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A growing number of PhD scholars graduated from Western universities are returning to China, and this raises a range of research topics for scholars. Previous studies of these returnee scholars have mainly focused on the challenges of publishing in English but have ignored their difficulties in choosing between international and/or local academic communities. Academic publishing is regarded as a social practice in this study. Based on the data collected from 102 Chinese returnee scholars in the humanities and social sciences and drawing on the concept of discourse community, it is found that these volunteers’ publication practices are shaped by the culturally specific academic norms established in particular academic communities. This study highlights the differences between international and local discourse communities and identifies factors influencing Chinese returnee scholars’ publication practices. The ways in which they seek to exercise agency and strategies for publishing in the international and local academic communities are considered. The complexity of these returnee scholars’ publication practices is revealed through their lived experiences, adding depth and detail to current research into returnee scholars across the globe.

Despite the accumulating body of research in sociophonetics exploring gay men’s pitch characteristics (i.e., mean vocal pitch and pitch range), previous studies usually investigate a uniform concept of ‘gay men’s speech’ by comparing heterosexual and gay men’s pitch properties. However, results were contesting and inconsistent across various studies regarding the pitch properties (pitch ranges or mean voice pitch) of gay men. Instead of treating gay men’s speech as a unified speaking style, this paper investigates the multiplicity of gay speaking styles by exploring the intra-group pitch variations among 20 pairs of Chinese gay couples in their self-shot videos. Specifically, the present study compares the pitch properties, including the mean vocal pitch, pitch range, and pitch variability, between those Chinese gay men who selfposition as ‘lao gong’ (husband) and those who self-identify as ‘lao po’ (wife) in their love vlogs (video blogs). These videos normally last from 5 to 10 minutes on a Chinese online video sharing platform - ‘Bilibili.’ After dividing these gay couples’ utterances into intonational phrases, I used the speech analysis software named Praat to measure the average pitch, pitch range (the maximum pitch value minus minimum pitch value), and pitch variability (the standard deviation of pitch values) on each intonational phrase. Compared with those ‘gay husbands,’ results showed that those ‘gay wives’ would speak with higherpitched voices (p < 0.05), wider pitch ranges (p < 0.0001), and more variable pitch values (p < 0.0001). When locating the discourse functions of these pitch characteristics in their vlogs, I argue that those ‘gay wives’ frequently utilize the so-called ‘pitch dynamism’ to construct an expressive and cute ‘wife’ persona in intimate discourse.

This study aimed to investigate the evaluation of biomechanical changes in articular cartilage in patients after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based on a three-dimensional (3D) finite element model. The data of 90 patients undergoing arthroscopic ACL reconstruction in the hospital were collected and divided into the stable group (54 cases) and the unstable group (36 cases). A load of up to 134N was applied to the 3D finite element model, and the kinematics of knee flexion at 0°, 30°, 60°, and 90° were examined. The tibial anteversion, tibial rotation, and ACL/graft tension were recorded in the 3D finite element model, which was randomly divided into the normal group (intact group, n = 30), the ACL rupture group (deficient group, n = 30), and the anatomical reconstruction group (anatomical group, n = 30). When the graft was fixed at 0°, the anterior tibial translation at 30°, 60°, and 90° in the anatomic group was 8–19% higher than the normal value under 134 N anterior load. The tibial internal rotation in the anatomic group was 18% and 28% higher than the normal value at 30° and 90°. When the graft was fixed at 30°, the anterior tibial translation at 60° and 90° of the anatomic group was 15% higher than the normal value. The tibial internal rotation at 90° of the anatomic group was 16% higher than the normal value, and the above differences had statistical significance P < 0.05 . MRI images were used to assess the bone tunnel angle, and the statistical analysis by the independent-samples t-test showed that there were significant differences in the bone tunnel angle between the stable group and the unstable group P < 0.05 . Currently, based on the 3D finite element model, MRI can accurately evaluate the postoperative effect of anatomical ACL reconstruction in the position, diameter, and angle of tibial and femoral bone tunnels, which can be applied to clinical promotion.

Cyclodextrin metal-organic frameworks (CD-MOFs) possess great potential in environmental applications due to their high specific surface area and good biocompatibility properties. However, the hydrophilicity of the CD-MOF hinders its ability to maintain a sustained release in water as a carrier. In this study, we prepared a CD-MOF that has codelivery ability for both phytochemicals [caffeic acid (CA)] and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and further incorporated this material (CA@Ag@CD-MOF) into the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix to construct a hybrid membrane. This hybrid membrane could effectively maintain the release capacity of the CD-MOF in water, while endowing PDMS with swelling ability in water. The hybrid membrane can achieve a sustained release for up to 48 h in water. In addition, the elastic modulus of the hybrid membrane increases by nearly 100%, and the swelling degree of the hybrid membrane in water increases by 42% compared with that of the pure PDMS membrane, indicating better mechanical properties. The hybrid membrane exhibits excellent antibacterial effects on

Drinking water disinfection is an essential process to assure public health all over the world. In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on UiO-66 (Zr) Metal-Organic Frameworks (Ag@UiO-66) is proposed as a potential water disinfection strategy. AgNPs are synthesized using polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as stabilizing agent, and sodium borohydride as reducing agent are subsequently embedded on UiO-66, a high-stability organometallic framework. The effect of premixing time, reaction time and reactant concentration on the loading rate of AgNPs on UiO-66 was investigated. The maximum load rate of AgNPs on UiO-66 could reach 13% when the premixing time is 3 h, the reaction time is 45 min and the concentration of AgNO3 is 10 μg/mL. The formation of AgNPs loaded on UiO-66 was observed and confirmed with ultraviolet and visible spectrophotometry (UV-Vis), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared emission spectroscopy (IES) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Ag@UiO-66 exhibited strong antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 64 and 128 μg/mL, respectively. The germicidal efficacy of Ag@UiO-66 enhanced significantly as the temperature rose from 4 °C to 37 °C. The results indicate that Ag@UiO-66 is potential candidate as a feasible water disinfection material.

