Persimmon Tannin Decreased the Glycemic Response through Decreasing the Digestibility of Starch and Inhibiting α‑Amylase, α‑Glucosidase, and Intestinal Glucose Uptake

Regulation of postprandial blood glucose levels is an effective therapeutic proposal for type 2 diabetes treatment. In this study, the effect of persimmon tannin on starch digestion with different amylose levels was investigated both in vitro and in vivo. Oral administration of persimmon tannin–starch complexes significantly suppressed the increase of blood glucose levels and the area under the curve (AUC) in a dose-dependent manner compared with starch treatment alone in an in vivo rat model. Further study proved that persimmon tannin could not only interact with starch directly but also inhibit α-amylase and α-glucosidase strongly, with IC₅₀ values of 0.35 and 0.24 mg/mL, separately. In addition, 20 μg/mL of persimmon tannin significantly decreased glucose uptake and transport in Caco-2 cells model. Overall, our data suggested that persimmon tannin may alleviate postprandial hyperglycemia through limiting the digestion of starch as well as inhibiting the uptake and transport of glucose

Data_Sheet_1_Rice straw increases microbial nitrogen fixation, bacterial and nifH genes abundance with the change of land use types.docx

Soil microorganisms play an important role in soil ecosystems as the main decomposers of carbon and nitrogen. They have an indispensable impact on soil health, and any alterations in the levels of organic carbon and inorganic nitrogen can significantly affect soil chemical properties and microbial community composition. Previous studies have focused on the effects of carbon and nitrogen addition on a single type of soil, but the response of soil microorganisms to varying carbon and nitrogen inputs under different land soil use types have been relatively understudied, leaving a gap in our understanding of the key influencing factors. To address this gap, we conducted a study in the tropical regions of Hainan province, focusing on four distinct land use types: natural forest soil (NS), healthy banana soil (HS), diseased banana garden soil (DS), and paddy soil (PS). Within each of these environments, we implemented five treatments: CK, RS (rice straw), RSN (rice straw and NH4NO3), RR (rice root), and RRN (rice root and NH4NO3). Our aim was to investigate how soil bacteria response to changes in carbon and nitrogen inputs, and to assess their potential for biological nitrogen fixation. The results showed that the addition of rice straw increased the absorption and utilization of nitrate nitrogen by microorganisms. The addition of rice roots (RR) did not increase the absorption capacity of inorganic nitrogen by microorganisms, but increased the content of poorly soluble organic carbon. Most importantly, the addition of rice straw increased microbial respiration and the utilization efficiency of N2 by microorganisms, and the further addition of ammonium nitrate increased microbial respiration intensity. With the change of soil type, the rice straw increases microbial nitrogen fixation, bacterial and nifH genes abundance. Meanwhile, microbial respiration intensity is an important factor influencing the differences in the structure of bacterial communities. The addition of inorganic nitrogen resulted in ammonium nitrogen accumulation, reduced microbial richness and diversity, consequently diminishing the soil microorganisms to resist the environment. Therefore, we believe that with the change of soil types, corresponding soil nutrient retention strategies should be devised and incorporated while reducing the application of ammonium nitrogen, thus ensuring healthy soil development.</p

Ultrafast-Charging and Long-Life Li-Ion Battery Anodes of TiO₂‑B and Anatase Dual-Phase Nanowires

Ideal lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) should possess a high power density, be charged extremely fast (e.g., 100C), and have a long service life. To achieve them all, all battery components, including anodes, cathodes, and electrolytes should have excellent structural and functional characteristics. The present work reports ultrafast-charging and long-life LIB anodes made from TiO₂-B/anatase dual-phase nanowires. The dual-phase nanowires are fabricated with anatase TiO₂ nanoparticles through a facile and cost-effective hydrothermal process, which can be easily scaled up for mass production. The anodes exhibit remarkable electrochemical performance with reversible capacities of ∼225, 172, and 140 mAh g^–1 at current rates of 1C, 10C, and 60C, respectively. They deliver exceptional capacity retention of not less than 126 and 93 mAh g^–1 after 1000 cycles at 60C and 100C, respectively, potentially worthwhile for high-power applications. These values are among the best when the high-rate capabilities are compared with the literature data for similar TiO₂-based anodes. The Ragone plot confirms both the exceptionally high energy and power densities of the devices prepared using the dual-phase nanowires. The electrochemical tests and operando Raman spectra present fast electrochemical kinetics for both Li⁺ and electron transports in the TiO₂ dual-phase nanowires than in anatase nanoparticles due to the excellent Li⁺ diffusion coefficient and electronic conductivity of nanowires

Discovering a First-Order Phase Transition in the Li–CeO₂ System

An in-depth understanding of (de)­lithiation induced phase transition in electrode materials is crucial to grasp their structure–property relationships and provide guidance to the design of more desirable electrodes. By operando synchrotron XRD (SXRD) measurement and Density Functional Theory (DFT) based calculations, we discover a reversible first-order phase transition for the first time during (de)­lithiation of CeO₂ nanoparticles. The Li_<i>x</i>CeO₂ compound phase is identified to possess the same fluorite crystal structure with FM3M space group as that of the pristine CeO₂ nanoparticles. The SXRD determined lattice constant of the Li_<i>x</i>CeO₂ compound phase is 0.551 nm, larger than that of 0.541 nm of the pristine CeO₂ phase. The DFT calculations further reveal that the Li induced redistribution of electrons causes the increase in the Ce–O covalent bonding, the shuffling of Ce and O atoms, and the jump expansion of lattice constant, thereby resulting in the first-order phase transition. Discovering the new phase transition throws light upon the reaction between lithium and CeO₂, and provides opportunities to the further investigation of properties and potential applications of Li_<i>x</i>CeO₂