Effects of salt and rice flour concentration on microbial diversity and the quality of sour meat,a Chinese traditional meat

This study investigated the effects of salt(3%and 6%,m/m)and rice flour(10%and 20%,m/m)addition in sour meat,a traditional Chinese fermented meat.It was found that salt has greater effect than rice flour addition in spontaneous fermentation.Low-salt groups had lower pH and higher titratable total acid.In the low-salt groups,the dominant genera were Lactobacillus and Lactococcus,whereas Staphylococcus,Weissella,and Tetragenococcus were dominant in the high-salt groups.Higher total free amino acids and essential amino acids,organic acids,hexanoic acid ethyl ester and octanoic acid ethyl ester were found in the low-salt groups.The RDA analysis revealed that Lactococcus was closely related to product quality,with the S3F10(3%salt and 10%rice f lour)group outperforming the others in the sensory evaluation.Therefore,3%salt and 10%rice flour were considered more appropriate for the production of healthy and tasty fermented sour meats.

Shearlet Based Video Fingerprint for Content-Based Copy Detection

Content-based copy detection (CBCD) is widely used in copyright control for protecting unauthorized use of digital video and its key issue is to extract robust fingerprint against different attacked versions of the same video. In this paper, the “natural parts” (coarse scales) of the Shearlet coefficients are used to generate robust video fingerprints for content-based video copy detection applications. The proposed Shearlet-based video fingerprint (SBVF) is constructed by the Shearlet coefficients in Scale 1 (lowest coarse scale) for revealing the spatial features and Scale 2 (second lowest coarse scale) for revealing the directional features. To achieve spatiotemporal natural, the proposed SBVF is applied to Temporal Informative Representative Image (TIRI) of the video sequences for final fingerprints generation. A TIRI-SBVF based CBCD system is constructed with use of Invert Index File (IIF) hash searching approach for performance evaluation and comparison using TRECVID 2010 dataset. Common attacks are imposed in the queries such as luminance attacks (luminance change, salt and pepper noise, Gaussian noise, text insertion);geometry attacks (letter box and rotation);and temporal attacks (dropping frame, time shifting). The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed TIRI-SBVF fingerprinting algorithm is robust on CBCD applications on most of the attacks. It can achieve an average F1 score of about 0.99, less than 0.01% of false positive rate (FPR) and 97% accuracy of localization.

Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals defense responses against soft rot in Chinese cabbage

Pectobacterium carotovorum ssp.carotovorum(Pcc)is a necrotrophic bacterial species that causes soft rot disease in Chinese cabbage.In this study,plants harboring the resistant mutant sr gene,which confers resistance against Pcc,were screened from an 800 M2 population mutated by ethyl methane sulfonate(EMS)and scored in vitro and in vivo for lesion size.The transcript profiles showed~512 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)between sr and WT plants occurring between 6 and 12 h postinoculation(hpi),which corresponded to the important defense regulation period(resistance)to Pcc in Chinese cabbage.The downstream defense genes(CPK,CML,RBOH MPK3,and MPK4)of pathogen pattern-triggered immunity(PTI)were strongly activated during infection at 12 hpi in resistant mutant sr;PTI appears to be central to plant defense against Pcc via recognition by three putative pattern recognition receptors(PRRs;BrLYM1-BrCERK1,BrBKK1/SERK4-PEPR1,BrWAKs).Pcc triggered the upregulation of the jasmonic acid(JA)and ethylene(ET)biosynthesis genes in mutant sr,but auxins and other hormones may have affected some negative signals.Endogenous hormones(auxins,JAs,and SA),as well as exogenous auxins(MEJA and BTH),were also verified as functioning in the immune system.Concurrently,the expression of glucosinolate and lignin biosynthesis genes was increased at 12 hpi in resistant mutant sr,and the accumulation of glucosinolate and lignin also indicated that these genes have a functional defensive role against Pcc.Our study provides valuable information and elucidates the resistance mechanism of Chinese cabbage against Pcc infection.