Although intestinal microbiota play crucial roles in fish digestion and health, little is known about intestinal fungi in fish. This study investigated the intestinal fungal diversity of three coral reef fish (Lates calcarifer, Trachinotus blochii, and Lutjanus argentimaculatus) from the South China Sea using a culturable method. A total of 387 isolates were recovered and identified by sequencing their internal transcribed spacer sequences, belonging to 29 known fungal species. The similarity of fungal communities in the intestines of the three fish verified that the fungal colonization might be influenced by their surrounding environments. Furthermore, the fungal communities in different intestines of some fish were significantly different, and the number of yeasts in the hindgut was less than that in fore- and mid-intestines, suggesting that the distribution of fungi in fishes’ intestines may be related to the physiological functions of various intestinal segments. In addition, 51.4% of tested fungal isolates exhibited antimicrobial activity against at least one marine pathogenic microorganism. Notably, isolate Aureobasidium pullulans SCAU243 exhibited strong antifungal activity against Aspergillus versicolor, and isolate Schizophyllum commune SCAU255 displayed extensive antimicrobial activity against four marine pathogenic microorganisms. This study contributed to our understanding of intestinal fungi in coral reef fish and further increased the library of fungi available for natural bioactive product screening.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often results in persistent neurological dysfunction, which is closely associated with white matter injury. While the mechanisms underlying white matter injury after TBI remain unclear, recent research has implicated ferroptosis, a form of programmed cell death, in cognitive impairment after TBI. Ferritinophagy, a selective autophagic process that degrades ferritin and releases free iron. Here, we established a rat model of TBI and examined the expression of NCOA4, which mediates ferritin degradation through autophagy in lysosomes, to investigate whether ferritinophagy contributes to white matter injury after TBI. Our results showed that NCOA4 was overexpressed in the rat model of TBI, and knockdown of NCOA4 using shNCOA4 lentivirus infection inhibited ferroptosis induced by ferritinophagy. Furthermore, we found that treatment with ISRIB, a small molecule that selectively inhibits the integrated stress response, attenuated NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy and improved white matter injury. These findings suggest that NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy is a critical mechanism underlying white matter injury after TBI, and that ISRIB may hold promise as a therapeutic agent for treating this injury.

Cross-adaptation is one of the most important phenotypes in foodborne pathogens and poses a potential risk to food safety and human health. In this work, we found that pretreatment with acetic acid, citric acid, and lactic acid could induce subsequent heat tolerance development in S. aureus .

As one core of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), Guangdong is facing some serious coastal environmental problems. Fungi are more vulnerable to changes in coastal environments than bacteria and archaea. This study investigated the fungal diversity and composition by high-throughput sequencing and detected basic parameters of seven environmental factors (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus) at 11 sites. A total of 2056 fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to 147 genera in 6 phyla were recovered; Archaeorhizomyces (17.5%) and Aspergillus (14.19%) were the most dominant genera. Interestingly, a total of 14 genera represented the first reports of coastal fungi in this study. Furthermore, there were nine genera of fungi that were significantly correlated with environmental factors. FUNGuild analysis indicated that saprotrophs and pathogens were the two trophic types with the highest proportions. Saprotrophs were significantly correlated with total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP), while pathogens were significantly correlated with pH. This study provides new scientific data for the study of the diversity and composition of fungal communities in coastal ecosystems.

In order to reduce the elemental species produced in the recycling and melting of aluminum scrap and to improve the quality of pure aluminum and aluminum alloys, it is necessary to classify the different grades of aluminum scrap before melting. For the problem of classifying different grades of aluminum scrap, most existing studies are conducted using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for identification and classification, which requires a clean and flat metal surface and enormous equipment costs. In this study, we propose a new classification and identification method for different grades of aluminum scrap based on the ResNet18 network model, which improves the identification efficiency and reduces the equipment cost. The objects of this research are three grades of aluminum scrap: 1060, 5052, and 6061. The surface features of the three grades were compared using a machine vision algorithm; three different datasets, using RGB, HSV, and LBP, were built for comparison to find the best training dataset for subsequent datasets, and the hyperparameters of learning rate and batch size were tuned for the ResNet18 model. The results show that there was a differentiation threshold between different grades through the comparison of surface features; the ResNet18 network model trained the three datasets, and the results showed that RGB was the best dataset. With hyperparameter optimization of the ResNet18 model, the accuracy of final classification and recognition could reach 100% and effectively achieve the classification of different grades of aluminum scrap.

