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Phenoxy resin reacted with a toluene diisocynate-terminated polyurethane prepolymer forming a reinforced thermosetting plastic by static casting. We investigated the effects of the process conditions including crosslinking time, crosslinking temperature, and isocyanate index (I) on the mechanical property and heat resistance of the crosslinked product. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), and a material testing machine were used to characterize and test the reinforced phenoxy resin. The results show that the maximum tensile strength is 71.8, 63, 41.9 MPa and breaking extension is 6.3%, 325%, 418.8% in I of 0.04, 0.16, 0.28, respectively, under the conditions of optimal crosslinking temperature of 100°C and appropriate crosslinking time of 0.5-2 h. The heat resistance of crosslinked phenoxy resin deteriorates with the increase of I. The all-round properties are optimum in I of 0.16 and isocyanate index decides the reinforced product property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial expression recognition is a current research hotspot and can be applied to computer vision fields such as human-computer interaction and affective computing. The lack of diversity and category recognition information in the neural network input may affect the performance of the network, resulting in insufficient extraction of facial expression features. In order to address the above problems, a lightweight deep convolution neural network with convolution block attention module is proposed in this paper. The implementation of the lightweight DNN relies on the use of deep separable convolution and residual blocks. The combination of the convolution block attention module and the improved classification function can optimize the lightweight model. We use accuracy and confusion matrix to evaluate different models, ultimately achieving 71.5% and 99.5% accuracy on the Fer2013 and CK+ datasets respectively. The experimental results show that our model has good feature representation capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing demand of location-based services, neural network (NN)-based intelligent indoor localization has attracted great interest due to its high localization accuracy. However, deep NNs are usually affected by degradation and gradient vanishing. To fill this gap, we propose a novel indoor localization system, including denoising NN and residual network (ResNet), to predict the location of moving object by the channel state information (CSI). In the ResNet, to prevent overfitting, we replace all the residual blocks by the stochastic residual blocks. Specially, we explore the long-range stochastic shortcut connection (LRSSC) to solve the degradation problem and gradient vanishing. To obtain a large receptive field without losing information, we leverage the dilated convolution at the rear of the ResNet. Experimental results are presented to confirm that our system outperforms state-of-the-art methods in a representative indoor environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aimed to enhance the emulsifying properties of sugar beet pectin (SBP) by adopting a crosslinking strategy that covalently bridged the amino groups (–NH 2) of lysine residues of the proteinaceous moiety using genipin (GP) as the crosslinker. Compared to control-SBP (C-SBP), GP crosslinked SBP (G-SBP) was larger in molecular weight (from 3.04 × 105 g/mol to 1.31 × 106 g/mol) and mean radius of gyration (from 34.8 nm to 39.2 nm), and showed a more compact conformation, as supported by analysis of high-performance size exclusion chromatography coupled with multiple angle light scattering (SEC-MALLS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). G-SBP was featured by a new absorbance peak at ~595 nm, resulting in a distinct blue color of the aqueous solution. G-SBP suffered a slight decrease in interfacial properties and emulsifying activities in comparison to C-SBP, leading to a lower specific surface area and a larger volume-weighted mean diameter (d 4,3) for the fresh emulsion. Nevertheless, the G-SBP stabilized emulsion was more stable than the C-SBP stabilized emulsion during storage for 21 d with d 4,3 increasing from 0.541 μm and 0.425 μm to 0.625 μm and 1.66 μm for G-SBP and C-SBP, respectively. The improved emulsifying stability of G-SBP can be ascribed to the combination of the following two aspects: 1) G-SBP exerted a lager viscosity-enhancing effect to slow down droplet collision and flocculation; 2) the carbohydrate moiety of G-SBP formed a dense and compact hydrated layer providing strong steric stabilization for the oil droplets to resist flocculation and coalescence. Altogether, this work demonstrates that GP is a favorable agent to crosslink the side chains of SBP and modify its emulsification performance. Image 1 • Primary amine groups of lysine of SBP are target sites for crosslinking by genipin. • SBP was covalently crosslinked by genipin to show novel macromolecular properties. • Emulsion-stabilizing effects of SBP were enhanced by crosslinking with genipin. • Genipin crosslinked SBP provided steric stabilization against emulsion breakdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic fusion of human serum albumin to peptides is an important strategy to enhance the plasma half-life of the peptide. An inherent challenge of such method is the reduction of specific activity of the cargo peptides upon connecting at N- or C-termini of albumin. Here, we report a finding that residue 363–364 of albumin can be inserted with a peptide while maintaining the peptide activities. We insert a peptide inhibitor into this site, and at the N-terminus of albumin, for comparison. The chimeric protein displays potent inhibition (IC 50 value of 30 nM) to its target (uPAR), but not the N-terminally fused construct. We also study the chimera of HSA with a cyclic peptide inhibitor of murine urokinase-type plasminogen activator grafted at either the internal site or the N-terminus. The internally peptide-grafted protein possesses a much more potent inhibition compared to the N-terminally located fusion (IC 50 value of 32 nM vs 19 μM). We further demonstrate that such internal fusion does not affect albumin expression, secondary structure, and inherent drug binding activity. Thus, this work identifies a versatile insertion point inside albumin for maintaining fusion peptide activity, and opens a new avenue to expand the applications of albumin fusion technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Alteplase is a cornerstone thrombolytic agent in clinical practice but presents a potential bleeding risk. Stroke patients need pre-screening to exclude haemorrhagic stroke before using alteplase. In this study, we develop a new thrombolytic agent citPA5, characterized by an enhanced safety profile and minimal bleeding tendency. Methods and results A clot lysis agent, named citPA5, is developed based on rtPA with point mutations to completely suppress its proteolytic activity in the absence of fibrin. In the presence of fibrin, citPA5 exhibited significantly higher fibrinolytic activity (a 15.8-fold increase of kcat/Km). Furthermore, citPA5 showed resistance to endogenous fibrinolysis inhibitor, PAI-1, resulting in enhanced potency. In a series of safety evaluation experiments, including thrombelastography assay, mice tail bleeding assay, and a murine intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) model, citPA5 did not cause systemic bleeding or worsen ICH compared with alteplase. This highlights the low risk of bleeding associated with citPA5. Finally, we found that citPA5 effectively improved cerebral blood flow and reduced infarct volume in a carotid embolism-induced stroke model. Conclusion This clot lysis agent, citPA5, not only exhibits a low risk of bleeding but also demonstrates highly effective thrombolysis capabilities. As a result, citPA5 shows great potential for administration prior to the classification of stroke types, making it possible for use in ambulances at the onset of stroke when symptoms are identified. The findings presented in this study also suggest that this strategy could be applied to develop a new generation of fibrinolytic drugs that offer greater safety and specificity in targeting fibrin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• uPAR is a cell surface receptor with diverse functions. • Plasma uPAR level is typically low and high level is associated with health crisis. • The pleiotropic functions of uPAR correspond to its interaction with various partners. • Specific inhibitors intervening with uPAR binding to its partners are summarized. Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) mediates a multitude of biological activities, has key roles in several clinical indications, including malignancies and inflammation, and, thus, has attracted intensive research over the past few decades. The pleiotropic functions of uPAR can be attributed to its interaction with an array of partners. Many inhibitors have been developed to intervene with the interaction of uPAR with these partners. Here, we review the development of these classes of uPAR inhibitor and their inhibitory mechanisms to promote the translation of these inhibitors to clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Phycocyanin (PC) and tannic acid (TA) were fabricated into nanoparticles (NPs). • The PC/TA mass ratio and pH modulated the physiochemical properties of PC-TA NPs. • PC-TA NPs well-stabilized the high internal phase emulsions under suitable conditions. • PC-TA NPs improved the oxidation resistance of the resulting emulsions. This study reported a type of phycocyanin (PC)-tannic acid (TA) complex nanoparticles (NPs) fabricated by simply mixing PC with TA at appropriate mass ratios. The assembly of PC-TA NPs was driven by secondary forces involving hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding. PC-TA NPs promoted formations of Pickering emulsions with an oil volume fraction (φ) of 0.1–0.8. The interfacial antioxidant ability of PC-TA NPs was evaluated by comparing the contents of hydroperoxides, malonaldehyde, and hexanal due to lipid oxidation. The results showed that PC-TA NPs retarded lipid oxidation more efficiently than did PC, TA, tween 20, or tween 80, which suggested the synergistic antioxidant action of PC and TA. Besides, the PC-TA NPs stabilized high internal phase emulsion facilitated a higher retention of β-carotene under UV irradiation. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that the modification of PC by TA represents a strategy to fabricate PC-TA NPs with enhanced emulsification and antioxidant efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of different sugar beet pectin (SBP) components on the conjugates formed between SBP and whey protein isolate (WPI) under the condition of 80 °C, 79% relative humidity, for 5 h were investigated in this study. SBP samples with different chemical compositions were SBP1 (without any treatment), SBP2 (modified with polygalacturonase), SBP3 (modified with arabinanase/galactanase combination), and SBP4 (control pectin sample). The covalent binding of SBP to WPI was confirmed by SDS-PAGE. Degree of glycosylation (DG) and fluorescence intensity of conjugate samples decreased in the order: WPI-SBP1 > WPI-SBP2 > WPI-SBP4 > WPI-SBP3. The interfacial tension of the WPI decreased significantly after conjugating with SBP1 or SBP2. The interfacial tension of conjugates increased in the order: WPI-SBP1 < WPI-SBP2 < WPI-SBP4 ≈ WPI-SBP3. Emulsifying properties of the WPI were improved significantly after covalent modification with SBP. For the conjugate samples, the higher DG corresponded to the better emulsifying properties. All the results reveal that the neutral sugars region of SBP is easier to occur conjugate reaction with WPI compared to the galacturonic acid region of SBP, and the DG is an important factor influencing the emulsifying properties of the conjugate sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Urokinase receptor (uPAR) is a widely recognized cell marker for cancer. • A tumor-targeted uPAR targeting carrier (uPARTC) is developed. • The carrier targets to cells containing either human or murine uPAR. • Celastrol is embedded inside the carrier. • The carrier efficiently improves antitumor efficacy of celastrol. Urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) is a key participant in extracellular proteolysis, tissue remodeling and cell motility. uPAR overexpresses in most solid tumors and several hematologic malignancies, but has low levels on normal tissues, thus is advocated as a molecular target for cancer therapy. One of the obstacles for the evaluation of uPAR targeting agents in preclinical study is the species specificity, where targeting agents for human uPAR usually not bind to murine uPAR. Here, we develop a targeting agent that binds to both murine and human uPAR. This targeting agent is genetically fused to human serum albumin, a commonly used drug carrier, and the final construct is named as uPAR targeting carrier (uPARTC). uPARTC binds specifically to uPAR-overexpressing 293T/huPAR and 293T/muPAR as demonstrated by flow cytometry. A cytotoxic compound, celastrol, is embedded into uPARTC non-covalently. The resulting macromolecular complex show effective proliferation inhibition on both murine and human uPAR overexpressing cells, and exhibit potent antitumor efficacy on hepatoma H22-bearing mice. This work demonstrates that uPARTC is a promising tumor targeting drug carrier, which address the species-specificity challenge of uPAR targeting agents and can be used to load other cytotoxic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel fluorescence-based immunochromatographic assay (ICA) for rapid detecting 4(5)-methylimidazole (4-MI) is presented in this study. In our work, the conjugates of fluorescent microspheres (FMs) and 4-MI monoclonal antibody were used as probe for ICA. Under optimal conditions, a standard curve of ICA-based detection of 4-MI was developed, linear detection ranged from 0.50 to 32.0 mg/L. The cross-reactivities were observed less than 3.93% by detecting 6 selected structural analogues of 4-MI. The recoveries of 4-MI in caramels detection were ranged from 82.85% to 102.31%, with the coefficient of variation ( n = 3) below 9.06%. Quantitative comparison of the established fluorescence-based ICA with high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) and indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) analysis of real caramel colour samples indicated a good correlation among the methods. Therefore, our developed fluorescence-based ICA method shows great potential for simple, rapid, sensitive, and cost-effective quantitative detection of 4-MI in food safety control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • GSP