Study on the control effect and physiological mechanism of Wickerhamomyces anomalus on primary postharvest diseases of peach fruit.

Brown rot, aspergillosis and soft rot are the primary diseases of postharvest peach fruit. Our study aimed to investigate the biocontrol effect of Wickerhamomyces anomalus on the primary postharvest diseases of peach fruit and to explore its underlying physiological mechanism. The findings demonstrated that W. anomalus had an obvious inhibitory effect on Monilinia fructicola, Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus stolonifer. At the same time, W. anomalus can grow stably on the wound and surface of peach fruit at 25 °C and 4 °C and can form biofilm. W. anomalus increased the activity of resistance-related enzymes such as PPO, POD, GLU and the content of secondary metabolites such as total phenols, flavonoids and lignin in peach. Furthermore, the application of W. anomalus led to a reduced MDA level in peach fruit and increased activity of the active oxygen-scavenging enzyme system. This increase involved various antioxidant defense enzymes such as SOD and CAT, as well as ascorbic acid-glutathione (AsA-GSH) enzymes, including APX, GPX, GR, DHAR, and MDHAR. Our findings demonstrate that W. anomalus exerts its biocontrol effect by growing rapidly, competing with pathogens for nutrition and space, and enhancing the disease resistance and antioxidative capabilities of the peach fruit.

WSC1 Regulates the Growth, Development, Patulin Production, and Pathogenicity of Penicillium expansum Infecting Pear Fruits.

In this study, the role of WSC1 in the infection of pear fruit by Penicillium expansum was investigated. The WSC1 gene was knocked out and complemented by Agrobacterium-mediated homologous recombination technology. Then, the changes in growth, development, and pathogenic processes of the knockout mutant and the complement mutant were analyzed. The results indicated that deletion of WSC1 slowed the growth rate, reduced the mycelial and spore yield, and reduced the ability to produce toxins and pathogenicity of P. expansum in pear fruits. At the same time, the deletion of WSC1 reduced the tolerance of P. expansum to cell wall stress factors, enhanced antioxidant capacity, decreased hypertonic sensitivity, decreased salt stress resistance, and was more sensitive to most metal ions. Our results confirmed that WSC1 plays an important role in maintaining cell wall integrity and responding to stress, toxin production, and the pathogenicity of P. expansum.

Carboxymethyl chitosan and polycaprolactone-based rapid in-situ packaging for fruit preservation by solution blow spinning.

Nanofiber packaging has not yet gained practical application in fruit preservation because of some limitations, such as low production rate and utilization, and failure due to poor adhesion to the fruit. Herein, to solve this issue, a novel fruit packaging method based on solution blow spinning (SBS), called in-situ packaging, was pioneered. Specifically, carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCH) and polycaprolactone (PCL) were chosen as substrate materials and cherry tomatoes were selected as demonstration subjects. CMCH/PCL nanofibers were deposited directly onto the surface of cherry tomatoes by SBS, forming a tightly adherent and stable fiber coating in 8 min. Also, this in-situ packaging could be easily peeled off by hand. The in-situ packaging was an excellent carrier for active substances and was effective in inhibiting gray mold on cherry tomatoes. The in-situ packaging film formed a barrier on the surface of cherry tomatoes to limit moisture penetration, resulting in reduced respiration of fruits, which led to reduced weight and firmness loss. In addition, metabolomics and color analysis revealed that the in-situ packaging delayed ripening of cherry tomatoes after harvest. Overall, the in-situ packaging method developed in the present work provides a new solution for post-harvest fruit preservation.

Mechanisms of the response of apple fruit to postharvest compression damage analyzed by integrated transcriptome and metabolome.

Apple fruit is susceptible to compression damage within the postharvest supply chain given its thin peels and brittle texture, which can result in decay and deterioration and have a substantial impact on its marketability and competitiveness. Thorough bioinformatics investigations are lacking on postharvest compression damage stress-induced alterations in genes and metabolic regulatory networks in fruits. In the present study, a comprehensive analysis of both the transcriptome and metabolome was conducted on 'Red Fuji' apples experiencing compression-induced damage. During the storage after damage has occurred, the gene expression of MdOFUT19, MdWRKY48, MdCBP60E, MdCYP450 and MdSM-like of the damaged apples was consistently higher than that of the control group. The damaged apples also had higher contents of some metabolites such as procyanidin A1, Dl-2-Aminooctanoic acid, 5-O-p-Coumaroyl shikimic acid and 5,7-Dihydroxy-3',4',5'-trimethoxyflavone. Analysis of genes and metabolites with distinct expressions on the common annotation pathway suggested that the fruit may respond to compression stress by promoting volatile ester and lignin synthesis. The above results can deepen the comprehension of the response mechanisms in apple fruits undergoing compression-induced damage.

