The enhancement of flowery-like aroma in green tea under optimized processing conditions by sensory-directed flavor analysis.

Flowery-like aroma are positive contributors to green tea. Here, the optimal processing conditions for green tea with flowery-like aroma were designed using spreading time, fixation time and drying temperature as three factors designed by response surface methodology (RSM), and the response value of aroma sensory evaluation score. The volatiles in batches of tea samples were analyzed by GC-MS. The optimal quality was obtained with a flowery-like aroma by RSM under a spreading time of 8.97 h, fixation time of 162.3 s, and drying temperature of 103.32 °C. GC-O and odor activity values further revealed floral-like volatiles, including decanal, linalool oxide, ß-lonone, geraniol, (Z)-jasmone, linalool, nonanal, and benzeneacetaldehyde. The recombination of these floral volatiles confirmed the consistency with the floral green tea. Furthermore, the extending spreading duration (8-10 h), reducing fixation duration (160-190 s), and increasing drying temperature (100-115 °C) promote their accumulation in green tea. This study provides new perspectives for the precise enhancement of floral odorants for green tea.

Inhaled siRNA Formulations for Respiratory Diseases: From Basic Research to Clinical Application.

The development of siRNA technology has provided new opportunities for gene-specific inhibition and knockdown, as well as new ideas for the treatment of disease. Four siRNA drugs have already been approved for marketing. However, the instability of siRNA in vivo makes systemic delivery ineffective. Inhaled siRNA formulations can deliver drugs directly to the lung, showing great potential for treating respiratory diseases. The clinical applications of inhaled siRNA formulations still face challenges because effective delivery of siRNA to the lung requires overcoming the pulmonary and cellular barriers. This paper reviews the research progress for siRNA inhalation formulations for the treatment of various respiratory diseases and summarizes the chemical structural modifications and the various delivery systems for siRNA. Finally, we conclude the latest clinical application research for inhaled siRNA formulations and discuss the potential difficulty in efficient clinical application.

Surface Properties of Alkyldi(oxyethylene) ß-D-Maltoside.

A series of nonionic disaccharide-based surfactants alkyldi(oxyethylene) ß-d-maltosides (4a-4h, n = 6-16) were synthesized, and their physicochemical properties were further investigated. Six ß-D-maltosides (4c-4h, n = 8-16) exhibited a fan-shaped texture feature, whereas hexyldi(oxyethylene) ß-D-maltoside (4a) had the strongest hygroscopicity. Owing to the incorporation of the hydrophilic dioxyethyl spacer (-(OCH2CH2)2-), the related water solubility improved significantly. Tetradecyldi(oxyethylene) ß-D-maltoside (4g) had good water solubility, whereas hexadecyldi(oxyethylene) ß-D-maltoside (4h) had weak water solubility. Meanwhile, the surface tension of ß-D-maltosides (4a-4g, n = 6-14) had a decreasing tendency with increasing the alkyl chain length, whereas 4g had the best surface activity. Furthermore, decyldi(oxyethylene) ß-D-maltoside (4e) had the best foaming ability and foam stability. Dodecyldi(oxyethylene) ß-D-maltoside (4f) had the best emulsifying property in the rapeseed oil/water system. In contrast, both ammonium dodecyl sulfate (NH4DS)/4f and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC)/4f binary surfactant systems showed a synergistic effect in surface activity because the CCMC/CMCidmix was <1. NaCl impacted the surface activity of the aqueous 4f solution through salt-surfactant synergistic effects. The results showed that such surfactants should have potential applications in the related field in the future.

Design and analysis of full-scale scanning system for curved glass based on motion and 3D features.

In recent years, mobile phones with glass curved screens have become more and more widely used. The irregular shape of the curved screen and the light transmittance characteristic of the glass have brought great challenges to its automatic defect detection. Aiming at the defect detection of the glass cover of the curved screen, this paper designs a full-scale scanning system by combining motion and three-dimensional (3D) features. First, a scanning system is constructed, and a geometric error modeling method is proposed to improve the accuracy of the scanning system; second, based on the point cloud of the 3D glass cover obtained by the scanning system, a point cloud registration method is presented by integrating the motion and 3D features; finally, the laser tracker is further used to calibrate the scanning system to analyze the mechanical error. Experimental results show that the introduction of straightness error and perpendicularity error can effectively solve the mismatch and fault problems of point cloud registration, and improve the accuracy of the scanning system. In addition, the registration method proposed in this paper can effectively reconstruct the complete point cloud of 3D glass cover for detection. The reconstruction accuracy of the plane part can reach 0.031 mm, and that of the curved part can reach 0.091 mm.

