[Isolation and preparation of polyphenols from grape seed by high-speed counter-current chromatography combined with preparative high performance liquid chromatography].

Eight polyphenols were separated from grape seed by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). The separation was performed using a two-phase solvent system composed of 1-butanol-ethyl-water (1:14:15, v/v/v) and -hexane-ethyl-water (1:10:10, v/v/v). The upper and lower phases were used as the stationary and mobile phases, respectively.

Effective adsorption of diclofenac sodium from neutral aqueous solution by low-cost lignite activated cokes.

Activated cokes have attracted great interest inwater treatment to remove organic pollutants due to their low cost and specific textural properties. In this study, adsorptive removal of diclofenac sodium (DCF) from neutral aqueous solution by available lignite activated cokes (LACs) was reported for the first time. Diclofenac sodium could be quickly removed from aqueous solution by LAC-2, with the maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity q of 224 mg/g at pH 6.

A pyridine-Fe gel with an ultralow-loading Pt derivative as ORR catalyst in microbial fuel cells with long-term stability and high output voltage.

A low-cost and high-efficiency oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst was fabricated using a pyridine-Fe gel with ultralow-loading of Pt nanoparticles and subsequently applied to air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs). This novel catalyst (N/Fe/C-Pt) exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity with a positive onset potential of 0.19 V (vs Ag/AgCl) and half-wave potential of 0.

Chemical constituents from Alismatis Rhizoma and their anti-inflammatory activities in vitro and in vivo.

Six new compounds, including a new compound with an unusual 2, 4, 6-cycloheptatrien ketone skeleton (1), two new diphenylpropanoid ethers (2, 3), a new protostane-type triterpenoid (4), two new norsesquiterpene (5a, 5b), and two new natural products (6, 7), together with eleven known compounds (8-18) were isolated from the aqueous extract of Alismatis Rhizoma (AR). Their structures were elucidated by a combination of 1D and 2D NMR (H and C NMR, COSY, HSQC, HMBC, and NOESY), HRESIMS spectroscopic data, experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Some of the compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-induced RAW 264.

Source Apportionment of Fine-Particle, Water-Soluble Organic Nitrogen and Its Association with the Inflammatory Potential of Lung Epithelial Cells.

Identifying the key chemical compounds and source contributions in ambient particles associated with the burden of cardiopulmonary disease is important to develop cost-effective air pollution mitigating strategies that maximize the protection of public health. To help address this need, we examined 109 daily ambient fine particulate matter samples (PM) that were collected in Beijing in one year. The samples were analyzed for chemical composition including organic and elemental carbons, metals, ions, as well as organic molecular markers.

Rapid detection of trace Salmonella in milk and chicken by immunomagnetic separation in combination with a chemiluminescence microparticle immunoassay.

Rapid detection of trace Salmonella is urgently needed to ensure food safety. We present an innovative pretreatment strategy, based on a two-step enrichment culture and immunomagnetic separation, combined with a chemiluminescence microparticle immunoassay to detect at least one proliferative Salmonella cell in 25 mL (25 g) food. The capture performance of immunomagnetic beads (IMBs) of sizes for Salmonella was investigated, and the IMBs of size 2.

Effect of microwave irradiation-retrogradation treatment on the digestive and physicochemical properties of starches with different crystallinity.

The effect of microwave irradiation-retrogradation (MIR) treatment on the physicochemical properties and in vitro digestibility of corn starch (A-type crystallinity), potato starch (B-type) and chestnut starch (C-type) were evaluated. After MIR treatment, the amount of resistant starch (RS) increased and rapid digestible starch (RDS) decreased along with the retrogradation time in all three starches. The degree of retrogradation (DR) of starch was significantly positive correlated with amylose and RS content.

Non-starch constituents influence the in vitro digestibility of naked oat (Avena nuda L.) starch.

