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[Display omitted] • Alkaline pH regulation efficiently enhanced solubilization and hydrolysis stages. • The toxicity of limonene from OPW to functional anaerobes was alleviated. • The metabolisms of pectin and protein degradation were enhanced. • Functional fermentive bacteria were enriched with upregulated metabolic functions. The anaerobic co-fermentation of orange peel waste (OPW) and waste activated sludge (WAS) for useful short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) generation presents an environmentally friendly and efficient method for their disposal. This study amied to investigate the effects of pH regulation on OPW/WAS co-fermentation, and found that the alkaline pH regulation (pH 9) significantly enhanced the promotion of SCFAs (11843 ± 424 mg COD/L), with a high proportion of acetate (51%). Further analysis revealed that alkaline pH regulation facilitated solubilization, hydrolysis, and acidification while simultaneously inhibiting methanogenesis. Furthermore, the functional anaerobes, as well as the expressions of corresponding gene involved in SCFAs biosynthesis, were generally improved under alkaline pH regulation. Alkaline treatment might played a critical role in alleviating the toxicity of OPW, resulting in improving microbial metabolic activity. This work provided an effective strategy to recover biomass waste as high-value products, and insightful understanding of microbial traits during OPW/WAS co-fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to improve the 3D printing accuracy of pineapple gel and its subsequent microwave freeze drying (MFD) solidification precision based on infill percentage control (30%, 50%, 70%, and 90%) and internal models design (Hilbert curve, honeycomb, and rectilinear). Through comparing the designed models with the physical dimensions of the printed and dehydrated products, the optimal regulation strategy was obtained. Results showed that the printing deviation of samples decreased initially and then increased with higher infill percentages, with the 70% infill percentage having the lowest deviation. Among all internal models, the rectilinear infill pattern showed the best printing accuracy. Porosity and the shape deformation rate of MFD solidification products initially decreased and then increased with higher infill percentages. The 70% infill percentage products had the lowest shape deformation rate. The honeycomb infill pattern performed best in reducing solidification sample shrinkage and deformation. Additionally, micro-CT scans revealed that the honeycomb infill pattern helped maintain the integrity of each layer's lines of MFD solidification products, closely matching the model's line distribution. In the 50% and 70% infill percentage, honeycomb and rectilinear samples exhibited better crispness. A 70% honeycomb infill pattern was recommended for optimal printing and post-solidification accuracy. • Combining 3D printing and microwave freeze-drying (MFD) to manufacture high-precision products. • Products with 70% infill percentage had the lowest printing deviation and shape deformation rate. • The rectilinear infill pattern achieved the best printing accuracy. • The honeycomb infill pattern best reduced deformation of MFD solidified samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-chain fatty acid (SCFAs) produced from harvested algae by anaerobic fermentation with uncontrolled pH was limited due to the solid cell structure of algae. This study, therefore, was undertaken to enhance the generation of SCFAs from algae by controlling the fermentation pH. pH influenced not only the total SCFAs production, but the percentage of individual SCFA. The maximal yield of SCFAs occurred at pH 10.0 and fermentation time of 6 d (3161 mg COD/L), which mainly contained acetic and iso -valeric acids and was nearly eight times that at uncontrolled pH (392 mg COD/L). Mechanism exploration revealed at alkaline pH, especially at pH 10.0, not only the cell structure of algae was damaged effectively, but also activities and relative quantification of hydrolases as well as the abundance of microorganisms responsible for organics hydrolysis and SCFAs production were improved. Also, the released microcystins from algae were removed efficiently during alkaline anaerobic fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the interaction between catechins and glycated porcine hemoglobin (G-PHb). The effects of the interaction on the antioxidant function and structural characteristics of the complex (CG-PHb) of catechin and G-PHb were discussed. Porcine hemoglobin (PHb) and G-PHb were used as controls. The solubility, turbidity, emulsifying property, surface hydrophobicity, and oxidation resistance of CG-PHb were studied. The structural characteristics of the CG-PHb were analyzed via UV–visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectrometry, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope and molecular docking technology. Compared with the control group, these properties of the CG-PHb are significantly improved. The UV absorption peak of CG-PHb had a larger peak and a slight red shift. The fluorescence peak intensity was in the following order: CG-PHb > PHb > G-PHb. The β-sheet content of CG-PHb increased significantly (P < 0.05). Moreover, SEM showed that the structure of CG-PHb had changed. The surface pore structure increased, which facilitated its functional properties. Molecular docking showed that catechin likely interacted with PHb residues HEM-950, PHE-41, GLU-43, ARG-40 and LEU-96. Catechin and PHb formed a more stable complex because of hydrogen bonds. This study can provide new ideas for protein modification research and provide theoretical basis and reference for the property changes of the CG-PHb during food processing. • Glycation can improve some physical or chemical properties of protein. • The interaction between protein and catechin can also modify protein function. • The combination of the two methods makes it have better performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to its feasibility, efficiency in light-harvesting and effectiveness in the interfacial charge transfer between two n-type semiconductors, constructing heterojunction photocatalysts have been identified as an effective way for enhancing the photocatalytic properties. In this research, a C–O bridged CeO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 (cCN) Step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction photocatalyst was constructed successfully. Under visible light irradiation, the cCN heterojunction exhibited the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of methyl orange, which was about 4.5 and 1.5 times higher than that of pristine CeO 2 and CN, respectively. The DFT calculations, XPS and FTIR analyses demonstrated the formation of C–O linkages. And the calculations of work functions revealed the electrons would flow from g-C 3 N 4 to CeO 2 due to the difference in Fermi levels, resulting in the production of internal electric fields. Benefiting from the C–O bond and internal electric field, the photo-induced holes in the valence band of g-C 3 N 4 and the photo-induced electrons from conduction band of CeO 2 would be recombined when exposed to visible light irradiation, while leaving the electrons with higher redox potential in the conduction band of g-C 3 N 4. This collaboration accelerated the separation and transfer rate of photo-generated electron-hole pairs, which promoted the generation of superoxide radical (•O 2 −) and improved the photocatalytic activity. • Formed C–O bond acted as a charge pathway and facilitated the transfer of charge. • S-scheme heterojunction together with C–O bond boosted photocatalytic activity. • Mechanism of charge transfer and separation in heterojunction was clarified. • The main active specie was the.