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Polysaccharides were recovered from red grape pomace by hot water extraction and then subjected to deproteinization, decolorization, fractionization, and characterization. The extraction process conferred a crude polysaccharide yield of 8.45 % (w/w) and the highest decolorization rate of 63.12 % was obtained by soaking the crude polysaccharide solution with 0.20 g/mL HPD-300 macroporous resin for 3 h. Separation with the anionic DEAE Fast Flow column generated four fractions, which were negatively charged according to zeta potential measurement. All the fractions contained uronic acid and their weight-average molecular weights were within the range 2 × 106–4 × 106 Dal. The most abundant fraction GPP-3 was composed of arabinose, xylose, mannose, glucose, and galactose in molar ratio 8.05:1.37:2.85:1.30:7.81 and rhamnose was also present according to FTIR and NMR analysis. AFM observation revealed that aggregation occurred in GPP-3, while the Congo red and β-elimination tests indicated the existence of triple helix and -O- linkage in the fraction. Hence, red grape pomace is a potential source of water-soluble polysaccharides and their bioactivity needs further study.

Fang-Jie Zhang, Guo-Qing Huang, Jia Li, Ji Xu, Xiang-Min Li, Ai-Min Wang Department of Emergency Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xiang-Min Li; Ai-Min WangDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +8613875858068; +8613875927399Email lxm8229@126.com; wangaimin@csu.edu.cnPurpose: To determine the clinical manifestations and results of adult hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) patients in our emergency department.Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients with HLH from 1 April 2018 to 31 December 2020. The clinical data of these patients (basic information, symptoms, vital signs, laboratory results, HLH diagnostic criteria, H Score, main treatments, outcomes) were collected.Results: Thirty-three patients (23 males and 10 females; 40.55± 18.78 years) with 34 clinical episodes (one male had two clinical episodes and died during the second episode) were enrolled. Twenty-five patients were placed in a “survivor” group, and nine patients were categorized into a “deceased” group. Fever, splenomegaly, hemoglobin < 90 g/L and platelet count < 100× 109/L most commonly met the diagnostic standard for HLH. The H Score results in the survival group and deceased group was 212.4± 37.18 and 252.1± 40.95, respectively. Viral infection was the most common reason for HLH, followed by immune-system disease and cancer. Laboratory tests showed that deceased-group patients had multiple-organ dysfunction. Multivariate logistic regression showed that the lactate dehydrogenase (lactate dehydrogenase) level (P = 0.039; odds ratio, 0.999) was significantly related to death.Conclusion: In the emergency department, HLH should be considered for critically ill patients with fever, splenomegaly, low hemoglobin and low platelet count. The H Score might be useful to diagnose HLH quickly. In our study, 26.47% of HLH patients died in the emergency department, and patients with a significantly increased lactate dehydrogenase level had a markedly increased risk of death.Keywords: clinical characteristics, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, emergency department, mortality, lactate dehydrogenase

In this paper we propose a new way to detect sublunar-mass primordial black holes (PBHs) by direct observations of the Earth-Moon binary system.Our method is based on treating PBH as a perturbation term, by assuming that the PBH is far away from the Earth-Moon binary (far greater than 1 AU) and the mass of the PBH is small (less than the lunar mass). This perturbation treatment allows us to develop a framework to calculate the orbits of a generic binary system such as the Earth-Moon binary system. Our numerical results show that the Earth-Moon distance is sensitive to the initial values of the system. In most cases, the long-duration interactions between the PBH and the Earth-Moon system can induce lasting imprints on the Earth-Moon's orbit, and these imprints can accumulate over time, eventually giving rise to observable deviations which can be used to infer the properties of the PBH., 23 pages, 16 figures

Carboxymethyl konjac glucomannan (CMKGM) is an anionic derivative of konjac glucomannan (KGM). Its coacervation with ovalbumin (OVA) was investigated through turbidity and coacervate yield measurem...

