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Age-related change in ocular appearance occurs throughout adulthood, and involutional alterations in periocular tissues are common in middle-aged or older adults. This study sought to investigate significant differences in periocular anthropometry between young and middle-aged adults of Chinese Han ethnic group. A total of 589 Chinese Han adults were recruited for cross-sectional investigation: 309 young adults (20 to 30 years), and 280 middle adulthood (50 to 70 years). Standardized, frontal view photographs were taken from each subject for measurements of 17 ocular anthropometric parameters (11 linear, three angular and three indicial parameters) detailing dimensions of palpebral fissures, and eyebrows. Eyelid crease morphologies were also evaluated. Distribution of eyelid crease subtypes were different between the two age-groups, and an eyelid subtype (Type VI Closed Crescent) was uniquely found in middle-aged adults. Significant differences were found in majority of the ocular parameters. For most of the fissure-related measurements, values were greater in young adults. For some distance-dimensions between eyes and eyebrows, values were greater in the middle-aged adults. Detailed evaluation of periocular parameters of different age was individually performed for two subjects, which embodied findings from the cross-sectional analysis. By comparison of anthropometries between age-groups, we found alterations in periocular and eyelid morphologies under effect of aging, with association of laxity and loss of elasticity in periocular tissues. This study was the first to provide normative periocular dimensions of early and middle adulthoods in Chinese Han, which is useful for considerations in esthetic surgical decision-making for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An adhesion evaluation model was developed based on the surface properties of LAB. • L. plantarum Lac 9-3 was isolated with high adhesion on the shrimp surface. • L. plantarum Lac 9-3 efficiently kept the freshness and protein quality of shrimp. • Improving the adhesion of LAB facilitated their biopreservation effect. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have recently become ideal candidates for developing food biopreservatives. Adhesion is critical for LAB to perform biocontrol functions in food processing and preservation. In this study, we innovatively proposed an effective adhesion evaluation model related to the surface properties of LAB to excavate a LAB strain with high adhesion on the surface of shrimp. Then, the biocontrol potential regarding the quality of refrigerated shrimp was explored, especially for protein quality. The screening of highly adherent LAB was performed using 54 LAB strains tolerant to the low temperature (4 °C) and present antimicrobial activity. Based on surface hydrophobicity, autoaggregation, and biofilm formation, a new method for predicting LAB adhesion was established by stepwise multiple linear regression. The most relevant relationship between adhesion and biofilm formation was derived from the model. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Lac 9-3 stood out for the strongest adhesion on the shrimp surface and the highest antimicrobial activity. The preservation results showed that Lac 9-3 significantly (p < 0.05) retarded the accumulation of total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and the growth of spoilage bacteria. The damage to the texture properties of shrimp was inhibited. Meanwhile, the degradation of myofibrillar protein was alleviated, including a significant delay (p < 0.05) in sulfhydryl (SH) group reduction, surface hydrophobicity increases, and protein conformation changes. This research optimized the evaluation of the bacteria adhesion potential, providing a new idea for developing biocontrol strategies to extend the commercial life of aquatic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • L. plantarum SS-128 efficiently prevents refrigerated shrimp spoilage. • Nutrient competition is the assumed mechanism mediating shrimp preservation. • AI-2/LuxS improves nutritional competitiveness by facilitating membrane transport. • AI-2/LuxS is a potential regulator for biological preservation of aquatic products. Quorum sensing of lactic acid bacteria, mediated by the Autoinducer-2 (AI-2)/LuxS system, positively regulates antibacterial activity, which is an effective strategy for aquatic product preservation. This study revealed that AI-2/LuxS system regulates the nutritional competitiveness of LAB by facilitating membrane transport systems in preservation of vacuum-packaged refrigerated shrimp (VPRS), using Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SS-128 wild-type and the luxS mutant strain. In VPRS preservation, organisms that cause spoilage and total volatile basic nitrogen were significantly lower in the VPRS inoculated with L. plantarum SS-128 than those inoculated with the luxS