Assessment of Genetic Diversity of the Salangid, Neosalanx taihuensis, Based on the Mitochondrial COI Gene in Different Chinese River Basins.

The salangid Neosalanx taihuensis (Salangidae) is a commercially important economical fish endemic to China and restricted to large freshwater systems with a wide-ranging distribution. This fish species has continuous distribution ranges and a long-introduced aquaculture history in Chinese basins. However, the research on its population genetic differentiation within and between basins is very limited. In this regard, 197 individuals were sampled from 11 populations in the Nenjiang River Basin (A1-A4), Songhua River Basin (B1), Yellow River Basin (C1-C2), Yangtze River Basin (D1), Lanchang River Basin (E1-E2) and Huaihe River Basin (F1). Based on the COI sequence, the N.taihuensis population's genetic difference within and between river basins was investigated. The haplotypes and their frequency distributions were strongly skewed, with most haplotypes (n = 13) represented only in single samples each and thus restricted to a single population. The most common haplotype (H4, 67/197) was found in all individuals. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed a random pattern in the distribution of genetic diversity, which is inconsistent with contemporary hydrological structure. The mismatch between the distribution and neutrality tests supported the evidence of a population expansion, which occurred during the late Pleistocene (0.041-0.051 million years ago). Significant levels of genetic subdivision were detected among populations within basins rather than between the six basins. Population history dynamics showed that N. taihuensis experienced an expansion during the glacial period in the late Pleistocene. Therefore, different populations should be considered as different management units to achieve effective conservation and management purposes. These results have great significance for the evaluation and exploitation of the germplasm resources of N. taihuensis.

Long-Term Prognostic Factors in Patients With Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis: A 15-Year Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Background: Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a multisystem autoimmune disease with small-vessel involvement. In AAV, microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) are major clinicopathologic variants. In addition, myeloperoxidase (MPO) and proteinase 3 (PR3) are major target antigens. The objective of the study was to explore the predictive factors for long-term survival in AAV patients. Materials and Methods: A multicenter retrospective study was carried out on 407 patients between 2005 and 2020. Clinical parameters were obtained from laboratory tests including the ANCA types, antinuclear antibody (ANA), extractable nuclear antigen (ENA), anti-streptolysin O (ASO), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and the laboratory examinations for the blood routine, liver function, renal function, and immunity, etc. The data for clinical parameters were collected from electronic medical records (EMRs), and the data for patient survival were acquired through regular follow-up. The association of clinical parameters with overall survival (OS) along with 3-year and 5-year survival rates was analyzed, and the nomogram as a predictive model was established according to the analysis results. Results: In the present study, 336 (82.6%) patients and 46 (11.3%) patients were diagnosed with MPA and GPA, respectively. The mean and median OS for all the patients were 2,285 and 2,290 days, respectively. The 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year cumulative survival rates for all the patients were 84.2%, 76.3%, 57.2%, and 32.4%, respectively. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses indicated that the independent prognostic factors included age, pathological categories (MPA, GPA, and other types), serum ANCA types (negative or positive for MPO and/or PR3), ANA, ASO, GFR, lymphocyte, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and C-reactive protein (CRP), and these clinical parameters except for ASO were used to construct a nomogram. The nomogram for 3-year and 5-year survival rates had a C-index of 0.721 (95% CI 0.676-0.766). The calibration curves showed that the predicted values of the nomogram for 3-year and 5-year survival rates were generally consistent with practical observed values, and decision curve analysis (DCA) further demonstrated the practicability and accuracy of the predictive model. Conclusion: Laboratory tests at diagnosis have great significance in the prediction of long-term survival in AAV patients.

