Exploring the formation mechanism of resistant starch (RS3) prepared from high amylose maize starch by hydrothermal-alkali combined with ultrasonic treatment.

In this study, type III resistant starch (RS3) was prepared from high amylose maize starch (HAMS) using hydrothermal (RS-H), hydrothermal combined ultrasonication (RS-HU), hydrothermal-alkali (RS-HA), and hydrothermal-alkali combined ultrasonication (RS-HAU). The role of the preparation methods and the mechanism of RS3 formation were analyzed by studying the multiscale structure and digestibility of the starch. The SEM, NMR, and GPC results showed that hydrothermal-alkali combined with ultrasonication could destroy the granule structure and α-1,6 glycosidic bond of HAMS and reduce the molecular weight of HAMS from 195.306 kDa to 157.115 kDa. The other methods had a weaker degree of effect on the structure of HAMS, especially hydrothermal and hydrothermal combined ultrasonication. The multiscale structural results showed that the relative crystallinity, short-range orderliness, and thermal stability of RS-HAU were significantly higher compared with native HAMS. In terms of digestion, RS-HAU had the highest RS content of 69.40 %. In summary, HAMS can generate many short-chain amylose due to structural damage, which rearrange to form digestion-resistant crystals. With correlation analysis, we revealed the relationship between the multiscale structure and the RS content, which can be used to guide the preparation of RS3.

The effects of light therapy on depression and sleep in women during pregnancy or the postpartum period: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, light therapy has been tried for the treatment of depression and sleep in pregnancy or postnatal period women, but the results have been inconclusive. This meta-analysis is the first to systematically review the effects of light therapy on depression and sleep disturbances in women during pregnancy and the postnatal period. METHODS: We searched for randomized controlled studies in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Chinese Biomedical Database up to January 2023. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was used to assess the efficacy of the outcome indicators. RESULTS: Eight studies were eventually included in the analysis. The results showed that light therapy was more effective than the placebo group in terms of depression (SMD = .34, CI = .08-.61) and sleep (SMD = .64,95%CI = .28-1.00). Subgroup analysis could not explain the significant heterogeneity. There were no serious adverse effects in either the light therapy or placebo groups. CONCLUSIONS: Light therapy could be considered an effective treatment for depression and sleep disturbances in women during pregnancy and the postnatal period. However, future high-quality trials with larger sample sizes are still needed.

Through regulation of the SIRT1 pathway plant sterol ester of α-linolenic acid inhibits pyroptosis thereby attenuating the development of NASH in mice.

Increasing evidence demonstrated that pyroptosis and subsequent inflammation played an important role in the pathological process of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Plant sterol ester of α-linolenic acid (PS-ALA) was beneficial for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, but the underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood. This study aims to investigate whether PS-ALA can protect against proptosis via regulating SIRT1. Thirty male C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal diet, a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet (HFCD), or a HFCD supplemented with either 1.3%ALA, 2%PS, or 3.3% PS-ALA for 24 weeks. Hepatocytes were treated with oleic acid and cholesterol (OA/Cho) with or without PS-ALA. We found that PS-ALA ameliorated NASH in HFCD-fed mice. In addition, PS-ALA decreased the expression of NLRP3 and ASC and reduced the co-localization of NLRP3 and cleave-Caspase-1. Also, PS-ALA protected against pyroptosis as evidenced by decreased co-localization of GSDMD and propidium iodide (PI) positive cells. Mechanistically, we revealed that the inhibitory action of PS-ALA on the pyroptosis was mediated by SIRT1. This was demonstrated by the fact that silencing SIRT1 with small interfering RNA or inhibition of SIRT1 with its inhibitor abolished the inhibition effect of PS-ALA on the expression of NLRP3 and GSDMD cleavage. Collectively, the data from the present study reveals a novel mechanism that PS-ALA inhibits pyroptosis and it triggered inflammation via stimulating SIRT1, which provides new insights into the beneficial effect of PS-ALA on NASH.

Complexation between rice starch and cellulose nanocrystal from black tea residues: Gelatinization properties and digestibility in vitro.

