Search

Lipid structures affect lipid oxidation, causing differences in types and contents of volatiles and nonvolatiles in various foods. In this study, the oxidation differences of monoacylglycerol (MAG), triacylglycerol (TAG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylcholine (PC) with oleoyl residues and oleic acid (FA) during thermal treatment were investigated. Volatiles and nonvolatiles were monitored by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-Q-Exactive HF-X Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer, respectively. The results showed that the structures of MAG and TAG could delay the chain initiation reaction. The polar heads of PC and PE remarkably influenced the oxidation rate and the formation of the oxidation products probably due to the hydrogen bonds formed with free radicals. Among the volatile oxidation products, aldehydes, acids, and furans with eight or nine carbon atoms accounted for the majority in FA, MAG, TAG, and PC samples, but PE samples mainly generated ketones with nine or 10 carbon atoms. The formation of nonvolatile products in TAG samples possessed significant stage-specific changes. Fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids were only produced in the free fatty acid oxidation model. The activity of chemical bonds participating in the truncation reaction decreased to both sides from the double bond position.

The role of extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) has been highlighted. More recently, eccDNA-chromosome interactions were identified, suggesting a potential role of eccDNA in transcriptional regulation. Several databases currently provide valuable resources for the study of eccDNAs. However, these databases are primarily focused on Human eccDNAs and do not provide analysis of eccDNA-chromosome interaction and eccDNA gene expression in different tissues. Herein, to further integrate available resources for eccDNA data across multiple species, we developed the eccDB database. The current version of eccDB has collected a total of 1,317,182 eccDNAs in 424 samples from four species (homo sapiens, mus musculus, saccharomyces cerevisiae, and arabidopsis thaliana). eccDB provides regulatory and epigenetic information on eccDNA, including typical enhancers, super-enhancers, transcription factors, DNA methylation positions, risk SNPs, expression quantitative trait locus, chromatin accessibility regions, and chromHMM states. In particular, eccDB provides eccDNAs intrachromosomal and interchromosomal interaction analysis to predict the transcriptional regulatory functions of eccDNA. Moreover, eccDB identifies eccDNAs from unknown DNA sequences and analyzes the functional and evolutionary relationships of an eccDNA among different species. Overall, eccDB offers web-based analytical tools and a comprehensive resource for biologists and clinicians to decipher the molecular regulatory mechanisms of eccDNA. eccDB is freely available at http://www.xiejjlab.bio/eccDB

Cumulative lipid profile burden is designed to dynamically measure lipid accumulation, and its effect on hypertension has been poorly studied. Our main purpose was to investigate the effect of cumulative lipid profile burden on the incidence of essential hypertension (EH) and. Secondly, to investigate whether there is a mediating role of cumulative lipid burden in the pathogenesis of the effects of diet and obesity on EH. A total of 1 295 participants were included in the study, which began in 2017. The average follow-up time was 2.98 years. A total of 240 EH patients occurred during the follow-up period. Compared with respective reference groups, the HR (95% CI) of the highest quartile in cumulative TC, TG and HDL burden were 1.747 (1.145 - 2.664), 1.502 (1.038 - 2.173), 0.615 (0.413 - 0.917) for incidence of EH. Participants with EH consumed more red meat and refined grains, and red meat was positively associated with cumulative TC burden . BMI and Waist-To-Height Ratio (WHtR) increased the incidence of EH, and obesity was positively correlated with cumulative TC burden. cumulative TC burden play a partially mediating role in the influence of obesity on EH (βindirect=0.0085, 95%CI: 0.0035, 0.1520). The cumulation TG, TC burden increased the risk of EH, while the cumulation HDL reduced the risk of EH. cumulative TG burden play a partially mediating role in the influence of obesity on EH. Diet was not found to influence hypertension through cumulative lipid profile burden.

