The Relationships Among Chronic Pain Subtypes, Motor Function, and Physical Activity in Community-Dwelling Japanese Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.

PURPOSE: We investigated the relationships among motor function, physical activity, and the characteristics of chronic pain (the number of pain sites, pain intensity, and pain-type). DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: An ongoing community-based prospective study conducted in Itoshima, Japan. SUBJECTS: Community-dwelling Japanese aged 65-75 years (n = 805; 401 men, 404 women). MEASURES: Chronic pain subtypes were examined in terms of the number of pain sites, pain intensity, and pain type. Motor function was evaluated by handgrip strength, walking speed, and the 5 Times Stand-up and Sit Test (FTSST). Locomotive activity, non-locomotive activity, and sedentary time were evaluated by a tri-axial accelerometer as physical-activity parameters. ANALYSIS: Multiple regression model adjusting for age, sex, education level, employment status, subjective economic status, body mass index, cognitive function, comorbidity, current tobacco use, current alcohol consumption, and regular exercise. RESULTS: In a multivariate analysis, the subjects' walking speed was negatively associated with multisite, moderate-to-severe, and neuropathic-like pain. The FTSST was positively associated with single-site, moderate-to-severe, and neuropathic-like pain. There was no significant association between handgrip strength and any chronic pain subtypes. Locomotive activity was negatively related to multisite, moderate-to-severe, and neuropathic-like pain, but there was no clear association between the amount of non-locomotive activity, sedentary time, and chronic pain subtypes. CONCLUSION: Severe chronic pain was associated with decreased locomotion-related motor function and physical activity.

Association of the Combination of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity and Sleep Quality with Physical Frailty.

BACKGROUND: The association of the individual and combined effects of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sleep quality with physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults is still unknown. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of older adults who had not required nursing care or support services. Physical frailty was assessed using Liu's definition based on Fried's concept. MVPA was measured by a triaxial accelerometer, and individuals who met either moderate physical activity (MPA) for ≥300 min/week, vigorous physical activity (VPA) for ≥150 min/week, or both were defined as "MVA+". "SLP+" was defined as a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score of <5.5 points. RESULTS: A total of 811 participants were included in the final analysis. After adjusting for the multivariable confounding factors, the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for physical pre-frailty and frailty in the MVA-SLP+ (OR, 2.56; 95%CI, 1.80-3.62) and the MVA-SLP- group (OR, 3.97; 95%CI, 2.33-6.74) were significantly higher compared with the MVA+SLP+ group. CONCLUSION: Community-dwelling older adults who did not meet the MVPA criteria, regardless of sleep quality, had a higher prevalence of physical frailty.

Chimeric nanobody-decorated liposomes by self-assembly.

Liposomes as drug vehicles have advantages, such as payload protection, tunable carrying capacity and improved biodistribution. However, due to the dysfunction of targeting moieties and payload loss during preparation, immunoliposomes have yet to be favoured in commercial manufacturing. Here we report a chemical modification-free biophysical approach for producing immunoliposomes in one step through the self-assembly of a chimeric nanobody (cNB) into liposome bilayers. cNB consists of a nanobody against human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), a flexible peptide linker and a hydrophobic single transmembrane domain. We determined that 64% of therapeutic compounds can be encapsulated into 100-nm liposomes, and up to 2,500 cNBs can be anchored on liposomal membranes without steric hindrance under facile conditions. Subsequently, we demonstrate that drug-loaded immunoliposomes increase cytotoxicity on HER2-overexpressing cancer cell lines by 10- to 20-fold, inhibit the growth of xenograft tumours by 3.4-fold and improve survival by more than twofold.

Analysis of Metabolites and Metabolic Pathways of Three Chinese Jujube Cultivar.

