Pyro-phototronic Effect Enhanced Self-Powered Photoresponse in Lead-Free Hybrid Perovskite.

Pyro-phototronic effect (PPE) can significantly boost the performance of hybrid perovskite (HPs) photodetectors due to the effective modulation of photogenerated charge carrier separations, transportation, and extraction. However, there are few reports on the application of PPE in lead-free HPs. Herein, a polar lead-free HP (1,3-BMACH)BiBr5 [1,3-BMACH = 1,3-bis(aminomethyl)cyclohexane] is synthesized and realized broadband self-powered photoresponse from X-rays to near-infrared (NIR) through the PPE. Particularly, this light-induced PPE in lead-free HPs breaks the limitation of the optical band gap, making them suitable for broadband self-powered photodetection. Under 405 nm illumination, compared with a purely photovoltaic system, Iphoto+pyro is boosted by 3100%, and R and D* are both enhanced by 260% after coupled PPE. It is particularly interesting that an obvious X-ray-induced PPE phenomenon is also observed, which endows (1,3-BMACH)BiBr5 with a high sensitivity of 154 µC Gy-1 cm-2 and a low detection limit of 307 nGy s-1 under the self-powered mode. The implementation of light-induced PPE from X-rays to NIR in lead-free HPs provides a new approach for constructing environmentally friendly, broadband, and self-powered optoelectronic devices in the future.

Wide pH, Adaptable High Internal Phase Pickering Emulsion Stabilized by a Crude Polysaccharide from Thesium chinense Turcz.

The ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions of Thesium chinense Turcz. crude polysaccharide (TTP) were optimized, and a TTP sample with a yield of 11.9% was obtained. TTP demonstrated the ability to stabilize high-internal-phase oil-in-water emulsions with an oil phase volume reaching up to 80%. Additionally, the emulsions stabilized by TTP were examined across different pH levels, ionic strengths, and temperatures. The results indicated that the emulsions stabilized by TTP exhibited stability over a wide pH range of 1-11. The emulsion remained stable under ionic strengths of 0-500 mM and temperatures of 4-55 °C. The microstructure of the emulsions was observed using confocal laser scanning microscopy, and the stabilization mechanism of the emulsion was hypothesized. Soluble polysaccharides formed a network structure in the continuous phase, and the insoluble polysaccharides dispersed in the continuous phase, acting as a bridge structure, which worked together to prevent oil droplet aggregation. This research was significant for developing a new food-grade emulsifier with a wide pH range of applicability.

Intermittent mechanical loading on mouse tibia accelerates longitudinal bone growth by inducing PTHrP expression in the female tibial growth plate.

It is not clear as to whether weight bearing and ambulation may affect bone growth. Our goal was to study the role of mechanical loading (one of the components of ambulation) on endochondral ossification and longitudinal bone growth. Thus, we applied cyclical, biologically relevant strains for a prolonged time period (4 weeks) to one tibia of juvenile mice, while using the contralateral one as an internal control. By the end of the 4-week loading period, the mean tibial growth of the loaded tibiae was significantly greater than that of the unloaded tibiae. The mean height and the mean area of the loaded tibial growth plates were greater than those of the unloaded tibiae. In addition, in female mice we found a greater expression of PTHrP in the loaded tibial growth plates than in the unloaded ones. Lastly, microCT analysis revealed no difference between loaded and unloaded tibiae with respect to the fraction of bone volume relative to the total volume of the region of interest or the tibial trabecular bone volume. Thus, our findings suggest that intermittent compressive forces applied on tibiae at mild-moderate strain magnitude induce a significant and persistent longitudinal bone growth. PTHrP expressed in the growth plate appears to be one growth factor responsible for stimulating endochondral ossification and bone growth in female mice.

Exploiting the Cationic Size Effect to Improve the Curie Temperature of Hybrid Perovskites Photoferroelectric Semiconductors.

