Wheat glutenin subunits in relation to baking quality parameters

Wheat gluten has unique properties that make it suitable for bread-making. As a result bread-making quality is closely associated with gluten quantity and quality. This research was conducted to look at the relationship between varieties, environment, wheat glutens and potential bread-making quality. Specifically the objectives were: 1) to assess the environmental effect on the quantities of gluten and its subunits across a range of genotypes (both high and low molecular weight glutenins); 2) to quantify the relationships among glutenin subunits (both high molecular weight and low molecular weight) and baking quality parameters, and the relationships among those quality parameters themselves; 3) to quantify specific allelic (Glu-l & Glu-3) effects on bread-making quality and interpret the effects using genetic expression models. Two sets of materials, a GXE trial and a set of recombinant lines were created. Fourteen New Zealand cultivars or lines with various baking quality were chosen for GXE trial and these were given six treatments that varied in fertiliser type (nitrogen or sulphate) and application time (early or late application). Based on the allele information, five recombinant lines were chosen for later analyses and quality tests. The quality tests were: wholemeal flour protein, white flour protein, hardness, SDS sedimentation volume, Pelshenke time and 10-gram mixograph. The data obtained indicated that bread-making quality could be improved by late nitrogen application. Cultivars' responses to the environmental changes varied, they could be either stable or more responsive. Higher SDS sedimentation and mid-line peak values of the mixograph were mainly related to higher protein content. Pelshenke time values were mainly related to high molecular weight glutenin subunit score, which represents their qualitative or allelic differences. Allelic differences were shown to significantly affect quality parameters. Possession of the null allele of Glu-A1 resulted in inferior values for most of the flour quality tests when compared to alleles 2* and 1. Possession of allele 5+10 for Glu-D3 was significantly related to longer Pelshenke times and greater SDS sedimentation volumes. Possession of different GluA3 alleles significantly affected wholemeal flour protein content, sedimentation volumes and mid-line peak values of the mixograph. Possession of allele d for Glu-A3 could be a valuable high quality predictor in breeding programmes. Bread-making quality is a complex matter influenced by many factors apart from glutenins. This thesis has demonstrated a combined genetic and agronomic approach to wheat quality improvement. However, there remains substantial scope for further research in this area

Supratentorial Collision Tumor of Hemangioblastoma and Metastatic Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma in a Patient with von Hippel-Lindau Disease

Collision tumors are rarely reported in patients with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease, even though VHL patients often present with multi-organ tumor syndromes, like hemangioblastoma and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Hemangioblastoma is rarely located in a supratentorial location, and intracranial lateral ventricular is also not a common site of metastasis for RCC. It is extremely rare for the two tumors to collide in the supratentorial area. We report a 64-year-old man with a history of clear cell RCC who presented with a sudden headache. The brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed that there was a cystic-solid mass in the intracranial lateral ventricular trigone. Histopathologically, the tumor consisted of two distinct components, most of which showed the typical morphology of hemangioblastoma. However, there were a few acinar structures composed of clear cells scattered in hemangioblastoma, and these acinar structures were subsequently confirmed as clear cell RCC. The genetic testing confirmed that the patient had VHL disease with de novo somatic mutation. Based on our case report, we systematically reviewed the characteristics of collision tumor composed of hemangioblastoma and metastatic RCC in VHL patients. The special growth site of our case is the first report of this kind of collision tumor, and can also help enrich our understanding of VHL disease and collision tumor

Airborne transmission of pathogen-laden expiratory droplets in open outdoor space