Procyanidin A2 (PCA2) has been shown to improve lipid metabolism. However, it remains to know whether it can play a role in preventing atherosclerosis (AS) through gut microbiota. This study examined the effect of PCA2 on high fat diet (HFD)-induced AS in ApoE-/- mice with an intact and antibiotic-depleted microbiota. PCA2 administration for 12 weeks attenuated HFD-induced AS in ApoE-/- mice, evidenced by obviously alleviating the histological abnormalities of the aorta, lipid accumulation, oxidative stress, and inflammation, which were accompanied by downregulating the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and intracellular adhesion molecule-1 and upregulating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase, and ATP-binding cassette transporter A1. Moreover, PCA2 treatment reshaped the gut microbiota imbalance caused by HFD, especially reducing the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes and increasing the abundance of Verrucomicrobia. However, antibiotic intervention almost offset the alleviation of AS by PCA2 and prevented the biotransformation of PCA2 by gut microbiota, thus resulting in a 2327.21-6.27-fold decrease in its microbial metabolites of plasma. There was a marked correlation among the microbiota composition, the bioavailability of PCA2-derived microbial metabolites, and AS indicators. The findings indicate that the gut microbiota robustly influences the bioavailability of microbial metabolites that may partially drive the AS resilience property of PCA2.

OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of PTH (1-34) on bone and cartilage metabolism in a collagenase-induced mouse model of osteoarthritis (OA) and examine whether PTH (1-34) affects the expression of JAK2/STAT3 and WNT5A/ROR2 in this process. METHODS Eighteen 12-week-old male C57Bl/6 mice were randomly assigned into three groups as follows: sham group (Group A), the collagenase + saline injection group (Group B), and the collagenase + PTH (1-34) treatment group (Group C). Collagenase was injected (intra-articular) into the knee joint of Group B and C. The PTH (1-34)-treatment was started at 6 weeks after the operation and lasted for 6 weeks. Cartilage pathology was evaluated by gross visual, histological, and immunohistochemical assessments. Subchondral bone was evaluated by microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) and immunohistochemical analyses. RESULTS The OARSI macroscopic and microscopic scores of Group B were higher than those of Group A (P = 0.026; P = 0.002, respectively). Group C showed statistically significant differences in macroscopic and microscopic scores from Group B (P = 0.041; P = 0.008, respectively). The results showed that the Col-II and AGG expression levels in the cartilage tissue were significantly lower in Group B than Group A (P

Unsaturated fatty acids are easily affected by metal ions, leading to the changes of their flavor, nutrition, and safety through lipid oxidation. Nevertheless, there is a lack of comprehensive evaluation of the pro-oxidative ability of different metal ions, which have different effects on different lipids. Thus, in this work, crude lipids extracted from abalone were incubated with different metal ions, and the comprehensive lipid oxidation products were analyzed by nontargeted lipidomics approaches using an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-Q-Exactive HF-X Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer (UPLC-Q-Exactive HF-X). Results showed that the overall pro-oxidative ability from strong to weak was Fe

With the ever increasing demand for low-cost and economic sustainable energy storage, Na-ion batteries have received much attention for the application on large-scale energy storage for electric grids because of the worldwide distribution and natural abundance of sodium element, low solvation energy of Na

Aims Parathyroid hormone (PTH) (1-34) exhibits potential in preventing degeneration in both cartilage and subchondral bone in osteoarthritis (OA) development. We assessed the effects of PTH (1-34) at different concentrations on bone and cartilage metabolism in a collagenase-induced mouse model of OA and examined whether PTH (1-34) affects the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway in this process. Methods Collagenase-induced OA was established in C57Bl/6 mice. Therapy with PTH (1-34) (10 μg/kg/day or 40 μg/kg/day) was initiated immediately after surgery and continued for six weeks. Cartilage pathology was evaluated by gross visual, histology, and immunohistochemical assessments. Cell apoptosis was analyzed by TUNEL staining. Microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) was used to evaluate the bone mass and the microarchitecture in subchondral bone. Results Enhanced matrix catabolism, increased apoptosis of chondrocytes in cartilage, and overexpressed JAK2/STAT3 and p-JAK2/p-STAT3 were observed in cartilage in this model. All of these changes were prevented by PTH (1-34) treatment, with no significant difference between the low-dose and high-dose groups. Micro-CT analysis indicated that bone mineral density (BMD), bone volume/trabecular volume (BV/TV), and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) levels were significantly lower in the OA group than those in the Sham, PTH 10 μg, and PTH 40 μg groups, but these parameters were significantly higher in the PTH 40 μg group than in the PTH 10 μg group. Conclusion Intermittent administration of PTH (1-34) exhibits protective effects on both cartilage and subchondral bone in a dose-dependent manner on the latter in a collagenase-induced OA mouse model, which may be involved in regulating the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2020;9(10):675–688.

