Search Results (315)

The nutritional content of tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus L.) is abundant, rich in oil, protein, and starch. Conventional methods for assessing the nutrient composition of tiger nuts (TNs) are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) combined with chemometrics has been widely applied in rapidly predicting the nutritional content of various crops, but its application to TNs is rare. In order to enhance the practicality of the method, this study employed a portable NIR in conjunction with chemometrics to rapidly predict the contents of crude oil (CO), crude protein (CP), and total starch (TS) from TNs. In the period from 2022 to 2023, we collected a total of 75 TN tuber samples of 28 varieties from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Henan Province. The three main components were measured using common chemical analysis methods. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was utilized to establish prediction models between NIR and chemical indicators. In addition, to further enhance the prediction performance of the models, various preprocessing and variable selection algorithms were utilized to optimize the prediction models. The optimal models for CO, CP, and TS exhibited coefficient of determination (R²) values of 0.8946, 0.8525, and 0.8778, with root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) values of 1.1764, 0.7470, and 1.4601, respectively. The absolute errors between the predicted and actual values for the three-indicator spectral measurements were 0.80, 0.59, and 0.99. The results demonstrated that the portable NIR combined with chemometrics could be effectively utilized for the rapid analysis of quality-related components in TNs. With further refinements, this approach could revolutionize TN quality assessment and be used to determine optimal harvest times, as well as facilitate the graded marketing of TNs. Full article

Optimizing forest management requires a comprehensive understanding of how soil properties and microbial communities evolve across different plantation ages. This study examines variations in soil nutrient dynamics, enzyme activities, and bacterial communities in Schima superba Gardn. & Champ plantations of 10, 15, 27, 55, and 64 years. By analyzing soil from depths of 0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm, we identified significant age-related trends in soil characteristics. Notably, nutrient contents, including total organic carbon (TOC), total phosphorus (TP), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), and nitrate nitrogen (${\mathrm{NO}}_3^{-}$-N), as well as soil water content (SWC), peaked in 55-year-old mature plantations and decreased in 64-year-old over-mature plantations. Enzyme activities, such as urease, sucrase, and acid phosphatase, decreased with soil depth and exhibited notable differences across stand ages. Microbial community analysis indicated the predominance of Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Verrucomicrobiota in nutrient cycling, with their relative abundances varying significantly with age and depth. Mature and over-mature plantations exhibited higher absolute abundances of functional genes related to methane metabolism, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur cycling. Reduced calcium ion levels were also linked to lower gene abundance in carbon degradation, carbon fixation, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling, while increased TOC, ${\mathrm{NH}}_4^{+}$-N, ${\mathrm{NO}}_3^{-}$-N, and AP correlated with higher gene abundance in methane metabolism and phosphorus cycling. Our findings suggest that long-term cultivation of Schima superba enhances soil nutrient cycling. Calcium ion was identified as a significant factor in assessing soil properties and microbial dynamics across different stand ages, suggesting that extended plantation rotations can improve soil health and nutrient cycling. Full article

H. longicornis is used as an experimental animal model for the study of three-host ticks due to its special life cycle and easy maintenance in the laboratory and in its reproduction. The life cycle of H. longicornis goes through a tightly regulated life cycle to adapt to the changing host and environment, and these stages of transition are also accompanied by proteome changes in the body. Here, we used the isobaric tags for a relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) technique to systematically describe and analyze the dynamic expression of the protein and the molecular basis of the proteome of H. longicornis in seven differential developmental stages (eggs, unfed larvae, engorged larvae, unfed nymphs, engorged nymphs unfed adults, and engorged adults). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis of the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were used. In our study, A total of 2044 proteins were identified, and their expression profiles were classified at different developmental stages. In addition, it was found that tissue and organ development-related proteins and metabolism-related proteins were involved in different physiological processes throughout the life cycle through the GO and KEGG analysis of DEPs. More importantly, we found that the up-regulated proteins of engorged adult ticks were mainly related to yolk absorption, degradation, and ovarian development-related proteins. The abundance of the cuticle proteins in the unfed stages was significantly higher compared with those of the engorged ticks in the previous stages. We believe that our study has made a significant contribution to the research on H. longicornis, which is an important vector of SFTSV. In this study, we identified changes in the proteome throughout the H. longicornis development, and functional analysis highlighted the important roles of many key proteins in developmental events (ovarian development, the molting process, the development of midgut, the development and degeneration of salivary glands, etc.). The revelation of this data will provide a reference proteome for future research on tick functional proteins and candidate targets for elucidating H. longicornis development and developing new tick control strategies. Full article

