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Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease, but there is currently no effective treatment method. Probiotics have been used as an adjunct therapy for NAFLD, but the mechanism is not clear. This study used Bifidobacterium longum BL19 (BL‐19) to treat the NAFLD mice induced by a high‐fat diet, and explored the treatment mechanism through gut microbiota and serum metabolomics techniques. We found that BL‐19 effectively prevented rapid weight gain in NAFLD mice and reduced their overall food and energy intake, decreased liver inflammatory factors expressions, and increased the bile acid synthetase enzyme CYP7A1 and superoxide dismutase. After BL‐19 treatment, the abundances of butyric acid bacteria (Oscillospira and Coprococcus) in the feces of mice increased significantly, and the concentration of butyric acid also increased significantly. We believe that BL‐19 promotes the production of butyrate in the intestines, which in turn regulates the activity of CYP7A1 in the liver and bile acid synthesis, ultimately treating liver inflammation and lipid accumulation in NAFLD mice. Serum metabolomics results indicated that BL‐19 affected multiple pathways related to inflammation and lipid metabolism in NAFLD mice. These findings suggest that BL‐19 shows promise as an adjunct therapy for NAFLD, as it can significantly improve oxidative stress, reduce inflammation in the liver, and decrease lipid accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straw return is an effective measure to increase soil sustainability. However, few studies have examined the effects of different straw return methods on soil structure, soil organic carbon content and maize yield or the potential relationships between those variables. Therefore, we developed a field orientation experiment to study the effects of different straw return methods on soil porosity, soil aggregate stability, the soil organic carbon content and maize yield. Four treatments were established: flat no-tillage with full straw mulching (FM), ridge no-tillage with full straw mulching (LM), rotary tillage with full straw incorporation (LX), and conventional tillage without straw (CK) as the control treatment. Compared with those of the CK treatment, the soil porosities (f) in the FM, LM and LX treatments significantly increased by 6.7%, 8.8% and 7.9%, respectively; the soil aggregate destruction rates (PAD) decreased by 17.3%, 34.3% and 16.9%, respectively. In addition, the FM, LM and LX treatments effectively increased the mean mass diameters (MWDs) of the soil aggregates and the soil organic carbon content. Compared with those in the CK treatment, the three-year average yields in the FM, LM and LX treatments significantly increased by 5.2%, 7.2% and 4.1%, respectively. Moreover, the f, MWD, soil organic carbon content and corn yield were positively correlated. Our study indicates that the LM treatment was most effective in improving soil structure and increasing soil organic carbon content with corn yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have demonstrated effectiveness in a variety of malignancies. As is the case for many different classes of drugs, tyrosine kinase inhibitors induce autophagy in various tumor cell models. Autophagy is a cellular degradative machinery that can be protective or cytotoxic to the cells, and in some cases, autophagy has no detectable influence on cell sensitivity to chemotherapy. This review demonstrates that cytoprotective and cytotoxic autophagy are the main forms induced by TKIs and that targeting or modulating autophagy can potentially enhance the tumor cell response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) represent a relatively large class of small-molecule inhibitors that compete with ATP for the catalytic binding site of tyrosine kinase proteins. While TKIs have demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of multiple malignancies, including chronic myelogenous leukemia, gastrointestinal tumors, non-small cell lung cancers, and HER2-overexpressing breast cancers, as is almost always the case with anti-neoplastic agents, the development of resistance often imposes a limit on drug efficacy. One common survival response utilized by tumor cells to ensure their survival in response to different stressors, including anti-neoplastic drugs, is that of autophagy. The autophagic machinery in response to TKIs in multiple tumor models has largely been shown to be cytoprotective in nature, although there are a number of cases where autophagy has demonstrated a cytotoxic function. In this review, we provide an overview of the literature examining the role that autophagy plays in response to TKIs in different preclinical tumor model systems in an effort to determine whether autophagy suppression or modulation could be an effective adjuvant strategy to increase efficiency and/or overcome resistance to TKIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient blue multi‐resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR‐TADF) materials are highly desired for the fabrication of organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) with high color purity. But only very limited carbonyl‐nitrogen (CO‐N) blue MR‐TADF are well‐developed. Herein, two new blue CO‐N MR‐TADF molecules (tBuPQCZ and 2tBuPQCZ) are explored by introducing bulky substituents to a planar CO‐N MR‐TADF core constructed by fusing carbonyl groups with carbazole, and their thermal stability, electronic structures, and photophysical properties are investigated. They exhibit blue photoluminescence (PL) peaks at 451 and 447 nm, and narrow full width at half maximums (FWHMs) of 26 and 25 nm in toluene. In doped films, they exhibit strong blue emissions with PL peaks at 474 and 469 nm, FWHMs of 51 and 49 nm, and satisfactory PL quantum yields of 80% and 72%. Moreover, blue OLEDs using them as emitters exhibit excellent external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 20.4% and 21.5%, and the hyperfluorescence OLEDs based on them provide state‐of‐the‐art EQEs of 30.1% and 29.0% with small FWHMs of 34 and 32 nm and Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage coordinates of (0.136, 0.134) and (0.141, 0.105). The insights gained in this work should be valuble for the development of efficient blue CO‐N MR‐TADF materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Analyze Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection in late-pregnancy pregnant women in Shanghai, the risk factors of GBS infection, and its impact on pregnancy outcomes, providing guidance for early prevention and treatment in clinical practice. Methods: We selected 12,132 late-pregnancy pregnant women admitted from January 2022 to December 2022 as the research subjects. Based on the GBS test results of reproductive tract secretion samples from pregnant women, 210 cases of GBS positive pregnant women were randomly selected as the observation group, and 200 cases of GBS negative pregnant women were selected as the control group. The risk factors of infection and the impact on pregnancy outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: The GBS colonization rate of pregnant women in this study was 6.52%; the incidence of Vaginal delivery and Neonatal infection in GBS positive group was significantly higher than that in GBS negative group (P < 0.05); with Neonatal infection as the dependent variable, and the GBS infection, Vaginal delivery and GDM of the elderly and women in late pregnancy as independent variables, the results showed that GBS infection of women in late pregnancy was an independent risk factor for Neonatal infection. Conclusion: Clinical practice should attach great importance to GBS infection in late pregnancy, strengthen GBS screening in late pregnancy, and actively implement the strategy of intrapartum antibiotic intervention (IAP), which is of great significance in reducing the vertical infection rate of maternal and infant GBS and improving the quality of newborn birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Systemic amyloidosis is a condition in which misfolded amyloid fibrils are deposited within tissues. Amyloid myopathy is a rare manifestation of systemic amyloidosis. However, whether skeletal muscle involvement is underestimated and whether such deposition guarantees clinical and pathological myopathic features remain to be investigated. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with systemic amyloidosis, in whom skeletal muscle biopsies were performed at our centre between January 2018 and June 2023. In total, 28 patients with suspected systemic amyloidosis were included. Among these, 21 presented with cardiomyopathy but lacked myopathic symptoms. The clinical and pathological data of these patients were further analysed. The amyloid type was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Results: Twenty‐eight patients with suspected systemic amyloidosis underwent muscle biopsy. Amyloid deposition in the skeletal muscle was confirmed in 24 patients, including 22 with light‐chain amyloidosis (AL) and two with transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR). Among the 24 patients, seven presented with muscle weakness and decreased muscle strength (Group 1, symptomatic myopathy), whereas the remaining 17 exhibited normal muscle strength (Group 2, asymptomatic myopathy). Group 1 included four patients with AL‐λ, one with AL‐κ and two with ATTR. Group 2 included 15 patients with AL‐λ and two patients with AL‐κ. In Group 1, six patients exhibited neuropathy, whereas only one patient in Group 2 presented with subclinical neuropathy on nerve conduction studies. Amyloid deposition in the interstitium was the most obvious change, observed in all 24 patients. Neuropathic changes, including denervation atrophy and muscle fibre grouping, were also common. Except for type 2 fibre atrophy, the other myopathic changes were mild and nonspecific. No sarcolemmal disruption was observed. