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The geochemical compositions of apatite are commonly used to provide reliable constraints on the intrinsic magmatic variables of the parental magma. There is a widespread distribution of Mesozoic granitic rocks in the eastern Jiangnan Orogen (EJNO), which include I-type and A-type granitoids. This study aims to investigate the geochemical composition of apatite in 11 representative I-type and A-type granitic intrusions from the EJNO to understand their petrogenesis, intrinsic magmatic variables, and polymetallic mineralization potential. The results show that apatites in these granitoids were characterized by oscillatory zonation and homogeneous texture, and exhibited high F, and low Cl contents, as well as high REE, Y, and Th contents, indicating magmatic origin. These apatites were divided into two groups depending on their geochemical characteristics and original rock types. In Group I apatites (in the I-type granitoids), the absence of an abrupt change in major and trace element concentrations from the core to the rim of the apatite crystals, combined with their low levels of MgO, Sr, and HREY (HREE+Y), serves as evidence to classify the I-type granitoids as low Sr-Y adakitic granitoids with a low Mg#, which can be attributed to the partial melting of the thickened lower crust. In Group A apatites (in the A-type granites), the normal increase in incompatible elements from the core to the rim, as well as the presence of a flat REE pattern with pronounced Eu anomalies, can be attributed to crystal fractionation of plagioclase, allanite, and zircon. Furthermore, Group I apatites have higher SO3, Cl, and molar OH/F and Cl/F ratios compared to Group A apatites. Quantitative calculation by apatite-melt partitioning and modelling suggests that the I-type granitic magmas were more volatile-rich and more oxidized than A-type granitic magmas. Taken together, based on the relationship between the intrinsic magmatic variables and the behaviour of ore-forming elements, our study demonstrates that early I-type granitoids of the EJNO have a strong W-Mo-Cu polymetallic mineralization potential, while late A-type granites may possess rare metal mineralization potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polysaccharides derived from Auricularia auricula exhibit diverse biological activities and hold significant potential for commercial utilization as functional food ingredients. In this investigation, polysaccharides from A. auricula were obtained using six extraction techniques (ammonium oxalate solution extraction, sodium hydroxide solution extraction, hot water extraction, pectinase and cellulase-assisted extraction, ultrasonic-assisted extraction, and microwave-assisted extraction). Subsequently, a comprehensive comparison was conducted to evaluate their physicochemical properties and biological functionalities. The ammonium oxalate solution extraction method yielded a higher extraction rate (11.76%) and polysaccharide content (84.12%), as well as a higher uronic acid content (10.13%). Although the six Auricularia polysaccharides had different molecular weight distributions, monosaccharide molar ratios, similar monosaccharide compositions, and characteristic functional groups of polysaccharides, they exhibited different surface morphology. In vitro assays showed that polysaccharides extracted by ammonium oxalate solution possessed good scavenging ability against DPPH free radical, hydroxyl free radical and superoxide anion free radical as well as reduction power of iron ion. At the same time, both polysaccharides extracted by ammonium oxalate solution and sodium hydroxide solution promoted NO production in mouse macrophages along with the secretion of cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. These results indicated significant differences in the structure and characteristics among Auricularia polysaccharides prepared by various extraction methods, which may be related to the variety or origin of A. auricula; furthermore, their bioactivities varied accordingly in vitro assays where the ammonium oxalate solution extraction method was found more beneficial for obtaining high-quality bioactive Auricularia polysaccharides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantile regression is increasingly encountered in modern big data applications due to its robustness and flexibility. We consider the scenario of learning the conditional quantiles of a specific target population when the available data may go beyond the target and be supplemented from other sources that possibly share similarities with the target. A crucial question is how to properly distinguish and use useful information from other sources to improve the quantile estimation and inference at the target. We develop transfer learning methods for high-dimensional quantile regression by detecting informative sources whose models are similar to the target and using them to improve the target model. We show that under reasonable conditions, the detection of the informative sources based on sample splitting is consistent. Compared to the naive estimator with only the target data, the transfer learning estimator achieves a much lower error rate as a function of the sample sizes, the signal-to-noise ratios, and the similarity measures among the target and the source models. Extensive simulation studies demonstrate the superiority of our proposed approach. We apply our methods to tackle the problem of detecting hard-landing risk for flight safety and show the benefits and insights gained from transfer learning of three different types of airplanes: Boeing 737, Airbus A320, and Airbus A380. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First, nano-sized magnesium oxide (MgO) particles were prepared with magnesium nitrate hexahydrate as raw material and plant extract Angelica dahurica as a protective agent and dispersant. Then, MgO nano particles (MgO NPs) were loaded on the cotton fabric surface by dipping method. Finally, using hexadecyl trimethoxysilane (HDTMS) as a modifier and ammonia as a catalyst, the cotton fabric was hydrophobically modified to prepare a super hydrophobic multifunctional cotton fabric. FTIR indicated that long carbon chain silane was successfully introduced onto cotton fabric. SEM and XRD analysis showed that the micro-nano rough structure was formed on the MgO/HDTMS/cotton fabric surface, and its crystal structure was unchanged. The water contact angle of cotton fabric modified by MgO/HDTMS reached 153°, which made it super hydrophobic. Moreover, MgO/HDTMS/cotton fabric has excellent antibacterial properties with the antibacterial rates against S. aureus and E. coli of 95.50% and 95.30%, respectively. After 10 times of cyclic washing, both the water contact angle and the antibacterial rate for S. aureus and E. coli of the fabric showed a slight decrease, which indicated that it has good washing durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: In this study, we aimed to establish a rat tooth movement model to assess miR-20's ability in enhancing the BMP2 signaling pathway and facilitate alveolar bone remodeling. Method: 60 male SD rats had nickel titanium spring devices placed between their left upper first molars and incisors, with the right side serving as the control. Forces were applied at varying durations (18h, 24h, 30h, 36h, 42h, 1d, 3d, 5d, 7d, 14d), and their bilateral maxillary molars and surrounding alveolar bones were retrieved for analysis. Fluorescent quantitative PCR was conducted to assess miR-20a, BMP2, Runx2, Bambi and Smad6 