Lipid extract from blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) improves glycemic traits in Chinese type 2 diabetic mellitus patients: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that blue mussel lipid extract (BMLE) has strong anti-inflammatory activity in both rheumatoid arthritis patients and animal arthritis models. Chronic inflammation was closely related to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Though the beneficial effects cannot be completely attributed to n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, the aim of this study was to investigate whether BMLE can improve glycemic traits of T2DM patients. METHOD: In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, 133 Chinese T2DM participants were randomized to either fish oil (FO, n = 44), BMLE (n = 44), or corn oil (CO, n = 45) groups for 60 days. The participants were asked to take the corresponding oil capsules (two capsules per day, 0.8 g per capsule), which provided 1.6 g day-1 of FO (29.9% eicosapentaenoic acid + 20.4% docosahexaenoic acid), BMLE (20.7% eicosapentaenoic acid + 26.7% docosahexaenoic acid), or CO (53.5% linoleic acid). RESULTS: The fasting serum concentration of insulin (P = 0.005) and the homeostasis model of insulin resistance (P = 0.026) were significantly decreased in the BMLE group, whereas no significant change was found in the FO or CO groups. There was no significant difference between groups on serum glycosylated hemoglobin. Tumor necrosis factor-α was significantly decreased in the BMLE group (P = 0.003), but not in the FO or CO groups. A significant decrease of interleukin-1ß was observed in the BMLE and CO groups (P = 0.004 and P = 0.011 respectively), but not in the FO group. The total cholesterol was significantly decreased in the BMLE and CO groups (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001 respectively), but not in the FO group. Triacylglycerol was significantly decreased in the BMLE group (P = 0.007), but not in the FO or CO groups. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly lower in the BMLE and CO groups than in the FO group (P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Blue mussel lipid supplements improved glycemic traits, inflammatory cytokines, and lipids profile in Chinese T2DM patients (Chinese Clinical Trial Registration number: ChiCTR1900025617). © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Swine wastewater treatment by combined process of iron carbon microelectrolysis-physical adsorption-microalgae cultivation.

Combined treatments were designed based on iron-carbon micro-electrolysis treatment (ICME), physical adsorption (PA) with zeolite (Z) or vermiculite (V) and microalgae cultivation (MC, Chlorella vulgaris) for removing pollutants from swine wastewater (SW): ICME + MC (IM), ICME + Z + MC (IZM) and ICME + V + MC (IVM). Results showed that the minimum total nitrogen (TN) of 43.66 mg L-1, NH4+-N of 1.33 mg-1 and total phosphorus (TP) of 0.14 mg-1 were obtained by IVM, while the minimum chemical oxygen demand (COD) was 105 mg-1 via IM. During the process of combined treatments, ICME contributed most to the removal of TN (84.52% by IZM), TP (97.78% by IVM and IZM) and COD (62.44% by IVM), and maximum NH4+-N removal (55.64%) was obtained by MC procedure in IM process. Vermiculite performed better than zeolite during all the combined treatments. Besides, the maximum cell dry weight (CDW, 0.74 g-1) of C. vulgaris was obtained by IM on day 13. The results provide an efficient integrated method for swine wastewater treatment.

Establishing and validating a spotted tongue recognition and extraction model based on multiscale convolutional neural network / 数字中医药（英文）

@#Objective In tongue diagnosis, the location, color, and distribution of spots can be used to speculate on the viscera and severity of the heat evil. This work focuses on the image analysis method of artificial intelligence (AI) to study the spotted tongue recognition of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Methods A model of spotted tongue recognition and extraction is designed, which is based on the principle of image deep learning and instance segmentation. This model includes multiscale feature map generation, region proposal searching, and target region recognition. Firstly, deep convolution network is used to build multiscale low- and high-abstraction feature maps after which, target candidate box generation algorithm and selection strategy are used to select high-quality target candidate regions. Finally, classification network is used for classifying target regions and calculating target region pixels. As a result, the region segmentation of spotted tongue is obtained. Under non-standard illumination conditions, various tongue images were taken by mobile phones, and experiments were conducted. Results The spotted tongue recognition achieved an area under curve (AUC) of 92.40%, an accuracy of 84.30% with a sensitivity of 88.20%, a specificity of 94.19%, a recall of 88.20%, a regional pixel accuracy index pixel accuracy (PA) of 73.00%, a mean pixel accuracy (mPA) of 73.00%, an intersection over union (IoU) of 60.00%, and a mean intersection over union (mIoU) of 56.00%. Conclusion The results of the study verify that the model is suitable for the application of the TCM tongue diagnosis system. Spotted tongue recognition via multiscale convolutional neural network (CNN) would help to improve spot classification and the accurate extraction of pixels of spot area as well as provide a practical method for intelligent tongue diagnosis of TCM.

Dietary betaine prevents obesity through gut microbiota-drived microRNA-378a family.

