Although corporate environmental responsibility (CER) can influence employees’ attitudes and behaviors, little research has been done to explain the effect of different dimensions of CER (e.g. substantive and symbolic CER) on employees’ pro-environmental behaviors at work, and further to explore the underlying mechanism and the boundary condition of this effect. This research built a theoretical model to explain how and when substantive and symbolic CER influences employees’ pro-environmental behaviors. 188 matched supervisor-subordinate dyads were collected...

An endophytic fungus strain DYSJ3 was isolated from a stem of Aphanamixis grandifolia Blume, which was identified as Aspergillus versicolor based on the morphological characteristics, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and calmodulin gene sequences analyses. A. versicolor DYSJ3 exhibited strong antagonistic activity against Colletotrichum musae, C. gloeosporioides and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense with the inhibition rates of 61.9, 51.2 and 55.3% respectively. The antifungal metabolites mainly existed in the mycelium of A. versicolor DYSJ3, and...

β-galactosidase catalyzes lactose hydrolysis and transfers reactions to produce prebiotics such as galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) with potential applications in the food industry and pharmaceuticals. However, there is still a need for improved transgalactosylation activity of β-galactosidases and reaction conditions of GOS production in order to maximize GOS output and reduce production costs. In this study, a β-galactosidase gene, galA, from Bacillus circulans was expressed in Pichia pastoris, which not only hydrolyzed lactose but also had strong...

Oral route colon-targeted drug delivery systems (CDDSs) are desirable for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). However, CDDSs are challenging owing to the physiological and anatomical barriers associated with the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). In this study, we developed an effective enzyme-triggered controlled release system using curcumin–cyclodextrin (CD–Cur) inclusion complex as core and low molecular weight chitosan and unsaturated alginate resulting nanoparticles (CANPs) as shell. The formed CD–Cur–CANPs showed a narrow particle-size distribution and a compact...

Oral route colon-targeted drug delivery systems (CDDSs) are desirable for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). However, CDDSs are challenging owing to the physiological and anatomical barriers associated with the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). In this study, we developed an effective enzyme-triggered controlled release system using curcumin–cyclodextrin (CD–Cur) inclusion complex as core and low molecular weight chitosan and unsaturated alginate resulting nanoparticles (CANPs) as shell. The formed CD–Cur–CANPs showed a narrow particle-size distribution and a compact...

In this study, we applied a composite index of neutrophil-lymphocyte * platelet ratio (NLPR), and explore the significance of the dynamics of perioperative NLPR in predicting cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI). During July 1st and December 31th 2019, participants were prospectively derived from the ‘Zhongshan Cardiovascular Surgery Cohort’. NLPR was determined using neutrophil counts, lymphocyte and platelet count at the two-time points. Dose-response relationship analyses were applied to delineate the non-linear odds ratio (OR)...

Additional file 1.

Two new alkaloids, phranisines A–B (1–2), along with two known compounds, N-p-Coumaroyl serotonin (3) and N-p-coumaroyl-tryptamine (4), were isolated from the roots of Phragmites australis. The structures of 1–4 were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic. The absolute configuration of compounds 1–2 were identified through quantum-chemical electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation compared with their experimental CD. All the isolated compounds were tested for their cytotoxic activities against HeLa and MCF-7 human cancer cell lines,...

Three new sesquiterpenoid alkaloids, cangorin K (1), dimacroregelines C (2) and D (3), as well as two known sesquiterpenoids (4–5), were isolated from the roots of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. The structures of new compounds were characterised by extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses, as well as HRESIMS data, and the known compounds were established by 1 D NMR spectra referring to the literatures. Cytotoxicity evaluation of these compounds against two human tumour lines...

Ribes himalense Royle ex Decne, a small shrub, is widely used as a Tibetan medicine in Chinese folk. In this study, three novel 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl inhibitors named Rihimaside A, Rihimaside B, and Rihimaside C, as well as one known 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl inhibitor, dihydromyricetin, were isolated from the leaves and stems of Ribes himalense Royle ex Decne using online high performance liquid chromatography-1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl activity screening system combined with medium and high-pressure liquid chromatography. All four 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl inhibitors are...

To get additional insight into the genetic factors of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). First, we performed a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) integrating human cerebellum-specific variant-expression/splicing correlations to identify ADHD susceptibility genes. Then, the associations between expression/splicing quantitative trait loci (eQTLs/sQTLs) of the transcriptome-wide significant genes and ADHD were observed in a case-control study of Han Chinese children. Furthermore, dual luciferase reporter gene assays were performed to validate the regulatory function of ADHD risk variants....

Chemotherapy is one of the main ways to treat breast cancer clinically. However, the multidrug resistance to anti-tumor drugs limits their clinical use. To overcome these drawbacks, the development of drug delivery systems (DDSs) has attracted more and more attention in cancer therapy. At present, the preparation and purification process are complicated for many reported DDSs, while the clinic calls for new DDSs that are more convenient for preparation. Here a new pH-responsive supramolecular organic...

Yunnan, the region hardest hit by HIV/AIDS in China, is also an area with the most abundant HIV-1 genetic diversity. A large number of novel HIV-1 circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) and unique recombinants were identified among injection drug users in Yunnan; however, few were found among sexual contacts. Here, we obtained 15 near full-length genome sequences (NFLGs) from HIV-1 seropositive heterosexual contacts in Yunnan who received antiretroviral therapy during the period from 2014 to 2016....

