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Brassica oleracea is one of the important vegetable crops in China. Its seeds are primarily imported. Hence, developing innovative varieties belonging to China is an urgent requirement. Since broccoli is a cross-pollinated crop systematic selection and cross-breeding are challenging, and the application of radiation mutagenesis breeding in broccoli has not been reported. In this study, the seeds of Brassica oleracea were irradiated using carbon ion beams to investigate the biological effects of these beams on broccoli. The growth indices, antioxidant enzyme activity, photosynthetic indices, and chlorophyll fluorescence were detected at the seedling stage. The results revealed that irradiation with 100–500 Gy exhibited no significant effect on the germination of Brassica oleracea, while the germination of seeds was significantly inhibited at 600 Gy. After irradiation with 100–600 Gy, the root length, shoot length, seedling height, and leaf area decreased with the increase in irradiation dose. The Median lethal dose (LD50) of Brassica oleracea irradiated using a carbon ion beam was 415.89 Gy, and the dose that halved the root length was 495.12 Gy. After irradiation, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) were higher than that of the control plants, while the activity of catalase (CAT) was lower than that of the control plants. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) increased significantly at a dose of 400 Gy. The photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids) showed an increasing trend initially, and then a decreasing trend with an increasing irradiation dose, and the highest value was detected at a dose of 300 Gy. Net photosynthesis, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance exhibited a negative correlation with irradiation dose, while the non-photosynthetic quenching coefficient exhibited a significant increase after irradiation. The findings indicated that heavy ion beam radiation inhibited the growth of broccoli plants and affected the activity of antioxidant enzymes and photosynthesis. The study provided basic data for the radiation mutation breeding of Brassica oleracea.

In den letzten Jahren verfolgen die deutschen Medien die chinesische „Seidenstraßeninitiative“ mit steigender Aufmerksamkeit. Dieser Artikel führt eine diachrone Analyse der relevanten Berichte über das Thema „Seidenstraßeninitiative“ von fünf deutschen Nachrichtenmedien im Zeitraum von 2013 bis 2020 durch. Ziel dieser systematischen Untersuchung der deutschen Presseberichterstattung ist, die Veränderung der Medienframes zur „Seidenstraßeninitiative“ in deutschen Berichterstattungen zu analysieren. Das Ergebnis der Studie zeigt, dass die Medienframes der „Seidenstraßeninitiative“ in den deutschen Medien im Laufe der Zeit eine Dynamik in ihrer Stabilität und der Negativierung aufweisen.

Mechanized harvesting is a crucial step in the agricultural production of foxtail millet (Setaria italica), as its peduncles are susceptible to bending and breaking during the harvesting process, leading to yield losses and deterioration in grain quality. To evaluate the suitability of foxtail millet for mechanical harvesting, this study comprehensively analyzed the biomechanical properties of the peduncles and related biological morphological characteristics of 116 foxtail millet accessions, establishing a system for indicator screening and comprehensive evaluation. Using partial correlation analysis and R-type cluster analysis, four biomechanical and seven related morphological indices of the peduncle were screened from 22 candidate indicators, with their coefficient of variation ranging from 6% to 80%. The entropy method was used to assign weights to the selected indices, with biomechanical factors contributing 47.4%, peduncle morphology 20.2%, spike morphology 27.6%, and plant height 4.8%. The Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Rank-Sum Ratio (RSR) methods were applied to rank and grade the classification of the 116 foxtail millet varieties into four performance groups: Excellent (8 varieties), Good (50 varieties), Moderate (51 varieties), and Poor (7 varieties). This study provides a scientific basis for the selection and evaluation of foxtail millet varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the effect of micronization on the structural, functional, and antioxidant properties of wheat bran, wheat bran with mean particle size (D50) of 46.08, 34.29, 26.51, 26.35, and 26.05 μm were prepared by using an ultrafine pulverizer under different rolling frequencies (0, 6, 9, 12, and 15 times). The main