Electrohydrodynamic drying of citrus (Citrus sinensis L.) peel: Comparative evaluation on the physiochemical quality and volatile profiles.

Based on the concept of circular economy, citrus peel was considered a valuable source of bioactive compounds for high-value foods. Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) drying is a novel technology appropriated for the dehydration of heat-sensitive products such as citrus peel. In current work, EHD drying of citrus peel was performed based on alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) sources at various voltage levels (9, 18, 27, 36, and 45 kV). The effect of EHD on drying characteristics, water retention capacity, enzyme inactivation, phytochemical contents (phenolic compounds and carotenoids), and volatile compounds of citrus peel were evaluated and compared. Results showed that the drying time in the AC electric field was shorter compared to DC electric field at the same applied voltages due to the polarization layer formed by unipolar charges. The applied voltage determined electric field strength as well as the degree of tissue collapse and cell membrane rupture. EHD elucidated the transformation and degradation of phytochemicals including phenolic compounds, carotenoids, and volatile composition in proportion to the applied voltage. The findings indicate that EHD drying with AC improves drying behaviors, inactivates enzymes, and retains the phytochemical properties of citrus peel.

Post-harvest ripening affects drying behavior, antioxidant capacity and flavor release of peach via alteration of cell wall polysaccharides content and nanostructures, water distribution and status.

Effect of post-harvest ripening on cell wall polysaccharides nanostructures, water status, physiochemical properties of peaches and drying behavior under hot air-infrared drying was evaluated. Results showed that the content of water soluble pectins (WSP) increased by 94 %, while the contents of chelate-soluble pectins (CSP), Na2CO3-soluble pectins (NSP) and hemicelluloses (HE) decreased during post-harvest ripening by 60 %, 43 %, and 61 %, respectively. The drying time increased from 3.5 to 5.5 h when the post-harvest time increased from 0 to 6 days. Atomic force microscope analysis showed that depolymerization of hemicelluloses and pectin occurred during post-harvest ripening. Time Domain -NMR observations indicated that reorganization of cell wall polysaccharides nanostructure changed water spatial distribution and cell internal structure, facilitated moisture migration, and affected antioxidant capacity of peaches during drying. This leads to the redistribution of flavor substances (heptanal, n-nonanal dimer and n-nonanal monomer). The current work elucidates the effect of post-harvest ripening on the physiochemical properties and drying behavior of peaches.

Lipidomics reveals the molecular mechanisms underlying the changes in lipid profiles and lipid oxidation in rape bee pollen dried by different methods.

Drying is essential for preserving fresh bee pollen. However, the effects of different drying techniques on lipid quality are unknown. This study aimed to compare the effects of four drying methods (freeze-drying (FD), infrared drying (IRD), hot-air drying (HAD), and pulsed vacuum drying (PVD)) on the drying kinetics, lipid oxidation, lipid profiles, and lipid metabolic pathways of bee pollen. IRD and HAD had the fastest drying rates but the highest degree of lipid oxidation. Lipidomics analysis of the bee pollen identified 1541 lipid metabolites from 20 subclasses. Glycerophospholipids were the most abundant, followed by glycerides, glycolipids, and sphingolipids. Drying not only reduced the lipid content, but also altered the structure of the triglyceride (TG) and fatty acid (FA), which might be caused by degradation and oxidation. Principal components analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) showed that IRD and HAD had the greatest effects on lipid metabolites, whereas FD had the smallest influence. Lipid oxidation during drying was correlated with differential lipids and three main metabolic pathways, including glycerophospholipid, linoleic acid, and glycerolipid metabolic pathways, in which phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidic acid (PA), and lyso-phosphatidylcholine (LPC) were the key lipids. Our results provide comprehensive lipid profiles and potential mechanisms of lipid oxidation during bee pollen drying.

