Ultrathin carbon film as ultrafast rechargeable cathode for hybrid sodium dual-ion capacitor.

The development of electrochemical energy storage devices has a decisive impact on clean renewable energy. Herein, novel ultrafast rechargeable hybrid sodium dual-ion capacitors (HSDICs) were designed by using ultrathin carbon film (UCF) as the cathode material. The UCF is synthesized by a simple low temperature catalytic route followed by an acid leaching process. UCF owns a large adsorption interface and number of additional active sites, which is due to the nitrogen doping. In addition, there exists several short-range order carbons on the surface of UCF, which are beneficial for anionic storage. An ultrafast rechargeable remarkable performance, remarkable anion hybrid storage capability and outstanding structure stability is fully tapped employing UCF as cathode for HSDICs. The electrochemical performance of UCF in a half-cell system at the operating voltage between 1.0 and 4.8 V, achieving an admirable specific discharge capacity of 358.52 mAh·g-1at 500 mA·g-1, and a high capacity retention ratio of 98.42% after cycling 2500 times at 1000 mA·g-1, respectively. Besides, with the support ofex-situTEM and EDS mapping, the structural stability principle and anionic hybrid storage mechanism of UCF electrode are investigated in depth. In the full-cell system, HSDICs with the UCF as cathode and hard carbon as anode also presents a super-long cycle stability (80.62% capacity retention ratio after cycling 1300 times at 1000 mA·g-1).

Flavor Improvement of Maillard Reaction Intermediates Derived from Enzymatic Hydrolysates of Oudemansiella raphanipes Mushroom.

Maillard reaction intermediate (MRI) was prepared by the enzymatic hydrolysate (EH) of Oudemansiella raphanipes and fructose. The optimal preparation condition of MRIs was obtained when the Maillard reaction parameters were as follows: fructose addition of 5%, reaction time of 60 min, and temperature of 60 °C. E-Tongue results indicated that the umami and saltiness of MRIs were greater than those of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) and EH, and the taste-enhancing ability of MRIs was even more prominent than that of MRPs. E-Nose could obviously distinguish EH, MRIs, and MRPs, and there was an obvious difference between MRPs and MRIs regarding volatile aroma compounds. A total of 35 volatile flavor substances were identified among the three samples, including 6 alcohols, 13 aldehydes, 9 ketones, 2 esters, and 5 other compounds. Overall, MRIs could avoid the production of complete reaction products with an inferior flavor, and further enhance the umami taste.

Effects of various thermal treatments on interfacial composition and physical properties of bovine milk fat globules.

This study aimed to investigate changes of milk fat globules (MFG) and their membranes after thermal treatments, and further analyzed the relationship between the stability of MFG and interfacial compositions of milk fat globule membrane (MFGM). We characterized the influence of three kinds of thermal treatments on fat globule interfacial components (including interfacial phospholipids and interfacial protein) and physical properties using phospholipidomics and several microscopy techniques. The results showed that size of MFG increased from 2.96 µm to 3.59 µm and ζ-potential decreased from -9.71 mV to -13.23 mV after thermal treatment, suggesting that MFGM was damaged and MFG occurred coalescence. Thermal treatment increased the Young's modulus of MFGM and made membranes more fragile. The abundance of MFGM proteins decreased while casein and ß-lactoglobulin increased after thermal treatment. Results of phospholipidomics showed that 27 phospholipid species could be used to distinguish the samples. Pasteurization reduced mainly SM and PC located in the outer bilayer of MFGM, while ultra-pasteurization reduced not only SM and PC but also PI and PE located in the inner leaflet. Based on correlation analysis, the increase in Young's modulus of MFGM during thermal treatment might be related to changes in chemical components on the membrane, suggesting a potential link between the change of MFGM components and fat globule coalescence behavior.

Insights into the relationships of modifying methods, structure, functional properties and applications of chitin: A review.

Chitin as the second plentiful polysaccharide has arouse widely attention due to its remarkable availability and biocompatibility. While the strong inter/intra molecular hydrogen bonds and crystallinity severely restrict its applications. Recently, multiple emerging technologies are increasingly used to modify chitin structure for the sake of obtaining excellent functional properties, as well as broadening the corresponding applications. Firstly, this review systematically outlines the features of single and combined methods for chitin modification. Then, the impacts of various modifying methods on the structural characteristics of chitin, including molecular weight, degree of acetylation and functional groups, are further summarized. In addition, the effects of these structural characteristics on the functional properties as well as its potential related applications are illustrated. The conclusion of this review provides better understanding of the relationships among the modifying methods, structure, properties and applications, contributing to chitin modification for the targeted purpose in the future study.

