Microencapsulation of green coffee oil by complex coacervation of soy protein isolate, sodium casinate and polysaccharides: Physicochemical properties, structural characterisation, and oxidation stability.

This study developed a combination method between protein-polysaccharide complex coacervation and freezing drying for the preparation of green coffee oil (GCO) encapsulated powders. Different combinations of soy protein isolate, sodium caseinate, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, and sodium alginate were utilised as wall materials. The occurrence of complexation between the biopolymers were compared to the final emulsion of the individual protein and confirmed by fourier transform infrared spectrometry and X-ray diffraction. The mean diameter and estimated PDI of GCO microcapsules were 72.57-295.00 µm and 1.47-2.02, respectively. Furthermore, the encapsulation efficiency of GCO microcapsules was between 61.47 and 90.01 %. Finally, oxidation kinetics models of GCO and its microcapsules demonstrated that the zero-order model of GCO microcapsules was found to have a higher fit, which could better reflect the quality changes of GCO microcapsules during storage. Different combinations of proteins and polysaccharides exhibited effective oxidative stability against single proteins because of polysaccharide addition. This research revealed that soy protein isolate, sodium caseinate combined with polysaccharides can be used as a promising microencapsulating agent for microencapsulation of GCO, especially with sodium carboxymethylcellulose and sodium alginate, and provided useful information for the potential use of GCO in the development of powder food.

Dining comfort in elderly care facility dining rooms and influencing factors before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed dining modes in elderly care facilities. This study explores the relationship between the dining environment of four elderly care facilities and the sensitivity of the elderly residents to it before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study examined differences in subjective comfort levels by measuring the facilities' physical environment, analysing dining behavior, and surveying the elderly residents. And the study examined how the interaction between the physical environment factors, demographic factors, and dining mode affected the residents' evaluation of their dining comfort. Results: (1) The physical environmental parameters of the four dining rooms differed between the pre- and post-epidemic periods, as shown by increased Sound Pressure Level (SPL), humidity, and temperature levels. (2) The residents' evaluations of physical environment comfort also changed after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The subjective comfort levels of the 'dining with baffle' and 'dining across a seat' modes decreased, though the level of the former was slightly higher than that of the latter. The elderly had stronger SPL tolerance in the dining with baffle mode and dining across a seat mode, and their subjective comfort levels for thermal environment and air quality were higher in the dining across a seat mode. (3) When dining time, crowd density, and communication frequency were kept equal, the subjective comfort level of the elderly in the dining with baffle mode and dining across a seat mode was lower than that in the 'normal' dining mode, when the level in the dining with baffle mode was lower than that in the dining across a seat mode. (4) Differences were observed in subjective comfort levels according to age, education level, and residence duration across the dining modes. Discussion: The need for changes in dining modes during the COVID-19 isolation period require dining rooms in elderly care facilities to design their physical environments in a way that improves dining comfort for the elderly.

Impact of the Soundscape on the Physical Health and the Perception of Senior Adults in Senior Care Facilities.

PURPOSE: To explore the impact of different acoustic stimuli of varying sound pressure levels on physical responses and the perception of senior adults. BACKGROUND: Noise-related health problems have been gaining increased attention as studies have shown an association with negative impacts on physiological parameters resulting in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, a gap in knowledge exists in exploring the impact of exposure to sound recordings in the actual environment on physiological measurements. METHODS: Five acoustic stimuli were recorded in real life and 120 senior adults listened to them in a sound treated room to analyze the impacts of low-, middle-, and high-decibel sounds on their heart rate, blood pressure, and perception. The physical responses, heart rate, and blood pressure were measured during the sound exposure, and questionnaires were administered afterward. RESULTS: Exposure to different sounds resulted in fluctuations and an inconsistent trend in heart rate, systolic pressure, and diastolic pressure. According to the physical measures and subjective evaluations, sport sounds and traffic noise were given the lowest rating for preference, while music was perceived as the most comfortable. CONCLUSIONS: A sound pressure level below 55-65 dB(A) correlates with increased comfort and less increase in heart rate and blood pressure. Senior adults with normal hearing preferred and were most comfortable with music, while those with severe hearing impairment preferred entertainment sounds the most.

Home bias and employee social responsibility: Identification vs. benefit exchange.

Employees, as the most valuable assets and critical sources of competitive advantage in enterprises, are among the important stakeholders in enterprises. Employee social responsibility (ESR) has been a continually important research interest in the field of enterprise social responsibility. However, in the literature, few studies explore how personal features affect employee social responsibility. Thus, sampling China's listed companies from 2006 to 2019, we investigate how the home bias of senior executives influences enterprises' employee social responsibility. We identify home bias based on whether a chairperson's or CEO's hometown matches the firm's registration place. Three main results are obtained. First, the home bias of both CEOs and chairpersons can improve the corporate fulfillment of employee social responsibility. Second, further cost-benefit analysis shows that this result is due to not only identification but also benefit exchange. Although senior executives' home bias significantly decreases employee turnover rate, enterprises absorb more employment, which significantly increases their redundant personnel costs. Therefore, firms should balance the potential benefits and costs incurred by home bias via trade-off. Third, in firms facing less market competition, firms with more governmental subsidies or state-owned firms, senior executives' home bias has a more significant promoting effect on the fulfillment of ESR, supporting the view of benefit exchange. Accordingly, by extending theories on the effects of senior executives' home bias and enriching the ESR literature, this paper has important practical value, our findings can guide and promote firms to perform ESR while actively complying with a national policy for stabilizing employment and ensuring people's well-being.

