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During the construction of an offshore wind turbine (OWT) system, the lifting of the wind turbine blade requires setting up of jacks near preinstalled foundations, which could impact the existing adjacent foundations. To explore the movement characteristics of preinstalled caissons induced by the installation of rectangular footings, this study performs large deformation numerical analyses to quantify these influences. A numerical model is generated and validated against existing testing data in terms of penetration resistance of rectangular footings and soil deformation around the structure. An extensive parametric study is then conducted to quantify the influences of caisson aspect ratio, vertical distance between caisson and two rectangular footings, spacing between two rectangular footings, soil strength, the rectangular footing area, and roughness. It is found that the normalized distance between the caisson and the rectangular footing as well as the caisson aspect ratio play important roles in the movement of the adjacent caisson, with rotational angles of 0.05–0.9°, while the rest factors have limited impacts. Based on numerical results, empirical design formulae are proposed for estimating the maximum inclination angle of the caisson which can be used for engineering application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adversarial training suffers from poor effectiveness due to the challenging optimisation of loss with hard labels. To address this issue, adversarial distillation has emerged as a potential solution, encouraging target models to mimic the output of the teachers. However, reliance on pre‐training teachers leads to additional training costs and raises concerns about the reliability of their knowledge. Furthermore, existing methods fail to consider the significant differences in unconfident samples between early and late stages, potentially resulting in robust overfitting. An adversarial defence method named Clean, Performance‐robust, and Performance‐sensitive Historical Information based Adversarial Self‐Distillation (CPr & PsHI‐ASD) is presented. Firstly, an adversarial self‐distillation replacement method based on clean, performance‐robust, and performance‐sensitive historical information is developed to eliminate pre‐training costs and enhance guidance reliability for the target model. Secondly, adversarial self‐distillation algorithms that leverage knowledge distilled from the previous iteration are introduced to facilitate the self‐distillation of adversarial knowledge and mitigate the problem of robust overfitting. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method on CIFAR‐10, CIFAR‐100, and Tiny‐ImageNet datasets. The results demonstrate that the CPr&PsHI‐ASD method is more effective than existing adversarial distillation methods in enhancing adversarial robustness and mitigating robust overfitting issues against various adversarial attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adversarial training of lightweight models faces poor effectiveness problem due to the limited model size and the difficult optimization of loss with hard labels. Adversarial distillation is a potential solution to the problem, in which the knowledge from large adversarially pre-trained teachers is used to guide the lightweight models’ learning. However, adversarially pre-training teachers is computationally expensive due to the need for iterative gradient steps concerning the inputs. Additionally, the reliability of guidance from teachers diminishes as lightweight models become more robust. In this paper, we propose an adversarial distillation method called Sample-Adaptive Multi-teacher Dynamic Rectification Adversarial Distillation (SA-MDRAD). First, an adversarial distillation framework of distilling logits and features from the heterogeneous standard pre-trained teachers is developed to reduce pre-training expenses and improve knowledge diversity. Second, the knowledge of teachers is distilled into the lightweight model after sample-aware dynamic rectification and adaptive fusion based on teachers’ predictions to improve the reliability of knowledge. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method on CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, and Tiny-ImageNet datasets. The results demonstrate that our SA-MDRAD is more effective than existing adversarial distillation methods in enhancing the robustness of lightweight image classification models against various adversarial attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Semi-intensive and extensive captive rearing systems for cashmere goats have been gradually adopted due to the limited availability of pasture and the seasonal imbalance of nutrients in grazing pastures in China. However, intensive rearing increases cashmere goat oxidative stress risk while improving lamb productivity and economic efficiency. Crude polysaccharide from Artemisia ordosica has excellent hydrophilicity and various biological activities. It can alleviate oxidative stress with its antioxidant, antitumor, and immunity-enhancing effects. In this laboratory, the addition of 0.3% Artemisia ordosica crude polysaccharide (AOCP) improved rumen fermentation in cashmere goats, as confirmed by in vitro rumen fermentation analysis. This experiment investigated the effect of AOCP supplementation in the ration on the antioxidant and immune functions of the cashmere goat. The results of the study indicated that the addition of 0.3% AOCP to the ration improved rumen fermentation, antioxidant and immune functions, nutrient digestibility, and growth performance of cashmere goats by altering rumen flora distribution, promoting beneficial bacterial colonization, and decreasing the colonization of potentially pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, AOCP may be a viable source of antioxidants for cashmere goats. The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with Artemisia ordosica crude polysaccharide (AOCP) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, antioxidant and immunity capacity, rumen fermentation parameters, and the microbiota of cashmere goats. A total of 12 cashmere goats (2 years old) with similar weight (38.03 ± 2.42 kg of BW ± SD) were randomly divided into two dietary treatments with six replicates. The treatments were as follows: (1) control (CON, basal diet); and (2) AOCP treatment (AOCP, basal diet with 0.3% AOCP). Pre-feeding was conducted for 7 days, followed by an experimental period of 21 days. The results showed that the ADG; feed/gain (F/G); and the digestibility of DM, CP, and ADF of cashmere goats in the AOCP group were greater than in the CON group (p < 0.05). Still, there was no significant effect on the digestibility of EE, NDF, Ca, and P (p > 0.05). Compared to the CON group, AOCP increased BCP, propionate, butyrate, isobutyrate, valerate, isovalerate, and TVFA concentrations (p < 0.05), but it reduced the protozoa numbers of acetate and A/P (p < 0.05). The serum CAT, GSH-Px, T-SOD, 1L-6, and NO levels were higher in AOCP than in the CON group (p < 0.05). The addition of AOCP increased the Sobs and Ace estimators (p < 0.05) and reduced the Simpson estimator in the ruminal fluid compared to the CON group (p < 0.05). Additionally, the AOCP group increased the colonization of beneficial bacteria by positively influencing GSH-Px and IL-6 (norank_f__F082, unclassified_p__Firmicutes), as well as bacteria negatively associated with F/G (norank_f__norank_o__Bacteroidales, unclassified_p__Firmicutes, and norank_f__F082). It decreased the colonization of potential pathogenic bacteria (Aeromonas and Escherichia-Shigella) (p < 0.05) compared to the CON group. In conclusion, 0.3% AOCP improves the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, antioxidant status, immune function, rumen fermentation, and microflora of cashmere goats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are polymer networks that exhibit anisotropic liquid crystalline properties while maintaining the properties of elastomers, presenting reversible high-speed and large-scale actuation in response to external stimuli. Herein, we formulated a non-toxic, low-temperature liquid crystal (LC) ink for temperature-controlled direct ink writing 3D printing. The rheological properties of the LC ink were verified under different temperatures given the phase transition temperature of 63 °C measured by the DSC test. Afterwards, the effects of printing speed, printing temperature, and actuation temperature on the actuation strain of printed LCEs structures were investigated within adjustable ranges. In addition, it was demonstrated that the printing direction can modulate the LCEs to exhibit different actuation behaviors. Finally, by sequentially conforming structures and programming the printing parameters, it showed the deformation behavior of a variety of complex structures. By integrating with 4D printing and digital device architectures, this unique reversible deformation property will help LCEs presented here apply to mechanical actuators, smart surfaces, micro-robots, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the