Co-encapsulation of quercetin and resveratrol: Comparison in different layers of zein-carboxymethyl cellulose nanoparticles.

Three nanoparticles were fabricated for the co-delivery of quercetin and resveratrol. Nanoparticles consisted of a zein and carboxymethyl cellulose assembled using antisolvent precipitation/layer-by-layer deposition method. Nanoparticles contained quercetin in the core and resveratrol in the shell, resveratrol in the core and quercetin in the shell or both quercetin and resveratrol in the core.

Modification of pea starch using ternary mixtures of natural crosslinking agents: Vanillin-chitosan-betaine and vanillin-gelatin-betaine.

Different methods of starch modification have been proposed to broaden its application. In this study, the effects of ternary mixtures of natural crosslinking agents: chitosan-betaine-vanillin and gelatin-betaine-vanillin on the properties of pea starch were explored. These combinations of substances were selected because they have complementary crosslinking mechanisms.

Utilization of diverse probiotics to create human health promoting fatty acids: A review.

Many probiotics produce functional lipids with health-promoting properties, such as short-chain fatty acids, linoleic acid and omega-3 fatty acids. They have been shown to maintain gut health, strengthen the intestinal barrier, and have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. In this article, we provide an up-to-date review of the various functional lipids produced by probiotics.

Eggshell waste act as multifunctional fillers overcoming the restrictions of starch-based films.

Starch has great potential to replace petroleum-based plastics in food packaging applications. However, starch films often exhibit poor mechanical and barrier properties, and are vulnerable to moisture and bacterial contamination. This study proved that the incorporation of eggshell powder (ES) enhanced the hydrogen bonding in starch-based films significantly, which contributed to improved tensile strength, Young's modulus, and water resistance of the films.

Optimization of food-grade colloidal delivery systems for thermal processing applications: a review.

Colloidal delivery systems are widely used in the food industry to enhance the dispersibility, stability, efficacy, or bioavailability. However, when exposed to the high temperature, delivery systems are often prone to degradation, which limits its application in thermal processing. In this paper, the effects of thermal processing on the performance of traditional protein-based or starch-based delivery systems are firstly described, including the molecular structure changes of proteins, starches or lipids, and the degradation of embedded substances.

PAL: A Framework for Physically Assisted Learning Through Design and Exploration With a Haptic Robot Buddy.

Robots are an opportunity for interactive and engaging learning activities. In this paper we consider the premise that haptic force feedback delivered through a held robot can enrich learning of science-related concepts by building physical intuition as learners design experiments and physically explore them to solve problems they have posed. Further, we conjecture that combining this rich feedback with pen-and-paper interactions, , to sketch experiments they want to try, could lead to fluid interactions and benefit focus.

Dynamics of Bacterial and Viral Communities in Paddy Soil with Irrigation and Urea Application.

Viruses are ubiquitous in natural systems. By influencing bacterial abundance (BA) and community structure through lysis-lysogenic conversion, viruses are involved in various ecological processes. In agricultural management, nitrogen addition and irrigation should be considered as important factors that can modify soil viral dynamics but have been ignored.

Incorporating Pyrrolic and Pyridinic Nitrogen into a Porous Carbon made from C Molecules to Obtain Superior Energy Storage.

Nitrogen-doped porous carbon is obtained by KOH activation of C in an ammonia atmosphere. As an anode for Li-ion batteries, it shows a reversible capacity of up to ≈1900 mA h g at 100 mA g . Simulations suggest that the superior Li-ion storage may be related to the curvature of the graphenes and the presence of pyrrolic/pyridinic group dopants.

Supercapacitors: A Hierarchical Carbon Derived from Sponge-Templated Activation of Graphene Oxide for High-Performance Supercapacitor Electrodes (Adv. Mater. 26/2016).

H. Ji, Y. Zhu, and co-workers demonstrate a 3D hierarchically porous carbon by introducing a polyurethane sponge to template graphene oxide into a 3D interconnected structure while KOH activation generates abundant micropores in its backbone.