Virus-laden droplets dispersion may induce transmissions of respiratory infectious diseases. Existing research mainly focuses on indoor droplet dispersion, but the mechanism of its dispersion and exposure in outdoor environment is unclear. By conducting CFD simulations, this paper investigates the evaporation and transport of solid-liquid droplets in an open outdoor environment. Droplet initial sizes (dp=10m, 50m, 100m), background relative humidity (RH=35%, 95%), background wind speed (Uref=3m/s, 0.2m/s) and social distances between two people (D=0.5m, 1m, 1.5m, 3m, 5m) are investigated. Results show that thermal body plume is destroyed when the background wind speed is 3m/s (Froude number Fr~10). The inhalation fraction (IF) of susceptible person decreases exponentially when the social distance (D) increases from 0.5m to 5m. The exponential decay rate of inhalation fraction (b) ranges between 0.93 and 1.06 (IF=IF0e-b(D-0.5)) determined by the droplet initial diameter and relative humidity. Under weak background wind (Uref=0.2m/s, Fr~0.01), the upward thermal body plume significantly influences droplet dispersion, which is similar with that in indoor space. Droplets in the initial sizes of 10m and 50m disperse upwards while most of 100m droplets fall down to the ground due to large gravity force. Interestingly, the deposition fraction on susceptible person is ten times higher at Uref=3m/s than that at Uref=0.2m/s. Thus, a high outdoor wind speed does not necessarily lead to a smaller exposure risk if the susceptible person locating at the downwind region of the infected person, and people in outdoors are suggested to not only keep distance of greater than 1.5m from each other but also stand with considerable angles from the prevailing wind direction

Transmission and infection risk of various pathogen-laden expiratory droplets in a coach bus with COVID-19

The study about droplet transmission in crowded, poorly ventilated buses and the resulting infection risk(IR) remains rare. Based on a COVID-19 outbreak which the index patient located at bus rear, we performed CFD simulations to study the effect of initial droplet diameters and hourly ventilation rate(ACH) on droplet transmission and IR. The outdoor pressure differential creates the natural ventilation enters from theskylight at bus rear and exits from the front one. With increased ACH, the IR of tracer gas reduced quickly, from 11.1-15.3% under 0.62ACH to 1.3-3.1% under 5.66ACH. Furthermore, the IR of 100μm/50μm droplets was almost independent of ACH as most droplets were deposited due to gravity. Furthermore, 5μm droplets are more widely dispersed than larger droplets, and can spread further with increasing ACH with a low IR(≤0.4%). Unlike general rooms, most droplets are deposited on the route passing through the long-distance bus space(~9.46m). But the tracer gas will not deposit, so the tracer gas can only be used to simulate the fine droplet dispersion process in the long-distance bus. Our research results provide a reference for future research on droplet transmission in the bus environment, and also provide a guidance for epidemic prevention

Influence of natural ventilation design on the dispersion of pathogen-laden droplets in a coach bus

Natural ventilation is an energy-efficient design approach to reduce infection risk (IR), but its optimized design in a coach bus environment is less studied. Based on a COVID-19 outbreak in a bus in Hunan, China, the indoor-outdoor coupled CFD modeling approach is adopted to comprehensively explore how optimized bus natural ventilation (e.g., opening/closing status of front/middle/rear windows (FW/MW/RW)) and ceiling wind catcher (WCH) affect the dispersion of pathogen-laden droplets (tracer gas, 5 μm, 50 μm) and IR. Other key influential factors including bus speed, infector's location, and ambient temperature (Tref) are also considered. Buses have unique natural ventilation airflow patterns: from bus rear to front, and air change rate per hour (ACH) increases linearly with bus speed. When driving at 60 km/h, ACH is only 6.14 h−1 and intake fractions of tracer gas (IFg) and 5 μm droplets (IFd) are up to 3372 ppm and 1394 ppm with ventilation through leakages on skylights and no windows open. When FW and RW are both open, ACH increases by 43.5 times to 267.50 h−1, and IFg and IFd drop rapidly by 1–2 orders of magnitude compared to when no windows are open. Utilizing a wind catcher and opening front windows significantly increases ACH (up to 8.8 times) and reduces IF (5–30 times) compared to only opening front windows. When the infector locates at the bus front with FW open, IFg and IFd of all passengers are <10 ppm. More droplets suspend and further spread in a higher Tref environment. It is recommended to open two pairs of windows or open front windows and utilize the wind catcher to reduce IR in coach buses

The Long-Term Optimization Model of Pumped-Hydro Power Storage System Based on Approximate Dynamic Programming

