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BACKGROUND RESULTS CONCLUSIONS Codonopsis pilosula var. modesta (CPVM) is a famous medicinal and edible plant of Campanulaceae. However, fresh CPVM roots (FCPVR) are prone to softening, browning and spoilage after concentrated harvesting in the main production area of Gansu Province, China in autumn, which poses great challenges to their large‐scale storage and modern processing. In this study, effects of chitosan (CS), natamycin (NA) and modified atmosphere agent (MA) on the postharvest quality of FCPVR were first investigated. The roots after different treatments were stored at 4 °C and relative humidity of 75 ± 5% for 100 days. Their overall quality changes were evaluated from three perspectives: physiological quality, endophytic bacterial community and volatile organic compounds.The clustering heatmap and principal component analysis results indicated that CS (2 g kg−1), NA (0.5 g kg−1) and MA (5 g) had a synergistic effect on physiological quality. The roots in the CS + NA + MA group maintained better physiological state, effective components and antioxidant capacity throughout the storage process. On this basis, compared with room temperature storage, the relative abundance of the main spoilage bacterium Pseudomonas in the CS + NA + MA group roots decreased by 44% on the 100th day of storage. Furthermore, after CS + NA + MA composite treatment, the roots produced richer esters with fruit aroma during low‐temperature storage.The CS + NA + MA composite treatment could maintain the physiological quality and flavor of FCPVR, inhibit spoilage by microbial contamination and maintain the optimal quality during low‐temperature storage for up to 100 days. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home- and community-based services (HCBS) are optimal ways to deal with disability problems among older adults. This study aims to analyze urban-rural disparities in the relationship between HCBS utilization and levels of disability among Chinese older adults with disabilities, so as to meet the long-term care needs of them. In applying the Andersen Behavioral Model, bivariate analysis and multivariate regression models were employed using data from 843 older adults with disabilities from the 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS). After adjusting covariates, disability levels among Chinese older adults with disabilities were significantly correlated with HCBS utilization in urban areas but not in rural areas. The urban-rural disparities may be due to the low utilization of HCBS in rural areas (only 11.2%) among older adults with disabilities compared with their urban counterparts (22.7%)., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: Prenatal fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) exposure has been linked to infant cognitive and motor functions, but the effects of PM 2.5 chemical composition remain unclear., Objectives: We aimed to explore the associations of prenatal PM 2.5 and its composition exposure with infant cognitive and motor functions., Methods: We studied 2,435 mother-infant pairs in the Shanghai Birth Cohort Study. PM 2.5 and its seven compositions [primary particles (black carbon, mineral dust and sea salts) and secondary particles (NH 4 + , NO 3 - , SO 4 2- and organic matter)] during thethreetrimesters ofpregnancy were retrieved from the V4.CH.03 product developed by using a combined geoscience-statistical method. At the 12-month-old follow-up, infant cognitive and motor functions in five domains were assessed using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). We used multivariable linear regressions to estimate the effects of PM 2.5 and its composition on the ASQ scores, for all infants and stratifying by sex and breastfeeding duration., Results: PM 2.5 exposure was negatively associated with gross motor, problem-solving and personal-social scores for all infants. PM 2.5 compositions were inversely associated with ASQ scores in all five domains, and the effects of different compositions varied across domains. Specifically, all compositions except organic matter were correlated with lower problem-solving scores [e.g., ( [Formula: see text]  =  - 10.79, 95 % CI: -17.40, -4.18) ∼ ( [Formula: see text]  =  - 4.68, 95 % CI: -7.84, -1.53); for each 10 μg/m 3 increase in PM 2.5 compositions during the third trimester]. Primary and some secondary particles (organic matter, NO 3 - ) were related to lower gross motor scores. Secondary particles were also inversely associated with communication (organic matter and NO 3 - ), fine motor (NH 4 + , NO 3 - , SO 4 2- ) and personal-social (NH 4 + ) scores. Additionally, boys and infants breastfed for < 6 months appeared to be more susceptible., Conclusions: We found negative associations of PM 2.5 and its compositions with infant cognitive and motor functions over a range of domains, especially the problem-solving domain., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)