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Foods are subject to deterioration caused by ice crystal formation and recrystallization during storage and transportation. At present, adding antifreeze is an effective means to delay the deterioration of frozen foods and maintain food quality. γ-Polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) is an anionic polypeptide polymer whose molecular chain contains a large number of carboxyl groups connecting water molecules through hydrogen bonds, which can reduce water migration, inhibit the growth of ice crystals, and thus has excellent antifreeze effect. Additionally, γ-PGA has the advantages of low salt, low calorie, and promoting mineral absorption, and can better meet consumer demands for reduced sugar, reduced fat, reduced salt foods than traditional commercial antifreeze. Based on the current status of γ-PGA research, this paper reviews the basic structure and antifreeze mechanism of γ-PGA and its application in the food industry in order to provide a theoretical reference for the development and application of food-grade γ-PGA antifreeze in the food field.

Executing code containing side-channel vulnerabilities exhibits different non-functional behaviors related to inputs.Attackers can obtain these behaviors by leveraging micro architecture side-channel attacks and then analyze the pattern between the behaviors and the inputs to access sensitive data.Vulnerability repairing at the software layer brings low overheads to a program’s execution.Besides, it does not require modifying hardware or system, which enables fast patching and widespread deployment.It becomes the mainstream strategy applied to the current cryptographic implementations.However, existing solutions are deeply bound to the program’s implementation and requires manual intervention.This brings challenge to implement and is not versatile enough.A general patching method was proposed for side-channel vulnerabilities that combined dynamic obfuscated execution with hardware atomic transaction.To hide the real accesses of the side-channel vulnerabilities of a program, the proposed method inserted dynamic confusing accesses into the vulnerabilities.To avoid an attacker using fine-grained side-channel attack to distinguish the real access and the confusing access, both of them were encapsulated as transactions and they were guaranteed to be uninterrupted during the running period.In addition, a prototype system called SC-Patcher was implemented based on the LLVM compiler.Various optimization strategies were supported, including secure springboard and transaction aggregation, to further improve system security and performance.Experimental results show that the proposed method makes it impossible for an attacker to restore accurate sensitive data through side-channel attack, and it also brings almost no additional performance overhead to the program.

Objective: To increase the yield of Sophora flavescens polysaccharides and elucidate their antioxidant and hypolipidemic properties, this study optimised the polysaccharide extraction process through orthogonal experiments, followed by evaluation of their antioxidant and hypolipidemic activities in vitro. Methods: Using polysaccharide yield as the primary metric, this study performed orthogonal experiments to optimise the extraction process, building on preliminary one-way experiments. This study investigated the effect of extraction temperature, number of extractions, material-liquid ratio and extraction time on the polysaccharide yield of Sophora flavescens. Furthermore, this study evaluated the in vitro antioxidant activity of the polysaccharides by investigating their scavenging potential against DPPH radicals, hydroxyl radicals and superoxide anion radicals. In addition, the in vitro hypolipidemic activity of the polysaccharides was evaluated by their binding affinity to sodium cholate (SC), sodium taurocholate (STC), sodium glycylcholate (SGC) and mixed bile salts (MBS). Results: The optimal conditions for the extraction of Sophora flavescens polysaccharide were determined as follows: a temperature of 85 °C, a material-liquid ratio of 1:35 (g:mL), and an extraction duration of 3.5 hours, yielding an average polysaccharide content of 3.07%±0.07%. The scavenging efficiencies of Sophora flavescens polysaccharides against DPPH radicals, hydroxyl radicals, and superoxide anion radicals at a concentration of 5 mg/mL were measured at 60.1%±3.6%, 39.6%±3.1% and 45.1%±4.1%, respectively. Furthermore, the binding affinities of Sophora flavescens polysaccharides to SC, STC, SGC and MBS at a concentration of 10 mg/mL were determined to be 34.4%±0.75%, 45.4%±0.15%, 19.7%±0.94% and 37.7%±0.64%, respectively. Conclusion: Sophora flavescens polysaccharide exhibits notable in vitro antioxidant and hypolipidemic activities. This investigation furnishes a foundational understanding for the potential development and exploitation of Sophora flavescens polysaccharide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Causal discovery on non-stationary time-series data is of great importance but challenging. Existing works mainly assume that the observed data change with time or domain, which requires the introduction of time or domain as prior knowledge. The aforementioned methods are usually unavailable on the segmented-stationary non-stationary scenarios. Therefore, this paper proposes a non-stationary causal discovery method that combines changepoint detection and structural vector auto-regressive model. It uses the changepoint detection method to identify the time point of change, then divides the time of the previous step into stationary intervals, and further uses the stationary algorithm to infer their local causal structures. Experiments on simulated and real-world data prove the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new type of calcium hydroxide quality and effect testing system has been developed. Through the corresponding algorithm of pH value of calcium hydroxide and the efficiency of absorbing carbon dioxide by calcium hydroxide, combined with computer programming technology and SQL Server data storage technology, a set of quality control analysis software of calcium hydroxide is developed to realize the automatic analysis of the experiment and the effective management of the experimental data. The accuracy of the inspection device of the new calcium hydroxide quality effect inspection system can reach 0.001, the inspection process takes less than 10 minutes, and the accuracy of the quality effect inspection conclusion can reach 0.000 1.