Unintended pregnancies (UIP) among unmarried sexually active college students in mainland China have emerged as a major reproductive health issue with detrimental personal and socioeconomic consequences. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with UIP among sexually active undergraduates in mainland China.Between September 8, 2019 and January 17, 2020, a total of 48,660 participants were recruited across the Chinese mainland to complete the self-administered, structured, online questionnaire. This analysis was restricted to 6347 sexually experienced, never-married 15-26 year old undergraduates. Pearson's Chi square tests and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify sociodemographic, familial and individual variables associated with UIP.The overall prevalence of UIP was 17.7%. More specifically, 19.5% of male college students reported they had unintentionally gotten a partner pregnant, while 14.9% of female college students became unintentionally pregnant. Students who experienced UIP were more likely to belong to the older age group (23-26 years), live with only one parent or live without parents at home, report that their family members approve of premarital sex, initiate sexual activity younger than 14 years old and have casual sex partners. Furthermore, females with multiple partners and males who came from low- income households, experienced sexual abuse, perceived difficulties in acquiring condoms and did not know how to use condoms correctly were also at higher risk of experiencing an unintended pregnancy.In order to prevent UIP, a comprehensive intervention measure should be taken to target older students and those engaging in risky sexual behaviors, work with young male students to improve condom use skills, improve the availability of free condoms, optimize the involvement of parents and other family members in their children's sex education.In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with UIP among sexually active undergraduates in mainland China. Between September 8, 2019 and January 17, 2020, a total of 48,660 participants were recruited from the Chinese mainland to complete the self-administered, structured, online questionnaire. This analysis was restricted to 6347 sexually experienced, never-married 15–26 year old undergraduates. Based on a social-ecological theoretical framework, we ran separate multivariate Logistic regression models for men and women to identify sociodemographic, familial and individual variables associated with UIP. Our findings indicate that the overall prevalence of UIP was 17.7%. More specifically, 19.5% of male college students reported they had unintentionally gotten a partner pregnant, while 14.9% of female college students became unintentionally pregnant. Students who experienced UIP were more likely to belong to the older age group, live with only one parent or live without parents at home, report that their family members approve of premarital sex, initiate sexual activity younger than 14 years old and have casual sex partners. Furthermore, females with multiple partners and males who came from low-income households, experienced sexual abuse, perceived difficulties in acquiring condoms and did not know how to use condoms correctly were also at higher risk of having an unintended pregnancy. In order to prevent UIP, a comprehensive intervention measure should be taken to target older students and those engaging in risky sexual behaviors, work with young male students to improve condom use skills, improve the availability of free condoms, optimize the involvement of parents and other family members in their children’s sex education.

Global food production sustainability and the demand for fresh and nutritious food necessitate the development of novel technologies to provide food with a long shelf life. Hurdle technologies combing several interventions can ensure microbial safety without inducing notable changes to food quality. Cold plasma, as a promising nonthermal technology, has increasingly attracted attention in food industry. Recently, cold plasma–based hurdles have been proposed as novel intervention strategies for microbial decontamination. This review summarizes currently existing cold plasma–based hurdle strategies, including thermal treatment and nonthermal techniques (e.g., organic acids, essential oils, ultrasound) that have been reported in the literature. In addition, we highlight some critical issues, including the microbial stress response, the processing parameters, and the effects on food quality, that need to be taken into account during the optimization and implementation of cold plasma–based hurdles. Cold plasma–based hurdles overcome certain limitations of individual cold plasma treatment to improve the inactivation efficacy and retain the maximum food quality attributes.

Antimicrobial photodynamic treatment (aPDT) is a light-based method developed for the inactivation of microorganisms. With the emergence of antifungal- and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, aPDT has been suggested as a promising microbial control strategy. The treatment is based on a combination of visible light, a photosensitizer (PS), and molecular oxygen. Illuminating the PS with adequate light in the presence of oxygen will result in the generation of abundant reactive oxygen species (ROS), which further react with multiple targets within microbial cells and eventually cause cell death. The risk of resistance development is low due to the multi-target mode of action of aPDT. The efficiency of aPDT for microbial inactivation on foods can be affected by several factors such as type and characteristics of the PS, light source, food surface geometry, environmental aspects, and microbial characteristics. Although still a concept, the application of aPDT has gained rapid acceptance in many different agri-food products and associated processes, including food production, industrial processing, storage, distribution, and retail. Most of the in vitro aPDT studies have provided evidence of significant antimicrobial effects, including cases in which viability was reduced up to eight orders of magnitude. Strong antimicrobial performance of aPDT was also reported for studies involving variable food matrices, including fruit and vegetables, meat products, and milk. This review provides up-to-date information on advances in the application of aPDT in the agri-food sector, including suitable photosensitizers, sources of light, microbial inactivation efficiency, the role of food matrix composition, potentiation effects, inactivation mechanisms, and potential or prospective applications in the food industry and in other areas of agriculture. Even though the field of aPDT is advancing rapidly, future research should aim at some topics, including (1) the complete analysis of the effects of the treatment on food matrices, (2) the inactivation of currently-neglected food spoilage microorganisms, and (3) comprehensive field evaluation of aPDT for the control of plant diseases, all of which are necessary in order for the treatment to find widespread use in the agri-food sector.

