Bee Bread Ameliorates Vascular Inflammation and Impaired Vasorelaxation in Obesity-Induced Vascular Damage Rat Model: The Role of eNOS/NO/cGMP-Signaling Pathway

Obesity and hyperlipidemia are major risk factors for developing vascular diseases. Bee bread (BB) has been reported to exhibit some biological actions, including anti-obesity and anti-hyperlipidemic. This study aims to investigate whether bee bread can ameliorate vascular inflammation and impaired vasorelaxation activity through eNOS/NO/cGMP pathway in obese rats. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10/group), namely: control (normal group), obese rats (OB group), obese rats treated with bee bread (0.5 g/kg/day, OB/BB group) and obese rats treated with orlistat (10 mg/kg/day, OB/OR group). The latter three groups were given a high-fat diet (HFD) for 6 weeks to induced obesity before being administered with their respective treatments for another 6 weeks. After 12 weeks of the total experimental period, rats in the OB group demonstrated significantly higher Lee obesity index, lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein), aortic proinflammatory markers (tumor necrosis factor-α, nuclear factor-κβ), aortic structural damage and impairment in vasorelaxation response to acetylcholine (ACh). Bee bread significantly ameliorated the obesity-induced vascular damage manifested by improvements in the lipid profile, aortic inflammatory markers, and the impaired vasorelaxation activity by significantly enhancing nitric oxide release, promoting endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) immunoexpression. These findings suggest that the administration of bee bread ameliorates the impaired vasorelaxation response to ACh by improving eNOS/NO/cGMP-signaling pathway in obese rats, suggesting its vascular therapeutic role.     

Ratiometric Detection of Glutathione Based on Disulfide Linkage Rupture between a FRET Coumarin Donor and a Rhodamine Acceptor

Abnormal levels of glutathione, a cellular antioxidant, can lead to a variety of diseases. We have constructed a near-infrared ratiometric fluorescent probe to detect glutathione concentrations in biological samples. The probe consists of a coumarin donor, which is connected through a disulfide-tethered linker to a rhodamine acceptor. Under the excitation of the coumarin donor at 405 nm, the probe shows weak visible fluorescence of the coumarin donor at 470 nm and strong near-infrared fluorescence of the rhodamine acceptor at 652 nm due to efficient Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) from the donor to the acceptor. Glutathione breaks the disulfide bond through reduction, which results in a dramatic increase in coumarin fluorescence and a corresponding decrease in rhodamine fluorescence. The probe possesses excellent cell permeability, biocompatibility, and good ratiometric fluorescence responses to glutathione and cysteine with a self-calibration capability. The probe was utilized to ratiometrically visualize glutathione concentration alterations in HeLa cells and Drosophila melanogaster larvae.     

Direct View on the Origin of High Li+ Transfer Impedance in All-Solid-State Battery

Large interfacial resistance plays a dominant role in the performance of all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries. However, the mechanism of interfacial resistance has been under debate. Here, the Li⁺ transport at the interfacial region is investigated to reveal the origin of the high Li⁺ transfer impedance in a LiCoO₂(LCO)/LiPON/Pt all-solid-state battery. Both an unexpected nanocrystalline layer and a structurally disordered transition layer are discovered to be inherent to the LCO/LiPON interface. Under electrochemical conditions, the nanocrystalline layer with insufficient electrochemical stability leads to the introduction of voids during electrochemical cycles, which is the origin of the high Li⁺ transfer impedance at solid electrolyte-electrode interfaces. In addition, at relatively low temperatures, the oxygen vacancies migration in the transition layer results in the formation of Co₃O₄ nanocrystalline layer with nanovoids, which contributes to the high Li⁺ transfer impedance. This work sheds light on the mechanism for the high interfacial resistance and promotes overcoming the interfacial issues in all-solid-state batteries.     

Designing Semipermeable Hydrogel Shells with Controlled Thickness through Internal Osmosis in Triple-Emulsion Droplets

Hydrogel shells that compartmentalize the water core from the aqueous surrounding provide molecular selectivity on size and charge in transmembrane transport. It is highly demanding to produce thin hydrogel shells to minimize diffusion length and maximize core volume. Here, internal osmosis in water-in-oil-in-water-in-oil (W/O/W/O) triple-emulsion droplets is used to produce thin hydrogel shells enclosing a large water core. The triple-emulsion droplets are prepared to have an ultrathin middle oil layer using a capillary microfluidic device. The innermost water droplet has a higher osmolarity than the outer water layer containing photopolymerizable hydrogel precursors, which pumps water from the outer layer to the core through the ultrathin oil layer by the osmosis. Therefore, the outer layer gets thinner and hydrogel precursors are enriched while the size of the triple-emulsion droplets remains unchanged. Through photopolymerization of precursors and phase transfer from oil to water, hydrogel shells enclosing water core are produced in the water environment; the oil layer is ruptured for molecular exchange through the shells. The thickness and composition of the hydrogel shells are precisely controllable by the osmotic conditions. The shells show a high permeation rate due to the thinness as well as controlled cut-off threshold of permeation for neutral and charged molecules.     

