Epigenetic Regulation of CYP72A385-Mediated Metabolic Resistance to Novel Auxin Herbicide Florpyrauxifen-benzyl in Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv.

Weed's metabolic resistance to herbicides has undermined the sustainability of herbicides and global food security. Notably, we identified an Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv population (R) that evolved resistance to the never-used florpyrauxifen-benzyl, in which florpyrauxifen-benzyl was metabolized faster than the susceptible E. crus-galli population (S). RNA-seq identified potential metabolism-related genes, EcCYP72A385 and EcCYP85A1, whose expression in yeast exhibited the capacity to degrade florpyrauxifen-benzyl. Region-2 in the EcCYP72A385 promoter showed significant demethylation after florpyrauxifen-benzyl treatment in the R population. DNA methyltransferase inhibitors induce EcCYP72A385 overexpression in the S population and endow it with tolerance to florpyrauxifen-benzyl. Moreover, methyltransferase-like 7A (EcMETTL7A) was overexpressed in the S population and specifically bound to the EcCYP72A385 promoter. Transgenic EcCYP72A385 in Arabidopsis and Oryza sativa L. exhibited resistance to florpyrauxifen-benzyl, whereas EcMETTL7A transgenic plants were sensitive. Overall, EcCYP72A385 is the principal functional gene for conferring resistance to florpyrauxifen-benzyl and is regulated by EcMETTL7A in E. crus-galli.

Glucose-driven transformable complex eliminates biofilm and alleviates inflamm-aging for diabetic periodontitis therapy.

Diabetic periodontitis is a major complication of diabetes, which has a deep involvement in teeth loss and more serious systematic diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis and cancers. Diabetic periodontitis is difficult to treat because of recalcitrant infection and hyperglycemia-induced tissue dysfunction. Current treatments fail to completely eliminate infection due to the diffusion-reaction inhibition of biofilm, and ignore the tissue dysfunction. Here, we design a glucose-driven transformable complex, composed of calcium alginate (CaAlg) hydrogel shell and Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) core encapsulating Glucose oxidase (GOx)/Catalase (CAT) and Minocycline (MINO), named as CaAlg@MINO/GOx/CAT/ZIF-8 (CMGCZ). The reaction product of glucose-scavenging, gluconic acid, could dissolve ZIF-8 core and transform CMGCZ from inflexible to flexible, facilitating the complex to overcome the diffusion-reaction inhibition of biofilm. Meanwhile, reduced glucose concentration could ameliorate the pyroptosis of macrophages to decrease the secretion of pro-inflammatory factors, thereby reducing inflamm-aging to alleviate periodontal dysfunction.

A novel micron europium cluster coordination polymer as a strong electrochemiluminescent emitter for accurate and sensitive detection of tetracycline.

In this work, a self-luminescent micron europium cluster coordination polymer (Eu-CCP) cathode electrochemiluminescence (ECL) emitter is first reported. The mass percentage of Eu in Eu-CCP is 50.1%, indicating that Eu-CCP has a high-nucleation luminescence center. In addition, our Eu-CCP possesses a stable and efficient ECL red emission performance, and the intensity is approximately 6.5-fold higher than that of the traditional tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) dichloride. The enhancement of Eu-CCP luminescence in our system is due to the following reasons: (1) the mixed ligand and high nuclear europium luminescent center can cooperate to improve the quenching effect induced by water or hydroxyl groups; and (2) external coreaction accelerator and coreactant enhancement. We also investigate the application of Eu-CCP in ECL sensors by sensitive detection of tetracycline (TC). The low detection limit (73.5 fmol·L-1), high selectivity, good stability and satisfactory recoveries indicate that our ECL strategy can be used to detect TC accurately and sensitively.

Study on the Specific Expression of Infrared Radiation Temperature on the Body Surface of Acupoint in Rats with Chronic Myocardial Ischemic Injury.

