Investigation of the quality of Lu'an Guapian tea during Grain Rain period by sensory evaluation, objective quantitative indexes and metabolomics.

The harvest date is a crucial factor in determining tea quality. For Lu'an Guapian (LAGP) tea, Grain Rain period (GRP) represents a pivotal phase in the transformation of tea quality. The sensory evaluation, computer vision and E-tongue revealed that the liquor color score, B and G values of tea infusion were increased during GRP, while the astringency, bitterness intensities and the R value of the tea infusion were decreased. Consequently, the tea infusion exhibited a greener hue and the taste became appropriate during GRP. Non-targeted metabolomics revealed that the majority of amino acids and derivatives was reduced during GRP. Furthermore, flavonoids, in particular flavonol glycosides, exhibited considerable variation during GRP. Finally, nine metabolites were identified as markers for quality transformation during GRP by PLS and Random Forest. This study investigated the quality of LAGP teas during GRP and filled the gap in the variation of LAGP tea quality during GRP.

Effects of Transglutaminase-Induced ß-Conglycinin Gels on Intestinal Morphology and Intestinal Flora in Mice at Different High-Intensity Ultrasound Pretreatment Time.

TGase-7S gels prepared after different HIU pretreatment times were used to intervene in healthy mice to analyze their effects on growth characteristics and intestinal morphology, and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing was applied to fecal samples to investigate the effects of the gel on the structure and diversity of intestinal flora in mice. The results showed that the intestinal tissues of mice in different treatment groups showed better integrity, and the intake of gel increased the length of small intestinal villi in mice, among which the 30-gel group had the highest value of villi length (599.27 ± 44.28) µm (p < 0.05) and showed the neatest and tightest arrangement, indicating that the intake of gel did not have adverse effects on the intestinal tract. The effect of gel ingestion on the diversity of the intestinal microbial community structure was more significant, positively promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria such as Desferriobacterium, Synechococcus, and Bifidobacterium. In addition, the ingestion of the gel improved the intestinal health of mice by altering the physiological functions of the intestinal flora and modulating their participation in various metabolic pathways. The above findings provide some theoretical value for the safety of 7S gel in food applications.

Exposure to light at night (LAN) and risk of overweight/obesity, hypertension, and diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Current studies have presented conflicting findings regarding the associations between light at night (LAN) exposure and the risk of overweight/obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Our study systematically summarized the evidence of the association between LAN exposure and the risk of overweight/obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. We searched five databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane) for observational studies published up to 1 August 2023. The pooled odds ratio (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by random-effects models for the association. Eighteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with the group with the lowest level of LAN, the group with the highest level of LAN is associated with an increased risk of overweight/obesity (pooled OR = 1.19, 95%CI: 1.13-1.26), hypertension (pooled OR: 1.86, 95% CI:1.28-2.72), and diabetes (pooled OR = 1.21, 95%CI: 1.07-1.31). Our meta-analysis demonstrated LAN exposure is associated with increased risk of overweight/obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.

Upscaling the production of sterile male mosquitoes with an automated pupa sex sorter.

Effective mosquito population suppression has been repeatedly demonstrated in field trials through the release of male mosquitoes to induce sterile mating with wild females using the incompatible insect technique (IIT), the sterile insect technique (SIT), or their combination. However, upscaling these techniques requires a highly efficient and scalable approach for the sex separation of mass-reared mosquitoes to minimize the unintentional release of females, which can lead to either population replacement or biting nuisance, a major bottleneck up to now. Here, we report the successful development of an automated mosquito pupa sex sorter that can effectively separate large numbers of males from females for population suppression of Aedes aegypti, A. albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus. The male production capacity of the automated sex sorter was increased by ~17-fold compared with manual sex separation with the Fay-Morlan sorter and enabled one person to separate 16 million males per week. With ~0.5% female contamination, the produced males exhibited high flight ability and mating performance. The field trial demonstrates that the quality of A. albopictus males produced using the automated sex sorter is suitable for inducing population suppression. These results indicate that the automated sex sorter offers the potential to upscale IIT and SIT against mosquito vectors for disease control.