Clinical significance of serum MBD3 detection in girls with central precocious puberty.

Diagnosis of central precocious puberty (CPP) in girls remains a huge challenge. The current study was to measure the serum expression of methyl-DNA bind protein 3 (MBD3) in CPP girls and assess its diagnostic efficacy. To begin with, we enrolled 109 CPP girls and 74 healthy pre-puberty girls. Then, MBD3 expression in their serum samples was measured via reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and its diagnostic efficacy on CPP was assessed via the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, followed by correlation analysis between serum MBD3 and patient age, gender, bone age, weight, height, body mass index, basal luteinizing hormone (LH), peak LH, basal follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), peak FSH, and ovarian size using bivariate correlations method. Finally, independent predictors of MBD3 expression were confirmed using multivariate linear regression analysis. MBD3 was highly expressed in sera of CPP patients. The area under the ROC curve of MBD3 diagnosing CCP was 0.9309, with 1.475 cut-off value (92.66% sensitivity and 86.49% specificity). MBD3 expression positively correlated with basal LH, peak LH, basal FSH, and ovarian size, among which basal LH was considered the strongest independent predictor of MBD3, followed by basal FSH and peak LH. In summary, serum MBD3 could act as a biomarker in aiding CPP diagnosis.

Comprehensive analysis of transcriptome and metabolome provides insights into the stress response mechanisms of apple fruit to postharvest impact damage.

An integrated analysis of the transcriptome and metabolome was conducted to investigate the underlying mechanisms of apple fruit response to impact damage stress. During the post-damage storage, a total of 124 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, which were mainly annotated in 13 pathways, including phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. Besides, 175 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs), including 142 up-regulated and 33 down-regulated metabolites, exhibited significant alteration after impact damage. The DEGs and DEMs were simultaneously annotated in 7 metabolic pathways, including flavonoid biosynthesis. Key genes in the volatile esters and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways were revealed, which may play a crucial role in the coping mechanisms of apple fruit under impact damage stress. Moreover, 13 ABC transporters were significantly upregulated, indicating that ABC transporters may contribute to the transportation of secondary metabolites associated with response to impact damage stress. The results may elucidate the comprehension of metabolic networks and molecular mechanisms in apple fruits that have undergone impact damage.

Timosaponin AIII attenuates precocious puberty in mice through downregulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.

Precocious puberty (PP) has increasingly become a social concern. This study aimed to investigate the effect of timosaponin AIII (TAIII) on the precocious puberty and its possible mechanisms in mice. Four groups of mice consisting of controls that received saline or TAIII, a model that received leptin to induce precocious puberty (PP), and leptin+TAIII (the leptin model treated with TAIII) were used to determine the effect of TAIII on PP. Pathological and cytological examinations were conducted to investigate the signs and onset of PP and the development of reproductive organs. The level of serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and estradiol (E2) were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of genes related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA) was assessed using qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Bone mineral density (BMD) was determined using high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography. In mice treated with leptin, earlier vaginal opening and estrus were observed, as well as the increased ovarian and uterine weight, total uterine cross-sectional size, number of corpora lutea, and elevated serum sex hormone levels and HPGA expression. On the other hand, TAIII treatment delayed the vaginal opening and vaginal estrus to 32.1 and 37.5 days after birth, and delayed the development of reproductive organs, leading to significantly smaller uterus and ovary size, less corpora lutea and low BMD (P<0.05). In addition, the serum levels of LH, FSH and E2 were significantly reduced (P<0.05) and so was the expression of HPGA and leptin genes (P<0.05). Our experimental data demonstrated that TAIII has activity against leptin-induced PP activity and may attenuate PP by reducing reproductive hormones and deactivating the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis through downregulating leptin expression.

Natamycin-Loaded Ethyl Cellulose/PVP Films Developed by Microfluidic Spinning for Active Packaging.

The preparation of active packaging loaded with antimicrobial, antioxidant, and other functional agents has become a hot topic for food preservation in recent years. In this field, active fiber films based on spinning methods have attracted the interest of researchers owing to their high specific surface area, high porosity, high loading capacity, and good controlled release capacity. In the present work, neatly arranged ethyl cellulose (EC)/polyvinyl-pyrrolidone (PVP) fibrous films loaded with natamycin as an antimicrobial agent were prepared by microfluidic spinning. The encapsulation efficiency of natamycin was more than 90% in each group and the loading increased with increasing natamycin content. According to the characterization results of the natamycin-loaded EC/PVP fibrous films, hydrogen bonding was formed between natamycin and EC and PVP in the fibrous films. Meanwhile, the water contact angle of the fibrous films was increased, suggesting the improved hydrophobicity of the films. In the in vitro bacterial inhibition experiments, the active fiber films loaded with natamycin showed good antimicrobial activity, which could significantly inhibit the growth of gray mold. In conclusion, N-EC/PVP fibrous films with antimicrobial activity prepared by microfluidic spinning showed good potential in the field of active packaging.

