Evolution of polyphenolic, anthocyanin, and organic acid components during coinoculation fermentation (simultaneous inoculation of LAB and yeast) and sequential fermentation of blueberry wine.

This research aims to investigate the effects of both sequential fermentation and coinoculation fermentation with yeast and lactic acid bacterial (LAB) on the dynamics of changes in basic quality parameters and organic acid, anthocyanin, and phenolic components as well as antioxidant activity during the fermentation of blueberry. The coculture-fermented blueberry wine showed significant decreases in total phenolics, flavonoids, and anthocyanins,by 23.9%, 15.9%, and 13.7%, respectively, as compared with those before fermentation Fermentation changed the contents of organic acids in each group, with a more than 7-fold increase in lactic acid contents as well as a more than 4-fold reduction in quinic acid and malic acid contents. The content of all investigated anthocyanins first increased and then decreased. Moreover, different fermentation strategies exerted a profound influence on the dynamic change in phenolic components during fermentation; specifically, most of the phenolic acids showed a trend of increasing first, then decreasing, and finally increasing. Gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, quercetin, and myricetin were increased by 116.9%, 130.1%, 127.2% and 177.6%, respectively, while syringic acid, ferulic acid, cinnamic acid, and vanillic acid were decreased by 49.5%, 68.5%, and 37.1% in sequentially fermented blueberry wine. Coinoculation fermentation with yeast and LAB produces faster dynamic variations and higher organic acid, anthocyanin, and phenolic profiles than sequential inoculation fermentation. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: In this work, brewing technology of sequential fermentation and coinoculation fermentation with yeast and LAB (Lactobacillus plantarum SGJ-24 and Oenococcus oeni SD-2a) was adopted to ferment blueberry wine. This is an innovative technology of fruit wine brewing technology to produce wine products. Compared with traditional sequential brewing, simultaneous inoculation brewing can significantly accelerate the brewing process of fruit wine and slightly improve the quality of fruit wine in terms of active ingredients.

CaMKIIγ regulates the viability and self-renewal of acute myeloid leukaemia stem-like cells by the Alox5/NF-κB pathway.

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a frequently fatal malignant disease of haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. The molecular and phenotypic characteristics of AML are highly heterogeneous. Our previous study concluded that CaMKIIγ was the trigger of chronic myeloid leukaemia progression from the chronic phase to blast crisis, but how CaMKIIγ influences AML stem-like cells remains elusive. In this study, we found that CaMKIIγ was overexpressed in AML patients and AML cell lines, as measured by qRT-PCR and Western blot assays. Moreover, CaMKIIγ decreased when the disease was in remission. Using an shRNA lentivirus expression system, we established CaMKIIγ stable-knockdown AML cell lines and found that knockdown of CaMKIIγ inhibited the viability and self-renewal of AML stem-like cell lines. Additionally, the ratio of CD34 + AML cell lines decreased, and CaMKIIγ knockdown induced the downregulation of Alox5 levels. We further detected downstream molecules of the Alox5/NF-κB pathway and found that c-myc and p-IκBα decreased while total IκBα remained normal. In conclusion, our study describes a new role for CaMKIIγ as a stem-like cell marker that is highly regulated by the Alox5/NF-κB pathway in AML stem-like cells. CaMKIIγ can participate in the viability and self-renewal of AML stem-like cells by regulating the Alox5/NF-κB pathway.

Effects of Moisture, Temperature, and Salt Content on the Dielectric Properties of Pecan Kernels During Microwave and Radio Frequency Drying Processes.

Dielectric properties of materials influence the interaction of electromagnetic fields with and are therefore important in designing effective dielectric heating processes. We investigated the dielectric properties (DPs) of pecan kernels between 10 and 3000 MHz using a Novocontrol broadband dielectric spectrometer in a temperature range of 5-65 °C and a moisture content range of 10-30% wet basis (wb) at three salt levels. The dielectric constant (ε') and loss factor (ε'') of the pecan kernels decreased significantly with increasing frequency in the radio frequency (RF) band, but gradually in the measured microwave (MW) band. The moisture content and temperature increase greatly contributed to the increase in the ε' and ε'' of samples, and ε'' increased sharply with increasing salt strength. Quadratic polynomial models were established to simulate DPs as functions of temperature and moisture content at four frequencies (27, 40, 915, and 2450 MHz), with R2 > 0.94. The average penetration depth of pecan kernels in the RF band was greater than that in the MW band (238.17 ± 21.78 cm vs. 15.23 ± 7.36 cm; p < 0.01). Based on the measured DP data, the simulated and experimental temperature-time histories of pecan kernels at five moisture contents were compared within the 5 min RF heating period.

In vitro antioxidant and immunostimulating activities of polysaccharides from Ginkgo biloba leaves.

Ginkgo biloba leaves (GBLs) are used as herbal dietary supplements and medicine worldwide. In this study, crude GBL polysaccharides (GBPSs) were extracted and further purified on a DEAE (diethylaminoethanol) Sepharose Fast Flow column to obtain GBPS-2 and GBPS-3. The molecular weights of GBPS-2 and GBPS-3 were 672 and 723 kDa, respectively. GBPS-2 and GBPS-3 were typical acidic heteropolysaccharides, composed of mannose (Man), rhamnose (Rha), glucuronic acid (GlcA), galacturonic acid (GalA), glucose (Glc), galactose (Gal), and arabinose (Ara) (molar ratio: 0.08:0.12:0.16:0.06:0.11:1.00:0.32) and Man, Rha, GlcA, GalA, Gal, and Ara (molar ratio: 0.92:1.00:0.83:0.11:0.42:0.23), respectively. GBPS-2 and GBPS-3 exhibited limited scavenging abilities for the hydroxyl and 2,2­diphenyl­1­picrylhydrazyl radicals as well as noticeable scavenging effects on superoxide radicals and 2,2'­azino­bis(3­ethylbenzothiazoline­6­sulphonic acid) radicals. Furthermore, GBPS-2 and GBPS-3 significantly increased the phagocytosis of macrophages and promoted the production of NO, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1ß, and IL-6. Thus, GBPS-2 and GBPS-3 exhibit potential application as functional food supplements.