Prospects of Marine Sterols against Pathobiology of Alzheimer’s Disease: Pharmacological Insights and Technological Advances

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a degenerative brain disorder characterized by a progressive decline in memory and cognition, mostly affecting the elderly. Numerous functional bioactives have been reported in marine organisms, and anti-Alzheimer’s agents derived from marine resources have gained attention as a promising approach to treat AD pathogenesis. Marine sterols have been investigated for several health benefits, including anti-cancer, anti-obesity, anti-diabetes, anti-aging, and anti-Alzheimer’s activities, owing to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Marine sterols interact with various proteins and enzymes participating via diverse cellular systems such as apoptosis, the antioxidant defense system, immune response, and cholesterol homeostasis. Here, we briefly overview the potential of marine sterols against the pathology of AD and provide an insight into their pharmacological mechanisms. We also highlight technological advances that may lead to the potential application of marine sterols in the prevention and therapy of AD.     

基于SI-Albedo特征空间的土壤盐渍化遥感监测指数研究

土壤盐渍化通常出现在气候干旱、土壤蒸发强度大、地下水位高且含有较多可溶性盐类的地区。它是一定的气候、地形、水文地质等自然条件共同对水盐运动产生影响的结果[1],这是一个复杂的动力学过程。因而对土壤盐渍化的探测、动态监测和制图是一项较为困难的工作。遥感技术能大面积重复获取同一地区的信息,具有宏观、综合、动态、快速的特点,并在速度、精度和成本花费方面凸显出众多优势[2]。现阶段运用遥感手段提取土壤盐渍化信息主要有两个方面:一是对遥感图像做相应的处理,突出盐渍化信息,但此种方法需要大量的实验;二是引入土壤含盐量、地下水等辅助量,但是引入的辅助量会引起图像的破碎化,有时难以满足要求,分类精度受到一定程     

Production of silkworms with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) incorporated into their lipids by dietary CLA

Silkworms with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) incorporated into their lipids (designated CLA silkworms) were produced to enhance the quality of silkworms having a synergistic effect with CLA functions by dietary synthetic CLA. Silkworm larvae were fed fresh mulberry leaves (control diet) until the third instar stage and were then subjected to various levels (0%, 0.1%, 1%, 5%, and 10%) of CLA-sprayed mulberry leaves (designated CLA diet) beginning on the first day of the fourth instar stage and continuing to the third day of the fifth instar stage. CLA contents in CLA silkworms increased proportionally with increasing CLA levels of CLA diets. CLA silkworms on a 1% CLA diet contained 2.2 g CLA/100 g lipid without body weight reduction, whereas CLA silkworms on a 10% CLA diet contained 14.8 g CLA/100 g lipid with a significant reduction of body weight, relative to the control silkworms. The CLA content in the lipids of CLA silkworms on a 10% CLA diet was significantly higher than that of CLA silkworms on a 5% CLA diet. A 0.1% CLA diet was not sufficient to accumulate CLA in the silkworms. Most of the CLA (approximately 99%) of silkworm lipids was present in triglyceride (TG) with a similar ratio of c9,t11 and t10,c12 CLA isomers. These results suggest that a 1% CLA diet was suitable for the production of CLA silkworms.     

鸡公山野生木本蔬菜资源调查

木本蔬菜绿色食品,营养价值高,开发潜力大。于2008年对鸡公山野生木本蔬菜资源进行调查,结果表明鸡公山有野生木本蔬菜植物34科74种,并对其开发利用提出建议。     

Effects of Maturity at Harvest and Fermentation Conditions on Bioactive Compounds of Cocoa Beans