Effects of complement inhibition on the ABC phenomenon in rats

Researchers reported that intravenously injected PEGylated colloidal drug carriers lose their long-circulating characteristic and accumulated extensively in liver when they are administrated twice in the same animal with certain intervals. This phenomenon was referred to as the 'accelerated blood clearance(ABC) phenomenon'. Some former studies had found that complement-mediated phagocytosis, activated by antigen–antibody complex, was responsible for inducing the phenomenon. According to the theory, we have used cobra venom factor to deplete complement in vivo and to investigate the effect of complement inhibition on the ABC phenomenon. Rats were administered by injection of cobra venom factor solution to build up the model of complement exhaustion/inhibition, and the effect of the inhibition of complement on ABC phenomenon was carried out. It seemed that inhibition of complement didn’t affect the pharmacokinetic of the first infection. By contrast, in rats of which complement had been depleted, the second dose of PEGylated nanoemulsions showed enhanced circulation time compared with normal rats in a complement inhibition-independent manner, but the ABC phenomenon was not completely eliminated. It indicated that complement inhibition could certainly weaken the accelerated clearance;meanwhile, there were other factors causing the ABC effect.These findings provide novel insights into the attenuating of ABC phenomenon and lay foundation for further study of immune mechanism.

Effect of Kupffer cells depletion on ABC phenomenon induced by Kupffer cells-targeted liposomes

Accelerated blood clearance(ABC) phenomenon is common in many PEGylated nanocarriers, whose mechanism has not been completely elucidated yet. In this study, the correlation between Kupffer cells(KCs) and ABC phenomenon has been studied by KCs-targeted liposomes inducing ABC phenomenon and KCs depletion. In other words, the 4-aminophenyl-α-D-mannopyranoside(APM) lipid derivative DSPE-PEG 2000-APM(DPM), and 4-aminophenyl-β-L-fucopyranoside(APF) lipid derivative DSPE-PEG 2000-APF(DPF) were conjugated and modified on alendronate sodium(AD) liposomes to specifically target and deplete KCs. The dualligand modified PEGylated liposomes(MFPL) showed stronger ability to damage KCs in vitro and in vivo, which also could indirectly illustrate that dual-ligand modification could better target KCs. Besides, the hepatic biodistribution and pharmacokinetics could directly prove that MFPL had a stronger targeting ability to KCs. In addition, in depletion rats, plasma concentration and splenic biodistribution of MFPL and PEGylated liposomes(PL) were significantly elevated and hepatic biodistribution was significantly reduced, which demonstrated that KCs played an important role on elimination of nanoparticles. What’s more, ABC phenomenon of the secondary injection of PL was stronger in KCs depletion rats than that in normal rats, which indicated that depletion of KCs prolonged the circulation of PL in the first injection repeatedly stimulating B-cells in the marginal region of the spleen and causing it to secrete more IgM antibodies. This could also illustrate that anti-PEG IgM takes up a major station compared with KCs. Most important of all, KCs-targeted liposomes could induce a stronger ABC phenomenon than PL in normal rats, which declared that based on the same IgM concentration, the more the KCs were stimulated, the stronger ABC phenomenon was induced. However, in depletion rats, this difference of ABC phenomenon between PL and MFPL could no more exist, further demonstrating that KCs could participate and play a certain role in the ABC phenomenon.

The accelerated blood clearance phenomenon of PEGylated nanoemulsion upon cross administration with nanoemulsions modified with polyglycerin

For investigating the accelerated blood clearance(ABC) phenomenon of polyglycerin modified nanoemulsions upon cross administration with polyethylene glycol(PEG) covered nanoemulsion, we used the 1,2-distea-royl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-npolyglycerine-610 and the 1,2-distearoyl-n-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-n-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] as modify materials, the dialkylcarbocyanines as fluorescence indicator. Exhausted macrophages rat model was established and new material containing polycarboxyl structure was synthesized. The microplate reader and the in vivo optical imaging system were applied to measure the concentration of nanoemulsions in tissues.The results show that the first dose of polyglycerin modified nanoemulsion can induce the ABC phenomenon of the second dose of PEGylated nanoemulsion. With the increase in the amount of the surface polyglycerin, the extent of the ABC phenomenon decreases. Liver accumulation has positive relationship with the ABC phenomenon. Furthermore, kupffer cells in liver can get more immune information from polyhydroxy structure than polycarboxyl group in the modify compound. The results of our work imply that the polycarboxyl structure has advantages to eliminate the ABC phenomenon.

