Bioactive Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Capacity of Wheatgrass Treated with Salicylic Acid under Organic Soil Cultivation

This study was undertaken to determine the influence of salicylic acid (SA) on the bioactive phytochemicals and antioxidant capacity of wheatgrass extract in the organic growing medium. Wheatgrass was cultivated in SA-enriched organic growing medium, obtained from acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) of various concentrations (0 [control], 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, and 2.00 mM) in a plant growth chamber by controlling atmosphere (20/15 °C, day/night), light (14/10 h, light/dark; light intensity 150 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹, using quantum dot light-emitting diodes), and atmospheric moisture (60 %) for 10 d. The 0.25 mM SA-treatment showed the highest impact on germination rate, wheatgrass length, weight, yield, and chlorophyll content. Levels of bioactive phytochemicals, mainly phenolic compounds, flavonoids, β-carotene, and vitamin C, were the highest in the 1.00 mM SA-treated wheatgrass extract. The DPPH radical and nitrite-scavenging capacities were the highest in the 1.00 mM SA-treated wheatgrass extract. The 0.50 mM SA-treated wheatgrass extract showed the highest superoxide dismutase-like capacity, whereas the 2.00 mM SA-treated wheatgrass extract showed the highest anthocyanin content and ABTS radical-scavenging capacity. Therefore, it might be suggested that the appropriate levels of SA-treatment were between 0.5 and 1.0 mM to enhance the bioactive phytochemicals and antioxidant capacity of wheatgrass.     

Exercise training in chronic heart failure: mechanisms and therapies

Decreased exercise capacity negatively affects the individuals’ ability to adequately perform activities required for normal daily life and, therefore, the independence and quality of life. Regular exercise training is associated with improved quality of life and survival in healthy individuals and in cardiovascular disease patients. Also in patients with stable heart failure, exercise training can relieve symptoms, improve exercise capacity and reduce disability, hospitalisation and probably mortality. Physical inactivity can thus be considered a major cardiovascular risk factor, and current treatment guidelines recommend exercise training in patients with heart failure in NYHA functional classes II and III. Exercise training is associated with numerous pulmonary, cardiovascular, and skeletal muscle metabolic adaptations that are beneficial to patients with heart failure. This review discusses current knowledge of mechanisms by which exercise training is beneficial in these patients.     

Newborn: Adult brain ratios in hominid evolution

The ratio of newborn to adult brain size varies widely in primates. These variations provide an index of the different degrees of postnatal brain growth in the different members of the primate order. The uniquely low figure for Homo sapiens indicates a greater degree of postnatal brain growth and therefore postnatal dependence and also a greater need and opportunity for social organisation. An attempt is made to determine the newborn:adult brain ratio in a proto-human population, Australopithecus africanus. Two possible causes of the reduction of the ratio in hominid evolution are discussed. The first is the limiting confines of the maternal pelvis adapted primarily for orthograde progression rather than parturition. The second concerns the resultant of a set of three paired variables between the members of each pair of which there exists an allometric relationship. These are the relation between brain and body size in the adult, feto-maternal weight allometry and the relation between newborn brain-size and birth weight.     

Development of Nutritionally Enhanced Tortillas

Large interest has recently risen in the development of “functional” foods, products that may provide a health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients. Foods rich in antioxidants and, simultaneously, characterized by a low glycemic index (GI), can reduce, through a double mechanism, the risk of increased postprandial oxidative stress, which is one of the constituent of the onset of several chronic diseases. Nutritionally enhanced tortillas were therefore developed by incorporating ingredients with well-documented nutritional functionality (carrots, soy, and wholemeal kamut) in a standard wheat tortillas formulation, in an attempt to create low GI and antioxidant-rich products while preserving sensory acceptability and physico-chemical properties. Five tortilla prototypes were developed and characterized for sensory acceptability, textural attributes, color, total antioxidant capacity, and in vivo GI. The simultaneous combination of carrot juice, soy, and wholemeal kamut resulted in a very interesting product that was not only the most acceptable by the consumers (although slightly harder than the standard control) but also showed the lowest GI and was relatively high in total antioxidant capacity. This work was presented at the 2nd International Symposium on: Delivery of Functionality in Complex Food Systems, Amherst, MA, USA, October 8–10, 2007.     

