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In anurans, the complexity of courtship calls may affect female mate choice. The current study suggests that nonlinear phenomena (NLP) components can contribute to increasing complexity in courtship calls and attracting female attention. The results of a recent study showed that calls of large odorous frog (Odorrana graminea) contained NLP components. However, whether the nonlinear components of courtship calls in O. graminea improve male attractiveness remains unknown. We hypothesized that female O. graminea would prefer males producing calls with a higher proportion of NLP components (P‐NLP‐C). To test this hypothesis, we recorded the advertisement calls of 28 males and confirmed that the P‐NLP‐C was significantly positively related to body size. We also measured the body size of natural amplectant males and non‐amplectant males in the field and found that amplectant males had larger body sizes than non‐amplectant males, and the results of two‐choice amplexus experiments similarly revealed a female preference for males with larger body sizes. Additionally, phonotaxis experiments also revealed that females preferred male calls with a high P‐NLP‐C. The results suggest that a higher P‐NLP‐C in calls can enhance male attractiveness, and the P‐NLP‐C may provide key information about male body conditions for female O. graminea. Our study provides a new insight for better understanding the role of NLP in anuran mate selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earlier spring phenological events have been widely reported in plants under global warming. Recent studies reported a slowdown in the warming‐induced advanced spring phenology in temperate regions. However, previous research mainly focused on daily mean temperature, thus neglecting the asymmetric phenological responses to daytime and nighttime temperature. Using long‐term records of leaf unfolding in eight deciduous species at 1300 sites across central Europe, we assessed and compared the effects of daytime temperature, nighttime temperature, and photoperiod on leaf unfolding during 1951–1980 and 1981–2013. Although leaf unfolding was advanced by daytime warming during 1951–2013, the advancing responses of leaf unfolding significantly decreased from 1951–1980 to 1981–2013 due to a lower accumulation of chilling units by daytime warming. Nighttime warming delayed leaf unfolding during 1951–1980 but advanced it during 1981–2013 due to a higher accumulation of chilling units by nighttime warming. In contrast, critical daylength and plasticity of leaf unfolding dates remained unchanged between 1951 and 2013. Our study provided evidence that daytime warming instead of nighttime warming accounts for the slowdown in the advancing spring phenology and implied that nighttime warming‐induced earlier spring phenology may be buffering the slowdown of the advanced spring phenology by daytime warming. The response of spring phenology to nighttime temperature may override that to daytime temperature under the actual trends in global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most mechanical oil leaks and industrial oily wastewater are in complex and harsh environments. Hence, developing a simple and efficient method to store oil or separating oil–water contaminants has become an ongoing challenge. Hierarchically porous polyetheimide (HPPEI) is a promising competitive candidate due to the combination of functional designability, featuring multilayer pores, and the excellent properties of PEI. Herein, HPPEI (micro‐ and nano‐) is developed by fused deposition modeling (FDM) printing, which enables customizable uniform pores, and green and cost‐effective supercritical CO2 foaming method. HPPEI exhibits remarkable oil content and oil adsorption rate, attributed to the nanopores functioning as "windows." Nanopores alter the adsorption mode from the "individual adsorption" of PPEI to "interconnected adsorption," accompanied by an increased storage capacity, and enhanced the overall adsorption rate due to strong capillary effect and higher adsorption rate. HPPEI modified with hydrophobic nano fumed silica (HN─SiO2), demonstrates outstanding hydrophobicity and lipophilicity features selective oil adsorption and oil–water separation, and retains excellent hydrophobic even at high temperatures and in acidic and alkaline environments. This material is expected to provide a strategy for energy conservation: selective oil adsorption from oily wastewater in harsh environments and then the oily material is utilized for lubrication areas, avoiding material waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zwitterionic polymers are known to possess excellent protein resistance due to high hydration capacity of their zwitterionic moieties. In this study, polysaccharide-based zwitterionic polymers 3-dimethyl(propyl) ammonium propanesulfonate starches (Z-starches) with different degrees of substitution of the zwitterionic moieties (DSZM) were synthesized successfully. The value of DSZM can be controlled exactly in the range of 0-0.46. The cytotoxicity of Z-starches with different DSZM was evaluated by an MTT assay, and the Z-starch with DSZM of 0.26 promoted cell proliferation when the concentration of this polymer solution was 1-25 mg/mL. The protein resistance and cell adhesion of Z-starch hydrogels were evaluated, and the amount of protein adsorption or cell adhesion on Z-starch hydrogels was decreased as the DSZM increased. The preliminary protein resistance and cell adhesion tests suggest that the Z-starches have potential applications in drug delivery carriers and coatings of implanted sensors where protein resistance is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