The interaction between ovalbumin (OVA) and high methoxyl pectin (PEC) was explored according to turbidity and coacervate yield measurements. Coacervation could occur between the two polyelectrolytes in pHs ranging from 2.5 to 4.0 and peaked in pH 2.5. The presence of NaCl suppressed the interaction, and their mass ratio determined the solubility of resultant coacervates. The association between OVA and PEC was highly temperature dependent and hydrophobic interaction played an important role in their complexation. Atomic force microscope observation revealed that serious aggregation occurred to the coacervates separated in pH 2.5, and circular dichroism analysis indicated that coacervation with PEC induced structural changes in OVA, which was positively related to the degree of coacervation. Thermogravimetry analysis demonstrated increased thermal stability of OVA in the coacervates, and quartz crystal microbalance analysis confirmed that the association between OVA and PEC was pH dependent and a rigid layer could be formed between them.

The application of whey protein isolate (WPI)–low methoxyl pectin (LMP) particles generated by complex coacervation as a food-grade high internal phase Pickering emulsion (HIPE) stabilizer was inve...

Chang-Shou She,1 Yue-Lin Deng,1 Guo-Qing Huang,1 Chao Cheng,2 Fang-Jie Zhang1,3 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Clinical Laboratory, Lixian People’s Hospital, Changde, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 3National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders (Xiangya Hospital), Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Fang-Jie Zhang, Department of Emergency Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 15116256248, Email zhangfj@csu.edu.cnPurpose: This study’s goal was to explore risk factors affecting short-term prognosis of cardiorenal syndrome type 1 (CRS1) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients.Methods: In this retrospective analysis of CRS1 in AMI patients hospitalized from January 2011 to December 2014, the patients were classified into deceased or survivor groups. Clinical data, including demographics, laboratory results, and 28-day outcomes, were collected.Results: The incidence rate of CRS1 in AMI patients was 15.2% (274 in 1801). Ultimately, 88 patients were enrolled and 25 (28.4%) were classified into the deceased group, while 63 were classified into the survivor group. There were statistically significant differences between the groups for hypertension, mechanical ventilation, KIDGO stage, NT-proBNP, Hb, ALB, PCI, decreased LVEF, 7th-day SCr value, and the highest SCr value recorded within 7 days (all P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression showed that the following factors were significantly related to whether a patient died: requiring mechanical ventilation, increased NT-proBNP levels and 7th-day SCr values, and decreased LVEFs. The APACHE II, SOFA, and SASP II scores on the 7th day were significantly higher in the deceased group (all P < 0.05). The accuracy of APACHE II, SOFA, and SASP II scores on the 7th day for predicting death were 84.1%, 78.4% and 79.5%, respectively. The AUC of 7th-day APACHE II, SOFA, and SASP II scores was 0.844, 0.803, and 0.827, respectively, with no statistically significant differences between the three scores (P > 0.05).Conclusion: The mortality rate of CRS1 in AMI patients was 28.4% (25 in 88) within 28 days. Mechanical ventilation, increased NT-proBNP levels, the 7th-day SCr value, and decreased LVEF were related to death in AMI patients with CRS1. APACHE II, SOFA, and SAPS II scores on the 7th day were satisfactorily accurate in predicting death within 28 days.Keywords: acute myocardial infarction, cardiorenal syndrome type 1, APACHE II, SOFA, SAPS II, mortality

Coacervation of the lipase from Aspergillus oryzae (AOL) with chitosan was a feasible way to fabricate lipase-loaded particles and the optimum conditions were phase separation pH 5.5, chitosan to AOL mass ratio 1:5, and temperature 25 °C in the absence of NaCl, which conferred an AOL loading efficiency of up to 95.48% and activity recovery of 69.60%. The AOL-chitosan coacervates were highly porous and more susceptible to weight loss upon heating. Coacervation with chitosan increased the activity of AOL and shifted its optimum pH from 7.0 to 6.0, but exerted no effect on its optimum temperature (45 °C). Thermal deactivation kinetics analysis revealed that the coacervated AOL was more thermal stable, while the Michaelis-Menten kinetics analysis indicated that coacervation with chitosan increased the V

