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Fennel essential oil was encapsulated in β-cyclodextrin to prepare microcapsules (β-CD-FEO). Single-factor experiments and model fitting were used to optimise the microcapsules. When the optimal core/wall material ratio was 10:0.6, encapsulation time set as 90 min, and encapsulation temperature controlled at 60°C, an optimal encapsulation efficiency of 77.05 ± 0.14% can be obtained. Using β-CD-FEO blended with low acyl gellan gum (LA-GG) as main constituents, three-component coating solutions containing sodium alginate (SA), sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-Na), and konjac glucomannan (KGM) were investigated to evaluate their effect on the preservation of blueberries. Compared with the noncoated sample, coated blueberries showed excellent storage properties, especially KGM/LA-GG/β-CDs-FEO group had the highest sensory evaluation score under 25°C for 8 days. Therefore, KGM/LA-GG/β-CDs-FEO has potential application value in maintaining the quality of blueberries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/Background Pre-frailty is common in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). Without proper management, it can quickly worsen and progress into frailty, leading to various adverse clinical outcomes. Therefore, timely interventions for pre-frail MHD patients are crucial. However, the response of pre-frail MHD patients to such interventions is currently unclear. This study evaluated the effect of a multicomponent intervention on changes in pre-frailty status, risk factors for frailty, quality of life, and clinical outcomes in pre-frail patients undergoing MHD. Methods Sixty MHD patients were randomly assigned to intervention (received a 12-week multicomponent intervention) and control (received standard care) groups, with 30 participants per group, between February and May 2018. Data were collected at baseline and at 3 and 9 months thereafter. Analyzed outcomes included changes in pre-frailty status, frailty risk factors (such as albumin level, pain, and anxiety), quality of life, and clinical outcomes during the follow-up period. Results Data from a total of 58 MHD patients were collected at three time points. At week 12, frailty scores were 0.9 points lower in the intervention group compared to the control group (p = 0.007). The intervention group showed a 26.2% higher proportion of patients who improved from pre-frailty to non-frailty compared to the control group (p = 0.029), and a 25.9% lower proportion of patients who progressed from pre-frailty to frailty (p = 0.021). Additionally, improvements in albumin levels, pain, anxiety, and quality of life were more significant in the intervention group (all p < 0.05). Although there were fewer incidents of falls and rehospitalizations in the intervention group during follow-up, these differences did not reach statistical significance (all p > 0.05). Conclusion This study validates the effectiveness and practicality of a multicomponent intervention in improving pre-frailty status, frailty risk factors, and quality of life in patients undergoing MHD. Clinical Trial Registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-IOR-17012176). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lung injury (ALI) remains one of the most common complications of sepsis. Although many potential effective pharmacologic and ventilatory treatment strategies have been reported, there is still a lack of effective means of treatment of sepsis-induced ALI in the clinic. The aim of this study is to develop an easy-made endogenous bilirubin nanoparticle (BRNP) that could treat sepsis-induced ALI and investigate its underlying therapeutic mechanism. We prepared BRNP by bilirubin (BR) self-assembly and bovine serum albumin (BSA) coating with a simple one-pot nanoprecipitation method. BRNP holds good physical stability and could release BR in a sustained manner in a neutral medium but initiate a burst release in either acidic or oxidative conditions. In a sepsis murine model, BRNP could substantially alleviate the sepsis-induced lung injury, as evidenced by reduced histopathological changes of lung tissues and also reduced inflammation development. Mechanically, BRNP could alleviate the glycocalyx damage, inhibit the NF-κB pathway, and reduce proinflammatory factor release in vivo. This study provides a simple and robust BRNP to treat sepsis-induced ALI, which may pave the way to design multifunctional nanomedicine for clinical translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop straw returning to the field is an effective practice for straw utilization to improve soil fertility and sustain crop productivity. However, little information is available about the long-term effects of paddy straw return on soil properties and rice yield under a double-rice system. The objectives of this study were to test the hypothesis of the effects of different amounts of paddy straw returned to the field on soil physicochemical properties and rice yield, and to clarify the correlation between crop yield and soil physicochemical properties as well as quick-acting nutrients under different straw-returning modes. The experiment, initiated in the 2005 rice season, utilized "Xiang 45" and "Xiang 13" long-grained rice cultivars within a double-season rice cropping system. Three straw-returning treatments were implemented: rotary tillage with full rice straw incorporation (RTS), incorporation of one-third of the rice straw (1/3RTS), and incorporation of two-thirds of the rice straw (2/3RTS). This study found that among the three straw return rates, 2/3RTS had the most significant impact on soil physicochemical properties. Soil nitrogen content was identified as a crucial factor influencing soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation, while pH levels significantly affected rice yield. Straw incorporation effectively increased the content and stocks of SOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]