There are numerous articles published for geographical discrimination of tea. However, few research works focused on the authentication and traceability of Westlake Longjing green tea from the first- and second-grade producing regions because the tea trees are planted in a limited growing zone with identical cultivate condition. In this work, a comprehensive analytical strategy was proposed by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics coupled with chemometrics. The automatic untargeted data analysis strategy was introduced to screen metabolites that expressed significantly among different regions. Chromatographic features of metabolites can be automatically and efficiently extracted and registered. Meanwhile, those that were valuable for geographical origin discrimination were screened based on statistical analysis and contents in samples. Metabolite identification was performed based on high-resolution mass values and tandem mass spectra of screened peaks. Twenty metabolites were identified, based on which the two-way encoding partial least squares discrimination analysis was built for geographical origin prediction. Monte Caro simulation results indicated that prediction accuracy was up to 99%. Our strategy can be applicable for practical applications in the quality control of Westlake Longjing green tea.

At present, the generation of ancient poems is mostly based on a single recurrent neural network (RNN) structure. When generating, a starting word needs to be given in advance, and then the starting word is used as the starting point to generate ancient poems. The generation process is poorly controllable and the expected results often fail. Aiming at the above problems, the attention mechanism is introduced into the Seq2Seq model, and training is performed through a self-built data set to implement keyword-based custom ancient poem generation. In the genera-tion phase, a descriptive content is input and the keywords are extracted from it. When the keywords are insu-fficient, word2vec is used to complete keywords effectively. In addition, in view of the difficulty in controlling the ancient poetry genre, a format control character is added to the Encoder of the Seq2Seq model, which effectively solves the randomness of genre selection caused by previous model when generating ancient poems. Experiments show that the proposed model achieves the expected generation effect well.

Chemical modification of electrode materials by heteroatom dopants is crucial for improving storage performance in rechargeable batteries. Electron configurations of different dopants significantly influence the chemical interactions inbetween and the chemical bonding with the host material, yet the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We revealed competitive doping chemistry of Group IIIA elements (boron and aluminum) taking nickel-rich cathode materials as a model. A notable difference between the atomic radii of B and Al accounts for different spatial configurations of the hybridized orbital in bonding with lattice oxygen. Density functional theory calculations reveal, Al is preferentially bonded to oxygen and vice versa, and shows a much lower diffusion barrier than B

To investigate the therapeutic effect of spleen low molecular weight extracts on epileptics hydrochloride-induced leukopenia in mice and explore its mechanism.The model of leukopenia in mice was established by the injection of epirubicin hydrochloride (10 mg/kg). After the injection of chemotherapeutic drugs, leukocytopenia mice were treated with different doses of spleen low molecular weight extract, Ganoderma oral solution and recombinant granulocyte colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF). The general survival status indicators such as body weight, coat color and athletic ability of mice in each group were recorded; the tail vein blood of mice in each group was collected and the white blood cell count in them was calculated; bone marrow of mice was taken and bone marrow smears were observed.In the model group, the weight of the mice gradually decreased in the later period, their coat became dark and rough, and the ability to exercise decreased, while the mice in the treatment groups showed different degrees of improvement in their survival status except for the mice treated by rhG-CSF. There was no significant fluctuation in the white blood cell count of the blank control mice. After injection of epirubicin, the white blood cell count of peripheral blood in the model mice and treated mice were decreased. The white blood cell count was lower in the mice treated with high-dose low molecular weight extract and rhG-CSF than that in other experimental groups. Bone marrow smear showed that the proportion of bone marrow nucleated cells in the mice treated with the low molecular weight extract of the spleen was significantly higher than that of model mice (P0.05).The low molecular weight spleen extracts can significantly improve the hematopoietic state of mouse bone marrow, promote the proliferation of inhibited bone marrow cells, and thus has the effect of treating leukopenia in mice.脾低分子量提取物对小鼠白细胞减少症治疗作用及其机制的研究.研究脾低分子量提取物对盐酸表柔比星引起的小鼠白细胞减少症的治疗效果并探讨其相关机制.利用注射盐酸表柔比星（10 mg/kg）的方法，建立小鼠白细胞减少症的模型。在注射化疗药物之后，分别以不同剂量的脾低分子量提取物、灵芝口服液及重组粒细胞集落刺激因子（rhG-CSF）对白细胞减少症小鼠进行治疗。观察并记录各组小鼠体重、毛色及运动能力等一般生存状态指标；取各组小鼠尾静脉血并计数其中白细胞数量；取小鼠骨髓，观察骨髓涂片.模型组小鼠体重后期逐渐下降，且出现毛色变暗、毛质粗糙、运动能力下降等现象；治疗组除应用rhG-CSF的动物以外，生存状况均有不同程度的改善。空白对照组小鼠白细胞数无明显波动；模型组及各治疗组小鼠注射表柔比星之后，外周血白细胞数均有所下降；高剂量脾低分子量提取物及rhG-CSF注射液治疗组小鼠白细胞数下降趋势低于其他各实验组。骨髓涂片结果显示，脾低分子量提取物治疗组小鼠骨髓象有核细胞占比显著高于模型组小鼠（P0.05）.脾低分子量提取物能够显著改善小鼠骨髓造血状态，促进受抑制的骨髓细胞增生，从而具有治疗小鼠白细胞减少症的作用.

