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In theoretical biology, a prevailing hypothesis posits a profound interconnection between effective population size (Ne), genetic diversity, inbreeding, and genetic load. The domestication and improvement processes are believed to be pivotal in diminishing genetic diversity while elevating levels of inbreeding and increasing genetic load. In this study, we performed a whole genome analysis to quantity genetic diversity, inbreeding, and genetic load across seven wild Ovis species and five domesticated sheep breeds. Our research demonstrates that the genetic load and diversity of species in the genus Ovis have no discernible impact on recent Ne, and three species within the subgenus Pachyceros tend to carry a higher genetic load and lower genetic diversity patterns. The results coincide with these species' dramatic decline in population sizes within the subgenus Pachyceros ~80–250 thousand years ago. European mouflon presented with the lowest Ne, lower genetic diversity, and higher individual inbreeding coefficient but a lower genetic load (missense and LoF). This suggests that the small Ne of European mouflon could reduce harmful mutations compared to other species within the genus Ovis. We showed lower genetic diversity in domesticated sheep than in Asiatic mouflon, but counterintuitive patterns of genetic load, i.e., lower weak genetic load (missense mutation) and no significant difference in strong genetic load (LoF mutation) between domestic sheep and Asiatic mouflon. These findings reveal that the "cost of domestication" during domestication and improvement processes reduced genetic diversity and purified weak genetic load more efficiently than wild species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The friction and wear performance of high-performance bearings directly affects the accuracy and maneuverability of weapons and equipment. In this study, high-speed, high-temperature, and heavy-load durability experiments of weapon bearings were carried out, and their wear properties (i.e., surface wear, metamorphic layer, scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), residual stress, and retained austenite) were analyzed in multiple dimensions. The results showed the following: (1) The experimental temperature of the serviced front-end bearing is always lower than that of the rear bearing. (2) The metamorphic layer of the serviced rear bearing (i.e., inner ring, outer ring, rolling body, and cage) > the metamorphic layer of the serviced front-end bearing > the metamorphic layer of the unserviced bearing. (3) The rolling body of the rear bearing at high experimental temperatures contains not only elemental O, but also elemental P and Sr. (4) In the EDS analysis of the rolling elements, with the migration from the "ball edge" to the "ball center", the elemental C in the rolling elements of serviced or unserviced bearings decreases slowly, while the elemental Fe content increases slowly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expression of long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) and its clinical relevance in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains largely uncharacterized. To address these gaps, we investigated the expression profiles of lncRNAs in PBMC from CRC and healthy controls (HC) by RNA sequencing. The expression level of differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) were evaluated by quantitative PCR in PBMC samples from CRC patients and HC. A total of 447 DElncRNAs were identified, with 178 elevated lncRNAs and 269 decreased lncRNAs in PBMC from CRC patients as compared with that from HC. RT-PCR results supported a significant elevation of NEAT1:11, lnc-PDZD8–1:5 and LINC00910:16 in 98 CRC patients and 82 HC. The clinical implication of NEAT1:11, lnc-PDZD8–1:5 and LINC00910:16 as CRC diagnostic biomarker were determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, showing sensitivity 74.5% and specificity 84.5% for joint detection the three lncRNAs. Notably, NEAT1:11 was closely related with the size and extent of primary tumor, with higher relative expression of NEAT1:11 in higher T stage (P = 0.0047). Moreover, NEAT1:11 was related with grade (P = 0.012). Collectively, PBMC from patients with CRC show significantly variable expression profiles of lncRNAs, and detection of these differential expression lncRNAs may provide useful information for basic and clinical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bearing ring residual stress test data obtained by µ-360 s residual stress analyzer have the characteristics of unknown probability distribution and limited samples. For this problem, this study introduces the uncertainty and proposes a grey relation method to estimate the true value of the bearing ring residual stress. Based on poor information theory (incomplete and insufficient information for the characteristic presented in the subject investigated) and by fusing the membership function method, maximum membership method, rolling mean method, and bootstrap method, the true value sequence of the residual stress is obtained. On this basis, true value fusion is implemented again using the grey bootstrap method, and the estimated true value of the residual stress for the bearing ring was obtained. The results show that the residual stresses of bearing rings are fused by multiple methods, and the overall estimated true value of the residual stress of the bearing ring is −578 MPa. Owing to different processing techniques, the true value of the residual stress varies in different parts of the ring as follows: −918 MPa on the large end surface of the ring, −673 MPa on the small end face of the ring, −228 MPa at the vertical test point on the outer surface of the ring, and −231 MPa at the parallel test point on the outer surface of the ring. The error between the estimated true value obtained using the grey relation method and that obtained through the fusion of multiple methods is generally 10% or less, thereby confirming the effectiveness of the grey relation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: A reasonable formation of an electrode material with three‐dimensional (3D) microstructure for supercapacitors was proposed. Two‐dimensional (2D) SnS2 nanoplates were uniformly in situ grown on 3D carbon foam (CF) through a controllable strategy. The composite displayed excellent electrochemical performance due to the synergistic effect of SnS2 and CF. The SnS2@CF‐2 composite containing 23.92 wt% of SnS2 has a superior specific capacitance of 283.6 F g−1 at the current density of 1 A g−1. Moreover, a symmetric supercapacitor based on SnS2@CF‐2 composite has a capacitance of 82.5 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and a high energy density of 13.9 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 551.7 W kg−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The present work aims to prepare and stabilize zein colloidal nanoparticles using soluble soybean polysaccharide (SSPS) as a stabilizer. A simple antisolvent precipitation method was used to fabricate the zein/SSPS composite nanoparticles at pH 4.0. The results showed that the SSPS-stabilized zein nanoparticles (size around 200 nm, PDI below 0.2) did not aggregate or precipitate at pH 2.0–8.0. And they were also relatively stable for elevated ionic strength and high temperature. Affected by the SSPS coating, the surface hydrophobicity of the zein nanoparticles decreased over a wide pH range. Conditions of forming zein/SSPS nanoparticles were successfully used to encapsulate hydrophobic quercetin (Q). The encapsulation efficiency was greatly improved to 82.5% after SSPS coating, compared to 59.2% for the zein without coating. Besides, the photochemical stability and ABTS+ scavenging ability of Q in zein/SSPS composite nanoparticles were significantly enhanced. This study demonstrates that these composite nanoparticles can be used as all-natural delivery systems for bioactive molecules in food and pharmaceutical formulations. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Zein nanoparticles were prepared using SSPS as a stabilizer. • SSPS could stabilize zein nanoparticles in pH range 2.0–8.0. • The "core-shell" structure formed between zein and SSPS. • Surface hydrophobicity of zein nanoparticles decreased due to the coating of SSPS. • Quercetin was efficiently encapsulated and protected by composite nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this study, effects of intrinsic metal ions in lentinan on its bioactivities were evaluated. Lentinan extracted from Lentinus edodes was separated to four fractions with different molecular weights with Sephadex G-200 gel chromatography, and intrinsic metal ions were removed by EDTA. The ferrous ion chelating capacity of ELWs was measured to estimate EDTA residue after extensive dialysis. Antioxidant and antitumor activities of the isolated lentinans (LWs and ELWs) were investigated in vitro and compared, respectively. The results indicated that all of the isolated lentinan contained a large amount of intrinsic metal ions and the fraction with the lowest Mw had highest metal content. After removing intrinsic metal ions, the polysaccharides showed lower ABTS and DPPH radicals scavenging capacity and the reduced inhibition of the proliferation of BXPC-3 and Hela cells. Our results indicated that the metal ions in lentinan had positive effects on its bioactivities. Highlights • The composition and content of metal ions in lentinan were analyzed comprehensively. • The residual amount of EDTA was determined. • The influence of metal ions in lentinan on antioxidant capacity and the inhibition of proliferation of cancer cells were investigated. • Metal ions in lentinan had positive effects on its bioactivities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This morphological description of Onchidium reevesii (J.E. Gray, 1850), a common species on the coast of China, previously called Onchidium struma (Qiu, 1991), includes the external features and the digestive, nervous and reproductive systems. The radula and the penis are illustrated using electron microscopy. The surface of the notum is granular and hundreds of dorsal papillae are present, each with an eye. The position of the pneumostome is mid posterior on the hyponotum. The radular formula varies from 62:1:62 to 110:1:110. A convolute tubular rectal gland is present. Unusual features of the reproductive system include the penis having a proximal long, spiral stalk followed by a distal region covered with hooks, and the flagellum of the penial gland being long and heavily coiled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zein-based nanoparticles loaded with bioactive compounds have positive prospects in the food industry, but an important limiting factor for development is colloidal instability. Currently, extensive researches are focused on solving the instability of zein nanoparticles, but since the beginning of the studies, there has not been a summary of the factors affecting the stability of zein-based nanoparticles. In the present work, the factors were reviewed comprehensively from the perspective of carrier construction and application evaluation. The former mainly includes type, quantity, and characteristics of biopolymer, the mass ratio of biopolymer/bioactive compound to zein, blending sequence of biopolymer, and location of encapsulated bioactive compounds. The latter mainly includes pH, heating, ionic strength, storage, freeze-drying, and gastrointestinal digestion. The former is the prerequisite for the success of the latter. The challenge is that stability research is limited to the laboratory level, and it is difficult to ensure that the stability results are suitable for commercial food matrices due to their complexity. At the laboratory level, the future trends are the influence of external energy and the cross-complexity and uniformity of stability research. The review is expected to provide systematic understanding and guidance for the development of zein-based nanoparticles stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control and synchronization of fractional-order chaotic systems have attracted wide attention due to their numerous potential applications. To get suitable control method and parameters for fractional-order chaotic systems, the stability analysis of time-varying fractional-order systems should be discussed in the first place. Therefore, this paper analyzes the stability of the time-varying fractional-order systems and presents a stability theorem for the system with the order 0<α<1. This theorem is a sufficient condition which can discriminate the stability of time-varying systems conveniently. Feedback controllers are designed for control and synchronization of the fractional-order Lü chaotic system. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed theorem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boiler superheated steam temperature control is of great importance for the safety and economy of thermal power unit. This article presents a nonlinear model identification method for the superheated steam temperature system, based on the unit load as a time-varying parameter. The linear parameter varying (LPV) model, which has been established by using the unit historical data, is suitable for control studies, and it can reflect the global dynamic characteristics of the object. To solve the model parameters estimation in high-dimensional problem, the evolutionary acceleration factor is introduced to the quantum particle swarm optimization (A-QPSO) algorithm to optimize the model parameters. The validity of the modified algorithm A-QPSO is verified through optimizing several classical high-dimensional standard test functions. The A-QPSO improved the optimization efficiency, and optimized result is very close to the optimal value. Finally, the proposed method is applied to the identification of a power plant superheated steam temperature process, and the results show that the optimized superheated steam temperature model is of high accuracy and the proposed method is feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chitosan immunomagnetic beads (CIBs) were first prepared through converting hydroxyl groups of natural polymer material-chitosan into amino groups using epichlorohydrin and ethylenediamine as modification agent and then coupling with polyclonal antibodies of Enterobacter sakazakii using glutaraldehyde as cross-linking agent. The beads before coupling with antibodies were characterized by magnetic property measurement, FTIR, SEM and XRD technologies. In the assay a natural polysaccharide-chitosan, which has good biological and chemical properties such as non-toxicity, biocompatibility and high chemical reactivity was first used for synthesis of immunomagnetic beads. The detection method first established in this paper that combined the beads with chromogenic medium together to rapid detect E. sakazakii in milk powder could greatly improve the detection specificity and working efficiency. The beads exhibited a maximum capturing capacity of 1 × 10 6 cfu/g with the detection sensitivity of 4 cfu/g. The results demonstrate that the assay is a straightforward, specific and sensitive alternative for rapid detection of E.sakazakii in food matrix. The total analysis time was as little as about 25 h, which greatly shorten the detection time. The method can provides new ideas not only to preparation technique of immunomagnetic beads but to imunne detection technique in food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the conservation of a polychrome terracotta warrior statue from the Qin dyansty at vault one in Xi'an, Shaanzi, China. Topics include details on the post-excavation conservation treatment of polychrome ceramic figures; details on conservation principles such as authenticity, minimum intervention, and compatibility of conservation materials; details on the role of consolidation in the art conservation process; details on the role of cleaning in preservation; and details on the role of photographs and diagrams.

Bearing is one of the essential and important components in high-end equipment. In this study, the spindle precision bearings, RV reducer thin-walled bearings and high-speed rail bearings produced by different manufacturers were used as research carriers. The element content, grain size, grain boundary morphology, metamorphic layer and hardness of the bearing raceway, fatigue life test for 42 h were compared and analyzed. The theoretical model of influencing factors of bearing service life was deduced, and the raw materials, processing technology and service life of bearing were discussed in multiple dimensions. The following conclusions were obtained: (a) The bearings produced by German and Japanese manufacturers were more accurately controlled in heat treatment of the raw material and ultra-precision machining process. (b) The bearings produced by Chinese and American manufacturers have their own advantages in service life. (c) With the increase of torque, friction factor and wear amount will increase, wear resistance and fatigue life of bearings will decrease. (d) With the increase of the hardness of the bearing raceway, the wear amount will decrease, the wear resistance and the fatigue life will increase. (e) With the decrease of the metamorphic layer in the bearing raceway, the compressive stress will increase, the wear amount will decrease, and