Effects of acute slackline exercise on executive function in college students.

Background: Physical exercise as an intervention for improving cognitive function, especially executive function, is receiving increasing attention because it is easily accessible, cost-effective and promises many additional health-related benefits. While previous studies focused on aerobic exercise and resistance exercise, recent findings have suggested that exercise with high coordination demand elicits beneficial effects on executive function. We therefore examined the effects of an acute slackline exercise on the executive functions of young adults. Methods: In a crossover experimental design, 47 healthy participants (21 females), ranging in age from 18 to 27 years (M = 19.17, SD = 1.94) were randomly assigned to different sequences of two conditions (slackline exercise and film-watching). Before and after the 50 min intervention, a modified Simon task was used to assess participants' executive function (inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility). Results: College students showed better inhibitory control performance as indicated by shorter reaction times following acute slackline exercise than those who participated in the film-watching session. As there was no difference in accuracy between the slackline exercise and film-watching sessions, the shortened reaction time after slackline exercise provides evidence against a simple speed-accuracy trade-off. Conclusion: Compared with film-watching, acute slackline exercise provides favorable effects on executive function necessitating inhibition in young adults. These findings provide insight into exercise prescription and cognition, and further evidence for the beneficial effects of coordination exercise on executive functions.

Metabolomic Analysis Demonstrates the Impacts of Polyketide Synthases PKS14 and PKS15 on the Production of Beauvericins, Bassianolide, Enniatin A, and Ferricrocin in Entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana.

Beauveria bassiana is a globally distributed entomopathogenic fungus that produces various secondary metabolites to support its pathogenesis in insects. Two polyketide synthase genes, pks14 and pks15, are highly conserved in entomopathogenic fungi and are important for insect virulence. However, understanding of their mechanisms in insect pathogenicity is still limited. Here, we overexpressed these two genes in B. bassiana and compared the metabolite profiles of pks14 and pks15 overexpression strains to those of their respective knockout strains in culture and in vivo using tandem liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS). The pks14 and pks15 clusters exhibited crosstalk with biosynthetic clusters encoding insect-virulent metabolites, including beauvericins, bassianolide, enniatin A, and the intracellular siderophore ferricrocin under certain conditions. These secondary metabolites were upregulated in the pks14-overexpressing strain in culture and the pks15-overexpressing strain in vivo. These data suggest that pks14 and pks15, their proteins or their cluster components might be directly or indirectly associated with key pathways in insect pathogenesis of B. bassiana, particularly those related to secondary metabolism. Information about interactions between the polyketide clusters and other biosynthetic clusters improves scientific understanding about crosstalk among biosynthetic pathways and mechanisms of pathogenesis.

Integrated therapeutic plasma exchange and traditional Chinese medicine treatment in a patient with severe COVID-19: A case report.

This report presents the case of a 59-year-old man with severe COVID-19 that gradually progressed to cytokine release syndrome and then acute respiratory distress syndrome; he was successfully treated via integration of therapeutic plasma exchange and traditional Chinese medicine. The patient initially presented with a sore throat, severe muscle aches, productive cough and fever. On the worsening of symptoms, remdesivir was administered. However, as the symptoms continued to worsen and a cytokine release syndrome was suspected, oxygen was provided through a high-flow nasal cannula (50 L/min) and therapeutic plasma exchange was performed to prevent worsening of the acute respiratory distress syndrome. On the same day, a course of traditional Chinese medicine was introduced in consultation with the infectious house staff. The patient's symptoms gradually improved; the levels of C-reactive protein and D-dimers reduced, and the patient was weaned to a simple oxygen mask and eventually to room air. This is the first reported case of the integration of these treatments. Together, they prevented the patient from requiring intubation, played a role in cytokine management, and also improved the clinical symptoms, including productive purulent sputum, cough, frequent stool passage and intermittent fever, with no adverse effects. As a result, the patient was discharged within two weeks of the integration of these treatments. Therefore, the integration of therapeutic plasma exchange and traditional Chinese medicine is an effective therapy for patients with severe COVID-19.

