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In order to select suitable wheat flour raw materials for industrial processing of dough, 12 wheat varieties with a wet gluten content of 24.4%~32.7% were selected. The physicochemical properties, flour properties, viscosity properties, and fermentation rheological properties of wheat flour were measured, and the correlation between wheat flour properties and dough quality was analyzed. The results showed that as the wet gluten content increased, the fermentation height, total volume, retention coefficient (R), and specific volume of the dough all increased (P

Instant rice is a kind of convenient food, which is easy to eat, simple and quick. Instant rice not only conform to ours people’s habits of eating rice, but also meets the needs of the current fast-paced life, which has developed rapidly in recent years. With the further improvement of domestic fresh rice technology and equipment, the wet instant rice industry, such as frozen instant rice, aseptic instant rice, and short-shelf-life instant rice, will be further developed. This paper summarized the main factors affecting the quality of dry instant rice, including raw material varieties, processing precision, processing technology and conditions, and focused on the key technologies of industrial processing of fresh rice, including aseptic processing, high temperature sterilization, ultra-high pressure treatment, etc. The latest research progress of extrusion and recombination instant rice was also reviewed, and the existing problems and future development direction of instant rice were discussed.

In order to investigate the quality of whole wheat bread flour in Chinese market, the physicochemical quality, rheological properties, processing quality and baking quality of 10 representative whole-wheat bread flour(WWBF) were analyzed. The results showed that the moisture content of WWBF ranged from 8.30 g/100 g to 13.39 g/100 g. The ash content of WWBF ranged from 0.6 g/100 to 2.5 g/100 g, with an average of 1.5 g/100 g. The protein contents of WWBF were between 13.92 g/100 g and 15.86 g/100 g. The content of wet gluten ranged from 30.20% to 47.10%. The average dietary fiber was 10.25 g/100 g, and the dietary fiber of 9 samples were between 8.65 g/100 g and 14.31 g/100 g. The content of alkylresorcinol of WWBF in 9 samples ranged from 234.72 μg/g to 508.48 μg/g. There were 7 samples with stabilization time longer than 7 min and 9 samples with stabilization time longer than 5 min. The maximum fermentation height Hm of dough were between 23.8 mm and 42.9 mm. The whole wheat bread with 60% WWBF had a good appearance, bread structure, soft taste and rich flavor. The sensory scores of whole-wheat bread ranged from 77.8 to 102.0. Whole wheat breads were all qualified. In short, WWBF products in China were relatively lack. The dietary fiber content and alkyl resorcinol content of WWBF were higher, and the processing quality and baking quality were good.

Frozen dough is a good carrier for whole wheat food, which simplifies production operations, reduces processing difficulties, and steps up the industrial production of whole wheat food. This paper reviewed the effects of dietary fiber on the quality of dough and frozen dough, the changes of fermentation characteristics and Rheology characteristics of whole wheat frozen dough in the process of freezing and cold storage, and the research on the quality improvement of whole wheat frozen dough by food improvers. By analyzing the deterioration reasons of gluten protein, starch, fermentation properties, Rheology properties, etc. in the whole wheat frozen dough during freezing and cold storage, the theoretical basis and practical reference for improving the quality of whole wheat frozen dough were provided.

Existing studies have clearly demonstrated that people eating more whole grains have reduced risks of many chronic metabolic diseases compared to those eating less. In the past 20 years, the whole grain industry has developed so rapidly in major developed countries and regions. In recent years, whole grains have also attracted extensive attention in our country. The research and development efforts of the whole grain standards in China have been strengthened. This paper introduced the progress of the global definition consensus of whole grain and whole grain food, summarized the international development status of whole grain raw materials and whole grain food related standards in many countries and institutions, such as the Working Group of ISO Whole Grain, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Codex Alimentarius Commission, and so on. This paper also reviewed the present situation of definition of the whole grain and whole grain food related standards in China. More than 20 relevant raw materials, food related standards and production technical regulations and the publishment situation of other whole grain standards in China, including national standards and industry standards and local standards and group standards, were summarized, and some whole grain related standards under formulation were also introduced. Finally, the paper puts forward the development direction and suggestions for the construction of whole grain standard system in China, including fully combining with the actual production situation of China’s whole grain food industry, integrating with international standards, and combining standard testing and certification. On the whole, the gradual improvement of the standard system of the whole grain food industry will help guide and regulate the high-quality and healthy development of the whole grain industry in China, and promote the creation of a diversified and healthy grain food ecology, and provide a technical basis for the development of the whole grain industry.

