本研究首先通过高水分挤压工艺和装备创新，成功制备了与动物肉质地相当的新型植物基肉制品产品。进一步，采集加工过程中75组不同原料特性（X）和工艺参数（W）条件下，蛋白质多尺度结构变化（Y^n´）、系统响应参数（S）和产品品质（Z）等数据共8000余条，采用分层增广主成分分析方法（FA-PCA），建立高水分挤压过程纤维结构品质控制模型6套。结果表明，FA-PCA建模方法的R²优于传统主成分分析法（PCA），可实现蛋白质纤维结构的有效调控。相比原料和工艺参数，通过高水分挤压过程中蛋白质梯次性多尺度结构变化预测产品品质效果最佳，证明了蛋白质多尺度结构对于纤维结构控制的重要性。此外，将数学模型与虚拟仿真技术结合，创建了涵盖数据库系统、动态仿真系统和虚拟现实系统等的高水分挤压可视化软件，将错综复杂的挤压过程进行了数字化关联，为实现精准调控和智能制造建立奠定了基础。

前期研究表明，高油酸花生油(HOPO)和特级初榨橄榄油(EVOO)对代谢综合征(MS)具有预防作用。本研究旨在评估HOPO和EVOO膳食干预预防MS的代谢效应，以及肠道菌群在其中的作用。选用Sprague-Dawley大鼠分别喂食正常饲料、高果糖-高脂肪饲料、含HOPO的高果糖-高脂肪饲料和含EVOO的高果糖-高脂肪饲料，持续12周。利用基于UPLC-Q/TOF-MS的非靶向代谢组学分析粪便和血清样品的代谢组学特征，采用偏最小二乘判别分析(PLS-DA)对组间粪便和血清中潜在生物标志物进行鉴定，评估肠道菌群与潜在生物标志物的相关性，并对血清生物标志物进行通路分析。结果表明：各组粪便和血清代谢模式存在显著差异，其中HOPO组和EVOO组分别有8、12个粪便生物标志物和15、6个血清生物标志物，同时，粪便和血清中氨基酸、多肽及其类似物组成发生显著变化，而支链氨基酸(BCAAs)生物合成通路被鉴定为HOPO和EVOO的主要调控途径，是高油酸花生油和特级初榨橄榄油预防大鼠膳食诱导代谢综合征的关键通路。

【研究目的】肉鸡骨骼肌的发育情况与肉产量及质量密切相关，而骨骼肌的发育主要依赖于成肌细胞的分化。利钠肽家族成员在哺乳动物骨骼肌的肌管形成及脂肪氧化过程中起重要作用，而C-型利钠肽激素（CNP）作为利钠肽家族的重要成员之一，它对骨骼肌的发育调控作用及机制尚未见相关报道，为更好的理解利钠肽家族在骨骼肌发育中的作用及机制，本研究通过外源10^-7 mol L^-1CNP诱导鸡的原代成肌细胞，探讨CNP对鸡成肌细胞分化的作用及机制。【研究方法】利用CCK8和EDU染色法检测成肌细胞的增殖，Q-PCR技术检测相关基因的表达，转录组测序及生物信息学分析筛选成肌细胞中响应CNP调控的差异基因及显著富集的信号通路。【研究结果】结果表明：与对照组相较，外源添加CNP后，成肌细胞的增殖能力显著增强（P < 0.05）；成肌细胞分化的标志基因MYOD和MYOG表达显著上升（P < 0.05）；CNP的特异性受体NPRB（Natriuretic peptide receptor B） 和清除性受体NPRC（Natriuretic peptide receptor C）的表达显著上调（P < 0.05）；转录组测序分析结果表明，142个差异基因（上调基因84个，下调基因58个）响应CNP对成肌细胞分化的调控作用（P < 0.05）；142个差异表达基因显著富集在8个信号通路（P < 0.05），而代谢通路里富集了16个差异表达基因，其中phospholipase C delta 4（PLCD4）、phospholipase C beta 2（PLCB2）、phosphoglycerate mutase 1（PGAM1）、 creatine kinase B（CKB）、 peroxiredoxin 6（PRDX6）和 CD38这6个基因与骨骼肌的发育密切相关。【研究结论】综上所述，CNP通过上调NPRB/NPRC及富集在代谢通路里的关键基因（PLCD4、 PLCβ2、 PGAM1、 CKB、 PRDX6和 CD38）促进成肌细胞的分化。【创 新 性】本研究利用功能基因验证法和高通量转录组测序法相结合的方法，首次系统阐述了CNP对成肌细胞分化的调控作用及机制，为更好地理解利钠肽家族在骨骼肌发育中的作用及机制奠定了基础。