In this paper, the three failure modes of pipes were summarized and the molecular mechanism and fracture mechanics mechanism of slow crack growth were briefly described. The principle and test process of the strain hardening modulus (SH) method were introduced in detail. The paper also reviewed the research progress in the correlation of material microstructures, the domestic and foreign reliability research of SH method for the evaluation of the slow crack growth resistance of pipes, and the application of SH method for the evaluation of the environmental stress cracking resistance of materials. Finally, the applications of SH method for the control of outlook on product quality was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A molecular glass material HPS-MSF covalently bonded with photoacid generator (PAG) was designed and synthesized. It exhibits good thermal stability and film-forming properties. A negative-tone molecular glass photoresist based on HPS-MSF as the main material and 1, 3, 4, 6-tetrakis (methoxymethyl) glycoluril (TMMGU) as the cross-linking agent was prepared. The formulation, post-baking and development conditions of the photoresist were initially studied by 254 nm ultraviolet exposure. The negative-tone photoresist was further evaluated using electron beam lithography. Patterns of a line width of 150 nm in period of 300 nm were obtained at exposure doses of 140 µC/cm² and 110 µC/cm² for photoresist containing 15% and 30% TMMGU, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect and safety of vildagliptin combined with insulin aspart injection in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes., Methods: Sixty-six elderly patients with type 2 diabetes who had poor blood glucose control with insulin aspart injection were divided into two groups to have additional Vildagliptin (50 mg, twice daily, n=36, observation group) or Acarbose (50 mg, three times a day, n=30, control group). Blood glucose (including FBG and 2hPG), HbA1C, fasting c-peptide, postprandial c-peptide, BMI and GFR were observed after 12 weeks., Results: In the observation group, FBG, 2hPG and HbA1C decreased significantly (P<0.05), fasting and postprandial c-peptide increased (P<0.05), and BMI and GFR showed no obvious changes (P>0.05). In the control group, 2hPG and HbA1C were significant lowered (P<0.05) but FBG, fasting and postprandial c-peptide, BMI or GFR showed no changes (P>0.05). Compared with those in the control group, FBG in the observation group showed a significant reduction (P<0.05), but no significant differences were found in 2hPG, HbA1C, BMI or GFR (P>0.05). No hypoglycemia occurred in the two groups during the treatment., Conclusion: Vildagliptin with insulin aapart injection has equivalent effect with Acarbose combined with insulin aspart injection in decreasing 2hPG and HbA1C without increasing the body weight or the risk to hypoglycemia or causing lowered GFR. Vildagliptin has better effect in decreasing FBG and improving the function of the islet cells.