Ferroelectric materials with Curie temperature (Tc) below room temperature severely limit their practical applications. Although research on hybrid perovskite photoferroelectrics is ongoing, effective regulation of Tc still poses significant challenges. Herein, we utilized the cationic size effect to successfully regulate the Tc of hybrid perovskite photoferroelectric semiconductors. As the perovskitizer was replaced by a smaller-sized MA+ (methylammonium) with a larger-sized EA+ (ethylammonium), not only was the ferroelectricity of the hybrid perovskite well maintained but the Tc of (PA)2(MA)2Pb3Br10 (315 K) to (PA)2(EA)2Pb3Br10 (385 K) (PA is n-propylaminium) increased by 70 K, which was mainly due to the significant increase in the energy barriers that the system needed to overcome during the phase transition. Subsequently, we achieved efficient self-powered X-ray detection through the ferroelectric-induced bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) in (PA)2(EA)2Pb3Br10. The devices based on (PA)2(EA)2Pb3Br10 single crystals exhibit an outstanding sensitivity of 95 µC Gy-1 cm-2 and a low detection limit of 239 nGy s-1 at 0 V bias under X-ray radiation. This study provides an effective approach for designing and constructing high-temperature multilayer photoferroelectric semiconductors in the future.

MOBFinder: a tool for mobilization typing of plasmid metagenomic fragments based on a language model.

BACKGROUND: Mobilization typing (MOB) is a classification scheme for plasmid genomes based on their relaxase gene. The host ranges of plasmids of different MOB categories are diverse, and MOB is crucial for investigating plasmid mobilization, especially the transmission of resistance genes and virulence factors. However, MOB typing of plasmid metagenomic data is challenging due to the highly fragmented characteristics of metagenomic contigs. RESULTS: We developed MOBFinder, an 11-class classifier, for categorizing plasmid fragments into 10 MOB types and a nonmobilizable category. We first performed MOB typing to classify complete plasmid genomes according to relaxase information and then constructed an artificial benchmark dataset of plasmid metagenomic fragments (PMFs) from those complete plasmid genomes whose MOB types are well annotated. Next, based on natural language models, we used word vectors to characterize the PMFs. Several random forest classification models were trained and integrated to predict fragments of different lengths. Evaluating the tool using the benchmark dataset, we found that MOBFinder outperforms previous tools such as MOBscan and MOB-suite, with an overall accuracy approximately 59% higher than that of MOB-suite. Moreover, the balanced accuracy, harmonic mean, and F1-score reached up to 99% for some MOB types. When applied to a cohort of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), MOBFinder offered insights suggesting that the MOBF type plasmid, which is widely present in Escherichia and Klebsiella, and the MOBQ type plasmid might accelerate antibiotic resistance transmission in patients with T2D. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, MOBFinder is the first tool for MOB typing of PMFs. The tool is freely available at https://github.com/FengTaoSMU/MOBFinder.

Catalytic Atroposelective Synthesis of N-N Axially Chiral Indolylamides.

The catalytic atroposelective synthesis of N-N axially chiral indolylamides was established via dynamic kinetic resolution, which makes use of chiral Lewis base-catalyzed asymmetric acylation of N-acylaminoindoles as a new type of platform molecule with anhydrides. By this strategy, a series of N-N axially chiral indolylamides were synthesized in overall good yields (up to 98%) with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee). Moreover, some of these N-N axially chiral indolylamides display some extent of anticancer activity, which demonstrates their potential application in medicinal chemistry. Therefore, this work has not only provided a new strategy for the synthesis of N-N axially chiral monoaryl indoles but also offered a new member of N-N axially chiral monoaryl indoles with configurational stability and promising application, thereby solving the challenges in atroposelective synthesis and application of N-N axially chiral monoaryl indoles.

Frailty management in older patients: a best practice implementation project.

