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While existing reconstruction-based multivariate time series (MTS) anomaly detection methods demonstrate advanced performance on many challenging real-world datasets, they generally assume the data only consists of normal samples when training models. However, real-world MTS data may contain significant noise and even be contaminated by anomalies. As a result, most existing approaches easily capture the pattern of the contaminated data, making identifying anomalies more difficult. Although a few studies have aimed to mitigate the interference of the noise and anomalies by introducing various regularizations, they still employ the objective of fully reconstructing the input data, impeding the model from learning an accurate profile of the MTS's normal pattern. Moreover, it is difficult for existing methods to apply the most appropriate normalization schemes for each dataset in various complex scenarios, particularly for mixed-feature MTS. This paper proposes a filter-augmented auto-encoder with learnable normalization (NormFAAE) for robust MTS anomaly detection. Firstly, NormFAAE designs a deep hybrid normalization module. It is trained with the backbone end-to-end in the current training task to perform the optimal normalization scheme. Meanwhile, it integrates two learnable normalization sub-modules to deal with the mixed-feature MTS effectively. Secondly, NormFAAE proposes a filter-augmented auto-encoder with a dual-phase task. It separates the noise and anomalies from the input data by a deep filter module, which facilitates the model to only reconstruct the normal data, achieving a more robust latent representation of MTS. Experimental results demonstrate that NormFAAE outperforms 17 typical baselines on five real-world industrial datasets from diverse fields. • A multivariate time series anomaly detection method insensitive to contaminated data. • A deep hybrid learnable normalization module initialized with data distribution. • A filter-augmented auto-encoder with dual-phase task and alternative training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Home visits are an important part of home care. With increasing demand and the rapid development of information technology, an increasing number of regions are experimenting with the use of information technology in home visits, hoping to meet the needs of more patients through technological interventions. However, most of the current studies have focused on patient health improvement through home visits, neglecting to consider the actual experience of nurses as service providers in participating in Internet-based programs. Thus, the purpose of this research is to explore what is holding nurses back from participating after the Internet has been added to traditional home visiting programs. Methods: This research was designed with an exploratory-descriptive qualitative analysis method. Semistructured interviews were used to collect information on barriers to nurses' participation in the Internet-based home visiting program. Participants included 16 clinical nurses working in various hospitals in Nanjing, China. The thematic analysis method was used to analyze the information. Results: This research identified three themes and twelve subthemes that hinder clinical nurse engagement in the Internet-based home visiting program. The three themes included multiple barriers to individuals, different service modes, and emerging organizational problems. Conclusions: As a new form of traditional home visiting program in information society, Internet-based home visiting has many shortcomings in the overall program design and service management specifications. For more patients living at home to receive quality care services, it is necessary to take more effective measures to encourage nurses' participation at three levels: nurse demand, service process, and organizational management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Germ rice is a moderately processed products with high germ retention rate (>80%). Electric rice‐cooker and microwave cooking as the most common cooking methods have different effects on starch microstructures, digestibility, rheological behavior, texture, and flavor of germ rice. Microwave‐cooked germ rice contains more short‐range ordered structures and higher crystallinity than electric rice‐cooker cooked germ rice. The starch digestibility of germ rice (i.e., rapidly digestible starch) cooked by microwave under different power and time (50.74%–52.47%) is lower than that of electric rice‐cooker cooked by two modes (60.52%–60.82%). The rheology (modulus and shear viscosity) of germ rice treated by electric rice‐cooker is higher than that treated by microwave. Microwave‐cooked germ rice has lower adhesiveness (164–212 g s) than that cooked in electric rice‐cooker (286–295 g s). Aldehydes are the most abundant volatile components, and play a very important role in germ rice flavor. Microwave cooking can reduce the digestibility of starch and improve the flavor of cooked germ rice. Microwave is expected to be a promising cooking technique for germ rice cooking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Proximal tibia osteotomy with absorbable spacer combined with fibular osteotomy (TPOASI) is an emerging surgical technique for treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA); however, the efficacy of this procedure remains unknown. We hypothesize that TPOASI can achieve similar clinical outcomes to opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy (OW-HTO). The objective of this study is to compare the clinical results between these two procedures. Methods: Patients who underwent TPOASI or OW-HTO from July 2016 to September 2020 were included. The following outcome parameters were determined before and after the surgery: the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), the visual analogue scale of pain, the Intermittent and Persistent Osteoarthritis Pain Scale, femorotibial angle, and post-operative complications. Results: In total, 209 cases were analyzed (102 in TPOASI group; 107 in OW-HTO group) with 3.1 years average follow-up. Both procedures achieved significant improvement in KOOS (62.0 to 24.4 in the TPOASI and 62.8 to 26.2 in the OW-HTO group, p < 0.001) and WOMAC score (68.9 to 24.1 in the TPOASI versus 69.9 to 26.1 in the OW-HTO group, p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in complications or femorotibial angle between the two groups but the only significant difference in the outcome parameters was the WOMAC stiffness score (19.6 in the TPOASI versus 26.5 in the OW-HTO group). Conclusion: TPOASI achieves comparable results to OW-HTO in terms of clinical scores, radiographic results, and complications, but has the advantage of avoiding internal fixation removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multivariate time series (MTS), whose patterns change dynamically, often have complex temporal and dimensional dependence. Most existing reconstruction-based MTS anomaly detection methods only learn the point-wise information while ignoring the overall trend of time series, resulting in their incompetence in extracting high-level semantic information. Although a few contrastive learning-based approaches have been proposed recently to solve this problem, they forcibly increase the difference between the features of normal data, leading to the loss of useful information. This paper proposes an adversarial contrastive autoencoder (ACAE) for MTS anomaly detection. ACAE conducts feature combination and decomposition as the contrastive learning proxy task, which introduces adversarial training to learn the transformation-invariant representation of data, achieving a robust representation of MTS. Firstly, ACAE constructs positive and negative sample pairs through the multi-scale timestamp mask and random sampling. Secondly, the features of the original samples are combined with those of the positive and negative samples to generate the positive and negative composite features. Finally, ACAE trains the encoder and discriminator to decompose the negative composite features cooperatively to decrease the similarity between the features of negative pairs. In contrast, it adversarially decomposes the positive composite features to increase the similarity between the features of positive pairs. Experimental results show that ACAE outperforms 14 state-of-the-art baselines on five real-world datasets from different fields. • Adversarial contrastive autoencoder for multivariate time series anomaly detection. • Novel proxy task for contrastive learning by feature combination and decomposition. • Multi-scale timestamp mask for time series data augmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incorporation of natural extracts of deep eutectic solvent (DES) into polysaccharide represents a promising approach for the development of bioactive edible films. In this study, the effect of whole DES-extracts of tomato processing by-product with lycopene on physical properties and antioxidant properties of chitosan films was firstly studied. Thermal stability (−9.8% for weight loss ratio), UV blocking properties, hydrophilicity (−38.9% for contact angle) of the film were improved. Free radical scavenging rate was increased by about 1.6 times, and the formation rate of oxidation product for olive oil was reduced especially in the first 10 days with the addition of DES-tomato extracts. The decay rate of strawberry treated with DES-tomato extracts decreased by −55.41%, and the loss of VC, polyphenol and catalase activity and malondialdehyde of oxidation product clearly decreased. Chitosan coating with whole DES-tomato extracts improved the storage quality and extended the shelf life of strawberries, was a promising method for the fresh-keeping of fruits and vegetables. chitosan films plasticized with deep eutectic