Fractal structured charge-excitation triboelectric nanogenerators for powering portable electronic devices.

Effective power management on the outputs of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) is critical for their practical applications due to the large impedance and unbalanced load matching. Recently proposed voltage multiplying circuits for external-charge excitation and self-charge excitation are usually unstable and require reversal for device restarting and common switched-capacitor-converters usually cause large switching losses. In this work, we fabricated a fractal structured charge-excitation circuit for TENGs using diodes and capacitors. The fractal switched-capacitor-converter coupled with voltage regulator diodes can greatly boost the output charge and current of the TENG without reverse starting. The managed output performance of the TENG can be controlled by the electronic component parameters and external operating frequency. Through the component and condition optimization, the fractal structured charge-excitation TENG (FSC-TENG) can achieve nearly 5.8 times charge boosting and almost 16.8 times power boosting in the pulsed mode. Furthermore, the FSC-TENG successfully drove a hygrothermograph and was integrated into a yoga mat for harvesting human-body motion energy to power an electronic watch and a pedometer. The FSC-TENG with good charge accumulation properties and stability is a promising candidate for practical self-powered applications.

Multilayered Helical Spherical Triboelectric Nanogenerator with Charge Shuttling for Water Wave Energy Harvesting.

As an important part of natural resources, islands support the marine economy and build a blue barrier for marine ecological civilization. However, the power supply on these islands is difficult, limiting the development of marine internet of things (IoTs). In order to break the status quo, this work applies triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) to island power supply and ecological monitoring. A spherical TENG with two multilayered helical units is designed to harvest water wave energy, in which the space utilization rate reaches 92.5%. Then a charge shuttling mechanism is developed to improve the electrical output. The output current and power of a single TENG without power management reach 200.3 µA and 16.2 mW respectively, corresponding to a peak power density of 23.2 W m-3 . Moreover, a scheme of the power managed TENG is proposed for realizing large-scale wave energy harvesting. The TENG is demonstrated to successfully power a water quality detector, a Bluetooth thermo-hygrometer, and an intelligent wireless alarm system for remote environmental monitoring. This work not only proposes a new type of TENG for water wave energy harvesting with improved performance, but also provides a new strategy for intelligent ocean IoTs, which even contributes to the carbon neutralization.

Selenium-containing polysaccharide from Spirulina platensis alleviates Cd-induced toxicity in mice by inhibiting liver inflammation mediated by gut microbiota.

Selenium-containing polysaccharide from Spirulina platensis (Se-SPP) has been demonstrated to help in inhibiting cadmium-induced injury in mice, but the underlying mechanism has not been determined. This study aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of Se-SPP on alleviating Cd-induced toxicity in mice by targeting liver inflammatory and gut microbiota. Se-SPP supplementation for 28 days in Cd-induced toxic mice significantly mitigated liver pathological damage and inflammation, which was correlated to the upregulation of antioxidant enzyme activity. Furthermore, Se-SPP effectively restored Cd-induced disruption of the intestinal barrier compared to model group, as indicated by the depletion of Muribaculaceae and the enrichment of Ruminococcaceae. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed that the Se-SPP-altered microbes were highly correlated with inflammation-related indexes in Cd-induced toxic mice. Noteworthily, the modulation of Se-SPP on the Ruminococcaceae population contributed to the improvement of Cd-induced inflammation-related diseases by downregulating the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in the liver. These findings suggested that Se-SPP may act as prebiotics for ameliorating Cd-induced toxicity in mice by inhibiting liver inflammation mediated by gut microbiota, and target-specific microbiota of Cd-induced inflammation-related diseases deserve further attention.

Comparative Proteomic Analysis Provides New Insights into the Development of Haustorium in Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser.

Taxillus chinensis is an important medicinal and parasitic plant that attacks other plants for living. The development of haustorium is a critical process, imperative for successful parasitic invasion. To reveal the mechanisms underlying haustorium development, we performed an iTRAQ-based proteomics analysis which led to the identification of several differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) in fresh seeds (CK), baby (FB), and adult haustoria (FD). A total of 563 and 785 DAPs were identified and quantified in the early and later developmental stages, respectively. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the DAPs are mainly associated with metabolic pathways, ribosome, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and photosynthesis. In addition, DAPs associated with the phytohormone signaling pathway changed markedly. Furthermore, we evaluated the content of various phytohormones during different stages of haustoria development. These results indicated that phytohormones are very important for haustorium development. qRT-PCR results validated that the mRNA expression levels were consistent with the expression of proteins, suggesting that our results are reliable. This is the first report on haustoria proteomes in the parasitic plant, Taxillus chinensis, to the best of our knowledge. Our findings will enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanism of haustoria development.

