Shexiang Tongxin dropping pills protect against ischemic stroke-induced cerebral microvascular dysfunction via suppressing TXNIP/NLRP3 signaling pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Patients with ischemic stroke (IS) often continue to exhibit cerebral microcirculatory dysfunction even after receiving thrombolytic therapy. Enhancing the function of cerebral microvascular endothelia represents a pivotal advancement in the therapeutic strategy for ischemic microcirculatory disturbances. A traditional Chinese medicinal formulation named Shexiang Tongxin Dropping Pills (STDP), has been clinically employed to ameliorate microcirculatory abnormalities. Existing literature attests to the beneficial role of STDP on endothelial cells (ECs). Nevertheless, specific impacts and underlying mechanisms of STDP in rectifying IS-induced cerebral microvascular dysfunction warrant further exploration. AIM OF THE STUDY: This investigation seeks to delineate the effects of STDP on cerebral microvascular endothelial damage induced by ischemic stroke and to elucidate the underlying mechanism involved. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion (MCAO/R) technique was employed to established ischemic stroke model in mice. The therapeutic efficacy of STDP on cerebral microvascular function was assessed through laser speckle contrast imaging, behavioral assays, and histological evaluations. Biochemical markers in the brain tissue, including GSH, SOD, MDA, and ROS, were quantified using specific assay kits. In vitro study, oxygen-glucose deprivation and reperfusion (OGD/R) was performed in bEnd.3 cells. The cytoprotective potential of STDP was then evaluated by measuring cell viability, LDH activity, endothelial permeability, and oxidative stress parameters. Important targets in critical pathway were verified by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence both in mice brain slices and bEnd.3 cells. RESULTS: STDP decrease brain infarct size, repaired microvascular cerebral blood flow and attenuated neurological deficiency in MCAO/R mice. Moreover, STDP abolished MCAO/R-induced oxidative stress which was reflected by rescuing GSH content, restoration of SOD activity and T-AOC, reduction of MDA and ROS. Ex vivo, STDP increased cerebral microvascular endothelial cells viability, abolished oxidative stress and decreased their permeability after ODG/R. Mechanistically, STDP significantly suppressed endothelial ROS-TXNIP mediated the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in vivo and in vitro. CONCLUSION: STDP improves ischemic stroke-induced cerebral microcirculatory deficits by regulating cerebral microvascular endothelial ROS/TXNIP/NLRP3 signaling pathway.

Exploring the synergistic pharmacological mechanism of Huoxiang Drink against irritable bowel syndrome by integrated data mining and network pharmacology.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder, characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel habits. Huoxiang Drink (HD), derived from traditional Chinese medicine, has been reported to effectively treat digestive disorders caused by external cold and internal dampness. However, the pharmaceutical targets and mechanisms for HD against IBS remain unclear. Data mining, bioinformatics analysis, and network pharmacology were employed to explore the potential pharmacological mechanisms of HD against IBS. In this study, we screened 50 core targets to investigate the pharmacological mechanisms of HD against IBS. Enrichment analysis revealed that HD may participate in various signaling pathways, especially the inflammation-related tumor necrosis factor, signaling pathway and hypoxia-inducible factor signaling pathway. Molecular docking results confirmed that MOL000098 (Quercetin), MOL000006 (Luteolin), MOL005828 (Nobiletin), MOL005916 (Irisolidone), and MOL004328 (Naringenin), as key active ingredients in HD, bound to core targets (tumor protein P53, tumor necrosis factor, matrix metalloproteinases 9, and vascular endothelial growth factor-A) for topical treatment of IBS. This study suggested that HD offered a potential therapeutic strategy against IBS. Our findings may facilitate the efficient screening of active ingredients in HD and provide a theoretical basis for further validating the clinical therapeutic effects of HD on treating IBS.