Cocoa beans and cocoa products contain considerable amounts of bioactive compounds. Harvesting cocoa fruit too early or too late may have effects on the phenolic and alkaloid concentrations of the cocoa powder. Fermentation, a primary processing used to transform cocoa beans to cocoa powder, may also influence the contents of bioactive compounds. In this study, proanthocyanidins, the major compounds in cocoa polyphenols, caffeine and theobromine of cocoa beans, were evaluated at different maturities at harvest, and with different fermentation durations, with and without the addition of a commercial enzyme, Pectinex® Ultra SP-L. The amounts of proanthocyanidins, caffeine and theobromine, and the antioxidant capacities of the unfermented cocoa beans increased as the fruits matured. The values ranged from 16.12–27.28 g catechin equivalents (CE)/100 g dry weight (DW); 99.66–173.61 mg/100 g DW; 556.39–948.84 mg/100 g DW; 23.23–26.32 mol Trolox equivalents (TE)/100 g DW, respectively. Prolonged fermentation with or without the addition of pectinase, from three to seven days, significantly reduced the amounts of these compounds present. Fermentation using the enzyme significantly reduced the proanthocyanidin content and antioxidant capacity of the cocoa powder, with the overall means decreasing from 8.93–4.93 g CE/100 g DW and from 15.81–12.95 g mol TE/100 g DW, respectively. Two-way ANOVA analyses showed that the proanthocyanidins, caffeine, theobromine contents and the antioxidant capacity of cocoa beans were strongly dependet to their stages of maturity, fermentation methods and fermentation duration.

     

我国农用植保无人机的应用现状及展望

随着我国农业的发展,机械化、自动化是未来发展的趋势,尤其是在平原地区更应该得到大范围的推广和应用。在美国、德国等农业体系发达的国家都已经采用了机械自动化的农业发展,以高科技器械代替人工种植、喷洒农药、收割作物等行为,不仅取得了较高的农业生产效率和产量外,也将人们的劳动力得到进一步的发展。在我国当前的农业发展过程中,农用植保无人机正处于推广应用的阶段,其使用的价值和机械收割机、插秧机同样重要,帮助农民减轻工作量,大大提高我国农业的发展,并与国际接轨。本文通过对于我国农用植保无人机的使用情况进行分析,根据当前我国的农业发展展望未来的农用植保无人机发展,充分得出农用植保无人机对于我国农业进步具有重要意义,不仅能够重新构架我国农业体系的形成,而且对于农业机械化产生助力作用,提高我国农业在世界的地位,创造更多的经济价值。     

Direct evidence of Hymenoscyphus fraxineus infection pathway through the petiole‐shoot junction

The symptoms of ash dieback caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus include wilting of the foliage followed by dieback of shoots, twigs and branches. Necroses in shoots are assumed to develop after infection through leaf petioles; however, clear evidence of this infection pathway has not yet been provided. Considering the multiple pathogen genotypes in dead ash petioles, we aimed to obtain a spatial overview of all H. fraxineus genotypes colonizing individual shoots and their corresponding petioles before leaf shedding to acquire precise information about the infection biology of H. fraxineus and its ability to cross the petiole‐shoot junction. Individual genotypes of H. fraxineus were characterized by the analysis of microsatellites using DNA extracted directly from petiole segments or cultures isolated from the segments. We detected 150 different multilocus genotypes in 10 analysed shoots and their respective petioles; the highest number of genotypes was eight for a single petiole and three for a single shoot. The genotypes of most shoot lesions were identical to particular genotypes from the proximal segments of petioles, implicating the main pathway of shoot infections. To test whether the amount of colonized substrate or intraspecific competition have an effect on successful infection, genotypes that reached the most proximal end of the petioles were scored for the number of invaded petiole segments and for the number of other H. fraxineus genotypes co‐occurring in the segments. However, the extent of colonization of the scored genotypes and intraspecific competition with other H. fraxineus strains did not influence pathogen success in entering the shoot. This study confirms that the majority of ash shoot infections are caused by genotypes of H. fraxineus originating from petioles. Compared to petioles, the frequency of shoot colonization as well as number of H. fraxineus genotypes in shoots was much lower.     

The immunoglobulin G response to Malassezia pachydermatis extracts in atopic and non-atopic dogs

IgG immunoreactivity to Malassezia pachydermatis was compared in atopic and non-atopic dogs. Malassezia pachydermatis proteins with a molecular weight of 98 kDa were recognized at a significantly higher frequency in the sera of atopic dogs. Most of the atopic dogs with Malassezia dermatitis had a greater IgG response than did normal dogs.     

宁夏灌区渠道衬砌破坏成因分析与防治措施探究

在多年工程实践及调查研究的基础上,总结影响渠道防渗衬砌冻胀破坏的主要因素:渠床土质、冻土深度、地下水埋深、渠道走向、衬砌结构型式及材料对衬砌渠道防冻胀的影响,提出应用防渗新材料、换填弱冻胀性土、隔热保温等削减或适应冻胀的措施.