derivatives were efficiently synthesized by an esterification strategy. • The esterification sites of GSP were elucidated by UPLC-MS/MS and NMR. • GSP derivatives exhibited higher lipid-lowering activity than GSP. Grape seed proanthocyanidin (GSP), as a natural antioxidant, has great potential to be developed into a lipid-lowering agent, but its low lipophilicity and stability greatly limit its application. In this study, an enzymatic esterification strategy was developed to introduce fatty acid chains into GSP, resulting in the successful synthesis of a series of new GSP derivatives. The results showed that up to 85% conversion of GSP and 35% TAG inhibition rate of GSP derivatives were achieved. The structures of GSP derivatives were identified by UPLC-MS/MS, and seven derivatives were confirmed as catechin-3′- O -laurate, epicatechin-3′- O -laurate, epicatechin gallate-3″,5″-di- O -laurate, epicatechin gallate-3′,3″,5″-tri- O -laurate, procyanidin B1-3′,3″-di- O -laurate, procyanidin B2-3′,3″-di- O -laurate and procyanidin C1-3′,3″,3‴-tri- O -laurate by NMR. GSP derivatives exhibited higher inhibitory effects on lipid accumulation, intracellular TAG and TC than parent GSP. These results indicate that GSP derivatives have potential as lipid-lowering agents for utilization in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The digital image analysis, integral optical density (IOD) method, combined with “the model of response difference of crystallite change (MRDCC)” and “the model of gelatinization process (GP)”was applied to further study the gelatinization of corn starch, potato starch, and pea starch in different concentrations of NaCl solutions. It was found that the addition of non-aqueous media not only affected the gelatinization temperature, but also impacted on the whole gelatinization process and effected differently at different stages of gelatinization. NaCl solution of 1, 3 and 4 mol/L (M) rose the GP curve of corn starch while 2 M had little effects on it; for potato starch, it seemed that NaCl gave little efforts on GP curve while 1 M rose the GP curve at the relative biggest degree; for pea starch, it performed two stage gelatinization process in different concentration of NaCl solution, this may due to the resultant force of heat, plasticizer, solute and expansion power and more studies were needed to reveal the gelatinization mechanism. Compared with the loss of crystalline structure (long-ordered structure), the disappearance of the molecular helix-coil structure (short-ordered structure) contributed greater to the DSC enthalpy, which could be deduced from the GP model. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] SC-CO2 can effectively extract HMF from caramel colour with high concentration. [•] The highest theoretical extraction ratio of HMF is 87.42% using SC-CO2. [•] The highest experimental extraction ratio of HMF is 86.98% using SC-CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of object detection networks is often limited by the depth of the feature extraction network. Increasing network parameters may yield limited improvements in the detection system's performance. Additional careful designs of network details are necessary, but they can significantly increase training difficulty. This paper introduces a novel object detection method that utilizes generative adversarial training. Our approach focuses on minimizing the EM distance (Wasserstein distance) of the feature distribution as the primary training objective. We enhance the image features so that training of GAN (Generative Adversarial Networks) yields a feature distribution that exceeds that of the original dataset, obtaining a better feature extraction network. A new loss function is also added to the adversarial training process to ensure stable improvement of the detector. A comparative experiment conducted with the original CenterNet network on MS COCO (Microsoft Common Objects in COntext) 2017 reveals that the generative adversarial training method significantly improves the average precision for most of the examined backbone networks. Among the four backbone networks employed in the experiments, the mean improvement in network AP (Average Precision) values ranged from 0.3 to 0.9, demonstrating their success with minimal training efforts. Moreover, none of the four backbone networks experienced an increase in network parameters during inference. Experimental results indicate that the proposed architecture effectively enhances the network's feature extraction capability without compromising speed during inference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Waxy maize starch was treated by pullulanase debranching and retrogradation at room temperature to produce resistant starch (RS). Physicochemical properties, crystalline structure and in-vitro digestibility of starch samples with different RS content were investigated. Compared with native starch, apparent amylose content of RS products increased. Based on Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) the Molecular Weight Distribution (MWD) of resistant starches significantly changed. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed that upon pullulanase debranching and retrogradation treatment the granular structure of native starch was destroyed and all RS samples exhibited irregular shaped fragments. Crystal structure of samples changed from A–type to a mixture of B and V–type. The crystallinity of resistant starch also improved as compared with native starch. Moreover, samples with higher resistant starch showed higher relative crystallinity. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) determination showed that To、Tp、Tc and ΔH all increased which was in agreement with RS content. The resistance of waxy maize starch with Pullulanase treatment to α-amylase digestibility also increased, while the in-vitro digestibility of products decreased. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present work aims to fabricate the genipin-crosslinked alkaline soluble polysaccharides-whey protein isolate conjugates (G-AWC) to stabilize W/O/W emulsions for encapsulation and delivery of grape seed proanthocyanidins (GSP). After crosslinking reaction, the molecular weight was increased and surface hydrophobicity was decreased. Then, the G-AWC and polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR, a lipophilic emulsifier) were employed to prepare a GSP-loaded W/O/W emulsion with the addition of gelatin and sucrose in W 1 phase via a two-step procedure. Creamed emulsion could be fabricated at W 1 /O volume fraction (Φ) of 10%–70% and further increased Φ to 75% or even up to 90% could obtain gel-like emulsion with notably elastic behaviors. In the W 1 /O/W 2 emulsion with Φ of 80%, the encapsulation efficiency (EE) of GSP reached up to 95.86%, and decreased by ca. 10% after a week of storage. Moreover, the encapsulated GSP in the emulsion showed a remarkably higher bioaccessibility (40.72%) compared to free GSP (13.11%) in the simulated gastrointestinal digestion. These results indicated that G-AWC-stabilized W/O/W emulsions could be an effective carrier to encapsulate water-soluble bioactive compounds with enhanced stability and bioaccessibility. • ASP and WPI were crosslinked by genipin to achieve covalent conjugation. • G-AWC is a potential hydrophilic emulsifier to stabilize W/O/W emulsions. • Gel-like W 1 /O/W 2 emulsions stabilized by G-AWC can