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Bees play a very important role in the entire ecosystem, as their pollination ensures the genetic diversity of flowering plants. Therefore, we need to study the factors influencing bee population size and its pollination. In this paper, we build a mathematical model and solve it to obtain the influence of different factors on the number of bee populations, and calculate the number of bees required for pollination in a certain space. Finally, we analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the model, as well as some more discussion.

The assessment of the use of cooking oil/fat and salt in dining food is an unsolved issue in non-quantitative nutrition environment evaluation, and the nutrition environment of Chinese-style dining establishments has not been effectively assessed. This study developed two evaluation tools: the Nutrition Environment Scoring for Chinese Style University/Work-site Canteens (NESC-CC) and the Oil–Salt Visual Analogue Scale (OS-VAS) and applied them in nine university canteens. The NESC-CC, which includes comprehensive items from the healthiness of food availability, cooking methods to other factors that support healthy choices, is featured by adjusting the scoring categories and items to suit Chinese food culture and canteen operation model. The OS-VAS is a novel virtual analog scale (VAS) based on the fuzzy judgement of the diners. It requires the randomly recruited respondents to rate their personal preference for salty taste/greasy food preference, overall saltiness/greasiness of canteen dishes, and personal demands for salt/cooking oil reduction. The oil use score, the salt use score, and the total score are derived from the given formula. The field tests of the NESC-CC in nine university canteens at three time points showed that this tool was able to effectively distinguish the nutrition environment of the Chinese food-style canteens with good reliability and validity. The result of OS-VAS scoring achieved a good resolution of the overall salt and oil/fat use and confirmed our hypothesis on the fuzzy judgement of the diners These tools are suitable for the comprehensive evaluation of Chinese-style canteens and have the potential to be applied to more group-meal-providing establishments.

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and quality of accounting report, especially on earnings management (EM). In addition, potential moderators of this relationship are examined.Design/methodology/approachAfter a comprehensive study of potential mechanisms, the authors obtain plenty of empirical results to open the black box of the link between CSR and EM. Meta-analysis is applied on 51 studies from 35 papers. Further analysis is also carried out to determine the moderating effects, such as the cultural and sample selection differences in these papers.FindingsCSR is negatively associated with EM. In addition, this effect is moderated by cultural difference, CSR measurement, and year of sample selection.Research limitations/implicationsTwo patterns of the hypothesis between CSR and EM are confirmed based on agency cost theory, a theoretical shift of corporate ethics based on organizational moral perspective. Several useful suggestions are also provided for future studies on the empirical model and sample selection. Further research is necessary to clarify the agency cost behind the two theoretical patterns.Practical implicationsCSR is not a tool for firms to market but rather a strategy to ensure their consistency with moral principles, indicating that management should pay more attention to the potential damage of the incongruence between CSR and accounting reporting quality. CSR reporting quality remains an important issue for legislature to guarantee continued firm operations.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to analyze the CSR and EM link using a meta-analysis and to consider its underlying mechanism under the global environment. Previous method design and sample selection are reviewed to provide reference for future studies.