BACKGROUND: Infrared thermal imaging technology was used to observe the changes in infrared radiation temperature at acupoints in rats caused by chronic myocardial ischemia injury. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the difference of body surface infrared radiation temperature information of three groups of acupoints: bilateral Neiguan (PC6), bilateral Yanglingquan (GB33), and bilateral Sham Acupoints (SA) in the pathological state of myocardial ischemia injury, and to explore the relationship between acupoints and viscera state. METHODS: SPF adult Wistar male rats (n = 20) were randomly divided into a control (CTL; n = 10) and an isoproterenol group (ISO; n = 10). Chronic myocardial injury was induced in rats by subcutaneous injection of isoproterenol hydrochloride for 14 d. On the second day after the establishment of the model, the serum levels of cardiac troponin (cTnI) and creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The morphological changes of the myocardial tissue in the two groups were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and their pathological scores were evaluated, which was then used to determine the myocardial ischemic injury. Two days before and after the establishment of the model, the electrocardiograms (ECG) of the two groups of rats were recorded by the (ECG) data acquisition system, and the infrared thermal imaging platform was used to detect the temperature of the six acupoints. RESULTS: 1. After subcutaneous injection of isoproterenol hydrochloride for 14 days, the ST segment of the ECG decreased in the ISO group compared with that of the CTL group; 2. Myocardial tissue injury was serious in the ISO group compared to the CTL group; 3. Serum cTn-I and CK-MB were significantly increased (P <0 01) in the ISO group, compared to that in the CTL group; 4. The infrared radiation temperature on the body surface of bilateral Neiguan (PC6) acupoints decreased significantly in the ISO group, compared to that of the CTL group. CONCLUSION: Infrared thermal imaging technology can be used to detect the changes in the energy state of acupoints. Chronic myocardial ischemic injury can cause a decrease in IR temperature on the body surface of bilateral Neiguan (PC6) acupoints, suggesting that visceral diseases can lead to changes in the energy metabolism of acupoints.

Multiple Receptors Involved in Invasion and Neuropathogenicity of Canine Distemper Virus: A Review.

The canine distemper virus (CDV) is a morbillivirus that infects a broad range of terrestrial carnivores, predominantly canines, and is associated with high mortality. Similar to another morbillivirus, measles virus, which infects humans and nonhuman primates, CDV transmission from an infected host to a naïve host depends on two cellular receptors, namely, the signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM or CD150) and the adherens junction protein nectin-4 (also known as PVRL4). CDV can also invade the central nervous system by anterograde spread through olfactory nerves or in infected lymphocytes through the circulation, thus causing chronic progressive or relapsing demyelination of the brain. However, the absence of the two receptors in the white matter, primary cultured astrocytes, and neurons in the brain was recently demonstrated. Furthermore, a SLAM/nectin-4-blind recombinant CDV exhibits full cell-to-cell transmission in primary astrocytes. This strongly suggests the existence of a third CDV receptor expressed in neural cells, possibly glial cells. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in the study of CDV receptors, highlighting the unidentified glial receptor and its contribution to pathogenicity in the host nervous system. The reviewed studies focus on CDV neuropathogenesis, and neural receptors may provide promising directions for the treatment of neurological diseases caused by CDV. We also present an overview of other neurotropic viruses to promote further research and identification of CDV neural receptors.

Characterization of Salivary Secreted Proteins That Induce Cell Death From Riptortus pedestris (Fabricius) and Their Roles in Insect-Plant Interactions.

