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The flavor formation of fermented meat products is significantly influenced by salt. In this study, the flavor analysis methods of electronic tongue and nose, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry were utilized to explore the effect of salt content on the formation of sour meat flavor. The results demonstrated a significant decrease in pH value with the reduction of salt content (P < 0.05), while there was a significant rise in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value associated with the decline in salt content (P < 0.05). Alcohols, aldehydes, and esters such as 1-octen-3-ol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, hexanal, heptanal, ethyl octanoate, ethyl heptanoate, etc. were considered to have significant contributions to the overall flavor of sour meat. The rapid accumulation of these aroma compounds under low-salt conditions was regarded as one of the key factors in the overall flavor enhancement of sour meat products. Additionally, the low-salt fermentation also promoted the accumulation of free amino acids and free fatty acids in sour meat products, thereby facilitating the formation of more complex aroma compounds. This study offers new technological ways to improve the conventional method of fermenting sour meat and offers theoretical justification for studies on salt reduction in conventionally fermented meat products. • The effect of salt on the flavor of sour meat was studied by metabolomics technique. • Ethyl esters play a key role in the formation of pleasant flavor of sour meat. • Low-salt fermentation promotes the accumulation of free amino acids in sour meat. • The accumulation of lactic acid is the main source of rich sourness in sour meat. • Low-salt fermentation has a positive effect on the flavor formation of sour meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of different glycosylation degrees on molecular structure and foaming property of egg white protein (EWP) was investigated using ball milling‐assisted glycosylation. The results showed the foaming ability (FA) and foam stability (FS) of EWP improved when the degree of glycosylation was increased. In particular, FA of ball milling‐assisted glycosylation of EWP enhanced by 39.9% and 28.8%, and the FS increased by 28.7% and 24.0% compared with EWP and ball milling egg white protein (BE) at 150 min of reaction. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE) analysis could reflect the grafting degree of EWP and glucose molecules from the side. When EWP was fully grafted with glucose, endogenous fluorescence and free sulfhydryl groups indicated that tertiary structure of EWP was depolymerized, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed the secondary structure tended to change from order to disorder. The results of this study indicated that ball milling‐assisted glycosylation modification was a practical method to improve the foaming property of EWP. Practical Application: EWP has great FA and FS, making it indispensable in the baking industry. In this study, ball milling‐assisted glycosylation was used to improve the foaming property of EWP, and the molecular structure of EWP with different degrees of glycosylation was fully resolved. The results demonstrated that ball milling, as a physical pretreatment, can fully unfold the structure of EWP. When sugar molecules were fully grafted, the particle size of EWP reduced, solubility increased, and the stability of system improved, thus enhancing the foaming property of EWP. The results can provide theoretical basis for improving the foaming property of EWP and provide a reference value for its industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strigolactones (SLs) and karrikins (KARs) are butenolides that influence multiple aspects of plant growth and development. D14 and KAI2 are members of the α/β-fold hydrolase superfamily and act as receptors of SLs and KARs, as well as of unidentified endogenous KAI2-ligands (KLs). Phylogenetic analyses suggest that plant KAI2 was derived from bacterial RsbQ via horizontal gene transfer (HGT) before the emergence of streptophytes. The D14/KAI2 and RsbQ proteins share conserved tertiary structures and functional features. In this opinion article, we suggest that the acquisition of RsbQ by plant cells was fundamental to the formation of butenolide sensing systems. Recruitment of additional signal transduction components and gene duplication subsequently led to versatile butenolide signaling systems throughout land plants. Strigolactones (SLs) are not only phytohormones that play multiple roles in plant growth and development, but also rhizosphere signals for communication between plants and microbes. Karrikins (KARs) are exogenous compounds generated from burning vegetation which can stimulate seed germination. They contain a butenolide moiety similar to that of SLs. The KAR receptor KAI2 is believed to normally recognize endogenous karrikin-like compounds referred to as KAI2-ligands (KLs). The KAI2 signaling pathway influences various developmental and physiological processes in plants. The duplication and differentiation of KAI2 in seed plants led to the evolution of