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Sodium alginate-porous starch complex gels were prepared by calcium chloride dripping method and calcium carbonate internal gelation method. Furthermore, hardness, syneresis, swelling characteristics, crystalline structure and microstructure of the complex gels were analyzed. The results showed that the gel properties were significantly affected by calcium source and sodium alginate to porous starch ratio (mass ratio defined as r value). At high r value (r =4∶2 or 5∶1), calcium carbonate caused the formation of gel curds with uniform shape and dense structures, which also showed high gel hardness and low syneresis. Meanwhile, calcium chloride caused the formation of gel beads with uniform shape and hard shell. Due to different gel structures, the initial swelling speed of gel beads was slow and the final swelling ratio was high, while the initial swelling speed of gel curds was fast and the final swelling ratio was relatively low. The gels prepared by these two methods showed high swelling ratio in simulated colonic fluid and low swelling ratio in simulated gastric fluid, indicating good pH response. Microstructure analysis showed there was good compatibility between sodium alginate and porous starch. The results of the present research could provide useful information to develop pH responded delivery system for bioactive substances.

The mammalian lung develops through branching morphogenesis which is controlled by growth factors, hormones, and extracellular matrix proteins. We have evaluated the role of EGF-receptor signaling in lung morphogenesis by analyzing the developmental phenotype of lungs in mice with an inactivated the EGF-receptor gene both in vivo and in organ culture. Neonatal EGF-receptor-deficient mice often show evidence of lung immaturity which can result in visible respiratory distress. The lungs of these mutant mice had impaired branching and deficient alveolization and septation, resulting in a 50% reduction in alveolar volume and, thus, a markedly reduced surface for gas exchange. The EGF-receptor inactivation also resulted in type II pneumocyte immaturity, which was apparent from their increased glycogen content and a reduced number of lamellar bodies. The defective branching was already evident at Day 12 of embryonic development. When explants of embryonic lungs from Day 12 embryos were cultured under defined conditions, the branching defect in EGF-receptor-deficient lungs was even more pronounced, with only half as many terminal buds as normal lungs. EGF treatment stimulated the expression of surfactant protein C and thyroid transcription factor-1 in cultured normal lungs, but not in EGF-receptor-deficient lungs, suggesting that EGF-receptor signaling regulates the expression of these marker genes during type II pneumocyte maturation. Taken together, our data indicate that signal transduction through the EGF receptor plays a major role in lung development and that its inactivation leads to a respiratory distress-like syndrome.

Baijiu – Chinese white spirits – contain a plethora of volatile compounds of which only some have been identified. This study reports two pre‐treatments, direct injection and headspace solid phase microextraction (HS‐SPME), coupled with gas chromatography mass spectrometry to analyse the volatile compounds of liquor distilled from grains fermented in 100‐, 200‐ and 300 year‐old cellars. Three samples from each cellar were analysed and 71 compounds were detected using direct injection with 75 compounds detected using HS‐SPME. The compounds included esters, alcohols, carboxylic acids, aldehydes and ketones and other compounds. Although both methods detected a similar number of compounds, the types of compounds detected differed. The collection times of the samples were divided into four stages according to their composition. This study provides an analytical foundation for further determining components in baijiu. © 2019 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]