A Hierarchical Carbon Derived from Sponge-Templated Activation of Graphene Oxide for High-Performance Supercapacitor Electrodes.

A hierarchical porous carbon is fabricated by introducing a polyurethane sponge to a template graphene oxide into a 3D interconnected structure, while KOH activation generates abundant micropores in its backbone. Supercapacitors assembled with this carbon achieve a high energy density of 89 W h kg(-1) (64 W h L(-1) ) and outstanding power density due to the shortened ion-transport distance in 3D.

Creating Pores on Graphene Platelets by Low-Temperature KOH Activation for Enhanced Electrochemical Performance.

KOH activation of microwave exfoliated graphite oxide (MEGO) is investigated in detail at temperatures of 450-550 °C. Out of the activation temperature range conventionally used for the preparation of activated carbons (>600 °C), the reaction between KOH and MEGO platelets at relatively low temperatures allows one to trace the structural transition from quasi-two-dimensional graphene platelets to three-dimensional porous carbon. In addition, it is found that nanometer-sized pores are created in the graphene platelets at the activation temperature of around 450 °C, leading to a carbon that maintains the platelet-like morphology, yet with a specific surface area much higher than MEGO (e.

Assembling carbon quantum dots to a layered carbon for high-density supercapacitor electrodes.

It is found that carbon quantum dots (CQDs) self-assemble to a layer structure at ice crystals-water interface with freeze- drying. Such layers interconnect with each other, forming a free-standing CQD assembly, which has an interlayer distance of about 0.366 nm, due to the existence of curved carbon rings other than hexagons in the assembly.

Antibacterial Property of Graphene Quantum Dots (Both Source Material and Bacterial Shape Matter).

Whereas diverse graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with basal planes similar to those of graphene oxide sheets (i.e., GO-GQDs) lack antibacterial property, that prepared by rupturing C60 cage (i.

Rupturing C60 Molecules into Graphene-Oxide-like Quantum Dots: Structure, Photoluminescence, and Catalytic Application.

The large-scale synthesis of graphene-oxide-like quantum dots (GOLQDs) is reported by oxidizing C(60) molecules using a modified Hummers method with a yield of ≈25 wt% readily achieved. The GOLQDs are highly soluble in water and in addition to hexagons have other carbon rings in the structure. They have an average height of ≈1.

Plasmonic-enhanced Raman scattering of graphene on growth substrates and its application in SERS.

We detail a facile method for enhancing the Raman signals of as-grown graphene on Cu foils by depositing gold nanoislands (Au Nis) onto the surface of graphene. It is found that an enhancement of up to 49 fold in the graphene Raman signal has been achieved by depositing a 4 nm thick Au film. The enhancement is considered to be related to the coupling between graphene and the plasmon modes of Au Nis, as confirmed by the finite element simulations.

Strong light-matter interactions in sub-nanometer gaps defined by monolayer graphene: toward highly sensitive SERS substrates.

The interactions between visible light and sub-nanometer gaps were investigated by sandwiching graphene between two layers of vertically stacked Au nanoparticles. The optical properties of such a hybrid film have been effectively tuned by embedding a monolayer graphene, enabling a suppressed transmission of ∼16% accompanied by a red-shift of the resonant wavelength. Finite element simulations have shown that the strong coupling between two layers of plasmonic Au nanoparticles leads to an electric field enhancement of up to 88 times in graphene defined vertical gaps, in contrast to that of 14 times in the horizontal gaps between Au nanoparticles formed in the fabrication process.

Infrared biosensors based on graphene plasmonics: modeling.

We propose a biosensor by exploiting localized plasmons in graphene and biomolecule adsorption on it. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the sensitivity of such a device can achieve a high value of up to 1697 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) when the wavelength shift at the plasmon resonance is detected. The transparent substrate supporting graphene can be chosen potentially from a wide range of materials including insulators, semiconductors, polymers, and gels.

[Pollutant components and microbial community structure of oil-polluted soils after converted from paddy field to upland].

