Antibacterial activity of lysozyme after association with carboxymethyl konjac glucomannan.

The unique high isoelectric point of lysozyme (LYZ) restricts its application in composite antibacterial coating due to the unfavorable liability to electrostatic interaction with other components. In this work, the antibacterial activity of a dispersible LYZ-carboxymethyl konjac glucomannan (CMKGM) polyelectrolyte complex was evaluated. Kinetic analysis revealed that, compared with free LYZ, the complexed enzyme exhibited decreased affinity (Km) but markedly increased Vmax against Micrococcus lysodeikticus, and QCM and dynamic light scattering analysis confirmed that the complex could bind with the substrate but in a much lower ratio. The complexation with CMKGM did not alter the antibacterial spectrum of LYZ, and the complex exerted antibacterial function by delaying the logarithmic growth phase and impairing the cell integrity of Staphylococcus aureus. Since the LYZ-CMKGM complex is dispersible in water and could be assembled easily, it has great potential as an edible coating in food preservation.

Roles of Amides on the Formation of Atmospheric HONO and the Nucleation of Nitric Acid Hydrates.

Nitrous acid (HONO) is hazardous to the human respiratory system, and the hydrolysis of NO2 is the source of HONO. Hence, the investigation on the removal and transformation of HONO is urgently established. The effects of amide on the mechanism and kinetics of the formation of HONO with acetamide, formamide, methylformamide, urea, and its clusters of the catalyst were studied theoretically. The results show that amide and its small clusters reduce the energy barrier, the substituent improves the catalytic efficiency, and the catalytic effect order is dimer > monohydrate > monomer. Meanwhile, the clusters composed of nitric acid (HNO3), amides, and 1-6 water molecules were investigated in the amide-assisted nitrogen dioxide (NO2) hydrolysis reaction after HONO decomposes by combining the system sampling technique and density functional theory. The study on thermodynamics, intermolecular forces, optics properties of the clusters, as well as the influence of humidity, temperature, atmospheric pressure, and altitude shows that amide molecules promote the clustering and enhance the optical properties. The substituent facilitates the clustering of amide and nitric acid hydrate and lowers the humidity sensitivity of the clusters. The findings will help to control the atmospheric aerosol particle and then reduce the harm of poisonous organic chemicals on human health.

Interfacial adsorption behavior of the Aspergillus oryzae lipase-chitosan complex and stability evaluation of the resultant Pickering emulsion.

To prompt the application of the chitosan (CS)-Aspergillus oryzae lipase (AOL) complex in the construction of novel biphasic catalysis medium, its Pickering emulsion stabilization ability as well as adsorption behavior in the oil-water interface were investigated and the stability of resultant emulsion was evaluated. The results indicated that the CS-AOL complex assembled in mass ratio 1:5 was an effective Pickering stabilizer and up to 90 % AOL could be retained in the emulsion interface. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring suggested that the CS-AOL complex spontaneously absorbed to oil-water interface; absorption dynamics analysis revealed that the adsorption was driven by diffusion accompanied by rapid structural rearrangement; while interfacial dilatational rheology demonstrated the formation of an elastic film in the oil-water interface. The Pickering emulsions were pseudoplastic and that in oil fraction 0.6 exhibited the elastic behavior in contrast to the viscous behavior in oil fractions 0.2 and 0.4. The Pickering emulsion exhibited excellent stability against storage for up to 28 d, pHs 2.0-12.0, heating at 25-90 °C, and up to 500 mmol/L NaCl, and the corresponding interfacial AOL retentions exceeded 80 % during exposure to these conditions. Hence, the CS-AOL complex could be used as a stabilizer to construct Pickering emulsion-based biphasic catalysis systems.

Addition of Chelators Increased the Stability of Black Rice Anthocyanins against the Metallic Ions in Tap Water and Improved the Coloration of Steamed Cold Noodles.

