Versatile Printing of Substantial Liquid Cells for Efficiently Imaging In Situ Liquid-Phase Dynamics.

Through its ability to image liquid-phase dynamics at nano/atomic-scale resolution, liquid-cell electron microscopy is essential for a wide range of applications, including wet-chemical synthesis, catalysis, and nanoparticle tracking, for which involved structural features are critical. However, statistical investigations by usual techniques remain challenging because of the difficulty in fabricating substantial liquid cells with appreciable efficiency. Here, we report a general approach for efficiently printing huge numbers of ready-to-use liquid cells (∼9000) within 30 s by electrospinning, with the unique feature of statistical liquid-phase studies requiring only one experimental time slot. Our solution efficiently resolves a complete transition picture of bubble evolution and also the induced nanoparticle motion. We statistically quantify the effect of the electron dose rate on the bubble variation and conclude that the bubble-driven nanoparticle motion is a ballistic-like behavior insignificant to morphological asymmetries. The versatile approach here is critical for statistical research, offering great opportunities in liquid-phase-associated dynamic studies.

Dityrosine Aggravates Hepatic Insulin Resistance in Obese Mice by Altering Gut Microbiota and the LPS/TLR4/NF-κB Inflammatory Pathway.

SCOPE: Dityrosine is the main product of protein oxidation, which has been proved to be a threat to human health. This study aims to investigate whether dityrosine exacerbates insulin resistance by inducing gut flora disturbance and associated inflammatory responses. METHODS AND RESULTS: Mice fed with normal diet or high-fat diet (HFD) received daily gavage of dityrosine (320 µg kg-1 BW) or saline for consecutive 13 weeks. The effects of dityrosine on gut microbiota are verified by in vitro fermentation using fecal microbiota from db/m mice and db/db mice. As a result, dityrosine causes the insulin resistance in mice fed normal diet, and aggravates the effects of HFD on insulin sensitivity. Dityrosine increases the levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) but decreases levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in the plasma of CON and HFD-fed mice. The changes of gut flora composition caused by dityrosine are significantly correlated with the changes of inflammatory biomarkers. CONCLUSION: The effects of dityrosine on insulin resistance may be attributed to the reshaping of the gut microbiota composition and promoting the activity of the LPS/TLR4/NF-κB inflammatory pathway in HFD-induced obese individuals.

Leukocyte CH25H is a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker for lung adenocarcinoma.

Metastasis, a major challenge during the treatment of lung cancer, causes deterioration in patient health outcomes. Thus, to address this problem, this study aimed to explore the role and contribution of Cholesterol 25-Hydroxylase (CH25H) as a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker in lung cancer. Online public databases were used to analyze the expression level, prognostic value, gene-pathway enrichment, and immune infiltration of CH25H in lung cancer patients. The Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to analyze and detect the CH25H expression levels in leukocytes from lung cancer patients. The expression level of CH25H was significantly reduced in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), which is associated with a higher disease stage, but not in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that LUAD patients with low CH25H expression had a worse prognosis. Mechanistically, our results showed that in LUAD, CH25H may be a regulatory factor affecting the immune cell infiltration level, and the resultant tumor development. Experimental data showed that low expression of CH25H in leukocytes was significantly associated with LUAD metastasis (P < 0.01). Our study suggests that CH25H may function as a prognostic and risk stratification biomarker for LUAD.

Intelligent gelatin/oxidized chitin nanocrystals nanocomposite films containing black rice bran anthocyanins for fish freshness monitorings.

A green nanocomposite film with pH-sensitivity and antioxidant activity based on oxidized chitin nanocrystals (O-ChNCs)/gelatin incorporating black rice bran anthocyanins (BACNs) was prepared in this study. Fourier transform infrared spectrum showed that BACNs were successfully immobilized into the O-ChNCs/gelatin matrix through non-covalent bonds. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscope showed that BACNs was uniformly distributed in the O-ChNCs/gelatin matrix. Although the incorporation of BACNs decreased the mechanical properties of the films, it endowed the films with excellent UV-vis light barrier and antioxidant character. Moreover, the O-ChNCs/gelatin/BACNs films were pH-sensitive and showed remarkable color changes in different buffer solutions, which could be used to monitor the freshness of shrimp and hairtail by visible color changes. The colorimetric films with lower content of BACNs were found more sensitive toward basic volatile amines emitted during storage. Therefore, the developed O-ChNCs/gelatin/BACNs films may have a great potential in the freshness monitoring of high protein foods.