Whole grains have gained great attention due to their important roles in nutrition and health. Fresh brown rice noodles, which have been considered as a nutritious and healthy whole grain staple food, are more prone to be spoiling, aging, hardening and easy broken with high cooking loss rate. The factors affecting the quality of fresh brown rice noodles were systematically described, and the changes in water content, pH value, cooking quality, water migration, texture and microstructure of fresh brown rice noodles during storage were also summarized. The mechanism of quality deterioration of fresh brown rice noodles was elaborated and analyzed. Furthermore, the latest research progress (from the year 2016 to 2023) on the quality control technology of fresh brown rice noodles was reviewed, including the selection of raw materials for brown rice, the addition of exogenous additives, the whole grain grinding of brown rice, and the backfilling method of rice bran for preparing brown rice noodles. This review could provide the references for the quality control and improvement of fresh brown rice noodles.

With the popularization of the concepts of whole grain health cognition and scientific diet, consumers are paying more and more attention to different forms of whole grain food. Whole grain drink is one of the important products made from whole grain, and the physical stability of whole grain drink is a major challenge in the process of research and development. Since whole grain drink is a thermodynamically unstable system of multiphase turbidite liquid with water as the continuous phase and starch, dietary fiber, protein as the dispersed phase, the separation speed of whole grain drink is fast, which seriously affected the acceptability of consumers. Based on literature review, the multiscale characterization methods of macroscopic, mesoscopic, microscopic and nano-scale for the stability of whole grain drink and characterization methods of the characteristic chemical components were summarized. This paper summarized the stability of whole grain drink characterized with multiscale methods, which could provide methodological guidance for the development of whole grain drink and facilitate the rapid development of whole grain foods.

In order to explore the quality changes of instant brown rice porridge rice during storage, gas chromatographic ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) and dynamic principal component analysis (PCA) were used to study the changes of the composition and content of characteristic volatile organic compounds during the storage of instant brown rice porridge rice, the difference of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) between samples was evaluated by the flavor information fingerprint. The results showed that GC-IMS combined technology can quickly and qualitatively identify the monomers and dimers of volatile substances of instant brown rice porridge rice in different storage environments and storage times, and a total of 59 VOCs have been identified. The VOCs of fresh instant brown rice porridge rice mainly include aldehydes, ketones and esters, with relative contents of 24.44%, 20.40% and 43.59% respectively. When stored at room temperature, the relative contents of alcohols, aldehydes, pyrazines and furans in instant brown rice porridge increased, while the contents of ketones and esters decreased with the extension of storage time. Vacuum condition had little effect on flavor quality of instant brown rice porridge. In high humidity environment, with the extension of storage time, organic acids were gradually produced, aldehydes and alcohols increased greatly, ketones and esters decreased, and volatile substances changed significantly with the increase of storage temperature.

This paper aims to comprehensively analyze quality features of commercial whole grain dried noodles and provide data reference for the formulation standards of whole grain dried noodles. 41 commercial whole grain dried noodles collected in 2019 and 2020 are analyzed and evaluated in this research.The moisture content is from 9.77% to 13.06%, while the acidity value between 0.00 to 4.46 mL per10 g,with a naturally broken ratio from 0.04% to 4.05%. The cooked broken ratio is from 0.00% to 3.33%. The cooked broken ratio of 90% whole grain noodle samples is 0%, with the cooking loss ratio between 2.46%and 11.36%. Taking the limits of the above indexes in LS/T 3212—2014 as the reference, except the acidity of 2 samples and the cooking loss rate of 4 samples which are beyond the limit values, all indexes of other samples meet the requirements. The total dietary fiber content is between 2.22 to 12.37 g per 100 g and the alkylresorcinols content is between 10.08 μg/g and 218.52 μg/g. The integral level of moisture content,acidity and alkylresorcinols content of samples in 2020 is higher than that in 2019, and the cooking loss rate is the lower, while there is no significant difference between two years’ samples in other indexes. The results show that the quality of commercial whole grain dried noodles varies greatly.

Forty-two buckwheat noodle products were collected from the market and their quality indexes were analyzed to provide data support for the establishment of buckwheat noodle standard.The results showed that among the 42 samples,the moisture content was 9.07% ～ 13.53%,the cooking loss rate of 73.8% samples was ≤10.0%,the weight gain rate of cooking was 93.2% ～ 241.7%,the cooked broken ratio was 0% ～ 3.3%,all ≤5.0%,the naturally broken ratio was 0% ～ 7.1%,the naturally broken ratio of 95%samples was ≤5.0%.The total flavonoids content in Tartary buckwheat noodles was 0.15% ～ 1.94%,the total flavonoids content in other buckwheat noodles was 0.10% ～ 0.55%.The L* value,a* value and b*value of buckwheat noodles were 32.35～86.12,0.85 ～ 7.25 and 11.95 ～ 38.15 respectively.The acidity value of 100% buckwheat noodles were less than 4.0 mL/10g,and the storage quality was good.

