Evaluation of the Antioxidative, Antibacterial, and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of the Aloe

Little work is done to develop Aloe vera (AV) using probiotics. To explore the potential benefits, the antioxidant effects and the antibacterial effects on foodborne pathogens of Aloe fermentation supernatant were evaluated in vitro. Our results indicated that the Aloe fermentation supernatant fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum HM218749.1 had very strong scavenging capacities of the DPPH (86%), O2•- (85%), OH• (76%), and Fe2+ chelation (82%) and reducing powers (242.5 mg/L), and the inhibition zones for Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteritidis, Shigella flexneri, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, S. dysenteriae 301, Staphylococcus aureus Cowan1, and Propionibacterium acnes were 16, 15, 19, 20, 21, 20, and 27 mm. Moreover, the low concentration of Aloe fermentation supernatant had significantly reduced the production of IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 in both mRNA and protein levels (P<0.01). Therefore, the Aloe fermentation supernatant can be used as functional beverage or cosmetic ingredients to guard human intestinal health, delaying senescence, and prevent chronic diseases

Rapid subsurface damage detection of SiC using inductivity coupled plasma

This paper proposes a method for the rapid detection of subsurface damage (SSD) of SiC using atmospheric inductivity coupled plasma. As a plasma etching method operated at ambient pressure with no bias voltage, this method does not introduce any new SSD to the substrate. Plasma diagnosis and simulation are used to optimize the detection operation. Assisted by an SiC cover, a taper can be etched on the substrate with a high material removal rate. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscope are used to analyze the etching results, and scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) is adopted to confirm the accuracy of this method. The STEM result also indicates that etching does not introduce any SSD, and the thoroughly etched surface is a perfectly single crystal. A rapid SSD screening ability is also demonstrated, showing that this method is a promising approach for the rapid detection of SSD

Research on the Production Process of 99Mo Based on Low Enriched Uranium Fuel in Medical Isotope Test Reactor

The medical isotope test reactor that utilizes uranyl nitrate solution as its fuel source has certain advantages when it comes to the production of 99Mo. This method has emerged as an important developmental direction for the generation of medical isotopes. Low-enriched uranium fuel is the trend of research reactor development，and the 99Mo separation process of the medical isotope test reactor under low-enriched uranium conditions is crucial. In this study，a comprehensive analysis was conducted on the 99Mo separation and purification process using a medical isotope test reactor that utilizes low-enriched uranium fuel. The research primarily focused on the development and optimization of a novel method involving a combination of spherical alumina columns，an α-benzoin oxime column，and an activated carbon column. The outcomes of this research are promising，as the combination of these three columns facilitated an effective extraction，separation，and purification of 99Mo. Moreover，through the production verification of the separation of Mo in the low-enriched uranium simulated fuel solution by using this process，the recovery rate of Mo is 75.7%，and the impurities also meet the requirements. This process improves the production rate of 99Mo of the medical isotope test reactor under low-enriched uranium fuel conditions，lays a foundation for the low-enrichment of the medical isotope test reactor，and has great application value

Resilience, organizational support, and innovative behavior on nurses’ work engagement: a moderated mediation analysis

ObjectivesTo investigate the status of nurses’ work engagement and the relationship among resilience, organizational support, and innovative behaviors.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we investigated 496 nurses in Hunan, China, from July 2022 to December 2022. A descriptive statistical approach, Pearson’s correlation analysis and Hayes’ PROCESS Macro Models 4 and 14 were used to analyze the available data.ResultsThe level of work engagement among nurses was found to be moderate. Resilience positively predicted work engagement among nurses. Organizational support played a partially mediating role in the association between resilience and work engagement. Furthermore, innovative behavior played a moderating role in the association between adaptive resilience and work engagement.ConclusionBased on the results, greater attention needs to be paid to nurses’ work engagement. A high level of resilience, organizational support, and innovative behavior may increase work engagement among nurses. Nursing leaders can take measures to increase work engagement among nurses by improving nurses’ resilience and organizational support, and cultivating innovative behavior

FunAudioLLM: Voice Understanding and Generation Foundation Models for Natural Interaction Between Humans and LLMs