The development from hyperuricemia to gout:key mechanisms and natural products for treatment

Gout is a common of inflammatory arthritis and is caused by the deposition of monosodium urate(MSU)crystals as a result of hyperuricemia(HUA).Although HUA is considered to be the main risk factor for gout,only approximately 10%of the individuals with HUA will eventually experience a gout attack.In this review,we first briefly introduce the development of gout and then summarize several possible reasons for its development.Genetic factors play a more prominent role in gout than in other diseases;functional mutations related to urate control and innate immunity components have been found to be associated with gout.Here,we list some of the most prominent genes involved in the pathogenesis of gout.In joints with MSU deposition,mature macrophages may uptake MSU crystals without causing inflammation,and this helps to maintain joints in an asymptomatic state.As an auxiliary inflammation pathway,the ATP-P2X7R-NLRP3 axis may contribute to the amplification of MSU-induced inflammation to affect the development of gout.Finally,this review summarizes the research progress on natural products that can be used in the treatment of HUA and gout.

What makes turnips:anatomy,physiology and transcriptome during early stages of its hypocotyl-tuber development

Brassica species are characterized by their tremendous intraspecific diversity,exemplified by leafy vegetables,oilseeds,and crops with enlarged inflorescences or above ground storage organs.In contrast to potato tubers that are edible storage organs storing energy as starch and are the vegetative propagation modules,the storage organs of turnips,grown from true seed,are swollen hypocotyls with varying degrees of root and stem that mainly store glucose and fructose.To highlight their anatomical origin,we use the term“hypocotyl-tuber”for these turnip vegetative storage organs.We combined cytological,physiological,genetic and transcriptomic approaches,aiming to identify the initial stages,molecular pathways and regulatory genes for hypocotyl-tuber induction in turnips(B.rapa subsp.rapa).We first studied the development of the hypocotyl zone of turnip and Pak choi and found that 16 days after sowing(DAS)morphological changes occurred in the xylem which indicated the early tuberization stage.Tissue culture experiments showed a clear effect of auxin on hypocotyl-tuber growth.Differentially expressed genes between 1 and 6 weeks after sowing in turnip hypocotyls,located in genomic regions involved in tuber initiation and/or tuber growth defined by QTL and selective sweeps for tuber formation,were identified as candidate genes that were studied in more detail for their role in hypocotyl-tuber formation.This included a Bra-FLOR1 paralogue with increased expression 16 DAS,when the hypocotyl starts swelling,suggesting dual roles for duplicated flowering time genes in flowering and hypocotyltuber induction.Bra-CYP735A2 was identified for its possible role in tuber growth via trans-zeatin.Weigthed Coexpression Network Analysis(WGCNA)identified 59 modules of co-expressed genes.Bra-FLOR1 and Bra-CYP735A2 were grouped in a module that included several genes involved in carbohydrate transport and metabolism,cell-wall growth,auxin regulation and secondary metabolism that serve as starting points to illuminate the transcriptional regulation of hypocotyl-tuber formation and development.

