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Feng, H.; Zhu, L.; Wu, J., and Squires, V.R., 2023. A review of disaster risk assessment and mitigation in vulnerable coastal communities: An example from the South China Sea coast. Journal of Coastal Research, 39(2), 328–333. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. This review examines and analyses key issues that underpin the development and successful implementation of risk assessment. The focus is on coastal areas (including the nearshore hinterlands) on the coast of the South China Sea, especially the coastal zone around the Gulf of Tonkin (also known as Beibu Gulf) that borders Vietnam. Consideration is given to aspects of the process of engaging with local communities in areas at risk of disasters and in those sites that are affected with severe consequences on peoples' income, wealth, health, and social state. Vulnerability is an important factor and its nature and implications are examined. This paper first sets out the context for this review, including some key information about the study region. Second, risk assessments and recent developments in mitigation are discussed. Third, the focus shifts to mechanisms (and benefits) of engagement with local peoples from areas that are at risk or have undergone severe damage. Finally, concluding thoughts and a synthesis of the whole paper is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To explore the clinical effect of auxiliary comprehensive management combined with growth patch in the treatment of childhood idiopathic short stature (ISS). Methods. From September 2017 to December 2019, 120 children with ISS who met the selection criteria were collected. Random number table method divided them into 2 groups: one group was given auxiliary comprehensive management and recorded as the routine group (n = 60), and the other group was given auxiliary comprehensive management and combined growth patch treatment and recorded as the combination group (n = 60). The course of treatment was 12 months. The effects of the two methods on children's height, bone age, body weight, and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-3 levels were compared. Results. There was no statistical difference between the two groups in baseline height, genetic height, baseline bone age, baseline body weight, and body weight before and after treatment (P > 0.05). After treatment, the heights of the two groups were higher than before for the same group, the height growth values and predicted adult height of the combination group were higher than those of the routine group, and the predicted adult height of the combination group was higher than the genetic height of the same group P < 0.001 . There was no statistical difference in IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels before treatment between the two groups (P > 0.05). The levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 after treatment in the two groups were higher than those in the same group before treatment, and the combination group was higher than that in the routine group (P < 0.05). Conclusion. On the basis of auxiliary comprehensive management, combined with growth patch for the treatment of children with ISS, it can effectively increase the height of the children, improve the levels of serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3, and have significant clinical effects, which is beneficial to the healthy growth of the children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Carotenoids are indispensable to plants and critical components of the human diet. The carotenoid metabolic pathway is conserved across plant species, but our understanding of the genetic basis of carotenoid variation remains limited for the seeds of most cereal crops. To address this issue, we systematically performed linkage and association mapping for eight carotenoid traits using six recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations. Single linkage mapping (SLM) and joint linkage mapping (JLM) identified 77 unique additive QTLs and 104 pairs of epistatic QTLs. Among these QTLs, we identified 22 overlapping hotspots of additive and epistatic loci, highlighting the important contributions of some QTLs to carotenoid levels through additive or epistatic mechanisms. A genome‐wide association study based on all RILs detected 244 candidate genes significantly associated with carotenoid traits, 23 of which were annotated as carotenoid pathway genes. Effect comparisons suggested that a small number of loci linked to pathway genes have substantial effects on carotenoid variation in our tested populations, but many loci not associated with pathway genes also make important contributions to carotenoid variation. We identified ZmPTOX as the causal gene for a QTL hotspot (Q10/JLM10/GWAS019); this gene encodes a putative plastid terminal oxidase that produces plastoquinone‐9 used by two enzymes in the carotenoid pathway. Natural variants in the promoter and second exon of ZmPTOX were found to alter carotenoid levels. This comprehensive assessment of the genetic mechanisms underlying carotenoid variation establishes a foundation for rewiring carotenoid metabolism and accumulation for efficient carotenoid biofortification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In tandem with increasing attention to sociocultural contexts of learning, ESP researchers and practitioners have in recent years begun to advocate bringing into focus learners' identity, especially cultural identity, to further ESP's needs-responsive practice (Belcher, 2012; Belcher & Lukkarila, 2011). However, the research on cultural identity has for a long time tended either to essentialize cultural identity as being unified, permanent, and bounded to and by national culture or to romanticize it as readily selectable. Drawing upon the critical realist perspective (Archer, 2007; Block, 2013), this study analyzed 65 Chinese university students' discursive and meta-discursive acts in a simulated