the SL receptor gene family D14. The perception and signaling of KLs by KAI2 is commonly considered to be a major innovation during the early evolution of land plants, but the origin of KAI2 and SL/KL signaling system is unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulse signal analysis plays an important role in promoting the objectification of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Like electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, wrist pulse signals are mainly caused by cardiac activities and are valuable in analyzing cardiac diseases. A large number of studies have reported ECG signals can distinguish gender characteristics of normal healthy subjects using entropy complexity measures, consistently showing more complexity in females than males. No research up to date, however, has been found on examining gender differences with wrist pulse signals of healthy subjects on entropy complexity measures. This paper is aimed to fill in the research gap, which could, in turn, provide a deeper insight into the pulse signal and might identify potential differences between ECG signals and pulse signals. In particular, several complementary entropy measures with corresponding refined composite multiscale versions are established to perform the analysis for the filtered TCM pulse signals. Experimental results reveal that regardless of entropy measures used, there is no statistically significant gender difference in terms of entropy complexity, indicating that the pulse signal holds less gender characteristics than the ECG signal. In view of these findings, wrist pulse signals could be likely to provide different pieces of information to ECG signals. The present study is the first to quantitatively evaluate gender differences in healthy pulse signals with measures of entropy complexity and more importantly; we expect this study could make contribution to the ongoing pulse intelligent diagnosis and objective analysis, further facilitating the modernization of TCM pulse diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this communication, a microfluidically frequency- and polarization-reconfigurable slot antenna using liquid metal (LM) is proposed. The polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) structure with narrow-banded microchannels is loaded on the printed circuit board (PCB) of a square slot antenna, providing condition for reconfiguration. The left-hand circular polarization (LHCP), right-hand circular polarization (RHCP), and linear polarization (LP) are achieved by injecting LM into +45° and −45° channels with respect to the $x$ -axis or keeping the channels empty. Three operating frequency bands of LHCP and RHCP states can be realized by filling the microchannels with different lengths. Both states have an overall tuning 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW) of 26.42% (2.3–3 GHz). In LP state, the proposed antenna realizes a −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 11.6% (2.03–2.28 GHz). A prototype of the proposed antenna has been fabricated and measured. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results validates the feasibility of this technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is accumulating evidence for the role of foreign genes in plant development and adaptation, many issues remain. A recent study by Wang et al. on a gene of fungal origin in wheatgrass disease resistance highlights the potential application of fungal genes in crop improvement and related areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of low-salt fermentation on quality, volatile compounds, differential metabolites, and the microbial community structure of sour meat were studied. Low-salt fermentation could facilitate the production of volatile compounds, free amino acids, organic acids, and so forth and improve product safety. The results showed that the content of branched-chain amino acids such as valine, leucine, and isoleucine in the low-salt sour meat was respectively 1.50, 1.32, and 1.26 times higher than those in the traditional sour meat. Hexanal, Benzeneacetaldehyde, (E)-2-Heptenal, 1-Octen-3-ol, 1-Hexanol, 1-Butanol, 3-methyl-, and certain ethyl esters were identified as critical volatile flavour compounds for the low-salt sour meat. Lactobacillus , Pediococcus , Staphylococcus , Debaryomyces, Aspergillus , and Mucor were the main genera in the low-salt sour meat. And these microorganisms were closely associated with metabolites that included free amino acids, fatty acids, and nucleotides, which were crucial for the emergence of distinctive sour meat flavors as flavor precursors. In summary, low-salt fermentation can accelerate sour meat maturation, facilitate the oxidation and decomposition of protein and fat, and is more conducive to sour meat fermenting and distinct fermented flavor production. • Salt significantly affected the microbial dynamics during sour meat fermentation. • Salt reduction reduced the pH level and increased the oxidation of sour meat. • Low salt led to more kinds and amount of volatile flavor compounds in sour meat. • Low salt can promote the oxidative degradation of proteins and lipids in sour meat. • Higher levels of free