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This report presents liquid metal-based infrared-modulating materials and systems with multiple modes to regulate the infrared reflection. Inspired by the brightness adjustment in chameleon skin, shape-morphing liquid metal droplets in silicone elastomer (Ecoflex) matrix are used to resemble the dispersed "melanophores". In the system, Ecoflex acts as hormone to drive the deformation of liquid metal droplets. Both total and specular reflectance-based infrared camouflage are achieved. Typically, the total and specular reflectances show change of ~44.8% and 61.2%, respectively, which are among the highest values reported for infrared camouflage. Programmable infrared encoding/decoding is explored by adjusting the concentration of liquid metal and applying areal strains. By introducing alloys with different melting points, temperature-dependent infrared painting/writing can be achieved. Furthermore, the multi-layered structure of infrared-modulating system is designed, where the liquid metal-based infrared modulating materials are integrated with an evaporated metallic film for enhanced performance of such system. Liquid metal-based infrared-modulating materials and systems have been developed to regulate the infrared reflection with multiple modes, which can be used for infrared camouflage, programmable infrared encryption, and infrared painting/writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of antibiotics and pesticides has greatly contributed to the social and economic development of human society but, due to the long-term irrational application, it has led to drug-resistant microorganisms, environmental damage, and other hazards, so the selection of alternative natural, safe, and non-hazardous bioactive substances is an effective solution for this problem. D-limonene is a bioactive compound widely present in various plant essential oils, exhibiting excellent broad-spectrum bioactivity and promising prospects for development and clinical application. This review provides a detailed overview of the biological activities of D-limonene, emphasizing its antimicrobial, anthelmintic, insecticidal, and medicinal potential. While nanoencapsulation technology shows promise in improving the physicochemical properties of D-limonene and enhancing its practical applications, it is also crucial to comprehensively evaluate the potential side effects of D-limonene before use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, there has been limited research on the interactive effects of yeast and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on the sensory qualities of navel orange wine. In this study, using Jintang navel orange juice as the raw material, multi-microbial fermentation was conducted with Saccharomyces cerevisiae SC-125 and Angel yeast SY, as well as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BC114. Single yeast and co-fermentation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum were used as the control groups. The research aimed to investigate the physicochemical parameters of navel orange wine during fermentation. Additionally, headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HP-SPME-GC-MS) was employed to determine and analyze the types and levels of flavor compounds in the navel orange wines produced through the different fermentation methods. The co-fermentation using the three strains significantly enhanced both the quantity and variety of volatile compounds in the navel orange wine, concomitant with heightened total phenol and flavonoid levels. Furthermore, a notable improvement was observed in the free radical scavenging activity. A sensory evaluation was carried out to analyze the differences among the various navel orange wines, shedding light on the impact of different wine yeasts and co-fermentation with LAB on the quality of navel orange wines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. High stress is associated with coronary heart disease (CHD), but the impact of perceived stress on prognosis with stable CHD remains unclear. This study investigated the impact of high perceived stress (HPS) on cardiovascular events in stable CHD patients. Methods. From March 2015 and December 2020, 2215 stable CHD patients were recruited. The Chinese version of the Perceived Stress Scale-14 (CPSS) was used, with follow-up conducted every 6 months until the occurrence of a cardiovascular event or March 31, 2022. Cardiovascular-related events were used as outcomes, including myocardial infarction, unplanned revascularization, stroke, death, or rehospitalization from angina. Patients were divided into HPS (CPSS ≥ 31) and nonhigh perceived stress (NHPS) groups. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted, and the log-rank test compared the incidence of adverse events after adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical information. Results. The recruited CHD population was 59.6 years old on average, 79.6% male, 27.2 points average CPSS, and median follow-up of 47 months. There were 523 HPS patients, with 98 (18.7%) cardiovascular events, and 1692 NHPS patients with 239 (14.1%) cardiovascular events. The log-rank analysis showed that risk of cardiovascular events with HPS was higher than NHPS (P = 0.012). After adjusting for demographic, lifestyle, and clinical information, the HPS group had significantly increased risk of events within 24 months (HR 1.369, 95% CI 1.037-1.807, P = 0.027), but less impact after 24 months. Conclusions. HPS predicts subsequent cardiovascular events in patients with stable CHD within 24 months. Therefore, more attention should be given to CHD patients with HPS, which may improve clinical prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control of convection plays an important role in heat transfer regulation, bio/chemical sensing, phase separation, etc. Current convection controlling systems generally