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SiC composite ceramics for solar absorber and storage integration are new concentrating solar power materials. SiC composite ceramics for solar absorber and storage integration were fabricated using SiC, black corundum and kaolin as the raw materials, Co2O3 as the additive via pressureless graphite-buried sintering method in this study. Influences of Co2O3 on the microstructure and properties of SiC composite ceramics for solar absorber and storage integration were studied. The results indicate that sample D2 (5wt% Co2O3) sintered at 1 480 °C exhibits optimal performances for 119.91 MPa bending strength, 93% solar absorption, 981.5 kJ/kg (25–800 °C) thermal storage density. The weight gain ratio is 12.58 mg/cm2 after 100 h oxidation at 1 000 °C. The Co2O3 can decrease the liquid phase formation temperature and reduce the viscosity of liquid phase during sintering. The liquid with low viscosity not only promotes the elimination of pores to achieve densification, but also increases bending strength, solar absorption, thermal storage density and oxidation resistance. A dense SiO2 layer was formed on the surface of SiC after 100 h oxidation at 1 000 °C, which protects the sample from further oxidation. However, excessive Co2O3 will make the microstructure loose, which is disadvantageous to the performances of samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the performance and feasibility of magnesia‐alumina spinel (MgAl2O4) ceramics for thermal storage in solar thermal power generation, MgAl2O4 was prepared by theoretical composition using α‐Al2O3 as aluminium source, fused magnesia, magnesite, and light burned magnesia as different magnesium sources and kaolin as additive. The effects of magnesium source and the additive on sintering properties, thermal shock resistance and thermal properties of MgAl2O4 ceramics were researched. The results shown sample A1 (with fused magnesia) sintered at 1670°C possessed the optimum comprehensive properties, the bending strength increased by 7.71% after 30 thermal shock times (room temperature‐1000°C, air cooling), the specific heat capacity was 1.05 J/ (g·K). Therefore, the MgAl2O4 ceramics exhibited great potential in high‐temperature thermal storage material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selecting suitable ceramic powders for the preparation of UV‐curable ceramic suspensions, which are well suited for printing processes and production of high‐performance ceramic components, is a crucial factor in the practical industrial application of digital light processing (DLP) stereolithography. Therefore, this study aims to provide a comprehensive evaluation of alumina ceramic parts fabricated via DLP stereolithography using a variety of alumina powders with varying sizes and morphologies. Experiments were conducted to examine the rheological response, recoating performance, and curing behavior of UV‐curable alumina suspensions. Additionally, the thermal decomposition behavior of three‐dimensional (3D)‐printed green‐bodies, as well as the physical and mechanical properties of 3D‐printed sintered alumina components were thoroughly investigated. The best physical and mechanical performances were achieved by printing 55 vol% suspensions prepared using near‐spherical AA04 alumina powders (median diameter.4 μm). This study elucidates the effects of ceramic particle size and morphology on the entire technological process of DLP‐based ceramic stereolithography, thereby establishing the guidelines for the fabrication of high‐performance 3D‐printed ceramic objects in industrial and engineering production by selecting appropriate ceramic powders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pristimerin has been shown to possess antiinflammatory activity. However, its potential use for asthma induced by airway inflammation has not yet been studied. First, we established a ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic asthma mice model. BALB/c mice were immunized and challenged by OVA. Treatment with pristimerin caused a marked reduction in the levels of OVA-specific IgE, immune cells, and IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 secretion. Histological studies using H&E staining were used to study the alterations in lung tissue. These results were similar to those obtained with dexamethasone treatment. We then investigated which signal transduction mechanisms could be implicated in pristimerin activity by Western blot. The data showed that pristimerin could inhibit MAPKs and NF-κB inflammatory pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Molten salts are ideal high-temperature thermal energy storage materials for solar energy generation; however, disadvantages such as leakage, corrosive behavior, and low thermal conductivity limit