Investigation of the Potential Health Benefits as Lipase Inhibitor and Antioxidant of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leopoldia comosa</Emphasis> (L.) Parl.: Variability of Chemical Composition of Wild and Cultivated Bulbs

There is a great interest in the nutritional value of vegetables and fruits and how the habitat affects nutritive and biological properties. In vitro studies here reported were performed to evaluate the inhibitory activity of formulations from edible plant on pancreatic lipase. The aim of this study was also to evaluate the biovariability of L. comosa (L.) Parl. bulbs from Italy. The wild bulbs were compared with the same cultivated species that are commonly commercialized to identify samples with the best quality for a potential therapeutic application. Hydroalcoholic extract and polar fraction of wild bulbs showed a very important pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity, with IC₅₀ values of 0.166 ± 0.005 and 0.153 ± 0.005 mg/mL, respectively. In order to characterize the extracts, gas chromatography associated with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis was performed, revealing the predominance of palmitic acid. Phenolic and flavonoid composition was also evaluated. L. comosa extract obtained from wild bulbs demonstrated both antioxidant and anti-obesity activities that might be attributed to a wide range of present phenolic compounds.     

抗白粉病胡麻种质资源田间鉴定与筛选

白粉病目前已成为影响胡麻产量和质量最常见的病害之一, 种植抗病品种是防控病害最经济环保的有效措施, 然而抗病亲本材料的缺乏已成为制约抗病品种选育的关键因素。为筛选出抗白粉病胡麻材料, 本研究在田间自然感病的条件下, 采用病情指数法对300份国内外胡麻种质资源材料进行了抗白粉病鉴定和评价。结果表明, 所有供试材料均程度不同地感染胡麻白粉病, 无免疫材料, 仅有5份材料为中抗; 其余295份均为感病材料, 其中8份材料中感, 52份材料感病, 235份材料高度感病。本研究可为抗白粉病胡麻品种的培育及相关抗病基因的发掘提供参考。     

Mapping QTLs using a novel source of salinity tolerance from Hasawi and their interaction with environments in rice

Background

Salinity is one of the most severe and widespread abiotic stresses that affect rice production. The identification of major-effect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for traits related to salinity tolerance and understanding of QTL × environment interactions (QEIs) can help in more precise and faster development of salinity-tolerant rice varieties through marker-assisted breeding. Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from IR29/Hasawi (a novel source of salinity) were screened for salinity tolerance in the IRRI phytotron in the Philippines (E1) and in two other diverse environments in Senegal (E2) and Tanzania (E3). QTLs were mapped for traits related to salinity tolerance at the seedling stage.

Results

The RILs were genotyped using 194 polymorphic SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). After removing segregation distortion markers (SDM), a total of 145 and 135 SNPs were used to construct a genetic linkage map with a length of 1655 and 1662 cM, with an average marker density of 11.4 cM in E1 and 12.3 cM in E2 and E3, respectively. A total of 34 QTLs were identified on 10 chromosomes for five traits using ICIM-ADD and segregation distortion locus (SDL) mapping (IM-ADD) under salinity stress across environments. Eight major genomic regions on chromosome 1 between 170 and 175 cM (qSES1.3, qSES1.4, qSL1.2, qSL1.3, qRL1.1, qRL1.2, qFWsht1.2, qDWsht1.2), chromosome 4 at 32 cM (qSES4.1, qFWsht4.2, qDWsht4.2), chromosome 6 at 115 cM (qFWsht6.1, qDWsht6.1), chromosome 8 at 105 cM (qFWsht8.1, qDWsht8.1), and chromosome 12 at 78 cM (qFWsht12.1, qDWsht12.1) have co-localized QTLs for the multiple traits that might be governing seedling stage salinity tolerance through multiple traits in different phenotyping environments, thus suggesting these as hot spots for tolerance of salinity. Forty-nine and 30 significant pair-wise epistatic interactions were detected between QTL-linked and QTL-unlinked regions using single-environment and multi-environment analyses.

