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Lycium genus (Goji berry) is recognized as a good source of homology of medicine and food, with various nutrients and phytochemicals. Lately, numerous studies have focused on the chemical constituents and biological functions of the L. barbarum L., covering phytochemical and pharmacological aspects. We aim to provide exclusive data on the nutrients of L. barbarum L. fruits and phytochemicals, including their structural characterization, the evolution of extraction, and purification processes of different phytochemicals of L. barbarum L. fruit while placing greater emphasis on their wide-ranging health effects. This review also profitably offers innovative approaches for the food industry and industrial applications of L. barbarum L. and addresses some current situations and problems in the development of L. barbarum L. in deep processing products, which can provide clues for the sustainable development of L. barbarum L. industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-Q-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (DPPH-UPLC-Q-TOF/MS), as a rapid and efficient means, now was used for the first time to screen antioxidants from Selaginella doederleinii. The nine biflavone compounds were screened as potential antioxidants. The biflavones were structurally identified and divided into the three types, that is, amentoflavone-type, robustaflavone-type, and hinokiflavone-type biflavonoids. Among the compounds bilobetin (3) and putraflavone (8) were found from Selaginella doederleinii for the first time and others including amentoflavone (1), robustaflavone (2), 4′-methoxy robustaflavone (4), podocarpusflavone A (5), hinokiflavone (6), ginkgetin (7), and heveaflavone (9) were identified previously in the plant. Moreover, nine biflavones possessed a good antioxidant activity via their DPPH free radical scavenging. It demonstrates that DPPH-UPLC-Q-TOF/MS exhibits strong capacity in separation and identification for small molecule. The method is suitable for rapid screening of antioxidants without the need for complicated systems and additional instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the vertical pollution characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils of different land use types in suburban areas of Nanjing, 15 types of controlled PAHs were studied in each section (0-100 cm) of soils from six different land use types, including a vegetable field, forestland, residential area, urban land, paddy field, and industrial area. The vertical distribution and composition characteristics, influencing factors, and sources of PAHs were analyzed. The results showed that:the total concentrations of Σ 15 PAHs in the six sampling site profiles were as follows:vegetable field (69.3-299.2 μg·kg -1 ), forestland (20.8-128.3 μg·kg -1 ), residential area (30.7-142.1 μg·kg -1 ), urban land (185.6-1728.7 μg·kg -1 ), paddy field (208.3-693.0 μg·kg -1 ), and industrial area (165.6-739.2 μg·kg -1 ). There was no pollution in the residential area or forestland and a light pollution level in the vegetable field, medium pollution level in the paddy field and industrial area, and more serious pollution in the urban land. Soil PAHs were mainly distributed in the surface or subsurface layer, except in the residential area and urban land; however, they were still detected in the deep layers, and high-molecular-weight PAHs were dominant in most depths and sampling sites. The vertical distribution and migration of PAHs in soils were affected by molecular characteristics and component concentrations of PAHs, soil physical and chemical properties, and land use types. PMF source analysis indicated that coke sources, traffic sources, and coal combustion sources from human activities were the main sources of PAHs in this study region.

In order to clarify the pollution characteristics of PAHs in suburban agricultural soils, the content of 16 types of PAHs was measured in agricultural soils with different land use types (paddy fields, vegetable fields, and forest land) in the suburbs of Nanjing. The results showed that acenaphthene (Acy) was not detected in any soil samples. The concentration of 15 PAHs in agricultural soil in suburban Nanjing ranged from 24.49 to 925.54 μg·kg -1 , with an average concentration of 259.88 μg·kg -1 . In different land use types, the order of PAHs concentration in soil from high to low was:forest land>paddy fields>vegetable fields, and the high-ring PAHs content was dominant in general. The effects of different soil physicochemical properties on PAHs showed that there was a certain correlation between soil organic carbon (TOC) and clay (clay) content and PAHs, whereas pH and total nitrogen (TN) had no significant correlation with PAHs. The toxic equivalence method and CSI index method were used for ecological risk assessment, which showed that the ecological risk of PAHs in agricultural soils in suburban Nanjing was relatively small; however, the ecological risk of PAHs in forest land should be given some attention, and supervision should be strengthened. Health risk assessment using incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) showed that the threat to the health of children was slightly greater than that of adults, and the CR of forest land was significantly higher than that of vegetable and paddy fields, though still within an acceptable range. Uncertain health assessments were performed in adults, showing that risk analyses of deterministic health risks underestimated the health risks of PAHs. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that the input parameter that had the greatest impact on the total variance of the total carcinogenic risk CR was the exposure frequency EF (50.7%), followed by the pollutant concentration CS (43.3%).