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This study examined the effect of peanut quality on the storage stability of peanut butter.  The quality of 17 varieties of peanuts was analyzed, and each was used to prepare peanut butter.  For different storage temperatures and durations, stability of the peanut butter was measured according to three indicators: peroxide value, acid value, and centrifugal rate.  The correlation between peanut components and peanut butter storage stability was also investigated.  The results indicated significant differences in fatty acid composition between different varieties of peanut.  Peanut butter prepared with high oleic peanuts (Kainong 17-15) had a significantly longer shelf life than that of other varieties.  The significant correlation between the stability of peanut butter and peanut quality suggests that oleic acid and linoleic acid were the main influencing factors on stability.  This study finds that the high oleic peanuts (HOP) is the most suitable variety for making peanut butter, which can allow farmers and processors to choose the specific variety for better product and shelf life. 

Cereal, oil and fruit are the foundation of human survival which attracted much attention by their quality characteristics and products.  Currently, there are about 410 000 wheat resources (Drikvand et al. 2013), 215 000 rice resources (Kaur et al. 2014), 35 000 peanut resources (Wang et al. 2014), and 7 000 apple resources (Nie et al. 2013).  The processing characteristics of different agricultural product raw materials are different.  And for a long time, lots of research are focusing on the development of processing technology.  The background and basis of different agricultural product raw materials, especially for the processing characteristics, is still unclear while the relationship between raw materials and products is just beginning.  According to the research, American peanut has been divided into four types while Virginia suitable for salt-baked, Runner suitable for butter, Spanish suitable for confectionery and Valencia suitable for roasting (Wang et al. 2017).  However, the lacking of process quality evaluation model, method and standard is still the bottleneck restricting the healthy development of agricultural product processing industry.  This special focus provides the most methods and updated knowledge of processing characteristics and quality evaluation.
In the aspect of characteristic detection, Nagamoto et al. (2018) developed a microplate assay method for determining the contents of triacylglycerols (TAGs), phosphatidylcholines (PCs), and free fatty acids (FFAs) in the rice bran of one grain using enzymatic reactions.  This novel method could be used for screening oil-rich rice lines in the future rice processing.  And for the relationship between raw material characteristics and product quality, Cho et al. (2018) identified how the different levels of nitrogen application affected the variances of gluten properties and end-use qualities and the differences of variances among Korean wheat cultivars.  The Korean wheat cultivars showed a high proportion of (α+β)-gliadin increase for bread, a high proportion of γ-gliadin decrease for noodles and a high proportion of ω-gliadin decreased for cookies.  And Yan et al. (2018) also tested ten indices from 106 apple cultivars and finally found malic acid (Mal), total organic acids (ToA), and acidity value (AcV) of apple were normally distributed, titratable acid (TiA) was close to normally distributed, whereas pH value had a skewed distribution.  Using the fitted normal distribution curves, the grading standards of Mal, TiA, ToA, and AcV were established.  This study provides a scientific basis for evaluating apple flavor and selecting apple cultivars. 
Actually, the finally purpose for the processing characteristics and quality evaluation is to find the special varieties for processing which could enhance the quality and value of products.  And Wang et al. (2018) could give a good example.  They clarified the relationship between peanut quality and storage stability of peanut butter.  It concluded that oleic acid and linoleic acid values of the peanut materials have greater impact on the storage stability of peanut butter while two peanuts varieties as HOP and Open 17-15 had the longest shelf life for butter. 
I genuinely believe that the readers of the Journal of  Integrative Agriculture will be interested in these articles and inspired with the findings of the papers for developing future research on the given topics.  I want to express my deep appreciation to all authors for their high-quality contributions and efforts to this special focus.

Cereals and oilseeds are the foundation of human survival which have attracted much attention due to their nutritional and functional properties for maintaining the healthy life.  There are abundant varieties of cereals and oilseeds, however, for a long time, their process suitabilities are still unknown, resulting in the lack of precision processing.  This paper summarized the characteristics of cereals and oilseeds, including sensory, physicochemical and processing qualities, their characteristic fingerprinting and products qualities.  Furthermore, the quality fast detection method was also analyzed.  It also explored the role of mathematical model and the standard evaluation index to determine the process suitability and discussed the opportunity for advanced model capability.  We also prospected on scientific problems for expanding the predictive capabilities for processing suitabilities of these abundant varieties, focusing on the better results and advancements towards the processing of cereals and oilseeds products and improvement of their quality.  