solvents-tomato extract: UV shielding, water vapor permeability and antioxidant properties, and is used in strawberry preservation. [Display omitted] • A promising bioactive chitosan film plasticized with deep eutectic solvents (DES)-tomato extracts were prepared. • The addition of DES-tomato extracts improved ultraviolet shielding and antioxidant activities of chitosan film. • Chitosan film with DES-tomato extracts improved the storage quality and extended the shelf life of strawberries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wide application of carotenoids in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products due to their bioactive and color properties has emphasized a need for improved methods for their extraction. Recently, "green chemistry" has become a significant focus of research to minimize environmental and health impacts, leading to increased demand for safe and sustainable solvents. Several specific green solvents such as edible oils, supercritical CO 2 (SC–CO 2), ionic liquids (ILs), deep eutectic solvents (DES) and natural deep eutectic solvents (NDES) have emerged for carotenoid extraction. Efficient extraction processes have been successfully developed by combining these green solvents with novel extraction techniques (such as microwave-assisted extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, high-pressure processing and homogenization). Limiting factors (high water content of carotenoid-rich samples; the presence of cell wall/membrane and other physical and chemical barriers; low solubility, high crystallinity, difficult separation, and purification of carotenoids) and new ideas (carotenoid Z-isomerization) for carotenoid extractions are also outlined. Edible oils, biocompatible ILs (Bio-ILs) and NDES with little or no toxic effects are promising for carotenoid extraction. Alterations in the physicochemical properties of carotenoids by Z-isomerization are beneficial for their extraction. Toxicological studies about green solvents, especially for hydrophobic NDES, are urgently needed. More studies on green solvents (especially Bio-ILs and NDES) and post-extraction purification of carotenoids from the extracts are needed. Carotenoid extractions using green solvents assisted by Z -isomerization. [Display omitted] • Efficient extraction processes were successfully developed by combining green solvents with novel extraction techniques. • Limiting factors and new ideas (especially carotenoid Z-isomerization) for carotenoid extractions are also outlined. • Edible oils, biocompatible ionic liquids and natural deep eutectic solvents are promising for carotenoid extractions. • More studies on green solvents and post-extraction purification of carotenoids from the extracts are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amplified spontaneous emissions in blue quantum dots (QDs) are still constrained by their high thresholds due to the challenge in engineering alloyed core–shell interface in the QDs with a wide bandgap to suppress Auger recombination. Compared with their red and green counterparts, the larger reactivity difference between the alloyed shell precursors makes it hard to regulate the composition and structure of the shell, and the smaller potential barrier between the core and the alloyed shell in blue QDs renders charge carriers tunneling into surface defects easier. Here, we employ a Lewis soft base ligand, 1‐decanethiol, to balance the mismatched reactivity between Zn and Cd precursors for crafting a thick gradient alloyed shell with gradually increased potential barrier, which can not only restrict the charge carriers tunneling but also smooth the confinement potential. As a result, the resulting blue QDs show a long Auger lifetime of 1.3 ns, and a low threshold of 6.9 µJ cm−2 excited by a femtosecond laser, which is the record value among all reported blue‐emitting nanocrystals and comparable to those of state‐of‐the‐art red and green QDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Effects of 14 HNDES on lycopene degradation and Z-isomerization were studied. • Lycopene in HNDES composed of thymol and menthol (TM) exhibited low degradation. • The addition of AITC and DADS into TM promoted lycopene Z-isomerization. • The addition of capric acid into TM promoted lycopene extraction. Lycopene Z -isomerization and degradation in a series of hydrophobic natural deep eutectic solvents (HNDES) was firstly studied. The highest lycopene retention (about 84.6%) was found in HNDES composed of thymol and menthol (TM), and fatty acid-based HNDES promoted lycopene Z -isomerization (about 70% for total Z -isomers) and degradation. The addition of allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), diallyl disulfide (DADS) and capric acid into TM promoted Z -isomerization of lycopene (80% for total Z -isomers), especially 5 Z -isomer (>30%), while lycopene remaining rate in TM/-capric acid was below 20%. During lycopene extraction from tomato power and watermelon juice by TM, the ratios of Z -isomer significantly (p < 0.05) increased especially with AITC and DADS (up to about 80%), and extraction yields increased even > 100% with capric acid. Lycopene in TM/-capric acid extracts showed low degradation with Z -isomers increasing during storage. TM with capric acid could simultaneously promote lycopene Z -isomerization and extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Maillard reaction occurs during thermal processing of tomato based sauces in the presence of dried pepper. • Accumulation of Amadori compounds in tomato based sauces have no effect on contents of carotenoids and on Z -isomerization of lycopene. • Accumulation of Amadori compounds in tomato based sauces have no effect on contents phenolic compounds and capsaicinoids. • Amadori compounds are bioaccessible in intestinal phase but not stable in digestive chyme. • Bioaccessibility of different Amadori compounds are highly variable depending on amino acid constituents. Amadori compounds (ACs), the first stable products of Maillard reaction, are detected in various products of fruits and vegetables, and show an antioxidant activity which can be related to beneficial effects in human health. In order to optimize the nutritional quality of a multi-ingredient tomato sauce (tomato puree – onion – olive oil – dried pepper), the fate of ACs during processing (drying, heating) and gastrointestinal digestion of a model meal was assessed as well as that of other microconstituents, i.e. carotenoids, phenolic compounds and capsaicinoids. The drying at 50 °C of fresh pepper induced the formation and accumulation of ACs after 6 days. During the heat treatment by microwave of multi-ingredient tomato sauce, Maillard reaction occurs in presence of dried pepper and the content in ACs in the tomato-based sauces increased (+33% to + 53%) depending of quantities of dried pepper added. The bioaccessibility of total ACs was 24–31% in duodenal phase and 18–22% in jejunal phase. Individual ACs have shown variable bioaccessibility, e.g. very high for Fru-Arg (50.8% to 71.3%), and very low for Fru-Met (1.8% to 2.2%). The kinetic monitoring of ACs in digestion medium showed that ACs are not stable (-46% in gastric phase, −49 % in intestinal phase) which indicated their potential degradation in the digestive tract. The presence of ACs in the multi-ingredients tomato sauces had no effect on the content of the other bioactive compounds monitored in the study and even promoted the bioaccessibility of total lycopene (+30%) but decreased the bioaccessibility of total phenolic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Maillard reaction occurs during thermal processing of tomato based sauces in the presence of dried pepper. • Accumulation of Amadori compounds in tomato based sauces have no effect on contents of carotenoids and on Z -isomerization of lycopene. • Accumulation of Amadori compounds in tomato based sauces have no effect on contents phenolic compounds and capsaicinoids. • Amadori compounds are bioaccessible in intestinal phase but not stable in digestive chyme. • Bioaccessibility of different Amadori compounds are highly variable depending on amino acid constituents. Amadori compounds (ACs), the first stable products of Maillard reaction, are detected in various products of fruits and vegetables, and show an antioxidant activity which can be related to beneficial effects in human health. In order to optimize the nutritional quality of a multi-ingredient tomato sauce (tomato puree – onion – olive oil – dried pepper), the fate of ACs during processing (drying, heating) and gastrointestinal digestion of a model meal was assessed as well as that of other microconstituents, i.e. carotenoids, phenolic compounds and capsaicinoids. The drying at 50 °C of fresh pepper induced the formation and accumulation of ACs after 6 days. During the heat treatment by microwave of multi-ingredient tomato sauce, Maillard reaction occurs in presence of dried pepper and the content in ACs in the tomato-based sauces increased (+33% to + 53%) depending of quantities of dried pepper added. The bioaccessibility of total ACs was 24–31% in duodenal phase and 18–22% in jejunal phase. Individual ACs have shown variable bioaccessibility, e.g. very high for Fru-Arg (50.8% to 71.3%), and very low for Fru-Met (1.8% to 2.2%). The kinetic monitoring of ACs in digestion medium showed that ACs are not stable (-46% in gastric phase, −49 % in intestinal phase) which indicated their potential degradation in the digestive tract. The presence of ACs in the multi-ingredients tomato sauces had no effect on the content of the other bioactive compounds monitored in the study and even promoted the bioaccessibility of total lycopene (+30%) but decreased the bioaccessibility of total phenolic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Unblanched onion favored Z -isomerization of lycopene during heating tomato-onion-EVOO