Prostate arterial chemoembolization for treatment of refractory hematuria and urinary retention in patients with localized advanced prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety and efficacy transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for the treatment of refractory gross hematuria (RGH) and urinary retention (UR) secondary to localized advanced prostate cancer (PCa). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-two patients (mean age 72.5 years, range 60-89) with advanced PCa-related RGH that failed conventional therapy were included. Twenty-two of these patients had catheter-dependent due to PCa-related UR. TACE was performed with epirubicin (EPI)-eluting HepaSpheres (HS) plus intra-arterial (IA) infusion of docetaxel. Technical success, adverse events (AEs), overall survival (OS), control of RGH, removal of indwelling catheters, and local disease control, were evaluated. RESULTS: Technical success was achieved in 100% without major AEs. Mean follow up post-TACE was 27 months (range 8-56 months) with a mean OS of 30 months. GRH stopped within 5 days after TACE in all patients, 26 (86.7%) of these patients exhibited good bleeding control during a mean follow-up of 24 months; 17 (77.3%) of the 22 patients with UR had recovered spontaneous urination, 15 (88.2%) patients were catheter-free at their last follow-up with a mean of 24 months. BS was obtained in 73.3% (22/30) of patients at a mean follow-up of 29 months. At the last visit, 22 patients had a mean of 36 months follow-up and the mean percentage reduction in prostate volume was 55.5%, with a statistically different from baseline (P = 0.022). Negative biopsy results were obtained in 84.2% (16/19) of the patients at 12-47 months after TACE. Compared with baseline values, there was a significant improvements in IPSS, QoL, Qmax, and PVR (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: TACE using EPI-eluting HS plus IA infusion of docetaxel is a safe and effective treatment option for the advanced PCa patients with GRH and UR, and it could be considered as an alternative if there was no other therapeutic choice.

Chiral three-dimensional supramolecular assemblies: colloidal onions, cubosomes, and hexosomes.

Amphiphilic molecules can self-assemble in solution into a variety of supramolecular assemblies, ranging from simple micelles, ribbons, and tubes to complex cubosomes with bicontinuous cubic nanostructures. It is well known that the self-assembly of chiral building blocks into one-dimensional (1D) twisted fibers, helical ribbons, and tubes enables chiral transfer from the molecular scale to super-assemblies. In this study, we investigate the chirality of three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular assemblies, such as colloidal onions, cubosomes, and hexosomes, formed from the same chiral heteroclusters. Unlike supramolecular 1D helical ribbons, these assemblies do not have chiral external shapes or chiral internal nanostructures, but they do exhibit circular dichroism, suggesting that they are chiral. Structural studies revealed that the ordered arrangement of the chiral units in curved superstructures is the origin of the supramolecular chirality of these 3D assemblies. Therefore, this study provides insights for enriching the diversity and complexity of supramolecular chiral assemblies.

Performance and mechanism of Chlorella in swine wastewater treatment: Roles of nitrogen-phosphorus ratio adjustment and indigenous bacteria.

The effects of adjusting the nitrogen-phosphorus (N/P) ratio of wastewater and indigenous bacteria on swine wastewater treatment by Chlorella sp. HL were investigated. The optimal N/P ratio of Chlorella in swine wastewater was 20 by adjusting the phosphorus concentration. The participation of indigenous bacteria increased total extracellular polymeric substances content, which was beneficial to maintain the stability of the algal-bacterial consortium, and improved the algal density and the removal rate of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and chemical oxygen demand by 47.8%, 24.0%, 30.7%, and 326.7%, respectively. Proteobacteria was the dominant phylum with the relative abundance of 71.58% in the algal-bacterial system at optimal N/P ratio, and Brevundimonas, Chryseobacterium, and Pseudomonas played positive roles in the establishment of symbiotic systems at the genus level. These results provide a theoretical basis for the construction of an efficient algal-bacterial symbiotic system in swine wastewater treatment and support for commercial scale-up.

Metaproteomics reveals the molecular mechanism underlying bloom maintenance of a marine dinoflagellate under low ambient CO2 and inorganic nutrients.