BackgroundThe basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors (TFs), as one of the largest families of TFs, play important roles in the regulation of many secondary metabolites including flavonoids. Their involvement in flavonoids synthesis is well established in vascular plants, but not as yet in the bryophytes. In liverworts, both bisbibenzyls and flavonoids are derived through the phenylpropanoids pathway and share several upstream enzymes.ResultsIn this study, we cloned and characterized the function of PabHLH1, a bHLH family protein encoded by the liverworts speciesPlagiochasma appendiculatum. PabHLH1 is phylogenetically related to the IIIf subfamily bHLHs involved in flavonoids biosynthesis. A transient expression experiment showed that PabHLH1 is deposited in the nucleus and cytoplasm, while the yeast one hybrid assay showed that it has transactivational activity. When PabHLH1 was overexpressed inP. appendiculatumthallus, a positive correlation was established between the content of bibenzyls and flavonoids and the transcriptional abundance of corresponding genes involved in the biosynthesis pathway of these compounds. The heterologous expression of PabHLH1 inArabidopsis thalianaresulted in the activation of flavonoids and anthocyanins synthesis, involving the up-regulation of structural genes acting both early and late in the flavonoids synthesis pathway. The transcription level of PabHLH1 inP. appendiculatumthallus responded positively to stress induced by either exposure to UV radiation or treatment with salicylic acid.ConclusionPabHLH1 was involved in the regulation of the biosynthesis of flavonoids as well as bibenzyls in liverworts and stimulated the accumulation of the flavonols and anthocyanins in Arabidopsis.

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC MS) has been extensively used in complex sample analysis for the high-throughput characterization of volatile and semivolatile compounds. However, the accurate extraction of compound information remains challenging. Here, we present a combined algorithm strategy for GC MS data analysis to accurately screen metabolites across groups. First, chromatographic peaks in a total ion chromatogram (TIC) are extracted by using a Gaussian smoothing strategy and aligned on the basis of their mass spectra by a dynamic programing algorithm. The aligned TIC peaks are then registered into a component list table by applying a nearest-neighbor clustering algorithm. Significantly expressed TIC peaks among groups are screened through statistical analysis, such as ANOVA. Second, a chemometric method of multivariate curve resolution–alternating least squares for the peak resolution of the screened TIC peaks is utilized to retrieve the chromatographic and mass spectral profiles of coeluted components. The developed strategy is employed for the analysis of standard and complex plant sample datasets. Results indicate that our methodology is comparable with several state-of-the-art methods that are widely used in GC–MS-based metabolomics.

The coated direct inlet probe (CDIP) is a new laboratory-made low-cost technology developed from a direct inlet probe (DIP), which has the advantage of quick enrichment/cleanup of an analyte from liquid samples. A capillary probe is coated with hydroxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (OH-PDMS), divinylbenzene (DVB), and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) by a sol-gel method. This probe can be directly coupled with a commercialized atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization (APCI) ion source and high-resolution mass spectrometry, which are widely applicable, reliable, and durable. The ability to perform quantitative analyses with the use of a stable-isotope-labeled internal standard (SIL-IS) was tested by using different concentrations of acenaphthylene (ACY), acenaphthene (ACP), fluorene (FLR), fluoranthene (FLT), phenanthrene (PHE), and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P). Calibration curves with a coefficient of determination of R2 ≥ 0.9982 for different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were obtained. A limit of detection (LOD) of 0.008–0.04 ng mL−1 for PAHs was determined. The entire workflow is solvent-free and can be completed in less than 5 min, which demonstrates the advantages of this technique for quantitative analysis.

