Modification of myofibrillar protein structural characteristics: Effect of ultrasound-assisted first-stage thermal treatment on unwashed Silver Carp surimi gel.

The hardness properties of unwashed surimi gel are considered as the qualities of gelation defect. This research investigated the effect of ultrasound-assisted first-stage thermal treatment (UATT) on the physicochemical properties of unwashed Silver Carp surimi gel, and the enhancement mechanism. UATT could reduce protein particle size, which significantly reduced from 142.22 µm to 106.70 µm after 30 min of UATT compared with the nature protein. This phenomenon can promote the protein crosslinking, resulting in the hardness of surimi gel increased by 15.08 %. Partially unfolded structure of myofibrillar protein and exposures of tryptophan to water, lead to the increase in the zeta potential absolute value, driven by UATT. The reduced SH group level and the conformational conversion of proteins from random coiling to α-helix and ß-sheet, which was in support of intermolecular interaction and gel network construction. The results are valuable for processing protein gels and other food products.

Development of a Novel Finger-Trigger Interface for Trigger Pull Measurement.

Trigger pull is the force that needs to be exerted on the trigger to discharge a firearm. The measurement of trigger pull can assist in the evaluation of the safety, function, and manufacturing characteristics associated with a firearm during the forensic firearm examination process. Nonetheless, the accuracy and uncertainty of trigger pull measurements may be affected by the measuring device, test procedure, and environmental conditions. In this work, an innovative finger-trigger interface device was developed to facilitate accurate trigger pull measurements. The idea was to reduce the variation related to the position of the measurement device on the trigger in existing measuring methods and devices. Three force sensors based on different technologies were initially evaluated. While two of the three sensors failed to produce data, the miniature capacitive plate sensor exhibited high precision and a linear response over the range of typical trigger pulls. To examine the effects of the finger-trigger interface on trigger pull measurement, different sensor housing prototypes were designed in silico and 3D printed for the construction of three finger-trigger interface devices. The performance of each finger-trigger interface device was evaluated by measuring the trigger pulls of several selected firearms and comparing the data to a previously published study. Our preliminary results demonstrated the novel finger-trigger interface device offered a new way to measure trigger pull in situ with acceptable accuracy and precision.

Selenium Attenuates Staphylococcus aureus Mastitis in Mice by Inhibiting the Activation of the NALP3 Inflammasome and NF-κB/MAPK Pathway.

Mastitis is one of the most important diseases affecting the dairy industry in the world, and it also poses a great threat to human food safety. In this study, we explored whether selenium can inhibit the activation of the NALP3 inflammasome and NF-κB/MAPK pathway to achieve anti-inflammatory effects. Sixty BALB/c female mice were randomly divided into three groups according to diets of different selenium concentrations (high, normal, and low). After 90 days, mice fed the same selenium concentration were randomly divided into two smaller groups, one of which was inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus and the other injected with saline as a control. Through histopathologic examination staining, western blot, qPCR, and ELISA, the results showed that with increasing selenium concentrations, the expression levels of IL-1ß, TNF-α, NALP3, caspase-1, and ASC were decreased in mouse mammary tissue. Therefore, this study revealed that selenium can attenuate S. aureus mastitis by inhibiting the activation of the NALP3 inflammasome and NF-κB/MAPK pathway.