This study examined and compared the microbial community in three typical fermentation starters (called as Daqu, Xiaoqu, and Fuqu in China) used for liquor production by analysing the 16S and 18S rRNA gene clone library. The results show that the microbial diversity in the three types of fermentation starters (JiuQu) differs significantly. The bacterial species in Daqu and Fuqu were mainly thermophilic or thermotolerant. In Daqu, the dominant bacterial species were Thermoactinomyces sanguinis (53.85%) and Pantoea agglomerans (19.23%), followed by uncultured bacteria (15.39%). The lactic acid bacterium Weissella cibaria (50%) and a member of Enterobacteriaceae, Enterobacter ludwigii (10%), were the dominant bacterial species in Xiaoqu. Low abundances of other bacteria, including Deinococcus radiodurans, Corynebacterium variabile and Acinetobacter baumannii, were reported for Xiaoqu. Enterococcus faecium, Clostridium beijerinckii and Bacillus cereus were observed in Fuqu and accounted for 46.67, 23.33 and 16.67% of the total bacteria identified, respectively. Fungal diversity was high in Daqu and consisted exclusively of thermophilic moulds, such as Aspergillus glaucus (62.5%), Thermomyces lanuginosus (12.5%) and Thermoascus crustaceus (12.5%). Only two fungal species were reported for Fuqu and Xiaoqu and both contained the mould Rhizopus oryzae. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the non-Saccharomyces yeast (Saccharomycopsis fibuligera) were also identified in Fuqu and Xiaoqu, respectively. This finding suggests that microbial community structure in JiuQu starters is the key factor to determine the variety of flavours.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the dosimetric differences among conformal radiotherapy (CRT), intensity‐modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and volumetric‐modulated radiotherapy (VMAT) in the treatment of middle thoracic esophageal cancer, and determine the most appropriate treatment modality. IMRT and one‐arc VMAT plans were generated for eight middle thoracic esophageal cancer patients treated previous with CRT. The planning target volume (PTV) coverage and protections on organs at risk of three planning schemes were compared. All plans have sufficient PTV coverage and no significant differences were observed, except for the conformity and homogeneity. The lung V5, V10, and V13 in CRT were 47.9% ± 6.1%, 36.5% ± 4.6%, and 33.2% ± 4.2%, respectively, which were greatly increased to 78.2% ± 13.7% (p < 0.01), 80.8% ± 14.9% (p < 0.01), 48.4% ± 8.2% (p = 0.05) in IMRT and 58.6% ± 10.5% (p = 0.03), 67.7% ± 14.0% (p < 0.01), and 53.0% ± 10.1% (p < 0.01) in VMAT, respectively. The lung V20 (p = 0.03) in VMAT and the V30 (p = 0.04) in IMRT were lower than those in CRT. Both IMRT and VMAT achieved a better protection on heart. However, the volumes of the healthy tissue outside of PTV irradiated by a low dose were higher for IMRT and VMAT. IMRT and VMAT also had a higher MU, optimization time, and delivery time compared to CRT. In conclusion, all CRT, IMRT, and VMAT plans are able to meet the prescription and there is no clear distinction on PTV coverage. IMRT and VMAT can only decrease the volume of lung and heart receiving a high dose, but at a cost of delivering low dose to more volume of lung and normal tissues. CRT is still a feasible option for middle thoracic esophageal cancer radiotherapy, especially for the cost‐effective consideration.PACS numbers: 87.53.Kn, 87.55.x 87.55.D 87.55.dk

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Glucosinolates (GSLs), secondary metabolites synthesized by cruciferous plants, can be hydrolyzed by myrosinase into compounds, such as isothiocyanates (ITCs), with various bioactivities. Thus, myrosinase plays an important role in the utilization of GSLs. We isolated a bacterial strain, which was identified as Leclercia adecarboxylata, from the rhizosphere soil of rape seedlings and identified two myrosinase genes and an ITC hydrolase gene. Both myrosinases are intracellular and have 658 amino acid residues. Via molecular docking and chemical modification assays investigating the active sites of the myrosinases, arginine was found to be essential for their catalytic activity. Transcriptomic analysis of the response to sinigrin revealed significant up-regulation of some genes involved in allyl-ITC detoxification, with metallo-β-lactamase 3836 having the highest fold change. Thus, we discovered two myrosinases from L. adecarboxylata and demonstrated that the mechanism of tolerance of the bacterium to allyl-ITC likely involved metallo-β-lactamase activity.