the wear resistance and the fatigue life will increase. Through the analysis of this study, we hope to provide product quality control methods for bearing enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Zr(IV) impregnated dithiocarbamate modified chitosan beads were prepared to adsorb F−. [•] The adsorption selectivity was higher than that of dithiocarbamate chitosan beads. [•] The maximum adsorption capacity was 4.58mg/g at pH 7 and 30øC. [•] The kinetic data was fit with a pseudo-second order equation and Langmuir isotherms model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The task of this study was to prepare a complex of tea polysaccharides (TPS) with ferric iron and research its bioavailability in vitro and in vivo. Optimum condition for preparing tea polysaccharides-iron complex (TPIC) was as follows: TPS and FeCl with a weight ratio of 1:2.4, reacted in a water bath at 60 °C for 3 h, generating an iron content for TPIC of 14.60 %. The digestion in vitro experiment showed that availability of TPIC was sufficient. Then, iron bioavailability in vivo of TPIC was evaluated by the rat hemoglobin-repletion bioassay with ferrous sulfate (FeSO) as the positive control. Results indicated that at the end of 21 days' iron regeneration phase, the values of hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP), serum iron (SI) concentration, and mean cell hemoglobin (MCHC) of rats supplemented with FeSO and TPIC increased quickly to those of normal ones. If the bioavailability of FeSO was given 100 % with Hb concentration, SI concentration and MCHC as the evaluation index, respectively, bioavailability of TPIC were in the range of 101.85-116 %. These results demonstrate that TPIC is a good iron supplement source for increasing uptake and bioavailability in the body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

n As(III)-imprinted chitosan resin (As-ICR) was successfully prepared to selectively remove arsenic from Laminaria japonica Aresch (LJA) juice. Batch adsorption experiments and column adsorption experiments were performed to evaluate the adsorption conditions, selectivity, and reusability. The results showed that the minimum total arsenic concentration of the juice was 4.16 mg/L at pH 6.0, 40 °C, with equilibrium time 4 h. The selectivity of As-ICR for arsenic was much higher than that of non-imprinted chitosan resin. As-ICR could be reused for 10 times with only about 13% regeneration loss. FTIR spectra demonstrated that the adsorption of As-ICR for arsenic occurred on amino and hydroxyl groups. Total arsenic concentration of the juice decreased significantly, while the other metal ions decreased except Zn insignificantly. This suggests that As-ICR is a very promising sorbent for selective removal of arsenic from the juice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel, bio-based α-Fe2O3 impregnated chitosan beads (As-IFICB) was successfully synthesized using As(III) as imprinted ions for adsorption and removal of As(III) ions from aqueous solutions. Batch adsorption experiments were performed to evaluate the adsorption conditions, selectivity and reusability. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity was 6.18mg/g, observed at pH 5 and temperature 30°C. Equilibrium adsorption was achieved within 6h. The kinetic data, obtained at the optimum pH 5, could be fitted with a pseudo-second order equation. Adsorption process could be well described by Langmuir adsorption isotherms and the maximum adsorption capacity calculated from Langmuir equation was 9.355mg/g. The selectivity coefficient of As(III) ions and other metal cations onto As-IFICB indicated an overall preference for As(III) ions, which was much higher than non-imprinted chitosan beads. The adsorption of As-IFICB for As(III) was analyzed and explained using SEM, EDAX, XRD and BET–N2 adsorption measurement. The results above indicated that As-IFICB is a very promising sorbent for selective removal of As(III) ions from aqueous solutions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A new UV–Vis absorbance spectrum method was proposed to evaluate the heat treatment of milk and milk-like systems. The method was based on the immediate UV absorbance development when heating amino-sugar mixtures, and validated by correlating the absorbance values of milk-like systems, processed at various temperatures and holding times, with furosine content determined using standardized HPLC analysis. The UV method correlated well with the furosine method under mild heating conditions with R 2 = 0.9569 ( P < 0.001) and 0.9594 ( P < 0.01) respectively. This method allowed an efficient discrimination of commercial milk heat treatment. The paper offers the possibility to develop an easy, inexpensive and sensitive way to control the milk protein quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We employed differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray powder diffraction to determine the effect of tea polysaccharide (TPS) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) on the gelatinization and retrogradation behavior of wheat starch (WS) gels. The total WS concentration of the gels was 35wt%; WS/polysaccharide mixing ratios were 10/0, 9.9/0.1, 9.8/0.2, 9.7/0.3, 9.6/0.4, and 9.5/0.5. As the polysaccharide level was increased, the onset temperature, conclusion temperature and enthalpy of starch melting also increased. Samples blended with CMC exhibited higher gelatinization parameters than TPS mixtures at the same concentration. Upon reheating the starch samples after storage at 4°C, we found that the glass transition temperature and retrogradation ratio decreased with increasing polysaccharide ratio and increased with the duration of storage. As the concentration of polysaccharide was increased, the endothermic enthalpy gradually decreased for the WS/TPS system and slightly increased for WS/CMC. After 20 days of storage at 4°C, the degree of crystallization in the WS/TPS system was significantly lower than in the WS/CMC system. Avrima equation analysis revealed that the retrogradation rate of the control was eight times higher than samples containing 5% TPS and two times higher than samples containing 5% CMC. The overall results demonstrated that the inhibitory effect of TPS was greater than that of CMC under the same conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Effective degradation of compounds containing peptides or phosphate ester bonds in environment is important. In this paper complexes of algae polysaccharides (APS) and Ce4+ were made, and catalysts of the complexes for degradation of compounds containing peptides or phosphate ester bonds were examined. The results show that the complexes could hydrolyze bovine serum albumin (BSA). The complex composed of laminaran and Ce4+ could not only significantly hydrolyze BSA but also rapidly convert the supercoil DNA (plasmid DNA form) into the linear form DNA (plasmid DNA form) in neutral pH solution. They could also promote the degradation of chlorpyrifos. The chlorpyrifos residual in neutral pH solution treated by the complex was 1.16mg/l and the degradation rate was about 94.28% after 48h, whereas without the complex treatment the residual 9.37mg/l and the ration 53.82%. The chlorpyrifos residual in spinach from the treatment plot was only1.14mg/kg on 10 days after spraying the complex, whereas the residual in spinach from the control plot was 3.10mg/kg. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Pests and diseases of tomato fruits are the foremost factors leading to the reduction in produce quantity. Effective and prompt differentiation of these lesion symptoms is essential for agricultural production. Due to the lack of a global receptive field, commonly used convolution neural network models restrict the capability on tomato images under complicated backgrounds. In this paper, we present an efficient and robust method for field diagnosis of tomato fruits based on the context data fusion and capsule network. First, in order to make better the point of inadequate images, the Cycle-GAN algorithm is used to realize the augmentation of the diseases dataset. To improve the quality of the generated images, the feature reconstruction loss function is proposed for the Cycle-GAN method, named Fruit-GAN. The proposed Fruit-GAN learns features of healthy and diseased tomatoes, respectively, and forms lesions based on healthy tomato fruit images. Adding lesion tomato images produced on Fruit-GAN to training sets improves the diagnostic capability compared to classical data augmentation techniques. Subsequently, context fusion studies were used to construct intermediate feature maps from different layers into the fruit diseases recognition compact representation to