mechanical properties of coarse-grained filling soil in the hydrofluctuation belt of the Baihetan reservoir, a fast drying–wetting cycle method for large-scale triaxial tests was developed and a series of large-scale triaxial compression tests of coarse-grained soil were conducted under drying–wetting cycles. The results show that the drying–wetting cycles and the confining pressure are both important factors affecting the mechanical properties of coarse-grained soil. The influences of the first and second cycles on the deviatoric stress–strain curve of the coarse-grained soil are the greatest, while the influences of the third to seventh cycles tend to be stable. The peak strain is not affected by the drying–wetting cycles but only increases with increasing confining pressure. The axial strain and volumetric strain at the volume expansion point decrease with increasing number of drying–wetting cycles but increase with increasing confining pressure. The secant modulus of the peak point decreases with increasing number of drying–wetting cycles, and the initial tangent modulus decreases slightly. The influence of the drying–wetting cycles on the cohesion of the coarse-grained soil is greater than that on the internal friction angle. The typical "bulging" phenomenon occurred after the specimens were destroyed. A damage constitutive equation was developed by introducing a damage variable into the hyperbolic model to reflect the influence of the number of drying–wetting cycles. The model parameters were obtained and the proposed model was verified by fitting the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades, hand-based multimodal biometrics systems have achieved significant attention because of their high security, accuracy, and anti-counterfeiting. Various hand physiological biometric modalities have been explored for identity authentication, i.e., fingerprint, finger knuckle print, palmprint, palm vein, and dorsal hand vein traits. This study provides a comprehensive review focusing on the interface of different hand biometric traits and presents an overview of hand-based multimodal biometrics methods. The framework of this paper is divided into three main categories. Firstly, we introduce the characteristics of four levels of hand-based biometrics in detail. Following this, several typical image capturing devices and image preprocessing techniques of various hand-based biometrics are reviewed. Moreover, existing publicly available and widely used hand-based multimodal biometrics databases are then summarized. Subsequently, the hand-based multimodal biometrics methods are categorized into sensor-level fusion, feature-level fusion, score-level fusion, rank-level fusion, and decision-level fusion. Additionally, the recent hybrid fusion-based and deep learning-based hand multimodal biometrics approaches are analyzed and discussed. Furthermore, we conduct a performance analysis of the abovementioned algorithms from the recent literature. At last, challenges, trends, and some recommendations related to hand-based multimodal biometrics are drawn to give some research directions. [Display omitted] • Presented a comprehensive overview of hand-based multimodal biometric fusion. • Introduced the characteristics of four levels of hand-based biometrics. • Summarized the recent hand-based multimodal biometrics methods based on six levels fusion. • Analyzed the challenges and future direction of hand-based multimodal biometrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Participant dyads conducted a collective perceptual task. • Participants with similar abilities in a dyad achieved more collective benefit. • Dyads inclined the higher-able participant's decision as the collective one. • There were enhanced IBS at frontopolar, premotor areas, supramarginal gyri, etc. • As the dyad's inclination increased, the IBS might decrease, and potentially leading to an improved collective benefit. People perform better collectively than individually, a phenomenon known as the collective benefit. To pursue the benefit, they may learn from previous behaviors, come to know whose initial opinion should be valued, and develop the inclination to take it as the collective one. Such learning may affect interpersonal brain communication. To test these hypotheses, this study recruited participant dyads to conduct a perceptual task on which they made individual decisions first and then the collective one. The enhanced interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) between participants was explored when individual decisions were in disagreement vs. agreement. Computational modeling revealed that participant dyads developed the dyad inclination of taking the higher-able participants', not the lower-able ones' decisions as their collective ones. Brain analyses unveiled the enhanced IBS at frontopolar areas, premotor areas, supramarginal gyri, and right temporal-parietal junctions. The premotor IBS correlated negatively with dyad inclination and collective benefit in the absence of correction. The Granger causality analyses further supported the negative relation of dyad inclination with inter-brain communication. This study highlights that dyads learn to weigh individuals' decisions, resulting in dyad inclinations, and explores associated inter-brain communication, offering insights into the dynamics of collective decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study combines a financial knowledge dictionary and pretraining method based on BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers) to construct a deep learning model for identifying stock news sentiments. The study then calculates the sentiment metrics of all stocks and analyzes the impact of news sentiment on the risk of a stock price crash and its heterogeneity. The results show that stocks with more positive sentiment metrics have a higher risk of crash in the following year. We also investigate the information intermediation and investor sentiment channels by which news sentiment affects the risk of a crash. The results show that more net insider sales, lower information transparency, and less analyst coverage amplify the impact of news sentiment on future crash risk, which is consistent with the information intermediation channel. Additionally, more retail investor positions, more active investor sentiment, and divergence between analysts' opinions and news amplify the impact of news sentiment on the risk of a future stock price crash, which is consistent with the investor sentiment channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent deep convolutional neural networks for real-world noisy image denoising have shown a huge boost in performance by training a well-engineered network over external image pairs. However, most of these methods are generally trained with supervision. Once the testing data is no longer compatible with the training conditions, they can exhibit poor generalization and easily result in severe overfitting or degrading performances. To tackle this barrier, we propose a novel denoising algorithm, dubbed as Meta PID Attention Network (MPA-Net). Our MPA-Net is built based upon stacking Meta PID Attention Modules (MPAMs). In each MPAM, we utilize a second-order attention module (SAM) to exploit the channel-wise feature correlations with second-order statistics, which are then adaptively updated via a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) guided meta-learning framework. This learning framework exerts the unique property of the PID controller and meta-learning scheme to dynamically generate filter weights for beneficial update of the extracted features within a feedback control system. Moreover, the dynamic nature of the framework enables the generated weights to be flexibly tweaked according to the input at test time. Thus, MPAM not only achieves discriminative feature learning, but also facilitates a robust generalization ability on distinct noises for real images. Extensive experiments on ten datasets are conducted to inspect the effectiveness of the proposed MPA-Net quantitatively and qualitatively, which demonstrates both its superior denoising performance and promising generalization ability that goes beyond those of the state-of-the-art denoising methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: An ankle sprain is a common joint sprain in sports injury, which is closely related to its physiological position and anatomical characteristics, and may progress into chronic ankle instability after improper early treatment or premature exercise. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the tertiary rehabilitation effect of acute lateral ankle sprain caused by sports training. METHOD: Ninety-six athletes with acute lateral ankle sprain diagnosed from January 2019 to June 2020 were included and divided into the control group and the rehabilitation group using the random number table grouping method, with 48 cases in each group. The two groups received standardized treatment, and the rehabilitation group additionally received tertiary rehabilitation. The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores, degree of ankle swelling, pain, and re-injury rate were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The AOFAS scores of the two groups increased after treatment (P < 0.05). The degree of swelling in both groups after treatment was improved (P < 0.05). The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores in both groups declined two weeks after treatment, with lower results observed in the rehabilitation group The two groups showed similar results of the follow-up visit (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Rehabilitation exercise on acute lateral ankle sprain effectively relieves ankle swelling and pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confronted with the increasing oily wastewater and oil leakage accidents, it is urgent to seek effective strategies to separate water/oil mixtures or clean spilt oil. In particular, the superwetting materials with special selective permeability have shown advantages in separating oil/water mixtures. Herein, Fe foams with switchable wettability were successfully fabricated via electrodeposition method and modification of mixed thiols. The smart Fe foam with pH-responsive wettability possessed selective separation performance for variety oil/water mixtures. In air, the superhydrophobic/superoleophilic foam worked in the oil-removing mode could allow the heavy oil to completely penetrate only by gravity, while retaining the water. After alkaline treatments, the water could spontaneously permeate through the superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic foam while preventing light oil from passing, belonging to the water-removing mode. After ten separation cycles, the separation efficiency of various oil/water mixtures still maintained not less than 98.5%. In addition, it also could achieve non-contact, remote control for oil–water separation. Meanwhile, the smart Fe foam possessed good mechanical durability, long-term stability and heat resistance. It is expected to provide a potential simple route to handle oil spills under various conditions and situations, which also is beneficial to expand the application of smart surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Donkey milk is recognized as a functional food due to its high whey protein content. It is especially beneficial for newborn nutrition because of its nutritional similarities to human milk and its hypoallergenic properties. It can be used to prevent hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis. However, donkey lactation is less productive in terms of liters/d than dairy cow lactation. It has been suggested that the energy content of the diet in late pregnancy is the main factor influencing the composition of postpartum colostrum in dairy animals. However, research on the influence of dietary energy in late gestation on the mineral content of postpartum jenny milk is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary energy levels during late gestation on mineral contents in the colostrum milk of lactating jennies. The results showed that appropriately increasing dietary energy levels in late gestation increased the concentrations of Ca, P, K, Mg, Cu, Fe, Zn, and Mo in milk, but high dietary energy levels showed the opposite effect. The concentrations of these minerals in jenny milk decreased with the duration of lactation. This study investigated the effects of dietary energy levels during late gestation on mineral content in the plasma, colostrum, and milk of jennies postpartum. Twenty-four pregnant multiparous DeZhou jennies, aged 6.0  ±  0.1 years, with a body weight of 292  ±  33 kg, an average parity number of 2.7  ±  0.1, and similar expected dates of confinement (74  ±  4 days), were randomly allocated to three groups and fed three diets: high energy (12.54 MJ/kg, HE), medium energy (12.03 MJ/kg, ME), and low energy (11.39 MJ/kg, LE). Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of each jenny at time points of 0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 5 d, 7 d, and 14 d after parturition. Additionally, milk samples were collected through manual milking, and an analysis of the mineral content was conducted. The results showed that compared with HE, both ME and LE significantly increased the levels of calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), molybdenum (Mo), and cobalt (Co) in the plasma and Ca, P, magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), Zn, selenium (Se), molybdenum (Mo), and Co in the milk of jennies postpartum (p < 0.05); ME also increased the levels of potassium (K), iron (Fe), and Mn in plasma and K and Fe in milk (p < 0.05). The levels of Ca, K, Mg, P, Fe, Cu, Mn, Co, Se, Zn, and Mo in plasma and milk gradually decreased with increasing postpartum time. Their contents were the highest at 0 h postpartum, rapidly decreased after 24 h postpartum, and declined to the lowest on day 14 postpartum. The interaction between dietary energy level and postpartum time showed that although the concentrations of the minerals Ca, P, K, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, Co, Se, and Mo decreased in jennies' plasma and milk in the treatment groups with different energy levels as postpartum time increased, the pattern of change was also influenced by dietary energy level. The influence of dietary energy level in late gestation on the mineral content of milk and plasma during the postpartum colostrum phase was higher than that during the milk phase. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that, under the current experimental conditions, the mineral content of the colostrum, milk, and plasma of jennies after parturition was dependent on the dietary energy level during late gestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method for the synthesis of 2-(phenyl)indole via the cyclization of 2-(phenylethynyl)aniline in the presence of K2S was established, which was used to prepare 2-(phenyl)indole derivatives in high yields (66%-93%). Mechanistic studies have revealed that a trisulfur radical anion (S3•−) is generated from K2S, which acts as an initiator for the intramolecular addition of the alkyne and the amino group in o-alkynylaniline, ultimately leading to the formation of the indole derivative. This method provides a new way to prepare 2-(phenyl)indoles and a novel application of S3•− in organic synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Droplet manipulation holds importance across various domains, including microfluidics, bioassays, water harvesting, and transportation. Drawing inspiration from nature, specifically the superhydrophobic surface of lotus leaves and the patterned surface of desert beetles, this research explores the creation of bionic magnetic superhydrophobic and patterned surfaces with programmable manipulation of droplets, including transport, mixing, and single-droplet multiplex dispersion. The surfaces are prepared using a straightforward laser selective etching technique, during which droplets easily bounce off the laser-etched surface, exhibiting low adhesion, whereas they adhere firmly to non-etched areas. The introduction of a magnetic field induces surface deformation, facilitating droplet transport under unbalanced forces on the bionic surface. Further, the feasibility of using patterned surfaces as platforms for chemical microreactions is confirmed through chemical reactions. This study offers insights into the development of functional surfaces and highlights their potential applications in rapid, high-throughput detection. [Display omitted] • The method of preparing surfaces is simply. • Droplets can be programmable transported easily on superhydrophobic surface. • Bionic patterned surface has ability to disperse single droplet at multiple sites. • The bionic surfaces show advantages in autonomous detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative food processing technologies including ultrasound, microwave and high-pressure treatment have been widely applied for preservation and valorization of nutrients in food resources with high efficiency. However, these treatments are also reported to induce modifications and interactions of food components. The impact and interaction mechanism of food components under additional treatments by innovative technologies has not been well-discussed in the present literatures. This study aims to summarize recently available information regarding the impact of innovative food processing technologies on several main food components (i.e. protein, polysaccharide and polyphenol), as well as their interactions or complexation with other natural products in model systems. In this regard, the data published in literatures were retrieved and the effects of ultrasound, microwave, high pressure homogenization and high hydrostatic pressure on food components were mainly presented. Ultrasound, microwave and high-pressure treatments can modify the physicochemical and functional properties of food components with different effects, depending on processing parameters, conditions and food matrix. The modification of food components induced by innovative technologies treatment may be promising or unwilling. By processing conditions monitoring