INTRODUCTION: Frailty in older adults can lead to a gradual decline in organ function. Without timely diagnosis and intervention, this condition can progress rapidly, increasing the risk of disability and mortality. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this project was to implement evidence-based practices for managing frailty in the medical ward to prevent disability in older patients. METHODS: This project was conceptually informed by the JBI Evidence Implementation Framework. This framework uses an audit and feedback approach and a pre- and post-test design to measure baseline compliance, develop implementation strategies responsive to gaps in compliance, and conduct a final evaluation to measure changes in compliance. JBI PACES and JBI GRiP situational analysis software were used to support data collection and implementation planning. Ten audit criteria were used with a sample of 30 patients in a regional teaching hospital in southern Taiwan. RESULTS: The baseline audit showed poor compliance, with rates below 30% for all ten audit criteria. Through strategies such as professional training and education, the implementation of evidence-based care guidelines, and interdisciplinary consensus-building, the follow-up audit revealed an increase in compliance to over 90% for each audit criterion. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty management strategies based on evidence-based audit criteria were implemented and routinely measured. The most effective strategies for improving compliance included the development of a training course, a digitized assessment tool, team meetings, interdisciplinary collaboration, communication, and consensus-building. SPANISH ABSTRACT: http://links.lww.com/IJEBH/A225.

Assessing the dynamics and trigger factors of drought propagation in the China-Pakistan economic corridor: A three-dimensional perspective.

Effectively managing drought in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) region requires a precise understanding of the three-dimensional characteristics of meteorological drought (MD) and agricultural drought (AD), as well as the factors that trigger their propagation. This study employed non-stationary drought indices (NSPEI and SSMI) to develop a cutting-edge 3-dimensional drought identification model. This model was used to detect MD and AD patterns from 1981 to 2022 in the CPEC region and was integrated with binomial logistic regression to identify the critical factors that drive drought propagation. This study's key findings include: 1) Between 1981 and 2022, droughts in Xinjiang, China, exhibited a discernible southward migration trend, while in Pakistan, droughts showed a northward migration pattern. Drought frequency and extent have increased over time, with affected regions becoming more widespread in CPEC. Notably, drought events with higher preceding drought contagion indices (DCI) were more likely to evolve into extreme, long-term droughts. 2) Drought area emerged as a significant positive triggering factor for drought propagation in the CPEC region. Conversely, snowmelt in Xinjiang and the leaf area index for low vegetation in Pakistan acted as triggering elements affecting negatively. 3) Various factors played a pivotal role during drought propagation process, including geographical coordinates of drought centroids, DCI, and temperature variations. Additionally, snowmelt and snow evaporation significantly impacted drought propagation in Xinjiang, while vegetation cover in Pakistan played a crucial role during the drought propagation process. By utilizing four regression models and conducting comprehensive attribution analysis, this study sheds light on the characteristics of drought propagation and the factors influencing it. These findings are valuable for enhancing early warning systems and implementing effective drought mitigation strategies in the CPEC region.

Deletion of Bmal1 in aggrecan-expressing cells leads to mouse temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis.

INTRODUCTION: Articular cartilage is the major affected tissue during the development of osteoarthritis (OA) in temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The core circadian rhythm molecule Bmal1 regulates chondrocyte proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis; however, its roles in condylar cartilage function and in TMJ OA have not been fully elucidated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TMJ OA mouse model was induced by unilateral anterior crossbite (UAC) and Bmal1 protein expression in condylar cartilage were examined by western blot analysis. To determine the role of Bmal1 in TMJ OA, we generated cartilage-specific Bmal1 conditional knockout (cKO) mice (Bmal1Agc1CreER mice) and hematoxylin and eosin staining, toluidine blue and Safranin O/fast green, immunohistochemistry, TUNEL assay, real-time PCR analysis and Western blot assay were followed. RESULTS: Bmal1 expression was reduced in condylar cartilage in a TMJ OA mouse model induced by UAC. The Bmal1 cKO mice displayed decreased cartilage matrix synthesis, reduced chondrocyte proliferation, increased chondrocyte hypertrophy and apoptosis as well as the upregulation of YAP expression in TMJ condylar cartilage. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that Bmal1 was essential for TMJ tissue homeostasis and loss-of-function of Bmal1 in chondrocytes leads to the development of TMJ OA.

