A connectome-based neuromarker of nonverbal number acuity and arithmetic skills.

The approximate number system (ANS) is vital for survival and reproduction in animals and is crucial for constructing abstract mathematical abilities in humans. Most previous neuroimaging studies focused on identifying discrete brain regions responsible for the ANS and characterizing their functions in numerosity perception. However, a neuromarker to characterize an individual's ANS acuity is lacking, especially one based on whole-brain functional connectivity (FC). Here, based on the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data obtained from a large sample, we identified a distributed brain network (i.e. a numerosity network) using a connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) analysis. The summed FC strength within the numerosity network reliably predicted individual differences in ANS acuity regarding behavior, as measured using a nonsymbolic number-comparison task. Furthermore, in an independent dataset of the Human Connectome Project (HCP), we found that the summed FC strength within the numerosity network also specifically predicted individual differences in arithmetic skills, but not domain-general cognitive abilities. Therefore, our findings revealed that the identified numerosity network could serve as an applicable neuroimaging-based biomarker of nonverbal number acuity and arithmetic skills.

The brain network underlying attentional blink predicts symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic neuropsychiatric disease that can markedly impair educational, social, and occupational function throughout life. Behavioral deficits may provide clues to the underlying neurological impairments. Children with ADHD exhibit a larger attentional blink (AB) deficit in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) tasks than typically developing children, so we examined whether brain connectivity in the neural network associated with AB can predict ADHD symptoms and thus serve as potential biomarkers of the underlying neuropathology. We first employed a connectome-based predictive model analysis of adult resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data to identify a distributed brain network for AB. The summed functional connectivity (FC) strength within the AB network reliably predicted individual differences in AB magnitude measured by a classical dual-target RSVP task. Furthermore, the summed FC strength within the AB network predicted individual differences in ADHD Rating Scale scores from an independent dataset of pediatric patients. Our findings suggest that the individual AB network could serve as an applicable neuroimaging-based biomarker of AB deficit and ADHD symptoms.

The role of distractors in rapid serial visual presentation reveals the mechanism of attentional blink by EEG-based univariate and multivariate analyses.

Attentional blink pertains to the performance of participants with a severe decline in identifying the second target presented after the first target reported correctly within 200-500 ms in a rapid serial visual presentation. The current study was conducted to investigate the neural mechanism of the effect of the distractor (D1) that immediately follows first target to attentional blink by altering whether D1 was substituted with a blank with electroencephalography recording. The results showed that D1 interfered with the attentional enhancement and working memory encoding in both single-target rapid serial visual presentation task and dual-target rapid serial visual presentation task, which were mainly manifested in delayed and attenuated P3a and diminished P3b of first target. Single-trial analysis indicated that first target and second target will compete with each other for working memory encoding resources in short lag, but not in the long lag. In addition, D1 interfered with the working memory encoding of second target under short lag rather than long lag in the dual-target rapid serial visual presentation task. These results suggested that attentional blink can be attributed to the limited working memory encoding resource, whereas the amount of available resources is subject to modulation by attention. The D1 hinders the attention enhancement of first target, thereby exacerbating attentional blink.

Dihydromyricetin reverses capecitabine-induced peripheral myelin dysfunction through modulation of oxidative stress.

Previous clinical reports have shown that capecitabine, an oral prodrug of 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu), can induce peripheral neuropathy, resulting in numbness, paresthesia and hypoesthesia. However, the mechanism through which capecitabine causes peripheral nerve injury remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that systemic administration of capecitabine leads to myelin abnormalities in the peripheral nerves of mice, which are possibly attributed to the death of Schwann cells, the myelinating cells in the peripheral nervous system. Furthermore, our results show that 5-Fu induces significant oxidative stress in Schwann cells by inhibiting the expression of the anti-oxidative protein DJ-1, leading to a decrease in Schwann cell markers. We found that the anti-oxidant dihydromyricetin (DMY) reverses 5-Fu-induced Schwann cell death and oxidative stress and alleviates capecitabine-induced myelin abnormalities. Taken together, our data indicate that capecitabine induces peripheral myelin dysfunction by regulating DJ-1-mediated oxidative stress in Schwann cells and reveal DMY as a potential therapeutic strategy for capecitabine-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Neural Mechanism Underlying the Sleep Deprivation-Induced Abnormal Bistable Perception.

