Quick classification of strong-aroma types of base Baijiu using potentiometric and voltammetric electronic tongue combined with chemometric techniques.

Nowadays, the classification of strong-aroma types of base Baijiu (base SAB) is mainly achieved by human sensory evaluation. However, prolonged tasting brings difficulties for sommeliers in guaranteeing the consistency of results, and may even cause health problems. Herein, an electronic tongue (E-Tongue) combined with a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was successfully developed to grade high-alcoholic base SAB. The E-tongue was capable of identifying base SAB samples into four grades by a discriminant function analysis (DFA) model based on human sensory evaluation results. More importantly, it could effectively and rapidly predict the quality grade of unknown base SAB with an average accuracy up to 95%. The differences of chemical components between base SAB samples were studied by the GC-MS analysis and 52 aroma compounds were identified. The qualitative and quantitative results showed that with the increase of base SAB grade, the varieties and contents of aroma compounds increased. Overall, the comprehensive analysis of E-tongue data and GC-MS results could be in good agreement with human sensory evaluation results, which also proved that the newly developed method has a potential to be a useful alternative to the overall quality grading of base Baijiu.

Effects of Nongxiangxing baijiu (Chinese liquor) on mild alcoholic liver injury revealed by non-target metabolomics using ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Nongxiangxing baijiu (Chinese liquor) is one of the most widely consumed beverages in China. This liquor has been shown to contain large quantities of various bioactive ingredients that are beneficial to health. The goals of the present study were to examine the effects of moderate dose Nongxiangxing baijiu on alcoholic liver injury in rats, and to explore the mechanism of action of Nongxiangxing baijiu on alcoholic liver injury. To accomplish these goals, we developed a metabolomic analysis method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) analysis and multivariate statistical analysis. Our serum lipid and hepatic histopathology results demonstrate that ethanol administration induced mild alcoholic liver injury in rats. However, these ethanol-induced changes were significantly alleviated in the Nongxiangxing baijiu group. These results suggest that moderate dose Nongxiangxing baijiu might have a preventive effect on mild alcoholic liver injury. Using our metabolomics method, we were able to identify 45 differential metabolites in serum and urine which could be used to characterize mild alcoholic liver injury in rats. Of these, 15 differential metabolites, including four Lysophosphatidylethanolamines, two phosphatidylcholines, four long-chain fatty acids, one porphyrin, two esters, one ceramide, and one triol, were regulated by Nongxiangxing baijiu. KEGG metabolic pathway analysis revealed that the main metabolic pathway regulated by Nongxiangxing baijiu was the glycerolipid pathway. Together, these findings provide evidence that moderate dose Nongxiangxing baijiu can reduce mild alcoholic liver injury (including metabolic disorders). Our study also provides preliminary data on the mechanism of action of Nongxiangxing baijiu in liver injury.

Constructing simplified microbial consortia to improve the key flavour compounds during strong aroma-type Baijiu fermentation.

The ester compounds play key roles in maintaining the sensory characteristics of alcoholic beverages. For strong aroma-type Baijiu fermentation, the volatile acids from pit mud microbes are key precursors for ester synthesis. However, the volatile acids can only be efficiently synthesized by the pit mud microbes in grains which attaches to pit mud. Elevating the ester contents in the upper layer's fermented grains is vital to improve the quality of raw liquor. In this study, we applied top-down strategy and aim to simplify and obtain pit mud microbial consortia to efficiently produce caproate but not off-flavour compounds. The simplified consortia with Caproiciproducens spp. as dominant species can use unsterilized fermentation water as sole substrate for caproate production, and stable caproate production was achieved by inoculating these simplified consortia in scaling-up fermentation. The fermented broth was then applied to facilitate the fermentation of upper layer's grains to prompt ester synthesis. Finally, the contents of variety esters such as ethyl caproate, ethyl pentanoate and ethyl octanoate were markedly increased. Together, this study demonstrates that constructing simplified microbial consortia containing key flavour-producing species is feasible to improve the flavour quality of spontaneously fermented foods.

Pulse electric field assisted process for extraction of Jiuzao glutelin extract and its physicochemical properties and biological activities investigation.