In this work, cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) was extracted from black tea waste and its effects on the physicochemical properties of rice starch were explored. It was revealed that CNC improved the viscosity of starch during pasting and inhibited its short-term retrogradation. The addition of CNC changed the gelatinization enthalpy and improved the shear resistance, viscoelasticity, and short-range ordering of starch paste, which meant that CNC made the starch paste system more stable. The interaction of CNC with starch was analyzed using quantum chemistry methods, and it was demonstrated that the hydrogen bonds were formed between starch molecules and the hydroxyl groups of CNC. In addition, the digestibility of starch gels containing CNC was significantly decreased because CNC could dissociate and act as an inhibitor of amylase. This study further expanded the understanding of the interactions between CNC and starch during processing, which could provide a reference for the application of CNC in starch-based foods and the development of functional foods with a low glycemic index.

DNA-directed coimmobilization of multiple enzymes on organic-inorganic hybrid DNA flowers.

The artificial multienzyme systems developed by mimicking nature has attracted much interest. However, precisely controlled compositions and ratios of multienzymatic co-immobilization systems are still limited by the indistinguishable nature of enzymes. Herein, a strategy for fabricating DNA-directed immobilization of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and glucose oxidase (GOx) on hybrid DNA nanoflowers (GOx-HRP@hDFs) is presented. The preparation of micron-sized hybrid DNA flowers (hDFs) begins with the predetermined repeatable polymer-like DNA sequences which contained two strands. The hDFs structure is generated through one-pot rolling circle amplification (RCA) and self-assembly with magnesium pyrophosphate inorganic crystals. Based on the rigid-base pairing, GOx and HRP conjugated with sequences complementary to strands would be anchored to the predesigned locations, respectively. By adjusting the loading amount/ratio of enzymes properly, the maximal catalytic efficiency can be precisely regulated. The reaction activity of GOx-HRP@hDFs was 7.4 times higher than that of the free GOx-HRP under the optimal mole ratio (GOx/HRP 4:1). In addition, this multienzyme catalyst system exhibits excellent precision, specificity, reproducibility, and long-term storage stability when applied to real human blood samples. The preceding results validate that GOx-HRP@hDFs are promising candidates for personal diabetes detection.

Acute Thrombolytic Therapy Combined with the Green Channel Can Reduce the Thrombolytic Time and Improve Neurological Function in Acute Stroke Patients.

Objective: To explore the effect of acute thrombolytic therapy combined with the green channel on the thrombolytic time and neurological function in acute stroke patients. Methods: A total of 100 acute stroke patients admitted to our hospital from August 2016 to August 2019 were recruited as the research cohort. In experimental group, 50 patients were administered green channel combined with acute thrombolytic therapy, while the patients in control group were administered general therapy. The thrombolytic times, the muscle strength grades, the FMA scores, the Barthel index levels, the NIHSS and SSS scores, the SAS and SDS scores, the arterial pressure and heart rates, the total effective rates, the incidences of postoperative adverse reactions, and the satisfaction levels were compared between the two groups. Results: The thrombolysis times in experimental group were shorter than those in control group. In experimental group, there were more patients with muscle strength grades 4 and 5 (P < 0.05), the FMA and Barthel index levels were higher, the NIHSS and SSS (P < 0.05) and the SAS and SDS scores were lower, the arterial pressure and heart rates were lower (P < 0.05), the incidence of postoperative adverse reactions was lower (P < 0.05), the total efficiency was higher (P < 0.05), and the satisfaction level was higher (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Acute thrombolytic therapy combined with the green channel can significantly reduce the thrombolytic time and improve the neurological function in acute stroke patients.

Deacidification of high-acid rice bran oil by the tandem continuous-flow enzymatic reactors.

Rice bran oil (RBO) contains a variety of nutrients, but the high acid values largely hinder its processing into edible oil. Thus, the tandem continuous-flow reactors are proposed and developed for the enzymatic deacidification of RBO and simultaneous production of functional oils. The results indicate that the Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) immobilized on the hydrophobic ordered mesoporous silicon (OMS-C18) increased 6.6 times of the catalytic activity and improved at least 20 ℃ of temperature tolerance compared to the commercial Novozym 435. The tandem continuous-flow enzymatic reactors removed 91.4% of free fatty acid and increased 9 and 12 times of phytosterol ester and diacylglycerol in RBO, respectively. Moreover, the retention rate of γ-oryzanol was at least 40% higher than that obtained by traditional alkali refining. This study provides an effective and sustainable method to continuously convert the low-value RBO into value-added products, which brings huge potential to cleaner industrial production.