The ‘Cuimi’ kumquat is a unique citrus cultivar known for its thin, crisp pulp and sweet, aromatic flavor. In addition to its use in fresh consumption and processing, this variety exhibits certain medicinal properties. This study aims to investigate the genetic diversity of the Huanglongbing (HLB) bacterium across different tissues of the ‘Cuimi’ kumquat, offering a theoretical basis for understanding the HLB epidemic in Dechang County, Sichuan. The research focuses on the absolute quantification of the HLB bacterium in seven specific tissues of the ‘Cuimi’ kumquat, including new leaves, upper phloem of branches, fruit peduncle, pith, fruit axis, old leaves, and lower phloem of branches. Additionally, the types and contents of prophages were identified in these tissues. In the same diseased branch group, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) exhibited an uneven distribution, with the highest concentration detected in the pith, significantly surpassing levels found in the stem and leaf tissues (new leaves, upper phloem of branches, old leaves, lower phloem of branches). Infected fruit peduncles and pith slices showed noticeable shrinkage and collapse in the phloem. Prophage analysis indicated that multiple types of prophages could be simultaneously detected within the same infected ‘Cuimi’ kumquat branch. New shoot tissues contained both Type 2 and Type 4 prophages, with a relatively higher abundance of Type 4 and a lower abundance of Type 2. The relative abundance of Type 1 prophage in the fruit tissues was generally higher than in other tissues. CLas primarily accumulates in the fruit tissues of the ‘Cuimi’ kumquat, and the situation in Dechang County suggests that individual trees may be infected with multiple prophage strains simultaneously. Full article

Honeybee gut microbiota plays a crucial role in maintaining their health and digestive function. Studies have confirmed that quercetin improves honeybee health by enhancing their pesticide tolerance and survival rates. This study aimed to examine the effects of quercetin on the bee gut microbiome by absolute quantification sequencing. We included 1800 bees from the experimental apiary and exposed them to 151.2, 75.6, and 37.8 mg/L of quercetin. Gut samples were collected on the 5th and 9th days, subjected to a polymerase chain reaction and 16S rRNA sequencing, and analyzed. After 5 days of quercetin treatment, the diversity of the honeybee gut microbiota was altered, and total bacterial copies and Lactobacillus abundance significantly decreased at high quercetin concentrations (151.2 and 75.6 mg/L). On day 9, the gut microbial community had recovered from the adverse effects, and Gilliamella abundance increased in response to 37.8 mg/L quercetin treatment. However, quercetin had no noticeable effects on survival rate, food consumption, and gut structure. Our study confirmed the effect of short-term quercetin intake on the gut microbiota of A. cerana, providing valuable insights into how phytochemicals alter the bee gut microbiome, and their repercussions on host physiology. Full article

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of growth-related myopathies, i.e., normal, wooden breast (WB), white striping (WS), and the combined lesions of WS and WB (WS + WB), on the molecular response of Caco-2 cells. A total of 24 cooked chicken breasts (n = 6 per myopathy) was subjected to an in vitro digestion using an enzymatic process mimicking human gastrointestinal digestion. Based on peptidomics, in vitro protein digestion of the abnormal samples, particularly WB meat, resulted in more peptides with lower molecular mass relative to those of normal samples. The cooked meat hydrolysates obtained at the end of the digestion were applied to a Caco-2 cell model for 4 h. The cell viability of treated normal and abnormal samples was not different (p ≥ 0.05). Absolute transcript abundances of genes associated with primary oxidative stress response, including nuclear factor erythroid 2 like 2, superoxide dismutase, and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 were determined using a droplet digital polymerase chain reaction. No significant differences in transcript abundance of those genes in Caco-2 cells were demonstrated between normal and the abnormal samples (p ≥ 0.05). Overall, the findings supported that, compared to normal meat, the cooked chicken meat with growth-related myopathies might be digested and absorbed to a greater extent. The cooked abnormal meat did not exert significant transcriptional impacts regarding oxidative stress on the human epithelial Caco-2 cells. Full article