depend on engineered energy sources to drive and manipulate the convection, which brings additional energy consumption into the system. Here the use of human hand as a natural and sustainable infrared (IR) radiation source for the manipulation of liquid convection is demonstrated. The fluid can sense the change of the relative position or the shape of the hand with the formation of different convection patterns. Besides the generation of static complex patterns, dynamic manipulation of convections can also be realized via moving of hand or finger. The use of such sustainable convections to control the movement of a floating "boat" is further achieved. The use of human hands as the natural energy sources provides a promising approach for the manipulation of liquid convection without the need of extra external energy, which may be further utilized for low‐cost and intelligent bio/chemical sensing and separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monosaccharide composition analysis is essential to the structural characterization and research into the biological activity of polysaccharides. In this study, a systematic comparison was performed among commonly used monosaccharide composition analysis methods, including colorimetric and chromatographic methods. These were tested on 16 aldoses, ketoses, alditols, amino sugars, and uronic acids. Furthermore, the effect of hydrolysis methods was also investigated. The results showed that the phenol sulfuric acid method is greatly affected by the type of monosaccharide that is used as the reference substance. The determination of uronic acid using sulfuric acid carbazole is less affected by neutral sugars than that method using m-hydroxybiphenyl. The high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method can simultaneously analyze multiple samples and accurately determine the type of uronic acid. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) can provide a good qualitative and quantitative analysis of aldose, amino sugars, and uronic acids, while gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) can detect aldose, ketose, and alditols. Fructose was detected in a large amount in inulin and Codonopsis pilosula after one-step hydrolysis, while it was totally destroyed in two-step hydrolysis. The release of galacturonic acid significantly increased after two-step hydrolysis in pectin and Lycium barbarum, which indicated that one-step hydrolysis is not enough for acidic polysaccharides. The results of this study are beneficial for selecting appropriate hydrolysis and analysis methods in order to accurately analyze the monosaccharide compositions of natural polysaccharides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research utilized Jintang navel oranges as the primary raw material, and employed two distinct yeast strains, Saccharomyces cerevisiae SC-125 and Angel yeast SY, for a dual fermentation approach. Employing single-strain fermentation as the control, this study aims to ascertain the physicochemical markers, alterations in organic acids and amino acids, alongside the antioxidant properties throughout the fermentation process, all within an optimized environment. The characterization of flavor compounds in the navel orange wines subjected to diverse yeast strains and mixed fermentation was conducted using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HP-SPME/GC-MS). This method facilitated the identification of flavor compound types and concentrations. Moreover, electronic sensory systems including electronic noses and electronic eyes were harnessed to discern distinctions among various navel orange wines. Through these techniques, the research aimed to elucidate the variances induced by different yeast strains during both individual and mixed fermentation processes, shedding light on their impacts on the ultimate quality of navel orange wines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a powerful and sensitive method to measure expression of targeted gene but it highly relies on the use of suitable reference genes for data normalization. We evaluated the expressions of 8 housekeeping genes: 18S ribosomal rDNA (18S rDNA), 28S ribosomal rDNA (28S rDNA),rubisco large subunit (rbc-L), β-actin (ACT), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), elongation factor 1 (EF1), β-tubulin (TubB), and P-phycoerythrin B (PEB), to select the suitable reference genes for different life-history stages (tetrasporophyte, carposporophyte, and male/female gametophyte) of Gracilaria vermiculophylla by absolute quantitative method. Softwares geNorm and BestKeeper were used to verify the results acquired from copy number analysis. Results show that the expression of identified reference genes varied in comparing groups composed of different type of life stages. It is suggested that 18S rDNA and TubB could be used for highly complex samples composed of mixed ploidy and phases. 18S rDNA and 28S rDNA were also preferred for using among the matured isomorphic samples. But for samples with different maturities, TubB and ACT were recommended for tetrasporophytes and gametophytes respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the refinement and miniaturization of integrated electronic devices, the requirements for stable operating temperature and antielectromagnetic interference are increasingly high. However, most of the current materials necessitate to develop the intelligent self‐adaptive regulation in response to external field stimuli to gratify the stipulations of different operating environments. Herein, cuttlefish‐inspired smart liquid metal based‐liquid crystal elastomer (LGN‐LCE) dual‐functional material enabling self‐adaptive electromagnetic wave interference shielding and thermal management is presented. Liquid crystal elastomer matrix endows the LGN‐LCE dynamic self‐morphing properties under thermal activation, which leads to the liquid metal network with