Background. The development of tissue engineering provides a new method for the clinical treatment of bone defects, but the problems of slow formation and slow vascularization of tissue engineered bone have always existed. Studies have shown that the combined culture system of vascular endothelial cells and adipose stem cells is superior to single cell in repairing bone defects. With the excellent proliferation ability, secretion of synthetic collagen and a variety of regulatory factors and fibroblasts can differentiate into osteoblasts and have the potential to be excellent seed cells involved in tissue engineering bone construction. Objective. To investigate the effects of combined culture of fibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells, and adipose stem cells on proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of adipose stem cells. Methods. The cells were divided into 4 groups: adipose stem cell group, adipose stem cell+vascular endothelial cell coculture group, adipose stem cell+fibroblast coculture group, and adipose stem cell+vascular endothelial cell+fibroblast coculture group. The morphological changes of the cells were observed under an inverted microscope. After 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 days of coculture, the proliferation of adipose stem cells in each group was detected by a CCK-8 method and the growth curve was plotted. Adipose stem cells in each group were stained with alizarin red and alkaline phosphatase at days 7, 14, 21, and 28. At the third week of coculture, Western blot was used to detect the expression level of bone morphogenetic protein 2 of adipose stem cells in each group. Results and Conclusions. (1) After 14 days of culture, some cells in the adipose stem cell+vascular endothelial cell+fibroblast coculture group fused into clumps and distributed in nests, while the adipose stem cells in the adipose stem cell group had a single cell morphology and no cell clusters were observed. (2) The cell growth curves were basically the same in each group, and the absorbance value increased gradually. The absorbance value of the adipocyte+vascular endothelial cell+fibroblast coculture group was the highest, followed by the adipocyte+fibroblast coculture group and then the adipocyte+fibroblast coculture group. (3) Alizarin red staining showed negative reaction in each group on the 7th day, and a small number of red positive cells gradually appeared in each group as time went on. On the 28th day, red positive cells were found in all groups, and most of them were in the coculture group of adipose stem cells+vascular endothelial cells+fibroblasts, showing red focal. The coculture group of adipose stem cells+vascular endothelial cells and adipose stem cells+fibroblasts was less, and the adipose stem cell group was the least. On day 28 of alkaline phosphatase staining, cells in each group had red positive particles, and the adipose stem cell+vascular endothelial cell+fibroblast coculture group and adipose stem cell+fibroblast coculture group had the most, followed by the adipose stem cell+vascular endothelial cell coculture group and then the adipose stem cell group. (4) Bone morphogenetic protein 2 was expressed in all groups, especially in adipose stem cell+fibroblast coculture group and adipose stem cell+vascular endothelial cell+ fibroblast coculture group. (5) Fibroblast could promote adipose stem cell osteogenic differentiation better than vascular endothelial cells, but the proliferation effect was not as good as vascular endothelial cells. The coculture system of fibroblast combined with vascular endothelial cells and adipose stem cells promoted the proliferation of adipose stem cells and the rapid and efficient differentiation of adipose stem cells into osteoblasts.

To investigate the efficacy of a fast rehabilitation program for the recovery of knee joint function after arthroscopic autologous hamstring tendon transplantation for reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), from January 1, 2017, to March 31, 2019, a total of 65 patients with ACL injury were randomly divided into a study group and a control group. Both groups were treated with autologous hamstring tendon to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament, arthroscopic transplantation, and decompression techniques. The research group was treated with a fast rehabilitation program. The control group was treated with traditional rehabilitation program. Knee flexion angles were measured at 2, 4, and 8 weeks postoperatively. KT-1000 knee anterior stability was measured at 3, 6, and 12 months after operation. Knee function was assessed by subjective knee function assessment scale (IKDC) and Lysholm knee score. The knee curvature, KT-1000 measurement, IKDC score, and Lysholm score were compared between the two groups before and after treatment. KT-1000 measured value, IKDC score, and Lysholm score in 2 groups were significantly improved 3, 6, and 12 months compared with those before treatment, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.001 ). Comparison between the two groups: 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks after treatment, the knee curvature in the study group was better than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.001 ); there was no significant difference in the measured values of KT-1000 between the two groups 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment ( P > 0.05 ); IKDC score and Lysholm score in the study group 3 and 6 months after treatment were significantly better than those in the control group, with statistical significance ( P < 0.001 ); there was no significant difference in IKDC score and Lysholm score between the two groups 12 months after treatment (P >0.05). Autograft hamstring tendon transplantation and tense-reducing technique for anatomical reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligament under arthroscopy combined with rapid rehabilitation program can quickly, safely, and effectively restore the knee function of patients, greatly shortening the rehabilitation period of patients.

Based on the fractal self-similarity theory, this paper puts forward the service level analysis method of container terminal’s logistics system. Based on the detailed study of container terminal’s logistics system, firstly, the self-similarity characteristics of container terminal’ logistics system are extracted to verify the applicability of fractal theory to container terminal’s logistics system. Secondly, the simulation analysis model is established, which measures the service level of container terminal’s logistics system from nine indicators, such as annual throughput, average service time of the ships, average ship-time efficiency, average utilization rate of berths, average daily occupancy rate of container yard, etc. The simulation model is applied to a container terminal, and the results show that the model can not only evaluate the overall service level of the container terminal, but also analyze the influence of different storage time and ship inter-arrival time on the service level of the terminal, so as to provide the basis for the terminal operation decision. The constructed model is a useful tool for assessing the validity of ideas about the functional interrelationships between the dry port's primary parameters, as well as the system's long-term viability.