amino acids and fatty acids were observed in low-salt sour meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: The moss Physcomitrium patens is crucial for studying plant development and evolution. Although the P. patens genome includes genes acquired from bacteria, fungi and viruses, the functions and evolutionary significance of these acquired genes remain largely unclear. Killer protein 4 (KP4) is a toxin secreted by the phytopathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis that inhibits the growth of sensitive target strains by blocking their calcium uptake. Here, we show that KP4 genes in mosses were acquired from fungi through at least three independent events of horizontal gene transfer. Two paralogous copies of KP4 (PpKP4‐1 and PpKP4‐2) exist in P. patens. Knockout mutants ppkp4‐1 and ppkp4‐2 showed cell death at the protonemal stage, and ppkp4‐2 also exhibited defects in tip growth. We provide experimental evidence indicating that PpKP4‐1/2 affects P. patens protonemal cell development by mediating cytoplasmic calcium and that KP4 genes are functionally conserved between P. patens and fungi. The present study provides additional insights into the role of horizontal gene transfer in land plant development and evolution. Significance Statement: Plants are intimately associated with fungi. However, it remains largely unclear how fungi may have affected the biology of plant partners through genetic integration (e.g. horizontal gene transfer) following organismal interaction. In the present study, we show that KP4 genes in mosses were acquired from fungi through at least three independent horizontal gene transfer events and that the acquired KP4 genes affect the protonemal development of mosses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Egg white is often used in various food products because of its good functional properties such as gelling, foaming and emulsifying. In this article, heat treatment（30, 40, 50, 60 °C, 10 min）was employed to investigate the effects on the functional, physicochemical and molecular properties of thick egg white (KEW) comprehensively. The heat treatment caused the hardness, springiness, viscosity, and particle size of KEW to decrease and then increase. According to the results of surface hydrophobicity, sulfhydryl content and fluorescence spectroscopy, the protein structure expanded and then further aggregated after heat treatment with the exposure of the reactive group. The solubility, foaming capacity and emulsifying capacity of KEW were improved by heat treatment. The result of Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) showed that the heat treatment changed the structure of KEW from ordered to disordered. The heat treatment did not change the protein composition of KEW based on SDS-PAGE. • Heat treatment improved the solubility, foaming property and emulsifying activity of KEW. • Heat treatment changed the secondary structure of KEW from order to disorder. • The changes in functional properties of KEW caused by heating treatment were related to the changes in protein structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this communication, the liquid metal alloy (LMA) is utilized to design a metasurface with switchable reflection phases, which serves as the superstrate of an antenna array to manipulate its scattering features. The proposed metasurface is composed of a silicone rubber etched with microfluidic channels. Hence, its electromagnetic properties can be controlled by the filling of LMA. Simulated results reveal that the injection of LMA shifts the phase of waves reflected from the proposed metasurface by 180° ranging from 8 to 32 GHz. Then, the proposed metasurface covers a slot antenna array to regulate its scattering characteristic. By arranging the filling of LMA with various configurations, the scattering pattern can be switched among four different states with a slight influence on its radiation performance. Fulfilling all microfluidic channels with air, the reference antenna has a normal scattering pattern like a metallic plate. Moreover, by switching the filling area of LMA, monostatic radar cross-section (RCS) reduction is realized in three of these four working states. Finally, we had processed and tested a demonstrated prototype of the slot antenna array along with the proposed metasurface superstrate. Measured results are consistent well with the simulation. An implication of this research is the possibility that manipulating the scattering features of an antenna array without influences on its radiation characteristics by employing LMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amperometric enzyme biosensors are some of the simplest and cheapest types of medical devices used in the rapid detection of biomarkers that have been developed in the past fifty years. When the concentrations of biomarkers are at micromoles per liter, such as for sarcosine, which was recently discovered as a biomarker for prostate cancer, the response signal of the interferences is huge, and the biosensor is hard to satisfy the requirements of practical applications. In this manuscript, we describe a strategy for synthesizing a surface electronegative organic-inorganic hybrid