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed marked positivity for MAC and MHC1 expression in the regions with amyloid deposits. Clinicopathological analysis revealed no significant differences in the extent of muscular amyloid deposition between the two groups. Nevertheless, patients in Group 1 displayed more pronounced neurogenic atrophy on skeletal muscle biopsies. Conclusions: Our study indicates that amyloid deposition in skeletal muscle is commonly observed but rarely causes symptomatic myopathy in systemic amyloidosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two‐player planar target defense game where the intruder attempts to breach the circular region guarded by the defender in the presence of a fixed line segment obstacle is addressed. Based on prior research, the entire game was divided into three phases to address the partial information problem. Additionally, the impact of obstacles on the game outcome is thoroughly analyzed. In contrast to the scenario without obstacles, this paper presents redesigned strategies for both defender and intruder, accompanied by quantitative results illustrating the influence on the winning probability. Finally, illustrative examples are given to demonstrate the effect of the obstacle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the study of electronegative CF4 capacitively coupled plasmas (CCP), plasma modulation is typically achieved by varying parameters such as pressure and voltage. In this work, the particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo (PIC/MC) method is used to simulate modulation of CF4 CCP with injection of anions (F−) ion beam (FB). The results demonstrate that FB injection effectively enhances the dissociation collision process between F− ions and neutral molecules, thus altering the densities of electrons and ions. An effective modulation of the characteristic parameters of the plasma of CF4 can be achieved by controlling the current and energy of FB. Particularly noteworthy is the transition of the heating mode from the DA mode to the dissociation mode as the FB current increases to 0.038 A (energy fixed at 10 keV) or when the FB energy exceeds 10 keV (current fixed on 0.038 A). This transition is attributed to the generation of a substantial number of electrons through dissociative collisions. This approach provides insight into the controlled modulation of plasma characteristics in CF4 CCP, offering potential applications in various plasma-based technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of innovative triplet materials plays a significant role in various applications. Although effective tuning of triplet formation by intersystem crossing (ISC) has been well established in solution, the modulation of ISC processes in the solid state remains a challenge due to the presence of other exciton decay channels through intermolecular interactions. The cyclic structure of cycloparaphenylenes (CPPs) offers a unique platform to tune the intermolecular packing, which leads to controllable exciton dynamics in the solid state. Herein, by integrating an electron deficient coronene diimide (CDI) unit into the CPP framework, a donor‐acceptor type of conjugated macrocycle (CDI‐CPP) featuring intramolecular charge‐transfer (CT) interaction was designed and synthesized. Effective intermolecular CT interaction resulting from a slipped herringbone packing was confirmed by X‐ray crystallography. Transient spectroscopy studies showed that CDI‐CPP undergoes ISC in both solution and the film state, with triplet generation time constants of 4.5 ns and 238 ps, respectively. The rapid triplet formation through ISC in the film state can be ascribed to the cooperation between intra‐ and intermolecular charge‐transfer interactions. Our results highlight that intermolecular CT interaction has a pronounced effect on the ISC process in the solid state, and shed light on the use of the characteristic structure of CPPs to manipulate intermolecular CT interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of innovative triplet materials plays a significant role in various applications. Although effective tuning of triplet formation by intersystem crossing (ISC) has been well established in solution, the modulation of ISC processes in the solid state remains a challenge due to the presence of other exciton decay channels through intermolecular interactions. The cyclic structure of cycloparaphenylenes (CPPs) offers a unique platform to tune the intermolecular packing, which leads to controllable exciton dynamics in the solid state. Herein, by integrating an electron deficient coronene diimide (CDI) unit into the CPP framework, a donor‐acceptor type of conjugated macrocycle (CDI‐CPP) featuring intramolecular charge‐transfer (CT) interaction was designed and synthesized. Effective intermolecular CT interaction resulting from a slipped herringbone packing was confirmed by X‐ray crystallography. Transient spectroscopy studies showed that CDI‐CPP undergoes ISC in both solution and the film state, with triplet generation time constants of 4.5 ns and 238 ps, respectively. The rapid triplet formation through ISC in the film state can be ascribed to the cooperation between intra‐ and intermolecular charge‐transfer interactions. Our results highlight that intermolecular CT interaction has a pronounced effect on the ISC process in the solid state, and shed light on the use of the characteristic structure of CPPs to manipulate intermolecular CT interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the benefits of physical activity, children’s compliance with physical activity recommendations is very low and this situation worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical literacy has been theorised as a factor that can enhance and sustain children’s engagement with physical activity. This study aimed to investigate whether physical literacy is associated with children’s adherence to the physical activity guidelines during COVID-19.Methods: Data for this cross-sectional study were collected from 648 Australian children (60% boys) aged 7–12 years (M = 10 years; SD = 1.7) and their parents/carers. Recruitment was conducted through social media and panel sampling. Self-perceived physical literacy was measured using the pictorial Physical Literacy in Children Questionnaire. Children’s adherence to physical activity guidelines was collected using a two-item questionnaire asking parents/guardians about the number of days their children were active for at least 60 min in a typical week before and during COVID-19. The association between physical literacy (predictor) and physical activity (binary outcome: meeting/not meeting guidelines before/during COVID-19) was tested with logistic regressions while adjusting for relevant confounders.Results: Most parents spoke English at home (91%), over half had a university education (62%) and three quarters had paid employment (75%). Children’s physical literacy scores ranged from 32–120 (M = 94; SD = 16). Physical literacy overall score was associated with significantly higher odds of meeting the physical activity recommendations during COVID-19 (OR = 1.03, 95% CI [1.02; 1.05]). Each of the physical literacy subdomains (i.e. physical, psychological, social, cognitive) was also significantly associated with children’s adherence to the physical activity guidelines (ORs = 1.07–1.22).Conclusions: These findings indicate that physical literacy is a predictor of physical activity and may act as a protective factor of such behaviour during limiting events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Further research could confirm this relationship using objective measures of physical activity and exploring whether interventions designed to improve physical literacy can benefit physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of ultrafine grinding on the nutritional profile, physicochemical properties, and antioxidant activities of whole‐grain highland barley (HB) including white highland barley (WHB) and black highland barley (BHB) were studied. Whole‐grain HB was regularly ground and sieved through 80 mesh get 80 M powder, and HB was ultrafine grounded and sieved through 80 mesh, 150 mesh, and 200 mesh get 80UMM, 150UMM, and 200UMM samples. Particle size of WHB and BHB reduced significantly after ultrafine grinding. As the particle size decreased, moisture content of WHB and BHB decreased significantly, whereas fat content increased significantly. Redistribution of fiber components in WHB and BHB from insoluble to soluble fractions was also observed. Wherein, content of soluble pentosan of WHB and BHB increased significantly from 0.56% and 0.78% (80 M) to 0.91% and 1.14% (200UMM), respectively. Damaged starch of WHB and BHB increased significantly from 8.16% and 8.21% (80 M) to 10.29% and 10.07% (200UMM), respectively. Content of phenolic acid and flavonoid of WHB and BHB and associated antioxidant capacity were increased after ultrafine grinding. Color of L* value increased significantly, a* and b* values decreased significantly, indicating