Enhanced desorption of cationic and anionic metals/metalloids from co-contaminated soil by tetrapolyphosphate washing and followed by ferrous sulfide treatment.

In this study, a novel approach was employed for the remediation of cationic and anionic metals/metalloids co-contaminated soil by tetrapolyphosphate enhanced soil washing coupled with ferrous sulfide treatment. Tetrapolyphosphate could simultaneously enhance the desorption of cationic metals (Pb and Zn) and anionic metal/metalloid (Cr and As) from the contaminated soil in the whole tested pH range of 2-10. With addition of 0.15 mol/L tetrapolyphosphate at pH 7.0, the removal ratio of Pb, Zn, As and Cr could achieve 83.1%, 70.4%, 75.7% and 66.4% respectively. The fractionation analysis of heavy metals/metalloids demonstrated the release of exchangeable and Fe/Mn bound forms contributed to most desorption of Pb and Zn. The decreases of non-specifically sorbed form and amorphous and poorly-crystalline hydrous oxides of Fe and Al bound form were responsible for most removal of As. The comparison with other common washing agents (EDTA, oxalate and phosphate) under their respective optimal dosage could confirm that tetrapolyphosphate was superior to simultaneously desorb the cationic and anionic metals/metalloids with higher efficiency. After 12 h, applying 150 mg/L FeS at pH 3.5 could totally remove Pb, Zn, As and Cr from the washing effluent by sulfide precipitation, reduction and adsorption processes. Higher pH would inhibit the removal of As and Cr by FeS. Meanwhile, the residual of tetrapolyphosphate could be totally recovered from the washing effluent by employing anion exchange resin. This study suggests tetrapolyphosphate enhanced soil washing coupled with ferrous sulfide treatment is a promising approach for remediation of cationic and anionic metals/metalloids co-contaminated soil in view of its high efficiency and simple operation.

A Comparison of the Efficacy of Immediate Versus Delayed Frozen-Thawed Embryo Transfer on the Ongoing Pregnancy Rate After a Failed IVF Attempt: Study Protocol for a Randomized, Non-Inferiority, Parallel-Group, Controlled Trial.

Introduction: In clinical practice, the ideal time at which to perform a Frozen-thawed Embryo Transfer (FET) after a failed In-vitro Fertilization-embryo Transfer (IVF-ET) is still unclear to most practicing physicians. In addition, physicians often delay the introduction of FET due to concerns on the possible residual effects of ovarian hyperstimulation, which may interfere with the regular menstrual cycle. Moreover, given that most of the published studies on the topic are retrospective with contradictory findings, it is crucial to provide evidence-based randomized control guides for clinical practice. Methods/analysis: The study is a randomized, non-inferiority, parallel-group, controlled trial that will enroll a total of 732 women undergoing their first FET after a failed fresh embryo transfer (ET) cycle. The participants will then be randomized into two groups based on a computer-generated randomized list. The two groups include: (i) an immediate group were FET will be carried out during the first menstrual cycle after a failed fresh ET cycle and (ii) a delayed group where FET will be carried out during the second menstrual cycle after a failed fresh ET cycle. Primary outcomes will be defined as viable pregnancies with fetal heartbeats, diagnosed through pelvic ultrasonography after twelve weeks of gestation. Ethics and dissemination: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Assisted Reproductive Medicine at the Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SDTCM/E-2020.2.01). In addition, written informed consent will be obtained from all the participants before the study. The results of this trial will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal. Discussion: Currently, there is no consensus with regard to the duration after which the effects of ovarian stimulation are observed after a failed fresh ET and the optimal time required to begin FET. Moreover, no randomized controlled trial exists that compares the ongoing pregnancy rates after immediate versus delayed FET following a failed fresh ET cycle. Therefore, it is important to conduct a well-designed randomized trial to determine whether it is necessary to delay FET for at least one menstrual cycle after the failure of fresh ET. Clinical Trial Registration: ChiCTR2000033313 (http://www.chictr.org.cn/enIndex.aspx).