Betaine is a natural compound present in commonly consumed foods and may have a potential role in the regulation of glucose and lipids metabolism. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of its action remains largely unknown. Here, we show that supplementation with betaine contributes to improved high-fat diet (HFD)-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis and increases anti-obesity strains such as Akkermansia muciniphila, Lactobacillus, and Bifidobacterium. In mice lacking gut microbiota, the functional role of betaine in preventing HFD-induced obesity, metabolic syndrome, and inactivation of brown adipose tissues are significantly reduced. Akkermansia muciniphila is an important regulator of betaine in improving microbiome ecology and increasing strains that produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Increasing two main members of SCFAs including acetate and butyrate can significantly regulate the levels of DNA methylation at host miR-378a promoter, thus preventing the development of obesity and glucose intolerance. However, these beneficial effects are partially abolished by Yin yang (YY1), a common target gene of the miR-378a family. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that betaine can improve obesity and associated MS via the gut microbiota-derived miR-378a/YY1 regulatory axis, and reveal a novel mechanism by which gut microbiota improve host health.

Characterization of Phenolic Compounds from Early and Late Ripening Sweet Cherries and Their Antioxidant and Antifungal Activities.

Early and late ripening sweet cherries were characterized for phenolic acids, and also their antioxidant capacity and potential antifungal effects were investigated. Free, conjugated, and bound phenolics were identified and quantified using ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Our results indicated that the early ripening cultivars contained higher free phenolic acids, which was positively related to remarkable antioxidant properties and the inhibition effects on Alternaria alternata and tenuazonic acid (TeA) accumulation. However, conjugated phenolics of the late ripening cultivars, mainly including caffeic, 2,3,4-trihydroxybenzoic, p-coumaric, and pyrocatechuic acids, achieved the highest antifungal effects and almost completely inhibited the A. alternata and TeA production. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl testing and ferric ion reducing antioxidant power assay showed strong positive correlation with total phenolics and specific phenolics such as free epicatechin and conjugated 2,3,4-trihydroxybenzoic acids and also with antifungal activity. Results from this study provide further insights into the health-promoting phenolic compounds in sweet cherries.

Adaptability comparison of E. fetida in vermicomposting against sludge from livestock wastewater treatment plant based on their several growth stages.

Vermicomposting is a low-cost, eco-efficient process to deal with organic wastes. Mixtures of swine manure (SM), cow dung (CD), and animal wastewater treatment plant sludge (S) were applied as feeds, and Eisenia fetida was employed in this study to investigate the vermicomposting efficiency based on their several growth stages. The hatching test resulted in a 100 % hatching rate in S60SM40 (60 % S + 40 % SM) mixture, while 4.40 hatchlings per cocoon were observed. The growth of infancy performed best in 0-20 % CD mixtures (0.05 ± 0.002 g), followed by in SM + CD (0.04 ± 0.003 g). The highest growth rate of young and adult E. fetida was noticed in CD + S mixtures (11.14 ± 0.01 and 6.00 ± 0.02 mg/d/worm, respectively), while the higher cocoon production of adults was noticed in S + SM mixtures especially in S40SM60 (537 ± 5 worms). Moreover, the conversion of solids; the modified pH value; the reduction in total organic carbon (TOC); total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), NH4-N, NO3-N, and C:N ratio; and the rich in total available phosphorus (TAP) and total potassium (TK) content by young and adult E. fetida were related to the growth of worms. Such work would benefit understanding and to increase the efficiency of vermicompost processing of different wastes.

Vermicomposting of sludge from animal wastewater treatment plant mixed with cow dung or swine manure using Eisenia fetida.

Vermicomposting of animal wastewater treatment plant sludge (S) mixed with cow dung (CD) or swine manure (SM) employing Eisenia fetida was tested. The numbers, weights, clitellum development, and cocoon production were monitored for 60 days at a detecting interval of 15 days. The results indicated that 100 % of the sludge can be the suitable food for growth and fecundity of E. fetida, while addition of CD or SM in sludge significantly (P < 0.05) increased the worm biomass and reproduction. The sludge amended with 40 % SM can be a great medium for the growth of E. fetida, and the sludge amended with 40 % CD can be a suitable medium for the fecundity of E. fetida. The addition of CD in sludge provided a better environment for the fecundity of earthworm than SM did. Moreover, vermicomposts obtained in the study had lower pH value, lower total organic carbon (TOC), lower NH4 (+)-N, lower C/N ratio, higher total available phosphorous (TAP) contents, optimal stability, and maturity. NH4 (+)-N, pH and TAP of the initial mixtures explained high earthworm growth. The results provided the theory basic both for management of animal wastes and the production of earthworm proteins using E. fetida.

[Advances in research of pharmacological effects and formulation studies of linalool].

Linalool, as a major volatile compound, is widely distributed in natural plant essential oil. In addition, it can also be artificially synthesized. Linalool is used frequently as an important ingredient of perfumes and household detergents. It is still employed in food flavor and industries. Besides, linalool has some positive effect on healthcare. Many studies have showed that linalool exhibited a variety of pharmacological activities, including analgesic, anxiolytic, sedative, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and anti-bacterial effects. Therefore, linalool will be a promising agent for clinical application. This article reviews the pharmacological effects and formulation studies of linalool so as to provide a theoretical basis for its further development and utilization.