Metabolomics and lipidomics combined with serum pharmacochemistry uncover the potential mechanism of Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction alleviates atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Atherosclerosis (AS) is one of the main cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) leading to an increase in global mortality, and its key pathological features are lipid accumulation and oxidative stress. Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction (HLJDD), a representative formula for clearing heat and detoxifying, has been shown to reduce aortic lipid plaque and improve AS. However, multiple components and multiple targets of HLJDD pose a challenge in comprehending its comprehensive mechanism in the treatment of AS. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study was designed to illustrate the anti-AS mechanisms of HLJDD in an apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE-/-) mouse model from a metabolic perspective. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ApoE-/- mice were kept on a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce AS. Serum total cholesterol (TC), total triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were determined to evaluate the influence of HLJDD on dyslipidemia. Oil red O was used to stain mouse aortic lipid plaques, and hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to assess the pathological changes in the aortic roots. Metabolomics and lipidomics combined with serum pharmacochemistry were performed to research the HLJDD mechanism of alleviating AS. RESULTS: In this study, HLJDD treatment improved serum biochemical levels and histopathological conditions in AS mice. A total of 6 metabolic pathways (arginine biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid, sphingolipid, arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, and glycerolipid metabolism) related to 25 metabolic biomarkers and 41 lipid biomarkers were clarified, and 22 prototype components migrating to blood were identified after oral administration of HLJDD. CONCLUSION: HLJDD improved AS induced by HFD in ApoE-/- mice. The effects of HLJDD were mainly attributed to regulating lipid metabolism by regulating the metabolic pathways of glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, and glycerolipids and reducing the levels of oxidative stress by upregulating arginine biosynthesis.

Synthetic biology in microalgae towards fucoxanthin production for pharmacy and nutraceuticals.

Synthetic biology has emerged as a powerful tool for engineering biological systems to produce valuable compounds, including pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. Microalgae, in particular, offer a promising platform for the production of bioactive compounds due to their high productivity, low land and water requirements, and ability to perform photosynthesis. Fucoxanthin, a carotenoid pigment found predominantly in brown seaweeds and certain microalgae, has gained significant attention in recent years due to its numerous health benefits, such as antioxidation, antitumor effect and precaution osteoporosis. This review provides an overview of the principles and applications of synthetic biology in the microbial engineering of microalgae for enhanced fucoxanthin production. Firstly, the fucoxanthin bioavailability and metabolism in vivo was introduced for the beneficial roles, followed by the biological functions of anti-oxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity, antiapoptotic role antidiabetic and antilipemic effects. Secondly, the cultivation condition and strategy were summarized for fucoxanthin improvement with low production costs. Thirdly, the genetic engineering of microalgae, including gene overexpression, knockdown and knockout strategies were discussed for further improving the fucoxanthin production. Then, synthetic biology tools of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, transcription activator-like effector nucleases as well as modular assembly and chassis engineering were proposed to precise modification of microalgal genomes to improve fucoxanthin production. Finally, challenges and future perspectives were discussed to realize the industrial production and development of functional foods of fucoxanthin from microalgae.

Effects of interventions on trajectories of health-related quality of life among older patients with hip fracture: a prospective randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been used to assess subjects' prognosis and recovery following hip fracture. However, evidence is mixed regarding the effectiveness of interventions to improve HRQoL of elders with hip fracture. The purposes of this study were to identify distinct HRQoL trajectories and to evaluate the effects of two care models on these trajectories over 12 months following hip-fracture surgery. METHODS: For this secondary analysis, data came from a randomized controlled trial of subjects with hip fracture receiving three treatment care models: interdisciplinary care (n = 97), comprehensive care (n = 91), and usual care (n = 93). Interdisciplinary care consisted of geriatric consultation, discharge planning, and 4 months of in-home rehabilitation. Comprehensive care consisted of interdisciplinary care plus management of malnutrition and depressive symptoms, fall prevention, and 12 months of in-home rehabilitation. Usual care included only in-hospital rehabilitation and occasional discharge planning, without geriatric consultation and in-home rehabilitation. Mental and physical HRQoL were measured at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after discharge by the physical component summary scale (PCS) and mental component summary scale (MCS), respectively, of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36, Taiwan version. Latent class growth modeling was used to identify PCS and MCS trajectories and to evaluate how they were affected by the interdisciplinary and comprehensive care models. RESULTS: We identified three quadratic PCS trajectories: poor PCS (n = 103, 36.6 %), moderate PCS (n = 96, 34.2 %), and good PCS (n = 82, 29.2 %). In contrast, we found three linear MCS trajectories: poor MCS (n = 39, 13.9 %), moderate MCS (n = 84, 29.9 %), and good MCS (n = 158, 56.2 %). Subjects in the comprehensive care and interdisciplinary care groups were more likely to experience a good PCS trajectory (b = 0.99, odds ratio [OR] = 2.69, confidence interval [CI] = 7.24-1.00, p = 0.049, and b = 1.32, OR = 3.75, CI = 10.53-1.33, p = 0.012, respectively) than those who received usual care. However, neither care model improved MCS. CONCLUSIONS: The interdisciplinary and comprehensive care models improved recovery from hip fracture by increasing subjects' odds for following a trajectory of good physical functioning after hospitalization. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT01350557 ).

