Chlorogenic Acid Ameliorates Colitis and Alters Colonic Microbiota in a Mouse Model of Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis

This study evaluated the mitigating effects of dietary chlorogenic acid (CGA) on colon damage and the bacterial profile in a mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to receive one of the following treatments: (i) basal diet; (ii) basal diet with 2% CGA; (iii) basal diet with 2.5% DSS or (iv) basal diet with 2% CGA and 2.5% DSS. Following a 2-week pre-treatment period, mice in the DSS and CGA-DSS groups received 2.5% DSS in drinking water for 5 days, while the other two groups received sterile water. Compared to DSS alone, CGA was found to reduce the disease activity index, myeloperoxidase activity and tumor necrosis factor-α levels in colon tissues (P < 0.05). CGA also ameliorated DSS-induced inflammatory responses, reduced colon shortening and decreased the histological scores (P < 0.05). In an evaluation of the relative abundances of bacteria in the fecal microbiota, we found that CGA reversed the decrease in diversity caused by DSS and improved the relative abundance of organisms in the genus Lactobacillus (P < 0.05). These results indicate that CGA maintains intestinal health and reduces DSS-induced colon injury by decreasing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and restoring intestinal microbial diversity

Comparison of Efficiencies of Non-invasive Prenatal Testing, Karyotyping, and Chromosomal Micro-Array for Diagnosing Fetal Chromosomal Anomalies in the Second and Third Trimesters

In this study, we aimed to compare the efficiency of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), karyotyping, and chromosomal micro-array (CMA) for the diagnosis of fetal chromosomal anomalies in the second and third trimesters. Pregnant women, who underwent amniocenteses for prenatal genetic diagnoses during their middle and late trimesters, were recruited at the Prenatal Diagnosis Center of Taizhou City. Maternal blood was separated for NIPT, and amniotic fluid cells were cultured for karyotyping and CMA. The diagnostic efficiency of NIPT for detecting fetal imbalanced anomalies was compared with karyotyping and CMA. A total of 69 fetal chromosomal imbalances were confirmed by CMA, 37 were diagnosed by NIPT and 35 were found by karyotyping. The sensitivities of NIPT and karyotyping for diagnosing aneuploidy were 96.3% and 100% respectively. Only one mosaic sexual chromosome monosomy was misdiagnosed by NIPT, whereas the sensitivity of NIPT and karyotyping was 70% and 30%, respectively, for detecting pathogenic deletions and duplications sized from 5–20 Mb. Taken together, our results suggest that the efficiency of NIPT was similar to the formula karyotyping for detecting chromosome imbalance in the second and third trimesters

1996 Wild Blueberry CSREES Progress Reports/1996 Wild Blueberry Tax Reports

The 1996 edition of the Wild Blueberry CSREES Progress Reports/Wild Blueberry Tax Reports was prepared for the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission and the University of Maine Wild Blueberry Advisory Committee by researchers at the University of Maine, Orono. Projects in this report include: Wild Blueberry CSREES Progress Reports: 1. Factors affecting the quality of Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) wild blueberries 2. Factors affecting the physical and chemical properties of IQF wild blueberries 3. Preventing the bleeding of blueberry fruit in bakery products 4. Amylase test development 5. Determination of pesticide residue levels in freshly harvested and processed wild blueberries 6. Sustainable pollination of wild blueberry 7. Potential for biological control of insect pests of wild blueberry 8. Effect of desiccation on wild blueberry winter survival and cold temperature tolerance 9. Population variation in low-temperature tolerance of wild blueberry 10. Influence of flower delaying sprays on seasonal variation of low temperature tolerance in wild blueberry 11. Effect of various levels of disbudding on yield of wild blueberry 12. Effect of boron and the polyamine putrescine on wild blueberry fruit set and yield 13. Effect of soil pH on nutrient uptake 14. Phosphorus uptake 15. Correcting boron deficiency 16. Hexazinone groundwater survey 17. Effect of time of fall pruning on growth and productivity of wild blueberries 18. Evaluation of Pronone® spot treatments for control of St. Johnswort, dogbane, bracken fern, witch grass/fall panicum and bunchberry 19. Effect of hexazinone formulation on movement through the soil profile 20. Effect of plant source and density on spread of wild blueberry Wild Blueberry Tax Reports: 21. Control of wild blueberry diseases 22. Control of wild blueberry pest insects 23. Biology and action thresholds of secondary blueberry pest insects 24. Phosphorus/nitrogen fertilizer ratio 25. Effect of surfactant and ammonium sulfate on glyphosate activity 26. Blueberry Extension Education Program Bas

