Quality Evaluation and Browning Control in the Multi-Stage Processing of Mume Fructus (Wumei).

The dried Mume Fructus (MF), called Wumei in China, is a unique food with medicinal and edible effects. But its actual production method is outdated with low efficiency and inconsistent quality. This study systematically investigated the influence of moisture content (MC), temperature, and relative humidity (RH) on the browning reaction and quality characteristics of the MF and proposed a continuous processing strategy of the three-stage variable process for MF production based on the precise process control of the temperature and the RH. The production process of MF was divided into three stages: preliminary dehydration, browning, and drying. The results showed that the browning reaction rate and drying efficiency were optimal when the MC of the raw materials was reduced to 50%. In the browning stage, the degree of browning was better, and the antioxidant capacity reached the maximum of 64.38 mg/g DM under a processing temperature of 80 °C and an RH of more than 60%. As the RH increased, the drying rate decreased, and the ash content exhibited an increase. Therefore, the optimal processing parameters for the browning stage were determined to be a temperature of 80 °C and an RH of 60%. In the final drying stage, a temperature of 60 °C coupled with a dehumidification mode proved sufficient to ensure efficient drying without compromising the quality of the MF. This study revealed the reaction mechanism of the rapid browning processing of MF, which has important guiding significance for the rapid processing of browning foods.

Novel lncRNA-prader willi/angelman region RNA, SNRPN neighbour (PWARSN) aggravates tubular epithelial cell pyroptosis by regulating TXNIP via dual way in diabetic kidney disease.

OBJECTIVES: Elevated thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP)-induced pyroptosis contributes to the pathology of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). However, the molecular mechanisms in dysregulated TXNIP in DKD remain largely unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Transcriptomic analysis identified a novel long noncoding RNA-Prader Willi/Angelman region RNA, SNRPN neighbour (PWARSN)-which was highly expressed in a proximal tubular epithelial cell (PTEC) under high glucose conditions. We focused on revealing the functions of PWARSN in regulating TXNIP-mediated pyroptosis in PTECs by targeting PWARSN expression via lentivirus-mediated overexpression and CRISPR-Cas9-based knockout in vitro and overexpressing PWARSN in the renal cortex by AAV-9 targeted injection in vivo. A number of molecular techniques disclosed the mechanisms of PWARSN in regulating TXNIP induced-pyroptosis in DKD. RESULTS: TXNIP-NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and PTEC pyroptosis were activated in the renal tubules of patients with DKD and in diabetic mice. Then we explored that PWARSN enhanced TXNIP-driven PTECs pyroptosis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, cytoplasmic PWARSN sponged miR-372-3p to promote TXNIP expression. Moreover, nuclear PWARSN interacted and facilitated RNA binding motif protein X-linked (RBMX) degradation through ubiquitination, resulting in the initiation of TXNIP transcription by reducing H3K9me3-enrichment at the TXNIP promoter. Further analysis indicated that PWARSN might be a potential biomarker for DKD. CONCLUSIONS: These findings illustrate distinct dual molecular mechanisms for PWARSN-modulated TXNIP and PTECs pyroptosis in DKD, presenting PWARSN as a promising therapeutic target for DKD.

Diffuse uterine leiomyomatosis: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Diffuse uterine leiomyomatosis (DUL) is a benign uterine smooth muscle neoplasm with unknown etiology. Since DUL is rarely reported, knowledge regarding it is limited. The rate of early diagnosis is low, and DUL is often misdiagnosed as common multiple uterine leiomyomas before surgery. CASE SUMMARY: A 27-year-old patient with no sexual activity presented to the Emergency Department of our hospital complaining of heavy vaginal bleeding. She had a history of uterine fibroids and menorrhagia. Pelvic examination showed a regularly enlarged uterus, similar in size to that associated with a 4-mo pregnancy. Pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed numerous multiple uterine fibroids, and a transabdominal myomectomy (TM) was performed. Intraoperative exploration revealed that the myometrium was full of myoma nodules of variable sizes. Over 50 leiomyomas were removed. The pathology report confirmed leiomyoma. The patient was discharged and received a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (3.75 mg) for 6 mo. Ten months after surgery, the patient presented to the hospital again for abnormal uterine bleeding. MRI showed an irregular mass with a diameter of 5.2 cm without sharp demarcation in the uterine cavity. Submucosal leiomyoma was considered first, and the patient underwent a hysteroscopic myomectomy plus hymen repair. Intraoperative exploration showed that there were several leiomyomatosis masses in the cavity. Postoperative pathological examination confirmed submucosal leiomyoma and necrotic and generative tissue. Although the menstrual cycle was still irregular, the patient did not have symptoms of menorrhagia for a period of 28 mo after the second surgery. CONCLUSION: Individuals with DUL are easily misdiagnosed due to the lack of specific manifestations of this disease. MRI is helpful for early identification and preoperative evaluation. There is currently no unified method of diagnosis. For women who want to preserve fertility, conservative surgery should be made an option. When TM is chosen, a modified new myomectomy should be considered to avoid the drawbacks of traditional TM.

