Favorable Propylene-Incorporated Terpolymerization of Ethylene with CO Mediated by Cationic [P,O]-Pd and Ni Complexes.

Commercial polyketone materials are generally produced by palladium-catalyzed terpolymerization of ethylene and α-olefin with carbon monoxide (CO), and rare examples were reported regarding the incorporation of propylene into an ethylene/CO copolymer chain using a cost-effective nickel catalyst. In this study, we have developed a series of [P,O]-type cationic Pd and Ni complexes supported by a diphosphazane monoxide (PNPO) platform, and the electronic and steric effect on phosphine, amine, and phosphine oxide moieties is systematically investigated for terpolymerization in terms of activity, propylene/CO (C3) incorporation, and molecular weight control. It is observed that the melting temperature (Tm) is proportional to the number of C3 incorporations present in the polymer chain, and the incorporated propylene does not affect the degradation temperature substantially, thus broadening the processing temperature window of the resultant polyketones. Notably, in comparison with dppp-type catalysts, PNPO catalysts exhibited a higher preference for propylene consumption, which is of great importance for making more efficient use of α-olefin resources.

Resilience, self-efficacy and diabetes distress on self-management behaviours in patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes: A moderated mediation analysis.

AIM: To examine (1) the mediating role of self-efficacy between resilience and self-management behaviours and (2) the moderating role of diabetes distress on the relationship between self-efficacy and self-management behaviours in patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional design. METHODS: Totally, 195 patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for more than 5 months but less than 18 months were recruited from three endocrine clinics in Taiwan through convenience sampling. Self-reported questionnaires including demographic and disease characteristics, resilience, self-efficacy and self-management behaviours were used to collect data from October 2020 to May 2021. Moderated mediation analysis was performed by Hayes's PROCESS macro. RESULT: According to bootstrapping results, the indirect effect of resilience on self-management was significant, although the direct effect of resilience on self-management was not. Participants were categorized into with and without diabetes distress groups. The results of moderated mediation analysis indicated self-efficacy significantly correlated with self-management behaviours in participants without diabetes distress, although self-efficacy did not significantly correlate with self-management in participants with diabetes distress. CONCLUSION: The association of resilience with self-management behaviours was fully mediated through self-efficacy with diabetes distress moderating the relationship between self-efficacy and self-management behaviours in patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. IMPACT: Improving resilience could enhance self-efficacy leading to possible improvement in self-management behaviour, although improving self-efficacy might not benefit self-management behaviours for those with high levels of diabetes distress. Healthcare providers need to first assess and address the diabetes distress before intervening to improve self-efficacy to enhance self-management behaviours in patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: When designing this study, two patients newly diagnosed with diabetes were consulted about the importance of self-management behaviours for them personally.

Character Strengths Use in Diabetes Self-management Scale: Development and psychometric testing.

AIMS: To develop and psychometrically test Character Strengths Use in Diabetes Self-management Scale in people with type 2 diabetes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional design. METHODS: Based on literature reviews and examination by experts, a 20-item scale was developed and administered to 350 participants with type 2 diabetes who were enrolled from two endocrine clinics by convenience sampling in Taiwan. Item analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), concurrent and predictive validity as well as reliability were used to examine the psychometric characteristics of the scale. Data were collected from November 2021 to March 2022. RESULTS: EFA and CFA supported a 12-item scale with three factors, namely learning proactively, taking on challenges and thinking positively, fit the data well. The total score of the 12-item scale significantly and positively correlated with diabetes-specific quality of life, and significantly and negatively correlated with baseline and 9-month haemoglobin A1c levels. Cronbach's α for overall scale and subscales ranged between .78 and .91. CONCLUSION: The 12-item Character Strengths Use in Diabetes Self-management Scale demonstrated satisfactory validity and reliability in people with type 2 diabetes. IMPACT: Nurses could apply this new scale to identify the degree of using character strengths in self-management in people with type 2 diabetes; accordingly, character strength-based interventions could be provided to improve self-management in such patients with diabetes. Furthermore, the 12-item Character Strengths Use in Diabetes Self-management Scale has the potential to be used to measure the effectiveness of strength-based interventions in people with Type 2 diabetes. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Five patients with type 2 diabetes were invited to take the original 20-item scale to evaluate the clarity, readability and comprehensiveness of the 20 items.

