Role of phosphate in microalgal-bacterial symbiosis system treating wastewater containing heavy metals.

Phosphorus is one of the important factors to successfully establish the microalgal-bacterial symbiosis (MABS) system. The migration and transformation of phosphorus can occur in various ways, and the effects of phosphate on the MABS system facing environmental impacts like heavy metal stress are often ignored. This study investigated the roles of phosphate on the response of the MABS system to zinc ion (Zn2+). The results showed that the pollutant removal effect in the MABS system was significantly reduced, and microbial growth and activity were inhibited with the presence of Zn2+. When phosphate and Zn2+ coexisted, the inhibition effects of pollutants removal and microbial growth rate were mitigated compared to that of only with the presence of Zn2+, with the increasing rates of 28.3% for total nitrogen removal, 48.9% for chemical oxygen demand removal, 78.3% for chlorophyll-a concentration, and 13.3% for volatile suspended solids concentration. When phosphate was subsequently supplemented in the MABS system after adding Zn2+, both pollutants removal efficiency and microbial growth and activity were not recovered. Thus, the inhibition effect of Zn2+ on the MABS system was irreversible. Further analysis showed that Zn2+ preferentially combined with phosphate could form chemical precipitate, which reduced the fixation of MABS system for Zn2+ through extracellular adsorption and intracellular uptake. Under Zn2+ stress, the succession of microbial communities occurred, and Parachlorella was more tolerant to Zn2+. This study revealed the comprehensive response mechanism of the co-effects of phosphate and Zn2+ on the MABS system, and provided some insights for the MABS system treating wastewater containing heavy metals, as well as migration and transformation of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems.

Dietary Chinese herbal formula supplementation improves yolk fatty acid profile in aged laying hens.

Chinese herbal formula (CHF) has the potential to improve the performance of aged laying hens through integrated regulation of various physiological functions. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary CHF supplementation on the yolk fatty acid profile in aged laying hens. A total of 144 healthy 307-day-old Xinyang black-feather laying hens were randomly allocated into two groups: a control group (CON, fed a basal diet) and a CHF group (fed a basal diet supplemented with 1% CHF; contained 0.30% Leonurus japonicus Houtt., 0.20% Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge., 0.25% Ligustrum lucidum Ait., and 0.25% Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz. for 120 days). The fatty acid concentrations in egg yolks were analyzed using a targeted metabolomics technology at days 60 and 120 of the trial. The results showed that dietary CHF supplementation increased (p < .05) the concentrations of several saturated fatty acids (SFA, including myristic acid and stearic acid), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA, including petroselinic acid, elaidic acid, trans-11-eicosenoic acid, and cis-11-eicosenoic acid), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA, including linolelaidic acid, linoleic acid, γ-linolenic acid, α-linolenic acid, 11c,14c-eicosadienoic acid, eicosatrienoic acid, homo-γ-linolenic acid, arachidonic acid, and docosapentaenoic acid), and fatty acid indexes (total MUFA, n-3 and n-6 PUFA, PUFA/SFA, hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolaemic ratio, health promotion index, and desirable fatty acids) in egg yolks. Collectively, these findings suggest that dietary CHF supplementation could improve the nutritional value of fatty acids in egg yolks of aged laying hens, which would be beneficial for the production of healthier eggs to meet consumer demands.

A metagenomic analysis for combination therapy of multiple classes of antibiotics on the prevention of the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes.

Antibiotics used systemically to treat infections may have off-target effects on the gut microbiome, potentially resulting in the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria or selection of pathogenic species. These organisms may present a risk to the host and spread to the environment with a risk of transmission in the community. To investigate the risk of emergent antibiotic resistance in the gut microbiome following systemic treatment with antibiotics, this metagenomic analysis project used next-generation sequencing, a custom-built metagenomics pipeline, and differential abundance analysis to study the effect of antibiotics (ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, and fosfomycin) in monotherapy and different combinations at high and low doses, to determine the effect on resistome and taxonomic composition in the gut of Balb/c mice. The results showed that low-dose monotherapy treatments showed little change in microbiome composition but did show an increase in expression of many antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) posttreatment. Dual combination treatments allowed the emergence of some conditionally pathogenic bacteria and some increase in the abundance of ARGs despite a general decrease in microbiota diversity. Triple combination treatment was the most successful in inhibiting emergence of relevant opportunistic pathogens and completely suppressed all ARGs after 72 h of treatment. The relative abundances of mobile genetic elements that can enhance transmission of antibiotic resistance either decreased or remained the same for combination therapy while increasing for low-dose monotherapy. Combination therapy prevented the emergence of ARGs and decreased bacterial diversity, while low-dose monotherapy treatment increased ARGs and did not greatly change bacterial diversity.

