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Heat treatment is an indispensable processing step of seasoned liquid egg. The effects of preheat treatment (60–75 °C) on gel properties of liquid whole egg (LWE) at different NaCl concentrations (0–3%, w/w) were investigated to provide guidance for the production of salty LWE. Results showed that LWE exhibited higher particle size after heating, with coincidental increases in surface hydrophobicity and decreases in protein solubility. While LWE with NaCl added exhibited increase in protein solubility and decrease in particle size of aggregates. Electrophoresis and optical microscopy showed that NaCl would induce the transformation of egg granules from insoluble form to soluble form, inhibiting the aggregation of LWE proteins during preheat treatment, reflected by the reduced particle size. The analysis of gel aggregated force and texture indicated that NaCl addition and preheat treatment can improve gelling properties of LWE synergistically by strengthening the hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports the cooperative reactivity of rare‐earth aryloxide complexes with N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) or N‐heterocyclic olefin (NHO), showcasing their synergistic effect on the activation of H2 and diverse organic substrates. Reactions of RE(OAr)3 (RE=La, Sm, and Y; Ar=2,6‐tBu2−C6H3) with unsaturated NHC ItBu (:C[N(R)CH]2, R=tBu) isolated abnormally bound RE metal NHC complexes RE/aNHC. In contrast, no metal‐NHO adducts were formed when RE(OAr)3 were treated with NHO (R2C=C[N(R)C(R)]2, R=CH3). Both RE/aNHC and RE/NHO Lewis pairs enabled cooperative H2 activation. Furthermore, RE(OAr)3 were found to catalyze the hydrogenation of the exocyclic C=C double bond of NHO under mild conditions. Moreover, treatment of the La/aNHC complex with benzaldehyde produced a La/C4 1,2‐addition product. The La/NHO Lewis pair could react with (trimethylsilyl)diazomethane and α, β‐conjugated imine, affording an isocyanotrimethylsilyl lanthanum amide complex and a La/C 1,4‐addition product, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dempster–Shafer evidence theory is widely used in multi-sensor data fusion. However, how to manage the counterintuitive result generated by the highly conflicting evidence remains an open question. To solve the problem, a novel multi-sensor data fusion method is proposed, which analyses the credibility of evidence from both the discrepancy between evidences and the factors of evidence itself. Firstly, a new Belief Kullback–Leibler divergence is put forward, which evaluates the credibility of evidence from the discrepancy between evidences. Secondly, another credibility measure called the Probability Transformation Belief Factor is defined, which assesses the credibility of evidence from the evidence itself. These two credibilities are combined as the comprehensive credibility of evidence. Furthermore, considering the uncertainty of evidence, a new belief entropy based on the cross-information within the evidence is presented, which is applied to quantify the information volume of evidence and to adjust the comprehensive credibility of evidence. The adjusted comprehensive credibility is regarded as the final weight to modify the body of evidence. Finally, the Dempster's combination rule is applied for fusion. Experiment and applications show that the proposed method is effective and superior. • A new credibility assessment model is constructed. • The BKL divergence and the PTBF are defined to measure the credibility of evidence. • The H BP entropy is defined to measure the information volume of evidence. • A new multi-sensor data fusion method is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: High internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) are potential carriers of fat‐soluble nutrients due to their high loading capacity. In this study, egg white protein particles (EWPP) and rhamnolipid (Rha) were used to co‐emulsify oil/water HIPEs to carry curcumin (Cur). The results showed that the Cur loading efficiency, microstructure, protein composition, molecular distribution of protein hydrolysates, protein interfacial adsorption rate and Cur bioavailability were measured. The results showed that, incorporation with Rha was unhelpful for improving loading efficiency of Cur, which decreased from 80.8% to 73.7% at pH 3.8 after incorporation with Rha, due to the decreased viscosity and destroyed continuous interface membrane, while beneficial for restricting coalescence of oil droplets. As studied, Rha could effectively reduce the droplet size to slow down the speed of coalescence and form EWPP–Rha complex to inhibit proteolysis. Finally, Cur bioavailability in EWPP–Rha co‐emulsified HIPE