Effect of pressure cooking on phenolic compounds of quinoa

Due to good nutritional properties and potential health benefits,quinoa has gained an increasing attention.The study aimed to analyze the effect of pressure cooking on the composition,antioxidant activity,antibacterial activity and bioavailability of phenolic compounds in four types of quinoa,and to evaluate the correlation between phenolics and its biological activities by correlation analysis.The results showed that different varieties of quinoa contained different phenolic components and their biological activities were different.Pressure cooking could significantly increase(P<0.05)the phenolic contents of quinoa,and decrease in vitro digestibility of protein.The antioxidant activity,antibacterial activity and bioavailability of quinoa were also enhanced which were positively related with phenolic contents.HPLC analysis indicated that at least twelve phenolic compounds were found in quinoa,and hyperoside,sinapic acid,rutin and ferulic acid occupied a majority of them.Correlation analysis suggested that hyperoside,quercetin,sinapic acid,ferulic acid and gallic acid made the key contribution to antioxidant and antibacterial activities of phenolic compounds of quinoa.The results provided valuable information for quinoa processing with phenolics as functional ingredient.

Artificial root exudates and soil organic carbon mineralization in a degraded sandy grassland in northern China

Plant root exudates contain various organic and inorganic components that include glucose, citric and oxalic acid. These components affect rhizosphere microbial and microfaunal activities, but the mechanisms are not fully known. Studies concerned from degraded grassland ecosystems with low soil carbon（C） contents are rare, in spite of the global distribution of grasslands in need of restoration. All these have a high potential for carbon sequestration, with a reduced carbon content due to overutilization. An exudate component that rapidly decomposes will increase soil respiration and CO2 emission, while a component that reduces decomposition of native soil carbon can reduce CO2 emission and actually help sequestering carbon in soil. Therefore, to investigate root exudate effects on rhizosphere activity, citric acid, glucose and oxalic acid（0.6 g C/kg dry soil） were added to soils from three biotopes（grassland, fixed dune and mobile dune） located in Naiman, Horqin Sandy Land, Inner Mongolia, China） and subjected to a 24-day incubation experiment together with a control. The soils were also analyzed for general soil properties. The results show that total respiration without exudate addition was highest in grassland soil, intermediate in fixed dune and lowest in mobile dune soil. However, the proportion of native soil carbon mineralized was highest in mobile dune soil, reflecting the low C/N ratio found there. The exudate effects on CO2-C emissions and other variables differed somewhat between biotopes, but total respiration（including that from the added substrates） was significantly increased in all combinations compared with the control, except for oxalic acid addition to mobile dune soil, which reduced CO2-C emissions from native soil carbon. A small but statistically significant increase in pH by the exudate additions in grassland and fixed dune soil was observed, but there was a major decrease from acid additions to mobile dune soil. In contrast, electrical conductivity decreased in grassland and fixed dune soil and increased in mobile dune. Thus, discrete components of root exudates affected soil environmental conditions differently, and responses to root exudates in soils with low carbon contents can differ from those in normal soils. The results indicate a potential for, e.g., acid root exudates to decrease decomposition rate of soil organic matter in low carbon soils, which is of interest for both soil restoration and carbon sequestration.

Toward sustainable desertification reversion:A case study in Horqin Sandy Land of northern China

Desertification reversion is an interactive process involving climate, land use change, and water processes. In order to reveal the relationship between desertification reversion and these factors, we analyzed historical data on precipitation, air temperature, desertified land changes, underground water tables, and water body changes in Naiman County in the central part of Horqin Sandy Land. Our analysis showed that during 1961-2010 the annual precipitation fluctuated dramatically and has decreased fairly consistently in recent years. The air temperature increased by 0.50-1.25℃, and the minimum temperature increased more obviously. The desertified land area increased from 42,300 km^2 in 1959 to 62,000 km^2 in 1985, and then declined to about 50,000 km^2 in 2010. The underground water tables have been lowered by about 10 m in the past 30 years, and declined more rapidly in recent years. Desertified land is significantly related to the amount of total cropland, and underground water tables are signifcantly correlated with annual precipitation and the amount of irrigated cropland. Therefore, it is necessary to pursue sustainable desertification reversion without compromising the capacity for local development and restoration of degraded land, through application of appropriate management measures for improving water availability in this region.

Afforestation effects on soil microbial abundance, microbial biomass carbon and enzyme activity in dunes of Horqin Sandy Land, northeastern China

In order to investigate the effects of afforestation on soil microbial abundance, microbial biomass carbon and enzyme activity in sandy dunes, 20-year-old Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litv. （PSM） and Populus simonii Carri6re （PSC） mature forests were se- lected in Horqin Sandy Land, and mobile dunes was set as a control （CK）. Results show that PSM and PSC plantations can im- prove soil physicochemical properties and significantly increase microbiological activity in mobile dunes. Soil microbial abun- dance, microbial biomass carbon and enzyme activity show an order of PS〉PSM〉CK. Total soil microbial abundance in PSM and PSC was respectively 50.16 and 72.48 times more than that in CK, and the differences were significant among PSM, PSC and CK Soil microbial biomass carbon in PSM and PSC was respectively 23.67 and 33.34 times more than that in CK, and the difference was insignificant between PSM and PSC. Soil enzyme activity, including dehydrogenase （DEH）, peroxidase （PER）, protease （PRO）, urease （URE） and cellobiohydrolase （CEL） in PSM and PSC were respectively 19.00 and 27.54, 4.78 and 9.89, 4.05 and 8.67, 29.93 and 37.46, and 9.66 and 13.42 times of that in CK. R sylvestris and P. simonii can effectively improve soil physico- chemical and microbiological properties in sandy dunes and fix mobile dunes in Horqin Sandy Land. The Cmic：C ratio is an appli- cable indicator to estimate soil stability and soil water availability, and based on an overall consideration of plantation stability and sustainability, R sylvestris is better than R simonii in fixing mobile dunes in sandy land.

