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AbstractA large and growing body of literature has investigated the broad antibacterial spectrum and strong synergistic antimicrobial activity of medium chain monoglycerides (MCMs) have been widely investigated. Recently, more and more researches have focused on the regulation of MCMs on metabolic health and gut microbiota both in vivo and in vitro. The current review summarizes the digestion, absorption and metabolism of MCMs. Subsequently, it focuses on the functional and nutritional properties of MCMs, including the antibacterial and antiviral characteristics, the modulation of metabolic balance, the regulation of gut microbiota, and the improvement in intestinal health. Additionally, we discuss the most recent developments and application of MCMs using nanotechnologies in food industry, poultry and pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, we analyze recent application examples of MCMs and their nanotechnology formation used in food. The development of nanotechnology platforms facilitating molecular encapsulation and functional presentation contribute to the application of hydrophobic fatty acids and monoglycerides in food preservation and their antibacterial effectiveness. This study emphasizes the metabolic mechanisms and biological activity of MCMs by summarizing the prevailing state of knowledge on this topic, as well as providing insights into prospective techniques for developing the beneficial applications of MCMs to realize the industrialized production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particulate matter (PM10) changes have been confirmed as one of the contributory factors affecting human health, the association between PM10 pollution and the hospitalization of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with comorbidity diseases was rarely reported. The same inpatient more than twice times admissions with COPD illness from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2021 were identified from hospitals in the 17 cities of Henan, Central China. City-specific associations were firstly estimated using the case time series (CTS) model and then combined to obtain the regional average association. The multivariate meta-analytic model produces pooled estimates of the set of coefficients representing the PM10-COPD hospitalizations association across the 17 cities. Cause-specific hospitalization analyses were performed by COPD patients with different comorbidity combinations. A total of 34,348 elderly (age ≥ 65) subjects were analyzed and with a total of 35,122.35 person-years. These coefficients can be used to compute the linear exposure–response curve expressed as relative risk (RR) in per 10 µg/m3 increase in PM10 at lag03, which was 1.0091 (95% CI 1.0070–1.0112) for COPD with comorbidity, 1.0089 (95% CI 1.0067–1.0110) for COPD with circulatory system diseases, 1.0079 (95% CI 1.0052–1.0105) for COPD with respiratory system diseases, 1.0076 (95% CI 1.0032–1.0121) for COPD with endocrine system diseases, and 1.0087 (95% CI 1.0013–1.0162) for COPD with genitourinary system diseases, respectively. Some heterogeneity was found across cities, with estimates ranging from 1.0227 in the Puyang and Jiaozuo to 1.0053 in Henan Provance, China. The effect of higher PM10, on average, was higher in studies for northern cities, with a steeper raise in risk: per 10 µg/m3 increase in PM10, the RR from 1.0062 (95% CI 1.0030–1.0093) for the 10th percentile of latitude to 1.0124 (95% CI 1.0089–1.0160) for the 90th percentile. Our findings indicated that PM10 exposure may increase the risk of hospitalizations for COPD with comorbidity. Moreover, there might be a higher morbidity risk associated with PM10 in northern latitudes, indicating that stricter air quality standards could potentially reduce PM10-related morbidity among individuals with COPD. These findings have implications for the implementation of effective clean air interventions aligned with national climate policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging as a prominent area of focus in energy conversion and storage technologies, the development of highly active metal-based single-atom catalysts (SACs) holds great significance in searching alternatives to replace precious metals toward the efficient, stable, and low-cost hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), as well as the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Combining the tremendous tunability of ligand and coordination environment with rich metal-based electrocatalysts can create breakthrough opportunities for achieving both high stability and activity. Herein, we propose a novel and stable holey graphene-like carbon nitride monolayer g-C16N5 (N4@g-C16N3) stoichiometries interestingly behaving as a natural substrate for constructing SACs ((TM-N4)@g-C16N3), whose evenly distributed holes map rich and uniform nitrogen coordination positions with electron-rich lone pairs for anchoring