mutant strain (L. plantarum ΔluxS /SS-128) (p < 0.05). Simulations in vitro using diluted shrimp juice showed the growth inhibitory effects of wild-type strain SS-128 on the main VPRS spoilage microorganism Shewanella baltica. This could potentially be attributed to more efficient nutrient utilization, presumably mediated by AI-2/LuxS system, as revealed by interaction analysis. In support of this, in vitro nutritional competition test showed that L. plantarum SS-128 was more competitive for nutrients when cocultured with S. baltica under conditions of limited nutrient availability. Subsequently, an integrated analysis of transcriptomic and metabolomic revealed that AI-2/LuxS enables a continuous expansion of L. plantarum SS-128 by balancing energy expenditure followed by enhancing membrane transport systems, which is the main driven forces for it to occupy a favourable niche quickly. Our results showed that the AI-2/LuxS system may regulate the nutritional competitiveness of lactic acid bacteria and may be a regulatory strategy for biological preservation of aquatic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The premature perforation and leakage of HAl77-2 alloy tubes in the largest LT-MED plant in China was investigated. • Corrosion behavior of alloy tubes exhibits interesting feature that corrosion pits concentrate in one strip on the top of the tube. • Root reason of failed tubes was serious pitting corrosion and stress cracking caused by the high fluid pressure and polluted seawater. • Corrosion mechanism of alloy tubes in simultaneous presence of Cl−, Fe2+/Fe3+, sulfide and NH 4 + was clearly elucidated. Premature perforation and leakage of HAl77-2 alloy heat exchanger tubes occurs after 2.5 years of service in the largest low temperature multi-effect distillation (LT-MED) plant in China. The root reasons of perforation and leakage of tubes were investigated through macroscopic morphology, chemical composition, metallographic structure, seawater quality, flowing simulation and microstructure characterization. The results show that the HAl77-2 alloy tubes with perforation leakage meet the standard requirements. And the failure of the tubes was mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of serious pitting corrosion and stress cracking caused by the high fluid pressure and polluted seawater with Fe2+/Fe3+, sulfide and NH 4 +. Especially, the velocity and pressure spatial distribution of liquid film on the outside of horizontal tubes well verified the interesting observation that corrosion pits concentrating in one strip on the top of the tube. Moreover, corrosion mechanism was proposed that the loose corrosion products of Cu 2 S, FeS and Cu 2 (OH) 3 Cl lead to the formation of some defect points on the homogeneous protective Cu 2 O layer. For these defect points, the direct expose of the alloy matrix to corrosive substances such as Cl− and NH 4 +, significantly accelerates the dissolution of Cu in form of CuCl 2 − and Cu(NH 3)2+ from the alloy. Finally, the tube occurs pitting corrosion and even perforates under the strong hydraulic erosion after long-terms of operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Application of pH-shifting method for modification of thermal processed hairtail pieces. • Heated hairtail presented the best flavor when the pH was 5.5. • Texture properties including hardness and chewiness showed significant correlation with protein indicators. The flavor and texture of hairtail (Trichiurus haumela) products easily change depending on the processing conditions including the programed temperature, environmental pH, and so on. In the present study, we aimed to explore the differences in the overall texture and flavor of hairtail under heat treatment with varied environmental pH. The results indicated that the secondary structure of the myofibrillar protein in thermal processed hairtail meat presented a transformation from α-helix to β-sheet structure with the decrease of solution pH. Moreover, heat treatment in an acidic solution environment effectively improved the sensory and flavor properties of hairtail. In addition, pH-mediated changes on protein characteristics of cooked hairtail meat showed significant correlation with the texture properties, while weakly correlated with the flavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cistanche deserticola Y. C. Ma (CD), known as "desert ginseng", has been found to have hepatoprotective effect. This research aimed to investigate the quality control and its alleviating effect on alcoholic liver injury in mice. In this study, for the first time, a sensitive and efficient ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole ion-trap mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TRAP/MS) method was developed to rapidly characterize nine representative phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGs) in the CD extract within 14 min, offering a reference for the quality control standard of