Fluorescent pattern recognition of metal ions by nanoparticles of bovine serum albumin as a chemical nose/tongue.

A sensor array mimicking a chemical nose/tongue based on bovine serum albumin nanoparticles (BSANsn) has been developed for the fluorescence pattern recognition of metal ions in biofluids. Three types of BSANsn (BSANs10, BSANs20, and BSANs40) show the same excitation/emission peak at 478/526 nm. According to the differential fluorescence variation, the sensor array shows particular fluorescence response patterns depending upon metal ions. Upon principal component analysis (PCA), it was found that the sensor array can distinguish 18 metal ions clearly at a concentration of as low as 10 µM. Moreover, different concentrations of metal ions and mixed metal ions of diverse kinds or valence states can be differentiated by the sensor in biofluids. In addition, the results were well consistent with those obtained with the traditional ICP-AES method.

Synthesis and property of alkyl dioxyethyl α-D-xyloside.

Due to the inherent defects of the long alkyl chain in the related hydrophilicity and water solubility, alkyl α-D-xylosides (7) had hardly the practical application as sugar-based surfactants and should be reconstructed to obtain alkyl dioxyethyl α-D-xylosides (5) with dioxyethylene fragment (-(OCH2CH2)2-)) as the hydrophilic spacer to increase the related TPSA value. With D-xylose as the raw material, 1,2-cis alkyl dioxyethyl α-D-xylosides (5a-5f, n = 6-12) were stereoselectively synthesized. Their physicochemical properties including water solubility, surface tension, foamability, emulsification, thermotropic liquid crystal, and hygroscopicity had been investigated. Their water solubility was found to decrease gradually whereas their calculated HLB numbers were 14.72 â†’ 11.67 (n = 6 â†’ 12) with increasing alkyl chain length (n). Dodecyl dioxyethyl α-D-xyloside (5f) had not water solubility because the HLB number was low. Furthermore, their CMC values decreased with increasing the alkyl chain length, and the CMC value of decyl dioxyethyl α-D-xyloside (5e) was as low as 9.21 × 10-5 mol·L-1. Octyl dioxyethyl α-D-xyloside (5c) had the lowest surface tension (27.25 mN·m-1) at the CMC. Both of nonyl and decyl dioxyethyl α-D-xylosides (5d & 5e) possessed good foaming power and foam stability. Decyl dioxyethyl α-D-xyloside (5e) had the strongest emulsifying property either in the toluene/water system or in the octane/water system. Nonyl dioxyethyl α-D-xylosides (5d) had the most stylish SA texture. Hexyl dioxyethyl α-D-xyloside (5a) possessed the strongest hygroscopicity. Therefore, the alkyl dioxyethyl α-D-xylosides as a class of novel sugar-based surfactants will be widely considered as promising candidates for various practical applications.

Water Solubility and Surface Activity of Alkoxyethyl ß-d-Maltosides.

Green surfactants alkyl glycosides are key to solve the inherent problem of water solubility due to their commercial application and extensive scientific research. Based on the enhancement strategy of hydrophilicity through the reconstruction of the conventional alkyl ß-d-maltoside by introducing an oxyethyl group (-OCH2CH2-), d-maltose was used to prepare a series of nonionic disaccharide-based surfactants alkoxyethyl ß-d-maltosides (4a-h, n = 6-16) so that the related water solubility was effectively improved, while the corresponding surface activity and other excellent properties were still maintained. Their physicochemical properties, including water solubility, surface activity, moisture absorption, and thermotropic liquid crystalline behavior, were investigated. The liquid crystal texture of alkoxyethyl ß-d-maltosides (n = 7-16) has a fan-shaped focal conic texture. Furthermore, decoxyethyl ß-d-maltoside had the strongest foaming characteristic and the best foam stability. Moreover, dodecoxyethyl ß-d-maltoside (4f, n =12) had stronger emulsifying activity in the rapeseed oil/water system. Finally, CTAC/4f binary surfactants had an obvious synergistic effect. Such ß-d-maltosides should have good application prospects in the future.