The suitability of the perilla seed oil Pickering emulsion stabilized by the ovalbumin (OVA) - gum Arabic (GA) polyelectrolyte complex for spray drying was investigated and the resultant powder was characterized. The OVA - GA complex conferred enhanced stability to the emulsion than OVA, GA, and their mixture. The viscosity of the Pickering emulsion was highly sensitive to stabilizer concentration and that fabricated by 2% OVA - GA complex showed acceptable viscosity and powder yield. The Pickering emulsion was more effective in preventing oil leakage during spray drying than the OVA-stabilized emulsion and the resultant powder possessed an oil content of up to 77.7%. Besides, the spray-dried Pickering emulsion powder showed greater rehydration and better flowability than that of the OVA-stabilized emulsion powder. Hence, the Pickering emulsion stabilized by the OVA - GA polyelectrolyte complex is promising as a novel feed for the production of oil powders by spray drying.

Carboxymethylation is a potential way to extend the application of konjac glucomannan (KGM) in the construction of colon-targeted delivery systems through electrostatic interaction-based techniques. Hence, some related properties of carboxymethylated KGM (CMKGM) were characterized as a function of its degree of substitution (DS). Carboxymethylation decreased the molecular weight and viscoelasticity, increased the thermal stability and water solubility of KGM in a DS-dependent manner, but did not destroy the sensitivity of solution viscosity to temperature variation. The gelation ability of the CMKGMs was greatly weakened and the hardness of their gels was greatly impaired. The CMKGMs carried negative charges with zeta potentials proportional to their DSs, but still maintained similar resistance to proteolytic enzymes and susceptibility to β-mannanase with the native KGM. Hence, the CMKGMs are potential in the construction of colon-targeted and enzyme-triggered delivery systems through layer-by-layer assembly, complex coacervation, and other similar techniques.

Lysozyme was recovered from its aqueous solution by coprecipitation with sodium alginate. Electrostatic interaction between the two polyelectrolytes could occur between pH 2.0–9.0 and peaked at pH 3.0. The maximum lysozyme recovery of 97.10% was recorded at a mass ratio to sodium alginate of 2:1 and the presence of excessive sodium alginate reduced lysozyme precipitation. Complexation at pH 3.0 conferred the most compact and elastic network structure for the complex, but reduced the thermal stability and caused the greatest structural variation to lysozyme. The complexes separated at pH 4.5 and 6.0 could be dissolved by 1.0 mol/L NaCl, but that at pH 3.0 released only 77% lysozyme and further increase of NaCl concentration could not promote lysozyme liberation. It was concluded that coprecipitation with sodium alginate was potential in recovering lysozyme from its aqueous solutions and the dissociation of resultant complexes should be further enhanced to increase yield.

Background Hydrogen is received as an inert gas that thought to be non-functional in vivo previously. Recently, emerging evidences showed that in ischemia/reperfusion (IR) condition, hydrogen reduced cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and ameliorated cell apoptosis. However, the underlying mechanism of hydrogen on IR-induced apoptosis remains elusive. Here we tried to unravel the mode of action of hydrogen with rat adrenal medulla cell line PC-12 in vitro. Methods The mitochondrial functions before and after oxygen glucose deprivation and reperfusion (OGD/RP) were determined with corresponding dyes. The expression of Bcl-2, Bax, VDAC1, cytochrome c and caspase 9 was detected using qRT-PCR and Western Blotting method. Then Bcl-2 inhibitor, AB-199, was applied to investigate the role of Bcl-2 in OGD/RP-induced cell apoptosis. Finally, we manipulated the expression of VDAC1 with plasmids transfection to understand the effects of VDAC1 on Bcl-2-mediated anti-apoptosis in OGD/RP. Results In this study, we demonstrated that hydrogen-rich saline (HRS) reduced OGD/RP-mediated neuronal loss by stimulating the expression of Bcl-2, which suppressed the activity of VDAC1. Consequently, HRS maintained the mitochondrial functions, restrained the release of cytochrome c and caspase 9 activation, resulting in ameliorated cell viability. Conclusions HRS ameliorated OGD/RP-induced PC-12 cell apoptosis and provided a novel treatment option for ischemia.

