Morpho-physiological response of common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) to flooding stress at different growth stages

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Flooding is one of the major abiotic stresses which accounts for considerable damage to plant growth and development and induces multiple...     

Sexual dimorphism and sex-differential migration of Little Buntings(Emberiza pusilla)at an East Asian stopover site

Sex differences in morphology provide key information for understanding a species'morphological adaptations in relation to the evolution of sexual selection.In ...     

Effectiveness of Chitosan as a Dietary Supplement in Lowering Cholesterol in Murine Models: A Meta-Analysis

This study presents a meta-analysis of studies that investigate the effectiveness of chitosan administration on lifestyle-related disease in murine models. A total of 34 published studies were used to evaluate the effect of chitosan supplementation. The effect sizes for various items after chitosan administration were evaluated using the standardized mean difference. Using Cochran’s Q test, the heterogeneity of effect sizes was assessed, after which a meta-ANOVA and -regression test was conducted to explain the heterogeneity of effect sizes using the mixed-effect model. Publication bias was performed using Egger’s linear regression test. Among the items evaluated, blood triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol showed the highest heterogeneity, respectively. Other than blood HDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglyceride in feces, most items evaluated showed a negative effect size with high significance in the fixed- and random-effect model (p < 0.0001). In the meta-ANOVA and -regression test, administering chitosan and resistant starch was revealed to be most effective in lowering body weight. In addition, chitosan supplementation proved to be an effective solution for serum TNF-α inhibition. In conclusion, chitosan has been shown to be somewhat useful in improving symptoms of lifestyle-related disease. Although there are some limitations in the results of this meta-analysis due to the limited number of animal experiments conducted, chitosan administration nevertheless shows promise in reducing the risk of cholesterol related metabolic disorder.     

大众化视野中地方大学与新农村建设的关系研究

以地方大学与新农村建设的关系为切入点,分析梳理了大众化过程中地方大学所存在的问题和矛盾、机遇与挑战以及新农村建设对地方大学的需求,认为新农村建设的关键是大力发展生产力,而生产力的快速提升根本要素是农民素质的提高,即人力资本的投入。教育,特别是高等教育则是实现人力资源向人力资本转化的基本手段。高等教育大众化,正是促进这一转化的重要途径,地方大学作为大众化任务的主要承担者和地方经济社会发展的动力源必须加快教育教学改革,创新管理机制,切实为新农村建设提供人力资本服务、科学研究与开发服务以及文化服务等产品服务,并在服务的过程中,寻找机遇,突破困境,促进发展,实现双赢。     

In vitro starch digestibility and pasting properties of germinated brown rice after hydrothermal treatments

Germinated brown rice (GBR) recently has received renewed attention due to its enhanced nutritional value. Pasting properties and in vitro starch digestibility of GBR were examined before and after hydrothermal treatments. Steeping in water (30 °C, 24 h) raised the moisture content and germination percentage of brown rice. Pasting viscosity was substantially decreased but gelatinization temperatures and enthalpy were decreased only marginally by germination (30 °C, 48 h). However, annealing (50 °C, 24 h) and heat-moisture treatment (100 °C, 1 h at 30% moisture) after germination resulted in increased pasting viscosity and gelatinization temperatures. The hydrothermal treatments, however, induced browning reactions to darken the flour of GBR. The digestibility of starch in brown rice was increased by germination. The contents of rapidly digestible starch (RDS), slowly digestible starch (SDS) and resistant starch (RS) in the cooked brown rice were 47.3%, 40.8%, and 11.9%, respectively, but changed to 57.7%, 39.1%, and 3.2%, respectively upon germination. The hydrothermal treatments, however, decreased the digestibility of starch in GBR. The heat-moisture treatment decreased the RDS content in GBR near to that of native brown rice. The digestibility and physical properties of brown rice can be controlled by germination and hydrothermal treatments.     

Physical properties of wheat flour composites dry-coated with microparticulated soybean hulls and rice flour and their use for low-fat doughnut preparation

Air-classified wheat flour was dry-coated with microparticulated rice flour (30%, db) and/or microparticulated soybean hulls (up to 10%, db) using a hybridization system, and the physical properties of the dry-coated wheat flour were examined. The composite wheat flours exhibited the higher water-holding capacity but lower swelling power and oil-holding capacity than their counterpart mixtures. In pasting viscosity, the composites of wheat and rice flours had substantially lower values for peak viscosity and breakdown than did pure wheat flour. The incorporation of soybean hulls to the composites of wheat and rice flours further reduced the peak viscosity. The composites with rice flour and soybean hulls showed slightly higher melting (gelatinization) temperatures but lower melting enthalpy compared to the counterpart mixtures. By using the composite flours for the deep-fat fried doughnut preparation, the oil uptake could be substantially reduced by approximately 30%, in comparison to pure wheat flour or the mixture samples. The composite wheat flours with microparticulated rice flour and soybean hulls produced dough matrices with improved compactness and cell structure, which were attributed to the reduced fat uptake during frying.     

