Jianqing Liao

Berries, as the best dietary sources for human health, are rich in anthocyanins, vitamins, fiber, polyphenols, essential amino acids, and other ingredients. Anthocyanins are one of the most important bioactive components in berries. The attractive color of berries is attributed to the fact that berries contain different kinds of anthocyanins. Increasing research activity has indicated that anthocyanins in berries show various biological activities, including protecting vision; antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor qualities; inhibition of lipid peroxidation; anti-cardiovascular disease properties; control of hypoglycemic conditions; and other activities. Hence, berries have high nutritional and medicinal values. The recognized absorption, metabolism, and biological activities of anthocyanins have promoted their research in different directions. Hence, it is necessary to systematically review the research progress and future prospects of anthocyanins to promote a better understanding of anthocyanins. The absorption, metabolism, and biological activities of anthocyanins from berries were reviewed in this paper. The findings of this study provide an important reference for basic research, product development and utilization of berries’ anthocyanins in food, cosmetics, and drugs.

In this paper, VO₂ thin films with good optical properties are fabricated on practical float glass by magnetron sputtering and a professional annealing method. The near-infrared switching efficiency (NIRSE) of the prepared film reaches 39% (@2000 nm), and its near-infrared energy modulation ability (ΔT_ir) reaches 10.9% (780–2500 nm). Further, the highest integral visible transmittance T_lum is 63%. The proposed method exhibits good reproducibility and does not cause any heat damage to the magnetron sputtering machine. The crystalline structure of the VO₂ film is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The lattice planes (011) and (−211) grow preferentially (JCPDS 65-2358), and a large number of NaV₂O₅ crystals are detected simultaneously. The microstructures are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and a large number of long sheet crystals are identified. The phase transition temperature is significantly reduced by an appropriate W doping concentration (T_c = 29 °C), whereas excessive W doping causes distortion of the thermal hysteresis loop and a reduction in the NIRSE. Oxygen vacancies are created by low pressure annealing, due to which the phase transition temperature of VO₂ film decreases by 8 °C. The addition of an intermediate SiO₂ layer can prevent the diffusion of Na⁺ ions and affect the preparation process of the VO₂ thin film.

The conventional channel estimation schemes for filter bank multicarrier with offset quadrature amplitude modulation (FBMC/OQAM) systems are mainly based on preamble methods. However, the utilization of preamble for channel estimation decreases the system’s spectrum efficiency. In this paper, we propose a modified subspace blind channel estimation method for FBMC/OQAM systems. The proposed method distinguishes itself from previously preamble based methods by utilizing spatial diversity technique to introduce data redundancy for blind channel estimation, which leads to high spectral utilization. Thus, the proposed method can provide significant root mean square error (RMSE) performance improvement compared to conventional preamble based methods at high SNRs. Simulation results verify the validity of the proposed method in FBMC/OQAM systems.

Ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) of quercetin and rutin from the stalks of Euonymus alatus (Thunb.) Sieb in our laboratory, which aimed at evaluating and optimizing the process parameters, was investigated in this work. In addition, process parameters such as ethanol solution concentration, solvent volume/sample ratio, ultrasound power and extraction time, ultrasound frequency and extraction temperature were also first applied for evaluating the influence of extraction of quercetin and rutin. Optimum process parameters obtained were: ethanol solution 60%, extraction time 30 min, solvent volume/sample ratio 40 mL/g, ultrasound power 200 W, extraction temperature 30 °C and ultrasound frequency 80 kHz. Further a hybrid predictive model, which is based on least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) in combination with improved fruit fly optimization algorithm (IFOA), was first used to predict the UAE process. The established IFOA-LS-SVM model, in which six process parameters and extraction yields of quercetin and rutin were used as input variables and output variables, respectively, successfully predicted the extraction yields of quercetin and rutin with a low error. Moreover, by comparison with SVM, LS-SVM and multiple regression models, IFOA-LS-SVM model has higher accuracy and faster convergence. Results proved that the proposed model is capable of predicting extraction yields of quercetin and rutin in UAE process.

This work focused on the intensification of extraction process of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) from Glycyrrhiza uralensis using ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method. Various process parameters such as ultrasonic power, ultrasonic frequency, extraction temperature, and extraction time which affect the extraction yield were optimized. The results showed that all process parameters had exhibited significant influences on the GA extraction. The highest GA yield of 217.7 mg/g was obtained at optimized parameters of 125 W, 55 kHz, 25 °C, and 10 min. Furthermore, the extraction kinetics model of this process was also investigated based on Fick’s first law available in the literature. Kinetic parameters such as equilibrium concentration (C_e) and integrated influence coefficient (λ) for different ultrasonic powers, ultrasonic frequencies, and extraction temperatures were predicted. Model validations were done successfully with the average of relative deviation between 0.96% and 4.36% by plotting experimental and predicted values of concentration of GA in extract. This indicated that the developed extraction model could reflect the effectiveness of the extraction of GA from Glycyrrhiza uralensis and therefore serve as the guide for comprehending other UAE process.