The preservation effect of CGA-Gel combined with partial freezing on sword prawn (Parapenaeopsis hardwickii).

Effects of Chlorogenic acid-Gelatin (CGA-Gel) combined with partial freezing on quality change of sword prawn (Parapenaeopsis hardwickii) stored at -5 °C were evaluated for 23 days. Changes in sensory score, total viable counts (TVC), and physiochemical indexes including pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and Ca2+-ATPase were examined. All shrimp treated with CGA and CGA-Gel had lower total viable counts compared to control (P < 0.05). The value of TVB-N and TBA of CGA-Gel treated group at day 13 were 18.4 mg N/100 g and 0.175 mg/100 g respectively, both below the proposed safe limits and values of CGA treated group. All the results demonstrated that Chlorogenic acid can inhibit growth of microorganism, lipid oxidation and protein degradation. CGA-Gel treated samples presented better quality preservation effects than CGA treated alone. Therefore, CGA-Gel combined with partial freezing is promising in sword prawn shelf life extension.

A pH-indicating intelligent packaging composed of chitosan-purple potato extractions strength by surface-deacetylated chitin nanofibers.

The goal of the study is to develop a novel pH-indicating intelligent packaging by using purple potato extractions (PPE), chitosan and surface-deacetylated chitin nanofibers (CN). Since the major pH-sensitive pigment of PPE was anthocyanin (24.3 mg/g), whether anthocyanins could be loaded on a solid phase to prevent its color fading was further tested. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FT-IR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated that PPE was efficiently attached into the chitosan film. Meanwhile, adding CN (0.450%, w/v) into chitosan film could significantly enhance the tensile strength (TS), the water-resistant ability and the roughness of chitosan film. Whereas higher content of CN (0.600%, w/v) did not further improve mechanical properties and CN would distribute unevenly due to aggregation in the films. In addition to pH-indicating ability, CS-CN-PPE exhibited the extraordinary antioxidant activities and this provides another advantage of packaging readily oxidizable substances. Taken together, the current study provided a novel and biocompatible packaging with strengthened mechanical property and intelligent pH indicator.

Preparation of an intelligent film based on chitosan/oxidized chitin nanocrystals incorporating black rice bran anthocyanins for seafood spoilage monitoring.

A novel intelligent film was developed by immobilizing 1%, 3% and 5% black rice bran anthocyanins (BACNs) into oxidized-chitin nanocrystals (O-ChNCs)/ chitosan (CS) matrix. The ultraviolet-visible spectrum of BACNs solutions showed color variations from red to greyish green in a range of pH 2.0-12.0. Fourier transform infrared spectrum and atomic force microscope of the films showed that O-ChNC and BACNs were well dispersed into the CS matrix. Although the incorporation of BACNs decreased the mechanical and barrier properties of the CS/O-ChNCs/BACNs (COB) films, it endowed the COB films with excellent UV-barrier, antioxidant and pH sensitivity character. The results of the application trial showed that the COB films containing 3% of BACNs (COB-3) were able to monitor the spoiling of fish and shrimp by visible color changes. Therefore, the developed COB-3 films could be used as an intelligent food packaging for monitoring animal-based protein food spoilage.

Quality enhancement of large yellow croaker treated with edible coatings based on chitosan and lysozyme.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the preservation effect of chitosan (CS) and lysozyme (Lys) coating on the quality of large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) via physicochemical analyses, microbiological and sensorial assessments during refrigerated storage. Results showed that CS films incorporated with 0.6 mg·mL-1 of lysozyme exhibited the strongest inhibition effect against S. aureus, whose inhibition zone was 16.10 ±â€¯0.71 mm. The utilization of CS singly, or CS-lysozyme (Lys) coating significantly reduced lipid oxidation (thiobarbituric acid value, TBA) and improved the sensorial scores of fishes. Control and treated groups exceeded the maximum permissible level (30 mg N/100 g) of total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) in fishery products on days 6 (control) and 9 (CS or CS-Lys treated), respectively. Fish samples reached the value of 7.0 Log CFU/g (Total Viable Count, TVC) on days 15 (control), whereas both CS and CS-Lys treated flesh samples never exceed this limit value during the refrigerated storage. Results of our study indicate CS-Lys have high efficiency in inhibiting microorganism growth and lipid oxidation and in maintaining sensorial quality, which is a promising method to maintain the quality and extend the shelf life of refrigerated fishes.