Vitamin D3 Activates Phosphatidylinositol-3-Kinase/Protein Kinase B via Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 to Improve Testicular Function in Diabetic Rats.

OBJECTIVE: In diabetes mellitus, vitamin D3 deficiency affects sex hormone levels and male fertility; however, the mechanism leading to the disorder is unclear. This research was designed to investigate the mechanism of vitamin D3 deficiency and hypogonadism in diabetic rats. Our aim was to assess serum vitamin D3 levels and the relationship among vitamin D3, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and testicular function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes were randomly divided into four groups and treated with different doses of vitamin D3: no vitamin D3, low (0.025 µg/kg/day), high (0.1 µg/kg/day), and high (0.1 µg/kg/day) with JB-1 (the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor inhibitor group, 100 µg/kg/day). The groups were compared with wild-type rats, which function as the control group. Various parameters such as vitamin D3 and IGF-1 were compared between the experimental and wild-type groups, and their correlations were determined. RESULTS: Twelve weeks of vitamin D3 supplementation improved the testosterone levels, as shown by the increase in the level of serum IGF-1 in diabetic rats. Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT), which was a downstream of the signaling pathway of IGF-1, was significantly increased after vitamin D3 treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that vitamin D3 may promote the expression of testosterone and improve testicular function in diabetic rats by activating PI3K/AKT via IGF-1.

Beneficial effect of berberine on atherosclerosis based on attenuating vascular inflammation and calcification / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

OBJECTIVE To investigate the beneficial effect of berberine(BBR) on atherosclerosisin Apo-/-E mice and explore the underlying mechanisms based on attenuating vascular inflammation and modulating calcification in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and smooth muscle cells (SMCs). METHODS 48 Apo-/-E mice,at 6-8 weeks old,were randomly allocated into 4 groups: normal, model, bbr and atorvastatin (positive control) groups with 12 mice in each group. They were fed with high-fat diet for 4 weeks except those inNormal group and then treated with indicated drugs orsolvent for another 4 weeks. The morphology and inflammation infiltration of aortic were examined with HE staining. The expression of BMP-2 in aortic was examined by immumohistochemical staining. Blood lipid levels were examined by automatic biochemical analyzer. The expression of IL-6, TNF-α and BMP-2 in serum and tissues was detected by ELISA method. The expression of ALP and the content of calcium were detected by commercially-available kits. HUVEC cells were stimulated with TNF-α and incubated with various concentrations of BBR for 24 h. The contents of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1), matrix metalloprotein-9(MMP-9) in the culture supernatant were detected by ELISA method. Calcification was induced with β-glycerophosphatein SMC cells and the effect of BBR on the content of calcium was examined. RESULTS 4-week berberine treatment markedly lowered serum TC and LDL-c levels and improved the plaque stability in Apo-/-E mice fed with a high-fat diet(P<0.05 or P<0.01) which was comparable with the effect of atorvastatin. Berberineal so significantly decreased the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in mice serum and aortic tissues (P<0.05 or P<0.001). Berberine tended to decrease ALP, BMP-2 levels and the content of calcium in mice serum and aortic tissues(P<0.05, P<0.01or P<0.001) which were not observed in atorvastatin group. Berberine significantly lowered the levels of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and MMP-9 in TNF-α-stimulated HUVECs. It can also lowered the content of calcium in SMCs. CONCLUSION BBR can profitably regulate the levels of blood lipid in mice fed with a high-fat diet, decrease the injury caused by inflammation,and attenuate vascular calcification. It may improve atherosclerosis and play a role in cardiovascular protection.