Conclusions

The identification of genomic regions for salinity tolerance in the RILs showed that Hasawi possesses alleles that are novel for salinity tolerance. The common regions for the multiple QTLs across environments as co-localized regions on chromosomes 1, 4, 6, 8, and 12 could be due to linkage or pleiotropic effect, which might be helpful for multiple QTL introgression for marker-assisted breeding programs to improve the salinity tolerance of adaptive and popular but otherwise salinity-sensitive rice varieties.

     

Investigation of mechanical properties of developed antimicrobial PPsuture/Ag nanocomposite

In order to prevent surgical complications due to microbial infections, we have developed polypropylene suture grafted with silver nanoparticles (PPsuture/Ag nanocomposite) by a simple immersion procedure. Physical and mechanical properties of developed suture are investigated. Suture surface characteristics are examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Silver content on suture surface was determined by Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The mechanical properties of developed antibacterial PP suture/Ag were studied. We note that proposed silver coating method has not affected mechanical performances of suture. Antimicrobial performances of PP suture/Ag nanocomposites against S. aureus and E. coli colonies were also investigated.     

浙江省耕地多功能价值时空变化与权衡-协同关系

耕地多功能价值的时空演变与权衡-协同关系测度对于深化耕地可持续利用和管理具有重要意义。该研究以经济快速发展地区浙江省为例,采用价值量化方法对2000、2010和2015年浙江省耕地多功能进行价值评估并分析其时空变化特征。运用Spearman秩相关系数法、双变量空间自相关模型以及可拓展随机性环境影响评估(StochasticImpactsby Regression on Population,Affluence and Technology,STIRPAT)模型探究耕地多功能之间的权衡-协同关系及影响因素。结果表明:1)2000—2015年浙江省耕地多功能总价值下降,地均耕地多功能价值呈现先下降后上升的趋势。其中气体调节、水源涵养和社会保障功能价值下降明显,食物生产和美学景观功能价值增加;耕地多功能总价值在空间上呈现北高南低的分布格局,2000—2015年大部分县市耕地多功能总价值均有不同程度的下降,西南山地丘陵区耕地多功能总价值有所提升。2)浙江省耕地多功能之间主要表现为协同关系,各项功能之间的协同-权衡关系存在空间异质性;2000—2015年,浙江省耕地多功能协同关系总体减弱,在空间上主要表现为高值协同区减少。3)城镇居民可支配收入和地均农业机械总动力对耕地多功能总价值有负面影响,农村居民可支配收入增加有助于耕地多功能总价值的提升。该研究成果可为科学划定耕地利用与保护区,促进耕地多功能的协同利用和提升耕地资源价值提供科学依据。     

Conductive 3D structure nanofibrous scaffolds for spinal cord regeneration

The complex nature of spinal cord injuries has provided much inspiration for the design of novel biomaterials and scaffolds which are capable of stimulating neural tissue repair strategies. Recently, conductive polymers have gained much attention for improving the nerve regeneration. In our previous study, a three-dimensional (3D) structure with reliable performance was achieved for electrospun scaffolds. The main purpose in the current study is formation of electrical excitable 3D scaffolds by appending polyaniline (PANI) to biocompatible polymers. In this paper, an attempt was made to develop conductive nanofibrous scaffolds, which can simultaneously present both electrical and topographical cues to cells. By using a proper 3D structure, two kinds of conductive scaffolds are compared with a non-conductive scaffold. The 3D nanofibrous core-sheath scaffolds, which are conductive, were prepared with nanorough sheath and aligned core. Two different sheath polymers, including poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) PLGA and PLGA/PANI, with identical PCL/PANI cores were fabricated. Nanofibers of PCL and PLGA blends with PANI have fiber diameters of 234±60.8 nm and 770±166.6 nm, and conductivity of 3.17×10^-5 S/cm and 4.29×10^-5 S/cm, respectively. The cell proliferation evaluation of nerve cells on these two conductive scaffolds and previous non-conductive scaffolds (PLGA) indicate that the first conductive scaffold (PCL/ PANI-PLGA) could be more effective for nerve tissue regeneration. Locomotor scores of grafted animals by developed scaffolds showed significant performance of non-conductive 3D scaffolds. Moreover, the animal studies indicated the ability of two new types of conductive scaffolds as spinal cord regeneration candidates.     

