Native Ones Research Articles

Exacerbated Inequalities: The Learning Loss from COVID-19 in Italy

Using administrative data on the universe of eighth graders, we study learning losses in Italy between 2021 and 2019 to estimate the effect of schools' closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We find an average learning loss of 0.14 SD in math and 0.05 SD in reading. The pandemic widened preexisting gaps by socioeconomic status (SES): students in the bottom quintile of SES learned 0.21 SD less in math and 0.10 SD less in reading. Learning losses for immigrant students in math are larger than those for native ones. We do not find economically significant differences by gender.

Linguistic Conceptualization of Spatial Prepositions: Romanian ʺînʺ and Polish ʺwʺ ‒ A Comparative Approach

"Linguistic Conceptualization of Spatial Prepositions: Romanian “în” and Polish “w” – Comparative Approach. The Romanian preposition ""în"" corresponds to the Polish preposition ""w"". Both express the spatial relationship that consists of placing an object in a limited space; they indicate the interior of the space where something is located. In addition to this general definition in both languages, the preposition acquires other semantic functions that may be convergent, rendered directly by the pair Rom. în = Pol. w. Furthermore, representation of some linguistic relations can be different: for a Romanian speaker, the space relation could be reflected by preposition representing a closed space – în, but for a Polish speaker, it reflects an open space or a surface coralated to the Polish preposition – na. The main objective of this article is to analyze the differences that, first, result from the distinctive conceptualization of space reflected in the language using prepositions and, secondly, result from heterogenous grammatical system (Roman vs. Slavic). The analysis is based, among other things, on the frequent mistakes in the use of prepositional structures that Polish speakers make when learning Romanian. The wrong structures appear especially at the level of abstract language, in phrases or verbs, when the regime imposes prepositions or cases that do not correspond functionally to the native ones; however, the linguistic image of the space is also different and difficult to identify in the metaphorical or abstract structures. The cognitive approach allows the delineation of some image schemes that represent the core meaning of the preposition. The comparative study of the preposition in the Romanian and Polish languages shows that the prepositional system in the Romanian language is more developed and richer than the Polish one, and the latter presents a much stronger and more direct attachment to the feature of ""interiority"" expressed by the preposition ""w / în"" than in the Romanian language. Keywords: prepositions, Romanian as a Foreign Language, linguistic conceptualization, prepositional structures, polish language "

Evaluation of Physicochemical and Microbial Properties of Extracts from Wine Lees Waste of Matelica's Verdicchio and Their Applications in Novel Cosmetic Products.

Wine lees are sediments deposited on the walls and bottom of barrels resulting from wine fermentation and mainly consist of yeasts. Saccharomyces cerevisiae extracts, rich in beneficial components for the skin, have already been used in cosmesis, while wine lees have not been well exploited by the cosmetics industry yet. The aim of this work was the full characterization of the wine lees from Verdicchio's wine, with the aim to exploit it as a beneficial ingredient in new cosmetic products. After mapping the microbial composition of the sample waste, the parameters for the sonication extraction process were optimized and the physicochemical properties of the extract were analyzed. The efficiency of the aqueous extraction-and in particular the yeast cell lysis necessary for the release of proteins from the cell-was assessed by evaluating cell shape and size, and protein release, under scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Bradford's protein assays. Thus, the total phenol content and antioxidant capacity of the supernatant recovered from native and sonicated lees were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu's and spectrophotometric assays, respectively. To quantify the heavy metals and highlight the presence of microelements beneficial for the skin, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was applied. In vitro metabolic activity and cytotoxicity were tested on both HaCat keratinocytes and human gingival fibroblasts, showing that wine lees are safe for skin's cells. The results show that sonicated lees appear to be more interesting than native ones as a consequence of the release of the active ingredients from the cells. Due to the high antioxidant capacity, content of beneficial elements for skin and an appropriate microbiologic profile, wine lees were included in five new solid cosmetic products and tested for challenge test, compatibility with human skin, sensory analysis, trans epidermal water loss (TEWL) and sebometry.

Innate dynamics and identity crisis of a metal surface unveiled by machine learning of atomic environments.

