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Cinnamomum camphora (camphor tree) is an important non-conventional edible plant species found in East Asia. Here, a detailed characterization for the chemical composition and nutritional value of C. camphora seed kernels (CCSKs) collected from different regions in China is provided. The results showed that there were significant differences among the CCSK samples in weights (1000 fruits, 1000 seeds and 1000 kernels), proximate composition, minerals, phenolics, flavonoids and amino acid contents. The highest contents of oil (62.08%) and protein (22.17%) were found in the CCSK samples collected from Chongqing and Shanghai, respectively. The highest content of mineral in the CCSK samples was K (4345.05–7186.89 mg/kg), followed by P (2735.86–5385.36 mg/kg), Ca (1412.27–3327.37 mg/kg) and Mg (2028.65–3147.32 mg/kg). The CCSK sample collected from Guizhou had the highest levels of total phenolic and flavonoid contents (TPC and TFC), while that from Chongqing had the lowest levels. In addition, the most abundant fatty acid in the CCSK samples was capric acid (57.37–60.18%), followed by lauric acid (35.23–38.29%). Similarities in the fatty acid composition among the CCSK samples were found. The CCSK sample collected from Guizhou had the highest percentage (36.20%) of essential amino acids to total amino acids, and Chongqing had the lowest value (28.84%). These results indicated that CCSK may be developed as an excellent source of plant-based medium-chain oil, protein, dietary fiber, minerals, phytochemicals and essential amino acids.

Pederin, a group of antitumor compounds, is produced by an endosymbiotic bacterium of Paederus fuscipes. Pederin content differed between male and female P. fuscipes, but the reason why these differences are maintained remains unexplored. Here, the pederin-producing bacteria (PPB) infection rate in P. fuscipes was investigated. Furthermore, we assessed the microbiota structure differences in male and female P. fuscipes harbouring PPB and sequenced the transcriptome of both sexes to shed light on genes of interest. Of the 625 analysed beetles (275 females, 350 males), 96.36% of females and 31.14% of males were positive for PPB infection. PPB accounted for 54.36%-82.70% of the bacterial population in females but showed a much lower abundance in males (0.92%-3.87%). Reproductive organs possessed the highest PPB abundance compared with other parts of females, but no such relationships existed in males. Moreover, we provide the first transcriptome analysis of male and female P. fuscipes harbouring PPB and identified 8893 differentially expressed unigenes. Our results indicated that the pederin content difference between males and females might be caused by the PPB density difference in hosts. The biosequence data would be helpful for illustrating the mechanism that regulates PPB density in P. fuscipes.

This study aimed to determine the effect and mechanism of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) on promoting the browning of adipose tissue.

The study aimed to investigate the bioaccessibility and the stability of purified ethanol extracts (PEE) from Cudrania cochinchinensis roots, and the changes in antioxidant activity and enzyme inhibition activity and cytotoxicity by in vitro digestion. No compounds were lost during the gastrointestinal digestion (GID) process, 15 compounds were tentatively identified using UPLC-TOF-MS/MS technology, including five phenolic and ten flavonoid compounds. After the gastric digestion (GD), the bioaccessibility of phenolic and flavonoid compounds was 55.66% and 52.44%, respectively. After the intestinal digestion (ID), the bioaccessibility of phenolic and flavonoid compounds reduced to 39.70% and 33.36%, respectively. The gastrointestinal digestion (GID) decreased the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds. All compounds were affected throughout the gastrointestinal digestion (GID), among which the more affected compounds were 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, eriodictyol-7-O-glucoside, resveratrol and 3,6,3’,4’-tetrahydroxyflavone (compared with the peak intensity of the undigested PEE). Furthermore, there was a reduction in the antioxidant activity, inhibition activity against α-glucosidase and tyrosinase, and cytotoxicity toward HepG2 cells of the PEE after GID. There was a significantly positive correlation between the bioactivity and the total phenolic/flavonoid contents. The results showed that in vitro digestion had significant effects on the phenolic content and bioactivity. Although phenolic contents were decreased during GID, C. cochinchinensis roots is still a good source of bioactive compounds for the development of functional foods with health benefits.

