Effects of Highland Barley Flour with Different Particle Sizes on the Characteristics of Reconstituted Flour and Noodles.

To study the effects of highland barley flour with different particle sizes on dough characteristics and noodle quality, highland barley flours (median particle sizes of 223.25, 143.12, 90.73, 42.33 and 19.26 µm, respectively) were mixed with the wheat flour to make noodles. The damaged starch content of highland barley flour with five particle sizes was 47.0, 61.0, 62.3, 102.0, and 108.0 g/kg, respectively. The reconstituted flour containing highland barley powder with smaller particle sizes showed higher viscosity and water absorption. The smaller the particle size of barley flour, the lower the cooking yield, shear force and pasting enthalpy of the noodles, and the higher the hardness of the noodles. As the particle size of barley flour decreases, the structural density of the noodles increases. This study is expected to provide a constructive reference for the development of barley-wheat composite flour and the production of barley-wheat noodles.

Optic nerve sheath diameter and optic nerve sheath diameter/eyeball transverse diameter ratio in prediction of malignant progression in ischemic stroke.

Background: The optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD)/eyeball transverse diameter (ETD) ratio has been suggested in the evaluation of intracranial pressure (ICP). The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of ONSD and ONSD/ETD in relation to risk for secondary malignant middle cerebral artery infarction (MMI). Methods: A total of 91 patients with MCA occlusion were included in this study. Data were divided into two groups based on development of MMI or not. ONSD and ETD were measured by unenhanced computed tomography (CT). The differences in ONSD and the ONSD/ETD ratios between the MMI and non-MMI groups were compared. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were used to test the diagnostic value of ONSD and ONSD/ETD independently, to predict MMI. Results: The ONSD in the MMI group and non-MMI group were 5.744 ± 0.140 mm and 5.443 ± 0.315 mm, respectively (P = 0.001). In addition, the ONSD/ETD ratios in the MMI group and non-MMI group were 0.258 ± 0.008 and 0.245 ± 0.006, respectively (P = 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) for ONSD of 0.812 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.718-0.906, P = 0.001], with a sensitivity of 97.4% and a specificity of 66.0% at the cut-off value of 5.520 mm. The AUC for ONSD/ETD ratio in predicting occurrence of MMI was 0.895 (95% CI: 0.823-0.968, P = 0.001), with a sensitivity of 84.2% and a specificity of 92.5% at a cut-off value of 0.250. Conclusion: In acute stroke patients with massive cerebral infarction, an increased ONSD or ONSD/ETD ratio increases the odds of malignant progression and may be used as an indicator for emergent therapeutic interventions. In addition, the ONSD/ETD ratio may be more valuable than ONSD in predicting the malignant progression of acute stroke patients.

A novel composite edible film fabricated by incorporating W/O/W emulsion into a chitosan film to improve the protection of fresh fish meat.

A novel edible composite film constructed by incorporating W1/O/W2 emulsion (W1: aqueous solution of nisin; W2: water; oil phase: carvacrol) into chitosan film was characterized. Influences of preparing parameters on properties, especially stability, of primary and double emulsions were evaluated, and more persistent antibacterial activity was achieved. The film's tension strength was increased by incorporating double emulsion at low concentration, but its oxygen permeability increased after this incorporation. The composite film displayed significant inhibitory effects on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. SEM showed a sign of aggregation of some emulsion droplets near the surface of the composite film. FTIR found no pronounced interaction between the added active agents and chitosan. TGA proved that the double emulsion helped to increase the thermal stability of the film at high temperature. Coating salmon fillets with the composite film significantly increased the shelf life of fish fillets, demonstrating optimal potency in preserving fish fillets.

Iron, rhodium-codoped Ni2P nanosheets arrays supported on nickel foam as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting.

To enhance the overall water splitting efficiency, it is widely attractive yet challenging to develop low price, abundance and efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, Fe,Rh-codoped Ni2P nanosheets arrays were in situ anchored on three-dimension (3D) Ni foam under hydrothermal condition and successive phosphorization, denoted as Fe,Rh-Ni2P/NF for simplicity. The unique nanosheets arrays effectively enriched the active sites with easy accessibility. By virtue of the unique sheet-like arrays and 3D porous conductive substrate, the prepared Fe,Rh-Ni2P/NF showed the low overpotentials of 226 mV at 30 mA cm-2 towards the OER and 73 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for the HER. Moreover, the electrocatalyst effectively worked as anode and cathode for overall water splitting system, showing a small voltage of 1.62 V to drive a current density of 10 mA cm-2. The present work provides alternative option for fabricating advanced catalysts in electrocatalysis and energy devices.

