Identification of key micro-organisms involved in Douchi fermentation by statistical analysis and their use in an experimental fermentation.

AIMS: To screen and identify safe micro-organisms used during Douchi fermentation, and verify the feasibility of producing high-quality Douchi using these identified micro-organisms. METHODS AND RESULTS: PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and automatic amino-acid analyser were used to investigate the microbial diversity and free amino acids (FAAs) content of 10 commercial Douchi samples. The correlations between microbial communities and FAAs were analysed by statistical analysis. Ten strains with significant positive correlation were identified. Then an experiment on Douchi fermentation by identified strains was carried out, and the nutritional composition in Douchi was analysed. Results showed that FAAs and relative content of isoflavone aglycones in verification Douchi samples were generally higher than those in commercial Douchi samples. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that fungi, yeasts, Bacillus and lactic acid bacteria were the key players in Douchi fermentation, and with identified probiotic micro-organisms participating in fermentation, a higher quality Douchi product was produced. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is the first report to analyse and confirm the key micro-organisms during Douchi fermentation by statistical analysis. This work proves fermentation micro-organisms to be the key influencing factor of Douchi quality, and demonstrates the feasibility of fermenting Douchi using identified starter micro-organisms.

The production of monoclonal antibody to androstenedione and the effect of passive immunization on Xinjiang fine-wool sheep with it.

Five hybridomas stably secreting monoclonal antibodies (McAbs) to androstenedione were prepared by using artificially synthesized androstenedion-11 alpha-succinyl conjugate with bovine serum albumin (BSA) as antigen. These McAbs showed slightly high cross-reactivity with testosterone (8.1-12.3%) and estrone (0.8-2.5%) and high affinities ranging from 2.0 x 10(7) to 2.8 x 10(8) L/M. They were all of the IgG1 subclass. Xinjiang finewool ewes which were passively immunized with McAbs had higher circulating levels of progesterone (P) and luteinizing hormone (LH) than those of control ewes in two oestrous cycles and these changes led to increased ovulation rate and twin lambs born in young ewes.

[Clinico-epidemiological investigation of schistosome-induced hepatosplenomegaly: a community-based study in Jishan, Xinjian County, Jiangxi].

Since the primary objective of mass chemotherapy in schistosomiasis control is reduction of schistosome-induced morbidity, it would be reasonable to assess the impact of a control program on the morbidity in a given population by investigating hepato-splenomegaly associated with schistosomiasis in a schistosomiasis endemic area. In this paper, the authors described the relationship between the prevalence, intensity and morbidity of Schistosoma japonicum infection in terms of stool egg count and ultrasonographically detectable hepatosplenomegaly in a community-based study. It was found that the epidemiological pattern of the infection in this study community was quite different from our usual understanding, that is, the prevalence remained relatively high (39.4%) when the intensity became lower. This unusual pattern might be resulted from intermittent and sporadic chemotherapy associated with frequent exposure of people to the infection in an area of high transmission. It was surprised to note that despite the praziquantel treatment carried out over the past years, the prevalence of hepatosplenomegaly induced by schistosomiasis in this community was still very high, suggesting that intermittent and sporadic chemotherapy might render little impact on schistosomiasis-induced morbidity. The investigation also showed that ultrasonography was a sensitive tool for assessing morbidity associated with schistosome infection.