This study aimed to compare the effects of three different medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) on lipid metabolism in obese rats. A high fat diet was fed to Sprague-Dawley rats to induce obesity, and then caprylic triglyceride (CYT), capric triglyceride (CT) and lauric triglyceride (LT) were synthesized and used to treat the obese rats for 12 weeks. The obesity phenotype and molecular changes related to lipid metabolism were determined. The results showed that all the three MCTs reduced the body weight (BW) and fat coefficient in obese rats, and the levels of plasma and liver lipids were also improved. Among the MCT groups, the LT group showed the lowest BW with the lowest food intake. Furthermore, three MCTs had different effects on the expression levels of lipid metabolism-related proteins (PPARs and SREBPs). The LT group performed the best among the three MCT groups in the protein expression levels. Interestingly, high-dose LT decreased the expression of the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) in the liver, which impaired the transport of the very low density lipoprotein (VLDL)/low density lipoprotein (LDL) to the liver, resulting in high levels of total plasma cholesterol (TC) and LDL-c in the rats. We have for the first time found that different MCTs had different effects on the expression levels of triacylglycerol and cholesterol metabolism-related proteins in obese rats. These findings would help better understand the relationship between the health benefit and the type of MCT.

Enzymatic degradation has become the most promising approach to degrading organic ester compounds. In this study, Bacillus licheniformis NCU CS-5 was isolated from the spoilage of Cinnamomum camphora seed kernel, and its extracellular lipase was purified, with a specific activity of 192.98 U/mg. The lipase was found to be a trimeric protein as it showed a single band of 27 kDa in SDS-PAGE and 81 kDa in Native-PAGE. It was active in a wide range of temperatures (5–55 °C) and pH values (6.0–9.0), and the optimal temperature and pH value were 40 °C and 8.0, respectively. The enzyme was active in the presence of various organic solvents, metal ions, inhibitors and surfactants. Both crude and purified lipase retained more than 80% activity after 5 h in the presence of commercial detergents, suggesting its great application potential in detergent industry. The highest activity was found to be towards medium- and long-chain fatty acids (C6-C18). Peptide mass spectrometric analysis of the purified lipase showed similarity to the lipase family of B. licheniformis. Furthermore, it degraded more than 90% 2,4-D butyl ester to its hydrolysate 2,4-D within 24 h, indicating that the novel lipase may be applied to degrade organic ester pesticides.

Cinnamomum camphora seeds have multiple bioactivities. There were few studies on the effect of C. camphora seeds on intestinal inflammation in vitro and in vivo. The study aimed to investigate the effects of ethanol extracts from C. camphora seed kernel on intestinal inflammation using simulated gastrointestinal digestion and a Caco-2/RAW264.7 co-culture system. Results showed that the digested ethanol extracts (dEE) were rich in polyphenols, and a total of 17 compounds were tentatively identified using UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS/MS. dEE increased cell viability, while decreasing the production of reactive oxygen species, and the secretion and gene expression of inflammatory markers (NO, PGE2, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6). dEE also down-regulated NF-κB/MAPK pathway activities by suppressing the phosphorylation of relevant signaling molecules (p65, IκBα, ERK and p38), as well as the expression of TLR4 receptor protein. Furthermore, dEE may improve intestinal barrier function by increasing the TEER value, and the expression of tight junction proteins (ZO-1, claudin-1 and occludin). The results suggest the ethanol extracts from C. camphora seed kernel may have strong anti-inflammatory activities, and a potential application in the prevention or treatment of intestinal inflammation and enhancement of intestinal barrier function in organisms.

