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In order to explore a new and safe preservation technology for winter jujube storage, the effects of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and chlorine dioxide (ClO2) in single and/or in combination (fumigation with 3 µL/L 1-MCP and 100 µL/L ClO2, storage at 4 °C) on postharvest physiology and storage characteristics of winter jujube were studied. The variations of color, decay, firmness, water content, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acid (TA), vitamin C (VC), total phenolics, reducing power and DPPH free radical scavenging rate were evaluated. The results showed that treatment with 1 -MCP or ClO2 alone both effectively delayed color changing, reduced decay, maintained high levels of water content, firmness, TSS content, TA content, VC content, total phenolics content, reducing power and DPPH free radical scavenging rate, and enhanced postharvest storage quality of winter jujube. In comparision with the treatment with 1-MCP or ClO2 alone, the combination of 1-MCP and ClO2 treatment showed a better preservation effect and it could be used as a useful method in postharvest preservation of winter jujube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonium salts, including ammonium nitrate, ammonium suliate and ammonium hydro- gen sulfate, are the main components of secondary inorganic aerosols and play an important role in the formation of haze events. The sources and transformation processes of atmospheric ammonium have received more and more attention. In this study, we modified the previous stable isotope analysis technique by improving the injection volume and adding a pH adjustment step, which gave a rapid and accurate measurement of ammonium nitrogen isotope ratio in atmospheric aerosol samples. Firstly, we added alkaline hypobromite to the extracted solution of the atmospheric aerosol filter samples (0.25 µg ⋅ mL-1 ammonium nitrogen in 4 mL) to oxidize ammonium (NH4+) to nitrite (NO2-). Then, after adjusting the pH, nitrite (NO2-) was reduced to nitrous oxide (N2O) by hydroxylamine hydrochloride under pH <0.3. Finally, nitrous oxide (N2O) was analyzed by Precon-GasBench-IRMS system to measure ammonium nitrogen isotope ratio. Our approach required low amount of NH4+ and avoided the use of highly toxic and explosive reagents. Meanwhile, the precision of our method could reach as high as 0.2%c (re= 10). This method could increase the NH4 + reduction efficiency to 100% at a condition of pH <0.3 and satisfy the demands of precision and accuracy for determination of ammonium nitrogen isotope in atmospheric aerosol samples. This method would help us better understand the sources, evolutions, chemical and deposition processes of atmospheric ammonium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, the trend of fast fashion as synonymous with the change and development for fashion has played a catalytic role. Under the impact of the fast fashion, knitted garment gradually break the original design thinking frameworks. This article introduces the fast fashion knit couture under current situation, highlight the advantages of fast fashion and trends guide. By studying stylish knit clothes, yarns, colors, patterns, styles, organizational development, it can enrich the knitted dress design ideas, enhance the design potential of knit dress. Thereby promoting the production and development of knitted dress quickly and efficiently. Let the knitting female attire change be diverserand reinforced knit ladies' overall design standards in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We sought to study the blood pressure variability statuses among different subtypes of acute ischemic stroke. Methods: From July 2009 to July 2011, 226 acute ischemic stroke patients aged 66.2±11.9 years, including 128 men and 98 women, were enrolled from the Departments of Neurology and Emergency at Urumqi Friendship Hospital. Based on the criteria and classification of “trial of Org 10 172 in acute stroke treatment,” the patients were divided into 3 groups: arterial atherothrombolism (AT) group (n = 98), cardioaortic embolism (CE) group (n = 39), and small artery disease (SAD) group (n = 89). Two-hundred twenty-six healthy subjects aged 65.6±10.8 years, including 140 men and 86 women were selected as control subjects. Their blood pressure level and variability were examined by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Results: Compared with the control group, patients in the AT, CE and SAD groups had significantly higher 24-hour mean systolic blood pressure (136.7±11.7, 131.2±12.5, and 138.1±15.3mm