Surface Decoration of Peptide Nanoparticles Enables Efficient Therapy toward Osteoporosis and Diabetes

A versatile surface decoration strategy to efficiently encapsulate water-soluble peptides is developed. By assembling peptide molecules into nanoparticles, diverse physiochemical properties of these compacted molecules are equalized to the surface properties of nanoparticles. Primarily driven by the generic electrostatic attractions, the surface of as-prepared peptide nanoparticles is decorated with charged amino acids-grafted poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid). This adsorbed polymer layer versatilely blocks the phase transfer of peptide nanoparticles by increasing their affinity to the dispersed phase solvent molecules. Attributed to the ultrahigh encapsulation efficiencies (> 96%), the peptide mass fraction inside the obtained microcomposites is higher than 48%. The plasma calcium level has been efficiently reduced for ≈3 weeks with only one single injection of salmon calcitonin-encapsulated microcomposite in osteoporotic rats. Similarly, one single injection of exenatide-encapsulated microcomposites efficiently controls the glycemic level in type 2 diabetic rats for up to 3 weeks. Overall, the developed versatile surface decoration strategy efficiently encapsulates peptides and improves their pharmacokinetic features, regardless of the molecular structure of peptide cargos.     

Toward a Magnesium‐Iodine Battery

The quest for new electrolyte and cathode materials is a crucial point for beyond‐lithium‐ion energy storage systems. Following this, an electrolyte for secondary magnesium batteries based on a new iodoaluminate ionic liquid and δ‐MgI₂ is reported. Promising electrochemical performance in terms of Mg plating‐stripping, coulombic efficiency, and conductivity, demonstrates the potential of this iodine‐based system for future Mg secondary batteries.     

Loss estimation and control mechanism in bufferless optical packet-switched networks based on multilayer perceptron

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are well-known estimators for the output of broad range of complex systems and functions. In this paper, a common ANN architecture called multilayer perceptron (MLP) is used as a fast optical packet loss rate (OPLR) estimator for bufferless optical packet-switched (OPS) networks. Considering average loads at the ingress switches of an OPS network, the proposed estimator estimates total OPLR as well as ingress OPLRs (the OPLR of optical packets sent from individual ingress switches). Moreover, a traffic policing algorithm called OPLRC is proposed to control ingress OPLRs in bufferless slotted OPS networks with asymmetric loads. OPLRC is a centralized greedy algorithm which uses estimated ingress OPLRs of a trained MLP to tag some optical packets at the ingress switches as eligible for drop at the core switches in case of contention. This will control ingress OPLRs of un-tagged optical packets within the specified limits while giving some chance for tagged optical packets to reach their destinations. Eventually, the accuracy of the proposed estimator along with the performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by extensive simulations. In terms of the algorithm, the results show that OPLRC is capable of controlling ingress OPLRs of un-tagged optical packets with an acceptable accuracy.     

An Optically Responsive Soft Etalon Based on Ultrathin Cellulose Hydrogels

Stimuli‐responsive optical etalons are an exciting class of next‐generation sensors because they are scalable, cost‐effective and offer tunability of their optical response across the entire UV–vis–NIR wavelength range. In this study, double‐network cellulose hydrogels are used as a soft, responsive medium and are incorporated into Fabry–Pérot optical etalons. The thin cellulose hydrogel layer can be solution processed. The hygroscopic hydrogel undergoes both refractive index and thickness changes in response to changes in humidity. This leads to strong changes in reflection due to optical interference within the metal–insulator–metal (MIM) cavity. The response can be optimized by adjusting the chemical crosslinker ratio. These flexible MIM structures provide a robust platform for optically based chemical sensors.     

Production of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides in Iranian ultrafiltered white cheese prepared with Lactobacillus brevis KX572382

In this study, ultrafiltered (UF) Iranian white cheese made with adjunct cultures including six Lactobacillus isolates (Lactobacillus brevis, L. casei and L. plantarum) from traditional Iranian Motal cheese. The peptide extract (<5 kDa) of cheese samples were assessed for angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activity during ripening (5 °C). Among the strains used, L. brevis KX572382 (M8) was selected because of the greater increase in (ACE)-inhibitory activity in the cheese (P < 0.05). The highest activity of M8 extract was observed on the 28th (71.72%) day of ripening (P < 0.05). Proteolytic activity assessment and RP-HPLC peptide profile of M8 water-soluble extracts (WSEs) indicated the effect of M8 on further protein degradation due to secondary proteolysis. A total of 7 different peptide sequences, previously known in the literature for their ACE-inhibitory activity, were tentatively identified by LC/ESI-MS in 28-day M8 peptide extract. Although the effect of M8 on pH and the proteolysis development in cheese was significant, no adverse effect was observed on the sensory properties. In conclusion, M8 strain can enhance the functional properties of Iranian UF white cheese.     

Effect of baking in different ovens on the quality and structural characteristics of saltine crackers

The aim of the study was to evaluate the physical and microstructural characteristics of crackers baked in four different industrial baking ovens (indirect radiation-cyclotherm, indirect convection, hybrid and industrial tunnel-ITO). Indirect convection and cyclotherm ovens provide the highest (5685.43 ± 51 W m⁻²) and the lowest (4860 ± 38.87 W m⁻²) amount of heat flux, respectively. Despite the amount of heat flux, indirect convection led to crackers with the highest moisture (7.86% vs. 4.82% in clyclotherm) and specific volume, but the lowest hardness. Cyclotherm resulted in crackers with lower specific volume, surface area, porosity, smooth and regular surface. Conversely, the hybrid and ITO ovens showed closer heat flux, leading to crackers with similar moisture content, texture parameters, specific volume, browning and inner porosity. Overall results show the potential of baking using different ovens for modifying the quality parameters of the crackers.