Metals are traditionally considered hard matter. However, it is well known that their atomic lattices may become dynamic and undergo reconfigurations even well below the melting temperature. The innate atomic dynamics of metals is directly related to their bulk and surface properties. Understanding their complex structural dynamics is, thus, important for many applications but is not easy. Here, we report deep-potential molecular dynamics simulations allowing to resolve at an atomic resolution the complex dynamics of various types of copper (Cu) surfaces, used as an example, near the Hüttig (∼1/3 of melting) temperature. The development of deep neural network potential trained on density functional theory calculations provides a dynamically accurate force field that we use to simulate large atomistic models of different Cu surface types. A combination of high-dimensional structural descriptors and unsupervized machine learning allows identifying and tracking all the atomic environments (AEs) emerging in the surfaces at finite temperatures. We can directly observe how AEs that are non-native in a specific (ideal) surface, but that are, instead, typical of other surface types, continuously emerge/disappear in that surface in relevant regimes in dynamic equilibrium with the native ones. Our analyses allow estimating the lifetime of all the AEs populating these Cu surfaces and to reconstruct their dynamic interconversions networks. This reveals the elusive identity of these metal surfaces, which preserve their identity only in part and in part transform into something else under relevant conditions. This also proposes a concept of "statistical identity" for metal surfaces, which is key to understanding their behaviors and properties.

EFL STUDENTS’ VOICES ON NATIVE SPEAKER PRESENTERS ON YOUTUBE VIDEOS AND THEIR IMPACT ON STUDENTS’ ENGLISH COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT

There have been many studies on YouTube and its advantages for learning English, yet a specific research on students’ perception of native speaker presenters is still rare. This study aimed to investigate students’ general perspectives on YouTube videos, and exploring students’ perspectives on YouTube video presenters/hosts (native speaker and non-native speaker), and how they positively affect students’ English competency. A descriptive analysis method was done by distributing a questionnaire written in Indonesian via Google form to 156 respondents. The result of questionnaire was then analysed qualitatively using Jeffreys’s Amazing Statistics Program (JASP) 0.14.1. A semi-structured interview to ten respondents to dig out more about their response for certain items or questions was also done. The analysis revealed that YouTube provides a wide variety of topics, available in multiple languages, and might be downloaded anytime. When the presenters are the native ones, the respondents got some positive impacts in improving their English competency. Students felt challenged in building their understanding of the content, could practice their listening skill correctly, may train and improve their speaking skill, got new English vocabulary, learn to pause, stress, and use appropriate intonations in uttering words, sentences, and phrases, could practice proper use of grammar, identify people’s live and behave, increase students’ general knowledge, increase their knowledge of English language culture, and they become more creative. However, some respondents preferred the non-native hosts since they tend to speak slower and sometimes switch to Indonesian that facilitates the respondents understanding.

Digestive plants in a Mapuche community of the Patagonian steppe: multidimensional variables that affect their knowledge and use

Background: In a rural Mapuche community of the Patagonian steppe (Chubut, Argentina), we analyzed how the use and popularity of digestive plants are affected by their aroma, the presence of dual medicinal-edible uses, their digestive versatility, biogeographical origin and accessibility. Methods: Free listing and in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 collaborators, complemented with participant observation and walks in the field. Quantitative indices, non-parametric methods (Binomial and Chi-square tests, p < 0, 05) and generalized linear models (GLM, Omnibus test, p < 0, 05) were performed. Results: Local collaborators use 61 digestive plants, including a similar number of native and exotic species. Most are used for only one type of digestive use, are very accessible and have aroma. There are as many species with dual use as without dual use. Exotic species generally have more aroma than native ones. Only exotic species are highly accessible. Species with dual uses are mainly used as condiments. Digestive-only species could or could not have aroma. The popularity of species is only affected by their digestive versatility and aroma, mainly for exotic ones. Conclusions: Local pharmacopoeia reflects aspects that account for its cultural resilience, including a high richness of native and exotic digestive plants, many of which are used for specific ailments. The species have been selected from the joint evaluation of biophysical and sociocultural variables that influence their knowledge and forms of use. These variables and perceptions would also allow diversification in response to changes, forming part of a bio-cultural legacy unique to Patagonia. Keywords: Mapuche medicinal flora, Patagonia, popularity, cultural resilience.

Yield optimization, physicochemical characterizations, and antioxidant properties of food grade agar from Gracilaria tenuistipitata of Cox's Bazar coast, Bangladesh.