purees. • Diallyl disulfide contributed to the enhancing effect of onion on Z -isomerization of lycopene. • Blanching of onion significantly decreased the enhancing effect of onion on Z -isomerization of lycopene. Z -lycopene isomers are more bioavailable than all- E -lycopene, especially 5- Z -lycopene. Based on our observations, the addition of unblanched onion could favor Z -isomerization of lycopene (by more than 94%) during heating tomato-onion-extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) purees at 90 °C for 2 h. The increase in Z -lycopene was correlated linearly with the addition of unblanched onion, with R2 > 0.92, and increased rates of 5- Z -lycopene were 3–4 times higher than for 9- Z -lycopene and 13- Z -lycopene. Diallyl disulfide (DADS), formed by alliinase-catalyzed breakdown of non-volatile precursors in onion, contributed to these increases and correlated linearly (R2 > 0.79, 0–0.50 mg/g puree) with increased Z -lycopene. Increased rates of 5- Z -lycopene were also 3–4 times higher than for 9- Z -lycopene and 13- Z -lycopene. However, blanching of onion, in tomato-onion-EVOO purees, before heating, significantly decreased the effect of onion on Z -isomerization of lycopene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas sensor based on copper (Cu) nanoparticle deposited graphene oxide (GO) composite membrane with two waist-enlarged tapers is proposed. Three segments of the single-mode fibres (SMFs) are sequentially fused to obtain two waist-enlarged bitapers of Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI). When the light of a broadband light source transmits through the first bitaper, some light enters the fiber cladding; the lights of core mode and cladding mode are coupled at the second taper and an MZI is successfully fabricated. The copper/graphene oxide (Cu/GO) composite sensing film is coated on the surface of the second SMF, and the effective refractive index of the coating is changed when the sensitive film adsorbs the target gas. The correlation between the gas concentration and the wavelength shift is achieved and the H2S can be measured effectively. The results show that a uniform Cu/GO film is successfully coated on the surface of the fiber, and when the thickness of the sensitive film is about 1.2 μm, the sensor has a sensitivity of 4.42 pm/ppm and a good linearity and selectivity for H2S in the range of 0–60 ppm, and the limit of detection is 2.79 ppm. The response time and recovery time are approximately 31 and 48 s, respectively. The sensor has the advantages of small volume, low cost, simple structure, and easy manufacture and so on, which is suitable for on-line monitoring of H2S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The oxide films on Q235 low carbon steel as a cathode were quickly prepared by cathodic plasma electrolytic oxidation (CPEO) in 80 vol% glycerol electrolyte within 9 min. The morphology, composition and microhardness of oxide films were analyzed. The corrosion behaviors of bare steel and CPEO films were evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The optical emission spectroscopy (OES) was collected and the electron temperature in plasma discharge envelope was calculated. It was found that the CPEO oxide films contained FeO phase, Fe 2 O 3 phase and some dispersed carbon particles. The plasma discharge envelope contained many active carbon, iron and oxygen species. The electron temperature in the plasma discharge region was over 5000 K and meanwhile the surface temperature of steel is over 1000 °C. The CPEO oxide film on Q235 steel grew linearly with 10.89 μm/min. The CPEO treated Q235 low carbon steel had a good corrosion resistance with lower corrosion current density and higher impedance. Highlights • The CPEO film on Q235 steel grows linearly and oxidation reaction rate reaches 10.89 μm/min. • Electron temperature in discharge region is over 5000 K and surface temperature of steel is over 1000 °C. • Active carbon, iron and oxygen species in plasma envelope enhance rapid growth of oxide film. • CPEO treatment improves corrosion resistance of carbon steel by decreasing corrosion current and increasing impedance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Due to the high cut-off frequency induced by strong magneto-crystalline anisotropy, M-type strontium ferrite has been commercially used in GHz frequency. However, M-type strontium ferrite is unable to meet the performance requirements (strong absorption ability, thin absorbing thickness and broad effective bandwidth) of advanced absorbing materials. In order to overcome the above defects, mesoporous Ag 3 PO 4 nanorods/SrFe 12 O 19 hexagonal nanoflake heterostructure has been designed and prepared in this work. Being evaluated as microwave absorbents, this heterostructure exhibits the superior EM absorbing performances, such as the optimal reflection loss value of −63. 18 GHz at 5.1 mm, effective absorption bandwidth of 6.24 GHz at 2.3 mm and the EM absorption efficiency of 46.45 dB GHz/mm at 2.0 mm. The theoretical simulations are applied to explain the EM loss sources through the adjustment of frequency. This work provides a strategy to design effective microwave absorbers based on the dielectric-magnetic heterostructure from two aspects of theoretical simulation and experimental testing. Highlights • Mesoporous Ag 3 PO 4 nanorods/SrFe 12 O 19 nanoflake heterostructure has been synthesized. • The maximum of f E is 6.24 GHz, covering 10.56–16.8 GHz, at 2.3 mm thickness. • The RL max reaches −63.18 GHz at 4.72 GHz and 5.1 mm. • This heterostructure integrates the merits of magnetic nanoflake and mesoporous dielectric rod. • The theoretical simulation can explain the EM loss sources through the adjustment of frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Pine pollen, a kind of Chinese traditional medicine, is rich in unsaturated fatty acids. During its processing, it is often needed to break the sporoderm in order to increase the availability of some ingredients, which can cause lipid oxidation and the development of rancidity during storage. RESULTS: The primal peroxide value (PV) of ultra‐high‐temperature short‐time sterilization sporoderm‐broken pine pollen (UHT‐PP) was much higher (over 15 times) than raw pine pollen (R‐PP) and 60Co‐irradiation sterilization sporoderm‐broken pine pollen (60Co‐PP). The PV of UHT‐PP first increased and then decreased shortly after; however, PV of R‐PP and 60Co‐PP remained almost unchanged during storage. The volatiles associated with rancidity in UHT‐PP were found to be significantly higher than 60Co‐PP, especially hexanal (nearly 30 times) and hexanoic acid (about 2 times), and a multi‐organoleptic sensor analyzer (electronic nose system) was able to differentiate these three kinds of samples when the output was subjected to discriminant function analysis. During storage (30 days), hexanal first increased and then decreased (at about 5 days), and hexanoic acid continuously increased for UHT‐PP; however, no significant change was noted for R‐PP or 60Co‐PP. UHT‐PP has a greater surface area than 60Co‐PP, although same sporoderm‐broken processes were applied. Antioxidants (flavone, carotenoid and tocopherols, sterol compounds) in 60Co‐PP were significantly (P ≤ 0.05, by Duncan's multiple range test) higher than that in UHT‐PP, although not significantly different for total phenolics. CONCLUSIONS: Rancidity occurs more readily in UHT‐PP than in R‐PP and 60Co‐PP during storage, probably because significant lipid oxidation and antioxidant degradation occurred during the UHT sterilization sporoderm‐broken processing of pine pollen. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The results given in this paper improve some previous work concerning on the study of 2-distance coloring of planar graphs. • The skill of discharging method in this paper is a powerful tool to solve the problem of this kind of coloring. • The discharging rulers are well designed. • Establish some reducible configurations by using clever skills. A proper k -coloring of a graph G is a 2-distance k -coloring of G if each pair of vertices with distance no more than 2 are colored differently. We call G is 2-distance L -colorable if it has a 2-distance coloring π such that π (v) ∈ L (v) , where L = { L (v) ∣ v ∈ V } is a list assignment of G. Similarly, G is called to be 2-distance k -choosable if there is a 2-distance L -coloring of G such that any list assignment L satisfies | L (v) | ≥ k for each v ∈ V (G). The 2-distance list chromatic number of G , denoted by χ 2 l (G) , is the minimum positive integer k such that G is 2-distance k -choosable. In this paper, we prove that every planar graph G with maximum degree Δ has χ 2 l (G) ≤ 18 if Δ ≤ 5 , and χ 2 l (G) ≤ 4 Δ − 3 if Δ ≥ 6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine tools with high dynamic performance are in high demand currently in the manufacturing industry due to their high machining accuracy and efficiency in manufacturing complex parts. Though the S-shaped test piece shows much improvement over the standard cone-frustum test piece even under the non-machining dynamic performance test, however, the S-shaped test piece is still under development and there has been a call for a new test piece better than it. Therefore, the Scone test piece, which combines the geometric and the kinematic features of the S-shaped and the cone-frustum test pieces, has been proposed; this work objectively validates the dynamic performance of the five-axis machine tool based on the trajectory of the Scone test piece. The RTCP trajectory test is used to build the R-test process which involves the simultaneous movement of all five axes, and the results of the S-shaped and the cone-frustum part trajectory test are compared to that of the Scone part; an experiment was conducted on an industrial five-axis machine tool, with a tilting rotary table, to verify the simulation