Riptortus pedestris (Fabricius) is a polyphagous hemipteran crop pest that mainly feeds on the leguminous plants, resulting in shriveled and dimpled seeds. With recent several outbreaks in the Huang-Huai-Hai region of China, as well as in South Korea and Japan, this species has caused enormous economic losses to soybean crops. In the present study, we found that R. pedestris feeding results in local lesions at the infestation sites. To identify the key effectors that induce plant damage during feeding, the salivary glands of R. pedestris were dissected for transcriptome sequencing, and 200 putative secreted proteins were transiently expressed in N. benthamiana. Among them, three intracellular effectors (RP191, RP246, and RP302) and one apoplastic effector (RP309) were identified as necrosis-inducing proteins (NIPs), which also triggered the reactive oxidative burst. Yeast signal sequence trap and qRT-PCR analysis suggested that these proteins might be secreted into plant tissue during R. pedestris infestation. Pathogenicity assays revealed that RP191, 246, and 302 promote Phytophthora capsici infection or induce Spodoptera litura feeding by inhibiting plant immunity. RP302 is localized to the cytoplasm and nuclei, while RP191 and 246 are endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident proteins. RP309 stimulates the expression of PTI marker genes, and its induced cell death depends on co-receptors NbBAK1 and NbSOBIR1, indicating that it is a HAMP. Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that four NIPs are recently evolved effectors and only conserved in the Pentatomidae. In this study, saliva-secreted proteins were used as the starting point to preliminarily analyze the harm mechanism of R. pedestris, which might provide a new idea and theoretical basis for this species control.

Lanthanide Ce(III)/Tb(III) bimetallic coordination polymer as an advanced electrochemiluminescence emitter for epinephrine sensing application.

By rationally introducing Ce(III) and Tb(III) into a coordination polymer (CP), a series of lanthanide bimetallic coordination polymers (Tb:Ce-BCPs) has been prepared in this work. Compared with pure Tb-CP and Ce-CP, bimetallic Tb:Ce-BCPs show stronger and more stable ECL intensity, which is mainly attributed to the "dual sensitization effect" combined with the energy transfer from Ce(III) to Tb(III) and the antenna effect from the ligand to the center atoms of Ce(III) and Tb(III). In the meantime, after explore the ECL intensity and morphologies of all these Tb:Ce-BCPs, the results show that the morphologies and ECL intensities of Tb:Ce-BCPs can be adjusted by doping different molar ratios of Ce(III) in Tb:Ce-BCP. Excitingly, Ce(III) can also act as a co-reaction accelerator, effectively promoting S2O82- to generate more SO4•-, thereby enhancing the ECL intensity of Tb:Ce-BCP. That is to say, Ce(III) plays a triple role in Tb:Ce-BCP. Furthermore, the ECL strength of Tb:Ce-BCP decreased by only 1.8% and 3.5%, respectively after the modified electrode was scanned for 800 s and stored for one month. Enlightened by the excellent ECL properties of Tb:Ce-BCP, we modified Tb:Ce-BCP directly on the surface of electrode, and explored its application in electroanalytical chemistry through the detection of epinephrine (EP) and the detection limit is 33 fmol L-1. Significantly, our ECL sensing strategy promotes the application of lanthanides in ECL sensor and opens vast possibilities for the synthesis of a new generation of ECL emitter in electroanalytical fields.

Downregulation of lncRNA Miat contributes to the protective effect of electroacupuncture against myocardial fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial fibrosis changes the structure of myocardium, leads to cardiac dysfunction and induces arrhythmia and cardiac ischemia, threatening patients' lives. Electroacupuncture at PC6 (Neiguan) was previously found to inhibit myocardial fibrosis. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a variety of regulatory functions in myocardial fibrosis, but whether electroacupuncture can inhibit myocardial fibrosis by regulating lncRNA has rarely been reported. METHODS: In this study, we constructed myocardial fibrosis rat models using isoproterenol (ISO) and treated rats with electroacupuncture at PC6 point and non-point as control. Hematoxylin-eosin, Masson and Sirius Red staining were performed to assess the pathological changes and collagen deposition. The expression of fibrosis-related markers in rat myocardial tissue were detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot. Miat, an important long non-coding RNA, was selected to study the regulation of myocardial fibrosis by electroacupuncture at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. In post-transcriptional level, we explored the myocardial fibrosis regulation effect of Miat on the sponge effect of miR-133a-3p. At the transcriptional level, we studied the formation of heterodimer PPARG-RXRA complex and promotion of the TGF-ß1 transcription. RESULTS: Miat was overexpressed by ISO injection in rats. We found that Miat can play a dual regulatory role in myocardial fibrosis. Miat can sponge miR-133a-3p in an Ago2-dependent manner, reduce the binding of miR-133a-3p target to the 3'UTR region of CTGF mRNA and improve the protein expression level of CTGF. In addition, it can also directly bind with PPARG protein, inhibit the formation of heterodimer PPARG-RXRA complex and then promote the transcription of TGF-ß1. Electroacupuncture at PC6 point, but not at non-points, can reduce the expression of Miat, thus inhibiting the expression of CTGF and TGF-ß1 and inhibiting myocardial fibrosis. CONCLUSION: We revealed that electroacupuncture at PC6 point can inhibit the process of myocardial fibrosis by reducing the expression of lncRNA Miat, which is a potential therapeutic method for myocardial fibrosis.