Juan Zhang, Xiangmin Li, Guoqing Huang, Aimin Wang, Fangjie Zhang Department of Emergency Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Fangjie ZhangDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-151 1625 6248Email zhangfj@csu.edu.cnBackground: Musculoskeletal infection (MSKI) is a common reason to seek medical care in the emergency department (ED). We aimed to determine the clinical characteristics and etiology of patients with MSKI in our ED, the characteristics of MSKI with sepsis, and the predictors of death in sepsis patients.Methods: The study retrospectively analyzed patients with MSKI from April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2021. The patients were divided into non-sepsis and sepsis groups. Clinical data of these patients including their basic information, laboratory results, diagnostic results, and outcomes were collected. Statistical analysis was carried out using GraphPad Prism 5.Results: In all, 106 patients (70 male, 36 female) were enrolled in this study: 43 MSKI patients with sepsis and 63 MSKI patients without sepsis. Five patients with sepsis died. The patients’ age and sex ratio were no significantly different between the sepsis and non-sepsis groups. In the sepsis group, the ratio of rheumatic diseases, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and deep vein thrombosis was significantly different than that in the non-sepsis group (all p< 0.05). Fifty-six patients (54.37%) had positive etiology results. Staphylococcus, streptococcus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli were the most common bacteria found in both groups, but sepsis patients had more Candida albicans infections than non-sepsis patients (p=0.0331, p< 0.05). The five patients who died in the sepsis group had higher serum levels of creatinine and procalcitonin (PCT). Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that PCT (p=0.026; odds ratio, 1.038) was significantly related to mortality.Conclusion: In MSKI patients, rheumatic diseases, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and deep vein thrombosis are the risk factors for sepsis. Staphylococcus, streptococcus, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, and E. coli were the most common bacteria in MSKI patients, while MSKI patients with sepsis had more C. albicans infections. Elevated PCT was significantly related to death in sepsis patients.Keywords: musculoskeletal infection, sepsis, emergency department, procalcitonin

Curcumin was entrapped in multilayered emulsions to increase its stability and bioavailability. Curcumin emulsion stabilized by whey protein isolate (WPI) was coated with chitosan (CHI) or carboxymethyl konjac glucomannan (CMKGM) alone to form secondary emulsions and their combination in sequence to form the tertiary emulsion, in which, the polyelectrolyte concentrations were 1.0% WPI for the primary emulsion, 0.4% CMKGM for the secondary emulsion -CMKGM, 0.2% CHI for the secondary emulsion -CHI, and 0.1% CMKGM for the tertiary emulsion. The characteristics of the emulsions, including their particle size, ζ potential, microstructure, creaming stability, and biopolymer distribution, were investigated and their colon-targeted delivery potential was evaluated through both in vitro and in vivo studies as well. The curcumin-loaded secondary and tertiary emulsions were stable with a narrow size distribution and were generated by layer-by-layer assembly according to confocal laser scanning microscope observation. When CMKGM was located at the outermost layer, the corresponding secondary and tertiary emulsions showed a greatly reduced release of curcumin in the simulated gastric fluid, but exhibited increased release in the β-mannanase-containing simulated colonic fluid. In vivo evaluation in mice demonstrated that the bioavailability of curcumin in the CMKGM-coated secondary and tertiary emulsions was increased by about 4 folds compared with that of free curcumin and curcumin could be released in a sustainable manner. These results demonstrated that multilayered emulsions coated with CMKGM could promote curcumin absorption in the gastrointestinal tract and hence is a promising colon-targeted delivery system for curcumin.