be formed at a high W 1 /O volume fraction (75-90%). • The bioaccessibility of GSP was markedly enhanced by encapsulation of the G-AWC-stabilized W/O/W emulsions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugar beet pectin (SBP) was modified by alkaline at both 25 °C and 3 °C to produce gel-type pectins. The structure, rheological and gelation properties of series modified SBPs were then assessed. The results showed that low temperature effectively inhibited the β-elimination of SBP during alkali treatment, and the average molecular weight (M w) and galacturonic acid (GalA) content of the resulting SBP were much higher than that of the alkali-treated SBP at 25 °C. Due to the low degree of methylation (DM) (≦ 21.2) and degree of acetylation (DA) (≦ 14.6), SBP treated under pH 11 and 12 at 3 °C could successfully form stable elastic gels, and these gels were further confirmed to be frequency-independent through rheological analysis. The SEM and TG/DTG results showed that the corresponding gel of SBP treated under pH 12 at 3 °C for 120 min had the most uniform micro-network structure and the best thermal stability. This work for the first time demonstrated the effect of a wide pH range on the chemical structure, rheological and physical gelation properties of SBP, especially under alkaline conditions at a low temperature (3 °C). Findings from this work suggest that alkali treatment at low-temperature allows SBP to have the potential to become a gel-type commercial pectin. Image 1 • Alkali treatment at 3 °C markedly reduced the DM and DA of SBP. • β-elimination of SBP treated with alkali at 3 °C was suppressed to a certain extent. • SBP gels were elastic and frequency-independent. • Gel formation changed the crystallinity and thermal stability of SBP molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human serum albumin (HSA), a versatile protein carrier for endogenous and exogenous compounds, is a proven macromolecule to form nanoparticles for drug delivery. To render HSA carrier specificity toward tumors, we designed a recombinant HSA protein fused with Kunitz domain 1 (KD1) of hepatocyte growth factor activator inhibitor type 1, which targets to matriptase, a type II transmembrane serine protease overexpressed on tumor cell surface. The carrier was thus named matriptase targeting carrier (MTC). In this study, we showed that MTC displayed the same inhibitory potency as the KD1 againast matriptase, demonstrating the HSA fusion did not affect the KD1 targeting potency. For tumor optical imaging and ablation, MTC was prepared as nanoparticle drug carrier by a novel method via denaturation and refolding to incorporate photosensitizer, CPZ. This matriptase targeting nanoparticles, CPZ:MTC@NPs, showed high specificity and cytotoxicity for matriptase-overexpressing cancer cells in vitro. In tumor-bearing mice, CPZ:MTC@NPs demonstrated selective accumulation and high retention in matriptase-overexpressing tumor. Under illumination, the nanoparticles significantly reduced tumor volumes (79.6%) as compared to saline control. These findings showed that this supramolecular nanocarrier, a new type of tumor targeting self-assembly nanoparticle, had potential as a highly efficient tumor targeting drug carrier for imaging and therapy. [Display omitted] • Kunitz domain 1 (KD1) is a peptide with high potency in inhibiting matriptase. • KD1 fusion with albumin (named MTC) maintains the inhibitory potency to matriptase. • MTC shows long plasma half-life and also function as a carrier protein for drug molecules. • Nanoparticle formulation of MTC still possessed high potency to matriptase. • The nanoparticle formulation selective accumulated and exhibited excellent anti-tumor efficacy in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food-grade polysaccharide-protein based nanoparticles receive considerable interest in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries as Pickering emulsion stabilizer to satisfy the need of safety and emulsifying functionality. Here, we reported a type of novel sugar beet pectin-bovine serum albumin conjugate nanoparticles (S-BNPs) with a mean size of ~180 nm that were fabricated by the genipin-crosslinking strategy followed by facile ultrasonication. The as-prepared S-BNPs mainly consisted of 35.2% polysaccharide and 58.4% protein, showing a core-shell nanostructure with SBP chains surrounding the inner protein core, as unveiled by analyses of atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. S-BNPs had excellent colloidal stability under various pH (4.0–12.0) and ionic strength (μ , 0–500 mM) conditions. When used at a concentration (c) of 0.5 wt%, S-BNPs well stabilized Pickering emulsions (from creamed to gel-liked high internal phase emulsions/HIPEs) with different droplet characteristics and visual appearances with a maximum oil volume fraction (Ф) up to 0.84. At a lower c of 0.25 wt%, S-BNPs stabilized Pickering emulsions with a maximum Ф up to 0.70. Rheology measurements indicated that a higher c strengthened the stiffness of HIPEs (Ф = 0.80), thereby endowing the gel-like HIPEs with a self-supporting appearance. Owing to its unique nanostructure, S-BNPs displayed desirable emulsification properties at a wide range of pH (5.0–12.0) and μ (0–500 mM), whereas the two control samples, Crosslinked-BSA and SBP-BSA-Complex (electrostatically bound at pH 4.5), showed inferior emulsification properties in long-term storage, pH, and μ testings. In the repetitive freeze/thaw-induced demulsification cycles, a representative S-BNPs stabilized HIPE was re-emulsified 5 times. Altogether, this work demonstrates that the genipin-crosslinking is feasible to synthesize S-BNPs as an edible Pickering emulsion stabilizer for food and relating industries. Image 1 • Sugar beet pectin (SBP) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were crosslinked by genipin. • Insoluble crosslinked SBP-BSA was ultrasonicated into well-dispersed nanoparticles. • SBP provided steric stabilization to the protein core by forming a hydrated shell. • As prepared SBP-BSA nanoparticles rendered Pickering emulsions stable at pH 5.0–12.0. • The prepared Pickering emulsions endured ionic strengths of 0–500 mM NaCl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Densely Connected Network (DenseNet) has been widely recognized as a highly competitive architecture in Deep Neural Networks. And its most outstanding property is called Dense Connections, which represent each layer's input by concatenating all the preceding layers' outputs and thus improve the performance by encouraging feature reuse to the extreme. However, it is Dense Connections that cause the challenge of dimension-enlarging, making DenseNet very resource-intensive and low efficiency. In the light of this, inspired by the Residual Network (ResNet), we propose an improved DenseNet named Additive DenseNet, which features replacing concatenation operations (used in Dense Connections) with addition operations (used in ResNet), and in terms of feature reuse, it upgrades addition operations to accumulating operations (namely ∑ (·)), thus enables each layer's input to be the summation of all the preceding layers' outputs. Consequently, Additive DenseNet can not only preserve the dimension of input from enlarging, but also retain the effect of Dense Connections. In this paper, Additive DenseNet is applied to text classification task. The experimental results reveal that compared