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Generally, commercial rice wine has stable quality with bland flavor, while traditional rice wine has a mellow taste but is unstable in quality. In order to solve this problem, the influence of mixed culture fermentation with monocultures of culturable fungi producing amylase, protease and esterase isolated from Jiuqu from different regions in China and commercial sweet wine koji on the quality of rice wine was assessed. According to the enzyme-producing characteristics and 18S rDNA gene sequence analysis, the five obtained strains were identified as Rhizopus oryzae, Mucor circinelloides, M. lanceolatus, and two strains of Saccharomycopsis fibuligera (XG and HB). The addition of S. fibuligera HB increased the contents of ethanol and amino nitrogen, enriched the types and contents of organic acids, reduced the contents and percentage of bitter amino acids, and increased the contents of volatile compounds when compared with the control group (commercial sweet wine koji alone). More importantly, the contents of phenethyl alcohol and ethyl acetate were significantly higher than those in the other groups. Therefore, S. fibuligera HB can significantly improve the quality of rice wine, suggesting its application potential in multi-strain Qu for rice wine.

Organophosphate pesticides (OPs) are often used as insecticides and acaricides in agriculture, thus improving yields. OP residues may pose a serious threat, duetoinhibitionof the enzymeacetylcholinesterase(AChE). Therefore, a competitive bio-barcode immunoassay was designed for simultaneous quantification of organophosphate pesticide residues using AuNP signal amplification technology and Au@Pt catalysis. The AuNP probes were labelled with antibodies and corresponding bio-barcodes (ssDNAs), MNP probes coated with ovalbumin pesticide haptens and Au@Pt probes functionalized with the complementary ssDNAs were then prepared. Subsequently, pesticides competed with MNP probes to bind the AuNP probes. The recoveries of the developed assay were ranged from 71.26 to 117.47% with RSDs from 2.52 to 14.52%. The LODs were 9.88, 3.91, and 1.47 ng·kg-1, for parathion, triazophos, and chlorpyrifos, respectively. The assay was closely correlated with the data obtained from LC-MS/MS. Therefore, the developed method has the potential to be used as an alternative approach for detection of multiple pesticides.

Based on the self-polymerization reaction of dopamine (DA), a polydopamine (PDA) film was formed on the surface of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and glassy carbon electrode (GCE), which could result in uniform dispersion of AgNPs on the surface of GCE. As a result, PDA@AgNPs/GCE modified electrode was obtained. The self-polymerization time of DA and the electrochemical test method and conditions for chlorpromazine were investigated and optimized to establish a rapid method for the detection of chlorpromazine based on square wave voltammetry. The modified electrode was characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Under the optimal conditions, the oxidation peak current of chlorpromazine on PDA@AgNPs/GCE had a good linear relationship with its concentration in the range of 5.0 × 10-8–1.0 × 10-5 mol/L (R2 = 0.991). The detection limit (RSN = 3) was 1.7 × 10-8 mol/L. The recoveries of chlorpromazine in spiked pork, chicken and beef samples were 84.9%–88.8%, 79.8%–93.8% and 80.6%–93.9%, respectively. The instrument used in the method was light and portable, and the preparation method of the modified electrode was simple, easy, cheap, and convenient for batch preparation of modified electrodes, and could be used for the rapid detection of chlorpromazine in livestock and poultry meat.

Lymphoplasmacyte-rich meningioma (LPRM) is a rare subtype of meningioma, the specific pathogenesis of which remains unclear. Herein, we report the case of a 48-year-old Asian man who experienced progressive deafness and limb weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed extramedullary masses diffusely growing, wrapping, and compressing the cervical spinal cord. The dural lesion was partially excised by surgery, and postoperative pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of LPRM. Diffuse LPRM is extremely rare, and its treatment is challenging owing to difficulties associated with surgery and the uncertain efficacy of traditional therapies. Therefore, further clinical practice and basic research are needed to improve the prognosis of diffuse LPRM.