Effects of ultrafiltration combined with high-pressure processing,ultrasound and heat treatments on the quality of a blueberry–grape–pineapple–cantaloupe juice blend

This study investigated the effect of ultrafiltration (UF) combined with high-pressure processing (HPP) at 550 MPa, 25 °C for 5 min, ultrasound (US) at 520 W, 40 °C for 10 min and heat treatment (HT) at 90 °C for 3 min on the microbial, physicochemical and sensory properties of a blueberry–grape–pineapple–cantaloupe juice blend during 104 days of storage at 4 °C. After UF, the shelf life of the HPP- and US-treated clear juice blends were 104 and 72 days during the storage at 4 °C respectively. HPP, US and HT treatment minimally affected the anthocyanin and total phenol contents, while HPP better maintained the ascorbic acid levels and sensory properties in the clear juice blend during the storage. Therefore, HPP combined with UF was identified as a prospective processing technique in the fruit juice industry.     

In-situ synthesis of zirconium oxycarbide by electroreduction of ZrO2/C in molten salt

Homogenous ZrC_xO_y powders have been successfully synthesized by in-situ electro-reduction of solid ZrO₂–C composite precursors in molten CaCl₂. The effect of applied cell voltage and molar ratio of ZrO₂ to C on preparation of ZrC_xO_y were investigated. The reduction pathway of the composite electrode was studied based on the analysis of intermediate products using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that ZrO₂ is firstly converted to CaZrO₃. The resulting CaZrO₃ is then reduced to ZrC_xO_y. The ZrC_xO_y formation is dramatically influenced by electrolysis voltage and molar ratio of ZrO₂ to C: a higher cell voltage and lower molar ratio of the ZrO₂ to C are more preferable for the formation of ZrC_xO_y powder. Homogenous ZrC_xO_y powders with particle size of ~100 nm are synthesized by ZrO₂/C starting elemental powders in CaCl₂ molten salt at 1123 K for more than 3 h, when the cell voltage is 3.0 V and the molar ratio of the ZrO₂ to carbon starting materials is 1:1.0.     

融媒体时代城市广电媒体发展路径分析

随着当下媒体生态以及相关信息传播方式的不断演变,各级广播媒体的生存竞争日益激烈.因城市规模、区域空间限制以及城市的经济发展水平等因素影响,城市广播电视在面对新媒体的竞争时,由于人才、财力以及传播手段和平台的不足,显得越来越被动.随着当下融媒体时代的到来,传统媒体与新媒体的融合将成为一大趋势,因此研究融媒体时代城市广电媒体发展路径,对于广电媒体的发展具有重要意义.     

赵庄井田煤层气成藏条件研究

煤层气成藏条件研究是有效划分成藏类型或含气系统，煤层气富集高渗有利区预测、评价及优选的关键基础工作。基于赵庄井田煤层气地质条件及相关测试资料，借鉴前人研究成果，从煤生烃、煤层气储集和煤层气封盖保存条件等方面对赵庄井田煤层气成藏条件进行了研究。研究结果表明:煤中丰富的生烃物质在良好的生烃动力作用下，提高了生烃率和生烃量，为煤层气成藏提供了基础条件；煤变质程度高，促使煤中微小孔隙发育，煤层气储集能力增强和储集空间增大，有利于煤层气大量储存和富集；煤层埋深、围岩特性、构造及地下水径流等地质条件的有机匹配，为煤层气成藏提供了良好的封盖保存条件，是煤层气成藏的关键因素。     

以酸解TEOS为硅源合成可控孔径和粒径NaP分子筛

利用盐酸预处理TEOS得到的硅凝胶为硅源,铝酸钠为铝源,通过水热合成法制备了一种晶粒尺寸和孔径大小可控的NaP分子筛.利用不同时间酸解TEOS得到的硅凝胶合成NaP分子筛,但合成的样品杂晶较多且形貌不规整;采用正交试验,通过调节晶化时间、晶化温度、溶液pH值和水硅比,以达到样品提纯、形貌规整的目的.对样品进行SEM、XRD、N2物理吸附等表征,分析样品的形貌、结晶度和孔径分布等.并对样品进行铜离子吸附性能测试,得到NaP分子筛对Cu2+的有效去除率为98.9％.利用预先酸解TEOS得到的硅凝胶合成NaP分子筛的方法,为工业污水净化提供一定的理论依据及指导.