Marine Phospholipids from Fishery By-Products Attenuate Atherosclerosis

In this study, the anti-atherosclerotic properties of three marine phospholipids (MPLs) extracts from fishery by-products including codfish roe, squid gonad, and shrimp head are verified. Their effects on key factors involved in atherosclerosis are examined and compared to explore whether the differences in their constitutions lead to the differences in the function. All three MPLs dampen oxidation of low- density lipoproteins (LDL) in vitro. Treating RAW264.7 macrophages and HUVECs endothelial cells with each MPLs ranging 10–100 µg mL⁻¹ does not decrease cell viability, yet ox-LDL caused cytotoxicity of both cells are alleviated by 50 or 100 µg mL⁻¹ MPLs treatment. In addition, the three MPLs reduce ox-LDL induced macrophage foam-like transition, mainly through inhibition of lipid uptake. Of the three MPLs, the one from squid gonad exhibits the best effect. On the other hand, all three MPLs modulate inflammatory responses, equally, by inhibiting the adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells, and decreasing secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and MCP-1. Using a high-cholesterol diet induced zebrafish model, it is found that all three MPLs, especially the one from squid gonad, alleviates cholesterol accumulation in early plaques, and decreases total cholesterol as well as lipid peroxide in vivo. Practical Applications: As a way of making the best of the increasingly scarce marine resources, valuable lipid components can be recovered from by-products and wastes from the fishery industry. Here, we tested the anti-atherosclerotic effects and the mechanisms of three MPLs extracted from codfish roe, squid gonad, and shrimp head. Our study provides further evidence that marine phospholipids extracted from fishery by-products could protect against atherosclerosis, and helps to elucidate the structure-function relationship of MPLs.     

Reversible formation-melting of nano-crystals in supercooled oxyfluoride germanate liquids

The nanocrystals play a critical role in generating and affecting functionalities of glass materials. Therefore, scientists have made considerable efforts in clarifying microscopic mechanisms of nanocrystal formation in glass to obtain the desired type of nanocrystals. However, the phase transitions of nanocrystals during heating have not been well understood. Here we report on a discovery of the reversible melting-formation of nanocrystals in an oxyfluoride germanate glass during heating-cooling circles. Using a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), we detected a striking endothermic event at 925 K during heating, after the glass underwent a DSC upscan to a temperature between 925–986 K and subsequent cooling. Based on Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, the endotherm is attributed to the melting of nano-crystal BaGeF₆ (˜20 nm). An exothermal response was observed at 890 K during the DSC downscan, implying the re-formation of BaGeF₆ nano-crystals. This suggests that the melting-formation of BaGeF₆ nano-crystals is a typical first-order transition.     

Fabrication of BSCF-based mixed ionic-electronic conducting membrane by electrophoretic deposition for oxygen separation application

Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3-δ (BSCF), which exhibits a high mixed oxide ionic-electronic conduction, was used for the fabrication of an oxygen separation membrane. An asymmetric structure, which was a thin and dense BSCF membrane layer supported on a porous BSCF substrate, was fabricated by the electrophoretic deposition method (EPD). Porous BSCF supports were prepared by the uniaxial pressing method using a powder mixture with BSCF and starch as the pore-forming agent (0–50 wt.%). The sintering behaviors of the porous support and the thin layer were separately characterized by dilatometry to determine the co-fired temperature at which cracking did not occur. A crack-free and thin dense membrane layer, which had about a 15 μm thickness and >95% relative density, was obtained after optimizing the processes of EPD and sintering. The dense/porous interface was well-bonded and the oxygen permeation flux was 2.5 ml (STP) min⁻¹ cm^-2 at 850 °C.     