    As pesticide residues in bayberry has raised serious concern from the public in China, a monitoring survey was carried out during 2013–2014 and 157 samples were analyzed in total.  Twenty-three pesticides were detected among the 44 pesticides analyzed and at least one pesticide was detected in 63% of 99 samples.  Whereas 45.6% of samples were found with two or more pesticide residues, and 23.6% of samples with four or more pesticide residues.  Probabilistic risk assessments indicated that estimated daily intake (EDI) of cyhalothrin at the P97.5th percentile level is 1.11 times larger than the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for children, the estimated short-term intake (ESTI) at the P97.5th percentile level is 1.9 and 1.78 times larger than the acute reference dose (ARfD) for adult and children, respectively, indicating the potential risk concern from pyrethroids.  EDI of the pesticides with anti-androgenic effects ranged from 0.15–2.46 of ADI, the probability of exposure exceeding the ADI was 7.1 and 31.1% for adults and children, respectively, the probability of exposure of pyrethroids exceeding the ADI was 3.8% for children.  Exposures for other pesticides and groups were below 1.0.  Because the co-occurrence of frequency of cyhalothrin and cypermethrin was 9.55%, the combinations of pesticides detected with anti-androgenic effects has not been found in the present monitoring, the results indicate that the pesticide residues in bayberry will not constitute serious public health risk, however, they are significant for the management of pesticide use on bayberry and dietary health risk in China. 

    The growth periods (GPs, from planting/emergence to reproductive stage 8 (R8) of soybean cultivars vary in different ecological regions, especially in China with a very complex soybean cropping system. In this study, a 3-yr experimental study was undertaken in three geographical locations of China from 2008 to 2010, including the Northeast (40.66–45.85°N), Huang-Huai (34.75–38.04°N) and southern (22.82–30.60°N) eco-regions with about 250 accessions in each region to clarify the classification of maturity group (MG) and identify the cultivars with stable GP to increase the knowledge about the GP distribution of soybean cultivars in China. GPs of soybean cultivars in different eco-regions were significant different with a gradual decrease from 115–125 d in the Northeast part to the 85–100 d in the southern part of China. The geographical location was the major factor for GP of cultivars from the Northeast, while the year of planting was the major factor affecting the stability of GPs in Huang-Huai summer and southern summer soybean. AMMI2 (additive main effects and multiplicative interaction)-Biplot analysis showed that the GPs of soybean cultivars from the Northeast eco-region have a comparatively satisfactory environmental stability. Moreover, soybean cultivars with moderate GP/MG and stable environment adaptability in different eco-regions were identified based on the linear regression and AMMI analysis, which was important for the accurate classification of soybean MGs in future. Taken together, our results reflected the genetic diversity, geographical distribution and environmental stability of the Chinese soybean GP trait. Soybean cultivars with stable GP for various Chinese eco-regions would be beneficial for Chinese soybean genetic improvement, varietal introduction, exchange, and soybean breeding program for wide adaptability.

The antifungal activity of chitosan on a common fungal phytopathogen, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and the control effect on sclerotinia rot of carrot were investigated. Mycelial growth and fungal biomass were strongly inhibited by chitosan. Using propidium iodide stain combined with fluorescent microscopy, the plasma membrane of chitosan-treated S. sclerotiorum mycelia was observed to be markedly damaged. Concomitantly, protein leakage and lipid peroxidation was also found to be significantly higher in chitosan-treated mycelia compared to the control. Chitosan provided an effective control of sclerotinia rot of carrot, with induction of activity of defense-related enzymes including polyphenoloxidase and peroxidase. These data suggest that the effects of chitosan on sclerotinia rot of carrot may be associated with the direct damage to the plasma membrane and lipid peroxidation of S. sclerotiorum, and the elicitation of defense response in carrot.