and adjusting, interaction of food components can be promoted without destroying the primary structures of the compounds. Image 1 • Recent advances on the application of innovative technologies in food processing were focused in this review. • The modification of food components induced by ultrasound, microwave and high-pressure treatment was compared. • Impact of different innovative technologies on the interactions of food components was summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: High sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake has been shown to correlate with a higher risk for CVD and metabolic disorders, while the association between SSB intake and the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) remains unclear. The present study aimed to explore the association between SSB intake and MetS among children and adolescents in urban China.Design: A cross-sectional study involving 7143 children and adolescents was conducted in urban China. MetS definition proposed by the International Diabetes Federation was adopted. Data on SSB intake, diet, physical activity and family environment factors were obtained through questionnaires. Logistic regression models with multivariable adjustment were adopted to analyse the association between SSB intake and the risk of MetS and its components.Setting: Primary and secondary schools in three urban cities of China.Participants: Children and adolescents (n 5258) aged 7-18 years.Results: Among the participants, 29·9 % of them had high SSB intake (at least 0·3 servings/d) and the overall MetS prevalence was 2·7 %. Participants with high SSB intake were at higher risk for MetS (OR = 1·60; 95 % CI 1·03, 2·54) and abdominal obesity (OR = 1·55; 95 % CI 1·28, 1·83) compared with their counterparts with no SSB intake (0 servings/d).Conclusions: High SSB intake is significantly associated with increased MetS and abdominal obesity risk among children and adolescents in urban China. These results suggest that strong policies focusing on controlling SSB intake might be effective in preventing MetS and abdominal obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential use of ultraviolet (UV)‐C (254 nm) to extend postharvest shelf life of fresh unprocessed lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera G.) was determined. UV treatment for 30 and 60 min effectively reduced weight loss, improved moisture, color retention, and soluble solids of samples when stored at 25°C for 15 days. Microbial growth inhibition of UV was evidenced by 1.8 and 1.0 log reductions in the 30 and 60 min‐treated samples. Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity and total phenol contents (TPCs) detected in lotus root were higher, while oxidative enzymes peroxidase (POD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) were inhibited by UV treatment. Gallic acid, gallocatechin, and catechin levels were increased in 30 min‐treated samples by about 0.9, 13.4, 8.0 mg/100 g. The results suggest that extension of postharvest storage life by UV‐C is most likely through the protective roles exerted from stimulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway in the treated roots. Practical applications: Unlike previous studies that are mainly focused on shelf life extension of processed products of the rhizome, this study determines the potential use of a nonchemical and ecologically friendly ultraviolet (UV‐C) treatment to extend shelf life of intact uncut fresh lotus root. Our results demonstrated that UV‐C treatment significantly prolonged the shelf life of lotus root. Use of this method is promising as a treatment to improve postharvest storage life of fresh lotus root, to improve its export potential and help to address unmet local demands for the crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) based therapy for bone regeneration has been regarded as a promising method in the clinic. However, hBMSCs with invasive harvesting process and undesirable proliferation rate hinder the extensive usage. HUCMSCs of easier access and excellent performances provide an alternative for the fabrication of tissue‐engineered bone construct. Evidence suggested the osteogenesis ability of hUCMSCs was weaker than that of hBMSCs. To address this issue, a co‐culture strategy of osteogenically and angiogenically induced hUCMSCs has been proposed since thorough vascularization facilitates the blood‐borne nutrition and oxygen to transport in the scaffold, synergistically expediting the process of ossification. Materials and methods: Herein, we used osteogenic‐ and angiogenic‐differentiated hUCMSCs for co‐culture in screened culture medium to elevate the osteogenic capacity with in vitro studies and finally coupled with 3D TCP scaffold to repair rat's critical‐sized calvarial bone defect. By dual‐directional induction, hUCMSCs could differentiate into osteoblasts and endothelial cells, respectively. To optimize the co‐culture condition, gradient ratios of dual‐directional differentiated hUCMSCs co‐cultured under different medium were studied to determine the appropriate condition. Results: It revealed that the osteogenic‐ and angiogenic‐induced hUCMSCs mixed with the ratio of 3:1 co‐cultured in the mixed medium of osteogenic induction medium to endothelial cell induction medium of 3:1 possessed more mineralization nodules. Similarly, ALP and osteogenesis/angiogenesis‐related genes expressions were relatively higher. Further evidence of bone defect repair with 3D printed TCP of 3:1 group exhibited better restoration outcomes. Conclusions: Our work demonstrated a favourable and convenient approach of dual‐directional differentiated hUCMSCs co‐culture to improve the osteogenesis, establishing a novel way to fabricate tissue‐engineered bone graft with 3D TCP for large bone defect augmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superhydrophobic multifunctional coatings have wide application prospects in construction, shipping, transportation equipment and aerospace etc. In this paper, a fluorine-free photocatalytic superhydrophobic coating with long-lasting anticorrosion performance and excellent antibacterial ability has been developed on various substrates by a simple spraying method. The coating is mainly composed of epoxy resin (EP), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and hydrophobically modified micron ZnO (m-ZnO) and nano ZnO (n-ZnO). The coating maintains excellent wettability to various common liquids, and the water contact angle (WCA) and sliding angle (SA) of coating are 162.8° and 3°, respectively. The synergistic effect of the air layers and the coating denseness endows coating with excellent corrosion inhibition efficiency (η p > 99.9 %) in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution and neutral salt spray tests for 30 days. The photocatalytic activity and superhydrophobicity endow coating with bactericidal activity and antibacterial adhesion properties, thus providing the coating with excellent antibacterial ability in dynamic or static liquid environment. Furthermore, the coating can withstand chemical erosion, ultraviolet radiation and mechanical durability tests such as knife scraping, tape peeling and sandpaper wear cycles. This large-scale fabrication, environmentally benign, low cost and high performance coating has potential practical applications in a wider range of fields. [Display omitted] • Fluorine-free superhydrophobic multifunctional coatings are prepared by a spraying method. • Photocatalytic activity and superhydrophobicity endow coating with bactericidal activity and antibacterial adhesion abilities. • The coating presents long-lasting anticorrosion performance in wet atmospheric or liquid environment. • The coating presents excellent wettability, stability and durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Different ternary complexes were prepared by SPI, DG and MC. • The combinations of SPI, DG and MC were studied to evaluate the stability of emulsion. • Delivery efficiency of β-carotene was compared in different emulsions. A β-carotene rich emulsion with improved physical and chemical stability was obtained in this study, using different types of protein-polysaccharide-polyphenol ternary complexes as novel emulsifiers. The ternary complexes were prepared by covalent or non-covalent binding of soy protein isolate (SPI), β-glucan (DG) and myricetin (MC), which were evidenced to be stable. It was indicated that the emulsion stabilized by covalent complex of SPI, DG and MC, exhibited higher zeta-potential and smaller particle size than those stabilized by non-covalent complex. Furthermore, the covalent complexes prepared from different addition sequences showed different efficiencies in stabilizing the emulsion, in which SPI-DG-MC and SPI-MC-DG-stabilized emulsions possess better stability, emulsifying activity and storage resistance under adverse environmental treatment, with CI values of 62.7% and 64.3% after 25 days, respectively. According to oxidative stability and rheology analysis of the emulsions, it was found that the SPI-MC-DG complex prepared at the ratio of 4:2:1 was more stable with relatively less lipid oxidation products