this plant. In addition, we found that the CD extract significantly inhibited the weight loss, decreased the liver index, and attenuated excessive lipid deposition, inflammatory and oxidative stress in the mice liver. With the help of the high-throughput lipidomics technique, we discovered that CD markedly reversed 17 lipid metabolites and their involved linoleic acid, arachidonic acid and glycerophospholipid metabolic pathways. As these metabolites are mainly associated with lipid metabolism and liver damage, we further used molecular biological tests to found that CD could regulate the upstream genes and proteins of the lipid metabolism pathway, including adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and peroxidase proliferators activate receptors α (PPARα). In conclusion, this study elucidates the modulatory effects of CD on lipid metabolism disorders in alcoholic fatty liver from holistic system and provides a reference for further research and development of CD as a therapeutic agent. [Display omitted] • For the first time, LC-MS was used to rapidly characterize the contents of nine PhGs in the CD extract within 14 min. • The significant overall effect of CD on reducing alcoholic fatty liver was observed from regulating lipid disorder. • Lipidomics and molecular biology experiments revealed that CD can improve alcohol-induced abnormal lipid metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The polarization field of ferroelectric materials can increase the performance of a photoelectrode by manipulating the band bending at the solid-liquid interface. However, the effect of pH of an electrolyte to the ferroelectric polarization field when applied to photoelectrochemical water oxidation is still not clear. In this work, hematite and tetragonal barium titanate nanoparticles are synthesized to construct a ferroelectric-semiconductor hybrid photoanode. We find that the photocurrent density of the positive polarized photoanode is improved about 30% in the near neutral electrolyte. However, this effect is disappeared in the high pH electrolyte. The ferroelectric polarization field is beneficial to improve the surface states and the donor density in the space charge layer of the photoanode to enhance the hole collection ability and the water oxidation kinetics in a near neutral electrolyte. Through the molecular dynamic simulation, we find that the adsorption capacity of OH− groups on the polarized barium titanate is reduced at high pH value, thus weakens the impact of the ferroelectric polarization field. Our work can maximize the utilization of the ferroelectric materials by selecting the pH value of the electrolyte and provides a new insight into the mechanism of ferroelectrics on photoelectrochemical reactions. Ferroelectrics polarization field regulate the carrier concentration, surface states and the space charge layer of a photoanode in the near neutral electrolyte. [Display omitted] • Ferroelectrics regulates the space charge layer of a photoelectrode in the near neutral electrolyte. • The impact of ferroelectric decreases for photoelectrode in the high pH electrolyte. • The adsorption capacity of OH- groups on the ferroelectric is evaluated by molecular dynamics simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of fluorescent/luminescent probes for rapid, selective and sensitive detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is of great significance for understanding the roles of ROS in pathophysiological processes. In the present research, a visible-light-excitable Eu3+ complex-based probe, Eu(L) 3 (DPBT), is designed and synthesized for the time-gated luminescence (TGL) determination of hypochlorous acid (HClO) in vitro and in vivo. The proposed probe exhibits a rapid, selective and sensitive TGL response to HClO, and excellent localization of mitochondria in living cells with low cytotoxicity. These features allow the probe to be used for the TGL sensing and imaging of HClO formation in mimic inflammatory cells at a subcellular level, as well as in endotoxin-induced liver injury and rheumatoid arthritis in live mice. In addition, by immobilizing the probe in the PEG hydrogel, the smart sensor films with rapid response to HClO were prepared, and successfully used for the real-time monitoring of HClO generation in mouse wounds, in order to distinguish the infected wounds from acute ones. Overall, this study provides a useful tool for the clinical monitoring and treatment of wound diseases. • A novel mitochondria-targetable time-gated luminescence probe for HClO was developed. • The as-prepared Eu3+ complex-based luminescence probe possesses a broad excitation window including visible light. • The probe can be used for imaging HClO in mitochondria of living cells, as well as in liver injury and RA mouse models. • The probe-doped smart sensor films were successfully used for the real-time monitoring of HClO generation in mouse wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]