A De Novo Transcriptome Analysis Identifies Cold-Responsive Genes in the Seeds of Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser.

Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser, a parasitic plant of the Loranthaceae family, grows by attacking other plants. It has a long history of being used in Chinese medicine to treat multiple chronic diseases. We previously observed that T. chinensis seeds are sensitive to cold. In this study, we performed transcriptome sequencing for T. chinensis seeds treated by cold (0°C) for 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 36 h. TRINITY assembled 257,870 transcripts from 223,512 genes. The GC content and N50 were calculated as 42.29% and 1,368, respectively. Then, we identified 42,183 CDSs and 35,268 likely proteins in the assembled transcriptome, which contained 1,622 signal peptides and 6,795 transmembrane domains. Next, we identified 17,217 genes (FPKM > 5) and 2,333 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in T. chinensis seeds under cold stress. The MAPK pathway, as an early cold response, was significantly enriched by the DEGs in the T. chinensis seeds after 24 h of cold treatment. Known cold-responsive genes encoding abscisic acid-associated, aquaporin, C-repeat binding factor (CBF), cold-regulated protein, heat shock protein, protein kinase, ribosomal protein, transcription factor (TF), zinc finger protein, and ubiquitin were deregulated in the T. chinensis seeds under cold stress. Notably, the upregulation of CBF gene might be the consequences of the downregulation of MYB and GATA TFs. Additionally, we identified that genes encoding CDC20, YLS9, EXORDIUM, and AUX1 and wound-responsive family protein might be related to novel mechanisms of T. chinensis seeds exposed to cold. This study is first to report the differential transcriptional induction in T. chinensis seeds under cold stress. It will improve our understanding of parasitic plants in response to cold and provide a valuable resource for future studies.

Physicochemical Characterization and Antioxidant and Hypolipidaemic Activities of a Polysaccharide From the Fruit of Kadsura coccinea (Lem.) A. C. Smith.

Kadsura coccinea fruit, a novel fruit resource, has attracted wide interest, but the physicochemical characteristics and biological activities of its polysaccharides remain unclear. This study investigated the physicochemical properties of a polysaccharide extracted from K. coccinea fruit polysaccharide (KCFP) and evaluated its antioxidant and hypolipidaemic activities in vitro and in vivo. KCFP is an amorphous, thermally stable pectin heteropolysaccharide with an average molecular weight of 204.6 kDa that is mainly composed of mannose, rhamnose, glucose, galactose, xylose, arabinose, galacturonic acid (molar percentage >70%) and glucuronic acid. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) free radical scavenging assays and an iron reducing antioxidant power assay showed that KCFP has strong antioxidant capacity, while the bile acid binding assay showed that KCFP has hypolipidaemic potential in vitro. The antioxidant and hypolipidaemic activities of KCFP were further evaluated in high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidaemic mice. KCFP significantly increased the activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase, decreased the malondialdehyde content, significantly reduced the total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, and increased the amount of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). These findings suggest that KCFP could be used as a functional food to remedy oxidative damage and hyperlipidaemia.

Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly of the Hemiparasitic Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser.

The hemiparasitic Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser is a root-parasitizing medicinal plant with photosynthetic ability, which is lost in other parasitic plants. However, the cultivation and medical application of the species are limited by the recalcitrant seeds of the species, and even though the molecular mechanisms underlying this recalcitrance have been investigated using transcriptomic and proteomic methods, genome resources for T. chinensis have yet to be reported. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to use nanopore, short-read, and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture sequencing to construct a chromosome-level assembly of the T. chinensis genome. The final genome assembly was 521.90 Mb in length, and 496.43 Mb (95.12%) could be grouped into nine chromosomes with contig and scaffold N50 values of 3.80 and 56.90 Mb, respectively. In addition, a total of 33,894 protein-coding genes were predicted, and gene family clustering identified 11 photosystem-related gene families, thereby indicating photosynthetic ability, which is a characteristic of hemiparasitic plants. This chromosome-level genome assembly of T. chinensis provides a valuable genomic resource for elucidating the genetic basis underlying the recalcitrant characteristics of T. chinensis seeds and the evolution of photosynthesis loss in parasitic plants.

Lactobacillus rhamnosus LRa05 Ameliorate Hyperglycemia through a Regulating Glucagon-Mediated Signaling Pathway and Gut Microbiota in Type 2 Diabetic Mice.

