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The iron‐armored chain horse is a military strategy in ancient China to enhance the combat force of the entire army, especially when individual fighters are vulnerable to being picked off one by one. Herein, this strategy is adopted to generate highly efficient metal‐free blue room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) using the world's largest production of dicarboxylate acid. By encapsulating the commercially available chemical disodium terephthalate (DTPA) within the iron armor of α‐cyclodextrin (α‐CD), and subsequently linking the iron‐armored DTPA@α‐CD horses into a crystalline array mediated by hydrogen bonds and Na+ coordination, a highly confined and segregated arrangement of DTPA is achieved, leading to heavy atom‐free deep‐blue phosphorescence with a maximum efficiency of 83.3%. Since the crystalline array of the iron‐armored chain horse DTPA@α‐CD can be facilely obtained through water evaporation, the current phosphorescent material allows for rapid, high‐throughput solution processing of deep‐blue afterglow display, offering an economic and environmentally benign approach for deep‐blue RTP materials and facilitating their application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the similarities and differences between nonalcoholic fatty liver (FL) disease (NAFLD) and abdominal obesity in their association with insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome (MetS).Methods: The Survey on Prevalence in East China for Metabolic Diseases and Risk Factors (SPECT-China) is a population-based survey of Chinese adults. A total of 9,685 participants (median age, 53 years; interquartile range, 44-63) were grouped into four categories by waist circumference (WC) and NAFLD status: NWC/FL(-), NWC/FL(+), HWC/FL(-), and HWC/FL(+) [FL(-), without NAFLD; FL(+), with NAFLD; HWC, higher WC; NWC, normal WC]. Logistic regression models were used to obtain the odds ratios as estimates of the associations between different categories and MetS.Results: Male participants with HWC/FL(-) had higher homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance scores than subjects with NWC/FL(+), but female subjects showed the opposite results. Compared with NWC/FL(+), HWC was associated with an increased likelihood of blood pressure disorder and a decreased likelihood of triglyceride and blood glucose disorders in men, but in women, HWC was associated with only a lower likelihood of triglyceride disorder. Despite these differences, patients with NWC/FL(+) and HWC/FL(-) had almost equally serious degrees of metabolic disorders (MetS z score).Conclusions: There are significant differences between sexes regarding the association between NAFLD and abdominal obesity status and MetS components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ContextScutellarin (1) has been widely used in China to treat acute cerebral infarction and paralysis induced by cerebrovascular diseases. However, scutellarin (1) has unstable metabolic characteristics. ObjectiveThe metabolic profile of 6-O-scutellarein was studied to determine its metabolic stabilityin vivo. Materials and methodsIn this study, a method of UFLC/Q-TOF MS was used to study the 6-O-methyl-scutellarein metabolites in rat plasma, urine, bile and faeces after oral administration of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3). One hour after oral administration of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) (34 mg/kg), approximately 1 mL blood samples were collected in EP tubes from all groups. Bile, urine and faeces samples were collected from eight SD rats during 0–24 h after oral administration. The mass defect filtering, dynamic background subtraction and information dependent acquisition techniques were also used to identify the 6-O-methyl-scutellarein metabolites. ResultsThe parent compound 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) was found in rat urine, plasma, bile and faeces. The glucuronide conjugate of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (M1,M2), diglucuronide conjugate of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (M3), sulphate conjugate of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (M4), glucuronide and sulphate conjugate of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (M5), methylated conjugate of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (M6) were detected in rat urine.M1,M2andM3were detected in rat bile.M1was found in rat plasma andM7was detected in faeces. Discussion and conclusionBecause the parent compound 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) was found in rat urine, plasma, bile and faeces, we speculate that 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) had good metabolic stabilityin vivo.This warrants further study to develop it as a promising candidate for the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Simple Summary: Cloning is the most promising technique for passing the excellent phenotypes of the best individuals in the population. Here we studied the effects of cloning on Duroc pig, which is the most popular sire used in pig production due to its good growth and meat quality. Understanding the changes of cloned Duroc pigs and their progenies is of great importance for animal breeding and public acceptance. The results of this study suggested that there were no difference in blood parameters between the cloned Duroc and the conventionally bred Duroc and their progenies. To increase public understanding in cloned animals produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer technology, our previous study investigated the carcass trait and meat quality of the clones (paper accepted), and this study we further evaluate differences by investigating the blood parameters in cloned pigs and their progeny. We collected blood samples from the clones and conventionally bred non-clones and their progeny, and investigated their hematological and blood biochemical characters. Our results supported the hypothesis that there was no significant difference between clones and non-clones, or their progeny. Taken together, the data demonstrated that the clones or their progeny were similar with their controls in terms of blood parameters, although there were still other kinds of disorders, such as abnormal DNA methylation or histone modifications that needs further investigation. The data in this study agreed that cloning technique could be used to preserve and enlarge the genetics of the superior boars in pig breeding industry, especially in facing of the deadly threat of African Swine fever happened in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osmanthus fragrans ( O. fragrans ) has been cultivated in China for over 2,500 years as a traditional fragrant plant. Recently, O. fragrans has drawn increasing attention due to its unique aroma and potential health benefits. In this review, the aroma and functional components of O. fragrans are summarized, and their biosynthetic mechanism is discussed. The beneficial functions and related molecular mechanism of O. fragrans extract are then highlighted. Finally, potential applications of O. fragrans are summarized, and future perspectives are proposed and discussed. According to the current research, O. fragrans extracts and components have great potential to be developed into value-added functional ingredients with preventive effects on certain chronic diseases. However, it is crucial to develop efficient, large-scale, and commercially viable extraction methods to obtain the bioactive components from O. fragrans . Furthermore, more clinical studies are highly needed to explore the beneficial functions of O. fragrans and guide its development into functional food products.