transition metal (TM) atoms. Then, we employed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to systematically investigate the electrocatalytic activity of (TM-N4)@g-C16N3 toward HER/OER/ORR, meanwhile considering the synergistic modulation of H-loading and O-coordination ((TM-NxO4−x)@g-C16N3-H3, x = 0–4). Together a "four-step procedure" screening mechanism with the first-principles high-throughput calculations, we find that (Rh-N4) and (Ir-N2O2-II) distributed on g-C16N3-H3 can modulate the adsorption strength of the adsorbates, thus achieving the best HER/OER/ORR performance among 216 candidates, and the lowest overpotential of 0.098/0.3/0.46 V and 0.06/0.48/0.45 V, respectively. Additionally, the d-band center, crystal orbital Hamilton population (COHP), and molecular orbitals are used to reveal the OER/ORR activity source. Particularly, the Rh/Ir-d orbital is dramatically hybridized with the O-p orbital of the oxygenated adsorbates, so that the lone-electrons incipiently locate at the antibonding orbital pair up and populate the downward bonding orbital, allowing oxygenated intermediates to be adsorbed onto (TM-NxO4−x)@g-C16N3-H3 appropriately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a photo‐redox vicinal dichlorination of acrylamides using a naturally abundant chlorine source (FeCl3). The LMCT of FeCl3 is responsible for the chlorine radical inducement, while the tetra‐n‐butylammonium decatungstate (TBADT) catalytic system enhanced the process. This method exhibits extraordinarily mild conditions, not requiring external ligands and low E factors, which enables scalable synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detecting shared bicycles is an essential and challenging task. Deep learning has been widely used in object detection tasks in urban scenes, such as vehicle detection. However, deep learning algorithms still face many difficulties and challenges in shared bicycle detection. For example, the problem of large deformation of shared bicycles and the problem of small targets because the camera is far away from the shared bicycles. In order to solve these problems, this study introduces the feature fusion module and deformable convolution into the object detection network, which improves the efficiency of shared bicycle detection. This study proposes an enhanced faster R‐CNN network (A classic two‐stage object detection network) for shared bicycle detection and a shared bicycle dataset (SBD) is constructed for model training and testing. Compared with the original faster R‐CNN, the mean average precision (mAP) of the enhanced method on SBD is improved by 13%, which indicates that the method provided in this study is more suitable for detecting shared bicycles. This study also conducts experiments on the Microsoft Common Objects (COCO) dataset, where this method achieves 40.2% of the mAP, which is 5.8% higher than faster R‐CNN before improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial homeostasis has been proved to be a potential oncology therapeutic target, but there is still a huge technical challenge in developing an effective therapeutic regimen in clinic. Here, we developed triphenylphosphonium conjugated gold-doped porous carbon dots with 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) loading (T-CDs@Au/ALA nanodots) for mitochondrial-targeting combined therapy of breast cancer. Gold doping not only significantly enhanced the photothermal effect of T-CDs@Au/ALA nanodots but also enabled ALA (photosensitizer prodrug) loading via coordination interaction. Upon cellular internalization, the resultant T-CDs@Au/ALA nanodots were selectively enriched in the mitochondria and depleted glutathione, thus amplifying the reactive oxygen species damage caused by the accumulation of ALA-derived PpIX. Moreover, T-CDs@Au/ALA nanodots caused hyperthermia to further disrupt mitochondrial homeostasis for inducing the necrosis and apoptosis of tumor cells. Our study revealed that T-CDs@Au/ALA nanodots could use as an innovative mitochondrial homeostasis destroyer for synergistic phototherapy of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the benefits of non–invasive and low radiation, terahertz radiation has shown great potential in biomedical imaging applications. However, the low spatial resolution of the imaging system significantly affects its application in these fields. Although immersion techniques and super–oscillation theory have achieved considerable success in improving the resolution of imaging systems, there are still problems with large focal spot sizes or large sidebands. Herein, a solid immersion lens based on super–oscillation is proposed to reduce the focal spot size when illuminated with circularly polarized light at a wavelength of 118.8 μm. The simulation results show that the lens can compress the full widths at half–maxima down to deep sub–wavelength scales, as small as 0.232 λ. At the same time, the maximum side–lobe ratio was 16.8%, which ensured that the device