Beneficial effect of berberine on atherosclerosis based on attenuating vascular inflammation and calcification / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

OBJECTIVE To investigate the beneficial effect of berberine (BBR) on atherosclerosis in Apo-/-E mice and explore the underlying mechanisms based on attenuating vascular inflammation and modulating calcification in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and smooth muscle cells(SMCs). METHODS 48 Apo-/-E mice,at 6-8 weeks old,were randomly allocated into 4 groups:normal, model, bbr and atorvastatin (positive control) groups with 12 mice in each group. They were fed with high-fat diet for 4 weeks except those in Normal group and then treated with indicated drugs or solvent for another 4 weeks. The morphology and inflammation infiltration of aortic were examined with HE staining. The expression of BMP- 2 in aortic was examined by immumohistochemical staining. Blood lipid levels were examined by automatic biochemical analyzer. The expression of IL-6, TNF-αand BMP-2 in serum and tissues was detected by ELISA method. The expression of ALP and the content of calcium were detected by commercially-available kits. HUVEC cells were stimulated with TNF-α and incubated with various concentrations of BBR for 24 h. The contents of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1), matrix metalloprotein-9 (MMP-9) in the culture supernatant were detected by ELISA method. Calcification was induced with β-glycerophos?phate in SMC cells and the effect of BBR on the content of calcium was examined. RESULTS 4-week berberine treatment markedly lowered serum TC and LDL-c levels and improved the plaquestabilityin Apo-/- E mice fed with a high- fat diet (P<0.05 or P<0.01) which was comparable with the effect of atorvastatin. Berberine also significantly decreased the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in mice serum and aortic tissues (P<0.05 or P<0.001). Berberine tended to decrease ALP, BMP-2 levels and the content of calcium in mice serum and aortic tissues (P<0.05, P<0.01 or P<0.001) which were not observed in atorvastatin group. Berberine significantly lowered the levels of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and MMP-9 in TNF-α-stimulated HUVECs. It can also lowered the content of calcium in SMCs. CONCLUSION BBR can profitably regulate the levels of blood lipid in mice fed with a high-fat diet, decrease the injury caused by inflammation, and attenuate vascular calcification. It may improve atherosclerosis and play a role in cardiovascular protection.

The effect of FoxO1 on the proliferation of rat mesangial cells under high glucose conditions.

BACKGROUND: Hyperproliferation of glomerular mesangial cells (MCs) is a major pathological characteristic in the early stage of diabetic nephropathy (DN). We have previously confirmed that forkhead transcription factor O1 (FoxO1) was significantly downregulated in both the renal cortex of DN rats and MCs cultured under high-glucose (HG) conditions, but the effects and mechanisms of FoxO1 involved in the hyperproliferation of MCs are still unclear. This study aims to investigate whether FoxO1 regulates the hyperproliferation of MCs induced under high-glucose conditions, through modulating the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI), p27. METHODS: Lentiviral vectors of LV-constitutively active FoxO1 (CA-FoxO1) and LV-small interfering RNA (siRNA)-FoxO1 were constructed to up- and downregulate FoxO1. Similarly, LV-NC-FoxO1 was used as negative control (NC). Rat MCs were cultured in normal glucose (5.6 mM) medium, HG (30 mM) medium, HG with LV-NC-FoxO1, HG with LV-CA-FoxO1 and HG with LV-siRNA-FoxO1 for 72 h. Cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, messenger RNA and protein expression of FoxO1, p27, cyclin D1 and CDK4 were detected by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay, flow cytometry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively. RESULTS: MCs exposed to HG medium triggered hyperproliferation of MCs. Nevertheless, overexpression of FoxO1 caused by LV-CA-FoxO1 promoted cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase and attenuated proliferation, which was associated with upregulation of p27 and downregulation of cyclin D1 and CDK4. Moreover, specific degradation of FoxO1 by LV-siRNA-FoxO1 caused a decrease of p27, increase of cyclin D1 and CDK4, overrode the limited cell cycle and stimulated proliferation of MCs. CONCLUSIONS: Overexpression of FoxO1 caused upregulation of p27, which promoted cell cycle arrest and inhibited hyperproliferation of MCs induced by HG. Degradation of FoxO1 caused an increase in p27 and stimulated MC proliferation. These findings unveil part of the molecular mechanism of FoxO1 regulation of MC hyperproliferation induced by HG.

3D matrix pattern based Support Vector Machines for identifying pulmonary cancer in CT scanned images.

A novel algorithm of Three Dimension matrix (3D matrix) pattern based Minimum Within-Class Scatter Support Vector Machines (MCSVMs(3Dmatrix)) is presented. Combining Minimum Within-Class Scatter Support Vector Machines (MCSVMs) and higher-order tensor technology, decision functions of MCSVMs(3Dmatrix) are calculated along with three orthogonal directions in the 3D space. And then the final decision is made by Majority Vote Method. In previous reports, each CT image is solely processed and the relation among successive CT scanned images is neglected. The case results in defective judgment at whiles. The proposed method solves the problem effectively and improves the accuracy of classification to a certain extent.