Revealing mechanisms of triclosan on the removal and distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus in microalgal-bacterial symbiosis system.

Microalgal-bacterial symbiosis (MABS) system performs synergistic effect on the reduction of nutrients and carbon emissions in the water treatment process. However, antimicrobial agents are frequently detected in water, which influence the performance of MABS system. In this study, triclosan (TCS) was selected to reveal the effects and mechanisms of antimicrobial agents on MABS system. Results showed that the removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand, NH4+-N and total phosphorus decreased by 3.0%, 24.0% and 14.3% under TCS stress. In contrast, there were no significant decrease on the removal effect of total nitrogen. Mechanism analysis showed that both the growth rate of microorganisms and the nutrients retention capacity of extracellular polymeric substances were decreased. The intracellular accumulation for nitrogen and phosphorus was promoted due to the increased cytomembrane permeability caused by lipid peroxidation. Moreover, microalgae were dominant in MABS system with ratio between microalgae and bacteria of more than 5.49. The main genus was Parachlorella, with abundance of more than 90%. Parachlorella was highly tolerant to TCS, which might be conductive to maintain its survival. This study revealed the nutrients pathways of MABS system under TCS stress, and helped to optimize the operation of MABS system.

Multichip multidimensional quantum networks with entanglement retrievability.

Quantum networks provide the framework for quantum communication, clock synchronization, distributed quantum computing, and sensing. Implementing large-scale and practical quantum networks relies on the development of scalable architecture and integrated hardware that can coherently interconnect many remote quantum nodes by sharing multidimensional entanglement through complex-medium quantum channels. We demonstrate a multichip multidimensional quantum entanglement network based on mass-manufacturable integrated-nanophotonic quantum node chips fabricated on a silicon wafer by means of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor processes. Using hybrid multiplexing, we show that multiple multidimensional entangled states can be distributed across multiple chips connected by few-mode fibers. We developed a technique that can efficiently retrieve multidimensional entanglement in complex-medium quantum channels, which is important for practical uses. Our work demonstrates the enabling capabilities of realizing large-scale practical chip-based quantum entanglement networks.

Fabrication of Pickering emulsions stabilized by citrus pectin modified with ß-cyclodextrin and its application in 3D printing.

Pickering emulsions stabilized by polysaccharide particles have received increasing attention because of their potential applications in three-dimensional (3D) printing. In this study, the citrus pectins (citrus tachibana, shaddock, lemon, orange) modified with ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) were used to stabilize Pickering emulsions reaching the requirements of 3D printing. In terms of pectin chemical structure, the steric hindrance provided by the RG I regions was more conducive to the stability of the complex particles. The modification of pectin by ß-CD provided the complexes a better double wettability (91.14 ± 0.14°-109.43 ± 0.22°) and a more negative ζ-potential, which was more beneficial for complexes to anchor at oil-water interface. In addition, the rheological properties, texture properties and stability of the emulsions were more responsive to the ratios of pectin/ß-CD (Rß/C). The results showed that the emulsions stabilized at a φ = 65 % and a Rß/C = 2:2 achieved the requirements (shear thinning behavior, self-supporting ability, and stability) of 3D printing. Furthermore, the application in 3D printing demonstrated that the emulsions under the optimal condition (φ = 65 % and Rß/C = 2:2) displayed excellent printing appearance, especially for the emulsions stabilized by ß-CD/LP particles. This study provides a basis for the selection of polysaccharide-based particles to prepare 3D printing inks which may be utilized in food manufacturing.

Novel gellan gum-based probiotic film with enhanced biological activity and probiotic viability: Application for fresh-cut apples and potatoes.