Quality sleep is vital for physical and mental health. No matter whether sleep problems are a consequence of or contributory factor to mental disorders, people with psychosis often suffer from severe sleep disturbances. Previous research has shown that acute sleep deprivation (SD) can cause transient brain dysfunction and lead to various cognitive impairments in healthy individuals. However, the relationship between sleep disturbance and bistable perception remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether the bistable perception could be affected by SD and elucidated the functional brain changes accompanying SD effects on bistable perception using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We found that the 28-h SD resulted in slower perceptual transitions in healthy individuals. The reduced perceptual transition was accompanied by the decreased activations in rivalry-related frontoparietal areas, including the right superior parietal lobule, right frontal eye field, and right temporoparietal junction. We speculated that SD might disrupt the normal function of these regions crucial for bistable perception, which mediated the slower rivalry-related perceptual transitions in behavior. Our findings revealed the neural changes underlying the abnormal bistable perception following the SD. It also suggested that SD might offer a new window to understand the neural mechanisms underlying the bistable perception.

BmRRS1 Protein Inhibits the Proliferation of Baculovirus Autographa californica Nucleopolyhedrovirus in Silkworm, Bombyx mori.

The study of functional genes involved in baculovirus infection is vital for its wide application in pest biocontrol. This study utilized the Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) and silkworm as models to elucidate the role of BmRRS1, which has been found to exhibit notable differential expression between resistant and susceptible silkworm strains. The results showed that it was evolutionarily conserved in selected species. Among different tissues, it was expressed at the highest level in the gonads, followed by the hemolymph and silk glands; among the different developmental stages, it was the highest in the second instar, followed by the pupae and adults. Moreover, its vital role in suppressing AcMNPV infection was verified by the decreased expression of lef3 and vp39 protein after overexpression of BmRRS1 as well as by the increased expression of the viral gene lef3 and the viral protein vp39 after siRNA treatment against BmRRS1 expression in BmN cells. Additionally, the direct interaction between BmRRS1 and AcMNPV was detected by the GST pull-down assay. Finally, the homologue of BmRRS1 in Spodoptera frugiperda was found to be involved in larval resistance to AcMNPV. In a word, BmRRS1 plays a vital role in AcMNPV resistance in silkworms, and this might be related to the direct interaction with AcMNPV. The results of this study provide a potential target for protecting silkworm larvae from virus infection and controlling agricultural and forestry pests.

Sapidolide A alleviates acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages.

Macrophages play a critical role in the pathogenesis of acetaminophen (APAP)-induced liver injury (AILI), a major cause of acute liver failure or even death. Sapidolide A (SA) is a sesquiterpene lactone extracted from Baccaurea ramiflora Lour., a folk medicine used in China to treat inflammatory diseases. In this study, we investigated whether SA exerted protective effects on macrophages, thus alleviated the secondary hepatocyte damage in an AILI. We showed that SA (5-20 µM) suppressed the phosphorylated activation of NF-κB in a dose-dependent manner, thereby inhibiting the expression and activation of the NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and pyroptosis in LPS/ATP-treated mouse bone marrow-derived primary macrophages (BMDMs). In human hepatic cell line L02 co-cultured with BMDMs, SA (10 µM) protected macrophages from the pyroptosis induced by APAP-damaged L02 cells. Moreover, SA treatment reduced the secondary liver cell damage aggravated by the conditioned medium (CM) taken from LPS/ATP-treated macrophages. The in vivo assessments conducted on mice pretreated with SA (25, 50 mg/kg, ip) then with a single dose of APAP (400 mg/kg, ip) showed that SA significantly alleviated inflammatory responses of AILI by inhibiting the expression and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. In general, the results reported herein revealed that SA exerts anti-inflammatory effects by regulating NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages, which suggests that SA has great a potential for use in the treatment of AILI patients.