In this study, we aimed to explore the antidiabetic effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus LRa05 on glucose metabolism and gut microbiota in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) mice. Our data indicated that the fasting blood glucose levels were reduced by 53.5% after treatment with LRa05 at a dose of 109 CFU·day-1. Meanwhile, LRa05 attenuated insulin resistance, relieved hepatic oxidative stress, and alleviated metabolic lipopolysaccharide-related inflammation in T2DM mice. LRa05 promoted the expression of glucose transporter 2, while it inhibited the expression of glucagon receptor, glucose-6-phosphatase, cellular adenosine-3'-5'-cyclic monophosphate-dependent protein kinase, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in diabetic mice. Meanwhile, LRa05 reshaped gut microbiota, resulting in increased short-chain fatty acid bacteria (Alloprevotella and Bacteroides) and decreased proinflammatory bacteria (Odoribacter and Mucispirillum). Thus, LRa05 may be used as a functional food supplement for modulating the disorder glucose metabolism and gut microbiota in T2DM.

Lactobacillus casei LC89 exerts antidiabetic effects through regulating hepatic glucagon response and gut microbiota in type 2 diabetic mice.

Previous study suggests that Lactobacillus casei exhibits antihyperglycemic activity, however, the molecular mechanism of this has yet to be elucidated. Here, the anti-diabetic effects and underlying mechanisms of Lactobacillus casei LC89 are investigated in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) mice, which was induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) with streptozotocin (100 mg per kg BW). The results show that LC89 at a dose of 109 CFU day-1 decreases fasting blood glucose (FBG) and insulin levels by 35.12% and 28.37%, respectively, compared to the diabetes control (DC) group. Moreover, LC89 treatment improved the insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), serum lipid profiles and inflammation cytokines. The real-time polymerase chain reaction indicated that LC89 markedly downregulates the mRNA expression of hepatic glucagon (GCG), glucagon receptor (GCGR), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase). Meanwhile, LC89 significantly decreases the abundance of Odoribacter, but increases the Alloprevotella, Bacteroides, Parabacteroides and Ruminococcus content. Therefore, LC89 plays a positive role in alleviating T2DM by regulating gut microbiota and glucagon signal pathway-related genes, and it may be a beneficial dietary supplement to regulate glucose metabolism in T2DM.

Identification of MicroRNAs in Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser Seeds under Cold Stress.

Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser, a parasitic plant that belongs to the Loranthaceae family, has a long history of being used in the Chinese medicine. We observed that the loranthus seeds were sensitive to temperature and could lose viability below 0°C quickly. Thus, we performed small RNA sequencing to study the microRNA (miRNA) regulation in the loranthus seeds under cold stress. In total, we identified 600 miRNAs, for the first time, in the loranthus seeds under cold stress. Then, we detected 224, 229, and 223 miRNAs (TPM > 1) in A0 (control), A1 (cold treatment for 12 h at 0°C), and A2 (cold treatment for 36 h at 0°C), respectively. We next identified 103 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRs) in the loranthus seeds in response to cold. Notably, miR408 was upregulated during the cold treatment, which can regulate genes encoding phytocyanin family proteins and phytophenol oxidases. Some DEmiRs were specific to A1 and may function in early response to cold, such as gma-miR393b-3p, miR946, ath-miR779.2-3p, miR398, and miR9662. It is interesting that ICE3, IAA13, and multiple transcription factors (e.g., WRKY and CRF4 and TCP4) regulated by the DEmiRs have been reported to respond cold in other plants. We further identified 4, 3, and 4 DEmiRs involved in the pathways "responding to cold," "responding to abiotic stimulus," and "seed development/germination," respectively. qRT-PCR was used to confirm the expression changes of DEmiRs and their targets in the loranthus seeds during the cold treatment. This is the first time to study cold-responsive miRNAs in loranthus, and our findings provide a valuable resource for future studies.

Characterization of selenium-containing polysaccharide from Spirulina platensis and its protective role against Cd-induced toxicity.

Herein, selenium-containing polysaccharide from Spirulina platensis (Se-SPP) was prepared and its structural characteristics and protective role against Cd-induced toxicity in vivo and in vitro were investigated. Se-SPP was alkali-extracted from selenium-containing Spirulina platensis which was cultured in Zarrouk medium supplemented with Na2SeO3. The contents of carbohydrate, protein, uronic acid, sulfate and elements (including Se, C, H, O, N, and S) as well as the monosaccharide composition, molecular weight, surface morphology and FT-IR spectra of Se-SPP was compared to that of selenium-free polysaccharide (SPP). The results revealed that SPP and Se-SPP were both high-molecular-weight heteropolysaccharide with similar molecular weight and monosaccharide composition but significantly different selenium content, indicating that the covalently-bonding of a small amount of selenium did not destroy the original structure of polysaccharide. Furthermore, CdCl2 was utilized to build Cd-intoxicated cells model in vitro and rats model in vivo respectively. Then, the protective effect of Se-SPP against cadmium-induced toxicity was assessed. The results demonstrated that Se-SPP treatment provided significant protection against Cd-induced toxicity, which was superior compared to that of SPP or Na2SeO3 alone. The enhancement of protective role may be affected by the covalently-bonding of selenium to polysaccharide.