Effect of qigong exercise and acupressure rehabilitation program on pulmonary function and respiratory symptoms in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: There are several effective complementary and integrative therapies for patients with severe COVID-19. The trial aims to evaluate the efficacy and advantages of the qigong exercise and acupressure rehabilitation program (QARP) for treating patients with severe COVID-19. METHODS: A total of 128 patients with COVID-19 aged 20 to 80 years were recruited and randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to receive QARP plus standard therapies or standard therapies alone. QARP consisted of acupressure therapy and qigong exercise (Liu Zi Jue). The primary outcome was measured with the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale, and the secondary outcomes included the modified Borg dyspnea scale (MBS), fatigue Scale-14 (FS-14), patient health questionnaire-9 scale (PHQ-9), duration of respiratory symptoms, and vital signs. RESULTS: In total, 128 patients completed the clinical trial. The QARP group and standard therapies group showed significant improvements in vital signs (except blood pressure) and clinical scales compared with baseline (p<0.05). The QARP group also showed more significant improvement in the mMRC dyspnea scale (-1.8 [-2.1, -1.6], p=0.018) and modified Borg dyspnea scale (-3.7 [95% confidence intervals (CI) -4.3, -3.1], p=0.045). The duration of cough was 14.3 days (95% CI 12.6, 16.1, p=0.046), and the length of hospital stay was 18.5 days (95% CI 17.0, 20.0, p=0.042) in the QARP group, both of which were significantly reduced compared with the standard therapies group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: QARP plus standard therapies improved lung function and symptoms such as dyspnea and cough in patients with severe COVID-19 and shortened the length of hospital stay. Therefore, QARP may be considered an effective treatment option for patients with severe COVID-19. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Research Information Service Identifier: ChiCTR2000029994.

Acupuncture and related therapies for poststroke insomnia: A protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare and evaluate the clinical effects on patients with poststroke insomnia of various acupuncture and acupuncture-related therapies. METHODS: In order to analyze the direct and indirect evidence from related studies, we used network meta-analysis (NMA). In order to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture and related therapies in the treatment of poststroke insomnia, 3 English and 4 Chinese databases were searched. After 2 researchers independently screened the literature, extracted the information, and assessed the probability of bias in the included studies, the data was analyzed using Stata15.0 and WinBUGS1.4.3 software. RESULTS: Based on the existing data, the pros and cons of different acupuncture-related therapies are compared extensively, the effectiveness of different acupuncture-related therapies is ranked compared to drugs with hypnotic effect in poststroke insomnia care, and the best methods or combinations of acupuncture intervention are summarized. CONCLUSION: This study will provide new evidence for the safety and effectiveness of acupuncture-related therapies in the treatment of poststroke insomnia, and may be helpful for clinicians, poststroke insomnia patients, and clinical guideline makers to choose the optimal combination of acupuncture for the treatment of poststroke insomnia. REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202120028.

A multi-controlled drug delivery system based on magnetic mesoporous Fe3O4 nanopaticles and a phase change material for cancer thermo-chemotherapy.

Herein a novel multi-controlled drug release system for doxorubicin (DOX) was developed, in which monodisperse mesoporous Fe3O4 nanoparticles were combined with a phase change material (PCM) and polyethylene glycol 2000 (PEG2000). It is found that the PCM/PEG/DOX mixture containing 20% PEG could be dissolved into water at 42 °C. The mesoporous Fe3O4 nanoparticles prepared by the solvothermal method had sizes of around 25 nm and exhibited a mesoporous microstructure. A simple solvent evaporation process was employed to load the PCM/PEG/DOX mixture on the mesoporous Fe3O4 nanoparticles completely. In the Fe3O4@PCM/PEG/DOX system, the pores of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles were observed to be filled with the mixture of PCM/PEG/DOX. The Fe3O4@PCM/PEG/DOX system showed a saturation magnetization value of 50.0 emu g-1, lower than 71.1 emu g-1 of the mesoporous Fe3O4 nanoparticles, but it was still high enough for magnetic targeting and hyperthermia application. The evaluation on drug release performance indicated that the Fe3O4@PCM/PEG/DOX system achieved nearly zero release of DOX in vitro in body temperature, while around 80% of DOX could be released within 1.5 h at the therapeutic threshold of 42 °C or under the NIR laser irradiation for about 4 h. And a very rapid release of DOX was achieved by this system when applying an alternating magnetic field. By comparing the systems with and without PEG2000, it is revealed that the presence of PEG2000 makes DOX easy to be released from 1-tetradecanol to water, owing to its functions of increasing the solubility of DOX in 1-tetradecanol as well as decreasing the surface tension between water and 1-tetradecanol. The novel drug release system shows great potential for the development of thermo-chemotherapy of cancer treatment.