Surface Activity of Alkoxy Ethoxyethyl ß-d-Glucopyranosides.

Dioxyethene fragment (-(OCH2CH2)2-) was introduced into traditional alkyl ß-d-glucopyranosides to ameliorate the water solubility, and eight nonionic surfactants, that is, alkoxy ethoxyethyl ß-d-glucopyranosides with alkyl chain lengths (n = 6-16), were synthesized and characterized. Their hydrophilic and lipophilic balance number, water solubility, critical micelle concentration (cmc), γcmc, Γmax, and hygroscopic rate decreased with an increase in the alkyl chain length. Hexadecoxy ethoxyethyl ß-d-glucopyranoside had no water solubility at 25 °C. Decoxy ethoxyethyl ß-d-glucopyranoside had the best emulsifying property in the toluene/water and n-octane/water systems and the strongest foaming property, whereas dodecoxy ethoxyethyl ß-d-glucopyranoside had the best emulsifying property in the rapeseed oil/water system. Such ß-d-glucopyranosides (n = 6-12) exhibited excellent surface activity. In addition, for the binary mixture of alkoxy ethoxyethyl ß-d-glucopyranosides (n = 8, 10, 12) and sodium dodecyl sulfate or cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, their cmc values were lower than the pure ß-d-glucopyranosides, indicating that they had synergistic interactions. The fan focal conic textures of alkoxy ethoxyethyl ß-d-glucopyranosides (n = 7-16) were observed during the cooling process under a polarizing optical microscope. Alkoxy ethoxyethyl ß-d-glucopyranosides (n = 14, 16) had the related melting points and the clear points with differential scanning calorimetry. With ß-d-glucopyranosides (n = 6-16) and n-butanol as the surfactant and cosurfactant, respectively, and with cyclohexane as the oil phase, the related microemulsion areas in their pseudoternary phase diagram system were investigated with the visual observation at 25 °C. Along with the slashing requirements of petroleum consumption, environmental protection, and green and sustainable development, nonionic sugar-based alkoxy ethoxyethyl ß-d-glucopyranosides should be expected to have their potential practical application because of their strengthened hydrophilicity, improved water solubility, and enhanced surface activity.

Temporal evolution characteristics of PM2.5 concentration based on continuous wavelet transform.

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is an important haze index, and the researches on the evolutionary characteristics of the PM2.5 concentration will provide a fundamental and guiding prerequisite for the haze prediction. However, the past researchers were usually based on the overall time-domain evolution information of PM2.5. Since the temporal evolution of PM2.5 concentration is nonstationary, previous studies might neglect some important localization features that the evolution has various predominant periods at different scales. Therefore, we applied the wavelet transform to study the localized intermittent oscillations of PM2.5. First, we analyze the daily average PM2.5 concentration collected from the automatic monitoring stations. The result reveals that the predominant oscillation period does vary with time. There exist multiple oscillation periods on the scale of 14-32 d, 62-104 d, 105-178 d and 216-389 d and the 298d is the first dominant period in the entire evolutionary process. Moreover, we want to figure out whether the temporal characteristics of PM2.5 in the days with heavy haze also have localized intermittent periodicities. We select the hourly average PM2.5 concentration in 120 h when the haze pollution is serious. We find that the principal period has experienced two abrupt shifts and the energy at the 63-hour scale is the most powerful. The results in these two independent analyses come into the same conclusion that the multiscale features shown in the temporal evolution of PM2.5 cannot be ignored and may play an important role in the further haze prediction.

Tailor-Made Engineering of Bioinspired Inks for Writing Barcode-like Multifunctional Sensory Electronics.

This letter reports on a novel cost-efficient and multifunctional barcode-like sensors array (BLSA) printed with a conductive bioinspired smart ink. The conductive  ink (P@G ink), which can be further chemically engineered with different organic ligands, was generated via facile one-pot hydrothermal reduction of graphene oxide (GO) in dopamine (DA) as coreductan Usingvarious  chemical derivatives of the P@G inks on a flexible substrate (e.g., Kapton), a highly integrated BLSA as well as smart nose/tongue mimic array were generated for simultaneous sensing and distinguishing of complex physical and chemical stimuli, including temperature, light, air pressure, relative humidity, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Due to these very attractive features, the reported P@G ink-based BLSA would have the potential for unique opportunities regarding "all-in-one"-yet cost-effective-disposable electronics and sensors.