efficiently leverage the feature reuse mechanism. Finally, the fusion model's enlightened multi-scale capsule network is integrated to form deep features and determine the disease diagnosis. After analyzing the hyper-parameters, the integral technique provides 96.16% accuracy. This research of tomato diseases diagnosis demonstrates the context capsule network model is efficient and establishes a foundation for tomato fruits determination in natural growing environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The four sets of bearings have different degrees of wear, including fatigue shedding (FS), wear (W), corrosion (C), peristalsis (P), burn (B) and defect (D). • In the extreme speed service, taking the bearing No.2 with the highest temperature as the research object, the tangential residual stresses of the outer and inner ring raceways are tensile stresses, which are 31.3 MPa and 110.8 MPa, respectively. The retained austenite in the outer and inner ring raceways of bearings increased abnormally, reaching 36.7 % and 34.7 %, respectively. • In addition to the highest Fe element, the outer and inner ring raceways of bearings also contain higher Pr elements, reaching 35.5% and 14.5%, respectively. • The maximum thickness of the "white layer" of the outer and inner ring raceways of the bearing is 15 μm and 17 μm, respectively. The surface layer of bearing outer and inner ring raceways contain nanocrystals of 200 nm and 100 nm, respectively. Certain nanocrystalline layer will prolong the service life of bearings. Nanocrystals mainly contain P and Cu elements. • The retained austenite in the outer and inner ring raceways of bearing decreased gradually from the surface layer to the inner layer, and the grain size increased. The crystal plane spacing on the surface layer of outer ring raceway was larger than that of surface layer of inner ring raceway. The grain size in the inner layer of outer ring raceway was smaller than that of inner layer of the inner ring raceway. Four sets of high precision spindle bearings (HPSB) had been in extreme service for 6040 h and 85,000 r/min. The service temperature, wear fatigue form, hardness, residual stress, retained austenite, metamorphic layer and element content of the bearing raceway were analyzed. The surface layer and inner layer of bearing raceway were analyzed by Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD), Focused Ion Beam (FIB) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The results show that the service temperature range of the four sets of bearings is from 17.5℃ to 74.7℃. With the increase of rotating speed, the bearing temperature can reach 65℃ at 85,000 r/min. The four sets of bearings have different degrees of wear, including fatigue shedding (FS), wear (W), corrosion (C), peristalsis (P), burn (B) and defect (D). In the extreme speed service, taking the bearing No.2 with the highest temperature as the research object, the maximum and minimum hardness differences of outer ring raceway, inner ring raceway and ball are 423.1 HV, 368.7 HV and 405 HV, respectively. The tangential residual stresses of the outer and inner ring raceways are found to be tensile stresses, which are 31.3 MPa and 110.8 MPa, respectively. The retained austenite in the outer and inner ring raceways of bearings are found to increase abnormally, reaching 36.7 % and 34.7 %, respectively. In addition to the highest Ion (Fe) element, the outer and inner ring raceways of bearings also contain higher Praseodymium (Pr) elements, reaching 35.5 % and 14.5 %, respectively. The maximum thickness of the "white layer" of the outer and inner ring raceways of the bearing is 15 μm and 17 μm, respectively. The surface layer of bearing outer and inner ring raceways contain nanocrystals of 200 nm and 100 nm, respectively. Certain nanocrystalline layer will prolong the service life of bearings. Nanocrystals mainly contain Phosphorus (P) and Copper (Cu) elements. The research findings of this study can provide theoretical and data support for enterprises and scholars in the engineering field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change, with warming as its main feature, has altered the spatial-temporal evolution of factors such as precipitation and temperature that can cause meteorological disasters. The complex and changeable climate has led to frequent natural disasters, while the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events have also significantly increased, posing an enormous threat to societal production and human life. As the most important geoecological transitional zone of mainland China, the stability of agricultural production in China's north–south transitional zone is crucial for ensuring food security under climate change. With the use of daily precipitation and potential evapotranspiration data from 1961 to 2018, this study focused on analysing disturbances such as extreme precipitation and drought disasters at different time scales during the winter wheat and summer maize growing seasons in the north–south transitional zone of China from an agricultural production perspective and attempted to answer the following questions: first, from an agricultural production perspective, what are the temporal and spatial distribution patterns of extreme precipitation and arid climate events in the north–south transitional zone? Second, which areas are at high risk of being disturbed by different types of meteorological disasters and require increased attention? The results indicated that (1) in terms of the overall temporal variation, the degree of extreme precipitation and drought stress faced by agricultural production in the region is decreasing. However, the temporal variation at each station in the north–south transitional zone was not completely consistent with the overall trend, and both increasing and decreasing trends were observed. The sites exhibiting an increase overlapped with typical regions of the north–south transitional zone to varying degrees, indicating that the typical regions represented not only theoretical potential risk areas under climate change but also suffered from meteorological disaster disturbances. (2) The precipitation distribution during the winter wheat growth period in the south–north transitional zone was uneven and varied significantly. High values of extreme precipitation indices during the winter wheat growth period were mainly concentrated in the southern part of the eastern section of the north‒south transitional zone. The precipitation distribution during the summer maize growth period significantly differed, with the highest amount of heavy rain and largest number of rainstorm days concentrated in the southeastern part of the north‒south transitional zone. The spatial distribution of the drought frequency in the north–south transitional zone, as indicated by the monthly standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI1), showed that the areas with high total drought frequencies were mainly concentrated in northeast Jiangsu, southeast Henan, and north Anhui, which primarily experienced light drought. The central part of Jiangsu Province exhibited a high frequency of moderate drought, while southern Jiangsu Province and southwestern Shaanxi Province were prone to severe drought. Additionally, southeastern Hebei and eastern Henan were identified as areas with a high frequency of extreme drought. Finally, the central region of Sichuan Province was characterized by both severe and extreme drought conditions. Based on the SPEI12-derived spatial distribution of the drought frequency in the north–south transitional zone, the areas with a high total drought frequency were mainly concentrated in central and eastern Henan, southeast Shaanxi, southeast Shandong, and central Sichuan, which primarily experienced light to moderate drought. The northwestern part of Jiangsu, the southern part of Hebei, and the western part of Shandong are regions with a high frequency of severe drought, while the eastern part of Henan is an area with high frequencies of both severe and extreme drought. (3) High-value areas of extreme precipitation and drought disturbance in the north–south transitional zone overlapped with the edge of the transitional zone to varying degrees. Approximately 63.58% of the north‒south transitional zone of China was characterized by moderate or high stress levels, primarily concentrated along the southern boundary and central core area, and nearly 39.5% of all counties experienced two or more types of disaster stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To optimize the physicochemical properties of phthalocyanine (PC), we examined its behavior in particles of triple helix glucan curdlan (CUR). CUR was denatured and renatured in DMSO, in