The variation in glycemic responses to white rice caused by the circadian rhythm has been widely investigated but remain controversial. This study investigated diurnal differences in the effect of rice meals on glycemic responses, insulin responses, satiety, and acute cognitive function.A total of 20 healthy participants in Group 1 and 14 in Group 2 were served identical servings of cooked white rice containing 50 g of available carbohydrates at 8:00 a.m. (rice at breakfast), 12:30 p.m. (rice at lunch), and 5:00 p.m. (rice at early supper) in a randomized order. Postprandial blood glucose, insulin, satiety, and cognitive performance tests were conducted for each test meal.The rice at an early supper elicited significantly milder glycemic responses than did the rice at lunch and resulted in a lower insulin sensitivity than did rice at breakfast. No difference was observed among the test meals in terms of hunger and prospective food intake. Diurnal acute cognitive performance did not differ considerably among the meals. A correlation analysis indicated that low variability in glycemic responses was positively associated with superior cognitive performance.A high-glycemic index white rice supper at 5:00 p.m. may facilitate daily glycemic management.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of the oral processing of vegetables induced by texture modification on acute postprandial glycemic response (GR) and insulin response (IR) when co-ingested and ingested prior to a rice meal. In a randomized crossover trial, 14 healthy female subjects consumed (1) co-ingestion of soft broccoli and rice (SR); (2) co-ingestion of hard broccoli and rice (HR); (3) soft broccoli prior to rice (S+R); (4) hard broccoli prior to rice (H+R); (5) rice (R). Postprandial GR and IR was compared between test meals over a period of 180-min, and the oral processing behaviors were measured for each test food samples. Hard broccoli was observed to have a higher mastication time and chews than soft broccoli. All the broccoli meals resulted in reduced incremental peak glucose (IPG) and an increased incremental area under the insulin curve in 180 min (iAUC0–180) compared with R. The S+R curbed the IPG by 40% with comparable HOMA-IR AUC0–180 compared with R, while the H+R elevated the HOMA-IR AUC0–180 by 62% more than that of R. In conclusion, the soft broccoli intake prior to a rice meal effectively attenuated postprandial GR, without lowering insulin sensitivity as its hard counterpart did.

People with dental problems and dysphagia frequently consume foods in paste form. A strategy is required to mitigate the glycemic responses of these foods.The effect of yam paste ingestion on postprandial glycemic responses was assessed using a two-arm study design for yam paste ingestion: (1) as low- and medium-glycemic index food and (2) as preload and coingested food in a rice meal. In a randomized crossover trial, 18 healthy volunteers consumed (1) low-intensity-cooked yam paste; (2) medium-intensity-cooked yam paste; (3) cooked white rice; (4) coingested low-intensity-cooked yam paste with rice; (5) coingested medium-intensity-cooked yam paste with rice; (6) a preload of low-intensity-cooked yam paste before rice; (7) a preload of medium-intensity-cooked yam paste before rice. Postprandial glycemic responses and satiety assessments were conducted for each food approach. The glycemic characteristics of yam paste were manipulated with the preparatory treatment.Ingesting a preload of 10 g of yam paste before a rice meal resulted in better glycemic responses for 0-60 min in terms of peak glucose value and positive increments under the curve than co-ingesting yam paste with rice, with no adverse effect on satiety, irrespective of the glycemic index of the yam paste.Regarding isocarbohydrates, both low- and medium-glycemic index yam paste preloads curbed the glucose peak value of a rice meal and lowered the glycemic index value of mixed meals in young healthy people.

To compare the glycaemic response of whole grain oat kernels and pearled oats cooked under normal pressure or higher pressure and examine whether replacing half of the rice in a given meal with either of the two oat grains could make a difference in acute glycaemic responses. In a randomised crossover trial, ten healthy subjects consumed two groups of test meals: (1) oat grain-only, including whole grain oats cooked under normal pressure (WONP) and higher pressure (WOHP) as well as their pearled oat counterparts, PONP and POHP; and (2) mixed meals of aforementioned oat grains and cooked rice (OG + R), including WONP + R, WOHP + R, PONP + R and POHP + R. A postprandial blood glucose test, texture profile analysis and in vitro carbohydrate digestion assay were carried out for each test meal. Compared with the rice reference, oat grain-only meals induced lower glucose levels at all time points, lower peak values and smaller glucose excursions at 120 min (P