Research progress on the biological activities of selenium polysaccharides.

Selenium polysaccharides are a new type of functional polysaccharide that combines inorganic selenium with polysaccharides to form an organic selenium product. Selenium polysaccharides are obtained using three different methods, have no toxicity or side effects, and are easily absorbed and utilized by the body. A number of studies have demonstrated that selenium polysaccharides possess better antioxidant, antitumour, immune regulation, hypoglycaemic, and heavy metal removal activities than that of either polysaccharides or inorganic selenium. Selenium polysaccharides have gradually become a research topic of interest for the development of functional foods and pharmaceutical products. However, further studies are required to investigate the structures and mechanisms of selenium polysaccharides. At present, reviews that focus on the bioactivities of selenium polysaccharides are lacking. The aim of this study was to summarize the selenium polysaccharide bioactivity reports from the past decades, describe the mechanisms and shortcomings of these studies, and evaluate the need for further development.

De novo Transcriptome Reveals Gene Changes in the Development of the Endosperm Chalazal Haustorium in Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser.

Loranthus (Taxillus chinensis) is a facultative, hemiparasite and stem parasitic plant that attacks other plants for living. Transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis were applied in this study to identify the gene expression profiles of fresh seeds (CK), baby (FB), and adult haustoria tissues (FD). We assembled 160,571 loranthus genes, of which 64,926, 35,417, and 47,249 were aligned to NR, GO, and KEGG pathway databases, respectively. We identified 14,295, 15,921, and 16,402 genes in CK, FB, and FD, respectively. We next identified 5,480 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the process, of which 258, 174, 81, and 94 were encoding ribosomal proteins (RP), transcription factors (TF), ubiquitin, and disease resistance proteins, respectively. Some DEGs were identified to be upregulated along with the haustoria development (e.g., 68 RP and 26 ubiquitin genes). Notably, 36 RP DEGs peak at FB; 10 ER, 5 WRKY, 6 bHLH, and 4 MYB TF genes upregulated only in FD. Further, we identified 4 out of 32 microRNA genes dysregulated in the loranthus haustoria development. This is the first haustoria transcriptome of loranthus, and our findings will improve our understanding of the molecular mechanism of haustoria.

Elucidation of interactions between gelatin aggregates and hsian-tsao gum in aqueous solutions.

Interactions between gelatin aggregates (G, 0.5 wt%) and an anionic polysaccharide hsian-tsao gum (HG, 0-0.25 wt%) in aqueous solutions were investigated at 25 °C using zeta potentiometry, turbidimetric analysis, dynamic light scattering, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), fluorescence spectra and circular dichroism measurements. The results indicated that soluble and insoluble G-HG complexes formed mainly through electrostatic interactions followed critical pH-dependent structure-forming events. The phase transition points (pHφ1, pHopt and pHφ2) shifted to lower pH with HG increased, whereas pHc kept constant. Conformational transitions of G from α-helix to ß-sheet were promoted by interacting with HG, concurrent with changes in environment of hydrophobic residues. Additionally, CLSM evidenced phase transitions of G from homogeneity to separation occurred by interaction with HG, forming G-HG complexes with G centered and HG absorbed on the periphery. Findings aided in understanding interactions mechanism between G and HG to further apply HG in designing new food matrixes.

Physicochemical characterization and bile acid-binding capacity of water-extract polysaccharides fractionated by stepwise ethanol precipitation from Caulerpa lentillifera.

Herein, water-extracted Caulerpa lentillifera polysaccharides were structurally characterized and their bile acid-binding capacities were investigated. WCLP-25, WCLP-40, WCLP-55, WCLP-70, and WCLP-85 were obtained by graded ethanol precipitation with ethanol concentrations of 25%, 40%, 55%, 70%, and 85%. The total carbohydrate, protein, uronic acid and sulfate contents as well as the monosaccharide composition, molecular weight, and rheological properties were determined. Their infrared spectra, thermogravimetric curves, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images were acquired. The hypolipidaemic effects of the WCLPs were assessed with in vitro simulated bile acid-binding capacity experiments. The WCLPs are high-molecular-weight sulfated heteropolysaccharides, and the ethanol concentration significantly influenced the physicochemical properties of the extract. The bile acid-binding capacities of WCLP-55 and WCLP-70 were significantly higher than those of the other tested WCLP samples, which may be due to their higher neutral sugar, uronic acid and sulfate contents or due to their higher viscosities and a larger sheet structure based on SEM. This study will broaden the sources of raw materials for functional foods and provide a reference for the scientific use of C. lentillifera.

