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In order to improve the disinfection and sterilization efficiency of food and food package and explore new sterilization technology, a handheld jet device was designed and manufactured, which uses ambient air as the working gas under atmospheric pressure and uses dielectric barrier discharge to generate plasma, measure and study the relevant characteristics of the device, and carry out validation sterilization tests under different treatment conditions. The test results show that the device can effectively kill yeast, and the sterilization efficiency is positively correlated to the applied voltage intensity and sterilization time. Under the conditions of voltage amplitude of 14 kV, frequency of 13.3 kHz, and sterilization time of 90 s, the colony growth inhibition area can reach 198.2 mm², and the plasma jet can achieve human touch, ensuring the electrical safety of the device. The research provides new technical ideas and references for the sterilization and disinfection of food and food package. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cryotolerance of semen obtained from Mediterranean buffalo bulls usually is more likely to deteriorate during the summer. To obtain the optimal sperm for fertility, the physiological status and reproductive performance of Mediterranean buffalo bulls in the summer and spring were first analysed by assessing blood serum and seminal plasma samples; then, the lipid profiles of seminal plasma were investigated by LC–MS/MS. The T, T3 and SOD levels of serum and seminal plasma in the spring were significantly higher than in the summer (p <.05). The results suggest that T3 level is positively correlated with semen cryotolerance; sphingolipids are potential markers for semen cryotolerance of Mediterranean buffalo. To our knowledge, this is the first report of targeted lipidomics in semen cryotolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Switch/sucrose nonfermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin remodelling complex is closely related to chromatin openness and gene transcriptional activity. To understand if the chromatin openness of donor cells was related to the development efficiency of somatic cell cloning embryos, two buffalo fetal fibroblasts (BFF), BFF1 and BFF3, with significantly different cloned blastocyst development rates (18.4% and 30.9% respectively), were selected in this study. The expression of SWI/SNF complex genes, chromatin openness, and transcript level of these two cell lines were analysed, and the effect of ATP on the expression of the SWI/SNF complex genes was further explored. The results showed that compared with BFF1, the expression of SWI/SNF complex family genes was higher in BFF3 at the G0/G1 phase, where SMARCC1, SMARCC2 and SMARCE1 were significantly different (p <.05). Assay of Transposase Accessible Chromatin sequencing (ATAC‐seq) results showed that, at the genome‐wide level, BFF3 had more open chromatin, especially which having more open chromatin peaks at SMARCA4, SMARCA2, and RBPMS2 (RNA Binding Protein, mRNA Processing Factor 2) sites. In total, 2,712 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by the RNA‐Seq method, with 1380 up‐ and 1332 down‐regulated genes in BFF3. Interestingly, the ATPase‐related genes ATP1B1 and ATP11A were extreme significantly up‐regulated in BFF3 (p <.01). The ATP content and the expression of SWI/SNF complex genes in both BFF1 and BFF3 decreased when treated with rotenone. The above results demonstrated that the SWI/SNF complex contributed to chromatin opening, and chromatin opening of donor cells was essential for cloned embryo development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]