the whiteness of WHB and BHB was increased after ultrafine grinding. Pasting temperature of WHB and BHB decreased, whereas peak viscosity increased. X‐ray diffraction patterns of HB showed typical A‐ and V‐style polymorphs and the relative crystallinity of HB decreased as the particle size decreased. Taken together, ultrafine grinding has shown great potential in improving the nutritional, physiochemical, and antioxidant properties of whole‐grain HB. Our research findings could help better understand the ultrafine grinded whole grain HB in food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two athracene-bridged diarylamine isomers 1 and 2 were constructed and fully characterized. The electrochemical results showed that ΔE of compound 2 was significantly higher than that of 1, which indicated that the mixed-valence compound 2+ had higher thermodynamic stability than 1+. Spectroelectrochemistry reflected that the NIR absorption of 2+ exhibited a significant blue shift compared with reported compound 1+. The calculated electronic coupling constant and spin density distribution indicated that 2+ had larger charge delocalization than 1+ under the identical amine-amine distances. The TDDFT predicted β-HOSO→β-LUSO transition from 2+ which further confirmed the existence of N→N·+ IVCT transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first iron‐catalyzed oxophosphorylation of styrene derivatives with dialkyl H‐phosphonates under open air conditions is developed, which generates a range of previously underexplored α‐substituted β‐ketophosphonates in 55~70% yields. Furthermore, a convenient one‐pot procedure by direct conversion of styrenes to α, β‐unsaturated ketones is also developed based on the new catalytic reactions, thus offering a protocol to access two classes of valuable products from simple starting materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrochemical conversion of nitrate pollutants into value‐added ammonia is a feasible way to achieve artificial nitrogen cycle. However, the development of electrocatalytic nitrate‐to‐ammonia reduction reaction (NO3−RR) has been hampered by high overpotential and low Faradaic efficiency. Here we develop an iron single‐atom catalyst coordinated with nitrogen and phosphorus on hollow carbon polyhedron (denoted as Fe−N/P−C) as a NO3−RR electrocatalyst. Owing to the tuning effect of phosphorus atoms on breaking local charge symmetry of the single‐Fe‐atom catalyst, it facilitates the adsorption of nitrate ions and enrichment of some key reaction intermediates during the NO3−RR process. The Fe−N/P−C catalyst exhibits 90.3 % ammonia Faradaic efficiency with a yield rate of 17980 μg h−1 mgcat−1, greatly outperforming the reported Fe‐based catalysts. Furthermore, operando SR‐FTIR spectroscopy measurements reveal the reaction pathway based on key intermediates observed under different applied potentials and reaction durations. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the optimized free energy of NO3−RR intermediates is ascribed to the asymmetric atomic interface configuration, which achieves the optimal electron density distribution. This work demonstrates the critical role of atomic‐level precision modulation by heteroatom doping for the NO3−RR, providing an effective strategy for improving the catalytic performance of single atom catalysts in different electrochemical reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrochemical conversion of nitrate pollutants into value‐added ammonia is a feasible way to achieve artificial nitrogen cycle. However, the development of electrocatalytic nitrate‐to‐ammonia reduction reaction (NO3−RR) has been hampered by high overpotential and low Faradaic efficiency. Here we develop an iron single‐atom catalyst coordinated with nitrogen and phosphorus on hollow carbon polyhedron (denoted as Fe−N/P−C) as a NO3−RR electrocatalyst. Owing to the tuning effect of phosphorus atoms on breaking local charge symmetry of the single‐Fe‐atom catalyst, it facilitates the adsorption of nitrate ions and enrichment of some key reaction intermediates during the NO3−RR process. The Fe−N/P−C catalyst exhibits 90.3 % ammonia Faradaic efficiency with a yield rate of 17980 μg h−1 mgcat−1, greatly outperforming the reported Fe‐based catalysts. Furthermore, operando SR‐FTIR spectroscopy measurements reveal the reaction pathway based on key intermediates observed under different applied potentials and reaction durations. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the optimized free energy of NO3−RR intermediates is ascribed to the asymmetric atomic interface configuration, which achieves the optimal electron density distribution. This work demonstrates the critical role of atomic‐level precision modulation by heteroatom doping for the NO3−RR, providing an effective strategy for improving the catalytic performance of single atom catalysts in different electrochemical reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With continuous global population growth, the challenges of expanding demand for sufficient and nutritious foods need to be addressed by exploring new and supplemental agricultural and food systems. Duckweed demonstrates a great potential for human food with many advantages. This review covers recent research on duckweed regarding plant cultivation, nutritional composition and quality, product development, and related safety issues and regulations for human food uses. Challenges and future research needs are discussed. Species and cultivation conditions have a significant effect on chemical and nutritional compositions of duckweed. Certain duckweed species contain high protein content (up to 45%) that provides all the essential amino acids meeting FAO references and can support human body growth and development. Duckweed also contains versatile carbohydrates including starch, cellulose, trace hemicellulose, and pectin that deliver functional properties and nutrients. In addition, duckweed is rich in minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals, especially lutein and β-carotene which are positively associated with reduced risk of many chronic diseases. Duckweed could be used either in conventional cereal-based foods by partial substitution of wheat flour or for extraction of proteins and phytochemicals as functional ingredients. Studies are warranted for developing a duckweed supply chain and establishing duckweed as a novel staple food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective food packaging that can protect foodstuffs from physical, chemical, and biological damage and maintain freshness and quality is essential to the food industry. Wheat gluten shows promise as food packaging materials due to its edibility, biodegradability, wide availability, low cost, film‐forming potential, and high resistance to oxygen. The low mechanical properties and poor water permeability of wheat gluten coatings and films limit their wide applications; however, some inferior properties can be improved through various solutions. This work presents a comprehensive review about wheat gluten–based coatings and films, including their formulation, processing methods, properties, functions, and applications. The mechanical and water resistance properties of coatings and films can be reinforced through wheat gluten modification, combinations of different processing methods, and the incorporation of reinforcing macromolecules, antioxidants, and nanofillers. Antioxidants and antimicrobial agents added to wheat gluten can inhibit microbial growth on foodstuffs, maintain food quality, and extend shelf life. Performances of wheat gluten–based coatings and films can be further improved to expand their applications in food packaging. Current research gaps are identified. Future research is needed to examine the optimal formulation and processing of wheat gluten–based coatings and films and their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This retrospective study assessed the incidence rate, risk factors, and clinical course of early enlarging cavitation after percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) of primary lung cancer (PLC). This study included 557 lesions of 514 patients with PLC who underwent CT-guided percutaneous MWA between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2021. Of these patients, 29 developed early enlarging cavitation and were enrolled in the cavity group, and 173 were randomly enrolled in the control group. Early enlarging cavitation of the lung was defined as the development of a cavity ≥30 mm within 7 days after MWA. Overall, 31 (5.57%, 31/557 tumors) early enlarging cavitations occurred at an average of 5.83 ± 1.55 d after MWA. The risk factors were lesion contact with a large vessel (diameter ≥3 mm), lesion contact with the bronchus (diameter ≥2 mm), and a large ablated parenchymal volume. The cavity group had a higher incidence rate of delayed hydropneumothorax (12.9%) and bronchopleural fistula (9.68%) than the control group, resulting in a longer hospitalization (9.09 ± 5.26 days). Until Dec 31, 2022, 27 cavities disappeared after a mean of 217.88 ± 78.57 d (range, 111–510 d), two persisted, and two were lost to follow-up. Early enlarging cavitation occurred in 5.57% PLC cases that underwent MWA, causing serve complications and longer hospitalization. The risk factors were ablated lesion contact with large vessels and bronchi, as well as a larger ablated parenchymal volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This retrospective