tunable thermal/electrical conduction. The thermal conductivity of LGN‐LCE can be increased to 10.3 W m−1 K−1 with the rise of surrounding temperature, while the electrical conductivity of LGN‐LCE can be enhanced to 4.3 × 105 S m−1. Such promoted electrical conductivity helps strengthen electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance of LGN‐LCE, and the minimum EMI shielding effectiveness of LGN‐LCE can be improved from 48 to 62 dB within the X‐band. This work may not only pave a new way to rationally design a self‐adaptive EMI shielding and thermal management systems, but also show good prospects for practical applications, including thermal management materials, EMI materials, flexible electronic materials, smart materials, artificial intelligence systems, biomedical, and aerospace applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of the Chinese regional emission trading system (ETS) pilots on enterprise transformation from the perspective of diversification. We use data on Chinese A-share listed companies from 2004 to 2021, and adopt the staggered difference-in-differences (DID) and difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) models. The empirical results show that first, the ETS significantly increases the product quantity and revenue diversification of regulated firms. Second, the ETS promotes enterprise diversification through three channels: emission cost, emission risk, and market efficiency. Third, the ETS has a greater impact on the diversification of state-owned enterprises, firms with high business concentration, and firms with low innovation investment. Fourth, the ETS-driven diversification has not been successful as it has increased firms' costs and reduced their profitability. We recommend introducing industrial policies to guide the transformation of enterprises, encourage them to improve their innovation capabilities, and choose appropriate transformation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transcriptomes of three different parts of the fertile tetrasporophyte of Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis, including tip (T), middle (M), and subjacent (S) parts, with a gradual tetrasporangium maturity were analyzed and compared to identify the genes involved in the process of tetrasporogenesis. The number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for the Gple-S versus Gple-T comparison was 10296, and the numbers of DEGs for the Gple-S versus Gple-M and Gple-T versus Gple-M comparisons were 7435 and 1337, respectively. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed, and the results showed the enrichment of 132 KEGG pathways (corrected P <0.05). A total of 58 DEGs related to meiosis were screened and blasted against 18 meiosis-related genes (dmc1, mlh1, mnd1, msh4, msh2, msh6, mre11, pds5, pms1, rad21, rad50, rad51, smc1, smc2, smc4, smc5, smc6, and spo11), including four meiosis-specific genes. The transcriptome comparison indicated that in the T part, the meiosis, ribosome, and RNA transport-related genes were mostly up-regulated compared with those in the other two groups. In the M part, the genes related to ribosomes and the endoplasmic reticulum were also up-regulated compared with those in the lower part. Finally, in the S part, the genes associated with photosynthesis were mostly up-regulated, which might be helpful to the recovery from spore formation and release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edible and medicinal plants (EMPs) are widely used but are easily infected by harmful fungi which produce mycotoxins. Herein, 127 samples from 11 provinces were collected to investigate 15 mycotoxins based on geographic, demographic, processing, and risk characteristics. A total of 13 mycotoxins were detected, and aflatoxin B1 (0.56~97.00 μg/kg), deoxynivalenol (9.41~1570.35 μg/kg), fumonisin B1 (8.25~1875.77 μg/kg), fumonisin B2 (2.74~543.01 μg/kg), ochratoxin A (0.62~19.30 μg/kg), and zearalenone (1.64~2376.58 μg/kg) occurred more frequently. Mycotoxin levels and species were significantly different by region, types of EMPs, and method of processing. The margin of exposure (MOE) values was well below the safe MOE (10,000). AFB1 exposure from Coix seed and malt consumption in China was of high health concern. The hazard Index (HI) method showed the range of 113.15~130.73% for malt, indicating a public health concern. In conclusion, EMPs should be concerned because of the cumulative effects of co-occurred mycotoxins, and safety management strategies should be developed in follow-up studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symmetric conjugated molecules can be broken through suitable synthetic strategies to construct novel asymmetric molecules, which can largely broaden the material library. In the field of organic solar cells, fused‐ring electron acceptors (FREAs) with the A‐DA'D‐A type backbone structure have attracted much attention and enabled power conversion efficiencies (PCE) exceeding 18%. Among them, Y6 is one of the most classic FREAs that can derive many symmetric and asymmetric molecules and exhibit unique optoelectronic properties. Thus, in this review, the focus is on the recent progress of Y6‐derived asymmetric FREAs containing a dipyrrolobenzothiadiazole segment, which can be classified as the following three categories: asymmetric end group, asymmetric central core and asymmetric side chain. The relationship of the molecular structure, optoelectronic properties, and device performance is discussed in detail. Finally, the future design directions and challenges faced by this kind of photovoltaic materials are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The purpose of this research was to use a new method the human and bar combination barycenter to exposit the differences between successful and failed characteristics of snatch attempts in competition. Try to establish an effective biomechanical method