Curbing COVID-19 progression and mortality with traditional Chinese medicine among hospitalized patients with COVID-19: A propensity score-matched analysis.

BACKGROUND: Viral- and host-targeted traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulae NRICM101 and NRICM102 were administered to hospitalized patients with COVID-19 during the mid-2021 outbreak in Taiwan. We report the outcomes by measuring the risks of intubation or admission to intensive care unit (ICU) for patients requiring no oxygen support, and death for those requiring oxygen therapy. METHODS: This multicenter retrospective study retrieved data of 840 patients admitted to 9 hospitals between May 1 and July 26, 2021. After propensity score matching, 302 patients (151 received NRICM101 and 151 did not) and 246 patients (123 received NRICM102 and 123 did not) were included in the analysis to assess relative risks. RESULTS: During the 30-day observation period, no endpoint occurred in the patients receiving NRICM101 plus usual care while 14 (9.27%) in the group receiving only usual care were intubated or admitted to ICU. The numbers of deceased patients were 7 (5.69%) in the group receiving NRICM102 plus usual care and 27 (21.95%) in the usual care group. No patients receiving NRICM101 transitioned to a more severe status; NRICM102 users were 74.07% less likely to die than non-users (relative risk= 25.93%, 95% confidence interval 11.73%-57.29%). CONCLUSION: NRICM101 and NRICM102 were significantly associated with a lower risk of intubation/ICU admission or death among patients with mild-to-severe COVID-19. This study provides real-world evidence of adopting broad-spectrum oral therapeutics and shortening the gap between outbreak and effective response. It offers a new vision in our preparation for future pandemics.

Electrochemical biosensor with electrokinetics-assisted molecular trapping for enhancing C-reactive protein detection.

C-Reactive protein (CRP) is an essential biomarker relevant to various disease prognoses. Current biosensors require a significant amount of time for detecting CRP. To address this issue, this work proposes electrokinetic flow-assisted molecule trapping integrated with an impedance biosensor, where a driving signal in terms of a gated sine wave is provided to circularly arranged electrodes which detect proteins. To verify the biosensor's efficacy, protein aggregation on the electrode surface was evaluated through a fluorescence analysis and measurement of the electrochemical impedance spectrum (EIS). The fluorescence analysis with avidin showed that target samples largely accumulated on the electrode surface upon provision of the driving signal. The EIS measurement of CRP accumulation on the electrode surface further confirmed a significant electrokinetic phenomenon at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Even at the low CRP concentration of 10 pg/ml, the proposed device's sensitivity and reliability were as high as 3.92 pg/ml with a signal-to noise ratio (SNR) of ≥3, respectively. In addition, the protein detection time (without considering the preparation time) was minimized to as low as 90 s with the proposed device. This device's advantage is its minimal time consumption, and simple drop-analysis process flow; hence, it was used for monitoring clinical serum samples.

Integrated omics approach to unveil antifungal bacterial polyynes as acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase inhibitors.

Bacterial polyynes are highly active natural products with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities. However, their detailed mechanism of action remains unclear. By integrating comparative genomics, transcriptomics, functional genetics, and metabolomics analysis, we identified a unique polyyne resistance gene, masL (encoding acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase), in the biosynthesis gene cluster of antifungal polyynes (massilin A 1, massilin B 2, collimonin C 3, and collimonin D 4) of Massilia sp. YMA4. Crystallographic analysis indicated that bacterial polyynes serve as covalent inhibitors of acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase. Moreover, we confirmed that the bacterial polyynes disrupted cell membrane integrity and inhibited the cell viability of Candida albicans by targeting ERG10, the homolog of MasL. Thus, this study demonstrated that acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase is a potential target for developing antifungal agents.

Effect of Mo on the Mechanical and Corrosion Behaviors in Non-Equal Molar AlCrFeMnNi BCC High-Entropy Alloys.