Background Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides are potential alternatives to the synthetic ACE inhibitory drugs, but the in vivo antihypertensive effects of most of them have not been confirmed. The tripeptide Leu-Pro-Pro (LPP) is one of the few peptides that have been proved clinically effective in reducing the blood pressure of hypertensive patients and casein is currently its major source. LPP is contained in multiple fractions of zein, and corn gluten meal (CGM) is hence a potential new source of LPP. For this purpose, CGM was fermented with a Lactobacillus helveticus strain and the medium composition was optimized; the decoloration of the resultant hydrolysate was investigated as well. Results LPP could be successfully released from CGM by fermentation with the strain Lactobacillus helveticus CICC 22536. The highest LPP content and protein recovery of 561 mg kg-1 and 14.92% occurred in the medium containing 20 g L-1 glucose, 15 g L-1 beef extract, 60 g L-1 CGM, 10 g L-1 CaCO3 , 0.5 g L-1 NaCl, and inoculation amount 6%. The supplementation of Flavourzyme® further improved the two parameters to 662 mg kg-1 and 36.94%, respectively. The permeate of the hydrolysate after ultrafiltration through a 5 kDa membrane could be effectively decolored by the macroporous resin XAD-16 without notable protein loss, and its LPP content was further boosted to 743 mg kg-1 . Conclusion CGM is a potential new source of LPP and its ultrafiltered and decolored hydrolysate could be used to develop new antihypertensive functional foods. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Objectives: Our goal in this study was to determine 1) whether there are any differences in clinical characteristics between Chinese and Western patients with aortic dissection (AD), and 2) the mortality rate of AD patients in the emergency department (ED) and identify the risk predictors for death. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients who were diagnosed with AD and admitted to our ED between September 1, 2017–August 31, 2020. Data on age, gender, clinical manifestation, medical history, routine blood tests, liver and kidney function, coagulation, myocardial enzymology, and mortality were collected. Results: We enrolled 535 AD patients (422 men and 113 women) with a mean age of 54.7±14.1 years. Type A AD constituted 40% of the total number of AD cases, while type B AD constituted 60%. The proportion of those who were females, 10-92 years, with type A AD, and hypertension in the Chinese population was lower than that in the Western population (P

Isolated superior mesenteric artery dissection (ISMAD) is a relatively rare disease and often lacks specificity in its clinical presentation, diagnosing it in emergency departments quickly and accurately is a challenge. The study was conducted to understand the basic characteristics of ISMAD including age of onset, risk factors, gender difference and whether D-dimer can be used as a biomarker for its detection. We retrospectively analyzed patients with ISMAD admitted to the emergency department of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from September 1, 2017 to September 30, 2020. The data included the patient’s basic information and the first laboratory test results after admission, including routine blood, liver function, renal function and coagulation function tests. Statistical analysis of results was done using GraphPad Prism 5. There were a total of 17 (15 male and 2 female) patients with a mean age of 52.53 ± 7.11 years diagnosed with ISMAD. Out of these, 7 (41%) patients had history of hypertension, 7 (41%) had history of smoking and/or alcohol intake, and almost all patients experienced significant abdominal pain and fullness. Four patients (24%) were initially misdiagnosed. The laboratory test results of renal, liver function tests and myocardial enzymology were in their normal ranges. In coagulation results, the positive rates of fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) and D-dimer were 29% and 35%, respectively. We compared these ISMAD results with our previous results for acute aortic dissection (AAD). D-dimer and FDP levels were lower in the ISMAD than in the AAD patients (P = 0.0004, P = 0.0325, respectively), and negative rates of D-dimer and FDP in ISMAD (65%, 71%) were higher than in AAD patients (14%, 24%) (P < 0.0001, P = 0.0003, respectively). In our study, ISMAD mostly occurred in middle-aged male patients with known hypertension or active smoking status. Misdiagnosis was common (24% of cases). Since D-dimer and FDP levels proved to be of limited diagnostic value, an abdominal Computed Tomography (CT) scan should be conducted in patients with unclear abdominal pain at an early stage of their diagnostic workup.