gene expression in alveolar bone, and western blot was performed to determine the protein levels of BMP2, Runx2, Bambi, and Smad6 after mechanical loading. Result: We successfully established an orthodontic tooth movement model in SD rats and revealed upregulated miR-20a expression and significantly increased BMP2 and Runx2 gene expression and protein synthesis in alveolar bone during molar tooth movement. Although Bambi and Smad6 gene expression did not significantly increase, their protein synthesis was found to decrease significantly. Conclusion: MiR-20a was found to be involved in rat tooth movement model alveolar bone remodeling, wherein it promoted remodeling by reducing Bambi and Smad6 protein synthesis through the BMP2 signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common serious complication in sepsis patients with a high mortality rate. This study aimed to develop and validate a predictive model for sepsis associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI). Methods: In our study, we retrospectively constructed a development cohort comprising 733 septic patients admitted to eight Grade-A tertiary hospitals in Shanghai from January 2021 to October 2022. Additionally, we established an external validation cohort consisting of 336 septic patients admitted to our hospital from January 2017 to December 2019. Risk predictors were selected by LASSO regression, and a corresponding nomogram was constructed. We evaluated the model's discrimination, precision and clinical benefit through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration plots, decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curves (CIC) in both internal and external validation. Results: AKI incidence was 53.2% in the development cohort and 48.2% in the external validation cohort. The model included five independent indicators: chronic kidney disease stages 1 to 3, blood urea nitrogen, procalcitonin, D-dimer and creatine kinase isoenzyme. The AUC of the model in the development and validation cohorts was 0.914 (95% CI, 0.894–0.934) and 0.923 (95% CI, 0.895–0.952), respectively. The calibration plot, DCA, and CIC demonstrated the model's favorable clinical applicability. Conclusion: We developed and validated a robust nomogram model, which might identify patients at risk of SA-AKI and promising for clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the silver ions in a silver nitrate solution were reduced to the Ag element by silk sericin (SS); then, N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) was added into the mixed solution of SS and silver nitrate to form the bifunctional SS/NIPAAm-Ag3 hydrogel with interpenetrating network structure with N,N-methylenebisacrylamide (BIS) as a cross-linking agent, ammonium persulfate (APS) as a initiator and N, N, N', N-tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) as a co-initiator. SEM showed that the SS/NIPAAm-Ag3 hydrogel had a regular honeycomb structure and high porosity. It was confirmed by DSC that the SS/NIPAAm-Ag3 hydrogel exhibited temperature sensitivity, and its Lower Critical Solution Temperature (LCST) was about 35 °C. The swelling degree of the SS/NIPAAm-Ag3 hydrogel was obviously higher than that of SS/NIPAAm hydrogel at 25 °C and 37 °C. The time required for deswelling equilibrium was shortened by 2 h compared with SS/NIPAAm hydrogel, showing that the introduction of a certain amount of nano-Ag could give hydrogel excellent swelling and deswelling properties. The bacteriostatic rates against Esherichia coli (E.coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) reached 99.8% and 93.38%, respectively. A cytotoxicity test proved that SS/NIPAAm-Ag3 hydrogel had no adverse effects on the human cell health. The development of this temperature-sensitive and antibacterial hydrogel provides a new possibility for the preparation of hydrogel medical dressing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the identification problem of the input nonlinear closed-loop system with unknown time delay (INCTD). An identification algorithm of the INCTD system which combines the wavelet packet decomposition (WPD), the variance Gaussian kernel function (VGKF) and the grouped method of data handling (GMDH) network is proposed. The data collected by the sensor is decomposed into intrinsic mode function with different nonlinear characteristics using WPD. The GMDH network is applied to mine bidirectional strong nonlinear relationship between input and output data. The VGKF criterion selects the optimal complexity model to enhance the extrapolation performance, and further improves the identification accuracy. Thus, the WPD-GMDH-VGKF identification algorithm is derived. The numerical simulation result verifies that the WPD-GMDH-VGKF identification method can effectively identify the INCTD system, and it is superior to GMDH and WPD-GMDH in terms of identification accuracy. The application case verifies the feasibility of applying the WPD-GMDH-VGKF identification method to the battery management system (BMS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two neolignan glycosides including a new one (1), along with seven iridoid glycosides (3 − 9) and nine flavonoid glycosides (10 − 18), were isolated from the leaves of Vaccinium bracteatum. Their structures were established mainly on the basis of 1D/2D NMR and ESIMS analyses, as well as comparison to known compounds in the literature. The structure of 1 with absolute stereochemistry was also confirmed by chemical degradation and ECD calculation. Selective compounds showed antiradical activity against ABTS and/or DPPH. Moreover, several isolates also suppressed the production of ROS in RAW264.7 cells and exerted neuroprotective effect toward PC12 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ganmaoling Granule (GMLG) is one of the most effective Chinese Patent Medicines (CPMs) which is applied to relieve the uncomfortable symptoms caused by the common cold. In this study, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with chemometric analyses and multi-component content determination were performed to preliminary investigate the effect of ozone sterilization technology on the quality of GMLG. The methodology validation and similarity analysis results showed that the analytical method was capable of complying with the demand of HPLC fingerprints, and 80 batches of GMLGs before and after ozone sterilization in four process stages had a high degree of similarity based on the values of similarity analysis (SA) was greater than 0.98. The results of hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the GMLGs before and after ozone sterilization were divided into two categories, and the same batch of GMLGs was clustered into the same group. Meanwhile, the contents of linarin, caffeine, chlorpheniramine maleate and acetaminophen between 24 batches of GMLGs before and after ozone sterilization had no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05), which met the requirements of "Drug Standard of the People's Republic of China". In conclusion, the ozone sterilization technology had no obvious influence on the quality of GMLGs in four process stages, which provided a reference for the quality control of GMLG and other Chinese-western medicine compound preparations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the change in drug-resistant pattern, MDR/RR-TB was faced with underlying changes in regimens. A multi-center, large-scale, retrospective study performed aims to provide a recommendation of drug selection on optimization of outcome for the patients. The study was