Jiuzao is the residue of baijiu distillation. In this study, pulse electric field (PEF) was used to improve the extraction efficiency of Jiuzao glutelin extract (JGE). The species, physicochemical properties, and biological activities of JGE were investigated to expand its utilization. The results showed that after treatment with PEF under optimal conditions (pulse times, 83 in total; strength, 3.26 kV/cm; Jiuzao/distilled water, 3:20), the JGE content increased by 13.81% compared with ultrasound auxiliary extraction. 59.16% of the JGE was identified to be from sorghum. JGE exhibited desirable foaming, foam stability, water and oil holding capacities, and in vitro antioxidant and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory activities (the IC50 value was 0.61 mg/mL). In addition, JGE exhibited high cell compatibility at proper concentrations in Caco-2 and CCD 841 CON cells. Overall, PEF is a potential technique to extract high-quality JGE from Jiuzao due to its high yield, efficiency, and maintenance of JGE bioactivities.

Untargeted Headspace-Gas Chromatography-Ion Mobility Spectrometry in Combination with Chemometrics for Detecting the Age of Chinese Liquor (Baijiu).

This paper proposes the combination of headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) and chemometrics as a method to detect the age of Chinese liquor (Baijiu). Headspace conditions were optimized through single-factor optimization experiments. The optimal sample preparation involved diluting Baijiu with saturated brine to 15% alcohol by volume. The sample was equilibrated at 70 °C for 30 min, and then analyzed with 200 µL of headspace gas. A total of 39 Baijiu samples from different vintages (1998-2019) were collected directly from pottery jars and analyzed using HS-GC-IMS. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) analysis was used to establish two discriminant models based on the 212 signal peaks and the 93 identified compounds. Although both models were valid, the model based on the 93 identified compounds discriminated the ages of the samples more accurately according to the goodness of fit value (R2) and the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP), which were 0.9986 and 0.244, respectively. Nineteen compounds with variable importance for prediction (VIP) scores > 1, including 11 esters, 4 alcohols, and 4 aldehydes, played vital roles in the model established by the 93 identified compounds. Overall, we determined that HS-GC-IMS combined with PLSR could serve as a rapid and accurate method for detecting the age of Baijiu.

Vintage analysis of Chinese Baijiu by GC and 1H NMR combined with multivariable analysis.

Economical-driven counterfeit and inferior aged Chinese Baijiu has caused serious concern of publicity in China. In this study, a total of 167 authentic Chinese Baijiu samples with different vintages including 3 flavor types were carefully collected. Gas chromatography (GC) was used to determine main volatile components and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy was employed to obtain non-targeted fingerprints of Chinese Baijiu samples. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) models, which were confirmed by internal and external validation, were established for effectively identifying actual storage vintage of Chinese Baijiu with various brands, flavor types. Centering (Ctr), pareto scaling (Par), unit variance scaling (UV) data pretreatment methods, principal components (PCs), and three modified variable selection methods were proposed to successfully optimize the vintage model and effectively extract important vintage characteristic factors. This study demonstrated that NMR and GC combined with multivariate statistical analysis are effective tools for validating vintage authenticity of Chinese Baijiu.

Clinical analysis of application of antibiotic bone cement spacer combined with membrane induction technology in treatment of osteomyelitis after femoral intramedullary nail operation - A case series.

Clinical analysis of antibiotic bone cement spacer combined with membrane induction technology in the treatment of osteomyelitis after intramedullary nail fixation operation for femoral shaft fracture was retrospectively performed on 12 cases in Department of Orthopaedics Centre, Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine from February 2013 to November 2016. The healing time of bone defect, infection recurrence and other complications were observed. Membrane induced series treatment scheme was given to all patients. Membrane-induced sequence therapy consisted of the first stage which included complete debridement, removal of the original internal fixation of intramedullary nail, intraoperative preparation of antibiotic bone cement rod into the medullary cavity and full drainage. The second stage included replacement of the interlocking intramedullary nail after infection control and autologous iliac bone graft was then used at the bone defect. Followup visits for bone situations were conducted for all the cases and the duration was 12-35 min (25.75 min on average). Fractures of all patients healed clinically. The healing duration was 4-11 min (7.33 min on average).After treatment, patients had no significant shortening of the limbs and their gait was normal at 12 months follow-up. This study is of femoral shaft fracture with no involvement of the joints and range of movement was not measured. No apparent relevant complications were seen.

Prokaryotic communities in multidimensional bottom-pit-mud from old and young pits used for the production of Chinese Strong-Flavor Baijiu.