Objective To investigate whether miR-203a-3p can regulate the biological behaviors of ovarian cancer cells by targeting ATM to affect the Akt/GSK-3β/Snail signaling pathway. Methods The expression levels of miR-203a-3p and ATM were detected by qRT-PCR, immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting in ovarian cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues obtained from 152 subjects. A dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was performed to verify the relationship between miR-203a-3p and ATM. Human ovarian cancer cell lines (A2780 and SKOV3) were used to generate the Blank, miR-NC, miR-203a-3p mimic, Control siRNA, ATM siRNA, and miR-203a-3p inhibitor + ATM siRNA groups. The biological behaviors of ovarian cancer cells were evaluated by CCK-8, wound healing, and Transwell invasion assays, annexin V-FITC/PI staining and flow cytometry. The levels of Akt/GSK-3β/Snail pathway-related proteins were assessed by Western blotting. Results Ovarian cancer tissues showed lower miR-203a-3p levels and higher ATM levels than adjacent normal tissues, both of which were associated with the FIGO stage, grade and prognosis of ovarian cancer. As confirmed by a dual-luciferase reporter gene assay, miR-203a-3p could target ATM. Furthermore, the miR-203a-3p mimic had multiple effects, including the inhibition of the proliferation, invasion and migration of A2780 and SKOV3 cells, the promotion of cell apoptosis, the arrest of the cell cycle at the G1 phase, and the blockage of the Akt/GSK-3β/Snail signaling pathway. ATM siRNA had similar effects on the biological behaviors of ovarian cancer cells, and these effects could be reversed by a miR-203a-3p inhibitor. Conclusion miR-203a-3p was capable of hindering proliferation, migration, and invasion and facilitating the apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells through its modulation of the Akt/GSK-3β/Snail signaling pathway by targeting ATM, and therefore it could serve as a potential therapeutic option for ovarian cancer.

Intake of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) by humans could disturb the metabolism of hormones, induce cancer, and damage the liver and other organs. Phthalate acid esters (PAEs) and alkylphenols (APs) are important EDCs and environmental contaminants. With the increasing use of plastics and nonionic surfactants worldwide, PAEs and APs have entered environmental water and accumulated in edible fish, which are finally consumed by humans. In this study, a coated direct inlet probe (CDIP) based on an atmospheric solid analysis probe, which can rapidly and simultaneously extract both PAEs and APs in fish, was developed. Twelve PAEs and APs were quantified by using a stable-isotope-labeled internal standard. Standard curves of the PAEs and APs having correlation coefficients of R2 ≥ 0.9837 were obtained. The limit of detection of the PAEs and APs was distributed from 0.01 to 40 ng g-1. The relative recovery of the method was 78-120% between low, medium, and high spiked levels. Combined with principal component analysis, PAE- and AP-contaminated Carassius auratus from different habitats could be identified. Multiple sample analysis mode allowed the extraction of up to 12 samples at once, and the total analysis time (including sample pretreatment, extraction, and analysis time) was less than 10 min per sample, which indicates that CDIP is useful for rapid quantitative analysis.

Coptidis rhizoma (CR), also known as “Huanglian” in Chinese, is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used in China, and it is an important species used in medicinal and food applications. It has been processed using a variety of methods, and the processed products have been widely used in clinical practice for thousands of years. However, few reports have focused on the systematic review of its processed products and quality control. In this study, a literature search on processing and quality control of CR was performed by using several literature resources including the Flora of China official website; various scientific databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, the Web of Science, Science Direct, and China Knowledge Resource Integrated; and other web sources such as books and PhD and MS dissertations. Results showed that quality control for different processed products of CR received little or no attention. Its processing still followed ancient methods, and the quality of artifacts in different regions varied. Further attention should be paid to the study of processing technology and quality control with biomarkers. We suggest to establish a quality control mode based on traditional efficacy and with bioactive markers as detection indicators.