Relationship between the haplotype distribution of Artemisia halodendron(Asteraceae) and hydrothermal regions in Horqin Sandy Land, northern China

The genetic diversity of Artemisia halodendron(Asteraceae), a constructive and dominant species in Horqin Sandy Land,was investigated to examine the genetic relationships with different hydrothermal regions in Horqin Sandy Land. We sequenced chloroplast DNA(cp DNA) fragments(trn L–F) of 243 plants from 10 populations across the Horqin Sandy Land.The analyses of cp DNA variation identified seven haplotypes. A low level of haplotype diversity(H_d=0.706) and nucleotide diversity(π=0.0013) was detected. Haplotypes clustered into two tentative clades. Low genetic differentiation among regions was consistently indicated by hierarchical analyses of molecular variance(AMOVA). Across the sampled populations, the haplotype distributions were differentiated with hydrothermal gradients.

Effects of land-use changes on organic carbon in bulk soil and associated physical fractions in China's Horqin Sandy Grassland

The Horqin Sandy Grassland is one of the most seriously desertified areas in China＇s agro-pastoral ecotone due to its fragile ecology, combined with improper and unsustainable land management. We investigated organic carbon changes in bulk soil （0 to 5 cm）, light fraction of soil organic matter, and soil particle-size fractions induced by land-use and cover type changes. The results indicated that total soil organic carbon （SOC） storage decreased by 121 g/m^2 with the conversion of grassland into farmland for 30 years, and increased by 261 g/m^2 with the conversion of grassland into plantation for 30 years. Total SOC storage decreased by 157 g/m^2 as a result of severe grassland desertification due to long-term continuous livestock grazing, whereas total SOC increased by 111 g/m^2 following the practice of grazing exclusion （16 years） in desertified areas. Changes in land-use and cover type also show great effects on carbon storage in soil physical fractions.

ISSR analysis of Caragana microphylla(Leguminosae) in different temperature gradients

Caragana microphylla is the most dominant and constructive shrub species in the Horqin Sandy Land of northeastern China. We evaluated the level of genetic variation within and among C. microphylla populations sampled from three different temperature gradients in the Horqin Sandy Land by using inter-simple sequence repeat polymorphism （ISSR） molecular markers. The results show that eight ISSR primers generated 127 bands, of which 123 （96.85%） were polymorphic. At the species level, genetic diversity was relatively high （P = 96.85%, h = 0.3143, I = 0.4790）. The highest genetic diversity was observed in the Subp6 population from low temperature regions, whereas the lowest diversity was found in the Subp2 population from high temperature regions. Six populations of C. microphylla clustered into two clades. These results have important implications for restoring and managing the degraded ecosystem in arid and semi-arid areas.

ITS sequence analysis of Artemisia halodendron in different habitat gradients

The aim of the present study is to investigate the difference between ITS sequences ofArtemisia halodendron Turcz. from differ- ent habitat gradients in Horqin Sandy Land, with Artemisia depauperata Krasch. selected as the outgroup. Results indicate that the total length ofA. halodendron ITS is 696 bp, the lengths of unaligned ITS-1 and ITS-2 sequences varied from 253 to 256 bp and 264 to 269 bp, respectively, and GC content of ITS-1 and ITS-2 sequences ranged from 54.02% to 54.77% and 56.75% to 58.64%, respectively. This indicates a high difference of length and composition of sequences in ITS-1 than ITS-2. The genetic identity between ITS sequences ofA. halodendron from nine populations ranged from 85.7% to 99.7% which indicates some genetic dif- ferentiation between sequences. In the maximum parsimony （MP） tree, most ITS sequences from A. halodendron show two major clades： Clade I and Clade II, with Clade II older than Clade I. The order is subp4→ subpl → subp2 → subp3→ subp8 → subp6 → subp7 → subp9 → subp5, and corresponding habitat order is： inter-dune lowlands → semi-mobile dune → mobile dune →semi-fixed dune -→fixed dune. This indicates a close relation between the evolutionary processes ofA. halodendron and deserti- fication forming processes and ecological restoration processes of Horqin Sandy Land.

Enterovirus 713C proteolytically processes the histone H3 N-terminal tail during infection

Dear Editor,Enterovirus 71(EV71)belongs to the genus Enterovirus,family Picornaviridae(Oberste et al.,1999).It was first isolated from patients with central nervous system diseases in California between 1969 and1974(Schmidt et al.,1974)and has spread worldwide(Solomon et al.,2010).EV71 infection usually causes mild,self-limiting hand,foot,and mouth disease in children.Acute EV71 infection may also cause severe polio-like neurological diseases and significant mortality.