Effective cold chain management is a critical component of food safety practice. In this study, we examined the impact of commonly encountered temperature abuse scenarios on the proliferation of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes on fresh-cut cantaloupe. Inoculated fresh-cut cantaloupe cubes were subjected to various temperature abuse conditions, and the growth of S. enterica and L. monocytogenes was determined. During 1 week of storage, Salmonella cell counts on fresh-cut cantaloupe increased by -0.26, 1.39, and 2.23 log units at 4 °C (control), 8 °C, and 12 °C (chronic temperature abuse), respectively, whereas that of L. monocytogenes increased by 0.75, 2.86, and 4.17 log units. Under intermittent temperature abuse conditions, where storage temperature fluctuated twice daily to room temperature for 30 min, Salmonella cell count increased by 2.18 log units, whereas that of L. monocytogenes increased by 1.86 log units. In contrast, terminal acute temperature abuses for 2 to 4 h resulted in upwards to 0.6 log unit for Salmonella, whereas the effect on L. monocytogenes was less significant compared with L. monocytogenes on cut cantaloupe stored at 4 °C. Significant deterioration of produce visual quality and tissue integrity, as reflected by electrolyte leakage, was also observed under various temperature abuse conditions.
Ovarian cancer, as one of the killers that threaten women's health, has been studied extensively. As a natural bioflavonoid with prospective effects, quercetin is highly recognized for its anti-cancer applications.However, one of the major challenges that quercetin faces is its poor water solubility, instability in physiological media, and subsequent poor bioavailability. Thus, optimizing the ideal drug delivery options is necessary to facilitate the harnessing of the maximum benefits from quercetin. In this study, a quercetin-loaded thermosensitive injectable hydrogel system (Qu-M-hydrogel composites) was constructed based on nanotechnology. Quercetin was encapsulated into MPEG-PCL (with a high drug loading of 7% and minor particle size of 32 nm) and then added into the blank thermosensitive hydrogel Pluronic F-127. The Qu-M-hydrogel composites showed a much slower release than Qu-M in vivo.Moreover, the cytotoxicity, apoptosis induction, and anti-tumor effects of the Qu-M-hydrogel composites on the abdominal SKOV-3 ovarian cancer mouse models were investigated in vivo. Compared with other groups, the Qu-M-hydrogel composites exhibited improved apoptosis induction and cell growth inhibition effects and in vivo trials showed a better balance between the anti-tumor efficacy in the Qu-M-hydrogel composite group than in other groups at an equal drug dose. In conclusion, the prepared Qu-M-hydrogel composites enhanced the anti-tumor activity by providing a high local quercetin concentration, sustained and stable drug release, extended drug retention inside the tumor, and low toxicity to normal tissues. The Qu-M-hydrogel composites might have great potential for clinical application in anti-ovarian cancer activity.
The present work investigates the use of synergistic interactions between zwitterionic and anionic surfactants to obtain ultra-low interfacial tension (IFT) in a high salinity reservoir. Zwitterionic surfactant N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethyl-3-ammonio-1-propanesulfonate was found to be compatible with simulated high salinity water, reducing crude oil/water interfacial tension to a magnitude of 10-2 mN•m-1 in a surfactant concentration range of 0.07%-0.39% (mass fraction), whereas ultra-low IFT was obtained by adding anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate. Furthermore, the effects of total surfactant concentration, metal ion concentration, and molar ratio on the dynamic interfacial tension of zwitterionic/anionic surfactant mixtures were studied. Results showed that 10-5 mN•m-1 magnitude ultra-low IFT was obtained over a wide range of surfactant concentrations from as low as 0.04% and up to 0.37% in high salinity water. The synergistic mechanism of ultra-low IFT formed in zwitterionic/anionic surfactant systems was further analyzed.
Background
The ketogenic diet (KD) can promote the anti-inflammatory metabolic state and increase ketone body level in rats. This study was to explore the effects and differences of KD with or without medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) on serum inflammatory factors and mTOR pathway in Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats.
Results
Male SD rats were assigned to five groups: control diet (C), 20% caloric restriction diet (LC), 20% caloric restriction ketogenic diet (containing MCFAs) (LCKD1), 20% caloric restriction ketogenic diet (LCKD2) and 20% caloric restriction foreign ketogenic diet (LCKD3), and fed for 30 d. LC and KD could significantly reduce the body weight of rats; LC and KD containing MCFAs showed anti-inflammatory effects; KD without MCFAs decreased the concentration of mTOR1, while KD containing MCFAs decreased the expression of AMPK, mtor1 and P70sk.
Conclusions
KD containing MCFAs showed better effects on the mTOR pathway and anti-inflammation than that without MCFAs.
In recent decades, a large number of research studies have been conducted to improve the treatment strategy against epithelial ovarian cancer, but women in advanced stage still have poor outcomes. The development of advanced treatments must be continued to overcome the limitation. Docetaxel,
a semi-synthetic product derived from the Pacific Taxus extract, has been studied for many years for its potent anticancer applications. Aiming to solve the problems of its highly lipophilicity, insolubility and adverse side effects, nanocarriers were applied. Relying on the integration of
nanoparticles which had optimized sizes, shapes, and surface properties, the effect of docetaxel was enhanced. In this study, we designed a novel drug loaded gel-forming nanoparticle system (Doc-NMs-hydrogel composites), which acted as a sustained drug depot for docetaxel. Docetaxel was encapsulated
into MPEG-PCL and then into blank thermosensitive hydrogel Pluronic F-127. Characterization showed that the prepared Doc-NMs had high drug loading (7%), minor particle size (37 nm), relatively good water solubility. Moreover, the cytotoxicity, apoptosis induction and the antitumor effects
of Doc-NMs-hydrogel composites on mice abdominal SKOV-3 ovarian cancer model were investigated in vivo. Compared with other groups, at the same dosage, Doc-NMs-hydrogel composites show better apoptosis induction and cell growth inhibition. In conclusion, the prepared Doc-NMs-hydrogel
composites enhanced anti-tumor activity by increasing local docetaxel concentration, maintaining stable and sustained drug release, prolonging drug retention time in tumors, and reducing toxicity to normal tissues. Doc-NMs-hydrogel composites might have great potential clinical application
in anti-ovarian cancer activity.
In this study, we obtained the complete mitochondrial genome of Sporobolomyces sp. using nextgeneration sequencing. The complete mitochondrial genome of Sporobolomyces sp. contained 15 protein-coding genes (PCG), two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and 25 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes. The total length of the Sporobolomyces sp. mitochondrial genome is 26,430 bp, and the GC content of the mitochondrial genome is 39.32%. Phylogenetic analysis based on combined mitochondrial gene dataset indicated that the mitochondrial genome of Sporobolomyces sp. exhibited a close relationship with that of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa.
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