Evaluation of the Nutritional Quality of Chinese Kale (Brassica alboglabra Bailey) Using UHPLC-Quadrupole-Orbitrap MS/MS-Based Metabolomics.

Chinese kale (Brassica alboglabra Bailey) is a widely consumed vegetable which is rich in antioxidants and anticarcinogenic compounds. Herein, we used an untargeted ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC)-Quadrupole-Orbitrap MS/MS-based metabolomics strategy to study the nutrient profiles of Chinese kale. Seven Chinese kale cultivars and three different edible parts were evaluated, and amino acids, sugars, organic acids, glucosinolates and phenolic compounds were analysed simultaneously. We found that two cultivars, a purple-stem cultivar W1 and a yellow-flower cultivar Y1, had more health-promoting compounds than others. The multivariate statistical analysis results showed that gluconapin was the most important contributor for discriminating both cultivars and edible parts. The purple-stem cultivar W1 had higher levels of some phenolic acids and flavonoids than the green stem cultivars. Compared to stems and leaves, the inflorescences contained more amino acids, glucosinolates and most of the phenolic acids. Meanwhile, the stems had the least amounts of phenolic compounds among the organs tested. Metabolomics is a powerful approach for the comprehensive understanding of vegetable nutritional quality. The results provide the basis for future metabolomics-guided breeding and nutritional quality improvement.

Prediction of Anthocyanidins Content in Purple Chinese Cabbage Based on Visible/Near Infrared Spectroscopy.

Purple Chinese cabbage (PCC) has become a new breeding trend due to its attractive color and high nutritional quality since it contains abundant anthocyanidins. With the aim of rapid evaluation of PCC anthocyanidins contents and screening of breeding materials, a fast quantitative detection method for anthocyanidins in PCC was established using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR). The PCC samples were scanned by NIR, and the spectral data combined with the chemometric results of anthocyanidins contents obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography were processed to establish the prediction models. The content of cyanidin varied from 93.5 mg/kg to 12,802.4 mg/kg in PCC, while the other anthocyanidins were much lower. The developed NIR prediction models on the basis of partial least square regression with the preprocessing of no-scattering mode and the first-order derivative showed the best prediction performance: for cyanidin, the external correlation coefficient (RSQ) and standard error of cross-validation (SECV) of the calibration set were 0.965 and 693.004, respectively; for total anthocyanidins, the RSQ and SECV of the calibration set were 0.966 and 685.994, respectively. The established models were effective, and this NIR method, with the advantages of timesaving and convenience, could be applied in purple vegetable breeding practice.

Enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity of N, F-codoped TiO2 powders with high thermal stability.

Doping non-metals onto TiO2 has been regarded as a promising way to gain a more effective photocatalyst. In this paper, N, F-codoped TiO2 was synthesized by the sol-gel method, demonstrating both high adsorption capacity and high photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. Samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-vis DRS). The results show that N, F-codoping can reduce the impact of calcination temperature on the structure and morphology of the sample, resulting in the sample exhibiting good thermal stability, even when the calcination temperature changes in a large range, instead of rutile, the anatase around 20 nm is the only phase in N, F-codoped samples. It can be clearly observed from the SEM images that N, F-codoped samples calcined at different temperatures are in the state of scattered particles with small size and good dispersed property. And it is vivid that the absorption intensity of N, F-codoped TiO2 samples in the visible light range increases substantially in DRS. According to the result of photocatalytic activity experiment, N, F-codoped TiO2 samples calcined at 973 K exhibited the highest degradation rate for Methylene Blue.

Release and kinetics of arsenic and plumbum in the Songhua River surficial sediments.

To estimate the pollution of As and Pb in the Songhua River which flows through the major rice-producing regions in China, the present study investigated the level and release of As and Pb in surficial sediments which collected from nine sites in Songhua River (M1-M9). The concentration of As and Pb was ranged as follows: As = 3.104~15.01 µg/g, Pb = 20.10~37.42 µg/g; the average concentration: As = 6.466 ± 3.077 µg/g, Pb = 28.88 ± 5.077 µg/g. By analysis vertically, the average concentration of As was 5.166 ± 1.496 µg/g in the upstream, 5.815 ± 1.793 µg/g in the midstream, and 9.716 ± 4.977 µg/g in the downstream. The average concentration of Pb was 27.83 ± 4.552 µg/g in the upstream, 28.66 ± 6.333 µg/g in the midstream, and 30.99 ± 4.837 µg/g in the downstream. It indicated that the concentration of As and Pb increased gradually from upstream to downstream. As existed mainly as insoluble state and Pb existed mainly as sulfide and organic combining state in surficial sediments, and the species of As and Pb could transform with the change of the circumstance. The release of quantity of As was higher than Pb. The pH of 6 was not conducive to the release of As and Pb. When the temperature was 35 and 6 °C, the release of As and Pb in surficial sediments were restrained, respectively. Fumaric acid and citric acid played an important role in promoting the release of As, but not conducive to Pb. Furthermore, the reasonable aeration rate was beneficial to the release process of As and Pb in surficial sediment. By kinetic analysis, the Elovich equation (Ct = 84.931-8.952lnt) could be used to describe the dynamic process of the release of As in a relatively short time. The Elovich equation (C t  = 2.724 + 1.3724lnt) and double constant rate equation (lnC T  = 1.4646 + 0.1522lnT) could well describe the dynamics process of the release of Pb.

[Microbial community structure analyzed by single-strand conformation polymorphism technique in sulfate-reducing reactor].

Analyses of microbial community structure and the relationships between Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria (SRBs) and Acidogenic Bacteria (ABs) in a completely stirred sulfate-reducing reactor were carried out by modified polymerase chain reaction-single-stranded conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) targeted eubacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. A total of 13 bands were obtained and 6 of them (A1, A3, A4, A5, A9, A10) were sequenced. The sequences are similar to Leuconostoc mesenteroides (GenBank Access No. AY453065), some uncultured bacteria (AJ318147, AF227834, AJ576427), Ethanologenbacterium (AY434722), Clostridiaceae (AB084627), etc. In order to investigate the SRBs in the reactor,the active sludge was cultured on SRB-selected media and also did SSCP with the compound cultured bacteria. Two new bands appeared, one similar to Bacteroidetes (AB074606) and another similar to Desulfovibrio (Y12254, U42221). The experimental results indicate that the proportion of SRBs in the reactor is probably less than 1.5 percent. But the few SRBs play a very important role during the course of sulfate reduction via cooperation with acidogenic