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Wine is renowned for its rich content of polyphenols, including resveratrol (Res), known for their health promoting properties. Steamed clam with wine, a popular Mediterranean delicacy that highlights the role of wine as a key ingredient. However, despite these benefits, resveratrol's low bioavailability poses challenges. Could the process of steaming together with clam alter the digestive fate of resveratrol from wine? This study explores the potential of proteoglycan-based nanoparticles from freshwater clam (CFNPs) as a delivery vehicle for enhancing the stability and bioavailability of resveratrol, compared with wine and free Res' solution, aiming to elucidate mechanisms facilitating Res' absorption. The results demonstrated that CFNPs can effectively encapsulate Res with an efficiency over 70%, leading to a uniform particle size of 70.5±0.1 nm (PDI < 0.2). Resveratrol loaded in CFNPs (CFNPs-Res) exhibited an improved antioxidant stability under various conditions, retaining over 90% of antioxidant capacity after three-day storage at room temperature. The controlled-release profile of Res loaded in CFNPs fits both first and Higuchi order kinetics and was more desirable than that of wine and the free Res. Examined by the simulated gastrointestinal digestion, CFNPs-Res showed a significantly higher bioaccessibility and antioxidant retention compared to free Res and the wines. The discovery and use of food derived nanoparticles to carry micronutrients and antioxidants could lead to a shift in functional food design and nutritional advice, advocating much more attention on these entities over solely conventional molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial coupling of two-dimensional semiconductor materials is an effective option to construct heterojunction for enhancing photocatalytic activity. In this paper, a g-C3N4/SnS2 type-II heterojunction was constructed using an electrostatic self-assembly method. The g-C3N4/SnS2-60 showed a CO yield of 2.54 µmol g−1, which was 2.96 and 22.1 times that of the g-C3N4 and SnS2 nanosheets, respectively. The efficient carrier separation efficiency of the composites is mainly derived from the type-II heterojunction structure and the interfacial synergy of the two-dimensional (2D) structure. In addition, the high light response intensity of the g-C3N4/SnS2 composite also had excellent electron excitation and transfer ability. This work provides a new vision for the rational design of 2D heterojunction-based photocatalysts for the study of CO2 reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to maintain the physicochemical stability of oil emulsion has been one of the major challenges in food industry. Previously we reported the demulsification effects of catalase in the fish oil emulsion. In comparison, the influences of other two metal ion-containing oxidoreductases, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD), on the emulsion's stability were investigated. Submicron fish oil-in-water emulsion stabilized by polysorbate 80 was prepared by high-speed homogenization. Its physical stability was evaluated by visual and microscopic observation, turbidity and light scattering measurements, while chemical stability by the hydroperoxide content and lipid peroxidation. HRP demulsified the emulsion in a concentration-responsive manner after 3–7 days' incubation, resulting in a decreased turbidity and significant delamination. The enlargement of oil-polysorbate droplets and protein precipitates were confirmed by size distribution and TEM observation. HRP initially elevated the emulsion's hydroperoxide then decreased it while raising TBARS levels during 7-Day incubation. In contrary, SOD stabilized the emulsion physically and chemically. The demulsification was correspondingly attributed to the oxidation catalyzing activity of the peroxidase and the electrostatic and hydrophobic interaction between lipids and proteins. This study adds new insight to the influences of the two oxidoreductases on the stability, lipids and peroxides of food emulsions, proposes an exciting subject of elucidating the underlying mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

g-C3N4 quantum dots (CN QDs)-decorated mesoporous CeO2 composite photocatalyst was prepared by hydrothermal method. The characterized results exhibit that the CN QDs are successfully coupled with mesoporous CeO2, and the photoelectronic response is effectively enhanced. The photocatalytic activity was tested by CO2 reduction, and the results showed that when the loading of CN QDs was 0.75 wt%, the composite photocatalyst has the best photocatalytic activity. After 10 h of UV irradiation, the yields of CO and CH4 were 22.48 µmol/g and 15.81 µmol/g, respectively. Some of the electrons generated within m-CeO2 participated in the CO2 reduction reaction and some were transferred to CN QDs through the two-phase interface to participate in the CO2 catalytic reaction. The oxygen vacancies in m-CeO2 can adsorb CO2 and the introduced CN QDs can excite more oxygen vacancies with m-CeO2 heterostructure, thereby adsorbing more CO2 and photoreduction electrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ce doping TiO2/halloysite nanotubes photocatalyst (Ce-TiO2/HNTs) was prepared for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC). The crystal structure, morphology and photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties have been researched by XRD, TEM, UV–vis DRS and other characterized technologies. The TEM results showed that the Ce-TiO2 nanoparticles were evenly dispersed on the surface of HNTs with about 5 nm pore structure. The UV–vis DRS results showed that the doping of Ce effectively broadened the photo-absorption capacity of the pure TiO2. The PEC results confirmed that the doping of Ce decreased the electrochemical impedance of the photogenerated carrier in the transfer process and greatly improved the photogenerated efficiency of the electron within the TiO2 NPs. The XPS analysis showed that Ce co-existed in the form of Ce3+ and Ce4+ oxidation states in the Ce-TiO2/HNTs. The photodegradation experiments showed that Ce-TiO2/HNTs exhibited the enhanced photocatalytic activity under the visible-light irradiation compared with the pure TiO2 NPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Densities, viscosity and bubble-point vapor pressures for binary mixtures of dimethoxy methane and a hydrocarbon fuel (exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene) were measured over the whole composition range. The excess molar volumes ( V m E ) and viscosity deviations (Δη) for the binary systems were calculated from the density and viscosity data. The Antoine equation was fitted with the experimental vapor pressures, and the corresponding parameters were calculated. Positive values of excess molar volumes, negative viscosity deviations and positive deviations from Raoult's law for the vapor pressures are observed. The three physical properties and the corresponding calculation results provide valuable information on the application and study of mixed liquid hydrocarbon fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurements of density, viscosity and vapor pressure for binary mixtures of exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene (JP-10) with isopropyl ether are reported at temperatures of (293.15, 298.15, 303.15, 308.15, and 313.15) K over the entire composition range. The excess molar volumes, viscosity deviation and excess Gibbs energies of activation for the binary systems were calculated from the experimental values and fitted with the Redlich-Kister equation. Isopropyl ether was added to enhance the vapor pressure of JP-10. Experimental vapor pressure data were correlated by the Antoine equation. Several semi-empirical equations were used to correlate the viscosity data. The McAllister equation gives relatively satisfactory results for the correlation. The experimental and correlated data could be used in the development of models for mixtures of hydrocarbons with oxygenates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese pine ( Pinus tabulaeformis) is a highly climate-sensitive species. Presently, the Huanglong Mountains are covered by widespread forests dominated by Chinese pine and thus has a great potential for dendrochronological studies. To increase the knowledge of NDVI changes of the Loess Plateau and their potential influences on the environmental changes, the regional tree-ring chronology from the Huanglong Mountains was used to investigate climate/NDVI relationships. Standard dendrochronological methods were applied to a regional tree-ring series of Pinus tabulaeformis from the Huanglong Mountains, the Loess Plateau. The relationships between ring widths and NDVI/climate factors were investigated by the simple and spatial correlation analysis. The results of the correlation analysis indicated that mean temperature has negative influences on tree growth, while the tree-ring widths of Chinese pine reflect the variations of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Herein the standard tree-ring width series was used to develop June-July NDVI for the Huanglong Mountains during the period AD 1812-2012, and it explained 41.2 % of the total NDVI variance during the period AD 1982-2006. The results of the spatial analysis show that the reconstructed NDVI has strong drought signals for the Huanglong Mountains. Drought events in the NDVI series are compared to the historical records and climate data in the study area, and show common drought events over much of Shaanxi. These drought-caused famines have had strong influences on the people of Shaanxi during the past 201 years. The moving correlation between March-July temperature and the NDVI reconstruction showed that the recent warming is the most important driving force of the drying trend and the resulting in tree growth decline during the last 30 years. Our reconstructed NDVI is significantly correlated with sea surface temperature in the Indian and the western Pacific Oceans. The linkages to the Indian and Pacific Oceans suggest the connection of regional NDVI variations to large-scale ocean-atmosphere-land circulation systems. Our NDVI reconstruction provides the long-term perspective on the vegetation dynamics of the Huanglong Mountains and is used to guide expectations of future forest variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a tree-ring width chronology from pine trees ( Pinus tabulaeformis and Pinus