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In a low-carbon context, the connectedness among carbon, stock, and renewable energy markets has been strengthening. This study examines the effect of Brexit, the launch of the European Green Deal and the COVID-19 pandemic on the connectedness among carbon, stock, and renewable energy markets by employing Time Varying Parameter -Vector Auto Regression (TVP-VAR). First, equal interval impulse response analysis shows that in the short term, the renewable energy market suffers from a positive shock from the carbon market and this shock gradually decreases from the initial 1.6 × 10 − 3 . In the long run, the connectivity between the carbon market and the stock market, and between the carbon market and the renewable energy market is almost 0. Second, we can conclude that the positive connectivity between stock market to carbon market and renewable energy market to carbon market is enhanced by COVID-19 in the short term, with values of 7.5 × 10 − 3 and 3.6 × 10 − 3 respectively. Finally, renewable energy market received a greater negative impact from the carbon market during COVID-19 than during the release of the European Green Deal, while Brexit allowed positive carbon price spillover to renewable energy price. • The renewable energy market is closely related to the carbon market and the stock market. • The carbon market has a positive impact on the renewable energy market in the short term. • The carbon market had a positive impact on the renewable energy stock market during Brexit. • COVID-19 exacerbates the short-term impact between markets. • The TVP-VAR model addresses the static analytical shortcomings of traditional models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feasibility of UV-C treatment was studied for extending the shelf-life of oyster mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms were treated with 4.0 kJ/m 2 ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation before packaging with LDPE pouches, stored at 4 °C for 15 days. During storage, color, tissue electrolyte leakage, soluble solid content, soluble protein, methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), catalase (CAT), total viable counts, lactobacillus, yeast & mold counts and overall quality of oyster mushrooms were measured. Oyster mushrooms treated with UV-C resulted in slower changes in color, soluble solid content, soluble protein, exhibited higher CAT,PAL activities and overall quality, lower tissue electrolyte leakage and MDA content compared to untreated oyster mushrooms. Besides, oyster mushrooms treated with UV-C also show a high potential ability for surface decontamination of oyster mushrooms. Results show that UV-C treatment could be useful to extend the shelf life of oyster mushrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Long term effect of thymol chitosan nanoparticles (TMO-CSNPs) were evaluated in the preservation of chestnut quality. • TMO-CSNPs reduce the loss of soluble sugar and starch by limiting the chestnut's metabolism. • TMO-CSNPs can significantly inhibit the growth of molds and yeasts during the storage. • TMO-CSNPs prolong the storage time of the chestnuts by inhibiting spoilage. Thymol (TMO) was loaded into chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) to inhibit chestnuts decay during storage. Three chestnut treatments were evaluated, including the CK (uncoated control), CSNPs (coated with chitosan nanoparticles), and TMO-CSNPs (coated with thymol-loaded chitosan nanoparticles). Quality assessments of chestnuts were conducted periodically for up to 180 days, which included starch content, amylase activity, water content, respiration rate, weight loss rate, microbiological indicators, decay rate, and quality evaluation. Results indicated that TMO-CSNPs had significantly less nutrient loss in soluble sugar (10.61%) and starch content (27.72%) compared with CK, which was attributed to low metabolic activities as evident in low amylase activity and respiration rate. Moreover, TMO-CSNPs significantly inhibited the growth of mold and yeast (4.17 log CFU g−1 on day 180) and kept the lowest decay rate (5.33%). This study demonstrates the potential of food nanomaterial as an alternative strategy to promote food security and supply chain resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-healing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has garnered significant attention due to its potential applications across various fields. In this study, a functionalized modification of PDMS containing di-aminos was initially conducted using 2,6-pyridinedicarbonyl chloride to synthesize pyridine-PDMS (Py-PDMS). Subsequently, rare earth metal europium ions (Eu3+) were incorporated into Py-PDMS. Due to the coordination interaction between Eu3+ and organic ligands, a coordination cross-linking network was created within the Py-PDMS matrix, resulting in the fabrication of Eu3+-Py-PDMS elastomer. At a molar ratio of Eu3+ to ligands of 1:1, the tensile strength of Eu3+-Py-PDMS reached 1.4 MPa, with a fracture elongation of 824%. Due to the dynamic reversibility of coordination bonds, Eu3+-Py-PDMS with a metal-to-ligand molar ratio of 1:2 exhibited varying self-healing efficiencies at different temperatures. Notably, after 4 h of repair at 60 °C, its self-healing efficiency reached nearly 100%. Furthermore, the gas barrier properties of Eu3+-Py-PDMS with a molar ratio of 1:1 was improved compared with that of Eu3+-Py-PDMS with a molar ratio of 1:1. This study provides an effective strategy for the design and fabrication of PDMS with high mechanical strength, high gas barrier properties, and exceptional self-healing efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to explore whether brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) could be predictive for the diagnosis of panic disorder (PD) and to explore the association between serum BDNF levels and the treatment response to escitalopram in PD patients. Ninety PD patients and 99 healthy controls (HCs) were finally recruited. PD patients were treated only by escitalopram for 8 weeks. All patients were administered the Short-Form Health Survey-36 (SF-36), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA-14), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to assess life quality, anxiety symptoms and trait, respectively. Neuropsychological tests were assessed at baseline in all participants. Besides, peripheral venous blood was drawn from all participants for BDNF serum levels detection both at baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment. In PD patients, the baseline serum BDNF levels were lower than HCs. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of baseline serum BDNF levels predicting PD from HCs was 0.947 (94.9 % for sensitivity, 77.8 % for specificity). The baseline serum BDNF levels (beta = 0.276, p = 0.007), the current duration (beta = −0.301, p = 0.004), and trait anxiety (TAI) (beta = 0.201, p = 0.045) were predictors for reduction rates of HAMA-14 after 8 weeks' escitalopram treatment. A long-term observation and high homogeneity of sample may make the results more convincing. This preliminary finding highlighted the value of serum BDNF levels for the diagnosis of PD. In addition, the higher baseline serum BDNF levels may predict the better escitalopram treatment response in PD patients. • Panic disorder patients have lower serum BDNF levels than healthy controls. • Serum BDNF levels have diagnostic value of panic disorder. • Serum BDNF levels can predict treatment response of escitalopram in panic disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The 40 Hz ASSR was decreased at the frontal-central locations in the pAVH group. • Patients with pAVHs with a lower 40 Hz ASSR power and ITPC value than that without AVHs. • 40 Hz ASSR power and ITPC correlated significantly negatively with the pAVHs severity. • The 40 Hz ASSR power and ITPC in the frontal-central could be used as a combinational marker to detect SCZ patients with and without pAVHs. Abnormal 40 Hz auditory steady-state response (ASSR) has been observed in some psychiatric disorders. Nevertheless, the role of 40 Hz ASSR in persistent auditory verbal hallucinations (pAVHs) schizophrenia (SCZ) is still unknown. This study aims to investigate whether the 40 Hz ASSR impairment is related to pAVHs and can detect pAVHs severity. We analyzed high-density electroencephalography data that from 43 pAVHs patients (pAVH group), 20 moderate auditory verbal hallucinations patients (mid-AVH group), and 24 without auditory verbal hallucinations patients (non-AVH group). Event-related spectral perturbation and inter-trial phase coherence (ITPC) were calculated to quantify dynamic changes of the 40 Hz ASSR power and ITPC, respectively. Frontal-central, the 40 Hz ASSR power, and ITPC were significantly lower in the pAVH group than in the non-AVH group; There was no significant difference between the pAVH and mid-AVH group. The 40 Hz ASSR was significantly negatively correlated with the severity of pAVHs. The 40 Hz ASSR power, and ITPC could be used as a combinational marker to detect SCZ patients with and without pAVHs. Our findings have shed light on the pathological mechanism of pAVHs in SCZ patients. These results can provide potential avenues for therapeutic intervention of pAVHs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Increasing evidence shows that the alternations under escitalopram treatment for Panic disorder (PD) patients are related to the cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). We aimed to explore the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of genes BDNF and CREB1 in the treatment response to escitalopram on PD.Methods: There were 80 PD patients with DSM-5 diagnosis and 78 healthy controls. All PD patients have received escitalopram treatment for consecutive 8 weeks. The Chinese version of Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS-CV) and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA-14) were used to evaluate the severity of panic and anxious symptoms for PD patients at baseline, week-2, week-4, and week-8, respectively. Four SNPs (rs11904814, rs6740584, rs2253206, and rs2551941) in CREB1 gene and rs6265 in BDNF gene were genotyped using matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Quantitative and binary genetic associations between SNPs and escitalopram treatment response were performed.Results: The comparisons of three genotypes in CREB1 SNPs rs11904814 and rs2551941 among the PDSS-CV responders showed significant differences at the end of week-2 (both p<0.05). The results remained significant after Bonferroni corrections. For candidate genes in our present study, the gene CREB1 SNP rs11904814 (p=0.007) was significantly associated with changes of PDSS-CV scores under escitalopram treatment for 12 weeks in PD patients. And the result was still significant after adjusting age and gender.Conclusions: The findings provide preliminary evidence supporting the potential role of BDNF and CREB1 on a rapid response after escitalopram intervention in PD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of food gums, such as xanthan gum, guar gum, konjac glucomannan, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and gelatin, on the pasting and textural properties of pea starch and the tensile properties of pea starch vermicelli were studied. The results showed that the addition of food gums tended to increase the peak and trough viscosities of pea starch, with the greatest effect being observed by the addition of konjac glucomannan. Pea starch gels mixed with 0.5% w/w xanthan gum, konjac glucomannan, or CMC exhibited the lowest hardness at 134.54, 140.80, and 166.95 g, respectively, which were lower than that of the control. Further, following the addition of food gums at 0.1%, pea starch gels had the highest springiness. The vermicelli tensile strength tended to decrease in the presence of food gums, except for CMC; the lowest value was observed following the addition of konjac glucomannan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Corn starch, potato starch, pea starch were impregnated with ionic gums (sodium alginate, CMC, and xanthan, 1% based on starch solids) and heat-treated in a dry state for 0, 2, or 4h at 130°C. Effects of the dry heating on paste viscosity (RVA), microstructure and thermal properties were examined. Dry heat treatment with ionic gums reduced the pasting temperature of the three starches. Heating with xanthan increased the paste viscosity of corn and potato starch. With heat treatment, the paste viscosity of all the starch-sodium alginate mixtures decreased. Heating with CMC increased the paste viscosity of potato starch, but decreased that of corn and pea starch. After dry-heating, To, Tp and Tc of potato starch with ionic gums decreased significantly. SEM of potato starch with CMC showed that the gel structure got compacter after drying-heating. Heat treatment obviously improved the functional properties of the three starches. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]