was the highest (40.3%), indicating the synergistic effect of EWPP and Rha promoting the effective adsorption of Cur, related to the increased coalescence stability during digestion and participation of Rha in the micellisation reaction. In comparison, fibrous (pH 3.8) and granular (pH 7.0) EWPP stabilised HIPEs, showed no obvious difference in Cur bioavailability, due to the balance between the interfacial adsorption ability and the digestion resistance of EWPP with various morphologies. This study has important significance for the construction of lipid soluble nutrient 'carriers' with high load and high bioavailability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung bacterial infections could result in acute lung inflammation/injury (ALI) that propagates to its severe form, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ADRS) leading to the death. The molecular mechanism of ALI is associated with bacterial invasion and the host inflammation response. Here, we proposed a novel strategy to specifically target both bacteria and inflammatory pathways by co-loading of antibiotics (azlocillin, AZ) and anti-inflammatory agents (methylprednisolone sodium, MPS) in neutrophil nanovesicles. We found that cholesterol infilling in the membrane of nanovesicles can maintain a pH gradient between intra-vesicles and outer-vesicles, so we remotely loaded both AZ and MPS in single nanovesicles. The results showed that loading efficiency of both drugs can achieve more than 30% (w/w), and delivery of both drugs using nanovesicles accelerated bacterial clearance and resolved inflammation responses, thus preventing the potential lung damage due to infections. Our studies show that remote loading of multiple drugs in neutrophil nanovesicles which specifically target the infectious lung could be translational to treat ARDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar application in buildings is limited by available installation areas. The performance of photovoltaic (PV) and solar collectors are compared in meeting the heating and cooling demand of a residential house using 100% solar energy through TRNSYS modelling of five systems that use air source heat pump and seasonal energy storage as optional assisting technologies. The results show that in a large scale, the PV working with air source heat pump is more efficient than the solar collector system. However, the photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) is the most spatially efficient with an energy capacity of 551 kWh/m2, 10.6% higher than that of the PV. Compared with the air source heat pump heating system using grid power, using solar energy regardless of system formats can reduce emission by 72% in a lifetime of 20 years. Solar energy can become cost-effective if the utility price is increased to above 0.7 CNY/kWh. The results can help in renewable planning in the studied climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Liver fibrosis which mainly occurs upon chronic hepatitis virus infection potentially leads to portal hypertension, hepatic failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the immune status of Th17 and Treg cells in liver fibrosis is controversial and the exact mechanisms remain largely elusive.Methods: Liver tissues and peripheral blood were obtained simultaneously from 32 hepatitis B virus infected patients undergoing surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma at the medical center of Sun Yat-sen University. Liver tissues at least 3 cm away from the tumor site were used for the analyses. Levels of Th17 cells and regulatory T cells were detected by flow cytometry analysis and immunohistochemistry. In vitro experiment, we adopted magnetic cell sorting to investigate how hepatic stellate cells regulate the levels of Th17 cells and regulatory T cells.Results: We found that hepatic Th17 cells and regulatory T cells were increased in patients with advanced stage HBV-related liver fibrosis. Hepatic stellate cells upregulated the levels of Th17 cells and regulatory T cells via PGE2/EP2 and EP4 pathway.Conclusions: We found that the increased levels of Th17 cells and regulatory T cells were upregulated by hepatic stellate cells. These results may provide insight into the role of hepatic stellate cells and Th17 cells and regulatory T cells in the persistence of fibrosis and into the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma following cirrhosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, egg white peptides (EWP) were prepared using preheat treatment combined with a bienzymatic hydrolysis. Results on peptide yield and molecular weight distribution showed that preheat treatment could obviously promote egg white hydrolysis. The yield of EWP obtained from neutral-alkaline