The present study investigated the effects of proteins, lipids and β-glucan in naked oat flour (NOF) on the in vitro digestibility of starch. The content of rapidly digested starch (RDS) increased, and the content of resistant starch (RS) decreased in NOF after removing the non-starch constituents. The estimated glycemic index (eGI) of starch in NOF increased after the removal of the non-starch constituents, with a decreasing order of naked oat starch (NOS) > de-β-glucan flour > de-proteins flour > de-lipids flour > NOF.

Concentrations of migrated mineral oil/polyolefin oligomeric saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH/POSH) in Chinese commercial milk powder products.

Mineral oil contaminants migrated from food contact materials have raised much concern in the past few decades. However, survey data of the occurrence of mineral oils in foods are only available for a limited variety of foods, which do not include the contaminants in Chinese milk powders. Thus, to conduct an analysis of mineral oils migrated into milk powder products from different packaging materials, 50 Chinese commercial samples (including 38 infant formulas), which were packaged in metal cans, paper containers, paper boxes and aluminium foil-plastic bags, were analysed.

Regioselectively substituted cellulose mixed esters synthesized by two-steps route to understand chiral recognition mechanism and fabricate high-performance chiral stationary phases.

It is challenging to design and fabricate new and high-performance cellulose-based chiral stationary phases (CSPs), due to the indistinct chiral recognition mechanism and the inherent difficulty to control the structure of cellulose derivatives. Herein, taking advantage of the high regioselective benzoylation of cellulose in 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, a series of regioselectively substituted cellulose mixed esters, cellulose 6-benzoate-2,3-phenylcarbamate, are directly obtained by a facile two-steps route without protecting and deprotecting process. The resultant cellulose mixed esters exhibit high chiral recognition capability.

Rapid screening of mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) in grains by fluorescence spectroscopy.

On-line high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (LC-GC) has become an important technique for the determination of mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) in foods. However, the analysis is complicated and time-consuming. The present study aimed to develop a fluorescence spectrophotometry approach for the fast screening of MOAH in grains.

Influence of amylose on the pasting and gel texture properties of chestnut starch during thermal processing.

The quality of starchy foods is highly correlated with their amylose content. After boiling or roasting, the amylose content in cooked chestnut starch decreased to 16.6-26.

Air pollution during the winter period and respiratory tract microbial imbalance in a healthy young population in Northeastern China.

In order to investigate the relationship between air pollution and the respiratory tract microbiota, 114 healthy volunteers aged 18-21 years were selected during the winter heating period in Northeast China; 35 from a lightly polluted region (group A), 40 from a moderately polluted region (group B) and 39 from a heavily polluted region (group C). Microbial genome DNA was extracted from throat swab samples to study the oral flora composition of the volunteers by amplifying and sequencing the V3 regions of prokaryotic 16S rRNA. Lung function tests were also performed.

Recent Advances in Protein Kinase Activity Analysis Based on Nanomaterials.

Protein phosphorylation regulated by protein kinases, as well as their dephosphorylation, is one of the most common post-translational modifications, and plays important roles in physiological activities, such as intracellular signal communications, gene transcription, cell proliferation and apoptosis. Over-expression of protein kinases is closely associated with various diseases. Consequently, accurate detection of protein kinases activities and their relevant inhibitors screening is critically important, not only to the biochemical research, but also to the clinical diagnosis and therapy.

Mechanical characterization of functionally graded soft materials with ultrasound elastography.

Functionally graded soft materials (FGSMs) with microstructures and mechanical properties exhibiting gradients across a spatial volume to satisfy specific functions have received interests in recent years. How to characterize the mechanical properties of these FGSMs in vivo/in situ and/or in a non-destructive manner is a great challenge. This paper investigates the use of ultrasound elastography in the mechanical characterization of FGSMs.

Purification, characterization and tyrosinase inhibition activity of polysaccharides from chestnut (Castanea mollissima Bl.) kernel.

The present paper aimed to obtain the polysaccharides with potent tyrosinase inhibitory activity from chestnut kernel. The ultrasound extracted polysaccharide fractions 1-1 (UEP1-1) and UEP2-1 were obtained by successive ultrasound-assisted-extraction, DEAE-52 and Sephadex G-100 chromatography. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum revealed that both UEP1-1 and UEP2-1 had the characteristic absorption peaks of polysaccharides.