Dinoflagellate blooming periods are paradoxically characterized by high biomass growth rate and low ambient dissolved CO2 and inorganic nutrients, however, the underlying mechanisms linking cell growth and nutrient acquisition are poorly understood. Here, we compared metaproteomes of non-bloom, mid-blooming and late-blooming cells of a marine dinoflagellate Prorocentrum donghaiense. Cell division, metabolism of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, lipid, porphyrin and chlorophyll were more active in blooming cells than in non-bloom cells. Up-regulation of carbonic anhydrase, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase II, and C4-cycle proteins enhanced CO2 assimilation of P. donghaiense. Proteins participating in external organic nutrient acquisition and conversion, such as transporters for fatty acids, peptides and amino acids, external- and internal-phosphomonoester hydrolase, and diverse peptidases and amino acid transaminases, exhibited higher expression in blooming cells relative to non-bloom cells. Interestingly, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) such as urea and aspartate significantly down-regulated expression and activity of carbon assimilation proteins except for RuBisCO form II, suggesting that DON provided sufficient carbon source which reduced the need to concentrate internal CO2. This study demonstrates that coupling of efficient CO2 assimilation with DON utilization are essential for bloom maintenance of P. donghaiense, and future efforts should be devoted to dissolved organic nutrients for prevention and management of dinoflagelllate blooms.

Development of nutritious rice with high zinc/selenium and low cadmium in grains through QTL pyramiding.

Enriching zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) levels, while reducing cadmium (Cd) concentration in rice grains is of great benefit for human diet and health. Large natural variations in grain Zn, Se, and Cd concentrations in different rice accessions enable Zn/Se-biofortification and Cd-minimization through molecular breeding. Here, we report the development of new elite varieties by pyramiding major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that significantly contribute to high Zn/Se and low Cd accumulation in grains. A chromosome segment substitution line CSSLGCC7 with the PA64s-derived GCC7 allele in the 93-11 background, exhibited steadily higher Mn and lower Cd concentrations in grains than those of 93-11. This elite chromosome segment substitution line (CSSL) was used as the core breeding material to cross with CSSLs harboring other major QTLs for essential mineral elements, especially CSSLGZC6 for grain Zn concentration and CSSLGSC5 for grain Se concentration. The CSSLGCC7+GZC6 and CSSLGCC7+GSC5 exhibited lower Cd concentration with higher Zn and Se concentrations in grains, respectively. Our study thus provides elite materials for rice breeding targeting high Zn/Se and low Cd concentrations in grains.

Effects of natural phenolics on shelf life and lipid stability of freeze-dried scallop adductor muscle.

Effects of natural phenolics on the shelf life of dried scallop adductor muscle predicted by accelerated shelf life testing (ALST) combined with Arrhenius model were investigated. This allows the food industries to reliably and rapidly determine the shelf life of dried shellfish species treated with antioxidants. The shelf life of dried scallop adductor muscle treated with antioxidants of bamboo leaves (AOB) and tea polyphenols (TP) was more than 1.70-fold that of dried control scallop adductor muscle. Thus, the highly nutritional value of dried scallop adductor muscle, based on its lipid constituents, is maintained during storage. OXITEST method further confirmed the improvement of lipid stability of antioxidant treated dried scallop adductor muscle by protecting polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids, against autoxidation. Moreover, the natural phenolics employed effectively limited lipid oxidation by breaking the autoxidative chain reaction and/or inhibiting free radical formation in dried scallop adductor muscle during storage.

[Research rules of famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in treating infertility].