The pit mud (PM) prokaryotic communities with obvious difference between old and young PM is essential for solid-fermentation of Chinese Strong-Flavor Baijiu. The bottom-PM (BPM) is considered more important. In this study, the multidimensional prokaryotic communities of old and young BPMs were investigated. The old BPM presented stratified difference within the depth of 0-7 cm, especially, the surface 0-1 cm was characteristic of dominant Caproiciproducens (34.79%). The young BPM showed significant difference between quarter/center and deep corner (1-7 cm), the former were characteristic of abundant Lactobacillus (12.80%-42.72%), while the deep corner was distinctive of dominant Caproiciproducens (17.85%-64.45%). The lactic acid, pH and soluble Ca2+ were considered as the 3 most significant environmental factors through redundancy analysis (RDA). This study may help illuminate the BPM aging process, and allow the future artificial regulation of young BPM.

Characterization of 3-Methylindole as a Source of a "Mud"-like Off-Odor in Strong-Aroma Types of Base Baijiu.

The "mud"-like off-odor, which is an odor reminiscent of musty and strong animal fecal odors, affects the quality classification of the strong-aroma types of baijiu (SAB), but little is known about which compounds are responsible for this aroma, except for certain phenolic compounds. However, not all mud-like off-odor expressions in SAB can be attributed to those phenolic compounds. In this work, volatile compounds in pit mud and SAB samples were isolated by headspace solid-phase microextraction and liquid-liquid extraction. An odoriferous zone was detected by GC-MS/olfactometer and GC-MS and was attributed to 3-methylindole rather than ethyl oleate on the basis of their odor characteristics, MS data, and retention indices. Combined with the detection threshold of 3-methylindole determined by a three-alternative forced-choice (6.09 µg/L) procedure, odor activity values in the tested base SAB were from 1 to 23. Sensory studies and the prepared heat map highlighted the contribution of this compound to the odor characteristics for the first time.

Characterization of key aroma compounds in Gujinggong Chinese Baijiu by gas chromatography-olfactometry, quantitative measurements, and sensory evaluation.

One of famous Chinese Baijiu, Gujinggong (GJG) that is produced in Anhui province, belongs to the famous Luzhou-aroma type of Baijiu in regards of its unique flavor characteristics. However, its key aroma-impact volatiles have not been clearly characterized. In this study, a total of 60 aroma compounds of GJG were identified by GC-O and GC-MS, and 35 of them were further recognized as important aroma compounds owing to their OAVs≥1 and sensory evaluation. As a result, its aroma profile was successfully simulated by reconstitution of those 35 and other 11 aroma compounds based on their measured concentrations in the GJG. Moreover, omission test was applied to investigate the effects of the important aroma compounds on the whole aroma profile of GJG. In this context, 9 aroma compounds were confirmed as the key aroma compounds of GJG.

MicroRNA-497-5p Suppresses Tumor Cell Growth of Osteosarcoma by Targeting ADP Ribosylation Factor-Like Protein 2.

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma (OS) is a frequent primary bone malignancy. MicroRNA-497-5p (miR-497-5p) has been recently reported to be downregulated in angiosarcoma, but its potential role in OS remains unclear. METHODS: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to determine miR-497-5p expression in OS tissues and cell lines. The effect of miR-497-5p on cell growth, cell cycle progression and apoptosis were measured using CCK-8 and flow cytometry assays, respectively. The effect of miR-497-5p on ADP-ribosylation factor-like protein 2 (ARL2) was determined by luciferase reporter assay and western blot. RESULTS: We found miR-497-5p was significantly downregulated in OS tissues and cells. Overexpression of miR-497-5p in OS cells inhibited tumor cell proliferation and induced a significant G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in vitro. Additionally, we found ARL2 was a new target of miR-497-5p. Moreover, ARL2 and P-p53 protein levels were significantly downregulated by treatment with miR-497-5p mimics in OS cells. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our findings revealed miR-497-5p may be a tumor suppressor in OS and serve as a promising therapeutic target for OS.

Clinical values of urinary IL-6 in asymptomatic renal hematuria and renal hematuria with proteins.

