Isolation and identification of Lactobacillus and yeast species and their effect on the quality of fermented rice cakes

In this study, microbes were isolated from the rice slurry of a fermented rice cake to obtain lactic acid bacteria and yeast species. These species were identified using microbial physiology and gene sequence analyses. As the growth of the lactic acid bacterial strain R-2b and the yeast J-3a strains were found to be the best, a composite starter comprising these microbes was used for the preparation of fermented rice cakes. Based on single factor and orthogonal experiments, when the proportion of Lactobacillus plantarum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Candida humilis was 1:3:6, the optimal fermentation conditions were addition of sugar and starter amounts of 20% and 6%, respectively, a fermentation temperature of 32 °C, and fermentation time of 8 h. The fermented rice cake with this optimum ratio had the most abundant volatile components and qualified physicochemical and microbial indexes. Additionally, the overall quality was better than that of commercially available products.     

Additional deepwater sampling of prey fish in Lake Michigan annual bottom trawl survey reveals new insights for depth distribution dynamics

Beginning in 2013, sites at the 128-m bottom depth contour were added to the sampling design of the annual Lake Michigan bottom trawl survey for prey fish, which has been conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) each fall since 1973, to better assess fish depth distributions in a changing ecosystem. The standard sampling design included bottom depths from 9 to 110 m, although the GLSC also sporadically conducted bottom trawl tows at the 128-m bottom depth contour during 1973–1988. Enactment of this new sampling design in 2013 revealed that mean biomass density of deepwater sculpins (Myoxocephalus thompsonii) at the 128-m depth exceeded the sum of mean biomass densities at shallower depths, indicating that the bulk of the deepwater sculpin population is residing in waters deeper than 110 m. Thus, our findings supported the hypothesis that the depth distribution of the deepwater sculpin population had shifted to deeper waters beginning in 2007, thereby explaining, at least in part, the marked decline in deepwater sculpin abundance since 2006 based on the standard sampling design. In contrast, our results did not support the hypothesis that the slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) population had shifted to deeper waters sometime after 2000. A portion of the burbot (Lota lota) population may have also shifted in depth distribution to waters deeper than 110 m after 2007, based on our results. Our findings have served as an impetus to further expand the range of depths sampled in our bottom trawl survey.     

Genes Identification,Molecular Docking and Dynamics Simulation Analysis of Laccases from Amylostereum areolatum Provides Molecular Basis of Laccase Bound to Lignin

An obligate mutualistic relationship exists between the fungus Amylostereum areolatum and woodwasp Sirex noctilio. The fungus digests lignin in the host pine, providing essential nutrients for the growing woodwasp larvae. However, the functional properties of this symbiosis are poorly described. In this study, we identified, cloned, and characterized 14 laccase genes from A. areolatum. These genes encoded proteins of 508 to 529 amino acids and contained three typical copper-oxidase domains, necessary to confer laccase activity. Besides, we performed molecular docking and dynamics simulation of the laccase proteins in complex with lignin compounds (monomers, dimers, trimers, and tetramers). AaLac2, AaLac3, AaLac6, AaLac8, and AaLac10 were found that had low binding energies with all lignin model compounds tested and three of them could maintain stability when binding to these compounds. Among these complexes, amino acid residues ALA, GLN, LEU, PHE, PRO, and SER were commonly present. Our study reveals the molecular basis of A. areolatum laccases interacting with lignin, which is essential for understanding how the fungus provides nutrients to S. noctilio. These findings might also provide guidance for the control of S. noctilio by informing the design of enzyme mutants that could reduce the efficiency of lignin degradation.     

Spatiotemporal variations in soil CO2 fluxes under a winter wheat-summer maize cropping system in the North China Plain

Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems - Most studies on soil CO2 fluxes focus on the upper soil layers (i.e., 0–200 mm); however, there is a lack of investigation into soil layers below...     

