS) is one of the leading causes of death among the elderly, and is primarily caused by foam cell generation and macrophage inflammation. Rutin is an anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-allergic, and antiviral flavonoid molecule, known to have anti-atherosclerotic and autophagy-inducing properties, but its biological mechanism remains poorly understood. In this study, we uncovered that rutin could suppress the generation of inflammatory factors and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in ox-LDL-induced M2 macrophages and enhance their polarization. Moreover, rutin could decrease foam cell production, as shown by oil red O staining. In addition, rutin could increase the number of autophagosomes and the LC3II/I ratio, while lowering p62 expression. Furthermore, rutin could significantly inhibit the PI3K/ATK signaling pathway. In summary, rutin inhibits ox-LDL-mediated macrophage inflammation and foam cell formation by inducing autophagy and modulating PI3K/ATK signaling, showing potential in treating atherosclerosis.     

The Pharmacokinetics in Mice and Cell Uptake of Thymus Immunosuppressive Pentapeptide Using LC-MS/MS Analysis

Thymus immunosuppressive pentapeptide (TIPP) is a novel anti-inflammatory peptide with high efficacy and low toxicity. This study aims to establish a selective LC-MS/MS method for analyzing the analyte TIPP in biological samples, laying the foundation for further PK and PD studies of TIPP. Protein precipitation was conducted in acetonitrile supplemented with 2% formic acid and 25 mg/mL dithiothreitol as a stabilizer, which was followed by backwashing the organic phase using dichloromethane. The chromatographic separation of TIPP was achieved on a C18 column with a gradient elution method. During positive electrospray ionization, TIPP was analyzed via multiple-reaction monitoring. The linear relationships between the concentration of TIPP and peak area in murine plasma cell lysates, supernatants, and the final cell rinse PBS were established within the ranges of 20–5000 ng/mL, 1–200 ng/mL, 10–200 μg/mL, and 0.1–20 ng/mL, respectively (r² > 0.99). Validated according to U.S. FDA guidelines, the proposed method was proved to be acceptable. Such a method had been successfully applied to investigate the pharmacokinetics of TIPP in mice via subcutaneous injection. The plasma half-life in mice was 5.987 ± 1.824 min, suggesting that TIPP is swiftly eliminated in vivo. The amount of TIPP uptake by RBL-2H3 cells was determined using this method, which was also visually verified by confocal. Furthermore, the effective intracellular concentration of TIPP was deduced by comparing the intracellular concentration of TIPP and degrees of inflammation, enlightening further investigation on the intracellular target and mechanism of TIPP.     

Weak Graph Map Homotopy and Its Applications∗

The authors introduce a notion of a weak graph map homotopy (they call it M-homotopy), discuss its properties and applications. They prove that the weak graph map homotopy equivalence between graphs coincides with the graph homotopy equivalence defined by Yau et al in 2001. The difference between them is that the weak graph map homotopy transformation is defined in terms of maps, while the graph homotopy transformation is defined by means of combinatorial operations. They discuss its advantages over the graph homotopy transformation. As its applications, they investigate the mapping class group of a graph and the 1-order MP-homotopy group of a pointed simple graph. Moreover, they show that the 1-order MP-homotopy group of a pointed simple graph is invariant up to the weak graph map homotopy equivalence.     

桑蚕种良卵率调查中样本间卵粒数的偏差控制方法

桑蚕种良卵率是蚕种质量检验的重要指标,控制样本间卵粒数的偏差是保证良卵率准确性的关键。通过对桑蚕卵粒重的调查分析,得出其分布服从正态分布。若从一批蚕种中抽取1g卵作为样本,则来自同一总体的2个样本的卵粒数之差不超过16粒,其置信概率为95%;当置信概率取99%时,两个样本的卵粒数之差不超过21粒。文章为蚕业生产提供了一种实用的克卵粒数偏差控制方法。