Enzymatic preparation of "functional oil" rich in feruloylated structured lipids with solvent-free ultrasound pretreatment.

In this study, a series of functional oils rich in feruloylated structured lipids (FSLs) was prepared by enzymatic transesterification of ethyl ferulate (EF) with triglycerides under ultrasound pretreatment. A conversion of more than 92.7% and controllable FSLs (3.1%-26.3%) can be obtained under the following conditions: 16% enzyme, substrate ratio 1:5 (oil/EF, mol/mol), 85 °C, ultrasound 1 h, pulse mode 3 s/3s (working/waiting), and 17.0 W/mL. Compared to conventional mechanical stirring, the activation energy decreased from 50.0 kJ/mol to 40.7 kJ/mol. The apparent kinetic constant increased by more than 13 times, and the time required for the maximum conversion reduced sharply from 20-60 h to 4-6h, which was the fastest rate for enzymatic synthesis of FSLs. The antioxidant activities of the functional oil significantly increased 1.0- to 8.1-fold more than that of the raw oil. The functional oil could be widely applied in various fields of functional foods.

Curcumin improves LPS-induced preeclampsia-like phenotype in rat by inhibiting the TLR4 signaling pathway.

INTRODUCTION: Abnormal inflammation mediated by Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling pathway contributes to preeclampsia (PE). Because curcumin can inhibit TLR4 signaling pathway, we investigated its effects on a PE rat model. METHODS: Twenty-one pregnant rats were randomly divided into three groups: 1) seven rats were injected 0.5 µg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on gestational day (GD) 5 to create a PE model (LPS-treated group), 2) seven rats were injected with a similar dosage of LPS and further treated with curcumin (0.36 mg/kg) (LPS-curcumin-treated group), 3) seven rats received saline (control group). Blood pressure and urinary protein level were observed. Immunostaining and periodic acid-Schiff staining of placenta were conducted. TLR4 and downstream Nuclear Factor-κB (NF-κB) expressions of placenta were analyzed by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. IL-6 and MCP-1 in rat serum and placenta were determined by ELISA and qRT-PCR. RESULTS: Compared to LPS-treated group, LPS-curcumin-treated group had decreased blood pressure and urinary protein level, similar to control group. Furthermore, deficient trophoblast invasion and spiral artery remodeling induced by LPS were improved by curcumin. Increased TLR4, NF-κB and IL-6, MCP-1 protein expressions in LPS-treated group were significantly decreased after curcumin administration. DISCUSSION: Curcumin improves the PE-like phenotype in rat model by reducing abnormal inflammation related to TLR4 signaling pathway.