Success Factors of Medical Crowdfunding Campaigns: Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Medical crowdfunding provides opportunities for individuals who lack financial resources to access the health services that they need. Despite the popularity of medical crowdfunding, the current understanding of the success of medical crowdfunding campaigns is fragmented and inadequate. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to comprehensively investigate which factors lead to the success of medical crowdfunding campaigns. METHODS: A search was conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, ACM Digital Library, and ScienceDirect from 2010 to June 2020. Papers directly and indirectly related to the success of medical crowdfunding campaigns were included. Two reviewers independently extracted information on the success of medical crowdfunding campaigns. RESULTS: Our search yielded 441 articles, of which 13 met the inclusion criteria. Medical crowdfunding is increasingly attracting academic attention, and most studies leverage text analysis as their research methods; however, there is a lack of consensus on the definition of medical crowdfunding among researchers. Four categories of factors that affect the success of medical crowdfunding were identified: platforms, raisers, donors, and campaigns. CONCLUSIONS: Although some limitations exist in our systematic review, our study captured and mapped literatures of the success of medical crowdfunding campaigns systematically, which can be used as the basis for future research on this topic.

Impact of Internet Use on Cognitive Decline in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in China: Longitudinal Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Given that cognitive decline lacks effective treatment options and has severe implications for healthy aging, internet use may achieve nonpharmacological relief of cognitive decline through cognitive stimulation and social engagement. OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the relationship between the diversity, frequency, and type of internet use and cognitive decline, and to provide theoretical support and suggestions for mitigating cognitive decline in middle-aged and older adults. METHODS: Data were obtained from a total of 10,532 survey respondents from the China Family Panel Studies database from wave 3 (2014) and wave 5 (2018) of the survey. Cognitive function was measured using vocabulary tests, and internet use was categorized into five aspects: study, work, socializing, entertainment, and commercial-related activities. Associations between the diversity, frequency, and type of internet use and cognitive decline were estimated by controlling for demographic variables and health status risk factors through fixed-effects models. RESULTS: After controlling for demographic and health status risk factors, the type and frequency of internet use were found to be associated with cognitive functioning during the subsequent 4-year period, and different types of internet use had different effects on cognitive decline. Frequency of internet use of at least once a week for study (ß=0.620, 95% CI 0.061 to 1.180; P=.04), work (ß=0.896, 95% CI 0.271 to 1.520; P=.01), and entertainment (ß=0.385, 95% CI -0.008 to 0.778; P=.06), as well as less than once a week for social purposes (ß=0.860, 95% CI 0.074 to 1.650; P=.06), were associated with better cognitive function. Frequency of internet use of less than once a week for commercial-related activities (ß=-0.906, 95% CI -1.480 to -0.337; P=.005) was associated with poorer cognitive function. Using the internet for more than one type of activity (ß=0.458, 95% CI 0.065 to 0.850; P=.03) and at least once a week (ß=0.436, 95% CI 0.066 to 0.806; P=.02) was associated with better cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that breadth and depth of internet use are positively associated with cognitive function and that different types of internet use have different roles in cognitive decline. The importance of the internet as a nonpharmacological intervention pathway for cognitive decline is emphasized. Future research could explore specific mechanisms of influence.

Natural products: potential treatments for cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity.

Cisplatin is a clinically advanced and highly effective anticancer drug used in the treatment of a wide variety of malignancies, such as head and neck, lung, testis, ovary, breast cancer, etc. However, it has only a limited use in clinical practice due to its severe adverse effects, particularly nephrotoxicity; 20%-35% of patients develop acute kidney injury (AKI) after cisplatin administration. The nephrotoxic effect of cisplatin is cumulative and dose dependent and often necessitates dose reduction or withdrawal. Recurrent episodes of AKI result in impaired renal tubular function and acute renal failure, chronic kidney disease, uremia, and hypertensive nephropathy. The pathophysiology of cisplatin-induced AKI involves proximal tubular injury, apoptosis, oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular injury in the kidneys. At present, there are no effective drugs or methods for cisplatin-induced kidney injury. Recent in vitro and in vivo studies show that numerous natural products (flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, polysaccharide, phenylpropanoids, etc.) have specific antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties that regulate the pathways associated with cisplatin-induced kidney damage. In this review we describe the molecular mechanisms of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and summarize recent findings in the field of natural products that undermine these mechanisms to protect against cisplatin-induced kidney damage and provide potential strategies for AKI treatment.

Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity Associated with Individual Differences in the Attentional Blink.

