The multi-scale structure changes of γ-ray irradiated potato starch to mitigate pasting/digestion properties.

The comprehensive understanding of multi-scale structure of starch and how the structure regulates the pasting/digestion properties remain unclear. This work investigated the effects of γ-ray irradiation with different doses on multi-scale structure and pasting/digestion properties of potato starch. Results indicated that γ-ray at lower doses (<20 kGy) had little effect on micromorphology of starch, increased mainly the amylose content and the thickness of amorphous region while decreased crystallinity, double helix content and lamellar ordering. With the increase of dose, the internal structure of large granules was destroyed, resulting in the depolymerization of starch to form more short-chains and to reduce molecular weight. Meanwhile, amylose content decreased due to the depolymerization of amylose. The enhanced double helix content, crystallinity, lamellar ordering and structural compactness manifested the formation of the thicker and denser starch structure. These structure changes resulted in the decreased viscosity, the increased stability and anti- digestibility of paste.

Cellulose nanofibers produced from spaghetti squash peel by deep eutectic solvents and ultrasonication.

In this study, the cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) derived from spaghetti squash peel (SSP) were prepared using a novel approach involving deep eutectic solvent (DES) pretreatment coupled with ultrasonication. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations revealed that the number of hydrogen bonds influences the viscosity and density of DES systems, and experimental viscosity (ηexp) confirmed consistency with the computed viscosity (ηMD) trends. After DES pretreatment and ultrasonication, the cellulose content of ChCl/oxalic acid (ChCl/OA) CNF (35.63%) and ChCl/formic acid (ChCl/FA) (32.46%) is higher than ChCl/Urea CNF (28.27%). The widths of ChCl/OA CNF, ChCl/FA CNF, and ChCl/Urea CNF were 19.83, 11.34, and 18.27 nm, respectively, showing a network-like fiber distribution. Compared with SSP (29.76%) and non-ultrasonic samples, the crystallinity index of ChCl/OA CNF, ChCl/FA CNF, and ChCl/Urea CNF was improved by ultrasonication. The thermal decomposition residue of ChCl/OA CNF (25.54%), ChCl/FA CNF (18.54%), and ChCl/Urea CNF (23.62%) was lower than that of SSP (29.57%). These results demonstrate that CNFs can be prepared from SSP via DES pretreatment combined with ultrasonication. The lowest viscosity observed in the formic acid DES group (ηexp of 18 mPa·s), the ChCl/FA CNF exhibits excellent stability (Zeta potential of -37.6 mV), which can provide a promising prospect for utilization in biomass by-products and applications in the materials field.

Fine molecular structure and digestibility changes of potato starch irradiated with electron beam and X-ray.

The change of digestibility of starch irradiated with different types from the perspective of fine structure is not well understood. In this work, the change of internal structure, molecular weight and chain-length distribution, helical structure, lamellar structure, fractal structure and digestibility of native and treated potato starch with electron beam and X-ray was analyzed. Two irradiations caused the destruction of internal structure, the disappearance of growth rings and increase of pores. Irradiation degraded starch to produce short chains and to decrease molecular weight. Irradiation increased double helical content and the thickness and peak area of lamellar structure, resulting in the reorganization of amylopectin and increase of structure order degree. The protected glycosidic linkages increased starch resistance to hydrolase attack, thereby enhancing the anti-digestibility of irradiated starch. Pearson correlation matrix also verified the above-mentioned results. Moreover, X-ray more increased the anti-digestibility of starch by enhancing ability to change fine structure.

Comparative investigation of the effects of electron beam and X-ray irradiation on potato starch: Structure and functional properties.

Electron beam (particle radiation) and X-ray (electromagnetic radiation) without radioisotope in the application of material modification have received increasing attention in the last decade. To clarify the effect of electron beam and X-ray on the morphology, crystalline structure and functional properties of starch, potato starch was irradiated using electron beam and X-ray at 2, 5, 10, 20 and 30 kGy, respectively. Electron beam and X-ray treatment increased the amylose content of starch. The surface morphology of starch did not change at lower doses (< 5 kGy), but starch granules were aggregated with the increase of doses. All treatments decreased crystallinity, viscosity and swelling power but increased solubility and stability properties. The effects of electron beam and X-ray on the starch had a similar trend. Unlike X-ray, electron beam destructed the crystallinity of starch to a lesser extent, thereby increasing thermal stability and freeze-thaw stability. Furthermore, X-ray irradiation at higher doses (> 10 kGy) resulted in outstanding anti-retrogradation properties of starch compared with electron beam treatment. Thus, particle and electromagnetic irradiation displayed an excellent ability to modify starch with respective specific characteristics, which expands the potential application of these irradiations in the starch industry.

