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.     

Comparison of yield and metabolites according to the types of hilling materials utilized during Glehnia littoralis sprout vegetable cultivation

Food Science and Biotechnology - Various hilling materials (rice hulls, pine sawdust, and perlite) were compared to produce sprout vegetables using beach silvertop (Glehnia littoralis Fr. Schm. ex...     

Evaluating differentially private decision tree model over model inversion attack

International Journal of Information Security - Machine learning techniques have been widely used and shown remarkable performance in various fields. Along with the widespread utilization of...     

Alkylated lignin with graft copolymerization for enhancing toughness of PLA

Journal of Materials Science - A green modification method for effectively enhancing toughness of PLA was established. Herein, alkaline lignin (LG) was firstly alkylated with dodecane, and then...     

Substrate temperature-controlled precursor reaction mechanism of PEALD-deposited MoOx thin films

Journal of Materials Science - Molybdenum oxide (MoOx) films had been grown by using plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) with Mo(CO)6 precursor and O2 plasma reactant in a substrate...     

Synthesis of Hollow Three-Dimensional Channels LiNi_(0.5)Mn_(1.5)O_4 Microsphere by PEO Soft Template Assisted with Solvothermal Method

A appropriate size with three-dimension(3 D) channels for lithium diffusion plays an important role in constructing highperforming LiNi_(0.5)Mn_(1.5)O_4(LNMO) cathode materials, as it can not only reduce the transport path of lithium ions and electrons, but also reduce the side effects and withstand the structural strain in the process of repetitive Li~+ intercalation/deintercalation. In this work, an e fficient method for designing the hollow LNMO microsphere with 3 D channels structure by using polyethylene oxide(PEO) as soft template agent assisted solvothermal method is proposed. Experimental results indicate that PEO can make the reagents mingle evenly and nucleate slowly in the solvothermal process, thus obtaining a homogeneous distribution of carbonate precursors. In the final LNMO products, the hollow 3 D channels structure obtained by the decomposition of PEO and carbonate precursor in the calcination can provide abundant electroactive zones and electron/ion transport paths during the charge/discharge process, which benefits to improve the cycling performance and rate capability. The LNMO prepared by adding 1 g PEO possesses the most outstanding electrochemical performance, which presented an excellent discharge capacity of 143.1 mAh g~(-1) at 0.1 C and with a capacity retention of 92.2% after 100 cycles at 1 C. The superior performance attributed to the 3 D channels structure of hollow microspheres, which provide uninterrupted conductive systems and therefore achieve the stable transfer for electron/ion.     

Synthesis and performance evaluation of a new drag reducer based on acrylamide/12-allyloxydodecyl acid sodium

Hydraulic fracturing with slickwater is a field-proven stimulation technology used in tight reservoirs. Because of the high pumping rate associated with slickwater fracturing, drag reduction (DR) is critical in minimizing pressure drop and the success of oilfield operations. In this paper, a new type of drag reducer (SPR) was synthesized with acrylamide and 12-allyloxydodecyl acid sodium, and its drag reduction performance was evaluated. The results showed that the new drag reducer features low molecular weight, fast-dissolving rate and low interfacial tension. The algorithm of estimating the drag reduction rate of non-Newtonian fluid SPR was proposed and validated. Empirical or semianalytical models for estimating the friction ratio (σ) or friction factor (λ or f) were used to simulate the turbulence behavior of the SPR drag reducer under different Reynolds numbers (Re). The modified Virk's correlation could accurately model the turbulent behavior of the SPR drag reducer. A unified calculation formula was established in this study for different pipe diameters.     