[Value of High-Frequency Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Pronator Teres Syndrome].

Objective To investigate the clinical value of high-frequency ultrasound in the diagnosis of pronator teres syndrome (PTS). Methods The high-frequency ultrasound was employed to examine and measure the median nerve of the pronator teres muscle in 30 patients with PTS and 30 healthy volunteers (control group).The long-axis diameter (LA),short-axis diameter (SA) and cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve were measured.The receiver operating characteristic curve of the median nerve ultrasonic measurement results was established,and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated.The diagnostic efficiency of each index for PTS was compared with the surgical results as a reference. Results The PTS group showed larger LA[(5.02±0.50) mm vs.(3.89±0.41) mm;t=4.38,P=0.013],SA[(2.55±0.46) mm vs.(1.70±0.41) mm;t=5.19,P=0.009],and CSA[(11.13±3.72) mm2 vs.(6.88±2.68) mm2;t=8.42,P=0.008] of the median nerve than the control group.The AUC of CSA,SA,and LA was 94.3% (95%CI=0.912-0.972,Z=3.586,P=0.001),77.7% (95%CI=0.734-0.815,Z=2.855, P=0.006),and 78.8% (95%CI=0.752-0.821,Z=3.091,P=0.004),respectively.With 8.63 mm2 as the cutoff value,the sensitivity and specificity of CSA in diagnosing PTS were 93.3% and 90.0%,respectively. Conclusion High-frequency ultrasound is a practical method for diagnosing PTS,and the CSA of median nerve has a high diagnostic value.

Acute and subchronic toxicity studies of rhein in immature and d-galactose-induced aged mice and its potential hepatotoxicity mechanisms.

Rhein is a key ingredient in many herbal remedies and is widely used. However, herbs containing rhein are frequently associated with poisoning incidents, especially in elderly subjects. Acute and subchronic toxicity of rhein in Kunming mice (KM) was investigated in this experiment. Acute toxicity tests showed a 40% lethality at a given rhein dose of 4000 mg/kg, and the LD50 of rhein was calculated by the bliss method to be greater than 2185.6 mg/kg. In subchronic toxicity, d-gal-induced aged and immature animals were randomized into three groups that were exposed to rhein of 0, 175, and 375 mg/kg/d for 75 days, respectively. No mortality was observed in immature mice group, whereas 55.5% (5/9) subjects in aged mice groups died in the high dosage group. AST, ALT, IL-6, TNF-α levels and typical histopathological changes indicate that rhein causes liver injury. In addition, our investigation explored possible hepatotoxic mechanisms of rhein and experimental results showed increased ROS production, NRF-2 and MDA levels and decreased SOD levels, demonstrating that rhein causes oxidative stress. MMP and mitochondrial swelling levels were able to assess the impact of rhein on mitochondrial function. Furthermore, the effect of rhein on apoptosis can be detected by flow cytometry. Our studies suggested that rhein induces oxidative stress leading to mitochondria dysfunction and apoptotic activation. Multidrug resistance protein (MRP) is an efflux transporter protein and is capable of transporting cellular oxidative stress-related substances. To further clarify the role of MRP in rhein induced oxidative stress, we examined MRP expression in the liver. However, the expression of MRP has no statistical significance.

Determinants of fear of falling in older adults with diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the important determinants of FoF among older adults with diabetes in endocrine clinics based on demographic and illness characteristics, physical function and capability, psychosocial and cognitive factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 240 older adults with Type 2 diabetes who were recruited by convenience sampling. Self-reported questionnaires, medical records as well as physical function and capability tests were used to collect the data. Multiple linear regression was used to identify the important determinants of FoF. RESULT: Diabetes distress, sarcopenia levels, TUG results, and HbA1c levels were significant determinants of FoF. These determinants uniquely explained 14%, 9%, 4%, and 2% of the variance in FoF respectively. CONCLUSION: Beside sarcopenia and dynamic balance being known as significantly associated with FoF in a general older population, diabetes distress and HbA1c levels should also be considered in designing interventions to improve FoF among older adults with diabetes.

Cationic P,O-Coordinated Nickel(II) Catalysts for Carbonylative Polymerization of Ethylene: Unexpected Productivity via Subtle Electronic Variation.