•O 2 − in the photocatalytic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In vitro digestion of skim milk was evaluated in the dynamic elderly and adult models. • More clusters and protein aggregates shown under elderly digestion between 60 and 120 min. • The gastric emptying half-time was 22.5 and 26.5 min for the young adult and elderly, respectively. • Lower hydrolysis degree under elderly conditions (37.2%) compared to in the adult model (42.3%) • Delayed gastric emptying and impaired proteolysis due to elderly gastrointestinal alterations. This study aimed to evaluate gastric emptying and enzymatic hydrolysis of skim milk using a dynamic in vitro gastrointestinal system mimicking digestive conditions in young adult and elderly individuals. The gastric emptying half-time was 22.5 and 26.5 min in the young adult and elderly models, respectively. The degree of proteolysis at 120 min reached 42.3 % under adult digestion, significantly higher than that for the elderly (37.2 %). Moreover, milk proteins, particularly β-lactoglobulin, was more resistant to hydrolysis throughout elderly digestion. The slowed gastric emptying and impaired proteolysis were supported by the formation of more large clusters and protein aggregates under elderly digestion particularly between 60 and 120 min. This was attributed to the decreased gastric contractions and lowered digestive secretions in the elderly model that would impede the flow and breakdown of protein aggregates. This study is meaningful for future development of milk products that are more suitable for the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional method to prevent stored grain from deterioration is to control grain temperature. A three dimensional (3-D) numerical model was established to study the temperature variation in outdoor squat silo and large size horizontal warehouse at quasi-steady-state. In this research, porous media model and solar radiation model were adopted. Numerical and experimental results showed that grain temperature was influenced by temperature of wall, height of grain and the distance between grain and the wall. Temperature changes dramatically at the top layer of grain heap due to solar radiation and heat convection at air layer. Temperature of grain close to wall increased with the increasing of ambient temperature. The model established in this research is suitable for predicting grain temperature in outdoor squat silo and large size horizontal warehouse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first few months after birth,when a child begins to interact with the environment, are critical to human brain development.The human frontal lobe is important for social behavior and executive function; it has increased in size and complexity relative to other species, but the processes that have contributed to this expansion are unknown. Our studies of postmortem infant human brains revealed a collection of neurons that migrate and integrate widely into the frontal lobe during infancy. Chains of young neurons move tangentially close to the walls of the lateral ventricles and along blood vessels.These cells then individually disperse long distances to reach cortical tissue, where they differentiate and contribute to inhibitory circuits. Late-arriving interneurons could contribute to developmental plasticity, and the disruption of their postnatal migration or differentiation may underlie neurodevelopmental disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out to report the dynamic changes of non-volatile components and the evaluation on umami of shiitake mushrooms during infrared assisted spouted bed drying (IRSBD) under different temperatures (45, 50, 55, and 60 °C) and airflow speeds (7.0, 7.5, 8.0, and 8.5 m/s). In addition, the drying characteristics and dried product rehydration ratio of shiitake mushrooms were also analyzed. Results demonstrated that compared with airflow speeds, drying temperature has a more significant effect on the drying characteristics of shiitake mushroom during IRSBD. Of all the drying process, the contents of flavor nucleotides, organic acids (tartaric acid, malic acid, succinic acid and citric acid), free amino acids (Asp, Glu and Ser) and equivalent umami concentration (EUC) value of Shiitake mushrooms are constantly increasing. The contents of soluble sugar and free amino acids such as polyol, acetic acid and fumaric acid increased significantly in the early and middle stage of drying, while decreased in the late stage of drying. The increase of temperature and airflow speed have a positive effect on retaining the flavor components of dried products. The condition of IRSBD with 55 °C and 8.0–8.5 m/s airflow speed is suitable for the dehydration process of Shiitake mushrooms to maintain better dried samples structure and yield high quality dried products with rich flavor in industry. • IRSBD was used to improve dried Shiitake mushrooms product quality. • Non-volatile compounds of Shiitake mushrooms were dynamic changed during IRSBD. • 55 °C and 8.0–8.5 m/s airflow speed is suitable for yielding rich flavor product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in viscoelastic properties and physical qualities including rehydration ratio (RR), volume ratio (Vr), porosity and texture of Chinese yams during multiphase microwave drying (MMD) were studied and the intrinsic relationship between them was analyzed. Results showed that RR, Vr and porosity rose and then fell with drying time during MMD, with the endpoint of sublimation drying being the turning point. Scheme III with the highest microwave power (0.2 W/g) in sublimation drying resulted in the lowest RR, Vr and porosity but the highest hardness. The Maxwell model was well fitted to describe the viscoelastic behaviors of yams (R 2 > 0.99). Enhanced stress relaxation behavior during sublimation drying was observed. In contrast, a decrease in stress decay but an increase in residual elasticity were found when MMD switched from sublimation drying to evaporation drying. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that relaxation modulus was significantly negatively correlated with RR (r = −0.981, p < 0.01) and porosity (r = −0.961), while positively correlated with hardness (r = 0.94, p < 0.05) and the brittleness (r = 0.96, p < 0.01). Principal component regression models between the viscoelastic indexes and physical features with high R 2 (>0.9) values could explain their relationships well. These findings have implications for the production of high-quality products through controlling drying processes. • Three loading schemes for multiphase microwave drying of Chinese yam were studied. • Frozen state samples were predominantly elastomeric. • Evolution in physical properties turned at the end of sublimation drying. • Pore structure and moisture phase state of the sample affected relaxation behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vacuum far-infrared radiation (VFIR) drying has recently received many attentions because of its effective and successful applications in drying some agricultural products. The VFIR drying of Radix Rehmanniae was conducted and Weibull distribution function was applied to fit the drying kinetics in this study. The results showed that the increase of radiation heater temperature and the decrease of chamber pressure could reduce drying time obviously. Compared with single diffusion equation, Weibull distribution function had higher precision to fit the drying curves of VFIR drying of Rehmanniae. The effective moisture diffusivity (Deff) increased with the increase of heater temperature and the decrease of pressure. Scanning electron telescope (SEM) analysis showed that more porous surface could be observed after VFIR drying, which is beneficial to enhance moisture diffusivity and drying rate as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the change law of functional components and exterior color of honeysuckle flowers (HF) during controlled-atmosphere heat pump drying, nitrogen was used as drying medium in this study to reduce the oxygen concentration. The influences of drying temperature, HF's loading amount and oxygen concentration on chlorogenic acid content, cynaroside content and L value (on behalf of browning degree) were explored, and the degradation kinetics models of chlorogenic acid and cynaroside were constructed. The results showed that chlorogenic acid content, cynaroside content and L value decreased with the rise of temperature, HF's loading amount and oxygen concentration. The degradation kinetics models of chlorogenic acid and cynaroside during the drying process were established through introducing an exponent r related to time t in the first order reaction kinetics equation. The models had good fitting precision and can be used to predict the degradation law of chlorogenic acid and cynaroside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Attraction of adjacent wax molecules hinders the diffusion of methane molecules. • Adsorbed wax molecules promote hydrate formation at the oil–water interface. • Crystallized wax occupies free space for methane molecules mass transfer. • Molecular structure and content of the wax govern hydrate growth pathway. As a key issue emerged in the exploitation of deep-water oil and gas resources, the natural gas hydrates growth kinetics in waxy oil–water systems is still ambiguous. The microscopic mechanism of how wax affects hydrate growth needs to be elucidated. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to explore the effect of wax molecules on methane hydrate growth in waxy oil–water-hydrate systems. The simulation results indicated that the different growth pathways of methane hydrate with wax molecules should be attributed to the changes in the mass-transfer process of methane molecules and the structural properties of interface water molecules. When n-heptadecane wax molecules (C 17 H 36) were adjacent to oil–water interface, they inhibited hydrate growth by adsorbing methane molecules in the oil phase and preventing methane molecules from migrating to the water phase. The addition of methyl heptadecanoate wax molecules (C 18 H 36 O 2) extended hydrate growth time to achieve a greater amount of hydrate formation by promoting the conversion of the water film between hydrate phase and oil phase into hydrate. In terms of the influence of wax crystallization, the co-crystallization of C 17 H 36 and C 18 H 36 O 2 hindered the mass transfer of methane molecules at the oil–water interface, which is due to the free space reduction after wax adsorption and the repulsive force between C 18 H 36 O 2 and methane molecules, thereby slowing down the growth rate of hydrate. The dispersed C 17 H 36 slowed down hydrate growth rate, while the dispersed C 18 H 36 O 2 had almost no effect on hydrate growth rate. Thence, the microscopic analysis based on molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the effect of wax molecules on methane hydrate growth was complex, depending on the specific wax molecular structure and content of the wax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Drying techniques significantly affected the properties of dried Pingyin rose. • Freeze-dried rose showed charming color, low shrinkage and integral cell structure. • Catalytic infrared drying had better bioactive compound and antioxidant properties. • The VOCs obtained from five drying methods were significantly difference. Awareness of edible rose being beneficial for health has attracted researchers in exploring different rose products. The study aimed to investigate effects of vacuum freeze drying (VFD), hot air drying (HAD), heat pump drying (HPD), relative humidity drying (RHD) and catalytic infrared drying (CID) on the physicochemical properties, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of Pingyin roses. Results showed that the VFD roses had significantly (p < 0.05) bright color, complete tissue cells, low shrinkage, and good plasma membrane permeability. CID roses showed the highest total phenols content (164.09 ± 0.88 mg/g) and the strongest antioxidant activity. Besides, the odor is the most crucial indicator for dried roses. VFD can well prevent the odor from diminishing/destroying and preserve the natural smell of rose. Thermal drying including HAD, HPD, RHD, and CID, could cause significant losses of VOCs. Consequently, the findings can provide the scientific basis for future large-scale production of dried rose products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Egg white protein (EWP) was phosphorylated with Sodium Tripolyphosphate (STP) at pH 4.5. Freeze drying and spray drying were used for drying purpose and the effects of these drying methods on the functional properties were investigated. The functional properties of native and modified proteins were also determined. The results demonstrated that phosphorylation of EWP markedly improved its functional properties, and that it was more effective for the food industry. The freeze-dried STP-EWP powders were superior in terms of solubility, emulsion stability, water holding capacity, oil and water absorption capacity and heat gel strength than spray-dried STP-EWP powders. The results in viscosity showed no significant differences between freeze-dried and spray dried. The spray-dried powders were better in terms of foaming ability and foam stability than freeze-dried powders. However, the spray drying required the longest time to produce. Freeze drying was found to be the best method in terms of production of modified EWP powders with superior functional properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Zr(IV) immobilized collagen fiber (ZCF) was prepared. • The ZCF had a high immobilization stability and good thermal stability. • The adsorption difference between apigenin and kaempferol was highly improved. • Chelating of ZCF to flavonol aglycones was stronger than that of flavonoid aglycones. • ZCF column could effectively separate flavonoid aglycones and flavonol aglycones. Flavonoid aglycones and flavonol aglycones, are difficult to be separated due to their similar structures and limited hydroxyls. Herein, Zr(IV) immobilized collagen fiber (ZCF) was prepared by immobilizing Zr(IV) on glutaraldehyde cross-linked collagen fiber (GCF) to separate apigenin and kaempferol, the representative compounds of flavonoid aglycones and flavonol aglycones. TG, DSC, SEM and element mapping were applied to characterize ZCF. The static adsorption suggested that when the amount of immobilized Zr(IV) reached only 0.3 mmol/g, the adsorption difference between apigenin and kaempferol on ZCF was highly improved compared with GCF without Zr(IV). The adsorption rate of apigenin increased from 2.21% to 14.31%, while that of kaempferol significantly increased from 22.35% to 87.17%. In addition, the spectroscopy (UV–Vis, FT-IR) were applied to analyze the binding sites of flavonoids with Zr(IV), indicating that the strong adsorption of ZCF to kaempferol may be related to the 3-hydroxyl on the C-ring, while apigenin only can conduct a weak binding with ZCF through 5-hydroxyl on the A-ring. In ZCF column chromatography separation, apigenin and kaempferol could be separated effectively with purities of 94.02% and 89.23% by stepwise elution of 50% aqueous ethanol followed by 50% aqueous ethanol containing 0.005 mol/L citric acid. In separation on ZCF and GCF combined columns, the purities of apigenin and kaempferol reached 95.59% and 92.56%, respectively, and the trace amount of Zr(IV) shedding from ZCF was completely adsorbed by GCF avoiding contaminating the target components. In addition, the effective separation of apigenin and kaempferol in apium graveolens (celery) extract by ZCF column was also achieved. The above results indicated ZCF could selectively adsorb flavonol aglycones with 3-hydroxyl on the C-ring from the mixture with flavonoid aglycones. This investigation provides a novel column chromatography packing material for the fast separation of flavonoid aglycones and flavonol aglycones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review explores the effects of various peeling technologies on the peeling performance of fruits and vegetables and peeled product quality. The peeling methods include conventional peeling approaches using hot-water, steam and lye and novel peeling techniques employing infrared radiation heating, ohmic heating and power ultrasound. The working principles, technology characteristics, the major factors affecting the processing efficacy, and limitations of conventional and novel peeling approaches are identified and discussed. Infrared radiation heating, ohmic heating and ultrasound-assist peeling methods have been successfully used to the peeling of tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables. The novel technologies can reduce the use of lye and can improve peeling performance and peeled product quality compared to conventional peeling. The process conditions and food properties are the major determinants affecting the processing efficacy. Future research needs are proposed to scaling-up the technology and exploring other technology used for peeling. Industrial relevance : As a key operation in the fruits and vegetables processing industry, peeling not only directly affects product quality, but also influences the processing cost and the management cost of waste generated by peeling. An unsuitable peeling process may result in low peeling efficiency and quality, high water and energy consumption, and high discharge of waste liquid, leading to the decline of economic benefits and environmental issues. The current work provides important information for selecting suitable peeling methods for high quality and safe products. • As a key operation, peeling directly affects the product quality and processing cost. • The principles, applications, and limitations of various peeling technologies are discussed. • Peeling conditions and food properties are the major determinants affecting the peeling performance. • Novel peeling methods decrease chemical residues, quality degradation, and environmental footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In current work, pulsed vacuum drying was employed to dry the bananas and the effect of ripeness on drying kinetics and physicochemical properties was explored and related mechanism was understood through the analysis of sugar and the microstructural changes. Results showed that, with the increase in the ripeness of banana, the drying time decreased from 6.0 to 5.0 h, the rehydration ratio increased from 1.76 ± 0.09 to 2.98 ± 0.11. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis illustrated ripening and pulsed vacuum drying hardly affects the chemical composition of starch molecules. Regardless of fresh or dried samples, the reducing sugar and total sugar content both increased with increase in ripeness. Compared to the dried ripeness III samples, total color difference of samples with ripeness I and II decreased by 25.03% and 25.49%, respectively. As ripeness increased, the total phenolics and DPPH assay of fresh samples decreased, whereas in pulsed vacuum dried samples it significantly increased. The overall findings indicate that the decrease of starch and the increase of sugar with the increase in ripeness have a significant impact on the pulsed vacuum drying kinetics, microstructure and physicochemical properties of the banana samples. • With increasing ripeness, drying decreased, RR and △ E increased. • With increasing ripeness, starch particles decreased and the micropores expanded. • The PVD process increased the TP content and antioxidant activity of bananas. • Transformation between starch and sugars during ripeness changed drying behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Glutathione improved AD under ammonia stress by enhancing VFAs bioconversion. • Improvement was not due to mitigate proton imbalance and K+ depletion or reduce ROS. • The syntrophic acetogenic taxa and acetotrophic methanogens were enriched. • The expressions of key proteins in enzyme synthesis were obviously upregulated. • The vital enzymes regulating VFAs bioconversion were improved. Several methods, such as dilution, ion exchange, and bioaugmentation, have been tried to improve anaerobic digestion (AD) process performance under ammonia stress. Herein, a new strategy for improving AD under ammonia pressure by regulating microbiome and enzyme to enhance volatile fatty acids (VFAs) bioconversion was reported. Under ammonia stress, the methane yield was raised by 41.7% with glutathione addition (5 mg/g VS) during long-term AD of food waste. This glutathione-induced improvement was found not due to the mitigation of proton imbalance and potassium depletion or the elimination of excessive reactive oxygen species. Interestingly, the ammonia-stressed bioconversions of propionate and butyrate → acetate → methane and the cell viability were remarkably enhanced in the presence of glutathione. Further integrated metagenomic and metaproteomic analyses revealed that the key microbiota (i.e., syntrophic acetogenic taxa and their assistant bacteria and acetotrophic methanogens) related to the above biotransformations were enriched. Meanwhile, the expressions of vital proteins (such as RNA polymerase subunit α, ribosomal protein L25, and iron adenosine triphosphate binding cassette transporter substrate-binding protein) involved in enzyme synthesis and catalyzing the bioconversions above were significantly upregulated. The reported new role of glutathione on regulating functional microbiome and enzyme offered an alternative strategy for improving AD performance under high ammonia condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the gas phase, including bubbles' and gas pockets' migration and evolution in gas-liquid flow in the pipelines, where the safe operation is severely influenced by the gas accumulations. To investigate the formation, as well as location and amount of these gas accumulations, a new transient model applied with the Population Balance Model (PBM), gas pockets capturing and tracking model are proposed, which are discretized and calculated in the collocated multi-grid with Eulerian-Lagrangian coupling scheme. The flow field of the pipeline is modeled with the Eulerian scheme, while the bubbles' migration, gas pockets' capturing and tracking can be modeled in the Lagrangian mesh. To couple the description of bubble-dimension and that of pipe-dimension, the Rayleith-Plesset equation and the Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) are applied, thus, the changeable characteristics of bubbles along the pipes can be described. Based on that, the bubbles' transition to the gas pocket under specific conditions can be predicted. And the subsequent capturing and tracking process will work with the help of the collocated multi-grid, which provides the accurate and parallel calculation. The relative parameters are extracted from the published experimental data, and the simulation results are in good agreement with the measured results. Meanwhile, the case studies show the model has the prediction ability of the gas phase's migration and evolution, as well as the formation and location of gas accumulations in the pipeline. • A new transient model for bubble migration and evolution applying population balance model in pipelines is proposed. • A new collocated multi-grid method is proposed to describe the two dispersed phases, and it can be generalized to the spatial parallel calculation in the transport media. • A new transient model for air pockets capturing and tracking based on bubble tracking is proposed. • A new insight into the air accumulations from the bubble-dimension to the pipe-dimension is introduced. • The real-time simulation of air accumulations in the undulant pipeline is proposed in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigated the bubble migration and evolution during gas-liquid flow in oil-pipelines. Multi-scale bubbles migrated in the pipe while interacting with each other, causing coalescence and disintegration. The bubbles collided and coalesced, forming a new air pocket in the downward inclined pipe that blocked the transportation of both the gas and liquid phases. Consequently, the buoyance weakened the migration ability of the bubbles, which is known as re-coalescence. To investigate, a new transient model applied with the population balance model (PBM), and Eulerian-Lagrangian coupling scheme is proposed. The complex flow field was modeled using the Eulerian scheme, while the migration of the bubbles was designed in the Lagrangian mesh. Furthermore, the PBM was employed to describe the multi-scale bubble interaction and migration. Smooth particle hydrodynamics were applied to connect the bubble-dimension and pipe-dimension descriptions. Therefore, the bubble fraction could be described to predict the re-coalescence of air pockets. The required unknown model parameters were extracted from the published experimental data, while the simulation results corresponded well with the measured results. During the simulation, the effect of the liquid Froude number and pipe inclination on the size distribution of the multi-scale bubbles were investigated. The results indicated that an increase in the pipe inclination and liquid Froude number improved the bubble migration capacity, leading to a broader distribution of bubbles of all sizes. • A new transient modelfor bubble transportation and evolution in gas-liquid flow in the oil pipeline is proposed. • The migration abilities coupled with the bubble coalescence and breakup of different sizes of bubbles in the inclined pipe are analyzed. • The prediction of the transportation blockage based on bubble tracking and smooth particle hydrodynamics is introduced. • A new insight into the pipeline blockage from the bubble-dimension to the pipe-dimension is introduced. • Effects of pipe inclination, as well as liquid Froude number to the bubble size distribution in oil pipeline are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New phenylarsonic imprinted microspheres were prepared with a chain transfer method. • The phenylarsonic compounds were selective extracted with the polymeric adsorbent. • A new pre-treatment method was established for analysis of the organoarsenic analytes. The novel molecularly imprinted microspheres for four phenylarsonic compounds have been firstly prepared with the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization in a suspension system. The resulting polymeric microspheres were characterized by infrared spectrum, scanning electron microscope and differential scanning calorimetry. With serial adsorption experiments, the polymeric microspheres showed highly specific molecular recognition, fast mass transfer rate and robust adsorption of the substrates. Then, the imprinted polymer was used as the solid-phase extraction adsorbent to extract the phenylarsonic compounds from the feeds, edible chicken and pork. The cartridge was washed with 2 mL ethyl acetate and eluted with 3 mL of methanol- acetic acid (90:10, v/v). The recoveries of the molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) column ranged from 83.4% to 95.1%. This work provided a versatile approach for the specific extraction of the organoarsenic compounds from complicated matrices and exhibited a bright future for the application of MISPE column. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrates and waxes are supposed to coexist in the deep-water pipelines under suitable conditions of low temperature and high pressure. Understanding the effect of precipitated wax crystals on hydrate formation and rheological properties of hydrate slurry is crucial to the flow assurance in offshore petroleum production. In this work, a stress-controlled rheometer was used to carry out the rheological experiments for investigating the impact of wax crystals on hydrate formation and yield property of hydrate slurry. The effects of wax content and water cut on cyclopentane (CP) hydrate nucleation and growth were investigated in terms of the measured viscosity data. Log-normal distribution could well fit the probability density histogram of CP hydrate critical time. The logarithmic mean values of CP hydrate critical time decreased with increasing water cut but increased with increasing wax content in water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions. Semi-empirical models were proposed to describe the inhibitory effect of wax crystals on CP hydrate nucleation kinetics by considering the inhibition of mass transfer based on the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption functions, respectively. Hydrate slurry viscosity rate showed the two-stage characteristics in wax-free w/o emulsions, while four stages could be clearly observed in waxy w/o emulsions. The maximum values of hydrate slurry viscosity rate and calculated hydrate effective volume fraction decreased with increasing wax content. Hydrate growth time was gradually extended as wax content increased. Furthermore, the measured yield stress and yield strain increased with increasing wax content at different water cuts, which was associated with the multiple effect of capillary bridge between hydrate particles, spatial network of wax crystals and coalescence of water droplets. At last, compared to the stress ramp rate, the influence of annealing time on yield stress was more significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy-saving process of hot air drying based on process control was proposed. • A mathematical model was developed by taking relative humidity into consideration. • Numerical model demonstrate the exergy loss of each component during drying. • The relationship between relative humidity and energy consumption were explored. Industrial drying is one of the most energy intensive unit operations encountered in most industrial sectors. Therefore, much effort has been devoted to energy savings in drying. Most methods applied to convective drying are based on heat recovery from dryer exhaust. However, there are major limitations on how much of the energy can be recovered cost-effectively. Here a new concept based on the relative humidity (RH) control of convective drying of carrot cubes was evaluated with the purpose of enhancing the energy and exergy efficiency of drying. Numerical simulations of heat and mass transfer were performed to investigate hot air drying behavior of carrot cubes. The model fitted well the moisture ratio and the material temperature data with average relative errors of 6.5% and 0.8%, respectively. Results show that both the energy loss caused by exhaust air and the irreversibility loss of thermodynamic process decreased with increase in RH of the drying medium from 4% to 40%. Multistage relative humidity control strategy improved both the drying rate and exergy efficiency. Among the tested schemes, the three-stage RH control strategy, i.e. (1) RH of 40% for 2 h, (2) RH of 20% for 2 h and (3) RH of 4% for 3.5 h was found to be the strategy with the highest exergy efficiency (53.3%). It was almost three times higher than that for constant 4% RH values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monascus vinegar is one of the most famous and popular Chinese vinegars. The present study identified 60 volatile compounds, 23 amino acids, and seven organic acids during the traditional brewing of Monascus vinegar. Acetic acid, alanine, alcohols, esters, lactic acid, and valine were the predominant metabolic compounds found during the fermentation process. Komagataeibacter medellinensis , Lactobacillus acetotolerans , Saccharomycopsis fibuligera , Sterigmatomyces halophilus , and Yarrowia lipolytica were the dominant microorganisms during the traditional brewing of Monascus vinegar. Furthermore, based on Spearman's correlation analysis, K. medellinensis showed a positive correlation with acetic acid, acetoin, benzaldehyde, phenethyl acetate, 4-ethylphenol, proline, threonine, and isoleucine. Saccharomyces cerevisiae was positively associated with the production of acetoin, benzeneacetaldehyde, 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, proline, threonine, and isoleucine. Bacillus velezensis and Yarrowia lipolytica were positively correlated with esters and alcohols, implying that these microorganisms might make a significant contribution to the flavor of vinegar. These findings demonstrated that some microorganisms may play important roles in improving the aromatic quality of Monascus vinegar. Unlabelled Image • Volatile compounds in Monascus vinegar were identified. • Amino acids and organic acids in Monascus vinegar were investigated. • Flavor and dominant microflora network analysis in vinegar were explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A methodology is developed to assess gas supply reliability of a pipeline system. • Three aspects of uncertainty and system's hydraulic characteristic are considered. • The gas supply strategy of the natural gas pipeline system is proposed. • The uncertainty in the gas injection/production capacity is considered. Underground gas storage plays a significant role in ensuring gas supply reliability of natural gas pipeline systems. However, the specific hydraulic characteristics of the underground gas storage and the uncertainties in its gas injection/production capacity are generally overlooked when evaluating the gas supply reliability. Therefore, an integrated methodology to assess gas supply reliability of the natural gas pipeline system is developed in this study, and three aspects of uncertainty and hydraulic characteristic of the natural gas pipeline system are both considered. Based on system's gas supply strategy, the amounts of gas supplied by the transmission pipeline system and required by the consumers are calculated firstly. The underground gas storage is then employed to regulate the supply-demand imbalance between the transmission pipeline system and market demand by performing its gas injection/production function. Moreover, the operational reliability of the underground gas storage is evaluated to determine whether it is able to complete the specified gas injection/production task. Then, the total daily amount of gas supplied to the consumers, is obtained, and two indicators proposed to quantify the gas supply reliability are then calculated. Finally, the expected gas supply reliability is assessed based on a large number of Monte Carlo trials. Moreover, the methodology is applied to a simplified gas pipeline system to confirm its feasibility, and system's ability to satisfy the consumers demand is evaluated, and the weakest consumer node is identified. Furthermore, the gas supply reliability is overestimated without considering the uncertainties in the underground gas storage's gas injection/production capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical Relevance: The association between myopia and body stature is of great significance for understanding prevention and control of myopia. It has been extensively studied in previous studies but without consistent conclusions., Background: The aim of this study is to investigate the association between body stature and prevalence of reduced visual acuity in high school graduates in Hangzhou, China., Methods: 50,620 high school graduates who finished the physical examination of the national college entrance examination in 2020 were included. Data were derived from the database of physical examination of the national college entrance examination. Height and weight were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated according to the general formula. Visual acuity was measured by the standard logarithmic visual acuity chart., Results: The prevalence of reduced visual acuity was 90.38% in high school graduates. Girls had a higher prevalence of reduced visual acuity than boys (93.07% vs 87.60%, P  < 0.001). Boys with normal visual acuity were significantly taller ( P  < 0.001) and heavier ( P  < 0.001) than those with reduced visual acuity. Girls with normal visual acuity were significantly taller than those with reduced visual acuity ( P  < 0.001). The prevalence of reduced visual acuity was significantly inversely associated with height in both boys ( P  < 0.001) and girls ( P  < 0.001). The risk of reduced visual acuity was the lowest in the fourth quartile of height. The prevalence of reduced visual acuity was significantly associated with BMI only in boys ( P  < 0.001). The risk of reduced visual acuity was the lowest in the third quartile of BMI., Conclusions: The prevalence of reduced visual acuity was inversely associated with height in both boys and girls, and there was a U-shaped association with BMI only in boys.