The increasing demand for fresh-like food products requires the development of novel technologies to assure the food safety as well as retain nutritional value and sensory quality of foods. Cold plasma (CP) is an emerging and promising technology for food decontamination due to the advantages of efficient bactericidal performance, low working temperature, and free of chemical residues. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the proposed mechanisms of CP technology on tackling vegetative and spore bacterial cells. In addition, the kinetic models for the bactericidal activity of CP have also been described in detail. Additionally, this chapter also provides comprehensive information about the stress response of bacterial cells toward CP inactivation, including sublethal injury and viable but nonculturable (VBNC) status, and programmed cell death (PCD) mechanism. A better understanding of the interaction between bacterial cells and CP is the perquisition for more rational development of CP process in the food industry.

Milk is easy to be contaminated by microorganisms due to its abundant nutrients. In this study, a 360-degree radiation thermosonication (TS) system was developed and utilized for the inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus in milk. The 360-degree radiation TS system-induced inactivation kinetics of S. aureus was fitted best by the Weibull model compared with biphasic and linear models. The treatment time, the exposure temperature, and the applied ultrasound power was found to affect the bactericidal efficacy of the 360-degree radiation TS system. Additionally, the TS condition of 200 W and 63°C for 7.5 min was successfully applied to achieve complete microbial inactivation (under the limit of detection value) in raw milk. The treatment of 360-degree radiation TS can enhance the zeta potential and decrease the average particle size of milk. It also exhibited better retainment of the proteins in milk compared with the ultrahigh temperature and conventional pasteurization processing. Therefore, the 360-degree radiation TS system developed in this study can be used as an alternative technology to assure the microbiological safety and retain the quality of milk, and the Weibull model could be applied for the prediction of the inactivation levels after exposure to this technology.

Background In response to the worldwide interest in safe, nutritious and minimally processed food products, innovative nonthermal processing for microbial inactivation has been developed as one of the major growth sectors in the food industry. In contrast to traditional thermal processing, nonthermal physical technologies have the ability to inactivate microorganisms at lower temperatures and maintain the organoleptic and nutritional qualities of food products. However, microbial cells can also develop a range of strategies to adapt rapidly to environmental stimuli and to survive under harsh conditions, posing a potential hazard to the food processing industry. Scope and approach This review concluded the microbial response to nonthermal technologies from the perspective of three states of microbes, sublethal cells, viable but non-culturable cells, and apoptosis. This work describes the responses of microorganisms to nonthermal physical technologies, mainly focusing on their physiological modifications and genetic regulatory mechanisms. Key findings and conclusion Most nonthermal physical treatments are unable to sterilize thoroughly, thereby resulting in suppressed or sublethally injured microbial cells instead of killing them completely. This poses food safety hazards since microorganisms may re-grow at post-processing stage as favorable conditions are available again. Studying the mechanism of these responses on microorganisms may help us to do better in anticipating possible risks during food processing and preventing potential food safety incidents.

Background The discovery and use of antibiotics have produced tremendous benefits for human society, however, with the large-scale use of antibiotics in medicine, animal husbandry and other fields, more and more antibiotic-resistant bacteria have emerged. Since diseases caused by such antibiotic-resistant bacteria could require more drastic measures to treat, the emergence of such resistant bacteria in food has attracted much concern. Scope and approach In this review, we summarized the interplay between antibiotic resistance and food-associated stress tolerance, and the hypothesized molecular mechanisms for the cross protection in bacteria. Key findings and conclusions In this review, we found that some common food-associated stresses, such as cold, acid, osmosis and sanitizers could provide cross protection for bacteria against antibiotics. In turn, antibiotic resistance could also render bacteria more tolerant to food-associated stresses. Meanwhile, novel nonthermal technologies may more likely result in little or no difference in bacterial antibiotic resistance, and this can be an advantage over traditional sterilization methods. Several molecular mechanisms for the cross protection between antibiotics and food-associated stresses have been discussed in this review. General stress response (e.g., sigma factors and two-component system), SOS response, mutations, and other mechanisms have been proposed as strategies for bacteria acquisition of cross protection.

The impact of cold atmospheric pressure plasma treatment on the inactivation kinetics of Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 and the resulting quality changes was investigated in tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus L.) milk (TNM). The effect of input power (39, 43, and 46 W) and treatment time (0 to 270 s) was fitted using the Weibull model to represent the microbial kinetic inactivation in the treated TNM. Inactivation efficacy increased with an increase in treatment time and input power. A 5.28-log reduction was achieved at 39 to 46 W without significant changes in titratable acidity, whereas no reduction in titratable acidity was observed in the pasteurized sample. The inactivation kinetics was adequately described by the Weibull model. Higher input power of 43 and 46 W and 120 s of treatment resulted in marked decreases in pH, flavonoid concentration, and antioxidant activity compared with those parameters in pasteurized TNM. Increases in total color difference and phenolic concentrations also were observed. The results indicate that these changes were caused by the immanent plasma reactive species. This study provides valuable inactivation kinetics information for food safety assessment studies of B. cereus vegetative cells in TNM.

This study evaluated the effect of plasma-activated water (PAW) treatment and blanching on the microbial and quality attributes of tiger nuts. In this study, 15 min of single PAW-10 washing and blanching at 60 °C for 5 min (BLN) resulted in 3.53 and 3.51 log CFU/g reductions for Klebsiella pneumoniae and 3.22 and 3.14 log CFU/g for total background bacteria. The sequential treatment of PAW-10 and BLN led to 3.7 and 4.36 log CFU/g reductions in K. pneumoniae and total background bacteria, respectively. Total phenolic content, lipid oxidation, DPPH scavenging activity, and sensory attributes of the treated tiger nut extracts did not change significantly compared with the control, whereas pH, total color value, FRAP radical scavenging activity, and total flavonoid content were altered. The microbial inactivation and changes observed in the treated samples were attributed to the synergistic effects of reactive species and blanching during the individual and combined treatment. This result has established PAW in combination with BLN as a promising hurdle intervention to curtail the spread of microorganisms.