results. According to the results obtained, the Scone test is more sensitive to the dynamic tracking errors of the machine tool than the cone-frustum and the S-shaped tests under the same conditions; hence, the Scone trajectory based on the kinematic test can better reflect the dynamic performance of the five-axis machine tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND During vegetable cooking, one of the most notable and common chemical reactions is the Maillard reaction, which occurs as a result of thermal treatment and dehydration. Amadori compound determination provides a very sensitive indicator for early detection of quality changes caused by the Maillard reaction, as well as to retrospectively assess the heat treatment or storage conditions to which the product has been subjected. In this paper, a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatographic-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometric method was developed for the analysis of eight Amadori compounds, and the initial steps of the Maillard reaction during cooking (steaming, frying and baking) bell pepper, red pepper, yellow onion, purple onion, tomato and carrot were also assessed by quantitative determination of these Amadori compounds. RESULTS These culinary treatments reduced moisture and increased the total content of Amadori compounds, which was not dependent on the type of vegetable or cooking method. Moreover, the effect of steaming on Amadori compound content and water loss was less than that by baking and frying vegetables. Further studies showed that the combination of high temperature and short time may lead to lower formation of Amadori compounds when baking vegetables. CONCLUSION Culinary methods differently affected the extent of initial Maillard reaction when vegetables were made into home-cooked products. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) as plasticizers of chitosan film show great potential for food packaging. This paper introduced some novel antioxidant and antibacterial films based on chitosan and DES consisting of choline chloride (ChCl) and organic acids. The effects of the composition and contents of choline-based DES on structures, mechanical properties, thermal stability, contact angle, optical, antioxidant and antibacterial properties of chitosan films were studied. FTIR analysis showed that choline-based DES did exist in the chitosan film with good polymer matrix compatibility. Most of the films exhibited uniform, flat surfaces and cross sections. The Young's modulus of the films decreased inversely to the level of choline-based DES, and maximal mechanical characteristics were achieved for films plasticized with ChCl and acetylsalicylic acid. The addition of choline-based DES apparently reduced water contact angles, decreased the decomposition temperature and the thermal stability of chitosan films. In terms of antioxidant capacities and ultraviolet (UV) shielding, chitosan films plasticized with choline-based DES containing acetylsalicylic acid and vitamin C had strong UV shielding and antioxidant properties. Chitosan films plasticized with choline-based DES containing acetylsalicylic acid, malonic acid and lactic acid showed excellent antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. In conclusion, the chitosan film with the choline-based DES, especially for ChCl and acetylsalicylic acid showed a good application prospect in food active packaging. Chitosan films plasticized with choline-based deep eutectic solvents: UV shielding, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties. [Display omitted] • Novel chitosan films plasticized with 6 kind of deep eutectic solvents (DES) and 2 different levels addition were studied. • Films plasticized with DES containing acetylsalicylic acid or vitamin C had strong ultraviolet shielding and antioxidant activities. • Films plasticized with DES containing acetylsalicylic/malonic/lactic acid showed excellent antibacterial properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we develop a liquid-based thin film microfluidic tactile sensor of high flexibility, robustness and sensitivity. The microfluidic elastomeric structure comprises a pressure sensitive region and parallel arcs that interface with screen-printed electrodes. The microfluidic sensor is functionalized with a highly conductive metallic liquid, eutectic gallium indium (eGaIn). Microdeformation on the pressure sensor results in fluid displacement which corresponds to a change in electrical resistance. By emulating parallel electrical circuitry in our microchannel design, we reduced the overall electrical resistance of the sensor, therefore enhancing its device sensitivity. Correspondingly, we report a device workable within a range of 4 to 100 kPa and sensitivity of up to 0.05 kPa−1. We further demonstrate its robustness in withstanding ＞2500 repeated loading and unloading cycles. Finally, as a proof of concept, we demonstrate that the sensors may be multiplexed to detect forces at multiple regions of the hand. In particular, our sensors registered unique electronic signatures in object grasping, which could provide better assessment of finger dexterity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problem of agglomeration and stacking between carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene, achieve their uniform distribution and give full play to their good energy storage performance, a reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-CNT macroscopic body nanocomposite with a three-dimensional (3D) network structure was prepared in one step in this paper, which was carried out by a series of efficient bonding reactions between carboxylated CNT and graphene oxide in a hydrothermal environment. After being cut and pressed, the obtained macroscopic body composite could be directly assembled into the electrochemical supercapacitors for electrochemical performance testing. The obtained samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, Raman spectroscopy and N 2 absorption and desorption. The research results show that the obtained RGO-CNT macroscopic body composite has an obvious 3D network structure and shows an excellent electrical conductivity. Its electrochemical discharge specific capacitance can be up to 157.05 F·g−1 in organic electrolyte, which is significantly higher than those of RGO or CNT. Moreover, the composite has a distinguished cycle performance. [Display omitted] • A RGO-CNT macroscopic body nanocomposite is prepared via hydrothermal method without adhesives. • The composite has a 3D network structure with large specific surface area and good electrical conductivity. • The composite has an excellent electrochemical energy storage performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of Amadori compounds poorly absorbing in the UV region is challenging. To cope with this problem, a simple and effective method using ligand-exchange and sweeping capillary electrophoresis was first developed. With this method, Amadori compounds can be detected by UV at 236 nm without derivatization steps and separated based on the stable levels of Amadori compound-Cu complexes. Under optimal conditions with background electrolyte of 50 mmol/L copper sulfate, pH 3.94, and separation voltage 25 kV, baseline separations of the following five Amadori compounds, N-(1-deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl) valine (Fru-Val), N-(1-deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl) leucine (Fru-Leu), N-(1-deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl) alanine (Fru-Ala), N-(1-deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl) methionine (Fru-Met), N-(1-deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl) glutamic acid (Fru-Glu), were achieved within a 20 min run. The method was applied to analyze these Amadori compounds in two tomato products. Fru-Glu could be quantitated sensitively down to 0.706 mg/L in MS powder (a kind of tomato powder), 0.726 mg/L in MS liquid (a kind of concentrated tomato juice), and the limit of quantification for the others ranged from 0.792 to 1.084 mg/L. The most abundant Amadori compound was Fru-Glu (1057.5 mg/100 g) in MS powder; however, Fru-Met was rarely detected in MS liquid. The accuracy of the method was tested by recovery measurement of the spiked samples, which yielded good results (94.2-106.0 %) with relative standard deviation lower than 5 %. Simultaneously, the method was also applied in the analysis of Fru-Glu content during a tomato puree evaporating concentration process. The first significant increase in Fru-Glu content coincided with the increment rate of soluble solids, which indicated that fast evaporation of water could be a critical step for the formation of Amadori compounds. These results show that this method is convenient and reliable for rapid analysis of Amadori compounds in tomato products. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic-dielectric composites attract numerous attentions for good microwave absorption performances based on magnetic-dielectric loss mechanism and tunable electromagnetic parameters. Fe/carbon fibers are prepared through carbonization of Fe doped polyaniline nanotubes, in which Fe nanoparticles are embedded in carbon fibers. The introduction of Fe nanoparticles results in good electromagnetic impedance and proper quarter-wavelength cancellation induced, which ensure that microwave penetrate composites to the great extend and is consumed as much as possible, leading to enhanced microwave absorption performance. The minimal reflection loss of Fe/carbon fibers composites starts being less than −10 dB from 1.7 mm and is up to −44.09 dB at 6.62 GHz and 4.1 mm and the effective bandwidth reaches 6.0 GHz with 2.4 mm. • Fe/carbon fibers composites are synthesized by the carbonization of Fe-doped PANI nanotubes. • The co-doping of S and N atom has no influence on magnetic loss, but improves dielectric loss ability. • The addition of Fe nanoparticles leads to proper impedance match, making more microwave into PANI. • The Fe-CF composites possess RL max of-44.09 dB at 6.62 GHz and f E of 6 GHz at 2.4 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs) with health benefits such as prevention of urinary-tract infections are less common in food. Anthocyanins can directly condense with epicatechins to give rise to A-type anthocyanin-epicatechin dimers linked by C4–C8 and C2– O –C7 bonds, analogues of A-type PACs. Cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-galactoside, and petunidin-3-rutinoside-(p -coumaroyl)-5-glucose are the major anthocyanins of Lonicera caerulea berry, black chokeberry, and Lycium ruthenicum Murray extracts, respectively. We investigated the reaction of these anthocyanins with epicatechin at different pH, with temperature-time combinations, and in aerobic and nonaerobic conditions. Nucleophilic addition of epicatechin to the flavylium form of anthocyanins occurred at pH 1.5–4.0. The A-type colorless dimers cyanidin-3-glucoside-epicatechin, cyanidin-3-galactoside-epicatechin, and petunidin-3-rutinoside-(p -coumaroyl)-5-glucose-epicatechin were observed under optimal conditions (pH 3.0, 90 °C–110 °C, 80–100 min, anaerobic). This indicated that berry extracts, containing only B-type PACs, can synthesize analogues of A-type PACs mainly found in cranberry after thermal treatment. [Display omitted] • Three anthocyanin-epicatechin dimers were identified after thermal treatment. • The dimers were connected by A-type linkage found in A-type PACs. • Optimal pH and anaerobic conditions significantly promoted the formation of A-type dimer production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new packaging material with the function of ethylene removal was successfully prepared. • The functional paper effectively inhibited ethylene synthesis-related enzymes activity and gene expression. • 1-MCP/KMnO 4 -MCM-41/CEO coated paper reduced the damage of ethylene to Agaricus bisporus. Agaricus bisporus produces substantial ethylene during storage and transportation, which accelerates ripening and senescence, thereby shortening the shelf-life. In this study, a novel food packaging material with ethylene removal property was prepared to increase storage time of Agaricus bisporus. 1-Methylcyclopropen and molecular sieves loaded with potassium permanganate were used as ethylene scavengers to coat the fresh-keeping paper. SEM, FT-IR and DSC analyses proved that these functional components were successfully coated on the fresh-keeping paper. The qualities of the mushrooms packed by prepared functional paper were then determined. The results showed that this prepared functional paper could delay the softening, browning and weight loss of mushrooms during storage by inhibiting ethylene synthesis-related enzymes and gene expression in the mushroom fruiting body, and continuous adsorption and removal of the exogenous ethylene. Consequently, the functional paper could reduce the biochemical and physicochemical quality loss of Agaricus bisporus , thus prolonging its shelf-life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the value of information sharing in dual-channel retailing, we construct a supply chain consisting of one manufacturer and one retailer engaged in a Stackelberg game. In contrast to prior research, we study the interplay between each player’s channel and information sharing strategies by examining boundary cases. Furthermore, we study two alternative timings for the manufacturer to set the wholesale price: after information sharing (mode AD) or before information sharing (mode BD). Our results show that the market conditions and timing to set wholesale prices can affect each player’s channel strategy. Under specific circumstances, both the manufacturer and retailer may opt to strategically abandon their channels to maximize profits. Moreover, we find that in mode AD, information sharing consistently benefits the manufacturer and supply chain, while it may negatively impact the retailer. In mode BD, information sharing benefits the manufacturer while may hurt the retailer and supply chain due to boundary cases. Therefore, information sharing agreement can be reached in most cases under modes AD and BD. However, it is noteworthy that with a medium demand variance and low channel substitution rate, information sharing may not be reached under mode BD. Finally, we compare mode AD and BD and discover that in interior equilibrium cases, the manufacturer always favors mode AD while the retailer and supply chain prefer mode BD. However, preferences may alter when considering the boundary cases: in most cases, the supply chain and retailer prefer mode AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To validate the safety and clinical results of single-stage bilateral versus unilateral medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy (HTO). Methods: A propensity-matched cohort study was performed from March 2020 to March 2021 in our medical center. Data were prospectively collected. Including 34 patients who underwent single-stage bilateral medial opening HTO(SSBHTO), and 68 cases in the unilateral group. Propensity-matched ration was 2:1 based on age, sex, and body mass index using R software. Comparisons of the length of hospital stay, operative time, blood loss, postoperative adverse events, 90-day readmission rate, conversion to TKA rate, self-reported VAS and WOMAC scores were made to investigate the safety and clinical results of bilateral HTO. Results: The mean length of hospital stay was 7.36 ± 2.23 days for SSBHTO and 7 days (IQR, 3 days; range, 4 to 23 days) for the unilateral group (P = 0.219). The mean operative time was 144 ± 47 min for bilateral HTO and 105(37.5) mins for a unilateral OWHTO (P < 0.001). The mean blood loss was 150(100) ml for SSBHTO and 100(50) ml for unilateral OWHTO (P < 0.001). There were no significant difference of the adverse events and 90-day readmission rate between two groups. No failed HTO or conversion to knee arthroplasty were observed at the end of follow-up. VAS, pain, stiffness, and functional scores of the WOMAC scale were essentially comparable of two groups one year after surgery (P > 0.05). Conclusions: A single-stage bilateral medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy is advisable for patients with knee osteoarthritis. Patients benefit from avoiding secondary anesthesia, postoperative complications, and substantial cost savings. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an autoimmune disease, up to 73% of patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) have a combination of extrahepatic autoimmune diseases (EHAIDs); however, the causal relationship between PBC and EHAIDs is unclear. The genome-wide association analyses provided 14 GWAS data for PBC and EHAIDs, and bidirectional, two-sample MR analyses were performed to examine the relationship between PBC and EHAIDs. The analysis using MR provides a strong and meaningful estimation of the bidirectional correlation between PBC and 7 EHAIDs: rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic sclerosis, autoimmune hypothyroidism, inflammatory bowel disease and ulcerative colitis of its types. In addition, PBC increases the risk of autoimmune thyroid diseases such as autoimmune hyperthyroidism and Graves' disease, as well as multiple sclerosis and psoriasis. Additionally, PBC is identified as a risk factor for Crohn's disease and Celiac disease. Based on genetic evidence, there may be connections between PBC and specific EHAIDs: not all coexisting EHAIDs induce PBC, and vice versa. This underscores the significance of prioritizing PBC in clinical practice. Additionally, if any liver function abnormalities are observed during treatment or with EHAIDs, it is crucial to consider the possibility of comorbid PBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving the goal of sustainable development of the fruit and vegetables (F&Veg) value chain is heavily dependent on processing at both the global and local levels. The future contribution of F&Veg to human health is widely recognized, but the scientific needs that underpin their production, processing and distribution still need elucidation. A comprehensive exploration of the challenges, future trends and solutions for F&Veg post-harvest and processing to counter F&Veg losses and waste, and to promote F&Veg consumption and sustainable development. These encompass many transformative aspects, often facilitated by integration of numerous tools such as human-machine collaboration or intelligent manufacturing. Different scales need to be addressed, such as i) processing operations themselves, with small-scale local innovative processing, design of alternatives to animal products and precision processing, ii) relations with the consumer with traceability systems, personalization, and food sharing, and iii) insertion in the larger scale of bioeconomy. In the future, the cohesion between processing type, products and consumers should need to be further strengthened to ensure that it meets the more recent demands of the consumer and citizen, such as environmentally friendly and personalized, while the more classical quality traits such as (low) cost, convenience, and taste are preserved and the prerequisites of safety and nutrition are not compromised. This demands a high level of innovation for the entire processing in a short term and it will mean a new balance in F&Veg value chains. The future tasks involve interdisciplinary and cross-border collaboration, and the F&Veg production and processing needs are global, but their application will require different approaches in different regions. • The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of local F&Veg processing solutions. • The work of F&Veg processing requires breaking down barriers across