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Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are conducted to systematically benchmark the effects of molecular weight, chain number, and cooling rate on the glass transition temperature (Tg) and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). Hyperbolic regression as an objective identified method is used to extract Tg and CTE. The results show that for a cooling rate higher than 5 × 1013 K/min, Tg and CTE are both strongly affected by rapid quenching. For a cooling rate lower than 5 × 1013 K/min, Tg and CTE in the high-temperature domain still slightly depend on the cooling rate. Eventually, to eliminate the finite size effect of the model, a threshold molecular weight of 11,240 g/mol should be satisfied in the system. In addition, the chain number must be more than 10, at least for an oligomer system (50 monomers). This study comprehensively reveal the critical parameters of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in the MD simulation that causes the numerical effect on polymer simulation and the variation of thermodynamics property. The threshold value of total molecular weight of 11,240 g/mol must be satisfied, which leads the polymer that exhibits its steady state bulk properties. For the oligomer system (Mw

Background While decreased hip abductor strength, functional performance, and self-reported instability scores have all been shown in association with CAI, any sex difference in the relationship between these indicators is unclear. This study was to determine whether sex differences are present in the relationship between these indicators in individuals with CAI. Methods Thirty-two women and twenty-nine men with unilateral CAI took part. Hip abductor strength and functional performance were respectively assessed using a hand-held dynamometer and the figure-8-hop test. All 61 participants scored the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) for self-reported ankle instability. Independent sample t-tests and correlation analysis were conducted. Results Normalized hip abductor strength and functional performance measures for females were lower than for males. The self-reported ankle instability CAIT score, where higher values represent less instability, was significantly and positively correlated with both normalized hip abductor strength (p = 0.003) and functional performance (p = 0.001) on the affected side in females, but not in males (p = 0.361 and p = 0.192 respectively). Conclusions Sex differences were observed in that there were significant relationships between normalized hip abductor strength, functional performance, and CAIT scores in female CAI participants, but not males, suggesting that CAI evaluation and rehabilitation strategies should be sex-specific. Highlights In females with CAI, hip abductor strength and functional performance showed significant relationships with self-reported instability scores. Correspondingly, in clinical practice with individuals with CAI, evaluation criteria may be formulated according to these observed sex differences. Sex differences should be factored into the evaluation and treatment of CAI individuals. Hip strength assessment should be employed with CAI individuals. Hip strengthening and functional hopping may be recommended for the rehabilitation of CAI, especially in female patients.

In this study, we have investigated the annealing effects on FeTe0.55Se0.45 single crystals in S and Te atmospheres. FeTe0.55Se0.45 single crystals were prepared by self-flux method. The as-grown sample shows a rather broad superconducting transition temperature around 6 K and low superconducting volume fraction, which is due to the relatively low proportion of superconducting phase. After being annealed in different vapor atmospheres, their superconducting properties, such as superconducting transition temperature, critical current density Jc, and superconducting volume fraction, could be greatly improved. All experimental results suggest that the bulk superconductivity of FeTe0.55Se0.45 single crystals can be obtained after annealing and thus present another option to remove the excess Fe, which paves the way for further practical application.

If the data contain both multicollinearity and outliers, the ridge M-estimator is the preferred estimator to the usual least square estimator (Silvapulle, Aust J Stat 33:319–333, 1991). Many other estimators, such as the pretest ridge M-estimator and Stein-rule shrinkage ridge M-estimator, have been developed on the basis of the ridge M-estimator. However, all these existing estimators do not consider shrinkage estimation for the intercept term. Hence, there are some rooms for improving the existing estimators by improving the estimator for the intercept term. In this paper, we propose several new ridge M-estimators for regression coefficients and an intercept term by introducing pretest and Stein-rule shrinkage schemes. Our estimators are obtained by using the Jimichi-type ridge matrix that allows shrinkage operations to be applicable to both the intercept term and regression coefficients. We conduct Monte Carlo simulation studies to examine the performance of the proposed estimators. For demonstration, we analyze the corporate finance data from the Nikkei Economic Electronic Databank System in Japan, and the gene expression data from Japanese ovarian cancer patients.