核壳结构Fe3O4纳米催化剂催化降解酸性废水的研究

利用静电自组装法,将羧甲基纤维素(CMC)组装到Fe3O4上得到Fe3O4@CMC,再通过自由基聚合反应将丙烯酸(AA)和丙烯酰胺(AM)接枝交联到Fe3O4@CMC上,制备出F e3O4@CMC-g-p(AA-co-AM)(Fe3O4@hydrogel)微球。利用TEM、XRD、FTIR、TGA、XPS、BET等技术对Fe3O4hydrogel微球进行了表征,并将其作为催化剂应用于类芬顿高级氧化反应中催化降解酸性红73。结果表明:Fe3O4@hydrogel仍为反尖晶石型结构,共聚物CMC-g-p(AA-c o-AM)成功包覆在Fe3O4表面,且含量为17.7%,复合微球平均粒径在10n m左右,饱和磁化强度为44.8 emu/g,BET表面积为73.5m2/g,平均孔直径为8.3nm,为介孔结构。Fe3O4@hydrogel微球对酸性染料废水有良好的催化降解性能,通过调节芬顿反应体系中初始pH值、催化剂用量以及H2O2浓度,得到反应最适条件为pH3.5、H2O210mmol/l、催化剂用量200mg/l。在此条件下3h内能达到对酸性红7399.83%以上的降解。     

Efficient removal of Congo red from pH-unregulated aqueous solutions by lignosulfonate-based polycatecholamine

Lignosulfonate-based polycatecholamine (PCEA-LS) was synthesized by a two-stage approach involving Mannich and catechol–amine reactions, and it was directly used to adsorb Congo red (CR) from the pH-unadjusted aqueous solution. PCEA-LS was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Various factors affecting on removal of CR by PCEA-LS were investigated in depth, including contact time, adsorbent dosage, and initial concentration of CR and adsorption temperature. The adsorption kinetics, isotherm, and thermodynamics of PCEA-LS for CR were explored in detail, and then its adsorption mechanism was systematically elucidated. Results indicated that the removal process of CR followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the isotherm data fitted the Langmuir model well. The maximum adsorption capacity reached 972.6 mg g⁻¹ at 30°C in the pH-unadjusted (pH = 6.25) solution possibly due to the hydrogen bond, π–π stacking, and electrostatic interaction between PCEA-LS and CR. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48640.     

纳米微晶纤维素-玉米淀粉复合氧化过程参数对其复合成膜液流变特性的影响

用纳米微晶纤维素(cellulose nanocrystals,CNC)与吸水润胀的玉米淀粉进行插层复配形成"CNC-淀粉"复合材料,采用NaClO对复合材料进行了氧化,并利用氧化玉米淀粉与聚乙烯醇(polyvinyl alcohol,PVA)/甘油(glycerol,GL)组合制备复合成膜液,探究了玉米淀粉浓度(3.0%、5.0%、8.0%和10.0%)、氧化及成膜液组分( PVA浓度为30.0%、40.0%、50.0% 、60.0%、70.0%和80.0%)对复合成膜液流变特性的影响。结果表明:氧化可导致玉米淀粉糊的黏度降低,且最低值为0.08 Pa·s;增加氧化玉米淀粉浓度可提高氧化玉米淀粉糊和复合成膜液的黏度、剪切应力、触变性和黏弹性,但稳定性降低,其中浓度为5.0%时,黏度较高,稳定性最好;增加PVA用量可提高成膜液黏度、剪切应力和黏弹性,PVA浓度为60.0%时,成膜液的黏度达最大值为9.9 Pa·s,黏弹性最高。玉米淀粉糊和复合成膜液均属于剪切稀释型非牛顿流体,表现出正触变性,流变特性符合Ostwald-de-Waele流体模型。     

Sol-gel processed high-k aluminum oxide dielectric films for fully solution-processed low-voltage thin-film transistors