Hg, respectively, vs. 116.7±13.2mm Hg), 24-hour mean diastolic blood pressure (77.9±12.5, 70.2±11.4, and 77.2±12.7mm Hg, respectively vs. 64.4±11.5mm Hg), pulse pressure index (0.46±0.08, 0.42±0.07, and 0.45±0.05, respectively, vs. 0.37±0.07), and variability of 24-hour diastolic blood pressure (0.17±0.05, 0.14±0.02, and 0.17±0.01, respectively, vs. 0.11±0.04) (all P < 0.05). There were significant differences in the distribution of blood pressure circadian rhythms among patients in the 3 groups (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The blood pressure variability in acute ischemic stroke patients was significantly larger than that in the control group. Furthermore, there were also significant differences in blood pressure variability among different ischemic stroke subtypes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aims: Abnormal renal lipid metabolism causes renal lipid deposition, which leads to the development of renal fibrosis in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect and mechanism of chlorogenic acid (CA) on reducing renal lipid accumulation and improving DKD renal fibrosis., Methods: This study evaluated the effects of CA on renal fibrosis, lipid deposition and lipid metabolism by constructing in vitro and in vivo models of DKD, and detected the improvement of Notch1 and Stat3 signaling pathways. Molecular docking was used to predict the binding between CA and the extracellular domain NRR1 of Notch1 protein., Results: In vitro studies have shown that CA decreased the expression of Fibronectin, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), p-smad3/smad3, alleviated lipid deposition, promoted the expression of carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 A (CPT1A), and inhibited the expression of cholesterol regulatory element binding protein 1c (SREBP1c). The expression of Notch1, Cleaved Notch1, Hes1, and p-stat3/stat3 were inhibited. These results suggested that CA might reduce intercellular lipid deposition in human kidney cells (HK2) by inhibiting Notch1 and stat3 signaling pathways, thereby improving fibrosis. Further, in vivo studies demonstrated that CA improved renal fibrosis and renal lipid deposition in DKD mice by inhibiting Notch1 and stat3 signaling pathways. Finally, molecular docking experiments showed that the binding energy of CA and NRR1 was -6.6 kcal/mol, which preliminarily predicted the possible action of CA on Notch1 extracellular domain NRR1., Conclusion: CA reduces renal lipid accumulation and improves DKD renal fibrosis by inhibiting Notch1 and stat3 signaling pathways.

Aim: To investigate the involvement of pericyte-Müller glia interaction in retinal damage repair and assess the influence of suppressing the platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ) signaling pathway in retinal pericytes on photoreceptor loss and Müller glial response., Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to intense light to induce retinal injury. Neutralizing antibody against PDGFRβ were deployed to block the signaling pathway in retinal pericytes through intravitreal injection. Retinal histology and Müller glial reaction were assessed following light injury. In vitro , normal and PDGFRβ-blocked retinal pericytes were cocultured with Müller cell line (rMC-1) to examine morphological and protein expression changes upon supplementation with light-injured supernatants of homogenized retinas (SHRs)., Results: PDGFRβ blockage 24h prior to intense light exposure resulted in a significant exacerbation of photoreceptor loss. The upregulation of GFAP and p-STAT3, observed after intense light exposure, was significantly inhibited in the PDGFRβ blockage group. Further upregulation of cytokines monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) was also observed following PDGFRβ inhibition. In the in vitro coculture system, the addition of light-injured SHRs induced pericyte deformation and upregulation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression, while Müller cells exhibited neuron-like morphology and expressed Nestin. However, PDGFRβ blockage in retinal pericytes abolished these cellular responses to light-induced damage, consistent with the in vivo PDGFRβ blockage findings., Conclusion: Pericyte-Müller glia interaction plays a potential role in the endogenous repair process of retinal injury. Impairment of this interaction exacerbates photoreceptor degeneration in light-induced retinal injury., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: Xu W, None; Cui LJ, None; Yang XY, None; Cui XY, None; Guo J, None; Xu GX, None., (International Journal of Ophthalmology Press.)