conducted in six TB-specialized hospitals in China. Patients were included from 2018-2021 and followed up throughout the treatment. Using a multivarariable and propensity score-matched logistic regression analysis, we evaluated associations between outcomes and drug use, as well as clinical characteritics. Of 3112 patients, 74.29% had treatment sucess, 14.52% lost to follow-up, 9.67% failure, and 1.51% died. Treatment success was positively associated with Bedaquiline(Bdq), Linezolid(Lzd), and Cycloserin(Cs). Capreomycin(Cm) increased the risk of unfavorable outcomes. other drugs such as Amikacin(Amk) and clofazimine had no significant effect on outcomes. If isolates were susceptible to fluoroquinolones(FQs), FQs could decrease the risk of unfavorable outcomes. The recommendation order for the treatment of MDR/RR-TB is Bdq, Lzd, and Cs. FQs were decreased in use intensity. Injection drugs, whether Amk or Cm, are not recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article extends the solution proposed by Aït-Sahalia, Fan, and Li for the leverage effect puzzle, which refers to a fact that empirical correlation between daily asset returns and the changes of daily volatility estimated from high frequency data is nearly zero. Complementing the analysis in Aït-Sahalia, Fan, and Li via the Heston model, we work with a generic semi-nonparametric stochastic volatility model via an operator-based expansion method. Under such a general setup, we identify a new source of bias due to the flexibility of variance dynamics, distinguishing the leverage effect parameter from the instantaneous correlation parameter. For estimating the leverage effect parameter, we show that the main results on analyzing the various sources of biases as well as the resulting statistical procedures for biases correction in Aït-Sahalia, Fan, and Li hold true and are thus indeed theoretically robust. For estimating the instantaneous correlation parameter, we developed a new nonparametric estimation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the binding mechanism of shikonin with α-glucosidase by multi-spectroscopic and molecular docking technologies. These data suggested that shikonin spontaneously interacted with α-glucosidase primarily through hydrogen bonds (H-bond) and van der Waals forces (vdW), the quenching mechanism was static quenching. At 298 K, the quenching rate constant and binding constant were (1.00 ± 0.06) × 1012 L mol−1 s−1 and (2.32 ± 0.04) × 104 L mol−1, respectively. Molecular docking analysis also confirmed the results of the spectroscopic method. These results are helpful in understanding the interaction mechanism between shikonin and α-glucosidase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the vibration control design of the Euler–Bernoulli beam with time-varying constraints is studied when the mass, bending stiffness and tension of the system parameters are known or unknown. For satisfying the time-varying constraints, the controller is designed and the system stability is analysed based on the tangent barrier Lyapunov function (TAN-BLF). Among them, the uncertainty of system parameters is dealt with by the adaptive method. In both cases, the vibration of the Euler–Bernoulli beam can be well restrained without violating the constraint conditions, and all signals in the system are bounded. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by a simulation example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green tea is related to the reduction of liver enzymes, lipoprotein, and body mass index. However, some reports related green tea to the risk of developing liver cancer, but their outcomes were conflicting. Hence, the present study aimed to determine the relationship between green tea intake and lipoprotein, liver enzymes, body mass index, and liver cancer. A systematic literature search up to January 2022 was performed and 22 studies with a total of 169599 subjects participated in the studies with 97316 subjects of them used green tea intake. Odds ratio (OR) or standardized mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was calculated to evaluate the relationship between green tea intake and lipoprotein, liver enzymes, body mass index, and liver cancer using the dichotomous or the contentious method with a random effect model. Green tea intake significantly lowered the risk of developing liver cancer (OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74 to 0.97, p = 0.02), and body mass index (MD, −0.69; 95% CI, −0.95to −0.42, p < 0.001) compared to no green tea intake. Also, there was a significant lowering effect of green tea intake on liver enzymes including alanine aminotransferase (MD, −0.65; 95% CI, −0.92 to −0.38, p < 0.001), and aspartate aminotransferase (MD, −0.77; 95% CI, −1.40 to −0.14, p = 0.02) compared to no green tea intake. There was also a significant lowering effect of green tea intake on lipoprotein including triglycerides (MD, −0.70; 95% CI, −1.35 to −0.04, p = 0.04), total cholesterol (MD, −0.39; 95% CI, −0.74 to −0.04, p = 0.03) and law-density lipoprotein (MD, −0.44; 95% CI, −0.69- −0.19, p < 0.001) compared to no green tea intake. However, no significant different was found between green tea intake and no green tea intake on high-density lipoprotein (MD, 0.16; 95% CI, −0.11 to 0.44, p = 0.24). Based on this meta-analysis, green tea intake had a significant lowering effect on the risk of developing liver cancer and had a significantly improving effect on body mass index, liver enzymes, and lipoprotein compared to no green tea intake. These results suggest that green tea may be added to the daily dietary program to improve cardiovascular status with no possible risk of liver cancer. It even may have a protecting effect against liver cancer in the usual daily number of cups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North China Craton (NCC), notably the southeastern margin of the NCC, hosts the most typical example of decratonic gold deposits. However, the factors controlling the intensity of decratonic gold mineralization and the relation between the geodynamic model of decratonization and gold mineralization still deserve to be well elucidated. The Bengbu and the Jiaobei uplifts are located at the southeastern margin of the NCC and the two uplifts have similar tectonic positions and metamorphic basements, yet the intensity of gold mineralization is quite distinct. Mesozoic mineralization and magmatism in both uplifts are controlled by the same deep geodynamic process. Accordingly, in this review, we make an effort to find solutions to these problems by integrating the whole-rock geochemical and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic data as well as zircon U-Pb-Hf-O isotopic data from late Mesozoic magmatic rocks from the Bengbu uplift and the Jiaobei uplift. The late Mesozoic magmatism of the two uplifts can be divided into three stages, i.e. Late Jurassic (stage I), middle Early Cretaceous (stage II), and late Early Cretaceous (stage III). Comparative studies of the gold-related rocks in these two areas indicate that the intensity of the decratonic gold mineralization is controlled by magmatic source composition (i.e. the affinity of the upper crust of the South China Block), intrinsic magmatic variables of gold-related rocks (i.e. redox state and volatiles content), as well as lithospheric architecture (i.e. lithospheric thickness). Additionally, the integrated data of magmatic rocks in the three stages suggest that plate subduction acts as the recycling engine factory responsible for the decratonic mineral systems. In the early