their widespread application. The use of ceramic skeletons to encapsulate molten salts by the mixing-sintering method is a promising approach to overcome the above shortcomings. However, the CPCMs fabricated by the mixing-sintering method usually have high porosity and are easily deformed at temperatures above the melting point of the loaded salt. In this study, two solid wastes, ferrotitanium slag and waste glass, were first used as skeleton materials to encapsulate molten Na 2 SO 4 –NaCl salt; herein, waste glass was also introduced as a modifier to promote the sinterability and thermal stability of the CPCMs. The results demonstrated that the waste glass addition not only improved the sinterability via the viscous flow mechanism but also enhanced the compressive strength, thermal conductivity, thermal cycling stability, and high-temperature structural stability of the CPCMs. Additionally, ferrotitanium slag had good compatibility with the Na 2 SO 4 –NaCl salt. The waste glass reacted with the molten salt to form a new compound, (Na 0.8 Ca 0.1) 2 SO 4. Although the synthesis of (Na 0.8 Ca 0.1) 2 SO 4 increased the melting temperature of the CPCMs by 3–4 °C, it improved the melting enthalpy of the CPCMs that was beneficial for compensating the salt loss during thermal cycling. In summary, an eco-friendly and low-cost thermal energy storage material was developed in this study, and more importantly, a promising approach to improve the sinterability and thermal stability of CPCMs was proposed. • Ferrotitanium slag and waste glass were successfully used as skeleton materials. • Ferrotitanium slag had excellent chemical compatibility with molten NaCl–Na 2 SO 4. • Sinterability of the CPCMs can be promoted by the viscous flow mechanism of glass. • Waste glass addition improved the high-temperature structural stability of the CPCMs. • Latent heat and melting temperature of the CPCMs had good thermal cycling stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed was to explore the hepatoprotective potential of soybean meal peptides (SPs) against alcohol-induced liver injury and investigate the underlying mechanisms through transcriptome analysis. The chemical antioxidant analysis of SPs exhibited potent ABTS radical scavenging capacity (11.94 ± 0.41 mg TE/100 mg peptide), ferric reducing antioxidant power (6.42 ± 0.32 mmol Fe2+/100 mg peptide), and oxygen radical absorption capacity (14.78 ± 0.01 mg TE/100 mg peptide). Moreover, SPs increased cell viability and reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species levels in Caco-2 cells by H 2 O 2 -induced, and without cytotoxicity. In the mice model, preintervention with SPs reduced the levels of aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase, total cholesterol, triglyceride and malondialdehyde by alcohol-induced, meanwhile, increased the levels of total superoxide dismutase, glutathione and catalase by alcohol-induced. Histological analysis showed that SPs alleviated the liver injury by alcohol-induced and no toxic effects on the kidneys. According to transcriptome analysis, 1737 genes were significantly differentially expressed (1076 up-regulated and 661 down-regulated) after SPs pretreatment. The main functions of these genes were related to inflammation, lipid metabolism and oxidation. The findings from the present study suggested that SPs produced positive hepatoprotection and showed potential to be used as a dietary supplement or an ingredient of functional food. [Display omitted] SPs performed superior antioxidant activities both in vitro and in vivo. SPs has no toxic effects on Caco-2 cells and kidneys. Preintervention of SPs alleviated alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. SPs exhibited hepatoprotective effect by regulating genes related to inflammation, lipid metabolism and oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the effects of different caffeic acid (CA) concentrations on the ovalbumin structure and foaming properties. When the concentration of CA was 0.18 mg/mL, the surface hydrophobicity of ovalbumin decreased from 705.37 to 542.79, the sulfhydryl content decreased from 4.15 μmol/g to 2.26 μmol/g, and the foaming ability and stability increased by 72% and 71%, respectively. We observed that hydrophobic interactions represented the main binding force between CA and ovalbumin. Using circular dichroism spectroscopy (α-Helix increased from 7.2% to 13.9%) and endogenous fluorescence spectra (Reduction of fluorescence intensity and redshift), it showed that CA affected the secondary and tertiary ovalbumin structure, thus increasing the flexible structure. The increase in particle size Increased from 10.26 nm to 65.97 nm indicated that CA acted as a crosslinking agent between the ovalbumin molecules and increased the viscosity of the system through hydrophobic