Transition-metal-catalyzed copolymerization of ethylene with carbon monoxide affords polyketones materials with excellent mechanical strength, photodegradability, surface and barrier properties. Unlike the widely used and rather expensive Pd catalysts, Ni-catalyzed carbonylative polymerization is very difficult since the strong binding affinity of CO to Ni deactivates the highly electrophilic metal center easily. In this study, various cationic P,O-coordinated Ni complexes were synthesized using the electronic modulation strategy, and the catalyst with strong electron-donating substituents exhibits an excellent productivity of 104  g polymer (g Ni)-1 , which represents a rare discovery that a Ni complex could operate with such exceptional efficiency in comparison with Pd catalysts. Notably, those Ni catalysts were also efficient for terpolymerization of ethylene, propylene with CO for producing commercial polyketone materials with low melting temperatures and easy processibility.

Synthesis of Nonalternating Polyketones Using Cationic Diphosphazane Monoxide-Palladium Complexes.

Copolymerization of olefin with carbon monoxide has received considerable interest from both academia and industry, and the introduction of polar carbonyl group renders the resultant polyketones with excellent mechanical strength, crystallinity, photodegradability, hydrophilicity, surface, and barrier properties. However, most of the reported polyketones are difficult to be processed because of limited solubility in common solvents and high melting temperature (Tm ∼ 260 °C) resulting from the strictly alternative structure. Nonalternating copolymerization of ethylene with CO is a very promising method to circumvent the problem of processability of traditional perfectly alternating polyketone. In the contribution, the palladium coordinated diphosphazane monoxide substituted by strong electron-donating groups is discovered to be highly reactive for producing nonalternating polyketones, and up to 24.2% extra ethylene incorporation has lowered Tm values to 147 and 165 °C and further improved thermal stability (Td ∼ 339 °C) of the resultant materials. Our data demonstrates that cationic palladium complexes can also exhibit excellent reactivity and an unprecedented nonalternating degree in this copolymerization.

Risk factors of falls and the gender differences in older adults with diabetes at outpatient clinics.

AIMS: To explore the risk factors of falls and the gender differences based on demographic and disease characteristics, physical capability, and fear of falling in older adults with diabetes visiting outpatient clinics in Taiwan. DESIGN: Cross-sectional design. METHODS: A total of 485 patients with type 2 diabetes aged between 65 and 80 years were recruited from three endocrine outpatient clinics in Taiwan. Demographic and disease characteristics, fall history in the previous one year and fear of falling were collected by a self-reported questionnaire. Calf circumference, handgrip strength, one-leg standing and time up-and-go tests were all performed to assess the physical capability of participants. Data were collected from May 2019 to May 2020. RESULTS: Female gender (OR = 1.75), handgrip strength (OR = 2.43) and fear of falling (OR = 3.38) were important risk factors of falls overall, although fear of falling (OR = 4.69) was the only important risk factor of falls in males, while handgrip strength (OR = 3.48) and fear of falling (OR = 2.86) were important risk factors of falls in females. The sensitivity of simultaneous screening handgrip strength and fear of falling were 85.7, 86.4 and 86.2 in males, females and older adults overall with diabetes, respectively. CONCLUSION: Fear of falling was an important risk factor of falls in both genders, especially in males. Handgrip strength was an important risk factor of falls specifically for females. By simultaneously screening fear of falling and handgrip strength, risk of falls in older adults with diabetes at outpatient clinics could be identified in a more timely manner. Impact Nurses could periodically and simultaneously assess fear of falling and handgrip strength of older adults with diabetes at outpatient clinics. For those are identified at risk of falls on either fear of falling or handgrip strength, nurses could provide corresponding interventions to reduce the fear of falling or improve muscle strength to prevent such falls.