Effects of bilirubin on perioperative myocardial infarction and its long-term prognosis in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: Although bilirubin is known to be an antioxidant, any relationship with coronary heart disease remains controversial. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has investigated the association between bilirubin and perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI), including its long-term prognosis. AIM: To investigate the impact of bilirubin levels on PMI in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and long-term prognosis in post-PMI patients. METHODS: Between January 2014 and September 2018, 10236 patients undergoing elective PCI were enrolled in the present study. Total bilirubin (TB) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels were measured prior to PCI and cTnI at further time-points, 8, 16 and 24 h after PCI. Participants were stratified by pre-PCI TB levels and divided into three groups: < 10.2; 10.2-14.4 and > 14.4 µmol/L. PMI was defined as producing a post-procedural cTnI level of > 5 × upper limit of normal (ULN) with normal baseline cTnI. Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) included cardiac death, MI, stroke and revascularization during a maximum 5-year follow-up. RESULTS: PMI was detected in 526 (15.3%), 431 (12.7%) and 424 (12.5%) of patients with pre-PCI TB levels of < 10.2, 10.2-14.4 and > 14.4 µmol/L (P = 0.001), respectively. Multivariate logistical analysis indicated that patients with TB 10.2-14.4 and > 14.4 µmol/L had a lower incidence of PMI [TB 10.2-14.4 µmol/L: Odds ratio (OR): 0.854; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.739-0.987; P = 0.032; TB > 14.4 µmol/L: OR: 0.846; 95%CI: 0.735-0.975; P = 0.021] compared with patients with TB < 10.2 µmol/L. Construction of a Kaplan-Meier curve demonstrated a higher MACE-free survival time for patients with higher TB than for those with lower TB (log-rank P = 0.022). After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors and angiographic characteristics, multivariate Cox analysis showed that a TB level > 14.4 µmol/L was associated with a reduced risk of MACEs compared with a TB level < 10.2 µmol/L (hazard ratio 0. 667; 95%CI: 0.485-0.918; P = 0.013). CONCLUSION: Bilirubin was a protective factor in PMI prediction. For post-PMI patients, elevated bilirubin levels were independently associated with a reduced risk of MACEs during long-term follow-up.

Genetic Diversity Evaluation and Conservation of Topmouth Culter (Culter alburnus) Germplasm in Five River Basins in China.

To study the genetic diversity of Culter alburnus (C. alburnus) populations, we analyzed the genetic diversity of five C. alburnus populations from Songhua Lake (SH), Huaihe River (HH), Changjiang River (CJ), Taihu Lake (TH), and Gehu Lake (GH) based on mitochondrial COI gene sequences. The results showed that the average contents of bases T, C, A, and G in the 526 bp COI gene sequence were 25.3%, 18.1%, 28.1%, and 28.6%, respectively, which showed AT bias. A total of 115 polymorphic sites were detected in the five populations, and 11 haplotypes (Hap) were defined. The nucleotide diversity (Pi) of the five populations ranged from 0.00053 to 0.01834, and the haplotype diversity (Hd) ranged from 0.280 to 0.746, with the highest genetic diversity in the TH population, followed by the SH population, with lower genetic diversity in the HH, CJ and GH populations. The analysis of the fixation index (Fst) and the genetic distance between populations showed that there was significant genetic differentiation between the SH population and the other populations, and the genetic distances between all of them were far; the genetic diversity within populations was higher than that between populations. Neutral tests, mismatch distributions, and Bayesian skyline plot (BSP) analyses showed that the C. alburnus populations have not experienced population expansion and are relatively stable in historical dynamics.

Neurogenic orthostatic hypotension with Parkinson's disease as a cause of syncope: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Syncope presents with diagnostic challenges and is associated with high healthcare costs. Neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH) as one cause of syncope is not well established. We review a case of syncope caused by nOH in a patient with Parkinson's disease. CASE SUMMARY: We describe a case of syncope caused by nOH in Parkinson's disease and review the literature. A 70-year-old man with Parkinson's disease had uncontrolled blood pressure for 1 mo, with blood pressure ranging from 70/40 to 220/112 mmHg, and once lost consciousness lasting for several minutes after getting up. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring indicated nocturnal hypertension (up to 217/110 mmHg) and morning orthostatic hypotension (as low as 73/45 mmHg). Seated-to-standing blood pressure measurement showed that the blood pressure dropped from 173/96 mmHg to 95/68 mmHg after standing for 3 min from supine position. A diagnosis of nOH with supine hypertension was made. During the course of treatment, Midodrine could not improve the symptoms. Finally, the patient's blood pressure stabilized with simple strategies by strengthening exercises, reducing the duration of lying in bed in the daytime, and consuming water intake before getting up. CONCLUSION: nOH is one of the causes of syncope. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is a cost-effective method for its diagnosis, and non-pharmacological measures are still the primary management methods.

