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BACKGROUND: The fermentation of Qu (FQ) is a novel method to modify the properties of starch to expand its application and especially to increase the resistant starch (RS) content. Using waxy maize starch (WMS) as a fermentation substrate can increase the RS content significantly but it may be time consuming and not cost effective due to the almost negligible RS content of WMS. To solve this problem, we hypothesized that sub‐high amylose starch (s‐HAMS), with an amylose content close to 50% could be an ideal substrate for FQ. RESULTS: The results showed that FQ did not change the shape and the particle size of starch granules, the gelatinization peak (Tp), or the conclusion temperature (Tc), but the slowly digested starch content declined. Rapidly digested starch content fluctuated during FQ and the amylose content decreased within 36 h and then increased. Within 24h, FQ significanlty increased these values: the RS content, relative crystallinity (RC), the ratio of FTIR absorbances at 1047/1022cm‐1, the diffraction peak at 19.8° in X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and the gelatinization onset temperature (To) increased significantly, within 24 h of FQ. However, after 24 h of fermentation, the RS content, RC, the ratio of FTIR absorbances at 1047/1022 cm−1, and gelatinization enthalpy (ΔH) decreased significantly. CONCLUSION: Sub‐high amylose starch is more suitable for FQ to produce low digestibility starch, and the increase in RS may be due to the formation of 'amylose‐lipid' complexes (RS5). © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water evaporation rate of 3D solar evaporator heavily relies on the water transport height of the evaporator. In this work, a 3D solar evaporator featuring a soil capillary‐like structure is designed by surface coating native balsa wood using potassium hydroxide activated carbon (KAC). This KAC‐coated wood evaporator can transport water up to 32 cm, surpassing that of native wood by ≈8 times. Moreover, under 1 kW m−2 solar radiation without wind, the KAC‐coated wood evaporator exhibits a remarkable water evaporation rate of 25.3 kg m−2 h−1, ranking among the highest compared with other reported evaporators. The exceptional water transport capabilities of the KAC‐coated wood should be attributed to the black and hydrophilic KAC film, which creates a porous network resembling a soil capillary structure to facilitate efficient water transport. In the porous network of coated KAC film, the small internal pores play a pivotal role in achieving rapid capillary condensation, while the larger interstitial channels store condensed water, further promoting water transport up more and micropore capillary condensation. Moreover, this innovative design demonstrates efficacy in retarding phenol from wastewater through absorption onto the coated KAC film, thus presenting a new avenue for high‐efficiency clean water production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Drought stress (DS) is the main abiotic stress that maize suffers during its whole growth period, and maize is also sensitive to DS. It had been demonstrated that DS could improve the quality of normal maize starch. However, waxy maize, which has special properties, has not been explored in depth, which limits the breeding and cultivation of waxy maize varieties and the application of waxy maize starch. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of DS on the biosynthesis, structure, and functionality of waxy maize starch. RESULTS: The results showed that DS decreased the expression level of SSIIb, SSIIIa, GBSSIIa, SBEI, SBEIIb, ISAII, and PUL, but increased the expression level of SSI and SBEIIa. DS did not change the average chain length of amylopectin, while increased the relative content of fa chains (RCfa) and decreased the RCfb1 and RCfb3. Furthermore, DS decreased the amylose content, amorphous lamellar distance da, semi‐crystalline repeat distance, and average particle size, whereas it increased the relative crystallinity, crystalline distance dc, the content of rapidly digested starch in the uncooked system and resistant starch content in both the uncooked and cooked system. Conclusions: For waxy maize, DS could raise the relative expression level of SSI and SBEIIa, thus increasing RCfa. The larger number of RCfa could create steric hindrance, which can lead to producing more resistant starch in waxy maize starch. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) are potential porous adsorbents for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX). A novel MOF, using low toxic aluminum (Al) as the metal, named as ZJU‐620(Al), with uniform micropore size of 8.37±0.73 Å and specific surface area of 1347 m2 g−1, was synthesized. It is constructed by one‐dimensional rod‐shaped AlO6 clusters, formate ligands and 4,4′,4′′‐(2,4,6‐trimethylbenzene‐1,3,5‐triyl) tribenzoic ligands. ZJU‐620(Al) exhibits excellent chemical‐thermal stability and adsorption for trace BTEX, e.g. benzene adsorption of 3.80 mmol g−1 at P/P0=0.01 and 298 K, which is the largest one reported. Using Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations and Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analyses, it was observed that the excellent adsorption could be attributed to the high affinity of BTEX molecules in ZJU‐620(Al) micropores because the kinetic diameters of BTEX are close up to the pore size of ZJU‐620(Al). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma‐Polymerized Hexamethyldisiloxane (pp‐HMDSO) was developed as buffer layer by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) together with SiN barrier layers to form thin film encapsulation (TFE) stack that can reduce the whole TFE thickness to less than 1µm for an ultra‐high resolution Micro‐OLED application. The pp‐HMDSO film featured excellent particle coverage was close to 100% transmittance in the whole visible light region and was nearly stress free. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long‐distance running is a common cause of Achilles tendinopathy. A reliable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique to track early changes in the tendon caused by running could facilitate more effective interventions to combat progression. Purpose: To evaluate an ultrashort echo time sequence with magnetization transfer preparation (UTE‐MT) in the detection of changes in Achilles tendons of amateur marathon runners before and after long‐distance running. Study Type: Prospective. Population: Thirty‐two runners (19 enrolled for full marathons and 13 enrolled for half‐marathons) and 5 healthy non‐runners. Field Strength/Sequence: 3.0 T; UTE‐MT and dual‐echo UTE for T2* assessment (UTE‐T2*). Assessment: MRI was performed 1‐week pre‐race, 2‐days post‐race, and 4‐weeks post‐race. UTE‐MT ratio (UTE‐MTR) and UTE‐T2* of tendon were measured by two independent radiologists who were blinded to the scan time point and participant data. The Achilles tendon was divided into six regions of interest (ROIs) for data analysis, namely the insertion part (INS), middle part (MID), muscle‐tendon junction (MTJ), tendon‐bone insertion (TBI), tendon‐muscle insertion (TMI), and whole tendon (bulk). Statistical Tests: Analysis of variance and Friedman's rank tests were used to evaluate changes in UTE‐MTR and UTE‐T2* between time points. Tukey test and Bonferroni method were used for further comparisons. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The UTE‐MTR values of most tendon ROIs changed significantly between the measured time points, except for the INS region (P = 0.1977). Conversely, the UTE‐T2* values only showed significant changes in the MID and TBI regions. Paired comparisons showed that the UTE‐MTR decreases in the MTJ, MID, TMI, and bulk regions at 2‐days post‐race were significant compared to measures taken pre‐race and 4‐weeks post‐race. For UTE‐T2* measurements, significant differences were observed only for the MID region between pre‐race and 2‐days post‐race (P = 0.0408, 95% CI: 0.0061, 0.1973), and for the TBI region between pre‐race and 4‐weeks post‐race (P = 0.0473, 95% CI: 0.0013, 0.1766). Data Conclusion: The UTE‐MT sequence is able to detect biochemical changes in the Achilles tendon after long‐distance running. Level of Evidence: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperpolarization‐activated cyclic nucleotide‐gated (HCN) channels function as pacemaker channels in spontaneously active cells. We studied the existence of HCN channels and their functional roles in the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) from the mouse colon using electrophysiological, immunohistochemical and molecular techniques. HCN1 and HCN3 channels were detected in anoctamin‐1 (Ca2+‐activated Cl− channel; ANO1)‐positive cells within the muscular and myenteric layers in colonic tissues. The mRNA transcripts of HCN1 and HCN3 channels were expressed in ANO1‐positive ICC. In the deletion of HCN1 and HCN3 channels in colonic ICC, the pacemaking potential frequency was reduced. Basal cellular adenylate cyclase activity was decreased by adenylate cyclase inhibitor in colonic ICC, whereas cAMP‐specific phosphodiesterase inhibitors increased it. 8‐Bromo‐cyclic AMP and rolipram increased spontaneous intracellular Ca2+ oscillations. In addition, Ca2+‐dependent adenylate cyclase 1 (AC1) mRNA was detected in colonic ICC. Sulprostone, a PGE2‐EP3 agonist, increased the pacemaking potential frequency, maximum rate of rise of resting membrane in pacemaker potentials and basal cellular adenylate cyclase activity in colonic ICC. These results indicate that HCN channels exist in colonic ICC and participate in generating pacemaking potentials. Thus, HCN channels may be therapeutic targets in disturbed colonic motility disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutral non‐effectively grounded mode is widely used in medium‐voltage distribution networks in China. When a single‐phase grounding fault occurs in distribution networks, abundant transient signals will be generated. Here, a fault location method based on improved Hausdorff distance is proposed with transient zero‐sequence current and transient zero‐sequence voltage of bus. First, according to the impedance characteristic analysis of the zero‐sequence network, the selected frequency band (SFB) is determined, and the transient signals in the SFB are extracted by the digital filter. Second, the projection components of transient zero‐sequence currents at each monitoring point of faulty feeder are obtained by the principle of orthogonalization. Finally, the projection component values of each section are calculated by the improved Hausdorff distance, and the maximum value is selected. If the maximum value is much larger than the sum of the values of other sections excluding the maximum value, the section where the maximum value is located is judged as a faulty section, otherwise, the downstream section of the last monitoring point is determined as the faulty section. Matlab/Simulink simulation shows that the proposed method can locate accurately under different fault conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Myocardial injury has been found using magnetic resonance imaging in recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) patients unselected or with ongoing cardiac symptoms. Purpose: To evaluate for the presence of myocardial involvement in recovered COVID‐19 patients without cardiovascular symptoms and abnormal serologic markers during hospitalization. Study