Ectropis grisescens (Lepidoptera, Geometridae) is one of the main leaf-eating pests in tea plantations in China. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of this species was sequenced and assembled. The total length of the mitochondrial genome of E. grisescens was 15,794 bp (GenBank accession No. MW337302). The base composition was 41.26% for A, 39.49% for T, 7.92% for G, and 11.33% for C. The circular mitogenome contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and 22 transfer RNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis performed using 13 protein-coding genes of 15 species of Geometridae and an out-group Pieris melete (Lepidoptera, Pieridae) showed that E. grisescens is closely related to species of E. obliqua, and this is consistent with the morphological identification.

The infants who cannot be breastfeed need to obtain energy and nutrition from other sources, such as formula. In this study, a human milk fat substitute (HMFS) rich in structured triglycerides (STG) and with a variety of fatty acids was prepared by one-step transesterification reaction. The optimum conditions for the lipase-catalyzed transesterification between basa catfish oil solid fraction, Cinnamomum camphora seed kernel oil, linseed oil, microbial oil and algae oil were studied and the in vitro digestibility of the constructed HMFS was investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the obtained HMFS contained 58.86% STG and 39.73% sn-2 palmitic acid (PA). Fatty acid composition analysis showed that HMFS was composed of capric acid (Ca), lauric acid (La), oleic acid (O), linoleic acid (L), linolenic acid (Ln), arachidonic acid (ARA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). LC-MS/MS analysis found that 142 new triglycerides were generated, such as Ca-P-ARA, Ca-P-Ln, La-P-ARA, La-P-L and P-O-ARA. Moreover, compared with physical mixture (PM), HMFS had better melting and crystallization temperature and the fatty acid release rate of HMFS was significantly improved. These results suggested that HMFS may have a great application in infant food as a nutritional ingredient.

In this study, protein isolate (PI) and purified polyphenol extract (PPE) were prepared from Cinnamomum camphora seed kernel (CCSK). The effects of preheat treatment (50-90 °C) combined with polyphenol grafting (5 % PPE, w/w) on the structural, emulsifying and rheological properties of PI were investigated. Results demonstrated the preheat treatments at 80 and 90 °C significantly increased the extent of protein aggregation of PI. Fluorescence spectra and thermal behavior analysis revealed that preheat-treated PI exhibited more compact structure and higher thermal stability. Moreover, the emulsifying stability and apparent viscosity of PI were enhanced after preheat treatments at 50, 60 and 70 °C. After modification by PPE, the secondary structural changes of preheat-treated PI were confirmed by FTIR. PPE modification improved the thermal stability and antioxidant activities of preheat-treated PI. These results provide a novel way to combine the advantages of preheat treatment and polyphenol grafting in developing a novel protein ingredient.

In this study, the polydopamine functionalized magnetic mesoporous biochar (MPCB-DA) was prepared for immobilization of Bacillus licheniformis lipase via covalent immobilization. Under optimized immobilization conditions, the maximum immobilization yield, efficiency and immobilized lipase amount were found to be 45%, 54% and 36.9 mg/g, respectively. The immobilized lipase, MPCB-DA-Lipase showed good thermal stability and alkali resistance. The MPCB-DA-Lipase retained 56% initial activity after 10 reuse cycles, with more than 85% relative activity after 70 days' storage at 4 or 25 °C. The MPCB-DA-Lipase was efficiently applied in the interesterification of Cinnamomum camphora seed kernel oil and perilla seed oil, with maximum interesterification efficiency of 46%. The produced structured lipids belong to the S