protease treatment was 74.62% ± 0.23% and 92.69% of EWP was between 200 Da and 500 Da. Supplementation with 750 mg/kg/d EWP significantly alleviated the decrease of immune organ index in immunosuppressed male BLAB/c mice caused by cyclophosphamide. The pathological changes of spleen showed that EWP could also alleviate the damage of spleen tissue. The number of white blood cells in peripheral blood and the levels of serum cytokines (IL-6, IL-2 and TNF-α) in 750 mg/kg/d EWP group were significantly higher than the model group. The immunomodulatory effects of EWP might be related to the presence of abundant branched-chain amino acids, which were important components of immunomodulatory peptides. Eight possible immunomodulatory peptides were identified from EWP by High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry in combination with ProteinLynx Global SERVER and mass spectral database. Therefore, EWP may have potential as a natural immunomodulator for the prevention of immune damage caused by external influences. [Display omitted] • EWP were prepared by pre-heat treatment and bienzymatic hydrolysis. • Oral 750 mg/kg/d EWP could obviously alleviate the immune damage in immunosuppressed male BLAB/c mice caused by cyclophosphamid. • Eight possible immunomodulatory peptides were identified from EWP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of egg freshness on baking properties and final qualities in batter systems. Batters were made with eggs of different freshness, and the properties of batter systems were studied through rheological analysis, rapid viscosity analysis ( RVA), differential scanning calorimetry ( DSC), batter density and expansion rate during the baking and cooling processes. Moreover, the qualities of final baked systems were investigated, including specific volume and texture profile analysis ( TPA). RESULTS The flow behavior of batters showed that the consistency index ( K) decreased as the Haugh unit ( HU) value decreased, while the flow behavior index ( n) increased. Both the storage modulus ( G′) and loss modulus ( G″) determined by mechanical spectra at 20 °C decreased with decreasing HU. RVA and DSC determinations revealed that lower- HU samples had a lower viscosity in the baking process and a shorter time for starch gelatinization and egg protein denaturation. Observation of the batter density revealed an increasing change, which was reflected by a decrease in the specific volume of final models. TPA showed significant differences in hardness and chewiness, but no significant differences in springiness and cohesiveness were found. CONCLUSION The egg freshness affected the properties of batter systems. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the low stoichiometry from enzymatic hydrolysis of casein, purification of casein phosphopeptides ( CPPs) is necessary prior to application in infant formula or nutritional foods. In this study, functional zirconia-modified magnetic nanoparticles ( Fe3O4@ ZrO2) were prepared and applied for purification of CPPs. The physical shape, crystalline structures and chemical groups were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared. Fe3O4@ ZrO2 nanoparticles had nano-dimension and good dispersion. The purification studies showed that the high selectivity of Fe3O4@ ZrO2 was obtained at pH 4.5. Then the structures of reused Fe3O4@ ZrO2 were characterized to study the stability of material. The purity of CPPs isolated by Fe3O4@ ZrO2 was analyzed to study the affinity force of material. All results confirmed that Fe3O4@ ZrO2 nanoparticles had good stability and high affinity force for CPPs after 15 repeated cycles, and the maximum loading amount of material was 105.53 mg/g with lower N/P (5.94) of CPPs. Practical Applications Casein phosphopeptides can enhance the absorption and utilization of calcium, but it needs to be purified before used as calcium nutritional supplements. Most of existing purification methods are two-step methods, which have limitations in food application. Compared with traditional methods, the separation method using Fe3O4@ ZrO2 nanoparticles can one-step purify phosphopeptides from real samples, and shows good performance. The purification process using Fe3O4@ ZrO2 nanoparticles has the simpler procedures, higher enrichment efficiency and shorter production cycle. It means that the purification process is easy to expand the scale of production for improving the yield and quality of phosphopeptides, which can satisfy the demand of market. The results demonstrate that Fe3O4@ ZrO2, which has good stability and high affinity force for metal oxide affinity peptides, is one new type of extraction materials and possesses wide application prospects in food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]