Transcriptome and Metabolome Reveal Distinct Sugar Accumulation Pattern between PCNA and PCA Mature Persimmon Fruit.

Persimmon (Diospyros kaki) fruit have significant variation between pollination-constant non-astringent (PCNA) and pollination-constant astringent (PCA) persimmons. The astringency type affects not only the soluble tannin concentration but also the accumulation of individual sugars. Thus, we comprehensively investigate the gene expression and metabolite profiles of individual sugars to resolve the formation of flavor differences in PCNA and PCA persimmon fruit. The results showed that soluble sugar, starch content, sucrose synthase, and sucrose invertase were significantly different between PCNA and PCA persimmon fruit. The sucrose and starch metabolism pathway was considerably enriched, and six sugar metabolites involving this pathway were significantly differentially accumulated. In addition, the expression patterns of diferentially expressed genes (such as bglX, eglC, Cel, TPS, SUS, and TREH genes) were significantly correlated with the content of deferentially accumulated metabolites (such as starch, sucrose, and trehalose) in the sucrose and starch metabolism pathway. These results indicated that the sucrose and starch metabolism pathway maintained a central position of sugar metabolism between PCNA and PCA persimmon fruit. Our results provide a theoretical basis for exploring functional genes related to sugar metabolism and provide useful resources for future studies on the flavor differences between PCNA and PCA persimmon fruit.

Exploring social emotion processing in autism: evaluating the reading the mind in the eyes test using network analysis.

BACKGROUND: Features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) include difficulties in processing and interpreting socioemotional information. The "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" test (RMET) is a validated measurement for processing socioemotional ability. However, previous RMET studies did not explore patterns of incorrect answers and the emotional valence of the test items. This study used the Taiwanese version of the RMET and the network analysis methods to examine the differences in underlying mechanisms of socioemotional processes between 30 males with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (mean age = 18 years) and 30 healthy control males (mean age = 17 years). For each test item, a picture of a person's eyes and partial face was shown with four words describing the emotional status on picture corners. Participants were instructed to choose one of the four words that best matched the person's thinking or feeling. We further classified the words into three valences of emotional categories to examine socioemotional processes. RESULTS: Our results showed that ASD males performed poorer on the RMET than the controls. ASD males had higher network density and in-degree scores, especially in negative words, than control males. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that males with ASD might have deficits in mapping the best emotional concept words to the target item, especially for processing negative emotion.

Preharvest long-term exposure to UV-B radiation promotes fruit ripening and modifies stage-specific anthocyanin metabolism in highbush blueberry.

Ultraviolet-B (UV-B) light (280-315 nm) is an important environmental signal that regulates plant development and photomorphogenesis, while also affecting the flavonoid pathway, including anthocyanin biosynthesis. Regarding the effects of UV-B radiation on fruits, the effects of a short-term or postharvest irradiation on fruit quality have been well-documented, but the effects of a long-term preharvest UV-B irradiation on fruit growth and coloration remain unclear. Thus, in this study, we investigated the effects of a long-term treatment involving an environmentally relevant UV-B dose on highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) fruit. The preharvest UV-B treatment quickly promoted fruit growth and sugar accumulation, which is not commonly observed in other fruit tree species. The UV-B exposure also accelerated fruit ripening and coloration. The dual-luciferase assay proved that in blueberries, expression of VcUFGT encoding anthocyanin biosynthesis key enzyme, is positively and negatively regulated by VcMYBA1 and VcMYBC2, respectively. Throughout the fruit development stage, the UV-B treatment up-regulated VcMYBPA1 expression, which increased VcUFGT expression via VcMYBA1. In the green fruit stage, the UV-B treatment increased HY5 encoding UV receptor, which up-regulates VcMYBPA1 and down-regulates VcMYBC2, thereby promotes the accumulation of anthocyanins. On the other hand, excessive anthocyanin synthesis was inhibited by increased VcMYBC2 levels in mature fruits when exposed to UV-B light through HY5-independent pathway. In conclusion, anthocyanin-related MYB activators and repressor may coordinately balance the accumulation of anthocyanins in blueberry fruits, with UV-B treatments possibly influencing their effects in a stage-specific manner. The potential utility of preharvest UV-B treatments for improving blueberry fruit quality is discussed herein.

Soil and ambient air mercury as an indicator of coal-fired power plant emissions: a case study in North China.

Coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) are an important anthropogenic mercury (Hg) source in China, and it is crucial to understand the environmental impacts of this detrimental element emitted from this source. In the present study, field experiments were conducted for measuring Hg in ambient atmosphere and upland agricultural soils within a radius of 10 km surrounding a large scale coal-fired power plant (1550 MW) in Tangshan, Hebei province. Short-term (20 min) average of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM or Hg0) in ambient air varying from 1.5 to 9.0 ng/m3 and total Hg (THg) in surface agricultural soil (0-20 cm) varying from 9.2 to 43.5 µg/kg at different sites were observed. THg in two soil cores decreased with depth, with concentrations being 2-2.5 times higher in the surface layer than that in the deep layer (50-60 cm), indicating the possibility of the atmospheric input of Hg. Based on the information of the total atmospheric Hg emission since this CFPP's operation in 1970s and the increased THg in nearby soils, it was estimated that about 3.9% discharged Hg has accumulated in the nearby agricultural soils. The low retention rate of the total emitted Hg by soils is a result of high proportion of Hg0 (79.5%) in stack gas emission and potential loss of Hg from soil surface reemission. The positive shifting (~ 0.5‰) of Hg isotopic signature (δ202Hg) from deep soil to surface soil reflected Hg deposition from nearby CFPP emissions that are featured with much heavier Hg isotopic signatures inherited from feed coal (δ202Hg: -0.50‰) and different combustion products (δ202Hg: -0.95 to 3.71‰) compared with that in deep soil layer (δ202Hg: ca -1.50‰). Overall, this study demonstrated that this CFPP has a slight but distinguishable effect on the elevation of ambient GEM and agricultural soil THg in the local environment.

Social cognition in schizophrenia: A network-based approach to a Taiwanese version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine social-cognitive impairments in patients with schizophrenia using the Eyes test. In contrast to previous methods using the correct answers, we developed the Taiwanese version of the Eyes test and constructed the response network to explore impairments in the emotional aspects of theory of mind in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: Eighteen patients with schizophrenia and 18 healthy controls were recruited to examine their performance of the Eyes test. To explore the internal structures of mental states, we used network analysis to construct the networks of choice patterns (i.e. participants' answers) by using two network indicators, including density (an index of structure diversity of a network) and centrality (an index of the choice patterns within a network). Moreover, we divided all the choices into negative, positive, and neutral item groups based on emotion polarity. RESULTS: The patient group was slower and less accurate than the control group. Moreover, there was a negative correlation between accuracy and blunted affect, and there were positive correlations between reaction time and emotional withdrawal and apathetic social withdrawal. As compared to healthy controls, patients with schizophrenia showed larger density in the network structure and higher centrality than controls. Also, patients showed poorer performance on negative words than healthy controls. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated more diversity to recognize negative emotions from patients' choice patterns as compared to those in the control group. These findings suggest that deficits on recognizing negative emotions might be associated with the dysfunctions of mental states in schizophrenia.

[Distributions, Sources and Pollution Assessment of Hg in Sediment of Douhe Reservoir in Tangshan City].

Sediment cores from Douhe reservoir in Tangshan City were sampled in August 2013, in order to evaluate the mercury (Hg) pollution degree and its possible sources. Agriculture soils surrounding the Douhe reservoir and sediments from an upstream reservoir (Daheiting) were also collected. Total mercury (THg), methylmercury (MeHg), dissolved mercury in pore water (DHg) and organic matter (OM) in sediment of Douhe reservoir were analyzed, while, only THg in the agriculture soils and upstream reservoir sediments was determined. Finally, the geoaccumulation index method was applied to evaluate the Hg pollution status in soils and reservoir sediments. The results showed that THg content in sediment of Douhe reservoir ranged from 19 to 97 ng·g-1. dw, MeHg (dw) from 0.02 to 1.27 ng·g-1, and the contents of both THg and MeHg were higher in the upper layers than the deeper layers, indicating that Hg in sediments was increasing in recent years by the exogenetic loadings. THg (dw) in soils offshore the Douhe reservoir, which is close to a large coal-fired power plant, averaged at 22 ng·g-1. Among the three sediment cores of Douhe reservoir, the central point had the highest THg, followed by the western site, and the eastern site had the lowest THg. While, THg content (dw) in sediments of Daheiting reservoir was much higher, with a mean of 176 ng·g-1. Combining all the above information, we concluded that Hg in Douhe reservoir was mainly derived from the Daheiting reservoir and the mercury atmospheric deposition from the nearby coal-fired power plant contributed a less content. THg and MeHg in the sediments of Douhe reservoir were positively correlated with OM, indicating that OM in sediments had good ability of adsorbing THg and MeHg, and also played an important role in Hg methylation. The geoaccumulation index (Igeo) showed that the Hg pollution status deceased in this order:central of Daheting, Daba of Daheting, central of Douhe, western of Douhe, eastern of Douhe, soils surrounding Douhe. Central and western sites in Douhe belonged to moderate pollution and the eastern site belonged to slight pollution. While, sediments of Daheiting reservoir, affected by the iron ore mining activities, were in the moderate and strong pollution status.

A sensitive and simple method for the determination of chondroitin sulfate a with crystal violet by resonance rayleigh scattering technique.

Resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) spectra resulting from interaction between chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) and crystal violet (CV) have been investigated and applied to the determination of CSA. Though the intensity of RRS has proved very weak for CSA and CV, respectively, it can be greatly enhanced when both interact and form a supramolecular complex. A new RRS spectrum appears with a maximum scattering peak at 328 nm. In this paper, the optimum conditions of the interaction, influencing factors, and the relationship between the relative intensity of RRS (DeltaI) and the concentration of CSA have been thoroughly investigated. A new method of determination for the trace amount of CSA has been developed, which combines a simple procedure, high sensitivity, and a low detection limit of 4.8 ng/mL. It has been applied with satisfactory results to the determination of CSA in CSA injection samples and synthetic samples.