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Under potent policy support, China's photovoltaic (PV) and wind power industries have scored remarkable achievements. However, the mechanism of how the policy remains controversial. Based on the data of 62 listed companies from 2007 to 2020, this study constructs fixed-effect models and PSM models to investigate the effect of government subsidies and tax incentives on the technical efficiency of China's PV and wind power companies, as well as the role of R&D investment and operation efficiency. The results indicate that government support policies have a different impact on the companies' technical efficiency. Subsidies have significant inhibitory effects on technical efficiency by squeezing out private R&D investment. Meanwhile, tax incentives boost technical efficiency and operation efficiency recur to a mediating role. Based on these results, some valuable suggestions for improving the government policy mechanism of the photovoltaic and wind power industry are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Objective: To identify whether the use of a uterine manipulator or intracorporeal colpotomy conferred inferior short-term survival among patients treated for early-stage cervical cancer.Design: Retrospective cohort study.Setting: Tertiary university-based hospital.Patients: 1169 patients with stage IB1-IB2 cervical cancer INTERVENTIONS: All patients underwent minimally invasive radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy.Measurements and Main Results: A total of 1169 patients diagnosed with preoperative stage IB1-IB2 cervical cancer were primarily treated with surgery from 2018 to 2019. The eligible patients had a median age of 48 years (range: 23-76 years), and the median follow-up time was 34 months (range:3.57-50.87 months). The 2-year overall survival rate of the patients with pathological stage IB1 and IB2 was 99.8% and 98.8%, respectively, according to the 2018 Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system. Univariable analysis revealed that the uterine manipulator free group had a 7.6-times higher risk of death compared with that of the manipulator free group (p=.006), but multivariable analysis clarified that only tumor size (p=.016, hazard ratio [HR] 2.285, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.166-4.479) and parametrial involvement (p=.003, HR 3.556, 95% CI 1.549-8.166) were independent risk factors for overall survival. There was no statistically significant difference in survival between patients that underwent either intracorporeal or protective colpotomy.Conclusions: Short-term survival outcomes in women undergoing minimally invasive radical hysterectomy for treatment of early-stage cervical cancer did not differ when a uterine manipulator was avoided or when a protective colpotomy was performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salt is important for food flavor, but excessive sodium intake leads to adverse health consequences. Thus, salty and saltiness-enhancing peptides are developed for sodium-reduction products. This review elucidates saltiness perception process and analyses correlation between the peptide structure and saltiness-enhancing ability. These peptides interact with taste receptors to produce saltiness perception, including ENaC, TRPV1, and TMC4. This review also outlines preparation, isolation, purification, characterization, screening, and assessment techniques of these peptides and discusses their potential applications. These peptides are from various sources and produced through enzymatic hydrolysis, microbial fermentation, or Millard reaction and then separated, purified, identified, and screened. Sensory evaluation, electronic tongue, bioelectronic tongue, and cell and animal models are the primary saltiness assessment approaches. These peptides can be used in sodium-reduction food products to produce "clean label" items, and the peptides with biological activity can also serve as functional ingredients, making them very promising for food industry. • Saltiness is produced by the interaction between peptides and taste receptors. • The key production and assessment methods for peptides are presented. • Peptides with enhancing saltiness are used in sodium-reduced and functional foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperlipidemia (HLP) is a prevalent metabolic disorder and a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. According to recent discoveries, super-enhancers (SEs) play a role in the increased expression of genes that encode important regulators of both cellular identity and the progression of diseases. However, the underlying function of SEs in the development of HLP is still unknown. We performed an integrative analysis of data on H3K27ac ChIP-seq and RNA sequencing obtained from liver tissues of mice under a low-fat diet (LFD) and high-fat diet (HFD) from GEO database. The rank ordering of super enhancers algorithm was employed for the computation and identification of SEs. A total of 1,877 and 1,847 SEs were identified in the LFD and HFD groups, respectively. The SE inhibitor JQ1 was able to potently reverse lipid deposition and the increased intracellular triglyceride and total cholesterol induced by oleic acid, indicating that SEs are involved in regulating lipid accumulation. Two hundred seventy-eight were considered as HFD-specific SEs (HSEs). GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of the upregulated HSEs-associated genes revealed that they were mainly involved in lipid metabolic pathway. Four