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To improve the accuracy of parameters used in discrete element simulation test of Chinese cabbage seeds harvesting process. Firstly, the key physical parameters of Chinese cabbage seeds were measured. According to the results, the discrete element simulation model was established and the value range of simulation test parameters was determined. Then, the actual repose angle of Chinese cabbage seeds was obtained by physical accumulation test using bottomless conical cylinder lifting method. Plackett-Burman test, steepest climb test, Box-Behnken test and parameter optimization test were carried out in sequence with the actual angle of repose as the response value. Finally, the obtained parameters are verified. 1. The Plackett-Burman test showed that the seed-seed rolling friction coefficient, the seed-steel rolling friction coefficient, the seed-seed static friction coefficient, and the seed-steel static friction coefficient had significant effects on the repose angle of Chinese cabbage seeds (P<0.05). 2. The optimization test showed that the seed-seed rolling friction coefficient was 0.08, the seed-steel rolling friction coefficient was 0.109, the seed-seed static friction coefficient was 0.496, and the seed-steel static friction coefficient was 0.415. 3. The validation test showed that the repose angle of Chinese cabbage seeds under such parameter was 23.62°, and the error with the repose angle of the physical test was 0.73%. The study show that the discrete element simulation parameters of Chinese cabbage seeds model and calibration are reliable, which can provide reference for the discrete element simulation of Chinese cabbage seeds.

Background This study investigated the association between presenteeism and the perceived availability of social support among hospital doctors in China. Methods A questionnaire was administered by doctors randomly selected from 13 hospital in Hangzhou China using stratified sampling. Logit model was used for data analysis. Results The overall response rate was 88.16%. Among hospital doctors, for each unit increase of the perceived availability of social support, the prevalence of presenteeism was decreased by 8.3% (OR = 0.91, P  = 0.000). In particular, if the doctors perceived availability of appraisal support, belonging support and tangible support as sufficient, the act of presenteeism was reduced by 20.2% (OR = 0.806, P  = 0.000) 20.4% (OR = 0.803, P = 0.000) and 21.0% (OR = 0.799, P = 0.000) respectively with statistical differences. Conclusion In China, appraisal support, belonging support and tangible support, compared to other social support, had a stronger negative correlation with presenteeism among hospital doctors. The benefits of social support in alleviating doctors’ presenteeism warrant further investigation.

In this study, we resolve the complex structure of canine TNFα (cTNFα) trimer bound to nanobody molecules at a resolution of 3.1 Å using cryo-electron microscopy. Structural comparison between cTNFα and human TNFα (hTNFα) reveals that the non-conserved residue Phe83 in cTNFα induces a conformational change in a nearby loop, which significantly reduces the binding affinity of cTNFα to nanobody TNF30. By analyzing the simulated complex structures of cTNFα with its receptors and resolved structures of hTNFα in complex with its receptors, we identify a conserved hydrophobic region involved in ligand-receptor interaction on both TNFαs. Five hydrophobic residues within this region are determined as target hotspots to allow de novo computational design of universal minibinders against both canine and human TNFα. Purified top-ranked designs exhibit sub-nanomolar to nanomolar affinity toward cTNFα as well as hTNFα, and show anti-TNFα activities to both TNFαs in cell-based assays that are comparable or superior to the anti-hTNFα activity of TNF30. This work provides a practical approach to generate universal TNFα antagonists as promising lead molecules for the development of potent cross-species biologics applicable in both humans and canines. De novo computational design of minibinder proteins, which achieve sub-nanomolar affinity to both human and canine TNFα by targeting a conserved hydrophobic surface region, enables potent cross-species TNFα antagonism.

Randomised controlled trials comparing low- v. high-fat diets on cardiometabolic risk factors in people with overweight or obesity have shown inconsistent results, which may be due to the mixed metabolic status of people with excess adiposity. The role of dietary fat manipulation in modifying cardiometabolic indicators in people with overweight or obese without metabolic disturbance is unclear. Thus, meta-analysis was conducted to compare low- v. high-fat diets on cardiometabolic indicators in people who are overweight or obese without metabolic disturbance in the present study. Databases were searched until October 2016. The pooled effects of outcomes with heterogeneity were calculated with a random-effects model, heterogeneities were analysed by subgroup and meta-regression. As a result, twenty studies with 2106 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels were lower following low-fat diets compared with high-fat diets: weighted mean difference (WMD) was −7·05 mg/dl (−0·18 mmol/l; 95 % CI −11·30, −2·80; P =0·001) and −4·41 mg/dl (−0·11 mmol/l; 95 % CI −7·81, −1·00; P =0·011), respectively. Conversely, significant higher level of TAG (WMD: 11·68 mg/dl (0·13 mmol/l), 95 % CI 5·90, 17·45; P <0·001) and lower level of HDL-cholesterol (WMD: −2·57 mg/dl (−0·07 mmol/l); 95 % CI −3·85, −1·28; P <0·001) were found following low-fat diets compared with high-fat diets. In conclusion, dietary fat manipulation has a significant influence on blood lipid levels in people with overweight or obesity without metabolic disturbances.

