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BACKGROUND: The current study introduces a novel infrared‐assisted spouted bed drying technique for the dehydration of green soybeans, which aims to enhance the drying quality and efficiency. The investigation involves an examination of the flow pattern in the spouted bed to obtain relevant data, followed by an optimization of the entire drying process. The drying process of green soybeans was simulated using SolidWorks and ANSYS Fluent software, based on the principles of computational fluid dynamics. RESULTS: The simulation test results showed that the simulation outcomes were consistent with the experimental data. The optimal conditions for the process of green soybean infrared‐assisted spouted bed drying were found to be an inlet speed of 8 m/s and a temperature of 50 °C with the wavelength and power settings of the infrared board at 10 μm and 500 W, respectively. CONCLUSION: The simulation method selected in this article, based on gas–solid two‐phase flow dynamics, is feasible for green soybean infrared‐assisted spouted bed drying process. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical relevance Background Methods Results Conclusions The association between myopia and body stature is of great significance for understanding prevention and control of myopia. It has been extensively studied in previous studies but without consistent conclusions.The aim of this study is to investigate the association between body stature and prevalence of reduced visual acuity in high school graduates in Hangzhou, China.50,620 high school graduates who finished the physical examination of the national college entrance examination in 2020 were included. Data were derived from the database of physical examination of the national college entrance examination. Height and weight were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated according to the general formula. Visual acuity was measured by the standard logarithmic visual acuity chart.The prevalence of reduced visual acuity was 90.38% in high school graduates. Girls had a higher prevalence of reduced visual acuity than boys (93.07% vs 87.60%, P < 0.001). Boys with normal visual acuity were significantly taller (P < 0.001) and heavier (P < 0.001) than those with reduced visual acuity. Girls with normal visual acuity were significantly taller than those with reduced visual acuity (P < 0.001). The prevalence of reduced visual acuity was significantly inversely associated with height in both boys (P < 0.001) and girls (P < 0.001). The risk of reduced visual acuity was the lowest in the fourth quartile of height. The prevalence of reduced visual acuity was significantly associated with BMI only in boys (P < 0.001). The risk of reduced visual acuity was the lowest in the third quartile of BMI.The prevalence of reduced visual acuity was inversely associated with height in both boys and girls, and there was a U-shaped association with BMI only in boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let X and Y be two pointed metric spaces. In this article, we give a generalization of the Cheng–Dong–Zhang theorem for coarse Lipschitz embeddings as follows: If f:X → Y is a standard coarse Lipschitz embedding, then for each x* ∈ Lip0(X) there exist α, γ > 0 depending only on f and Qx* ∈ Lip0(Y) with ‖ Q x * ‖ L i p ≤ α ‖ x * ‖ L i p such that | Q x * f (x) − x * (x) | ≤ γ ‖ x * ‖ L i p , f o r a l l x ∈ X. Coarse stability for a pair of metric spaces is studied. This can be considered as a coarse version of Qian Problem. As an application, we give candidate negative answers to a 58-year old problem by Lindenstrauss asking whether every Banach space is a Lipschitz retract of its bidual. Indeed, we show that X is not a Lipschitz retract of its bidual if X is a universally left-coarsely stable space but not an absolute cardinality-Lipschitz retract. If there exists a universally right-coarsely stable Banach space with the RNP but not isomorphic to any Hilbert space, then the problem also has a negative answer for a separable space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freeze-drying (FD) is often used for therapeutic proteins and other biological drugs to extend their shelf life, but it usually reduces the activity and stability of the protein and has a longer drying cycle. A microwave-assisted freeze-drying (MFD) was proposed to produce immunoglobulin of yolk (IgY) preparations. The effects of FD and MFD on the immunological activity and structure of IgY with different amounts of trehalose were investigated. Results showed that lyophilization led to a partial loss of secondary structure in IgY, which resulted in the activity loss. As the trehalose content increased from 0% to 5%, the activity retention of MFD samples increased from 20.31% to 75.57%, which was comparable to FD samples (from 23.57% to 67.78%). However, MFD had a shorter drying cycle when compared with FD. MFD can be a potential alternative to FD as a common therapeutic protein drying method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the efficacy of double percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) combined with ureter occlusion stent for treating cervical cancer complicated with vesicovaginal fistula (VVF). Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed for 12 patients with cervical cancer complicated with VVF. Regardless of surgical resection, radiotherapy alone or combined chemoradiotherapy were carried out in all patients. After VVF was diagnosed by gynecological examination, imaging, and cystoscopy, concurrent double PCN and ureter occlusion stent implantation were performed for all patients. Results: All patients successfully received ureter occlusion stent implantation after nephrostomy. The success rate of nephrostomy and stent placement was 100% (12/12). After intervention, urinary fistula immediately disappeared in all patients. One week post-surgery, bilateral hydronephrosis disappeared in 4 patients, and their renal insufficiency and renal function returned to normal. One month after operation, 6 patients with genital eczema or ulcer and 5 patients with urinary tract infection were cured. During follow-up, there were no recurrence in urinary fistula, renal dysfunction, and other complications. Conclusion: Double PCN combined with ureter occlusion stent could effectively treat cervical cancer complicated with VVF hydronephrosis, urinary tract infection, and renal insufficiency and contribute to alleviate all kinds of clinical discomfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During past decades, there was a positive trend in growth and nutrition status of adolescents in China, but there was significant regional disparity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the trends in growth and nutritional status of high school graduates in Hangzhou between 2011 and 2020.Methods: High school graduates (Grade 12) who finished the physical examination of the national college entrance examination between 2011 and 2020 (n=481,353)were included in this study. Data were obtained from the database of physical examination of the national college entrance exam. Height and weight were measured; body mass index (BMI) was calculated from height and weight. Thinness, overweight and obesity were defined according to the International Obesity Task Force criteria. For the vast majority of the high school graduates were 18 years old or nearly 18 years old, the cutoffs of 18 years were adopted. Those are 18.5, 25 and 30 kg/m2, for thinness, overweight and obesity respectively.Results: There was a significant growth trend in height, weight and BMI in both sexes (P < 0.001). Height increased by 1.80 cm in boys and 1.45 cm in girls. Weight increased by 4.62 kg in boys and 2.51 kg in girls. BMI increased by 1.09 kg/m2 in boys and 0.60 kg/m2 in girls. An increase trend was found in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in both sexes (P < 0.001). Overweight increased by 7.43% (from 9.05 to 16.48%) among boys and 4.05% (from 4.57 to 8.62%) among girls. Obesity increased