This study aimed to investigate the impact of fruit preloads on the acute postprandial glycemic response (PGR) and satiety response of a rice meal in healthy female subjects based on iso-carbohydrate (IC) and hyper-carbohydrate (HC) contents, respectively. The IC test meals including (1) rice preload (R + 35R), (2) orange preload (O + 35R), (3) apple preload (A + 35R) and (4) pear preload (P + 35R), contained 50.0 g available carbohydrates (AC) where the preload contributed 15.0 g and rice provided 35.0 g. The HC meals included (1) orange preload (O + 50R), (2) apple preload (A+50R) and (3) pear preload (P + 50R), each containing 65.0 g AC, where the fruits contributed 15.0 g and rice provided 50.0 g. Drinking water 30 min before the rice meal was taken as reference (W + 50R). All the preload treatments, irrespective of IC or HC meals, resulted in remarkable reduction (p &lt, 0.001) in terms of incremental peak glucose (IPG) and the maximum amplitude of glycemic excursion in 180 min (MAGE0–180), also a significant decrease (p &lt, 0.05) in the area of PGR contributed by per gram of AC (AAC), compared with the W + 50R. Apple elicited the lowest PGR among all test meals, as the A + 35R halved the IPG and slashed the incremental area under the curve in 180 min (iAUC0–180) by 45.7%, while the A + 50R reduced the IPG by 29.7%, compared with the W + 50R. All the preload meals and the reference meal showed comparable self-reported satiety in spite of the difference in AC. In conclusion, pre-meal consumption of three fruits effectively curbed post-meal glycemia even in the case of a 30% extra carbohydrate load.

This study investigated the preload effect of the medium and high glycemic index (GI) potato, as well as the combination of partially hydrolyzed guar gum (HG) and potato, when ingested prior to a rice meal, on the iso-carbohydrate basis. In a randomized crossover trial, 17 healthy female subjects consumed (1) rice, (2) co-ingestion of highly cooked potato (HP), and rice (HP + R), (3) co-ingestion of minimally cooked potato (MP) and rice (MP + R), (4) preload HP prior to rice meal (PHP + R), (5) preload MP prior to rice meal (PMP + R), (6) co-ingestion of partially hydrolyzed guar gum (HG), HP and rice (HG + HP + R), (7) preload HG prior to co-ingestion of HP and rice (PHG + HP + R), (8) co-preload of HG and HP prior to rice (PHG + PHP + R), and (9) preload of HP prior to co-ingestion of HG and rice (PHP + HG + R). Postprandial glycemic response (GR) tests and subjective satiety tests were conducted for each test food. Cooked potato as a preload to a rice meal could significantly cut the acute postprandial glycemic excursion by around 1.0 mmol/L, irrespective of the GI of the preload. Co-preload of partial hydrolyzed guar gum and highly cooked potato (PHG + PHP + R) resulted in improved acute GR in terms of peak glucose value and glycemic excursion compared with either HG preload or HP preload. All the meals with preload showed comparable or improved self-reported satiety. Within an equicarbohydrate exchange framework, both high-GI and medium-GI potato preload decreased the postprandial glycemic excursion in young healthy female subjects. The combination of HG and HP as double preload resulted in better GR than both single HG or HP preload did.

This study investigated 2 possible approaches to dietary control of acute postprandial responses to a rice-based meal under equicarbohydrate conditions: (1) a dried apple (DA) preload and (2) co-ingestion of vinegar-soaked DA. We hypothesized that both approaches would counteract hyperglycemia with no negative effect on satiety, possibly explained by an inhibitory effect on digestive enzyme activity and/or the effect of the sugar component of the DA. Fifteen healthy female subjects consumed (1) rice, (2) co-ingestion of DA and rice (DA + R), (3) DA preload and rice (PDA + R), (4) rice with sugar solution (same sugar profile as in DA) preloaded (PSS + R), or (5) co-ingestion of rice with vinegar-soaked DA (VDA + R) in a randomized crossover trial. Acute postprandial glycemic response tests and subjective satiety tests were conducted for each test meal. Compared with rice reference, the PA + R and PSS + R achieved 31.4% and 36.3% reduction of the incremental area under the curve0-120, 24.3% and 27.0% decreases in the average glucose peak, along with 21.6% and 27.0% decreases in glycemic excursion in 240 minutes, whereas the VDA + R resulted 42.4%, 27.0%, and 29.7% reductions in the incremental area under the curve0-120, peak, and glycemic excursion, respectively. The DA-containing meals had no effect or a favorable effect on satiety. The in vitro assay found larger resistant starch and smaller rapid digestible starch fractions in DA + R and VDA + R meals compared to those of the rice reference (P