To explore the medication rules of famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in treating infertility based on medical cases of infertility collected from book series of Hundred Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinicians of Hundred Years in China and Prescription Proven by Traditional Chinese Medicine Masters. Researchers extracted the information of prescriptions from these cases according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, Excel 2010, SPSS Clementine(ver.12.0) and SPSS(ver. 22.0) were adopted respectively for frequency analysis, association rules analysis, cluster analysis and factor analysis. Cluster analysis was carried out by Ochiai algorithm of binary variable data, which was a systematic clustering method. And principal component analysis was used for factor analysis. Besides, KMO test and Bartlett spherical test were used for factor adaptation test. Finally, 151 medical cases and 396 prescriptions were included in total. A total of 60 kinds of frequently used herbs were identified according to the results of frequency analysis for medication, they were mainly used for activating blood and resolving stasis, tonifying and clearing heat respectively. The association rules analysis found out 25 drug pair association rules and 14 3-drug combination association rules. A total of 15 medicine groups were extracted by cluster analysis. KMO test and Bartlett spherical test indicated that the method was suitable for factor analysis, and 21 common factors were respectively extracted by factor analysis. Association rules indicated the characteristics of the therapeutic methods, like tonifying Qi and replenishing blood. The famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners utilized modified Siwu Decoction for tonifying blood and preferred Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma(Baizhu) for tonifying Qi. The results of both cluster analysis and factor analysis demonstrated the characteristics of the therapies for tonifying kidney, activating blood, tonifying spleen and dispelling dampness. In addition, factor analysis could reflect the therapies for nourishing Yin, tonifying kidney, warming the meridian, dissipating cold, nourishing blood and dispelling blood stasis. These results of analysis comprehensively showed out the medication characteristics of famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners of strictly following the pathogenesis, making good use of classical formulas and providing proper compatibility. In conclusion, data mining techniques(including frequency analysis, association rules analysis, cluster analysis and factor analysis) were used to comprehensively analyze the medication rules of famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in treating infertility, which is helpful for guiding the clinical practice of treating infertility with traditional Chinese medicine.

Identifying Clonal Origin of Multifocal Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Its Clinical Implications.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by high prevalence of multifocality. Multifocal HCC can arise synchronously or metachronously either from intrahepatic metastasis (IM) or multicentric occurrence (MO). To date, there have been no established criteria to accurately distinguish whether multifocal HCC originates from IM or MO. Histopathological features remain the most convenient strategy but with subjectivity and limited accuracy. Various molecular biological techniques involving assessment of TP53 mutation status, hepatitis B virus integration sites, and chromosomal alterations have been applied to determine the clonal origin. The introduction of next-generation sequencing facilitates a more comprehensive annotation of intertumor heterogeneity, resulting in more sensitive and accurate clonal discrimination. Generally, MO-HCC has better overall survival than IM-HCC after curative resection. Adjuvant antiviral treatment has been proved to decrease post-treatment recurrence probably by reducing MO-HCC recurrence, whereas adjuvant sorafenib treatment targeting prior micrometastasis failed to reduce IM-HCC recurrence. Recent studies recommended transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and traditional Chinese medicine Huaier granule as effective adjuvant treatments probably by preventing IM and both types of recurrences respectively. Immunotherapy that inhibits immune checkpoint interaction may be an optimal choice for both MO- and IM-HCC. In the future, effective personalized therapy against multifocal HCC may be achieved.

Mechanism of antioxidant action of natural phenolics on scallop (Argopecten irradians) adductor muscle during drying process.

Lipid hydrolysis and oxidation occurred in Argopecten irradians adductor muscle during hot air drying. Using an in vivo imaging system, we found that antioxidants of bamboo leaves (AOB) could diffuse into the adductor muscle upon marinating. Both tea polyphenols (TP) and AOB efficiently retarded lipid oxidation but had a slight effect on lipid hydrolysis during drying process. The in situ antioxidant mechanisms of AOB as well as TP were revealed, including quenching of free radicals detected by electron spin resonance, chelating metal ions determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy and inhibiting lipoxygenase. Less than 8% of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in AOB and TP marinated adductor muscle were decreased compared to more than 28% decrease in control adductor muscle during the drying process. Overall, these natural antioxidants, TP and AOB, efficiently maintained high nutritive value of adductor muscle, especially, their lipid quality.

