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The visual system is remarkably efficient at extracting regularities from the environment through statistical learning. While such extraction has extensive consequences on cognition, it is unclear how statistical learning shapes the representations of the individual objects that comprise the regularities. Here we examine how statistical learning alters object representations. In three experiments, participants were exposed to either random arrays containing objects in a random order, or structured arrays containing object pairs where two objects appeared next to each other in fixed spatial or temporal configurations. After exposure, one object in each pair was briefly presented and participants judged the location or the orientation of the object without seeing the other object in the pair. We found that when an object reliably appeared next to another object in space, it was judged as being closer to the other object in space even though the other object was never presented (Experiments 1 and 2)....

In this work, three methods were utilized to modify citrus fiber (CF), xylanase hydrolysis, combination of xylanase treatment and water media ball milling (WMBM) or dry micronization by ball mill (DMBM). The chemical composition results showed xylanase treatment could increase the content of soluble dietary fiber (SDF) from 10.31 to 19.12 g/100 g CF and decrease the cellulose content from 38.97 to 35.85 g/100 g as well as the hemicellulose content from 22.16 to 18.83 g/100 g. WMBM could further change the chemical components, while DMBM showed tiny effects. The physicochemical properties of all modified CF are higher than the raw material, especially the enzyme-WMBM treatment could significantly increase the water holding capacity (WHC) by 2.08-folds, the oil retention capacity (ORC) by 1.53-folds and the water swelling capacity (WSC) by 4.56-folds higher than the unmodified CF. Besides, the modifications improved the cholesterol adsorption capacity (CAC), the glucose adsorption (GAC) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of the CFs progressively. The FT-IR spectra showed no spectra transform but peak intensity changes in the three modified CFs, the crystalline decreased from 28.16% to 18.60% after xylanase treatment, while increased from 18.60% to 24.00% (19.05%) after WMBM (DMBM) treatment, the SEM results showed the structure of CFs became looser and more porous, the thermogravimetric analysis showed the thermal ability of CF was improved after the modifications. The modifications altered the distribution of monosaccharides of CF as well. Overall results suggest that the modifications could change the structure of CF, the xylanase and xylanase-WMBM treatment could effectively improve the hydration capacities of CF.

Licorice is the dried root of Glycyrrhiza plants, which have long been used as flavourings, sweeteners, demulcents and expectorants in Western countries; as anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory drugs in China and Japan; and as therapeutics for diseases, such as cancers, heart disease and diabetes, in Russia and Eastern Europe. Licorice extract powder is the aqueous extract of licorice. Lycyrrhizic acid and flavonoids are the main bioactive constituents of Licorice extract powder that have health functions. Two drying methods, vacuum drying and microwave-vacuum drying, were comparatively studied to determine their impact on the physicochemical and antioxidant capacity of licorice extract powder, including its water-solubility, hygroscopicity, flowability, compression moldability, disintegration time, GA and total flavonoids compound contents and antioxidant capacity. The results showed that the physicochemical and antioxidant capacity of licorice extract powder were affected by the drying method. Microwave-vacuum drying maintained the GA and flavonoids components contents as well as the antioxidant capacity and reduced hygroscopicity. However, microwave-vacuum dried powders had a lower water-dissolution and a longer disintegration time than powders tablets.

Scutellariae Radix (Labiatae family) is the dried root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, which is sometimes referred to as Huang Qin in Chinese. This root is an important traditional medicine in Asia to treat inflammatory and allergic diseases. Scutellaria extract is prepared from Scutellariae Radix, and it is an important intermediate for the preparation of many traditional Chinese medicine agents. For the preparation of Scutellaria extract, drying is an indispensable process, and two different drying methods, microwave-vacuum and vacuum drying, have been adopted in practical production. However, the effect of the two different drying methods on the physicochemical properties and biological activity of Scutellaria extract are largely unknown. Thus, in this paper, the drying kinetics and curve, the dissolution, the physicochemical properties and the antioxidant activity were assessed to evaluate the effect of the two different drying methods on Scutellaria extract powder. The results indicated that the microwave-vacuum drying has a significantly shorter drying time (9 to 13 min), a higher dissolution (34 ± 1.5%), a lower hygroscopicity (16.04 to 17.22%), a better flowability (the repose angle was 45.7 ± 1.2° to 46.6 ± 2.5°, compression degree was 38.7 ± 1.1 to 40.2 ± 0.6%) and formability (the tensile strength was 1.66 ± 0.07 to 1.83 ± 0.41 MPa), as well as higher antioxidant capacity (IC50 was 11.3 ± 0.5 to 11.8 ± 0.8 μg), than those of vacuum drying (130 to 150 min, 32 ± 1.3%, 19.74% to 20.02%, 48.2 ± 2.3° to 49.7 ± 2.2°, 51.6 ± 1.4% to 53.7 ± 1.9%, 1.57 ± 0.20 to 1.60 ± 0.36 MPa, 13.5 ± 0.9 to 13.9 ± 0.8 μg) (P 0.05). Thus, microwave-vacuum drying might be a good method for drying Scutellaria extract.