The present study was aimed at investigating the optimization of extraction variables for food grade quality agar from Gracilaria tenuistipitata, so far, the first study on Bangladeshi seaweed. Water (native)- and NaOH (alkali)-pretreated agars were comparatively analyzed by several physicochemical parameters. All extraction variables significantly affected the agar yield in both extraction conditions. Alkali-pretreated agar provided a better yield (12-13% w/w) and gel strength (201 g/cm2) in extraction conditions as followed by 2% NaOH pretreatment at 30°C for 3h, seaweed to water ratio at 1:150, and extraction temperature at 100°C for 2h. Gelling and melting temperatures, color, and pH values of both agars were found to be comparable with commercial agar. Significantly higher sulfate contents including organic and inorganic and total carotenoids were reported in native (3.14% and 1.29 μg/mL) than that in alkali-pretreated agar (1.27% and 0.62 μg/mL). FTIR spectrum demonstrated the purity of the agar as characterized by the stronger relative intensity with higher degree of conversion of L-galactose 6-sulfate to 3,6-anhydrogalactose in alkali pretreatment group than that of native ones. Moreover, antioxidant activity (% DPPH scavenging) was observed and confirmed by IC50 values of 5.42 and 9.02 mg/mL in water- and alkali-pretreated agars, respectively. The results suggested that agar from G.tenuistipitata with optimized alkali extraction conditions could promote cost-effective yield with improved physicochemical characteristics and biofunctional values upon consumption by the consumers as food materials.

Several Thoughts of Culture Translation and Transmission Based on Travelogues about Mount Tai

In the early 20th century, many Westerners visited China and produced a lot of travelogues about China and Mount Tai. Their different concerns and attitudes caused their accounts depicted the different sides of Mount Tai. The Westerners have different understandings or even misunderstandings of Mount Tai. Some misunderstandings were due to cross-cultural communication. Mistranslations also appeared in literature back-translation for the lack of knowledge about the local attractions and cultures, which makes the readers' understandings rather obscure. Thus it’s of importance to analyze the travelogues and then compare the images with the native ones. During the culture transmission and translation, some issues should be specially noticed. We should keep an open mind to trace the origin and illustrate the real face of the issues.

Naturalization of an alien ancient fruit tree at a fine scale: Community structure and population dynamics of Cydonia oblonga in China.

Naturalized plants play pivotal roles in local plant biodiversity and ecological functions; however, the drivers of naturalization remain poorly understood at a fine scale. Thus, understanding the processes of the development and dominance of alien plants in local natural habitats is of paramount importance. In the present study, we report for the first time the naturalization of Cydonia oblonga in China based on community structure and population dynamics at a fine scale. We conducted a comprehensive survey of the species through field community investigations, interviews, and a literature review. Cydonia oblonga is an ancient fruit tree with a long introduction history of over 4500 years worldwide and a cultivation history of over 2500 years in China. We analyzed C.oblonga community structure using the spatiotemporal substitution method and quantitatively analyzed population dynamics using a static life table, survivorship curve, and time series model to explore the naturalization processes. The following results were obtained. (i) The community comprised 31 coexisting vascular plant species (16 woody and 15 herbaceous species) belonging to 28 genera in 20 families. Rosaceae and Asteraceae were the two most dominant families. (ii) All individuals in the shrub layer as well as the C.oblonga population exhibited a roughly inverted J-shaped basal diameter distribution. A complete age structure was noted, and the survival curve was classified as Deevey type II. According to time series analysis, the population is estimated to increase in the future, specifically of medium and large individuals. (iii) Religious exchange, potent resource competitiveness, and similarity with the native habitat may be the major drivers of the introduction and successful naturalization of C.oblonga. These results suggest that alien species closely related to native ones are more likely to invade, naturalize, and dominate communities in local habitats.

Formulaic Sequences and Discourse Markers in Applied Linguistics Research Papers. A cross-linguistic corpus-based analysis of native and non-native authors published articles

Metadiscourse markers and their importance to academic writing are essential research subjects nowadays. The current corpus-based study aims at identifying interactional and interactive metadiscourse markers in terms of frequency and function in the abstract section of published research articles in applied linguistics developed by Algerian, Saudi, and Native researchers. 20 research articles for each group, with a total of 60 articles have been randomly selected and compiled as the research corpus for this study, then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using AntConc.3.2.4 relying on Hyland’s classification of metadiscourse markers. As a comparative study, the research considered the abstracts written by natives as a benchmark and attempted to find an answer to the main inquiry related to the frequency of use of metadiscourse devices by Algerian and Saudi researchers in comparison to their Native counterparts. The main research results showed how close were Algerian abstracts to native ones in terms of using endophorics, frame markers, code glosses, hedges, attitude markers, and self-mentions. While Saudi abstracts were close to the benchmark only in two markers that are transitions and engagement markers. The rest of the devices were shown to be far from the native norm in both cases. The findings also revealed that the use of metadiscourse markers is not the only indicator of papers publication rate in indexed journals by comparing the corpus analysis results to the source of the articles (journals), to find that even if Algerian researchers publish less in high indexed journals in comparison to Saudis, they are still closer in using markers to the natives as a benchmark.