study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of synchronous biopsy and microwave ablation (MWA) for highly suspected malignant lung ground-glass opacities (GGOs) adjacent to the mediastinum (distance ≤10 mm). Ninety patients with 98 GGOs (diameter range, 6–30 mm), located within 10 mm of the mediastinum, underwent synchronous biopsy and MWA at a single institution from 1 May 2020, to 31 October 2021 and were enrolled in this study. Synchronous biopsy and MWA involving the completion of the biopsy and MWA in a single procedure was performed. Safety, technical success rate, and local progression-free survival (LPFS) were evaluated. The risk factors for local progression were calculated using the Mann–Whitney U test. The technical success rate was 97.96% (96/98 patients). The LPFS rates at 3, 6, and 12 months were 95.0%, 90.0%, and 82.0%, respectively. The diagnostic rate of biopsy-proven malignancy was 72.45% (n = 71/98). Invasion of lesions into the mediastinum was a risk factor for local progression (p = 0.0077). The 30-day mortality rate was 0. The major complications were pneumothorax (13.27%), ventricular arrhythmias (3.06%), pleural effusion (1.02%), hemoptysis (1.02%), and infection (1.02%). Minor complications included pneumothorax (30.61%), pleural effusion (24.49%), hemoptysis (18.37%), ventricular arrhythmias (11.22%), structural changes in adjacent organs (3.06%), and infection (3.06%). Synchronous biopsy and MWA was effective for treating GGOs adjacent to the mediastinum without severe complications (Society of Interventional Radiology classification E or F). Invasion of lesions into the mediastinum was identified as a risk factor for local progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To preliminarily evaluate the efficacy and safety of pancreatic intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy (PAIC) with nab-paclitaxel in patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma. Methods: Fifteen patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma received monthly, inpatient, 3-h, continuous PAIC of nab-paclitaxel at 180 mg/m2, combined with 60 mg oral tegafur gimeracil oteracil potassium capsule for 2 weeks. The therapeutic courses were repeated every 4 weeks. All patients had a preliminary diagnosis based on clinical symptoms, imaging data (computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging or positron emission tomography/computed tomography), and tumor markers. The adverse effects, clinical benefit response (CBR), objective response rate (ORR), median progression free survival (mPFS), and median overall survival (mOS) were monitored. Results: Fifteen patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma were enrolled in this study, including 10 male and 5 female patients. The mean age at the time of treatment was 66.3 years (53–84 years). A total of 49 cycles of PAIC (mean = 3.27 cycles/patient) were performed. The most common treatment-related toxicities were alopecia, diarrhea, and nausea/vomiting. No procedure-related complications were observed. The longest overall survival observed was 22 months and the maximum number of treatments for the same patient was six cycles. PAIC contributed a high rate (13/15 [86.67%]) and fast (10/15 [66.67%]) easement of pain, with apparent symptom relief within 24 h, especially local pain symptom. The pain anesis rate was 13 (86.67%). CBR was achieved in 13 (86.67%) patients (95%CI [59.54,98.34]). ORR was achieved in four (26.67%) patients (95%CI [7.79,55.10]). Disease Control Rate was achieved in 14 (93.33%) patients. The mPFS was 5.22 months (interquartile range [IQR], 4.27–7.85 months). The mOS was 8.97 months (IQR, 5.65–13.70 months). Conclusions: In this study, the dose of the chemotherapeutics and the schedule of the transcatheter pancreatic arterial chemotherapy perfusion were shown to be safe, well-tolerated, and effective for the relief of clinical symptoms and CBR. These advantages can quickly establish the treatment belief and improve patient quality of life. This regimen requires further investigation in patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xanthan gum (XG) (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%) has been added to wheat‐highland barley noodle (WHBN, 50:50) for improving noodle texture and quality. The structural, rheological, gelatinization, cooking, and textural properties of WHBN were studied. XRD results showed increased addition of XG reduced the relative crystallinity of WHBN. Increased XG in WHBN enhanced the peak viscosity, trough viscosity, breakdown value, final viscosity, and setback, whereas decreased the pasting temperature of WHBN. Rheological studies showed the addition of XG increased the storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) of WHBN dough. Water uptake of noodles was increased from 140.42% (WHBN) to 154.10% (WHBN‐1.5%XG), whereas, cooking loss was reduced from 8.84% to 7.45% correspondingly. Textural profile analysis exhibited 1.5%XG addition increased the hardness of WHBN from 365.43 to 1063.29 g. Overall, 1.5%XG addition to WHBN appeared to be the most viable for improving structural, rheological, pasting, textural, and cooking qualities of WHBN. Practical applications: This study showed the improving effect of xanthan gum on wheat‐highland barley noodle regarding to structural, rheological, gelatinization, cooking, and textural properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A soy protein isolate-gallic acid (SPI-GA) complex was synthesized, mediated using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride and N-hydroxysuccinimide. Different amounts of Fe3+ were then added to the SPI-GA complex to produce hydrogels (SPA@Fe) containing metal-phenolic network without heating the protein. Spectral analysis revealed that these hydrogels contained multiple modes of cross-linking, such as Schiff bases, hydrogen bonds, and coordination bonds. Coordination bonds formed between GA and Fe3+ mainly had a coordination number of three, and they changed the structure of the protein. Furthermore, these coordination bonds also endowed SPA@Fe with a more compact crosslinked network, thus improving the hydrogel's textural characteristics, thermal stability, storage modulus, and glucose adsorption capacity. The SPA@Fe hydrogel exhibited the best performance when the molar ratio of GA to Fe3+ was 1, with the thermal stability, hardness, springiness, and glucose adsorption capacity being 3.9, 1.84, 1.22, and 1.93 times higher than those of the SPI-GA hydrogel, respectively. Moreover, in-vitro digestion tests showed that SPA@Fe could control the release of loaded curcumin, had good capacity for adsorbing bile salt, and showed delayed degradation. This hydrogel system may offer a safe and feasible way to deliver bioactive substances such as curcumin. [Display omitted] • Metal-phenolic networks (MPN) was prepared by chelating GA and Fe. • MPN is used as a green cross-linking agent for SPI to obtain hydrogels. • The composite hydrogels are thermally stable with excellent mechanical properties. • Adjustment of the hydrogel characteristics allows the controlled release of curcumin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiofrequency (RF) coaxial cables are one of the vital components for the power sources of capacitively coupled plasmas (CCPs), by which the RF power is transferred to excite the plasma. Usually, the cables can be treated as transmission lines (TLs). However, few studies of TLs in CCP power sources were conducted due to the nonlinear coupling between TLs and the plasma. In this work, we developed a numerical scheme of TLs based on the Lax–Wendroff method and realized the nonlinear bidirectional coupling among the lumped-element model, transmission line model, and electrostatic particle-in-cell model. Based on the combined model, three discharge patterns were found, including weak matching state, normal state, and over matching state. The great differences among the three patterns indicated that the TLs could change the impedance matching of the device and significantly affect the plasma properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This retrospective study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of microwave ablation for lung tumors adjacent to the interlobar fissures. Methods: From May 2020 to April 2021, 59 patients with 66 lung tumors (mean diameter, 16.9 ± 7.7 mm; range, 6–30 mm) adjacent to the interlobar fissures who underwent microwave ablation at our institution were identified and included in this study. Based on the relationship between the tumor and the interlobar fissure, tumors can be categorized into close to the fissure, causing the fissure, and involving the fissure. The complete ablation rate, local progression‐free survival, complications, and associated factors were analyzed. Results: All 66 histologically proven tumors were treated using computed tomography‐guided microwave ablation. The complete ablation rate was 95.5%. Local progression‐free survival at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months were 89.4%, 83.3%, 74.2%, and 63.6%, respectively. The complications included pneumothorax (34.8%), pleural effusion (24.2%), cavity (18.2%), and pulmonary infection (7.6%). There were statistical differences in the incidence of pneumothorax, cavity, and delayed complications between the groups with and without antenna punctures through the fissure. Conclusions: Microwave ablation is a safe and effective treatment for lung tumor adjacent to the interlobar