Phenolics are a class of plant secondary metabolites that play important roles in plant growth and environmental adaptation. Glucosylation of phenolics is one of the molecular mechanisms controlling phenolics homeostasis. However, the relevant glucosyltransferases are largely unknown. In this study, a putative family 1 glucosyltransferase gene OsSGT1 was cloned from rice due to its close homology with the previously reported phenolics-related glucosyltransferases UGT84A1-A4, and the phylogenetic relationship of OsSGT1 with homologs from other species was investigated. Recombinant OsSGT1 protein showed strong activity towards phenolics to form their glucose conjugates. This is the first identified natural phenolics-related glucosyltransferase in rice. In addition, the expression patterns of OsSGT1 in different tissues of rice indicated that OsSGT1 was predominantly expressed in the old leaves and dough grains, suggesting that OsSGT1 might be involved in the maturation process of rice by regulating phenolic metabolism, and thus deepened our understanding on the roles of phenolics in rice growth and environmental adaptation.

A simple high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed and validated for the determination of coumarin-3-carboxylic acid analogues (C3AA) in rat plasma and a preliminary study on pharmacokinetics. Ferulic acid (FA) was used as the internal standard substance, and coumarin-3-carboxylic acid (C3A) was used as a substitute for quantitative C3AA. After protein precipitation with methanol, the satisfactory separation was achieved on an ODS2 column when the temperature was maintained at 30 ± 2°C. The correlation coefficient r in the C3A linear equation is equal to 0.9990. Pharmacokinetic parameters for t1/2, Tmax, Cmax, area under the curve (AUC)0-t, average residence time (MRT), apparent volume of distribution (V z/F) and clearance (Cl/F) were 1.89 ± 0.03 h, 0.39 ± 0.14 h, 1.81 ± 0.10 g· mL−1 ·h, 7.88 ± 0.24 g·mL−1·h, 3.23 ± 0.14 h, 0.43 ± 0.03 (mg·kg−1)·(g·mL−1)−1·h−1, respectively. The high performance liquid chromatography-photo diode array detector (HPLC-PDA) method established in this study can be used to separate and determine the content of C3AA in plasma of rats after 60% ethanol extraction by gavage. The plasma concentration-time curve and pharmacokinetic parameters reflect the absorption of C3AA in rat blood after oral administration to some extent.

The sensory perception of food is a dynamic procedure, which is closely related to the released flavor stimuli. Thus, we evaluated the dynamic sensations of fresh and roasted salmon during the chewing process and investigated the tastants released in saliva. For fresh salmon, the fishy, umami, salty, and sweet attributes were perceived successively. Meanwhile, the smoky and fried flavors were the most dominant attributes of roasted salmon at the beginning, then various attributes were perceived. During the chewing process, free amino acids and 5′-nucleotides released in saliva were quantified. Compared to the sensory data, the results demonstrated that glutamic acid and inosine 5′-monophosphate released in saliva might induce the umami perception. The sweet-tasting amino acids alanine and glycine may contribute to sweetness. Therefore, we suggested that the time dimension of tastants dissolved in saliva would affect the dynamic sensation of food, even for complex food materials.

To observe the levels of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in blood, peritoneal fluid, ectopic endometrial tissue, and ectopic endometrial stromal cells of patients with endometriosis, and to compare expression of IL-6, LIF and VEGF expression between endometriotic and non-endometriotic patients underwent laparoscopic surgery. Thirty-one patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis in our hospital from January 2018 to January 2020 were included in the observation group, and 32 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery for uterine fibroids, ovarian serous cystadenoma, and ovarian teratomas, were included in the control group. The levels of LIF, IL-6 and VEGF in the blood and peritoneal fluid of the two groups of patients were detected. The levels of LIF, IL-6 and VEGF in ectopic endometrial tissue and self-paired eutopic endometrial tissue, ectopic endometrial stromal cells and self-paired eutopic endometrial stromal cells of patients in the observation group were detected. After treating the primary cultured ectopic endometrial stromal cells with LIF and IL-6 alone or in combination, the changes of VEGF mRNA of ectopic endometrial stromal cells and the VEGF levels in the supernatant were observed. The levels of LIF, IL-6 and VEGF in the blood and peritoneal fluid of the observation group were all higher than those of the control group (P

