Abstract Immature Litsea mollis fruits (ILMFs) are widely used as cold appetizers and seasonings in China. The free and bound volatile components of ILMFs from five distinct regions of China were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) combined with headspace solid phase microextraction (SPME) in the present work. The results reveal sixty six free-form volatiles and fifty two bound-form volatiles in ILMFs and terpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated terpenes are the dominate components. In addition, sixty-seven volatile compounds are found in Litsea mollis fruit for the first time. The free α-pinene, eucalyptol, linalool, α,β-citral, geraniol and citronellal, and bound β-myrcene, α-citral, geraniol, citronellal and eugenol are the major odor contributors of ILMFs. Multivariate statistical analysis indicates that the free and bound volatiles profiles of ILMFs of Fujian and Guangxi in southern China are similar and those of Yunnan and Sichuan in southwestern China are similar. The odor profiles of all of the ILMFs are floral, fruity and herbaceous.

Recently, an increasing number of studies have reported that dysregulation of circular RNA (circRNA) expression plays critical roles in the progression of several cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the detailed molecular mechanisms of circRNAs involvement in CRC remain largely unknown. Here, we confirmed that the level of circEGFR was significantly increased in CRC tissues compared to matched adjacent non-tumor tissues, and a high level of circEGFR was correlated with poor clinicopathological characteristics and poor prognosis in patients with CRC. Moreover, increased circEGFR expression promoted CRC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Mechanistically, circEGFR acted as a ceRNA for miR-106a-5p to relieve the repressive effect of miR-106a-5p on DDX5 mRNA. Moreover, circEGFR enhanced DDX5 expression, thereby upregulating p-AKT levels. Together, these findings showed that circEGFR promoted CRC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion through the miR-106a-5p/DDX5/AKT axis, and may serve as a promising diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for CRC patients.

Abstract This study optimized using a headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) method for extracting volatile aroma compounds, terpenoids in particular, from Litsea mollis Hemsl. immature fruit (LMIF). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to separate and identify volatile terpenoids in LMIF. The types of SPME fiber coating, salt addition, and desorption time were optimized by single factor-experiments to determine the range of extraction temperature. Built on insights from the single factor-experiments, the response surface methodology was further used to optimize the extraction temperature, extraction time, and equilibrium time of HS-SPME. The results showed that the optimal HS-SPME conditions for extracting volatile terpenoids from LMIF were: 50/30 μm of DVB/CAR/PDMS SPME fiber, 2.0 g of added sodium chloride, desorption at a temperature of 250 °C for 3 min, extraction and equilibrium temperature of 46 °C, extraction time of 36 min, and equilibrium time of 20 min. Under the above conditions, the predicted value of extraction was 66.92, while the experimental value was 65.78. The prediction value matched well with the experimental value with good repeatability. The designed model was proven to be valid, which can be applied for future extraction of aroma compounds from IMIF.

Successful reclamation of degraded mine land can contribute to recuperate the vegetation and soil carbon sequestration. In this study, soil carbon pool was assessed in a mining land after short-term reclamation. We measured above- and belowground biomass and soil carbon storage of artificial grassland (Astragalus adsurgens and Medicago sativa), which was established in the reclamation of mining land. The results showed that artificial grassland establishment significantly increased above- and belowground biomass after four-year restoration. Artificial grassland establishment increased soil inorganic and organic carbon content and storage. Soil organic and inorganic carbon content showed a positive increasing along the restoration time. Higher SOC and lower soil bulk density and water content all were attributed to the growth of artificial grassland. These results suggest that establishing artificial grassland with legumes is an effective restoration approach for improving soil carbon pool in the reclaimed mine soils.

Carbon sequestration in grassland soil has been paid considerable attention in recent decades. However, the changes of soil organic carbon (SOC) still need clarification under the effect of environmental factors in semi-arid area. Here, twenty sampling sites were selected to study the effects of plant community (plant cover, biomass, litter, composition and diversity) and environmental factors (i.e. mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature) on SOC sequestration in the semi-arid grasslands. The results showed that SOC was significant positively related to mean annual precipitation, soil water content and soil pH. The higher above- and below-ground biomass, species evenness and diversity presented the higher SOC. Specially, the species richness and proportion of gramineous species functional group significantly increased SOC. Below-ground biomass affected SOC mainly in the top 30 cm soil. Our results suggest that higher plant species richness and gramineous species proportion play a positive role in increasing the potential of soil carbon sequestration in semi-arid grassland.

Magnesium aluminate (MgAl2O4) spinel nanoparticles were synthesized by reverse microemulsion process in cyclohexane by using two kinds of surfactants, n-amyl alcohol as cosurfactant and mixture of aluminic/magnesic salt aqueous solution as basic reagents. The effects of surfactant types and titration methods on the morphologies and sizes of the MgAl2O4 nanoparticles were characterized by TEM, TGA-DTA, XRD, HR-TEM and FT-IR. TEM images show that the particles prepared by forward-titration method with SPAN-80/Triton X-100 compound emulsifier have uniform spherical shape and good monodispersity with an average size of 9.5 nm. However, the average size of the particles prepared by reverse-titration method was about 10 nm and some particles have irregular platelike appearance. The products prepared with NP-40 surfactant and forward-titration method were agglomerated with an average size of 13 nm. TGA and XRD results show that the reverse microemulsion method has dramatically lowered the calcination temperature of MgAl2O4 with a degree of 700 °C, and the precursor can transform to single spinel phase at 900 °C.

We have developed a parallel, rapid, high-throughput oligonucleotide microarray-based assay for the reliable detection and genotyping of three cry genes (cry1, cry2 and cry9) in Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). After the non-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), amplified Bt genomic DNA were fluorescent-labeled using a random primer.   The corresponding oligonucleotide probes were designed for the different cry genes that can hybridize Bt genomic DNA after cluster analysis and were printed on glass slides. This microarray has unambiguously detected and identified the cry genes in 10 isolates and reference Bt. Our data demonstrates that the microarray assay is simple and rapid for the detection and genotyping of genes. This type of assay is also a potentially valuable tool for identification and characterization of bacterial functional genes in general.

Se desarrolló un ensayo paralelo, rápido, de alto rendimiento, basado en microarreglo de oligonucleótidos para la detección y tipificación génica confiable de tres genes cry (cry1, cry2 y cry9) en Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Después de la no reacción de cadena polimerasa (PCR), el ADN genómico de Bt amplificado se marcó con fluorescencia usando primer al azar. Las correspondientes sondas de oligonucleótido fueron diseñadas por los diferentes genes cry en ADN genómico de Bt que pueden ser hibridados después de análisis cluster y se imprimieron en portaobjetos de vidrio. Este microarreglo ha detectado e identificado sin ambigüedad los genes cry en 10 aislamientos y Bt de referencia. Nuestros datos demuestran que el microarreglo es simple y rápido para la detección y tipificación génica de genes. Este tipo de ensayo es además una herramienta potencialmente valiosa para identificación y caracterización de genes funcionales bacterianos en general.