chemical components and structural, functional, and antioxidant properties of the wheat bran were compared and a correlation analysis was conducted. As the D50 of the wheat bran decreased from 46.08 μm to 26.05 μm, the micromorphology exhibited the destruction of the bundle structure, which is formed by starch and fiber, during which the starch particles peeled off, the fiber fragments destructed, and some of the slim fiber fragments attached to the surfaces of the starch granules. According to the X-ray diffraction pattern, part of the crystalline structure was transformed into an amorphous structure and the crystallization index decreased from 13.08% to 3.95%. According to the near-infrared spectrum, more active groups, such as the hydroxyl group, were exposed; however, no new groups were generated. These structural changes accordingly caused changes in the chemical components, functional properties, and antioxidant properties of the wheat bran. Specifically, the protein, total phenols, total flavonoids, and fatty acid content increased by 6.72%, 23.47%, 19.07%, and 172.88%, respectively. The lipase activity, antioxidant activity in vitro (DPPH• scavenging activity, ABTS+• scavenging activity, and ferric reducing antioxidant power), and the water-holding, cholesterol-adsorption, sodium nitrite-adsorption, and cation-exchange capacities, were enhanced to some extent. The oil-holding capacity decreased from 3.01 g/g to 1.32 g/g. The swelling capacity decreased first and then increased and the swelling capacity of the wheat bran with a D50 of 34.29 μm was the lowest (3.62 mL/g). Therefore, the micronization could be used as a pretreatment method to improve the functional and antioxidant properties of wheat bran; however, the optimal particle size of wheat bran is based on the function of the product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxyapatite (HA) has been wildly used in clinical practice for artificial implants. However, due to its inherent properties and preparation process, it is limited by low strength in practical applications. Therefore, highly porous hydroxyapatite scaffolds reinforced with 0 to 30 wt% doped wollastonite (WS) (HA/WS) were prepared by freeze-drying in combination with pressureless sintering method. The results demonstrated that WS could consistently improve the compressive properties of HA/WS scaffolds. The HA/WS scaffolds have optimal total porosity with good open pores and internal interconnections when the WS doping is 10%. In vitro osteoclast attachment experiments indicated that the HA/WS scaffolds had good biocompatibility. The findings of this study provide theoretical guidance for the application of HA in the field of artificial implants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High fat diet (HFD) induces the enlargement and accumulation of lipid droplets (LDs) in hepatocytes, thereby influencing the homeostasis of lipid metabolism. Cell death-inducing DNA fragmentation factor-α-like effector C (CIDEC), a surface protein of LDs, facilitates their fusion and growth, transforming small LDs into larger ones. Lipophagy, a selective form of autophagy, primarily targets small LDs for degradation. Fisetin (FIS), a natural dietary flavonoid present in various fruits and vegetables, has an unclear mechanism for reducing LD accumulation. In this study, we observed that FIS significantly ameliorated HFD-induced lipid accumulation in the hepatocytes of C57BL/6 mice. In further mechanistic studies, we revealed that FFA enhanced the expression of CIDEC, which promoted the fusion of LDs and caused them to become larger. The enlarged LDs could not be degraded by autophagy, which ultimately led to accumulation of LDs. Conversely, FIS alleviated LD accumulation by inhibiting CIDEC-mediated fusion, resulting in smaller LDs that facilitated lipophagy. Additionally, studies indicated that the dysfunction of circadian rhythms is closely related to lipid metabolism. In our study, we showed that HFD and FFA disrupted circadian rhythm in C57BL/6 mouse hepatocytes and AML12 cells, while FIS modified the rhythm disturbances and increased protein expression of the core clocks BMAL1 and CLOCK. We silenced the BMAL1 protein and revealed that si-BMAL1 upregulated CIDEC proteins. These data suggested that FIS might inhibit CIDEC-mediated LD fusion and enhance hepatocyte lipophagy by promoting the expression of rhythm protein BMAL1, thereby alleviating LD accumulation in C57BL/6 and AML12 cells caused by the HFD and FFA. The present study provided novel insights and potential targets for utilizing functional food factors to mitigate the accumulation of LD in hepatocytes.