disciplines. • The beyond processing trend may be to integrate the human mind, i.e., human-machine collaboration. • There is no one-size-fits-all approach of the trade-offs between crisis and opportunity. • New perspectives for the future work on F&Veg processing are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three main strategies for designing efficient microwave absorber includes the intrinsic dielectric/magnetic properties, the novel structure and the single atom doping. The Fe-N/C nanocomposites integrate the advantages of above three strategies into one system. In this work, the method for preparing Fe-N/C nanocomposite by calcining the FePc@ZIF-8 precursor under a flowing N 2 gas is described. Fe-N/C nanocomposites, displaying respectable dodecahedron-like morphology, have the merits of strong absorption ability, wide effective absorption bandwidth, thin thickness, and excellent microwave absorption efficiency, which are attributed to the synergistic effect of good electromagnetic loss capacity and proper impedance matching originating from intrinsic dielectric/magnetic properties, the novel structure and the single atoms (Fe and N) doping. Fe-N/C-24 composite delivers an optimal reflection loss of −30.98 dB, an effective absorption bandwidth of 5.04 GHz, the microwave absorption capacity of 87.61 dB GHz the absorption efficiency of 51.53 dB GHz/mm at 1.7 mm. • Fe-N/C nanocomposite derived from FePc@ZIF-8 precursor, showing dodecahedron-like shape. • The good EM loss and proper impedance matching is due to novel structure and the single atoms doping. • Fe-N/C-24 composite delivers RL max of −30.98 dB, f E of 5.04 GHz, R E of 51.53 dB GHz/mm at 1.7 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid advances in wearable electronics and mechno‐sensational human–machine interfaces impose great challenges in developing flexible and deformable tactile sensors with high efficiency, ultra‐sensitivity, environment‐tolerance, and self‐sustainability. Herein, a tactile hydrogel sensor (THS) based on micro‐pyramid‐patterned double‐network (DN) ionic organohydrogels to detect subtle pressure changes by measuring the variations of triboelectric output signal without an external power supply is reported. By the first time of pyramidal‐patterned hydrogel fabrication method and laminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) encapsulation process, the self‐powered THS shows the advantages of remarkable flexibility, good transparency (≈85%), and excellent sensing performance, including extraordinary sensitivity (45.97 mV Pa−1), fast response (≈20 ms), very low limit of detection (50 Pa) as well as good stability (36 000 cycles). Moreover, with the LiBr immersion treatment method, the THS possesses excellent long‐term hyper anti‐freezing and anti‐dehydrating properties, broad environmental tolerance (−20 to 60 °C), and instantaneous peak power density of 20 µW cm−2, providing reliable contact outputs with different materials and detecting very slight human motions. By integrating the signal acquisition/process circuit, the THS with excellent self‐power sensing ability is utilized as a switching button to control electric appliances and robotic hands by simulating human finger gestures, offering its great potentials for wearable and multi‐functional electronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. Costimulatory molecules have been proven to be the foundation of immunotherapy. However, the potential roles of costimulatory molecule genes (CMGs) in HCC remain unclear. Our study is aimed to develop a costimulatory molecule-related gene signature that could evaluate the prognosis of HCC patients. Methods: Based on The Cancer Gene Atlas (TCGA) database, univariate Cox regression analysis was applied in CMGs to identify prognosis-related CMGs. Consensus clustering analysis was performed to stratify HCC patients into different subtypes and compared them in OS. Subsequently, the LASSO Cox regression analysis was performed to construct the CMGs-related prognostic signature and Kaplan–Meier survival curves as well as ROC curve were used to validate the predictive capability. Then we explored the correlations of the risk signature with tumor-infiltrating immune cells, tumor mutation burden (TMB) and response to immunotherapy. The expression levels of prognosis-related CMGs were validated based on qRT-PCR and Human Protein Atlas (HPA) databases. Results: All HCC patients were classified into two clusters based on 11 CMGs with prognosis values and cluster 2 correlated with a poorer prognosis. Next, a prognostic signature of six CMGs was constructed, which was an independent risk factor for HCC patients. Patients with low-risk score were associated with better prognosis. The correlation analysis showed that the risk signature could predict the infiltration of immune cells and immune status of the immune microenvironment in HCC. The qRT-PCR and immunohistochemical results indicated six CMGs with differential expression in HCC tissues and normal tissues. Conclusion: In conclusion, our CMGs-related risk signature could be used as a prediction tool in survival assessment and immunotherapy for HCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black garlic extracts had higher antioxidant and angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory potential than raw garlic extracts. Black garlic extract contained large amounts of Amadori compounds (ACs), especially N -(1-deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl)- l -arginine (Fru-Arg) (1.0–5.0 mg/g), while no ACs were detected in raw garlic extracts. The antioxidant potential of eight individual ACs present in black garlic was characterized in FRAP, ABTS and ORAC assays. ACs had moderate FRAP values, 2–5 times lower than ascorbic acid (AA). The Fe3+ reducing mechanism of ACs probably includes 2, 3-enolization of the carbohydrate of ACs and formation of the enolate complex with Fe3+. Fru-Arg and N -(1-deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl)- l -phenylalanine could effectively scavenge ABTS radical, nearly the same scavenging activities as AA or Trolox. N -(1-deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl)- l -methionine (Fru-Met) followed by N -(1-deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl)- l -histidine had almost the same ORAC power with AA and at low concentrations, Fru-Met even showed higher ORAC value than AA. These results suggest that ACs probably contributed to antioxidant and ACE inhibitory activities of black garlic extract. Image 1 • Black garlic extract possesses higher antioxidant and ACE inhibitory potential than raw garlic extract. • Fru-Arg is the most abundant Amadori compound in black garlic extract. • The antioxidant potential of 8 ACs was characterized in FRAP, ORAC and ABTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel multi-parameter (refractive index, temperature and curvature) sensor based on the splicing-point tapered FBG-SMF-FCF-SMF (FBG, fiber Bragg grating; SMF, single-mode fiber; FCF, four-core fiber) Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is proposed and fabricated. Two waist-enlarged tapers formed at the fusion points between SMFs and FCF play the roles of the beam splitter and coupler, respectively. FBG is used to monitor temperature change and to compensate for temperature shift in the measurements of refractive index and curvature. The results show that the extinction ratio of transmission spectrum can reach at 27.22 dB. The sensitivities of the sensor to the external refractive index and curvature are 116.396 nm/RIU and 15.57 pm/m−1, respectively. The temperature sensitivities of MZI and FBG are respectively 67.31 pm/℃ and 8.73 pm/℃ in the range of 0-80℃. All the three-parameter measurements present good linear relationship. The sensor has the advantages of simple structure, easy process and low cost, which can be used in multi-parameter detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomatoes, the major sources of lycopene in human diet, are often processed into multi-ingredient products that contain vegetable oil and onion. Microwave heating (250 W for 20 min) tomato-based purees in the presence of both onion and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) clearly promoted Z -isomerization of lycopene and increased transfer of lycopene into oil (expressed as partition factor (PF) between tomato-based puree and oil), while only PF increased with either one of both ingredients. The proportion of Z -lycopene and PF increased with the addition of onion (10–50%) and EVOO (1–10%). This increase could be fitted with a linear equation, with R2 over 0.807. Microwave heating time (0–30 min at 250 W) also promoted Z -isomerization of lycopene and PF (R2 over 0.910), and among different microwave heating combinations (power, time), the combinations of high power and short time had greater effects. The PF of total- Z -lycopene was higher than that of all- E -lycopene. The proportion of total- Z -lycopene and 5- Z -lycopene present in the tomato-based purees after the same microwave treatment was positively correlated with the PF of total lycopene, with R2 higher than 0.690 (p = 0.0008), which illustrated that the increased proportion of Z -lycopene with onion and EVOO could contribute to enhanced transfer of lycopene. • More lycopene could transfer from tomato-based puree to oil after microwave treatment. • Lycopene degradation and isomerization was low in puree with either onion or EVOO. • Microwave heating purees with both onion and EVOO promoted lycopene Z -isomerization. • The partition factor of total- Z -lycopene was higher than that of all- E -lycopene. • Z -lycopene proportion was positively correlated with the partition factor of total lycopene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Internal structural modulation of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC). • Hydrogenated