Clam is a kind of nutritious, delicious and economical aquatic food around the world and is famous for its unique aroma. Instrumental analysis, sensory analysis, and comprehensive statistical analysis were performed to explain the relationship between aroma and odorants in clam soup. Six extraction methods combined with GC-MS and sniffing were utilized to obtain the aroma fingerprints of clam soup and to analyze the correlation with aroma perception. Solvent extraction methods were more effective than headspace extraction methods for the volatiles of clam soup. SAFE was the best method to obtain the most comprehensive information of volatiles of clam soup. The sequence of a combination of different extraction methods and SAFE would also affect the results of volatiles extracted from clam soup. Volatiles extracted via SDE, P&T, and SPME would add further information to the result of SAFE. A total of 119 volatile compounds were identified from clam soup by summarising the results of different extraction methods. The significant effect of 14 key odorants in clam soup on aroma perception was verified by aroma recombination and odorant omission tests. A neural network diagram of the aroma profile was designed to visualize the information of odor perception. Furthermore, the results would be beneficial for aroma research studies of aquatic food and the processing of clam products.

Phoxinus lagowskii is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in China. In this study, a comparative analysis of the mtDNA control region (D-loop) was performed to analyze the natural population structure and genetic diversity of 54 individuals from eleven locations (T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, T8, T9, T10 and T11) which was divided with reservoirs. The estimated haplotype and nucleotide diversity were 0.734 and 0.03514, respectively. An AMOVA indicated that 79.78% of the total variation originated from individual populations and 20.22% came from variation within the 11 geographic populations, which showed high genetic differentiation among the 11 geographic groups. A test of neutral evolution and mismatch distribution indicated that historical expansion occurred in these populations. However, the findings of low genetic diversity and high genetic differentiation demonstrated that the reproduction isolated by reservoir has showed a certain effect for the development of the populations, and the results should provide new information for the conservation and exploitation of this species.

As an important aquaculture shellfish, the superior taste and high nutritional value of oyster (Crassostrea gigas Thunberg) have drawn extensive attention. In this study, twenty-one free amino acids (FAAs) and six 5'-nucleotides were evaluated through stable isotope labeling-liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (SIL-LC-MS/MS), and the lipid profile was explored using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-Q Exactive HF mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QE/MS). The adductor muscle of the oyster possessed a high level of sweetness-related amino acids (Arg, Gly and Hyp) and 5'-nucleotides. A total of 149 lipid species were detected in different tissues of oysters, including 17 triacylglycerols (TAGs), 6 diacylglycerols (DAGs), 61 phosphatidylcholines (PCs), 29 phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs), 11 lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs), 8 lysophosphatidylethanolamines (LPEs), and 1 lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI). FAAs, 5'-nucleotides and lipid profile in the digestive gland of oysters can be divided into three stages, from November to April, May to July, and August to October. The highest proportion of umami-taste amino acids and 5'-nucleotides appeared from March to May. The highest percentage of high unsaturation degree glyceride and phospholipids appeared in August and April, respectively. Thus, the results reported in this study are important for product development and sustainable exploitation in the future.

Plants can reduce or eliminate the damage caused by herbicides and gain herbicide resistance, which is an important theoretical basis for the development of herbicide-resistant crops at this stage. Thus, discovering novel herbicide-resistant genes to produce diverse herbicide-resistant crop species is of great value. The glycosyltransferases that commonly exist in plant kingdom modify the receptor molecules to change their physical characteristics and biological activities, and thus possess an important potential to be used in the herbicide-resistance breeding. Here, we identified a novel herbicide-induced UDP-glycosyltransferase 91C1 (UGT91C1) from Arabidopsis thaliana and demonstrated its glucosylating activity toward sulcotrione, a kind of triketone herbicides widely used in the world. Overexpression of UGT91C1 gene enhanced the Arabidopsis tolerance to sulcotrione. While, ugt91c1 mutant displayed serious damage and reduced chlorophyll contents in the presence of sulcotrione, suggesting an important role of UGT91C1 in herbicide detoxification through glycosylation. Moreover, it was also noted that UGT91C1 can affect tyrosine metabolism by reducing the sulcotrione toxicity. Together, our identification of glycosyltransferase UGT91C1, as a potential gene conferring herbicide detoxification through glucosylation, may open up a new possibility for herbicide resistant breeding of crop plants and environmental phytoremediation.