Type: Prospective. Population: Twenty‐one recovered COVID‐19 patients and 20 healthy controls (HC). Field Strength/Sequence: 3.0 T, cine, T2‐weighted imaging, T1 mapping, and T2 mapping. Assessment: Cardiac ventricular function includes end‐diastolic volume, end‐systolic volume, stroke volume, cardiac output, left ventricle (LV) mass, and ejection fraction (EF) of LV and right ventricle (RV), and segmental myocardial T1 and T2 values were measured. Statistical Tests: Student's t‐test, univariate general linear model test, and chi‐square test were used for analyses between two groups. Ordinary one‐way analyses of variance or Kruskal–Wallis H test were used for analyses between three groups, followed by post‐hoc analyses. Results: Fifteen (71.43%) COVID‐19 patients had abnormal magnetic resonance findings, including raised myocardial native T1 (5, 23.81%) and T2 values (10, 47.62%), decreased LVEF (1, 4.76%), and RVEF (2, 9.52%). The segmental myocardial T2 value of COVID‐19 patients (49.20 [46.1, 54.6] msec) was significantly higher than HC (48.3 [45.2, 51.7] msec) (P < 0.001), while the myocardial native T1 value showed no significant difference between COVID‐19 patients and HC. The myocardial T2 value of serious COVID‐19 patients (52.5 [48.1, 57.1] msec) was significantly higher than unserious COVID‐19 patients (48.8 [45.9, 53.8] msec) and HC (48.3 [45.2, 51.7]) (P < 0.001). COVID‐19 patients with abnormally elevated D‐dimer, C‐reactive protein, or lymphopenia showed higher myocardial T2 values than without (all P < 0.05). Data Conclusion: Cardiac involvement was observed in recovered COVID‐19 patients with no preexisting cardiovascular disease, no cardiovascular symptoms, and elevated serologic markers of myocardial injury during the whole course of COVID‐19. Level of Evidence: 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 5 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium–sulfur (Li‐S) batteries have potential in high energy density battery systems. However, intermediates of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) can easily shuttle to the Li anode and react with Li metal to deplete the active materials and cause rapid failure of the battery. A facile solution pretreatment method for Li anodes involving a solution of metal fluorides/dimethylsulfoxide was developed to construct robust biphasic surface layers (BSLs) in situ. The BSLs consist of lithiophilic alloy (LixM) and LiF phases on Li metal, which inhibit the shuttle effect and increase the cycle life of Li‐S batteries. The BSLs allow Li+ transport and they inhibit dendrite growth and shield the Li anodes from corrosive reaction with LiPSs. Li‐S batteries containing BSLs‐Li anodes demonstrate excellent cycling over 1000 cycles at 1 C and simultaneously maintain a high coulombic efficiency of 98.2 %. Based on our experimental and theoretical results, we propose a strategy for inhibition of the shuttle effect that produces high stability Li‐S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Pulmonary nodules are a potential manifestation of lung cancer. In computer‐aided diagnosis (CAD) of lung cancer, it is of great significance to extract the complete boundary of the pulmonary nodules in the computed tomography (CT) scans accurately. It can provide doctors with important information such as tumor size and density, which assist doctors in subsequent diagnosis and treatment. In addition to this, in the molecular subtype and radiomics of lung cancer, segmentation of lung nodules also plays a pivotal role. Existing methods are difficult to use only one model to simultaneously treat the boundaries of multiple types of lung nodules in CT images. Method: In order to solve the problem, this paper proposed a three‐dimensional (3D)‐UNET network model optimized by a 3D conditional random field (3D‐CRF) to segment pulmonary nodules. On the basis of 3D‐UNET, the 3D‐CRF is used to optimize the sample output of the training set, so as to update the network weights in training process, reduce the model training time, and reduce the loss rate of the model. We selected 936 sets of pulmonary nodule data for the lung image database consortium and image database resource initiative (LIDC‐IDRI)1 database to train and test the model. What's more, we used clinical data from partner hospitals for additional validation. Results and conclusions: The results show that our method is accurate and effective. Particularly, it shows more significance for the optimization of the segmentation of adhesive pulmonary nodules (the juxta‐pleural and juxta‐vascular nodules) and ground glass pulmonary nodules (GGNs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single layer barrier layer and multi‐layer barrier/buffer/barrier layers thin film encapsulation (TFE) were developed by large area PECVD. The barrier performances as well as mechanical bending flexibility were demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three novel atropisomeric bridged P,N-ligands were prepared using a highly efficient central-to-axial transfer strategy as the protocol. The new chiral ligands were successfully applied in the palladium-catalyzed asymmetric Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction, Up to 98% yield and 82% ee were obtained in the enantioselective synthesis of axially chiral biarylphosphonates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents results of first vertebrate turtles and fish fossil site study conducted at the Xingling Town in Guangdong Province, China to study the vertebrate biodiversity and abundance in southern Jilin. Topics include the government's act of collecting sediment samples to study the fossil assemblages, the revelation of a diversity of dinosaur bones, and the presence of vertebrates in this region.