. Purpose: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is an enzyme involved in neoplastic processes. The purpose of the present study is to investigate COX-2 expression in the normal human eye and the expression pattern in selected eye tumours involving COX-2 expressing cells. Methods: Immunohistochemical staining using antibodies against COX-2 was performed on paraffin sections of normal human eyes and selected eye tumours arising from cells expressing COX-2. Results: Cyclooxygenase-2 expression was found in various structures of the normal eye. Abundant expression was seen in the cornea, iris, ciliary body and retina. The COX-2 expression was less in tumours deriving from the ciliary epithelium and also in retinoblastoma. Conclusion: Cyclooxygenase-2 is constitutively expressed in normal human eyes. The expression of COX-2 is much lower in selected eye tumours involving COX-2 expressing cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this work, soy protein isolates (SPIs) were subjected to microparticulation, turning soy protein ingredients into microparticles with improved thermal stability which could be used in high‐protein foods. The pH is a critical determinant in microparticulation. Our work is mainly to investigate the effect of pH on the formation and properties of protein microparticles. To clarify the effects of pH conditions on the properties of the resulting particles, microparticulation was performed at different pH conditions (7.0, 6.0 and 5.0). Aggregation behaviours described by the parameters calculated from the protein dispersion viscosity combined with the observation of the morphology change were used to analyse the particle formation process. For the microparticles prepared at pH 5.0, soy proteins were more inclined to aggregate into clusters on a micro‐scale which had a flexible conformation. After spray drying, This powder could be easily dispersed in water, creating a dispersion with a protein concentration of 10 wt%. At this concentration, the thermal gelation capacity of the proteins was observed to decrease. Conversely, the tendency of protein aggregation was largely restricted when soy protein microparticulation was carried out at pH 7.0. As these soy protein particles in nano‐scale were dispersed in water, a decrease rather than an increase was recorded in the viscosity of this dispersion after it was heated, suggesting that these particles had improved thermal stability. This work has demonstrated that implementing appropriate pH conditions during microparticulation can prepare soy protein particles with different sizes and rheological properties, which might meet the demands of various food processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Soy protein‐gum Arabic (GA) core‐shell nanoparticles were fabricated as carriers for hydrophobic phytosterol (PS) using an anti‐solvent precipitation (pH 7.0) and then coating GA on the surface of protein‐based PS nanoparticles at pH 4.5. PS nanoparticles stabilised by heat‐treated soy protein isolate (SPI), especially subcritical water‐treated SPI (SW, 120 °C), exhibited higher encapsulation efficiency (EE), loading amount (LA) and colloidal stability than native SPI‐stabilised PS nanoparticles. The highly flexible conformation and more exposed hydrophobic clusters of SW‐treated SPI could result in a quick encapsulation of more PS into the interior of protein molecules during anti‐solvent precipitation. However, for native SPI with rigid globular structure, the loading of PS mainly occurred on the surface hydrophobic sites of protein molecules. After introducing GA (≥5 mg mL−1) to PS nanoparticles fabricated by SW‐treated SPI, submicron‐sized (Dh 250.71~341.76 nm) core‐shell nanoparticles with high acid solubility and thermal stability were formed. The coating of GA decelerated the digestion of SW‐treated SPI, and improved the EE, LA and in vitro bioaccessibility of PS under acidic environment. These results reveal the protein structure dependence of PS encapsulation and provide a simple approach to fabricate biopolymer‐based nanoparticle delivery system for hydrophobic bioactives in acidified functional drinks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the potential of the γ‐zein hydrolysate (γ‐ZH) as a new delivery system for hydrophobic bioactive molecules such as curcumin (Cur). γ‐ZH‐Cur complexes (γ‐ZH‐Cur) with a particle size of 50–60 nm were successfully formed via the hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. Compared to α‐ZH, the complexation of Cur in γ‐ZH showed a better improvement in the water solubility and physicochemical stability of Cur and showed sustained release and greater potential for absorption of Cur. The differences in the loading capability, the physicochemical storage and the bioaccessibility of Cur between γ‐ZH and α‐ZH may be associated with the differences in the amino acid composition and typical sequence of peptides. These results indicate that γ‐ZH has a better ability to serve as a novel delivery for the hydrophobic bioactive molecules compared to α‐ZH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sous vide can keep the nutritional properties and improve taste of food compared with other conventional methods. In addition, this method may reduce the risk of recontamination after cooking and during storage. The purpose of this paper was to study the effects of four cooking methods (steaming, microwaving, baking, and frying) on the sensory and digestibility on sturgeon steak pretreated by sous vide during the cold storage (0–25 days). The results showed that the digestibility of steaming and microwaving groups (range from 80.34% to 90.12%) significantly higher than that of the other treatment groups (p <.05); however, the overall acceptability of the two groups was lower. What more, the frying group has the highest acceptability and the lowest digestibility (range from 65.12% to 70.89%). The springiness (4.12–6.56 mm) and chewiness (1.75–3.12 mm) of the frying group were significantly higher than those of the other treatment groups, which was consistent with the results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that frying treatment group has a denser structure and smaller pores. With the prolonged refrigeration time, especially between 