interactions. Although the increase in ovalbumin aggregation and the decrease in hydrophobicity were not conducive to the foaming properties of ovalbumin solutions, the increase in solubility, absolute potential, and flexible molecular structure contributed to the improvement of the foaming properties. All results showed that CA could improve the foaming properties of ovalbumin, a potential food-grade foaming agent. • Caffeic aicd (CA) enhanced the foaming properties of ovalbumin (OVA). • CA decreased the surface hydrophobicity and changed the conformation of OVA. • CA played as a cross linker and improved the viscosity of OVA. • The major OVA- CA interaction was hydrophobic bonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, oral deliverable strategies of multiple nutraceuticals for ulcerative colitis (UC) mitigation have attracted increasing attention. This study aimed to fabricate facile oral assemblies loaded with egg-white-derived peptides (EWDP) and curcumin based on carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) and an γ-cyclodextrin metal-organic framework (MOF). Herein, outer CMCS could coassemble with EWDP (both nutraceuticals and building blocks) into cobweb-like fibrils to promote bridging with inner MOF via coordinative noncovalent interactions (hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interaction, and electrostatic interaction). Compared with conventional γ-cyclodextrin/MOF-based composites, the above coassembly could also endow the biocompatible assemblies with superior nanoscale colloidal properties, processing applicability (curcumin storage stability, bioaccessibility, and aqueous solubility), and bioactivity. Moreover, the oral synergism of EWDP and curcumin (initially nonsynergistic) for UC mitigation was achieved by alleviating inflammatory damage and gut microbiota imbalance. Overall, the novel assemblies could be a promising amplifier and platform to facilitate oral formulations of various nutraceuticals for food processing and UC relief.

Introduction: Lung cancer is the most frequent cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Exosomes are involved in different types of cancer, including lung cancer. Methods: We collected saliva from patients with (LC) or without (NC) lung cancer and successfully isolated salivary exosomes by ultracentrifugation. MiRNA sequencing was implemented for the exosome samples from NC and LC groups, dgeR was used to determine differentially expressed miRNAs (DE miRNAs), and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to verify three differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs). Results: A total of 372 miRNAs were identified based on the sequencing results. Subsequently, 15 DE miRNAs were identified in LC vs. NC, including eight upregulated miRNAs and seven downregulated miRNAs. Some DE miRNAs were validated via qPCR. A total of 488 putative target genes of the upregulated DE miRNAs were found, and the functional analyses indicated that numerous target genes were enriched in the pathways associated with cancer. Discussion: This suggests that miRNAs of salivary exosomes might have the potential to be used as biomarkers for prediction and diagnosis of lung cancer., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Liu, Yu, Bu, Xiao, Ma, Chen and Qu.)

The objective of this paper was to investigate the effects of terminal amino acids on the transport of oligopeptides across the Caco-2 cell monolayer. Ala-based tetra- and pentapeptides were designed, and the N- or C-terminal amino acid residues were replaced by different amino acids. The results showed that the oligopeptides had a wide range of transport permeability across the Caco-2 cell monolayer and could be divided into four categories: non-/poor permeability, low permeability, intermediate permeability, and good permeability. Tetrapeptides with N-terminal Leu, Pro, Ile, Cys, Met, and Val or C-terminal Val showed the highest permeability, with apparent permeability coefficient (P app ) values over 10 × 10 -6 cm/s (p < 0.05), suggesting that nonpolar hydrophobic aliphatic amino acids or polar sulfur-containing amino acids were the best for the transport of tetrapeptides. Pentapeptides with N- or C-terminal Tyr also showed high permeability levels, with P app values of about 10 × 10 -6 cm/s. The amino acids Glu, Asn, and Thr at the N terminus or Lys, Asp, and Arg at the C terminus were also beneficial for the transport of tetra- and pentapeptides, with P app values ranging from 1 × 10 -6 to 10 × 10 -6 cm/s. In addition, peptides with amino acids replaced at the N terminus generally showed higher permeability than those with amino acids replaced at the C terminus (p < 0.05), suggesting that N-terminal amino acids were more important for the transport of oligopeptides across the Caco-2 cell monolayer.