A novel probiotic film based on gellan gum (GN), cranberry extract (CE), and Lactococcus lactis (LA) was developed in the present study. The fluorescence and SEM image results showed that GN/CE film containing LA was successfully fabricated. The incorporation of LA significantly enhanced the antibacterial activity of the film. The presence of CE strengthened the antioxidant activity and LA survivability in the film. The combination of LA (0-1.0 %) and CE (0.5-1.0 %) improved the mechanical property of the film through the formation of density structure. The best comprehensive properties were obtained with the film containing 2.0 %LA and 0.5 %CE. The GN/2.0 %LA/0.5 %CE film also showed the optimal preservation effect on fresh-cut potatoes and apples. Hence, GN/2.0 %LA/0.5 %CE probiotic film has proved to be suitable for fruit and vegetable preservation.

Enhanced efficiency and mechanism of low-temperature biochar on simultaneous removal of nitrogen and phosphorus by combined heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification bacteria.

In this study, three strains of heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) capable of simultaneously removing phosphorus were isolated from activated sludge, and low-temperature coconut shell biochar was prepared. The metabolic effects of combined HN-AD bacteria on the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) were investigated, and the enhanced efficiency and mechanism of low-temperature biochar on the combined bacteria were also explored. The results indicated that the combined bacteria could adapt to environmental impacts and multiple nitrogen sources. The low-temperature biochar containing more aliphatic carbon and oxygen-containing functional groups enhanced the metabolic activity of combined HN-AD bacteria and accelerated the electron transfer process during nitrogen and phosphorus degradation. The removal efficiencies of TN and TP increased by 68% and 88%, respectively, in the treatment of actual sewage by biochar attached with combined bacteria. The findings form a basis for the engineering utilization of HN-AD and are of great practical significance.

Thermo-optically tunable slot waveguide-based dual mode-splitting resonators with enhanced sharp lineshapes.

Slot waveguide plays an essential role in achieving high-performance on-chip photonic sensors and nonlinear devices. Ideally, slot waveguide features a large evanescent field ratio and strong electric field intensity in the slot, leading to a high waveguide sensitivity. Unfortunately, the microring resonator (MRR) based on the slot waveguide suffers the less steep spectral slope due to the low quality factor induced by the huge optical propagation loss of the slot waveguide. In this work, a novel dual mode-splitting resonator based on the slot waveguide is proposed and demonstrated to steepen the slope of lineshapes. The device is implemented by two racetrack resonators based on a slot waveguide and a feedback waveguide to introduce coherent optical mode interference, which could induce mode-splitting resonance (MR) with sharp asymmetry line shape and large extinction ratio (ER). The proposed device is fabricated by the standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technologies on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform, and the characterization results show dual MRs with an ER of 45.0 dB and a slope rate (SR) of 58.3 dB/nm, exhibiting a much steeper lineshape than that of the conventional MRR with slot waveguide. And the resonance can be tuned efficiently by applying various voltages of the TiN microheater. Investigations in dual MRs devices promote many potential applications in the field of optical switching, optical modulating, and on-chip optical sensing.

Development and characterization of sodium alginate/tea tree essential oil nanoemulsion active film containing TiO2 nanoparticles for banana packaging.

To improve the postharvest quality and reduce the anthracnose of bananas, the sodium alginate (SA)/tea tree essential oil nanoemulsion (TEON) based bilayer films incorporated with different contents of TiO2 nanoparticles were fabricated in this work. The developed TEON presented satisfactory DPPH scavenging activity (65.5 ± 1.8%) and antifungal capability (90.5 ± 5.8%). The microscopy images of the cross-section of the films indicated that the bilayer films with well-cross-linked were developed successfully. Notably, the addition of a certain content of TiO2 to SA greatly improved the UV blocking and water vapor and oxygen barrier properties of the developed film. However, the barrier property of the film was decreased when the TiO2 content further increased to 4.0 mg/100 mg of SA. The retention of TEO under visible and UV light in the bilayer film was respectively prolonged to 24 days and 32 h when the addition of TiO2 content was 2.0 mg/100 mg of SA. Finally, the postharvest quality and anthracnose of banana fruits were significantly improved by SA-TiO2 + SA-TEON film-forming solution treatments. Results from the present work might open up new insights into the approaches of postharvest quality improvement of bananas.

Broadband Silicon Nitride Power Splitter Based on Bent Directional Couplers with Low Thermal Sensitivity.