Water Solubility and Surface Property of Alkyl Di-/Tri-/Tetraoxyethyl ß-d-Xylopyranosides.

Alkyl di-/tri-/tetraoxyethyl ß-d-xylopyranosides as derivatives of alkyl xylosides are a class of non-ionic sugar-based surfactants. They were stereoselectively synthesized by the Helferich method. Their properties including hydrophilic-lipophilic balance number, water solubility, surface property, foam property, emulsifying property, and thermotropic liquid crystal property were mainly investigated. The results showed that their water solubility decreased with increasing the alkyl chain length and increasing the number of the oligooxyethyl fragment. The critical micelle concentration had a monotonous decreasing trend with increasing the alkyl chain length. Nonyl di-/tri-/tetraoxyethyl ß-d-xylopyranosides [-(OCH2CH2)m-, where m = 2, 3, and 4] exhibited the most excellent foaming ability and foam stability. In the n-octane/water system, dodecyl tetraoxyethyl ß-d-xylopyranosides and tetradecyl tetraoxyethyl ß-d-xylopyranosides had the strongest emulsion ability. In addition, some alkyl di-/tri-/tetraoxyethyl ß-d-xylopyranosides had thermotropic liquid crystal properties. Such sugar-based surfactants, alkyl di-/tri-/tetraoxyethyl ß-d-xylopyranosides, will be expected to develop for a variety of practical application.

Facile reflux synthesis of polyethyleneimine-capped fluorescent carbon dots for sequential bioassays toward Cu2+ /H2 S and its application for a logic system.

In this work, we present a novel facile strategy for green synthesis of polyethyleneimine (PEI)-capped carbon dots (PEI-CDs), in which citric acid and PEI were chosen as reactants and highly fluorescent PEI-CDs could be readily obtained via a simple one-pot refluxing under 120 °C within 2 H. Fluorescence studies indicate that the as-prepared PEI-CDs exhibit strong fluorescence emission at 446 nm with excitation at 365 nm. Upon the sequential addition of Cu2+ and H2 S, PEI-CDs result in an interesting "ON-OFF-ON" three-state emission responses, promising a bifunctional sensory platform. Moreover, the Cu2+ /H2 S-facilated reversible fluorescence changes of PEI-CDs have demonstrated the design of an INHIBIT logic system based on Boolean logic.

[Deguelin inhibits proliferation and regulates the expression of MCM3-CDC45 in MCF-7 and H1299 cells in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of deguelin on the proliferation of breast cancer MCF-7 cells and lung cancer H1299 cells in vitro and the expression of minichromosome maintenance protein 3 (MCM3) and CDC45 in the cells. METHODS: MTT assay was used to evaluate the proliferation of MCF-7 and H1299 cells exposed to different concentrations of deguelin for 48, 72 or 96 h. The growth of the cells was observed microscopically and the changes of MCM3 and CDC45 expressions in MCF-7 and H1299 cells following deguelin treatment were detected with fluorescence quantitative PCR. RESULTS: The proliferation of MCF-7 cells was significantly inhibited by exposure to 0.25, 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 30, and 50 µmol/L deguelin for 48, 72, and 96 h in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. In MCF-7 cells, the IC50 of deguelin at 48, 72, and 96 h was 9, 3, and 2 µmol/L, respectively. Deguelin treatments of H1299 cells at 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 30, 50, and 100 µmol/L also resulted in a concentration- and time-dependent inhibition of the cell growth with an IC50 at 96 h of 2 µmol/L. Optical microscopy of the cells revealed a decreased number of viable cells with obvious cell shrinkage following deguelin treatments. The expression of MCM3 and CDC45 were significantly reduced in the cells after deguelin treatments. CONCLUSION: Deguelin can inhibit the proliferation of MCF-7 and H1299 cells in vitro and down-regulate the expression of MCM3 and CDC45 in the cells.

Ototoxicity on cochlear nucleus neurons following systemic application of gentamicin.