Background: This study investigated the association between presenteeism and the perceived availability of social support among hospital doctors in China. Methods: A questionnaire was administered by doctors randomly selected from 13 hospital in Hangzhou China using stratified sampling. Logit model was used for data analysis. Results: The overall response rate was 88.16%. Among hospital doctors, for each unit increase of the perceived availability of social support, the prevalence of presenteeism was decreased by 8.3% (OR=0.91, P=0.000). In particular, if the doctors perceived availability of appraisal support, belonging support and tangible support as sufficient, the act of presenteeism was reduced by 20.2% (OR=0.806, P=0.000) 20.4% (OR=0.803, P=0.000) and 21.0% (OR=0.799, P=0.000) respectively with statistical differences. Conclusion: In China, appraisal support, belonging support and tangible support, compared to other social support, had a stronger negative correlation with presenteeism among hospital doctors. The benefits of social support in alleviating doctors’ presenteeism warrant further investigation.

Hypertension is a pathological condition of persistent high blood pressure (BP) of which the underlying neural mechanisms remain obscure. Here, we show that the afferent nerves in perirenal adipose tissue (PRAT) contribute to maintain pathological high BP, without affecting physiological BP. Bilateral PRAT ablation or denervation leads to a long-term reduction of high BP in spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR), but has no effect on normal BP in control rats. Further, gain- and loss-of-function and neuron transcriptomics studies show that augmented activities and remodeling of L1-L2 dorsal root ganglia neurons are responsible for hypertension in SHR. Moreover, we went on to show that calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a key endogenous suppressor of hypertension that is sequestered by pro-hypertensive PRAT in SHRs. Taken together, we identify PRAT afferent nerves as a pro-hypertensive node that sustains high BP via suppressing CGRP, thereby providing a therapeutic target to tackle primary hypertension. The sympathetic nervous system can contribute to the development of hypertension, but the neurogenic mechanisms involved are incompletely understood. Here the authors report that afferent nerves in the perirenal adipose tissue (PRAT) contribute to the maintenance of high blood pressure, and PRAT ablation, denervation or upregulation of calcitonin gene-related peptide reduce blood pressure in hypertensive rats.

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Deactivation of catalyst for the oxidation of carbon monoxide in the impurity gases such as CO 2 , SO 2 , and NO x are common issues in practical use. In this work, Cu–Mn–Ce composite oxide catalysts (CMCO) were coupled with K 2 CO 3 (KC) to inhibit the poisoning effect of these gases. The CMCO/KC composite catalysts, prepared by multi-step impregnation method, were tested for CO catalytic oxidation and CO 2 chemical absorption in the presence of SO 2 (0.004% and 0.04%) or NO 2 (0.0025% and 0.025%), and further characterized by XRD and XPS. The results showed that CMCO/KC could catalyze CO efficiently at low temperatures, and proper K 2 CO 3 addition (10–50 wt%) could even promote CMCO catalytic activity owing to the CO 2 sorption. Among them, CMCO/50KC showed the highest CO catalytic performance with the T 50 of 114.5 °C. More importantly, K 2 CO 3 doping treatment could reduce or eliminate the catalyst deactivation caused by SO 2 and NO 2 , due to the competitive sorption reaction of the alkali toward the acid gases. Further regeneration experiments revealed that CMCO/KC also had fine regeneration activity and stability for CO/CO 2 removal. Graphical Abstract

Plant-based meat products have gained attention in the food industry and with consumers. Plant-based meat products primarily comprise plant proteins and are rich in nutrients. However, the products are highly susceptible to bacterial contamination during storage. Biological preservatives are easily degradable alternatives to chemical preservatives and can preserve different kinds of food. In order to investigate the preservation properties of chitosan (CS), tea polyphenols (TPs), and nisin treatments on plant-based meats, the sensory evaluation, color difference, pH, TBARS, and the total plate count of E. coli, S. aureus, and Salmonella, indicators of the biological preservative-treated plant-based meat, were determined in this study. The experiment involved blank control- and biological preservative-treated samples. We found that the total microbial count exceeded the national standard provisions in the control samples stored for 14 days. The colors, tissue structures, and flavors of plant-based meat have gradually deteriorated, with the sensory score dropping from 90 to 52. The sample had a loose tissue structure and an obvious sour taste. However, the shelf life of the plant-based meat samples treated with different combinations of the biological preservatives increased compared to the shelf life of the control samples. After 56 d of storage, 1% chitosan, 2.5% tea polyphenols, and 0.04% nisin sensory reduction to 56, the total number of colonies and S. aureus were 4.91 and 2.95 lg CFU/g, approaching the national standard threshold; E. coli was 2 lg CFU/g, reaching the national standard threshold. Thus, the samples treated with 1% chitosan, 2.5% tea polyphenols, and 0.04% nisin had the longest shelf life (56 days) among all experimental groups. Hence, this study reveals that a combination of biological preservatives may be a non-toxic alternative for the efficient preservation of plant-based meat products.

The sealing ring of the external floating roof tank is prone to petroleum gas leakage due to material aging and oil corrosion. Petroleum gas leakage and diffusion easily accumulate above the floating deck. When it is within the explosion limit range, there will be the risk of explosion and fire. To deal with the explosion accident of storage tank caused by the concentration distribution of petroleum gas leakage for the sealing ring, and to study the influence of petroleum gas diffusion and concentration distribution after sealing ring leakage on the control area above the floating deck in the tank farm environment, this paper established numerical models of sealing ring leakage under different liquid level heights for 10 × 10 4  m 3 external floating roof tank. Through numerical calculation, it is found that the diffusion concentration of petroleum gas is related to the wind speed, the range of the control area above the floating deck, and leakage when sealing rings leak at different liquid levels. Through dimensionless analysis, the functional relationship of gas leakage diffusion concentration distribution under different liquid level heights of external floating roof tank sealing rings is verified by numerical calculation results. The results show that the numerical results are consistent with those predicted by the formula.