and a tighter stacking structure, and the final LH value was 39.98 mmol/L and the MDA value was 6.34 mmol/L. These findings implied that the ternary complex has the potential to deliver fat-soluble active ingredient by means of emulsion, but which depends on the mode and sequence of the molecular interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Biomimetic stainless-steel surfaces were prepared by laser etching and modification. • MD simulations suggested the PDA@ODA compounds how to adsorb on the substrate. • The results of MD simulations were consistent with experimental data. • The surfaces presented superhydrophobicity, antibacterial property and stability. Wettability is an effective strategy to reduce the adhesion force between bacteria and a solid surface, also is favor to effectively overcome the limitation of the substrate materials and expand their practical applications. Herein, inspired by the special micro/nano structures of the creatures and the bioadhesion of marine mussels, a green and simple two-step method, the laser interference patterning and in-situ polymerization, was used to fabricate the superhydrophobic surface with antibacterial property on the stainless-steel (SS) substrate. As well, this patterned surface also has successfully realized the wettability transition from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic. Meanwhile, the results of MD simulations directly suggested the PDA@ODA compounds how to adsorb on the SS substrate and interact with water molecules, which was consistent with the experimental. In addition, according to the agar plate assays and fluorescent microscope tests, the obtained specimens presented a certain antimicrobial activity. Moreover, the samples had good robustness in the heat resistance, physical performance and durability, which will expand the application fields and working life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Chaenomeles Lindley (Chaenomeles), known as Mugua (in Chinese), is a medicinal and edible plant that is considered a functional source for human health promoting. Numerous bio-, chemical- and physical technologies have been applied to explore the relationship between the phytochemistry of Chaenomeles and their bioactivities, opening the door to their potential application in the field of function food and traditional Chinese medicine. This paper aimed to systematically summarize available information on Chaenomeles and provide reference for further investigations. The extracted and isolated chemical constituents (e.g., triterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, flavonoids, organic acids, phenolic compounds, volatile oil and fatty acids) from five species of Chaenomeles were mainly summarized. This review highlights the theoretical aspects and recent developments of nonconventional extraction (microwave, ultrasound and enzyme-assisted extraction, super- and subcritical fluid extraction and solid phase extraction) technologies for bioactive compounds recovery from Chaenomeles. Additionally, scientific reports on crude extracts or pure compounds from this plant revealed broad bioactivities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiinflammatory activities, as well as immunoregulatory and hepatoprotective effects. Approximately 150 chemicals have been characterized from different parts of Chaenomeles. Triterpenoids, flavonoids and phenolic compounds are the major bioactive ingredients of this plant. Additionally, the crude extracts and monomer compounds have been demonstrated with various in vitro and in vivo pharmacological functions. Nonconventional extraction technologies have been proposed to provide efficient, systematic, and practical protocols for the sustainable valorization of Chaenomeles. Image 1 • Approximately 150 chemical constituents have been characterized in Chaenomeles. • Crude extracts and monomer compounds from Chaenomeles have pharmacological functions. • Nonconventional extraction methods enhanced the valorization of Chaenomeles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Under oil droplet supply a simplified elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) model incorporating slide-roll ratios has been established, and the lubrication behavior of one oil droplet passing through the contact zone was numerically simulated. The results showed that sliding elongates the oil droplet and the oil reservoir at the inlet, and thus the effective lubrication can be enhanced. However if the slide-roll ratio is too large lubrication failure may occur. The effect of the slide-roll ratio is markedly influenced by lubrication parameters η 0 u e , and the increase of η 0 u e leads to a decrease in the effective lubrication time. Heavy load reduces the effective lubrication time. Highlights • Considering the sliding effect, a simplified elastohydrodynamic lubrication model has been established under one oil droplet supply. • Results show that sliding elongates the oil droplet and thus the effective lubrication can be enhanced. • The effect of the slide-roll ratio is markedly influenced by lubrication parameters η 0 u e and load. • The reasonable choice of oil droplet volume can prevent lubrication failure under relatively large slide-roll ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the precise role of GnRH agonists during the luteal phase remains uncertain. In the present study, a meta-analysis was used to evaluate the effect of administering a GnRH agonist to during the luteal phase in patients undergoing FET cycles. A literature review was carried out by searching the current content of MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register and Ovid. We particularly focused upon implantation rate, CPR per transfer, and ongoing pregnancy rate. All of the trials analyzed involved a GnRH agonist administered during the luteal phase. Six trials involving 1137 women were included in our meta-analysis. All of the cycles analyzed exhibited significantly higher implantation rates, clinical pregnancy rates, and ongoing pregnancy rates in the group of patients administered with a GnRH agonist during the luteal phase compared with the control group that did not receive a GnRH agonist during the luteal phase. Our data, therefore, demonstrate that the administration of a GnRH agonist during the luteal phase can significantly increase clinical pregnancy and ongoing pregnancy rates in FET cycles. The implantation rates, clinical pregnancy rates, and ongoing pregnancy rates can significantly increase in the group of patients administered with a GnRH agonist in natural cycle FET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum computing has grown extensively, especially in system design and development, and the current research focus has gradually evolved from validating quantum advantage to practical applications. In particular, nondeterministic‐polynomial‐time (NP)‐complete problems are central in numerous important application areas. Still, in practice, it is difficult to solved efficiently with conventional computers, limited by the exponential jump in hardness. Here, a quantum photonic microprocessor based on Gaussian boson sampling (GBS) that offers dynamic programmability to solve various graph‐related NP‐complete problems is demonstrated. The system with optical, electrical, and thermal packaging implements a GBS with 16 modes of single‐mode squeezed vacuum states, a universal programmable 16‐mode interferometer, and a single photon readout on all outputs with high accuracy, generality, and controllability. The developed system is applied to demonstrate applications in solving NP‐complete problems, manifesting the ability of photonic quantum computing to realize practical applications for conventionally intractable computations. The GBS‐based quantum photonic microprocessor is applied to solve task assignment, Boolean satisfiability, graph clique, max cut, and vertex cover. These demonstrations suggest an excellent benchmarking platform, paving the way toward large‐scale combinatorial optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhizome knot is always wasted as useless and inedible part of lotus root, despite its abundance of polyphenols. In this work, enzyme-assisted extraction followed by ultra-filtration was investigated to recover polyphenols from rhizome knot. Cellulase and pectinase treatment enhanced the polyphenols extraction. The 100 kDa membrane resulted in better filtration yield than 50 kDa membrane, 3.84% and 3.37%, respectively. With 100 kDa membrane, the highest filtration yield (4.08%) was achieved with a rotational speed of 600 rpm, TMP of 0.3 MPa and pH of 5. Satisfied permeate turbidity (<3 NTU) and polyphenol transmission (>90%) were obtained under these conditions. The main polyphenols identified in both rhizome knot extract and permeate were: chlorogenic acid, B-type procyanidin dimer·H 2 O, (+)-Catechin, B-type procyanidin dimer, (−)-Epicatechin, propyl gallate·H 2 O, caffeic acid, (−)-Epicatechin-3-gallate, and rutin. Membrane fouling led to the most important resistance (58% of total resistance). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) evidenced that protein accumulation was the main fouling cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two novel polyoxometalate-based catalysts were prepared by modifying Keggin POM H 4 PMo 11 VO 40 with a coumarin-surfactant through electrostatic interactions. The results indicate that (Coumarin) 3 HPMo 11 VO 40 exhibits excellent catalytic activity in the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol using air as the oxidant, where the conversion of benzyl alcohol is 99%, and the selectivity for benzaldehyde is 100%. The excellent catalytic performance can be attributed to π-π* conjugate effects with the reactant, and the structural characteristics of the large BET specific surface area and pore size of the catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar energy utilization will play an increasingly important role in sustainable urban development because it will help motivate low-carbon development. This study proposed a framework that calculates the solar irradiance on roofs and façades of city-scale buildings, as well as the potential reductions in energy consumption and CO 2 emissions that can be derived from solar energy utilization. This framework consolidates data acquired using 3D remote sensing techniques (e.g., light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data and digital photogrammetry) with existing 3D building vector models from urban planning and building design. To further the economical use of solar energy, the framework provides a new strategy based on three aspects (threshold, structure, and orientation), for a more realistic analysis of the available area of roofs and façades, by combining street view images and point clouds. Nanjing, China, was selected as a study area for validating and analyzing the proposed framework. The experimental area covers approximately 30 km 2 and 5216 buildings. The reliability of the proposed method was validated by comparing the results with the computation modules of mainstream commercial programs and previous international studies. The following conclusions were drawn from the experimental area. (1) Annual solar energy on the roofs of all buildings was 9647.89 GWh, corresponding to a PV yield of 1447.18 GWh, which equates to reductions of 584.66 kt in standard coal consumption and 1261.94 kt in CO 2 emissions. The annual solar energy on the façades was 5364.63 GWh, corresponding to a PV yield of 804.69 GWh, which equates to reductions of 325.10 kt in standard coal consumption and 701.69 kt in CO 2 emissions. (2) Based on the calculated potential solar energy utilization of the building envelopes, it was shown that the utilization of solar radiation on roofs and façades would promote low-carbon urban development. The utilization of solar energy on the façades of high buildings will contribute to the supply of energy for these buildings and help balance their energy consumption. (3) As the solar incidence angle changes over time, the reductions in energy consumption and CO 2 emissions related to PV power generation are maximal in summer for building roofs, whereas no significant seasonal differences were observed for façades. (4) Incorporating the available area translates the utilization of solar energy and potential CO 2 reductions from theory to practical application by reducing inefficient and invalid areas. The percentages of available area of roof and façade were estimated at 47% and 16% by comprehensive calculations considering three aspects (threshold, structure, and orientation). The corresponding potential of solar energy on the roofs and façades in the validation area B are 167.18 GWh and 53.63 GWh, respectively, compared to the original theoretic values of 316.97 GWh and 237.98 GWh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat treatments of fresh lotus root ( Nelumbo nucifera G.) at 40, 50 and 60 °C effectively prevented moisture loss, browning and microbial growth but increased soluble solids, total volatile compounds and firmness during storage at 25 °C for 15 d (p < 0.05). Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) activities and PPO electrophoretic band intensities (100 kDa) were minimally affected by the treatments. Results indicate that enzyme deactivation is not the dominant factor in the inhibition of browning that occurred during the storage of heat treated tubers and that other factors such as heat-induced substrate modifications could significantly contribute to this effect. Peroxidase heat shock proteins (Hsp) were detected at 60, 70 and 120 kDa in treated samples. The enhanced Hsp protective response and firmness retention in 60 °C treated samples indicate that this is the optimum treatment temperature for improving lotus root postharvest storage quality and shelf life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low stability of anthocyanins limits their use in industry, which can be surpassed by gliadins linkage. This work was aimed to study the anthocyanins-gliadins bonding properties. HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS2 analysis indicated that the main litchi pericarp anthocyanin (LPA) was cyanidin-3-glucoside-5-rhamnoside (C3G5R). Ultraviolet and fluorescence data revealed the presence of anthocyanin-protein complexes, with strong binding affinity by a combination of hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces. The combination of C3G5R and gliadins changed its secondary structure. The scavenging effect of the anthocyanin-protein complex over 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl was comparable to LPA alone. These results may broaden gluten usage to stabilize anthocyanins and so their use in the food, pharmaceutic, and cosmetic industries due to their potential use as colorants and antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platinum-based DNA-adducting agents are used extensively in the clinic for cancer chemotherapy. However, the anti-tumor efficacy of these drugs is severely limited by cisplatin resistance, and this can lead to the failure of chemotherapy. One of cisplatin resistance mechanisms is associated with overexpression of glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), which would accelerate the deactivation of cisplatin and decrease its antitumor efficiency. Nanoscale micelles encapsulating ethacraplatin, a conjugate of cisplatin and ethacrynic acid (an effective GSTs inhibitor), can enhance the accumulation of active cisplatin in cancer cells by inhibiting the activity of GSTs and circumventing deactivation of cisplatin. In vitro and in vivo results provide strong evidence that GSTs inhibitor-modified cisplatin prodrug combined with nanoparticle encapsulation favor high effective platinum accumulation, significantly enhanced antitumor efficacy against cisplatin-resistant cancer and decreased system toxicity. It is believed that these ethacraplatin-loaded micelles have the ability of overcoming resistance of cancers toward cisplatin and will improve the prospects for chemotherapy of cisplatin-resistant cancers in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Proposed a novel generalized intra- and inter-class kernel constraint (IIKC). • IIKC focused on improving the separability and margin between nearby data points. • IIKC can be directly embedded into LDA algorithms, with no increase of dimension. • Extensive experiments showed the effectiveness of the proposed IIKC. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) as a classical supervised dimensionality reduction method has shown powerful capability in various image classification tasks. The purpose of LDA seeks an optimal linear transformation that maps the original data to a low-dimensional space. Inspired by the fact that the kernel trick can capture the nonlinear similarity of features, we propose a novel generalized distance constraint dubbed intra-class and inter-class kernel constraint (IIKC). The proposed IIKC explicitly models the category kernel distance and focuses on helping the original LDA capture more discriminant features in order to further improve the separability and magnitude difference between nearby data points. Our proposed method with IIKC aims to achieve maximum category separability by minimizing the intra-class kernel distances as well as maximizing the inter-class kernel distance, simultaneously. Extensive experimental results on six publicly available benchmark databases illustrate that the LDA-based methods embedded with the proposed IIKC significantly improve the discrimination ability and achieve a better classification performance than the original and state-of-the-art LDA algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient method for the synthesis of thioquinazolinediones from 2-aminobenzonitriles and carbonyl sulfide (COS) catalyzed by NaHS was established. In this synthetic method, NaHS was used to catalyze the reaction of COS with a broad range of 2-aminobenzonitrile to form the corresponding thioquinazolinedione. Moreover, the controlled experiments demonstrated that NaHS not only reacted with 2-aminobenzonitrile to form 2-aminobenzothioamide, but also acted as a strong nucleophile to react with COS to form the active intermediate