With the oil-polluted soils after converted from paddy field to upland field for different years in the Shenfu wastewater irrigation area of Shenyang as test materials, the concentrations of their oil pollutants were determined, and the microbial community structure was investigated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and phospholipids fatty acid (PLFA) methods. The results showed that the proportions of total polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and of high molecular weight PAHs in total PAHs increased with the increasing years of field conversion. Total phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) had a significant positive correlation with total TPHs, but no correlation with total PAHs.

Study of microbial community structures in UASB sludge treating municipal wastewater by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rDNA.

The structures of microbial communities in lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors for treating municipal wastewater with different ratios of COD soluble/COD total were studied using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rRNA genes. The microbial structure of the inoculum sludge obtained from a full-scale UASB reactor of treating potato processing wastewater was compared with the structures of sludges collected from three lab-scale UASB reactors after eight months feeding with raw municipal wastewater, with CEPS (chemically enhanced primary sedimentation) pretreated municipal wastewater, and with a synthetic municipal sewage, respectively. Computer-aided numerical analysis of the DGGE fingerprints showed that the bacterial community underwent major changes.

[Effects of illumination, carbon source and reducing power on N2O emission from maize and soybean seedlings].

The closed chamber measurement of N2O emission from soybean and maize seedlings showed that there were two peaks (10:30 and 14:30) of N2O flux at the daytime. There was a correlation between N2O emission and illumination. The variation of illumination had a significant influence on N2O flux from soybean and maize seedlings.

Community analysis of ammonia oxidizer in the oxygen-limited nitritation stage of OLAND system by DGGE of PCR amplified 16S rDNA fragments and FISH.

OLAND (oxygen limited autotrophic nitrification and denitrification) nitrogen removal system was constructed by coupling with oxygen limited nitritation stage and anaerobic ammonium oxidation stage. Ammonia oxidizer, as a kind of key bacteria in N cycle, plays an important role at the oxygen limited nitritation stage of OLAND nitrogen removal system. In this study, specific amplification of 16S rDNA fragment of ammonia oxidizer by nested PCR, separation of mixed PCR samples by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and the quantification of ammonia oxidizer by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were combined to investigate the shifts of community composition and quantity of ammonia oxidizer of the oxygen limited nitritation stage in OLAND system.

[Oxygen-limited autotrophic nitrification and denitrification--a novel technology for biological nitrogen removal].

Oxygen-limited autotrophic nitrification and denitrification (OLAND) is a biological nitrogen removal process coupled with partial nitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation. In our study, the nitrification was blocked at nitrite stage by controlling the dissolved oxygen concentration at 0.1-0.

[The contribution of maize and soybean to N2O emission from the soil-plant system during seedling stage].

To fractionate the contribution of plant to N2O emission from soil-plant system, the N2O emissions from soybean seedling, maize seedling, sand, soil, sand-plant system and soil-plant system were measured by closed chamber method in greenhouse. At the same time the correlation of plant N2O emission with nitrate reductase activity, nitrate content and nitrite content of the plant leaves was also analyzed. The results clearly indicated that N2O could be a by-product of plant metabolism.

[N2O emission from trees under different light irradiances].

This paper firstly measured in situ N2O emission from branches and leaves of sun plants (Fraxinus mandshurica, Pinus koraiensis, Alnus hirsuta) and shade tolerant plants (Tilia amurrensis) under different light irradiances in closed chamber. Light irradiance had contrast effects on N2O emission flux from sun and shade-tolerant tree species. In the test sun plants, more N2O was emitted under weak light than under strong light.

[Important factors controlling rates of N2O emission and CH4 oxidation from forest soil].

In this study, laboratory incubation experiments were conducted to determine the effect of pH, soil water content, temperature, NH4+ and NO3- on N2O emission and CH4 oxidation of mixed broad-leaved Korean pine forest soil. Results showed that there were significant correlations between N2O emission rate, CH4 oxidation rate and soil pH and temperature under certain lab conditions. Meanwhile, the significant positive correlation between N2O emission rate and CH4 oxidation rate was also observed.