Electroacupuncture at PC6 (Neiguan) Attenuates Angina Pectoris in Rats with Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury Through Regulating the Alternative Splicing of the Major Inhibitory Neurotransmitter Receptor GABRG2.

Angina pectoris is the most common manifestation of coronary heart disease, causing suffering in patients. Electroacupuncture at PC6 can effectively alleviate angina by regulating the expression of genes, whether the alternative splicing (AS) of genes is affected by acupuncture is still unknown. We established a rat model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion by coronary artery ligation and confirmed electroacupuncture alleviated the abnormal discharge caused by angina pectoris measured in EMG electromyograms. Analysis of the GSE61840 dataset established that AS events were altered after I/R and regulated by electroacupuncture. I/R decreased the expression of splicing factor Nova1 while electroacupuncture rescued it. Further experiments in dorsal root ganglion cells showed Nova1 regulated the AS of the GABRG2, specifically on its exon 9 where an important phosphorylation site is present. In vivo, results also showed that electroacupuncture can restore AS of GABRG2. Our results proved that electroacupuncture alleviates angina results by regulating alternative splicing.

Two-color, ultra-sensitive fluorescent strategy for Ochratoxin A detection based on hybridization chain reaction and DNA tweezers.

A two-color fluorescent DNA tweezers was developed for ultrasensitive detection of Ochratoxin A (OTA) based on hairpin-locked aptamer and hybridization chain reaction (HCR) amplification strategy. OTA can bind with hairpin-locked aptamer and then trigger the HCR reaction to produce a long double-strand DNA. The side-chains of the long duplex can separately hybridize with the two locker sequences of DNA tweezer, causing the opening of DNA tweezer and the recovery of two-color fluorescent signals. It shows a good linear range from 0.02 to 0.8 ppb with limit of detection of 0.006 ppb for FAM and 0.014 ppb for Cy5, which is beyond the requirement of actual application. In addition, the two-color fluorescent strategy can greatly reduce the false positive rate. It shows excellent performance for detection of OTA in practical food sample.

Viral Pathogenesis, Recombinant Vaccines, and Oncolytic Virotherapy: Applications of the Canine Distemper Virus Reverse Genetics System.

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a highly contagious pathogen transmissible to a broad range of terrestrial and aquatic carnivores. Despite the availability of attenuated vaccines against CDV, the virus remains responsible for outbreaks of canine distemper (CD) with significant morbidity and mortality in domesticated and wild carnivores worldwide. CDV uses the signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM, or CD150) and nectin-4 (PVRL4) as entry receptors, well-known tumor-associated markers for several lymphadenomas and adenocarcinomas, which are also responsible for the lysis of tumor cells and apparent tumor regression. Thus, CDV vaccine strains have emerged as a promising platform of oncolytic viruses for use in animal cancer therapy. Recent advances have revealed that use of the CDV reverse genetic system (RGS) has helped increase the understanding of viral pathogenesis and explore the development of recombinant CDV vaccines. In addition, genetic engineering of CDV based on RGS approaches also has the potential of enhancing oncolytic activity and selectively targeting tumors. Here, we reviewed the host tropism and pathogenesis of CDV, and current development of recombinant CDV-based vaccines as well as their use as oncolytic viruses against cancers.