armandii) stand near the peaks of Huashan, Shaanxi, north-central China. Growth-climate response analyses showed that the radial growth of pine trees is mainly influenced by April-June precipitation. A model to reconstruct precipitation based on tree widths was constructed, accounting for 55 % of the instrumental variance during the period 1953-2012. Spatial correlation analyses between the reconstruction and observed gridded precipitation data shows that the seasonal precipitation reconstruction captures regional climatic variations over north China. Compared with the historical archives and other tree-ring records in north China, many large-scale drought events, linked to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), were found. Many of these events have had profound impacts on the people of north China over the past several centuries. Composite maps of sea surface temperatures and 500 hPa geopotential heights for selected extremely dry and wet years in Huashan show characteristics similar to those related to the ENSO patterns, particularly with regard to ocean and atmospheric conditions in the equatorial and north Pacific. Our 531-year precipitation reconstruction for Huashan provides a long-term perspective on current and 20th century wet and dry events in north China, and is useful to guide expectations of future variability, and helps us to address climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the geometric offset caused by replacing the filter during imaging of multichannel spectral image data, a multichannel spectral image registration method based on SURF feature merged with maximum submatrix is proposed. Firstly, the feature of multichannel spectral image is extracted by SURF. Then, a perspective transformation is performed to obtain a preliminary registration image. For the problem of invalid areas with zero pixel values appearing at the boundary of the image after registration, the largest submatrix is used to detect the maximum inscribed rectangle of the image to remove the invalid boundary region, and maximize the reserved effective region information. Experimented was processed with multichannel imaging data of murals. Experimental results agree with the theoretic analysis and verified that the proposed registration method is better adapted to image scale and brightness changing. At the same time, it can avoid the influence of invalid regions generated by other registration methods on subsequent spectral reconstruction and color restoration which has better performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like any typical food system, bone soup (or broth), a traditional nourishing food in many cultures, contains a colloid dispersion of self-assembled micro/nano-particles. Food ingestion results in the direct contact of food colloidal MNPs with immune cells. Will they ever interact with each other? To answer the question, MNPs and NPs were separated from porcine bone soup and labeled with Nile Red, and their uptake by murine oral macrophages and its consequent effects were investigated. Colloidal particle samples of UF-MNPs and SEC-NP were prepared from porcine bone soup by ultrafiltration (UF) and size-exclusion chromatography, respectively. Their mean hydrodynamic diameters were 248 ± 10 nm and 170 ± 1 nm with dominant composition of protein and lipid. Particles in both samples were found to be internalized by oral macrophages upon co-incubation at particle/cell ratios of 14,000/1. In normal oral macrophages, the particle uptake exerted influence neither on the cellular cytosolic membrane potential (Vmem) nor mitochondrial superoxide level, as were indicated with fluorescent dyes of DiBAC4(3) and MitoSOX Red, respectively. However, when oral macrophages were challenged by peroxyl radical inducer AAPH, the engulfment of UF-MNPs and SEC-NPs mitigated the peroxyl radical induced membrane hyperpolarization effect by up to 70%, and the suppression on the oxygen respiration in mitochondria by up to 100%. Those results provide evidence of the direct interaction between food colloidal particles with immune cells, implying a possible new mode of food-body interaction. Food ingestion: Colloidal particles derived from bone soup interact with immune cells The uptake of food colloidal particles by oral macrophages can mitigate the peroxyl radical induced membrane hyperpolarization effect and suppress the oxygen respiration in mitochondria. Jianwu Zhou and coworkers from Zhejiang Gongshang University, China, separated micro/nano particles of 248 ± 10 nm and 170 ± 1 nm in diameter from porcine bone soup via membrane ultrafiltration and gel-filtration, respectively. By labeling the colloidal particles with hydrophobic fluorescent dyes, they tracked their internalization by oral macrophages upon co-incubation. It was found the food colloidal particles ingestion had no influence on the cell plasma membrane potential and mitochondrial superoxide level of the normal oral macrophages. However, when macrophages were irritated by peroxyl radical inducer 2,2′-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride, the food micro/nano particles exhibited a pacifying effect. This finding reveal a possible new mode of food-body interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]