Changes in the content and antioxidative activity of β-carotene and its metabolite vitamin A during gastrointestinal digestion and absorption and optimisation of HPLC-based detection

The β-Carotene (BC), an important precursor of vitamin A (VA), possesses antioxidant activity but is fat-soluble and has low bioavailability. In previous in-vitro assays evaluating antioxidant and 2,2′-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) free radical scavenging, both BC and VA showed a strong ability to scavenge radicals and protected cells from oxidative stress. Here, we used artificially simulated gastrointestinal digestion and Caco-2 cell absorption models to evaluate the bioavailability of the BC during gastrointestinal digestion and absorption using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. We observed high absorptive and transfer rates of BC and detected retinol metabolites (Vitamin A). Therefore, BC can be detected in the acidic gastrointestinal environment using HPLC. Optimised method provided better separation of BC and VA in the column, improving the accuracy of the test results.     

Effect of high hydrostatic pressure pretreatment on flavour and physicochemical properties of freeze-dried carambola slices

Ripe carambolas are hard to store and transport, while freeze-dried ones are easy to store. However, its long production time leads to higher costs. This study shows that high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment could shorten the freeze-drying time of carambola slices. After HHP treatment (25–250 MPa), the drying time of the fresh sample can be shortened by 33.3–44.4% and the distribution of water and pigment in tissues is much uniform. With the increment of the pressure, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical scavenging rate are increased. At 250 MPa, the total phenolic content (TPC) increased from 11.34 to 13.36 mg GAE g⁻¹, and the total flavonoid content (TFC) of the control sample was increased from 10.77 to 12.73 mg RE g⁻¹. Compared with the untreated sample, HHP treatment can enhance the flavour and shorten the freeze-drying time. This work guides the application of HHP technology for drying food processing.     

肠靶向海藻酸钙基微胶囊的制备及控释性能研究

利用毛细管共挤出技术结合静电吸附和仿生硅化的方法，制备了海藻酸钙-壳聚糖/精蛋白/二氧化硅(ACPSi)复合微胶囊。ACPSi复合微胶囊的平均粒径约3.18 mm，单分散性好，囊壁最外层的二氧化硅层可抑制其在肠液pH环境中的溶胀，增强囊的机械稳定性。将羟丙甲基纤维素邻苯二甲酸酯(HPMCP)肠溶微球作为释药“微阀门”，嵌入囊壁可以更好地控制微胶囊的释药行为。以吲哚美辛为模型药物，当药物浓度为22.5 mg/ml时，ACPSi载药微胶囊在pH 2.5模拟胃液中3 h时累计释药率仅为0.33%，而转移至pH 6.8模拟肠液中19 h时累计释药率为77.78%；囊壁嵌入HPMCP微球后，22 h时累计释药率可提高约4%。因此，该复合微胶囊具有良好的肠靶向作用和控释特性，作为口服肠靶向缓控释制剂具有良好的应用前景。     

Removal of imidacloprid and acetamiprid from tea infusions by microfiltration membrane

Removal of imidacloprid and acetamiprid in tea infusions by microfiltration membrane using dead‐end model was investigated in the present study. The results showed that microfiltration significantly promoted the removal of both pesticides (P < 0.05) in tea infusions. Furthermore, the extent of removal was strongly influenced by the pore size of membrane, operational pressure and the concentrations of tea infusions. The initial concentration of imidacloprid and acetamiprid showed no significant effect on their removal rates. The maximum removal rates were 79.7% for imidacloprid and 81.9% acetamiprid. The changes in major chemical components of tea infusions after microfiltration were evaluated. The results indicated that microfiltration caused no considerable changes in total polyphenols and total free amino acids, and small but statistically significant losses (6.3–18.0%) of eight catechins and three methylxanthines when filtration volume reached to 200 mL. The present study validated the application of microfiltration as a potentially feasible and promising method for the removal of imidacloprid and acetamiprid residues from tea infusions.     