Single frequency intake of α-linolenic acid rich phytosterol esters attenuates atherosclerosis risk factors in hamsters fed a high fat diet.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggested phytosterol esters (PE) exhibited an advantage over naturally occurring phytosterols in reducing atherosclerosis risk factors due to improved fat solubility and compatibility. However, the effects of dietary patterns of PE on lipid-lowering activity were limited and inconsistent. This study aimed to explore the effects of dose and frequency of α-linolenic acid rich phytosterol esters (ALA-PE) on cholesterol and triglyceride metabolism markers focused on intestinal cholesterol absorption and bioconversion of ALA in liver. METHODS: Dose-dependency study Male Syrian golden hamsters were fed high-fat diets (HFD) containing low, medium and high dose of ALA-PE (0.72 %, 2.13 % and 6.39 %) for 6 weeks. The high fat diet contained 89.5 % chow diet, 0.2 % cholesterol, 10 % lard and 0.3 % bile salt. Dose-frequency study Male Syrian golden hamsters were provided: (I) 0.4 mL/100 g peanut oil by gavage once a day; (II) 0.4 mL/100 g ALA-PE by gavage once a day; (III) 0.2 mL/100 g ALA-PE by gavage twice a day; (IV) 0.133 mL/100 g ALA-PE by gavage three times a day; (V) 0.1 mL/100 g ALA-PE by gavage four times a day for 6 weeks with a high-fat diet simultaneously. RESULTS: ALA-PE dose-dependently lowered plasma total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations with a maximal decrease of 42 %, 59 % and 73 %, respectively (p < 0.05). Compared to HFD, TC, LDL-C and TG concentrations were significantly lower (p < 0.01) in hamsters consumed HFD plus ALA-PE for 1-4 times per day but there were not remarkable differences among different consumption frequencies. No significant changes in plasma antioxidant capacity and lipid peroxidation levels were observed among HFD and HFD plus different doses of ALA-PE groups. The contents of hepatic α-linolenic (ALA), docosapentaenoic (DPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids were dose-dependently increased in different ALA-PE groups compared to those in HFD group. The abundance of mRNA for intestinal sterol transporters Niemann-Pick C1-Like 1 (NPC1L1), ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters ABCG5 and ABCG8 indicated no significant differences among all groups. CONCLUSION: ALA-PE dose-dependently improved lipid profile in hamsters fed HFD independent of intestinal ABCG5, ABCG8 and NPC1L1, accompanying by increased conversion of ALA to DPA and DHA in liver. ALA-PE manifested "once a day" lipid-lowering efficacy, highlighting a promising preventive strategy for metabolic syndrome.

Flaxseed Oil Containing α -Linolenic Acid Ester of Plant Sterol Improved Atherosclerosis in ApoE Deficient Mice.

Plant sterols (PS) have potential preventive function in atherosclerosis due to their cholesterol-lowering ability. Dietary α-linolenic acid in flaxseed oil is associated with a reduction in cardiovascular events through its hypolipidemic and anti-inflammation properties. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of flaxseed oil containing α-linolenic acid ester of PS (ALA-PS) on atherosclerosis and investigate the underlying mechanisms. C57BL/6 mice were administered a regular diet and apoE knockout (apoE-KO) mice were given a high fat diet alone or supplemented with 5% flaxseed oil with or without 3.3% ALA-PS for 18 weeks. Results demonstrated that flaxseed oil containing ALA-PS was synergistically interaction in ameliorating atherosclerosis as well as optimizing overall lipid levels, inhibiting inflammation and reducing oxidative stress. These data were associated with the modification effects on expression levels of genes involved in lipid metabolism (PPARα, HMGCR, and SREBPs), inflammation (IL-6, TNF, MCP-1, and VCAM-1), and oxidative stress (NADPH oxidase).

Production of novel "functional oil" rich in diglycerides and phytosterol esters with "one-pot" enzymatic transesterification.

Diglycerides and phytosterol esters are two important functional lipids. Phytosterol esters mixed with dietary diglyceride could not only influence body weight but also prevent or reverse insulin resistance and hyperlipidemia. In this study, a kind of novel "functional oil" rich in both diglycerides and phytosterol esters was prepared with "one-pot" enzymatic transesterification. First, lipase AYS (Candida rugosa) was immobilized on the porous cross-linked polystyrene resin beads (NKA) via hydrophobic interaction. The resulting immobilized AYS showed much better transesterification activity and thermal stability to freeways. On the basis of the excellent biocatalyst prepared, a method for high-efficiency enzymatic esterification of phytosterols with different triglycerides to produce corresponding functional oils rich in both diglycerides and phytosterol esters was developed. Four functional oils rich in both diglycerides and phytosterol esters with conversions >92.1% and controllable fatty acid composition were obtained under the optimized conditions: 80 mmol/L phytosterols, 160 mmol/L triglycerides, and 25 mg/mL AYS@NKA at 180 rpm and 50 °C for 12 h in hexane. The prepared functional oil possessed low acid value (≤1.0 mgKOH/g), peroxide value (≤2.1 mmol/kg), and conjugated diene value (≤1.96 mmol/kg) and high diglyceride and phytosterol ester contents (≥10.4 and ≥20.2%, respectively). All of the characteristics favored the wide application of the functional oil in different fields of functional food.