that can uncover the main factors for the failed snatch. The obtained results will provide valuable information for weightlifters to improve the success rate in snatch by altering their technical issues accordingly. Methods. A 3-D video analysis method was used to compare the characteristics of the heaviest successful and failed attempts of ten elite weightlifters in the men's 73 kg category. The video was captured under competitive conditions at the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships, the 2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships, and the 2020 China Olympic Trial. The video data were digitized using the SIMI°Motion7.50 3-D system (Germany). Results. Significant difference (P > 0.05) was not found between the successful and failed attempts in the parameters, such as the maximal vertical rising velocity, the maximal vertical height, and the vertical displacement of the barbell. The maximal descending acceleration of the human body, the time duration, the angles of the hip, and knee joints were no significant difference. However, significant differences were found in the variation of the human and bar combination barycenter on the X -axis in the inertial ascent stage and the squat support stage (t = 2.862 , P < 0.05 ; t = 3.376 , P < 0.05). Conclusions. A probable cause of the failed snatch is that the displacement of human and bar combination barycenter on the X -axis is not enough to reach the position for supporting barbell during the inertial ascent stage and the squat support stage. The reason is that the strength of reclining of torso at the end of the force phase is insufficient. Insufficient knee flexion in the knee flexion phase (M 2), which leads to a lower maximum vertical velocity of barbell, may be an indirect factor leading to the failed snatch. The cumulative variation of human and bar combination barycenter on the X -axis can effectively determine the technical characteristics between the success and failure in snatch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of genome-wide selection signatures can provide insights on the mechanisms of natural and/or artificial selection and uncover genes related to biological functions and/or phenotypes. Tibetan sheep are an important livestock in Tibet, providing meat and wool for Tibetans who are renown for breeding livestock that adapt well to high altitudes. Using whole-genome sequences with an effective sequencing depth of 5×, we investigated the genomic diversity and structure and, identified selection signatures of White Tibetan, Oula and Poll Dorset sheep. We obtained 30,163,679 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and 5,388,372 indels benchmarked against the ovine Oar_v4.0 genome assembly. Next, using FST, ZHp and XP-EHH approaches, we identified selection signatures spanning a set of candidate genes, including HIF1A, CAPN3, PRKAA1, RXFP2, TRHR and HOXA10 that are associated with pathways and GO categories putatively related to hypoxia responses, meat traits and disease resistance. Candidate genes and GO terms associated with coat color were also identified. Finally, quantification of blood physiological parameters, revealed higher levels of mean corpuscular hemoglobin measurement and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration in Tibetan sheep compared with Poll Dorset, suggesting a greater oxygen-carrying capacity in the Tibetan sheep and thus better adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia. In conclusion, this study provides a greater understanding of genome diversity and variations associated with adaptive and production traits in sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The delivery of fermentable substrate(s) to subsurface environments stimulates Fe(III)‐bioreduction and achieves detoxification of organic/inorganic contaminants. Although, much research has been conducted on the microbiology of such engineered systems at lab and field scales, little attention has been given to the phage‐host interactions and virus community dynamics in these environments. The objective was to determine the responses of soil bacterial communities and viral assemblages to stimulated anaerobic Fe(III)‐bioreduction following electron donor (e.g. acetate) addition. Microbial communities, including viral assemblages, were investigated after 60 days of Fe(III)‐bioreduction in laboratory‐scale columns continuously fed with acetate‐amended artificial groundwater. Viral abundances were greatest in the influent section and decreased along the flow path. Acetate availability was important in influencing bacterial diversity, microbial interactions and viral abundance and community composition. The impact of acetate addition was most evident in the influent section of the columns. The increased relative abundance of Fe(III)‐reducing bacteria coincided with an increase in viral abundance in areas of the columns exhibiting the most Fe(III) reduction. The genetic composition of viruses in these column sections also differed from the control column and distal sections of acetate‐treated columns suggesting viral communities responded to biostimulated Fe(III)‐bioreduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To fully achieve an eco-friendly means of storing electricity in the form of chemical fuels, the development of a green synthetic route to highly active oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is required. In this work, imidazolate-induced production of cobalt layered double hydroxide (Co-LDH) electrocatalysts with different assembled structures is presented. Porous Co-LDHs exhibit a remarkable OER catalytic performance with a low overpotential of η10 = 312 mV, while cage-like Co-LDHs prepared by the transformation of ZIF-67 show a slightly inferior performance. Such a phenomenon is attributed to the assembled structure difference, giving rise to a difference in electron transfer and mass