To assess the high-resolution digital soil mapping method for small watersheds in hilly areas, we explored the role of landscape classification and multiscale micro-landform features in predicting soil pH, soil clay content (SCC), and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Geomorphons (GM) terrain classification method was used to create landform units. The traditional digital elevation model (DEM) derivatives and remote sensing variables were employed for different combinations with landscape and micro-landform classification variables, with further compa-rison and analysis being conducted. In addition, three machine learning techniques, including support vector machine (SVM), partial least squares regression (PLSR), and random forest (RF), were used to build prediction models. The best method was then selected, and then combined with regression kriging by modeling spatial structure of the model residuals. The results showed that the application of landscape and multiscale micro-landform classification variables effectively improved the prediction accuracy of pH, SCC, and CEC by 18.8%, 8.2% and 8.7%, respectively. The map of landscape classification that contained vegetation coverage information had greater model contribution than land use data. The GM classification map with 5 m resolution was more suitable for high-precision DSM than those with lower resolution. The composite model of RF performed the best in predicting SCC, while the pH and CEC were not suitable for adding the residual regression kriging on the basis of RF model. Finally, the combination of landscape and multiscale micro-landform classification variables, DEM derivatives and remote sensing variables had the highest prediction accuracy for all the three soil properties. This result indicated that multivariable contained more effective soil information than single data source for rolling areas. The landscape variables composed of GM and surface classified data explained about 40% of the spatial variation of tested soil attributes in hilly area. Therefore, multi-resolution GM and landscape classified variables could be included into the construction of prediction model in research of soil mapping.

In order to assess the pollution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) in a suburban farmland soil, 29 sampling sites were collected around Nanjing according to the grid method, and the contents of 15 different PAHs were determined. Acenaphthene(Ace) was not detected in any of the samples. The total content of PAHs in farmland soil ranged from 24.49 to 750.04 μg·kg -1 , with an average of 226.64 μg·kg -1 . The spatial distribution of high-ring PAHs, the main PAHs in the farmland soil, was similar to that of total PAHs. There was no significant correlation between PAHs and soil organic matter(SOM), pH, cation exchange capacity(CEC), and total nitrogen(TN), whereas bulk density and low ring PAHs were significantly correlated. The results of source apportionment show that the main source of PAHs in the farmland soil is a mixture of combustion and petroleum. The contamination severity index(CSI) index shows that the PAHs does not pose an ecological risk. The results of the health risk assessment show that there is no potential carcinogenic risk to children or adults, and the main sequence of exposure is skin contact>ingestion>inhalation.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of the position of the upper and lower jaws on the anatomical structure of pharynx before and after orthognathic surgery in patients with skeletal Class Ⅲ malocclusion., Methods: Craniofacial CT scan and speech data were collected from 31 patients with skeletal Class Ⅲ malocclusion before and 3 months after surgery. The collected CT data was imported into Dolphin imaging 11.95 software to establish a digital original model, and the anatomical structure of the pharynx was measured and analyzed. Speech data were analyzed objectively and subjectively by Computerized Speech Lab 4500b and professional speech specialists. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 24.0 software package., Results: The distance from the lower edge of the soft palate to the posterior pharyngeal wall, the shortest distance from the posterior margin of the tongue to the posterior pharyngeal wall and its corresponding cross-sectional area were significantly different from those before surgery (P<0.05). The changes of SNA, SNB, ANB, OJ, and OBJ before and after surgery were significant in this series. Importantly, the speech intelligibility of orthognathic patients before and after surgery changed significantly subjectively (P<0.05). Objectively, the postoperative vowels /a/B2, B3, B4, /i/B1,B2, /u/B1,B2 and B4 of the patients were significantly different from those before surgery. There was no significant difference in the lower limit frequency of the consonants /x/, /zh/, /s/, the energy value of /zh/ and the grammatical form of /z/ before and after surgery. The maxillary advancement distance was highly correlated or significantly correlated with △S1, △VOP, and voice changes., Conclusions: Orthognathic surgery moves the upper and lower jaws to cause changes in the anatomy of the pharyngeal cavity, leading to changes of postoperative speech.