Contribution of tea stems to large-leaf yellow tea aroma.

Large-leaf yellow tea (LYT) is processed from both leaves and stems, resulting in a distinctive rice crust-like aroma. Tea stems may contribute differently to the aroma of LYT than leaves. This study aimed to clarify the specific contribution of stems to LYT. The volatile compounds in different components of LYT were extracted and analyzed using a combination of headspace solid-phase microextraction and stir bar sorptive extraction coupled with gas chromatography-olfactory-mass spectrometry. The results revealed high concentrations of compounds with roasty attributes in stems such as 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine (OAV 153-208) and 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (OAV 111-140). Aroma recombination and addition experiments confirmed that the roasty aroma provided by stems plays a pivotal role in the formation of the distinctive flavor of LYT. This study offers novel insights into the contribution of stems to the aroma of LYT, which can be used for processing and quality enhancement of roasted tea.

Exploring the effect of different tea varieties on the quality of Lu'an Guapian tea based on metabolomics and molecular sensory science.

Lu'an Guapian (LAGP) tea is one of the most famous teas in China. However, research on its suitable processing varieties is still lacking. This study analyzed the quality of LAGP tea made from three different tea varieties, namely, 'Anhui1' (AH1), 'Quntizhong' (QTZ), and 'Shuchazao' (SCZ), using molecular sensory science and metabolomics techniques. The results showed that AH1 had a strong floral aroma and the strongest umami flavor, while QTZ had a distinct roasted aroma and a mellow taste. SCZ had a cooked corn-like aroma and the highest bitterness and astringency owing to the high tea polyphenol contents and low free amino acid contents. The study also identified 12 key aroma-active compounds, with trans-beta-ionone and 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethyl-pyrazine contributing the most to floral and roasted aromas, respectively. The results of this study provide a theoretical and practical basis for selecting and breeding high-quality varieties of LAGP tea and stabilizing its quality.

The enhancement of flowery-like aroma in green tea under optimized processing conditions by sensory-directed flavor analysis.

Flowery-like aroma are positive contributors to green tea. Here, the optimal processing conditions for green tea with flowery-like aroma were designed using spreading time, fixation time and drying temperature as three factors designed by response surface methodology (RSM), and the response value of aroma sensory evaluation score. The volatiles in batches of tea samples were analyzed by GC-MS. The optimal quality was obtained with a flowery-like aroma by RSM under a spreading time of 8.97 h, fixation time of 162.3 s, and drying temperature of 103.32 °C. GC-O and odor activity values further revealed floral-like volatiles, including decanal, linalool oxide, ß-lonone, geraniol, (Z)-jasmone, linalool, nonanal, and benzeneacetaldehyde. The recombination of these floral volatiles confirmed the consistency with the floral green tea. Furthermore, the extending spreading duration (8-10 h), reducing fixation duration (160-190 s), and increasing drying temperature (100-115 °C) promote their accumulation in green tea. This study provides new perspectives for the precise enhancement of floral odorants for green tea.

Targeting TUBB3 Suppresses Anoikis Resistance and Bone Metastasis in Prostate Cancer.

Bone metastases occur in more than 70% of advanced prostate cancer (PCa) patients, leading to a poor prognosis. Resistance to detachment-induced apoptosis, also known as anoikis, plays a crucial role in the onset of tumor metastasis. Targeting anoikis resistance is of immense therapeutic significance in repression of metastatic spread. In this study, based on an anoikis-related prognostic risk model of PCa, this study identifies TUBB3 as a key anoikis-related prognostic gene that is highly expressed in bone metastatic PCa. TUBB3 expression is increased in anoikis-resistant PCa cells, and TUBB3 depletion significantly reverses anoikis resistance during extracellular matrix (ECM) detachment and inhibits anoikis-resistance-induced PCa cell invasion and migration as well as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. TUBB3 knockdown significantly reduces αvß3/FAK/Src axis activation, blocking its downstream oncogenic signaling. In addition, this work develops bone-targeting lipid nanoparticles (BT-LNP) based on bisphosphonate-modified ionizable lipid for systemic delivery of siRNA targeting TUBB3 (siTUBB3). BT-LNP-delivered siTUBB3 therapy with localization in the bone microenvironment significantly attenuate PCa bone metastasis progression in vivo upon intravenous administration. These findings pinpoint that TUBB3, as a key regulator of anoikis resistance, is an effective therapeutic target in bone metastatic PCa and that BT-LNP-mediated systemic delivery of siTUBB3 can be developed as a novel therapeutic strategy for this disease.