This article investigates the effect of different microwave powers on the crosslinking behavior and microwave freeze-drying characteristics of wheat starch-lauroyl arginate complex during the microwave freeze-drying process. During microwave freeze-drying, as microwave power increased from 0.1 W/g to 0.9 W/g, the freeze-drying time of WS-LA was reduced by 50 %, while the uniformity of freeze-drying was not affected by its composition. In the research results obtained from DSC, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), XRD, and SEM analyses, with the microwave power increased from 0.1 W/g to 0.9 W/g, the enthalpy value of the melting peak of the WS-LA (wheat starch-lauric acid) composite decreased from 1.15 J/g to 0.62 J/g. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) value increased from 25.6 to 30.79. The ratio of absorbance at 1022/995 cm -1 increased from 1.0111 to 1.0707. The recrystallization (RC) value decreased from 8.77 % to 0.07 %. Additionally, in the microstructure, the size of WS-LA composite particles decreased accordingly. The above findings indicated that the increase in microwave power during microwave freeze-drying had a negative impact on the formation of the WS-LA complex and the ordering of its structure in the sample., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have declared no conflict interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Edible offal of farmed animals can accumulate cadmium (Cd). However, no studies have investigated Cd bioavailability and its health effects. Here, based on mouse models, market pork kidney samples exhibited high Cd relative bioavailability of 74.5 ± 11.2% (n = 26), close to 83.8 ± 7.80% in Cd-rice (n = 5). This was mainly due to high vitamin D 3 content in pork kidney, causing 1.7-2.3-fold up-regulated expression of duodenal Ca transporter genes in mice fed pork kidney compared to mice fed Cd-rice, favoring Cd intestinal absorption via Ca transporters. However, although pork kidney was high in Cd bioavailability, subchronic low-dose (5% in diet) consumption of two pork kidney samples having 0.48 and 0.97 μg Cd g -1 dw over 35 d did not lead to significant Cd accumulation in the tissue of mice fed Cd-free rice but instead remarkably decreased Cd accumulation in the tissue of mice fed Cd-rice (0.48 μg Cd g -1 ) by ∼50% and increased abundance of gut probiotics ( Faecalibaculum and Lactobacillus ). Overall, this study contributed to our understanding of the bioavailability and health effects associated with Cd in edible offal, providing mechanistic insights into pork kidney consumption safety based on Cd bioavailability.

Two new benzophenone derivatives ( 1 and 2 ), named Pogonatone C and pogonatone D , were isolated from the moss Pogonatum spinulosum . Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data analyses. The cytotoxicity of compounds for HepG2, HCT-116, A-549 and PANC-1 cells line was also evaluated by using the MTT method. Pogonatone C ( 1 ) displays high cytotoxicity on PANC-1 cell with IC 50 value of 9.2 μM.

Background: The role of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unconfirmed. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) plus anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) antibody/tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) with or without TACE as first-line treatment for advanced HCC., Methods: This nationwide, multicenter, retrospective cohort study included advanced HCC patients receiving either TACE with ICIs plus anti-VEGF antibody/TKIs (TACE-ICI-VEGF) or only ICIs plus anti-VEGF antibody/TKIs (ICI-VEGF) from January 2018 to December 2022. The study design followed the target trial emulation framework with stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (sIPTW) to minimize biases. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS). Secondary outcomes included progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), and safety. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05332821., Findings: Among 1244 patients included in the analysis, 802 (64.5%) patients received TACE-ICI-VEGF treatment, and 442 (35.5%) patients received ICI-VEGF treatment. The median follow-up time was 21.1 months and 20.6 months, respectively. Post-application of sIPTW, baseline characteristics were well-balanced between the two groups. TACE-ICI-VEGF group exhibited a significantly improved median OS (22.6 months [95% CI: 21.2-23.9] vs 15.9 months [14.9-17.8]; P < 0.0001; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.63 [95% CI: 0.53-0.75]). Median PFS was also longer in TACE-ICI-VEGF group (9.9 months [9.1-10.6] vs 7.4 months [6.7-8.5]; P < 0.0001; aHR 0.74 [0.65-0.85]) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST) version 1.1. A higher ORR was observed in TACE-ICI-VEGF group, by either RECIST v1.1 or modified RECIST (41.2% vs 22.9%, P < 0.0001; 47.3% vs 29.7%, P < 0.0001). Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 178 patients (22.2%) in TACE-ICI-VEGF group and 80 patients (18.1%) in ICI-VEGF group., Interpretation: This multicenter study supports the use of TACE combined with ICIs and anti-VEGF antibody/TKIs as first-line treatment for advanced HCC, demonstrating an acceptable safety profile., Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Jiangsu Provincial Medical Innovation Center, Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, and Nanjing Life Health Science and Technology Project., Competing Interests: We declare no competing interests., (© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

To provide a theoretical basis for the frozen storage of potato-oat composite dough and its products, this investigation examines changes in the quality of potato-oat composite dough and its resulting product during freeze-thaw cycles. The study measured key aspects such as moisture content, dynamic rheological properties, water state, protein secondary structure, color, and sensory assessment. The influence of these factors on the product's quality is analyzed. The findings revealed that the freeze-thaw treatment caused a reduction in water content, freezable water, and deeply bound water, as well as an increase in weakly bound water, β-sheet, random coil, and α-helix, and a decreased β-turn of the potato-oat composite dough. Additionally, the dough treated by freeze-thaw cycles resulted in darker color, and the sensory properties of the product were affected significantly after exceeding three freeze-thaw cycles. Moreover, an increase in the number of freeze-thaw cycles resulted in an upward trend of moisture content for the composite dough, whereas G ' initially increased and then decreased. The G ″ of the composite dough peaked after the third freeze-thaw cycle. Overall, the composite dough quality significantly deteriorated at the fourth freeze-thaw cycle. There was a significant increase in the freezable water content, the largest modulus of elasticity, and the smallest tan δ. Therefore, the usage of the potato-oat composite dough should not exceed three cycles., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Background: The current study introduces a novel infrared-assisted spouted bed drying technique for the dehydration of green soybeans, which aims to enhance the drying quality and efficiency. The investigation involves an examination of the flow pattern in the spouted bed to obtain relevant data, followed by an optimization of the entire drying process. The drying process of green soybeans was simulated using SolidWorks and ANSYS Fluent software, based on the principles of computational fluid dynamics., Results: The simulation test results showed that the simulation outcomes were consistent with the experimental data. The optimal conditions for the process of green soybean infrared-assisted spouted bed drying were found to be an inlet speed of 8 m/s and a temperature of 50 °C with the wavelength and power settings of the infrared board at 10 μm and 500 W, respectively., Conclusion: The simulation method selected in this article, based on gas-solid two-phase flow dynamics, is feasible for green soybean infrared-assisted spouted bed drying process. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.)