In recent years, diabetes has become a public health problem troubling all mankind.Studies have shown that diabetes has a significant correlation with the Glycemic Index (GI).Grain is the main dietary source of Chinese and is closely related to human health.The glycemic index of cereals is influenced by a number of factors, including its basic components and processing methods.In this review, factors,mechanisms affecting the glycemic index of cereals as well as the national and international studies on advances in low GI cereals in recent years were introduced, so as to provide reference and assistance for the dietary choices of patients with high glucose and the research and development of low-GI foods.

In recent years,with the increasing attention to whole grain health,whole grain food is developing rapidly.Sprouted whole grain,as an important ingredient of whole grain foods,also received a great attention.Germination treatment could further increase the nutritional value and bio-availability of whole grain products,improve the sensory quality of baked products,and have a positive effect on the prevention and control of chronic metabolic syndrome.The research achievements on the definition of sprouted whole grain,molecular mechanisms,bio-active compounds,beneficial functions,anti-nutritional factors and processing of sprouted whole grains were summarized in the paper,the problems in sprouted grain industry and the suggestions for future development of sprouted grain were further put forward.It is expected to provide some references for the preparation,processing,product creation and policy formulation of sprouted whole grain.

To simplify the production process，cooked mashed potato instead of water were used to make potato wheat noodles.Cooked mashed potato content with 81.11% moisture were added to 65 g to 85 g to 200 g of wheat flour.Influence of potato content on the quality of noodles was discussed.The results showed that with the increase of mashed potato content，the cooking yield and cooking loss of potato wheat noodles increased，L* value decreased，a* value and b* value increased，and color quality decreased.The fracture distance of potato wheat noodles increased first and then decreased，and the fracture strength，firmness and shear work all showed a decreasing trend

Volatile compounds from one kind of refined white noodle and three kinds of dry noodles added with different contents of whole wheat flour (50%, 75% and 100%) were extracted by headspace solid phase micro extraction (HS-SPME) and identified by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS). A total of 85 volatile compounds were identified in the four dry noodles, including 17 aldehyde, 34 hydrocarbon, 16 alcohol, 7 ketone, 1 furan, 7 ester, 2 amine, 1 acid. The four kinds of noodles contain hydrocarbons, aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, esters and amines. 44, 53, 53 and 50 volatile components were detected in refined white noodles and three kinds of whole wheat noodles, respectively. Compared with refined white noodles, the volatile components in whole wheat noodles were significantly increased. Among the volatile components, aldehydes are the most important substances with relative contents of more than 25%. The content of hexanal in aldehydes was significantly higher than that of other aldehydes. The increase of the amount of added whole wheat flour has little effect on the composition of various volatile components, but has great effect on the relative contents of each volatile component.

Rice is the largest staple food species in China, which is closely related to national health.For a long time, it is common to over-process rice which caused serious nutrition loss since pursuit of taste and appearance quality.Because rice bran is rich in nutrients, the milling degree of rice has a significant impact on the nutritional value of rice.Milling process and milling degree will also affect flour properties, and cooking and sensory quality of cooked rice.The effects of milling degree on nutrient content, flour properties,cooking and sensory quality of rice were summerized in order to provide references for the proper processing and milling of rice.

In recent years, along with the development of Chinese economy, buckwheat dried noodles, with health promotion effects，have developed rapidly. From 2017 to May 2019, the product quantity of buckwheat dried noodles had increased seven times from 321 to more than 2 300. Because of lacking of relevant standard, all noodles containing buckwheat flour called buckwheat noodles if only with content of buckwheat flour from 0.5% to 100%. Such behavior disturbed the market order. In order to guide and regulate the buckwheat noodles market, some enterprises marked buckwheat type and quantity on the product label. Based on the analysis of the status of dried noodles in China，and combined the analysis of buckwheat noodles standard in Japan, the development direction of Chinese buckwheat dried noodle standard were discussed.