soybean phospholipid hindered the NLC polymorphic transition. • Ester bond number of solid lipid affected the crystallization of NLC. In this current study, the internal structure of nanostructured lipid carriers was modulated by phospholipids (lecithin PC, hydrogenated soybean phospholipid HPC) and solid lipids to achieve stable encapsulation of citral. The presence of high melting point HPC could construct α-crystalline type with more lattice defects and effectively inhibit β-ization. The HPC group could maintain the particle size at 155.9–186.9 nm, the polydispersity index (PDI) at 0.182–0.321, the Zeta potential at −57.58 mV to −49.35 mV and the retention rate of citral at 91.33–98.49 % in the acidic environments of 2 mM and 20 mM hydrochloric acid solutions. The recrystallization index (RI) of NLC increased with the number of solid lipid ester bonds (from 3.57 % to 16.58 % in the PC group and from 0.82 % to 12.47 % in the HPC group). The results illustrated that the number of solid lipid ester bonds and the melting point of phospholipids affected crystallinity of the lipid matrix and thus the stability of encapsulated citral. Hydrogenated phospholipid with high melting points was more beneficial in stabilizing citral. The present study improved the acidic stability of citral and provided a new thought for the application of citral in acidic beverages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: A new concept to optimize the passivating agents for the balance of the carrier confinement and transfer in blue quasi-2D perovskites. The moderate tributylphosphine oxide is introduced into the quasi-2D perovskites to simultaneously strengthen the carrier confinement for massive radiative recombination as well as promote efficient carrier transfer in the quasi-2D perovskites. High-efficient and stable blue PeLEDs are achieved with an external quantum efficiency of 11.5% and a very long operational stability of 41.1 min without any shift of the electroluminescence spectra.Extensive investigation of the passivating agents has been performed to suppress the perovskite defects. However, very few attentions have been paid to rationally design the passivating agents for the balance of the carrier confinement and transfer in quasi-2D perovskites, which is essential to achieve high-performance perovskite LEDs (PeLEDs). In this work, tributylphosphine oxide (TBPO) with moderate carbon chain length is demonstrated as a decent passivator for the quasi-2D perovskites by strengthening the carrier confinement for massive radiative recombination within the perovskites, and more importantly providing efficient carrier transfer in the quasi-2D perovskites. Benefiting from these interesting optoelectronic properties of TBPO-incorporated perovskites, we achieve high-efficient blue PeLEDs with an external quantum efficiency up to 11.5% and operational stability as long as 41.1 min without any shift of the electroluminescence spectra. Consequently, this work contributes an effective approach to promote the carrier confinement and transfer for high-performance and stable blue PeLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the research on intelligent packaging is gaining momentum, primarily being driven by consumer preferences to food safety and reducing the resource waste. Freshness indicator is a kind of simple and efficient intelligent packaging technology, which can directly and scientifically indicate the freshness of food without complex operation. Freshness indicator shows great potential in the food supply chain. As an innovative food packaging method, freshness indicator can effectively monitor food freshness in real time without damaging food and packaging. The objective of this review is to provide relevant information on freshness indicators, such as release of food freshness indicators (carbon dioxide volatile salt-nitrogen sulfides, etc.), types (chemical chromogenic formulation, data carrier indicator, natural color formulation), safety assessment methods (toxicological assessment, exposure assessment), barriers and trends. The potential of freshness indicators in the detection of perishable food freshness was emphasized. The applications of some freshness indicator products in food and the research demands of safety were also discussed. • Recent advances in food intelligent packaging with freshness indicator are reviewed. • The existing limitations and trends of freshness indicators are comprehensively discussed. • Safety assessment methods for freshness indicators are briefly summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomimetic electronic skins (e‐skins) are widely used in wearables, smart prosthesis and soft robotics. However, multimodal e‐skins, especially those based on hydrogels, face multiple challenges for practical applications, involving multi‐sensing signal mutual interference, low breathability and stretchability. Here, a breathable and stretchable multimodal e‐skin with a multilayer film microstructure is developed to achieve self‐calibrated sensing of any two of three stimuli: strain, temperature, and humidity, with minimal crosstalk. Hydrogel fibers with different shapes are designed for strain and temperature sensing modules, and the hydrogel film is developed as a humidity sensing module. The multimodal e‐skin exhibits impressive sensing performance, including a low strain detection limit (0.03%), strain linearity (R2 = 0.990), high‐temperature sensitivity (1.77%/°C), and a wide humidity detection range (33–98% RH). Interestingly, due to the directional anisotropy in strain sensitivity of different shaped fibers, the e‐skin realizes self‐calibrated detection of strain and temperature in different directions. By introducing porous elastomer encapsulation membranes, the breathability and wearing comfort of the e‐skin are attained, while the high stretchability (100% strain) is maintained. Furthermore, a personalized human‐machine interaction system is created by integrating the e‐skin with a wireless circuit to realize real‐time and wireless gesture recognition, physiological signals monitoring, and smart prosthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly sensitive and wearable gas sensors are highly demanded on account of their widespread application in health and environmental monitoring. However, the sensing performance of conventional room‐temperature gas sensors are prone to fluctuate or even fail under changing humidity, temperature or putting into water, thus severely limiting their practical applications. Herein, a porous elastomer‐encapsulated hydrogel‐based oxygen sensor is designed with impressive room‐temperature sensing performance under various environmental conditions, including high precision (at ppm level), wide detection range (from 5 ppm to 90% O2), excellent repeatability, selectivity, long‐term stability, breathability, and waterproofing. The hydrophobic elastomer film prevents the water molecules from intruding and evaporating to a great extent, making the device resistant to humidity interference and applicable to underwater operation. Benefiting from the intrinsic stretchability of both hydrogel and elastomer films and their strong interfacial bonding, the final device can be stretched up to 100% strain. By integrating the sensor with a wireless circuit module, a wearable/portable oxygen sensing system for real‐time monitoring of health and environment is demonstrated, realizing timely and convenient assessment of respiratory rate, tissue oxygen, ambient oxygen, and dissolved oxygen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) have great potential for optoelectronic applications such as light emitting diodes and lasers due to their superior optical properties. The core-shell CdSe/CdS QDs can suppress Auger recombination effectively and enhance the emission efficiency. However, it will lead to poor photostability due to the small conduction band offset between CdSe core and CdS shell. For effective electron confinement, a thin shell of wide band gap ZnS semiconductor was grown on the CdSe/CdS core-shell QDs. The influence of ZnS shell has been investigated by comprehensive spectroscopic characterization. It is demonstrated that the CdSe/CdS/ZnS QDs show high photostable and temperature-insensitive emission. Moreover, room temperature lasing based on CdSe/CdS/ZnS QDs coated on a fiber was achieved. The lasing action can maintain under higher temperature up to 312.6 K. The experimental result is important for high performance optoelectronic device application based on colloidal QDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding efficient, environmental friendly extraction and purification methods of natural active substances has always been a research hotspot in the field of food. In this study, the yield (36.76 ± 2.17 mg/g) of Dendrobium officinale flavonoids (DOFs) was significantly increased by ultrasonic-assisted deep eutectic solvent (DES) method. DES was removed and recovered from the Dendrobium officinale extracts by bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BME). At 70 V, the removal ratios of choline chloride (ChCl) and lactic acid (Lac) could reach 92 % and 90 %, and DOFs were further enriched. Then, Dendrobium officinale polysaccharides (DOPs) was effectively separated from DOFs component using ultrafiltration (UF). After BME-UF treatment, the purification efficiency of DOFs by macroporous resin (MR) was increased by 2.1 times. UPLC-Triple-TOF/MS results further confirmed that, the content of DOFs was increased by 59 times after purification. This study suggested that BME-UF was a valid method for purification of flavonoids, which also promoted green extraction. [Display omitted] • Ultrasound played prominent role in the deep eutectic solvent extraction method. • Electrodialysis achieved rapidly recovery of choline chloride and lactic acid. • Ultrafiltration effectively separated