Nitrous oxide is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases and can destroy the ozone layer through photochemical reactions. In 2019, we conducted three cruises to study the spatial and temporal variability of N 2 O distribution and emissions in the Bohai Sea (BS) and North Yellow Sea (NYS), and analyzed the regional sources and sinks. The maximum average N 2 O concentrations were observed in the summer, followed by autumn, while the minimum was observed in the spring. The N 2 O concentration decreased in a gradient from the estuary to the continental shelf, particularly in summer, which indicated that the riverine input from the estuary was a strong source of N 2 O in the Bohai Sea. Due to the vertical mixing of the water column, the vertical distribution of N 2 O was moderate in autumn, while the bottom remained a hotspot for N 2 O emissions in spring and summer. The generalized additive model (GAM) showed that the temperature, salinity, DO and pH were strong predictors of N 2 O in the BS and NYS. Excess N 2 O concentrations were positively linearly correlated with the apparent oxygen utilization and NO 3 - concentrations, which suggested that nitrification was the dominant process of in situ N 2 O production in the BS and NYS. The mixing of water masses, especially DW (diluted water) and BCW (Bohai Sea coastal water), provided a significant amount of N 2 O to the entire shelf area of the BS. In addition, the coastal input was a dominate pusher of N 2 O emissions in the estuarine region. Overall, the annual N 2 O emissions from BS and NYS were approximately 1.72 × 10 -2  Tg yr -1 , which accounted for 0.51% of the annual global marine N 2 O emissions, but only 0.04% of the total area of the world's oceans. Hence, both the BS and NYS acted as N 2 O sources to the atmosphere., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: In this study, we characterised the use of physical restraints in three intensive care units (ICUs) in a general hospital in Nantong, China. Additionally, we explored risk factors potentially related to physical restraint use., Background: Despite their numerous harmful effects, physical restraints are frequently used in ICUs worldwide. Few studies have investigated the factors that contribute to physical restraint use in Chinese hospitals., Methods: We conducted a prospective, cross-sectional, observational study of 312 patients in three ICUs at a general hospital in China. The quantitative data were collected during a 5-month period using a physical restraint observation form and patient records. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics. The independent risk factors for physical restraint use were assessed using a logistic regression model., Results: Of the 312 patients in the three ICUs, 191 (61.2%) were restrained, and physical restraints were used more than once for 46 (24.1%) patients during their ICU stay. The median length of physical restrain use was 20 shifts (interquartile range = 10-36 shifts). Physical restraints were applied in 6664 of 12374 (53.9%) nurse shifts. The most common time at which physical restraints were applied was the beginning of the evening shift. According to the forward stepwise logistic regression analysis, delirium (P < 0.001), mechanical ventilation (P < 0.001), and age (P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for physical restraint use. The use of analgesics (P = 0.001) exerted an independent protective effect against physical restraint use., Conclusions: The overall prevalence of physical restraint use in Chinese ICUs was higher than that reported in previous investigations. The patients' nursing notes lacked complete physical restraint records, reflecting a need for standard guidelines and policies for physical restraint use in hospital ICUs in China. In addition, in this study, we explored the risk factors related to physical restraint use and found that age, delirium, mechanical ventilation, and analgesic use are associated with physical restraint use., (Copyright © 2018 Australian College of Critical Care Nurses Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)