to DenseNet, our Additive DenseNet can reduce the model complexity by a large margin, such as GPU memory usage and quantity of parameters. And despite its high resource economy, Additive DenseNet can still outperform DenseNet on 6 text classification datasets in terms of accuracy and show competitive performance for model training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two low-methoxy pectins (LMPs) were obtained by local electrochemical pH modification using an H-type double-layer water bath sealed electrochemical cell at the voltage of 180 V for 3 h. The weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of citrus peel pectin (CPP) prepared in the anodic part at room temperature (CPP-A 5/RT) and in the cathodic part at 5 °C (CPP-C 5/RT) were 346 kDa and 328 kDa, respectively, and the degrees of methylation (DM) were 36.8 % and 11.9 %. Moreover, the second-order kinetic model was most appropriate for the degradation processes, as free radicals were generated in the anodic part and β -elimination occurred in the cathodic part. Subsequently, CPP-A 5/RT and CPP-C 5/RT were utilized to fabricate food packaging film blending with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), bcZnO (ZnO coupled with bentonite and colophony) nanorods, and Ca2+ ions by casting method. Then the prepared films were studied for their ability to maintain the freshness of strawberries. The addition of Ca2+ ions and bcZnO nanorods increased the thickness, water contact angle (WCA), and mechanical properties of the composite films, while decreased water vapor permeability (WVP). Therefore, the CPP-based films, supplemented with bcZnO nanorods and crosslinked with Ca2+ ions by "egg-box" model, can serve as an antibacterial food packaging material for food preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugarcane molasses (SCM), a byproduct generated from sucrose manufacturing, has attracted considerable interest due to its high sugar content, polyphenolic compounds, and calcium ions. The objective of this study was to fabricate a type of low methoxy pectin (LMP)-based gel crosslinked by endogenous calcium ions found in SCM. Gel was formed by adding SCM into a 1 wt% LMP solution, which resulted in a Ca2+ concentration of 2–6 mmol/L. Rheological and textural measurements confirmed the formation of SCM-LMP gels. Compared to LMP gels induced by CaCl 2 , SCM-LMP gels exhibited weak storage modulus and gel strength, probably due to the presence of metal ions and small molecular sugars from SCM, which impede the formation of effective junction zones required for building a calcium-pectin network. The polyphenolic compounds from SCM were encapsulated within the SCM-LMP gel, enhancing its antioxidant capacity. Overall, this research explores the effectiveness of SCM in inducing LMP gelation for the first time. The findings of this study demonstrate a strategy for preparing LMP gels with antioxidant properties. • Sugarcane molasses (SCM) induced the gelation of low-methoxy pectin (LMP). • Endogenous calcium ions of SCM crosslinked LMP into gels. • SCM-LMP gels displayed antioxidant properties. • SCM dosage regulated viscoelastic and textural properties of LMP [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • 4(5)-Methylimidazole was quantified by LC-MS/MS in various foods and beverages. • QuEChERS extraction method was modified for sample preparation. • The method showed good analytical performance with degree of reliability. • The developed method was successfully applied to real foods and beverages. Abstract The determination of carcinogenic 4(5)-methylimidazole (4-MeI) in complex matrices at trace levels is a challenge because of its higher polarity and weaker column retention capability. Here, we proposed a novel method for the quantification of 4-MeI in various foods and beverages using modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) extraction with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. The evaluated QuEChERS extraction with LC-MS/MS method showed excellent linearity (1–200 μg/L, with correlation coefficient (R2) > 0.999), trueness (91–113%), and precision (relative standard deviation (RSD) ≤ 12.3%), but low matrix effect (92–108%) for cola, tea, beer, coffee beverage, bread, biscuit and instant coffee. The expanded measurement uncertainty was less than 34.4% at 95% confidence level. The proposed method can be successfully applied to determine 4-MeI in 28 commercial foods and beverages purchased from local market. Therefore, we believe this method is likely to provide a potential for 4-MeI determination in practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • QuEChERS was proposed for extraction of a cancer-causing 4(5)-MI in soy sauce. • Efficient extraction and clean-up with negligible matrix effect were obtained. • The validated method was successfully applied to 14 commercial soy sauces. Abstract 4(5)-Methylimidazole (4(5)-MI) is a potential carcinogen with low molecule weight, highly polarity, and weak basicity. The traditional way to extract and clean-up 4(5)-MI in soy sauce using solid phase extraction is tedious and time consuming. Here we proposed a method for the determination of 4(5)-MI in soy sauce by combining a modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) extraction with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. The impacts of solution pH, water addition, and cleanup procedure on 4(5)-MI extraction efficiency were studied. An optimized sample preparation approach involved a single step liquid-liquid extraction between acetonitrile and soy sauce under alkaline conditions, followed by primary and secondary amine clean-up. The analytical method was validated with soy sauce at three spiking levels (10, 50, 500 ng/g). The method recovery (96.2–107%) and intra-day/inter-day precision (4.1–8.4%/6.9–11.7%) were satisfactory. The method quantification limit was 10 ng/g. The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of 4(5)-MI in fourteen commercial soy sauces from local markets. The results obtained in this work suggests that the method is suitable for the analysis of 4(5)-MI at low concentrations in high-salting and protein-containing soy sauce matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this study, we examine how the extractant type used and extraction steps effect the structural and emulsifying properties of the resulting sugar beet pectins (SBPs). Using ammonium oxalate and sulfuric acid as the extractants, two oxalate-extracted pectins (denoted OEP1 and OEP2) and four acid-solubilized pectins (denoted AEP1, AEP2, AEP3 and AEP4) were sequentially extracted and characterized regarding their structures and emulsifying properties. All six pectins shared common features such as having a high galacturonic acid content and a low methylation degree, however, OEP1 and OEP2 not only had lower amounts of ferulic acid (FA) and protein but their molecular sizes were also smaller in comparison to the remainder. Moreover, the oxalate-extracted sample series was significantly different from the acid-extracted sample series in regards to amino acid compositions. Due probably to the hydrophobicity of the proteinaceous components and the lower contents of FA and protein, OEP1 failed to stabilize oil-in-water emulsions containing 15% middle chain triglyceride (MCT). In contrast, AEP1-4 were shown to have better emulsifying activities, producing fine emulsions under favorable conditions (e.g. pectin concentration 1.5%). The d 43 values of the emulsions prepared at a 1.5% concentration of AEP2, AEP3, or AEP4 did not markedly change throughout the period of storage (28 days) at 30 °C, whereas the AEP1 emulsion was relatively less stable. The correlation between emulsifying properties and the structures among the acid-extracted pectins highlights that the extraction sequence plays an important role in the resulting compositional and emulsifying properties of SBP. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Six different pectic fractions were sequentially extracted from sugar beet pulp. • The two pectin series differed in protein content and molecular weight. • Pectins extracted by acid had better emulsifying capacities than those by oxalate. • The later period of acid extraction resulted in desirable emulsifying properties. • The nanostructures of resulting pectins were investigated using AFM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two kinds of pyrogallol-based di-benzoxazines (PG-FA and PG-A) with a free phenolic hydroxyl between two oxazine rings attaching to the same benzene were synthesized. The chemical structures of PG-FA and PG-A were identified by 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR and FTIR tests. The ring-opening polymerization (ROP) behavior of PG-FA and PG-A was monitored by DSC, TGA, FTIR and in situ FTIR measurements. The pyrogallol-containing benzoxazines showed latent catalytic activity as they reached melting condition. The inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonds from the phenolic hydroxyl and oxygen or nitrogen were converted into weak OH⋯π intramolecular hydrogen bonding, which easily released the free phenolic hydroxyl. Then, the free hydroxyl could accelerate the breakage of oxazine ring. The para-position of free phenolic hydroxyl in pygarollol-based benzoxazines was preferentially polymerized with the carbocations. The temperature-dependent evolution of the chemical structure of PG-FA and PG-A on ROP was consistent with the change of hydrogen bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polysaccharides from chicory root pulp (CRP) were extracted and structurally characterized. Different extractants were sequentially used to obtain three extracts, referred to as the water-extracted polysaccharides (WEP), chelate-extracted polysaccharides (CEP) and acid-extracted polysaccharides (AEP). The results indicated that WEP, CEP and AEP accounted for 5%, 9.3% and 3.2% of the starting chicory root pulp. All of the extracts differed from each other with respect to their chemical compositions, and their macromolecular and functional properties. WEP was found to be a mixture of both inulin and pectin; however, CEP and AEP belonged to the group of typical pectic substances due to their high content of galacturonic acid (GalA) and neutral sugars. Comparison of the molecular weight distribution patterns revealed that CEP is more homogeneous than WEP and AEP. CEP gelled with Ca 2+ due to the high GalA content (71.1%), the low degree of methylation (30.8%) and the high molecular weight (87,545 g/mol). Unlike CEP, AEP contained more hydrophobic structures, such as proteinaceous material (5.5%) and acetyl groups (DA 17.1%), resulting in the ability to stabilize the oil/water emulsion. Results obtained in the present work indicate that the extraction yield, chemical features and functional properties of chicory root pulp polysaccharides depend greatly on the type of extractant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the modified citrus peel pectins (CPPs) were successfully produced by electrochemistry with varying NaCl concentrations of 0, 0.01 % and 0.1 % w / v using an H-type cell at 40 mA current. After 4 h, the pH and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) of oxidized CPP solution in the anodic region were 2.00– 2.52 and 371.17– 564.45 mV, respectively, due to the electrolysis of water, whereas those of reduced CPP solution in cathodic region were 9.46– 10.84 and − 202.77 ∼ −230.57 mV. The modified CPPs in the anodic region (A-0, A-0.01, and A-0.1) exhibited significantly higher weight-average molecular weights and methyl esterification degrees than those in the cathodic region (C-0, C-0.01 and C-0.1). In contrast, the K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ contents of A-0, A-0.01, and A-0.1 were lower than those of C-0, C-0.01 and C-0.1 due to the electrophoretic migration. Furthermore, the antioxidant activities of A-0 and A-0.01 solutions were stronger than those of the C-0, C-0.01, and C-0.1, while rheological and texture properties of their hydrogels showed contradictory results. Finally, the potential structure-function relationships of CPPs were explored by combining PCA and correlation analysis. Overall, this study introduced a potential approach for pectin purification and functional low-methoxyl pectin manufacturing. • NaCl concentration had effect on structure-function relationships of CPP. • The electrochemical modification can be used for the purification of pectins. • All modified CPPs were low-methoxyl pectins with better gelling performance. • Electrochemical modification enhanced the DPPH and ABTS scavenging activities. • PCA and correlation analysis were combined to clarify the structure-function relationships of the CPPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A full two-level factorial experiment design was employed to investigate the effects of temperature (75 and 85 °C), time (2 and 3 h) and initial pH(1.5 and 2.0) on the molecular composition of sugar beet pectin extracted by citric acid. And the high temperature resistant pH electrode was used to monitor the pH variation during pectin extraction. The results showed that the pH of pectin extraction solution was not constant during pectin extraction, and the pH of extraction solution fluctuated more widely at 85 °C than at 75 °C. In the experiment design, the initial pH was the most significant factor on pectin composition such as arabinose, total neutral sugars, and degree of acetylation, while the temperature became the most important factor for yield, galacturonic acid, rhamnose, galactose, and weight-average molar mass. The degree of methoxylation was significantly affected by extraction time. It was observed that the emulsifying properties of the extracted pectin samples were significantly affected by the extraction conditions. All the results revealed that 1.) the pH value of extraction solution is directly related to the yield and the degradation of the extracted pectin during sugar beet pectin extraction, 2.) the extraction temperature could significantly affect the pH fluctuation of extraction liquid, 3.) the most significant effect factor for a given pectin composition is dominated by the pH fluctuation of the extracting liquid and acid stability of this discussional pectin composition, 4.) beet pectin extracted by citric acid is an effective emulsifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ethanol precipitation of sugar beet pectins (SBPs) with and without counter ions was investigated. In aqueous solution, when cations bind to SBPs, the negative charges on the pectin chains are reduced and the hydrodynamic radius (R h ) of the whole polymer is decreased. Cation-bound SBP is more prone to precipitation by ethanol because it is less solvated by water molecules. In the absence of cations, partially-ionized