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The global plant-based product market is growing rapidly, and plant-based milks show promising potential in the coffee beverage sector. This study aimed to identify sensory drivers of liking of plant-based milk coffees for guiding the development of plant-based products with competitive advantages over dairy milk coffees. Twelve coffee samples were prepared with plant-based (oat, soy, almond, and coconut) and dairy (cow) milk. Quantitative descriptive analysis was used to generate sensory attribute terms for the 12 samples. Check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions were given to consumers to evaluate the sensory profiles and consumer acceptance of the 12 samples. Correspondence analysis and cluster analysis of the CATA results from 80 consumers showed that the oat and soy milk coffee samples were closer to what the consumers perceived as "typical" milk products, while the coconut and almond milk coffee samples were closer to the "flavored" milk products. Partial least squares regression results revealed that the attributes smooth, milky, and thick were important drivers of liking for the milk coffee samples. On the contrary, rancid oil, greasy, astringent, and rice bran were the major sensory attributes lowering the panelists' acceptance of the milk coffee samples. The majority of consumers (53.5%) were "dairy milk lovers," who specifically liked the dairy milk coffee sample and had low acceptance for the plant-based milk coffee samples. There was also a group of consumers (46.2%) classified as "plant-based milk coffee lovers." They enjoyed coffees prepared with a wide range of milks (both dairy and nondairy milks) and represent high-potential consumers for plant-based milk coffee products. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The positive and negative drivers of liking for plant-based milk coffee samples were identified. A competitive landscape analysis method for assessing the acceptability and sensory attributes of 12 milk coffee samples (11 commercial plant-based milks and 1 dairy milk product) in the current Asian market was established. The sensory terms developed in this study can also be applied to evaluate sensory profiles of other plant-based and dairy milk coffee samples.

Licorice flavonoids, a bioactive substance derived from glycyrrhiza, have been reported for many pharmacological properties and are beneficial to animal health. This study aimed to explore the effects of licorice flavonoids powder (LFP) on growth performance and intestinal health of piglets. A total of 96 weaned piglets were randomly assigned into four treatments and supplemented with 0, 50, 150 and 250 mg/kg LFP for 5 weeks. Dietary LFP supplementation tended to increase (p = 0.068) average daily gain (ADG) and reduce (p = 0.089) the feed intake/body gain (F/G) of piglets than that of the control group during 15-35 days; and concentrations of LFP supplementation reduced (p 0.01) diarrhoea index during 14-35 days and 0-35 days. Piglets fed on diets supplied with LFP had a lower (p 0.05) pH in caecum and colon. Dietary LFP supplementation increased (p 0.01) the villi height and the ratio of villi height/crypt depth in duodenum, and reduced (p 0.05) crypt depth in duodenum. Compared with the control group, 250 mg/kg LFP supplementation up-regulated (p 0.05) the mRNA level of occludin (OCLN) in ileum. Meanwhile, dietary LFP supplementation down-regulated (p 0.05) mRNA abundance of Interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-8 and induced nitrogen monoxide synthase (INOS) in duodenum. Dietary 150 mg/kg LFP supplementation down-regulated (p 0.05) mRNA abundance of IL-1β and 250 mg/kg LFP up-regulated (p 0.05) the expression of IL-10 in ileum. In summary, dietary LFP supplementation has a trend to improve the performance of weaning piglets, those improvements are accompanied by reduction in diarrhoea, enhancement of intestinal morphological structure, barrier function, immune function, and development. In general, 150 mg/kg LFP supplementation is more effective.

BACKGROUND Heat stress (HS) has a negative impact on the intestinal barrier and immune function of pigs. Selenium (Se) may improve intestinal health through affecting selenoproteins. Thus we investigate the protective effect of new organic Se (2-hydroxy-4-methylselenobutanoic acid, HMSeBA) on jejunal damage in growing pigs upon HS and integrate potential roles of corresponding selenoproteins. RESULTS HS decreased the villus height and increased (P

Circularly polarized thermally activated delayed fluorescence (CP-TADF) and multiple-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR-TADF), which exhibit novel circularly polarized luminescence and excellent color fidelity, respectively, have gained immense popularity. In this study, integrated CP-TADF and MR-TADF (CPMR-TADF) are prepared by strategic design and synthesis of asymmetrical peripherally locked enantiomers, which are separated and denoted as (P,P″,P″)-/(M,M″,M″)-BN4 and (P,P″,P″)-/(M,M″,M″)-BN5 and exhibit TADF and circularly polarized light (CPL) properties. As the entire molecular frame participates in the frontier molecular orbitals, the resulting helical chirality of (+)/(-)-BN4- and (+)/(-)-BN5-based solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) helps in achieving a narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 49/49 and 48/48 nm and a high maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 20.6%/19.0% and 22.0%/26.5%, respectively. Importantly, unambiguous circularly polarized electroluminescence signals with dissymmetry factors (gEL ) of +3.7 × 10-3 /-3.1 × 10-3 (BN4) and +1.9 × 10-3 /-1.6 × 10-3 (BN5) are obtained. The results indicate successful exploitation of CPMR-TADF-emitter-based OLEDs to exhibit three characteristics: high efficiency, color purity, and circularly polarized light.