Two-dimensional electron gas systems (2DEGs) generated at the oxide interfaces that exhibit rich physics phenomena opened up an era for oxide-based electronics, photonics, and spintronics. The recent discovery of superconductivity plus the strong spin-orbital coupling naturally existing in the 2DEGs of KTaO3 (KTO) made KTO an exciting platform for the interplay of the electronic and spin degrees of freedom to create exotic physical properties. By directly placing KTO's 2DEGs next to another strongly-correlated oxide with nontrivial topological nodes, we reveal the anomalous effects which were induced by the topological states in the electronic transport properties of the KTO's 2DGEs, due to the electronic reconstruction caused by the proximity effect. This adds an additional prospect to the functions of KTO heterostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study explored the specific relationship between different lipid indicators and cognitive impairment and aimed to provide a reference for implementing targeted lipid regulation measures to prevent and alleviate cognitive impairment., Methods: We searched three databases (PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science) for literature related to hyperlipidaemia, lipid levels, and cognitive impairment, and used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to evaluate the quality of the identified literature. A meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4, and the combined effect size ratio using a random-effects model (odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval [CI]) was used to evaluate the association between dyslipidaemia and cognitive impairment., Results: Among initially identified 2247 papers, we ultimately included 18 studies involving a total of 758,074 patients. The results of the meta-analysis revealed that patients with hyperlipidaemia had a 1.23-fold higher risk of cognitive impairment than those with normal lipid levels (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.04-1.47, p = 0.02). Further subgroup analysis showed that elevated total cholesterol (TC) levels increased the risk of cognitive impairment by 1.59-fold (OR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.27-2.01, p < 0.0001) and were more significant in older or male patients. Moreover, elevated triglyceride levels were inversely correlated with cognitive disorders, whereas elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were unrelated to cognitive impairment risk., Conclusions: Dyslipidaemia was strongly associated with cognitive impairment, and elevated TC levels were a risk factor for cognitive impairment. Furthermore, the damaging effects of elevated TC levels on cognition were more pronounced in older and male populations., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.)

A low-cross-talk and thermo-insensitive 1×4 coarse wavelength-division multiplexing device is proposed on the silicon-on-insulator platform with the help of compact Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) and slot waveguides. The compact MZIs are used to achieve wavelength-insensitive power splitting. In the phase shifters, the trade-off between the opposite thermo-optical coefficients of the Si core and SU8 cladding in the slot waveguide is used to overcome the strong thermo-optic effect of silicon. The simulated results show that the cross talk is less than -20 d B at central wavelengths and the temperature-dependent wavelength shift is reduced to ∼4.7 p m / ∘ C . For the four channels, the 1-dB and 3-dB bandwidths are ∼14 n m and ∼18 n m , respectively.

Purpose: Coronary artery disease (CAD) and atrial fibrillation (AF) often coexist and lead to a much higher risk of mortality in the elderly population. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score could predict the risk of death in elderly patients with CAD and AF. Methods: Hospitalized patients aged ≥65 years with a diagnosis of CAD and AF were recruited consecutively. Patients were divided into 5 groups according to the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score (≤2, =3, =4, =5, and ≥6). At least a 1-year follow-up was carried out for the assessment of all-cause death. Results: A total of 1,579 eligible patients were recruited, with 582 all-cause deaths (6.86 per 100 patient-years) occurring during a follow-up of at least 1 year. With the increase in the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score, the 1-year and 5-year survival rate decreased (96.4% vs. 95.7% vs. 94.0% vs. 86.5% vs. 85.7%, respectively, P < 0.001; 78.4% vs. 68.9% vs. 64.6% vs. 55.5% vs. 50.0%, respectively, P < 0.001). Compared with the patients with CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score <5, for patients with CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score ≥5, the adjusted hazard ratio for death was 1.78 (95% CI: 1.45-2.18, P < 0.001). The predictive values of the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score ≥5 for in-hospital (C-index = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.62-0.69, P < 0.001), 1-year (C-index = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.63-0.67, P < 0.001) and 5-year (C-index = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.59-0.61, P < 0.001) death were in comparable. Conclusion: In elderly patients with concomitant CAD and AF, the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score can be used to predict death with moderate accuracy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wu, Wang, Dong, Qin, Li, Yan, Guo, Feng, Zou, Wang, Du, Zhang, Ma and Yin.)