Abstract Pickering high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) has a broad application prospect in the field of solid fat substitution and nutraceutical delivery, but the safe and available food-derived particle emulsifier is the bottleneck of its practical application. In this study, mung bean flour was used as a particle emulsifier to stabilize oil-in-water Pickering HIPEs. The results showed that the particle size of mung bean flour was suitable (median diameter, 26.41 μm) and had certain wettability. The volume fraction of oil phase (φ) and the concentration of mung bean flour (c) had significant effects on the formation of Pickering HIPEs. When c ≥ 1%, the Pickering HIPE of φ = 80% could be obtained. Mung bean flour not only played an emulsifying role at the oil/water interface, but also prevented the coalescence of oil droplets through its viscosity effect in the aqueous phase. With the increase of c, the droplet size of Pickering HIPEs decreased, the mechanical properties increased gradually, and the ability of HIPEs protecting β-carotene against ultraviolet irradiation was also enhanced.

Abstract The rheological properties of dough from modified Tartary buckwheat bran flour (MTBF) by heat-moisture treatment (HMT) and wheat flour (WF) were investigated in this study, and the application of MTBF in steamed bread processing was also evaluated. The results showed that the addition of MTBF had a significant effect on torque curve and parameters of the dough. With the increase of the weight proportion of MTBF in the blend (WMTBF), the water absorption of the dough gradually increased, the protein weakening degree decreased at first and then increased, and the dough had better kneading resistance when the WMTBF was 30% and 40%. With the increase of WMTBF, the color of the steamed bread gradually darkened and yellowed, and the specific volume declined gradually. In addition, the hardness, gumminess and chewiness of steamed bread increased with WMTBF, but its springiness, cohesiveness and resilience decreased. When WMTBF ≥ 20%, internal texture structure of steamed bread was enhanced. Sensory evaluation indicated that the steamed bread developed at WMTBF = 20% could obtain similar quality and pleasant appearance to common wheat steamed bread.

Abstract Background: Tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a vital role in determining the outcomes of radiotherapy. As an important component of TME, vascular endothelial cells are involved in the perivascular resistance niche (PVRN), which is formed by inflammation or cytokine production induced by ionizing radiation (IR). Protein kinase CK2 is a constitutively active serine/threonine kinase which plays a vital role in cell proliferation and inflammation. In this study, we investigated the potential role of CK2 in PVRN after IR exposure. Result: Specific CK2 inhibitors, Quinalizarin and CX-4945, were employed to effectively suppressed the kinase activity of CK2 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) without affecting their viability. Results showing that conditioned medium from IR-exposed HUVECs increased cell viability of A549 and H460 cells, and the pretreatment of CK2 inhibitors slowed down such increment. The secretion of IL-8 and IL-6 in HUVECs was induced after exposure with IR, but significantly inhibited by the addition of CK2 inhibitors. Furthermore, IR exposure elevated the nuclear phosphorylated factor-κB (NF-κB) p65 expression in HUVECs, which was a master factor regulating cytokine production. But when pretreated with CK2 inhibitors, such elevation was significantly suppressed. Conclusion: This study indicated that protein kinase CK2 is involved in the key process of the IR induced perivascular resistant niche, namely cytokine production, by endothelial cells, which finally led to radioresistance of non-small cell lung cancer cells. Thus, the inhibition of CK2 may be a promising way to improve the outcomes of radiation in nonsmall cell lung cancer cells.

Reaction of aromatic hydrocarbons catalyzed by a novel catalytic system consisting of zinc chloride, acetic acid, sulfuric acid and PEG-800 in aqueous media under PTC conditions results in chloromethylation in good to excellent yield.

Analysis of genetic main effects and genotype × environment (GE) interaction effects for the fruit shape traits fruit length and fruit circumference in the sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrical (L) Roem. Violales, Cucurbitaceae) was conducted for diallel cross data from two planting seasons. A genetic model including fruit direct effects and maternal effects and unconditional and conditional variances analysis was used to evaluate the development of the fruit at four maturation stages. The variance analysis results indicated that fruit length and circumference were simultaneously affected by fruit direct genetic effects and maternal effects as well as GE interaction effects. Fruit direct genetic effects were relatively more important for both fruit shape traits during the whole developmental period. Gene activation was mostly due to additive effects at the first maturation stage and dominance effects were mainly active during the other three stages. The fruit shape trait correlation coefficients due to different genetic effects and the phenotypic correlation coefficients varied significantly for the various maturation stages. The results indicate that it is relatively easy to improve the two fruit shape traits for market purposes by carefully selecting the parents at the first maturation stage 3 days after flowering instead of at fruit economic maturation.