Co-free body-centered cubic (bcc) high-entropy alloys (HEAs) are prepared, and the elevated mechanical property and corrosion property of the Al0.4CrFe1.5MnNi0.5Mox (x = 0 and 0.1) alloys are studied. The Vickers hardness (HV) of the as-homogenized state is between HV 350 and HV 400. Both alloys are provided with nano-scale NiAl-rich B2 precipitates which contribute to the strength at high-temperature. In addition, adding Mo in the present alloy strengthens by σ phase. Al0.4CrFe1.5MnNi0.5Mo0.1 exhibited outstanding tensile properties, with a yield strength of 413 MPa and ultimate tensile strength of 430 MPa in the elevated tensile test at 600 °C, which is better than that of Al0.4CrFe1.5MnNi0.5 alloy. Through potentiodynamic polarization testing in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), it is shown that adding Mo can effectively reduce the corrosion current density and improve the impedance of passive film, since the passivation layer is formed and stable.

Exploring Shank Circumference by Stretching after Training among Volleyball Players.

This preliminary study examined the effects of a stretching intervention after training and its duration (15 vs. 30 min) on participants' shank circumference (SC) reduction and subjective discomfort score. Ten male volleyball players underwent a routine 3 h training. A two-way analysis of variance revealed that the stretching intervention had significant effects on SC reduction (p < 0.01) and subjective discomfort scores (p < 0.001). Stretching after training could help eliminate shank strain, and a slighter discomfort in shanks when stretching was also seen (score, 20.1/100). An independent-samples t test revealed a significantly higher SC reduction (p < 0.01) with 30 min of stretching (5.6 mm) than with 15 min of stretching (2.7 mm); both stretching durations reduced SC significantly more than the no-stretching condition did. The findings of this study can serve as a reference for volleyball players to alleviate shank strain after daily routine training.

Integrated Omics Strategy Reveals Cyclic Lipopeptides Empedopeptins from Massilia sp. YMA4 and Their Biosynthetic Pathway.

Empedopeptins-eight amino acid cyclic lipopeptides-are calcium-dependent antibiotics that act against Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus by inhibiting cell wall biosynthesis. However, to date, the biosynthetic mechanism of the empedopeptins has not been well identified. Through comparative genomics and metabolomics analysis, we identified empedopeptin and its new analogs from a marine bacterium, Massilia sp. YMA4. We then unveiled the empedopeptin biosynthetic gene cluster. The core nonribosomal peptide gene null-mutant strains (ΔempC, ΔempD, and ΔempE) could not produce empedopeptin, while dioxygenase gene null-mutant strains (ΔempA and ΔempB) produced several unique empedopeptin analogs. However, the antibiotic activity of ΔempA and ΔempB was significantly reduced compared with the wild-type, demonstrating that the hydroxylated amino acid residues of empedopeptin and its analogs are important to their antibiotic activity. Furthermore, we found seven bacterial strains that could produce empedopeptin-like cyclic lipopeptides using a genome mining approach. In summary, this study demonstrated that an integrated omics strategy can facilitate the discovery of potential bioactive metabolites from microbial sources without further isolation and purification.

Prescription of Chinese herbal products is associated with a decreased risk of uterine fibroids: A population-based cohort study.

The finding of a decrease in subsequent fibroid-related operation following the use of Chinese herbal products (CHPs) has led to speculation that CHPs might play a role in uterine fibroids prevention.This study provides an overview of uterine fibroids incidence, comparing CHP users with those who do not use CHPs, referred to as non-CHP users. The results can provide information to clinicians for counseling women about the preventive use of CHPs.A total of 52,151 women (20-45 years of age) were recruited from a nationwide 1-million-person representative sample of those covered by National Health Insurance in Taiwan and were followed from 2000 to 2013. Exact matching was performed for comparative analysis. The age-specific hazard ratios (HRs) of uterine fibroids in relation to either CHP or the phytoestrogen use were calculated with multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression.More than 71% of patients had used a CHP at some point previously. The overall incidence density rate of uterine fibroids for non-CHP users was estimated at 27.5 per 1000 patient-years. The corresponding values for CHP and the phytoestrogen users were lower than those of the non-CHP group (CHP group = 15.5; the phytoestrogen group = 12.5 per 1000 patient-years). The covariate adjusted HRs for uterine fibroid were 0.73 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63-0.85) and 0.65 (95% CI 0.52-0.82) in women using CHPs and the phytoestrogen, respectively.CHPs seem to contribute to a decreased risk in developing uterine fibroids. Although the mechanism of action of these products is unclear, their use as a preventive agent for uterine fibroids might be taken into consideration.