transport as well as the number of accessible active sites. After disassembly, these disperse Co-LDH sheets give a similar catalytic performance (η10: 288–290 mV) due to bearing similar components. Importantly, the reversible/cycling transformation between Co-LDHs and ZIF-67 provides an effective method to radically reduce pollutant release and resource consumption, from the point of view of material synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preparation of carbon dots (CDs) featuring almost the same structures in different solvents is beneficial for their direct applications in the desired media without additional treatment and for resource conservation. The structures of CDs, however, are vulnerable to the synthetic system, unfavorably forming “identical” CDs in different solvents. Herein, we developed a top-down method to explore the feasibility of preparing similar CDs from ZIF-8-derived solid porous carbons that comprising graphitic carbon embedded into the amorphous carbon domains in water, amide and alcohol. To attenuate the solvent effect, the porous carbon was oxidized by nitric acid prior to solvothermal/hydrothermal treatment. The use of oxidized porous carbon as precursors can result in the formation of CDs using a mild thermal treatment. Other than CDs prepared in amide (in DMF, CDs-d), the resulting CDs prepared in water (CDs-w) and in alcohol (in methanol, CDs-m) possess similar components and structures, as confirmed by XPS and DLS. Thus, both CDs-w and CDs-m aqueous suspensions exhibit excitation wavelength-dependent PL properties with the same emission maxima. CDs-w was directly applied in aqueous systems and gave slightly enhanced performance in cellular imaging and solar hydrogen evolution. Significantly, this research offers an available strategy to advance CD performance and reduce pollutant emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Danhong injection (DHI) is a widely used Chinese Materia Medica standardized product for the clinical treatment of ischemic encephalopathy and coronary heart disease. The bindings of eight natural components in DHI between bovine serum albumin (BSA) were studied by fluorescence spectroscopy technology and molecular docking. According to the results, the quenching process of salvianolic acid B and hydroxysafflor yellow A was a static quenching procedure through the analysis of quenching data by the Stern-Volmer equation, the modified Stern-Volmer equation, and the modified Scatchard equation. Meanwhile, syringin (Syr) enhanced the fluorescence of BSA, and the data were analyzed using the Lineweaver-Burk equation. Molecular docking suggested that all of these natural components bind to serum albumin at the site I location. Further competitive experiments of SaB confirmed the result of molecular docking studies duo to the displacement of warfarin by SaB. Base on these studies, we selected SaB as a research target because it presented the strongest binding ability to BSA and investigated the influence of the multi-components coexisting in DHI on the interaction between the components of the SaB-BSA binding system. The participation of these natural components in DHI affected the interaction between the components of the SaB-BSA system. Therefore, when DHI is used in mammals, SaB is released from serum albumin more quickly than it is used alone. This work would provide a new experiment basis for revealing the scientific principle of compatibility for Traditional Chinese Medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: OZ439 is a new chemical entity which is active against drug-resistant malaria and shows potential as a single-dose cure. However, development of an oral formulation with desired exposure has proved problematic, as OZ439 is poorly soluble (BCS Class II drug). In order to be feasible for low and middle income countries (LMICs), any process to create or formulate such a therapeutic must be inexpensive at scale, and the resulting formulation must survive without refrigeration even in hot, humid climates. We here demonstrate the scalability and stability of a nanoparticle (NP) formulation of OZ439. Previously, we applied a combination of hydrophobic ion pairing and Flash NanoPrecipitation (FNP) to formulate OZ439 NPs 150 nm in diameter using the inexpensive stabilizer hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate (HPMCAS). Lyophilization was used to process the NPs into a dry form, and the powder's in vitro solubilization was over tenfold higher than unprocessed OZ439.Methods: In this study, we optimize our previous formulation using a large-scale multi-inlet vortex mixer (MIVM). Spray drying is a more scalable and less expensive operation than lyophilization and is, therefore, optimized to produce dry powders. The spray dried powders are then subjected to a series of accelerated aging stability trials at high temperature and humidity conditions.Results: The spray dried OZ439 powder's dissolution kinetics are superior to those of lyophilized NPs. The powder's OZ439 solubilization profile remains constant after 1 month in uncapped vials in an oven at 50 °C and 75% RH, and for 6 months in capped vials at 40 °C and 75% RH. In fasted-state intestinal fluid, spray dried NPs achieved 80-85% OZ439 dissolution, to a concentration of 430 µg/mL, within 3 h. In fed-state intestinal fluid, 95-100% OZ439 dissolution is achieved within 1 h, to a concentration of 535 µg/mL. X-ray powder diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry profiles similarly remain constant over these periods.Conclusions: The combined nanofabrication and drying process described herein, which utilizes two continuous unit operations that can be operated at scale, is an important step toward an industrially-relevant method of formulating the antimalarial OZ439 into a single-dose oral form with good stability against humidity and temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]