青胡椒油树脂化学成分的研究

采用气相色谱-质谱联用技术(GC-MS)分别对乙醇和乙酸乙酯提取的青胡椒油树脂化学成分进行分析测定,并结合计算机检索技术对其成分进行结构鉴定,应用色谱峰面积归一化法计算各成分的相对百分含量。结果显示,在乙醇和乙酸乙酯提取的青胡椒油树脂中,共鉴定了58种化学组分,分别占质量分数的94.71%和97.36%。其中,这两种青胡椒油树脂中含量较高的成分主要有胡椒碱、石竹烯、胡椒新碱、D-柠檬烯、δ-榄香烯、石竹烯氧化物和喇叭烯氧化物(II)。     

Response of dietary substitution of fishmeal with various protein sources on growth, body composition and blood chemistry of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus, Temminck & Schlegel, 1846)

Animal and/or plant protein sources substituting fishmeal in the diets keep being developed due to its high price. The purpose of this study is to determine response of dietary substitution of fishmeal with silkworm pupae meal, promate meal?, meat and bone meal and/or their combination on the performance of juvenile olive flounder. A 60% fish meal was used as the main protein source, used as the control (Con) diet. The 10 and 20% fishmeal were substituted with silkworm pupae meal and meat and bone meal, referred to as the SPM10, SPM20, MBM10 and MBM20 diets, respectively. And the 10, 20 and 40% fishmeal were substituted with promate meal?, referred to as the PM10, PM20 and PM40 diets, respectively. Finally, the 10 and 20% fishmeal were substituted with combined silkworm pupae meal and promate meal?, refereed to as the SPM + PM10 and SPM + PM20 diets, respectively. Weight gain and specific growth rate of fish fed the MBM10 diet were higher than those of fish fed the Con, SPM20, PM20, PM40 and SPM + PM20 diets. Feed efficiency ratio of fish fed the SPM10, MBM10, MBM20, PM10 and SPM + PM10 diets was higher than that of fish fed the SPM + PM20 and PM40 diets. Protein efficiency ratio of fish fed the MBM10 and MBM20 diets was higher than that of fish fed the SPM20, PM20, PM40 and SPM + PM20 diets. In conclusion, dietary substitution of fishmeal with 10% SPM, 20% MBM, 10% PM and 10% SPM + PM could be made.     

Distance,density, local amenities,and suburban development preferences in a rapidly growing East Tennessee county

Changing land-use patterns and amenity-driven migration have brought agriculture back into people’s lives, but there is a disconnection between the realities of production agriculture and romantic images attached to farming. To the extent that “rurality” is attached to farming, people may desire to live in rural places, but they may be unprepared for the realities of living near a working farm. Greater numbers of communities are facing “either/or” outcomes regarding the conversion of “open space” land to residential or commercial uses versus landscape preservation. This study explored the perceptions and preferences of a community regarding the conversion of a hypothetical parcel of open space to a working dairy or to a residential subdivision. Results suggest that the opportunity costs of foregoing open space for residential development are high, with implications for valuing the conservation of traditions that are tied to the land versus conversion of land solely for development purposes.     

Arginase-1 and P-glycoprotein are downregulated in canine hepatocellular carcinoma

BackgroundHepatocellular carcinoma is the most common primary hepatic malignancy in humans and dogs. Several differentially expressed molecules have been studied and reported in human hepatocellular carcinoma and non-neoplastic liver lesions. However, studies on the features of canine hepatocellular carcinoma are limited, especially related to the differential characteristics of neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions.ObjectivesThe study''s objective was 1) to examine and evaluate the expression of arginase-1, P-glycoprotein, and cytokeratin 19 in canine liver tissues and 2) to investigate the differential features of hepatocellular carcinomas, liver tissue with non-neoplastic lesions, and paracancerous liver tissues in dogs.MethodsThe expression levels of three markers underwent immunohistochemical analysis in 40 non-neoplastic liver tissues, 32 hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, and 11 paracancerous liver tissues. Scoring of each marker was performed semi-quantitatively.ResultsArginase-1 and P-glycoprotein were significantly downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma, compared with hepatic tissues with non-neoplastic diseases (p < 0.001). Expression levels of arginase-1 and P-glycoprotein were also significantly lower in hepatocellular carcinoma than in paracancerous liver tissues (arginase-1, p = 0.0195; P-glycoprotein, p = 0.047). Few cytokeratin 19-positive hepatocytes were detected and only in one hepatocellular carcinoma and one cirrhotic liver sample.ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest that downregulation of arginase-1 and P-glycoprotein is a feature of canine hepatocellular carcinoma; thus, those markers are potential candidates for use in differentiating hepatocellular carcinomas from non-neoplastic liver lesions in dogs.