In this study, high‐throughput technology was used to reveal the core microbial community in sorghum‐based fermented grains during different fermentation periods and to quantify the impacts of physicochemical parameters and microbial interspecies relationships on the volatile flavors. Headspace solid‐phase microextraction, coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, was used to select 14 major volatile products with relative content greater than 1% in at least one sample, including three alcohols, one acid, eight esters, and two alkanes. The relative content of alkanes was only high on the first day and continued to decrease during the later fermentation stage. As fermentation progressed, the relative content of ethanol, ethyl acetate (aroma), and isoamyl alcohol (pungent, spicy) first increased and then decreased. In addition, the relative content of other ethyl esters continued to increase. In the early stage of fermentation (1–7 days), the temperature, moisture, and alcohol content showed an upward trend, while the content of reducing sugar decreased. As the temperature decreased in the middle and later stages (7–28 days), the physicochemical parameters tended to stabilize. In community composition, the dominant bacterial genera were Lactobacillus, Streptomyces, and Acetobacter, and the fungal genera were mainly Issatchenkia, Torulaspora, and Pichia. Network analysis identified a total of 10 core microbiota as the main contributors of esters and alkane metabolites. Moreover, total acidity and reducing sugar played important roles in promoting the formation of core microbiota and succession of dominant taxa.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global challenge affecting both healthcare and agricultural fields, as emphasized by the World Health Organization (WHO). Industrial poultry production plays a crucial role in the development and dissemination of AMR. A comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying AMR is imperative for developing effective control strategies. Materials and methods: This study aimed to identify factors influencing AMR in Escherichia coli from large-scale commercial broiler farms. Samples, including 371 anal swabs, 95 fecal swabs, and 122 feed-trough swabs, were collected from Cobb broilers at the four production stages (1, 15, 26, and 38 days of age) on typical farms in Shandong Province. From these specimens, 508 E. coli strains were isolated and characterized. Antimicrobial susceptibility was assessed using the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method against 15 commonly used antibiotics, and results were interpreted according to CLSI guidelines. Results: The resistance rates of the isolated strains varied between 24.41% and 95.47%. A total of 96.45% of the strains exhibited multidrug resistance, and 29 strains were resistant to all 15 antibiotics. The highest resistance was observed against penicillin (amoxicillin and ampicillin), followed by florfenicol, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, cefotaxime, and cefazolin. The lowest resistance was noted for ofloxacin and gentamicin. Drug resistance was most substantial at 15 days of age compared with that at 1, 26, and 38 days of age. Discussion: An analysis of the relationship between drug resistance and drug use showed that doxycycline significantly increased the resistance rate (68.40%, p < 0.05). Additionally, the drug resistance of bacteria isolated from fecal swabs was higher than that of bacteria from anal and feed-trough swabs. The results indicate that sample type, drug type, and age all influence E. coli drug resistance in poultry, with drug type having the greatest impact.

This study aimed to prepare a composite film with antioxidant activity for fruit and vegetable preservation. Polyphenols were extracted from Zanthoxylum bungeanum leaves (ZMP), and their composition was studied. ZMP-chitosan film (ZMP/C-film) was prepared by tape casting and the film properties were evaluated. The results revealed that ZMP was mainly composed of seven components: epicatechin (3.24 mg/g), chlorogenic acid (3.59 mg/g), coumarin acid (1.40 mg/g), ferulic acid (4.36 mg/g), quercetin (7.61 mg/g), quercetin (4.52 mg/g), and kaempferol (2.51 mg/g). The opacity of the film incorporated with ZMP significantly increased by 2.28 times. Flexibility (elongation at break) increased by 72%, while the ZMP/C-films had lower tensile strength (32.15–40.3 MPa). Microstructurally, scanning electron microscopy results indicated that ZMP and Chitosan (CS) were compatible. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed the formation of a dense structure between ZMP and CS. Analysis of X-ray diffraction indicated a tendency toward an increase in the amorphous characteristic of the ZMP/C-film. The kinetic results of polyphenol release indicate that ZMP release was mainly achieved through the dissolution of CS-based polymer frameworks. The release rate and rate of ZMP in the membrane were highest in 3.0% acetic acid (v/v) (33.62%). The scavenging rates of DPPH and ABTS⁺ free radicals by the 1 g/dL ZMP/C-film were 0.83 and 0.82 times higher than those of 1.0 mg/mL vitamin C (Vc) under the same conditions. In addition, ZMP/C-film was used for strawberry preservation. When stored at 25 °C for 7 d, the weight loss rate and V_C content of strawberries preserved with ZMP/C-film decreased by 23.4% and increased by 14.2% compared to C-film, respectively. ZMP/C-film prolonged the shelf life of strawberries by more than 4 days.

Cellulose-degrading bacteria were identified from distillery lees, and the strains were optimized for fermentation and enzyme production, providing effective strains for the resource utilization of distillery lees and developing cellulase. Based on the univariate test, the response surface test was used to optimize enzyme production conditions for fermentation. The screened strain JZ2 had a clear circle-to-colony diameter ratio of 2.0. The enzyme activities of exoglucanase, endoglucanase, and β-glucosidase were 4.341 ± 0.05 U/mL, 1.874 ± 0.04 U/mL, and 0.739 ± 0.02 U/mL, respectively. The bacterial colonies were large, and the bacterial cells’ morphology was rod-shaped. We identified Bacillus cereus (JZ2) from 16S rDNA sequence homology and phylogenetic tree analysis as belonging to the genus Bacillus in the thick-walled Bacillus phylum. The optimum production conditions of cellulase from strain JZ2 were a fermentation time of 2 d, a rotation rate of 180× g, and a temperature of 26 °C using the response surface method. The enzyme activity of JZ2 was 4.625 U/mL under optimal enzyme production conditions. In addition to good activity, the cellulase from the JZ2 strain may have the potential to convert distillery lees cellulose into useful compounds.

In this work, the overall adsorption kinetic process of hydroquinone on Phragmites australis biochar (PAC) was analyzed in depth. A 3D mass transfer model of pore volume and surface diffusion was established, and the diffusion mechanism was analyzed. The characterization results show PAC has a higher porosity value, which is conducive to the adsorption of hydroquinone. The adsorption process modeling results show that the combined effect of pore volume diffusion and surface diffusion promotes the total diffusion process of hydroquinone in the PAC particles, and the two mechanisms of pore volume and surface diffusion exist simultaneously. Under the different operating concentrations, the range of surface diffusion coefficient D_s is 2.5 × 10⁻¹⁰–1.74 × 10⁻⁹ cm²/s, and the contribution rate of surface diffusion SDCP% is close to 100%, which is much larger than pore volume diffusion, revealing that regardless of the contact time and position, surface diffusion occupies the main position in intraparticle diffusion.