Effect of xanthan gum on the quality of low sodium salted beef and property of myofibril proteins

The effects of xanthan gum (0 % and 0.3 %) on the quality of low sodium (2.0 %, 2.4 %, 2.8 %, 3.2 %, 3.6 % and 4.0 %) salted beef and property of myofibril proteins (MP) extracted from salted beef were researched. Changes in the salting absorptivity, cooking loss, shear force, color and sensory analysis showed that xanthan gum had a positive effect on the quality of salted beef with low salinity (2.0 %, 2.4 % and 2.8 %). MP of salted beef treated with xanthan gum had higher solubility, lower hydrogen bond than that without it (P < 0.05). The decrease of surface hydrophobicity and intrinsic fluorescence intensity indicated that the chromophore of protein was brought into a hydrophobic environment in the presence of xanthan gum. The electrophoresis showed that xanthan gum could improve the concentration of myosin heavy chain, paramyosin and actin after tumble-salting. The data suggested that salted beef and its MP treated with xanthan gum and 2.8 % salt (XS3) had the best properties. Together, xanthan gum could be considered as a sodium salt substitute for the development of low sodium meat products.

Boron based hypergolic ionic liquids:A review

The advance of space technology is deeply affected by the breakthrough of high-performance fuels.Hypergolic ionic liquids(HILs)are one of the most potential fuels for bipropellant systems.However,high viscosity value and low specific impulse of traditional N-based HILs limit their application.Recently,boron-based HILs with low viscosity become the new candidates,and their derivatives are also found to promote the hypergolicity as additives in HILs.Here,the synthesis,physical chemical properties and thermal performance of boron-based HILs and HILadditive system are reviewed.

Selection of Optimal Medium for Cultivation of Idesia polycarpa var.vestita Seedlings in the Industrialized Nursery Process

Idesia polycarpa Maxim.var.vestita Diels is an important oil plant with high economic value.In order to improve seed germination and to cultivate high quality seedlings,we set out to identify an optimal medium for its seedling growth in a plastic cave tray(plug seedling).In this study,four different media including M_(1)(soil),M_(2)(peat∶perlite=2∶1),M_3(peat),and M_4(peat∶perlite∶vermiculite=2∶1∶1)were tested in industrialized plug seedlings.The seedling growth of Idesia polycarpa var.vestita including plant height,crown diameter,leaf number,ground diameter,the relative chlorophyll contents of leaves,etc.was measured.The results indicated that the medium M_(2) was the best for increasing seedling height,crown diameter,leaf counts,ground diameter,and the relative chlorophyll contents of leaves.Therefore,medium M_(2) is recommended in the industrialized nursery process for the seedling growth of Idesia polycarpa var.vestita.

Astaxanthine attenuates cisplatin ototoxicity in vitro and protects against cisplatin-induced hearing loss in vivo

Astaxanthine(AST) has important biological activities including antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects that could alleviate neurological and heart diseases, but its role in the prevention of cisplatin-induced hearing loss(CIHL) is not yet well understood. In our study, a steady interaction between AST and the E3 ligase adapter Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1, a predominant repressor of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(NRF2), was performed and tested via computer molecular docking and dynamics. AST protected against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity via NRF2 mediated pathwayusing quantitative PCR and Western blotting. The levels of reactive oxygen species(ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential revealed that AST reduced ROS overexpression and mitochondrial dysfunction.Moreover, AST exerted anti-apoptosis effects in mouse cochlear explants using immunofluorescence staining and HEI-OC1 cell lines using quantitative PCR and Western blotting. Finally, AST combined with poloxamer was injected into the middle ear through the tympanum, and the protection against CIHL was evaluated using the acoustic brain stem test and immunofluorescent staining in adult mice. Our results suggest that AST reduced ROS overexpression, mitochondrial dysfunction, and apoptosis via NRF2-mediated pathway in cisplatin-exposed HEI-OC1 cell lines and mouse cochlear explants, finally promoting cell survival. Our study demonstrates that AST is a candidate therapeutic agent for CIHL.

Investigation on the adhesive contact and electrical performance for triboelectric nanogenerator considering polymer viscoelasticity

The triboelectric nanogenerator(TENG)is a new mechanical energy harvesting technology in which the typical viscoelastic material polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)is widely used.Micro-/nano-textures are often fabricated on the PDMS surface to enhance the electrical performance of TENG.As the contact region decreases to micro/nano scale,the adhesive forces become dominant.However,there is still a lack of contact mechanics model considering both material viscoelasticity and the adhesive forces to guide the surface texture design.In this paper,the explicit data-fitting formulas based on the fractional derivative Zener model are firstly derived to identify the viscoelastic constitutive parameters,which can not only avoid the influence of the initial contact point,but also ensure the accurate conversion between the creep compliance and the relaxation modulus function.Then a viscoelastic-adhesive contact model based on the fitted constitutive parameters is established,and the numerical algorithms such as bi-conjugate stabilized(Bi-CGSTAB)method and fast Fourier transform(FFT)technique are employed to analyze the effects of material viscoelasticity and texture sizes on the contact and electrical performance.It is shown that,compared with results from the elastic-adhesive contact model,the contact area ratio based on the viscoelastic-adhesive contact model is significantly larger,which is much closer to the experimental results.Among the selected sizes of pyramid texture,the higher electrical performance can be obtained from the textures with a smaller pitch and a larger width under the heavier applied load.This study can provide a theoretical reference for the design of viscoelastic surface texture of TENG.