Based on the hypothesis that pumped storage power station is available for multi-day optimization and adjustment, the paper has proposed a long-term operation optimization model of pumped-hydro power storage (PHPS) system based on approximate dynamic programming (ADP). In this multistage decision model, across the stages, value function approximation (VFA) of the reservoir energy storage was used to keep the overall optimization characteristics; during the stages, generated energy & generating periods, and electricity consumption for pumping & pumping periods are used as decision variables to conduct daily optimization operation. The paper got the approximate optimal solution through iteration solution decision variable and value function so as to avoid “curse of dimensionality” in conventional multistage decision model. According to the experiment, the ADP-based model can accurately describe the long-term operation modes of pumped storage power station, and its calculation methods are more appropriate for this kind of large-scale optimized decision problem than conventional mathematic planning methods

The Analysis of Phenolic Compounds in Walnut Husk and Pellicle by UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS and HPLC

Husk and pellicle as the agri-food waste in the walnut-product industry are in soaring demand because of their rich polyphenol content. This study investigated the differential compounds related to walnut polyphenol between husk and pellicle during fruit development stage. By using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-orbitrap (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap), a total of 110 bioactive components, including hydrolysable tannins, flavonoids, phenolic acids and quinones, were tentatively identified, 33 of which were different between husk and pellicle. The trend of dynamic content of 16 polyphenols was clarified during walnut development stage by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This is the first time to comprehensive identification of phenolic compounds in walnut husk and pellicle, and our results indicated that the pellicle is a rich resource of polyphenols. The dynamic trend of some polyphenols was consistent with total phenols. The comprehensive characterization of walnut polyphenol and quantification of main phenolic compounds will be beneficial for understanding the potential application value of walnut and for exploiting its metabolism pathway

Role of pathogen-laden expiratory droplet dispersion and natural ventilation explaining a COVID-19 outbreak in a coach bus

The influencing mechanism of droplet transmissions inside crowded and poorly ventilated buses on infection risks of respiratory diseases is still unclear. Based on experiments of one-infecting-seven COVID-19 outbreak with an index patient at bus rear, we conducted CFD simulations to investigate integrated effects of initial droplet diameters(tracer gas, 5µm, 50µm and 100µm), natural air change rates per hour(ACH=0.62, 2.27 and 5.66h-1 related to bus speeds) and relative humidity(RH=35% and 95%) on pathogen-laden droplet dispersion and infection risks. Outdoor pressure difference around bus surfaces introduces natural ventilation airflow entering from bus-rear skylight and leaving from the front one. When ACH=0.62h-1(idling state), the 30-minute-exposure infection risk(TIR) of tracer gas is 15.3%(bus rear) - 11.1%(bus front), and decreases to 3.1%(bus rear)-1.3%(bus front) under ACH=5.66h-1(high bus speed).The TIR of large droplets(i.e., 100µm/50µm) is almost independent of ACH, with a peak value(~3.1%) near the index patient, because over 99.5%/97.0% of droplets deposit locally due to gravity. Moreover, 5µm droplets can disperse further with the increasing ventilation. However, TIR for 5µm droplets at ACH=5.66h-1 stays relatively small for rear passengers(maximum 0.4%), and is even smaller in the bus middle and front(<0.1%). This study verifies that differing from general rooms, most 5µm droplets deposit on the route through the long-and-narrow bus space with large-area surfaces(L~11.4m). Therefore, tracer gas can only simulate fine droplet with little deposition but cannot replace 5-100µm droplet dispersion in coach buses

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Genes Involved in Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Red and Green Walnut (Juglans regia L.)

Fruit color is an important economic trait. The color of red walnut cultivars is mainly attributed to anthocyanins. The aim of this study was to explore the differences in the molecular mechanism of leaf and peel color change between red and green walnut. A reference transcriptome of walnut was sequenced and annotated to identify genes related to fruit color at the ripening stage. More than 290 million high-quality reads were assembled into 39,411 genes using a combined assembly strategy. Using Illumina digital gene expression profiling, we identified 4568 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between red and green walnut leaf and 3038 DEGs between red and green walnut peel at the ripening stage. We also identified some transcription factor families (MYB, bHLH, and WD40) involved in the control of anthocyanin biosynthesis. The trends in the expression levels of several genes encoding anthocyanin biosynthetic enzymes and transcription factors in the leaf and peel of red and green walnut were verified by quantitative real-time PCR. Together, our results identified the genes involved in anthocyanin accumulation in red walnut. These data provide a valuable resource for understanding the coloration of red walnut