dithiocarbonate. Subsequently, 2-aminobenzothioamide reacted with dithiocarbonate to form the thioquinazolinedione easily. Meanwhile, the generated H2S was recycled as sulfur source and hydrogen source to produce 2-aminobenzothioamide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate whether sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), an apoptosis-inhibitor would be able to inhibit chemotherapy induced human granulosa cell apoptosis. Cultures of primary granulosa cells were isolated from women undergoingin vitrofertilization (IVF). MTT assay was used to measure the optimum concentration of CTX and S1P acts on human granulosa cells. Granulosa cells were added with pertussis toxin (PTX), the PI3K inhibitor LY294002. Western blot analysis was used to analyze the signaling pathway of proteins and cell apoptosis. We found that S1P (10 mm) statistically significantly decreased granulosa cell apoptosis after cyclophosphamide (CTX) treatment. The decreased cell apoptosis induced by S1P was abolished after treatment with LY294002, PI3K inhibitor. Conclusions: Treatment with S1P can inhibit the CTX-induced granulosa cell apoptosis. The S1P protective effect is mediated by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tandem RNA recognition motif protein, NONO, was previously identified as a candidate DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair factor in a biochemical screen for proteins with end-joining stimulatory activity. Subsequent work showed that NONO and its binding partner, SFPQ, have many of the properties expected for bona fide repair factors in cell-based assays. Their contribution to the DNA damage response in intact tissue in vivo has not, however, been demonstrated. Here we compare DNA damage sensitivity in the testes of wild-type mice versus mice bearing a null allele of the NONO homologue (Nono gt ). In wild-type mice, NONO protein was present in Sertoli, peritubular myoid, and interstitial cells, with an increase in expression following induction of DNA damage. As expected for the product of an X-linked gene, NONO was not detected in germ cells. The Nono gt/0 mice had at most a mild testis developmental phenotype in the absence of genotoxic stress. However, following irradiation at sublethal, 2–4 Gy doses, Nono gt/0 mice displayed a number of indicators of radiosensitivity as compared to their wild-type counterparts. These included higher levels of persistent DSB repair foci, increased numbers of apoptotic cells in the seminiferous tubules, and partial degeneration of the blood-testis barrier. There was also an almost complete loss of germ cells at later times following irradiation, evidently arising as an indirect effect reflecting loss of stromal support. Results demonstrate a role for NONO protein in protection against direct and indirect biological effects of ionizing radiation in the whole animal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of boiling and steaming on lotus root volatile compounds and some of its physicochemical properties were determined. A total of 52 compounds identified in the raw tuber by GC–MS were a combination of the rhizome’s native compounds and those from the soil and water environment, and are predominantly a mixture of straight chain and cyclic alkanes, and aromatic hydrocarbons. Boiling increased concentrations of most of these compounds, unlike steaming that lowered total volatile components of the tuber. Cooking increased complexity of volatile compounds with the production of new compounds such as methylated derivatives, particularly in steam cooked lotus. Other heat-induced compounds include antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyl compounds and antifungal organic compounds such as dimethyl disulfide. Instrumental texture measurements indicate that the characteristic post-cooked retention of crunchiness in lotus root is likely to be related to retention of its springiness index through the cooking process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Litchi pericarp procyanidins (LPP), which were mainly A-types, inhibit cardiovascular disease in vivo significantly. In order to know the pharmacokinetics of LPP, procyanidin (PC) metabolites were examined in various organs of rats at different time points after LPP ingestion. Plasma, liver, kidneys, spleen, brain, together with gastrointestinal (GI) tract of rats were collected over a 24-h period. The PC metabolic product residuals were extracted and identified by HPLC-Trap-MS-MS and LC/Q-trap-MS analyses. According to the data, there were eight PC metabolites with glucuronide, sulfate, and methyl ethers detected, in which brain was the first target of (−)-epicatechin, A-type dimers, and trimer, reaching their maximum values at 0.5 h post-administration. Liver was the major organ for glucuronidated, sulfated, and methylated transform during PC metabolism. GI tract was the primary system to recover PCs. Furthermore, all the litchi pericarp flavan-3-ols and PCs were eliminated from the stomach and GI tract 24 h after administration. (−)-Epicatechin conjugates, which were detected in plasma and brain as the major PC metabolites, demonstrating that flavan-3-ols and their metabolic products can cross the blood-brain barrier. And the results were also considerably helpful for us to know that A-type PCs are bioavailable in body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Fe0/PS oxidation system can effectively degrade HMIm. • •OH, SO 4 •−, 1O 2 , and O 2 •− were involved in the degradation of HMIm. • Twenty-seven oxidation products were identified by HPLC-QTOF-MS analysis. • Hydroxylation, 1O 2 initiated oxidation, sulfate addition, and bond breaking were observed. • Degradation performance became better with the increased of the Fe0 cycle index. In recent years, ionic liquids (ILs) have captured much attention of environment researchers due to their widespread use and potential biotoxicity. In this work, Fe0 activated persulfate (Fe0/PS) oxidation system was systematically examined for its performance to degrade 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium (HMIm), a typical imidazole-based ILs, with the study of degradation kinetics, pathways, mechanisms and ecotoxicity. Under the conditions of pH 3.0, Fe0/PS/HMIm molar ratio of 200:50:1, the removal efficiency of HMIm reached 93.5 % within 10 min. With the increased of the cycle index, the degradation performance became better. The degradation of HMIm was inhibited to some extent in real waters, where the presence of inorganic ions may competitively consume or suppress the production of active species. As evidenced by the results of EPR technology and quenching experiments, •OH, SO 4 •−, 1O 2 , and O 2 •− were generated and involved in the degradation of HMIm, with the corresponding contribution of 9.4 %, 71.4 %, 14.0 %, and 28.7 %, respectively. Twenty-seven oxidation products were identified by HPLC-QTOF-MS analysis, and side chain breakage, hydroxylation, 1O 2 initiated oxidation and sulfate addition were the main reactions leading to the four primary products. Based on the frontier molecular orbital calculation, the imidazole ring of HMIm was determined as the main active sites for free radical attack. According to ECOSAR assessment, the products in the four oxidation pathways showed a decreased toxicity than HMIm. This study demonstrates that Fe0/PS is an effective and environmentally friendly method to eliminate HMIm, which also provide some technical reference for the treatment of ILs polluted waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superamphiphobic (both superhydrophobic and superoleophobic) surfaces have attracted great interests in the fundamental research and practical application. This research successfully fabricated the superamphiphobic surfaces by combining the nickel plating process and modification with perfluorocaprylic acid. The cooperation of hierarchical micro-nano structures and perfluorocaprylic acid with low surface energy plays an important role in the formation of superamphiphobic surfaces. The contact angles of water/oil have reached up to 160.2 ± 1°/152.4 ± 1°, respectively. Contrast with bare substrate, the electrochemical measurements of superamphiphobic surfaces, not only the EIS measurement, but also potentiodynamic polarization curves, all revealed that, the surface corrosion inhibition was improved significantly. Moreover, superamphiphobic surfaces exhibited superior stability in the solutions with a large pH range, also could maintain excellent performance after storing for a long time in the air. This method is easy, feasible and effective, and could be used to fabricate large-area mutli-functional surface. Such a technique will develop a new approach to fabricate superamphiphobic surfaces on different engineering materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the unique creatures in the nature, the femtosecond laser technology has been usually used to fabricate the periodic microstructures due to its advantages of rapidness, simplicity, ease of large-area fabrication, and simultaneously offering dual micro/nano-scale structures simply via one-step process for a wide variety