An alcohol dehydrogenase LkADH was successfully engineered to exhibit improved activity and substrate tolerance for the production of (S)-2-chloro-1-(3,4-difluorophenyl)ethanol, an important precursor of ticagrelor. Five potential hotspots were identified for enzyme mutagenesis by using natural residue abundance as an indicator to evaluate their potential plasticity. A semi-rational strategy named "aromatic residue scanning" was applied to randomly mutate these five sites simultaneously by using tyrosine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine as "exploratory residues" to introduce steric hindrance or potential π-π interactions. The best variant Lk-S96Y/L199W identified with 17.2-fold improvement in catalytic efficiency could completely reduce up to 600 g/L (3.1 M) 2-chloro-1-(3,4-difluorophenyl)ethenone in 12 h with >99.5 % ee, giving the highest space-time yield ever reported. This study, therefore, offers a strategy for mutating alcohol dehydrogenase to reduce aromatic substrates and provides an efficient variant for the efficient synthesis of (S)-2-chloro-1-(3,4-difluorophenyl)ethanol., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Carbonaceous aerosol is an important component of atmospheric fine particles that has an important impact on air quality, human health, and climate change. In order to explore the long-term changes in carbonaceous aerosol under the background of emission reduction, this study measured the mass concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) of PM 2.5 , which collected in the northern suburbs of Nanjing for five years (December 17, 2014 to January 5, 2020). The results showed that the five-year average ρ (OC) and ρ (EC) were (10.2±5.3) μg·m -3 and (1.6±1.1) μg·m -3 , accounting for 31.1% and 5.2% of PM 2.5 , respectively. OC and EC concentrations were both high in winter and low in summer. According to the nonparametric Mann-Kendall test and Sen's slope, the mass concentrations of OC and PM 2.5 decreased significantly[OC: P <0.0001, -0.79 μg·(m 3 ·a) -1 , -0.29%·a -1 ; PM 2.5 : P <0.0001, -4.59 μg·(m 3 ·a) -1 , -1.58%·a -1 ]. Although EC had an upward trend, the significance and range of change were not obvious[ P =0.02, 0.05 μg·(m 3 ·a) -1 , 0.02%·a -1 ]. OC and EC decreased significantly during winter from 2014 to 2019[OC: P <0.0001, -2.05 μg·(m 3 ·a) -1 , -0.74%·a -1 ; EC: P =0.001, -0.15 μg·(m 3 ·a) -1 , -0.05%·a -1 ], and the decline was more obvious than the whole. The correlation between OC and EC showed that the sources in winter and summer were more complex than those in spring and autumn. According to the characteristic ratio of OC and EC, the contribution of coal combustion and biomass burning decreased from 2015 to 2019, whereas the impact of industrial sources and vehicle emissions became more significant. Corresponding to this was the obvious decline in OC and the slight recovery of EC. The OC/EC ratio was over 2.0, indicating that there was secondary pollution in the study area. Further calculation revealed that the variation in SOC was consistent with that in OC, showing a significant decrease[ P <0.0001, -0.47 μg·(m 3 ·a) -1 , -0.17%·a -1 ]. The average mass concentration of SOC was (5.0±3.5) μg·m -3 , accounting for 49.2% of OC. These changes indicate clear effects of the prevention and control of air pollution in Nanjing in recent years. Furthermore, future control can focus on the emissions of VOCs to reduce secondary pollution.

Objective: To investigate the anesthetic effect of combined acupuncture-medicine anesthesia in microwave ablation of benign thyroid nodules and its effect on serum β-endorphin., Methods: A total of 60 patients who met the inclusion criteria and received microwave ablation of benign thyroid nodules were randomly divided into the treatment group and the control group, with 30 patients in each. The patients in the treatment group were given combined acupuncture-medicine anesthesia, and those in the control group were given intravenous anesthesia. The two groups were compared in terms of the sedative and analgesic effects of anesthesia, amount of anesthetics used, incidence rate of intraoperative snore and respiratory depression, and change in serum β-endorphin level before anesthesia, before surgery, and after the surgery., Results: Both groups obtained satisfactory anesthetic effects. Compared with the control group, the sedation score, the amounts of fentanyl and propofol used, the incidence rates of intraoperative snore and respiratory depression in the treatment group were obviously lower ( P <0.05, P <0.01). The treatment group had an increase in serum β-endorphin level before surgery and at the end of surgery ( P <0.05), while the control group showed no significant change in serum β-endorphin level at each time point., Conclusion: In microwave ablation of benign thyroid nodules, combined acupuncture-medicine anesthesia has good sedative and analgesic effects and can reduce the amounts of anesthetics used as well as the incidence rates of intraoperative snore and respiratory depression. The analgesic effect of acupuncture anesthesia is associated with increased β-endorphin secretion.