had a large field of view. The proposed method reveals new ideas in the field of super–resolution imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in human mean age, the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) also rises. This negatively affects mental and physiological health. In recent years, evidence has revealed that anthocyanins could regulate the functioning of the central nervous system (CNS) through the microbiome-gut-brain axis, which provides a new perspective for treating NDs. In this review, the protective effects and mechanisms of anthocyanins against NDs are summarized, especially the interaction between anthocyanins and the intestinal microbiota, and the microbial-intestinal-brain axis system is comprehensively discussed. Moreover, anthocyanins achieve the therapeutic purpose of NDs by regulating intestinal microflora and certain metabolites (protocateic acid, vanillic acid, etc.). In particular, the inhibitory effect of tryptophan metabolism on some neurotransmitters and the induction of blood-brain barrier permeability by butyrate production has a preventive effect on NDs. Overall, it is suggested that microbial-intestinal-brain axis may be a novel mechanism for the protective effect of anthocyanins against NDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ice accumulation on atmospheric structures will result not only in inconvenience to human activities, but also various catastrophic events. Many anti-icing coatings have been developed for anti-ice accretion on various atmospheric structures. However, such mitigating icing performances and developments in practical applications are restricted by various factors. Therefore, current mitigating icing coatings are far from practical implementation. Rough and smooth hydrophobic coatings have demonstrated their potential for mitigating ice formation. To advance the development of mitigating icing coatings, a perspective of hydrophobic coatings for mitigating icing is in need. Herein, this paper categorizes the mitigating icing coatings by their wettability firstly. Then, we recap the state-of-the-art hydrophobic coatings for mitigating icing. Afterwards, we point out the deficiency and limitations of current coatings for anti-icing. At last, we provide a perspective of future trends and development directions. This perspective review can guide the design of mitigating icing coatings towards practical implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a promising treatment that efficiently suppresses local cancer, but fails to induce a robust antitumor immune response against tumor metastasis and recurrence. In this study, a NIR responsive nano-immunostimulant (Mn/A-HP NI) is fabricated by entrapping manganese and azo-initiator (AIPH) into hyaluronic acid-based polypyrrole nanoparticle. The as-prepared Mn/A-HP NIs with a high photothermal conversion efficiencey of 20.17% dramatically induced the imunogenic cell death of tumor cells and triggered the release ATP and HMGB1. Meanwhile, the hyperthermia induced AIPH decomposition to produce alkyl radicals which further destroyed cancer cells. Furthermore, the Mn/A-HP NIs were capable of promoting the maturation and antigen cross-presentation ability of dendritic cells. Consequently, the multifunctional Mn/A-HP NIs provided a combined treatment via integrating PTT/chemo-dynamic therapy and immune activation for tumor therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roles of medium- and long-chain triacylglycerols (MLCT) on health benefits under high fat diet (HFD) conditions remain in dispute. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of novel LaPLa-rich MLCT on the glycolipid metabolism and gut microbiota in HFD-fed mice when pork fat is half replaced with MLCT and palm stearin (PS). The results showed that although MLCT could increase the body weight in the mouse model, it can improve the energy utilization, regulate the glucose and lipid metabolism, and inhibit the occurrence of inflammation. Furthermore, 16S rRNA gene sequencing of gut microbiota indicated that PS and MLCT affected the overall structure of the gut microbiota to a varying extent and specifically changed the abundance of some operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Moreover, several OTUs belonging to the genera Dorea, Streptococcus, and g_Eryipelotrichaceae had a high correlation with obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders of the host. Therefore, it can be seen that this new MLCT has different properties and functions from the previous traditional MLCT, and it can better combine the advantages of MLCT, lauric acid, and sn-2 palmitate, as well as the advantages of health function and metabolism. In summary, this study explored the effects of LaPLa-enriched lipids on glycolipid metabolism in mice, providing theoretical support for future studies on the efficacy of different types of conjugated lipids, intending to apply them to industrial production and subsequent