The anthocyanins in black rice extract (BRA) are sensitive to metallic ions, which restrict its application in the coloration of steamed cold noodles in China that uses tap water as the solvent. Food-grade chelators were added to check if they could increase the stability of BRA. The results indicated that the color decay of BRA in tap water was mainly caused by Fe3+, Cu2+, and Fe2+, and the addition of chelators could effectively antagonize this effect. Coloration with the BRA solution containing the optimized chelator formulation of 0.01% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium, 0.08% sodium hexametaphosphate, and 0.064% sodium tartrate conferred comparable appearance and chromatic attributes with those of the noodle colored by deionized water-dissolved BRA. The steamed cold noodles colored by the chelators-containing BRA exhibited increased springiness and decreased starch retrogradation, and possessed potential health functions due to its slightly increased resistant starch content and markedly enhanced antioxidant capacity. Hence, the addition of chelators is a feasible way to increase the color stability of BRA in tap water, and the chelators-supplemented BRA could be used to produce steamed cold noodles with attractive color and health benefits.

Clinical Features of Aortic Dissection in the Emergency Department: A Single-center Experience from South China.

OBJECTIVES: Our goal in this study was to determine 1) whether there are any differences in clinical characteristics between Chinese and Western patients with aortic dissection (AD), and 2) the mortality rate of AD patients in the emergency department (ED) and identify the risk predictors for death. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed patients who were diagnosed with AD and admitted to our ED between September 1, 2017-August 31, 2020. Data on age, gender, clinical manifestation, medical history, routine blood tests, liver and kidney function, coagulation, myocardial enzymology, and mortality were collected. RESULTS: We enrolled 535 AD patients (422 men and 113 women) with a mean age of 54.7±14.1 years. Type A AD constituted 40% of the total number of AD cases, while type B AD constituted 60%. The proportion of those who were females, 10-92 years, with type A AD, and hypertension in the Chinese population was lower than that in the Western population (P <0.05 for all). Type A AD patients had a higher proportion of acute AD clinical manifestations than did patients with type B AD (P = 0.0084, P <0.05). The mortality rate of type A AD patients (10.75%) was higher than that of type B AD patients (1.87%) (P <0.0001) in the ED. Higher values of white blood cells, neutrophils, high-density lipoprotein, activated partial thromboplastin time, and D-dimer level with worsened hepatic and renal function were found in the deceased group, and multivariate logistic regression revealed that blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels (P = 0.0031, P <0.05) were significantly associated with death. CONCLUSION: In South China, patients with AD had a mean age of 54.7 years, with 78.88% prevalence in males and 66.92% hypertension rate. Type A AD accounted for 40% of all AD cases, and 10.70% of patients with type A AD died in the ED. Elevated BUN levels may be a risk predictor for death in patients with type A AD.

Preparation of powdered oil by spray drying the Pickering emulsion stabilized by ovalbumin - Gum Arabic polyelectrolyte complex.

The suitability of the perilla seed oil Pickering emulsion stabilized by the ovalbumin (OVA) - gum Arabic (GA) polyelectrolyte complex for spray drying was investigated and the resultant powder was characterized. The OVA - GA complex conferred enhanced stability to the emulsion than OVA, GA, and their mixture. The viscosity of the Pickering emulsion was highly sensitive to stabilizer concentration and that fabricated by 2% OVA - GA complex showed acceptable viscosity and powder yield. The Pickering emulsion was more effective in preventing oil leakage during spray drying than the OVA-stabilized emulsion and the resultant powder possessed an oil content of up to 77.7%. Besides, the spray-dried Pickering emulsion powder showed greater rehydration and better flowability than that of the OVA-stabilized emulsion powder. Hence, the Pickering emulsion stabilized by the OVA - GA polyelectrolyte complex is promising as a novel feed for the production of oil powders by spray drying.

Fabrication of lipase-loaded particles by coacervation with chitosan.

Coacervation of the lipase from Aspergillus oryzae (AOL) with chitosan was a feasible way to fabricate lipase-loaded particles and the optimum conditions were phase separation pH 5.5, chitosan to AOL mass ratio 1:5, and temperature 25 °C in the absence of NaCl, which conferred an AOL loading efficiency of up to 95.48% and activity recovery of 69.60%. The AOL-chitosan coacervates were highly porous and more susceptible to weight loss upon heating. Coacervation with chitosan increased the activity of AOL and shifted its optimum pH from 7.0 to 6.0, but exerted no effect on its optimum temperature (45 °C). Thermal deactivation kinetics analysis revealed that the coacervated AOL was more thermal stable, while the Michaelis-Menten kinetics analysis indicated that coacervation with chitosan increased the Vmax of AOL by 2.4 folds, but decreased its substrate affinity by 3.6 folds. Hence, the AOL-chitosan coacervates are potential in the construction of Pickering emulsion-based lipase catalysis systems.