Structure and dynamics of the population of Transcaucasia and Central Asia peoples diasporas in Belarus

The article presents the results of studying the national diasporas of the largest peoples of Transcaucasia and Central Asia in Belarus — Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Kazakhs, Tajiks. The dynamics of the urban and rural, male and female population of these nationalities, the number of men per 1000 women in 1959–2019, the ratio of the number in different regions of Belarus, the population structure by education level, marital status, linguistic characteristics and their dynamics between 2009 and 2019 population censuses, the structure of the population of these diasporas by employment status and characteristics of the main job in 2019 and its comparison with similar indicators for the entire population of Belarus are shown. Using cluster analysis, dendrograms showing the similarity of various diasporas in terms of basic characteristics were created. It has been established that the Turkmen diaspora is radically different from the rest in all characteristics, which is due to the fact that the vast majority of its representatives arrived in Belarus to receive an education. The characteristics of the Kazakh diaspora are closest to those of the entire population of Belarus. A sharp increase in the disproportion between men and women among the Transcaucasian peoples can be caused both by the arrival of mainly male population for economic reasons, and the tendency to identify girls in mixed families according to the titular ethnic group, and boys according to the diaspora ethnic group. The maximum relative increase in the number for the period 2009–2019 observed among the Turkmens (almost twice) and Tajiks, the number of Armenians, Azerbaijanis and Georgians also increased, the number of Kazakhs and Uzbeks decreased. In all diasporas, except for the Kazakhs, the share of ethnic languages as native ones increases with a corresponding decrease in the share of Russian and Belarusian languages. The share of ethnic languages as home languages continues to be relatively low — less than 20 % (except for the Turkmens, for whom it is more than 60 %).

The first validated record of Epinephelus areolatus (Forsskål, 1775) (Perciformes: Serranidae) from Syrian marine waters

Abstract Here, we report the first validated record of the non-indigenous grouper species Epinephelus areolatus (Perciformes: Serranidae) along the Mediterranean coast of Syria. A single specimen of E. areolatus (Forsskål, 1775), was found on 29 September 2021 during a recurrent ichthyological survey, in a rocky habitat from the Mediterranean coast of Syria. This represents the first confirmed record of this species, native to the Red Sea, for the Syrian waters and the fourth for the Mediterranean Sea. The present record fills the gap with species distribution along the eastern Mediterranean and provides further evidence that the environmental alterations due to the combination of human activities and climate change render the Mediterranean waters increasingly likely to accommodate tropical species, possibly at the expense of the native ones.

Effect of Low Dose Ionising Radiation on the Amount of Mitochondrial Common Deletion and D-Loop Tandem Duplication in Human Peripheral Whole Blood

The Hungarian Defence Forces assume a significant role in disaster prevention, including nuclear accident prevention tasks, so both the command and executive staff can stay in the higher-than-natural dose area. The current “gold standard” microscopic method aimed at determining the radiation dose suffered is the dicentric chromosome assay (DIC), although sensitive and accurate, it is very time-consuming. Monitoring changes in the amount of common deletion (CD) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and in the D-loop a tandem duplication (TD) of mtDNA may be a reliable marker of exposure to ionising radiation. This work used the PCR method to investigate how CD and TD change in human blood samples after X-ray irradiation. The CD appears to be a particularly useful marker, as its maximum is below the threshold for clinical symptoms. This work is the first to show the relationship between radiation and tandem duplication. The TD we investigated occurredmore frequently in irradiated human blood samples than native ones. During the future development of the diagnostic tool, both CD and TD are informative and would be used together in a PCR system to detect acute and cumulative irradiation. In recent years, more and more health institutions are dealing with molecular biological diagnostic work. In a disaster situation, if the laboratory capacity of the Hungarian Defence Forces would not be sufficient for this, more external laboratories can be involved for PCR measurements than for traditional microscopic work.