Tumor growth velocity: A modified tumor growth rate defining tumor progression during sorafenib treatment in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the role of tumor growth velocity in defining tumor progression in metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients treated with the vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, sorafenib. METHODS: A modified calculation for tumor growth velocity was introduced to evaluate the tumor growth velocity, before and after sorafenib withdrawal. Known prognostic factors together with tumor growth velocity before drug withdrawal and tumor growth velocity after drug withdrawal were compared using a χ2 -test from a contingency table, and partial likelihood test from a Cox regression model for overall survival. RESULTS: A total of 114 patients who reached progressive disease and withdrew from sorafenib were enrolled after a median follow-up period of 107.8 months. Tumor growth velocity before drug withdrawal was 7.347 ± 4.040, and tumor growth velocity after drug withdrawal was 11.647 ± 5.937 (P < 0.001). Higher tumor growth velocity before drug withdrawal was correlated with a higher risk Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center score (P = 0.022), Karnofsky Performance Status <80 (P = 0.028), non-clear cell carcinoma (P = 0.037), higher tumor nucleus grade (P < 0.001) and best treatment response (P < 0.001). Patients with tumor growth velocity before drug withdrawal >5.0 had shorter overall survival (P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, factors associated with overall survival were high/intermediate Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center risk score (hazard ratio 2.119, P = 0.006), non-clear histological subtype (hazard ratio 1.900, P = 0.031), tumor growth velocity before drug withdrawal ≥5.0 (hazard ratio 2.758, P < 0.001) and progressive disease as best response (hazard ratio 2.069, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Significantly faster tumor growth can be observed if sorafenib is discontinued in the case of disease progression. Thus, we suggest not to withdraw targeted agents until tumor growth velocity is >5.0.

Research rules of famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in treating infertility / 中国中药杂志

To explore the medication rules of famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in treating infertility based on medical cases of infertility collected from book series of Hundred Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinicians of Hundred Years in China and Prescription Proven by Traditional Chinese Medicine Masters. Researchers extracted the information of prescriptions from these cases according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, Excel 2010, SPSS Clementine(ver.12.0) and SPSS(ver. 22.0) were adopted respectively for frequency analysis, association rules analysis, cluster analysis and factor analysis. Cluster analysis was carried out by Ochiai algorithm of binary variable data, which was a systematic clustering method. And principal component analysis was used for factor analysis. Besides, KMO test and Bartlett spherical test were used for factor adaptation test. Finally, 151 medical cases and 396 prescriptions were included in total. A total of 60 kinds of frequently used herbs were identified according to the results of frequency analysis for medication, they were mainly used for activating blood and resolving stasis, tonifying and clearing heat respectively. The association rules analysis found out 25 drug pair association rules and 14 3-drug combination association rules. A total of 15 medicine groups were extracted by cluster analysis. KMO test and Bartlett spherical test indicated that the method was suitable for factor analysis, and 21 common factors were respectively extracted by factor analysis. Association rules indicated the characteristics of the therapeutic methods, like tonifying Qi and replenishing blood. The famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners utilized modified Siwu Decoction for tonifying blood and preferred Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma(Baizhu) for tonifying Qi. The results of both cluster analysis and factor analysis demonstrated the characteristics of the therapies for tonifying kidney, activating blood, tonifying spleen and dispelling dampness. In addition, factor analysis could reflect the therapies for nourishing Yin, tonifying kidney, warming the meridian, dissipating cold, nourishing blood and dispelling blood stasis. These results of analysis comprehensively showed out the medication characteristics of famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners of strictly following the pathogenesis, making good use of classical formulas and providing proper compatibility. In conclusion, data mining techniques(including frequency analysis, association rules analysis, cluster analysis and factor analysis) were used to comprehensively analyze the medication rules of famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in treating infertility, which is helpful for guiding the clinical practice of treating infertility with traditional Chinese medicine.

Food Patterns are Associated with Likelihood of CKD in US Adults.

We investigated the association between dietary patterns and prevalent chronic kidney diseases (CKD), in participants of the 2005-2012 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2005 and 2012, who had measured data on dietary intake and kidney function. Analyse of covariance (ANCOVA) and logistic regression models were employed to account for the survey design and sample weights. A total of 21,649 eligible participants (634 with and 20,015 without prevalent CKD) were included in the final analysis. Three food patterns together explained 50.8% of the variance of the dietary nutrients consumption. The first food pattern was representative of a diet containing high levels of saturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids; the second food pattern comprised vitamins and trace elements; and the third food pattern was mainly representative of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The odd of prevalent CKD decreased across increasing quarters of vitamins and trace elements, so that the top quarter was associated with a 53% (95%CI: 42-62%) lower odds of CKD in age, sex and race adjusted logistic regression models. These results suggest that vitamins and trace elements intake are associated with lower risk of prevalent CKD.