Metal-polyphenol-network coated CaCO3 as pH-responsive nanocarriers to enable effective intratumoral penetration and reversal of multidrug resistance for augmented cancer treatments

Construction of multifunctional stimuli-responsive nanotherapeutics enabling improved intratumoral penetration of therapeutics and reversal of multiple-drug resistance (MDR) is potent to achieve effective cancer treatment. Herein, we report a general method to synthesize pH-dissociable calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) hollow nanoparticles with amorphous CaCO₃ as the template, gallic acid (GA) as the organic ligand, and ferrous ions as the metallic center via a one-pot coordination reaction. The obtained GA–Fe@CaCO₃ exhibits high loading efficiencies to both oxidized cisplatin prodrug and doxorubicin, yielding drug loaded GA–Fe@CaCO₃ nanotherapeutics featured in pH-responsive size shrinkage, drug release, and Fenton catalytic activity. Compared to nonresponsive GA–Fe@silica nanoparticles prepared with silica nanoparticles as the template, such GA–Fe@CaCO₃ confers significantly improved intratumoral penetration capacity. Moreover, both types of drug-loaded GA–Fe@CaCO₃ nanotherapeutics exhibit synergistic therapeutic efficacies to corresponding MDR cancer cells because of the GA–Fe mediated intracellular oxidative stress amplification that could reduce the efflux of engulfed drugs by impairing the mitochondrial-mediated production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). As a result, it is found that the doxorubicin loaded GA–Fe@CaCO₃ exhibits superior therapeutic effect towards doxorubicin-resistant 4T1 breast tumors via combined chemodynamic and chemo-therapies. This work highlights the preparation of pH-dissociable CaCO₃-based nanotherapeutics to enable effective tumor penetration for enhanced treatment of drug-resistant tumors.

     

不同含量低污染水对人工湿地中细菌的影响研究

探究水平流人工湿地(HFCW)系统处理低污染水过程中,相同COD/ρ(TN)下不同碳氮含量对细菌群落结构的影响。结果表明,进水为较高碳氮含量的HFCW(HF1)和进水为较低碳氮含量的HFCW(HF2)对COD和TN的去除效率具有一定的差异,HF1和HF2对COD的去除效率分别为48.26%和28.89%,对TN的去除率分别为79.06%和81.87%。HF1中细菌的丰富度和多样性均高于HF2,HF1中富集的优势细菌为Chloroflexaceae、Comamonadaceae和Rhodocyclaceae,均具有异养反硝化功能,HF2中富集的优势细菌为Xanthomonadaceae和Rhodocyclaceae,其中Xanthomonadaceae具有自养反硝化功能。COD、NH4^+-N和NO3^--N对HF1中细菌群落的影响大于对HF2中细菌群落的影响,HF1中COD对细菌群落的影响大于NH4^+-N和NO3^--N。     

A unified critical state model for geomaterials with an application to tunnelling

This paper is prepared in honour of Professor E.T. Brown for his outstanding contributions to rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering and also for his personal influence on the first author's research career in geomechanics and geotechnical engineering. As a result, we have picked a topic that reflects two key research areas in which Professor E.T. Brown has made seminal contributions over a long and distinguished career. These two areas are concerned with the application of the critical state concept to modelling geomaterials and the analysis of underground excavation or tunnelling in geomaterials.Partially due to Professor Brown's influence, the first author has also been conducting research in these two areas over many years. In particular, this paper aims to describe briefly the development of a unified critical state model for geomaterials together with an application to cavity contraction problems and tunnelling in soils.     

Cyclic thermal shock resistance of h-BN composite ceramics with La2O3–Al2O3–SiO2 addition

The effects of La₂O₃–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ addition on the thermal conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), Young's modulus and cyclic thermal shock resistance of hot-pressed h-BN composite ceramics were investigated. The samples were heated to 1000 °C and then quenched to room temperature with 1–50 cycles, and the residual flexural strength was used to evaluate cyclic thermal shock resistance. h-BN composite ceramics containing 10 vol% La₂O₃–Al₂O₃ and 20 vol% SiO₂ addition exhibited the highest flexural strength, thermal conductivity and relatively low CTE, which were beneficial to the excellent thermal shock resistance. In addition, the viscous amorphous phase of ternary La₂O₃–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ system could accommodate and relax thermal stress contributing to the high thermal shock resistance. Therefore, the residual flexural strength still maintained the value of 234.3 MPa (86.9% of initial strength) after 50 cycles of thermal shock.