fissure. Antenna puncturing though the interlobar fissure may be a potential risk factor for pneumothorax, cavity, and delayed complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking advantage of the intrinsic photocatalysis of TiO2, hydrophilic reactor arrays were lithographically patterned on a hydrophobic paper via a simple UV irradiation. As a proof-of-concept, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was used as the model analyte for colorimetric analysis. As ALP can induce hydrolysis of pyrophosphate-Zn(II) framework, the released Zn2+ ions are subsequently coordinated with red-colored zincon to form blue-colored zincon-Zn(II) chelate complex, and these color differences were applied for further colorimetric assay. The sensing platform showed response to ALP ranging from 20 ~ 800 U L−1 with a detection limit of 3 U L−1, and the recoveries of ALP in serum samples were in the range 95.7 ~ 104.5% with relative standard deviations from 2.10 to 3.84%. Additionally, the distinct wettability features of the proposed sensing platform effectively prevent lateral fluid spread out of hydrophilic reactors, thus allowing not only the use of minimum amount of analyte but it has also a high potential for simultaneous quantification of multiple samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an iterative method for nonlinear transmission lines (TLs) based on the Lax-Wendroff method has been established to describe a bidirectional coupling model of nonlinear lumped-element models, nonlinear transmission line models, and particle-in-cell (PIC) models. The proposed self-consistent global circuit model is achieved through the introduction of the charge conservation equation at the upper plate as the Robin boundary condition and its coupling with the PIC method used for plasma simulation. The effectiveness of the proposed model is validated through five numerical experiments, including nonlinear transmission line coupling to lumped circuits, and the most general case of plasma-TLs-lumped elements model (LEM) coupling systems. This non-linear global circuit coupling model provides a powerful tool for simulating the complex behavior of various physical systems, including but not limited to capacitively coupled plasmas, vacuum electronic devices, and Z-pinches. • This work presents a non-linear bidirectional coupling model merging transmission line, lumped element, and PIC models. • The method uses generalized circuit equations for IMN solving, and charge and Poisson equations for the NTLM coupling. • Five numerical experiments validate the method's effectiveness and significant impact on plasma discharge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The harsh physiological environment of the gastrointestinal tract can significantly affect the stability, antioxidant activity, and bioactivity of blueberry anthocyanidins (An), which is usually addressed by intestinal targeting co-delivery of An and other antioxidant substances. However, the modification, synthesis of vehicle and subsequent co-encapsulation procedure involved in this tactic are not conducive to practical application. Herein, we propose an easy method of constructing a biocompatible vehicle with broad-spectrum ROS scavenging performance to enhance the bioactivity of An through synergistic intestinal targeted mucoadhesion, that is, a nanogel (Mgel) was prepared by using thiol-contained sodium alginate, selenized konjac glucomannan and crosslinking with calcium lactate for the intestinal targeted delivery of An (Mgel@An). We evaluated the loading behavior of Mgel on An, as well as the enhancement of Mgel on the stability and bioactivity of An. Mgel@An maintained spherical structure in the stomach but disintegrated and exposed functional groups for synergistic mucoadhesion after treatment with simulated intestinal fluids. Mgel@An exhibited broad-spectrum free radical scavenging activity for •OH, •ABTS+ and •DPPH, and also showed a mucin absorbed amount of 162.03 ± 1.53 μg and 85.63 ± 1.40% bioaccessibility of An. Furthermore, the biosafe Mgel@An extended the maximum lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans by enhancing the activity of antioxidases, inhibiting the expression of aging key genes (daf-2, age-1), and promoting the expression of anti-aging genes (daf-16, sod-3) , as well as anti-oxidative stress genes (sod-5, skn-1). This work highlights the great potential of the vehicle with ROS autonomous scavenging behavior for improving the bioactivity of An. [Display omitted] • The nanogel (Mgel) was developed to deliver blueberry anthocyanidin (An) in a pH responsive manner. • The Mgel provides An with delivery stability and pH, temperature, redox tolerance. • The blueberry An exhibits efficient intestinal targeted release under the protection of Mgel with synergistic mucoadhesion. • The Mgel can effectively improve the bioactivity of An through synergistic broad-spectrum ROS clearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The effect of ultrasound combined with L-histidine on protein was investigated. • The structures of SPI were changed by ultrasound combined with L-His. • L-His has different effects on protein function at different strengths. • Ultrasound combined with L-His improved the emulsifying properties of SPI. Herein, the effects of ultrasound-assisted L-histidine (L-His) on the physicochemical properties and conformation of soybean protein isolate (SPI) were investigated. Particle size, zeta potential, turbidity, and solubility were used to evaluate protein aggregation, and the relationship between structural and functional changes of the proteins was characterized using spectral analysis, surface hydrophobicity, emulsification, and antioxidant properties. After ultrasound-assisted L-His treatment, SPI exhibited a smaller particle size, higher solubility, and more homogeneous micromorphology owing to the decrease in alpha-helix content and subsequent increases in zeta potential and active sulfhydryl content. In addition, spectral analysis showed that L-His and SPI could form a complex, which changed the microenvironment of the amino acid residues in SPI, thus improving its emulsification and antioxidant properties. At the concentration of L-His was 0.3 % w/w, the nanocomplex had a smaller particle size (140.03 nm), higher ζ-potential (–23.63 mV), and higher emulsification stability (22.48 min). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding dominated the binding of QPH to EGCG. • At pH 7.0, EGCG endowed QPH with a faster adsorption rate at the oil–water interface. • Complexation with EGCG enhanced the antioxidant and emulsifying properties of QPH. • EGCG incorporation retarded protein hydrolysate-lipid co-oxidation in the emulsion. • The inhibition of co-oxidation in QPH emulsions by EGCG was better at pH 7.0. This study aimed to investigate the interaction, structure, antioxidant, and emulsification properties of quinoa protein hydrolysate (QPH) complexes formed with (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) at pH 3.0 and 7.0. Additionally, the effect of pH conditions and EGCG complexation on protein hydrolysate-lipid co-oxidation in QPH emulsions was explored. The results indicated that QPH primarily interacted with EGCG through hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds. This interaction led to alterations in the secondary structure of QPH, as well as a decrease in surface hydrophobicity and free SH content. Notably, the binding affinity between QPH and EGCG was observed to be higher at pH 7.0 compared to pH 3.0. Consequently, QPH-EGCG complexes exhibited more significant enhancement in antioxidant and emulsification properties at pH 7.0 than pH 3.0. The pH level also influenced the droplet size, ζ-potential, and interfacial composition of emulsions formed by QPH and QPH-EGCG complexes. Compared to QPH stabilized emulsions, QPH-EGCG stabilized emulsions were more capable of mitigating destabilization during storage and displayed fewer lipid oxidation products, carbonyl generation, and sulfhydryl groups and fluorescence loss, which implied better oxidative stability of the emulsions. Furthermore, the QPH-EGCG complexes formed at pH 7.0 exhibited better inhibition of protein hydrolysate-lipid co-oxidation. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights into the potential application of QPH and its complexes with EGCG in food processing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy atom effect is beneficial to delayed fluorescence by enlarging spin–orbit coupling (SOC). The introduction of halogen atoms to luminogenic molecules is a widely used approach to realize heavy atom effect, but the positions of halogen atoms may exert quite different impacts on the photophysical properties of the molecules. To confirm this hypothesis, herein, bromine atoms are introduced on a delayed fluorescence luminogen comprised of benzoyl acceptor and phenoxazine and phenylcarbazole donors at different positions. The resultant luminogens show great differences in photoluminescence (PL) efficiencies and delayed fluorescence lifetimes in solid state, which could be attributed to different orbital contribution ratios of bromine atoms to molecular frontier orbitals and thus varied SOC interactions, as revealed by spectroscopy, crystallography, and theoretical calculation. The luminogens with bromine atoms on the phenylcarbazole units hold much better PL properties than those with bromine atoms on other positions, and behave efficiently as emitters in organic light‐emitting diodes, furnishing high external quantum efficiencies of up to 28.6% and small efficiency roll‐offs. The structure–property relationship gained in this work can provide guidance for the further design of efficient luminescent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cisplatin has long been a first-line chemotherapeutic agent in the treatment of cancer, largely for solid tumors. During the course of the past two decades, autophagy has been identified in response to cancer treatments and almost uniformly detected in studies involving cisplatin. There has been increasing recognition of autophagy as a critical factor affecting tumor cell death and tumor chemoresistance. In this review and commentary, we introduce four mechanisms of resistance to cisplatin followed by a discussion of the factors that affect the role of autophagy in cisplatin-sensitive and resistant cells and explore the two-sided outcomes that occur when autophagy inhibitors are combined with cisplatin. Our goal is to analyze the potential for the combinatorial use of cisplatin and autophagy inhibitors in the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capacitively coupled plasmas (CCPs) are widely used in plasma processing applications, where efficient power coupling between the radio frequency (RF) source and the plasma is crucial. In practical CCP systems, impedance matching networks (IMNs) are employed to minimize power reflection. However, the presence of coaxial cables can significantly impact plasma impedance and matching performance. We develop a comprehensive simulation framework for the IMN design of CCPs, fully considering the effects of RF coaxial cables. The model self-consistently couples a distributed transmission line (TL) model, a lumped-element circuit model, and an electrostatic particle-in-cell model. This coupled model is used to investigate the impact of coaxial cables on matching performance under various discharge conditions and cable configurations. The simulation results indicate that the optimal power transmission efficiency was achieved after 6 matching iterations. The power coupled to the CCP increased from 2.7 W before matching to 180.9 W, and the reflection coefficient ultimately decreased to 0.003. The results also reveal that neglecting the cables will lead to a decrease in the power dissipated in the CCP. The proposed method demonstrates effectiveness in achieving impedance matching for different gas pressures (75–300 mTorr) and cable lengths. It can be concluded that the matching speed is faster for an appropriate cable length. This work provides valuable insights into the role of TLs in CCP impedance matching and offers a practical tool for optimizing power delivery in realistic CCP systems with RF coaxial cables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Carbon emissions are forecasted under different development scenarios. • The Moran's I was positive and increased gradually from 2010 to 2020. • The carbon emission risks vary significantly across geographical areas in Yaan. • Low-carbon optimization can reduce 24.674 × 104 t of land use carbon emissions. Land use and cover change (LUCC) is a major driver of this rapid increase in atmospheric carbon. To reasonably plan various types of land use areas and mitigate the rate of growth of carbon emissions, this study takes Yaan, Sichuan province, as a case study. First, the calculation of Yaan's land use carbon emissions (LUCE) was approached by taking land use structure into account. Subsequently, the spatiotemporal distribution of LUCE was evaluated by employing the carbon emission risk index and the Moran index. Finally, the multi-objective linear programming (MOP), the Markov chain, and the PLUS model were used to predict the spatial distribution of LUCC in 2030, including natural development scenarios (NDS) and low-carbon optimization development scenarios (LODS). According to the findings, the impervious surface is identified as the principal contributor to LUCE, while the forest is recognized as the principal absorbers of carbon. The carbon emissions in typical mountainous areas are distributed in cities and generally concentrate towards the plains in the northeast direction. Under the LODS, LUCE decrease significantly. For both NDS and LODS, the overall trend of land development direction in Yaan is "northeast-southwest" from 2020 to 2030. These results could provide some suggestions for low-carbon land use in cities like Yaan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blue luminescent materials are always highly desired for organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) but the electroluminescence (EL) performances for most blue emitters still need to be improved in both efficiency and stability. In this work, four bipolar molecules with twisted donor‐acceptor structures (PIPD‐MP‐DPA, PIPD‐MP‐IMDB, PIPD‐MP‐DMAC, and PIPD‐MP‐DPAC) are designed and synthesized. These molecules possess good thermal and electrochemical stabilities, and exhibit strong deep‐blue photoluminescence. Their non‐doped OLEDs show deep‐blue EL emissions at 418–438 nm, and high maximum external quantum efficiencies (ηext,max) of up to 4.4% with a CIEy value of only 0.078. Furthermore, the phosphorescent OLEDs (PhOLEDs) based on PIPD‐MP‐DPA host achieve excellent ηext,max of 25.9% and 28.0% for green and orange, respectively, with small efficiency roll‐offs. In addition, PIPD‐MP‐DPA is also employed to construct hybrid white OLEDs (WOLEDs), giving high ηext,max of 21.6% for two‐color WOLEDs, and 16.3% for four‐color WOLEDs. In brief, these bipolar materials reveal outstanding EL performances in deep‐blue fluorescent, phosphorescent, and hybrid white OLEDs, indicating huge potential applications in display and lighting techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Alkaline-treated soybean protein isolate (SPI) had better functional properties. • The affinity of treated SPI and (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) were enhanced. • Antioxidant activity and EGCG bioaccessibility were improved. Polyphenols are readily affected by environmental factors, such as heat and light, which cause them to degrade; however, the functional properties of polyphenols can be protected by complexing them with proteins. In this study, we investigate the effects of acid and alkali treatments on the functional properties of soybean protein isolate (SPI) and interactions between the treated protein and (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). The results show that alkali treatment (pH 12–7) affects the structure and functional performance of the protein more significantly than acid treatment (pH 2–7) because the protein structure unfolds, resulting in improved solubility, surface hydrophobicity, and emulsification. In addition, because alkali treatment can change the structure of a protein more than acid treatment, its structure loosens. The interactions between alkali-treated proteins and EGCG were also found to be stronger than those of acid-treated proteins and the control protein, and EGCG binds to a protein through van der Waals forces and hydrophobic interactions; these interactions protect EGCG from degradation, ensuring that its antioxidant properties are maintained and its bioavailability rate is improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determination of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is crucial for cancer diagnosis and therapy at an early stage. However, extremely low concentration of CTCs in peripheral blood makes the detection of CTCs challenging. In this study, a reusable cytosensor was developed for rapid detection of CTCs based on excellent photoelectrochemical (PEC) characteristic of semiconductor nanoarrays. Using typical breast cancer cell, MCF-7 cell, as a target model, a PEC sensing platform was constructed with polymerized aminophenylboronic acid (APBA) layer coated CdS/ZnO nanorod arrays, exhibiting outstanding performance for the capture and detection of CTCs. In this design, the polymerized APBA provides abundant binding sites for capturing terminal sialic acid (SA) molecules in CTCs. As a result, the PEC cytosensor shows good sensitivity and specificity with concentrations ranging from 50 to 1.0 × 106 cells/mL MCF-7 cells. Moreover, the PEC cytosensor can be rapidly and effectively recovered via a short-time bias triggered cell release and subsequent repair of APBA. This study establishes a new approach to refine a PEC cytosensor for stable monitoring and provides a robust PEC electrode with high sensitivity and low cost for clinical diagnosis related to CTCs. Image 1 • A reusable PEC cytosensor with high sensitivity and low cost was designed. • Capture of CTCs was achieved via specific binding between APBA and SA. • PEC cytosensor can be rapidly refreshed by using a bias and regenerating APBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the uncertainties and improve the river discharge modeling accuracy, several topography‐based hydrological models (TOPMODEL), generated by different combinations of parameters, were incorporated into an ensemble learning framework with the boosting method. Both the Baohe River Basin (BRB) with humid climate, and the Linyi River Basin (LRB) with semi‐arid climate were chosen for model testing. Observed daily precipitation, pan evaporation and stream flow data were used for model development and testing. Different Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiency coefficients, the coefficient of determination and the