Indoor Environmental Quality of Residential Elderly Care Facilities in Northeast China.

The indoor environmental quality is based on the indoor environmental performance of buildings, such as air temperature, lighting, and acoustics. These parameters have a specific impact on users' health and experience. This study explores the relationship between the indoor environment of residential elderly care facilities in cold regions and the sensitivity of the elderly to these facilities with the aim of improving the elderly care environment. This study measured the acoustic, lighting, and thermal environment in four residential elderly care facilities in Northeast China in spring, summer, autumn, and winter through a participant survey. In the residential elderly care facilities surveyed in this study, brightness and illuminance show a nonlinear relationship with lighting evaluation. With an increase in brightness and illuminance, the satisfaction of the lighting environment in different seasons first increases and then decreases. The relative humidity of the different types of rooms varies greatly in spring and less in winter. The average air quality score of the bedroom is higher than that of the activity room. The correlation between odor assessment and overall indoor environmental quality is very poor. The results of the questionnaire survey indicate that the participants were satisfied with the facilities' overall indoor environmental quality. This quality is affected by physical, environmental, and demographic factors. This study provides a reference for the design of other residential elderly care facilities.

Evaluating Patient Satisfaction in Township Hospitals in the Cold Regions of China.

OBJECTIVE: This study focused on township hospitals in the cold regions of China and aimed to evaluate patient satisfaction during the medical care process. This study also discusses the correlation between patient needs and satisfaction. BACKGROUND: Hospitals seek to improve patient satisfaction to provide better service. However, there is a lack of existing literature on grassroots medical institutions in towns and townships, especially in cold regions. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the correlation between patient needs and the satisfaction of township hospitals in the cold regions of China. METHODS: First, a hierarchical task analysis method was used to build the hierarchy for patient satisfaction demands. Patients from 15 township hospitals in cold areas were subjected to semistructured interviews, and a theoretical model was proposed using the grounded theory method. Finally, each open code index was evaluated, and 270 questionnaires were issued to evaluate patient satisfaction. RESULTS: The framework for patient satisfaction demands included five dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. A theoretical model for patient satisfaction demands was built, and four selective codes, including "Characteristic", "Perceived Quality", "Loyalty Intention", and "Environment Expectation", were extracted. The weights of these satisfaction-influencing factors were subsequently evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: This study summarizes the existing problems in a basic health service provision capacity, climate adaptability, lack of environmental design, and so on; proposes four influencing factors; establishes a patient satisfaction evaluation model; and obtains the weight of influence of each factor. These results will help provide accurate and effective suggestions for hospital management.

Tubal Origin of "Ovarian" Low-Grade Serous Carcinoma: A Gene Expression Profile Study.

OBJECTIVE: Ovarian low-grade serous carcinomas are thought to evolve in a stepwise fashion from ovarian epithelial inclusions, serous cystadenomas, and serous borderline tumors. Our previous study with clinicopathological approach showed that the majority ovarian epithelial inclusions are derived from the fallopian tubal epithelia rather than from ovarian surface epithelia. This study was designed to gain further insight into the cellular origin of ovarian low-grade serous carcinomas by differential gene expression profiling studies. METHODS: Gene expression profiles were studied in 43 samples including 11 ovarian low-grade serous carcinomas, 7 serous borderline tumors, 6 serous cystadenomas, 6 ovarian epithelial inclusions, 7 fallopian tubal epithelia, and 6 ovarian surface epithelia. Comprehensive analyses with hierarchical clustering, Rank-sum analysis and Pearson correlation tests were performed. Final validation was done on selected genes and corresponding proteins. RESULTS: The gene expression profiles distinguished ovarian low-grade serous carcinomas from ovarian surface epithelia, but not from fallopian tubal epithelia cells. Hierarchical clustering analysis showed ovarian serous tumors and ovarian epithelial inclusions were clustered closely in a branch, but separated from ovarian surface epithelia. The results were further validated by selected proteins of OVGP1, WT-1, and FOM3, which were highly expressed in the samples of the fallopian tube, ovarian epithelial inclusions, and ovarian serous tumors, but not in ovarian surface epithelia. The reverse was true for the protein expression patterns of ARX and FNC1. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence in a molecular level that ovarian low-grade serous carcinomas likely originate from the fallopian tube rather than from ovarian surface epithelia. Similar gene expression profiles among fallopian tube, ovarian epithelial inclusions, and serous tumors further support that ovarian low-grade serous carcinomas develop in a stepwise fashion. Such findings may have a significant implication for "ovarian" cancer-prevention strategies.