stage (Triassic), continental subduction of the South China Block induced pre-enrichment of ore-forming nutriments in magma sources, whereas in the late stage (Early Cretaceous), oceanic subduction of the paleo-Pacific plate led to the craton destruction, thereby triggering related magmatism and gold mineralization in the eastern NCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common serious complication in sepsis patients with a high mortality rate. This study aimed to develop and validate a predictive model for sepsis associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI). Methods: In our study, we retrospectively constructed a development cohort comprising 733 septic patients admitted to eight Grade-A tertiary hospitals in Shanghai from January 2021 to October 2022. Additionally, we established an external validation cohort consisting of 336 septic patients admitted to our hospital from January 2017 to December 2019. Risk predictors were selected by LASSO regression, and a corresponding nomogram was constructed. We evaluated the model’s discrimination, precision and clinical benefit through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration plots, decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curves (CIC) in both internal and external validation. Results: AKI incidence was 53.2% in the development cohort and 48.2% in the external validation cohort. The model included five independent indicators: chronic kidney disease stages 1 to 3, blood urea nitrogen, procalcitonin, D-dimer and creatine kinase isoenzyme. The AUC of the model in the development and validation cohorts was 0.914 (95% CI, 0.894–0.934) and 0.923 (95% CI, 0.895– 0.952), respectively. The calibration plot, DCA, and CIC demonstrated the model’s favorable clinical applicability. Conclusion: We developed and validated a robust nomogram model, which might identify patients at risk of SA-AKI and promising for clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy consumption loss is high particularly in manufacturing processes involving heating furnaces. Moreover, the mandatory constraints in continuous heating stage bring difficult challenges to production scheduling. To improve the production efficiency and reduce the energy consumption in a hybrid flow shop with continuous and discrete processing stages, this study developed an adaptive selection multi-objective optimization algorithm with preference (ASMOAP). The mandatory constraints of continuous processing stage are transformed into one of the optimization objectives, which is defined as maximum excess value of adjustment time in this paper. A multi-objective optimization scheduling model with the makespan, energy consumption, and maximum excess of adjustment time is established. The optimization preference is designed in the proposed multi-objective optimization algorithm. The maximum excess of adjustment time is set as the multi-objective optimization preference. Three adaptive selection strategies are designed for the algorithm based on the proportions of outstanding and preference individuals to eliminate constraint conflicts. Presented results prove that the proposed algorithm could effectively solve hybrid flow shop scheduling problem considering discrete and continuous processing stages with limited time. It can be applied to obtain a better feasible solution while improving the efficiency and reducing the energy consumed in practical production processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important factor secreted by skeletal muscle, myonectin can regulate lipid metabolism and energy metabolism, but its role in the utilization of peripheral free fatty acids (FFAs) by porcine intramuscular fat cells remains to be further investigated. In this study, porcine intramuscular adipocytes were treated with recombinant myonectin and palmitic acid (PA), either alone or in combination, and then were examined for their uptake of exogenous FFAs, intracellular lipid synthesis and catabolism, and mitochondrial oxidation of fatty acids. The results showed that myonectin decreased the area of lipid droplets in intramuscular adipocytes (p < 0.05) and significantly increased (p < 0.05) the expression levels of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL). Moreover, myonectin can up-regulate the expression of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK). Myonectin significantly promoted the uptake of peripheral FFAs (p < 0.01), improved (p < 0.05) the expression of fatty transport protein 1 (FATP1) and fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) in intramuscular adipocytes. Myonectin also significantly increased (p < 0.05) the expression levels of fatty acid oxidation markers: transcription factor (TFAM), uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2) and oxidative respiratory chain marker protein complex I (NADH-CoQ) in mitochondria of intramuscular adipocytes. In summary, myonectin promoted the absorption, transport, and oxidative metabolism of exogenous FFAs in mitochondria, thereby inhibiting lipid deposition in porcine intramuscular adipocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical characteristics of self-weight collapsibility of loess is mainly studied through laboratory tests, numerical simulations, and field immersion tests. However, a laboratory test under the lateral restraint condition cannot reflect the 3D stress state of soil and the influence of lateral extrusion deformation. The numerical simulation method is complex, and the calculation results depend on the accuracy of the constitutive model of loess deformation. Although the field immersion test produces results consistent with the stress and deformation conditions of actual foundations, the test cycle is long, and the cost is high. To overcome these issues, based on the strong self-weight collapsible loess in Ili, Xinjiang, and the variation laws of its physical and mechanical properties along the buried depth, a site is generalized and layered, and typical soil layers are selected to prepare a centrifugal model. A centrifugal model test is then conducted on the self-weight collapsible loess foundation. Taking the regional correction coefficient as the index, the rationality of the new method is verified by comparing the results of the centrifugal model test with those of the laboratory test and field immersion test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase (RT) works in the life cycle of HIV and is one of the key targets for anti-HIV-1 drug development. Recently, a novel series of diarylpyrimidine derivatives (DAPYs) have been reported as potent HIV-1 non-nucleoside RT inhibitors (NNRTIs), and they exhibit potent antiviral activity. Here we explored the binding interaction patterns of a set of 2,4,5-trisubstituted pyrimidine derivatives using molecular docking, three-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationships (3D-QSAR), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Molecular docking for exploring the mechanism of action of small molecule ligands with receptor proteins. Comparative molecular field (CoMFA q2 = 0.828, r2 = 0.988, r2pred = 0.981) and comparative molecular similarity index (CoMSIA q2 = 0.859, r2 = 0.968, r2pred = 0.980) were performed to build stable and reliable 3D-QSAR models. The contour plots revealed the relationship between structural features and inhibitory activities. Based on the molecular docking analysis and contour maps, some novel compounds with higher predicted activities were designed and further MD simulations and bind free energy calculations were performed. Our