Some Remarks on the Perso-Arabic Nominal Lexica in Bollywood Movie Song Lyrics

The Indian film industry releases thousands of movies every year, with those in the Hindi language forming a significant part of that number. These movies, and the songs used in them, have been the object of research within the scope of various scientific disciplines, including linguistics. The author of the present paper, however, believes that there are still numerous language phenomena to study within the lyrics of the Bollywood songs. The present text is dedicated to research of the Perso-Arabic lexica in these songs over the period of 80 years (1940–2020). It also analyses the frequency of the Perso-Arabic forms as opposed to native Indo-Aryan ones. Particular attention is paid to the forms of the highest frequency, especially the Persian word dil.

Spatial and temporal cooccurrence among Neotropical native coccinellids and the exotic Harmonia axyridis

Coccinellids are important biological control agents and aphid predators in horticultural crops around the world. Neotropical Cycloneda sanguinea, Eriopis connexa and Coleomegilla quadrifasciata octodecimpustulata, and the exotic Harmonia axyridis (all Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), are predators that mainly feed on aphids. In this work we described the abundance of these coccinellid species and their spatial and temporal cooccurrence in agroecological eggplant crop of Argentina. We also estimate the intensity and symmetry of the intraguild predation between C. quadrifasciata octodecimpustulata and the other species in laboratory experiments. Both temporal and spatial segregation was observed. H. axyridis was the strongest intraguild predator in the interaction with C. quadrifasciata octodecimpustulata, and this latter was the strongest intraguild predator in interaction with C. sanguinea and E. connexa. In this context, native coccinellid species would be vulnerable to the exotic and invasive H. axyridis; however, the lack of cooccurrence of this species with the native ones, under conditions of low density of extra-guild prey would indicate that spatial segregation could be the mechanism by which these species coexist in the eggplant crop.

Effect of Parthenium hysterophorus L. Invasion on Soil Microbial Communities in the Yellow River Delta, China.

Parthenium hysterophorus L., as an invasive plant, has negatively impacted the ecosystem functioning and stability of the terrestrial ecosystem in China. However, little information was available for its effects on microorganisms in the Yellow River Delta (YRD), the biggest newly-formed wetland in China. In the present study, high-throughput sequencing technology was used to obtain the bacterial community in soils and roots of different plant species, including P. hysterophorus and some native ones in the YRD. Our results showed that the Proteobacteria, Acidobacteriota, Gemmatimonadota, and Actinobacteriota were dominant in the rhizosphere soils of P. hysterophorus (84.2%) and Setaria viridis (86.47%), and the bulk soils (80.7%). The Proteobacteria and Actinobacteriota were dominant within the root of P. hysterophorus. A total of 2468 bacterial OTUs were obtained from different groups among which 140 were observed in all the groups; 1019 OTUs were shared by P. hysterophorus non-rhizosphere soil bacteria (YNR) P. hysterophorus rhizosphere soil bacteria (YRR) groups. The indexes of the ACE (823.1), Chao1 (823.19), Simpson (0.9971), and Shannon (9.068) were the highest in the YRR groups, showing the greatest bacterial community diversity. Random forest analysis showed that the Methylomirabilota and Dadabacteria (at the phylum level) and the Sphingomonas, and Woeseia (at the genus level) were identified as the main predictors among different groups. The LEfSe results also showed the essential role of the Acidobacteriota in the YRR group. The SourceTracker analysis of the bacterial community of the YRR group was mainly from GBS groups (average 53.14%) and a small part was from YNR groups (average 6.56%), indicating that the P. hysterophorus invasion had a more significant effect on native plants' rhizosphere microorganisms than soil microorganisms. Our observations could provide valuable information for understanding the bacterial diversity and structure of the soil to the invasion of P. hysterophorus.

Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Symbiosis as a Factor of Asteraceae Species Invasion

Invasive weeds of the Asteraceae family are widespread in the world. Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is one of the main factors contributing to the successful distribution of these species that is most clearly manifested in the subfamily Asteroideae. The benefits of plant-AMF symbiosis are most significant under unfavorable biotic and abiotic conditions. The specificity of the relationship between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) communities and plants and is determined at the presymbiotic stage. The AMF colonization level is higher in invasive species than in native ones, but AMF communities associated with Asteraceae invasive species are less diverse. AMF communities of Asteraceae invaders often include fewer common species (e.g., species belonging to Diversisporales). Invaders also reduce native AMF species richness in new areas. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can form mycorrhizal networks that allow the redistribution of nutrients in plant communities. The most significant influence of AMF associated with invasive Asteraceae plants is seen in the formation of soil and rhizosphere microbiota, including the suppression of beneficial soil bacteria and fungi. This review could be useful in the development of practical recommendations for the use of AMF-based fertilizers.