Investigation of influences of the paraformaldehyde fixation and paraffin embedding removal process on refractive indices and scattering properties of epithelial cells.

The scattering properties and refractive indices (RI) of tissue are important parameters in tissue optics. These parameters can be determined from quantitative phase images of thin slices of tissue blocks. However, the changes in RI and structure of cells due to fixation and paraffin embedding might result in inaccuracies in the estimation of the scattering properties of tissue. In this study, three-dimensional RI distributions of cells were measured using digital holographic microtomography to obtain total scattering cross sections (TSCS) of the cells based on the first-order Born approximation. We investigated the slight loss of dry mass and drastic shrinkage of cells due to paraformaldehyde fixation and paraffin embedding removal processes. We propose a method to compensate for the correlated changes in volume and RI of cells. The results demonstrate that the TSCS of live cells can be estimated using restored cells. The percentage deviation of the TSCS between restored cells and live cells was only −8%. Spatially resolved RI and scattering coefficients of unprocessed oral epithelium ranged from 1.35 to 1.39 and from 100 to 450 cm−1, respectively, estimated from paraffinembedded oral epithelial tissue after restoration of RI and volume.

Tomographic diffractive microscopy of living cells based on a common-path configuration.

We demonstrate a common-path tomographic diffractive microscopy technique for three-dimensional (3D) refractive-index (RI) imaging of unstained living cells. A diffraction grating is utilized to generate a reference beam that traverses a blank region of the sample in a common-path off-axis interferometry setup. Single-shot phase images captured at multiple illumination angles are used for 3D RI reconstruction based on optical diffraction tomography. The common-path configuration shows lower temporal phase fluctuations and better RI resolution than a Mach-Zehnder configuration. 3D subcellular RI distributions of live HeLa cells are quantified.

Characteristics of harmonic indexes of the arterial blood pressure waveform in polycystic ovary syndrome.

MOTIVATIONS: Patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS; which is often associated with increased cardiovascular risk factors) may present hemodynamic changes in the cardiovascular system. The aim of the present study was to verify whether harmonic indexes of the arterial blood pressure waveform (BPWs) can be used to discriminate between PCOS patients and healthy individuals. METHODS: Twenty-minute bilateral radial BPW signals were obtained in 20 PCOS patients and 20 healthy individuals. Amplitude proportions (Cn values) and their coefficients of variation (CVn values) were calculated for harmonics 1-10 of the BPW. RESULTS: C1 was significantly larger whereas C4, CV2, and CV6 were significantly smaller in PCOS patients compared with healthy individuals. DISCUSSION: The results of the present study suggest that harmonic-analysis indexes of the BPWs could provide information about the arterial pulse transmission (by monitoring Cn) and cardiovascular regulatory activities (by monitoring CVn). These findings could aid the development of an easy-to-perform, noninvasive, and continuous monitoring technique to improve the detection of PCOS-induced hemodynamic changes.

Differences in the beat-to-beat parameters of skin-surface pulsatile laser-Doppler waveforms between stroke and normal subjects.