SERRATE (SE) is a key factor in RNA metabolism. Here, we report that SE binds 20S core proteasome α subunit G1 (PAG1) among other components and is accumulated in their mutants. Purified PAG1-containing 20S proteasome degrades recombinant SE via an ATP- and ubiquitin-independent manner in vitro. Nevertheless, PAG1 is a positive regulator for SE in vivo, as pag1 shows comparable molecular and/or developmental defects relative to se. Furthermore, SE is poorly assembled into macromolecular complexes, exemplified by the microprocessor in pag1 compared with Col-0. SE overexpression triggered the destruction of both transgenic and endogenous protein, leading to similar phenotypes of se and SE overexpression lines. We therefore propose that PAG1 degrades the intrinsically disordered portion of SE to secure the functionality of folded SE that is assembled and protected in macromolecular complexes. This study provides insight into how the 20S proteasome regulates RNA metabolism through controlling its key factor in eukaryotes.

The pearl (pe) mouse mutant has been identified as a model for Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome and bears a mutation in the beta3A subunit of the AP-3 complex, which has a core function in the biogenesis and function of various lysosomal-related organelles. Through large-scale mating, we found that female pearl mice also displayed reduced fertility with a smaller litter size. Abnormal uteri in both 1-month-old and 3-month-old mice were observed as having short and thin uterine horns, indicating abnormal development. Histological studies revealed that the endometrial epithelium and endometrial stoma of the uterus were both thinner than those in the normal controls. We examined some key factors in uterine development, including the Hoxa10, Hoxa11, and Wnt5a genes, and found that they all presented lower mRNA and protein levels. The pearl mouse could serve as a model for uterine hypoplasia, a common problem in female infertility.

By integrating imaging and drug-delivery in a single system, fluorescent nano-multifunctional imaging platforms can offer simultaneous diagnosis and therapy to diseases like cancer. However, the synthesis of such system involves a tedious, time-consuming, and multi-step process. Herein we report a facile method based on simple ultrasonication to synthesize highly cross-linked, monodispersed fluorescent polyphosphazene nanoparticles from hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCCP) and dichlorofluorescein (FD). Various functional groups (folic acid, PEG-NH2, and methylene blue) can be “fastened” in situ onto the poly(cyclotriphosphazene-co-dichlorofluorescein) (PCTPDF) nanoparticles to expand its application as nano-multifunctional platform. All the nanoparticles were characterized spectrophotometrically, and morphology was established by the images obtained from scanning electron microscope (SEM). The synthesized multifunctional nanoparticles exhibited low toxicity and penetrated through the cytomembranes of human colon cancer (HCT 116) cells. When applied to in vivo tumor imaging using biologically engineered mouse model, methylene blue functionalized (PCTPDF@MB) nanoparticles exhibited excellent photodynamic activity and imaging ability. Thus, PCTPDF nanoplatform based on multi-functional fluorescent nanoparticles might offer an efficient solution to new age theranostics. Apart from diagnostics application, PCTPDF, as a nanoplatform, could also be utilized to achieve more comprehensive application in modern analytic chemistry.

The authors are deeply sorry that, due to an unintentional mistake, the proof-editing procedure was skipped. A major mistake must be corrected: Fig. 2C contains pictures from a mislabeled folder and should be replaced as shown in the updated Fig. 2 below.

Municipal food waste is a global challenge in solid waste management, especially in Singapore. It is scattered in location, non-ignorable in quantity, and non-uniform in quality. This report focuses on the state of the art and challenges of Singapore municipal food waste management for the first time. The previous studies only focus on general food waste from both industry and municipality. The physical properties of municipal food waste are incompatible to landfill and incineration by creating secondary environmental burdens and lowering treatment efficiency. A decentralized anaerobic co-digestion with other substrates, after comparing with other technologies, is recommended, since bio-energy is a recognized valuable final product in Singapore’s context. However, there are four major highlighted challenges of food waste recycling, including low final product demand, inefficient waste collection design, cheap disposal cost, and low social awareness. A “food waste management hierarchy” for Singapore is also proposed. The most to least preferred options are listed as: source reduction, industrial uses, renewable energy, and composting then incineration.