NASICON-type ceramic electrolyte has been considered as one of the potential candidates for solid state electrolytes with excellent conductivity at room temperature and good stability under atmosphere. In this paper, NASICON-type Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 (LATP) was prepared by a solution method and dispersed in poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to form LATP/PVDF composite electrolyte membranes (CEM) by the method of casting. The effects of LATP filler on the structure, morphology, ionic conductivity, stability of the LATP/PVDF CEM were studied. It was found that the LATP/PVDF CEM had high lithium ion conductivity and excellent electrochemical stability with the electrochemical stability window up to 5.67 V versus Li+/Li. The discharge capacity of lithium iron phosphate cells assembled with LATP/PVDF CEM was 163.5 mAh g−1 and retained over 95.7% of its initial capacity after 50 cycles. The results show that the addition of LATP filler to PVDF matrix increases the amorphous phase of the polymer by acting as a gel center and the concentration of Li+ is increased, which is beneficial to the synergism in the migration of Li+ and enhances the ionic conductivity.

As an indispensable part of the building, the design of air conditioning system has attracted many people’s attention. Smoke manage system is one of the most important parts of air conditioning and ventilation system, which directly relates to people’s safety. In the previous studies, the loop network was seldom used in the research and application of air conditioning design, especially in the mechanical smoke evacuation system. In this paper, the concept of circular arrangement of pipe is put forward, which is used to discharge the smoke. The advantages of circular arrangement of smoke exhaust system are shown by the case analysis. This study can provide the references to the research and design of ringed arrangement in the field of air conditioning and ventilation system in the future.

This study aimed to investigate the possible glycemic effect of apple preload on acute postprandial glycemic responses (GRs) of a following rice meal, comparing with its co-ingestion counterpart and an apple sugar solution preload, based on equal carbohydrates intake. In a randomized crossover trial, 18 healthy female subjects consumed (1) rice, (2) co-ingestion of apple and rice (A+R), (3) apple preload and rice (PA+R), and (4) rice with sugar solution preload (same sugar profile as in apple) (PSS+R). Acute postprandial GR tests and subjective satiety tests were carried out for each test food. Compared with rice reference, the PA+R achieved a 50% reduction of the iAUC0-120, a 51.4% reduction of the average peak value, and a 52.6% reduction of glycemic excursion in 240 min, while the PSS+R showed 29.7% and 31.6% reduction of peak value and glycemic excursion, respectively. No significant differences were found between R and PA+R in any of the satiety characteristics. Compared with rice control, apple preload of 15 g available carbohydrates remarkably lowered the acute postprandial GR without negative effect on satiety. The sugar component may partly contribute to the glycemic suppressing effect of the apple preload.

Degradation behavior of ethylthionocarbamate by activated sludge coupled with interior microelectrolysis (ASCIE) was investigated. Degradation kinetics and removal efficiency of ethylthionocarbamate were also discussed in comparison with traditional activated sludge (AS) and interior microelectrolysis (IE), respectively. The results showed that the degradation rate decreased sharply when most ethylthionocarbamate was removed from the solution of these three different processes, the degradation rate of ethylthionocarbamate was ranked from high to low as ASCIE > IE > AS, and the corresponding maximum degradation rate was 5.705, 4.185, and 1.90 mg/(L d), respectively. The degradation of ethylthionocarbamate under these three different processes can be accurately described by first-order exponential decay kinetics.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) as a new battery technology have received great attention due to the high energy and power density, low cost, high safety and environmental friendliness. However, their practical deployment has been restricted by some serious issues such as corrosion of zinc metal anode in aqueous electrolyte, undesired growth of zinc dendrites, and hydrogen evolution from the water splitting. Therefore, tremendous efforts have been devoted to mitigate these issues and significant progresses have been achieved. In this paper, we review some key recent progresses of aqueous ZIBs, focusing on materials engineering strategies that are able to address the major challenges. Moreover, we provide rational perspectives on the future development of ZIBs.