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Aging brings about physiological dysfunction, disease, and eventual mortality. An increasing number of studies indicate that aging can easily lead to dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, which can further affect digestion, nerves, cognition, emotions, and more. Therefore, gut bacteria play an important role in regulating the physical functions of aging populations. While saponins, the primary components of American ginseng, are frequently utilized for treating common ailments in the elderly due to their potent antioxidant properties, there is a scarcity of comprehensive studies on aging organisms. This study focused on 18 month old aging mice and investigated the effects of single intervention and combined intervention of Rb1 and Re, the main components of Panax quinquefolium saponins, on the gut microbiota of aging mice. High throughput 16s RNA gene sequencing analysis was performed on the gut contents of the tested mice, and the results showed that Rb1 and Re had a significant impact on the gut microbiota. Rb1, Re, and Rb1 + Re can effectively enhance the diversity of gut microbiota, especially in the combined Rb1 + Re group, which can recover to the level of young mice. Re can promote the abundance of probiotics such as Lactobacillus, Lactobacillaceae, and Lactobacillus, and inhibit the abundance of harmful bacteria such as Enterobacteriaceae. This indicates that the intervention of Rb1, Re, and Rb1 + Re can maintain the homeostasis of gut microbiota, and the combined application of Rb1 + Re has a better effect. The relationship between aging, brain gut axis, and gut microbiota is very close. Saponins can improve the gut microbiota of aging individuals by maintaining the balance of gut microbiota and the normal function of the brain gut axis, enabling the body to achieve a gut microbiota homeostasis closer to that of young healthy mice.

Abstract Background Bloodstream infection of Klebsiella pneumoniae (BSI-KP) were associated with increased mortality. Klebsiella pneumoniae was tested to susceptible to colistin by E-test and broth microdilution method in clinical laboratory. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of colistin versus tigecycline, carbapenem monotherapy and combination in the treatment of BSI-KP. Methods Electronic databases such as PubMed, Web of Science and Embase were searched. The last search was in November 24th, 2022, addressing the colistin, carbapenems and tigecycline monotherapy and combination treatments in patients with BSI-KP. The primary outcomes were 30-day or 28-day mortality. OR where available with 95% CI were pooled in random-effects meta-analysis. Results Following the outlined search strategy, a total of 658 articles were identified from the initial database searching. Six studies, 17 comparisons were included. However, they all were observational design, lacking high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Moderate or low-quality evidences suggested that colistin monotherapy was associated with an OR = 1.35 (95% CI = 0.62–2.97, P = 0.45, Tau 2 = 0.00, I 2 = 0%) compared with tigecycline monotherapy, OR = 0.81 (95% CI = 0.27–2.45, P = 0.71, Tau 2 = 0.00, I 2 = 0%) compared with carbapenem monotherapy. Compared with combination with tigecycline or carbapenem, Colistin monotherapy resulted in OR of 3.07 (95% CI = 1.34–7.04, P = 0.008, Tau 2 = 0.00, I 2 = 0%) and 0.98 (95%CI = 0.29–3.31, P = 0.98, Tau 2 = 0.00, I 2 = 0% ), respectively. Conclusions Colistin, carbapenem and tigecycline monotherapy showed similar treatment effects in patients who suffered from BSI-KP. Compared with colistin monotherapy, colistin combined tigecycline therapy might play the synergism effects. Trial registration retrospectively registered.

The building energy performance gap (EPG) seriously restricts the improvement of building energy efficiency. Currently, although many studies on EPG, it is not yet fully understood and addressed. To fill this gap, this paper conducted an extensive review of EPG research. Firstly, the magnitude of EPG was summarized from many case studies, and the results showed that it varied greatly among building types, with gap ratios ranging from 0.5 to 4 for educational/research buildings, concentrated between 0.5 and 2.5 for residential buildings, and between 0 and 1 for office building. Then, fifteen direct causes and seven in-depth drivers of EPG were analyzed from simulation and lifecycle perspectives, and the linkages between them were established. Furthermore, solutions for EPG were summarized, including some state-of-the-art technical and “soft” measures, and their correspondence with the underlying causes. Finally, eight future research recommendations were proposed based on the limitations of existing strategies.

