Genome-Wide Association Mapping for Tomato Volatiles Positively Contributing to Tomato Flavor

Tomato volatiles, mainly derived from essential nutrients and health-promoting precursors, affect tomato flavor. Taste volatiles present a major challenge for flavor improvement and quality breeding. In this study, we performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to investigate potential chromosome regions associated with the tomato flavor volatiles. We observed significant variation (1200x) among the selected 28 most important volatiles in tomato based on their concentration and odor threshold importance across our sampled accessions. Using 174 tomato accessions, GWAS identified 125 significant associations (P<0.005) among 182 SSR markers and 28 volatiles (27 volatiles with at least one significant association). Several significant associations were co-localized in previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTL). This result provides new potential candidate loci affecting the metabolism of several volatiles

Morphology and Composition of Microspheres in Fly Ash from the Luohuang Power Plant, Chongqing, Southwestern China

In order to effectively raise both utilization rate and additional value of fly ash, X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-Ray spectrometer (EDS) were used to investigate the morphology, and chemical and mineral composition of the microspheres in fly ash from the Luohuang coal-fired power plant, Chongqing, southwestern China. The majority of fly ash particles are various types of microspheres, including porous microsphere, plerospheres (hollow microspheres surrounding sub-microspheres or mineral fragments) and magnetic ferrospheres. Maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) crystals with spinel octahedron structure regularly distribute on the surfaces of ferrospheres, which explained the source of their strong magnetism that would facilitate the separation and classification of these magnetic ferrospheres from the fly ash. Microspheres in Luohuang fly ash generally are characterized by an elemental transition through their cross-section: the inner layer consists of Si and O; the chemical component of the middle layer is Si, Al, Fe, Ti, Ca and O; and the Fe-O mass (maghemite or hematite) composes the outer layer (ferrosphere). Studies on composition and morphological characteristics of microspheres in fly ash would provide important information on the utilization of fly ash, especially in the field of materials

One-step synthesis of Pt@three-dimensional graphene composite hydrogel: an efficient recyclable catalyst for reduction of 4-nitrophenol

A Pt@three-dimensional graphene (Pt@3DG) composite hydrogel with a unique porous nanostructure was prepared and used as an efficient, recyclable and robust catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol under mild conditions. The influence of graphene architecture on catalytic activities was comparatively investigated by loading the same amount of Pt on reduced graphene oxide. Pt@3DG exhibits a very high catalytic activity owing to the three-dimensional macroporous framework with high specific surface area, numerous activation sites and efficient transport pathways. Moreover, catalyst separation can be easily achieved by simple filtration, and the catalyst can be reused for at least five runs, maintaining its high catalytic activity

Synergistic Induction of Erlotinib-Mediated Apoptosis by Resveratrol in Human Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Cells by Down-Regulating Survivin and Up-Regulating PUMA

Background/Aim: Treatment of human non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) often involves uses of multiple therapeutic strategies with different mechanisms of action. Here we found that resveratrol (RV) enhanced the anti-tumor effects of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor erlotinib in NSCLC cells. Methods: Cell viability was measured by MTT assay and clonogenicity assay. Western blot was applied to assess the protein expression levels of target genes. Cell apoptosis was monitored by AnnexinV-FITC assay and sub-G1 population assay. Intracellular ROS were measured by flow cytometric analysis. Cell caspase activities were carried out by fluorometric assays. Results: Exposure of H460, A549, PC-9 and H1975 cells to minimal or non-toxic concentrations of RV and erlotinib synergistically reduced cell viability, colony formation and induced cell apoptosis. Furthermore, RV synergistically enhanced erlotinib-induced apoptosis was involved in ROS production. Additionally, co-treatment with RV and erlotinib repressed the expressions of anti-apoptosis proteins, such as survivin and Mcl-1, whereas promoted p53 and PUMA expression and caspase 3 activity. Moreover, the combination was also more effective at inhibiting the AKT/mTOR/S6 kinase pathway. Subsequently, small interfering RNA (siRNA) depletion of PUMA and overexpression of survivin significantly attenuated NSCLC cells apoptosis induced by the combination of the two drugs. Conclusion: Our findings suggested that RV synergistically enhanced the anti-tumor effects of erlotinib in NSCLC cells were involved in decrease of survivin expression and induction of PUMA expression. In conclusion, based on the observations from our study, we indicated that the combined administration of these two drugs might be considered as a novel therapeutic regimen for treating NSCLC

Risk assessment of electricity transmission and distribution tariff regulation for power grid enterprises based on best-worst method and cloud model

The electricity transmission and distribution tariff policy of the second supervision cycle in China has formulated a much better electricity transmission and distribution tariff supervision system. In this context, the research on the risk related to electricity transmission and distribution tariff regulation faced by power grid enterprises is helpful for power regulatory agencies and business operators to identify and avoid risks in time and promote the sustainable development of electric power industry. Firstly, the risk evaluation criteria system is established. Secondly, a risk evaluation model based on the best and worst method (BWM) and cloud model for electricity transmission and distribution tariff regulation is proposed. Finally, the risk level of power transmission and distribution tariff regulation faced by four provincial power grid enterprises is evaluated. The validity and practicability of the proposed model in this paper are proved by the empirical analysis

Integrative strategy to determine residual proteins in cefaclor produced by immobilized penicillin G acylase

There is a growing trend in the pharmaceutical industry towards substituting conventional chemical synthesis routes of semi-synthetic β-lactam antibiotics (SSBAs) through environmentally sustainable enzymatic processes. These have advantages such as cost reduction in terms of solvent and waste treatment and time saving owing to fewer reaction steps. Penicillin G acylase (PGA) is an industrially important enzyme that is mainly used to catalyze the synthesis of SSBAs. In this study, we established an integrative strategy using three different analytical methods for determining the PGA-associated residual protein content, which is a critical quality issue in the end product. Cefaclor was taken as representative example of SSBAs. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FD) allowed the routine analysis of PGA residual proteins and other low molecular weight (MW) impurities with high detection specificity and sensitivity, comparable to those of the Bradford assay and microfluidic protein chip electrophoresis. However, these latter two methods were superior for quantitative and qualitative analysis, respectively, and should be regarded as necessary adjuncts to the HPLC-FD method. By combining the three methods, trace levels of residual proteins were detected in four (out of 13) cefaclor bulk samples from two different manufacturers, with a major protein MW of ∼63 kDa. This suggests that the higher MW PGA subunit tends to persist in the end product. The integrative determination strategy described here can be used to evaluate SSBA bulk samples and monitor the process of SSBA manufacturing by enzymatic methods, especially in terms of inter-batch consistency and process stability.status: publishe