Use of nanoscale TiO2/BixMyOz (M = W, Mo) heterojunctions is one of the most promising strategies for improving the photocatalytic efficiency. However, the controllable synthesis and morphology modification of these heterojunctions are still highly challenging. In this work, we developed a generic approach to hydrothermally synthesize TiO2/BixMyOz heterojunctions and tailor their morphologies. The key to this strategy is to intentionally utilize the surface defects of TiO2 as highly active sites to adsorb the intermediate hydrolysis-products, which is in marked contrast to the conventional direct precipitation methods. In the subsequent hydrothermal reactions, MO42− replaced the hydroxyl and nitrate radicals to form stable TiO2/BixMyOz heterojunctions, in which the second phase BixMyOz occupied the defect sites of TiO2 nanobelts. Under visible light irradiation, the photocatalytic reaction rate constant of TiO2/Bi2WO6 heterojunctions was four times higher than that of single phase Bi2WO6 nanosheets, while the photocatalytic reaction rate constant of TiO2/Bi3.64Mo0.36O6.55 heterojunctions exhibited a seven-fold increase compared with Bi3.64Mo0.36O6.55 nanopaticles. The substantial enhancement of photocatalytic activity is primarily ascribed to the matching energy band structure in the TiO2/BixMyOz heterojunctions, which is able to improve the separation efficiency of photo-generated electron-hole pairs and prolong the lifetime of charge carriers in the heterojunctions.

The lipase from Bacillus licheniformis NCU CS-5 was immobilized onto β-cyclodextrin (CD) grafted and aminopropyl-functionalized chitosan-coated Fe

In this study, protein isolate (PI) and purified phenolic extract (PPE) were prepared from Cinnamomum camphora seed kernel (CCSK). The effects of covalent modification of PI by PPE at different concentrations (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5%, w/w) were investigated with respect to structural properties and antioxidant activities of protein. Fifteen bioactive compounds in PPE were tentatively identified by UPLC-ESI-MSn. With the increase of PPE concentration, the turbidity, covalent binding rate, phenolic content and color intensity of the PI-PPE complexes were gradually increased. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and circular dichroism spectroscopy analysis showed that the secondary and tertiary structures of the complexes were changed and became greater order than PI. Furthermore, the complexes exhibited stronger thermal stability and antioxidant activities than those of PI. These results suggested that the protein-phenolic covalent complexes obtained from CCSK may have great potential to be used in food formulations as functional ingredients.

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) represent an important source of genetic variation that provides a basis for adaptation to different environments in organisms. In this study, we examined the distribution patterns of SSRs in twenty-nine beetle genomes and carried out Gene Ontology (GO) analysis of CDSs embedded with perfect SSRs (P-SSRs). The results demonstrated that imperfect SSRs (I-SSRs) represented the most abundant SSR category in beetle genomes and in different genomic regions (CDS, exon, and intron regions). The numbers of P-SSRs, I-SSRs, compound SSRs, and variable number tandem repeats were positively correlated with beetle genome size, whereas neither the frequency nor the density of the SSRs was correlated with genome size. Moreover, our results demonstrated that common genomic features of P-SSRs within the same suborder or family of Coleoptera were rare. Mono-, di-, tri-, or tetranucleotide SSRs were the most abundant P-SSR categories in beetle genomes. The preferred predominant repeat motif among the mononucleotide P-SSRs was (A)n, but the most frequent repeat motifs for other length classes varied differentially among these genomes. Furthermore, the P-SSR type with the highest GC content differed in the beetle genomes and in different genomic regions. CV (coefficient of variability) analysis demonstrated that the repeat copy numbers of P-SSRs presented relatively higher variation in introns than in CDSs and exons. The GO terms of CDSs containing P-SSRs for molecular functions were mainly enriched in “binding” and “transcription”. Our findings will be useful for studying the functional roles of microsatellite heterogeneity in beetle adaptation.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium are both foodborne pathogens commonly found in contaminated chicken meat. In this study, the combined effects of monocaprin and thymol, carvacrol, citral, and cinnamaldehyde against both pathogens were investigated to evaluate their effects in chicken meat preservation. Among the combinations, only the combination of monocaprin and carvacrol exhibited distinct synergistic effects on both pathogens in vitro. This combination showed a stronger synergistic biofilm inhibition and bactericidal effect than monocaprin or carvacrol alone. SEM and TEM microscopy showed that the combined treatment synergistically damaged the morphology of E. coli O157:H7 and S. Typhimurium. DAPI/SYTOX Green double-staining, outer and inner membrane permeability, membrane potential, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation experiments were performed to further assess the synergistic action. Results indicated that carvacrol rapidly increased the outer membrane permeability, allowing monocaprin to enter the cell of both pathogens, and damage the plasma membrane, and monocaprin increased the ROS accumulation effect of carvacrol, resulting in cell death. Monocaprin and carvacrol also showed synergistic effect on retarding the growth of E. coli O157:H7 and S. Typhimurium in chicken breast meat during storage at 4 °C. Besides, the results of sensory evaluation, including appearance, odor, firmness and overall acceptance, showed that the combined treatment reduced deterioration of the sensory properties of chicken breast meat. These findings suggest that this combination may be used as a novel approach to the preservation of chicken meat.