Transgenerational Effects of Di(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate on Anogenital Distance,Sperm Functions and DNA Methylation in Rat Offspring

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is widely used as a plasticizer in the manufacture of polyvinylchloride plastics and has been associated with concerns regarding male reproductive toxicity. In this study, we hypothesized that maternal exposure to DEHP induces transgenerational inheritance of adult-onset adverse reproductive outcomes through the male germline in the F1, F2, and F3 generations of male offspring. Pregnant rats were treated with 5 or 500 mg of DEHP/kg/day through gavage from gestation day 0 to birth. The offspring body weight, anogenital distance (AGD), anogenital index (AGI), sperm count, motility, and DNA fragmentation index (DFI) were measured for all generations. Methyl-CpG binding domain sequencing was performed to analyze sperm DNA methylation status in the F3. DEHP exposure at 500 mg/kg affected AGD, AGI, sperm count, mean DFI, and %DFI in the F1; AGD, sperm count, and mean DFI in the F2; and AGD, AGI, mean DFI, and %DFI in the F3. DEHP exposure at 5 mg/kg affected AGD, AGI, sperm count, and %DFI in the F1; sperm count in the F2; and AGD and AGI in F3. Compared with the control group, 15 and 45 differentially hypermethylated genes were identified in the groups administered 5 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg DEHP, respectively. Moreover, 130 and 6 differentially hypomethylated genes were observed in the groups administered 5 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg DEHP. Overall, these results demonstrated that prenatal exposure to DEHP caused transgenerational epigenetic effects, which may explain the observed phenotypic changes in the male reproductive system.     

Facile preparation and strong adhesive strength of honeycomb polyurethane films with small pore diameter

With the continuous development of bionics, such as, geckos and virginia creeper with both superhydrophobic and super-adhesive, the surface wetting and super-adhesive properties of various porous materials have attracted extensive attention of the scientific and medical communities. Here, the honeycomb polyurethane (PU) porous films with strong adhesion were successfully prepared by microphase separation method and the effects of growth parameters on their microstructure and adhesive strength to ice were investigated. It was found that a high relative humidity (e.g., 100%) and a low solution concentration (e.g., 2%) facilitated the formation of ordered honeycomb PU porous films, and as-prepared PU pores with average pore diameter as small as 5 μm are better ordered and more uniform than these in related documents. Although the contact angle of water droplets on the surface of PU porous films increased from the premodification value of 85–130° to more than 160° after surface modification with polydopamine (PDA), the corresponding rolling angle remained approximately constant (180°), indicating that the surface of PU porous films has strong adhesion similar to geckos and virginia creeper. Furthermore, at lower temperature, the PU porous films exhibited the high adhesive strength of 142.13 kPa on ice, which was strongly dependent on the porous microstructures and surface compositions. The improved adhesive behavior to ice of honeycomb PU porous films modified with PDA provides new strategies for surface modification of materials and potential applications in medical domain.     

Fabrication of oxide-based near infrared-shielding coatings for a smart window to prevent infrared-induced photoaging in human skin

Oxide-based near infrared (IR)-shielding coatings consisting of quarter‐wave stacks of oxygen-deficient tantalum oxide (Ta₂O_5?x) and silicon oxide (SiO₂) multilayers and tin-doped indium oxide (In₂O₃) (ITO) films with the thicknesses of 200–600 nm can block the passage of IR-A (wavelength: 760–1400 nm) and IR-B (wavelength: 1400–3000 nm) radiation, respectively. In this study, the optical properties and microstructure of these oxide-based IR-shielding coatings were investigated. Transmission electron microscopy images indicated that amorphous Ta₂O_5?x/amorphous SiO₂ multilayers were uniform and dense. ITO films were found to be highly crystalline and show carrier concentrations of up to 7.1 × 10²⁰ cm^?3, resulting in the strong IR-B optical absorption due to the plasma excitation of the free carriers. Oxide-based IR-shielding coatings with an ITO thickness of 420 nm were found to have near-IR shielding rates of >90% and an average visible light transmittance of >70%. The effects of IR on human keratinocytes were studied to evaluate the IR-induced photoaging in human skin. It was found that the downregulation of cellular proliferation and the enhancement of senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity induced by IR irradiation were significantly inhibited by oxide-based IR-shielding coatings. Thus, this study provides a facile method for the development of coatings for smart windows with high IR-shielding ability and high visible light transmittance.