Effects of sorghum varieties on microbial communities and volatile compounds in the fermentation of light-flavor Baijiu.

Light-flavor Baijiu (LFB) fermentation is a representative spontaneous mixed-culture solid-state fermentation process in which sorghum is used as the raw material. Raw materials and microorganisms are crucial to the flavor formation and quality of LFB. However, the microbial and physicochemical dynamics of different sorghum varieties during LFB fermentation, as well as their impact on flavor compounds are still largely unknown. Herein, PacBio single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing and headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) were applied to investigate microbial community succession and volatile flavor formation in glutinous/non-glutinous sorghum-based fermented grains during LFB fermentation. Fermented grains made of glutinous sorghum Liangnuo No. 1 (GLN) had higher bacterial α-diversity and lower fungal α-diversity than those with fermented grains prepared with non-glutinous red sorghum (NRS) (p < 0.05). The dominant microbial species were Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Acetobacter pasteurinus, and Lactobacillus helveticus, the latter two of which were the predominant bacteria observed at the end of fermentation in GLN and NRS, respectively. Moisture content and reducing sugar had a more significant impact on the microorganisms in GLN, while amino acid nitrogen, total free amino acids, and residual starch were the main driving factors driving the microbial community in NRS. The correlation network and discriminant analysis indicated that a relatively high content of 4-vinylguaiacol showed a significant positive association with significant differential microbial species in GLN. These results provided valuable insights for improving the quality of LFB.

Monetary policy as market stabilizer in the COVID-19 pandemic.

We categorize expansionary monetary policies based on interest rates, monetary easing, and liquidity decisions. We find that the stock market reacts positively to liquidity policy announcements by a more significant margin during and after the COVID-19 at market and industry levels compared with reactions to interest rate or monetary easing policy announcements. The economic consequences are large and persistent. Using firm characteristics as proxies for monetary policy transmission channels, we find that at firm level, the positive responses to liquidity policy announcements during the crisis are more pronounced for small and medium-sized businesses and non-state-owned enterprises relative to other enterprises.

A Traditional Chinese Medicine Plant Extract Prevents Alcohol-Induced Osteopenia.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been practiced in the treatment of bone diseases and alcoholism. Chronic excessive alcohol use results in alcohol-induced bone diseases, including osteopenia and osteoporosis, which increases fracture risk, deficient bone repair, and osteonecrosis. This preclinical study investigated the therapeutic effects of TCM herbal extracts in animal models of chronic excessive alcohol consumption-induced osteopenia. TCM herbal extracts (Jing extracts) were prepared from nine Chinese herbal medicines, a combinative herbal formula for antifatigue and immune regulation, including Astragalus, Cistanche deserticola, Dioscorea polystachya, Lycium barbarum, Epimedium, Cinnamomum cassia, Syzygium aromaticum, Angelica sinensis, and Curculigo orchioides. In this study, Balb/c male mice were orally administrated alcohol (3.2 g/kg/day) with/without TCM herbal extracts (0.125 g/kg, 0.25 g/kg, or 0.5 g/kg) by gavage. Our results showed that after 50 days of oral administration, TCM herbal extracts prevented alcohol-induced osteopenia demonstrated by µ-CT bone morphological analysis in young adults and middle-aged/old Balb/c male mice. Biochemical analysis demonstrated that chronic alcohol consumption inhibits bone formation and has a neutral impact on bone resorption, suggesting that TCM herbal extracts (Jing extracts) mitigate the alcohol-induced abnormal bone metabolism in middle-aged/old male mice. Protocatechuic acid, a natural phenolic acid in Jing extracts, mitigates in vivo alcohol-induced decline of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) gene expression in the bone marrow of Balb/c male mice and in vitro ALP activity in pre-osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells. Our study suggests that TCM herbal extracts prevent chronic excessive alcohol consumption-induced osteopenia in male mice, implying that traditional medicinal plants have the therapeutic potential of preventing alcohol-induced bone diseases.

HClO/ClO--Indicative Interpenetrating Polymer Network Hydrogels as Intelligent Bioactive Materials for Wound Healing.

Wound healing is a complex biological process, and the use of wound dressings is an effective adjunct to promote skin repair or tissue healing due to the limitations of skin self-healing. In this study, we constructed interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) hydrogels with HClO/ClO- indicative and biocompatible properties by combining sodium alginate (SA) and cross-linking RhB-AC. This hydrogel can also be used as a drug scaffold for controlled drug release. A significant fluorescence change was observed when hypochlorous acid was added to the hydrogel in vitro, which confirmed that the IPN hydrogel was able to indicate and consume a certain amount of hypochlorous acid. Subsequent cell culture and toxicity tests confirmed the good biocompatibility of the IPN hydrogel. When the hydrogel was used for wound healing in vivo, both the material itself and the hydrogel drug scaffold exhibited excellent wound healing effects. The present IPN hydrogels may be excellent candidates as hypochlorous acid consuming and biocompatible materials for wound dressing applications.

Synthetic Regulation of 1,4-Dihydropyridines for the AIE or AIEE Effect: From Rational Design to Mechanistic Views.

Aggregation-induced emission/aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIE/AIEE) has recently attracted intense research, and a large number of AIE/AIEE luminogens (AIE/AIEEgens) have been constructed for application in diverse scientific fields. The AIE and AIEE effects have similar, but not identical, photophysical behaviors, which are closely related to molecular architectures. However, the current understanding of the inherent differences between AIE and AIEE is still obscure. Herein, a rational design strategy is reported for achieving AIE and AIEE effects by simply incorporating different substituents at the periphery of the same core skeleton. Experimental and theoretical studies on the series of compounds indicated that the restriction of intramolecular twisting motions or/and rotations plays an important role in regard to the corresponding AIE or AIEE behaviors. Moreover, compound 1 a (FW=203, ΦF =80.9 %) was discovered as the lowest molecular weight AIEEgen with a high quantum yield in the solid state despite having no rotatable units. Compound 2 a also exhibited an AIEE effect with the minimum necessary structure (a single ring).

Icariin improves cognitive deficits and activates quiescent neural stem cells in aging rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Icariin represents an important active component in Herba Epimedii, which is a famous Chinese herbal medicine that is widely used to treat some age-related diseases in oriental countries. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of icariin on cognitive function in natural aging rats, and then to explore its mechanism by investigating the activation of quiescent neural stem cells (NSCs) in the hippocampus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats that were 18 months of age were divided into two groups including treated rats (i.e., icariin was administered from the age of 18 months to 21 months) and control rats (i.e., only saline was administered). The Morris water maze (MWM) tasks were then employed to measure spatial learning and memory. Subsequently, AraC was infused into the brain with osmotic minipumps in order to destroy proliferative stem cells primarily leaving quiescent NSCs. After seven days of recovery, 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was co-labeled with markers for NSC to identify NSCs. RESULTS: The results from the MWM indicated that icariin has a beneficial effect on cognitive function in aging rats. In addition, by double-labeling BrdU and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), our findings indicated that NSC activation is markedly increased in the icariin-treated rats compared to control rats. For example, a much greater increase was produced in BrdU and highly polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) and BrdU and Olig2 double-labeled cells following icariin treatment. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that icariin represents a promising candidate for the modulation of aging. Therefore, icariin administration may effectively prevent or delay the onset of age-related cognitive degeneration, and its capability to activate quiescent NSCs may potentially be one of its mechanisms.