Sleep profile and the risk of cardiovascular events in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

A significant proportion of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) suffer from physical and mental disorders which lead to the decline of sleep profile. Sleep disorders are highly prevalent in these patients. But the effect of sleep on the outcomes of post-PCI patients remains unclear. We aim to examine the individual and joint effects of sleep quality and sleep duration on the risk of adverse cardiovascular events in post-PCI patients. We included 314 participants who were diagnosed with a first CAD and underwent PCI with drug-eluting stents and followed up for a mean duration of 341 days to assess major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). Sleep quality, based on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, was categorized as good (a score of ≤7) or poor (>7). Sleep duration was categorized into three classes: ≤ 5, 6-8 (reference group) and ≥ 9 hours per day. The log-rank test and the Cox regression model were used for data analysis. MACEs occurred in 26 (8.3%) patients. Subjects whose sleep duration was ≤ 5 hours per day had a shorter time to MACEs than those whose sleep duration was 6-8 hours (p = 0.036). A significantly increased risk for MACEs was observed for participants with a ≤ 5 hours sleep duration (HR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.02-4.64) after adjustment for demographic and clinical confounders. Associations between long sleep duration (≥ 9 hours), sleep quality, or their joint effect and MACEs were not found. This suggests the importance of considering sleep loss when developing strategies to improve health outcomes of PCI patients. And further researches are needed to examine the effects of different aspects of sleep quality on the prognosis of PCI patients and explore the reasons that lead to the decline of sleep profile.

Mannoproteins, arabinogalactan protein, rhamnogalacturonan II and their pairwise combinations regulating wine astringency induced by the interaction of proanthocyanidins and proteins.

Roles of polysaccharides on modulating wine astringency from the perspective of polyphenol-proteins interaction has received increasing attention in last decade. In this work, proanthocyanidins extracts from three wines with different polyphenolic profiles and organoleptic properties were prepared to establish polyphenol-proteins interaction model wines. The effect of three wine polysaccharides including mannoproteins (MP), arabinogalactan protein (AGP) and rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II) as well as their pairwise combinations on the interaction model wines were evaluated. Results showed that the structure and concentration of proanthocyanidins and polysaccharides had great influence on astringency. Proanthocyanidins with high mean degree of polymerization generated stronger astringency than others. Combining the results of fluorescence quenching and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, RG-II and other two polysaccharides (MP and AGP) modulated astringency through forming a ternary complex and competing reaction, respectively. Owing to synergetic effects, pairwise combinations of three polysaccharides (especially AGP + RG-II) reduced astringency more significantly than individual polysaccharides. Lower concentration (0.2 g/L-0.6 g/L) polysaccharides showed great contribution in modulating astringency. Sensory evaluation also verified the above-mentioned results. These findings were supposed to help better understand changes of astringency perception owing to the interaction of macromolecular substances in wine.

The association between poor sleep quality and anxiety and depression symptoms in Chinese patients with coronary heart disease.

Poor sleep quality might be a potentially modifiable predictor of prognosis in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Anxiety and depression symptoms are highly prevalent in these patients. Whether anxiety and depression symptoms are risk factors for poor sleep quality in Chinese patients with CHD is unclear. This study is intended to examine the prevalence of poor sleep quality in Chinese patients with CHD and its associations with anxiety and depression symptoms, and to explore whether sex, obesity and CHD type modify these associations. Three hundred and forty-eight participants were included. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI, >7 was defined as poor sleep quality) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were used to assess sleep quality and psychological symptoms. 47.1% of the participants had poor sleep quality. Logistic regression analysis showed that poor sleep quality was independently associated with anxiety and depression symptoms adjusting for demographic and clinical factors. However, adjusted for anxiety symptoms, poor sleep quality was no longer associated with depression symptoms. Subgroup and interaction analysis showed that poor sleep quality was associated with markedly higher HADS anxiety and depression scores among patients with stable angina than those with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). These findings suggest that poor sleep quality was associated with both anxiety and depression symptoms in Chinese patients with CHD. However, in the case of concurrent anxiety and depression, anxiety was the main related factor of a high prevalence of poor sleep quality. The association between poor sleep quality and psychological symptoms was influenced by CHD type.

