Jianhong Ren

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading causes of death in China. Conventional diagnostic methods are dependent on advanced instruments, which are expensive, inaccessible and inconvenient in underdeveloped areas. To build a novel dried blood spot detection strategy for imaging cardiovascular diseases, in this study, a total of 12 compounds including seven amino acids (Ile, Leu, Val, Phe, Tyr, and Trp), three amino acid derivatives (choline, betaine, and TMAO), L-carnitine, and creatinine, were screened for their ability to identify CVD. A rapid and reliable method was established for the quantitative analysis of the 12 compounds in dried blood spot (DBS). A total of 526 CVD patients and 200 healthy volunteers in five provinces of China were recruited, and divided into the following groups: stroke, coronary heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. The orthogonal projection to latent structures-discriminant analysis model (OPLSDA) was used to characterize the difference between each CVD group. Marked differences between the groups based on the OPLSDA model were observed. Based on the model, the patients in the three training sets were mostly accurately categorized into the appropriate group. In addition, the ROC curves and logistic regression of each metabolite chosen by the OPLSDA model had excellent predictive value in both the test and validation groups. Dried blood spot detection of 12 biomarkers was sensitive and powerful for characterizing different types of CVD. Such differentiation may reduce unnecessary invasive coronary angiography, enhance predictive value, and complement current diagnostic methods.

Bacillus spp. are a genus of biocontrol bacteria widely used for antibiosis, while Trichoderma spp. are biocontrol fungi that are abundantly explored. In this study, a liquid co-cultivation of these two organisms was tried firstly. Through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS), it was discovered that with an inoculation in the ratio of 1.9:1, the antimicrobial effect of the co-cultured fermentation liquor of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ACCC11060 and Trichoderma asperellum GDFS1009 was found to be significantly higher than that of pure-cultivation. A raise in the synthesis of antimicrobial substances contributed to this significant increase. Additionally, a co-culture with the inoculation of the two organisms in the ratio of 1:1 was found to enhance the production of specific amino acids. This technique could be further explored for either a large scale production of amino acids or could serve as a theoretical base for the generation of certain rare amino acids. This work clearly demonstrated that co-cultivation of B. amyloliquefaciens ACCC11060 and T. asperellum GDFS1009 could produce more specific biocontrol substances and amino acids.