1995 CSREES Reports

The 1995 edition of the CSREES Reports was prepared for the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission and the University of Maine Wild Blueberry Advisory Committee by researchers at the University of Maine, Orono. Projects in this report include: 1. Factors Affecting the Quality of IQF Blueberries 2. Preventing the Bleeding of Blueberry Fruit in Bakery Products 3. Removing Water from Blueberries Before Freezing 4. Determination of Pesticide Residue Levels in Freshly Harvested and Processed Lowbush Blueberries 5. Industrial Ingredients from Cull Blueberries 6. Application of Heat as a Method of Controlling Secondary Pest Insects on Lowbush Blueberries 7. The Phenology and Biology of Bumble Bees, Bombus, spp., that Pollinate Lowbush blueberry, Vaccinium spp., in Maine 8. Pollination Ecology of Lowbush Blueberry in Maine 9. Effects of Irrigation on Lowbush Blueberry Yield 10. Effect of Brief Warming Treatments on Late Winter Low-Temperature Tolerance of Native Lowbush Blueberry 11. Correlation of Late-winter/Early-spring Cold Hardiness with Date of Flowering 12. Evaluation of Cold Tolerance of Opening Flowers of Lowbush Blueberry 13. Influence of Flower Delaying Sprays on Seasonal Variation of Low Temperature Tolerance in Lowbush Blueberry 14. Effect of Various Levels of Disbudding on Yield of Lowbush Blueberry 15. Effect of Boron and the Polyamine Putrescine on Lowbush Blueberry Fruit Set and Yield 16. Effect of Boron and the Polyamine Putrescine on Extending the Receptivity of Lowbush Blueberry Blossoms 17. Effect of Soil pH on Nutrient Uptake 18. Correcting Boron Deficiency - missing 19. Phosphorus Uptake 20. Evaluation of Hexazinone Formulation on Soil Movement and Weed Control 21. Effect of Time of Fall Pruning on Growth and Productivity of Blueberries 22. Hexazinone Ground Water Survey 23. Effect of hexazinone formulation on movement through the soil profile 24. Evaluation of Tribenuron Methyl for Bunchberry Control 25. Evaluation of Tribenuron Methyl Commercial Applications for Bunchberry Control 26. Effectiveness of Resin-Exchange Columns to Determine Efficacy in Removing Hexazinone from Well Water 27. Effect of Clopyralid for Vetch Control 28. Evaluation of Tribenuron Methyl/Velpar® Tank Mix for Bunchberry Control 29. Blueberry Extension Education Progra

1994 CSRS Research Reports/1994 Blueberry Tax Reports

The 1994 edition of the CSRS Research Reports/Blueberry Tax Reports was prepared for the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission and the University of Maine Wild Blueberry Advisory Committee by researchers at the University of Maine, Orono. Projects in this report include: CSRS Research Reports 1. Potential Uses for Green and Red Cull Blueberries 2. Preventing the Bleeding of Blueberry Fruit in Bakery Products 3. The Effect of Fertilization and Irrigation on Blueberry Fruit Quality 4. Determination of Pesticide Residue Levels in Freshly Harvested and Processed Lowbush Blueberries 5. The Effect of Mechanical Harvesting on Blueberry Fruit Quality 6. Removing Water from Blueberries Before Freezing 7. Application of Heat as a Method of Controlling Secondary Pest Insects in Lowbush Blueberries 8. Evaluation of Effectiveness of Eumenid Wasps for Biocontrol of Blueberry Pests 9. Pollination Ecology of Lowbush Blueberry in Maine 10. Fungicide Treatment for Control of Monilinia Blight 11. Field Sanitation for Control of Monilinia Blight 12. Cold-hardiness of Native Lowbush Blueberry 13. Phosphorus Dose/Response Curve 14. Multiple Cropping of Wild Blueberry Stands 15. Effect of Soil pH on Nutrient Uptake 16. Effect of Boron and Calcium on Lowbush Blueberry Fruit Set and Yield 17. Effect of Time of Fall Pruning on Growth and Productivity of Lowbush Blueberries 18. A Reinvestigation of the Economics of Mechanical Harvesting 19. Thresholds of Mechanical and Chemical Weed Controls in Wild Blueberries 20. Evaluation of Pressurized Rope Wick Master Wiper for Treating Weeds Growing Above Lowbush Blueberries 21. Evaluation of Infrared Burner for Selective Weed Control Blueberry Tax Reports 22. Control of Blueberry Pest Insects 23. Biology and Action Thresholds of Secondary Blueberry Pest Insects 24. Pollination Ecology of Low bush Blueberry in Maine 25. Nitrogen-Phosphorus Study 26. Evaluation of Pronone 10G for Control of Weeds in Lowbush Blueberries 27. Evaluation of Tribenuron Methyl for Bunchberry Control 28. Evaluation of Pendimethalin for Control of Annual Grasses in Lowbush Blueberries 29. Evaluation of Time of Application of Clopyralid for Control of Vetch, and Effect on Flowering of Lowbush Blueberries 30. Hexazinone Ground Water survey 31. Blueberry Extension Program Base 32. Blueberry ICM Program for Hancock Count

