Fermentation improves flavors, bioactive substances, and antioxidant capacity of Bian-Que Triple-Bean Soup by lactic acid bacteria

The ancient traditional Chinese drink Bian-Que Triple-Bean Soup made by fermentation (FTBS) of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis YM313 and Lacticaseibacillus casei YQ336 is a potential functional drink. The effect of fermentation on the flavor and biological activity of FTBS was evaluated by analyzing its chemical composition. Five volatile flavors were detected in modified FTBS. Fermentation decreased the proportion of nonanal (beany flavor substances) but significantly increased the total flavone contents, phenol contents and many bioactive small molecule substances in FTBS. The changes of these substances led to the significant improvement of FTBS sensory evaluation, antioxidant activity and prebiotic potential. This research provides a theoretical basis for the application of Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the fermentation of edible plant-based foods and transformation from traditional food to industrial production

Examining Driver Injury Severity in Intersection-Related Crashes Using Cluster Analysis and Hierarchical Bayesian Models

Traffic crashes are more likely to occur at intersections where the traffic environment is complicated. In this study, a hybrid approach combining cluster analysis and hierarchical Bayesian models is developed to examine driver injury severity patterns in intersection-related crashes based on two-year crash data in New Mexico. Three clusters are defined by K-means cluster analysis based on weather and roadway environmental conditions in order to reveal drivers’ risk compensation instability under diverse external environment. Hierarchical Bayesian random intercept models are developed for each of the three clusters as well as the whole dataset to identify the contributing factors on multilevel driver injury outcomes: property damage only (Level I), complaint of injury and visible injury (Level II), and incapacitating injury and fatality (Level III). Model comparison with an ordinary multinomial logistic model omitting crash data hierarchical features and cross-level interactions verifies the suitability and effectiveness of the proposed hybrid approach. Results show that a number of crash-level variables (time period, weather, light condition, area, and road grade), vehicle/driver-level variables (traffic controls, vehicle action, vehicle type, seatbelt used, driver age, drug/alcohol impaired, and driver age) along with some cross-level interactions (i.e., left turn and night, drug and dark) impose significantly influence driver injury severity. This study provides insightful understandings of the effects of these variables on driver injury severity in intersection-related crashes and beneficial references for developing effective countermeasures for severe crash prevention

Real-time Monitoring for the Next Core-Collapse Supernova in JUNO

International audienceCore-collapse supernova (CCSN) is one of the most energetic astrophysical events in the Universe. The early and prompt detection of neutrinos before (pre-SN) and during the SN burst is a unique opportunity to realize the multi-messenger observation of the CCSN events. In this work, we describe the monitoring concept and present the sensitivity of the system to the pre-SN and SN neutrinos at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), which is a 20 kton liquid scintillator detector under construction in South China. The real-time monitoring system is designed with both the prompt monitors on the electronic board and online monitors at the data acquisition stage, in order to ensure both the alert speed and alert coverage of progenitor stars. By assuming a false alert rate of 1 per year, this monitoring system can be sensitive to the pre-SN neutrinos up to the distance of about 1.6 (0.9) kpc and SN neutrinos up to about 370 (360) kpc for a progenitor mass of 30$M_{\odot}$ for the case of normal (inverted) mass ordering. The pointing ability of the CCSN is evaluated by using the accumulated event anisotropy of the inverse beta decay interactions from pre-SN or SN neutrinos, which, along with the early alert, can play important roles for the followup multi-messenger observations of the next Galactic or nearby extragalactic CCSN