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Constructing the first-class undergraduate specialty, deepening curriculum reform, incorporating innovation and entrepreneurship education throughout the entire talent development process, and consistently enhancing the standard of innovation and entrepreneurship education are crucial approaches to fostering scientific and technological aptitude among college students. This study, according to the nature and characteristics of the course "Comprehensive Utilization of Grain and Oil Processing By-Products", focusing on the objectives of course teaching, under the guidance of the concept of innovation and entrepreneurship education, aims to explore the development and implementation of a practical case teaching method tailored to grain engineering students within the framework of the provincial first-class undergraduate specialty construction. By improving challenges such as lecture-based teaching, limited practical links, and one-dimensional assessment, a collaborative education platform of 'trinity' innovation and entrepreneurship teaching is proposed based on the construction idea of "classroom-experiment-practice". This platform emphasizes several improvement initiatives, such as incorporating industry case-inspired teaching, conducting classroom presentations, fostering the development of innovative experimental designs in small groups, cultivating the spirit of scientists, expanding the teaching of science and innovation competitions on the extracurricular activities, implementing multi-dimensional assessment methods, and establishing continuity mechanisms. Our goal is to establish a collaborative platform that nurtures innovation and entrepreneurship through the professional curriculum. Ultimately, this platform seeks to promote balanced development between professional knowledge and entrepreneurial skills, elevating the cultivation of innovative talents in grain engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) impacts patient quality of life. In such patients, increased expression of mer tyrosine kinase (MerTK) has been demonstrated; however, its mechanism of action remains unclear. In this study, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and DPN models were established in Sprague Dawley rats via low-dose streptozotocin and a high-fat diet and the mode of action of MerTK was examined. Methods MerTK-specific inhibitors were administered by gavage once daily for 2 weeks. Sciatic nerve conduction velocity and nerve structure were measured. The levels of MerTK, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and relevant biochemical indexes were detected. Results The study revealed upregulation of MerTK expression in T2DM and more so in DPN groups. Inhibiting MerTK led to reduced nerve conduction velocity and further deterioration of sciatic nerve structure, as evidenced by structural morphology. Concurrently, serum levels of total cholesterol, glycated hemoglobin, and triglyceride significantly increased. Moreover, levels of NF-κB increased in both serum and nerve tissue, alongside a significant rise in TNF-α and IL-1β expressions. MerTK could bind to the inhibitor of kappa B kinase beta (Ikbkb) in Schwann cells, establishing Ikbkb as a precursor to NF-κB activation. Discussion Inhibition of MerTK exacerbates neuropathy, indicating its protective role in DPN by suppressing the NF-κB pathway, highlighting a potential new target for its diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trend of digital transformation fosters enterprise change, helps cultivate enterprises' own competitive advantages and is crucial to the advancement of sports enterprises' sustainable development in the framework of the emerging digital economy as a national strategy. However, there have been few empirical studies on the microlevel of digital transformation and its impact on the sustainability of sports organizations. Therefore, the sustainable growth dynamic model is used to construct indicators of corporate sustainability by referencing 48 sports corporations listed on Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares markets and the New Third Board in China from 2012 to 2021. The intrinsic relationship between digital transformation and the sustainable development of sports enterprises and the underlying mechanism of action are explored by constructing a panel fixed effects model, a chain mediating effects model, and a panel threshold model. The most important contribution is as follows: To provide a useful reference for analyzing enterprise digital transformation, a more complete indicator indicating the extent of corporate digital transformation is built. The micro viewpoint broadens our awareness of sustainable development in sports organizations and deepens our understanding of the interaction model between sustainable development and enterprise digital transformation. This study provides methodical evidence and insights for an accurate understanding of digital transformation for sustainable enterprise development, looking into the "black box" of the mechanism between digital transformation and sustainable business development. The results show that digital transformation significantly aids sports enterprises in their pursuit of long-term sustainability. Heterogeneity tests demonstrate the pivotal role of digital transformation in advancing the sustained growth of sports firms and high-tech sports enterprises situated in the eastern region of China. Regarding transmission mechanisms, the chain mediating effect of enterprises' digital transformation on improved technological innovation and TFP, which in turn promote long-term business growth, has yet to be validated. Further examination exposes that within the context of the correlation between digital transformation and the sustainability of corporations, there is a single threshold effect based on financing restrictions and operational costs and a double threshold effect based on operational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ba0.6Sr0.4Co0.9Nb0.1O3−δ (BSCN)–xGd0.1Ce0.9O1.95 (GDC) composites with various GDC contents (x = 0–40, wt%) have been investigated for their potential application in IT-SOFCs. The effects of GDC addition on thermal expansion and electrochemical performances were studied. Thermal expansion measurement indicates that thermal expansion coefficients (TECs) decrease with increasing GDC content; in addition, GDC plays a catalytic role during the process of low-temperature thermal-driven reduction of Co4+ to Co3+. Polarization resistance (R p) measurement indicates that the proper addition of GDC improves electrochemical performance of BSCN cathode. The optimum GDC addition to BSCN cathode is 20 wt% with the lowest R p of 0.042 Ω cm2 at 700 °C. The maximum power density of a cell with BSCN–20GDC cathode on 300 μm-thick GDC electrolyte achieves 460–880 mW cm−2 at 700–800 °C. The excellent electrochemical performance of BSCN–20GDC composite cathode is ascribed to its much finer microstructure and larger cathode/electrolyte/gas triple phase boundary (TPB) areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]