by 3.85% (from 2.29 to 6.14%) among boys and 1.76% (from 0.64 to 2.40%) among girls. The prevalence of thinness fluctuated in both boys and girls, 12.42-15.59% among boys and 18.97-23.68% among girls. Boys had higher odds of overweight and obesity and lower odds of thinness than girls (P < 0.001).Conclusions: There is a positive trend in growth and nutritional status of high school graduates in Hangzhou. However, there is still a considerable prevalence of thinness, it indicates a double burden of undernutrition and overnutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the widespread development of internet of things technology, new products and services based on internet of things come into being, constantly promoting the rapid development and innovation of traditional industries. In order to effectively solve the practical problems such as weak intelligence and insufficient scale of traditional pig farming industry, the paper relies on the internet of things technology to design pig precision feeding system. The pig precision feeding system is based on the whole process of pig feeding, which involves information data collection and transmission, feeding management decision-making and precise control of feeding, covering the identification, weighing, feeding and other links of pig. The study indicates that the precise feeding system for live pigs based on the internet of things has well completed the preset functions of pig identification, information storage and feeding decision-making. It effectively improves the feeding efficiency and the growth performance of pigs, which can be applied to large-scale pig breeding practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The present study was carried out to establish a dynamic microwave loading strategy for efficient production of high‐quality microwave freeze‐dried button mushroom based on non‐volatile taste components. The change behaviour of non‐volatile taste components of mushroom, including free amino acids and 5′‐nucleotides, was evaluated during microwave freeze‐drying with fixed microwave power. Then, the dynamic microwave loading strategy was established according to the change behaviour of the non‐volatile taste components. Drying and quality characteristics of mushroom were evaluated in terms of drying time, whiteness index, shrinkage ratio, rehydration ratio and vitamin C content. Results showed that high microwave power led to higher contents of free amino acids and 5′‐nucleotides at the initial stage of drying, but more degradation of these non‐volatile taste components was observed during the last period of drying. Moreover, it takes longer for 5′‐nucleotides to reach the highest content than total free amino acids. According to the evolution of non‐volatile taste components, a step‐down dynamic microwave power loading program (0–1.5 h: 4 W g−1; 1.5–4.5 h: 3 W g−1 and 4.5–10.5 h: 2 W g−1) was established to reduce the drying time, keeping a relatively high product quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ca, an inexpensive alkaline earth metal, was doped into tetragonal β-In 2 S 3. • Ca doping narrowed the band gap and reduced charge transfer resistance of β-In 2 S 3. • The optimal Ca doped β-In 2 S 3 degraded 94.97% of Methyl Orange in 20 mins. • Abundant flaky structure endowed Ca doped β-In 2 S 3 with large surface area. • The photocatalytic mechanism for MO degradation over Ca doped β-In 2 S 3 was proposed. Photocatalytic technology can provide a clean, low-cost and highly efficient path to approach the degradation of azo dyes. Tetragonal β-In 2 S 3 possesses plenty of vacancies, furnishing dopants with abundant interspace, and can be used as a potential photocatalyst for dyes degradation. In this work, Ca was doped into β-In 2 S 3 via a facile one-pot hydrothermal method, which was mainly doped into the crystalline lattices of β-In 2 S 3. Ca doped β-In 2 S 3 revealed better photo-degradation of Methyl Orange (MO) than undoped β-In 2 S 3. The doped Ca ions narrowed band gap and acted as a charge transfer medium, leading to the wider light absorption range and smaller photogenerated charge transfer resistance, respectively. The optimum preparation condition of Ca doped β-In 2 S 3 was determined as holding temperature at 120 °C for 8 h, by which 94.97% of MO was degraded in 20 mins under visible light. The outstanding performance could be owed to the full-grown flaky structure with maximal specific surface area. Based on the experimental results, a possible photocatalytic mechanism for MO degradation over Ca doped β-In 2 S 3 was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The inherent poor cooking quality and poor texture of mixed‐grain pasta limit consumer acceptance. This study systematically investigated the effect of curdlan in the processing of sweet potato puree oat mixed‐grain noodles, and comprehensively analysed a number of key indicators such as cooking characteristics, moisture state, texture properties, microstructure, starch crystallinity characteristics, short‐range ordered structure and thermal properties. At the production practice level, the study clearly indicated that the 0.6% curdlan addition ratio was the best solution in sweet potato puree oat mixed‐grain noodles processing. This finding not only significantly reduces the fracture rate, water absorption rate and cooking loss rate during the cooking process, but also significantly improves the quality and yield of the product, and brings significant improvement in the taste and texture of the noodles, which is of great significance for industrial production. In the microstructural and molecular studies, we revealed how curdlan could enhance the structural stability and mechanical strength of noodles by promoting the uniform distribution of starch granules in the gluten protein network. Further, through X‐ray diffraction, ordered structure and thermal property analyses, we have found that colchicine can effectively regulate the interactions of hydrogen bonding between starch and the content of straight‐chain and branched‐chain starch, which significantly reduces the crystallinity, ordered short‐chain structure and enthalpy of pasting of starch in the pasta. These in‐depth research results not only help us to understand more comprehensively the formation mechanism of the modification of pasta quality by curdlan, but also provide a solid theoretical foundation and practical guidance for the improvement of pasta quality in mixed grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The moisture distribution changes in Chinese yam slices subjected to microwave freeze drying (MFD) were analyzed using low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR). During this process, the mutual transformation of the water binding state and moisture diffusion characteristics of Chinese yam were analyzed together with changes in the effective water diffusion coefficient, water content, drying rate and pore network structure. Notably, moisture migrated from a high to a low degree of freedom during the MFD process. The effective water diffusion coefficient and water migration velocity increased with increasing microwave power density, and the extent of the conversion of unbound to bound water also gradually increased. During the early stage of drying, moisture diffusion was mainly dominated by liquid phase diffusion. At later stages of drying, moisture diffusion shifted gradually from liquid phase diffusion to gas phase diffusion and was eventually dominated by the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycinin is a major protein and antinutritional factor of soybean. However, how dietary glycinin affect intestinal immune function of fish were largely unknown. In this study, we used juvenile grass carp as a model to investigate the impacts of glycinin on intestinal immune function of fish and involved mechanisms. We set three treatments including control, glycinin and glycinin + glutamine in this trial. For immune components, results revealed that compared with control group, glycinin group had lower acid