Risk Factors and Outcome Variables of Cardiorenal Syndrome Type 1 in Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients.

PURPOSE: This study's goal was to explore risk factors affecting short-term prognosis of cardiorenal syndrome type 1 (CRS1) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. METHODS: In this retrospective analysis of CRS1 in AMI patients hospitalized from January 2011 to December 2014, the patients were classified into deceased or survivor groups. Clinical data, including demographics, laboratory results, and 28-day outcomes, were collected. RESULTS: The incidence rate of CRS1 in AMI patients was 15.2% (274 in 1801). Ultimately, 88 patients were enrolled and 25 (28.4%) were classified into the deceased group, while 63 were classified into the survivor group. There were statistically significant differences between the groups for hypertension, mechanical ventilation, KIDGO stage, NT-proBNP, Hb, ALB, PCI, decreased LVEF, 7th-day SCr value, and the highest SCr value recorded within 7 days (all P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression showed that the following factors were significantly related to whether a patient died: requiring mechanical ventilation, increased NT-proBNP levels and 7th-day SCr values, and decreased LVEFs. The APACHE II, SOFA, and SASP II scores on the 7th day were significantly higher in the deceased group (all P < 0.05). The accuracy of APACHE II, SOFA, and SASP II scores on the 7th day for predicting death were 84.1%, 78.4% and 79.5%, respectively. The AUC of 7th-day APACHE II, SOFA, and SASP II scores was 0.844, 0.803, and 0.827, respectively, with no statistically significant differences between the three scores (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The mortality rate of CRS1 in AMI patients was 28.4% (25 in 88) within 28 days. Mechanical ventilation, increased NT-proBNP levels, the 7th-day SCr value, and decreased LVEF were related to death in AMI patients with CRS1. APACHE II, SOFA, and SAPS II scores on the 7th day were satisfactorily accurate in predicting death within 28 days.

Release of Leu-Pro-Pro from corn gluten meal by fermentation with a Lactobacillus helveticus strain.

BACKGROUND: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides are potential alternatives to the synthetic ACE inhibitory drugs, but the in vivo antihypertensive effects of most of them have not been confirmed. The tripeptide Leu-Pro-Pro (LPP) is one of the few peptides that have been proved clinically effective in reducing the blood pressure of hypertensive patients and casein is currently its major source. LPP is contained in multiple fractions of zein, and corn gluten meal (CGM) is hence a potential new source of LPP. For this purpose, CGM was fermented with a Lactobacillus helveticus strain and the medium composition was optimized; the decoloration of the resultant hydrolysate was investigated as well. RESULTS: LPP could be successfully released from CGM by fermentation with the strain Lactobacillus helveticus CICC 22536. The highest LPP content and protein recovery of 561 mg kg-1 and 14.92% occurred in the medium containing 20 g L-1 glucose, 15 g L-1 beef extract, 60 g L-1 CGM, 10 g L-1 CaCO3 , 0.5 g L-1 NaCl, and inoculation amount 6%. The supplementation of Flavourzyme® further improved the two parameters to 662 mg kg-1 and 36.94%, respectively. The permeate of the hydrolysate after ultrafiltration through a 5 kDa membrane could be effectively decolored by the macroporous resin XAD-16 without notable protein loss, and its LPP content was further boosted to 743 mg kg-1 . CONCLUSION: CGM is a potential new source of LPP and its ultrafiltered and decolored hydrolysate could be used to develop new antihypertensive functional foods. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Clinical Characteristics of Adult Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis in the Emergency Department.

