Development and Quality Analysis of Protein Enriched Instant Soup Mix

The aim of the study was to develop protein enriched instant fish soup mix and analysis of the quality of various conditions. The study used a mechanical dryer for maintaining a constant air flow and temperature at its drying and dehydration stage. Powder was made after drying. An appropriate composition was used as an indicator. Various compositions like 75%, 65%, 55% and 45% fish powder were used as formulation 0, formulation 1, formulation 2, and formulation 3 respectively. Then these were reconstituted by boiled water for soup mix preparation. The result indicated that mixer 2 was the best composition. The finding suggested that 55% fish powder mix is the best composition for protein enriched instant soup mix. It will help to produce the instant soup mix and an alternative source of various costly animal and plant protein as a value-added material.

Development and Biochemical Composition Assessment of Fish Powders from Bangladeshi Indigenous Fish Species and Shelf-Life Characteristics Evaluation During 90 Days of Room Temperature (27°C - 30°C) Storage

In Bangladesh, Fish is a major source of daily protein intake of millions of people but most of the fishes are consumed here as fresh fish which is highly susceptible to damage during transportation and marketing. Therefore, an innovative approach was undertaken to process the fish to avoid damage and extend shelf-life while preserving the nutritional qualities to facilitate the more efficient use of fish as a source of protein and other essential nutrients. This study was conducted to develop some dried protein-enriched fish powders from some commonly consumed fish species in Bangladesh and the nutritional, sensorial, and safety qualities were assessed. Five indigenous abundant fish species including small indigenous fish (SIS) and carp fishes namely Awaous grammepomus, Channa punctata, Puntius puntio, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and Labeo rohita were used for the preparation of dried protein-enriched fish powders. Biochemical, trace elements, sensorial, total viable count (TVC), pH, peroxide value, and moisture reconstitution during 90 days storage period were performed by standard analytical methods. The moisture, protein, fat, ash, carbohydrate (including fiber), and energy contents were ranged from (6.84% to 8.85%), (70.80% to 75.80%), (5.85% to 8.04%), (7.66% to 9.19%), (3.14% to 6.01%) and (367.50% to 379.61% kcal)/100g respectively. Highest content of protein was found in A. grammepomus (75.80%) samples and the lowest in H. molitrix (70.80%) samples. Maximum calcium content was found in sample L. rohita (2.54 g/kg) and minimum in C. punctate as (2.43 g/kg). Maximum iron content was found in H. molitrix (0.15 g/kg) and minimum in A. grammepomus. As for the phosphorous content the L. rohita samples contained the highest (1.4 g/kg) and the lowest in C. punctate (0.73 g/kg) samples. The pH, peroxide value (mEq of O2/kg of fat), and moisture reconstitution (g/100g) during 90 days were ranged from (5.30 to 8.17), (8.60 to 16.77), and (6.84 to 13.83) respectively. Microbial loads over the 90 days period were in acceptable range at the end of 90 days storage period. On the basis of biochemical qualities, sensorial and microbial attributes our findings suggest that the dried fish powders are enriched with macro and micro-nutrients especially proteins and could safely be used at least up to 3 months for food applications.

The Realization of Common Prosperity through Relative Poverty Alleviation:Gradient Development and Optimization

Relative poverty alleviation is explicitly consistent with common prosperity.Relative poverty alleviation,which is part of the modernization of national governance capacity,is both an objective requirement of effective poverty alleviation and an inevitable approach to the realization of common prosperity.The alleviation of relative poverty and the realization of common prosperity are intrinsically coupled because they feature overlapping time sequences,monistic values,superimposed fields,similar systems,and homogeneous elements.The relationship between the two is essentially symbiotic,coexistent,and synergistic.Consequently,how to effectively alleviate relative poverty and build a dynamic long-term mechanism for relative poverty alleviation will be one of the major challenges for China to tackle before it can make more obvious and substantial progress toward common prosperity for all by 2035.This paper proposes relevant countermeasures and suggestions,which mainly concern the building of a dynamic,multi-dimensional mechanism for relative poverty alleviation and a coordinated mode for the two missions.The aim is to achieve a balanced integration of the academic logic,social logic,and policy logic.