Apatinib exerts anti-tumour effects on ovarian cancer cells.

Objective: Apatinib, a small molecule inhibitor of VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase, shows strong anti-tumour activity against various tumours. The function of apatinib in ovarian cancer, however, remains unclear. This study was conducted to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms by which apatinib modulates the biological function of ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

The effects of five types of tea solutions on epiboly process, neural and cardiovascular development, and locomotor capacity of zebrafish.

The effects of teas on embryonic development are still known little. The objective of this study was to compare and analyze developmental effects of green tea, delicate flavor oolong tea, strong flavor oolong tea, black tea, and pu'er tea using zebrafish embryos. Embryos were exposed in tea solutions from one-cell stage; the morphology, locomotor capacity, and gene expression of embryos or larvae were analyzed.

[Determination of cholesterol and its six metabolism markers in serum by high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/electrostatic field orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry].

A method for the determination of cholesterol and its six metabolism markers (desmosterol, lathosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, -sitosterol, squalene) in serum by high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/electrostatic field orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q/Orbitrap HRMS) was developed. The sample was ultrasonically extracted with acetonitrile. The separation was performed by using 95%(v/v) methanol-acetonitrile (2:8, v/v)-5%(v/v) water as the mobile phase.

Molten salt construction of stable oxygen vacancies on TiO for enhancement of visible light photocatalytic activity.

The construction of defects on TiO surface has attracted great interest due to their prominent effect on photocatalytic activity. However, most synthesis methods often lead to unstable oxygen vacancies which limits their effect for improvement of visible light photoactivity. In this work, stable oxygen vacancies were successfully introduced in commercial TiO (P25) one-step molten salt (MS) method.

Massively parallel sequencing of microRNA in bloodstains and evaluation of environmental influences on miRNA candidates using realtime polymerase chain reaction.

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small (22-24 nucleotides) non-coding RNAs with potential application in forensic science because of their anti-degradation property and tissue specificity. Recent studies on the use of miRNA in forensic applications have mainly focused on body fluid identification using realtime polymerase chain reaction or microarray analysis. However, the exploration of miRNA in bloodstains, which are the most valuable source of biological evidence during case investigations, is currently lacking, particularly for aged and environmentally compromised forensic samples.

MicroRNA profile analysis for discrimination of monozygotic twins using massively parallel sequencing and real-time PCR.

In general, it is extremely problematic to discriminate between monozygotic twins (MZTs), who share the same genomic DNA sequence, using traditional DNA-based identification methods such as short tandem repeat profiling. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have shown potential in forensic applications owing to their low molecular weight, abundant and tissue-specific expression. In this study, we utilized massively parallel sequencing technology to perform genome-wide profiling of miRNAs in the blood from four pairs of healthy MZTs.

Direct bacteria analysis using laserspray ionization miniature mass spectrometry.

An atmospheric pressure laserspray ionization mass spectrometry (AP-LSI mini MS) has been developed and employed in the fast analysis of bacteria. Without using surfactants or any extracting methods, 21 foodborne bacteria from 12 genera were directly analyzed. Typical fingerprints of small molecules and lipids were detected and recognized in the mass spectra with high reproducibility.

[Separation and identification of Fischer-Tropsch wax by high temperature gas chromatography-mass spectrometry].

Fischer-Tropsch (FT) wax is an important material produced from FT synthesis reactions. In this study, an improved separation and identification method for FT wax by high temperature gas chromatography (HTGC) coupled with cold-on-column (without pretreatment) was developed. In our improved separation procedure, the carrier gas was changed to helium and a long chromatographic column was adapted for use at high temperature.

Insights into the crystallinity and in vitro digestibility of chestnut starch during thermal processing.

The crystallinity is of importance for in vitro digestibility of starch. Six chestnut cultivars were selected to study the relationship between the crystallinity and in vitro digestibility of chestnut starch during thermal processing. After heat treatment, the total starch and amylose content remained unchanged or decreased, but the amount of damaged starch increased significantly (P < 0.