Genetic analysis of the “head top shape” quality trait of Chinese cabbage and its association with rosette leaf variation

The agricultural and consumer quality of Chinese cabbage is determined by its shape.The shape is defined by the folding of the heading leaves,which defines the head top shape(HTS).The overlapping HTS,in which the heading leaves curve inward and overlap at the top,is the shape preferred by consumers.To understand the genetic regulation of HTS,we generated a large segregating F 2 population from a cross between pak choi and Chinese cabbage,with phenotypes ranging from nonheading to heading with either outward curving or inward curving overlapping heading leaves.HTS was correlated with plant height,outer/rosette leaf length,and petiole length.A high-density genetic map was constructed.Quantitative trait locus(QTL)analysis resulted in the identification of 22 QTLs for leafy head-related traits,which included five HTS QTLs.Bulked segregant analysis(BSA)was used to confirm HTS QTLs and identify candidate genes based on informative single-nucleotide polymorphisms.Interestingly,the HTS QTLs colocalized with QTLs for plant height,outer/rosette leaf,and petiole length,consistent with the observed phenotypic correlations.Combined QTL analysis and BSA laid a foundation for molecular marker-assisted breeding of Chinese cabbage HTS and directions for further research on the genetic regulation of this trait.

Genome-wide development and utilization of Simple Sequence Repeats in Chinese cabbage(Brassica rapa L.ssp.pekinensis)

With the complementation of whole-genome sequencing of Chinese cabbage,it is necessary to develop genome-wide Simple Sequence Repeat(SSR)markers and analyse their characteristics,which will bring a revolution in the molecular marker-assisted breeding of Chinese cabbage.In this study distribution and characteristics of SSR loci in the genome of Chinese cabbage'Chiifu'was analyzed.Finally,a total of 173,892 SSR markers that occurred in 10 chromosomes were identified,and Perfect Repeat Motifs(P type)which is a main form of SSR loci with a mean distance of 1.89 kb/SSR was identified.Among them,mono-,di-,and tri-nucleotide repeat motifs were equally distributed across chromosomes compared with tetra-,penta-,and hexa-nucleotide repeat motifs.The largest proportion of SSR loci consisted of mono-and dinucleotide repeat motifs,which accounted for 93.04%of the total SSR loci.A/T and AT/TA were the most abundant motifs,accounting for 97.61%and 64.05%of the mono-and dinucleotide repeats,respectively.Furthermore,200 SSR markers were used for the amplification of 12 Chinese cabbage germplasm,in which 30 were highly polymorphic.These SSR markers were further used for the association analyses of flowering time of 190 Chinese cabbage accessions.The results revealed that 9 and 10 alleles were associated with bolting and flowering time,respectivley.The results show that development of SSR markers is feasible and useful in marker assisted selection of Chinese cabbage.

Multifunctional nano-herb based on tumor microenvironment for enhanced tumor therapy of gambogic acid

Multifunctional drug delivery systems(DDSs)have shown great prospects in overcoming the heterogeneous barrier of delivery drugs to the complex tumor microenvironment(TME).In this study,multifunctional AS/Ge-pNAB microgels with dual-active targeting,triple environment responsiveness,and fluorescence imaging capability were prepared through a straightforward procedure.This was aimed to improve the antitumor therapeutic application of gambogic acid(GA)based on the biological characteristics of TME.The microgels have a uniform double-layer structure with aptamer in the outer layer which helps in recognizing receptors on the tumor cells.The GA loaded nano-herb exhibited environment-responsive drug release profiles under acidic pH,reductant and high temperature.The nano-herb significantly improved the accumulation of GA in tumor sites through the synergistic combination of the enhanced permeability and retention effect and dual-ligand mediated internalization.Then,it accelerated intracellular drug release and killed tumor cells.Therefore,the nano-herb had specific therapeutic effects on the tumor in vitro and in vivo as they remarkably inhibited tumor growth while depicting optimal biosafety and lower levels of off-target toxicity.Overall,these findings demonstrate the great potential of the multifunctional AS/Ge-pNAB microgels for precisely targeted GA delivery and open a new avenue for the facile preparation of multifunctional DDSs.