15 and 25 days, the volatile flavor components (nitrogen oxide, methane, and alcohol) and stagnant water (T21) were significantly decreased. Principal component analysis showed that the moisture content was the main factor affecting the overall acceptability and best consumption time of the sturgeon was within 15 days. Simulating the effects of home cooking conditions and refrigeration storage time on the quality of sturgeon steak provided a reference for consumers using similar products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we report the microstructure and rheological property of Pickering emulsions stabilised with zein nanoparticles prepared through phase separation from acetic acid solution. The fresh emulsions showed liquid-like behaviour and reasonable small droplet size. Interestingly, after 3 days of storage at 25° C, the emulsions changed into solid-like state. The viscosity remarkably increased, and the storage modulus was much larger than the loss modulus. These results indicate the formation of the gel-like network in emulsions. The droplet size also showed an obvious increase, while the big droplets could be disrupted into small ones in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate. The particle network in the continuous phase was seen in the confocal laser scanning microscopy. Therefore, it is suggested that the gel-like network is formed by the flocculation of oil droplets and particle network in continuous, mainly through the hydrophobic interactions between the particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work was aimed to evaluate the potential of the gel-like Pickering emulsions (50%, v/v, oil) stabilised by zein/tannic acid (TA) complex colloidal particles (ZTPE) as a new encapsulation system of lipophilic ingredients. Compared with sodium caseinate-stabilised emulsions (SCE) and bulk oil, the better protective effects of ZTPE on the chemical stability of curcumin were observed when they suffered from UV light, and the lipid oxidation rate remarkably reduced in ZTPE. Also, the zein particle layers loaded with TA around the oil droplets can provide protection against harsh gastric environment, facilitating to slow down the release of free fatty acids (FFA) and curcumin during in vitro simulated digestion. These findings show that ZTPE have a good potential to act as an efficient encapsulating agent to protect functional ingredients from degradation and control their release during digestion, which can further improve the bioavailability of bioactive ingredients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the effects of dextran glycation on soya β-conglycinin self-assembly into nanofibrils at 85 °C and pH 2.0, as well as their stability at pH 2.0-10.0. Although the hydrolysis rate of β-conglycinin decreased, glycation significantly increased the structural change rate in the initial stage of nanofibril formation and the growth of nanofibril. It is suggested that the glycation of three subunits (α′, α, β) in β-conglycinin may promote fibril assembly because the extension regions of α′ and α subunits play an important role in affecting the rate of structural changes in fibril formation. At neutral pH, conjugate nanofibrils are highly dispersible and transparent and remained greater structural stability compared with mixture. The improvement stability of conjugate nanofibrils may be contributed to dextran which provides some steric hindrance to prevent the aggregation of nanofibrils; this would also facilitate the application of soya β-conglycinin nanofibrils in food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: A novel soy protein aggregate enriched with isoflavones (SPA-IS), a mixture of soy protein and isoflavones (Mix), isoflavones (IS), and the soy protein were obtained to investigate the preventive effects on osteoporosis induced by retinoic acid in Kunming mice. RESULTS: The serum osteocalcin levels in the Mix and SPA-IS groups decreased compared with the model group (mice showing retinoic acid-induced osteoporosis) (P < 0.05). The trabecular analysis results showed an increased preventive effect of the SPA-IS group over the Mix group, the IS group, and the soy protein group. The results of both left tibial maximum load and the 4th lumbar structural strength differ between the IS and the SPA-IS groups. CONCLUSION: The SPA-IS exhibited obvious oestrogenic activities on retinoic acid-induced osteoporosis in Kunming mice compared toMix, IS, and soy protein. The results suggest that there is a potential use for SPA-IS in the treatment of osteoporosis induced by intake of retinoic acid. The improvement of bone indicators might be attributed to the formation of aggregate particles and the improvement of IS solubility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fermented soya milk (FSM) enriched with isoflavone aglycone ( FSM- SPIA) was prepared from heated soya protein isolate ( SPI)-isoflavone complex. After 48 h of fermentation, FSM- SPIA contained higher contents of living bacteria, free amino acids and aglycone compared with the FSM of SPI ( FSM- SPI) and the FSM of SPI-isoflavone complex ( FSM-Mix). In the in-vitro digestion experiment, FSM- SPIA showed higher antioxidant capacity and isoflavones ( ISO) bioavailability than FSM- SPI and FSM-Mix. This was likely due to the soya milk containing a higher level of amino acid, peptides and the presence of soya bean isoflavone. The improved protein digestibility, the interaction and binding ability between proteins and ISO may affect the properties of the protein and the fermented products. The FSM enriched with isoflavone aglycone can be used as a functional fermented drink, as well as an auxiliary food for menopausal women during a specific pathological period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents chemical equations related to the article "Palladium-Catalyzed Synthesis of Biaryl Ketones via tert-Butyl Isocyanide Insertion" by Z. Chen and others, published in the periodical "Synlett" in 2014.