The effect of milling treatment on the nutrients of brown rice and the release of polyphenols during in vitro digestion were studied in this paper. As the milling degree increased, the protein, fat, and total dietary fiber content of brown rice decreased and the total starch content increased, the changes in fat and dietary fiber contents were more significant. The contents of γ‐oryzanol, vitamin B1, total phenolic, and total flavonoids all decreased to varying degrees with different milling times. The contents of 11 phenolic acids in brown rice were significantly reduced (p <.05). Additionally, the results of simulated digestion in vitro showed that the content of phenolic in gastric juice and intestinal juice all decreased with the increasing milling degree. The phenolic in brown rice are mainly released during gastric digestion, and the total phenolic in gastric juice and intestinal juice are 1.79–2.04 times and 2.24–2.71 times of those before digestion, respectively. These results suggest that it is indispensable to advocate reducing milling degrees to improve the edible value of rice. It will also provide data support and theoretical guidance for promoting moderate rice processing, reducing grain loss, and developing whole grain in China. Practical applications: In this paper, the changes in main nutrients (total starch, protein, fat, dietary fiber) and bioactive substances (γ‐oryzanol, vitamin B1, total phenolic and profile of phenolic, total flavonoids) of brown rice with different milling degrees produced by the actual process in the factory were analyzed, and the effect of milling on the bioaccessibility of phenols in brown rice through simulated digestion experiments in vitro was also investigated. The results of this paper suggest that it is indispensable to advocate reducing milling degrees to improve the edible value of rice. It will also provide data support and theoretical guidance for promoting moderate rice processing, reducing grain loss, and developing whole grain in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: As whole grain foods, fresh brown rice noodles have unique advantages in taste, nutrition, and health. However, the quality of fresh brown rice noodles is poor and the shelf life is short because of the rice bran. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of rice bran with extrusion cooking on the quality and starch retrogradation of fresh brown rice noodles during storage at –18°C, 4°C, 25°C, and 37°C. Findings: In this study, fresh brown rice noodles prepared from rice bran with extrusion cooking (FBRN‐ERB) were prepared to improve storage quality compared to fresh brown rice noodles with unextruded rice bran (FBRN) (data of FBRN were shown in our previous study). The pH, hardness, iodine blue value, moisture content and migration, and starch retrogradation of FBRN‐ERB were studied. The rice bran with extrusion cooking prevented the decrease of pH and moisture content, decreased the iodine blue value and cooking loss rate, and enhanced the percentage of free and weakly bound water of fresh brown rice noodles during storage processes at –18°C, 4°C, 25°C, and 37°C. The microstructure of FBRN‐ERB exhibited a complete and regular porous structure. The results of differential scanning calorimetry and X‐ray diffraction showed that the starch retrogradation of FBRN‐ERB was inhibited or delayed during storage at different temperatures, especially storage at 4°C. Conclusions: The results showed that the storage quality of fresh brown rice noodles prepared from rice bran with extrusion cooking could be enhanced, and the starch retrogradation of FBRN‐ERB during storage was inhibited, which was beneficial for the quality improvement of FBRN‐ERB during storage at different temperatures. Significance and Novelty: The rice bran with extrusion cooking is very helpful for enhancing the storage quality of fresh brown rice noodles, and this may be useful for the development and consumption of fresh brown rice noodles as functional food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The problems of soil quality degradation and environmental pollution caused by excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer seriously affect sustainable development of agriculture. Aims: We investigated the effects of reduced nitrogen application with simultaneous full straw return on carbon input, aggregate size distribution, aggregate‐associated organic carbon and total nitrogen (TN), soil organic carbon (SOC) stock, SOC fractions, and crop yield. Methods: A long‐term field experiment was performed in the dryland region of Guanzhong. The study involved three nitrogen fertilizer (NF) amounts: 337.5 (conventional NF, CNF), 286.4 (15%NF reduction, 15%RNF), and 236.3 (30%NF reduction, 30%RNF) kg N ha–1 y–1 with full straw return. Results: Compared with CNF, 30%RNF increased the content of soil organic carbon by 5.7% and increased maize yield by 13.1%, under straw return conditions. The 30%RNF + straw application treatment promoted the formation of large macro‐aggregates more effectively than CNF application. The 30%RNF + straw treatment significantly increased SOC by 10.6% and 4.7%, respectively, in large and small macroaggregates relative to conventional NF. Moreover, the 30%RNF + straw treatment resulted in a significant increase in the SOC content in the density fractions of mineral soil organic matter (mSOM) for both small and large macro‐aggregates. This treatment also resulted in a significant increase in the content of TN in the mSOM and density fractions of particulate matter that had coarse and fine intra‐aggregates of the large macro‐aggregates. Conclusion: Full straw return with reduced nitrogen (N) application could be a promising option to improve the structure of soil aggregates, soil organic carbon, and nitrogen sequestration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Wholegrain foods have gained great attention due to their benefits on health. However, the texture, taste, and cooking quality of wholegrain foods are not good because of the bran in wholegrain. The objectives of this study were to improve the quality of brown rice noodles with rice bran that was treated by extrusion cooking. In this study, brown rice noodles with extruded rice bran (BRN‐ERB) were prepared to improve their