the presence of PC. Infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that PC and CUR formed an inclusion complex, in which PC was trapped inside CUR molecules. This redshifted the absorption peak of PC, which would improve its usefulness as a photosensitizer, because infrared light can penetrate more deeply into human tissues. The conductivity of the solution of CUR-PC was higher than the conductivities of either a CUR solution or a PC dispersion, indicating that CUR-PC is more water soluble than PC. In addition, CUR-PC was highly stable in water. Thus, the use of CUR as a carrier of PC improves several of its physical properties. PC is used as a photosensitizer for killing cancer cells, but its use is hampered by its low solubility. Further, its absorption range limits its use to a depth of 1–3 mm in tissues. CUR-PC, with its high solubility and infrared absorption peak, was highly effective as a photosensitizer. It killed 84% of HeLa cells under 15 min of long wavelength radiation and had little cytotoxicity in the absence of light. These results demonstrate that CUR-PC has promise as a photosensitizer, as well as provide theoretical support for a wide range of applications for PC and CUR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a fast direction of arrival (DOA) estimation method based on positive incremental modified Cholesky decomposition atomic norm minimization (PI-CANM) for augmented coprime array sensors. The approach incorporates coprime sampling on the augmented array to generate a non-uniform, discontinuous virtual array. It then utilizes interpolation to convert this into a uniform, continuous virtual array. Based on this, the problem of DOA estimation is equivalently formulated as a gridless optimization problem, which is solved via atomic norm minimization to reconstruct a Hermitian Toeplitz covariance matrix. Furthermore, by positive incremental modified Cholesky decomposition, the covariance matrix is transformed from positive semi-definite to positive definite, which simplifies the constraint of optimization problem and reduces the complexity of the solution. Finally, the Multiple Signal Classification method is utilized to carry out statistical signal processing on the reconstructed covariance matrix, yielding initial DOA angle estimates. Experimental outcomes highlight that the PI-CANM algorithm surpasses other algorithms in estimation accuracy, demonstrating stability in difficult circumstances such as low signal-to-noise ratios and limited snapshots. Additionally, it boasts an impressive computational speed. This method enhances both the accuracy and computational efficiency of DOA estimation, showing potential for broad applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biopolymer-based nanoencapsulation presents great performance in the delivery of functional food ingredients. In recent years, the pH-driven method has received considerable attention due to its unique characteristics of low energy and organic solvent-free during the construction of biopolymer-based nanoencapsulation. This review summarized the fundamental knowledge of pH-driven biopolymer-based nanoencapsulation. The principle of the pH-driven method is the protonation reaction of functional food ingredients that change with pH. The stability of functional food ingredients in an alkaline environment is a prerequisite for the adoption of this method. pH regulator is also an important influencing factor. Different coating materials used to the pH-driven nanoencapsulation were discussed, including single and composite materials, mainly focusing on proteins. Besides, the application evaluations of pH-driven nanoencapsulation in food were analyzed. The future development trends will be the influence of pH regulators on the carrier, the design of new non-protein-based carriers, the quantification of driving forces, the absorption mechanism of encapsulated nutrients, and the molecular interaction between the wall material and the intestinal mucosa. In conclusion, pH-driven biopolymer-based nanoencapsulation of functional food ingredients will have broad prospects for development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

False data injection (FDI) attacks represent a serious threat to securing nuclear reactor operation. Efficient FDI attack detection is essential to prevent related unforeseen nuclear accidents. However, owing to their design principles, the existing detection methods are limited in their ability to detect multiple types of FDI attacks. To address this issue, we propose a detection scheme for FDI attacks on a nuclear reactor based on the chaotic time/frequency-hopping (TH/FH) spread spectrum. The proposed scheme uses frequency hopping modulation, demodulation, and filtering of the signal based on hyper-chaotic sequences to limit the attacker's access to the system's real data and eliminate the adverse effects of attacks on the system. Furthermore, theoretical analysis derives the stability constraint of the frequency hopping frequency and demonstrates the detectability and defendability of the proposed scheme. Experimental simulations demonstrated that our proposed scheme can detect two typical FDI attacks, replay attacks and covert attacks, without compromising system operation, and defend against and reproduce covert attack signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of endovascular treatment for ruptured aneurysms at distal cerebral arteries. Methods A total of 30 ruptured aneurysms at distal cerebral arteries in 30 patients received endovascular treatment (EVT). Distal cerebral arteries were defined as arteries distal to the A2 or M2 segmentations in the anterior circulation, distal to the P2 segmentation in the posterior circulation, or other small branches or perforating arteries. Aneurysm occlusion was assessed using Raymond classification immediately after the procedure and during angiographic follow-up. Clinical follow-up data were retrospectively analyzed and categorized using the modified Rankin scale (MRS). Results Thirty aneurysms were classified as distal anterior circulation in 17 aneurysms and posterior circulation in 13 aneurysms. EVT technically succeeded in all 30 (100%) aneurysms, with stent assistance in 1 aneurysm and coiling only in 29. Aneurysm sac coiling was done in 25 aneurysms, whereas parent artery occlusion was done in 5 aneurysms. Raymond I occlusion were immediately achieved in 19 of 30 (63.3%) aneurysms. Complications occurred in 1 patient because of aneurysm rupture. Angiographic and clinical follow-up data were obtained from 28 patients. Follow-up angiography (mean, 10.14 ± 5.31 months) revealed Raymond I classification in 22 aneurysms (78.6%). At the end of clinical follow-up (mean, 11.89 ± 5.07 months), clinical monitoring using the MRS showed a score of 0 in 18 patients, score of 1 in 5 patients, score of 2 in 2 patients, score of 3 in 2 patients, and score of 4 in 1 patient. Conclusions EVT is a feasible and effective therapy to treat ruptured aneurysms located at distal cerebral arteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomimetic sensors that mimic human skin perception have received enormous attention in human motion detection and human–robot interaction. However, the narrow working range limits the response linearity of mechanical stimuli. Especially the ultrafast active response is needed to detect and react to the potential collision. Inspired by the skin structure, a hierarchical structure with poly(ethylene oxide)‐based ionic conductive polymer electrolytes and polyurethane is designed. The observable synergistic sensing mechanism works throughout the compression process, providing the device with a continuous change in electrical response with excellent linearity (R2 = 0.998) over a broad range (100 Pa–500 kPa). The compressive deformation and corresponding mechanical behavior of hierarchical structures are dynamically and simultaneously observed by using in situ electron microscopy at the atomistic scale. Furthermore, a biomimetic skin is established in the human–robot interaction system, which can provide active and efficient collision avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important technology in 3D vision, point-cloud registration has broad development prospects in the fields of space-based remote sensing, photogrammetry, robotics, and so on. Of the available algorithms, the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm has been used as the classic algorithm for solving point cloud registration. However, with the point cloud data being under the influence of noise, outliers, overlapping values, and other issues, the performance of the ICP algorithm will be affected to varying degrees. This paper proposes a