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The “online + offline” blended teaching mode capitalizes on the Internet environment to seamlessly integrate traditional classroom instruction with online learning, representing a progressive trend in educational development. This study, grounded in Java Web technology, proposes a hybrid model for teaching professional English structured around three core components: preparation, instruction, and assessment. The model’s efficacy was assessed by devising a set of factors and rubrics to evaluate teaching quality, utilizing a fuzzy logic approach. Empirical validation was conducted using English majors from S colleges as participants. The overall teaching quality score was 87 points, meeting the established rubric standards, thus confirming the model’s applicability to professional English instruction. A controlled experimental analysis of students’ scores—pre-test, mid-test, and post-test—revealed a consistent improvement, with mid-test scores surpassing pre-test and post-test scores exceeding mid-test scores. This progression underscores the effectiveness of the Java Web-based online blended teaching model in enhancing students’ proficiency in English.

The secondary refrigerant is an intermediate medium for transferring cold capacity, which can improved refrigeration efficiency. In this paper, the classification and characteristics of secondary refrigerants are introduced, and discusses the flow characteristics of secondary refrigerants and the apparent viscosity changes and flow resistance characteristics during the flow of secondary refrigerants. In addition, the application of different types of secondary refrigerants in aquatic product preservation and storage system is also discussed, among which non-phase change secondary refrigerant is mainly used in food impregnation and freezing. The phase change material refrigerant is mainly used in cold storage and refrigerating truck of aquatic product storage and transportation, and the future development direction of secondary refrigerant is prospected.

The spherulitic morphology of isotactic polypropylene can be transformed into the oriented fibrillar morphology through hot stretching processes with varying temperature (Ts) or altering strain (εt). The effects of Ts and εt on the structural characteristics of fibrillar crystals are comprehensively investigated with respect to crystal orientation, long periodic spacing, lamellar thickness (Lc), crystallinity (Xc), melting point, and chain relaxation behavior. Small‐angle X‐ray scattering patterns illustrate that the fibrillar crystals consist of alternated stacks of crystalline lamellae and amorphous layers. High Ts leads to a low orientation degree of lamellae, whereas large εt facilitates a high orientation level. The Xc and mean Lc are improved continuously with the increasing of Ts or εt, indicating a stretching‐enhanced crystallization behavior driven by the two factors. The endothermic profiles reveal that new chain‐folded lamellae with relatively thinner thickness form during the hot stretching process. The formation of thinner lamellae is dominated by the melting–recrystallization mechanism. This work would provide guidance for optimizing process conditions to manipulate the microstructure of hot‐stretched semicrystalline polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of information security behavioural intention (ISBI) can be complex and dynamic in different contexts. This paper aims to examine and compare different users' ISBI formalisation mechanisms when dealing with their personal affairs (non-work users) and organisational affairs (work users). Drawing on two principles of Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (i.e. resource loss principle, and resource gain principle), we developed two models to examine how situational support affects ISBI formation. The results of a study of 432 non-worker users and 261 work users indicate a curvilinear relationship between situational support and ISBI through subjective norms and risk perception for non-worker users, whilst a linear relationship via subjective norms is found for worker users. This is the first time that COR has been applied to explain the formation of ISBI. The findings broaden the research scope of individuals' ISBI by revealing how situational support affects the formalisation mechanism for different users in cross-contexts. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings and the future study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show the relevance of strategic human resource management (SHRM) to addressing the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to the workplace in the context of Mainland China. In particular, we discuss the insights of prevalent areas of SHRM for navigating the pandemic at the organizational and individual levels. We explore the contextual factors that have affected the relationship between human resource (HR) practices and work outcomes in organizations and the development of HR practices during the pandemic. Looking forward to a future with uncertainties and other possible crises, we discuss research directions for SHRM in the post-pandemic reality. These include resilience-oriented high-performance work systems (HPWSs), contextualized SHRM, and the horizontal fit of SHRM in the 'new normal'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoscale Ag (5 nm) is incorporated into NiSx for studying the catalytic reactions of p-nitrophenol and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural in an alkaline environment, which show an unparalleled catalytic performance, allowing two reactants to be disposed of with low energy consumption and yielding fine chemicals. Faraday efficiencies of 100% are obtained for the overall redox processes at a remarkably low voltage (1.0 V vs SHE) due to the incorporation of Ag nanodots. The real-time monitoring of the reaction shows that the conversion of both electrochemistry-catalyzed reactions could be completed within 148 min, with a conversion and yield close to 100%. These results reveal the great potential of Ag nanodots in reducing the energy consumption of electrochemically catalyzed organic substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) with structure designability and multifunctionalities have aroused increasing attention in conventional thermocatalysis and modern photocatalysis/electrocatalysis. However, many obstacles still exist on the road to simultaneously achieving high activity, selectivity, and operation durability when employing sole CTFs in specific catalytic applications. Among numerous modification approaches of CTFs, engineering metallic active sites (low-coordination/nano-scale/isolated metal active sites active metal oxide/sulfide sites) into as-prepared CTFs has been confirmed to be an effective strategy. In this review, state-of-the-art research and evolution history over metallic active-site engineering of CTFs in catalysis are summarized and analyzed from the perspectives of structure–function correlations. Eventually, the present technical limitations of metallic active-site engineering of CTFs and future development in practical catalytic applications are presented. This review may inspire the forthcoming exploration and in-depth perceptions towards high-efficiency and applicative CTF-based catalysts and further extension to the industrial scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the recent availability and upgrading of many emerging intestinal microbes sequencing technologies, our research on intestinal microbes is changing rapidly. A variety of investigations have found that intestinal microbes are essential for immune system regulation and energy metabolism homeostasis, which impacts many critical organs. The liver is the first organ to be traversed by the intestinal portal vein, and there is a strong bidirectional link between the liver and intestine. Many intestinal factors, such as intestinal microbes, bacterial composition, and intestinal bacterial metabolites, are deeply involved in liver homeostasis. Intestinal microbial dysbiosis and increased intestinal permeability are associated with the pathogenesis of many chronic liver diseases, such as alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), chronic hepatitis B (CHB), chronic hepatitis C (CHC), autoimmune liver disease (AIH) and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Intestinal permeability and dysbacteriosis often lead to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and metabolites entering in serum. Then, Toll-like receptors activation in the liver induces the exposure of the intestine and liver to many small molecules with pro-inflammatory properties. And all of these eventually result in various liver diseases. In this paper, we have discussed the current evidence on the role of various intestinal microbes in different chronic liver diseases. As well as potential new therapeutic approaches are proposed in this review, such as antibiotics, probiotics, and prebiotics, which may have an improvement in liver diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a significant potential demand around the world for a flexible product to manage individual longevity risk. However, annuity markets remain thin, driven by factors including lack of pricing transparency, high product loadings, bequest motives, loss aversion, and the difficulty to hedge the risk. This paper proposes an individual retirement product to allow flexible management of longevity risk. The product combines a lifetime income with a flexible death benefit to meet individual bequest needs. It also benefits the issuers by lower mortality risk due to the natural hedging, and thus lower capital cost as a risk margin. We apply actuarial models that provide transparent pricing for interest rate and mortality risk, the construction of immunized bond portfolios, and the determination of a loading and solvency margin for systematic longevity risk. We also quantify the natural hedging benefits arising from the flexible inclusion of both survival benefits and death benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China and the US are two contrasting countries in terms of functional disability and long-term care. China is experiencing declining family support for long-term care and developing private long-term care insurance. The US has a more developed public aged care system and private long-term care insurance market than China. Changes in the demand for long-term care are driven by the levels, trends and uncertainty in mortality and functional disability. To understand the future potential demand for long-term care, we compare mortality and functional disability experiences in China and the US, using a multi-state latent factor intensity model with time trends and systematic uncertainty in transition rates. We estimate the model with the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) and the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data. The estimation results show that if trends continue, both countries will