models results may provide an essential reference for the design and development of effective novel HIV-1 NNRTIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two previously undescribed flavonoid thioglucosides lepidiumflavonosides A and B (1–2) and two known megastigmane compounds (7E,9S)-9-hydroxy-5,7-megastigmadien-4-one 9-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3) and (9S)-4-oxo-β-inol β-D-glucopyranoside (4) were isolated from the water extract of the seeds of Lepidium apetalum Willd. The structural elucidation of isolated compounds was unambiguously determined based on extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses. All compounds were evaluated for their estrogen-like effects on MCF-7 cells in vitro. The results showed that compounds 1–4 significantly promoted the proliferation of MCF-7 cells, and the proliferation was antagonized by the specific ER antagonist ICI182,780, suggesting that compounds 1–4 might have the estrogen-like effect in vitro potentially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the seismic performance of prestressed concrete solid square piles with a snap-in mechanical connection, effects of the prestressed tension control stress of PC steel rods, anchoring method and reinforcement ratio of hot-rolled steel bars on the seismic performance of the pile-cap joints in the prestressed concrete solid square piles using a snap-in mechanical connection were investigated in this article. Considering the above-mentioned effect factors, the quasi-static test was first carried out on the cap pile-cap joint specimens. Then, the seismic performance of the specimens was investigated. The results indicated that the yield load and ultimate load changed slightly, the displacement ductility increased, the stiffness decreased and the damage development rate slowed down as the prestressed tension control value decreased. When the prestressed tension control stress was reduced to 0.4 times of the standard value of tensile strength of the PC steel rods, the crack resistance moment could meet the requirements of construction and hoisting at the same time. In the process of pile cutting and anchoring, the 135° hook treatment on the end of the PC steel rods could reduce the strength degradation of the pile-cap joints during the loading process, improve the energy-dissipation capacity and slow down the damage development rate of the pile-cap joints. For the specimens with ordinary hot-rolled deformed steel bars added to the pile end, its ductility was improved, the horizontal bearing capacity, displacement ductility and energy dissipation capacity were all greatly improved, and the damage development rate was slowed down. However, the reinforcing ratio of the ordinary hot-rolled steel bars should be kept within a reasonable range. Finally, the improvement measures were proposed to improve the mechanical properties of the prestressed concrete solid square piles and pile-cap joints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are numerous challenges facing the modern food and agriculture industry that urgently need to be addressed, including feeding a growing global population, mitigating and adapting to climate change, decreasing pollution, waste, and biodiversity loss, and ensuring that people remain healthy. At the same time, foods should be safe, affordable, convenient, and delicious. The latest developments in science and technology are being deployed to address these issues. Some of the most important elements within this modern food design approach are encapsulated by the MATCHING model: Meat-reduced; Automation; Technology-driven; Consumer-centric; Healthy; Intelligent; Novel; and Globalization. In this review article, we focus on four key aspects that will be important for the creation of a new generation of healthier and more sustainable foods: emerging raw materials; structural design principles for creating innovative products; developments in eco-friendly packaging; and precision nutrition and customized production of foods. We also highlight some of the most important new developments in science and technology that are being used to create future foods, including food architecture, synthetic biology, nanoscience, and sensory perception. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022.2033683 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oats (Avena sativa L.) are a widely consumed functional cereal grain worldwide and have recently gained increasing attention due to their numerous health benefits. Oats are an excellent natural source of bioactive compounds, including β-glucan, and have broad application prospects for the development of functional foods or health products to prevent and treat of diabetes. In this review, oat bioactive compounds, including proteins, peptides, amino acids, β-glucans, resistant starch, dietary fibers, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, avenanthramides, oat saponins, and β-sitosterol are summarized, and their important biological functions are discussed, focusing on the relevant mechanisms of action. Due to their various bioactive ingredients, oats exhibit antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, anti-cancer, anti-hypertensive, immunomodulatory, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-obesity, and cardioprotective properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates two different objective functions (minimizing heat dissipation weakness and temperature variance) to realize topology design optimization of heat dissipation problems based on the explicit topology optimization method of moving morphable components (MMC). The advantages of explicit and clear geometric profile descriptions in dealing with heat dissipation are explored. Sensitivity derivation with respect to the explicit topological geometric variables of the MMC-based method is established for two objective functions. Numerical examples are presented, with extensive discussion and comparisons of the key factors of maximum temperature gradient, temperature variance and maximum temperature based on the two objective functions. These discussions demonstrate the scope of application of the objective functions. Compared with density-based topology design optimization, the present MMC-based method describes the geometric profile of the heat dissipation structure accurately and achieves a more accurate and efficient heat dissipation performance of the structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid-control adherence was important for hemodialysis (HD) patients, and while significant correlations between treatment adherence and illness perceptions have been found, there is limited research that explored the relationship between illness perceptions and fluid-control adherence. We sought to assess illness perceptions and fluid-control adherence and to explore the relationship between them among Chinese hemodialysis patients. A cross-sectional study of 253 Chinese HD patients was conducted. We recorded sociodemographic and disease characteristics, Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) responses, Fluid Control in Hemodialysis Patients Scale (FCHPS) scores and the interdialytic weight gain (IDWG). The total FCHPS score of hemodialysis patients was of a moderate level, and 45.85% hemodialysis patients' IDWG exceeded 3.0 kg. Regression analysis revealed that sex, academic level, marital status, treatment control dimension and causal (physical) factors of illness perceptions explained 12.7% variance in the total FCHPS score. Age, normalized whole-body urea clearance (Kt/V), dry weight (DW) residual urine volume (mL/24 h) and consequence dimension of illness perceptions explained 29.0% variance in IDWG. About mediating effect analysis, positive indirect effects on IDWG were found for identity, consequences and emotional representations through the attitude dimension of FCHPS, and negative indirect effects on IDWG were found for treatment control and illness coherence through the attitude dimension of FCHPS. The results demonstrated that some sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and illness perceptions were associated with fluid-control adherence, and the patient's attitude toward fluid control is an important mediator between illness perceptions and IDWG, implying that attitude can be a focus of intervention programs based on illness perceptions to improve Chinese HD patients' fluid-control adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the protective effects of L-theanine supplementation on the diquat-challenged weaned piglets. A total of 160 weaned piglets were randomly divided into 4 groups using a 2 × 2 two-factor design, there were 4 replicates per group and 10 pigs per replicate. Piglets were fed diets (with 1000 mg/kg L-theanine addition or not), then challenged with diquat or saline on day 7. 21 days after challenge, two pigs from each replicate were selected for sample collection. Results showed that supplement with 1000 mg/kg L-theanine down-regulated the diarrhea rate, serum D-lactate level, tumor necrosis factor-α, and phosphorylation of extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK1/2), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling in pigs without diquat challenge (p < 0.05). While for diquat-challenged piglets, L-theanine addition increased average daily gain, jejunum villus height, and interferon-γ level (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, L-theanine addition decreased the diarrhea rates and mortality, serum D-lactate level, and phosphorylation of ERK and JNK in diquat-challenged pigs (p < 0.05). These results demonstrate that L-theanine pretreatment could alleviate diquat-induced oxidative stress and improve intestinal barrier function in diquat-challenged weaned piglets, which can be attributed to suppression of MAPK phosphorylation signaling pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the three natural dyes of madder, curcumin and gardenia blue were used as sensitizers to treat the nano-TiO2 which was prepared with the sol-gel method improved by plant honeysuckle extract, and then oxalic acid (OA) and citric acid (CA) were compounded as crosslinkers to modify the cotton fabric, The carboxyl groups on the modified cotton fabric can anchor the dye-sensitized nano-TiO2 to give it self-cleaning performance. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) showed that the dye-sensitized nano-TiO2 was successfully loaded on the surface of the cotton fabrics, and basically did not change their crystalline structure. UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-Vis-DRS) and Photoluminescence Spectroscopy (PL) spectra showed that, compared with nano-TiO2 photocatalytic cotton fabrics, the photocatalytic cotton fabric prepared from our dye-sensitized nano-TiO2 had a narrower band gap energy and a decrease in the recombination rate of electron-hole pairs. The cross-linked cotton fabric treated with dye-sensitized nano-TiO2 had excellent photocatalytic performance and washing resistance. In addition, the cross-linking treatment greatly improved the wrinkle recovery of the cotton fabrics, and the load of dye-sensitized nano-TiO2 endowed the fabric with excellent hydrophilic properties. but it also led to a certain degree of decrease in its breaking strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste dolomite powder (WDP) is being actively investigated as the additive of Portland cement (PC) for lowering the energy consumption and carbon emission of PC. In this work, 1H low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) was used to analyze the impacts of WDP on the hydration and pore structure of PC pastes at the early age. Meanwhile, the compressive strengths of blended cements containing 5–20% WDP were also measured. The results show that the T2 average value and evaporable water content of all the pastes decrease dramatically from 0 to 24 h, and the reduction rate slows down after 24 h. Adding 5% WDP can decrease further the T2 average value and evaporable water content attributed to its nucleating and filler effect, resulting in the compacted pore structure and the higher strength. However, adding more than 5% WDP degrades the pore structure and lowers the compressive strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An adaptive neural network fault-tolerant control(FTC) scheme is proposed for nonlinear and nonstrict-feedback multi-agent systems (MASs) with directed fixed topology. Firstly, a disturbance observer is designed to estimate the unknown external disturbances in the systems, and realise the dynamic estimation of the disturbances. Secondly, the efficiency factor is estimated online, and then the FTC scheme is designed successfully under the backstepping framework. It is proved that all signals in the closed-loop systems are semi-globally uniformly bounded and the tracking error is controlled in a small range. Finally, an example is given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study a case of a middle-aged male with a non-tumor-associated Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection associated with Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis (NMDARE), to explore the role of EBV in the pathogenesis of anti-NMDARE. The patient was diagnosed with "Anti-NMDARE, EBV infection" by using Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) autoimmune encephalitis profile, and Metagenomics Next-Generation Sequencing (mNGS) pathogenic microbial assays, we discuss the relationship between EBV and NMDARE by reviewed literature. EBV infection may trigger and enhance anti-NMDARE, and the higher the titer of NMDAR antibody, the more severe the clinical presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is very important for breast cancer couples to cope with cancer. Individual marital adjustment can affect PTG, however, it is still unknown that the effect of marital adjustment on one's own and their spouses' PTG in breast cancer couples. To investigate the status of PTG and marital adjustment and explore the relation between PTG and marital adjustment in breast cancer patient-husband dyads. General data, marital adjustment and PTG scores of breast cancer patients (N = 206) and their husbands (N = 206) were collected through a general information questionnaire, the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) and Marital Adjustment Test (MAT). T-tests and structural equation models were applied to explore the relations between marital adjustment and PTG among breast cancer patients and their husbands. The PTG among breast cancer patients was significantly higher than among their husbands (P < 0.05); the score of patients' marital adjustment was 96.18 ± 22.08, and that of their husbands was 96.22 ± 22.27. The participants' marital adjustment had a positive predictive effect on their own PTG (P < 0.05), and patients' marital adjustment also had a positive predictive effect on their husbands' PTG (P < 0.05). Breast cancer patients experienced more PTG than their husbands; patients' PTG was promoted by their own marital adjustment, while husbands' PTG was promoted by both their own and the patient's