Background: The advantages of laparoscopic left-sided hepatectomy (LLH) for treating hepatolithiasis in terms of the time to postoperative length of hospital stay (LOS), morbidity, long-term abdominal wall hernias, hospital costs, residual stone rate and recurrence of calculus have not been confirmed by a randomized controlled trial. The aim of this trial is to compare the safety and effectiveness of LLH to those of open left-sided hepatectomy (OLH) for the treatment of hepatolithiasis. Methods: Patients with hepatolithiasis eligible for left-sided hepatectomy will be recruited. The experimental design will produce two randomized arms (laparoscopic and open hepatectomy) at a 1:1 ratio and a prospective registry. All patients will undergo surgery in the setting of an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program. The prospective registry will be based on patients who cannot be randomized because of the explicit treatment preference of the patient or surgeon or because of ineligibility (not meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria) for randomization in this trial. The primary outcome is the LOS. The secondary outcomes are percentage readmission, morbidity, mortality, hospital costs, long-term incidence of incisional hernias, residual stone rate and recurrence of calculus. It will be assumed that, in patients undergoing LLH, the length of hospital stay will be reduced by 1.3 days. A sample size of 44 patients in each randomization arm has been calculated as sufficient to detect a 1.3-day reduction in LOS (90% power and α = 0.05 (two-tailed)). The trial is a randomized controlled trial that will provide evidence for the merits of laparoscopic surgery in patients undergoing liver resection within an ERAS program. Discussion: Although the outcomes of LLH have been proven to be comparable to those of OLH in retrospective studies, the use of LLH remains restricted, partly due to the lack of short-and long-term informative RCTs pertaining to patients with hepatolithiasis in ERAS programs. To evaluate the surgical and long-term outcomes of LLH, we will perform a prospective RCT to compare LLH with OLH for hepatolithiasis within an ERAS program.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03958825. Registered on 21 May 2019.

The new style spectacle frame for eye moxibustion is designed, which is characterized by adjustable direction, constant temperature and smoke absorption. Combined with mechanical structure design and physical and chemical technology, a new style of moxibustion spectacle frame is designed by means of spring mechanism, damping bearing, filter cotton, etc. The moxibustion spectacle frame includes the right and left eye frames, spectacle legs, nose mask, eye mask, slide rod, screw rod, spring structure, damping bearing, support rod and pin. The eye mask can prevent from the risks induced by the burning moxa stick. A ventilate hole is designed in the lower part of the nose mask to keep breathing unobstructed. In the upper end of the ventilate hole, a filter cotton is placed to prevent from moxa smoke penetrating to the nasal cavity. The spring structure can keep relatively the fixed distance between the combustion area and the acupoints. Such device ensures the safety of eye moxibustion, reduces the complexity of operation and is suitable for moxibustion treatment for all kinds of eye diseases.

Pistacia lentiscus,which belongs to foreign medicine resources,is widely distributed in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern area. The essential oils are a mixture of several volatile compounds mainly monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes obtained from different parts of P. lentiscus by hydrodistillation. The variability of chemical composition,biological activities and content of essential oil is strongly affected by extraction technology,environmental and sex factors. It is indicated that essential oils of P. lentiscus have kinds of biological activities such as antibacterial,anticancer,anti-atherogenesis,antioxidant,anti-inflammatory and insecticidal activities.Many scholars hold the opinion that combination of different components with synergistic and/or additive actions should account for their biological activities. Due to its diverse efficacy and special taste,the essential oil of P. lentiscus has been extensively used in medicine,food and cosmetics industries. A mini review of chemical constituents and biological activities of essential oil of P. lentiscus in the past20 years is made here to provide valuable reference for the construction of " the Belt and Road".