experience longevity improvement with morbidity compression and a declining proportion of the older population with functional disability. Although the elderly Chinese have a shorter estimated life expectancy, they are expected to spend a smaller proportion of their future lifetime functionally disabled than the elderly Americans. Systematic uncertainty is shown to be significant in future trends in disability rates and our model estimates higher uncertainty in trends for the Chinese elderly, especially for urban residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Predicting poor outcome for stroke patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in clinical practice is difficult. There are no tools available to use for predicting poor outcome in these patients. We aimed to construct and validate a dynamic nomogram to identify CKD–stroke patients at high risk of a 3-month poor outcome. Patients and Methods: We used data for 502 CKD patients who had an acute ischemic stroke, from Nanjing First Hospital, between September 2014 and September 2020, to train the nomogram. An additional 108 patients enrolled from October 2020 to May 2021 were used for temporal external validation. The performance of the nomogram was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) and a calibration plot. The clinical utility of the nomogram was measured by decision curve analysis (DCA) and the clinical impact curve (CIC). Results: The median age of the cohort was 79 (70– 84) years. Age, urea, premorbid modified Rankin Scale (mRS), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) on admission, hemiplegia, mechanical thrombectomy, early neurological deterioration, and respiratory infection were used as predictors of 3-month poor outcome to develop the nomogram. In the training set, the AUC of the dynamic nomogram was 0.873 and the calibration plot showed good predictive ability, and both DCA and CIC indicated the excellent clinical usefulness and applicability of the nomogram. In the external validation set, the AUC was 0.875 and the calibration plot also showed good agreement. Conclusion: This is the first dynamic nomogram constructed for CKD–stroke patients to precisely and expediently identify patients with a high risk of 3-month poor outcome. The outstanding performance and great clinical predictive utility demonstrated the ability of the dynamic nomogram to help clinicians to deploy preventive interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed the "two‐step dialysis" method and AB‐8 or D101 macroporous resin chromatography to isolate the anthocyanins in red radishes (ARR). The red radish juice was dialyzed twice at 3000 and 500 Da, respectively. UHPLC‐QqQ‐MS/MS revealed 24 types of ARRs, of which pelargonidin (Pg)‐3‐diglucoside‐5‐(malonyl)glucoside (P3D5MG), Pg‐3‐diglucoside‐5‐glucoside (P3D5G), Pg‐3‐(feruloyl)diglucoside‐5‐(malonyl)glucoside (P3FD5MG), Pg, and malvidin (Mv) represented the main compounds. The total anthocyanin content in the ARR prepared via the "two‐step dialysis" method was 29.69% and 18.44% higher than that obtained using AB‐8 and D101 macroporous resins, respectively. The ARRs inhibited heat‐induced β‐lactoglobulin (β‐Lg) oxidation. The amino acid residue microenvironment and secondary β‐Lg structure were modified via ARR binding. The energy involved in P3D5MG and β‐Lg binding was −392 kJ/mol, which was significantly lower than that during the binding process of P3D5M, P3FD5MG, Pg, and Mv to β‐Lg (−338 to −168 kJ/mol). These results indicated that "two‐step dialysis" was a promising method for deriving natural pigment with strong antioxidant activity from red radishes. Practical Application: As a natural food colorant, anthocyanins have attracted increasing attention in the food industry in recent years. This study used "two‐step dialysis" to effectively separate ARRs. Moreover, the anthocyanins in ARR can bind to β‐Lg to protect against heating‐induced oxidation. Therefore, ARRs may not only act as a food pigment but also as antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noninvasive flexible electrochemical sensors for body fluid analysis are subject to strict requirements for sensitivity and detection limit. In this work, a three-dimensional (3D) flexible biosensor based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites was fabricated for detecting glucose in sweat. Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were first assembled onto the surface of silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanospheres by electrostatic interaction and in situ reduced by tannic acid (TA) to obtain the electroactive rGO/SiO2 nanocomposites. The 3D flexible biosensors were then prepared by successive dropping of the rGO/SiO2 nanocomposites, glucose oxidase (GOx), and Nafion (NF) solution on the conductive substrate (C-PDMS) composed of a carbon nanotube film and polydimethylsiloxane. Herein, the 3D electroactive structure was designed to maximize the specific surface area of the biosensor, significantly increasing the sensing and recognition sites. The NF/GOx/rGO/SiO2/C-PDMS biosensor exhibited good linear detection of glucose in the range of 0.1–9 mM with a sensitivity and lower detection limit of 60.8 μA mM–1 cm–2 and 3.7 μM, respectively, which is superior to existing sensors. Moreover, the biosensor performed well in the detection of glucose from sweat samples and is expected to be used in clinical analysis, offering a new design strategy for point-of-care testing of target molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]