Rheological, thermal, and in vitro starch digestibility properties of oat starch-lipid complexes.

The influence of oat lipids on the structural, thermal, rheological, and in vitro digestibility properties of oat starch under heat processing conditions was investigated. X-ray diffraction, fourier infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry revealed the formation of a V-shaped crystal structure between starch and lipid, resulting in enhanced orderliness and enthalpy. Oat lipids decreased the final viscosity and gel strength of oat starch while weakening the trend towards gel network formation. Additionally, oat lipids exhibited enhanced resistance to starch hydrolase, leading to elevated contents of slowly digestible starch and resistant starch. Consequently, this leads to an augmentation in the rate constants for the rapid digestion fraction (k1) and the slow digestion fraction (k2). When the lipid content reached 7.50 %, a significant increase of 42.20 % was observed in the maximum digestibility of slow digestion fraction (C∞2), while a notable decrease of 44.06 % was noted in the maximum digestibility of rapid digestion fraction (C∞1). The correlation analysis revealed that lipid content, final viscosity, and enthalpy exerted significant influences on in vitro starch digestion. These results demonstrate the substantial impact of lipid content on oat starch structure, subsequently affecting its thermal, rheological, and digestive properties.

Effect of milling and defatting treatment on texture and digestion properties of oat rice.

Oat rice with great sensory acceptance was developed based on the combination method of milling and defatting (petroleum ether) treatment. In this study, the effect of milling and defatting treatment on the texture and digestion properties of oat rice was investigated. Results showed that milling and defatting treatment enhanced stickiness, enthalpy, and starch digestibility. The pasting temperature and hardness of oat rice were reduced. The lipid content of oat rice was significantly reduced by milling and defatting treatment, leading to a decrease in the formation of starch-lipid complex. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that the application of milling and defatting treatments led to a reduction in the content of starch-lipid complexes in oats during the cooking process. Milling and defatting significantly enhanced both the rapid and slow digestion rates of oat rice. Specifically, the rapid digestion rate was found to be 2.5 times higher than the slow digestion rate. The nutritive components of oat rice were properly preserved, and the viscosity and elasticity of oat rice reached the maximum when milling for 40 s and defatting. This study provides a theoretical basis for oat products.

Effects of milling on texture and in vitro starch digestibility of oat rice.

Compared with other oat products, consumers in China prefer oat rice and porridge made from naked oat. However, this oat product usually has poor sensory acceptance, which is directly related to the texture properties. This study aimed to use the milling method to improve the oat rice texture. The nutrient component, microstructure, pasting, and thermal properties of oat treated with different degrees of milling (0 s, 20 s, 40 s, 60 s, and 80 s) were researched. The results showed that milling would damage the bran layer of oat rice, increasing starch, ß-glucan, total leached solids content, and the gelatinization enthalpy (ΔH). Meanwhile, oil, protein content, the pasting viscosity, and the pasting temperature were decreased. Milling made oat rice sticky and soft, and the bound water and non-flowing water migrated like flowing water. The cross-section of oat rice showed that milling damaged the surface of oat rice, which was beneficial to water entry and starch dissolution, and increased the viscosity of oat rice. When the milling time was 40 s and 60 s, the appearance, aroma, taste, texture, and overall acceptability of oat porridge were better. Moreover, rapid digestion fraction (k1) and slow digestion fraction (k2) are the lowest and have the effect of low blood glucose rise rate.

Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed epiboly delayed mechanisms of 2,5-dichloro-1, 4-benuinone on zebrafish embryos.

2,5-Dichloro-1,4-benzenediol (2,5-DCBQ) is a putative disinfection by-product that belongs to the halogenated benzoquinone class. However, its developmental toxicity and related mechanism remained unclarified. In our study, we used zebrafish embryos as the model and exposed them to graded concentrations of 2,5-DCBQ (100, 200, 300, 400 µg/L). We found that the rate of epiboly abnormalities increased significantly in a concentration-dependent manner. The results of whole-mount in situ hybridization (WISH) indicated that the expression patterns and levels of chordin (dorsoventral marker), foxa2 (endodermal marker), eve1 (ventral mesodermal marker), and foxb1a (ectodermal marker) were altered, suggesting that 2,5-DCBQ might affect the germ layer development of zebrafish embryos. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were adopted to explore the molecular mechanisms of embryonic developmental delays. The results showed that 2,5-DCBQ exposure induced 1163 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 37 differential metabolites (DEMs). Bioinformatic analysis enriched the most affected molecular pathways (Wnt signaling pathway, cell adhesion molecules, actin cytoskeleton regulation) and metabolic pathways (purine metabolism, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, arginine and proline metabolism) in zebrafish embryos. To summarize, our findings broadened the molecular mechanisms of 2,5-DCBQ embryotoxicity through multi-omics and bioinformatic analyses.

Mechanistic insights into the changes of enzyme activity in food processing under microwave irradiation.