global structure and adaptive weight aware ICP algorithm (GSAW-ICP) for image registration. Specifically, we first proposed a global structure mathematical model based on the reconstruction of local surfaces using both the rotation of normal vectors and the change in curvature, so as to better describe the deformation of the object. The model was optimized for the convergence strategy, so that it had a wider convergence domain and a better convergence effect than either of the original point-to-point or point-to-point constrained models. Secondly, for outliers and overlapping values, the GSAW-ICP algorithm was able to assign appropriate weights, so as to optimize both the noise and outlier interference of the overall system. Our proposed algorithm was extensively tested on noisy, anomalous, and real datasets, and the proposed method was proven to have a better performance than other state-of-the-art algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a human activity recognition (HAR) method for frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar sensors. The method utilizes a multi-domain feature attention fusion network (MFAFN) model that addresses the limitation of relying on a single range or velocity feature to describe human activity. Specifically, the network fuses time-Doppler (TD) and time-range (TR) maps of human activities, resulting in a more comprehensive representation of the activities being performed. In the feature fusion phase, the multi-feature attention fusion module (MAFM) combines features of different depth levels by introducing a channel attention mechanism. Additionally, a multi-classification focus loss (MFL) function is applied to classify confusable samples. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves 97.58% recognition accuracy on the dataset provided by the University of Glasgow, UK. Compared to existing HAR methods for the same dataset, the proposed method showed an improvement of about 0.9–5.5%, especially in the classification of confusable activities, showing an improvement of up to 18.33%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: This study sought to investigate the inhibitory effect of pre‐gelatinized dialdehyde starch (P‐DAS) on the deterioration of sea cucumber during high‐temperature sterilization. RESULTS: It was found that pre‐gelatinization reduced crystallinity and average molecular weight of dialdehyde starch (DAS), exposed free aldehyde groups, improved the solubility, and unified the particle sizes. According to the texture profiles of sea cucumber, the crosslinking power of P‐DAS was higher than that of DAS. The results of free amino content, total soluble substance, water retention, water distribution, relaxation time and scanning electron microscopy all showed that the crosslinking effect was dose‐dependent on crosslinking agent. CONCLUSION: These results have proved that large molecules such as P‐DAS, when properly handled, could also efficiently enter collagen hydrogels and perform crosslinking, providing reference for the development of new protein food stabilizing agents. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arsenic (As) exists widely in the environment and its strong toxicity endangers human health, causing widespread concern. Microbial adsorption technology plays an important role in As removal due to its advantages of high safety, low pollution, and low cost. The removal of As by active microorganisms requires not only good accumulation characteristics but also high As tolerance. The effect of salt preincubation on arsenate [As(V)] tolerance and bioaccumulation of Pichia kudriavzevii A16 and the possible mechanisms were studied. Salt preincubation improved the As(V) tolerance and bioaccumulation ability of the yeast. After Na5P3O10 preincubation, the proportion of dead cells and cells with high reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation decreased from 50.88% and 16.54% to 14.60% and 5.24%, respectively. In addition, the As removal rate significantly increased from 26.20% to 57.98%. The preincubated cells showed stronger As(V) tolerance and removal ability. The potential of use in complex environment to remove As(V) as well as the mechanisms involved in As(V) tolerance by yeast will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Onchidiidae family is ideal for studying the evolution of marine invertebrate species from sea to wetland environments. However, comparative studies of Onchidiidae species are rare. A total of 40 samples were collected from four species (10 specimens per onchidiid), and their histological and molecular differences were systematically evaluated to elucidate the morphological foundations underlying the adaptations of these species. A histological analysis was performed to compare the structures of respiratory organs (gill, lung sac, dorsal skin) among onchidiids, and transcriptome sequencing of four representative onchidiids was performed to investigate the molecular mechanisms associated with their respective habitats. Twenty-six SNP markers of Onchidium reevesii revealed some DNA polymorphisms determining visible traits. Non-muscle myosin heavy chain II (NMHC II) and myosin heavy chain (MyHC), which play essential roles in amphibian developmental processes, were found to be differentially expressed in different onchidiids and tissues. The species with higher terrestrial ability and increased integrated expression of Os-MHC (NMHC II gene) and the MyHC gene, illustrating that the expression levels of these genes were associated with the evolutionary degree. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the adaptions of a diverse and widespread group of invertebrates, the Onchidiidae. Some onchidiids can breathe well through gills and skin when under seawater, and some can breathe well through lung sacs and skin when in wetlands. A histological comparison of respiratory organs and the relative expression levels of two genes provided insights into the adaptions of onchidiids that allowed their transition from shallow seas to wetlands. This work provides a valuable reference and might encourage further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Astaxanthin (Ax), a hydrophobic carotenoid from marine animals and microalgae, is claimed to exhibit various beneficial biological activities. In this study, quillaja saponin, chitosan and pectin were employed to formulate Ax-loaded primary, secondary, and tertiary multilayer emulsions using a layer-by-layer electrostatic deposition technique. The effects of the coating layers on the antioxidation of lipid, in vitro digestion properties, and Ax bioaccessibility were investigated. The results showed that the coating layers improved the lipid stability during the storage process and gastrointestinal digestion of lipid droplets effectively. In particular, the release of free fatty acids was reduced by nearly 20% in tertiary multilayer emulsions coated by chitosan and pectin. Meanwhile, the coating layers postponed the release of Ax effectively. The multilayer emulsions developed in this study could be used to load, protect, and deliver astaxanthin, which may contribute to the development of more effective functional foods, supplements, and pharmaceutical products. • Chitosan and pectin as the outer layer of astaxanthin-loaded lipid droplets were formed by electrostatic deposition. • The oxidative stability of lipid was improved effectively in multilayer emulsions. • Chitosan/pectin coatings reduced the lipid digestibility in emulsions. • Chitosan/pectin coatings prolonged the release of astaxanthin effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collection of superheated steam temperature models of a thermal power plant under different loads can be approximated to “multimodel” linear uncertain systems. After transformation, the tracking system was obtained from “multimodel” linear uncertain systems. For this tracking uncertain system, a mixed H2/H∞ robust model predictive control (HRMPC) based on a memoryless feedback multistep strategy is proposed. A multistep control strategy combines the advantages of predictive control rolling optimization with memoryless feedback control thoughts. It could effectively decrease the controller optimization parameter and ensure closed-loop system stability, and, at the same time, it also achieved acceptable control performance. Successful application to the superheated steam temperature system of a 300 MW thermal power plant verified the study of the HRMPC-P cascade controller design scheme in terms of feasibility and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To prolong service life of M50 steel for the main shaft bearing, ultrasonic surface rolling process (USRP) was utilized to improve surface