Effects of Essential Oil Blends Supplementation on Growth Performance, Meat Physiochemical Parameters, Intestinal Health and Lipid Metabolism of Weaned Bamei Piglets.

The benefits of plant essential oils (EO) on the health of animals have been frequently reported, but their alteration of lipid metabolism in obese pigs has yet to be explored. This study aimed to assess the impact of EO blends (oregano, cinnamon and lemon oils) on growth performance, meat physicochemical parameters, intestinal health and lipid metabolism in the small intestine of weaned Bamei (a kind of obese-type pig) piglets. One hundred and forty-four male 60-day-old weaned Bamei piglets were randomly assigned to three groups of six replicates each: CON (basal diet), T1 (basal diet + 250 mg/kg EO), and T2 (basal diet + 500 mg/kg EO) over 28 days.

A new DNA aptamer which binds to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and reduces pro-inflammatory response.

COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 spread rapidly around the world, endangering the health of people globally. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein initiates entry into target cells by binding to human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). In this study, we developed DNA aptamers that specifically bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, thereby inhibiting its binding to ACE2.

Development of TiO-CaCO Based Composites as an Affordable Building Material for the Photocatalytic Abatement of Hazardous NO from the Environment.

This study explores the depollution activity of a photocatalytic cementitious composite comprising various compositions of n-TiO and CaCO. The photocatalytic activity of the CaCO-TiO composite material is assessed for the aqueous photodegradation efficiency of MB dye solution and NO under UV light exposure. The catalyst CaCO-TiO exhibits the importance of an optimal balance between CaCO and n-TiO for the highest NO removal of 60% and MB dye removal of 74.

Determination of Luteolin 7-Glucuronide in (L.) Britt. Leaf Extracts from Different Regions of China and Republic of Korea and Its Cholesterol-Lowering Effect.

Lowering blood cholesterol levels is crucial for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. To develop (L.) Britt.

Facile and Simple Post Treatment Ball Milling Strategy for the Production of Low-Cost TiO Composites with Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance and Applicability to Construction Materials.

A facile and cost-effective approach assisted by ball milling (BM) of commercial titanium dioxide (TiO), has been utilized to develop cheaper and efficient construction materials. At least three of the commercial and cheaper TiO samples (BA01-01, BA01-01+ and R996, designated as A1, A4 and R1, respectively) were selected and subjected to BM treatment to enhance their photocatalytic efficiencies, if possible. It was noted, that the samples A1, A4 and R1 were typical composites of TiO and calcium carbonate (CaCO) and contained varying proportions of anatase, and rutile phases of TiO and CaCO.

A Study on Verification of Equivalence and Effectiveness of Non-Pharmacologic Dementia Prevention and Early Detection Contents : Non-Randomly Equivalent Design.

Objective: The aim of this study was to verify the equivalence and effectiveness of the tablet-administered Korean Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (K-RBANS) for the prevention and early detection of dementia.

Methods: Data from 88 psychiatry and neurology patient samples were examined to evaluate the equivalence between tablet and paper administrations of the K-RBANS using a non-randomly equivalent group design. We calculated the prediction scores of the tablet-administered K-RBANS based on demographics and covariate-test scores for focal tests using norm samples and tested format effects.

Effect of Peat Intervention on Pain and Gait in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Prospective, Double-Blind, Randomized, Controlled Study.

Methods: Knee osteoarthritis patients with Visual Analog Scale (VAS) of 3 or more and Kellgren-Lawrence osteoarthritis grades 1 to 3 were included. Patients with history of intraarticular injection treatment were excluded. Forty-one participants were randomly allocated to the peat intervention group ( = 22) or the hot-pack-only control group ( = 19).

Influence of α-Calcium Sulfate Hemihydrate on Setting, Compressive Strength, and Shrinkage Strain of Cement Mortar.

This study focused on the quick initial setting time and the expansion strain that occurs during the early aging of α-calcium sulfate hemihydrate (αHH) and examined the setting, compressive strength, and shrinkage strain of αHH-replaced cement mortar. The results show that the initial setting time significantly decreased with an increase in the αHH replacement ratio. Drastic occurrence of ettringite was observed early in the aging of cement mortar when αHH was substituted into the cement; however, the ettringite was not converted to monosulfate with increasing age and thus was not favorable for the development of the compressive strength.

Vertically-aligned sandwich nanowires enhance the photoelectrochemical reduction of hydrogen peroxide: hierarchical formation on carbon nanotubes of cadmium sulfide quantum dots and Prussian blue nanocoatings.

We describe a vertically-aligned array of sandwiched nanowires comprising Prussian blue (PB) nanocoating-carbon nanotube (CNT) core-shell structures with CdS particles positioning at the core/shell interface, viz. PB/CdS/CNT. The PB/CdS/CNT electrode thus constructed are noticeable in synchronically harvesting photon-, ionic-, and chemical-energies, respectively, from visible light radiation, K(+) uptaking and releasing, and the reduction of H2O2.

Tantalum coating on TiO2 nanotubes induces superior rate of matrix mineralization and osteofunctionality in human osteoblasts.

Nanostructured surface geometries have been the focus of a multitude of recent biomaterial research, and exciting findings have been published. However, only a few publications have directly compared nanostructures of various surface chemistries. The work herein directly compares the response of human osteoblast cells to surfaces of identical nanotube geometries with two well-known orthopedic biomaterials: titanium oxide (TiO2) and tantalum (Ta).

Heterojunction nanowires having high activity and stability for the reduction of oxygen: formation by self-assembly of iron phthalocyanine with single walled carbon nanotubes (FePc/SWNTs).

A self-assembly approach to preparing iron phthalocyanine/single-walled carbon nanotube (FePc/SWNT) heterojunction nanowires as a new oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalyst has been developed by virtue of water-adjusted dispersing in 1-cyclohexyl-pyrrolidone (CHP) of the two components. The FePc/SWNT nanowires have a higher Fermi level compared to pure FePc (d-band center, DFT=-0.69 eV versus -0.

Vertically-aligned Prussian blue/carbon nanotube nanocomposites on a carbon microfiber as a biosensing scaffold for ultrasensitively detecting glucose.

We describe our assembly and the analytical performance of a glucose biosensor consisting of an array of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that perpendicularly fall on a 7-μm-diameter carbon fiber and are modified by a "dual" enzymatic system-viz. glucose oxidase (GOx) and Prussian blue (PB, an artificial peroxidase). We chose to use the PB-catalyzed reduction reaction of hydrogen peroxide, an end-product of the GOx-catalyzed oxidation of glucose, to "relay" electrons from GOx to the substrate electrode.

Development of new reference materials for the determination of cadmium, chromium, mercury and lead in polycarbonate.

Reference materials for quantitative determination of Cd, Cr, Hg and Pb in polycarbonate were developed. Reference materials with two concentration level of elements were prepared by adding appropriate amounts of chemicals to a blank polycarbonate base material. It was shown that ten bottles with triplicate analysis are enough to demonstrate the homogeneity of these candidate reference materials.

Relationship between the transference of a drug from a transdermal patch and the physicochemical properties.

The transferred percentages of 13 drugs to rat skin from transdermal patches were studied to reveal the relationship to their physicochemical properties. The drugs to be tested had melting points of 13.5-234 degrees C, lipophilic indices of 0.