Effect of Dietary Sodium Restriction on the Quality of Life of Patients With Heart Failure: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

BACKGROUND: Dietary salt restriction is recommended by many guidelines for patients with heart failure (HF). Quality of life (QoL) is an important end point of this intervention. However, the literature is still limited regarding the effect of dietary salt restriction on QoL in patients with HF. AIMS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effect of dietary sodium restriction on QoL in patients with HF. METHODS: We searched PubMed (MEDLINE), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), EMBASE, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health from the establishment of each database to December 20, 2020. We included randomized controlled trials with sodium restriction as an intervention. The primary outcome was QoL, and the secondary outcomes were mortality, readmission, and fatigue. We obtained the full text of potentially relevant trials, extracted data from the included trials, assessed their risk of bias, and performed a meta-analysis. RESULTS: We included 10 trials (1011 participants with HF) with 7 days to 83 months of follow-up. Dietary sodium restriction did not improve QoL over the long term (>30 days) ( P = .61). The pooled effects showed that this intervention might increase mortality risk ( P < .00001). It did not reduce the readmission rate within the short term (≤30 days) ( P = .78) but increased the readmission rate over the long term ( P = .0003). CONCLUSION: Our study did not show that interventions to restrict dietary sodium had a positive effect on patients with HF in terms of QoL, mortality, or readmission.

Facile one-pot synthesis of hierarchical N-doped porous carbon for efficient ibuprofen removal.

Developing high-performance materials for the efficient removal of pharmaceutical contaminants from polluted water has gained tremendous attention but is still a huge challenge. Herein, various N-doped porous carbons (NPCs) were fabricated via a facile and solvent-free pyrolysis strategy by using a mixture of melamine, hexamethylenetetramine, Pluronic F 127, and ZnCl2 as precursor. The resulting NPCs featuring large specific surface areas (803-1002 m2/g) and high nitrogen content (3.79-5.24%) were used as efficient adsorbent for the capture of ibuprofen (IBP) from water. Due to the combination of abundant mesoporous and microporous structure as well as high nitrogen content, the adsorption equilibrium was achieved within 60 min and the adsorption capacity was calculated to be 113 mg/g. Furthermore, it was found that the adsorption capacity exhibited a good correlation with the nitrogen content. In addition, the adsorption capacity of the resulting NPC was well-maintained even after 4 cycles due to its superior stability. The study is expected to encourage the rational design and synthesis of versatile heteroatom-doped porous carbons for practical application in the field of environmental remediation.

Intestinal lymphatic transport study of antitumor lead compound T-OA with liposomes.

Intestinal lymphatic transport has been proved to have contribution to oral absorption of some highly lipophilic drugs. T-OA, 3ßhydroxyolea-12-en-28-oic acid-3,5,6-trimethylpyrazin-2-methylester, has been reported to have anti-cancer activity. However，T-OA's poor solubility and difficulty to be absorbed cause low oral bioavailability. This work aims to investigate the influence of T-OA liposomes on intestinal lymphatic transport with rat model. T-OA liposomes were prepared by freeze-drying method, and particle size, zeta potential and entrapment efficiency of T-OA liposomes were detected to evaluate liposomes. Conscious restrained rat model was selected to evaluate intestinal lymphatic transport. The particle size, zeta potential and entrapment efficiency of T-OA liposomes were (184.05 ± 10.93) nm, (-21±0.85) mV and (93.24±2.25) %, respectively. The cumulative amounts in mesenteric lymph of T-OA liposomes and T-OA suspension within 12 h were (921.39±19.73) µg and (332.31±21.39) µg (n=6), respectively. Experimental results showed that T-OA liposomes could significantly promote T-OA's intestinal lymphatic transport and enhance its oral bioavailability.

Transcriptome analysis of hepatopancreas of Eriocheir sinensis with hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (HPND).

Hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (HPND) is a newly emerging disease in the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, which has resulted in large economic losses. However, the underlying cause of this disease remains unclear. To better understand the pathogenesis and pathogenic mechanism of HPND, we compared the transcriptome differences of the hepatopancreas of E. sinensis with and without HPND. The analysis yielded > 30 million reads for each sample of three test (with HPND) and three control groups (without HPND). We observed 978 downregulated genes and 644 upregulated genes. Among the gene ontology categories "biological process," "cellular component," and "molecular function", the subcategories cellular process, single-organism process, biological regulation, metabolic process, cell part, organelle, organelle part, binding, and catalytic were enriched. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that "metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450," "drug metabolism-cytochrome P450," "chemical carcinogenesis," and "material metabolism" were the "five" most significantly enriched pathways in the hepatopancreas of E. sinensis with HPND. The results revealed that material metabolic abnormalities and drug effects from the external environment might be associated with HPND in the Chinese mitten crab. Considering the wide use of pyrethroids for pond cleaning in Xinghua city, we speculated that pyrethroids might cause HPND in the Chinese mitten crab. Our study provided useful information about the cause and pathogenetic mechanisms of HPND and could help to prevent this disease in production practice.