Characterization of Physicochemical Properties of Oil-in-Water Emulsions Stabilized by Tremella fuciformis Polysaccharides.

In this paper, emulsions stabilized by Tremella fuciformis polysaccharides (TFP) were prepared and the physiochemical properties were assessed. Results showed that the TFP emulsions illustrated the highest emulsifying activity (EAI) and emulsifying stability (ESI) when the concentration of TFP and oil were 0.8% and 10% (wt%). The higher pH value was in favor of the emulsifying properties, while the addition of NaCl impaired the stability, and the greater the concentration, the lower the EAI and ESI. Besides, the emulsifying and rheological properties and stability analysis were evaluated in comparison with gum arabic, pectin, and carboxymethyl cellulose emulsions. It was discovered that TFP illustrated better storage and freeze-thaw stability, which was proved by the result of zeta-potential and particle size. The rheological measurement revealed that all the emulsions behaved as pseudoplastic fluids, while TFP displayed a higher viscosity. Meanwhile, TFP emulsions tended to form a more stable network structure according to the analysis of the parameters obtained from the Herschel-Bulkley model. FTIR spectra suggested that the O-H bond could be destructed without the formation of new covalent bonds during the emulsion preparation. Therefore, this study would be of great importance for the research of emulsions stabilized by TFP as a natural food emulsifier.

Comparison of the Nutritional Properties and Transcriptome Profiling Between the Two Different Harvesting Periods of Auricularia polytricha.

Auricularia polytricha (A. polytricha), regarded as an edible and medical mushroom, has attracted toward the research interests because of the high nutrition and bioactivity. The nutritional and medical properties of A. polytricha have been well-studied; however, research about the difference of the nutritional properties and transcriptome profiling between the two different harvesting periods of A. polytricha was limited. In this study, the nutritional properties and transcriptome profiling were compared between the two different harvesting periods of A. polytricha: AP_S1 (the stage for the first harvesting period) and AP_S2 (the stage for the third harvesting period). This study showed that AP_S1 had the more growth advantages than AP_S2 including biomass, auricle area and thickness, protein and calcium contents, and most species of the amino acid contents, which contributed to the higher sensory evaluation and acceptability of AP_S1. Transcriptome profiling showed that a total of 30,298 unigenes were successfully annotated in the two different harvesting periods of A. polytricha. At a threshold of two-fold change, 1,415 and 3,213 unigenes were up- and downregulated, respectively. All the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) analysis showed that the some synthesis and metabolic processes were strengthened in AP_S1, especially the synthesis and metabolism of the amino acids and protein. The enhanced energy metabolism pathways could provide more energy for AP_S1 to synthesize the nutritional substance. Moreover, the expressions of 10 selected DEGs involved in the amino acid and protein synthesis pathways and energy metabolism pathways were higher in AP_S1 compared to AP_S2, consistent with Illumina analysis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that compares the nutritional properties and transcriptome profiling between the two different harvesting periods of A. polytricha and the results can present insights into the growth and genetic characteristics of A. polytricha.

Extraction, modification, and property characterization of dietary fiber from Agrocybe cylindracea.

Dietary fiber (DF) has gained a great attention owing to its potential health benefits. Agrocybe cylindracea is an edible fungus with high protein and low fat contents, which is also an enriched source of DF. However, limited study has been conducted on optimizing the conditions of A. cylindracea-derived DF extraction and modification as well as characterizing its properties. In this study, ultrasound-assisted enzymatic method for DF extraction was optimized as the following conditions: liquid material ratio of 29 ml/g, α-amylase concentration of 1.50%, protamex concentration of 1.20%, and ultrasonic power of 150 W, which improved the DF extraction yield to 37.70%. Moreover, high temperature modification (HTM) and cellulase modification (CEM) were applied to modify A. cylindracea-derived DF. The results showed that HTM had more potential capacity in converting insoluble DF into soluble DF, and DF with HTM exhibited more advantages in its physicochemical properties than DF with CEM. The DF with both HTM and CEM showed antioxidant activities, reflected by the increased reducing power as well as DPPH radical, hydroxyl radical, and ABTS+ scavenging capabilities in vitro. These findings could offer a reference for the extraction, modification, and characterizing various properties of DF from A. cylindracea, which would establish the foundation for the comprehensive application of fungi-derived DF.