Stunting among kindergarten children in China in the context of COVID-19: A cross-sectional study.

Background: The impact of COVID-19 has most likely increased the prevalence of stunting. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of stunting among kindergarten children in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Longgang District, Shenzhen, China, and its risk factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify children from 11 sub districts of 481 kindergartens in the Longgang District of Shenzhen City from May to July 2021. In the context of COVID-19, an online survey was conducted to gather demographic information, height, birth information, and lifestyle. The prevalence of stunting was calculated, and the risk factors were analyzed using binary logistic regression with three stepwise models. Results: A total of 118,404 subjects were included from May to July 2021, with a response and questionnaire effective rates of 85.75% and 95.03%, respectively. The prevalence of stunting and severe stunting were 3.3% and 0.8%, respectively. Model 3 showed that risk factors for stunting were male sex [odds ratio (OR) = 1.07], low birth weight (OR = 2.02), insufficient sleep time (OR = 1.08), less food intake than their peers (OR = 1.66), slower eating than their peers (OR = 1.16), accompanied by grandparents alone or non-lineal relatives (reference: parents accompanying) (OR = 1.23, 1.51), and children induced to eat (OR = 1.17). Protective factors included only-child status (OR = 0.66), reported high activity (OR = 0.37, 0.26, 0.23), parents with high education levels (father: OR = 0.87, 0.69; mother: OR = 0.69, 0.58), high monthly income per capita of the family (OR = 0.88, 0.74, 0.68), and allowing children to make food choices (OR = 0.82). Conclusion: The stunting rate of children in kindergartens in Longgang District is 3.3%, close to the level of developed countries but higher than the average level of developed cities in China. The relatively high stunting rate in children under 3 years old in 2021 may be associated with the influence of COVID-19. Appropriate policies should be formulated for individuals and families with children to help children establish good living habits and reduce stunting.

LncRNA-TUG1 promotes the progression of infantile hemangioma by regulating miR-137/IGFBP5 axis.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies indicated that lncRNA taurine upregulated gene 1 (TUG1) played essential roles in human cancers. This study aimed to investigate its function in infantile hemangioma (IH). METHODS: A total of 30 pairs of clinical infantile specimens were used in this study. The expression of TUG1 in IH tissues was assessed by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR). Two short hairpin RNA targeting TUG1 (sh-TUG1-1 and sh-TUG1-2) were transfected into hemangioma-derived endothelial cells, HemECs, to block its expression. The effects of TUG1 on HemECs were evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation assay, wound healing assay, and Transwell assay. The underlying molecular mechanism of TUG1 was investigated by Starbase prediction and luciferase reporter assay and further determined by loss- and gain-of-function approaches. In addition, the role of TUG1 on tumorigenesis of HemECs was confirmed in an in vivo mouse model. RESULTS: TUG1 was significantly upregulated in infant hemangioma tissues compared with normal adjacent subcutaneous tissues. The loss- and gain-of-function approaches indicated that TUG1 overexpression promoted proliferation, migration, and invasion of HemECs in vitro, and TUG1 knockdown inhibited the tumorigenesis of HemECs in vivo. Specifically, TUG1 could compete with IGFBP5 for miR137 binding. Rescue experiments further confirmed the role of the TUG1/miR137/IGFBP5 axis in HemECs. CONCLUSION: TUG1 was closely associated with the progression of IH by regulating the miR-137/IGFBP5 axis, which might be a potential target for IH treatment.

Rapid and Non-Destructive Detection of Compression Damage of Yellow Peach Using an Electronic Nose and Chemometrics.

The rapid and non-destructive detection of mechanical damage to fruit during postharvest supply chains is important for monitoring fruit deterioration in time and optimizing freshness preservation and packaging strategies. As fruit is usually packed during supply chain operations, it is difficult to detect whether it has suffered mechanical damage by visual observation and spectral imaging technologies. In this study, based on the volatile substances (VOCs) in yellow peaches, the electronic nose (e-nose) technology was applied to non-destructively predict the levels of compression damage in yellow peaches, discriminate the damaged fruit and predict the time after the damage. A comparison of the models, established based on the samples at different times after damage, was also carried out. The results show that, at 24 h after damage, the correct answer rate for identifying the damaged fruit was 93.33%, and the residual predictive deviation in predicting the levels of compression damage and the time after the damage, was 2.139 and 2.114, respectively. The results of e-nose and gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS) showed that the VOCs changed after being compressed-this was the basis of the e-nose detection. Therefore, the e-nose is a promising candidate for the detection of compression damage in yellow peach.