In this research, citrus dietary fiber (CF) was modified by two methods, homogenization or alkalinehydrogenperoxide (chemical) treatment, to improve its physicochemical properties. The homogenization and chemical treatment highly increased the CF's water swelling capacity by 433% and 276%, respectively. The water holding capacity of CF significantly increased by 253% after homogenization and 197% after chemical treatment. Both treatments increased CF's total dietary fiber content and thermal stability. Moreover, the chemically treated CF thermal stability was higherthan the homogenized one. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed the modified CFs exhibited porous structure. XRD and NMR results showed that the CF's crystalline region could be disrupted by both treatments. Overall results suggest that the two treatments could effectivelyimprove CF physicochemical properties. The modified fibers might be potentially used as functional food ingredients.

Pectin is widely distributed in plant cell wall, most of which have limited emulsifying properties. Ethanol could alter the solubility of pectin, and affect its emulsifying properties. No creaming and breaking of emulsion appeared in 21% (v/v) ethanol contained emulsion. This project investigated the influence of ethanol (0%-35%, v/v) on conformation and emulsifying properties of pectin. Results shown that ethanol could reduce the helix conformation and zeta potential of pectin chain, which leading to compact conformation and enhanced interaction among pectin molecules. Although emulsion droplet diameter increased with ethanol content, the most stable emulsion was found in 21% (v/v) ethanol. CLSM also indicated over-aggregated pectin have a poor adsorption capacity on the interface of O/W. All results manifested the emulsifying properties of pectin can be improved by 21% (v/v) ethanol. This study provides a new strategy to improve the emulsifying property of pectin by changing its conformation.

Goal-directed navigation requires learning strategies that are efficient and minimize costs. In some cases it may be desirable to flexibly adjust behavioral responses depending on the cues that vary from one episode to the next. In others, successful navigation might be achieved with inflexible, habit-like responses that reduce cognitive load. Adult neurogenesis is believed to contribute to the spatial processing functions of the hippocampus, particularly when behavioral flexibility is required. However, little is known about the role of neurogenesis in spatial navigation when goals are unpredictable or change according to certain rules. We hypothesized that neurogenesis is necessary in a spatial navigation task that involves different patterns of reinforcement. Intact and neurogenesis-deficient rats were trained to escape to one of two possible platform locations in a spatial water maze. The platform either repeated in the same location for all trials in a day, alternated between two locations across trials, or randomly moved between the two locations. Neurogenesis selectively enhanced escape performance in the alternating condition, but not by improving platform choice accuracy. Instead, neurogenesis-intact rats made fewer search errors and developed an efficient habit-like strategy where they consistently swam to a preferred location. If the platform was not present, they proceeded to the other possible location. In contrast, neurogenesis-deficient rats were indecisive and navigationally less-efficient. Thus, in conditions where goals follow a predictable spatiotemporal pattern, adult neurogenesis promotes the adoption of navigation strategies that are spatially nonspecific but, nonetheless, accurate and efficient.

In 25% (v/v) ethanol system, an acid induced pectin gelling mechanism was proposed in this study, which could be used to construct emulsion gel system. FT-IR, GPC, and monosaccharides analysis were used to investigated the structure of pectins. HMP and LMP are different in molecular wight and chain structure, and HMP shows excellent gelling property. Intermolecular interaction of acid/ethanol induced HMP gel was investigated with SDS, Urea, and shifted pH. Those results indicated HMP has larger molecular wight, more neutral sugar side chain, and lower zeta potential than LMP, which facilitates the construction of compact gel network. LMP and HMP emulsions with 25% (v/v) ethanol were prepared and HMP emulsions with different oil volume fractions (Φ 0.2–0.75) exhibit gelling properties. Furthermore, the compact structure of HMP gel is stable during the freeze-thaw cycle which improved the freeze-thaw stability of pectin emulsions.