Integrated UPLC-Q/TOF-MS Technique and MALDI-MS to Study of the Efficacy of YiXinshu Capsules Against Heart Failure in a Rat Model.

Background: Yixinshu Capsules (YXSC) are widely used in Chinese medicine for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, the therapeutic mechanisms of action are not well understood. Method: In this study, a metabonomic approach based on integrated UPLC-Q/TOF-MS technique and MALDI-MS was utilized to explore potential metabolic biomarkers that may help increase the understanding of heart failure (HF) and in order to assess the potential mechanisms of YXSC against HF. Plasma metabolic profiles were analyzed by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS with complementary hydrophilic interaction chromatography and reversed-phase liquid chromatography. Moreover, time-course analysis at the 2nd, 4th, and 10th week after permanent occlusion was conducted. In an effort to identify a more reliable potential metabolic marker, common metabolic markers of the 2nd, 4th, and 10th week were selected through multivariate data analysis. Furthermore, MALDI-MS was applied to identify metabolic biomarkers in the blood at apoptotic positions of heart tissues. Results: The results showed that HF appeared at the fourth week after permanent occlusion based on echocardiographic assessment. Clear separations were observed between the sham and model group by loading plots of orthogonal projection to latent structure discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA) at different time points after permanent occlusion. Potential markers of interest were extracted from the combining S-plots, variable importance for the projections values (VIP > 1), and t-test (p < 0.05). Twenty-one common metabolic markers over the course of the development and progression of HF after permanent occlusion were identified. These were determined to be mainly related to disturbances in fatty acids, phosphatidylcholine, bile acids, amino acid metabolism, and pyruvate metabolism. Of the metabolic markers, 16 metabolites such as palmitoleic acid, arachidonic acid, and lactic acid showed obvious changes (p < 0.05) and a tendency for returning to baseline values in YXSC-treated HF rats at the 10th week. Moreover, four biomarkers, including palmitoleic acid, palmitic acid, arachidonic, acid and lactic acid, were further validated at the apoptotic position of heart tissue using MALDI-MS, consistent to the variation trends in the plasma. Conclusions: Taken in concert, our proposed strategy may contribute to the understanding of the complex pathogenesis of ischemia-induced HF and the potential mechanism of YXSC.

Brief, one-on-one, telephone-adapted mindfulness-based stress reduction for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: a randomized controlled trial.

Psychological distress and negative conditions are highly frequent in patients with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been shown to be effective in reducing psychological symptoms in patients with chronic diseases. The available evidence has supported the potential benefit of MBSR for PCI patients. However, the traditional group classroom format and long exercise times of MBSR were deemed as barriers to access for these patients. The aim of this study was to examine the short-term effectiveness of a brief, one-on-one, telephone-adapted MBSR on psychological distress of PCI patients. A randomized controlled trial was conducted. Seventy consecutive PCI patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomized to a three-session mindfulness intervention group (N = 35) or a waitlist control group (N = 35). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and short form of the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI-s) were used to assess anxiety and depression, stress, and mindfulness before and after the intervention. Sixty-two patients completed the study. Compared with the waitlist group, the MBSR group showed greater decreases in HADS (p = .006) and PSS (p = .035) scores. The intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis also demonstrated that HADS (p = .018) and PSS (p = .037) scores decreased significantly in the MBSR group compared with those in the waitlist group at Week 6. These effects were mediated by an increase in mindfulness. The brief, one-on-one, telephone-adapted mindfulness intervention can improve psychological symptoms in PCI patients.

Wine polysaccharides modulating astringency through the interference on interaction of flavan-3-ols and BSA in model wine.