PURPOSE: To determine the clinical manifestations and results of adult hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) patients in our emergency department. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated patients with HLH from 1 April 2018 to 31 December 2020. The clinical data of these patients (basic information, symptoms, vital signs, laboratory results, HLH diagnostic criteria, H Score, main treatments, outcomes) were collected. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients (23 males and 10 females; 40.55±18.78 years) with 34 clinical episodes (one male had two clinical episodes and died during the second episode) were enrolled. Twenty-five patients were placed in a "survivor" group, and nine patients were categorized into a "deceased" group. Fever, splenomegaly, hemoglobin <90 g/L and platelet count <100×109/L most commonly met the diagnostic standard for HLH. The H Score results in the survival group and deceased group was 212.4±37.18 and 252.1±40.95, respectively. Viral infection was the most common reason for HLH, followed by immune-system disease and cancer. Laboratory tests showed that deceased-group patients had multiple-organ dysfunction. Multivariate logistic regression showed that the lactate dehydrogenase (lactate dehydrogenase) level (P = 0.039; odds ratio, 0.999) was significantly related to death. CONCLUSION: In the emergency department, HLH should be considered for critically ill patients with fever, splenomegaly, low hemoglobin and low platelet count. The H Score might be useful to diagnose HLH quickly. In our study, 26.47% of HLH patients died in the emergency department, and patients with a significantly increased lactate dehydrogenase level had a markedly increased risk of death.

Corrigendum: Social Innovation for Food Security and Tourism Poverty Alleviation: Some Examples From China.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.614469.].

Social Innovation for Food Security and Tourism Poverty Alleviation: Some Examples From China.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought hunger to millions of people around the world. Social distancing measures coupled with national lockdowns have reduced work opportunities and the overall household incomes. Moreover, the disruption in agricultural production and supply routes is expected to continue into 2021, which may leave millions without access to food. Coincidentally, those who suffer the most are poor people. As such, food security and tourism poverty alleviation are interlinked when discussing social problems and development. While the corporate interest in tourism poverty alleviation is as old as the industrial revolution, little research has been conducted to show how social innovation can be leveraged to reinforce food security and alleviate poverty. Thus, this case study examines the food industry in rural China to establish how it conducts social innovation in food production and distribution to facilitate social development and mitigate poverty.

Carboxymethyl konjac glucomannan coating on multilayered emulsions for improved bioavailability and targeted delivery of curcumin.

Curcumin was entrapped in multilayered emulsions to increase its stability and bioavailability. Curcumin emulsion stabilized by whey protein isolate (WPI) was coated with chitosan (CHI) or carboxymethyl konjac glucomannan (CMKGM) alone to form secondary emulsions and their combination in sequence to form the tertiary emulsion, in which, the polyelectrolyte concentrations were 1.0% WPI for the primary emulsion, 0.4% CMKGM for the secondary emulsion -CMKGM, 0.2% CHI for the secondary emulsion -CHI, and 0.1% CMKGM for the tertiary emulsion. The characteristics of the emulsions, including their particle size, ζ potential, microstructure, creaming stability, and biopolymer distribution, were investigated and their colon-targeted delivery potential was evaluated through both in vitro and in vivo studies as well. The curcumin-loaded secondary and tertiary emulsions were stable with a narrow size distribution and were generated by layer-by-layer assembly according to confocal laser scanning microscope observation. When CMKGM was located at the outermost layer, the corresponding secondary and tertiary emulsions showed a greatly reduced release of curcumin in the simulated gastric fluid, but exhibited increased release in the ß-mannanase-containing simulated colonic fluid. In vivo evaluation in mice demonstrated that the bioavailability of curcumin in the CMKGM-coated secondary and tertiary emulsions was increased by about 4 folds compared with that of free curcumin and curcumin could be released in a sustainable manner. These results demonstrated that multilayered emulsions coated with CMKGM could promote curcumin absorption in the gastrointestinal tract and hence is a promising colon-targeted delivery system for curcumin.

Therapeutical plasma exchange for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in the emergency department: A single center experience.

INTRODUCTION: Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare, life-threatening and easily misdiagnosed thrombotic microangiopathy disease. Few studies have reported the use of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) for TTP in emergency departments in China. The present study was a retrospective analysis of patients with TTP who were treated with TPE in our emergency intensive care unit (EICU). METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed patients with TTP who received TPE management from July 1, 2014 to February 1, 2020. The following clinical data of these patients were collected: laboratory results, first symptoms, ADAMTS13 levels, glucocorticoid levels, TPE times and outcomes. RESULTS: The study included 19 patients (9 male and 10 female) with 20 clinical episodes, and 1 female patient had two episodes. TPE was used in 17 patients, and TPE was performed once every 2-3 days in patients. The volume for each TPE treatment was 2000 ml. In total, 4 male patients died, and 15 patients survived. One female experienced a relapse. No significant differences in age, RBC, HGB, PLT, ALT, AST, BUN, Cr, LDH, or bilirubin were noted between the survival and death groups. The mortality rate of male patients was significantly higher than that of female patients(p = 0.0325, p < 0.05), and the mean age of deceased patients was 64.25 ± 4.78 years, which was older than the mean age of survivors (47.38 ± 4.30). However, no significant difference was noted (p = 0.0787). CONCLUSION: TPE had satisfactory results for TTP patients although it was not performed every day. Older male TTP patients exhibited a relatively increased risk of death.