marital adjustment. In order to improve breast cancer patients' and their husbands' PTG, it is essential to promote their marital adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airway remodeling is an important pathologic factor in the progression of asthma. Abnormal proliferation and migration of airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) are important pathologic mechanisms in severe asthma. In the current study, claudin-1 (CLDN1) was identified as an asthma-related gene and was upregulated in ASMCs stimulated with platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB). Cell counting kit-8 and EdU assays were used to evaluate cell proliferation, and transwell assay was carried out to analyze cell migration and invasion. The levels of inflammatory factors were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results showed that CLDN1 knockdown inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion, and inflammation of ASMCs treated with PDGF-BB, whereas overexpression of CLDN1 exhibited the opposite effects. Protein-protein interaction assay and co-immunoprecipitation revealed that CLDN1 directly interacted with matrix metalloproteinase 14 (MMP14). CLDN1 positively regulated MMP14 expression in asthma, and MMP14 overexpression reversed cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and inflammation induced by silenced CLDN1. Taken together, CLDN1 promotes PDGF-BB-induced cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and inflammatory responses of ASMCs by upregulating MMP14 expression, suggesting a potential role for CLDN1 in airway remodeling in asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing technology has been widely used for marine monitoring. However, due to the limitations of sensor technologies and data sources, effective monitoring of marine ships at night remains challenging. To address these challenges, our study developed SDGST, a high-resolution glimmer marine ship dataset from SDGSAT-1 satellite and proposed a ship detection and identification method based on the YOLOv5s model, the Glimmer YOLO model. Considering the characteristics of glimmer images, our model has made several effective improvements to the original YOLOv5s model. In particular, the improved model incorporates a new layer for detecting small targets and integrates the CA (Coordinate Attention) mechanism. To enhance the original feature fusion strategy, we introduced BiFPN (Bi-directional Feature Pyramid Network). We also adopted the EIOU Loss function and replaced the initially defined anchors with clustering results, thus improving detection performance. The mean Average Precision (mAP%) reaches 96.7%, which is a 5.1% improvement over the YOLOv5s model. Notably, it significantly improves the detection of small ships. This model demonstrates superior performance in ship detection under glimmer conditions compared to the original YOLOv5s model and other popular target detection models, and may serve as a valuable reference for achieving high-precision nighttime marine monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inverse motion concept is used to optimize thermo-hyperelastic structures using an exact description of the deformed geometry. This method prescribes the shape of the structure in the deformed state, and the optimization yields the shape of the undeformed configuration, i.e. the manufactured state. The kinematics of the thermoelastic model is defined through the multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient in combination with neo-Hookean hyperelasticity. To regularize the optimization problem and obtain distinct boundaries, the mathematical design field is thresholded using a smoothed Heaviside function and smeared using a partial differential equation. The sensitivity analyses of the objective function and constraints are both based on the adjoint method. The capabilities of the proposed approach are shown by numerical examples wherein the weight is minimized and the performance of multi-material compliant mechanisms is optimized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One new 6a,11a-dehydropterocarpan derivative, 6-O-methyl-anhydrotuberosin (1), one new 6a-hydroxypterocarpan, (6aR,11aR,11bR)-hydroxytuberosone (7), and seven known compounds including two 6a,11a-dehydropterocarpans (2 and 4), two coumestans (3 and 5), one isoflavonoid (6) and two other phenolic compounds (8 and 9) were isolated from the roots of Pueraria lobata. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated with spectroscopic and spectrometric methods (1 D and 2DNMR, HRESIMS). Compounds 1, 2, 4–5 showed potent LSD1 inhibitory activities with IC50 values ranging from 1.73 to 4.99 μM. Furthermore, compound 2 showed potent cytotoxicity against gastric cancer cell lines MGC-803 and BGC-823, and lung cancer cell lines H1299 and H460. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work was to investigate the chemical compositions of the essential oil (EO) extracted from Senecio scandens by hydrodistillation and their insecticidal activities against Tribolium castaneum, Lasioderma serricorne and Liposceis bostrychophila. The chemical profile of the EO were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and 20 compounds were identified which accounted for 88.03% of the total EO. Five major compounds identified in the EO were assayed against the three stored product insects. The EO showed strong contact toxicity to T. castaneum (LD50 = 18.01 μg/adult), L. serricorne (LD50 = 20.11 μg/adult) and L. bostrychophila (LD50 = 72.14 μg/cm2). Among all compounds, geraniol showed the contact toxicity against L. serricorne and L. bostrychophila with LD50 values of 15.82 μg/adult and 26.64 μg/cm2. The EO and its five chemical compounds also exhibited different level of potential repellence to the three stored product insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quercetin (1) was converted into quercetin 7-O-succinyl glucoside (2) by used Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FJ18 as a solvent-resistant whole-cell biocatalyst. The structure of the new compound was confirmed by LC-MS analysis and NMR spectroscopy. The water-solubility of this novel quercetin 7-O-succinyl glucoside (2) was approximately 1000 times higher than that of native quercetin (2). Quercetin (1) and quercetin 7-O-succinyl glucoside (2) exhibited significant DPPH scavenging capacity with IC50 values of 23.55 and 36.05 µM, respectively. Both compounds showed moderate cytotoxic effects against the two human cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and HepG2) with IC50 values ranging from 39.45-63.38 µM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cereals account for a large proportion of the human diet and are an important source of protein. The preparation of cereal protein peptides is a good way to utilize these proteins. Cereal protein peptides have good application potential as antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer compounds, in lowering blood pressure, controlling blood sugar, and inhibiting thrombosis. This article reviews the literature on the functional properties, mechanisms of action, and applications of cereal protein peptides in the food industry with two perspectives, and summarizes the methods for their preparation and identification. The biologically active peptides derived from different grain proteins have varied main functional properties, which may be related to the differences in the amino acid composition and protein types of different grains. On this basis, the structure-activity relationship of cereal