Application of dynamic programming algorithm in winter heating control of greenhouse

In order to solve the immaturity of decision-making methods in the regulation of winter heating in greenhouses,this study proposed a solution to the problem of greenhouse winter heating regulation using a dynamic programming algorithm.A mathematical model that included indoor environmental state variables,optimization decision variables,and outdoor random variables was established.The temperature is kept close to the expected value and the energy consumption is low.The model predicts the control solution by considering the cost function within the next 10 steps.The two-stage planning method was used to optimize the state of each moment step by step.The temperature control strategy model was obtained by training the relationship between indoor temperature,outdoor temperature,and heating time after optimization using a regression algorithm.Based on a typical Internet of Things(IoT)structure,the greenhouse control system was designed to regulate the optimal control according to the feedback of the current environment.Through testing and verification,the optimized control method could stabilize the temperature near the target value.Compared to the threshold control(threshold interval of 2.0°C)under similar weather conditions,the optimized control method reduced the temperature fluctuation range by 0.9°C and saved 7.83 kW·h of electricity,which is about 14.56%of the total experimental electricity consumption.This shows that the dynamic programming method is feasible for environmental regulation in actual greenhouse production,and further research can be expanded in terms of decision variables and policy models to achieve a more comprehensive,scientific,and precise regulation.

Fe_(3)C@C/C for catalytic ozonation of silicon-containing wastewater:Dual improvement of silicon resistance and catalytic effect

The improvement of catalysts’stability under harsh reaction conditions is vital for their practical applica-bility.Herein,iron carbide(Fe_(3)C)nanoparticles were encapsulated in graphitic carbon in situ and a carbon ball served as the carrier.The synthesized Fe_(3)C@C/C was first utilized to treat an m-cresol wastewater containing Si via catalytic ozonation.Compared with the commercial Fe/Al_(2)O_(3)catalyst,the resistance to Si of the Fe_(3)C@C/C was improved 22.68 times,while the TOC removal rate increased by a factor of 2.9,and it remained stable during 10 cycles and 12000 min of continuous reaction,which further demon-strated its potential for diverse applications.The catalyst exhibits improved resistance to Si because of the dual protection from the carbon-encapsulated structure and carbon carrier.Density functional theory calculations show that the encapsulation of Fe_(3)C using carbon significantly increases the resistance to adsorption of Si on its active sites.In addition,the activation of O_(3)is unimpeded on the Fe_(3)C adsorption sites by the protection from C,thus the generation of reactive oxygen species(ROS)by ozone is largely promoted.The mechanism associated with the resistance of the Fe_(3)C@C/C catalyst to Si and its elevated activity are also elucidated.

Intestinal microbiota links to allograft stability after lung transplantation: a prospective cohort study

Whether the alternated microbiota in the gut contribute to the risk of allograft rejection(AR)and pulmonary infection(Pl)in the setting of lung transplant recipients(LTRs)remains unexplored.A prospective multicenter cohort of LTRs was identified in the four lung transplant centers.Paired fecal and serum specimens were collected and divided into AR,Pl,and event-free(EF)groups according to the diagnosis at sampling.Fecal samples were determined by metagenomic sequencing.

Use of catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) for pretreatment of high-salinity high-organic wastewater

Catalytic wet air oxidation(CWAO)coupled desalination technology provides a possibility for the effective and economic degradation of high salinity and high organic wastewater.Chloride widely occurs in natural and wastewaters,and its high content jeopardizes the efficacy of Advanced oxidation process(AOPs).Thus,a novel chlorine ion resistant catalyst Bsite Ru doped LaFe_(1-x)Ru_(x)O_(3-)δin CWAO treatment of chlorine ion wastewater was examined.Especially,LaFe_(0.85)Ru_(0.15)O_(3-δ)was 45.5% better than that of the 6%RuO_(2)@TiO_(2)(commercial carrier)on total organic carbon(TOC)removal.Also,doped catalysts LaFe_(1-x)Ru_(x)O_(3-)δshowed better activity than supported catalysts RuO_(2)@LaFeO_(3) and RuO_(2)@TiO_(2) with the same Ru content.Moreover,LaFe_(0.85)Ru_(0.15)O_(3-)δhas novel chlorine ion resistance no matter the concentration of Cl^(−) and no Ru dissolves after the reaction.X-ray diffraction(XRD)refinement,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),transmission electron microscope(TEM),and X-ray absorption fine structure(XAFS)measurements verified the structure of LaFe_(0.85)Ru_(0.15)O_(3-)δ.Kinetic data and density functional theory(DFT)proved that Fe is the site of acetic acid oxidation and adsorption of chloride ions.The existence of Fe in LaFe_(0.85)Ru_(0.15)O_(3-)δcould adsorb chlorine ion(catalytic activity inhibitor),which can protect the Ru site and other active oxygen species to exert catalytic activity.This work is essential for the development of chloride-resistant catalyst in CWAO.