mesoporous material, which could reduce the interference signal much better than Nafion and Chitosan. We verify that the surface potential of the carrier nanomaterial plays an important role in excluding anionic interferences. We also prepare a sensitive (16.35 μA mM−1), low LOD (0.13 μM) and wide linear range (1–70 μM) amperometric sarcosine biosensor with excellent anti-interference properties. This mesoporous material provides a bio-composite platform for the development of simple amperometric biosensors for detecting micromoles per liter of analytes in serum or urine. • Synthesizing a platinum-supported organic-inorganic hybrid mesoporous material. • The material could exclude interferent much better than Nafion and Chitosan. • The surface potential plays an important role to exclude anionic interferent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Oxidation promoted the formation of volatile flavor compounds such as heptanal, octanal, nonanal, 2,3-glutaraldehyde, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone. • The content of 3-dehydrocinchoninic acid, tyrosine, etc. decreased gradually with the increase of oxidation time. • Octanal, nonanal and benzaldehyde maybe related to the formation of off-odor or acidification during oxidation of yak meat. • Oxidation-induced fatty acid and amino acid metabolism is the main cause of flavor changes in yak meat. Hydroxyl radical system combined with GC-IMS and metabolomics were used to assess the effect of oxidation on the formation of volatile flavor emitted from yak meat. The formation of volatile compounds, including heptanal, octanal, nonanal, 2,3-glutaraldehyde, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, etc. were promoted by oxidation. Among them, 2,3-pentanedione and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, etc. maybe contributed most to the overall aroma of yak meat, while octanal, nonanal and benzaldehyde maybe related to the formation of off-odor or acidification. Meanwhile, the content of metabolites such as oleic acid, linoleic acid, etc. fatty acids and 3-dehydromangiferic acid, tyrosine were increased or decreased with the time of oxidation. More importantly, the formation of most flavor components in yak meat during the course of oxidation were related to stearidonic acid, acetylleucine, dehydroshikimate, 6-phosphate-glucose etc. differential metabolic components. Moreover, starch and sucrose metabolism (prediction), and amino acid metabolism (enrichment) etc. pathways maybe related with the process of oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of forest landscape model (FLM) predictions is indispensable to establish the credibility of predictions. We present a framework that evaluates short- and long-term FLM predictions at site and landscape scales. Site-scale evaluation is conducted through comparing raster cell-level predictions with inventory plot data whereas landscape-scale evaluation is conducted through comparing predictions stratified by extraneous drivers with aggregated values in inventory plots. Long-term predictions are evaluated using empirical data and knowledge. We demonstrate the applicability of the framework using LANDIS PRO FLM. We showed how inventory data were used to initialize the landscape and calibrate model parameters. Evaluation of the short-term LANDIS PRO predictions based on multiple metrics showed good overall performance at site and landscape scales. The predicted long-term stand development patterns were consistent with the established theories of stand dynamics. The predicted long-term forest composition and successional trajectories conformed well to empirical old-growth studies in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to further improve the functional properties of egg white protein powder (EWP), the effects of ball-milling pretreatment on the functional properties of EWP by glycosylation modification were studied. The results manifested that glycosylation reaction was successful. Compared with CEWP (glycosylated egg white protein powder without ball-milling pretreatment), BCEWP (glycosylated egg white protein powder after ball-milling pretreatment) showed lower free amino acid content and higher solubility. The results indicated that ball-milling pretreatment changed the secondary and tertiary structures of protein then prominently enhanced the degree of glycosylation reaction of EWP. Foaming ability of BCEWP (203.3%) was 1.12 times higher than that of CEWP (182.2%). The water holding capacity (WHC) of BCEWP (104.77%) was significantly larger than that of CEWP (100.28%), besides, BCEWP had greater gel springiness than CEWP. These results confirmed that ball-milling was an effective pretreatment to enhance the foaming and gel properties of EWP by glycosylation modification. [Display omitted] • Ball-milling pretreatment changed the egg white protein (EWP) structure. • The degree of glycosylation reaction of EWP was significantly increased after ball-milling. • Ball-milling is an effective pretreatment of glycosylation modified the foaming properties of EWP. • Ball-milling pretreatment glycosylation prominently improved the gel properties of EWP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]