The association between intakes of dietary trace minerals and gallstone disease: A cross-sectional study from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017 to 2018.

The gallstone disease is becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide. Dietary trace minerals have been proven to be closely related to many metabolic diseases, and this study aims to explore the association between intakes of dietary trace minerals (copper, iron, selenium, and zinc) and gallstone disease (GSD). Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2017 to 2018, intakes of dietary trace minerals and GSD data were obtained through a 24-hour recall and diagnostic questionnaire, respectively. Weighted logistic regression models were used to identify the association between intakes of dietary trace minerals and the prevalence of GSD, and the results were presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). A total of 4077 participants were included in the final analysis, of which 456 participants had GSD and 3621 participants serving as the control group. No significant associations between GSD and intakes of dietary trace minerals (iron, selenium, and zinc) were found. However, after adjusting for all covariates, significant association was demonstrated between dietary copper (Cu) intake and GSD (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.45-0.98). After conducting a weighted quantile logistic regression, a significant negative correlation was also found between dietary Cu intake and highest GSD quartile (Q4) (OR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.26-0.80). Following the research outlined above, no association was found between intakes of dietary trace minerals (iron, selenium, and zinc) and GSD; however, a linear negative association was identified between dietary Cu intake and GSD.

The molecular mechanisms of alpha-lipoic acid on ameliorating aflatoxin B1-induced liver toxicity and physiological dysfunction in northern snakehead (Channa argus).

This research aimed to evaluate the protective mechanism of alpha-lipoic acid (α-LA) on the food-borne aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) exposure-induced liver toxicity and physiological dysfunction in the northern snakehead (Channa argus). 480 fish (9.24±0.01 g) were randomly assigned to four treatment groups and fed with four experimental diets for 56 d including the control group (CON), AFB1 group (200 ppb AFB1), 600 α-LA group (600 ppm α-LA+200 ppb AFB1), and 900 α-LA group (900 ppm α-LA+200 ppb AFB1). The results revealed that 600 and 900 ppm α-LA attenuated AFB1-induced growth inhibition and immunosuppression in northern snakehead. 600 ppm α-LA significantly decreased the serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase levels, and AFB1 bioaccumulation, and attenuated the changes of hepatic histopathological and ultrastructure induced by AFB1. Moreover, 600 and 900 ppm α-LA significantly up-regulated phase I metabolism genes (cytochrome P450-1a, 1b, and 3a) mRNA expression, inhibited the levels of malondialdehyde, 8­hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine and reactive oxygen species in the liver. Notably, 600 ppm α-LA significantly up-regulated the expression levels of nuclear factor E2 related factor 2 and its related downstream antioxidant molecules (heme oxygenase 1 and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1, etc.), increased the phase II detoxification enzyme-related molecules (glutathione-S-transferase and glutathione), antioxidant parameters (catalase and superoxide dismutase, etc.), and the expressions of Nrf2 and Ho-1 protein in the presence of AFB1 exposure. Furthermore, 600 and 900 ppm α-LA significantly reduced the characteristic indices of AFB1-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress (glucose-regulated protein 78 and inositol requiring enzyme 1, etc.), apoptosis (caspase-3 and cytochrome c, etc.) and inflammation (nuclear factor kappa B and tumor necrosis factor α, etc.), while increased the B-cell lymphoma-2 and inhibitor of κBα in the liver after being exposed to AFB1. To summarize, the above results indicate that dietary α-LA could modulate the Nrf2 signaling pathway to ameliorate AFB1-induced growth inhibition, liver toxicity, and physiological dysfunction in northern snakehead. Although the concentration of α-LA increased to 900 ppm from 600 ppm, the protective effects of the 900 ppm α-LA do not show an advantage over the 600 ppm α-LA, and even show inferiority in some respects. So that the recommended concentration of α-LA is 600 ppm. The present study provides the theoretical foundation for developing α-LA as the prevention and treatment of AFB1-induced liver toxicity in aquatic animals.

Association of apolipoprotein B XbaI (rs693) polymorphism and gallstone disease risk based on a comprehensive analysis.

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to investigate the association between XbaI gene polymorphisms in the apolipoprotein B (APOB) gene and gallstone disease (GD) risk through a comparison of the allele and genotype distribution frequencies at this site using meta-analysis. METHODS: A literature search was performed using PubMed and Wanfang through Jun 1, 2020. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of associations. RESULTS: After a comprehensive search, 14 different articles that met the inclusion criteria were selected, with 1583 cases and 1794 controls. Individuals carrying the A-allele or AA genotype of the rs693 polymorphism were determined to possibly have an increased risk of GD. For example, there was a significant relationship between the rs693 polymorphism and increased GD risk in the whole group (OR: 1.40, 95 % CI: 1.05-1.87 in the allelic contrast model), the Asian population (OR: 1.58, 95 % CI: 1.48-2.84 in the heterozygote model), and the hospital-based source of the control (OR: 1.79, 95 % CI: 1.13-2.84 in the dominant model). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the APOB rs693 polymorphism is potentially associated with GD susceptibility, which might offer a detection marker for use in future large scale clinic research.

Non-3d Metal Modulation of a 2D Ni-Co Heterostructure Array as Multifunctional Electrocatalyst for Portable Overall Water Splitting.

Portable water splitting devices driven by rechargeable metal-air batteries or solar cells are promising, however, their scalable usages are still hindered by lack of suitable multifunctional electrocatalysts. Here, a highly efficient multifunctional electrocatalyst is demonstrated, i.e., 2D nanosheet array of Mo-doped NiCo2 O4 /Co5.47 N heterostructure deposited on nickel foam (Mo-NiCo2 O4 /Co5.47 N/NF). The successful doping of non-3d high-valence metal into a heterostructured nanosheet array, which is directly grown on a conductive substrate endows the resultant catalyst with balanced electronic structure, highly exposed active sites, and binder-free electrode architecture. As a result, the Mo-NiCo2 O4 /Co5.47 N/NF exhibits remarkable catalytic activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), affording high current densities of 50 mA cm-2 at low overpotentials of 310 mV for OER, and 170 mV for HER, respectively. Moreover, a low voltage of 1.56 V is achieved for the Mo-NiCo2 O4 /Co5.47 N/NF-based water splitting cell to reach 10 mA cm-2 . More importantly, a portable overall water splitting device is demonstrated through the integration of a water-splitting cell and two Zn-air batteries (open-circuit voltage of 1.43 V), which are all fabricated based on Mo-NiCo2 O4 /Co5.47 N/NF, demonstrating a low-cost way to generate fuel energy. This work offers an effective strategy to develop high-performance metal-doped heterostructured electrode.

Preparation and Characterization of Epoxy/Alumina Nanocomposites.

Nano-alumina (Al2O3, 30 nm) particles were employed to reinforce and toughen epoxy resin. The effects of Al2O3 nanoparticles on the mechanical properties of the composites were investigated by tensile and impact tests. It shows that the mechanical properties of epoxy nanocomposites have been improved significantly. For the prepared nanocomposite with 3.0 wt.% of Al2O3 addition, the tensile strength, elongation at break and impact strength reached 74.83 MPa, 10.63% and 13.79 kJ/m², and were improved by 82.60%, 33.38% and 63.58%, respectively, compared with those of pure epoxy resin. The epoxy/Al2O3 nanocomposites also show good dielectric properties and excellent thermal stability under nitrogen atmosphere. Investigation of fractured surface of the obtained nanocomposites was carried out to study the dispersion of nanoarchitectonics Al2O3 with scanning electron microscopy.