The surface plasmon resonances of gold bowtie nanoring antenna arrays were simulated using the finite-difference time-domain method in the present study. Both the local field and transmission spectra of bowtie nanoring antennas with various nanohole sizes were examined to find the optimum conditions to induce the greatest local electromagnetic field enhancement and sensitivity compared to the solid bowtie antenna. With the optimized nanohole size of bowtie nanoring, the local electromagnetic field enhancement, the decay length of the electric field, and the bulk sensitivity were increased as high as about 73, 349, and 63 %, respectively, compared to the solid bowtie antenna. The electric field enhancement profile and the charge distribution of the bowtie nanoring antennas were studied to characterize the coupled plasmon configurations, and it was used to explore the mechanism of enhanced sensitivity and resonance-wavelength shift of bowtie nanoring array with different surrounding dielectric media. This highly localized electromagnetic field enhancement and sensitive bowtie nanoring array system can be applied in the field of surface-enhanced Raman scattering and bio-sensing.

Both the vectorial diffraction theory and the Fraunhofer approximation method are used to calculate diffractive images. In those cases, 13.5 nm light is normally incident on Fresnel zone plates (FPZs) of which the focuses are all 0.3 mm. By investigating the calculations using the vectorial diffraction theory, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) intensities of the first-order diffraction along $$x$$ -axis ( $$\phi =0^{\circ }$$ ) are 17.2 and 8.7 nm for 2,000-zone and 10,000-zone FZPs, respectively. The comparison between two methods shows that FWHM errors along $$\phi =0^{\circ }$$ are 4.2 and 22.3 %, and along $$\phi =45^{\circ }$$ are 3.3 and 33.1 % for 2,000-zone and 10,000-zone FZPs, respectively. Furthermore, maximum intensity errors are 12.3 % for the 2,000-zone FZP and 33.5 % for the 10,000-zone FZP in our study cases.

In this paper an explicit finite-difference time domain scheme developed in staggered grids is used to solve the Maxwell's equations in Drude medium. Besides the preservation of discrete zero-divergence condition in electric and magnetic fields, we also aim to conserve the inherent conservation laws in simple medium all the time using the temporally second-order accurate explicit symplectic partitioned Runge-Kutta scheme. Within the framework of a semidiscretized method, the first-order spatial derivative terms in Faraday's and Ampere's equations are approximated to get an accurate numerical dispersion relation equation. The derived numerical angular frequency is accurately related to the wavenumber of Maxwell's equations for the space centered scheme of fourth-order accuracy. The resulting symplectic finite difference scheme developed in the time domain minimizes the difference between the exact and numerical group velocities. This newly proposed scheme is applied to model EM waves in the unmagnetized plasma crystal which contains a defect layer in photonic crystal. Our purpose is to numerically study the effects of defect layers on the propagation insight.

Carrizo citrange was the most tolerant citrus rootstock to B-deficiency and some physiological performance could be attributed to the decreased mineral nutrient concentrations caused by B-deficiency. Boron (B) is an essential microelement for normal growth and development in vascular plants, and adequate B nutrition is crucial for agricultural production. Although citrus plants are not classified as the most sensitive species to B-deficiency, the occurrence of B-deficiency has been reported in the major citrus producing countries of the world, including the east and south of China. In this study, in order to evaluate the effects of B-deficiency on plant growth, root-morphological traits, B and other nutritional responses of citrus rootstock and to investigate the relationship between this physiological performance and mineral nutrients seven common rootstock seedlings, including Trifoliate orange (TO), Carrizo citrange (CC), Chongyi tangerine (CT), Red tangerine (RT), Cleopatra mandarin (CM), Fragrant citrus (FC), and Sour orange (SO), were treated by B-deficiency (0 mg L−1) or moderate B (0.25 mg L−1). All the seedlings were grown in hydroponics situation with modified 1/2-strength Hoagland’s solution under greenhouse conditions for 10 weeks. The results showed that B-deficiency inhibited the growth and development of all tested citrus rootstocks, but substantial differences were observed among these rootstocks. Different visible symptoms were observed both in the leaf and root. Corking of the leaf veins and leaf yellowing symptoms were observed on all rootstock genotypes except on CC, which exhibited a little discoloration at the end of the experiment. In addition, root growth of the citrus seedlings were also decreased by B-deficiency, but the decreases were more obvious in TO and FC. It was worth noting that B-deficiency inhibited lateral root growth and development more significantly than tap root, but not in lateral root initiation. The different performance of these rootstock genotypes indicated that CC was the most tolerant while TO was the most sensitive to B-deficiency. In addition, under B-deficiency conditions, not only the B concentration, but also the other mineral nutrient concentrations were influenced, especially in Mg, Fe and Mn. This change in nutrient concentrations might partly contribute to the seedlings’ physiological performances under B-deficiency.