Microwave (MW) and enzyme catalysis are two emerging processing tools in the field of food industry. Recently, MW has been widely utilized as a novel type of green and safe heating energy. However, the effect of MW irradiation on enzyme activity is not described clearly. The intrinsic mechanisms behind enzyme activation and inactivation remain obscure. To apply better MW to the field of enzyme catalysis, it is essential to gain insights into the mechanism of MW action on enzyme activity. This review summarizes the changes in various enzyme activity during food processing, especially under MW irradiation. The intrinsic mechanism of thermal and nonthermal effects of MW irradiation was analyzed from the perspective of enzyme reaction kinetics and spatial structure. MW irradiation temperature is a vital parameter affecting the catalytic activity of enzymes. Activation of the enzyme activity is achieved even at high MW power when the enzyme is operating at its optimum temperature. However, when the temperature exceeds the optimum temperature, the enzyme activity is inhibited. In addition to MW dielectric heating effect, nonthermal MW effects also alter the microenvironment of reactive system. Taken together, enzyme activity is influenced by both thermal and nonthermal MW effects.

Recent insight into autophagy and immunity at the maternal-fetal interface.

Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation pathway that supports metabolic adaptation and energy cycling. It is essential for cell homeostasis, differentiation, development, and survival. Recent studies have shown that autophagy could influence immune responses by regulating immune cell functions. Reciprocally, immune cells strongly influence autophagy. Immune cells at the maternal-fetal interface are thought to play essential roles in pregnancy. Here, we review the induction of autophagy at the maternal-fetal interface and its role in decidualization and placental development. Additionally, we emphasize the role of autophagy in the immune microenvironment at the maternal-fetal interface, including innate immunity, adaptive immunity, and immune tolerance molecules. It also suggests new research directions and prospects.

Induction of cardiotoxicity in zebrafish embryos by 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene through the JAK-STAT and NOTCH signaling pathways.

1,1-Dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (p,p'-DDE) is the primary molecular metabolite of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT), a pesticide used to control the spread of dengue and Zika viruses, and can be detected in the majority of human blood samples. However, whether p,p'-DDE affects embryonic cardiac development remains unknown. This study aimed to explore the cardiotoxicity of p,p'-DDE and its potential mechanisms of action in zebrafish embryos. We demonstrated for the first time that zebrafish embryos exposed to p,p'-DDE exhibited cardiac development abnormalities, including morphological and functional abnormalities, such as pericardial edema, thinning of the ventricular wall, reduced erythrocyte intensity, and increased heart rate. The results of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis of differentially expressed genes and qRT-PCR showed that JAK-STAT-related genes (il17d, socs3a, and bcl2b) and Notch-related genes (notch1a, notch1b, bmp10, efnb2a, tbx2b, and tbx5a) were altered after p,p'-DDE treatment, leading to reduced proliferation and increased apoptosis of cardiomyocytes and irregular formation of ventricular and abnormal atrioventricular junctions. These results were verified using acridine orange staining, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine assays, and whole-mount in situ hybridization. Our research suggests that p,p'-DDE affects cardiac development in zebrafish embryos and that its cardiotoxicity may be associated with the JAK-STAT and Notch signaling pathways. Our findings may provide the basis for future population-based cohort studies.

Tectorigenin ameliorated high-fat diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease through anti-inflammation and modulating gut microbiota in mice.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a complex pathogenesis of liver disease combined with liver inflammation and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Tectorigenin (Tg) is derived from many plants with excellent anti-inflammation activity. However, the beneficial effect of Tg on NAFLD associated with gut microbiota remained unclear. This study aimed to investigate the underlying beneficial effect of Tg on NAFLD in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Results showed that Tg alleviated lipid profiles and liver steatosis, and reduced serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and total bile acid (TBA) levels. Besides, RT-qPCR and Western blot suggested that Tg alleviated hepatic lipid accumulation through inhibiting the lipogenesis and promoting the lipolysis, prevented gut-derived LPS-induced liver inflammatory via restoring intestinal barrier and restraining pro-inflammatory cytokines release, meanwhile, promoted the BA circulation via activating BA receptor and promoting BA synthesis. Moreover, Tg reverted the HFD-induced gut microbial dysbiosis by promoting the growth of beneficial Akkermansia, and inhibiting the proportions of harmful microbes, including Blautia, Lachnoclostridium, Lachnospiraceae_UCG-006, Roseburia, Romboutsia and Faecalibaculum, which were highly correlated with NAFLD-related parameters in serum and liver. Thus, Tg could attenuate NAFLD through mediating the liver-gut axis, and it could be used as a dietary supplement for NAFLD treatment via its anti-inflammatory and prebiotic effects.

Hydrogenative Ring-Rearrangement of Furfural to Cyclopentanone over Pd/UiO-66-NO2 with Tunable Missing-Linker Defects.

