Alkenylbenzenes, including eugenol, methyleugenol, myristicin, safrole, and estragole, are potentially toxic phytochemicals, which are commonly found in foods. Occurrence data in foods depends on the ...quality of the analytical methodologies available. Here, we developed and compared modern reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and stacking-micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) methods for the determination of the above alkenylbenzenes in food flavouring ingredients. The analytical performance of HPLC was found better than the stacking-MEKC method. Compared to other HPLC methods found in the literature, our method was faster (total run time with conditioning of 15 min) and able to separate more alkenylbenzenes. In addition, the analytical methodology combining an optimized methanol extraction and proposed HPLC was then applied to actual food flavouring ingredients. This methodology should be applicable to actual food samples, and thus will be vital to future studies in the determination of alkenylbenzenes in food.
Alkenylbenzenes are potentially toxic (genotoxic and carcinogenic) compounds present in plants such as basil, tarragon, anise star and lemongrass. These plants are found in various edible consumer ...products, e.g., popularly used to flavour food. Thus, there are concerns about the possible health consequences upon increased exposure to alkenylbenzenes especially due to food intake. It is therefore important to constantly monitor the amounts of alkenylbenzenes in our food chain. A major challenge in the determination of alkenylbenzenes in foods is the complexity of the sample matrices and the typically low amounts of alkenylbenzenes present. This review will therefore discuss the background and importance of analytical separation methods from papers reported from 2010 to 2020 for the determination of alkenylbenzenes in foods and related products. The separation techniques commonly used were gas and liquid chromatography (LC). The sample preparation techniques used in conjunction with the separation techniques were various variants of extraction (solvent extraction, liquid-liquid extraction, liquid-phase microextraction, solid phase extraction) and distillation (steam and hydro-). Detection was by flame ionisation and mass spectrometry (MS) in gas chromatography (GC) while in liquid chromatography was mainly by spectrophotometry.
Dye pollutants, mainly discharged from the textile industry, have caused severe risks to human health and the ecosystem because of their toxicity, non-biodegradability, and carcinogenicity. This ...study investigated the use of commercial biochar derived from melaleuca wood as an adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue (MB) using a packed-bed column. The selected biochar was characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The experiments were performed to determine breakthrough curves (BTCs) with varying pH (3-9), inflow rate (5-20 mL min.sup.-1, bed height (16-65 cm), and initial MB concentration (0.75-9 mg L.sup.-1). The biochar (particle size of 1-2 mm) exhibited a low adsorption capacity for MB (~21 mg kg.sup.-1), resulting in a short breakthrough time. The Thomas, Bohart-Adams, Yoon-Nelson, and Bed Depth Service Time models were quite suitable for describing the experimental BTCs, with R.sup.2-values ranging from 0.92 to 0.98. The obtained BTCs were not in the typical S-shape, which characterizes diffusion-controlled adsorption. Therefore, a serial logistic-exponential model, which accounts for both the mass transfer and interaction contributions, was proposed. The experimental data effectively fit this proposed model, as indicated by high R.sup.2-values (>0.998). The dominant influence of mass transfer compared to interaction in controlling the adsorption rate of MB was highlighted. Keywords continuous adsorption, breakthrough curve, dye removal, biochar adsorbent
This study promoted a valorization pathway of Red Dragon Fruit Peel, including extraction of betalains and pectin, stabilization of batalains and expanding the application of betalains and pectin in ...jam and jellies. Betalains were extracted by the same weight of ethanol 96% at 45 ºC for 1 h and obtained with the content of 2.09 ± 0.03 mg/g of dry peels. To minimize the solid wastes, the alcohol-insoluble residues of betalains extraction were utilized to extract pectin by citric acid 0.1 M at 85 °C for 120 min with 19.8% yield and 56.8% DE (degree of esterification). Betalains stabilization focused on the encapsulation in support of the freeze-drying technique and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) as a wall material. Freeze-dried MCC/betalains complexes were prepared by different weight ratios of betalains and MCC (1:3, 1:5, and 1:10). Encapsulation of betalains promoted significantly higher stability at different storage conditions: cold (4 °C) and room temperature (27 °C) with daylight and without daylight. The stability of encapsulated betalains was improved at high temperatures (80 °C and 100 °C), various pH levels (1.2, 3.6, 5.6, and 7.4) and water activities (0.089 and 0.898) when compared with the nonencapsulated betalains. The incorporation of encapsulated betalains into pineapple jam and gummy candy demonstrated storage stability after a two-week storage period.
Hyper-secretion and/or hyper-concentration of mucus is a defining feature of multiple obstructive lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Mucus itself is composed of a ...mixture of water, ions, salt and proteins, of which the gel-forming mucins, MUC5AC and MUC5B, are the most abundant. Recent studies have linked the concentrations of these proteins in sputum to COPD phenotypes, including chronic bronchitis (CB) and acute exacerbations (AE). We sought to determine whether common genetic variants influence sputum mucin concentrations and whether these variants are also associated with COPD phenotypes, specifically CB and AE. We performed a GWAS to identify quantitative trait loci for sputum mucin protein concentration (pQTL) in the Sub-Populations and InteRmediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS, n = 708 for total mucin, n = 215 for MUC5AC, MUC5B). Subsequently, we tested for associations of mucin pQTL with CB and AE using regression modeling (n = 822-1300). Replication analysis was conducted using data from COPDGene (n = 5740) and by examining results from the UK Biobank. We identified one genome-wide significant pQTL for MUC5AC (rs75401036) and two for MUC5B (rs140324259, rs10001928). The strongest association for MUC5B, with rs140324259 on chromosome 11, explained 14% of variation in sputum MUC5B. Despite being associated with lower MUC5B, the C allele of rs140324259 conferred increased risk of CB (odds ratio (OR) = 1.42; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10-1.80) as well as AE ascertained over three years of follow up (OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.02-1.94). Associations between rs140324259 and CB or AE did not replicate in COPDGene. However, in the UK Biobank, rs140324259 was associated with phenotypes that define CB, namely chronic mucus production and cough, again with the C allele conferring increased risk. We conclude that sputum MUC5AC and MUC5B concentrations are associated with common genetic variants, and the top locus for MUC5B may influence COPD phenotypes, in particular CB.