Pathways of diabetes distress, decisional balance, self-efficacy and resilience to quality of life in insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes: A 9-month prospective study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To construct a path model addressing influences of diabetes distress, self-efficacy of injecting insulin, resilience and decisional balance of injecting insulin to quality of life (QoL) in insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). BACKGROUND: Insulin regimens more negatively impact QoL than oral medication treatments in patients with T2DM. Understanding the factors and influencing pathways associated with subsequent QoL will help nurses design timely interventions to improve QoL of insulin-treated T2DM patients. DESIGN: A 9-month prospective design was employed in this study. METHODS: Self-reported questionnaires were used to collect data from 185 insulin-treated T2DM patients. At baseline, diabetes distress and self-efficacy of injecting insulin were collected, while QoL, resilience and decisional balance of injecting insulin were collected 9 months later. Data were collected from February 2017 to February 2018. Structural equation modelling was used for analysis. This study was conducted based on the STROBE. RESULTS: Low baseline diabetes distress and high 9-month decisional balance of injecting insulin directly associated with high 9-month QoL. High baseline self-efficacy of injecting insulin and high 9-month resilience directly associated with high 9-month decisional balance of insulin injection and indirectly associated with high 9-month QoL. High baseline diabetes distress directly and indirectly associated with poor 9-month QoL. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes distress, self-efficacy of injecting insulin, resilience and decisional balance of injecting insulin play different roles in associating with QoL in insulin-treated T2DM patients. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Nurses could provide educational programs focusing on enhancing decisional balance of injecting insulin to improve QoL in insulin-treated patients. Improving self-efficacy of injecting insulin and resilience could be promising strategies to improve the decisional balance of injecting insulin. More timely assessment of diabetes distress and intervention might be powerful strategies to improve subsequent QoL in these patients.

Enantioselective, Stereoconvergent Resolution Copolymerization of Racemic cis-Internal Epoxides and Anhydrides.

Unprecedented enantioselective resolution copolymerization of racemic cis-internal epoxides and anhydrides was mediated by dinuclear aluminum complexes with multiple chirality, affording optically active polyesters with two contiguous stereogenic centers, and the unreacted substrates in good enantioselectivity. Unexpected stereoconvergence is observed in this resolution copolymerization, where the selectivity factor for the enantioselective formation of copolymer significantly exceeds the kinetic resolution coefficient based on the unreacted epoxide at various conversions. Catalytic activity and copolymer enantioselectivity are strongly influenced by the phenolate ortho-substituents of the ligand set, as well as the axial linker and its chirality. An enantiopure binaphthol-linked bimetallic AlIII complex allows stereoconvergent access to the stereoregular semi-crystalline polyesters and a concomitant kinetic resolution of the epoxide substrates.

Scale for Measuring Role Strain in Women With Diabetes: Development and Psychometric Testing of the Chinese Version.

BACKGROUND: Women with diabetes (type 1 and type 2) have excessive risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared with men with diabetes, so optimizing diabetes control is crucial for women to reduce this risk. Women with diabetes experience role strain, and a scale to measure role strain in the context of diabetes control could help healthcare providers improve diabetes control in women with diabetes. OBJECTIVE: The aims of the study were to develop a short-form scale for measuring role strain in Taiwanese women with diabetes and test its psychometric properties. METHODS: This study was conducted from October 2018 to May 2019 and used a cross-sectional design. Based on literature reviews and results of focus groups, a 28-item role strain scale was developed and administered to 519 women with diabetes in Taiwan. Item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, concurrent validity, and reliability testing were used to examine the psychometric characteristics of the scale. RESULTS: A 9-item role strain scale including subscales for role guilt and role conflict, supported by exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, was produced. High role strain significantly correlated with high depression (r = 0.399, P < .001) and high hemoglobin A1c levels (r = 0.169, P < .001). The overall and subscale Cronbach's α ranged between 0.78 and 0.86, with test-retest reliability ranging between 0.64 and 0.81. CONCLUSIONS: The role strain scale for women with diabetes is reliable and valid and can be used to evaluate role strain in women with diabetes.

Enantioselective Resolution Copolymerization of Racemic Epoxides and Anhydrides: Efficient Approach for Stereoregular Polyesters and Chiral Epoxides.

Herein we report an efficient strategy for preparing isotactic polyesters and chiral epoxides via enantioselective resolution copolymerization of racemic terminal epoxides with anhydrides, mediated by enantiopure bimetallic complexes in conjunction with a nucleophilic cocatalyst. The chirality of both the axial linker and the diamine backbones of the ligand are responsible for the chiral induction of this kinetic resolution copolymerization process. The catalyst systems exhibit exceptional levels of enantioselectivity with a kinetic resolution coefficient exceeding 300 for various racemic epoxides, affording highly isotactic copolymers (selectivity factors of more than 300) with a completely alternating structure and low polydispersity index. Most of the produced isotactic polyesters are typical semicrystalline materials with melting temperatures in the range from 77 to 160 °C.