This study aims to investigate the variation in occurrence of white-belly rice kernel (WBRK) and white-core rice kernel (WCRK) among different positions within a panicle. Twenty-four M4 mutants involved in four panicle types, namely the compact, intermediate, loose, and chicken foot panicle were used. They derived from a japonica rice cultivar Wuyujing 3. Considerable differences in morphological characters existed among the four types of panicle, especially in panicle length, the secondary branch number and ratio of grain number to total branch length. Marked differences were found in WBRK and WCRK among different positions within a panicle for all types of panicle. In general, grains located on the primary rachis and top rachis branches had higher WBRK and WCRK percentage than those on the secondary rachis and bottom rachis branches. WCRK exhibited larger variation among grain positions than WBRK did. Moreover, there was a significant difference in WCRK/WBRK among grain positions within a panicle, with primary rachis and top rachis branches having higher values than the secondary and bottom rachis. In addition, panicle type showed no significant effect on the pattern of WBRK and WCRK occurrence within a panicle. The results indicated the difference in mechanism of WBRK and WCRK formation in grain position within a panicle, and are valuable for breeding and agronomic practices aimed at lowering chalky grain rate.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous signaling molecule in plants that plays a key role in mediating a wide range of physiological processes and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of the exogenous application of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an NO donor, on cadmium (Cd)-induced oxidative stress and Cd uptake in rice plants. Rice plants were exposed to Cd stress (0.2 mmol L-1 CdCl2) and different concentrations of SNP (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mmol L-1). A SNP concentration of 0.1 mmol L-1 (SNP10) significantly reduced the Cd-induced decrease in shoot and root dry weights and leaf chlorophyll concentrations. The addition of NO also reduced the malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and ascorbic acid (ASA) concentrations. However, the reduction in glutathione (GSH) concentration was inhibited by NO treatment. Moreover, NO prevented the Cd-induced increase in antioxidative enzyme activity. The amount of Cd accumulation in rice plants was also influenced by the addition of NO. The NO supplied by the SNP enhanced the Cd tolerance of the rice by increasing the Cd uptake by the roots and decreasing the Cd accumulation by the shoots. However, the application of potassium ferrocyanide (Cd+Fe) or sodium nitrate and nitrite (Cd+N) (without NO release), did not exhibit the effects of the SNP. Furthermore, the effects of the SNP were reversed by the addition of hemoglobin (an NO scavenger). Our results suggested that exogenous NO was involved in the resistance of rice to Cdtoxicity.

Estimating wheat grain protein content by remote sensing is important for assessing wheat quality at maturity and making grains harvest and purchase policies. However, spatial variability of soil condition, temperature, and precipitation will affect grain protein contents and these factors usually cannot be monitored accurately by remote sensing data from single image. In this research, the relationships between wheat protein content at maturity and wheat agronomic parameters at different growing stages were analyzed and multi-temporal images of Landsat TM were used to estimate grain protein content by partial least squares regression. Experiment data were acquired in the suburb of Beijing during a 2-yr experiment in the period from 2003 to 2004. Determination coefficient, average deviation of self-modeling, and deviation of crossvalidation were employed to assess the estimation accuracy of wheat grain protein content. Their values were 0.88, 1.30%, 3.81% and 0.72, 5.22%, 12.36% for 2003 and 2004, respectively. The research laid an agronomic foundation for GPC (grain protein content) estimation by multi-temporal remote sensing. The results showed that it is feasible to estimate GPC of wheat from multi-temporal remote sensing data in large area.

Fosfomycin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, is very important in the clinic but many fosfomycin-resistant bacteria have been isolated from patients. In this study, the resistance mechanism of three fosfomycin-resistant avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strains (JE1, IF7 and CD11) isolated from septicemic chickens were analyzed. The results showed that their fosfomycin-resistance mechanisms were different. An alteration in the glpT transport system was the main reason of the fosfomycin-resistance mechanisms of strain IF7. Compared with the control stain BL21, the capacity of fosfomycin-uptake was low in all these three stains (JE1>IF7>CD11). Sequence results of murA showed that there were more than 10 sites of nucleotide mutation, but only one amino acid mutation T116A showed in CD11. Real-time detection test showed that the expression level of the murA gene of the three stains was significantly increased (four times increase in strain CD11 and two times increase in strains JE1 and IF7). The transformation and recombinant test showed that the recombinant bacteria with the murA of JE1 and CD11 showed high minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) against fosfomycin. From the results of this research, it showed that most of the fosfomycinresistance mechanisms once showed in patient bacteria have appeared in the APEC strains and the fosfomycin-resistance mechanism of the three APEC isolates was different.