Significant deformation of the metal structure can be achieved without breaking or cracking the metal. There are several methods for deformation of metal plastics. The most important of these methods ...are angular channel pressing process, high-pressure torsion, multidirectional forging process, extrusion-cyclic compression process, cumulative climbing connection process, consecutive concreting and smoothing method, high-pressure pipe torsion. The nanocomposite is a multiphase material which the size of one of its phases is less than 100 nm in at least one dimension. Due to some unique properties, metal-based nanocomposites are widely used in engineering applications such as the automotive and aerospace industries. Polymer-based nanocomposites are two-phase systems with polymer-based and reinforcing phases (usually ceramic). These materials have a simpler synthesis process than metal-based nanocomposites and are used in a variety of applications such as the aerospace industry, gas pipelines, and sensors. Severe plastic deformation (SPD) is known to be the best method for producing bulk ultrafine grained and nanostructured materials with excellent properties. Different Severe plastic deformation methods were developed that are suitable for sheet and bulk solid materials. During the past decade, efforts have been made to create effective Severe plastic deformation processes suitable for producing cylindrical tubes. In this paper, we review Severe plastic deformation processes intended to nanostructured tubes, and their effects on material properties and severe plastic deformation is briefly introduced and its common methods for bulk materials, sheets, and pipes, as well as metal background nanocomposites, are concisely introduced and their microstructural and mechanical properties are discussed. The paper will focus on introduction of the tube Severe plastic deformation processes, and then comparison of them based on their advantages and disadvantages from the viewpoints of processing and properties.
Abstract
Trend detection in rainfall time series is a prime task to provide reliable outcomes for better planning and management of water resources under climate change. This study investigated the ...rainfall trends in seasonal and monthly rainfall over Vietnam, using high-resolution gridded datasets from 1980 to 2010. Possible trends in rainfall values were detected by a recently proposed Innovative-Şen Analysis (ITA) method, which allows identifying the trends of the low, medium, and high values of a series. The outcomes showed high domination of significantly increasing trends in annual rainfall. Moreover, the analysis of partial trends in the time series identified a sequence of alternating decreasing, increasing, and trendless seasonal and monthly rainfall. On the other hand, opposite trends were found for extreme rainfall, in which the high values in the rainy season showed negative trends, while the positive trends of low values in the dry season were indicated. Besides, based on categorization, the low, medium, and high monthly rainfall values of the seven sub-regions were mainly evaluated, which occurred in different trends. The high values in monthly of the rainy season had also detected an upward trend, and the low values in monthly dry season existed downward trends that are expected that these results will be associate with rainfall trends with floods and droughts. Besides, the study showed that the ITA method could be successfully used in trends analysis for gridded datasets of rainfall variables.
Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is a heterogeneous group of rare gastrointestinal malignancies with dismal prognosis often associated with inflammation. We assessed the prognostic value of IL6 and YKL-40 ...compared with CA19-9 before and during palliative chemotherapy. We also investigated in mice whether IL6R inhibition in combination with gemcitabine could prolong chemosensitivity.
A total of 452 Danish participants with advanced (locally advanced and metastatic) BTC were included from six clinical trials (February 2004 to March 2017). Serum CA19-9, IL6, and YKL-40 were measured before and during palliative treatment. Associations between candidate biomarkers and progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression. Effects of inhibiting IL6R and YKL-40 were assessed
, and of IL6R inhibition
.
High pretreatment levels of CA19-9, IL6, and YKL-40, and increasing levels during treatment, were associated with short PFS and OS in patients with advanced BTC. IL6 provided independent prognostic information, independent of tumor location and in patients with normal serum CA19-9. ROC analyses showed that IL6 and YKL-40 were predictive of very short OS (OS < 6 months), whereas CA19-9 was best to predict OS > 1.5 years. Treatment with anti-IL6R and gemcitabine significantly diminished tumor growth when compared with gemcitabine monotherapy in an
transplant model of BTC.
Serum IL6 and YKL-40 are potential new prognostic biomarkers in BTC. IL6 provides independent prognostic information and may be superior to CA19-9 in certain contexts. Moreover, anti-IL6R should be considered as a new treatment option to sustain gemcitabine response in patients with BTC.
Endochondral ossification during long bone development and natural fracture healing initiates by mesenchymal cell condensation, directed by local morphogen signals and mechanical cues. Here, we aimed ...to mimic development for regeneration of large bone defects. We hypothesized that engineered human mesenchymal condensations presenting transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and/or bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) from encapsulated microparticles promotes endochondral defect regeneration contingent on in vivo mechanical cues. Mesenchymal condensations induced bone formation dependent on morphogen presentation, with BMP-2 + TGF-β1 fully restoring mechanical function. Delayed in vivo ambulatory loading significantly enhanced the bone formation rate in the dual morphogen group. In vitro, BMP-2 or BMP-2 + TGF-β1 initiated robust endochondral lineage commitment. In vivo, however, extensive cartilage formation was evident predominantly in the BMP-2 + TGF-β1 group, enhanced by mechanical loading. Together, this study demonstrates a biomimetic template for recapitulating developmental morphogenic and mechanical cues in vivo for tissue engineering.
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