In-situ construction of 3D hetero-structured sulfur-doped nanoflower-like FeNi LDH decorated with NiCo Prussian blue analogue cubes as efficient electrocatalysts for boosting oxygen evolution reaction.

At present, it is urgent for us to develop non-noble metal-based catalysts with abundant reserves and high efficiency towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in water electrolysis devices. Herein, cubic NiCo-Prussian blue analogue (PBA)/ flower-like FeNi layered double hydroxide (LDH) heterostructure was facilely in-situ formed on porous nickel foam (NF) via hydrothermal strategy coupled by subsequent sulfurizing treatment (named as S-FeNi LDH@PBA/NF), showing largely facilitated electron transfer over homogeneous counterpart. Also, we investigated the effects of different Fe/Ni feeding ratios on their catalytic properties in some detail. The as-prepared S-FeNi LDH@PBA/NF demonstrated the superior OER activity (e.g. only 243 mV of overpotential required for 50 mA cm-2) and stability. Accordingly, using the catalyst as anode, the home-assembled S-FeNi LDH@PBA/NF//Pt/C/NF electrolyzer exhibited small Tafel slope (83.1 mV dec-1) and ultra-stability, showing the potential feasibility in practical water electrolysis. This strategy provides a hopeful model to enhance the OER performance by effectively constructing advanced catalyst with promising heterostructure and optimal electronic structure.

Effect of Nanoemulsion Containing Enterocin GR17 and Cinnamaldehyde on Microbiological, Physicochemical and Sensory Properties and Shelf Life of Liquid-Smoked Salmon Fillets.

The spoilage of liquid-smoked salmon represented a serious restriction for shelf life, due to the loss of taste, smell, color and consistency in product quality. The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of applying a nanoemulsion delivery system co-encapsulated enterocin Gr17 and essential oils (EOs) to the refrigerated storage of liquid-smoked salmon. The synergistic inhibiting effects of enterocin Gr17 and EOs were evaluated, a nanoemulsion delivery system with the optimal combination was developed, and the evolution of the microbiological, physicochemical, and sensory properties of liquid-smoked salmon fillets were analyzed during a 49-day period of refrigerated storage. The results showed that the combination of enterocin Gr17 and cinnamaldehyde essential oil (CEO) displayed the strongest synergistic inhibiting effect on foodborne pathogens. A nanoemulsion system incorporating enterocin Gr17 and CEO was successfully developed and presented a broad spectrum of activity against most of the tested bacteria. A nanoemulsion system incorporating enterocin Gr17 and CEO (CO-NE) could significantly inhibit the growth of microflora, suppress the accumulation of total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS), and maintain better color, texture, and sensory profiles during smoked salmon storage at 4 °C. Overall, from a microbiological, physicochemical, and sensory point of view, the CO-NE treatment could extend the shelf life to 42 days and maintain the relatively low TVB-N value (≤15.38 mg/100 g), TBARS value (≤2.51 mg MDA/kg), as well as a relatively high sensory score (≥5.83) during the whole storage period. Hence, a nanoemulsion system incorporating enterocin Gr17 and CEO could be a promising bio-preservative technology and alternative to the conventional processes used for improving the safety and quality of chilled liquid-smoked salmon.

Preparation and Characterization of Water-Insoluble Gardenia Blue Pigment.