Genome Sequence of Colistin-Resistant Bacteremic Shewanella algae Carrying the Beta-Lactamase Gene bla OXA-55.

Shewanella algae is an emerging pathogen widely distributed in aquatic environment. Bacteremia is a major manifestation of S. algae infections, and there are increasing reports of antibiotic-resistant strains. However, little is known about the genomic characteristics of human bacteremic S. algae. Here, we report the results of the whole-genome sequencing of colistin-resistant S. algae TYL, a blood isolate. Chromosome-encoded pmrC associated with colistin resistance and bla OXA-55 gene intrinsic to S. algae was identified. Continuous surveillance for the emergence of S. algae is needed.

High-performance composite Ag-Ni mesh based flexible transparent conductive film as multifunctional devices.

Conventional fabrication methods for realization of metal mesh (MM) based transparent conductive film (TCF) are not economic and environmentally friendly. By combination of the scrape and selective electroplating techniques, a vacuum sputtering/evaporation-free process is explored for fabrication of high-performance MM based TCF. The fabricated TCF exhibits ultra-low sheet electrical resistance (Rs = 0.07 Ω sq-1) at average transmittance of 83% in visible region. The sample cannot only exhibit high heating temperatures (140 °C) at low input voltage (1.5 V) with fast and stable thermal response but provide high electromagnetic interference shielding efficiency (EMI SE) more than 43 dB in X-band. The processing chain provides a robust, powerful and scalable platform, which may open up a new avenue for realizing multifunctional TCF in diverse applications.

Characterization of dissolved organic matter in municipal wastewater using fluorescence PARAFAC analysis and chromatography multi-excitation/emission scan: a comparative study.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in municipal wastewater was mainly characterized using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) with multi-excitation/emission fluorescence scan. Meanwhile, fluorescence excitation-emission-matrix combined with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) was also applied. Compared with chromatography fluorescence fingerprints, the EEM-PARAFAC model could not reflect the variety of DOM species with similar fluorescence but different physicochemical properties. The chromatography results showed that the protein-like species were variable among different municipal wastewater treatment plants, some of which are in combination with humic-like species; while there were two major humic-like species fractionated by hydrophilicity and molecular weight (MW), which are also the major contributors to UV absorbance at 254 nm. It was also identified that the relatively hydrophilic humic fractions were slightly larger than the relatively hydrophobic humic fractions. In all the investigated wastewater treatment plants, the relatively hydrophilic and larger MW humic fraction mainly contributed to the fluorescence intensity of humic-like EEM-PARAFAC components. As well as facilitating interpretations of EEM-PARAFAC components, the HPLC/HPSEC fluorescence fingerprints also contributed to a better understanding of fluorescent DOM species in municipal wastewater.

Impact of Type D Personality, Role Strain, and Diabetes Distress on Depression in Women With Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Women with diabetes face a significantly elevated risk of developing depression. Clarifying the factors associated with depression is critical to designing more timely interventions for this vulnerable population. PURPOSE: This study was developed to examine the impact of Type D personality, diabetes-care-related role strain, and diabetes-related distress on depression in women with Type 2 diabetes. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 298 women aged 20-64 years who had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes for over 6 months from three outpatient endocrine clinics in Taiwan. Demographic and disease characteristics and Type D personality (negative affectivity and social inhibition), diabetes-care-related role strain, and diabetes-related distress and depression status information were collected using self-reported questionnaires and medical records. The important factors of influence on depression were examined using hierarchical multiple regression. RESULTS: On the basis of the results of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis, age, negative affectivity, diabetes-care-related role strain, and diabetes-related distress were identified as significantly associated with depression, with negative affectivity explaining most (43.4%) of the variance in depression, followed by diabetes-care-related role strain and diabetes-related distress, which respectively explained 3% and 2.5% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The negative affectivity associated with the Type D personality was shown to be more significantly associated with depression than diabetes-related psychosocial factors such as diabetes-related distress and diabetes-care-related role strain. Timely assessment of negative affectivity and the provision of brief mindfulness intervention to reduce negative affectivity may be useful in preventing depression in women with Type 2 diabetes, whereas addressing diabetes-related distress and diabetes-care-related role strain should not be neglected when providing comprehensive depression-preventing interventions to young women with diabetes.

