Physicochemical and Sensory Properties Colored Whey Protein-Cellulose Nanocrystal Edible Films after Freeze-Thaw Treatment.

Balancing physicochemical properties and sensory properties is one of the key points in expanding edible packaging applications. The work consisted of two parts, one was to investigate the effects of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) on the packaging-related properties of whey protein isolate films with natural colorants (curcumin, phycocyanin, and lycopene) under freeze-thaw (FT) conditions; the other was to test oral tactility and visual sensory properties of the edible films and their overall acceptability in packed ice cream. FT treatment reduced the mechanical strength and moisture content and increased the water vapor permeability of the films, as water-phase transformation not only disrupted hydrogen bonds but also the film network structure through physical stress. The oral tactility produced by CNC and the visual effect produced by colorants could affect participants' preference for edible films. This study provides a good reference for the consumer-driven product development of packaged low-temperature products.

Stability and surface properties of selenium nanoparticles coated with chitosan and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose.

The effect of polysaccharide coatings on the stability and release characteristics of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) was evaluated by comparing the characteristics of chitosan-coated SeNPs (CS-SeNPs) and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose-coated SeNPs (CMC-SeNPs). The release characteristics of SeNPs were investigated in storage conditions, gastrointestinal conditions, and free radical systems. CMC-SeNPs formed dimers or trimers, whereas CS-SeNPs were monodispersed but formed large aggregates in a pH range of 7.4-8.25. Upon 50 days of storage at 30 °C, both CMC-SeNPs and CS-SeNPs were converted to Se4+. SeNPs exhibited a lower release rate in simulated gastrointestinal conditions than in free radical systems. SeNPs release in ABTS and superoxide anion free radical systems followed the first-order and Korsmeyer-Peppas models, respectively, indicating that SeNP release is mainly governed by dissolution mechanisms. Additional studies are needed to examine the potential environmental effects and biological activity of the Se4+ released from SeNPs.

Effect of Yiqi Buxue Decoction on Hemodynamic Changes of the Uterine Artery and Fetal Umbilical Artery and Pregnancy Outcomes in Pregnant Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of Yiqi Buxue decoction on hemodynamic changes of the uterine artery and fetal umbilical artery and pregnancy outcomes in pregnant patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). METHODS: 120 pregnant patients with PAH treated in our hospital (January 2019-January 2020) were chosen as the research objects, and randomly split into group A (n = 60) and group B (n = 60). Both groups received routine treatment, and group B was treated with sildenafil citrate, while group A was treated with Yiqi Buxue decoction combined with sildenafil citrate. Both groups received 6 weeks of treatment to analyze the hemodynamic changes of the uterine artery and fetal umbilical artery and compare the cardiopulmonary function indexes and pregnancy outcomes between the two groups. RESULTS: The hemodynamic indexes of the uterine artery and fetal umbilical artery, cardiopulmonary function indexes, and pregnancy outcomes in group A after treatment were notably better compared with group B (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Yiqi Buxue decoction can stabilize the hemodynamics of pregnant patients with PAH, improve their cardiopulmonary function, alleviate hypotension, and thus, reduce the possibility of adverse pregnancy outcomes, which should be popularized in practice.

Physicochemical and functional properties of chitosan-stabilized selenium nanoparticles under different processing treatments.

Selenium nanoparticles (Se0NPs) have been well-characterized; however, whether processing affects their physicochemical and functional properties remains unknown. Here, chitosan (low and high molecular weight; CS(L) and CS(H), respectively) was used to stabilize Se0NPs, and the effects of heating (37 â„ƒ, 70 â„ƒ, and 95 â„ƒ), freeze-drying-rehydration, and freeze-thawing on CS-Se0NPs physicochemical stability, Se release, antioxidant capacity, and antibacterial activity were evaluated. The results demonstrated that all treatments could cause CS-Se0NPs aggregation and Se release to varying degrees. Aggregation of CS-Se0NPs decreased their antibacterial activity, while Se release increased their antioxidant capacity with negligible effects on antibacterial activities. None of the CS-Se0NPs could tolerate freeze-thawing. CS(H)-Se0NPs exhibited better rehydration and heating stability than CS(L)-Se0NPs, although "rod-like" triclinic crystalline Se in CS(H)-Se0NPs, produced by 95℃ heating, decreased both antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Thus, these results provide a theoretical basis for the development and suitable application of CS-Se0NPs.

Effect of molecular weight of chitosan and its oligosaccharides on antitumor activities of chitosan-selenium nanoparticles.