Empowering Women on the Chars： Increasing Resilience to Disasters and Building Sustainable Livelihoods

The Chars Livelihoods Programme （CLP）＇s response has been to provide a comprehensive package of support, which aims to increase resilience to disasters and build women＇s empowerment. In 2012, CLP developed an innovative approach to monitor women＇s empowerment. Understanding that empowerment is context specific, therefore CLP used qualitative approaches to understand how char households define empowerment. From this research, CLP developed a set of 10 （community and household level） indicators, which made up the chars empowerment scorecard. Results show that CLP has a considerable impact on women＇s empowennent. They also show that CLP has impacts at both the household and community level, driven by two main factors： increased knowledge （through social development training） and increased wealth （through CLP＇s Asset Transfer Project）. Further, impacts on empowerment are seen to occur relatively quickly and sustain over time. The effects of climate change are only likely to further compound problems for char-dwellers. By increasing women＇s empowerment, CLP is confident that they will be better able to build sustainable livelihoods and increase their resilience to future disasters.

Association of biochar properties with changes in soil bacterial,fungal and fauna communities and nutrient cycling processes

Soil microorganisms play crucial roles in soil nutrient cycling,carbon sequestration,fertility maintenance and crop health and production.To date,the responses of microorganisms,such as microbial activity,diversity,community structure and nutrient cycling processes,to biochar addition have been widely reported.However,the relationships between soil microbial groups(bacteria,fungi and microscopic fauna)and biochar physicochemical properties have not been summarized.In this review,we conclude that biochar affects soil microbial growth,diversity and community compositions by directly provid-ing growth promoters for soil biota or indirectly changing soil basic properties.The porous structure,labile C,high pH and electrochemical properties of biochar play an important role in determining soil microbial abundance and communities,and their mediated N and P cycling processes,while the effects and underlying mechanisms vary with biochar types that are affected by pyrolysis temperature and feedstock type.Finally,we highlight some issues related to research methodology and subjects that are still poorly understood or controversial,and the perspectives for further research in microbial responses to biochar addition.

Mulching type-induced soil moisture and temperature regimes and water use efficiency of soybean under rain-fed condition in central Japan

Soybean(Glycine max)is a high water-demand crop and grown under moderate temperature in Japan.To protect the crop from hot summer and to utilize rainfall for its cultivation,selection of appropriate mulching material(s)is crucial.For optimum production of the crop,soil moisture and temperature regimes as well as water use efficiency(WUE)of the crop were investigated under straw,grass,paper,plastic and bare soil(control)mulching under rain-fed condition at Gifu university farm in Japan.The mulching treatments,compared to the control,lowered soil temperature by 2°C at 5 cm depth and 0.5°C at 15 and 25 cm depths.The plastic and straw mulching stored the highest quantity of soil moisture at 5 and 15 cm depths;the bare soil stored the lowest quantity.At 25 cm depth,soil-moisture content was the highest under paper mulch but invariable under the other mulches.Plastic mulching reduced evaporation rate from the soil surface and,consequently,the reduced soil-water consumption(SWC)from the root zone augmented WUE of soybean.The paper mulching,by conserving soil-moisture and reducing soil temperature,provided better crop growth attributes,while the plastic mulching improved WUE of green soybean.Therefore,the plastic mulch performed best in reducing soil-water consumption and increasing WUE,while the paper mulch was good for soil-moisture conservation and temperature modification that increased soybean yield.

Gene editing: an instrument for practical application of gene biology to plant breeding

Plant breeding is well recognized as one of the most important means to meet food security challenges caused by the ever-increasing world population. During the past three decades, plant breeding has been empowered by both new knowledge on trait development and regulation(e.g., functional genomics) and new technologies(e.g., biotechnologies and phenomics). Gene editing, particularly by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein(Cas) and its variants, has become a powerful technology in plant research and may become a game-changer in plant breeding. Traits are conferred by coding and non-coding genes. From this perspective, we propose different editing strategies for these two types of genes. The activity of an encoded enzyme and its quantity are regulated at transcriptional and post-transcriptional, as well as translational and post-translational, levels. Different strategies are proposed to intervene to generate gene functional variations and consequently phenotype changes. For non-coding genes, trait modification could be achieved by regulating transcription of their own or target genes via gene editing. Also included is a scheme of protoplast editing to make gene editing more applicable in plant breeding. In summary, this review provides breeders with a host of options to translate gene biology into practical breeding strategies, i.e., to use gene editing as a mechanism to commercialize gene biology in plant breeding.