Core-Shell Structured Phenolic Polymer@TiO2 Nanosphere with Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Efficiency.

Core-shell structured TiO2 is a promising solution to promote the photocatalytic effectiveness in visible light. Compared to metal or semiconductor materials, polymers are rarely used as the core materials for fabricating core-shell TiO2 materials. A novel core-shell structured polymer@TiO2 was developed by using phenolic polymer (PP) colloid nanoparticles as the core material. The PP nanoparticles were synthesized by an enzyme-catalyzed polymerization in water. A subsequent sol-gel and hydrothermal reaction was utilized to cover the TiO2 shell on the surfaces of PP particles. The thickness of the TiO2 shell was controlled by the amount of TiO2 precursor. The covalent connection between PP and TiO2 was established after the hydrothermal reaction. The core-shell structure allowed the absorption spectra of PP@TiO2 to extend to the visible-light region. Under visible-light irradiation, the core-shell nanosphere displayed enhanced photocatalytic efficiency for rhodamine B degradation and good recycle stability. The interfacial C-O-Ti bonds and the π-conjugated structures in the PP@TiO2 nanosphere played a key role in the quick transfer of the excited electrons between PP and TiO2, which greatly improved the photocatalytic efficiency in visible light.

Electronic modulation of composite electrocatalysts derived from layered NiFeMn triple hydroxide nanosheets for boosted overall water splitting.

Herein, we report the synthesis of Fe and Mn co-doped Ni3S2 nanosheet arrays (FM-NS NSAs) as well as layered NiFeMn triple hydroxide (NiFeMn-LTH)/FM-NS hybrid NSAs (HNSAs) via an easily controllable sulfidation method with NiFeMn-LTH NSAs as the precursor, which can be employed as coupled oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrodes to achieve boosted overall water splitting performance. It is discovered that the incorporation of the dual Fe and Mn cations can simultaneously modulate the morphology and optimize the electron density of the obtained catalysts. As a result, the full sulfidation product of FM-NS NSAs display a much-enhanced activity for the OER at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 with an overpotential of 188 mV. The NiFeMn-LTH/FM-NS HNSAs obtained from partial sulfidation demonstrate an enhanced HER activity with a lower overpotential of 110 mV at 10 mA cm-2. The FM-NS NSA anode and the NiFeMn-LTH/FM-NS HNSA cathode were coupled in an alkaline medium for overall water splitting and exhibited a much lower cell voltage of 1.48 V at 10 mA cm-2, superior to most of the reported noble-metal-free electrocatalysts. Additionally, a battery-assisted electrolyzer (1.5 V) was assembled to explore the feasibility for practical energy-efficient water splitting.

Chiral MnIII (Salen) Immobilized on Organic Polymer/Inorganic Zirconium Hydrogen Phosphate Functionalized with 3-Aminopropyltrimethoxysilane as an Efficient and Recyclable Catalyst for Enantioselective Epoxidation of Styrene.

Organic polymers/inorganic zirconium hydrogen phosphate (ZSPP, ZPS-IPPA, and ZPS-PVPA) functionalized with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane were prepared and used to support chiral MnIII (salen) complexes (Jacobsen's catalyst). Different characterization methods demonstrated that the chiral MnIII (salen) complexes was successfully supported on the surface of the carrier (ZSPP, ZPS-IPPA, or ZPS-PVPA) through a 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane group spacer. The supported catalysts effectively catalyzed epoxidation of styrene with m-chloroperbenzoic acid (m-CPBA) as an oxidant in the presence of N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMO) as an axial base. These results (ee%, 53.3⁻63.9) were significantly better than those achieved under a homogeneous counterpart (ee%, 46.2). Moreover, it is obvious that there was no significant decrease in catalytic activity after the catalyst 3 was recycled four times (cons%: from 95.0 to 92.6; ee%: from 64.7 to 60.1). Further recycles of catalyst 3 resulted in poor conversions, although the enantioselectivity obtained was still higher than that of corresponding homogeneous catalyst even after eight times. After the end of the eighth reaction, the solid catalyst was allowed to stand in 2 mol/L of dilute hydrochloric acid overnight, prompting an unexpected discovery that the catalytic activity of the catalyst was recovered again at the 9th and 10th cycles of the catalyst.