business writing task, including pre-writing group discussions, individual request writing, and post-writing reflective essays. By examining the (in)consistencies in these discursive and meta-discursive acts, the study revealed the multiple layers of cultural identities that the students constructed, co-constructed, and negotiated in the process. While the students seemed able to exercise agency in an attempt to claim ownership of Anglophone discourse in writing requests, they were unable to resist or undo the cultural stereotypes that make them feel culturally inferior. Implications for research and teaching in ESP and intercultural communication/rhetoric are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The structure of PPI became more disordered after multiple F-T cycles. • F-T cycles could effectively improve the emulsification property of PPI. • The changes of PPI structure and functional properties depended on F-T cycles times. This study investigated changes of the structure and emulsifying properties of peanut protein isolate (PPI) during multiple freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles. According to the Fourier transform infrared spectrum, the F-T treatment to PPI reduced the content of protein ordered structure significantly. The result of fluorescence spectrum revealed that the polarity of PPI surroundings first increased and then decreased. Similarly, the free sulfhydryl content and surface hydrophobicity of PPI increased firstly and decreased. However, the carbonyl content and particle size of PPI increased continuously after F-T treatment. The emulsification performance of PPI after F-T treatment was significantly improved. The emulsion prepared by PPI after 3 F-T cycles had the smallest mean particle size, the highest absolute value of zeta-potential and the most uniform microstructure distribution, showed the best performance of emulsifying ability. Therefore, it can be known that F-T cycles treatment could effectively change protein structure and improve protein emulsifying properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on protein structure and emulsion properties of glycosylated black bean protein isolate (BBPI-G) were studied and compared to native black bean protein isolate (BBPI). The binding affinity of BBPI and BBPI-G with EGCG belonged to non-covalent interaction, which was determined by fluorescence quenching. EGCG attachment caused more disordered protein conformation, leading to a higher emulsification property. Among the different EGCG concentrations (0.10, 0.25, 0.50 mg/mL), the result revealed that the highest level of the emulsification property was obtained with 0.25 mg/mL EGCG. Therefore, the BBPI-EGCG and BBPI-G-EGCG prepared by 0.25 mg/mL EGCG were selected to fabricate oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. After the addition of EGCG, the mean particle size of emulsions decreased with the increasing absolute value of zeta-potential, and more compact interfacial film was formed due to the higher percentage of interfacial protein adsorption (AP%). Meanwhile, EGCG also significantly reduced the lipid oxidation of emulsions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic congestion and smog are hot topics in recent years. This study analyzes the impacts of road traffic characteristic parameters on urban air quality quantitatively based on aerosol optical thickness (AOD) and geographical weighted regression (GWR) models, including the road network density, road area occupancy, intersection number, and bus network density as main factors. There are some major research findings. Firstly, there exists a strong positive correlation between the peak congestion delay index (PCDI) and air quality, the correlation has R2 values of up to 0.4962 (R 0.70). Secondly, GWR refines the local spatial changes in the AOD and the road parameters, and the correlation R2 based GWR model all above 0.6. The correlation between AOD and the road area occupancy was the highest, and the correlations with the bus network density and the intersections number were higher than that with the road network density. Thus, bus route planning, bus emission reduction, road network planning, and signal timing (at intersections) have a greater impact on air quality than other policy, especially in areas with traffic jams. The results of this study could provide theoretical support for traffic planning and traffic control, and is promising in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondria are the power source of living cells and implicated in the oxidative metabolism. However, the effect of mitochondria on breeding is usually ignored in conventional research. In this study, the effect of mitochondria on Ganoderma lucidum morphology, yield, and main primary bioactive components was analyzed via structuring and comparing isonuclear alloplasmic strains. The crucial biological pathways were then explored based on the transcriptome. The results showed that isonuclear alloplasmic exhibited difference in mycelial growth rate in potato dextrose agar medium (PDA), basidiospore yield, and polysaccharide and triterpenoid content. Otherwise, mitochondria did not change colony and fruit body morphology, mushroom yield, or mycelial growth rate in solid-state fermentation cultivation material. The transcriptome data of two significant isonuclear alloplasmic strains S1 and S5 revealed that the involvement of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was mainly in pentose and glucuronate interconversions, starch and sucrose metabolism, and steroid biosynthesis. The result was further confirmed by the other isonuclear alloplasmic strains. The above results further proved that mitochondria could affect the active components of G. lucidum. Our results provide information which will contribute to understanding of mitochondria and will be helpful for breeding improved varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The nutritional traits of maize kernels are important for human and