In this study, oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by citrus fiber were prepared and characterized. We found that citrus fiber can produce stable gel-like, surfactant-free O/W emulsions with microscale droplet sizes at fiber concentrations upon 2% (W/V) using 25% (V/V) oil. The interfacial framework, citrus fiber partition between the continuous phase and state of the droplets of emulsions were visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), confirming that in addition to Pickering stabilization, the citrus fiber-based network also contributed to stabilization of the emulsions. The citrus fiber-stabilized emulsion is typical non-Newtonian fluid and its interfacial viscosity is not influenced obviously by changing pH from 2 to 10, ionic strength of NaCl from 0.00 to 1.00 mol/L or temperature from −20 to 70 °C. The acquired findings in this study show that citrus fiber can fabricate Pickering emulsions with excellent stability and solve the problem of resource waste during the pectin produce process.

Soybean soluble polysaccharide (SSPS) is anionic polysaccharide extracted from the by-product of isolated soy protein production. In this study, a simple and eco-friendly procedure had been developed to prepare high-molecular-weight octenyl succinic esters of SSPS (OSA-SSPS) via the esterification between SSPS and octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA). The absolute molecular weights of OSA-SSPS and SSPS were 620 kDa and 53 kDa, respectively. OSA-SSPS had some similar properties to SSPS, such as microstructure and viscosity of 1 wt% concentration. However, compared to SSPS, OSA-SSPS showed different milk protein stabilization properties. The stabilizing behavior of OSA-SSPS was better than that of SSPS at pH range of 3.8–4.6, and poorer at pH 3.6. The model mixture of OSA-SSPS had smaller particle sizes at pH range of 3.8–4.6 and larger absolute negative charges at pH 2.0–10.0. In addition, from the molecular diameter measured by DLS and AFM image, the surface concentration of OSA-SSPS was larger than that of SSPS, which indicated that the thicker OSA-SSPS layer produces larger steric repulsion to milk protein particles. The mechanism for the greater ability of OSA-SSPS to stabilize milk proteins was proposed on the basis of the results discussed in this research.

In this paper, we demonstrate for the first time the use of gliadin colloid particles (GCPs) as an effective particulate stabilizer of oil-in-water emulsions of natural oils and water. For this purpose, we fabricated GCPs through a facile anti-solvent precipitation procedure and demonstrated their uses in the formation of Pickering emulsions as well as Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). We found that unmodified GCPs can produce stable, surfactant-free o/w emulsions with microscale droplet sizes under experimental mixing conditions at pH 4 and above. In contrast, the emulsions were not stable against coalescence at ∼pH 3.0. The microstructures, e.g., interfacial framework, GCPs partition between the continuous phase and interfacial region, and state of the droplets, of Pickering emulsions as a function of pH were visualized by optical microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), confirming that in addition to Pickering stabilization, the GCPs-based network and/or dispersed droplets-based network also contributed to the stabilization of the emulsions, in a pH-dependent manner. Clear correlations exist between colloid properties of the GCPs dispersions and the emulsion characteristics. Interestingly, stable surfactant-free Pickering HIPEs were fabricated by a facile shearing emulsification. This study opens a promising route based on Pickering HIPEs to transform liquid oils into viscoelastic emulsion gels with zero trans-fat and less saturated fat. The Pickering HIPEs possess promising potentials to replace solid fat in food formulations, which outline new directions for future fundamental research.

This research presents a green procedure to prepare oil in water (O/W) emulsion from acid soluble soy protein (ASSP) and soy soluble polysaccharide (SSPS), a long-term stable nanoscale system for delivering the lipophilic components. The emulsion technique involved the preparation complexion using ASSP and SSPS by electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions as well as high pressure homogenization. The average diameter of the droplet of emulsions (fresh and heated) is 263±2nm. Such emulsions resulted in heating stable dispersions containing corn oil at the concentration of 20.0%, even at the pH around the isoelectric points of ASSP. After 90days storage at 4°C, the mean diameter of emulsions after heating at 80°C for 60min is 314±1nm compared with 341±3nm of emulsions unheated. The heat-stability of dispersions were affected by emulsion conditions, so the present research demonstrates the emulsion stability against heat treatment, ionic strength and pH change.

The structural responses of soy protein isolate under various processing conditions are of practically important for broadening its functionalities. In this work, multilevel structural responses of β-conglycinin and glycinin under acidic or alkaline heat treatment were investigated. Our results suggested that heat treatment under acidic (i.e., pH2.5) or alkaline (i.e., pH8.5) conditions induced multilevel structural responses of β-conglycinin and glycinin: under acidic heat treatment, both β-conglycinin and glycinin underwent hydrolysis and experienced disruption and reorganization in ordered secondary structure. This process was accompanied with changes in tertiary structure where previously buried regions were exposed to the aqueous phase to different extent. Small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) results indicated that the protein conformations evolved from globular ones to elongated ellipsoids, with a more remarkable elongation effect in glycinin than β-conglycinin. Upon solvent evaporation, β-conglycinin favored aggregation with a low "lateral to vertical ratio", glycinin tended to aggregate in a high "lateral to vertical ratio" style. In contrast, alkaline heat treatment did not induce hydrolysis but disturbed the secondary structure instead. The protein monomers maintained the globular conformation and assembled into irregular large aggregates during solvent evaporation. Under either treatment, glycinin responded more sensitively than β-conglycinin at all structure levels. The observed multi-level structural responses can be used to guide the rational modification of soy protein isolate with controlled conformation.

Rutin is a common dietary flavonoid with important antioxidant and pharmacological activities. However, its application in the food industry is limited mainly because of its poor water solubility. The subcritical water (SW) treatment provides an efficient technique to solubilize and achieve the enrichment of rutin in soy protein isolate (SPI) by inducing their complexation. The physicochemical, interfacial, and emulsifying properties of the complex were investigated and compared to the mixtures. SW treatment had much enhanced rutin-combined capacity of SPI than that of conventional method, ascribing to the well-contacted for higher water solubility of rutin with stronger collision-induced hydrophobic interactions. Compared to the mixtures of rutin with proteins, the complex exhibited an excellent surface activity and improved the physical and oxidative stability of its stabilized emulsions. This improving effect could be attributed to the targeted accumulation of rutin at the oil-water interface accompanied by the adsorption of SPI resulting in the thicker interfacial layer, as evidenced by higher interfacial protein and rutin concentrations. This study provides a novel strategy for the design and enrichment of nanovehicle providing water-insoluble hydrophobic polyphenols for interfacial delivery in food emulsified systems.

In this work, a two-step strategy for fabricating soy protein-based microgel particles was introduced. Gel preparation and homogenization made up the two steps. Microgel particles with nano-scale size were obtained by homogenizing the hydrogel made from soy protein isolate (SPI) with the addition of microbial transglutaminase (MTGase). Colloidal stability, surface hydrophobicity and interfacial properties of the microgel particles were systematically investigated. We confirmed that the microgels had a more rigid conformation when compared to that of SPI, which was attributed to the covalent cross-links inside the microgels formed during gel preparation. By comparison with SPI, the microgel particles with three-phase contact angles more close to 90° exhibited lower surface activity, weaker intermolecular interactions at the interface. We found that most of the microgels adsorbed at the interface and stabilize Pickering type oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion at the pH around the isoelectric point of SPI. The resulting emulsion had good storage stability for 8 weeks. This preparation method, which requires simple operation and common devices, provides a new perspective of fabricating edible functional particulates for food industry.

Pectin-rich dietary fibers were prepared from citrus peel through alkaline hydrogen peroxide treatment (AHP-CF) or homogenization treatment (H-CF). Structural and physicochemical properties of the citrus fibers were evaluated and compared with a commercial one (Fiberstar). Results showed that pectin content of citrus fibers (CF) increased from 15.23% to 21.52% and 26.79% after AHP and homogenization treatment. AHP-CF had the highest water-holding capacity (WHC) (21.32 g/g), water-swelling capacity (WSC) (32.70 mL/g) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) (1.02 Meq/g) among the fibers. SEM results showed porous or wrinkled surface of the treated CFs. XRD and TG analysis indicated that AHP treatment increased the crystallinity and thermal stability of CF while homogenization treatment was the opposite. Besides, H-CF had similar chemical component, oil-holding capacity and CEC with Fiberstar but higher WHC, WSC and thermal stability. These results suggested that AHP-CF and H-CF might be suitable to be an additive used in functional food.

In this research, the citrus fiber was modified by the alkali combined with high-speed homogenization (chemo-mechanical treatment) to improve its functional properties. The singly alkaline treated fiber was also evaluated to help us better understand the chemo-mechanical treatment's effect on citrus fiber. We compared the properties of modified citrus fibers with the untreated one and a commercial one (AQ Plus) which had excellent water holding capacity. The chemo-mechanical treated fiber's water swelling capacity was significantly improved to 35.56 mL/g (from 4.86 mL/g), higher than that of AQ Plus (28.25 mL/g). Its water holding capacity was increased to 25.52 g/g from 8.24 g/g, similar to that of AQ Plus (25.28 g/g). The chemo-mechanical treatment destroyed the citrus fiber's crystalline region, helped it form a rougher surface and porous inner structure, increased its soluble dietary fiber content and exposed more hydrogen bonds to water. Citrus fiber obtained from this chemo-mechanical method could be potentially used as food ingredients.