Directional couplers, as power splitters, have provided a significant contribution for light splitting and combining in silicon photonics. However, the splitting ratio of conventional directional couplers is very sensitive to wavelength, which limits the bandwidth and the transmission performance of the devices. In this work, a silicon nitride bent directional coupler with large bandwidth, large fabrication tolerance, and low thermal sensitivity is proposed and demonstrated through simulation analysis and experiments. Moreover, the fabrication process of 400 nm thick silicon nitride photonic devices is described, which are compatible with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology. The 1 dB bandwidth of the bent waveguide coupler can reach 80 nm, and the thermal sensitivity is reduced by 85% compared to the silicon-based devices.

Characterization of invisible symptoms caused by early phosphorus deficiency in cucumber plants using near-infrared hyperspectral imaging technology.

In the early stage of P deficiency in cucumbers, the P deficiency symptoms in leaves are similar to the symptoms in control leaves at the early stage of aging and are difficult to identify with naked eyes or computer image processing techniques. In order to realize the quick diagnosis of P deficiency in plants at the early stage, the NIR hyperspectral images of control leaves and P-deficient leaves were collected, and the feature information of the NIR hyperspectral images was extracted by PCA and ICA respectively. Through PCA and HCA verification, the IC1 component diagram of P-deficient leaves NIR hyperspectral image could effectively characterize the features of invisible water-stained plaques caused by early P-deficient leaves. Region of interest from IC1 was selected to extract spectral information for classification, and the diagnostic rate was remarkably improved. Finally, 240 leaves were diagnosed by using the BP-ANN model with a diagnostic rate of 97.5%. In addition, the experiment verified that it was possible to diagnose whether the plant was in the state of P deficiency 21 days in advance, and timely guidance of top dressing was of great significance to increase yield.

Effects of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Growth, Intestinal Barrier, Oxidative Status and Mineral Deposition in 21-Day-Old Broiler Chicks.

This experiment was to study the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on growth, intestinal barrier, oxidative status, and mineral deposition. In total, 256 one-day-old chicks were randomly allotted to 4 dietary groups and fed with basal diet plus 80 mg/kg ZnSO4 (ZnSO4 group) or plus 40, 80, and 160 mg/kg ZnO-NPs, respectively, for 21 days. Compared with the ZnSO4 group, dietary 40, 80, and 160 mg/kg ZnO-NPs did not alter growth (average daily gain, body weight, and gain to feed ratio), and serum activities of glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, alkaline phosphatase and glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (P > 0.05). However, dietary 80 and 160 mg/kg ZnO-NPs linearly decreased serum D-lactate content and diamine oxidase activity (P < 0.01). Moreover, 80 mg/kg ZnO-NPs enhanced zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) mRNA expression in jejunal mucosa (P = 0.02). Dietary ZnO-NPs increased total antioxidant capacity activity (P = 0.01), and 80 mg/kg ZnO-NPs decreased malondialdehyde content in jejunal mucosa as compared to the ZnSO4 group (P = 0.02). In contrast, dietary ZnO-NPs did not alter mRNA expressions of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, heme oxygennase-1 (HO-1) and NAD (P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) (P > 0.05). No significant difference was found in selected mineral concentrations (Mn, Cu, Fe and Zn) in the liver among ZnSO4 and 3 ZnO-NP groups (P > 0.05). However, 160 mg/kg ZnO-NPs increased fecal contents of Zn, Fe and Cu (P < 0.01), but did not affect fecal Mn level (P > 0.05). Therefore, results suggested that ZnO-NPs could be an additive to enhance the intestinal barrier and antioxidant capacity of broiler chicks, whereas the inclusion of 80 mg/kg would be more efficient.

Systems pharmacology dissection of Epimedium targeting tumor microenvironment to enhance cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses in lung cancer.