The attentional blink (AB) has been central in characterizing the limit of temporal attention and consciousness. The neural mechanism of the AB is still in hot debate. With a large sample size, we combined multiple behavioral tests, multimodal MRI measures, and transcranial magnetic stimulation to investigate the neural basis underlying the individual differences in the AB. We found that AB magnitude correlated with the executive control functioning of working memory (WM) in behavior, which was fully mediated by T1 performance. Structural variations in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) and its intrinsic functional connectivity with the left inferior frontal junction (lIFJ) accounted for the individual differences in the AB, which was moderated by the executive control of working memory. Disrupting the function of the lIFJ attenuated the AB deficit. Our findings clarified the neural correlates of the individual differences in the AB and elucidated its relationship with the consolidation-driven inhibitory control process.

Does digital technology reduce health disparity? Investigating difference of depression stemming from socioeconomic status among Chinese older adults.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies on health disparity have shown that socioeconomic status is critical to inequality of health outcomes such as depression. However, two questions await further investigation: whether disparity in depression correlated with socioeconomic status will become larger when depression becomes severer, and whether digital technology will reduce the disparity in depression correlated with socioeconomic status. Our study aims to answer the above two questions. METHODS: By using the dataset from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2015, we use quantile regression models to examine the association between socioeconomic status and depression across different quantiles, and test the moderating effect of digital technology. RESULTS: Our study obtains four key findings. First, the negative effects of socioeconomic status on depression present an increasing trend at high quantiles. Second, Internet usage exacerbates the disparity in depression associated with education level on average, but reduces this disparity associated with education level at high quantiles. Third, Internet usage reduces the disparity in depression associated with income on average and at high quantiles. Fourth, mobile phone ownership has almost no moderating effect on the relationship between socioeconomic status and depression. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest the potential use of digital technology in reducing disparity in depression correlated with socioeconomic status among middle-aged and aged individuals in developing countries.

Magnetization-Induced Band Shift in Ferromagnetic Weyl Semimetal Co_{3}Sn_{2}S_{2}.

The discovery of magnetic Weyl semimetal (magnetic WSM) in Co_{3}Sn_{2}S_{2} has triggered great interest for abundant fascinating phenomena induced by band topology conspiring with the magnetism. Understanding how the magnetization affects the band structure can give us a deeper comprehension of the magnetic WSMs and guide us for the innovation in applications. Here, we systematically study the temperature-dependent optical spectra of ferromagnetic WSM Co_{3}Sn_{2}S_{2} experimentally and simulated by first-principles calculations. Our results indicate that the many-body correlation effect due to Co 3d electrons leads to the renormalization of electronic kinetic energy by a factor about 0.43, which is moderate, and the description within density functional theory is suitable. As the temperature drops down, the magnetic phase transition happens, and the magnetization drives the band shift through exchange splitting. The optical spectra can well detect these changes, including the transitions sensitive and insensitive to the magnetization, and those from the bands around the Weyl nodes. The results support that, in magnetic WSM Co_{3}Sn_{2}S_{2}, the bands that contain Weyl nodes can be tuned by magnetization with temperature change.

Categorical similarity modulates temporal integration in the attentional blink.

Attentional blink (AB) speaks to a phenomenon that, when reporting two targets in a rapid serial visual presentation, the second target (T2) is often missed if it followed the first target (T1) within an interval of less than 500 ms. An interesting exception is the preserved performance of T2 at Lag 1 position (Lag-1 sparing), or even in an extended period, which recently has been termed temporal integration. Both T1 and T2 can be successfully reported but with a loss of their temporal order. The integration has been attributed to the temporal distance between the two targets. However, previous studies on temporal perception have revealed that similarity between two stimuli modulated their temporal order judgment, suggesting that temporal integration is affected by stimulus characteristics. In the present study, we investigated whether stimulus characteristics modulated temporal integration in the AB. We manipulated the categorical similarity between T1 and T2 targets and found that the order reversals were significantly higher in the same-category condition than that in the different-category condition. Our results thus provided clear evidence for the contribution of categorical similarity to the temporal integration in the AB.

Purification, Characterization and Evaluation of Inhibitory Mechanism of ACE Inhibitory Peptides from Pearl Oyster (Pinctada fucata martensii) Meat Protein Hydrolysate.

Angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides derived from natural products have shown a blood pressure lowering effect with no side effects. In this study, two novel ACE inhibitory peptides (His-Leu-His-Thr, HLHT and Gly-Trp-Ala, GWA) were purified from pearl oyster (Pinctada fucata martensii) meat protein hydrolysate with alkaline protease by ultrafiltration, polyethylene glycol methyl ether modified immobilized metal ion affinity medium, and reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Both peptides exhibited high ACE inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 458.06 ± 3.24 µM and 109.25 ± 1.45 µM, respectively. Based on the results of a Lineweaver-Burk plot, HLHT and GWA were found to be non-competitive inhibitor and competitive inhibitor respectively, which were confirmed by molecular docking. Furthermore, the pearl oyster meat protein hydrolysate exhibited an effective antihypertensive effect on SD rats. These results conclude that pearl oyster meat protein is a potential resource of ACE inhibitory peptides and the purified peptides, HLHT and GWA, can be exploited as functional food ingredients against hypertension.

Inhibition of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Reduces Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-Induced Activation and Inflammatory Cytokines in Hepatic Stellate Cells In Vitro.

BACKGROUND Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression is associated with hepatic fibrogenesis. Activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) release inflammatory cytokines and extracellular matrix (ECM). The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate HSCs, activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and the role of EGFR using the small molecule EGFR inhibitor, AG1478, and using knockdown of the EGFR gene using small interfering RNA (siRNA) cell transfection. MATERIAL AND METHODS HSCs, isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats, were cultured and treated with and without LPS (100 ng/mL), with and without AG1478 (2.5 µM and 5.0 µM) Cell survival and proliferation were studied using an MTT assay. Western blot was used to measure levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IκBα, cytoplasm and nuclear NFκB and EGFR in the cell lysates before and after small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to measure the mRNA levels of transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß, Col-1, and α-smooth muscle actin (SMA). The Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) antagonist TAK-242 and the selective c-Src inhibitor, PP2 in LPS induced-EGFR phosphorylation was evaluated using Western blot. RESULTS Inhibition of EGFR decreased LPS-induced HSC proliferation and inflammatory cytokines. The TLR4 antagonist TAK-242, and the c-Src inhibitor, PP2 reduced EGFR activation of HSCs, indicating a possible role for the TLR4/c-Src signaling cascade in LPS-induced HSC activation. CONCLUSIONS Activation of HSCs by LPS in vitro, including the expression of inflammatory cytokines and mediators of fibrogenesis, were shown to be dependent on the expression of EGFR.

Research on a Handheld 3D Laser Scanning System for Measuring Large-Sized Objects.

A handheld 3D laser scanning system is proposed for measuring large-sized objects on site. This system is mainly composed of two CCD cameras and a line laser projector, in which the two CCD cameras constitute a binocular stereo vision system to locate the scanner's position in the fixed workpiece coordinate system online, meanwhile the left CCD camera and the laser line projector constitute a structured light system to get the laser lines modulated by the workpiece features. The marked points and laser line are both obtained in the coordinate system of the left camera in each moment. To get the workpiece outline, the handheld scanner's position is evaluated online by matching up the marked points got by the binocular stereo vision system and those in the workpiece coordinate system measured by a TRITOP system beforehand; then the laser line with workpiece's features got at this moment is transformed into the fixed workpiece coordinate system. Finally, the 3D information composed by the laser lines can be reconstructed in the workpiece coordinate system. A ball arm with two standard balls, which is placed on a glass plate with many marked points randomly stuck on, is measured to test the system accuracy. The distance errors between the two balls are within ±0.05 mm, the radius errors of the two balls are all within ±0.04 mm, the distance errors from the scatter points to the fitted sphere are distributed evenly, within ±0.25 mm, without accumulated errors. Measurement results of two typical workpieces show that the system can measure large-sized objects completely with acceptable accuracy and have the advantage of avoiding some deficiencies, such as sheltering and limited measuring range.

