Biomass recalcitrance makes pretreatment process a key step for efficient bioconversion process. In this study, differential effects of promising acid (AP) and alkaline pretreatments (ALP) on enzymatic hydrolysis of diverse herbaceous and woody wastes were systematically investigated. Four biomass samples were separately pretreated and sugar recovery was then recorded in the subsequent hydrolysis. Results showed that both dilute AP and ALP exhibited efficacy in the removal of hemicellulose. Specifically, soybean straw AP demonstrated the highest recovery of soluble sugars at the pretreatment stage [270 mg/g raw stalk (RS)], against 71–212 mg/g RS achieved in AP and ALP of other wastes. Compared with herbaceous soybean straw, both AP and ALP of more recalcitrant woody biomass (e.g., bamboo and poplar) showed much lower enzymatic sugar yields. Among tested samples, ALP soybean straw produced stronger structure modification, morphological changes and higher delignification, which increased its availability to cellulases. As a result, the sugar yield of ALP soybean straw using 1.5% NaOH reached 787 mg/g, which is much higher than those of other tested AP & ALP biomass wastes. The present study revealed differential responses of diverse biomass wastes to AP & ALP, hence providing valuable information for the development of effective bioconversion process of these promising biomass. Looking ahead, these classic AP and ALP will be further investigated together with other potential and emerging pretreatments (e.g., green solvent pretreatments) to provide a foundation for high value utilization of biomass. Graphical Abstract

The abuse of γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and its precursors, γ-butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD), has increased in recent years, with these substances frequently being illicitly added to beverages. GHB is colorless and odorless and exhibits anesthetic and hypnotic psychoactive effects, which are often exploited in drug-facilitated sexual assault, posing a significant public safety concern. Chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry is a conventional analytical approach for narcotic drug determination due to its high sensitivity and accuracy; however, its large instrumentation footprint and high operational cost limit its suitability for on-site rapid screening. In response to the growing demand for field-deployable analytical tools, rapid detection technologies for GHB have progressively evolved. This review summarizes and compares the advantages and limitations of current rapid detection methods for GHB and discusses their potential future developmental trends, with the aim of providing a reference for researchers and relevant authorities.

Introduction: The Cactaceae family exhibits remarkable adaptation to arid environments, yet mitochondrial genomic resources remain extremely scarce for this lineage. Lophophora williamsii (peyote) is an ecologically and culturally significant cactus species native to the Chihuahuan Desert, but its mitochondrial genome has never been characterized. Methods: We assembled and annotated the first complete mitochondrial genome of L. williamsii using PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing, and conducted comprehensive analyses including repeat identification, codon usage, RNA editing prediction, intracellular gene transfer detection, phylogenetic reconstruction, selection pressure assessment, and synteny comparison. Results: The assembled mitogenome is exceptionally large (2,422,778 bp) and structurally complex, comprising 57 contigs that resolve into five linear molecules. It encodes 33 core and 13 variable protein-coding genes, three rRNA genes, and 49 tRNA genes. A total of 587 simple sequence repeats (SSRs), 124 tandem repeats, and 5,519 interspersed repeats (≥30 bp) were identified. Codon usage bias is predominantly driven by natural selection. We predicted 431 C-to-U RNA editing sites across 32 PCGs and detected 18 chloroplast-derived DNA fragments (31,614 bp) containing 19 intact genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on 30 conserved mitochondrial PCGs placed L. williamsii as sister to Mammillaria huitzilopochtli . Most mitochondrial genes are under purifying selection, whereas atp8 and matR exhibit positive selection. Synteny analysis revealed extensive collinear blocks decreasing with phylogenetic distance. Discussion: This first complete mitogenome of L. williamsii provides a fundamental genomic resource for understanding mitochondrial evolution in Cactaceae, offers high-resolution molecular markers for species identification and forensic authentication, and supports conservation genetics for this threatened species.