Extraction and detailed characterization of phospholipid-enriched oils from six species of edible clams.

Phospholipid (PL)-enriched oils were recovered from six species of edible clams, namely Cyclina sinensis, Mactra chinensis Philippi, Mactra veneriformis Reeve, Meretrix meretrix, Ruditapes phliippinarum and Saxidomus purpurata, using a mixture of ethanol and hexane (1:1, v/v). The oils contained a high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (26.78-45.36% of total FAs), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (8.17-10.48% of total FAs) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (7.83-21.34% of total FAs). The oils also contained a high percentage of PL (39.86-74.05% of total lipids). Among PL, phosphatidylcholine (37.40-52.19mol%) and phosphatidylethanolamine (34.74-43.10mol%) were dominant. At least 435, 442, 513, 438, 433 and 437 glycerophospholipid (GP) molecular species were characterized, respectively, in lipids from Cyclina sinensis, Mactra chinensis Philippi, Mactra veneriformis Reeve, Meretrix meretrix, Ruditapes phliippinarum and Saxidomus purpurata. Most of the predominant GP molecular species contained PUFA, mainly EPA and DHA, indicating that clam is a potential resource of PUFA enriched GP.

Sensory quality evaluation for appearance of needle-shaped green tea based on computer vision and nonlinear tools.

Tea is one of the three greatest beverages in the world. In China, green tea has the largest consumption, and needle-shaped green tea, such as Maofeng tea and Sparrow Tongue tea, accounts for more than 40% of green tea (Zhu et al., 2017). The appearance of green tea is one of the important indexes during the evaluation of green tea quality. Especially in market transactions, the price of tea is usually determined by its appearance (Zhou et al., 2012). Human sensory evaluation is usually conducted by experts, and is also easily affected by various factors such as light, experience, psychological and visual factors. In the meantime, people may distinguish the slight differences between similar colors or textures, but the specific levels of the tea are hard to determine (Chen et al., 2008). As human description of color and texture is qualitative, it is hard to evaluate the sensory quality accurately, in a standard manner, and objectively. Color is an important visual property of a computer image (Xie et al., 2014; Khulal et al., 2016); texture is a visual performance of image grayscale and color changing with spatial positions, which can be used to describe the roughness and directivity of the surface of an object (Sanaeifar et al., 2016). There are already researchers who have used computer visual image technologies to identify the varieties, levels, and origins of tea (Chen et al., 2008; Xie et al., 2014; Zhu et al., 2017). Most of their research targets are crush, tear, and curl (CTC) red (green) broken tea, curly green tea (Bilochun tea), and flat-typed green tea (West Lake Dragon-well green tea) as the information sources. However, the target of the above research is to establish a qualitative evaluation method on tea quality (Fu et al., 2013). There is little literature on the sensory evaluation of the appearance quality of needle-shaped green tea, especially research on a quantitative evaluation model (Zhou et al., 2012; Zhu et al., 2017).

Proteomic signature of muscle fibre hyperplasia in response to faba bean intake in grass carp.

Fish muscle growth is important for the rapidly developing global aquaculture industry, particularly with respect to production and quality. Changes in muscle fibre size are accomplished by altering the balance between protein synthesis and proteolysis. However, our understanding regarding the effects of different protein sources on fish muscle proteins is still limited. Here we report on the proteomic profile of muscle fibre hyperplasia in grass carp fed only with whole faba bean. From the results, a total of 99 significantly changed proteins after muscle hyperplasia increase were identified (p < 0.05, ratio <0.5 or >2). Protein-protein interaction analysis demonstrated the presence of a network containing 56 differentially expressed proteins, and muscle fibre hyperplasia was closely related to a protein-protein network of 12 muscle component proteins. Muscle fibre hyperplasia was also accompanied by decreased abundance in the fatty acid degradation and calcium signalling pathways. In addition, metabolism via the pentose phosphate pathway decreased in grass carp after ingestion of faba bean, leading to haemolysis. These findings could provide a reference for the prevention and treatment of human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency ("favism").

