Enhancing fruit preservation with sodium alginate films incorporating propolis extract and graphene oxide.

In this work, sodium alginate (SA) composite films containing propolis extract (PRO) and graphene oxide (GO) were developed. Subsequently, the effects of PRO and GO on different properties of SA composite films were studied, and the films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. The PRO release properties and fruit preservation performance of the developed composite films were also investigated.

Factor XII and prekallikrein promote microvascular inflammation and psoriasis in mice.

Background And Purpose: Psoriasis is an autoimmune inflammatory skin disease, featuring microvascular abnormalities and elevated levels of bradykinin. Contact activation of Factor XII can initiate the plasma kallikrein-kinin cascade, producing inflammation and angioedema. The role of Factor XII in psoriasis is unknown.

Integrated toxicity of secondary, tertiary, wetland effluents on human stem cells triggered by ERα and PPARγ agonists.

Residual pollutants in discharged and reused water pose both direct and indirect human exposure. However, health effects caused by whole effluent remain largely unknown due to the lack of human relevant model for toxicity test. Effluents from four secondary wastewater treatment plants (SWTPs), a tertiary wastewater treatment plant (TWTP) and a constructed wetland (CW) were evaluated for the integrated toxicity of the organic extractions.

Visit-to-visit HbA1c variability, dementia, and hippocampal atrophy among adults without diabetes.

Objectives: Adults without diabetes are not completely healthy; they are probably heterogeneous with several potential health problems. The management of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is crucial among patients with diabetes; but whether similar management strategy is needed for adults without diabetes is unclear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the associations of visit-to-visit HbA1c variability with incident dementia and hippocampal volume among middle-aged and older adults without diabetes, providing potential insights into this question.

Inhibitory effects of ultrasonic and rosmarinic acid on lipid oxidation and lipoxygenase in large yellow croaker during cold storage.

Lipid oxidation will lead to the deterioration of flavor, color and texture of aquatic products with high fatty acid content. The mechanism of ultrasound (US) combined with rosmarinic acid (RA) on lipid oxidation and endogenous enzyme activities of large yellow croaker during cold-storage (4 ℃) was investigated. The result showed that the US and RA have synergistic effects in delaying lipid oxidation and inhibiting endogenous lipase and lipoxygenase (LOX) activities related to oxidation.

Low Dose of Deoxynivalenol Aggravates Intestinal Inflammation and Barrier Dysfunction Induced by Enterotoxigenic Infection through Activating Macroautophagy/NLRP3 Inflammasomes.

The toxicity of deoxynivalenol (DON) in healthy humans and animals has been extensively studied. However, whether the natural-low-dose DON is scatheless under unhealthy conditions, especially intestinal injury, is unknown. Infection of enterotoxigenic (ETEC) is a classical intestinal injury model.

Recent developments in mesoporous polydopamine-derived nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics.

Polydopamine (PDA), which is derived from marine mussels, has excellent potential in early diagnosis of diseases and targeted drug delivery owing to its good biocompatibility, biodegradability, and photothermal conversion. However, when used as a solid nanoparticle, the application of traditional PDA is restricted because of the low drug-loading and encapsulation efficiencies of hydrophobic drugs. Nevertheless, the emergence of mesoporous materials broaden our horizon.

Aminode: Identification of Evolutionary Constraints in the Human Proteome.

Evolutionarily constrained regions (ECRs) are a hallmark for sites of critical importance for a protein's structure or function. ECRs can be inferred by comparing the amino acid sequences from multiple protein homologs in the context of the evolutionary relationships that link the analyzed proteins. The compilation and analysis of the datasets required to infer ECRs, however, are time consuming and require skills in coding and bioinformatics, which can limit the use of ECR analysis in the biomedical community.

Effect of sulfate ions on growth and pollutants removal of self-flocculating microalga Chlorococcum sp. GD in synthetic municipal wastewater.

Sulfate is a primary sulfur source and can be available in wastewaters. Nevertheless, effect of sulfate ions on growth and pollutants removal of microalgae seems to be less investigated. At the present study, self-flocculating microalga Chlorococcum sp.

A comparative study on flocculating ability and growth potential of two microalgae in simulated secondary effluent.

The flocculating ability was an important property to microalgal harvesting, especially in secondary effluent. In this study, the flocculating ability of two microalgae, Chlorococcum sp. GD and Parachlorella kessleri TY, was evaluated after 10d of cultivation in secondary effluent.

Development of adaptive pneumatic tourniquet systems based on minimal inflation pressure for upper limb surgeries.

Background: Pneumatic tourniquets are medical devices that occlude blood flow to distal part of extremities and are commonly used in upper limb surgeries to provide a dry, clean and bloodless field. To decrease pressure-related injuries and potential risk of complications subjected to the high inflation pressure of pneumatic tourniquet, minimal inflation pressures are recommended.

Methods: A new occlusion pressure mathematical model for the upper limb was established based on the correlation analysis between several possible influencing parameters and the minimal pneumatic tourniquet pressure at which the peripheral pulse disappeared was recorded using a digital plethysmograph.

[Development of an automatic pneumatic tourniquet system that determines pressures in synchrony with systolic blood pressure].

The correlation coefficients between arterial occlusion pressure and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, limb circumference, body mass etc were obtained through healthy volunteer experiments, in which tourniquet were applied on upper/lower extremities. The prediction equations were derived from the data of experiments by multiple regression analysis. Based on the microprocessor C8051F340, a new pneumatic tourniquet system that can determine tourniquet pressure in synchrony with systolic blood pressure was developed and verified the function and stability of designed system.

[Development of an adaptive pneumatic tourniquet].

A new adaptive pneumatic tourniquet was developed for limb operation and first-aid. The crucial hardware circuits of the adaptive pneumatic tourniquet were designed based on the microprocessor C8051F340 and blood pressure module CSN602, software was programmed and an experiment was carried out for verifying the system. Results showed that the prototype could measure accurately systolic blood pressure, heart rate and other relative parameters and the designed device could adjust tourniquet cuff's pressure through inflation and deflation according to systolic blood pressure and limb circumference.

Evaluation of emergency tourniquets for prehospital use in China.

Objective: Massive hemorrhage is life-threatening during armed conflicts. Tourniquets are important medical devices used to reduce severe bleeding in trauma. The aim of this study was to empirically evaluate the current tourniquets used in China and provide information to emergency nurses in selecting the appropriate tourniquet.

Morphological evolution and ordered quantum structure formation in heteroepitaxial core--shell nanowires.

We have performed three-dimensional dynamic simulations to study strain-driven morphological evolution and the formation of quantum structures on heteroepitaxial core--shell nanowire surfaces. Our simulations show that depending on geometric and material parameters, such as the radius of the wire, the thickness of the shell, and the mismatch strain, various surface morphologies including smooth core--shell nanowire surfaces, nanoring arrays, nanowire arrays, and ordered quantum dot arrays can be obtained by controlling initial surface configurations through prepatterning. It is also shown that these quantum structures may be trapped in a metastable state and may undergo a series of metastable state transitions during subsequent dynamic evolution.