Comparing the Potential of Near- and Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy in Determining the Freshness of Strawberry Powder from Freshly Available and Stored Strawberry.

The quality of strawberry powder depends on the freshness of the fruit that produces the powder. Therefore, identifying whether the strawberry powder is made from freshly available, short-term stored, or long-term stored strawberries is important to provide consumers with quality-assured strawberry powder. Nevertheless, such identification is difficult by naked eyes, as the powder colours are very close. In this work, based on the measurement of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and mid-infrared (MIR) spectra of strawberry powered, good classification results of 100.00% correct rates to distinguish whether the strawberry powder was made from freshly available or stored fruit was obtained. Furthermore, partial least squares regression and least squares support vector machines (LS-SVM) models were established based on NIR, MIR, and combination of NIR and MIR data with full variables or optimal variables of strawberry powder to predict the storage days of strawberries that produced the powder. Optimal variables were selected by successive projections algorithm (SPA), uninformation variable elimination, and competitive adaptive reweighted sampling, respectively. The best model was determined as the SPA-LS-SVM model based on MIR spectra, which had the residual prediction deviation (RPD) value of 11.198 and the absolute difference between root-mean-square error of calibration and prediction (AB_RMSE) value of 0.505. The results of this work confirmed the feasibility of using NIR and MIR spectroscopic techniques for rapid identification of strawberry powder made from freshly available and stored strawberry.

Synergistic Effect of Sodium Chlorite and Edible Coating on Quality Maintenance of Minimally Processed Citrus grandis under Passive and Active MAP.

Edible coating has been an innovation within the bioactive packaging concept. The comparative analysis upon the effect of edible coating, sodium chlorite (SC) and their combined application on quality maintenance of minimally processed pomelo (Citrus grandis) fruits during storage at 4 °C was conducted. Results showed that the combination of edible coating and SC dipping delayed the microbial development whereas the sole coating or dipping treatment was less efficient. The synergetic application of edible coating and SC treatment under modified atmosphere packaging (MAP, 10% O2 , 10% CO2 ) was able to maintain the total soluble solids level and ascorbic acid content, while reduce the weight loss as well as development of mesophiles and psychrotrophs. Nonetheless, the N, O-carboxymethyl chitosan solely coated samples showed significantly higher level of weight loss during storage with comparison to the untreated sample. Furthermore, the combined application of edible coating and SC dipping under active MAP best maintained the sensory quality of minimally processed pomelo fruit during storage.

Mechanism of the enhanced degradation of pentachlorophenol by ultrasound in the presence of elemental iron.

Ultrasound combined with elemental iron (US/Fe(0)) is effective in oxidizing organic contaminants in water. The sonolysis degradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) was significantly enhanced by a factor of 4.2 with the addition of elemental iron, mainly via reaction with hydroxyl radicals (OH radicals), and the synergistic mechanism of the enhancement in the combined system was investigated. Experiments were performed with (1) sole ultrasonic treatment; (2) ultrasound in presence of iron; (3) ultrasound combined with copper powder as the same particle size as iron powder; (4) ultrasound in presence of Fe(II). It was observed that PCP degradation and OH radicals production were both enhanced in these combined methods, and the pitting on the sonicated iron surface was apparent. These results indicated that the rate enhancements in US/Fe(0) system were attributed to (1) the iron solid effect and the catalysis of Fe(II) produced from corroded-iron with promoting the production of OH radicals; (2) the increased surface area of iron particles by acoustic cavitation with promoting the adsorption process.

The QSPR (quantitative structure-property relationship) study about the anaerobic biodegradation of chlorophenols.

In this study, based on quantum chemical and physicochemical descriptors, by the use of partial least squares analysis, a good prediction quantitative structure-property relationship for the disappearance rate constant (logK) of chlorophenols (CPs) in the anaerobic culture was obtained. It was found that the resonance energy of the two-center term (J), which described the character of the weakest carbon-chlorine bond, played an important role in the reductive chlorine processes, the greater the sizes of CPs molecules, the higher the logK values. Increasing energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (E(lumo)) values of the CPs lead to decreasing logK values, and CPs with large absolute hardness values tended to have big logK values.