Construction of a high-density mutant population of Chinese cabbage facilitates the genetic dissection of agronomic traits

Chinese cabbage(Brassica rapa ssp.pekinensis)is an economically important vegetable crop throughout the world,especially in Asia.High-quality genome sequences are available for Chinese cabbage,but gene functional studies remain challenging.To promote functional genomic studies of Chinese cabbage,we generated an ethyl methane sulfonate(EMS)mutant population of~8000 M_(2) plants using the double haploid inbred line A03 as the parent.The genome of A03 was sequenced and used as a reference for high-throughput functional characterization of gene mutations at the whole-genome level.A total of 300 M_(2) to M_(5) EMS mutants were phenotypically screened and then sequenced,revealing 750629 SNPs and 46272 InDel mutations that cover 98.27%of all predicted genes in the A03 genome.A forward-genetics approach was successfully used to identify two genes with chloroplast-related functions that are responsible for the yellow leaf mutant trait.A reverse-genetics approach was also used to identify associations between mutations in five genes of the glucosinolate biosynthetic pathway and variations in glucosinolate content of the mutant plants.In addition,we built the Chinese cabbage EMS mutation database(CCEMD,www.bioinformaticslab.cn/EMSmutation/home)to increase the usability of this mutant population resource.In summary,we performed large-scale screening of a heading Chinese cabbage EMS mutant collection at the phenotypic and genotypic levels,which will facilitate gene mining of Chinese cabbage and might also be useful for the study of other Brassica crops.

DanHong Injection inhibits the development of primary abdominal aortic aneurysms in apoE knockout mice

Clinical observations indicate that DanHong Injection(DHI)can increase blood flow and reduce various syndromes in patients with cardiovascular disease.However,it still needs to define the function of DHI and the involved mechanisms in details,such as the protective effect on the development of primary abdominal aortic aneurysms(AAAs).In this study,we determined whether DHI is able to inhibit AAA in apoE knockout(apoE-/-)mice.Thirty apoE-/-male mice on high-fat diet(0.5%cholesterol,21%fat)were randomly divided into two groups and received i.p.injection of saline(100 lL/day)and DHI(100 lL/day),respectively,for 16 weeks.At the end of experiment,we determined the development of atherosclerosis in en face aorta and aneurysms,pathological morphology of arterial wall,and serum lipid levels.We also determined the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1),MMP-2,and MMP-9mRNA in aortic wall using real-time RT-PCR.Our results indicated that high-fat diet induced the development of AAAs in apoE-/-mice,but the induction was totally blocked by DHI(P\0.01).The result of staining of abdominal aortic cross sections showed that DHI maintained the collagen content in arterial wall,thereby preventing the animals from the development of AAA.Although DHI had little effect on serum total-and LDLcholesterol levels,it reduced the expression of MCP-1,MMP-2,and MMP-9 mRNA in aortic wall(P\0.01).Taken together,our study suggests that DHI can inhibit the high-fat diet-induced AAA formation.The inhibitory effects may be related to the maintenance of the collagen content and inhibition of expression of AAA-related genes.Our study may suggest a new application of DHI in clinics.