Covalent modulation of zein surface potential by gallic acid to enhance the formation of electrostatic-driven ternary antioxidant complex coacervates with chitosan.

Despite existing research on the interaction between zein (Z) and chitosan (CS), the formation and mechanisms of ternary electrostatic coacervates incorporating polyphenols remain unclear. Herein, we covalently and non-covalently modified zein with gallic acid (GA). Comparisons revealed that the covalent coupling of Z with GA (forming Z(GA)) reduced zein's surface potential, enabling them to form tightly bound coacervates with cationic polysaccharide chitosan through electrostatic attraction.

Corn Stover-derived nanocellulose and lignin-modified particles: Pickering emulsion stabilizers and potential quercetin sustained-release carriers.

Pickering emulsions (PEs) have wide applications in delivering nutraceuticals. However, the impact of extracting nanocellulose from corn stover on stabilizing PEs and delivering nutraceuticals remains unclear. In this study, four types of nanocellulose, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), cellulose nanofibers (CNF), lignin-containing cellulose nanocrystals (LCNC), and lignin-containing cellulose nanofibers (LCNF) were successfully prepared from corn stover, an agricultural waste.

Pickering emulsions stabilized by ternary complexes involving curcumin-modified zein and polysaccharides with different charge amounts for encapsulating β-carotene.

In this research, zein was modified with curcumin to obtain covalent and non-covalent complexes. They were further covered with polysaccharides (gum arabic or gum karaya) possessing different surface charge amounts to obtain ternary nanoparticles for preparing novel antioxidant Pickering emulsions. The addition of curcumin to the zein-polysaccharide system significantly retarded the UV degradation of the encapsulated β-carotene (maximum retention ∼ 97%) and effectively inhibited the lipid oxidation of the emulsions.

Impact of weakly charged insoluble karaya gum on zein nanoparticle and mechanism for stabilizing Pickering emulsions.

The effect of weakly charged insoluble karaya gum (KG) on zein colloidal nanoparticles (ZKGPs) for stabilizing Pickering emulsions was investigated. Due to weak surface charge, KG could cover the surface of zein particles by hydrogen bonds and weak electrostatic interactions. With the increase in coverage, the zeta potential of ZKGPs changed from positive to negative values close to zero and the average particle size tended to become larger.

Biologically Emulated Flexible Sensors With High Sensitivity and Low Hysteresis: Toward Electronic Skin to a Sense of Touch.

Recently, flexible pressure sensors (FPSs) have attracted intensive attention owing to their ability to mimic and function as electronic skin. Some sensors are exploited with a biological structure dielectric layer for high sensitivity and detection. However, traditional sensors with bionic structures usually suffer from a limited range for high-pressure scenes due to their high sensitivity and high hysteresis in the medium pressure range.

Endorsing Sustainable Enterprises Among Promising Entrepreneurs: A Comparative Study of Factor-Driven Economy and Efficiency-Driven Economy.

Understanding business trails among promising aspirants may contribute to an actual motive for diminishing ecological tracks and escort to developing devotion toward deciding intentions across various entrepreneurial types and tiers solely from the sustainability domains. Therefore, this study endeavors to comprehend and seek to employ the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to inspect the relationship between antecedents on sustainable enterprise intention and sustainable value creation. In this study, we used the convenience sampling method and the quantitative data of 1,070 respondents from Pakistan and China and applied a SmartPLS structural equation model and partial least square path modeling by mediational and multigroup analyses.

How do gender disparities in entrepreneurial aspirations emerge in Pakistan? An approach to mediation and multi-group analysis.

This cross-sectional study sought to identify gender differences in individual behavioral attitudes, personal traits, and entrepreneurial education based on planned behavior theory. The Smart partial least squares (PLS) structural equation model and PLS path modeling were used. A survey design was used to collect data from 309 samples using quantitative measures.

Bionic Nonsmooth Drag Reduction Mathematical Model Construction and Subsoiling Verification.

In this study, a bionic nonsmooth drag-reducing surface design method was proposed; a mathematical model was developed to obtain the relationship between the altitude of the nonsmooth drag-reducing surface bulges and the spacing of two bulges, as well as the speed of movement, based on which two subsoiler shovel tips were designed and verified on field experiments. The mechanism of nonsmooth surface drag reduction in soil was analyzed, inspired by the efficient digging patterns of antlions. The nonsmooth surface morphology of the antlion was acquired by scanning electron microscopy, and a movement model of the nonsmooth surface in soil was developed, deriving that the altitude of the nonsmooth drag-reducing surface bulge is proportional to the square of the distance between two bulges and inversely proportional to the square of the movement speed.

Mental health problems, needs, and service use among people living within and outside Wuhan during the COVID-19 epidemic in China.

Background: Crisis mental health services for the general population are an essential component in combating the COVID-19 epidemic. To facilitate planning of mental health services, empirical data on mental health problems and service utilization of populations affected by the epidemic are urgently needed. This study investigated the prevalence of mental health problems of residents within and outside Wuhan, China, as well as their patterns of mental health service utilization.

Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms among Chinese patients with cataracts treated in tertiary general hospitals.

Background: Previous studies recruited unrepresentative samples of Chinese patients with cataract and reported a wide range of prevalence of depressive symptoms in this patient population (18.0-89.7%).

Altered expression of the CSMD1 gene in the peripheral blood of schizophrenia patients.

Background: Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a heritable, refractory, and devastating psychiatric disorder. Previous studies have shown that the variants of CUB and sushi multiple domains 1 (CSMD1) demonstrate significant genome-wide association with SCZ. However, few studies have been conducted on the effect of antipsychotics on the expression levels of CSMD1.