Ultrasound and clinical factors predicting central lymph node metastases in patients with unilateral multifocal papillary thyroid carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective study involving a large dataset of unilateral multifocal papillary thyroid carcinoma (UM-PTC) sought to identify factors that predict central lymph node metastases (CLNM) in patients. METHODS: We identified a cohort of 158 patients who underwent cervical ultrasonography followed by UM-PTC diagnosis based on postoperative pathology. The relationship between CLNM and UM-PTC clinical ultrasound features was evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the ability of total tumor diameter (TTD) to predict CLNM. RESULTS: Among the 158 UM-PTC patients, the incidence of CLNM was 29.7% (47/158). Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that a number of similarity of sonographic features (NSSF) ≥4 (odds ratio [OR] = 11.335, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.95-32.50, p = 0.000), microcalcifications (OR = 3.54, 95% CI: 1.30-9.70, p = 0.014), a TTD of ≥2 cm (OR = 4.48, 95% CI: 1.62-12.34, p = 0.004), number of nodules ≥3 (OR = 13.17, 95% CI: 3.24-53.52, p = 0.000), and Lateral cervical lymph node metastasis (LLNM) (OR = 5.57, 95% CI: 1.59-19.48, p = 0.007) were independently associated with CLNM in UM-PTC. ROC curve analysis revealed that the TTD cut-off of 1.795 cm had a sensitivity of 0.723 and a specificity of 0.676 for predicting CLNM. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with UM-PTC are at high risk of CLNM. NSSF ≥4, microcalcifications, TTD of ≥2 cm, LLNM, and a number of nodules ≥3 were independently associated with CLNM. Our data show that ultrasound may guide surgical decisions in the treatment of UM-PTC.

A Rapid On-Line Evaluation (ROLE) Protocol in the Diagnostic Performance Improvement in Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Tissue Acquisition for Solid Pancreatic Lesions.

We assessed the rapid on-line evaluation (ROLE) protocol as a modification to the conventional rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) in the diagnostic performance improvement in endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition (EUS-TA) for solid pancreatic lesions. This single-center, retrospective study involved consecutive patients with solid pancreatic lesions undergoing EUS-TA at Peking University First Hospital between October 2017 and March 2021. Among 137 patients enrolled, 75 were in the ROLE group and 62 were in the non-ROSE group. The diagnostic yield (97.3% vs. 85.5%, p = 0.023), accuracy (94.7% vs. 82.3%, p = 0.027), and sensitivity (95.7% vs. 81.1%, p = 0.011) were significantly higher in the ROLE group compared to the non-ROSE group. However, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and area under the curve (AUC) showed no significant differences (all p-values > 0.05). Additionally, there was a noteworthy reduction in the number of needle passes required in the ROLE group compared to the non-ROSE group (two vs. three, p < 0.001). In a subgroup analysis, fine needle biopsy (FNB) combined with ROLE demonstrated superior diagnostic accuracy compared to FNB with non-ROSE (100% vs. 93.1%, p = 0.025). Compared with the non-ROSE protocol, the ROLE protocol might improve the diagnostic performance of EUS-TA for solid pancreatic lesions, and potentially reduce the number of needle passes requirement.

An elderly low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma patient with early postoperative recurrences and metastases: a case report and literature review.

