Production of γ-aminobutyric acid-enriched sourdough bread using an isolated Pediococcus pentosaceus strain JC30.

A γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-producing strain JC30 was isolated from traditional kimchi, which was identified as Pediococcus pentosaceus by 16S rDNA sequencing. P. pentosaceus JC30 was highly tolerant to acid, bile salt, and high temperatures. The survival rate of JC30 in MRS medium (pH 2.5) for 3 h was 60.96 %. Furthermore, the survival rate of JC30 in MRS medium with 3 mg/mL bile salt for 24 h was 86.62 %. The survival rate of JC30 in MRS medium at 56 °C and 58 °C for 10 min was 97.17 % and 78.20 %, respectively. When 2 % v/v JC30 (8.0 log10 CFU/mL) was added to prepare sourdough and the sourdough was then used to make bread, the bread had a higher specific volume (5.13 ± 0.12 mL/g) and GABA content (3.32 ± 0.04 mg/g DW) than the control.

[Effects of shading on the nitrogen redistribution in wheat plant and the wheat grain quality].

Taking winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars Yangmai 158 (shading-tolerant) and Yangmai 11 (shading-sensitive) as test materials, this paper studied the effects of shading at the stages from jointing to maturity on the plant N redistribution, grain yield, and grain- and dough quality of the cultivars. The treatments were non-shading, 22% shading, and 33% shading. Under shading, the grain yield and its protein content of Yangmai 158 and Yangmai 11 decreased by 4.1%-9.9% and 3.0%-8.3%, and 15.3%-25.8% and 10.4%-14.1%, respectively, compared with non-shading. With the increase of shading intensity, the grain N content was increasingly dependent on the N accumulated after anthesis. Shading decreased the redistribution of N stored pre-anthesis in the vegetative organs to the grain, but increased the redistribution efficiency of N accumulated pre-anthesis (RENP) in leaves while decreased the RENP in sheathes and stems, and in hulls and rachises. Therefore, the mean RENP in the vegetative organs was not essentially altered by shading. The grain protein content increased significantly under shading, which could be related to the "condense effect", i.e., the decrement of grain protein content was much less than that of grain yield. In addition, shading had less effects on the contents of grain albumin and globulin but increased the contents of grain gliadin and glutinin significantly, and accordingly, the grain wet gluten content, dough development time, and dough stability time increased, while the dough softening degree decreased.

[Effects of shading on wheat grain starch quality and redistribution of pre-anthesis stored nonstructural carbohydrates].

This paper studied the effects of shading in the period from jointing to maturity on the grain yield, starch content, and starch paste traits of two winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars, shading-tolerant Yangmai 158 and shading-intolerant Yangmai 11, and analyzed the relationships of the redistribution of total soluble sugars stored before anthesis in vegetative organs with the grain yield, starch content, and starch paste parameters of the cultivars. The results showed that shading decreased the redistribution of pre-anthesis stored total soluble sugars in vegetative organs to reproductive organ, resulting in the decrease of grain yield, and significantly decreased the amylopectin content but had no effects on the amylose content in grains, inducing a significant decrease in the ratio of amylopectin to amylase content in the grains. Shading also decreased the grain starch peak viscosity of the cultivars. Under shading, Yangmai 11 had a decrease of its grain starch through viscosity and an increase of starch pasting temperature, while Yangmai 158 had lesser responses in the two parameters.

[The short-term outcomes of patients with acute leukemia treated by thalidomide].

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of thalidomide for treating acute leukemia (AL). METHODS: 38 cases of AL were studied. 27 of the 38 cases receiving initial treatment were randomly divided into two groups, one treated with routine chemotherapy plus thalidomide (A) and the other with routine chemotherapy alone (B). 11 of the 38 were relapsing cases and all treated with routine chemotherapy plus thalidomide (C). Marrow microvascular density (MVD) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were examined with factor-VIII related antigen/CD(34) immunohistological stain and ELISA respectively before and after the treatment. The initial dose of thalidomide was 200 mg/d and increased to 400 - 500 mg/d by increasing 50 mg/d weekly for 4 to 6 months. RESULTS: The complete remission (CR) rate and efficacy rate were 57.1%, 53.8% and 78.6%, 76.9% in the two groups respectively with no statistical difference. The CR rate and efficacy rate in the relapsing group were 27.3%, 54.5%. The relapsing rate 6 months after the treatment was low in the thalidomide group. MVD and VEGF were significantly different before and after the treatment (P < 0.001). There was a negative correlation between the MVD, VEGF and efficacy. The relapsing rate was low in cases with low MVD, VEGF. No particular side effects were observed in thalidomide group. CONCLUSION: Anti-angiogenesis may decrease relapse and maintain recovery state of AL patients. There are no severe side effects in the thalidomide group.