A method was developed to identify and trace the geographic sources of Erigeron breviscapus using high-resolution mass spectrometry and chemometrics. The representative samples were collected from the geographic area of Honghe Dengzhanhua and other areas in Yunnan province and Guizhou province. The data points could be determined well using the PCA and PLS-DA diagram. A total of 46 characteristic compounds were identified from Honghe Dengzhanhua and within Guizhou province, but 37 compounds were different from Honghe Dengzhanhua and other counties in Yunnan province. Two biomarkers were found from three regions. Their structures were inferred as 8-amino-7-oxononanoic acid and 8-hydroxyquinoline, and they had the same molecular composition. This may suggest that a possible synthesis pathway can be proven in the future.

In this study, we have investigated the effects of Tremella fuciformis polysaccharide (TP) on the pasting, rheological, structural and in vitro digestive properties of Cyperus esculentus starch (CS). The results showed that the addition of TP significantly changed the pasting characteristics of CS, increased the pasting temperature and pasting viscosity, inhibited pasting, reduced the exudation of straight-chain starch and was positively correlated with the amount of TP added. The addition of the appropriate amount of TP could increase its apparent viscosity and enhance its viscoelasticity. The composite system of CS/TP exhibited higher short-range ordered structure and solid dense structure, which protected the crystal structure of CS, but was related to the amount of TP added. In addition, the introduction of TP not only decreased the in vitro digestion rate of CS and increased the content of slow-digestible starch (SDS) and resistant starch (RS), but also reduced the degree of digestion. Correlation studies established that TP could improve the viscoelasticity, relative crystallinity and short-range order of the CS/TP composite gel, maintain the integrity of the starch granule and crystalline structure, reduce the degree of starch pasting and strengthen the gel network structure of CS, which could help to lower the digestibility of CS.

Further research is needed on the capability of residential communities to achieve energy self-sufficiency under the constraints of current standards of land use, in particular for the Hot Summer and Cold Winter climate zone (HSCW) of China, where the majority of communities are dominated by high floor-area ratios, thus high-rise dwellings, namely less solar potential per unit floor area, while most residents adopt a “part-time, part-space” pattern of intermittent energy use behavior, thus using relatively low energy per unit floor area. This study examines 150 communities in Changsha to identify morphological indicators and develop a prototype model utilizing the Grasshopper platform. Community morphology is simulated and optimized by taking building location, orientation, and number of floors as independent variables and building energy consumption, solar PV generation, and energy self-sufficiency rate as dependent variables. The results reveal that the morphology optimization can achieve a 4.26% decrease in building energy consumption, a 45% increase in PV generation, and a 13.2% enhancement in energy self-sufficiency, with the optimal being 39%. It highlights that energy self-sufficiency cannot be achieved solely through morphology improvements. Moreover, the study underscores the crucial role of community orientation in maximizing energy self-sufficiency, with the south–north orientation identified as the most beneficial. Additionally, a layout characterized by a horizontally closed and staggered pattern and a vertically scattered arrangement emerges as favorable for enhancing energy self-sufficiency. These findings underscore the importance of considering morphological factors, particularly community orientation, in striving towards energy-self-sufficient high-rise residential communities within the HSCW climate zone of China.

A coffee-certified reference material (CRM) for ochratoxin A, B, and C (OTA, OTB, and OTC) was created to improve the precision and reliability of these toxins. A collection of 100 bottles (each containing 10 g) of the CRM candidate for OTA, OTB, and OTC was produced by applying a mixed standard solution of OTA, OTB, and OTC to moderately roasted beans that subsequently ground and homogenized. Moreover, considering the intricate matrix interference in coffee, a rapid and sensitive method for OTA, OTB, and OTC in coffee was developed with minimal matrix effects. This approach employed liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and mixed purification materials (C18 and hydroxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), OH-MWCNTs) for the analysis. Based on the standards GB/T 15000.3-2008/ISO Guide 35: 2017, the CRM demonstrated robust uniformity and stability when stored for 14 d at 4, 20, and 40 °C, and 12 months at −20 °C. Eight laboratories were employed to characterize the CRM. The certified values for OTA, OTB, and OTC in coffee were established to be 15.2 ± 0.4, 12.8 ± 0.4, and 3.4 ± 0.1 μg/kg (with a coverage factor k = 2, representing an approximate 95% confidence interval). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]