Effects of extraction methods on the rheological properties of polysaccharides from onion (Allium cepa L.).

In this work we described the rheological properties of polysaccharides (HBSS, CHSS, DASS, CASS) sequentially extracted from onion (Allium cepa L.). Four onion polysaccharides (ACLPs) solutions resulted into significant differences on their rheological properties. ACLPs solutions showed non-Newtonian shear-thinning behavior over the range of 0.5-2.5%. At concentration of 1%, the apparent viscosity of CHSS was observed to be the highest. The apparent viscosity of ACLPs solutions decreased with the acidic pH (4.0) or alkaline pH (10.0) which was further declined at higher temperature (90 °C). After the addition of various salts, ACLPs had apparent differences on apparent viscosity. The G' (storage modulus) and G″ (loss modulus) of ACLP solutions were increased with increasing oscillation frequency. Moreover, the crossover value of oscillation frequency gradually decreased with increasing concentration of ACLPs. Our results exhibited that among the ACLPs, CHSS can be used as supplements in the food industry as thickening agent, gelling agent and stabilizer.

Antioxidant and antibacterial evaluation of polysaccharides sequentially extracted from onion (Allium cepa L.).

We investigated the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of sequentially extracted onion polysaccharide fractions namely HBSS, CHSS, DASS and CASS. The different antioxidant assays indicated that ACLPs exhibited potentially appreciable antioxidant activity in a dose-dependent manner. Among all the fractions, CHSS rendered the highest antioxidant action towards ABTS radical cations (97.52%), Fe2+ chelating (98.94%) and superoxide anion radical scavenging (76.27%). Whereas, HBSS possessed the highest potential for DPPH radicals (93.68%), hydroxyl radicals (65.12%) as well as for reducing power (0.559). CASS exhibited the highest lipid peroxidation inhibition (86.43%), while, DASS showed the best ß-carotene bleaching inhibition (92.26%). Furthermore, regardless of the bacterial strain, DASS represented the strongest antibacterial activity on the basis of largest inhibition zone, the lowest minimal inhibitory concentration and maximum inhibition of bacterial growth in liquid medium. Overall results indicated that ACLPs hold a promise as potential natural antioxidant additives and antimicrobial agents for formulating the functional foods with potential applications in the medical and food industries.

Insights into physicochemical and functional properties of polysaccharides sequentially extracted from onion (Allium cepa L.).

Onion polysaccharides (ACLP) were sequentially extracted with four different solvents (hot buffer, chelating agent, dilute alkaline and concentrated alkaline) and obtained four fractions, named as HBSS, CHSS, DASS and CASS, respectively. The present studies characterized the ACLP concerning its physicochemical and functional properties. Monosaccharides analysis revealed that mannose (81.68%) was the dominant sugar in HBSS and galactose (67.59%) was the most in CASS. Similarly, CHSS and DASS possessed mannose and galactose as major sugar, which were 25.80% and 31.37%, 20.33% and 33.96%, respectively. The obtained molecular weight of ACLPs were 7.702×103 (HBSS), 4.690×103 (CHSS), 4.943×103 (DASS) and 1.390×103kDa (CASS). CASS resulted in the strongest solubility, fat-binding capacity, foam capacity and foam stability whereas, HBSS showed the highest thermal stability. DASS showed the best hygroscopicity and the best moisture retention was obtained by CHSS. Subsequently, the emulsifying activity and emulsifying stability were the highest for HBSS and the longest for of CASS, respectively. The rheological properties of CHSS exhibited the largest viscosity. Our results indicated that all factions could be considered as functional polysaccharides according to their respective characteristics, which have vast potential in food production.