数字花卉植物的全息可视化与交互实现

花卉植物形态、结构与生长过程的数字化和可视化是现代林业科研的重要研究内 容，数字花卉植物在科普、教育、展示等方面都有着广泛的应用与需求。全息影像技术是一种 新兴的前沿技术，其原理源自佩珀尔幻象，通常用于生成立体感强的影像，实现数字幻象与真 实世界的融合，拥有良好的观赏性，用户接受度较高。将全息影像技术与数字花卉植物相关研 究进行结合，可以加强数字花卉植物的可视化效果，从而实现更好的科普、教育、展示效果。 因此在现有的研究基础之上，考虑实现数字花卉植物的全息可视化，并在可视基础上增加了用 户交互实现，设计出一套兼具展示性和交互性的流程，力求总结出一种具有完整可行性的方案， 从而对数字花卉植物的新型表现形式进行深入研究，以期对数字植物研究与应用的进一步发展 提供参考。     

Effects of typical soybean meal type on the properties of soybean-based adhesive

In order to effectively apply soybean meal for the preparation of water-resistant soybean-based adhesives for plywood, the effects of three typical soybean meal products, namely, low-temperature soybean meal (LM), high-temperature soybean meal (HM), and physical soybean meal (PM), on the properties of soybean-based adhesive were investigated. The results indicated that the number of reactive groups in the three soybean meals followed the order LM > HM > PM, which in turn led to various crosslinking densities when these soybean meals were crosslinked by epichlorohydrin-modified polyamide (EMPA) during the curing process. The LM soybean adhesive had 6.6% higher soaking bond strength and 16.5% higher boiling-dry-boiling bond strength than the HM soybean adhesive, and 19% higher soaking bond strength and 33% higher boiling-dry-boiling bond strength than the PM soybean adhesive, respectively. These three soybean meals could be used to prepare soybean adhesives for interior-use plywood because all plywood panels bonded with their adhesives passed a water-soaking test at 63 °C for 3 h, but only the LM soybean adhesive achieved the desired water resistance for floor-base plywood. Among the three evaluated soybean meals, LM was the most promising raw material for the preparation of soybean-based adhesive because of a greater number of reactive groups, higher crosslinking density, and superior bond strength. Plywood panel bonded with HM soybean adhesive had a water resistance lower than, but very close to, the standard required value (>0.8 MPa) for floor-base plywood.     

探求景观的人文真实

什么是真实的世界?通过怎样的途径才能认识这个真实的世界?这两个本体论、认识论问题一直伴随在人类认识世界、改造世界的过程之中。同样地,在观照眼前纷繁复杂、形态各异的自然和人文景观时,我们也会问,除了视觉表象,还有什么是这些景观的真实本质?特别是对存在于异文化之中的景观,我们获得的视觉意象、科学解释,是否就是异文化族群脑海之中的真实意象?如果不是的话,那怎样才能认识并尽可能准确地转述这种带有文化映射的景观的真实意象?     

Deep-blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitter with a very high fluorescence rate

Conventional thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) molecules achieve small energy differences between the lowest singlet and triplet excited states (ΔE_ST) by enhancing the intramolecular charge transfer, which inevitably leads to a wide emission spectrum and low fluorescence rate. Here, we prepared a deep blue TADF molecule via a small ΔE_ST pyridine-phenol fluoroboron complex as the acceptor. The small ΔE_ST is maintained when carbazole donors are attached to the 4-position of the phenyl rings in the fluoroboron complex. Benefiting from the strong electron coupling between the donor (D) and acceptor (A) moieties, the compound Cz-4-BF exhibits a high fluorescence rate of 4.8 × 10⁸ s⁻¹ and a small D-A dihedral angle change in the excited state. Consequently, a photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield of nearly 100% and a PL spectrum with full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) < 60 nm were obtained in solution and low-concentration doped films. A TADF-sensitized fluorescence (TSF) device containing Cz-4-BF achieves an external quantum efficiency of 21%, which is higher than the devices employing classical fluorescent emitters and multiple resonance-type TADF emitters. The Cz-4-BF-based TSF device shows significantly improved color coordinates of (0.14, 0.10) versus a control device without Cz-4-BF.     

Effects of light-emitting diode illumination on the quality of fresh-cut cherry tomatoes during refrigerated storage

The effects of light-emitting diode (LED) illumination on the quality of fresh-cut cherry tomatoes were investigated. Tomatoes were exposed continuously to red, green, blue and white LED light for 7 days and control samples stored in darkness. Results showed that blue light treatment significantly led to more total soluble solids, lycopene concentration and individual phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, rutin) after 7 days of storage. On day-5, green and blue light-treated tomatoes showed relatively higher firmness than samples treated by other lights and the control. At the early stage of storage, blue light could preserve the fresh flavour of tomatoes compared to other treatments. Overall, the blue light was most effective in the quality preservation of fresh-cut cherry tomatoes and could be used as a novel strategy in the preservation of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables during shelf life.