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.     

Double emulsion (W/O/W) gel stabilised by polyglycerol polyricinoleate and calcium caseinate as mangiferin carrier: insights on formulation and stability properties

Mangiferin (MGF) is a phenolic compound isolated from mango, but its poor solubility significantly limits its use. In this study, MGF was embedded into the inner aqueous phase of W₁/O/W₂ emulsions. Firstly, the dissolution method of MGF was determined. MGF remained stable in solution with pH 13 at 30 min, and its solubility reached 10 mg mL⁻¹. When the pH of MGF solutions was adjusted from pH 13 to pH 6, MGF did not immediately crystallise, providing sufficient time to construct the MGF-loaded W₁/O/W₂ emulsions. Subsequently, the MGF-loaded W₁/O/W₂ emulsions were constructed using polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) and calcium caseinate (CAS). The formation and stability of the W₁/O/W₂ emulsions were investigated. The MGF-loaded W₁/O/W₂ emulsions stabilised with 1% PGPR and 1% – 3% CAS exhibited a low viscosity, limited loading capacity, and poor stability. Conversely, the MGF-loaded W₁/O/W₂ emulsions stabilised by 3%PGPR–3%CAS exhibited optimal loading capacity (encapsulation efficiency = 95.31% and loading efficiency = 0.91%) and stability, which was attributed to the fact that high viscosity and gel state retarded the migration of inner aqueous phase. These results indicated that the W₁/O/W₂ emulsions stabilised by PGPR and CAS may be a potential alternative for encapsulating mangiferin.     

Freeze-drying and mechanical redispersion of aqueous PEDOT:PSS

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films are attracting famous applications in antistatic coating, energy storage and conversion, printed electronics, and biomedical fields due to their conductivity, optical transparency and flexibility. However, PEDOT:PSS has poor dispersion stability during long-term storage and transport. Moreover, the dried PEDOT:PSS films are insoluble in any solvent and cannot be redispersed again. In comparison to bake drying, here, a feasible strategy to achieve mechanically redispersed PEDOT:PSS with the help of freeze-drying process was reported. The redispersed PEDOT:PSS can recover not only the initial characters such as pH, chemical composition, viscosity, and particle size under similar solid contents, but also conductivity and surface morphology of treated films. In addition, the treated film exhibits self-healing properties similar to pristine film in terms of mechanical and electrical properties. This technology enables reuse and overcomes the technical problems of PEDOT:PSS dispersion, realizing real-time processing to meet variable applications.     

Pseudocapacitive contributions to electrochemical kinetics in NiOx electrochromic anodes

Because of its ability to change optical absorption dynamically by applied electric field, nickel oxide (NiO) is a promising anodic material in smart windows, which can improve energy conversion efficiency in construction buildings. Although many works have achieved high electrochromic performance with different method. The underlying mechanism is still not fully investigated. In this article, we prepared the NiO films with large specific surface area and high stability by electron beam evaporation. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to figure out the surface morphology and composition of as-deposited films. Afterwards, the electrochemical properties and optical performance of the prepared NiO films were investigated. On this basis, the origin of surface charge was fully analyzed by cyclic voltammetry and diffusion coefficient test. These experimental and theoretical results firmly confirm that both the surface reaction and capacitive effect bring about the excellent EC performance in NiO films. These results not only provide clear evidence about electrochemical kinetics in NiO films, but also offer some useful guidelines for the design of EC materials with higher performance and longer stability.     

土壤中有机污染物的检测技术研究进展

土壤污染防治法的实施促进了国内土壤监测业务的发展.对比分析了目前土壤中有机污染物的采样、前处理技术.挥发性有机污染物(VOCs)对采样环节的要求较高,需使用采样器和保存剂来减少挥发损失,进样前提取过程宜选用吹扫捕集等具有封闭系统的高效自动化方式.半挥发性有机污染物(SVOCs)的回收率主要受萃取、净化方式的影响,二氯甲烷和加速溶剂萃取的组合方式既快速又节约溶剂;净化材料宜选择弗罗里硅土、氧化铝类物质.选择合适的采样、前处理方法才能保证回收率、质量控制的要求.     

基于大数据深度学习的输电塔结构抗风易损性评估

为了有效预测输电网系统在强风作用下的响应，并开展高效精准的性能评估，文章提出了基于深度学习模型的风致易损性评估框架。以某具备健康监测系统的输电塔结构为例，首先对监测数据进行清洗和重构，通过大数据深度学习建立荷载输入和响应输出的等效映射模型，然后通过数值模拟生成灾害强度均匀的风场数据并由深度学习模型预测输电塔关键杆件响应，计算不同性能水准的易损性曲线。研究结果表明，经训练的深度学习模型可以涵盖实际工程中存在的各类不确定性因素，有效映射复杂风环境下输电塔结构的动力响应。提出的框架方法可以避免单纯通过数值模型制备大量动态响应数据，更高效地进行输电网系统风致易损性评估。     

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.     

采煤机滚筒速度对采煤机动态响应的影响分析

针对采煤机滚筒进行煤岩的截割过程中,容易引起振动作用,不利于采煤机稳定工作的问题,基于滚筒的进给速度及旋转速度,建立滚筒与煤岩的动力学模型,分析不同的进给速度及旋转速度对采煤机动态响应的影响,为选择合理的参数提供依据.     

Auto-registration of medium and high spatial resolution satellite images by integrating improved SIFT and spatial consistency constraints

Feature-based methods have been developed in the past decades for the registration of optical satellite images. However, it is still a challenging problem to handle well the registration between medium and high spatial resolution images due to the large difference of the spatial structural features and local details for the same objects. In this study, an automated co-registration technique is proposed that integrates an improved SIFT (I-SIFT) and a novel matching strategy called spatial consistency constraints (SCC) to cope with the large difference in spatial resolutions between the image pair. Three constraints on angle, distance, and ratio are introduced to re the initial matching features obtained by I-SIFT. Three groups of experiments were conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experiments used high resolution multispectral and panoramic SPOT 5/6 images and Landsat 5/8 orthorectification images. Experimental results show that the registration error lies in about 1 pixel of high-resolution images and demonstrate that the proposed I-SIFT-SCC approach is suitable for fine registration of optical satellite images from medium spatial resolution to high spatial resolution with resolution ratio up to 6.     

陕北沙漠区浅埋厚煤层开采潜水位及生态响应

煤炭开采造成上覆岩层破裂、移动，破坏了矿区含（隔）水层结构，改变了地表水及地下水循环演化状态，对浅表层生态环境造成严重影响，引发一系列环境地质问题。为深入研究沙漠地区厚煤层开采给潜水位及生态环境造成的影响，以毛乌素沙漠金鸡滩矿为例，对水文地质条件进行了研究，采用数值模拟的方法，模拟了沙漠区厚煤层开采潜水位的变化，并通过采动潜水位监测数据验证了预测结果。调查分析了研究区及周边地表生态环境现状，预测采后潜水位基本满足植物生长需求，对生态环境影响不大。