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Objectives Vitamin D deficiency was associated with obesity. However, the causal relationship remains controversial. We hypothesized that there would be family-based associations in both vitamin D deficient families and obese families for the SNPs associated with vitamin D deficiency, if vitamin D deficiency was a causal factor of obesity. We aimed to investigate the family-based association of SNPs in CYP27B1 with both vitamin D deficiency and obesity. Methods Four hundred and nineteen pedigrees containing 1505 rural individuals aged from 18 to 79 years in Henan Province of China were included in this study. Family-based associations of rs10877012 and rs4646536 in CYP27B1 with vitamin D deficiency and obesity were investigated. Serum 25(OH)D3 concentration Results It was shown that vitamin D deficiency was a risk factor of obesity (adjusted OR: 1.332, 95% CI: 1.042-1.703, P = 0.022). Furthermore, there were family-based associations for allele T of rs10877012 and allele T of rs4646536 in both vitamin D deficient families and obese families (P < 0.05). Both rs10877012 and rs4646536 were associated with serum 25(OH)D3 levels between siblings (P < 0.05), but not BMI (P > 0.05). In addition, there is linkage disequilibrium between rs10877012 and rs4646536 (D' = 1.0, r.sup.2 = 0.992). Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency may be a causal factor of obesity. Maintaining sufficient vitamin D is beneficial to obesity prevention. Vitamin D deficiency was associated with obesity. But their causal relationship is still controversial. CYP27B1 plays a direct role in circulating the concentration of 25(OH)D, which can be used to investigate causal relationships. In this study, allele T of rs10877012 and allele T of rs4646536 in CYP27B1 were family-based linked with both vitamin D deficiency and obesity. In addition, both rs10877012 and rs4646536 were associated with serum 25(OH)D.sub.3 levels between siblings but not BMI. Therefore, vitamin D deficiency may be a causal factor of obesity. Maintaining sufficient vitamin D is beneficial to obesity prevention., Author(s): Songcheng Yu [sup.1], Yinhua Feng [sup.1], Chenling Qu [sup.2], Wenqian Huo [sup.1], Zhenxing Mao [sup.1], Chongjian Wang [sup.1], Wenjie Li [sup.1], Xing Li [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) College of [...]

Summary: Peanuts produce millions of tons of high‐protein peanut meal (after oil extraction) annually that can be used for food. Peanut protein, as a plant‐based protein, is a great alternative to animal protein to address protein deficiencies and rising health problems in the world. It has a high nutritional value, while the globular structure results in poor functional properties, limiting its application. Better functional properties can be obtained through processing and modification. This paper elaborates the nutritional and functional properties of peanut protein and highlights the application of peanut protein in food industry in recent years. Applications for peanut protein include meat and milk substitutes, edible films, nanoparticles, and some new technologies such as electrostatic spinning and three‐dimensional (3D) printing in recent years. This paper could improve people's understanding of the molecular structure of peanut protein and the physicochemical properties associated with the structure changes during processing. It could also contribute to better utilisation of peanut protein, providing more varieties of peanut protein products for the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of nitrogen-modified atmosphere storage (NS) on peanut lipid oxidation was investigated in this paper. Non-targeted lipidomics was employed to detect the lipid metabolites in peanuts with the aim of exploring the mechanism of lipid oxidation in peanuts under different storage conditions. The results showed that compared with conventional storage (CS), NS significantly (p < 0.05) delayed the increase in acid value, carbonyl value, and 2-thiobarbituric acid value and the decrease in vitamin E content. However, the storage time has a much greater effect on lipid oxidation than the oxygen level in the storage environment. Lipidomics analysis revealed that there were significant differences in metabolite changes between CS and NS. NS reduced the decline of most glycerophospholipids by regulating lipid metabolism in peanuts. NS maintained higher levels of Diacylglycerol (DAG), sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol (SQDG), lysophophatidylcholine (LPC), lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE) and phosphatidylinositol (PI) compared to CS. This work provided a basis for the application of NS technology to peanut storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to optimize the convective drying process parameters of peanuts and to provide a theoretical basis for the scientific use of energy in the drying process, this study took single-particle peanuts as the research object and analyzed the heat and mass transfer process during convective drying. In addition, a 3D two-component moisture heat transfer model for peanuts was constructed based on the mass balance and heat balance theorem. Moreover, the changes in the internal temperature and concentration fields of peanut pods during the whole drying process were investigated by simulations using COMSOL Multiphysics. The model was validated by thin-layer drying experiments, compared with the one-component model, and combined with low-field NMR technology to further analyze the internal moisture distribution state of peanut kernel drying process. The results show that both models can effectively simulate the peanut thin-layer drying process, and consistency is found between the experimental and simulated values, with the maximum errors of 10.25%, 9.10%, and 7.60% between the simulated moisture content and the experimental values for the two-component model, peanut shell, and peanut kernel models, respectively. Free water and part of the weakly bound water was the main water lost by peanuts during the drying process, the change in oil content was small, and the bound water content was basically unchanged. The results of the study provide a theoretical basis to accurately predict the moisture content within different components of peanuts and reveal the mechanism of moisture and heat migration during the drying process of peanut pods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A magnetic beads (MBs)–assisted fluorescence aptasensing approach based on dual DNA tweezers and magnetic separation was established for the detection of ochratoxin A (OTA) and fumonisin B1 (FB1). A dual DNA tweezers structure with four ends linked with fluorophores (FAM, ROX) and quenchers (BHQ1, BHQ2) was designed, and produced the high initial fluorescence signals because of the long spatial distance between FAM and BHQ1, ROX, and BHQ2. Bio-aptamer/anti-aptamer of OTA and bio-aptamer/anti-aptamer of FB1 were respectively annealed to form dsDNA, and immobilized to MBs coated with streptavidin (SA). With the existence of OTA and FB1, OTA and FB1 preferentially bound with their respective bio-aptamers, which made anti-aptamers dissociate from dsDNA coupled on MBs. After magnetic separation, the dissociated anti-aptamers reacted with dual DNA tweezers, respectively, which made DNA tweezers close and the fluorescence was quenched. The linear ranges of approach for OTA and FB1 detection were 0.05–20 ng/mL and 0.1–40 ng/mL, respectively. The limit of detection for OTA and FB1 was 0.029 ng/mL and 0.061 ng/mL. The prepared MBs-assisted fluorescence aptasensing approach was applied to detect OTA and FB1 in spiked red wine and corn samples, which showed good recoveries between 92 and 106%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a kind of homogeneous electrochemical aptasensor based on DNA assembly was designed to detect zearalenone (ZEN). The three DNA strands of ZEN aptamer (Apt), complementary strand DNA1, and complementary strand DNA2 are first mixed to form DNA duplex structure, which cannot be cleaved by RecJf Exonuclease (RecJf Exo) and hinders the electron transfer after addition to the electrode surface. With the existence of ZEN, the combination of ZEN and Apt destroys the duplex structure, and RecJf Exo can catalyze the cleavage of Apt to form short DNA strands, which accelerates the electron transfer after addition to the electrode surface. According to the current difference with or without ZEN, the detection purpose is achieved. The linear relationship between I and LgCZEN was found in the range of 5.0 × 10−6 ng/ml to 50 ng/ml, and the detection limit is as low as 0.51 fg/ml. The prepared sensor showed high selectivity, favorable repeatability, and reproducibility and was effectively used for testing the spiked corn flour and beer samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Ginsenosides, the bioactive components of ginseng, can be divided into two major groups, namely 20(S)-protopanaxatriol (e.g. Re, Rg1, Rg2, and Rb3) and 20(S)-protopanaxadiol (e.g. Rb1, Rb2, Rc, and Rd). Biological and environmental factors may affect the content of ginsenosides in different parts of ginseng plant. Evidence from pharmacokinetic and metabolic studies of Re demonstrated that (1) the absorption of Re is fast in gastrointestinal tract; (2) Re may be metabolized mainly to Rh1 and F1 by intestinal microflora before absorption into blood; and (3) Re is quickly cleared from the body.