The creation of new neurons in adulthood has potential for treating a number of disorders that are characterized by neurodegeneration or impaired plasticity. Animal models of reduced neurogenesis, and studies of the volume and structural integrity of the hippocampus in humans, suggest a possible therapeutic role for adult neurogenesis in age-related cognitive decline, depression, and schizophrenia. Research over the past 20 years has identified a number of approaches for enhancing adult neurogenesis, such as exercise, NMDA receptor antagonists, antidepressant drugs and environmental enrichment. However, despite the chronic nature of many disorders that impact the human hippocampus, most animal studies have only examined the efficacy of neurogenic treatments over relatively short timescales (∼1 month or less). Additionally, investigations into the regulation of neurogenesis typically include only 1 sex, even though many disorders that affect the hippocampus differentially impact males and females. Here, we therefore tested whether two known pro-neurogenic treatments, running and the NMDA receptor antagonist, memantine, could lead to long-term increases in neurogenesis in male and female rats. We found that continuous access to a running wheel (cRUN) initially increased neurogenesis in both sexes, but effects were minimal after 1 month (both sexes) and completely absent after 5 months (males). Similarly, a single injection of memantine (sMEM) only transiently increased adult neurogenesis in both males and females. To determine whether extended increases in neurogenesis were possible with 2 months of RUN and MEM treatments, we subjected rats to interval running (iRUN), weekly memantine injections (mMEM), or combined treatments (iRUN-mMEM, mMEM-iRUN). We found that 2 months of iRUN increased DCX+ cell density in females but iRUN-mMEM treatment increased DCX+ cell density in males. However, analyses with thymidine analogs revealed that neurogenesis was minimally increased during the initial phases of the 2 month treatments. Collectively, our findings identify sex differences in the efficacy of neurogenic manipulations, which may be relevant for designing plasticity-promoting treatments that target the hippocampus.

Numerical information can be perceived at multiple levels (e.g., one bird, or a flock of birds). The level of input has typically been defined by explicit grouping cues, such as contours or connecting lines. Here we examine how regularities of object co-occurrences shape numerosity perception in the absence of explicit grouping cues. Participants estimated the number of colored circles in an array. We found that estimates were lower in arrays containing colors that consistently appeared next to each other across the experiment, even though participants were not explicitly aware of the color pairs (Experiments 1a and 1b). To provide support for grouping, we introduced color duplicates and found that estimates were lower in arrays with two identical colors (Experiment 2). The underestimation could not be explained by increased attention to individual objects (Experiment 3). These results suggest that statistical regularities reduce perceived numerosity consistent with a grouping mechanism.

Protease prehydrolysis followed by subcritical water (SW) treatment was carried out to extract protein from heat-denatured soy meal. The composition, physicochemical, interfacial and emulsifying properties of soy protein isolate (SPI) were evaluated. A significant increase in extraction yield was observed although protein purity was decreased with prolonged hydrolysis. Due to contaminated β-glucosidase in protease from Aspergillus oryzae, Maillard reaction and the conversion of isoflavone glycosides into aglycones occurred, leading to the enrichment of aglycones in SPI. Compared to native SPI, enzyme-assisted SW-prepared SPI exhibited higher hydrophobic amino acids, surface hydrophobicity, and interfacial adsorption due to protein unfolding, accompanied by the formation of small soluble aggregates. Additionly, remarkable improvements of emulsifying ability and physical stability of emulsion were probably associated with higher surface protein loads. These results could develop a feasible protocol for producing nutrient-enhanced soy proteins with excellent emulsifying properties as novel functional ingredients applied in food industry.