Background: Low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma (LGFMS) is a rare type of soft tissue sarcoma that often involves the deep soft tissue of the extremities and trunk in young and middle-aged adults. It is uncommon in the elderly. Here we discuss a case of LGFMS in an elderly patient who had recurrence and metastasis within 2 years of resection of the primary tumor. Case report: A 71-year-old LGFMS patient was presented with a mass in the left forearm accompanied by pain and numbness from the left upper arm to fingers. The patient subsequently underwent 3 surgical resections, although she had 3 recurrences within 6 months after the initial diagnosis. Considering the malignant biological behavior of the tumor, an amputation at 5 cm above the elbow was eventually performed. However, recurrence in the extremity of the stump and chest wall metastasis were observed 2 years after amputation. Then resection of the metastases, radiotherapy and particle implantation therapy were performed. The patient is currently undergoing follow-up and has no evidence of recurrence. Conclusion: In our case, multiple early postoperative recurrences may be associated with a positive margin at initial operation. The patient underwent a total of 5 operations including local resection of the primary tumor, twice wide resections, amputation and metastatic surgery with 4 early postoperative recurrences and metastases within 4 years, suggesting that LGFMS may have highly invasive biological behavior. Our case demonstrated that early aggressive surgical treatment is recommended for LGFMS patients with a positive margin at initial operation and patients who had recurrence even after wide resection rather than local resection. Further research is needed to develop more effective treatment options for rapidly progress and highly aggressive LGFMS.

Gut Microecology May Be Involved in the Pathogenesis of Hashimoto Thyroiditis by Reducing Production of Hydrogen Sulfide.

CONTEXT: Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) is related to intestinal microbiota alteration, but the causal relationship remains unclear. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a microbiota-derived metabolite. We speculated that abnormal intestinal microbiota might limit H2S production capacity, promoting HT pathogenesis. OBJECTIVE: This work aimed to illustrate that the intestinal microbiota plays important roles in HT pathogenesis via microbiota-derived H2S levels. METHODS: We collected feces from HT patients and healthy donors for fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). Thirty-six female CBA/J mice were randomly assigned to 4 groups: experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT) group, EAT + Healthy group, EAT + HT group, and EAT + HT + H2S group. 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing was performed to examine gut microbiota alterations and the H2S production pathway. Serum TgAb and H2S levels were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and H2S-selective sensors, respectively. T-cell subpopulations in the spleen were detected by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The gut microbiota was different after FMT among the EAT, EAT + Healthy, and EAT + HT groups. The thyroiditis score assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining was higher in the EAT + HT group than that in the EAT and EAT + HT + H2S groups. Helper T (Th1) and Th17 cell differentiation ratios were increased in the EAT + HT group compared to the other 3 groups. Serum H2S levels were decreased and the dissimilatory sulfate reduction (DSR) pathway was attenuated in the EAT + HT group compared to the EAT + Healthy group. CONCLUSION: H2S alleviated thyroiditis severity and related immune disorders, which were aggravated by the FMT from HT patients. The attenuated DSR pathway in the gut microbiota from HT patients might be involved in thyroiditis pathogenesis.

Bifunctional CoFe/HZSM-5 catalysts orient CO2 hydrogenation towards liquid hydrocarbons.

Converting CO2 to liquid (C5+) hydrocarbons remains a significant hurdle. Our study shows that CoFe/HZSM-5 boosts C5+ selectivity to 73.4%, up from 59% for Fe/HZSM-5. This study highlights the pivotal roles of zeolite acidity and catalyst proximity in this improvement. These insights pave the way for more effective CO2 utilization.

Sensomics-Assisted Characterization of Fungal-Flowery Aroma Components in Fermented Tea Using Eurotium cristatum.