In order to make the moisture content monitoring more convenient and rapid during peanut drying process, the drying characteristics of peanut were investigated and a real‐time SVR moisture content monitoring model was established in this paper. The results showed that hot air temperature, initial moisture content, airflow rate and the layer height were the key factors on peanut drying, and the peanut variety showed little effect on drying. The SVR model exhibited a good performance with R2: 0.91, RMSE: 4.38, and bias: −7.5e‐3. Compared with the results of linear regression models and multilayer perceptron model, SVR model showed a better performance. In addition, the SVR model was validated by the drying data of other three varieties of peanuts. And the relative errors between the predicted values by SVR model and the measured values were within 20%, which suggested that SVR was a promising modeling algorithm for peanut drying. Practical application: Peanut drying is essential for peanut production due to its high moisture content at harvest (about 30–50% on the wet basis), which makes it susceptible to mildew, or even produces aflatoxins. Peanut has a special physiological structure. In the drying process, the peanut kernels are gradually shrunk, which makes the air layer volume between the shell and the kernel gradually increases, thus hindering mass and heat transfer and leading to its different drying characteristics from other grain and oil crops. Furthermore, it is necessary to monitor the moisture content changes of peanut during deep bed drying to ensure the drying uniformity and prevent energy waste. Therefore, the drying characteristics of peanuts were studied and a moisture content prediction model for deep bed drying was established to assist the actual drying process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitamin D plays an important role in insulin secretion. As the enzyme that initiates degradation of the active metabolite of vitamin D (1,25-(OH)2 vitamin D), 24-hydroxylase encoded by CYP24A1 may be associated with insulin secretion. In this study, we aimed at investigating the association between copy number of CYP24A1 and the concentration of insulin. Included in the study were 1528 rural people from Henan Province of China. The copy number of CYP24A1 and the concentrations of serum 25(OH) vitamin D3 and insulin were determined. Association between copy number of CYP24A1 and vitamin D deficiency was investigated with logistic regression model. Correlation between copy number of CYP24A1 and serum insulin was observed by Spearman correlation. The results suggested that copy number variation of CYP24A1 was associated with vitamin D deficiency. Higher copy number of CYP24A1 was a risk factor for vitamin D deficiency (adjusted odds ratio: 1.199; 95% confidence interval: 1.028–1.397; P = 0.021). Furthermore, copy number of CYP24A1 was positive correlated with the concentration of serum insulin (r = 0.115; P < 0.001), regardless of vitamin D status, age, and body mass index (BMI). Increased copy number of CYP24A1 is associated with not only vitamin D deficiency but also increased serum insulin. Vitamin D supplement may be beneficial to individuals with high copy number of CYP24A1. Novelty Increased copy number of CYP24A1 was a risk factor of vitamin D deficiency. Increased copy number of CYP24A1 was associated with increased serum concentration of insulin independent of age, BMI, and vitamin D status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractMicroRNA (miRNA) has emerged as a promising biomarker for disease diagnosis and a potential therapeutic targets for drug development. The detection of miRNA can serve as a noninvasive tool in diseases diagnosis and predicting diseases prognosis. CRISPR/Cas12a system has great potential in nucleic acid detection due to its high sensitivity and specificity, which has been developed to be a versatile tool for nucleic acid-based detection of targets in various fields. However, conversion from RNA to DNA with or without amplification operation is necessary for miRNA detection based on CRISPR/Cas12a system, because dsDNA containing PAM sequence or ssDNA is traditionally considered as the activator of Cas12a. Until recently, direct detection of miRNA by CRISPR/Cas12a system has been reported. In this review, we provide an overview of the evolution of biosensors based on CRISPR/Cas12a for miRNA detection from indirect to direct, which would be beneficial to the development of CRISPR/Cas12a-based sensors with better performance for direct detection of miRNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The contents of 12 ginsenosides (Rg1, Re, F11, Rf, Rg2, Rh1, Rb1, Rc, Rb2, Rb3, Rd, Rh2) in different parts and ages of Panax quinquefolius L. (American ginseng) were quantified by high pressure microwave-assisted extraction (HPMAE) high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-ELSD). The analytical method was established and analytical performances were evaluated. The chemical marker of American ginseng F11 was detected, and Rf which is the chemical marker of Asian ginseng was not found. Rare ginsenoside Rh1, Rg2 and Rh2 were also studied in this experiment. The total contents of these 12 ginsenosides in the different parts of 5-year-old American ginseng follow this order: leaf>root-hair>rhizome>root>stem. Therefore, compared with the other parts of American ginseng, the leaf is a better available source of ginsenosides. The contents of ginsenosides in root and leaf also change with age. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aspergillus flavus is a common contaminant in grain, oil and their products. Its metabolite aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) has been proved to be highly carcinogenic. Therefore, it is of great importance to find possible antifungal substances to inhibit the growth and toxin production of Aspergillus flavus. Carvacrol (CV) was reported as a potent antifungal monoterpene derived from plants. In this paper, the antifungal effects and mechanism of CV on Aspergillus flavus were investigated. CV was shown good inhibition on the growth of Aspergillus flavus and the production of AFB1. CV used in concentrations ranging from 0, 50, 100 and 200 μg/mL inhibited the germination of spores, mycelia growth and AFB1 production dose-dependently. To explore the antifungal mechanism of CV on Aspergillus flavus, we also detected the ergosterol content of Aspergillus flavus mycelia, employed Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to observe mycelia morphology and utilized Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) to explore the lipidome profiles of Aspergillus flavus. The results showed that the production of ergosterol of mycelia was reduced as the CV treatment concentration increased. SEM photographs demonstrated a rough surface and a reduction in the thickness of hyphae in Aspergillus flavus treated with CV (200 µg/mL). In positive ion mode, 21 lipids of Aspergillus flavus mycelium were downregulated, and 11 lipids were upregulated after treatment with 200-µg/mL CV. In negative ion mode, nine lipids of Aspergillus flavus mycelium were downregulated, and seven lipids upregulated after treatment with 200-µg/mL CV. In addition, the analysis of different lipid metabolic pathways between the control and 200-µg/mL CV-treated groups demonstrated that glycerophospholipid metabolism was the most enriched pathway related to CV treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The HPLC coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was applied for the determination of tributyltin chloride (TBT), triphenyltin chloride (TPhT), triethyltin chloride (TET) in textile and plastic samples. The separation was performed in the isocratic mode on ion exchange SCX column with a mobile phase containing methanol–ammonium acetate (50mmoll−1)–acetic acid (90/9.98/0.02, v/v/v). Sensitive detection of three organotin compounds by ESI-MS was performed on the basis of multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Limits of detection were 0.4, 20, 4ngml−1 for TBT, TPhT, and TET, respectively. Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of organotin compounds was finished in 60% (v/v) methanol aqueous solution. Under the experimental conditions used, recoveries of three organotin compounds obtained for spiked textile and plastic samples are in the range of 55–95% and the R.S.D.s are 3–9%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An apparatus for extraction of flavonoids from Herba Epimedii has been constructed which utilizes a microwave technique for heating in a dynamic mode. A TM010 microwave resonance cavity was applied to concentrate the microwave energy; the power needed to achieve efficient extraction was significantly reduced. The method has been compared with other extraction methods, such as pressurized microwave-assisted extraction (PMAE), ultrasonic extraction (UE), heat reflux extraction (RE) and Soxhlet extraction (SOX). The four flavonoids in extract were identified by HPLC–MS. The influence of extraction parameters on the extraction yield of flavonoids has been evaluated by comparison with the peak areas of HPLC-DAD spectra in the different extraction methods. The results showed that the extraction yield of flavonoids in Herba Epimedii obtained by dynamic microwave-assisted extraction (DMAE) was higher than that obtained by UE, RE and SOX, and the extraction time is dramatically reduced. The extraction yield obtained by DMAE is similar to that obtained by PMAE. But the flavonoids in Herba Epimedii would not decompose easily when increasing the extraction time in DMAE. This is the benefit of dynamic extraction system which can transfer the analytes extracted from the sample matrix with flowed fresh solvent to the out of extraction vessel. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]