INTRODUCTION Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare, life-threatening and easily misdiagnosed thrombotic microangiopathy disease. Few studies have reported the use of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) for TTP in emergency departments in China. The present study was a retrospective analysis of patients with TTP who were treated with TPE in our emergency intensive care unit (EICU). METHODS This study retrospectively analyzed patients with TTP who received TPE management from July 1, 2014 to February 1, 2020. The following clinical data of these patients were collected: laboratory results, first symptoms, ADAMTS13 levels, glucocorticoid levels, TPE times and outcomes. RESULTS The study included 19 patients (9 male and 10 female) with 20 clinical episodes, and 1 female patient had two episodes. TPE was used in 17 patients, and TPE was performed once every 2-3 days in patients. The volume for each TPE treatment was 2000 ml. In total, 4 male patients died, and 15 patients survived. One female experienced a relapse. No significant differences in age, RBC, HGB, PLT, ALT, AST, BUN, Cr, LDH, or bilirubin were noted between the survival and death groups. The mortality rate of male patients was significantly higher than that of female patients(p = 0.0325, p

The protection system is an important part of the reactor, and this paper introduces the overall structure and the development of TMSR-SF0 simulation protection system. It adopts modular design of the advanced FPGA platform, which consists of a kind of FPGA carrier board and various IO sub boards. It can flexibly realize the acquisition and processing of the various sensor signals of the protection variables. The performance is tested, and meets the technical specifications. Through the TMSR-SF0 simulation protection system constructs, the TMSR-SF1 protection will be verified, and the experience of the design and development will be accumulated.

Bovine serum albumin (BSA)-loaded microcapsules were prepared at pH 3.0, 4.5, and 6.0 through O-carboxymethyl (O-CMC) – gum Arabic (GA) coacervation followed by genipin crosslinking to explore the effects of coacervation acidity on the intestine-targeted delivery potency of resultant microcapsules. Confocal laser scanning microscope observation revealed that microcapsules with the multilayer structure were successfully prepared. As the coacervation pH rose from 3.0 to 6.0, the amount of O-CMC deposited on the microcapsule surface and the particle size increased accordingly. Swelling and BSA release results indicated that coacervation at higher pH conferred greater stability against simulated gastric fluid and better intestine-targeted delivery potency to the microcapsules. Circular dichroism analysis demonstrated that the structural integrity of entrapped BSA was well maintained during microencapsulation and incubation in simulated gastrointestinal fluids. Hence, genipin-crosslinked O-CMC – GA coacervates could be used to deliver nutraceuticals to the intestine and its delivery performance could be tailored by varying the coacervation pH.

The mixture of soybean protein isolate-emulsified vitamin E emulsion and chitosan was incubated at 50 °C, 70 °C, and 90 °C for 12 h to check whether Maillard reaction could occur between the two polyelectrolytes during coacervation and its effects on the properties of resultant microcapsules. Color measurements and FTIR analysis revealed that Maillard reaction occurred during microencapsulation and was favored by higher coacervation temperatures. Coacervation at the three temperatures effectively reduced the aggregation and significantly increased the particle size and zeta potential of the microcapsules. The microencapsulation performance was promoted in higher temperatures and coacervation at 90 °C led to a yield of 89.15% compared with 56.30% of the control. Besides, the Maillard reaction-modified microcapsules exhibited better flowability, higher bulk density, and greater stability. It is concluded that the coacervation temperature is an important processing parameter to control the morphology and properties of microcapsules prepared by protein – polysaccharide coacervation.