Experiences of family caregivers taking care getting lost of persons with dementia: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Getting lost with family members who have dementia is a significant source of stress for family caregivers. In Taiwan, family caregivers develop strategies to deal with dementia persons who may get lost. This study aimed to explore the experiences of family caregivers caring for persons with dementia who have been lost outside the home. METHODS: A descriptive phenomenological method was used. The COREQ checklist was used to ensure the explicit reporting of data. A total of 20 family caregivers caring for persons with dementia who were lost outside their homes were selected from hospital outpatient clinics and a day care center in northern Taiwan using purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using the Giorgi analysis method. RESULTS: Five main themes emerged: (i) surprised persons with dementia lost outside, (ii) using strategies to prevent persons with dementia from getting lost, (iii) using strategies to find lost persons with dementia, (iv) exhaustion in long-term care persons with dementia, and (v) coping with the care load. It was found that family caregivers were surprised, nervous, and worried about persons with dementia being lost outside. They used the first strategy to supervise persons with dementia to prevent external losses. In addition, long-term supervision of persons with dementia led to mental exhaustion in the family caregivers. Finally, the family caregivers learned about loss prevention strategies and obtained family support and care replacement workers to reduce the care burden. CONCLUSIONS: It is essential to teach family caregivers early to prevent persons with dementia from losing external strategies. Nurses also provide long-term care services to reduce the care burden on family caregivers.

Development of an UV-Resistant Multilayer Film with Enhanced Compatibility between Carboxymethyl Cellulose and Polylactic Acid via Incorporation of Tannin and Ferric Chloride.

Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and polylactic acid (PLA) are recognized for their environmental friendliness. By merging them into a composite film, packaging solutions can be designed with good performance. Nonetheless, the inherent interface disparity between CMC and PLA poses a challenge, and there may be layer separation issues. This study introduces a straightforward approach to mitigate this challenge by incorporating tannin acid and ferric chloride in the fabrication of the CMC-PLA. The interlayer compatibility was improved by the in situ formation of a cohesive interface. The resulting CMC/TA-PLA/Fe multilayer film, devoid of any layer separation, exhibits exceptional mechanical strength, with a tensile strength exceeding 70 MPa, a high contact angle of 105°, and superior thermal stability. Furthermore, the CMC/TA-PLA/Fe film demonstrates remarkable efficacy in blocking ultraviolet light, effectively minimizing the discoloration of various wood surfaces exposed to UV aging.

Photocatalytic Hydrosilylation over Pt@UiO-66-NH2: Enhanced Activity and Polymerization Kinetics.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have shown great research and application value in various types of hydrosilylation reactions. However, studies on photocatalysis-induced hydrosilylation using MOFs are extremely rare. Metal nanoparticles (MNPs)@MOFs are extensively studied for their excellent structural tunability and photocatalytic activity, but there are few reports on their application in photocatalytic hydrosilylation. Here, a novel photocatalyst consisting of platinum (Pt) nanoparticles immobilized in a MOF framework is synthesized and used for photocatalytic hydrosilylation. The effects of various factors on hydrosilylation conversion are investigated, including catalyst concentration, substrate ratio, and irradiation intensity. Furthermore, the photoreactivity of the synthesized Pt catalyst is evaluated in the presence of different concentrations of 2-chlorothixanthone as a photosensitizer. It is noteworthy that the conversion of the reaction increases with increasing catalyst concentration or photosensitizer concentration, whereas increasing the polymethylhydrosiloxane content does not lead to a significant increase in conversion. This study demonstrates the potential of MNPs@MOFs as efficient photocatalysts for photoinduced hydrosilylation reactions and paves the way for future applications in this area.