MiR-144-5p/CCL12 Signaling Axis Modulates Ischemic Preconditioning-Mediated Cardio-protection by Reducing Cell Viability, Enhancing Cell Apoptosis, Fibrosis, and Pyroptosis.

Ischemic postconditioning (IPost) represents short periods of nonlethal ischemia-reperfusion performed at the onset of reperfusion. Studies have shown that IPost involves various biological processes such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, and pyroptosis and can activate complex signaling pathways. CCL12 is a critical mediator in the inflammatory process after tissue injury. In the present study, we examined the potential actions of CCL12-mediated signaling pathways in cardioprotection after IPost using a cardiomyocyte model. By applying the bioinformatics analysis, we found that CCL12 was upregulated in the rat heart tissues after I/R injury, and the expression level of CCL12 was restored in rats with IPost. The in vitro studies showed that CCL12 and CCR2 expression levels were upregulated in the hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced H9C2 cells, which was attenuated in the H/R + hypoxia post-conditioning (PostC) group. The functional assays showed that H/R treatment reduced cell viability, increased cell apoptosis, and promoted fibrosis and pyroptosis of H9C2 cells, which was attenuated in the H/R + PostC group. Overexpression of CCL12 impaired the protective action of hypoxia post-conditioning in the H9C2 cells. Further mechanistic studies showed that miR-144-5p could directly target the 3' untranslated region of CCL12. Overexpression of miR-144-5p markedly repressed the expression levels of CCL12 and CCR2 in H9C2 cells, while miR-144-5p inhibition had the opposite effects. Furthermore, the inhibition of miR-144-5p reduced the cell viability, increased cell apoptosis, and enhanced fibrosis and pyroptosis of H9C2 cells after H/R or H/R + PostC treatment. In conclusion, CCL12 was downregulated in cardiomyocytes following ischemic postconditioning, and CCL12 overexpression impaired the cardioprotective actions of ischemic postconditioning by reducing cell viability, enhancing cell apoptosis, fibrosis, and pyroptosis. Further mechanistic evidence revealed that CCL12 was a direct target of miR-144-5p, and miR-144-5p/CCL12/CCR2 signaling may represent a critical pathway in mediating the cardioprotective effects of ischemic postconditioning.

A novel bacteriocin against multiple foodborne pathogens from Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus isolated from juice ferments: ATF perfusion-based preparation of viable cells, characterization, antibacterial and antibiofilm activity.

Foodborne pathogens and their biofilms pose a risk to human health through food chain. However, the bacteriocin resources combating this threat are still limited. Here, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, one of the most used probiotics in food industry, was prepared on a large scale using alternating tangential flow (ATF) perfusion-based technology. Compared to the conventional fed-batch approach, ATF perfusion remarkably increased the viable cells of L. rhamnosus CLK 101 to 11.93 ± 0.14 log CFU/mL. Based on obtained viable cells, we purified and characterized a novel bacteriocin CLK_01 with a broad spectrum of activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative foodborne pathogens. LC-MS/MS analysis revealed that CLK_01 has a molecular mass of 701.49 Da and a hydrophobic amino acid composition of I-K-K-V-T-I. As a novel bacteriocin, CLK_01 showed high thermal stability and acid-base tolerance over 25-121 °C and pH 2-10. It significantly reduced cell viability of bacterial pathogens (p < 0.001), and strongly inhibited their biofilm formation. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated deformation of pathogenic cells caused by CLK_01, leading to cytoplasmic content leakage and bacterial death. Summarily, we employed ATF perfusion to obtain viable L. rhamnosus, and presented that bacteriocin CLK_01 could serve as a promising biopreservative for controlling foodborne pathogenic bacteria and their biofilms.

Leopard predation on wild Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys.

Predation is widely recognized as a powerful selective pressure on primate behavior and ecology, although knowledge of predator-prey relationships remains limited partly due to the rarity of directly observed attacks on primates. Here, we describe four confirmed or suspected instances of leopard (Panthera pardus) predation on free-ranging Sichuan (golden) snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana), a highly endangered colobine species endemic to China. We recorded predation events and the reactions of monkey group members. We suggest that the evolution of a multilevel society may be an adaptive response by Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys to the risk from leopards as well as other potential predators, one that balances the pressures of predation and intra-species competition and conflict.