Most studies on metabolites in jujube fruits focus on specific types of metabolites, but there are only a few comprehensive reports on the metabolites in jujube fruits. In order to understand the variance of metabolites in fruits of different jujube varieties. The objective of this study was to explore the metabolic components of jujube fruit by comparing three cultivars, namely Linyi LiZao (LZ), Jiaocheng SuantianZao (STZ), and Xianxian Muzao (MZ). The metabolites present in the fruits of these three cultivars were evaluated and compared. The results revealed the detection of 1059 metabolites across the three jujube varieties, with each cultivar exhibiting distinct metabolic characteristics. Notably, MZ exhibited a higher abundance of six metabolite classes, namely amino acids and derivatives, flavonoids, lipids, organic acids, phenolic acids, and terpenoids, compared to LZ. Conversely, LZ exhibited higher concentrations of alkaloids, lignans, coumarins, nucleotides, and their derivatives compared to the other two cultivars. In terms of STZ, its content of amino acids and derivatives, lignans and coumarins, organic acids, and phenolic acids was largely similar to that of LZ. However, the content of alkaloids, nucleotides, and their derivatives, and terpenoids was significantly higher in STZ compared to LZ. Additionally, STZ exhibited lower levels of flavonoids and lipids compared to LZ. Moreover, MZ was found to be less nutritionally rich than STZ, except for lignans and coumarins, as it displayed lower levels of all the metabolites. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed six significantly different metabolic pathways (p < 0.05) between LZ and MZ, including arginine and proline metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, flavonoid biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and cysteine and methionine metabolism. The metabolites in STZ and MZ exhibited three significantly different pathways (p < 0.05), primarily associated with flavonoid biosynthesis, arginine and proline metabolism, and sphingolipid metabolism. The significantly differential metabolites between LZ and STZ were observed in the phenylpropionic acid biosynthesis pathway and the ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis pathways. LZ showed a closer relationship with STZ than with MZ. STZ and LZ exhibited higher medicinal values, while LZ had lower acidity and MZ displayed better antioxidant activity. This study presents the first thorough analysis of metabolites in LZ, STZ, and MZ cultivars, which can serve as a theoretical basis for quality analysis, functional research, and classification processing of jujube fruit.

Quantification and identification analysis of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. peel pigmentation at different developmental stages.

The fruit peel of a color mutant jujube cultivar, 'Sanbianhong' (SBF), was investigated using an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS) at five ripening stages (S1, Young fruit stage; S2, swelling stage; S3, white-mature stage; S4, pre-mature stage and S5, mature stage). Lutein, ß-carotene, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and 13 anthocyanins were identified. Chlorophyll a and cyanidin 3-O-galactoside were considered key color metabolites in S1 with the content of 1.083 mg/g of fresh weight (FW) and 4.585 mg/g of FW, respectively. Delphinidin (0.488 mg/g FW) and cyanidin (6.259 mg/g FW) were identified as the key pigments in S3. Delphinidin 3-O-glucoside (0.256 mg/g FW) was identified as the key anthocyanin in maturity S5. Herein, the identification and quantitation of pigment-related metabolites of SBF were studied for the first time, and the results provide a theoretical basis for understanding the pigment changes of jujube fruit during ripening.

CelB is a suitable marker for rapid and specific identification of Klebsiella pneumoniae by the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay.

Klebsiella pneumoniae belongs to Enterobacteriaceae, which is the commonest bacterium causing nosocomial respiratory tract infection. It ranks second in bacteremia and urinary tract infection in gram-negative bacteria. Therefore, the rapid and accurate identification of K. pneumoniae was of great significance for the guide of clinical medication, and timely treatment of patients. The purpose of this study was to establish a rapid and sensitive molecular detection method for K. pneumoniae based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technology. Firstly, local BLAST and NCBI BLAST were used to analyze the genome of K. pneumoniae. According to the principle of interspecific and intraspecific specificity, CelB (GenBank ID 11847805) was selected as the specific gene. Then, the LAMP and PCR identification systems were established with this target gene. Thirty-six clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae and 50 non-K. pneumoniae were used for the specific evaluation, and both LAMP and PCR could specifically distinguish K. pneumoniae from non-K. pneumoniae. A 10-fold series diluted positive plasmids and simulated infected blood samples were used as the templates in the sensitivity assay, and the results showed that the sensitivity could reach 1 copy/reaction. In summary, a rapid, specific, and sensitive LAMP method was established to detect K. pneumoniae in clinics.