Abstract Excessive heavy metal cadmium in tomatoes is harmful to human health. The detection of heavy metals in tomato leaves can determine whether the heavy metals in tomatoes exceed the standard. In order to quickly, non-destructively and efficiently detect whether heavy metals on the surface of tomato leaves exceed the standard, a new wavelength interval selection method called Synergy interval PLS couple with Monte Carlo method (MC-siPLS) was proposed. From the seedling stage, concentration of 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10 mg/L cadmium chloride (CdCl2) was used for irrigation under normal nutrient elements respectively. A total of 405 leaf samples were collected. Using the VIS-NIR hyperspectral instrument, the tomato leaves were set as the region of interest to obtain hyperspectral data, then used Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) method to detect heavy metals in tomato leaves. In addition, 5 different PLS algorithm were used to compare with MC-siPLS. Furthermore, the best model was given by MC-siPLS with RMSEP = 0.5378, R2 = 0.9870. The results show that MC-siPLS was better than similar wavelength interval selection methods, which had great application potential in the nondestructive detection of heavy metals in tomato leaves. This method maybe determines whether tomatoes contain excess cadmium early.

Abstract There are many substances beneficial to human body in tea. In this study, we put forward innovative strategies to quickly and harmlessly identify Chinese green tea varieties. Near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer was used to collect NIR spectral data of tea samples, and the data were preprocessed by Savitzky-Golay (SG) filter to eliminate noise of spectral data. Three feature extraction algorithms: principal component analysis (PCA) combined with linear discriminant analysis (LDA), LDA/QR, generalize singular value decomposition (GSVD) were performed to decrease the dimension and compress the spectral data. Finally, k-nearest neighbor (kNN) classifier was utilized to classify the samples according to the NIR spectra of the samples. PCA combined with LDA, GSVD and LDA/QR had the classification accuracy rates 94.19%, 91.86% and 98.84%, respectively. So, LDA/QR showed the highest classification accuracy in classification of NIR spectra of tea samples. We believe that the combination of NIR spectroscopy and feature extraction algorithms can quickly identify the types of tea samples. This method may have the potential to identify other varieties of food.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Leptin (LEP) is a peptide hormone that acts via leptin receptor (LEPR) binding. Genetic evidence from different human populations has implicated LEP/LEPR in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD), and suggests that certain LEP/LEPR gene polymorphisms may increase the risk of CAD. The aim of this study was to assess two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in LEP genes (rs2167270 and rs7799039) and two in LEPR genes (rs6588147, rs1137100) for association with CAD. METHODS: We enrolled 271 North Chinese Han CAD patients, and 113 healthy age- and sex-matched controls. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood, and the four SNPs were assessed using a MassArray system. RESULTS: The G allele frequency at rs2167270 was significantly higher among CAD cases than among controls. The AG genotype at rs7799039 was associated with a significantly decreased risk of CAD unlike the AA genotype used as the reference. The A allele was significantly associated with the CAD patient group. Interestingly, statistically significant differences in genotype and allele frequency at LEP rs2167270 and rs7799039 existed among females but not among males. CONCLUSIONS: The current study detected a significant association between genetic variations at LEP rs7799039 and rs2167270 and the risk of CAD in a north Chinese population, and revealed that LEP rs2167270 and rs7799039 gene polymorphisms might act as predisposing factors for CAD.

Abstract Avocado is an economically important crop and widely cultivated in the tropical and subtropical regions of China, whereas little is known about its genetic diversification. Twenty-six EST-SSR markers were developed based on avocado EST sequences. Molecular characterization was applied to assess the genetic relationships among different accessions. In total, nine gSSRs and nine EST-SSRs were selected to illuminate the genetic relationships within the 92 samples. Diversity parameters associated to the selected markers indicated the relatively low genetic diversity and a certain degree of inbreeding in the 92 avocado accessions. Clustering method and principal coordinate analysis clearly distinguished the accessions in accordance to the botanical races and geographic regions by molecular characterization. Moreover, the botanical race or hybrids of some unknown race accessions from different geographic origins could be determined based on known genotypes in the same cluster..

ABSTRACT The compatibility between superplasticizer and cement was influenced by the adsorption capacity of cement particles. This study investigated the relevance between the adsorption capability and surface free energy. Adsorption capacity and surface free energy of both sulphoaluminate cement and portland cement were measured. The adsorption capacity of cement particles was measured by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The test showed that particles of sulphoaluminate cement adsorbed more molecules of superplasticizer than portland cement particles. The weight of superplasticizer adsorbed by 2g of sulphoaluminate cement and portland cement were 0.28mg and 0.159mg respectively. Surface free energy of cement particles was calculated by contact angle and the contact angles were determined by the thin-layer wicking technique and washburn equation which is theoretical basis of thin-layer wiching technique presented by Chibowski E. The sulphoaluminate cement, portland cement's surface free energy were 51.46 mJ·m-2 and 49.36 mJ·m-2 respectively. The results showed that the higher adsorption capacity of particles was usual accompanied by higher surface free energy. The fluidity of cement paste was influenced by the adsorption capacity of cement particles because the more molecules of superplasticizer was adsorbed by cement particles there were lacking superplasticizer in the paste. The macro-behaviour of higher adsorption capacity is that the cement paste need more superplasticizer to reach the needed fluidity.

The title compound (E)-1-{4-[bis(4-methoxyphenyl)methyl]piperazin-1-yl}-3-(4-chloro- phenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (C28H29ClN2O3, Mr = 476.98) (5) was synthesized and studied by the single crystal X-ray diffraction method. Its structure was confirmed by ¹H NMR, 13C NMR, HRMS and X-ray single crystal structure determination. Compound 5 crystallized in the monoclinic system, space group P2(1)/c with a = 10.392(2), b = 7.9180(16), c = 30.474(6) Å, β = 97.78(3) °, V = 2484.4(9) ų,Z = 4, Dc = 1.275 g cm-3, F(000) = 1008, μ = 0.186 mm-1,MoKa radiation (λ = 0.71073 Å), R = 0.0692 and wR = 0.1469 for 2046 observed reflections with I 2σ(I). The title compound was screened for the anti-ischaemic activity in vivo. The results showed that compound 5 significantly prolonged the survival time of mice subjected to acute cerebral ischaemia at all doses tested and exhibited potent neuroprotective activity.