Synthesis and Comparative Biological Properties of Ag-PEG Nanoparticles with Tunable Morphologies from Janus to Multi-Core Shell Structure.

Silver nanoparticles synthesized with polymers as coating agents is an effective method to overcome their poor stability and aggregation in solution. Silver-polyethylene glycol (Ag-PEG) nanoparticles were synthesized with the thiol-functionalized polyethylene glycol (SH-PEA) as the coating, reducing and stabilizing agent. The UV irradiation time, polymer and silver nitrate concentration for the synthesis were investigated. The concentration of silver nitrate had significant effect on the morphology of Ag-PEG nanoparticles. When increasing the concentration of silver nitrate, SEM and TEM images showed that Ag-PEG nanoparticles changed from Janus to multi-core shell structure. Meanwhile, pure silver particles in the two hybrid nanoparticles presented spherical shape and had the similar size of 15 nm. The antibacterial activities and cytotoxicity of the two structural Ag-PEG nanoparticles were investigated to understand colloid morphology effect on the properties of AgNPs. The results of antibacterial activities showed that the two structural Ag-PEG nanoparticles exhibited strong antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. The Janus nanoparticles had larger minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bacterial concentration (MBC) values than the multi-core shell counterparts. The results of cytotoxicity showed the Janus Ag-PEG nanoparticles had lower toxicity than the multi-core shell nanoparticles.

CdS/ZnS Heterostructured Porous Composite with Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalysis.

Fabrication of semiconductor composites consisting of multicomponent or multiphase heterojunctions is a very effective strategy to design highly active photocatalyst systems. Here we present a facile design to fabricate novel CdS/ZnS heterostructured porous sheet-like nanocomposite based on a cation-exchanged hydrothermal procedure. Micro-structural analyses reveal that the product is a kind of heterostructured composite with porous structure and high crystallinity. The composite nanosheets exhibited enhanced visible-light photoactivity compared with pure ZnS or CdS. Among them, sample of Cd0.45Zn0.55S gave the highest degradation rate of about 99% under visible-light irradiation within 60 min when 10 mg of the sample was added into 50 mL of methyl orange in aqueous solution (10 mg/L). The enhanced photocatalytic activity was presumed to result from the direct photoinduced interfacial charge transfer (IFCT) from the valence band (VB) of ZnS to CdS.

Low Cost and Reliable Electrochemical Sensor for Rutin Detection Based on Au Nanoparticles-Loaded ZnS Nanocomposites.

Facile preparation of electrode modified materials with low-cost nanocomposites is an important step to develop highly active electrochemical sensors for mass-market applications. Here we fabricated Au nanoparticles (AuNPs)-loaded ZnS nanocomposites for the sensitive determination of rutin due to the cooperative amplification of the conductivity and catalytic activity of AuNPs on ZnS spheres resulting from the high loading ratio of AuNPs on ZnS spheres. Under the optimal conditions, the developed sensor based on AuNPs-loaded ZnS nanocomposites exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity towards rutin in a linear range from 1 × 10-7 mol/L to 2 × 10-5 mol/L with a limit of detection of 15.3 nM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. Furthermore, the proposed method gave satisfactory results for rutin determination in pharmaceutical tablets, which offer promising potential for rutin electrochemical analysis in serum monitoring or Chinese medical analysis owing to its simplicity, low cost, high sensitivity and good stability.

The influence of pH and enzyme cross-linking on protein delivery properties of WPI-beet pectin complexes.