Polysaccharides and flavan-3-ols from Cabernet Sauvignon wine were isolated and then characterized by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD), high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and HPLC-MS. The influence of purified polysaccharides on the aggregation of flavan-3-ols-proteins were investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) to evaluate the co-effect of polysaccharides on wine astringency. The results indicated that mannoproteins (MPs) and rhamnogalacturonans II (RG II) were the major polysaccharides to significantly alter the interaction of flavan-3-ols with bovine serum albumin (BSA). The interaction of polysaccharides-flavan-3-ols-BSA was enhanced with the concentration (from 0.2 to 0.6 g/L) of the studied polysaccharides. Furthermore, the reaction of BSA-flavan-3-ols was strengthened in the absence of polysaccharides when percentage of galloylation (%G) was higher (11.29). When mean degree of polymerization (mDP) of flavan-3-ols was from 5.14 to 6.88, the secondary structure of proteins was changed from mainly α-helix to random curl and the formation of protein precipitation increased. This work pointed out that the important property of polysaccharides and different structural characteristic flavan-3-ols are able to modulate wine astringency perception.

Identification of Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix and its adulterants based on their chemical constituents by UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS combined with data mining.

Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix (LR), known as Gaoben (GB) in Chinese, has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 2000 years. However, the varieties of LR are not well characterized at present, and traditional recognition methods have encountered increasing difficulties. This research attempts to distinguish different varieties of LR and its adulterants based on their chemical composition. A total of 61 representative samples were collected, and their varieties were confirmed by combining expert opinion with DNA molecular technology. All of the samples were characterized by an UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS method. The marker components that may contribute to variety discrimination were discerned by a data mining method, and they were then hypothesized, analyzed, and identified. A cluster analysis was performed by partial least squares (PLS) based on their MS signals. Furthermore, a feature extraction to find out the characteristic components, and a correspondence analysis to illustrate the corresponding relationship between the varieties and their components, were developed. As a result, 71 components were identified, of which 27 components were unambiguously identified by comparison with standards. The cluster analysis shows that varieties of LR and its adulterant samples exhibited a certain classification trend, with butylphthalide, senkyunolide I, senkyunolide A, ferulic acid, (Z)-ligustilide, bergapten, levistilide A, vanillic acid, isochlorogenic acid C and isochlorogenic acid A as characteristic chemical components. The varieties and their components showed a modest correlation. In conclusion, our study verified the possibility of discriminating the varieties of LR according to their chemical compositions. This research provides a new reference for the recognition of LR and its adulterants.

Transcriptional responses in the hepatopancreas of Eriocheir sinensis exposed to deltamethrin.

Deltamethrin is an important pesticide widely used against ectoparasites. Deltamethrin contamination has resulted in a threat to the healthy breeding of the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis. In this study, we investigated transcriptional responses in the hepatopancreas of E. sinensis exposed to deltamethrin. We obtained 99,087,448, 89,086,478, and 100,117,958 raw sequence reads from control 1, control 2, and control 3 groups, and 92,094,972, 92,883,894, and 92,500,828 raw sequence reads from test 1, test 2, and test 3 groups, respectively. After filtering and quality checking of the raw sequence reads, our analysis yielded 79,228,354, 72,336,470, 81,859,826, 77,649,400, 77,194,276, and 75,697,016 clean reads with a mean length of 150 bp from the control and test groups. After deltamethrin treatment, a total of 160 and 167 genes were significantly upregulated and downregulated, respectively. Gene ontology terms "biological process," "cellular component," and "molecular function" were enriched with respect to cell killing, cellular process, other organism part, cell part, binding, and catalytic. Pathway analysis using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes showed that the metabolic pathways were significantly enriched. We found that the CYP450 enzyme system, carboxylesterase, glutathione-S-transferase, and material (including carbohydrate, lipid, protein, and other substances) metabolism played important roles in the metabolism of deltamethrin in the hepatopancreas of E. sinensis. This study revealed differentially expressed genes related to insecticide metabolism and detoxification in E. sinensis for the first time and will help in understanding the toxicity and molecular metabolic mechanisms of deltamethrin in E. sinensis.

Regulation of protein expression by L-arginine in endothelial cells.

L-Arginine is a conditionally essential amino acid for humans and plays an important role in the regulation of cardiovascular function and antioxidative defense. Previous studies have focused on the important role of L-arginine as a physiological precursor in the generation of nitric oxide and polyamines in endothelial cells (cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels). Because of the rapid development of high-throughput proteomics technology, there is now growing interest in studying roles for L-arginine in modulating endothelial-cell protein expression. Of particular interest, recent proteomics analysis has shown that treatment of coronary venular endothelial cells with a physiological level of L-arginine (e.g., 0.1 mM) increases expression of structural proteins (vimentin and tropomyosin) and cytochrome bc1 complex iii-chain A, while decreasing expression of stress-related proteins (PDZ domain containing-3), in these cells. These findings aid in elucidating the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effect of physiological levels of L-arginine on the circulatory system.