Fermented tea (FT) using a single Eurotium cristatum strain can produce a pleasant fungal-flowery aroma, which is similar to the composite aroma characteristic of minty, flowery, and woody aromas, but its molecular basis is not yet clear. In this study, solvent-assisted flavor evaporation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry were applied to isolate and identify volatiles from the FT by E. cristatum. The application of an aroma extract dilution analysis screened out 43 aroma-active compounds. Quantification revealed that there were 11 odorants with high odor threshold concentrations. Recombination and omission tests revealed that nonanal, methyl salicylate, decanoic acid, 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, α-terpineol, phenylacetaldehyde, and coumarin were the major odorants in the FT. Addition tests further verified that methyl salicylate, 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, and coumarin were the key odorants for fungal-flowery aroma, each corresponding to minty, woody, and flowery aromas, respectively. 4-Methoxybenzaldehyde and coumarin were newly found odorants for fungal-flowery aroma in FT, and 4-methoxybenzaldehyde had not been reported as a tea volatile compound before. This finding may guide future industrial production optimization of FT with improved flavor.

Enhanced YOLOv5 network-based object detection (BALFilter Reader) promotes PERFECT filter-enabled liquid biopsy of lung cancer from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF).

Liquid biopsy of cancers, detecting tumor-related information from liquid samples, has attracted wide attentions as an emerging technology. Our previously reported large-area PERFECT (Precise-Efficient-Robust-Flexible-Easy-Controllable-Thin) filter has demonstrated competitive sensitivity in recovering rare tumor cells from clinical samples. However, it is time-consuming and easily biased to manually inspect rare target cells among numerous background cells distributed in a large area (Φ ≥ 13 mm). This puts forward an urgent demand for rapid and bias-free inspection. Hereby, this paper implemented deep learning-based object detection for the inspection of rare tumor cells from large-field images of PERFECT filters with hematoxylin-eosin (HE)-stained cells recovered from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). CenterNet, EfficientDet, and YOLOv5 were trained and validated with 240 and 60 image blocks containing tumor and/or background cells, respectively. YOLOv5 was selected as the basic network given the highest mAP@0.5 of 92.1%, compared to those of CenterNet and EfficientDet at 85.2% and 91.6%, respectively. Then, tricks including CIoU loss, image flip, mosaic, HSV augmentation and TTA were applied to enhance the performance of the YOLOv5 network, improving mAP@0.5 to 96.2%. This enhanced YOLOv5 network-based object detection, named as BALFilter Reader, was tested and cross-validated on 24 clinical cases. The overall diagnosis performance (~2 min) with sensitivity@66.7% ± 16.7%, specificity@100.0% ± 0.0% and accuracy@75.0% ± 12.5% was superior to that from two experienced pathologists (10-30 min) with sensitivity@61.1%, specificity@16.7% and accuracy@50.0%, with the histopathological result as the gold standard. The AUC of the BALFilter Reader is 0.84 ± 0.08. Moreover, a customized Web was developed for a user-friendly interface and the promotion of wide applications. The current results revealed that the developed BALFilter Reader is a rapid, bias-free and easily accessible AI-enabled tool to promote the transplantation of the BALFilter technique. This work can easily expand to other cytopathological diagnoses and improve the application value of micro/nanotechnology-based liquid biopsy in the era of intelligent pathology.

Effects of different over-fired drying methods on the aroma of Lu'an Guapian tea.

Over-fired drying, a crucial process in the production of Lu'an Guapian (LAGP) tea, greatly enriches the tea's aroma. In this study, the aroma compounds of LAGP tea processed through pulley charcoal drying (PCD), roller drying (RD), roller-conveyor drying (RCD), and hot air drying (HD) were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A subsequent analysis of aroma extraction dilution analysis and odor activity values revealed that (E)-ß-ionone, dimethyl sulfide, (E,E)-2,4-heptadienal, geraniol, linalool, benzeneacetaldehyde, coumarin, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethyl-pyrazine, indole, hexanal, (Z)-jasmone, and (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol were the key contributors to the samples' aroma variation. Moreover, a quantitative descriptive analysis and aroma recombination and omission experiments analysis revealed that (E)-ß-ionone is the most critical contributor to the formation of floral aroma in tea processed using PCD, whereas (E,E)-2,4-heptadienal is responsible for the more pronounced fresh aroma in tea processed using HD. In addition, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethyl-pyrazine contributes to the formation of a roasted aroma in tea processed using RD and RCD. The study results provide a theoretical basis for choosing the processing method, especially for drying, to obtain high-quality LAGP tea.