Analysis of over-consumption of natural resources and the ecological trade deficit in China based on ecological footprints

China has experienced unprecedented economic development in recent years and is now facing severe challenges caused by the over-consumption of resources and by ecological and environmental degradation. To assess the influence of resource exploitation and ecological trade, we have developed an index of excessive resource consumption based on the concepts of ecological deficit and ecological over-shoot, and we have used the ecological trade deficit to assess the pressure created by the export and import of resources and products. Our analysis indicated that China's consumption footprint surpassed its biocapacity in 1983, leading to an ecological deficit, and the production footprint surpassed its biocapacity in 1986, leading to an ecological over-shoot, as the over-consumption of natural resources grew. By 2010, 3.6 times the current area of bioproductive land was needed to provide sufficient resources to meet the consumption. China has been encouraging the development of exporting enterprises by implementing a series of financial and tax incentives, which have stimulated the economy in the short-term but have gradually increased the ecological trade deficit since 2000.     

RNA‐seq analysis reveals new candidate genes for drip loss in a Pietrain × Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire population

Drip loss, one of the most important meat quality traits, is characterized by low heritability. To date, the genetic factors affecting the drip loss trait have not been clearly elucidated. The objective of this study was to identify critical candidate genes affecting drip loss. First, we generated a Pietrain × Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire commercial pig population and obtained phenotypic values for the drip loss trait. Furthermore, we constructed two RNA libraries from pooled samples of longissimus dorsi muscles with the highest (H group) and lowest (L group) drip loss and identified the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between these extreme phenotypes using RNA‐seq technology. In total, 25 883 genes were detected in the H and L group libraries, and none was specifically expressed in only one library. Comparative analysis of gene expression levels found that 150 genes were differentially expressed, of which 127 were upregulated and 23 were downregulated in the H group relative to the L group. In addition, 68 drip loss quantitative trait loci (QTL) overlapping with 63 DEGs were identified, and these QTL were distributed mainly on chromosomes 1, 2, 5 and 6. Interestingly, the triadin (TRDN) gene, which is involved in muscle contraction and fat deposition, and the myostatin (MSTN) gene, which has a role in muscle growth, were localized to more than two drip loss QTL, suggesting that both are critical candidate genes responsible for drip loss.     

在黄土丘陵区土质路面种草

土质道路水土流失是所有人工生态系统中最严重的土地利用类型,土壤侵蚀模数是相同条件下林地的250倍,农村道路修筑破坏了区域生态景观的完整性,为景观生态修复理论与技术研究提供了重要的实验场地。广大山区农村田间地块道路在种植和收获季节以外长期处于闲置状态,这为植物的种植和生长提供了可能。1997～2001年,以中国黄土丘陵区陕西省延安市小砭沟小流域农田道路为背景,以防止和减轻路面汇流引发的水土流失对道路的破坏和修复农村道路景观生态系统为目的,采用小区径流监测、施工统计和定点观测的方法,在路面进行了为期5a的种草实验。研究结果显示,农田作业道路路面不仅可以种草,而且具有一定生态经济价值,在条播下,胡枝子、小冠花、无芒雀麦每km年产值可达1068.88～3150.27元;同时,路面牧草可承受适度的通行压力,禾本科牧草一般可承受300t·次/a以下车辆碾压;道路种植禾本科牧草后,除有机质外,土壤中其它营养成份均有不同程度的亏损,因此有必要补充各种肥料延长路面牧草使用年限和提高牧草防蚀能力;路面种草后径流量减少46.15%～69.30%,土壤侵蚀量减少54.53%～77.80%,建设成本仅为石子路的27.69%～35.99%,维护费用仅为土质道路的30.52%,是一种经济可行的技术途径。道路种草后,路面雨季泥泞、旱季尘土飞扬的劣质景观被蜿蜒的绿色道路景观所取代,形似镶嵌在绵延山谷中的绿飘带,这无论在理论还是技术方面都是生态修复学和景观生态学研究的重要方向之一。     

夜间变暖提高荫香叶片的光合能力

研究了不同氮供应的条件下夜间变暖对荫香叶片光合能力的影响。当植株生长在相同的日间温度(25℃),而夜间温度从18℃增至20℃时,叶片的光合速率增高(p<0.05)。高氮供应的植株,夜间变暖下其叶片光合速率较低氮供应的高,氮供应增高能促进夜间变暖提高叶片光合速率的效应。在低氮供给和夜间变暖下,植株叶片的光下呼吸和暗呼吸的增高显著(p<0.05)。无论在高氮或低氮供应下,生长在夜间变暖下的植物,其叶片的R ub isco最大羧化速率(Vcm ax)和光合电子传递最大速率(Jm ax)增高(p<0.05),氮供应能增强夜间变暖对Vcm ax和Jm ax的正向效应。夜间变暖降低植株叶片的比叶重,而增加单位叶干重的氮含量(Nm),单位叶面积的氮含量(Na)没发生明显变化。随着全球气候变化,夜间趋暖将有利于树木叶片光合能力的提高,结合高氮供给将会明显地增高植物的碳固定。