of materials. By changing the experimental conditions, multi-functional surfaces which possess superhydrophobicity and structural colors could be achieved on copper substrate. In addition, the apparent contact angle can reach 144.3° without any further modification, which also exhibits the anisotropic wettability. Moreover, it can be inferred that higher laser fluence can lead to a larger CA within a certain range. At the same time, due to the change of laser processing parameters, the obtained surfaces present different structural colors. This study may expand the applications of bio-inspired functional materials because multiple colors and hydrophobicity are both important features in the real life and industrial applications, such as display, decoration, and anti-counterfeiting technology etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disporopsis pernyi (Hua) Diels, which belongs to genus Disporopsis, has been widely used for the treatment of abnormal sweating, chronic cough, and so forth. An ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) analysis was developed for the determination of rutin, luteolin, quercetin, and betulinic acid in Disporopsis pernyi (Hua) Diels roots. UPLC analysis was conducted by using a Shim-pack XR-ODS column with gradient elution with the mobile phase of acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% formic acid and with a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min, detected at 210, 254, and 280 nm. The method was precise, with relative standard deviation < 2.0%. The recoveries for the four components in Disporopsis pernyi (Hua) Diels were between 98.5 and 100.9%. The average contents of rutin, luteolin, quercetin, and betulinic acid in roots were 5.63, 2.51, 3.87, and 2.41 μg/g, respectively. The method was accurate and reproducible and it can provide a quantitative basis for quality control of Disporopsis pernyi (Hua) Diels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the multi-sensor fusion target tracking problem based on maximum mixture correntropy in non-Gaussian noise environments exclusively using Doppler measurements. As Doppler measurements are non-linear, a statistical linear regression model is constructed using the unscented transformation. Then, a centralized measurement model is developed, and the mixture correntropy is determined, which contains the high-order statistics of state prediction and the measurement error caused by noise. Then, a robust fusion filter is proposed by maximizing the mixture-correntropy-based cost. To improve numerical stability, the information filter and corresponding square root version are also derived. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed algorithm is analyzed, and the selection of the kernel width is discussed. Experiments are performed using simulated data and automatic driving software. The results show that the estimation performance of the proposed algorithm is better with respect to outliers and mixture Gaussian noise than that of traditional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the special microstructure of plant leaves such as lotus leaves, we prepared super-hydrophobic surfaces by a fast, facile, and one-step electrodeposition on copper substrates. The prepared surface revealed super-hydrophobicity with a contact angle value of 161.5° ± 2°. Meanwhile, corrosion resistance of obtained coatings was evaluated by electrochemical measurement in detail. These results indicated that electrodeposition coatings provided greater protection against corrosion behavior. Moreover, the super-hydrophobicity improved corrosion resistance of the coating. This method can be easily extended to other conductive materials and time-saving, having a great potential for future application in industrial fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning and memory abilities are associated with alterations in gut function. The two-way proanthocyanidins-microbiota interaction in vivo enhances the physiological activities of proanthocyanidins and promotes the regulation of gut function. Proanthocyanidins extracted from lotus seedpod (LSPC) have shown the memory-enhancing ability. However, there has been no literature about whether Lactobacillus casei-01 (LC) enhances the ameliorative effects of LSPC on learning and memory abilities. In this study, learning and memory abilities of scopolamine-induced amnesia mice were evaluated by Y-maze test after 20-day administration of LC (109 cfu/kg body weight (BW)), LSPC (low dose was 60 mg/kg BW (L-LSPC) and high dose was 90 mg/kg BW (H-LSPC)), or LSPC and LC combinations (L-LSPC+LC and H-LSPC+LC). Alterations in antioxidant defense ability and oxidative damage of brain, serum and colon, and brain cholinergic system were investigated as the possible mechanisms. As a result, the error times of H-LSPC+LC group were reduced by 41.59% and 68.75% relative to those of H-LSPC and LC groups respectively. LSPC and LC combinations ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory impairment by improving total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) level, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activities of brain, serum and colon, suppressing malondialdehyde (MDA) level of brain, serum and colon, and inhibiting brain acetylcholinesterase (AchE), myeloperoxidase, total nitric oxide synthase and neural nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) activities, and nNOS mRNA level. Moreover, LC facilitated the ameliorative effects of H-LSPC on GSH-Px activity of colon, TAOC level, GSH-Px activity and ratio of T-SOD to MDA of brain and serum, and the inhibitory effects of H-LSPC on serum MDA level, brain nNOS mRNA level and AchE activity. These results indicated that LC promoted the memory-enhancing effect of LSPC in scopolamine-induced amnesia mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periosteum is crucial to the initial healing of bone defects because it provides a stable periosteum-specific microenvironment and abundant osteogenic cells towards bone repair. However, the usage of autologous periosteum is restricted for limited availability. Xenogeneic decellularized periosteum (DP) preserves periosteum-specific cues but the hardly-controlled physicochemical properties render it inconvenient to use widely. Our study aimed to fabricate a tissue-engineered periosteum (TEP) with a continuous periosteum-specifically bioactive surface and tailored physicochemical properties by co-axial electrospinning of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/periosteal decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) to promote bone defects healing. Before use, DP was confirmed for effective removal of residual DNA and well preservation of biological components, e.g., collagen and glycosaminoglycans. After optimization of fabrication processes, PCL/dECM co-axially electrospun membrane (PEC) bore an exquisite core-shell structure, which was effectively equipped with composite advantages of dECM and PCL. Notably, PEC stood out in terms of tensile strength and long-term durability within a physiological environment compared to that of the dECM uniaxial electrospun membrane (ECM). Besides, PEC exhibited remarkably better cell proliferation, migration, bio-mineralization, and osteogenic properties as compared to that of the electrospun PCL membrane. Moreover, PEC-TEP could significantly enhance the recovery of critical-sized bone defects in rats than that of PCL-TEP. To the best of our knowledge, biomimetic PEC-TEP was fabricated and used for the first time to repair bone defects. This novel strategy is promising to fabricate a dECM-based advanced membrane for tissue engineering. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We have prepared a biomimetic superhydrophobic surface with controlled adhesion. [•] The tunable effect is described as transition from the petal effect to lotus effect. [•] The mechanism relies on different morphologies and chemical component on surface. [•] The superhydrophobic surface has an excellent stability and anticorrosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The starch-branching enzyme (SBE) catalyzes the formation of branch points by cleaving the α-1,4 linkage in polyglucans and reattaching the chain via an α-1,6 linkage. Three types of SBE isoforms (SBEI, SBEII, and SBEIII) exist in higher plants, with the number of SBE isoforms being species-specific. This study isolated the SBEIII cDNA sequence (3,780 bp), designated TaSBEIII (accession no. JQ346193), from common wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) using the RACE method, revealing that the SBEIII gene exists in common wheat. The open reading frame of TaSBEIII was 2,748 bp. The predicted protein of 916 amino acids contained the specific characteristics of the SBEIII protein: four highly conserved regions and a central ( α/ β) barrel domain. The SBE activity of the protein expressed in Escherichia coli (BL21) was also measured and verified. During the wheat grain filling period, TaSBEIII was constitutively expressed. The role of the TaSBEIII gene in starch synthesis is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]