Impact of the dietary fatty acid intake on C-reactive protein levels in US adults.

Growing evidence suggests that the effects of diet on cardiovascular disease (CVD) occur through mechanisms involving subclinical inflammation. We assessed whether reported dietary fatty acid intake correlates with a serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) concentration in a population-based sample of US men and women.In this cross-sectional analysis, participants were selected from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and restricted to those with available data on dietary intake, biochemical and anthropometric measurements from 2001 to 2010. All statistical analyses accounted for the survey design and sample weights by using SPSS Complex Samples v22.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY).Of the 17,689 participants analyzed, 8607 (48.3%) were men. The mean age was 45.8 years in the overall sample, 44.9 years in men, and 46.5 years in women (P = 0.047). The age-, race-, and sex-adjusted mean dietary intakes of total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), PUFAs 18:2 (octadecadienoic), and PUFAs 18:3 (octadecatrienoic) monotonically decreased across hs-CRP quartiles (P < 0.001), whereas dietary cholesterol increased across hs-CRP quartiles (P < 0.001)This study provides further evidence of an association between fatty acid intake and subclinical inflammation markers. hs-CRP concentrations are likely modulated by dietary fatty acid intake. However, the causality of this association needs to be demonstrated in clinical trials.

Sorafenib versus sunitinib as first-line treatment agents in Chinese patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: the largest multicenter retrospective analysis of survival and prognostic factors.

BACKGROUND: To compare the efficacy of sorafenib and sunitinib with regard to overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) in Chinese patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective study was performed to elucidate the relationship between clinical variables and prognosis comparing sorafenib and sunitinib as first-line treatment agents in Chinese patients with mRCC. Between September 2006 and December 2014, 845 patients received either sorafenib (400 mg bid; n = 483) or sunitinib (50 mg q.d; n = 362). The primary end point was OS and PFS. RESULTS: The percentage of patients with low and moderate risk according to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC) score was significantly higher in sunitinib group, and that with high risk was significantly higher in sorafenib group (15.1 vs. 5.2%; p < 0.001). Median OS was similar in sorafenib and sunitinib group (24 vs. 24 months; p = 0.298). Sorafenib group exhibited higher mPFS compared to sunitinib group (11.1 vs. 10.0 months; p = 0.028). Treatment (sorafenib vs sunitinib), pathology, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, MSKCC scores, Heng's criteria of risk, and number of metastases were identified as significant predictors for OS and along with liver metastasis for PFS. Clinical outcomes in terms of mOS was significantly better with sorafenib in patients ≥65 years of age (p = .041), ECOG 0 (p = 0.0001), and median MSKCC risk score (p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Sorafenib and sunitinib are both effective in treating mRCC. However, sorafenib might be more effective in elderly patients (≥65 years) and in patients with an ECOG status of 0, classified under MSKCC moderate risk.

Eosinophil percentage elevation as a prognostic factor for overall survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

BACKGROUND: We tried to investigate the prognostic significance of post-treatment eosinophil percentage(Eo %) in metastatic renal cell carcinoma(mRCC) patients undertaking sorafenib. RESULTS: The median OS for the entire sorafenib treatment period was 21.9 months (95% CI: 17.2-25.9 months). Of the 282 mRCC patients, 101 patients experienced an elevated post-treatment Eo % within two months. Median OS of post-treatment Eo % elevated group and non-elevated group were 42.9 months and 16.8 months(p=0.000). After adding post-treatment Eo % into a modified MSKCC model or Heng's model, 43 and 41 patients were reclassified into favorable group, 5 and 9 patients were reclassified to intermediate group respectively. METHODS: mRCC patients treated with sorafenib from 2006 to 2015 in were evaluated. Pre- and post-treatment Eo % were assessed. Oncologic outcomes were analyzed by overall survival and tumor response rate. Predictive parameters were assessed in a Cox proportional hazard model. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that an early elevation of Eo % after sorafenib treatment is a strong predictor of good prognosis. Eo % can be a good supplementary for prognostic models using pre-treatment parameters.