quality compared to white rice noodles (WRN) and brown rice noodles with un‐extruded rice bran (BRN). Findings: The total phenolic, flavonoid, anthocyanin, and dietary fiber contents in BRN‐ERB were 44.87 mg GAE, 36.15 mg RE, 0.11 mg Cy‐3‐O‐G, and 4.48 g per 100 g, respectively, significantly higher than those in BRN and WRN. The BRN‐ERB had the highest antioxidant activities of DPPH, ABTS, and T‐AOC, the highest resistant starch content, and the lowest starch hydrolysis rate among the three types of rice noodles. Seven phenolics, six flavonoids, and three anthocyanins were individually detected in these rice noodles, and BRN‐ERB exhibited higher contents of protocatechuic acid, p‐coumaric acid, ferulic acid, and daidzein than BRN and WRN did. The cooking and textural qualities of BRN‐ERB were improved with lower optimum cooking time and cooking loss, and higher hardness, tensile strength, and elasticity compared to BRN. Conclusions: The brown rice noodles with extruded rice bran had higher contents of nutritional components than brown rice noodles with un‐extruded rice bran and white rice noodles, and better cooking and textural properties than brown rice noodles with un‐extruded rice bran. Significance and novelty: The results provided the evidences that brown rice noodles prepared with extruded rice bran might become functional foods from the sources of staple rice products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality characteristics of extruded noodles prepared from five kinds of brown rice with different amylose contents (15.96%-21.88%) were investigated. Cooking quality, texture, in-vitro digestibility and sensory attributes were determined to evaluate the properties of the brown rice noodles. The results showed that the brown rice noodles with higher amylose content exhibited higher water absorption rate, lower cooking loss, no broken noodles after cooking, and higher texture properties. Moreover, the brown rice noodles with higher amylose contents had lower invitro digestibility, higher contents of resistant starch and slowly digestive starch, and higher sensory scores. However, the brown rice noodle with the highest amylose content showed the lowest sensory scores, suggesting that there might be optimal amylose content for preparing brown rice noodles with good qualities, which might be 19.07%-20.45% in this study. The results might provide the basis for production of brown rice noodle products with good qualities for nutritional food markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of extruded brown rice flour (EBR) contents (0-50%) on antioxidant activity, phenolics, in vitro digestibility, color, and cooking quality of noodles containing mixtures of wheat and EBR was investigated. The antioxidant activity and phenolic content increased, especially ferulic and coumaric acids in bound forms, whereas the in vitro glycemic index, optimal cooking time, water absorption, hardness, and color were diminished in noodles with the addition of EBR; cooking loss increased as a function of the EBR percentage. The partial replacement of wheat flour with EBR can be favorably used in the wheat noodle formulation. The results provide the basis for the development of staple foods with nutritional characteristics for today's functional food markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to compare the efficiency of two Zn sources and two application methods on (i) Zn diffusion from fertilized soil to unfertilized soil, (ii) grain Zn concentration and (iii) grain Zn bio-accessibility to humans. In the laboratory experiment, 20 mg ZnSO4 or 4 mg Zn- EDTA were applied to a 5 mm and 1 mm-wide space in the soil in the half-cell technique. In the greenhouse experiment, Zn- ZnSO4 or Zn-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Zn- EDTA) was mixed or banded with the soil at a rate of 20 or 4 mg Zn kg−1, respectively. RESULTS The results from the diffusion experiment showed that both the extractability and the diffusion coefficient of Zn were higher when Zn fertilizer was applied to a 1 mm-wide space than when it was applied to a 5 mm-wide space. Zn- EDTA had a greater diffusion distance than ZnSO4. The greenhouse experiment showed that the mixed ZnSO4 application and the Zn- EDTA application (both mixed and banded) treatments significantly increased grain Zn concentration and bio-accessibility. The positive effect of Zn- EDTA on grain Zn concentrations and bio-accessibility was greater than that of ZnSO4. The banded application reduced the effectiveness of ZnSO4 but not of Zn- EDTA. CONCLUSION It was concluded that Zn- EDTA was a better Zn source than ZnSO4 for increasing grain Zn content in a potentially Zn-deficient calcareous soil. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND The concentration of Zn and phytic acid in wheat grain has important implications for human health. We conducted field and greenhouse experiments to compare the efficacy of soil and foliar Zn fertilisation in improving grain Zn concentration and bioavailability in wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) grain grown on potentially Zn-deficient calcareous soil. RESULTS Results from the 2-year field experiment indicated that soil Zn application increased soil DTPA-Zn by an average of 174%, but had no significant effect on grain Zn concentration. In contrast, foliar Zn application increased grain Zn concentration by an average of 61%, and Zn bioavailability by an average of 36%. Soil DTPA-Zn concentrations varied depending on wheat cultivars. There were also significant differences in grain phytic acid concentration among the cultivars. A laboratory experiment indicated that Zn (from ZnSO4) had a low diffusion coefficient in this calcareous soil. CONCLUSION Compared to soil Zn application, foliar Zn application is more effective in improving grain Zn content of wheat grown in potentially Zn-deficient calcareous soils. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil-dissolved organic matter (DOM) drives the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles in agroecosystems. Despite many studies on DOM dynamics, hardly any attention has been directed toward DOM quality, particularly DOM composition. The aim of this study was to elucidate how C and N management practices alter soil water-extractable organic matter (WEOM) in a loess soil agroecosystem. Field experiments were conducted with a winter wheat monoculture. Three N fertilization rates (0, 120, and 240 kg ha−1 year−1) were applied for 17 years (2002–2019), combined with five C practices (zero, low, and high rates of sheep manure or wheat straw) for three years (2016–2019). The results reveal that soil organic carbon (SOC) and water-extractable organic carbon (WEOC) concentrations in the topsoil (0–20 cm) were increased by organic amendments considerably but were not affected by N fertilization. The fluorescence excitation–emission matrix spectra (EEM) of WEOM were resolved to two humic-like components (C1 and C2) and two soluble microbial byproduct-like components (C3 and C4). The proportions of C1 and C2 were increased, while the proportion of C3 was decreased by both C and N management practices. In conclusion, organic amendments increased both WEOM quality and its proportion of humic-like components, whereas N fertilization increased the proportion of humic-like components without variations of WEOM quality in the topsoil of loess soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A couple of novel triptycene-derived calix[6]arenes with fixed conformations were synthesized, and shown to form tubular assemblies with aromatic rings as the walls and phenolic hydroxyl groups situated in the cavities, in the solid state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The problems of soil quality degradation and environmental pollution caused by excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer seriously affect sustainable development of agriculture. Aims: We investigated the effects of reduced nitrogen application with simultaneous full straw return on carbon input, aggregate size distribution, aggregate‐associated organic carbon and total nitrogen (TN), soil organic carbon (SOC) stock, SOC fractions, and crop yield. Methods: A long‐term field experiment was performed in the dryland region of Guanzhong. The study involved three nitrogen fertilizer (NF) amounts: 337.5 (conventional NF, CNF), 286.4 (15%NF reduction, 15%RNF), and 236.3 (30%NF reduction, 30%RNF) kg N ha–1 y–1 with full straw return. Results: Compared with CNF, 30%RNF increased the content of soil organic carbon by 5.7% and increased maize yield by 13.1%, under straw return conditions. The 30%RNF + straw application treatment promoted the formation of large macro‐aggregates more effectively than CNF application. The 30%RNF + straw treatment significantly increased SOC by 10.6% and 4.7%, respectively, in large and small macroaggregates relative to conventional NF. Moreover, the 30%RNF + straw treatment resulted in a significant increase in the SOC content in the density fractions of mineral soil organic matter (mSOM) for both small and large macro‐aggregates. This treatment also resulted in a significant increase in the content of TN in the mSOM and density fractions of particulate matter that had coarse and fine intra‐aggregates of the large macro‐aggregates. Conclusion: Full straw return with reduced nitrogen (N) application could be a promising option to improve the structure of soil aggregates, soil organic carbon, and nitrogen sequestration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free and bound phenolic extracts from three varieties of black, indica, and Japonica rice bran were evaluated for their compositions, antioxidant activity and inhibitory effects on ɑ-amylase and ɑ-glucosidase activities. The free and bound phenolics displayed numerous antioxidant activities of ABTS, DPPH and T-AOC. HPLC results revealed that p -coumaric and ferulic acid mainly existed in bound forms, whereas anthocyanins contents were mainly in free phenolics of black rice bran. The bound phenolics in three varieties of rice bran exhibited higher inhibitory rate towards ɑ-amylase than their corresponding free phenolics did. The ɑ-glucosidase inhibitory rate of the bound phenolics in indica, and Japonica rice bran was higher than that of free forms, which showed the similar trend with that on ɑ-amylase. However, lower ɑ-glucosidase inhibition was observed in the bound phenolics from black rice bran, and the IC 50 values of free and bound phenolics on ɑ-glucosidase were 8.59 and 15.26 μg/mL, respectively. This may be attributed to the differences of phenolic composition and content in free and bound forms from varieties of bran. These findings may encourage the consumption of rice in forms of rice bran or whole brown rice for promoting health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exosomes, as nanoscale biological vesicles, have been shown to have great potential for biomedical applications. However, the low yield of exosomes limits their application. In this review, we focus on methods to increase exosome yield. Two main strategies are used to increase exosome production, one is based on genetic manipulation of the exosome biogenesis and release pathway, and the other is by pretreating parent cells, changing the culture method or adding different components to the medium. By applying these strategies, exosomes can be produced on a large scale to facilitate their practical application in the clinic., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that mainly affects older adults. Although the global burden of AD is increasing year by year, the causes of AD remain largely unknown. Numerous basic and clinical studies have shown that interleukin-17A (IL-17A) may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of AD. A comprehensive assessment of the role of IL-17A in AD would benefit the diagnosis, understanding of etiology and treatment. However, over the past decade, controversies remain regarding the expression level and role of IL-17A in AD. We have incorporated newly published researches and point out that IL-17A expression levels may vary along with the development of AD, exercising different roles at different stages of AD, although much more work remains to be done to support the potential role of IL-17A in AD-related pathology. Here, it is our intention to review the underlying mechanisms of IL-17A in AD and address the current controversies in an effort to clarify the results of existing research and suggest future studies., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