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 targeting VEGF pathway alleviates house dust mite (HDM)-induced airway epithelial barrier dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: In our previous studies, we have indentified that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) can alleviate toluene diisocyanate-induced airway epithelial barrier disruption and we also found that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) derived from airway epithelials cells could disrupt epithelial barrier. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate whether 1,25(OH)2D3 can inhibit house dust mite (HDM) induced airway epithelial barrier dysfunction by regulating the VEGF pathway. METHOD: The 16HBE and BEAS-2B cells were cultured and treated according to the experiment requirement. Trans Epithelial Electric Resistance (TEER), permeability of epithelial layer, and distribution and expression of junction proteins were used to evaluate the cell layer barrier function, Western Blot was used to evaluate the expression of junction proteins and phosphorylated Akt in the cells, RT-PCR and ELISA were used to evaluate the VEGF gene expression and protein release in the cells. Recombinant VEGF165 was used to determine the role of the VEGF pathway in the epithelial barrier function. RESULTS: HDM resulted in a decline in TEER and increase of cell permeability, following abnormal distribution and expression of junction proteins (E-Cadherin and zona occludens (ZO)-1), accompanied by a significant upregulation of VEGF and phosphorylated Akt, which were all partly recovered by treatment with either 1,25(OH)2D3 or PI3K inhibitor LY294002. VEGF165-induced barrier dysfunction was accompanied by disruption of the epithelial E-cadherin and ß-catenin, pretreatment of 1,25(OH)2D3 and LY294002 markedly attenuated VEGF-induced airway barrier disruption in 16HBE cells. CONCLUSION: 1,25(OH)2D3 can alleviate HDM-induced airway epithelial barrier dysfunction by inhibiting PI3K pathway-dependent VEGF release.

Nonoccupational Exposure to Pyrethroids and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in the Chinese Population.

Pyrethroids and the metabolites have been frequently observed in the environment. Animal data suggests that pyrethroids can induce adverse effect on the cardiovascular system but there are no human studies examining pyrethoids exposure as a risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). We analyzed three nonspecific pyrethroids metabolites in urine and studied the association with CHD risk. A total of 72 CHD patients and 136 healthy subjects were recruited in Shanxi province in China from 2013 to 2014 by matching age and gender. The median concentrations of urinary cis-CDDA (cis-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethyl cyclopropane carboxylic acid), trans-CDDA (trans-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethyl cyclopropane carboxylic acid) and 3-PBA (3-phenoxybenzoic acid) among healthy subjects were 1.03, 0.42, 0.74 µg/L respectively, while the median concentrations of the three metabolites among CHD patients were 1.93, 1.07, 1.09 µg/L respectively, significantly higher than healthy subjects. Upper tertile of urinary pyrethroid metabolites were associated with an increased risk of CHD compared with the lowest tertile (cis-CDDA: ORT3vsT1 = 6.86, 95% CI: 2.76-17.06, p-trend = 0.000; trans-CDDA: ORT3vsT1 = 6.94; 95% CI: 2.80-17.19; p-trend =0.000; 3-PBA: ORT3vsT1 = 3.62; 95% CI: 1.48-8.88; p-trend = 0.009; total pyrethroid metabolites: ORT3vsT1 = 4.55; 95% CI: 1.80-11.54; p-trend = 0.002). This study provides information on pyrethroids exposure in China and reveals a possible positive association between pyrethroids exposure and the risk of coronary heart disease.

Separation and Characterization of Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitory Peptides from Saurida elongata Proteins Hydrolysate by IMAC-Ni2.

Lizard fish protein hydrolysates (LFPH) were prepared from Lizard fish (Saurida elongata) proteins possessing powerful angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity and the fraction (LFPH-I) with high ACE inhibitory activity was obtained through ultrafiltration. The active Fraction (F2) was isolated from LFPH-I using immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC-Ni2+). Analysis of amino acid levels revealed that F2 eluted from IMAC was enriched in Met, His, Tyr, Pro, Ile, and Leu compared to the crude peptide LFPH-I. F2 with the high ACE inhibitory activity (IC50 of 0.116 mg·mL-1) was further separated by a reverse-phase column to yield a novel ACE inhibitory peptide with IC50 value of 52 µM. The ACE inhibitory peptide was identified as Arg-Tyr-Arg-Pro, RYRP. The present study demonstrated that IMAC may be a useful tool for the separation of ACE inhibitory peptides from protein hydrolysate.