Walking can help improve the recovery after stroke. The present study used skin-surface laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF) measurements and beat-to-beat waveform analysis with the aim of discriminating the microcirculatory blood flow (MBF) characteristics in stroke subjects subdivided into two groups according to their walking ability. Five-minute LDF measurements were performed in the following groups: Group A (cannot walk independently; n = 17), Group B (can walk independently; n = 11), and Group C (healthy controls; n = 17). The pulse width (PW) and foot delay time (FDT) and their coefficients of variation (PWCV and FDTCV, respectively) were calculated for the beat-to-beat LDF waveform. The FDT in Group A and the blood-pressure-normalized PW in Group C were significantly longer than the corresponding values in the other groups, and PWCV and FDTCV were significantly larger in Group C than in Group A. To our knowledge this is the first study demonstrating the feasibility of using a beat-to-beat LDF waveform index to discriminate between stroke subjects with different walking abilities and between stroke and normal subjects. It provides a noninvasive and real-time method for discriminating MBF characteristics, and thus could aid the development of an index for the early detection of stroke or for evaluating the recovery condition in stroke patients.

Differences in the skin-surface laser Doppler signals between polycystic ovary syndrome and normal subjects.

BACKGROUND: Women with PCOS may present abnormal hemodynamic alterations and thus may develop vascular damage. This study performed LDF measurements on the skin surface around the leg to verify if beat-to-beat waveform and spectral analysis can help to discriminate the MBF characteristics between PCOS and healthy subjects. METHODS: ECG and LDF signals were obtained noninvasively in PCOS (n = 16) and control (n = 8) subjects. Beat-to-beat waveform and spectral analysis was performed on the LDF signals to obtain the AD, FDT, FRT, and REC of five frequency bands. RESULTS: FRT was significantly larger, AD was significantly smaller, REC of the myogenic-related band was significantly smaller and REC of the heartbeat-related band was significantly larger in the PCOS than in the control subjects. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to reveal that time-domain waveform and spectral analysis performed on skin-surface LDF signals can be used to discriminate the differences in the MBF perfusion condition and the microcirculatory regulatory activities at local vascular beds between PCOS and healthy subjects. These findings may aid the noninvasive early detection of PCOS-induced vascular damage.

Complexity analysis of the microcirculatory-blood-flow response following acupuncture stimulation.

Beat-to-beat cardiovascular variability analysis provides important information on the circulatory regulatory activities. Changes in the arterial pulse transmission or the opening condition of arteriolar openings might change the fluctuation pattern of the MBF supply, and thus change the complexity property therein. We performed complexity analysis of beat-to-beat laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) signals to study the microcirculatory-blood-flow (MBF) response at the needled site (Hegu acupoint) following acupuncture stimulation (AS). LDF signals were measured in male healthy volunteers (n=29). Each experiment involved recording a 20-minute baseline-data sequence and two sets of effects data recorded 0-20 and 50-70min after stopping AS. Approximate-entropy (ApEn) analysis, which quantifies the unpredictability of fluctuations in a time series, was performed on each 20-minute beat-to-beat LDF data sequence. The present findings indicate that AS can not only improve the local blood supply but may also increase ApEn values and decrease MBF variability parameters. This was the first attempt to apply complexity analysis to LDF signals in order to elucidate microcirculatory responses following AS. The observed results are probably attributable to the contradictory effects on the MBF supply induced by AS, which might interfere with the microcirculatory regulatory activities so as to increase the complexity of LDF signals. The present findings could help to identify the mechanism underlying the effects of AS, might aid the development of an index for monitoring the induced microcirculatory regulatory responses, and thus provide an evidence-based connection between AS and modern physiology.

Effects of acupuncture on the harmonic components of the radial arterial blood-pressure waveform in stroke patients.

MOTIVATION: Stroke induces abnormal microcirculatory blood flow perfusion resistance in cerebral vascular beds, which may in turn alter the arterial pulse transmission. This study aimed to determine if the frequency-domain harmonic index for the blood-pressure waveform is useful in monitoring the microcirculatory blood flow perfusion response in cerebral vascular beds of stroke patients following acupuncture stimulation. METHODS: Bilateral radial arterial blood-pressure waveform and laser-Doppler flowmetry signals were obtained noninvasively before and after acupuncture in 17 stroke patients. The amplitude proportion (Cn) for all the acquired pulses and the coefficient of variance (CVn) for harmonics 1-10 were calculated to evaluate the blood-pressure harmonic variability. RESULTS: The laser-Doppler flowmetry parameters showed that the cerebral microvascular blood flow supply could be improved following acupuncture. For the blood pressure waveform harmonic index, there were significant increases in C5 and C6 and decreases in CV5 and CV7 on the stroke-affected side, but no significant changes on the contralateral side. CONCLUSION: Cn values might reflect changes in arterial pulse transmission, and the blood-pressure-harmonic-variability response might be partly attributable to cardiovascular regulatory activities caused by acupuncture-induced changes in the cerebral microvascular blood flow perfusion. The present findings of blood pressure waveform harmonic analysis may be useful to the development of a noninvasive and real-time technique for evaluating treatment efficacy in stroke patients.