A novel lipase from Bacillus licheniformis NCU CS-5 was expressed in different Escherichia coli cells. The recombinant enzyme achieved a high activity (161.74 U/mL) with protein concentration of 0.27 mg/mL under optimal conditions at the large-scale expression of 12 h. The recombinant lipase showed optimal activity at 40 ℃ and pH 10.0, and maintained more than 80% relative activity after 96 h of incubation at pH 9.0–10.0. This typical alkaline lipase was activated under medium temperature conditions (30 and 45 ℃ for 96 h). The lipase exhibited a degree of adaptability in various organic solvents and metal ions, and showed high specificity towards triglycerides with short and medium chain fatty acids. Among different substrates, the lipase showed the strongest binding affinity towards pNPP (Km = 0.674 mM, Vmax = 950.196 μM/min). In the experiments of its application in enhancing fatty acids flavor release for low-fat cheeses, the lipase was found to hydrolyze cheeses and mainly increase the contents of butyric acid, hexanoic acid, caprylic acid and decanoic acid. The results from NMR and GC provided the possibility of enhancing fatty acids flavor released from low-fat cheeses by the lipolysis method.

The lipase from Bacillus licheniformis NCU CS-5 was immobilized onto β-cyclodextrin (CD) grafted and aminopropyl-functionalized chitosan-coated Fe3O4 magnetic nanocomposites (Fe3O4-CTS-APTES-GA-β-CD). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that not only the functionalized magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized but also the immobilized lipase was successfully produced. The immobilized lipase exhibited higher optimal pH value (10.5) and temperature (60℃) than the free lipase. The pH and thermal stabilities of the immobilized lipase were improved significantly compared to the free lipase. The immobilized lipase remained more than 80% of the relative activity at temperature of 60 ℃ and pH 12.0. The immobilized lipase also remained over 80% of its relative activity after 28 days of storage and 15 cycles of application. The application of the immobilized lipase in esterification of isoamyl acetate and pentyl valerate showed that maximum esterification efficiency was achieved in n-hexane having 68.0% and 89.2% respectively. Therefore, these results indicated that the Fe3O4-CTS-APTES-GA-β-CD nanoparticles are novel carriers for immobilizing enzyme, and the immobilized lipase can be used as an innovative green approach to the synthesis of fruity flavor esters in food industry.

Crystalline Bi12TiO20 and Bi4Ti3O12 particles were selectively synthesized by rapid microwave-assisted sol-gel method. During the thermal decomposition process of the dried gel, microwave calcination played a key role in producing single phase Bi12TiO20. Our Bi12TiO20 demonstrated one of the highest visible-light photocatalytic activities for MO degradation among the reported bismuth titanate particles with various compositions. Single phase Bi4Ti3O12 can also be prepared by either a conventional calcination at high temperature or a combined heat treatment of a conventional heating followed by microwave calcination. The photocatalytic reaction rate constant of the Bi4Ti3O12 prepared by microwave calcination was three times higher than that of conventionally calcined Bi4Ti3O12, further confirming the advantage of microwave calcination in preparation of highly photocatalytically active bismuth titanate.