The preparation of soy β-conglycinin-dextran nanogels (∼90 nm) went through two stages, which are safe, facile, and green. First, amphiphilic graft copolymers were formed by dextran covalently attaching to β-conglycinin via Maillard dry-heating reaction. Second, the synthesized conjugates were heated above the denaturation temperature at the isoelectric point (pH4.8) so as to assemble nanogels. The effects of pH, concentration, heating temperature, and time on the fabrication of nanogels were examined. The morphology study displayed that the nanogels exhibited spherical shape with core-shell structures, which was reconfirmed by zeta-potential investigation. Both circular dichroism spectra and surface hydrophobicity analyses indicated that the conformations of β-conglycinin in the core of nanogels were changed, and the latter experiment further revealed that the hydrophobic groups of β-conglycinin were exposed to the surface of protein. The nanogels were stable against various conditions and might be useful to deliver hydrophobic bioactive compounds.

Given two closed, in general unbounded, operators A and C, we investigate the left invertible completion of the partial operator matrix $$\left( {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} A&? \\ 0&C \end{array}} \right)$$ . Based on the space decomposition technique, the alternative sufficient and necessary conditions are given according to whether the dimension of $$\mathcal{R}(A)^ \bot$$ is finite or infinite. As a direct consequence, the perturbation of left spectra is further presented.

Anion- and solvent-induced single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation within an iron(II) triazole system has been generated from {[Fe(TPPT)

Aims Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of cardiovascular disease, such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Previous study revealed that microRNA (miR)-134 promotes lipid accumulation and proinflammatory cytokine secretion through angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4)/lipid lipoprotein (LPL) signaling in THP-1 macrophages. Methods ApoE KO male mice on a C57BL/6 background were fed a high-fat/high-cholesterol Western diet, from 8 to 16 weeks of age. Mice were divided into four groups, and received a tail vein injection of miR-134 agomir, miR-134 antagomir, or one of the corresponding controls, respectively, once every 2 weeks after starting the Western diet. After 8 weeks we measured aortic atherosclerosis, LPL Activity, mRNA and protein levels of ANGPTL4 and LPL, LPL/ low-density lipoprotein receptor related protein 1 Complex Formation, proinflammatory cytokine secretion and lipid levels. Results Despite this finding, the influence of miR-134 on atherosclerosis in vivo remains to be determined. Using the well-characterized mouse atherosclerosis model of apolipoprotein E knockout, we found that systemic delivery of miR-134 agomir markedly enhanced the atherosclerotic lesion size, together with a significant increase in proinflammatory cytokine secretion and peritoneal macrophages lipid contents. Moreover, overexpression of miR-134 decreased ANGPTL4 expression but increased LPL expression and activity in both aortic tissues and peritoneal macrophages, which was accompanied by increased formation of LPL/low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 complexes in peritoneal macrophages. However, an opposite effect was observed in response to miR-134 antagomir. Conclusions These findings suggest that miR-134 accelerates atherogenesis by promoting lipid accumulation and proinflammatory cytokine secretion via the ANGPTL4/LPL pathway. Therefore, targeting miR-134 may offer a promising strategy for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Binary information is prevalent in the environment and contains 2 distinct outcomes. Binary sequences consist of a mixture of alternation and repetition. Understanding how people perceive such sequences would contribute to a general theory of information processing. In this study, we examined how people process alternation and repetition in binary sequences. Across 4 paradigms involving estimation, working memory, change detection, and visual search, we found that the number of alternations is underestimated compared with repetitions (Experiment 1). Moreover, recall for binary sequences deteriorates as the sequence alternates more (Experiment 2). Changes in bits are also harder to detect as the sequence alternates more (Experiment 3). Finally, visual targets superimposed on bits of a binary sequence take longer to process as alternation increases (Experiment 4). Overall, our results indicate that compared with repetition, alternation in a binary sequence is less salient in the sense of requiring more attention for successful encoding. The current study thus reveals the cognitive constraints in the representation of alternation and provides a new explanation for the overalternation bias in randomness perception. (PsycINFO Database Record

Diamond faceting is an important process of precious metal jewelry.Now it mainly rely on traditional processing methods to operate manual processing, but the pattern processed by manual is poor quality, consistency, and it also requires workers to have higher operating techniques and experience. What’s more, after long continuous work, workers’ body will cause some damage. This article develops a five-axis CNC diamond faceting machine based on Solidworks platform, introduces the design of each axis of the machine and describes the research of the tool path algorithm on the surface of jewelry and completes the parametric equations’ derivation of space curve in the surface of ellipsoid, finally use MATLAB GUI module to write the tool path generation software.