CONCLUSION: The gentamicin-induced pathological alteration in the cochlear nucleus is not exclusively a secondary consequence of the damage in the cochlea. Instead, the toxic effect of gentamicin on the cochlear nucleus may occur simultaneously or even earlier than that on the cochlea. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the pathological alteration of cochlear nucleus neurons in guinea pigs following systemic application of gentamicin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Guinea pigs were injected with gentamicin for 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks, respectively. In gentamicin-treated animals, the hearing function was evaluated by measuring the auditory brainstem response (ABR). The number and cross-sectional area of substance P-positive neurons in the cochlear nucleus were also measured. RESULTS: The threshold of ABR and the number of substance P-positive neurons in the cochlear nucleus were significantly increased after 1 week and 3 days of injection of gentamicin, respectively. The cross-sectional area of substance P-positive neurons in the cochlear nucleus was significantly reduced after 1-day injection of gentamicin.

[Congenital unilateral malformations of lung referred as bronchial foreign bodies].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the resemblances and differences of congenital unilateral malformations of lung and bronchial foreign bodies in clinical manifestation, physical sign and radiological examination, and to summarize the characteristics and to introduce diagnostic methods of the congenital unilateral malformations of lung. METHOD: Ten patients with the congenital unilateral malformation of lung, who were diagnosed the pulmonary atelectasis or the bronchial foreign body initially, were analyzed. Three typical cases were analyzed in details. RESULT: Four patients were confirmed by rigid bronchoscope. Four patients were confirmed by X-ray and high resolution CT of lung, one patient by high- resolution CT and 3D stereographs of lung, one patient by autopsy. Six cases were the congenital malformations of the right lung and 4 cases were the left lung. Three cases of them combined with congenital cardiovascular diseases and other malformations. CONCLUSION: There are many resemblances between the congenital unilateral malformation of lung and the bronchial foreign body in clinical manifestation and physical sign. The congenital unilateral malformation of lung was referred as the bronchial foreign body easily. Although it can be confirmed by rigid bronchoscope, the risk of the operation for these children was very high. So if the disease was considered, high resolution CT and 3D -stereographs of lung can make a definite diagnosis.

[Central suspension operation of hyoid and lower jaw for OSAS].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prospective effect and minimize the postoperative trauma of applying the central suspension operation of hyoid and lower jaw for the treatment for OSAS in 28 cases. METHOD: The data of 28 patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome(OSAS) operated with central suspension operation of hyoid and lower jaw and uvulopalatopharyngoplasty(UPPP) were analyzed. RESULT: One case (3.6%) reported unchanged snoring and apnea and hyponea index. Twenty-seven cases (96.4%) improved after the operation for at least 6 months to 3 years. The complications include tonsil bleeding (1 case), suffocation after extraction of endotracheal tube (1 case), temporal tongue insufficiency (1 case). CONCLUSION: On the previous basis of UPPP, we emphasize the protection of pharynx muscles and adjusting the position. The central suspension operation of hyoid and lower jaw not only increases the curative effect in the long run, but also avoids the tracheotomy.

Endoscopic patterns of gastric mucosa and its clinicopathological significance.

AIM: To explore the correlation of magnifying endoscopic patterns and histopathology, Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection of the gastric mucosa. METHODS: Gastric mucosal patterns in 140 patients with chronic gastritis were studied using Olympus GIF-Q240Z magnifying endoscope. Histopathological examination, rapid urease test and Warrthin-Starry staining were taken with biopsy samples from the magnified sites of stomach. The magnifying endoscopic patterns were compared with histopathological results and H pylori detection. RESULTS: The pit patterns of gastric mucosa were classified as types A (round spot), B (short rod), C (branched), D (reticular) and E (villus). The detection rate of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) by magnifying endoscopy was 94.3% (33/35), which was significantly higher than that by routine endoscopy (22.9%, 8/35) (P<0.01). The pit patterns of 31 cases of intestinal metaplasia (IM) appeared as type E in 18 cases (58.1%), type D in 8 cases (25.8%) and type C in 5 cases (16.1%). Fourteen out of 18 patients (77.8%) with complete type (type I) of IM appeared as type E of pit patterns, whereas only 4 of 13 (30.8%) patients with incomplete type (types II and III) of IM appeared as type E (P<0.05). Collecting venules in the anterior of lower part of gastric corpus were subgrouped into types R (regular), I (irregular) and D (disappeared). H pylori infection was found in 12.2%(9/74), 60%(9/15) and 84.3%(43/51) cases in these types respectively. H pylori infection rate in type R was significantly lower than that in other two types (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Magnifying endoscopy may have an obvious value in diagnosing chronic atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia and H pylori infection.