phosphatase activities in the foregut, midgut and hindgut, lower C3 and C4 content, and lower mRNA abundances of IgM, IgZ, hepcidin, LEAP-2A, LEAP-2B and β-defensin-1 in the midgut and hindgut rather than foregut of grass carp. For pro-inflammatory cytokines and relevant signaling, glycinin elevated mRNA abundances of IL-1β, IL-8, IL-12p35, IL-12p40 and IL-17D in the midgut and IL-1β, IFN-γ2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12p35, IL-12p40 and IL-17D in the hindgut, and increased protein abundances of PKC-ζ and nuclear NF-κB p65 in the midgut and hindgut in comparison to control. For anti-inflammatory cytokines and relevant signaling, glycinin reduced mRNA abundances of TGF-β1, TGF-β2, IL-4/13B (rather than IL-4/13A), IL-10 and IL-11 in the midgut and hindgut, and reduced p -mTOR (Ser 2448), p-S6K1 (Thr 389) and p-4EBP1 (Thr 37/46) protein abundances in the midgut and hindgut rather than foregut. Co-administration of glutamine with glycinin could partially enhance intestinal function and reduce intestinal inflammation compared with glycinin treatment. Concluded, glycinin decreased intestinal immune components and caused intestinal inflammation associated with PKC-ζ/NF-κB and mTORC1 signaling. • Glycinin decreased intestinal immune components of grass carp. • Glycinin upregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines associated with PKCζ/NF-κB p65 signaling. • Glycinin downregulated anti-inflammatory cytokines associated with mTORC1 signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

18th China Drying Conference & 1st Postgraduate Academic Forum in Drying Field, Luoyang, P.R. China, September 26-28, 2021 During September 26-28, 2021, the 18 SP th sp China Drying Conference & 1 SP st sp Postgraduate Academic Forum in Drying Field, hosted by the Drying Professional Group of Chemical Engineering Committee of Chinese Chemical Society, organized by Henan University of Science and Technology, and co-organized by Drying Equipment Branch of China General Machinery Industry Association, was successfully held in Luoyang, China (Figure 1). The China Drying Conference, initiated by the Drying Professional Group of Chemical Engineering Professional Committee of the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China in 1975, has become an important platform to disseminate latest research achievements in the drying field in China with several decades of development. [Extracted from the article]

Fresh Chinese yam is difficult to store and easily deteriorates during storage, and dehydrated yam chips processed by different methods are widely consumed as a kind of snack food. Freeze drying (FD) is often used to produce high-quality yam chips, but the extralong drying time limits its industrial application. Microwave freeze drying (MFD) has the potential to replace the conventional FD method. Therefore, this research used MFD to dry Chinese yam chips. In this study, the brittleness and hardness of Chinese yam chips during the MFD process were investigated. It was found that the brittleness of Chinese yam chips had a close relationship with the moisture content. The hardness of Chinese yam chips mainly depended on the porosity and moisture content. Moreover, the DoseResp model of the brittleness could effectively predict the brittleness change during the MFD process. The regression equation based on the porosity and moisture content could accurately describe the hardness of the Chinese yam chips during the MFD process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of dietary soybean β-conglycinin in immune function and oxidative damage among different intestinal segments of juvenile grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). 240 fish (13.77 ± 0.10 g) were fed control or 8% β‐conglycinin diet for 7 weeks. Dietary β-conglycinin caused inconsistent suppression effects on the innate immune by decreasing complement component, lysozyme, antimicrobial peptide and acid phosphatase among different intestinal segments. Meanwhile, dietary β-conglycinin caused inflammation in the mid and distal intestine by raising pro-inflammatory cytokines and declining anti-inflammatory cytokines mRNA levels, while more serious in the distal intestine than in the mid intestine. Furthermore, dietary β-conglycinin regulating inflammatory cytokines might be associated with transcription factors nuclear factor-κB P65 (NF-κB P65) nucleus translocation and target of rapamycin (TOR) phosphorylation in the distal intestine but only related to TOR phosphorylation in the mid intestine. Interestingly, in the proximal intestine, dietary β-conglycinin decreased both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines mRNA level, and did not affect NF-κB P65 nucleus translocation and TOR phosphorylation. For oxidative damage, dietary β-conglycinin exposure elevated both malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl (PC) contents in the distal intestine, which might be attributed to the suppression of the Mn-SOD, catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities. In the mid intestine, dietary β-conglycinin only increased PC content in association with the low activities of CAT, GPx and glutathione peroxidase (GR). Unexpectedly, in the proximal intestine, dietary β-conglycinin did not significantly change MDA and PC contents while decreased antioxidant enzyme activities. Furtherly, dietary β-conglycinin affect the antioxidant enzyme activity might be regulated by the varying pattern of nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) nucleus translocation among these three intestinal segments. In summary, dietary β-conglycinin caused intestinal inflammation and oxidative damage in association with NF-κB, TOR and Nrf2 signaling molecules, which were varying among the three intestinal segments of grass carp. • β-conglycinin didn't induce proximal intestine inflammation and oxidative damage. • β-conglycinin-caused mid intestine inflammation related to TOR phosphorylation. • β-conglycinin-caused distal intestine inflammation relied on NF-κB and TOR signals. • β-conglycinin-caused mid and distal intestine oxidative damage depend on Nrf2 signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Nonylphenol (NP) biodegradation in waste activated sludge (WAS) under anaerobic conditions is usually slow, and no information on NP biodegradation under acidogenic conditions is currently available. In this study, the simultaneous enhancement of NP biodegradation and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) accumulation in a WAS fermentation system under acidogenic conditions was accomplished by controlling pH 10 and adding sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). The biodegradation efficiency of NP was found to be 55.5% within 8 d under acidogenic conditions, much higher than that in the control (24.6%). Meanwhile, the concentration of SCFAs under the same conditions for NP biodegradation was increased from 2234 mg COD/L (control) to 4691 mg COD/L (at pH 10 with SLS). Mechanism study revealed that the abundances of both NP-degrading microorganisms and acidogenic bacteria increased under acidogenic conditions. Altering the enzymatic activity and the quantity of functional genes in the acidogenic fermentation system were beneficial to NP biodegradation and SCFAs accumulation. Furthermore, organic substrates available for uptake by NP-degrading and acidogenic bacteria, i. e. NP, protein and carbohydrate, were released from WAS under acidogenic conditions. More importantly, intermediate substrates involved in acidogenic fermentation were advantageous to the cometabolic biodegradation of NP. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • NP degradation and SCFAs yield in WAS were enhanced under acidogenic conditions. • NP degraders and acidogenic bacteria benefited NP degradation and SCFAs production. • Enzymatic activity and the quantity of functional genes were promoted. • Bioavailability of NP and organic substrates used to produce SCFAs was improved. • NP biodegradation was strengthened by organic substrates involved in acidogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Onions, rich in flavonoids, with antioxidant, antibacterial, and other biological activities, are often used as extraction of raw materials to obtain health products with high flavonoids content. However, the amount of raw material consumption is large due to low yield of extracts from fresh onions. As a result, dried onions often are used as extraction materials. The effects of air drying (AD), freeze-drying (FD), and microwave freeze-drying (MFD) on the flavonoids extraction yield of onions were investigated. The most effective and economical method was hot AD. On the other hand, the flavonoids extraction rate of onions dried by MFD was the fastest. FD could also obtain high extraction rate, but it cost the highest energy consumption. In order to obtain relatively rapid, economic, and effective extraction of onion flavonoids, onions can be dried by MFD or AD method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Anaerobic degradation of nonylphenol in sludge was enhanced at alkaline pH. • The bioavailability of NP was improved under conditions of pH 10.0 and Brij 35. • Specific NP-degrader and functional genes benefitted anaerobic degradation of NP. • NP could be biodegraded efficiently by acidogenic bacteria during WAS fermentation. • NP biodegradation was strengthened by intermediates driven by acidogenic bacteria. Abstract Nonylphenol (NP) biodegradation under anaerobic conditions is difficult. Here, enhancement of anaerobic NP biodegradation mainly by regulating the role of acidogenic bacteria during anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge (WAS) for short-chain fatty acids production is reported. The maximum degradation efficiency of NP (69.4%) was achieved under conditions of pH 10.0 and 10 mg/L Brij 35 within 8 d, which was nearly 3-fold of that in the control (24.6%). Mechanism exploration revealed that the bioavailability of NP and specific NP-degrading bacteria and their functional genes were advantageous to NP biodegradation with alkaline pH and surfactant. More importantly, acidogenic bacteria, the dominant functional bacteria in WAS fermentation systems, were demonstrated to be involved in NP anaerobic biodegradation by providing intermediate organic substrates, as well as through their intrinsic NP-degrading abilities. Possible pathways of NP biodegradation assisted by acidogenic bacteria during anaerobic fermentation were also proposed based on the detected metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidences suggested that insufficient radiofrequency ablation (RFA) can paradoxically promote tumor invasion and metastatic processes, while the effects of moderate hyperthermia on cancer progression are not well illustrated. Our present study confirmed moderate hyperthermia treatment can promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, which was evidenced by the results that moderate hyperthermia induced up regulation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). Cellular studies indicated that moderate hyperthermia treatment can increase the mRNA and protein expression of IL-6 and IL-10, while not IL-2, IL-4, IL-8, IL-22, VEGF, TGF-β, or TNF-α, in HCC cells. Silencing of IL-6, while not IL-10, attenuated moderate hyperthermia treatment induced proliferation and cell invasion. Furthermore, our data revealed the inhibition of NF-κB, while not ERK1/2 or PI3K/Akt, abolished moderate hyperthermia treatment induced production of IL-6. Collectively, our data showed that activation of NF-κB/IL-6 is involved in moderate hyperthermia treatment induced progression of HCC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a top contributor to food drying according to Web of Science and one of the top five contributors to I Drying Technology i , Prof. Zhang is recognized for his numerous outstanding academic and industrial R&D contributions to food drying. Prof. Min Zhang is a highly accomplished dedicated researcher whose main research interest is in the area of food science and engineering, including drying. [Extracted from the article]

For dehydrated foods, porosity is a crucial parameter which affects mass and heat transfers, and is related to the product quality. It is important to monitor porosity change behavior to optimize the drying process. To achieve faster drying along with high product quality, microwave freeze drying (MFD) was applied to mushrooms dehydration processing. The relationship between porosity (include total, open-, and closed-pore porosity) and dried mushroom qualities was studied, and a suitable microwave loading strategy was obtained. It was found that lots of open pores could transform to closed pores while the moisture content (MC) was below 0.25 ± 0.05 g/g (db), and the closed-pore porosity was arrived at a relatively stable level at moisture content below 0.17 ± 0.03 g/g (db). Both total porosity and closed-pore porosity had a significant influence (P < 0.01) on texture of MFD mushroom, and open-pore porosity had a significant effect (P < 0.01) on rehydration ratio of MFD mushroom. According to the porosity change behavior of mushrooms, a dynamic microwave loading strategy can be used to reduce drying time and keep product quality during MFD process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to compare the physical characteristics and flavor of dried hawthorns obtained by freeze-drying (FD), microwave freeze-drying (MFD), atmospheric freeze- drying (AFD), and heat pump drying (HPD). The parameters including moisture content, product temperature, rehydration ratio, chroma, hue angle, yellowness index, total color difference, and energy consumption were investigated. The use of fuzzy reasoning for the sensory evaluation of hawthorn quality was also performed. As expected, AFD, FD, and MFD produced better accepted dried hawthorn products than did HPD. Nevertheless, FD consumed the highest energy and had a long drying time, but its product was the best; AFD had a similar energy cost as HPD, but its drying time was the longest; and MFD had a higher energy cost and longer drying time than HPD, but its product quality was similar to that of FD products. As a result, MFD and AFD had potential to replace FD to yield dried hawthorns with high product quality and relatively low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Chrysene (CH) stimulated acetoclastic pathway during sludge methanogenesis. • Acetoclastic methanosarcina were enriched and their functions increased due to CH. • Methanogenic performance, biomass, viability and activity of M. barkeri were boosted. • Biosynthesis of cofactors for actoclastic enzymes in M. barkeri was improved. • Manufacturing and expression of Co/Ni-metalloenzyme were enhanced by CH. Methanogen is a pivotal player in pollution treatment and energy recovery, and emerging pollutants (EPs) frequently occur in methanogen-applied biotechnology such as anaerobic digestion (AD). However, the direct effect and underlying mechanism of EPs on crucial methanogen involved in its application still remain unclear. The positive effect of chrysene (CH) on semi-continuous AD of sludge and the robust methanogen was dissected in this study. The methane yield in the digester with CH (100 mg/kg dry sludge) was 62.1 mL/g VS substrate, much higher than that in the control (46.1 mL/g VS substrate). Both methane production from acetoclastic methanogenesis (AM) and the AM proportion in the methanogenic pathway were improved in CH-shaped AD. Acetoclastic consortia, especially Methanosarcina and functional profiles of AM were enriched by CH in favor of the corresponding methanogenesis. Further, based on pure cultivation exposed to CH, the methanogenic performance, biomass, survivability and activity of typical Methanosarcina (M. barkeri) were boosted. Notably, iTRAQ proteomics revealed that the manufacturing (transcription and translation), expression and biocatalytic activity of acetoclastic metalloenzymes, particularly tetrahydromethanopterin S-methyltransferase and methyl-coenzyme M reductase with cobalt/nickel-cofactor (F 430 and cobalamin), and acetyl-CoA decarbonylase/synthase with cobalt/nickel-active site, of M. barkeri were upregulated significantly with fold changes in the range of 1.21–3.20 due to the CH presence. This study shed light on EPs-affecting industrially crucial methanogen at the molecular biology level during AD and had implications in the technical relevance of methanogens. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Lyophilization can induce the change of lipoprotein structure in egg yolk. • Lipoprotein aggregation results in decreased solubility of egg yolk powder. • The content of active IgY in yolk decreased after lyophilization. • Excipients can improve the properties of lyophilized egg yolk powder. The preparation of egg yolk powder (EYP) with excellent solubility and high retention of active IgY is of great significance for increasing the added value and promoting the application of EYP. A new method of preparing EYP by microwave-assisted freeze-drying (MFD) was researched. Confocal laser scanning microscopy results demonstrated that the supplementation of excipients (sucrose, trehalose, and maltodextrin) could inhibit lipoproteins aggregation in egg yolk induced by freezing. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that drying further damaged the structure of lipoproteins in EYP, leading to lipid separation from it. FTIR and fluorescence spectra confirmed this finding, indicating that excipients enhance protein stability. Compared with conventional freeze-drying (FD), EYP prepared by MFD, particularly that containing excipients, had higher solubility (63 g/100 g), active antibody retention rate and shorter drying time. Therefore, excipients can significantly improve the solubility and stability of EYP and the retention rate of active IgY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Storms that occur at the Bay of Bengal (BoB) are of a bimodal pattern, which is different from that of the other sea areas. By using the NCEP, SST and JTWC data, the causes of the bimodal pattern storm activity of the BoB are diagnosed and analyzed in this paper. The result shows that the seasonal variation of general atmosphere circulation in East Asia has a regulating and controlling impact on the BoB storm activity, and the "bimodal period" of the storm activity corresponds exactly to the seasonal conversion period of atmospheric circulation. The minor wind speed of shear spring and autumn contributed to the storm, which was a crucial factor for the generation and occurrence of the "bimodal pattern" storm activity in the BoB. The analysis on sea surface temperature (SST) shows that the SSTs of all the year around in the BoB area meet the conditions required for the generation of tropical cyclones (TCs). However, the SSTs in the central area of the bay are higher than that of the surrounding areas in spring and autumn, which facilitates the occurrence of a "two-peak" storm activity pattern. The genesis potential index (GPI) quantifies and reflects the environmental conditions for the generation of the BoB storms. For GPI, the intense low-level vortex disturbance in the troposphere and high-humidity atmosphere are the sufficient conditions for storms, while large maximum wind velocity of the ground vortex radius and small vertical wind shear are the necessary conditions of storms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a method that uses feature fusion to represent images better for face detection after feature extraction by deep convolutional neural network (DCNN). First, with Clarifai net and VGG Net-D (16 layers), we learn features from data, respectively; then we fuse features extracted from the two nets. To obtain more compact feature representation and mitigate computation complexity, we reduce the dimension of the fused features by PCA. Finally, we conduct face classification by SVM classifier for binary classification. In particular, we exploit offset max-pooling to extract features with sliding window densely, which leads to better matches of faces and detection windows; thus the detection result is more accurate. Experimental results show that our method can detect faces with severe occlusion and large variations in pose and scale. In particular, our method achieves 89.24% recall rate on FDDB and 97.19% average precision on AFW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the reported studies on anaerobic fermentation of sludge focused on the influences of operating conditions, pretreatment methods, and its characteristics, and little attention was paid to those of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) which widespreadly appeared in sludge. In this study, the effect of nonylphenol, a typical POPs in waste activated sludge (WAS), on anaerobic fermentation for volatile fatty acids (VFAs) accumulation was investigated. The concentration of VFAs during WAS anaerobic fermentation was found to be affected positively from 2856 mg COD/L in the control (without NP) to 5620 mg COD/L with NP of 200 mg/kg dry sludge. Mechanism exploration exhibited that the main reason for the enhanced VFAs accumulation in the presence of NP was that more acetic acid was generated during the acidification of WAS, which was increased by almost three times (3790 versus 1310 mg COD/L). In WAS fermentation systems, the abundance of anaerobic functional microorganisms was advantageous to the accumulation of acetic acid. Further investigation by the pure acetogen revealed that both the viability and activity of Proteiniphilum acetatigenes were improved by NP during anaerobic fermentation, resulting in more production of acetic acid and showing good agreement with that in the real WAS fermentation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The rich neovascularization of renal angiomyolipoma (AML) has a tendency for spontaneous rupture with subsequent hemorrhage. Nephrectomy or nephron-sparing surgery has rarely been used as a primary treatment in urgent situations. Purpose To evaluate the safety and long-term outcomes for patients treated by urgent transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for spontaneous ruptured renal AML with severe hemorrhage. Material and Methods A retrospective evaluation was performed of 25 renal AML cases with spontaneous hemorrhage confirmed by imaging. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles and coils of multiple sizes were used to embolize the spontaneous renal AML ruptures. Results The technical success rate of TAE was 96% (24/25). One week post-TAE, 1 patient with recurrent hemorrhage underwent emergency nephrectomy. Minor complications affected 16 patients with post-embolization syndrome; 15 patients resolved using conservative measures and one patient received nephrectomy post TAE 1 week later. All patients were followed up for 24-72 months (median, 50.2 months). Surgical treatment was avoided for 92% (23/25) of patients, and the re-embolization rate was 0% at 2 years post TAE. In the 23 patients without surgical treatment, the mean maximum diameter of renal AML was reduced from 12.4 ± 5.5 cm to 6.3 ± 2.5 cm and no hemorrhage occurred during follow-up. Conclusion Urgent TAE is a technically feasible and minimally invasive procedure for controlling severe hemorrhage and preservation of renal function following spontaneous ruptured renal AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UDP-glucuronic acid dehydrogenase (UGD) and UDP-xylose synthase (UXS) are the two enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of UDP-xylose from UDP-glucose. Several UGDs from bacterial sources, which oxidize UDP-glucose to glucuronic acid, have been found and functionally characterized whereas only few reports on bacterial UXS isoforms exist. Rhodothermus marinus, a halothermophilic bacterium commonly found in hot springs, proved to be a valuable source of carbohydrate active enzymes of biotechnological interest, such as xylanases, mannanases, and epimerases. However, no enzymes of R. marinus involved in the biosynthesis or modification of nucleotide sugars have been reported yet. Herein, we