The performance of catalytic microbubble (MB) ozonation using a commercial granular activated carbon (AC) as catalyst in synthetic acid red 3R wastewater treatment was more efficient than that of coarse bubble (CB) and MB ozonation alone. The ozone mass transfer coefficient, ozone decomposition coefficient, decolorization rate constant, TOC removal rate constant, and ozone reaction efficiency achieved in catalytic MB ozonation were 0.253 min−1, 0.093 min−1, 0.342 min−1, 0.0242 min−1 and 0.128 mg(TOC removed)/mg(ozone consumed), respectively. The average ozone utilization efficiency in catalytic MB ozonation was as high as 98.3%. The synergistic effect of collapsing ozone MBs and catalytic activity of AC enhanced hydroxyl radicals ( OH) oxidation in catalytic MB ozonation which provided about 75% of oxidative capacity for TOC removal, even at a low pH. The enhanced OH oxidation was crucial for the mineralization of acid red 3R in catalytic MB ozonation where some OH scavengers could make TOC removal less efficient, especially Na2CO3. In addition, the catalytic activity of this commercial AC seemed stable after five recycling cycles. UV–Vis spectra and GC–MS analyses indicated that acid red 3R was oxidized-degraded by a pathway of azo bond cleavage, formation of naphthalene- and benzene-type compounds, further generation and final mineralization of small organic acids, which initially reduced the pH and increased the value again during catalytic MB ozonation. Therefore, the catalytic MB ozonation with commercial granular AC was a promising solution for wastewater treatment by ozonation process.

The conjugates of soybean protein isolate (SPI) with xylose and fructose were prepared via Maillard reaction by wet heating at mass ratio 4:1 and 80 °C for several hours. Absorbance at 420 nm indicated the existence of an induction period for the Maillard reaction between SPI and the two monosaccharaides and xylose was more reactive than fructose. SDS–PAGE and thermogravity analysis confirmed the occurrence of Maillard reaction. Fluorescence analysis revealed that the Maillard reaction led to relaxed structure for SPI in the conjugates. The conjugation with the two monosaccharaides significantly improved the solubility, but decreased the emulsifying activity of SPI. ζ-Potential measurement showed that the reaction changed the charge density of SPI and the specific effect depended on the sugar type and reaction degree. It is concluded that the wet heating-induced Maillard reaction with monosaccharaides might be a promising way for SPI modification due to shortened reaction time, improved solubility and tailored charge density.

To improve morphological structure and stability of soy protein isolate - chitosan coacervate, a soy protein isolate-chitosan-sodium alginate ternary complex coacervate phase was successfully constructed by adding sodium alginate. The ζ -potential and turbidity data showed that soy protein isolate, sodium alginate, and chitosan interacted with each other in the pH range 5.0–7.0. The highest ternary coacervate yield was obtained at soy protein isolate/sodium alginate ratio 12:1 (g/g), soy protein isolate/sodium alginate:chitosan ratio 4:1 (g/g), pH 6.5, and total biopolymer concentration of 5 g/L. The viscoelastic properties and microstructure were also studied using rheology, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, texture profile analysis, and scanning electron microscopy, which indicated that the ternary coacervates prepared in pH 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5 had a viscoelastic solid behavior (storage moduli between 12,600 and 35,000 Pa; loss moduli between 3440 and 10,000 Pa) with honeycomb porous network structures. The ternary coacervate prepared at pH 6.5 was more compact and clearly porous. The stability of the ternary complex coacervate phase to pH and ionic strength slight increased. The in situ cross-linking of sodium alginate can improve the structure properties of ternary coacervates, which may provide a new carrier to incoporate bioactive ingredients into food products.

The potential of the glutaraldehyde-crosslinked O-carboxymethyl chitosan (O-CMC)-gum Arabic (GA) coacervate as an intestine-targeted delivery system for hydrophobic compounds was concerned. OCMC-GA coacervates and emulsified bovine serum albumin (BSA)-loaded microcapsules were prepared in pH3.0, 4.5, and 6.0 and their swelling behaviors as well as BSA release profiles in simulated gastrointestinal fluids were measured. All the coacervates showed higher swelling ratios in the simulated gastric solution than in the simulated intestine and colon solutions and the values increased as the coacervation pH increased from 3.0 to 6.0, but a reversed trend was observed for the BSA release profile. SEM, TEM, and CLSM analysis revealed that the coacervation acidity influenced the swelling and BSA release behavior by changing the matrix density and O-CMC content of the coacervates. It was concluded that the O-CMC-GA coacervate could be used to deliver hydrophobic compounds to the intestine and its delivery performance could be tailored by selecting appropriate coacervation acidity and crosslinking degree.