Upgrading furfural (FAL) to cyclopentanone (CPO) is of great importance for the synthesis of high-value chemicals and biomass utilization. The hydrogenative ring-rearrangement of FAL is catalyzed by metal-acid bifunctional catalysts. The Lewis acidity is a key factor in promoting the rearrangement of furan rings and achieving a high selectivity to CPO. In this work, highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles were successfully encapsulated into the cavities of a Zr based MOF, UiO-66-NO2, by impregnation using a double-solvent method (DSM) followed by H2 reduction. The obtained Pd/UiO-66-NO2 catalyst showed a significantly better catalytic performance in the aforementioned reaction than the Pd/UiO-66 catalyst due to the higher Lewis acidity of the support. Moreover, by using a thermal treatment. The Lewis acidity can be further increased through the creating of missing-linker defects. The resulting defective Pd/UiO-66-NO2 exhibited the highest CPO selectivity and FAL conversion of 96.6% and 98.9%, respectively. In addition, the catalyst was able to maintain a high activity and stability after four consecutive runs. The current study not only provides an efficient catalytic reaction system for the hydrogenative ring-rearrangement of furfural to cyclopentanone but also emphasizes the importance of defect sites.

Cardiac developmental toxicity and transcriptome analyses of zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos exposed to Mancozeb.

Mancozeb (MZ), an antibacterial pesticide, has been linked to reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and endocrine disruption. However, whether MZ has cardiactoxicity is unclear. In this study, the cardiotoxic effects of exposure to environment-related MZ concentrations ranging from 1.88 µM to 7.52 µM were evaluated at the larval stage of zebrafish. Transcriptome sequencing predicted the mechanism of MZ-induced cardiac developmental toxicity in zebrafish by enrichment analysis of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO). Consistent with morphological changes, the osm, pfkfb3, foxh1, stc1, and nrarpb genes may effect normal development of zebrafish heart by activating NOTCH signaling pathways, resulting in pericardial edema, myocardial fibrosis, and congestion in the heart area. Moreover, differential gene expression analysis indicated that cyp-related genes (cyp1c2 and cyp3c3) were significantly upregulated after MZ treatment, which may be related to apoptosis of myocardial cells. These results were verified by real-time quantitative RT-qPCR and acridine orange staining. Our findings suggest that MZ-mediated cardiotoxic development of zebrafish larvae may be related to the activation of Notch and apoptosis-related signaling pathways.

Transition Metal Oxodiperoxo Complex Modified Metal-Organic Frameworks as Catalysts for the Selective Oxidation of Cyclohexane.

In this work, a series of modified metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been prepared by pre- and post-treatment with transition metal oxodiperoxo complexes (MoO(O2)2, WO(O2)2, and KVO(O2)2). The obtained materials are characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), as well as by N2 adsorption/desorption measurement. The characterization results show that transition metal oxodiperoxo complexes are uniformly incorporated into the MOF materials without changing the basic structures. The performance of cyclohexane oxidation on metal oxodiperoxo complex modified MOFs are evaluated. UiO-67-KVO(O2)2 shows the best performance for cyclohexane oxidation, with 78% selectivity to KA oil (KA oil refers to a cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone mixture) at 9.4% conversion. The KA selectivity is found to depend on reaction time, while hot-filtration experiments indicates that the catalytic process is heterogeneous with no leaching of metal species.

Construction of 2D/2D BiVO4/g-C3N4 nanosheet heterostructures with improved photocatalytic activity.

In this work, a two dimensional (2D)/2D BiVO4/g-C3N4 heterostructure with strong interfacial interaction was successfully constructed. The as-prepared BiVO4/g-C3N4 heterostructures exhibit distinctly enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance toward the degradation of Rodanmin B (RhB) and water splitting to oxygen (O2) as compared to pristine g-C3N4 and BiVO4, which can be attributed to the strong interfacial interaction and abundant 2D coupling interfaces, facilitating efficient charge separation. Among the composites with various ratios, the BiVO4-10/g-C3N4 sample achieves the optimum photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RhB, and reached 15.8 and 4.3 times compared to pure g-C3N4 and BiVO4. Moreover, the corresponding composite reached a high O2-production rate of 0.97 µmol h-1 under visible light irradiation, which is 12.1 and 2.8 times higher than that of pure g-C3N4 and BiVO4, respectively. It was demonstrated that the efficiency of electron-hole separation has certain contribution to the photocatalytic performance over the BiVO4/g-C3N4 heterostructure. The present study suggests that the unique 2D/2D BiVO4/g-C3N4 hybrid nanosheets should be conducive to improve the photocatalytic performance of organic pollutant degradation and water splitting.

Assembly of a 1D coordination polymer through in situ formation of a new ligand by double C-C coupling on CHCl3 under solvothermal conditions.

A rare in situ metal/ligand reaction has been observed during the assembly of a manganese-coordination polymer under solvothermal conditions, which leads to double C-C coupling on CHCl(3) involving cleavage of three C-Cl bonds and the formation of two new C-C bonds at the same carbon center.

Assembly of trigonal and tetragonal prismatic cages from octahedral metal ions and a flexible molecular clip.

Reaction of a semirigid ligand with two octahedral metal ions with restricted coordination symmetry afforded metalated container complexes showing trigonal or tetragonal outer shapes and inner cavities.