Rapid Evaluation of Chemical Consistency of Artificially Induced and Natural Resina Draconis Using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry-Based Chemical Profiling.

Resina Draconis is a highly valued traditional medicine widely used in Arabia since ancient times, and it has been commonly used as an antidiarrheic, antimicrobial, antiulcer, blood circulation promoter as well as an anti-inflammatory agent. The tree source from which this medicine orignates grows extremely slowly, producing a very low yield of Resina Draconis. To meet the increasing market demand, artificial methods for stimulating Resina Draconis formation have been developed and applied. However, the chemical differences between artificially induced Resina Draconis (AIRD) and natural Resina Draconis (NRD) have been rarely studied. The aim of this research was to explore and identify the chemical constituents of AIRD and NRD using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) based chemical profiling. A total of 56 chromatographic peaks were detected in AIRD, of these, 44 peaks have had their structures tentatively characterized based on high-resolution mass spectra (HRMS) data, fragmentation ions information, reference standards data and literature review. In total, 40 peaks were found both in AIRD and NRD. The potential chemical transformation mechanisms active in Resina Draconis during formation were explored. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of the chemical profiles of both AIRD and NRD. Furthermore, these findings are expected to provide a rational basis for the quality assessment of AIRD and the use of AIRD as a substitute for NRD.

Anti-obesity effects of artificial planting blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) anthocyanin in high-fat diet-treated mice.

This study aimed to evaluate the anti-obesity effects of artificial planting blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) anthocyanin (BA) in high-fat diet-induced obese male C57BL/6 mice. BA at doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg was supplemented in the daily food of obese C57BL/6 mice during an 8-week experiment. Our findings indicate that consumption of BA at high doses reduced body weight by 19.4%, whereas both low and middle doses did not affect the body weight. Furthermore, BA supplementation at high dose could effectively decrease serum glucose, attenuate epididymal adipocytes, improve lipid profiles, and significantly down-regulate expression levels of TNFα, IL-6 PPARγ, and FAS genes. Therefour, BA might alter bodyweight by suppressing fatty acid synthesis and alleviating inflammation.

The nematocysts venom of Chrysaora helvola Brandt leads to apoptosis-like cell death accompanied by uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation.

The present work investigated the effects of the nematocysts venom (NV) from the Chrysaora helvola Brandt (C. helvola) jellyfish on the human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line, CNE-2. The medium lethal concentration (LC50), quantified by MTT assays, was 1.7 ± 0.53 µg/mL (n = 5). An atypical apoptosis-like cell death was confirmed by LDH release assay and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining-based flow cytometry. Interestingly, activation of caspase-4 other than caspase-3, -8, -9 and -1 was observed. Moreover, the NV stimuli caused a time-dependent loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) as was an intracellular ROS burst. These results indicated that there was uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation (UOP). An examination of the intracellular pH value by a pH-sensitive fluorescent probe, BCECF, suggested that the UOP was due to the time-dependent increase in the intracellular pH. This is the first report that jellyfish venom can induce UOP.

Mulberry and cherry anthocyanin consumption prevents oxidative stress and inflammation in diet-induced obese mice.

SCOPE: This study aimed to determine whether cherry anthocyanin (CA) and mulberry anthocyanin (MA) can alleviate oxidative stress and inflammation associated with developing obesity in mice fed with high-fat diet (HFD). METHODS AND RESULTS: CA and MA were added in the daily food of mice throughout the experiment. Sixty mice were randomly divided into two groups: a low-fat diet (LFD, n = 12) group and HFD (n = 48) group. Mice in the HFD group were supplied with a HFD for 8 wks to induce obesity. The HFD-fed mice were then divided into four subgroups for another 8-wk experiment. The subgroups included the control group, HFD plus Orlistat group, and HFD plus CA or MA group, with each group consisting of 12 mice. Consumption of CA and MA at 200 mg/kg food reduced bodyweight gain by 29.6 and 32.7%, respectively, in HFD-fed C57BL/6 mice. CA and MA supplementation could effectively improve the lipid profiles, decrease serum glucose and leptin levels, reduce MDA production, increase SOD and GPX activities, and down-regulate the expression of the TNFα, IL-6, iNOS, and NF-кB genes. CONCLUSION: Therefore, MA and CA can potentially alter bodyweight by alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation in diet-induced obesity.