In this paper, we consider a cholera infection model with vaccination and multiple transmission pathways. Dynamical properties of the model are analyzed in detail. It is shown that the disease-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable if the basic reproduction number is less than unity; the endemic equilibrium exists and is globally asymptotically stable if the basic reproduction number is greater than unity. In addition, the model is successfully used to fit the real disease situation of cholera outbreak in Somalia. We consider an optimal control problem of cholera transmission with vaccination, quarantine, treatment and sanitation control strategies, and use Pontryagin's minimum principle to determine the optimal control level. The optimal control problem is solved numerically.

In this paper, an age-structured HIV-1 infection model with CTL immune response is investigated. In the model, we consider the infection age (i.e. the time that has elapsed since an HIV virion has penetrated the cell) of infected $T$ cells. The asymptotic smoothness of the semi-flow generated by the system is established. By calculation, the immune-inactivated reproduction rate $\mathscr{R}&#95;0$ and the immune-activated reproduction rate $\mathscr{R}&#95;1$ are obtained. By analyzing the corresponding characteristic equations, the local stability of an infection-free steady state and a CTL-inactivated infection steady state of the model is established. By using the persistence theory for infinite dimensional system, the uniform persistence of the system is established when $\mathscr{R}&#95;1>1$. By means of suitable Lyapunov functionals and LaSalle's invariance principle, it is shown that if $\mathscr{R}&#95;0<1$, the infection-free steady state is globally asymptotically stable; if $\mathscr{R}&#95;1<1< \mathscr{R}&#95;0$, sufficient conditions are derived for the global stability of the CTL-inactivated infection steady state; if $\mathscr{R}&#95;1>1$, sufficient conditions are obtained for the global attractivity of the CTL-activated infection steady state. Numerical simulations are carried out to illustrate the feasibility of the theoretical results.