Based on molecular simulations, the synthetic route of water-insoluble gardenia blue pigment was prepared by the reaction of genipin and L-Phenylalanine methyl ester hydrochloride. A highly purified pigment was obtained after extraction by chloroform and purification by silica gel column chromatography, and the value of color is up to 288. A study on the structural characteristics of the pigment was implemented with a scanning electron microscope, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, and quatropde-time of flight mass spectrometer. The results showed that the surface of the pigment was largely smooth and spherical; The λmax was 607 nm, and the main functional groups include O-C=O, C=O, C-N, C=C, OH, and benzene ring; We detrained six different molecular weight and chemical structures of pigments and speculated the particular structures and formation mechanisms of three kinds of pigment, whose molecular weights are 690.1156, 720.1226, and 708.1246 Da, respectively. The pigment was only able to be dissolved in ethanol, methanol, acetone, ethyl acetate, and other strong polar organic solvents, but was not able to be dissolved in water, ethyl ether, petroleum ether, and other weak polar organic solvents. In terms of light and thermal stabilities, water-insoluble gardenia blue pigment is significantly better than water-soluble gardenia blue pigment (p < 0.05). When it is under direct light for 7 days or incubated at 80-120 °C for 24 h, the pigment residual rates were 74.90, 95.26, 88.27, and 87.72%, respectively.

Iron, manganese co-doped Ni3S2 nanoflowers in situ assembled by ultrathin nanosheets as a robust electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction.

Exploring high-performance and stable transition metal electrocatalysts is prerequisite for boosting overall water splitting efficiency. In this study, iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) co-doped three-dimensional (3D) Ni3S2 nanoflowers were in situ assembled by many inter-connected 2D nanosheets on nickel foam (NF) via hydrothermal and sulfuration treatment. By virtue of the introduced Fe and Mn elements and unique flower-like structures, the as-prepared catalyst displayed high activity and stability for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), coupled with a small Tafel slope (63.29 mV dec-1) and a low overpotential of 216 mV to reach the current density of 30 mA cm-2. This study would shed some lights for facile synthesis of exceptional OER catalyst by tailoring the electronic structure and doping transition metal(s).

Walnut kernel-like iron-cobalt-nickel sulfide nanosheets directly grown on nickel foam: A binder-free electrocatalyst for high-efficiency oxygen evolution reaction.

Developing earth-rich and high-efficiency nonprecious metal catalysts is critical but extremely challenging for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, a simple room-temperature sulfuration method was developed for in situ synthesis of walnut kernel-like iron-cobalt-nickel sulfide nanosheets on nickel foam (FeCoNiSx/NF). The unique nanosheets exposed abundant active sites and provided large electrochemically active surface area. The as-built FeCoNiSx/NF exhibited high OER performances with the small overpotentials of 231 and 268 mV to afford 10 and 50 mA cm-2 in 1.0 M KOH, respectively, coupled with a small Tafel slope of 55 mV dec-1. Furthermore, the FeCoNiSx/NF acted as the anode towards overall water electrolysis with acceptable results, where commercial Pt/C dropped on the NF worked as the cathode. This study provides some valuable insights for rational construction of nonprecious electrocatalysts in electrochemical energy technologies.

Facile synthesis of nanoflower-like phosphorus-doped Ni3S2/CoFe2O4 arrays on nickel foam as a superior electrocatalyst for efficient oxygen evolution reaction.

Developing cost-effectiveness and superior electrocatalysts is crucial to improve the efficiency of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in water splitting system. Hence, flower-like phosphorus doped Ni3S2/CoFe2O4 arrays (P-Ni3S2/CoFe2O4/NF) were generated on three-dimensional (3D) nickel foam (NF) via the two-step hydrothermal treatment and subsequent phosphorization. Additionally, a series of control experiments were conducted to investigate the formation mechanism. By virtue of the unique 3D configurations and multi-compositions, the as-prepared catalyst exhibited greatly improved OER performance in 1.0 M KOH solution, with the overpotential of only 254 mV at 50 mA cm-2 and low Tafel slope of 54.43 mV dec-1. This study provides a feasible approach for preparing advanced electrocatalyst in energy conversion and storage devices.

Bacillus subtilis BS-15 Effectively Improves Plantaricin Production and the Regulatory Biosynthesis in Lactiplantibacillus plantarum RX-8.