Extraction and In Vitro Skincare Effect Assessment of Polysaccharides Extract from the Roots of Abelmoschus manihot (L.).

Obtaining high-added value compounds from agricultural waste receives increasing attention, as it can both improve resource utilization efficiency and reduce waste generation. In this study, polysaccharides are extracted from the discarded roots of Abelmoschus manihot (L.) by the high-efficiency ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). The optimized condition was determined as solid-liquid ratio SL ratio = 1:20, temperature T = 30 °C and time T = 40 min, achieving an extraction yield of 13.41%. Composition analysis revealed that glucose (Glc, 44.65%), rhamnose (Rha, 26.30%), galacturonic acid (GalA, 12.50%) and galactose (Gal, 9.86%) are the major monosaccharides of the extract. The extract showed a low degree of esterification (DE) value of 40.95%, and its Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrum exhibited several characteristic peaks of polysaccharides. Inspired by the wide cosmetic applications of polysaccharides, the skincare effect of the extract was evaluated via the moisture retention, total phenolic content (TPC) quantification, 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-free radical scavenging activity, anti-hyaluronidase and anti-elastase activity experiments. The extract solutions demonstrated a 48 h moisture retention rate of 10.75%, which is superior to that of commercially available moisturizer hyaluronic acid (HA). Moreover, both the TPC value of 16.16 mg GAE/g (dw) and DPPH-free radical scavenging activity of 89.20% at the concentration of 2 mg/mL indicated the strong anti-oxidant properties of the extract. Furthermore, the anti-hyaluronidase activity and moderate anti-elastase activity were determined as 72.16% and 42.02%, respectively. In general, in vitro skincare effect experiments suggest moisturizing, anti-oxidant, anti-radical and anti-aging activities of the A. manihot root extract, indicating its potential applications in the cosmetic industry.

IPEV: identification of prokaryotic and eukaryotic virus-derived sequences in virome using deep learning.

BACKGROUND: The virome obtained through virus-like particle enrichment contains a mixture of prokaryotic and eukaryotic virus-derived fragments. Accurate identification and classification of these elements are crucial to understanding their roles and functions in microbial communities. However, the rapid mutation rates of viral genomes pose challenges in developing high-performance tools for classification, potentially limiting downstream analyses. FINDINGS: We present IPEV, a novel method to distinguish prokaryotic and eukaryotic viruses in viromes, with a 2-dimensional convolutional neural network combining trinucleotide pair relative distance and frequency. Cross-validation assessments of IPEV demonstrate its state-of-the-art precision, significantly improving the F1-score by approximately 22% on an independent test set compared to existing methods when query viruses share less than 30% sequence similarity with known viruses. Furthermore, IPEV outperforms other methods in accuracy on marine and gut virome samples based on annotations by sequence alignments. IPEV reduces runtime by at most 1,225 times compared to existing methods under the same computing configuration. We also utilized IPEV to analyze longitudinal samples and found that the gut virome exhibits a higher degree of temporal stability than previously observed in persistent personal viromes, providing novel insights into the resilience of the gut virome in individuals. CONCLUSIONS: IPEV is a high-performance, user-friendly tool that assists biologists in identifying and classifying prokaryotic and eukaryotic viruses within viromes. The tool is available at https://github.com/basehc/IPEV.

metaProbiotics: a tool for mining probiotic from metagenomic binning data based on a language model.