hub genes, namely Cd36, Pex11a, Ech1 , and Cidec , were identified in the HSEs-associated protein‐protein interaction network, and validated with two other datasets. Finally, we constructed a HSEs-specific regulatory network with Cidec and Cd36 as the core through the prediction and verification of transcription factors. Our study constructed a HSEs-associated regulatory network in the pathogenesis of HLP, providing new ideas for the underlying mechanisms and therapeutic targets of HLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial meat offers a potential solution to consumer demand for meat, given global environmental concerns, public health problems, sustainability, and animal welfare problems. Although artificial meat may supplement or even replace traditional meat, it is still a challenge to reproduce muscle tissue's hierarchical structure. This review focused on the research history of artificial meat, the current technological challenges and possible solutions, and analyzed consumer attitudes toward artificial meat. Key findings and conclusions : With the rapid development of tissue engineering and bioreactor engineering, the new technologies for cultured meat have been continuously developed and improved. Extrusion, shear cell, and spinning are the main techniques for plant-based meat and its market has been expanding. Consumer attitudes toward cultured and plant-based meat vary by demographics and across cultures. There are some problems still needed to be overcome, including technology barriers and sensory, nutritional, health, and safety challenges in further developing the alternative meat market. ● The artificial meat market is expanding rapidly to meet consumer demands. ● The technologies for artificial meat have been continuously developed and improved. ● The sensory, nutritional, health, and safety of artificial meat remain hurdles. ● Consumer attitude towards artificial meat varies across demographics and cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Fermentation conditions were optimized for protease production. • L. fermentum R6 protease had activity at pH 6 and 40 °C. • L. fermentum protease can hydrolyse myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins. This study investigated the purification and biochemical characterization of the protease produced by Lactobacillus fermentum R6 isolated from Harbin dry sausages. The optimized fermentation conditions were as follows: a fermentation time of 48 h, an initial pH of 6 and a fermentation temperature of 37 °C. The 37.7 kDa extracellular protease was purified using ammonium sulphate deposition, an ion exchange layer system and gel filtration. The protease produced by L. fermentum R6 had the highest initial velocity and k cat / K m at pH 6, 40 °C. The microbial protease activity could be inhibited by ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA). The V max and K m of the protease were 58.2 ± 1.42 mg/min and 17.3 ± 0.85 mg/mL, respectively. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) reflected the ability of the protease to hydrolyse myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins, in particular, myosin heavy chain, paramyosin, phosphorylase and creatine kinase-M type. In conclusion, L. fermentum R6 can be used as a starter culture or an enzyme-producing strain for the inoculation of Harbin dry sausages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of partially replacing NaCl with sodium substitutes (SS) on the lipid and protein oxidation and flavor development of Harbin dry sausage was investigated. There were three salt formulations, including a control (100% NaCl), NaCl partially substituted with KCl (SS1) (70% NaCl and 30% KCl), and NaCl partially substituted with KCl combined with other components (SS2) (70% NaCl, 20% KCl, 4% lysine, 1% alanine, 0.5% citric acid, 1% Ca-lactate and 3.5% maltodextrin). The levels of lipid and protein oxidation increased in all sausages during fermentation (P < 0.05). In addition, lower oxidation of lipids and proteins were found in the SS2 treatment (P < 0.05) due to the lower NaCl concentration. The SS, especially the SS2, promoted the formation of volatile compounds originated from carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, β-lipid oxidation and esterification; however, this substitute inhibited the formation of volatile compounds originated from lipid autooxidation (P < 0.05). Overall, SS2 could improve the flavor development of Harbin dry sausage and reduce NaCl by 30%. • Sausage with sodium substitute SS2 had a higher water activity and a lower pH. • Sodium substitute (SS) reduced the lipid and protein oxidation in dry sausages. • SS promoted the formation of 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, 1-octen-3-ol and ethyl acetate. • SS reduced 30% NaCl and improved the flavor in Harbin dry sausage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the purification and biochemical characteristics of the protease produced by Pediococcus pentosaceus isolated from Harbin dry sausages. The optimized fermented conditions were as follows: fermentation time 36 h, initial pH 5 and fermentation temperature 30 °C. A 29.6 kDa extracellular protease was purified using ammonium sulphate deposition, ion exchange layer system and gel filtration. The protease produced by P. pentosaceus had a certain pH and thermal stability at pH 6 and 30 °C. The microbial protease activity could be inhibited by ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA). V max and K m of the protease were 43.9 mg/min and 8.3 mg/mL, respectively. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) reflected the ability of the protease to hydrolyse sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins, particularly those of myosin heavy chain, paramyosin, actin, phosphorylase and creatine kinase-M types. 3D structure modelling of the P. pentosaceus protease found two domains in the protease protein and the correlation of the active sites with protease properties and substrate specificity. In conclusion, P. pentosaceus can be used as a starter culture or enzyme producing strain for inoculation in Harbin dry sausages. • Fermentation conditions were optimized for the protease production from strain. • Enzymatic properties of the purified protease were investigated. • P. pentosaceus protease can hydrolyse myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic protein. • P. pentosaceus protease structures were simulated by homology modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of partial replacement of NaCl by using sodium substitutes (SS) on the physical, microbial and sensory characteristics of Harbin dry sausage was investigated. There were three salt formulations, including control (100% NaCl), NaCl partly substituted by KCl (SS1) (70% NaCl and 30% KCl), and NaCl partly substituted by KCl combined with other components (SS2) (70% NaCl, 20% KCl, 3.5% maltodextrin, 4% L-Lys, 1% L-Ala, 0.5% citric acid and 1% Ca-lactate). After a 12-day fermentation, the higher moisture content and Aw and lower pH were found in the SS2 treatment, compared to the control and SS1 treatments (P <.05). A decreased microbial diversity during fermentation was found in all sausages, and Staphylococcus spp. and Lactobacillus spp. became the dominant genera. Additionally, the SS2 treatment showed a higher L *-value and lower hardness and chewiness values (P <.05). Therefore, the formulation of SS2 could achieve a NaCl reduction of 30% in Harbin dry sausages with a better sensory acceptability. • Sausages with sodium substitutes had higher moisture content and water activity. • Lactobacillus and Staphylococcus became the dominant bacteria in the sausages. • Sodium substitute SS2 could replace 30% NaCl in Harbin dry sausage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore a new algorithm and strategy for rhythm analysis during chest compressions (CCs), and to improve the efficiency of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by minimizing interruptions. The clinical data and ECG of patients with sudden cardiac arrest (CA) from three hospitals in China were collected with Philips MRx monitor/defibrillators. The length of each analyzed ECG segment was 23 s, the first 11.5 s was selected to contain CPR compressions, the next 5 s had no compressions, and the last 6.5 s had no requirement. Three experienced emergency doctors annotated the ECG segments without compression artifacts. A two-step analysis through CPR (ATC) algorithm was applied to the selected data. The first step was analysis during chest compressions. If a shockable rhythm was not detected, compression-free analysis followed. The results of the ATC algorithm were compared with the annotations by the physicians, to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the algorithm. In total 166 CA patients were included with 100 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients and 66 in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) patients. A total of 1578 ECG segments were analyzed, including 115 (7.3%) shockable rhythms, 1278 (81.0%) non-shockable rhythms, and 185 (11.7%) intermediate/unknown rhythms. The specificity of all non-shockable rhythms was 99.8% at the end of chest compressions, and 99.5% after analysis without compression artifact. 70.5% of ventricular fibrillation (VF) rhythms were detected by the end of chest compressions. After the CC-free analysis, 93.6% of VF was identified. The ATC algorithm achieved sensitivity of 93.6% and specificity of 99.5% after the two-step analysis, and 70.5% of the patients with shockable rhythms did not require CC-free analysis. Such an approach has the potential to substantially reduce CC interruptions when identifying shockable rhythms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of treatment by ultrasound (US), inoculation of Pediococcus acidilactici BP2 strain (BP), and their combination (US-BP) on the quality characteristics of beef jerky were investigated during fermentation for 6 days. Moisture contents and water activity were highest after the US and US-BP treatments (P < 0.05). These effects were attributed to the decreased moisture mobility in beef jerky during ultrasonication. Meanwhile, samples treated with US and US-BP displayed more broken muscle fibers and larger gaps and cavities between the adjacent muscle bundles, resulting in lower shear force values compared to the other samples (P < 0.05), which indicated that the US and US-BP treatments improved the tenderness of beef jerky. Moreover, treatment with BP promoted the flavor development of beef jerky. The US-BP treatment improved the sensory attributes of beef jerky. In conclusion, US-BP is a promising strategy to improve the quality of beef jerky. • Ultrasound treatment decreased moisture mobility and shear force of beef jerky. • Ultrasound treatment broke muscle fibers and increased the tenderness of beef jerky. • Inoculation of P. acidilactici BP2 enhanced the flavor development of beef jerky. • Combined ultrasound and starter culture inoculation improved the beef jerky quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]