Purpose: To use three-dimensional reconstruction measurement, preoperative diagnosis, surgical design, surgical simulation, guide plate production, navigation verification and effect evaluation of orthognathic surgery assisted by digital technology, in order to explore more scientific and reasonable programs and procedures of orthognathic surgery., Methods: Twenty-five patients with congenital dental and maxillofacial deformity were selected as the experimental subjects, craniofacial spiral CT was conducted before surgery and CT data were imported into Mimics 20.0 software to establish a 3D head digital model. The bone landmarks in three-dimensional reconstruction digital model were selected, measured, analyzed and diagnosed, and the design of the surgical plan and the production of the guide plates were performed. Surgical navigation system was used to confirm the maxillary position, verify the bone retention and guide precise bone grinding during operation. Craniofacial spiral CT was conducted 1 week after surgery for postoperative validation of the surgical design protocol. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 24.0 software package., Results: All 25 patients were operated according to the digital orthognathic surgery design and procedure.There were no significant differences in X, Y and Z three-dimensional directions in 10 actual landmarks between the postoperative actual head model and the preoperative predictive head model（P>0.05）., Conclusions: Orthognathic surgery assisted by digital technology has the advantages of precision and minimal invasiveness.

To explore the molecular mechanisms of lipid accumulation in different types of adipose tissue, the transcriptomes of the subcutaneous and intramuscular adipose tissues from the Large White pig were determined using RNA-seq technology and bioinformatics methods. The differential gene expression profiles were identified and analyzed with the Gene Ontology, KEGG pathway and protein-protein interaction network strategies. There were 180 differentially expressed genes between the two adipose tissues. The genes up-regulated in the subcutaneous, as compared to intramuscular, adipose tissues were mainly involved in the biological processes related to lipid metabolism. The down-regulated genes were significantly enriched in MAPK signaling pathway, suggesting that this signaling pathway could have an important regulatory role(s) in adipocyte differentiation. In summary, differentially expressed genes between the subcutaneous and intramuscular adipose tissues were predominantly involved in lipid metabolism/accumulation and regulation of adipogenesis in the Large White pig.

Aim: To investigate the protective effect of bifidobacterium in endotoxin-induced intestinal injury in preweaning rats., Methods: Preweaning rats were randomly divided into three groups (n = 40 for each): a control group (group C), a model group (group E) and a treatment group (group T). Both groups E and T were intraperitoneally injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at a dose of 5 mg/kg (5 mg/L in normal saline), and group T was intragastrically administrated with bifidobacterium suspension (2.0 × 10(9) CFU/mL, 0.5 mL each time, twice a day, until the end of the experiment) 7 d before LPS administration. Group C was intraperitoneally injected with normal saline. After intraperitoneal injection and intragastric administration, the rats were placed back to the initial cage to receive breast feeding. The rats were killed at 2, 6, 12, 24 or 72 h, respectively, after endotoxin or physiological saline injection to collect serum and ileal tissue samples. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) contents in serum and ileum were detected at different times, and expression of ileal defensin-5 mRNA was evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction., Results: Serum and ileal MPO contents in group E were significantly higher than those in group C (serum contents: 107.50 ± 17.70 vs 157.14 ± 24.67, P < 0.05; ileal contents: 1.03 ± 0.21 vs 1.57 ± 0.33, P < 0.05), which peaked at 12 h and 6 h, respectively. MPO contents in group T were significantly lower than those in group E (serum contents: 114.38 ± 24.56 vs 145.25 ± 23.62, P < 0.05; ileal contents: 1.25 ± 0.24 vs 1.57 ± 0.33, P < 0.05). The expression of defensin-5 mRNA in group E was significantly higher than that in group C (0.953 ± 0.238 vs 0.631 ± 0.146, P < 0.05), which peaked at 2 h, and then decreased gradually. The expression of defensin-5 mRNA in group T was significantly lower than that in group E (0.487 ± 0.149 vs 0.758 ± 0.160, P < 0.05) apparently in 24 h. The expression of defensin-5 mRNA at 2 h in group T was significantly higher than that in group C (0.824 ± 0.158 vs 0.631 ± 0.146, P < 0.05)., Conclusion: MPO and defensin-5 mRNA increase in preweaning rats with LPS-induced intestinal injury. Bifidobacterium protects the gut by inhibiting MPO activity, not by increasing defensin-5 secretion.