In this study, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) was proposed to identify coffee of three different varieties and three different roasting degrees of one variety. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to extract features from frequency-domain spectral data, and the extracted features were used for classification prediction through linear discrimination (LD), support vector machine (SVM), naive Bayes (NB), and k-nearest neighbors (KNN). The classification effect and misclassification of the model were analyzed via confusion matrix. The coffee varieties, namely Catimor, Typica 1, and Typica 2, under the condition of shallow drying were used for comparative tests. The LD classification model combined with PCA had the best effect of dimension reduction classification, while the speed and accuracy reached 20 ms and 100%, respectively. The LD model was found with the highest speed (25 ms) and accuracy (100%) by comparing the classification results of Typica 1 for three different roasting degrees. The coffee bean quality detection method based on THz-TDS combined with a modeling analysis method had a higher accuracy, faster speed, and simpler operation, and it is expected to become an effective detection method in coffee identification.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of the covalent binding of flaxseed protein (FP) and chlorogenic acid (CA) on the structure and functional properties of FP-CA complexes fabricated using the alkali method. The results suggested that the encapsulation efficiency of CA encapsulated by FP ranged from 66.11% to 72.20% and the loading capacity of CA increased with an increasing addition ratio of CA with a dose-dependent relationship, which increased from 2.34% to 10.19%. The particle size, turbidity, zeta potential and PDI of FP and the FP-CA complexes had no significant discrepancy. UV-Vis and fluorescence spectra showed the existence of the interaction between FP and CA. SEM images showed that the surface of the FP-0.35%CA complex had more wrinkles compared to FP. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis indicated the decomposition temperature of FP at 198 °C was higher than that (197 °C) of the FP-0.35%CA complex, implying that the stability of the FP-CA complexes was lower than FP. The functional properties suggested that the FP-CA complex with 1.40% CA had a higher water holding capacity (500.81%), lower oil holding capacity (273.495%) and lower surface hydrophobicity. Moreover, the FP-CA complexes had better antioxidant activities than that of FP. Therefore, this study provides more insights for the potential application of FP-CA covalent complexes in functional food processing.

Antibiotics often coexist with other pollutants (e.g., nitrate) in an aquatic environment, and their simultaneous biological removal has attracted widespread interest. We have found that sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and nitrate can be efficiently removed by the coculture of a model denitrifier ( Paracoccus denitrificans , Pd ) and Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 ( So ), and SMX degradation is affected by NADH production and electron transfer. In this paper, the mechanism of a coculture promoting NADH production and electron transfer was investigated by proteomic analysis and intermediate experiments. The results showed that glutamine and lactate produced by Pd were captured by So to synthesize thiamine and heme, and the released thiamine was taken up by Pd as a cofactor of pyruvate and ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, which were related to NADH generation. Additionally, Pd acquired heme, which facilitated electron transfer as heme, was the important composition of complex III and cytochrome c and the iron source of iron sulfur clusters, the key component of complex I in the electron transfer chain. Further investigation revealed that lactate and glutamine generated by Pd prompted So chemotactic moving toward Pd , which helped the two bacteria effectively obtain their required substances. Obviously, metabolite cross-feeding promoted NADH production and electron transfer, resulting in efficient SMX biodegradation by Pd and So in the presence of nitrate. Its feasibility was finally verified by the coculture of an activated sludge denitrifier and So .

Lactoferrin (LF) from bovine milk possesses antioxidant activity, immune regulatory and other biological activities. However, the effects of epicatechin (EC) and epigallocatechin (EGC) interacting with LF on the antioxidant activity of LF have not been investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to explore their interaction mechanism and the antioxidant activity of LF. UV spectra revealed that EGC (100 μM) induced a higher blue shift of LF at the maximum absorption wavelength than that of EC (100 μM). Fluorescence spectra results suggested that LF fluorescence was quenched by EC and EGC in the static type, which changed the polarity of the microenvironment around LF. The quenching constants K sv (5.91 × 10 3 -9.20 × 10 3 ) of EC-LF complexes at different temperatures were all higher than that (1.35 × 10 3 -1.75 × 10 3 ) of the EGC-LF complex. EC could bind to LF via hydrophobic interactions while hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces drove the binding of EGC to LF. Both the EC-LF complex and EGC-LF complex could bind to LF with one site. EGC formed more hydrogen bonds with LF than that of EC. The antioxidant activity of LF was increased by the high addition level of EC and EGC. These findings would provide more references for developing LF-catechin complexes as functional antioxidants., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is considered to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its pathogenesis are not fully understood. Endothelial dysfunction is a key initiating factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, which is commonly observed in almost all HHcy-induced vascular diseases. HHcy promotes oxidative stress, inhibits nitric oxide production, suppresses hydrogen sulfide signaling pathway, promotes endothelial mesenchymal transition, activates coagulation pathways, and promotes protein N-homocysteination and cellular hypomethylation, all of which can cause endothelial dysfunction. This article reviews the specific links between HHcy and endothelial dysfunction, and highlights recent evidence that endothelial mesenchymal transition contributes to HHcy-induced vascular damage, with a hope to provide new ideas for the clinical treatment of HHcy-related vascular diseases.

Background: Positive surgical margin (PSM) or apical positive surgical margin (APSM) is an established predictive factor of biochemical recurrence or disease progression in prostate cancer (PCa) patients after radical prostatectomy. Since there are limited usable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based models, we sought to explore the role of three-dimensional (3D) visualization for preoperative MRI in the prediction of PSM or APSM., Methods: From December 2016 to April 2022, 149 consecutive PCa patients who underwent radical prostatectomy were retrospectively selected from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University. According to the presence of PSM or APSM, patients were divided into a PSM group (n=41) and a without PSM group (n=108) and into an APSM group (n=33) and a without APSM group (n=116). Twenty-one parameters, including prostate apical shape, PCa distance to the membranous urethra, and pubic angle, were measured on 3D visualization of MRI. The development of the nomogram models was built by the findings of multivariate logistic regression analysis for significant factors., Results: To predict the probability of PSM, a longer PCa distance to the membranous urethra (OR=0.136, p=0.019) and the distance from the anterior peritoneum to the anterior border of the coccyx (work space AP, OR=0.240, p=0.030) were independent protective factors, while a type 3 prostate apical shape (OR=8.262, p=0.025) and larger pubic angle 2 (OR=5.303, p=0.029) were identified as independent risk factors. The nomogram model presented an area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) of PSM of 0.777. In evaluating the incidence of APSM, we found that the distance to the membranous urethra (OR=0.135, p=0.014) was associated with a low risk of APSM, while larger pubic angle 1 (OR=4.666, p=0.043) was connected to a higher risk of APSM. The nomogram model showed that the AUC of APSM was 0.755., Conclusion: As 3D visualization for preoperative MRI showed good performance in predicting PSM or APSM, the tool might be potentially valuable, which also needs to be validated by multicenter, large-scale, prospective studies., 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 © 2023 Fan, Zhang, Wang, Dai, Pan, Xie, Wang, Xin, Wang, Duan, Luo, Wang and Liu.)