SBP interacts extensively with water molecules at the initial precipitation pH (I-pH) range of 3.26–2.83, which makes it difficult to precipitate the pectins by addition of ethanol. However, in the presence of cations, precipitation of SBPs is straightforward due to cation binding and ethanol dehydration. Protonated SBPs and SBP salts were prepared and their conformational features were analyzed by 13 C solid-state NMR and X-ray diffraction spectroscopies. The results show that no conformational transition occurs in cation-bound SBP after ethanol precipitation, which indicates that the electrostatic nature of the cation–SBP interaction is important during the precipitation process. A schematic illustration of the cation–SBP electrostatic interaction during the precipitation process is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the present study was to detail the changes of 4(5)-methylimidazole (4-MI) and its precursors in the presence of divalent cations (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ ) in a fructose/ammonium hydroxide caramel model system. The content of 4-MI and its precursor methylglyoxal (MGO) was inhibited by divalent cations (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ ). The possible explanation might be that fructose and its Heyns product glucosamine interact with divalent cations to form complexes and inhibit the degradation of glucosamine into MGO. Moreover, the changes of fructose, NH 4 + and brown intensity in the presence of divalent cations indicated that fructose and glucosamine underwent intra-intermolecular polymerisation into melanoidins rather than the degradation reaction into aldehydes and ketones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short chain amylose (SCA) was obtained by debranched waxy rice starch. The SCA crystals was formed by crystallization and dried by freeze drying, air drying and spray drying. The physicochemical properties and digestibility of the dried crystals were investigated. Light microscope and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the air dried crystals exhibited compact structure, but freeze dried crystals showed loose and porous morphology. Spray dried crystals showed sphere morphology. Air dried crystals had a higher relative crystallinity and a higher melting temperature as compared with the crystals dried by freeze and spray drying. The digestibility analysis showed that air drying was the preferred method for the formation of resistant starch in SCA crystals, while spray drying favor to obtain products with high level of slowly digestible starch. The tight pack of double helix could be responsible for the enzyme resistance of air dried crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugar beet pectins (SBP) were precipitated from a purified extract in a 75% v/v ethanol solution at an initial extract pH (I-pH) ranging from 2.0 to 4.5. The effects of I-pH on pectin yield and pectin-cation interactions were studied. No simple correlation between pectin yield and I-pH was observed. The lowest pectin yield was obtained by precipitating the acidic pectin extract with ethanol at I-pH 4.5. Pectin yield increased to a maximum value as I-pH decreased from 4.5 to 3.0. These results indicated that decreased electrostatic repulsion between pectin chain segments enhanced pectin chain–chain interactions, thereby improving the precipitation effect. A decrease in pectin yield was observed as I-pH decreased below 3.0. The cation content of various samples was measured by high-performance cation-exchange chromatography in order to determine the content of SBP-bound cations during precipitation. Cation content and degree of cation binding were measured for pectins precipitated at I-pH 3.0, 2.5, and 2.0, and the results revealed that a decrease in pectin yield accompanied a decrease in cation–pectin interactions. These results suggest that the precipitation of SBP from an aqueous extract involves complex interactions between cations, solvent molecules, and pectin chain segments. The larger precipitation effect observed with divalent ions compared to monovalent ions may be due to enhanced inter-chain interactions between pectin molecules, probably via the formation of intermolecular bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debranched waxy rice starch was subjected to repeated crystallization (RC) treatment, and its physicochemical properties and digestion pattern were investigated. The A-type crystalline pattern of native starch was crystallized to a complex of B- and V-type patterns by debranching and RC treatment. Among the treated starches, the relative crystallinity of debranched starch reached its maximum (29.6%) after eight repetitions of crystallization. Changes in weight-average molar mass among treated starch samples were not significantly different. The repeated-crystallized starches showed higher thermal transition temperatures and melting enthalpy than that of debranched starch. As a result, slowly digestible starch (SDS) content of repeated-crystallized starches reached a very high level (57.8%). Results showed that RC treatment induced structural changes of waxy rice starch result in a great amount of SDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugarcane bagasse contains natural compositions that can significantly inhibit food-borne pathogens growth. In the present study, the phenolic content in sugarcane bagasse was detected as higher than 4 mg/g dry bagasse, with 470 mg quercetin/g polyphenol. The sugarcane bagasse extract showed bacteriostatic activity against the growth of Staphylococcus aureus , Listeria monocytogenes , Escherichia coli and Salomonella typhimurium . Additionally, the sugarcane bagasse extract can increase the electric conductivity of bacterial cell suspensions causing cellular leaking of electrolytes. Results of sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis suggested the antibacterial mechanism was probably due to the damaged cellular proteins by sugarcane bagasse extract. The results of scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that the sugarcane bagasse extract might change cell morphology and internal structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal precipitation is an effective method for the purification of pectins. To study the selectivity of copper ions toward binding pectic or non-pectic compounds, two fractions, namely copper-precipitated pectins (CPP) and copper-unprecipitated pectins (CUP) were fractionated from the mother sugar beet pectins by means of copper precipitation. Comparison on chemical feature revealed the isolated fractions were structurally different in that CUP contained markedly higher neutral sugars (NS) and protein contents, but lower galacturonic acid and acetyl ester group contents than CPP. However, no appreciable difference was observed in terms of degree of methylation (DM). Elution profiles on high performance size exclusion chromatograph showed that CPP exhibited a monomodal-like molecular weight distribution (MWD), while CUP demonstrated a multimodal-like MWD pattern composed of three relatively broad peaks, and a narrow peak that was associated with a high intensity of UV signal at 278 nm. Moreover, AFM analysis showed that CPP displayed branched fibrous structures, while CUP showed distinguishable granular-like shapes. Results obtained in this work indicate the employed copper ions selectively bind