protein peptides was discussed. The advancement of identification technology makes the integration of bioinformatics and bioactive peptide research closer. Bioinformatics by combination of online database, computer simulation and experimental verification is helpful to in-deep study the structure-activity relationship of biologically active peptides, and improve efficiency in the process of obtaining target peptides with less cost. In addition, the application of cereal protein peptides in the food industry is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a common acute or chronic intestinal disease with an imbalance of inflammation. Picroside II (P-II) exerts a protective role in various inflammation-related diseases. However, the effect of P-II on UC is still unclear. To explore the effect of P-II on UC and its potential mechanism. Human monocytic leukemia cell line THP-1 was treated with phorbol ester (PMA) to differentiate into a macrophage. The differentiated THP-1 cells were hatched with LPS combined with ATP or Nigericin to activate the NLRP3 inflammasome in vitro. The UC model was constructed by injection of DSS into mice. The maximum nontoxic concentration of P-II on THP-1 cells was 60 μM. LPS combined with ATP or Nigericin stimulated the production of IL-1β, which was antagonized by P-II treatment. Meanwhile, P-II administration interfered with the aggregation of ASC and the assembly of NLRP3 inflammasomes. Also, P-II treatment reduced the LPS and ATP-induced elevation of the relative protein expression of NLRP3, pro-caspase-1, IL-1β and p-p65/p65, and the concentration of TNF-α and IL-6. Besides, the NF-κB specific inhibitor BAY-117082 notably repressed the LPS together with ATP-enhanced the relative protein expression of NLRP3, caspase-1 and IL-1β. Moreover, in vivo results showed that P-II relieved the DDS-induced UC, as evidenced by the improvement of mice weight, DAI and pathological scores. In addition, P-II treatment notably decreased DDS-promoted expression of NLRP3 inflammasomes and inflammatory factors in vivo. P-II alleviated DSS-induced UC by repressing the production of NLRP3 inflammasomes via the NF-κB signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Yunnan province is most important area of potato planting in China. Meanwhile, there are many factors constraint to its developments, especially pest damage. So, eleven potato cultivars (such as Hezuo 88, Lishu 6, Qingshu 9 and Yunshu 304) of vital commercial variety in Yunnan were selected for pests investigation. The field survey of eleven potato cultivars in two cropping seasons (spring and autumn) was conducted from 2020 to 2021 in Yunnan province, China. During autumn planting season of 2020 and 2021, populations of eight insect pests including aphid, thrips, whitefly, leafhopper, potato tuber moth, tomato leaf miner, beet armyworm and cabbage moth were surveyed. All pest’s population peaked in October. Meanwhile, Qingshu 9 and Yunshu 304 has the largest population of aphid. The largest population of whitefly were reported on Hezuo 88 and Yunshu 304, respectively. The largest population of thrips were found on Hezuo 88, whereas Qingshu 9 has the lowest population of whitefly. The lowest population of aphid were observed on Lishu 6. The lowest population of thrips were found on Yunshu 304. During spring planting season of 2021, population of thrips, leafhopper and adult potato tuber moth were surveyed. The highest population was appeared in June. But there was no significant difference for the pests populations among different cultivars. These results of pests population dynamics during the cropping period would be helpful for making appropriate and sustainable pest management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) co-exposure have been inconsistently associated with blood pressure (BP) and hypertension (HTN). This cross-sectional study included 309 participants who completed a health examination and had blood Cd (Cd-B) and Pb (Pb-B) levels measured. The association between Cd, Pb, and their combined exposure levels, with systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and HTN was evaluated using models which were stratified according to sex, age, BMI, and smoking habit categories. The results found both increasing Cd-B and Pb-B were associated with elevated SBP and DBP in the overall population. In addition, increases in Cd-B and Pb-B were also associated with increased risk of HTN in overall and stratified models. Moreover, compared with the low exposure group, co-exposure to high levels of Cd and Pb was associated with increased SBP (β = 10.95, 95% CI: 5.69, 16.21), increased DBP (β = 5.09, 95% CI: 1.53, 8.66), and increased HTN risk (OR = 2.45, 95% CI: 1.15, 5.21) in the overall model, and above results were different in the stratified model. This study provides evidence of an association between Cd and/or Pb exposure levels, BP, and HTN. However, the significance of this association differed according to sex, age, BMI, and smoking habit. Cadmium/lead exposure is associated with elevated blood pressure and hypertension. Cadmium and lead co-exposure increased blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner. Results revealed differences according to sex, age, BMI, and smoking habit category. Health oversight should be implemented for residents with high heavy metal exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The nutritional value of Tartary buckwheat is much higher than that of common buckwheat. Tartary buckwheat is rich in nutrients, some of them unique, and has good medicinal properties. It also serves as a good feed crop. This review aims to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive literature on Tartary buckwheat's active substances (proteins, polyphenols, D-chiro-inositol, fat-soluble substances, resistant starch, dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins), medicinal value (e.g., prevention of AIDS, and prevention and treatment of cancer, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases) and nutritional effects (as an antioxidant, in lowering blood pressure, blood fat, and blood sugar, for detoxification and weight loss), etc., and research activities connected to Tartary buckwheat and its health effects in China and abroad. This review is expected to present a reference for the further development and utilization of Tartary buckwheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation into the chemical diversity of Nardostachys chinensis Batal led to the discovery of three new (1–3) and one known (4) iridoid glycosides. Their structures were established through spectroscopic methods including 1 D and 2 D NMR experiments and HRESIMS analysis. Inhibitory effects of 1–4 on nitric oxide production were investigated in lipopolysaccaride (LPS)-mediated RAW 264.7 cells, and they displayed IC50 values in the range 7.8–15.2 μM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the Hamilton–Jacobi equations H (x , D u , u) = 0 in M and ∂ u / ∂ t + H (x , D x u , u) = 0 in M × (0 , ∞) , where the Hamiltonian H = H (x , p , u) depends Lipschitz continuously on the variable u. In the framework of the semicontinuous viscosity solutions due to Barron–Jensen, we establish the comparison principle, existence theorem, and representation formula as value functions for extended real-valued, lower semicontinuous solutions for the Cauchy problem. We also establish some results on the long-time behavior of solutions for the Cauchy problem and classification of solutions for the stationary problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]