The optical properties of the structures with silver nanoparticles embedded in the silica layer atop the silicon substrate are simulated by the finite-difference time-domain method. The effects of nanoparticle size, period, silica layer thickness, and the angle of incidence of the illuminated light on optical transmissions are studied. It is found that there is the red-shift for the maximum of the total light transmitting into the silicon substrate as the silica layer thickness increases. The electric field intensity distributions and the average power densities for the structure with largest optical transmission is studied, and the strong electric field intensities are found in the silica regions surrounding to the silver nanoparticles, which can help the light energy going into the silicon substrate. By controlling the structure parameters, the optical transmissions of the structures with the silica layer can have higher optical transmissions than the cases without the silica layer. The silica layer plays the role as the graded refractive index layer between the air and the silicon substrate, and the light power from the incident wave can transmit into the silicon substrate with less optical reflections for choosing a suitable silica layer thickness. A guideline to design the structures with high optical transmissions for the solar spectra is given. This study cannot only be useful for the solar cells applications, but also other antireflection applications.

Resveratrol (RSV), a natural polyphenolic antioxidant, has been considered an anticarcinogenic agent as it triggers tumor cell apoptosis through activation of the mitochondrial pathway. In our study, the effects of RSV on mitochondria, especially on the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) process, were investigated by multiple methods. We found that RSV induced a collapse of membrane potential and matrix swelling related to MPT. We further demonstrated that Ca²⁺ was necessary for this RSV-induced MPT opening. In addition, RSV induced the inner membrane permeabilization to H⁺ and K⁺, the depression of respiration and changes in membrane fluidity. The results suggested that RSV-induced MPT was accompanied by mitochondrial dysfunction. But the prohibition on lipid peroxidation and different effects of low- and high-dose RSV on membrane fluidity and respiration showed that the interaction of RSV and the mitochondria could not be the result of a single simple mechanism.

Many industries practice trial and error method to achieve optimum process conditions for desired powdered product quality in the event of fluctuations in the feed concentration, which happens more often than not and leads to wastage in product, time and energy. This paper presents the thermal-moisture drying histories for skim milk droplets from 37 to 43 wt%, in order to study the effects of initial solids variation on drying kinetics. The changes in droplet temperature, diameter and moisture content during drying were directly obtained using a glass filament single droplet drying technique. The experimental data were interpreted using the reaction engineering approach, an activation energy-based model where drying is dependent on vapour density gradient at the material–air interface. It was shown that the drying profile was sensitive to the initial solid content of droplet at this range of concentrations, since attempts to apply a single master activation energy curve to describe drying kinetics yielded less accurate predictions. The model’s predictions were validated experimentally for both moisture content and temperature profiles during drying. The proposed approach enables drying histories of high solids milk to be modelled more accurately and could potentially assist in evaluating process design for high solids milk drying.

The purpose of this work is to present a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) amplifying antenna for the possible usage in the near-infrared region. Instead of the visible-light range amplifying antenna such as a bowtie, the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation results indicate that elliptical antenna could provide large electromagnetic field enhancement at near-infrared wavelength by combining the free-standing enhancement property with large aspect ratios of the ellipse geometry. The simulation results consist with the enhancement factors characterized by SERS measurements at the excited wavelength of 785 nm for different aspect ratios and periodicities. In addition to the redshift of the resonance wavelength as the aspect ratio of ellipse increases, the free-standing structure modifies the resonance behavior and the dielectric environment of antenna by elevating the elliptical disk from the substrate. To interpret the simulation results, the analytical solution of resonance wavelength for ellipsoid dimmer is derived based on Lorentz–Mie theory, and comparisons are made between the analytical solution and simulation results. The quasi-static analytical solution provides a way to characterize the resonance behavior of two ellipsoid particles as a function of the gap distance, aspect ratio, and dielectric environment. The electrodynamic analysis for the periodic structure was performed in our FDTD simulations.