Well-Designed Food Governance as Psychological Mechanism of Consumer Perceptions in the Context of Tourism Poverty Alleviation.

Poverty is a challenge leading to food insecurity in people's minds. This article discusses food governance as a psychological mechanism to facilitate the sense of wellness in people's minds in the context of tourism poverty alleviation. Mainly, we argue that, when a government is implementing tourism poverty alleviation, not only are economic efforts, but also positive psychological feelings are required. We, thus, argue that sound food governance may increase the sense of wellness in the minds of people as food consumers by increasing food safety and security. This perspective paper contributes by explicating the influences of macrolevel governance design of safer and more secure food systems on people's psychological wellness, especially against the background of tourism poverty alleviation in developing countries.

Maillard reaction in protein - polysaccharide coacervated microcapsules and its effects on microcapsule properties.

The occurrence of Maillard reaction in protein - polysaccharide coacervated microcapsules and its effects on microcapsule properties were investigated. Vitamin E microcapsules were prepared by soybean protein isolate - chitosan coacervation at 50 °C, 70 °C, or 90 °C for 12 h in the presence of maltose. Chromatic and furosine measurements revealed that Maillard reaction occurred in the microcapsules and was favored by high incubation temperatures. The three coacervation temperatures did not destroy the microcapsule structure, but improved the microencapsulation efficiency and microencapsulation yield instead. The microcapsules exhibited decreased aggregation and the increased absolute zeta potential and particle size were believed contribute to this improvement. Stability analysis demonstrated that the microcapsules possessed enhanced resistance to dissolution in water and improved storage stability than control microcapsules. It is concluded that coacervation at a temperature high enough to initiate Maillard reaction is a promising way to improve the physiochemical properties of protein - polysaccharide coacervated microcapsules.

Intestine-targeted delivery potency of O-carboxymethyl chitosan-coated layer-by-layer microcapsules: An in vitro and in vivo evaluation.

The intestine-targeted delivery performance of the gum Arabic (GA) - O-carboxymethyl chitosan (OCMC) microcapsules prepared by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly and genipin crosslinking was evaluated by using an acid-susceptible compound omeprazole as the model. Confocal laser scanning microscope observation revealed that spherical microcapsules with the core-shell structure were successful fabricated. Genipin crosslinking did not affect the microencapsulation yield or drug load, but significantly decreased the particle size and positive charge of the microcapsules, and increased their stability against disintegration in the simulated gastric fluid. Pharmacokinetic analysis indicated that entrapment by GA - OCMC LbL assembly greatly improved the bioavailability of omeprazole and crosslinking by 0.1 mg/mL genipin led to the highest value of 8.76 relative to the control formulation. It was concluded that the GA - OCMC LbL microcapsules could be used for the oral delivery of nutraceuticals and its delivery performance could be tailored by varying the genipin crosslinking degree.

Comparative study on the Maillard reaction of chitosan oligosaccharide and glucose with soybean protein isolate.

Chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) has multiple biological properties and is hence promising in the modification of proteins through Mallard reaction. Its susceptibility to the reaction with soybean protein isolate (SPI) was evaluated by comparing with glucose (Glu). Conjugation with COS led to milder color change, less furosine and hydroxymethyl furfural formation, and fewer lysine/arginine consumption than with Glu, implying that COS was less susceptible to the Maillard reaction with SPI than Glu. Intrinsic fluorescence analysis indicated that different intermediate products were generated in the SPI-Glu and SPI-COS conjugates and the former intermediates were more prone to condensation to brown pigments. SDS-PAGE illustrated that COS inclined to conjugate with the small subunits of SPI. Conjugation with COS caused SPI unfolding and improved its emulsifying activity. Hence, COS has great potential in the modification of proteins through Maillard reaction and other attributes of the resultant conjugates, such as antioxidant and antibacterial activities, deserve further study.