animal nutrition, and these traits have undergone selection to meet the diverse nutritional needs of humans. However, our knowledge of the genetic basis of selecting for kernel nutritional traits is limited. Here, we identified both single and epistatic quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that contributed to the differences of oil and carotenoid traits between maize and teosinte. Over half of teosinte alleles of single QTLs increased the values of the detected oil and carotenoid traits. Based on the pleiotropism or linkage information of the identified single QTLs, we constructed a trait–locus network to help clarify the genetic basis of correlations among oil and carotenoid traits. Furthermore, the selection features and evolutionary trajectories of the genes or loci underlying variations in oil and carotenoid traits revealed that these nutritional traits produced diverse selection events during maize domestication and improvement. To illustrate more, a mutator distance–relative transposable element (TE) in intron 1 of DXS2, which encoded a rate‐limiting enzyme in the methylerythritol phosphate pathway, was identified to increase carotenoid biosynthesis by enhancing DXS2 expression. This TE occurs in the grass teosinte, and has been found to have undergone selection during maize domestication and improvement, and is almost fixed in yellow maize. Our findings not only provide important insights into evolutionary changes in nutritional traits, but also highlight the feasibility of reintroducing back into commercial agricultural germplasm those nutritionally important genes hidden in wild relatives. Significance Statement: The identification and selection‐feature characterization of genetic loci contributing to nutritional trait variation between maize and teosinte is of fundamental importance in understanding the evolutionary interface between plant and human. Most favorable alleles associated with nutritional traits exist in teosinte and are not fixed in modern maize, underscoring the potential benefit of introducing teosinte alleles during maize breeding regimens to yield hybrids with desirable nutritional traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conjugates of black bean protein isolate (BBPI) and glucose (G) were prepared via the wet heating Maillard reaction with ultrasound pretreatment. The physicochemical properties of UBBPI-G conjugates prepared by ultrasound pretreatment Maillard reaction had been compared with classical Maillard reaction (BBPI-G). The reaction rate between BBPI and glucose was speeded up by ultrasound pretreatment. A degree of glycation (DG) of 20.49 was achieved by 2 h treatment for UBBPI-G, whereas 5 h was required using the classical heating. SDS-PAGE patterns revealed that the BBPI-G conjugates with higher molecular weight were formed after glycosylation. The results of secondary structure analysis suggested that the α-helix and β-sheet content of UBBPI-G were lower than that of BBPI-G. In addition, UBBPI-G conjugates had exhibited bathochromic shift compared with BBPI by fluorescence spectroscopy analysis. Finally, UBBPI-G achieved higher level of surface hydrophobicity, solubility, emulsification property and antioxidant activity than BBPI and BBPI-G (classical Maillard reaction). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wu, J.; Qiao, Y.; Xu, Y.; Xiao, M., and Feng, H., 2020. Analysis and optimization of factors influencing marine tourism economic development of Beibu Gulf. In: Gong, D.; Zhang, M., and Liu, R. (eds.), Advances in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 106, pp. 73–76. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. With the steady growth of China's economy, people's living standards have improved. In 2018, there were 5.54 billion domestic tourists, an increase of 10.8% over 2017. Domestic tourism revenue reached 5127.8 billion yuan, an increase of 12.3%. Therefore, tourism has become the main way for people to relax and enjoy their surroundings. Beibu Gulf depends on marine tourism to develop its economy. Beibu Gulf Economic Zone is rich in marine tourism resources. Through integration with regional cultural characteristics, Beibu Gulf marine tourism has become the main pillar industry of local economic development. The planning of Beibu Gulf clearly indicates that Beibu Gulf needs to take advantage of its unique features based on tourism needs. By relying on China's excellent tourism cities, Beibu Gulf Economic Zone will become a regional and international tourism destination. This paper first analyzes the factors influencing Beibu Gulf marine tourism. Marine tourism is a huge grey system, which can be used to analyze the factors influencing economic development. This paper mainly analyzes the factors influencing the Beibu Gulf marine tourism economy, and then analyzes the data from the Beibu Gulf marine economy in 2004–17 through the grey correlation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the variation of molecular functional properties of peanut protein isolate (PPI) over the storage process and reveal the correlation between the PPI secondary structure and properties in the storage procedure. After storage, the molecular properties of PPI changed significantly (p < 0.05). Extending storage time resulted in a decrease in free sulfhydryl content, fluorescence intensity, surface hydrophobicity and emulsifying properties, which was accompanied by an increase in protein particle size. The results of infrared spectroscopy suggested the content decline of α-helix and β-sheet, and the content rise of β-turn and random coil. Based on bivariate correlation analysis, it was revealed that surface hydrophobicity and emulsifying activity of PPI was significantly affected by α-helix and by β-turn (p < 0.05), respectively. This research supplied more information for the relationship between the peanut protein's secondary structure and functional properties over the stored process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]