Soil biodiversity plays a critical role in supporting multiple ecosystem functions. As some of the most diverse and abundant metazoans on the Earth, soil nematode communities exhibit changes along environmental gradients, but the ways in which the abundance and diversity of nematode communities vary along elevational gradients remain poorly understood. Taking advantage of an investigation on Huangshan Mountain, Southeast China, with elevation ranging from 500 to 1200 m, we assessed the abundance and diversity of soil nematodes, as well as the soil physicochemical properties, across subtropical forest ecosystems. Nematode communities were analyzed at the genus level, and the α-diversity was calculated as the genus richness, while the β-diversity was based on the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity. The results showed that, among the top 20 nematode genera ranked by absolute abundance, most genera, such as Eucephalobus, Prismatolaimus, Filenchus, and Rotylenchulus, reached their peak abundance at the highest elevation (1000 m). Additionally, the abundances of Oriverutus, Tylenchus, Criconema, and Tripyla exhibited a positive correlation with the elevation. Moreover, the abundance and α-diversity of the total nematodes and each trophic group of nematodes increased linearly with the elevation, likely due to increased soil moisture at higher elevation. In contrast, the β-diversity of the total nematodes, bacterivores, and herbivores decreased with increasing elevation, indicating the importance of stochastic processes in shaping community assembly at high altitudes. This pattern suggests that as the elevation increases, the nematode communities become more homogeneous in structure. Taken together, our study’s findings demonstrate the divergent responses of nematodes’ α- and β-diversity to an elevation gradient, highlighting the importance of the soil nematode diversity in maintaining ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling and food web stability in mountainous regions. These results emphasize the need to incorporate the below-ground biodiversity into conservation strategies, particularly in the face of environmental changes driven by climate and human activities. Full article

This study investigates the underutilized potential of agri-crops from the Asteraceae family by employing sustainable and green technologies (supercritical fluid, ultrasound, and Soxhlet extractions) to enhance the recovery of bioactive compounds. A total of 21 extracts from native and waste seeds of dandelion, milk thistle, and chamomile were systematically compared utilizing a combination of solvents (supercritical CO₂ and absolute or aqueous ethanol). Supercritical CO₂ extraction yielded up to 281 mg/g of oils from native seeds, while conventional techniques with ethanol recovered an additional 142 mg/g of extracts from waste seeds. Notably, waste seed extracts exhibited superior biological activity, including potent antioxidant properties (IC₅₀ values as low as 0.3 mg/mL in the DPPH assay) and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against 32 microbial strains, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Gram-negative bacteria, and yeast strains. Phenolic compounds were abundant, with up to 2126 mg GAE/g, alongside 25.9 mg QE/g flavonoids, and 805.5 mg/kg chlorophyll A. A selective anticancer activity of waste milk thistle extracts was observed, with a selectivity index of 1.9 to 2.7. The oils recovered from native seeds demonstrated lower bioactivity and are well-suited for applications in food. The potent bioactivity of the smaller quantities of waste seed extracts positions them as valuable candidates for pharmaceutical use. Full article

The advantages of aluminum-ion batteries in the area of power source systems are: inexpensive manufacture, high capacity, and absolute security. However, due to the limitations of cathode materials, the capacity and durability of aluminum-ion batteries ought to be further advanced. Herein, we synthesized a nitrogen-doped tubular carbon material as a potential cathode to achieve advanced aqueous aluminum-ion batteries. Nitrogen-doped tubular carbon materials own an abundant space (367.6 m² g⁻¹) for electrochemical behavior, with an aperture primarily concentrated around 2.34 nm. They also exhibit a remarkable service lifespan, retaining a specific capacity of 78.4 mAh g⁻¹ at 50 mA g⁻¹ after 300 cycles. Additionally, from 2 to 300 cycles, the material achieves an appreciable reversibility (coulombic efficiency CE: 99.7%) demonstrating its excellent reversibility. The tubular structural material possesses a distinctive hollow architecture that mitigates volumetric expansion during charging and discharging, thereby preventing structural failure. This material offers several advantages, including a straightforward synthesis method, high yield, and ease of mass production, making it highly significant for the research and development of future aluminum-ion batteries. Full article