flavonoids from polysaccharides. • After membrane treatments, the AB-8 purification efficiency for flavonoids increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the massive industrial data has effectively improved the performance of the data-driven deep learning Remaining Useful Life (RUL) prediction method. However, there are still problems of assigning fixed weights to features and only coarse-grained consideration at the sequence level. This paper proposes a Transformer-based end-to-end feature-level mask self-supervised learning method for RUL prediction. First, by proposing a fine-grained feature-level mask self-supervised learning method, the data at different time points under all features in a time window is sent to two parallel learning streams with and without random masks. The model can learn more fine-grained degradation information by comparing the information extracted by the two parallel streams. Instead of assigning fixed weights to different features, the abstract information extracted through the above process is invariable correlations between features, which has a good generalization to various situations under different working conditions. Then, the extracted information is encoded and decoded again using an asymmetric structure, and a fully connected network is used to build a mapping between the extracted information and the RUL. We conduct experiments on the public C-MAPSS datasets and show that the proposed method outperforms the other methods, and its advantages are more obvious in complex multi-working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In addition to specifically inducing tumor cell apoptosis, recombinant tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) has also been reported to influence the cancer immune microenvironment; however, its underlying effects and mechanisms remain unclear. Investigating the immunomodulatory effects and mechanisms of recombinant TRAIL in the tumor microenvironment (TME) may provide an important perspective and facilitate the exploration of novel TRAIL strategies for tumor therapy. Methods: Immunocompetent mice with different tumors were treated with three doses of recombinant TRAIL, and then the tumors were collected for immunological detection and mechanistic investigation. Methodological approaches include flow cytometry analysis and single-cell sequencing. Results: In an immunocompetent mouse model, recombinant soluble mouse TRAIL (smTRAIL) had dose-related immunomodulatory effects. The optimal dose of smTRAIL (2 mg/kg) activated innate immune cells and CD8+ T cells, whereas higher doses of smTRAIL (8 mg/kg) promoted the formation of a tumor-promoting immune microenvironment to counteract the apoptotic effects on tumor cells. The higher doses of smTRAIL treatment promoted M2-like macrophage recruitment and polarization and increased the production of protumor inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-10, which deepened the suppression of natural killer (NK) cells and CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment. By constructing an HU-HSC-NPG.GM3 humanized immune system mouse model, we further verified the immunomodulatory effects induced by recombinant soluble human TRAIL (shTRAIL) and found that combinational administration of shTRAIL and trabectedin, a macrophage-targeting drug, could remodel the tumor immune microenvironment, further enhance antitumor immunity, and strikingly improve antitumor effects. Conclusion: Our results highlight the immunomodulatory role of recombinant TRAIL and suggest promising therapeutic strategies for clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to identify independent risk factors for immediate postoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients with open wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO) and to develop and validate a predictive nomogram. Methods: Patients who underwent OWHTO for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) from June 2017 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Baseline data and laboratory test results were collected, and the occurrence of DVT in the immediate postoperative period was regarded as the study outcome event. Multivariable logistic regression identified independent risk factors associated with a higher incidence of immediate postoperative DVT. The predictive nomogram was constructed based on the analysis results. The stability of the model was further assessed in this study using patients from January to September 2022 as an external validation set. Results: 741 patients were enrolled in the study, of which 547 were used in the training cohort and the other 194 for the validation cohort. Multivariate analysis revealed a higher Kellgren–Lawrence (K–L) grade (III vs. I–II OR 3.09, 95% CI 0.93–10.23. IV vs. I–II OR 5.23, 95% CI 1.27–21.48.), platelet to hemoglobin ratio (PHR) > 2.25 (OR 6.10, 95% CI 2.43–15.33), Low levels of albumin (ALB) (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.70–0.90), LDL-C > 3.40 (OR 3.06, 95% CI 1.22–7.65), d-dimer > 1.26 (OR 2.83, 95% CI 1.16–6.87) and BMI ≥ 28 (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.02–6.50) were the independent risk factors of immediate postoperative DVT. The concordance index (C-index) and Brier score of the nomogram were 0.832 and 0.036 in the training set, and the corrected values after internal validation were 0.795 and 0.038, respectively. The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the calibration curve, the Hosmer–Lemeshow test, and the decision curve analysis (DCA) performed well in both the training and validation cohorts. Conclusion: This study developed a personalized predictive nomogram with six predictors, which allows surgeons to stratify risk and recommended immediate ultrasound scans for patients with any of these factors. Level of evidence: III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel strain and temperature sensor based on the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) cascaded two-tapered four-core fiber (FCF) Mach–Zehnder interference (MZI) is proposed and fabricated. The two optical fiber tapers, acting respectively as a beam splitter and a coupler, are able to produce interference phenomena, so the high interference extinction ratio (above 20 dB) can be obtained. The attenuation peak at 1562 nm and the FBG center wavelength at 1550 nm in the transmission spectra are, respectively, selected to represent MZI and FBG as the monitoring wavelengths. The results indicate that the sensitivities of MZI to strain and temperature are −1.83 pm μϵ−1 and 46.93 pm C−1, respectively, and those of FBG to strain and temperature are 1.26 pm μϵ−1 and 10.58 pm C−1, respectively. Both the FBG and MZI exhibit insensitivity to the refractive index. The cascaded sensor has good linearity and is applied to measure the strain and temperature simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanism of different exposed crystal surfaces on dielectric polarization characteristics is of great significance to understand the interface impedance matching. In this work, the controllable preparation of titanium carbide (TiC) with different exposed crystal surface was realized by adjusting the reaction atmosphere, which is based on the growth rate and surface energy of different exposed facets. TiC(100)/graphite and TiC(111)/graphite interfaces are found in the truncated octahedral TiC/C nancomposites, while only TiC(100)/graphite interface exits in the cubic nanocomposites. Experimental conclusion companied by theoretical calculations identify that dielectric loss capacity is improved by the strong localization of polarized charge at TiC(111)/graphite interface. Due to the enhanced permittivity, dielectric loss ability and absorption coefficient, the truncated octahedral TiC@C nanocomposites exhibit the reflection loss of −45.1 dB and the effective frequency bandwidth of 5.3 GHz at 2.1 mm. The proposed interfacial modulation strategy can provide a reference for designing high efficiency microwave absorber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corn starch (CS)/chitosan (CH) composite film attained higher stability by incorporating rose anthocyanins (RACNs)-encapsulated potato amylopectin nanoparticles (APNPs) as pH indicator applied for shrimp freshness detection. Apart from the physical-chemical characterization of nanoparticles, the effects of different rose anthocyanins-encapsulated by potato amylopectin nanoparticles (ANPs) contents on the mechanical strength, barrier properties and indicative performance of the films were explored. The results illustrated that the mean size of the ANPs was 192.7 nm and their zeta potential was maintained at −6.70 mV, which had the encapsulation efficiency of up to 89.7% and presented as dendritic. At the same time, the addition of ANPs formed new hydrogen bonds with matrix and a tighter network structure, improving film mechanical properties and its barrier to water vapor and light. The pH-responsive films also exhibited sensitivity to ammonia of 28.67% in 30 min and reversible pH-sensing in five alternating CH 3 COOH–NH 3 exposure cycles. During 14-day storage, CS/CH/ANPs films showed higher stability than those with free RACNs at both 4 °C and 25 °C, whose color stability appeared positively correlated with ANPs. Meanwhile, pH-responsive films with ANPs exhibited obvious color changes from pink-colorless-yellow at 4 °C to reflect the deterioration of shrimp, foreshadowing their excellent potential in smart packaging for seafood freshness monitoring. • Rose anthocyanins were encapsulated by potato amylopectin nanoparticles. • Mixed ANPs with the films displayed excellent color stability. • Fabricated indicator films exhibited improved hydrophobicity and tensile strength. • The pH-responsive films can be applied for monitoring of shrimp freshness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]