High-k oxide dielectric films have attracted intense interest for thin-film transistors (TFTs). However, high-quality oxide dielectrics were traditionally prepared by vacuum routes. Here, amorphous high-k alumina (Al₂O₃) thin films were prepared by the simple sol-gel spin-coating and post-annealing process. The microstructure and dielectric properties of Al₂O₃ dielectric films were systematically investigated. All the Al₂O₃ thin films annealed at 300–600?°C are in amorphous state with ultrasmooth surface (RMS ~ 0.2?nm) and high transparency (above 95%) in the visible range. The leakage current of Al₂O₃ films gradually decreases with the increase of annealing temperature. Al₂O₃ thin films annealed at 600?°C showed the low leakage current density down to 3.9?×?10^?7 A/cm² at 3?MV/cm. With the increase of annealing temperature, the capacitance first decreases then increases to 101.1?nF/cm² (at 600?°C). The obtained k values of Al₂O₃ films are up to 8.2. The achieved dielectric properties of Al₂O₃ thin films are highly comparable with that by vapor and solution methods. Moreover, the fully solution-processed InZnO TFTs with Al₂O₃ dielectric layer exhibit high mobility of 7.23?cm² V^?1 s^?1 at the low operating voltage of 3?V, which is much superior to that on SiO₂ dielectrics with mobility of 1.22?cm²/V^?1 s^?1 at the operating voltage of 40?V. These results demonstrate that solution-processed Al₂O₃ thin films are promising for low-power and high-performance oxide devices.     

葡萄酒酿造过程中产β-葡萄糖苷酶酵母菌研究进展

在葡萄酒酿造的微环境中，产β-葡萄糖苷酶的酵母菌种类繁多，其酶的活性也存在着显著的差异。该文对产β-葡萄糖苷酶的酵母菌种类、产酶部位、产酶工程菌的构建、产酶酵母菌的选育方法以及酿造过程中酶解产香机制等方面的研究成果进行了综述，以期为高产β-葡萄糖苷酶酵母菌的选育和葡萄酒酿造过程中香气品质的提升提供参考。     

Tailoring electromagnetic absorption performances of TiO2/Co/carbon nanofibers through tuning graphitization degrees

Low density, high stability and strong dielectric loss capacity endow carbon-based nanocomposites with superb microwave dissipation performances. Different from grapheme or carbon nanotubes, the graphitization degrees of carbon-based composites derived from the organic precursor pyrolysis can be accurately regulated by controlling the carbonization temperature. As such, their electromagnetic properties can be easily tuned. In this work, we report the preparation of TiO₂/Co/Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) through a combined approach of electrospun and carbonization at different temperatures. The nanofibers with an average diameter of 300 nm were coated by a dense layer of TiO₂ and embedded by Co/CoO nanoparticles. The performance evaluation indicated the composite obtained at 700 °C exhibits remarkably strong absorption of −63.2 dB at 9.8 GHz and wide effective absorption bandwidth of 6.4 GHz with a pretty low filling rate of 15 wt%. Further analysis on the electromagnetic behaviors shows that the composite possesses regulable impedance matching characteristic and absorption performances, implying the huge application potential under various demand conditions.     

Upgrading of cyclohexanone to hydrocarbons by hydrodeoxygenation over nickel–molybdenum catalysts

Cyclohexanone is largely generated in the direct or indirect conversion of lignin-derived bio-oils. Hence, the upgrading of cyclohexanone, i.e. deoxygenation in the presence of hydrogen is of great interest. In this regard, two nickel-molybdenum catalysts on alumina support were investigated in the temperatures up to 400 °C and pressures up to 15 bar. High activity, selectivity, and yield were achieved by utilizing these catalysts at the studied condition. The main products of the upgrading of cyclohexanone were C₆, C₇, and C₁₂ cyclic, aromatic, and bicyclic including cyclohexane, cyclohexene, benzene, and cyclohexylbenzene. The results of the present study imply that these catalysts are beneficial in producing hydrocarbon-rich products from cyclohexanone and lignin-derived bio-oils. Based on the achievements of the present study, the nickel-molybdenum catalyst composed of 1.14 wt% nickel and 14.27 wt% molybdenum showed about 87%, 100%, and 116% conversion of cyclohexanone, total hydrocarbon selectivity, and total hydrocarbon yield, respectively. The optimum condition for obtaining such results was at 400 °C and 8 bar.