Combined ultrasound and mild heat (UH) and traditional thermal pasteurization (TP) were employed to inactivate thermoacidophilic B. subtilis suspended in Chinese bayberry juice. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate different action mechanisms of these two treatments. The changes of physicochemical properties, anthocyanin content, and volatile components were also studied to assess the effects on juice quality. Results showed a 5-log reduction was achieved in 36.91 min by TP, 23.06 min by UH55°C 400W, 14.18 min by UH63°C 200W, 9.59 min by UH63°C 400W, and the inactivation date had a high goodness of fit with Weibull model, exhibiting a fast drop in first and a slow decline at last. Compared to the TP, UH treatment was not only able to cause lethal effect by compromising membrane integrity, inactivating esterase activity, but also destroying nucleic acids through the flow cytometry analysis. The pH and soluble solids content of bayberry juice had no significant changes with different treatments, while the light transmittance of UH groups during storage was higher, the color and anthocyanin retention were better than TP treatment. The GC-MS analysis indicated UH treatment can significantly inhibit the decline of key aromatic substances of bayberry juice, including 1-hexanol, (Z)-3-hexenol, (Z)-3-nonenol and dihydro-5-pentyl-2(3H)-furanone.

Objective: We attempt to evaluate the role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in predicting 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis to investigate its prognostic value.Method: Relevant clinical and laboratory data of 91 healthy controls, 87 non-septic patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) and 127 septic patients on admission were collected, and septic patients were divided into survival (n=79) and death groups (n=48) according to their prognoses. NLR levels among different groups were compared and analyzed for associations with C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and SOFA score. Univariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess the prognostic value of the NLR in patients with sepsis. Result: The NLR level was significantly higher in the septic patients compared to the case controls and healthy individuals (P < 0.05), and was much higher in septic patients who died (P < 0.05). ROC analysis indicated that the NLR had the best prognostic value for sepsis, with an AUC of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.69-0.84). Univariate logistic regression analysis suggested that NLR >8.25 was an independent risk factor for sepsis (odds ratio [OR] 6.39, P = 0.001). Correlation analysis suggested that the NLR was positively correlated with CRP, PCT and SOFA score.Conclusion: Peripheral serum NLR appeares to have a predictive value for 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis.

Efficient sampling and remote estimation are critical for a plethora of wireless-empowered applications in the Internet of Things and cyber-physical systems. Motivated by such applications, this work proposes decentralized policies for the real-time monitoring and estimation of autoregressive processes over random access channels. Two classes of policies are investigated: (i) oblivious schemes in which sampling and transmission policies are independent of the processes that are monitored, and (ii) non-oblivious schemes in which transmitters causally observe their corresponding processes for decision making. In the class of oblivious policies, we show that minimizing the expected time-average estimation error is equivalent to minimizing the expected age of information. Consequently, we prove lower and upper bounds on the minimum achievable estimation error in this class. Next, we consider non-oblivious policies and design a threshold policy, called error-based thinning, in which each source node becomes active if its instantaneous error has crossed a fixed threshold (which we optimize). Active nodes then transmit stochastically following a slotted ALOHA policy. A closed-form, approximately optimal, solution is found for the threshold as well as the resulting estimation error. It is shown that non-oblivious policies offer a multiplicative gain close to $3$ compared to oblivious policies. Moreover, it is shown that oblivious policies that use the age of information for decision making improve the state-of-the-art at least by the multiplicative factor $2$. The performance of all discussed policies is compared using simulations. The numerical comparison shows that the performance of the proposed decentralized policy is very close to that of centralized greedy scheduling.

Objectives The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive understanding of the nonthermal plasma (NTP)-induced inactivated behaviors on a multiple antibiotic–resistant (MAR) Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Materials and Methods A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) NTP system was employed for the inactivation of a MAR S. aureus under various applied powers of 35, 45, and 55 W, and gas distances of 4, 6, and 8 mm. The inactivation kinetics of S. aureus were estimated with linear and nonlinear predictive models. In addition, degradation of carotenoid pigment, peroxidation of fatty acids, oxidation of nucleic acids and proteins, and alteration in gene expression were analyzed after NTP treatment. Results and Discussion The computationally simulated results indicated that the densities of various reactive species increased with enhanced applied powers and decreased discharge distances. These species were further transformed into reactive oxidative and nitrogen species in the gas–liquid interphase and liquid phase. The oxidative and nitrosative stress of NTP resulted in severe damage to cellular components and the morphological structure of S. aureus. On the other hand, the plasma reactive species could also induce the sublethal injury of S. aureus through upregulating the general stress response, antioxidative and antinitrosative defensive systems. Once the cumulative damages overrode the stress tolerance of S. aureus, the completed cell death was finally achieved by NTP. Conclusions This work infers the possible risk of inducing the repair and resistant capacity of pathogens when the applied NTP parameters are inappropriate, which helps the optimization of NTP process to achieve sufficient inactivation.