Beneficial bacteria remain largely unexplored. Lacking systematic methods, understanding probiotic community traits becomes challenging, leading to various conclusions about their probiotic effects among different publications. We developed language model-based metaProbiotics to rapidly detect probiotic bins from metagenomes, demonstrating superior performance in simulated benchmark datasets. Testing on gut metagenomes from probiotic-treated individuals, it revealed the probioticity of intervention strains-derived bins and other probiotic-associated bins beyond the training data, such as a plasmid-like bin. Analyses of these bins revealed various probiotic mechanisms and bai operon as probiotic Ruminococcaceae's potential marker. In different health-disease cohorts, these bins were more common in healthy individuals, signifying their probiotic role, but relevant health predictions based on the abundance profiles of these bins faced cross-disease challenges. To better understand the heterogeneous nature of probiotics, we used metaProbiotics to construct a comprehensive probiotic genome set from global gut metagenomic data. Module analysis of this set shows that diseased individuals often lack certain probiotic gene modules, with significant variation of the missing modules across different diseases. Additionally, different gene modules on the same probiotic have heterogeneous effects on various diseases. We thus believe that gene function integrity of the probiotic community is more crucial in maintaining gut homeostasis than merely increasing specific gene abundance, and adding probiotics indiscriminately might not boost health. We expect that the innovative language model-based metaProbiotics tool will promote novel probiotic discovery using large-scale metagenomic data and facilitate systematic research on bacterial probiotic effects. The metaProbiotics program can be freely downloaded at https://github.com/zhenchengfang/metaProbiotics.

Sirt1 alleviates osteoarthritis via promoting FoxO1 nucleo-cytoplasm shuttling to facilitate autophagy.

This study aims to investigate the role and underlying mechanisms of Sirt1 in the pathophysiological process of OA. Safranine O and HE staining were utilized to identify pathological changes in the cartilage tissue. Immunohistochemistry was employed to evaluate the expression levels of proteins. IL-1ß treatment and TamCartSirt1flox/flox mice were utilized to induce OA model both in vitro and in vivo. Key autophagy-related transcription factors, autophagy-related genes, and chondrocyte extracellular matrix (ECM) breakdown enzyme markers were examined using multi assays. Immunofluorescence staining revealed subcellular localization and gene expression patterns. ChIP assay and Co-immunoprecipitation assay were conducted to investigate the interactions between FoxO1 and the promoter regions of Atg7 and Sirt1. Our results demonstrate that Sirt1 deficiency exhibited inhibitory effects on ECM synthesis and autophagy, as well as exacerbated angiogenesis. Moreover, Atg7, Foxo1, and Sirt1 could form a protein complex. Sirt1 was observed to facilitate nuclear translocation of FoxO1, enhancing its transcriptional activity. Furthermore, FoxO1 was found to bind to the promoter regions of Atg7 and Sirt1, potentially regulating their expression. This study provides valuable insights into the involvement of Sirt1-Atg7-FoxO1 loop in OA, opening new avenues for targeted therapeutic interventions aiming to mitigate cartilage degradation and restore joint function.

Efficacy and safety of venlafaxine hydrochloride combined with tandospirone citrate for patients with vascular depression accompanied by somatic symptoms: An open-labeled randomized control trial.

AIMS: To explore the pharmacological treatment of vascular depression (VaDep) and whether the blood levels of neurotransmitters can reflect the VaDep severity. METHODS: VaDep patients with somatic symptoms were enrolled and randomly received venlafaxine + tandospirone (Combined Group) or venlafaxine (Monotherapy Group). The treatment efficacy was assessed by Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), and Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15). The levels of blood monoamine neurotransmitters were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Both groups reported a progressive decrease in HAMD, HAMA, and PHQ-15 scores to below the baseline after the respective treatment. Compared with the Monotherapy Group, the Combined Group reported a significant decrease in HAMD score at week 2 and markedly lower HAMA and PHQ-15 scores at weeks 1, 2, 4, and 8. Both groups showed a decrease in the levels of blood monoamine neurotransmitters at weeks 4 and 8 when compared with the baseline. A strong positive association was evident between the plasma 5-HT levels and the HAMD score. CONCLUSION: The combined therapy rapidly acts on VaDep comorbid with anxiety and somatic symptoms and significantly alleviates the anxiety and somatic symptoms. The plasma levels of 5-HT may serve as potential objective candidates in evaluating VaDep severity and the efficacy of the undertaken treatment regimen.