Rainwater samples were collected in Nanjing from December 2016 to November 2017. Water-soluble ion and organic acid content in rainwater samples was determined to analyze the chemical characteristics of precipitation and their seasonality. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model was employed to identify the potential sources of precipitation. The results show that the volume-weighted mean of pH in precipitation was 5.6, which was higher than the results of previous studies conducted in Nanjing. The volume-weighted mean of total ions was 297.3 μmol·L -1 , and the concentrations of each species were in the order of NH 4 + > Ca 2+ > K + > Na + > Mg 2+ for cations and NO 3 - > SO 4 2- > Cl - > F - for anions. The volume-weighted mean of organic acids was 2.86 μmol·L -1 , with organic acids accounting for 2.2% of the total anions. CHO 2 - , C 2 H 3 O 2 - , and C 2 O 4 2- were the main organic acids in precipitation with annual volume-weighted means of 1.35, 1.05, and 0.26 μmol·L -1 , respectively. A significant seasonality was observed for the ions and organic acids. The volume-weighted mean of inorganic ions was higher in winter and spring compared to those in summer and autumn. On the other hand, the volume-weighted mean of total organic acids was the highest in summer, followed by spring, and the lowest in winter. High concentrations of organic acids in the summer can be attributed to the biogenic emissions from plants. The ratio of formic and acetic (F/A) showed that organic acids mainly originated from primary emissions (e.g., biogenic emissions, combustion of organics, and traffic emissions) rather than atmospheric oxidation processes. Using the PMF model, we found that marine sources and secondary inorganic products (40.0%) were the predominant sources of inorganic ions and organic acids in precipitation, followed by burning of biomass (22.2%), continental origin and waste incineration (22.0%), secondary organic products (14.5%), and biological emissions along with their secondary products (1.3%).

Ammonium salts, including ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate and ammonium hydrogen sulfate, are the main components of secondary inorganic aerosols and play an important role in the formation of haze events. The sources and transformation processes of atmospheric ammonium have received more and more attention. In this study, we modified the previous stable isotope analysis technique by improving the injection volume and adding a pH adjustment step, which gave a rapid and accurate measurement of ammonium nitrogen isotope ratio in atmospheric aerosol samples. Firstly, we added alkaline hypobromite to the extracted solution of the atmospheric aerosol filter samples (0.25 μg·mL -1 ammonium nitrogen in 4 mL) to oxidize ammonium (NH 4 + ) to nitrite (NO 2 - ). Then, after adjusting the pH, nitrite (NO 2 - ) was reduced to nitrous oxide (N 2 O) by hydroxylamine hydrochloride under pH <0.3. Finally, nitrous oxide (N 2 O) was analyzed by Precon-GasBench-IRMS system to measure ammonium nitrogen isotope ratio. Our approach required low amount of NH 4 + and avoided the use of highly toxic and explosive reagents. Meanwhile, the precision of our method could reach as high as 0.2‰ (n=10). This method could increase the NH 4 + reduction efficiency to 100% at a condition of pH <0.3 and satisfy the demands of precision and accuracy for determination of ammonium nitrogen isotope in atmospheric aerosol samples. This method would help us better understand the sources, evolutions, chemical and deposition processes of atmospheric ammonium.