Objective: To investigate whether subchondral bone microstructural parameters are related to cartilage repair during large osteochondral defect repairing based on three-dimensional (3-D) printing technique., Methods: Biomimetic biphasic osteochondral composite scaffolds were fabricated by using 3-D printing technique. The right trochlea critical sized defects (4.8 mm in diameter, 7.5 mm in depth) were created in 40 New Zealand white rabbits (aged 6 months, weighing 2.5-3.5 kg). Biomimetic biphasic osteochondral composite scaffolds were implanted into the defects in the experimental group (n = 35), and no composite scaffolds implantation served as control group (n = 5); the left side had no defect as sham-operation group. Animals of experimental and sham-operation groups were euthanized at 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 52 weeks after operation, while animals of control group were sampled at 24 weeks. Subchondral bone microstructural parameters and cartilage repair were quantitatively analyzed using Micro-CT and Wayne scoring system. Correlation analysis and regression analysis were applied to reveal the relationship between subchondral bone parameters and cartilage repair. The subchondral bone parameters included bone volume fraction (BV/TV), bone surface area fraction (BSA/BV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular number (Tb.N), and trabecular spacing (Tb.Sp)., Results: In the experimental group, articular cartilage repair was significantly improved at 52 weeks postoperatively, which was dominated by hyaline cartilage tissue, and tidal line formed. Wayne scores at 24 and 52 weeks were significantly higher than that at 16 weeks in the experimental group (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was found between at 24 and 52 weeks (P > 0.05); the scores of experimental group were significantly lower than those of sham-operation group at all time points (P < 0.05). In the experimental group, new subchondral bone migrated from the surrounding defect to the centre, and subchondral bony plate formed at 24 and 52 weeks. The microstructural parameters of repaired subchondral bone followed a "twin peaks" like discipline to which BV/TV, BSA/BV, and Tb.N increased at 2 and 16 weeks, and then they returned to normal level. The Tb.Sp showed reversed discipline compared to the former 3 parameters, no significant change was found for Tb.Th during the repair process. Correlation analysis showed that BV/TV, BSA/BV, Tb.Th, Tb.N, and Tb.Sp were all related with gross appearance score and histology score of repaired cartilage., Conclusion: Subchondral bone parameters are related with cartilage repair in critical size osteochondral repair in vivo. Microstructural parameters of repaired subchondral bone follow a "twin peaks" like discipline (osteoplasia-remodeling-osteoplasia-remodeling) to achieve reconstruction, 2nd week and 16th week are critical time points for subchondral bone functional restoration.

Objective: To observe the effect of zoledronic acid on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone metabolic markers in elderly patients with primary osteoporosis., Methods: Forty-eight elderly patients with osteoporosis were randomly assigned to zoledronic acid group (n=23) to receive treatment with 5 mg zoledronic acid once a year and the control group (n=25). In both groups, the patients were given Vitamin D3 and caltrate on a daily basis for a year. The bone mineral density (BMD) and bone metabolic markers were observed after the treatment., Results: Compared with the control group, zoledronic acid group had significantly higher L1-4, neck, Inter and Ward's BMD (P<0.05) with reduced B-NTX (P<0.05). The N-MID and CT showed no significant differences between the two groups (P<0.05)., Conclusion: Zoledronic acid administration once a year can increase BMD and lower the serum bone turnover metabolism, and can be used in the treatment of primary osteoporosis in elderly patients.

Objective: To analyze the biomechanical changes of the adjacent cervical facet joints when the angled cervical prosthesis is replaced., Methods: A total of 400 northwestern people were involved, with an age of 40 years or older. The cervical vertebra lateral X-ray films were taken, and the cervical angles were measured by professional computer aided design software, then the cervical intervertebral disc prosthesis with 10 degree angle was designed. The finite element models of C4, 5 and C4-6 segments with intact cervical discs were developed; the C4, 5 disc was replaced by the cervical prosthesis with 0 degrees and 10 degrees angle respectively; and then all models were subjected to axial loading, flexion/extension, lateral bending, and torsion loading conditions; the stress effects on adjacent facet joints after replacement were observed by comparing with that of the intact model., Results: The cervical angles were (9.97 +/- 3.64) degrees in C3, 4, (9.95 +/- 4.34) degrees in C4, 5, (8.59 +/- 3.75) degrees in C5, 6, and (8.49 +/- 3.39) degrees in C6, 7, showing no significant difference between C3, 4 and C4, 5, C5, 6 and C6, 7 (P > 0.05) and showing significant differences between the other cervical angles (P < 0.05). When C4, 5 model was axially loaded, no significant difference in equivalent shearing stress were observed in intact, 0 degrees, and 10 degrees groups; at flexion/extension loading, the stress was biggest in intact group, and was smallest in 10 degrees group; at lateral bending, the stress got the high rank in intact group, and was minimum in 10 degrees group; at torsion loading, the stress state of 10 degrees group approached to the intact one condition. When C4-6 model was loaded, the facet joint stress of the replaced segment (C4, 5) decreased significantly at axial loading, flexion/extension, and lateral bending; while no obvious decrease was observed at torsion loading; the stress of the adjacent inferior disc (C5, 6) decreased significantly at axial loading and lateral bending condition, while less decrease was observed at torsion loading, no significant change at flexion/extension condition, it approached to that of the intact one., Conclusion: The finite element analysis reveals that the biomechanical properties of 10 degrees designed prosthesis is approximate to that of the intact cervical disc, thus the 10 degrees designed prosthesis can meet the requirements of biomechanical function reconstruction of the cervical spine.

