Whole grain Qingke (WGQK) displays anti-obesity and lipid-lowering properties; however, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. This study investigated the alteration of gut microbiota composition and metabolite profile induced by WGQK intervention in mice through the integration of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing and an untargeted metabolomics study. C57BL/6J male mice were fed a normal control diet (NC), high-fat diet (HFD), and HFD plus 30% WGQK (HFD+QK) for 16 weeks. The WGQK intervention decreased body weight gain, glucose tolerance, and serum lipid levels, and alleviated liver function damage induced by HFD. Moreover, WGQK changed gut microbiota composition and enriched specific genera such as Akkermansia, Bifidobacterium, and Lactobacillus. Fecal metabolomics analysis indicated that WGQK enhanced the abundance of tryptophan metabolism-related metabolites (indole, 3-indoleacetic acid, indole acetic acid (IAA), 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid), histidine metabolism-related metabolites (histamine), and some unsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid, 9,10-dihydroxy-12Z-octadecenoic acid, and alpha-linolenic acid). Spearman correlation analysis revealed that these metabolites were negatively correlated with obesity-related parameters and positively correlated with the gut genera enriched by WGQK. Moreover, WGQK promoted the expression of Cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) responsible for primary bile acids production, accompanied by a decline in intestinal FXR-FGF15 expression levels. The transcript levels of two genes associated with lipogenesis, such as lipid fatty acid synthase (FAS) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) were also decreased in the HFD+QK group. Overall, our results suggest interactions between gut microbial shifts and host amino acid/lipid metabolism, and shed light on the mechanisms underlying the anti-obesity effect of WGQK.

Color is one of the most important quality control parameters for printing, but there is no applicable color measurement method for printing on holographic paper. The aim of this study was to analyze the reason why current instruments are unable to provide accurate color measurement for holographic paper printing and find a way to solve the problem. Diffuse geometry instrument was proved to be more suitable than directional geometry instrument for holographic paper printing. Variations in the measured color coordinates due to holograph patterns were observed by measuring four types of holographic papers before and after printing. The distribution uniformity and the area of holographic patterns were considered as the main factors that influence measurement repeatability and consistency. By using d:8° geometry instrument in specular component included (SCI) mode and large circular measured area, measurements at two angles of the same point and averaging, or measurements at three different positions and averaging were proved to improve the measurement repeatability on a single point and measurement consistency on a single sheet of holographic paper. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2013

Water-based inks are widely used in green packaging and printing. The printability parameters of water-based inks, such as viscosity (alcohol concentration (AC)) and color (toning additive concentration (TYC/TRC)), can only be controlled manually in many printing companies. The printability parameters of water-based inks with different additives were analyzed using spectral preprocessing, variable selection, and model-building methods with visible and near infrared (vis-NIR) spectral data (380∼980 nm). Model performance was compared using the root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSEC) and the coefficient of determination (R2). The results of the experiment indicate that the viscosity of the water-based inks can be quantitatively predicted using the principal component analysis and back propagation neural network model (PCA-BPNN) combined with Savitzky-Golay (SG) smoothing in the spectral subrange, which is superior to the PLS regression model. The R2c and R2p of the PCA-BPNN model were up to 0.998 and 0.993, and the RMSEC and RMSEP values obtained were 0.21 and 0.34. Similarly, the concentration of toning yellow and toning red (TYC/TRC) can be quantitively predicted using the PCA-BPNN model combined with SG smoothing in the 617∼726 nm spectral range, which is better than iPLS regression model. These results indicate that the use of vis-NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics is a promising strategy, reliable for predicting the printability parameters of water-based inks, and provides the technical basis for subsequent implementation of online inspection.

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