Effect of nitrogen root zone fertilization on rice yield,uptake and utilization of macronutrient in lower reaches of Yangtze River,China

Improper application of nitrogen (N) has led to high N losses and low N use efficiency in the lower reaches of Yangtze River in China. An effective method to solve such problems is the deep fertilized N in root zone (RZF). Limited information is available on the effect of RZF on the uptake of macronutrients (N, P and K) and rice yield. Field experiments, conducted from 2014 to 2015, compared the farmer fertilizer practice (FFP, with 225 kg ha^?1 of N, split into three doses) and RZF using the same rate but placing N 5 cm away from rice roots in holes 10 cm deep (RZF10) or 5 cm deep (RZF5) as a single application. The highest mean yield (10.0 t ha^?1) was obtained in RZF10, which was 19.5% more than that in FFP. Root zone fertilization of urea (whether 10 cm deep or 5 cm deep) resulted in greater accumulation of N, P and K in stem, leaf sheaths, leaf blades and grains compared to that in FFP in sandy and in loam soils. The uptake of N, P and K was the highest in RZF10 (average at 176.7, 66.2 and 179.1 kg ha^?1, respectively), higher than that in FFP by 45.0, 17.0 and 22.6%, respectively. N apparent recovery efficiency was markedly higher in RZF10 (53.1%) than in FFP (27.5%). RZF10 significantly increased the N, P, K uptake compared with FFP under different N rates in both sandy and loam soils. These results suggest that the N, P and K input amount should be re-determined under RZF.     

Evaluation of Particle Size Influence on Proximate Composition,Physicochemical, Techno-Functional and Physio-Functional Properties of Flours Obtained from Persimmon (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Diospyros kaki</Emphasis> Trumb.) Coproducts

The aim of the work was to study the influence of particle size in the composition, physicochemical, techno-functional and physio-functional properties of two flours obtained from persimmon (Diospyros kaki Trumb. cvs. ‘Rojo Brillante’ (RBF) and ‘Triump’ (THF) coproducts. The cultivar (RBF and THF) and particle size significantly affected all parameters under study, although depending on the evaluated property, only one of these effects predominated. Carbohydrates (38.07–46.98 g/100 g) and total dietary fiber (32.07–43.57 g/100 g) were the main components in both flours (RBF and THF). Furthermore, insoluble dietary fiber represented more than 68% of total dietary fiber content. All color properties studied were influenced by cultivar and particle size. For both cultivars, the lower particle size, the higher lightness and hue values. RBF flours showed high values for emulsifying activity (69.33–74.00 mL/mL), while THF presented high values for water holding capacity (WHC: 9.47–12.19 g water/g sample). The bile holding capacity (BHC) and fat/oil binding values were, in general, higher in RBF (19.61–12.19 g bile/g sample and 11.98–9.07, respectively) than THF (16.12–12.40 g bile/g sample and 9.78–7.96, respectively). The effect of particle size was really evident in both WHC and BHC. Due to their dietary fiber content, techno-functional and physio-functional properties, persimmon flours seem to have a good profile to be used as potential functional ingredient.     

Improvement of ink-jet printing performances using β-cyclodextrin forming inclusion complex on cotton fabric

Cotton fabric was modified with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) forming inclusion complex to yield color strength, pattern sharpness, and color fastness for ink-jet printing. The modified cotton fabric was confirmed with the presence of new strong absorption peaks around 1713 cm^-1 and 1243 cm^-1 in FT-IR. β-CD had been covalently grafted on cotton fabric via the esterification reaction of citric acid (CTR) with cellulose and β-CD. The results indicated that printing performances of the ink-jet printed fabric were enhanced through β-CD modification. The K/S value was enhanced from 4.21 to 6.72, the width of printed line was decreased from 1.48 mm to 1.25 mm, and the color fastness was improved to 3-4 level. These improvements were due to the truncated cone structure of β-CD, which can form inclusions with water-based pigment. Meanwhile, the crease recovery performance was also improved with the aid of CTR. A comparison between the unmodified and modified cotton fabric suggested that the crease recovery angle of β-CD modified cotton fabric was increased by 25.0 % in the warp direction. Therefore, printing performance and crease recovery performance of β-CD modified and water-based pigment printed cotton fabric were enhanced remarkably.