describe the cloning and characterization of two putative UGD (RmUGD1 and RmUGD2) and one UXS (RmUXS) isoform from this organism. All three enzymes could be expressed in recombinant form and purified to near homogeneity. UPLC- and NMR-based activity tests showed that RmUGD1 and RmUXS are indeed active enzymes, whereas no enzymatic activity could be detected by RmUGD2. Both RmUGD1 and RmUXS showed a temperature optimum of 60 °C, with almost no loss of activity after 1 h exposure at 70 °C. No metal ions were required for enzymatic activities. Zn ions strongly inhibited both enzymes. RmUGD1 showed higher salt tolerance and had a higher pH optimum than RmUXS. Furthermore, RmUGD1 was inhibited by UDP-xylose at higher concentrations. By coupling recombinant RmUXS and RmUGD1, UDP-xylose could be successfully synthesized directly from UDP-glucose. The high activity of the herein described enzymes make RmUGD1 and RmUXS the first thermo-tolerant biocatalysts for the synthesis of UDP-glucuronic acid and UDP-xylose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anastomotic bleeding is an infrequent but life-threatening complication after stapled digestive tract anastomosis. Endovascular embolization is one of the available treatments, but precise clinical outcomes are yet to be evaluated.Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of endovascular embolization for managing anastomotic bleeding after stapled digestive tract anastomosis.Material and Methods: Twenty-eight patients were diagnosed with anastomotic bleeding after stapled digestive tract anastomosis by digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Curative effect was summed for analysis.Results: All bleeding arteries were located in the stoma and were identified by contrast agent spillover by DSA. The offending arteries were superselectively catheterized and embolized with microcoils and/or gelatin sponge particles. Laboratory examinations showed normal hemoglobin and red blood cell counts when the patients' abdominal cavity drainage tubes stopped draining blood. The follow-up period was 3.2-84.7 months (median, 19.7 months). Four patients died during this time, of which two had cholangiocarcinoma, one had gastric cancer with tumor recurrence and multiple organ failure, and the final patient had a subarachnoid hemorrhage 4 months after embolization. In the surviving patients, no rebleeding occurred after embolization and no additional intervention or surgery was required.Conclusion: Endovascular embolization is safe and effective for managing anastomotic bleeding after stapled digestive tract anastomosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To determine the safety and feasibility of intraductal radiofrequency ablation (RFA) followed by locoregional tumor treatments in patients with non-resectable malignant biliary obstruction and stent re-occlusion. Methods: Fourteen patients with malignant biliary obstruction and blocked metal stents were studied retrospectively. All had intraductal RFA followed by locoregional tumor treatments and were monitored clinically and radiologically. The practicality, safety, postoperative complications, jaundice remission, stent patency and survival time were analyzed. Results: Combination treatment was successful for all patients. There were no severe complications during RFA or local treatments. All patients had stent patency restored, with a decline in serum bilirubin. Three patients had recurrent jaundice by 195, 237 and 357 days; two patients underwent repeat intraductal RFA; and one required an internal-external biliary drain. The average stent patency time was 234 days (range 187-544 days). With a median follow-up of 384 days (range 187-544 days), six patients were alive, while eight had died. There was no mortality at 30 days. The 3, 6, 12 and 18 month survival rates were 100%, 100%, 64.3% and 42.9%, respectively. Conclusion: Intraductal RFA followed by locoregional tumor treatments for occluded metal stents is safe and practically feasible and potential increase stent patency and survival times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A batch-type microwave vacuum dryer was used to study the effects of different microwave power densities on the drying characteristics and quality of whole lychee ( L itchi chinensis Sonn.) fruits. Lychees were treated at different power levels and it was observed that the drying process included two drying stages when power density was above 0.3 W/g, and drying process was consisted of three drying stages when power density was 0.1 W/g. The optimal power density was found to be 0.6 W/g. A typical pulp temperature profile of lychees was found during microwave vacuum drying ( MVD), including four stages: increasing, decreasing, gently increasing and sharply increasing. Moreover, the decrease in quality was negatively correlated with an increase in temperature at every stage in the temperature profile. Temperature control was applied to improve the quality of MVD lychees. The optimal temperature range value in terms of drying time, vitamin C content, bulk density and sensory evaluation was found to be 60-65 C. Practical Applications Air-dried ( AD) lychees are popular as traditional food in South China and its sales volume was about 80% of all processed lychee foods. AD lychees have deep brown pulp with much shrinkage and poor flavor. However, microwave vacuum drying ( MVD) could produce high-quality dried lychees with light golden yellow color, less shrinkage, better taste, shorter drying time and lower energy. The information provided in this work will sever as the basis for further mass production. MVD lychees are much more promising as a snack food than AD lychees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Garlic is difficult to dry due to browning reaction and degradation of heat-sensitive component. Freeze drying (FD) can keep good shape, color and nutrition of dried garlic, but it consumes long drying time and high energy. To shorten drying time and obtain high quality products, atmospheric freeze drying (AFD) was developed for drying garlic slices. The effects of different inlet air temperature programs on product quality and drying process were studied during AFD process. It was found that freeze point depression could lead to part of ice thawing resulting in product quality deterioration when the air temperature was not low enough. Based on this, a step-down-up temperature program was developed to reduce the drying time and provide good product quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmentally friendly flame retardant fatliquoring agent has aroused the attention of tannery industry. In this study, rapeseed oil and montmorillonite were used to prepare flame retardant fatliquoring agent. Firstly, silane coupling agent modified montmorillonite was prepared from Na-montmorillonite (Na-MMT) and silane coupling agent γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. Then the modified rapeseed oil/silane coupling agent modified montmorillonite nanocomposites was obtained by using silane coupling agent modified montmorillonite and rapeseed oil through in-situ method. The as-prepared modified rapeseed oil/silane coupling agent modified montmorillonite was applied in fatliquoring process of goatskin garment leather. Flame retardancy, softness and mechanical properties of the fatliquored leather were tested. Compared with those of the leather fatliquored by modified rapeseed oil (MRO), flame retardancy, softness and tear strength of the leather treated by modified rapeseed oil/silane coupling agent modified montmorillonite were improved. The results of environmental impact assessments indicated that the modified rapeseed oil/silane coupling agent modified montmorillonite nanocomposites did not increase the pollution to the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saving water is a common responsibility of all humanity, which is essential for achieving sustainable use of global water resources. The aim of this study is to discover the determinants of an individual's intention to save water. Based on the theory of planned behavior, a novel comprehensive framework has been developed by extending environmental concern, perceived risk, and information publicity. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to perform an empirical analysis with data from questionnaire of 265 residents in Jinan, the famous Chinese "Spring City". The findings indicate that residents have a strong environmental concern and water-saving intention with mean values of 6.78 and 6.67, respectively. Attitude and information publicity are the most important antecedents of water-saving intention, followed by subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. Environmental concern and perceived risk indirectly affect the intention to save water through attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. The role of environmental concern is more important than the role of perceived risk. Interestingly, a high level of information publicity may strengthen the impact of attitude on water-saving intention but weaken the impact of perceived behavioral control. This study strongly supplements current knowledge on water-saving behavior. Moreover, these findings provide insights for policymakers to motivate people to save water. • A novel theoretical framework was constructed to explain water-saving intention. • The integrated model explains 81.8% of the variance in water-saving intention. • Attitude and information publicity encourage residents' water-saving intentions. • The role of environmental concern is more significant than the perceived risk. • The moderating effect of information publicity differs in different paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel conversion of TBFS into high value-added materials was proposed. • FAU and MFI type zeolites were synthesized from the pretreated TBFS. • The state of Ti species in the synthesized zeolites were also thoroughly investigated. In this work, the synthesis of FAU and MFI type Ti-containing zeolites from Ti-bearing blast furnace slag was first achieved via a facile hydrothermal method. The synthesized zeolites were identified to be Ti-NaX and Ti-NaZSM-5 zeolites, with excellent specific surface area of 663.2 and 325.2 m2/g, respectively. Ti species in the Ti-NaX zeolite contained the framework Ti species and amorphous extraframework Ti species, while the Ti species in Ti-NaZSM-5 zeolite were in the form of the two species of above and another anatase TiO 2. To investigate the potential application of the synthesized zeolites in photocatalysis field, an exploratory study was carried out by degradation of methyl orange under UV irradiation. As demonstrated, the Ti-NaZSM-5 zeolite showed higher photocatalytic performance and was more suitable to be the support of the TiO 2 photocatalyst than the Ti-NaX zeolite. Innovative conversion of TBFS into Ti-containing zeolite materials does provide not only a novel and low-cost approach to waste management, but also a promising material candidate for catalytic oxidation and environmental purification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freeze drying (FD) yields the best quality of dried mushrooms but needs long drying time and higher cost. Air drying (AD) gives relatively poor product quality. In order to achieve faster drying along with high product quality, microwave freeze drying (MFD) and atmospheric freeze drying (AFD) were developed to dry mushrooms. By comparison of three sublimation drying processes, it was concluded that FD could lead to the best product quality, but cost the highest energy consumption. AFD mushrooms had the worst quality and longest drying time, but the lowest energy consumption. Compared with FD and AFD, MFD could get relatively acceptable quality and drying efficiency. As a result, MFD can be used to replace traditional FD, and AFD also should be popularized because of its low energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on an angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of the effect of in-situ cesium (Cs) dosing on the surface electronic structure of Sn 4 Sb 3 , a newly emerging candidate of topological semimetallic superconductor. As the chemical potential of the system increases upon Cs dosing, we observed an electronic structure evolution that features an increasing sharpness of band features as well as a momentum- and band-dependent energy shift of the bands at low binding energies. These observations go beyond a simple rigid band shift model and are manifestations of quantum confinement of electronic states near the surface due to Cs decoration. By studying the evolution of Cs 5 p core level as functions of Cs dosage and photoelectron emission angle, we found Cs atoms deposit on the sample surface at low dosages and tend to intercalate underneath the surface at high dosages. This process is accompanied by a gradual suppression of a surface band splitting, an observation that can be captured by simplified first-principles calculations in both cases with the deposition/intercalation occurring on top of/underneath the first Sn–Sb bilayer. Our finding highlights an intriguing possibility of an unexpected dimensionality reduction in Sn 4 Sb 3 caused by Cs intercalation at interstitial sites that promises its novel surface properties different from the bulk. • First ARPES study of Cs-induced electronic structure evolution in Sn 4 Sb 3. • Quantum confinement of electronic states due to Cs decoration. • Evidence for interstitial intercalation. • Electronic dimensionality reduction in Sn 4 Sb 3 caused by Cs intercalation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of thin-layer drying naked oat cut herbage process (hot air temperature, air velocity, and drying time) on crude protein content were investigated. It was observed that an increase in drying temperature could lead to a significant drop in the crude protein content of naked oat cut herbage. The crude protein content also decreased with an increase in drying time and air velocity, and air velocity had a minimal impact during processing. A thin-layer drying mathematical model of crude protein content for naked oat cut herbage was established. The optimal drying parameters were determined as hot air temperature of 88.6–94.2∘C, air velocity of 0.28–0.32 m/s, and drying time of 16.4–20.6 min. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Bovine bone wastes can be used to produce high-quality collagen products. Freeze drying (FD) can yield the best quality of dried collagen but at the cost of long drying time, high energy consumption, and also the overall cost. A microwave-freeze-drying (MFD) technique was developed to dry collagens extracted from bovine bone. The relationship between corona discharge and microwave power at various pressures and moisture content conditions was studied to avoid the possibility of corona discharge during MFD collagens. A microwave loading scheme was optimized to avoid the corona discharge and resulted in high product quality with greatly reduced drying time. The results suggested that MFD has the potential to substitute for traditional FD in drying of high-value products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on cloud-ground lightning data and Doppler weather radar echo products, both the characteristics and the relations of lightning and radar echoes for strong convective rainstorms over Yunnan are analyzed during the flood season of 2007. The results show that most rainstorms are convective in which lightning is mostly negative and the negative lightning number accounts for more than 90% of the total. Although the correlation between precipitation and the lightning number is small on the rainstorm day, the large day-lightning frequency usually produces heavy precipitation. Hourly evolution of precipitation and lightning frequency shows peak-style characteristics. And their evolution is very coherent in strong rainstorm, but lightning often occurs before precipitation, whose peaks are in phase with or 1-to-2-hour lagged behind that of lightning frequency. Meanwhile the peaks of positive