Hypertension is an important risk factor for chronic kidney disease. The kidney, in turn, has an important role in the regulation of blood pressure (BP). On the basis of a genome-wide association study, single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the uromodulin (UMOD) promoter region had been considered to influence both renal sodium reabsorption and BP. In this study, we asked whether common variants across the UMOD gene influence BP in a community-based Chinese cohort. We screened seven common variants across the UMOD locus in a community-based population from Beijing, including 1000 individuals with 48% males and an average age of 63.7±9.0 years. The urinary UMOD concentration was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We then analyzed the association of common variants of UMOD with BP. The UMOD promoter common variant rs13333226 G/A is associated with diastolic BP (DBP), and G allele carriers have higher DBP compared with A/A homozygotes (P=0.035). The variant rs6497476 C/T predicted the DBP level, with C homozygotes having a higher DBP compared with CT heterozygotes and T homozygotes (P=0.025). Urinary UMOD excretion was correlated with urinary sodium excretion (R=0.239, P=0.656*10(-13)). We determined that common variants of UMOD are associated with DBP level in a community-based Chinese cohort.

A facile approach to construct ferroferric oxide/chitosan composite scaffolds with three-dimensional oriented structure has been explored in this research. Chitosan and ferroferric oxide are co-precipitated by using an in situ precipitation method, and then lyophilized to get the composite scaffolds. XRD indicated that Fe3O4 was generated during the gel formation process, and increasing the content of magnetic particles could destruct the crystal structure of chitosan. When the content of magnetic particles is lower than 10%, the layer-by-layer structure and wheel spoke structure are coexisting in the scaffolds. Increasing the content of magnetic particles, just layer-by-layer structure could be observed in the scaffolds. Ferroferric oxide particles were uniformly distributed in the matrix, the size of which was about 0.48 μm in diameter, 2 μm in length. Porosity of magnetic chitosan composite scaffolds is about 90%. When the ratio of ferroferric oxide to chitosan is 5/100, the compressive strength of the material is 0.4367 MPa, which is much higher than that of pure chitosan scaffolds, indicating that the layer-by-layer and wheel spokes complex structure is beneficial for the improvement of the mechanical properties of chitosan scaffolds. However, increasing the content of ferroferric oxide, the compressive strength of scaffolds decreased, because of the decreasing of chitosan crystallization and aggregation of magnetic particles as stress centralized body. Another reason is that the layer-by-layer and wheel spokes complex structure makes bigger contributions for the compressive strength than the layer-by-layer structure does. Three-dimensional ferroferric oxide/chitosan scaffolds could be used as hyperthermia generator system, improving the local circulation of blood, promoting the aggradation of calcium salt and stimulating bone tissue regeneration.

The deleterious action of Cd2+ on rat liver mitochondria was investigated in this work using spectroscopic and microscopic methods. The concentration dependence of Cd2+ on mitochondrial swelling, membrane potential and membrane fluidity was studied. Our aim was to detect the active sites of Cd2+ in the mitochondrial membrane treatments with cyclosporin A (CsA) and EGTA on the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) induced by low and high concentrations of Cd2+. The protective effects of dithiothreitol, human serum albumin and monobromobimane+ on Cd2+-induced MPT were also monitored. All of these investigations indicated that Cd2+ can directly affect MPT at two separate localization sites at different concentrations: the classic Ca2+ triggering site and the thiol (-SH) groups of membrane proteins matched by MPT pore opening (defined as "S" site). At the high concentration of Cd2+, other free -SH groups in the mitochondrial matrix may be involved in this process. These findings were supported by transmission electron microscopy and shed light on the toxic mechanism of Cd2+ on mitochondria.

In this paper, a linear passive vehicle suspension model with eight DOF, including six vertical and two rotation motions is given. Considering road surface damage, and ride comfort, taking stiffness and damping of seat and suspension system as design variables; taking seat acceleration RMS, tire’s relative dynamic load and suspension’s maximum dynamic stroke as objective functions, it established a tri-objective optimization model; and it also gave a multi-objective method based on game theory, takes three design objectives as three players, by calculating the affecting factors of the design variables to objective functions and fuzzy clustering, the design variables are divided into different strategic spaces owned by each player. Bionic research on three kinds of male side-blotched lizard’s behavior and survival of multiply mechanism, it defines three lizards as opportunism, egoism and collectivism; sets the three behaviors as corresponding player, and takes self-adaptive function as objective as optimal mono-objective its own strategic spaces and obtains the best strategy to deal with the others. All the best strategies are combined as a game strategy set. By multi-gaming, the final solution meeting given convergence of criterion is obtained. Calculation results show the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed method.