Clonal integration benefits an invader in heterogeneous environments with reciprocal patchiness of resources, but not its native congener.

Many of the world's most invasive plants are clonal, and clonal functional traits are suggested to contribute to their invasiveness. Clonal integration is one of the most important clonal functional traits, but it is still unclear whether clonal integration can benefit invasive alien clonal plants more than native ones in heterogeneous environments with reciprocal patchiness of resources and whether invasive plants show a higher capacity of division of labor than native ones in such environments. We grew connected (allowing clonal integration) and disconnected (preventing clonal integration) ramet pairs of an invasive plant Wedelia trilobata and its occurring native congener W. chinensis in the environment consisting of reciprocal patches of light and soil nutrients (i.e., a high-light but low-nutrient patch and a low-light but high-nutrient patch). Clonal integration greatly promoted the growth of the invasive species, but had no significant effect on the native one. Both invasive and native species showed division of labor in terms of morphology, biomass allocation, and/or photosynthetic physiology, but the capacity of labor division did not differ between the invasive and the native species. We conclude that in heterogeneous environments consisting of reciprocal patches of resources, which are common in nature, clonal integration can confer invasive plants a competitive advantage over natives, but this difference is not related to their capacity of labor division. This study highlights the importance of clonal integration for plants in heterogeneous environments and suggests that clonal integration can contribute to the invasion success of alien clonal plants.

Effect of calcium on the reversible and irreversible thermal denaturation pathway of β-lactoglobulin

Thermal denaturation of β-lactoglobulin (BLG), boosted in the presence of calcium ions, is responsible for the dairy fouling issue in milk processing. However, the reported kinetic model concerning BLG denaturation was generally based on a simplified one-step reaction model where the unfolding of the protein was considered as a kinetically driven reaction. In such a model, the presence of break-slope phenomenon in the Arrhenius plot was justified by the fact that unfolding step constitutes a rate-limited step compared to aggregation at low temperatures. Nevertheless, there is accumulated experimental evidence implying that the unfolding step is much faster than aggregation regardless of the temperature. Therefore, in this paper, it is proposed that the thermal unfolding of BLG is thermodynamically controlled such that a chemical equilibrium between native and unfolded BLG species can be instantaneously established, followed by an irreversible aggregation of unfolded BLG. This novel approach allows to mathematically interprets the break-slope behavior in the Arrhenius plot. The developed model was applied to investigate the effect of Ca 2+ on the unfolding equilibrium and subsequent aggregation process of BLG in whey protein solutions. Ca 2+ was confirmed to have a protective role on the unfolding equilibrium of BLG by increasing the enthalpy Δ H u and decreasing the equilibrium constant K c , while it facilitated the aggregation of BLG by showing a reduction of the corresponding enthalpy and entropy which cannot be seen as reported using one-step reaction model. This approach allows us to be closer to reality when mimicking the heat-induced appearance/disappearance of different BLG species, including native, unfolded and aggregated ones. Accurate population balance of these foulant species during thermal processing could lead to new perspectives on fouling prediction. • Thermal unfolding of β-lactoglobulin can be considered to occur instantaneously. • Unfolding of β-lactoglobulin is thermodynamically driven. • New model mathematically interprets the break-slope phenomenon in Arrhenius plot. • Ionic calcium has a protective role on the unfolding of β-lactoglobulin. • Calcium favors β-lactoglobulin aggregation by showing decreased enthalpy.

Lysozyme–phenolics bioconjugates with antioxidant and antibacterial bifunctionalities: Structural basis underlying the dual-function

This work aims at adopting an Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopic technique to help understanding protein–phenolic conjugation and final functionalities relationship as well as the underlying structural basis of antioxidant and antibacterial dual functionalities. Specifically, lysozyme (Lys) was conjugated with two natural phenolic acids, i.e. rosmarinic acid (RA) and gentisic acid (GA, our previous work) with obviously different molecular features. Lys-RA displayed 8.6- and 4.0-times enhanced antioxidant stoichiometry compared to the native Lys and ones with GA, respectively, due to the stronger antioxidant activity of RA. However, RA conjugation mitigated both enzymatic and antibacterial activities of Lys-RA conjugates. Such inhibition effect is attributed to the greater structural and surface property changes of Lys upon conjugating with RA. Furthermore, the polyphenol conjugation related structural basis of disturbance, reactivity and selectivity were explored via site-directed spin labeling (SDSL)–EPR. A dynamic picture of reactivity and selectivity of phenolics conjugation on Lys was proposed.