Digital holographic microtomography for high-resolution refractive index mapping of live cells.

Quantification of three-dimensional (3D) refractive index (RI) with sub-cellular resolution is achieved by digital holographic microtomography (DHµT) using quantitative phase images measured at multiple illumination angles. The DHµT system achieves sensitive and fast phase measurements based on iterative phase extraction algorithm and asynchronous phase shifting interferometry without any phase monitoring or active control mechanism. A reconstruction algorithm, optical diffraction tomography with projection on convex sets and total variation minimization, is implemented to substantially reduce the number of angular scattered fields needed for reconstruction without sacrificing the accuracy and quality of the reconstructed 3D RI distribution. Tomogram of a living CA9-22 cell is presented to demonstrate the performance of the method. Further, a statistical analysis of the average RI of the nucleoli, the nucleus excluding the nucleoli and the cytoplasm of twenty CA9-22 cells is performed.

Acute microcirculatory responses induced by skin-surface vibration stimulation at a frequency near the heart rate.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to elucidate the frequency-specific microcirculatory blood-flow (MBF) effect induced by weak vibration stimulation (VS) in healthy human subjects. METHODS: VS was implemented by a rod (connected to a DC motor) hitting a water-filled bag. VS was applied to the left palm at frequencies near to the heart rate (HR) (n=35; Group A) and 50% higher than the HR (n=20; Group B), and laser-Doppler-flowmetry measurements were made on the back of the left hand (Site 1). A control group without applying VS was also used (n=21). RESULTS: The mean MBF (MMBF), pulsatile MBF, and pulse width at Site 1 only increased significantly in Group A, and the coefficient of variance of the MMBF sequence increased significantly at Site 1 in Groups A and B. CONCLUSION: These results illustrate the VS-induced changes in the regulatory activities of arteriolar openings, and improvement of the MBF near the VS application site in Group A. The improvement in MBF depended on whether the VS frequency was near to, or higher than the HR. The present findings may be pertinent to amelioration of disease induced by an abnormal MBF.

Using a blood pressure harmonic variability index to monitor the cerebral blood flow condition in stroke patients.

OBJECTIVE: Beat-to-beat cardiovascular variability analysis provides important information on the autonomic control. Bilateral radial arterial blood pressure waveforms (BPW) in stroke patients were compared to explore the efficacy of frequency-domain variability index in evaluating bilateral differences in the cerebral blood-flow condition. METHODS: Five-minute BPW signals were obtained in 22 stroke patients (Group S) and 21 healthy volunteers (control Group C). Amplitude proportions of the acquired pulses and their coefficient of variance (CVn) were calculated for 1st-10th harmonics to evaluate the blood pressure harmonic variability (BPHV). RESULTS: In Group S, CV1-CV7 were significantly larger on the stroke side than on the contralateral side. CV1, CV3-CV5 and CV7 were significantly larger on the stroke side in Group S than on either side in Group C. CONCLUSIONS: We first demonstrate the feasibility of using BPHV index to noninvasively detect the bilateral difference in cerebral vascular resistance in stroke patients. Two main indexes could be developed based on the present results: (1) bilateral differences in BPHV in stroke patients; (2) BPHV differences between normal and stroke subjects. It might have meaning in developing an easy-to-perform, noninvasive and continuous monitoring technique to improve the early detection and disease progress monitoring for stroke.