Plantaricin is a broad-spectrum bacteriocin produced by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum with significant food industry application potential. It was found that the plantaricin production of L. plantarum RX-8 was enhanced when co-culturing with Bacillus subtilis BS-15. This study, therefore, set out to explore how B. subtilis BS-15 induces biosynthesis of plantaricin. The effect of co-culturing with B. subtilis BS-15 on cell growth, plantaricin production, quorum-sensing (QS) signal molecule PlnA/autoinducer-2 (AI-2) secretion, as well as plantaricin biosynthesis gene cluster and AI-2 synthesis-associated gene expression, was investigated in bacteriocin-producer L. plantarum RX-8. When L. plantarum RX-8 and B. subtilis BS-15 were co-inoculated in Man-Rogosa-Sharp (MRS) for 20 h at an inoculum ratio of 1:1 (106:106 CFU/ml), the greatest plantaricin output (2,048 AU/ml) was obtained, rising by 32-fold compared with the monoculture of L. plantarum RX-8. Additionally, co-culture increased PlnA-inducing activity and AI-2 activity by 8- and 1.14-fold, respectively, over monoculture. RT-qPCR findings generated every 4 h (4-32 h) demonstrated that B. subtilis BS-15 remarkably improved the transcription of plnABCD and plnEF, and increased pfs and luxS transcription, even when using 200 mM D-ribose, a kind of AI-2 inhibitor. Based on the above findings, co-culturing with B. subtilis BS-15 as an environmental stimulus could activate the plantaricin induction via the PlnA-mediated intraspecies QS system and the AI-2-mediated interspecies QS system. Moreover, the inducing effect of PlnA and AI-2 in co-culture was independent. Differential proteomics analysis of B. subtilis BS-15 in co-culture indicated that bacteriocin-inducing regulatory mechanism may be related to flagellar assembly, peptidoglycan biosynthesis, anaerobic respiration, glycine cleavage system, or thiamin pyrophosphate biosynthesis.

Facile synthesis of porous iridium-palladium-plumbum wire-like nanonetworks with boosted catalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction.

Exploring advanced nanocatalysts are of importance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline electrolyte (e.g. 1.0 M KOH). Herein, porous iridium-palladium-plumbum wire-like nanonetworks (IrPdPb WNNs) were prepared by a facile one-pot aqueous method with octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (NP-40) as the structure-director. The resultant IrPdPb WNNs exhibited superior HER performance in the alkaline electrolyte, such as ultra-low overpotential (21 mV) to drive a current density of 10 mA cm-2, small Tafel slope (66 mV dec-1), and high exchange current density (4.87 mA cm-2), surpassing commercial Pt/C. This study provides a simple strategy for synthesis of advanced multi-metallic electrocatalysts in energy storage and conversion.

Porous dendritic PtRuPd nanospheres with enhanced catalytic activity and durability for ethylene glycol oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions.

Developing highly active and durable catalyst is of pivotal importance in fuel cells, owing to excessive consumption of fossil fuels. Herein, porous dendritic PtRuPd nanospheres (PtRuPd NSs) were synthesized by a facile hexadecylpyridinium chloride (HDPC)-mediated one-pot aqueous method with ascorbic acid (AA) as the reducing agent. The as-obtained PtRuPd NSs displayed high-efficient catalytic activity and durability for ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). It exhibited enlarged mass activity (MA, 1.368 A mg-1) compared to commercial Pt/C (1.100 A mg-1) for EGOR. Besides, the onset potential (Eonset, 0.930 V) and half-wave potential (E1/2, 0.852 V) of PtRuPd NSs were more positive relative to homemade PtPd NSs (0.905 and 0.840 V), PdRu NSs (0.895 and 0.839 V), and commercial Pt/C (0.910 and 0.822 V) toward ORR. This work provides some valuable guidelines for producing novel trimetallic nanocatalysts in fuel cells.

Optimization of the selective monohydrolysis of diethyl 4-aryl-4H-pyran-3,5-dicarboxylates.

A simple, efficient and eco-friendly procedure for the selective monohydrolysis of diethyl 2,6-dimethyl-4-aryl-4H-pyran-3,5-dicarboxylates under quaternary ammonium salt catalysis conditions is presented. The catalytic activities of various quaternary ammonium salts were investigated using different molar ratios of NaOH and water-organic solvent mixtures. The results indicate that the combination of 1.0 equivalent of tetraethyl-ammonium bromide (TEAB) with 1.2 equivalents of NaOH in a 10% water-ethanol media at 40 °C displays remarkable selectivity for the monohydrolysis of diethyl 2,6-dimethyl-4-aryl-4H-pyran-3,5-dicarboxylates. The utility of this process is demonstrated by the monohydrolysis of a series of 4-aryl-4H-pyran-3,5-dicarboxylate esters to afford the corresponding monoesters in 20-80% yields under the optimized conditions.