The Structural Features and Centrality Optimization of a Firm Interlocking Network of the Nodal Cities on the South Route of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road: The Case of Fujian Province

The 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road is an important part of the “Belt and Road Initiative”. It is intended to carry out broader and deeper regional cooperation and to provide a Chinese solution for reforming the world economic governance model. Fujian Province, as the starting point of the historical Maritime Silk Road, its development status, and the development strategy is of vital importance for the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road’s sustainable and balanced regional development. Based on the data on the spatial distribution of the headquarters and branches of enterprises in information-related industries, this study, from the perspective of enterprise connection, constructed a firm interlocking network along the south route of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road covering nodal cities along the southeast coast of China and cities in Southeast Asian countries. In addition, this paper analyzed the structural features of the firm interlocking network in the region from the perspectives of centrality and connectivity and considered the goal of constructing the core area of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road to extract the influencing factors of the firm interlocking network. The core factors influencing the centrality of cities were analyzed and identified by taking Fujian Province as an example. The study found that cities in Fujian Province generally have problems such as unremarkable centrality and weak connectivity in the firm interlocking network in the region and that the three dimensions of policy coordination, financial integration, and technology exchange in the three cities of Fujian Province need to be strengthened despite the achievements made in the three dimensions of facility connectivity, unimpeded trade, and closer people-to-people bonds. Policy suggestions for promoting the centrality of nodal cities in Fujian Province and accelerating the integration into regional city networks were made based on the above research findings and Fujian Province’s development goal of constructing a core area of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road

An SQP Algorithm for Structural Topology Optimization Based on Majorization–Minimization Method

When applying the sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm to topology optimization, using the quasi-Newton methods or calculating the Hessian matrix directly will result in a considerable amount of calculation, making it computationally infeasible when the number of optimization variables is large. To solve the above problems, this paper creatively proposes a method for calculating the approximate Hessian matrix for structural topology optimization with minimum compliance problems. Then, the second-order Taylor expansion transforms the original problem into a series of separable and easy-to-solve convex quadratic programming (QP) subproblems. Finally, the quadratic programming optimality criteria (QPOC) method and the QP solver of MATLAB are used to solve the subproblems. Compared with other sequential quadratic programming methods, the advantage of the proposed method is that the Hessian matrix is diagonally positive definite and its calculation is simple. Numerical experiments on an MBB beam and cantilever beam verify the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method

The Ovotransferrin-Derived Peptide IRW Attenuates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Responses

IRW (Ile-Arg-Trp), a bioactive peptide isolated from egg ovotransferrin, has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, the effects of IRW on inflammatory cytokines and microbiota were explored in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced rat model of inflammatory peritonitis. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with LPS to establish peritonitis. HUVECs were exposed to IRW for 12 h before introducing LPS. Notably, IRW exerted beneficial effects against LPS-induced peritonitis, specifically, by reducing the serum levels of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity (P<0.05). A faecal microbiota analysis revealed that IRW significantly increased the Shannon and decreased the Simpson indices (P<0.05). Furthermore, IRW treatment significantly inhibited the LPS-induced enhancement of TNF-α, IL-8, intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression in HUVECs (P<0.05). In conclusion, IRW supplementation inhibited the inflammatory mediator synthesis and LPS-induced inflammatory responses and influenced the gut microbiota

Sustainable Management of Food Waste during COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights into Irrational Food Hoarding among Chinese Citizens

During the COVID-19 pandemic, food waste caused by excessive hoarding has accounted a large proportion of the total food waste in urban Chinese households, which indicates that reducing food hoarding has become key to managing household food waste. This study therefore explored the behavioral mechanisms underlying excessive food hoarding among citizens. Based on a sample set of 511 respondents surveyed in Beijing, Hefei, and Guiyang in July 2022, a PLS-SEM model was conducted using SmartPLS 3.0 software to simulate the decision-making process of food hoarding. The following results were found. First, among the households with hoarding, 66.37% had some degree of food waste. Second, hoarding preference was the direct predictor of hoarding behavior, which means that hoarding behavior can be effectively controlled by regulating preferences. Third, group influence including homology consistency and social network support, as well as psychological panic, both enhanced citizens&rsquo; hoarding preference and induced hoarding behavior. Therefore, it is necessary to weaken group influence and try to help citizens overcome panic. Finally, food supply information release can not only alleviate citizens&rsquo; psychological panic and weaken group influence, but also block the transformation of preference into behavior. The above results are of great importance for the design of management policies for food waste caused by irrational hoarding during the pandemic