A direct route to chiral pyrimidine acyclic nucleoside analogues with a sulfur-contained side chain has been reported via enantioselective tandem conjugated addition-protonation reactions of thioacetic acid to α-pyrimidine substituted acrylates. In the presence of quinine-derived thiourea as the catalyst, diverse chiral sulfur-contained pyrimidine acyclic nucleoside analogues were given in excellent yields (95-99% yields) and moderate to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee).

Summary In the formation of goose fatty liver induced by a high-carbohydrate diet, it is characterized by the quick cell growth of liver. The carbohydrate is mostly digested and absorbed in the small intestine by the form of glucose. Recent studies have suggested a crucial role for PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway in regulating cell proliferation, and then we speculate that PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway may mediate glucose-induced liver cell proliferation. Goose primary hepatocytes were isolated and incubated in either no addition as a control or glucose or PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway inhibitors or cotreatment with glucose and PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway inhibitors. The results firstly showed that 35 mmol/l glucose stimulated the mRNA level and protein content of factors involved in PI3K-Akt-mTOR signal pathway in goose primary hepatocytes. Secondly, 35 mmol/l glucose evidently changed the cell cycle PI index and protein expression of cyclin D1. Meanwhile, the upregulation of 35 mmol/l glucose on the DNA synthesis rate, cell cycle PI index, the mRNA expression, protein content and protein expression of factors involved in the cell proliferation was decreased significantly by the inhibitors of PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway, LY294002, rapamycin or NVP-BEZ235. In summary, glucose could stimulate the cell proliferation, and the PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway inhibitors could dismiss glucose-induced the upregulation of cell proliferation in goose primary hepatocyte.

In article number 2001724, Chong Liu and co‐workers describe that the oncogenic state and cell identity need to match precisely to sensitize a glioma cell to IGF1R targeting. This phenomenon parallels the Chinese mortise and tenon joint structure, where different wood pieces are connected precisely by their mortise and tenon joints. Destruction of the mortise‐and‐tenon work (resembles the glioma hierarchy) needs the knowledge of how such structure is built up. [Image: see text]

Background Standard triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection fails in up to one quarter of patients. Levofloxacin-based triple therapy may be more efficacious. Objective The aim of this paper was to compare levofloxacin and proton pump inhibitor-based triple therapy with standard triple therapy for H. pylori infection. Methods PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ClinicalTrials.gov, Google Scholar, and Ovid were systematically searched to identify randomized controlled trials comparing levofloxacin and proton pump inhibitor-based therapy with standard triple therapy in treatment-naive patients with H. pylori infection until August 2013. Results Ten randomized controlled trials involving 2676 patients (1357 in the levofloxacin group and 1319 in the control group) met the inclusion criteria. The pooled odds ratio by intention-to-treat analysis and by per protocol analysis in the levofloxacin regimen versus standard regimen was 1.28 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88–1.85] and 1.23 (95% CI: 0.82–1.84) by the random effects model, respectively. There was no statistical significance of the incidence of total side effects between the groups, but levofloxacin-based therapy was associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of taste disturbance compared with standard third therapy. Conclusion Levofloxacin-based therapy was as safe and effective as triple therapy for H. pylori infection and could be considered as an additional treatment option. However, more rigorous research is required to accurately assess the role of levofloxacin in eradicating H. pylori infection. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The performance of iPP/LDPE blends in an extrusion coating process was investigated in the terms of coating width and draw-down ability. It is well known that iPP alone is not proper because of lower draw-down ability with severe draw resonance in elongational flow. To obtain higher draw-down ability, iPP was blended with LDPE. Additionally, iPPs having different molecular weight distribution (MWD) were used in this study to find out the effect of MWD of iPP on neck-in and draw-down ability. It was observed that iPP/LDPE blend with narrower MWD exhibits narrower coating width and higher draw-down ability. Neck-in and draw-down ability were correlated with shear and elongational properties obtained by several rheological measurements. From this study, the major rheological parameters affecting extrusion performance in iPP/LDPE blends could be assessed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009