Root Mean Square Error were adopted to implement a comprehensive assessment on model performances. Testing results indicated that ensemble learning method could improve the modeling accuracy by comparing with the best single TOPMODEL. During the validation periods, the boosting method could increase the modeling accuracy by 9 and 16% for BRB and LRB, respectively. The ensemble method significantly narrowed the gap of model performances over watersheds with different climatic conditions. Hence, using the ensemble learning to enhance the feasibility of hydrological models for different climatic regions is promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing demand for gluten-free bakery products from groups with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and/or health consciousness. Besides bread products, chemically leavened gluten-free products such as cookies, biscuits, cakes, muffins, and crackers are receiving increasing interests due to their convenience and unique taste and texture. Many research papers have been published in recent years; however, no comprehensive review has yet been available in this area. This review examines various gluten-free non-bread bakery goods with respect to formulation, preparation, and properties of dough and batter and the resultant products. Other functional ingredients such as proteins, fibers, hydrocolloids, and emulsifiers used to improve product properties are discussed. Challenges of developing the gluten-free bakery products, such as technological limitation, nutritional quality, and sensory properties are addressed. Knowledge and information gaps in this research area are identified, and future research needs are recommended. Rice flour is the mostly used gluten-free flour for these purposes, and it is often formulated with flours, starches, and proteins from cereals, pulses, pseudocereals, and other plant materials to achieve optimal batter or dough properties and bakery product quality. Although the composition of gluten-free composite flours and formulation dominate product texture and sensory traits, other factors such as grain milling methods, flour particle size, and flour treatment could also have some impact. The current gluten-free cookies, biscuits, cakes, muffins, and crackers are still less desirable than wheat-based products. Further research is warranted in developing and evaluating more palatable and nutritious gluten-free products. Image 1 • Gluten-free non-bread bakeries of cookie, biscuit, cake, and cracker are reviewed. • Rice and its composite flours are widely used for gluten-free bakery products. • Flour composition and formulation dominate dough/batter and product properties. • Achieving desired flour functionality and sensory quality is yet challenging. • Further research is warranted in improving product palatability and nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple pomace, rich in fiber and polyphenolics, has been incorporated in noodles to introduce health benefits. The pomace was dried to a final moisture content of 4.8% (wt/wt) and finely ground into powder before being added (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% flour weight basis, fwb) to Chinese raw noodles. Noodles were evaluated for color, cooking loss, water uptake, texture analysis profile, and tensile strength. With increasing levels of apple pomace, the whiteness index of the noodles decreased from 77.2 to 54.1 at 0 hr, cohesiveness reduced from 70% to 46%, tensile strength reduced from 47 g to 30 g, while cooking loss increased from 4% to 6.4% and water uptake increased from 67% to 77%. Apple pomace did not affect the hardness and adhesiveness of noodles, but affected the gumminess, chewiness, and springiness to different extents. Overall, 5% to 10% apple pomace levels appeared to be most viable for refined Chinese raw noodles. Practical applications: This study shows the promising potential of apple pomace as a fiber‐enriched alternative to refined noodles. The apple pomace addition alters the quality and textural analysis of Chinese raw noodles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalysts, such as TiO2, are widely used in photoreduction. However, drawbacks like their wide band gap and short carrier lifetime lead to lower efficiencies with their use. Introducing defects and forming heterostructures of TiO2 could extend the carrier's light-harvesting range from UV to visible light and enhance its lifetime. Herein, an electron-beam irradiation-defected TiO2 was induced in MIL-88B(Fe). The structure of the material was characterized using XRD, FT-IR, TEM, HRTEM, and XPS techniques. Remarkably, TiO2 under 300 kGy electron-beam irradiation performed the best with a series of 0, 100, 300, and 500 kGy irradiation ratios. PL and UV–vis DRS were utilized to measure the material's optical properties. The introduction of MIL-88B(Fe) expanded the light response range, reduced the optical band gap, and lengthened the carrier lifetime of the defective TiO2 composite photocatalysts, resulting in superior TC photoreduction capabilities of 88B5%300, which degraded 97% of tetracycline (10 mg/L) in water after 120 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although studies have explored how soil microbial diversity and soil multifunctionality respond to land‐use change at local scales, they have rarely been explored at larger scales and across different climatic and soil environmental conditions. By sampling 40 paired sites of land‐use change from natural forests to agricultural lands (including croplands and orchards) along the middle and lower Yangtze River, combined with a global meta‐analysis, we investigated the effects of land‐use change and climate on the alpha and beta diversity of soil bacterial and fungal functional groups (FGs) and their associated soil multifunctionality at a regional scale. Our results showed that land‐use change strongly changed the diversity of soil bacterial and fungal FGs and decreased multifunctionality, which was supported by our meta‐analysis at a global scale. Direct effects of land‐use change and climate and their interaction, together with changes in soil environmental variables, were the main determinants of the land‐use change‐induced changes in the diversity of soil bacterial or fungal FGs. The land‐use change‐induced decrease in multifunctionality was mainly associated with the direct effect of forest conversion, soil fertility and diversity of fungal FGs. Furthermore, climate also regulated the effects of land‐use change on multifunctionality by affecting soil fertility and fungal FGs diversity along the Yangtze River. Synthesis and applications. Taken together, our findings highlight the important effects of land‐use change, climate and their interactions on microbial diversity and multifunctionality and suggest that effective land‐use management and climate change mitigation strategies should be adopted to protect biodiversity and ecosystem function in the Yangtze River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory injury is an important pathological factor for the formation of atherosclerotic plaque. It is well known that Puerarin and Tanshinone IIA (Pue-Tan) can significantly reduce interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels and delay the atherosclerosis (AS) process clinically in China. Previous evidence has shown that the Succinate/HIF-1α/IL-1β inflammatory signaling axis (Succinate axis) promotes the progression of atherosclerotic inflammatory plaques. It is not clear whether Pue-Tan inhibits inflammatory plaques by reducing the level of IL-1β through the succinate signaling axis. Find out the interaction between Pue-Tan targets and the succinate axis by means of network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis and to further confirm whether Pue-Tan can inhibit vascular inflammation and delay the formation of atherosclerotic inflammatory plaques by targeting the succinate signaling axis. Firstly, animal experiments were conducted to verify the changing relationship between Succinate and IL-1β under Pue-Tan intervention. Secondly, network pharmacology approach was employed to uncover the specific targets of Pue-Tan in the intervention of AS from multiple levels of components, proteins, and pathways, and at the same time, the target must be a key factor of the succinate signaling axis. Autodock vina1.5.6 was applied to molecular docking for Pue-Tan and target protein. Subsequently, cells experiment and animal experiment were performed to verify Pue-Tan inhibiting the inflammatory progression of atherosclerosis by targeting succinate signaling axis. Firstly, we first found that the reduction of IL-1β was positively correlated with succinate in the serum of Pue-Tan-treated mice. Secondly, network pharmacology compared with molecular docking showed that hypoxia-induced factor-1α (HIF-1α) was the key target of Pue-Tan and the key node of succinate singling axis. Finally, in vitro study, Pue-Tan significantly reduced the factors of succinate axis just as HIF-1α siRNA; in vivo study, we confirmed a decreased expression of succinate axis and ICAM-1 in the aorta of ApoE−/− mice under Pue-Tan intervention, which was consistent with the in vitro results. This study confirmed that Pue-Tan blocked the succinate axis by targeting HIF-1α to prevent the formation of atherosclerotic inflammatory plaques and delay the pathological process of AS. Network Pharmacology, Bioinformatics of Molecular Docking, and Molecular Biology Validation can be used as a