development of related products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the flexural behavior of nine steel fiber reinforced-recycled aggregate concrete (SFRAC) beams through combined experimental and finite element analysis. The test parameters in this study include the steel fiber volume fraction, recycled aggregate replacement ratio, and concrete strength. The failure modes, crack development, load-deflection curves, and flexural bearing capacity of SFRAC beams are investigated in detail. The test results indicated that cracks and concrete crushing are formed in the compression zone of all specimens. The flexural bearing capacity of SFRAC beams increases with the increase of steel fiber volume fraction and concrete strength and the decrease of recycled aggregate replacement ratio. In addition, the results are compared with those of the finite element analysis. Based on the uniaxial compressive constitutive model of SFRAC, a new model for calculating the flexural bearing capacity of SFRAC beams is proposed. The prediction and test results are compared to evaluate the accuracy of the developed formula. The studies may provide a considerable reference for designing this type of structure in engineering practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City clusters are important carriers for China's future urbanization and vital areas for promoting coordinated regional development and common prosperity. The authors first divide the city clusters into Types I, II, and III according to the characteristics of their development stages, and measure the degree of development of city clusters by using city-level night time light (NTL) data and inter-city commuting time, and empirically identify the types of China's city clusters. On that basis, the authors examine the influence of city cluster development on the inter-city disparity from a perspective of urban agglomeration. The results show that the development of Type I city clusters can lead to the widest inter-city disparity, and that of Type II city clusters ranks the second place in this regard, while that of Type III city clusters can narrow the inter-city disparity. Furthermore, using the 268-year historical geographic data of the Qing Dynasty, the authors construct instrumental variables to address the endogeneity issues, and find that the above conclusions are robust. This study also finds that the factor allocation for the development of Types I and II city clusters is oriented towards labor, while that for Type III city clusters is oriented towards capital. Besides, different types of city clusters vary in the extent of correcting factor misallocation for their development. The differences in the orientation of factor allocation and the extent of factor misallocation correction constitute the main mechanism for the heterogeneous influence of city cluster development on the inter-city disparity. China's city cluster development strategy should adopt a category-based approach to avoid homogenization, conform to the objective laws, and make greater use of central cities' spatial spillover effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed development is closely related to plant production and reproduction, and MicroRNAs (miRNA) is widely involved in plant development including seed development. Chinese kale, as a Brassicaceae vegetable, mainly depends on seed for proper reproduction. In the present study, Chinese kale seed and silique at different stages were selected to establish small RNA (sRNA) libraries including silique wall sRNA libraries at torpedo-embryo stage (PC), silique wall sRNA libraries at cotyledonary-embryo stage (PD), seed sRNA libraries at torpedo-embryo stage (SC), and seed sRNA libraries at cotyledonary-embryo stage (SD). The results showed that miRNA expressed differentially in the seeds and corresponding siliques at different stages. To further clarify the functional mode of miRNA in the process of seed development, Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis was performed on target genes of the differentially expressed miRNAs, and these target genes were mainly enriched in plant hormone signal transduction, primary and secondary metabolic pathways. After joint analysis with the transcriptome change of the corresponding period, miR156- SPL10 / SPL11 , miR395- APS3 , and miR397- LAC2 / LAC11 modules were identified to be directly involved in the development of Chinese kale seeds. What's more, modified 5′RLM-RACE and Agrobacteria -mediated Chinese kale transient transformation suggest miR395b_2 is involved in sulfur metabolism during seed development by regulating its target gene APS3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The values of individuals and organizations are the core factors driving and guiding nurses' decision-making and actions. Previous studies mainly focused on the impact of organizational commitment and other influencing factors on turnover intention. Aim: To explore the mediating effect of personal and organizational values matching the relationship between organizational commitment and turnover intention of nursing staff. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 490 subjects in four tertiary hospitals in Tianjin was conducted by convenient sampling. Multivariate regression analysis and structural equation models were used to test each hypothesis. Results: The results showed that there is a negative correlation between personal and organizational values, organizational commitment and turnover intention, and personal and organizational values played an indirect intermediary role between organizational commitment and turnover intention. Conclusions: Organizational commitment reduces nurses' turnover intention indirect through personal and organizational values paths. Leaders can improve nurses' values as members of the organization, so as to participate in their own work more actively. Implications for nursing management: Managers should effectively reduce the turnover rate and stabilize the nursing team by improving the organizational commitment and personal and organizational values of clinical nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stem strength is critical for lodging resistance in wheat. The present study utilised a high-density genetic map generated with a 50K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for stem-related traits. The analysis involved 198 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from the cross between bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties Xinong1376 and Xiaoyan81. The RILs were planted in randomised complete blocks with two replicates at three locations. The constructed genetic map contained 13571 SNP markers spanning 3605.53 cM across the 21 wheat chromosomes. The genetic and physical positions of SNP markers in 28 linkage groups were approximately the same. Twelve major QTLs related to stem strength were detected for eight traits and were distributed on chromosomes 2D (three QTLs), 3A, 4B, 4D (three QTLs), 5A, 5B, 5D and 6B. Each QTL explained 0.6-34.6% of the phenotypic variation. Taking full advantage of the available resources for fine-mapping of these stable QTLs will benefit molecular marker-assisted breeding and facilitate the dissection of molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the mechanical properties of the wheat stem. Stem-related traits play an important role in the lodging resistance of wheat. In this study, 198 recombinant inbred lines were used to detect stem-related traits in wheat by mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs), and two stable QTL clusters were identified. The reported findings can provide references for elucidating the genetic mechanism of stem-related traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermittent parathyroid hormone (iPTH) treatment induces bone anabolic effects that result in the recovery of osteoporotic bone loss. Human PTH is usually given to osteoporotic patients because it induces osteoblastogenesis. However, the mechanism by which PTH stimulates the expansion of stromal cell populations and their maturation toward the osteoblastic cell lineage has not be elucidated. Mouse genetic lineage tracing revealed that iPTH treatment induced osteoblastic differentiation of bone marrow (BM) mesenchymal stem and progenitor cells (MSPCs), which carried the leptin receptor (LepR)‐Cre. Although these findings suggested that part of the PTH‐induced bone anabolic action is exerted because of osteoblastic commitment of MSPCs, little is known about the in vivo mechanistic details of these processes. Here, we showed that LepR+MSPCs differentiated into type I collagen (Col1)+ mature osteoblasts in response to iPTH treatment. Along with osteoblastogenesis, the number of Col1+ mature osteoblasts increased around the bone surface, although most of them were characterized as quiescent cells. However, the number of LepR‐Cre‐marked lineage cells in a proliferative state also increased in the vicinity of bone tissue after iPTH treatment. The expression levels of SP7/osterix (Osx) and Col1, which are markers for osteoblasts, were also increased in the LepR+MSPCs population in response to iPTH treatment. In contrast, the expression levels of Cebpb, Pparg, and Zfp467, which are adipocyte markers, decreased in this population. Consistent with these results, iPTH treatment inhibited 5‐fluorouracil‐ or ovariectomy (OVX)‐induced LepR+MSPC‐derived adipogenesis in BM and increased LepR+MSPC‐derived osteoblasts, even under the adipocyte‐induced conditions. Treatment of OVX rats with iPTH significantly affected the osteoporotic bone tissue and expansion of the BM adipose tissue. These results indicated that iPTH treatment induced transient proliferation of the LepR+MSPCs and skewed their lineage differentiation from adipocytes toward osteoblasts, resulting in an expanded, quiescent, and mature osteoblast population. © 2019 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]