Referring to the anatomical characterization of natural spongy bone and channel network in cortical bone, we designed a new pattern of biomimetic impalnt with preset channel for blood vessel inserting to treat early femoral head necrosis. The surgical ptrocedure was simulated by CAD model. Ceramic stereolithography was applied to fabricate the green part. Other process, such as dehydration, rinsing, drying and sintering, were taken successively. The final ceramic part kept identical with the engineered part either in the shape or in the internal structure. No deformation or crack happened. Pore size, interconnected pore size, porosity and interconnected porosity of ceramic part could satisfy cellular grouth. Spectrum analysis showed that no phase transition or chemical reaction happened during fabrication process. The biocompatibility of the final part kept the same with original during beta-TCP powder. The compressive strength was 23.54 MPa, close to natural spongy bone. It is an ideal implant to treat early femoral head necroseis because it makes preimplantation of cells and biological factors, blood velssel inserting, early establishment of blood supply possible. At the same time, it could provide enough mechanical support to prevent collapse of femoral head. It could provide a wide clinical foreground.

Objective: To evaluate simultaneous kidney-pancreatic transplantation (SKPT) with bladder drainage and enteric drainage for its efficacy and safety., Method: SKPT was performed in 10 patients from Jan. 2000 to Feb. 2002. All patients had long-standing insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and subsequent renal failure. Bladder drainage (BD) of exocrine secretion was used in the first 2 cases and enteric drainage (ED) in last 8 patients. In BD, a two-layer hand sewn duodenocystostomy was performed. In ED, a two-layered side-to-side anastomosis was fashioned between the donor duodenal segment and the recipient jejunum. No Roux-en-Y limb was used. Quadruple immunosuppressive therapy with antithymocyte globulin, tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil and steroids was standard treatment in all patients. The patients were treated with quadruple therapy, which included antilymphocyte globulin (ALG) or anti-CD25 monoclonal antibody (Zenapax) induction therapy, prednisone, Cyclosporine A/tacrolimus, and mycophenolat-mofetil (MMF)., Results: SPK was successfully applied to all cases without complication referable to the technique. All patients have achieved excellent renal function and euglycemia, and no further insulin treatment was needed between 1 and 5 days posttransplant. One patient with ED died due to sepsis and upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage 5 weeks after operation. The death occurred with functioning grafts. Until now no rejection episode and thrombosis were observed and all the grafts from nine patients are functioning well. The first 2 patients with BD underwent slight metabolic complications and microscopic hematuria with entire follow-up time. Two episodes of reflux graft pancreatitis followed by macroscopic hematuria occurred in one patient with BD., Conclusion: Compared with SPK with BD, ED without Roux-en-Y anastomosis might be a more physiological and prior procedure for type I diabetes mellitus with uremia.

Objective: To study the effects of 3 different operational patterns of piggyback liver transplantation (PBLT) used to reconstruct backflow of hepatic veins., Methods: Sixty-three operations of PBLT were performed on 59 patients with terminal hepatic diseases after three operational patterns: EEAT [the suprahepatic inferior vena cava (sup-H-IVC) of donor is anstomosed with the plasticized hepatic vein of recipient end-to-end, also called standard PBLT, SPBLT] in 17 cases, ESAT (the sup-H-IVC of donor is anastomosed with the sup-H-IVC of recipient end-to-side) in 12 cases, and SSAT [the retrohepatic IVC (RHIVC) of donor is anastomosed with the RHIVC of recipient side-to-side] in 32 cases, the latter two patterns being called ameliorative PBLT (APBLT) jointly. The effects were analyzed., Results: Complications, such as backflow obstruction of hepatic vein and delayed recovery of liver function, were observed in the EEAT and ESAT groups, but not in the SSAT group., Conclusion: The SSAT pattern of PBLT is easy to perform and advantageous to avoid the technical maladies of the other 2 patterns and postoperative complications, and provides assurance of recovery after operation.