In this study, protein isolate (PI) and protein-phenolic complex (PPC) were prepared from Cinnamomum camphora seed kernel (CCSK). The effects of naturally present phenolic compounds on the structural characteristics, functional properties and antioxidant activities of CCSK protein before and after hydrolysis by Alcalase were evaluated. The formation of PPC was confirmed by the ultraviolet–visible and intrinsic fluorescence spectra. The resultant PPC hydrolysates (PPHs) had higher degree of hydrolysis values than PI hydrolysates (PHs). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis showed that PHs and PPHs had more disordered structure, with the increase of random coil content. PI and PPC had similar solubility curves in the pH range of 2.0–9.0. However, hydrolysis led to a decrease in the solubility of PHs and PPHs at pH 2.0 and 3.0, and the solubility of PPHs was higher than that of PHs at pH 6.0 and 7.0. In addition, PPC exhibited better emulsifying properties and stronger antioxidant activities than those of PI before and after hydrolysis. These results indicated that PPC and PPHs obtained from CCSK may have great application potential in food industry as functional ingredients.

A cheap sodium ferric EDTA-derived material (EDTAFeNa-KB-HT1) was prepared via one-step pyrolysis of a complex of Ketjenblack EC-300J and inorganic-organic hybrid EDTAFeNa, which was employed as both nitrogen and ferric precursors. The EDTAFeNa-KB-HT1 was proved to be an iron and nitrogen co-doped Fe-N-C material with micro-mesoporous structure and large surface area. The EDTAFeNa-KB-HT1 exhibited high selectivity (80–100%) towards oxygen reduction reaction for electrocatalytic synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concurrently with generation of large current density, which could be potentially a safe, efficient and environment-friendly fuel cell method for the scale production of H2O2.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the changes of potential bioactivities of ethanol extracts (EE) from Cinnamomum camphora seed kernel (CCSK) after alkaline hydrolysis and simulated gastrointestinal digestion. A total of 13 compounds in EE, mainly phenolics and saponins were tentatively identified using HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS2 analysis. The total phenolic and total flavonoid contents in EE decreased by 30.6%, 1%, 33% and 11.8% after hydrolysis and digestion, respectively. The total saponins content decreased by 17% after hydrolysis while increased by 48% after digestion. The total condensed tannin contents increased by 70.3% and 17.2% after hydrolysis and digestion, respectively. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), cupric ion reducing activity (CUPRAC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and metal chelating activity (MCA) were used to determine antioxidant activity. Overall, the changes of antioxidant activities by hydrolysis and digestion were consistent with the changes of their total phenolic and flavonoid contents. The α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities in EE increased by 817% and 33.3% after digestion while decreased by 12.3% and 19% after hydrolysis, respectively. Although the inhibitory activities of cholinesterase, tyrosinase and xanthine oxidase were decreased by hydrolysis and digestion, most of these activities were retained. These results showed that CCSK ethanol extracts had strong bioactivities and were reasonably stable to alkali and digestive enzymes.

Micropeplus Latreille Micropeplus Latreille, 1809: 377. Type species: Staphylinus porcatus Paykull, 1789., Published as part of Fake Zheng, Xianghui Yan & Yujie Li, 2016, Two new species of the genus Micropeplus Latreille (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) from Sichuan, China, pp. 231-235 in Zoological Systematics 41 (2) on page 231, DOI: 10.11865/zs.201622, http://zenodo.org/record/270352