The clinical notably success of immunotherapy fosters an enthusiasm in developing drugs by enhancing antitumor immunity in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Epimedium, is a promising herbal medicine for tumor immunotherapy due to the pharmacological actions in immunological function modulation and antitumor. Here, we developed a novel systems pharmacology strategy to explore the polypharmacology mechanism of Epimedium involving in targeting TME of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This strategy integrates the active compounds screening, target predicting, network pharmacology analysis and onco-immune interacting to predict the potential active compounds that trigger the antitumor immunity. Icaritin (ICT), a major active ingredient of Epimedium, was predicted to have good drug-like properties and target immune microenvironment in NSCLC via regulating multiple targets and pathways. Then, we evidenced that the ICT effectively inhibited tumor growth in LLC tumor-bearing mice and increases the infiltration of CD8+ T cells in TME. In addition, we demonstrated that ICT promotes infiltration of CD8+ T cells in TME by downregulating the immunosuppressive cytokine (TNF-α, IL10, IL6) and upregulating chemotaxis (CXCL9 and CXCL10). Overall, the systems pharmacology strategy offers an important paradigm to understand the mechanism of polypharmacology of natural products targeting TME.

A Near-Infrared CMOS Silicon Avalanche Photodetector with Ultra-Low Temperature Coefficient of Breakdown Voltage.

Silicon avalanche photodetector (APD) plays a very important role in near-infrared light detection due to its linear controllable gain and attractive manufacturing cost. In this paper, a silicon APD with punch-through structure is designed and fabricated by standard 0.5 µm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The proposed structure eliminates the requirements for wafer-thinning and the double-side metallization process by most commercial Si APD products. The fabricated device shows very low level dark current of several tens Picoamperes and ultra-high multiplication gain of ~4600 at near-infrared wavelength. The ultra-low extracted temperature coefficient of the breakdown voltage is 0.077 V/K. The high performance provides a promising solution for near-infrared weak light detection.

Translational Models and Tools to Reduce Clinical Trials and Improve Regulatory Decision Making for QTc and Proarrhythmia Risk (ICH E14/S7B Updates).

After multiple drugs were removed from the market secondary to drug-induced torsade de pointes (TdP) risk, the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) released guidelines in 2005 that focused on the nonclinical (S7B) and clinical (E14) assessment of surrogate biomarkers for TdP. Recently, Vargas et al. published a pharmaceutical-industry perspective making the case that "double-negative" nonclinical data (negative in vitro hERG and in vivo heart-rate corrected QT (QTc) assays) are associated with such low probability of clinical QTc prolongation and TdP that potentially all double-negative drugs would not need detailed clinical QTc evaluation. Subsequently, the ICH released a new E14/S7B Draft Guideline containing Questions and Answers (Q&As) that defined ways that double-negative nonclinical data could be used to reduce the number of "Thorough QT" (TQT) studies and reach a low-risk determination when a TQT or equivalent could not be performed. We review the Vargas et al. proposal in the context of what was contained in the ICH E14/S7B Draft Guideline and what was proposed by the ICH E14/S7B working group for a "stage 2" of updates (potential expanded roles for nonclinical data and details for assessing TdP risk of QTc-prolonging drugs). Although we do not agree with the exact probability statistics in the Vargas et al. paper because of limitations in the underlying datasets, we show how more modest predictive value of individual assays could still result in low probability for TdP with double-negative findings. Furthermore, we expect that the predictive value of the nonclinical assays will improve with implementation of the new ICH E14/S7B Draft Guideline.

A general procedure to select calibration drugs for lab-specific validation and calibration of proarrhythmia risk prediction models: An illustrative example using the CiPA model.

INTRODUCTION: In response to the ongoing shift of the regulatory cardiac safety paradigm, a recent White Paper proposed general principles for developing and implementing proarrhythmia risk prediction models. These principles included development strategies to validate models, and implementation strategies to ensure a model developed by one lab can be used by other labs in a consistent manner in the presence of lab-to-lab experimental variability. While the development strategies were illustrated through the validation of the model under the Comprehensive In vitro Proarrhythmia Assay (CiPA), the implementation strategies have not been adopted yet. METHODS: The proposed implementation strategies were applied to the CiPA model by performing a sensitivity analysis to identify a subset of calibration drugs that were most critical in determining the classification thresholds for proarrhythmia risk prediction. RESULTS: The selected calibration drugs were able to recapitulate classification thresholds close to those calculated from the full list of CiPA drugs. Using an illustrative dataset it was shown that a new lab could use these calibration drugs to establish its own classification thresholds (lab-specific calibration), and verify that the model prediction accuracy in the new lab is comparable to that in the original lab where the model was developed (lab-specific validation). DISCUSSION: This work used the CiPA model as an example to illustrate how to adopt the proposed model implementation strategies to select calibration drugs and perform lab-specific calibration and lab-specific validation. Generic in nature, these strategies could be generally applied to different proarrhythmia risk prediction models using various experimental systems under the new paradigm.