Comparative Analysis of Volatile Compounds in the Flower Buds of Three Panax Species Using Fast Gas Chromatography Electronic Nose, Headspace-Gas Chromatography-Ion Mobility Spectrometry, and Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Coupled with Multivariate Statistical Analysis.

The flower buds of three Panax species (PGF: P. ginseng; PQF: P. quinquefolius; PNF: P. notoginseng) widely consumed as health tea are easily confused in market circulation. We aimed to develop a green, fast, and easy analysis strategy to distinguish PGF, PQF, and PNF. In this work, fast gas chromatography electronic nose (fast GC e-nose), headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS), and headspace solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) were utilized to comprehensively analyze the volatile organic components (VOCs) of three flowers. Meanwhile, a principal component analysis (PCA) and heatmap were applied to distinguish the VOCs identified in PGF, PQF, and PNF. A random forest (RF) analysis was used to screen key factors affecting the discrimination. As a result, 39, 68, and 78 VOCs were identified in three flowers using fast GC e-nose, HS-GC-IMS, and HS-SPME-GC-MS. Nine VOCs were selected as potential chemical markers based on a model of RF for distinguishing these three species. Conclusively, a complete VOC analysis strategy was created to provide a methodological reference for the rapid, simple, and environmentally friendly detection and identification of food products (tea, oil, honey, etc.) and herbs with flavor characteristics and to provide a basis for further specification of their quality and base sources.

Integrated acetic acid and deep eutectic solvent pretreatment on poplar for co-production of xylo-oligosaccharides, fermentable sugars and lignin antioxidants/adsorbents.

Efficient fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass in usable forms of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin is very important for the sustainable lignocellulosic biorefinery. Herein, poplar sawdust was pretreated with an integrated process composed of acetic acid pre-hydrolysis (170 °C, 60 min) for xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) production and mild deep eutectic solvent (90-130 °C, 60 min) post-delignification for recovering lignin fractions, resulting in easily hydrolyzed cellulose fraction. Results showed that, after integrated pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, 51 % of xylan and 92 % of glucan in raw biomass could be converted to XOS (DP 2-6) and glucose, respectively, while 71 % of the original lignin could be recovered in DES solvent. The resulting XOS were proven to ensure the growth of probiotics, Bifidobacterium adolescentis. Besides, the lignin macromolecules recovered from DES solvent showed high-purity (around 95 %), low-molecular weight (Mw around 2000), small particle size (270-170 nm) and high-PhOH (3.08 mmol/g) content, which were likely relevant to the excellent antioxidant activity (RSI = 15.16) and adsorbent activity (Pb(II) 461.89 mg/g lignin). Finally, mass balance and energy analysis revealed that the integrated pretreatment could be used as a promising approach for the production of bio-based chemicals and materials from woody biomass.

Advance Care Planning Affects End-of-Life Treatment Preferences Among Patients With Heart Failure: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

This study explored the effects of advance care planning interventions on end-of-life treatment decisions among patients with heart failure. The study design was a randomized controlled trial. An intervention involving a motivational video, a cartoon version educational brochure, and a guided discussion was implemented. A total of 82 hospitalized patients with heart failure were recruited. Half of the participants received the intervention, and the other half received routine care. The Life Support Preferences Questionnaire was the primary measurement instrument. Before the advance care planning intervention, a significant difference between the experimental and control groups was observed in the cardiopulmonary resuscitation score but not the total, antibiotics, surgery, and artificial nutrition and hydration scores. In the experimental group but not in the control group, significant differences were observed between pretest and posttest total, antibiotics, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, surgery, and artificial nutrition and hydration scores. Significant differences in mean score changes were observed in total and each treatment score between the experimental and control groups. The advance care planning intervention led participants to select fewer medical treatments. This intervention may be suitable for societies where people are unfamiliar with advance care planning and may feel uncomfortable discussing death.