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The prevalence of obesity has been increasing in the US. Among the multifactorial contributors to obesity, dietary factors stand out as primary drivers. Using data from NHANES, we investigated the trends and disparities in diet quality and nutrient intake among US adults with different bodyweight statuses. Participants were divided into normal weight, overweight, and obese groups based on BMI. Diet quality was examined using HEI-2020. Nutrient intake was estimated based on the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies. From 1999 to 2020, Despite an overall improvement in diet quality among overweight and obese US adults, disparities persisted for most HEI-2020 components, and worsened for whole grains, seafood and plant proteins, and fatty acids between normal weight and obese participants. Overweight and obese participants tended to consume less energy from total carbohydrates and more from total fat. The estimated total energy intake increased among obese participants over the past two decades, while no significant changes were observed among normal weight and overweight participants. In the 2017–2020 period, obese participants had lower HEI-2020 scores than both normal weight and overweight participants. However, no significant differences in total energy intake were observed among normal weight, overweight, and obese populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carrot is an important vegetable with roots as the edible organ. A complex regulatory network controls root growth, in which auxin is one of the key players. To clarify the molecular mechanism on auxin regulating carrot root expansion, the growth process and the indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) content in the roots were measured in this experiment. It was found that the rapid expansion period of the root was from 34 to 41 days after sowing and the IAA content was the highest during this period. The root growth then slowed down and the IAA levels decreased. Using the transcriptome sequencing database, we analyzed the expression of IAA-metabolism-related genes and found that the expression of most of the IAA synthesis genes, catabolism genes, and genes related to signal transduction was consistent with the changes in IAA content during root expansion. Among them, a total of 31 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, including 10 IAA synthesis genes, 8 degradation genes, and 13 genes related to signal transduction. Analysis of the correlations between the DEGs and IAA levels showed that the following genes were closely related to root development: three synthesis genes, YUCCA10 (DCAR_012429), TAR2 (DCAR_026162), and AMI1 (DCAR_003244); two degradation genes, LPD1 (DCAR_023341) and AACT1 (DCAR_010070); and five genes related to signal transduction, IAA22 (DCAR_012516), IAA13 (DCAR_012591), IAA27 (DCAR_023070), IAA14 (DCAR_027269), and IAA7 (DCAR_030713). These results provide a reference for future studies on the mechanism of root expansion in carrots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work explores the low-temperature catalytic oxidation of heavy oil (140 °C), resulting in structural changes with reduced heavy components and increased light components. The catalytic oxidation system consists of a catalyst, an oxidant, and a proton donor. Four different complexes of iron-based catalysts were utilized: ferric oleate, iron naphthenate, EDTA–FeNa, and EDDHA–FeNa. Catalytic oxidation processes with these catalysts produced four types of oxygenated oil, which were then analyzed using group composition analysis and a viscosity test. The results show that EDDHA–FeNa is more favorable for the catalytic oxidation of heavy oil in a low-temperature environment, achieving a viscosity reduction rate of 78.57%. Furthermore, the catalytic performance of heavy oil oxidation was investigated using EDDHA–FeNa as catalyst under three conditions: the amount of catalyst, oxidant and reaction temperature. These findings may provide researchers valuable guidance and principles for the investigation and development of advanced catalytic viscosity reduction of heavy oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the asphaltene extracted from Luntai heavy oil was oxidized by a mixture of propionic anhydride and hydrogen peroxide without and with a catalyst. Elemental analysis and infrared spectroscopy results indicated the occurrence of oxygen addition, condensation, and side chain cleavage reactions in the oxidation process. Oxidation products were divided into methanol solubles and methanol insolubles. The H/C and O/C atomic ratios of the MeOHS in the oxidation products without a catalyst were higher than those of the Luntai asphaltene. MeOHS had fewer aromatic rings than Luntai asphaltene. Compared with the oxidative reaction without a catalyst, the total mass of oxidation products and the proportion of MeOHS in oxidation products both increased after catalytic oxidation. This low-temperature oxidation technology can be used to upgrade asphaltenes, and thus can promote the exploitation and processing of heavy oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical titanium silicalite-1 (HTS-1) zeolites are an important class of catalytic materials due to their enhanced mass transfer and improved catalytic performance. In this study, HTS-1 zeolites have been successfully prepared by the hydrothermal crystallization of carbon-silica-titania (CST) composites. Compared with the direct carbonization method, the mild carbonization of SiO2-TiO2/Tween 40 xerogel in the presence of sulfuric acid can effectively improve both the content and mesoporous structure of carbon material in the CST composites, which enables carbon materials to better play the role of a mesoporous template during the crystallization process. The resultant zeolite has both ordered micropores and interconnected mesopores and macropores, which are similar to the skeleton of the carbon template trapped in the TS–1 crystals. Moreover, the HTS–1 zeolite displays outstanding catalytic performance in oxidative desulfurization of bulky sulfur compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance non-precious metal catalysts exhibit high electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR), which is indispensable for facilitating the development of multifarious renewable energy systems. In this work; N-doped carbon-encapsulated Fe3C nanosphere ORR catalysts were prepared through simple carbonization of iron precursors loaded with polyacrylamide microspheres. The effect of iron precursors loading on the electrocatalytic activity for ORR was investigated in detail. The electrochemical measurements revealed that the N-doped carbon-encapsulated Fe3C nanospheres exhibited outstanding electrocatalytic activity for ORR in alkaline solutions. The optimized catalyst possessed more positive onset potential (0.94 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)), higher diffusion limiting current (5.78 mA cm−2), better selectivity (the transferred electron number n > 3.98 at 0.19 V vs. RHE) and higher durability towards ORR than a commercial Pt/C catalyst. The efficient electrocatalytic performance towards ORR can be attributed to the synergistic effect between N-doped carbon and Fe3C as catalytic active sites; and the excellent stability results from the core-shell structure of the catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WS2 is considered as a potential anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) with superior theoretical capacity and stable structure with two-dimensional which facilitates to the transportation and storage of lithium ion. Nevertheless, the commercial recognition of WS2 has been impeded by the intrinsic properties of WS2, including poor electrical conductivity and large volume expansion. Herein, a seaweed-liked WS2/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites has been fabricated through a procedure involving the self-assembling of WO42−, hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium ion with graphene oxide (GO) and the subsequent thermal treatment. The WS2/rGO nanocomposite exhibited the outstanding electrochemical property with a stable and remarkable capacity (507.7 mAh·g−1) at 1.0 A·g−1 even after 1000 cycles. This advanced electrochemical property is due to its seaweed-liked feature which can bring in plentiful active sites, ameliorate the stresses arisen from volume variations and increase charge transfer rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have attracted considerable attention due to the rapid development of the need for more safety and powerful lithium ion batteries. The prime requirements of solid polymer electrolytes are high ion conductivity, low glass transition temperature, excellent solubility to the conductive lithium salt, and good interface stability against Li anode, which makes PEO and its derivatives potential candidate polymer matrixes. This review mainly encompasses on the synthetic development of PEO-based SPEs (PSPEs), and the potential application of the resulting PSPEs for high performance, all-solid-state lithium ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance non-precious metal catalysts exhibit high electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR), which is indispensable for facilitating the development of multifarious renewable energy systems. In this work; N-doped carbon-encapsulated Fe 3 C nanosphere ORR catalysts were prepared through simple carbonization of iron precursors loaded with polyacrylamide microspheres. The effect of iron precursors loading on the electrocatalytic activity for ORR was investigated in detail. The electrochemical measurements revealed that the N-doped carbon-encapsulated Fe 3 C nanospheres exhibited outstanding electrocatalytic activity for ORR in alkaline solutions. The optimized catalyst possessed more positive onset potential (0.94 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)), higher diffusion limiting current (5.78 mA cm -2 ), better selectivity (the transferred electron number n > 3.98 at 0.19 V vs. RHE) and higher durability towards ORR than a commercial Pt/C catalyst. The efficient electrocatalytic performance towards ORR can be attributed to the synergistic effect between N-doped carbon and Fe 3 C as catalytic active sites; and the excellent stability results from the core-shell structure of the catalysts.