Objective: Our study examines how non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) survivors undergoing immunotherapy can experience reduced anxiety and psychological distress, improved quality of life (QOL) and increased immunotherapy efficacy., Methods: 133 men and 20 women with NSCLCs were enrolled. In a randomised controlled trial involving a care as usual group (CG) and a music therapy group (MTG), the researchers employed various tools such as the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Symptom Distress Thermometer, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General version 4 and Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours. These measures were used to evaluate anxiety, psychological distress, QOL and immunotherapy efficacy in patients undergoing immunotherapy before and after patients' completion., Results: After the intervention, patients in the MTG demonstrated a noteworthy reduction in anxiety (t=6.272, p≤0.001) and distress (t=10.111, p≤0.001), as well as an increase in QOL (t=-7.649, p≤0.001). Moreover, compared with patients in the CG, those in the MTG demonstrated a remarkable drop in anxiety (t=-4.72, p≤0.001) and distress (t=-7.29, p≤0.001), a significant increase in QOL (t=5.363, p≤0.001) and a significant improvement in immunotherapy efficacy (z=-2.18, p≤0.05) after the intervention., Conclusions: The use of individual music therapy sessions appears to be effective in reducing anxiety and distress, while also increasing QOL and immunotherapy efficacy in patients with NSCLCs undergoing immunotherapy., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Wheat has a large and diverse repertoire of NLRs involved in disease resistance, with over 1500 NLRs detected in some studies. These NLR genes occur as singletons or clusters containing copies of NLRs from different phylogenetic clades. The number of NLRs and cluster size can differ drastically among ecotypes and cultivars. Primarily, duplication has led to the evolution and diversification of NLR genes. Among the various mechanisms, whole genome duplication (WGD) is the most intense and leading cause, contributing to the complex evolutionary history and abundant gene set of hexaploid wheat. Tandem duplication or recombination is another major mechanism of NLR gene expansion in wheat. The diversity and divergence of duplicate NLR genes are responsible for the broad-spectrum resistance of most plant species with limited R genes. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the rapid evolution and diversification of wheat NLR genes will help improve disease resistance in crops. The present review focuses on the diversity and divergence of duplicate NLR genes and their contribution to wheat disease resistance. Moreover, we provide an overview of disease resistance-associated gene duplication and the underlying strategies in wheat.

Background: Egg yolk powder (EYP) with high immunoglobulin of yolk (IgY) content and good solubility is in great demand in the market of functional foods. In this article, the properties of spray-dried EYP with the addition of five protectants (maltodextrin, trehalose, mannitol, maltitol and sucrose) were investigated., Results: All the protectants increased IgY activity and solubility of EYP. Among them, EYP with maltodextrin displayed the highest activity of IgY (27.11 mg/g), the highest solubility (66.39%) and the lowest surface hydrophobicity. Moreover, the average particle size of EYP with maltodextrin was the smallest (9.78 μm). The egg yolk particles obtained by adding the protectants are more uniformly distributed and have smaller particle size. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the structural integrity of the proteins, indicating that the protectants addition enhanced the hydrogen bonding forces between the EYP protein molecules., Conclusion: The addition of protectants can significantly improve the IgY content, solubility and structural stability of EYP. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.)

The anaerobic co-fermentation of orange peel waste (OPW) and waste activated sludge (WAS) for useful short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) generation presents an environmentally friendly and efficient method for their disposal. This study amied to investigate the effects of pH regulation on OPW/WAS co-fermentation, and found that the alkaline pH regulation (pH 9) significantly enhanced the promotion of SCFAs (11843 ± 424 mg COD/L), with a high proportion of acetate (51%). Further analysis revealed that alkaline pH regulation facilitated solubilization, hydrolysis, and acidification while simultaneously inhibiting methanogenesis. Furthermore, the functional anaerobes, as well as the expressions of corresponding gene involved in SCFAs biosynthesis, were generally improved under alkaline pH regulation. Alkaline treatment might played a critical role in alleviating the toxicity of OPW, resulting in improving microbial metabolic activity. This work provided an effective strategy to recover biomass waste as high-value products, and insightful understanding of microbial traits during OPW/WAS co-fermentation., 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 © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In everyday face-to-face communication, speakers use speech to transfer information and rely on co-occurring nonverbal cues, such as hand and facial gestures. The integration of speech and gestures facilitates both language comprehension and the skill of the theory of mind. Consecutive dialogue interpreting (DI) allows dyads of different linguistic backgrounds to communicate with each other. The interpreter interprets after the interlocutor has finished a turn, so the interlocutor watches the gesture first and hears the target language a few seconds later, resulting in speech-gesture asynchrony. In this study, we used the functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning technique to investigate the influence of speech-gesture asynchrony on different levels of communication. Twenty groups were recruited for the DI experiments. The results showed that when the interpreter performed consecutive interpreting, the time-lagged neural coupling at the temporoparietal junction decreased compared to simultaneous interpreting. It suggests that speech-gesture asynchrony significantly weakened the ability of interlocutors to understand each other's mental state, and the decreased neural coupling was significantly correlated with the interpreter's interpretation skill. In addition, the time-aligned neural coupling at the left inferior frontal gyrus increased, which suggests that, as compensation, the interlocutor's verbal working memory increases in line with the communication process., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Owing to its feasibility, efficiency in light-harvesting and effectiveness in the interfacial charge transfer between two n-type semiconductors, constructing heterojunction photocatalysts have been identified as an effective way for enhancing the photocatalytic properties. In this research, a C-O bridged CeO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 (cCN) Step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction photocatalyst was constructed successfully. Under visible light irradiation, the cCN heterojunction exhibited the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of methyl orange, which was about 4.5 and 1.5 times higher than that of pristine CeO 2 and CN, respectively. The DFT calculations, XPS and FTIR analyses demonstrated the formation of C-O linkages. And the calculations of work functions revealed the electrons would flow from g-C 3 N 4 to CeO 2 due to the difference in Fermi levels, resulting in the production of internal electric fields. Benefiting from the C-O bond and internal electric field, the photo-induced holes in the valence band of g-C 3 N 4 and the photo-induced electrons from conduction band of CeO 2 would be recombined when exposed to visible light irradiation, while leaving the electrons with higher redox potential in the conduction band of g-C 3 N 4 . This collaboration accelerated the separation and transfer rate of photo-generated electron-hole pairs, which promoted the generation of superoxide radical (•O 2 - ) and improved the photocatalytic activity., 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 © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cell-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) have been considered promising therapeutics for disease treatments. However, MSC-EVs harvested from different tissues present unique biological features reflective of their origins. The heterogeneity of MSC-EVs constitutes an important barrier to their precise application in clinical translation that may probably lead to uncertain therapeutic effects. To give hints for future clinical translation, five MSCs are employed, whose derived EVs are most intensively utilized, namely bone marrow mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (BMMSCs), umbilical cord stem/stromal cells (UCSCs), adipose-derived stem/stromal cells (ASCs), dermal stem/stromal cells (DSCs) and dental pulp stem/stromal cells (DPSCs) and the heterogeneity landscape of the corresponding MSC-EVs are documented. Overall, the basic parameters, stability, and biosafety of different MSC-EVs are indiscriminate. Strikingly, UCSC-EVs exhibit distinguishing productivity. UCSC-EVs as well as DPSC-EVs present better drug loading/delivery capacity. In addition, the heterogeneity of different MSC-EVs in cargo diversity, cellular affinity, organ biodistribution, and therapeutic effects may cue the rational selection in different disease treatments. Through a combined assessment, a rational strategy is combined for selecting MSC-EVs in future clinics. Offering a panoramic view of MSC-EVs harvested from different tissues, the current study may provide guidelines for the precise selection of MSC-EVs in next-generation therapeutics., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Healthcare Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)