Yunnan, the region hardest hit by HIV/AIDS in China, is also an area with the most abundant HIV-1 genetic diversity. A large number of novel HIV-1 circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) and unique recombinants were identified among injection drug users in Yunnan; however, few were found among sexual contacts. Here, we obtained 15 near full-length genome sequences (NFLGs) from HIV-1 seropositive heterosexual contacts in Yunnan who received antiretroviral therapy during the period from 2014 to 2016....

Five linear diarylheptanoids (1-5), including a new one (1), were isolated from the rhizomes of Curcuma kwangsiensis S. G. Lee et C. F. Liang, while four linear diarylheptanoids (6-9) and four cyclic diarylheptanoids (10-13) were isolated from the roots of Curcuma aromatica Salisb. Using the model of H2O2-induced PC12 cells, the antioxidant effects of these thirteen diarylheptanoids from these two traditional Chinese medicines from Curcuma genus of Zingiberaceae family were investigated. As result, they produced...

Five linear diarylheptanoids (1-5), including a new one (1), were isolated from the rhizomes of Curcuma kwangsiensis S. G. Lee et C. F. Liang, while four linear diarylheptanoids (6-9) and four cyclic diarylheptanoids (10-13) were isolated from the roots of Curcuma aromatica Salisb. Using the model of H2O2-induced PC12 cells, the antioxidant effects of these thirteen diarylheptanoids from these two traditional Chinese medicines from Curcuma genus of Zingiberaceae family were investigated. As result, they produced...

Few mental health assessment tools are available for people with hearing loss (HL) in China. The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Adult Hearing Loss (AAQ-AHL) has been specifically designed to assess psychological inflexibility in adults with HL and may help assess mental health status promptly for targeted psychological interventions. The study aimed to investigate the cross-cultural validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the AAQ-AHL to assess its applicability to teenagers and adults with HL in...

Chemical drug design based on the biochemical characteristics of cancer cells has become an important strategy for discovering new anti-tumour drugs to improve tumour targeting effects and reduce off-target toxicities. Colchicine is one of the most prominent and historically microtubule-targeting drugs, but its clinical applications are hindered by notorious adverse effects. In this study, we presented a novel tumour-specific conjugate 9 that consists of deacetylcolchicine (Deac), biotin, and a cleavable disulphide linker. 9 was found...

This paper considers a single-machine scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times and energy-generation and storage systems. Each job requires a sequence-dependent setup to be processed on the machine, and both setup and processing of the job require job-dependent amounts of energy. The energy consumed by the machine can be bought from an Electric Power Company (EPC) or generated by own Distributed Energy Resource (DER), such as solar photovoltaic or wind, and the energy can be...

To investigate whether high-phosphorus diets alter gut microbiota in healthy rats and chronic kidney disease (CKD) rats. In this 4-week randomized controlled trial, healthy rats and CKD rats were fed a regular-phosphorus (Pi: 0.8%) and high-phosphorus (Pi: 1.2%) diet. The subjects were divided into four groups: sham-group rats with regular-phosphorus diet intervention (CTL group), sham-group rats with high-phosphorus diet intervention (CTLP group), CKD model rats with regular-phosphorus diet intervention (CKD group), and CKD model rats...

To investigate whether high-phosphorus diets alter gut microbiota in healthy rats and chronic kidney disease (CKD) rats. In this 4-week randomized controlled trial, healthy rats and CKD rats were fed a regular-phosphorus (Pi: 0.8%) and high-phosphorus (Pi: 1.2%) diet. The subjects were divided into four groups: sham-group rats with regular-phosphorus diet intervention (CTL group), sham-group rats with high-phosphorus diet intervention (CTLP group), CKD model rats with regular-phosphorus diet intervention (CKD group), and CKD model rats...

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between growth performance, body composition, and fat deposition factors, and feed efficiency in growing lambs. We measured average daily feed intake (ADFI) and body weight (BW) from 653 Hu sheep that were fed a pellet diet. The residual feed intake (RFI) not significantly genetic and phenotypic correlated with the metabolic body weight (MBW) and average daily gain (ADG), but it was significantly genetic and phenotypic correlated with...

Cisplatin (DDP) is a first-line chemotherapeutic drug applied for the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The anticancer activity of DDP is tightly linked to its intracellular uptake. It is unwise to increase the DDP intake by increasing the dose or shortening the dosing interval because of the severe systemic toxicity (nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity and neurotoxicity) in DDP application. The main uptake pathways of DDP include passive diffusion and active transporter transport. Therefore, finding additional...

This work studied the physical properties of three deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and their catalytic activity in the esterification of palmitic acid and ethanol. Three types of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were successfully prepared using p-toluene sulfonic acid monohydrate (PTSA) as hydrogen bond donor (HBD) with dodecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DTAC), tetradecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (TTAC) and octadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (OTAC) as hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA). The freezing points of DESs were measured in...

Vascular calcification is a major complication of chronic renal failure, which has been identified as an active process partly driven by osteogenic transition of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Aspirin could prevent cardiomyocyte damage by inducing heat shock response. This study investigates the effect of aspirin on alleviating VSMC calcification. An in vitro VSMC calcification model was established by 10-day calcification induction in osteogenic medium. VSMCs were grouped as following: control group (normal medium), calcified...