effective way to discover and verify the pharmacological mechanism of TCM. [Display omitted] • The experiment is not a purposeless exploration, but rather a limitation of therapeutic targets within the established signal axis. • In this study, researchers found scientific problems in clinical medication, and carried out the following studies in order to explain the anti-atherosclerosis mechanism of Pue-Tan. • Animal experiments were used to initially define the entry point (succinate signal axis) of the research, and network pharmacology was used to objectively determine that the drug target was the key factor of the target signal axis. • Finally, the scientific hypothesis was intuitively verified through molecular biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Biochar is extensively used as an effective soil amendment for environmental remediation. In addition to its strong contaminant sorption capability, biochar also plays an important role in chemical transformation of contaminant due to its inherent redox-active moieties. However, the transformation efficiency of inorganic contaminants is generally very limited when the direct adsorption of contaminants on biochar is inefficient. The present study demonstrates the role of Fe ion as an electron shuttle to enhance Cr(VI) reduction by biochars. Batch experiments were conducted to examine the effects of Fe(III) levels, pyrolysis temperature of biochar, initial solution pH, and biochar dosage on the efficiency of Cr(VI) removal. Results showed a significant enhancement in Cr(VI) reduction with an increase in Fe(III) concentration and a decrease of initial pH. Biochar produced at higher pyrolysis temperatures (e.g. , 700°C) favored Cr(VI) removal, especially in the presence of Fe(III), while a higher biochar dosage proved unfavorable likely due to the agglomeration or precipitation of biochar. Speciation analysis of Fe and Cr elements on the surface of biochar and in the solution further confirmed the role of Fe ion as an electron shuttle between biochar and Cr(VI). The present findings provide a potential strategy for the advanced treatment of Cr(VI) at low concentrations as well as an insight into the environmental fate of Cr(VI) and other micro-pollutants in soil or aqueous compartments containing Fe and natural or engineered carbonaceous materials. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Interactions of order timing, tax planning, and Arm's Length Regulation, are characterized. • Pricing decisions are powerful to coordinate co-opetition relationship with the local rival in OBOR. • MNF might order lately by charging his rival a high wholesale price and reducing his own sales volume. • When tax difference is large, MNF prefers early ordering and charging the rival a low wholesale price. • We identify a moderate tax difference to coordinate profit and sustainability. Abstract Many one-belt-one-road (OBOR) markets are attracting multinational firms (MNFs) by offering preferential tax policies. Being aware of this, should a MNF build a retailing division in the low-tax OBOR market for the benefits of tax-planning, especially when there exists local competition? To answer this question, we consider a co-opetitive supply chain comprising a Chinese MNF and his local rival, who buys goods from the MNF for reselling. The MNF has a manufacturing division located in a high-tax region and a retailing division in the low-tax OBOR market. Both the MNF's retailing division (at a transfer price) and his local rival (at a wholesale price) source from the MNF's manufacturing division. We focus on the MNF's order timing decisions. Interestingly, we find that, the MNF might give up the first-mover advantage by charging his local rival a high wholesale price and reducing his own sales volume, when the tax difference is small. In contrast, when the tax difference is large, the MNF prefers early ordering and hence, charge the local rival a low wholesale price. We further study supply chain sustainability issues, and identify a moderate range of the tax difference, where the MNF's early ordering results in both profitable sustainability and environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Object instance detection has garnered much concern in many practical applications, especially in the field of intelligent service robot. Imagine robots working in real scenes, one may expect the instance detection system to be light-weighted to enable mobile or embedded system deployment. Focusing on reconstructing a smaller learning network from a noted deep model,we have pruned Alexnet to a compressed model with fewer parameters but equivalent accuracy, denoted as BING-Pruned Alexnet(B-PA). Our method first utilizes BING(Binarized Normed Gradient) to compute bounding boxes, then builds a pruned network for recognition by reducing neurons and cutting fully connected layers on the classic architecture Alexnet. Since the training samples for instance detection are limited and of small variation, we extend the training data by combining data augmentation with synthetic generation. In the end, our B-PA network occupies only 5MB, which is 50 times smaller than the original Alexnet, but can still achieve Alexnet-level accuracy when recognizing on GMU Kitchen dataset. Numerical experiments are conducted to compare our algorithm with the state-of-art instance detection algorithms on a self-made BHID database and two public database i.e.,WRGB-D dataset and GMU Kitchen dataset, which demonstrate that B-PA reduces the storage requirements of neural networks substantially while preserving generalization performance on object instance detection. Highlights • A B-PA architecture is proposed with AlexNet-level accuracy but 50x fewer parameters. • This pre-pruning technique builds a light weighted network without pre-training. • The data extension strategy efficiently solves the data deficiencies problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Hardwood vessel-inspired chitosan-based sponge was prepared. • The sponge showed superior strength, MPs adsorption and recycling durability. • Strength was enhanced by double cross-linked network and biomimetic structure. • MPs adsorption efficiency was increased due to the biomimetic structure. • Adsorption mechanism of sponge was analyzed and discussed in this work. Microplastics (MPs) in water that are hazardous and recalcitrant pose formidable risks for human health, necessitating the development of efficient, sustainable removal methods. This study introduces a chitosan/bacterial cellulose sponge with superior compressibility and remarkable recyclability for polystyrene (PS) MPs rapid adsorption, inspired by the robustness and directional, rapid nutrient transport characteristics of hardwood vessels. The unique structure of sponge, featuring tunable oriented cellular channels and strong walls, is achieved via temperature-controlled directional freezing and double cross-linking. This structure enables the sponge to maintain high wet compressive reversibility, with a retention rate of 94.9% after 100 compression cycles. Moreover, the as-prepared sponge demonstrates a high MPs adsorption capacity of 0.26 mg·g−1. Owing to its excellent wet compressibility and adsorption performance, the sponge demonstrates remarkable cycling removal efficiency of 47.30% after 20 cycles. The experimental results together with theoretical fitting provide insight into how the hardwood-like structure and active sites of Chitosan enhance MPs adsorption. This work advances the development of efficient and sustainable MPs removal technologies using biomimetic and high-performance adsorbents and expands the insight into the MPs adsorption mechanism by chitosan-based sponge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • DPC@Pt@M possessed redox responsibility and excellent targeting ability. • The Pt nanozyme dropped in the nanomicelles could enhance SDT. • DPC@Pt@M improved the synergetic efficacy of sono-chemotherapeutics. Due to the complexity of tumorigenesis, it is hard to completely cure tumors with a single tumor therapy. Combined sonodynamic therapy and chemotherapy (sono-chemotherapy) based on the stimulus-responsive nano-delivery system is a prospective antitumor strategy that has demonstrated synergistic treatment effects and higher treatment effects than any monotherapy. The multiple diselenide linkages-contained D SeDP-alt-PEG conjugated with C e6/ P TX to yield prodrugs DC and DP micelles, and p la t inum nanozymes that possessed multiple enzyme activities were loaded in DC to form stable micelles (DC@Pt). The nanomicelles were modified with the homologous tumor cell membrane (DPC@Pt@M) to generate a REDOX-responsive bionic nanoplatform to realize the sono-chemotherapy combined treatment for colon cancer. As a redox-responsive nanoplatform, DPC@Pt@M exhibited excellent water solubility and bioavailability, and good targeting ability both in vitro and in vivo to realize the controlled release of Ce6 and PTX at the tumor site. Pt nanozymes acted as a cascade catalyst (SOD-CAT, SOD-POD) to alleviate hypoxia and improve SDT. Under ultrasonic irradiation, the novel micelle DPC@Pt@M increased ROS production and induced apoptosis efficiently in vitro and in vivo to improve sono-chemotherapeutic efficiency for colon cancer. Therefore, sonodynamic/chemo therapies demonstrated a clear synergistic effect, and this research is expected to provide a paradigm of combination therapy strategies for colon cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]