Intracellular elastic filaments such as microtubules are subject to thermal Brownian noise and active noise generated by molecular motors that convert chemical energy into mechanical work. Similarly, polymers in living fluids such as bacterial suspensions and swarms suffer bending deformations as they interact with single bacteria or with cell clusters. Often these filaments perform mechanical functions and interact with their networked environment through cross-links, or have other similar constraints placed on them. Here we examine the mechanical properties - under tension - of such constrained active filaments under canonical boundary conditions motivated by experiments. Fluctuations in the filament shape are a consequence of two types of random forces - thermal Brownian forces, and activity derived forces with specified time and space correlation functions. We derive force-extension relationships and expressions for the mean square deflections for tethered filaments under various boundary conditions including hinged and clamped constraints. The expressions for hinged-hinged boundary conditions are reminiscent of the worm-like-chain model and feature effective bending moduli and mode-dependent non-thermodynamic effective temperatures controlled by the imposed force and by the activity. Our results provide methods to estimate the activity by measurements of the force-extension relation of the filaments or their mean-square deflections which can be routinely performed using optical traps, tethered particle experiments, or other single molecule techniques.

Self-assembly of proteins on lipid membranes underlies many important processes in cell biology, such as, exo- and endo-cytosis, assembly of viruses, etc. An attractive force that can cause self-assembly is mediated by membrane thickness interactions between proteins. The free energy profile associated with this attractive force is a result of the overlap of thickness deformation fields around the proteins. The thickness deformation field around proteins of various shapes can be calculated from the solution of a boundary value problem and is relatively well understood. Yet, the time scales over which self-assembly occurs has not been explored. In this paper we compute this time scale as a function of the initial distance between two inclusions by viewing their coalescence as a first passage time problem. The first passage time is computed using both Langevin dynamics and a partial differential equation, and both methods are found to be in excellent agreement. Inclusions of three different shapes are studied and it is found that for two inclusions separated by about hundred nanometers the time to coalescence is hundreds of milliseconds irrespective of shape. Our Langevin dynamics simulation of self-assembly required an efficient computation of the interaction energy of inclusions which was accomplished using a finite difference technique. The interaction energy profiles obtained using this numerical technique were in excellent agreement with those from a previously proposed semi-analytical method based on Fourier-Bessel series. The computational strategies described in this paper could potentially lead to efficient methods to explore the kinetics of self-assembly of proteins on lipid membranes.Author summarySelf-assembly of proteins on lipid membranes occurs during exo- and endo-cytosis and also when viruses exit an infected cell. The forces mediating self-assembly of inclusions on membranes have therefore been of long standing interest. However, the kinetics of self-assembly has received much less attention. As a first step in discerning the kinetics, we examine the time to coalescence of two inclusions on a membrane as a function of the distance separating them. We use both Langevin dynamics simulations and a partial differential equation to compute this time scale. We predict that the time to coalescence is on the scale of hundreds of milliseconds for two inclusions separated by about hundred nanometers. The deformation moduli of the lipid membrane and the membrane tension can affect this time scale.

The microbial and physicochemical properties of tiger nut milk were studied under different dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma exposure time: 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 min. Following the plasma treatment, a significant reduction in the microflora was observed at 2, 4, 6 and 8 min treatment time with 12 min reaching the undetectable limit. The treatment did not result in any significant change in soluble solids and fat contents. Significant reduction in pH was recorded after 8 and 12 min treatment, whereas heightened titratable acidity and lipid oxidation were noticed in all the treated samples. The protein content decreased significantly in all the treated samples, while peroxidase activity only decreased when the treatment time was extended beyond 4 min. The loss in enzyme activity was due to the oxidation effect plasma reactive species including atomic oxygen, ozone, and hydroxyl radicals, which might have oxidized the amino acid side chain. The findings presented here could be a prelude for the potential application of DBD plasma treatment of tiger nut milk in the food industry.

In this work, a novel CoMn2O4@CoMn2S4 core-shell nanocluster@nanosheet was successfully grown onto Ni foam via a hydrothermal reaction, which omitted the addition of a binder and conductive additive and the need for a complicated electrode preparation process. CoMn2S4 nanosheets as "shells" were found to be uniformly distributed on the surface of CoMn2O4 nanoclusters as "cores" to form a typical core-shell structure. These structures possess a high specific surface area and abundant active sites, which not only shorten the transmission path for electrons and ions, but also prevent collapse of the structure, thus improving its cycling stability. The specific capacity of CoMn2O4@CoMn2S4 is 1542.0 C g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1, which is 3.1 times higher than that obtained for CoMn2O4. Moreover, CoMn2O4@CoMn2S4 shows excellent electrochemical cycling performance, and the specific capacity retention rate for CoMn2O4@CoMn2S4 reaches 95.81% after 5000 cycles at a current density of 20 A g-1. The specific energy of the CoMn2O4@CoMn2S4 reaches 44.30 Wh kg-1 at a specific power of 774.98 W kg-1. Therefore, the CoMn2O4@CoMn2S4//AC device shows excellent practical application capability.

In this paper, plasma-activated water (PAW) ice is proposed for the preservation of fresh shrimps. The changes in microbiological, physical, chemical and protein properties were investigated during storage with conventional tap water (TW) ice and PAW ice. Compared with TW ice, PAW ice showed significant advantage for inhibition of microbial growth, extending the storage time by 4–8 days. The pH of shrimps treated with PAW ice remained below 7.7 during storage. The deteriorating changes in color characteristics and hardness were delayed by the PAW ice treatment. The production of volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) was reduced to below 20 mg/100 g during PAW ice storage, significantly lower (p

Understanding the impact of nonthermal plasma (NTP) technology on key nutritional and functional food components is of paramount importance for the successful adoption of the technology by industry. NTP technology (NTPT) has demonstrated marked antimicrobial efficacies with good retention of important physical, chemical, sensory, and nutritional parameters for an array of food products. This paper presents the influence of NTPT on selected functional food components with a focus on low-molecular-weight bioactive compounds and vitamins. We discuss the mechanisms of bioactive compound alteration by plasma-reactive species and classify their influence on vitamins and their antioxidant capacities. The impact of NTP on specific bioactive compounds depends both on plasma properties and the food matrix. Induced changes are mainly associated with oxidative degradation and cleavage of double bonds in organic compounds. The effects reported to date are mainly time-dependent increases in the concentrations of polyphenols, vitamin C, or increases in antioxidant activity. Also, improvement in the extraction efficiency of polyphenols is observed. The review highlights future research needs regarding the complex mechanisms of interaction with plasma species. NTP is a novel technology that can both negatively and positively affect the functional components in food.

Ultrasound is a promising non-thermal inactivation technique. However, ultrasound treatment alone is not very effective. In this study, combined applications of ultrasound and non-thermal plasma (NTP) were assessed for their inactivation efficacy and the physiological change on Staphylococcus aureus cells. The lethal and sublethal injury induced by individual ultrasound, NTP, ultrasound-NTP (UP) and NTP-ultrasound treatments was determined by plate count method. Then, we applied fluorescent technology to demonstrate the physiological variations of S. aureus during various treatments. NTP exposure followed by ultrasound treatment exhibited the highest inactivation rate of S. aureus. Prior NTP helped to provide enough reactive oxygen species (ROS) dissolved in the medium, and the subsequent ultrasound assisted in the injection of ROS into S. aureus cells. This accelerated the reaction between ROS and intracellular biomolecules, which led to the rapid death of the microbes. On the contrary, S. aureus cells treated with ultrasound first were more likely to develop and enhance oxidative response, allowing S. aureus to resist toward the following NTP stressor. Therefore, the findings of this study may be used to the optimization of hurdle technologies of ultrasound and NTP in practice.

Ultrasound, is thought to a potential non-thermal sterilization technology in food industry. However, the exact mechanisms underlying microbial inactivation by ultrasound still remain obscure. In this study, the action modes of ultrasound on both Gram-negative and Gram-positive microorganisms were estimated. From colony results, ultrasound acted as an irreversible effect on both Eshcerichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus without sublethal injury. The result in this study also showed that a proportion of bacteria subpopulation suffered from serious damage of intracellular components (e.g. DNA and enzymes) but with intact cell envelopes. We speculated that the inactivated effects of ultrasound on microbes might more than simply completed disruption of cell exteriors. Those microbial cells who had not enter the valid area of ultrasonic cavitation might be injected with free radicals produced by ultrasound and experienced interior injury with intact exterior structure, and others who were in close proximity to the ultrasonic wave field would be immediately and completely disrupted into debris by high power mechanic forces. These findings here try to provide extension for the inactivation mechanisms of ultrasound on microorganisms. Keywords: Ultrasound, Inactivation mechanism, Reactive oxygen species (ROS), Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli

Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is a promising non‐thermal technology in food industry. In this study, a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)‐ACP exhibited strong bactericidal effect on Escherichia coliin apple juice. Under a 30 to 50 W input power, less than 40 s treatment time was required for DBD‐ACP to result in 3.98 to 4.34 log CFU/mL reduction of E. coliin apple juice. The inactivation behavior of ACP on E. coliwas well described by the Weibull model. During the treatment, the cell membrane of E. coliwas damaged severely by active species produced by plasma, such as hydrogen peroxide, ozone and nitrate. In addition, the ACP exposure had slight effect on the °Brix, pH, titratable acidity (TA), color values, total phenolic content, and antioxidant capacity of apple juice. However, higher level of DBD‐ACP treatment, 50 W for more than 10 s in this case, resulted in significant change of the pH, TA, color and total phenolic content of apple juice. The results in this study have provided insight in potential use of DBD‐ACP as an alternative to thermal processing for fruit juices in food industry. Escherichia coliO157:H7 in apple juice is a potential risk for public health. This study demonstrated that 30 s cold plasma treatment resulted in more than 4 log CFU/mL reduction under 50 W, while the quality attributes of apple juice were not significantly affected. Therefore, cold plasma technology is a promising alternative substitute of traditional thermal processing for juice pasteurization.

Nonthermal plasma (NTP) is superior to thermal technologies as a technique that provides a satisfactory microbial safety and maintains reasonable standards in food quality attributes. Currently, the effects of NTP on some food components is regarded as beneficial, such as effects on starch and protein modification. For other food components, such as lipid oxidation, NTP is regarded as an undesirable treatment because it leads to quality deterioration and formation of off-flavor. An overview of the basic principles of NTP and food microstructure in relation to NTP-treated food and the underlying mechanisms are discussed. The review further highlights the latest research on plasma application in food and the related impact on food matrices. Efforts were made to outline the research findings in terms of NTP application on foods with an emphasis on the impacts on the food microstructure and their related qualities. In this review, the industrial capacity of NTP to improve the functional properties of starch, proteins, and lipids as well as provide little or no alteration in food quality compared to other technologies are emphasized. Some oxidative breakdown in relation to starch, proteins, and lipids are discussed and documented in this paper as a review of representative available publications.