Cholera is a common infectious disease caused by Vibrio cholerae, which has different infectivity. In this paper, we propose a cholera model with hyperinfectious and hypoinfectious vibrios, in which both human-to-human and environment-to-human transmissions are considered. By analyzing the characteristic equations, the local stability of disease-free and endemic equilibria is established. By using Lyapunov functionals and LaSalle's invariance principle, it is verified that the global threshold dynamics of the model can be completely determined by the basic reproduction number. Numerical simulations are carried out to illustrate the corresponding theoretical results and describe the cholera outbreak in Haiti. The study of optimal control helps us seek cost-effective solutions of time-dependent control strategies against cholera outbreaks, which shows that control strategies, such as vaccination and sanitation, should be taken at the very beginning of the outbreak and become less necessary after a certain period.

Flaviviruses including Zika, Dengue and Hepatitis C virus cause debilitating diseases in humans, and the former are emerging as global health concerns with no antiviral treatments. We investigated Sophora Flavecens , used in Chinese medicine, as a source for antiviral compounds. We isolated Sophoraflavenone G and found that it inhibited Hepatitis C replication, but not Sendai or Vesicular Stomatitis Virus. Pre- and post-infection treatments demonstrated anti-flaviviral activity against Dengue and Zika virus, via viral RNA polymerase inhibition. These data suggest that Sophoraflavenone G represents a promising candidate regarding anti-Flaviviridae research., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: The objective of this study was to compare the efficiency of two Zn sources and two application methods on (i) Zn diffusion from fertilized soil to unfertilized soil, (ii) grain Zn concentration and (iii) grain Zn bio-accessibility to humans. In the laboratory experiment, 20 mg ZnSO4 or 4 mg Zn-EDTA were applied to a 5 mm and 1 mm-wide space in the soil in the half-cell technique. In the greenhouse experiment, Zn-ZnSO4 or Zn-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Zn-EDTA) was mixed or banded with the soil at a rate of 20 or 4 mg Zn kg(-1) , respectively., Results: The results from the diffusion experiment showed that both the extractability and the diffusion coefficient of Zn were higher when Zn fertilizer was applied to a 1 mm-wide space than when it was applied to a 5 mm-wide space. Zn-EDTA had a greater diffusion distance than ZnSO4 . The greenhouse experiment showed that the mixed ZnSO4 application and the Zn-EDTA application (both mixed and banded) treatments significantly increased grain Zn concentration and bio-accessibility. The positive effect of Zn-EDTA on grain Zn concentrations and bio-accessibility was greater than that of ZnSO4 . The banded application reduced the effectiveness of ZnSO4 but not of Zn-EDTA., Conclusion: It was concluded that Zn-EDTA was a better Zn source than ZnSO4 for increasing grain Zn content in a potentially Zn-deficient calcareous soil., (© 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial solid tumor in childhood. The present treatment including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, which have only 40% long-term cure rates, and usually cause tumor recurrence. Thus, looking for new effective and less toxic therapies has important significance. XAV939 is a small molecule inhibitor of tankyrase 1(TNKS1). The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of XAV939 on the proliferation and apoptosis of NB cell lines, and the related mechanism., Methods: In the present study, we used both XAV939 treatment and RNAi method to demonstrate that TNKS1 inhibition may be a potential mechanism to cure NB. MTT method was used for determining the cell viability and the appropriate concerntration for follow-up assays. The colony formation assay, Annexin V staining and cell cycle analysis were used for detecting colony forming ability, cell apoptosis and the percentage of different cell cycle. The Western blot was used for detecting the expression of key proteins of Wnt/ beta-catenin (Wnt/β-catenin) signaling pathway., Results: The results showed that TNKS1 inhibition decreased the viability of SH-SY5Y, SK-N-SH and IMR-32 cells, induced apoptosis in SH-SY5Y as well as SK-N-SH cells, and led to the accumulation of NB cells in the S and G2/M phase of the cell cycle. Moreover, we demonstrated TNKS1 inhibition may in part blocked Wnt/β-catenin signaling and reduced the expression of anti-apoptosis protein. Finally, we also demonstrated that TNKS1 inhibition decreased colony formation in vitro., Conclusions: These findings suggested that TNKS1 may be a potential molecule target for the treatment of NB.

Introduction: Tanshinone IIA (TSIIA), cryptotanshinone and tanshinone I are major bioactive constituents of Danshen, a Chinese herbal medicine. Sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS) is a water-soluble derivative of TSIIA and it is currently used for treating cardiovascular diseases in China., Areas Covered: The article presents a review of the anti-atherosclerosis, cardioprotective effects, neuroprotection and anti-tumor activities of TSIIA and a review of patents on tanshinone derivatives from January 2006 to September 2012., Expert Opinion: Mechanistic studies have discovered that TSIIA modulates ion channels, kinases, hormone receptors, apoptosis proteins, growth factors, cytokines, microRNA, tumor suppressor and many other targets, revealing an intricate biological network modulated by TSIIA. Many patents have attempted to overcome the low water solubility of TSIIA and tanshinone I by attaching a polar substituent or by a prodrug strategy. However, biological activities of these tanshinone derivatives need to be further evaluated. Given the extensive in vitro and in vivo biological activities of TSIIA, this compound is a promising candidate to be further developed as a novel therapeutics for treating atherosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

A nutrient solution experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of Fe and Zn supply on Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn concentrations in wheat plants. The experiment used a factorial combination of two Fe levels (0 and 5 mg l(-1)) and three Zn levels (0, 0.1 and 10 mg I(-1)). The supply of Fe (5 mg l(-1)) and Zn (0.1 mg l(-1)) increased plant dry weight and leaf chlorophyll content compared to the Fe or Zn deficient (0 mg 11) treatments. However, excess Zn supply (10 mg l(-1)) reduced plant dry weights and leaf chlorophyll content. Iron supply (5 mg l(-1)) reduced wheat Zn concentrations by 49%, Cu concentrations by 34%, and Mn by 56% respectively. Zinc supply (10 mg l(-1)) reduced wheat Fe concentrations by an average of 8%, but had no significant effect on Cu and Mn concentrations. Stepwise regression analyses indicated that Zn, Cu, and Mn concentrations were negatively correlated with root- and leaf-Fe concentrations, but positively correlated with stem-Fe concentrations. Leaf-Mn concentrations were negatively correlated with root-, stem- and leaf-Zn concentrations.