Pectin-decorated selenium nanoparticles as a nanocarrier of curcumin to achieve enhanced physicochemical and biological properties.

In this study, the authors developed pectin-stabilised selenium nanoparticles (pectin-SeNPs) for curcumin (Cur) encapsulation and evaluated their physicochemical properties and biological activities. Results showed that pectin-SeNPs and Cur-loaded pectin-SeNPs (pectin-SeNPs@Cur) exhibited monodisperse and homogeneous spherical structures in aqueous solutions with mean particle sizes of ∼61 and ∼119 nm, respectively. Cur was successfully encapsulated into pectin-SeNPs through hydrogen bonding interactions with an encapsulation efficiency of ∼60.6%, a loading content of ∼7.4%, and a pH-dependent and controlled drug release in vitro. After encapsulation was completed, pectin-SeNPs@Cur showed enhanced water solubility (∼500-fold), dispersibility, and storage stability compared with those of free Cur. Moreover, pectin-SeNPs@Cur possessed significant free radical scavenging ability and antioxidant capacity in vitro, which were stronger than those of pectin-SeNPs. Antitumour activity assay in vitro demonstrated that pectin-SeNPs@Cur could inhibit the growth of HepG2 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, and the nanocarrier pectin-SeNPs exhibited a low cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cells. Therefore, the results suggested that pectin-SeNPs could function as effective nanovectors for the enhancement of the water solubility, stability, and in vitro bioactivities of hydrophobic Cur.

A nitrile-mediated aptasensor for optical anti-interference detection of acetamiprid in apple juice by surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

Currently, the detection of pesticide is critical for food safety assurance, but it is still challenging due to the presence of biological interferents from complex food matrix. In this study, we developed an optical anti-interference surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) aptasensor system for trace detection of acetamiprid. 4-(Mercaptomethyl) benzonitrile (MMBN) containing CN bond was used as Raman tag to provide a sharp peak (2227 cm-1) in the Raman-silent spectral window (1800-2800 cm-1) where no Raman signal existed for most of molecules. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) bonded with polyadenine (polyA)-mediated aptamer and Raman tag (MMBN-AuNPs-aptamer) was synthesized as Raman probe, while the complementary DNA (cDNA) conjugated with AgNPs-decorated silicon wafer (AgNPs@Si) was used as SERS substrate. As acetamiprid molecule could specifically combine with aptamer, preventing the formation of MMBN-AuNPs-aptamer-cDNA-AgNPs@Si (expressed as "Au-AgNPs@Si") hybrid through DNA sequence linking, Raman signal intensities of MMBN in Au-AgNPs@Si decreased when the concentration of acetamiprid increased. Under the optimum assay condition, the proposed method displayed a linear response for acetamiprid detection in the range of 25-250 nM with a low detection limit of 6.8 nM. Finally, the developed aptasensor was successfully used to determine acetamiprid content in apple juice. Accordingly, this novel anti-interference SERS aptasensor could be a promising acetamiprid sensor for food safety assurance.

Characterization and Evaluation of Aroma Quality in Doubanjiang, a Chinese Traditional Fermented Red Pepper Paste, Using Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis and a Sensory Profile.

Doubanjiang, a Chinese traditional fermented red pepper paste, is eaten worldwide for its unique flavor. The objective of this study was to evaluate the aroma quality of doubanjiang using solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) and headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). A total of 165 volatile compounds, belonging to 13 chemical classes, were identified. Esters and hydrocarbons were the predominant groups. Thirteen aroma-active compounds were detected by AEDA of SAFE and HS-SPME, and their odor activity values (OAVs) were calculated by dividing their concentration by their odor threshold in water. Among them, ethyl isovalerate, ß-damascenone, 3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine (IBMP), and sotolone had the highest OAVs (>1000). In addition, sotolone, methional, ß-damascenone, 3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine, ethyl isovalerate, phenylethyl alcohol and linalool had high flavor dilution (FD) factors. Sotolone, ß-damascenone and 3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine were identified for the first time in doubanjiang and played significant roles in its aroma quality.