Microencapsulation of Chokeberry Polyphenols and Volatiles: Application of Alginate and Pectin as Wall Materials

Microencapsulation is a rapidly evolving technology that allows preservation of various high-value, but unstable, compounds, such as polyphenols and volatiles. These components of chokeberry juice are reported to have various health-promoting properties. In the present study, hydrogel beads with alginate or alginate and pectin as wall materials and chokeberry juice as active agent were prepared using Encapsulator B-390. The effects of different compositions of wall material as well as the duration of complexation (30 or 90 min) with hardening solution on microencapsulation of chokeberry polyphenols and volatiles were investigated. Spectrophotometric and HPLC analyses showed that beads with pectin addition contained higher concentrations of polyphenols and anthocyanins compared to those prepared with alginate. Antioxidant activities evaluated with FRAP, CUPRAC, DPPH, and ABTS assays followed the same trend. Encapsulation of volatiles which were determined using GC-MS analysis also depended on the composition of hydrogel beads and in some cases on the time of complexation. Results of this study showed that the selection of the wall material is a relevant factor determining the preservation of polyphenols and volatiles. The incorporation of bioactive compounds in hydrogel beads opens up a wide range of possibilities for the development of functional and innovative foods.

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Family as a health promotion setting: A scoping review of conceptual models of the health-promoting family

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0249707 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. e0249707

Author(s):

Valerie Michaelson ◽

Kelly A. Pilato ◽

Colleen M. Davison

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Grey Literature ◽

Active Agent ◽

Family Health ◽

Ecological Factors ◽

Theoretical Models ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Family ◽

Health Promoting

Background The family is a key setting for health promotion. Contemporary health promoting family models can establish scaffolds for shaping health behaviors and can be useful tools for education and health promotion. Objectives The objective of this scoping review is to provide details as to how conceptual and theoretical models of the health promoting potential of the family are being used in health promotion contexts. Design Guided by PRISMA ScR guidelines, we used a three-step search strategy to find relevant papers. This included key-word searching electronic databases (Medline, PSycINFO, Embase, and CINAHL), searching the reference lists of included studies, and intentionally searching for grey literature (in textbooks, dissertations, thesis manuscripts and reports.) Results After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, the overall search generated 113 included manuscripts/chapters with 118 unique models. Through our analysis of these models, three main themes were apparent: 1) ecological factors are central components to most models or conceptual frameworks; 2) models were attentive to cultural and other diversities, allowing room for a wide range of differences across family types, and for different and ever-expanding social norms and roles; and 3) the role of the child as a passive recipient of their health journey rather than as an active agent in promoting their own family health was highlighted as an important gap in many of the identified models. Conclusions This review contributes a synthesis of contemporary literature in this area and supports the priority of ecological frameworks and diversity of family contexts. It encourages researchers, practitioners and family stakeholders to recognize the value of the child as an active agent in shaping the health promoting potential of their family context.

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COMBINATORIAL POLYNOMIALLY COMPUTABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF SUBSTITUTIONS AND THEIR PROPERTIES

Computational nanotechnology ◽

10.33693/2313-223x-2020-7-2-34-41 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 34-41

Author(s):

VLADIMIR NIKONOV ◽

◽

ANTON ZOBOV ◽

Keyword(s):

Mathematical Expectation ◽

Point Of View ◽

Small Range ◽

Computational Point ◽

Wide Range ◽

Bijective Function ◽

The Difference ◽

Element Base ◽

Selection Of

The construction and selection of a suitable bijective function, that is, substitution, is now becoming an important applied task, particularly for building block encryption systems. Many articles have suggested using different approaches to determining the quality of substitution, but most of them are highly computationally complex. The solution of this problem will significantly expand the range of methods for constructing and analyzing scheme in information protection systems. The purpose of research is to find easily measurable characteristics of substitutions, allowing to evaluate their quality, and also measures of the proximity of a particular substitutions to a random one, or its distance from it. For this purpose, several characteristics were proposed in this work: difference and polynomial, and their mathematical expectation was found, as well as variance for the difference characteristic. This allows us to make a conclusion about its quality by comparing the result of calculating the characteristic for a particular substitution with the calculated mathematical expectation. From a computational point of view, the thesises of the article are of exceptional interest due to the simplicity of the algorithm for quantifying the quality of bijective function substitutions. By its nature, the operation of calculating the difference characteristic carries out a simple summation of integer terms in a fixed and small range. Such an operation, both in the modern and in the prospective element base, is embedded in the logic of a wide range of functional elements, especially when implementing computational actions in the optical range, or on other carriers related to the field of nanotechnology.

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Microsponges: An Overview

International Journal of Drug Delivery Technology ◽

10.25258/ijddt.v4i4.8860 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Hamid Hussain ◽

Divya Juyal ◽

Archana Dhyani

Keyword(s):

Controlled Release ◽

Delivery System ◽

Oral Delivery ◽

Active Agent ◽

Topical Delivery ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Wide Range ◽

Porous Beads

Microsponge and Nanosponge delivery System was originally developed for topical delivery of drugs can also be used for controlled oral delivery of drugs using water soluble and bioerodible polymers. Microsponge delivery system (MDS) can entrap wide range of drugs and then release them onto the skin over a time by difussion mechanism to the skin. It is a unique technology for the controlled release of topical agents and consists of nano or micro porous beads loaded with active agent and also use for oral delivery of drugs using bioerodible polymers.

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Synthesis, Characterization and Antiproliferative Activity Assessment of a Novel 1H-5-mercapto-1,2,4 Triazole Derivative

Revista de Chimie ◽

10.37358/rc.17.4.5544 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 68 (4) ◽

pp. 745-747 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marius Mioc ◽

Sorin Avram ◽

Vasile Bercean ◽

Mihaela Balan Porcarasu ◽

Codruta Soica ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antiproliferative Activity ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Cancer Cell Line ◽

Vascular Endothelial ◽

Triazole Derivative ◽

Activity Assessment ◽

Wide Range ◽

Specific Receptors ◽

Endothelial Growth Factor ◽

Selection Of

Angiogenesis plays an important function in tumor proliferation, one of the main angiogenic promoters being the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) which activates specific receptors, particularly VEGFR-2. Thus, VEGFR-2 has become an essential therapeutic target in the development of new antitumor drugs. 1,2,4-triazoles show a wide range of biological activities, including antitumor effect, which was documented by numerous reports. In the current study the selection of 5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole structure (1H-3-styryl-5-benzylidenehydrazino-carbonyl-methylsulfanil-1,2,4-triazole, Tz3a.7) was conducted based on molecular docking that emphasized it as suitable ligand for VEGFR-2 and EGFR1 receptors. Compound Tz3a.7 was synthesized and physicochemically and biologically evaluated thus revealing a moderate antiproliferative activity against breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231.

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Effect of Contact Ratio on Spur Gear Dynamic Load With No Tooth Profile Modifications

Journal of Mechanical Design ◽

10.1115/1.2826905 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 118 (3) ◽

pp. 439-443 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Chuen-Huei Liou ◽

Hsiang Hsi Lin ◽

F. B. Oswald ◽

D. P. Townsend

Keyword(s):

Dynamic Load ◽

Spur Gear ◽

Tooth Size ◽

Contact Ratio ◽

Gear Dynamics ◽

Wide Range ◽

Gear Contact ◽

Center Distance ◽

Selection Of ◽

Better Than

This paper presents a computer simulation showing how the gear contact ratio affects the dynamic load on a spur gear transmission. The contact ratio can be affected by the tooth addendum, the pressure angle, the tooth size (diametral pitch), and the center distance. The analysis presented in this paper was performed by using the NASA gear dynamics code DANST. In the analysis, the contact ratio was varied over the range 1.20 to 2.40 by changing the length of the tooth addendum. In order to simplify the analysis, other parameters related to contact ratio were held constant. The contact ratio was found to have a significant influence on gear dynamics. Over a wide range of operating speeds, a contact ratio close to 2.0 minimized dynamic load. For low-contact-ratio gears (contact ratio less than two), increasing the contact ratio reduced gear dynamic load. For high-contact-ratio gears (contact ratio equal to or greater than 2.0), the selection of contact ratio should take into consideration the intended operating speeds. In general, high-contact-ratio gears minimized dynamic load better than low-contact-ratio gears.

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A Virtual Telescope for the Open University Science Foundation Course

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100114885 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 162 ◽

pp. 100-105

Author(s):

Andrew J. Norton ◽

Mark H. Jones

Keyword(s):

Social Science ◽

Open University ◽

Distance Teaching ◽

The Arts ◽

Wide Range ◽

University Science ◽

First Time ◽

Degree Level ◽

Selection Of

The Open University is the UK's foremost distance teaching university. For over twenty five years we have been presenting courses to students spanning a wide range of degree level and vocational subjects. Since we have no pre-requisites for entry, a major component of our course profile is a selection of foundation courses comprising one each in the Arts, Social Science, Mathematics, Technology and Science faculties. The Science Faculty's foundation course is currently undergoing a substantial revision. The new course, entitled “S103: Discovering Science”, will be presented to students for the first time in 1998.

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Organelle Genetics in Plants

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22042104 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 2104

Author(s):

Pedro Robles ◽

Víctor Quesada

Keyword(s):

Rna Editing ◽

Posttranscriptional Regulation ◽

Genome Engineering ◽

Plant Mitochondria ◽

Plastid Dna ◽

Chloroplast Genomes ◽

Wide Range ◽

Organelle Genetics ◽

Selection Of

Eleven published articles (4 reviews, 7 research papers) are collected in the Special Issue entitled “Organelle Genetics in Plants.” This selection of papers covers a wide range of topics related to chloroplasts and plant mitochondria research: (i) organellar gene expression (OGE) and, more specifically, chloroplast RNA editing in soybean, mitochondria RNA editing, and intron splicing in soybean during nodulation, as well as the study of the roles of transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of OGE in plant adaptation to environmental stress; (ii) analysis of the nuclear integrants of mitochondrial DNA (NUMTs) or plastid DNA (NUPTs); (iii) sequencing and characterization of mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes; (iv) recent advances in plastid genome engineering. Here we summarize the main findings of these works, which represent the latest research on the genetics, genomics, and biotechnology of chloroplasts and mitochondria.

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Genetic Differentiation in Anthocyanin Content among Berry Fruits

Current Issues in Molecular Biology ◽

10.3390/cimb43010004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 43 (1) ◽

pp. 36-51

Author(s):

Alicja Ponder ◽

Ewelina Hallmann ◽

Martyna Kwolek ◽

Dominika Średnicka-Tober ◽

Renata Kazimierczak

Keyword(s):

Essential Role ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Skin Pigmentation ◽

Highbush Blueberry ◽

Anthocyanin Content ◽

Healthy Nutrition ◽

Wide Range ◽

Health Promoting ◽

Berry Fruits ◽

Red Currant

Anthocyanins are widely distributed secondary metabolites that play an essential role in skin pigmentation of many plant organs and microorganisms. Anthocyanins have been associated with a wide range of biological and pharmacological properties. They are also effective agents in the prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases. Berries are particularly abundant in these compounds; therefore, their dietary intake has health-promoting effects. The aim of this study was to identify and determine the anthocyanin content in selected species and cultivars of berry fruits, such as raspberry, blackberry, red currant, blackcurrant, and highbush blueberry, widely consumed by Europeans. The concentrations of anthocyanins were determined by HPLC, identifying individual compounds: cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside, delphinidin-3-O-glucoside, delphinidin-3-O-rutinoside, cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, delphinidin-3-O-galactoside, cyanidin-3-O-galactoside, and malvidin-3-O-galactoside. The experimental data showed that the selected species and cultivars of berry fruits differ significantly in the contents of anthocyanins. Among all species tested, blackberry and blackcurrant were characterized significantly by the highest content of anthocyanins (sum), while the lowest content was found in red currant fruits. Additionally, the content of individual anthocyanin compounds in particular species and cultivars was also different. Considering the high content of anthocyanins and their potential positive impact on human health and protection against disease, berries should be part of healthy nutrition.

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Combining metabolomic and transcriptomic approaches to assess and improve crop quality traits

CABI Agriculture and Bioscience ◽

10.1186/s43170-020-00021-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Delphine M. Pott ◽

Sara Durán-Soria ◽

Sonia Osorio ◽

José G. Vallarino

Keyword(s):

Quality Trait ◽

Quality Traits ◽

Crop Species ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Crop Quality ◽

Crop Varieties ◽

New Genes ◽

Technical Advances ◽

Health Promoting ◽

Selection Of

AbstractPlant quality trait improvement has become a global necessity due to the world overpopulation. In particular, producing crop species with enhanced nutrients and health-promoting compounds is one of the main aims of current breeding programs. However, breeders traditionally focused on characteristics such as yield or pest resistance, while breeding for crop quality, which largely depends on the presence and accumulation of highly valuable metabolites in the plant edible parts, was left out due to the complexity of plant metabolome and the impossibility to properly phenotype it. Recent technical advances in high throughput metabolomic, transcriptomic and genomic platforms have provided efficient approaches to identify new genes and pathways responsible for the extremely diverse plant metabolome. In addition, they allow to establish correlation between genotype and metabolite composition, and to clarify the genetic architecture of complex biochemical pathways, such as the accumulation of secondary metabolites in plants, many of them being highly valuable for the human diet. In this review, we focus on how the combination of metabolomic, transcriptomic and genomic approaches is a useful tool for the selection of crop varieties with improved nutritional value and quality traits.

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BonMOLière: Small-Sized Libraries of Readily Purchasable Compounds, Optimized to Produce Genuine Hits in Biological Screens across the Protein Space

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22157773 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (15) ◽

pp. 7773

Author(s):

Neann Mathai ◽

Conrad Stork ◽

Johannes Kirchmair

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Computational Approach ◽

Large Sets ◽

Compound Libraries ◽

Wide Range ◽

Protein Space ◽

High Chance ◽

Large Scale Screening ◽

Early Drug ◽

Selection Of

Experimental screening of large sets of compounds against macromolecular targets is a key strategy to identify novel bioactivities. However, large-scale screening requires substantial experimental resources and is time-consuming and challenging. Therefore, small to medium-sized compound libraries with a high chance of producing genuine hits on an arbitrary protein of interest would be of great value to fields related to early drug discovery, in particular biochemical and cell research. Here, we present a computational approach that incorporates drug-likeness, predicted bioactivities, biological space coverage, and target novelty, to generate optimized compound libraries with maximized chances of producing genuine hits for a wide range of proteins. The computational approach evaluates drug-likeness with a set of established rules, predicts bioactivities with a validated, similarity-based approach, and optimizes the composition of small sets of compounds towards maximum target coverage and novelty. We found that, in comparison to the random selection of compounds for a library, our approach generates substantially improved compound sets. Quantified as the “fitness” of compound libraries, the calculated improvements ranged from +60% (for a library of 15,000 compounds) to +184% (for a library of 1000 compounds). The best of the optimized compound libraries prepared in this work are available for download as a dataset bundle (“BonMOLière”).

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