The antitumor activity of zero-valent selenium (Se0) nanoparticles stabilized by chitosan and its oligosaccharides having molecular weights 3 k, 65 k, and 600 k Da, was investigated. The nanoparticles stabilized with high molecular weight chitosan not only released selenium more easily compared with low molecular weight chitosan, but were also taken up by HepG2 cells more easily through electrostatic effect. Moreover, these were more efficient in inhibiting HepG2 cell viability. High ROS levels of cancer cells could easily induce selenium release from these nanoparticles, and oxidize the less toxic Se0 to highly toxic Se4+. The latter could not only consume antioxidant enzymes, but also cause mitochondrial dysfunction and cell apoptosis. Study of antitumor efficacy and side effect on a HepG2 xenograft BALB/c nude mice model exhibited that CS-Se0NPs had a higher selectivity for cancer cells; however, their effect on normal cells, which have relatively lower ROS levels, was limited.

Acupoint Embedding of Polyglactin 910 Sutures in Patients with Chronic Pain due to Cervical Spondylotic Radiculopathy: A Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of acupoint polyglactin 910 (PGLA) embedding in patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR). METHODS: A total of 102 CSR patients with neck and shoulder pain were recruited and assigned randomly into three groups: the sham acupoint embedding (SAE) group, the middle-layer acupoint PGLA embedding (MAPE) group, and the deep-layer acupoint PGLA embedding (DAPE) group. The primary outcomes were Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores showing the analgesic effects of treatment. Secondary outcomes included clinical symptoms (evaluated by the Yasuhisa Tanaka 20 (YT-20) score and the neck disability index (NDI)) and patient health status (evaluated by the 36-item short-form survey (SF-36)) as reported in the trial. RESULTS: Compared with the SAE group, VAS scores were significantly reduced at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 10 weeks after the first treatment in both the DAPE and MAPE groups (P < 0.001). Moreover, there were statistically significant increases in the weekly YT-20 scores and significant reductions of the weekly NDI scores compared with baseline values in both the DAPE and MAPE groups (P < 0.001). Compared with baseline values, both the physical component summary (PCS) and the mental component summary scores of the SF-36 at 2, 3, 4, and 10 weeks were significantly higher in the DAPE and MAPE groups (P < 0.001). There were significant lower VAS scores (P < 0.01), higher PCS scores (P < 0.05) at 3 weeks, and lower NDI scores (P < 0.05) at 4 weeks in the DAPE group compared with the MAPE group. CONCLUSIONS: Both DAPE and MAPE showed significant and long-lasting effects on alleviating pain and improving clinical symptoms as well as quality of life in CSR patients with neck and shoulder pain. A more intense effect was seen in the DAPE group compared with the MAPE group.

[Data mining of simple sequence repeats in transcriptome sequences of Tibetan medicinal plant Zangyinchen Swertia mussotii].

MISA (MicroSAtelite) software was employed to screen SSRs in 68 787 contigs of Swertia mussotii transcriptome sequences. 5 610 SSRs were distributed in 5 099 contigs which accounted for 7.41% of 68 787 contigs. There are 220 kinds of SSR motifs existing in S. mussotii transcriptome. On average, SSRs occurred every 12.60 kb in length. In the SSRs, the tri-nucleotide repeat motif was the most abundant (45.99%), followed by the di-nucleotide (41.62%). AT/TA and AAT/TTA were the main types of motif in di-, tri-nucleotide repeats. The repeat numbers of SSRs which from S. mussotii transcriptome SSRs were mainly from 5 to 10 and motif length of them mostly ranged from 12 bp to 30 bp. A total of 30 651 contigs were annotated, and only 1 447 SSRs were occurred in protein-coding regions. In the six repeat motifs, tri-nucleotide repeats were the most abundant in coding regions (928). There are abundant SSRs in S. mussotii transcriptome with high frequency and various types, indicating their usefulness in theory. This research may lay the foundation for designing the targeted SSR primers and developing SSR molecular markers by mining the information of SSRs loci in S. mussotii transcriptome sequences data.

[Application study of biotechnology in Artemisia annual].

Artemisinin is a kind of effective antimalarial drug being extracted from Artemisia annual, in which the artemisinin concentration is very low. So increasing artemisinin concentration is a hotspot in the research field, and it will be possible that biotechnology is applied to the study of Artemisia annual. It involved the following three aspects. First, DNA molecular marker assisted breeding. The genetic diversity of Artemisia germplasm was analyzed by the molecular maker, which provided the molecular biology basis for accelerating the breeding time of fine varieties with high artemisinin concentration. Second, artemisinin concentration was increased by genetic engineering. By transgenic technology overexpressing the key genes in artemisinin biosynthesis directly promoted the accumulating of artemisinin; inhibiting the expression of the gene, which competed with the genes in artemisinin biosynthesis for reduction substrate, indirectly increased the artemisinin concentration. Third, through synthetic biology method artemisinin precursor or artemisinin was produced in the host.