Renal hematuria is caused by glomerular disease. Under pathological conditions, the distribution of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in kidney tissue is abnormal and urinary IL-6 levels are increased. Abnormal IL-6 secretion promotes the hyperplasia of mesangial cells and matrix and, thus, affects the permeability of the glomerular filtration membrane. Therefore, the detection of urinary IL-6 levels in patients with renal hematuria is beneficial for disease evaluation. A total of 82 patients with primary renal hematuria were divided into group 1 (UPr/24 h < 150 mg; pure hematuria group), group 2 (150 mg ≤ UPr/24 h ≤ 1,000 mg) and group 3 (UPr/24 h > 1,000 mg). A total of 30 normal individuals were selected as the controls. The urinary IL-6 levels were detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method and a renal biopsy was conducted. The urinary IL-6 levels and renal pathological damage scores in groups 1 and 2 were significantly reduced compared with those in group 3, (P<0.001 and 0.01, respectively), with no significant difference between groups 1 and 2 (P>0.05). The correlation coefficient (r) of urinary IL-6 with 24 h urinary protein (UPr/24 h) in groups 1, 2 and 3 was 0.017, 0.045 and 0.747, respectively, and that of urinary IL-6 with renal pathological damage score was 0.627, 0.199 and 0.119, respectively. The UPr/24 h was significantly correlated with IL-6 level (r=0.7320, P<0.000). In group 1, the urinary IL-6 levels were correlated with the degree of renal pathological damage. A positive correlation was observed between urinary IL-6 levels and UPr/24 h.

Effects of combined prednisone + fluvastatin on cholesterol and bilirubin in pediatric patients with minimal change nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: Nephrotic syndrome is associated with hyperlipidemia and low serum bilirubin. Corticosteroids and statins are routinely administered to patients with this syndrome. However, knowledge of the mechanisms that underlie hyperlipidemia is incomplete. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of prednisone monotherapy with those of prednisone + fluvastatin on lipid, albumin, and bilirubin levels in patients with nephrotic syndrome. METHODS: Pediatric patients (4-12 years of age) with minimal change nephropathy were consecutively assigned to receive prednisone monotherapy (1-2 mg/kg/d; maximal total dose, ≤60 mg) or prednisone at the same dosage plus fluvastatin (5 mg/d if aged <5 years; 10 mg/d if aged ≥5 years), for 6 weeks. A control group comprised healthy children without evidence of renal, hepatobiliary, cardiovascular, or hematologic disease. Total and direct bilirubin, albumin, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and 24-hour urinary protein (Upr) were determined at baseline (week 0) and at weeks 4 and 6 after the start of therapy. RESULTS: Sixty evaluable patients were assigned active treatment (monotherapy: 16 male, 14 female; mean age, 7.6 [3.6] years [range, 6-12 years]; combination therapy: 15 male, 15 female; mean age, 7.1 [4.9] years [range, 4-12 years]); the control group comprised 50 healthy children (26 male, 24 female). With both prednisone monotherapy and prednisone + fluvastatin, total and direct bilirubin, and albumin were significantly increased from baseline, and TG, TC, and Upr were significantly decreased (all, P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in treatment effect between the 2 treatment groups. Pretreatment total and direct bilirubin levels were significantly lower in the active-treatment groups than in the control group (n = 50) (all, P < 0.01); after treatment, total and direct bilirubin concentrations were increased to levels reported in the control group. Pre- and posttreatment levels of total bilirubin were positively correlated with albumin but negatively correlated with TC. CONCLUSIONS: Low blood bilirubin levels appeared to have reduced resistance to oxidative stress and to have contributed to disturbances in lipid metabolism in these pediatric patients with nephrotic syndrome. Prednisone with or without fluvastatin apparently corrected bilirubin levels and reduced blood lipids. There was no apparent additive effect of fluvastatin on lipids. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR-TQR-12002602.

A simple point-of-care microfluidic immunomagnetic fluorescence assay for pathogens.

In this work, we reported a simple rapid and point-of-care magnetic immunofluorescence assay for avian influenza virus (AIV) and developed a portable experimental setup equipped with an optical fiber spectrometer and a microfluidic device. We achieved the integration of immunomagnetic target capture, concentration, and fluorescence detection in the microfluidic chip. By optimizing flow rate and incubation time, we could get a limit of detection low up to 3.7 × 10(4) copy/µL with a sample consumption of 2 µL and a total assay time of less than 55 min. This approach had proved to possess high portability, fast analysis, high specificity, high precision, and reproducibility with an intra-assay variability of 2.87% and an interassay variability of 4.36%. As a whole, this microfluidic system may provide a powerful platform for the rapid detection of AIV and may be extended for detection of other viral pathogens; in addition, this portable experimental setup enables the development of point-of-care diagnostic systems while retaining adequate sensitivity.