Micropeplus parvulus sp. nov. (Figs 12���17) Diagnosis. This species is very similar to Micropeplus rougemonti Watanabe, 1995 from Yunnnan, but it may be distinguished from the latter by body smaller, each elytron only with two discal costae, pseudepipleural costa obsolete between humeral and epipleural costae, and tergite 7 of abdomen only with one longitudinal carina. Description. Female. Head black, pronotum and elytra reddish brown, abdomen blackish brown; antennae, maxillary and labial palpi, and legs yellowish brown to reddish brown. Length 1.5 ��� 1.6 mm. Head subtriangular, very transverse, about 2.0 times as broad as long, narrower than pronotum (ratio 0.53); anterior margin of head broadly arcuate. Vertex with longitudinal median carina extending from level of middle of eyes to base of head, area on each side of carina slightly impressed, one oblique carina at inner side of each eye, space between carinae granulate. Clypeus visible from above, with slightly deflexed anterior margin and granulate surface. Antennae ninesegmented, usually receding onto the ventral surface of pronotum for their reception; segment 1 robust than segments 2���8, lightly opaque and shorter than segments 2 and 3 combined; segment 2 slightly shorter and narrower than segment 1 and narrowed apicad; segment 3���6 gradually decreasing in length, longer than broad and narrower than segment 2; segment 7���8 transverse; apical segment largest and oval, with dense pubescence. Pronotum subtrapezoidal, about 2.5 times as broad as long, widest at base, shorter than elytra (ratio 0.52) and about equal in width to it; sides irregularly sinuate; anterior margin broadly emarginated and almost straight in middle, posterior margin bisinuate; anterior angles produced forwards, posterior ones almost rectangular; surface finely granulate; lateral areas broadly explanate; median area elevated dorsally, with six cells enclosed by costae, three in anterior half and remaining three in posterior half. Scutellum subtriangular, apical margin slightly triangularly produced. Elytra subquadrate, about 1.25 times as broad as long, slightly widened apicad, discal area strongly convex, abruptly and transversely depressed in apical one fifth along apical margin; each elytron with four costae, one sutural, two discal and one humeral; four costae straight, each extending through whole length of elytra; interspaces of costae with irregular rows of coarse punctures, 1 st interspace with two rows, 2 nd with two to three rows, 3 rd with three to four rows; pseudepipleural costa obsolete between humeral and epipleural costae. Wings developed. Median impression of metasternum slightly broad, elongate, more than half as long as metasternum. Abdomen gradually narrowed apicad; tergites 4���7 each strongly transversely depressed at basal half; tergites 4���6 each with three longitudinal carinae throughout length of tergite; tergite 7 only with one longitudinal carina abbreviated in apical third; surface of each tergite impunctate, finely granulate and with fine and dense microsculpture of transverse striae; sternite 8 broadly rounded at middle of apical margin. Male. Unknown. Material examined. Holotype. ♀, China, Sichuan, Yele Nature Reserve, Mianning County (28 �� 50 ������ 29 ��00���N, 101 �� 59 ������ 102 �� 16 ���E; elev. 3 400 m), 8 August 2005, coll. Dianyuan Song. Paratype. 1 ♀, the same data as holotype. Type specimens are deposited in the Life Science College, China West Normal University, Sichuan. Habitat and Distribution. The species was collected the dead weeds, it is present known from the type locality in western Sichuan. Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin " parvulus "(small), it refers to the smaller size of the new species., Published as part of Fake Zheng, Xianghui Yan & Yujie Li, 2016, Two new species of the genus Micropeplus Latreille (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) from Sichuan, China, pp. 231-235 in Zoological Systematics 41 (2) on pages 233-234, DOI: 10.11865/zs.201622, http://zenodo.org/record/270352, {"references":["Watanabe, Y. 1995. A new micropeplid species (Coleoptera) from Yunan Province, southwest China. Elytra, 23 (2): 245 - 249."]}

Fake Zheng, Xianghui Yan, Yujie Li (2016): Two new species of the genus Micropeplus Latreille (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) from Sichuan, China. Zoological Systematics 41 (2): 231-235, DOI: 10.11865/zs.201622