Cambium periodicity is correlated with changes in the cambial cell wall, but the heterogeneity of cell wall structure and composition makes it difficult to give an accurate interpretation, especially for complex secondary vascular tissues. A combination of different methods is necessary to reveal the structure of this complex cell wall. In this study, the cell wall architecture and composition of active and dormant cambial cells in Populus tomentosa were investigated by a combination of light microscopy, rapid-freezing and deep-etching electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared microspectroscopy and immuno-histochemistry. The results showed that the architecture of dormant cambial cell walls displayed a multi-layered structure, denser fibril network, smaller pore size, and fewer crosslinks between microfibrils than active cambial cell walls. The FTIR spectra of cell walls from active and dormant cambium showed differences in the intensity of bands near 1,740, 1,629, 1,537, 1,240, and 830 cm−1, which reflected differences in cell wall composition. Immuno-labeling indicated that high methyl-esterified homogalacturonan and (1 → 4)-β-d-galactan epitopes were abundant and distributed in active cambial cell walls, and relatively de-esterified homogalacturonan and (1 → 5)-α-l-arabinan epitopes had weak labeling in the active cambium, while almost no labeling or very weak labeling for high methyl-esterified homogalacturonan, (1 → 4)-β-d-galactan and (1 → 5)-α-l-arabinan epitopes occurred in dormant cambial cells, except for the de-esterified homogalacturonan epitope, which was abundant in dormant cambial cells. These results demonstrate that there are great differences, both in structure and composition, between active and dormant cambial cell walls, which reflect their dynamic changes during cambium activity.

Chitosan (CS) rods were reinforced at high temperatures to form network structure by self-crosslinking of amino groups. Properties of treated CS rods were studied by FTIR spectroscopy, intrinsic viscosity measurement, mechanical properties testing and water absorption measurement. The FTIR spectra indicated that the CS configuration was transformed from β-CS for untreated CS rods to α-CS for thermally treated CS rods. Meanwhile, the crosslinking also occurred between amino groups of CS. Due to the increase in the crosslinking degree, the intrinsic viscosity increased with the rising of temperature. It was found that the network structure enhanced the bending strength of CS rods, which reached 154.8 MPa when CS rods were treated at 140°C for 2 h. Thermal treatment also reduced the water absorption of CS rods. Due to the improved mechanical properties, thermally treated CS rods could be used as a novel device for internal fixation of bone fracture.

Lutein, zeaxanthin, and β-cryptoxanthin are xanthophyll pigments that own conjugated double bonds; some factors can convert (all-E)-xanthophylls to their (Z)-isomers such as high temperature, illumination, and oxidants. In the present work, the Fe(II)-induced isomerization of (all-E)-lutein, (all-E)-zeaxanthin, and (all-E)-β-cryptoxanthin in acetone were analyzed by HPLC coupled with DAD and APcI-MS. The three (all-E)-xanthophylls were baseline separated and their (Z)-isomers were identified by the chromatographic retention, UV/vis spectra and positive mass spectrometry with reference values reported in the literature. The results showed that Fe(II) exhibited a rapidly isomerization induction of (all-E)-xanthophylls to their (Z)-isomers exceeding a 8/1 mass ratio of Fe(II)/pigments. The (13-Z)-lutein and (13′-Z)-lutein were identified as the major (Z)-isomers of (all-E)-lutein treated with FeSO4·7H2O, and (13-Z)-zeaxanthin was identified as the major isomerization product of (all-E)-zeaxanthin. Furthermore, a type of (Z)-β-cryptoxanthin was also detected. Increasing either mass ratio of Fe(II)/pigments or the incubation time of FeSO4·7H2O and (all-E)-xanthophylls may affect on the stabilities of (Z)-isomers derived from (all-E)-xanthophylls.