This report introduces FunAudioLLM, a model family designed to enhance natural voice interactions between humans and large language models (LLMs). At its core are two innovative models: SenseVoice, which handles multilingual speech recognition, emotion recognition, and audio event detection; and CosyVoice, which facilitates natural speech generation with control over multiple languages, timbre, speaking style, and speaker identity. SenseVoice-Small delivers exceptionally low-latency ASR for 5 languages, and SenseVoice-Large supports high-precision ASR for over 50 languages, while CosyVoice excels in multi-lingual voice generation, zero-shot in-context learning, cross-lingual voice cloning, and instruction-following capabilities. The models related to SenseVoice and CosyVoice have been open-sourced on Modelscope and Huggingface, along with the corresponding training, inference, and fine-tuning codes released on GitHub. By integrating these models with LLMs, FunAudioLLM enables applications such as speech-to-speech translation, emotional voice chat, interactive podcasts, and expressive audiobook narration, thereby pushing the boundaries of voice interaction technology. Demos are available at https://fun-audio-llm.github.io, and the code can be accessed at https://github.com/FunAudioLLM.Comment: Work in progress. Authors are listed in alphabetical order by family nam

A Study of Virtual Water Trade among G20 Countries from a Value-Added Trade Perspective

From a value-added trade perspective, this study utilizes the world input&ndash;output tables and the water footprint data of each industry in each country in the Eora database to explore the virtual water resources of 19 countries (the G20 countries excluding the European Union) in 2016. We calculated nine value chain decompositions and the pattern of virtual water flows and then explored the implied virtual water use due to the trade of intermediate goods and final goods, and we also analyzed the unequal trade of virtual water and added value among countries. The results indicate the following. Firstly, in most countries, the largest portion of virtual water is attributed to exports of intermediate inputs that are produced in the source country and fully utilized by the direct import countries, followed by the foreign value-added component of intermediate goods, while the smallest share of virtual water is returned to the country. Secondly, in value-added trade, excluding the rest of the world (ROW), China, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Germany are net importers in the virtual water trade between G20 countries, and the USA is the largest net exporter of virtual water. Thirdly, intermediate product trade is the dominant form of implied virtual water trade among countries, which leads to a net flow ratio of implied virtual water of about 80% to 90%. Lastly, the Virtual Water Inequality Index shows that thirteen country combinations, including Brazil and Argentina, exhibit significant inequality, and most countries are in a relatively equal state. In addition, the virtual water and added value of the relatively economically developed regions benefit more from the virtual water trade. Therefore, it is crucial for countries to reduce their consumption of virtual water when trading intermediate products to develop high-value-added and low-water-consumption industries and to choose appropriate virtual water trade targets

A Study on the Characteristics and Influencing Factors of the Global Grain Virtual Water Trade Network

With the deepening of international trade and the increasing strain on water resources, the importance of the virtual water trade of grain products on an international level has become increasingly prominent. Based on FAOSTAT and water value research reports, this study constructed the virtual water trade networks of wheat, rice, maize, and soybeans for 29 major grain trading countries in 2012 and 2022 and measured their network indicators and virtual water flow patterns. In addition, a QAP regression analysis was used to study the influencing factors of the virtual water trade network for grain products from the perspective of four dimensions: economic scale, geographical characteristics, resource endowment, and policy agreements. The results were as follows: Firstly, from 2012 to 2022, the virtual water trade of wheat and rice shifted from a state of net virtual water outflow to net virtual water inflow, and the overall net virtual water flows of maize and soybeans both showed a net virtual water inflow. Secondly, wheat&rsquo;s virtual water trade network participants had reduced obvious &ldquo;small-world&rdquo; features, and KOR, the USA, TUR, and IND have long been at the center of that network. When the core nodes of the virtual water trade network of rice were reduced, the network tended to be decentralized. In that network, IND, NPL, the USA, and ZAF always occupied dominant positions. The overall connectivity of the maize virtual water trade network increased, with both the USA and JPN as the trade core. The number of core countries in the soybean virtual water trade network increased; significantly, CHN, the USA, and THA were in dominant positions. Lastly, the GDP at the economic scale was the biggest core driving factor of all virtual water trade networks of various grain products, followed by per capita arable land area in terms of resource endowment. In addition, the geographic characteristics and trade agreements of the virtual water trade networks of grain products also had a more significant negative impact. This paper argues that countries should make trade adjustments for their own developing disadvantaged grain products, vigorously develop their national economies, optimize the structure of the grain trade, and promote benign cooperation in international virtual water trade for grain products