Dielectric performance and conductive mechanism of KNN-based ceramics prepared via sol–gel core–shell process

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - 0.95(Li0.02Na0.50K0.48)(Nb0.95Sb0.05)O3–0.05AgTaO3@BaZrO3 (LNKNbSAT@BZ) lead-free ceramics were prepared via a sol–gel...     

Priority-MECE: A Mobile Edge Cloud Ecosystem Based on Priority Tasks Offloading

Mobile Networks and Applications - With the rapid development of Internet of things, the traditional city model is no longer applicable. Therefore, the emerging concept of smart city meets the...     

Phenolic profiling reveals the metabolite basis of flesh colour and fresh-cut browning in apple fruit

Flesh colour, which is affected by cultivars and browning, can largely impact consumer acceptance in fresh-cut apples. The study profiled phenolic metabolites from apple flesh of twenty-three cultivars by widely targeted metabolomics. Comparison among white- and yellow-fleshed cultivars showed fifteen phenolics, mainly quercetin 3-O-glucoside, hyperoside, hesperetin 5-O-glucoside and cymaroside, in white-fleshed apples were significantly higher than those in yellow-fleshed apples. It may indicate a metabolite basis of yellow and white flesh colour, and better potential nutrition in white-fleshed apples. In addition, ten phenolic metabolites including five cyanidin glycosides showed significant differences between the highest and the lowest browning groups, indicating them may be crucial in browning of fresh-cut apple. This work elucidates the differences of phenolic profiles among apple cultivars with different flesh colour and provides useful data to evaluate the suitability of apple for fresh-cut processing.     

Cornus officinalis vinegar reduces body weight and attenuates hepatic steatosis in mouse model of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

This study aimed to determine the main bioactive components of Cornus officinalis vinegar (COV) and assess the effects of COV on the body weight (BW) and hepatic steatosis in a nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mouse model. Seven-week-old KM female mice were divided into five treatment groups: (1) Normal control (NC) group, (2) high fat diet (HFD) group, (3) low concentration treatment group (3.5% COV), (4) medium concentration treatment group (5.0% COV), and (5) high concentration treatment group (6.5% COV). Mice in the NC group were fed with a normal chow diet, and those in the other four groups were fed with a HFD known for causing obesity for 10 weeks. Then, mice in the three COV treatment groups were orally administered with COV once a day for 6 weeks. Results showed that the contents of loganin and morroniside in COV reached 16.82 and 51.17 µg/ml, respectively, and COV also contained multiple organic acids. COV significantly reduced BW, abdominal fat weight, liver weight, and the levels of glucose, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of serum and increased the levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol of serum (p < 0.05). COV also improved the liver function and anti-oxidant activity of liver (p < 0.05). COV treatments increased the interleukin-10 expression and reduced the tumor necrosis factor-α expression in the liver tissue of NAFLD mice (p < 0.05). Histopathological observation revealed that COV suppressed hepatic lipid accumulation and steatosis. The results suggest that COV may contribute to the alleviation of NAFLD and obesity.     

How scientific research incorporates policy: an examination using the case of China’s science and technology evaluation system

Scientometrics - Governments typically formulate sets of policies to guide the direction of scientific research. And the possible effects of these policies on scientific research have been...