Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Alabama. Founded in the 1875 as a normal school, it took its present name in 1969. AAMU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University Historic District, also known as Normal Hill College Historic District, has 28 buildings and four structures listed in the United States National Register of Historic Places..
Engineering salt particle structure to fabricate hollow salts has emerged as a promising strategy for enhancing saltiness perception, with potential applications in sodium reduction. However, fabrication of bioactive-loaded hollow salts generally relies on oil-phase-assisted routes. Herein, an oil-free strategy was developed for preparing capsaicin (CAP)-loaded hollow salts (HS) via ethanol-assisted pre-dispersion of CAP in a conjugate solution, followed by high-shear dispersion, ultrasonication, and spray drying. Conventional oil-containing hollow salts (HS-Oil) were included as a reference system for comparative evaluation. Compared with HS, HS-Oil exhibited increased D3,2 and D4,3 values (from 13.90 to 16.55 μm to 17.95 and 20.08 μm, respectively), along with an increased specific surface area (from 2.09 to 2.68 m2 m−3). In terms of powder properties, HS exhibited poorer flowability and higher hygroscopicity than HS-Oil, whereas both samples exhibited comparable NaCl release behavior. Sensory evaluation showed that HS-Oil achieved the highest saltiness and salty aftertaste, but also exhibited more pronounced off-odor and slightly lower overall acceptability than HS, consistent with its greater accumulation of lipid oxidation-related volatiles after heating. An ex vivo formulation retention assay on porcine tongue further supported the sensory results. Overall, this study establishes an oil-free fabrication route for CAP-loaded hollow salts and clarifies the structural and saltiness-related differences between oil-free and oil-containing systems.
Iron oxide nanoparticles are utilized as a novel iron supplement due to their low irritancy and high bioavailability. In this study, FeCl2·4H2O and FeCl3·6H2O (3,1, 2,1, 1,1, 1,2, and 1:3) were dissolved in a whey protein isolate amyloid fibrils (WPF) solution, followed by reaction under alkaline conditions at 60 °C for 50 min to form an iron oxide-WPF complex (Fe-WPF) with high bioavailability. The WPF binds to iron oxide via van der Waals forces, and iron oxide predominantly existing in the ferrous state. And, in vitro digestion indicated that the fibril of the Fe-WPF remained intact and the release of free Fe2+ was only 2.0 μg/mL, which effectively increased the bioavailability of iron and reduced the irritation of Fe2+ to the gastrointestinal mucosa. Fe-WPF prepared at a 1:1 ratio of FeCl2·4H2O and FeCl3·6H2O exhibits better bioavailability than FeSO4 in vitro without observable cytotoxicity. Therefore, the Fe-WPF composite can become a novel iron oxide delivery system with high loading capacity and bioavailability.
This study aimed to evaluate how shifts in land use and climate extremes have jointly shaped long-term water quality trends in the Sacramento River watershed in California between 1985 and 2023. We integrated satellite-derived land use maps, daily climate indices, and monthly water quality records for six parameters (hardness, pH, specific conductance, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), and turbidity). Analyses included seasonal trend assessments, spectrogram analysis of periodicity, and Random Forest models to identify key drivers of water quality trends. Three modeling cases were compared: climate-only, land use-only, and combined (climate + land use). A 10-fold cross-validation framework was implemented, and differences among models were assessed using the Friedman test with Wilcoxon signed-rank post-hoc comparisons. The combined model integrating climate and land use variables best explained long-term water quality variability, followed by land use alone and climate alone. Seasonal analysis further highlighted a dual stress regime: winter storms drove sediment and turbidity peaks, while summer droughts intensified salinity and pH. Water quality deterioration peaked during 2002-2012, with elevated salinity (conductance, TDS) and sediment-related parameters (TSS, turbidity). Land use predictors explain more site-to-site variation in water quality than climate predictors (median absolute ΔR2 LU - Clim ≈ 0.18; LU outperforms Clim for 5/6 variables). Persistence of elevated salinity underscores the need for long-term management, while the partial recovery of sediment indicators highlights opportunities for targeted erosion control. These findings show the interacting influence of land use transitions and climate extremes, offering a transferable framework for adaptive watershed management.
Peeling is critical in garlic processing, impacting product quality and economic efficiency. A pretreatment coupling water regulation with flexible extrusion was developed to improve pneumatic peeling efficiency, with its mechanism explored. Convective drying (40 degrees C/8 h) reduced peel moisture content to 10.3 % (wet basis), and subsequent flexible extrusion (10-15 N/7 s) treatment achieved a pneumatic peeling rate of 97.4 % with minimal quality deterioration. Water in the garlic peel cell wall was effectively removed during water regulation, disrupting the integrity of its polysaccharide network structure. Meanwhile, the mechanical strength of the peel and molecular weight of pectin were reduced. In addition, water removal damaged the epidermal wax layer and caused cellular contraction and collapse, thereby weakening the adhesion of the middle lamella. Furthermore, flexible extrusion induced cracks on the peel, facilitating peel fragmentation and removal. The results lay the groundwork for efficient peeling of irregular and thermosensitive agricultural products.
This article examines the assumed dichotomy between the Black church and the juke joint within African American cultural discourse. Often portrayed as moral opposites—one sacred and the other secular—this study argues that such a binary reflects a Eurocentric interpretive framework rather than the actual historical realities of Black communal life. Through cultural and historical analysis, the article asserts that both institutions originated from similar conditions of racial exclusion and served as complementary spaces that nurtured African American identity, resilience, and community connections. Using the film Sinners as a key cultural text, the study explores how contemporary media narratives complicate rigid distinctions between sacred and secular Black spaces, identities, music, and spirituality. The character Sammie illustrates the permeability between these spaces, embodying a cultural logic where spiritual refuge and expressive release coexist. The analysis places this view within the African philosophical concept of Ubuntu, which emphasizes relational identity and the inseparability and oneness of the Black community. Drawing on the scholarship of James H. Cone, the article also shows that spirituals and blues share roots in African diasporic musical traditions. These traditions demonstrate the deep interconnection between religious and secular forms of Black expression. Ultimately, the study concludes that the Black church and the juke joint should be understood not as opposing institutions but as interconnected cultural spaces that collectively sustain African American spiritual, social, and artistic life.