performances. The effects of USRP on surface integrity and tribological behavior were investigated. The results show the effect of USRP parameters on surface performances follows the order: feed rate > load > rolling times. During the USRP treatment, plastic deformation layer with 24 µm thickness is formed, and fine grain strengthening increases the microhardness (15.56%) and residual stress (79.61%) and decreases the surface roughness (−68.09%), respectively. Friction coefficient and wear rate of USRP sample are lower than those of untreated sample, because USRP helps form a smooth tribolayer and changes the main wear mechanism to slight adhesive wear. • Ultrasonic surface rolling process (USRP) is used to increase M50 steel service life. • Smooth surface layer with high hardness is formed by plastic deformation. • USRP treatment helps forming a smooth tribolayer and improves friction behavior. • The main wear mechanism changes from adhesive wear to abrasive wear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the details of experimental and numerical investigations on the static performance of circular CFRP- corroded concrete filled steel tubular (C-CFRP-CCFST) stubs, circular corroded concrete filled steel tubular (C-CCFST) stubs and circular concrete filled steel tubular (C-CFST) stubs under axial compressive load. To simulate the thickness reduction caused by corrosion, the steel tube was milled at mid-height region of specimen. A total of 25 specimens, including 12 C-CFRP-CCFST stubs, 10 C-CCFST stubs, and 3 C-CFST stubs, were tested. The test results show that the compressive strength of C-CCFST specimens in contrast to the C-CFST stubs were decreased by 2.9%–22.9% depending on the corrosion level of steel tube and were increased by 25.8%–49.8% after the C-CCFST stubs were strengthened with CFRP. On the basis of the experimental investigation, a series of finite element models (FEMs) were developed to analyze the behavior of C-CFRP-CCFST stubs, C-CCFST stubs, and C-CFST stubs, regarding failure modes, load-displacement relationship, and stress distribution. Employing the proposed FEMs, parametric studies were then carried out to study the influence of principle factors on the compressive performance of C-CFRP-CCFST stubs and C-CCFST stubs comprehensively. Equations were proposed for calculating the ultimate strength of C-CFRP-CCFST and C-CCFST stubs based on the numerical analysis results. Additionally, parametric studies on the corrosion members with discrete corrosion regions (DCR) were also carried out, and equations for predicting the ultimate strength of such members were proposed. • Compressive tests on corroded CFST stubs strengthened with CFRP were conducted. • Effects of some parameters on compressive strength of CFRP-corroded CFST stubs were studied. • Equations for predicting compressive strength of CFRP-corroded CFST stubs were presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal bioaccumulation by growing microorganisms is a potential technique for treating the heavy metal pollution in food materials, e.g. fishery processing wastes. In this study, a multi-stress-tolerant yeast with high Zn tolerance and efficient Zn removal ability was screened and renamed as Pichia kudriavzevii A16 after identification. High salinity and low pH obviously increased the Zn bioaccumulation capacity of P. kudriavzevii A16, contributing to the increasing Zn removal rate of P. kudriavzevii A16 at 0.5 mmol/L Zn from 67.69% to 77.03% and 96.09%, respectively. P. kudriavzevii A16 displayed high specificity of Zn removal at high concentrations of Cu, while high concentrations of Cd significantly inhibited the Zn removal by restraining the yeast growth. P. kudriavzevii A16 possessed more powerful Zn removal ability than Saccharomyces cerevisiae CICC1211 under various environmental stresses. The multi-stress-tolerant P. kudriavzevii A16 can be developed into a potential Zn removal agent using in complex food environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates Nonlinear Time-Varying Mixed Lubrication (NTVML) performances of a Coupled Spiral Microgroove Water-lubricated Bearing (CSMWB), which consists of both thrust and journal microgroove bearings, using a developed numerical model. A 5-degree-of-freedom (5-DOF) dynamic model of the CSMWB is fully coupled with a transient mixed lubrication model considering mass conservation cavitation. The validity of the present model is supported by the corresponding experimental evidences in terms of hydrodynamic load capacity and friction coefficient. Based on the model, the evolutions of the transient interfacial behaviors, such as hydrodynamic pressure, elastic-plastic contact pressure, cavitation distribution etc., under nonlinear external excitations are revealed, and the significant role of the mass conservation boundary condition on the NTVML performances in such bearings is highlighted. Subsequently, an extensive parametric study is performed to determine the optimal design of such bearings. Numerical results indicate that a relatively large spiral angle of the thrust bearing has potential to reduce the transient asperity contact for both the journal and thrust bearings. Moreover, a relatively small microgroove width ratio can improve the NTVML performance of journal bearing, while it increases the transient asperity contact of the spiral microgroove thrust bearing. Furthermore, this paper demonstrates the applicability of the CSMWB in rim-driven thrusters and provides the recommended parameters for the optimal performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the stiffness of the bearing-rotor system, angular contact ball bearings are usually matched and mounted on the spindle. However, the flexibility of the shaft could result in an uneven load on the bearings. This paper proposed a bearing-rotor model based on the explicit finite element and dynamic bearing model coupled with thermo-elastohydrodynamic lubrication(TEHL). Reduced integration hexahedral solid element was used to model the flexible rotor. The impacts of load, rotor parameters, and configuration of bearing set on the radial load of the matched bearings have been analyzed. The load difference between the matched bearings decreased by increasing the stiffness of the bearing-rotor system and minimizing the distance between the equivalent bearing positions of the bearing set. Finally, the experimental phenomenon of high-speed matched bearings was explained through simulation analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stiffness is the key dynamic parameter of the angular contact ball bearing. This work established a dynamic bearing model based on Hertz theory and thermo-elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) and compared the contact angle, inner race position, and stiffness. In most cases, the stiffness calculated via Hertz was higher than when using TEHL. The axial stiffness values determined via the two theories were close, while the radial stiffness calculated via the Hertz theory was smaller than that determined by TEHL under light load and high speed. Considering the elastic deformation of the races and the initial contact angle, the results obtained by TEHL displayed a lower error rate in the experiment than Hertz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an excellent delivery material for bioactive compounds, zein nanoparticles are limited by colloidal instability. Recently, the development of their surface coating has greatly promoted the performance of the zein-based delivery system. In the future, surface-coated zein nanoparticles delivering bioactive compounds will have broader applications in the food industry. This review focuses on introducing different methods and materials of surface-coated zein nanoparticles and their encapsulated bioactive compounds, including the assessments for the improved application of these compounds. Additionally, the application in food-related fields is summarized. Finally, some challenges regarding the surface coating of zein nanoparticles and development trends are presented. Currently, methods for surface coating of zein nanoparticles include antisolvent precipitation, antisolvent co-precipitation, layer-by-layer, solvent evaporation, and pH-driven. The materials are mainly proteins, polysaccharides, surfactants, and their composites. It can not only deliver a single bioactive compound but also achieve co-delivery. The evaluation of the improved compound application includes physical and chemical stability, controlled release/bioaccessibility, and biological activity. Moreover, surface-coated zein nanoparticles can be applied to Pickering emulsions and edible films. There are also some challenges in surface coating development. The