Antifungal activity of diacetyl, a volatile organic compound, on Trichoderma lixii F2 isolated from postharvest Lanzhou lily bulbs

The most severe fungal disease is postharvest gray mold,which might cause massive losses in Lanzhou lily bulbs.Some microorganism-produced volatile organic compounds(VOCs)have been proven to have antifungal action and can be employed as fruit and vegetable preservation.Our most recent research discovered that diacetyl(2,3-butanedione)produced by Bacillus subtilis CL2 could significantly prevent some pathogens.The goal of this investigation was to see if diacetyl had antifungal properties against Trichoderma lixii F2,one of the most common postharvest rot pathogens of Lanzhou lily bulbs.The results indicated that diacetyl(1.587μL/mL)fumigation treatment significantly inhibited the hyphal growth,modified hyphal morphology,and disrupted the cell membrane integrity.In vivo tests the antifungal mechanisms of diacetyl on T.lixii F2 were performed in Lanzhou lily bulbs.The results indicated that the content of total phenols and flavonoids increased,while malondialdehyde decreased under different treatment by diacetyl.Meanwhile,the activities of peroxidase,polyphenol oxidase,catalase,and superoxide dismutase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase in Lanzhou lily bulbs were investigated.It was showed that diacetyl could eliminate excessive reactive oxygen species,reduce the damage of plant cells,and improve the resistance of Lanzhou lily bulbs against T.lixii F2.This research reveals that diacetyl could activate antioxidant enzymes and disease-resistant enzymes in Lanzhou lily bulbs to prevent pathogenic fungus from invading and inducing resistance,laying the groundwork for future uses in preserving Lanzhou lily bulbs.

Polycaprolactone/polyvinyl pyrrolidone nanofibers developed by solution blow spinning for encapsulation of chlorogenic acid

Study on the application of nanofibers in food active packaging has been a research hotspot in recent years.In this work,solution blow spinning(SBS)was applied to rapidly fabricate the polycaprolactone(PCL),polyvinyl pyrrolidone(PVP),and PCL/PVP nanofibrous films to encapsulate chlorogenic acid(CGA).All films showed uniform and smooth nanofibers,and the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction proved the success of mixed spinning of PCL and PVP.With the increase of PVP content,the thermal stability of the PCL/PVP nanofibrous films improved.The PCL/PVP(weight ratio of 4:1)film possessed better mechanical properties than PCL and PVP films be-cause of the stronger fiber-fiber interactions.The addition of PCL endowed the hydrophobic surfaces to the PCL/PVP films,and the PCL/PVP films had better water vapor barrier ability.The PCL/PVP(4:1)film exhibited the best long-term continuous release of CGA during 72 h.The PVP nanofibrous film exhibited no inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli due to the low encapsulation efficiency,but the PCL and PCL/PVP films exhibited good antimicrobial activity.The above results suggested that the nanofibrous fims developed by SBS possess promising prospects in food packaging.

Quantitative Electrophysiological Evaluation of the Analgesic Efficacy of Two Lappaconitine Derivatives: A Window into Antinociceptive Drug Mechanisms

Quantitative evaluation of analgesic efficacy improves understanding of the antinociceptive mechanisms of new analgesics and provides important guidance for their development.Lappaconitine(LA),a potent analgesic drug extracted from the root of natural Aconitum species,has been clinically used for years because of its effective analgesic and non-addictive properties.However,being limited to ethological experiments,previous studies have mainly investigated the analgesic effect of LA at the behavioral level,and the associated antinociceptive mechanisms are still unclear.In this study,electrocorticogram(ECoG)technology was used to investigate the analgesic effects of two homologous derivatives of LA,Lappaconitine hydrobromide(LAH)and Lappaconitine trifluoroacetate(LAF),on Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to nociceptive laser stimuli,and to further explore their antinociceptive mechanisms.We found that both LAH and LAF were effective in reducing pain,as manifested in the remarkable reduction of nocifensive behaviors and laser-evoked potentials(LEPs)amplitudes(N2 and P2 waves,and gamma-band oscillations),and significantly prolonged latencies of the LEP-N2/P2.These changes in LEPs reflect the similar antinociceptive mechanism of LAF and LAH,i.e.,inhibition of the fast signaling pathways.In addition,there were no changes in the auditory-evoked potential(AEP-N1 component)before and after LAF or LAH treatment,suggesting that neither drug had a central anesthetic effect.Importantly,compared with LAH,LAF was superior in its effects on the magnitudes of gamma-band oscillations and the resting-state spectra,which may be associated with their differences in the octanol/water partition coefficient,degree of dissociation,toxicity,and glycine receptor regulation.Altogether,jointly applying nociceptive laser stimuli and ECoG recordings in rats,we provide solid neural evidence for the analgesic efficacy and antinociceptive mechanisms of derivatives of LA.