Evaluation of antioxidative and antitumor activities of extracted flavonoids from Pink Lady apples in human colon and breast cancer cell lines.

The antioxidative and anticancer effects of extracted flavonoids from Pink Lady apples on human colon cancer LoVo cells and breast cancer MCF-7 cells were evaluated. It was found that the antioxidative property of the peel-flavonoids (Peel-F) was more effective than that of the flesh-flavonoids (Flesh-F). Meanwhile, both the Peel-F and Flesh-F can inhibit cancer cell growth in a dose-dependent manner, with the IC50 values of 110.33 ± 2.52 mg mL(-1) and 378.14 ± 1.64 mg mL(-1) for LoVo cells and 58.42 ± 1.39 mg mL(-1) and 296.06 ± 3.71 mg mL(-1) for MCF-7 cells. This led to the conclusion that the Peel-F were more effective against cancer cells than the Flesh-F, and that the scavenging ROS effects were significantly higher in the Peel-F in vitro. Moreover, we also found that the generation of ROS is a critical mediator in apple flavonoid-induced cell apoptosis and the induction effect of the Peel-F was significantly higher than that of the Flesh-F.

[Formation and characterization of aerobic granules in a pilot-scale reactor for real wastewater treatment].

Microbial granules were successfully developed in a pilot-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) for the treatment of real municipal wastewater. The aerobic granules developed had good settleability with a settling velocity of > 21 mh-1. The mature granular sludge was capable of simultaneous removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). With the cycle of 3 h, the effluent COD, ammonium nitrogen (NH+4 -N) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations were <50 mg L-1, <5. 0 mg L-1, and <15 mgL-1, respectively. The removal efficiency for TN and total phosphorus (TP) was about 50%. Examinations by confocallaser scanning microscopy (CLSM) showed that extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were uniformly distributed throughout the granules, forming the granule structure matrix. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated the presence of SiO2 and other metal oxides inside aerobic granules, implying that minerals in real wastewater might function as the seed in the initial stage of aerobic granulation.

[Treatment of municipal wastewater using the combined reversed A2/O-MBR process].

For the treatment of municipal wastewater, the effects of the reversed A2/O-MBR system on COD, NH4+ -N, TN, TP, SS and transmembrane pressure (TMP) were investigated through two-point feeding. The results indicated that the removal efficiencies for COD and NH4+ -N were high in the system, the effluent met the requirements of the Class A in first grade discharge standard of GB 18918-2002. The effluent TN was < 15 mg x L(-1) when the reflux ratio of nitrification was 200%, whereas the average TP removal rate was 90% after the excessive sludge was removed. The effluent SS was < 10 mg x L(-1) before the large-scale breakage of membrane. The TMP increased gradually with the operation of the system, if the way of aeration was not correct, the TMP would increase quickly. Efficient separation by the membrane contributed to the removal of COD, TP and SS. Because there was no sludge washout in the system, SRT could be properly controlled, it was good for the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and denitrifying bacteria which both have long life-cycle. Even if the inflow was increased to 1.5 fold, the effluent quality was good when the sludge concentration was increased to 6500 mg x L(-1).