frequency are in phase with or fall behind that of precipitation. When the wind field is heterogeneous in radial velocity, it is conducive to both the development of convection echoes and occurrence of lightning. Strong lightning-producing convective rainstorms correspond to strong echo fields and usually result in reflectivity above 30 dBZ and echo top ET of more than 9 km, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freeze drying (FD) yields the best quality of dried apple slices but requires a long drying time and is not cost-effective. To mitigate these problems, a microwave freeze drying (MFD) technique was developed to dry apple slices. The relationship between corona discharge and microwave power at various pressures and initial moisture content conditions was studied to avoid the possibility of corona discharge during MFD. It was found that with change of moisture content and temperature of samples during MFD, the dielectric property also changed, which resulted in dynamic microwave dissipation. Based on the dielectric property of samples, a changed microwave loading scheme can lead to perfect product quality and greatly reduce the drying time; thus, MFD can be used to replace the traditional FD technique. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Summary [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Various views persist about the effect of agitation on hyaluronic acid (HA) molecular weight, and the mechanism remains unclear. In this paper, the effect of agitation on HA molecular weight was investigated. The HA molecular weight increased with impeller speed, due to a mass transfer enhancement; however, higher impeller speed caused a decrease in the HA molecular weight. According to the experimental results, it is proposed for the first time that reactive oxygen species (ROS) under higher impeller speed in the bioreactor, which were generated by NADH oxidase, could cause the reduction in the HA molecular weight. ROS generation increased remarkably during the exponential growth phase when the impeller speed increased from 450rpm to 1000rpm, and the NADH oxidase activity increased correspondingly. Finally, it was proved that the addition of salicylic acid could increase the HA molecular weight, but inhibit the efficiency of the HA synthesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent advancement for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) involves the incorporation of higher-field strengths. Although imagers with higher magnetic field strengths were developed and tested in research labs, the direct application to patient MR studies have been extremely limited. Imaging at 7 Tesla (7T) affords advantages in signal-to-noise ratio and image contrast and resolution; however, these benefits can only be realized if the correct coils exist to capture the images. The objective of this study was to develop optimized high-resolution 7T MRI techniques using high sensitivity, specialized phased-array coils, for improved gray matter (GM) and white matter differentiation, in an effort to improve visualization of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions in vivo. Twenty-three subjects were enrolled in this preliminary study, 17 with clinically definite MS (11 females, 6 males; mean age 43.4 years; range 22-64 years) and 6 healthy controls (2 females, 4 males; mean age 39.0 years; range 27-67 years). MR imaging of MS patients at 7T was demonstrated to be safe, well tolerated, and provided high-resolution anatomical images allowing visualization of structural abnormalities localized near or within the cortical layers. Clear involvement of the GM was observed with improved morphological detail in comparison to imaging at lower-field strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Freeze drying (FD) yields the best quality of dried sea cucumber but at the cost of long drying time and also the overall cost. Air drying (AD) gives an unacceptably poor quality product. To achieve faster drying along with a high quality product a microwave freeze drying (MFD) technique was developed to dry sea cucumbers. The relationship between corona discharge and microwave power at various pressures and initial moisture content conditions was studied to avoid the possibility of corona discharge during MFD. According to the drying characteristics of MFD, a control strategy for the MFD process was also developed. MFD reduced the drying time by about half of conventional FD process and provided a similar good product quality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The treatment outcome of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has improved steadily over the last 50 years. However, the cure rates are unlikely to be raised further with current therapies. Since increasing the dosage of chemotherapeutic agents could also elevate toxicity, a solution to how one could achieve maximum therapeutic effect with the minimum dosage possible is imminent. One possibility is the employment of combination drug therapies. Arsenic trioxide (ATO) is a widely used drug for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Its combination with other drugs presented therapeutic activities in malignant cancers other than APL. Considering the fact that ATO induces mitotic arrest prior to apoptosis induction, we attempted to investigate the potential anti-cancer effects of ATO in combination with the microtubule-stabilizing agent, paclitaxel (PTX), using malignant lymphocytes as in vitro models. Three malignant lymphocytic cell lines and primary cells were treated with ATO and/or PTX. Using the Chou–Talalay analysis for evaluation of combined effect of ATO and PTX, we found a synergistic effect of the two drugs in the inhibition of cell growth. We also found that the combination of ATO and PTX at low concentrations synergistically induced mitotic arrest followed by apoptosis in malignant lymphocytes, which increased phosphorylated cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (Cdk1) on Thr161 and promoted the dysregulated activation of Cdk1. The ATO/PTX combination also significantly enhanced the activation of spindle checkpoint by inducing the formation of the inhibitory checkpoint complex BubR1/Cdc20. Our study provided the first in vitro demonstration that low concentrations of ATO and PTX synergistically induce mitotic arrest in malignant lymphocytes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: PU.1 is one of key regulators of hematopoietic cell development, a tightly-regulated lineage-specific process. Here we provide the first evidence that PU.1 protein is cleaved into two fragments of 24kDa and 16kDa during apoptosis progression in leukemic cell lines and primary leukemic cells. Further experiments with specific capase-3 inhibitor Z-DEVD-fmk and the in vitro proteolytic system confirmed that PU.1 is a direct target of caspase-3. Using site-directed mutagenesis analyses, the aspartic acid residues at positions 97 and 151 of PU.1 protein were identified as capsase-3 target sites. More intriguingly, the suppression of PU.1 expression by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) significantly inhibits DNA-damaging agents NSC606985 and etoposide-induced apoptosis in leukemic cells, together with the up-regulated expression of anti-apoptotic bcl-2 gene. These results would provide new insights for understanding the mechanism of PU.1 protein in hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To develop an improved dehydration method for sea cucumber, microwave freeze drying was tested as a potential method. According to our experimental results, microwave freeze drying can reduce drying time to about half of the traditional vacuum freeze-drying process. To ensure a high degree of sterilization, a novel nanoscale silver coating technique was combined with microwave freeze drying. Microwave freeze drying combined with nanoscale silver coating treatment leads to a much lower microorganism number with no significant effect on drying efficiency and sensory quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]