In this research, Chinese medicine residue of Evodia lepta and corn stalks were chosen as raw materials to prepare biochar (EIBC and CSBC) at 400, 600, and 800℃, for the removal of tetracycline from solution. The biochar was characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of pyrolytic temperature, biochar dosages, initial concentration, adsorption time, solution pH, ionic strength, and ambient temperature on the removal of tetracycline from solutions by biochar were investigated. The adsorption behavior of tetracycline by biochar was investigated using adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherms. The results showed that the adsorption capacity of biochar for tetracycline was elevated with increase in the pyrolysis temperature. The biochar prepared from Chinese medicine residue Evodia lepta at under 800℃ (EIBC800) had the best adsorption properties. Biochar dosages, solution pH, ionic strength, and adsorption time had significant effects on the adsorption of tetracycline by EIBC800 and CSBC800. In contrast, the effect of ambient temperature on tetracycline adsorption was a concentration-dependent process. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of tetracycline onto EIBC800 and CSBC800 were all fitted to pseudo-second order models ( R 2 0.9540 and 0.8355) and to a Freundlich equation ( R 2 between 0.8991-0.9579 and 0.9736-0.9946), respectively. The adsorption process was mainly controlled by chemical reaction, and the tetracycline adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. Compared with the corn-stalk derived biochar, EIBC800 had better adsorption capacity for antibiotics than CSBC800 did, which indicated that Chinese medicine residue derived biochar had wider prospects for application in the treatment of wastewater containing antibiotic residues.

Background: The aim of the present study is to determine the association of serum lipid level in the above 55-year-old age elderly with ischemic stroke (IS) in Xinjiang regions, China., Methods: 408 patients with IS and 347 healthy individuals as control in the ≥55-year-old elderly were selected for the present study in Xinjiang province of China from July 2010 to July 2012. Patients were divided into different groups according to the IS subtypes (large-artery atherosclerosis, LAA; cardio-aortic embolism CE; small-artery occlusion, SAO), plague stability, hypertension and diabetes. The serum lipid level including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) and their ratios(TC/HDL, LDL/HDL, ApoA1/ApoB) were measured., Results: Patients in LAA group had higher ratio of TC/HDL, ApoA1/ApoB and lower level of ApoA1 than SAO group(p<0.05); higher level of TC, HDL, LDL, TC/HDL, LDL/HDL, ApoA1/ApoB and lower level of ApoB compared with CE group. Patients in SAO group had higher level of LDL, ApoA1, ApoB, TC/HDL, LDL/HDL and ApoA1/ApoB than CE group. Patients with stable plaque had higher level of HDL and low level of LDL, ApoB, Lp(a), TC/HDL, LDL/HDL and ApoA1/ApoB than unstable plaque group. Patients with hypertension had higher level of TG, ApoB, Lp(a), LDL/HDL and ApoA1/ApoB than non-hypertensive group. Patients with diabetes had higher level of TC, TG, ApoB, TC/HDL, LDL/HDL, ApoA1/ApoB and low level of ApoA1 than non-diabetic group. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that high LDL, ApoB, LDL/HDL and ApoA1/ApoB might be the risk factors for ischemic stroke., Conclusion: An abnormal serum lipid level of the patients with IS in older Xinjiang population is significantly associated with the stroke subtypes, plaque stability, hypertension and diabetes.

Delayed wound healing is one of the most prominent clinical manifestations of diabetes and lacks satisfactory treatment options. Persistent inflammation occurs in the late phase of wound healing and impairs the healing process in mice with diabetes mellitus (DM). In this study, we observed that the late wound healing in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced DM mice could be improved by (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). The macrophage accumulation, inflammation response, and Notch signaling can be inhibited by EGCG in the skin wounds of DM mice. Furthermore, we found that the LPS-induced inflammation response including overactivated Notch signaling, was inhibited by EGCG in mouse macrophages. Moreover, we confirmed that EGCG could directly bind with mouse Notch-1. In addition, our studies indicated that diabetic wound healing was improved by EGCG treatment before or after the inflammation phase by targeting the Notch signaling pathway, which suggests that the pre-existing diabetic wound healing can be improved by EGCG. To summarize, wound healing can be improved by EGCG through targeting Notch in STZ-induced DM mice. Our findings provide insight into the therapeutic strategy for diabetic wounds and offer EGCG as a novel potential medicine to treat chronic wounds.-Huang, Y.-W., Zhu, Q.-Q., Yang, X.-Y., Xu, H.-H., Sun, B., Wang, X.-J., Sheng, J. Wound healing can be improved by (-)-epigallocatechin gallate through targeting Notch in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice.