Effect of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on the chemical composition and antioxidant properties of Ginkgo biloba leaves decoction and commercial capsules

In this study Ginkgo biloba leaves (GBL) decoction and commercial capsules were digested using an in vitro model. Thirty-six active compounds were identified and quantified by HPLC-ESI-MS analysis based on the MS/MS patterns (precursor ions and product ions) and retention times, in comparison with reference standards. Most compounds in GBL showed a significant decrease during intestinal digestion, with an exception of vanillic acid and biflavonoids. Bioaccessibility values of chemical compositions varied between decoction and capsules samples. Also, significant reductions of total flavonoids and total phenolic content was observed after in vitro digestion. Both, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) scavenging capacity decreased after gastric digestion, but increased during intestinal digestion. Nevertheless, different behaviour was observed in reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Compared to the pH of digestion, the influence of digestive enzymes on the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of GBL was relatively minor. Overall, these results may help provide a valid foundation for further investigations on bioactive compounds and the pharmacodynamics of GBL

Microbial network for waste activated sludge cascade utilization in an integrated system of microbial electrolysis and anaerobic fermentation

Background: Bioelectrochemical systems have been considered a promising novel technology that shows an enhanced energy recovery, as well as generation of value-added products. A number of recent studies suggested that an enhancement of carbon conversion and biogas production can be achieved in an integrated system of microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) and anaerobic digestion (AD) for waste activated sludge (WAS). Microbial communities in integrated system would build a thorough energetic and metabolic interaction network regarding fermentation communities and electrode respiring communities. The characterization of integrated community structure and community shifts is not well understood, however, it starts to attract interest of scientists and engineers. Results: In the present work, energy recovery and WAS conversion are comprehensively affected by typical pre-treated biosolid characteristics. We investigated the interaction of fermentation communities and electrode respiring communities in an integrated system of WAS fermentation and MEC for hydrogen recovery. A high energy recovery was achieved in the MECs feeding WAS fermentation liquid through alkaline pretreatment. Some anaerobes belonging to Firmicutes (Acetoanaerobium, Acetobacterium, and Fusibacter) showed synergistic relationship with exoelectrogens in the degradation of complex organic matter or recycling of MEC products (H-2). High protein and polysaccharide but low fatty acid content led to the dominance of Proteiniclasticum and Parabacteroides, which showed a delayed contribution to the extracellular electron transport leading to a slow cascade utilization of WAS. Conclusions: Efficient pretreatment could supply more short-chain fatty acids and higher conductivities in the fermentative liquid, which facilitated mass transfer in anodic biofilm. The overall performance of WAS cascade utilization was substantially related to the microbial community structures, which in turn depended on the initial pretreatment to enhance WAS fermentation. It is worth noting that species in AD and MEC communities are able to build complex networks of interaction, which have not been sufficiently studied so far. It is therefore important to understand how choosing operational parameters can influence reactor performances. The current study highlights the interaction of fermentative bacteria and exoelectrogens in the integrated system

Value of brain tissue oxygen saturation in neonatal respiratory distress syndrome: a clinical study

Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) is one of the major causes of pre-term mortality and morbidity among very-low-birth-weight infants (VLBWI) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Some of the neonates pass away despite admission and care in intensive care units (ICUs). The present clinical trial seeks the application value of elevating oxygen saturation in the brain cells of pre-term neonates born with NRDS. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to monitor the neonates’ microscopic cerebral oxygenation levels do determine hemoglobin concentration in brain tissues, whereas the pulse oximetry was used to measure oxygenation levels among the patients. In statistical analyses, the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and descriptive statistics was deployed in the Jupyter Notebook environment using Python language. High saturation of oxygen in the brain tissues result in important biological and physiological processes, including enhanced oxygen supply to cells, reduced severity of NRDS, and balancing oxygen demand and supply. The correlations of oxygen saturation with systemic saturation of oxygen, the saturation of oxygen in brain tissues, the association between brain-specific and systemic saturation, and the impact of these outcomes on clinical practices were deliberated. Also, the pH gas values, the saturation of oxygen in neonates’ brain tissues, metabolic acidosis, the effect of acid-base balance and cerebral oxygen supply, and the oxygenation of brain tissues and the pH values emerged as important variables of oxygenation of brain tissues in pre-term neonates. Oxygen saturation in brain cells influence vital physiological and biological processes. Balancing acid-base saturation or levels is needed despite the challenging achievement. Oxygenation of brain tissues improve the brain’s overall functioning

The growing inequality between firms

Globalisation, technological progress and a range of policies and institutions are driving ‘Great Divergences’ in wages and productivity, write Giuseppe Berlingieri, Patrick Blanchenay and Chiara Criscuol

Statistical Optimization of Operational Parameters for Enhanced Naphthalene Degradation by Photocatalyst

The optimization of operational parameters for enhanced naphthalene degradation by TiO2/Fe3O4-SiO2 (TFS) photocatalyst was conducted using statistical experimental design and analysis. Central composite design method of response surface methodology (RSM) was adopted to investigate the optimum value of the selected factors for achieving maximum naphthalene degradation. Experimental results showed that irradiation time, pH, and TFS photocatalyst loading had significant influence on naphthalene degradation and the maximum degradation rate of 97.39% was predicted when the operational parameters were irradiation time 97.1 min, pH 2.1, and catalyst loading 0.962 g/L, respectively. The results were further verified by repeated experiments under optimal conditions. The excellent correlation between predicted and measured values further confirmed the validity and practicability of this statistical optimum strategy