Background: Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺), its precursors, and its derivatives (collectively NADome) play a crucial role in cellular processes and maintain redox homeostasis. Understanding the dynamics of these metabolic pools and redox reactions can provide valuable insights into metabolic functions, especially cellular regulation and stress response mechanisms. The accurate quantification of these metabolites is challenging due to the interconversion between the redox forms. Methods: Our laboratory previously developed a zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (zic-HILIC)–tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of five essential pyridine nucleotides, including NAD⁺ derivatives and it’s reduced forms, with ¹³C isotope dilution and matrix-matched calibration. In this study, we have improved the performance of the chromatographic method and expanded its scope to twelve analytes for a comprehensive view of NAD⁺ biosynthesis and utilization. The analytical method was validated and applied to investigate Escherichia coli BL21 under varying oxygen supplies including aerobic, microaerobic, and anaerobic conditions. Conclusions: The intracellular absolute metabolite concentrations ranged over four orders of magnitude with NAD⁺ as the highest abundant, while its precursors were much less abundant. The composition of the NADome at oxygen-limited conditions aligned more with that in the anaerobic conditions rather than in the aerobic phase. Overall, the NADome was quite homeostatic and E. coli rapidly, but in a minor way, adapted the metabolic activity to the challenging shift in the growth conditions and achieved redox balance. Our findings demonstrate that the zic-HILIC-MS/MS method is sensitive, accurate, robust, and high-throughput, providing valuable insights into NAD⁺ metabolism and the potential significance of these metabolites in various biological contexts. Full article

The ketogenic diet is becoming an assisted treatment to control weight, obesity, and even type 2 diabetes. However, there has been no scientific proof supporting that the ketogenic diet is absolutely safe and sustainable. In this study, Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats were fed different ratios of fat to carbohydrates under the same apparent metabolizable energy level to evaluate the effects of a ketogenic diet on healthy subjects. The results showed that the ketogenic diet could relatively sustain body weight and enhance the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and serum alkaline phosphatase (SAP), leading to more moderate lipoidosis and milder local non-specific inflammation in the liver compared with the high-carbohydrate diet. In addition, the abundance of probiotic strains such as Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Faecalitalea were reduced with the ketogenic diet in rats, while an abundance of pathogenic strains such as Anaerotruncus, Enterococcus, Rothia, and Enterorhabdus were increased with both the ketogenic diet and the high-carbohydrate diet. This study suggests that the ketogenic diet can lead to impairments of liver function and changed composition of the gut microbiota in rats, which to some extent indicates the danger of consuming a generalized ketogenic diet. Full article

Accurate time prediction is critical to the success of ship block manufacturing. However, the emergence of new ship types with limited historical data poses challenges to existing prediction methods. In response, this paper proposes a novel framework for ship block manufacturing time prediction, integrating clustering and the transfer learning algorithm. Firstly, the concept of distributed centroids was innovatively adopted to achieve the clustering of categorical attribute features. Secondly, abundant historical data from other types of blocks (source domain) were incorporated into the neural network model to explore the effects of block features on manufacturing time, and the model was further transferred to blocks with limited data (target domain). Leveraging the similarities and differences between source and target domain blocks, actions involving freezing and fine-tuning parameters were adopted for the predictive model development. Despite a small sample size of only 80, our proposed block time prediction method achieves an impressive mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 8.62%. In contrast, the MAPE for the predictive model without a transfer learning algorithm is notably higher at 14.97%. Experimental validation demonstrates the superior performance of our approach compared to alternative methods in scenarios with small sample datasets. This research addresses a critical gap in ship block manufacturing time prediction. Full article