the anionic regions among pectin chains, thereby separating pectic saccharides from non-uronide compounds, i.e. low molecular weight carbohydrates and free proteins. The poor affinity of copper ions toward CUP might be determined by the absence of typical homogalacturonan (HG) regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of precipitation modes on the co-precipitation of insoluble oxalates particles during the purification of sugar beet pectins (SBP) from the extract were investigated. It was observed that soluble oxalate ions formed insoluble oxalate salts with calcium and precipitated with pectins during ethanol precipitation as pH of the medium increased and the solvent changed from water to ethanol–water mixture. Comparison among the employed precipitation methods revealed that both the dialysis–ethanol-precipitation and metal precipitation effectively prevented the calcium-oxalate contamination of SBP. Emulsifying properties of DEPP, EPP and MPP were also studied. It was observed that DEPP performed better than the remainder with respect to emulsifying ability. Based on these results, we concluded that the dialysis–ethanolic-precipitation can be a suitable method for improving the purity as well as emulsifying properties of the resulting pectins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slowly digestible starch (SDS) was obtained through debranched waxy rice starch and subsequent crystallization under isothermal and temperature-cycled conditions. Temperature-cycled crystallization of dual 4/−20 °C produced a higher yield of SDS product than isotherm crystallization. Crystal structure of SDS products changed from A-type to a mixture of B and V-type X-ray diffraction patterns. The relative crystallinity was higher in the temperature-cycled samples than that of isotherm. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy suggested that the peripheral regions of isothermal storage starch were better organized than temperature-cycles. Temperature cycling induced higher onset temperature for melting of crystals than isothermal storage under a differential scanning calorimeter. The cycled temperature storage induced a greater amount of SDS than the isothermal storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Sugarcane molasses can be recycled to prepare antioxidants. [•] SC-CO2-PDS can effectively extract antioxidants from sugarcane molasses. [•] The highest TOVAE is 2584.9. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The LRSSRcan reduce the negativeeffect of noiseand redundant features. • The HCcan solve the problem of overfittingand improve the classification accuracy. • The LRSSRcan be widely applied in general image feature selection. There is a lot of redundancy in the high dimensional raw images, which not only greatly increases the computational burden of image classification process, but also inevitably degrades the classification performance of the model. High-performance dimensionality reduction algorithms are in urgent need of development. To solve this problem, we develop a novel feature selection model for dimension reducing. It greatly reduces redundant features and selects the most representative features for classification. Besides, we also design a novelty version of the lightweight convolutional neural network (newCNN). The newCNN can enhance the classification performance of the system. To improve the classification accuracy, we build a hybrid classification (HC) model with the newCNN and Support Vector Machines (SVM). This model not only solves the problem of overfitting in the training process, but also has excellent generalization ability and robustness. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of our proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To develop anode catalysts for photo-assisted direct methanol fuel cell (PDMFC), carbon-doped TiO2 nanotube arrays-supported PtNi alloy nanoparticles with different Pt/Ni atomic ratio (PtNi/C-TiO2NTs) prepared by pulsed electrodeposition method are evaluated as catalysts for photo-assisted methanol oxidation. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry results show that the PtNi/C-TiO2NTs prepared at t onPt:t onNi:=10:7 (t on is the current-on time) with a Pt:Ni atomic ratio of 6.1:5.7 presents the highest catalytic activity for methanol oxidation both in the dark and under illumination. In addition, according to the results obtained from the CO stripping voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests, it was found that the light play an accelerative role in the oxidation of methanol on PtNi/C-TiO2NTs under illumination. The effect of illumination which enhancing the catalytic activity of PtNi/C-TiO2NTs are attributed to (1) methanol and the intermediates be oxidized directly on C-TiO2NTs for the light-induced catalytic effect; (2) more abundant oxygen-donating species be produced on C-TiO2NTs in the presence of light; (3) less COads adsorbing on catalysts due to the presence of stronger metal–support interactions between PtNi alloy nanoparticles and C-TiO2NTs under illumination. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Malaria has been recognized as a human disease for thousands of years and remains one of the most common diseases affecting humans worldwide. Therefore, a method for rapidly detecting Plasmodium falciparum is necessary and useful. We have developed Wondfo rapid diagnostic kit based on nano-gold immunochromatography assay for the detection of P. falciparum in patient specimen. In the present study, we demonstrated the sensitivity and specificity of the rapid diagnostic kit in which nano-gold labeling techniques and the monoclonal antibodies against histidine-rich protein-2 of P. falciparum were used to establish two-antibody sandwich immunochromatographic assay for detecting P. falciparum. By using microscopic examination of blood smears as control, the sensitivity, specificity, and feasibility of Wondfo rapid diagnostic kit was determined in the prompt and accurate diagnosis of malaria. In this study, 1,558 blood samples were collected from outpatient clinics in China and detected by both Wondfo kit and microscopic examination. The Wondfo kit did not show cross-reaction with microfilaria, Toxoplasma gondii, and other parasites in the blood. The patient samples positive for rheumatoid factor, HIV, tuberculosis, and syphilis did not show false positivity when testing with Wondfo kit. The detection sensitivity and specificity of Wondfo rapid diagnostic kit were 95.49% and 99.53%, respectively. These results indicate that our rapid diagnostic assay may be useful for detecting P. falciparum in patient specimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Evenly dispersed Pt–Ni nanoparticles were loaded on TiO2 nanotube arrays (TiO2NTs) via pulse electrodeposition method and subsequently characterized by FESEM, EDX and XRD. The electrochemical studies showed that the catalytic activities of Pt–Ni/TiO2NTs are better than that of Pt/TiO2NTs for methanol electro-oxidation in alkaline media both in the dark and under illumination. In addition, due to the interaction of electro-catalysis and photo-catalysis, the catalytic activities of TiO2NTs-based catalysts were improved largely under illumination. Base on the results obtained in this work, Pt–Ni/TiO2NTs may be used to develop a base for photo assist direct methanol fuel cell. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]