The incorporation of bioactive proteins and peptides into food is associated with the loss of bioactivity due to deactivation in complex food matrices and in digestion systems. In this study, two different types of protein carriers, i.e. biopolymer complexation and complex coacervation were fabricated using whey protein isolation (WPI, 6wt%) and beet pectin (BP, 1.25 and 1.00wt%) at pH5.5 and 3.5, respectively. The release of the encapsulated FITC-BSA, a model bioactive protein, in both carriers in the absence and presence of laccase was investigated at both pH7.0 and 4.0. Release of FITC-BSA from both lyophilized WPI-beet pectin biopolymer complexation and complex coacervation were biphasic with an initial burst release followed by a slower release phase. The addition of laccase in biopolymer complexation increased the loading efficiency from 44.95% to 52.15% and slowed down the burst release of FITC-BSA but did change the biphasic release pattern. Laccase-cross linked WPI (6wt%)-BP (1wt%) complex coacervation had highest FITC-BSA loading efficiency (96.90%). The release of the embedded FITC-BSA in this carrier at both pH4 and 7 was in a gradual manner and the profile can be fit to zero order kinetics over the 72h study period suggesting enzymatically reinforced complex coacervation between the protein and the negatively charged beet pectin can restrain the burst release of FITC-BSA. These results indicate that laccase cross-linked WPI-beet pectin complex coacervation can be a good carrier system for delivering hydrophilic bioactive proteins or peptides successfully with enhanced loading parameters and sustained release profiles.

Radio frequency negative permittivity in random carbon nanotubes/alumina nanocomposites.

While metal is the most common conductive constituent element in the preparation of metamaterials, one-dimensional conductive carbon nanotubes (CNTs) provide alternative building blocks. Here alumina (Al2O3) nanocomposites with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) uniformly dispersed in the alumina matrix were prepared by hot-pressing sintering. As the MWCNT content increased, the formed conductive MWCNT networks led to the occurrence of the percolation phenomenon and a change of the conductive mechanism. Two different types of negative permittivity (i.e., resonance-induced and plasma-like) were observed in the composites. The resonance-induced negative permittivity behavior in the composite with a low nanotube content was ascribed to the induced electric dipole generated from the isolated MWCNTs. The frequency dispersions of such negative permittivity can be fitted well by the Lorentz model, while the observed plasma-like negative permittivity behavior in the composites with MWCNT content exceeding the percolation threshold could be well explained by the low frequency plasmonic state generated from conductive nanotube networks using the Drude model. This work is favorable to revealing the generation mechanism of negative permittivity behavior and will greatly facilitate the practical applications of metamaterials.

Preventative effects of fermented Chimonobambusa quadrangularis shoot on activated carbon-induced constipation.

The present study aimed to determine the preventative effects of fermented Chimonobambusa quadrangularis shoot (FCQS) on activated carbon constipation in Kun Ming mice. FCQS has a more loose fiber tissue structure than unfermented fresh C. quadrangularis shoot (CQS), which is preferable for relieving constipation. In mice fed with FCQS for 9 days the time from consumption to their first black stool defecation (117 min) was shorter than the control group (192 min) and the CQS group (148 min); however, it was longer than the normal (85 min) and bisacodyl treatment (99 min) groups. The gastrointestinal transit of the FCQS group (73.8%) was increased, as compared with the control (37.9%) and CQS (61.7%) groups; however, it was decreased as compared with the normal (100%) and bisacodyl (88.3%) groups. By observing the hemotoxylin and eosin-stained section of mice intestine, it was demonstrated that FCQS reduced injury to the intestinal tract resulting from constipation and alleviated the damage caused to the intestinal villi over the effects observed in the CQS group. Furthermore, FCQS was also able to increase the serum levels of motilin, endothelin-1, vasoactive intestinal peptide and acetylcholinesterase compared with the control group. c-Kit, stem cell factor (SCF), glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) mRNA and protein expression levels in the small intestinal cells of FCQS-fed mice were increased, as compared with CQS-fed mice. Transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) expression levels of small intestinal cells of FCQS-fed mice were reduced, as compared with CQS-fed mice. These findings demonstrated that FCQS may induce improved preventative effects on constipation, compared with CQS.