This study explores the proteomic composition of follicular fluid (FF) from women undergoing oocyte retrieval for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), with a focus on the effects of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). FF samples were collected from 74 patients, including 34 with PCOS and 40 oocyte donors. Proteomic profiling using machine learning identified significant differences in protein abundance between the PCOS and control groups. Of the 484 quantified proteins, 20 showed significantly altered levels in the PCOS group. Functional annotation and pathway enrichment analysis pointed to the involvement of protease inhibitors and immune-related proteins in the pathophysiology of PCOS, suggesting that inflammation and immune dysregulation may play a key role. Additionally, HDL assembly was identified as a significant pathway, with apolipoprotein-AI (APOA1) and alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M) as the major proteins involved. Notably, myosin light polypeptide 6 was the most downregulated protein, showing the highest absolute fold change, and may serve as a novel independent biomarker for PCOS. Full article

Stock depletion level is an important concept in the assessment and management of exploited fish stocks because it is often used in conjunction with reference points to infer stock status. Both the depletion level and reference points can be highly dependent on the stock–recruitment relationship. Here, we show how depletion level is estimated in stock assessment models, what data inform the depletion level, and how the stock–recruitment relationship influences the depletion level. There are a variety of data that provide information on abundance. In addition, to estimate the depletion level, unexploited absolute abundance needs to be determined. This often means extrapolating the abundance back in time to the start of the fishery, accounting for the removals and the productivity. Uncertainty in the depletion level arises because the model can account for the same removals by either estimating low productivity (e.g., low natural mortality) and high carrying capacity or high productivity and a low carrying capacity, and by estimating different relationships between productivity and depletion level, which are strongly controlled by the stock–recruitment relationship. Therefore, estimates of depletion are particularly sensitive to uncertainty in the biological processes related to natural mortality and the stock–recruitment relationship and to growth when length composition data are used. In addition, depletion-based reference points are highly dependent on the stock–recruitment relationship and need to account for recruitment variability, particularly autocorrelation, trends, and regime shifts. Future research needs to focus on estimating natural mortality, the stock–recruitment relationship, asymptotic length, shape of the selectivity curve, or management strategies that are robust to uncertainty in these parameters. Tagging studies, including close-kin mark-recapture, can address some of these issues. However, the stock–recruitment relationship will remain uncertain. Full article

To determine the pivotal microorganisms affecting intramuscular fat (IMF) accumulation in Min pigs and to discern the extent of the influence exerted by various intestinal segments on IMF-related traits, we sequenced 16S rRNA from the contents of six intestinal segments from a high IMF group (Group H) and a low IMF group (Group L) of Min pigs weighing 90 ± 1 kg. We then compared their diversity and disparities in bacterial genera. Group H exhibited considerably higher α diversity in the jejunum and colon than Group L (p < 0.05). When 95% confidence levels were considered, the main β diversity components for the ileum, caecum, and colon within Groups H and L exhibited absolute segregation. Accordingly, 31 differentially abundant genera across Group H were pinpointed via LEfSe and the Wilcoxon test (p < 0.05) and subsequently scrutinised based on their distribution and abundance across distinct intestinal segments and their correlation with IMF phenotypes. The abundances of Terrisporobacter, Acetitomaculum, Bacteroides, Fibrobacter, Treponema, Akkermansia, Blautia, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, Turicibacter, Subdoligranulum, the [Eubacterium] siraeum group, and dgA 11 gut groups were positively correlated with IMF content (p < 0.05), whereas those of Bacillus, the Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 group, Streptococcus, Roseburia, Solobacterium, Veillonella, Lactobacillus, the Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group, Anaerovibrio, and the Lachnospiraceae AC2044 group were negatively associated with IMF content (p < 0.05). Employing PICRUSt2 for predicting intergenic metabolic pathways that differ among intestinal microbial communities revealed that within the 95% confidence interval the colonic microbiome was enriched with the most metabolic pathways, including those related to lipid metabolism. The diversity results, bacterial genus distributions, and metabolic pathway disparities revealed the colonic segment as an influential region for IMF deposition. Full article