future will be to improve the application of zein carriers in commercial products, and laboratory-level researches including new system development, smart co-delivery design, and bioavailability mechanism. In conclusion, surface coating of zein nanoparticles have a bright prospect to improve the application of bioactive compounds in the food industry. • Methods of surface-coating are introduced like antisolvent precipitation. • Material of surface-coating are mainly proteins, polysaccharides, and surfactants. • Single and co-delivery of bioactive compounds were discussed. • The application of surface-coated zein nanoparticles in food field was reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was to explore the application of propylene glycol alginate (PGA) alone in alcohol-free curcumin-loaded nanoparticles (PGA/Cur) prepared by a pH-driven method to solve the curcumin shortcomings of low water solubility, stability and bioavailability. One of the bright spots of PGA/Cur was its extremely high loading capacity. PGA/Cur formed a spherical structure mainly by hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bonding, making curcumin amorphous. PGA/Cur exhibited stability at pH 4.0–8.0 due to its high surface charges. PGA/Cur still showed a unimodal size distribution even under 3000 mM ionic strength. Heating caused uneven size distribution, but the smaller size still presented its thermostability. PGA/Cur exhibited good physical stability and slowed down the curcumin degradation with t 1/2 of 37.47 days during storage. PGA/Cur could maintain structural integrity in gastric acid and released curcumin in the intestine, thus improving the bioaccessibility of curcumin. Additionally, PGA/Cur displayed the solubilization after lyophilization. • Propylene glycol alginate alone can form nanoparticles by pH-driven method. • The perspective of carrier design is economy, simplicity, energy saving and safety. • The unique advantage of nanoparticles is high loading capacity. • The nanoparticles had good physicochemical stability and bioaccessibility. • The nanoparticles showed solubilization of curcumin after lyophilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NiS nanoparticles (NiS NPs) have been hydrothermally prepared and characterized by the methods of X-ray diffraction, scanning electronic microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra, photoluminescence, and thermogravimetric analysis. NiS NPs exhibit fast adsorption in the removal of Congo red (CR) in aqueous solution, in which the pseudo-second-order model was the best to describe the adsorption kinetics, and the intraparticle diffusion was not only the rate-limiting step. The NiS NPs also exhibit efficient photocatalytic activity in the degradation of CR under visible-light irradiation, in which the 30 mg/L CR was almost completely degraded after illumination during 210 min. The •OH radicals in the process of photocatalytic degradation were observed by fluorescence technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel edible bio-film was prepared and its effects on preserving strawberries were investigated. The film covering the fruit surface contained Cryptococcus laurentii (109 cfumL−1) in combination with alginate (2%, w/v), glycerol (2%, w/v), palmitic acid (0.5%, w/v), glycerol monostearate (0.5%, w/v), and β-cyclodextrin (0.5%, w/v). Microorganism viability of the bio-film underwent no obvious change during 20d storage. Furthermore, the addition of C. laurentii as antagonist in the films aided inhibition of mold growth, and maintenance of strawberry commercial quality throughout storage. Sodium alginate film entrapped with C. laurentii had no significant effects on external color parameters and anthocyanins of strawberries during storage. In contrast, it significantly reduced microbial decay, decreased weight loss, maintained the firmness of the strawberries, and improved the quality and storage properties of the fruit. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The antioxidant and biochemical properties of enzymatically hydrolyzed silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) protein were studied. The molecular weight of the main peaks of the hydrolysates by both Alcalase and Flavourzyme was lower than 5000Da. The hydrolysates treated by Alcalase for ⩾1.5h (hydrolysis time) showed that the relative proportion of <1000Da fraction was more than 60%. For the biochemical properties, hydrolysis by both enzymes increased protein solubility to above 75% over a wide pH range; and when the hydrolysis time was prolonged (>3h), the colour of the hydrolysates turned yellowish. The protein hydrolysates exhibited significant hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity and inhibited linoleic acid peroxidation. For Alcalase treatment, the hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity and the inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation of hydrolysates appeared to reach a maximum level for 1.5, 2.0h of hydrolysis, respectively; and their antioxidant activity was close to that of α-tocopherol in a linoleic acid emulsion system, and carnosine in the 2-deoxyribose oxidation system. The hydrolysate with lower molecular weight distribution possessed stronger Fe2+ chelation ability at a sample concentration of 5.0mg/mL. The results suggested that the antioxidant activity of silver carp protein hydrolysates were related to its degree of hydrolysis (DH), hydrolysis time and molecular weight. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The preparation method and the sources of metal elements may affect the activity of the metal–polysaccharide complex. In this study, four Fe–tea polysaccharide complexes were prepared and three tea polysaccharides (TPSs) from different seasons were extracted. Moreover, the binding mode of TPSs with internal and external metallic elements as well as their inhibitory effect on α‐glucosidase was explored. The results revealed that the binding mode (–C–O–Fe and –C–Fe) of the Fe–TPS complex prepared at pH 5.0 was closer to TPS with internal metallic elements. The TPS with the least amount of internal metallic elements (61.72 mg/g) exhibited a high inhibitory activity on α‐glucosidase (37.90%). The inhibitory activity of Fe–TPS on α‐glucosidase was lower than that without Fe. But the quenching effect and the inhibition type of TPSs on α‐glucosidase were not affected by metallic elements. Therefore, the metallic elements have the potential to reduce the hypoglycemic activity of TPS. Practical applications: In this paper, TPS was extracted from crude tea in different seasons, and the effects of metallic elements in TPS on hypoglycemic activity, physicochemical properties, and structure of TPS were discussed. TPS metal complexes were prepared by adding Fe3+ or removing metallic elements, and the differences of internal metallic elements in TPS were discussed. It is of great academic significance to use tea pruned leaves and crude tea as potential resources to develop polysaccharide hypoglycemic products and to reveal the relationship between TPS metal ions and their structure and activity. In addition, it has guiding value for consumers to choose tea‐producing regions and growers to choose chemical fertilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grinding surface topography is an important evaluation index of grinding surface integrity. In order to realize the prediction of the grinding surface topography, a three-dimensional theoretical model of the surface topography of internal grinding was established in terms of the mutual movement between the grinding wheel and the workpiece and a data model for the surface roughness of internal grinding was set up based on the grey wolf algorithm-support vector machine (GWO-SVM). Taking the inner ring of rolling bearing as an example, the grinding experiment was carried out to analyze the influence of technological parameters on the surface topography and surface roughness. Three traditional data models were compared with the GWO-SVM data model, the comparison results showed that the GWO-SVM data model had a small change in the relative error of the predicted value of the test sample, the maximum relative error was 5.42%, and the average relative error was 3.95%. Experimental results were compared with the results of theoretical model and data model, the results show that the error of both the theoretical model and the data model is within 10%. This work should be helpful in reflecting the formation mechanism of the surface topography of the internal grinding and provide theoretical and technical support for high-precision and high-efficiency manufacturing of high-end rolling bearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]